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Not From Others | ||||||
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Category: Post-HBP, Post-DH/AB Characters:Harry/Ginny, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, General Warnings: Dark Fiction, Death, Extreme Language, Mild Sexual Situations, Negative Alcohol Use, Violence Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 348 Summary: She may not have been able to join Harry, Ron and Hermione, but Ginny refuses to go down without a fight. As war approaches, Ginny returns to Hogwarts to resurrect Dumbledore's Army and face the darkest year the wizarding world has ever seen. DH from Ginny's POV. Canon. Hitcount: Story Total: 108199; Chapter Total: 3540 Awards: View Trophy Room |
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The common room was in chaos. Ginny still lay on the floor, slightly dazed, while her fellow Gryffindors screamed their fury at the Carrows. Neville was vomiting; the jinx he had been hit with rendered him helpless, and Seamus was gripping hold of his shoulders, trying to keep him sitting up. Colin rushed over to Ginny, throwing his skinny body over hers. ‘Leave her alone!’ he shouted, his voice scratchy and hoarse with desperation. ‘It’s fine, Colin,’ muttered Ginny, trying to push him off. ‘Really, please, don’t get yourself hurt…’ Alecto Carrow giggled wheezily. ‘Listen to the smarty pants, little boy.’ Ginny took advantage of the brief distraction to look over at Romilda Vane and her little gang of gossipy girls, all of whom were crying quite dramatically. Channel that, she thought urgently. Make it convincing. You’re good at lying. The tears came easily, and she was still trembling from the curse, though she had only been under it for a matter of seconds. She guessed that she was pale too, so she was fairly confident that she looked suitably fragile enough to be convincing. ‘Dating him are yeh?’ Amycus asked her. She shook her head frantically. ‘No! I hate him! Please, I hate him!’ ‘That’s not what we’ve heard, is it?’ He gave a lopsided grin to his sister, who sniggered in return. ‘We’ve heard that you two was attached at the hip last year, snogging all over the place.’ ‘Is he a good shag?’ screeched Alecto, clearly thoroughly enjoying herself. Ginny felt Colin grip her arms tighter; he too was trembling. ‘You shut up! You’ve heard horrible rumours and lies and it’s not true!’ ‘No, Colin,’ Ginny said weakly. ‘There’s no point denying it…’ Alecto squealed with glee, and she pulled Colin roughly away from Ginny. ‘See? She knows she’ll get more if she doesn’t tell us the truth-’ ‘Ginny, what are you doing?’ yelled Seamus, looking horrified. Neville was still vomiting painfully; Lavender Brown was trying her best to look after him, but seemed completely overwhelmed. ‘Shut it!’ ordered Amycus, pointing his wand at him. ‘Unless you wanna feel it too.’ Seamus ignored him. ‘Ginny, don’t!’ Ginny tried her best to break down into hysterical tears, raising her hands to her face as though she were trying to stop herself. ‘I have to, Seamus, I have to!’ She looked up at the Carrows, who were staring at her eagerly. She felt rather like a delicious meal before two hungry pigs. ‘I… I did… He…’ she gave shuddering gasps, trying to choke out sobs. ‘Yes,’ breathed Amycus. ‘That’s right, come on, girlie…’ ‘Spit it out,’ snapped Alecto. ‘He used me!’ Ginny howled. ‘He broke my heart, I… I thought he loved me, but he just laughed at me!’ ‘But you did date him, didn’t you?’ said Alecto, grabbing her again by the hair. ‘Didn’t you?’ She slapped Ginny hard across the face. Ginny nodded, her face stinging, trying to make her confession convincing. ‘Please… Please, I hate him. He broke my heart. He’s so cruel.’ ‘Ginny’s been crying about him for months!’ insisted Demelza. ‘Yes!’ said Pavarti frantically. ‘Ask anyone! We all know it! He was so nasty!’ ‘Ginny wasn’t the only girl either,’ said Romilda quickly, tear tracks staining her face. ‘He broke loads of hearts, tossed us aside like we were nothing.’ Ginny almost laughed. Really, Romilda? You’re certainly brave, I’ll give you that. ‘Yes,’ agreed Lavender, looking braver and more dignified than Ginny could have ever imagined. ‘Harry used his fame and… Well, Ginny’s no different to the rest of us, really, just the most recent of his conquests.’ The Carrows were looking at the other students suspiciously. Ginny kept sobbing loudly, but she was finding it hard to keep crying and continue to act frozen with fear, when all she really wanted to do was to fight back. She was also holding a strong warm feeling towards these brave, possibly stupid, women who were ready to risk torture to reinforce her story. ‘What d’yeh think?’ Alecto asked her brother quietly. ‘They could be lying.’ ‘All of ‘em?’ said Amycus doubtfully. ‘Crucio her again,’ suggested Alecto. ‘We’re meant to go easy on the pure ones.’ ‘Her? She’s a filthy blood traitor! She-’ The portrait hole burst open, and Professor McGonagall hurried in, looking quite deranged, in a dressing gown and fluffy slippers. ‘Unhand her!’ she screamed, pointing her wand at the Carrows. ‘How DARE you? How DARE you?’ Zaha was trailing tearfully behind her; Ginny was stunned, she hadn’t noticed anyone sneak out. Alecto Carrow released her vice like grip on her hair, but pushed her back down to the floor. ‘Get out, McGonagall! This is none of yeh business and I’m yeh senior, so bloody well sod off!’ ‘This is my house, these are my students! You have no right to treat them this way!’ Amycus Carrow scoffed, and threw another cruciatus curse at Ginny. She screamed and writhed on the floor, feeling pain flood through her veins and reach every inch of her body. When the curse was lifted, students, and Professor McGonagall, were shouting and crying again. ‘You can’t do nothing, McGonagall,’ he gloated. ‘I suggest you treat us with a bit of respect if you love your students so much.’ The portrait hole swung open once again, and Snape strolled through it, looking haughty and bored. ‘One of the portraits informed me that there was trouble,’ he said silkily. ‘They’re using Unforgivable curses on students!’ said Professor McGonagall. ‘A student came to me and said that Miss Weasley had been dragged out of bed and was being tortured in front of the entire house!’ Snape considered her for a moment, then looked lazily at Ginny. He acted as though McGonagall had simply pointed out some minor graffiti. ‘I was not aware you were planning to question the Weasley girl so publically,’ he said to the Carrows. ‘Thought we’d show them who’s in charge,’ said Alecto proudly. Snape rolled his eyes. ‘And make a martyr out of her? Good Lord, not particularly well thought through. Come with me, Weasley, I will complete the questioning.’ ‘Don’t go anywhere, Miss Weasley,’ said McGonagall, looking at Snape with horror. ‘Stay where I can see you!’ Snape rolled his eyes. ‘Might I remind you that I am the Headmaster?’ ‘It’s been quite handy questioning her in front of others, actually,’ said Amycus, excitement returning to his face. ‘They’ve been quite revealing. Apparently he’s been getting plenty of girls then dumping them once he’s bored… Broke yeh little heart, didn’t he?’ he shouted into Ginny’s face. She gave her best attempt at a mournful wail. Snape seemed unsurprised. ‘If he’s anything like his father, I imagine that is correct. All the same, I will take Miss Weasley and talk to her more thoroughly. I’m aware that her entire family knew him closer than most.’ He strode forward and grabbed her firmly by the arm, hoisting her up with a grimace. ‘No, stop!’ cried McGonagall helplessly, holding her wand limply by her side. ‘Professor Carrows,’ Snape said, ignoring McGonagall, ‘Ensure the students return to their rooms and then retire to your rooms. We shall compare and discuss tomorrow morning.’ He marched Ginny out of the common room into the dark corridor beyond, holding her arm uncomfortably high and walking too swiftly for her to keep up. She stayed silent, stumbling along, her heart pounding. She could remember Harry, looking ill and tired, rubbing his head, completely exhausted after Occlumency lessons. She remembered him one summer afternoon by the lake, laughing about how terrible he’d been at it, how poorly he’d been able to protect his own memories and thoughts… ‘They can tell just by looking at you in the eyes,’ he’d said. ‘Dumbledore and Snape. That’s why they stare at you, to see if you’re lying.’ She felt sick. He would know. He would know instantly. Grimmauld Place. Oh God. She inwardly cursed Lupin for telling her where they were living. Grimmauld Place. She had to stop thinking about it, she had to block it from her mind. She’d asked Harry once before, how to do it, but he’d shrugged. ‘He never told me how, he just expected me to do it.’ Grimmauld Place. Snape turned a corner so sharply that she stumbled forward, he pulled her back fiercely. ‘Keep up,’ he said impatiently. She tried to fill her mind with other memories, memories that could be interpreted the way she wanted. Watching Harry walking down to Hogsmead with Cho, hearing Romilda giggling and fantasizing about him, watching him walking away from her, through the empty white chairs at the funeral… They had reached the Headmaster’s office. Snape leaned forward and Ginny strained to hear him as he murmured ‘Cokeworth’ at the gargoyle, which let them through at once. Ginny through it a nasty glance, remembering how it had once had the backbone to lock Umbridge out of the room. Ginny had not been in the Headmaster’s office for quite some time, but she was surprised at how similar it was. She had expected Snape to fill it with all manner of ghastly things in jars and dusty old books, or at least make the room darker somehow, but it was still full of Dumbledore’s odd instruments and snooing portraits. Dumbledore himself was snoring quite loudly, the moustache above his great white beard fluttering with every breath. Snape left her standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, and sat behind the desk. He stared at her. She suddenly felt very self-conscious, standing there in her slightly too short pyjamas. ‘Can I sit down?’ she asked aggressively. ‘If you wish,’ he said, still staring coldly at her. She sat in the chair opposite, and stared back, thinking deliberately hard about Harry walking away from her at the funeral. ‘I too, have heard the rumours,’ he said to her. ‘Miss Parkinson informed me as we were leaving the hall. But you’re forgetting that I, unlike Professors Carrow, was present at the school during your…’ his lips curled into an unpleasant grimace. ‘…Relationship.’ ‘Then you’ll know how shocked and devastated I was when he left me,’ Ginny replied coolly, still trying to think very hard of Harry walking away. He stared at her for a long time. ‘Do you know where he is?’ he asked. ‘Don’t bother lying to me, I’m sure your breakup is about as genuine as the boy’s modesty, but quite frankly I don’t care. Where is he?’ Ginny shrugged. ‘I don’t know. No one’s heard from him.’ She was feeling unnerved by his staring, and Grimmauld Place kept floating to the front of her mind, so she looked around the room distractedly. Her eyes settled on a display case, resting on a rickety looking desk. ‘That’s the sword,’ she said without thinking. ‘It shouldn’t be here.’ She suddenly remembered where she was, and looked back at Snape, whose expressionless face hadn’t changed. ‘And where should it be, Miss Weasley?’ She didn’t answer, but stared right back at him. She found herself thinking inexplicably of the Chamber of Secrets, and the great corpse of the basilisk, and the sword, glinting through blood and dirty water. ‘What has Potter told you of his plans?’ asked Snape. ‘Nothing. I haven’t seen him in ages.’ ‘I know he was staying with you during the summer,’ said Snape dangerously. ‘Yes,’ said Ginny hotly, feeling a rush of stupid bravery. ‘He helped tend to my brother, he lost an ear.’ ‘How unfortunate,’ said Snape dryly. She wanted to punch him in his stupid face. There was a long silence again. Ginny huffed. ‘Aren’t you going to torture me or something?’ she spat at him. ‘It’s not worth my time,’ he said delicately. ‘But sitting in silence is?’ He smirked. ‘Your eagerness to fill the silence gives me the information I need.’ Her stomach gave a lurch as she thought about the stupid things she’d said. There was another achingly long pause. ‘Can I go?’ she asked. He checked his watch. ‘No.’ She shivered. Her bare feet were numb with cold. Snape continued to stare at her, and she didn’t know where to look or what to do. She had been expecting more pain and shouting, but this agonizing silence was rather intimidating, and she had no idea if she was doing the right thing. There wasn’t even a clock ticking. The silence was unbearable. Did the man even breathe? Her mind kept trying to drift to happy memories of Harry, but she pulled them back, focusing firmly on how he had left her. ‘Why do you keep looking at the sword?’ he asked abruptly. ‘What? I’m not.’ ‘You are, I don’t think you even realize it. What is it about it that’s drawing your attention?’ She shrugged. ‘Interesting object, I guess.’ Did he know? Did he know it had been left in Dumbledore’s will? She tried not to think about it at once, choosing instead to think about Quidditch. Focus on Quidditch. Harry had been the youngest Seeker in a century. Stop. She sighed, and he raised his eyebrow. ‘Tired?’ he asked. His dark eyes bored into her, but she refused to meet his gaze. She felt rather sulky, no doubt because of her exhaustion. ‘Well, yes, it’s about three in the morning.’ He checked his watch again. ‘Not quite. But I would like you to leave now. Be warned, Weasley. We are watching you very closely for any sign of knowledge or contact with Potter.’ When she left the office, he stood by the gargoyle, and she could feel his eyes on her back as she walked down the dim corridor. She felt confused and unsettled; much like her interview at the Ministry she had been expecting far worse than mild questioning and uncomfortable silences, so she was wondering if she had missed something. Had she said something she shouldn’t have? Had she revealed knowledge she wasn’t even aware of? Had he been reading her mind like Harry had warned her about? Demelza, Zaha and Polly were waiting for her in the dormitory, relief washing over their faces as they saw her enter. ‘Are you all right? You’ve been gone for nearly two hours!’ ‘What happened?’ ‘He didn’t hurt you more did he?’ ‘I’m fine,’ she told them reassuringly. ‘Honestly. He just asked me some questions.’ She slipped back into bed, ignoring their stunned expressions. ‘So… you’re OK?’ asked Zaha hesitantly. ‘I’m fine,’ Ginny repeatedly patiently. ‘Just very tired. Thank you for running to get McGonagall, I didn’t even notice you leave.’ She nodded uncertainly, pushing her lips to the side in an awkward grimace. ‘Yeah, I suppose… I just sort of left quietly and nobody noticed… That reminds me, I said I’d tell the boys when you were back. You’re sure you’re OK?’ Ginny smiled and nodded. ‘Absolutely. Give them my love and thanks, I’ll see them in the morning.’ They had only a precious three hours of sleep before their alarm clocks began rudely singing, and dragging herself out of bed was perhaps the biggest challenge Ginny had faced so far. In the bustle of the morning rush, it was clear to see that very few Gryffindors had been able to have a decent night of sleep; most seemed pale and sickly looking, with dark circles around their eyes and wide yawns punctuating mindless chatter. Ginny was hugged fiercely by many; especially Colin, Neville and Seamus, who seemed to have taken it upon himself to look after her. ‘Ron’s not here to do it,’ he said. ‘So Neville and I will step up to make sure you’re all right.’ ‘Thanks, Seamus,’ she said politely, though she could not help herself from remembering how irritatingly overprotective Dean had been. Hopefully Seamus would not view her as the delicate little flower that Dean had seen her as. New sixth years were required to speak to their Heads of House about their N.E.W.T. options, but Professor McGonagall seized the opportunity to check Ginny was safe and well. ‘Do you need to go to the hospital wing?’ she asked in a low voice. ‘I can help you find a reason if you want to be checked over.’ ‘No, don’t worry, I feel fine,’ Ginny said. ‘Nothing happened to me after that. Snape just asked me a few questions and then I was free to go.’ ‘Well, thank goodness. I’ll keep an eye on you, Miss Weasley, I should think that will be the end of it, but please remember that you ca always come straight to me, day or night, if you feel you are in danger.’ ‘Do I really have to do Muggle Studies?’ Ginny asked quietly. She had been planning on taking it anyway, but now that Professor Burbage was gone… ‘I’m afraid so,’ said Professor McGonagall. ‘Everyone must now. But you could drop Defence Against the Dark Arts…?’ ‘No,’ said Ginny firmly. ‘It’s tempting, but… He should only be there a year anyway…’ McGonagall gave a sly smile. ‘If history is to be believed.’ She was handed her timetable, and was pleased to see that she did not have to face either of the Carrows until tomorrow. Word had clearly spread among the staff about the events of last night, for the Gryffindors seemed to be given points for the smallest of things, and neither Flitwick nor Slughorn appeared to notice various students dozing off in the middle of classes. Slughorn himself handed Ginny a small packet of crystalized pineapples, inviting her loudly to his next ‘little gathering’ as they entered the class. The classroom itself had a glorious scent, which seemed to come from a bubbling cauldron with sensuous coils of steam rising high above the blackboard. Ginny inhaled it deeply as Sulghorn gathered them round the golden cauldron, feeling as though she could lay on the floor and allow it to entice her into sleep. ‘Who can identify this for me? Anyone?’ There was a slight pause, before a Ravenclaw named it as Amortentia. Something clicked in her mind, and she found herself blurting out ‘Ron!’ before turning as red as a tomato. Everyone stared at her. ‘I only meant… My brother Ron, last year…’ Slughorn’s mouth formed an ‘o’ and he clicked his fingers impatiently in the air. ‘Of course, of course, I remember, yes, no wonder you recognize it, Miss Weasley. What happened to your brother is a perfect example of how dangerous this potion can be. Miss Weasley’s brother, er… Ron was it? Yes, that’s right, Ron unfortunately consumed some rather out of date Amortentia, which is a potion designed to simulate love. It causes obsessive infatuation, rather than the real thing of course, and sadly poor Rupert was very badly affected.’ ‘It was intended for someone else,’ interjected Ginny, and the students in the room that knew the story giggled. ‘Indeed,’ said Slughorn. ‘But it is a demonstration of how powerful the potion can be. It was quick enough for me to rustle up an antidote, of course, but had Miss Weasley’s brother not been take to me at once there could have been disastrous and I daresay embarrassing consequences. Now…’ He moved on to discuss the other potions, but his voice seemed to fade into the background as Ginny stepped closer to the golden cauldron. She closed her eyes and breathed in the fragrant air. The leathery smell of a Quaffle, the sweetness of the orchard at home, the warm scent of Harry’s jumper… Her heart ached and she imagined herself running from the classroom, bursting into a teacher’s office and seizing a handful of Floo powder. She could see the rush of green flames and the dusty floor of Grimmauld Place spinning into view, and then he would be there, and he would help her up, and they could take their brooms and head to the orchard, or the lake, or somewhere else isolated and quiet. A warm hand wrapped itself gently around her wrist, and she opened her eyes to see Luna looking up at her with a serene smile, her eyes wide and cheerful. ‘I smell daffodils and ink,’ she whispered happily. ‘What about you?’ ‘Is that all, Luna? I would have thought you’d smell something a little more off the wall.’ ‘Well, I can’t identify the other smell. I suspect it may be a creature I haven’t yet come across,’ Luna replied. Ginny had never been more grateful for the company of a good friend. By dinner that evening, she was feeling almost cheerful, and broke into a wide grin when Neville leaned across the roast potatoes to tell her that almost everyone had located their coins, and that Terry Boot had agreed to learn the Protean charm for more coins, were they to recruit new members. ‘This is so exciting!’ Ginny exclaimed delightedly. ‘Can we use the Room of Requirement again do you think?’ ‘Well, we might not need to,’ said Neville. ‘I had a Defence lesson today, and Carrow was ranting and raving because the Fat Lady has changed the password already, and Professor McGonagall said she didn’t know what it was. He was trying to get it out of us, but we all pretended we didn’t know too.’ ‘Blimey, was everyone all right?’ asked Ginny. ‘And what is the password? I didn’t realize it had been changed.’ ‘Oh, it’s tonitrui. She changed it as soon as you got back last night, I think MacGonagall told her to. And yeah, it was fine, he threw a few books at us and Seamus got a bit gobby-’ he jerked his head towards Seamus, who was sitting several seats down the table and sporting a nasty looking black eye, ‘-but nothing last night. How are you doing?’ ‘Fine,’ Ginny said briskly, who was getting rather tired of discussing it. ‘We don’t want people getting beaten up though, we have to be clever about it.’ Neville shook his head. ‘You didn’t hear him… Anyway, I think for a little while at least we could use the common room.’ ‘But… What about Terry? And Luna,’ she remembered, wide eyed. Sometimes she forgot that her best friend was in an entirely different house. ‘There are loads of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs.’ Neville shrugged. ‘We can trust them to come in I think. The only risk is the curfew, but everyone seems prepared to take the risk.’ She couldn’t help the grin spreading across her face. ‘This is fantastic. When should we have the first meeting, d’you think?’ ‘Why are you asking me?’ he said, looking alarmed. ‘Well, you’re Prefect, aren’t you?’ He blushed. ‘Well… Yeah, but… You’re the closest to Harry, so I dunno, I just thought.’ ‘Let’s decide together,’ she said kindly, reaching into her bag. ‘It should be a lot easier without Quidditch to plan around.’ ‘That’s true,’ admitted Neville. ‘Never thought about it that way, I was just gutted that there wasn’t going to be any.’ ‘There’s always a silver lining, Neville.’ |
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