Harry Potter and the Secret of Lils

Rachel E. Thompson

Email: racheview@yahoo.com

Web page: surf.to/genova or genova07.tripod.com

Rating: R

Category: Action/Drama

Disclaimer: Alas, I don't own Harry and Co.

Summary: Voldemort won and imprisoned the world under his regime. Now six years later, a new resistance called Lils struggles on their crusade to free the world again. So where does Ginny Weasley fit in? H/G, R/HG, N/L. OoTP Spoilers.

Author's Note: This is my sugar baby fic! It practically spawned on its own, and I've been possessed to finish it ever since. So here it is, my mauling of a classic tale by J.K. Rowling. Enjoy.

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Chapter Two. The Years of Harry Potter

Ginny Weasley nervously wrung her hands, as she paced in front of the hotel room's window. A soft fog had settled over Birmingham after the rain. Voldemort's soldiers patrolled up and down the streets, and worried her into a wreck. After two days trapped within the small hotel, James was close to fully recovered. The witch knew they had to move soon. It was too dangerous to stay in this town. That was all well and good, but she didn't have a clue where she could go.

Back on the bed, James squirmed about in a bored fashion. His green eyes held an impatient, but haunted look within them. He had not spoken much; still, Ginny knew her son was upset. The child was worried for Remus Lupin. The boy's cheeks puffed up with irritation, it looked like he couldn't stand it anymore. He scooted up to the foot of the bed. "Mum?"

"Yes, Jamie?" She answered in a distracted manor. Her son watched her curiously, before his expression rapidly lowered into uncertainty. "What are we goin' to do now?" At his question, his redhead mother paused in mid-step. She returned her gaze to him. The witch sighed tiredly, and then moved to his side. Ginny eased herself down to sit on the bed.

"We'll have to leave soon, Birmingham is too dangerous."

"How come?" Ginny sighed at his question. The witch reached up and ran her fingers along his warm, right cheek. "James… There is much you don't know about. I wanted to wait until you were a little older to tell you, but I think you should know now." The little boy's eyes widened in surprise, curiosity, and even a little fear. "What, mum?"

"James…" She cleared her throat, and tried to put her thoughts into words. "You remember how I told you how your Dada died?" The boy bobbed his head, his green eyes darken with sadness. "Uh huh… The evil men that attacked us, killed Dada."

"It wasn't exactly them, love. You see, I never told you everything that happened." She went on in a graver tone. "There is a evil wizard named Voldemort," Ginny didn't hesitate to say the name. Harry hadn't been afraid to say it, so she would make sure her James wouldn't either. "He's in control of much of the world, and has made it a bad place. He's a powerful, but evil wizard that has hurt many people." The redhead witch sighed tiredly, "He is the one that's after us… If he should find you or me, he'll not think twice to kill us." 

"Why? I didn't do anything to him!"

"Of course you didn't, love. It's what he thinks you can do to him." At her answer, her frighten son looked very confused. She smiled softly at his expression, of course he didn't understand. "I never told you everything about your Dada either." Ginny explained sadly, this wasn't going to be easy. So she drew a deep breath, before she begun to describe Harry's life. "You're Dada, Harry Potter, was a hero and a powerful wizard. It all started when your father was a wee-baby. Voldemort had heard about a prophecy – which is like me saying, that I know what's going to happened in the future." She told him in simpler terms. James bobbed his head in understanding, and his mother took that as a signal to continue. "So Voldemort heard about this prophecy. It said that, your Dada would be the one to defeat Voldemort. Of course, he couldn't have that, so he set out to kill your Dada." While her son's eyes widen in horror, Ginny reached up and enveloped him in her arms. The story only grew worse from there.

"Well your grandparents wouldn't allow that. They loved your Dada very much – like I love you…" James grinned at her words and nuzzled into her side. "They were very brave, because they tried to protect your Dada from Voldemort…" Ginny sighed heavily again, her eyes shifted to look out the foggy window. "They died to save your Dada." In her arms, James trembled. His mother returned her dark eyes to him, and looked his fearful face over. "However, your Grandmother Lily cast a wonderful, long forgotten magical spell on your Dada when she died… Voldemort wasn't able to kill him."

"How come?"

"Because of love." Ginny grinned warmly, as she watched her son's eyes widen in surprise. "So when Voldemort used a killing curse on your Dada, it didn't work! Voldemort's power broke! Your Dada was only left with a lightning bolt scar." His mother told him, as she reached over and drew a scar on the James's forehead. The boy giggled to himself and gripped her bloused, enthralled with the heroic tale of his father. "The wizardry world praised your Dada and called him the Boy Who Lived. He had saved us all."

"Really? Then how come Voldemort is here now, mum?"

"That is a long story, Jamie…" She sighed heavily. "Since your Dada didn't exactly kill Voldemort, instead he sort of disembodied him – which means, he turned into something like a ghost. Well… The wizardry world all thought we were spared from Voldemort…" Ginny trailed off with a mournful grimace. "But he wasn't gone. He was very much around, and had enlisted help to become embodied once more."

"What about Dada?"

"Well, when he was finally old enough to attend Hogwarts, Voldemort appeared again. He was in search of the Sorcerer's Stone, this was because it could help him gain back a body. Of course, your brave Dada, Uncle Ron, and Aunt Hermione all worked together and stopped Voldemort." Ginny felt a ping of sorrow at the mention of her brother and Hermione. She still had no clue what had become of them and the rest of her family…

Ginny shook her head of her mournful thoughts. "The next year, when I started Hogwarts…" She hesitated again, when she recalled her hellish first year. The witch hadn't liked to dig up this portion of her past. Still, James needed to hear it. "We all found out that Voldemort was really someone by the name of Tom Riddle."

"Oh. What about you, mum?"

Ginny smiled quietly at her son's concern. "Well… I was the reason that we found out. I had been tricked into taking a magical, but evil diary. It was embedded with Tom Riddle's memories – which would be like, putting a bit of your brain in a book." James's face squished up in disgust.

The redhead faltered with the next portion of her memory. This was much harder then she thought. She felt a wave of revived shame course over her soul. Sure, everyone had told her it wasn't her fault… But it still didn't alleviate all the guilt.  "It was a awful book, Jamie…" Her voice dropped to a shameful whisper. "Tom used the diary to take control of me… He made me release the Basilisk, and open the Chamber of Secrets. I could do nothing to stop Tom. He slowly exchanged my soul for his."

"What about Dada?" James asked panicky, "didn't he save you, mum?"

"Yes," Ginny's tone lightened, amused at her son's question. "Of course he did." James actually sighed in relief, as if it wasn't enough proof with her beside him. Her son leaned heavily into her and then began to play with her hands. He seemed to fear she would disappear without notice. She wasn't really surprised, after all the poor kid just lost Remus.

"Anyways… Your father stopped Tom, killed the Basilisk, and we escaped." She drew a deep breath, "There was a year of quiet from Voldemort. However, everyone was upset since Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban." Ginny glanced at her son, "you remember Remus telling you about, Sirius, right?" The boy bobbed his head, a flicker of sadness came to his eyes at the mention of Remus Lupin. "Uh huh. Remus, Sirius and granddad were the Marauders!"

"Yes. A very mischief bitten bunch, similar to your tricky uncle Fred and George." James's smile returned at the mention of his twin uncles. "Anyways, there was a fourth Marauder, named Peter Pettigrew. He was sort of a tag along fellow, and worshipped your granddad and his friends. However, over the years… Something happened, and he turned traitor, and sold your grandparents out to Voldemort. He was how Voldemort found your Dada, and almost killed him." Ginny's eyes narrowed with hatred, as she thought of that awful rat. To think that little demon had lived at the Burrow, eating up the good life… While poor Sirius rotted in Azkaban. "Peter was a coward, James… He didn't want to be caught as an accomplice in the murder of your grandparents… So he framed it on Sirius instead."

"But Sirius would never—!"

"I know, love." Ginny calmed her upset son. "I know Sirius would never betray your grandparents like that, but everyone thought he did. Peter, the rat he is, pretended he went after Sirius to seek justice," she spit out darkly. "He faked his death to escape. He made it look like Sirius had murdered him. Sirius hadn't done so, he might of wanted to, but he didn't kill Peter." James glared at nothing for a moment, before he shook his head. "Why, mum? Why would he do that?"

"He's a coward, James." Ginny told him, before she went on. "Anyways, Sirius was sentence to Azkaban, while Peter hid. He changed into a rat, then found his way into my family's hands. We, of course had no idea that Scabbers, was Peter Pettigrew… Later, Scabbers was given to your Uncle Ron. With my brother, Peter had access to Harry Potter… Of course, Sirius had managed to find out all this and came after Peter, bent on revenge."

"To make a long story short. They almost cleared Sirius and brought in Peter, but he escaped. So with him gone, they had no proof… And Sirius had to continue his life on the run." James's eyebrows drew together in thoughtfulness. He licked his lips before he asked, "what about Voldemort?"

"Well, Peter ran right back to Voldemort, as a matter of fact." Ginny broke off, again she wondered if she was really doing the right thing. She threw a look out the window, out there, the fog lifted as the sun rose higher. The redhead lowered her eyes, and resumed the tale. "With Peter back at his side, Voldemort tried one final time. He would have to be patient though, he didn't want to arouse suspicions and fail again. So, he waited for the Tri-Wizard Torment."

"What's that?"

"It's a competition, Jamie. Champions are selected from participating schools. The champions have to go through three tasks, if their successful they win the cup and prize money. Your Dada, was much too young to enter it in his fourth year… However, his name was slipped in by a Death Eater, pretending to be our DADA professor." James's eyes widen, but he didn't say anything. "So your Dada, went through all the tasks… He passed them successfully, along with a boy, named Cedric Diggory. They were about to take the cup together as a friendly tie, but it turned out that the championship trophy was really a portkey." Ginny fixed her son with a serious look. "Voldemort had captured them."

"Oh no!"

"Yes. Well, Voldemort didn't need Cedric… So he ordered Peter to kill the poor boy." James's hand tightened around hers. He burrowed into her side for comfort. Ginny trudged on with the story. "It hadn't ended there. Peter preformed a spell with your Dada's blood, Peter's hand, and the bones of Tom Riddle's father… So… Voldemort was restored." The boy gasped in horror, as he stared up at her with green eyes. His freckles jumped out against his paled skin. "But Dada…?"

"He escaped of course, just barely…" She told her rattled son. "But he was devastated with guilt. Your Dada always blamed himself for Cedric's death and for Voldemort's return." Ginny lifted her hand and ran it soothingly along her son's hair. "The year that followed was no better for your Dada… Voldemort tricked him into believing he had Sirius. Your Dada, Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione, two others and myself, all rushed off to save Sirius. What we didn't know was that Sirius was really safe from Voldemort."

"We all hurried to the Ministry of Magic. We didn't have a clue what we were in for, but we thought we could handle it, like typical teenagers. So when we reached where your Dada had seen Sirius in his vision… We didn't find his godfather, but a prophecy about Harry Potter and Voldemort. You see, that was the reason Voldemort wanted your Dada to go to the Ministry. He would never get inside, but your Dada could. A clever laid plan by Voldemort… He trapped us with a troop of Death Eaters."

"Death Eaters!"

"Uh huh… We were trapped. Yet, as luck would have it, Sirius, Remus, and the rest of the Order came to our rescue. But with a cost… Sirius was murdered in front of your Dada." James whimpered at the horrible end. Ginny fought the blurry vision she had suddenly acquired. "Your Dada was hard to be around afterwards… And he had begun to push your Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione away."

The witch smiled grimly, that had been a very hard time. She never had to be so patient in her life. "He withdrew into a spiteful person… I couldn't stand much for it. So I would get on him about it. We had many vicious rows in the next school year. Your Dada never wanted to listen, because he really was just a scared little boy. He didn't want to loose anyone else because of him." She looked at her son's hands, while her fingertips brushed over the pads of his palms. "I refused to give up on him."

"How come, mum?"

"I loved him."

"Oh… Did Voldemort attack again?"

"Well," she thought back to her fifth year. "It happened on Christmas Eve. Hogwarts had been mostly empty because of the holiday… Anyway, Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione, and I stayed behind to be with your Dada. We all agreed he shouldn't be alone, especially with your Dada terribly ill." Ginny's eyes narrowed, as she thought back. "Voldemort attacked that night, of course the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, defended the school… But… Voldemort doesn't play fair."

"With your Dada not up to a mental battle, let alone a physical one, Voldemort possessed him." Ginny grimly explained. Her hands began to shake, and her throat closed up. "It was a nasty time," she whispered, as a shiver went up her spine. She wouldn't go into how Harry had almost killed his friends because of Voldemort. James wasn't ready to hear that, and she was not ready to tell it. "So, we were still at your Dada's side, and were caught off guard… When Voldemort… When he…" She trailed off, as she relived the moment when Harry had turned on them.

It had happened so fast. Hermione had been the first down. Then Ron. Voldemort had been about to kill them all through Harry. Somehow, as if overcome by a lioness herself, Ginny had tackled the possessed teen into submission. She vaguely remembered that she demanded Voldemort to leave the teenager's body. Her heroics almost got her killed, because he had cursed her next. "And, well… Before Harry could regain control and drive Voldemort out… He cast some nasty curses on me, as punishment to your Dada. As a result, I nearly lost my life."

"Oh! But! But! You're alright!"

"Yes, I'm alright, thanks to the dedicated staff at St. Mungo… And also because I refused to die."

Ginny decided to leave out the nine weeks with her in a coma. She also decided to leave out how everyone thought she was brain dead and would never wake. How she had spent the next six months retraining her body to respond to her brain. How she had poured sweat, blood and tears into learning how to walk again… And how a remorseful Harry had refused to leave her side.

She remembered her wild mood swings that came with her frustrations of being crippled. Ginny could have been determined to have her life back one moment, and hopeless to the point of suicide the next. The witch had been so hindered, that she lashed out with her foul temper. There were a number of times she deeply hurt many of her love ones. But for some reason, only Merlin knew why, Harry didn't waver.

It had surprised her then, because she always thought Harry would recede away. He would take all the guilt, like always, and try and hide away from the world. He didn't. Instead, he drove her bloody insane. The green-eyed teenager had known what to say and when to say it. Some days, she swore she would learn to walk just so she could get up and knock his block off. Though, it was not to say they fought all the time, there was laughter. Every time he visited her, Harry would update her on Hermione and Ron's heated arguments, or Neville's crush on the ever-oblivious Luna. They would talk about Quidditch, school, anything and everything that happened.

Harry helped Ginny struggle through her class work, so she could keep up with her classmates and take her OWLs. There were a many times it was he, who wrote out her class work as she dictated answers, because her hands shook too much to write. He would read to and quiz the redhead on her textbooks, while she suffered through her painful rehabilitation.

Finally, after months she had made true on her vow to walk. Harry was the first to see. One warm May afternoon, the redhead witch had stumbled up to him like an unsteady toddler. Ginny recalled his radiant green eyes had been wide and wet with thrilled tears. They had laughed joyously, as he spun them around the room.

She had returned to Hogwarts, within her sixth year class, as she had passed her OWLs. It had been a happy homecoming, but she fully expected things to settle back out to normal. So when Mr. Potter all but ordered Ginny, Luna, and Neville to hang out with the Wonder Trio, it came as a happy surprise. Stranger still, was how Harry was suddenly always there. Always near her and more curiously, striving for her attention. Then there were these looks he would fix her with, that were on occasion so gripping that she felt faintish under them.

Luna had commented on their changing relationship in her whimsical fashion. Good ol' Hermione had given them her knowing glances and amused smiles. Ron lost his mind, because he had openly encouraged – which translated into endlessly teasing – the clearly mutual affections. Even shy Neville had been in on the little act. He grinned, snorted and conspired with her brother. Those meddling, horrible, lewd, no good boys. 'Merlin, bless them…'

"So, then what happened?" James's voice pulled her back from her private muse. Ginny jumped, as she turned to see the little version of Harry Potter in front of her. She inwardly scoffed at her lack of focus. The young mother swallowed painfully. Her sixth year at Hogwarts had been full of both fond memories and angst.

"Well," she cleared her throat, which had seized up on her. "When the following term was coming to a close, Voldemort and his forces assaulted Hogwarts for one final time." Her eyes lost focus, as she recalled the dark day within her memory. All the smoke, bloody bodies, Ron's parting words, and Harry's end…

"Voldemort had grown stronger… Dumbledore fell…" Ginny was attacked with the image of the headmaster's death. "Then," her eyes watered, as she suddenly heard Harry's scream echo within her mind. She violently shuttered against it. "Mum?" James whispered, as he peered up into her ashen face. His eyes watered the second he saw his mother's grieving expression. Ginny sniffled and angrily brushed her tears aside.

"I'm alright, Jamie," she told him. "Voldemort was the one who killed your father. Voldemort is the reason everything is such a mess in this world. Voldemort is the one that will kill you, because you are your father's son. You might have to face him, Jamie… You might have to fight him, someday soon." James lowered his head after she had finished, as he seemed to pull all this information in. Ginny closed her eyes mournfully. To her, he was just a baby and shouldn't know of all this. He should be full of giggles and uncontrollable energy, not worrying about his. It wasn't fair.

"Okay, I'll do it." James told her. That determine look didn't look right on his young face. His eyes flared with righteousness and the noble need to protect people – just like Harry. Ginny sniffled, as she knew he had just chosen a hard life and not even understood it. She reached forwards and enclosed his little face within her hands. "Oh James, you are so much like your Dada!" He smiled in pride at her proclamation. "I won't be able to stop you when the time comes, but I will let you know right here and right now… I will be beside you, no matter what."

"Promise?" She smiled through tears and nodded. "I promise." James grinned and tackled her in a much-needed hug. Ginny all but crushed him into her own chest. He let out a bark of laughter and it was such a welcoming sound, that she couldn't help but share in it.

It was just then, that they heard a racket of a noise out on the street. Ginny stiffened, then she untangled herself from James. She rushed to the window to see what the matter was. Below, there were a group of soldiers yelling at the inn's owner. The old innkeeper pointed up towards their window. 'Damn it! The wanker's selling us out!' Then the commanding officer motioned his troops into the hotel. Cold fear gripped her heart, as she spun around to see her startled son gap back at her.

"We have to go!" She all but shouted. Ginny reached for the shrunken Firebolt and her wand. She cast a quick locking charm on the door from across the room. Like a pro-convict on the run, James was up in an instant. He tugged on his cloak and shoes at the same time – but only tripped all over himself. His mother, meanwhile, summoned all their belongings into the brown bag. She then tugged it over her shoulder, and then the redhead grabbed her cloak. Outside the room, she heard the stomps of many feet heading up the stairs. "Hurry, James!"

There was a heavy knock on the door. "Open up, Virginia Weasley! We know you're in there! Open this door!" Ginny re-enlarged Firebolt and quickly mounted it. The redhead reached for a frantic James, who jumped on in front of her. The witch cast a charm to open the window. "Going to be a tight fit… Keep low, Jamie."

"Okay, mum."

"Open this door!" There was a heavy crash, as a great weight was applied to the door. The spell still held. However the door wouldn't be able to last, it already splintered around the frame. Ginny tossed one look back at the room, before she commanded the broom towards the small window. She yelped, as her back raked across the window's frame, but they were free! Back inside the room, she heard the door bang open.

"Up there! That witch is on a broom!" A voice screamed, as they spotted the mother and her child. Ginny smirked ruefully, as she realized she broke the old Ministry's cardinal rule. Never using magic where Muggles could see – not that there were any Muggle left in this town.

In front of her, James stared down at the crowd that gathered below. He threw a glance back at his mother, fear etched on his face. "Mum! They got guns!" She growled, when bullets sprayed the air around them. Ginny easily took the Firebolt up into clearer skies.

Temporarily safe from danger, James relaxed in front of her. He smiled brightly, as he gripped the broom handle. He had grown quite fond of his father's Firebolt. He peered around the buildings of Birmingham, that they shot past. Ginny naturally steered them higher into the bluing sky, as they went. The six-year-old turned his head to the side, and suddenly he gasped in horror, as he watched six blurred shapes coming up from their right rear.

"Mum! Look!" He pointed behind them, while Ginny tilted her head to do so. Her brown eyes widen slightly, when she spotted wizards on brooms. She knew that was trouble. "Death Eaters," she growled out. They would catch up in no time…

Ginny addressed the broom. "Come now, Firebolt! I know for a fact, that you can go much faster then this! Or are you so old that you've grown slow, as well?" She baited the magical item and the broom seemed to come alive. It angrily vibrated at the challenge, before it put on such an amount of velocity that the pair yelped in surprise.

"MUM!" James's shout was hardly heard over the howling wind, "you made it mad!" Ginny chuckled dryly, "that I did." She glanced over her shoulder, back towards the Death Eaters, whose brooms obviously struggled to keep up. The redhead grinned slyly, before she turned her gaze upfront. With the added speed, Firebolt shot out of Birmingham.

A magical green beam blasted by in front of them! An Unforgivable! Ginny let out a startled gasp, while James screamed. Thankfully, with Firebolt going so fast the curse overshot them. The redhead's eyes shifted to the right, only to see a Death Eater. He had apparated out of thin air, seated on his broom. "Ruddy hell!" She would have to up it a notch!

"Hang on!" Ginny told her son, as she sent the Firebolt into a razor-sharp dive. She was thankful for her years of playing Quidditch, while she drove the broom downwards at an alarming rate. The witch leveled a foot from the ground, to run the broomstick parallel with the highway. She grimaced, as her shoes brushed the gravel for a second. "Mum! In front!" She whirled to look ahead at James's cry. More wily Death Eaters tried to head her off!

Her eyes searched frantically for a means of escape. She spotted a woodland to the left of the highway. She was struck with a wild idea. In there, the Death Eaters couldn't do magic and manage their brooms. It would be a recklessly dangerous stunt, but she was desperate. Ginny grimaced, and aimed the fast Firebolt towards the spray of trees.

James gave an alarmed sound, as he watched the woodland rush up at them. Ginny bobbed and weaved through the trees, as if they were Bludgers. She was totally concentrated on the act of avoiding the deadly obstacles, that she didn't hear her son's cries. Each tree seemed to pop up more alarmingly faster then the last, and it was all she could do to keep up and maintain speed. Behind them, the mother heard a yell, as a slow to turn Death Eater slammed into a tree!

Sweat dotted her forehead, as she nervously grit her teeth. Ginny managed to miss another oak by a hard bank to the right, but just barely. There was another thunderous crash and the snap of wood or bones, another dark wizard fell. The redhead grunted, as she yanked the broomstick in a tight circle, and twirled the broom around a large tree. Then she shot them back in the direction Firebolt had come. The remaining Death Eaters split when it looked like she might collide with them. She smirked, as sped by them. "Mind your face, Jamie!" She shouted, as they flew through a crop of sapling trees. Her son nodded and covered his face, as the branches reached out and slapped them.

Over the snaps of tree limbs, she heard the shouts of the Death Eaters. They debated their course of action. Ginny wasn't about to let the wizards get the better of her. Her son would not be taken. She glanced around at the saplings, a dark plan hatched in her mind. Ahead, the forest thinned and she could see the highway again. She pushed the Firebolt out of the tree line. She then wrenched the broom into a whiplash loop, and pulled it to a hard stop. Her hand slid into her robes and pulled out her magic wand. She waited, as she aimed her wand to the trees. She wouldn't have to wait long. "James, close your eyes and cover your ears! Keep them that way, until I say!"

"Why?"

"Do it!"

Ginny scowled murderously, as she spotted the remaining two idiots coming right for them. The wizards wouldn't have time to stop. The redhead whispered a growing charm under her breath. In front of her, the saplings magically sprouted into tall and strong oaks. The doomed Death Eaters collided right into the trees! Blood splashed out into the air and fell like heavy rain, before it was followed by two masked figures that freefell to earth. Eerie silence returned to the afternoon air.

She wasted no more time, and sent Firebolt eastwards, away from the gory mess. Ginny panted heavily, as it sunk in what she had done. She swallowed hard, as her hands trembled on the broomstick. 'It couldn't be helped! They were going to kill James! I won't allow that, ever.'

"Alright, James." Her son lowered his hands from his ears. He turned back to her, confused. "Why couldn't I look, mum?" The redhead shook her head, as she got a hold of her shaken self. "I'll tell you when you're older." She slowed the broom. "I'm so sorry, James. I shouldn't have done all that—"

"Nuh-uh." He then patted the broomstick. "I liked it!" His statement processed with her, she felt her face heat. She went into full motherly mode, "James Harry Potter, if I should ever find out that you tried that stunt, you'll live to greatly regret it!"

"But you did it! And it was brilliant!"

"Brilliant, indeed! It was insanely irresponsible of me." She grumbled, but her son just smiled cunningly. "You, young man, will not fly a broom till your forty, at least!" His cheeks puffed up in a pout, "why? I can fly a broom!" She rolled her eyes at him, "you've never flown alone in your life."

"I could do it!"

"You're missing the point, James! Honestly, you always do this! I was lecturing and you interrupted me!" He just grinned real big, as if he knew exactly what he had done. She continued to scowl down at him, but then she gave up. Ginny glanced towards where Firebolt took them.

"Where we goin' to go now, mum?"

"I'm not sure, but I think we're going to need some help."

"That means we goin' to find, Remus, right?" He asked excitedly. Ginny thought about her friend again. She wondered if he was still alive, it was hard to say. She prayed he was. "No, love… Remus will find us, don't you fear. But I was thinking of someone else."

"Who?"

"I don't know… Maybe we can seek some help in Diagon Alley, perhaps…" Even as she suggested that, she knew that it was a bad idea. Still, it would probably be the least likely place Voldemort would look. Who would be stupid enough, to head into danger?

"Diagon Alley?" Her son echoed, as he glanced back at her. "Remus told me about that place!" She fixed her dark eyes on him, "did he now?" Her son bobbed his head, as his eyes unfocused and he succumbed to his own memories. "I want to see it! Oh mum, could we go there, please?"

"Alright." Green eyes brighten further, as he grinned up at her. "Yeah!" Ginny cut into his victory, "but we'll have to be very careful… We can not say who we are, understand?" He nodded slowly, as his grin slipped. The redhead continued to look him over. "And we'll have to do something about your appearance, you look exactly like your Dada… People will recognize you." His eyes twinkled in amusement, as he thought of his heroic father.

"So what will we do, mum?" His mother smirked, then pulled her wand from her robes again. She waved it around in an elaborate fashion. "How would you like red hair?" James blinked then made a sour face, "like you?"

"Yes, like me! What's that face for? What's wrong with my hair?" Her hand lifted and ran along the windswept locks, she must look quite a fright. Her son just giggled to himself, his eyes shimmered in the sunlight. "Nothing!"

"I always could make you bald," she said in a thoughtful tone. His eyes widen in horror, before his little hands shot up to his messy hair. "Ah! No! That's awful!" His mother threw back her head and laughed. James then puffed up his cheeks, crossed his arms and pouted. "Red, it is then," she teased happily, as she reached up and ruffled his raven locks. James just stuck his tongue out at her.

***

 TBC.