CHAPTER FIFTEEN SHATTERED REALITIES

A small pop echoed as Ginny Apperated into the gleaming lobby of the Ministry of Magic. There were several people still working at their desks, and several more waved to Ginny as they walked past and Disapperated directly behind her on their way off shift. She crossed quickly, trying not to make eye contact with anyone, showed her badge to the security officer and then continued to the lift at the far side. When she stepped inside she pressed the down button and waited until a female voice chanted "Department of Mysteries."

When she finally sat her jacket across the back of the chair at her desk, Ginny felt she could breath. Her department was closed on Sundays and she could leave the lights off and kick her feet up on the desk without any interruption. She looked at the pile of never ending work that stacked around the walls and knew that tomorrow she must return to the drudgery of her job, but for now there was nothing she had to do but think. As Ginny looked around the room, several sets of eyes stared back at her and in the dark it started to freak her out. She lit the lamp sitting on the corner of her desk and hundreds of portraits came into full view. Far away in the back of the room, Ginny heard the sweeping sound of a brush crossing over canvas and knew that it had begun the painting of a witch or wizard that had just died. Ginny's department was the Department of magical deaths and inside her co-worker was a magical brush that like the quill across the hall that wrote down the names of all wizarding babies born, recorded a monumental time in a wizards life; their crossing over into the realm of spirits. All the portraits in Hogwarts and many wizarding homes that held images of people that had crossed over had been painted in this very room. Ginny's job was to confirm the death and send the portraits out to the appropriate places stated in the persons will. Most returned to their family's, others to favorite vacation spots. Ever since the war, however, they had not been able to keep up. Six years later, Ginny was still sending out those who's lives had been taken in those final battles. Mothers who hadn't seen their children, husbands that hadn't seen their wives all rejoiced when it was their turn to be plucked from the pile and post marked to return to their families. Some would only find that their wives and children had been just behind them in the stacks for years.

Ginny had to walk around the room and turn all the portraits to the wall so that they would stop looking at her with their pleading eyes. She wasn't in the mood to help others find closure right now.

^___^

In the basement room where Draco had set up room and board for the weekend with Fred and George, sudden chaos was ensuing. Draco had stormed in moments before and literally threw the sleeping twins out of their bed by overturning the mattress. They looked up sleepy eyed from the floor with calls of "what the hell?" as Draco began to throw their bedclothes out the door into the stairwell.

"Find another place to wet-dream tonight, boys. This is your eviction notice." Draco continued to hold the door open as if expecting them to just go quietly.

"What the fuck Malfoy? Can't you find somewhere else to shag whatever hooker you've brought home? It's the middle of the night."

"If your not out of this room in three seconds it will be you that's getting your ass beat now get the fuck out!" That was all it took. Both boys picked up their things from off the staircase before walking up them to find another hole to crawl into.

Draco firmly slammed the door shut behind them casting a locking charm to keep out any wandering eyes. "What is she doing with him!?" He screamed at the top of his lungs. He slammed himself backwards onto the bed and tried to calmly think what the great attraction had to be.

" Harry Potter the boy who could do no wrong. He won't die! That's a huge mistake in my book. Stupid four-eyed fag. And that stupid hair! It looks like some woman used him as a God-damn tampon." What the fuck? Potter doesn't have red hair. That's Weasley. "Well it's not like Harry's is any better. He has to upset his woman so much that she can't even sleep at night. Bad dreams....boozing." Wait a minute! Ginny wasn't drinking that was Hermione. His head began to pound as he couldn't straighten anything out. Draco sat for several moments trying to figure out why when he tried to think of the woman he had been sent her to help his thoughts kept drifting to Hermione. "She was the only woman that never pinned me as a Malfoy. She took the time to see the real me without all that stupid social stigma. I should have her, not him. He doesn't deserve her. She's strong, but that doesn't mean she doesn't want to be taken care of. To even know she's loved! What does he have that I don't!"

^___^

Ginny felt nauseated as scenes from her dream flashed before her eyes. She couldn't help but to become aroused as it played out and now she was horrified at her body for enjoying the images, knowing how it would end. She knew that as she climaxed it wouldn't be from the man that she had started out with. Could it be that she was just looking so hard for an answer to Harry being missing that she was willing to replace him with anyone?

"Why him? Why Voldemort?" Several voices rang out in protest around the room as some of the portraits had only ever lived in the age of fear. They didn't know that he was gone now. That for six peaceful years, no one had to fear returning home at night and finding the Dark mark above thier house. Their loved ones couldn't be kidnapped and killed by Death Eaters anymore. But yours has. They stole him and you'll never get him back. Ginny put both hands to the side of her head and screamed into the empty room. Several more angry protests called out the late hour but Ginny ignored them all as she began to cry.

"It meant nothing. It was just a dream. He doesn't have Harry." She wiped her tears away, refusing to let another one fall for Voldemorts sake. He had already caused her to cry too many tears for her to allow his memory to have any more. "I felt Harry start bleeding and it just interfered with my dream which otherwise was very nice." She smiled as she remembered how it had begun but quickly frowned as she remembered that it had been a long time since she had enjoyed Harry that way. "I thought of Voldemort because..."

"Voldemort put a bit of himself in me?" Harry's voice echoed inside Ginny's head and she slammed it into her palms to try to quiet him.

"It's a lie, Harry. He's not in there." She was trying to convince her love that was miles away at home as much as she was trying to convince herself. "Why was that the memory that had to stay in my dreams? With all you told me I could have had wonderful dreams of our time together, or even a less damaging dream of you saving me in the chamber. Why him? Why won't he leave us alone, Harry?"

"Voldemort....leave her out of this....you want me? Take me! Just leave her alone....Ginny. NO!" For the first time since she had heard it last night, Ginny tried to place this bit of conversation. She could not think of a single time that she had been anywhere near the actual Voldemort. But she must have...she had been at the final battle hadn't she? Where else would she have been? The entire D.A. was there. So why couldn't she remember the fear, the blood, the pain. She couldn't even picture Voldemort himself and he must have been an awesome sight. Certainly not something that you'd forget. And watching Harry defeat the greatest wizard of all time? Shouldn't that be one of the highlights of her short life? She only drew a white blank when she tried to remember anything from the battle. "Somethings happened..." her mind didn't know what it meant, but her lips knew they spoke the truth.

^___^

Draco sat on the edge of the bed reeling. Nothing made any sense to him anymore except the fact that he was in love with one of the girls that he currently shared a roof with. Weasley didn't deserve Hermione. He slammed his head into the wall behind him. And you think you do? Draco had been raised in a military type family and he knew that the only logical plan was to form a plan of attack. He had been called here to try and bring Harry out of his ass. Ginny was willing to do anything to get Harry back. From a military standpoint, that one looked like a losing battle. He wasn't going to be able to do anything for Ginny, but Hermione was just waiting to be rescued. He wondered if that wasn't the real reason that he had been brought here. He thought of her sitting in her room trying to comfort Ron and he became outraged at the thought. He knew that they were fighting and it seemed that things were only getting worse if she was willing to get drunk to forget. That was unstable ground. It would be easy to blow that one apart. He smiled as a plan began to form in his mind and he was scared at how far he was willing to go to break those two apart. He'd have to work hard to help Ginny and Harry, but he was going to be greatly rewarded for it.

^___^

Ginny spun in her chair, smearing the room in a cascade of light until she was dizzy. Finally coming to a halt she layed her spinning head down on top of her crossed arms on her desk and waited for the inertia to cease. Even as her eyes caught up with their sockets, her mind continued to swirl as not one single thought came into clear focus. She hated her brain right now for thinking the things it had been. She wasn't afraid of Harry. He was never anything but kind and gentle. Whoever that was in her room, it wasn't Harry. Not her Harry. Could she bring herself to marry the body hoping that the mind was still inside?

He had been so sweet to her in the beginning, holding her tightly and playing with her hair. She missed how he used to call her his 'baby-girl'. She missed the look in his eyes when he would search her soul. The slight smile that he would give as he leaned in to kiss her lips. She smiled at the thought of his soft lips and wished that she could kiss them now. She closed her eyes and watched him crawl through the portrait hole into the common room after they had won the Quidditch cup and how his eyes had searched her out. She ran to him again in her mind as he pulled her unexpectedly tighter into their hug before latching onto her bottom lip. He had been so gentle and yet dominated her just enough to make her feel safe and appreciated. She had hoped all year that he liked her, more like all her life, and in that one bold effort in front of God and everyone he took the leap in assuming that she liked him back and put it all on the line. She always melted at his courage and confidence. He never questioned what might happen before taking a leap if it meant protecting a friend or saving a life. He had hardly ever even spoken to her when he risked life and limb to save her in the Chamber. She had always thought that it was just for her, not for glory. That's the type of man she always saw Harry as.

She thought over all that he had played out in their bedroom. He had said he loved her. Always loved her, and that it was natural to want to protect her. She had never realized that when she had been caught by him and Ron that Harry was holding back his own rage as he held back Ron. It made her squirm with giddyness as she thought of Harry being jealous over her.

She had never been so loved and so hurt by the same person in her entire life. Was he worth all of this pain? What if her Harry never came back? Was it possible to love the man that he had become, knowing the man he used to be?

"No." She was startled at her voice as for the second time her lips spoke a truth she hadn't thought of, but this time her mind knew that her lips had to be wrong. "He is so worth loving! He's in there. I know it. Hermione's right. This plan will work." She buried her head deeper into her hands. "Please, God, let Hermione's plan work."

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Chapter 16 Teaser

"This isn't freebie porno hour, Miss Weasley. I showed you mine now you show me yours."

Ginny wasn't quiet as eager to share as she was to hear. But it was only fair. Tit for tat. But her first tat wasn't something she was exactly proud of. "OK...but you have to swear that you won't tell Harry. Ever."