Title: Another Delusional Love Story
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance/Action/Adventure
Other Ships: Ron/Luna Maybe minor Ginny/Neville
Based upon book/s: Book 1-6 HBP SPOILERS!!!
Summary:Harry's 7th Year . . . with a few surprises. Love Potion theory will be used because come on
face it Harry couldn't have fallen for Ginny without it!!!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything in Harry Potter. I'm not making any profit of this at all, and if I did own Harry Potter and I was J.K Rowling then you can be assured that in the 6th book, Harry and Hermione would have ended up together but hey, that's what fan-fiction is for right? Ok then, enough rambling, and to sum things all up . . . I don't own Harry Potter. Got it? Good.
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Chapter 1
1. You're invited . . .
"Bye Harry. I'll write to you every day, okay? Just send a note with Hedwig when you're ready to leave your aunt and uncle's." Those had been Hermione's last words to him as the trio (Himself, Ron, and Hermione) stood on the platform ready to go to the other side. To the muggle-side, where they would be separated for the first time in a whole school year.
She had then watched closely as Ron and Harry had exchanged a quick goodbye, with her bottom lip trembling slightly.
Harry noticing this, quickly said, afraid she would start to cry something he definitely couldn't handle right then, "Hermione, don't be worried. I'm not going to do anything rash during my stay with the Dursleys. I'll be a good boy." He joked, trying to lighten the mood a bit. When Hermione didn't seem reassured Harry continued, "Look, I'm only going to stay there for about a week. You know, even though Privet Drive was pretty much the worst place for a 10-year-old to spend his life in. I suppose it still holds . . . some happy memories. Besides Dum- . . . Dumbledore wanted me to go back. Even if I don't stay long, at least, I'll be safe for that week. It's what Dumbledore would have wanted . . . " He trailed off suddenly, as Hermione threw her arms around him, and burst into tears for the second time in a day.
Instead of breaking of the hug, he returned it. Finally realizing that it was something he had desperately needed. As she started sobbing harder than before, Harry gave her a pat on the back and bent down a little so he could whisper in her ear a few words of condolence. Hermione then gratefully kissed him on the cheek.
Ron cleared his throat as soon as he saw this, not giving the other two any chance to react, and said, "Hermione, Harry needs to go. The muggles will soon be throwing a fit. You'll see him soon. Right?" Ron asked turning his attention to Harry.
"Right." Harry said, trying to make himself as believable as possible. The truth was he didn't know if he would be returning to the Burrow after spending a week with the Dursleys . . .
Ron seemed to believe him, and repeated to Hermione that Harry needed to go now, and that they were holding up the other students. Harry had the feeling that Ron was anxious to do something. But he shrugged the feeling off.
Hermione let go of Harry regretfully. Once he was released, he grabbed all his possessions, and walked swiftly through the barrier leading him to the muggle part of King Cross Station. He felt as if he might start crying once again too, morning over Dumbledore's death all over, if he just glanced at Hermione's tear-stained face once more.
He got through the barrier quickly and soon spotted Mr. And Mrs. Weasley. The Dursley's stood a good 20 feet away, glaring at the red-headed couple fiercely. The Weasleys saw Harry and motioned for him to join them.
Harry obeyed immediately, wanting to spend as much time at the train station as he could.
The minute he got there however, he regretted his decision.
Mrs. Weasley grabbed hold of him, and started giggling like a school girl, while Mr. Weasley just beamed at him.
"Er . . . Hi Mrs. Weasley." Harry said awkwardly. This he hadn't expected at all. Shouldn't Molly and Arthur be upset about Dumbledore? But instead here they were, the two of them grinning like lunatics.
"Oh, Harry! We were just so pleased when we heard about it!" Mrs. Weasley squealed, letting Harry go when she realized she was pushing Hedwig's cage into his torso.
"Mind you, we only heard about it this morning." Arthur added still grinning.
Harry completely bewildered as to what they were talking about, just stared at them, all the while wondering. 'Where the hell were Ron and Hermione?'
"Er . . . Right?" He said trying to sound like he knew what they were talking about. But Mrs. Weasley knew that Harry didn't have a clue.
"Ginny and you!"
Harry imediantly felt his heart drop to his toes.
Mrs. Weasley didn't seem to notice his expression, because she continued, "She warned us this morning as the post arrived. She didn't want us to be shocked. I can't believe it! Ginny has be- Oh! She's so thrilled that you two are finally dating. We can't believe how blind we were, when, just a few days ago, we saw you two together. So we thought, of course you were! You look just like Lily and James when they were younger!"
Felling awkward suddenly at being compared to his dead parents along with Ginny he said, "Er . . . right, about that Mrs. Weasley . . ." But fortunately, he was saved from having to explain by his Uncle Vernon interrupting the conversation.
"Boy! . . . Er . . . Harry, I mean. We are running late for an appointment so Mr. and Mrs. Weasel, was it? We have got to be going." Vernon then pulled Harry away, with his porky little sausage like fingers.
Happy to have an excuse he allowed Vernon to drag Harry out of the station and to the parked car.
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All that seemed like ages ago to Harry, when really only a week had passed. It was now about time for Harry to be going to the Burrow, to spend the rest of his summer with his Ron, Hermione and Ron's entire family.
But, Harry wasn't even completely sure yet, that he should even be going to the Burrow. He knew that he would see Ron and Hermione again, and he really wanted to be there for Bill's wedding, and the Weasley's, all of the seven children (well, excluding Percy) had been like a family to him.
No scratch that. They were family to him.
On the other hand, if he went, he would then have to see Ginny again, something he was dreading. Not to mention, he would see the order and witness how they were all dealing with the loss of their leader.
But, the one thing that really held him back was the fact that Ron and Hermione were intending to join Harry on his visit to Godric's Hollow. Something that the more he thought about it did not want to happen. It would be too much of a risk for them there, and there would be no member of the order there to protect them.
If something were to happen to either Ron or Hermione he would never forgive himself. He knew however, that if he were to go to the wedding, and leave right after that Hermione and Ron would insist on going. Well, Hermione would insist anyway. Knowing her, she would possibly threaten to curse him as a last resort, if he didn't include them.
But he couldn't jeopardize their safety. Ron and Hermione were the most important people in his life, and he couldn't bare to lose them like he had lost Sirius or Dumbledore.
Harry's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden soft tapping on the window. Not wanting to get up Harry reached for his wand, and with a simple flick the window flew open.
Hedwig his snowy white owl, flew into the room with two letters attached to her leg.
The first letter would of course be Hermione's daily letter, but Harry had no idea who the second one could be from. He chose to open the mysterious letter first, which had 'Harry' printed elegantly on the front of the envelope.
Ripping the letter open he realized it was a wedding invitation to Bill and Fleur's wedding.
It had a picture of the happy couple. The picture was of course a wizarding picture, and the miniature Bill and Fleur were currently in the middle of a snogging session.
Seeing no writing on the paper anywhere, he prodded the couple in the picture.
They both flinched and looked up at who had interrupted them. Seeing that it was Harry, they both smiled broadly, and Bill cleared his throat.
"Mr. Arthur Weasley, Mrs. Molly Weasley, and Mr. Mason Delacour, and Charlene Delacour request you attendance at the wedding of the century . . . Bill Michael Weasley and Madame Fleur Celyn Faye Marie Delacour exchange wedding vows, and begin their new life together on Saturday, The Second of August, Nineteen-Ninety Seven at Two-thirty in the afternoon. The ceremony will take place at the Delacour's home located on the outskirts of France, and the reception will be located in the Burrow, home of the Weasley's."
As Fleur took over the explanation of where and when the wedding would be, Harry picked up his next letter, which was from Hermione. It was the shortest, she had sent him yet.
He read it within a minute, and sighed. She was expecting him to send an answer straight away with Hedwig.
By now Fleur had stopped talking, and now the invitation was playing a slow song Harry had never heard of before. He shut the card, but it continued to play. Frustrated, he got a stack of books, and placed them on top of the invitation hoping it would muffle the sound. When it didn't however, Harry got ready to set the whole thing on fire when he heard a voice yelling.
It was a tiny voice, and Harry couldn't tell where it was coming from. He looked around wildly looking for the source of the voice, and when he couldn't find it he looked down at the card.
It was coming from in there.
He opened it cautiously and got his wand ready and gripped in his hand, but was not met by anything dangerous.
Ron Weasley was standing on the card, now completely flattened out by the weight of the books.
"Ron?" Harry gasped, his voice raspy from lack of use.
"Oy, Harry! What the bloody hell did you do that for?" The minute Ron asked angrily.
"Sorry," Harry muttered, still shocked to see his best friend.
"Could you put an enlargement spell on me then?" Ron asked slightly annoyed.
"Oh . . . Er . . . Right . . . Sorry." Harry muttered the spell, and Ron grew to his normal size almost instantly.
"Thanks. So are you ready?" Ron asked looking around Harry's room expectantly.
"Ready for what?" Harry asked bemused.
"To go to my house. Hermione has been barmy all summer so far. Sending me tons of letters about how you weren't returning her owls." Harry felt a pang of guilt as Ron said this. "So I told her I would come to get you once your week at the Dursleys was up. What's up mate? " Ron asked when he saw the look on Harry's face.
Harry hadn't expected this. He didn't know how he could ever turn down going to Weasley's now.
"Look I know how you feel. Dumbledore was a great man. All of the Order misses him. The whole wizarding world is in morning-"
Harry cut Ron off. "Yea, I know." He opened his mouth to start to tell Ron about not going to the Weasley's, but he couldn't make the words come out.
Hermione had popped into his head and he saw her driving herself mad with worry, over him not returning to the Burrow with Ron.
"The whole house is expecting you, mate. So do you want me to help you pack? The muggles should be up soon, shouldn't they? Do you want to say goodbye to them, then?" Ron asked anxiously.
"Yea. You can help me pack." Harry said making up his mind then and there.
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By the time Ron and Harry had finished packing, noises could be heard coming from downstairs.
"They're up. Are we going to use floo powder . . . or . . . ?" Harry trailed off as he gathered all of his things, including Hedwig's cage.
"No, you can't apparate yet, and I'm no good at slide-along. But it's not safe using the floo system anymore. So, mum and dad set up an official Portkey . . . " Ron said looking at his watch. "Which will be leaving in ten minutes . . . "He cursed at the time.
"Why didn't you just use the portkey instead of sending a letter with yourself in it?" Harry asked confused.
Ron shrugged, "Another of Fred and George's inventions. They asked me to try it out for them. Or rather, they tricked me into trying it out for them."
"What's so great about sending yourself in a letter?" Harry asked opening the window to allow Hedwig to fly out. She would much rather prefer flying to being transported by portkey.
Once again Ron shrugged, "Dunno. It's kind of cramped in there. Also being stuck with a picture of Bill and Fluer who are only interested in snogging was a nightmare. Are you going to say goodbye to the muggles?" He asked again.
"Might as well."
"Wingardium Leviosa."Ron muttered, pointing it to Harry's luggage.
Harry got a sudden flash of his first year, and Ron casting it on the troll. He grinned and led the way downstairs.
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He entered the kitchen and found the family eating breakfast.
"I'm leaving," he announced.
To his surprise, Petunia's head shot up.
"You're leaving? For good?" She asked. For the first time in 16 years Harry saw compassion in those eyes. Her large and pale eyes, which had always lacked any warmth in them (at least when they were looking at Harry) were now filled with worry.
Shocked, Harry turned his attention to his aunt.
For the first time in 16 years, he could see the resemblance Petunia had to Harry's mother, Lily.
The two sister's had, had many differences, but every difference was matched with a similarity.
"Yes. I'll be 17 soon, and in the wizarding world I'll be considered an-"
"DO NOT SAY THAT FILTH IN THE HOUSE!" Vernon Dursley had yelled, purple with rage.
From behind him, Ron had started laughing under his breath while standing back.
"SHUT UP VERNON!" The most unexcepted person had yelled. Petunia was standing at the table hand on her hips, with her lips as thinned out as they could go.
"Hh-What did you say to me?"Vernon asked slightly aghast.
"What are you now deaf? I said 'Shut the bloody hell up Vernon!' No one is listening. Just because . . . Harry . . . says 'wizarding' in this house does not mean that the neighbors will hear. They're more likely to hear you bellowing than to hear him saying something." She then turned her attention to Harry.
"Where are you going?" She asked kindly, ignoring Vernon and Dudley who were sitting at the table mouths open.
"To Ron's." Harry answered pointing to Ron.
Ron who had been standing there, trying not to draw attention to himself waved awkwardly and said, "Hullo."
"And then I'll be going to Godric's Hollow. Where-" Harry continued talking a bit fast, but Petunia interrupted him.
"Lily lived. Her and your father . . ."
The five people stood in an awkward silence for a minute, Petunia in deep thought.
Not wanting to interrupt her hopefully fond thought's of his deceased mother, Harry said nothing, but instead watched her closely.
"Well, you had better be going then." She said suddenly snapping out of it. "I'll get you some food. Do you need a snack? Of course you need a snack. Put some bacon, and eggs, and then you can be on your way." Petunia muttered more to herself than to Harry.
"Well, we've got to be going, quickly. Sorry I don't have-" Harry started seeing Ron look pointedly at his watch.
Petunia then, unexpectedly threw herself on him in a tight hug. "I always loved Lily you know. I just was so jealous of her for being the 'perfect' one. The 'special' one. I got carried away I suppose . . . Your father was also a great man, he loved Lily, so much, I was jealous of that also, I suppose. She had the life I had always dreamed of . . . and then it ended so abruptly. I blamed that wizarding world for her death. That's why I worked so hard to squash it out of you. In a way, it was because I couldn't bare to see what happened to them happen to you. I had to look out for you. You are my nephew after all . . . I'm sorry . . . for everything.." Petunia stopped suddenly, tears gathering in her large eyes
"It's fine," Harry said automatically.
"NO! No, it's not. It will never be an excusable thing, what we did to you. But the least I can do is apologize."
Harry nodded and turned to go, but was stopped when Petunia started speaking again.
"Buy some lilies and put them on her grave. It doesn't matter what kind, though. She loved them all. They were her favorites. Not because of her name mind you, they were her favorites, because when we were little . . . Tuesday, Lily's Australian Shepherd died. We buried her in a field of lilies. Every kind of lily imaginable was in that garden. It was our favorite place to go when we were little. . ."
Harry stared at his aunt for a moment a lump in his throat had grown and he couldn't speak.
He heard Vernon shuffle uncomfortably in his seat, still annoyed that his wife had snapped at him. Dudley was sitting there quietly frightened shit-less of Ron and Harry, remembering the ton- tounge-toffees from a couple years ago..
"Go on then. You have to go. I wouldn't want you to be late." Petunia said as if embarrassed to have said anything.
She led Harry and Ron to the door, and held it open. Ron walked past muttering a quick goodbye, but when it was Harry's turn to go, he stopped.
"There's a war going on." He started. "In the wizarding world. There already beginning to torture muggles- regular people. The bad side is, I mean. Just for fun. If anything strange starts happening, anything at all, or there are unexplained disappearances. Or what Dudley went through 2 years ago, with the dementors, and it starts happening here. Then pack up everything important, and go to Arabella Figg's. She'll help you. If she's not here then leave. Get out of town. Got it?"
Petunia nodded, gave Harry a quick hug once more, and shut the door.
Harry stood there staring at the door of, Number Four Privet Drive for a few more seconds and then turned to leave with Ron.
They had only walked a couple of yards when Ron led Harry down an alleyway. He then picked up the only object there, an old muggle newspaper and held it out for Harry to grab.
"Five, four, three, two, one . . . " Harry instantly felt a pull coming somewhere from behind his navel, and felt the sensation that came whenever one traveled by portkey.
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That was the first chapter. I don't know if I'm going to finish this story but I more than likely will so don't worry. I have this story posted on FFN as well.
I realized about halfway through that Harry isn't 17 yet so he can't use magic but I just kept it in there anyway. Call it laziness if you want, but that's just how it is.
This story is taking place after HBP and if you must know there will be some Ron/Hermione stuff, but the story will of course end in H/Hr.
The thing about Lily liking the lilies was from RFR (an awesome show!) And I just added it in there so don't sue.
And about the whole Redeemed!Petunia thing, I just always felt like she couldn't be all bad. Lily was her sister. It won't really matter much anyway because she won't be returning in the story more than once . . . Hmmm is that a clue of what is to come?...So that's about it and if you have any question's or comments than please just leave a review and I'll answer them for you. Flames are not appreciated, but I can't exactly stop you can I?