A/N: The Horcrux hunt continues, and Harry and Ginny's presence in the past is no longer unnoticed by the other side. I promise that the next chapter will be up by the end of the week. Thanks for reading and reviewing, MNF.

Chapter 11:

Banished

November 18, 1979

Harry POV:

I was aimlessly pacing the flat, again, waiting for Ginny to get home. She was spending much of her days now with Mrs. Black, being taught ancient magics and the forgotten knowledge that the Society had long protected. I was with her for the majority of her lessons, but today I needed to take supplies out to Regulus, and was unable to be with her as she learned about the Anglo-Saxon Rune set. There were forty letters in this alphabet, versus the twenty-four that were in the traditional Futhark Runes. It made it more difficult to decode messages that were sent, due to their complexity. The Society had found it very useful over the years to code in both the harder set, as well as the Younger Futhark set, as the letters were shaped differently. Ginny had also been studying the ancient Germanic Runeset with Anwen, as that was how the Order of the Phoenix sent their coded messages.

I was often jealous of the time that Ginny spent with Anwen, even though I regretted feeling so. Anwen and Sirius had yet to return to their own home, Anwen was quite weak and the small London house that she shared with Sirius and Remus had been under surveillance by known Death Eaters on and off since the attack. There was also a fair amount of press interest in the young couple, and Sirius was determined to keep his girlfriend away from it. She had yet to return to school, and was instead learning on her own. I had heard Dumbledore joke that she could take her NEWT's now and pass with flying colors she was so far ahead of the classes back at Hogwarts.

Anwen and Sirius were living up in Scotland at the traditional Potter family home, appropriately called Potter Manor, with my Mum and Dad. Ginny had tried not to discuss the time that she spent with my parents, but just knowing that she'd seen them, dined with them, lounged in their home was enough to make me cringe with frustration and envy. We'd talked last night and done the math; Mum should be about a month pregnant with me. She might not even know that she was pregnant yet, so I was still waiting to see them. I really hoped she'd figure it out soon, I desperately wanted to meet them.

When I wasn't with Ginny, I was up with Regulus. He was alone at the small cabin on the border between England and Wales, just outside the boundary for the Brecon Beacons National Park. There wasn't much near it; in fact, the only towns - Llanveynoe to the west and Capel Y Ffin to the east - are so small you could barely call them towns. Sirius went up to see his brother regularly, as had his mother; but it was getting much more difficult for her. The extended Black family, especially her nieces Bella and Cissy, were very interested in what she knew about her younger son's location. Fortunately for all of us, Mrs. Black excelled at Occlumency and Legilimency, and all of the secrets that she was carrying were safe.

Mrs. Black had also been plying her trade onto her nieces, convincing them that the items that Voldemort had given their respective families for safe keeping were safer in the Black family vault at Gringotts than anywhere else. Bella had already taken the cup there for safe keeping, and Mrs. Black was traveling to the bank today to retrieve it, leaving a fake behind in case Bella came to check on it. The diary was proving more difficult for her to secure as it would seem that Lucius Malfoy did not trust his wife with such information. We were working on alternative plans for getting the diary away from Malfoy Mansion. I didn't like any of the plans that we'd come up with so far, they all involved great risk to either Mrs. Black or Ginny, which didn't make me happy on either count.

To keep up appearances, Mrs. Black was entertaining her extended family on a regular basis. I'd never realized how many of them there were, but the family was indeed large, and many of them wanted Grimmauld Place for themselves. She had been given the house as a wedding gift from her father, who had been given the house from his father. Family legend held that the house held a secret fortune. No one had ever found such a fortune, including Mrs. Black, and she'd lived in the house her entire life. Mrs. Walburga Black entertained the family often, and was quite certain they were searching the house for said treasure when they were there. She assumed that they, as she, would come up empty handed.

Whenever Mrs. Black was entertaining, Kreacher would always become agitated, and would mumble about someone bringing their own tea into the house. Ginny thought that there might be something to worry about it, but I reminded her of the condition that we would see Kreacher fifteen or so years in the future. Madness such as that does not come on quickly. The entertaining might have been too much for the older woman, however, as she was always physically lethargic and emotionally distraught the day after.

I finally heard Ginny putting the key into the lock of the flat, and was relieved that she was home again. My relief was quickly erased when I saw her condition as she entered the door. Her hair had fallen out of the long braid she had put it in this morning, and her blouse was untucked. She had several small cuts on her forearms and her jeans had what looked like a burn on the thigh of the right side.

"Gin, what happened to you?" I asked as I went to her.

"Harry," she said as she threw herself into my arms and held onto me tightly. "It was ..." She began to sob, and I carried her over to the bed and gently lay down with her. I wanted to check out her wounds, but I could tell that she just needed to be held first. I soothed her by running my hand down her head and back, my lips resting against her temple. Ginny felt so small in my arms today, and for the first time in a while, I felt like she needed me.

I'd be lying if I said that the last few months had been easy on us. Living with Ginny was so very different than living with the guys in the dorm. We didn't need to share our feelings, or even clean up for each other. There was a camaraderie with those blokes that for the life of me I couldn't seem to find with my wife. It was different than living with Hermione as well. I knew that she was mental some of the time, but I guess I was used to her "mental-ness" much more so than I was used to Ginny's. I also had Ron there to deflect some of Hermione's behavior onto.

I hated that Gin always wanted to know what I was thinking, sometimes I wasn't thinking anything; other times I was thinking things I didn't want to share with her. She didn't ever seem to appreciate that there were so many more things I had to take into account than I had planned. I could see the possible new futures every time that we did something here, and it was making me nervous. I only hoped, when we came back in time, that we'd stop Voldemort, and maybe saved my parents lives. Now, I realized that we might go back to a world where we didn't recognize anything. The pressure from it was overwhelming.

Ginny was finally starting to calm herself, and I loosened my arms around her, gently sliding myself out from her grasp.

"I'll be right back," I explained, going to put the kettle on and then soaking a flannel with cool water. When the kettle was hot, I made a pot of tea, and took it, her favorite mug and the flannel back to the bed with me. Ginny smiled crookedly at me, and pushed her hair away from her face.

I put my left hand under her chin and with my right, began to wipe the tears from her face. She looked at me with such sadness and fear in her eyes, I was reminded that as forthright and strong as Ginny appeared, she too could be vulnerable. "Can you tell me what happened?"

She gave me the slightest tip of her head, and then began speaking. "I was with Mrs. Black today, and we'd finished my lessons when she asked if I'd go with her to Gringotts to get the item we needed. I told her that I would be more than happy to go with her. Sirius was already going to be on Diagon Alley today, taking Anwen to Ollivander's to see about the repairs to her wand." The wand had been badly damaged in the attack, but everyone believed that it could be repaired. She'd been borrowing wands to do her school work while she recuperated.

"We all met at the Leaky Cauldron, and we stopped at Ollivander's and then headed down the street to the bank. Sirius and Anwen stayed with us until the goblins came with the cart to take us down to the vault. They had some other business that needed to be taken care of, but Sirius was very secretive about it. Anyway, we went down to the family vault, and the cup was sitting out.

"Mrs. Black was very cautious. She donned a pair of heavy hide gloves before she picked it up, and then she carefully slid it into a black velvet bag that was covered in runes. She told me that she was assuming that it was cursed, since that was the standard practice with a Horcrux. I tried not to look shocked, but the fact that she knew what one was, and what was done to protect such an item bothered me."

"Is that where you got all cut up and burned?" I asked.

"No," she told me as she shook her head. "When we were done, we went back to the lobby. Anwen and Sirius were leaving a private room with a goblin behind them. Sirius explained that they had one other task in London, but that he'd walk us back to the Cauldron so that we could Disapparate back to Grimmauld Place. Just as we walked through the doors, Lucius Malfoy was there. Anwen froze and turned white. Sirius stepped in front of her, drawing his wand. I drew mine as well, as did Mrs. Black. I could see her sliding the black bag into her robes out of the corner of my eye.

"I didn't think that he could know what we'd just done, but we didn't want to take any chances. He started talking, and he was saying the most vile things. Anwen was starting to hyperventilate at what he was insinuating. I thought that I might vomit from it. He's a very, very sick man." She paused and swallowed hard. I wondered if she was going to be sick now. "I heard a noise and looked around, and we were surrounded by Death Eaters. There was screaming and people running and complete chaos around us. Mrs. Black looked at Sirius, and then he and Anwen were gone. I threw up my shield and prepared to fight.

"We skirmished for a few minutes, but nothing was seeming to really connect. Mrs. Black is quite a formidable fighter, she took down one of the Death Eaters that I didn't recognize. As quickly as it started, it was over. The Aurors appeared out of nowhere, and things returned to something akin to normal. Harry, it was bizarre, I almost felt like I was being tested somehow."

I sighed loudly, feeling that she was absolutely correct in her assessment of the situation. Her presence here was no longer secret, someone wanted to find out how skilled she was. Ginny had been far more public than I, so it stood to reason that she'd be sought out first. I wondered how long I might be able to remain innocuous here.

I looked over the cuts on her arms first, they were just superficial in nature.

"Got hit with some flying bits of stone from a curse that went wide," she explained. Her hand went down to the scorch mark on her jeans, and the finger sized hole in the middle. She stuck her pointer through and groaned. "Guess that incendiary hex was closer than I thought. Darn it, I liked these jeans."

"We can replace the jeans, Gin. I can't replace you," I told her before I kissed her. She wrapped her arms around me and shifted so that she was lying down, pulling me down on top of her. We explored each others mouths until my lungs felt like they were on fire. I pulled away from her mouth, gasping for breath. She continued to kiss her way down my neck, her fingers wrestling with the buttons on the shirt that I had on.

"Gin, honey, slow down," I pleaded. I could tell that she needed comfort, but there was no need to rush.

"No, not slow," she said between licks of her tongue. "Please, Harry, I need you," she begged. I relented and went back to kissing her deeply. I couldn't be so many of the things that Ginny seemed to need lately, but this was one that I was sure I could be.

Two nights later, Ginny and I found ourselves sitting at the edge of the ballroom in Grimmauld Place. It looked nothing like a ballroom now, however. The room had been draped in rich tapestries depicting women engaged in different acts of magic throughout the ages. The room was lit by what seemed like a thousand candles, and yet, there were still dark recesses and elongated shadows thrown onto the tapestries. It gave the illusion that the stitched women were moving.

Ginny and I were seated with my Mum, and it was nearly killing me not to stare at her. I couldn't believe just how beautiful she was in person. Her smile was welcoming, her eyes were bright and dancing in the candlelight. I could swear that there was a glow emanating from her, it shined brightest when she looked over at Dad. My father was across the room talking with Sirius, and it was shocking how much I had looked like him, before I'd grown out my hair and gotten the very uncomfortable contact lenses. I was attempting to grow some facial hair as well, but I wasn't terribly successful. The fact that Ginny hated the scruff that I was able to produce didn't help either. I could swear that she was charming it off me in my sleep.

I had prepared myself for this first meeting with my parents, at least I thought that I had. I was doubting my self–assurance now. Mum and Dad were so alive and engaging, and I could feel myself being pulled to embrace them. I think that Ginny could sense how I was struggling, as she held my hand and her lips often caressed my hand, cheek or neck.

The Society was meeting tonight, and we were allowed to be present, as Ginny, Mum and I were dedicants for the circle: ones who were considering taking on the responsibilities of membership. My grandmother, Julia Potter, had apparently started Mum on the process before her death. It was a first, she was being sponsored by her mother-in-law rather than her mother, as was traditionally done. Mum wouldn't have been welcomed otherwise, seeing as she was Muggle born. For us to be here, Ginny had explained that she had just begun the studies before we left India, with her own mother. As her husband I was welcome to join. The process was a long one, including five days of personal silence and guided contemplation before we would go through the welcoming ceremony.

People were still coming in, but we sat quietly. One of the rules was that we were not to speak until spoken to. We couldn't even speak with each other, but I could see that Ginny and my Mum were using facial signals to communicate with each other and with my Dad, who was now standing at the door to the room. He and Sirius would be serving as the Sentries tonight, one on the outside of the door, the other in. This was how they would guard their secrets. We watched individuals, couples and other groupings of people enter. Mrs. Black and Sirius were the consummate hosts, and more than once I wished that I had his ease and grace around people. My Dad came over with another younger woman, and began talking to us.

"Regina, Harrison, I wanted you to meet one of my dearest friends, and my cousin on my mother's side, Alice Nighman Longbottom. Alice, may I present Regina and Harrison Parker," he said. She was tiny with a round face and expressive eyes, and I could see so much of his mother in my memories of Neville's face. She was also very obviously pregnant with him, as she looked like she had a rather large balloon stuck under her shirt. I stared at her for a moment, and then it dawned on me: Neville and I were some sort of cousins, but I was too stunned to figure out what kind.

"It is such a pleasure to meet you," she said, taking each of our hands and shaking them. "Parker did you say? You don't think that they're related to grandmum?" I tensed at this, Dumbledore had warned us that he might try to make this connection. I was hoping that the story Ginny had told him would make enough sense.

"No," Dad replied with a slight head shake. "They're from India, and I happen to know that grandmum didn't have any relatives there. France and Austria, yes, but none from India. I wondered the same thing when I heard the name."

"How are you feeling?" Mum asked.

"Like I swallowed a quaffle. They took me off active duty and put me on a desk assignment until I go on maternity leave. Just what I wanted, hours of paperwork," she sighed.

"You're absolutely glowing," Mum told her with a smile. "Take the desk work, remember it's helping you and that little one stay healthy."

"I know, I know. I thought I saw Sirius, but I don't see him now. I wanted to find out how Anwen is doing," Mrs. Longbottom said.

"She's here, upstairs in his old room," Dad told her. "He didn't want to leave her at the Manor, just in case something came up. Remus will stay up there with her while we're meeting. He's probably checking on her. He's even more protective of her now."

"Honestly, did you ever suspect that he'd settle down?" Mrs. Longbottom asked.

"I don't know," Dad answered. "Not sure that I'd call him settled down yet." With that the pregnant woman began to fume.

"You don't mean that he's running around behind that sweet girl's back. Why I'll rip his pride and joy right off his body..."she went into a tirade.

"No, no, no, no. I just mean that Sirius isn't exactly any less...well himself, even with Anwen in his life. Believe me, Alice, if we thought that he was doing anything that would hurt her, Remus, Peter and I would be giving him enough pain for it."

"And you all would be behind me," my Mum said, and from the look on her face, I didn't doubt it.

"I hope that we don't run too late tonight, I would very much like to see her. Why aren't she and Remus part of the dedicant class?"

"Anwen's still too young, since she wasn't raised in a family that is part of the Society. I don't doubt that Aunt Wally will sponsor her when she's of age. I know that Mum had wanted to. Remus is another matter. Even though Mrs. Lupin was a member, there are some of the older women who object due to his...condition." Dad sounded sad as he spoke.

"Of all of the half-assed things to believe. Honestly, isn't there something that we can do about their antiquated ideas? It's bad enough that those ridiculous laws keep him from working, but do we have to perpetuate the ideas in a group that prizes tolerance and understanding above all else?" Mrs. Longbottom was quite impassioned about this. I got the feeling that she wasn't someone that I wanted to cross.

"Well, when you figure out how to talk some sense into your mother-in-law and Mrs. Prewett, then we'll have some luck," Mum said with a sharpness that surprised me.

"I'll keep working on Augusta, but Grand-Dame Muriel, that could be a whole other issue. The only one that seems to be able to exert any pressure on her is Molly, who won't be around for a few months. She's having a rough time with this pregnancy. The healers told her to stay off her feet until she gives birth. Honestly, with the other boys...no way that she'll make it," Mrs. Longbottom explained.

"I didn't realize that she was having so many problems. I'll make dinner and pop it over to her tomorrow. Maybe we can all take turns helping her out at home," Mum suggested, and I looked at Ginny. She had gotten quite white, I supposed that she was feeling like I had been, knowing that her Mum and Dad were nearby, but she couldn't see them.

Dad was about to say something, when Sirius and his mother came back into the room, and walked over to us.

"Anwen is all settled upstairs in my old bedroom. She looks so tired, our little encounter the other day on Diagon Alley still has her upset. The nightmares have returned with a vengeance," he told us. He looked tired himself.

"I'll speak with her later, if you think it will help," Ginny offered.

"I know it does," Sirius answered with a look of relief on his face. "I don't know what it is that you say to her, but she always seems more relaxed after she's seen you."

"Regina has a true gift of comforting," Mrs. Black said. I could see Ginny blush at the compliment. "The time has come to begin our meeting. Boys, if you will take your places?" Dad and Sirius nodded and walked to the door. Sirius stepped to the outside, and then Dad closed it behind him. Mrs. Longbottom and Mrs. Black went and took their seats.

There was a small raised dais in the center of the room that had a short table on it. The table was draped in a white embroidered cloth. Around the dais there were five chairs. Farther out from these chairs, was another ring of chairs; one of which was raised slightly above the rest. Even farther out, there was another smattering of chairs. These lined up perfectly behind certain seats of the outer ring.

Five of the women put their wands to their heads, and they appeared in elaborate robes. Mrs. Black was wearing a white one while Professor McGonagall was in a red one, I didn't know the other three. We watched as the women took their seats. The women in the robes took the seats closest to the dais. The rest of the women sat in the circle surrounding them. The eldest of the women, the one I assumed was Mrs. Prewett from the way that Mum and Mrs. Longbottom had looked at her when they were discussing her, took the seat that was raised. The men were sitting in the last ring of seats. They were all aged about the same as the woman in front of them, and I wondered if they were their husbands.

"Brother Sentinel, are the doors secured?" Mrs. Prewett asked.

Dad checked the door handles to make sure that they were indeed closed. "They are, Madame Esteemed Elder."

"Thank you," she responded and then raised her wand, casting what looked like a silencing charm. "Our sacred space is secured. Sister Walburga, we may begin our meeting."

Mrs. Black bowed her head, and I could see her lips moving but no sound came out. Then she moved her wand in an intricate pattern over the table. A cup, I assumed that it was the one that was stolen from Gringotts the other day flew to her from within the darkness and settled on the table, along with two white candles at the end closest to the Esteemed Elder and two black ones at the end closest to us. Each of the women in the brightly colored robes took their wands and lit the candle closest to her.

"Teachers of the past, guardians of the knowledge," Mrs. Black began, "be with us here tonight. Guide our endeavors and enlighten us to your ways. Make us strong in the face of evil and sure in our edification. All that is within, all that is without, move through us this night."

"We seek to free this vessel from the spell that is binding it. We seek to free the soul that is trapped within, and shepherd it on to the next world, whatever that might be. Make sure our path, and steady our resolve to do all things as our mothers, grandmothers and the ancient sisters of our kind have done since the first spell was cast.

"We call upon the Fairies of the sky, the wise ones from the air, to come and loosen the ties that secure the magic. Loosen them, Celtic sisters, bearers of the breath of life," Mrs. Black said, and the woman to her direct right stood. She was dressed in robes of a golden hue and decorated with what I did recognize as Younger Futhark runes decorating the hem of her gown. She moved her wand above the cup, and a yellow spell emanated and wove around the cup.

"We call upon the Pythoness of the sand, the teachers from the cradle of all knowledge to come and pull the spells away from the vessel. Secure the vessel to the earth, while the spells upon it are beckoned to depart." The woman further right, near the top of the table stood. She was dressed in robes of a deep green, and she appeared to have Egyptian hieroglyphs embroidered on her gown. Again, the woman twisted and turned her wand above the cup, and a corresponding verdant spell was seen. The cup began to rattle and shake upon the dais.

"We call upon the Oracles of the water, the great seers from the past and into the future to wash the vessel clean. Modern magic was begun in your Hellenistic hands and minds, cleanse the vessel from its accursed spell." A woman in deep blue robes stood, her gown graced with letters from the Greek alphabet. Her wand produced a shimmering blue spell, reminiscent of water. A mist could be seen emanating from the cup, twisting up and away from it.

As if on some unseen cue, all of the gathered - save the three of us separated from the main group - lifted their own wands and moved them in unison. A translucent bubble appeared around the cup. The bubble moved and flexed with the gesticulations of the cup enclosed within it.

"We call upon the Mystic controllers of fire, the educators from the far east, come to us and burn away the remnants of the curse upon our vessel. May the vessel be like a phoenix, consumed by fire and then freed by that same flame for new life." Professor McGonagall stood in her ruby robes and moved her wand over the cup. Nearly transparent flames wicked away from her wand and passed through the bubble to envelop the cup. The mist burned away, leaving the cup and now a black tendril rising up from it. The tendril slithered and spun, bouncing itself against the sides of the bubble, as if trying to break it. The bubble held firm, but when the tendril twisted toward where we were sitting, my scar began to throb.

My hand went reflexively to my head. It hadn't hurt me at all since we'd come back in time, I couldn't figure out why it was hurting now. I looked up at the group, they didn't seem to notice anything, but Ginny certainly had. She wrapped an arm around me, rubbing my shoulders. I looked at the tendril again, it was still pounding itself against the side of the bubble with more persistence now.

Mrs. Black lifted her wand, the candles immediately extinguished and then disappeared. The table below the cup disappeared as well, leaving only the dais. Another woman, this one looking very familiar, got up and spread a cloth out on the dais under the cup. It appeared to be the form a bird, entirely black. When she was done, the cup drifted down onto the cloth bird.

My head was still hurting, the tendril was still trying to free itself as a huge white pillar candle appeared. The woman who had laid the cloth lit it, and then surrounded it with some other smaller burning things. It took a moment, but the air took on a heavy perfume from the burning sticks. The other woman was still standing, her wand still out as she began chanting:

Spirit within, you are free

Spirit within, move from this world

Spirit within, find your peace

Others in the room began to chant with her, and before long, they were all speaking, sounding like one voice. As the chanting grew louder, so did the pain in my head. Both of my hands were now holding my head, trying to keep it from exploding apart from the pain. I felt like my skull was being ripped away.

I could hear the chanting still, it was ringing in my ears, but I could also hear it from inside my head. It was so much worse than when Voldemort was planting ideas in my head back in my fifth year. The pain was the same as when I was in the house in Godric's Hollow. It was taking all of my strength not to scream out from it.

Ginny had moved and was kneeling in front of me, and Mum had moved next to me. I couldn't hear them or see them, I could only hear the chanting, feel the pain, see the blinding white light before my eyes.

I could hear something explode across the room from me, and for one moment I heard Ginny.

"Is it your scar? What's happening?" she cried, and then I couldn't hear her anymore.

Everything went pitch black and then brilliantly white, and I felt like I was drowning in fire. Then there was nothing.