Chapter 3 : finding an old face

Why? Why today? Why on this day, of all days, when I just happen to be here, do the Aurors have to spring a surprise raid on all the shifty places in this Hell hole? I'm not surprised they have, after all I found out about this place from a report of Phil's desk, I'm just annoyed. Of all the days! Merlin, even in this life my luck is rubbish. I'm convinced Fate doesn't like me. And now, I'm running as fast as my little six year old legs can carry me, trying to escape the two Aurors who're chasing after me. Why did I run? I panicked! They came towards me and all rational thought left me for the split second it took for me to dash away. Yes, I know, dumb move. If I didn't look guilty before I certainly do now. I can't let them catch me because then they'll take me home and then they'll speak to Phil and Con and then they'll find out that I took the money and snuck out on my own, then they'll make sure I'm punished etc, etc. Simply giving up is just more trouble than it's worth.

Ugh, I'm so slow! My legs won't move fast enough and don't stretch far enough. Stupid little body. I want to be fourteen again! The only reason those two Aurors haven't caught me is probably because I'm managing to weave in between people's legs where as they have to plough through. On the bright side though, I've managed to find my way into Diagon Alley.

What should I do though? Should I try hiding? I'm not keen on that idea, too easy to get trapped in a corner if they see where I am. Maybe I should just get to the Leaky Cauldron and floo back to the manor. One thing's for sure, I can't keep running like this. My legs feel like they're going to drop off at any second and I'm getting out of breath. I'm drawing attention as well; it probably won't be long before someone else decides to do their "good deed" for the day and stops me.

Hold on though...Up ahead. That red hair...It can't be...Merlin's beard, it is!

"Ginny!"

I can't believe this! It's Ginny! Wow, she's really grown since I last saw her. That's not surprising since I last saw her six years ago. That would make her nineteen now! Bloody Hell. She's well dressed, best dressed I've ever seen her, and she's cut her hair; it reaches her soulders now.

Good, she stopped upon hearing her name. She's looking around herself, probably trying to see who called to her. I need to get her attention. A mad wave should do it; I can see her so she can probably see me as well...And she has. She looks confused, I don't blame her. I'll explain it all to her later. Right now, there's no time. Just gotta shove past these last few people and then I'll be near enough to talk to her.

"Ginny!" Yes, I've reached her, I'm safe. "Ginny, I need your help."

"How do you know my name?" She asks, clearly un-nerved.

"No time, I'll explain in a minute." I insist. Glancing over my shoulder I can see the Aurors are getting closer. "I need you to pretend I'm with you."

"Who are you though?" Merlin, when did Ginny get to be so stubborn?

She's not going to do this without knowing who I am is she? Ugh, this is so frustrating! There's no time to explain. What can I do?...Oh, my scar! I can show her my scar. Surely that'll be proof enough for now. Wordlessly, I raise a hand and push up my fringe, revealing the lightning bolt birth mark to her. It has the desired affect as her jaws drop and her eyes widen.

"No..." She breathes sounding shocked. "You can't be...It's impossible."

Another glance over my shoulder and the Aurors have almost reached us. "Ginny, pick me up. I'll explain everything in a minute or so but for now I need you to pretend I'm yours." With that, poor Ginny seems to go into auto-mode because she stiffly picks me up. I loop my arms around her neck securely and make myself look suitably shaken just as the two Aurors reach us.

"Excuse me miss, is that lad yours?" One of them, the older of the two, inquires politely.

"He, um, yes, well, I, um, I'm looking after him for the day for a friend of mine." Ginny stammers and I have to hold back a cringe; she's not very good at this.

"We found him on his own down in Knockturn Alley." The younger one informs her. Ginny looks at me with an amount of surprise which I know isn't acting, she's probably wondering what the Hell she's just got herself in for.

"Got lost." I mumble with a sniff, making myself sound suitably sorry and innocent.

"I told you to stick close to me." Ginny coos gently; wow, she's better at this then I first thought. She turns to the two Aurors and gives them a mature, thankful smile. "Thank you for finding him for me. I'm sorry if he caused you any inconveniance, I'll keep a closer eye on him."

"Be sure you do, miss." The elder Auror says. "Knockturn Alley is no place for a young boy."

"Yes, well, thank you again." She says, giving the two men a polite nod. They return the gesture before turning and leaving in the direction we've just run from. We watch them go silently and, the second they're out of sight, Ginny's eyes are on me instantly, once again looking bewildered.

"Um...Hi Ginny," I smile weakly; what else am I supposed to say? "Nice to see you again."

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She's just sitting there, staring at me like I've grown a second head. We're in the Leaky Cauldron, sitting in a corner by ourselves, two glasses of water which have gone un-touched on it. Why hasn't she said anything to me yet?

I've just told her everything. About what happened at the end of my last life, at the beginning of this one, about today. She didn't believe me at first, I'm actually glad she didn't, proves that she's not so desperate as to believe everything or anything someone says to her. She asked me all sorts of questions about myself and Ron and Hermione. At first, things that could easily be common knowledge. Then she moved onto things that only myself, the Weasleys and Hermione would know. The final question she asked was about Second Year, when I saved her in the Chamber of Secrets. I recalled something I said to her, word for word, and that seemed to be the clincher. The colour drained from her face instantly and her jaw hung down very slightly.

And she hasn't stopped looking at me that way ever since. It's rather un-nerving really. I don't think she's even blinked yet. I wish she'd say something. Wonder if I should say something...

"Um...Are you okay Gin?" Well, that was a start at least. That seems to snap her out of whatever she was thinking because her eyes focus and...Oh no, she's gonna cry! "Gin?" She sniffs and a tear escapes. "Oh Gin, please don't cry. I didn't mean to..."

"I can't believe you're back..." She gushes out tearfully suddenly and, without warning, she's out of her chair, kneeling next to me and I'm pulling into an almost crushing hug. "It's really you..."

"Ginny, I can't breathe..." It's true, I can't, my face is pressed right into her shoulder. She releases me quickly at that and gives me a concerned look. I give her a small reassuring smile which just seems to fuel her tears a little more.

"I can't believe it's really you." She sniffs, bringing a hand up to cup my cheek. "How old are you?"

"Six. I'll be seven on the 31st of July." I tell her and I can't help but note how big her hand is on my cheek.

"Wow, it's getting close then." She says, probably for lack of anything better to say. I simply nod. "Where are you living? Who's your..." She pauses, swallowing back more tears probably. "Who's your family now?"

"A pure blood family, the Franks."

Her eyebrows shoot up at that piece of information. "You're Phillipe Frank's son?"

"You know him?"

"Hermione and dad do, they work with him at the Ministry. Neither are very keen on him though. I heard dad compare him to Lucius Malfoy once."

I shrug and sip my water finally. "I wouldn't know; I don't talk with either of them that much; they have seperate lives from me. Anyway," better continue on quickly before she picks up on what I've just said. "Hermione works at the Ministry with your dad now then?"

Ginny nods enthustiastically, my remark about the relationship between myself and Phil and Con having passed her by. That or she simply chose to ignore it. "She and Ron are married as well and expecting their first baby!"

"You're kidding!" Wow, that's so great! I knew they had a thing for each other, you just had to see Ron's reaction to her going to the Yule Ball with Krum. And they're having a baby as well! "When's she due?"

"Not for several months yet, they've only just found out." Ginny tells me, her tears seemingly forgotten now.

"How about you? Anyone special in your life?" I inquire playfully.

She laughs lightly at that and blushes a little. "No, not at the moment. I'm training to be Auror with Ron's help."

"Ron's an Auror?" If anyone had asked me before, I would've sworn he'd try and break into professional Quidditch.

"Yeah, he..." Ginny's eyes are tearing up again. "He said he wanted to make sure no one else had to ever lose their best friend because of an evil monster ever again."...Wow...I really didn't expect her to say that. What do you say when someone tells you something like that? Ginny's crying a little more now and dabbing at her eyes with a hankechief. "It's going to mean so much to him that your back Harry; it's going to mean so much to everyone." She laughs tearfully suddenly. "I think I'm actually rather dreading Sirius' reaction. He's so unstable sometimes it's hard to predict how he's going to react to things."

I feel my heart clench painfully at the mention of Sirius and the beginnings of tears start to sting the backs of my own eyes for the first time. "How is Sirius?" I manage to ask past the lump that's starting to form in my throat.

"He's better than he has been." Ginny assures quickly, as though that's the important thing to remember. "He manages to keep a smile on his face for the most part but Remus says he suffers from terrible insomnia and when he does manage to sleep, he gets really bad nightmares."

"They live together then?"

"Um...Yeah..." She sounds awkward for some reason."As, uh, a little more than friends." Oh, that's why. That's great news though, I'm happy for them. Still, what Ginny just told me about the insomnia and nightmares, something tells me that has more to do than with just his stay in Azkaban.

"That...That's good that they've got each other." I manage to get out. I am not going to start crying, there's no reason to. I, admittedly, didn't think this was going to happen for several years yet. I thought probably when I started Hogwarts was when I'd get my old life, my real life, back. But, I'm here now and I am not going to get all emotional about it...Not yet at least. "Did..." Swallow down the lump, don't let it affect your voice. "Did he take it badly?"

"Everyone took it badly Harry." Ginny sighs sadly, rubbing her thumb over my cheek affectionately. "It just...Affected him a little more than others is all. But it's all okay now." She reassures me quickly, forcing her tone to lighten, no doubt to try and add strength to her words. "Everyone's a lot better on the whole. Things get a little harder when it comes to your Memorial Day but other than that, we're all coping."

"When can I see them all again?" Damn it, my voice is quivering. What happened to not crying Harry! Oh Merlin Gin, don't look at me like that! I think she wants me to cry otherwise she wouldn't be giving me that look. Oh no, now the tears are coming. I can feel it trickle down my cheek. And now Ginny's crying. For crying out loud! Okay, fine, if she wants to cry then I might as well cry. Just a little bit, not too much...

I've barely given a sniff before Ginny's arms are around me again and she's crying into the top of my head. This is too much, I can't hold them back anymore; tears are starting to fall freely from my eyes now and I can't be bothered to try and stop them now. I hug Ginny as tightly as I can and bury my face in her shoulder as sobs I can't control start to wrack my body.

"Soon Harry, as soon as possible." Ginny manages to get out through her tears. Her natural mummy instinct must be kicking in because she starts rocking me, gently patting my back in a soothing way. "They're going to be so happy Harry, all of them. We've all missed you so much and you came back to us..."

She carries on talking like that for several minutes more and we keep crying for most of that time. By the time we seperate, both our faces are hot and flushed and our cheeks are a little clammy from our tears. A few people are staring at us curiously but neither of us can be bothered to think too much of it. We glance at each other and both give slightly embarrassed laughs which are tinged slightly with our tears. Ginny moves back, sitting in her previous seat opposite of me, and sips her glass of water before dabbing her face with her hankechief, all the while mumbling about making a show of herself and she's sorry for being so tearful. I don't really care that much though. I'm just so thankful that I've found her and I'm one step closer to getting my old life back.

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Hell! Bloody Hell! I lost track of time and now I'm back at the manor half an hour later than I originally planned.

Ginny and I got into talking about everything which has changed since I died and time just seemed to fly. Before I knew it, it was three thirty and I had to dash to the nearest fire-place in record time after promising I'd write to Ginny this evening. Now, I'm sprinting through the corridors of the manor, hoping, praying, that Nanny Alice hasn't woken up yet. This is only an inconveniance though and it's one I willingly endure due to the fact I learnt from Ginny about a certain blonde haired, grey eyed Slytherin.

Draco teaches at Hogwarts! I couldn't believe my ears when Ginny told me that. He's been the DADA teacher there ever since he graduated in Seventh Year. I really can't imagine it; Draco, teaching children. I bet he's like Snape, being stupidly lenient with the Slytherins and horribly hard on the other three Houses. I wonder if he wears teaching robes like Snape or if he's gone for a less...Dramatic, look. I'll have to find a way to get in touch with him, I'd like to know how he's doing, even if it turns out that he's over me now and has married someone else. That would hurt, but it would be understandable. Even if I am his soul-mate, (and I am, we did a spell in Fourth Year and everything) he needs companionship and I'm hardly one to deny him that.

Ugh, this place has too many stairs. I'm nearing the fourth floor now I think. Yeah, I should be because I recognise that painting. Creepy old thing, always watching me. I think it's Contessa's mum or Contessa's mum's mum. I suppose I could ask her but I don't care enough to bother. It's a creepy old lady, that's all I need and want to know. I don't like to take my eyes off her either. I know she's only a painting and she can't do anything to me, but I really don't like to take my eyes off of her, just in case. So, as I walk by, I make sure to turn so that I'm always facing her. She looks down her nose at me with the usual mocking sneer which must be a pure-blood trait because it looks exactly the same as all the Malfoys' I've ever met.

Suddenly, even though I'm right in the middle of the huge stair-case, my back collides with something and knocks off my balance. I lurch forward awkwardly, trying my best not to tip forward. Before I fall however, a hand grips my shoulder and straightens me out. Thank goodness is what I say. Falling down all these stairs wouldn't be a survivable process I should imagine. Wait though; if someone managed to steady me, then that must mean...

I'm turned around quickly and my fears are confirmed upon seeing the face of my rescuer. It's Nanny Alice and she looks more than a little flustered. Oh my God, how long has she been awake now? How many times has she searched each floor for me? Did she ask the house-elves if they'd seen me? What if one or more did see me leave and told her?

Calm down Harry, think soothing thoughts. Maybe she doesn't know, everything might be fine. Just act "naturally" and everything will be all right.

"Did you have a nice nap Nanny Alice?" Good, that was good. It was calm, it was normal and, most importantly, it was innocent.

"Nap?" She echoes, sounding confused. I guess she wasn't expecting me to say that; Merlin knows why though.

Anyway, I nod to confirm that I did indeed say nap and then do the usual thing of elaborating. "You just fell 'sleep real fast." I tell her in my childish voice, simplifying my words as usual. "I got bored so I went to go play with Bobo." Bobo's my personal house-elf. We play together sometimes usually to the horror of whoever my current nanny is at the time.

"Oh, I see." Alice replies, seeming a little flustered. She's probably confused beyond words because she just kind of passed out all of a sudden. No doubt she'll go and see a doctor, a muggle doctor probably, as soon as possible. "Well, anyway, come along now Charlemagne, we have to get you to your ice-skating lesson."

Oh fun. I manage to make myself look enthustiastic enough on the outside though. I swear, when the time comes and who I really am becomes common knowledge, I'm going to deserve some kind of reward for all these acting skills I'm putting to use. Maybe an Oscar or at least an MTV award.

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Night time; about nine o'clock I reckon. Technically, I should be in bed but I'm hardly the best behaved boy in the world am I? Nanny Alice had barely shut the door to my bedroom before I had scrambled out again and set about doing various things which needed to be done. And now, instead of bed, I'm in our personal Owlery, tying my letter to Ginny around the leg of the owl I got for my fourth birthday who I called Mimi purely to annoy Phil, (the look on his face when he heard was priceless). She's a pretty bird. Not as pretty as Hedwig but she's still lovely with her brown, spotted black feathers and her vivid, brown eyes.

As I tie the parchment to Mimi's leg, I can't help but wonder how Hedwig is. It never occured to me to ask Ginny about her earlier, we were too busy chatting about people I suppose. I wonder if someone kept her for me. Perhaps Sirius or Remus did. Or maybe they gave her away. Maybe even, though Heaven forbid, she's not even alive anymore.

Great, now I'm worried. If I could be bothered, I'd run back to my rooms and jot a PS at the end asking how Hedwig is. As it is, I can't be bothered and I'm not going to risk getting caught running around the manor when I'm supposed to be in bed. I'm sure she's fine. If she was dead, Ginny probably would've thought to tell me. As she didn't even mention her, I'm going to take that as a sign that everything's all right.

There, now the parchment's tied securely, it's time to send Mimi on her way. Holding out my arm, I gesture for her to perch on it. She does so and I trot over to the window where I can send her on her way when I've told her the specifics of what I want her to do: "Take this to Ginny Weasley at the Weasley's Burrow. Stay there the night and bring her reply back to me first thing in the morning all right?" Mimi pulls at my hair in what I like to think is a gesture of affection and a confirmation that she understands what she has to do. Even if she doesn't, it won't matter too much, I've written instructions to Ginny on what I've instructed Mimi to do at the end of the letter.

With my orders given, I jerk my arm forward gently and, getting the idea, Mimi jumps from my arm and soars out the window. I watch her go until I can no longer make her out before turning and heading out of the Owlery. Another annoying thing about having such a young body is that it gets tired faster than an older body. I'm completely exausted; can't wait to just curl up in bed and sleep for the next twelve hours.