Title: Summer of discovery

Author: Joy

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Sorry I haven't kept up on my one post a day like I did last series but life is more complicated here and to get it to appear even close to right I have to use html code. It's been screwing up too, so if it doesn't look quite right forgive me. I start a new job on Monday so I have no idea how quickly I will be getting these out. Oh well.

Chapter 2: Arrival of the girlfriend

Harry packed the pictures of his parents and Sirius in clean linens along with the rest of his belongings. His room was devoid of all belongings, books, and such. He had to remind himself constantly that his once the war was over he could truly build his life...his life with Ginny. They could have a family...a real home...maybe in Godric's Glen. He wasn't going to admit it to his parents or Sirius but Sirius's idea of getting Ginny to marry him as quickly as possible was on his short list of things to do before the war. Ginny would technically be of age on Halloween...she could marry him but not practice magic. It didn't seem quite fair but he really didn't care just so long as they were together. It would be an odd discussion Harry would have to have with Arthur.

A little before noon the front doorbell rang causing everyone to remain still a moment. Petunia got up and went to the door. "Harry, this may be your friends, so why don't you bring your things down."

"Yes, Aunt Petunia."

Harry got half way up the stairs when he heard, 'Dear Lord' come from his aunt's mouth. p

"What is it?" Harry called standing beside his aunt as she stared through the open door.

"She...she looks..."

"...like mum," Harry said matter-of-factly gazing at Ginny who stood before them in a little calico sundress. The effect was amazing. All of the air in his lungs seemed to abandon him. "Ginny...this is my Aunt Petunia. Aunt Petunia this is my girlfriend Ginny." He smiled at her, "You look lovely."

"Why thank you Harry," she responded sweetly. "Are you ready to go?"

"Give me a minute to bring my things down...you are early."

Ginny sashayed in and raised an eyebrow, "And here I thought you would be grateful. We're taking the knight's bus so we could be alone for a bit before the general onslaught of my family hits." Harry chuckled bringing Dudley and Vernon's attention to the red haired girl in their midst. Dudley just stared at her as if he could not fathom her presence.

"You're Harry's girlfriend?" the boy questioned.

"Yes."

"Why?"

She blinked at him repeatedly, "Why would I date Harry?" Dudley nodded. "Why wouldn't I?"

"He's a freak!"

Harry bit his lip and sat on the steps to watch the show. If there was anything he knew about Ginny it was no one ever got away with picking on someone she cared about. Hell she had stood up to Malfoy on his behalf when she was eleven. He could only imagine what was going to happen next.

Ginny tilted her head in a cat-like manner stalking the tubby boy before her. "He's a freak... this from a boy who is twice the size of a normal teen? This from a boy that lets his cousin starve while he just keeps getting fatter...This from a boy who has never done an honest days work let alone an honorable act in his life. I'm sorry, but I consider you the freak..."

She got very close to Dudley whispering, "Harry on the other hand can do things people in your world can only imagine and write fantasy stories about. He has been a hero more times than a boy his age should have to. To put not to fine a point on it he saved my life when I was eleven...which would make him twelve. What Mr. Dursley can you say you accomplished at the age of twelve? Were you even allowed to cut your own meat?"

Ginny made her way to the stairs then paused, her eye catching sight of the cupboard under it. Petunia and Vernon both gulped.

Ginny slowly made her way to it and opened the door. Harry stood about to stop her when he paused...she needed this as much as he did. A couple illegal flicks of her wand and the small space was emptied. She stuck her head into the space and stayed still. Her body was rigid when Ginny pulled her head out of the space.

In the last year Harry had seen Ginny angry and her fiery temper had burned him on occasion, but nothing prepared him for what he saw in her eyes. Hate...unmitigated hate was all he could see in them. They were cold and lethal. Harry knew at that moment that Ginny very well might hurt one of his relatives. It looked like Uncle Vernon had her attention.

It happened that Ginny possessed some very lioness qualities in normal day-to-day life. However when angry those movements were aggravated. Ginny appeared a panther protecting her young. Her head tilted to the side taking in the large man's appearance with disgust. In a cold voice she whispered, attempting to contain her anger, "Get your things Harry. We are getting you away from these vile excuses for human beings as quickly as possible."

Harry looked at his 'quarters' one last time and nodded. "It's over," he whispered to himself. Hedwig hooted to remind him of her presence. "Want to fly girl?" She nipped his finger affectionately before perching on the window frame and taking flight. With cage in hand and trunk trailing behind, Harry was ready to meet his new future...a future with Ginny.

When he returned downstairs the Dursley's looked more afraid than he had ever seen them. Even more than facing the Dementor. In a low terrifying voice he heard Ginny utter, "You see the reason you're afraid right now isn't because you wonder if I will hurt you...you know I will. You're afraid because you don't know when I will hurt you. But the part that is making you ill in the pit of your stomach is that when you look me in the eye you know I'm going to enjoy hurting you." The smile on her face was so chilling a Slytherin would have been proud.

"Now just remember," Ginny said in a syrupy sweet voice with a saccharin smile that didn't reach her eyes, "...what I told you is what I will do to you if I am in a good mood... There will be a reckoning. I guarantee it."

Harry cleared his throat bringing his girlfriend's attention to him. She turned unphased knowing he heard her. "All ready."

"Good. Lets get underway." She turned back to Dursley's with a cold plastic smile, "It was a pleasure to see the looks on your faces." She then shrunk all his belongings and put them in Harry's pocket.

"Harry?" Petunia called. The raven-haired boy stepped forward as she handed him a few pictures of his mother as a child and teenager. "Would you..."

He nodded, "Which?"

"You choose," she answered. "The rest are yours."

"Thank you," he whispered teary eyed then hugged his aunt awkwardly.

Ginny eyed the exchange but said nothing, merely opening the door to let them out to the world and away from the poison that was the Dursley's.

"What's this about?" Ginny asked touching the pictures.

"I guess someone out there is trying to guide my way, so last night my parents were allowed to speak to me through a picture I have of them...Sirius too."

"Harry that's wonderful."

He shook his head. "I don't know that its gonna happen again, but my relatives walked in and saw. Petunia freaked out crying over my mum. Mum suggested that I could maybe get Dumbledore to charm on of the pictures so she and Petunia could talk."

"That's different," Ginny said quietly.

"Not really. Most of the reason Snape hated me on sight was because of how much I looked like my dad...but with mum's eyes. Petunia was reminded daily that her sister wasn't coming back when she looked in my eyes...she may have been jealous of mum but she was her sister."

Suddenly the knight's bus pulled up beside them. "Time to go Harry," Ginny whispered taking his hand and pulling him on the bus. "Time to move on."

"Gladly."

TBC...

A/N: REVIEW please. REVIEW please.