All characters are property of JK Rowling and I do not make a profit from this story.
Beta: Roman's Sundial
Chapter Twenty: A Letter to Harry
Ginny Weasley – Present Day
December 26, 1999
It was well past midnight when Ginny finally found herself facing Number 12 Grimmauld Place. When she had found herself back on the other side of the big hill near Les Bonbons de Renee, she used the cloak to cover up Magdalena's body and kept her wand hidden by her sleeve as she used to levitate the body. She had no idea what that spell was, but it was not Avada Kedavra, and she knew deep down that this muggle girl was not dead. Seeing as though she was a muggle, however, Ginny could not apparate with her, so she had to take the muggle way all the way to the Order. She was lucky enough to have caught a train, bought two seats, (one concealing the invisible unconscious Magdalena), and eventually found herself standing outside of Sirius Black's old house. She had messaged Harry a few moments earlier with her galleon to meet her outside, but he wasn't there. "Harry!" she called out at the spot between houses 11 and 13, knowing that number 12 was magically concealed in between. "Harry, come on!"
"Ginny!" Harry finally appeared out of nowhere, clearly stepping out of the boundaries of the wards. "Are you alright?" he asked, running towards her and embracing her.
"I'm fine, but I have loads to tell you, and I have someone with me, under your cloak."
"What? Who?"
"She's a muggle and she's not awake. Quick, Harry, let's get inside, please!"
"Okay, here." Harry handed her a paper with the words Number 12 Grimmauld Place on it, and the house instantly appeared. "Incendio," Harry said, burning the paper. Clearly, he must have been secret keeper. The pair walked into the house with the invisible Magdalena floating alongside them, when screeches and plenty of pressure hit Ginny.
"Ginny! My baby! You're okay!" Molly Weasley grabbed her daughter and hugged her so tightly, that Ginny lost control on her wand and they heard Magdalena fall to the ground with a loud thud.
"I'm fine, Mum, let go!" she managed to get free from her mother and nodded towards the invisible girl. "Harry, help me with her." Ginny removed the cloak and Molly gasped.
"Who is that?"
"A muggle," Ginny said, nodding to her father as he entered the room. "Grindelwald used a spell on her, but it wasn't Avada Kedavra."
"We know what it is, Ginny," said Arthur, "it's called-"
"No!" yelled Harry, literally standing in front of Ginny and blocking her from view. "Don't say anything to her."
"Harry, we talked about this," said Arthur, wiping his glasses clean on his robes.
Harry shook his head. "It's not that, we are all under the protective charms, remember? You can't speak about anything to anyone who isn't in the Order. Ginny, come with me, Kingsley can help me get you inducted. Mr. Weasley, can you take the girl upstairs for now?"
Arthur nodded, "I'll place her next to George."
"Come with me, Ginny," Harry sighed, leading her to the empty kitchen. "I'll get Kingsley, he's with the rest of the Order in the other room waiting to start the meeting, but I'll have him come here first, induct you, then we will bring you in."
"Thank you, Harry." Ginny watched him walk away, clearly upset. She knew that he was not happy that she was finally being inducted, but she belonged here and he would just have to get over it. He returned shortly with Kingsley, and instantly started the induction process. Kingsley continued the process with Harry, but questioningly at Ginny.
"Okay, you're in," Harry said, flatly. "Let's go let everyone know." Ginny followed Harry and Kingsley into the next room where the entire Order was waiting.
"Ginny?" Ron said, surprised.
"Alright, everyone, we are going to start." When Harry spoke, the room went silent. "As you can see, Ginny Weasley has joined the Order of the Phoenix. The reason is because she has some information for us."
"That's hardly the reason I joined, Harry," Ginny interjected. She knew he had his reasons to be so protective of her, but she was not about to let the rest of the Order treat her the same way. "I've been doing some research of my own, outside of the Order, and have come to similar conclusions that I've just learned you have come up with us well," she said, addressing everyone. She watched Harry step back, defeated, from the corner of her eye, and she continued her story. "I learned about Grindelwald's escape from Nurmengard, I just don't know how."
"We do," Charlie told her. "Well, only partially. It was a spell."
"Abracadabra?" Ginny asked.
"How do you know that?" Hermione questioned.
"I followed Pius over the hill and found a cottage where Grindelwald is hiding out in, I saw him use that spell on someone else."
"So, we have confirmation that it is him then?" asked Aberforth.
"Well, we have more than that, I had a full conversation with him, and he's gone into hiding now, so you won't find him anymore."
"You had a conversation with him?" Professor McGonagall repeated, "and you're alive to tell us about it?"
"Only because he needed my help. He asked me to deliver a letter to Harry; I wouldn't have been able to if he killed me." She reached into her robes and pulled out the folded piece of parchment and handed it to Harry. She watched him fumble with it for a few moments.
"I can't unfold it," he said, confused.
"Let me see," came Hermione's voice. She took the folded parchment from him and after a few seconds, she said, "It's charmed. You most likely can only open it when you're alone."
"We will go search the cottage and see if he left any clues. In the meantime, Potter, you can go upstairs and read the letter," decided Kingsley.
"We should hear Ginny's full account first, I think," chimed in Percy.
"I quite agree," came Essa Delacour's voice. "How were you able to follow Pius Thicknesse?"
She stared at the silent Harry, but with an irritated nod from him, she started her tale. "So, Harry has this cloak…"
Hermione Granger – Present Day
December 26, 1999
Hermione had just sat for about a quarter of an hour listening to Ginny's account on how she met with and escaped Gellert Grindelwald. She was proud of her friend for doing all that she had done, but was sad that because of Harry, Ginny had to risk her life and do all of this without any back up. So much could have gone wrong, and that, for the first time, would have been Harry's fault. The room was quiet after Ginny finished recounting what had happened.
"So, you have to go back?" Ron finally asked.
"That's the plan."
"It's too dangerous," said Harry.
"I couldn't agree more!" nodded Molly.
"Nobody cares about the welfare of my daughter more than I do," stepped in Arthur, "but my daughter was able to do something that none of us here were able to do, I think that should mean something."
"This is the best chance we have to do anything, and if I don't go, I'm risking more than just my life; he will kill me and my entire family!"
"We'll figure out another way," decided Harry, "nothing will happen to anyone."
"Enough Harry!" Ginny yelled. "Stop treating me as some child that can't do anything! I am a member of this Order and if you can consider sending anyone to him, then I am to be considered just as equally!"
"She is right, Mr. Potter," agreed Professor McGonagall. "I'm sorry, Molly," she added, seeing the look that Molly was giving her, "but she is a member of this Order and this mission should be for her. Grindelwald is expecting her return, and so, she will return. We will of course set up a guard and some sort of plan of action to ensure her safety, but she needs to do this."
"Let us first deal with the location and the letter, and go from there," said Essa, taking charge and trying to deflect the tension that was starting to build amongst certain people. "We need a few people to go to the cottage and search for anything, really." She transfigured a few items around her to replicate the lay out of the big hill and the cottage, based on Ginny's description. "I would say at least five of us should go. One at the entrance, one here, and one there," she said, pointing to certain parts of her display, "and then two inside to search," she finished.
"We should keep someone at the apparating point too, just in case. I can do that," Percy volunteered.
Essa nodded. "I'll guard the door; who would like to search the cottage?"
"I will," said Helen.
"So will I," offered Bill.
"Great, and the other two guards?"
"I'll take the left," stated Arthur.
"I'll take the rear then," offered Aberforth.
"Wonderful, I suggest you go now then. He shouldn't still be there, but stand your guard, nonetheless. Potter, you should go upstairs and find out what is in that letter." Kingsley ordered. The six individuals heading to France took off at once, while Harry made his way upstairs.
"Ms. Granger," said Dedalus Diggle, continuing the meeting with the remaining members, "Potter has the cloak, as he has just shown us, and Grindelwald knows that too. Do you think he has the other two hallows?"
Hermione shook her head. "He doesn't; Harry had all three at one point but dispersed them so that nobody could ever have all three."
"Don't you think we should guard them, to ensure that he doesn't get them?" asked Hestia Jones.
"Oh, nobody will get them," Ron chuckled. "Only me, Harry, and Hermione know where they are, and trust me when I say that they cannot be found."
"It's probably best that nobody knows where they are, anyway." Hermione added.
"What is he like, Ginny?" Ron asked his sister.
"Too be honest, he comes across as a nice person. If I didn't know who he was, I wouldn't have kept my guard up around him."
"Zat is more dangerous zen 'E-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named; people will not know to take precaution with Grindelwald as zey did with You-Know-Who."
"I agree," said Hermione. "Voldemort was so evil that his whole demeanour put people on edge. If Grindelwald acts like everyone's best friend, people won't fear him, they may actually trust him!"
"An' the worst part is they don' know he's back, do they, so they don' even have a reason ter be suspicious," said Hagrid.
"I'm afraid we may have to break it to the public soon, particularly now that he has reached out to Potter. As the Minister of Magic, I cannot keep this contained for long," Kingsley said, frowning.
"Let us see what Potter's letter says, as well as what the other's find, Kingsley, then we must decide what to do," suggested McGonagall.
"Hey, Hermione," Ginny whispered quietly to her. "Can I see George?"
"Oh my goodness, I completely forgot! Yes, of course! Follow me," Hermione told her, leading her upstairs to the room where George, and now Magdalena, were kept.
"So I was right about the spell," Ginny said, after a long time of silently observing her brother.
"Yes, you were, and Magdalena is very lucky that you did; at least this way we can eventually revive her."
"Have you guys figured out how yet?"
"Sadly, no, but…" Hermione sighed before continuing. "I wanted to tell you but with the Order protective charms I couldn't! I've only told Harry this so far so please don't tell anyone else but I think I know where to get the counter-curse."
"If you know that, why haven't you told anyone?" Ginny asked, skeptically.
"Because it's not that simple. Malfoy knows the answer but he refuses to tell anyone, and Crabbe was actually put under the spell and brought back, but he too won't tell anyone."
"Why haven't you told anyone?" Ginny repeated.
"Because…" Hermione hesitated. "If I tell them about Crabbe it will lead to Malfoy and I don't want to see that, he's been through a lot…"
"Hermione, you still care for him, don't you?"
"Well, of course I care for him! You don't just stop caring for someone! But I care for Viktor more, if that's what you're getting at."
"Sure, keep lying to yourself." Hermione scowled at her, but Ginny just laughed. "Well, this is in your hands, Hermione. Do what you must but find this counter course, and fast."
"I will," Hermione nodded, "I have a plan."
Harry Potter – Present Day
December 26, 1999
Harry entered the room that he usually shared with Ron and closed the door behind him. Why was Grindelwald sending him a letter, and why would he charm it so that only Harry could read it? Surely he knew that Harry would tell the Order what it says regardless? Curious, he sat on the bed and began to unfold the parchment easily, unlike his attempt downstairs. He began to read the letter:
Dear Harry Potter,
It would have been my intention to send this letter to Albus Dumbledore instead, but alas, he is no longer here, killed by one of Tom Riddle's men, I heard. A pity; Albus Dumbledore was a good man. You must know, of course, of my relationship with Albus when we were much younger. We had formed a bond, a strong one, and my time in Nurmengard had lead me to believe that you two also shared a strong bond. And so, in lieu of that, I turn to you, Harry Potter. First, I ask that you not believe whatever has been said about me. Trust in your bond with Albus, and trust in his bond with me; he never would have aligned himself with a man that the Daily Prophet and many others have depicted me to be. Of course, your mind will flutter to the famous duel between us, and you will be the first to whom I explain the truth about that night. It was a very different time back then, before Tom Riddle, and before the Wizarding World had any fears. Albus and I were far too advanced at that time, and so, the Wizarding World was not ready for what we could accomplish. Albus knew this, and so he reluctantly stepped down; but I did not. I had hoped that I would sway the Wizarding World to see it my way. And so, because they did not, Albus was forced to do what was expected of him by this undeveloped world, and put a stop to my dream. But he did not kill me, Harry Potter, because he knew that one day, the Wizarding World would be ready for what it was that I wanted to accomplish. Finally, we are brought to that day. The Wizarding World has now learned fear, thanks to Tom Riddle and his pack of murderers, and because of it, they have advanced. And so, it brings me to the point of my letter, Harry Potter, and my need for you. As muggles are now aware of the Wizarding World, it is our responsibility, as the more stronger, powerful, and knowledgeable beings, to take charge. What I am suggesting is not necessarily world dominance in the sense that I wish to rule it all, I merrily mean that with the most power, I can govern everyone and ensure the safety of all. To clarify, I wish to be in control of the wizarding and muggle world alike, to ensure THE GREATER GOOD. With any change, comes delinquents and punishment; I am sure you have seen that for yourself once the muggles were informed of the wizarding world. By dominating the muggles, we ensure their safety as much as our own. Any sacrifices made would be far less than what we would gain from it all. My acts are not heinous, Harry Potter, I simply do what is necessary to ensure that the greater good is achieved. I have now reached the point where I make my request; you alone can help me demand that the greater good be in place and this world becomes a far more better place to live. Dominance requires one strong leader that can make the decisions needed to ensure everything runs smoothly, regardless of what that decision may be. Remember, Harry Potter, all decisions would be made solely for the purpose of the greater good. As I, along with our late Albus, have been planning this since the 1940's; it is only reasonable that I put myself in that position. I have paid my dues for the greater good, and now I am ready to commence. I will require the deathly hallows to ensure that nobody, not even someone like Tom Riddle, can ruin this wonderful world of order that we will create. Further, you will help me explain to the wizarding world, in time, how positive the greater good will be. But first, Harry Potter, the three hallows. I am looking forward to receiving them from Gloria in a week's time. Trust in the bond, Harry Potter, trust in Albus, trust in me, and trust in the greater good.
Gellert Grindelwald.
Harry re-read the letter several times, trying to take it all in. After awhile, he made his way back downstairs, just as the six Order members who had gone to Grindelwald's hideout had returned. "Anything?" Harry asked them.
Bill shook his head. "Completely cleaned out, except for this," Bill handed Harry a piece of parchment.
My instructions have been left to Harry Potter.
"What did your letter say, Harry?" Ginny asked him.
"A lot," he said truthfully. "Basically, he wants-" Harry choked on his words. "He's asked me to-" Harry tried to explain the letter, but nothing came out.
"It's okay, son, we will protect you, go ahead and tell us," said Arthur.
Harry shook his head. "It's not that, I'm trying to tell you but I can't. Grindelwald-" but again, nothing came out when Harry tried to speak.
Hermione walked over to him and grabbed the letter out of his hands. "It's blank," she said, looking at it.
"What? No it's not! It says that he-" Harry growled in frustration. "What is going on?" he yelled.
"Mr. Potter," said Professor Flitwick, walking over to him and taking the parchment from Hermione, "it seems as though this letter has been charmed. I am not sure why, but Grindelwald has made it so that only you may know the contents of this letter."
"How did he do that?" Harry asked.
"The same way we have charmed the members of the Order," answered Kingsley.
"But why?" Harry asked angrily. "This is stupid!"
"I suppose he does not want you to tell us because he doesn't want our influence on you. Sounds like him," Aberforth grumbled."
"I forgot you knew him," Harry said. "What was he like?"
"Arrogant. He thought he knew everything and wanted to control everyone. I'm not surprised he charmed you, Potter, that way only he can persuade you and nobody else can get in your ear."
"If he thinks that I am going to-" but yet again, Harry couldn't speak. "Aargh!" Harry spent the next quarter of an hour trying to get around the charm. He tried to speak until he was red in the face, he even tried to write things down, but no matter his efforts, Grindelwald had made it impossible for him to speak of the letter's contents. Defeated, Harry collapsed on a nearby chair. "What do I do now?" he finally asked the group.
"Well, he told me that I am to deliver him your response in a week's time, so I am assuming he asked you something?" Ginny asked him. Harry nodded. "So then, I guess you answer him."
"I don't know what to say," Harry admitted.
"You have always made the right decisions in any situation Harry, you'll figure it out," Hermione encouraged.
"Hermione, I've always had help, you know what," he countered.
"You'll still have help, Harry," pipped in Neville. "Let's talk about different situations and what we should do, maybe we will guess the right one and you'll have your answer."
"Let's make a list," said Hermione, "I'm sure we can figure it out." The Order started throwing out ideas as Hermione began writing them out. Harry stood up and went upstairs; he was too frustrated to sit there and listen, so he decided he would read the list later and found himself heading to Sirius' old bedroom. Since his death, Harry had locked his Godfather's bedroom and did not allow anyone to enter. "Colloportus," he said, waving his wand and unlocking the door. He entered the forbidden room and sat down on his Godfather's bed. "Sirius, I need you now more than ever," he said sadly, putting his face in his hands.
Ron Weasley – The Past
June 1, 1998
The drive from Hermione's parents house to the Burrow was a long one. So long, in fact, that it required them to stop for the night at an inn.
"Should we stop at a magical one?" Hermione asked Ron as they were driving down a busy street.
"There are muggle ones?" he asked, surprised.
"Of course, Ron, they travel and stuff too! They aren't completely different you know, they just have technology as opposed to magic."
"What's teknalogy?"
"You'll learn about it when you start muggle studies."
"Oh yeah, new classes, don't remind me," he said grumpily.
"I think we should stop at a muggle one, anyway. Wizards aren't used to vehicles and the van is full of stuff that I don't want to lose."
"Okay, do you know where one is?"
"No, but you'll always see them along the roads… Look, there's one there!" she said pointing, and turning off the main road. Hermione did the checking in and parked the van in front of their room. She showed Ron how the key card worked to his amazement, then the pair set off to a nearby restaurant to enjoy a nice dinner. It was still very early, but since they wanted to complete their journey by tomorrow, the two had agreed to go to sleep early so that they could set off as soon as possible to the Burrow and finish their long trip.
"So, there's only one bed…" Hermione stated awkwardly, when they entered their room again.
"Hermione, we slept in a tent side by side for almost a year! Besides, you're my girlfriend now; this is perfectly normal," he told her, patting the bed beside him for her to lay down. Hesitantly, Hermione laid down next to him (after changing into her pajamas in the small adjoining bathroom.) Ron put his arm around her and pulled her close, feeling her body tense up. Trying to comfort her, he started to rub her side slowly, showing her that everything was okay. Godric, she was beautiful, he thought. He kissed her shoulder and took in her scent; she was his witch and he was one lucky wizard. He made to move her hair so that he could kiss her neck, when she jumped out of the bed in a panic. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"I-I can't," she stammered. "I need some air."
"Hermione!" Ron called after her, but she had already grabbed her cloak and took off. It took Ron nearly an hour to finally locate her; she was down a small quiet street standing in front of a small white house. "There you are!" he said, catching his breath.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked him.
"What?"
"The house," she told him. "A small little house with a white picket fence, and a garden, and look, a garage for the van! Oh Ron, it's perfect!"
"Is this the kind of house you want one day?" he asked her.
"Yes! It's the perfect size to raise a family and, Ron, look!" she said excitedly, pointing at the street sign.
"Griffin Lane," Ron read.
"How perfect!" Hermione squealed. "Of course, I know I can't have this house, but one day I would love to have one just like it!"
"And so when we are ready to buy a house, we will look for one exactly like this," Ron assured her.
"Really?" she asked him.
"Really," he promised. She tiptoed to kiss him lightly, but then shied away. "What happened at the inn, Hermione?" he asked her softly.
Hermione blushed. "It's not that I didn't like what you were doing," she started, "it's just that… Ron, I-I'm not ready."
"Ready for what? Ooooh," he said, catching on. "Hermione, I, uh, I wasn't-"
"You weren't?"
"No, I was admiring your beauty."
"Oh."
"Not that I don't want to, of course! But, when you're ready."
"When I'm ready." Hermione smiled. "You don't mind?"
"Why would I mind? I have you forever, there's no rush."
Hermione grabbed his hand. "I'm sorry," she said.
"Don't be," he smiled. The pair walked back to the inn and cuddled into each other and went to sleep. It was a beautiful early morning when they got back into the van and continued their journey to the Burrow. As they drove past Griffin Lane, Ron noticed a man placing a "For Sale" sign on the front lawn of Hermione's dream house. Ron looked over to see if Hermione had noticed, but she was too focused on driving.
Author's Notes: To my wonderful followers, I want to apologize about my delay in posting. I had surgery on Saturday and have been recovering. I promise as soon as I am 100% I will be posting as frequently as I was. It took me awhile to get this one up but I couldn't let you guys down! I should be feeling better by next week.
Okay, so Ginny is finally in! I hope you all are happy about that! The next chapter has an important scene between Ginny and Harry that I think will be appreciated by many! That's all I am going to say here!
We shall talk soon, and thanks as always!