A Boy Who Lived
For my sister whom I love
-,-'---
Chapter 1: Ian
"Ginny, dear. Owl post just arrived. You have a letter," called Mrs. Weasley up the stairs.
"I'll be down in a bit, Mum." replied Ginny as she stepped out of the bathroom. She had woken up an hour earlier, and had gone and taken a shower. Waking up late had its advantages, she thought. She didn't have to fight for the bathroom in the mornings since she was usually the last one up.
"Oh, and Ginny," Mrs. Weasley added, "Harry is coming later today."
"I know mum. I'll be down in a little while." she called back with an impatient groan.
Ginny walked down the hallway to her bedroom. She noticed her door was open, and as she stepped through the doorway, she saw Ron inside looking through her desk. She stood there for a second before screaming, "RON! Get out of my room!"
Ron jumped back, obviously startled, and turned towards her. "Sorry, just looking for some parchment. I need to send an owl to Hermione."
She continued to stand by the door with one hand on her hip and her other hand on the door handle. Trying to consider what Ron had just said, she forcefully pointed out the door as she snapped, "Well, you can find some downstairs, and DO NOT go through my drawers again."
Ron huffed as he walked out of the room. Ginny slammed the door behind him. "Arrgghh!" she said aloud as she locked the door. Turning back towards her bed, she dropped her wet towel to the floor, and flopped her naked self onto the bed. She lay on her stomach for a few seconds before rolling over onto her back. She closed her eyes and let the cool air of the room wash over her. She felt relaxed and wished she could go back to sleep.
After what seemed like an hour, Ginny struggled to her elbows and looked across the room at her closet. It was full of Muggle clothes. Her parents had wished that she and her brothers would dress more like respectable wizards, but had long since given up that fight. She let her elbows slip out from under her and felt the bed bounce as she fell back onto it.
She laid there staring at the ceiling for a few more moments. Slowly, she raised her arms above her head, and with bent legs and an arched back, she let out an enormous yawn. Her body snapped with a start when she heard her mother yell up the stairs. "Ginny, Harry is coming down the lane with your father right now, and you still have a letter down here."
"Right Mum. Thanks!" she yelled in reply.
She flew off the bed and rushed over to her dresser. She quickly grabbed some knickers and a bra and went over to the closet. She put on her underwear and grabbed an old worn pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt. She threw the t-shirt over her head as she fell backwards onto her bed. Putting one leg, then the other into her jeans, she kicked a little as she worked them over her hips. As soon as she had them buttoned, she jumped up and ran her fingers through her cool wet hair. She shook her head, throwing drops of water everywhere, and then ran her fingers through it again. She was quite happy as she looked at herself in the mirror.
Harry had just entered the house as Mr. Weasley apparated back to the Ministry of Magic when he heard a high pitched squeal. "Hello Harry. I am so glad you're here," beamed Mrs. Weasley the moment she saw Harry. She ran across the kitchen and wrapped him in a tight, motherly hug. He could not help but melt a little as he hugged her back.
"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," he said in an exhausted voice.
"Ron, take Harry's trunk up to his bedroom for him," said Mrs. Weasley, as Harry gave Ron a questioning look. "He looks exhausted." Finally releasing Harry, she put her hands on his shoulders and continued. "Harry, you come sit down and I'll get you something to eat. Are you hungry?" she paused for just a moment, and then with a sigh, her shoulders slumped slightly. Her eyes filled with concern as she asked caringly "What would you like dear?"
"I'm fine," said Harry in an appreciative voice. "Really, I am." He added this with a weak smile as he saw the worried look on Mrs. Weasley's face.
"Well, you go upstairs to your room then, and get settled in," she said as Harry turned to go upstairs. "Don't you and Ron get into too much trouble," she added with a smile.
Taking one last look in her mirror, Ginny drew in a deep steadying breath and slowly exhaled. She walked across her room and unlocked her door. She stood there for a minute before running down the stairs. As she rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs, her shoulder struck something hard. "Hi Harry," she said happily. Slightly out of breath from her run down the stairs, she turned to look at him and then added with a smile, "Sorry Harry." She turned back around and ran into the kitchen.
Smiling to himself, Harry was about to shout after her, when Ron's voice echoed down the stairs. "Hey Harry! Get up here and get unpacked. I want to go flying. You brought your Firebolt right?"
"I'm coming," he called up the stairs to Ron. Slowly putting one foot in front of the other, he made his way up to Ron's room.
"Mum, I'm going into the village for a bit. The budgies are supposed to be hatching soon, and I want to see them." said Ginny.
"Alright dear, but be careful." said Mrs. Weasley. "And remember, no magic!" she added.
"Mum, I'm not Fred or George," she said as she headed out the door.
Ginny was about three steps onto the front porch when she stopped and turned around. She headed back inside, and ran upstairs.
"What's wrong dear?" Mrs. Weasley called after her.
"Nothing Mum. I just forgot something," replied Ginny.
When Ginny got to her room, she surveyed it quickly then headed over to her bookshelf. She pulled a book off of it and tucked it under her arm and started towards the door. Almost as an after thought, she went over to her dresser, put the book down, and pulled out a bottle of her favorite perfume. She carefully dabbed a bit on her wrist, then rubbed her other wrist, ran them over her neck and over the back of her right knee.
With a huge grin on her face, she grabbed the book, and ran back down the stairs. "Ginny, is everything alright?" asked Mrs. Weasley as Ginny flew past her again.
"Fine Mum. See you later." she said without looking back.
"Be home for dinner. Your father should be home by then." called Mrs. Weasley as the door closed behind Ginny. "Oh, and don't forget your wand!"
She stopped immediately and felt her pockets. She turned around again, opened the door, walked through the kitchen and back up to her bedroom. She found her wand lying on her nightstand, and put it in her back pocket.
"Bye again, Mum." said Ginny with a sheepish grin and she walked past her mum for the fifth time.
"Be careful Ginny," Mrs. Weasley reminded Ginny one last time.
"Okay," Ginny yelled as she bounced down the front porch stairs.
Harry stopped on the top landing. He took a deep breath and stepped through the door. "Hey Harry. I put your trunk there," Ron said, pointing to the beat up trunk at the end of Harry's bed.
"My room, huh?" asked Harry with an amused look on his face.
"Yeah, well, you know. You're like the son Mum never had." Ron said.
"She's got six of you. The son she never had?" asked Harry, giving Ron a strange look.
"Yeah, black hair, glasses? Oh well, bad joke. She goes on about you like you were one of us though. It wouldn't surprise me if Mum and Dad tried to adopt you someday. Unless you manage to find another way first," he answered with his voice trailing off as he noticed the dazed look on Harry's face. "Are you all right Harry? You look beat."
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just tired, that's all. I think I'm going to unpack a bit, and then have a lie down." said Harry wearily.
"Okay. I'm going to go help Mum out in the garden. I'll see you later, then." said Ron with a hint of concern in his voice. He looked at Harry once more, and then left the room.
Once Ron was gone, Harry went over to his trunk and opened it. He took out his Firebolt and put it in the closet. Slowly he made his way back to his bed, and threw himself across it. After a minute, he rolled over onto his back, and moved up so his head was on the pillow, and his hands were behind his head. He glanced around the room. It was small, and somewhat worn. The walls were covered in posters, and other things. Ron's desk was messy as usual. Harry closed his eyes for a moment, drinking in the room. His room.
Harry opened his eyes and sat back up. He leaned over the end of his bed and pulled out a picture. He saw his parents. They were dancing happily. When they saw Harry, they stopped and waved at him. He felt his chest tighten as he waved softly back. He looked into the picture for a long time thinking about the prophecy that Dumbledore had revealed. He placed the picture on the back of his bed, and reached back into his trunk.
Harry carefully removed the picture of his parents' wedding. The ache in his chest deepened into dry silent weeping as he looked at this picture. Sirius looked over at his parents, and then at him. His face was beaming. This picture had always been special to him. Seeing his family look so happy filled Harry with bittersweet emotion because he knew they were all dead.
Slowly Harry put this picture next to the other and settled into his bed. He stared at the ceiling, thinking. He had the power to defeat Voldemort. What was that power? How would he know when to use it? Would he be able to keep those he cared about safe? He didn't want to run away, but he didn't want any more people near him to be hurt. Why did Sirius have to be dead? He would have all the answers. Harry drifted into a restless sleep, his mind filled with doubt and fear.
Ginny walked down the lane away from The Burrow. The sun was shining brightly in the light blue cloudless sky. A cloudless sky was rather rare, but Ginny loved it. She marveled at the birds flying, because it reminded her of how much she loved flying. She always felt so free with the wind blowing hard through her hair. A slight breeze blew through the trees and kicked up dust with her every footstep. Before long she reached the outskirts of the village.
The path she was walking along joined with a cement sidewalk that ran alongside a small road. There were not many cars on it at the moment. This was a neighborhood, and seeing as how it was almost 1:00 in the afternoon, most of the people were already on their way back to work after lunch.
She continued walking along the winding road for several more minutes, and soon she found herself at the main street. There were many cars speeding along. As she sauntered towards the crosswalk, she thought about Diagon Alley. The shops that lined the wizard road were not all that different from the Muggle ones in Ottery St. Catchpole. Both had a bookstore, both had an ice cream parlor, and both had a pet store.
The pet store was where Ginny was heading right now. She had been coming to the store for years to look at all of the animals. Hasten Pets, it was called, and they had everything from fish and lizards to cats and dogs, but the reason she was coming here today was to see if the budgerigar eggs had hatched, and of course to see Ian.
Ian was the boy who worked in the shop. Well, not really a boy, she thought with a grin. He had just turned twenty-one, and being six feet tall with short black hair and a slightly muscular build, Ginny went a bit weak in the knees every time she saw him. His parents owned the shop, but he did a lot of the work. He had a knack for raising animals, but he especially liked his budgies. There was a large aviary out behind the store where nearly one hundred budgies lived. They made an awful racket sometimes, but Ginny found them absolutely fascinating.
She stopped at the cross walk and waited until it was safe to cross. She jogged across the street and past a small pizza parlour before stopping in front of Hasten Pets. She opened the door and walked right in. She immediately saw the lady standing behind the counter and called out "Hello, Mrs. Hasten."
"Oh, hi Ginny. How are you doing?" replied Mrs. Hasten with a bright smile. Mrs. Hasten was a tall lady, though not as tall as her son, with shoulder length brown hair. She was slender, and looked quite young considering she had just turned forty. She was wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a white tank top with an apron on over it.
Ginny walked up to the counter and leaned over it to look down the hallway leading off to her left. "I'm fine thanks. I just came to see if the budgies had hatched yet. Is Ian here?" she asked just as she noticed him walking down the hall.
"Hi Ginny." called Ian with a smile.
"Hey there." said Ginny, returning the smile.
"They haven't hatched yet, but I expect they will in a day or so. You want to come back and look at the eggs? You can pick out the one you want," said Ian shaking his head slowly.
"Yeah. I'd love to!" replied Ginny as she walked around the counter. "Oh, I brought your book back. Thanks!" she added.
"No problem," he replied as Ginny laid the book on the counter.
As soon as Ginny was behind the counter, Ian held out his arm and let her pass. He put his hand on the small of her back and guided her down the narrow hallway. There was a door at the end that opened into a large outdoor courtyard. As Ginny stepped through the door followed closely by Ian, she saw the aviary immediately. It was a huge cage that was at least eight feet tall and as big around as her parents' living room and kitchen combined. Several small bushes and trees had been planted in there and there was a soft sort of grass covering the ground. There were birds of every colour ranging from green to blue to yellow to white, and, as if on cue, the moment Ginny stepped up to look at them, they all began squawking. Ginny started laughing as she covered her ears. "Ahh shut it you lot," said Ian loudly, and under his breath he muttered "bloody birds."
He led her around to the far side of the aviary to a small room. The air outside had been comfortably warm, but when they stepped into the room, it was down right hot. Ginny broke out into a sweat almost immediately as Ian shut the door behind her.
"Hey, that's my favorite perfume you're wearing," said Ian as he flashed a disarming smile.
"Really? I had no idea." replied Ginny with a smirk of mock surprise as she felt her knees weakening. "I'm surprised you can smell it with all of this bird crap in here."
"Well, I'm used to the smell, so to me it really doesn't smell all that bad. Now let's see…" started Ian, his voice trailing off as he started looking at the labels on the various nesting boxes. "Ah, here we go. These should hatch in the next day or so."
He slowly lifted the lid on the box, and Ginny peered down inside. She saw five white eggs lying in the bottom of the box. "They are so small." she said.
Ian chuckled as his face broke out into another grin "No smaller than the last time you saw them, or the time before that, or the time before that."
Ginny smacked his arm playfully and looked up at him and said. "Okay, okay." She had been coming here to see the budgies for years, and had known Ian for exactly that long. It seemed like she mentioned how small the eggs were every time she saw them.
"So which one do you want? And what are you going to name him?" he asked as he looked down into the box.
"Oh, there is no way I could afford the bird, cage and all of the stuff, but you can keep her for me." said Ginny in a soft, sad, but reassuring way.
"Nah. Come on Ginny, we've talked about that before, and I have so many extra cages. I need to get rid of some of them. So which one do you want, and what's his name going to be?" he asked again.
Ginny's face brightened, and she started bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet. "Well, I think I want that one." she said as she pointed to an egg, being careful not to touch it. "and HER name is going to be Etain."
"Etain?" Ian asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"Yeah. She was an ancient Irish sun goddess," replied Ginny snapping her head playfully up to look at his face as she pulled a lock of red hair from behind her ear and held it out. She slowly ran her fingers through her hair to put the piece back.
"Ahh," said Ian still looking confused. After a second, his face cleared and he blurted out, "I get it. Duh. Red hair, Irish. Ok. That's a good name. Maybe SHE will be a yellow one. If it's not, you can pick another one."
"Nah. That's the one I chose, and once I choose for real, I stick with it." said Ginny thoughtfully.
"That's what I thought you'd say. Well listen. I have to get some of those gecko cages cleaned. Christina is coming round in about an hour. We were going to get some ice cream. You want to come with?" he asked as he left the hatchery and started walking back towards the front of the store
"Sure. I'll meet you there." said Ginny, trying not to let the slight disappointment at the news that Ian's girlfriend would be joining them show in her voice as she followed closely on his heel.
Ginny corrected herself almost immediately. She was the one joining them, and besides, Christina was one of those women you loved to hate. She was tall, blonde, gorgeous, perfect body, perky breasts, and had the perfect personality too. It would have been so much easier if she was a bitch, Ginny thought. Then it would be much easier to overlook her perfections. As it was, Ginny was happy for them. If anyone was going to have Ian, then she couldn't think of anyone better than Christina.
As Ginny walked out from behind the counter, she shot Ian a coy grin. Trying to sound seductive, she said loudly enough for his mother to hear "Bye Ian. Thanks for everything. I'll see you later then?" Ginny walked just slowly enough to see the look Mrs. Hasten shot at Ian. He just rolled his eyes, and Ginny let out a giggle as she left the store.
Once outside in the sun again, Ginny began to sweat. She wished she had brought her sunglasses too as she shielded her eyes from the glare as the sun reflected off of the shop windows. She was not sure what she wanted for lunch, so she started walking down the street.
She passed the book store, and peered in the window for just a second. Hermione would love that place, she thought as she looked away and continued walking. There were people bustling down both sides of the street, and soon Ginny was caught up in it. She found herself looking into all of the shops she passed wishing she could buy it all.
Ginny soon lost all track of time. She was looking in the window of a men's clothing store thinking about what Harry would look like in the shirt that was on display when a voice behind her made her jump. "Hey Ginny."
It was Ian. "Oh, hi. I was just looking in the windows. Do you think a guy would really like and wear that shirt?" she asked, pointing at the shirt in the window. "I mean, I like it, and think it would look good…"
"Ginny, if a guy wears a shirt for no other reason than you got it for him, you'll know he's yours," replied Ian with a smile and a chuckle as he tried to avoid her question. "Are you ready to get some ice cream?"
"Yeah!" she said excitedly. "I haven't eaten lunch yet. I sort of forgot," she added sheepishly.
Ginny took Ian's arm in hers and they walked in silence back up the street in the direction Ginny had just come from, and soon crossed to the other side. A few people said hello to them as they passed, and Ian politely said "Hi" in return. A little farther down the road they came to the ice cream shop.
The awning over the door was a pretty canary yellow with colourful polka dots. The front window went along the whole length of the shop, and the bottom of it was painted to look like it had lots of little ice cream cones all along it. There were several wrought iron tables and chairs with big umbrellas filling a courtyard between the ice cream shop and the sporting goods shop next door. Harry would love that place, Ginny thought as Ian opened the door for her and guided her through.
Once inside, Ginny immediately noticed Christina. When Christina was in a room, her mere presence demanded attention even if she was doing nothing, which is exactly what she was doing right then. When she saw Ian, she stood up with a smile and bounced over to him. She threw her arms around his neck, lifted herself onto her tiptoes and gave him a quick but passionate kiss. "Hi sweetie," she said in her perfect voice. With her arms still around Ian, she looked over at Ginny and smiled her perfect smile again and said, "Hey Ginny! Did the birds hatch yet?"
"No. Ian says it could be tomorrow though." said Ginny, returning Christina's smile. She even smells perfect. Just like my perfume, Ginny added to herself.
"Let's get some ice cream," said Ian as he broke out of Christina's embrace and moved towards the counter. "What do you want, Ginny?" he asked.
Ginny was still standing off to the side with Christina and answered in a very sarcastic voice, "Umm gee, we've gotten ice cream together for the past how many years? Let me see…I think I'll have…" She paused as she looked thoughtfully upwards, then looked at Ian and said with a deadpan expression "I don't know. Surprise me."
Christina let out a giggle and said "Come on Ginny, let's go out and get a table." Turning to Ian, she said "We're going outside. I want a scoop of green mint, and a scoop of double chocolate." Then she said to Ginny "You ought to try the mint and chocolate. They are perfect together."
The two girls walked outside and sat down at one of the tables. Christina adjusted the umbrella to shade them from the bright sunlight. "So how is Charlie doing?" she asked.
"He's doing great. I'm surprised you'd ask, though, seeing how you and he, well...you know," replied Ginny.
"Yeah. I know," said Christina softly as she shook her head slightly.
Ginny and Christina sat chatting waiting for Ian to return, when Ginny noticed something that did not seem quite right. Across the street she saw a man dressed in a long dark cloak go into a men's clothing store. Ginny tapped Christina's arm and asked, "Did you see that?"
"See what?" asked Christina as she turned her head towards Ginny.
"That man. He was wearing a cloak. Isn't it a bit warm for that?" said Ginny.
"Yeah. I'll bet it was that guy, Mr. Prentice, that just moved in down the street from us. He moved in about a month ago. Always wears a black cloak. Didn't bring much else with him. Or so it seems. I have been wanting to get Ian to talk to him because he likes birds. We see owls flying around his house all the time. Loads of different kinds."
"Really?" asked Ginny, her eyes widening.
"Yeah," answered Christina and she continued, "He seemed kind of strange though. Doesn't have a family. He came round and introduced himself a few nights after he moved in. He is in the Navy. The tattoo on his arm reminded me of Charlie's. Well, Charlie's is a dragon, and this guy, all I saw was the head of a snake under his sleeve. Was Charlie ever in the Navy?"
Ginny smiled at the question and said, "Nah. He went away to Romania."
Just then Ian came outside awkwardly carrying two bowls and one cone of ice cream. "Hey Ian! Over here!" called Christina.
"Thanks," said Ginny as Ian handed her a big cone with two scoops of double chocolate ice cream.
"Thanks hon." said Christina, taking the bowl of mint and chocolate from Ian's hand.
"What were you talking about while I was getting your ice cream?" asked Ian with a playful smile.
"Oh, nothing," said Ginny with a smile.
"Girl talk," said Christina as she flashed a smile back at Ginny. Seeing this, Ginny's shoulders started to shake as she tried to keep from laughing.
"Oh. Ok. I get it." said Ian. He began to stand up as he continued. "I'll just go sit over here then."
Christina grabbed his arm and through a laugh managed to say "Sit down you. It was all girl talk about you. How handsome, and rugged and manly you are."
Ginny's face was red and her side hurt because she was laughing so hard. She closed her eyes tightly to force the tears out and wiped them on her sleeve. When she opened her eyes, she saw the man leaving the clothing store. He was dressed in a suit and had his cloak draped over his shoulders. "Hey, is that him?" Ginny asked Christina as she pointed across the street.
"Yeah, that's him," answered Christina as she struggled to control her laughter.
Ginny watched as Mr. Prentice made his way to the cross walk and crossed to their side of the street. On his way across, he was very visibly hot as he removed the cloak, and took off the suit jacket.
Ginny turned back to Ian and Christina and they continued to talk. Suddenly Christina waved and said "Hi, Mr. Prentice."
Ginny looked up and saw a man standing about Ian's height with peppery grey hair and glasses. "Hello. Must be off." he said in a nervous voice. His eyes lingered on Ginny for just a second, and Ginny thought she saw some sort of recognition in them. She had never seen this man before in her life, but it seemed like he knew who she was. She shook the feeling and went back to talking to Ian and his perfect girlfriend.
After a while, Ginny stood up and thanked Ian for the ice cream, good bye to Christina and headed back through town towards home. It was getting late and the sun was starting to sink lower in the sky. It would still be light out for several more hours though since it was summer. She watched the cars driving down the previously quiet street as she found the dirt path that would lead her back to The Burrow.
As she walked home, her thoughts wandered from the baby bird she was going to get, to Christina and Ian, and finally she thought about Harry. Her pulse quickened a bit as she thought ahead to the next few weeks before school started again. Everybody had been very concerned about him since the Department of Mysteries, and when things happened that he had to be left with the Dursley's again for the first part of the summer, he had been furious, but strangely accepting. She had tried writing to him, but had only managed a couple of letters before she found out he would be spending the rest of the summer at The Burrow. It was going to be a long summer, she thought, as she started down the lane that led home.
Disclaimer: This is based on the Harry Potter Universe created by J.K. Rowling. She owns it all.
I have finished writing this story and am actually quite happy with it. It is over 100,000 words long, and I will be posting it in approximately 20 sections.
The reason I did not post any of it until I was done writing is to make sure that you, the reader, would have a completed story. I did not want to start posting, find a glaring plot hole and have to rewrite parts, or realize that I was not going to finish it and leave you hanging. Since I have shown you that courtesy, please show me the courtesy of reviewing.
Beta in Chief: LuvGinnyArwen
Beta's: Knightsaber, Alyssalina, Laura Laurent