Chapter 1 – The Arrival

The stars shined brightly in the night sky above the Burrow. Ginny Weasley looked up at them as she was walking down a dirt trail from her home. She wanted to be alone then, which was unusual for her, but she felt a change in her this year. It was only two weeks ago that she finished her second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She of course loved it there, it was where she could meet her friends and not have to think about her mother constantly worry about she had been acting.

The summer so far wasn't exactly happy for her. For once in her life she was bored, and felt depression lingering. It was basically the same routine every day. Her father, Arthur, going to work, her twin brothers, Fred and George, going on about some joke shop, her mother, Molly, yelling at them, and her brother Ron talking about Qudditch. Percy was no better, just shutting himself up in his room working on some important Ministry business. It's not all going to be bad, her two older brothers, Bill and Charlie were going to visit, and her friends Hermione and Harry were going to visit soon. She smiled as she thought of Harry's name. She always did have a crush on him, but was saddened by the fact he never seemed to return the feelings. Perhaps it was time to give up and move on. She sighed, hoping something, or someone would turn up soon to keep things interesting.

Ginny jumped slightly as she heard a movement in the bushes behind her. She stepped back and took out her wand as a precaution. The noise got louder as something came out of the buses. She was shocked to see some unknown boy she didn't know. The boy was breathing hard and clutching his arm. His face and body was covered in blood and mud. His eyes were as blue as the sky on a clear day. He had short, dirty, brown hair and seemed to have gone without food for several days. Getting a good look at the boy she put her wand away and moved closer to him.

"Who are you," she asked in a polite and calm tone. She didn't want to scare him off.

Ginny watched the boy's movements carefully. He stayed perfectly still and said nothing, though it seemed like he was deep in thought. His eyes were half-closed, and he looked as if he was about to vomit. He was about to say something, but collapsed on the ground instead. Ginny instantly gasped and knelt down beside him, not caring if her jeans got dirty from the mud. The boy clearly needed medical help. Ginny gave him a smile as he looked up at her, but he soon closed his eyes and was out.

The sun shining and the sound of people talking was the first thing the boy noticed when he awoke. He groaned and rubbed his eyes, having no idea where he was. He noticed that he was also cleaned up, as most of his cuts were gone, though the bruises remained. He tried to remember why he was here, who he was, but a headache was the only reply he got. He clutched his head to help ease the pain.

"Look Mum, he's awake" came a girl's voice. The boy did remember hearing the same voice the night before. He turned his head on the pillow to see the girl, a woman he guessed was her mother, and two boys who looked remarkably similar. Both the girl and her mother smiled at him, the boys seemed rather uninterested.

"How are you feeling," the girl asked him.

The mother turned to her. "Not now Ginny, I will talk to him first." She quickly turned back to the boy. "Good morning dear. How are you?"

The boy managed to lift himself off the pillow and sat on the couch, which was rather comfortable. "I'm fine, just a headache." He paused for a moment, wanting to know something else. "Where exactly am I?"

The mother gave him a strange look for a moment, but it quickly became a smile. She realized that his voice sounded different than her own, aside from the fact he was male. There was no accent, yet it was low and shaky. She assumed that the boy had gone through something painful. Finally, she answered his question. "You are in the Burrow, the Weasley residence in England." She added the part on England in case he was some lost Muggle tourist or something of the sort. Though, if he were a Muggle, he wouldn't be able to see the Burrow. Where did he come from?

"I don't know where that is," the boy muttered under his breath.

Feeling sorry for the boy, Ginny decided to sit down beside him. On a closer look, he looked about a year older than her, same as Ron. He was cute, in Ginny's opinion at the least.

"What's your name," Ginny asked politely.

"I don't know, I don't remember much of anything," he said with a sigh. He tried remembering his name, but his response was the headache getting worse.

The mother sighed as he spoke. "Ginny, don't push him too hard. His memories must have been tampered with."

The boy thought harder about his name, and to his surprise, it came. "Nick," he said. "My name is Nick." He smiled at Ginny, grateful for her asking them that.

"That's a name I haven't heard in a while," the mother said with a smile. "You should get to know everyone since you're here. I'm Molly Weasley, these are my sons Fred and George, and this is my daughter Ginny. I have four other sons, Ron, Percy, Bill, and Charlie. My husband is Arthur, but you will refer to us as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," she said, sill with a smile and a slight laugh.

Nick returned the smile as he looked at everyone, Ginny in particular. He quickly turned back to Mrs. Weasley and nodded.

"Would you like something to eat," Mrs. Weasley asked, seeing how Nick hadn't eaten anything in a while. She was happy to see Nick nod his head.

Mrs. Weasley looked at Fred and George. "I'll need your help in the kitchen you two," she said in a stern voice.

The twins groaned, clearly not wanting to move.

"Do we have to?"

"I'm sure Ginny could do the job better."

"I asked for you two to help me, not Ginny."

Fred and George said nothing, but complied and followed their mother in the kitchen, leaving Ginny alone with Nick. Ginny moved closer to Nick, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Are you feeling better now Nick," Ginny asked.

"I'm feeling better now, the headache seems to be going away. I would feel better if I ate something and knew why I was here," he said with a small sigh. He was still confused, not knowing at all where he came from, nor why he was wondering around at the Burrow.

"After you eat what my mother's making, you will feel much better. My mother doesn't want me telling you this, but I think you need to know. You have been in a coma for about a week," she explained. "I was the one who found you and convinced my parents to let you stay here. I thought you would have wanted to stay here than go to a hospital. We have been taken care of during the time you were out. We have been trying to see if we can find who your parents are, but there's been no luck."

"If you're looking for my parents, you won't find them," he said with a sigh. He did remember his parents, but no important details. "My mother died a long time ago and I was separated from my father. If I remember, he was not pleased when I returned."

Ginny saw a few tears in Nick's eyes. She hated to see people upset about their past. She moved closer and wiped the tears away. "Nick, please don't cry. I'm very sorry to hear that, but it's best not to dwell on things you can't change. You have survived this far on your own and that is a hard thing to do these days." She placed her hand on his, hoping that would calm him down. It was a surprise to her to see Nick move his hand to hold hers.

"That is what I tell myself, even if it seems hard at times," Nick said with a smile. He wasn't sure why he was smiling, since he felt depressed about losing his memory somehow and not having the faintest idea why he was here. Yet, he felt relaxed when he was near Ginny for reasons he couldn't explain.

The two of them remained in silence for a few minutes. Both of them were looking into the other's eyes and neither had let go of the other's hand. Why haven't I let get go, Ginny thought to herself. It was purely for comfort why I did it, but it's a nice feeling. I can't be falling for Nick already, can I? I barely know him. I like Harry, not Nick. Nick is just a friend. She questioned the last thought, still thinking about giving up on Harry, but couldn't. Once footsteps were heard, both of them quickly let go.

Mrs. Weasley came back to the kitchen; pleased to see how well Nick and Ginny were getting along. She seemed to make Nick happy and was thankful for that. "Your lunch is ready dear."

Nick got up, but lost his balance and fell back on the couch.

"You are probably still feeling woozy. You lost alot of blood," Mrs. Weasley informed him.

Ginny decided to get up and helped Nick do the same. "I'll bring Nick to the table." She let Nick hold on to her for support so that he wouldn't fall over. Nick was once again grateful for her help. He managed to sit down on the chair on his own. He stared at his meal for a moment, but ate it quickly. He enjoyed the soup for as long as he could.

Nick spent the rest of the day getting to know the Weasleys, mostly Ron and Ginny. He was introduced to a whole new world, one he never knew existed. The idea of magic appealed to him and he wanted to learn more. He learned about a school that went by the name of Hogwarts that taught the ways of magic. He learned about the non-magical people, known as Muggles. Nick was beginning to understand the whole concept. He found himself talking during dinner, getting to know Mr. Weasley and the Muggle community. He started to get tired after dinner and decided it was time for bed.

"Wait, Nick. Before you go to bed, there is something you should know," Ginny told him.

"What is it? Is it something that will affect me," he asked in a worried voice.

"Yes and no," Ginny started. "My friends Hermione and Harry will be coming over soon, and you should get to know them. I wrote to them about you. Hermione looks forward to meeting you, but I'm not sure about Harry. We also sent an owl to Dumbledore. He'll be coming to see if you can come to Hogwarts this year."

"Assuming I'm a wizard. It is still hard to believe all of this, but I remember hardly anything about my past. Perhaps I could be a wizard," Nick said.

"I'm sure you are a wizard Nick," Ginny said. "I'll let you go to bed now." She moved closer to him and did something Nick was not expecting. Ginny kissed his cheek, causing both of them to blush and smile. She giggled and then walked upstairs, leaving Nick in an awkward, but happy state. He walked upstairs to the room where he would be sleeping. He grinned at Ron, who was already dozed off. Nick climbed into his bed and thought about the day. It was a long one, but one of the happiest Nick remembered for a long time. His thoughts turned to Ginny, the first person to ever to open up to him. Though no old memories came to him, he was happy about the ones he experienced today.