Harry and Ginny: A Love Story

Chapter 7: Where Oh Where Can He Be?

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Minerva passed the remainder of the week with relative ease. Albus seemed to be missing from the Castle most of the time, letting her relax and not have to try and keep her secret from the Headmaster.

It was Saturday evening and they were having the last dinner together before everyone headed off for their holiday. Minerva sat at her normal place, just to the left side of Albus.

She had seen him glancing at her several times during the meal, each time he seemed to have an appraising look upon his face and she wondered if he had discovered her secret.

She kept her features schooled in her normal stoic countenance, making sure she gave nothing away inadvertently.

It was just as they were finishing the pudding when Albus turned to her. "Are you doing anything special this year?" he asked innocently.

Minerva looked at him shrewdly this was the first time in decades that he had asked about her plans for the holiday. "Why no Albus," she answered. "I plan on visiting my ancestral home as always. Why do you ask?"

"You just seem a little more on edge than usual and I have the feeling you are anxious to leave," Dumbledore replied.

"Well after the events that happened this year and the near loss of one of the students in my house, I am looking forward to getting away for a while," she told him, not really lying.

Dumbledore turned his attention to the last remaining bit of his lemon tart, one of his favourite desserts. "Yes, after the events that transpired this year we are all looking forward to some well earned rest and relaxation."

Minerva breathed a sigh of relief as they finished the meal and Albus bid the staff a good holiday and they all rose, most planning on departing almost immediately. With one last glance at the Headmaster who was involved in a discussion with Hagrid, she left the Great Hall, made her way to her office where she flooed directly to McGonagall Manor.

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The next several weeks passed much the same, the kids rising and doing something fun most of the time, though Molly had them all share in doing the chores.

She was surprised that even when he wasn't assigned anything, Harry always ended up helping Ginny and vise versa. The two of them becoming virtually inseparable whenever they were awake.

She was also pleased to see that Ron was really trying to change his attitude concerning Ginny's being with Harry. He wasn't perfect and she still noticed some times that he seemed unhappy that Ginny was always with Harry but it was at least a start and hopefully would continue to improve.

Arthur had been very attentive to Harry in the evenings, he had heard of how poor a role-model that Harry's Uncle had been, so he wanted to try and rectify that in any way he could.

Arthur would usually take Harry out into his shed, meaning that Ginny was usually there too, and help him identify and sort his Muggle items. Harry always had great fun and couldn't help but laugh at some of the strange ideas that Arthur had about some of his things.

On occasion Ginny would remain inside when Molly wanted help, much to Ginny's displeasure, as she really preferred to be with Harry. There were times when she would break out laughing, reacting to Harry's reaction to something her father said or did.

Minerva had finally gotten away from Hogwarts and as far as they knew, Dumbledore was still ignorant of Harry's change of residence and Harry's three new guardians wondered how long it would last.

Aunt Minerva had finally been able to convince Harry that she was capable of supporting him financially, taking care of purchasing his under-things. She did let Harry splurge on several items that he wanted. He had found a really nice pair of black Dragon-hide boots, not only were they virtually indestructible, they were very soft and extremely comfortable.

Unknown to Ginny, he had purchased her an identical pair that he had put aside for her coming birthday. She knew that he was exceedingly happy about something but he pointedly refused to tell her what it was.

That was the first time that Harry and her ever had a disagreement. Ginny had pouted and gotten a little angry, not understanding why Harry refused to share with her. Going so far as to not speaking with him for one full morning, but by lunch, she knew she was hurting Harry quite a bit with her refusal to talk to him that she had finally relented and apologized profusely.

The thing was, the longer she remained angry at Harry, the worse she began to feel. It was their introduction to just how physically they were becoming tied together.

Harry of course was quite shaken by the incident and it wasn't till Ginny came up to him at lunch and said contritely "I'm sorry, Harry. Can you forgive me for being such a selfish person?"

"Yes Ginny, I forgive you, but you need to realize that you hurt me quite allot by refusing to talk to me when I didn't really do anything to you," Harry sent, sadly. "I don't ask you to tell me everything and I hope you'll allow me the same privilege."

"Yes Harry, I understand. I. . .I, well I just thought we were sharing everything," she said just as sad as Harry.

"We share almost everything, but I do want to be able to do things for you without you knowing ahead of time. Can you understand that?"

Ginny nodded, "Yeah Harry. Like I said, I'm sorry and I promise to never do something like that again."

To those who were watching it was a strange affair. Ginny came in to the kitchen, looking totally miserable, she went over to where Harry was sitting and they stared at each other for several minutes. Harry then reached for Ginny and she tucked into his embrace, crying softly as Harry rubbed her back.

The Twins took it all in, guessing that they were using their mind to mind ability and they were impressed by the level of communication that they couldn't comprehend.

Ron, for the most part was just plain puzzled by what he saw and it was one of those times when he struggled with Harry and Ginny's growing relationship. He finally sighed, got up from the table and went back up to his room.

Harry and Ginny spent the rest of the afternoon, spending time together out in the back garden, sitting quietly and adjusting to their first disagreement. It was a bit unnerving to them that so far no one had given then any more information about their Bond, bonds in general and what they could expect.

They were happy that as they spent the quiet time together that they seemed to become even closer. If asked they wouldn't have been able to say exactly what had changed but they both did have the same feeling.

It was late that night when the first signs that all was not well with Ginny. She had gone to sleep as normal. She and Harry had stayed up for a while just talking through their Bond before they both drifted off to sleep.

Harry awoke sometime in the middle of the night feeling quite agitated. At first he wasn't sure what was the source of his discomfort but as the seconds passed he became aware that he was getting the feelings from Ginny.

At first it was just a vague feeling of unease but moment by moment the disquiet grew within him and he knew Ginny was in some kind of distress. Finally her mind broke into his.

Harry was drawn into Ginny's dream, or in reality her nightmare. He saw her descend into the Chamber of Secrets for what would have been the last time. Her mind was still struggling but by that time Tom had begun to reform and was able to control Ginny.

Harry heard as Ginny fought, "I won't Tom, I won't!"

"It's too late little Ginevra, you have given me your secrets, poured out your soul to me and now I will be able finish my absorption of your soul and I will live again."

Harry felt as Ginny struggled to regain control of her body, but Tom was too strong. He saw her enter the Chamber itself and though she continued to struggle, Tom stole her strength, and she collapsed onto the floor.

It seemed so real to Harry, it was as if he was there again, seeing Ginny laying cold and still in the Chamber.

In Ginny's dream she began to cry and moan as Tom continued his assault, calling Ginny vile names and laughing at her feebler and feebler struggles. It was just before she passed into unconsciousness when Tom explained that his plan was to lure Harry down into the Chamber and kill him.

Ginny cried out, feeling her despair as she realized that she would be the instrument of Harry's death, with one last mighty scream, she passed out.

It was then that Harry realized that Ginny had screamed out loud as she had in her dream. Quickly Harry rose and ran across the hall, Ginny was still thrashing about on her bed, crying out, "Please, not Harry," she sobbed. "Please Tom, you can't."

Harry reached Ginny and without thinking took her into his arms. "Shh, Ginny. It's OK. Tom is gone and can't hurt you."

Ginny's eyes snapped open and she looked around wildly for a moment and then her eyes fixed on Harry and grabbing him tightly she began to cry hysterically. As she clung to Harry, he was aware of Molly entering the room.

"What is happening?" she asked lowly, her voice full of concern.

Harry looked up at her, "Ginny had a nightmare," he replied as he kept his arms tightly around his soul-mate.

" Oh Harry it was horrible," Ginny moaned into Harry's chest. "I was back in the Chamber! And Tom was using me to get to you so he could kill you!"

"Shh, Ginny, it's OK. We beat him. I'm alive, you're alive and he's not," Harry sent softly, trying to calm Ginny down.

Molly watched in awe as Harry gently rocked and comforted Ginny. It took a while, but slowly Ginny calmed down under Harry's tender ministrations. Ginny began to cuddle into Harry and she sighed contently.

"Thank you Harry," she mumbled.

Molly came over to the two youngsters, "Alright, Ginny's much calmer now. Why don't you go back to bed Harry?"

Harry could feel Ginny's demeanour change almost instantly and he knew she didn't want him to leave but with a stern glance from Molly, Harry reluctantly left Ginny in her own bed.

Molly went and tucked Ginny back in as Harry returned to his room. He could feel her loneliness and her lingering fear of her nightmare. He wished he could do something more for her but didn't know what.

Ginny waited in the dark, her anxiety rising, afraid to fall back asleep. She listened carefully, and when she was sure that her mother had returned to her room, she sent, "Harry, are you still awake?"

"Yes Ginny, are you OK?

"I can't fall back to sleep. I'm afraid I'll have another bad dream," Ginny sent, her voice sounding so sad, she felt it echo back from Harry.

"I wish I was there to comfort you again," Harry sent back, his heart aching for his Soul-Mate.

"Do you mean it?" Ginny sent hopefully.

"Yeah I do," Harry sent back.

When Ginny didn't respond, Harry began to worry but suddenly he heard his door open slowly. Ginny tip-toed over to his bed and lifting the blanket and sheet she crawled in next to Harry. He moved over to make room for her and she snuggled once more into his side.

As soon as she did, Harry heard her sigh contently and he felt her calm down once again.

"Hold me Harry, I really need you to right now," Ginny sent, a touch of anxiety colouring her voice.

Harry gently wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer into his body. He knew that Molly and Arthur probably wouldn't approve but he knew that Ginny's need was greater than the trouble they would get in if they were caught.

Harry began to rub Ginny's back and he felt her relax into his side. She laid her head on his shoulder and within a few minutes he heard her breathing even out as she drifted off to sleep.

He watched her for a little while longer, letting his feelings of love permeate the connection that he felt with Ginny. He felt her acceptance through the bond and with the feelings of love encompassing them both, he followed her to sleep.

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Though the school year had ended and the staff had been gone for several weeks Albus Dumbledore's schedule had remained as busy as always. What with the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge owling him almost constantly, some times two or three times in a single day and his other obligations to the Wizengamot and the Confederation of Wizards, he hadn't had the time to check on the wards on Privet Drive since right after the end of the school year.

So it was early Sunday morning that Albus was able to sit down in his office and pull out the small magical machine to check the wards again. He tapped it with his wand and watched it closely, expecting it to show a marked improvement from when he had checked it right after Harry was ton have returned to his Aunt and Uncle's.

To his dismay, the machine huffed and puffed but indicated that the wards were almost to the point of failing.

Albus quickly cast several spells on the small machine, hoping that it was some kind of malfunction that was giving him the poor reading, but when everything seemed to check out he knew he needed to get to Privet Drive immediately to see what was the matter. If the wards weren't strengthened they would fail completely in a very short time, perhaps even by the end of the day.

Albus Dumbledore was not a young man by any means but with a speed belying his age, he hurried as quickly as possible down through the school and out to the Main gate where he could Apparate to Surrey.

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Nymphadora Tonks sat in her usual place watching #4 Privet Drive. She hadn't seen much activity of late She had yet to see Harry, the one she was supposed to be protecting and observing. She had seen his Uncle depart every week day to work, though from what she had seen, he rarely moved from in front of the telly during the weekends.

Harry's whale of a cousin would usually leave in the morning and not return home to dinner time. Though on occasion he did come back early accompanied by several of his friends. From the comments she had overheard they were something of a small gang, terrorizing the younger kids in the neighbourhood. If they had been magical children she would have run them in for being a public nuisance.

As for his Aunt, she hadn't shown her face very often, only once or twice during the past week, usually when she went out shopping.

All in all, Tonks found the assignment to be quite boring, though she had an uneasy feeling that she was missing something. Her Auror senses kept telling her something was wrong but every time she thought about it, whatever it was seemed to slip away. It had made her somewhat grouchy and a bit tense, even Dedalus Diggle had made mention of that fact when she had been relieved by him on several occasions.

She was startled out of her reverie by the sound of someone Apparating nearby and she pulled her wand, ready for any trouble that might occur.

She was very surprised to see that the person who had appeared was Albus Dumbledore and he looked extremely agitated, something that she had never seen before in the ancient wizard.

"Nymphadora?" he called out softly.

"Here Professor Dumbledore," she replied, holstering her wand again.

"Have you noticed anything amiss?" the venerable wizard asked.

"Nothing Professor," she replied.

Albus relaxed slightly, at least the wards weren't being drained by some outside force that he could detect. "Really my dear, you are no longer a student and are helping me, can't you call me Albus? I'll start calling you Tonks if you do so," he said, his eyes taking on their characteristic twinkle.

"Um, I'll try Professor," she said shyly. As brash and cheeky as she was, she was still in awe of Albus Dumbledore.

Albus chuckled and looked at the young Auror. "I need to check on young Harry, have you seen him?"

"No Professor," Tonks replied, that nagging something making her frown again.

Dumbledore was so busy staring across the street that he didn't notice the frown that flickered across the Auror's face.

Albus took out his wand and cast several spells silently. He frowned and shook his head. "Most unusual," he muttered, more to himself.

"What's that, sir?" Tonks asked.

"What? Oh, I was commenting on the status of the wards," he answered offhandedly. "They appear to be intact but not recharging correctly," he added with a sigh. "Well, there is nothing for it but to check myself," he declared, still looking questioningly at the house across the street.

Tapping his robes with his wand, he transformed them into a staid dark grey business suit and then looking at Tonks he said, "Perhaps you should accompany me, my dear."

Tonks nodded and she transformed her robes to a very similar suit to Albus', though hers had a nice, proper length skirt instead of trousers. Albus nodded at her and led the way across the street.

They made their way briskly up the walkway and rang the front bell. From inside they heard bellowed out "Petunia! There's someone at the door!"

From further back in the house they faintly heard an exasperated, "Coming, Vernon."

Within moments the door popped open, the smile sliding from her face when she recognized Dumbledore, despite his muggle attire. "What do you want?" she spat.

"I'm sorry to trouble you Petunia, but I was hoping to have a word with young Harry," Dumbledore said pleasantly, causing Tonks to look at him like he'd lost his mind.

Petunia gave him a stunned look, "Harry, the no good for nothing boy. Why would you be looking for him here?" she asked, sneeringly.

Albus was now very confused, something that normally didn't happen, at least not in the last hundred years or so. "I beg your pardon?"

Before Petunia could reply, Vernon Dursley bellowed once more from the parlour, "Who the devil is it Petunia? If it's someone looking for money, send them packing!"

With a glare in her husband's direction she turned back to Dumbledore, "I said why are you looking for him here. Some of you freaks showed up before the end of term, had me sign some papers and we're now free of that troublesome brat."

Albus Dumbledore was stunned into silence, something that had not happened in living memory. It wasn't till Petunia Dursley cleared her throat and glared at the two Wizards before her, that Dumbledore reacted.

"If there is nothing else you can leave our domicile and have the decency never to bother us decent people ever again," Petunia said haughtily.

"Do you know who they were?" Albus pressed.

Just then Vernon Dursley appeared in the doorway to the parlour, the Sunday paper still in his hand. "It's you! I won't stand for any more of you Freaks here in my house. That no go for nothing boy is gone and we couldn't be more pleased, so just get out before I call the police!" he shouted, turning a very nice shade of red.

"Really, couldn't you just . . ." Albus continued.

If Harry had been there he could have warned the two wizards. The vein on his Uncle's forehead was standing out plainly. It was beginning to throb in a clear indication, well at least to Harry, that he was on the verge of a major blow-up.

"I said Get Out!" he screamed, flecks of spittle flying from his mouth.

Tonks was glad she wasn't standing closer and in the line of fire. She couldn't believe these Muggle's reactions, never had she seen a more hostile set of muggles in her life.` Tonks could not believe in meeting them that Dumbledore had left Harry in their care at all.

Dumbledore and Tonks made a hasty retreat, seeing that they weren't going to get anything more from the Dursleys. As they made their way back across the street, a very perplexed Dumbledore turned to Tonks.

"Well seeing as Harry is no longer here, you no longer need to keep watch. "I'll inform the others and if anything changes I'll be in contact. If you hear any rumours at the Ministry of Harry's where abouts, please let me know as soon as you can," the Headmaster said, transforming his suit back into his robes.

"OK, Professor," Tonks replied, still with that lingering doubt about something to do with Harry. By the time she thought to mention it to Albus he had already Disapparated away.

With a shrug of her shoulders she Apparated, thinking to herself that she now had time to get a decent lunch and maybe even some rest before she needed to report to the Ministry for her shift.

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Albus Dumbledore paced his office frantically. His mind working feverishly trying to figure out what had happened to Harry. While he was fairly certain that whoever had made the arrangements to take Harry from the Dursleys didn't have any malicious intent as they shouldn't have been able to penetrate the wards if they did so, he was still at a loss as to who and why they had spirited Harry away.

He did know that Harry had boarded the Hogwarts Express at the end of the school year and there had been no reports of anything happening during the trip, so he had to conclude that Harry had safely made it back to King's Cross Station. It was from there that he had no idea what had become of the boy.

Albus had tried to use some of his many magical devices but all he had been able to determine with any certainty was that Harry was alive and still in England, but other than that he could not pinpoint his location. The only logical explanation was he was somewhere that was protected by some very powerful wards.

To say that he was displeased would be a huge understatement. Somehow Harry Potter had slipped from his grasp and now was effectively out of his control for at least the summer, unless he could somehow locate the boy and recover him from whomever had taken him.

Dumbledore sat down heavily and cast his gaze at Fawkes. Albus had tried to use his Phoenix to locate Harry but his familiar was unable or unwilling to do so. He had just looked back at him and chirped inquisitively but remained perched here in the office.

Albus momentarily considered asking the Weasleys whether or not they had seen who had meet Harry but realized he'd have to admit that he had no idea where the boy was to do so and he certainly didn't want to do that yet at this juncture.

Sighing heavily he came to the conclusion that he was going to need help in tracking the boy down, as loath as he was to do so, he just didn't have the necessary time to search himself.

Shaking his head he turned to Fawkes, "I need you to take a message to Alastor Moody," he said as he grabbed a piece of parchment. He quickly scribbled a note requesting that he come to Hogwarts as soon as possible. He rolled it up, affixed a magical seal to it and gave it to his Phoenix.

Fawkes eyed him for a moment before disappearing in a burst of flame. Albus returned to his desk and got back to work, Alastor would be here soon and there was no one he trusted more to carry out the search for the missing Harry Potter.

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Harry awoke very early, his senses heighten by his knowledge that he didn't want anyone to discover that Ginny had spent the remainder of the night in his bed.

Listening carefully he could hear the low noise of someone descending the stairs towards the kitchen. He was pretty sure it was Molly as she was normally the first one up.

He gently shook Ginny's shoulder to wake her, wanting to get her back into her own room before they were discovered.

Ginny stirred slightly, a small frown forming on her face but she resisted his efforts to wake her.

"Ginny," he whispered, as he shook her again.

"Jus' a few more mins, Mum," Ginny muttered, still half asleep.

Harry couldn't help but smile as he shook her one last time, "Ginny, you need to wake up."

Slowly one eye opened blearily, as it focused on Harry, the other eye opened too and she blushed deeply. "What is it," she asked sleepily.

"You should probably go back to your own room before someone comes looking for us," Harry said softly.

He felt Ginny sigh and cuddle a little closer into his body. "But it's so warm and comfortable here," she complained.

Harry felt her conflicting emotions and he knew she was fighting with herself whether to stay or go.

"What time is it?" she asked, rubbing her face deeper into Harry's chest.

"Almost seven," Harry answered.

Ginny snuggled even closer than before, "We've got plenty of time, Mum never makes us get up till at least nine," she said, a smile forming on her face. "Relax Harry, I really don't want to get up and leave right now. Unless of course you want me to."

Harry looked at the warm wonderful witch that was snuggled so tightly against him and had to smile himself. He really didn't want her to go, it just felt so right having her here with him and so with a shrug, he settled back down, hugging Ginny with a gently squeeze, letting her know that she was where he wanted her to be.

As he closed his eyes, he took in a whiff of her heady fragrance and he felt more content and happy than he thought possible and as he felt Ginny dropping off back to sleep, he joined her in peaceful slumber.

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Alastor Moody stomped back to his rooms at the small inn he stayed at. It had been a long night as he followed a suspect that he had been trailing for the Ministry.

Though he was officially retired he still sometimes took on assignments when he was asked to. It beat sitting around all the time during his so called retirement.

He had just removed his wooden leg and poured himself a shot of Old Ogden's when Dumbledore's Phoenix flashed into his room, dropping a message and was gone again in a moment.

"Damn bird," he muttered. "Lucky I didn't hex it." Though he knew that it hadn't been there long enough for him to even draw his wand.

He took out his wand and tapped the seal, anyone else who had done so would have gotten at the minimum a burnt hand as the scroll would have burst into flames.

He read the note, and grumbled, "What is it now?"

Taking a sip of his firewhiskey he contemplated what to do. He was dead tired and as he re-read the note and saw it said as soon as possible and not immediately, he decided that a few hours sleep seemed to be in order before heading off to Hogwarts, after all he had already removed his leg.

Downing the last of the Ogden's he hopped over to his bed, laid down and was asleep in moment, though his magical eye kept up it's scanning of the surroundings. His unproclaimed motto of Constant Vigilance taking precedence even in sleep.

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A/N: Well Albus has finally found out that Harry isn't where he's supposed to be and isn't none to pleased. He hasn't panicked yet, as it is hard to rattle a powerful as a wizard as he is.

Life goes on at the Burrow and Harry and Ginny are still finding out more about each other and their Bond.

As always please review.