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Dreams are like angels

6

30. July 1996

It was the morning of the 30th of July that found Ginny in the kitchen splashing about in a bowl of cereals in front of her. James was at work just as Lily who was needed at St. Mungo's this morning.

After finishing Hogwarts, Lily applied directly for a job at the Department of Mysteries as an Unspeakable where she was accepted immediately due her extraordinary grades.
She worked in a special group without anyone knowing what they did. Even she couldn't talk about it 13 years after she left the program.
After that she completed her Master of Potion. Since then, she worked as a potion mistress for St. Mungo's and ran a service for families and people who couldn't afford certain potions or stuff like that.

James was named Head Auror five years ago and he shared that position with Sirius now for three years.
James stepped back a bit after Daisy and Daniel were born to have more time for his family and to appease a few of Lily's fears that one day he wouldn't return from a mission.

What position he worked on didn't matter to him. His work wasn't his life, he lived for his family and they were his priority.
Rose was still taking a shower (probably fell asleep again) after their workout. And Harry, well he vanished yesterday to who-knew-where.
They watched 'Braveheart' and afterwards 'Forrest Gump'.
Ginny really loved both movies but hated them at the same time. They were just so emotional and full of tragic love that she just couldn't stop herself from thinking about her and Harry.

Why did he have to treat her like this? It was just so bloody horrible. She loved him and he knew that. She always thought that he loved her too, but apparently he didn't. He didn't seem to be attracted to her at all. How could he be?

Earlier, after she took a shower, she stood in front of the mirror in her room for almost 30 minutes, clad in just her underwear, and stared at the girl in the mirror.
There was nothing really attractive on her. With her clashing red hair, those horrible freckles all over her body, and her pale skin, she looked anything but beautiful. She wasn't even built like other girls in her year. Her breasts were just barely recognizable and there was nothing curvy on her.
So she understood now why he made it sound so horrible to 'claim' her. He didn't want her. He probably had a girlfriend somewhere and just didn't tell anyone about it because he felt obligated to help her.

She probably was just breathtakingly beautiful and wasn't the childhood friend he has to help out. She probably was independent, strong, and not an emotional wreck like her.
Ginny's mind wandered to her family at the Burrow.

James told her yesterday during dinner that he was approached by Dumbledore, who asked if he knew where she was right now.
His answer was 'no' as he really didn't know where exactly Ginny was at that precise moment, but somewhere near his house for sure.
Dumbledore told him that her family was really worried about her. How worried were they really or how much was just due to Dumbledore's spells? What would happen if she returns to The Burrow?

Everything was so complicated but Ginny was interrupted from her thoughts as she realized that she was floating in front of the twins' play pen.

"Well you two little magicians!" she said still hovering above their heads with her hands on her hips.

"Gin, fly like Hawwy!" Daniel exclaimed happily and clapped enthusiastic with his little hands.

"Will you let me down now?"

"NOOOOO!" both answered and losing themselves in a fit of giggles that caused Daisy to lose her balance and to fall back onto her butt.

"You clumsy like Auntie Dowa!" Daniel said and turned towards his sister to help her up.
Without the attention of the twins on her she found herself also falling on her butt. Without a blanket underneath, and from that height, it hurt a bit more.
'No wonder with that skinny arse of yours' she thought to herself.

"Well, that was amusing!" Ginny wheeled around towards the entry where her potions teacher stood.

"Sir, wha .. what are you doing here? I mean, no offence, but…," she asked confused and searched her memories for anything to indicate that he was a part of the Potters' personal life before.

She remembered vaguely that Lily worked with him on some projects and that they were friends as kids but nothing beside that.

"You know that Dumbledore is going crazy right now. He became rather... livid in his old days."

Severus walked over to the table, sat down, and poured himself a cup of tea. His appearance was quite casual and looked nothing like his teaching-self she was used to.
He was dressed in a dark blue sweater and black jeans but most of all the missing look of disgust across his face made him look even more different.

"I take it that Harry forgot to tell you that we start your mind training today?" Ginny just nodded as she took her seat again (across from him) and kept an eye on the twins.

"He wouldn't tell me what day is today, if his life depended on it," she added and took a sip from her coffee.
Severus thought how fitting it was what she said.

"He's a Potter. He's meant to do stupid things."

"Hey! We're not all that bad," Rose threw in as she walked into the kitchen, her hair still slightly damp and greeted her sister and brother.

"Sev is right. That's the Potter-Male-Syndrome, commonly known as PMS," Lily joined into the conversation and caused everyone else to laugh.
Ginny just managed a small smile. She was lost in her own thoughts while she watched Lily take off her trench coat and talk to Severus.

"Could you look over a recipe for me later?" Lily asked Severus as she scooped Daisy and Daniel out of their play pen and took them by the hand.

"Sure. We'll be done in an hour or so."

Severus Snape was a man who made many mistakes in his life, most of them in his teenage years. He called his best and only true friend a mudblood and lost her.
He joined Voldemort's followers, not out of conviction, but out of fear and obligation to his Slytherin "friends". His loyalty never really laid with Voldemort. He just took the Slytherin way out; be a part of it but keep your own head and name out of it.

When he overheard the prophecy, together with that coward Pettigrew, he knew that he had to take another path.
Pettigrew listened to the first part of the prophecy and was so exhilarated that he took off immediately to tell Voldemort. Severus listened to the whole Prophecy and knew what he had to do. Warn Lily.

A small part also did it to thank Potter for saving him during their sixth year from Blacks stupid joke to lead him to the shrieking shack while Lupin was in his werewolf form. But most of all he did it for Lily.
He told them everything he overheard. He even tried to tell them about Pettigrew, but wasn't able due to a spell from the Dark Lord that prevented his followers from revealing each other.

At first they didn't want to listen to him but as he was willing to make an unbreakable vow he convinced them. From then on, he was able to revive his friendship with Lily and even get along with James and Remus. He and Sirius were a totally different story – they were just like a cat and dog.

"I would say we start with a few basics...Miss Weasley?" Severus tried to begin, but Ginny just stared out of the kitchen window like she just saw a ghost.
Her beautiful pale face turned white like a piece of chalk and she felt like somebody had just ripped out her heart.

There, just walking through the iron gate, walked Harry with one of the most beautiful girls she has ever seen. The blonde beauty had her left arm linked through his right and held a bunch of yellow tulips and orange-red gladiolus in her other hand. Ginny's favourite flowers.
Ginny's heart raced like mad and her ears were filled with an unpleasant ring.

But she couldn't care less.

Harry looked like he couldn't be any happier with that girl on his arm and the world collapsed on Ginny.

Rose heard his brother's voice outside the open kitchen window and was happy to see him smiling like that again. The fact that Fleur accompanied him made this day even better. Rose and Fleur became really good friends over the last few years.

She was surprised to hear Ginny's glass shattering on the floor. It dawned on her what this must look like to her.
She tried to catch Ginny's wrist, but she was acting as if on autopilot, and dashed out of the kitchen without responding to Rose and Severus calling her over and over again.

Ginny took two steps at once and stormed into Rose's room. She grabbed one of the brooms that she and Rose were going to polish after breakfast, mounted it, and through her tears flew directly through the open double-glass door that led onto Rose's balcony.

"Ginny! Come back!" being screamed by his sister from above caused Harry to look up and what he saw made him want to curse like a sailor.
Ginny flew away and it didn't look like she wanted to come back any time soon.

Without really thinking about it, Harry ran towards the carport where his parent's cars stood – his father's '85 Aston Martin V8 Vantage in claret and his mother's '95 Jeep Wrangler in yellow – and lifted the invisibility charm that on the motorcycle he was legally allowed to drive tomorrow, his sixteenth birthday.
He mounted the red Harley Davidson 1984 FXST Softail, that he and Sirius worked on over the last years whenever he was at home, and, without any hesitation, followed Ginny.

"He's not allowed to drive that motorcycle until tomorrow," Remarked Severus as he stood inside the entry with Rose, Lily, and Fleur.
All three women just looked at him like he had two heads.

"THAT'S not my biggest concern!" Lily responded and lightly punched his shoulder as she walked determinedly towards the study to contact James.

"Welcome back!" Rose said and smiled apologizingly at Fleur.
She just opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted as Bill came running out of the forest next to the house where he had gone to look after the wards that he placed around the property.

"What happened?" he asked the two witches, trying to catch his breath. "I just heard someone calling Ginny to come back."

"Let's go inside. Mum is probably hitting the ceiling," Rose said, and the three walked into the study where James had just came out of the fireplace.

Normally Harry's motorcycle was anything but the kind that he was allowed to drive at the age of sixteen in Great Britain. With a bit of magic, to every Muggle it looked like a motorcycle with a design speed of less than 45 km/h.

Even without features like the invisibility, flying, or high speed boost, this would've been a case for Arthur's department for sure.
He was grateful that Ginny chose to follow the road that lead through the countryside towards Ottery St. Catchpole.
He had no idea why she was running – well rather flying – away. Well, sure he knew what a prick he was the last couple days, but he never thought that she would rather continue the life she had at the Burrow under Dumbledore's spell, than with his family.

But that wasn't important now, he needed to stop her before they were too close to the Burrow.

She wanted the best for him. If he was happy with his beautiful girlfriend, then she was the last person to stand in their way.
This didn't mean that she could stop loving him. She had been hopelessly in love with Harry since she could remember. She didn't know anything else than his love and she didn't want to know anything else.

He was her best friend. They shared secrets that Rose never even knew of, and all of this made it impossible for her to be near him without being able to love him.
While all of this whirled around in her head, she also saw the future she always dreamed of to have with Harry.

Him kissing her.
Him fighting with her side by side.
Him standing at the altar and watching her walking down the aisle.
Him kissing her pregnant stomach.
Him holding their kid.

If there was one thing Ginny was sure of, it was that she would grow old with Harry.
But now he had this blonde woman by his side.
Before even any tear could roll down her cheek, they were wiped away by the wind. Just like all her dreams and hopes that were wiped away and everything that was left behind was a blurry view.
It took her about 30 minutes till she could make out the distinctive features of her childhood home in the distance. She knew that it wasn't right, but it was easy.

Harry looked one last time up and saw Ginny blocked from his view by some trees, which told him that, around the next corner, he would be at the edge of the property he visited for the last time three years ago.

As he rounded the corner of the little forest, he saw Ginny dismount the broom, still unaware of her pursuer, but not at the edge like he hoped. No, she was already halfway between the Burrow and him.
He quickly used a numbing and pain killing charm on himself that would hopefully be strong enough. Just in time to feel a light shiver running down his spine as he crossed the edge.

"GINNY!" he screamed, with all the power he could find.
His skin seemed to be penetrated with millions of needles and he lost control over his motorcycle, which he just dropped to the ground as he tried to pull himself together.

"PLEASE STOP! GIN!" he screamed again, but as he took another step forward his whole body felt like it was on fire.
He couldn't keep standing straight any longer.

"GINNY!" he croaked and felt blood trickle out of his nose as he laid on the ground.

"Please!" he sobbed.

"Accio Ginny," he rasped, held out his hand, and coughed out blood.
Ginny snapped out of her trance as she felt something pulling on her, like she was attached to a fishing pole.
She heard his pleading that she should stop, and him calling her name over and over again. She turned around and her heart seemed to stop for the second time that day.

Harry laid on his side towards her, breathing heavily with half of his face covered in blood, just like the rest of his body.
She ran the short distance towards him with every thought of the other woman forgotten.

"Harry!" she whispered, completely shocked.
It seemed that his blood just kept spilling out.

"Gin...," he rasped "...love you," and he reached up to touch her cheek.

"Harry, just hold on. I will get help and..." But before she could finish her sentence, they disappeared and reappeared in the middle of the hallway inside the Den.

"Help!" Ginny screamed without missing a beat.

"Everything will be alright," she said - more to reassure herself - and caressed his face with a trembling hand.

"Oh Godric! Harry!" was the last thing that Ginny really perceived and that somebody said to get someone named 'Andy'.

A moment later, Harry closed his eyes still gripping the necklace around his neck with one hand while the other held onto Ginny's hand.

Ginny was so traumatized that she started to scream and kick as Bill grabbed her around the waist and picked her up to get her away from Harry.
Dora tried to help him, but it was in vain, so she stunned her.
"Rose! Rose can you help me with Ginny? She needs you now." Dora tried to get Rose's attention.
She stood together with Fleur on the landing and watched as James and Remus levitated Harry towards the study.
Rose looked somehow confused at Dora as Fleur already followed Bill upstairs to help with Ginny.

"Can you do that?" Dora asked again and just received a nod.
Rose walked up the stairs with Dora by her side but looked back at the place where her brother just laid moments before, and where now remained a puddle of his blood.

The next thing Ginny knew, was that she stared up into a flawless sky.
'Where is Harry?' Was the first coherent thought her mind was able to produce.

She sat up, confused, and looked around for him but everything she saw was the meadow she declared 'her safe place' at the age of six.
It was situated behind the pond down by The Burrow. This place was one of the things only Harry knew about. They always joked about how they would only move out from home, if they could build their own house right there.

Everything Ginny heard was the splashing of the stream that leads into the pond and the chirping and rustling of some birds in the trees.
She stood up and was more confused. She wore some white dress that looked like somebody had a bed sheet draped over her, and she was barefoot. The slightly damp grass flicked the sole of her foot as she slowly walked towards the gap between some trees that lead to the pond.

"Hello, my daughter." A melodic voice stopped her mid-way.
Ginny turned around and saw a woman standing in the middle of the meadow.
The woman standing before her looked unbelievable majestic. She had red hair that looked to be on fire and her face looked like that of an angel. She held her body with so much grace that she looked much bigger than the 5'11 she seemed to be.

"Who are you?" Ginny asked with all the confidence she could muster up.

"I'm Vis, o' daughter of mine, the source of your power," the angelic woman answered and walked towards her.
With her long dress - which looked like the one Ginny wore just with gold-and-red-embroidered from the bottom, so it looked like it was soaked - that pooled around her feet she seemed to be gliding over the ground.

"What am I doing here?"

"I called you to me. Like I did all those years ago after you brought the young warrior with you. But right now, myself is here to help you save your young warrior." Vis answered Ginny's question and now stood directly in front of her.
Ginny watched warily as Vis reached out and put a lock of her own red hair behind her ear.

"Use all your mighty powers we graced you with, daughter. Use them to save his soul and then you and I shall meet again," she said mystically and kissed Ginny's forehead.

The moment Vis' lips touched her skin Ginny closed her eyes and she couldn't feel the grass beneath her feet anymore. The birds stopped chirping.
The last thing Ginny made out before everything went completely black, was the voice of the mysterious woman whispering, "Don't forget: Dreams are like angels!"

The door opened and he turned back in his chair towards the sleeping form of his sister laying on the bed.

"How's Harry doing?" Bill asked Fleur and laid his head onto her shoulder.
She wrapped her arms around him from behind and caressed his chest soothingly.

"Lily is changing 'is bandage at zee moment," Fleur answered.
Bill untangled her arms and steered her over so that she could sit down in his lap.

"I love you." he mumbled and kissed her lightly.
Seeing his sister so devastated was killing him.

"Je t'aime, aussi." She answered lovingly and caressed his handsome face.
Just as Fleur said this, Ginny stirred in the bed. Bill stood up carefully, so not to throw Fleur down, and bend over his sister.

"Hey, Firefly." He smiled down at his little sister as her eyes fluttered open.

"Bill?" Ginny croaked out confused - she must have screamed pretty loud earlier.
But her confusion was nothing compared to what she felt as she was offered a glass of water from her other side by the beautiful blonde that she saw with Harry.

"Harry!" she exclaimed, panicked as an image of him covered in blood came to her mind.

"He's recovering now, nothing life threatening anymore." Bill calmed her down immediately and caressed her hair.

"Bill, I don't want her here," Ginny said with tears in her eyes as she glanced at Fleur who still held out the glass to her.

"Oh Firefly, this is Fleur. She's my fiancée." The look of complete confusion was written all over Ginny's face. She glanced between her brother and the woman he thought to be Harry's girlfriend.

"'Arry is nozing but a friend to me," Fleur said gently as she sat the glass down onto the night-stand and took Ginny's hand.

"But…I saw...," Ginny tried to make her thoughts consistent that had caused her to flee earlier with what she was told now.

"You saw just Harry and Fleur because I was occupied with the wards. Harry stayed with us last night and wanted everything to be perfect for today when he would come crawling back to you and ask you for forgiveness for being such a prick," Bill answered and motioned to the bunch of yellow tulips and orange-red gladiolus. They were the same flowers she saw Fleur holding earlier, now sitting in a vase on the night-stand.

Ginny teared up again. She needed to see him, to see if he was alright. She needed to be near to him. Bill saw Ginny's frantic look towards the flowers and the door.

"Don't panic, Firefly. You can see him, I'll come with you," he said and helped her out of the bed.

"Godric, do you want me to die at a heart attack!" Lily exclaimed as she went to open the door to leave Harry's room and bumped into Ginny and Bill.

"Sorry, Lily," Bill said, but Lily didn't even pay him any attention as she was occupied by pulling Ginny into a hug and reassuring her that Harry would be alright again.

"His wounds will need a few days to heal properly and hopefully won't leave any scars at all. He will stay asleep probably until tomorrow morning though, but I think with you by his side he would be more lenient with his beauty sleep," Lily said gently as Ginny sat down on Harry's bed. She took his hand tightly in hers and caressed his forehead.

"If you need anything or something happens, just call for one of us. We're leaving the floo open and you can activate it calling one of our names," Lily explained before she and Bill left to give her some time alone.
He looked so pale. His bare chest was almost completely covered in white bandages and his wrists were also covered in the same white bandages. Everything just smelled so clinical. Just so not like Harry.

What really caught her attention was the scar on his left shoulder. They were told that this scar is the result of the failed killing curse that hit Harry as an infant. It never bothered her or anything but she never saw it that clear. The circular scar just glowed red against his skin, which was unusually pale.
It felt like Ginny stared at Harry endlessly and mumbled unintelligible things. Somewhen later she stood up and walked around the room while still talking to him.
The right wall next to the door was occupied by a huge four poster bed and the two night-stands. Halfway along the wall next to the door stood a long sideboard with some smaller racks above.

Some photos and even some pictures were placed all over this part of the room accompanied with some candles. Ginny recognized a few pictures that she drew herself.
There were many photos with Harry and her in it but also quite a lot with the other Weasleys and the expanded Potter family.

Across from the door was a huge double-glass door that lead onto a small balcony where you could overlook the whole garden and had a magnificent view towards the forest and over the fields that lead down the ocean. Also on that wall, stood a desk with some books and parchment spread around.
The left wall to the door contained a door that lead towards the adjoined bathroom and a nook that held a huge wardrobe.

In between stood a small fireplace with two huge bookshelves from floor to ceiling full of books and magazines that she knew were his collection of 'Quidditch Today' – the Quidditch magazine that comes out every month – on either side.
His whole furniture was made of oak wood and his wall was painted in a deep claret. The dark hard wood floor was partially covered with a huge and soft grey rug.
As Ginny sat down again at his side, she saw the photo on his night-stand properly for the first time. It was from their first moment together.

"Lily, we want you to meet your beautiful goddaughter, Ginevra Molly Weasley," Arthur exclaimed and almost burst with happiness and pride for his little baby girl.

It was the 11

th of August 1981 and James, Harry, and a heavily pregnant Lily, who was due any day now, visited Molly, Arthur, and new born Ginny Weasley.
Lily immediately sat down in the chair next to Molly's bed and opened her arms for Arthur to place her beautiful goddaughter in it.
Without missing a beat, she started to coo over the new born like mad.

"If your mummy wasn't pregnant already, she would probably make daddy very happy the next few days," James said to his son he carried on his hip.

"Congratulations, Arthur," James said and hugged the other man, whose face attributed a new meaning to the word 'proud', after he sat Harry down.
The little man waddled directly over to where his mummy sat and steadied himself with his little hands on her knee.

"Mama baby," he babbled and looked in awe at the bundle in Lily

's arms.

"Mummy is going to have a baby, too. But mummy

's baby is still in mummy's tummy," Lily told her infant son.

"Let

's say 'hi' to Ginny, Harry," Lily said after she placed Ginny on the blanket – that was spread on the bed next to Molly – and James placed their son next to her.
In total awe Harry reached out with his little chubby hand but retreated a bit as the little witch started to cry. She just hated it not to be held.
Harry quickly but gently took hold of her smaller hand. "Hi," he just said, and smiled down at Ginny.
She immediately stopped crying and looked up.

That was the first moment his emerald-green and her chocolate-brown eyes met and Harry swore – almost 15 years later - that he fell in love with Ginny Weasley in that exact moment.
Ginny couldn't stop the tears from falling as she remembered the memory she was shown once or twice by her parents or James and Lily.
Carefully Ginny laid down next to Harry on the bed and watched him breathing gently.

The first thing Harry felt when he woke up was a soft tickling sensation near his ear accompanied with light snoring noises.
He opened his eyes and turned his head towards the source. What he saw made his heart skip a beat.

Next to him laid the love of his life, the woman he always imagined himself growing old with, the woman he couldn't imagine his life without.
Well, what it required that she would be laying next to him now was rather unpleasant but what's done is done.
He wanted to reach out and to tuck some lost strand out of her beautiful face but the stabbing pain in his chest made him consider his action.
The movement must've caused Ginny to wake up, because the next thing he knew was that the softest and most amazing tasting lips were locked with his.
He moaned into their kiss, but he had to draw back as the pain in his chest became unbearable and he gasped out in pain.

"I really don't want to hold you back but..." he grimaced "...the pain is kinda distracting."
Ginny immediately stood up, walked over to the fireplace and called for Lily who directly came out of the fireplace. James followed just a second behind, dashing through the door.

Their identical looks of panic changed into ones of relief as they saw their oldest son slightly smiling at them from across the room.