"Potter," Vernon spat. "Oh, we will not be allowing any of your kind into this house." The man began to open the door and corral the three Potters from his home, but Ginny was faster than he was.
"No!" Ginny half-screamed. She reached in front of Vernon and slammed the door shut. Anything could be out there at this point, waiting only for an open door to slaughter them. "Do not open that door, Vernon Dursley, or I swear I will cut off your—"
"Mum!" James started. Everyone snapped their haeads around to face James.
Petunia still stood on the stairs, and Vernon's feet were planted firmly on the ground front of Ginny, who had her wand out and was poised to cut off whatever limb of Vernon Dursley she'd planned on chopping. James stood to the side of his mother courageously, and Albus stood quietly in the background, the only one who hadn't said a word.
"Please, Uncle Vernon—can I call you that? Uncle Vernon?" James didn't bother to wait for an answer before he continued. "Your nephew Harry is my father, if you weren't aware. My mother has brought my brother and I here to ask for your hospitality."
"Hospitality," Vernon nearly laughed. "The Dursleys do not give hospitality to…to…people like you."
"Vernon," Petunia spoke up, "let the boy carry on."
Vernon gave Petunia a bewildered look, but, nonetheless, continued to allow James to speak. "If you would let my mum explain, I'm sure we could come to a negotiation," he concluded.
Ginny was speechless after this, even with the glares from Petunia and Vernon. She wasn't normally one to tolerate rudeness. "I…" she began. There was a long pause before Ginny sighed and said, "Please. I have nowhere else to take them. My brothers' homes are no longer safe, nor my parent's. Harry set out for a mission six months ago, and it's my turn to help him by playing a part in it." The Dursleys still looked as if they needed more convincing. "I don't know what else to say. I'm sorry. Harry and I should be back soon, but we can't risk our children's lives while we're gone. Please."
And then everything was silent.
The doorbell rang, making each of them jump and even producing a small yelp from Petunia. Ginny was the first to take a step toward the door. "Wands out, boys," she said, and then began to pull open the door cautiously.
"Mummy!" a small girl yelled from the doorstep. Ginny gasped and threw the door wide open.
There stood a young girl with bright red hair and stunning blue eyes. Lily. Next to her was a man with an unruly mop of black hair, a broken broomstick, and blood splattering his arm and face. "Ginny," he whispered, and fell face-first onto the Dursleys hallway floor.
Petunia screamed, Vernon backed up against the wall so as to avoid getting toppled over by the falling body, and James and Albus rushed forward.
"Stop!" Screeched Ginny, her wand still out and ready, "It looks like Harry, I know, but it may be a polyjuice potion. We have no way of telling unless questions get answered. Lily, step inside," she told her daughter. Lily closed the door behind her as she stepped over her father.
"Listen carefully, Lily," said Ginny, her wand pointed at her daughter, "I need you to think about this and answer with certainty. Do you understand?" The nine year old nodded her head slowly. "Do you remember that day last month that we went to the muggle zoo?" Lily nodded. "What was it that Daddy told you when we went to see the snake?"
Lily took a deep breath. "He told me, 'be careful around snakes, Lily. You never know which ones are the mean ones at first.' He told me the same goes for humans too."
Ginny let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "Thank you sweetheart," she said. Ginny pulled her daughter into a quick embrace and plopped a kiss on the top of her head.
Ginny then proceeded to motion her daughter out of the way and knelt on the ground next what she could assume was Harry. He laid flat on his stomach, arms at his side. His wand was in his left hand, his broom in his right. Ginny flipped him onto his stomach, pushed the hair back from his forehead, and checked for a scar.
Yes.
It was there.
But that didn't mean that Harry wasn't an imposter. It would be difficult to tell due to his unfortunate lack of consciousness, but Ginny had her ways.
"Mum, he has a wound in his leg too," Albus spoke for the first time, his voice small and wavering.
Ginny swore. "I don't have time to try to heal him myself or to even find out if it's really him," she said warily. "All of you stay here," she said to her children. And then she disapparated, taking Harry along with her.
