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Disclaimer.
J.K Rowling went out one day so I took her characters out to play.
We ran around, they laughed with glee,
All this fun and she works for free!

We continue - This will be a long story and not at all HBP compliant. Ginny is in a crisis- the aftermath of her time in the Chamber of Secrets was never addressed. It will shortly become a full-blown emergency. Please continue to review - I do enjoy your feed back.
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Very early on Saturday morning, Arthur Weasley was at his desk in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office. He was behind on his paperwork, after spending so much time helping to procure a new teacher for Hogwarts. Having Arthur serve as a governor for the school, had been Dumbledore's idea. Being a Pureblood stood him in good stead and he already had a large stake in how the school was managed, since his own family had once attended, and continued to attend, the venerable institution. Arthur had no doubt that in years to come, a whole passel of grandchildren would descend upon the hallowed halls and the thought gave him great comfort.

Remembering his promise to Ginny, Arthur made his way to the central communications office. Emptoria Hedley was on duty, to monitor the incoming and outgoing messages. Her presence was a curse and a blessing, thought Arthur. On one hand, Voldemort could stroll in the front doors and she would need to check procedure on how to handle the situation (carefully avoiding damage to her artful manicure). On the other hand, tell her, her makeup was smudged and she was off to the nearest mirror; very convenient today.

"Morning Miss Hedley, how are we today?" A smiling Arthur strode up to her, rubbing his hands together. Dropping the smile, Arthur looked at her face closely. Any more makeup and you could take a chisel to her features.

"Ith thomething wrong Mithter Weathley?" Emptoria inquired, her eyes wide in concern.

"Oh, I'm sure it's nothing, Miss Hedley, it's just your eyes look a little reddened." Arthur tried to sound sincere, but it still sounded false to his ears.

"I mutht go and thee for mythelf. " She jumped up and grabbed her makeup bag, "Mithter Weathley, could you thtop here for a moment? I jutht want to go to the little girlth room."

"Run along Miss Hedley, I'll be right here." Arthur waited until she had turned to enter the Ladies room before he sat himself behind the reception desk to call the Grangers.

"Good morning, Geoffrey, Arthur Weasley. How are you? Wonderful, and Susan? Champion. Listen, I'm calling at this unheard of time on a Saturday, because my youngest Ginny wants to come and stay at yours for a while this summer. I know Hermione's letter said you had given the all clear, but I said I'd call and make sure. Her mother, you know......" Arthur sat back, listening to the man on the other end. "Well, that's all set then, she will be pleased. When would be a good time to Floo? Eh?"

Arthur frowned at some confusion on the other end. "Hello? Susan? Hello Susan...what?" The lady of the house had taken over the phone. "Lunch on Sunday? Well yes, I suppose so...No, no,no, I'm sure Molly would love to come. What time? One? Lovely, we'll see you then. Bye, bye." Placing the hand set back in the cradle, Arthur stood just in time to see 'Empty Head' Emptoria coming out of the bathroom.

"All's well then Miss Hedley?" Arthur inquired.

"Yeth, thank you, Mithter Weathley. Thankth for looking after the dethk for me." She smiled and Arthur swore he saw cracks appearing on the surface of her face. He nodded and went back to his office.

Arthur wondered how to tell Molly they were having lunch at a Muggle home. He just hoped she trusted him enough to acquiesce, with minimum amount of objections voiced loudly in his direction. Molly was not Mugglephobic; she'd just never spent any time in one of their homes. He'd best make sure she didn't flush the toilet by magic.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ron had floo'd home on Saturday morning. He had the weekend off this week. One on, one off was his schedule. Stepping out of the fireplace, he raised his head and sniffed in pleasure. His mother was cooking breakfast in anticipation of his arrival.

"Is that you Ron?" called Molly over her shoulder. She was slicing up some Ulster Fry for a treat. "I'm in the kitchen."

"Hello, Mom." Ron entered the kitchen and gave his mother a hug and kiss. "Where's Dad?" Ron was looking around. He planted himself at his customary seat at the table.

"He had to go to the Ministry to catch up on some paper work or other." Molly shook her head, "I swear he'll work himself to death."

At that moment, the fireplace glowed with green flames and Arthur stepped through. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed his wife around the waist allowing one hand to sneak up to her breast. Nuzzling into her neck he murmured, "I love it when we're alone." He kissed her neck and squeezed her left breast.

"Arthur, stop it." Molly grabbed the hand on her breast and turned to face her husband, "Ron has this weekend off." She indicated the silently laughing lad at the table.

"Hello there, Ron, didn't see you." Arthur walked over and took his seat.

"Obviously," Ron quipped. In a much lower voice, Ron asked, "Do you and Mom...you know...do you still...uhm...you know?" Ron had the good grace to look at the table.

"Did you think you and Ginny came from the cabbage patch?" Arthur looked over his shoulder to make sure Molly wouldn't hear.

"Your mother and I love each other every bit as much today as the day we wed. She looked a lot like Ginny then." Arthur smiled remembering the lovely girl who captured his heart. "When I look at her now, she is even lovelier. She gave me a gift of a wonderful family even though I couldn't give her more than a ramshackle home and second hand goods. She is my treasure." Arthur looked again at the woman bustling around the kitchen and smiled.

"I hope I can have that one day." Ron was moved more than he really understood. "I think I'm lucky to have parents like you." Arthur smiled and patted Ron's shoulder.

"So, how goes it with my latest gainfully employed son?" Arthur raised his voice for Molly to hear.

"Alright, if you don't mind acting like house elf to Percy. Honestly, he expects me to cook and clean as if I didn't have a job."

"Well, he's not charging you any board Ron. A few chores aren't much to ask." Molly was still trying to protect the Weasley Wanker as Percy was becoming known.

"Mom, he charges his rent as an expense to the Ministry and he's using me as a bloody slave. He's in pocket and I'm indentured." Ron could play misery really well.

"Here's breakfast." Molly brought over two over-laden plates, walked to the stairs and yelled, "Ginny, breakfast. I don't know what has gotten into her lately."

"Dad, Harry has asked me to visit him at Privet Drive. Apparently, his family has left to go on a vacation to Portugal."

"Does Dumbledore know?" Arthur was suddenly alarmed.

"I'm not sure." Ron was suddenly not hungry.

Striding quickly to the fireplace, Arthur threw some Floo powder and called, "Headmasters office, Hogwarts."

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, contemplating the previous evening's events, not quite sure how to deal with them. Why had his Potions master decided to become more than his usual prickly self? There was no love lost between Severus and Remus, it was well known. Dumbledore needed to know the motivations behind Snape's actions and intended to confront the man.

At that moment his fire burned green.

"Albus, are you there?" Arthur Weasley's head appeared in the fireplace.

"Yes Arthur, I'm here. What is it?" Dumbledore was curious as to what the call was about.

"Albus, are you aware that the Dursley's have gone abroad and left Harry alone? What about his protection? His aunt's promise?" Arthur's voice was filled with concern.

"All is well Arthur. I am aware of the situation. I had written to Petunia regarding this very matter just before the end of term." The headmaster sat back in his chair and stroked his beard. "In fact, I suggested the family remove themselves for a while. Harry needs must stay in his aunts home to be protected. He needn't have their presence." The old man smiled and looked distinctly Slytherin like.

"Albus, you old conniver, you planned this, didn't you?" Arthur relaxed on the other side of the flames.

"I did in deed have a hand in the planning. The rest was up to them." Albus smiled, "Harry should have a happier summer."

Arthur looked back over his shoulder, obviously listening to someone else.

"Albus, it seems Harry has invited Ron to stay while the Dursley's are gone. How do we go about getting the lads together? There's no working fireplace in the house." Arthur remembered the debacle of picking Harry up to go to the Quidditch World Cup when they had floo'd in to the boarded up fireplace.

"Having Ron around isn't a bad idea, Arthur. Contact Arabella Figg, she's only a couple of streets away." Dumbledore was quite pleased. It seemed his idea was working even better than he had originally planned.

"Right you are, Headmaster, we'll give her a call." With a wave, Arthur pulled his head out of the fire.

"There you are Ron that might be your answer to a happy summer." Arthur sat down at the table again with his customary smile and tucked into his hearty breakfast.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The dawn broke on a fair day over Hogwarts. Morning mists rose and burned away from the heather-downed slopes of the Highlands. The dawn chorus of birds burst forth in a fanfare, announcing the welcome warmth of the sun.

Phaelan lay in her new bed, immersed in the sensations of waking to a new environment. Stretching, Phaelan sat up, breathing deeply, to chase the last cobwebs of sleep away.
Slipping out of bed, she made her way to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, she remembered last evening's events. She was at a loss to understand the motivation of that man. When he had accompanied her to her flat, Professor Snape had been, while not overflowing with camaraderie, at least borderline amiable. Why would he react the way he did? 'Was it something I did, or said?'" wondered Phaelan. 'I called him benign, was he offended?'

She bent to turn on the shower. 'Maybe it was how Remus acted towards me?' Pulling off her t-shirt and shorts, Phaelan stepped into the shower. 'He couldn't be jealous, could he?'

There was a bar of fragrant soap available, already in the stall. The scent seemed to invigorate and stimulate as well as moisturize her skin. There were two containers in a niche on the wall; shampoo and conditioner. They had a similar scent to the bar soap. Phaelan had rarely used anything more luxurious.

Wizarding propriety be damned, Phaelan was going for a run this morning and dressed accordingly. She wore shorts and crop top under her USN sweats, and her most comfortable trainers on her feet. Pulling her hair into a high pony tail, Phaelan finally brushed her teeth and made her way to the Great Hall.

Looking around for any stray phantoms, Phaelan carefully, made her way downstairs avoiding the trick stair that trapped her the night before. She opened the doors leading to the Great Hall and found only Pomfrey and Hooch seated at the table. Thankfully, the black bully was no where to be seen.

Phaelan made her way to the table and was greeted with smiles.

"Where is everyone else?" asked Phaelan.

"Saturday morning." replied Hooch as if that answered everything.

A plate of porridge appeared in front of Phaelan. Scottish staple or no, this was not on her menu plan.

Seeing her face, Madam Pomfrey took pity. "If you don't like the fare, tap your plate once with your spoon and announce what you prefer." She nodded her encouragement.

Phaelan tapped as instructed and ordered. "Whole wheat toast, yoghurt, fresh fruit and orange juice." Within a minute, the porridge disappeared and was replaced with a platter bearing the toast, a small bowl of yoghurt and fresh berries. A glass of juice appeared to her right and another small bowl of fruit popped up towards the centre of the table.

"Wow, this beats Howard Johnson's." she quipped. The two women opposite looked clueless as to what she meant. "Howard Johnson is a chain of hotels that can churn out meals really fast." They knew what a hotel was at least.

Phaelan began to eat, "The food at the hotel wasn't as good as this though." Phaelan smiled through her mouthful of food.

"It's good to see you eat such a sensible diet, Miss McKenzie." noted the Mediwitch. "I've tried to get the menu changed for the better for years, but they still stick to the old ways of hearty rich food and too much of it."

"Too right, Poppy. I've shown the menu from the training table used in some of the professional Quidditch teams. More fibre, vitamins; things to build the body. Wouldn't budge." Madam Hooch was obviously the physical education buff.

"Whose the "They" in all this?" asked Phaelan.

"Dumbledore and the head kitchen elf," answered Hooch. Poppy just nodded her head.

'Madam Hooch," began Phaelan, "I'd really like to run some laps this morning. Where can I go to exercise?"

The Quidditch Mistress had a look on her face akin to a child at Christmas. "You want to run, Miss McKenzie? Actually exercise? Oh! Goddess be praised." Hooch stared up at the heavens and raised her hands in tribute to a higher power.

Looking at the Mediwitch, Phaelan raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

"Madam Hooch cannot entreat any of the staff to accept a training regimen. She has tried every year, but she's always disappointed." Poppy looked at the beaming woman with spiked hair sitting beside her. "It appears, Miss McKenzie, you have made her day."

"We'll start as soon as you've finished, Miss McKenzie." Hooch could barely retain her seat.

Smiling at the over eager witch, Phaelan worried whether this was a good idea after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus' favourite Saturday pastime, of sleeping half the day away, was interrupted by the summons from the Headmaster. He was expecting it of course. He'd thought about what he would say while consuming copious amounts of brandy, late into the night. The fine liquor did nothing to focus his thoughts. What was his motivation? Was it solely to intimidate and insult Lupin? Scare the Muggle chit? Shit, he didn't know himself.

'Albus, I was simply proving to all and sundry, for one final time, what a fucking prick I am. Lupin and the chit were just a convenient catalyst. Let the shit fall where it may!' A sneer of unparalleled quality crossed his face at the thought of saying this to the Headmaster.

Snape doubted whether Dumbledore would believe him anyway. Bloody old man saw the best in everybody. Probably offer the Dark Lord a Lemon Drop upon first meeting.

Snape had taken the long way round to get to the Headmaster's office. His route took him to a tower which overlooked the Quidditch pitch. He saw two figures running laps around the field. One was without question Hooch, her familiar black gymslip a dead give away. The pair had stopped running and had begun to walk back to the castle. As they got closer he realized it was Phaelan in nothing but her underwear. He shook himself again; this was what Muggle females wore to exercise.

'In the name of all that is sacred, how am I to work with a woman who looks like a goddess, speaks like a scholar and when the spirit moves her, throws a right hook with the best of them.'

This is what Albus wanted. Why her? Was he jealous? Of whom? He hadn't felt that emotion since his days as a student here. Is that why he so viciously attacked Lupin? She was to be under his control. Was he that insecure? Snape's confusion only grew.

"Knut for your thoughts?" A startled Snape turned to see the Headmaster directly behind him.

Turning a strange colour of pink, Snape began to stutter, "H-H- Headmaster, I...um...l was taking a walk to collect my thoughts. The fresh air..." he looked at Dumbledore's face.

"Severus, you and I know better than that. Come, let's walk to the lake. Don't worry; we'll keep to the shadows." The older man led the way.

When they reached the lakeshore, Snape stood with his hands behind his back. Dumbledore conjured himself an easy chair in a blinding floral pattern.

"Severus, I know you've noticed the resemblance too, but did you need to inflict your guilt on Lupin, in the fashion you did?" Dumbledore waited for Severus finally admit to himself what he had been trying not to.

He hadn't seen it consciously, but now it had been spoken, the pieces fell into place.

"She's not Lily, Albus. I'm not so much a fool to imagine otherwise." By saying it, Snape found the feeling lost its power.

"No she's not Lily, but the likeness is there." Looking up at the younger man, Dumbledore continued, "I know you loved Lily."

"She was never mine to love. Perhaps if she had she would be..." Snape looked into the distance as Dumbledore interrupted.

"You don't know that, no one can say what might have been. If only this...if I had done that....easily said, impossible to prove." Albus was getting angry.

"You were never one to revel in self recrimination, Severus. This self pity is loathsome to witness. You must stop; now." The elder wizard stood and waved away the chair.

"Make your peace with Lupin and repair your bond with your colleague. We...I, don't have time for schoolboy antics from my most able ally." The old man walked back to the Castle. "Make sure it's fixed today."

'Why does this old man always know what's on my mind before I do?' wondered Snape. He honestly had not thought of Lily, when he felt the fire of jealousy burn behind his eyes. It was not a conscious act, when he had added the same essence Lily preferred, to the base when making bath products for the new teacher.

'Just a thoughtful gesture towards a new colleague.' he had convinced himself. Now he realized his subconscious had kicked in. Damn. He had thought he was finally purged of his old obsession. Again he wondered, 'Why her?'

Walking with a purposeful stride he went to the apparition point; he had another colleague to explain himself to. Remus might not be so forgiving.

~~~~~~~~~~

The idea to contact Arabella Figg worked well and arrangements were made for Sunday at noon, for Ron to floo there. He could also use her floo to get to and from work. Ron sent an owl to Harry with the good news. Harry's reply came with Hedwig before nightfall.

"Ron,

This is brilliant. Summer will be the ultimate bachelor dream come true. You wait.

I've asked Dumbledore if we can move to Grimmauld Place, as soon as the family from hell return. I hope he says yes.

I'll meet you at Mrs Figg's tomorrow and we'll go for lunch at the Precinct in town, my treat.

Yours in Stag Heaven

Harry.

P.S. Bring Hermione's phone number, maybe we can meet sometime over the summer.

Cheers, H.

Ron smiled a blinding grin. 'No more Perishing Percy the Pain in the Pants.' He got ready to floo back to Percy's flat to retrieve the things he had left and tell his older brother, his housekeeper was leaving. Before he had stepped though the flames Ginny came into the room.

"Hey, Ron, I heard you were going to stay at Harry's. I'm going to stay with Hermione and she's got the use of a car for the summer. Little Whinging is in South London and Hermione is just outside London. Maybe we can get together." Ginny turned her brightest smile on her big brother.

"We'll see Ginny, later." and Ron stepped through the flames.

Ginny's smile changed; a house without adults and with Harry. She had plans for this summer. Plans Tom would approve of. She got wet just thinking about it. Ginny turned and headed upstairs; it was time to pack.

~~~~~~~~~

Minerva invited Phaelan to the lake for a picnic lunch. She had wanted to speak to the young woman alone, away from the old meddler.

After the obvious small talk over sandwiches, fruit and cake, Minerva changed the subject to one less pleasant.

"Phaelan, we need to discuss last night." Minerva watched for the reaction of her company. It appeared the girl was confused more than anything else.

"I don't understand what happened Minerva." Phaelan shook her head, "I don't think I did anything or said anything, that would make him want to hurt me. I realize he doesn't like Remus, but his attack was calculated to hurt both of us. It almost feels as though he was jealous, but that's crazy." Phaelan plucked a wild flower in front of her, lost for words.

"When you were but a babe, Severus was attending Hogwarts as a student. He had a miserable time thanks to a group of, I'm sorry to say, Gryffindors. He was a brilliant but haunted boy; a perfect target for the Marauders." Minerva closed her eyes in memory of those who were once boys in her charge.

"In Severus' year, there was a young woman, Lily; a bright young Muggle-born witch well liked and respected by all. She was Head Girl her last year here." At this, Minerva smiled, "Lily fell in love with James Potter and they married after they left school. Shortly thereafter a son was born,,,"

"Harry Potter." Phaelan offered.

"I see you've started your reading, Phaelan." Minerva smiled. "Yes, Harry. That last year they were all in school, Lily, more than once spoke up for Severus, when the Marauders, including James Potter, bullied him."

"Severus became quite smitten with Lily to the point, he approached her parents about a formal courtship." Again Minerva looked at Phaelan waiting for a reaction.

"What is this courtship?'" asked the young woman.

"In Pureblood families, etiquette demands if a young man deems a woman worthy of betrothal, he seeks her parent's permission to pursue a relationship." Minerva stopped to take a sip of juice.

"Well, Lily being Muggle-born, you can imagine her reaction. Severus had difficulty understanding because he had little exposure to Muggles." The older teacher shook her head sadly. "To her credit, Lily did her best to let him down easy. I honestly think if he had approached her directly, she might have given him a chance. But that's not Severus."

"When she finally married James, Severus was an angry and spiteful man. Not just because of her but everything together..." Looking into the distance, Minerva became lost in her memories.

'So' thought Phaelan 'I'm not too far off, but there is something missing in the puzzle.'

"Minerva, I can see where the underlying anger comes in but there's something not yet said." Looking Minerva in the eye, Phaelan asked, "Reveal the missing pieces Minerva?"

Reaching into her purse, Minerva withdrew a small picture and handed it to Phaelan. In reaction, Phaelan closed her eyes and said one word. "Lily"

"Yes," answered Minerva "and, you should also know, Lupin was one of the Marauders."

'Oh fuck!' thought Phaelan. The face smiling back at her could almost have been her own reflection, save for the 70's hair and clothes. Lily and she might have been twins.