MetaFic

"Damn!" Ginny snarled, tossing the paper aside.

Harry gave her mild look from where he stood chopping vegetables at the kitchen table inside the tent. "It's actually pretty typical."

"Dark wizards? They have the gall to accuse of us being dark wizards?" Ginny was now slowly shredding the copy of the Daily Prophet.

"People have been accusing me of being dark off and on since my second year at Hogwarts." Harry finished cutting up the vegetables and tossed them in the stew pot. He cleaned the knife and then, giving it an appraising look, transfigured a sheath for it out of a dishtowel and tucked it in his belt. He looked up at Ginny, who had gone very quiet. "What?"

She turned her worried eyes toward him. "What are Mum and Dad going to think? And what's going to happen to Dad at work?"

Harry checked the food and then settled down at the table next to her. "You can still go home. You could tell the Prophet that I kidnapped you or something."

She gave him a disgusted look.

He smiled and held up a hand. "I'm just saying..."

"Well, don't," she muttered.

Harry nodded and returned to cooking their dinner. Once away from the Leaky Cauldron, they had spent the day hiding out in muggle London. Harry had shown Ginny some of the interesting sights of the city, taking her on the red double-decker buses. That night they had climbed aboard the Heart Shaft Four and made the long ride north under cover of darkness, taking sanctuary in Sirius' old cave outside of Hogsmeade. That afternoon while Harry slept, Ginny had gone down to the village and come back with various supplies and a paper. When Harry had questioned her about her expedition, she had smiled and told him that she had her ways and that no one had seen her.

"I just — how are they allowed to publish such rubbish?" Ginny burst out.

Harry poured tea and settled next to her; the stew could be left on its own for awhile. He took the damaged paper away from her and set it aside. "It's what the readers want. They don't care about what really happens; they don't care whose lives get damaged, they just want a sensational story to read. It makes them fell better about themselves when they read this stuff."

Ginny shook her head. "I don't understand how you can take this so calmly."

"I suppose I've grown accustomed to it. I just–" Harry paused and collected his thoughts. "I guess the real thing that bothers me about it is that that I know I'll never have a moment's peace from them for the rest of my life."

Ginny nodded. She was well aware of how much Harry disliked all the fame and attention. "It will all work out in the end."

"No, it won't," Harry sighed. "I'll never get to have a quiet, normal life, not now. No matter what I do, they're going to follow me around, waiting to see if The Great Harry Potter turns into the next Dark Lord, or waiting to see if I slip up and do or say something they can twist. And the public just laps it up. You watch; next week they'll be screaming for me to vanquish Voldemort, then if I do, they'll be whispering about how I must have used dark magic to defeat him." Harry sighed again and smiled sadly at Ginny. "I'm just tired of it. All I've ever wanted was to just be normal, to live quietly someplace, play some Quidditch, have a family, plant a garden maybe, but..." he shrugged and placed a hand over hers. "Welcome to my world."

"I'm glad I'm here," Ginny said earnestly. She smiled and decided to change the subject. "So, what's the plan? I know you really didn't want to get this close to Hogwarts, so I assume we’ve come here for a reason."

"Snape," Harry snarled in a low voice. "He hurt Hedwig, and that's not going to stand. It's time someone put the slimy git in his place."

Ginny's eyes got round as saucers. "You mean we're going into the castle?"

Harry grinned, an almost feral smile. "Yeah, we're going to get back at Snape, right under Dumbledore's nose."

***
"How did they look?" Hermione asked, sitting next to Ron on the molding couch.

"They seemed–" Ron paused and considered his next words, "different, almost happy."

"It is because they are united," Fleur said from across the room where she sat with Bill.

"I'm just so worried; we don't have any way to keep in touch now, thanks to Snape," Hermione growled.

"Yes, handy how that worked out," Ron said softly.

"Ron, Dumbledore trusts Snape," Bill said in a soft but not terribly convincing voice.

"Yes, well, I'm not sure the Headmaster is high on my list right now, either," said Ron.

There was a long moment of silence among the four of them. Finally Bill sighed. "So, what do you think their next move will be?" he asked.

Ron looked thoughtful. "I suspect Harry will want to get a little revenge on Snape."

"Well," Hermione said briskly, "there's no way he'll be able to do that. When Snape isn't out actively working for the Order, he's either here or at Hogwarts."

There was another moment of silence as everyone considered that statement.

Hermione's eyes widened. "You don't think..."

"It would be a bold move," Bill said.

"Just the type of thing Harry and Ginny both excel at," Ron smiled.

"And if they are growing closer, then it will make them harder for the Order to stop," Fleur added.

"Bill, you have to be careful, Dumbledore and Snape–" Hermione gasped out, but she was cut off smoothly by Fleur.

"Are not the only practitioners of Occlumency in the Order."

Bill smiled tightly, "And as a bonded pair, we can reinforce each other. It's you two that have to be careful."

Ron nodded. "Yes, but they still act like we're all stupid children. Until they wise up, we're not in any danger from that. And if we become a danger to Harry and Ginny, well, we know what to do."

Hermione gave Ron a look and then nodded.

"Anything else?" Bill asked.

Hermione took a deep breath and plunged ahead. "We've been receiving letters from members of the D. A. asking if there's anything they can do. I've written them all back, explaining as much as possible and asking them to lend aid to Harry and Ginny if they see them without letting anyone in authority know what's going on."

"The Order is looking for 'Arry and Ginny in the immediate vicinity of London," Fleur said. "Dumbledore is planning to authorize a far-scry again if nothing turns up soon. Also, the Death Eaters have become more active. The Ministry is moving on them, but slowly, too slowly, so the Order is trying to not only find 'Arry and Ginny but also to anticipate the Death Eaters' next moves."

Ron nodded. "Are you guys sure no one has found you out in the Order yet?"

Bill smiled. "Don't worry, little brother, we're still your best contacts in the Order."

Ron nodded. There was no point in telling them that he also had Fred and George feeding him information. "Just remember, when we find Harry and Ginny, we need to not just convince them to come home, but once we do, we have to protect them from both Dumbledore and V-V-Voldemort."

The others nodded agreement.

"Weasleys take care of their own," Bill whispered.

***
"Is all in readiness?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Very well. Tonight I shall slip into Harry Potter's mind and ascertain his location. Then we will finish our duel once and for all."

"And what is to be my task while you kill the Potter boy, my lord?"

"I would have you watch for those bumblers in the Order. I do not wish to be disturbed by that meddler Dumbledore until after I have finished Potter."

"My lord, I am ready to face Dumbledore in your cause."

"I have trained you well, Bellatrix; I know you will not fail me."

"Never, my lord. What of the girl who travels with Potter?"

"She is of no consequence. You may do with her as you please."

"Thank you, my lord."

***
"I filed the paperwork today," Arthur Weasley told his wife.

"But Arthur, what will Albus think?"

Mr. Weasley shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I know Albus has meant well, but I've been talking to the children–"

"Well, really. Arthur, they're children. I'm sure it's all been made out by them much worse than it really is."

"Harry was subjected to a blood quill last term," Arthur said quietly.

Mrs. Weasley had gone very pale. "No, that can't be right, Albus would never–"

"Albus was not there," Mr. Weasley said. "It was used on Fred and George too; they showed me their scars. And Fred said that Harry had more detentions than anyone in Hogwarts last year."

Mrs. Weasley had sat down in a chair to support herself. "How could they? How could the Ministry permit such actions?"

Mr. Weasley shook his head. "And Umbridge is still in Fudge's employ." Mr. Weasley swallowed. "Molly, Hermione said that Ginny served several detentions with that woman; not as many as Harry, but more than any other Gryffindor."

Arthur Weasley took a step backward as Molly Weasley turned red in the face. He knew exactly how she felt. Their children had been victimized and injured. Adults in authority whom they had entrusted with the care of their children had let it happen. And a Ministry worker, with the Minister's sanction, had been the primary cause. Arthur Weasley took a relived breath when his wife suddenly calmed, but that relief lasted only a few minutes. Now she was too calm, too controlled. Arthur had seen her like this only once before: the night her brothers had died. That night Molly Weasley, pregnant with their youngest son, had slipped out of the Burrow. The next morning she had come back home grim and sad but with an air of satisfaction about her.

Arthur discovered later that a handful of Death Eaters had met a bad end that night.

"Arthur," she said calmly, "it's time for a Weasley family meeting. Please include Hermione and Fleur. I'll inform Dumbledore that we're going to the Burrow for a couple of days."

Arthur smiled, nodded, and went to call his children home.