: This was written for the January prompt "Wizarding Wireless Network" at the LJ community, Catchmysnitch. But, I did manage to work in February's prompt of a magic carpet as well. Much thanks and praise to Wandrin_dreamer my beta and cherished friend. She keeps me sane and reminds me which canon words need to be capitalized. I couldn't do this without her!
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Playing Her Part | ||||
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Category: Post-HBP Characters:All Genres: Angst, Drama, Fluff Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: PG Reviews: 16 Summary: Ginny knew what her mother was trying to say. They were where everyone else needed them to be. Hitcount: Story Total: 6147 Disclaimer: Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions in this story are my own and in no way represent the owners of this site. This story subject to copyright law under transformative use. No compensation is made for this work. Author's Notes: |
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An hour ago, the warm noon sunlight shone through the open windows of The Burrow. The scent of the flowers from the back garden wafted around the house, reminding the two current occupants that there was indeed new life prospering despite the shadow of war that had settled all around them. But, that was an hour ago. Ever since Arthur Weasley’s frantic floo call, The Burrow went from a warm and inviting abode to a dark, cold fortress. Molly and Ginny had quickly and efficiently protected the house with a frenzied volley of anti-Apparition charms, intruder-triggered defensive hexes, and a rather jumped-up Muffliato spell. Bill Weasley had customized the last spell to insure that his mother and his sister could not be heard if someone managed to work his way through all of the other safety measures. Ginny didn’t need her father’s warning to know that the final battle of the second war had come. Earlier that day, as she finished washing up the breakfast dishes, Ginny heard a tentative scratching at the door. Despite the constant drilling by her parents to follow Ministry protocol and interrogate any visitor to the house, she opened the door without question. It was just dumb luck that it wasn’t some enemy of the most outspoken blood traitor family come around to kidnap or harm the Weasley women. Instead of a rogue death eater or three, the visitors turned out to be a thoroughly overexcited Pigwidgeon, a ruffled, surly Crookshanks and a calm Hedwig. The first two creatures entered the house and moved quickly past Ginny. The snowy owl, however, landed sedately on Ginny’s shoulder and, after one soft, mournful hoot, affectionately nipped at her ear. Ginny absently stroked Hedwig and sighed. She knew what this meant. It was time for everyone to play his or her part in the War. Her father, Bill, Charlie and the twins would be on the battlefield. Percy would be at the Ministry. Ron and Hermione would be with Harry. Harry would finally be facing Voldemort for the last time. Ginny's role in the war was given to her by none other than The Chosen One himself. Per explicit instructions from Harry, she was not to put herself in danger. She was not to become a "Damsel in Distress.” He said he wouldn’t be able to resist coming to save her. She imagined it was the unrelenting attention that she received from one of the Curse-Breakers at Bill and Fleur’s wedding that had prompted Harry into action and caused him to forcefully lead her to the dance floor. She wasn't sure if it was the excess of mead Harry had consumed that had prompted him to issue his orders to her after she questioned him about his plans. She could say without a doubt, however, that she was quite clear-headed herself when she demonstrated her infamous Bat Bogey hex on him in front of fifty-odd wedding guests. As "The Boy Who Lived" rolled around the ground, Ginny calmly told him that she was no one's Damsel in Distress, but was in fact, a Damsel in Disgust. It was all very dramatic and emotional and completely and utterly not the way that Ginny wanted things to go with Harry before he went off to save the world. And now, Molly, Ginny and all of the assorted magical creatures were safely barricaded in the living room. The crackling of the fire, the clicking of Molly’s knitting needles and the sounds of Crookshanks’s half-purr, half snore, made a sickly cadence that was slowly driving Ginny mad. “Ginny, dear?” Molly interrupted her daughter’s thoughts, “Shall I put the wireless on? Perhaps a little music will help?” Ginny nodded. Anything to distract her from the worrying, the wondering, the waiting. As her mother tuned in the Wizarding Wireless Network, Ginny took the old iron kettle from its resting space on the hearth and made tea. A news program discussing the danger and illegality of the latest teenage wizard craze, flying carpet hopping, was ending and then the sounds of Celestine Warbeck and Molly's humming filled the room. After serving the tea, Ginny settled in herself in front of the fire. She began to reflect on an evening in the common room; a few days after her first kiss from Harry and a few hours after everyone else in Gryffindor House had gone up to bed. A smile began to tug at the corners of her mouth as she remembered Harry’s shocked gasp when she unfastened the topmost button of her blouse. “We interrupt this broadcast of Solstice with Celestine to bring you the following live Ministry of Magic news conference already in progress…” There was a bit of static, then a brief pause before… “…and, as the laws put forth by the Wizengamot that govern my position give me power to do so, I, Rufus Scrimgeour, invoke the following: Until such time as this office sees fit, Statute 31780-P, more commonly known as the Ban of the Use of the Unforgivables, shall be amended to grant any member of the Auror Squad use of the Imperius Curse to subdue any magical or Muggle citizen of Great Britain who had been proven, by reasonable evidence, to give allegiance or assistance to He Who Must Not Be Named, or any of his followers, commonly known as Death Eaters. In addition, the elite members of the Wizard Hit Squad may use the Avada Kedavra against said Dark Lord or his followers if such action will result in the protection of the life of a citizen, including any witch, wizard, Muggle or any magical creature with near-human intelligence. There will be no lifting of the ban on the use of the Cruciatus Curse at this time.” Ginny looked over at her mother. Molly’s face was ashen. She was muttering something to herself. It sounded to Ginny as if she were saying, “Not again, Merlin, not again.” There was a split-second silence and then many voices were raised in one cacophonous roar and Ginny could here the distinct sound of flashbulbs going off. There was a general call for attention from Scrimgeour and the room fell quiet one again. The Minister cleared his throat. “As you must know, there is much I need to do now. I will be turning this conference over to the head of the Auror Division, Gawain Robards; highest-ranking member of the Wizengamot’s Emergency Management Committee, Tiberius Ogden; and my assistant, Percy Weasley. They can answer any questions that you may have, unless of course, they cannot be answered due to security reasons.” The voices began to ask questions again and there were the telltale signs of microphones, papers and people jostling around. The next voice Ginny heard was that of Percy's. "Order, if you please. We shall allow each member of the press one question for the panel. Once an answer is given, there will be no follow-up questions. I am sure that you understand that we need to get back to our duties as quickly as possible. Let us start with that blond gentleman over there. Sir, your question?" "Les Lovegood here, The Quibbler. Is it true that there are three major battles occurring at the moment? One at the Forbidden Forest near the Hogwarts Grounds, one in Little Hangleton and the other in a small village called, er, Godric's Hollow?" Both Ginny and Molly froze. Crookshanks and Hedwig became as still as statues. Even Pigwidgeon, who had been flying around the room, instantly settled as if sensing the importance of the answer to Mr. Lovegood's question. Again, there was a sound of shuffling and, instead of Percy; the gravelly voice of Robards spoke with a Welsh accent, “Mr. Lovegood, we can neither confirm nor deny your inquiry. Just know that the Ministry has everything under control. Next, you there, in the blue cloak.” “Marcus Belby, Daily Prophet. Is there any truth to the story that Harry Potter is at this very moment preparing to battle with He Who Must Not Be Named and that the Ministry, instead of supporting The Chosen One, has elected to block Mr. Potter’s efforts to defeat the most evil wizard of all times?” This time, it was an elderly; frail voice that answered. Ginny imagined must belong to Mr. Ogden. “Mr. Belby, I can assure you that, despite any past misunderstandings with the Ministry, we would gladly assist anyone who is attempting to defeat He Who Must Not Be Named. However, Mr. Potter has yet to ask the Ministry for help and we, quite frankly, have no idea of his whereabouts. Let us see hmmm, how about that delightful young witch with the dark hair and bright green quill. Your question, my dear?” "Romilda Vane, Junior Assistant Social Events Columnist, Witch Weekly. Is it true that Harry Potter and Voldemort are not warring over control of the Wizarding World but are, in fact, warring to win the heart of Hermione Granger, the Muggle-born witch who has been romantically linked to Victor Krum, Harry Potter himself and, most recently, the Minister's esteemed assistant's brother, a Mr. Ronald Weasley?" The was a cry of Silencio and then Percy’s angry voice rang through the mass of sound “The conference is over!” The angry shouts that followed Percy’s announcement were abruptly silenced and another voice spoke. “Well, that is a surprise isn't it? We will continue to provide you with all of the latest news regarding this startling announcement right after these words from our sponsors…” As the commercial about cauldron cleaner began, Ginny got to her feet and walked towards her mother. Molly still looked pale and her face was glistening with tears. Ginny wasn’t quite sure what to do. She took the now empty teacup from Molly’s slack hands and placed it on an adjacent table. Ginny knelt in front of her mother. “Mum. It is going to be all right. It has to be,” she said. Molly smiled down at her daughter and answered, “Of course it will dear. Our men won’t disappoint us. Why, your father and your brothers, and Harry, too of course, they are…And Hermione, she is there…the Order and there are Aurors and even the Ministry seems to have finally cottoned on and you and I, well we are…” Molly’s voice trailed off and she sighed. Ginny knew what her mother was trying to say. They were where everyone else needed them to be. The commercial break ended with the Bertie Bott’s jingle and then the commentator began to speak. “We’re back. This is Glenda Chittock and I am here with Lee Jordan. Lee is usually our Chief Quidditch Correspondent, but, given that the WWN has all of our reporters Apparating to various points of interest around the wizarding community, he has graciously decided to pitch in and help out. So, Lee, what do you make of these events?" "Glenda, it seems to me that, like it or not, the time has come for us to see if Harry Potter is The Chosen One.” “You know Mr. Potter, don’t you, Lee?” “Yes. We were in Gryffindor together at Hogwarts. I was a few years ahead of him. Very nice bloke, he is. Not at all what you would expect. Modest, funny, rather normal.” “Do you think that he is, in fact, the Chosen One?” “It wouldn’t surprise me in the least, Glenda. There were so many times that Harry was in the thick of things at school and I can’t imagine that he isn’t…” As Lee described Harry’s adventures to Glenda, Ginny reminisced a little on her own. Her thoughts went back again to Bill’s wedding night. After the incident with Harry, Ginny had hidden herself away in the attic. She was simultaneously mortified by her own behavior and disgusted with Harry’s. Harry had found her at midnight, after the last of the guests had left. They sat in uncomfortable silence for a long time until Harry said, “Slughorn was right. That was a marvelous hex. Will you teach it to me?” Ginny had laughed and they spent the better part of an hour discussing the finer nuances of the spell. When they had finished, Harry apologized for his earlier behavior. He explained that what he really meant to say was that he hoped that she could keep herself safe in the months ahead. He did have things to do and, yes, before she asked, Ron and Hermione would be accompanying him. “There is a dark mark in the sky over the forest outside of the Hogwarts grounds. We are attempting to see if we can confirm with our correspondent stationed there.” Not wanting to argue with Harry again, Ginny asked that he too, keep himself safe. She told him that she hoped that he would visit her when he was through with whatever it was he had to do. She would be waiting. “Our reporter on the ground has just informed us that there is another image in the sky and it appears to be attacking the Dark Mark. That doesn’t make any sense now, does it? Let us verify…” Harry said that it would be his pleasure to visit Ginny after his task was through and perhaps, she would allow him to take her on a proper date. Ginny agreed that a date with Harry would be most welcome. He made no mention that he might not return. They both understood this. They sealed their agreement with enthusiastic snogging session in which Harry was treated to more than the release of Ginny’s topmost button. “Apparently, it is a Lion in the sky and it has just eaten the Dark Mark. Merlin’s Beard…” The words that were coming from the wireless finally sank into Ginny’s brain. A Lion eating the Dark Mark? That could mean only one thing. Harry! Harry was there and he was winning! Once again, there was a crackling of static and the sound of another voice came through the wireless. At first, the background noises dominated the broadcast. Finally, though, the reporter could be heard. “…much cheering from the centaurs at the edge of the forest. That looks like, yes, it is, Rubeus Hagrid, and he is carrying someone. What was that? Really! Could it be? Folks, we are hearing that it is Harry Potter that is being carried out of the…wait, no, Hagrid seems to be placing him on the ground...” Ginny leapt to her feet and ran the short distance to the wireless. With wonder, she caressed the speaker and whispered, “Please, please let it be him.” “Mr. Potter is running towards, Great Dumbledore's Ghost! He's running toward me!” Ginny held her breath and prayed. Her mother had come up behind her and had placed a hand on her shoulder. “Mr. Potter. What happened? Where is You Know Who? How are you?” Then blessedly, he spoke. “Dead. Voldemort is dead for good this time. His body is in the forest, surrounded by Acromantula. I’m fine.” Harry sounded tired and out-of-breath. Ginny swooned slightly, but quickly recovered. Harry was alive! He would be back! But she had to wonder if he would be back for her. “Mr. Potter, this is a tremendous achievement. Is there anything you would like to say to the wizarding world at large?” "Well, there is something that I would like to say, but it isn’t to the wizarding community. Just to one witch.” Just one witch? Had Harry moved on? Was there someone else? Icy terror dropped into Ginny’s stomach. “Please, then, by all means, Mr. Potter…” The promises they made seemed a lifetime ago and surely he might have grown up and away from her. And, then he spoke again. “Ginny. How about tomorrow night? I know it is short notice but I have been a little busy this week.” Her fear instantly melting, Ginny smiled and shouted, “Yes!” |
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