A/N: Sorry for the wait, but it was a little hard trying to think up a suitable story to tell. I was getting a little tired of all those stories where Harry sudden falls in love with Ginny, for no reason that I could see at all, so I decided to try something different and see what the results would be. I am not sure if this idea of mine had already been used or not as I could not possibly have read all 20000 odd Harry Potter fanfics posted on fanfic.net. So if the idea had been used before, just let me know and I will try to think of another plot for a G/H story.

         I might not be able to update this story as fast as you like, as I do have a life outside of writing. As always, leave your comments and suggestions with your reviews. Thank you and, please, enjoy!

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros. Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

What Dreams may come

Chapter 1

Wish on a falling star

  Ginny Weasley sat near the window in her room at the Burrow, looking up at the vast expanse of the night sky, filled with stars that shone like jewels. It was near midnight, but she simply couldn't get to sleep. The summer holidays were nearly over, and there still wasn't any news on Harry Potter. He wasn't allowed to visit the Burrow this year, nor was he allowed to have any contact with the wizardly world. Mr. Weasley had tried pleading with Headmaster Dumbledore, but it was in vain.

  "Harry will be safer with the Dursley," the Headmaster had said, and there with nothing anyone could do to change his mind.

  Ginny sighed. No matter how hard she tried, she simply couldn't see just how living with the Dursley could protect Harry. Even protection charms could only go so far. If You-Know-Who goes after Harry, Ginny seriously doubt that protection charms would even slow him down. After all, wasn't it said that You-Know-Who was the strongest Dark wizard in the world. And the Muggles, what help would they be when the Dark Lord appeared in front of them. They would most likely wet their pants and run. Or be killed.

  Ginny sighed again, and rested her head on the window still. The worst thing was that there wasn't even anyone that she could talk to. Ron had gone to Hermione's house for the holidays, claiming that he wanted to see what a muggle household is like. Ginny had a few suspicion about that. After that blazing row that he had with Hermione after the Yule ball, almost the whole of Gryffindor knew that something was up between the two of them. Fred and George were out too. The two of them had taken up summer jobs at Zonko's Joke Shop, saying something about getting some experience in running a joke shop. Percy wasn't available too. He might as well just stay in his office, with the amount of time he spent in there. He even took his meals in office, returning home only to sleep. Both Charlie and Bill had returned to their respective jobs, so they were out too. And her parents were so busy with whatever Dumbledore asked them to do that she didn't want to bother them with her problems as well.

  Ginny sighed yet again. Thinking about it always made her sad, but there really wasn't much else to do. She was so bored, she finished all her homework during the first week of the holidays, even the subject that she hated the most, potions. Ginny had hoped that Harry would come for the summer. At least she would have some company. Even if the company was the boy that she liked, meaning that she would most likely embarrass herself, it would still be better than being alone. It might get Harry to see her as more than just Ron's little sister. It might even be possible to become friends with Harry. She had been at Hogwarts for almost 3 years now, and she couldn't really remember anytime she ever had a serious conversation with Harry, nor of them going to Hogsmeade, or even of them doing anything together. She had wanted to join his circle of friends for some time now, but oftentimes she was just too shy to do anything about it at all.

  Ginny sighed for the fourth time. As bad as it was for her, it must have been ten times worse for Harry. Just thinking about You-Know-Who returning was bad enough; to actually see it happen was beyond imagining. And Harry had seen it happen. Even though Ginny had no idea what was it that Harry saw, her imagination was more than enough. She had seen the state Harry was in when he suddenly appeared again in the middle of the maze that was the third task of the Triwizard Tournament; blood and mud caking his robes and face, holding on to Cedric's body and the Triwizard Cup for dear life, even if it was from the stands. And to think that he could not have any contact with the wizardly world at all. No one to talk to. No one to share what he had seen. Ginny wondered how in the world did he manage to cope with it.

  Out of the corner of her eyes, a sudden flicker of brightness caught her attention. Turning her head, she saw a shooting star, blazing its way across the sky on its lonely journey. As Ginny looked at the star, a tiny voice, so soft that had Ginny not held her breath, she would not have heard it, whispered into her ear…

  'Wish on a falling star…'

  But Ginny heard. And she wished. And as she did so, the lone traveling star busted into dust, burning brightly for a moment, and was gone, disappearing as if it never appeared in the first place. And when she fell asleep, leaning against the window still, she recalled her wish, hearing it echo inside her mind…

  'I wish to be able to help Harry in some way…'

~~~~~~~~~~

  Harry Potter sat on the roof of number four, Privet Drive, his Firebolt floating beside him, his invisibility cloak wrapped around him and the broom, a feeling of restlessness growing within him, so many things that he kept inside him that he was almost ready to explode.

For almost the whole of the summer holidays, Harry had been coped up in the house and allowed outside only to do his gardening duty. But even that was taken away from him when last week Aunt Marge had came to stay for the remainder of the summer holidays. Uncle Vernon, not wanting a repeat of Harry's third year, when he had blown up Aunt Marge to a huge balloon, had reinstalled the bars in his window and locked him up for most of the day, claiming that it was what his school, St Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys had ordered for the summer. Aunt Marge, having had no memory of being blown up due to having her memory modified by the Accidental Magic Reversal Department, and who was always ready to believe in the worst in Harry, had believed the story. It had taken him this long just to figure out how to use the penknife that Sirius gave him to pick the lock to his room and escape his room for a little while.

  Harry looked up at the night sky, that restless feeling continuing to grow even larger still inside him, making him want to howl at the moon like a werewolf. However, he did not wish to wake the Dursleys up and have them catch him outside of his room where he was suppose to be locked up. Harry still wanted to savor his limited freedom before reentering the cell his room had become.

  Harry suddenly wondered what his friends would be doing now. For the first time since he started school at Hogwarts, he did not receive any presents for his birthday this year. Even though he had received the owl that Dumbledore sent him telling him not to have any contact with the wizardly world, in case Voldemort managed to find him through his mails, it was hard not to believe that all his friends had abandon him. He wondered if any of them were thinking of him now?

  'I want to yell. I want to scream. I want to let all that weights me down out. I want to cry but the tears would not come. My eyes remain dry. Have I spent so much time just existing that I forgot how to live? This whole summer I had just existed. I neither think nor feel; I just did what Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon wanted, eat and sleep. It was easier that way, not having to think of the return of Voldemort or to feel the guilt of causing Cedric's death. And yet… the loneliness of just existing… it's too much for me…'

  A spark of light caught his eyes, a shooting star streaked across the sky just in front of him. A voice, light as the wind, whispered into his ears…

  'Wish on a falling star…'

  And Harry heard, and wished, and could finally allow himself to cry, the dams of his tears opening up, to wash away the grief and pain… at least for a little while.

  When he returned to his room and fell asleep, he recalled the wish that he wished…

  'I wish that I wouldn't feel lonely any more…'