Disclaimer: Still not mine, this whole world came from the amazing brain of J.K
Mrs Weasley beckoned Harry and Ginny out of the room "Lets give her some space." she told them gently, they looked back at Ron who nodded. They got to their feet and left the room following Mr and Mrs Weasley down the stairs. Harry heard the door on the other side of the landing close quietly concealing Bill's dark room, George had slipped back in almost unnoticed.
In the kitchen, Mr Weasley turned on a lamp which emitted a warm glow that seemed oddly out of place before taking his seat at the table with Harry and Ginny. They all accepted the mugs of tea Mrs Weasley handed them and sat in silence for a minute or two.
"It's getting much worse again, we need to book her another appointment with her healer. Thats the second time this has happened since she arrived." Mrs Weasley said as she paced around the kitchen. "She wont go." Harry muttered rubbing his chin. Mrs Weasley let out an exasperated noise and ran her hands through her hair, stopping behind her husband's chair, and made to speak. Before she got the chance however, Mr Weasley spoke, calmly but firmly. "I think we all know what the real problem is," he sighed, "I don't suppose Kingsley's new auror office have found her parents yet?"
"Last time I spoke to him he had a group of aurors following a new lead somewhere in Perth. Apparently there's a couple called Wendell and Monica Wilkins working as dentists there." Harry said, and the people around him looked slightly relieved. He himself wasn't feeling very positive about the whole situation, somewhere in the back of his head a nagging voice reminded him of one possible problem; Hermione's memory charms were notoriously powerful. He couldn't let himself think like that though, the war was over. Hermione was going to get her parents back because after everything she had been through, she deserved it.
"I just don't understand, Hermione was always the one who kept everything together." Ginny spoke to her mug of tea as she chipped at the paint on the rim.
"Maybe it has something to do with the scar on her arm?" Mr Weasley suggested knowingly watching Harry and Ginny closely as they exchanged a dark glance.
They didn't realise Mr Weasley had ever seen the scar, he had never mentioned it before and Hermione kept it well hidden. But he and Mrs Weasley both knew that something had happened to her before they arrived at Shell Cottage all those months ago. Maybe Bill or Fleur had told him after Harry, Ron and Hermione had left.
"Well I'll get her an appointment at St. Mungo's tomorrow, we can't send her back of to Hogwarts in this state. Honestly I don't see why McGonagall didn't send her back here, she shouldn't be in school." Said Mrs Weasley
"They tried." Ginny told her, "She refused, said she had all ready missed a year of school and wasn't going to miss any more." That sounded more like the Hermione they all knew. Mrs Weasley made a disapproving sound but didn't press the subject any further. She had tried her best to stop Hermione going back to Hogwarts, and worried about her constantly ever since she did. She even visited her and Ginny every weekend and took food parcels to make sure they were eating enough for the first two months.
"I'll be booking appointments for you lot too." she said after a brief silence.
"What?" asked Ginny, sounding almost outraged.
"I had a letter from St. Mungo's last week, they wanted to know why you had missed so many of your appointments." Said Mrs Weasley with a knowing look at both Harry and Ginny in turn, "Well you better go back to bed, It's late. We can get the christmas decorations out of the shed later to put up on Christmas Eve, that might cheer everyone up a bit." Mrs Weasley ended the conversation with a forced smile, kissed Ginny on the forehead and watched them retreat back up the stairs, her eyes lingering on Harry's back.
Harry and Ginny paused outside her room, they could hear Ron talking quietly to Hermione inside. "Can I come up to your room? I don't think I should go back in yet." asked Ginny. "Sure, I wouldn't have been able to get back to sleep anyway." They climbed the stairs without speaking, past the closed door of Bill's room where George had been sleeping ever since he moved back to the Burrow, and sat down on Harry's camp bed with their backs against the wall.
"Don't you hate sleeping on a camp bed?" Ginny asked, wiggling on the bed as it screeched under her weight. "Yeah," Harry laughed, "I think I've had enough of anything camping related to last a lifetime."
"Sorry for waking you both up like that." Said Ginny.
"It's fine, I don't think Ron was asleep anyway. And I'm sorry for almost attacking you." Ginny laughed and shook her head. "Your Mum knows everything doesn't she?"
"Oh Harry," Ginny sighed, "It was always going to come out" she gave him a sympathetic smile "It's nothing to be ashamed of Harry, after everything you've been through-"
"After everything I've been through," Harry cut across, suddenly irritated, "I just want to get on with my life" Ginny closed her mouth and nodded, "Right, sorry."
"Are you ever going to tell me how that scar ended up on Hermione's arm?" she asked after a moment. Harry was silent, chewing the inside of his cheek and rubbing his chin in an attempt to calm down and trying to think of the best way to reply. He wanted to tell Ginny, but couldn't explain the scar without telling the whole story and he didn't think he was quite ready to relive it all yet.
Ginny sighed, "You know, it might help if you actually talked about it, falling asleep sitting up isn't exactly a good sign. You don't have to tell me, but someone-"
"Why? Has Healer Audire stopped all of your nightmares Ginny?" Harry's voiced was harsh and Ginny didn't miss the sarcasm. "Sorry." Harry said a second later, "I'm just tired."
Ginny nodded. "I can't believe Mum thinks Christmas decorations will help. We all know this is going to be a lousy Christmas." She said bitterly looking down at her hands laced in her lap.
"I'm sorry." Harry said quietly.
Ginny shook her self and wiped her cheek with her fist quickly. "Not your fault."
"Percy and Audrey arrive tomorrow, it's so weird to think Percy got married."
"Yeah."
The conversation died out and they sat in silence. After a while Ginny stood up and clambered into Ron's bed. "We might as well pretend to sleep, incase Mum comes to check on us." she said through a yawn and Harry nodded. He removed his glasses and lay down staring at the ceiling, doing his best to resist sleep as it tried to pull him under. But as the sound of Ginny's deep breathing filled the room and the door opened and closed quietly as Mrs Weasley checked on them, he felt his eye lids begin to close.
Then Harry was standing at the top at the staircase in Number 4 Privet Drive holding a note from Dumbledore telling him he would be coming round that evening to collect him and escort him to the Burrow for the remainder of his summer holidays. Harry looked up as Uncle Vernon opened the front door and Dumbledore walked in, "Judging by your look of stunned disbelief, Harry did not warn you that I was coming," His voice seemed to echo and Harry knew he had heard him say that before, "However, let us assume that you have invited me warmly into your house. It is unwise to linger overlong on doorsteps in these troubled times." Uncle Vernon closed the door behind him still looking shocked, and slightly angry. Dumbledore tipped his hat in the direction of the kitchen door, "Ah, and this must be Petunia."
Harry walked down the stairs so that he could see into the kitchen, and the door suddenly swung open, revealing not Petunia but Mad-Eye Moody and he hit his staff against the floor bellowing, "Hurry up boy, we haven't got all day!" Harry ran down the last few steps and along the corridor towards Moody, but as he ran the corridor changed and he was in Grimmauld Place. The portrait of Mrs. Black was screaming, "Murderer! Murder! Murderer in the Nobel House of Black!" and at the end of the corridor, Harry was running towards Sirius who seemed to be getting further away "You're not like your father at all, James would never have let so many innocent people die." He said before turning round and disappearing.
Then Harry stood in the Great Hall and it had been torn apart, light was flashing all around him as people battled. And Harry looked down and he saw Fred, then Lupin and Tonks, then Colin Creevy who was so tiny, and Lavender Brown and Dobby and Snape all lying there on stretchers. Dead.
Harry screamed and it mingled with the scream from his mother, and looked up to see Voldemort's red eyes glaring into his own. There was a flash of bright green light, and Harry sat up in his bed, sweat drenching his face and chest. Harry gasped for air for a few moments as he tried to control is breathing and suppress the need to retch and vomit that was building in his chest. "It was just a dream." he told himself firmly as he pushed his glasses back on. Harry looked around the room, Ron's bed was empty and neatly made up. He looked out the window and saw it was snowing lightly, the sun was only just starting to come up. He checked his watch, it was half past eight.
Resigned to the fact he would be going yet another day on insufficient sleep, Harry got out of bed and grabbed his towel, leaving the room for a shower.
When Harry arrived in the kitchen half an hour later he found Ron and Ginny at the table looking as exhausted as he felt. Mr Weasley had already left for work and George, as usual, was absent.
"Hermione's asleep." Ron said, piling bacon onto his plate. Harry nodded and sat down, filling his bowl with porridge. They chatted as they ate, about nothing in particular; How Ginny was finding school, how Hogwarts had changed, about the boy's Auror training programme. Anything to fill the dead silence of the house.
"Angelina will be round soon, trying to get George out of bed. Again." said Ron. The other two just nodded, they had reached an unwanted topic.
"We need to go to Diagon Alley today, Mum left us a list of jobs to do." Ron tried again. Good, Diagon Alley, a safe topic.
As they finished eating, Mrs Weasley entered from the living room. "Right, Hermione has an appointment at 1 o'clock, you could all take her then Ron can bring her back here afterwards and you two can go to Diagon Alley for me. I couldn't get you lot appointments until after Christmas, but I'll make sure you don't miss them. Oh this would be so much easier if they could only find her parents, poor girl." Said Mrs Weasley briskly and they all nodded at her orders, handing Ginny the shopping list. "Arthur said he would try and get hold of Kingsley at work today. He better be back at a reasonable time, I know they've still got a lot on, but it is almost Christmas." They all watched Mrs Weasley fussing round the kitchen, keeping herself busy, before getting to their feet. "Once your dressed, I need all of your help to get the house ready, Percy and Audrey get here this evening and everyone else will be arriving the day after tomorrow. You'll have to go into the village, to get the food on the list Ginny dear. I'd do that this morning, you two can clean out the chicken coup and the garden needs degnoming again."
Mrs Weasley set them all to work doing jobs. She was always keeping them busy. Harry suspected it was to try and keep their minds off 'other things'. That was Mrs Weasley's way of coping. But it worked for her and none of them wanted to start an argument. At least it got them all out of the gloomy house.
As Harry was filling the chicken coup with fresh straw, he saw Angelina walking down the snow covered track towards the house. She had visited the house at the same time every day to see George and try and drag him out of his bed. She managed to get him to join them all for lunch a week ago.
"Hi Harry." she said briskly as she approached him. She had an extremely determined expression. "Hi Angelina, are you coming round for Christmas on Friday?"
"Mum's making me stay until Christmas dinner, but I'll be round in the evening and I expect to see George downstairs wearing a christmas hat."
"That sound a bit optimistic." Angelina laughed and waved back at him as she continued towards the house.
After cleaning out the coup, Harry made up all the beds with Ron for everyone arriving at the Burrow that night then peeled potatoes for tea, and once Ginny returned from the shop, they degnomed the garden together. Hermione had been ordered by Mrs Weasley to stay in bed. As the last gnome was flung over the hedge, Harry bent over clutching a stitch in his side and gasping for breath. They were all covered in sweat, the freezing weather doing nothing to cool them down.
"We better stop now if we want to get to St Mungo's in time." Said Ginny
"I call first shower." Shouted Ron, and before the other two had the chance to stop him, he ran back into the house.
At half past twelve, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny gathered round the fire place now all showered and changed into clean clothing, complete with hats, scarves and gloves. "Cant have you catching a cold." Mrs Weasley had fussed as she forced a wooly hat onto Ron's protesting head. They took a handful of floo powder each from the pot on the mantle piece before dropping it into the grate in turn and shouting "St Mungo's" as the disappeared into the green flames. The waiting room was just as it had been when they visited Mr Weasley in their Christmas Holidays; thoroughly overcrowded and poorly decorated. Harry pushed his way towards the queue at the front desk, doing his best to keep his face hidden. He stood for what felt like hours when he finally reached the front of the line. "Oh My God! It's 'Arry Potter!" screeched the young woman from behind the desk, her hands flying up to cover her mouth in shock revealing garish bright red talons on all ten fingers, and Harry was thankful for all the noise in the waiting room because no one looked round. "Yeah, there's an appointment for Hermione Granger at one." he said tersely. "Right, well thats on the fourth floor, spell damage, Bryn Parry Ward Healer Foster." Harry nodded and returned to the group, "Your appointment is in the Bryn Parry Ward, with Healer Foster just like normal. Do you wan't us all to come with you?" Harry asked, Hermione looked very pale and she shook her head. "No, just Ginny."
"Ok we'll wait here for you." Ginny linked arms with her and Harry and Ron sat down as the girls disappeared into the crowd, hiding their faces slightly with their hands in an attempt not to be recognised.
"Ginny never goes in with her. Why did she want Ginny to go with her and not me?" Ron asked looking slightly peeved.
"I don't know, they're really close I mean they've always shared a room at the Burrow and I guess they spend a lot more time together at school now it's just them? They're both girls?" Suggested Harry. He was finding it hard to focus on what Ron was saying, the sheer number of people in the waiting room was making him nervous. He ran through the list of defensive spells in his mind and tried to calm his breathing down.
"Yeah I guess, but.."
"What? Are you guys together now?" Harry asked, momentarily distracted.
"Well not exactly, I mean I thought we were at the end of the battle," began Ron and Harry nodded, remembering their public displays of affection in the room of requirement. "But since then, I don't think she's even let me hold her hand."
"Sounds like she's gone off you mate."
"It's not funny Harry."
"No, I know, sorry. I'm sure she still likes you, I guess we'll just have to wait and find out what's going on."
"Yeah, I guess." Ron frowned, "What's going on with you and Ginny anyway? Nothing better have happened in my room last night."
"Absolutely nothing." said Harry "She's been sort of, distant ever since summer?" Harry sighed
"She's not the only one." Ron said looking sideways at Harry. "Have you told her about everything we did yet?"
"No." The anger that churned inside Harry like lava in a volcano started to simmer at Ron's accusation. Did he say Harry was distant?
"I think you should." Said Ron and Harry looked at him, nodding slightly to himself.
"Why is everything so complicated?"
"I have no idea."
Harry watched as a steady stream of people arrived through the glass. A young man arrived bent double in stitches of laughter as a woman, who Harry assumed was the man's girlfriend or wife, pushed him through the crowd, a gigantic elephant trunk sprouting from her face. She was bright red and seemed to be yelling abuse at her significant other. A man who was emitting an extremely high pitched siren noise whenever he opened his mouth was trying to push to the front or the queue at the desk. There was a young girl in a christmas cracker hat who seemed to be covered in dragon pox scars, playing with her siblings. In the chair opposite Harry, an elderly man had dozed off and seemed to be making noises like a sheep as he snored and the woman next to him looked like a cross between a human and an extravagantly decorated christmas tree.
After about an hour Ginny and Hermione made their way back to the boys who stretched and yawned as they got to their feet.
"Can we go back to the Burrow now? I don't want to talk about it." asked Hermione quickly before Ron had the chance to say anything. "Uh, sure. We'll see you two later." He said to Harry and Ginny as he walked away with Hermione.
"How was it?" Harry asked when the other two were out of sight, Ginny looked slightly sick.
"I'll let her tell you, she didn't want me to say. But I know how she got that scar now." Said Ginny, Harry cursed inwardly, "Right." He wondered how much she knew, Ron was right, he should have told her everything ages ago.
"Well we better get to Diagon Alley, your mum left us a long list."
When they reached to door of the Leakey Cauldron shivering slightly in the cold, Harry stopped. "Do you think we should put the cloak on? It'll be packed in there." Ginny smiled at him, "Harry it'll make shopping quite hard if we're invisible, you made it through St Mungo's, we don't have to stop and chat to anyone. Come on." She opened the door and they stepped into the warmth, wiping the snow of their shoes on the mat. The pub was crowded with Witches and Wizards doing last minute Christmas shopping and Tom the bartender was happily serving his regulars at the bar. The last time they had been in the Leakey Cauldron it had been deserted. Harry and Ginny had made it halfway through the busy pub when they heard someone call "Harry Potter?!" They froze for a moment as the name travelled throughout the room. Ginny was about to turn around as a cloak was flung over her head, "Walk, quickly, come on." whispered Harry. They continued walking in between the tables as people continued to look around muttering Harry's name.
"Sorry, I forgot what it was like." sighed Ginny as she shrugged the cloak of in the backyard in front of the brick wall. "At least we made it through alive." Replied Harry before taking out his wand and tapping a brick, revealing the hidden street to them.
Harry's eyes travelled up and down the street that had been his first real taste of the magical world as they stood frozen. at the entrance "Wow." said Ginny quietly, Harry nodded slowly and stepped forwards. Without the fairy lights and the bunting and everything else that had been set up for the presentation of the Medals for Bravery in the summer the last time they had been there, Diagon Alley looked very different. Although it was a bright, crisp day and a thin layer of snow lay on top of everything, the street seemed dull and grey. Sugarplums Sweetshop was deserted and the windows of Gambol and Japes joke shop were still boarded over. Most of the other shops were open for business but repairs still seemed to be going on up and down the street. There were wizards working on the roof of Potage's cauldron shop. The continued down the empty street. Eyelop's Owl Emporium was open, but Harry didn't think he had ever seen it with less owls. Quality Quidditch Supplies was restocking and the front of Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment looked like it had been patched together in a hurry, the door hanging pathetically from a single hinge. To Harry amazement, a group of builders stood outside Ollivander's, painting the window frames and the sign above the door with their wands, Ollivander himself was stacking the empty shelves, his eyes still sunken but healthier than he had looked last time they had met.
"Why has it taken so long to get everything fixed?" Harry asked Ginny.
"I think most people were scared to go back into business at first. And I guess not all the shops had owners until recently."
Harry looked past the Apothecary, Flourish and Blotts, Slug and Jigger's and the Magical Menagerie, they walked quickly past Weasley's Wizard Wheezes not daring to stop and take in the boarded up windows, up to Gringotts Wizarding Bank.
Harry noticed the glass dome that was smashed by the dragon had been repaired, and was even more relieved to see the wizards that stood with their probity probes had vacated the entrance to the bank and been replaced by a pair of stern looking goblins. Harry and Ginny removed the invisibility cloak and walked up the front steps and under the arch bearing the warning Harry, Ron and Hermione had all ignored mere months ago;
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn,
So if you seek beneath our floor
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more then treasure there.
As they walked up to the front desk, the goblins on either side glared at them making them cringe slightly. Ginny stepped up to the goblin behind the counter and coughed quietly,
"We came to withdraw money from both the Weasley and Potter vaults." The goblin looked up at the latter name and his eyes fell on Harry's scar.
"Does Mr Potter have is key? Or was he planning on plundering whatever takes his fancy?" asked the goblin.
Harry the anger inside him start to simmer again, "I have my key." He spat.
"Very well," he said grudgingly, "follow me."
Harry gritted his teeth throughout the break-neck journey. The feeling of being trapped underground in the dark was making him very uncomfortable. When they finally stopped outside Harry's vault and opened the door, Harry saw that the contents had been easily doubled since his last visit.
"Where'd all this come from?" he asked Ginny, shocked.
"You inherited the Black's family fortune from Sirius remember?" she said squeezing his arm and pushing him forward.
Harry filled his money bag haphazardly and rushed Ginny back into the cart, definitely feeling sick at this point. He kept his eyes closed until they had returned to the main building, practically gasping for fresh air.
"I still need to get Hermione's present, so lets head to Flourish and Blotts." said Ginny as they stepped back onto the snow covered street which was now blindingly bright after the dark underground vaults. If she had any idea how Harry was feeling she was ignoring it and he couldn't decide if it made him feel grateful or annoyed. She always had to cope with everything so well he though to himself as he watched her stride confidently in front of him, her red hair dancing behind her. Harry followed her to the shop looking round warily at everyone who passed them. In the shop they wandered down the rows of books, not really sure what they were looking for. It was quiet and warm in Flourish and Blotts and Harry thought he understood why Hermione's refuge had been the Library. When they reached the transfiguration section a book caught Harry's eye. He lifted it down from the shelf and flipped it over to read the back.
"Are you really thinking of doing it? Becoming an Animagus?" Ginny asked looking at the book in Harry's hand.
"Yes." said Harry firmly "But I think I'll do it legally."
Ginny nodded, "I expect Ron would do it with you if you asked."
"I all ready have."
"Oh." said Ginny sounding a little put out, she sighed then smiled at Harry and pushed past the rest of the transfiguration books stopping in front of a shelf full of colourfully bound novels. "Maybe I shouldn't get her a book, she's probably read them all."
"Probably." Harry laughed.
He paid for his book at the counter and followed Ginny out into the snow. "Where next?" he asked as Ginny checked her mother's list then looked up and down the street. "Lets go to the Apothecary." But they had barely taken ten steps in the direction of the shop, when all of a sudden, cameras flashes started going off around them people started calling out Harry's name. A pack of journalist seemed to appear out of nowhere and hounded the two of them with questions.
"Who's the lucky lady Harry?"
"How do you feel about managing to find love after everything you've been through?"
"Are the rumors true? Is she just a rebound after a failed romance with Ms Granger?"
"Doesn't young lady somewhat resembles your mother, do you not think that's slightly twisted?"
"No comment." Harry said calmly, his blood boiling as he grabbed Ginny's arm and pushed through crowd, inwardly cursing that they hadn't put the cloak back on after they left Gringotts. He pulled Ginny into the Apothecary and pushed the door shut firmly behind them.
"I'm so sorry ab-" Harry began slightly out of breath as Ginny wrenched her arm from his grip."I can handle myself Harry, you didn't have to drag me like a little kid." she pulled her hair away from her flushed face glaring at him.
"Ginny, what?" Harry stuttered, "I'm sorry, I just didn't want to loose you in the crowd." He was baffled by her sudden anger. Their was silence for a moment as their heavy breathing subsided, "Let's just get what's on the list." said Ginny walking away through the shop.
Harry didn't understand what had just happened, they had been ambushed by reporters and Harry had just tried to get them out safely, why was Ginny so angry? She had been angry at Harry a lot since the summer holidays and he didn't really know why.
Maybe Ron was right, he thought again, maybe he needed to tell her everything that had happened.
Authors Note: It took me a long time to get back to writing this story and it has changed a lot in my head since I started it. Please let me know what you think. Reviews are always welcome! :D