Disclaimer - Harry Potter and his world belong to J K Rowling. The story is mine.

Chapter 7 - A Hard Year

Ginny looked around the grounds of Hogwarts one last time, she'd just finished her 7th year and had no idea how she'd achieved it. It was nearly a year ago that Harry had left her, left her to deal with all this pain on her own. She had made the decision to return back to Hogwarts because she couldn't deal with the prospect of having to see Harry in the news, or for him to turn up at the Burrow. It was easier for her to deal with being away from him at Hogwarts, because she knew she couldn't go looking for him, couldn't go searching his known properties. It had been harder at Hogwarts than what she had thought, everywhere she looked she either saw people dying, or she saw where she had been happy with Harry. She only went by the lake once for the whole year she'd been there, she had wondered if it would make her feel close to Harry, but it hadn't. She could feel the hot tears streaming down her face as she looked at the lake for the last time, and she felt an arm slip around her waist to support her. Hermione pulled the younger girl into a hug and whispered little comforts into her hair.
"Have you heard from him Hermione?" Hermione had been the only one to hear from Harry for the entire time he'd been gone. Ron had sent him a letter stating that he and their family wanted nothing to do with Harry, and that their friendship was over.
"Not recently Ginny, no. The last time I properly spoke to him was when I went to stay with him at christmas, 6 months ago. But he does send me a little message now and then that says he's okay."
"If the last time you spoke to him was 6 months ago, how do you know he's okay!"
"He sends a little slip of parchment, look." She pulled out several pieces of parchment from her cloak and gave one to Ginny.

Hermione,
I'm okay.
Harry.

"Is that all it says? He never asks about me?" She could feel herself start to lose control again. She'd had this same conversation with Hermione time and time again, she just couldn't get her head round the fact he wasn't asking after her.
"Ginny, you seriously need to move on. He has." Hermione gave her friend a last little squeeze, and started to walk away. "Come on Ginny, the Hogwarts Express leaves in an hour, and we need to make sure the first years get on okay." Ginny looked at the floor, glanced once more around the school grounds and followed Hermione back up to the castle.

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"Come on dear, let's get your stuff up in your room, then I can make you a nice meal, you look like you haven't eaten for weeks!" Mrs Weasley said as she pushed Ginny through the front door of the Burrow, and up the stairs to her room. Her room that she hadn't slept in since Harry disappeared, it held too many emotions for her. She stood in front of the door, took a deep breath in and opened it. She exhaled as she realised the room was exactly the same as it had always been when she was a little girl. Harry wasn't even on her mind as she dropped her things to the floor, and flopped onto the bed, and instantly fell asleep.

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"Ginny, Mum said to fetch you, breakfast is ready," Ron said, peeking his head round the door.
"erhrhehh" Was all he could get out of her. He sighed, and went into her room and started jumping on the bed,
"GINNY GINNY, WAKE UP GINNY! GET UP GET UP GET UP!" He yelled at the top of his voice, while Ginny groaned and tried to pull the covers up over her head, causing Ron to tumble off and fall on the floor.
"Eugh," She said as she got out of bed and padded out of her room and down the stairs.
"Good morning Princess," Arthur said, without looking up from the daily prophet.
"No morning is good dad." She replied bluntly.
"This one is, look, Harry's mentioned in the newspaper. Molly, he's still okay!"
"Thank God, I was getting worried that there hadn't been anything for over 2 weeks!" Ginny heard her mother shout back from the kitchen. Ginny shook her head in disbelief, after everything they still cared about him.
"I don't know why you two still care about him. He broke our Gin's heart." Ron remarked with an air of hurt.
"He was like our son Ron. Yes, it was unfortunate with everything that happened with Ginny, but all it ever was was a stupid teenage crush. He was good to you Ron, and most of us have Harry to thank that we're still alive." Ginny looked down at the table, and tried to stop tears coming. For a year, she'd tried to avoid knowing anything about Harry, and Harry's life, and here was her mother, bringing her world crashing down.
"What does the paper say Arthur? Where is he?"
"Same as last time love, they haven't mentioned his name. Just that a group of death eaters has been found heavily bound and unconscious outside the ministry, and that the ministry wants to know who it is that has cleaned up so many of these scumbags so that they can be rewarded. Kingsley must be aware it's Harry though -"
Ginny spat out her cereal, "What? Harry is out there anonymously catching death eaters? On his own?!" She couldn't believe that he'd left her, because it wasn't safe, and here he was putting himself in the most dangerous situation possible.
"Well, we don't even know it's Harry for definite but he didn't take up his auror position and no one has seen or heard from him. We just presume that Harry couldn't stand not doing anything, so he's become a vigilante."
"I don't even care Dad, if you and Mum want to that's fine, but don't expect me to worry about him." Ginny retorted, trying to convince herself that she was telling the truth. As she looked determinedly at her bowl of cereal, she heard her mother screech as an owl flew into the kitchen and dropped a letter in her mothers lap. Mr Weasley, Ginny and Ron all stared curiously at the unexpected letter that Mrs Weasley picked up.
"You two, get out!" She gave them both a look that told them she was deadly serious, and Ginny sensed the urgency from her mothers tone, so just stood without question and left the room, grabbing Ron as she left, who looked dumbfounded about what just happened. The door slammed shut behind them, and Ginny picked a button off her pyjama top and flicked at the door.
"Damn, what's the use in being of age if you can't get past an imperturbable door!" She kicked the stairs and stomped upstairs, while Ron just still looked confused,
"Why have I been taken away from my food?" He whispered, shaking his head.

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"Arthur, it's a letter from Hermione."
"Yes dear? And why is it that those two can't hear what she has to say?"
"Because Arthur, she says not to let them know. She says that she went to visit Harry this morning -"
"Where is he?"
"For heavens sake Arthur, you should know that if Harry doesn't want to be found you won't find him. She can't disclose where in the letter, she's not the secret keeper for his residence."
"Oh, I see. So what's the issue?"
"She says that she's coming by floo, in a couple of minutes. I'm worried about him Arthur." A tear started to roll from the corner of her eye, but her husband pulled her in to hold her tight.
"Me too dear." They both turned their heads towards the living room as a rumbling noise filled the kitchen, and they opened the door to the living room to see Hermione, picking herself up off the floor.
"Erm, hello, Mr and Mrs Weasley," She said, looking at the two people stood in front of her.
"What's wrong with Harry?" A panicked Mrs Weasley burst out.
"I'm so worried about him. I was worried at christmas but now, he needs help." She said as she made her way to the sofa and sat with her head in her hands. "He's so thin Mrs Weasley, Kreacher said that he's been taking food to Harry, but Harry never touches it. He also said that Harry hides himself away in his room, that the house is always pitch black, and he only leaves at night, sometimes coming back with serious injuries." Mrs Weasley took a seat on the sofa, and started crying, worried about the boy she considered a son.
"I only managed to see him because he came out of his room to tell me to get out of his house. He doesn't want to see anyone, he was so angry.. He looks haunted, and gaunt, and I think he's blaming himself for everything that happened before, but locking himself away is not going to do any good at all. Please, you have to help him, I think he might waste away if we don't do something.." She broke down and Mrs Weasley moved to sit next to Hermione, pulling her into a tight hug, comforting her. Mr Weasley paced around the living room, deep in thought.
"Well, he's going to move in here. We'll look after him and get him back to health."
"How are you going to get him here? He's so angry, it took so much to get him out of his room.." Mr Weasley looked at Hermione, then went back to pacing. Ten minutes later, he spoke again, "Go back to where he's living Hermione, take down the anti-apparition wards I imagine he will have put up, and when he comes out of his room, grab his arm and side-along apparate him here, and we'll put up an anti-apparition ward so he can't leave."
"Erm, what about Ginny? And Ron?"
"Tough!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed. "Harry is a part of this family whether they like it or not. He is like a son to me and Arthur, and if he needs us, we will be there for him. Just go and do it now Hermione, I'll explain to the kids after it's done."
Hermione went back to the fireplace, took some of the powder from the pot and whispered something indeterminable, and disappeared in the green flames.

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"Hello again Kreacher, I've come to take Harry to get help." Hermione said as the house elf came scurrying into the living room.
"Yes, you must help him Miss, I is not wanting to lose my master." He bowed and rushed back into the kitchen and into his little cubby hole. Hermione took a deep breath in, and headed up the stairs to Harry's room.
"Come on Hermione, he won't be that angry," She muttered, breathing heavily, she took down the wards around the house, using a lot of her magic to do so.
"WHAT THE HELL!" She cowered a little as she heard Harry shouting, and moving rapidly to the door. As soon as he opened it and saw Hermione, he relaxed a little. Hermione seized the chance, and grabbed his arm, before spinning on the spot, and transporting the two of them directly into the living room of the Burrow.

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"Arthur, now!" Mrs Weasley shouted, and Mr Weasley immediately slammed wards into place, preventing Harry from apparating straight out of their home.
"HERMIONE WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Harry raged before realising exactly where he was. He turned and saw a shocked Mr Weasley, and a crying Mrs Weasley.
"Oh, Harry, what have you been doing!" Mrs Weasley cried, and Harry felt his cheeks go red in embarrassment. He hadn't wanted these people, who had been like a mother and father to him, to see him in such a state. He looked down at the floor, and shuffled into the shadows. "I want to go home." He whispered. "Let me go home please." Mrs Weasley sobbed, as she took a step towards Harry, before changing her mind.
"I'm going to go cook you some food," She whispered.
"Harry, you haven't been looking after yourself, look at you! Normally my wife would have had you cuddled in her arms by now, but she's clearly afraid of snapping you in two! You look terrible Harry." Mr Weasley said. "I'm disgusted in myself. We haven't been here for you, but rest assured Harry, we are here now."
"Whatever. I just want to go please. I have work to do." He was still lurking in the shadows, and hadn't taken his eyes off of the door to the living room which he was eyeing nervously.
"She doesn't know you're here Harry." Hermione whispered.
"Even more reason that I shouldn't be here. It's not safe for her or any of you if I'm here. Plus, I've moved on. I don't want to hurt her any more than I have to."
"Will you at least stay for some food? Molly won't relax until she knows you have eaten at least something."
"Fine." Harry grunted, moving towards the kitchen. He sat down at the table, refusing to say anything. The door opened, and a light, flowery voice went straight through Harry's ears, causing him to curl up inside.
"Mum, what did the letter -" Ginny started, before she noticed that someone, that looked suspiciously like her ex boyfriend was sat at her table, in her kitchen, talking to her parents. Is that really Harry? She thought to herself. He looked terrible. She saw the dark circles that surrounded his eyes, and the holes in his cheeks where he'd lost so much weight. The brightness of his emerald green eyes was gone, they were just dull now. His hair was rugged, and needed a serious cut as it fell past his shoulders in a tangled mess. What have you done to yourself Harry? She took a moment to catch her breath, and gather her thoughts, in which time Harry had stood and moved away from the table and towards the door, and her parents and Hermione had taken the opportunity to leave. "What, are you doing here?" She said, calmly.
"I don't want to be here." He muttered.
"Whatever. You look like hell Harry."
"Thanks."
"You're a hypocrite. You left me to keep me safe, but you've been going around chasing death eaters on your own? You're pathetic Harry. Always got to be the hero." She could feel anger fighting it's way out of her body, and she couldn't control it.
"Oh leave it out Ginny. I don't know how you know it was me, but I've been doing it to make sure that none of you will get hurt again. YOU KNOW NOTHING," His voice raising as he felt angry at the hatred radiating from the girl he left behind.
"I KNOW NOTHING?! Get a grip Harry, you're a joke. Disappearing when everybody needs you. Locking yourself away. You realise that hurting yourself is not going to bring anyone back? They're gone Harry. I've gone Harry. You lost me the minute you left me in that hospital. The old Ginny is gone, the one that loved you, the little girl who believed in you, in love, you killed her. She will never come back."
"Good, because I never loved her, and I'll never love you." He spat at her, causing Ginny to fall to the floor, the pain that filled her heart causing her to hyperventilate. Harry stepped towards her, a malicious smile painted on his face. "You're the pathetic one Ginny. Look at you, falling to the floor because I told you I never loved you. You're a mess, I'm glad I cut you loose." She picked herself up, and stared into his dull, lifeless eyes, trying to find out if he was lying. He turned his back on her and moved into the living room, quietly stepping into the fireplace and taking some floo powder, muttering somewhere under his breath, Ginny took one last look at the state of the boy she loved, and then he was gone. She broke down in tears, and stormed out of the kitchen, pushing past her bewildered parents and ran up to her room. She locked the door, and fell against it. She leant her back against the door, pulling her knees up to her chest, and started sobbing her heart out, tangling her fingers in her hair, trying to take in everything that had just happened. Downstairs, Hermione went into the kitchen, and saw that Harry was gone, probably somewhere that she didn't know about. He'd never trust her again with such privileged information.
"He's gone. And I've made things worse, now we won't be able to help him at all." She said, looking at Mr and Mrs Weasley, who stood, still shocked in the doorway.

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Ginny awoke, feeling empty. She shed a few tears, as she had done every morning for three weeks, since Harry had said such horrid things to her. Ginny hadn't told anyone exactly what Harry had said, she felt that if she told anyone, it would become real. This way, she could pretend nothing had ever happened. But the day after he had left, Harry appeared on that disgusting gossip rag, Witch Weekly, a picture of him and some pretty girl perched on his arm in Diagon Alley. It had made Ginny feel sick, and her parents had thought that Harry had just told her that he found a new girlfriend. Since then, articles of Harry and that thing, appeared every day, and every day Ginny felt like she was being ripped apart inside. But at least he looked like he was getting better. That was the only comfort she took, that he was putting on weight, and looked like he was finally getting some sleep. Maybe it was my fault he was so unwell, all he needed was to tell me he never loved me to put him right, she thought to herself, but that just made her feel worse.
She got dressed, and went downstairs for lunch. Since that day, she hadn't gotten up before lunch time, in fact, most of the time she only got up for a couple of hours in the afternoon before retiring back to her bedroom.
"Hi princess," Bill said, as he stood from the kitchen table, and pulled his younger sister in for a hug.
"Hello Ginny," Fleur said, as she air kissed Ginny, once on each cheek.
"Erm, hello. How are you both?"
"Good Ginny. How are you? Mum sent Fleur and I an owl, her and dad have been seriously worried about you. They say you only leave your room for a couple of hours a day."
"I'm fine. Just need everyone to get off my back."
"I said that you would want this Ginny," Fleur said, "I thought you might want to get away, you know, from everything. Somewhere that you can't see all of those horrible magazines."
"That is exactly what I'd like Fleur. But it's just not going to happen, we can't afford it."
"Ah I knew you would say this. Bill and I would like to give you a very early birthday present." She pulled out a package from her cloak pocket and handed it to Ginny. Ginny took the package, and opened it. Inside was an address.
"That is the address to my flat in Paris, where I was living before moving to be here with Bill. I thought you might like to just go, for as long as you need." Ginny looked from Fleur, to Bill who was smiling weakly at his little sister.
"I'd love to. Thank you so much Fleur, Bill. But I don't know if I can, I'm pretty worried about Harry -" Her mother appeared from the kitchen.
"Ginny, you shouldn't worry about him anymore. He has moved on. I think this is what you need to help you move on too. The sooner you go, the sooner you can start living your life." She was also smiling at Ginny, who nodded her head.
"I know Mum, but I need to think about it." She said, she stood and left the kitchen through the back door, intending to go for a long walk around the garden. He did say he never loved you, this is your chance to let go Ginny.