MetaFic

The two girls marched through the corridors of Hogwarts toward the Headmaster's office.

Hermione strode purposely, head high and a stern look on her face. Her prefect's badge shone brightly from her robes and her entire demeanor screamed "Don't get in my way I'm doing something important."

Ginny walked a half-step behind her friend. She had her head down so others in the corridor would not see that she had recently been crying. She refused to make eye contact with anyone and was obviously trembling.

To the casual observer the scene seemed obvious. Miss Granger, a prefect, had caught Miss Weasley in a violation of school rules so severe that she was taking her to see their Head-of-House or perhaps the Headmaster himself. No one questioned them as they marched down the corridors. Even Professor Snape was silent as they passed, though the almost smile on his face spoke of how deliciously ironic he found the situation. Prefect Granger forced to discipline her best friend and boyfriend's sister.

In truth, the two young women were heading for the Headmaster's office, just not for what everyone expected.

When they reached the stone gargoyle, Hermione looked at her friend kindly, trying to infuse the redhead with both calmness and confidence. "Ready, then?" She said.

"Thank you, Hermione. I think I should go on alone from here."

"Are you sure? You don't have to do this by yourself. I'd be happy to stand with you."

Ginny sighed and smiled at her friend. "I got myself into this. Time to face the music. Don't worry, there will be plenty of other opportunities for 'Auntie Hermione' to help out in the future."

Hermione gave her a reassuring hug. "I'll wait for you here." Then she turned to the gargoyle and spoke the password. "Toffee Pops." Ginny watched her friend disappear as the staircase rose.

"Let's just say, for the sake of argument, that I say no."

Ginny paused at the door. She didn't recognize the voice. Why is it every time I come here the door is half-open and people are talking? she thought.

"Ah, but when you put it that way, I know you'll say yes, so why argue?" Dumbledore's voice held the note of amusement she'd come to expect from him even in the grimmest situation. She felt bad that she was probably going to ruin his day.

The stranger laughed. "So be it." Suddenly the voice was serious. "Do you realize what you're asking of me?"

"I wouldn't ask if I could find another way."

"I know, Albus. You also realize this is only a temporary measure? When I'm called I'll have to go."

"I understand. In the meantime there's someone at the door I'd like for you to meet."

Ginny cringed at being caught eavesdropping at the Headmaster's door for the second time in one term. She quietly stepped into the room.

Dumbledore smiled warmly at her and made introductions. "Miss Weasley, I would like you to meet Jeren Sawyer. He is Harry's distant cous–,"

The man in the chair cut the Headmaster off. "I'm Harry's guardian angel."

Ginny's blinked rapidly as her mind tried to process this information. If what he said was true, then he knew about her, which meant he might well know about why she was here. She looked him over closely. Black hair, about Bill's age, she guessed. Shorter than all of her brothers and thinner than them, too. Bright blue eyes. He seemed amused.

Dumbledore looked at Jeren and raised an eyebrow. "Was that wise?"

Jeren regarded Ginny. "At least one person near Harry has to know the truth should something go wrong. I chose her."

Ginny found her voice. "Excuse me, sir, but are you really Harry's guardian angel?"

"Yes, Miss Ginny, I am. I'll be helping protect Harry this summer in a more direct manner. If you'd like, we can talk about it more later. Right now I believe you have something important to discuss with the Headmaster." He shot her a huge smile as he stepped out the door.

The old wizard regarded her from over the rims of his half-moon glasses. "Well, that was completely unexpected. So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

Ginny swallowed and decided to just be frank and up front. "Sir, please don't hate me, but I've made a terrible error in judgment."

"Miss Weasley, I promise I could never hate you. Now, please tell me about this ‘terrible error in judgment’ as you call it." He regarded her as she bit her lower lip and tried not to burst into tears.

"I'm sorry, sir." She couldn't help it, she started to cry. "I just love him so much and I wanted to do whatever I could to protect him from Tom and I heard what you said about blood relatives and, and–" She buried her face in her hands. "I didn't know, I'm so sorry, I've made such a mess of things again. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

She sat in the chair and cried again. Cried for her own stupidity, cried for what she'd done, cried because she'd messed up again. Finally she raised her head to face the Headmaster. She was sure his complete silence meant that it was even worse than she had feared. She saw that he had moved into a chair directly in front of her and was patiently waiting for her to collect herself.

He handed her a handkerchief.

She wiped her face and blew her nose. She sighed and looked down at the floor. "I'll go pack my things and be prepared to leave in the morning."

"Why on earth do you believe I would allow you to do something so rash?"

She looked back up at him. He didn't seem angry. She sighed. "Because I'm a disgrace. Because I keep making messes of everything. Because I'll be a terrible scandal. Because I'm a stupid girl, who does stupid things like writing in enchanted diaries and getting pregnant." She looked back down and sniffed.

"Miss Weasley, you are neither a disgrace nor stupid. You did this out of love for Harry and a desire to protect him, yes?"

She sniffled. "Yes, sir."

"Is it ever a mistake to do whatever you can to protect a loved one?"

Another sniffle. "But sir, I made things worse, not better."

He smiled warmly at her. "Are you sure about that, Ginny?"

The shock of his using her first name made her look up. He was looking at her in an almost warm, grandfatherly way. "How can things not be worse?"

He smiled at her again. "Do you love Harry?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then trust that love, Miss Weasley. It's a powerful force. More powerful than any magic I could teach you." He paused for a moment. "Have you told anyone else?"

"Hermione knows. I haven't told Harry yet."

"Well, if I may, I would suggest you wait until after term ends. That will forestall any questions from the students until next term. Mr. Potter will be joining you at the Burrow for the first three weeks of summer before moving into his new home. I would suggest you take that opportunity to tell not only Harry, but your family as well. Miss Granger will also be staying with you, as her parents have been put into hiding and she will need accommodations over the summer. Everything has been arranged with your mother and father, and they will meet all of you at King's Cross station after term ends."

"Okay. It'll be nice to have another girl in the house for a change. Especially now." She looked intently at the Headmaster. "Where will Harry go afterwards, sir?"

"Do not worry, Miss Weasley, he will not be far away from you. Now, why don't you go clean up? I believe dinner will be served soon." His eyes twinkled with suppressed mischief. "Have to keep up your strength, you know!"