It had been five years ever since the Ministry has declared Harry Potter a dangerous dark lord and someone that needs to be taken in and gotten rid of as soon as possible.
Five years since Hermione and Ron turned their backs on their former friend Harry Potter.
Five years since Dumbledore had sided with the Ministry on where they stood on the issue of Harry Potter and swore to help in any way that he can to help bring the dark lord in.
Five years since Ginny Weasley had seen or heard from the man that she loved.
She and she alone remained on Harrys side throughout the entire predicament. All of his so called friends, allies, and supporters turned on him leaving him to stand alone.
Except her.
She knew Harry and she knew that he was by no means a dark wizard.
The Ministry refused to release what exactly brought them to believe that Harry was dark. They encouraged the public to believe their own word and thoughts instead of giving them the facts and allowing them to make their own opinions.
It turned Ginnys stomach at how much the people were willing to listen eagerly to the Ministry and whatever it said.
Beside for her brother Ron she knew where the rest of her family stood.
Her mum and dad refused to believe that the little boy they had adopted into their family was dark. Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George were the same as well. They refused to believe that Harry was evil. Only Percy and Ron believed in those lies.
Percy she could understand however Ron was a bit like a slap to the face. He had been the man's best friend for seven years and suddenly turning like that. She could only imagine how Harry felt, losing both of his closest friends at the same time.
No. Not just losing them. Having them turn on you completely and even attempt to attack you in order to bring you into the Ministry. That was the ultimate betrayal.
The Wizarding World had loved him once. Called him their savior. The boy who lived. The chosen one. The one who will vanquish the dark lord.
Selfish people after all. Demanding that a boy from the small age of one do their work and their job in keeping the world safe and getting rid of the foulest evil of all time.
And he did. He vanquished and destroyed Lord Voldemort many times over until nothing remained and the world was finally at some peace.
Or so it had seemed.
The Ministry and even the close supporters of Harry had gotten a major disappointment. The biggest one and one they thought they would never face.
Harry was still alive.
They didn't want him alive. They wanted him dead. Dead to gain in all the glory. Dead to gain all of his gold, property, riches and all of his wonderful belongings. The invisibility cloak. The indestructible wand. All precious belongings that others wanted to take from him.
However he was still alive.
Then the whispers started. How could someone survive facing the dark lord? How could a light wizard live through all that?
The answer became clear to them. Their own twisted little versions of the world.
Only a dark wizard could survive battle against a dark wizard.
Harry did use dark magic however he only used it when it was needed and there was nothing else he was able to do. And he used it against the Death Eaters in order to protect himself and the ones he loved. He did know how to speak parseltongue even after destroying the fragment of Voldemort that was inside him.
Dumbledore told everyone that the fragment of Voldemorts soul that had been in Harrys body had gotten more powerful than he had thought until it fused completely with Harrys own soul. Harrys words of being related to a parseltongue, no matter how distant, fell on deaf ears.
It had all ended in one big blast of magic. Harry had been surrounded by practically the entire Auror committee that was in Britain as well as his former friends and Dumbledore.
Ginny had been there too however she worked from behind. Silently stunning each Auror that she could in order to bring down their numbers. Harry had seen what she was doing and shook his head however his eyes were gleaming with thanks.
He mouthed three words to her "I love you." before there was a crack of magic as a thunderbolt and he was no longer there.
The Ministry insisted that he was alive and continued their search for him all around the world. Magical barriers came around his property such as his childhood home where he had spent one year with his parents, the ancestral Potter manor, and all the other property that now belonged to him. Strong barriers that not even Dumbledore could open, ones that prevented everyone and everything from coming inside.
Ginny now had been working for the Daily Prophet for the last four and a half years. She had figured that it was the best job she could take that would help her get involved with the Ministry however not too involved with the Ministry.
Day in and day out she would scan every article that came in front of her. Most were ordinary news however other more exciting ones were the ones claiming that Harry Potter had been sighted in America. In Japan. In India. In Australia.
They were most likely lies to ensure to the public that the Ministry had everything under control with their newest dark lord and was close to finding and arresting him.
"Weasley." came the bark of her manager as he stepped into her office. Ginny looked up wearily at him, it had been a long day of scanning and looking over articles.
"You're being sent overseas to Germany." her manager said. "There is a report that a group of children were performing dark arts and we need you to go and get the story."
Always trying to make the other magical communities look bad. That was the British Magical Ministry second highest priority. Always try to make themselves look superior.
Ginny nodded, she had refused the last oversea job and she knew she could refuse this one. "When do I leave?"
"In two hours. Everything is done and everything is the same as the others." he said. He handed her a folder. "Here's the information. Good luck."
If there was one good perk to being a journalist, Ginny mused. It was the benefits that went with it.
When being sent somewhere else to cover a story the newspaper ensured that they were really well taken care of. That included however was not limited to the best hotels with the best service and relaxation.
She glanced at the story on her desk. It wasn't even a story. Two teenagers had been performing a magical ritual under the supervision of their parents. It was dark arts according to British laws however not German laws. As long as a parent was there with the minors the teenagers were free to do anything.
She shook her head as she stretched her arms. Standing she made her way to the door. She had never been to Germany before and now seemed a good of time as any to take a little tour of their neighboring magical country.
As she walked through the streets she found herself admiring the buildings and the landscape. She was in the muggle community at the moment, she was in no rush to enter the magical one for the time being; part of a vacation is away from everything that reminds you of home, and found herself watching the children run around and play.
Her stomach rumbled lightly, reminding her that she had not eaten since breakfast. She spotted an outdoor café and jogged to it lightly.
Carefully balancing her order, thankfully she had remembered her muggle money and decided to try some German styled sausage, she scanned the tables looking for a place to sit.
It was a busy day for locals and tourists alike. Practically all the seats were taken. She barely managed to spot one empty seat, across the table was a man reading the paper with his own few plates in front of him.
She walked up to him and politely asked "May I sit here?" she had placed a language charm on her to help her speak the German language.
The man looked up for a moment and when his light blue eyes met hers she felt her heart skip a beat. He waved his hand towards the empty chair. "By all means."
"Thank you." Ginny said as she sat down still staring at the man.
"I'm surprised though." the man said returning to his paper. "I thought all of the British witches would prefer to go into the magical community rather than spend time with the muggles."
Ginny froze; however before she could lie about what he had said he brought his sleeve down slightly to show the wand that was neatly tucked into the jacket. She felt herself relax.
"I usually don't." she admitted as she started to eat. "But I decided I need a bit of a break from magic. How did you know?"
"How did I know you were British or how did I know you were a witch?" the man asked as he picked up his cup and sipped from it. Sandy blonde hair fell slightly in front of his face.
"Both."
"I can see the magic surrounding you." he said. "It's a bit of a trick we use here. After that all I have to do is listen carefully for your accent and I know where you're from."
Ginny shook her head in amusement.
"So what does a young British witch have to do here? Sightseeing?" the man asked.
"Something like that." Ginny said. "A completely stupid reason for a story sent me here."
"I work for the government so I can probably guess. The two teenagers right?" he asked.
Ginny nodded. "I thought it's legal here."
"It is, as long as you register it." the man said. "You need to register and then have an of age witness to agree to see it through. What those two did was completely legal and something that they wanted to do to satisfy their curiosity. If I'm right you don't have that back at your home."
Ginny shook her head. "Back home its considered dark magic. And if you do dark magic then you are arrested."
The man snorted before he held his hand out. "Forgive me, where are my manners? Ludwig Von Stein."
Ginny took his hand, ignoring the way a spark came through their skin. "Ginny Weasley."
The man smiled and when he did Ginny felt her heart skip a beat once more.
"Have we met before?" Ginny asked. "I'm getting the feeling that we've met before."
The man shook his head. "I have a good memory, I would remember meeting you."
Ginny tilted her head to the side. "It's just…I can't even explain it."
"Want to try?" Ludwig asked.
She bit her lip. "I look at you…and my heart starts pounding in my chest like mad. I want to cry and scream and laugh all at the same time. I want to hug you and yell at you. Does that make any sense?"
"A bit." Ludwig said shrugging. His blue eyes stared down at her.
"It's just…" Ginny said. She held her hand out. "May I?"
Wordlessly Ludwig placed his hand in hers. She held it in between her hands as she closed her eyes. She entwined their fingers together before she brought his hand up and placed it on her cheek with her eyes still closed.
In the common room. A hand curling around her face. Green eyes staring at her lovingly.
Ginny gasped and looked up at Ludwig who was staring at her with an unreadable emotion in his eyes.
"Well?" he asked.
"Harry?" Ginny whispered. "Harry Potter?"
Ludwig was silent for a moment before he smiled once more and for a single moment gone was the sandy haired blue eyed man sitting there and in his place was a man with messy black hair and brilliant green eyes.
"I always knew that you were clever Gin." Harry said in that familiar voice. "I always knew."
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