"Kalopsia"

"Chapter Five"

Harry wandered around until the early hours of the morning. He looked for any sign of his previous life, of the flashes of what he knew was real. There were no broken fans in the twinkling night sky, no phantom Ginny, no girl strung up or in a field, nothing. It was only his dream, his hallucination, his whatever.

He walked until his legs ached and his throat cried for water. He stood under the moonlight and started a mantra in his head. Ginny, Teddy, James, Albus. He couldn't forget their names when all of his memories were slipping through his fingers like smoke. He didn't want to forget them. Never them.

It was nearly three in the morning when he arrived back at Sirius' cottage. His godfather had waited up for him, slouched tiredly on the chesterfield. They exchanged no words. A head nod of acknowledgement passed between them before they hauled their exhausted frames up the stairs and into their bedrooms.

Sitting on the bed, Harry conjured a bit of parchment and a quill. On one sheet he wrote:

Ginny – wife, red hair, freckles, warm brown eyes, smells like honeysuckle and home, lips twitch when she's trying to be cross, hilariously funny

Teddy – son, eight, alternates between turquoise and black hair, mummy's boy, mischievous

James – son, two, Ginny's eyes, freckles on his nose, loves when I blow raspberries on his belly

Albus – son, newborn, my green eyes, my hair, Ginny says he looks like a mini me

A lump formed in his throat as he stared at the names, the brief information. He couldn't forget. He would never forget. He repeated the names in his head; the parchment clutched in his hand, until he drifted off to sleep.

He awoke to the sound of knocking and a vaguely familiar voice asking if he was alright. Harry blinked several times, trying to orient himself. The ceiling above looked murky, stained and gross. His eyes slid shut as a groan escaped his throat. He looked up once more to see the stark white ceiling. Rolling over on his side, he noticed everything was intact. He had only been displaced for a few moments.

It was then that Harry noticed the piece of parchment still in his hand. He read the names, the brief descriptions, and his heart ached for his family.

"Harry, sweetheart, if you don't answer me in five seconds, I'm coming in!"

"Come in!" Harry croaked as he grabbed his glasses from the bedside table.

Sitting up in bed, Harry saw Lily Potter enter the room. Her dark hair hung in loose curls around her face. There were worry lines carved deep into her forehead. She sat down on the edge of the bed and gave him a weary smile.

"Your dad is downstairs with Sirius," Lily explained. "We stopped by your house to see you, but Cho said you broke off the engagement. She was rather, err, upset. She gave me a box of your things."

Lily reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a very tiny box. She sat it between them on the bed before glancing up at him with concern shining in her eyes. Harry nodded, snatching the box and tossing it onto his bedside table. He'd enlarge and unpack it later. If he was lucky, maybe he'd never unpack it.

"Thanks."

"If you want to talk about the breakup, I'm here for you."

"I'm honestly fine." Harry glanced up at her. "She wasn't the one I want to be with."

Lily nodded, her eyes drifting to the piece of parchment on the bed. Harry tried to flip it over so she couldn't read the contents, but she was faster. The paper was in her hands before he could do anything about it. Her brows furrowed as she read, her lips moving but no words escaping.

"Harry…?" Lily looked up at him. "What is going on? I know something is going on, and Sirius is being annoyingly loyal to you and won't say a word."

"I'm not your Harry," he sighed. "I'm not even sure that any of this is real. I think I'm in a coma or I've been cursed into some deep sleep and I'm hallucinating everything."

"Right. Alright, Harry, keep your secrets." Lily sighed and rose from the bed.

"That's the truth!" Harry growled. "I'm from a world where you died when I was a baby! Aunt Petunia raised me, if you could even call it that. More like provided me a place to sleep out of the rain and gave me scraps for food. I was the Boy Who Lived. I saved Ginny Weasley and married her. All those memories of my life are slipping away. I can't produce a solid memory, all I have is facts in my head. I don't want just facts. I want my old life back! I want my wife and my children!"

Lily looked at him, her eyes sad and confused. Harry bit back the groan in his throat. He was half tempted to pinch himself again and try to wake up. He didn't know how much longer he could stay in this nightmare world. Nothing made sense, and he didn't belong there.

"Sirius knows this is how you feel?"

Harry suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "It's not how I feel it's… you don't believe me."

"Sweetheart, it's just…" Lily sighed, her shoulders sagging. "I don't know how to even respond to this. It almost feels like you're going through some sort of… I don't even know. You're not even thirty yet, Harry! You're not even close to a quarter-life crisis here."

"Sirius believed me," Harry muttered.

Lily sighed. "Let's get you downstairs and out of this room. You can explain in more detail."

Harry nodded, shoving the piece of parchment with his family's names on it into his pocket. He didn't want to go anywhere without it, in case his memory slipped even more. Following Lily down the stairs and into the parlor, he noted Sirius slouched on the sofa while James sat in an armchair. James' legs bounced, his cane resting on his lap. His eye twitched as he turned his attention to Harry.

"Harry! I see you ditched the bitch, as Sirius so eloquently put it."

Sirius winced at James' words as Lily scowled. She crossed the room and sat on the arm of James' chair and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"I'm not offended," Harry said hurriedly as he took a seat next to Sirius.

Lily sighed heavily as James chuckled. "Harry seems to think that he's in a coma or he's hallucinating us."

"Really?" James raised his eyebrows and glanced over at Sirius. "I feel pretty real. I don't feel like a hallucination."

"That's exactly what a hallucination would say, Prongs," Sirius pointed out, echoing Harry's own words from the previous day.

"Touché!" James inclined his head towards Sirius. "If I were a hallucination, I probably wouldn't feel like a hallucination."

"Nah, because if the hallucinations weren't real, then they're not a very good hallucinations, now, are they?" Sirius grinned over at Harry.

"Can we not?" Lily asked in an exasperated tone. "I would like to Harry to explain this."

"I don't know how else to explain it." Harry sighed, his jaw clenching. "I want to go home to my wife, Ginny."

"Ginny?"

"Yes, Ginny. She's funny and kind. She's beautiful with red hair and freckles. She's incredible. She used to play Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies."

"A Chaser and a redhead? Well, son, I already like her." James grinned.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Where I'm from, Ginny and I… Teddy's ours. We raised him because Remus and Tonks died. He calls me Dad and James… our firstborn, he's two and Teddy adores him and he adores Teddy. And Albus…" He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. "Mum, he's barely two months old, and I don't want him to not know me. He's still a newborn, and I want… he looks just like me. Ginny says he has my eyes and hair. I want my family."

Tears slid down Lily's cheeks, and she sniffed. "I want you to have that family, sweetheart, I do, it's just… Ginny's gone."

"You don't believe me," Harry said flatly, disappointment flooding him.

Sirius shook his head. "No, she wants to believe you, Harry, but you have to admit, it's a little far-fetched. Prongs?"

James looked thoughtful. "I don't know… I could see myself being an awesome grandpa. Lily would be the sexist, most fantastic grandma."

"Not the point, James." Lily sighed, his thumb and forefinger pinching the bridge of her noise.

"If it's not real than how come I remember it? How come I can practically smell Ginny's hair and the soap the kids use? How come I can remember holding Albus for the first time? If it's not real, what does it mean?"

Harry sighed in relief when there was a knock at the front door. He wanted the conversation to end before he became even more confused. He was fairly certain he was dreaming, or at least in some sort of coma, even though he couldn't pinpoint why. It had to involve a case. His eyes slid shut as he clawed at the very back of his brain for any bones that were dangling.

"Harry, you have a visitor," Sirius announced.

Opening his eyes, he glanced towards the entrance of the parlor. Ron stood there, looking sheepish and unsure. Harry jumped off the sofa and rushed towards his friend. Grabbing Ron by the arm, he hauled his friend into the kitchen to talk.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Harry whispered.

"Well, you seemed pretty upset yesterday and seemed like you were having some existential crisis or something." Ron shrugged as they entered the kitchen. "You were freaking out, mate."

"I'm just not sure any of this is actually real." Harry paused in his stride, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why would I be hallucinating or losing my memories if I just traveled to an alternate reality? Wouldn't I merely be displaced?"

"I haven't the foggiest idea." Ron grimaced. "The Pensieve thing was a little… weird. If this isn't real, then that means I'm not real. I feel very bloody real."

"I keep thinking we were working on a potions case, but I can't recall any of the details."

"Okay, say I believe you, that you're some displaced dimensional traveler, and let's pretend this is all real because, I mean, I feel very much real and alive right now. Does that make me just as mental as you are?" Ron eased down into a chair. "Because, I have to admit, I've been thinking about what you've said a lot. This picture you painted sounds… nice. Even if I don't understand how I could ever end up with Hermione Granger."

Harry grinned and took a seat across from Ron. "She's honestly perfect for you. You two are bloody mad for each other. You're always arguing in a weird yet endearing way."

Ron shot him a skeptical look. "I'm dating someone, though."

"Who?"

"Uh… Lavender Brown."

Harry grimaced. "Really, Won Won?"

"How do you know she calls me that?" Ron blushed.

"You dated in sixth year."

"You took her to the Yule Ball! It's all I hear about from her!"

"Yeah, in this wacky dimension, I may have taken her. Where I'm from, we went with the Patil twins," Harry explained. "Merlin, what was my counterpart thinking? Did she call me Har Har?"

Ron chuckled. "No, you were Harry-Berry, honestly. She still uses your pet name when she mentions you."

Harry groaned. "Somehow, that's even worse. Not as bad as Won Won, though, but a close second."

"Shut it."

"Do you have a nice big my sweetheart necklace from her yet?"

Ron paled. "My last birthday."

Harry chuckled, lost in his hallucination or weird coma dream. It felt so natural to be sitting across from Ron, joking and laughing like Ginny wasn't dead or his family hadn't magically risen from their graves. For the first time, Harry realized it may be dangerous to be around Ron. Would he slip further into the delusion with his best mate by his side?

Ginny. Teddy. James. Albus. Ginny. Teddy. James. Albus.

Harry blinked, his lips tugging down. He glanced across the table, staring at Ron's face and trying to recall the last time he had seen his Ron. He concentrated hard on the freckle pattern across his face, the way his lips always seemed to be curved up with the next sarcastic joke on the tip of his tongue, the way his blue eyes shifted when he talked. He could picture Ron sitting across from him in his office, looking bored and silently pleading for Harry to leave for lunch early. He could picture Ron laughing on a field of tall grass, a noise jolting both of them out of their carefree demeanors.

The images were fleeting, disjointed. None of them very clear and Harry couldn't pick out the context for the life of him. None of it made any sense. His hand reached up and touched his neck. It felt smooth except for the raised mole that had been there since he was a child.

"You alright?" Ron raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, yeah, just… thinking."

"Sure, mate, whatever you say. You look fantastic," Ron said sarcastically as he pulled out a piece of parchment and quill. "Now, I may have been listening to too many episodes of Forensics, Bones, and Brains of Darkness on the wireless while trying not to kill myself at work, but why don't we go over what you remember before you got here?"

"Forensics, Bones, and Brains of Darkness?" Harry's brows furrowed.

He could hear the damn dum dum noise in the intro while Ron had the show on in the background when they'd take a lunch break in his office. Ron had been obsessed with the show for years now and his obsession had only peaked about eight months prior when he was asked to guest appear on an episode to talk about a serial killer case they worked early in their career as junior Aurors. Ron had a signed photograph of him and host, Otis Maverick, hanging up in his office right beside his wedding picture behind his desk. Hermione had rolled her eyes when she saw the photos hanging side-by-side.

"Look, it's the best crime show on the wireless!" Ron protested. "I mean, Democritus Day is a frequent guest who really gives the listener an in-depth analysis of the cases. He's the only Auror to put away more criminals than Mad-Eye Moody! Democritus is a lot saner than Mad-Eye, too."

"I'm very well acquainted with that show. Other you listens to it all the time. You were even on it once."

"Shut the bloody hell up, Harry!" Ron's mouth dropped open. "Why is my counter-part so much cooler than me?"

"We worked a case once, and they asked you to go over the case on an episode. It's all you bloody talked about for a good five months. Actually, no, you still talk about it."

"Merlin, I'm so jealous right now. Other me met Otis Maverick? Did I meet Democritus Day, too?"

"Can we focus on more important things, please?" Harry sighed.

"Err, right, yeah, so…" Ron cleared his throat as his quill hovered over the parchment. "Tell me what you remember about the case you and other cool me were working on before you came here."

Harry sighed, his fingers immediately massaging his temples. He tried to remember, practically screamed at himself to remember. A woman lying in the grass, neck bleeding. Yellow teeth and yellow nails. A needle. Ice slithering through his veins. A scream. Spells. A broken ceiling fan. Stained hardwood floors. A woman hanging, moaning for help. Ginny in a white dress. Ron screaming. A red light. Pain in his neck. The ground flickering. Darkness.

Harry glanced beyond Ron to see Ginny standing there in the same white dress she was wearing before when he saw her outside Luna's house, the same white dress that had just flickered in his mind's eye a few moments ago. She smiled softly at him, her long red hair cascading around her face in soft waves. Harry didn't want to blink, didn't want to look away. He soaked in every single detail about her that he could. He could see the splatter of freckles across her nose, cheeks, forehead. He had once tried to count them late at night in bed when she first moved in with him. She had laughed as his finger had glided across her skin, and he had lost count somewhere in the thirties.

"Mate?" Ron questioned.

Harry paid no attention to him. He continued to stare at Ginny until his eyes burned and watered. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ron twisting in his chair to see what he was looking at. Harry knew he wouldn't see Ginny. He knew Ginny was a mirage, a memory, a ghost. A lump burned in his throat as tears poured down his cheeks.

"Ginny?" Harry gasped as his eyes slid shut, unable to keep them open for any longer.

He pushed his glasses up, resting them on top of his unruly hair. Shoving his palms into his eyes, he rubbed them to ease the stinging sensation. He looked back to where Ginny had been. Nothing, just like he had expected.

"Are we talking little ghost Ginny?" Ron paled. "She was eleven when she died… I…"

"No, I'm seeing my Ginny. Adult Ginny. She's always in a white dress."

Ron scribbled the information down on the parchment, his face still pale and hand slightly shaking. "Why a white dress?"

"I haven't the faintest idea."

"Is it her wedding dress?" Ron's brows furrowed.

"No, just like… a nice work dress or something."

"What else?"

Harry repeated the fleeting images that had come to his mind. Ron glanced at him briefly but said nothing. Harry knew none of it made sense, knew it all seemed bonkers. Drumming his fingers on the table, Harry closed his eyes again, trying to think of any more information. A field. Laughter. The girl in the grass. Harry couldn't help but think the field was the key to figuring out what had happened to him.

"This may sound a little out there. But I keep seeing a field. I think I want to try to Apparate to it," Harry murmured.

"Apparate to a field that you don't know where it is? That doesn't sound like you'll Splinch at all." Ron rolled his eyes.

Harry pushed the chair back and stood up. "No, I think I can do it. I can see it so clearly. I just need to concentrate on it. I think it holds all the answers."

"Harry…" Ron said warily.

"Are you coming or not?"

"Well, I suppose that's what an Auror whose been on Forensics, Bones, and Brains of Darkness would do, right?" Ron asked with uncertainty ringing in his voice.

"It's exactly what cool Ron would do." Harry grinned. "Come on, let's earn you your Auror badge."

Ron sucked in a deep breath before nodding, as though trying to psych himself up for the adventure. He pushed his chair back and rounded the table. Harry clapped a hand on his back before steering him out the back door of the cottage. Harry felt hopeful for the first time since he arrived wherever he was as they made their way to the Apparition point.

I'm coming home, Ginny, he thought as a smile spread across his lips.

Ginny cocked her head to the side, looking at her new brunette locks in the mirror in George's entryway. After getting Teddy off to school and the younger boys situated for the day, she met her brother at his house to go over disguises and their game plan. Her fingers trailed over her freckle-less face, and she couldn't even recognize herself.

"Do I even want to know what you two are up to?" Angelina questioned, Freddie situated on her hip.

"Probably not." George shrugged, shooting her a smile. "Certainly, don't tell our mother anything you saw here this morning."

"I couldn't even if I wanted to." Angelina laughed.

"We're just… investigating a lead on Harry," Ginny spoke softly.

"Because you two are highly qualified Aurors." Angelina raised her eyebrow at the two Weasleys.

"If George was missing, wouldn't you do everything you could to find him?"

George laughed. "Nah, she'd just sell the shop and live the high life off that money."

Angelia rolled her eyes, a smile twitching on her lips. "Absolutely. I certainly didn't marry you for your looks."

George crossed the room and planted a kiss on top of his son's dark hair. "Now you're just lying. How many blokes do you know who can pull off one ear so gracefully? I'm one sexy devil, Ang."

"Git," she muttered affectionately.

Ginny turned back to the mirror and gave herself another once over as she tried to ignore George and Angelina's whispering.

"Just be careful, yeah? I don't think the shop is worth enough yet if you die," Angelina tried to say in a light-hearted voice but sounded more concerned than anything.

"My middle name is Careful," George joked.

"George."

"Nothing will stop me from coming home to you and Freddie," George whispered.

Ginny pursed her lips to one side as she checked that her wand was secure in her right pocket. For good measure, she brought along Harry's wand for good luck and deposited that in her left pocket. It felt like a little bit of Harry was with her, protecting her.

Running her fingers through the foreign mousy brown hair, she jutted her chin up. She could do this. She could figure out what the Aurors and Healers couldn't. Harry had saved the world at the age of seventeen, had found and destroyed Horcruxes, before turning his wand on one of the darkest wizards their world had ever seen. She could navigate her way through Malefic Way and obtain information. It would be easy, simple. She was more than capable of handling it on her own, even without George.

"You ready, sis?" George bumped his hip against hers.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

George nodded, looking grim again. Ginny's breath hitched in her throat. It was now or never.

Ginny allowed George to Apparate her to Nottingham. They walked around Wellington Circus, looking for what George called the Sky Mirror. They stood in front of the circular mirror, gazing at the sky that appeared in it. Nothing happened. She grew impatient as they stared at the bright morning sky.

"What are we doing?" Ginny whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

"Shh, wait for it. You'll know it when you see it. Concentrate on the clouds."

Ginny let out a small huff of annoyance before turning her attention back to the reflected sky. Then it happened. She bit her lip as the mirror flickered, the sky rippling and one of the clouds darkening. The darkened cloud split open, revealing a distorted outline of what appeared to be buildings within the cloud. Lightning clapped around the buildings in the cloud, and Ginny couldn't help but feel like she was going in over her head. George grabbed her wrist and stepped into the mirror, right into the dark cloud.

Coming out the other end, Ginny frowned at the gloomy and half crumbling buildings that lined a narrow cobblestone lane. She turned back to see the mirror reflecting the cheerfully sunny skies of Nottingham and not the dreariness of Malefic Way. It had the same eerie vibe as Knockturn Alley, but there was something about Malefic that made Ginny's skin crawl. It was almost as though she felt little bugs scurrying up and down her arms and tingling her hair.

"You alright?" George questioned.

"Yeah, it's just…" Ginny licked her bottom lip, her eyes squinting.

"Gives you the creeps?" George supplied. "Yeah, this place does that. I think there's something off about the air. It makes you feel like-"

"Something is crawling all over your skin?" Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I've already got that pleasant feeling. Thanks for the warning."

"I haven't been here in years. In fact, I think the last time I came, Ron and Harry were here with me."

Ginny felt her chest tighten. She glanced over at George, a question obvious on her face. She would not let George back out of telling her why the three of them were at a place like this.

"I needed to get some… erm… it doesn't matter. Something that wasn't entirely legal that I could… breed, let's say. Except, I crossbred it, so it was no longer illegal, per se. I asked Ron and Harry to tag along for backup. Nobody should really come to this place alone."

"So, you thought it would be smart to drag along my husband and our idiotic brother?" Ginny questioned as the two of them walked down the narrow lane.

"They're my best mates, my brothers. If I can't trust them to have my back, then who can I trust?" George grinned over at her. "You're just peeved that Harry didn't tell you about our little excursion."

"Harry doesn't have to tell me every little thing he does," Ginny argued despite the tightening in her chest. "Especially when it involves my prat brothers."

George chuckled as he pushed open the door to a potions shop. Ginny wrinkled her nose at the odd array of smells that assaulted her senses. It smelled of rotting flesh, bile, and other nasty aromas. There was also a hint of an antiseptic potion that lingered in the air, as though they were trying to mask the terrible smells.

Ginny hung back as George talked to the shopkeeper about buying illegal ingredients, getting a sense of what shops sold what items. She browsed the shelves, her nose wrinkling at some of the ingredients she saw. Jars of human fingers labeled as Deceased Muggle Limbs, tails from owls, and even vials of various blood from a variety of sources. There was even a jar marked Baby Finger Bones, which caused a shiver to run up her spine. This place shouldn't even exist, ingredients like that should never exist.

She couldn't help but wonder what shops Harry had been while he visited Malefic Way with George and Ron. Had he been as disgusted as she was at the ingredients in stock? Glancing up at George, she noted he was having a rather engaging conversation. Both men were laughing and smiling like they weren't discussing highly illegal and disgusting potion ingredients.

Rolling her eyes, she turned to make her way down a new aisle. A man with salt and peppered hair pulled back into a low ponytail stood at the end of one table and stared at her. He smiled, his yellow teeth bright. Ginny forced a quick smile on her lips before turning away and making her way to a new aisle.

She couldn't exactly pinpoint why the wizard gave her the creeps, but he had. She could practically hear her mother screaming in her head to not stay by herself if a man was leering at her. She ignored the voice in her head and turned down an aisle that had a variety of liquids in vials that were labeled as Recreational Health – whatever that meant. She browsed the labels and recognized some of the names from Harry's report.

"Hello there, gorgeous."

A hand brushed a lock of her mousy brown hair behind her ear. Ginny jumped and turned to see the man hovering next to her, his rancid breath tickling her skin. Her fingers lingered near her wand, secured in her pocket.

"I'm not interested," Ginny said coolly.

He just continued to smile at her and nodded towards the shelf. "You looking to escape? I can help you with that. I've been known to concoct some pretty wild trips."

Ginny's heart thudded in her chest. "Oh yeah, like what?"

"I can help you live out your wildest fantasies, help you forget this shit life even exists." He trailed a finger along her cheek, and Ginny took a step back.

"How do you do that?"

"Make you live out your wildest fantasies? Let me show you, love. I'll have you so churned up you'll be begging me to give you more. Your reality will be a mindfuck like you've never imagined."

The man took another step closer to her, boxing her into the corner of the room. The edge of the table pressed uncomfortably into her side as her back pressed against the wall. Her eyes darted around, looking for George. She heard him laughing, knowing he was still talking with the shopkeeper. Ginny gulped, her fingers brushing against the handle of her wand.

"Most people just want to be so high they don't know what's going on around them, to numb the pain they feel. I like to help people experience what could have been, what they could have." He leaned his body against hers, his fingers dancing along her breast. "My clientele loves it. They love the escape from their mundane, boring life for a more fulfilling fantasy."

"They hallucinate, you mean?" Ginny whispered as she tried to lean her body away from the man, but he only pressed his palm firmly against her breast in response.

"They transcend, my love. They levitate to a higher sense of being. They can't get enough of it." The man leaned his head forward, his lips close to her ear. "I can make you feel so good. I can help you transcend to another plane of existence."

Ginny's chest heaved as she wrapped her fingers around her wand. The movement caused him to look down, and his fingers wrapped around her wrist. He clicked his tongue, his sharp yellow nails digging into her flesh.

"Now, now, girly, no need for that. You simply have to say no. No need for a wand."

"I'm not interested," she said.

His nails dug a little harder and his lips curved. "Oh, love, you're interested. I can practically taste your desire for a hit of what I've got."

Ginny's heart sped up, and fear speared through her. Suddenly, she regretted moving out of George's sight. She flicked her wrist, and his grip tightened, causing panic to bubble in her throat.

The man's tight grip felt like an octopus' tentacles coiled tightly around her flesh. She froze for a few moments before her other pocket felt suddenly heavy and warm. She remembered she had taken Harry's wand with her, and it felt like a part of him was there with her, watching and wanting to protect her. Even though she wasn't left-handed and even though she had never used Harry's wand before, her fingers gripped the wood and power shot through her.

In a flash, bat bogeys emitted from the creep's nose. He howled in pain, his grip gone from her wrist and hand gone from her breast. He stumbled backwards, clawing at his nose. She grinned wickedly at him, sliding Harry's wand back in her pocket.

"Oi, what the fuck is going on?" George appeared at the end of the aisle, glancing between Ginny and the man worriedly.

The shopkeeper and a few other patrons gathered around them. Someone ended the hex, and the bogeys flew around the man's head for a few seconds before they fell to the floor in a gooey heap around him. She took a step closer to the man.

"Never touch me again," she hissed before making her way towards George.

"Out of my shop! The lot of you!" the shopkeeper shouted, and Ginny was more than happy to oblige.

George wrapped an arm around Ginny's shoulders and tugged her protectively against his side. Ginny stayed quiet, her eyes soaking in all the details that she could about the man… the oily hair, the intense pale eyes. He was the perfect image of the monster at the end of the book, and she fought the urge to shudder. He definitely had the creepy serial killer vibe about him.

George tugged Ginny away, his limbs shaking and anger radiating off him. They darted out of the small shop, all eyes of the patrons on them.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" George hissed as they walked down the near empty lane of Malefic Way.

"I was trying to get information!" Ginny hissed back. "I was fine. I can take care of myself."

"Damn right you can!" George exclaimed. "But that's not my point. Just tell me what happened back there?"

Ginny stepped out of his embrace, her arms crossing over her chest. She knew if she told her brother that a much older man was assaulting her that he would find the guy and hex him into next week. Honestly, Ginny didn't have time for his overprotective big brother act. She had handled the issue fine on her own.

"He offered to get me high," Ginny stated in a bored tone.

"High in a unique sense like we're looking for or just regular high?"

"Honestly, he gave me the creeps, George, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's murdered a few people in his day."

"Stay close next time, yeah?" George said softly, running a hand through his dark hair. "If something happens to you before Harry's back, he'll have my head on a platter."

He held his hand out, but she ignored it. "When we find Harry, he's not going to hear about us coming here."

George snorted. "Sorry, Ginny, I don't lie to my brothers."

"Oh, but you'd lie to me?" she challenged.

"Innocent, sweet baby sister, someone has to look out for you."

The glare she gave him made him laugh as he led her across the lane to the apothecary. He strolled through the door first, holding it open for her. Ginny's fingers wrapped around the frame when she heard a soft sniffle. She turned her head to see a small child, no older than Teddy, sitting on the cracked pavement with tears pouring down her red cheeks.

Turning to look inside the apothecary, she saw George already in a conversation with an employee. She let the door close as she made her way towards the little girl. Crouching down in front of her, Ginny smiled warmly at her.

"Hi, are you lost?"

The little girl sniffed. "No, my grandfather told me to wait here for him while he did some business."

"Oh, well, I'm sorry to see you're all by yourself." Ginny smiled. "My name's G… Muriel. What's your name?"

"Mary." She rested her cheek against her knee. "I don't like it here."

"No, I suppose you wouldn't. It's quite scary, I think. How old are you?"

"Seven, but I'll be eight next month."

Ginny's heart broke just a tad more. She was Teddy's age. Offering the girl the warmest smile she could muster, she wracked her brain at how to help her. She was in half her mind to find Mary's grandfather and have words with him.

"Do you want me to contact your mum or dad to come get you? Where are they?"

Mary's eyes grew wide. "Mummy would be so mad at my dad if she knew he let my grandfather bring me here!"

"I think your mum sounds very reasonable."

"I won't be allowed to see my dad for a while then." Mary frowned. "Last time, Mum didn't let me see him for a whole year!"

"That's because your mum wants to keep you safe. A place like this isn't safe for a seven-year-old." Ginny held out her hand. "Let me help you contact your mum. My brother went inside that shop right over there. He can go find her and I'll stay with you, alright? Is she at work? What's her name?"

The little girl looked up at Ginny, uncertainty shining in her eyes. Ginny could tell that she wanted her mum, but she also didn't want to be separated from her father again. Honestly, Ginny wanted to tell Mary good riddance, but she kept her tongue.

"You need help?"

Ginny felt her insides turn to ice. She looked behind her to see the man with yellow teeth grinning behind her. He knelt down beside her, brushing her hair off her shoulder.

"We're fine, thank you." Ginny turned back to the child. "Come on, sweetie, let's get you to your mum."

"I think we should talk first," the man whispered and leaned in close. "We have unfinished business to attend to."

"Muriel, I don't like him," Mary whispered.

"Ah, Muriel, is it? What a lovely name for a lovely lady." The man wrapped his fingers around her bicep. "Let me tell you more about how I can help you."

"I'm fine." Ginny tried to tug her arm from his grasp, but he was stronger.

"I must insist."

Ginny growled and reached for her wand in one swift motion. She was going to unleash so many bats from his nose that it would hurt for a week since the guy couldn't take a hint. Except her wand wasn't in her back pocket.

"Are you looking for this?" The man held up her wand just out of her reach. "Now, come along before I have to involve the child as well. I really want to talk to you."

Ginny cast a glance at Mary and told her it was alright. She gave her a reassuring smile before the man dragged Ginny to her feet. He pushed her down the lane until they were at an alleyway three shops down. He shoved her into the alley, and Ginny waited for the man to take his eyes off her for a few moments so she could grab Harry's wand. She didn't want him to see her reach for it and stop her before she could hex him again.

He shoved her against the brick wall of a building and pinned her to it. He had one leg between hers, his thigh pressed against her pelvis. Her hands tried to push him off her, but he was twice her size. She cursed for not the first nor the last time at how small she was. She slashed her nails across the man's neck, drawing blood.

"You bitch! Stay still!" He grabbed her wrist and slammed it against the brick wall.

"Let me go!" Ginny struggled, her left hand trying to claw at his face.

He held her wrist so tightly that when he twisted it, she thought it would snap in half. She wiggled underneath him, trying to gain leverage to stomp on his foot or gain access to her pocket where Harry's wand was located. He grabbed her other wrist before it could make contact with his face. He transferred her one wrist from one hand to the other so that he could pin both of her wrists with one hand. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out something that Ginny did not recognize.

Panic rose in her throat as she continued to struggle. She slammed her head forward, her forehead connecting with his shoulder. It didn't seem to faze him as he leaned his body closer into hers to pin her even more. He brought the odd-looking cylinder up to his mouth and pulled off a small cap with his teeth.

"LET ME GO!" Ginny screamed as loud as she could.

Ginny continued to struggle as something sharp pierced her neck. Slowly, her limbs seemed to stop cooperating. Her legs became lead as her back slid down the brick wall. The man's hand slid back to her breast, his thumb swirling uncomfortably against her most sensitive spot. The pressure on her wrists eased as her body fell limp against his.

There was yelling in the distance, sounding so far away and like it was coming through a long tunnel. Black dots swarmed her vision, dragging her under. More shouting, bright lights flashing behind the black dots, and then there was nothing.

Hope you enjoyed the newest chapter! Things are definitely going to start rolling next chapter. It's going to be a wild ride! Please, don't forget to review! They encourage me to write and make me want to share my stories with all of you.

Special thanks to Arnel for editing. Special thanks to Bree for bouncing around ideas with me and giving my wireless show a kickass name. Is it bad that I want to write a one-shot about Ron appearing on Forensics, Bones, and Brains of Darkness?