Someone to Watch Over Me

Prologue

2004

It was a dismal day; gray clouds filled the sky, occasionally lit by stray streaks of lightning, accompanied by rumbling thunder. The mood matched that of the people gathered inside of the church, there for the funeral of a close friend. It was an old church, which stood on a hill just outside of London, virtually undisturbed by the storm. It was a simple building with a sloped roof, and a wooden cross near by. A sign read: "Church of the Sacred Heart."

Inside, a short red-haired young woman approached the podium, wiped the tears from her eyes and surveyed the crowd. All were either crying, or clearly had been crying recently. Many were looking at her with daggers in their eyes.

"I just wanted to try to clear some things up. Of course, you know I'm here because of the death of our close friend," she paused, and sobbed. "I know many of you are upset with me, but I'm begging you to listen. I know I may not change your mind, but please, try to listen with a clean slate," she pleaded.

The crowd looked at her, most with feigned interest. Well, let us see what can be done about that, she thought.

"I would like to start by introducing myself. Many of you may know me as Isabelle Banks, but I'm not her." She paused, took a deep breath, clutched the podium for support, and continued. "I'm Ginny Weasley." This bold statement was matched with a collective gasp as everyone leaned forward in their seats. You've certainly got their attention now, she wryly thought.

"But she died three years ago!" her brother, Ron, stood up and shouted. Ginny paused, obviously startled. She obviously wasn't ready for audience participation.

"Ron, ask me something only Ginny would know," she said.

"What was the name of the bunny you had when you were little?" he asked. "Bun-Bun," she replied. Maybe that was just a lucky guess, he thought. "Okay, now describe Bun-Bun," he responded. "Well, he was pink, had a violet sweater, at least until Charlie turned it red, because he said it was a more manly color for him," she replied, and giggled slightly as she remembered this. Ron froze. Bloody hell, that's right. That's all right, he thought. But it's impossible.

"Ginny?" Ron stuttered in disbelief. An uncomfortable pause followed, in which Ginny and Ron stared at each other in shock. She finally decided to break the silence, took a deep breath, and continued.

"Most all of you probably remember me dying in a car crash, but that was all faked. You see, I had to do that--fake my own death and become someone else, I mean--to protect both myself and him," she said, and gestured towards the casket. "It was the only choice, due to the circumstances we faced."

The crowd stood in silence and stared at her. No one knew quite what to make of this sudden turn of events, so they all sat and listened intently.

"I loved him so much," she sobbed. "I never meant to hurt him!" "Oh, Harry, why did you have to die? I was ready to risk it all for you, even my life!" she added.

"Why didn't I come to that conclusion sooner?" she screamed. "Oh, Harry, why?" she screeched. "This was all my fault!" she screeched, while Hermione came up to the podium and comforted her distraught friend.

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