Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of JK Rowling. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter Two
The entire bottom floor of The Burrow was littered with wedding debris; fabric samples, magazines with various hairstyles and wedding gowns, flowers, ribbons, and candles occupied every bit of empty space to be found. Mrs. Weasley was almost at her wits end. She certainly wasn't used to her home looking like this, and kept muttering the date of the wedding to herself, in the attempt to remind herself that things would be back to normal soon.
As if anyone could forget the day of the wedding. Fleur had transfigured a blanket into a wall-sized calendar, complete with a colour-coded schedule of fittings, meetings and rehearsals. Ginny had already been to three dress fittings in the last week. Fleur was torn between two different bridesmaid dresses, and just couldn't decide which one she liked better. Since her sister Gabrielle was still attending school, Ginny got to be the dress guinea pig. Both were made of golden fabric, and while both were beautiful, one was a bit low cut for Mrs. Weasley's taste.
Harry had been at the Burrow for just a few days, and for the first time, he was wishing he were anywhere but there. If the wedding ruckus wasn't enough, Harry was crushed by the reception he'd gotten upon arriving. Molly Weasley, as always, had welcomed him with open arms, as did the rest of the family. Ginny, however, did not. She was happy enough to see Ron of course, and Hermione too, but when it came time for her to greet Harry, she nodded coolly at him, and went up the stairs to her room. Hermione glared at Harry, and followed Ginny. Ron gave him a sympathetic shrug and helped him get his trunk up the stairs.
Harry knew in the back of his mind that Ginny would be angry with him. After all, she wasn't some shrinking violet, willing to be hidden away for her safety. She was Ginny Weasley, the girl who'd been possessed by Voldemort for a year and had survived; the girl who told Harry in no uncertain terms that she would be going with him to the Department of Mysteries to help rescue Sirius; definitely not the type of girl one would shunt away for safety's sake. She was one of the strongest people Harry knew.
He just didn't want her to get hurt, or worse yet, killed. When Harry James Potter looked back on the people in his life, it seemed that the ones he loved the most were the ones who were taken from him by Voldemort, and he didn't want Ginny to be included in that category. Hence the break up at the end of term. It's not that he doubted Ginny's ability to defend herself; he doubted Voldemort's ability to leave her alone. Harry wouldn't have been surprised to find out that Voldemort already knew about Ginny from Snape, and in his mind, all the ammunition to bring him down was wrapped up in a petite package topped off by long red hair and freckles.
The more he thought about Ginny's greeting, the more irritated he became. No, he hadn't expected her to fly into his arms and hug him, but she could've at least said 'Hello Harry, nice to see you,' or something of that nature. A cold shoulder from Ginny was pretty much sub-arctic in temperature, and he didn't like the feeling.
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The third day of July found Harry and Ron de-gnoming the garden in the hot summer sun. Harry had wondered why Mrs. Weasley had them working on this project today; there were still nine days before the wedding, and he knew from previous experience that the ugly little garden gnomes would find their way back into the Burrow's gardens long before the day of the wedding.
They'd been at it for about two hours when Hermione came out of the house bearing a pitcher of ice cold pumpkin juice and some glasses. Ron had seen her walking toward them and a slow grin crossed his face.
"Hermione, you're the best."
She blushed faintly, and set the glasses on the garden wall. After pouring drinks for both boys, she motioned for them to join her in the shade of an old elm tree. "Are you done out here yet? Mrs. Weasley wanted the two of you to get the boxes out of Fred and George's old room and take the up to the attic." Ron grimaced as he gulped down his pumpkin juice, and Harry just chuckled. The boxes mostly contained old prototypes for the twins joke shop. While the items in the boxes most likely weren't lethal, there could be some interesting accidents if the boxes were dropped while on their way to the attic. Harry wouldn't have put it past the twins to make sure the boxes were charmed so that the carrier would drop them and set off whatever was inside.
Hermione gave Harry an appraising look. "So, have you talked to Ginny at all since we've gotten here?"
Harry sighed internally. He knew that Hermione had been dying to discuss the whole situation since she'd found out that he'd broken up with Ginny at the funeral. Uncharacteristically, she'd not broached the topic yet, and Harry had been waiting for her to come down on him with a vengeance.
"No, we haven't talked. She won't stay in a room with me for more than two seconds. She glares, and then leaves. I get the feeling that she really doesn't want to speak to me," he said ruefully.
Ron snorted and rolled his eyes. "You're lucky she's leaving the room, otherwise I think we'd be removing a Bat-Bogey hex from you."
"If I'd remove it," Hermione stated with a huff. "You'd deserve it, you know. I'm surprised she hasn't gotten you yet, underage magic or not."
Harry frowned at his bushy haired friend. "Hermione, you know why I broke up with her. I can't have her getting hurt. It would kill me. If we're not together, she's safe, and I can do what I have to do."
Ron looked at Harry for a moment, squinting into the sun. "Mate, I want to keep her as safe as you do, but do you honestly think that she's better off without you? I mean, yeah, she won't be with us, but do you think You-Know-Who is gonna leave my family alone? Not only have the lot of us shown that we're a bunch of blood traitors, we've publicly sided with you and Dumbledore"
Hermione looked at Ron in surprise. "I thought for sure you'd be in agreement with Harry on this. That was almost…"
"Grown up? Mature even," Ron said with a grin. "I might be a bit thick, but even I can see the big picture here." He looked at Harry again. "Harry, she made you happy, that much was obvious. And it's been a long time since I've seen you that happy. I have to be realistic about all of this. Except for The Git, my whole family is involved in this war. It's unlikely that we're going to come out of this without losing one of us. I mean, look at Mum's clock. According to it, we've all been in 'Mortal Peril' for a while now, Ginny included. Her hand didn't move to there when you started dating, it was already there."
Harry pulled his knees up to his chest. He knew that Ron had a valid point, but his mind was warring with his heart. It was true that Ginny had made him happy; happier that he'd been in a long time as a matter of fact. His heart didn't want to give that up. His head told him that she'd be in danger if she were with him, and no amount happiness was worth Ginny's life.
Ron and Hermione watched as Harry battled with himself. Hermione's mind was racing with all the arguments that she could supply as to why Harry and Ginny belonged together, but Ron trumped every argument that she could come up with. "Harry, didn't Dumbledore tell you that the power you had was love? Shouldn't you grab onto that while you've got it?"
Hermione gave Ron a dazzling smile and pulled him into her arms. "Well done, Ron," she whispered into his ear, causing his grin to widen and his blush to deepen.
Harry's head had snapped up at Ron's statement. He looked as if someone had punched him in the gut. "Ron, she's your sister. Don't you want her to be safe? She can't be safe with me, you know that!"
"Mate, I know that you're worried about her. Ginny can take care of herself though."
"Ron's right Harry. You've got to let her make the decision to be with you. She knows the risks and the danger; we all do. She has the right to make that choice, and you've made it for her instead."
Harry's shoulders slumped down in defeat. He knew that his friends were right. He just couldn't bring himself to admit it though. His heart ached at the thought of anything happening to Ginny. "What if we're attacked or something though, and I can't protect her? Who's to blame if something like that happens? Me, that's who. It will be my fault, and I can't live with that."
"Harry, it wouldn't be anyone's fault except Voldemort, and you know that. It's been his fault all along. Every death has been his fault and no one else." Hermione was becoming more agitated. Ron put a calming hand on her shoulder.
"Harry, you'd rather die than anything happen to any of us. We all know that. But what you've not gotten through your head is that we'd- me, Hermione and my family- would rather die than have anything happen to you. Not because of the bloody prophecy, but because you're our friend."
Harry got up and started walking toward the pond. He had never been one to show much emotion, and the conversation had taken a turn that scared him. He was close to losing his iron grip on his emotions, and he couldn't do that in front of his friends. The only person to really see him like that had been Ginny, and he was fairly certain that she wouldn't want to talk to him right now. He let his feet lead him on, not really paying attention to where he was going.
He passed the pond, and walked slowly toward the small orchard at the back of the Weasley's property. His mind was so full of thoughts, that at first he didn't hear the voice that called to him.
"You might want to watch where you're going. You're about to run into a tree."
Harry jerked his head up and narrowly avoided the apple tree he'd been headed for. He hadn't heard her voice in almost a month, and all it did at this point in time was make the monster in his chest whimper in pain. "Hey Gin," he mumbled without even looking up.
She was sitting in one of the apple trees, a book in her lap. Her hair had been plaited, and the braid was hanging over her shoulder. She had on a purple 'Weird Sisters' t-shirt and shorts. She regarded him coolly for a moment, closed her book, then jumped down from the low branch she'd been sitting on.
"I'm going to hate myself for asking this, but what's wrong? You look like someone just kicked you."
Harry bristled at her comment. Since when did she act like this? 'Since you broke up with her, you prat.'
"I'm fine."
Ginny rolled her eyes at him. "And there it is, the patented Harry Potter catch-all answer. 'I'm fine.' No you're not fine. I've watched you long enough to be able to read you like a book. I know there's something wrong."
"Okay, I'm not fine. I've just had Ron and Hermione telling me what a complete idiot I am for breaking up with you. Happy now?"
Ginny was momentarily stunned. She'd expected Hermione to argue with Harry on her behalf, but not Ron. She chewed on her bottom lip as she digested this information. Harry watched her, wondering if he should try to take her wand from her now, or just wait for the hex to come.
"Well, they're right you know," she finally said. "You didn't even give me the choice to worry about my own safety. You arbitrarily decided for the both of us. You know I can take care of myself."
"I know that Gin, believe me I know. I just couldn't live with myself if you got hurt. People have died because they're close to me. I don't want that to happen to you to!" Harry had started pacing. His temper was quickly getting the better of him, but he just couldn't keep it in any longer. The stress of the last few weeks had finally caught up, and he was ready to explode.
"No one died because they were close to you. The died because of Voldemort or one of his lackeys. Never because of you," she yelled right back at him. If he was looking for a fight, he'd picked the perfect person to have one with. Ginny had been waiting for this confrontation since the three of them had arrived earlier in the week.
"Yes they did Gin! Sure, Voldemort is involved, but don't you see? If they hadn't known me, they wouldn't have been such targets! My parents, Sirius, and now Dumbledore. If none of them had known me, they'd still be here."
"You don't know that! You're living your life based on a bunch of maybes. Sure, your parents might be alive if they'd never had you, but what would their lives be like? Sirius might be alive, but you don't know that. Same for Dumbledore. They were all involved in the first war. They all could've been killed at any time!" Her hair had started to come loose from its braid, and her face was flushed in anger. Harry thought she was beautiful, but he wasn't going to be distracted.
"Don't you think your parents were happy to have you in their lives, even if it was for just a short time? Don't you think that Sirius was happy to be there for you? Bloody hell, he broke out of Azkaban because you were in danger! And Dumbledore was the closest thing you could have as a grandfather. Don't you think that they were all happy that they'd gotten to know you, for whatever time they'd been given?"
"That may be, but the fact still remains that they're all dead, and I don't want that to happen to you too!" Harry grabbed Ginny by her shoulders and his voice dropped to a whisper. "I love you Gin, and I couldn't go on if you died, don't you understand?"
Tears filled her eyes as she stared at him. He'd never told her he loved her before. She knew that he cared for her, but had no idea how deeply his feelings ran. Now she knew, and the pain in his eyes was breaking her heart. A sob escaped her lips, and he let go of her in shock. She took a few steps backward, then turned and ran for the house.
Harry swore and punched the nearest tree. He hadn't wanted to tell Ginny that he loved her, but his emotions had gotten the best of him once again. 'Bloody hell, I've screwed this all up but good.' He sank to the ground and leaned against the tree, dropping his head in his hands.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Two days later, nothing had been resolved with Ginny. She'd gone back to avoiding him as much as possible, and Harry was almost grateful for it. The only problem was that the tension between the two was palpable, like a fog rolling across the countryside.
Saturday found Harry, Ron and Hermione enjoying a rare break from all of the wedding madness. They were currently ensconced in Ron's room, carefully going over the notes Hermione had made from all of their research.
"Okay, lets start at the top once again. The Horcruxes are the cup, the ring, the locket, the diary, the snake, something of either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, and Voldemort himself. The ring and the diary have been destroyed. We also know that the locket you and Dumbledore found was a fake, and that the real locket was taken by someone with the initials R.A.B."
Harry took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He was starting to get a headache, and re-hashing everything that they knew was a sure way to make it worse. "Yes, that's what we know so far."
"Ron, have you found any mention of Hufflepuff's cup in those books I gave you?"
"No 'Mione. Only that the last known owner was Hepzibah Smith. There's no mention anywhere of what happened to the cup after her death."
"Hermione, are there old student lists for Hogwarts that we can look at? I mean, I don't think this R.A.B. person would've been anyone famous. And most likely, he would've got to Hogwarts at some point, even if he didn't finish school."
"There may be some old student lists in the library at school Harry. I can owl Professor McGonagall and see if she might let me look at them soon. I'll just have to figure out a reason that I need to see them."
Just then, an scream echoed up the stairwell from the kitchen. The trio immediately grabbed their wands and went running, thundering down the stairs as they went. They were met by a grim-faced Ginny on the third landing. Harry gave her a weak grin, and gestured for her to follow them.
The sight that met their eyes at the bottom of the stairs made the four of them stop in their tracks. Mrs. Weasley was sobbing her heart out, clutching the stiff form of her third son to her in a crushing hug. Percy looked as if the air was slowly being squeezed out of him.
He'd been estranged from the family since the beginning of Harry's fifth year when the then Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, had refused to believe that Voldemort had returned. Percy had gone so far as to write a letter to Ron, cautioning him that Harry was unbalanced and likely to snap and could be a danger to the youngest Weasley son. Once Harry had been proven right by the appearance of Voldemort in the Ministry in May, Fudge had resigned his office. Percy however had yet to make amends with his family. He'd accompanied the current Minister, Rufus Scrimgeour to the Weasley home over the Christmas holidays, but that was only a ruse so the Minister would be able to proposition Harry to become the Minister's poster boy in the fight against Voldemort.
Hermione quietly went to the fireplace and placed Floo calls to Mr. Weasley and the twins. Bill and Fleur were standing in the doorway to the living room, their arms around each other. Bill looked angry, and Fleur was obviously trying to restrain him.
Percy had finally hugged his mother back, and was now hanging on as if his life depended on it. The fireplace roared to life, and Mr. Weasley and the twins emerged taking in the scene in front of them.
"Oh Percy, I'm so glad you've come home," sobbed Mrs. Weasley.
Mr. Weasley stared at his third oldest child. He didn't really trust Percy, and with good reason. "What are you doing here?"
"Arthur! He's finally come home to us, can't you just…"
"No Molly, I can't. I want to know why he's come home," Mr. Weasley stated firmly with a hint of steel in his voice.
The rest of the assembled Weasleys, Harry and Hermione looked at Mr. Weasley with shock apparent on their faces. Arthur Weasley was known as a kind, easy going man, who had a strange affection for all things Muggle. The hardness on his face, and the tone of his voice immediately left no doubt in anyone's mind that despite his reputation, Arthur Weasley was not a person to mess with.
"Our son couldn't be bothered to come and see me in the hospital when I'd been attacked. He couldn't be bothered to visit his brothers and sister when they've been injured in the recent past either. He couldn't' even be bothered to come to his own brother's wedding. And I don't recall ever hearing an apology from him either. He's caused us enough pain in the last few years. I'm not going to let him come waltzing in without some sort of explanation."
Percy blushed furiously beneath his horn-rimmed glasses, but stood his ground. He pulled himself to his full height, and held his head high. "There's a young wizard who works in my office. He's been there for a few months now, and a nicer bloke you'll never find. He, his wife and small child had all been living with his parents until they were able to buy a home of their own. He received an urgent message at work yesterday that said that he needed to go home. I went with him, in the event that he needed help." Here, Percy shuddered and tried to keep his emotions under control so he could finish.
"Mother, Father… I've never seen such destruction. When we arrived, the Dark Mark was over his parents house. We went inside, and the whole place was torn up. There was blood everywhere. His parents, wife and child had all been tortured and then killed." Percy gulped, and the tears welled up in his eyes. He'd never seen anything like that, and never wanted to again. He knew that the sight of that family would haunt his dreams for many nights to come.
"I kept thinking, what if that would have been me? What if I'd gotten the message? What if it had been the Burrow with the Dark Mark over it? What if I had walked in here only to find all of you dead?"
At this, Percy completely broke down. He sank down onto the bench where he'd had so many meals throughout his life, and sobbed. Molly Weasley, who had tears of her own streaming down her face, went to her son's side, embraced him and whispered small comforts into his hair. Arthur Weasley's face lost some of its hardness as he realized that his third eldest son had been touched by the war that he and his wife had tried so vainly to keep away from their children. Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Harry all looked at one another. By silent communication, they came to the mutual agreement that for the time being, Percy was off limits to all forms of retribution.
Percy regained some control and pulled away from his mother. He stood up and faced his parents. "I'm so sorry for all I've done. I let my pride and my ambition get in the way of what is truly important. I should have apologized when You-Know-Who showed up at the Ministry. It was so hard to do that though. I had been so sure that I was right, and the Ministry was right, and that Dumbledore was two cans short of a picnic. But then there He was, in the middle of the Atrium at the Ministry. I knew I needed to apologize, but the longer I put it off, the more difficult actually doing it became. Mum, Dad? Please forgive me."
With a sob, Mrs. Weasley launched herself at her son and began to hug the life out of him. Mr. Weasley walked over and clapped Percy on his shoulder. "We forgive you son. Welcome home."
After some gentle prodding from her husband and some gasping from her son, Mrs. Weasley released her son. Percy turned to face the rest of the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione. "I know I'm going to get pranked. I'll take it, I deserve it. Harry, I wanted to apologize to you especially. I believed, along with the majority of the population the tripe that the Daily Prophet was printing about you. I'd known you for three years before that, so I should've known that none of it was true. I'm truly sorry Harry for all that I've done to you."
Harry looked at Percy for a moment, then offered his hand. Percy shook Harry's hand gratefully, knowing that if Harry could forgive him, the pranking he would have to endure from his siblings probably wouldn't be quite as bad.
Ron looked at Harry in amazement. "How can you forgive him after all of the rubbish he said about you?"
"I'm willing to forgive him because he deserves it. I'm not going to forget it right away though. He'll still need to show me that he's on our side again."
Ron mulled this over for a moment, then extended his hand to his older brother. "That sounds good to me. Just remember Perce- your forgiven, but all is not forgotten just yet."
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Deep in the bowels of the Ministry of Magic, in a room with an archway in the Department of Mysteries, a slight breeze started blowing.
Author's notes: Here's chapter two :) I want to thank those of you who've reviewed so far, and hope that this chapter is worth your wait.
