No Arizona

She looked out the window of her glitzy apartment and sighed. It was high time she wrote her mother.

'He promised me Mum. "A new and better life out in Arizona," is his exact words. "It's underneath the blue, never-endin' sky. I'm gonna get things in order, and when I do I'll send for you." Of course, when he left me behind, it never crossed my mind that there is no Arizona.

'For there is no Arizona. There is no painted desert, no Sedona. If there was a grand canyon, I could fill it up with the lies he's told me. But they don't exist, those dreams he sold me. This morning, I woke up and found no Arizona.

'A few weeks ago, I got a postcard with no return address; it was postmarked Tombstone. "I don't know where I'm goin' next, but when I do, I'll let you know." That's what he said. I waited through May, June, and July, and wondered why I'm still waiting.

'Lord, Mamma, I don't want to keep waiting! There is no Arizona, no Painted Desert, and certainly no Sedona. I know you might not believe me, but if there was a grand canyon, I could fill it up and then some with the lies he's told me. They don't exist, those dreams he easily sold me. And I finally woke up and found no Arizona.

'Each day the sun sets into the west, and my heart sinks lower in my chest. My friends keep asking when I'm going. Mum, I finally had to tell them "Don't you know there is no Arizona?!"

'Tell Harry that there is no Arizona, no Painted Desert, and no Sedona. Tell him that is there was a Grand Canyon, I could fill it up with the lies I've heard from him. They don't exist, those dreams he's sold me. Mum, tell him I've woken up to find that there id no Arizona.'

She finished with the usual, 'Love from, Ginny.' It was a habit that she had picked up from Hermione. She folded the letter, and found she had no envelope.

"Damnit!" she said as she searched her drawers of the desk she had for an envelope. "That's another thing that boy hasn't done, is bring me envelopes! He's a good-for-nothing son of bitch!"

She grabbed her keys and some muggle money and slammed out the door. Her ignition revved, and soon a 1964 black with white interior Corvair was found at the entrance for the wizarding world in Phoenix.

If she had stayed only a few seconds, an old flame would have appeared on her doorstep.

Harry was out of breath, and tired from jet lag. Floo networks didn't go overseas and he didn't know an apparition point in America, so he flew by plane.

He went up to her door, knocked, and stood outside. When no one answered, he figured she was out and would be back in a few minutes. So he sat and waited.

He waited for maybe twenty minutes when a red head came up the stairs.

"Ginny Weasley?" he asked.

The girl looked up and smiled. "Hello Harry, I was just about to send a letter to mum and I found I didn't have any envelopes."

They walked in and talked about old times and what each was doing now.

"He promised me a new and better life out in Arizona." Unshed tears glistened in her eyes.

"I promise you a new and better life out in Louisiana." Harry tipped her chin to look into her eyes. She looked down at the unsent letter in her hands, and smiled. Harry was genuine. She threw that one away, wrote a quick note and sealed it in a spare envelope. She sent it with her owl, and gave instructions to come to Louisiana to find her.

They soon had her bags packed, and she closed the door on that chapter of her life.

'He's promising me a new and better life out in Louisiana.'