~Wishes do come true~
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.
Authors Notes: This story is in no way connected to my other story. It was written instead of the latest chapter of A Lost Love… my fingers took on their own life and wrote this instead… :)
Please review, I would love to hear what you have to say about it…
My good friend and co-writer of A Lost Love – edited it for me, so a big thank-you goes to her. She helps me with, as she likes to put it…
"my incessant need to capitalise words that have never in the history of the English language EVER been capitalised..."
Okay – enough from me… This is complete – there will be no more… If it is anything like anyone else's work, please let me know…
Rhiain
Harry smiled to himself. It was Christmas Eve.
Ten years ago he had left Hogwarts; the war was over - it had been for a long time. Not long after he had finally rid the world of Voldemort, Harry had run. He just couldn't face up to what had happened.
For Harry to be able to cast the spell to destroy Voldemort, Dumbledore had sacrificed himself; taking a curse so Harry could go on and kill Voldemort. Harry hadn't been able to forgive himself for causing Dumbledore's death. That was why he ran, and ran…
He went to America first, hiding in the muggle world, but he missed magic too much. So after five years in New York, he returned home.
He decided to hide in plain sight. He bought a house a few streets away from Privet Drive. What possessed him to do that he couldn't really say, however living where he was, he was happy. Well as happy you can be hiding from your heritage, friends and loved ones.
Yes, he was hiding from the one person he really loved.
Ginny Weasley.
No one could make him feel the way that she made him feel, the way just thinking of her made him feel. He wasn't sure she felt the same, he had never told her. When they became friends during his fifth year he was glad to have another real friend, but during his sixth year, his feelings started to change.
He didn't do anything about it because he hadn't wanted to place her in any more danger than she already was in. It wouldn't be right. So he kept his feelings to himself, brooding over every boyfriend she had.
In his seventh year, Dumbledore decided to have another Yule Ball. She had just broken up with a Hufflepuff sixth year and didn't want to go, but Harry had convinced her to go with him. He had told her that she either went with him or he wouldn't go. Truthfully, he didn't want to go with anyone else, or at all, if he couldn't dance with her.
In the end she had agreed to go as friends, as she could use the cheering up, and watching Harry dance could very well do just that. Hermione and Ginny had spent the weeks leading up to the ball teaching Harry and Ron how to dance. The had to take many trips to the hospital wing nursing broken toes, but it was worth it. They had all had a great time.
Harry laughed to himself. A piece of bewitched holly had made its way over his and Ginny's head, and when Ron and Hermione noticed it Ron had told him to go easy on his little sister…
Ginny had looked up surprised when Harry pulled back halfway through the song that was playing, and when she noticed the holly she blushed the colour of her head and smiled secretly at Harry, before he leaned down and gently placed his lips on hers. His heart raced and breath quickened during the split second kiss, one he would never forget.
Remus had found him at Sirius's grave eight years after Harry had left. Both men deciding to visit his grave after ten years. Remus had found him staring at the writing on the headstone.
Sirius Black – Padfoot – Snuffles1960 – 1995
Beloved friend, Marauder, Godfather and Prankster
Will be missed by all who loved him.
He hadn't heard Remus approach, and when Remus had put his hand on Harry's back, he nearly leapt out of his skin.
He took Remus back to his house, and they talked for hours. Harry hadn't spoken to anyone from his past in eight years. Remus didn't ask for explanations, or reasons why he left, he understood why.
Remus had told him what happened to everyone, the Weasley's, Hermione, and Hogwarts. Hermione and Ron had married five years earlier, and they now had three children under five. Fred and George had married and now had two children each.
Charlie had married Cho Chang, much to Harry's surprise, and now had two kids, Bill and Fleur were married and were expecting their first child in a few months, Percy had married Penelope Clearwater, and had five children, between the ages of two and eight years old.
But the one person he wanted to know about, and at the same time didn't want to know about, Remus didn't volunteer any information on. Ginny, what about her?
Remus soon became a regular visitor. They had dinner every Friday night, and Harry accompanied Remus on the full moon's. During these visits, Harry had tried to get some information about Ginny, but it seemed that she just up and vanished, it was like the seventh Weasley was never born, and Harry was starting to get worried. So one night he asked Remus what happened to her.
Harry reached over the table and poured Remus and himself another glass of red wine before asking the question that had been on his mind since he had bumped into Remus again six months ago."Remus" he said, "what happened to Ginny?" he asked.
"What do you mean Harry?" asked Remus fidgeting slightly, he had been anticipating this question for months now, waiting for it to come and yet hoping that it wouldn't.
"Well, since you found me, you've spoken about all the Weasley's except her, and I was wondering what happened to her?" he said quietly. If Remus was this worried about the question, he didn't know if he wanted to know the answer.
"Nothing happened to her," he started with, he wanted to get Harry to come back on his own terms - not out of guilt. "She's sick Harry, has been for a long time."
"Sick? What with?" asked Harry instantly worried. "please tell me everything Remus, I need to know."
"After you left… Harry, you have to remember, you got rid of Voldemort, and most of his followers were captured, but it took along time and there were casualties. Lucius Malfoy had been working on a curse to remove the magic from people, leaving them a squib… and Ginny got hit with the curse," he said taking a deep breath, ready to tell Harry the worst bit. "How much do you know about the differences between muggles and wizards?" he asked Harry.
"Not much, only we have the ability to do magic and they don't," said Harry wondering where this was going.
"That's not all," answered Remus. "Magic can heal most illness, counter most poisons, provided you go to someone who knows what they are doing, a healer or a mediwitch or wizard, and our own magic keeps away a lot of diseases. We just don't get the same illnesses as muggles, and magical remedies can't fix them," he paused to take a breath.
"But the spell that Malfoy used on Ginny removed her natural resistance to a lot of those illnesses, and a few years ago she was diagnosed with a form of cancer," he said, pausing to let what he said sink in.
Harry was quiet for a long time. He had gone very pale and looked increasingly nauseous. After about twenty minutes of silence, Remus asked.
"You do know what cancer is don't you Harry?" he asked.
"Yes, I do," Harry answered, before asking, "what sort?"
"Leukaemia," Remus answered.
"Where is she being treated?" he asked again.
"A muggle hospital near The Burrow," answered Remus, wondering slightly where this was going. "They're just about to start another round of chemotherapy."
"How long has it been since she was first diagnosed?" Harry asked.
"About two years ago… in 2005. Why Harry?" asked Remus now curious where this was going.
"Who's her specialist?" he asked once again ignoring Remus's question.
"Mr Honeywell, why?" he asked again.
"Shit!," Harry exclaimed.
"What Harry? What's going on?" he asked.
"After everything that happened during the war, all the destruction and death I saw and caused, I decided that I wanted to help people. But I couldn't do it in the wizarding world. I didn't want to be found. So when I went to America, I spent those five years studying muggle medicine, I'm now a qualified Doctor, and I specialise in new treatments of cancer," Harry took a deep breath, and let the new information settle in.
"So I take it that you have found another treatment since Ginny was diagnosed?" Remus asked sounding more cheerful. Ginny's illness had been sad and depressing for everyone.
"Since I got back to England I've been experimenting with mixing muggle treatments and potions, to get a better success rate," he said smiling to Remus. "About a year ago I found one."
"Then why did you swear when you found out who Ginny's specialist was?" Remus asked.
"I can count on one hand the specialist's in Britain that aren't using my new treatment at all, and he is one of them," answered Harry grumpily. "My treatment has the highest success rate amongst all Leukaemia patients."
"Harry you have to tell the Weasley's. They have to change doctors before her next round of treatment. The last lot nearly killed her," said Remus urgently.
So Harry returned to the Burrow the next night, with Remus by his side for support. The whole family was there, as it was the night before Ginny went in for her second round of chemotherapy. It took four long hours to explain everything to the family, from where he went to why he left then finally on to treating Ginny.
Ginny was immediately transferred into Harry's care, and over the next year monitored her progress. When her immune system was low and she couldn't be around many people she stayed at Harry's, and over that year they slowly but surely fell in love.
It was now Christmas Eve, ten long years after he had left - and he was going to ask the girl he loved to marry him.
~ The End ~