Disclaimer: If I were J

Disclaimer: If I were J.K. Rowling, this story would be published, not on a fanfiction site!

I wanted to thank all my fabulous reviewers! There are too many of you to thank you all, and of the ones I've read, there was only one that was even remotely bad – and I promise to that person that all will be explained below! Thanks again, and you know who you are,

SapphireDragon92.

Chapter One

Molly and Albus

Ginny felt like she was floating on air as she raced home from her talk with Harry. She had a friend! A real friend! And to top things off, her first ever friend was Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the boy who she had demanded of her father to tell the story of every night! True, she hadn't heard his story since she was four, but still!

Ginny had been rather let down by the discovery that, as far as she knew, Harry didn't know anything about magic. True, he could have been pretending he didn't know because he thought she was a muggle, but if he knew about magic, wouldn't he know that she was a witch by her last name? Before she knew it, Ginny had found her way home.

Banging through the front door to the Burrow, Ginny rushed straight to the kitchen where her mother was making dinner – a Sunday roast. She skipped past the dining table to see her mother with her back to Ginny, sprinkling rosemary and garlic on the roast chicken and baked potatoes. "Mum!" she cried. "You'll never guess what I've been doing today!"

Mrs. Weasley turned around so fast that she knocked over the packet of herbs. "Ginny! Where on earth have you been?!" Damn it, Ginny thought. I forgot I didn't come back for lunch. Mum's going to have a seizure!

"I was in the woods, Mum. Next to the lake. I made a friend!" Ginny said, ecstatically.

Mrs. Weasley, who looked half-mad with worry, visibly relaxed. Her eyes softening, she said, voice still cross, "Well that's lovely Ginny dear, but you must be starving!"

Ginny glanced up into her mother's eyes, suddenly saddened by the fact that Harry was probably sitting miserably at the kitchen table at that moment, chewing morosely on some sort of salad. He wouldn't be getting fussed over like she was. Finally realizing that her mother was waiting on a reply, Ginny said softly, "No, I'm not very hungry."

Mrs. Weasley's eyes took on a worried look. "Do you know your friend's name?"

Ginny paused, wondering whether to tell her mother about Harry. Finally deciding that it couldn't hurt, Ginny spoke in a much lighter tone that reflected her happiness, "He's Harry Potter!"

Mrs. Weasley's eyes changed swiftly from apprehension to disbelief before finally flooding with suspicion. "Are you sure?" she asked, her voice barely audible due to the worry in it. Not knowing what her mother was getting at, Ginny nodded. "Positive."

Dinner that night was an awkward affair. If Percy, Ron, Fred and George noticed anything, they didn't comment on it. Ginny was worried. The air was thick with tension, and she didn't know why. It wasn't as if the Harry she had talked to was one of You-Know-Who's followers following in his footsteps or something.

Ginny choked on her mouthful of roast vegetables. That was exactly what her mother thought he was! Shaking her head with this sudden realization, Ginny resolved to tell her mother that she was positive that her new friend really was Harry.

Unfortunately, Ginny didn't get the chance. Mrs. Weasley hurried all her kids to bed straight after dinner, something she only did when she was worried about something. Ginny couldn't get a word in edgewise before she was hustled into her ground-floor bedroom.

Sighing, Ginny decided that no matter what her mother thought, she would sneak off in the morning to talk to Harry after making her own breakfast. Nothing would stop her from forging this friendship.

Molly Weasley was worried. Very worried. Firstly her youngest and only daughter didn't come home for lunch – Ginny always had a huge appetite that could rival her brothers', and that was saying something! Then she did come home for dinner, babbling on about a new friend! Of course, Molly was ecstatic about the fact that her daughter had a friend – she rarely made friends, and was quite shy when it came to people other than family (around her brothers she was the exact opposite of shy – intimidating was more like it!) But when she had pronounced her friend to be the legendary Harry Potter, Molly had become worried. Didn't Harry Potter live in Surrey? If this was so, how did he get here, then? Unless…

Unless this 'Harry Potter' was an imposter. An imposter who could mean Ginny, and perhaps their whole family, harm. That was why Molly was worried.

She needed to see Dumbledore.

Rushing to the fireplace, Molly grabbed a pinch of Floo powder. Calling a quick goodbye to Arthur, she whipped out her wand and announced, "Incendio!" Crackling flames leapt up from the hearth.

Stepping into these flames, Molly took a deep breath, tucked in her elbows and shouted, "The Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts!" She tossed the Floo powder around her in a grey flurry.

Catching glimpses of random wizarding rooms connected to the Floo network, Molly finally shot out of one of the fireplaces and looked up to see an elegant, eloquent red-and-gold-plumed bird – Fawkes, Albus Dumbledore's phoenix. A moment later, the white-bearded man himself was peering down at her through his half-moon spectacles. "Ah, Molly," he said. "To what do I owe you this late-night pleasure?"

Molly picked herself quickly up off the floor, dusting off the ash from her clothes as discreetly as she could. "I wanted to ask you something about Harry Potter," she said clearly.

"Ah, yes. Harry. I was wondering when you would come to see me about him." Why did Albus Dumbledore seem to know everything you were about to say before you said it? Why?

"Yes. Um… well, I was wondering where Harry lived at the moment," said Molly uneasily. "Could you tell me?"

Albus' blue eyes twinkled merrily. "Yes. Harry has now moved into Ottery St. Catchpole now. Just on the other side of that lake and the forest around it, I believe." That All-Knowing voice could really get on your nerves sometimes, Molly thought, annoyed.

"Yes, well… Why exactly did he move? And why to Ottery St. Catchpole?"

"I do believe that Harry's uncle has been transferred to the branch of his company at Ottery St. Catchpole," said Albus evasively. He really knew how to avoid the things one wanted to know.

"Did you move Harry there on purpose?" asked Molly, her annoyance showing in her voice now.

"I certainly did not intervene. When I discovered that the Dursleys were moving I thought it best to leave Fate to its own devices." Albus' eyes were twinkling again.

There was a short silence in the Headmasters' Office at Hogwarts. Fawkes broke the silence with a loud, musical trill. Finally Albus asked, "Why did you want to know?"

Molly paused. She was pretty sure Dumbledore knew exactly why she had asked, but all the same she said resignedly, "Harry and Ginny have made friends with each other. I came because I was worried about whether or not it was really Harry and not some ex-Death Eater."

Albus nodded thoughtfully. "Well, have a good night," he said, eyes resuming their merry twinkle. Taking herself to be dismissed, Molly Flooed through the fireplace without a backwards glance.