Hey everybody! This is the continuation of The Unexpected Heir Part 2, originally by CaseyLove. She chose to "pass the torch" to me, and I am so, so, SO glad to be able to continue this story (I always loved it). She has given me her notes and I will be following them to the best of my ability. It is pretty much a requirement that you read The Unexpected Heir and her beginning of The Unexpected Heir Part 2 if you want to read this, otherwise you won't understand a thing. To all of her old readers, I hope I do this story justice! To any new ones, welcome! Also, to my readers who are waiting for my Rose/Scorpius story to be updated soon, I promise, it is coming, but this is not the place for that. So without further ado, I introduce the continuation of The Unexpected Heir Part 2
Disclaimer: Characters and anything you recognize are JKR's, the idea belongs entirely to CaseyLove
Chapter 6: Reunion
Spells flashed, bright bursts of green, red, and white flashing all around Harry's head, some of them emitting from his own wand. A wizard in deep red robes came running at him, wand out, and Harry dodged, then Stunned him quickly.
To his right and left, Ron and Hermione were both fighting tooth and nail as well. The effects of the Polyjuice Potion were almost gone, and aside from a few gray streaks, Hermione looked herself. Ron, however, was in some strange state of half Reg Cattermole and half Ron Weasley. His hair was red, and his freckles were reappearing, but he still had Cattermole's eyes, nose, and rather large potbelly. At any other time, Harry would have found this rather funny.
However, as a bright green flash struck the statue two inches to the left of him, he knew that this was no time for humor.
"REDUCTO!" he yelled, and the floor in front of the man's feet imploded, causing a pit that two or three Ministry workers fell into.
"Harry, we've got to get out of here!" Ron yelled, dodging a streak of red. "Grab Hermione and let's Apparate!"
"Where is she?" Harry asked, shooting yet another Stunning Spell at a nearby Ministry witch and missing completely because he was looking for Hermione.
"Here!" she shouted, yanking him out of the way as the witch he'd been trying to Stun shot a spell at him. The purple light hit the glass windows of the offices behind him and shattered them all, making Harry very glad he hadn't been hit by the spell.
"Ron, get over here!" Harry yelled, creating another hole in the Ministry floor in an attempt to give his best friend time to reach them.
Ron ran for them, Stunning and hexing anyone in his way. He was almost to them when he slipped on a huge stack of newspapers that had fallen to the ground in the chaos. A pale-skinned man with a twisted face managed to free himself from the crowd of people and run towards Ron, who was only just getting to his feet.
Next to Harry, Hermione screamed. A jet of white light shot from the end of her wand, heading straight for the man chasing Ron. Somehow, the man managed to duck, roll, and come up standing. He turned towards Harry, Ron, and Hermione again, and a light flicked on in the back of Harry's brain, confirming what they already suspected: the man was Antonin Dolohov, one of Voldemort's convicted Death Eaters. If he was working here, that meant only one thing: Voldemort really had taken over the Ministry (not that there had ever been any doubt).
"That's Antonin Dolohov!" Harry yelled to Hermione. "He's a convicted Death Eater! That means-"
"Voldemort's taken over the Ministry, yes, Harry, we already knew that," she yelled back. "Ron, come on!"
Ron was running as fast as he could, and he was almost there. Hermione stretched her hand out as far as she could, the other already holding Harry's in a death grip. Ron stretched his out, too, and about two feet behind him, so did Dolohov.
In the blink of an eye, it was over. Ron crashed into Hermione, grabbing her hand, yelling "GO!" over and over. Hermione turned on the spot, her hand tightening on Harry's. Harry glanced over her shoulder and saw Dolohov's twisted face spread into a hideous grin just as the world went black and the sensation of being squeezed through a very tight tube gripped him.
Dolohov had grabbed Ron. Dolohov was with them. They were bringing Dolohov with them, back to Grimmauld Place, back to James and Ginny...
Harry struggled, trying to redirect their Apparition, thinking desperately of Privet Drive. The sensation of being crushed seemed to stretch on longer than usual, giving Harry the hope that maybe, just maybe, they were being directed away from Grimmauld Place, that Ginny and James would be safe...
And then the crushing sensation disappeared and he saw, with a pang, the peeling paint and old wood of the door of Number Four, Grimmauld Place.
"PECTRIFICUS TOTALUS!" Hermione screamed, almost right in his ear, and he winced. Vaguely, he heard the thud of a body nearby, meaning she'd found her mark. He spun around to see Dolohov lying on the walkway to Number Four.
"Nice, Hermione," Harry said weakly, turning to face the house again. Or, rather, the door. Because the door and the frame were the only part of Number Four that were still standing.
"What the hell?" Ron asked. "Where's Ginny? Where's James?"
"GINNY! JAMES!" Harry yelled, feeling a panic creep up on him as he saw the wreckage. It looked as though the upper floors had been sent crashing down to the bottom floors, completely burying the lower part of the house. If Ginny or James had been anywhere in there...Harry refused to think about it.
"We have to find them!" he said, stepping around the door frame and beginning to shift pieces out of the way. "They've got to be here somewhere!" He could hear the hysterics rising in his own voice. Next to him, Ron was just as frantic, tearing carpets and portraits and tapestries in an attempt to see if Ginny or James were buried under all the rubble. Behind them, he could hear Hermione shifting the rubble apart with magic.
"Oh, for goodness' sake-stop it, both of you! I have a charm I can try, hold still!" she finally called to them in exasperation. Both Harry and Ron automatically froze. Harry's heart was thudding much too hard in his chest, so hard it was almost painful. His breath was coming in quick, heavy pants, and he could feel the sweat dewing on his forehead from all the lifting. But all of that was nothing compared to the total panic that was wracking his body at the moment.
"Homenum revelio," Hermione said, and all three of them stood stock-still, waiting for something to happen. After what felt like an eternity but was really only about 30 seconds, Harry spoke.
"What was that supposed to do?"
"It was supposed to tell us if anyone was in the area where the house was," she said shakily, "and it told me Ginny and James aren't here."
"No," Harry said, feeling his breath speed up. "No, you-you must have done it wrong, they're here, they have to be, I know they are-"
He was losing control, and he knew it. He took a few steps toward the center of the rubble and finally sank to his knees. He put his head in his hands and screwed up his eyes, willing himself not to cry or break down. Neither of those things would help Ginny or James right now. He allowed himself three deep breaths and then looked up.
Ron and Hermione were a few feet in front of him, pity and sorrow in both of their eyes. For some reason, Harry didn't want to see that.
"Where could they be?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady. "I mean...where would they have gone?"
"Harry..." Hermione said cautiously, her face hesitant. When he gestured to her to go on, she did so slowly, "we know it had to have been Death Eaters who did this...and...well, I know they can't see Ginny, but Ron had that piece of paper for her...the one about the Fidelius Charm or whatever, right? Well, he never gave that to her. I...I think it's safe to say they're either-either d-dead or c-captured," she said, and he could hear the tears in her voice.
"No," he said angrily. "There's no way they're dead. They can't be dead," he said, his voice rising with every word. "They can't be!"
He whirled around and marched back across the wreckage to Antonin Dolohov. "Loquius," he spat, pointing his wand at the Death Eater.
"Let me up, you son of a-"
"Shut it now," Ron snapped, coming up behind Harry. "Tell us where my sister is."
"What, the red-haired slut? I don't know, we've been trying to find her all week!" Dolohov spat. "We were supposed to check out this place but they didn't find anything so they destroyed it."
"Who?" Harry asked.
"That's classified information," Dolohov spat.
"It doesn't matter, Harry," Hermione said, coming up behind him. "That's all we need to know. They don't have her."
"Then where is she, Hermione?" Harry asked, rounding on her. "What happened to her and James?"
"How do we know you're not lying?" Ron asked, staring at Dolohov suspiciously.
"Figured that out, have you?" he asked, smirking at them all. "I guess you can't tell, can you? That's unfortunate for you."
"Listen, you git," Harry snapped, his every syllable trembling with rage. "You will tell me where my wife and son are or so help me-"
"Now, Harry, I never saw you as the kind to go making threats."
The mild voice that Harry knew so well came from the front garden, and when he looked up, sure enough, Remus Lupin was standing there watching the scene play out.
"Remus!" Hermione gasped. "What are you doing here?"
"I've been coming here every day," he replied. "I've had a watch on the house since you left it and Miss Weasley behind. Or, I guess she's Mrs. Potter, now," he said thoughtfully.
"Where is she, Remus?" Harry asked, jumping over Dolohov and running up to Lupin. "Is she safe? What about James? Are they okay? Where are they?"
"They are in a location that shall, for the time being, remain classified," Lupin said, his eyes cutting to Dolohov. "I suggest you finish up with this man and then we can go to her."
"Right, right," Harry said, turning around. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. Ginny and James were alive and safe, and that was all that mattered. He put his thoughts of them to the back of his mind and turned back to Dolohov.
"Let's just get this over with."
Ginny had just finished feeding James and was walking around the nursery upstairs, humming softly and trying to get him to burp when she heard it.
A loud POP that could only mean one thing-Lupin was back from Grimmauld Place for the day. Ginny turned and headed for the door, just on the off chance that there would be news today. Lupin had been going every day since finding Ginny and James there, and so far, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and/or Kingsley had yet to return. The constant "no's" every day made Ginny feel more than a little hurt and abandoned, but she hadn't had much time to dwell on it, what with James taking up almost every waking moment.
She heard the sound of a table being knocked over downstairs and a muffled oath. She rolled her eyes and the corners of her lips perked up. Tonks, ever clumsy and eager, had probably knocked something over in her excitement to get to Lupin.
Still humming, Ginny walked around the corner into the living room and gasped. There, in the middle of the living room, rubbing his hip and apologizing profusely to Lupin, was Ron. And behind him, just coming in the door, was Hermione. Which meant-
"Ginny! James!" Harry exclaimed, his eyes landing on them as soon as he walked through the door.
"Harry!" Ginny gasped, forgetting about James for a second as she lunged across the room toward him.
They met in the middle, and Harry's lips crashed into hers, his hands coming up to cradle her face and gently stroke her cheeks. He'd grown a slight stubble since the last time she'd seen him, and it scratched Ginny's cheeks as she kissed him. His lips were slightly chapped, but urgent against her own, and she kissed him back fiercely. He was safe, he was here, he was back-it was all too much to take in.
Harry pulled away and embraced her as tightly as he could without crushing James. "I thought you were dead," he murmured. "When we went back to Grimmauld Place and found the house destroyed-"
"Wait, what?" Ginny asked, pushing away from him. "The house was destroyed? What happened to it?"
"I believe the credit for that act can be given to those lovely Death Eaters we met on our way out, Ginny," Lupin said calmly.
"Death Eaters?" Harry asked. "You told me nothing happened to her!"
"Nothing did, Harry," Ginny sighed. "Lupin showed up just after you lot Apparated away, and then the Death Eaters came just after he did. They couldn't see me, so they didn't shoot at me or James, but yes, Lupin and I had to walk through them to get out of the house."
"Merlin's pants," Harry muttered. "I should've been there."
"Don't beat yourself up about it," Ginny replied. "Clearly, we're fine."
Right on cue, James let out a loud belch, startling everyone in the room for a second before the laughter began. Harry gently lifted his son from Ginny's arms and cuddled him tightly while Ginny said hello to Ron and Hermione.
Eventually, however, they all settled down on the couch and told their respective stories. Harry held James and kept his arm around Ginny the entire time, and though she acted annoyed, secretly, she was glad to finally have him back-he was a warm, sold, dependable presence in a time where everything changed by the day.
Later that night, as they were settling James in for bed, Ginny kept catching Harry staring at her. It wasn't until after they finally settled him down and crawled into bed themselves that she asked him why.
"Because I haven't seen you in entirely too long and I love you," he replied, kissing her on the forehead. "And because I thought you were dead not five hours ago. To actually have you safe...to know I wasn't responsible for the death of another person...it's a great feeling."
"You were never responsible for any deaths, Harry," Ginny said sternly. "But I missed you, too." She reached up and pulled his head down to hers for a long, lingering, gentle kiss before lying back down, her head on his chest. They were almost asleep when Ginny spoke again.
"By the way, I've been getting up with James for three nights in a row now, so don't expect me to get up at all tonight unless he needs fed."
Harry chuckled sleepily. "Alright, love."
"You see, Harry, that's only funny because you think I'm joking."
And indeed, when Harry got up five times during the night (at 10, 1, 2:30, 3, and 5:20 am), he did not find Ginny's comment at all to be funny.
No, I'm sure he didn't.
Well, anyways, I hope everyone liked this. I'm kind of nervous about taking on this, especially because the story was so well-loved, so please tell me what you thought, and any suggestions you have. Reviews will motivate me to get the next chapter(s) up faster!
Lovelovelove -D-