Chapter 16
Harry and Ron had been running through the streets for about half an hour. The sun was beginning to set and both the boy's panic levels were steadily increasing.
They stood at the end of one of the streets, faces red from running.
"This is all my fault," Ron muttered.
Harry looked over at his friend. "No it's not. How could it be?"
"I never should have let mum and dad convince me to leave in the first place. We could have all stayed together," Ron breathed heavily as he bent over, hands on his knees.
"Yes, you could have all been together and dead," Harry said the last word quietly. Ron glanced at Harry and than back at the ground. "Trust me, I'm the king of blaming myself, don't. It doesn't help. Come on, we better start looking again."
Ron nodded and the two set off. Five minutes later they found Ginny. She sat in a park a couple streets away.
When Harry and Ron found her they exchanged looks of relief and headed over to where Ginny sat on a swing.
"Where the hell have you been," Ron marched up to her. "I've been worried out of my mind. What were you thinking?"
"Remember when Dad used to bring us to the park. It was always when mum was out or something because she never wanted us to be around muggles. I always wanted to go on the swings but Fred and George never let me. One day dad made them let me go on. I remember how he yelled at them. He never usually did. It was usually mum," Ginny spoke, oblivious to Ron or Harry.
Ron's face changed. His anger disappeared and he began to frown. He slid into the swing beside Ginny and nodded.
"The playground was always the best."
The siblings continued to talk as Harry stood back. He didn't want to impose. A smile was spread across his face though. Ginny seemed to light up as she remember things from her past and Harry was comforted by the fact she was safe.
After a few minutes he decided he should go back and let the others know Ginny was safe. He and Ron hadn't been the only ones worried. He remembered his fight with Fred and knew he better get back quick. "Ron, Ginny, I'm going to head back now. You guys can stay here but come back soon alright." Harry knew if he left Ginny with Ron she'd be fine.
As he turned to walk away he felt someone grab him hand. He knew it wasn't Ron. "Harry," he heard Ginny's voice whisper. "Stay with me."
"Uh…uh…" Ron mumbled, getting a bit uncomfortable by his sister's display of affection. "Harry why don't you stay? I'll go tell the others."
Harry stared into Ginny's eyes and nodded.
"Right. Well, get home soon. It's not safe out here," Ron stood up quickly and left the two standing in the park.
Ginny let go of Harry's hand and got up from her seat. A wind blew and she shivered as she was only in a t-shirt. The sun was almost out of sight.
"Cold?" Harry asked. Ginny nodded her head slightly. "Come on, let's get out of here," Harry slipped his extra sweater off and draped it over Ginny's shoulders.
"Thanks," she blushed. Felling a bout of confidence Harry took hold of Ginny's hand again as they followed Ron's path out of the park and back to the house. To his relief Ginny didn't pull away.
"You know Ginny," Harry began as they reached the end of Privet Drive. "I've been meaning to tell you…" but as he was talking Harry felt his insides go cold. It wasn't the regular kind of outdoor cold. Harry knew what kind of cold it was. Dementors.
Author's Note- I really wanted to thank fake-truth86 for your review. Truth be told i have been stuck with the story for a whileand no one was review and i wasn't sure if anyone was actually reading it or liking it. So THANK YOU> you don't know how much the review meant. I'm finally back on track. :)
