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Author: Kalarien Story: A Golden Day Rating: Teens Setting: AU Status: WIP Reviews: 7 Words: 12,802
What have I done now? Ginny blew her nose on her sleeve, and looked him hard in the eye. “You always have to complicate things, don’t you?” Not knowing what to make of that, Harry just shrugged. After one last suspicious look at him, Ginny began digging for the last item in the box. Her face lit up. “A DA coin...” Harry opened his mouth to ask what the hell a DA coin was, but Ginny continued, “This must be what Ron used as the Portkey before you disappeared. I wonder...” She tapped it with her wand and scrunched up her face. Harry took advantage of the quiet moment. “What’s a DA—” She shushed him. “I need to concentrate for a minute.” A moment passed and a triumphant look passed across Ginny’s face. “It’s still got pieces of that last charm on it, too. That makes things easier. I’ll set it for the shop.” She whispered something and the coin glowed softly for a moment. The glow faded to make the coin look just as battered, and perhaps even more so, as it had before. Coming back toward him—“No tricks now!” she warned—she pulled his hood back up. Not quite sure why she kept adjusting the cloak, he reached up a hand to take hers and froze, Ginny’s hand dangling right where he should be holding it, but it was alone. His hand wasn’t there. Looking down at himself, he realized that none of him was anywhere in sight. He could see his nose directly in front of his eyes (though it was a bit dim under the hood), but below that there was nothing. It was as though his head was floating in mid-air. “Why,” he said, slowly, “can’t I see myself?” Before Ginny could answer, he continued, in a panicked voice. “That’s what you mean by disappeared, isn’t it? No one can see me, save you! And now I’m even disappearing from myself!” Ginny giggled, and Harry was slightly taken aback that she was taking his worry so lightly. He released her hand, a little offended. She reached for it again. “No, no, Harry, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh. It’s just...we’re playing a little bit of a trick on the people we’re going to meet, is all. They won’t be able to see you because of the cloak.” She reached up and tugged on his hood again. “It’s your invisibility cloak; well, your dad’s, I suppose. I can’t see you, either, for that matter, so you’d better not walk off on me!” That, he noted, was information to be set aside for later. They may be playing a trick on someone for the moment, but Ginny wasn’t the only one who could plot. Ginny was speaking. “When we get to where we’re going, I want you to stay out of the way. Be as quiet as you can. Follow me where I go—you’re going to be my backup. Do you remember the spells I just taught you?” Harry nodded, forgetting his invisibility for a moment. When Ginny didn’t reply directly, he said, “Yes, I remember. Expel—” “—Don’t say them right now!” She seemed to be talking to a point just over his shoulder. “Just remember them. When we get there, there are going to be people in hoods, probably. Some of them might not have hoods, but lots of them will. Anyway, they’ll be attacking things: us, buildings, people. When we find them, I want you to stay out of the way, but point your wand at them and cast the spells. Collect their wands and hang on to them. Stay out of the way, you hear me?” Harry rolled his eyes. “Gee, I wonder if I’m supposed to stay out of the way.” Ignoring him, Ginny reached under the cloak to take his hand, thought better of it, and reached around his middle. “In case you fall,” she told him, sternly. He, of course, didn’t mind this at all, and reached his arms around her, as well. She glared. “This might be a little uncomfortable for a moment,” she informed him, glancing at the coin. For a moment nothing happened. Harry lifted an eyebrow. “What’s this? Some sort of complicated plan to get me in your arms? ‘Cause it’s working, you know.” “Shut up. It’ll just be a second...Now!” Harry thought he was going to be sick. It felt as though someone was digging their fingers under his solar plexus and pulling with all their might. The world spun, though he wasn’t sure if it was actually spinning or if he was just dizzy from the unpleasant feeling in his gut. Either way, the sensation didn’t help. About thirty seconds later—though it felt like longer—the spinning stopped and he found himself on the floor of a strange looking store. Shelves lined the walls three thick, having been shoved off to the side to make room for the large group of people standing around, looking at the latest arrivals (or, rather, looking at Ginny as Harry was still invisible). Bright colors dominated, especially bright reds and blues. In fact red dominated most of his view—Ginny had landed on top of him, and he was quite content with staying right where they were. Ginny, on the other hand, wasn’t so keen. “Let go of me and keep quiet!” she growled under her breath. Deciding that it would be a better idea to do as she said and not suffer the consequences, he released her. She stood, brushing herself off. A tall, red haired man, quite obviously her brother, came to help. “It’s about time!” he snapped, slapping at a dust spot on her shoulder. “Where the hell were you, Ginny? We’ve been waiting a counter-attack on you!” “Sorry, Ron. I had something to take care of.” Her voice held a note of warning that Harry was sure came from years of telling him to shove it or she’d put a toad under his pillow. A pretty girl, woman really, with curly brown hair walked up behind Ron (who had just begun to rip into Ginny again) and put her arm around him, one hand just barely holding him back at his shoulder. “Let her alone, Ron. We’ve got work to do right now.” Ron didn’t look as though he wanted to drop it, but fell back anyway. A loud tap on the floor brought everyone’s attention to a rather intimidating old man stomping his wooden leg just opposite the room from Harry and Ginny, though another red head’s eyes kept glancing at Ginny, either confused or disappointed, Harry couldn’t tell which. Another man, identical to the confused one, hit his brother in the arm as the old man’s gaze moved in their direction. Or, at least, one of the eyes did. The other bulged out of his head, big and blue. Moving independently of the other, it caused Harry to shiver with the alien quality it lent the man. It looked right at him, and he thought he saw a hint of a smile tug at the corners of the scarred mouth…just for a moment. An eyebrow raised, the man’s other eye looked at Ginny, who barely nodded. “Sorry about the wait, Professor Moody.” The grizzled old man nodded back, though no one else gave evidence of having seen what had transpired. “Excellent. Now that we’re all here, we can begin. As of this moment, Death Eaters are starting their attack from Knockturn Alley.” Harry nearly laughed at this: London was certainly getting creative with their street names. The thought that he might no longer be in London barely occurred to him before he brushed it off. There was too much else to take in at the moment and the old man—Moody—was speaking again. “They’re splitting in front of Gringotts—half, we assume, are going to make their way towards the Leaky Cauldron, the rest toward the old Ollivander shop. They are currently being held back by an Auror group, though the Death Eater numbers continue to grow and they’ll soon be breaking through. We do not currently know what their objective is.” “But we can assume it’s not picking up potions supplies,” Ron muttered under his breath. Moody nodded. “Indeed, Mr. Weasley, indeed. In any case, our job is to prevent them doing as much damage as possible and protect the non-combatants that are here right now. Leave any arrests or imprisonments to the Aurors. We’re setting up three Floo stations for evacuation purposes, as well as our own travel. One will be here, one at the junk shop on the southwestern end of Diagon Alley, and one at the Leaky Cauldron. As I am sure that Mssrs. Weasley and Weasley would like to remain with their shop, I will put them in charge of this one.” The twins nodded grimly, expressions that looked out of place on faces that seemed more accustomed to jovial grins. The man continued, “Molly and Arthur, I’d like you to run the Floo station at the junk shop.” A worried looking older woman with graying red hair wrung her hands. “I feel like I could be so much more helpful getting ready...if someone gets hurt...” “If someone gets hurt, Molly, we’ll Floo you back to headquarters with them,” a kindly looking older man, also with graying red hair, answered her. “We can do it, Alastor.” “Good,” the old man, Alastor, continued. “Remus, I’d like your level head at the Leaky Cauldron. Take Doge there with you.” Two men, one middle aged, though probably younger than he looked, the other older with silver hair, glanced at each other and nodded in assent. “The rest of you are going to be on street duty. Mr. Weasley—no, no, Charlie, I’m talking to Ron—take your sister, Jones, Podmore...all right, fine, Granger as well. You’ll be taking the Floo over to the junk shop...” He trailed off with a look at Ginny and barely a glance in Harry’s direction. “No, no, you go to the Leaky Cauldron. Whatever you do, hold the line. Mr. Weasley—yes, now I’m talking to you, Charlie—you take half the rest up to the junk shop. Leave me Vance, though. The rest will work with the Aurors from the middle—Vance, you’re in charge of them. Everyone understand?” A rumble of assents answered him, and just in time. A small explosion sounded outside and the old man accented it with a “Move it!” *** Realizing perhaps a little late that having put Harry in an invisibility cloak was probably not the easiest way for her to keep track of him, Ginny glanced around the room. Rather than a hint to Harry’s location, however, she ran afoul of her youngest brother’s temper. “So, what’s your excuse? Or wait, never mind. You don’t need an excuse. The baby of the family gets away with everything, doesn’t she?” His tone was angry; she could tell he was looking to lash out at her. Ginny glanced at Hermione, who shrugged apologetically and turned back to her conversation with Hestia Jones. The older girl had tried, and Ginny knew just how hard it could be to deal with her brother when he was like this. “Bugger off, Ron,” she muttered, continuing to look for Harry. A floating box of U-No-Poo tipped her off as to Harry’s current location, and she started to walk in his direction. Ron didn’t let her: he grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. “You listen to me!” His face was red. “I’m in command on this mission and you’re under that command, you hear? I don’t want you disappearing to go have one at the Leaky Cauldron or go window shopping or anything. This whole thing is your fault. I can’t believe you’d be so irresponsible.” Ginny was about three seconds from a scathing reply (the name Percy was on the tip of her tongue) when a crackly voice interrupted her. “Leave the lass alone, Weasley.” Moody had come up behind them. “She had her reasons; she’ll be living with the consequences. You get over to the Leaky Cauldron; she’ll be there in a minute.” They watched Ron march off, muttering darkly. “Thanks,” Ginny said, once Ron was out of earshot. “You saw...?” She didn’t want to risk more than that aloud. “Aye, I did. I was serious, though. There will have to be consequences—I can’t have my watch walking out on me.” She nodded in reply. “I understand. It was worth it...I think.” She glanced sadly toward Harry’s last location. The box was back on the shelf and she didn’t know where he was. Mad-Eye guessed or predicted what she was looking for. “Behind you, actually, back a few meters.” His eye adjusted and she figured that he was focusing on Harry a little harder. “Is he—?” Ginny interrupted him. “He lost his memory. He thought his name was Tom when I found him. But his ability is still there.” She smiled, sadly. “He’s my secret weapon today.” Moody nodded, and looked at her closely for a moment. “Get your young man and get to your position. I daresay it won’t be too much longer until you’re needed there...both of you.” *** “What are you up to?” Harry looked up from where he was examining a rather squishy looking object; something deep within his psyche had told him he didn’t want to touch it. “Staying out of the way,” he replied, dryly. “After all, I’m under strict orders.” Ginny smiled, ruefully. “Good to know that I’ve still got some influence over you.” Reaching out, she hesitated a moment, hand right by his left ear, then touched his shoulder and slid her hand down his arm to grasp his hand through the cloak. “I’m sorry I’ve been grouchy. It’s...it’s been a hard day.” “Yeah, this is certainly one for the record books.” He released her hand and reached up to stroke her cheek. “But I’m glad you found me. Even if I don’t know who ‘me’ is, yet.” She pressed her hand to his on her cheek, then pulled away. “Come on, we’ve got to get to the Leaky Cauldron.” She started leading him over to where the last few members of the Order were waiting by the fireplace, though Harry wasn’t quite sure why. They held back a little, though, not quite in hearing range of the others. “We’re going to Floo over...and we’ll have to Floo together. I don’t trust that you’ll get off in the right place. Too many memories of that summer before my first year at Hogwarts.” He didn’t even bother to ask about any of it. He figured he’d get a full story once things settled down a little...and he was a little too busy enjoying this particular side of Ginny to want to interrupt. She was still speaking. “It’ll probably be a little cramped...” “I don’t mind that,” he volunteered, earning him a raised eyebrow from Ginny. “You wouldn’t,” she responded. It was almost a retort. But then she grinned. It was then that Harry realized that, more than just flirting, Ginny was treating him as though they’d known each other for years. She was very comfortable with him, teasing him the way he imagined she would tease a brother, except that there was flirting, as well. He liked it. Speaking of brothers, one of hers was waiting by the fireplace. Harry thought he was a right git for yelling at her, and told Ginny as much. She shushed him, gently, and whispered “He doesn’t know that I left to get you. I was...I was supposed to be keeping watch here at Diagon Alley, but you were more important.” “But that doesn’t mean he’s got the right to yell at you like that,” Harry replied, whispering now. “I should show him what for.” Ginny smiled. “I nearly did. But he’s got a point and he’s been rather...touchy, ever since you disappeared. He’s your best mate, you know. Him and Hermione.” She nodded at the brown haired woman who had joined Ron in waiting, the one who had held him back from Ginny when they first arrived. “The three of you would fight like cats and dogs.” She choked down a laugh, and continued, “Ron and Hermione still do! But you would have all died for each other, as well. Complete loyalty toward each other. That’s rare, you know.” Harry glanced at her quizzically, not knowing she couldn’t see, and resumed watching the two figures approaching the fireplace. My best friends. She poked him. “Hey, it’s our turn.” He was about to ask how she’d managed to have just about perfect aim at his ribs if she couldn’t see him, when the old man who’d been running the meeting approached them. “Weasley,” was the extent of greeting that he offered. The bulging eye was watching Harry again, and made him shiver. Then the old man bent close, whispering, “Make sure you keep tabs on that young man of yours. We don’t want to lose him again.” “Yes, sir,” she replied, and Harry could have sworn that the eye winked at him before the old man straightened. “CONSTANT VIGILANCE!” he shouted, causing Harry, as well as several of those staying with the shop to jump. Harry and Ginny approached the fireplace. “Stand there,” she told him, positioning him just outside the fireplace. “I just need to grab some powder.” “He could see me,” Harry wondered aloud. “How come he could see me when no one else can?” Ginny answered distractedly, taking a handful of silvery powder from a jar on the mantle and threw it into the fire. The flames turned green, and Harry had to jump back from them. “His eye. Step into the flames.” “What?” “His eye. Step into the fireplace. Oh, you ninny, it won’t hurt. Here.” She pushed him in. “And make sure you keep your elbows in—here, hold onto me. The fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron isn’t as big as this one—you don’t want scrapes down your arms, do you?” She was right about the flames not hurting; they more tickled than anything. He was overwhelmed by a desire to sneeze the moment he entered the fireplace. He didn’t get a chance to comment on it, however, because Ginny had stepped into his arms and yelled “The Leaky Cauldron!” A moment later they were spinning out of control.
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