Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Authors Notes: Okay, so Fanfiction.net decided that this story was quote "Not the property of the uploading Author" and they removed it… So I'm going to try again… You can also find the chapters for this story on my Yahoo Group (the link can be found in my bio)
For everyone who reviewed would you mind reviewing again so I know who is reading this story! Please! We lost all 140 reviews when they removed our story!! :(
The song in this chapter is 'Special One's by George
Chapter 1The Search for Ginny
Grace Evans rushed up the stairs to her dorm room; she had just finished a shift at the campus coffee shop.
"Shit," she said to herself, "I'm going to be late".
In fact she was already twenty-five minutes late for her last class of the day. She looked at her watch. If she left now she could make the last twenty minutes of class. She decided to lay lie down on her bed for 'just for a minute' she promised herself…
~*~
"Grace… Grace… are you in here?" called her roommate Emily. "Julie said you missed your last class… Grace… helloooo??"
"W W Whhaattt," yawned Grace. "What time is it?" She looked over at the clock and said something that would shock the socks off her mother. "Oh no! I can't believe I fell asleep, I have to go apologize to the Professor," she mumbled.
"Don't worry, Julie told Mike…, you do remember who your Professor is don't you?… that you weren't feeling well. You really should slow down a bit Grace, you're working yourself into the ground!" said Emily, her head poking around the door of their bedroom. "Do you have to work tonight?"
"Yes," sighed Grace. "Are you going to come and watch?"
"Of course, don't I always?" replied Emily grinning. "Oh by the way, Adam is going to come. Is that okay?"
"Of course, you can bring anyone you want!" said Grace hiding a smile so that Emily couldn't see it. It was widely known that Emily had feelings for Adam. She would never admit it, but everyone knew. "Does this look okay?" Grace had come out of the bathroom wearing a pair of well-worn jeans and a baby pink t-shirt.
"Um, Grace, didn't you wear that to your gig last night?" said Emily tentatively. A look of annoyance crossed Grace's features. Emily knew that Grace was touchy about money, and her lack of it, so she quickly added "It looks fine, don't worry…"
Grace heard her, but her mind had flashed back in time - remembering her first day at Hogwarts.
"Well, well, well. No point in asking who you are. Red hair and hand-me-down robes. You must be a Weasley," drawled Draco Malfoy, her older brother Ron's arch enemy. He liked to rub in how poor they were to their faces. Ginny hardly ever had anything new. Being the youngest, with six older brothers, everything to do with school was a hand-me-down.
"I know its not much, but…" Grace started.
"It's fine, really. But you know, I have heaps of clothes if you want to borrow something. Anything, feel free, any time. What are best friends for?" Emily stated happily, cutting off Grace before she could protest too much, whilst rummaging through her side of their shared wardrobe. "Look. How about you wear this skirt and umm, how about this top? We could do your hair, put on a little make up… you'll look great," she said holding up a black knee length skirt and a baby blue, lace camisole.
"I know you hate people helping you," added Emily, "but I think tonight's going to be a special night. I have a feeling that something important is going to happen… please… just for me?" she said with pleading eyes.
"But it's freezing outside. It is winter you know," said Grace.
"Well, put a cloak on then," Emily added quickly.
"But… um... okay," conceded Grace, smiling, "but just this once. You know I can't say no to that look."
~*~
Harry Potter rushed through the wizard airport in Sydney, Australia. He had just come from New York. He had been to so many places now, he wasn't quite sure if he was coming or going. Just as well he had a list of everywhere he'd been, and a list of clues he'd found along the way. He'd been looking for Ginny for almost three years now, and didn't plan on stopping until he found her.
She couldn't hide from him forever.
He looked at his watch. He still had five minutes to get to the Portkey Desk and he was nearly there. His Portkey would take him to the wizard apparition point in Melbourne. That was where he hoped to find Ginny.
He arrived in Melbourne at around six o'clock in the evening, and he still had to find a place to stay. Not being familiar with the wizarding part of the city yet, he headed to a Muggle hotel. After he checked in, he headed into Wizard Melbourne. He needed to find the Owl Post Office (OPO) and send Ron, Hermione, Sirius and Remus a letter, telling them where he was and how he was doing.
Ron and Hermione had become engaged in their seventh year at Hogwarts, and they had wanted to wait until after graduation to get married. But with the war against Voldemort, then Ginny's disappearance, it put their wedding plans on hold. They had decided to wait and see if Harry could find Ginny before setting a date.
That was nearly three years ago. They were already living together in a place of their own, which they had shared with Harry before he went in search of Ginny, but they wanted to get married and make it official. So after a lot of fights, and even more tears, they set a date. 1st September 2002. Eleven years since they first met on the Hogwarts Express. They had told Harry that they would marry on that date regardless of whether he found Ginny or not.
They had started giving up hope of ever finding her. But if anyone could find her, it would be Harry.
He would return to England for Ron and Hermione's wedding; they had asked him and Ginny to be best man and maid of honour. He had to find Ginny before the wedding - not only for his sake, but for the whole Weasley family. Now he only had just over three months left.
He reached the OPO and re-read the letter he'd written earlier, added a quick Post Script and attached the letter to the owl he had paid for and left the OWL post office.
He looked at his watch. It was seven o'clock. He decided to wander into Muggle Melbourne to find something for dinner. Maybe he would look for a pub. Once he'd had a decent meal he would get some rest and start looking for Ginny tomorrow. He was so tired after travelling through all the international borders that day, he was practically asleep on his feet.
~*~
At the corner hotel – Richmond
Grace walked into the pub and saw her band. Her band. That gave her a good feeling. She'd started the band when she first moved to Melbourne. It was her only escape - whenever anything got too much for her, she would write songs and sing. She was thinking about this as she started to set up her keyboard and the microphones.
"Hey Grace," Fred shouted, coming through the front door of the pub, "what time do we go on?"
"8ish," said Grace looking at her watch. Fred was the Double Bass player in the band. He was also the joker of the group, and you really couldn't get a more different group of people all in one band. There was Fred the prankster, Phil the quiet, shy one, Shane was the funny one, and Grace. She was the mysterious one.
Fred, Phil and Shane were best friends. They had been friends since they were five years old and they did everything together. Which also included trying to get information out of Grace about her past.
She had written a song about Harry, their relationship and the reasons behind her having to leave. And the first time they played it to a crowd Grace sang her real name, Ginny, instead of Grace. Ever since then, the boys took every opportunity possible to try and make her slip up, intrigued to find out what the real story was.
~*~
Harry walked down the street. He didn't know where he was going, so he decided to let his feet take him where they wanted to go. Whenever he felt like this, it was best to just follow his instincts.
~*~
A few years earlier…Harry didn't know where he was going. He had been looking for Ginny for a year now and he was still no nearer to finding her. He was thinking about the times they had spent together before the war and before she disappeared. Before he knew it, he had stopped outside a shop he'd never been to before. But instinct told him to go in
He opened the door - a little bell tinkled - he looked around the shop and saw an old lady sitting in a chair behind the counter. He walked over and was overcome with the urge to ask her about Ginny. He took a photo of Ginny (the only muggle photo he had of her) out of his pocket, approached the counter and asked the old lady if she had seen her. Amazingly she said "yes".
Harry's heart rate quickened. 'I've found her' he thought.
"She left about a week ago," said the old lady, dashing his hopes instantly. "I think she said something about going east. She was a nice girl. Did you know her?"
Harry's stomach fell to the floor. Ginny. His Ginny had been in this very room. He muttered to himself, then said, "She left a year ago, on my birthday. I was planning to propose to her the next day and then…" he stopped. She didn't know he was a wizard and didn't know about Voldemort. What could he say?
Before he could think of what he should say, she said "I know who you are. She told me all about you and what you did. Before she left the shop she thanked me for introducing her to the… um… 'Muggle world'. I don't know what she meant."
"Did she tell you where she was going? I have to find her. She is my world. I must find her! Please, can you help me?" he begged.
"I'm sorry my dear boy, but she would not tell me where she was going, only that she was going east" she said, covering his hand with hers in a comforting gesture.
~*~
That was the first time he'd had this feeling. He'd felt it once since then, when he was in New York, and he never took it lightly. This 'feeling' or 'instinct' hadn't been wrong yet and he didn't plan on ignoring it now. It led him down the main road and then stopped him outside a pub. With only a moments pause he went in. He couldn't do anything else, he had to follow his instincts. He just didn't want to be disappointed again…
'Oh well, third time's a charm, right?' he thought to himself.
The pub was smoky and hazy, stinging his eyes. He went and got a drink at the bar and then made his way to a table in the back corner. There were people everywhere. Who should he speak to first? Something within told him to wait… not to do anything just yet. So he waited. He looked around the room searching for her. A few people caught his eye, but none of them Ginny.
He had been at the pub about half an hour when suddenly the crowd went quiet. Three men walked onto the stage and the tallest one walked to the microphone and said "Good evening everyone, we're the band BeWITCHing Evil. We hope you have a good night. If you want to make a request please just come up and ask. Now we are proud to present our lead singer and keyboard player Miiiiiiiss Grace Evans!"
A loud burst of applause broke through the quiet and Ginny Weasley stepped onto the stage and into the spotlight. Harry's heart leapt to his throat. 'Oh my God, I found her.' The thought kept going through his mind again and again and again.
Harry decided to remain as unobtrusive as possible, but he couldn't take his eyes off Ginny. It was so good to see her again. He couldn't get over how much she had grown up. She looked beautiful, statuesque. He sat there listening to her sing. Something he hadn't heard for nearly three years.
He couldn't believe how much she had grown up. Her hair was longer and she had a little makeup on too. He loved her more than ever. She was lost in her singing, her hand moving over the keyboard as if she had been doing it her whole life.
Isn't it funny how you never really screamed at my face
But your anger so unspoken and un-channelled permeates my essence to the point where I
Don't want to see you or hear you, be anywhere near you
You probably think I'm threatened by you but your illusionary power doesn't threaten me
Actually I think it kind of funny how you create the illusion that is mirror
I don't appreciate you and I know that surprises you
I suppose you see that those who follow their hearts always win,
Those with integrity have won the match before it begins
So rather than being kicked around, I'm going to kick you to the curbSo rather than being pushed around, I'm going to push you away first
So rather than trying to protect you, I'm going to cover my bases first
So rather than trying to open my heart, I'm going to lock it with a key
So that only the Special Ones, so that only the Special Ones, can ever get through to me
Some can see beyond the barrier of threshold whereas others can't see
Beyond their sculptured mould.
You could offer me nothing, you could offer me nothing that I need
Do you think I'm asking too much?
A kind of respect and trust that shouldn't even be questioned,
How can I open my heart with dishonesty sitting next to me?
I've honoured your honour to the point of embarrassment,
But innocence in the hands of the guilt-free is kicked to, is kicked to the curb
I was ashamed of my innocence,
I was ashamed of my innocence,
But now with clarity I see that your bullshit is just not worthy of me.
So rather than being kicked around, I'm going to kick you to the curb
So rather than being pushed around, I'm going to push you away first
So rather than trying to protect you, I'm going to cover my bases first
So rather than trying to open my heart, I'm going to lock it with a key
So that only the Special Ones, so that only the Special Ones, can ever get through to me
I don't want to be angry…
I don't want to be angry…
I don't want to be angry…
I don't want to be angry, angry, ANGRYThis is not worthy of me but now with clarity I see that I can walk away
I can walk away
So rather than being kicked around, I'm going to kick you to the curb
So rather than being pushed around, I'm going to push you away first
So rather than trying to protect you, I'm going to cover my bases first
So rather than trying to open my heart, I'm going to lock it with a key
So that only the Special Ones, so that only the Special Ones, can ever get through to meHarry listened. He listened to the words. He had been so intent on finding her, that it hadn't even occurred to him that maybe she didn't want to be found. He wasn't sure if all of the song was about him, but he hoped not. It sounded like it covered a few facets of her past; himself, Voldemort, regret, shame. But maybe she didn't love him like he loved her. What would he do then? She was the only person he loved… hell she was the only person he wanted to love. He didn't want anyone else. Just Ginny.
Harry sat and watched the rest of the performance. It was amazing to watch her interact with the band and her friends. He had to know where she lived. Even if he never went there - he had to know.
He waited outside, across the road from the pub, in the dark, where she wouldn't see him. When he saw her come out he cast a tracking spell on her hair. She shivered with the contact and turned around. Harry shrank back deeper into the shadows and waited until she was gone. Now it was just a matter of following the residual spell.
~*~
At The Burrow
Ron and Hermione were having breakfast at The Burrow, they tried to spend a day there at least once a month. Molly and Arthur missed the children when they weren't there. Only Percy, his wife Penelope and their two year old son Percival Leander Jr. lived with Molly and Arthur now, as they were saving to buy a place of their own. Everyone called Percy Jr. "Leo" as a nickname because he was born under that star sign.
Ron, Hermione, Molly, Arthur and Percy were sitting around the kitchen table, eating breakfast, when an owl swooped in through the open window with a letter attached to its leg, landing in front of Ron. He pulled the letter off already knowing whom it was from.
It had been longer than normal since Harry had written; but Ron didn't want anyone to realise how worried he was. He opened the letter and began to read.
Dear Ron & Hermione,
Please say hello to everyone and let them know that I'm okay and doing well. I have just arrived in Melbourne, Australia. I'm here because I got some information from a girl, who worked with Ginny in New York, saying that she was thinking of coming to Australia. I'm confident that I will find her here. I will let you know when I have more information.
How is everyone doing at home? Please write to me when you have a chance. I want to hear all about the Twins' shop. How is Percy doing at the Ministry? How's baby Leo? Can you send a photo of him? When are Charlie and Bill coming home? Is everyone coming to the wedding?
Hermione - is Molly driving you mad with wedding plans yet?
Ron snorted when he read this. He didn't say anything, just passed the letter for Hermione to read. Ron watched her expression as she read the line he pointed out, and she just shook her head trying not to laugh, and handed the letter back to Ron.
Please tell me everything. I feel out of the loop being so far away…
Write soon,
Love
Harry
PS: Maybe Hedwig would like a job – can you send her back with your reply? I haven't seen her in ages!! – Harry
Ron jumped up and walked to the fire in the front room, threw in some floo powder, stuck his head in and called out "Black Manor."
"Sirius, Remus, are you there?"
"Ron? Are you okay? Is Harry okay?" came Sirius' frantic reply.
"Sirius calm down. We're all fine. I just got a letter from Harry. He's good. I thought you'd like to read it. If you want to reply though, give the letter to me and I'll send it with Hedwig when Hermione and I reply."
When Ron returned to the kitchen, everyone else had finished breakfast and left for their respective days. Hermione was sitting by herself, silently sobbing. He walked around the table and pulled her into his embrace. Hermione stopped holding it all in. She cried openly in Ron's arms. "How much longer is he going to be, I miss him" she sobbed uncharacteristically.
"I don't know Mione. He'll be back for the wedding, even if he hasn't found her by then. He promised. I'm going to write back to him, to see if I can get him to stop looking. I know she's my sister and all, but she chose to leave and it's been almost three years Hermione. He needs some time off. He deserves a break. Maybe it's time to let her go."
Ron let out a frustrated sigh. As much as he loved Ginny, she had no right to do this to Harry. To any of them.
He remembered their defeat of Voldemort and losing Ginny. He and Hermione had fought with Harry for days; tears, recriminations, accusations, regret, helplessness - felt by all three of them, before Harry finally gave in and told them what happened. He told them only on the condition that they let him go and look for her by himself.
As he told them what he had witnessed, Ron sat in shocked silence, Hermione in his arms, tears tracking silently down her face. They decided not to tell the rest of the family the full story until Harry had found Ginny, and brought her home. Ron only told his family an extremely edited version of the story; one that the three of them had decided upon.
"I'll have more luck on my own. I want everyone's lives to get back to normal as soon as possible. Don't worry. I'll find her and bring her home," Harry had told the Weasleys' before he left.
That was nearly three years ago, and Ron was getting angry. Not at Harry, but at Ginny for being selfish, for not trusting them to still love her despite what Voldemort had made her do; it wasn't her fault! If Voldemort were here now, Ron would kill him! Just as well he was already destroyed…
"It's alright Hermione. He'll be home for our wedding. He promised," repeated Ron, hoping to soothe and comfort her.
"I just really miss him Ron. He's like a brother to me as well as being my best friend," she stated softly. "I feel like a part of me is missing when he's not here."
"Hey, I'll start getting jealous soon if you're not careful," Ron teased softly in her ear.
"Oh Ron, I love you more than anyone in the whole world," said Hermione turning to face him, "you know that. But don't you feel … a little lost? Like after all these years of fighting alongside each other, protecting each other since our first year at Hogwarts, it feels strange not to have him around every day. Don't you agree?"
"Yeah. I miss him and I want Ginny back too. The family's not the same without all the pieces of the family puzzle. And you're right. Harry is one of those missing pieces, just as much as Ginny is," replied Ron. "He'll find her Hermione, I just know it."