A/N: Sorry for the long wait yet again. Things have been kind of hetic around here and we had little chance to write anything. This chapter is longer then usual so i hope you enjoy, oh by the way this chapter leaves you with a cliffhanger, sorry I couldn't resist. But i have aready started ont the next chapter and it should be posted by at least the end of the week.
Going Home
The next morning came all too quickly for Harry. He sat up in bed and rubbed his tired eyes.
"Harry?" Hermione's voice came through the door. "Ron and I are going down to breakfast, are you coming?"
"Go on, I'll be down in a minute," he replied.
He made sure that he was alone before venturing out to the loo. He just couldn't face anyone just yet. Especially Ron. As he had just shut the door behind himself, he missed the bright green flames that had erupted in the grate and the red head who had just stepped out of them.
Ginny looked around to make sure she was alone, then quickly mad her way to Harry's room. It too, was empty. She crossed over to his desk, aiming to get the letter and get home before anyone noticed that she had left. But as she reached the desk, she stopped dead in her tracks. The letter was not in the book she had left it in, it was sitting out in the open, unfolded.
"Oh, no!" she whispered, picking it up.
"Ginny! What are you doing here?"
It was Harry. She quickly shoved the letter behind her back. Harry's eyes went wide when realized what she had in her hand.
"Ginny.."
"Harry.." she started at the same time.
"I can explain this letter," they said together.
They both stared at each other.
"This is all my fault," Harry said finally, bowing his head.
"No. No, it's not, Harry. It's mine."
"No, Ginny. It's all my fault. The letter, the other night, all of it."
"No, Harry. I repeated Fleur's vows at the wedding and pictured myself saying them to you (she started to blush furiously at this) Harry, I said vows to you in the presence of a minister at a wedding ceremony. I caused this. I am so sorry. Please don't hate me for this," she said desperately.
"What?" Harry said incredulously.
"I'm sorry that this happened and I'm sorry that you feel that the other night was something to pass blame over, but I don't regret it, not that part. But, we can have Dad take us to the Ministry and have the marriage part undone as soon as you can get ready to leave," she said, head bowed.
"Wait, first of all, I don't regret that night. Not at all. I just meant that if you felt that you had to..."
"No, Harry, I didn't."
"And second of all, this is my fault! I said Bill's vows picturing you at the wedding. I was the one that caused the us to be married."
"You pictured saying those things to me?" she asked shyly.
"Well," Harry said, looking at his feet, blushing. "Yes. I love you, Ginny. And I do, did, want to marry you. You know, when we were a little older. But, now... I was thinking last night about it...and...well..."
"Well what, Harry?"
"Well, is it so terrible that we're married? Do you really want to 'undo' it?"
Ginny just stared at Harry, not daring to believe what she had just heard.
"Actually, no. No, Harry. I don't think it's so bad. I just assumed that you wouldn't want to be married to me. You left at the first sign of danger when we were just going together, I didn't think you would want anything to do with me if you found out we were married."
CRASH
"WHAT! WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE MARRIED!"
Ron was standing in the doorway, a plate of food broken at his feet. He stared at the two of them in shocked disbelief.
"I come up to apologize to you and find you in here with her, again, and then she says you're married? I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to kill you!"
"Ron, no!" Ginny said, stepping in front of Harry.
"Move, Ginny! Now!"
"No! Not until you listen to reason."
Ron stopped and looked daggers at Harry.
"Okay, explain your way out of this."
"What's going on?" Hermione said, once again, from the doorway.
"That's what I would like to know! I just found them alone together, again, and then Ginny said that they were married! I'm waiting for an explanation, then I'm going to kill Harry."
"What?" she exclaimed, her eyes growing to the size of dinner plates. Thinking quickly of how to defuse the situation, she started reacting like this was the first time she had heard the information. She didn't think Ron would keep his temper in check knowing that she already knew and he didn't. She didn't think Ron and Harry's friendship would survive either.
"What are you talking about, Ron? They can't be."
"But we really are married, look," Ginny handed Hermione the letter.
As she read, Hermione's jaw dropped in fake surprise, as did Ron's, in real shock, as he read the letter over her shoulder.
"What..I don't understand.. How did this happen?" Hermione asked.
"Well, as far as we can tell, we both repeated the vows at Bill's wedding and both thought of each other and now we're married," Harry said fairly quickly, as if it would be less of a shock if heard swiftly.
"What the bloody hell were you doing saying wedding vows to my sister!"
Harry blushed furiously.
"Iluver," he mumbled.
"What was that?" Ron asked sharply.
"I love her! Alright!" Harry said, moving up beside Ginny and taking her hand.
"I love you and I don't want to undo the marriage."
Ginny's eyes filled up with tears. She never thought she would actually hear these words from Harry.
"I love you, too," she said, smothering Harry in a very Mrs. Weasley-like hug. "I don't want to undo it either."
"Of course you're going to undo it!" Ron roared. "You're only sixteen! And I'm going to kill him as it is!"
"Ron," Hermione said in her take-charge voice. "I know that this is a very..confusing situation. But it's up to Harry and Ginny to choose to undo it or not. And do you really want to be killing you the only brother-in-law you'll ever have?"
Ron looked as if he were having an internal battle. Finally after a full five minutes of quiet and Harry and Ginny holding their breath, Ron smiled at them.
"I guess if you put it that way, I really can't be too mad. It's not like you did it on purpose. Did you?" he added quickly.
"Of course not! Like you said, she's only sixteen! But now that it's happened, I really don't think I want it to change."
"Well, I guess there's no one I would rather have marry Ginny. I guess it's okay. When are you going to tell Mum and Dad?"
Ginny and Harry just stared at each other.
"I have no idea," Ginny said, shrugging. "We just found out ourselves."
"I don't think we're ready to tell them just yet. I mean, they just went through Bill and Fleur's wedding, why put something else on them? I think that we should keep a secret for the time being," Harry added. "The more people that know, the more of a chance that Voldemort will find out. I don't want to put Ginny in any more danger than she's already in."
"We can at least tell the rest of the family, can't we?" Ginny asked, almost pleadingly, flashing her big brown eyes at Harry.
"I guess," he said, not particularly liking the idea. "You'll tell me how that goes, won't you?" he added quickly, hoping he could get out of facing the Weasley family.
"Oh, no you don't!" Ginny snapped, poking her finger into Harry's chest. "We do this together, your not worming your way out of this."
"Oh bugger," he sighed, "your brother's are going to kill me."
"Don't worry about my brothers," Ginny said, smiling.
"Yeah, Ginny can handle us," Ron said with a smirk on his face. "I'd be more worried about Mum's reaction. I do believe she might actually have kittens this time," he added, obviously trying to inject some humor into the situation.
Harry sat down on his bed and swallowed hard. The prospect of facing the remaining male Weasley tempers was bad enough, but facing that classic female Weasley temper, this was something Harry would rather avoid. An awkward silence enveloped the room. Harry was thankful when Hermione, sensing that everyone was a little uncomfortable, changed the subject.
"Shouldn't we be getting ready to Floo to Godric's Hollow?" she asked.
"Yes," Harry said, standing up. "We really shouldn't waste anymore time. I really want to get this over with," he sighed softly.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Ginny asked in a small voice.
"I would really like that," he said after a second. "Then I can introduce you to my parents."
Harry closed his eyes trying not to tear up. Feeling arms slide around him, he looked down to see Ginny staring intently up at him. He really did love her, and from the look in her eyes, he knew there would never be any doubt in his mind that she truly and wholly loved him, too.
"I love you," she whispered, kissing his cheek, "I would really like that, too. Just give me a sec to fire call Mum and tell her."
She gave him a quick squeeze and another kiss on the cheek and disappeared through the door.
Harry turned to the others.
"Are you both ready?" he asked, somberly.
"Yeah, mate," Ron answered.
"Harry are you sure you are ready for this?" Hermione asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I have to do this. This is the only place for me to start my search."
"Ok. I'm ready then," Hermione answered still looking sympathetically concerned. "Let's go."
The trio walked out of Harry's room to the fireplace. Ginny was waiting there with a smile on her face. Harry look at her and raised his eyebrow, she nodded and walked beside him and took his hand. Harry squeezed it then turned to face the Ron and Hermione.
"Okay, we are Flooing to a pub in Godric's Hollow. It's in Ireland so the Floo address is The Phoenix Song, Godric's Hollow, Ireland." Harry said slowly so that everyone could remember. Everyone nodded, acknowledging that they understood.
Ron stepped to grate first threw the powder in and in an instant he vanished. Hermione followed, then Ginny. Harry stepped up to grate and sighed.
"Well, I guess this is where it starts." he said out loud to himself.
He threw the powder into the fire, walked into the grate and turn around. "THE PHOENIX SONG,GRODRIC'S HOLLOW, IRELAND!", he screamed. With a flash of green Harry vanished from the grate.
Harry stumbled out of the grate and almost fell to the ground, but Ron caught him just in time. Harry took a few seconds to dust himself off, then he took a look around. The Phoenix Song was nothing like The Three Broomsticks, it reminded Harry more of the Hogs Head, from the suspicious looking barkeep to the dodgy looking customers. The only difference was that this place was a lot cleaner.
"Is anyone thirsty or hungry?" Harry asked the others.
Ron, Hermione and Ginny all looked at Harry in blatant disbelief and the shook their heads 'no'.
"Good, I don't like the looks of this place," he added walking quickly towards the exit.
Seconds after the group exited the pub, a lone figure, shrouded in black, stepped out the shadows and quickly made it's way towards the door.
As they stepped out into the street, they were greeted by a beautiful, clear blue sky. The village itself was by no means a large one, but it wasn't too small either. He could tell by the short row of stores along the narrow street that this was a mainly Muggle village. He turned around to look at the pub they had just exited, and sure enough, it looked like a condemned building.
Remus had owled Harry the directions to the house where he, Lily and James had stayed towards outskirts of town. As they set off down the winding road, Harry couldn't help but notice the small children playing in the neat little front lawns. 'This wouldn't be a half-bad place to live', he thought to himself. Then a disheartening thought came to him, if Petigrew had not have grown-up here with them and been happy. These thoughts brought tears to his eyes.
"Harry are you okay?" Ginny asked tenderly.
"Huh?" Harry mumbled, swiping at his eyes. "Oh, yea, I'm fine. Just wondering what it would have been like to grow up here," he answered somberly.
Ginny grabbed a hold of his hand and gave it a gentle squeezed. Harry looked down and smiled at the gesture. They continue to walk in silence as they turned down a road that looked as if it had been unused for years. Thick trees and tall grass lined it on both side. The group walked for another ten minutes before coming to the end of the road. Through the dense growth in front of them Harry could make out what looked to be a decaying frame of a house.
Harry took a deep breath turned to Ginny. She gave his hand an encouraging squeeze.
Harry lead the way around the turn as the entire frame came into view. What he saw nearly made him breakdown. Burnt and rotted wood was scattered all around. Broken glass and what look like remains of furniture littered the ground. There seemed to Harry as if a faint black smoke was rising gently from the debris. He turned to Hermione.
"Hermione, do you know what that black stuff is?"
Hermione look at it for a second.
"I've read about this before," she replied. "It's the mark of a powerful dark spell. But only witches and wizards can see it."
Harry nodded and started to walk around looking through the debris. As he turned over some burnt wood with his foot, he found a small, ash covered, black box. Picking it up he examined the box closely. It had a metal latch that was rather rusted. But that was not what intrigued him the most about the it. On the top a the box was the Dark Mark carved into the wood and just below that the initials TMR. Harry just started at the box, confused.
"Harry, what's that?" Hermione asked, breaking his concentration.
"I don't know, but it does have the Dark Mark and Tom's initials carved on the top," he replied with a hint of curiosity. Harry then moved his hand to the latch to see if he could open it. It wouldn't budge. He stood there for a second then it hit him. He pointed his wand at the box. "Alohamora".
Nothing happened.
"Damn!", Harry said aloud. "Should've known opening it wouldn't be that easy. Oh well, I guess I'll have to show it to Remus when we get back." He finished while shrinking the box and placing it in is pocket.
Out of the corner of his eye, Harry spotted a pathway that lead away from the remains of the house. Without thinking, he started to follow it, curious to where it lead. As he continued along the narrow gravel path, he found himself in the middle of a cemetery full of variously shaped headstones. Some were very simple, but others were very detailed and extravagant. It was peacefully quiet with a gentle breeze gliding through the tree tops. His eyes continued to scan the headstones and his stomach gave a small leap when they found what they were looking for; two headstones, side-by-side, with the name POTTER carved into the granite. He stared at them for few seconds, then fell to his knees in front of them. He traced the names of his parents with his finger. Tears began to leak so quickly that soon his sight was blurry. He did nothing to stem the flow. An almighty wail built in the bottom of his being and echoed out across the scattered headstones. He was crying in earnest now, sitting on the place where his parents rested.
He had no idea of how long he had been sitting there before he felt a small arm wrap itself around him. Harry turned is head away from the headstone, tears in his eyes, to find Ginny looking at him with concern on her face. He stared into her eyes briefly, then dropped his head onto her shoulder, loosing control again.
After several minutes, Harry finally regained control of himself.
"Mum, Dad, I want you to meet some very special people," he said sadly, his voice shaking, to the stones, as he waved Ron and Hermione towards him. "This is Hermione, she's the brightest witch of our age. She is the sister I never had. This is Ron. He is the best mate anyone could ever ask for," he added standing up putting his arms around them both. He let go of them and helped Ginny off the ground and put is arms around her. "This is my wife, Ginny. She is the most important person in my life."
He paused for a second, "I have thought about this day for so long. I had all these things I wanted to say, but all I really want to say is that I miss you, I love you, and I will make him pay for what he did," he finish with a fire in his eye.
He stared at the gave one last time then turned, grabbed Ginny's hand, and began to walk back up the pathway.
As Harry approached the last bend in the path toward the wreckage of the house, he heard a faint 'POP' in the distance. Harry quickly put his arm out so stop the others and pulled out his wand.
"What's wrong?" Ginny asked quietly.
"I think I just heard someone Apperate," Harry whispered.
"Do you think it could be a trap?" Hermione asked anxiously.
"I don't know." He paused, "Just stay close together and be very quiet."
Harry silently made his way towards the ruins of the house. What he saw there made his blood boil. There was a single figure, dress in black, searching through the rubble.
"SNAPE!" Harry yelled at the top of his voice.
The man in black slowly turned around.
"Fancy meeting you here, Potter," Snape sneered.
The sight of the man that had murdered his mentor made Harry snap.
"SECTUMSEMPRA!" Harry yelled.
The spell flew towards Snape, but he simply flicked his wand and the spell was repelled like the spells months earlier when Snape had fled Hogwarts.
"You dare use my own spell against me again!" Snape spat at Harry. "You are very lucky that the Dark Lord wants you in one piece. however, that doesn't mean I can't have some fun."
Snape stopped and suddenly point his wand at Ginny and yelled, "PENITUS CRUDUS!"
The spell shot out quickly and sped towards Ginny. Harry's seeker reflexes kicked in and he instinctively jumped in front of Ginny. The blood red spell hit Harry full in the stomach. Harry groaned in pain and hit the ground hard. Snape, taking advantage of the opportunity, quickly Dissapparted.
Ginny quickly bent over Harry.
"HARRY, ARE YOU OKAY!" she screamed, tears pouring from her eyes.
Harry look extremely pale. He was having trouble breathing, his chest heaving quickly but shallowly. He rolled on his side, almost convulsively, and began to cough violently. Something red caught Ginny's eye as she tried in vain to think of something to help Harry. She grabbed Harry's face, holding it still as best she could to get a better look at him. There were steady streams of blood coming from both of his nostrils and both corners of his mouth.
"SOMEONE GET HELP!"