Fred's Legacies by PhoenixFeather2



Summary: It's the summer after the battle, but victory is not sweet. Old enemies are still causing trouble. Harry and the Weasley's are having trouble moving on. To complicate matters, Fred left something behind.
Rating: PG-13 starstarstarstarhalf-star
Categories: Post-DH/AB
Characters: None
Genres: None
Warnings: None
Challenges: None
Series: None
Published: 2016.05.04
Updated: 2017.03.26


Index

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Looking for Harry.
Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Funerals
Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Living with Harry
Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Business without Fred
Chapter 5: Chapter 5: What Fred Left Behind
Chapter 6: Chapter 6: A Family Meeting
Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Muggle Relations Training
Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Gryffindor girls
Chapter 9: Chapter 9: The Tale of the Phoenix
Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Problems with Dreams
Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Curses and Explanations
Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Luna and the Muggles
Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Old Enemies
Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Zabini and Montague
Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Full Alert
Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Disappointments
Chapter 17: Chapter 17: The Girls' Problems
Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Recovering
Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Sisters at Home
Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Hogwarts Students
Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Birthday Party
Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Moving Forward (Or Not)
Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Ginny's Decision
Chapter 24: Chapter 24: First Magic
Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Welcome to Our World
Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Scars
Chapter 27: Chapter 27: The Return
Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Epilogue


Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Looking for Harry.

Author's Notes: Those who have read "Grave Days" by Northumbrian will note that I have chosen his work for a jumping off point. (Immitation is the sincerest flattery.) My plot quickly diverges, but if you haven't read his, I recommend it.


Ginny woke with a mouth of sawdust. She stared around disoriented. Where was she? A huge messy head of blond hair was next to her. There were stars on the ceiling. So this must be…the Ravenclaw tower? How had she gotten there? She didn’t remember anything after the Harry had left last night. He hadn’t even talked to her–well, not more than he had talked to Neville and less than he had talked to Luna. She knew he needed privacy, but she needed him. She needed him to really be back. Maybe today. Maybe now that he had had a nights’ worth of sleep. She pulled herself groggily to an upright position. Every muscle in her body felt like ground meat. Her parents were sleeping on two couches on the other side of the room. Harry was nowhere around. Neither were Ron and Hermione. Those three.

Luna woke up and fixed her with those huge eyes. “I expect they’re in Gryffindor. We tried to get in remember, but no one knew the password?”

“So how would Harry be in there?” Ginny had just realized she was hungry and it wasn’t helping her frustration.

“I expect because that was where he needed to be,” Luna was as ambiguous as ever.

“I want breakfast,” Ginny grumbled. The Great Hall was as good as any place to start looking for him. And seeing as she hadn’t eaten since the battle–she was a Weasley and Weasleys needed fuel.

Ginny stumbled into the Great Hall with Luna gliding gracefully behind her. Hermione jumped up from the table and rushed her. “Where’s Harry?”

“What do you mean ‘where’s Harry’? He’s with you isn’t he? He left with you last night. You couldn’t think of his girlfriend and give me a moment with him.”

Hermione sucked her breath in. “He was with us. He fell asleep next to Ronald. But Ronald slept late and Harry is gone and we don’t know where.”

Ginny didn’t feel hungry anymore. Where would Harry be? Who would know? Hermione launched into a litany of all the places they had looked already, but Ginny just crumpled on a bench and put her head in her hands. Luna, meanwhile, wandered off. A few minutes later she returned with McGonagall.

“I hear you are looking for Potter,” McGonagall summed up briskly. “He left this morning with the minister. I believe you will find him at the Ministry of Magic in London. I thought he had told you or I would have spoken earlier. You’ve obviously distressed yourselves.”

Hermione stood mute. She apparently had forgotten to ask McGonagall anything. Ginny jumped up and hugged McGonagall tightly hiding her wet face temporarily in the crisp robes. McGonagall froze as if stunned, finally recovering just enough to pat Ginny awkwardly on the back. “There, there dear. I’m sure it’s all right now.”

Ginny extricated herself and looked at Hermione. “Find him. And tell the rotten scoundrel that if he ever runs away on me again, the next time I see him I will hex him within an inch of his life. I swear it on Merlin’s–“

“Language, Ginny.” McGonagall cut her off. “However, Hermione, if you and Ron have eaten, it might not be a bad idea for you to go to the Ministry. Kingsley had some things to discuss with you as well.”

Ron looked at Hermione and shrugged. “We’re ready, Professor.” Hermione responded. She nodded at Ron, gave Ginny a quick squeeze and set off down the hall. Ron caught up with her and grabbed her hand. They kept walking out together. Ginny shrugged. She would get used to them doing that, eventually.

“Food, Ginny?” Luna had sat down and made herself a plate already. Feeling exhausted before the day even began,

Ginny sat down and tucked in. Her dad came down just as she was almost done and filled two plates.
“Mum not coming down then?”

“She doesn’t feel up for the crowd.” Arthur didn’t look like he felt up for anything either. As for crowd, that was hardly what Ginny would call the current state of the Great Hall. There were a few sleepy heads here or there, but it was late morning and a good many people had already finished. Some were helping set things right elsewhere in the school, but she knew from the conversations that Luna had been holding that most of the families had already returned to their homes. Where would they go? Their home had been burned down when Ron had been discovered at the Malfoys. She wasn’t sure she could face Aunt Muriel.
-----

Two hours had passed and Ron and Hermione were still not back. The family was ready to leave and Arthur was just about to send a Patronus telling Ron of their new location when Hermione and he were spotted walking up the path and arguing under their breath. Harry was not with them.

“Sorry things took so long,” Ron was apologizing to Ginny.

“Harry made arrangements for me to go to Australia and find my parents. Well, Kingsley is making arrangements. I mean, the Minister. Bother. Anyway, we need to leave in about an hour. We just came back to get our stuff.” Hermione had said it all rather quickly without looking at Mrs. Weasley.

“You’re leaving today then?” Arthur was speaking.

“Yes.” Hermione answered definitively.

“When will you be back?”

“Soon. I mean, well, I don’t know. When Fred’s–If you haven’t made plans….We will definitely be back for that, whenever it is.”

Arthur turned to Ron. “Take good care of her. And be back by three days’ time. We'll be at Muriel's. The Burrow isn't fit to live in, but there's plenty of room there.”

“Family should (hiccup) be together. ” Molly acknowledged. “Go get your parents. I’d love to see them, dearie.” She smiled bravely.

Ginny had stood very still. “You’re taking Harry away?” she managed woodenly. “He just got back. I haven’t seen him.”

Hermione stepped close and pulled her into a hug then whispered, “He’s staying in London. Don’t tell your mum, but Ron and I are going alone. We need a few days, just together.”

Ginny nodded dully. She needed a few days with her boyfriend too. He was still her boyfriend, right?

Mrs. Weasley bustled after Hermione to make sure she packed the right things. Honestly, Ginny thought, those two had been traveling enough this last year. They probably knew how to pack better than her mom by now.

Harry hadn’t contacted them the first evening. Arthur had sent a message to Kingsley after Ginny had expressed a secret concern. He was told that Harry was at Grimmauld Place. It had been secured earlier that day and Kreacher had taken up residence again. Ginny was surprised that Harry would want to stay anywhere that Kreacher was staying. As she recalled the house elf had murderous tendencies. But as they had been staying at Aunt Muriel’s since their house had been burned down, it would be hard for her to invite him over. Not that Arthur hadn’t tried.

Ginny stuffed her face deep in her pillow that night so that no one would hear her cry. Not that everyone else in the house wasn’t crying too.

Breakfast the next day showed six bloodshot sets of eyes around the table. Molly had not come down. Aunt Muriel was eating alone in her sitting room. Percy looked completely defeated, but he was nothing next to George. The two of them had gone off together with Charlie somewhere yesterday to avoid Aunt Muriel, whose comments about Fred had not been the least comforting. They had returned late at night and looked distinctly hung over. The breakfast was eaten in complete silence. Arthur had cleared the last bit of toast from his plate when he finally spoke. “We’ve made plans for the funeral. It’s the day after tomorrow. It will be at the Prewett plot.”

Ginny looked up. She couldn’t remember any discussion about it, but she had no objection. George looked up as if he had just been hit over head.

The rest of the day was spent planning the funeral. It was dull work and interrupted occasionally by invitations to and news of other funerals. Percy, as it turned out, was indispensable. He knew all the protocols, phrased all the invitations, and wrote up Fred’s obituary with a flourish. Ginny realized, reading it, that Percy had kept up much better with the family’s affairs than she had assumed. It was only when George commented that he had never heard Percy say any of that stuff while Fred was alive that things began to fall apart. By the time evening rolled around Ginny was ready for an early night’s sleep. Still, there was no sign of Harry.

----

It was mid-morning the next day before he showed up. He came with Kingsley. Ginny growled. She needed him alone, but with company was better than nothing. Arthur pulled Harry into a bone cracking hug and called Molly down from her room. Molly hugged Harry just as tightly, a hug that he only awkwardly returned. Kingsley expressed his condolences to everyone. Harry sat silently, perched on the edge of a slippery dainty couch. He looked terrible. Was his skin grey, or was Ginny imagining that? Aunt Muriel always kept the house so dark. His face was certainly drawn and skinny. She reached the last thought at the same time as her mother.

“Harry! Where have you been? That house elf is not feeding you right! You’re skin and bones! You need a good feeding. You always stayed with us at the Burrow.”

“Yeah. I’m really sorry about the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley. And about…everything. And Fred. I didn’t intend for there to be a battle. For him to fight. For…I didn’t want any of it.”

“Of course you didn’t.” Mrs. Weasley was teary, but she always was these days. “But it couldn’t be helped could it dear? Voldemort had to go. And you brought him down. So no more apologies from you!”

Harry had seemed about to object to something. Ginny scrutinized him. So, he was still blaming himself? Typical. And if he felt guilty he would hide away. She knew him well enough to know that. But there was something else. Not guilt, there was… shame? Kingsley and Arthur were talking. Charlie had swooped in and was talking to Harry about the dragon escape. Ginny supposed she should have been interested in it, but found she couldn’t listen. It didn’t seem important just now. She stood up.

“Ginny, dear, where are you going? We have company.” She heard Aunt Muriel vaguely.

“Kitchen,” she responded. “The Minister might like tea.”

The kettle had just come to a boil when the door behind her opened. Ginny jumped, whipping her wand out as she turned around. It was just Harry. Just Harry. Just the two of them. No one else. She stared blankly at the wand that she was pointing, then shakily lowered it. Harry was staring at her. “Sorry.” She apologized. “I’ve been jumping at everything. Don’t know what’s gotten into me. I was about to get the tea.”

Harry’s face twitched as if he was annoyed.

“What?”

“It’s just…I’ve had too much tea the last couple days. Tea and biscuits everywhere.”

“Where’s everywhere? Where have you been?”

“With the Minister.” He sighed. “We’ve been visiting all the families.”

Ginny indicated a chair by the table and sat down across from Harry. “You must be exhausted.” It wasn’t what she had planned to say. She was going to chew him out and demand explanations. But he didn’t look like he could take it.
Harry ran his thumb up and down the edge of the table. “Yeah. I guess. But it’s good to keep moving. I’m sort of better at that than…” He trailed off. “I should have come here first. I owe you an apology, you more than anyone else. I’m sorry about Fred, and your house, and school and everything. It all went wrong.” His speech came out as if he was choked.

Ginny was watching him. He looked strained. She waited. Something was bothering him. He was so close to saying what.

The door opened behind them again and both of them jumped. This time it was Aunt Muriel. “I thought you were making tea,” she accused.

“I was. It’s brewing.” Ginny waved her hand at the pot and the cups all laid out on a tray.

“Good. Then come in and serve it.”

Ginny swelled with indignation, but Aunt Muriel swept out of the room before she could reply.

“I guess we had better, then.” Harry indicated the tray.

“Just a minute.” Ginny got up and moved over to stand directly in front of him. She looked him in the eye. “Harry, there are obviously things we need to talk about. I don’t even know what they are.” She took a deep breath. “What I need you to know is, no one blames you. I don’t blame you. And if I did, I would forgive you. Because I…” she had never said what she was about to say, and come to think of it, she couldn’t quite say it. “Because we love you. You belong with us. So come back, soon. And talk. Promise me.”

“Okay.” Harry still looked reluctant, but she could tell that something had loosened, some knot deep inside was maybe coming just a little undone.

“You don’t want tea.” Ginny looked thoughtfully at the cups laid out on the tray. Then moved over to the cupboard and pulled down a bottle of wine that was half used. She unstoppered it and filled a tea cup with the wine, before stoppering the bottle and putting it away. She picked up the tea cup and saucer and handed it directly to Harry. “I think you might need this instead.”

Harry managed a wry smile.
“Thank you.” He said and took a sip from the over full cup. “Much better than tea.”

“I should think so,” Ginny grunted. She picked up the tray. Harry balanced his cup carefully and opened the door for her.

The rest of the visit was uneventful, a combination of pleasantries and ministry news. Ginny sat next to Harry on the couch and leaned into him. He made no movement to reject. Charlie raised his eyebrows but said nothing. George smirked. It was the closest he had come to a smile in days, so Ginny didn’t mind. She stuck her tongue out at him. He chuckled. Percy, who had been talking with the new Minister, looked over in surprise. He assessed the situation quickly, shrugged his shoulders and went back to talking ministry business. So, that was that then, Ginny thought. Now all her brothers knew. Well, all except Bill. That one would be interesting.

Kingsley offered Percy a position in the restored Ministry and asked Arthur to come back to work next week, after the funerals were over. He also told Molly and Arthur that he had asked Ron to skip his last year of school and join the ministry as an Auror. Molly protested immediately that she could let him work in such a dangerous business, not after–but as she began crying at that point and rushed out of the room no one heard exactly which of the many possible incidents she was going to name. Arthur merely told Kingsley that he was sure Ron had been honored. Nothing more was said of it.

It hadn’t been more than an hour but Kingsley then indicated that they needed to go. There was a funeral to attend apparently. Harry looked a little reticent to do so. He lingered in a hug with Ginny before apparating at the gate, but left without a kiss. Of course, with three of her brothers, her dad, and the Minister there, Ginny couldn’t pretend she was surprised. Come to think of it, she had never told her parents about… She turned to look for her dad’s reaction. He was walking down the garden path with his arm around Molly and didn’t seem to have noticed a thing.

“So, Harry then.” Charlie intruded into her thoughts.

“Yes!” she snapped defiantly.

“Good choice. Best dragon handler I know.”

Ginny ogled as he too walked away from her down the path. Somehow, she had never imagined this going so well. Truth be told, she felt a little disappointed in them. Where was the Weasley flare? The teasing? What had become of everyone? She shook her head. She knew the answer to that, and she really did not want to think about it.

Ron arrived after dinner that evening with a very teary Hermione. They barely managed to eat some bread and leftover soup before both of them excused themselves and went off to bed. Something had not gone right. Ginny was sure of it, but Ron reported merely that they had found Hermione’s parents and that her parents were packing up and would be returning the day after tomorrow. Ginny followed Hermione up to her bedroom and turned in for an early night herself. The days seemed to take so much more energy than before.

Back to index


Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Funerals

The next morning seemed to come too early. Ginny stayed in bed. Maybe, if she didn’t move then today wouldn’t be Fred’s funeral. Maybe she could imagine that the battle had never happened and–No. She sat up with a start. No. She did not want to imagine that the battle had not happened and Voldemort was still out there. Something registered. She had ever been much of one to think clearly in the morning, but the she knew suddenly that she did not want to go back to the way things were in the past, even if that meant Fred was alive. There was a twinge of guilt before she pushed that away too. Fred, she realized, would not want the past either. For as much fun as he had when he was there, he would have been happy to die fighting and make a future.

Hermione was watching Ginny oddly. “What?”

“I just realized…” Ginny mumbled. “He’s gone.”

“Fred. Yes. I’m sorry.” Hermione sat up in bed with her hair in a tangled mess.

“No. I mean…I meant Tom.”

“Who’s Tom?”

“Tom Riddle. He’s gone. I mean, he’s not coming back. Is he?” She looked at Hermione for confirmation.

“No. He’s not.” Hermione was looking oddly confused. She crashed back into her pillow and hugged it close. “Ginny, did Harry come by?”

“Yes.”

“Did he tell you?”

“Tell me what? He didn’t stay for long. He was with Kingsley. That is, the Minister. I’m not going to get used to calling him that.”

“Oh. Never mind. I’m sure he’ll tell you soon.” But Hermione did not sound sure. Instead, she sounded tired and on the verge of tears again.

“Are you ok?” Ginny slipped off the bed so that she was sitting next to Hermione’s head on the mattress that had been put down on the floor. Not that Aunt Muriel didn’t have enough rooms for Hermione to have stayed on a real bed, but Ginny had wanted to be with a friend again. Hermione was crying softly into her pillow.

“It’s mum.” She said shakily. “And dad. They… they said that–they said….” But Hermione did not seem to be able to manage what her parents had said.

Ginny frowned. “Did the memory charm not come off properly?”

“It did. I–they’re just mad. They think I brainwashed them. I mean, I did. Didn’t I? I feel awful.” She sniffed loudly.

Ginny reached up, opened a drawer and took out a seldom used handkerchief. She didn’t know what to say really. She hadn’t expected this at all, but she couldn’t think of how to explain things to Hermione’s parents either. They had never tried to understand much of Hermione’s life. And seeing as Hermione had spent most of the last few years at the Weasley’s, they couldn’t know much. Still, accusing your daughter of brainwashing, that seemed a bit farfetched. Hermione blew her nose and calmed herself down. Ginny rubbed her back thoughtfully. “You did what was best, Hermione. Even if you couldn’t explain it to them. Maybe, maybe Kingsley can explain. He’s really good with Muggle relations.”

Hermione shook her head. “No. I just, I need to spend time with them. They’ve asked for a whole summer. No magic. No magical interference. They don’t think much of Ron.” The last came out as a shaky laugh.

Ginny chuckled in return. “Well, he’s a gangly git isn’t he? They got that right.” Hermione smiled, a weak smile, but it would do. “I think he’s good looking,” she offered. Ginny snorted. Love really was blind.

There was a knock at the door. “Yes?” Ginny called. Charlie opened and poked his head in. “Harry will be here in half an hour, Gin. Want to get dressed?” There was way too much mischief in his eyes. Maybe the whole Harry-is-my-boyfriend thing was going to get a Weasley-deserving amount of teasing after all.

“Be right down,” Ginny grunted. She and Hermione were washed up, dressed, and at the breakfast table when Harry arrived. He seemed nervous and fidgety. He kept looking back and forth between Ginny and Ron. Ginny stood up and looped her arm around behind him. She looked at Ron. He seemed to still be in a daze. It was a full five minutes later that Ron noticed the contact between his sister and his best mate. He stopped mid-sentence with Charlie. Charlie followed his eyes and chuckled.

“Don’t start snogging, ok?” Ron finally blurted.

“Sure.” Ginny rolled her eyes. “Because that’s something you NEVER do in public.”

“I just don’t want to see it. And,” he turned and looked at Harry, but whatever he was about to say never came out. Harry had that look again. What was that look?

Ron turned back to Charlie and tried to pretend that nothing had just happened.

The day seemed to take forever leading up to the funeral, like days do when you are dreading something. It was foggy and drizzly, typical of England, but adding to the mournfulness that morning. No one ate much for lunch. The drizzle stopped. Bill and Fleur came over an hour beforehand. They alone of the remaining family had not been with Muriel. Fleur had been tending the wounded at St. Mungo’s while Bill had been working overtime with the goblins, cleaning up the mess of Gringotts, freezing Death Eater accounts, and still trying to help out with the round up of those who had escaped the battle. Ginny was surprised at how good Fleur was with healing spells. She fussed over Hermione when she came in, but Ginny couldn’t understand a word. It was all in French. Hermione was fluent. Ginny had never felt the need to learn the language before. Now she tried to guess from body language. Bill had moved over to his wife’s side a minute later. He too spoke in French. The conversation was cut off when Luna joined the family. They apparated to the Prewett graveyard just down the road from Ottery St. Catchpole.

The funeral was sober. Despite everyone feeling like there should be some joke, no one seemed able to come up with one. In the end, it was Luna’s tribute that did the most justice. After Fred’s funeral all the kids went to Colin Creevey’s funeral too, stopping at the house only long enough to change into Muggle outfits. By the end of that funeral, Ginny was surprised that Harry was even on his feet. The only upside of his exhaustion was that he agreed to stay with the Weasleys that evening.

Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Harry, George, and Percy all crashed in one of the bedrooms that evening. Percy and Ginny had managed to secure firewhisky to toast the dead. Mrs. Weasley had walked in on them, but failed to blow her temper. She didn’t seem to have the energy for it these days. Instead, she had added a toast to her brothers and left. Lupin and Tonks’ funeral was the next day and the family had agreed to help Hermione clean up her parent’s house afterwards. Everyone slept over, much to Aunt Muriel’s consternation.

The next morning did not begin well. Ginny, never having drunk much firewhisky before, had a surprisingly painful hangover. Percy managed to mix up a potion for their hang overs, but it wasn’t quite enough to shake the woolly headed feeling Ginny had. Then again, maybe that feeling wasn’t entirely due to the hang over. Charley left after breakfast. Dragons couldn’t be left untended for long.

Lupin and Tonk’s funeral was much smaller than the others. Lupin had no family there at all, except his son, held by Tonk’s mother. Looking at her reminded Ginny with a start of Bellatrix, and following that the realization that Narcissa Malfoy should have been there too. Instead, she was under house arrest. “As she should be,” Ginny thought. Harry went over to Andromeda whom he had obviously met before. “One of the many visits he had made with the minister, doubtless,” Ginny thought. Andromeda handed the baby off to Harry and turned to a few of the older guests. Ginny felt her face twitch into a smile. She had never seen Harry hold a baby before. It was cute, really. He looked like he was terrified that he would drop it. Teddy was fussing. She walked over to rescue him.

“This is Teddy then?” She asked Harry reaching out. He handed Teddy over gratefully.

“Yes. He’s cute, isn’t he? His hair changes color too. Mostly based on his mood.” It was a dark purple right then. Ginny cooed at the baby. He calmed right down. She looked back at Harry.

“You’re good with babies.” He stated, looking at her far more tenderly than she was comfortable with just then.

“I’ve had more practice than you.” She brushed it off. “Mum used to watch kids when the others were at school. You’ll need to learn though. He’s your godson too, right?”

“Yeah. Hang on. Mine too? You mean he’s…”

“Yup. Tonks asked me. At the battle, actually.” Ginny rubbed her cheek along Teddy’s head. There was something so comforting about babies. Teddy had calmed down completely. Ginny turned to Harry, “Look, you won’t break him. I’m going to hand him back to you and teach you how to hold him now.” She pulled the little baby hands gently out of her hair and handed Teddy back to Harry. Teddy screwed his face tightly up. “Now then,” Ginny instructed, “lay his head down on your chest. And hold onto his bottom with one hand and his back with another, that way he’s secure.” Harry did as he was told. Teddy whipped his head back and forth a couple times before grudgingly settling down. “See, you’re good at this.” Ginny smiled. Odd, she thought, that she was smiling at a funeral.

All in all, with a baby to hold, this funeral did not feel quite as devastating as yesterday’s. Teddy made it seem like Tonks was still living on, with his color hair changing twice during the service. Ginny noticed that Harry looked more relaxed than she had ever seen him in the last…. No. He looked more relaxed than she had ever seen him, ever. Not happier yet, but more at ease.

Bill and Fleur went over and spoke to Hermione after the funeral, then brought her over to speak with the others. “I’ve checked Hermione’s house out.” Bill explained. “It should be safe, but it needs some work. She said you all agreed to help out.”

“You must not let Hermione work too hard.” Fleur looked at Ginny. “She haz done more zan she should.”

Ginny nodded. Despite having had a few nights of regular sleep, Hermione still had bags under her eyes, swerved when she walked, and was both clumsy and constantly in tears. Had everyone else not been in a similar state, Ginny would have been worried. Bill hugged Ginny before heading out and whispered to her, “Something’s still not right with those three. Look after Harry.” Ginny had no chance to ask him what he meant. Teddy started screeching in Harry’s arms just then and Andromeda hurried over as Bill walked away.

Back to index


Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Living with Harry

Hermione’s house was a wreck. The Ministry may have certified it as safe, but it had been thoroughly trashed. “Mudblood” was written on the wall and several nasty posters were affixed with a permanent sticking charm. Every member of the family had tried their luck in removing them when Harry finally had an idea.

“Kreacher” he said simply, and with a crack Kreacher appeared. He looked around at Harry and asked in a voice more polite than anything Ginny had ever heard him use, “Master?”

“These posters,” Harry indicated, “can you get them down?”

“Yes, Master.” Kreacher went to them and began a long incantation. One by one, each of them came off. He rolled them up in his grubby hands and handed them to Harry. “Anything else, Master?”

“No, Kreacher. Thank you. You can return to Grimmauld Place.”

“You will be returning for dinner?”

Ginny shook her head vigorously. Ron and Harry and she would be escorting Hermione’s parents back here. It would be late, and if they could get dinner together she would much prefer it. Harry noticed her.

“After dinner, Kreacher.”

“As Master wishes.” And with a crack Kreacher disappeared.

“I definitely need a house elf,” George remarked. Hermione launched into an automated defense of why they should be paid.

Ginny moved over to work strategically at Harry’s side. They were setting things to rights in the kitchen cabinets when she finally got the guts to speak. “So, Kreacher is good now?”

“Yeah. Long story.” Harry did not elaborate. Ginny let the silence hang for a minute.

“Well, I was thinking. Kingsley said he had asked Ron to work with him as an Auror. That’s what you are doing too, right?”

“Yeah.” Harry sounded cautious.

“Mum said she couldn’t stand the family separating off, but Dad will need to be at the Ministry now too. So will Percy. George is talking about trying to open the shop back up. If we were all in London together, then Mom and I could help George with the cleanup and such.” Harry did not say anything so Ginny pressed on. “To be honest, we are all quite sick of Aunt Muriel. I was thinking, seeing that Kreacher is so nice now, maybe Grimmauld Place would be more cheerful. If you would be ok with some company.” She stopped. Harry kept working on a hinge that had not properly repaired itself.

Finally, he spoke. “Yeah. That should work out ok.”

“You would need to suggest it to Mum yourself. If I said it was my idea, it would never work.”

“Right. I’ll go talk to her now then.” With that Harry closed the cabinet door and went off to find Mrs. Weasley. Ginny opened and closed the cabinet door. He had done a perfect job with it.

Mrs. Weasley agreed to move to Grimmauld Place without much persuasion. The Granger’s house was put back together with magical efficiency. Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Harry all changed into muggle clothes and Mr. Weasley escorted them to the airport. They were there a full hour early. Mr. Weasley went back to join Mrs. Weasley.

Harry suggested an early dinner and the four grabbed a bite to eat. They spent most of the time planning strategies for Ron to cope with Hermione’s absence and Ginny didn’t get any time to speak with Harry at all. By the time they were done with supper the Granger’s plane had landed and they were rushing to meet them after all. The Grangers, it turned out, were a reserved, flustered couple, older than Ginny had expected and polite to the point of being unreadable. They thanked everyone for their help and sent the Weasley crew away as soon as they were packed into taxis. Hermione gave Ron a tight hug and kiss on the cheek before hopping in with her parents. One look at Ron’s face told Ginny this would be a long summer.

It was late afternoon the next day when the Weasley’s moved into Grimmauld Place. Harry had managed to get Kreacher to remove a few of the more odious paintings and wallpapers, but the house was still overly formal and dark. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley took the master bedroom at Harry’s insistence. He was staying in Sirius’s. Ron moved into Regulus’s with George. Percy took a room next door. Ginny had a stuffy guest bedroom. At least, she thought, this would be better than having to tiptoe around Aunt Muriel or listening to her go on about how the family would have been better off if they had just stuck to their own business instead of getting caught up in battles. Still, she wished that Hermione was here to share the room with her. She had never slept by herself in Grimmauld Place before and the thought of it was not comforting. She briefly thought about sneaking into Harry’s room come evening, then remembered that her parents were staying here too. She sighed and went downstairs.

She sat next to Harry again. He dipped his bread absently into the French onion soup. He left it there so long that it fell apart and sank to the bottom. Ginny counted. It was five seconds before he noticed what had happened. She turned to watch Ron. He was in a discussion with George about the radio news report that Lee Jordan had been running last year. Arthur and Percy were talking ministry news and Molly was sitting in silence. Still, this was the best family meal they had managed in a while. She sighed and took a sip of her own soup.

Kreacher’s cooking was uncommonly good. As Mrs. Weasley hadn’t been feeling up to much, the cooking had recently been done by Aunt Muriel’s house help. Aunt Muriel couldn’t taste much of anything at this point, so the salty, mushy food hadn’t bothered her. Ginny hadn’t dared complain in case she was asked to make dinner instead.

She looked around the table again. No one had asked Harry or Ron for a story of their trip yet. She wondered if now was the time to bring it up. Certainly, her dad would be wanting to know. Though, she thought resentfully, he probably knew a great deal through Kingsley already. And maybe her mom knew through her dad. George would want to know, if he didn’t already know through Ron. Suddenly she realized that there was a real possibility she was the only one out of the loop. Half the wizarding world might know by now. She hadn’t even been reading the papers. Well, they hadn’t even been getting the papers at Aunt Muriel’s. Kingsley had talked about an official release but she had brushed it off. Official releases hadn’t meant much over the last year. She wished now that she had read it. She felt like an idiot.

Harry was staring at her. “What is it, Gin?” He asked under his breath so just she would hear. “It’s...” Ginny looked around. “Can we get some time to talk tonight? Just us.”

“Something wrong?” Harry looked really worried about the request.
“What? No. I don’t think so.”

“Meet me in the drawing room upstairs then? After dinner.”

Ginny nodded and turned back to her soup. It was only the first course in the dinner. By desert she was both stuffed and groggy. Really, she could not remember having so many tired days before in her entire life.

Harry got up from the table and played host marvelously, making sure that everyone knew where the bathrooms were and which baths worked. Given that everyone had stayed there before, this was perhaps a bit excessive. Then again, given the fog in which Mrs. Weasley was operating, perhaps not. Harry also gave Kreacher very specific instructions on how to treat the guests. He then gave Percy and George very specific instructions on how to treat Kreacher. Ginny excused herself as the arrangements were being made, kissed her parents goodnight on the pretext of exhaustion from the moving process and slipped into the upstairs sitting room. She had just drifted off to sleep when Harry came in. She started again instinctively, fumbled wildly for her wand and fell off the armchair.

“You alright there, Gin?” Harry reached over and helped her up. He led her to the much larger couch and sat down next to her.

“Yeah. Fine. Glad Fred and George weren’t there to see, that’s–“ Ginny stopped short.

Harry rubbed her hand thoughtfully. “Ron would make fun too,” he offered at last covering the silence.

“Don’t you dare tell him!” The threat was a half-hearted attempt to keep the conversation going.

“Of course not.” They sat together for a while. Harry had closed the door behind him and lit only a dim lamp. Ginny couldn’t decide if this made it gloomy or cozy. It certainly did make it private. “You had something you wanted to talk about.” Harry spoke softly. He was still holding her hand.

Ginny struggled with knowing where to begin. There were some things she had put together for herself. But she wanted to hear everything from him. He would answer her questions, if she asked the right ones. But she didn’t want to push too far in either. She drew a deep breath and took his other hand in her other hand. “Harry, I haven’t read the ministry version of what happened. And, Ron and Hermione won’t talk to me about this either. Hermione said it was something you had to tell me. Maybe it’s a long story. It’s just, well, I seem to still be your girlfriend.” She held up their hands. He didn’t say anything. “I never really let you go. But you were gone for so long and–Bill saw you. Ron saw you. Dad knew something. I’m your girlfriend, but I don’t know anything. I need to know what happened.”

Harry nodded slowly. He seemed to have been expecting this. Still, he didn’t answer for a long time.

“I’m sorry I had to keep you in the dark, Ginny. Truth is, even your dad doesn’t know what happened yet. I reckon he’ll be wanting Ron to tell him soon. It’s fine if he does now. But earlier, it had to be secret. We were looking for something that was secret. Something, well, you have some familiarity with. We were looking for Horcruxes, like Riddle’s diary.”

“There were more?” Ginny shuddered. Riddle’s diary was a memory she tried her best to erase.

“Yes. Well, not diaries. Other objects. Bits of Voldemort that tied him to life. He had them hidden, and we didn’t know where to start, but we couldn’t just ask around. Dumbledore might have known more, but–well, he wasn’t around to help us look for long. So, it was…well, the worst sort of treasure hunt you can imagine, I guess.”

Ginny nodded. That seemed about right. Bill had told them that the three had been camping out on the run. And the break into Gringotts would fit.

“What were they?”

Harry hesitated. “Voldemort intended to make six. That would make his soul into seven pieces. The diary was the first. There was a locket of Slytherin, and a ring. There was a cup that belonged to Hufflepuff. Ravenclaw’s diadem.”

Ginny started. “You found it? The diadem?”

“Oh. Yeah. It was in the Room of Requirement, where I hid my potions book. Anyhow, it got destroyed. Fiendfire. Crabbe started it trying to kill us.”

“I’ll kill him.”

“No need to. He’s dead. Died in the fire.” Harry stared off into a dark corner of the room, obviously collecting himself. Why he should care about Crabbe’s death was beyond Ginny, but she figured if he was opening up she shouldn’t shut him down.

“So, was that it then? For the Horcruxes?”

“No. The snake was one.”

“Nagini? The one Neville killed?”

“Yup.”

“So that’s six. And you killed Voldemort.”

Harry sat in the silence. He didn’t say anything. “Harry?” Ginny looked at him.

“There was a seventh.”

“What?”

“Voldemort made another one, by accident.”

“How do you make a Horcrux by accident?”

Harry shifted uncomfortably and let go of her hands. He rubbed his brow and nervously ruffled his hair. “They’re made by killing people.” He paused.

“But not every time he killed.”

“No. There is–stuff--that has to be said and done before the killing.”

“Well, then, how was one done by accident?” Ginny didn’t mean to be a pest but she knew Riddle well and she knew Harry well and this seemed important.

“He intended to make one when he went to kill my mum and me. So, everything had been done already and….” Harry had somehow managed to fold completely into himself. He was sitting in a fetal ball on the couch, his hands pulling desperately at his hair.

Ginny understood. He didn’t need to finish the last sentence. She covered his hair with her own hands, blocking his. "Harry. You asked me once if you were possessed by Voldemort. And I told you that you were not. You’re telling me, aren’t you, that you had a bit of his soul in you after all?”

Harry did not look up. He nodded. His whole body was shaking. Ginny gently pried his legs down so that she could get in to hug him. “Harry. It’s not easy to have Voldemort around. It’s terrible when he gets in your head. If you had, a part of him, in you–and Harry, you were still so good. It just means you were an even better person than I thought, doesn’t it?”

She kissed him gently on the cheek. The aftermath of having Voldemort’s soul with you, that was something she understood well. The odd looks of shame and self-loathing she had caught on his face made sense now, but there was no way she was going to let that continue. She knew. She of all people knew. Harry made no reply. His terrified shaking turned into sobs. Ginny cast a muffliato at the door to keep her parents or Kreacher from coming in. She held Harry and let him cry.

It was past midnight before Ginny climbed into her bed. She had seen Harry tucked into his first. She’d sat with him until he had fallen asleep. When she woke up the next morning and made it down to the kitchen, she discovered she was the last one up. Harry was sitting at the table with her dad. The conversation broke off abruptly as she entered the room.

“What?” Ginny looked in concern from the one to the other.

“Er…” Harry looked over at Arthur and then back to Ginny. “I was just asking your dad if I could take you out and show you around Muggle London. Kingsley told me not to come in to the office before 1 since it’s Saturday.”

Ginny almost asked why Harry was going into the office at all on Saturday, but realized her dad was dressed for the office too. Arthur looked at Ginny. “It’s ok with me, hun.”

“I’d love to go out with you, Harry.” It was almost too good to be true, Harry asking her out and her dad not even making a fuss.

“How about we get breakfast out? I know Kreacher’s food is good, but it’s almost 11.” Ginny nodded. She had slept late. They only had two hours. She ran upstairs to get her shoes and checked herself in the mirror. Ginny didn’t know much about Muggle fashion, but jeans and a light jumper would have to do the trick.

Two whole hours with Harry in the Muggle world! She smiled as they walked down the street, dodging the splash of a bus. Harry told her all about Muggle conventions. He bought her a bus pass and they rode down to a cozy little spot where he bought a huge breakfast sandwich for Ginny and a large coffee for each of them. Ginny looked around curiously. Despite her dad’s constant tinkering with Muggle contraptions, she had not spent much time in the Muggle world. Fred and George used to go down to the village and she had been a few times with them, but not to sit down and watch people. Besides, the village was much quieter than London. Harry handled the money to pay for food and Ginny realized that she wouldn’t have had a clue what to do with it.

“You really should teach me how to do things for myself in London, Harry.” Ginny commented. “After all, I won’t let you pay for every date.”

“Well, we can have a lesson right now. This,” Harry humored her, laying an odd looking piece of paper with someone’s face on it on the table, “is a one pound note.”

“So, how much is it worth, in our money?” Ginny asked picking up the piece of paper. It was different, she noticed, on each side.

“There are about five pounds in each galleon. So that note is about two or three sickles.”

Ginny raised her eyebrows. This might be hard to keep track of. Arithmancy had never been her thing. “So the coins you used for the bus?”

Harry grinned and brought out a pocket of change. He was enjoying giving this lesson. Ginny leaned in across the table, asking him to explain, and re-explain. By the time she had finished her coffee and mastered Muggle money, there wasn’t much time left. Harry and she hadn’t talked about anything from the last year, but he had been happy the whole time. Ginny decided the date had been a smashing success.

Harry went off to the office after bringing her back home. Ginny managed to get Percy and George into a game of exploding snap to wear out the afternoon. There was a memorial service in the evening, the last of the services for those who had died in the battle, with a reading of everyone’s name. Harry was there and at next to Ginny. She buried her head in his arm early in the litany of the dead and did not reappear till several minutes after it was done. Ginny was grateful when they went home. Aunt Muriel’s had never felt like home, but, even with its dark gloominess, Grimmauld Place did. It was cozy and familiar and she didn’t have to worry about it belonging to someone else. Well, to Harry, but that didn’t count.

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Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Business without Fred

By the time Ginny pulled herself out of bed on Monday, Harry had woken gone to the Ministry again. Ron, Percy, and Arthur were with him. Mrs. Weasley had had her breakfast upstairs. George told her all this in a bored sort of way as he flicked through a newspaper. “I’m going to check on the shop today.” He added.

“Hmm.” Ginny murmured, still lost in her coffee. Three seconds later what he had said kicked in. “Oh, can I come with you?”

“If Mum says yes. I haven’t seen her yet though. You’ll probably have to go to her room to ask.”

“Of course.” Ginny finished the rest of her breakfast rather more quickly. There was a chance of seeing some friends at Diagon Alley. Katie was working down there, and so was Hannah Abbott. Friends would be really good–not that she hadn’t seen them recently. They had been at funerals together almost every day the last week, but funerals didn’t count somehow.

Seeing as Ginny had only eaten breakfast at eleven, it was noon before she arrived in Diagon Alley with George and Mrs. Weasley. She had insisted that Ginny could not leave her sight, and been persuaded by Ginny that George needed help. This was the first time that Molly had left her room for anything but a funeral. Ginny was considering this progress. Diagon Alley was a bit depressing, but it was showing signs of getting back into business.

Flourish and Bott’s windows had been cleared. The store looked a little low on inventory but was open for business. Eyelop’s Owl Emporium was open too, though it didn’t look very busy just yet. The ice cream parlor had been turned into a charity for Muggle-borns who had lost everything during the war. Katie Bell was running the charity and called out to Ginny as she passed.

The twins shop had been completely ransacked. George fell apart completely when he saw it. So did Molly. Ginny found herself desperately attempting a pep talk for two. Oliver Wood showed up just then. He had been volunteering at Katie’s charity and seen them walk by. He managed to talk George around while Ginny held her mum. It was the task at hand that ultimately got Molly to focus. Oliver helped as she and George set about magical repairs. Ginny pulled out her dragon’s hide gloves and started disposing of outdated potions and broken bottles. She was still technically under age and not allowed to do magic, something her mother was being unnecessarily particular about in Ginny’s opinion. Even if she couldn’t use magic, it felt good to finally be doing something after a week of sitting around. When she got home that evening she felt a different sort of exhaustion than the nights before. She much preferred this physical version of tired. That night she slept better than she had since the battle and woke earlier the next morning.

When she entered the kitchen, Ginny was pleasantly surprised to see Mrs. Weasley sitting there with George. Her mother seemed to have a new found purpose and some of her old determination. They set off for Diagon Alley again as soon as Ginny had finished breakfast. She spent most of the day inventorying the items that were still good for sale. The rest of the week finished that way, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny helping George to put his store to rights during the day. Life had settled into a temporary rhythm. By the end of the week though, Ginny was running out of things to do. George had sent off a huge supply order using compensation for damage money that the Ministry had collected from fines. The order was set to arrive on Monday, and Ginny knew that George would start manufacturing items then in the back rooms. Due to the restrictions on under-age magic, she would be unable to help in that.

That evening George got into an argument with Harry after the parents had left the table. He pulled out a bag of gold and plopped it on the table in front of Harry. “Listen, Harry, Fred had this set aside to pay you back. It’s not quite all his share, but I’ll finish up paying the rest as soon as we’re making a profit again.”

“No. I’m not taking any payment from Fred, now. Keep it, George, your store still needs it.” Harry had a stubborn look that even Ginny would have known not to cross. George, however, missed it.

“Fred wanted you to take the money, Harry. Take it. It’s the one thing he left me to do. You have to take the money.” George looked like he was about to cry.

Harry shook his head. Percy looked between George and Harry. He was the only one at the table who didn’t know where the twins had gotten their money, but he caught on quickly.

“What about this, Harry? How about if George sets the money aside and we make a Fred’s memorial fund out of it? We’ll have a competition this time next year and whoever enters the best joke will win the money and get to start their own business.” Percy had come up with the suggestion so quickly that it took everyone else at the table a minute to figure out what he had said.

Ginny seized it. It was brilliant. “A joke item competition. Fred would have loved it. And you’ll get to help others in business. I think it would be great, George. What do you say?”

There was a minute’s silence. “Well, if I have a joke item competition, then I’ll know who my competition is. Not a bad idea. But we’ll have the competition in April, for our birthday. The April Fool’s competition.”

“That’s great, George. So, next April, huh? That gives you a year before you get any competition.” Ron stepped in to make it final.

Harry relaxed. “That’s a better idea than anything I could have come up with. Thanks, Percy.”

“Don’t mention it.” Percy had been so helpful over the last two weeks that it was hard for Ginny to remember why she had spent the last few years hating him so much. His penchant for sucking up was coming in handy now that he was sucking up to his family. She rather liked this version of Percy, smoothly negotiating all the little conflicts that came up and offering perfect solutions. He was perfect at diffusing George and stuck to him like a wart-plaster.

“I wonder what jokes people will come up with?” Ron wondered aloud. He started talking through Fred’s ideas. “Remember when he put the Dungbomb under Aunt Muriel’s chair?” Suddenly everyone was laughing.

Ginny, who had just taken a large gulp of butterbeer snorted it out through her nose. They were in stitches for the rest of the evening, swapping jokes. George snuck off at one point and must have come back with several items because a few minutes after he entered the room a decoy detonator went off on the other side.

“Hey, those came in dang useful” Harry commented after they all had gotten over their start.

“Really?” It was the first time Harry had voluntarily brought up anything and Ginny jumped on it.

“Yeah. I used a few when we broke into the Ministry. Distracted everyone so I could get into Umbridge’s office.”
“The old toad!” Ginny snapped as she always did when Umbridge’s name came up
“If I had known that all it took to bring down the ministry was decoy detonators,” George chuckled.

Percy rolled his eyes. “So, what else did you use in the Ministry? That was a tricky one. Polyjuice potion was what the ministry figured on.”

“Yup.” Ron took up the story and told it quite dramatically. Ginny guessed, watching Harry’s expressions as her brother droned on, that there might have been a few exaggerations tossed in, but she didn’t interrupt. It was nice to hear him talking finally, openly, normally about their adventures. The secrets weren’t secret anymore. Things were getting to what they should be. She reached under the table and squeezed Harry’s knee. He reached under the table and reciprocated, but not without George noticing.

“Hey,” he barked, interrupting Ron’s story, “stop feeling up my sister.”

Harry smiled sheepishly and raised both his hands over his head. “Better?” He asked George.

“Yeah. Keep them where I can see ‘em. Go on Ronikins. You were trying to fix a raining office.”

Ron had turned beat red and seemed a bit stuck in his storytelling for a moment. He recovered in a minute though and kept going.

So, Ginny thought, the Weasley’s were becoming the Weasley’s again.

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Chapter 5: Chapter 5: What Fred Left Behind

Saturday morning Ginny was out with Harry again. Percy had gone off that morning too. Apparently he had a girl to whom he owed several hours’ worth of explanations. Ginny wished him luck. Ron had announced that he planned to telephone Hermione that evening. Harry had suggested it wait until he return home, a suggestion that Ron had decided to follow. A wise move, Ginny thought, given the way his first telephone call had gone. Ginny hadn’t seen George that morning, but she thought nothing of it. He spent a good deal of time brooding in his room when he wasn’t at the shop. Ginny was not going to brood. She and her boyfriend were going to have some well-deserved time together.

George, however, was not in his room. He had woken up that morning and decided to go down to Ottery St. Catchpole. Fred and he had gone there several times that year to cast protective enchantments. He hadn’t checked to see how they had held up. It seemed like a check in was long past due. When he arrived, a breakfast in the pub seemed to be the called for method of checking in. If the barman was astonished by the amount that his customer drank that morning, he said nothing. Neither did he comment on George’s being alone. It was noon by the time George stumbled out to the street, much too drunk to walk a straight line, let alone apparate. He was holding onto the half wall that ran along the street when a dark haired punk girl called out.

“Fred!” George shook his head. He was really drunk. He was hearing things. He kept walking. “Wait! George!” He stopped. The girl ran up into his narrow and blurry line of vision. She was wearing cut up low jeans and a cropped top. A huge tattoo of a phoenix ran up her left arm. “I haven’t seen you in ages!”

“Hey, ‘Manda.” George managed to slur out most of her name.

“You’re wasted!” She chided him. “Come on over to my place and crash a minute. I’ll get you coffee.”

George waved his arm and swayed. “No, no, I’m fine. I’ll just walk home.”

“You are in no state to walk! You either give me Fred’s number so he can come down here and pick you up, or I will walk you home.”

George stalled. She didn’t know. And he didn’t have a home. “Coffee sounds good,” he managed finally.

Amanda’s place was the back of a music store that sold guitars, old records, and trashy posters. He and Fred had spent several hours there entertaining customers with magic tricks. George hadn’t been back since last summer. Amanda led him to a tiny kitchen table in her place and poured him a cup of coffee. “I’ll go check for customers and put the bell out. Be right back.”

George had worked his way to the bottom of his coffee when she returned. She poured him another cup before she spoke.
“I haven’t seen Fred in ages. He looked a mess last time he was here. You look a mess yourself. What’s going on? The two of you used to be inseparable and I haven’t seen you together down here in a year.”

George blinked hard. He had known Fred had been seeing Amanda. But that was back in the winter. He’d sort of forgotten about Amanda, what with everything…

“When did you last see him?”

“Fred? I saw him about a month ago. Why? What’s gotten into you? When did you last see Fred?”

“It’s been…” George had to think for a bit. “It’s been two weeks.” He hiccupped and couldn’t finish the explanation.

“Aren’t you two still doing the radio show then? Or was that one of Fred’s jokes? I tried to find it on the radio. Never could. Would have been nice to hear his voice.” Amanda was sharper than George had given her credit for.

“How’d you know about the show?”

“Fred told me. Like I said, though, I never managed to tune in.”

“Fred’s dead.” George blurted it out. “Died two weeks ago.” He was drunk. He was crying.

Amanda stood very still. “When? How? Why didn’t you tell me?” She sank down into the chair across from him and buried her head in her arms on the tiny table. The phoenix on her arm twitched as she cried.

George stayed there till supper. Amanda spread marmite on toast. Neither of them had much of an appetite. George had a massive head ache by the time he apparated back in front of Grimmauld Place, but he was sober.

Ginny was by herself at the kitchen table when he walked into the room. She frowned. “Where were you? You were drinking!” She waved the air to clear his breath.

“Lay off it, Gin.” George growled. “Is there something for a head ache in this place?”

Ginny scowled. She got up and closed the kitchen door firmly behind George. “Listen to me, George. You cannot go out and get drunk every day. Fred’s gone. But you’re not. And if you think I’m going to let you go off and become a drunk! Mum and Dad have gone through enough without worrying about their sons making fools of themselves at the pub. Mum was worried sick about you today! Where have you been? You weren’t anywhere in Diagon Alley? Ron checked. He even checked Knockturn Alley! And Harry checked every bar in a two mile radius of this house!”

George didn’t fire back. He collapsed in a chair and put his head down on the table.

“George!” Ginny was not having it. “Answer me!”

“I saw Fred’s girlfriend.”

Ginny deflated. “Who?”

“Fred’s girlfriend. Her name’s Amanda. I knew… I forgot. No one had told her, and–“ George broke off. He collected himself a minute later. “Told her I would take her to see Fred’s grave tomorrow. So don’t go off the handle at me for being gone tomorrow too, okay.” He got up and hurried out of the room.

Ginny stood stock still. Fred had had a girlfriend. And she hadn’t known that Fred had died. But everyone in the wizarding world knew. Which must mean that she wasn’t…

Ginny charged out of the kitchen and bounded up the stairs after George, barging into his room. “Do you mean to tell me Fred had a Muggle girlfriend? All last year? When he kept going off places to protect Muggles? He had a Muggle girlfriend?”

George nodded. Ginny sat down on his bed. “Why didn’t he tell us?” She wondered out loud. The answers came to her instantly. She tried to imagine Fred introducing her to his parents, and her dad saying, “A real Muggle?” and peppering her with inappropriate questions. But that would have been in a normal year. And last year had been anything but normal. Last year she had pretended she didn’t have a boyfriend. That was the way to stay safe. And that was how Fred had kept his girlfriend safe.

Ginny tugged nervously at her hair. “You’re taking her to the grave tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re not apparating. How are you getting there?”

“She has a car. She’ll drive.”

Ginny nodded. “Can I come?”

“I suppose.” George nodded.

“I’ll tell Mum and Dad that we are going to freshen up the flowers on the grave.” Ginny knew this would raise no questions whatsoever. She left George’s room quickly and told her mum that he was back and that he had just been checking on Ottery St. Catchpole and forgotten to tell them where he was going. Mrs. Weasley bought the story and approved the outing for the next day. If Mr. Weasley didn’t, he didn’t say anything either. Ginny was debating telling Ron and Harry when they came in, but one glance at Ron’s face told her that he had his own troubles. She left Harry to talk Ron into a better mood. Percy was not back yet, but he had sent a message. His time with his girl had gone as well as could be expected and he had stayed to have dinner with her family.

The next day Ginny pulled out the dress she had purchased for Colin Creevey’s funeral and slipped it on. Was it a bit much just go to the grave? She wasn’t sure. Then again, her Muggle wardrobe lacked selection. She would need to work on that. She looked in the mirror. Too formal. She pulled the dress off and pulled on jeans and a t-shirt. She shrugged. It would have to do. She and George left together. She had told Harry not to worry about her and that they would just be an hour or two. George took her by side-along Apparition to outskirts of the village. They walked in together.

“Hey Amanda. This is Ginny, my sister. She wanted to meet you.”

Ginny pulled Amanda into a hug instead of shaking her hand. She approved of the girl instantly. With her purple and black hair and prominent tattoo she had obvious sass, even if it wasn’t how she was acting at the moment. They climbed into a little VW bug and headed off on the roads. George had used the stock ministry story to explain Fred’s death. He had been trying to save people in a fire. Only, since Fred hadn’t been a student at Hogwarts at the time, George had changed the story to being a fire at their house. This led to a few awkward questions to Ginny on the ride about how she had gotten out of the house safely and where they were living. Oddly, since the Burrow had actually been destroyed, Ginny didn’t it hard to make up material. She had been woken up by her mother in the middle of the night and told to leave immediately. They had stayed at their aunts first, but they were staying with a friend in London now. Ginny felt odd about the story though. She didn’t like the thought of lying to Fred’s girlfriend on their first acquaintance. Fortunately, Amanda was not in a particularly talkative mood. It took a little over fifteen minutes to reach the graveyard. The last few minutes were on an old dirt and gravel road. Ginny recognized it as a carriage road and speculated correctly that this was the first automobile to make its way up to the Wizard-owned grave plot.

Ginny stepped out of the car. George moved over and opened Amanda’s door, even though she had been the one driving. Ginny felt a weak smile on her face. He could be charming when he wanted to. Amanda unbuckled herself and got out of the car slowly. She took George’s offered arm and walked up to the grave. Ginny walked behind them. Amanda, she noted, was shaking. George held her protectively as they stood by the grave for a minute. Ginny closed her eyes. “Harry Potter is dead!” She heard the voice scream in her head. Her stomach clenched in a tight knot. She forced her eyes open and looked into Amanda’s.

“George,” Ginny spoke softly, “maybe Amanda would like a minute, by herself. To say goodbye.”

Amanda nodded mutely. George let go of her and she knelt with her hands in the dirt. Ginny led her brother away. “Take your time.” She told Amanda. “We’ll be right here.”

George stood by the car with his arm around Ginny. Normally she would mind the sentimentalism. Today it was welcome. It was a long time before Amanda came walking to the car. She had obviously been crying hard. Her face was streaked with dirt and tears. Ginny pulled a clean handkerchief out of her pocket. Aunt Muriel had insisted on her carrying one so much that it had finally become a habit. Amanda nodded gratefully and wiped her face. It wasn’t quite clean when she was done, but at least it was a bit better.

George looked between Ginny and Amanda. “How about a drink?” He ventured. “I promise not to get wasted, Gin. But I could use a firewhisky.”

“I’ve never had firewhisky, but a drink sounds great,” Amanda responded.

Ginny looked at George. That had been a slip up, but it had passed. He didn’t notice. She nodded her agreement to the plan and they got back into the car. Amanda’s driving was off. She waved back and forth across the country road, but no one else was out to notice. The three of them trudged to the bar together.

George ordered a double shot as soon as he sat down. Ginny hesitated. She hadn’t had Muggle alcohol before and she seemed to remember something about it being different than butterbeer. “Do you have…” Ginny searched for what would be most similar to something she had had “a good red wine?”

“Sure, hun.” The barman was entirely too friendly. Ginny ground her teeth.

“Let’s sit at a table. I don’t feel like sitting at the bar. But you can order first, Amanda.” She turned to the other girl, who, oddly, looked as indecisive as Ginny had felt just a minute ago.

“Very well. I’ll have a lager,” Amanda ordered half-heartedly. But once they had their drinks and sat down, Amanda swirled her glass around and didn’t take a sip. George tossed his down rather too fast and would have gone for another if Ginny hadn’t glared him back into his seat. Her wine was mediocre and she wasn’t enjoying it much. Elf-made wine was better after all.

Ginny studied Amanda’s expression. “Do you want to talk about something, Amanda? We’ve had a couple weeks to, well, to process this and….I get the impression George sort of just sprung it on you yesterday.”

“He didn’t tell you about me.” Amanda’s voice was as thick as if she had drunk six beers.

Ginny took a breath and tried to get her thoughts together. So that was what Amanda was stuck on. But how would she get her to understand: “Well, Amanda, I reckon there was a lot that Fred never told us about. I mean, the thing with us Weasleys is, there’s a lot of us. And we tease each other a lot. Mercilessly, really. I mean, the first time Percy had a girlfriend, Fred never let him hear the end of it. I guess Fred, well, he kept some things to himself.”

It wasn’t the explanation she wanted to give. He wanted to protect you from Death Eaters. If Voldemort found him, he didn’t want him finding you. How could she explain that to a Muggle who hadn’t even known about wizards?

Amanda nodded her head slowly. “I just thought… I had introduced Fred to my family. I guess I thought he would… I thought we were closer than that.” She finished lamely.

Ginny looked to George for help, but he shrugged. She was on her own here. “You probably were close. George said you saw Fred a month ago. What you might not know is…” Ginny stalled again trying to find a way to word this. What Amanda didn’t know what that Fred and George had been on the run. They had been finding places to broadcast where Voldemort couldn’t track them down. They were busy trying to protect Muggles and Muggle-borns. “Fred was very protective.” Ginny said decisively. “He was really busy. And he’d made a bit of a target of himself, with his radio show and all. Fred had lost touch with a lot of people he was really close to. If you saw him two weeks before he died, then it means he really was making an effort. You meant a lot to him.”

Amanda still had not touched her lager. It seemed odd given how quickly she had agreed to come for a drink. “I had something I was going to tell him.” Amanda picked up the cold glass and pressed it absentmindedly to her forehead.
I love you. Ginny thought instantly of the words she had yet to tell Harry Potter. The three words that she had thought she would never get to say when she had heard he was dead. Thank goodness he hadn’t really died. She really needed to get that part of the story from him though.

“You can tell us.” George had spoken.

Ginny was surprised by the offer. Amanda looked taken aback too. No wonder, Ginny thought. But then Amanda surprised them both. She spoke. “What I wanted to tell Fred was–I wanted to tell him that I was–that I am–that he was going to be… He won’t be now of course. I don’t know if I can keep the…” She hadn’t exactly said it. Ginny sat there staring at her for a long minute.

“Wait. You mean to tell me you and Fred--?”

Amanda nodded.

“Sorry.” George butted in. “I didn’t follow that.”

Ginny leaned back in her chair, rubbed her face vigorously and shook the hair out of her face. Nope, she was still sitting in a bar and Amanda was still there. This was not a dream. “Amanda, are you pregnant?” The question as incredibly blunt, but Ginny couldn’t think of a better way of asking it.

“Yes.” The answer came out as the tiniest whisper.

George leaned his chair back suddenly to deliver a dramatic whistle. The chair fell over with a crash. Ginny snorted, then laughed. Amanda joined in. George stumbled and stood up. He laughed. The girls laughed. He righted his chair and sat back down, chuckling.

“So, Fred’s baby, huh?” He asked when they had finally regained control.

Ginny looked at Amanda sharply and slid the lager over to George: “A toast to your twin.” George raised the glass, toasted Fred, and chugged it down.

“What did you mean, you didn’t know if you could keep the baby?” Ginny circled back to the original inarticulate announcement.

Amanda bit her lip. “I don’t know how to, if I can… How can I take care of a kid by myself? I had thought he would come around. If I had the kid, he would…”

Ginny stared at Amanda. Amanda and Fred had never talked about this? There was no plan?

“I mean,” Amanda noticed the harshness of Ginny’s stare, “It’s one thing if a baby has a working dad, right? There’s some support. But… I’m only a shop girl. What kind of life would that be, for the baby? If Fred was alive. If we could be together….” She trailed off.

Of course if Fred had been alive, if he knew he had a kid, he would have married Amanda in an instant. He would have been the best dad. Well, a crazy dad. Ginny’s lips twitched as she thought of it. “Promise me you’ll keep the baby, Amanda. We’ll help you. I would drop out of school to take care of it. I’m not really that fussed about going back to school this year anyway. But Fred’s baby…Amanda, I want his baby, even if you don’t.”

“Of course I do!” Amanda was crying again. “I do. I just don’t know how to take care of it. How am I going to give it anything, any kind of life? I don’t have any money, and I can’t work and look after a kid. Mum can’t give up her job and…” Amanda stopped to blow her nose loudly. Several people in the pub looked around.

Ginny looked at George as she spoke. “You know, Fred actually left some money.” She said carefully. “We were going to turn it into a memorial fund, but, I’m quite sure that Fred would rather, given that he has a baby on the way, use that money for his family.”

George nodded. He had caught on. “Listen, Amanda. Don’t worry about the money. Fred left some. It’s not much, but it could get you through a little bit. And I’m opening up the joke shop again. Business is better now, and there’s Fred’s share of the profits.”

“And I’m sure Mum could help with the baby if she needed too. She’s good with babies.” Ginny added helpfully.

“Do you think she would? Doesn’t she work?”

“I’m sure she would. She hasn’t had a regular job since Bill was born. I don’t think she wants to now either. She seems quite ready to be a grandmother actually. She’s been wanting Bill and Fleur to have a kid since they got married last summer.” This, Ginny had thought, was one of her mother’s less rational wishes, since a war-time baby would have made things trickier for everyone.

“Maybe….” Amanda hesitated. “I guess, there’s no point in rushing a decision, is there? It’s just shocked me is all. If it could work out.” She stopped and chewed her lip for a moment, fidgeting nervously with the napkin.

George was watching her closely. “Listen,” he said firmly after a minute or two, “this is my twin’s baby you’re talking about. I’m not letting you get rid of Fred’s kid. You need someone to marry you to raise the kid, then I’ll marry you. We can be a family and raise the kid that way.”

Ginny blinked. How in the world had George come up with THAT solution?! Amanda cracked a smile. “Thanks, Georgie. It means a lot to me, but you wouldn’t do. You’re just not a good replacement for Fred. You’re much too holey, you see?” She pointed to her ear.

Suddenly, both the girls were laughing together again. Yes, Ginny thought, this was definitely Fred’s girl. She had delivered that joke perfectly. Ginny would bet that, on form, she had been able to match Fred line for line. What she wouldn’t have given to hear that!

George pretended briefly to be heartbroken by the refusal of his proposal before pulling Amanda back to the topic at hand. “So, is it my niece or my nephew we are talking about?”

“I don’t know yet.” Amanda sobered back up. “Too early to tell.”

“When is the baby due?” Ginny asked.

“Around the middle of January.” Amanda was blushing. She had torn her napkin up into penny sized pieces. It was lying around the table as confetti. “Don’t talk too loudly though. This is a small town, and I haven’t told my mum yet.”

“Why not?” George was getting impatient.

“I just wanted to tell Fred first.” She sounded empty and defeated again. Ginny glared at George. Really that boy was tactless.

“We need to be getting back to London.” Ginny said, regretfully bringing the conversation to a close. It had been over two hours and she figured that Harry was not above getting the entire Auror staff out looking for her on a Sunday. “How about this, Amanda–Why don’t you talk to your mum? And I’ll talk to mum and dad too. Then I can meet you here again next weekend and we can talk things through. Just, don’t do anything rash between now and then. Please?”

Amanda nodded. “That sounds like a good plan. You know, Fred always talked like you were his baby sister. You’ve got a lot better of a head on your shoulder than he made out.”

“Too bad he’s not around for me to punch him for that.” Ginny grimaced. “I guess I’ve grown up a lot the last year though.”
The two girls stood up and hugged. George hugged both of them together. They all started chuckling again, even though Amanda still had wet tears on her face.

“Till next week then.”

“Till next week,” Ginny confirmed.

“Hey, how are you two getting back to town?” Amanda looked back and forth at Ginny and George. “Didn’t you say you were staying with your boyfriend in London?”

“Oh.” Ginny froze. She realized with a start that the journey from London to here would be sort of long if they didn’t apparate. George was quick to a cover story though, “We were at our Aunt Muriel’s picking up some things we left behind. It’s just up the road. Don’t worry about us.”

“But next weekend, that’s a long way for you to come up here, just for me.” Amanda was smart and was currently being too polite for her own good. Fortunately, Ginny had had some time to think.

“My best friend lives up here. I was going to be back up to see her anyway. And Dad was going to look at the Burrow and start thinking about rebuilding. It won’t be any trouble. Really, don’t worry about it.” She squeezed Amanda’s arm.

“Alright then. I’ll see you next weekend.” She squeezed Ginny’s arm back and walked off down the street.

Ginny and George walked the other way. He held out his arm. She held on tightly as they apparated back to Grimmauld Place.

George hesitated on the top step. His hand was on the knob, but he hadn’t opened the door. “So, who are we telling?” He turned to Ginny.

“We’ll tell Dad. Just Dad, first.”

George nodded and turned the doorknob.

Harry and Ron jumped Ginny before they got all the way down the hall, each demanding where they had been. “I was with George, ok? Relax. We went to the grave, and laid flowers. Then he was a bit upset, so we stopped in the pub and he had a drink or two.”

“Send a Patronus or something next time? Please?” Harry was obviously worried. Ginny felt a bit bad, but really, they had only been gone ten minutes later than the outside of the time bracket she had given.

“I’m not ALLOWED to send a Patronus. Ok? And you need to start trusting my brothers. THEY have done a fine job looking out for me this whole year!”

Harry recoiled. Ginny bit her lip. She hadn’t meant for that to come out as an accusation, but it just had. Ron scratched his head uncomfortably. George pretended not to have heard anything and walked right past the two of them down the hall and into the kitchen.

“Is it dinner time then?” Ginny asked covering for herself desperately. Goodness knew she couldn’t say what she wanted to with Ron standing right there staring at her.

Back to index


Chapter 6: Chapter 6: A Family Meeting

That night at dinner Ginny was just pushing her food around on her plate. “Everything ok, dearie?” Molly asked.

“Yeah.” Ginny lifted her cold glass and pressed it to her forehead the way she had seem Amanda do earlier. “I’m just a bit wrung out from visiting the grave. That’s all.”

The cover worked, but Ginny glanced over to Harry. He was still angry. Her mom couldn’t read his face maybe, but she could. Harry excused himself early from dinner and Ginny desperately wanted to follow him. Instead, she stayed put. She needed to talk to her dad first. Harry would have to wait. Besides, the more she thought about it, the less she knew what to say. What she had said earlier was true.

Waiting for the kitchen to clear, however, soon looked like a mute strategy. Percy had been living with them for two weeks by now, but, since Mrs. Weasley had spent most of the time in her room or at George’s shop, they had not seen much of each other. They had chosen this meal to get caught up. Percy was detailing his entire life for the last year. Mr. Weasley was listening to the conversation with as much interest as his wife. Ginny gave up her own agenda and listened in too. Percy had never been good at telling stories, but what he said about workings at the ministry over the last few months was interesting. Mr. Weasley and Ron poked a bit on some snippets of information and seemed to be gleaning things of interest that they would follow up on Monday.

George was bored of the conversation quickly. He stood up and stretched, then jerked his head toward the door. Ginny shrugged and shook hers. He nodded and left the room anyway. Ginny listened in on the conversation for a few more minutes before making up her mind. She stood up, cleared her things, and stopped behind Mr. Weasley’s chair.

“Hey Dad,” Ginny whispered “Before you go up to bed, there is something George and I wanted to talk to you about. Meet us up in the parlor when you’re done?”

“Sure, Gin. What’s up?”

“Nothing urgent. I’ll talk to you in a little bit.”

She walked up the stairs quietly and debated knocking on Harry’s door. Then again, if her dad came looking for her and found her in Harry’s room… Her parent’s had been really cool about their relationship so far, but there was no need to push it. Instead, she pulled George out of his room and started a game of exploding snap with him in the parlor. They had played through two rounds before their dad came in.

George laid his hand down, winning the second round before he looked up.

“So, what did you want to talk about, Gin?” Arthur addressed the question to her.

“It’s about Fred actually. Well, it’s about something he left behind.” She looked at George uncertainly, then looked back at her dad. “Remember when he used to go down to the village to cast protective charms?”

“Turns out those weren’t the only charms he was casting.” George was finally making jokes again. Lame, but at least there was an attempt at something.

“You mean Fred was involved with a girl in the village?” Arthur had enough young adults in his family to be quick to the uptake.

“Yes.” Ginny said, relieved he had caught on so quickly. “And, well, no one had thought to tell her…. Anyway, George did yesterday.” She looked over at George. Having made his one joke he had suddenly become very interested in shuffling the deck of cards. “We took her to the grave today. She wanted to see it.” Ginny finished out that section of what she had to say and looked to her dad for a reaction.

Arthur had sat down in the armchair and was leaning in. He rubbed his face in his hands. “I didn’t know, kids.” He spoke finally. “I should have been with you to tell her, George. I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok, Dad.” George kept shuffling the cards as he spoke. “Truth is I forgot about her too. I was being a self-centered pig, I guess. Too busy being sad to think about anything else. She found me in the village yesterday and asked…”

Arthur nodded. “What did you tell her?”

“Ministry story.” George grunted. Ginny grimaced. It was really so unsatisfactory.

“Thanks for taking care of this kids. And thanks for letting me know.”

“There’s something else you need to know, Dad.” Ginny looked at George. He had not been nearly as helpful in the conversation as he could have been. She felt a bit wicked and annoyed about this. “George offered to be a dad today.”

George jumped. So did Mr. Weasley. Ginny grinned. If she was going to announce that Fred had a kid, she would do it in a way that Fred approved of. "The girl turned him down though, Dad. So no need to worry. She didn’t seem to think that George would make as good a dad as Fred would have. On account of lacking an ear.”

Mr. Weasley shook his head. He’d heard a lot from his kids, but this was one he had not heard before. “Ginny, could you be a bit clearer, please?”

“Fred had a last joke, dad. A sort of final prank he didn’t even know about. And we found out about it today. Georgie gets to be an uncle.”

Mr. Weasley simply sat without saying a word. “Is this a joke?” He asked, finally, forcing George to look him in the eye. “Fred’s last joke,” George responded, “but by the sound of it, there’s a pretty real baby on its way.”

Mr. Weasley groaned and leaned back into his chair. George looked nervously at Ginny.

“I mean, I never said Fred’s joke was funny. This might be one of his lamer jokes. Although,” George pressed on desperately, “this will mean that you’re a grandpa. The only way I know of that Fred could have made you a grandpa. Dumbledore tried to make Fred a grandpa himself once. Great big white beard. So you’re a grandpa after Fred.”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “You were a grandpa, too, George.”

“Sure enough was. So, Dad, we can be grandpas together.”

Mr. Weasley still said nothing. This, Ginny noted, was not going well.

“Er, Dad? She’s actually a pretty decent girl. I know you haven’t met her, but…. She’s really trying to think things through and she has Fred’s sense of humor and a lot of spunk. You’d like her, really. Besides, it means we get a Muggle in the family.”

Mr. Weasley nodded. “I’m sure Fred had good taste. It’s the girl I’m worried about. Did she even know he was a wizard? How is she going to raise the child? She can’t be very old.”

“About 19.” George supplied. “I can’t remember her birthday, exactly.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about actually. Amanda sort of flipped out today, about how she could keep the kid. She’s not sure if it’s a boy or girl. It’s too early. The baby is due in January. Anyway, George was talking the other night, and…” Ginny looked at George carefully to make sure she got this part of the story right without giving too much away, “Fred had set aside some money for investing in the joke shop, but George won’t need it with the compensation from the ministry. We had thought we could set it aside for the baby. Amanda could probably use the lift.”

“Babies don’t come cheap, but I am sure it would help. Bill could set it up in a trust fund in Gringotts and have it pay out in Muggle money. How much are we talking about?” Mr. Weasley knew the twins well enough that there was a little bit of suspicion in his voice.

“A thousand galleons,” George offered.

Mr. Weasley raised his eyebrows. “That’s a chunk of savings! I was under the impression that the business was not doing well.”

“It wasn’t.” George looked at Ginny. “Get Harry in here, would you? Dad needs to know about this.”

Ginny leapt up from her perch on the arm of the couch. She heard Mr. Weasley’s low whistle behind her as he put together what was going on. She wished as she hurried up to Harry’s room that she had taken the time to make up with him after her remark when she had gotten home. She’d have to apologize in his room before they went back down. This evening was turning out awkwardly enough without her dad finding out that she’d had a row with her boyfriend. She knocked rapidly on Harry’s door.

“Come in.”

She opened it. Ron was sitting on the bed facing her. “Oh, uh….” Ginny’s brain momentarily froze. “Sorry, Ron. Dad needs Harry. He sent me up to get him.” She frowned. Ron looked as if he’d been crying. “You ok?”

“He’s worried about Hermione.” Harry summarized. “I am too, but I don’t know much about her parents. Maybe you and Ron should talk about it. I’ll go see what your dad needs.”

“He’s in the parlor.” Ginny hesitated. “Ron, you might actually want to hear this too. And, maybe we could talk about Hermione’s problems together, down there? Harry, wait up.”

Ron nodded. “Be right down.” He followed Ginny out of the room, but stopped in the bathroom on the way. Ginny doubted that anyone would blame him for crying. Certainly George couldn’t, not with the amount of blubbering he’d been doing these days.

Ginny stopped on the stair above Harry. “Sorry for earlier this evening. My comment, it wasn’t called for. You weren’t around last year, but it’s not your fault. You were being the best boyfriend possible. You took on my greatest enemy and you defeated him. I certainly don’t want to scold you for doing that.” Ginny knew she sounded formal. She hoped he also knew that she meant it.

Harry looked down and studied his feet. “That’s fine Ginny. And you were right. I do need to work on trusting people. It hasn’t been my strong point this last year.”

Ginny nodded. “Apology accepted. Are we made up now?”

He pulled her down and kissed her. “Now I think we are. Are we ready to go down?”

“Almost.” Ginny stepped down and took his hand. “What you need to know if, George introduced me to Fred’s girlfriend, who, it turns out is going to have Fred’s baby, and going to get the money that was going to be the Fred memorial account.”

“Wait. What?” Harry looked as if he’d been stupefied.

“Now we’re ready to go down.” And with that, Ginny tugged Harry along after her down the stairs.

Mr. Weasley stood up when he entered the room. “So, I hear you are the reason that our twins dropped out of Hogwarts?” If Mr. Weasley was trying to be stern, he was failing.

“Er, I guess so,” Harry managed. Eloquence had never been his thing.

“I guess I can forgive you for that.” Mr. Weasley offered. “Though I hear that we are rather in your debt.”

“No.” Harry said firmly. “You’re not. The money was a prize that should have gone to Cedric. His family wouldn’t take it. I certainly didn’t want it. I shouldn’t even have been in the tournament. So, I wasn’t lending out my money at all. No one owes me anything. Fred kept me laughing when I didn’t think that laughing was possible. I owe him that. And a couple of things he invented were dead useful last year. If anything, I owe him.”

Mr. Weasley nodded and pulled Harry into a hug. Ron walked in behind Harry just then, and Mr. Weasley motioned for everyone to take a seat. “So, how much do they know?” he asked Ginny.

“Ron doesn’t know anything and Harry just barely knows anything.” Ginny summed up succinctly.

“Well, how about you get them caught up then. Start with how you found this all out. I feel a bit lost about that still.”

Ginny launched into a description of George and her rather crazy afternoon, winding back around to the facts on which she had finished out her story for her dad. “So, the baby is due in January and we don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl and we have to figure out how to help her take care of it.”

“Fred’s having a baby?” Ron summed up.

“Yes.” Ginny was amused at how often she was having to repeat this fact.

“Blimey!” Ron whistled. “And I thought I had problems.”

“If you kids would like to keep talking about it,” Mr. Weasley said as he got up from his chair, “I believe I now have the facts straight enough that I can relay them to your Mum. Unless you prefer to tell her yourself, Gin.”

“Oh. No, that’s fine.” Ginny looked at her dad. He was joking, right? She’s rather become permanently invisible than tell her mother that a Weasley was about to have a child out of wedlock!

“I thought you had rather a flare for the story,” Arthur noted and ruffled her hair on the way out.

“Ginny,” Harry had an odd look on his face, “when Amanda said she wasn’t sure she could keep the baby, did you ask her what she meant?”

Ginny frowned. She thought she had gone over this. “She doesn’t have much money and she was scared of raising the baby without a family. What do you mean?”

Harry’s face, if anything, had gotten darker. “You said she promised not to make any decisions until next weekend?” He pressed.

“Yeah. Harry?”

“What decisions do you think she’s making?”

“Well, whether to give the baby up for adoption. I mean, she said there wasn’t any hurry. And there couldn’t be, if the baby isn’t going to be born till January.”

Harry shook his head.

“Harry, what else could it possibly mean?”

But Harry didn’t answer. “We need to talk to her soon.” He said instead. “Before the weekend.”

“I probably still have her phone number somewhere,” George offered. “Fred used to call her. He was pretty good at the telephone.”

“Could have given his brother some lessons,” Ron growled.

“You did fine yesterday,” Harry offered, but Ron shrugged disconsolately.

Knowing that she wasn’t about to get any more explanations from Harry, Ginny thought it was high time she pry out Ron’s problem. As it turned out, he was happy to talk about it and very little prying was required. The problem, it turned out was twofold. One, Hermione could not understand why Ron wasn’t planning on re-enrolling at Hogwarts. Really, Ginny thought, Hermione should know her brother better than that by now. Two, Hermione’s parents were saying that they would not let her re-enroll in Hogwarts.

“But that’s ridiculous!” Ginny interjected. “She’s of age! She can do whatever she wants!”

“Not if she can’t pay for it.” George remarked sagely. “Hogwarts isn’t cheap, and from what I hear, Hermione spent all her savings from last year on a long camping trip around England.”

Ginny slumped. “But Hermione has to go to Hogwarts. I’m not going if she doesn’t go.”

“Tell her parents that. I’m sure that will change their mind.” Ron was still sulky and sarcastic.

“Hang on,” George cut in again. “If you aren’t going to Hogwarts, why do you want Hermione there? You won’t be able to get much snogging done with her away. I thought that was what you kept your girlfriends for.”

Ron hurled a pillow hard at George’s face. He caught it neatly. “Wow, Ron. Creative.”

But Ron had lost steam already. “It’s not just Hogwarts. Her parents don’t want her to have anything to do with the wizard world at all. Her mom keeps telling her it’s manipulative and evil. They keep guilting her for everything and she’s buying it. I don’t know why. She’s bloody genius. She’s faced down Voldemort, and she’s letting them get in her head.”

“Well Ron, you’ve faced Voldemort, but I doubt that you’d take mum on directly.” George chuckled at his own joke, but no one else did.

Ginny did not know tons about Hermione’s parents. What she did know was that Hermione’s mum had had a distinctly disapproved of Hermione’s involvement in the magical world since the fight in the bookstore during her second year. Hermione avoided home not just because she loved Ron but because being with her parents was a bit painful. Until she’s modified their memory, her parents had been constantly fighting about her. What they were like now was anyone’s guess.
The four sat in silence, thinking.

Percy walked by and stuck his head in. “Silent meeting then?” He joked. “Most productive kind.”

“Actually, Percy, you missed the big announcement.” George’s face radiated mischief. “You’re going to be an uncle!”

“What? Ginny! Harry! What on earth!” Percy stormed through the doorway.

Ginny jumped up, instantly blocking his access to Harry while drawing her wand. “No, Percy. Honestly, no. Not us, not ours. And George, for goodness sake!”

Percy had drawn his wand while charging in and still held it up. “So, whose baby?” He looked at Ron with a blank look of disbelief, but Ron shook his head.

“It’s Fred’s” everyone chorused together.

The wand came down. Percy came down too. He sat cross legged on the floor right where he’d been standing. “This is your joke right?” He asked George.

“Nope,” George grinned. “But you’d better bet it is Fred’s.”

Ginny told her story for the third time that evening. Percy’s listened through it all before commenting, “Well, the department for Muggle relations will have to be told. I’m sure they have a guide for these sorts of things. Still, wizards ought to be better about taking precautions.”

“This is Fred we’re talking about.” George reminded him. “Not exactly the ‘taking precautions’ sort of person, was he? But I do think we should tell her that she is going to be having a little wizard of her own soon. I mean, Fred was doing magic pretty much as soon as he could crawl.”

Ginny’s mind had already gone down a different track. “Percy, what all do Muggle relations handle? I mean,” she clarified realizing how long of an answer Percy was capable of giving to the first question, “if a witch or wizard was having trouble with magical parents, say, about going to Hogwarts–is that the sort of thing they would handle?”

“Hogwarts attendance? No. That’s always been handled by the heads of house. More personal for the parents. It builds better trust. You should know that. Harry had some trouble with his family and Hogwarts sent, well, I’m not sure who.”

“Hagrid.” Harry supplied.

“Hagrid?” Percy looked temporarily astonished. “Well, I’m sure they don’t usually send the gamekeeper.”

But Ginny didn’t care for the direction Percy was about to take things. She cut him off. “McGonagall, Ron. We need to write McGonagall and tell her what’s going on. Hermione can’t without using magic.” Ginny had reached the solution to their earlier discussion, but Percy now looked entirely lost.

“She can’t do magic anyway. Doesn’t have her wand,” Ron grumbled.

“Where’d her wand go?” George was still tracking with the conversation despite its sudden twist.

“Her mum has it.”

“How’d her mum take it?” George demanded. “Blimey, Bellatrix couldn’t take Hermione down and you are telling me some Muggle woman has her wand?”

“She just handed it over, didn’t she? Her mum said, ‘no more magic this summer, I want your wand.’ And Hermione said, ‘here.’ That’s what I’m saying. She’s not herself!”

Ginny agreed with Ron, but she couldn’t see what they could do until they had let McGonagall know. She wasn’t allowed to do any magic herself and if her brothers went using magic on a Muggle family–well, there were enough people in Azkaban for that as was. “I’ll write McGonagall tonight. Percy, do you still have your Hermes?”

“Sensible girl, Ginny. Let the proper authorities take care of it. Ron should have learned from you years ago. I’ll go get Hermes right away.”

Ginny ground her teeth at Percy’s presumptuousness, but she was glad enough to use his owl. Pigwidgeon had been lost in the move. She had never recognized anyone except for Ron as her owner and when he hadn’t taken Pig along, the owl had taken to just wandering around. No one had seen it since their midnight evacuation of the Burrow. Arnold the pygmy puff had been left behind too along with Crookshanks, Ginny remembered regretfully. Hermione might do better with Crookshanks. Ginny finished her letter up, tied the parchment on to Hermes’ leg and sent him off out the window.

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Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Muggle Relations Training

Harry, Mr. Weasley, and Percy went to the Ministry early the next morning. Ron had agreed to go to the joke shop with George this morning to sort out the order and get things going again. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny joined them. Ginny found herself in charge of the paperwork again, reading long columns of numbers off and counting items in boxes. Really, she had thought George and Fred did this for the fun of it. From what she had seen of shopkeeping so far, it was anything but fun! By noon she was more bored than she could remember having been in her entire life. She had had more fun in detentions! Well, excepting the Carrows detentions, but she avoided thinking about those.

The family was sitting on the ground eating sandwiches that Kreacher had packed for them. They were far better than the corned beef that Mrs. Weasley made, and Ron had just made the mistake of saying so when Lee Jordan walked in and saved Ron from a lecture that had begun, “See if I ever cook for you again, young man!”

Lee’s radio show, it turned out, had hit a bit of a slump now that there was no more war to comment on. He had been feeling bored himself the last few days and was eager to help George get the joke shop in business again. He was going down Ginny’s inventory lists to see what he had to work with when Ginny commented on how she had never imagined that Fred did such dull work.

“He didn’t.” Lee explained instantly. “Either he made George do it or he hired staff. Fred was definitely the supervisor here. George’s going to have a time of it, making this work by himself. Not that he doesn’t know his stuff, but I always got the feeling Fred was the mastermind.” Ginny nodded. That sounded about right.

That was the last day that Ginny helped out in the shop. Lee and Ron took over for the rest of the week. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny helped out at Katie’s charity instead, but Ginny could tell that they were doing it only to stay busy. Both of their minds were back in Ottery St. Catchpole. Ginny felt an instinctive need to be close to wherever Fred’s baby was. Mrs. Weasley fussed and worried about what sort of a girl Amanda was and what sort of decisions she would make. “What if she decides to date another muggle and married him? What if we never get to see the little baby at all?” Ginny had no reply for this.

Ginny decided she had best call Amanda to warn her that the parents wanted to meet her on the weekend. George was able to locate the telephone number and Harry helped Ginny place the call at a local payphone.

“How do I use this thing, again?” Ginny asked Harry standing with the receiver in her hand and twisting the cord uncertainly.

“It’s easy.” He reassured her. “Just act like you are talking to me, but hold the receiver to your ear like this.” He put it in position for her. “I’ll dial the number and stay here. Just don’t shout in the phone. She’ll be able to hear you like you were right next to her.”

Ginny nodded uncertainly. She was regretting how much fun she had made of Ron’s troubles with the phone. Harry dialed in the number and she heard the odd sets of rings. Amanda picked up.

“Hey, Amanda. This is Ginny. George found your number for me.” Ginny looked at Harry. He nodded his approval of her volume.

“Listen, I don’t know if you’ve thought about this next weekend at all, but, I told my parents about you and they were wanting to come up and meet you too. They won’t if it would be awkward for you, or anything like that.” She paused.

“That’d be fine. Listen, Ginny,” Amanda replied from the other end, “I talked to my mum. And, I went down to the grave, and, sort of talked it out with Fred. And I felt like, well, it’s going to be ok. I’m definitely keeping the baby. So, I guess I should introduce myself to the grandparents, if they’re cool with it.”

Ginny grinned. “They’re thrilled. I’ll have Dad give you a call and arrange the details then.”

“Sounds good. Listen, Gin, I have to get back to the shop.”

“Of course. I’ll talk to you this weekend then. Goodbye.” Ginny handed the receiver to Harry and he put it back.

“She’s keeping the baby!” Ginny told him.

“Good.” Harry hugged her tightly. “That’s really good, Gin.” He kept his arm around her the entire way back to the house.

The next day Mr. Weasley had held a closely guided telephone conversation with Amanda from the Muggle Relations office at the ministry. He had said nothing of substance, merely asking if he could bring Molly and meet Amanda on Sunday. Ginny hoped they wouldn’t overwhelm the poor girl.

Ginny whispered this concern to Harry on Monday evening. He came up with a solution. After dinner that day, the whole family was invited to spend a few hours in a guided tour of Muggle London with Harry. Mrs. Weasley raised a few objections, “Is it really safe to be wandering about there with a few of the death eaters still on the loose?”

“Safer than in Diagon Alley,” Harry assured her.

Eventually, Molly was persuaded. Ginny noted during the interaction that her mother could not have known she had spent the last two Saturdays wandering Muggle London with Harry. She glanced over at her dad, but he merely raised a finger to his lips. Ginny decided to pretend this had been her first outing in Muggle London too. George took the whole thing as a joke. Percy declined, he had decided that he needed to move back into his own place, where Ginny assumed, he would be seeing a great deal more of his girlfriend.

All in all, with Percy gone and Harry in his element, it was one of the most enjoyable evenings the family had spent together that summer. It was so much fun that they repeated it the next day and the next. Mrs. Weasley was astonished at the size of the stores and the variety of things that could be bought readymade. Mr. Weasley kept commenting at the number of things that were electronic. And when Harry introduced them to a library, Ron commented that he knew now where Hermione must have spent the first eleven years of her life.

George had somewhat more experience than the others, having visited Muggle joke shops to glean ideas for products. He showed them to his favorite as part of Wednesday’s tour. They didn’t spend much time in there. Mrs. Weasley objected to the girl’s costumes that were sold alongside the jokes.

“How on earth could anyone think of showing so much skin?” She demanded as they walked out.

Ginny caught Harry’s eye and winked. George caught the gesture and laughed. Mrs. Weasley turned around instantly, “Do not tell me, George, that you would be seen in public with a girl dressed like that?!”

“Never, mum!” George answered instantly. He leaned down between Ginny and Harry and added in an undertone “in public!” causing Harry to blush and ask loudly where Mr. Weasley would like to go next. All in all, the Muggle relations training seemed to be a success. Still, Ginny wondered how the meeting Amanda and her family would go.

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Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Gryffindor girls

On Thursday, Mr. Weasley brought a letter for Ginny from Hogwarts. The family mail was still being searched by the ministry since they were living with Harry. So far, several threats and deadly items had been pulled out, both for the family and Harry. Harry’s mail, however, contained far more offers of undying love and various love potion laced treats. Given that Harry and Ginny never hung out together in the wizarding world, a good many ambitious witches assumed Harry was single and in desperate need of certain comforts following his victory. Ginny had demanded a list of their names when she heard Ron joking with George about it at the dinner table. Percy had laughed off her request. Harry simply said, “Don’t worry about it, Ginny.”

George added, “Besides, the ministry knows exactly who to trace bat-bogey hexes to.”

“Oh,” she had snapped, “that was not all I had in mind for them.” But she had stopped complaining about how long it took them to get mail after that.

Now she examined her letter. It was dated to Monday. She tore it open hoping to find McGonagall’s reply to her letter, but found a long letter instead telling her that there would exams for this year after all. They were to be held in October. Students were advised to study over the summer. A recommended reading list and study questions were included. This only made Ginny miss Hermione more.

“Are you sure there wasn’t a second letter from McGonagall?” Ginny asked her dad.

“No, honey, why would there be?”

“Oh.” Ginny looked over at Ron. Her dad had been out of the room for this conversation. “I’d sent her a letter, that’s all. Hermione had a question about next year for Ron. And Ron, uh, didn’t know the answer.”

“I’m sure she’ll write soon. But she’s very busy trying to get the school repaired on time. I hear that they are going to have a few parent work days this summer. They might let final year students help out. Would you like to go up for it?”

“Yes.” Ginny answered at the same time as Ron and Harry.

“Oh, are you guys going back then?” Ginny asked them.

“No,” Harry replied, “but we are final year students, aren’t we? I mean, we haven’t taken our exams.”

“Do you mean to tell me, I will be in the same grade as Hermione Granger next year? I’ll never be top at anything!” Ginny exclaimed.

“Welcome to my life,” Ron grinned. “So, Dad, family trip?”

“You can go up with your mum, if she wants to go. I won’t be able to. I’ve been given a promotion, but it comes with a lot more work.”

Ginny looked up. “You got a promotion, Dad? When?”

“Beginning of this week.”

“To what?” Ron was just as out of the loop as Ginny was.

“Dark Object Confiscation and Destruction,” Mr. Weasley replied. “Similar to work from before, but more general. There were a good many object created by the Death Eaters, it turns out. And not all easy to destroy. There have been some tricky ones. A few I’m still trying to figure out.”

“I bet there are.” Ron growled. “Like that locket. That locket did a number on us.”

“Yeah. Well, Ron, if you want to come back into the office before you start Auror training, there are a few objects you might be able to lend a hand with,” Mr. Weasley invited.

Ron blushed. “I guess,” was all of his response.

His reference to the locket made Ginny think of all the questions she still had for Harry. Living with him was not proving as good for her love life as she had hoped. With her parents around, they barely dared give each other quick pecks on the cheek. It was nice to sit next to him with his arm around her, but as nice as snogging him would be. He hadn’t ventured that even when they had been on dates in the Muggle world though. This Saturday, Ginny swore to herself, she would take him down some dark alley and snog the daylights out of him. Then, if they had time, she would ask several of her burning questions. Like, “if you were a Horcrux, how in the world did the Horcrux get destroyed and you are still alive?” That seemed like an important one. No questions was quite as important as giving him a good snog though.

Her plans for Saturday were crushed, however, when Harry brought home the news Friday night. Lavender had died from her wounds in the hospital. The funeral was Saturday at 2. Ron spoke with Hermione by phone that evening and Ginny was astonished when she turned up at the funeral.

“You’re here?” Ron managed to say when she walked in. He stood there looking at her like she was a ghost.

“Of course I’m here.” Hermione snapped back. At which point Ron apparently decided she was not a ghost and rushed over to snog her.

“I take it McGonagall set things straight then.” Ginny commented somewhat louder than was necessary.

Hermione broke the snogging off to answer, attempting to compose herself in a way more fitting for a friend’s funeral. “Yes. She came yesterday afternoon. She told my parents that Hogwarts was the only way for me to graduate since no other school will take transfers in the last year. That convinced Dad but Mum still wasn’t sure about it, but then Professor McGonagall mentioned that the Lestrange vault had paid for my final year in compensation for ‘inconveniences experienced at their premises.’ So there wasn’t much my mum could say after that. Then Professor McGonagall made sure I got the wand back, so I could practice over the summer and be sure to graduate. I won’t be able to stay with you this summer though. Dad’s still insistent that he wants me to himself. I’m sure Mum would rather be rid of me but…” she trailed off. “Anyway, he understood that this was important, so here I am.”

Lavender’s funeral felt different than the previous ones. Parvati and Padma were there, so upset that neither of them could get through their eulogies. No one would have thought of Lavender as a warrior if they hadn’t seen her in the last year at Hogwarts. Ginny owed a lot to her. She hadn’t told her family what Lavender had done for her. Neither Ginny nor the other girls spoke of it that evening. Ginny noticed that Hermione and Ron stood a little bit apart from the others. The last year at Hogwarts had drawn the students together, except, of course, for those who had been on the run.

Even with Lavender’s wounds from the battle, Ginny had expected that somehow she would bounce back. She’d managed to carry on vivaciously when they had visited at the hospital. Her death had an emptiness the others had lacked. A purposelessness, even a sense of defeat. Ginny tried her best to console the Pattel twins, but when the service was over she was instantly ready to leave. So was Ron.

It was earlier than their parents expected them home, so the four made the most of Hermione’s time out of the house by grabbing supper together in the Muggle world. Ginny found that Ron had not yet told Hermione about Amanda and the babies. Discussing that took up most of the dinner. Hermione asked when Amanda would be told about magic. Ginny had no answer for that. Had Amanda and Fred married, of course she would have been told. As things stood, the Muggle Relations Department had told her dad to hold off on disclosing this.

Hermione was really quite pleased with Ron’s progress when he paid for her food with his own Muggle money. Ginny thought, given how well Ron handled the dinner out, that there was a small chance her family would do ok with meeting Amanda the next day. She gasped and realized that she had forgotten to tell her mom about Amanda’s tattoo and piercings. She’d have to give her warning.

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Chapter 9: Chapter 9: The Tale of the Phoenix

It was a clear summer’s day in Ottery St. Catchpole when five redheads and a brunette walked up the street together, causing more than a few people to stare. George leaned over to Harry. “They’re looking at you, kid. We’re a matched set except for you.”

“Stop it, George,” Ginny complained. “And what house number are we looking for?”

“Two houses up and on the left,” George answered by way of reply. Amanda had decided that as this was a meet the family affair everyone should meet her mum too. Ginny wasn’t sure if this was the best move, but as she hadn’t been on the phone call arranging the details it was out of her control. George knocked confidently on the door when they arrived. He had, apparently, been a guest here before.

“Welcome.” A middle aged woman with short salt-and-pepper hair opened the door. “You must be the Weasleys. Please come in. Amanda!” She shouted up the stairs while opening the door wide.

“It’s good to meet you, Mrs. Walsh!” Arthur exclaimed, shaking her hand.

“No reason to call me Mrs. Walsh. I’m Mary.” The warm response set everyone at ease.

Arthur introduced everyone once they were inside as, “This is my family. My wife Molly. George you’ve met. My son Ron. My daughter Ginny. And Harry.”

Ginny shook her head at the inadequacy of the final introduction. “Harry’s my boyfriend.” She offered by way of explanation.

“Yes, well, he’s part of the family too.” Molly commented. Fortunately Mary and Amanda both took this in stride.
Molly practically crushed Amanda in a hug and broke down in tears instantly. She pulled herself together quickly. “Sorry, dear. It’s just, I wish I had met you earlier, during happier times.”

Molly and Arthur had been warned over breakfast about tattoos, piercings, and clothing choice and been forced to give Ginny their absolute sworn word not to comment on it. Ron, however, had missed the briefing. In a bold attempt to lighten the mood, he pointed to Amanda’s arm. “Nice phoenix. Looks like a real one.”

“It is well done, isn’t it?” Amanda replied, grateful for the divergence. “I was pleased with how it turned out. I got it to remind me of Fred.”

“How’s a phoenix remind you of Fred?” Ron asked, puzzled. “Besides being red, I guess.”

“Oh.” Amanda paused. “Well, I used to pester him about being gone so much, and he told me he was part of a security and intelligence team, called the Order of the Phoenix. That that’s what kept him busy and away so much. Actually, he said I shouldn’t mention it to anyone, but, well, you’re his family and seeing as he’s gone–“

Ginny gasped. Harry’s eyebrows had gone up. Arthur and Molly looked suddenly frozen.

“Sorry.” Amanda whispered. “Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned it after all.”

The silence was stretching to an uncomfortable length.

“Amanda,” Ginny said, tentatively breaking the tension, “You know how you were worried about whether you and Fred were as close as you thought? If he told you about the Order then, well, you were really close. He didn’t trust many people to know that. Even most of his friends from school didn’t. I mean, everyone thought the biggest thing he did was open the joke shop.” Ginny laughed nervously.

Amanda twisted her arm around to look at it. “I thought it was an odd name for an intelligence group. I tried to look it up. There wasn’t anything I could find. Wait–“ Amanda looked around the family. “That doesn’t have anything to do with why he died. Did it?” She looked George in the eye. “You said it was a house fire.”

Everyone looked nervously around. Arthur cleared his throat. “No one is supposed to know about the Order of the Phoenix, Amanda. Fortunately, most of us were in it. But, when someone died in the Order… I’m afraid George had to give you the stock story.”

Ginny watched Amanda closely as her dad said this. A lesser girl would have dissolved into tears and started shouting about lies. Instead, Amanda set her jaw. “I want the real story.” Her voice was remarkably calm and determined.

“Course you do.” George answered gruffly.

“I’m afraid we can’t tell you all of it.” Arthur said firmly. “Fred died a hero, though, you should know that. He died defending....” But he trailed off, his voice choked up with tears that the family hadn’t seen since the funeral.

Mary put her arm around Amanda. “You lead an interesting life, dear.” She commented quietly, giving Arthur time to gather himself together. Molly had been quietly crying again. Even Ginny felt a bit strained keeping it together.

“It’s all tosh, Dad.” Ron managed thickly. “She might as well know. She’s going to, anyhow. You explain it, Harry. You know how to.”

Harry looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully, then met Ron’s eye. There was a careful look that Ginny hadn’t seen since the Battle, when he tried to describe why they need to find an item from Ravenclaw.

“Fred was in the Order of the Phoenix. Like he said: it was a security and intelligence group. The group was working on tracking down a man, and his gang. It was a group of mass murders really. You probably heard about a lot of the weird stuff that was going on last year. A lot of the weirder murders that made the papers.” He looked at Amanda. She nodded. “Fred and George, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, they were all on a team, tracking down the group that was responsible.”

“Did he find out who did it?” Amanda asked thickly.

“Yes.” Harry answered decisively. “He did. And he got caught it a fight. He was defending his…” Harry looked uncertainly at the Weasleys, “his team.” He finished.

“Did they catch them? The murderers?” Mary asked. Amanda seemed to be taking some time to digest the new story.

“Yes. We’ve rounded up almost everyone. Tom Riddle was the leader. He called his gang the Death Eaters. And they’re in jail now.” There was a ferocity in Harry’s answer that Mary didn’t miss.

“Were you in the Order too then?” She asked.

“Not officially.” Harry answered. “They wouldn’t let me in.” The side of Harry’s mouth twitched up on one side. He looked over at Molly. “On account of my being too young.”

“You can’t be any younger than Fred and George were,” Mary responded with some confusion.

Ron snorted.

“Two years younger,” Harry replied graciously. “Same age as Ron.” He added.

Ginny looked carefully between George and Harry. Mary wasn’t unreasonable in her guess. Harry wasn’t quite as tall as George, or Ron for that matter, but his face was more scarred and more worn and far more serious. He looked like he could be a good bit older than he was. How old would she guess him to be, if she had to?

“Fred was 19, wasn’t he? I’ve never heard of anyone that young being allowed onto a detective team actually. Not on a high profile case. And I read a good many news stories. How did he come to be on the team?” Mary was still keeping the conversation up. Amanda was sitting next to her, looking at the table and absently chewing her nails.

“I never should have allowed it.” Molly replied softly.

“Nonsense, Mum. You tried to keep us off and couldn’t, remember?” George supplied. “And Fred was twenty. Same as me. I expect we got on the team because of our prodigious talents and dashing good looks!”

This last comment got everyone laughing and lightened the mood considerably.

“I expect being on that team was how you lost your ear then?” Mary scolded. “And I went and bought your lie about it being a motorcycle accident. Well, see if I believe a word you say from here on out!”

“I expect that’s a good policy.” Harry chuckled. “I stopped believing a word the twins said during my first year at Hogwarts.”

“That was your school?” Amanda asked, rejoining the conversation.

“Yes. It’s a public school, in Scotland. Ginny still goes there.”

The rest of the visit was rather more relaxed than the beginning had been. Amanda was content that she had gotten the true story. She didn’t blame Ginny and George for giving her the stock version. She was vehemently glad the murders were in jail and was only surprised that it hadn’t entered the papers. Her mum commented that murders were always more interesting than trials anyway, and the talk turned around to what the family was doing now. This, fortunately, was rather more boring. George swore that he had dropped out of the Order and was now working only on the joke shop. Ron, however, was about to enter police training along with Harry. Arthur was sorting through evidence for the trials. These were the best Muggle equivalents that Harry had come up with before the visit. Molly was a homebody and Ginny was studying up for her final year of school.

“Believe me, I think we’ve had enough work on high profile cases to last us for a long time. It’s nice to settle down into a quieter life after last year.” Molly stated firmly, though she seemed to be addressing Ron and Harry as much as explaining anything their new acquaintances.

Discussion then turned to rebuilding the Weasley’s family house, a debate of how many rooms they would rebuild it with now that kids were grown and many offers to help out with the upcoming member of the family however they could. All in all, Ginny thought as they walked out of the village to a spot where they could safely apparate, they had managed to pretend to be Muggles pretty well. Except for Ron’s comment about the tattoo looking like a real phoenix! Honestly, she would have to get on him about that one. As for Harry, he deserved a special thank you for coming up with the Muggle version of the story on the spot like that.

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Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Problems with Dreams

Unfortunately, Ginny didn’t get much of a chance to tell Harry thank you that evening. Her dad had him cornered in a discussion of Muggle gadgets that he had observed during their visit. “So, when she made the tea, she took a kettle, and filled it, then just put it down on the counter, and plugged it in. How does that work then?”

“Well, it’s electric. It has this coil, in the base, and that heats up the water.” Harry made eye contact with Ginny. She shrugged. Extricating him from her dad after a visit into the real Muggle world would be impossible.

When her dad had finally given up and was about to turn in to bed, Harry got an urgent request to confirm a suspect for the Auror department. He was gone late that night, so late that when Ginny woke startled from a bad dream and snuck up to his room to talk about it, he still wasn’t there. This worried her almost as much as her dream. She’d been in Ottery St. Catchpole and there had been Death Eaters and they had been attacking Amanda. She shook herself. She was just being silly. There was no reason for Death Eaters to attack Amanda. There were hardly any more Death Eaters out there. She went back down to her room and shut the door. She did wish she knew where Harry was, and what he was up to.

Ginny found herself with literally nothing to do that week. Hermione had promised copies of her notes, but these hadn’t yet arrived. Mrs. Weasley was feeling tired from the outing of the day before and decided not to volunteer that day. Instead, Ginny went down with George to help out in the shop as needed. It was open for business now, and George stationed her at the cash register, a job which required no magic whatsoever and was deadly dull. The first day saw three customers. The next day, two. For the first time in her life, Ginny started anticipating study time. At least when she got Hermione’s notes and her school things, she would have something to do besides push buttons and count change once every three hours.

The week passed slowly. Harry and Ron had taken an evening shift staking out someone. They refused to say who. They were gone when she arrived home from the shop and sleeping when she left in the morning. George guessed that business would be busier on Saturday, and as Harry wasn’t up yet by 10 that morning, Ginny went to work again that day. She worked till seven that evening and got supper at the pub with Hannah Abbott. Ginny had been hoping that Harry would stop by or send a message, but there was nothing. She was starting to wonder if he was avoiding her on purpose, but she couldn’t think of why. They hadn’t fought about anything.

Ginny slept late Sunday. She stumbled down to the kitchen still in her bathrobe with only half an hour left in the morning.

“Morning, sunshine.” Her dad was sitting there finishing the paper.

“Hey, dad.” Ginny grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down, still unaware of the time. “Harry up yet?”

Mr. Weasley looked at his daughter quizzically. “He was up three hours ago. He waited to see if you would get up, but he left just a bit ago to see Teddy.”

“Oh.” Ginny buried her face in her coffee mug hoping that her dad couldn’t see the disappointment. Why hadn’t Harry told her that he was visiting Teddy? She could have gotten up earlier. She would have if she had known. Instead, she spent a dull afternoon cooped up in the dark house. Harry didn’t arrive back until late that afternoon. Ginny’s mood was far too sour to talk to him by then.

Monday returned to the routine of work. If this was what coming of age looked like, Ginny thought as she sat at the counter, she wanted nothing to do with it. Fortunately, she’d agreed to meet Hermione to collect school supplies tomorrow, but that meant even less that needed to be done for the day. Business hadn’t picked up yet and Ginny had checked out a total of three customers by the time she took a lunch break.

She wandered down the Katie’s charity, knowing that there would at least be people there she could talk to. She was presently surprised to see Luna in the group of volunteers. They chatted the entire way through lunch and Luna stopped in by the store later that afternoon. She had been rather lonely, Ginny could tell. Their family had never been well-connected and were even less so since her dad had flip-flopped sided during the war. Harry had managed to get him amnesty, but even so–well, any witch other than Luna would have said it was quite stressful. Instead, Luna merely commented, “I’ve been by myself a great deal. Daddy’s got our tower fixed enough to live in. It would be ever so nice if you could come over.” To which Ginny had given her whole hearted assurance that she would, reflecting only after Luna had left that she would need to get her mum’s agreement.

“How’s Luna doing dear?” Molly asked her daughter when she mentioned the meeting that evening.

“She’s ok. Nothing really shakes Luna, Mum. She’s amazing that way. She’s been a bit lonely though. She asked me to come over and stay with her for a bit.” Ginny glanced sideways to gauge her mum’s reaction.

“It’s nice that she’d like to have you, but it’s been so nice to be together as a family.”
It wasn’t a straight no, and that meant Ginny had room to negotiate. “Luna and I both need to do some studying. She missed most of last year and I missed two months. Hermione is copying her notes for us, but it would be nice if we could study together. The boys are preoccupied with Auror stuff. They’re already so busy we barely see them in the evening. And George doesn’t need me in the shop with Lee helping out. It has been great to have everyone together, but I need to be with a friend for a bit. Besides, if I stayed with Luna, I could pop in and check on Amanda, from time to time.” She tried to slip the end on as casually as possible, but something in the way she said it made Molly react sharply.

“It would be nice for you to check in on her dear. But she seemed to be doing just fine. She didn’t mention something to you about her pregnancy that I missed, did she?”

“No,” Ginny had to admit, before telling her mom about the nasty dream. She’s had it three times now. It was not helping her nerves.

“Amanda is fine, Ginny. There’s no reason at all for you to need to look in on her. Your nerves are just wound up from last year. ” Molly shook her head. “And no wonder. We’ve all be stretched. I expect it will take a while for us to calm down. But there’s no reason for you to think you need to go and be a hero somewhere. Everything is just fine.”

Ginny shook herself. She shouldn’t have brought Amanda up. Ever since Amanda had let out that she knew about the Order of the Phoenix, Ginny had been nervous. Not that it was a logical nervous, but she had a feeling. If she wanted to convince her mum, however, she would need to try a different tack.

“I’m sure you’re right.” She said. “It’s just, I feel like she’s so alone without Fred. It would be nice for her to have someone to talk to, you know, about missing him.”

Molly softened immediately. “You’re right, dear. Of course. I’m being a bit jealous wanting you to myself. But I would have thought you would want to stay at Grimmauld Place. Are you sure you’ll be alright leaving Harry? Are you two alright?”

“We’re fine.” Ginny replied a bit too quickly. She knew her mum noticed. “It’s a bit awkward, mum, if you have to know, with you and dad there and Harry busy. It’s a bit weird to start dating someone by living with them. And it doesn’t make studying for next year any easier. He’s distracting.” She hoped this would cover things, and it did.

“Yes, dear. I can see that. Perhaps you need a bit of distance then. Get some studies done. Well, if it’s alright with you Dad, I suppose I could spare you for a few days. I was thinking of helping out Andromeda with the baby for a while.” That settled it. Ginny knew her dad wouldn’t question the visit if her mum agreed to it. She would be off to Luna’s by the end of the week.

Hermione had told Ron and Ginny that she would be in Diagon Alley on Tuesday to get her supplies. Ron and Harry were working again, but Ginny had agreed to do her shopping at the same time. She met her at Flourish and Botts first thing that morning.

Hermione was flustered and out of sorts when she arrived. She was underweight and still groggy. She'd been up with nightmares the night before, but didn't say anything else about it. They grabbed coffee before heading out for their shopping. Hermione had her book and supply list, but they spent considerable time browsing. This was the way book shopping with Hermione always went, and Ginny expected it. They left the store with three books that were not on either of their lists, Theories of Arithmancy and Its Application in Potions, a History of the Regulation of Magical Creatures, and Quidditch Strategies for Chasers. The last was Hermione’s very belated birthday present to Ginny, having missed it the year before.

The girls were chatting pleasantly when they entered the apothecary. Both girls needed to buy almost everything again. Hermione had had to leave most of her stuff behind at the Burrow, where it had been destroyed with all of Ginny’s supply that hadn’t been at school during the Easter break. What had happened to her stuff at school was anyone’s best guess, so Ginny was starting from scratch.

“I know Ron wishes we were together this year, but I kind of don’t,” Hermione confided as they were gathering their potions ingredients.

“What do you mean?” Ginny asked sharply. If Hermione had reservations about her brother, she had better break up now. Ron was going deep into this and, as annoying as he was, Ginny didn’t want him heartbroken.

“It’s just…I’ve been with him for the last seven years. Haven’t I? We’ve done everything together, all the time. And it’s always been about Harry and Voldemort, or Ron and Quidditch. I spent last year living with the two for goodness sake! They know what they want to do with their lives, but I don’t. If I stick around here, it will just be the two guys and their sidekick Hermione. I need some time to figure out who I am, without worrying about Ron. Come to think of it, he probably needs some time without me there nagging him too. I’m just a bit nervous because, well, I didn’t put much effort into making other friends, did I? I have a feeling I’m about to regret it.” Hermione weighed out the appropriate amount of boomslang powder.

“All anyone knows about me is I’m smart. And this summer, Ginny, I don’t know what’s happened to me. I can’t study anymore. I can’t concentrate for more than five minutes. I’m not going to be top of the clas. I’ve been out of school for a year. I won’t be the brightest witch anymore. And, nobody knows anything else about me.”

She had a fair point and Ginny knew it. School would not be easy for Hermione without Harry and Ron. “I think I know you.” Ginny offered. “And Luna would be your friend if you let her in. The Pattel girls would probably be great study mates too, provided you don’t show off when you’re with them.”

“Show off what?” Hermione asked with genuine concern. “I seriously can’t study anything anymore. My dad made me practice driving and learning Muggle things all summer. I’ll be way behind.”

That, Ginny thought, was unlikely. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. And it’s perfectly normal to need some space. I mean, I’ve been living with Harry for a month and I’m already planning to move out.” Ginny laughed nervously.

“Oh no! What’s wrong?” Hermione looked at the younger girl sharply. “Are you two fighting?”

“Nothing like that.” Ginny tried to be dismissive. “He’s so busy we hardly get to talk at all, and with Ron hanging around…” She trailed off. Hermione wasn’t easily put off. She stood there with her arms crossed, expectant. “Hermione, lay off, ok. It’s just like you said. I need some space. Or he does. One of the two. I don’t know honestly.”

“Have you talked to him about this?” Hermione looked concerned.

“No. That’s just it. He doesn’t talk to me about anything, Hermione! He still hasn’t told me about his last year. I mean, bits and pieces, yes” she added as Hermione looked shocked. “It’s just, I wish I knew more. That’s all. I’ll be back for Harry’s birthday though. Are you going to come?”

“Of course I’m coming, but don’t change the subject! You’re telling me that you’ve been living with Harry for a month and he’s still not talking to you about last year.”

If anything, Hermione’s concern was making Ginny feel much worse about this. She’d been hoping the older girl would say something like, you know Harry; he needs time to open up. Instead, Hermione was confirming Ginny’s suspicion that Harry had been anything but normal toward her.

“Do you think he’s too old for me, Hermione?” She asked, expressing the insecurity that had surfaced from Mary’s comment a week ago.

“What, because he’s of age now and you’re not? Seriously, Ginny, I didn’t think you were one to be bothered by that!”

“No, I mean, since he got back from,” Ginny waved her hand around, “he seems so much older. He’s so much more mature. I was dating a boy when he left. A dashing, heroic, sporty boy who liked nothing better than snogging me. Now he’s a moody, serious, rugged, manly, and doesn’t make any moves to snog me at all. I can’t figure out what went wrong.” She finished pathetically.

“To you first point, Ginny. When you started dating Harry you were a 15 year old schoolgirl whose only thought in life was Quidditch. Now you’re a battle veteran who’s trying to help her brother keep his business while providing care and security to a niece or nephew, whichever it is, and begging me for notes so you can study during your summer vacation. I dare say you’ve grown up too.” Hermione was smiling at her sadly.

“Don’t call me a battle veteran,” Ginny grumbled, ”It makes me sound like an old man with grey hair.”

Hermione laughed. She picked up her supplies and took them to the counter to pay. The store girl wondered aloud how Hermione and Ginny would manage to carry it all around, but Hermione merely smiled sweetly and assured her that they would manage. Her bundles in tow, she and Ginny stepped back out onto the street.

“Hold still a minute.” Hermione said, ducking in an alley that ran alongside. She pulled two canvas bags out of the purse she had been holding and gave one to Ginny. “Put your stuff in this. It should hold it all.” The bag certainly didn’t look like it would hold a cauldron, weights, and an entire stock of NEWT level potions, but Ginny knew Hermione’s tricks well enough to go along. Sure enough, the whole set, plus her books, fit in neatly. Ginny lifted the bag to her shoulder easily.

“I love you, Hermione.” She smiled lazily. “And I especially love your undetectable extension charms. You really should teach George how to make these. I bet he could make a mint off them.”

“He’ll be making a mint soon enough already.” Hermione replied. “And he’s plenty good at charms. He doesn’t need me teaching him this.” She had put all her supplies in her own bag. They turned back to the street. “As for Harry’s snogging you,” Hermione continued as if there had been no break in the earlier conversation, “I think you were usually the one making the first move there. Not that he didn’t enjoy it,” she clarified. “Have you been, uh, trying?”

Ginny kicked a piece of gravel that had come loose from the cobblestone. It skittered down the street, scaring a cat that was scavenging a trash bin. “I made the last move,” she said lamely. “This one’s his turn.”
Hermione shook her head. “Harry’s not the most confident in that area, Gin” she reminded her gently. “At least talk to him? Maybe tell him what’s bothering you?”

Ginny shrugged. She’d tried to think of how that conversation would go, but every way that she phrased it she sounded like an insecure teenage girlfriend. It was unfortunately the horrible truth, but not something she cared to let Harry see.

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Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Curses and Explanations

Ginny and Luna had discussed her visiting starting on Thursday. Ginny had sent a confirmation after talking things over with her dad, but it was late Wednesday evening before she managed to tell Harry. Whatever he and Ron had been working on was keeping them late. She had assumed they were at the office, but they came back at 8 that evening soaked and muddy. Harry had gone off to his room immediately to dry off, then he and Ron met back together in the kitchen. Ginny walked in only to have them break off their conversation.

“Fine then,” she snapped, “don’t tell me anything. Why should you? You never have before.” She turned and went right back up to her room. She was throwing things into the trunk for her trip to Luna’s when someone knocked on the door.
“Come in,” she growled. Harry opened the door and stepped in. He looked in confusion between Ginny and her trunk.
“I, er–“ he stalled. “What are you doing?”

“I’m packing.” Ginny fought down a scream. “I’m packing so I can leave here and go to Luna’s. It’s not like I ever see you here anyway and heaven forbid you should tell me what you’re doing! I don’t know what the use of staying here is if you’re just going to ignore me. You won’t talk to me about anything. I’m your girlfriend and I find out what you’ve been up to after the papers do. Bloody Hermione’s still the first to know bloody everything. I’m sick and tired of it. I stay here and worry about what you’re doing and what you’re going through and you refuse to tell me. Well, I’m going somewhere where I won’t know if you’re gone all hours. And I won’t see you when you come back all muddy from who knows what! I would have told you days ago, but you’re never around are you?”

Harry shut the door behind him and twitched his wand across it. Ginny guessed that none of her family could hear her now, but she was past caring if they did.

“You’re leaving?” Harry asked quietly.

“Yes.” Ginny sat on her bed and pulled her knees up.

“Are you coming back?”

“Do you want me to?”

“Of course I do, Ginny.” Harry slumped down and sat with his back resting on the door. “I’m sorry I’ve been gone, Gin. I want to be around you. But, there are things I have to do. There are people we still have to track down. I have to finish this, Gin.”

“Can’t someone else, Harry? You had to be the one with Voldemort. I don’t know why, and I do wish you would tell me but…but you did. And that was fine. And you left. And you destroyed him. Can’t you let someone else take this now? Do you have to always be gone?” Ginny hated the sound of herself as she said it. She was just a weak, whiny teenage girl after all.

Harry sat quietly for a long time. “Are you still my girlfriend, Ginny?” He asked at last.

“Do you want me to be?” Ginny whispered softly. “You broke up with me before you left, and, well, you’ve never exactly asked me since you got back.” She hadn’t realized how much it bothered her until she said it. It was silly, really, everyone else knew they were a couple. But she needed to hear it from him.

Harry made a move to get up, then groaned and slumped back down, wincing. Ginny slipped off her bed and sat facing him. He was injured somewhere. She pulled his shirt up over his head. He didn’t resist. A dark bruise covered half his back. Several other scars and wounds in various stages of healing were also evident. “Who did this to you?” She asked quietly, trying to keep the worry out of her voice.

“I think it was Rowle.” Harry groaned. “Not sure though.”

Ginny bit her lip. “We should get mum to take a look at you.”

“In a minute,” he replied. “Ginny, listen, I do want you to be my girlfriend. I just, I don’t know what a normal life looks like now. I know I want to be with you, but I also know I have things to take care of. Like, Rowle. He got away, and there are other with him…we’ve got to find them.”

Ginny leaned in and kissed him. “I know.” She replied “I just worry. And you’re a lot to worry about.”

“Well,” Harry tried to adjust to a more comfortable position, “if being with Luna will make you worry less….” He paused. “Just promise me you’ll come back.”

“I’ll be back in two weeks, at the latest. Luna and I have a lot of catching up to do with our lessons, but that will get old soon. Promise me when I get back, you’ll tell me everything?”

“Okay.” Harry nodded. “It’s not a nice story, really Gin. But if you want to hear it…”

“Of course I do. Now, let’s get you taken care of.” She slipped her arm behind Harry from the uninjured side and helped him to his feet before opening the door and calling out for help. Ron and Molly came quickly and helped Harry back down to the kitchen.

Molly ran her wand over Harry’s side and clucked her tongue. “Broken ribs. I can heal it, but we need to get this shirt off.” Harry moved to pull the shirt off, but groaned and gave up quickly. Molly waved her wand and scissors flew out of the far kitchen drawer and into her hand. She cut the shirt from the bottom up to the neck, exposing Harry’s chest. “Harry Potter! What is this?” Molly pointed to a spot over Harry’s heart. A nasty, lightning shaped scab sat on top of skin of fading yellow and green. Slightly above that there was another red scar, round and thick. Other tiny little scars covered just about every inch of Harry’s arms, along with a deep indented scar on one forearm. No wonder the boy hadn’t wanted to make out, Ginny reflected, staring at his chest. There was probably no where she could touch him without causing pain.

Ron cleared his throat on the far end of the kitchen, causing Ginny to jump. Molly turned around. “You’ve seen plenty of boys bare chested, Ginny.” She chided. “Ron, go get Harry’s robes. And get your father down here. We are taking him to St. Mungo’s.”

“No.” Harry objected. “I don’t want anyone to see me. Reporters, and...”

“I’ll get Madam Pomfrey.” Ginny suggested. “She was fussing that you never came to see her after the battle Harry. She’s at St. Mungo’s this summer, but she’ll come over.” She walked over to the fireplace and threw Floo powder in before her mum could argue. The fireplace was connected to the Ministry, and the Ministry to St. Mungo’s. Madam Pomfrey was off duty, but the witch at the front desk sent a message. Madam Pomfrey joined Ginny in a few minutes and followed her back through the Floo Network. She stepped out of the fireplace and greeted Molly while looking Harry over.

“Good job with the ribs, Molly. When is this from?” She pointed to the lighting shaped wound.

“The battle.” Harry replied.

“What was the curse?”

“Avada Kedavra.” Harry seemed reluctant to even say the words. Ginny sucked in her breath, as did Madam Pomfrey.

“Well, you’re alive, but this isn’t healing properly. There’s something in the scar above it too. I need to know what caused that.”

“A locket. It sort of got stuck to me and Hermione cut it out.”

“How does a locket get stuck to you?” Madam Pomfrey had put her wand down on the table and was feeling the scar with her fingers as she talked.

“Oh.” Ron spoke from his chair across the table. Harry’s robe was lying forgotten in front of him.

“Yes?” Madam Pomfrey looked over.

“Well, that locket. It, erm, had a curse on it. Bill had to treat me for it. Took him a few tries. I thought, seeing as it was destroyed....” Ron trailed off, but his eyes darted over to Ginny.

“I’ll get Bill.” She moved back over to the fireplace.

“Wait up.” Her mum grabbed her arm before she made it over this time. “Ron, when did Bill treat you for this? And Ginny, what do you know.”

“Nothing.”

“Christmas.”

Madam Pomfrey looked over to Ron. “It occurs to me that I haven’t seen you since the battle either young man. Take your shirt off then!”

“Really, no need,” Ron began, but he quailed under the witch’s glare and pulled his shirt off over his head. “Happy?”

“No.” Molly and Madam Pomfrey spoke together.
There was a nasty scar wrapping one of Ron’s shoulders and the same tiny scars that Harry had covered Ron’s torso too. “Splinched myself. Hermione had a time of it. It had already scarred before Bill and Fleur saw it.” Ron pointed to his shoulder. “The rest are flagrante curses from Gringotts, and, you know, random things. Harry’s are more interesting, as always, really.”

“Shirt on. Get Bill!” Molly ordered.

Ginny sat down in the chair next to Harry. He blushed and moved slightly away from her. Madam Pomfrey kept examining Harry, muttering and clicking under her tongue. Bill arrived a few moments later along with Fleur.

“We’re dealing with multi-layered curses here, Bill. Your brother seems to think you are familiar with a few of them.” Madam Pomfrey indicated Harry.

Bill nodded. “It’s going to take a while if it’s the same as Ron’s. Let’s move him up to his room.”

Ginny tried to follow, but Fleur held her back. “You will see him later. Let Bill work.” Ginny went back to her room and tried to finish packing as the others worked. She was always left out of these things. She heard Kingsley arrive downstairs a few minutes later and went out into the hall to intercept him.

“Is Harry going to be ok?” She demanded.

“I would imagine so, Ginny.” Kingsley reassured her, “but it turns out he was keeping a few things secret even from me. I have not seen the wounds yet.”

“Mom ask you to come? or Bill?” Ginny tried to gauge what she was dealing with.

“Your mother sent me a howler about how I employ children as aurors and fail to look after them.”

George had poked his head out into the hall. “You got a howler, Minister? Welcome to the family then. And what’s this about Harry? No one tells me anything.”

“I think I will let Ginny explain, if she would be so kind as to direct me to Harry’s room first.” Ginny did, then spent a few minutes catching George up to speed.

Kingsley came back out of the room and found her. “Ginny, you may be able to offer some assistance in this case. When Dumbledore assisted you after Riddle’s diary, do you by any chance remember what he did?”

“He called Snape. Snape muttered a lot and made me take a bunch of potions. Why?”

“I believe I will have Madam Pomfrey consult the portraits then, and perhaps the pensieve. It seems that some of the objects that Harry and Ron handled have lingering curse effects. I’m sure they will be fine, but I need my star trainee auror back in action sooner rather than later. I will also be contacting Neville, as I understand he may have handled something similar.” Kingsley maintained eye contact with Ginny as he said this. He headed out. Madam Pomfrey followed soon. Fleur went back to Shell Cottage, while Bill accompanied his mother to her bedroom for a long overdue explanation of Ron’s visit.

Later that evening, Ginny knocked on Harry’s bedroom door. He was lying on top of the covers with potion infused bandages wrapping most of his body. “I would really think the aurors would check you over for injuries.” She pulled some of the bandage back to check on the progress. The bruise had turned a nasty shade of green, but this, she knew, indicated healing.

“Well, they would have,” Harry said sheepishly, trying to turn his head so he could see Ginny, “but I told them I was alright.”

Ginny put the bandage down and poked Harry in the arm. “If I ever hear of you doing that again!” She warned. Harry chuckled. “What, you’ll give me a worse bruising?”

“Don’t put it past me!” Ginny smiled. It was nice to be talking to him again. She was going to miss him when she was gone after all. She leaned down and kissed him. “I just wanted to make sure that I got my goodbye. I didn’t want you sneaking off without seeing me in the morning. You should get some sleep now.” She squeezed his hand and left the room. Tomorrow she would be off to see Luna, and to make sure Amanda was alright. She wished she could shake the feeling she had about that.

As things turned out, Ginny got to spend quite a bit of time with Harry the next morning. Kingsley had agreed with Molly that Harry needed rest. He had a direct order from the minister that he not report to work that morning. Harry and Ginny left Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen arguing with Kreacher over the cooking. The pair shut themselves in the Parlor for a long overdue conversation on the events of last year. Ginny made Harry go first. He had only just covered the essentials–where they had been, how they had found the horcruxes and who had destroyed which one, up to the Hogwarts battle–when her Mum called up that it was 12:55 and they needed to leave. She kissed Harry goodbye with a promise to talk about her year later.

Back to index


Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Luna and the Muggles

Ginny was used to Side-Along-Apparition. She landed with her mum on the hill across from Luna’s and shook the compressed feeling out. Molly sat down on the grass for a minute and Ginny, concerned, sat next to her. “You alright, Mum?”

“Yes, dear. Of course. I was just thinking how we used to live so close by. Yet I never came out this way. I should have gotten out more, I suppose.” Molly wiped her eyes with her sleeve, trying to pretend she wasn’t crying.

“Well, we spent a lot of time at Grimmauld Place, actually.” Ginny tried to cover. “Besides, with the Floo Network, we sort of measure distance…differently than Muggles, don’t we? It’s not like the actual miles between homes matter so much.”

“True.” Molly steadied her voice. “She was still your best friend in school, wasn’t she? You would think I would have had her over. Goodness knows Ron’s friends were over all the time.”

Luna saw them through the window before they arrived and ran out to meet them. “It’s so nice to see a friend, Ginny. I’ve never been here when a friend visited before. Ron told me he came by last year, of course, but that didn’t go very well, did it?”

“Your dad blew up your house when he tried to Stun Harry. So yeah, not very well,” Ginny agreed.

Luna gave Mrs. Weasley a hug, too. “I’m glad you came along. There hasn’t been any woman in the house since Mum died. I’m not sure how you’ll find it. I can make tea though. But Ron said not Gurdyroots. I guess they are an acquired taste.”

Ginny grinned. This was going to be a fun week. Gurdyroots sounded much more interesting than tallying up cash register totals. They walked under a damaged dirigible plum tree and into the house. Molly did not stay for long, but promised she would be back often in the future, particularly once the Burrow was rebuilt.

Ginny and Luna were together on the pretext of studying, but it was the very last thing that either of them talked about that day. Luna, having the advantage of being seventeen already, had been through the country seeing all their friends and gave Ginny all the news. Ginny, in turn, told Luna all about Fred’s girlfriend.

“She lives in the village? Can I meet her?” Luna asked eagerly.

“I was hoping to go down there, actually. So you’d better come along.” Ginny laughed. This would be a fun introduction, and she wasn’t about to pass up the chance.

“I should warn you though, I’ve been having this dream, about Amanda and the village.”

Luna was an attentive listener, but she was taking it so much in stride that Ginny felt a need to dismiss her own feelings about the dream. “I was never one for Divination. Mum says it’s just the stress from last year. Anyway, I’ve just been a bit tense about visiting the village. I feel like I need to get there sooner not later.” Ginny had taken her wand out and was absentmindedly twisting it between her fingers.

“It might be just the stress.” Luna fixed Ginny with her big eyes. “You’ve had it exactly the same way for three times?”

“Yes. Well, it would have been four, but George was banging around and woke me up.”

“I think your brain must be practicing,” Luna determined.

“Practicing for what?”

“For duelling, when you need to,” Luna stated, as if it was obvious.

Ginny shrugged. “When should we visit the village, then? Not today. It’s getting late. Amanda’s shop will be closed and I don’t know that I should knock on her house door yet.”

They determined on going mid-day the next morning. Luna had a skirt that she had worn to Colin’s funeral. She borrowed a top from Ginny, reflecting that all black was bad luck. They looked an odd set as they walked down to the village. Luna walked in a long black skirt, with bright blue ballet flats and a bright green blouse. She had stuck sunflowers and peonies every which way through a very messy bun, giving the illusion that she had a bird’s nest made of flowers up top her head. Ginny had on jeans and a cropped T-shirt that her mother would never have let her out in public with. She had bought it at a store near Diagon Alley during a lunch break, feeling proud of her own mastery of Muggle money. She was planning on wearing it out with Harry some time, but seeing as they hadn’t had any time recently, this was her first outing with it on. She would have felt self-conscious, but, she reasoned, Luna would be attracting all the attention, so she had nothing to worry about.

The village was not large. They walked in on Mill Street and turned up Stoatshead Hill. Amanda was helping a scruffy, middle-aged man sort through a box of records when they arrived. She looked up, raised her eyebrows, gave Ginny a once over and smirked, all while continuing her sales pitch. Ginny stuck her tongue out in reply and turned her back, pretending to be hugely interested in a bass guitar. Luna walked around the place, making herself quite at home and humming happily.

“Nice tune,” the gruff man commented. Ginny jumped and turned to look at him carefully. “Haven’t heard that one. What’s it from?”

Luna kept perusing and humming, oblivious that the question was directed to her. The man, meanwhile, noticed Ginny’s sharp stare. “Not a crime to ask about a tune now, is it?”

“Uh, no.” Ginny managed. “Luna, what are you humming?”

“I don’t know. Probably just one of the songs in my head. I have lots of songs in my head.”

“You write songs, then?” The man asked.

“No. I just sing them,” Luna replied lazily. She was scrutinizing a band poster featuring a very scantily clad girl. “I don’t think black leather looks good on this girl. She should wear it in brown,” she stated.

The man burst out in peals of laughter. Ginny and Amanda joined in. Ginny might have stopped soon, but Luna followed up her opinion by stating that it was not very nice of them to laugh at the girl for picking the wrong colour of leather, and that, after all, it did flatter her shape nicely. It took several minutes before the others could compose themselves. Ginny was still fighting to catch her breath as Amanda introduced her customer, "Ian, this is Ginny. Ginny, Ian. And I’m sorry, I haven’t even asked your name yet.” She turned to Luna.

“Luna Lovegood. Some people call me Loony, but I really don’t prefer it,” she clarified.

“Luna. Ian.” Amanda’s voice still sounded like she was laughing. She rang up Ian’s purchases. He’d bought thirteen records for the price of twelve.

“You should write your songs, Luna,” he commented as he picked up his bag. “I like your melodies. They’d carry some haunting lyrics.” He nodded at Ginny, and stepped out of the door.

Amanda looked toward Luna a bit abashedly when he’d left. “Sorry I laughed at your comment so much. It took me by surprise. Truth is, I haven’t laughed much these weeks. I must’ve been overdue.”

“It’s quite alright. People often laugh when I speak, though I don’t always know why. I like making people laugh though. There’s been too much crying this summer. Laughing is good. And you’re having Fred’s baby. It probably wanted to laugh, too. Fred always did.”

Amanda moved out from behind the register and gave Luna a tight hug. “Yes. I expect the baby will be wanting to laugh a lot,” she said huskily. “Let’s just hope I can keep up with it. As I recall, Fred wasn’t the easiest.”

Ginny smirked. “He was the hardest,” she replied.

“Did Fred ever play any of these?” Luna asked looking around at the guitar.

“No. He pretended too, but he never took me up on my offer of lessons. He would have approved of your comment on the poster.”

Ginny snorted. She would have to relay today’s story to George. The visit was pleasant. Amanda described all the different types of guitars to Luna and demonstrated several. Luna mused about learning to play them. Amanda encouraged her. She was actually quite good. Ginny liked the kind of music she played much more than she liked Celestina Warbeck, or even the Weird Sisters. Walking back to Luna’s that afternoon, she felt much more positive about life than she had before. That, of course, was before she pulled out Hermione’s stack of notes.

The next few days had a rhythm to them. They would start a batch of potions in the morning. Luna was a natural at this, often straying from Hermione’s notes and doing things with her own flare. She explained to Ginny that Hermione didn’t understand quite what was happening in the potions, since she had never taken Alchemy. Given that Ginny had never taken Alchemy either, she couldn’t quite follow the explanation.

After Potions, Luna would work through her Herbology notes. Sometimes this involved trips in the garden, or out to the stream. If so, Ginny abandoned her studies and followed along, despite having dropped Herbology after her OWLs. If Luna didn’t need to go on an outing, then Ginny would pull out her Defence Against the Dark Arts books. Hermione’s notes in this area did not correspond at all with the class from last year, though that had more properly been Dark Arts and not Defence. Neither did they seem to fit with the upcoming reading list. Ginny wondered if Hermione had really looked at what she was copying. It seemed like a mistake that she had these. Ginny learned far more about Horcruxes and Basilisk venom and Fiendfyre than she ever had wanted to know. It made her wonder even more what last year had been like for Harry, and for Ron and Hermione. But mostly for Harry. The more she read, the more worried about him she was. How had he survived? Hermione’s writings were explicit. In order for the Horcrux to be destroyed, its vessel had to be damaged beyond magical repair. She wasn’t sure if one more lightning scar counted as “beyond magical repair,” but she wouldn’t have thought it would. The fear that was never far away was playing with her mind again. Whenever she started fretting about this, Luna would snap her out of her dreary mood with amazing demonstrations of their Charms material. That and Potions were the only two classes they would be sharing next year. Luna was taking Care of Magical Creatures and Transfiguration. She was a natural at both. Ginny was taking Potions, Charms, Defence, and Magical Theory. She would never have continued in Potions if it hadn’t been for Slughorn. She wondered if he would still be teaching next year. Hogwarts was going to be different. Something inside her squirmed every time she thought of going back.

Luna decided on the third day of their studying that she wanted to take guitar lessons. Ginny sat Luna down at the table to give her the lesson in Muggle money that Harry had given her. She then lent Luna enough Muggle cash for a few lessons. They walked down into the village to ask Amanda about lessons. She agreed on every Tuesday morning at nine, starting the next week. The shop apparently opened at ten, but she would open the doors early, just for Luna. That evening they went for fish and chips at the pub. Amanda skipped on the alcohol. Ginny did too, but Luna ordered a beer and enjoyed it. Ginny sniffed it and grimaced. Amanda laughed. “Takes some getting used to.”

“Why would you put yourself through getting used to it?” Ginny asked. “I mean, I like some alcohol, but that smells like, well, like Kreacher refused to take out the trash!”

“Who’s Creature? That’s an odd nickname.” Amanda laughed. Ginny kicked herself.

“I know. We really should call him something else, but he was so old and ornery when I met him…”

Ian saw them at the bar and waved. Amanda waved back. “Don’t worry. I have lots of funny nicknames for people too. Ian, there–I call him the rusty cowboy. He used to have a great voice, but he smokes too much. Drinks too much too. The bar man–he’s honey-sugar. Not because I like him. Because that’s what he calls everyone. Grates on my nerves.” Amanda wrinkled her nose up. For a brief moment, Ginny thought of someone else.

“You remind me of Tonks,” she blabbed before thinking.

“Another one of your nicknames?”

“Yes, but it was what she preferred. Her first name was Nymphadora. She would have killed me if I had called her that!”

“No wonder,” Amanda replied. “People name their kids the weirdest things.”

“Oh,” Luna piped in, “what are you thinking about naming your baby?”

“Well, if it’s a boy, probably Fred, for the weirdest man I ever knew.” Amanda had lost the twinkle in her eye. “If it’s a girl, I don’t know… Your family seems to have nice sensible names, so probably keep to that. Certainly not Nymphadora!”

“I don’t know about sensible,” Ginny replied. “Ginevra, Percival, Bilius–not all of us have sensible names.”

“You do look a bit like Tonks.” Luna looped back to the earlier bit of conversation. “I think I might like to charm my hair like yours.”

“Well, thanks. I guess. Though, no charm required. I can show you the dye if you want. I have a box of it at home, but you’d need at least two. Your hair’s longer than mine. I’m not supposed to use it with the baby on its way. You could pick up another box at the chemist’s.”

That was how Ginny ended up loaning out another couple pounds to buy hair dye and gloves. Luna was sure the Quibbler would be making money again in no time. She had written an article for the latest issue. Ginny hoped it sold well. She wrote a note home commanding George to carry the Quibbler at his shop and placed an order on his behalf for two hundred copies. George wrote back in three days. He had sold out. He was requesting five hundred more. Mr. Lovegood actually did a little dance when Ginny gave him the request. Ginny wondered where George’s sudden on rush of business had come from. She also wondered what he would think of Luna’s bright blue hair. Mr. Lovegood had replied that it was “quite charming. You could be a fairy my dear, in a blue bell.” The dye had worked quite a bit differently on Luna’s blond hair than on Amanda’s black hair. Luna looked like a walking neon sign. It was the best joke Ginny had ever bought.

Ginny had walked with Luna down to her first lesson. Amanda had laid out finger charts for the guitar chords and demonstrated two of them for Luna twice before Luna had started strumming and humming them repeatedly to herself. Amanda had taken a break from teaching to talk to Ginny. She was a bit concerned about teaching a pupil who didn’t own a guitar.

“Knowing Luna, she’ll do just fine." Ginny reassured her. "I think she’ll get a guitar soon too. Her dad has a magazine that he owns. It went through a bit of a slump, but it’s picking up business.”

“How’s George’s joke shop picking up?” Amanda had asked.

“Must be good. He sold two hundred copies of the Quibbler in three days. That’s the Lovegood magazine. He hadn’t had two hundred people in the store in the two weeks that I was helping him.” Ginny replied.

“That’s good. I haven’t known how to get in touch with him. He had said something about Fred’s account. I won’t need it for a while. I wish I knew how much was in it. I’ve tried to start planning a bit more. The private lessons are a windfall. I think I might start advertising them to others.” Amanda spun a ring around on her thumb. Ginny tried to remember the conversion factor. She wondered if George was planning on giving the five hundred Galleons that was Fred’s, or the whole thousand. They hadn’t talked about it.

“I’ll speak with Bill. He’s the banker in the family. Actually, he’ll probably want to speak with you directly at some point.” Ginny knew she wasn’t answering the question exactly. “Dad said something about a trust fund, but I didn’t catch the details. Sorry.”

“No, that’s fine. You know, I just realized, I’ve forgotten the name of their shop. If I went to London, I wouldn’t even know where to go. Not that I get into town that often, but I might every once in a while.”

“Well, it’s in a bit of London that can be tricky to find.” Ginny stalled and looked over at Luna. Luna was still going back and forth between the two cords she had been shown with utter contentedness. “It’s called the Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. It’s on Diagon Alley. The part that intersects with Knockturn Alley. There’s a bookstore called Flourish and Blotts nearby.” After the years of living in secrecy away from Muggles, Ginny was amazed at how much she could say without breaking the Statute of Secrecy. After all, there was no way that a Muggle could find Diagon Alley, and nothing in its name revealed the presence of magic.

“I’ve never heard of a Diagon or Knockturn Alley. That’s an odd name, isn’t it? Your brothers have a flare for business. Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes! I think Fred had told me that one time. Told me he was wizard at lots of things. He was, too.” Amanda sounded sad again, but part of her mouth still twitched up. “I think I’ve heard enough of those two chords.” She decided, and moved back into her lesson. Luna left with a loaned book that morning and instructions to practice the fingering of four chords as best as she could. She had already memorized the order of the strings by the time the lesson ended.
----
Harry came on a surprise visit that weekend. He had bought Ginny a broom, just in case she wanted to practice Quidditch, he told her. She chided him on the price of it, but he waved her off saying it was an early birthday present. She noticed he had his own with him, too.

“You didn’t fly all the way from London, did you? You can Apparate now!” Ginny asked, astounded.

“I much prefer brooms,” Harry replied. “I think I had enough of Apparating to last a lifetime. Besides, flying gives me time to think. I feel good, flying.”

“You should stay for lunch,” Luna invited. “Then we can practice Quidditch afterwards. I wasn’t here on your last visit. And I won’t serve Gurdyroots.”

Mr. Lovegood extended his invitation as well, along with several dozen repetitions of apologies, all of which Harry had heard before. When they finally settled in though, Mr. Lovegood was quiet and all the kids talked. Luna told Harry about her guitar lessons. She was interested to hear he had several favourite Muggle bands. Ginny wrote them down with her quill on the back of a spare bit of parchment while Harry helped Luna clear the dishes. She tucked the parchment in her pocket before he could see what she was up to. Luna decided that she needed to find some species for her Care of Magical Creatures studies and left Ginny and Harry to practice flying Quidditch by themselves for a few hours. They hardly talked. It was a wonderful time and Ginny couldn’t bring herself to ruin it with the nagging thoughts of the last few days. Horcruxes seemed like a half-forgotten, distant nightmare in the sunny daylight out on the hillside. Harry left early that afternoon. He was flying back to London instead of Apparating, so he needed an early start. Ginny tried not be annoyed at the time they were missing.

He pulled her in and kissed her before he left. “Flying helps me sort my head out, Ginny. I barely have any time to think these days. There’s a lot for us to talk about–when you get back. Take care of yourself, ok? There are still more Death Eaters wandering about than I am comfortable with. I got through the enchantments on this place too easily. I think I’ve fixed them, but….You might want to test a few.”

Ginny nodded, but frowned.

“You're probably fine. I've just been hearing things about a group led by Montague. So I'm worried. There's no way he would know you're here, though.” Harry replied to the unspoken question. He kissed her forehead right where she was frowning, squeezed her waist, hopped on his broom, and flew off.
----
Ginny asked Luna and Mr. Lovegood about the enchantments that evening. Mr. Lovegood insisted that there were no protective measures necessary besides the Muggle-Repelling Charm mandated by the Ministry. The war was over, after all, and everything had turned out okay.

“Yes, Daddy,” Luna agreed, “but if Harry Potter is still worried about someone, maybe we should do a few enchantments. After all, Ginny is his girlfriend. She was a bit of a target last year. Not everyone is in Azkaban yet.”

“As you wish then, dear,” Mr. Lovegood responded. “But do make sure that our mail can come through, and that the animals travel freely, and that I can get authors in for interviews.”

Luna set an alarm up around the edges of the property that evening, along with a charm that would deter anyone who was there without an invitation–wizard or Muggle. Ginny decided that the village could perhaps use protection too. After all, Fred had thought it might be a target. Luna agreed that they would go down in the morning and set up charms while people were at church. She could go right down to the centre under a Disillusionment Charm and do spells non-verbally. Ginny wished she was of age. She was better at the Defensive spells, but she could not possibly do them near Muggles without a Ministry inquiry. Her dad’s new promotion was not something she was willing to risk–not when Luna could help out.

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Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Old Enemies

Author's Notes: Thanks to Arnel for helping me clean up this chapter a bit.


Despite her intentions of going to the village early, Ginny overslept the next morning. She woke sore and stiff as Luna was coming in from a successful early morning examination of the Plimpies feeding in the creek. It was ten o’clock already. If they were to reach the village while people were at church, they needed to head out right away. She pulled on her Muggle clothes and realized with dismay that her tight jeans afforded no accessible place to store a wand. She’d hid it in her socks before, but the long pairs of socks were all dirty. She wasn’t used to keeping up with her own laundry. Her mum had always done that.
“Just put it in your hair, like I do,” Luna suggested, showing Ginny how to weave the wand through a messy bun so that it looked like part of the hair do.
Ginny grabbed a couple pieces of cold toast, the leftovers of Luna’s earlier breakfast, and the two set off the road together. The village was not quite as empty as Ginny could have wished. The pub was open already and there were people sitting outside having breakfast.
“I’ll just duck down an alley and Disillusion myself,” Luna suggested, unperturbed by the crowd. “No one will feel the charms anyway, and all of them can be nonverbal.”
Ginny was about to agree when she heard someone call, “Luna! Over here!” Amanda was sitting having breakfast outside the pub with her mum. Ginny racked her memory quickly. Her mum’s names was, she knew this…Mary.
“Amanda! Mary!” Ginny took Luna’s elbow and steered them over to the table.
“Pull up some seats,” Mary suggested. “Amanda says you’ve been by quite a bit, but I haven’t seen you.”
Luna asked two tables for their spare chair each and brought them over as Ginny went through pleasantries. Amanda introduced Luna to her mum and a waiter came over. Ginny found that she was famished and ordered a full breakfast: kippers, toast, beans, and eggs. She was going through her cash rather quickly, but breakfast seemed too important to pass.
“So, Luna,” Amanda said as the waiter moved on, “You coming by the shop to pick up your guitar today?”
“I didn’t think you let them out,” Luna responded puzzled.
Amanda laughed, “Didn’t your friend tell you he had bought you one, then?”
Luna looked at Ginny, puzzled.
“The friend’s name didn’t happen to be Harry, did it?” Ginny asked.
“Yes, it did,” Amanda was laughing. “I thought it a bit odd that your boyfriend would come in and make such an expensive purchase. But I thought, hey, why not? He seems to be loaded.”
“Harry Potter is very nice,” Luna observed. But at that same moment Ginny made another observation. A group of three young men at the far end of the patio reached in their pockets as Luna said Harry’s name. Ginny whipped her wand out of her hair, casting a Shield Charm just in time for two red jets and a purple flash to bounce off of it.
“You two had better get under the table,” she heard Luna instructing their friends calmly. She felt several of Luna’s spells whoosh by her ear. Non-verbal–but Ginny couldn’t identify what. She hadn’t been aware that you could do non-verbal spells while talking.
Montague, Zabini and Harper were keeping up a continuous barrage of spells. Zabini had identified the edge of Ginny’s shield and was moving around it. “Protego Maxima,” Ginny hissed, throwing up two more Shield Charms on either side of her original, but the barrier wasn’t holding. Montague’s spell work was tearing little holes in it. She ducked a splintered jet of red light.
“We’ll need help, Ginny,” Luna informed her. “You should send a Patronus. Repello Muggletum.” The customers who had been sitting frozen from shock suddenly dived under tables and began crawling away.
“Expecto Patronum,” Ginny attempted, but the silver light dissipated two feet from her wand.
“I think Harry was right,” Luna kept talking. “He must have been looking for these three.”
Harry. Ginny concentrated on the feeling of flying with him. “Expecto Patronum.” Three Patronuses whipped out of her wand just as the Shield Charm collapsed entirely. Montague had aimed a jet of green light at Luna. Ginny flicked her wand and sent a table flying into it as she ducked a stream of red light from Zabini. He would not be aiming to kill her, but she wouldn’t put it past the others. She knew Zabini would kill Luna without a second thought. Ginny cast a shield behind her over Amanda and Mary, then moved forward. It was a two against three duel. They couldn’t keep it up for long. But no one, no one, was touching Amanda. The glass in the pub window shattered behind them and nicked Ginny’s hand. She ducked another curse, but felt it burn the side of her face as it went past. Luna’s spell work looked like a dance, but something caught her in her wand arm. She yelped, ducked and switched wand hands, before firing back. Harper was momentarily distracted. “Petrificus Totalus!” Ginny’s spell hit its mark. She heard someone arrive by Apparition behind her, but didn’t dare to look. Montague had just caught Luna with another curse. He turned on the spot. Zabini moved to copy him.
“Sectumsempra!” Ginny shouted with vengeance. The spell hit him mid-Apparition. He disappeared. Ginny turned to check on Luna, but was engulfed in Harry’s arms. Half the Auror squad was moving toward Harper. Neville and Ron had already reached Luna.
“Got a heartbeat. Permission to transport to St. Mungo’s?” Neville called out. Ginny tried to catch a sob, but failed. She was shaking horribly.
“Permission granted.”
Neville picked Luna up and turned on the spot.
A tall woman with brown and grey hair was helping Amanda and Mary out from under the table. “A bit of glass, but no major damage. We’ll have you right in a minute.” She turned. “Polly, we need a memory modification.”
“Be right over, Susanne.” A squat middle aged woman with a buzz cut moved in from the street.
“No,” Ginny heard herself speak without thinking. Ron had come over to make sure she was ok.
“Don’t touch their memories yet,” he agreed with Ginny.
“It’s protocol.” The man who spoke had the unmistakable tone of being in charge. He nodded to Polly who had moved over towards Amanda.
“Wait!” Harry intervened. “Amanda is about to have Fred Weasley’s baby. I think there might be a different protocol. Mary’s the grandmother.”
“We can’t leave them here and have them tell stories,” the head Auror barked back.
“All the same, if she’s pregnant. It’s quite a shock. She should get checked out. How ‘bout this? I’ll go with them to the hospital. We’ll decide after that. And Harry, take Ginny to St. Mungo’s. Her burn is turning green.” Susanne had come up with the solution in a blink of an eye.
“I’ve got more than enough memories to be getting on with,” Polly relented. “We’ll come back to theirs later, then. I’ll meet you at the hospital.”
“Harry, you take Ginny,” Ron nodded. “I’ll be there in a little bit. Ginny’s spell looks like it hit its mark. There’s a lot of blood over there. Zabini might have to come in to St. Mungo’s in a little bit. I don’t get the feeling Montague is the best with healing spells.”
Harry didn’t even ask for permission. He took Ginny back in his arms and turned on the spot. The Apparition was nauseating. Ginny landed in St. Mungo’s and was promptly sick into the nearest trash bin. A Healer rushed over and pulled her hair out of the way, then yelped as she caught sight of the face.
“What was the curse?” he asked Harry, urgently.
“Don’t know. It was before I arrived.”
Ginny stood up from the trash can and clawed the wall for support. Harry moved over, but the Healer picked Ginny up and moved down the corridor before Harry could catch up with him. She felt herself lowered into a bed. “Close your eyes.” A cold liquid poured over her face. She passed out.

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Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Zabini and Montague

It was hours later when she woke up. The room was dark. Mr.Weasley had fallen asleep in an arm chair next to her bed. “Harry?” she croaked. “Water.” Her dad started up, dashed out into the hall and came back moments later with a Healer. The Healer held a cup as Mr. Weasley supported Ginny so that she could sit to drink.

“How’s Luna?” Ginny managed after draining the whole cup, though she had spilled at least half of it down her front.

“Luna’s fine. She’s a truly remarkable witch. She’ll be out of here by tomorrow.”

Ginny nodded. “And Amanda?”

“Amanda’s alright. Your mum went to check on her. She’s doing just fine. They altered her memory. She and her mum and everybody else think a couple of crazies came and shot up the pub. She told your mum that you had been very brave and hidden them behind a turned-over table. I know you want to be honest with them, Ginny, but your mum and I thought that the real memory wouldn’t be the best first impression of our magical world.”

Ginny nodded. She was sleepy. “What hit me?” She asked groggily. “I don’t remember covering that….”

“A spreading poison curse–it wouldn’t have been in the Hogwarts curriculum. You’re just lucky you didn’t catch it directly. It could have been deadly.” It was the Healer who answered, not her dad.

Ginny touched her face experimentally. It felt raw, but it wasn’t oozing any more. She curled up against her dad. The Healer left them. “I hate Montague. I don’t want to go back to Hogwarts. I don’t want to see Zabini,” Ginny managed before succumbing again to sleep.

Ginny and Luna were both released the next morning. Luna was completely cured. Ginny had been given a stock of potions with complicated instructions on which to take, when, and in what combinations.

“Where’s Harry?” Ginny managed to ask when they returned to Grimmauld Place and he didn’t greet them.

“Apparently,” her dad responded, “he left his post without permission to take care of you yesterday. I agree with his choice. His boss, however, thinks otherwise. He’s keeping him in the office today.”

The day was very quiet. Luna had returned home with her dad. The boys and her dad were all at work, leaving Ginny in an empty house with her mum. Mrs. Weasley popped up into the room to check on Ginny much to frequently at first. Given that Ginny had started and pointed a wand at her mum each time the door opened, her mum had wisely decided to give her some space. Ginny spent the day sleeping and brooding. She’d managed to get a mirror and take a look at her face–it was bright red, not drippy green. There shouldn’t be too much of a scar left from what she could tell. She didn’t know who had cast it. She’d taken Dark Arts last year. The reading had been creepy, but, like Neville, she agreed that the more they knew the better prepared they would be to fight it. She hadn’t encountered a spreading poison curse anywhere. If she was to guess, it would be Montague, not Zabini who had cast it. Zabini was particular about not casting curses that would hurt her looks. She would have rather he did.

Ginny was replaying the previous events in her head for the umpteenth time when her door handle clicked again. Ginny grabbed her wand and sat up. Her dad entered.

“It’s okay, Ginny. They caught Zabini.” He came over and stood beside her. . “It wasn’t his wand that cursed you. They went through the spells on it in reverse.”

Ginny’s stomach tied itself into a knot. “Why?” She didn’t like to think of what that wand had done.

“Court evidence,” Mr. Weasley replied. “And they were hoping it would help them track down Montague. Unfortunately, he seems to be a slick one. Though I’ve never seen Ron and Harry as obsessed with anything as they are with finding Montague.”

“He was looking for Amanda, wasn’t he? He’s still mad at Fred and George.”

“Yes, it seems so. George has let the news out a bit too wide. Though from what Luna says, they didn’t attack until she mentioned Harry. They were looking for Amanda, but they didn’t know how to identify her. We’ve set up protections in the village. They’ll be okay.”

He pulled up a chair next to her bed and stroked her hair. “Ginny, they went back through Zabini’s wand. The further back you go, the less clear the wand’s actions become. Unforgivable Curses, though, have a tendency of standing out. I haven’t said anything to your mother, but I think there are some things from your last year at Hogwarts that we need to talk about.”
Ginny’s hands came up to either side of her face like blinders. She did not want to talk about this. She did not want to think about this. She felt her face burn again. She wondered if she would be sick. Her dad took her hands and pulled them gently down. “How far did he get?”

“Not very. Neville and Seamus–they looked out for me. Zabini was just….vile.” Ginny felt herself shaking. “Snape…” she began, but had to take a steadying breath before she could go on, “Snape told him he had bad taste. Made him back off–when there were teachers around, he did. Lavender, actually, she escorted me to every class after Luna disappeared. She and Parvati or Padma. Don’t know what would have happened actually, without Lavender.”

“Did Professor McGonagall know?” Her father’s voice was harder than Ginny had ever heard it.

“I’m not sure.” Ginny rubbed her temples with white knuckles. “I never told her. The Carrows knew. They didn’t care. They didn’t let the other teachers intervene, actually. It was a student’s affair, whenever the Slytherin boys wanted….” She trailed off. “I don’t want to go back, Dad. I can’t face Hogwarts. I can’t.”

Her dad kept stroking his daughter’s hair in silence for a few moments before speaking. “I won’t make you go back, but Zabini won’t be there next year. You know that. I’m going to talk to Professor McGonagall and clear some things up. There was enough bullying at Hogwarts in my time, and it seems like last year it got a whole lot worse. It might take more than a different headmistress to change that. If you don’t want to go, you don’t need to.”

Ginny nodded. She had sweat straight through her T-shirt. “I need some water,” she managed. Her hand shook too badly to manage the pitcher that her mum had left on the dresser. She put it down and pressed her fingers against the dresser in a desperate effort to steady herself.

Her dad poured her a glass and helped her drink it. He watched her for a few more minutes before standing up. “I’ll get your mum in here to help you change. We’re going out for ice cream.” He squeezed Ginny’s arm and walked past her out the door.

“But Fortesque’s is closed,” Ginny heard her mum say downstairs. Her mum did need to get out more. There were, after all, several ice cream shops in the Muggle world near their house.

Ginny leaned heavily on her dad as they walked down the street, but felt stronger with each step. Her nerves were shot. That seemed to be the worst damage. Pigging out on a huge banana split substantially lifted her spirits. Her mum remained ignorant of the conversation Ginny and her dad had held earlier and chatted instead about the goings on around Diagon Alley. George, apparently, had begun some wholesale work again, this time at Lee Jordan’s suggestion. That explained the Quibbler, Ginny thought. She listened to her mum chat away absentmindedly. Her dad stuck his spoon in her split. She fought it with hers. He managed to sneak a bite in anyway. She grabbed a retaliatory scoop of his pistachio. They walked back from the ice cream parlour totally stuffed. She took her dad’s arm for balance, but she didn’t really need it anymore. Her mum walked a few steps ahead.

“You haven’t had a chance to talk to Harry much, have you dear?” her dad asked in an undertone meant to keep her mother from overhearing.

“No. Not much.”

“He’s been worried about you. The Ginny we knew before this year would have been snogging her boyfriend every spare second, no matter what she thought her parents might say of it. Harry, if you’ll pardon me for saying it, is a bit more respectful. He wondered if he’d done something wrong. Then he wondered if you’d been hurt somehow. You seemed rather distant. Not our spicy little Ginger Snap.”

Ginny tried to laugh. “You know, you’re the only one allowed to call me that, Dad,” she reprimanded softly.

“Harry will be home tonight, and I’m going to give the two of you plenty of time together.” Her father raised his voice back to normal. “Your mother and I are going out for Italian. There’s a place George recommended. Don’t get into any trouble your mother and I wouldn’t have when we were your age, all right?”

This time Ginny really did laugh, “Weren’t you and Mum sleeping up top the Astronomy tower at my age?”

“We were looking at the stars!” her mum called back. Ginny rolled her eyes. Her dad winked at her.

“I don’t remember you taking astronomy!” Ginny called back to her mum.

----

George came home early that evening. “I called Amanda,” he told Ginny. “She wanted to thank you for covering her at the bar. She seemed to think Luna was very badly wounded and wouldn’t be making it to lessons for a while. I told her I thought Luna would pull through. It seems Muggles take injuries more seriously. Anyway, she said she hoped she could visit Luna and you in hospital. She really wanted to tell you something.”

“Luna’s fine. She was released before I was. I guess I should go and tell Amanda in person so she sees we’re ok.”

“Absolutely not,” their mum cut in. “You are not going back to Ottery-St.-Catchpole. And Luna can’t go back either.”
Ginny turned to her dad, “I thought you said the village had been secured?”

“It has been. But, given that Amanda doesn’t remember what happened, neither you nor Luna are allowed to go back there for at least a week. She thinks Luna was shot with a gun. Had that actually happened, she would be in critical condition.”

“But we can’t leave her just worrying about us!” Ginny objected. “Modifying her memory was supposed to make life LESS stressful for her.”

“It was supposed to make her think better of magic by the time we have to tell her about it.” Her father was firm. “If we play our cards right, that won’t be for many years yet, and these times will be a distant memory. She knows too much already, just knowing that Fred was in the Order. The telephone will have to do. Give her a call tomorrow.”

“And what should I tell her about Montague?” Ginny asked. Were someone after her, she knew she would want to be told.

“Nothing. The Aurors will take care of Montague.”

“See if I don’t go looking for Montague,” George muttered under his breath.

“No. George. You will not,” their father stepped in firmly. “You will be at your shop tomorrow. The Aurors are watching the village. There is a Caterwauling Charm in place to warn off any would be attackers.”

George snorted, but the argument was closed. “I’ll talk to Harry about it,” Ginny offered to George in an undertone as her parents’ discussion moved on. She checked the clock absentmindedly. What was a “normal” time for Harry to come home? It had varied so widely that she didn’t know. He walked in ten minutes later, so half past five. Ginny made a mental note of the time. She would expect him home at that time in the future.

Her parents headed out to Italian. A few minutes later, Harry offered Ginny his arm and took her out through the front door and across the square. It was a wonderful night. Ginny hated to ruin it with her own gloomy memories. She asked Harry tentatively if he thought the wards on the village were strong enough.

“Should be,” Harry answered. “And Neville and Ron are taking it in turns to keep an eye out. They’re using my Invisibility Cloak to stake out the place.”

This made Ginny feel marginally better. Still, she asked Harry, shouldn’t Amanda be told there was someone after her? She did know about the Order. She might guess, and it would be better to be told your worst fear than to be guessing it and not getting answers. Ginny knew that much from experience.

“We would, if there was something she could do about it, but she wouldn’t even be able to contact us quickly enough. That’s what bothers me. She’s a sitting duck, a target.” Harry tugged at the hair on top of his head. “Ron, Neville and I are trying to think of something. We’ll talk about it later. Tonight, it’s just you and me.”
------

There were lots of long silent moments at dinner that evening. Harry seemed to be waiting for Ginny to say something. She knew it, but avoided the subject. Harry offered pudding after their meal. She explained that one jumbo banana split per day was the limit–even for her. They walked slowly to the park. Ginny realized with a start that they had been out the whole evening and all they had done was hold hands. They sat on a bench facing the fountain. Ginny pulled her hand out and wrapped herself in her arms.

“Are you cold?” Harry was such a gentleman. She wondered where he’s learned it. Not from hanging around Ron….
“No,” Ginny unwrapped herself and took a coin out of her pocket. “I’m thinking about Hogwarts.” She tossed it up in the air and watched it reflect the fountain lights before catching it on its way down.

“You play Seeker well,” Harry commented.

“I prefer Chaser,” Ginny insisted. She tossed the coin and caught it again. “I wouldn’t be the first Weasley not to finish school. Fred didn’t. George didn’t. Ron won’t. Mum’s still in denial about that of course. I don’t need school. I could just train, and try out.”

“You could,” Harry tried unsuccessfully to make eye contact with Ginny.. “I never heard your story. What was it like, last year? Neville said… he said there were things you probably needed to tell me.”

“Neville should keep his fat mouth shut,” Ginny snapped.

Harry raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. Ginny tossed the coin with more force than she meant to. It fell out of reach. She slumped, pulled her feet up on the bench and hugged herself again. “Don’t tell Neville I said that. He was wonderful, actually. Don’t know where I would be without him. Dad said I should tell you, too. And, well, the trials are coming up, aren’t they? You’d hear soon enough.” She avoided looking at him.

“It was different,” she continued. “Hogwarts, without Dumbledore. Without you. Some people thought that we had broken up. Some people… didn’t. I was marked. The Carrows encouraged the Slytherins to bully all the Gryffindors, but particularly me. . Snape wouldn’t stop it. Well, he did once. Even he thought it was going too far, I guess.” Ginny brushed her face. Her eyes were leaking. She hated when they did that. She was Ginny the strong. Ginny the feisty. Ginny that everyone knew not to mess with. What had happened to her? Harry rubbed her back gently across the top of her shoulders. She pulled herself together again. She managed to get through the story that night. Harry was angry enough that she figured being in Azkaban was the only defence that was keeping Zabini alive. Nothing was said about her going back to Hogwarts. They took a cab back to Grimmauld Place; Harry held Ginny’s waist the whole way. They opened the door, and walked down a very quiet hall.

“Did the clock stop?” Ginny asked, looking at it in confusion. The big hand was at the six, the little one pointed at one.

Harry checked his watch, “If it did, then my watch stopped at the same time. I’d better get you to bed.” He helped her up the stairs, and stopped outside her room. He kissed her gently on her forehead. “Ginny,” he was speaking very quietly, “you never have to kiss me. You never have to do anything for me. You understand?”

“Yes,” Ginny nuzzled into his shoulder and didn’t let go. She put her hand up behind his head to force it further down, stood up on her tiptoes, and kissed him on the lips. “You are the one person I actually want to kiss.”

“Goodnight, then,” Harry said, giving her his all too brief kiss in return.

“‘Night.” Ginny stumbled into her room and fell asleep before she hit the pillow.

Back to index


Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Full Alert

Someone knocked at Ginny’s door the next morning.

“Urgh?” Ginny managed as a response.

Kreacher opened the door and came in.

“The Miss Weasley will be wanting to get dressed and come to breakfast.” Kreacher addressed her with a deep bow. “The Mrs. Weasley has been asking for you.”

“What?” Ginny rubbed her eyes, but Kreacher was leaving already. She turned the clock on the mantle around and looked at it. Eight o’clock. Couldn’t they let a girl sleep? She hadn’t bothered with undressing last night, and she didn’t bother with dressing this morning. She staggered into the kitchen. Ron was there, along with her mother. Her brother looked distinctly uncomfortable. Ginny sat down at the one place that had a breakfast setting.

“Young lady!” Her mother’s voice echoed back and forth loudly in her head. “Your father told me that he had given you permission to be out as late as you wished last night. You’re lucky! I would never, never have agreed!”

“Gur, urgle,” Ginny managed, her face hidden entirely by her large coffee mug.

“Will you pay attention? Where were you?”

Ginny set the cup down and blinked. “We had Indian. It’s good.”

“Don’t lie to me. You could not have been at the restaurant till half one in the morning!”

“We weren’t.” Ginny squinted. Really, being this loud in the morning had to be against some sort of regulation. They could probably hear her mother three houses down. Ginny had no intention of divulging the details of last night’s conversation. “We were watching a fountain.”

Mrs. Weasley was so taken aback by the answer that she required a few minutes to come up with her next outburst. Ginny picked up a kipper with her fingers and bit into it. She really couldn’t be bothered with a fork right now. She rolled the fried eggs into a log around the kipper and stuffed it down. Her mum was swelling dangerously. Ginny really didn’t want a fight this early in the morning, but if she must…

Fortunately, Harry took that moment to walk into the kitchen. Unlike Ginny, he was freshly clothed and must have already had his coffee.

Molly cornered him instantly, “This young lady tells me that you were out till 1:30 in the morning watching a fountain!”

“Well, yes. We were. Didn’t Arthur tell you that we would be out late?” Harry was the picture of politeness and concern. Ron smirked in the background.

“Of course he did. Since when do you call him Arthur?” Mrs. Weasley demanded sharply.

“He asked me to, in the hospital, when I was tending to your daughter instead of working.”

Ginny’s head swiveled between her mum and her boyfriend. He was so calm. Then again, this was the man who had held a calm, extended conversation with Voldemort in front of the whole wizarding community before killing him with equal composure. She needed to learn how he did that. Mrs. Weasley opened and shut her mouth several times in rapid succession. Harry went over to the coffee pot and refilled the mug he had walked in with.

“You eat already then, mate?” Ron asked.

“Yeah. Kreacher brought me a tray.” Harry turned around and looked at Molly. “I am more than happy to call Arthur ‘Mr. Weasley’ when I am talking to you, if it would make you more comfortable, Mrs. Weasley.”

“Of course not. Don’t be silly, dear.” She looked about to cry and swept out of the kitchen.

Ron shrugged. “She’ll be ok. We need to be in the village soon. Neville’s been up staking it out all night.”

“Be safe,” Ginny mumbled. Harry reached over and kissed her. Ron walked into the green Floo flames as they were saying their goodbyes and Harry quickly followed.
-----

Ginny went back to bed and managed to sleep most of that day despite her worries about Harry. The next morning, her dad brought news that the Ministry was hosting Apparition practice, and that she could attend. She did, and had her license by the end of the week, along with official permission to use magic whenever there was an adult around. Use of protective spells, her mother had been assured, would still alert the Ministry. Ginny could now start practicing for school and could be of more use in the rebuilding efforts.

After a few days and nights of letting Ron, Neville and Harry stake out the village, their supervisor decided it was unlikely to see a repeat attack and commanded his trainees to stand down. Harry came home griping about it. Ginny fully agreed with her boyfriend that his boss was a fool. Anyone who had talked to Montague in the last few years would have known he had an irrational animosity toward Fred. He held that Fred had tried to kill him on purpose by shoving him in the broken Vanishing Cabinet. Keeping Amanda safe was Ginny’s job again, no matter what her mum said. Harry, of course, was insisting that it was his job. He and Ron kept trying to come up with solutions, but they didn’t seem to be getting very far. There just weren’t many ways to keep a Muggle safe without their knowing it. Ginny wondered if Hermione would have any ideas. It was not the first time she had wanted her friend there. Luna’s company had been great, but back at Grimmauld Place, Ginny was already lonely again.

“Harry,” she ventured after dinner one evening, “do you think Neville could come over here one night? I haven’t seen him all summer. Well, not properly.”

So Neville came over the very next evening for dinner. He looked loads better than he had the last time she’d seen him. He would be scarred for life, of course, but it made her feel better about life, seeing Neville free of bruises and cuts. She wished he was coming back to school. She had never felt comfortable about returning to Hogwarts, but since the incident in the village she had decided not to go. She just couldn’t figure out how to tell her mum. Zabini and his friends had harassed her badly enough last year that she had been seriously afraid for her life. Neville and some of the other DA members had kept her from much permanent harm. If Neville was going, she might consider returning to Hogwarts. With neither him nor Seamus attending next year, there wasn’t a chance. Ginny wondered if Harry would be jealous if she said that aloud.

Neville stayed late that night. After her parents had excused themselves and gone to bed, he started talking about Montague and Amanda. “If she could just alert us if he came into town, we could probably get there fast enough,” he fussed.

“There’s something Muggle shop keepers have behind the counter if a robber comes in. It’s a button, and it calls the police,” Harry commented. “I wonder if she has one in her shop. Maybe we could charm it to alert us.”
“Does she even know who we’re looking for?” Ginny asked.

“Not unless she remembers from the other day,” Ron grumbled. “We’re not allowed to contact her or tell her anything. Seriously, she’s my brother’s girlfriend and I’ve been forbidden from talking to her.”

“What do you mean?”

“Boss thinks we’re obsessed. We’re not allowed to say anything to her about the case.”

George cleared his throat, “Well, boss got that right, then. We are obsessed. I think we should be. And I can still talk to Amanda, can’t I? Harry, what did you say about those Muggle buttons. I know a thing or two about charming things.”
Harry explained about the Alert buttons and the Muggle police system. “We actually have something like it as Aurors, too. If someone triggers an All Auror Alert, these start ringing,” Harry indicated his Auror badge, “unless we’re already on mission and we’ve silenced them.”

“So, all I need to do is set that button to call us. Let me see your badge.” George examined Harry’s, demanded Ron’s, and took a close look at Neville’s for good measure. “Not easy,” he mumbled finally. Protean Charm, I think, and several others. Hermione made something like this for the DA coins. Well, let’s see if George Weasley can outdo Hermione Granger!”
“I could ask Hermione next time I phone,” Ron tugged nervously at his hair, “if she’ll talk to me. I told her about the attack. You’d think she’d be concerned there were enemies still out there. But no! She chewed me out for letting the Ministry modify their memories. Went on about how I should know the kind of damage it does to families. I mean, it wasn’t my idea! You were there. I tried to block it!”

“I reckon Hermione will be touchy about memories for a while,” Harry soothed. “It’s not your fault. She’ll know that once she thinks about it. Do ask her about the coins if you get a chance.”

“Don’t trust me to get it right, heh?” George shook his head. “Challenge accepted.”
-------

A little more than a week from the day of the attack, Ginny Apparated to Luna’s during her lunch break at George’s shop. She had conveniently forgotten to tell her mother that she was going. She was almost of age anyway, and she was fully licensed for Apparition. She carried with her several wanted posters, folded up and tucked out of sight.

“Oh! It’s so good to see you!” Amanda answered cheerfully when they rang the bell at the shop. “Sorry it was locked. Mum’s insisted that I lock up when I’m the only one here. She’s quite shook up about the attack at the bar last weekend. I was so worried about you. And Luna, I never got to give you your gift! It’s still back here.”

The two girls filed inside. Amanda pulled a beautiful classical guitar out from behind the counter. It was light wood, with darker wood inset flowers scrolled around the soundboard.

“For me?” Luna gasped. “It’s beautiful.” She took it and traced the pattern carefully with her finger.

Amanda agreed, “It is. Harry said you deserved the best.”

“I hope you don’t mind, Ginny?” Luna stopped stroking the pattern on the guitar and suddenly looked concerned.

“Of course I don’t. You do deserve the best, after all you’ve been through. And you’re a wonderful friend. I’m just glad Harry has the money to spoil you and me both.” She laughed easily. She’d been jealous of Cho before. Hell, she’d been jealous of Parvati even though she knew Harry didn’t like her, but she’d never been jealous of Luna.

Ginny turned to Amanda, “George said you wanted to tell us something.”

“I did. I had my ultrasound.”

“What is that?” Luna asked curiously and strummed a chord in the background.

“I got to see pictures of the babies. Well, that’s the news, isn’t it? There’s two of them!”

Ginny squealed and tackled Amanda in a hug.

Ginny and Amanda giggled as they broke apart from the hug. “Girls or boys?” Ginny managed when she had caught her breath.

“Couldn’t tell. They wouldn’t have done the ultrasound yet, but they wanted to make sure the babies were ok despite the shock over the weekend. They are. I wanted to tell George in person. I was hoping he would escort you two here.”

“He wanted to,” Ginny explained, “but Mum intervened. We won’t tell, though.”

“I suppose I should tell all your family. Do you think they’ll be by soon?”

“I don’t know,” Ginny tucked her hair behind her ear. “Mum’s sort of been ordering us to avoid the village since, you know...”

“Was it something to do with the Order? Did they not catch them?” Amanda, as always, was quick on the uptake. Ginny looked over at the door and down the street. There was no one coming. She and Luna were the only ones in the store.

“Yes,” Ginny acknowledged. She pulled the posters out of her pocket and spread them flat on the counter in front of her.

“This is Montague. He was one of the three at the bar. He’s younger than most that are involved in Riddle’s gang, but he had a specific grudge against Fred. We think that word got out that you are having Fred’s baby. He was targeting you, but he didn’t have any photos to go on.”

Ginny searched Amanda’s face to gauge her response. Her lips were pursed and she definitely looked concerned, but she was holding steady and kept the conversation going. “Who’s the other one?”

“Rowle. We think that’s Montegue’s boss. Rowle seems to have left England, though. Harry suspects he’s on the Continent somewhere, but he hasn’t been found. The Order doesn’t usually disclose this, but I thought you should know.”

Amanda nodded and picked up the photo of Montague. “I remember him, you know. It’s odd, though, the day is so fuzzy. I mean, even my mum, she watches all these crime shows. She knows her weapons. She can’t remember what they were pointing at us. It’s been bugging her.”

“It’s always harder to remember what someone fired at you than it is to remember what they fired at someone else,” Luna supplied, without looking up from her guitar.

“That wasn’t your first fight, was it?” Amanda looked between Luna and Ginny. “I thought you weren’t in the Order.”

“We weren’t,” Ginny took a breath, “but that doesn’t mean we weren’t attacked. Luna was fifteen the first time we fought together.”

“And how old were you?” Amanda cocked her head sideways.

“I was fourteen. We weren’t supposed to be there, really, but we’d followed Harry, who had followed, or thought he had followed, rather, his godfather, who was in the Order.”

“Penchant for trouble?” Amanda was trying to sound amused.

Ginny humored her and chuckled. “Definitely.”

Amanda fingered the posters again. “So if I see them....”

“Stay out of sight. There’s a warning system in the village. If they... well, there should be an alarm that goes off. It would sound like fighting cats. If you see them and it hasn’t gone off, get to a phone and call,” Ginny reached into her pocket and pulled out a third piece of paper. It had Hermione’s number and the number Muggle police used to follow up on cases where the Aurors were involved. Ginny wasn’t sure how the second one would work, but she also couldn’t be sure Hermione would be available and the second number was better than nothing. “We’re also working on an alert button for you.”

“You mean a panic button for at the shop? Mum’s been on the owner to get one. He keeps saying last weekend was just a fluke and nothing else will happen for decades.”

“Well, we’re working on one. I think George is trying to make it so that you can carry it with you and it would work from anywhere.”

“Like a radio?” Amanda’s mind worked quickly. Ginny had no idea how a radio would work like she had just described, but her dad had always raved about Muggle technology.

“Sort of like that,” she went along with it. “We’ll bring it by as soon as we have it, uh, configured.”

Amanda coached Luna for a few minutes on the guitar before Ginny decided that they really needed to leave. “You’d better put the posters out of sight,” she informed Amanda as she left. “I wasn’t supposed to talk to you about this, so don’t spread it around.” Ginny stopped with her hand on the door. Directly across the street sat a very large, very orange tomcat.
“Amanda, whose cat is that?” Ginny asked, pointing.

“No idea. Ugly thing, isn’t it? Came around here in April and been an absolute nuisance since. Steals off tables at the café, but won’t let anyone touch him.”

Ginny pushed the door open and walked out into the street with Luna behind her. “Crookshanks,” she called, “Here kitty,” but the cat looked at her imperiously, twitched its tail and walked away.

“Is that your cat?” Amanda asked.

“He’s my friend Hermione’s. I would know that cat anywhere. I was watching him when our house... well, I thought we’d lost him.”

“I’ll try to lure him in for you. He might respond to some tuna.”

“Yeah. I’ll bring Hermione down here sometime. He only ever came to her anyways.” Ginny felt somewhat better about their visit, having seen the cat. She felt almost cheerful as she left the village. Amanda knew who to look out for, and Hermione would get Crookshanks back, eventually.

Back to index


Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Disappointments

Author's Notes: The story takes a bit of a turn here. Hang with me.


Ginny Apparated back to Diagon Alley. She was surprised to find Ron waiting for her.

“Where’s Harry?” he demanded.

“Isn’t he at work? Why aren’t you at work? What happened?” Ginny wanted to shake her brother. Seriously, he was the one who was supposed to keep track of Harry!

“Boss found out we were planning something around Amanda, but doesn’t know what. He overheard Neville. Neville feels awful, but the boss decided it was high time we have our “Emotional and Psychological Evaluation” for Auror candidacy. And, er, Harry failed and we haven’t seen him since.”

Ginny dragged Ron behind her into George’s Floo. They reached the Ministry and hurryied through it as she interrogated Ron.

“What do you mean Harry failed?” Ginny demanded. “He’s the best at, well, everything! Was there something wrong with the test?”

“I dunno. It was an interview, really. The questions were weird. Then we had to face a boggart. Didn’t know mine had changed.”

“Did you pass?”

“I dunno. I never had the chance to do anything to my boggart. Boss interrupted and said Harry had disappeared. I went after him, didn’t I?”

“Where have you looked?”

“The house. Teddy's. The shop. I was hoping he’d met up with you-- Where are we going?”

Ginny had marched directly up to Kingsley’s office and now barged in without knocking.

Kingsley froze and teary eyed Neville turned to stare at her. “Where’s Harry?” Ginny demanded.

“Dunno. What happened? Is Amanda--” Neville began.

“Amanda’s fine. It’s Harry that’s missing. Something about running off after a failed test.”

“Ah,” Kingsley nodded. “I believe Neville and I were just talking about the same one. Unfortunately, Ginny, I cannot simply find Harry for you. As I recall, he’s rather difficult to locate when he doesn’t wish to be found.”

Ginny glared at the Minister.

“I’m sure he’s ok,” the Minister continued calmly.

“Are you? Are you sure!? Do you know what happened the last time he was missing?” Ginny’s voice was rapidly climbing octaves. Neville strode over, put his hands on her shoulders, then pulled her into a hug and held her.

“Ok, Ginny. So we find him.”

Ron cleared his throat. “Um, when you two are done hugging...”

Ginny whipped out of Neville’s embrace and prodded Ron with her pointed finger. “Why did you lose him? You promised me you would look after him and you lost him!”

“It’s ok, Ginny,” Neville repeated again. “We’ll find him.”

“How?”

“Doesn’t he have a house-elf?” Neville asked. “House-elves can always find their masters.”

“Yeah, but they don’t follow commands for anyone except their masters,” Ron grumbled.

Ginny glared at him. “He does what I say. Harry told him to. Kreacher!” She called. The house-elf appeared and bowed deeply. “I need you to take me to Harry.”

The house-elf took her hand and twisted. Ginny landed none too smoothly in a park facing a bench where Harry was sitting. She nodded to Kreacher who left as quickly as he had arrived. Harry blinked at Ginny in surprise, but then turned away to watch the river again. Ginny ducked behind some trees and sent off a Patronus before heading over to the bench and sitting down next to Harry.

“You disappeared,” she said quietly. “You were missing. You made me worry.”

“I shouldn’t have come back,” he responded. “I’m unstable. I can’t be an Auror. I should have died.”

Ginny bit her lip. “You don’t mean that, Harry. You don’t mean that you should have died,” she whispered. He looked up and put an arm around Ginny, but didn’t say a word. Not knowing what else to say, she joined in his quiet observance of the river. Kingsley, Ron, and Neville walked up to the park bench. Kingsley sat down on the other side of Harry.

“I wasn’t aware they were testing you today.” Kingsley began. “If so, I would have made more time in my appointments for emergency counselling sessions.”

“I’m sorry, Minister. I shouldn’t waste your time. You don’t need to be here.” Harry had the good grace to look embarrassed, but he refused to make eye contact.

“Nonsense. I’m not about to lose my top pick for Auror because his supervisor gave him a test he wasn’t prepared for.”

“I’m not cut out for the job. I’m, I dunno, damaged. I’m unstable. Could be a threat apparently...” Harry trailed off.

“Ah, well,” the Minister lapsed into silence. “Neville is too, so at least you’ll have company,” he added finally.

Harry’s head snapped around.

“Yeah, mate,” Ron chuckled, “you and Neville Longbottom are the next dangerous Dark wizards.”

Kingsley laughed deeply at Ron’s feeble joke.

“There’s something wrong with the test, isn’t there?” Ginny asked when he had stopped.

“Not exactly, but it’s not designed for people who have already been doing the job. That’s the test we give to NEW recruits. It’s meant for those who haven’t seen death, faced imminent danger daily, and been subjected to multiple rounds of the Cruciatus Curse. It’s a tricky test if you have. You see, the test wants to make sure you can keep secrets, but aren’t keeping any yet. Harry failed there, rather miserably I’m afraid. The test also ensures that you are protective, but that you have no bias in who you will protect. All three of you failed in that. However, the result Robards had circled with red ink on Harry’s was ‘Complies with authority’. I’m afraid, Harry, you received zero marks in that category.”

Suddenly Harry, Ginny, Ron and Neville were all laughing.

“That’s sort of a ridiculous requirement, though, isn’t it?” Ginny asked. “I mean, if Harry did ‘comply with authority’, there wouldn’t even be...Well, Tom Riddle would still be alive! How can they expect him to comply with authority? There hasn’t been any good authority to comply with!”

Kingsley chuckled. “I agree, and I expect Alastor Moody would agree too. However, Robards is big on teamwork in the new Auror department. He’s training his Aurors to operate in formation. He needs people who do what they are told when they are told, and nothing else.”

“Huh,” Ginny snorted, “that’s stupid.”

“Maybe. Ginny, you play Chaser, do you not?”

“Yeah.”

“If you are playing, do you expect your fellow Chasers to maintain formation or to go find the Snitch?”

“We’re Chasers. We play formation. Harry finds the Snitch.”

“Precisely. Robards wants an Auror department that works like Chasers, in teams with formations.”

“So, how’s he going to catch the rogues?”

“He won’t,” Kingsley answered quietly. “Robards is the boss right now because there was no one else left, not because he’s the best. We make sure it doesn’t get into the press, but if the Order weren’t still operating, we would have twice the number of Death Eaters on the run. Personally, I think Robards feels a bit insecure with this crew around.”

“I still failed the test,” Harry grumbled.

“And there are many reasons for that,” Kingsley answered. “One of which is that you have been working sixty hour weeks ever since the battle, with the exception of the week that Molly sent me a Howler. You three are dismissed from work for the rest of the day. I will have my secretary set up appointments with you each, individually, first thing in the morning. The trials are coming up soon, and I think I need a few extra people working desk jobs organizing the evidence. Nine to four, no weekends. Take some time to recover a little. I can’t override the test, but I can authorize a re-test. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He stood up and strode away from the group.

“Harry,” Neville finally spoke when Kingsley was out of sight, “don’t run off on Ginny again. She nearly hexed Ron.”

“Yeah,” Ron spoke up, “I reckon if someone’s unstable and a hazard, it’s Ginny. You don’t want to set her off mate!”
Ginny sailed off the park bench toward Ron. Harry’s instincts kicked in and he grabbed her wand hand before it could reach her pocket.

“He deserves it!” she hissed at Harry.

“Course he does, but there are Muggles around. Meet you guys at the house.”

Ron did not need to be told twice. He and Neville left the couple alone as Harry pulled Ginny down on the bench.

“Please don’t disappear again,” she begged as soon as they were out of sight.

“I won’t, Ginny. I’m sorry. I just needed to clear my head. My whole existence was me against Voldemort. It was my destiny and…. I never expected to be alive. I don’t know what to do with a life.... I’m not leaving you again, Ginny. I just feel so lost.”

Ginny leaned in for a hug and a kiss. She lingered with her arms around him and her head on his shoulder. It was so unfair. Harry’s life had always been so unfair. “You’re right here,” she said finally. “You’re right where you’re supposed to be. You’re with me.”

Pressed up tightly against him, Ginny could feel Harry’s shaky laugh of relief. “Yeah,” he replied, “you’re why I am here.”
They sat there for a few more minutes before Ginny decided that they would be missed at the house. Mrs. Weasley fussed over Harry something terrible when he came in, berated his boss, and rejoiced that Kingsley had come to his good senses and would finally be keeping the kids out of danger. After sending a message to George that Harry was fine, Ginny spent the rest of the afternoon at the house with Ron, Neville, and Harry trying to lift their spirits. Several games of chess and Exploding Snap distracted them for a little bit. It was a trip to the local ice creamery that finally cheered Ron up. Harry, despite Ginny’s best efforts remained silent and sullen for the next few days.

Back to index


Chapter 17: Chapter 17: The Girls' Problems

Author's Notes: I know some of you are anxious for the backstory of Hogwarts from last year. It's coming up in bits and pieces, but first we have to get the main crew back together.
Thanks again to Arnel for proofing my chapters.


A couple days later, Ginny was sitting up in the kitchen after having talked with Harry. He’d finally told her everything, including the story of the Hallows, being killed, coming back, and getting rid of the wand. He’d been completely open about it. A few days off of active duty had already done him good. He was getting rest that he didn’t know he’d needed. He’d gone to bed early that night. Ginny had tried to sleep too, but she was having trouble processing everything Harry had told her. Instead, she had crept back down to the kitchen and sat with an advanced Charms book propped open trying to understand how Hermione had made the DA coins. Protean Charms were not simple.

Ginny started to the sound of the front door opening. She looked at the clock. It was half past eleven at night. Her whole family was already here and in their rooms. The house was supposed to be secret, and, unless there was an emergency, all their friends would have come through the Floo.

Ginny pulled her wand out and moved quietly behind the open kitchen door. She pointed her wand into the dark entrance and cast a nonverbal Disarming Charm. An unfamiliar, crooked wand flew into her hand. A shaky yelp from halfway down the passage told Ginny her intruder was a girl.

“Who are you?” Ginny hissed, lighting her wand and stepping out into the entrance.

“It’s Hermione,” the intruder squeaked in answer.

“Prove it,” Ginny replied, keeping her wand raised.

“Uh, I don’t know. I’m dating your brother, Ron. Harry is dating you, Ginny. He has a lightning scar on his chest. You had a Pygmy Puff named Arnold. Your dad likes spark plugs.”

“Ok.” Ginny lowered her wand and looked at the one in her other hand, “Whose wand is this?”

“Bellatrix’s. We stole it. It doesn’t work properly.” Hermione came down the passage. Ginny handed the wand back and looked her friend over.

“Come into the kitchen. I was going to make chocolate. You look like you could use some.” She sat Hermione down at the table and put a pot on the stove. “What happened?” She asked as she poured milk in.

“Mum,” Hermione replied. “Madam Pomfrey came by a couple weeks ago. And it got Mum started fighting with dad again, about me. I tried to stop her tonight. She started throwing things. She was drunk. She was so drunk. And, dad told me he couldn’t keep me safe and I should get out. I came to the first place I could think of.” Hermione had blurted it all out in one breath, tears streaming down her face.

Ginny gave her friend a long hug then turned around reached up into the cupboard. She pulled a tub of salve out of Harry’s kit and unscrewed the top. Standing next to Hermione, she worked the salve carefully into her forehead. “You’re bruised,” she explained, “and Ron will kill your mum if he sees that.” She put the salve back away when she was done and poured hot cocoa into two cups.

Hermione reached over and flipped through the Charms book, pausing at the page with the folded over corner. “Are you trying to make more DA coins?” She asked.

“No. We are working on a sort of alert system though.” Ginny kept her back turned to her friend and pulled out the Dreamless Sleep Potion. She carefully added a dose to the blue mug for Hermione.

“Why don’t you take the book with you. We can have cocoa in my room. Kreacher’s asleep.” She indicated the cupboard. Hermione nodded and followed her up. She didn’t get quite half way through her mug before falling asleep on Ginny’s bed.

----
The next morning, Ginny woke to sounds downstairs. She pushed Hermione’s bushy hair out of her face and crawled out, taking care not to wake her. As she left the room, she cast several spells on the door behind her. No noise would get through, and Ron wouldn’t be able to open it. Harry had proofed the house against Apparition. She went down to the kitchen.

“Morning, sunshine,” her dad greeted her. “It’s Saturday and you’re already dressed! What’s the occasion?”

Ginny sat at her spot. Kreacher passed her a cup of coffee. The cream and sugar had already been added exactly as she liked it. “George. Close the door for a minute would you? And guard it?” Ginny asked as she gulped down the first half of her mug.

George shrugged and did as asked. Harry passed his mug to Kreacher for a refill and kept his eyes on Ginny.
“Uh, Ginny? Everybody in the house is here,” Ron observed.

“No. They’re not, Ron. Hermione came back last night.”

Ron bolted to the door. George tripped him with a wave of his wand. “If you want to be an Auror, Ron, you’re going to need to be more attentive. Constant vigilance!”

Ron went for his wand, but Ginny Disarmed him from behind. “George’s right. You’d be in bad shape if we weren’t your family,” she smirked at him. “Sit down. Or, up, preferably in a chair.”

Ron stood, crossed his arms and glowered at her.

“Very well,” she sighed. “Hermione came back last night because her parents were having a row. Her mum threw things at her, and her dad told her to get out. She was pretty torn up about it. It was late. She’s still sleeping. YOU ARE NOT GOING TO WAKE HER.”

Ron was trying to fight his way through George’s various shields. His dad reached out his arm and pulled Ron back to the table.

“Is Hermione all right, dear?” Mrs. Weasley asked.

“She should be by the time she wakes up,” Ginny hedged. “She looks a bit thin though. I reckon you’ll need to fatten her up like you used to with Harry.”

Harry still had his eyes on her. “Her mum threw things–at her?” He guessed.

Ginny glanced sideways over to Ron. Her dad was still holding his arm.

“Yes.”

“How badly was she hurt?” Harry followed up.

Ron jerked out of his dad’s grasp and pounded on George again. “I. NEED. TO. SEE. HER. HERMIONE! LET ME GO! HERMIONE!!”

Harry and Mr. Weasley both stood up from the table. Ginny sat stunned as her boyfriend moved inside Ron’s flailing arms and embraced him. “It’s ok, Ron,” he said, “No one’s hurting her. No one’s torturing her. She’s ok.”

“I have to help her,” Ron’s voice cracked.

“Hermione’s ok,” Ginny soothed. “She needs sleep, and food, and hugs. She’ll be ok.”

“Yeah, Ron. I bet you can help with hugs.” George added.

“I’m sure he can,” his dad agreed smoothly. “She’ll want you when she wakes up.”

“That might not be for a while,” Ginny supplied. “I gave her hot chocolate with potion in it. I figured she didn’t need nightmares and she looked spent.”

Her mum moved over and hugged Ginny from behind. “I’m sure you did the right thing, love. How about I sneak up to the room and take a look at her?”

“Sure. I’ll take the door charms off.” Ginny pushed her chair back.

“Just tell me what they are, dear,” her mum suggested, but Ginny shook her head and walked up the stairs. Her mum came up behind her just as Ginny had finished removing the spells. Ron followed their mum, but Ginny intercepted him at the door. She pulled him into a hug instead of letting him into the room. Ron slumped against her. He was clammy. She could feel it through his shirt. He watched his mother over Ginny’s shoulder. Mrs. Weasley quietly ran her wand through the air above the sleeping girl. She nodded, stepped back and shooed her children out of the doorway, then closed the door behind her and walked back down to the kitchen. Ginny replaced the spells over the door and followed.

“She should be ok,” her mum reported to everyone in the kitchen. “I want to take her to St. Mungo’s once she gets up and has breakfast. She’s fine for now, but I’m registering something, probably from your travels together, but maybe from the battle. I’m surprised Madam Pomfrey didn’t catch it. The Healers will know what to do.”

“Bellatrix and her mum,” Ron hissed. “Hermione just can’t get away from evil women.”

“Listen, Ron, you can’t go after her mum,” Ginny pleaded. “This is why I’m telling you instead of making her tell you. You need to calm down. Hermione is FRAGILE. You can’t go yelling about her mum around her or hexing people now. She hasn’t had a minute of peace since the war ended. She hasn’t had a day to herself. You HAVE to be quiet.”
Ron growled, but Harry put a hand on his arm and Ron stopped.

“Her dad’s decent,” Ginny supplied to ease the tension. “He told her to get out because he couldn’t protect her, not because he didn’t like her. It’s just, well, hard on her. I reckon she feels like she’s splitting her parents up.”

“Parents are responsible for their relationships,” Mr. Weasley stated firmly. “Molly, take Hermione to St. Mungo’s today. Ron, if you can calm down between now and then you can go with, provided Hermione is comfortable with that. Ginny, Kingsley wanted to speak with you about something if you had a minute today.”

“With me?” Ginny looked at her dad in confusion.

“Yes.”

“Whatever can he want her for, dear?” Mrs. Weasley looked at her husband.

“I believe it has something to do with the trials.”

“She can’t testify. She’s underage. Anyway, she was at school last year. And there were plenty of other people there for the battle. There’s nothing she could be needed to witness.”

Mr. Weasley placed a consoling hand on his wife’s arm. “I’m sure they won’t force Ginny to do anything she isn’t comfortable with. But Kingsley asked to speak with her specifically. I think we should let the two of them determine if Ginny has anything to say of interest.”

Ginny left with her dad for the Ministry. It was remarkably empty. Harry had been engaged at home keeping Ron sane until Hermione woke up. Given that George had pulled them both into his room before Ginny left, she figured they were also working on an alert system. Once Hermione woke up, Ginny guessed she could have it sorted less than an hour. It would be figuring out how to install it at Amanda’s end that would present the next difficulty.

----

Kingsley, as Ginny had suspected, wanted to talk to her about conditions at school the last year. He had heard from several of the other students as well, but she had been one of the leaders. Kingsley asked if she minded having a secretary in the room recording what was said. Ginny acknowledged the necessity and tried to ignore the sound of a quill scratching out her worst memories.

She identified any students with known Death Eater allegiance. She spoke about the torture used by the Carrows. She described the sexual harassment and violence perpetrated. She tried to avoid naming the other victims of attacks. It was their business whether or not they spoke out, for now. She identified everyone she remembered duelling in the battle. Finally, she described the incident at Ottery-St.-Catchpole.

When she had finished, Kingsley thanked her. “Ginny, we have yet to decide the order of the hearings. For instance, Zabini could be tried before or after the eleventh of August. If he was tried before, you would not be expected to testify. If, however, he was tried after, we might ask for you to speak to several matters. Do you have a preference?”

Ginny played with the end of her hair for a long minute. Her mum’s comments from the morning were replaying as she found her answer, “After the eleventh. I want to testify. People should know.”

Kingsley nodded. “I thought you might. Do yourself a favour and practice telling the story between now and then. I think there might still be a few people who deserve to hear from you beforehand.”
Ginny stood and nodded. She suspected he meant her mum.

----

Ron had returned from St. Mungo’s with Hermione by the time Ginny returned home. Hermione was lying on the couch with her head in Ron’s lap and made no attempt to move when Ginny came in the room. Harry was sitting across fromthem as if there was nothing unusual.

“How is she?”

“Asleep,” Harry answered. “Apparently Bellatrix’ wand had a curse on it in case of theft. So, she doesn’t have a wand anymore.”

Ginny watched Ron play with Hermione’s hair. He wasn’t taking his gaze off his girlfriend’s face.

“Ron, the other day you said your boggart had changed. You never said what it is,” Ginny spoke softly. She had a hunch based on that morning’s events.

Ron traced Hermione’s sleeping face with his fingers. “It’s her,” he acknowledged.

“Well, yeah, Hermione can be pretty scary,” Ginny teased him.

Ron looked up finally and shook his head. “I don’t want anything to happen to her again. I can still hear her screaming. I can’t live with it again.”

Ginny walked over to her brother and kissed him on the cheek, taking care not to disturb Hermione. “I know.” She walked back to the couch where Harry sat and seated herself in his lap. “I know just how you feel.”

Back to index


Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Recovering

The next few days were quiet Hermione slept. She had called her dad from a pay phone to assure him that she was safe. He hadn’t asked her to return and she hadn’t offered. On Sunday, Ginny and Harry visited Teddy. They trying to make it a weekly tradition. Monday morning, Ginny sent an owl off with a note before going back to the shop to help George with the till. If Hermione was going to help them with the alert system, she would need a wand. Ollivander had not re-opened yet. He was staying in the country somewhere. Monday evening, Hermione was half asleep again when Ginny came home from working at the shop. Ron and Harry had both arrived home on time and were playing a game of chess in the kitchen. Percy’s owl returned after most of the family had excused themselves and Ron and Ginny were working through seconds on dessert.

“Ooh!” Ginny squealed, “Dean replied.”

“You wrote to Dean?” Harry’s face switched from content to brooding in the half a second that Dean’s name had been said.

“Yep,” Ginny answered, eagerly scanning the letter, her face lighting up as she went through it. “He says the best place to get wands now is in Edinburgh. There’s a wand maker by the name of Geribold Larch, has a shop at Cobbledywynde near the Castle. We’ll have to take a Portkey to get there. How soon do you think Hermione would be up for it?”
Harry cracked his neck from one side to the other. “Why did you write to Dean?” he asked again.

Ginny rolled her eyes, “Because he’s currently interning with Ollivander, you dunce. They aren’t producing enough wands yet for Hermione to have her pick. They’ve been having difficulty getting supplies.”

“You seem to hear from him a lot,” her boyfriend suggested.

“Honestly!” Ginny shouted. “He’s dating LUNA!”

“Oh.” Harry suddenly became very interested in the ends of his fork. “Oh, that’s nice.”

Ginny rolled her eyes and turn away. “So, Ronald, when do YOU think Hermione would be up for a trip?”

“I don’t know. You’d have to clear it with the Healers. She’s not doing well. Bellatrix’s curse compounded over time, apparently. But she might do better if she had a proper wand. She’d worry less anyways. If you go with her to St. Mungo’s tomorrow you could ask. Her appointment is at two.” Ron looked nervously between Ginny and Harry. “I think I’m gonna bring her a supper tray. See if she’ll wake up to eat.” He left Ginny and Harry to themselves and scurried out of the room.
Ginny slid the note from Dean under Harry’s nose and waited for him to read it. “Happy?” she asked at last.

“Yeah.” Harry had the decency to look sheepish.

“Seriously, Harry. You can’t be getting jealous about me talking to other blokes. I let you go camping with Hermione for a whole year. And Ron wasn’t with you the whole time either. You don’t see me getting snappy about Hermione, do you?”
“You get snappy about Cho,” Harry countered.

Ginny grunted, “Well, how about this? I stop snapping about Cho if you stop snapping about Dean, or Michael either.”
“Ok, deal,” Harry mumbled. Ginny moved over behind him and pulled his head back. Bending over, she planted a soft kiss on his lips and ran her hands down his chest. Harry groaned and pulled her around onto his lap. “We don’t get much time to do this,” he whispered as he ran kisses along her neck.

“Yeah. You’re still with Ron every bloody minute. He’s not here now, though.” Her eyes sparkled as she said it. She settled into snogging him comfortably. They only pulled apart when George arrived home in the Floo and wolf whistled at them. Ginny thought longingly of the private corners they had found at Hogwarts. She and Harry needed to find somewhere private again.
---

Ginny received permission from the Healers to travel with Hermione on Thursday. Her mum insisted on escorting them, so the three travelled together by Portkey. It dropped them in a dark hall of the castle, from which they walked to the milliner’s shop that hid the entrance of Cobbledywynde. Ginny bought her mum a new wool witch’s hat before they went on into the alley. The alley appeared in far better shape than Diagon Alley. It held a similar collection of shops. Mr. Larch’s shop was narrow and dark. A few stools with blue velvet cushions were clustered around a counter in the front. “Ravenclaw?” Molly hazarded a guess as she rang the bell on the counter.

“Yes, of course.” Mr. Larch answered genially, emerging from the back. He was a tall man with a bushy, mostly white beard. “I am Geribold Larch. And which of you lovely ladies seeks a wand today?” He surveyed the group, nodding carefully to Hermione.

“Yes, me. My last was, uh, well... long story, really.” Hermione finished lamely.

“Then how about you start by telling me about the last wand that chose you.” His emphasis was subtle, but Ginny didn’t miss it, nor did Hermione.

“It was ten and three-quarter inches. Vine wood. Dragon heartstring.” Hermione’s hands were twitching.

“Hmmm,” Mr. Larch replied enigmatically. He strode back to the shop and tapped a variety of boxes while stroking his beard. “I do not think that will be your wand again Miss Granger. You have changed.” He pulled out half a dozen boxes at length and set them on the counter. Hermione tried them in order. The fourth responded to her touch instantly. Ginny watched as her friend fully relaxed for the first time that summer. She twirled the wand thoughtfully in her fingers. “Avis,” she declared boldly. Three yellow birds flew out of the wand and circled Molly and Ginny.

“Perfect,” Mr. Larch clapped. “Eleven inches. Rowan wood and unicorn hair. Very reliable and loyal. This one, I think, will not be stolen from you.”

“Thank you,” Hermione rolled the wand carefully in her hands. “It’s beautiful work.”
---

When the girls arrived home that evening, George was there bouncing up and down. He had finished the alarm system and eagerly showed it to Hermione. After Ginny had recounted Amanda’s assumption that she would be getting a radio, George had gone out and purchased a walkie talkie. He had removed most of the original technology and set it back up to alert the badges he had developed for family members. Hermione tested the product and declared that they would work, but she worried that it would be impractical for anyone to carry a walkie talkie everywhere they went. Also, she noted, there was no way of carrying the device without accidentally setting it off. A lively debate regarding what item could be used, but George didn’t seem too put out. He had figured the charms out before Hermione Granger.

In the end, Hermione had stopped by a Muggle pet supply and picked up a dog training clicker. It was small enough to carry around on your keychain, she explained to Ginny, and hard to set off by accident. George finagled it such that clicking the button would activate the system, and charmed the button to remain silent. All of the siblings had insisted on being included in the alert system except for Charlie. He was too far away to Apparate. Fleur and Hermione were not about to be left out either. In an emergency, there would be plenty of people to respond.

Ginny took Hermione with her the next day to deliver and explain the system. She found Mary at the shop with Amanda. They went through introductions and pleasantries while a few customers finished up their business. Once the store had emptied, Ginny pulled both her badge and Amanda’s clicker out of her pocket.

“Did Amanda tell you about our suspect?” Ginny asked Mary as she put the objects down on the counter.

“Yes. She said you were making an alert system.”

“This is it. The clicker is for you, Amanda. Don’t click it now. Put it on your keychain, or something you always have with you. The badge is something that will alert us. George, Ron, and Harry all have one. My brothers Bill and Percy do too. Hermione and I also do. Dad doesn’t know about it so he doesn’t get into trouble at work.”

“This is proprietary technology,” Hermione explained. “It’s not licensed to be used by the public. Once you click it, it will send out a distress signal, and also your location. The head of the investigation doesn’t know you have this.”

“He won’t know if I use it?”

“It just alerts family. Neville is insisting we set up a badge for him too though, so he might get added,” Ginny said. “We’ll pass the alert on, but the boss won’t know where it came from.”

“Is Neville in the Order. too?” Mary asked.

“Just a friend from school,” Hermione tried to brush it off.

Ginny rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Hermione, that’s very reassuring. Some kid from Ginny’s school will pop up if you are in a life threatening emergency. Neville is at least as good in a fight as, well, anyone I know. He’s had loads of practice, unfortunately. He wasn’t in the Order of the Phoenix though. He was part of another group.”

“I take it he wasn’t at school either last year then?” Mary questioned. “Your lot doesn’t seem to do well with finishing school.”

“Well, I’m going back next year.” Hermione defended. “I just had to take a year off. Ginny will be going back too.”

Ginny decided now was not the time to contradict Hermione’s assumption or mention that Hogwarts was the place where Neville had become experienced in duelling. Somehow she doubted the information would comfort Mary or Amanda. She didn’t want them to have doubts about sending their kids to Hogwarts one day, even if she had doubts of her own. In fact, the more they spoke the more worried she became about introducing Amanda to magic. Every time they talked about her life it came out sounding so traumatic. She was sure they wouldn’t want the same for their own kids.

Hermione had successfully distracted Mary from the riskiness of the last year by going on a long rant about how difficult it was to study once you were out of the habit and how much she had to catch up on. Mary surprised Ginny by responding with a story of her own time finishing a degree at night school after she’d had Amanda. Amanda slipped the panic button onto her key chain and dropped it out of sight. Ginny dropped her badge out of sight in her pocket just as another group of customers came through. When they cleared out, Amanda left the shop with Hermione to see if they could locate Crookshanks. Mary stayed behind to tend the counter and asked Ginny to stay with her.

“Ginny, Amanda showed me the posters last week. I was wondering, did Fred have one like that?”

Ginny’s stomach lurched as she thought about Fred’s face on a WANTED poster. There had been one. The Carrows had been sure to taunt her with it before she left for Easter holidays. Ginny shut the memory out and stared at Mary for a minute before she realized she was joking. Mary had no clue. She was still talking. Ginny jolted herself back into listening.

“…..more respectable photos than any we have of Fred. All the ones I have found in Amanda’s stuff so far are of him at the pub, absolutely sloshed. Amanda’s going to move back in with me so we have two adults around, and we are getting a nursery ready. I thought it would be good to have a picture of the dad there, but maybe there was one that showed him as a better role model.”

As Mary explained it to Ginny, her stomach slowly untangled itself from its knot.

“I’ve upset you bringing it up,” Mary concluded as Ginny stood silently, her face arranged in a careful, expressionless mask, the one she had always worn last year during interrogations about her family’s and Harry’s business.

“What? Sorry. No. I just... I hadn’t thought of photos,” Ginny blustered lamely. “Goodness. I’m sure we have–well, someone has....” but she trailed off, her mind trying to lock into gear. The best defence for interrogation was to not think about anything, that way even Legilimency didn’t have much of an effect. Photos. Ginny tried to concentrate on that--photos of Fred. They’d all burned. She found her eyes were suddenly hot and wet, and Mary had caught her in a hug. It took a minute to compose herself. She felt so silly.

“I’m sure Aunt Muriel has some family photos,” she managed at last, stepping out of Mary’s hug. “There might be some school photos too. I can see about copies. Mum would probably like them as well.”

Mary nodded. She was still watching Ginny with concern. “Do you ever get a chance to talk about everything you’ve been through, dear?”

Ginny gave a watery chuckle, “I’d really rather not, Mary. They aren’t great stories.”

The older woman patted Ginny’s arm. “All the same, if you talk more, you might find it gets easier. Why don’t you go wash your face before the other girls come back.” She indicated the restroom in the back.

Hermione came back in disappointed a few minutes later. Crookshanks was nowhere to be found. Amanda assured her that the cat did turn up every few days and promised to keep plying him with tuna.

“When is George finally going to come by here again?” Amanda demanded. “We still need to tell him about the ultrasound. You haven’t given up the secret yet, have you?”

“Of course not,” Ginny reassured. “I’ll tell him to come down this weekend. Do you want the rest of the family there too? I think Bill still needs to talk to you about the accounts.”

The next weekend, it turned out, was not convenient, but they did plan a time.

Ginny left with a new errand on her mind. Somewhere in this world there were photos of Fred. She hadn’t thought of them before, but now she needed them. She needed them desperately.

Back to index


Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Sisters at Home

Author's Notes: Trigger warning: This is the chapter that begins Ginny’s story from Hogwarts. I’m careful not to be explicit, but if sexual violence gives you nightmares, you might want to skip the last part of this chapter.
Also, sorry to keep you waiting longer than usual for this. I promise I have the story finished. I will keep posting chapter by chapter, and I won't keep you hanging. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I love reading your thoughts!


Hermione had been quiet since arriving at Grimmauld Place. She would talk to Ron and Harry in the evenings, but spent most of the day time buried in her books. For the most part, Ginny didn’t mind. She knew Hermione needed space, of course, and rest. Ginny put her efforts into helping George with projects for the shop or cleaning and redecorating Grimmauld Place at Harry’s request. If she became too bored in the house, she would slip out to Andromeda’s and amuse herself with Teddy for a few hours.

It was after one of these visits to Teddy’s that Ginny came through the Floo to hear Ron and Hermione bickering at full volume . “I can see him if I want to, Ronald Weasley!” Hermione shouted.

Ginny blinked. Did Hermione have another boyfriend somewhere? That didn’t seem likely.

“You can’t see him! It’s not safe! You could get hurt!”

“How would you know? You don’t even know him!”

“I know what you’re like after you’re with him!”

“It’s not him! It’s my mum!”

Comprehension clicked into Ginny’s brain. She couldn’t get a word in edgewise as Ron and Hermione circled the kitchen table yelling at each other. Finally, Hermione stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her with enough force that the glasses on the table fell over and broke. Ginny waved her wand and fixed them. Ron collapsed into a chair and started banging his head on the table.

“It really isn’t her dad that’s the problem, Ron,” she told her brother softly. “You know that, so what’s this really about?”

“What if he convinces her to go back? What if she gives up magic again? What if she doesn’t finish Hogwarts? She kept trying to get me to go, but school isn’t my thing! Now she’s saying she might not go after all. No one from her year will be there and she doesn’t want to be alone again. What if...” Ron trailed off and tried to pretend he wasn’t crying.

Ginny studied her brother carefully. Not for one moment had it occurred to her that Hermione might decide not to go back to Hogwarts. She didn’t think her friend would willingly move back in with her mum either, but Hermione talked to Ron far more than she talked to Ginny. Ginny slipped out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the room she shared with her friend. The door was locked. Ginny knocked.

“I don’t want to hear about it!” came a yell from inside.

“Thanks. It’s Ginny.” The door opened.

“Sorry,” Hermione managed. Puffy red eyes gave her away.

“Want to tell me what this is about?” Ginny asked, pretending to look for something in her dresser.

“Dad asked me to go out to coffee with him. Ron thinks he has to protect me. Of all the overbearing chauvinistic--” she gasped for breath, “I can take care of myself!”

“Of course you can,” Ginny soothed. “The men in this family can be a bit too protective, can’t they?”

Hermione grunted by way of response.

“So when are you going? And where are you meeting him?”

“Tomorrow. Little shop in Maybush, near my parents’ house.”

“Sounds fun. I’ve never been you know. I’d like to see the town.”

Hermione looked her over sharply.

“If you let me come with you, Ron will get off your back,” Ginny explained. “I won’t get in the way, but if you need anything, I’ll be around.”

Hermione shrugged. Ginny knew her friend had given in. She went on down to the kitchen and to find Harry attempting to soothe Ron. She told them both the plan, cautioning them against saying anything at all to Hermione.

----

The next day, Hermione seemed nervous and walked past the coffee shop before turning around and entering. Ginny sat at a table outside. She watched her friend inside. She fingered an Extendable Ear she carried in her pocket several times, but in the end kept her promise not to eavesdrop. After an hour, Mr. Granger paid for both the coffees, gave his daughter a hug and left. Hermione came outside and plopped down next to Ginny.

“What’s up?” Ginny prompted.

“Dad’s filed for a divorce. He asked mum to go to rehab for alcohol and she refused. She won’t even speak to a therapist. Says it’s because she couldn’t talk about magic. You know, I’m starting to hate the Statute of Secrecy!

“Dad’s moved out to a hotel for the week, but he’ll be getting a flat soon. Mum’s been throwing a fit about how it’s going to affect their practice. Dad’s leaving most of it to her. He’ll take his equipment and relocate.” Hermione played with Ginny’s serviette. She started tearing it into little pieces and arranging the pieces on Ginny’s saucer. “He doesn’t want me to feel bad. He said mum asked him for a divorce even before they found out I was magical. He begged her to stay then, on account of raising me. It’s...He was getting tired of it. He wouldn’t have moved out if mum hadn’t thrown things at me, though,” Hermione ended sadly.

“Does he want you to move into his place, once he settles?” Ginny thought she’d address Ron’s worry before they got home.

“Not really. He wants me to finish Hogwarts. I’m scared of being alone there–I mean, without the boys–but I want to. Dad just wants me to visit,” Hermione sighed. “He wanted to have Christmas holidays together, but... I just don’t want to spend Christmas with a stranger.” Hermione fought back tears. “I don’t have a family anymore, Ginny. Both mum and dad will move. I fought a war to keep them safe, and I don’t even have a home.”

She finished shredding the serviette and moved on to making patterns in the remaining froth at the bottom of Ginny’s mug. Ginny sat at loss for words. She would have argued that the Burrow was Hermione’s home too, but they didn’t have the Burrow anymore either.
“You know you’ll always be welcome at Harry’s,” she managed in the end. “And when we have our new Burrow, you’ll be welcome there too. You do have family. We’re your family.”

Hermione managed a wan smile, but said nothing. Finally, she stood up. Ginny followed her around the corner down a quiet lane. Hermione took Ginny’s arm and turned on the spot. They landed neatly on the top step outside the front door of Grimmauld Place.
Hermione went in and directly up to her room, leaving Ginny to talk to her mum about how the meeting had gone. When Ginny made it up to her bedroom to drop her things, she found Hermione curled up in her bed, reading “Memory Modification and the Subconscious”. The book was not a Hogwarts standard.

“Where did you find that?” Ginny asked.

“I looked through the Healer’s library at St. Mungo’s,” Hermione replied without looking up.

Ginny shrugged and left the room. She doubted the answers to her friend’s current problems could be found in any volume, no matter which library it came from.
-------

Late in July, Mr. Weasley came home from the Ministry with Percy, Bill and Fleur in tow. He sat down for dinner before revealing several Hogwarts letters. Hermione squealed when she received hers.

As Hermione tore into her letter, Mr. Weasley surprised Ginny by handing Harry and Ron letters as well as giving her her own. Ginny hesitated before opening it, glancing back over to Hermione who now wore a puzzled expression and was reading through a second sheet of paper. Ginny tore open her own envelope to find two letters addressed to her.

Dear Ms. Weasley:

You are invited to resume your studies at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on September 1. Due to exceptional circumstances, the fall term will be divided into the following periods:
September 1 to October 30: Revisions and examinations
November 2 to December 22: First term of new material

As you were prevented from completing your sixth year, you have the following options. You may return in the fall, revise for your sixth year and take the Halloween exams, then continue with your seventh year studies. You may return in the fall, and repeat your entire sixth year. Alternately, you may return to revise for your NEWTs directly. This option is not recommended to sixth year students. Those choosing this option may select a maximum of three NEWT subjects.

We await your owl with your decision no later than August 15th.

Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Headmistress


Three options for school, yet Ginny wasn’t sure if she would choose any of them. She scanned the second letter.


Dear Ms. Weasley,

The honor of your presence is requested at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at two in the afternoon on Friday, the thirty-first of July, regarding events at the school in the prior year. Policies going forward will also be discussed. Additional attendees will include NEWT students who were absent last year as well as select students who demonstrated leadership during the difficulties of last year and all faculty confirmed for next year.

Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Headmistress


Ginny looked up and over to Harry. He passed her his letters. He had been given two options: complete his seventh year or revise for up to five NEWTs. Ron had received the same offer. All four of them had received an invitation for that Friday.

“If I may,” Mr. Weasley spoke, “Minerva came to see me about several changes that will take place at Hogwarts this year. Among them, I will be joining the school’s board of directors.”

“Oh, Arthur!” Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, leaning over and kissing him soundly and repeatedly. Ginny smirked, caught George’s eye and snorted.

“Yes, well,” Mr. Weasley continued when he had extracted himself from her congratulations, “there were many parents who were concerned about events at the school last year and thought that a comprehensive change of leadership was in order. The appointments were announced today. I replaced Lucius Malfoy. As he is in Azkaban awaiting trial, he will no longer be on the board.”

Ron cheered at this news. Mr. Weasley continued to say that the second week of August had been dedicated as a community work time for the Hogwarts castle. The major structural repairs would be done by then, but cosmetic repairs, groundwork, and the replacement of furniture would need to commence before school could start. Everyone was invited to help out. Most of the family quickly agreed that they would be there. Ginny remained silent through dinner, her letters tucked under the edge of her plate.

“Well, boys, will you be going now, then? You can join Hermione and Ginny and have a nice, normal quiet year?”

Ginny snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of her mum saying her name. Ron snorted at his mum’s comment. Ginny made eye contact with her dad. Nothing had been said to her mum yet, or to Hermione. It was definitely time to say something, but her normally witty tongue was stuck to the top of her mouth.

“Ginny, you’re awfully quiet,” Bill observed. “You haven’t said a word since the letter arrived. Is there something in there we should know about?”

“Oh, no.” Ginny nervously scraped her empty plate. “Nothing. I just have some choices to make, that’s all.”

Her dad cleared his throat. “Ginny, I think you have something to tell the family before the meeting. Let’s move up to the parlor for this, shall we?”

Everyone stood up. Ginny could feel Hermione’s inquiring eyes, but she didn’t meet them. Harry put his arm around her.

“Should I stay?” Fleur asked.

“That is your decision. Bill, I want you here,” Arthur nodded to his son.

Fleur excused herself and headed for the Floo.

“Wait,” Ginny called. “I think Bill might need you. Stay.”

Fleur turned around, her expression morphing quickly from surprise to concern. She nodded and walked back over to Bill, linking his arm and leading him towards the kitchen door. Arthur led Molly out. Hermione took Ron by the shoulders and steered him up the stairs after Percy. George remained in the kitchen with Ginny. He looked at his sister, and at the man who was holding her tightly. “You know you two wouldn’t get in trouble for anything you did? Right? I mean, the things Bill and Fleur did--”

“No,” Harry responded quickly, “it’s not that.”

George nodded, his face darkening. Harry kissed Ginny and led her upstairs. George brought up the rear. Harry took a seat on the sofa and pulled Ginny on to his lap. Her mum opened her mouth to object, but her dad stopped her before she could speak.

“It’s ok, Molly. Ginny needs to tell us all about some things that happened at school last year. Why don’t you start from how it began, Ginny?”

Ginny took a deep breath.

“It began the day of Bill’s wedding, when the Death Eaters came, I guess. Greyback–he told me he knew I was one of Harry’s crew and he would have people watching me at Hogwarts. He told me what they would do to me when I got there. I– I’m sorry, Mum. I couldn’t tell you then. We were being watched, and I couldn’t risk you attacking someone. Then afterwards, I told myself I would never go back to school. Then it became compulsory to go. I sat with Neville and Seamus on the train and I told them about the threats. They spread word to the old DA. Turns out a couple people had received threats. We all started sort of guarding each other.”

“What were the threats?” Bill asked.

Ginny concentrated hard on the floor. She had pulled up the carpet several weeks ago, but she had obviously missed sanding one spot down afterwards. She now focused on it as if she could sand it by looking at it. She kept her voice entirely calm. It was disembodied. She heard what she said as if it wasn’t even her.

“They said the Slytherins would rape us. They would use the Cruciatus, and the Imperius, and they would rape us. That’s what they said. It didn’t quite turn out that way. Well, mostly.” Ginny glanced up at Bill. His face had become disconcertingly wolf-like. Ron looked like he was going to be sick. Her father had to soothe her mother so that Ginny could continue. She looked back at the spot on the floor and told them about Zabini’s initial attack in the corridors. She had screamed. Neville had come running and hexed Zabini before he could do much. Snape had then told the Slytherins that they had bad taste seeking out blood traitors and Mudbloods. He forbade any physical interaction of any kind in the corridors. Lavender and Parvati had started escorting Ginny between classes. Zabini had tried to get to her several other times during detentions. He tried to torture her into complying. When that didn’t work, he tried the Imperius Curse. Ginny had found that she was pretty good at resisting that. “I think I sort of had experience with it. It felt like when I had the diary and Tom told me what to do, except Zabini was weaker, much weaker. I could fight it. I wouldn’t have lasted long, but someone always came around to help me.” Even when Zabini hadn’t shown up, detention had been just as awful. Ginny avoided details of those times. Her mum was shaking badly enough already. George and Percy, she was sure, were going to murder someone if she didn’t stop them. Ginny concluded by stating that she had asked Kingsley to hold Zabini’s trial until after her birthday so she could testify.

“Are you sure you, Ginny?” her mum asked sharply. “They ask the most awful questions.”

“If Ginny doesn’t testify, there’s a chance Zabini could get off with little to nothing,” Hermione spat.

“No, there isn’t!” Bill spoke up. “I’ll murder him.”

Fleur stroked her husband’s arm. “I am sure you could. But zen he would only suffer for one moment. I zink he deserves to suffer much longer zan zat. Zeir is no shame in telling what has happened. It is the shame on him, not on Ginny.”

Ginny looked up at her sister-in-law in surprise. Her mum did too. “It’s not shame, no. I’m sorry, dearest, I didn’t mean that. It’s, the questioning that is cruel, that’s all. I didn’t want you under the stress. You’ve been through so much already. I wish you could have told me before.”

Ginny nodded. “I didn’t know how,” she whispered finally. “I didn’t want to think about it when I didn’t have to. I didn’t want you to think about it either. I should probably say this now. I’m not sure if I’ll go to school next year. I’ll go to the meeting, but I don’t think I’ll go back to school.”

Her mum stood and scooped Ginny off of Harry’s lap and into a hug. Ginny excused herself to her room as soon as possible and was relieved that no one followed her immediately. Hermione entered after a bit and sat down on her bed.

“Ginny, I understand about Hogwarts. I just want you to know that. I would never go back to Malfoy Manor, so... I do understand.”
Ginny moved over and hugged her friend by way of thanks. Hermione indicated that she should sit on the bed next to her before continuing.

“You said earlier this summer that Harry and you hadn’t been snogging as much.”

Ginny blushed but didn’t respond.

“If you need me to talk to him about things... You know, if he needs help understanding, I’m the closest thing he has to a sister, I think.”
“I think he understands,” Ginny murmured, tucking her hair back behind her ear, “and just so you know, you’re my sister too. I’ll take all the help you can give this year.” Hermione looked gratified and rubbed Ginny’s back by way of answer.

“I’ll deal with Ron too, you know,” Hermione said finally. “He’s going to have a hard time processing this. You just leave him to me.”

Whether or not Ginny would go back to school was not discussed again for the rest of the day or the rest of the week. In the aftermath of Ginny’s confession, Mrs. Weasley busied herself by making all of Ginny’s favorite foods and hovering over her, as if she could somehow make up for what her daughter had been through. Kreacher seemed rather put out about losing control of his kitchen. Ginny came close to hexing her mum. Harry sensed the tension and frequently took Ginny over to Andromeda’s to play with Teddy that week. They had talked about events before, and, while there was more to talk about, Harry seemed to sense that Ginny still needed some time.

Back to index


Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Hogwarts Students

That weekend, Ginny had a welcome distraction, one that she hoped would make her mum back off a little and start focusing on someone else again. Ginny escorted Bill, George, Hermione, Ron, and her mum and dad to Ottery-St.-Catchpole, purportedly to discuss inheritance. Mary greeted everyone warmly. Ginny introduced Bill.

“Were you part of the Order too?” Mary asked keenly.

“Uh, yes. What gave me away?”

“Your face,” Mary answered. Ginny shook her head. Bill’s face, of course, had never fully healed.

He shrugged, “Well, I’m a banker now.”

“So you say,” Mary nodded wisely. Ginny chuckled. This was fun, and they hadn’t even got to the best part yet.

Bill sat down with Amanda and went over the accounts. George had designated all one thousand original galleons to the fund. Bill had decided that was insufficient and had chipped in another hundred. Charley, not to be outdone, had added his own hundred, and Percy had offered the same. Her parents had brought it up a bit more. George had also thought that half of the profits of the shop should go to Amanda, but Bill had suggested that a set sum might be easier for a mum planning her budget. He had suggested the average monthly profits from the Weasley’s first successful year of business, divided in half. Amanda was left in ignorance of where the money had originated. Bill merely explained the terms. The first withdrawal would have to be made after the babies were born. Amanda and Mary comprehended the numbers much better than Ginny could.

“There’s also a standing scholarship offer at Hogwarts. Should your child choose to accept it, their way would be fully paid, beginning at age eleven,” Bill offered once he had finished describing the savings.

“Well, that’s more than fair,” Mary commented, looking down through the columns.

“Would the scholarship cover two children?” Amanda asked quietly.

“Actually, the scholarship is designated by parentage….” Bill looked lost. “Who were you thinking of?”

“Fred’s children. Both of them,” her voice remained remarkably cool. Complete silence engulfed the room for several minutes. Ginny thought she would choke from not saying anything. “Twins,” Amanda laughed at the flabbergasted faces around the room. “I’m having twins.”

Mrs. Weasley promptly burst into tears and pulled Amanda into such a tight hug that Ginny was surprised the twins didn’t get squished out there and then.

“Wait!” George shouted. “You mean to tell me that Fred not only beat Bill here to having a kid, but that he had two? Bill, mate, you’re going to need to get a start if you hope to catch up.”

As everyone else was talking rapidly, Ginny leaned over to where her dad was sitting in silence. “So, when do we get to share our surprise?”

“What’s that?” her father asked absently.

“You know, that the twins are magic?” Ginny whispered.

Mr. Weasley shook his head. “Magic or not–she’ll have more than enough to be getting on with. Your mum has a nursery planned into the new plans for the Burrow, on the first floor. I think that was a smart move. Still, even with help, Amanda will be overwhelmed.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Mary called over.

“Remembering Fred and George’s infancy!” Mr. Weasley called back. “They were getting into mischief before they could crawl!” Stories of Fred getting into trouble as a child filled up most of the rest of the visit. Fortunately, Amanda seemed to find them amusing instead of alarming. Ginny reflected as they left that she would NOT be having babies when she was nineteen. Between her godson and her brother’s kids, she would have enough kids to watch to keep her content for a long time.

----

Ginny found herself increasingly nervous as the date of the Hogwarts meeting approached. She tried to take her mind off the upcoming meeting by planning a birthday for Harry. He hadn’t had enough of a party last year and she was determined she would make it up to him. Harry insisted that all he wanted was to have Andromeda and Teddy over and have cake. Mrs. Weasley planned a Saturday lunch for the day after the meeting.

Ginny fussed about this to Neville. He proposed that he plan a birthday party for himself and invite Harry. He would have to come, of course. Then Neville would have a cake for Harry. It was perfect. Harry would never want to be the centre of attention, but he did deserve a party. They decided to invite the whole DA over after the meeting at Hogwarts. Seamus helped set up plans and sent out invitations, which included the mysterious suggestion: “Bring your brooms.”

On the day of the meeting, Mr. Weasley escorted his children into Hogsmeade. Ron and Hermione went ahead, while the others waited for Neville, who joined them in the village. He walked at Harry’s side as Mr Weasley walked with his arm around Ginny. Part way up the path to the castle, Ginny stalled. She was being silly, she told herself. She had always loved the school. It was a perfectly nice summer’s day. The grounds were safe. The castle was safe. The repairs were coming along well. Unfortunately, her feet just refused to move her forward. Harry moved over to her side and rubbed her back. She pressed her hot forehead with cold and clammy hands.

“Let’s just make it to Hagrid’s hut, shall we, Ginny? Can you make it there?” Neville suggested.

Ginny nodded her head slowly and looped Harry’s arm for support. Her dad stuck to her other side. It wasn’t the most direct path to the castle, but Hagrid’s had always been friendlier. They sat down on the stairs when they reached the hut. Neville gave an account of Hagrid’s “Support Harry Potter Party.” Harry started chuckling. Mr Weasley joined in and Ginny managed a small smile. Neville helped her back to her feet. She took Harry’s arm again, and they walked up to the castle. On the way, Neville mourned that the Whomping Willow was in slings. They walked in the double doors and paused. The Great Hall loomed empty in front of them on the opposite side of the Entrance Hall, but they turned up the stairs instead. When they reached the Transfiguration classroom, Neville pulled open the door and let the others enter first.

Instant confusion followed as everyone greeted each other. Ginny noticed that there had been some change in staff. Trelawney wasn’t there, neither was Professor Firenze. There was no Dark Arts teacher. Professor Grubbly-Plank was back. Hagrid was there too, but now as both groundskeeper and caretaker of the castle. Filch was gone. The house-elves would do anything that Hagrid was too big for. In the confusion, Ginny noticed Ron scowling across the room. She followed his eyes to Marietta. “She was a saviour last year, Ron,” she hissed. Hermione overheard and looked surprised, then shoved Ron quickly into a seat. Luna slipped in right before Professor McGonagall began speaking and sat next to Ginny.

“Good morning, everyone,” Headmistress McGonagall greeted the group. She quickly brought everything to order with official introductions of the staff and students. In addition to the members of last year’s DA, those six and seventh year students who had missed last year were also in attendance. Other students were introduced as prefects from their houses. Slytherin was represented by Astoria Greengrass and Salazar Higgs. This, in itself, was a relief to Ginny. Astoria was reserved, rich, and pureblood. She was also one of the few Slytherins who had refused to practice the Cruciatus on younger students from other houses. Higgs was another who had refused. Ginny suspected he had also had a hand in a few other things, and she had definitely seen him in the last battle on their side.

“As you know,” Professor McGonagall continued, “we have had a series of incompetent staff over the last few years, including Dolores Umbridge and culminating with the Carrows. Mr Weasley, one of the new members of the Hogwarts Board of Directors, reminded me earlier this summer, though I am sure some of you have thought of it as well, that this means there are students at the school who have come to expect being bullied as part of their Hogwarts experience. There are also, unfortunately, students who think that being at Hogwarts means they will get to bully others. This is the year that way of thinking stops.

“It will be important for us as faculty, as well as for the sixth and seventh years who are returning, to know exactly what went on last year. I know several of you have yet to make decisions regarding whether or not you will return, perhaps because of this. I would like to reassure you that school will be safe next year, as well as thank those of you who contributed to its safety last year. However, in order to do that, it is important that I hear from the students of last year regarding how far things went. I know some of this may come up in the trials, but the trials relevant to Hogwarts affairs have been delayed till the end of August. I also thought you might like a more personal environment in which to share the details. Mr Weasley was under the impression that the students may have been shielding us from knowing the worst of it.” Professor McGonagall looked at Ginny expectantly. She felt her face flush. “Would you like to say anything?” the Headmistress invited.

Ginny opened and closed her mouth several times. It had been hard enough to tell her brothers. She couldn’t bring herself to tell the teachers. She shook her head slowly. Her father ran his hand back and forth across her shoulders. “Neville, it might be best if you start the story,” he suggested at last.

Ginny heard a long breath at her left, but she didn’t look over.

“How much should I say, Gin?” It was a quiet question, meant to prevent others hearing it.

“Everything, Nev,” she responded in a whisper.

Neville began telling the story. There were parts of it even Ginny hadn’t heard. She could guess who was who without Neville using names. She knew enough. Sometimes other DA students put a word or comment in, or identified themselves in his story. She heard some of the professors gasping occasionally. Some swore under their breath. Headmistress McGonagall maintained complete silence. Ginny glanced over to her at the end. Her lips were pursed and colourless. She said nothing for a long time.

Slughorn had been blubbering and finally broke the silence. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. We should have stood up to them earlier. You should have been able to come to us.”

“What I am wondering,” Professor McGonagall cut in, “is how you were able to survive at all.”

Astoria had been pulling at the sleeves on her robe for the last ten minutes of the story and spoke up. “Well, you know my dad had some rank, and Daphne and I have always been his princesses. I sent word to him that we were being asked to do things below our rank. Dad came down here and told off the Carrows one day about how they treated the pure descendants of Salazar. That’s why Slytherin never got punished or left out of meals, even if we didn’t do their Cruciatus work. He, er, also convinced them that the Floo in the Slytherin common room absolutely had to remain open so that parents could communicate.”

“Yes, but wasn’t it still monitored?” the Headmistress pressed.

“By my mum,” Marietta spoke up, “but she was worried about us. No one suspected me, because, well, I had cooperated with Umbridge. Turns out if you have SNEAK written on your face the Carrows trusted you.”

“I’m sorry,” Hermione managed.

“Don’t be,” Marietta replied. “It worked out, didn’t it? Anyway, that’s how we got supplies. I would get Higgs an order for food, medical supplies, and the Weasley’s stuff. Fred Weasley packaged everything as Potions supplies. Higgs would get the list of supplies to his dad and he would send them through the Floo. My mum destroyed any records of the transaction. Then Higgs would hand them off to me in Slughorn’s Potions class. I would hand them off to Cho, and no one who had to use them knew where they were coming from, in theory, at least.”

“Did Fred really send you supplies?” Mr Weasley looked up. “I had no idea.”

“No one did, Dad. That was the point,” Ginny finally spoke up. “Fred and George supplied us with almost anything we needed. They developed a fair number of products specifically for us. Infection treating bandages and stuff. We had a constant supply of the antidote for Veritaserum too; carried that one with me everywhere.”

“So that’s how you managed it,” Professor McGonagall nodded, looking impressed. “You were very brave. Thank you for telling me where you got your supplies. I was thinking we might have missed a secret passageway out of the castle. I’ve been sure to seal them up this year to ensure security.”

The students looked at each other nervously. “We’re not going to be able to get out?” Seamus asked finally.

“Of course you will be. The passages are sealed for security, since several of our students still have outstanding threats against them. Students who are of age may leave on the weekends, but with proper notice and through the gates. I understand that many of you have obligations you will need to keep up besides your schoolwork. Which brings me to the question of school leadership. Some of the prefects have already been chosen, as you see. I still have a few openings, however, as we lost several of our prefects from last year. I also need to select Head Boy and Head Girl and need to fill positions for Quidditch Captains. I can’t do that without knowing who will return. I’ll need your decisions by the fifteenth. In the meantime, I would like to hear from any other students regarding conditions in their houses last year, as well as ideas to prevent bullying in this upcoming year.”

Astoria spoke up again, “I know who was responsible for most of the bullying. My sister won’t be returning. Zabini is in custody. Montague, obviously the Weasley's are hunting him, so he's run for it. Harper and Parkinson are already in custody. Crabbe’s dead. Goyle’s fled the country. Malfoy’s in Azkaban. That’s most of the worst out of the way. Avery was a nightmare too, though. We’ll have to bring him into line, if he comes back. I think he could be dissuaded from setting foot in the castle, though.” A strange half-smile playing around her lips told Ginny that Astoria must have some powerful blackmail on her fellow student.

A Hufflepuff prefect spoke up next. He promised to keep his house in line, and also gave some details regarding what had happened to those who weren’t in Dumbledore’s Army after the group had gone into hiding. It wasn’t pretty. Ginny watched Neville turn red,then green next to her. He tried to apologize to the prefect for having run away, but was reminded that it wasn’t his fault. The teachers again apologized.

Cho’s younger sister, a Ravenclaw prefect, spoke next. “It isn’t just Slytherins who can be nightmarish bullies,” she added fairly. “Belby was awful. Most of the girls would avoid him. He said the most inappropriate, foul things. I don’t think he actually did anything, but...” she grimaced. “He wasn’t the only one to use fear to his advantage either. And...” She hesitated and looked at Ginny, “I think even Gryffindor has had some bullies in its time. I don’t think this year will be like last year, but in the years before that there were bullies too. There were sometimes jokes that maybe weren’t funny and pranks that maybe--definitely--went too far.”

Chang, Ginny knew, had been on the receiving end of several of Fred and George’s test products. Ginny had never thought of it as bullying before, but she could see how it might feel that way.

The meeting went for another half hour, during which time Ginny became acutely aware that she had sweat through her robes. The castle was chilly even compared to Grimmauld Place, and she was now distinctly uncomfortable. McGonagall went through the school rules and reminded the prefects which ones were there to curb bullying in the first place: No magic in corridors, for instance. They discussed options on how to handle misbehaviour. The prefects were reminded not to abuse their privilege. The professors were reminded to ask questions if they suspected bullying between the students. They were also strictly told what would happen should Professor McGonagall find out that they had been abusing their students or in any way sanctioning abuse. The headmistress hesitated only slightly before stating that Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes were still banned. This was shouted down in general outcry. When Professor McGonagall finally quieted everyone down, Chang suggested that a ban of specific products would be more reasonable. Professor McGonagall looked unconvinced, but when Mr Weasley promised to have a word with George about what he sold to underage wizards she decided she would keep the matter under consideration.

Professor McGonagall walked Ginny’s group out of the castle with late in the afternoon. She paused by the gates as they were leaving, “Miss Weasley, your father told me that you have your doubts about returning to Hogwarts. I can certainly see why. However, should
you decide to return, I would like you to be the Gryffindor Quidditch captain. The games will, of course, resume. I would ask you to be Head Girl as well, but I hear you have other responsibilities. Provided your marks remain satisfactory, I believe you could visit your godson at least every other Sunday. Please keep that in mind as you make your decision.”

Ginny nodded, “Thank you, Professor. I–I don’t know yet. But thank you.”

Professor McGonagall turned to Hermione. “Miss Granger, I am considering you for the position of Head Girl. However, if you took that position, you would not be able to leave the castle to visit Mr. Weasley on the weekends, should he decide not to attend. Please consider it carefully.

“Mr Potter, I believe Minister Shackelbolt has been speaking with you about the best course for you to take. I would love to have you back here. I’m sure Miss Weasley would love it as well.” Ginny smirked. The Headmistress knew how to get to Harry.

“Mr Longbottom, thank you for your leadership last year. It may be unfair of me to put more pressure on you, but I do think, if you decided to return, others would follow your decision. Now, I believe you all have a party to go to. I’ll need your answers in two weeks,” Professor McGonagall reminded them. She wished Mr Weasley well and said goodbye.

Ginny walked towards Hogsmeade wondering, if she came back, whether she could bring enough Dreamless Sleep Potion to stave off nightmares the entire year. Given Hermione's need for it this summer, perhaps her friend could help her brew the potion at school.

In Hogsmeade, her dad wished the children well and headed off. Seamus had gathered Dumbledore’s Army and was waiting for them. Neville spoke with him briefly. The opened a sack and distributed a set of Portkeys before Apparating away.

Back to index


Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Birthday Party

The Portkey transported the friends to a tree in what appeared to be an empty field. Neville was waiting there. The older members of the DA had already arrived as well.

“Welcome to Elm Park,” Neville announced when everyone had gathered. He turned and pressed a knot in the tree. It morphed quickly into a gate, leading to a tree lined lane, at the end of which stood a large, low manor.

“You seriously live here?” Ron gasped.

“Me and gran, yeah.” Neville ushered people into the lane.

“Did you know he was this loaded?” Ron whispered to Ginny as he passed. Ginny rolled her eyes. Her brother had always underestimated Neville. Hermione shoved Ron forward, whispering something furiously in his ear as Harry and Ginny strolled along.
The lawn in front of the house had been set up with chairs and tables and loads of food. House-elves moved around offering a wide array of savory pies in addition to the potatoes, chicken, and steak that were being served from the grill. Neville tossed ice cold Butterbeers to everyone, and indicated a table loaded with pumpkin juice and other drinks. In between bites, the younger DA members filled the older ones in on their meeting.

“What do you mean, McGonagall was about to ban my products!” George shouted when he heard. “As if anyone could stop them getting in anyway! What’s McGonagall playing at!”

“She’s not playing,” Hermione defended. “She’s trying to make sure everyone feels safe. That’s the same reason she’s closed up the tunnels.”

“No more secret entrances?” Lee looked over at George and let out a low whistle. “Floo deliveries likely to be cut off too. We might need a new business model.”

“We’ll go back to mail delivery,” George argued easily.

“Not with house-elves on duty, you won’t,” Lee countered.

George slumped momentarily. “Oh well, I’ll go have a word and persuade her,” he decided in the end.

“On the plus side, Quidditch is back!” Seamus announced, trying to cheer everyone up. “And that’s why I had you bring your brooms. If everyone here has had their fill for a bit, we’ve got more than enough folks here for two teams.”

“Seamus, I’m not playing,” Padma complained immediately.

“Course you’re not. You’ll be the medic in case we fall. Now, who’s playing what position?”

Angelina had been notified before and been enlisted to borrow a full set of practice balls from Oliver Wood, who was playing professionally. She volunteered to Captain one team, playing Chaser. Ginny was voted as Captain of the other, with Harry playing as her Seeker. Neville had never become comfortable on a broom, and insisted there was nothing he would enjoy more than watching his friends play. The two teams were formed quickly, boundaries for the pitch easily established by the hedgerows that ran along the edges of the green. Hermione, who declined to play, conjured goal hoops on either side.

It was the first Quidditch game Ginny had played in almost a year. She had borrowed Percy’s broom for the day, since she’d lost her own. His broom flew better than hers had anyway. She accelerated up in the air, made a hairpin turn and rolled. This was where she belonged. She was free up here in the air. Harry swooped up next to her. He’d replaced his old broom earlier that summer since he had needed one for Auror training. Padma whistled at the teams to start and the game commenced. George and Lee fouled each other good-naturedly, while Ginny sent goal after goal soaring through Corner’s abysmal goal keeping. Angelina scored quite a few goals through Ron’s hoops, bringing the match close. Right before the sun set, Harry found the Snitch and everyone hopped off their brooms to congratulate each other as the house-elves brought out two massive cakes.

Everyone sang loudly for Neville and, to his embarrassment, Harry. Many of the students also insisted on toasting them, each trying to outdo the other until the toasts all became rather ludicrous and both Neville and Harry begged everyone to please stop.
As Ginny shoveled down a third slice of cake, the younger Chang sister made her way over. “What was Astoria saying about Montague?” she asked, returning to discussing the meeting. Ginny and George told everyone about Fred’s girlfriend and baby. There were cries of fury at Montague, outrage that the attack had been dismissed so quickly by Robards, and a general promise that they would catch the slime ball and get him good if it was the last thing they did. George explained the security system they had come up with and everyone asked to be added.

Parvati examined Ginny’s badge carefully. “Would this work inside Hogwarts?”

“Sure would,” George replied. “It transports you to the site of the alarm as a Portkey, so it gets around the Apparition wards.”

“Can they activate each other?”

George screwed up his face in thought. “Right now, no. But they could be reconfigured. I’d have to do it so it didn’t alert Amanda’s. Why?”

“Well, if we can’t get out of the school,” Parvati explained, “I at least want to know that I could contact someone outside if, you know....” She drifted off. Everyone understood what she was saying. George nodded and asked Hermione for help. They began discussions of how to create extra badges and alter them, while others began side conversations, catching each other up on where they were living, how repairs were coming along, and other such news. Several students started discussing the state of Hogwarts and whether or not they would be there for the clean-up day.

“Hey, you know what?” Michael jumped in rather loudly. “Dad’s been in charge of the Magical Architecture Restoration team. I bet I could get him to leave one tunnel open.”

“McGonagall would find it, Michael,” Cho Chang reminded him. “She knows where they were. She’s bound to check them.”

“Oh, well, I could have him make a new one.”

“That would be rather foolish, wouldn’t it?” Hermione criticized. “Anyone could come in. We’re hoping to avoid trouble this year.”

“Of course you are,” Harry cut in, “and I’m glad the old tunnels are sealed since the Death Eaters might have known about them. But I think Professor McGonagall’s gone a bit overboard. Sirius, if you remember, came in those tunnels to try to defend me. I know Professor McGonagall wants to keep the students safe, but students have a right to be able to keep themselves safe too.”

“We’d make sure the tunnel was guarded, obviously,” Michael added.

Ginny looked at him. “How do you propose to guard it, Michael?”

“We’d have to figure out a safe spot for it to come out in Hogsmeade. Then we’d put a password on that end, and a password on the Hogwarts end too. Maybe a couple of charms.”

“Zonko’s. I’m buying it,” George announced. “Put the exit there.”

“And use Fred’s portrait for the password at Hogwarts,” Lee put in.

“Fred has a portrait?” Ginny stared at Lee gobsmacked. How did she not know he had a portrait? She could have talked to him.

“It’s not finished,” George grumbled. “He’s stuck in the frame. The painter was knocked off before he could finish the job. Damn pissed at me Fred was when I tried to talk to him.” Ginny turned to chew her brother out for keeping secrets, but he looked so lost that she couldn’t quite do it.

“We could fix the portrait,” Dean offered. “I mean, I couldn’t. I’m not that good. But if we had photos another painter could finish the portrait. Sounds like it has the animus already.”

“We don’t have many photos,” Ginny said heavily.

“Actually,” Dennis spoke up, “we do. Colin took lots. I haven’t sorted through his stuff yet, but you could.”

Ginny turned around and pulled Dennis into a fierce hug. “I’ll come over this week. We can go through his stuff together.”

“I, uh, I have photos of Fred too, Ginny. I hadn’t realized--been an arse--didn’t know you didn’t have any.” Lee stepped over and hugged both Ginny and Dennis together.

“Group hug!” George announced, tackling all three of them. Ginny thought she felt tears on his face as he embraced them, but those who were farther away only heard his laughter.

----

The party went late that night. The house-elves brought out a fire pit and set up a roaring bonfire in it. George handed out sparklers and a large array of fun products. Neville’s grandmother came out near midnight to announce that she would be soundproofing her room and going to bed, and they should be sure to come and get her in case of a fire. She also invited everyone to crash in the many guest rooms as she was sure several people were much too drunk to Apparate. Ginny had already told her parents that the party would go through the night. Surprisingly, her mum had not objected. Mrs. Longbottom’s reputation for strictness had satisfied Mrs. Weasley. The elderly woman, however, seemed inclined to let the young people have all the fun they could.

Several hours after midnight, Ginny pulled Harry out of the crowd and into one of the guest rooms. She locked the door behind them and pulled him down onto the bed.

“Ginny, what are you up to?” Harry slurred out.

She lay down next to him. “I thought we could get some quality time together,” she whispered.

“Like this?” he asked, leaning over and snogging her. She responded enthusiastically, her hands making their way up under his shirt, realizing that she could feel all his ribs. Loosening his shirt, she tried to pull up. He stiffened and resisted.

“What’s wrong?” Ginny whispered.

“It’s... scars.” Harry mumbled. Ginny kissed him again, then pulled his shirt off completely and traced the scars with her fingers.

“Yeah.” Ginny sat up. “Why don’t you take my shirt off too?” she suggested, kissing him softly on his scars.

Harry fumbled rather badly with her shirt as he pulled it off. She was wearing her cutest new bra, but that wasn’t what she wanted him to see. A thin white scar wrapped her shoulder. A series of angry red ones cut across her back. It was Harry’s turn to trace the scars with his fingers. “Why?” he asked softly.

“The ones on my back are from detention. They used to use a poisoned whip. The other is from a blast during the Battle,” Ginny murmured. “Don’t be ashamed of your scars, Harry. We all have them. Every one of us.”

Harry held Ginny and cried. He was drunk, but he might have cried even if he wasn’t. Ginny let herself be held. She let herself cry too, for herself, for Harry, for all of them. Harry fell asleep in minutes. Ginny reached over him for her shirt and pulled it back on, then settling on the other side of the bed.

She woke first in the morning. She looked down at Harry’s bare chest and pulled herself out of bed. She managed to slip out into the hallway without waking him. Hermione was eating in the breakfast room already. Her hair was even bushier than normal and she looked rather flushed.

“Good party last night?” Ginny asked with a smirk as she helped herself to kippers.

“Great party,” Hermione agreed.

“We’d better get the boys up and get home soon,” Ginny suggested. She had spotted a clock on her way down the stairs. It was past ten.

“Would you happen to know what room Harry’s in, then?” Hermione asked with a smirk.

“Of course I would. I don’t like to lose track of my boyfriend,” Ginny said.

“Your shirt’s on inside out,” Hermione replied calmly. Ginny looked down at herself and burst out laughing. Not only was her shirt inside out, it was also backwards. She filled up a heaping plate of breakfast food, grabbed two mugs of coffee and headed back to the room to change. She passed Padma and Seamus coming out of a room together. They looked rather too pleased with themselves. An hour later Ginny had managed to finish her breakfast and get herself cleaned. A dozen of the party goers were milling around in the breakfast room when she entered to drop off her plate and mug. George and Angelina were snogging in the corner. Ginny cleared her throat loudly and reminded him that he was expected back at Grimmauld Place for lunch at one that afternoon. She and Harry left with Ron and Hermione a few minutes later. Whether Mrs. Weasley suspected how the party had gone or not, she did not say. Harry ate a second cake for lunch that day and declared it the best birthday weekend he had ever had.

Back to index


Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Moving Forward (Or Not)

Ginny spent the next week going back and forth to Dennis Creevey’s house. His parents were wonderful, loving people, but they didn’t understand Colin’s magical world or his magical belongings. Colin didn’t have much stuff to go through, really, but what little he had held so many memories that Dennis struggled to make decisions about it. His mum came up and sat on the bed in Colin’s room as Ginny helped Dennis decide what to keep and what to donate to younger Hogwarts students. The camera went into the “keep” stack. Most of the school books would be passed on. The photos were set aside for last.

Ginny and Dennis looked through the boxes of photos together. Colin had already catalogued them and arranged them in chronological order. Dennis offered to make copies of all the photos of those who had died and send them to their families. He even figured out how to convert the magical photos of the Muggleborns into Muggle photos so that they could be shared without a breach of secrecy. Ginny discovered that Colin had taken a good many pictures of her and Harry during their last year at Hogwarts together. She asked for copies of those too. She would make him an album for Christmas. By the end of the week, Ginny had three photo albums in hand, one for George, one for her mum, and one for Amanda. Amanda’s, unfortunately, would need significant editing. Not only did the photos move, but there was magic being done in most of them. Ginny did give George his as soon as it was made. Dean had sent George the name of a painter who could repair Fred’s portrait. Now George sent off his photo album together with the painting to see about repairs.
Midweek, Michael Corner sent a message out on the old DA coins for everyone to meet for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. Hannah, who had lost both parents in the war, had been working there for the summer to provide for her sister. She had a back room setup when the group arrived. Everyone ordered lunch and drinks, but Michael still hadn’t shown. Hannah made small talk with everyone as she pretended to still be busy waiting on them. Someone asked her if she would be returning to Hogwarts.

“I can’t, I’m afraid,” she answered. “I’m barely making enough to take care of Suzanne as is, even though Tom lets us live in the rooms. I was hoping I could have sent her, but it doesn’t look like it will work. Hogwarts is strapped for funds this year, so not much by way of Bursaries. I still have our old books though.”

“You’ll tutor your sister, then?” Parvati asked.

“No, she won’t.” Neville had set down his sandwich and was wiping his hand.

“Actually, Nev, I was going to...” Hannah began.

“You’re going to send Suzanne to Hogwarts. I’m paying. And if you want to go too, I’m sending you.”

Hannah began protesting, but Neville wouldn’t hear of it. After Hannah bustled back to the kitchen, Harry put his head together with Neville. Ginny listened proudly as the two of them began talking about replenishing the fund for needy families at Hogwarts. Harry promised to set up an appointment with Bill. Michael arrived shortly thereafter and went straight into business.

“I talked to my dad. He can get the tunnel setup. It would normally not be possible, but they have goblins coming in to work tomorrow anyway. They haven’t been able to repair the part of the castle above the Room of Requirement since it was destroyed. They are bringing the goblins in for consultation. Apparently, they were involved in the original building.”

“Oh. Sorry we destroyed that room,” Harry apologized.

“It wasn’t you. It was Crabbe!” Hermione argued.

“Well, anyway,” Michael cut the two off, “the goblins can build tunnels without causing structural problems. Dad just asked where we wanted the tunnel to start from. He needed to know if we were starting from a room or a passage and what floor and such. I was thinking, maybe we could rebuild the Room of Requirement.”

“We can’t,” Padma and Hermione spoke together, then looked shocked at having had the same answer.

“The school was built through the cooperation of house-elves, goblins, and wizards. The magic on that room was threefold magic. We can’t rebuild it,” Padma explained.

“What’s threefold magic?” Harry asked.

“The knowledge was lost after the Goblin Wars,” Hermione began.

“How do you know about it then?” George questioned.

“Honestly, George, it’s in Hogwarts: A History!” Hermione rolled her eyes.

“Yes, well, it’s a note in the Appendix in Hogwarts: A History.” Padma clarified. “If you want the full story, you’d have to read books on wizarding architecture from the fourteen hundreds. Dad has a few.”

“Could we take a look at them?” George had seized on the idea and wasn’t letting go.

“Sure, I can go home and get them,” Padma offered.

“Don’t go by yourself,” Seamus spoke up.

Padma looked at him appraisingly, “Fine then. Come with me. It’s high time you met my dad anyway.”

Parvati giggled as the two of them walked out.

“How long’s that been a thing?” Ron questioned.

“Oh, ages. But Padma kept saying the war wasn’t a time to couple up, so she spent last year arguing with him instead. I wish Seamus the best,” Parvati toasted the air with her butterbeer.

“Reminds me of another couple,” Harry commented, looking pointedly at Hermione and Ron. Ginny and George both keeled over laughing till they were in tears.

“We still would need house-elves who knew something about construction. Or does your dad keep house-elves?” Hermione accused.

“No. Dad likes independent workers. The house-elves only do exactly what you tell them, even if you tell them the wrong thing. Annoys Dad no end,” Michael complained, missing Hermione’s accusation entirely. Hermione rolled her eyes, preparing to launch into a defence when Ron put his hand on her arm and gave it a squeeze. She turned on him instead, but he stopped her arguments by kissing her.

“Well then,” Neville turned so that he couldn’t see Ron, “I happen to have house-elves. No idea if they are any good at architecture, but there’s a chance. My grandfather was an architect after all. I mean, I could ask.”

“If we are going to rebuild it, we’d need a list of specifications,” Michael continued. Hermione had surfaced from Ron’s kiss and dove under the table into her bag, emerging with parchment and a quill. Parvati moved over next to her and began cataloguing every known feature of the room.

Padma returned eventually with the books she’d been looking for and a rather embarrassed Seamus. Hermione surprised everyone by refusing to look at the books and instead asking to interview Neville’s house-elves. He escorted her off to his family estate before Apparating back to work. George took over the research at the pub.

When Hermione finally returned, she recounted the products of several circuitous conversations. She had the names of a wizarding construction company that still utilized house-elves in mysterious building projects. Due to the house-elves codes, no one would say what the projects were. Additionally, the company operated primarily in Switzerland and it was doubtful that the elves in question would speak English. Michael assured her that his dad spoke both French and German and could handle supervising contract workers. He left with the specifications, the Patils’ book on the original building process, and the name of the house-elf construction company for his dad.

-----

Word came the next evening that the initial rebuilding would succeed. George also received an owl that the painting would be completed in time for the Hogwarts work week on Monday. He rushed into the kitchen as Mrs. Weasley was fussing over Kreacher’s cooking. He grabbed Ginny in a hug and swung her around the room. “He can do it! He can fix Fred! Old Freddie’s coming back!”

A loud clatter from the stove failed to grab George’s attention. When his mum reeled and collapsed, George suddenly came to his senses. Ginny managed to revive their mum as George dashed off to find their dad.

“What was George saying about Fred?” Mrs. Weasley asked as she came back around.

“Fred had a portrait made,” Ginny told her mum gently. “It was incomplete, but it looks like the painter will be able to finish it.”

“Fred had a portrait?” her dad asked as he came through the door.

“Yeah. We wanted to get it finished for Hogwarts.” Ginny decided not to bring up the Room of Requirement or the tunnel plan just then.

“I want Fred at home,” Mrs. Weasley fussed, trying to sit up. Her husband held her down for a minute while he checked her for injuries. He then helped her into a chair.

“It’s a sort of big frame,” George explained, “garish, really. He was getting it made for the shop. But I asked the painter to make a smaller copy. I was going give it to you for your birthday. I didn’t think–spoiled the surprise.”

“Oh, George!” Mrs. Weasley exclaimed over her son, pulling herself up so she could hug and kiss him. He looked embarrassed, but didn’t pull away. Ginny slipped out and up to her room. She pulled the photo album from her drawer and returned to the kitchen with it.

“I made this for you, Mum.. Dennis had the photos Colin had taken. He helped me sort them out. You can have this, at least, until the painting is ready.” It was Ginny’s turn to be smothered in tears and kisses, but she really didn’t mind. It did feel somehow as though she had a small piece, or maybe many small pieces, of Fred back.

------------

When Friday morning came, Mrs. Weasley fussed about leaving and gave her children a long list of instructions for the weekend. Bill told his dad earlier that week that he and Fleur were going to take a holiday that weekend before they were needed back for the trials. They would be going to France to see Fleur’s parents, who had been understandably worried about them the last year. Bill invited his parents to stay at Shell Cottage while they were away. It would be a lovely holiday by the sea, Bill argued, and his mum could use the change of scenery. Mrs. Weasley suggested that everyone go together, but Harry and Hermione both vetoed the idea. Shell Cottage held memories that were a bit too painful for a holiday spot. In the end, Mr. Weasley convinced his wife that a couple’s holiday was just what they needed. That was how Mrs. Weasley ended up leaving George in charge for the weekend. As soon as Mr. Weasley got her out the door, George announced that he too would be gone for the weekend. He and Lee were working on a project and would be minding potions all weekend.

The foursome lounged around Friday evening, but Hermione retired early with a headache. She hadn’t quite recovered from earlier that summer, though whether it was from the stress of living with her mum or from Bellatrix’ curse was hard to say. With Hermione gone, Ron started to monopolize Harry. Ginny didn’t mind so much as they played rounds of Exploding Snap. When Ron pulled Harry into a chess game, Ginny gave up and went to the kitchen to study. To her surprise, Harry found her there not much later and told her Ron had gone to bed. She forgot about revising and spent a very pleasant rest of the evening cuddling and talking with Harry. When she finally did make it to bed, she was too tired and content to think about setting wards on the door. It was a habit she had started last year at school. She’d been pulled out of bed without warning more than once before she had learned how to alarm the door. Later in the year as the nightmares and screaming in the night became a common occurrence, everyone in the room cast a Silencing Spell on themselves before the last person turned in. It was a practice of common courtesy. Tonight, the spells just didn’t seem necessary. Ginny left her wand on the bedside table instead of hiding it under her pillow. She fell asleep within minutes.

Suddenly, Ginny sat bolt upright in bed. Someone was screaming. The Carrows were torturing someone. She reached under her pillow, but her wand wasn’t there. She could hear someone thundering on the stairs. The door to her room was jerked open. Light from a wand hid the person holding it and revealed her own wand on the table. Ginny grabbed it, but she was too late. The wand holder had charged across the room and was… wait, why was he holding her roommate? The Carrows didn’t have red hair. Surely, that bushy hair was… no. It wasn’t Demelza. She wasn’t at Hogwarts. It was Hermione. The screaming had stopped. Ron was holding a shaking Hermione. Ginny choked on a sob and buried her head in her knees. A strong set of arms pulled her from her tangled sheets. She gave in to Harry as he carried her out of the room and up the stairs to his own.

He sat down on the bed with her and held her as she cried. “I can’t do it,” she managed at last. “All I could think was the Carrows were torturing someone again. I can’t face it again, Harry, I can’t.”

“Shhh…” he murmured. He brushed the tears carefully away from her face and kissed her forehead. “You never have to face that again.”

Harry kept rubbing her back and kissing her face as Ginny tried desperately to calm herself down. “Ron will stay with Hermione tonight,” Harry said at last. “Do you want to stay with me?” Ginny nodded quickly. Harry lifted the covers on his bed and helped her lie down in it. He lay next to her and held her.

She wasn’t sure when she fell asleep, but he was still holding her when she woke late the next morning. Ginny observed her boyfriend’s face quietly for a few moments. It rarely looked this peaceful. Relaxed like this, Harry almost looked like the eighteen-year-old he was, rather than the scarred battle veteran and hero of the wizarding world. Ginny smiled and moved softly to hold him closer, realizing as she did so that he didn’t have shirt on. She must have been really out of it last night. She ran her hands softly down his back and moved her leg against his, then froze. He was only wearing boxers. Surely, she would have noticed THAT last night. She moved her hands down under the covers to confirm her findings.

“Hey there,” Harry murmured as her hands found his bum.

“Oh, hi,” Ginny kissed him softly, “I hadn’t realized you were awake.”

“I wasn’t, but this is a very pleasant way to wake up,” Harry responded to her. He pulled her in for a deeper kiss. “I could handle waking up like this more often in the future.”

Ginny giggled. Harry’s hands had begun to do some exploring of their own, reminding her just how skimpy her bed shorts and vest were. She pushed him playfully away. “We should get up before Ron finds us.”

“You don’t think he’s waking up with Hermione the same way?” Harry asked.

“Oh, he probably is, but you know he’s a filthy hypocrite.”

“We should fix that,” Harry proposed. Ginny looked at him and raised her eyebrows.

“Just how do you think you could do that?”

“Tell him he and Hermione can share a room again tonight if you and I can too.” Harry pulled Ginny back to himself. His warmth was addicting. Ginny ran her lips along his chest before she could think to stop herself. He groaned and kissed her neck. “Would you like to share a room with me again tonight then?” he whispered in her ear.

Ginny forced herself to take a deep breath and pull away from him. “What do you think would happen if we did?” she asked shyly. His gaze was far too intense. She couldn’t keep looking at his eyes. She buried her face in the pillow instead. He pulled it out from under her and turned her face back toward his own. He held it in both of his hands and pressed his forehead and nose gently on hers. “Only what you want to happen, I promise,” Harry whispered, his voice much too husky. Ginny let him kiss her. It was thrilling. She was ecstatic. She was passionate. She was terrified. She came up for air and blinked hard to keep the tears away. She had to do something to back out of this, and fast.

“What if I wanted a pillow fight?” she teased, grabbing the pillow that he had pulled away from her and shoving it into his face.

“Not fair!” came a muffled shout from underneath. Not even a second later, Harry had pulled his own pillow out and whomped her on the head with it. Several minutes of vigorous pillow fighting resulted, Ginny chasing Harry around the room and getting in multiple blows. She obviously had more practice and the game. “Truce!” Harry finally called, as she snatched his pillow out of his hand and whomped him against both sides of his head.

Ginny leaned against the bed, both pillows clutched firmly in her hands, laughing. Harry stood across the bed from her, still in nothing but boxers. Merlin’s beard! She had a good looking boyfriend! Ginny dropped both pillows onto the bed, grabbed Harry’s dressing gown and tossed it over to him.

“You should shower,” she suggested. She opened his wardrobe and pulled out a button down shirt that she wrapped around herself. “I’ll have Kreacher make breakfast.” She hurried out of the room and down the stairs.

That had been way too close a call this morning. She was not ready for sleeping with Harry yet. Well, for sleeping with him in the technical sense, yes, but definitely not for waking up with him half naked in bed. Ginny composed her nerves with a cup of coffee. Harry took his time in the shower, coming into the room only after Ginny had finished her first plate of eggs and toast. She ate a second plate to keep him company. They both smirked as Ron appeared, said good morning without making eye contact, made a tray for himself and Hermione and went back upstairs.

“You’re right, you know. We should teach him not to be a hypocrite,” Ginny looked over to Harry as the kitchen door swung closed.
“And how do you propose to do that?” Harry asked, hiding his face in a coffee mug.

“We should go to Neville’s and practice Quidditch today,” Ginny stretched. “Leave him and Hermione to their own devices. We’ll have plenty of time to plot, and we’ll deal with them this evening.”

Harry gave his assent. They left a note on the table, grabbed their brooms, left the house, Apparating away from the front step.
Neville rarely had visitors and loved company. Despite not being the most comfortable on a broom, he joined them in tossing the Quaffle back and forth for a while. Ginny loved the space she had to fly out here. She practiced her manoeuvres as best she could without a full set of teammates. Harry ran her through exercises. Ginny thought she might be in good enough shape to play decent school games by September. Unfortunately, she would be nowhere near good enough to try out for the professional teams. Playing Quidditch was the only career she had ever wanted, but she hadn’t been able to practice at all the last year. If she couldn’t train with a full team, how would she ever be good enough for try-outs. Despite having made every catch and every pass, Ginny was feeling rather discouraged by lunch. Neville’s grandmother sat with them and cheered Ginny by telling her stories of her childhood. Judging by Neville’s face, he had never heard the stories before. Thinking of his Gran as an adventurous teenager rather than as his strict and proper grandmother required more mental gymnastics that Neville was accustomed to.

-----

It was nearly suppertime when Harry and Ginny finally returned home. Ron and Hermione were not in the kitchen. Ginny and Harry trooped up to the sitting room. Hermione’s study books were scattered on the floor amongst Ron’s chess pieces, but the couple was nowhere to be seen. Ginny arched her eyebrow at Harry and went and knocked on her bedroom door. Silence. She opened it to find both beds neatly made. They crept up the stairs silently to Ron’s room and knocked on the door. A yelp from the other side had both of them instantly in stitches.

“Come on out and tell me about your day!” Ginny called. “Or, actually, we could just come in.” She winked at Harry.

“No!” Ron shouted from the other side.

“We’ll join you in the sitting room!” Hermione called out quickly. Ginny laughed all the way back down the stairs. Looking again at the mess that had been made in the sitting room, she tried to come up with a reason that with only the two of them in the house, both books AND chess pieces were on the ground. Ron, of course, might just have been messy. Hermione, on the other hand, never left her books open on the ground. Never.

“I’m guessing they were playing a game,” Harry suggested, taking the seat farthest from the mess.

“A game, huh? That’s what you call it?”

“Oh, uh, Ron has been saying for a while he wanted to corner Hermione with chess….” Harry ruffled his hair and looked around the room. Ginny’s eyebrows practically met her hairline. Her brother was far more creative than she gave him credit for, apparently.

The renegade couple entered the room a few minutes later. “I have an announcement,” Ron declared happily, collapsing on the couch nearest the mess.

“Yes?” Ginny asked, looking over at Hermione. There was no ring, so that ruled out one announcement.

“I’m going back to Hogwarts next year,” Ron stated happily.

Ginny looked at Hermione for confirmation. She had shoved Ron over to one side of the couch and taken her perch on the other. Harry spoke up before either of the girls had a chance.

“Ron, you hate school. You’ve been declaring all summer that you wouldn’t go to school. What happened?”

“Hermione’s going to school.”

“Well, yeah. That was a given,” Harry agreed.

“I promised I’m never leaving her again, so I’m going too,” Ron returned his friend’s gaze with ferocity.

Ginny had been watching Hermione’s face as he spoke. Her friend looked way too soppy.

“You’re sure you aren’t just going to school so you can shag Hermione?” Ginny asked her brother. Hermione instantly turned the colour of a beet.

Ron spluttered, “No. Nothing to do with it. I just, I love Hermione. So I’m going with her! That’s it!”

Ginny’s mouth fell slightly open as she turned her eyes back to Hermione. Her friend, however, had an almost equally flabbergasted expression. Ron had turned around to pull Hermione into a hug, but stalled as he saw her face.

“What? You knew I’d made the decision,” Ron growled.

“But I didn’t know you loved me,” Hermione whispered.

Ron pulled his girlfriend in and snogged her by way of reply.

Ginny cleared her throat loudly. “It’s good to know you two spent all day talking about schooling plans. I was under the impression you might have discussed your sentiments when you woke up in bed together. It’s really very nice to wake up in bed with your boyfriend.” Ginny sighed for dramatic effect.

Ron disengaged from Hermione and launched himself out of his chair and at Harry’s throat before Ginny had time to blink. “What did you do to my sister?” he yelled. “You take advantage of her and I’ll kill you! Everything that girl has been through and you have the nerve to–Argh!”

Hermione flourished her wand at the boys, and Ron was thrown backward across the room. She added a full Body-Bind for good measure.

“Ronald Bilius Weasley, I love you too! But go attacking my best friend in front of me again and next time I will jinx you senseless. Harry loves Ginny. Ginny loves Harry. And unlike yourself, Harry is the perfect gentleman. He listens to Ginny and would never do anything Ginny herself didn’t want. If Ginny wants it, then Ginny gets it. You will stay out of it, or you won’t get it either. Do I make myself quite clear?”

Unfortunately, due to the spell, Ron couldn’t really answer. Hermione moved over to him and bent down such that her lips were within inches of his. “A girl’s body is hers, Ron. My body is mine. I do what I want with it, which you seem to enjoy. Ginny’s body is Ginny’s. She does what she wants with it. Harry knows that. Do you know that?” She removed her spell. Ron sat up spluttering.

“Of course, Hermione,” Ron managed to choke out at last. “I just want to protect Ginny.”

“Then protect me from something other than Harry,” Ginny suggested. She had moved over to Harry and sat on his lap.

Ron nodded his head grumpily. “Take care of her,” he growled, before leaving the room. Harry hesitated a moment, shifted Ginny out of his lap and followed his friend up the stairs.

Ginny tried to apologize to Hermione for ruining Ron’s confession of love.

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Hermione replied, moving to pick up the books and chess pieces that were still scattered around the floor. “Ron had no idea it was an important moment. He’s an idiot, that one. It’s beyond me why I love him.”

“Are you sure you want him at school with you?” Ginny asked. Her friend had been looking forward to not having the boys around the last time they had discussed it.

“Oh, yes. He’ll only be there till October, so I’ll still have plenty of breathing room. We’ll be in different classes mostly, since he’ll be revising for NEWTs. It’s the best of both worlds. I’ll have him there to help me adjust to being back to Hogwarts and I’ll still get my own time later. Ron will take care of the new Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes at Hogsmeade after he finishes. He still wants to be an Auror, I think, but I’m tired of worrying about people. He said he could put off joining the Academy till summer.”

“The idiot really does love you,” Ginny smirked. She dodged a pillow from the couch that came flying across the room.

“So what really happened with you and Harry this morning?” Hermione asked.

“This!” Ginny answered, chucking the pillow right back. Hermione ducked it.

“No, really,” she insisted.

“Really,” Ginny sighed, “he wanted to snog me senseless and suggested we spend the night together again. I started a pillow fight.”

Hermione shook her head. “You were scared,” she concluded. Ginny nodded miserably. “Don’t worry about it,” Hermione advised. “Ron needs to suffer a little bit tonight, and I need to get a good night’s sleep. I won’t get it with him there. You and I’ll room together again. I’ll take a potion before bed so I don’t scare you out of your wits in the middle of the night.”

Ginny hugged her friend briefly. “You don’t think Harry will be disappointed?” she asked.

“Frankly, yes, he will be disappointed. He will also understand. If he doesn’t, I’ll just give him a talking to.”

Ginny laughed at her older friend’s bossy behaviour. “You know something? You are just the sister I needed. But take your potion tonight! I don’t need your nightmares on top of my own.”

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Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Ginny's Decision

Author's Notes: Some of you are going to wish there was more of a Ginny birthday in here. I have it, but it’s not for this story. I’ll write it later as a follow up to “Intendedâ€. It will fit better there.


The Hogwarts workweek fell on the week of Ginny’s birthday. She declined to join at the beginning of the week. On Tuesday, Harry took the day off from sitting through the trials to celebrate her birthday with her. He took her to a Muggle film, which she thought was really brilliant, and showed her around greater London. He topped off the evening with tickets to the Puddlemere vs. Chudley Cannons Quidditch game. Hermione and Ron joined them there. Ron grumbled every time a score was made against his favorite team. They returned home for a delicious dinner, made by Kreacher, and a lovely cake made by Mrs. Weasley.

The two kept arguing more and more over cooking arrangements, causing Mrs. Weasley to declare several times that she was eagerly anticipating moving back to their own place. Construction of their home was coming along nicely and would be ready before Christmas. Ginny worried about Harry staying in the big empty house once everyone else moved out.

On Wednesday, Ginny tended George’s shop so that he could go to the Hogwarts work day. He took Fred’s portrait with him in the morning and returned without it in the afternoon. “Success,” he informed Ginny, winking.

On Thursday, Mrs. Weasley left for Hogwarts early with Hermione. Ginny met up with Luna and the Patil twins at Hogsmeade an hour later. They had agreed that they would go to the castle together. If they could make it through the workday, they would consider going back to school. Ginny found the walk up to the castle easier than it had been on her last visit. The grounds were already in better condition. They made it up to the main doors of the castle without having to stop. That was where they stalled.

Swarms of people moved around busily inside. Dean called out to Luna, who moved away from Ginny’s group and went to give him a hand with something. Ginny didn’t hear what. She could swear that there were explosions somewhere. People must be re-organizing for the next part of the battle. Madame Pomfrey hurried out of the Great Hall toward them.

“Girls! You’re here! Padma, I was hoping you would help me restock the hospital ward. Parvati, there were quite a few instruments that were damaged on the Astronomy Tower. The replacements are here, but need to be set up. Ginny, I think you could help down at the Quidditch pitch if you would like. They rebuilt the changing rooms and the stands, but I think the pitch itself still needs some maintenance.”

The girls remained as they had been, quite still. Madame Pomfrey pulled the twin girls into a hug. “Take your time. Sit down and watch for a little bit if you need to. I didn’t mean to rush you into things. Ginny, your brother Bill and his wife are down at the pitch. Do you need me to walk you to them, dear?”

“Oh,” Ginny snapped out of it, “no. I’m fine. I’ll just head over.”

The sound of a hammer was pounding on her head. She stood for a minute to watch as someone hung up a repaired painting. Beyond them, it seemed like a rather large crew was working on re-enchanting the candles and ceiling in the Great Hall. Ginny turned and headed away from the chaos of the castle toward the Quidditch pitch. She spent her morning combing through the overgrown grass for rubble or any artifacts that the Death Eaters may have left behind. The castle had been thoroughly cleaned and had a full team of curse-breakers go through it earlier, but the Quidditch pitch had been overlooked. Bill’s services were needed several times on the pitch that morning. Ginny mostly removed rocks that could have done damage to players falling from their brooms. She kept zoning out while working. Fleur stayed by her side and repeatedly pulled her back to the task on hand.

They went together into the Great Hall for lunch. Ginny had been certain she wouldn’t be able to eat there, but everyone’s eagerness and enthusiasm was contagious. She ate a rather large lunch and was recruited by the Headmistress to help the team setting up the Defense classroom. Seamus Finnegan and Susan Bones joined her, and her Professor Flitwick oversaw them. He had prepared his own classroom earlier in the week and now was readying things for the new Defense professor, who would be unable to come until start of term.

The hideous posters that the Carrows had put up had been taken down already. The students helped set up instruments and the supply cupboard and put new, more informative posters up on the wall. Ginny’s final task for the day was to retrieve a box of extra-large chocolate bars from the kitchens and place it in the new Professor’s desk. She took a bar of the stuff out for herself and her team mates. They walked back out to the entrance and sat on the steps waiting for the other teams to finish. Padma, Parvati, and Dean came out shortly after they had sat down and joined them. Ginny broke off pieces of chocolate for each of them.

“So, what do you think?” Parvati asked at length.

“I’m coming back,” Susan answered. “Just for the two months. I can make it through that and get my NEWTs. It will be easier than trying to study on my own while working.”

“I’ll be here till Halloween, too,” Seamus added. “It’d be a shame to come out with no NEWTs after the torture of last year. I don’t like being in this place, but finishing seems right. And I’m a Gryffindor after all. It’s the brave thing to do.” He laughed at his own joke and Dean joined him. Dean had already announced his decision to return at the party. He would be taking some weekends off to keep up his training with Mr. Ollivander, but the wandmaker had recommended that he finish his NEWTs too.

Ginny looked over at Parvati and Padma. “We’ll be here,” Padma answered for both. “Parvati will finish the NEWTs and go home. I’ll probably stay on and do an internship with Madame Pomfrey. I want to train to be a Healer, and the next training doesn’t start till June.” Ginny nodded. She popped the last of her share of chocolate into her mouth and looked out over the castle grounds. They were almost normal now. There were still a few patches in the Forbidden Forest where trees had been scorched. Those would take time to regrow.

“Well, Ginny?” Seamus looked at her.

“I still don’t know. Montague’s still out there, and I don’t want to leave Harry again. I know I should be brave and come back, but I just don’t know if I can.”

Seamus reached over and gave her a hug from the side. “Neville said the same thing. Well, not the Harry part, but I reckon he’s still undecided too.”

Ginny nodded and swatted tears away from her eyes. She wanted to come back and be with her friends. She just wanted it to be all of her friends. Lavender should have been there. Colin should have been here with them too. Dennis wouldn’t be returning without his brother. George had offered him a position in the shop instead. It occurred to Ginny suddenly that she would never have all her friends in one place again. It seemed unbearable.

------

Ginny had pulled herself back together by the time her family was ready to go home. They Apparated together to Grimmauld Place. Bill pushed open the door and Ginny stepped inside and went straight to the kitchen. She opened the door and then froze. Kingsley sat at the table with Harry.

“Hello there, Ginny,” he greeted her as she stood blocking the doorway. “I just had a few things to discuss with Harry in private. How was Hogwarts?”

“Er... It’s...” Ginny fumbled for words, looking back and forth quickly between the two men. “Is something wrong?”

“No emergencies,” Kingsley soothed. Bill came up behind Ginny and pulled her to the side so that he could step through. He greeted Kingsley with a hug and asked the Minister if he was staying for dinner.

“No,” Kingsley replied, “I do have a bit more business to finish up though. Would you let me have the privacy of this kitchen for a few more minutes?”

Bill nodded and walked back out, putting a hand on Ginny’s shoulder to lead her out.

“Ginny may stay, if she wants to,” Kingsley assured him. Ginny glanced over her shoulder and gave her brother a small smile before sitting down at the table. The door to the kitchen closed.

“I’ve been telling Harry that Hogwarts has hired a well-qualified Defense teacher. Professor McGonagall asked me to interview him personally given the poor luck we have had in filling that position. As far as we can determine, the jinx on that position broke with Voldemort’s death. Our new professor has agreed to a two year contract.”

Kingsley’s eyes slid over to Harry, who reached out his hand and squeezed Ginny’s.

“I was about to add, before you arrived, Ginny, that Robards will be retiring at the end of September. I may have encouraged him in that direction. His successor has already been chosen. He is currently assistant head of the Auror department in the Netherlands. He will be recruiting Aurors for training to begin in December, after the results from October’s NEWT exams arrive. Entrance evaluations for the January training will be held in November. Harry, you will qualify for re-evaluation at that point. Our new head of department, however, will not be accepting any students who have fewer than four NEWTs, without exception. If you still want to join Auror training, you will need to return to Hogwarts. I believe Minerva has asked for decisions by tomorrow.”

Kingsley reached the end of his announcement and lapsed into silence. Harry pulled Ginny closer to himself and held her. “I need to talk to Ginny about this, Minister,” he spoke carefully. “I’ll let you know as soon as I can.”

Kingsley seemed satisfied as he stood, hugged them both briefly and bid them a good evening. The rest of the family came back into the kitchen a minute later. Ginny helped Kreacher set the table. Dinner was on the table in a few minutes. Her family chatted amiably about the repairs at the castle. Ginny didn’t find that she had that much to add. Instead, she shoveled food absentmindedly into her mouth. Harry seemed similarly lost in thought. As soon as he could politely excuse himself, he did, leading Ginny away from the table with him and up to the sitting room. He locked and warded the door, then pulled her into a hug.

“How as Hogwarts?” He whispered tenderly.

“Hard,” Ginny replied. She pulled her face out of Harry’s chest so she could look him in the eye. “Are you going to go back, Harry? What do you want to do?”

“I want to be an Auror, but I promise that I won’t leave you.” He kissed her. Ginny nuzzled back into him again.

“Hogwarts is the best place for Quidditch training,” she offered at last.

“Yeah, it is. You’d be Captain, too.” Harry stroked her hair.

“What about Montague?” Ginny asked at last.

“Our badges will still work in Hogwarts. We’ll have weekends off. We can still be there for Amanda there as much as we can from here.”
Ginny nodded. Hogwarts with Harry… that might be ok.

“Have you talked to Neville?” she asked after a minute in silence. Harry smiled and pulled a strand of hair out of her face.

“Yes. He’ll be going back and repeating all of seventh year. He doesn’t really need to. He could take his NEWTs, but Professor Sprout really wants him to help her with the greenhouses this year. Apparently, plants take more time to repair than buildings. And Professor McGonagall offered him the position of Head Boy.”

“Neville’s Head Boy?” Ginny asked. For the first time since that morning, her smile reached her eyes.

“Sure is,” Harry confirmed. “Does that make you feel better?”

“Yes.” Ginny ran her thumb around the back of Harry’s hand for a minute, a small frown creasing her brow again. “Does that make you jealous?”

Harry shook his head. “No, Ginny. Neville took care of you when you needed someone the most. I’m grateful to him. I’m glad he makes you feel safe. I hope I can too, one day, but I’m glad you had him.”

Ginny kissed her boyfriend. He was perfect. “You do make me feel safe. You made my world safe. Neville… we went through so much together. It’s like you and Hermione. I’m the sister he never had. I’ll feel better going to school with him there.”

Harry nodded his head and whispered, “I know,” before kissing her back.

Ginny wrote a quick note to Professor McGonagall before she lost her nerve. Then she spent quite a long time snogging Harry before going to bed. She found snogging easier than sleep, anyways. Nightmares were far too frequent still. If she didn’t wake up with one, Hermione did. She had returned to soundproofing her room before she went to bed. It was best to let the other members of the family sleep, if they could.

Back to index


Chapter 24: Chapter 24: First Magic

Author's Notes: Thank you to my faithful readers. We are back to Amanda's story line.


Friday afternoon, Amanda was walking home from the shop. Her mum had suggested they take the day to plan the nursery. Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by the most ungodly sound. The large orange tomcat that Ginny and her friend had been after ran circles around her, its hair all standing on end. Perhaps the cat had been scared by a dog. Amanda looked up the street, turned around quickly and scurried down an alley and ducked behind the dumpster. He was here. She fumbled in her pocket and pressed the clicker. The cat had followed her. Montague had noticed her. He stood now at the entrance to the alleyway. Something swept through the air. She couldn’t see it, but she knew she had been seen. They would never arrive fast enough.

Ginny and Hermione were out shopping for school supplies. They had just decided on their purchases and were walking to the front of the shop when their badges started beeping loudly. Ginny grabbed Hermione’s arm with one hand as she pressed her badge with another.

They landed in a small alley in Ottery-St.-Catchpole. Hermione’s blue shield expanded in front of them as Ginny turned around to find Amanda. She was still on her feet, but had several cuts to her face and arms. Objects were flying out of the dumpster and blocking spells in a way that Ginny couldn’t account for. She hooked an arm around Amanda as several other members of the DA arrived around them. Hermione turned around, grabbed Ginny’s other arm, and nodded. “St. Mungo’s!” Ginny declared.

A moment later they arrived at the hospital. Amanda lurched on her landing. Hermione prevented the fall, but she couldn’t prevent Amanda getting sick.

“How many months is she?” the Healer at the desk came around and siphoned the sick off the floor with a wand. “Pregnant women have trouble with Apparating sometimes.”

“Where am I?” Amanda managed. “What happened? There were lights. And spinning. And why does that bloke have tentacles coming out of his head?”

Ginny looked around to find the guy in question, but Hermione addressed the Healer first. “A little more than four months. And she’s Muggle. The babies are magical. She needs a private room, immediately. Amanda, we’re in a very specialized hospital.”

The Healer nodded and called out for a helper to assist them to the room before turning back to Hermione. “Muggles can only really be brought in by the Ministry. Are you…?”

“No,” Ginny answered for her friend, “but you should expect them here shortly.”

She kept her arm around Amanda and steadied her as they walked to a private room. She helped Amanda into the bed. The Healer brought a potion to calm the nausea.

“Where am I?” Amanda repeated her earlier question.

“Can you tell me what happened?” the Healer asked calmly.

“That cat started yowling and almost tripped me. I saw him, and I hid. But he saw me. He kept sending these lights at me, but things from the rubbish kept flying out and blocking it. Then the light made it explode. Lots of light, and spinning, and I’m here. Where is here? Where am I?”

“You pressed your alarm. We arrived. We transported you to the hospital,” Hermione summed up as she watched the Healer work.

“You’re at St. Mungo’s dear,” the Healer soothed, “and we will have you cleaned up in a minute.” She ran the wand over the wounds on Amanda’s face, cleaning and sealing the cuts at the same time. Then she ran the wand over Amanda’s chest and abdomen. “Blood pressure is much too high, probably the stress. I’ll get you a potion and you just rest. The babies’ magic seems to have protected you from anything serious. That will be what made the rubbish fly around. I’ve heard of accidental magic happening in utero before. I’ll admit this is the first time I’ve seen it. Those will be two very powerful witches.”

“What magic? Why witches?”

The Healer looked inquiringly at Ginny. “Doesn’t she know dear? She’s got your brother’s babies.”

“He died before he could tell her. We hadn’t been cleared to yet,” Ginny said. She was watching Amanda with concern. The girl was not relaxing. If anything, she was getting more panicked by the minute.

“Oh dear. I’ve gone and put my foot in my mouth,” the Healer fussed. “Well, I’ll get someone to come along and sort it out. In the meantime, I’ll give her a potion to get that blood pressure down and put her to sleep. Easier for everyone that way.”

The Healer stepped out to the door, summoned the needed potion and coaxed Amanda into taking it. Within minutes, Amanda passed into a deep sleep. The Healer examined her with one final pass of her wand. “Heart rate and blood pressure are returning to normal. The babies will be nice and safe in there. All the same, she should be examined again soon.”

Ginny sat on a chair next to Amanda’s bed and tapped her leg anxiously. She had no idea what the DA had just Apparated into on Amanda’s behalf. She hoped it was just Montague that they were facing, but there had been a lot more spell work than there should have been. She would have gone back to help out, but Amanda could need her there. Silence reigned in the room for several more minutes before Ginny heard someone storming down the hall.

Ginny headed for the door with Hermione right behind. She pulled the door shut behind them and waved her wand over it as she saw who was heading down the hall. Orabella McTavish, the newly appointed head of the Improper Use of Magic Office, stomped her way up to the door with two assistants in tow.

“What on earth did you think you were doing?” She hissed. “Performing magic in front of a Muggle in broad daylight in a Muggle village? Apparating with a Muggle! Do you realize what it will take to clean this up! No regard for the Statute of Secrecy! Philips here will be cleaning up the memories, but don’t think that gets you two off the hook!”

The entire time the woman had been speaking, both Ginny and Hermione kept their wands out and active. Ginny could feel Hermione’s nonverbals as they joined her own in warding the door. It was locked with several locking spells, soundproofed and Imperturbed.
“I don’t think Philips will be taking care of the memories,” Hermione responded. “Amanda has the right to know what happened to her. She has the right to know what Fred did. She has the right to know what her children will be capable of. No one is taking her memories.”
“Oh! And you’re going to stop us!”

“Yes,” Ginny and Hermione replied together. Hermione added a final charm with a whisper under her breath, the door entirely disappeared, replaced with a clean length of wall. Ginny’s added her own whispered spell. The wall glowed slightly blue with the protections.

“You wouldn’t dare!” Ms. McTavish hissed at them again.

“I think you might find that they would,” Kingsley’s booming voice came down the hall. He strode towards them in billowing blue robes.
“Minister,” Ms. McTavish turned around and acknowledged him, “I would not have bothered you for anything but the most flagrant breach of Secrecy.”

“Yes, you were quite right. I think that I can handle the situation from here. Philips, you are needed at the village. Orabella, I’m sure you have paperwork to file on this case.”

Ms. McTavish’s red face went through numerous contortions. “Secrecy!” she reminded the Minister as she stomped back down the hall past him.

Kingsley, however, did not appear to hear her. He was busy studying the magically fortified wall that Hermione and Ginny had created in place of the door. “Quite impressive spell work, girls, if I may say so myself. Entirely unbreachable by most of the staff here. It might take me quite some time to dismantle this as well. However, I think you may have been a bit too thorough. You see, you’ve cut off all ventilation to the room. Eventually, your friend will run out of air.”

Hermione stood gaping at the Minister. Ginny caught the twinkle in his eye. She stepped back, pointed her wand near the ceiling and created an air vent.

“Well then, much better,” the Minister approved, “and the room is still sound proof. You know, Miss Weasley, your mother was rather anxious that you should return to school, yet in some areas you have learned far more than Hogwarts could teach you. If you two ladies would, there is an empty room here where we can talk.”

Hermione seemed to catch her breath. She nodded and followed Ginny and the Minister into the nearby room. The Minister sat down in a chair, leaving the girls to perch awkwardly on the patient bed. He poured three glasses of water, handing one to each of the girls before he began speaking.

“You’ll be happy to know that Montague has been caught and that none of Dumbledore’s Army was seriously injured in the process. There were several other Death Eaters and wannabe’s that were caught along with Montague. Unfortunately, there were two that escaped. We counted at least six at the scene. Somehow the entirety of Dumbledore’s Army knew to arrive within seconds of the danger. It turns out they are a very efficient team. The Aurors, however, feel that they have been jilted out of their job.” A smile played at the corners of Kingsley’s mouth. “Of course, had several members of the DA been allowed to continue as Aurors, I’m sure the Aurors would have been well-informed. Would you mind explaining your intelligence system to me? It seems rather more efficient than what the Ministry had in place.”

Ginny twirled the end of her hair in her fingers as she explained her decision to give Amanda the Wanted Posters and Alarm system. She tried to not implicate anyone else in the process, but Kingsley asked specifically about the charms on the alarm system as well as asking to examine their badges. Reluctantly, both girls handed theirs over while Hermione explained the charm work involved.
“Impressive,” Kingsley mused after Hermione finished. “And did you come up with this all on your own, or did George lend a hand?”

“I, uh…” Hermione stalled.

“You know George’s magic signature?” Ginny guessed, relieving her friend of answering.

“Yes. I do. I did work with him last year, after all. I’m guessing he’s been giving both of you private lessons this summer.”

Just then Ron’s terrier Patronus interrupted their conversation. “Mary needs to know if Amanda is ok. She’s going hysterical over here. Where are you girls?”

“Ah, yes, back to the matter at hand,” Kingsley looked at the girls. “We need to transport Amanda back to a Muggle hospital. The amount of magic in this building will hardly help her feel well. It’s not a very pleasant stay for Muggles. I will need you two to take down the wards on her door. Unfortunately, we really do need to modify her memory as well. The experience of coming here was probably quite alarming for her.”

Hermione slid off the bed. “You can’t. It would be the second time in three months. You can’t keep going at this rate. Memory removal only takes care of the conscious memory. The subconscious remains. The amount of damage it does–“ Hermione’s voice shook. Her volume climbed dangerously and her arms waved wildly around. She crossed them now and struggled to regain control before continuing. “If you take away the memories, she will retain a fear of magic. She just won’t know why.”

The Minister studied the girl standing in front of him. “I take it you’ve been studying memories a great deal this summer, perhaps because of your parents? But theirs was only the once, was it not?”

Hermione shook her head and burst into tears. Kingsley raised his eyebrows and looked questioningly to Ginny. She slid off the bed to hold Hermione, but shook her head to indicate she had no idea what was going on. It was the first time she had heard of this. After a moment, Hermione managed to calm herself and Kingsley spoke again.

“Ginny, if you would accompany Amanda to the Muggle hospital and see to it that she is taken care of, I think Hermione should perhaps follow me to the office while I look up her parents’ records. You will join me in my office as soon as possible.”

Ginny nodded. Hermione wiped at her eyes. “I’ll cancel my spells,” she said thickly and walked out past the Minister. Kingsley sent a Patronus back to Ron telling him to bring Mary to the nearest hospital and that Amanda was quite well.

Ginny and Kingsley then followed Hermione down the hall. A Healer was waiting in Muggle nurse’s clothes to escort Amanda to the hospital. As soon as the wall and door were returned to normal, Ginny went in. The Healer instructed Ginny to help her transport Amanda. They would be transporting her by stretcher directly into a private room.

Ron, George, Angelina and Mary were at the hospital by the time they arrived. Mary hugged Ginny and fretted over Amanda. As soon as Ginny had settled her down she left the others with specific instructions to block anyone messing with memories.

Back to index


Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Welcome to Our World

Ginny reached Kingsley’s door at the same time as another employee who was carrying a thick file. The secretary took the file, knocked and spoke briefly to the Minister before indicating that Ginny should both enter. A very pale Hermione was pacing the corner of the office, chewing her lip and wringing her hands. Kingsley sat at the desk. He had taken the file and now flipped through it, a frown creasing his brow and growing deeper by the second.

“Your father’s file is perfectly normal, Hermione, but your mother’s is unusual. I take it you know something about this.”

“Something, yeah,” Hermione stopped and leaned her head against the wall. Ginny walked around behind Kingsley’s desk and read the file over his shoulder. He made no objection. The records on the file were dated back to the year nineteen hundred and sixty-one. “Jean Thomas Obliviated after witnessing accidental magic by Jacob Thomas, cousin, at birthday party.” A description of the incident followed. It had been fairly minor, but an obvious breach of the Statute of Secrecy. A second entry followed from the next year. There were two incidents from the year after. Another incident from the year after that. A few years break followed before there was a fifth incident.

“Your mum had a magical cousin?”

“She didn’t remember till this summer,” Hermione responded. “She hated him. All she can talk about now is that he blew things up and never got in trouble for it. She was afraid of magic before I was even born. She hated it the first time she saw it in me.”

Kingsley had flipped over to the next page.

“Thirty-first May, nineteen hundred and eighty-two: First evidence of magic from Hermione Granger, daughter. Mashed parsnips exploded. No Obliviation deemed necessary.

“Nineteen September, nineteen hundred and eighty-five: Upon being denied a cat for her birthday, stuffed toy cat in bedroom became animated. Mother Obliviated as she became hysterical. Father under the impression that his daughter bought herself a mechanical toy.”


Kingsley put his head into his hands and shook. Ginny had no time to be alarmed as peals of laughter soon escaped his body.

“It’s not funny!” Hermione rebuked him. Kingsley held his breath to stop laughing and arranged his face into a studied, neutral expression.

“Of course, not, Miss Granger. However, I must tell you that you really are the brightest witch of your age! It seems when you restored your parents’ memories, you also restored your mother’s previous memories. Not even all of our Healers at St. Mungo’s could manage that! Have you ever thought about a career as a Healer?”

“It’s not really my thing,” Hermione replied tersely.

“No, and what is?” Kingsley asked.

“I want to change these ridiculous wizard laws about Muggles and elves and goblins and everything! You treat everyone who isn’t a wizard as if you can just manipulate them for your own purpose! Well, you can’t! They have feelings. I know there’s a Statute of Secrecy, but it doesn’t do much good if it makes people hate you!”

Kingsley was genuinely sober now. “Is that what you think the Statute of Secrecy has done?” he asked.

“I know that’s not what it did initially,” Hermione conceded. “But last year, Muggles suffered from Voldemort. They knew they saw fishy things. They knew when they were being manipulated. I know some wizards were protecting them too, but they never saw the ones who were. Parents lost their magical kids and they didn’t have a clue why. Only the Dark wizards worked in the open. Only they made the news. What do you think Muggles will associate with magic now?”

Kingsley closed the file and stood up from his desk. Taking it with him, he walked out past the girls and then came back without the file in hand. He closed the door carefully behind himself.

“There is no way that I can repeal the Statute of Secrecy. It is an International Wizarding Treaty. I cannot act against the law as Minister. However, there is a little known and seldom used loophole. All guardians of magical children are to be told about their child’s magic before the child begins attendance at Hogwarts. Nowhere in the law does it specify how far beforehand the parents must be told. I can send Minerva over to the family to explain things tomorrow. I will ask her to give them a choice. They can keep their memories, or they can live with the truth. The truth will not be easy, you know.”

“Can we go with Professor McGonagall?” Ginny asked.

“Yes, I think that would be well,” Kingsley granted. “I still need you two to file a written report of today’s events. Given all the other trials we have to deal with, you don’t need to fear any repercussions for magic in front of Muggles. However, the reports may be used to convict Montague and his accomplices. Please see my secretary for the correct forms.”

The girls thanked Kingsley profusely and stood to leave his office. “Hermione,” Kingsley called before she reached the door, “some of the memories your mum regained this summer were quite disturbing, but I think that you are right. What disturbs her most is that she was Obliviated in the first place. To not have control of your mind–that is a truly terrifying thing. If I could undo the harm done, I would. As it is, my apologies.”

Hermione nodded and pushed through the door without looking back. Ginny didn’t dare speak to her again for fear she would fall apart.
Filing the incident reports required by Kingsley took quite some time. The tedium of it convinced Ginny that she never, ever wanted to work as an Auror. When they had finally finished, Ginny stopped by her dad’s office to explain the latest developments. They returned home to a concerned Harry and Ron. Kingsley had relieved them of their guard at the hospital in person.

-----

Professor McGonagall joined Ginny and Hermione at the hospital the next day as Amanda was released. Ginny introduced her as a member of the Order, here to escort Amanda home. Her blood pressure had become elevated again, and the nurse gave strict instructions that Amanda should be on bed rest. Once they arrived at the house, Mary of course insisted that they stay for tea, while Amanda began clamouring for answers.

“Ginny, what was the first hospital you took me too? The nurse had weird tools.”

Ginny took a deep breath. “I want to explain that to you, but Professor McGonagall might do it better. There are some things you need to know.” Ginny turned to her professor and nodded.

“I am told you know that Fred was in the Order of the Phoenix,” Professor McGonagall began. “As I said earlier, so am I. The Order has mostly disbanded, but it remains on hand in case of emergencies. You also know that Fred went to a school called Hogwarts. In addition to being in the Order, I am a professor there. Given that you are expecting Fred’s children and that they will go to Hogwarts, we felt there were a few other explanations that you needed. Fred, you see, had some exceptional capabilities that are likely to be handed down to one or, more likely, both of his children.”

“Go on,” Mary gulped her tea. Amanda pulled herself up to a sitting position, but laid her head back down on her mum’s shoulder.

“Fred was gifted with magic.”

“Like a superhero?” Amanda asked.

Professor McGonagall looked extremely confused. “Well, he was certainly a hero….”

Ginny managed to laugh. Dean had been rather addicted to comic books. Here was something she knew about that Professor McGonagall didn’t. “Real magic isn’t very much like superhero magic,” Ginny explained to Amanda. “I mean, superheroes usually have one specific thing they do, and they are nearly invincible. That’s just not reality. Real magic, well, more people can do it, but we have go to school for it.”

“So Hogwarts is a school for magic?” Mary asked.

“Yes,” Professor McGonagall took up the conversation again. “My subject of instruction is Transfiguration, that is altering one object so that it changes form to become another. Like so–” she tapped the teacup in front of her. It turned into a baby rabbit. Amanda jumped. Her eyes darted back and forth between Ginny and Professor McGonagall. She reached out carefully and picked up the bunny. It was definitely a bunny. She set it down back on the saucer. Professor McGonagall nodded and tapped the bunny with her wand. It turned back into a tea cup. Amanda frowned, reached over and handled the tea cup.

“Okay, so that’s real,” she said. She rubbed her face with her hands and looked at her mum.

“So you also go to school for training, but you have to be born with magic too?” Mary followed up.

“Correct.” Professor McGonagall continued to explain the magical world to Mary and Amanda. “In general, we try to keep our magical doings secret. We find that it disturbs some and attracts undue attention from others. Unfortunately, you have witnessed magic in the form of violence. It is not how we would want you to be introduced to it. However, given your connection to Fred, the Minister thought we should offer you a choice. If you wish, I can alter your memories of yesterday’s events. You would not have to think of magic again until your children are eleven, and ready to enter Hogwarts for their own magical training. Or, I can leave you with your memories and try to explain the better parts of magic to you the best that I can.”

“I can’t quite make sense of yesterday,” Amanda replied. “But if that’s something my girls could face…. Would they not do magic until after Hogwarts?”

Professor McGonagall looked distinctly uncomfortable. “All magical children do some accidental magic before coming to Hogwarts. At Hogwarts they learn to control it.”

“Will it put them in danger?” Amanda pressed.

“Magical children are generally protected by their magic. In fact, the reports from yesterday indicate that the twins’ magic is already protecting them. You saw the bits of rubbish flying out and blocking the jets of light. The jets of light you witnesses were curses and hexes. The twins were levitating objects to protect themselves. In utero magic is rare, but your infants sensed danger and reacted. We call it accidental magic, since it is not consciously controlled. It generally occurs in situations where a child is afraid, as a mechanism of defence.” Professor McGonagall waited to let the news settle in.

“You mean that my children were protecting me?” Amanda asked. “But I ought to be the one protecting them. How could they even know what was happening?”

“Children can sense many things in the womb, dear, including their mother’s fear. Don’t feel guilty about this,” Mary soothed her daughter gently. She turned back to Professor McGonagall. “I can’t imagine magic is always safe though.”

“Accidental magic can also result from anger,” the Professor admitted. “We don’t usually see magical twins with non-magical parents. It is possible that they would endanger each other, if they were rowing. We can detect when underage wizards and witches do magic, and we would send a team out immediately if there were any real danger.”

Ginny shifted uncomfortably on the couch. She couldn’t with good conscious tell Amanda that nothing would happen. Fred had turned George green one day because he had stolen the last cookie. Even Mrs. Weasley hadn’t been able to figure out how to reverse it, but it had fortunately faded overnight. George had summoned a branch to knock Percy off his broom the first time he had shown it off. The resulting concussion and broken arm had been easy enough to fix with magic. The problem was, Amanda didn’t have magic.

“You’d have Mum to help you out,” Ginny voiced finally, “and me and all of us. Mum’s had lots of experience. If you decide, you know, to know about magic, then Mum could watch the twins sometimes. They could be trained a little, even before Hogwarts. Of course, we would come over if you need us, any time.”

“And if she chose to forget?” Mary asked. Hermione gave a little gasp, but Ginny answered again.

“Well, then we wouldn’t be able to have you over much, or your children. Besides, you wouldn’t know why your children did the things they did. I mean, I would still come by, of course, to see them, but there is a Statute of Secrecy. I wouldn’t be able to say anything.”
Amanda rubbed circles on her belly for a long time in silence. “I want to know my children,” she said at last. “I want to know everything about their dad that I can. I want to know everything about them that I can. I already knew that Fred lived dangerously. I already knew about the Order. I want to know everything. I don’t want to be kept out of a secret, not about my family, not about my children. Just explain everything that happened yesterday. I don’t want to forget it. I want to understand it.”

“Oh, good. Oh, I’m so glad,” Hermione breathed.

Ginny grinned. Amanda would never hide from anything. Ginny found herself sorting Amanda into Gryffindor. Professor McGonagall explained everything as fully as she possibly could. Ginny found herself having to help interpret the Magical terms into Muggle terms a few times, but mostly she let her Headmistress do the talking. Once Amanda and Mary decided they had enough to think about for the day, Ginny, Hermione, and Professor McGonagall stood to leave.

Hermione and the professor had already stepped out when Ginny turned around at the door. “Oh, there’s one other thing I forgot to tell you. It’s a Weasley tradition. Mum knits us jumpers every year. She’s already got yours done for Christmas and has started on stuff for the babies. She has eight sets of knitting needles going. So, maybe don’t buy the babies knitted things.”

Amanda laughed, “Duly noted. Maybe she can teach me to knit.”

“I’m sure she can,” Ginny agreed and hugged her goodbye. She stepped out onto the porch and tripped over Hermione, who was sitting on the step. Professor McGonagall put out a hand and kept Ginny from falling. Looking down at her friend, Ginny saw Hermione’s head buried in a ball of orange fluff.

“That cat’s bloody clever, you know,” Amanda spoke from behind Ginny. “It definitely looked out for me yesterday. Don’t know how it knew how to do that.”

“Well, it’s part Kneazle,” Professor McGonagall explained. “They’re a magical animal. If you don’t mind, however, I think Hermione would like her pet back.”

“Of course,” Amanda replied. “Handy pet though. I might get myself a Kneazle sometime.”

Back to index


Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Scars

The weeks before the students were to return to Hogwarts was anything but restful. In a stroke of brilliant scheduling, trials where students would need to testify had been scheduled back to back right before school. It was draining everyone. Hermione gave her testimony at the Malfoy’s trial, as did Harry and Ron. Lucius received fifteen years in Azkaban as a result. Narcissa was given house arrest and a large fine, with an agreement to extensive community service upon release. Draco’s case was much debated. In the end, he was sentenced to one year in Azkaban to be followed by community service. Ron howled that they should have all been given life sentences, but Harry shrugged. His childhood bully seemed defeated enough and Narcissa really had risked a lot to keep them both alive. Hermione retreated to her room after the trial and did not appear until the next morning, though Ron managed to get her to eat a tray of supper.

The Carrow’s trial saw a reunion of most of the DA members from Ginny’s sixth year. Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey gave their testimonies first. They were followed by Neville. Ginny sat on the witness bench nervously tugging at her hair as he went forward. When he was dismissed, the Clerk of Court called her up. Neville gave her arm a squeeze and she walked forward. She sat trembling in the witness stand, but her trembling was now from anger.

After the hearing, Neville had his schoolmates over to his place. They raised Butterbeers toasting sweet, sweet justice and a smoking Firewhisky to remember the dead. Ginny followed those with a second Firewhisky to numb the memories. Another Firewhisky followed because she was of age and no one could deny her a drink. Shortly thereafter, Harry whisked her back home through the Floo. Kreacher had food waiting for them, but Ginny was sick upon landing and stumbled up to bed.

She wouldn’t have left the house the next day, except Zabini’s trial was on docket and her testimony was needed. Plenty of the DA joined Ginny on the witness bench again. Zabini was given ten years, with the possibility of parole. His lawyer had argued his youth and the pressures of bad professors. Ginny went back to Neville’s for drinks again. Again, Harry took her home. Ginny vaguely noticed yelling in the kitchen as she stumbled through it on her way to bed. Her mum seemed awfully upset about something.

Montague’s trial had been hastily arranged for Friday. A double dose of Hangover Potion and two large cups of coffee with breakfast gave Ginny the ability to keep going. As most of the DA had been there for his capture, they again joined her on the witness bench. Ginny was surprised to see her father in the room. He had work. He didn’t need to be there. The trial shared much of the evidence of Zabini’s and was done by midday. Montague was sentenced to fifteen years, without parole, for attempted murder of a Muggle. Neville invited the crew to his house again.

“Mind if I come along?” Mr. Weasley asked Neville.

He stuttered, but gave in. The older man accompanied a young crew to the manor. He went in and paid his respects to Augusta Longbottom, leading her out to where the crew was drinking on the front lawn. Mr. Weasley accepted a Firewhisky from Neville, nursing it quietly for a few moments before he addressed the group.

“I know you have gone through hell this year. Drinking fire might seem fitting.” Several young people raised their glasses and cheered. “I’ve watched my daughters and my sons recover this summer. And I’ve watched them at the trials this last week. I would do anything I could to take this pain away from them. I would let them do almost anything that would take away the pain.” Mr. Weasley picked up a bottle of Firewhisky. “Drinking till you drop isn’t it. This numbs things for a moment, but pushing the pain back will only make it harder to bear. It’s time you went home. Talk to your families. If you don’t have family left, talk to each other.” He nodded to Augusta Longbottom. She waved her wand and all the drinks disappeared.

“Gran…” Neville pleaded.

“You’ve had enough,” she responded. “Take Hannah back. Suzanne doesn’t need a drunk guardian, and those with a habit aren’t allowed behind the bar. Anyone who has nowhere to go, we have rooms.”

Mr. Weasley took his daughter’s arm as Harry took Ron’s. They went inside to the Floo. Ginny landed dizzily, but she managed not to throw up. She wasn’t drunk. She thought she might have preferred being sick in the Floo to the emotional exhaustion that was crushing her. Kreacher bobbed up and down as she actually ate a lunch, before retiring to her room for a long nap.

“I think the worst is through,” Mr. Weasley told Harry softly after she left the kitchen.

“Maybe,” Harry responded quietly.

---

That weekend, Ginny escaped over to Amanda’s house. Her mum had been going on about Neville encouraging people to drink. Ginny wouldn’t hear a word against Neville so she slipped out. She told Harry where she was going, but insisted on going alone. She brought the photo book with her. Mary opened the door to her cheerfully and welcomed her in.

“How are you, sweetie?” she greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.

“I’ve been better,” Ginny acknowledged. “How is Amanda holding up?”

“Okay. I’ve been trying to get her to take it easy. Her blood pressure was still up on Friday and the midwife is fussing at her.”

Ginny grimaced. “I’ll pop over the St. Mungo’s and get a potion if she needs it,” she offered.

“It’s the stress of last week, I’m sure. All the same, if there are midwives there who have something that works…” Mary hesitated.

“I’ll talk to mum. She’ll bring it over,” Ginny was firm. She went into the sitting room and greeted Amanda who was lounging and watching a soap. Mary invited her on to the kitchen, and insisted on getting her tea.

“So why are you out of sorts, dear?” Mary asked after she poured. Ginny waited a minute, then took a sip before answering.

“There were trials every day this week. They’re being ‘nice’ to us younger ones and have as many trials as they can before school starts so we won’t have to leave to testify.” She nibbled on a ginger biscuit that Mary pulled out from the tin. She hadn’t thought about her stomach being upset before, but now it seemed to calm down. She sat herself at the kitchen table.

“You mean you’ve been having to testify all week? You poor dear. No wonder you look worn out.” Mary sat down at the table with her own cuppa. Ginny shrugged.

“I wish mum would see things that way. She’s gone and gotten all bent out of shape because a few of us were going for drinks at a friend’s afterwards.” Ginny finished her biscuit and Mary offered her another. Laughter from the soap floated in from the other room.
“What did you have to give testimony about?” Mary prompted.

Ginny set her biscuit down and returned to her tea. Why did her mouth still go dry when she thought about this? She had talked about it enough by now. It should almost be normal.

“The Carrows were a couple teachers at school last year. They enjoyed torturing students. They’ve been fired, obviously. They were both sentenced to life in Azkaban. That’s the wizard prison. Anyway, I was at school for most of last year, so… yeah. And then there were a couple students that were sort of their goons. Zabini. He was with Montague in the first attack this summer. His trial came up. They needed me to talk about the attack, and other things. And since they were doing Zabini’s trial anyway, they heard Montague’s yesterday.” Ginny traced the edge of the table with her finger as she spoke, preferring to examine the pattern of the tablecloth than face the kind woman sitting across from her.

“And you are going back to this school?” Mary asked.

Ginny took a deep breath. “Yes. Professor McGonagall, who was here, is the new headmistress now. And Dad’s on the board now, too. Everyone who was involved with last year is either dead or in jail, so….” she trailed off trying to remember all her own reasons. “I’ll be my house’s team captain, so I’ll have a chance at being professional. Hermione will be back. Harry and Ron will come and revise for exams in October. They’ve rearranged things for those of us who missed bits last year. Most of my friends will be back. We’ll stick together.”

Ginny looked up and finally faced Mary. “I know Hogwarts must sound terrifying, but usually it’s really wonderful. It’s just–you got to know the magical world at the wrong time. But if we want to make things right, if I want to send my nieces or my godson someday, I have to go back there first. I thought we were done with the war. I guess we’re not quite done. I still have to make things good again, or at least, normal again.”

Mary smiled at her. “You really are quite brave,” she commended.

Ginny smiled back, “Well, I’m a Gryffindor. Oh, that’s my house in Hogwarts. We’re known for being brave and maybe a bit reckless.” She looked back through the kitchen door at Amanda lying on the couch. “I brought something by for her. It’s a photo album of Fred. Think she’ll be ok with it?”

“I think it will do her a world of good,” Mary responded.

Ginny moved over to the couch and pulled the photo album out of her bag. Amanda sat up to look at it. They went through the photos slowly, Ginny adding in the funny stories whenever she could. Aunt Muriel had sent some photos over from early Christmas gatherings. Professor McGonagall had contributed copies of all the official school Quidditch photos. Colin had started documenting more carefully when he had arrived. Lee’s photos brought the album up through recording sessions for Potterwatch that year. By the time they had gone through the album, Ginny knew that Mary really did believe her. Magic could be fun. Hogwarts could be great. Any of the photos that said otherwise had been carefully omitted.

----

Ginny pulled herself out of bed. She was sweaty and shaky and thirsty. She had already downed the glass of water that sat next to her bed from an earlier nightmare. Giving up on sleep, she crept down the stairs and into the kitchen. Harry was sitting at the kitchen table fingering a glass of Firewhisky.

“Nightmares?” he asked, standing up and pulling her into a hug.

“Yeah, you?”

“Same,” he answered.

“What were you dreaming of?” Ginny asked, hoping to take her mind off her own troubles.

“You. Of what almost happened to you,” Harry murmured. He kept holding her, his nose buried down into her hair.

“I’m ok,” Ginny murmured into his chest. “You’re holding me now.”

“What was your dream?” Harry asked.

Ginny took a deep breath in through her nose. His smell was comforting. “Same,” she responded.

“Are you really ok?” Harry asked.

Ginny looked up at his eyes and realized she could not give him the answer he needed.

“Come with me,” she whispered instead and led him out the kitchen door and up the stairs to his room. “Hold me tonight, Harry. Just hold me,” she pled. He nodded and pulled her into a hug again.

“Your parents are here,” he reminded her.

“Do they usually come into your room?”

“No.”

“We’re good, then,” Ginny informed him. “We’ll wake up early anyway. Just set your alarm. We need sleep. This is the best way to get it.”

Harry closed the door softly as Ginny slipped into his bed. Putting his glasses down on the side table, he slipped in next to her. Within minutes Ginny was snoring softly in his arms. Harry double checked the alarm before drifting back to his own dreams. This time, however, the nature of the dreams had shifted.

Ginny woke the next morning to Harry tracing her face with his fingers. She smiled and snuggled closer to him without a word. The house was still quiet. The light in the room was faint.

“Ginny,” Harry whispered tentatively, hooking his finger under her chin and lifting her face up so that her eyes met his, “I love you.”
Ginny gulped. She had wanted to hear that all summer, yet now she dropped her eyes away from his. His gaze was so intense. She couldn’t breathe. His fingers kept stroking her face. He didn’t say anything else. Ginny tried to get her breathing back to normal. She forced her eyes back up to meet his.

“I love you too, Harry.” Ginny moved up and met his lips with a kiss. They lay together quite contentedly for a few minutes before Ginny heard her father’s footsteps on the stairs.

She slipped out of Harry’s room, stopped by her own room to pick up a dressing gown and went down to the kitchen. Her dad was busy making himself tea. Harry’s glass from the night before still sat on the table.

“Good morning,” Ginny greeted her dad. “Kreacher not up yet?”

“Good morning. No, he doesn’t appear to be, but I can make do. Tea, Ginny?”

Ginny nodded and moved toward Kreacher’s cupboard. She pulled the door open and knelt down. Not quite daring to touch the house-elf, she said his name. The poor old elf started, jumped up, and attempted to bash his head on the wall. Ginny caught him just in time.

“It’s all right,” she reassured him. “You’re not really late. Harry’s not down yet. And all he wants is something simple.”

“Kreacher overslept! Master is not angry?” Kreacher cried.

“No. He’s not angry. He will be down in a little bit, but all he wants is toast and eggs,” Ginny reassured their elf.

“The Mrs. Weasley will say Harry should have more,” Kreacher grumbled as he stepped past Ginny and begin readying breakfast.

“Leave the Mrs. Weasley to me. You do what Harry wants,” Ginny instructed the house-elf firmly. Her dad’s lips twitched up in amusement.

“Your mum’s not up yet, Ginny,” he assured her, “she’s having a bit of a lie in.” He indicated the glass of Firewhisky on the table, “Yours?”

“No, Harry’s.” Ginny responded.

“And how would you know that?”

Ginny sighed, “I woke up and found him here. We had the same dream.”

“Chamber?”

“No, Zabini.”

“You’re having the dreams often, Ginny, aren’t you? I think you and Harry could both use Dreamless Sleep Potion before bed. I can stop by St. Mungo’s and pick some more up.”

“I have it, Dad. They prescribed it to me earlier this summer. It’s just, I hate taking it. What if something happens in the night and I can’t wake up?”

Her dad came over and wrapped her in a quiet hug. “You’re safe, Ginny,” he reassured her. “If anything happens in the night, that’s on me. Ok? Take care of yourself. I’ll have a word with Harry, too. The potions would be safer than Firewhisky.”

Ginny nodded, mostly to make her dad content. She moved to set the table, then sat down to wait for Harry. Her dad passed her a cup of tea and picked up the newspaper. Harry came in a moment later, kissed Ginny on the cheek and sat down next to her. She explained her instructions to the house-elf under her breath. “He’s getting old, Harry. You need to give him instructions to rest sometimes or he won’t. I’ll tell my mum to back off, too. I think he feels like he’s in some sort of competition.”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed, “I’ll talk to him. I think they’ve started going at it a bit too much.”

“Molly misses her own kitchen,” Mr. Weasley spoke from behind his paper, “but that doesn’t mean she should take over this one. I’m sure Andromeda, on the other hand, could use someone over there to make meals sometimes. I’ll suggest it.”

Ron came in then, grumpy and a bit flustered. He accepted the breakfast without comment. Harry leaned over when he was done with his meal and kissed Ginny on the lips. “Take care of yourself today,” he whispered. “You too,” she replied. He and Ron had dressed before coming down, and now moved to the Floo. They hesitated a moment as Mr. Weasley continued to read the paper.

“Ah, go on without me, boys,” Mr. Weasley encouraged as he realized they were waiting on him. “I’ll just be a minute, but I need to finish something here.” The boys nodded and left.

Mr. Weasley folded the paper back up and set it beside his plate. “You and Harry act like an old married couple,” he informed his daughter easily.

“Come again, Dad?” Ginny asked, frowning.

“At the beginning of the summer, he hardly spoke to you and you hardly touched him. Now you give him orders about managing his household, and you touch each other as if it was the most normal thing in the world. You know what he dreams about. Something changed.”

Ginny looked back at her dad evenly. He wasn’t making fun nor was he criticizing. He was waiting expectantly to hear from her.
“I guess a few things changed,” Ginny replied, feeling a bit off her footing.

“You and Harry were at an overnight party together. Your mum and I also left you home without interference. I suspect that Ron and Hermione became, well, better acquainted.”

Ginny snickered. Her dad really didn’t miss anything. Not that those two were doing anything close to a good job of hiding it.
“Something different happened with you and Harry, I think.”

Ginny sighed. “I guess. I showed him my scars. And, well, we slept together. A few times. Just slept, not–Well, it’s like you said. We aren’t Ron and Hermione.”

“Would these be literal or figurative scars, dear?” her dad persisted.

“Both,” Ginny decided that was the safest answer. Her dad’s raised eyebrows however made her suddenly gulp. Lavender and Parvati had tended her after detentions. Sometimes they had been in bad shape too, and another girl from the dorms would be instructed on what to do. The wound in the battle Ginny had fixed herself. It hadn’t even been worth mentioning to her mum, not with everything else. Earlier that summer, she had been in St. Mungo’s, but the Healers had been the ones to help her in and out of her shirts. She had insisted. Up until now, the scars were quite secret from her family. Now her dad looked, for the first time this morning, actually hurt.

“Can I see what you’re dealing with, Ginny?” he asked.

Ginny didn’t bother to verbalize her answer. She slipped her dressing gown off, turned around and pulled her shirt up to reveal her back. Her dad walked around, picked her robe back up and helped her back into it. He pulled her close and cried. Ginny tried to find words to soothe him. It wasn’t something she had ever had to do before. Hermione stumbled into the kitchen, took one look at them and backed right out. Ginny finally helped her dad calm down and sent him off to work. She almost sat back down at the table before remembering Hermione. Groaning, she stomped her way up the stairs and into her room. Her friend rushed at her with inquiries, but Ginny couldn’t care anymore. She threw her dressing gown off and pulled off her night shirt. Even rooming with her friend, Ginny had managed to hide it. She heard Hermione gasp behind her now. Ginny tossed her night shirt aside and rummaged in her dresser for an outfit.

“That’s what he was crying about. It’s old news. Nothing new. Nothing happened,” Ginny snapped as she pulled on a bra and shoved a t-shirt over her head. Hermione had moved over to her own dresser and now pulled out a tub of cream.

“Turn around Ginny, and take your shirt back off,” she instructed, her voice shaking. “Those scars need to stretch out if you want to play Quidditch.” Ginny took the shirt back off and threw herself down on her bed, her own tears coming fast and furious. She hadn’t even thought of stretching the scars for Quidditch. Hermione moved over and rubbed the cream into her back.

“We’ll do this twice every day. It really helps.”

“How do you know?” Ginny asked.

“I’ve been treating Ron’s shoulder,” Hermione explained.

Ginny managed a small smile. “Dad knows about you two, by the way,” she giggled. Hermione froze and groaned. Ginny snickered at her naïve assumption that anything in her family could remain a secret. A few minutes later, she shoved her friend out the bedroom door and down to the kitchen for breakfast.

----

When her dad returned that evening, he slid a large jar of Scar Healing Paste over to Ginny across the dinner table while her mum fussed over the gravy on the stove. Ginny took the paste and put it out of sight. She noticed Ron furrow his eyebrows but dismissed it. A turquoise blue George appeared in the Floo that moment, grinning ear to ear. He had just had a breakthrough on a product, inspired by Fred. The sweets would change the skin colour of whoever ate them for a minimum of one hour, depending on the size of the victim concerned. He launched into a description of the discovery, dared Ron to try one, and generally monopolized the evening’s conversation. Harry accepted a sweet for dessert, his skin turning a bright purple. Ginny laughed at him till her sides hurt before popping a green sweet herself and turning bright green. Her hair, of course, remained stubbornly red.

By the time Ginny was getting ready for bed three hours later, her skin had returned to a relatively normal colour. She pulled her shirt off to let Hermione smear the paste on it only to hear her friend yelp.

“What?” Ginny snapped. “You saw it this morning!”

“They weren’t green!”

Ginny manoeuvred in front of the mirror to look at her back. Where the scars had been dark and red, now raised green stripes crisscrossed her back.

“Get George in here!” she growled. Hermione scampered. George popped in a moment later.

“Bloody hell, Ginny! What the mess!” George’s hand landed on her shoulder as he examined the bright markings.

“I didn’t do it!” Ginny snapped back. “You’re the one who turned them green! What I need to know is, can you un-turn them? Or will I look like some freak show forever?”

“These are scars,” George said.

“I know they’re scars! But they aren’t usually green, you dolt! I prefer normal scars.”

George tossed Ginny her dressing gown and sat down on her bed. “I’ll put a caution on the label for the sweets. Scars are thicker tissue. The colour will stay longer. It should be out by morning, I hope. Harry’s lightning bolt is still purple.”

Ginny groaned. “That had better be back to normal by morning, or I swear on Merlin’s beard you will pay!”

“You two have a lot of scars,” George quipped back. “No one I tested this on had as many.”

“Just get out!” Ginny demanded.

----

Later that night, Ginny snuck back up to Harry’s room. Ron would be sneaking down to hers in a few minutes too. Hermione had seen to the set up earlier.

Ginny opened her boyfriend’s door and crept into his bed. “Your scars still purple?” she asked by way of greeting.

“Dunno, are your scars green?”

Ginny giggled helplessly. “You know, if we ever need a code question in the future, I think that should be it!”

“And what would the code answer be?” Harry asked, running his hands up under her shirt.

“Yes. My brother is an idiot and my scars are green.” Ginny tried to keep her focus on their light banter, but it was really hard with Harry’s hands on her skin.

“You know Dad found out about Ron and Hermione?” she warned her boyfriend.

“Got it,” he chuckled, pulling his hands back. Ginny nuzzled into his shoulder.

“Should we be doing this?” she worried.

“Doing what?” Harry asked, playing with her hair. “I don’t think we’re doing anything.”

“Sleeping together when it’s not, when we’re not, or rather I’m not…” Ginny trailed off.

“You aren’t ready for it to go farther. Neither am I, really. But we leave for school soon and then we won’t have a chance to sleep like this for a while. Besides, you keep the nightmares away.” Harry kept stroking her hair. It made Ginny sleepy. She couldn’t think of any more arguments.

“If only you could sleep with me at school,” Ginny murmured at last before falling asleep.

----

The next morning, Ginny woke slowly and blinked the sleep out of her eyes. There was something in an odd, almost fuchsia colour very close to her. She blinked again. It was on Harry. Suddenly, Ginny started giggling. Afraid of waking her mum, she buried her face in Harry’s brightly coloured chest and shook with laughter. Harry pulled her shirt back up and began laughing himself. Ginny looked like a cream and mint green striped tiger. They both stuffed their faces in pillows and laughed till they could hardly breathe.

The door to their room creaked open and closed. Ginny turned to face it. George was leaning against the doorframe his eyebrows cocked. He obviously wanted to look serious. He definitely failed in that endeavour.

“What are you two laughing about in bed, together, at this hour of the morning?”

“Ginny’s a green and red tiger,” Harry managed before ducking back under the covers as Ginny twisted around to poke him.

“Scars still not faded then?” George asked.

“Not much,” Ginny giggled. “But they’re funny now, George. My scars are funny!”

George shook his head and left the room, leaving Harry to Ginny, the tickling menace. It seemed he didn’t really want to know what the two were doing in bed together after all.

Back to index


Chapter 27: Chapter 27: The Return

Author's Notes: This is almost the end. I promise one more appearance of Amanda and the twins though.


Only when there was no time left to put it off did the young people faced the task of getting ready for Hogwarts. Hermione pulled out an ungodly number of books from her beaded bag. Ginny inventoried a rather different collection of items in her drawers. She had bought entirely Muggle clothes with her earnings from George’s shop. He had given her a large number of joke items as well. Ginny had bought her books a few days before, but several other supplies had been missed. The girls took inventory of everything else they would need for the next year, before pestering the boys into making a similar list. Mrs. Weasley accompanied them all on one final school shopping trip for old times’ sake.

That afternoon, Ginny began pulling everything from her drawers and shoving them into her trunk. She reached the top drawer and pulled her undergarments out. Then she took two bottles of Dreamless Sleep Potion and tossed them on her bed, instead of in her trunk.
“You might want those,” Hermione indicated the bottles of potion.

“I shouldn’t need them,” Ginny growled. “I’m not a twelve-year-old little girl anymore.”

“How many times have I woken you up this summer with my nightmares?” Hermione asked Ginny gently. Ginny shrugged. Her friend pressed on, “I was only subjected to a full Cruciatus one day. How many times did you face it last year?”

Ginny ignored her roommate and began packing up her shopping from the day.

“Ginny, it’s okay to need a potion. You survived hell.”

“Fine, then,” Ginny snapped. She picked up the bottles from the bed, then tossed one back down. “That one’s expired anyway.” She wrapped the other one in a vest and slammed her trunk closed.

“Ginny—” Hermione pleaded, but Ginny ran out of the room and down the stairs into the kitchen. She ignored her parents and George sitting at the table and riffled through Harry’s kit for dittany.

“What do you need that for, dear?” her mum asked with concern as Ginny turned back to the door.

Ginny froze. “Just in case,” she answered her mum, trying to compose herself as she turned around.

“I would think Madame Pomfrey has plenty. You really should let her treat you if you get hurt,” Mrs. Weasley fussed.

George stood from the table and moved over to Ginny. He pulled her into a hug. “You won’t need it this year, Ginny,” he promised.

“What if I do?” she whispered.

George pulled out his DA badge. “You still have yours too, right? You know I’ll be there in a second.”

“Speaking of which,” Mr. Weasley added, “I need you to make me one of those badges as well. My children aren’t going to be running off into danger without my being able to join them. Take the dittany if it makes you feel better, Ginny. But if you need to use it, I want to know.”

“It’s like second year,” Ginny murmured. “I don’t want to go back. I don’t want all the nightmares.”

Her mum must have heard this, because she stood up from the table and moved around to hold her daughter. “It will hard, but you are so brave. And we can get you potions again, dear,” she attempted to comfort her daughter.

“I have them already. I shouldn’t need them,” Ginny reiterated. Why did everyone think some potion would fix things?

“Bloody hell, Ginny! How do you think I’ve been making it through?” George asked his sister. For once, his mum did not even chide him about his language. Ginny blinked away tears without answering. “You know,” George continued, “I thought you were half bright. You were the one who told me I couldn’t get drunk out my mind to deal with things. I thought you had things figured out!”

“How did you already get a bottle of potion?” Mrs. Weasley asked, examining the medical kit that sat in the open cupboard. The family bottle of Dreamless Sleeping Draught still in place. The Potion was not cheap, nor easily for sale.

Ginny thought she might be saved from answering as Harry barged into the room. “Everything ok?” he asked, looking quickly around between members of the Weasley family. Ron shoved Harry from behind and entered the kitchen as well, Hermione in tow behind him.

“I think it will be,” the Weasley patriarch answered. “Did you pack yourself a supply of Dreamless Sleep Potion, Harry?”

“Er–” Harry hesitated. “Well, I sort of used up my one bottle early in the summer so…”

Mr. Weasley pulled the kit down and handed the Dreamless Sleeping Draught bottle to Harry. “Pack this then, and be sure to take it. Do I need to check with St. Mungo’s to see if there was anything else you needed?”

“No, I, er, no,” Harry answered, pulling the kit toward himself and taking out two other bottles. Mrs. Weasley took them from his hand, pulled a pad of paper over to herself from the counter and made a note.

“I’ll send Madame Pomfrey instructions to be sure you are taking your potions. You too, young lady. Now off you children go while I have a word with your father!”

She handed the bottles back to Harry and he scrambled out of the kitchen with the rest of her children. They had not made it up even half the stairs before her voice could be heard out of the kitchen.

“Arthur Weasley! Don’t you ever keep secrets from me again!”

George actually chuckled before going into his room.

“What?” Ron demanded.

“Mum’s back!” his brother answered cheerfully. The others groaned in return. Their mum’s voice was still ringing off the walls. “Lay low and meet in the parlour when they’re asleep,” George commanded his siblings.

----

The house was silent when George walked by Ginny’s door and gave a secret knock. Ginny and Hermione slipped out in comfy clothes and dressing gowns and followed him down the stairs. The boys were already in the parlour. “What’s up, George?” Ron asked as they arrived.

“One last hurrah before the school year!” George replied.

“Mum and Dad will hear us,” Ron warned him.

“Nah. We soundproofed their room, set a Muffliato on the hall, and warded this room to boot. Harry’s really good at wards and charms by now, you know that?”

George bent over to the lower shelves of a cabinet on the wall and pulled out a bunch of cold Pumpkin Juice.

“I thought Firewhisky was for more your style,” Ginny noted as she popped the top on hers.

“You’ve been having too much,” George informed her.

“Oh, come off it,” Ginny complained.

“You really should be careful,” Hermione sided with George for once, “getting drunk can make people do terrible things.”

“I–” Ginny stared back at her friend in shocked realization. “Sorry, I didn’t think of your mum…. I’ve been an arse.”

Ron cleared his throat, “Some party. Unless you had other plans?”

George shook his head in amusement and pulled a box of joke items out from the same cabinet, followed by a box of Honeydukes sweets. “All the jokes are guaranteed safe, Miss Granger,” George assured Hermione. “I wouldn’t want to send a Prefect back to school looking disreputable.”

“Or orange?” Ron asked, reaching over to peruse the contents of the box.

“You know, I did think orange suited Hermione quite well,” George answered. “It set of the dark hair quite dramatically; don’t you think?”

The others shared a laugh at Hermione’s expense as she crossed her arms and glared at him. Soon, however, George had even Hermione laughing as he demonstrated his own products on himself. He grew an elephant’s trunk with which he demonstrated eating peanuts and sprayed water from a jug all over Ron. Then he picked Harry’s glasses off his face with the trunk and put them on Hermione. In five minutes, the long, grey trunk had disappeared, and George was rummaging around for the next item of choice. Ron took the break to stuff a canary cream in his mouth, remembering too late that Crookshanks had returned to being Hermione’s constant companion. A mad dash after the cat ensued as Ron flew up to the ceiling trying desperately to stay out of reach. Hermione had just regained control of her cat when Ron crashed back to the ground in human form.

“How do you do it, George? You’re a brilliant wizard, but all you do is joke around. And still, I can’t figure out how you made those.”
George tossed out a few products to Ginny and Harry before launching in to a full explanation of how to embed a transfiguration into a potion. Hermione actually started taking notes, and the other three launched themselves into a game of Exploding Snap with George’s special, modified, mini-fireworks cards.

Having played two rounds with the new cards, Ginny interrupted George’s fifth product explanation. “Can you give me a set of these to take to school, George? I want some fun things to do.”

George turned around and gave Ginny a quick kiss on the cheek. “Take the cards. Take the box. Take the lot. But don’t let old McGonagall see it! And if you need any cheer-me-ups, you just let old Georgie know! Expert in smuggling illegal merchandise to school-aged wizards!”

Ginny giggled. Hermione shook her head but made no objections. She had declined the offer of Head Girl for that year, in the interest of being able to see Ron on weekends after he was done with his NEWTs. No longer being in leadership seemed to have left her with a certain disregard for the rules.

“Actually, George, in that case, can I have the Colour-Up Sweets?”

“Ginny! They aren’t ready!” Hermione scolded this time.

“I know, but they made me laugh about, well, things I never thought I could. I think Nev might need them, and, well, some of the others.”
George rose without a word and dashed up the stairs. He came back with the entire bag of sweets and added them to the box.
Later that evening, Ginny lay in Harry’s lap as he played a game of Hangman with Hermione. The radio was on. The lights were off, with only Harry’s wand lit. Ginny watched Ron blow bubbles with glow-in-the-dark gum as he challenged George at chess. Sometime later, she must have drifted off to sleep. The next thing she knew, her mum was in the room.

“What on earth? What were you children doing? The train leaves in two hours! I thought you would be up and ready. What are you doing sleeping on the couch with Harry? And Ronald Weasley…”

Ginny looked over at her brother as her mum kept up the tirade. Hermione must have conjured cushions for them, as both of them were sleeping on the ground together, intertwined in a rather compromising fashion. George and Ginny broke into simultaneous heaves of laughter, effectively stopping their mum mid-track. Ron freed himself from his girlfriend and Hermione took off out of the room and up the stairs.

----

Ginny twirled her hair nervously in her fingers as she walked toward Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. At the moment, she couldn’t quite recall her reasons for going back to Hogwarts. Harry kept squeezing her hand. She squeezed his back and searched through the crowd.

“Dad!” Hermione squealed behind her. Ginny turned around to see Hermione’s father engulfing his daughter in a hug.

“Thought I would find you here,” he said. “Hadn’t heard from you in a while and didn’t want to lose touch. Thank goodness they haven’t changed the entrance.”

Hermione looked slightly guilty. Her dad moved over to greet Ron and then her parents and the rest before turning back to his daughter. “I’ve moved. I wanted to give you the address. New place has a walled garden and all, so owls can come and go. I expect you’ll be busy catching up this year, but maybe I could borrow you for a weekend during the holidays. Ron here could come too. We have a skiing trip that’s long overdue.”

“Yeah,” Hermione nervously tucked her hair. “Sounds good. And, uh, do you have a notebook, Dad? Mine’s packed, but there’s a number you can call at Hogwarts this year if you need anything.”

Her dad fished a small pad of paper from his pocket along with a pen and Hermione quickly jotted the number down. Ginny turned away to give them some privacy in their conversation, scanning the crowd again for anyone from her year.

“Ginny!” she heard a familiar voice at last. Luna galloped through the station, long locks of faded blue hair streaming behind her and a guitar on her back. The friends clasped each other in a tight hug. Neville came over to greet them and grabbed Luna’s trunk and guitar onto the train. The train gave a warning whistle and Ginny turned to hug her parents goodbye. Her mum fussed over her, while her dad pulled Ron into a hug and told him to look after his girlfriend.

Ginny pulled away from her mum, who quickly hugged Harry and Hermione in turn. Ron shoved Hermione’s trunk onto the train before pulling up his own. Harry and Ginny each scrambled up with theirs as the train slowly started moving. They made their way down the aisle. Luna called out of a compartment and motioned them in. Ginny sat next to the window and waved to her parents as they pulled out of the station.

----

“So,” Neville said, poking his head into the compartment after he had finished with his Head Boy duties, “it’s us again. Think we can manage a nice boring year, Harry?”

Harry chuckled. “Maybe. Nothing really ever happened until Halloween, did it? And I’ll be going home then. So I’d say your chances of a boring year are pretty good.”

Everyone laughed at that. Ginny leaned over to Harry. “I wish you were staying longer, but I’ll take what I can get,” she said, before proceeding to snog him.

“Ugh, cut it out,” Ron complained. Ginny looked at Hermione and raised her eyebrows. On cue, her friend pulled Ron around and shut him up with a good snog. Neville laughed uproariously as Ron emerged beet red from behind Hermione’s brown bush of hair.

“So, Ron, do you care if Ginny snogs Harry now?” Luna put a convincing amount of innocence into her question.

“I, uh, guess not much,” Ron stammered. Hermione laughed and ruffled his hair.

“By the way, Neville,” Luna continued, “Hannah wouldn’t mind if you snogged her either, otherwise I would offer to snog you myself. Dean might be jealous though.”

It was Neville’s turn to turn bright red while Ron laughed at him. All the same, a few minutes later Neville excused himself to walk the corridor. Seamus popped in later and reported that Neville and Hannah were indeed snogging quite heartily.

As the train rolled toward school, Ginny grew increasingly anxious. Harry kept trying to get her mind off it by snogging her, but it wasn’t working. They got off the train at Hogsmeade and faced a confusion of carriages and boats. Many students who couldn’t see the Thestrals before could this year. They were panicking. Fortunately, getting everyone else organized and calmed down settled Ginny’s nerves as well.

By the time she filed into the Great Hall, she had distracted herself enough that she was not thinking of the Battle or anything from last year. Padma was telling her about a set of twins that had been born at St. Mungo’s. They seemed identical, but one was a Metamorphmagus and the other one didn’t show any sign of being one. Ginny reached the Gryffindor table. Padma and Luna moved over to the Ravenclaw table. Harry sat down beside her. Hermione, Ron, Neville and Seamus all sat across from them. They commented on the new faculty, but none of them were surprised. After all, they had known there would be replacements. Demelza Robbins spotted Ginny and took the free seat next to her to begin strategizing about Quidditch.

“Good evening!” Professor McGonagall greeted the students warmly. She wasted no time in moving to the Sorting, which was administered by Professor Flitwick. For once, the Sorting Hat sang an actually happy song. Unfortunately, Ginny couldn’t hear most of it as Ron chose that time to remind Harry of all the reasons he had missed so many other songs. The number of students to be sorted this year turned out to be rather larger than usual. Many students who ought to have started the year before had either not received their letters on time or had been held back by their parents.

“Welcome to Hogwarts, new students!” McGonagall concluded when the hat had finished. “And to my returning students, welcome back. You have been through a great deal together as students. I fully acknowledge that for the last year, our school served more as a prison than as a home. I apologize that we as teachers were not able to do more to protect you. I will not dwell overmuch on the events of that dark time. I am sure many of you would rather forget them. However, I will say this: A number of our students from last year showed incredible bravery in defending their fellows. I would like to take a moment to recognize officially the contributions of Dumbledore’s Army to the safety of our school.”

Loud cheering forced Professor McGonagall into temporary silence. When it finally died down, she continued, “I will recognize by name the following students for Outstanding Services to the school. Please come up here to accept your rewards. Hannah Abbott.”
Neville cheered loudly as Hannah made her way forward, but it was nothing near as loud as the cheer that erupted when Neville’s own name was called. Harry stood up and clapped him on the back as he came back and sat down. Ginny Weasley was the final student from Dumbledore’s Army to be acknowledged. McGonagall again motioned for silence after the extended cheers.

“While the bravery of Dumbledore’s Army is well known, there are a few other students here who were equally brave. I would like to honour today students who stood up against orders and looked out for the welfare of others at great personal risk and under the most desperate need for secrecy. Astoria Greengrass, used her influence to provide security for others and returned in the battle to fight against her own parents. Please come forward to be recognized for Outstanding Services to the school.”

Ginny and Neville stood, joined by Harry and many others. The Slytherin table seemed shocked and ruffled. It was the only table where the applause was scattered rather than thundering.

“For covert operations which prevented the starvation of our valued students, I would like to recognize Salazar Higgs. Please come forward and accept your reward.” Murmuring broke out along the Slytherin table again. The smuggling operation truly had remained secret. Higgs stiffly shook hands with Professor McGonagall and returned to his seat as the applause continued.

Ginny sat down only when Astoria and Higgs were both settled back at their tables. She noticed that Ron had remained seating and looked thoroughly confused. Hermione, who had joined in the applause was now giving him an earful.

McGonagall moved into staff introductions. There was a good deal of cheering for Professor Grubbly-Plank. Sally Thomas, Dean Thomas’ aunt, had been appointed as Muggle Studies professor. McGonagall saved the introduction of the Defence Teacher for last.
“We would like to welcome to our school, yet again, a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Mattathias Simpson worked for the United States Aurors for several years before teaching at their Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was due to retire last year, but I convinced him to come on board with us for a two year contract.”

“Good luck to him with that, heh?” Seamus whispered. Ron laughed appreciatively. Mattathias Simpson stood up in acknowledgement of his introduction, before sitting right back down. He was tall, and looked rather like a skinnier version of Santa Claus. His white hair and beard were both bushy and much shorter than Dumbledore’s had been.

“Please enjoy the feast!” McGonagall announced. Heaps of steaming food appeared on every table. Ginny pulled a platter of lamb chops over and helped herself. She was nervous, which might have been why she ate four chops before Hermione asked in alarm if she was going to make herself sick. That didn’t stop her from enjoying the chocolate gateau when pudding arrived. Fully stuffed, she helped Demelza round up the first years to take them to the Gryffindor dormitories.

The first years settled in with no problem, but chaos ensued as the other upper-class students automatically headed for the dorms they had held during their last year. Since some of the students had been absent, their places had been taken by others. It took a full hour to sort out what dorm everyone was supposed to be in. Hermione, Parvati, Ginny, and Demelza were all sharing a room now. Ron, Harry, Neville, Seamus and Dean had been given their old room. Theirs was the only dorm where all the students had fought, and all the students had returned.

Ginny helped shepherd the younger students to bed, administering a Calming Draught for two girls before she crashed on the couch in front of the common room fireplace. Neville came out a moment later and collapsed into an arm chair declaring that he had just given out three doses of Dreamless Sleep Potion and only one had been to a first year. Harry came back down to the common room. Ginny fussed that Hermione was nowhere to be found, only to be assured that she was with Ron in the boys’ dorm.
At ten on the dot, all the remaining members of Dumbledore’s Army from Gryffindor crept down the stairs into the common room. “One last mission, huh?” Neville addressed the group.

“Yes, sir,” Parvati nodded to Seamus. Both of them moved toward the portrait hole together. The Disillusioned themselves carefully before stepping out. Dean and Demelza followed them a minute later. Ron and Hermione each pulled on an Invisibility Cloak that George had found for them, before stepping out of the portrait hole themselves. Harry stepped out next to ensure the coast was clear before Ginny joined him. She ducked under his Cloak and they made their way down through the corridors together. At the seventh floor, they stopped in front of a garish portrait of a mischievously smiling ginger haired man. Drawing their wands, they touched them to the block of stone directly to the right. “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good,” Harry muttered.

“Never have been,” Fred remarked as the stones next to it gave way to a door. Harry tapped the lock and they slipped inside. The rest of Dumbledore’s Army was there. They all cheered for Harry before growing sombre. Harry levitated the bottles of Butterbeer that had been left in the room by George to the crowd. “A toast to those who are not with us!” he declared.

Neville stepped forward to address the group as they chugged their drinks. “Well, we have one more mission. Class starts tomorrow, and none of us want detentions, so make sure not to get caught.”

Dean pulled up several rolls of canvas and handed them out. Harry opened the Marauder’s map and Ron strategized the best means of moving through the castle without running into teachers. Most of the Prefects were in on the mission, so they would not be trouble. Groups of four students each headed out with rolls of canvas.

Harry, Ginny, Neville and Luna made their way down to the Great Hall. Luna unfurled the banner while Neville and Harry kept watch. Together, she and Ginny levitated it in place above the doors, then placed two Permanent Sticking Charms along the length of the banner. Luna stepped back to admire their handiwork. A flying phoenix adorned the banner, which in bold red letters proclaimed,
DUMBLEDORE’S ARMY: VICTORY AT LAST!

Harry and Neville took turns attaching their own Sticking Charms before the four of them snuck back up to the Room of Requirement. The other groups had also returned without being spotted. No one stayed for long. Lessons would start the next day. Several students grabbed Dreamless Sleep Potions from a kit on the wall before heading back down the hallways. Neville stayed with Harry and Ginny as everyone else left. “I have to do the rounds tonight,” he explained. “You two had better be in Gryffindor Tower when I return.”

“Yes, Head Boy,” Ginny teased. She bit her lip as she watched him leave. Harry left with her a few minutes later. They returned to the common room to find Hermione kissing Ron goodnight. Seamus sat watching the fire in the grate after Ron and Hermione left.

“Ginny, you can go to bed. I’ve got this,” Seamus spoke at length without looking up.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m waiting till he comes back too.” Ginny looked at Harry apologetically. “We need to make sure he’s okay,” she explained.

Harry sat down in an armchair and pulled him into her lap. “I’ll wait with you too.”

Several minutes passed. The fire crackled. Seamus cracked his knuckles and his neck and frequently looked at the portrait hole. Finally, it swung open. Seamus and Ginny both got to their feet as Neville walked in.

“All quiet. All safe. Everyone in their right beds,” he informed them. Ginny hugged him tightly, then stepped back.

“Goodnight then, Neville.”

Seamus jerked his head toward the boys’ stairs and Neville followed him up. Ginny turned toward Harry. “I’ll be ok now,” she whispered. “Thanks for coming back with me.”

“I love you. I’ll come anywhere you want me to,” Harry promised. He leaned in to kiss her goodnight.

“I love you too, Harry,” Ginny whispered as he pulled away.

Ginny trudged up to her room and looked around her dorm. Two dorm mates had not returned. Their beds were occupied by Parvati and Hermione. Demelza’s bed had the curtains open. Her friend was waiting up for her.

“All quiet?” she asked.

“All quiet.” Ginny confirmed.

“Goodnight then, Ginny.” Demelza pulled the curtains around her bed. Ginny contemplated taking the Dreamless Sleep Potion she had packed in her trunk. What if something happened and she needed to wake up? Across the room, Demelza began snoring. Ginny smirked. Demelza had always snored like a boy. The sound was familiar and comforting. Ginny snuck around to Hermione’s bed and pulled the curtains back to reassure herself. Her friend indeed slept peacefully. This was not last year. She would not need to handle any emergencies tonight. All was well at Hogwarts. Ginny pulled the bottle of potion from her trunk and took her dose. Pulling her nightclothes on, she slipped into her bed gave way to sleep.

Back to index


Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Epilogue

Author's Notes: Sorry for the long delay in this chapter. When I began posting this in the summer, I was spending 10 weeks working in Kenya. While there, my home country of Turkey underwent several terrorist attacks and an attempted coup, resulting in emergency emails between several members of my family, along with changes in travel plans. I’m afraid the events shook me up rather badly. In many ways, this online community was a lifeline. All the same, once the adrenaline was over, I found myself unable to write. I’m back now and have been for some time, quite safely in the US, and ready to introduce you to Fred’s twins.


“MUMMY!!! He’s making it shake again!”

Ginny turned around to respond to James’ complaint. He and Albus sat at the breakfast table which, true to James’ word, was shaking badly enough to slosh the milk out of the cereal bowls. Ginny moved over to the table quickly, and whisked Albus out of his seat into her arms.

“It’s ok, honey, you need to calm down. Remember, I told you, Daddy’s going to be ok today. He almost always is.”

“Do you KNOW he will be ok?”

Ginny sighed and kissed Albus on top of the head. She didn’t KNOW, of course. She never KNEW. Harry had spent time in St. Mungo’s after being injured on a mission three weeks ago. This morning, though the wee hours really should have counted as last night, he had been summoned out of bed by an emergency mission at the Auror office. Albus, unfortunately, had woken to the alarm. Including the shaking table, he had had five instances of accidental magic that morning. Just as Ginny was contemplating giving Albus a Calming Draught and putting him back to bed, Lily began screaming from her high chair.

Ginny sat Albus down on the sofa, momentarily ignored her daughter, and stuck her head in the fireplace.
“Andy, is there any chance you and Teddy are all set for the Hogwarts Express already? Harry got called in for a mission and I am never going to get these three in the van in time to pick up Amanda.”

Fortunately for everyone, Andromeda had packed up Teddy’s trunk the night before. He came through the Floo right away and Andromeda followed minutes later. By the time she arrived, Teddy had taken Albus out into the garden to play. Ginny had Lily on one arm and was siphoning spilt milk off the table with her wand. Chunks of cereal could be seen squashed into the rug. The older woman moved over to Ginny and wordlessly lifted Lily out of her arms. The small girl hiccuped and calmed down immediately.

“You’re a lifesaver,” Ginny breathed, wiping her untidy hair out of her face. “I might actually get a chance to shower this morning.”

“You should call me over more often, dear,” Andromeda replied. “Now that Teddy will be back at school, goodness knows I’ll have precious little to do.”

Ginny nodded. She grabbed a bright colored rag from the kitchen and wiped it over the rug. Two swipes was all it took to remove the cereal remains. Putting the rag in the sink, Ginny gave James instructions on getting ready and excused herself to take a shower. She had not made it to the bottom of the stairs, however, when her pocket began to vibrate and beep. She pulled out a cell phone that George had modified. Amanda was on the other line.

“Ginny! I am about to kill Jennifer. She swears it wasn’t on purpose, but SOMEHOW she gave Jessica owl wings. I have one stubborn daughter who is insisting it isn’t her fault and she can’t fix it and another daughter who is flapping about on the ceiling. Your mum isn’t picking up!”

“Right--I’ll be right over.”

Ginny hung up the phone, quickly pulled on a jeans and a T-shirt, threw her hair up into a messy bun and bounded back down the stairs to explain the situation. She reached Amanda’s house five minutes after the call.

Mary opened the door with a sigh of relief and a “Thank goodness!” as Ginny moved into the family room. Sure enough, petite little Jessica was flying around the room. Imperfectly transfigured to a reddish brown owl, the features of her face remained quite recognizable. She was, however, hooting as well as flying. Knowing what she did of both Jessica and owls, Ginny gathered that her niece was actually quite happy with the transformation.

“What happened?” Ginny asked Amanda, who had evidently heard the door open and had come clattering down the stairs, tailed by Jennifer.

“Jess wanted her own pet for Hogwarts. Fair is fair. She picked an owl. Jen decided Jess’s owl was better than her Kneazle. Jen demanded to have an owl. But you can only have ONE pet at Hogwarts, so there was a row, and Jen started shouting about how Jess got everything she wanted and what about if Jen wanted to turn Jess INTO an owl. And then, well, this!”

“Jess said she wanted to turn into an owl,” Jen supplied.

“So Jen has been telling me,” Amanda crossed her arms and pursed her lips at her daughter. While Fred and George had been almost exactly alike, it would be hard to find two girls more different than Jennifer and Jessica. Both had dark brown eyes and red hair that was slowly changing to auburn. Their features were identical, but Jessica had always been slightly smaller. The doctor had put it down to positioning in the womb. Their personality could not be more distinct. Loud, adventurous, and aggressive, Jessica did usually get what she wanted.

Ginny shook her head. The Hogwarts Express left in three hours. It would take one of those hours just to get to the station.

“Are your trunks packed, Jen?” Ginny asked, hoping she could just take the whole family to London early.

“Mine are MOSTLY packed,” Jennifer answered, giving Ginny a moment of relief before–“but Jess didn’t pack ANYTHING last night. She said she would do it this morning, by magic, because that was what wands were for.”

Ginny groaned. How had her mother stayed sane through their many trips to the Hogwarts Express? She wasn’t even sending her own children off yet, but she was ready to tear out her hair. Instead, Ginny whipped out her wand and sent a Patronus to her mother. She turned to consider the hooting Jess with far less sympathy than she had upon entering. She threw a Silencing Charm on her niece. Then, as her niece ran into the top of the bookshelf and knocked several items off, she walked over directly underneath and Stunned her. She lowered the immobile girl to the couch right as her mother walked in.

“Oh dear,” Molly said, taking the scene in with a keen sweeping glance.

“Quite.” Ginny turned to her mum, “Accidental transfiguration. Not sure which of the midgets to blame it on, but she’ll need to go to St. Mungo’s before she gets on the Hogwarts Express. I’d attach a leash to her and have her fly along with it, but she might re-transfigure half way through. Do you mind taking her? We need to finish packing the trunks and get everything loaded.”

Molly nodded briskly, gathered her granddaughter up in her arms, turned and disappeared on the spot.

“I never get used to that,” Mary muttered, moving over to start picking up the room.

“Alright, show me your trunks,” Ginny instructed Jennifer. The girl bounced up the stairs in front of her to the twin’s bedroom.

Jennifer’s trunk was, as she said, mostly packed. Ginny levitated the items out of the trunk and onto her neatly made bed to take an inventory of what had been packed and what was still needed. Robes, check. Potions supplies, check. There seemed to be more than the staple first year ingredients there. Schoolbooks, check. Why were there two copies of the Standard Book of Spells, Year 1. Ginny opened both to see if one should go in the other twin’s trunk. One book opened to the standard lesson text, the other to complicated magical formulas.

“Jennifer?” Ginny glared at her niece over the top of the book. “Where did you get this?”

“I didn’t steal!” Jennifer squeaked. “I just, errr, borrowed. I’ll give it back, I promise! Uncle George took us around the back, and he says he never needs to use the recipes any more. Mum said I couldn’t sneak in any WWW products, so I didn’t!”

Ginny brought the book up to cover her face and held her breath. Whether to shout at her niece or laugh, she really didn’t know. When she finally regained her composure, she banished the book to the Burrow’s spare bedroom and began searching for additional contraband. Jennifer’s trunk returned nothing more than the unusual potions supplies. Jessica’s was a different story. There were several sets of Extendable Ears, a box of Decoy Detonators, two Fanged Frizbees, a box of Peruvian Darkness powder, and–this was an item Ginny knew her niece could not have paid for–a Headless Hat. George would need to keep a closer eye on his stuff when his niece was in the shop.

“How’d she get those? I wanted those,” Jen whined as Jess’ contraband items were extracted from her “to pack” pile and set on her unmade bed.

“Let’s just say Jess and I will be having a conversation about stealing property,” Ginny remarked. “In fact, you can be fairly sure that her first piece of family mail at Hogwarts will be a Howler from her Uncle George banning her from the shop.”

Ginny finished packing the twins up in less than half an hour. Jennifer finished getting ready, and Amanda packed up a set of clothes for Jessica to wear on the train. She had still been in her pajamas when she had transfigured, and, as Amanda explained to Ginny, it was rather hard to dress an owl.

In the end, Ginny apparated back home, packed Teddy and his trunk and her other kids in their van, before swinging back around and bringing Jennifer and Amanda to the station. Teddy insisted on running through the barrier with Jennifer. And, though Amanda yelped as her daughter disappeared, she followed around through the Muggle entrance a minute later.

Molly was on the platform already, waiting. Jessica’s hand held firmly in hers. Bits of downy fluff still clung to the red hair, but her features were otherwise normal.

“Self-transfiguration,” Mrs. Weasley explained to Amanda. “It wasn’t Jennifer after all. I’ve sent word ahead to Professor McGonagall to warn her. This one’s a natural.”

“Oh,” Amanda replied, looking rather baffled, “I suppose it’s good she’ll be with an expert then?”

“Yes indeed. Professor McGonagall won’t allow any foolishness either.” She turned the girl around to face her mother. “Now, you’ll apologize for giving your mum a fright, then get on the train. No more magic until school, no matter what the other children do.”

George snuck up as Jessica was apologizing and tweaked Jennifer’s ears from behind. She squealed and turned around to give him a hug, but stood shuffling guiltily as he let go.

“What’s up, buttercup?” he asked, noticing.

“Er, nothing. I, er, didn’t think I’d see you again, after the, er, shop.”

“Now, haven’t I told you I’ll act like your dad whenever I can? What dad wouldn’t be here to see you off?”

“Oh, right.” Jenn’s eyes darted over to Ginny. George had moved over to hug Jessica, who was also noticeably cool toward him. He raised his eyebrows questioningly at Amanda, who shrugged, and at Ginny, who smirked.

“You might want to take a good inventory of your store, George. And perhaps keep better track of your recipe book.”

George whistled. So did the train engine. The girls, whose trunks had already been carted off by a group of Teddy’s friends, suddenly ran off to the train and disappeared into a compartment. It pulled out of the station minutes later, but the two red headed girls could not be seen in the windows. Amanda, standing at the station, hardly noticed as she tried to give her apologies to George, who was brushing her off and laughing.
----
That the twins made it to the castle without further incident could only be put down to the dampening effect of guilt. By the time they were lined up for sorting, however, the guilt was forgotten. Jess jumped up and down in place while Jen catalogued how many students had been placed in each house. There had been ten for Slytherin, fifteen for Hufflepuff, nine for Gryffindor, and just eight for Ravenclaw when Professor Flitwick called her name.

“Weasley-Walsh, Jennifer!” She moved forward quickly, grabbed the hat and pulled it down over her ears.

The hat was silent for a moment. “Ravenclaw!” it declared at last. Jennifer pulled it off and got up, looking a bit confused. She made her way toward the cheering table.

“Weasley-Walsh, Jessica!” Her sister moved forward and grabbed the hat. She seemed to be saying something to it before she put it on, but no one could hear over the noise.

“Gryffindor!” the hat declared before it had quite touched her head. Jessica snorted, tossed the hat off, and flounced toward the Gryffindor table.

Up at the head table, several of the teachers seemed to be uttering expressions of relief. Headmistress McGonagall welcomed all to the school as the sorting finished, and the feast began. Professor Longbottom stopped by her chair to confer with her, before moving off to speak with the prefects for the Gryffindor house. The students stuffed themselves on far more pudding than their parents would ever have allowed before they were dismissed up to bed.
-----
Professor Longbottom kept tradition on the first day of every school year. Just as he had done on the first day he and his friends had returned after the battle, he made his way up to Fred’s portrait. On other days, the frame at school was often empty. Fred seemed to prefer his smaller portrait at the Burrow during the day time. In the evening, however, and always on the first day of school, Fred would be manning the Room of Requirement. Since the others had long gone, Neville had no one to meet there but the red headed man himself. Neville would grab a firewhiskey that he kept in the Room of Requirement, and bring it into the hall. He would sit down in front of the portrait and tell Fred about the new students, who had been sorted into which house, and who seemed like they might make the most trouble. Fred had made him promise, when he had last seen him, to come up and tell him about his daughters. Neville would have anyways, of course. Lost in his thoughts about his own days as a student, he almost failed to notice the voices in the hall ahead.

“Gryffindor for the brave! Dad! I’m just like you! Jen’s just boring!”

“Am not!”

The portrait on the wall laughed. “Jen’s clever! And I’m proud of both of you! However did you both manage to sneak up here without getting caught? That’s a job well done. Hogwarts will be in good hands with the two of you to stir things up.”

The girls giggled.

“You’ll have to remember to work together. Could be to your advantage to have a Ravenclaw, Jess.”

“Fred Weasley!” the Headmistresses voice came from behind Neville, making him jump. “Can you not even try to be a good influence over your own daughters? I ought to have banished your portrait from this school long ago. Goodness knows I should have banished you! Of all the ridiculous things you did! Five points from Ravenclaw AND five points from Gryffindor, and off to bed!”

The girls scampered back down the hall. While Jen looked somewhat chastened, Neville couldn’t help but noticing that Jessica was grinning. He wondered if she had made it her personal ambition to gather, rather than avoid, points. He turned to face the Headmistress. Her expression told him she had noticed Jessica’s attitude as well. He turned to walk her back to her office. He would need a strategy to keep control of his house this year, now that a Weasley twin was in it again.

“Do you think you can survive another set of Weasley twins?” he asked the elderly Headmistress as she gave the password to her office.

“Given that I’ve survived their dad’s pranks for the last twelve years, I should do just fine.”

“And how many times in those dozen years have you threatened to expel him?”

“Don’t remind me, Neville, I might just have to make good on my word.” The tight lips of the Headmistress quirked up at the edges.

“And yet, you never will, will you?” Neville sat himself down in a chair facing the desk. The Headmistress’ smile lost its mischief and her eyes suddenly grew moist.

“No. No, I never will. Where would our students have been without him?”

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