Ginny wandered around in the woods for several hours. The sun had long since set before she noticed a small cabin, not unlike the one she had stayed in before. Groaning inwardly, she approached it. She didn’t much like the idea of wandering the woods at night while bearing twins. While she didn’t want to be left alone this late at night, she found trusting anyone at this point rather difficult.
Smoke was furling out of the chimney and dancing firelight shone through the cabin windows. Heart pounding nervously, she walked up to the front door and knocked gently. The door opened smoothly, revealing the cabin’s warm interior and an old woman with an ethereal air about her. She had the smell of herbs and spices and a toothy smile on her face.
“My, my, who do we have here?” she asked in a hearty voice. Ginny nearly sighed in relief. She marked up a point in her mind for this woman because obviously she didn’t know who Ginny was, unlike everyone she had met before.
“I wish I knew,” she muttered in response.
“Well, then, come on in, dear,” she said cheerfully. “Why don’t you take a seat? I’ll give you a place to kip for the night.”
Ginny went in hesitantly and sat at a small wooden table. As she took her seat, her stomach grumbled loudly. In her worry, she hadn’t even noticed how hungry she was. She was about to ask if she could have something small to eat, but, as if the woman had read her mind, a plate full of food was placed in front of her.
“Tuck in, darling,” the woman said, taking a seat beside her. As Ginny ate, the woman smiled at her, asking questions about her life.
“I don’t know anything,” she replied with a small sigh. “All I can remember is my name-“ She paused, not wanting to mention McLaggen.
“Which is what?” the woman asked, breaking the silence that Ginny created in her abrupt halt.
“Ginny. And what’s your name?”
“Well,” the woman said, smiling serenely, “the name’s Alexandra, but others call me Alex.”
Ginny nodded. “Alex it is.”
“Wonderful!” Alex said, giggling like a schoolgirl despite her age. Ginny said nothing. What a strange woman, she couldn’t help but think. After she finished eating, she made to take her plate to the sink, but realised that there was none.
“Er- what should I do with my dish?” she asked uncertainly.
“Oh, here, dear,” Alex replied cheerfully, pulling her wand from her pocket. When she caught Ginny looking at it, she asked, “You don’t mind, do you?”
Ginny shook her head fervently. She wondered where her wand was, if she even had one. She watched as her plate transformed into a paper disk and dumped itself unceremoniously into the trash bin.
“I like to live in luxury,” Alex said as if it explained the paper plates disguised as fine china. She stowed her wand away and smiled warmly at Ginny. “Well then, time for bed. Night!”
Ginny lay down on the cosy cot that Alex conjured. She fell asleep immediately dreaming of bushy brown haired women and red haired men dancing around her. She woke up the next morning not feeling particularly rested and considerably more confused. Alex was sitting at the table, reading the Morning Prophet. On the cover was a picture of a dark haired man. Ginny stared at the picture in awe. The man looked a lot like the image of the man who had appeared in her mind after the brown haired woman grabbed her.
“Who is that?” she asked.
“Oh that,” Alex said, glancing at the front cover, “is the Minister of Magic. Hopefully he’ll be more effective than the old ones.”
Ginny continued to stare at the picture. There was something about it, she just didn’t know what.
“You can’t have him,” Alex said playfully, mistaking her look of confusion for one of desire. “He’s married. To a pretty young witch, from what I hear. Looks a lot like you, come to think of it, but I haven’t actually seen her.”
Ginny said nothing, wondering whether the connection she felt toward the man and her uncanny similarity to his wife had any significance.
“I’ll be going to Diagon Alley today. I have a few items I need to grab in the Apothecary. Would you like to join me?”
Ginny shrugged. “Sure, I guess. I don’t have anywhere to go.”
Alex chuckled and handed her a tube of lipstick. “It’s a Portkey,” she explained. “You’re not in a very good shape to Apparate and it’s much too far to walk.”
Ginny took the tube wordlessly and felt a jerk behind her navel. When her feet hit the ground, she looked around. She was in the middle of a bustling town whose streets were lined with shops. Before she could fully digest what she was seeing, Alex landed beside her with a loud pop.
“This way, dear,” she said, gesturing Ginny toward a building. She followed, hoping that she would see something that would jog her memory. On her way in, she bumped into a man on his way out.
“Excuse me,” she muttered. The man grabbed her wrist, staring hard at her. There was a mixture of emotions on his face that she couldn’t read.
“Ginny?” he asked incredulously.
“Harry,” she whispered as she stared into the Minister of Magic’s green eyes. She didn’t quite know how she knew his name, but there he was. His grip was tight on her wrist, but she didn’t mind. It was as if the world around her had stopped.
“Where have you been?” he asked. There was such sadness in his eyes, but also relief and joy was evident.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, finally averting her gaze. “I can’t remember anything. The person I was before and who I am now, we must be different people.”
She tried to pry her wrist from his hands, but his grip was too tight. “Please don’t leave me. Not again,” he begged. There was such a pleading tone in his voice that her heart broke.
“I can’t,” she said, even more quiet than before.
“You’re still in there, Ginny Potter,” he said intently, clutching her hand. “No one has ever looked at me like that except you.”
Ginny said nothing. She couldn’t find the right words. He looked earnestly at her and reached into his pocket. Without a word, he gave her a small velvet box.
“It brought me back to you once,” he said, as she opened it. Inside was a beautiful diamond ring. “Wear it when you remember. You’ll know where to find me.”
He turned away from her and walked away, but not before she saw tears fall from his eyes.
**********************************************************
“I saw Ginny today,” Harry told Hermione in a small voice.
“What!” Hermione exclaimed in shock.
“I saw her, in Diagon Alley.”
“Where is she now?”
Harry shrugged hopelessly. “She’s a different person. She truly believes it. I couldn’t reach her.”
Ron, who had been standing awkwardly beside his wife, rested a hand on his shoulder. “She’ll be okay, Mate,” he said quietly. There was an apologetic note in his voice as he continued. “I should have remembered how bloody lovesick she is when it comes to you. Nothing can change that.”
Harry looked up at his best mate. He understood and took Ron’s words as an apology. “Thanks, Ron,” he said simply. Ron grinned sheepishly. He embraced his best mate warmly.
Hermione looked reluctantly at her watch. “Sorry, Harry. I’ve got an appointment in a few minutes at St. Mungo’s.”
“Go ahead,” Harry said distractedly, waving her off. “You, too, Ron.”
Ron looked like he was going to protest, but Harry interrupted him. “Really, I’ll be fine for a few hours by myself.”
The two Disapparated, but only after giving him one long, concerned look.
Harry sat in the silence of his home, flipping open a book in an attempt to distract himself from his thoughts. Today was Ginny’s due date. He wondered if, wherever Ginny was staying, she was in pain, bringing his new family into the world.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t hear Remus approach him from behind.
“How are you doing?” the Marauder asked, causing Harry to jump in shock.
“When did you get here?” Harry responded in supply.
“About ten minutes ago. You were really out of it so I just left you to your thoughts. Anyways, how are you doing?”
Harry shrugged noncommittally. “It’s her due date today,” he told Remus dully.
Remus nodded in understanding. “I’m sure she’s fine.”
“I know she is, but I can’t help but worry- or wonder why she lost her memory in the first place.”
A sad silence filled the room as both were at a loss for words. “Why’d you come over?” Harry asked. “Where’s Tonks?”
Remus shrugged. “Ron and Hermione stopped by and asked me to check on you.”
Harry couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at his words. “Of course,” he muttered.
“I was going to come by later anyways, you know, to see you you’re holding up.”
“I’ll live.”
“Are you so sure about that?” Remus questioned. “Living like this, like half of who you are, isn’t living at all.”
“But I am half of who I should be. Without Ginny, I don’t know who I am. I’ve had her by my side for so long, I’m not used to her not with me.”
“Of course you don’t.” He paused then looked at Harry with an expression of suspicion. “You don’t have the ring on you.”
“No,” Harry replied hesitantly. “I saw Ginny earlier today. I gave it to her.”
Remus barely managed to hide his surprise. “You saw her?”
“Yeah, in Diagon Alley. She was with some old witch, but she’s someone different now. She really doesn’t remember anything.”
Getting over his initial shock, the older wizard sighed heavily. “At the very least, you know that she’s alive and well taken care of.”
Harry smiled ruefully but said nothing else. He returned to his thoughts and forgot Remus was there. The latter man patted Harry consolingly on the arm before leaving reluctantly.
*******************************************************************
Ginny sat quietly on her cot, absentmindedly playing with the velvet box. She had the urge to put on the golden ring resting within it, but restrained herself. She didn’t want to risk something happening, such as being tricked into a false sense of security as McLaggen did before. Her stomach lurched at the thought of McLaggen. Was that even his real name? She couldn’t answer that. Something told her that everything he had ever said to her was a lie.
She sighed in frustration, shutting the top of the box shut with a snap. Alex, who was sitting at the table, watching her, smiled knowingly.
“It won’t hurt you,” Alex said, her hearty tone replaced by a strange ethereal one. “It’s made by light magic. It will help.”
Ginny raised a sceptical eyebrow, but made no comment. She wanted very dearly to slip the innocently twinkling ring onto her left finger. Her instincts told her that it wouldn’t hurt her- that it would help her- but her experiences thus far made her hesitate. With a huff, she shoved ring into the back of her thoughts and placed the box on the table. She lay onto her cot and closed her eyes. She was so exhausted that within minutes she was asleep.
When she next woke up, the cabin was empty. On the table was a note addressed to her.
Ginny,
Don’t give up on what you have begun. You have faced much, but there is one person who can bring you peace. Destiny works in funny ways sometimes.
Alex
Ginny furrowed her brow a little. How strange, she thought. When she had first met Alexandra, she felt a strange ethereality about her, but hadn’t really given it much consideration. Now the strange old woman seemed mystical, even frightening. Even through her trepidation, she couldn’t help but steal a glance at the ring on the table. She stared at it for several seconds before, with trembling hands, reaching down and gently lifting it from the box. A bead of anxious sweat rolled down her forehead as she gently slipped the ring onto her finger. For several disappointing seconds, nothing happened. She was about to take it off again when suddenly she felt as though she had been run over by a heard of stampeding hippogriffs. She grabbed the ring box and the letter from Alex and sprinted out the door. She would thank her later for the hospitality, but at the moment, Ginny only had one thing on her mind.
She had to return to her husband.
A/N: Sorry, good and faithful readers. The rollercoaster isn’t over yet. We still have to find the slightly psychotic, I mean barely noticeably unbalanced, McLaggen (did you catch my sarcasm?) Thanks for the wonderful reviews! By the way, I tried to update my Halifax triplet, but it got rejected twice without any rejection letters *sigh* If any of you have any questions that don't pertain to the plot of my story, go ahead and find my Duelling Club thread on the MNFF forums!
~QP