The Unbreakable Vow
by
Ash Darklighter
It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.
Part 20
Just over a year had passed since they'd made their escape from the wizarding world and in that time Harry and Ginny had changed from the scared teenagers betrayed by the world they loved so much into cautious young adults. They considered themselves extremely lucky – they were survivors after all.
Life in Muggle London had proved to be a success even though they'd had a couple of narrow escapes lately. On the very day of the anniversary of Harry's disappearance the area around the Leaky Cauldron and Charing Cross Road had suddenly became full of weirdly dressed strangers and new posters with grainy unrecognisable photographs were pasted everywhere they looked. It could have been worse. As expected, video footage purporting to be from close circuit cameras appeared on the news just after their disappearance, but Harry was sure they'd been taken from some wizarding photographs. The search had died down when a bigger news story had emerged.
It wasn't unexpected, but after a year of wandering within feet of the entrance to the wizarding world, the pair of young wizards had relaxed their vigilance a little. No one had found them. In Harry's opinion no one had even come close to finding them. Not until two weeks ago.
Ginny had gone to work her usual shift in the small café near the flat where they lived, when the café door had opened and in had walked Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks and a tall broad man dressed in Muggle clothing. Making an educated guess, Ginny deduced that by his age, the man was probably the young Auror's father. She couldn't quite remember what the Metamorphmagus actually looked like when she wasn't playing with her appearance so it was difficult to tell if Tonks resembled either of her parents closely.
Ginny had frozen behind the serving counter, her panicking brain trying to think of a way of escaping the situation. With her heart pounding in her chest, she'd turned away as they sat at a table in the corner close, to where the frightened Ginny stood.
"What makes you think Harry is still in the area?" Tonks was speaking quietly but Ginny was close enough to hear as she crouched behind the counter pretending to search out more cups. She strained to hear Lupin's soft voice.
Remus shook his greying head. "I can't say."
"What do you mean 'you can't say'? Do you know where he is?" Tonks asked, her forehead creased with concern. The restrictions on werewolves had not been relaxed even with Fudge out of office and if Remus knew and hadn't told anyone, he was in big trouble. She was fond of the man – more than fond if the truth was known. "If you know where he is and the authorities found out…"
The werewolf held up his hands defensively. "I don't know why or how I think that Harry's still around but I do – it's just a feeling. It could be something to do with Moony's enhanced senses or it could just be wishful thinking. I hope he's alright. I don't think he was well when he left us and I'm worried about him."
"You think there was something wrong?"
Remus stared at the white plastic tabletop as if it provided the answers to what he sought. "Yes. I remember how he was after the death of Sirius and this was worse."
Tonks had looked worried. "Surely Dumbledore would have said…"
Remus shook his head. "Unlikely. There was certainly a dispute between them before he disappeared. I heard Harry shouting at him on more than one occasion in the weeks before he vanished. I couldn't discover why. It's possibly because the headmaster was still attempting to control Harry despite his attaining his majority. Albus gives very little away where Harry is concerned. He says that it's to keep him safe but…" He gave a heavy sigh. "Sometimes I wonder if he forgets about the boy. Harry is a boy."
"That's what Dumbledore does – thinks about the 'greater good' business. He moves us all around his giant magical chessboard," Tonks murmured matter-of-factly. "We should be used to it by now. We let him do it and Remus, Harry is not a child any longer. Harry is a fully grown wizard."
"Albus Dumbledore isn't always right, Dora, I may not be a very powerful wizard but even I can see that he does things to suit himself."
"I know." Tonks turned to her father. "I'm sorry, Dad. This was supposed to be our time together and we spend it talking over business matters."
"It's alright love," her father clapped her reassuringly on the shoulder. "It's not really business, is it? Not when such an important young man in the eyes of the wizarding world is still missing."
"It's been a whole year," Tonks murmured sadly. "A whole year."
"I never met young Harry but from what you've said, Remus, he has a good head on his shoulders."
The werewolf's eyes had flashed amber. "Yes, he does and sometimes he uses it. On this occasion, I'm not sure if he did, especially if he knows where Ginny Weasley is. Her brother Percy is still out for Harry's blood."
"Percy is a…" Tonks' hair changed from bubblegum-pink to red and back again as she bit off the word she wanted to say. "I hope they're together," she said. "It was clear to me from the time that I met him that Harry loved her and would look after her. He was distraught when she left. Molly's out of St. Mungo's but she's never picked up the way she should have. She's understandably frantic about her daughter."
"Your mother always says that Molly is a strong woman, Dora," Ted Tonks stated firmly.
"Didn't he know that we'd be worried about him?" Remus declared. "Didn't Harry realise we want to know that he's safe?"
"Of course he did," Tonks murmured. It wasn't the first time she'd heard this.
"But to leave without a word…" Remus clenched his fist. "Why? What made him run?"
It was too much hearing this. Without the magical trio spotting her, Ginny had immediately taken her long overdue break and had sat in the small back room shaking with nerves and forcing back tears. It had suddenly rammed it home to her that their friends and family missed them – that her great adventure was hurting the people she loved the most.
"The service in this place isn't very good," Ted muttered looking around him. "There was a girl standing behind the counter when we came in."
"Didn't notice," admitted Remus. "There's no sign of her now. Oh, here she is." He raised his hand. "Excuse me!" he said to the waitress. "I'll have a coffee…Dora?"
Ginny had sent the other waitress out to serve them and stayed out of sight until they had left the premises. The same thing had happened the following weekend, minus Ted Tonks. It had just been Remus and Nymphadora. The pair took a seat in the window gazing out at the passing weekend crowds.
As for Harry, he had narrowly avoided the Auror, Dawlish, as he'd gone shopping in the market that very same afternoon. But he didn't think that Dawlish was looking for him. If he was, the wizard wasn't expecting to find him. Instead of dying down and becoming more isolationist, the wizards were encroaching into more and more into Muggle territory even for something as mundane as fresh fruit from the weekend market. Luckily it was easy to spot most of them, dressed as they were in their robes or weird combinations of clothes that no Muggle would ever willingly put together.
Harry made sure his hat was pulled firmly over his messy hair and made his way to the flat as quickly as he could. As he opened the main entrance door, he grabbed his mobile phone from his pocket and flipped it open. "I'm on my way up," he murmured as the lift doors opened. "See you in a minute."
"Harry…" Ginny stopped and shook her head as he almost immediately opened the front door.
"Hi there, Sweetheart," he said, his heart lifting at the sight of her. He elbowed the door shut and dumped the carrier bag filled with fruit and vegetables from the market onto the kitchen counter.
He gave her a searching glance. "You okay? You look a bit pale."
"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed quietly as she placed the phone back in its cradle. Nearly being caught for the second time in as many weeks had unnerved her. She had seen wizarding folk in the streets around the Leaky Cauldron. She had to expect that and get used to it but none of the magical folk she'd seen had been so close to her and her family as had Remus and Tonks. "That was quick. Thank Merlin you're home."
"I was walking into the lift as I spoke to you." Harry frowned. He could sense the worry, pouring from her. "Were you seen?" he asked anxiously. It was the only thing that could have made her so nervous. He walked forwards and put his arms around her.
Ginny leaned against him. "No, I don't think so."
Harry gave a sigh of relief. If she'd been seen then they would have had to solve that problem. But they would have managed somehow. "Who was it?"
"Remus and Tonks. I nearly served Remus with a black coffee and a cinnamon pastry this afternoon. It's the second time in two weeks."
"Again?" Harry frowned. "Remus does seem to think that we're still around. He's not as blind or stupid as some other wizards of our acquaintance. It's not the first time I've had to dive behind a flower stall."
"You've seen him before?" Ginny's eyes were wide with surprise. "You didn't say."
"I didn't want to worry you," he admitted. "Remus often shops in the Third-Hand Bookstore next to the Leaky Cauldron and it's not just to save money on Muggle books." He pointed to a stack of leather bound tomes on the table. "They have some unusual reading material if you check the right shelf."
"Yes I know." They'd left the wizarding world with very little. Both knew they needed to keep up with their magical education but it was proving to be difficult to find the right books. "They were both in the café again, Harry! Remus and Tonks. That's getting far too close for my comfort."
"We have to be strong, Gin. Dean Thomas passed me not that long ago and I think I saw Justin Finch-Fletchley yesterday. They're both Muggleborn and would use this way of getting into Diagon Alley."
Ginny closed her eyes for a moment. "Thankfully, they're not too aware of the things around them…"
"They should be," Harry groused. "They were both in the DA. Awareness of your surroundings in a battle scenario…" he began to recite in a sing-song voice.
Ginny held up her hand to stop the declamation of rule six hundred and forty-two, paragraph B from the Auror's handbook. "But thankfully no Hermione."
"I don't think we could fool her, Ginny," he said with a sad smile. "I do miss her and Ron despite how annoying they were before we left. I don't think I dealt with them correctly either. I couldn't talk to them like I wanted to. Everything came out sounding wrong and I got so frustrated and angry…"
"It's difficult knowing how to react," the young witch said softly. "Especially when you feel that those you are closest to don't understand what you're going through. Why do you think there's been so much activity lately? I don't think I've seen so many Aurors around since the first few weeks after we left."
"It's been a year since we left. Perhaps they're celebrating the banishment of Voldemort once more by doing an extra search for us. Perhaps they think they have a lead on our whereabouts."
Ginny's mouth formed an 'oh' of surprise. "I hadn't thought of that."
"Maybe Diagon Alley has run out of fresh fruit and vegetables."
"Unlikely," Ginny retorted.
Harry picked up the newspaper he'd bought the day before, the still photograph of a grinning politician on the front. "I should maybe try and see if I can get my hands on a Daily Prophet but part of me wants to avoid knowing. There are new posters up outside the Leaky Cauldron."
"Of…of us?" Ginny looked scared.
"Yes," he gave a wry grin. "You can relax. I don't think they look anything like us."
She managed an answering smile.
"Honestly," he said. "I've got those old spectacles on and my hair is much shorter. You can even see the scar and no Muggle photo could ever do you justice. You're too…too pretty." He looked at her, brown eyes warm against her creamy skin, her cloud of dark hair curling over her shoulders. Merlin, he missed her fiery hair but it was too distinctive so she'd dyed it a dark brown. "I think you're pretty," he murmured, his voice deepening. "In fact, I know that you're beautiful."
"Harry!" Ginny blushed.
"It's true." Harry's face matched the rosy colour of Ginny's. "These boys were eyeing you up in the canteen at college the other day." He found it difficult to be open about his feelings and had never considered himself to be good at speaking to girls but Ginny was different. He could tell her the truth and she would believe him.
She shook her head, a wry smile on her face. "Is that why you put your arm around me?"
"Yes. I was giving them a subtle message." He moved closer and put his arms around her. "The kind of message they would understand."
"Subtle!" she exclaimed. "That's not one of your talents, Harry Potter."
"I can do 'subtle'," he protested, swaggering. "Back off, she's mine," he declared, in the showy manner of an old Hollywood film star.
Ginny laughed. Their relationship had been awkward for the first few months of their cohabitation despite admitting that their strong feelings for each other remained. They were drawn to one another, they had no choice but to rely on each other but they hadn't returned to the youthful, passionate liaison they'd had at school. When they'd agreed to separate to ensure Ginny's safety, their feelings had entered a sort of deep freeze. Their awakening was taking time. Everything in their lives was now far more important than it had ever been and both were understandably cautious about committing themselves.
Harry had said that he loved her and she believed him but they'd taken a step back from expressing that love in a physical way. He stayed in his bedroom and Ginny remained alone in hers. Molly and the Weasley boys would have been proud of them. Still things change and they'd begun to emotionally move forwards – it was after all, inevitable.
They both often contemplated the small white scar on the palm of their hand and wondered exactly what had happened. Harry's magic had been weak after Voldemort's spell but the instinctive urge to do something to help Ginny had produced a powerful effect. They had performed some type of old blood magic. So far it seemed to have kept them both safe.
As the months passed and they began adapting into their new lives as Muggles they once again took a step closer to one another. The touches became lingering, the once brief kisses longer and more involved. Harry, despite being brought up by the Dursley's and having almost no adult guidance in his life, had an old-fashioned view with where Ginny was concerned. But seeing others eyeing up his witch in predatory male fashion had awoken his hunting instincts. Ginny Weasley belonged to Harry Potter and he belonged to her. It was that simple.
"Ginny…" Harry pulled her against his body and bent her backwards before pulling her more firmly against him and kissing her.
"H…Harry?" Ginny managed, her senses going haywire. They'd kissed before but something had changed. The man she loved had come to some sort of decision and she liked it. She gathered herself together enough to say, "Harry Potter!"
"What?"
"What are you doing?"
"Kissing you properly, staking my claim," Harry declared.
"But what about all the wizards crawling around outside. They could be searching for us."
"What about them – they're outside. I don't think they know we're here, Ginny. I am not putting my life on hold any longer for anyone. What do you think?" Harry knew he was asking for more than his words would at first suggest and he knew his brilliant witch would completely understand.
Ginny smiled up at him. He may be reckless but he was hers and she agreed wholeheartedly with him. "That sounds like a good idea."
He lowered his head and kissed her again. This kiss started out gently but soon moved to a different plane altogether. The almost joking quality he'd adopted deteriorated as his feelings took over. Their problems wouldn't vanish but they knew that. Ginny wound her arms around his neck and surrendered to his kiss and he lifted her into his arms and bore her through to his bed. It was time.
And a couple of pieces of parchment, one locked in a desk in an elegant study and the other shoved in a drawer in a messy family room, began to fade.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ginny curved herself against Harry. "That was…"
"Yes, it was," he said quietly. "I think we should get married."
"You do?" She turned her head to look at him. "Just because we did this?"
"No. Not at all." Harry was lying on his back staring at the ceiling. "We should have done this a long time ago. I love you," he said simply. "That's all there is to it. I love you and I'll always love you and we should be together."
Ginny dropped a kiss on his bare shoulder. "I know. I feel the same way about you. I should have jumped you ages ago. You would not have said 'no' if I'd tempted you enough."
"Ginny, I found it difficult enough to keep my hands off you at anytime. It's done wonders for my strength of character."
She chuckled; he could feel her body tremble lightly against him. "They tried to keep us apart and that should not have happened," Ginny whispered. "We love each other and that is the most important thing in the world."
"Then we should get married," Harry said firmly. "The house in Scotland is finished. I received a letter from the firm dealing with the building. We both finish our computing studies courses in a couple of weeks. It's time to move north. It would take us away from Diagon Alley."
"When exactly do you sit your driving test?" she asked.
Harry grinned. "Next week." He was finding driving as easy as flying. Ginny found the discipline more difficult but she'd not lived as a Muggle for the first eleven years of her life.
"If you pass, then we can move. I can continue to learn anywhere we go. But I do want to learn."
"Good idea. The house in Scotland is quite isolated if we don't drive. One of us has to be able to. We could do with one of those flying cars." His eyes gleamed green mischief.
"My father was so proud of it. I wonder what happened to that car."
"I think it's still wild in the Forbidden Forest." He chuckled at the memory. "Something else that saved my life." He turned to look into Ginny's eyes. "You saved my life," he told her, his face serious. "I don't know how being married will affect the contract…"
"I don't think that magic would let us be like this together if it was wrong," Ginny murmured. "I read all the articles on magical betrothals too, Harry."
"I agree. How can you break something that was never whole to begin with?" Harry turned towards Ginny, his eyes oddly veiled. "I wondered," he said slowly.
Ginny could see he was nervous. "What, Harry?"
He stretched out his hand to the drawer in the bedside cabinet and retrieved something small. He looked down at his clenched fist. Carefully he held up his hand and opened his fist. Lying on his palm was a ring. "It was my mother's but I'd like you to have it…unless you'd rather have a new one."
"Your mother's…?" Her face flushed a delicate colour of pink.
"You don't have to if you don't want to." Harry looked down at his feet. "But I would like you to have it."
"In what way?" Ginny asked. "As a present or as something more? You've given me so much already and I'm grateful."
"I don't want your gratitude," Harry said, his head jerking up, his face red. "I want…" His shoulders sagged and he sighed, the fire going out of him. "I love you." He'd gone very pale.
Ginny smiled tremulously. "I know."
"When two people love…" Harry stopped and took a deep breath of frustration. "I'm no good at this."
"Are you proposing, Harry?" Ginny thought that he might have been proposing earlier on but he'd never said the actual words. He'd said that he thought they should get married. He hadn't actually asked her. Every witch wanted her wizard to propose properly but this was Harry, and Ginny could see that he needed a bit of help.
Harry didn't look away. "Uh…yes."
Ginny could see that his hand was shaking. "Oh…I wasn't sure."
"Oh." Harry took a deep breath. "I thought I made it clear earlier but I'm not romantic, Ginny. You know that I try my best but it doesn't always work. The flowers are wilted, or something else goes terribly wrong. I'm not a…" He cleared his throat. "I've a dark wizard out to kill me. I'm not perhaps the best catch in the world…"
"Ginny moved closer and tucked herself against him. "You are to me. I love you, too. I couldn't have…Malfoy."
"I know. Will you marry me, Ginny," Harry said quickly, screwing his eyes shut in case she rejected him.
Ginny turned and threw her arms around him. "Of course I'll marry you," she whispered, dropping a gentle kiss on his lips. "Did you ever for a moment think that I wouldn't? I thought that Dobby had told you that we were already joined?" She rubbed a finger over the little white scar in the centre of her palm.
Harry's face showed how relieved he was. "He did say that and I know it in my heart but I want legal proof…at least in the Muggle world I do. It could help us later on when we're able to return. We will return. My magic isn't lost to me forever. Malfoy won't touch you.
"Do I get my ring now?" She held out her left hand and wiggled her fingers.
Harry chuckled and slid the ring onto the fourth finger of her left hand. "Of course." She examined the emerald in its Victorian setting. He put his arm around her and kissed her softly. "I couldn't have managed to be free like this without you. The loss of my magic is one thing but to lose you…" He couldn't continue. Some things ran too deep to say but Ginny being Ginny, understood.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Things proceeded as they'd hoped they would. Harry passed his driving test and they both did well, if not spectacularly, in the courses that they'd undertaken. Doing too well brought unwelcome attention, which they didn't want. But they were pleased that they had both passed. It gave them something to show for themselves when they arrived at what would be their real home. They intended to look for jobs once they relocated to the house at Shielhill. Neither of them were used to being idle and for their own sakes, they wanted to live as normal a life as possible.
The flat they would keep. It would be convenient for Diagon Alley and by being in London, would be a good investment for the future. The goblins had been right about that.
The house in Scotland was ready, they'd finished what they needed to do here apart from one more thing. They wanted to get married.
In London, there were churches on every corner. Some of them were still churches. Others had been turned into pubs or offices or even housing for executive types. But the one closest to the flat, a square - grey-bricked monstrosity with a round bell tower – was still a church. Harry found the atmosphere of the building peaceful inside and both he and Ginny had on occasions gone to one of the services. Neither of them were regular church goers. Harry wasn't even sure if witches or wizards were welcome in a church. But he knew it was somewhere they could get married.
He had applied for the marriage licence, filling it in as best he could using a quill and ink. He had thought it more appropriate to their magical heritage and had asked the minister if he would perform the ceremony.
"We're moving north, Reverend MacDonald," Harry said. "We've got a house and everything's ready for us to move in. Jenny and I would like you to marry us before we go. Neither of us has family and we just want a quiet wedding."
"Of course, Gary. Weddings are an expensive business and if you've got a house…"
Harry grinned. "That's it exactly."
The minister smiled sympathetically at the young man. He guessed that they didn't have the money for a big blow out event. Privately he thought that the pair was a little young to be making such a serious commitment but if they only had one another, he could understand the need for companionship.
He invited them for tea and talked to both of them and found to his surprise, that they were quite level headed and knew that they would have to work at their marriage. They were under no illusions about how hard life could be. But what was more important in the old minister's eyes was that he could see how much the boy loved the young woman he was taking to wife and it was apparent that she was equally devoted to him.
"We would do anything for one another and we mean that," Harry had said.
Reverend MacDonald, his wife and a couple of church elders were the only witnesses as he married the young couple. The bride dressed in an almost Victorian style of gown in a deep blue velvet and the groom, in a smart suit and tie, had eyes only for one another.
"You may kiss the bride…"
Harry smiled and kissed his wife, relief on his face. Nothing had happened – no one had burst in and said that they could not marry. There had been no magical repercussions. They were legally bound to one another and he now had the right to protect her – or she had the right to protect him. Knowing Ginny and her fiery temper, anything was possible.
Ginny couldn't see how anyone in the wizarding world would discover their marriage but she was as paranoid as Harry was about their safety and they decided to leave London as soon as they could. They had nothing keeping them here any longer and Harry was eager to see what had been done to the house in Scotland.
The original photographs of the property had shown a ruin but it was one with potential. The architects had been instructed only to convert part of the building for the time being. Harry had made the believable excuse that it was a monetary issue. It wasn't. He was the heir to both the Black and the Potter fortunes despite being raised as if he had nothing. Harry thought that he might want to add a wizarding wing to the house when his magic recovered. Poppy seemed to think that it would but that such a recovery would take time. He hoped that she was correct.
He also wondered if he could do some work on the building himself. It would make it more like home. For him and Ginny, this place was going to be their real home and they were going to be together. They were going to be happy.
They had travelled up to Scotland by car, stopping once for an overnight stay at a motorway travel inn and then at various points for refreshments. It was a long way from London but they were eager to start the next part of their life.
"How long before we're there?" Ginny asked.
"Not long. I think – an hour or so. We need to head for Aviemore and then follow the signs for Elgin – after that, the route follows smaller, more minor roads. The house is fairly isolated – which is what we wanted. I suppose I could turn the sat nav volume back on again."
"Good idea," Ginny muttered. "You shouldn't have switched it off."
"We're in the right place," Harry argued, glancing at one of the road signs. "I've got us this far without mishap. It was annoying and I was managing fine without it." He turned a conciliatory smile towards his wife. "Your map reading is pretty good," he finally muttered.
Ginny gave him a suspicious glare.
"Turn right," the smooth female voice on the device instructed.
"Muggles," Ginny murmured sweetly with mock admiration as she relaxed back into her seat. "What will they think of next?"
Harry rolled his eyes.
An hour later, a tired Harry grinned at his wife. She was sound asleep, her lashes resting delicately on her cheeks. "Ginny," he murmured softly. "Ginny…"
"Wh…what!" Ginny opened her eyes. "I must have fallen asleep," she murmured sleepily.
"That you did."
Ginny blinked and then realised that the car was no longer moving. "We've arrived?"
Harry nodded. "Yes. Look."
Ginny peered out of the car window into the gloom of the rapidly descending darkness to see a house. A two storied cottage built of greyish stone nestled amidst a thicket of trees. At the approach of the car, the security lights were illuminated. "Oh," she said, a catch in her throat. "It's beautiful."
"We're home, Ginny," Harry said, his tired voice awash with the feelings he could not hide. "For the moment, we're safe."
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The little bookshop in the back wynds of the nearest large town to their home, was old and about to close down. The owner, a tired woman with grey hair tied back in a straggly bun, didn't care what she was selling anymore, just that it sold. She had two weeks to get shot of as much of her outdated, mouldering stock as she could. The rest would end up in the recycling bin and she would get nothing for it. Truth to be told, she didn't care any more as she'd never wanted the burden of the shop in the first place.
Harry couldn't recall seeing the bookshop before but presumed it had always been there. He'd been spending his lunch hour window shopping for a present for Ginny's twentieth birthday when something had drawn his gaze to the grubby shop front. He'd almost missed it, since the place didn't exactly look inviting. It reminded him of some of the shops in Knockturn Alley of all places, with their peeling paintwork and grime smeared windows. He was about to wander past it to the jewellery store, he knew was further along the lane, when a feeling he hadn't experienced for some time drew him inside. Not stopping to examine why he was feeling that way, Harry reacted on instinct and carefully pushed open the door.
He would never have admitted it to someone like Hermione but he liked old bookstores like these – the smell of the paper and the leather bindings added to the way the dust would dance in the light filtered from dark gloomy windows. For someone so noticed in the magical world, this kind of place made Harry feel anonymous.
The woman lifted her head and looked at him as the old-fashioned bell over the door gave a gentle jingle. "Good afternoon," she said with a vague smile. "Can I help you with anything in particular? What are you looking for?
"I'm just browsing," he said with a polite nod in return. He glanced at a set of shelves behind him. They were empty.
"I'm packing up," the woman said with a sigh. "It's just not economical to run anymore. We close officially in two weeks. However, I expect that I'll have the place emptied out sooner than that."
"That's a shame," Harry murmured. "It looks as if it's been here a long time."
"It has. My great-grandfather started up the shop and it's been passed down through the family. I just can't compete with the prices on the internet and the big national chains. Please take what you want. I'm afraid that most of the good stuff has gone. You can give me a donation for what you take. A pound or two would do."
"I can't do that," Harry said, horrified. "They're worth much more than that."
"No, they're not," the owner said dryly. "Nobody wants them. I'd just have to pack them just to transport them to the dump. At least they'll do some good if they're recycled. There are several more boxes of books in the back room. I think that a couple of them belonged to my grandmother and she died over fifty years ago. She was an eccentric old woman - considered to be a bit strange in the head. She always scared me when I was brought to meet her – I seemed to be a disappointment to her without knowing why. She died when I was a child. This shop's been in the family for generations. I can't say that I ever wanted it." She gave him a genuine smile and shook her head in disbelief. "You're a good listener. I haven't spoken about the old witch for a long time."
"Witch!" Harry's heart seemed to slow down inside his chest, the steady thump heavy. Did she mean to come right out and say that her grandmother had been a witch? Did she recognise him? His heart returned to normal as his brain began working properly. She didn't mean it the way he'd thought she'd meant. Muggles often used the term in a derogatory fashion.
"She was a nasty piece of work. Always seemed to know what you were thinking. My father called her that to her face once."
"What did she do?"
"She just laughed. But she would have found a way to get back at him, so he maintained. She was petty like that. Even my mother, her own daughter, didn't have a lot of good things to say about her. I was eight when she died. We weren't close."
"Oh." Harry murmured. Suddenly he had a thought. What if her grandmother really had been a witch? It was more than likely; he could almost feel the magic in the place. Did that mean that his own magic was recovering? He squashed the urge to try out a spell. It had only been two years and Harry knew that it hadn't been long enough. This was too important to risk. "Could I have a look at the books?" he asked.
"Sure, I've never bothered. They can't be much use in this day and age. My mother packed them up when she died. I had ideas about unpacking all the books and trying to sell them but I got so many other that I couldn't sell. Frankly, I've had enough and when the refuse is collected on Friday; those boxes will be the first to go." She pointed towards a battered looking brown painted door. "They're through in the back room. Go ahead and take a look."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Harry moved forward and felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle. He blinked in surprise. He could almost feel the magic in the room. It was the first time in a couple of years that he had felt anything like this. He moved closer past the boxes and stared at the fireplace. It was old, possibly Victorian or even earlier and something told him that it was still connected to the Floo network. He would swear on it.
The house at Sheilhill had been built to Muggle specifications by Muggle builders from plans by Muggle architects, apart from the one wing which Harry hadn't yet converted from the original barn. He did have plans for it…eventually. It would have a fireplace with Floo connections, a potions lab, a duelling room and a library. He'd already started clearing the rubble and broken farm implements in his spare time. The wizarding part of his house would take time and to find a perfectly good Floo location close to his work when he hadn't expected one was a bonus. The Ministry had to have forgotten that this was still connected to the network. If the shop owner's grandmother had produced a line of Squibs, then no one would have accessed the wizarding world from this particular building in a long time.
He needed to get in touch with Poppy Pomfrey and he had to do it soon. It was highly probable that Ginny was pregnant. Harry's stomach gave a churn at the thought. Neither of them knew what happened with a wizarding baby. Was it the same as a Muggle pregnancy? He had to look after his family and going to a normal doctor could raise questions he and Ginny were unable to answer. Poppy was the only healer that he trusted not to betray them.
He needed to get to Hogwarts without anyone seeing him. He did have several emergency portkeys but he was reluctant to use them unless it was an actual 'emergency'. There were the strange magical phones that Fred and George had experimented with but Harry had found that they did not work very well at the time and he was reluctant to try using a magical item. They had been prototypes and he suspected that the twins would have already invented far superior models.
He picked up one of the books lying on the top of a battered old wooden crate. "..al Plants and Fungi…"
That sounded familiar. Harry blinked and stared at the title again. Part of the cover and also the spine where the title of the book might have been displayed was missing. He opened the book and swallowed, his suspicions confirmed. It was an ancient edition of the one he'd used in his Herbology class at Hogwarts, 'One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi' by Phyllida Spore.
He returned to the front of the shop where the woman was wearily packing another box of books in what Harry would say were a reasonable condition. "Excuse me," he said hesitantly. "Do you know anything about these?"
"Those!" the lady shook her head. "No. I can't recall seeing them before but they might have come from the cupboard in the back room. My husband emptied that cupboard yesterday. I haven't had time to examine what he removed. Plants and Fungi," she murmured, reading over Harry's shoulder. Quickly, he placed his hand over the 'magical' part before she could see it.
"Ah," she said. "This must have belonged to my grandmother. This looks as if it's come from one of her boxes. Apparently, she worked as a sort of healing woman. She did homeopathic remedies before they became really popular for those who couldn't afford a doctor."
Harry wondered if the family still had connections to the magical world but didn't want to ask. He opened the book at a page showing a delicate ink drawing of a Borage flower. "My wife would be interested in these. I'll understand if they're family heirlooms and you don't want to sell them."
"Good grief, no," the woman said with a chuckle. "Those books will have been there since my grandmother died. I'm surprised they weren't thrown away years ago."
"Wonderful," Harry said with a grin. "I'll take the box. We love looking through old books like these" He picked up the box, spotting a copy of 'Most Potente Potions' as he did so. "How much?"
"Give me a fiver," she said. "I told you, it's helping me get rid of them."
Harry fished in his pocket and pulled out a ten pound note. "Here, take this. Some of these could be valuable. I can give you more, if you want?"
"No, that's fine. They're no use to me." She placed the note in the till and handed Harry a receipt.
"I'd better get back to work," Harry said with a grin. "Thanks."
Magical books. He had a box of magical books. Alright, they might be ancient but most of the books in the Hogwarts' library had been ancient. He and Ginny would enjoy looking at these, even if they couldn't do the magic – well, Ginny could but she didn't want to just in case it flagged up their hiding place. They hadn't been able to take any magical books with them into their Muggle life.
Ginny hadn't been able to complete her final year at Hogwarts but she could still read and learn. She could take all the NEWTS she wanted to at the Ministry when they could return without fear of being married to someone they hated or shut up in a house where there was no love or caring involved.
Harry nipped quickly to where he had parked his car and deposited the box in the boot before walking to his work. He'd got a job at one of the local banks as a trainee not long after he and Ginny had moved north. It wasn't the most exciting of positions but the pay was good enough and the hours were reasonable. He also knew that it was the last place anyone would think to look for Harry Potter.
Even Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon would be impressed with the normality involved in his daily life.
Ginny had decided to go back to college and had taken several different courses in a bid to decide what she truly wanted to do. She had also passed her driving test and was coping well with Muggle life, working part time as an auxiliary in a local school. Occasionally something got away from her but she passed it off as having had very strict parents as a child and being home schooled. Her acquaintances would ask her what it was like being home schooled and she had said shortly that it had been lonely. When she didn't add anything else to her statement, they soon lost interest.
Life was busy and they were happy but they missed their friends and their family. They were reluctant to get to know people at work or college and relied mainly on one another - even more so now that they suspected that Ginny was pregnant. But no one can live in a vacuum and the couple occasionally met up with work colleagues.
"Hey, Sweetheart!" Harry greeted Ginny with a smile as he wandered into the kitchen. "Ginny?" He placed the box of magic books down on the floor.
His witch just sat there, staring into space.
"Ginny!" He said anxiously. "What is it?"
She gave a little start of surprise and he noticed that her eyes were red and tired.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked worriedly. Maybe, she wasn't pregnant and Harry found that he didn't want that to be true. He wanted her to be pregnant. "You've been crying."
"I haven't," she said defiantly.
Harry just gave her a look.
She flushed and looked away. "Okay, so I have…but just a bit. I feel weepy," she muttered. "I hate feeling weepy."
Harry stifled his smile. His feisty witch hated feeling vulnerable. Her forced betrothal to Draco Malfoy had brought home to her how powerless she'd been and she never wanted to feel that way again. He never wanted her to feel that way – ever. "Oh, Ginny-love…"
She scowled. "Say anything tactless and I swear that despite the no-magic rule we live under I'll Bat-bogey-hex you into oblivion."
Harry held up his hands. "I wouldn't dare suggest that because your eyes are all red that you'd been crying."
"Gary," she said warningly and he grinned, despite the tinge of worry that swept through him. They always called one another by their real names in the house, to have her use his Muggle identity was enough to make him take notice.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "But you looked upset and were miles away from here. I don't like seeing you upset, Ginny-love."
"I'm just tired," she shifted her eyes away from his and stared at the well scrubbed kitchen table. "Getting ready for the start of term and all that entails."
"Ginny…" Harry drawled. "He thought he knew what the problem was now but would wait until she told him.
"I'm just tired." She gave the excuse half-heartedly.
"You said that already. I can see that you're tired. What can I do to help?"
A smile ghosted around her lips. "I love you."
The feeling is mutual." Harry boiled the kettle and made his wife a cup of herbal tea. Placing the mug in front of her, he watched as her hands surrounded the warmth and she seemed to lose some of the tension permeating her slender frame. "Tell me," he insisted gently. "The problem won't go away if you keep it all to yourself."
He knew her so well, she thought. "I'm definitely pregnant," she murmured.
"Yes!" Harry clenched his fist, grinning broadly, an unexpected feeling of male superiority flooding through him. "I'm going to be a Dad."
"Oh, stop smirking," Ginny snapped and then shook her head in sudden amused defeat, unwilling to let her mood carry on any longer. "We didn't plan this. I assume I'm in this condition because Muggle contraception methods don't work very well on witches and wizards."
"Ginny, I'm delighted and I don't care if the muggle contraception methods failed. I don't how effective they are on witches and wizards." He pulled her up out of her chair, sat down and placed her upon his knee. "Honestly," he said. "I'm over the moon. You know how much I've wanted a family of my own. We've been married for well over a year and I would have waited for longer but fate has granted us this. No system of contraception is foolproof. At least that was what we were told during Sex Ed in my primary school. Not that I can remember much more than how embarrassed I felt. We had to go near a girl! They were creatures of a whole other species to me back then." He pulled her closer. "You always suspected that you could be as fertile as your mother."
"I did – it's always been a worry of mine. She was pregnant with Bill before the honeymoon ended, according to him, and then it was one baby after another. I like children and I want more than one child, Harry, but I don't want seven."
"We'll have as many as you want, Ginny. I don't think I want a quidditch team either. I just want to have a child or two with you – only you." Harry looked a little apprehensive. "That's not the problem, is it? You do want this one, don't you?" It was a reasonable question. She was nineteen - twenty in a couple of days time and he was sure she'd planned to do all sorts of things with her life that didn't need to be slowed down by a husband and a baby.
Ginny looked horrified. "Of course, I do, Harry." Her fierce gaze softened. "A baby? Your baby? Of course I want it." She gripped her mug so tightly that Harry thought she might break it and he eased her fingers away, threading his own through hers. "Harry, I've started doing accidental magic and I can't control it or I don't think I can."
"Accidental magic!" Harry's eyes widened. He didn't have very good memories of his own bouts growing up.
"I don't know much about magical pregnancies, Harry. Hogwarts didn't cover things like that apart from teaching you the relevant spells to prevent them."
"Well, I know even less than you." Harry frowned. "What do you mean 'accidental magic'? You didn't blow up anyone or end up on the roof of the school?" He thought of his Aunt Marge and one of his many escapes from his cousin Dudley.
"I went into school today to speak to the head teacher about the children I would probably be working specifically with this year. Term starts next week and it's good to know what I'm doing." She sipped at her tea, letting the warmth seep through her. "I nipped into the staff room and, while I was there, levitated a cup towards me," Ginny said quietly. "It smashed on the floor."
Harry stiffened. It wasn't a major magical catastrophe but in their current situation it could have serious repercussions. "Did anyone see?"
"No, I was alone at the time. I felt a little bit strange – a kind of sick feeling. I thought a drink of water would help. The cupboard door flew open and the cup shot towards me. I just managed to catch it."
His arms tightened around her. "You're feeling alright now?"
"A little strange," she admitted. "But that's maybe because I was confirming in my own mind that I was actually pregnant."
"So, you're not upset?"
"No and yes." She grinned. "Do you understand that one?"
Harry returned her smile. "Hardly."
"It's confusing. I'm happy that we're going to have a baby but upset that my Dad isn't around to share the news with us. He would have been overjoyed."
"I know."
"And Mum…" Ginny's lip trembled. "I miss her so much. I wonder how she's keeping – if she's fully recovered from…"
Harry tightened his arms around her comfortingly. "Did your mother ever mention anything about her own pregnancies?"
"Just that a witch's magic could be unpredictable during pregnancy and that I should wait until I met and married the right wizard before even thinking about it."
"You have married the right wizard. It could be a one off," Harry said hopefully.
She shook her head. "No, I was hoping that, too. Look."
Harry hadn't noticed up until then, the remains of a plate lying on one of the worktop. "You decided that you wanted something to eat and the plate whizzed out of the cupboard."
"Yes, something like that. What if someone in the Ministry picks up on this?" Ginny's voice was anxious. "When exactly does a baby's name go on the register for Hogwarts?"
Harry's mouth opened and closed. He sat in silence for a moment before saying quietly. "I don't know. I hadn't considered that one. Hagrid told my Aunt and Uncle that my name had been down to go to Hogwarts since I was born." Harry looked troubled. "I think we should try and contact someone. We should go and get a Muggle doctor to check you over."
"It's too dangerous," Ginny protested. "Especially with the baby coming. If I'm performing accidental magic when I'm only just pregnant - what's going to happen when I'm ready to give birth?"
"I don't know what will happen." He hadn't thought of this. "I would rather you saw a healer as soon as possible and if a Muggle one isn't an option..." He pursed his lips. "I think I might manage to contact Poppy."
Ginny's eyes were wide and scared. Harry had told her how Poppy had been a true friend but as the Hogwarts Mediwitch she was situated too close to Dumbledore and the Order. Ginny was as unhappy with the headmaster as Harry was. "How?"
"I think I've found an active but forgotten Floo connection."
Ginny's brown eyes narrowed. "What have you been up to Harry James Potter?"
"Nothing," he said quickly.
"Harry!"
He placed his hands on her waist and lifted her off his knee. "I went to a tiny bookstore in town today and found this box of books. I must admit that it was a bit of a surprise." Ginny sat down again as Harry lifted the box of books onto the table. "Go on, have a look?"
"Magic books?" Ginny's face lost the little bit of colour it had.
"We're fine. The owner didn't know what she had. She's selling up, closing down the shop. She was going to throw them away."
"And she had magic books! Harry!" Ginny's voice rose. "Harry! What were you thinking?"
"I…wasn't," he muttered. "I don't think there's any danger in this instance."
"But we've been so careful," Ginny retorted.
"We're still being careful," Harry soothed. "I think her grandmother was a witch but she's obviously not inherited the talent – a second generation Squib with absolutely no idea of the family history. She'd never even looked at what was in the box."
"How did you find out that the box contained magical books?"
"For the first time in two years I sensed something magical." Ginny could hear the satisfaction in his voice.
"Oh, Harry…that's…"
"I'm not thinking that I'm ready to do magic, Gin, I'm not but in a year or two I could be." He gave a little shrug of his shoulders. "Something drew me to them and then I picked up a copy of 'One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi' by Phyllida Spore."
Ginny began digging through the box. "There are a lot of Herbology texts in here. Most of these haven't been used as part of the Hogwarts' curriculum for years. Hermione was interested to find out and I remember she had a whole heap of them piled round her one evening in the library." She pulled out the copy of 'Most Potente Potions'. "Goodness!"
Harry nodded. "I think that the granny was considered to be quite a healer but a bit scary to a small child. If she was dealing with that particular book then she could have been very scary."
"A wise woman," Ginny said thoughtfully, as she continued to scan through the volumes in the box. "They looked after Muggles as well as wizarding folk. The Muggles would just think that she was a bit odd."
"Any on pregnancy?"
Ginny shook her head. "Not that I've spotted so far but I've just had a brief glance. There may be something on healing in one of these volumes."
"I bought you a Muggle pregnancy testing kit."
"I bought myself one yesterday and tried it out this morning after you'd gone to work," Ginny said with a wry smile. "I used it today after you had left for work. It said that I was pregnant."
"I wondered if it would work on a witch."
"I'm not just a witch. I'm a woman, too. I followed the directions and it gave me a positive result."
Harry's face lit up with a huge smile. "I'm going to be a Dad," he said again. "We're a family – the Potters."
Ginny shook her head but couldn't hide her smile. His happiness was almost tangible and so infectious. He really was pleased and now that she was cut off from her own family, Ginny understood why. Harry finally had someone of his own to love and protect with her and the baby "Oh, you…"
Harry opened the fridge and began assembling things for their evening meal. "I'm going to try and see Poppy."
"I think it's too risky." Ginny got up and began setting the table.
"I'm not endangering your health and that of our baby," Harry declared. "You need to see a doctor or a healer."
"Maybe nothing will happen and I'm overreacting." Ginny tried to back down. She shouldn't have said anything. Harry worried about everything – especially her. Now he had the perfect excuse.
"No," he said with a sigh. "You need a proper examination. This will be a child produced by you and me. It will have a combination of both our troublesome genes." He groaned. "This kid is doomed."
"Stop using Divination on my son," Ginny said sternly. "There are no latent Seer characteristics in the Potter or Weasley families.
"Nope, I haven't taken to smelling of cooking sherry and covering myself in shawls," Harry said with a smile. "None of my predictions ever came true."
"That's because you and Ron invented them and they grew more ridiculous every time."
"Yeah, I predicted my own death every week in the most stupid ways imaginable. We might not have a son. She could have a daughter."
"It's a boy," Ginny declared. "I just know it."
"At the moment it's a blob," he retorted.
"Then it's a boy blob," she shot back. Ginny pouted. "How could you call our son a blob?"
Harry heaved a sigh. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. He'll be the most handsome blob ever. Listen, the school isn't back yet. Poppy should be setting up for the new term. There's no risk of running into other students - not until September the first."
"No, just Dumbledore and Snape." Ginny crossed her arms in front of her. "They're the most dangerous."
"Snape will be busy brewing potions and antidotes at this time of year. He'll be in his lab in the dungeons. Dumbledore is always a problem. He always knows what happens in the castle."
"What about the rest of the staff?"
"They would probably tell the headmaster. It's a risk we have to take. I have to make sure that you will be okay. I've got my invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map. It should help me avoid the enemy and locate Poppy."
Ginny gave a reluctant nod. She had to admit that she was worried. Chances were, everything was fine but if something did go wrong… "When are you going to go?"
"Tomorrow."
"Are you sure that's wise?"
"No," he gave a wry smile. "If I'm honest, I don't think there is a particularly good time to go but I think the sooner the better. However, as I said – it's still the school holidays. If I pick a time before lunch, there's a chance that Poppy may be working alone in the infirmary – even on a Saturday."
"How are you going to get there?"
"By Floo. The bookstore has the active Floo that I told you about. We'll go to Elgin tomorrow. I need you to distract the owner and possibly any other customers so that I can nip through the Floo."
"What about Floo powder?"
Harry's brow creased in thought. "Hold on," he murmured. "I think I may have a packet in my old rucksack – the one I ran away carrying."
He disappeared into the hallway and Ginny heard him rummaging in the cupboard under the stairs. "Got it," she heard him shout triumphantly. "There's only enough to get me there and back. One return trip."
Ginny shook her head. "What would happen if the Floo wasn't connected?"
"I wouldn't get very far. I suspect the fireplace would just spit me back out." Harry wandered back into the kitchen, a dilapidated rucksack dangling between his fingers. "I've had a thought, Gin."
His wife deliberately widened her eyes in mock surprise. "That's two since yesterday. Your head is going to explode one of these days."
"Very funny," he grumbled without heat. "Perhaps I should nip through the Floo, if she's not in the infirmary, leave her a note stating a date and time and try again."
"Now you are thinking," Ginny said. "Although you will have to make certain the note isn't intercepted."
"I would doubt that it would be. Why would Harry Potter be contacting Poppy Pomfrey? I usually couldn't wait to get out of the hospital wing away from her tender ministrations."
"True."
"So, I Floo in, leave the note and get out immediately."
"I like the sound of that," she said but she didn't look convinced that would happen. "Otherwise I could be distracting any Muggles in that shop for about two hours. I'm clever but I'm not that entertaining."
"Oh, I don't know," murmured Harry, with a smirk. "I find you very entertaining." He winked.
"Harry James Potter!" she tried to sound scandalised, she really did but failed.
"I need to take out these lenses." Harry blinked as his eyes began to water.
"Go and do that and I'll make the tea."
He gave her a kiss and vanished out of the room. She heard his feet clattering up the stairs. He was still a boy in so many ways. They'd both had to grow up far too fast and now they were going to be parents themselves. Life was strange.
Ten minutes later the door opened into the large living area the Potter's called home and Harry wandered in. He had changed out of his work suit into jeans and a casual jumper, his emerald green eyes visible behind his glasses. "That's better," he said.
The large kitchen living room was the heart of the house. They had a more formal sitting room but rarely used it. Ginny had moved the cutlery to trays and had switched on the television. She'd lit one of the lamps but it wasn't yet dark. The days were long and the nights were short this far north.
"I thought we'd have supper on our knees," she said. "Grab one of the trays."
"Good idea." Harry poured himself a drink and headed to the comfy leather couch. For a few minutes there was silence as they began to eat their meal.
"Harry, I was thinking about tomorrow and…and going to Hogwarts. I had an idea that might help us. I don't like the idea of you just leaving a note. Anyone could read it."
Harry looked up. "Okay," he murmured.
"Suppose Poppy is not in the infirmary when you go there. You can't go traipsing around Hogwarts looking for her."
"No. I can't. The portraits would alert someone in authority and possibly close down my floo access. It would be the only way I get in and out quickly. The infirmary has a Floo just in case Poppy needs to contact St. Mungos."
"It can still be closed down trapping you at Hogwarts. If you're going to go into a situation on my behalf I need to know that we have a way out."
"Not the situation I would like to be in." Harry took a bite of his potato. "And it's on 'our' behalf. Alright, oh wise woman. What is your suggestion?"
"Dobby," Ginny said smugly. "Dobby's still at Hogwarts when he's not at Grimmauld Place. He won't be there because you're not there."
"I never thought of that," Harry said.
"Dobby considers himself to be bound to us," Ginny observed.
"He's free."
"In some ways he is. He's free to be your elf and he loves you for it." Ginny took a couple more bites of her chicken pie. "Prepare a letter with a set time and get Dobby to deliver it to Poppy. Even better, get him to deliver her one of those emergency portkeys Fred and George gave you."
"Good idea," Harry said thoughtfully.
"Dobby could set the destination for you. I'm sure he knows where you are."
Harry grinned. "Probably. He knew that we were 'joined' to one another. I told him not to come looking for us. Dumbledore will have factored Dobby's allegiance to me into things."
"No one ever called Dumbledore foolish."
"Well, to be fair some people have but they were sympathisers with Voldemort or readers of the Daily Prophet. I think he was foolish in the way he treated us."
"Yes," Ginny whispered. "But we'll be alright."
"We will. We all will."
27