Veritaserum Doesn't Lie

Chapter One

*

Memories

"All right, class, I know it's almost summer but you lot need to settle down!" yelled the English teacher. She stood from her desk, threw her vibrantly red hair behind her head, and grabbed a marker. The seventh grade class finally silenced.

"Miss Weasley, are we going to have a final?" asked a boy at the back of the class.

"Yes, you are. You know the principal requires it. It will be the Friday before school lets out," Ginny told him.

"On what?" asked the blonde girl in the front.

"On what you've learned this year, if that is anything, Miss Sanders," Ginny replied. She noticed the girl give her a snotty look; she did that so much Ginny had grown to know the faces.

"Is it true that you're not going to be here next year, Miss Weasley?" asked a small girl on the right.

"I don't think so but I can't be sure. Now, let's get to today's lesson - indirect objects."

Miss Weasley, known to her friends as Ginevra, went on with her lesson, and then did it five more times before the day was over. After school, she returned to her small, brick house at the base of a hill. She kicked off her shoes and sat on her squashy couch and flipped on the television.

She lived in a good size town called Reno, in Nevada - the United States. She had lived her for five years now, after fleeing England. At the time, she had been dating Harry Potter but then, everything slid from control. Voldemort's infamous Death Eater's had attacked the flat she and Harry shared, taken them both captive, and given them Veritaserum. That was when things became dreadful. They asked Harry horrible questions that nearly killed her. They were finally found by Aurors and released. Ginevra didn't stay another ten minutes. She caught the next portkey leaving the portkey station, never to return. She had, of course, kept in touch with her family, but only after making them swear they wouldn't tell Harry where she was.

If they did, she knew he would come after her. That was just how Harry was. But she didn't want to see him! He had betrayed her!

~*~

"Damn, Ron, it's been five years! I've spent five years without her!" Harry complained to his best mate.

"I know, Harry, I know. We haven't seen her in five year either, you know," Ron told him. But at least she speaks to us, he added silently.

"That wasn't Veritaserum! None of it was true! I never did any of that, I swear."

Ron didn't know what to say. He was torn between his best mate and his sister.

"How does she expect me to keep going like this? Living every single night in pain and waiting for her to come home?"

"Harry, she's not going to come home. You just have to accept it and move on," Ron told him.

"Ron, I've been trying to do that for five years and it hasn't worked yet! I can't move on...not without Ginny," Harry burst, throwing his head of unruly black hair into his hands.

This was how it had been for five full years. He lived every day just hoping she would come home. He dreamed of her every night, longing to fall asleep with her next to him as they once had. Every time he saw a woman with red hair, he tried to see her face, just wondering if maybe, just maybe, it was her.

~*~

"A little Veritaserum for the lovely little couple should get this night going!" shouted a high pitched voice, the one of Narcissa Malfoy. She put three drops down Harry's throat and then three down Ginny's.

"So, Potter," said Draco Malfoy coldly. "How long have you been dating Ginny?"

"Two years and three months," Harry replied. But something didn't feel right. He had been under the influence of Veritaserum countless times and this didn't seem to be Veritaserum.

"Weasley, how old were you when Potter asked you out?" asked Crabbe, one of Draco Malfoy's large sidekicks.

"Twenty," Ginny said obediently. What kind of ridiculous question was that? Everyone knew that!

"Now for the fun," Draco drawled. "Potter, have you slept with anyone other than Ginny since you started dating?"

That question was simpler than a first year's Defence Against the Dark Arts exam! Of course he hadn't! But that wasn't what he was forced to reply. "Yes," Harry replied, shocking himself. He looked over at Ginny. A tear was falling from her big brown eyes and he couldn't bear it. No! That wasn't the truth! But she didn't know that.

"Weasley, have you?" asked Narcissa.

"No," Ginny said through her tears. Her eyes bore into Harry, shattering his heart.

"Potter, who did you make love to during this time?" Narcissa demanded, a cruel little smile on her pointy face.

"Pansy Parkinson," Harry said. How was this possible?

Ginevra woke with a start. Not that dream, again. She snapped on her light and rose from her bed. What she needed was a bath. She went into the bathroom and ran one before slipping into the bubbles and closing her eyes. Using her wand, she summoned some candles and then lit them. She closed her eyes again and shifted her position. When she opened her eyes, she saw the familiar picture. The reason she had it was still unknown but it was in her bathroom. Harry was holding her in his arms and she was laughing. He was smiling with both his mouth and his bright green eyes.

Those were the good memories of him. In fact, except for that last night, all her memories of him were good. Sure, they had had their fights but after the fights, her love for him only grew. Had he been acting all that time?

It has been five years! she reminded herself. You have a boyfriend! Get over him! He was cheating on you! She had meant for this bath to be relaxing and it certainly wasn't working. It was doing just the opposite. A boyfriend who never calls you and you want to break up with. And...it had only happened once, right? And maybe it had been just after they started dating! He had never said.

~*~

When he opened his eyes and looked out his window, Harry saw the pitch black sky dotted with twinkling stars. Once again, he had woken from a dream of her in the middle of the night. How much longer would this go on?

She had that mysterious smile on her face, the one he loved so much. Her big brown eyes had been smiling, tinted with gold. Her hair was cascading over her shoulders and down her back. She had been so beautiful. He remembered that day; it had been his birthday.

"Finally, darling, you're home!" she yelled, pulling him into a hug. "Happy birthday," she whispered, kissing his temple.

"And what a good one it's starting to be," he replied.

She pulled away but kept her hands over his. Pulling him toward the kitchen, she told him to close his eyes, which he did, trusting her completely. He felt himself sitting down in the dining room chair and she told him to open his eyes. A meal was prepared before him, his favourite one as well. She sat next to him, pouring the champagne. They ate before she pulled him to their bedroom. She began kissing him.

How could he just forget that? How could he forget the spontaneous surprises she hid behind every corner? He couldn't. He just couldn't.