It was the end of summer and the beginning of a new school year was nearly upon the children. During such times, Diagon Alley would be jam packed with children running all over the place and parents chattering with each other while keeping an eye on the shopkeepers lest they do something funny. Essentially, nothing different than other parts of London.
But for the past few years, there was no festive mood in the central shopping district of magical London. There was tension, fear and a sense of impending doom in the air. People scurried off, hastily buying the things they needed, never spending more time than they have to at a place. Even the sky was grey with thick dark clouds.
Countless number of shops were closed; their owners having fled the country for the fear of their lives. The whole of Britain was swept by a chaos they haven't seen in a century. Those shops that were opened conducted business in a hurry. Their owners would look out every now and then with their faces pale with worry.
But even in this tense atmosphere a family was bickering amongst themselves, moving quickly from one shop to another. The shop keepers gave them strange looks and wrapped their shopping first, as if they feared the noise would attract the attention of something unseemly.
"Ron, I am seventeen already, I can take care of myself." In the large group of boys, she was the only girl of two. Her hair a shade darker red than her siblings reached her waist, looking like flames tamed. Her skin was pale, spattered with a lovely amount of freckles, her face was soft looking and radiant. Her chocolate brown eyes sparkled with life and seemed liked an ocean of limitless depth. Her beauty was breath taking.
The boy walking in front of her turned around. He was tall and stocky, his hair more orange than red. His face still looked boyish with the same freckles that adorned his sister's face.
"You're still young Ginny." His voice was patronizing. "Stay behind me so that I can protect you."
"Young? You are just one year older than me."
"He's an Auror Ginny." The other girl in the large group spoke. She was a brunette, her skin a tone darker than the people she was surrounded with. She was quite attractive but there was no comparison of her and the redheaded girl.
"He knows better how to deal with Death Eaters in case they attack." She finished her sentence with a smile towards the tall guy.
"An Auror trainee." She corrected the brunette with a roll of her eyes. "And do I need to remind you Hermione the number of times I have wiped the floor with him?"
"Those weren't serious fights."
"Oh please." The redhead rolled her eyes once again. "You are only saving his dignity because he is your boyfriend."
Before the brunette called Hermione could answer, the tallest of the group who was in the back strode forward. He wore his hair long with earrings dangling. He had a leather jacket with dragon hide boots and on his face, were three long scars. He easily looked the strongest of the bunch.
"Alright you three." His voice was barely above a whisper, his one hand was firmly inside the pocket of his jacket and is eyes constantly scanned the streets. "You are undoubtedly good." He didn't turn but it was clear he was speaking to Ginny. "But you are the least experience of us all. You have yet to finish school. After Mum and Dad, we just can't afford…." His voice trailed off yet what he meant was understood by all.
"Yes Bill." Ginny's voice was a bit subdued.
"You too Ron, Give you sister some breathing space. She isn't a baby anymore."
Ron, looking schooled, nodded.
The atmosphere had turned sombre. All the talk ceased and they became just one of the many groups scurrying through the Alley.
That's when Ginny felt a tingle at the back of her neck. She turned around looking for the one who was staring at her but even though the alley was less crowded than usual, there were still enough people there to hide someone.
"What's the matter Ginny?" Hermione inquired.
Ginny shrugged and shook her head. "Nothing, probably just my imagination."
She was wrong. What she felt wasn't just a conjuration of her imagination. Some hundred yards away there was a tall white building right in the centre of Diagon Alley, Gringotts Banks. On top of it, someone was sitting staring right at the redheaded group which was chattering once again. Silence wasn't a thing they could bear for long it would seem.
More specifically, he was staring. He would have liked to stay observe since that sounded a lot less creepy, at the redheaded girl in the centre of group. She seemed to interest him a great deal and he didn't know why.
His attire wasn't normal unless a comic convention was happening in the Alley. He wore a hooded mask from which only his striking green eyes could be seen. The form fitting suit seemed to be made from some kind of hardened leather, like an armour. It's colour was hard to put down changing with the background, allowing him to go unseen even at such an unusual place.
He saw the girl turn around and stare in the same direction. It was another thing that he was sitting on top of Gringotts disguised which was bound to piss Goblins off if they found out and she was searching the streets.
Their shopping was almost complete. Just one more shop and they could be in relative security of their home. This tense atmosphere grated their nerves. It made them hyper and extra paranoid. They couldn't wait to go home.
Just one more shop.
Would have hurt luck to be on their side just this once? Thought Ginny as people started screaming. Black robed people were apparating right into the alley. Most of them were wearing hideous masks that would have struck terror in the hearts of normal men. But some of them, a select few weren't wearing any proudly showing their faces. They were the cause of so much strife in this land. Death Eaters.
And they were here.
"Stay together!" Bill screamed, protecting them from the frenzied mob with his outstretched hands. He pushed them back with his hands and kept screaming. "Back, Back." It was nearly impossible to hear Bill over the maddened crowd.
Death Eaters had pulled no punches since their arrived. They had spread throughout the Alley wildly casting spells. There was no thought or coherence behind their actions, only the unadulterated lust for killing. There couldn't have been more than a couple dozens of them but amongst the hundreds of people no one even dared to look defiantly at them.
Rubble flew everywhere, building groaned from excessive spell onslaught. People were trampled in the riot and Death Eaters were laughing at their pitiable state.
And then there was an explosion. Right in the middle of Death Eaters. Some of them fell on their backs. Some stumbled from the force of explosion. A few even sustained injuries though minor they were but all of them stopped and stared at where the smoke was rising. Everything stopped in that instant. There was no screaming, no haphazard running from the Death Eaters and no cackling lights illuminating the dark sky. Even the buildings stopped groaning and debris forgot to fall to the ground. Complete silence.
And then something rolled out of the rising smoke. It travelled a few feet and then stopped. Death Eater's attention was diverted to the small object. It was oval in shape with weird protrusions and was faintly blinking. Their heart rates spiked as they stared and with it, as if perfectly in sync, the blinking hastened.
"Shields!" One of the masked ones yelled, recognizing the strange device. It was a stun grenade with a radius of twenty feet. Anyone inside unprotected would fall unconscious.
The command may have been too hasty. The death Eaters looked at him and then at the grenade.
They weren't allowed a second look as the grenade exploded with a bright flash of light. It engulfed everyone in the vicinity, blinding them for a few minutes.
When the light dissipated and everyone was able to see again, half of the Death Eaters lay on the ground, blood gushing from their eyes and nose. Where the smoke once was now stood, a man clad in grey armour, it's hood pulled up to shroud his face but one remarkable feature that wasn't hidden on his whole face were his striking green eyes.
"Vigilante!" Someone whispered from the back. "It's the Vigilante."
While the Death Eaters mulled over his name, another two fell to the curses of the dual wielding person. The wands were a blur, firing spells so quick they were halfway through before anyone noticed.
In the midst of all this, the Weasley family were trying their best to get away from the scene of carnage. Huddled together in a tight bunch with the girls in the middle, the group was slowly moving towards the outer edges of the Diagon Alley. Their destination was one of the shops connected with the floo network in order to get away as fast as possible. Apparition was impossible in the frenzy. It was dangerous to concentrate with people running around madly.
Ginny was in the back of the tightly huddled group, always the first one to go through a door to protect her from the frenzy that had engulfed the Diagon Alley. Unfortunately, that also meant that she was the first one to face anything coming from inside the shops. It was not a thought that crossed the mind of the Weasley family, as the Death Eaters were mostly outside.
Mostly.
She never saw it coming. One second she was getting pushed inside the shop and the next she was blasted through the door, a strange ringing noise in her ears muffling the noise around her. Then everything went black.
…..
Next time she woke, it was in a red mist of pain. Her vision was blurred and her whole body felt like it was getting split from all direction. There was not a single joint in her body that was not being pulled in opposite directions. She heard distant screaming and only when her mind was entering the bliss of unconsciousness did, she recognize that screaming voice as her own.
…
"How is she?"
The moment Sirius stepped out of the room, Harry was upon him, his green eyes wide with anxiousness.
Sirius gave him a tired look and slumped down in the chair. Silently, Harry poured him a large glass of Fire whiskey which Sirius gratefully accepted. Harry sat down opposite him patiently waiting for Sirius to finish his drink.
"Well?"
Sirius slammed the glass down and shrugged his shoulder. "No Idea. We better wait for Lupin and Andromeda. They know more about curses than I do."
"She has stopped screaming though." Harry glanced towards the room where Ginny was laying.
"That's because she's unconscious. Not even sleeping. Just knocked out under all those potions."
"How much longer?"
Sirius sighed. "At least two to three days before there's any hope of recovery. It's a particularly nasty curse that she was hit with. Thank Merlin, we are in the home of dark magic."
Remus Lupin chose that moment to appear from the room. His appearance looked more haggard than usual. Its tattered robes had myriads of potion stains all over them. He slumped in the chair next to Sirius and took the glass that Harry had poured as soon as he appeared from the room.
"Andromeda's looking over her." Lupin said as soon as he finished his drink. "She's a bit better now but we'll know for sure by tomorrow whether the potions worked or not."
"That's good news." Harry replied.
Remus' answer was to knock down the glass of Fire Whiskey that Harry had poured out for him.
…
The next time Ginny woke up, she noticed that her pain was noticeably duller. It still felt like someone was stabbing hot knives in every inch of her body. But compared to before, it was a welcome relief. She tried to open her eyes but immediately regretted her decision. Moving her eyelids felt like scrapping nails through her eyes.
"Sirius," She wished that whoever it was would keep his voice down. Every syllable uttered grated on her nerves. The pain throbbing in her head increased manifold whenever she heard something. Alas, the pain and effort in opening her mouth was too much for her.
"Sirius, she's waking up,"
Her mind, through the thick haze of pain, dimly noticed that she did not recognize the voice. It sounded young and anxious. Fear shot through the miniscule part of her brain that was struggling to remain conscious. Had the death eaters captured her? What were they going to do with her?
She could hear distant footsteps coming closer. The noise was muted, as if coming from beyond a thick layer of water. Then she felt someone opening her jaw. The touch was distant, yet the pain was excruciating. Never before in her short life of seventeen year had she known such pain, not even when Tom Riddle possessed her and made her do those unspeakable things. She felt something cool pouring down her throat. Some magic forced it down through her throat. She doubted she could have gulped it down on her own anyway. For a second, her pain increased manifold and then the small part of her brain that had struggled to stay awake, slowly found itself shrouded in blissful darkness.
Ginny's last thought before fading away was that she was thankful that she could not feel the pain anymore.
…..
"Well?" Harry's anxious green eyes bored down on his godfather, Sirius Black, the alleged muggle killer and one of the most wanted man in the Wizarding world. Looking at Sirius though, one would doubt that this man could have been responsible for the killing of dozens of innocent bystanders. His face looked young for his age even now that it was creased with worry. There was an air of self-importance and casual handsomeness around him. He looked, at worst, an arrogant man that knew too well of what he was capable of. Though the word arrogant would a bit strong now. In the years that Sirius had spent raising Harry, he had found himself becoming more mellow and fatherly than he had ever thought possible. Harry may not have been his own flesh and blood but he was James' son and as far as Sirius was concerned there was no difference between the two.
Now the face that looked so similar to his own best friend peered at him with impatience, wondering about the fate of the red headed girl. Not for the first time, Sirius was surprised by the uncanny resemblance between the father and the son.
"She's better." Sirius flicked an irritating hair out of his eye as he concentrated on the unconscious form of Ginny Weasley. His wand moved over her body in intricate motions in an attempt to discern her true state. "Can't say she is out of the wood yet. The new potion might help."
Harry's eyes darted between the unconscious girl and his godfather. "How long before the potion is ready?"
Sirius stowed his wand away before replying. "A few more hours. I'll go check on it." He looked at Harry. "Why don't you take a bit of rest? I have casted spells on her. I will know as soon as her condition changes."
But Harry was already shaking his head before Sirius had gotten the complete sentence out of the way. "I'll sit here. It's…" His voice cracked slightly. "It's my fault she's like this. If I hadn't reflected the spell…"
"Then it would have been you lying in that bed screaming bloody murder." Sirius said firmly. "You had no way of knowing that someone was coming through the shop."
"Not the lecture again Sirius." Harry groaned. "Go check on the potion, I am in no mood to be patronized."
Sirius sighed and walked out of the room.
Harry watched Sirius moving towards the kitchen where a cauldron laid simmering over a small flame with the potion that Remus had found in one of the books inside the Black library. Mooney was reasonably confident that the potion could break the hold that the curse had over the girl. Harry really hoped that was the case. It had been hard enough watching the girl in pain over the last two days.
Harry pulled the chair that was lying beside the bed and sat down once more. He had spent a large part of the last two days sitting in that chair anxiously waiting for the girl to wake up. He stared at her deathly pale face, thankful that, at least for the moment, she had stopped screaming. Tonks had come yesterday bearing news of who the girl was, though Harry had his suspicions. There were not that many large redheaded magical families in Britain.
Ginny Weasley that was her name. Daughter of Arthur and Molly Weasley. Killed at the hand of Voldemort last year. Arthur Weasley used to work in the Misuse of Muggle artifacts office, but he was at the forefront of resisting Voldemort's corrupting influence in the ministry. For his effort, both Arthur and Molly Weasley received the dubious honour of personally getting killed by Voldemort.
Nymphadora, she would have killed Harry for even thinking of her in her first name, had informed them that the current head of Weasley Family was Bill Weasley married to Fleur Delacour, whom Tonks claimed was a quarter Veela. Harry remembered coming across Bill Weasley about an year ago when Death Eaters had infiltrated Hogwarts. He had received a warning from Tonks who was also a member of Order of the Phoenix and had joined the battle as his alter ego. During the battle, he had saved Bill from a particularly vicious Werewolf; Fenrir Greyback. Harry had to admit, there was a selfish reason for this intervention. It was Greyback who had turned Remus Lupin into a werewolf.
Hogwarts, Harry mused about the majestic British Wizarding school as he looked at the Ginny Weasley. Would he have known her if he had attended Hogwarts? Could they have been friends? Maybe something more? He felt a strange pull towards this beautiful unconscious girl. There was this nagging feeling at the back of Harry's head that this was not their first meeting. Not that they had met yet. He had hoped that they could continue her recovery while she was conscious. It would, at least allow him a chance to get to know her better.
Hogwarts.
He had been inside that school twice in his life. Once was when he went there to repel the Death Eater's attack, the second time was about five years prior when Chambers of Secrets had opened. Sirius and Remus had smuggled him inside the Hogwarts during the final chaos when a student was taken down to the Chamber. Harry shuddered at the memory. Fighting a Basilisk was not easy. It were mostly Remus and Sirius that did the fighting but it was Harry that stabbed the diary that linked the student with Tom Riddle.
Harry frowned. His memory was hazy on the student that Riddle had taken to the Chamber to fuel his return. That was understandable. He was fighting for his life and did not have much time to stick around lest the teachers found out about the illegal entry into Hogwarts. They had taken the diary and left the girl in the bathroom hoping that the teachers would find her soon.
Harry inadvertently clapped his hand drying a groan from the redheaded girl. He grimacy mentally chastising himself for disturbing her relatively peaceful slumber. He remembered now that it was a redheaded girl that they had rescued from the chamber. She was quite young around the same age as Harry. Maybe it was Ginny Weasley. Harry felt consternation that he had not stayed behind to talk to the girl.
Harry was startled out of his musing by a brown haired man entering the room. Remus Lupin placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, gently squeezing it as if to reassure him.
"How is she?"
"Looks better."
"That's a start, isn't it?" Remus smiled. "I am sure she would wake up after the potion." He patted Harry's shoulder. "Come down, Dora is here."
Harry nodded. "I'll be down in a sec."
He sat there looking at Ginny for a few minutes as if hoping that she would wake up any moment. It bewildered him why he was interested in her to this extent.
When he came down, Sirius, Remus, and Tonks were in an animated discussion. Kreacher was standing near the stove probably cooking dinner. Harry had no idea that so much time had passed while he was sitting beside Ginny Weasley.
"Hey Tonks!" Harry greeted the animated metamorphmagus as he plopped down on one of the empty chairs around the dining table. "What are you cooking today Kreacher?"
"Steaks and Kidney Pie Little Master." Kreacher replied without turning around.
"Neat. I am famished. What are you three talking about?"
Sirius turned towards him, "Tonks has just returned from the Burrow."
Seeing a blank look on Harry's face, Remus added, "That's where Weasley's live."
"Oh!"
Sirius continued, "Yeah, Tonks informed them of the Weasley girl's situation. We didn't think it was right to keep them under stress that Death eaters kidnapped her."
Harry nodded as he watched Kreacher put the finishing touches on their dinner. He was feeling quite hungry.
Sirius continued, "As expected, they are not very happy. They want her back so that they could get her examined at St. Mungo's."
Harry looked at Tonks questioningly. "Did you tell them about the curse?"
Tonks nodded. "It wasn't easy to convince them. They at least want one of them to stay with Ginny as long she is here."
Harry, Remus and Sirius shared a look. It was Sirius that answered Tonks, "That….would be difficult. We have too many secrets here." Sirius frowned. "And we cannot really treat her anywhere else."
Remus sighed, "We cannot blame them for wanting to remain near their family. We are strangers to them." He emphasized the last part. Kreacher had begun serving dinner by now. For a while silence fell in the dining room as they helped Kreacher set up places around the table, despite the elf's forceful exclamation that he could do it themselves and they mustn't treat Kreacher like an old elf.
Once they had started eating, Tonks picked up the conversation once more. "So, what are we going to do?"
Before anyone could answer, a loud scream came from upstairs. It did not take a genius to figure out that Ginny had woken up. Sirius clambered from his place, pulling his wand out of his robe, "Get the potion Remus." With one look at his old friend, he quickly climbed the stairs.
Harry, his appetite forgotten, too pushed away from the table. Remus was busy pouring the light silver potion in a small phial. Once the phial was full, Remus followed Sirius, Harry trailing behind him. In Ginny's room, Sirius was waving his wand over Ginny muttering some incantation. Her body was glowing briefly. After a moment, Sirius moved back, motioning for Remus to administer the potion.
The effect was near instantaneous. The screaming stopped immediately. The tenseness that was present in Ginny's muscles seemed to leave her body. For once, it appeared that she was asleep instead of being unconscious. Seeing this, Harry slumped into the chair that was still sitting near the bed and groaned.
"Finally!"
….
The next time Ginny awoke, she could feel a dull throbbing pain all over her body. It was a marked improvement over the feeling of hot knives slicing your nerve endings that she remembered from the last time. Her eyelids felt heavy but it did not cause her excruciating pain to open them. Her body was still protesting every move but the pain that came before seemed like a distant memory. While her brain was finally conscious, she still felt extremely tired. She could still hear muffled voices. Voices that she could not recognize. But her fear was gone now. Whoever they were, they did not seem like they meant her harm. They had cured her after all. With that thought, her mind went blank once more.
…
With a jerk, Harry woke up. Startled he looked around the room. He had fallen asleep in the chair near Ginny Weasley's bed. His glasses hung lopsided from his ears. Blearily, he straightened his eyes. It had fallen dark. A small night lamp burned lightly near the bed, and a blanket laid on top of Harry. Someone, probably Sirius, had been by the room while he was asleep. At that precise moment, his ears captured the sound of rustling sheets. That's what had woken him up in the first place.
Quickly sitting up straight, Harry peered at Ginny. She was moving around slightly as if trying to sit up. Her eyelids were half open and she seemed to be staring at him. Her look, however, was blank as if she was not completely there yet.
"Ginny? Are you ok?" Harry leaned closer to the girl to better grasp her situation. She appeared half awake. This was quite a surprise to him. Remus had said that she would probably sleep for 2 days at least before the potion finished its work.
A raspy voice came from Ginny. Harry immediately reached towards the table and poured a glass of water for her. "Just a minute," He reached out to her and slowly helped her sit up. Once she was leaning back against the pillows, Harry picked up the glass and brought it to Ginny's lips.
"Come on, drink up! You will feel better."
By now Ginny's eyes had opened up fully. She seemed to be staring right into his eyes with a curious expression. Harry felt a bit unsettled. He was more used to people staring at his scar than in his eyes. Ginny didn't protest much. In small sips, she drank nearly half the glass before turning away. Once Harry had placed the glass back on the table, he found that she had resumed her staring.
Feeling a bit unnerved, Harry got up before speaking. "I should get Andromeda. She should look at you now that you are awake." Before he could walk out however, Ginny spoke up.
"I know you. You rescued me from the chamber, didn't you?"
Harry was quite shocked by Ginny's clear memory of himself. He was under the impression that the redheaded girl was unconscious during the time that he had spent in the chamber. He remembered asking the girl whether she was awake but before he could get an answer, Sirius had suggested that they move as quickly as possible lest they risk an encounter with Albus Dumbledore.
Harry was spared from answering her question when Remus entered the room. "We'll save these discussions from Mrs. Weasley." Remus said as Andromeda Tonks entered the room. On Harry's questioning look, Remus turned towards him. "I asked for her as soon as sensory spells went off."
"Professor Lupin?"
"Yes Ms. Weasley." Remus smiled at the redheaded girl. "Though I would prefer if you would call me Remus now. I have not been you professor for five years now."
"Where am I?"
"I am afraid I cannot tell you. The place is under a Fidelius charm and I am not the secret keeper. Rest assured you are in safe hands."
While Ginny was busy questioning Remus, Andromeda Tonks was waving her wand over Ginny checking her for any remnant. Once she was done, she turned towards where Remus and Harry stood.
"I think the curse is gone for good. She is quite weak and should stay in bed for a few days. I don't think we should burden her with magical transport for now at least."
"That is good news. Maybe Dora can tell the Weasleys to put them at ease." Remus suggested. He looked at the clock hanging on the well behind the bed. "It's not so late yet that the Weasleys would be sleeping." He turned towards Harry. "Meanwhile, we have to discuss how to allow Weasleys to visit their sister."
But Harry was more interested in Ginny, who was once more staring intently at him, at the moment than talking with Sirius and Remus, "You go and discuss this with Sirius. I am okay with whatever you decide."
Remus's eyebrows disappeared behind his slightly crumped hair. This was highly unusual for Harry who wanted to be a part of decision. "If you say so Harry."
Once Remus and Andromeda had left the room, Harry reseat himself in the chair besides Ginny.
"How are you feeling?"
But Ginny's eyes that have been intently staring into his own eyes had now moved upwards where his dishevelled hair had revealed the lightning bolt shaped scar. She gave a gasp.
"You are Harry Potter!"
Immediately she blushed and her voice lowered to a whisper. "Sorry!"
Harry felt quite bemused by her reaction. She looked even prettier with tomato red cheeks. The paleness of her face only accentuated the blushing. "It's alright. I am quite used to people doing that."
He waited for a few seconds for Ginny to lift her face. But she continued staring into the blankets.
"I would appreciate it if you won't tell anybody about the chamber. We weren't supposed to be there."
Hearing this, Ginny finally looked up. There was a puzzled expression on her face. Harry was quite pleased to see that unlike most people she did not continue staring at his scar but was rather busy staring into his eyes. He did not mind that. In fact, he found her soulful brown eyes quite mesmerizing. They lacked a bit of a spark, probably because of the curse. But for Harry, they were still quite attractive.
"Can I ask why?"
Harry pondered her question for a moment, before replying.
"Not yet. First tell me how are you feeling?"
Ginny flexed her shoulders and tried to move her hands. Harry noticed that they were shaking a little bit.
"Not bad." She replied. "There is still a bit of pain but otherwise I feel fine."
"Sorry that we couldn't get you to your family or get them to visit you so far. We have to keep a lot of secrets but I imagine that's no comfort for you."
Ginny shook her head. Her fiery red hair that -was loose flying about her face. "It's alright. Somehow, I feel like I can trust you. I mean you helped me in the chamber."
For reasons that Harry chose to ignore, his heart swelled with happiness at her words.
"Sorry for all this secrecy. I promise we'll tell you more once you have recovered." Harry said.
"Can I ask something else?" Ginny said inquisitively.
Harry nodded. "Sure! Go ahead. I'll try to answer as much as I can. I quite like talking with you, I have found."
The light in the room was dim, but he could still spy a faint blush adorning Ginny's cheek.
"Thanks!" she replied. "Um, where have you been for the past seventeen years? I mean you didn't attend Hogwarts."
Harry leaned back in his chair, debating how much he could tell her. Once he had made up his mind, he started speaking. "You know how Voldemort attacked my parents' right?
He noticed that she did not flinch at his name. His appreciation for her grew tenfold at that moment. She nodded in response to his question.
"You know about Sirius Black?"
"He is the one who.." Ginny trailed motioning with her hand vaguely, but Harry understood.
"That's lies." Harry replied. "Sirius black is my godfather and he did not betray my parents. It was another friend of theirs."
"Oh!"
"He is the one who found me in the wreckage of my parents' house. He went to Remus, Professor Lupin as you know him, and together they raised me in this house." He pointed towards the room around them. "You will meet Sirius soon. He is the one who brewed the potion that finally cured you of that nasty curse."
"Then why did they blame Sirius Black?" She asked.
Harry smiled ruefully at that question. "Well you can blame my parents for that." Turning serious, he continued. "You remember Remus talking about the Fidelius Charm right?" Ginny nodded. "Well my parents and Sirius made the knowledge public, or as public as they could without making anyone suspicious, that Sirius was the secret keeper. When, infact, he was not."
"Ah!'
"So, when Voldemort attacked my parents, everyone naturally thought Sirius had betrayed them. It has been quite hard to clear his name since we cannot find the traitor."
"Thanks for telling me that." Ginny said.
Harry shrugged his shoulders, "Well you would have had these questions anyway. I am surprised you didn't ask what you are doing here?"
There was a faint smile playing on Ginny's face, "I was about to."
"Well the curse that you had been hit by was a particularly nasty one. It's partially my fault." Harry looked chagrined. "I reflected that curse towards you without knowing that you were there."
Ginny waved her hand at him dismissively. "I remember a lot of chaos that day. Accidents can happen."
"Anyways, you were in pretty bad shape so I panicked and apparated you here. I didn't wait around for your family. In hindsight, that was a good thing. Once you were here, Sirius and Remus recognized that the curse was a unique one. There was a good chance that healers that St. Mungo's wouldn't not a counter curse."
Ginny looked at him questioningly. "Then how did you find a counter curse."
Harry gave a grim smile. "Well we are in the home of dark magic. The curse originated from this house's library. Once we had found the book, we managed to find the potion that would break the curse."
"Well, you have my thanks for that."
Silence elapsed for a few seconds. Ginny had just opened her mouth to ask another question when they heard a commotion downstairs.
"I think that's your family." Harry made a face and got up. He brought out his wand and placed it near his scar. "You don't mind not telling about me do you? I would rather not they know about me."
Ginny nodded solemnly. With a flick of his wand, Harry cast a glamour charm on his scar and his eyes, hiding the first one and turning the second one brown eerily similar to Ginny's eye colour.
He was barely done with the glamour charm when someone burst into the room, knocking Harry backwards. The guy was tall and lanky. He appeared quite young, around the same age as Harry. He was followed by a gaggle of redheads and one bushy brown girl. Behind them was a harried looking Tonks.
Harry guessed that it would not have been a good idea to question the present of Weasleys in a small room full of them. He silently backed out of the room before questioning Tonks. "I thought only one of them was coming."
Tonks grimaced. "Well when they learned that she had woken, all of them insisted on coming."
"One of them was not a Weasley."
Tonks nodded. "Yeah that's Hermione Granger. A muggleborns. She's Ron Weasley's girlfriend. The youngest one." Tonks added for Harry's sake. "Fleur Delacour is also here."
"What are we? An inn?" Harry muttered under his breath.
"Don't worry." Nymphadora Tonks patted Harry's shoulder. "They are not staying. They'll spend some time with Ginny and then they will go back. Assuming Ginny does not go back with them."
Tonks couldn't help but notice that Harry looked a bit disheartened at the notion that Ginny would be going back. Downstairs, in the kitchen, a tall redhead was in a discussion with Remus Lupin and Andromeda Tonks. On his side was a woman of breath-taking beauty. Even more so than Ginny, though Harry was reluctant to admit it. They were Bill and Fleur Weasley, married only a year ago and the current head of the Weasley family.
"Like I said Bill, Andromeda doesn't think it wise that Ginny should travel right now." It was Remus who was talking to Bill. "She should not be awake this early in the first place." Bill had opened his mouth to reply but Remus ploughed on, "I know I am asking a lot Bill, but it's for her own good."
Bill closed his mouth, contemplating Remus' argument. Fleur Delacour was patting his shoulder, slowly whispering in his ear. Whatever she was saying it worked and Bill slumped into a chair near the dining table.
"I don't like it." He said. "She's in a strange place and we can't even visit her properly."
Remus took a place opposite to Fleur and Bill, "She is in good hands Bill. You know me. You know Tonks. You know her mother. You know we will take good care of your sister. And this is the only place where we can effectively break the curse if it resurfaces again."
Both Harry and Tonks had walked into the kitchen at that moment. Harry muttered a Hello to both Bill and Fleur and sat down some distance away from them.
"That's Harry. He is my nephew."
Bill nodded towards him, but soon his attention was back towards Lupin. But it was Tonks that spoke up.
"You know my mother is as good a healer as Ginny's going to get in St. Mungo's. She might be retired but she is still pretty good."
They heard a huff and, as one one turned to see Andromeda Tonks gliding into the room. When she spoke, her voice had an indignant quality to it. "I would like to think that I am better than those sorry excuses of wizards they call healers these days."
Harry's lips quirked in a small smile as Tonks explained. "She is still a black."
Andromeda sniffed. "Don't mention that name. It's difficult enough to be in this horrid place without being remembered that it belonged to my dear aunt."