10

Harry paced his room so many times that night that he literally lost count and was beginning to make a formidable groove in the carpet. He had gotten sick of staring at blank parchment so he shoved that away and had begun thinking as thoroughly as possible of what he should do next. He wanted to stick by his word that he had had enough of Remus' advice, and that he did not need to stay where he was any longer – but then the trouble with that was he has absolutely no where else to go. This made him sit down on the edge of his bed and stare at the wall feeling useless and blank.

Privet Drive was both a ridiculous thought and completely out of the question – Godric Hollow now hardly saw a single standing house after the war and other than the Burrow (which was where he wanted to be most of all) there was only Grimmauld Place left available on the probability list. And instantly, Harry's mind clicked and he felt almost foolish to have forgotten the House of Black – as it was the perfect place for him to go because if he remembered correctly, Remus had said to him upon arriving at the lodge that it was completely deserted…

'…as you could imagine, the Ministry have been searching high and low for any surviving Death Eaters left behind in the chaos,' Remus had said that evening, careful to point out that Draco Malfoy was upon the list of names uncaptured. 'Basically the Ministry are searching anywhere that has the slightest hint of Magical presence about it – so naturally Grimmauld place was on the list. And seeming as no one had set foot there since us in the order abandoned it; the Ministry turned the place upside down and ultimately found nothing at all – except for a large stash of forgotten items, most likely kept by Kreacher after we cleaned the place out. Anyway, they labelled it as deserted and promptly let it sit to decay and rot away…'

So from that, Harry could guess that it still remained that way, and that it was perhaps safe enough to spend some time concealed away from everyone and everything and from the on-going pressure he received from the aging werewolf that patrolled downstairs. And he would be free, free to release everything bottled up inside his head and perhaps start again in search of getting his life back.

It really felt to Harry like to most appropriate idea to him, of course the rest of us may have thought he'd be better off going to the Burrow so this story could damn well finish – but alas my children it appeared to not be so and Harry proceeded to pack his bags and feel correct with this decision. But as he glanced outside, into the darkness of the night he realised it to be a foolish act to journey giving the current state of things.

With surrounding darkness, cold temperatures, strong wings, the inability to apperate and the want not to use magic – Harry thought it to be wise not to fly away tonight, that perhaps he could leave his antics to the morning. After all, it is always thought as a good idea to sleep on our decisions, that it might become less attractive come the morning and hence prevent ourselves from performing devastating actions that may ruin our own lives and possibly, someone else's.

So Harry climbed into his bed instead, figuring he may as well sleep on it and decide in the morning – whether if it was indeed the correct decision or not.

-

Ginny placed her seemingly light and empty trunk onto the curve of the street she now stood in, glaring ominously at the empty space between numbers eleven and thirteen. And as she stood there, her mind continued to be unsure why on earth her gut would have thought to lead her here of all places. She had left the Burrow purposely in search of getting her life back, to clear her mind and start all over so she could forget about her past that still remains to haunt her.

All of last night she had contemplated any sort of coincidences that might occur from her actions – as all the while the party continued downstairs on the announcement of Ron and Hermione's engagement, quite oblivious to what was unfolding some floors above them.

Ginny had travelled by broom, snatching her brother's pride and joy Cleensweep at the last minutes and flying out of the window just as time ticked past two in the morning. She had first thought of heading to Remus' Lodge surprisingly – as she knew Remus to be kind enough to help her out. But something drew her away from the lodge, far away in fact – very far north toward a place which she never thought of ending up in.

It was almost seven in the morning and the sun had just began to rear its head from the horizon - Ginny knew it would be of a suspicious scene if someone in Grimmauld Place were to wake now, peer out their window and see Ginny standing there with her trunk at her side and staring at a blank space between numbers eleven and thirteen. So she closed her eyes and focused on what she needed.

A clipping that was showed to her and her family the night Remus returned from the final order meeting, after they abandoned the house of black as their headquarters now it ceased to have any purpose but exist. It was almost seven months ago now but she remembered she knew it involved words spoken at that meeting; about a fallen member of the order – a special member, whose life had been taken, so peace could be restored.

Of course she knew it once it came back; she had repeated it over and over again in her head the night Remus had reluctantly showed her. And with those words in her head, the remembrance of them made her say it out to herself in a whisper.

"The Burning Phoenix has fallen, so that the rest of us may live; in peace."

Suddenly a loud cracking noise echoed throughout the street, and Ginny opened her eyes to find herself starting at the old and dark house that suddenly appeared between eleven and thirteen; looking as dilapidated as she felt. Quickly, she grabbed her trunk and made her way up the stone steps. A few quick glances up and down the street ensured for her it was safe to wrench open the door and slip into the darkened hallway.

As sad as it may be for me to write this, I ensure you there was no welcoming greet from Harry James Potter – nor were there the sign of an awaiting group of Death Eaters to take her in and held her captive. Alas it was just a dull, eerie, black and cold hallway – and it looked as empty and as grim as the last time she was here. Well… OK – perhaps a bit dustier and dirtier, but basically everything was in its rightful place.

Once over the threshold Ginny shut the door and was instantly engulfed in absolute blackness. She had to dip into her pockets for her wand, in which she uttered the word "lumos" and lit up the hall. She placed her trunk at the foot of the stairs, and after passing the doorstep in which Tonks was accustom to tripping over on every arrival – proceeded down to the kitchen.

A small window near the ceiling ensured dull light from the morning sun filled the kitchen, so Ginny put her wand away and made for the cupboard. Regrettably – yet not surprisingly – it was empty, and she always avoided summoning food if she could avoid it, so after making a mental note to do some sort of shopping later on she went back up into the hall way and began to head upstairs.

She struggled partly with her trunk as she went up, as it appeared the spell she had put on it prior to leaving the Burrow – which had made it considerably light in weight so as to now drag her broom down – was beginning to wear off. She made it to the second landing though, which is where the room she intended to stay in was located. She continued up though, without her trunk in the interest of searching the rooms for anything useful or any sign of life; every room was empty except one.

The master bedroom on the top floor seemed impenetrable; the door was locked and even with the most complex of unlocking spells Ginny could not manage to open it leaving it firmly remained shut. She shrugged this off though, and on the basis of her being unable to unlock it – she figured nothing could get in anyway.

She went back downstairs and began to unpack, at which point her stomach rumbled and a smile ran over her face. She realised now would be around the time her mother would just be discovering the slightly ajar door leading into an empty bedroom back at the Burrow – and although she hoped her mother wouldn't freak out, she at least hoped they know she had gone.

With the thought of food, Ginny finished her unpacking and hereby left Grimmauld Place in search of breakfast and supplies that she may need for her more than prolonged stay at number twelve.

-

'Ginny's gone?'

Molly was staring into space and was on the verge of tears, Hermione had an arm around her future mother-in-law while Ron paced the kitchen and Arthur stood staring out the window.

'Do you think, it's because we announced this?' Ron asked, continuing to pace. 'I think it is you know – our engagement. Affect her somewhat – everything always has to be about her. For once I get some sort of spotlight, and then she runs away? God that is so like her!'

'Ronald!' Hermione exclaimed.

Ron turned to his fiancée. 'What?'

Hermione glared at him.

'Well it is!' He insisted.

'I'm not sure that is the reason.' Arthur said, glaring over the meadows in which Ginny should have currently been running across. 'She's still so depressed from… well, was there anything overly suspicious about the way she acted yesterday?'

'She was fine when we told her about the engagement in the morning.' Hermione said. 'Ecstatic even.'

'Then she was in her room all day.' Molly said, continuing to stare. 'Now she's gone – just gone.'

'And there's no note.' Ron added.

'Oh my god,' Molly said. 'I sent out that letter about the engagement. To everyone! What'll we do, I am not sure I can face anyone with the prospect of my daughter missing…'

'I'll contact some people at the Ministry, dear,' said Arthur. 'See if we can't get a search party of some sort happening.'

'But for all we know, she could have apperated to Australia,' Hermione said. 'I vote we should wait – see if she doesn't just turn around and come back.'

'No!' Molly shrieked. 'I can't bare the thought of her alone, out there!'

'She's more than capable of defending herself,' Ron said. 'I know first hand having been on the receiving end of several of her curses.'

Arthur turned and nodded. 'Ginny has definitely proven herself to be a formidable force in the past – and I have no doubt she is intelligent enough to protect herself. Having SAID that I still believe it to be best if a search party is constructed right away.

'In the mean time,' Arthur continued, 'send out as many owls as you can to reliable contacts, to look out for Ginny if she happens to be passing by. Molly – any and every family member you know will have to put off their visit until Ginny is found.'

Molly nodded.

'And you?' Ron asked.

'I'd best be leading that search party.' Arthur said firmly, putting on his hat and picking up his suitcase. 'In case my daughter needs me.'

With that and a powerful swift of his cloak, Arthur vanished – leaving his wife and the newly engaged couple to ponder in their thoughts.