scrappy8 dutchie: Thank you! I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the story :)

Thanks to my wonderful Beta christyannb94 !

Enjoy!
_

Purge the soul

11

After Ginny and the Potters exchanged their views during breakfast the other day about her upcoming birthday, she decided just to have a small family dinner between the seven of them including Sirius with Amelia and Susan, Remus, Dora, and surely Bill, Charlie, and Fleur - well a gathering of fifteen people wasn't exactly small but in Weasley dimensions, it counted as such.

So, on the evening of the eleventh, everyone was gathered around a huge table loaded with lots of food in a private room of Ginny's favourite Indian restaurant in muggle London.

"Now I feel bad that my little sister might even beat me to the altar. Mum will go bonkers," Bill said at which a laughter spread around the room. "But don't even think about it! The moment we unjumble this whole mess, Fleur and I will be ready."

Harry and Ginny just told their family that he proposed to her, James and Bill already knew. Despite the circumstances everyone was very happy for the two of them as they were sure Harry and Ginny would ended up together either way. They all knew that they were very young, and in another life and time they wouldn't be that happy for a teenage couple to be engaged but you have to take what you can get.

"I still can't believe that you fell for her, Bill. My bets were high on you against this red head next to me…ouch!" Lily jabbed her husband's rib with her elbow.
"I told you, Lily. e ad no chance at all," Fleur responded and smiled at Bill who kissed the palm of her hand.

"Don't worry, we want to wait till next summer, if no other problems arise that is." Ginny reassured everyone before she put rice with her left hand to her mouth.

"You're one to talk, Prongs. Lily flower here only had to look at you and you fell ass over tea kettle," Sirius added.

"Siri say ass, mama!" Daisy babbled next to Lily.

"Ass!" Daniel proclaimed and found it very funny.

"Padfoot!" Remus and Lily responded angrily at the same time, throwing him some very unapproving glares.

Ginny loved spending time with her family. She really missed her parents and brothers, but these people were just as much her family as the ones absent. In moments like these, she even forgot sometimes what was going on in the world, how a war stood at the threshold and there was nothing more for them to do than hope that the next birthday all of them would be here.

Just as this thought crossed her mind, James', Sirius', Amelia's and Dora's auror alarms went off and James and Dora kissed their respective partners good-bye. James placed a kiss on all of his kids' heads including Ginny and Susan; with Sirius, Amelia, and Dora following suit. It became a habit to them after it became more and more clear that the likelihood arose not to come back after an assignment.

The three of them were really powerful wizards and witches, but they weren't invincible. Since January neither one of them made it a week without being treated at St. Mungo's. After an attack last year in which James needed a whole month to recover, only Sirius was life threateningly injured. An unknown curse hit his left arm that almost needed to be amputated but a specialist brought to London was able to heal him.

After the four left, the mood became more tense, and it wasn't long until Lily paid the bill and they all headed out into a deserted alley to apparate to Godric's Hollow.
The teenagers decided to watch a movie up in the tv room while Lily laid the twins down. Remus, Bill, Fleur, and Charlie settled down in the living room

"It is bad zat Amelia is called too, né pas?" Fleur spoke out loud what all of them feared. Charlie only affirmed with a nod of his head.

Ginny closed the bedroom door as silent as possible behind her. She just wanted to take the stairs down to the first floor, but stopped dead in her track.
The door to Daisy and Daniel's room was ajar, a soft light escaping into the hallway and a soft singing voice reaching her. As she moved closer to the door, she recognized Lily's voice. Ginny softly opened the door and saw Lily sitting in the rocking chair between the two beds.

"…me softly there's something in your eyes.
Don't hang your head in sorrow and please don't cry.
I know how you feel inside I've been there before.
Somethin's changin' inside you.

And don't you know don't you cry tonight
I still love you baby don't you cry tonight
Don't you cry tonight there's a heaven above you baby
And don't you cry tonight…" Ginny finished the last line
with her and made Lily aware of her standing there.

"Guns'n'Roses, great song. Sorry, I didn't want…" Ginny turned around to leave the room again.

"Do you want some tea? I think I need one now," Lily asked the younger witch as she stood up and walked over to her. "Those two bludgers are fast asleep for awhile now." Ginny only nodded her head and followed Lily downstairs.

"They aren't back, yet?" She asked as Lily poured them both a cup of tea.

"No, but there's also no word from St. Mungo's so I take whatever I can get right now." Lily smiled weakly at her as she leaned against the countertop.
Ginny took a cautious sip from her cup. "Mmmh…is this…," her eyes widened and looked at Lily in amazement.

"Your mum's homemade tea has always been the best." Lily confirmed her suspicion and took a sip herself.
The two witches stood for a few minutes in comfortable silence in the kitchen at 3 o'clock in the morning.

"It's hard, isn't it?" Ginny asked cautiously looking at Lily over her cup.

"Raising a family during times of war or to know that your family is in the middle of it all and fighting at the front?" Lily asked back and looking her straight in the eyes.

Ginny felt a pang in her soul as she looked at her and was flooded with so many horrors and pain that she wanted to cry out in sheer pain. Ginny and Lily stared at each other and it seemed to Ginny that Lily wanted to show her how it was to raise a family AND fighting at the forefront.

"I think we both know how it feels and I haven't even let on that much and YOU haven't focused as much yourself, darling." Lily broke the eye contact but managed a small and warm smile towards her. "Don't get me wrong, this issue is something we need to talk about very soon and Rose and I already exchanged some thoughts but not tonight…but yes, it's hard. The most horrible thing is that, against all odds, we'll lose people on our side…and it makes me sick to think about who it'll be. I know this is war, and people are dying and the last time we also lost friends and family but… to think about that it might be James or the kids, or Sirius or Remus or one of your bunch at The Burrow… I don't know why but this time around it seems more unbearable…the uncertainty."

Ginny wanted to respond to that but James used this moment to make a rather memorable entry.

That night, Ginny experienced for the very first time what war was doing to people…physical and psychological. Without Lily's reaction, she was sure she would have never guessed that James Fleamont Potter stood in front of her.

His right eye was bandaged, therefore he held his glasses in his hand - the one hand, to be precise his left hand, that wasn't wrapped in some cloth soaked with blood. As James took a step towards his wife and soon-to-be-daughter-in-law, Ginny recognised he was limping. The sight of him made her want to turn away, close her eyes and just forget it, but she couldn't.

She was snatched from her thoughts as she felt strong arms surrounding her and suddenly she let go and her tears started to fall.
Since she remembered being hugged by her godfather always soothed her, he smelled of wood and moist moss. But now she also smelled something different, it reminded her of Charlie after his first burn from a dragon that left a scar on his whole back. In a few months from now, she would know for certain that this was the smell of burnt flesh.

"Hey gorgeous! I'm okay, all of us are fine. It looks worse than it is." James tried to calm her down. Ginny fisted his shirt while she hurried her face against his chest and another sob escaped and shuddered.

James murmured reassuring words and stroked her back. After Ginny calmed down again Lily maneuvered her husband over to the table to sit down.

"What happened?" She asked while she started to remove the cloth from James' hand. With his other hand, he took a calming sip of his wife's tea.

"We were called to Leeds. An unusual amount of magic was detected there. A team of hit wizards arrived before and saw a group of five death eaters entering an old national explosive filling factory. They called the aurors as backup." James grimaced as Lily began to clean out a rather deep cut crossing the whole palm of his right hand.

"We divided into two groups to surround them and suddenly the whole damn thing blew up. We were barely able to put some shields up but Dora, Jefferson, and I were buried after the floor gave in beneath us. The moment we gathered ourselves, we heard the muggle sirens going off and you know...the moment the fire department and police arrives we have to let them try to control the situation at first." Lily put a plaster of dittany leaves over his palm.

"It took them almost two hours to get us out of there but they did a good job." James continued while Lily took off the bandage around his head that covered his eye.

"And why in the name of Merlin did no one take care of your wounds?" Lily asked her husband as she inspected his eye.

"Betty looked me over but I told her that you would treat my wounds either way so she could save the time and equipment. She removed debris out of my eye, healed it and told me to keep it out of the light for a few days." James finished, twined his arms around Lily's hips and pulled her into his lap.

Ginny watched the two interacting and knew that it was time to go to bed herself. She wished them a good night and walked out of the kitchen. Before she took the first step, Ginny turned around and saw Lily gently caressing James' cheek while they rested their foreheads against the other's. In the dim light coming from the kitchen counter Ginny saw a solitary tear running down Lily's cheek right before James kissed it away.

13. August 1996
"Are you sure that Rose isn't a Weasley? She is more like Ron than I'd like to admit," Ginny asked as she turned back towards the sink. She and Harry were doing the dishes after breakfast while Rose sat at the kitchen table snoring. "Eating and sleeping seems to be everything she's doing - just like Ron."

Harry chuckled at his girlfriends, no his ‚fiancées' , comment he corrected himself. "Maybe mum and Molly accidentally interchanged the both of you and the truth is that you and me are actually siblings."

"You're gross!" Ginny exclaimed shocked as a shiver ran down her spine and she punched his upper arm.

"Hey! No domestic violence, even if you're not married yet!" James joked around as he walked into the kitchen carrying some plates over to the sink.
All his wounds healed pretty fas,t but he was still not allowed to work. Sirius, Dora and Amelia just carried off some scratches and, in Dora's case, a sprained ankle, but mostly stayed unscathed.

"I've wanted to ask the two of you…," James stopped mid-sentence to put some whipped cream into Rose's outstretched hand which laid on the table in front of her. "...if you'd like to accompany me to Gringotts today. We might even be able to handle the paperwork concerning the life debt." James stood behind his sleeping daughter, who had her head bent upwards, transfigured a spoon into a feather, and tickled her nose.

Rose jolted up and as she smeared the whipped cream all over her face. Her sleepy eyes searched the room and found Harry, Ginny, and James laughing out loud. Rose shrugged off the situation and just started to lick the whipped cream off her fingers while she stood up. What James didn't foresee, was Rose's sloppy kiss she planted on his cheek and leaving a good part of whipped cream on his face.

James had to laugh much harder now.
After James' little prank, the four of them decided to spend the day in Diagon Alley, visiting Gringotts and after that take a stroll through muggle London.

"Ginny, you'll take my invisibility cloak. Stay between Harry and me. We just want to make sure that…hey look at me, gorgeous." Jame took a step closer to Ginny as he saw her staring downcast at the silky garment in her hand and tilted her chin so that she looked at him.

"I know this sucks."

"I miss them so much and I hate to hide away like that! It's not fair and I want this to be over!" Ginny exclaimed and James saw her temper rising. Her eyes flashed and she clenched her fingers around the cloak until her knuckles stood out. She relaxed slightly as Harry took one of her hands into his, but her eyes still held an angry gleam.

"I promise you, that when school starts in two weeks, Dumbledore will remove his spell or we'll get your brothers and parents out of there okay?" Ginny only nodded, not trusting her voice right now.

The four of them vanished one after another in green flames and were greeted by Amelia sitting behind her desk.

"Thank you for letting us use your fireplace, Amy." James greeted her and kissed her cheek.

"No problem! Enjoy your day, kids." Amelia hugged the three teenagers. "Oh Rosie, Susan wanted to know if you will stay over this weekend and help her sort out her things." After the big bomb was dropped of Amelia being pregnant, Sirius, Susan, and Amelia talked about their living arrangement. They agreed that Sirius would move in with them, but neither Amelia's nor Sirius' flat seemed big enough for the four of them. So this found the three of them visiting the more…habitable properties Sirius inherited from his family last weekend and surprisingly they found a lovely and rather spacious cottage at Torquay that belonged to one Iola Hitchens née Black.

After Sirius contacted Andromeda, as she was the one who paid more attention during their Black family history lessons from his mother, they found out that she was his great-great-grandfather's sister and the first Black disowned for marrying a muggle.

Sirius immediately took a liking to his ancestor and the three of them started to refurbish the old cottage. Sirius wanted the house to be ready before Susan would head off to Hogwarts as he didn't want to give her the impression this was all because of the baby…well it somewhat was, but he wanted this to be their house before the baby was born and she would return home during the holidays.

"Sure, maybe I can finally convince her to get rid of those creepy butterflies." Rose turned indignant to her brother who stifled a laugh at her comment. "I swear those things chased me around her room one night. Since then, they are always giving me the chills!"

"Good luck with that but now,…out of my office. Some people have to work." Amelia smiled at them and showed them out of her office after Ginny draped the invisibility cloak over herself.

It took them ten minutes to reach the Leaky Cauldron and another five minutes to Gringotts as they moved carefully through the crowds with Ginny under the cloak. As they approached the entrance the two security wizards wanted to make a move but James just lifted his empty hands.

"This is a matter of security, gentlemen, and I've received permission from head goblin Farnruk," James explained and showed them a piece of parchment he drew out of his pocket.

The security wizards nodded their agreement after reading the parchment and let them pass.

"How did they know, daddy?" Rose asked walking beside him on his left side.

"Your grandpa told me once that the security wizards carry some kind of warding stone around with them. He told me that those warding stones are directly connected to the wards around Gringotts, and if something or someone wants to pass by them under any kind of magical glamour, the wards alert the security wizards. I don't think that they exactly know what it was." James explained as they walked through the entrance hall.

Even after visiting the bank more than once before, it was still a sight to behold to the four of them. The marble tile floors were all glossy and almost slippery. The big chandelier hanging from the high ceiling spreading sparkles all around the hall. There were so many goblins sitting behind their elevated desks working perpetually that it was intimidating. At the same time, the symphony of echoing thuds on the hardwood counters, the rattling coins, and muffled voices all over the hall was kind of lulling.

James lead them over to one of the many counters and told the goblin there, after greeting him appropriately, that he had an appointment with the head goblin. Another goblin immediately came over and accompanied them through one of the many doors out of the main hall. Ginny couldn't remember ever being in this part of the. Wizarding bank.

They followed the goblin down a long corridor. The floor was the same glossy marble tile floors but with a strip of red carpet leading from the centre towards each door, and the chandeliers resembled the one in the main hall.
The goblin stopped in front of the only double door in the whole corridor, James bowed with Rose and Harry mimicking him, and received a nod from the goblin before he walked away.

"You can take off the cloak now, gorgeous," James said as he turned towards where he assumed Ginny to be. She appeared to his right just between himself and Harry and gave James the cloak back.

Reaching the door he knocked three times quick succession and the door opened.

Ginny was momentarily confused as she walked into the room. She expected a room full of treasures and a pretentious interior, but instead they walked into a huge room completely empty, except for a desk with a goblin sitting behind it and four chairs across from the desk.

"Head goblin Farnruk, we're glad that you agreed to meet us. May your future be full of gold and treasures for you and your kind." James greeted the goblin keeping his hands palm up, outstretched in front of him.

Ginny watched Harry and Rose staying slightly behind James having their hands clasped in front of them. Without knowing any better she just followed suit.
"Lord Potter, thank you. May your kind be gracious and your wealth may flow for you and your progeny." The goblin answered and indicated for them to take a seat.

As Ginny saw Harry and Rose now looking at the goblin, she took a good look herself without staring. This goblin looked different than those in the main hall.

He held all the typical features; long and scrawny fingers, pointed ears and nose. But something about his features was distinctly different. And then she realized that he was unlike other goblins; very well-fed…well maybe rather porky.

"As you mentioned in your recent letter, Lord Potter, I already ordered the paperwork concerning the life debt between your oldest, Harry James Potter, and one Ginevra Molly Weasley. Is that in your interest?" Head goblin Farnruk proceeded and looked between Harry and Ginny.

"Yes, head goblin Farnruk, thank you. Would it be possible to see the record of this life debt?" James asked never looking away from Farnruk.

"I assumed as much, Lord Potter. Therefore, I'd recommend to make sure once more that there are no other…issues concerning your oldest and his …bondswoman." Farnruk threw Ginny a glance full of gleam in his eyes that made Ginny fight the urge to shiver.

"With all due respect, head goblin Farnruk, my oldest and his fiancé...," James stressed the last word deliberately, "...intend to consummate their marriage next summer, as equals, when he will attain his majority, just like your kind does in hope of abounding many progenies." Farnruk nodded his head in respectful understanding and grabbed one of the three rolls of parchment laying on his desk.

"We shall start with the most recent entry and make sure that your oldest and his fiancé aren't involved in any other issues. Ah, there is one life debt recorded for the 21st of November of the year 1993 between miss Ginevra Molly Weasley and one Neville Frank Longbottom. Since your oldest formed a life debt first, it's your families prerogative to … excuse me for the wording, claim her first. Looking at the records before the life debt of your oldest and miss Weasley there weren't any…" It was just in the blink of an eye but after making business with the goblin in front of him for almost sixteen years James caught Farnruk hesitating one moment before he continued. "…other incidents concerning goblin law recorded." Farnruk ended. He put the roll of parchment down and took another.

"The records of your oldest, lord Potter, only states the life debt between him and one Ginevra Molly Weasley on the evening of the 29th of May of the year 1993." He read out the record and Ginny couldn't resist the urge to grab Harry's hand as she heard the date they almost died. He willingly fought a basilisk knowing he might die, just to save her. Just then, she realized that she didn't know anything about this night. She felt that she needed to rectify that soon.

"I understand that you, Harry James Potter, want to make Ginevra Molly Weasley your equal?" Ginny was startled out of her thoughts as she heard Harry's voice. Looking at Farnruk, she saw him holding the last of the three parchment rolls and a silver dagger outstretched towards them, hilt first.

"I want to make her equal in my blood, my soul, my magic and my gold and treasures." Harry answered just how his father told him to earlier, looked Farnruk square in the eyes and at the same time squeezed Ginny's hand gently before he let go of her hand and reached for the silver dagger.
Without hesitating Harry cut his palm open and let four drops of blood fall into a silver bowl.

Suddenly everyone now looked at her and she understood that it was now her turn.

"I understand that you, Ginevra Molly Weasley, want to make Harry James Potter your equal?" Farnruk repeated his question.

"I want to make him equal in my blood, my soul, my magic and my fertility and womb." Ginny answered just how James told her earlier, feeling rather weird at the wording.

As James explained it to them he outlined that there were in fact two kinds of 'claiming' rituals. The first one was rather…onesided as only the wizard needed to claim the respective witch not using very nice words binding someone to you for the rest of your life.

So they decided on the second one. Just like James signalized Farnruk earlier as he indicated her as Harrys fiancé. Only if the goblin deemed the two parties worthy to be equal they were allowed to choose this ritual. And as Farnruk was the Potters account manager for many years now, he knew how to asses the situation.
Oddly enough, the second ritual was also the one commonly more approved by goblins. Goblins saw a relationship and marriage more like a reciprocity between two partners. The one taking care of finances and the other taking care of the well being of the family. Both of them being equally important.
Ginny took the silver dagger and cut her palm open to let four drops of her blood fall into the same silver bowl.

"You have 352 days left to consummate your marriage for both your magical cores to be bound in the face of goblin law." Farnruk told them while he placed a lid on the silver bowl and placed it next to the three parchment rolls.

"In the face of goblin law, you're now part of the Potter family and, therefore, you have access to the Potter vaults. To exert this privilege, you need to be given something out of the Potter family main vault. If you'd like, your fiancé and Miss Potter might accompany you to the vault while I have some investments to talk about with lord Potter, Mrs. Potter." Ginny felt an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach as Farnruk addressed her as Mrs. Potter.

For one thing it felt completely right for her to carry that name, for another thing she felt suddenly heartbroken and empty. For at least in the face of goblin law she will never carry her family name again.

Ginny only nodded and followed Harry and Rose out into the corridor where they were awaited by the same goblin who brought them here.
The whole way down to the vault they stayed silent. Some time during the cart ride, Ginny felt Harry clasp her hand with his and his thumb drawing circles on the back of her hand, but she was lost in her own thoughts.

She never thought about what it meant to be 'claimed' by Harry. Well, she did, but she didn't think that it would make her feel like that.

Shouldn't she be the happiest girl walking the earth right now? Here she was, being engaged to the most amazing boy in existence, who just promised her his whole life and so much more but she just felt like something was taking away from her own personality.

"Head goblin Farnruk, may I ask…," James started but then Farnruk did something very un-goblin like. He stood up from his chair and walked around his desk, just to sit down next to James.

"Lord Potter, I have been the manager of your accounts for many years now. There aren't many wizards who treat me and my kind like your family does. Your family was one of the very first to set up their accounts at this bank and, since that day, every single one of your ancestors greeted my kind with the utmost respect possible. Therefore, I'm not saying the following lightly." James was completely shocked and confused at the same time. He never heard of a goblin talking to a wizard like this.

"If anyone finds out I'm telling you something like this, my family and I might be beheaded immediately. So let me make myself clear." Farnruk stared intently at James with a murderous gleam in his eyes. "If you will tell anyone about this, for every head my family loses, yours will lose one too, understood?"
James only nodded. He had a feeling that this might be something important. There was no way Franruk would make such a threat without a justifying reason.

"I recommend you to take a closer look at certain events in the life of your oldest and his fiancé. You know my kind has a saying: The first month … of a youngest life, might be more golden than the last years of an oldest life." Farnruk said empathizing the first three words.
He stood up and took his seat behind his desk again.

"Is there any other business I might be able to assist you with, Lord Potter?" James glanced out of the window down the alley, focusing on the crowd gathering in front of the new store at 93 Diagon Alley, London.

"In fact, yes! There is an investment the Maurauder Inc. Would like to increase. I think the world needs more laughter."

Ten minutes later Farnruk watched the door closing behind Lord Potter and he grabbed one of the parchments still laying on his desk and read it once more.

Records of the Gringotts Wizarding Bank
est. 1474
of

Ginevra Molly Potter
née Weasley

21st November 1993
17:48 o'clock
Form of the matter: life debt
severity: 2
concerning parties: Neville Frank Longbottom
status: invalid

29th May 1993
20:07 o'clock
Form of the matter: life debt
severity: 7
concerning parties: Harry James Potter
status: active

Classified: level 10 !
18th September 1981
17:17 o'clock
Form of the matter: magical binding (carrying out a prophecy)
concerning parties: Harry James Potter

Classified: level 10 !
31st December 1980
23:59 o'clock
Form of the matter: prophecy
content:
"The one born as the seventh of seven in the seventh generation...will stand by her chosen one's side to vanquish the Dark Lord...the flame will have a vis magicus many know not about...together they enlace their powers to vanquish the Dark Lord and prove them wrong...born as a fire and full of colors..."
Soothsayer: Cassandra Vablatsky
Witness: Lily Jasmine Potter
Née Evans

Signed
Head Goblin of Magical Affairs, Contracts and Treaties
Gorkluk the trusted

It was strictly forbidden to interfere in wizarding affairs like this, especially concerning records with a classified ten grading. But seeing the last two entries Farnruk realized that the youngsters he performed the ritual on, might be able to stop the one wizarding kind calls He Who Must Not Be Named. He definitely felt a power emanating from the new addition to the house Potter that even he has only met once.

He just hoped he wouldn't have to regret his choice one day.