Disclaimer:
Nothing is mine. Harry Potter (the Weasley family and so on) belongs to JKR and those who publish her books. Damien is Kurinoone's and Harry's background is kind of hers, too. I am doing this for fun (and to sleep peacefully) and I earn no money for this story. There are parts of this story that have been written by JKR and parts that have been written by Kurinoone.
Chapter Thirty-Six – Storms Of Fury And Guilt
Ginny was paced around her room, fuming silently. They hadn't let her go see Harry. And he was angry with her. She needed to knock some sense into that silly boy. But how could she do that when she wasn't allowed near him? She had to find a way around that. And she would. She had sneaked out before and she would do it again.
Someone knocked on her door, which made it clear that it wasn't one of the twins or Ron outside her door. They had never knocked before and they probably wouldn't start now or ever.
She opened the door to Percy. "What is it?" She asked, trying to bite down her anger.
"Someone wants to see you." He said, pushing his glasses up his nose. They were mended. And his fingernails were cut.
Ginny frowned but Percy didn't say more. She quickly thanked him and raced past him down the stairs. Maybe it was Hermione or Damien, trying to check on her. Maybe she could convince them to pass on a note to Harry. It wasn't them. Instead a mob of unruly black hair greeted her. He was turned away from her, talking softly to her mother. Relief washed over her.
"Harry!" She cried out and was about to launch herself at him when he turned around. It was his father. "Oh," She stopped mid-step, feeling awkward but thanking Merlin that she hadn't reached and hugged him before he had turned around. "Hello Mr. Potter."
A smile tugged on his face before it broke out full force. His eyes were shining brightly behind his glasses. You could see that he was perfectly happy. "Hello Ginny, it's good to see you." He paused. "I wanted to talk to you actually."
"Can I offer you a cup of tea? Or coffee?" asked her mother, wringing her apron.
"A cup of tea would be great, thanks." Mr. Potter said.
Her mother took out a cup. "Why don't you sit down?" she asked, motioning to the table. Mr. Potter nodded and sat down. For Ginny it was clear that she wanted them to talk here, in the kitchen and not somewhere else. She wanted to hear what they said. Ginny threw her mother a dark glance before filling herself a cup of coffee. She took the one for Mr. Potter as well and set it down on the table in front of him, while she sat down opposite of him.
Ginny took a gulp of coffee, before asking: "How's Harry?"
Mr. Potter stirred his tea. "He's good I suppose. Still shocked but very grateful for what happened."
Ginny raised an eyebrow. This didn't sound much like Harry. Her mother sat down next to them, watching her. Ginny could see in her face that she would say something if she asked more about Harry. Ginny opened her mouth, ready to do exactly that but Mr. Potter was faster.
"And I'm grateful as well. We're all grateful and that's what I'm here for. I want to thank you, Ginny. Without you this wouldn't have been possible. I spoke with Albus very shortly and he told me it was you who told him about Frank and Alice and therefore it was you who made it possible for him to defend Harry. I'll never be able to thank you enough for this. You're the reason my son is back home. Thank you."
Ginny tried to smile. This would be so much easier if Harry was seeing it the same way. She set her jaw. But he would. He had to. "Did Harry-" Her mother cleared her throat. Ginny continued anyway. "Did Harry say something to you?"
Mr. Potter looked confused. "About what?"
"Well, he didn't seem that grateful that I told everyone about Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom and myself." Ginny bit her lip, before taking another gulp of coffee.
Mr. Potter frowned. "No, he said nothing about that but maybe you just mistook something?"
Ginny's heart clenched painfully. So, it wasn't Harry who wanted his father to come. There was no apology he would pass on. Ginny tried to smile. "Yes, maybe I did." It wouldn't bring anything to fight about this with Mr. Potter. It wasn't him she wanted to see reason after all.
"I'm very sure he's just as grateful as I am. What you did was very brave." Mr. Potter smiled at her and took a gulp of tea.
"It was nothing." Ginny said.
"No, it was everything that made the difference. If there's something- anything I can do for you let me know."
Ginny swallowed. "Can I- maybe- could I visit Harry sometime?"
Mr. Potter smiled. "Of course, Ginny, you're always welcomed at our place. That didn't change. If you want to, I could take you now-"
"No." Her mother said abruptly. Mr. Potter turned towards her. "There's still a lot to catch up. She just got home, we won't let her go so soon." Her mother said, smiling at Ginny. Ginny sent her a dark glare. This wasn't what it was about and they both knew that.
"Of course, of course." Mr. Potter smiled. "That is my cue to leave, too. I've got a lot catching up to do as well." He stood up. "Thank you for the tea, Molly." He turned to Ginny. "And thank you again, Ginny. As I said, you're welcome to visit us. Just give us a floo call and you can come over!" He smiled at them both before leaving.
Her mother watched him leave through the window and only when he had disappeared, did she turn to her again. "Ginny!" she scolded. "I thought it was clear that you wouldn't see him again anytime soon! Going behind our backs, trying to go with Mr. Potter-" She shook her head. Her face was slowly turning red and she clenched her hands. "If it was about me, you would never see that-" She struggled with her words. "boy again."
"Well, but it's not up to you, Mum. It's up to me." Ginny said stubbornly.
"I'm your mother and you're underage. Your father and I can decide who you spent your time with and we forbid you to spend time with him."
"Why? You were at the trial, you know what happened, you know that he's innocent! He was freed from all charges!"
Her mother snorted. "Innocent? He may not have killed you or the Longbottoms but there are other people! People who had lives and wives and children and he killed them. Ginny, he's a murderer and I don't want you associated with that."
Ginny gaped. "Mum! They were Death Eaters! You never cared about Death Eaters before. And he saved my life! Countless times. You don't know him like I do, I-"
"You don't know him either, Ginny. He probably made you see whatever he wanted you to but-"
"How do you know that? How can you judge him like that without speaking to him once?" Ginny crossed her arms. "He's freed, Mum! Freed! By the Ministry of Magic, he's not a criminal!"
"Well," her mother said. "In my books he is."
Ginny clenched her teeth. "But, he's not! He's everything but that!"
Her mother shook her head, clenching her cup. "You can't change my view on this, Ginny."
"How can you say that without giving him a chance? That's horrible of you!" Ginny sprang to her feet.
At seeing her furious face, her mother tried to calm her down. "I might give him a chance but not now."
"But why not? I want to see him now." she asked.
"You won't, not now." Her mother said, standing up as well. She took the cups and brought them to the sink.
"Am I going to be allowed to see him ever again?" Ginny asked.
Her mother turned around. "I don't know why you need to see him anyway. Everything is done. You're home, you can go back to like it was before."
"It'll never be the same again! I- I- Mum, I need to see him because-" She took a deep breath, knowing that this was not the right time but the right time for this confession would probably never come. "Mum, we – Harry and I... we're together."
Her mother dropped the towel she was holding. "What?" She nearly squeaked.
"He's my boyfriend, Mum. And I want to see him. And this is never going to change!"
"No," her mother shook her head. "No, this can't be. Did he force you to take anything? Maybe he dosed you with a love potion..."
"Mum, he didn't! Let me see him! You can't keep me in here forever."
Her mother's eyes snapped up. "You're grounded."
Ginny gaped. "What? For what? For speaking my mind? This won't change a thing! I'll find a way!" She nearly screamed into her mother's face.
"Well, you won't leave my eyesight then." Her mother said, picking up the towel. "Don't worry, Ginny, everything is going back to the way it used to be. It will just take some time, you'll see. It'll-" She shook her head and broke off.
"It's not! And you can't lock me be in here forever!" Ginny turned around and stamped up the stairs. Her mother called after her but she ignored her, slamming her door close as soon as she entered her room. She kicked her bed and crossed her arms. She felt like screaming and punching and throwing a fit. But that wouldn't change a thing. When her mother had sat her mind on something, she wouldn't budge. But neither would Ginny.
xxx
Ginny got angrier with every passing day and she made that fact known to every single one of her family members. She had tried writing a letter to Harry, which had taken her hours to finish. She just couldn't find the right words but when she was somewhat satisfied she had thought about how she would get it to him. She had tried to get it to Errol but he was strangely missing whenever she tried to find him. So she had asked Percy for Hermes but he had declined, not saying outright that she couldn't use it but that Hermes was busy doing important things. She had given the letter to Ron, threatening him not to read it but to pass it on. He had been willing to help her and had given it to Damien but Damien had returned it to Ron, telling him that Harry hadn't wanted to read it. She had been disappointed and hurt even worse but she wasn't about to give up. She had tried to reach Harry via floo but she was never alone with the fireplace. They knew she couldn't apparate, so the easiest way was to travel via floo and they knew that very well. She was never alone in the garden to sneak away either or she would have tried taking the Knight Bus. Ginny felt more caged than ever before.
She couldn't sleep either and whenever she finally managed to, she had nightmares. Whenever she woke, she tried to find Harry with her hand but of course he wasn't there and she only reached for her nightstand. So she spent many nights wandering the house. At first someone had been awake only moments after she had left her room and she had the suspicion that they had set an alarm on her door or something like that. She had asked Hermione about it but she hadn't known any spell like that. It had stopped after a while and she had been glad for the quiet and she had tried to sneak out but as soon as she opened the front door someone had appeared downstairs. So she had tried the windows. But they had thought about that too. So she was left to wander the house only. She had drank litres of coffee and tea and had written endless of letters to Harry but he didn't accept any of them and after a while Damien and Ron grew tired of trying to pass them on. Once she had managed to get Hermes but he had returned with an unopened letter. It was driving her insane how they seemed to guess every step she would try to take and Ginny knew that not only her parents were behind that. They would never have thought about everything. But her brothers did. Ron had sworn he had nothing to do with it and he had tried to help her but the others had dotted on and never left Ron to watch her alone.
And so she let them know how angry she was. She had stopped helping her mother, getting ruder with every day. She had insulted and screamed at her father. Her brothers knew better than getting her to talk about it. She had smashed the Quaffle in their faces when they had tried to play Quidditch with her and the garden gnomes were thrown with such a force over the fence that even Charlie had hid from her when she had marched up to him, ready for a brawl. Everyone was walking on eggshells around her these days which made everything worse. But she hoped that they would see her anger, that they couldn't help but trying ways to calm her down and they tried endless of those and that finally, finally they would get that she only needed to see Harry and she would calm down. But they didn't change their minds.
Nearly two weeks had passed since the trial and Ginny only managed to gather news about Harry through Ron and the newspaper. The Potter's had moved and there had been a housewarming party and they had been invited. Her parents had declined but Ron had been there very shortly. He wouldn't shut up about the Potter's Quidditch pitch now. Later on she had learned that Neville and Harry had gotten into a fight. She could imagine what it had been about.
And then the newspaper came with the attack on Hogsmeade. Her father and brothers – minus Ron – had been there, helping to fight but they wouldn't say much about it only that it hadn't been that big, that there hadn't been many casualties and that they had been unhurt but that Voldemort himself had been there. And then Ginny had seen the picture with the large tomb for Harry. She had fought with her parents worse than ever, trying to get them to let her see Harry. She had tried to argue very calmly, after that she had screamed and smashed dishes. Nothing had changed their minds and Ginny grew even angrier and her mood even fouler.
At the moment she was sitting in the kitchen, reading a book about defence. Ron, Fred and George were outside playing Quidditch. Bill and Charlie were all in the house preparing for something while her mother was in the kitchen, already preparing dinner. Percy and her father were at work. Charlie was the first to appear, followed closely by Bill.
"We're on our way then, Mum." said Bill, quickly kissing her cheek.
Her mother nodded. "Do you know when you'll be back?"
"Before you're serving dinner, of course," said Charlie, peering into the pots.
"Where're you going?" asked Ginny, who had stopped skimming the pages of her book.
"Calmed down again, furystorm?" asked Charlie, grinning. It was their new nickname for her. And Ginny didn't care for it much. When her mother wasn't looking, she showed him the finger.
"But since you're asking so nicely: we're going to train." explained Bill. At seeing her still confused look, he continued: "Sirius has finished some renovations in the dungeons of Grimmauld Place. It's some kind of training area for the Order and we want to try it out."
"Can I come?" asked Ginny quickly. This sounded like something Harry had inspired. And maybe he was there.
"You're still grounded." said her mother sharply.
Ginny thought about it quickly. "Well, firstly, I could use some real practise, you know for school," she held up her book. "And I think it would be good if I see something else besides the Burrow. And maybe I can work through some of my anger?" And quickly she added. "And Bill and Charlie will be there, of course, they'll keep an eye on me." She fluttered her eyelashes innocently and smiled her most girly smile. "Please, Mum."
Her mother studied her for a while. "If Bill and Charlie are willing to take you-" She said, turning around to her two oldest sons. They shared a quick look before nodding. Ginny grinned. Harry would be proud.
"Are we going to floo?" she asked, standing up and closing her book.
Bill nodded and motioned for her to come over. He threw some floo powder in and together they stepped into the fireplace. Bill shouted out the location and they disappeared into the twirling.
They landed in the familiar kitchen. Mr. Black was already there, at his side was Mr. Lupin. Charlie arrived very quickly after them. After greetings were exchanged, Charlie explained Ginny's presence: "We brought the little one." He placed his arm around Ginny's shoulder and pulled her in for a half-hug.
"So," asked Ginny, looking from Charlie to Bill. "What can I do that you'll let me go?"
"Nothing," grinned Charlie. "We swore we wouldn't, so you'll have to stay, sorry."
"She's grounded." explained Bill to the others. "And she begged us to come. We told her about the new training area and she wants to try it as well."
"If I'm allowed to," added Ginny hastily.
"Of course, the more the merrier." grinned Mr. Black at her. "What did you do to be grounded already?"
Ginny's face darkened. Bill quickly stepped in. "She cursed worse than some goblins I work with."
Charlie added: "She smashed some dishes, nearly broke Fred's nose and got into a brawl with me the other day." Mr. Black laughed.
"Which you lost." pointed Ginny out. Mr. Lupin grinned.
"I did not. Everything was going well until you cheated." justified Charlie himself.
"I did not cheat!" Ginny smirked. "Just because you're a little girl that can't even defend a kick to the stomach-"
Charlie blushed. "Yeah, well, I've never seen this twirl and kick thing you pulled off before. Definitively cheating!"
Mr. Black grinned. "Well, that sounds strangely familiar. Wonder who you learned it from." He waggled his eyebrows.
Charlie's face darkened at once. "He-you-"
Ginny shrugged her shoulders. "So, whose of my brother's asses am I allowed to kick first, Mr. Black?"
"Please, call me Sirius and that's not exactly how it works." He winked. "Well, follow me then!"
He opened the door and led them down another set of stairs. Ginny had never been down there before but obviously Sirius had changed some things. Everything looked new, clean and very unused. There was a small room with some couches and a small table and a lectern facing a large wall of glass. Or maybe they were simply large windows. Through the wall you could see another larger room which looked empty.
"It may not look like much but believe me, it's great fun!" said Sirius, stepping over to the lectern. "On here are buttons. Pressing those allows you to choose from a variety of dummies to duel against. They can be varied in speed and power. Who wants to try it out first?"
Ginny volunteered at once.
"Well then, gentleman, sit down." Sirius turned to Ginny. "You need your wand obviously-"
"Did Mum and Dad return your wand to you already?" asked Bill suddenly.
Ginny shook her head. "Doesn't mean I don't have one though." She flicked her wrist and her wand appeared.
Charlie frowned. "But that isn't yours and you didn't have one of those the last time I checked." He motioned to the wand holster.
Ginny shrugged. "I got it from Harry."
Bill and Charlie frowned. Mr. Lupin smiled while Sirius' raised his eyebrows. It was Sirius who asked: "Is it registered?"
Ginny shook her head and at seeing her brother's faces she quickly added: "It's only illegal to buy and sell those not to use them!"
"And the last time I checked you didn't know that either." said Bill dryly. "Do Mum and Dad know about the wand?"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Of course not and I plan to keep it that way. And if the question ever arises and you can do something about it: I would like my real wand back anyway."
Bill frowned. "You know we'll tell them-"
Ginny interrupted him. "Well, if you really want Mum and Dad to know about that one time you had friends over... more precisely girl friends while they were out and you were supposed to look after me and-"
"Okay, okay, I get it, no need to get all dirty, furystrom." surrendered Charlie.
Ginny grinned. "Can I start then?"
Sirius nodded, still smirking. He waved his wand. One of the glass windows lowered itself. "Just step through. Once you're inside you can't get out until I let you. But don't worry, I've got everything under control. If you don't manage any longer I'll stop the whole thing. If you want to stop, just tell me, we're able to hear you." Ginny nodded and stepped into the other room. The window reappeared on his former place.
"Ready?" asked Sirius. She could hear him just fine. She nodded and grabbed her wand tighter, falling into the battle position Harry had shown her. "3, 2, 1- go!"
At first there was nothing before a first dummy appeared. His stick wand rose and he shouted an Expelliarmus. She threw it off and sent a Stunner at him. He got hit and disappeared. A new dummy appeared and the whole thing was repeated but quicker. Over time they got quicker and the spells and hexes varied and got worse. She ducked and reflected spells, even bringing up the shield Harry had taught her once. She was out of breath after a while but she wouldn't stop. This was good for her and she could hear them clapping and encouraging her. The adrenaline was pumping in her veins and another dummy appeared and she tried to work of her anger and stress and concentrated on the spell and her parents and the whole situation as much as she could and shouted an Expelliarmus. The spell flew from her wand and hit the dummy right into the chest. And it was thrown back really violently, smashing against the glass wall. And the dummy sled down the wall. And she was back in a dark alley.
She could smell the garbage from that night; she could hear the shattering glass and siren going off. She gripped her wand tighter like she had done in that night and she saw herself walking forward to that man, that Death Eater. She could see the trail of blood and she reached him and kneeled down, her hands trying to get the mask from his face but she couldn't reach him as long as she tried. And she knew that she had killed him. He was dead because he had attacked Harry and she had reacted without knowing the real situation and everything was her fault and she didn't hear her wand clatter to the ground or Sirius cancelling the programme or Bill and Charlie standing at her side, trying to get her to response. She felt someone grabbing her but she thought it was Harry back in that alley. And she was pulled away and lowered into a couch and suddenly her mother was in front of her and cradled her head against her chest and Ginny slowly blinked a few times before she realised where she was. They had brought her from the training room to the couches and she was crying horrible into her mother's cloak but the green light flashed in her head and she cried harder, sobbing now. She pulled away from her mother who was trying to get her to calm down. Bill handed her a handkerchief and she blew her nose. Sirius and Mr. Lupin were standing in the back, looking at her, their faces full of worry, talking quietly with each other. Her mother was sitting beside her on the couch, asking her what was wrong. Charlie stood in front of her, frowning, while Bill sat at her other side.
"Ginny? What happened?" asked her mother again.
Ginny shook her head and blew her nose again. "Nothing, I'm okay. Can I try again?" She looked up at Sirius but he shook his head.
"This looked like a flashback, Ginny." said Mr. Lupin quietly. "Was there something- did something happen that could have lead to a trauma for you? What did you see when you zoomed out?"
But Ginny kept silent, clenching her hands and looking away.
Her mother tried to pull her into her arms again but Ginny didn't let her. "Is there anything we can do, Ginny?" asked her mother, sounding desperate.
Ginny looked up at her. "I want to see Harry."
Her mother frowned and shook her head. "I told you before-"
"You asked what you could do. I want to see Harry. Mum, please." She tried begging once again. But her mother shook her head even more furiously before turning to Mr. Lupin. "A trauma you say?"
Mr. Lupin nodded. "I'm no expert but it looked like something triggered a memory of hers and she was back in the past, reliving it."
Her mother bit her lip and brushed some of Ginny's hair away. Ginny leant back out of her reach. "What can we do-"
Ginny interrupted her. "Just let me see Harry."
"After what happened just now? Never again, Ginny. Obviously something happened on the run and I bet he's the reason. No, Ginny, after that-" Her mother shook her head.
Ginny felt like crying all over again. "He didn't! He only helped me, he, he-"
"Harry taught her some defence spells." added Sirius. "What she just did was really impressive and she's only fifteen!"
Her mother gasped and looked at Ginny. "He- he taught you. What did he teach you? What did he do to you, Ginny?"
"What do you think happened, Mum?" asked Ginny, crossing her arms.
"I don't want you to learn the Dark Arts! You won't learn more dark spells and- and" She took a deep breath. "You don't know how to kill, do you Ginny? Of course not," She shook her head. "You'll never ever see him again, who knows what he's having you do-"
Ginny sprang to her feet, throwing the handkerchief aside. "Well, it's too late for that, mother."
Her mother paled as did her brothers. "What do you mean?"
"I already killed." She spat it into her mother's face. "Am I a killer now? Am I a murderer now? Do I deserve to rot in Azkaban as well? What are you going to do? Never talk to me again? Are you going to forbid me to see myself? Are you going to lock me away forever now?" Her mother spluttered and opened and closed her mouth. "And do you know what, Mum?" She asked, nearly screaming at her. "I would do it again every day!"
xxx
"Nice surprise, Sirius!" greeted him James, smiling brightly. Sirius had waited for Molly and her children to floo home before he had apparated to Potter Manor.
"I'm here to talk to Harry actually." He said, while hugging James shortly.
"He's in the living-room with Damien. Is everything okay?"
Sirius nodded, making his way over to the boys, James trailing behind him. Damien and Harry sat on the couch, facing each other, talking quietly. Damien beamed up at him. Sirius walked over and messed up his hair before greeting Harry.
"What is it you want to talk about with Harry?" asked James. Lily joined them from the kitchen, greeting him softly.
Sirius greeted her as well before turning to Harry. "I want to talk about Ginny."
Harry froze and the smile slipped from his face. "What about her?"
Damien frowned, looking from Sirius to Harry. Sirius glanced shortly at the other Potters present before deciding that they could hear this too. They would probably hear about it later on anyway.
"She was over at Grimmauld Place with her brothers Bill and Charlie."
"The oldest two," said Damien quickly. Harry threw him a glare, clearing telling him that he knew who they were.
"She's grounded and they thought she could use a change, so they brought her to try out the training area and at first she was doing great, really impressive actually before-" He took a deep breath, Harry frowned. "She overpowered an Expelliarmus and a dummy was thrown back and suddenly she was in shock." Harry's face darkened. "She didn't response to us and just cried. She- she begged to see you actually."
Harry sighed deeply and rubbed his face. Damien frowned. He didn't seem to have any idea what this was about. Lily and James didn't look better. "Did she say what it was about?" asked Lily softly.
"Is she still at Grimmauld Place?" asked Harry suddenly. Sirius shook his head. "She's at home. Molly came and tried to calm her down. I don't think she managed through. She threw a fit and- and-" Sirius frowned, making a wide gesture. "She actually said she had killed someone." Sirius swallowed nervously, trying to guess from Harry's face what had happened.
Harry cursed before standing up. "I need to see her."
James and Lily gasped. "What- what did she say?" asked Lily quietly.
"You can't go, Harry," said Damien, looking shocked as well. "They've got a Fidelius Charm up."
"But you could take me right? Or who of you knows where they-"
Sirius interrupted him. "Believe me, Harry, that's not a good idea. I saw Molly's face and-"
"Well, I don't give a damn about her mother."
Lily gave him a disapproving look. "Molly Weasley is a very-"
"As I said, I don't give a damn." interrupted Harry her. "I need to see Ginny."
"They won't let you see her, Harry. Molly seemed very strict about that. She knows you taught her and- what I actually came for, what I wanted to ask is: is it true? Did she really kill someone? What happened?"
Harry started pacing, shaking his head. "I don't know. I don't think so." He paused. "We were ambushed by Death Eaters and I told her to stay behind and hide but she didn't listen to me and one of them tried to sneak up on me and I let him believe that I hadn't noticed him while I was getting rid of the rest and he tried to curse me from behind and Ginny saw and acted. She overpowered an Expelliarmus that day as well. The man was thrown back into a shop window. It shattered and he was blown against the wall. There was blood and Ginny tried to find out if he still had a pulse. The impact was pretty bad. But before she could, I killed him for sure. So, no, I don't know but obviously she thinks she did."
Sirius sighed. "So she didn't actually murder someone?" He seemed relieved. Lily had sat down, shaking her head, while James looked deep in thoughts. Damien was staring at his brother.
Harry still paced the room but he stopped to look at Sirius. "If you mean if she actually pointed her wand at someone with the intention to kill them, then no. It was an accident. She was angry and just reacted. It's really my fault."
"Ginny made it look otherwise. She seemed really pissed about her mother. And Charlie mentioned she had gotten into a lot of fights with her brothers."
Damien gave Harry a pointed look. "And you didn't even want to read her letters!" Harry glared at him but Damien shrugged his shoulders.
"And she asked about you when I went to see her after your trial," added James.
Harry turned to face him. "You went to see her?"
"Yes, I wanted to thank her for what she went through at the trial for you and that she had searched out Albus and told him what she knew. You know, you wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her." James explained.
Lily gasped before a slow smile spread on her face. "Hang on a moment," She paused. "Ginny's the girl you told me about after you were ill because of the magic transfer, isn't she?"
Harry burrowed his hands in his pockets, rolling his eyes. "What does that matter now?"
"What girl?" asked Sirius confused.
"Harry told me that his girlfriend took care of him and that I didn't have to worry about him. Your girlfriend is Ginny Weasley!"
"I didn't say that." pointed Harry out.
"She isn't your girlfriend then?" asked Lily, nearly disappointed.
Harry groaned. "Well, she kind of is."
"Why haven't you seen each other yet then?" asked James confused.
"We're fighting." said Harry shortly.
Damien snorted. "You're angry because she broke her promise to you and told everyone about Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom and you're unwilling to communicate with her in any way." At Harry's raised eyebrow, he hastily added: "Ron talked with Ginny and he told me."
"Harry!" shrieked Lily. "Ginny did that for you! You would have gotten the Dementor's Kiss otherwise."
Harry glared darkly at all of them. "Well, I'd rather have taken it."
Lily gasped; James was in two steps at Harry's side, gripping his shoulders. "Don't you dare to say something like that, Harry!"
Harry stepped back from James. "Well, I just did, didn't I?" He crossed his arms. "And when exactly did this turn into conversation about my relationship? We were talking about Ginny."
"It seems like they are pretty linked together." pointed Sirius out.
"And after what you just revealed, it's pretty clear that you not only have to speak with her but apologize to her as well. She did nothing wrong and obviously she's really suffering!" Lily added. "She's such a sweet girl, she doesn't deserve that." She berated her son.
Harry clenched his teeth. "Well, it was I who wanted to go to see her right away, wasn't it?" pointed Harry out sarcastically.
"And as I said, that doesn't sound like a good idea. Molly seemed to blame everything on you and she looked willing to strangle you." repeated Sirius his concern from before.
Harry raised his eyebrow. "I can deal with her, I've had worse."
"But you won't deal with her." said James strictly. "I'll floo over and try to explain what really happened."
"But it's me Ginny wants to see, not you." said Harry.
"I'll try to arrange something about that but firstly it's important that her parents don't think my son taught their daughter how to kill." He gave Harry a pointed look. "Is there anything else I need to know?"
Harry shook his head. "I taught her nothing like that, only some basic defence stuff."
"That shield of hers didn't look basic." pointed Sirius out.
Harry threw him a dark look. "I only taught her light spells, nothing dark. I wouldn't do that and she wouldn't want to learn them anyway."
"Well, good, I'm on my way then." James said.
"I'll come too, maybe I can help." interfered Sirius.
"Can't I at least come along?" Harry asked, annoyed.
Lily smiled. "Sweetie, I'm sure you'll see her again soon."
"If you write her a letter, I'll pass it on to Ron who'll give it to her. He wanted to come over later anyway." suggested Damien.
Harry groaned but turned around, taking the stairs three at a time, entering his room. Hastily he pulled out some parchment, a quill and ink. He still hadn't gotten used to his new room but at least he knew were most of his things were now. It took him several tries and lots of time until he finally had something passable that he could pass along to her. He was just rubbish at those things but if she really was suffering so much and this was the only way to reach her, he would have to take his chance. Maybe he could after all overlook that she had broken a promise. At least once, at least for her.
xxx
AN: Potters down, Weasleys to go, huh? Let me know what you think!