Going Back- Hermione, Ginny and the Marauders

Ch 16- Potter Manor

Ginny's Pov:
I always knew that Harry's dad was rich, but I didn't know the extent of it.

Growing up, I never really though about money. I always had enough food, enough clothes, enough love and that was all I needed.

The irony in the fact that I grew up with hardly money but a good life, yet Harry had an abundance of money he never touched, with a horrid family.

I remember the day I found out they wouldn't feed him.

We were sitting at the table in the Burrow, and Mum had just cooked a summer dinner. It was the first Christmas after Harry and I kissed, and I was sitting across from him.

Harry was, in the politest way, filling up his plate and scarfing his food down.

"Harry, you're supposed to eat your food. Not inhale it," Fred joked.

"Oh sod off, I live in a cupboard, they don't store their food in there. " Harry said with a smile, but a moment later his eyes darkened. Everyone else took this as a joke, because obviously nobody in the right mind would put a child inside of a cupboard.

When I met his eyes though, a sadness enveloped my heart. They were starving him. It was true. And from the look in his eyes, the way they hollowed out, that wasn't the worst of it.

After shaking off the thought of my previous life, previous love, I admired the arches and the magnificent windows. Harry would have loved it here. I look at James and Sirius, who were bowing for us, as if it was their own invention. Hermione was laughing at the two, and I couldn't help but joining her.

"Now, it is a bit of a walk, but luckily for you, we just so happened to be magical beings," Sirius lowered his voice, trying to sound like a muggle magician.

Hermione was about to pull out her wand, when I nudged her, "We're under age, Mione." She seemed to be embarrassed at her little slip up, but Euphemia just laughed.

"Actually, girls, once you walk about five feet towards the Manor, you are protected by the borders of the property. You can use magic as you please!" She was smiling, "Alright, well I have to pop back to the office for a bit. I'll see you four soon!" 

With that, Euphemia Potter popped away, leaving James, Sirius, Hermione and me.

Hermione looked shocked about this, I guess pureblood traditions weren't something she read about. Not that this was one of those blood supremacist traditions, but nonetheless it is something that witches and wizards save up for.

Hermione and I were about to grab our trunks, but James and Sirius got them before we could.

"You two know it's five feet? We are perfectly capable of dragging our own trunks," Hermione said, the feminist in her crumbling as the boys grabbed her trunk.

"Oh well, too late now. Now you can levitate it though!" Sirius teased her, he seemed to enjoy getting her flustered.

I crossed the magical barrier, feeling a little surge of heat flow over me as I did so.

I levitated my trunk, and began walking over to the front entrance, "Holy shit, James! I knew you were rich, but I didn't know you were this rich!"

James chuckled, "Yeah, my parents have been involved in a lot of really high risk Auror missions, also there is the inheritance. This manor has been a part of my family since- I think they were called the Pervells? I don't know, but eventually it became Potter Manor."

An inheritance... blimey. My thoughts were jumping around, from how much. bigger harry would have been if he lived here, how crazy it was that a family could flourish this much, how I never thought I lacked anything growing up and then seeing a manor.

"So, boys, what's on the agenda? I'm sure you. two have a summer plan or routine of some sorts?" I asked both of them, curious to see what the two marauders would do in the summer. 

"Well obviously sleep in," James began.

"Eat food," Sirius added.

"Quidditch-"

"-drinking-"

"Going to the beach."

"going to Diagon Alley"

"fighting  dragons"

"and did I mention drinking?" Sirius had made his intentions for the summer very clear.

"Sirius, being an alcoholic will kill you," Hermione told him sharply.

"Ah yes, but I live in a world where a snake faced dude whose goons have matching tattoos might kill me too, so I may as well go out of this world buzzed!" Maybe it was because they hadn't experienced the horror that was the war, or maybe it was because he had become desensitized to death, but his words made my heart sting.

"Alright, we get the point," I tried to mask my pain with fake annoyance.

James was too busy in his daze to notice anything, and Sirius was laughing at whatever Merlin had graced his head with.

Hermione noticed, though. Because she felt it too. It wasn't something agonizing, no. Agony was the cruciatious curse, watching Harry walk to his death. Seeing Fred, the laughter forever etched on his face as he laid still. That was agony.

But this, in a way, was somehow worse. This was a lingering burn, like you had been perpetually burned by a stovetop, or the way your muscles feel after a long week of quidditch practice, only after the pain had begun to fade. 

It stayed with me after the war. Sometimes the laughter and joy around me was enough to take it off my mind, but it was always lingering. It was a kind of pain that couldn't be healed. Heart break.

James and Sirius picked their pace up to a jog, and raced one another to the tops of the steps, neither of them losing. Hermione and I weren't far behind.

"and now, the moment you've all been waiting for..." James made his voice low, so Hermione and I had to lean forwards to hear him.

"The last, best-" Sirius started, and then James joined, "MOST EPIC MARAUDERS SUMMER HOLIDAY!"

A/N: Sorry this isn't the best. Don't worry guys good plot is coming I just needed a filler. New chapter is in the works already!