A/N: Sorry that it's been a while again. I've just got back to having normal work days again so I've been working on this chapter. I hope that it goes well as the plot will now hopefully thicken as the third year begins. Enjoy everyone!

Chapter 38: Reunion and Loss

The next couple of weeks seemed to fly by for Harry in Potter Manor. He had gone through a good section of the library and managed to piece together a good amount of the Potter family's history. Though he hadn't found any spells exclusive to the family yet, he still had a lot more books to get through and it wasn't like he didn't find anything useful at all. He found quite a few books with spells more advanced than his current year and was starting to learn them during his training.

Harry found spells to conjure certain projectiles, which he found to be very useful in combat as the projectiles could be a distraction as well as a hindrance if the projectile impaled the target as it could cause them to be less mobile and easier to hit with other spells. Quite recently, he found a spell to create illusions of himself, but he hadn't had a chance to test out the uses of the spell just yet.

Harry also started to train with some other weapons in the armoury too. He found that he was fairly decent with daggers, both learning to get past an enemy's guard to do quick stabs as well as throwing them to either damage or cause a distraction for another weapon strike or spell. Maces and axes weren't very easy to use for him as he wasn't used to the weight of them. He was slowly getting better, but he couldn't see himself using them regularly.

Currently, Harry was training to use a bo staff and he was picking it up a lot quicker than using maces and axes. The bo staff was fairly lightweight, which allowed him to do multiple sequences very quickly, but he did have to watch himself sometimes as he routinely found himself moving too fast and accidentally hitting himself at the start of his training with the weapon. The bo staff allowed him much greater range in close combat and fend off multiple foes much easier than with a sword or daggers. He could certainly see himself using the bo staff in the future.

Today, Hardwin had told Harry to have a break from training. Just as he was about to go to the library to relax and study, he saw a letter come through the mailbox. Going over to it, he noticed that the Hogwarts crest was printed on the back. This was likely his supplies list for the year and having some break time gave him the perfect opportunity to go and purchase his supplies. However, another thought occurred to him. He hadn't received any mail before this letter. It struck him as a little odd and decided to talk to Hardwin about it first before leaving.

Entering the training room again, Harry noticed Hardwin giving him a quizzical look and decided to cut to the chase.

"My Hogwarts supplies list just came, Grandfather. I think that my break time would be well spent going to get my supplies. However, it has made me wonder something," Harry explained.

"Go on, son," Hardwin said.

"I haven't received any mail from any of my friends. It seems unlikely that they would've just forgotten to send any letters, yet I still get my supplies list as usual. I have a horrible feeling that I've made a mistake somewhere and I don't know what," Harry explained.

"I take it that you didn't write to them either, yes?" Hardwin enquired.

"No..." Harry said, looking down in shame.

"While enrolled at Hogwarts, the magic of the school will automatically know of a student's location, even if it changes, and will be able to telepathically send that location to the delivery owl. That's how the acceptance letters are sent out also. Family owls will only go to where their owners' send them. If the owner believes that a person is in a certain location, then the owl will go there and drop off the letter. If the person is there, then the owl can sense them and give the letter to them directly. If the person isn't there, the owl will still drop it off in case they return shortly. Unfortunately, the owl cannot sense if the person no longer lives there and will never receive the letter," Hardwin explained.

Harry went pale as he realised that his letters from Ginny, Hermione and, begrudgingly, Ron would've still gone to Privet Drive and most likely were long gone as the Dursleys would've seen no point in keeping 'freaky' letters. He dreaded to think how he was going to explain himself to them all. While he guessed that he could spin an easy story about the Dursleys to appease Ron, and therefore Dumbledore, he had a feeling that trying to appease Ginny would be extremely tough.

Well, what was done was done. Harry would have to come up with a plan later. For now, he had some supplies to get. So, he grabbed his wallet and portkey and went out to call for the Knight Bus. Once it arrived and he got on, a strange feeling of fear and anxiousness came over him as the bus began to move. One thing he knew for sure though, was that the feeling was not his own.

Harry had been overcome with these strange foreign feelings for a while now. Anxiety, sadness and pain would hit him almost randomly, but they would pass in just a few seconds as if something was trying to tell him something, but the connection wasn't strong enough to explain the cause.

However, something about this particular feeling was different. It felt stronger, as if the cause may be closer than it had been before. Harry had a bad feeling that he was about to get the answer to this strange phenomenon, and he wasn't sure whether he was entirely ready for it just yet.

All too soon, the Knight Bus arrived at the Leaky Cauldron and Harry disembarked and entered the pub. He was about to head straight for the entrance to Diagon Alley when he heard some familiar voices.

"Keep that bloody monster away from Scabbers before I turn it into a tea cosy!" yelled the voice of one Ron Weasley.

"What an amazing insult coming from the owner of that smelly old shoe brush! Don't listen to him, Crookshanks. Just ignore the mean little boy," retorted the voice of Hermione Granger.

Harry stopped and couldn't help but grin at Hermione's comeback. He also noticed that the fighting seemed to be centred on her new pet cat, 'Crookshanks', who seemed to be eyeing Scabbers up like he was next on the dinner plate. Harry decided to step in before the two caused more of a scene as he noticed a few people glaring at them.

"Really? The first time I see you after the summer and you're already fighting?" Harry jokingly asked.

Ron and Hermione turned to look at Harry in shock and, in Hermione's case, relief. She then rushed to him and gave him a one-armed hug so that she didn't drop Crookshanks.

"What have you been doing? You never answered my letter. I was worried sick!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Yeah, mate. You never answered any of ours either. Mum was going spare thinking that something had happened to you," Ron added.

Harry refrained from making a smart remark about how much Molly Weasley probably cared. On the bus ride, he had been thinking of an excuse and came up with one that he knew would at least appease the dimwit and he hoped that he could assure Hermione that he would explain later so she would just go along with it for now.

"My relatives brought my Aunt Marge over this summer. She's worse than them. And she brought her dog Ripper with her. I don't think that I need to tell you why he has that name and what he might have done to stop me from even reading your letters. I couldn't exactly answer you when I didn't know what to say, nor could I exactly send an owl out while she was there. She doesn't know anything about our world, you see," Harry explained.

Ron, fortunately, seemed to understand what Harry was implying and said nothing more. Hermione gave him a critical look, as he expected, and just mouthed 'later'. She seemed to accept it, for now at least.

"Come on. The others will want to see that you're ok, mate," Ron said.

Harry followed Ron and Hermione to the table where the rest of the Weasleys were sitting for breakfast. He first saw that Fred and George seemed to be whispering to each other. Harry guessed that it was about their latest schemes and pranks. Mr and Mrs Weasley were also talking in hushed voices, though they seemed to be in a more heated debate. One person that was noticeably absent, however, was Ginny.

"Where's Ginny?" Harry asked bluntly.

"Oh, she wanted to stay upstairs for some reason. She said that she would come down in a bit. Mental," Ron replied, clearly not really caring about the subject.

This only fuelled Harry's worry and he was about to ask where her room was to go up and find her when he heard the creaking of the stairs as someone came down. It was Ginny, but she looked visibly tired and withdrawn. He didn't like this.

When they locked eyes with each other, Harry felt a strong wave of sadness, fear and betrayal. It was the strongest wave yet and he realised that it must be coming from Ginny. What on earth happened to her over the summer? She broke eye contact quickly and just went to pick up a round of toast before sitting down and eating quietly. He ignored everyone else then and went straight to Ginny. She didn't seem to notice him at all even when he was standing right next to her.

"Ginny?" Harry asked.

No answer.

"Ginny?!" Harry asked, a little louder this time.

Still no answer came from Ginny. At this point, Harry got frustrated and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her around so that she was facing him.

"Damn it, Ginny. Answer me!" Harry demanded.

"Why?" Ginny asked in a small voice.

Harry was taken aback for a moment. He hadn't heard Ginny's voice be so meek and vulnerable since he saw her childhood memories. Before he could respond, she carried on.

"Why should I answer you when you never answered me when I needed you?" Ginny asked.

Then it hit him and Harry could only sigh in defeat before telling her the same story as he told Ron and Hermione. Like Hermione, he knew that she didn't believe him.

"That seems...convenient," Ginny said meekly.

Harry checked to make sure that people had stopped watching them and whispered into Ginny's ear.

"Yeah, it's a convenient excuse. I can't exactly tell the truth so openly without a certain old man sticking his nose in though. I promise you that I'll tell you everything once we're alone. I swear it," Harry explained.

Harry looked at Ginny, imploring her to see that he was being honest. It hurt to see her so sceptical of him, but after a while she nodded. It seemed like she would hear him out at least. But why had she gotten like this? Missing one letter surely couldn't cause her to become like this. Perhaps a bit of questioning may give him some answers.

"So, what did you do over the summer?" Harry asked.

"Well, if you had managed to get my letter, you would've known. Dad won the Daily Prophet prize draw and we went to Egypt to see my eldest brother, Bill. It was...fun," Ginny replied.

Harry noticed the change in her tone when she forced out the word 'fun'. It clearly was anything but fun. He had a bad feeling that something had happened on that holiday. And he had a sneaky suspicion on what, or who, had caused her this pain. If only he'd known about the owl issue of moving, he might've been able to stop whatever happened to her.

"Egypt, huh? Not to sound rude or anything, but I would've thought that your parents would've used that money to get you all better supplies or save it for the future," Harry said.

"Well, they did get Ron a new wand and robes..." Ginny replied, failing to find anything else to add.

"I see," Harry said.

Harry had a feeling that the money's usage was decided by Mrs Weasley. Why else would Ron be the only one to get new things and the rest was wasted on a holiday? Before he could say anything else, Ginny chimed in, almost like she had guessed where his train of thought was going.

"It's not all bad. We still have everything that we need. It's not like we need brand-spanking new books to get the correct information and I have my own wand anyway thanks to you," Ginny said.

While logically, Ginny wasn't wrong, Harry still couldn't help but inwardly snarl at Mrs Weasley's clear favouritism and selfishness. He also knew that Ginny wasn't telling him everything and that was what worried him the most. She didn't trust him enough anymore and he needed to fix that. He needed to tell Ginny the truth.

Harry looked around and saw that everyone was engrossed in their own conversations and saw the perfect chance to get Ginny out of here and talk to her privately.

"While everyone's distracted, go up the stairs and I'll follow you after a minute. Take me to your room and I'll tell you everything. Please trust me," Harry said.

Ginny stared at Harry for a few seconds, gauging his sincerity. Fortunately, he must've passed as she just nodded, got up and went towards the stairs. Harry waited a minute as she went up and went after her. Once they met at the top of the staircase, she led him to her room and locked the door behind them. Her face didn't give anything away. She was wearing an emotionless mask, but he could feel the negative emotions coming off of her that were swirling in her mind.

"Alright then. Now talk," Ginny said bluntly.

"The truth is that I spoke to the goblins about my family properties over the summer. One of them, the family manor, was the easiest way to get away from the Dursleys and be safe from any interference from certain parties. I only actually saw my Aunt Marge as I was leaving. Let's just say that I left the Dursleys with a lot to discuss and think about," Harry explained.

"You moved without telling anyone? Without telling...me?" Ginny asked.

Another wave of betrayal and hurt flowed from Ginny and Harry could only lower his head in shame. She sounded so small and defeated that it physically hurt him to see her like this. And it was his doing.

"I'll be honest. It happened so quickly and I was so excited to explore that I didn't even think to. I just expected to get a letter and then I could tell you then. I didn't even realise that there was a problem until I received my Hogwarts supplies list for this year. The portrait of my ancestor told me how Hogwarts owls always know where we are thanks to the magic of the school, but family owls only know what the family knows. That's why I never received your letters because they were still be dropped off at Privet Drive," Harry explained.

Ginny said nothing. Harry looked up to see the hurt she was feeling fully reflected in her eyes. She turned away from him and he hesitated to reach out to her, not knowing if it would help the situation.

"I know that I messed up. It's funny really. I was trying so hard to keep it a secret from Dumbledore that not saying anything almost ruined the whole plan as it made everyone suspicious. It's fortunate that Ron believed my story and with Dumbledore knowing the Dursleys, he will hopefully believe it too," Harry said.

"That's all you really care about, isn't it?" Ginny asked.

"What?" Harry questioned, confused at Ginny's question.

"The mission. That's what it's always about with you now. Beating Tom or thwarting Dumbledore. That's all that matters,"Ginny responded in a monotone voice.

"What on earth are you talking about? That's not true at all," Harry argued.

"How can I think otherwise? All throughout the end of school, you were constantly training to fight against them. You can't seem to go long without having to do something to counter them. You need to keep everything secret so that Dumbledore doesn't try to stop you from fighting against the darkness. Even from me..." Ginny said.

Harry was shocked by what Ginny had said. He just couldn't form words to counter her claims...because he realised that he couldn't argue with anything she was saying. He had really become consumed by his mission and it seemed more and more likely that it was too late to repair the damage. While he was unable to answer, she continued.

"You have to pretty much focus your entire life around this mission and that's enough for an army to deal with, let alone one person. Everything else will just distract you, right? I understand. I'm sorry that the world really does seem to be on your shoulder and...I won't get in the way anymore," Ginny said solemnly.

"Ginny...what are you saying?" Harry asked.

Harry couldn't believe what was coming out of Ginny's mouth. Had he really pushed her away so much? What had the filth being poisoning her mind with?

"I tried to help you, but I'm just not good enough, am I? I'll never be worth it," Ginny murmured.

It was almost like Ginny was saying this to herself as if to confirm some negative thoughts running through her mind. Before Harry could retort, however, she said one last thing.

"Goodbye, Harry," Ginny said.

Ginny turned away as Harry could only stare in shock as his heart began to break. She was going to leave him. Then he felt something else rolling off of her. Unworthiness. She genuinely thought that she wasn't worth his time anymore. Then he saw something that made him sick. As she turned and left the room, he saw a scar. A large ugly scar peeking out of the back of her collar. They hadn't just drilled it into her head...They had beaten it into her.

Harry rushed out after Ginny and screamed her name, but she was long gone. When she had sent a letter to him, it wasn't just to tell him that they were going to Egypt. It was a cry for help. A cry that he failed to answer.

Harry fell to his knees as his entire world crumbled around him. Ginny left him. He had failed her again. He broke his promise to keep her safe. Now, he was all alone once again. Almost alone…

"Now what will you do, Harry Potter? You tried so hard to be strong by yourself and look where it's led you. You should've taken my offer," the entity said mockingly.

'Leave me alone!' Harry growled mentally, not needing her input right now.

"Just remember that this was your choice, Harry. Your obsession and need for power did this," the entity stated.

As quickly as she came, the entity retreated. Now, Harry really was alone and he really didn't know which was better anymore.