Harry Potter and the ones who wait

A/N: This story has been updated to fix various spelling mistakes, etc. Please note, if I were J.K. Rowling and writing about Harry Potter, I would hardly post it on a sight with "fanfiction" in the title, would I? Please remain aware of this fact throughout the story, as I don't want to have to clarify it at every chapter.

Chapter 1:

THE ARIVALS

Ginny Weasley stood by her window and stared out at the star strewn sky outside. It felt like ages ago that her holiday had started, but in reality it had only been two weeks. In that time she had thought things through about a thousand times, but still not come to any conclusions that she hadn't known before leaving Hogwarts, her school.

She knew very well that her ex boyfriends life could not include her. At least it couldn't until he had defeated lord Voldamort. Being with him would put her and her family in danger. She had already once been used as bate and that was long before she and Harry Potter had been more than aquaintences. It had been purely the fact that she was Ron's sister, the sister of Harry's best friend. She was also aware that Harry couldn't be distracted by strong feelings for a member of the opposite sex at that important time. All his energy, time and consentration had to be with defeating Voldamort and not maintaining a relationship.

Yet, Ginny couldn't simply cut off her feelings for him and still missed him badly every day. She couldn't help being a little more than appropriately excited that Harry would arive to stay with them the next day until he turned seventeen. Maybe even until after Bill and his lovely but annoying wife, Fleur's wedding. She grimaced. They had been so busy with those arangements that Ginny had hardly had any time for herself lately.

She sank back onto her bed, closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

Several hours later, she had still not managed to do so. She got up and tiptoed through the house to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. After setting the round copper kettle to boil, she sat herself down at the kitchen table and watched the kettle sleepily open a copper eye. It hissed some steam out of the spout, somehow making it evident that it wasn't happy to be disturbed at this hour.

Ginny ignored it and looked up at the strange clock on the wall. All the hands were at mortal perrel. Glancing at the slightly more ordinary watch on her arm, she found out that it was four o'clock. She poured her tea and sat herself down again, sipping thoughtfully.

When she had finished she got up and made her way to the shed where the family brooms were kept. She removed her broom, feeling like an early morning flight around the house. She stepped out into the chilly morning air, walked out a little way on the grass and mounted the old broom. Pushing herself off the ground, she sailed upwards gracefully, like a bird in flight. She immediately felt refreshed and exhillerated. She took a turn around the corner and sped up, shooting past little windows. She ascended to above the roof of the crooked house and even higher above the trees, then looked down on the countryside beneath her. The Burrow was a distant speck far below. Everything was green and in the distance she saw a river merrily gurgling along. She considered going for an early morning swim, but decided against it. She flew down and perched on the roof of The Burrow, laughing with glee. She wondered what it would have been like if Harry were with her at that moment. He had always told her that she looked most beautiful to him when her long golden red hair was flowing out behind her, catching the sun on the quiddich pitch. No, she must take her mind off Harry Potter now. feeling a bit deflated, she descended a little way.

"Pssst..." She heard a noise from a window level with her and looked around. Hermione's head was sticking out. "Morning," said Ginny. "Up so early?" "Look whose talking," said Hermione smiling. "Did you sleep at all last night?" "No, couldn't," answered Ginny. "I suppose I can understand that. Come down and wait for me. I'm coming to make myself a cup of tea." Hermione's curly head vannished and Ginny flew down and landed gracefully on the dewy green grass. She made her way to the kitchen door, stopping to put her broom away in the shed.

Swinging the kitchen door open, she saw Hermione in her dressing gown putting two cups out in front of the steaming kettle. "Do you think they'll let me come with you this afternoon when you fetch Harry?" enquired Ginny. "Actually I don't think they will, but it's really unfair, because I'm only a year younger than you and Ron."

Hermione shrugged. "You never know, but I also doubt it somehow," she said, pushing a stray lock of brown hair out of her face. "I suppose they're thinking in terms of you not being of age yet."

"Well neither is Harry, come to think of it," said Ginny, "And he's faced you-know-who more often than anyone of age I know. Luna and I were at the ministry too in our fourth year and did just as well as you lot, plus we fought duzzens of death eaters last term."

"Yes, I know it's not fair, but I wasn't the one who suggested you don't come, Gin, Calm down," Hermione turned around and leaned against the cupboard. "Maybe if you, I don't know, really stay on your mother's good side today she'll let you."

"Fat chance," snorted Ginny. "And even if she agrees, Dad won't let me, and if they both agree, then there are the rest of the order members to stop me. I mean, do you see Madeye inviting me along?"

"Well, not quite," admitted Hermione. "I suppose your mom would be expecting you to help tend anyone who got wounded when we get back anyway."

Ginny kicked at the table leg moodily. "It's going to be a drag at Hogwarts without any of you there."

"You'll still have Luna and Neville," said Hermione soothingly, "I suppose you'll be having a better time than we will be having."

"Easy for you to say," retorted Ginny. "you're the one going with them, while I have to sit in Hogwarts worrying myself sick about my ex-boyfriend, my best friend and my brother. It's not as easy as you might think."

"Well, I understand what you mean, I suppose," Hermione set a steaming cup of tea in front of Ginny, "I haven't looked at it in that way."

She moved around the kitchen table and sat herself across from Ginny, who was sipping at her tea in silence.

After a few minutes of this, Ginny finally spoke in an unsteady voice. "Um, Hermione, when you leave, ... I mean when you, Harry and Ron leave on your mission, please just ..." she trailed off.

"Yes?"

"Please just be as careful as you can be and please ... well ... look after Harry for me," finished Ginny, blushing slightly, yet looking Hermione straight in the face. "I know it sounds silly, but I just think he can be a little reckless at times, and frankly, I'm terrified of losing him."

Hermione got up and moved around the table to put a comforting arm around her. "I promise, Ginny, I'll do my best."

"Thanks," said Ginny. She laid her head on Hermione's shoulder and wondered if this would be the last time she would hug her friend.

Ginny was tired of living in fear, but knew it could only get worse. That afternoon, many of her family and friends would be putting their lives in danger. Soon enough, Harry, Ron and Hermione would be off on their mission and she would be far from home, dreading each owl that flew into the great hall at breakfast and hoping and praying that it wasn't for her, and if it was, that it wasn't bad news.

Yet, Ginny refused to let her tears fall, because she new she had to be strong. She had to be strong like Harry, Ron and Hermione, setting off on a terrifying journey, she had to be strong for her parents who were constantly worrying about her and she had to be strong for herself.

Ron had done something to the gool in the attic, making it freckly, red haired and pus juled, apparently resembling himself with spattergroit. No-one from the fallen ministry would dare come close to him, and it would be a good excuse for his absence at school.

Hermione had done memory charms on her own parents and made them forget their true identities and move to Australia, keeping them safe from Voldimort.

Harry was risking his life to protect the wizarding world.

She would have to play her part. She knew it was important to stay positive, so that when the time came to fight, she would be ready.

The day passed at breakneck spead and before Ginny knew it, she was restlessly pacing the kitchen, walking up and down the stairs and wondering the rooms of the Burrow, stopping at every window she passed to look out hopefully at the darkening sky. Everyone had left a few hours ago and Ginny, after many arguments with each individual member of the order, had reluctantly consented to stay at the Burrow with her mother.

Her mother was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at the clock. Ocasionally she would get up to make tea, or to fetch another healing potion to add to the many bottles lined up in front of her.

Ginny wondered where her friends were at that moment. Were they already on their way to the safehouses belonging to different members of the order? Were they perhaps already there on their way to a portkey? Were they in trouble? Unbidden images of flashes of green light and vivid pictures of falling friends filled her mind and it was all she could do to stay calm. She felt as if the house's walls were closing in on her.

When she couldn't bare being in the house anymore, she went out of the kitchen door to wait on the grass where everyone should be ariving.

The time ticked by and Ginny waited. She paced the little patch of grass a few times and finally settled on the steps. After a while she heard her mother exit the back door behind her and stand at the top of the steps.

A few minutes of bated breath passed, but to Ginny, it felt more like a few hours.

Her mother gave a cry and rushed down the steps. "A portkey!" Ginny hurriedly stood, only to see her mother returning with a worried expression.

"What's wrong? Whose portkey?" asked Ginny, as her stomach lurched uncomfortably. Mrs. Weasley pointed at a rusty oil can.

They settled back down on the steps and as the minutes ticked by, they kept glancing down at their watches.

After another hour of waiting, another portkey had appeared without passengers and Ginny felt the cold fingers of dread attempt to strangle her. Mrs. Weasley had hidden her face in her hands.

Suddenly, a blue blurr appeared and spun into sight. Harry and Hagrid landed on the grass and the silver hairbrush they were using as a portkey tumbled to the ground.

She rushed down the steps and could hear her mother give a cry of relief right behind her.

That night, Ginny lay in her bed thinking about the recent events. Bill, Fleur, Ron and Tonks were also safe, thank goodness, but the bad news had shocked them all. Mad- Eye had been killed.

Thinking about it made Ginny cringe. Since she could remember, he and her father had been friends and colleagues. She had met him in her fourth year when he joined the order. Of course, the imposter in her third year, couldn't count as a real encounter with him.

She had grown very fond of all the order members. Now Mad-eye had gone and Dung Fletcher had deserted him.

The fact that the death eaters knew of the plan was a cause for worry, as it ment that someone in the order must have let something slip, but, like Harry, Ginny couldn't bring herself to believe it of any of them.

Severus Snape had been the one who cursed George. She clenched her fists under the covers. She wondered if he'd dare show his face back in Hogwarts. No-one thought he would, but Ginny suspected that, with all the goings on lately, it would only be a matter of time before the ministry would be under Voldemort's control, and that would mean there would be absolutely no reason why Snape couldn't return to Hogwarts. Everything would be under the control of Voldemort and his death eaters. She shivered.

Before that happened, however, some positive things were on the horizon and Ginny would have to make the most of them so as to have something to hold on to when the summer came to an end.

Bill and Fleur's wedding was around the corner and Ginny suspected that her mother would put them all to work, helping to tidy the house, cooking, wrapping presents and doing anything that would keep them all firmly under her control.

When Ron had told her that he, Harry and Hermione would be leaving school, she had forbidden him to do anything of the sort, but Ron had argued with her, firmly sticking to his point, but trying to put it as gently as possible. The rest of the family had stayed deathly quiet on that evening as they listened to the strangely mature Ron reasoning with their increasingly histeric mother. Ginny had been shocked and upset, but had eventually decided, along with her father and the rest of the family, to support Ron in every possible way. The evening had culminated in her sobbing mother rushing from the room and another sleepless night in which Ginny, Fred and George hadn't even bothered going to bed.

The next morning, her mother had acted as if nothing had happened. She bustled around the house, ordering everyone around as usual, but Ginny had noticed how her eyes frequently flickered towards her children, Ron in particular.

From that day on, all of them had been kept busy with wedding arangements. Her mother went into denial, refusing to talk of anything but the wedding and even buying Ron's school books from Diagon alley along with Ginny's. But even so, there was a certain excitement in aranging something as joyous as a wedding in this troubled time. Ginny saw it as an act of rebellion against the terror being spread all over the country, as an act of defiance against the very existance of the darkness.

But first, Harry's birthday. She suddenly sat bolt upright in bed. What could she give him? She would have no opportunity of getting anywhere near Diagon Alley soon and her father had recently lectured them all on using the owl order services.

There had apparently been five reports in the last month alone of advertisement hoaxes in the Dayly Profit, offering products that could be ordered for delivery. Instead of delivering the products, however, the owls would deliver curses packaged in innocently disguised boxes.

Still, Ginny wanted to give him something that he could take with him on his journeys. Something that would remind him of her and make him smile if he was lonely. Something that would keep her, Ginny, firmly fixed in his mind, and she had to admit, something that might prevent him from forgetting her for another woman.

After several minutes of deliberation, she suddenly made up her mind what her gift to Harry would be. Lying back on her pillows, she closed her eyes and finally fell asleep with a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Her sleep, however, was permiated with bad dreams.