A/N: A reviewer inquired about Ginny's appearance. She appears as and is a ten year old unless she disguises herself.She disguised herself during the trip to Diagon Alley and during the raid on Azkaban. A special thank you to those who took the time to submit a review.

Chapter Four: Witch Hunt

"Merlin!" Sirius exclaimed weakly as he slumped to the ground. Fides had dumped them all onto the ground in the middle of an empty moor and then perched on a rock nearby. "Where did you get a phoenix?"

"She's an old friend." Ginny explained as she picked herself up and began to look around, checking for any unwanted observers.

Sirius looked at her with squinted eyes. "All right, who are you and how did you get your hands on Harry?"

Harry surrendered the Cherry wand to Ginny who promptly used it to remove her disguise. "I am Ginny Weasley. As for how I got my hands on Harry, the simple story is that I went to his house, introduced myself, and invited him to come aloing."

Sirius was quite overwhelmed. He didn't understand how these two children could have possibly been successful at breaking him out of Azkaban, he didn't understand why they would do such a thing, and he most certainly did not understand where the phoenix and crazy wand came from. "What's going on here? What am I missing?"

"I will explain everything to you later." Ginny told Sirius. "For now, you should take the opportunity to get to know Harry. He will have to return to the Dursleys within a matter of minutes. It is early in the morning of the thirty-first of August, tomorrow he will be going to Hogwarts. It might be a while before you see him again."

There was silence as Harry and Sirius stared at each other. "Er . . I'm Harry." Harry announced shyly.

"I'm your godfather." Sirius choked. "James and Lily wanted me to take care of you should anything happen, but . . ."

"Don't worry about it." Harry said quickly. "Ginny explained everything to me. It was Peter Pettigrew who betrayed them."

"Right." Sirius said quietly, still surprised at his knowledge.

It was a rather awkward introduction and neither Harry nor Sirius knew what to say next. Finally Harry thought of something. "I'm going to Hogwarts tomorrow. Any special advice?"

Sirius laughed weakly. "More than you know. I'll owl you, how does that sound?"

"That sounds great!" Harry said, feeling amazing. He was overjoyed at the prospect of having Sirius as his godfather. "Maybe you could tell me more about my parents. Ginny doesn't know that much about them, just a few bare details."

"Of course." Sirius said warmly.

The moment was broken up by Ginny. "I hate to end this now," she said softly, "but the Ministry is going to be checking up on Harry's safety and it would not do for them to find him missing. I need to be back in bed too."

Harry and Sirius said their farewells. Sirius promised Harry that he'd write and that they would see each other soon. With that, Ginny turned to Fides and instructed the bird to take Harry back to Privet Drive and then return to pick up Sirius and herself.

Before Fides took Harry away, Ginny also bade Harry farewell and gave some last instructions. She explained to him that Fides would come and take him to Kings Cross and that he should leave a note for the Dursleys. She further explained how to get to the train platform and warned him not to give away the fact that they knew each other when he met the Weasley family. "Be sure to make friends with Ron." she also reminded him.

"Right." Harry said, trying to remember everything.

"Have lots of fun." Sirius instructed Harry. "Don't take those teachers too seriously."

Harry grinned. "Whatever you say, Sirius."

Seeing that the farewells were over, Fides spread her wings and took flight, preparing to take Harry back to Privet Drive. Before the phoenix could do this however, Ginny grabbed Harry and hugged him fiercely. "Harry?"

"Yes?"

"Stay safe." she whispered.

"Of course." he said, not quite sure how to respond.

Ginny let go of him and then Fides took him away. In the blink of an eye, Harry found himself on his bed. His school trunk sat next to the bed, already packed. Other than the trunk, there was no hint in the room of anything that had taken place since shortly before his eleventh birthday. He changed into his pajamas and dropped into bed, contemplating Sirius, Ginny, and the hug that she had given him. It was not long before he fell asleep.

Ginny stood on the empty moor staring at where Harry had been just a second before. It would be a long while before she would be able to really talk with him and be with him again. She would miss him dearly.

Her reverie was interrupted by Sirius. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Hide you somewhere, I suppose." Ginny replied. Fides returned with a burst of white flame. Ginny motioned to Sirius, "Let's go."

Sirius took Ginny's hand and Fides took them to a stand of trees that was very familiar to Ginny. She could see the outline of the Burrow not far from where they were. "That's my house." she told Sirius, pointing. "You'll have to stay here for now. I'll come back with some food and chocolate as soon as I can."

"And explanations, I presume?"

"Yes, I'll explain everything." Ginny said. "Don't do anything to draw attention to yourself."

"Aye, aye." Sirius responded.

Fides took Ginny back to her bedroom and then disappeared in flames. Ginny quickly disposed of everything relating to her little excursion and hid the wands in the secret compartment she had made weeks earlier. She climbed into bed but could not fall asleep as she waited for the Burrow to come to life.

When she could smell breakfast and hear her brothers waking up she decided that it was safe to make her way to the kitchen and wait for the news that would surely come to the Burrow. She did not have to wait long. The Daily Prophet owl arrived just as Mrs. Weasley was shoveling food onto their plates.

Percy was the first to grab the newspaper. His gasp caught everyone's attention.

"What is it Percy?" Mr. Weasley yawned, still not quite awake.

"Hogwarts has discontinued the Prefect program." George announced solemnly. "This is a very tragic day."

"Azkaban was attacked last night!" Percy declared loudly, his voice laced with fear and shocked amazement.

Mrs. Weasley nearly dropped her pan onto Ron's head. Ron himself was looking very pale. The twins had fallen silent. It was Mr. Weasley who reacted first. "Let me see that!" he demanded as he grabbed the Daily Prophet from Percy, now looking very alert.

He read aloud from the article. "Late last night, Azkaban was raided by an unidentified witch. The Auror guards were all overpowered as were the Dementors. By the time Auror reinforcements arrived, the witch was at the highest level in the prison, near the cell of Sirius Black. Attempts were made to corner and apprehend them. However, the witch and Black escaped in an explosion that rocked the foundations of the prison and destroyed the top three levels entirely."

Ginny gasped in shock, but it was Mrs. Weasley who let out a nearly inhuman shriek. "Three levels? Destroyed?"

So much for having to act surprised. She had not expected her spell from the goblin-wand to be so destructive. The goal had been to demolish the hallway leading to Sirius' cell at best. This was going to make things interesting.

"Wasn't Sirius Black the one who betrayed the Potters?" Percy asked.

"He was You-Know-Who's right-hand man!" Mrs. Weasley declared.

Mr. Weasley did not comment but scrambled upstairs declaring that he had to get to work. For once, the twins didn't have much to say. They too were shocked apparently. An air of depression had settled over breakfast and was interrupted by the arrival of Amos Diggory through the Floo.

"Good morning." He greeted them anxiously. "Is Arthur here?"

"He's just rushing to get ready for work. We already heard the news."

Diggory sighed rather dramatically. "What a mess. The Ministry is scrambling all over the place. They need everyone they can to deal with this situation, what with Sirius Black and who knows who this witch is at large." He accepted a plate of food from Mrs. Weasley and continued talking. "Everyone is panicking. The timing of this attack is ominous."

"How is that?" Percy inquired.

"The term begins at Hogwarts tomorrow." Diggory declared between mouthfuls of Mrs. Weasley's cooking.

Ginny decided she needed to act more involved and interested. "What's so important about that?"

"It's who, not what." Diggory explained. "Harry Potter begins his first year at Hogwarts tomorrow. Fudge reckons that Black will be after Potter's blood. It was Potter that brought down You-Know-Who after all. The Aurors are on alert. Potter will be escorted by the Aurors to the Hogwarts Express."

"Harry Potter at Hogwarts?" one of the twins gasped. "I never thought of that."

"Well of course he'd be going to Hogwarts." Mrs. Weasley told them. "He's nearly Ron's age."

Before more could be said, Mr. Weasley came downstairs, ready to go. Diggory thanked Mrs. Weasley for breakfast and bid them a hasty farewell. They both departed for the Ministry via the Floo Network.

There was further speculation about the attack, but it came to nothing. After cleaning up, the various family members dispersed to their usual daily activities. When she was sure that the coast was clear, Ginny raided her stash of candy for some chocolate and the kitchen for some leftovers.

She found Sirius not to far from where she had left him. He was in his Animagus form, but when he spotted her, he changed back to human form. "What's going on?" he asked as he eyed the food greedily.

Ginny handed over the much needed food and explained what she had heard from the Daily Prophet and Amos Diggory. "Apparently my last spell was quite destructive." she concluded.

"What was that wand you used and where did you get it?" Sirius asked her.

"It's a wand crafted by the goblins." Ginny explained. "It also has been tempered by Fiendfyre and Basilisk venom."

Sirius had not been expecting this. "Where did you get a wand like that?" he wondered in amazement. "Voldemort would give his eyeteeth for something as powerful as that."

This question presented Ginny with the opportunity to explain how she had traveled from the future. "The goblin wand, my own wand, and the phoenix you saw all came with me from the future."

Sirius was floored and continued to be as Ginny explained everything. He had no trouble believing her and embraced everything thoughtfully. He then immediately began making plans for Harry which clashed with Ginny's plans.

This resulted in a rather lengthy argument about who had what right to do what thing. Sirius argued that as Harry's godfather, he had every right to do whatever he deemed necessary for Harry's good. Ginny argued that as Harry's sort-of-wife from the future she had every right that Sirius claimed. Sirius tried to claim seniority and maturity, but Ginny promptly blew that out of the water.

They managed to come to an agreement on a few things. They would wait for a bit before telling Dumbledore about everything. Until Voldemort was no longer using Professor Quirrel they would leave Peter Pettigrew alone, for fear that he might be too close to Voldemort's reach at this point. In order to ensure that Pettigrew did not feel threatened, Sirius would go cause havoc somewhere and possibly lead the public to believe that he might be dead as a result of said havoc.

After further discussion and plans it was decided that Sirius would go into hiding for several months while the Ministry searched for him. Sirius assured Ginny that he would be well enough off and requested only that Fides transport him to the destination of his choice. Fides was promptly summoned and before Sirius left, they arranged to meet in the coming year to prepare for Harry's summer.

With a puff of flame, Sirius and Fides disappeared and Ginny returned to the Burrow.

Harry slept in quite late that day and was in the process of getting scolded by Aunt Petunia when there was a knock at the door. She answered the door and found two men standing on the doorstep.

She was greeted by the one standing closest to her, an aged white-haired man with a long beard and a twinkle in his blue eyes. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Dursley. May we come in and have a word with you?"

"Who are you?" she demanded, already guessing by their attire.

"I am Albus Dumbledore." he said, introducing himself as he stepped into the house past a confounded Aunt Petunia. He gestured toward the other who had followed him. "This is Cornelius Fudge. He represents our magical government. We are here to have a word with you and young Mr. Potter about tomorrow's arrangements."

Mrs. Dursley was too surprised to make a coherent response and Dumbledore took the opportunity to speak to Harry who was standing in the hallway studying the new visitors. "Hello, Harry." Dumbledore said kindly. "I'm going to be your Headmaster at Hogwarts."

"He will not be attending that school!" Aunt Petunia declared angrily.

"What?" Minister Fudge exclaimed. "Harry Potter not attend Hogwarts! The idea is preposterous! I must say . . ."

Dumbledore interrupted Fudge with a gesture of his hand and spoke to Petunia firmly, but not unkindly. "I'm afraid you have no choice in the matter. The Potter's will directed and provided for Harry's attendance at Hogwarts. Furthermore, Harry has already accepted and signed up to attend."

Petunia stared at Harry in shock. "When did you do this?" she angrily demanded.

Harry was on the hotspot now. He could hardly confess that some girl had shown up out of nowhere and taken care of things, not in front of Dumbledore, not yet. "Er . . . I didn't let you see the letter. I took care of things myself."

Dumbledore looked like he wanted to ask Harry about this, but Fudge interrupted. "So it's all settled. Young Mr. Potter is signed up for Hogwarts. We just came by to let you know that we'll be sending a car to pick him up tomorrow morning in time for him to board the train at Kings Cross." He looked at Harry. "Good luck with your studies, Mr. Potter."

Fudge turned to leave, but Dumbledore wasn't finished. "Do you have all your school things, Harry?"

"Yes, I got them from Diagon Alley."

There was a pause and then Dumbledore nodded. "Very well. Cornelius, if you're done here, we might as well move on."

"Right, Headmaster." Fudge said.

They left and Harry evacuated the house as well, not wanting to deal with the Dursleys. They weren't going to be happy now that they knew he was going to Hogwarts. Ginny had been right about them checking up on him. He pondered over the things that Ginny had said about the two men and tried to match them to the men he had just met. His thoughts then turned to Hogwarts and he began to excitedly contemplate the morrow's adventures.