A/N Well, the next chapter is here, and it's long like I said it would be.
Thankyou for reviewing, please keep it up! One thing people seemed to be
confused about was the Fidelius and why they hadn't done that before. It
wasn't that they didn't think of it, it was that they couldn't. Their wands
were taken away from them, remember? Well, enjoy!
~*~ He'd never felt so alone in his life. Not even when he had been locked in his cupboard for long periods of time or when everyone thought he had opened the Chamber of Secrets had he felt this lonely.
Hell, he was so lonely, he'd probably appreciate Uncle Vernon's company. And if that didn't mean anything, well, then he had no clue anymore.
Harry raised his head from his hands and reached for the table next to him. He put his glasses on his face and looked around the room, hoping for some miracle to come that would give him something to do. With no job, no people to talk to, and banned from using anything magical in his house, there was very little else to distract him from his feelings. He now understood Sirius' actions when his godfather had been stuck in his mother's house.
But, at least Sirius had had people to talk to, Harry thought darkly.
He sat up straight. How could he have just thought that? About Sirius? Sirius, who had been missing from his life for three years now, but not forgotten; no, he was far from forgotten. He thought namely about two people every single day, and it seemed as if he'd been thinking about them forever.
Ginny and Sirius.
They'd been gone for so long, and if there was one thing he could have asked for, it would be to see them just once more, to hear their voices once more, to hear Ginny's twinkling and Sirius' barking laughs.
And perhaps now, while he was sitting here, his two best friends might be dead. Taken away from him. They'd already killed one Weasley, why wouldn't they kill another one?
And he could be helping them. He should be helping them. He could be out there, right now, putting an Unforgivable on Malfoy, the man who had-
Suddenly, he stood up, breathing hard. Give me strength, he thought, then ran at the door.
BAM! He hit it with his shoulder, over and over again, trying to force it open. The magical wards would break at some point. They- Had- To- Let- Him- Out- Someday! He emphasized each wordwith a bang in between them.
With one last bang, he slumped to the floor in defeat. There was a pain in his shoulder, and he knew it would bruise as always, but at the moment, he didn't care.
" I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU ALL! YOU TOOK AWAY SIX OF THE PEOPLE MOST IMPORTANT TO ME AND LEFT ME WITH ONLY THREE! AND YOU LOCK ME AWAY! I WANT TO HELP!" he cried, screaming at the ceiling.
His hand touched paper in his pocket. An envelope, a letter he'd never sent. Harry closed his eyes and breathed in. He knew this letter very, very well; he'd memorised it completely.
Dearest Ginny, it began. Harry cringed. Just the sound of her name in his headsent knives through his heart. Although he tried, he couldn't stop the memory of the night he'd written that letter, the night before he'd gone into hiding.
He'd been sitting in the living room at Hermione's house, his head bent over a single piece of parchment. Quill in hand, he'd been quiet for the whole part of an hour, despite the worried looks Ron was giving him. He'd been sitting there simply staring at her name and remembering. Then, as if suddenly realising something, he dipped the quill in ink and began to write.
Dearest Ginny,
I'm sitting here in Hermione's living room, just staring at your name. Your name, the strongest whisper in my heart, is killing me. Every time someone says it, or I read it, I feel like somebody's taken my heart and twisted it, and I'm haunted by a million memories of you. For example, do you remember the night, just before Easter break, the you and I flew up to the Top Tower and watched the sun set? If I concentrate, I can still see the way the sun changed you hair color, still smell your perfume, still feel the way you fit into my arms.
I told you I loved you that night, do you remember? I hadn't even meant to, you know. With Voldemort rising as he was, I didn't want to give you reason to have hopes and dreams I couldn't fulfill, as much as I would have liked to. Looking back, I also didn't want to give them to myself. "I love you Ginny Weasley," I whispered. The way you looked at me then Gin, I'll never be able to forget it.
You said you loved me too, do you still? Wherever you are, do you still love me? Beyond that veil, can you still think and feel things? Can you miss me? Do you miss me? There are so many questions I'll always want to ask you Ginny, and I'll never be able to.
I feel so stupid, writing to you. Writing to someone who's been proudly claimed the first Weasley dead. But I needed to. I needed to talk to you, to pretend you're going to read this. And, if you really are as they say, dead, then surely you'll know how I feel.
I'm going into hiding tomorrow. Soon, I'll have little else to listen to but my thoughts. Hermione's already in hiding, they want her dead. And Ron. They want to kill your brother Ginny. They want to kill all of you. Remus told me that we all need to go into hiding if we want to live. I don't care though, either way I'm going to win. He can never defeat me. I'm heading towards two different endings, whichever will happen I'm not sure. I'm going to kill Voldemort, or get to see you again. I'm not going to lose.
The only thing keeping me alive and ready to do this is the thought that you might still be alive. That Lucius Malfoy went along with expectations and lied. That you're still his prisoner. I can only hope it's an elaborate trap where they kill me from the inside out. Someday Ginny, I'll see you again. I can only hope it's soon.
I love you with all my heart and I always will,
Harry.
~*~
The moon was out tonight, and Remus could see how close it was to the full moon. He sighed, dreading the day coming up. Tomorrow, he wouldn't be sitting here in the kitchen, he'd be up in his room, a hairy monster who would really like to eat someone, deep inside.
The man who now made his Wolfsbane potion didn't do it quite as well as Severus had once done. Now, he could still feel a little bit of the werewolf in him, wanting to come out and attack. So he locked himself in, and told everyone to stay, just in case.
Just in case. It seemed that now, everyone always thought along those lines. They had to be ready for everything, absolutely everything that might happen. It wasn't a possibility to just go for a walk when you wanted to, because you'd have to tell someone in the house first, cast an Invisibility shield around you, and put on all sorts of extra gadgets, just in case. He couldn't wait for this bloody revolution to end.
Molly entered the kitchen, and started the kettle.
" Would you like some tea, Remus dear?" she asked, in a very strained happy voice. She was worried, he could tell. The lines in her forehead were deeper, and she was moving her mouth in the way she always did when she was about to complain about something. Remus took a deep breath. At least it would take his mind off things.
" Yes, please, Molly," he answered.
She served him the tea, even adding his milk and sugar for him. Lately, she had taken to mothering them all even more than usual, but he didn't mind. Nowhere else would he find someone who would mother him that way, so he took every thing she did with gratitude.
Molly fussed with the tablecloth, smoothing it out and pulling it tighter, muttering softly to herself. Remus caught the words " too young" and "dangerous" and "shouldn't be allowed". Ah. He knew what this was about.
" Quite the idea Petra had, wasn't it?" Remus said thoughtfully, looking at Molly over his teacup. He could practically see her patience break. She walked over to the counter and started to pull things out of cupboards.
"And quite the temper. She never thinks things through, that girl. I agree completely with Neville when he said she should have been a Gryffindor. I worry about her Remus, she's never going to make it to her twenty's if someone doesn't smarten her up. And she'll drag the other two right in with her!" Molly said, slicing the bread and toasting it.
"They're much too young Remus. Why we ever let them join in the first place. They're not finished school, they don't have enough experience, if there was ever a battle, they'd be hexed or worse in an instant!" she continued.
"Things are different now. It's not a war anymore, and we need all the help we can get. If we didn't have every possible body to help, then Voldemort would be in charge forever. Besides, they're very smart. And age doesn't matter. Don't you remember Neville and Luna and Harry and all of them in their fifth year? They took on a whole group of full-grown wizards, Death Eaters no less. These kids are a year older than them," Remus consoled.
" If Dumbledore were still alive he wouldn't have allowed it," Mrs. Weasley said firmly. She was now buttering toast quickly. She took a deep breath then continued.
" I don't like Petra living all alone with her father. Who's to watch her when he's out doing something for us? He doesn't have time to even keep house properly, let alone raise a child. I know he tries his best, but maybe Petra should come stay here. Him as well. I'd feel a lot better knowing where she was, and then you two would have more time for her lessons. And Anne-Marie as well. We all know what kind of man her father is, and that dreadful woman who calls herself the child's mother is loving her new position in life. Poor dear."
Remus watched her with an amused expression as she poured more tea and put a plate of toast in front of him.
" Now I want you to eat this all up, you haven't been looking well lately and you're too skinny Remus," she said. Remus muttered his thanks and obediently ate his toast. However, he knew better than to make excuses for his weight, it would only bring her attention to it further.
Remus stood up and stretched happily. He was in a much better mood than before, even though Molly was worried.
" Well, Molly, I have a book I want to be reading and it's been a long day so I'm going to tuck in now."
" Yes, have a good sleep, dear," she said off-handedly.
Remus stooped over Mrs. Weasley's chair and kissed her on the cheek. He was tempted to say ' Goodnight, Mum', but satisfied himself by saying instead, " Don't worry too much about the kids, they'll be alright," then headed up the stairs.
~*~
It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining down on the beach and water, making the ocean waves glimmer and shine, alive with light.
It was just the three of them on the beach. Her, Harry, and Ron, happy once again.
The wind was blowing hard, creating whitecaps as far as the eye could see, and blowing through her hair.
She was running around their stuff, trying to run away from Ron, who was laughing and trying to hit her with a tickling curse. She laughed as well, she was so happy. She, Hermione Granger was free! And it was wonderful!
Harry was sitting on a blanket, picking up sand and letting it slip through his fingers. He was smiling and looking happy.. And something else. something he hadn't looked in a long time. Harry looked peaceful.
"Harry! Get off your lazy arse and come help me catch her!" Ron said, stopping his chase for a moment.
Harry grins and stands up, pulling his wand from his pocket.
" You'd better run Hermione," he warns.
She laughs and runs towards the water's edge.
"Catch me if you can the, Harry!"
She shrieks in surprise as Ron grabs her around the waist and tackles her to the ground. They laugh and Ron leans over and whispers in her ear.
" I love you," he says. This sends shivers down her spine, and although she's stopped laughing, she feels happy all over.
Soon, Harry joins them and flops down next to them. They all laugh and try to catch their breath, caught up in a moment of happy bliss.
Suddenly, they hear a new laugh. It's a happy, floating laugh, that's forgotten and yet familiar to Hermione.
It's Harry who sits up first, staring over at the sandy dunes.
" Harry, what is it?" Hermione whispers, sitting up and looking in the same direction. She stares in shock for a moment then grins and laughs out loud.
" Ron! Ron, look! It's Ginny, Ron, look!" she cries happily, tugging on his sleeve to get him to sit up.
And sure enough, there on the dunes is Ginny, exactly the way Hermione remembered her. Ginny laughs again and waves, Hermione's hit by a thousand emotions at once. Fear, love, happiness, shock. nothing could describe the way she feels right now.
Ginny begins to run down the dunes and Harry quickly stands up and runs towards her at full speed. Hermione's entire heart goes out to Harry at that moment, she can't imagine how he must feel.
She watches as they get nearer to each other and stop a few feet away from each other. Harry grins and holds out his arms to her.
But as the sky suddenly clouds over and it begins to rain, Ginny laughs again, and, with a POP! Disappears.
Lucius Malfoy's voice suddenly fills the air, loud and cruel.
" You won't be seeing your girlfriend for a long time, Mr. Potter. At least, not until Voldemort kills you," he says. Hermione is sensing a very big feeling of déjà vu. she's dreaming of the moment when they found out Ginny was dead.
Harry turns around in a circle, looking for the voice.
" What do you mean?" he yells. Hermione's heart twist suddenly. No, please, not again. Let her wake up, she doesn't want to hear it again!
But as she continues to slumber on, Lucius Malfoy confirms.
" She's dead, I killed her myself. Today is the day that I started killing off the Weasleys, tomorrow it will be another. I'll kill them all, Potter. All of the make-shift family you''ve created and your Mudblood friend as well. I'm going to kill off every single person who might be even a little bit dear to you, Potter, so that you have no one left."
Harry sinks onto the sand and buries his face in his hands. Ron begins to run over to him but Lucius Malfoy appears in fromt of him as suddenly as Ginny had disappeared.
" Avada Kedavra!" he cries, and in a flash of green light, Hermione's the only one left standing; Malfoy's disappeared and Ron's on the ground, not moving. Malfoy's laughter remains, but Ginny's its louder, happy and tinkling, broken only by Harry's sobs and curses.
" You're next, Mudblood," she hears whipered in her ear.
In a small wizarding settlement on an island off the coast of Greece, Hermione Granger suddenly wakes up in her bed.
~*~
The first thing she noticed was how Andrew and Anne-Mmarie seemed to have switched personalities. Anne-Marie was quiet and thoughtful. Indeed, she had her hands in her pockets and seemed to be looking at something the other two couldn't see. Andrew, happy about something, was on her other side and talking animatedly. He was acting playful and talking about Quidditch.
" Fairweather, when this is all over, first thing I'm doing is bringing back Quidditch. I'm going to pull on my Puddlemere United shirt and grab my Beater's bat- Petra, tell me that you'll at least come flying with me. Come on," at this point he nudged her slightly, " I'll get you a shirt. It'll be fun. Merlin, I can't wait for this to be over!"
Petra smiled at his cute ways. True, it would be nice to go flying with Andrew, but.... Right now, she was too worried about Anne-Marie to dream about the end.
"You're awful quiet," Petra noted.
" Hmm? Oh, yes. Well, I was just thinking," Anne-Marie said quietly.
" Too bad you can't to more of it," Andrew teased, pulling on a strand of her hair. Petra rolled her eyes and put out a hand. Did he not have any tact, at all? Now was not the time to tease.
" What about?" she asked.
" It's just- I was just thinking about my family," she explained, clasping her hands in front of her like a little girl.
" I live with evil people, Petra. My father's a Death Eater; yes, the very people we- I'm - trying to rid of power, and my mother truly believesVoldemort is the best thing that ever happened. Every time I go out for the DA, I have to lie. I need to lie about where I go, lie about what I believe in, lie about my friends, my whole life is a lie! Petra, I'm a lie. And now with Fidelius coming up, they're really going to notice something. And with the school coming up, I'm forced to be two people."
Petra stopped suddenly and looked at Anne-Marie with shock and fear written clear on her face.
" What did you say?"
" I said that I have to be-"
" No, not that, the part about the school..." Anne-Marie clasped her hands over her mouth for a moment, then took them away and put on a haughty look.
"I- I;m not at the liberty to say."
" Anne-Marie!" Petra complained.
" What!"
" Tell us," Andrew said, now joing the conversation, his voice matching Petra's own.
" You're going to find out soon enough anyways, so stop pestering me! You two sound like children!"
" Right. And you're a grown-up?" Petra demanded. She was not acting like a child.
" Girls, please. This is completely irrelevant to the school. Anne-Marie, if we're going to find out soon, why not just tell us now?"
"Because if I do-"
" You guys! Look at the time! It's ten to bloody nine!" Petra yelled suddenly, reading a nearby church tower.
" Aww, shit," said Andrew and Anne-Marie gasped and scolded him. They all began to sprint towards The Leaky Cauldron, Andrew at the front, as he knew London best, his dad had grown up there.
" Let's just use a Muggle's fireplace!" Anne-Marie panted, pulling on Petra's sleeve.
"Are you insane? That would be an interesting visit! Us, ' Hello, Muggle. How are you? If you don't mind, we're just going to light a fire in the middle of August, alright? You do have one don't you? Good. Well, cheerio! We're going to turn the flames green and then step into them and disappear! Thanks very much!' Yeah, that'd work real well, that would," she said sarcastically.
" One of us would Obliviate them!"
They's now reached the Leaky Cauldron. Dingy lights and the smell of smoke and alcohol welcomed them. It seemed as if everyone was looking at them, frozen in the doorway. Petra had to resist the urge to turn around and walk right back out. Instead, she whispered to Anne-Marie.
" And which of us can do that properly?"
" Andrew can," she said promptly, pushing towards the fireplace.
" He can not!" said Petra. She was glancing at the person sitting in the corner; he had not taken his eyes off the group since their arrival.
" What would you like to forget? Tom, can we use your fireplace?" Anne- Marie said. Petra was just about to ask Andrew to confirm this, but Anne- Marie silenced her with a look and indicated with her head to the people in the pub behind them. Ah.
The clock now said 8:57. There was no way they'd each make it back to their own place, Andrew had to go to Scotland. And she definitely didn't want to stay here.
" Oh, just all come to my house, there isn't time!" she said anxiously, trying to push the others ahead. If they didn't make it before curfew, they'd be splinched, then most definitely questioned and who knows what else. Anne- Marie voiced her thoughts, she sounded as worried as Petra felt.
" We will be if you two don't be quiet. Stop all the chatter and go!" Andrew said, throwing Floo Powder into the pit. " Women! Always talking!"
" Hey! I resent that comment! It was you who was-" Anne-Marie said, placing her hands on her hips only to be pushed into the fire.
" Cough! Gairloch! cough!" she said, and soon she was spinning out of sight.
"You next," Petra said, turning to Andrew.
" No. Ladies first."
"No, you."
" No you!"
" Honestly! Fine, I'll go!" Petra huffed and stepped into the fire. " Gairloch," she said clearly, and soon she too was spinning to her home.
~*~*~*~ How was that? Do you guys like the longer or shorter chapters better? Also, I'm trying to make Andrew more like Remus. Any ideas?
~Adri
~*~ He'd never felt so alone in his life. Not even when he had been locked in his cupboard for long periods of time or when everyone thought he had opened the Chamber of Secrets had he felt this lonely.
Hell, he was so lonely, he'd probably appreciate Uncle Vernon's company. And if that didn't mean anything, well, then he had no clue anymore.
Harry raised his head from his hands and reached for the table next to him. He put his glasses on his face and looked around the room, hoping for some miracle to come that would give him something to do. With no job, no people to talk to, and banned from using anything magical in his house, there was very little else to distract him from his feelings. He now understood Sirius' actions when his godfather had been stuck in his mother's house.
But, at least Sirius had had people to talk to, Harry thought darkly.
He sat up straight. How could he have just thought that? About Sirius? Sirius, who had been missing from his life for three years now, but not forgotten; no, he was far from forgotten. He thought namely about two people every single day, and it seemed as if he'd been thinking about them forever.
Ginny and Sirius.
They'd been gone for so long, and if there was one thing he could have asked for, it would be to see them just once more, to hear their voices once more, to hear Ginny's twinkling and Sirius' barking laughs.
And perhaps now, while he was sitting here, his two best friends might be dead. Taken away from him. They'd already killed one Weasley, why wouldn't they kill another one?
And he could be helping them. He should be helping them. He could be out there, right now, putting an Unforgivable on Malfoy, the man who had-
Suddenly, he stood up, breathing hard. Give me strength, he thought, then ran at the door.
BAM! He hit it with his shoulder, over and over again, trying to force it open. The magical wards would break at some point. They- Had- To- Let- Him- Out- Someday! He emphasized each wordwith a bang in between them.
With one last bang, he slumped to the floor in defeat. There was a pain in his shoulder, and he knew it would bruise as always, but at the moment, he didn't care.
" I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU ALL! YOU TOOK AWAY SIX OF THE PEOPLE MOST IMPORTANT TO ME AND LEFT ME WITH ONLY THREE! AND YOU LOCK ME AWAY! I WANT TO HELP!" he cried, screaming at the ceiling.
His hand touched paper in his pocket. An envelope, a letter he'd never sent. Harry closed his eyes and breathed in. He knew this letter very, very well; he'd memorised it completely.
Dearest Ginny, it began. Harry cringed. Just the sound of her name in his headsent knives through his heart. Although he tried, he couldn't stop the memory of the night he'd written that letter, the night before he'd gone into hiding.
He'd been sitting in the living room at Hermione's house, his head bent over a single piece of parchment. Quill in hand, he'd been quiet for the whole part of an hour, despite the worried looks Ron was giving him. He'd been sitting there simply staring at her name and remembering. Then, as if suddenly realising something, he dipped the quill in ink and began to write.
Dearest Ginny,
I'm sitting here in Hermione's living room, just staring at your name. Your name, the strongest whisper in my heart, is killing me. Every time someone says it, or I read it, I feel like somebody's taken my heart and twisted it, and I'm haunted by a million memories of you. For example, do you remember the night, just before Easter break, the you and I flew up to the Top Tower and watched the sun set? If I concentrate, I can still see the way the sun changed you hair color, still smell your perfume, still feel the way you fit into my arms.
I told you I loved you that night, do you remember? I hadn't even meant to, you know. With Voldemort rising as he was, I didn't want to give you reason to have hopes and dreams I couldn't fulfill, as much as I would have liked to. Looking back, I also didn't want to give them to myself. "I love you Ginny Weasley," I whispered. The way you looked at me then Gin, I'll never be able to forget it.
You said you loved me too, do you still? Wherever you are, do you still love me? Beyond that veil, can you still think and feel things? Can you miss me? Do you miss me? There are so many questions I'll always want to ask you Ginny, and I'll never be able to.
I feel so stupid, writing to you. Writing to someone who's been proudly claimed the first Weasley dead. But I needed to. I needed to talk to you, to pretend you're going to read this. And, if you really are as they say, dead, then surely you'll know how I feel.
I'm going into hiding tomorrow. Soon, I'll have little else to listen to but my thoughts. Hermione's already in hiding, they want her dead. And Ron. They want to kill your brother Ginny. They want to kill all of you. Remus told me that we all need to go into hiding if we want to live. I don't care though, either way I'm going to win. He can never defeat me. I'm heading towards two different endings, whichever will happen I'm not sure. I'm going to kill Voldemort, or get to see you again. I'm not going to lose.
The only thing keeping me alive and ready to do this is the thought that you might still be alive. That Lucius Malfoy went along with expectations and lied. That you're still his prisoner. I can only hope it's an elaborate trap where they kill me from the inside out. Someday Ginny, I'll see you again. I can only hope it's soon.
I love you with all my heart and I always will,
Harry.
~*~
The moon was out tonight, and Remus could see how close it was to the full moon. He sighed, dreading the day coming up. Tomorrow, he wouldn't be sitting here in the kitchen, he'd be up in his room, a hairy monster who would really like to eat someone, deep inside.
The man who now made his Wolfsbane potion didn't do it quite as well as Severus had once done. Now, he could still feel a little bit of the werewolf in him, wanting to come out and attack. So he locked himself in, and told everyone to stay, just in case.
Just in case. It seemed that now, everyone always thought along those lines. They had to be ready for everything, absolutely everything that might happen. It wasn't a possibility to just go for a walk when you wanted to, because you'd have to tell someone in the house first, cast an Invisibility shield around you, and put on all sorts of extra gadgets, just in case. He couldn't wait for this bloody revolution to end.
Molly entered the kitchen, and started the kettle.
" Would you like some tea, Remus dear?" she asked, in a very strained happy voice. She was worried, he could tell. The lines in her forehead were deeper, and she was moving her mouth in the way she always did when she was about to complain about something. Remus took a deep breath. At least it would take his mind off things.
" Yes, please, Molly," he answered.
She served him the tea, even adding his milk and sugar for him. Lately, she had taken to mothering them all even more than usual, but he didn't mind. Nowhere else would he find someone who would mother him that way, so he took every thing she did with gratitude.
Molly fussed with the tablecloth, smoothing it out and pulling it tighter, muttering softly to herself. Remus caught the words " too young" and "dangerous" and "shouldn't be allowed". Ah. He knew what this was about.
" Quite the idea Petra had, wasn't it?" Remus said thoughtfully, looking at Molly over his teacup. He could practically see her patience break. She walked over to the counter and started to pull things out of cupboards.
"And quite the temper. She never thinks things through, that girl. I agree completely with Neville when he said she should have been a Gryffindor. I worry about her Remus, she's never going to make it to her twenty's if someone doesn't smarten her up. And she'll drag the other two right in with her!" Molly said, slicing the bread and toasting it.
"They're much too young Remus. Why we ever let them join in the first place. They're not finished school, they don't have enough experience, if there was ever a battle, they'd be hexed or worse in an instant!" she continued.
"Things are different now. It's not a war anymore, and we need all the help we can get. If we didn't have every possible body to help, then Voldemort would be in charge forever. Besides, they're very smart. And age doesn't matter. Don't you remember Neville and Luna and Harry and all of them in their fifth year? They took on a whole group of full-grown wizards, Death Eaters no less. These kids are a year older than them," Remus consoled.
" If Dumbledore were still alive he wouldn't have allowed it," Mrs. Weasley said firmly. She was now buttering toast quickly. She took a deep breath then continued.
" I don't like Petra living all alone with her father. Who's to watch her when he's out doing something for us? He doesn't have time to even keep house properly, let alone raise a child. I know he tries his best, but maybe Petra should come stay here. Him as well. I'd feel a lot better knowing where she was, and then you two would have more time for her lessons. And Anne-Marie as well. We all know what kind of man her father is, and that dreadful woman who calls herself the child's mother is loving her new position in life. Poor dear."
Remus watched her with an amused expression as she poured more tea and put a plate of toast in front of him.
" Now I want you to eat this all up, you haven't been looking well lately and you're too skinny Remus," she said. Remus muttered his thanks and obediently ate his toast. However, he knew better than to make excuses for his weight, it would only bring her attention to it further.
Remus stood up and stretched happily. He was in a much better mood than before, even though Molly was worried.
" Well, Molly, I have a book I want to be reading and it's been a long day so I'm going to tuck in now."
" Yes, have a good sleep, dear," she said off-handedly.
Remus stooped over Mrs. Weasley's chair and kissed her on the cheek. He was tempted to say ' Goodnight, Mum', but satisfied himself by saying instead, " Don't worry too much about the kids, they'll be alright," then headed up the stairs.
~*~
It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining down on the beach and water, making the ocean waves glimmer and shine, alive with light.
It was just the three of them on the beach. Her, Harry, and Ron, happy once again.
The wind was blowing hard, creating whitecaps as far as the eye could see, and blowing through her hair.
She was running around their stuff, trying to run away from Ron, who was laughing and trying to hit her with a tickling curse. She laughed as well, she was so happy. She, Hermione Granger was free! And it was wonderful!
Harry was sitting on a blanket, picking up sand and letting it slip through his fingers. He was smiling and looking happy.. And something else. something he hadn't looked in a long time. Harry looked peaceful.
"Harry! Get off your lazy arse and come help me catch her!" Ron said, stopping his chase for a moment.
Harry grins and stands up, pulling his wand from his pocket.
" You'd better run Hermione," he warns.
She laughs and runs towards the water's edge.
"Catch me if you can the, Harry!"
She shrieks in surprise as Ron grabs her around the waist and tackles her to the ground. They laugh and Ron leans over and whispers in her ear.
" I love you," he says. This sends shivers down her spine, and although she's stopped laughing, she feels happy all over.
Soon, Harry joins them and flops down next to them. They all laugh and try to catch their breath, caught up in a moment of happy bliss.
Suddenly, they hear a new laugh. It's a happy, floating laugh, that's forgotten and yet familiar to Hermione.
It's Harry who sits up first, staring over at the sandy dunes.
" Harry, what is it?" Hermione whispers, sitting up and looking in the same direction. She stares in shock for a moment then grins and laughs out loud.
" Ron! Ron, look! It's Ginny, Ron, look!" she cries happily, tugging on his sleeve to get him to sit up.
And sure enough, there on the dunes is Ginny, exactly the way Hermione remembered her. Ginny laughs again and waves, Hermione's hit by a thousand emotions at once. Fear, love, happiness, shock. nothing could describe the way she feels right now.
Ginny begins to run down the dunes and Harry quickly stands up and runs towards her at full speed. Hermione's entire heart goes out to Harry at that moment, she can't imagine how he must feel.
She watches as they get nearer to each other and stop a few feet away from each other. Harry grins and holds out his arms to her.
But as the sky suddenly clouds over and it begins to rain, Ginny laughs again, and, with a POP! Disappears.
Lucius Malfoy's voice suddenly fills the air, loud and cruel.
" You won't be seeing your girlfriend for a long time, Mr. Potter. At least, not until Voldemort kills you," he says. Hermione is sensing a very big feeling of déjà vu. she's dreaming of the moment when they found out Ginny was dead.
Harry turns around in a circle, looking for the voice.
" What do you mean?" he yells. Hermione's heart twist suddenly. No, please, not again. Let her wake up, she doesn't want to hear it again!
But as she continues to slumber on, Lucius Malfoy confirms.
" She's dead, I killed her myself. Today is the day that I started killing off the Weasleys, tomorrow it will be another. I'll kill them all, Potter. All of the make-shift family you''ve created and your Mudblood friend as well. I'm going to kill off every single person who might be even a little bit dear to you, Potter, so that you have no one left."
Harry sinks onto the sand and buries his face in his hands. Ron begins to run over to him but Lucius Malfoy appears in fromt of him as suddenly as Ginny had disappeared.
" Avada Kedavra!" he cries, and in a flash of green light, Hermione's the only one left standing; Malfoy's disappeared and Ron's on the ground, not moving. Malfoy's laughter remains, but Ginny's its louder, happy and tinkling, broken only by Harry's sobs and curses.
" You're next, Mudblood," she hears whipered in her ear.
In a small wizarding settlement on an island off the coast of Greece, Hermione Granger suddenly wakes up in her bed.
~*~
The first thing she noticed was how Andrew and Anne-Mmarie seemed to have switched personalities. Anne-Marie was quiet and thoughtful. Indeed, she had her hands in her pockets and seemed to be looking at something the other two couldn't see. Andrew, happy about something, was on her other side and talking animatedly. He was acting playful and talking about Quidditch.
" Fairweather, when this is all over, first thing I'm doing is bringing back Quidditch. I'm going to pull on my Puddlemere United shirt and grab my Beater's bat- Petra, tell me that you'll at least come flying with me. Come on," at this point he nudged her slightly, " I'll get you a shirt. It'll be fun. Merlin, I can't wait for this to be over!"
Petra smiled at his cute ways. True, it would be nice to go flying with Andrew, but.... Right now, she was too worried about Anne-Marie to dream about the end.
"You're awful quiet," Petra noted.
" Hmm? Oh, yes. Well, I was just thinking," Anne-Marie said quietly.
" Too bad you can't to more of it," Andrew teased, pulling on a strand of her hair. Petra rolled her eyes and put out a hand. Did he not have any tact, at all? Now was not the time to tease.
" What about?" she asked.
" It's just- I was just thinking about my family," she explained, clasping her hands in front of her like a little girl.
" I live with evil people, Petra. My father's a Death Eater; yes, the very people we- I'm - trying to rid of power, and my mother truly believesVoldemort is the best thing that ever happened. Every time I go out for the DA, I have to lie. I need to lie about where I go, lie about what I believe in, lie about my friends, my whole life is a lie! Petra, I'm a lie. And now with Fidelius coming up, they're really going to notice something. And with the school coming up, I'm forced to be two people."
Petra stopped suddenly and looked at Anne-Marie with shock and fear written clear on her face.
" What did you say?"
" I said that I have to be-"
" No, not that, the part about the school..." Anne-Marie clasped her hands over her mouth for a moment, then took them away and put on a haughty look.
"I- I;m not at the liberty to say."
" Anne-Marie!" Petra complained.
" What!"
" Tell us," Andrew said, now joing the conversation, his voice matching Petra's own.
" You're going to find out soon enough anyways, so stop pestering me! You two sound like children!"
" Right. And you're a grown-up?" Petra demanded. She was not acting like a child.
" Girls, please. This is completely irrelevant to the school. Anne-Marie, if we're going to find out soon, why not just tell us now?"
"Because if I do-"
" You guys! Look at the time! It's ten to bloody nine!" Petra yelled suddenly, reading a nearby church tower.
" Aww, shit," said Andrew and Anne-Marie gasped and scolded him. They all began to sprint towards The Leaky Cauldron, Andrew at the front, as he knew London best, his dad had grown up there.
" Let's just use a Muggle's fireplace!" Anne-Marie panted, pulling on Petra's sleeve.
"Are you insane? That would be an interesting visit! Us, ' Hello, Muggle. How are you? If you don't mind, we're just going to light a fire in the middle of August, alright? You do have one don't you? Good. Well, cheerio! We're going to turn the flames green and then step into them and disappear! Thanks very much!' Yeah, that'd work real well, that would," she said sarcastically.
" One of us would Obliviate them!"
They's now reached the Leaky Cauldron. Dingy lights and the smell of smoke and alcohol welcomed them. It seemed as if everyone was looking at them, frozen in the doorway. Petra had to resist the urge to turn around and walk right back out. Instead, she whispered to Anne-Marie.
" And which of us can do that properly?"
" Andrew can," she said promptly, pushing towards the fireplace.
" He can not!" said Petra. She was glancing at the person sitting in the corner; he had not taken his eyes off the group since their arrival.
" What would you like to forget? Tom, can we use your fireplace?" Anne- Marie said. Petra was just about to ask Andrew to confirm this, but Anne- Marie silenced her with a look and indicated with her head to the people in the pub behind them. Ah.
The clock now said 8:57. There was no way they'd each make it back to their own place, Andrew had to go to Scotland. And she definitely didn't want to stay here.
" Oh, just all come to my house, there isn't time!" she said anxiously, trying to push the others ahead. If they didn't make it before curfew, they'd be splinched, then most definitely questioned and who knows what else. Anne- Marie voiced her thoughts, she sounded as worried as Petra felt.
" We will be if you two don't be quiet. Stop all the chatter and go!" Andrew said, throwing Floo Powder into the pit. " Women! Always talking!"
" Hey! I resent that comment! It was you who was-" Anne-Marie said, placing her hands on her hips only to be pushed into the fire.
" Cough! Gairloch! cough!" she said, and soon she was spinning out of sight.
"You next," Petra said, turning to Andrew.
" No. Ladies first."
"No, you."
" No you!"
" Honestly! Fine, I'll go!" Petra huffed and stepped into the fire. " Gairloch," she said clearly, and soon she too was spinning to her home.
~*~*~*~ How was that? Do you guys like the longer or shorter chapters better? Also, I'm trying to make Andrew more like Remus. Any ideas?
~Adri
