Author's note:

It all belongs to JKR. I own nothing.

One of my betaed chapters. Thank you Strangeways

"Well, that was a bit stupid of you," said Ginny angrily, "seeing as you don't know anyone but me who's been possessed by You-Know-Who, and I can tell you how it feels."

Harry remained quite still as the impact of these words hit him. Then he wheeled around. "I forgot," he said.

"Lucky you," said Ginny coolly.

OotP pg 499-500

Children of Fire Saga

Book 1: Death's Daughter

Chapter 1

A Bit Stupid

"Well, that was a bit stupid of you," said Ginny angrily, "seeing as you don't know anyone but me who's been possessed by Tom, and I can tell you how it feels." Harry remained quite still as the impact of her words hit him. What followed though was far worse. "You forgot, didn't you?" she accused. Harry cringed, feeling as if she had physically struck him.

He turned to face her. "I'm sorry," he said painfully.

"You should be," she said icily. Harry swallowed thickly over the lump in his throat and not even Ron dared say anything in the oppressive silence that descended on the room. Uncomfortable as it was, Ginny's next words seemed to wash over Harry much like a Dementor's chill. "Can you remember everything you've been doing?" Not daring to speak he gave an almost imperceptible nod. "Are there big blank periods where you don't know what you've been up to?"

"No," Harry whispered.

"Then Tom hasn't ever possessed you," Ginny said before she turned from him as if he were so much dirt and exited the room.

It was a half moment before Hermione was moving to follow her. She paused in the doorway, turning back. "Sometimes, Harry," she said, "you might do well to realize that not everything that happens, happens to you alone … and even if it does, that doesn't mean it's always about you."

"Hermione," Ron called when she turned to go after Ginny again, "come on –"

"Leave it, Ron," Harry cut him off wearily.

"But –"

"No, mate," Harry said, "I appreciate it, but if there was ever a time I deserved to be told off like that or the way I feel right now, this is it."

"Come on, Harry, it's not your fault you forgot. Heck, I forget half the time and I'm her brother for Merlin's sake."

Harry considered his friend for a few seconds before replying. "Yeah, well I'm not." He shoved himself off the bed and made for the door, ignoring Ron calling after him as he did.

It was much later that same night, so late in fact that it was actually early, that Harry quietly moved down the stairs of his godfather's ancestral home. It was yet another rough night among the many of Harry's young life. Though this time he could only wish the reason for it had been his seemingly never-ending procession of nightmares. No, this time it was the dawning realization of just how badly he had disappointed and hurt someone he considered a friend. Only a few hours ago, he would have believed it impossible to feel more wretched than when he'd thought he was being possessed and responsible for the attack on Mr. Weasley. Now though, he was painfully forced to admit to feeling much worse. And there was nothing for it but to accept he was a complete and utter arse and deserved every bit of remorse and guilt he was currently suffering.

The hours he had spent since leaving Ron earlier that night reviewing his relationship with one Ginny Weasley were anything but kind. Sure, he couldn't deny that he had gone into the Chamber of Secrets for her. Possibly, once he knew it was Ginny who had been taken, doing something to help had become more urgent in his mind. But the reality was it wouldn't have mattered who Riddle had taken down there. Harry knew he'd have gone after pretty much anyone; Malfoy 'Ferret Boy' Draco included. Maybe not now, but back in second year, even him. And once Harry acknowledged that fact, he really couldn't give himself credit for thinking about Ginny as an individual even then. She was just someone who needed help. He'd been in position to save her and he'd done it.

Worse though, came after the Chamber. For Merlin's sake he'd never once thought to ask her how she was doing. Exactly what kind of friend was that? Not a good one at all he decided. He'd examined every interaction he could remember having had with her. He knew that he must have passed her by in the halls of Hogwarts or the common room of Gryffindor tower hundreds, if not thousands, of times and for the few times they had ever exchanged hellos or a smile or a nod of acknowledgment he had never been first. It was always her. There was just nothing at all to make him feel good about his relationship with Ginny.

The thing was, despite having basically never treated her with anything but indifference, he found when he really looked inside himself he was actually quite aware of Ginny Weasley. His ruminations had brought forth the concept that even if he didn't really acknowledge her being there; he usually knew she was in the same room as him before he actually even saw her. Equally curious: he also seemed to realize when she wasn't there. And he knew a fair few things about her too.

She was tough, and appeared to be pretty much fearless. He knew it was her who had levitated a niffler through the window of her Umbridge's office a few weeks back. Talk about nerve! He was more than certain that was a prank he wouldn't dare. He knew her laugh and he knew her 'don't mess with me' voice. A night spent sitting on the roof of The Burrow after one his nightmares had given him the knowledge that she snuck out at night to break into the family broom shed and sneak rides on her brothers' brooms. He'd known she was a rather good flier long before she joined the Gryffindor team as a backup Chaser and Seeker this year.

The most confusing though, without a doubt had come from a rather embarrassing incident at the Quidditch World Cup where he'd accidentally used her shampoo. He of course, had taken more than a fair bit of ribbing from, well, pretty much everyone but Mr. Weasley and Ginny herself. Even Hermione had had a go at him. But forget about any of that, what exactly did it mean when you knew someone's scent?

To be certain cinnamon and vanilla were a thoroughly enjoyable combination. But once it had settled in his mind an hour or so ago it was irritatingly intriguing. Cinnamon seemed to fit naturally. But vanilla? Apparently red hair did not automatically mean you would smell of strawberries or perhaps even raspberries. Compounding his confusion even more was Cho: she had claimed far more of his attention and time than Ginny ever had and he couldn't guess as to what scent she smelled of. Feeling rather uneasy with that train of thought Harry had set it aside for later examination.

All of this wasn't to say Ginny had been the greatest friend to him. But whose fault was that? Sure she'd had a crush on him. And given how uncomfortable his crush on Cho Chang made him around her, Harry could only imagine how his discomfort with Ginny's crush had made her feel. Confusingly wet kiss aside, at least Cho had returned some of his feelings. He'd have felt beyond terrible with himself if Cho had ignored him as he had Ginny. It had all just been one big mess of … uncomfortable. But now, now she seemed to be well over that. Very quietly she had pretty much been around the whole year. She'd even been there during the bloody tournament the year before. She'd never come out and told him directly, but looking back, he knew for a fact that she never once believed he had actually put his name in the cup. Of course that only made him feel even worse. He and Ron may have worked out their differences during the tournament, but it didn't change the fact that his best mate had turned on him while some girl he'd barely given a thought to believed in him the whole time. To his knowledge there was never one point in the entire time he'd known Ginny Weasley that she wasn't quietly there in his corner. Well, except that one time in Flourish and Blotts where she'd told off Malfoy for him. That had most certainly not been quiet. In his corner, yes; quiet? Decidedly not.

So what did it all mean? Was it his fault or hers they weren't better friends? Both perhaps, but the vast majority his, he'd concluded. It was all very confusing and he didn't know what to do with any of it. The only thing he did know for certain about his relationship with Ginny was that if he really thought she was his friend – and he did – then for him to have forgotten what happened to her in the Chamber of Secrets was as close to unforgivable as there could probably be, and that if – by some miracle – she wasn't completely shot of him, he needed to be a far better friend to her than he had been.

And so it was, with all of that jumbled up in his ever crowded and confused head that Harry stumbled into the parlor and came face to back of head with the object of his difficulties. For a few minutes all he did was stand and stare, slowly becoming aware of her quiet sniffs and, as she periodically would wipe at her cheeks with the back of her hand, what had to be silent tears. Hermione might have let him have it earlier that evening for making everything about himself, but thick as he was he knew only a miracle would have him not being the cause of Ginny's current distress. The empty sick feeling gnawing at his gut since last hearing Ginny's voice ripped open raw and gaping. For a few moments, even just breathing became difficult. His legs nearly gave out and he sagged against the doorframe to keep from falling as the full weight of what he'd done impacted him.

Everything that had nearly killed her he'd repeated. He'd ignored her. He hadn't noticed or cared enough to see her pain. He'd made her feel worthless. And it all led to her falling under the spell of Riddle's diary. Had it all been his fault? No. But he'd been a contributing factor. And he'd learned nothing from it. For nearly three full years after pulling her out of the Chamber of Secrets, he'd ignored her. He'd not once considered how she'd been affected or the pain she had felt. Riddle had told her she was worthless, that no one would even care that she had died. By forgetting what had happened to her, Harry realized he could only have confirmed for her that he found her to be worthless too. It took him nearly a full minute to recover and thankfully, once he had, she was still unaware of him.

Steeling himself, Harry entered the room.

Author's note:

Hopefully an acceptable begining.