Conflict by grangergurl
Chapter Notes: Sorry for the long hiatus! Thanks to mugglegurl and NikkiSue for beta-ing this chapter. Also, something new: each chapter from here on is going to have a dedication. If you want to be dedicated to, PM me on the boards. This chapter is dedicated to Jordan (mugglegurl) for her outstanding patience!
"Harry, I'm scared. If something were to happen-"
"Nothing will happen, except you will get better and we can be done with this."
A light breeze was blowing, and the ocean was audibly beating against the cliffs in the Potters' room. A rabbit hopped through the long, leaning, soft grass. Ginny and
Harry were sitting opposite each other on their bed, cross-legged. A picture of Joshua sat on Harry's bedside table, and his blankie lay still on Ginny's pillow. She absentmindedly ran her hand over it. Harry noticed and his eyes clouded. Ginny kept pressing, though.
"Why do you have to go? I mean, why Romania?" Ginny's eyes closed and she breathed in deeply before coughing.
Harry, concerned, stared into her eyes, but, through coughs, she motioned for him to respond. "There are dragons there, Gin. And you know that I need to do something now more than ever, instead of watching you fade like this."
Ginny smiled, her coughing subsiding. "Harry, I just don't want to see you leave again. Remember the last time you left?"
Closing his eyes, Harry nodded. His son had died. His Joshie had died, and he would never come back. Not ever. Harry stepped off of the bed and walked away. He found himself climbing stairs and, before he knew it, he was in his son's room. Harry hadn't come in here since the last time that he lay his son to bed. He sat in the rocking chair and closed his eyes.
"Daddy, I don't wanna go night-night. I'm not even tiahed. See?" Josh opened his eyes as wide as they could go, through a yawn. "I wanna go puh-lay with Uncle Fwed."
Harry, laughing, tickled Joshua's stomach, his emerald eyes dancing. "The Tickle Monster will get you if you don't!"
Joshie, squealing, jumped into his bed. "Daddy, can I sleep with you and Mamma?"
Harry raised his eyebrows. "But Daddy will roll over you and squish you like a bug. And then the fairies couldn't put you to sleep!" The fairies were something that
Josh often spoke of, and Harry assumed that it was just a dream that he had several times.
Josh grew quiet. "Go away so dey can come. Night-night. Go tell Mommy to be quiet so that duh faywees can come."
Harry hugged his son and, ruffling his hair, stepped out. "Goodnight, buddy."
The lights of the candles dimmed slightly and Joshie waited in his bed until he heard his father take the last stair out of the tree. Then, Josh rushed to the window, where the waves crashed below. He could almost feel the sea breeze. A tinkling purple light suddenly zoomed through the window and Josh giggled with glee.
"Faywee!"
Ginny, now sitting by the waterfall in the tree, ran her fingers through the huddled group of Koi. She had a lot to think about...Harry was leaving for Romania to save
her life. How thoughtful of him, to leave her here with the possibility that she might drop dead at any moment, without having him near her. How kind of him, to leave her mortally ill, with no knowledge of his condition. He could die, she could die, her son was dead. Her thoughts were jumbled. Ginny stood and walked away from the pond.
*******
Molly was walking through the Burrow, cooking furiously, while she kept half an ear on Harry and Charlie's quiet conversation by the fire. Becoming desperate as their
conversation turned into harsh whispers, she flew up the stairs and flung herself onto the boxes in Fred and George's old room. Pulling out a dusty Extendable Ear and
walking back downstairs whistling, she resumed cooking her meal, but this time, she had better tabs on the conversation. Finally, when guilt overtook her, she ripped
the ear out and marched into the living room. The two men immediately stood.
"Harry! You cannot go to Romania! And Charlie, as your mother, I forbid you to bring him!" Molly screeched.
Now, one would expect two tall and usually intimidating men to loom over Molly, but with her fiery hair askew, her eyes daring, and her spittle flying, the two men, now
boys, were fighting two internal battles: one, not to cower, and two, not to laugh.
Charlie spoke first. "Mother, you know that Ginny is bad - really bad. I promise, nothing will happen. Sometimes you have to take risks to make other things better."
Molly, beaten in three sentences for the first time in her life, crumpled onto the chair behind her in a fit of tears. Through sobs, she managed to croak, "Go, then, if you
must."
*******
Harry decided that desperate times called for desperate measures. He Apparated to Diagon Alley and entered a store that was far down the way. He pointed to something
behind a glass case and the owner of the store nodded and wrapped it. Harry, carring a diamond necklace in his pocket, continued browsing Diagon Alley. After a while,
his gaze wandered to the other alleys.
Despite his better judgement, Harry stepped down into Knockturn Alley. He stepped into the nicest-looking shop in the alley and picked up the first thing he saw.
Automatically, he knew it was perfect. It was a mirror set that acted much like Sirius' old mirrors did. Just say the name of who you wished to speak to and they
appear through the other mirror. The set was silver, and the mirrors had a very Victorian handle, with ivory insets. Harry smiled as he turned the mirrors over. There
was a simple rose on the back of each of them.
After Harry was loaded down with bags, he Apparated back to the Burrow, hoping that nothing would break. He carried his prizes downstairs to his room and hid them
in the cave by the ocean.
*******
Dinner at the Burrow was rushed, as were the preparations for Charlie and Harry's journey. The would be leaving after nightfall for safety. Ginny had gotten her
presents, other than the mirror, and she adored them bitterly. She would rather have Harry stay than get her presents, but she knew that he wanted to do this. She passed the potatoes to Percy and picked at her own. She couldn't eat. Sighing, she pushed her chair out from under the table and stalked slowly to her bedroom.
Harry followed Ginny to their room. Closing the trunk that he'd be bringing to Romania, he deemed his preparations nearly complete. He only had to bring Ginny, who
was already walking on the beach, her mirror. Harry walked to the beach and snagged the package out of the cave. Slipping them behind his back, he approached Ginny,
who was up to her ankles in the water. Quietly, Harry approached.
*******
One last kiss, and Harry stepped out of the Weasley's hospitality. He walked to where Charlie was standing, several yards from the house.
"Now," Charlie said, "if we try to Apparate too far, it could be dangerous - group travel is risky. We'll have to use the Floo Network to get to France, take a train to Italy, take a
ship to Albania, and then Apparate to Romania. That's as far as I can take you."
"As long as you can take me."