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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: 108196; Chapter Total: 3466 Awards: View Trophy Room |
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There was an awkward, cold silence around the dinner table. Ginny, like the rest of her family, stared coolly at Bill, who had sat heavily at one of the empty places, his head in his hands. Fleur had followed him into the kitchen moments later, and hovered awkwardly beside him, looking anxiously around the table. Molly placed a cup of tea firmly in front of him, then returned to her seat with a grave expression. ‘Explain,’ she said. Bill rubbed his forehead. ‘I will, I will… I just…’ He looked at Fleur. ‘Where else could he have gone?’ ‘To your aunts?’ she suggested. ‘We could try zere-’ He nodded, and began to rise, but Arthur interrupted them with a snap. ‘He won’t have gone there. If he’s left of his own accord, I’m sure he knows what he’s doing. Sit down and explain to us.’ ‘I could get him to come back,’ Bill said desperately. ‘I just need to-’ ‘Bill,’ said Remus quietly. ‘Tell us what’s going on and we may be able to help.’ Bill looked up at Fleur, who cocked her head at him and sat down. He sighed and looked unhappily into Remus’s eyes, before abruptly confessing, ‘I lied to you. I’m sorry. I was the one who tipped off Lee for that broadcast.’ ‘I think we’ve all guessed that,’ said Molly, who looked furious. ‘So he’s been with you all this time, has he?’ ‘Yes,’ said Bill, who at least had the decency to look ashamed. ‘What about the others?’ asked Remus. ‘Were they with you too?’ ‘No, just Ron. He got separated.’ ‘Why? Asked Ginny. ‘Is he all right?’ A thousand terrible scenarios flooded through her mind. What could have torn those three best friends apart? Bill and Fleur exchanged glances. Bill seemed on the verge of saying something. ‘What?’ asked Molly, her voice higher than normal. ‘What happened to him?’ ‘Nothing,’ said Fleur quickly. ‘’Ee iz fine!’ ‘What’re you hiding then?’ accused George. ‘You should all know that he completely regrets what I’m about to tell you… And I made it clear to him that it was not acceptable…’ ‘Spit it out, Bill!’ said Tonks. Bill threw the briefest of glances at Remus, then looked directly at his parents. ‘He argued with Harry… And then stormed off.’ ‘He what?’ Ginny growled. She could feel herself shaking, though she was not sure if it was from anger or fear. Molly’s lips had formed a thin line, Tonks’ mouth had opened slightly in shock, and Andromeda was shaking her head vaguely. Fred and George had decided that the reasonable response was to swear and insult Ron as loudly as possible. ‘Boys!’ said Arthur impatiently, raising a hand to silence them. ‘Let him finish! What did they argue about, Bill?’ ‘I don’t know, he was really cagey about everything. Seemed really ashamed of himself-’ ‘As he bloody well should be!’ exclaimed Fred. ‘He just said that they were all having a tough time, and it got to him a bit, and they both said things they shouldn’t have-’ ‘They can both have tempers,’ said Arthur heavily. ‘Well, yeah,’ admitted Bill. ‘But I think it went further than that, he couldn’t bring himself to say it. Anyway, he said he got caught up with a bunch of Snatchers-’ ‘Oh, Merlin!’ cried Molly, throwing a hand over her heart. ‘He was all right,’ Bill assured her. ‘Apparently they weren’t very smart. But by the time he got back to where they’d been camping, Harry and Hermione had moved on.’ ‘Don’t blame them,’ said Ginny sourly. ‘The stupid git, why couldn’t he put his pride aside for once?’ ‘It’s probably not easy for them,’ said Remus warily. ‘Living on top of one another like that. Not to mention the stress they must be under…’ Bill nodded, and took a sip of his tea. ‘He made us promise not to tell you all because he was so embarrassed — Mum, I’m sorry…’ Molly’s eyes were full of tears. ‘Never lie to me again, Bill Weasley.’ He balked at her cold tone. ‘I don’t give an owl’s hoot if he was ashamed. Do you know what that would have meant to me? To know he was safe with you?’ ‘Well he’s not there anymore,’ said Bill. ‘He spent every day sulking in the spare room, we could barely get him down for meal times, the only time he came down willingly or of his own accord was when Potterwatch was on — said he was hoping he’d hear a rumour about where they were so he could find them again. But when we went up to get him to come down for some Christmas dinner, he’d gone.’ ‘Do you think he heard something? And ran off to find them?’ asked Andromeda. Bill shrugged. ‘I assume so. But he was adamant that he’d never be able to find them. He said they’d been Apparating to random places, then moving on after a night or two.’ ‘But what are they doing for food? Warmth?’ asked Molly. ‘They must be exhausted.’ ‘Ron was very skinny when ‘ee arrived,’ said Fleur grimly. ‘We’ve ‘ad to fatten ‘im up again.’ ‘Well, now we know why Ron lost his temper and had a big fall out with Harry,’ said George, with faux-cheerfulness. ‘He was a bit hungry. Poor Ron…’ ‘He was really quite thin,’ said Bill sharply. ‘From the sounds of it they’ve all really been struggling.’ Ginny found herself staring at her mountain of food, feeling quite guilty. She was struggling to think what she would eat if she was out in the bleak countryside. Blackberries, maybe? Mushrooms? She doubted she’d know which were safe to eat. ‘They have a tent though,’ Arthur said softly to Molly, who was now clearly fighting back tears. She nodded and gave a small sniff. ‘You should have told me, Bill. Why didn’t you tell me?’ Bill looked devastated, and simply shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, Mum, he made me promise… I’m sorry…’ ‘At least you know he’s alive and well, Molly,’ said Tonks. ‘And if he has vanished so suddenly, it will be because he’s worked out where they are somehow. If he hasn’t, he’ll be back at Bills, and then we can all go round and shout at him together.’ ‘How long as he been staying with you?’ asked Remus. Bill scratched his jaw absent-mindedly. ‘Er… A few weeks now. He said the night he left, they overheard Dean Thomas, Dirk Cresswell, a few goblins and your husband,’ he nodded towards Andromeda. ‘They were all eating together nearby, they couldn’t make contact obviously, but he said he seemed fine — in good spirits.’ Andromeda burst into tears. Molly hurried round to hug her, and Tonks too, began to shake slightly, swiftly embraced by Remus. ‘Oh, thank heavens,’ gasped Andromeda. ‘You’re sure? You’re sure it was Ted he saw? I thought it was just a rumour, I didn't want to get my hopes up…’ ‘Ron seemed positive,’ said Bill. ‘Lee was telling the truth on Potterwatch. That’s how we heard about it, it wasn’t Dean that contacted us, it was Ron. He said he knew you and Tonks would want to know he was all right.’ They drank in the information, all of them slightly stunned. Ginny was not quite sure how to feel. Relief and joy that her brother was safe, or had been for the last few weeks was entangled with fury that he had abandoned Harry and Hermione, and that he had deliberately isolated himself from most of the family. Though, given the expressions on Fred and George’s faces, she could see why. ‘He’s a complete bastard,’ said Fred bluntly. ‘Just the worst,’ agreed George. ‘Stop it!’ said Bill defensively. ‘He seemed really upset about the whole thing, I think it just spiraled out of control-’ ‘And maybe it was ‘Arry’s fault too,’ said Fleur. She nodded towards Remus. ‘You know ‘ow ‘ee can get when ‘ee is angry.’ ‘HEY!’ Ginny stood up, her chair screeching on the floorboards. ‘Now listen here-’ All the adults called for calm at once; Arthur threw an arm across Ginny, as though expecting her to launch herself across the table and attack Fleur, while Molly flapped her hands in an odd attempt to bring down the noise volume. Fleur looked quite horrified and embarrassed, clearly stunned that she had provoked such a reaction. ‘I think we can all agree that Harry’s anger at me was quite understandable and justified,’ said Remus diplomatically. ‘All the same, let’s not all leap to vilifying Ron when we don’t know what happened.’ Ginny sat back down reluctantly, deliberately avoiding Fleur’s face. ‘Ron clearly thinks he’s in the wrong!’ said George furiously. He pointed to Bill. ‘You said he’s been sulking and feeling guilty. It’s because he’s a massive bellend.’ ‘George!’ scolded Molly. ‘Not at the dinner table, and certainly not on Christmas day!’ ‘Oh, Merry bloody Christmas!’ he said loudly, throwing himself back into his chair. ‘I understand you’re upset, George-’ began Arthur. ‘Upset? I’m not upset! Why would I be upset that Ron threw away his chance of actually doing something useful in the war? Why would I be upset that I’m stuck at home with a sodding ear missing because I risked my neck protecting Harry, when he can’t even stick out some mildly shitty camping?’ ‘We don’t know the half of it,’ said Fred quietly, and Ginny whipped round to face him, startled. She had never heard the twins disagree on anything before. George fell into a sullen silence, pushing now cold brussels sprouts around his plate. There was an awkward pause, which Arthur decided to break by delicately asking if Ron had mentioned anything else they had been doing. ‘Er… Oh, blimey, yeah — we were right, that was Harry and Ron in the elevator in the Ministry. Ron said it nearly killed him not saying anything to you, and Harry was trying to warn you that the whole family is being watched. He found a file in Umbridge’s office about you.’ ‘What on earth were they doing in there?’ asked Arthur. ‘Trying to get the sword!’ said Ginny triumphantly. ‘Right?’ ‘No,’ said Bill apologetically. ‘He said they were trying to get hold of something that belonged to Umbridge, and they succeeded, but he wouldn’t tell me what.’ ‘Oh,’ said Ginny, feeling quite embarrassed. ‘Well… That’s good they succeeded.’ Bill hesitated for a moment, then said, ‘He was very concerned about you, Ginny. Burst into tears when I told him about your detention.’ ‘Why?’ asked Ginny. ‘It was fine.’ ‘Come on, now,’ said Fred. ‘It was pretty dangerous. Centaurs aren’t exactly friendly.’ She shrugged. Bill was looking at her very oddly, and it made her a little uncomfortable, so she turned to her father. ‘The whole family’s being watched? Shouldn’t we… I don’t know, go into hiding or something?’ ‘It’s not a particular surprise,’ said Arthur grimly. ‘I think we’re all right for now, and I certainly don’t want to use our backup plan until we have to. But we’ll need to be even more careful about communication. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you all to be meeting up in Hogsmeade anymore.’ ‘I can’t anyway,’ said Ginny. ‘I’ve been banned, haven’t I? Although…’ a horrible thought came to her. ‘We were talking so loudly about Potterwatch! If we’re all being watched-’ ‘We’d have all been arrested already if anyone had overheard,’ said Remus calmly. ‘Don’t worry about it. Though perhaps be particularly on your guard from now on. ‘Right, well then,’ said Molly suddenly. ‘I assume now that you don’t have Ron to hide, you’ll be staying?’ ‘Oh,’ said Bill, looking startled. ‘Er…’ ‘Ron might return to the cottage,’ said Arthur quickly. ‘We don’t know where, or why he’s gone, so we shouldn’t assume…’ ‘We would love to ‘zo, of course,’ said Fleur hastily. ‘But-’ ‘Yes, well, as long as when he turns up again you bring him straight here,’ ordered Molly. ‘I mean it, Bill. Never lie to me again.’ Bill seemed to take this as his cue to leave, and bid everyone a hasty goodbye. ‘Good luck with the broadcast tomorrow, Ginny,’ he said as he hugged her. ‘You’re not going to be there?’ ‘Probably not. I’ll see you soon though.’ He hurried over to Remus and Tonks, giving her a kiss on the cheek and Remus a firm clap on the shoulder. ‘Here’s my address,’ he said to them both, handing Remus a slip of parchment. ‘Come in an emergency, it’s completely safe, and we have spare rooms.’ They left, vanishing into the crisp winter air, leaving a house full of confused and conflicted people. ‘It’s good news, Molly,’ said Andromeda. ‘You know he’s alive, you know he’s now well-fed, and you know he’s gone off to try and make amends.’ ‘How hungry must Harry and Hermione be by now though?’ said George, who was still sulking. Molly rounded on him. ‘He is your brother! Have some sympathy!’ ‘Harry’s practically my brother too!’ shouted George. ‘And Hermione’s practically my sister! She’s meant to be the girl Ron’s hopelessly in love with, isn’t she? And he abandoned them! He’s as bad as Percy!’ ‘No wonder he made Bill promise to hide him!’ snapped Molly. ‘Things aren’t always so black and white, George!’ George rose and stormed out, slamming the door behind him. ‘I love Christmas,’ said Fred. ‘It’s the family arguments that always make it extra special.’ *** By the next morning, George had calmed down. What Fred had said to him on Christmas evening Ginny wasn’t sure, but hours later they returned from their old room and George apologized for making a scene, admitting that he was ‘probably being a bit unfair’. Ginny, Tonks and Remus had spent Christmas evening writing and rehearsing what Ginny would say on Potterwatch, and now she stood excitably by the front door, clutching a roll of parchment and beaming proudly. Tonks was awkwardly trying to fasten her travelling cloak over her bump, accidentally elbowing Remus sharply in the ribs as she did so. ‘Not long now and you won’t be able to Apparate,’ said Andromeda warningly. ‘This will probably be the last time you can do a broadcast.’ ‘Unless it’s at our house,’ said Tonks cheerfully. ‘That could be fun.’ ‘Where is it today?’ asked Ginny. ‘Lee’s,’ said Fred. ‘He lives on Euston Road.’ ‘Aren’t you coming?’ Fred and George were still standing in novelty Christmas socks, George yawning over a cup of coffee. ‘Nah, you’re all right,’ he said. ‘It’s quite small and we’ve only been helping with the sound stuff so far, and Lee’s sister can do that. Bill said he’d meet you there though.’ ‘We were thinking of writing some stuff for future episodes though,’ said George. ‘But Lee says it’s not the right sort of medium for fart jokes, so we’re not really sure what to do.’ ‘Ready to go?’ said Tonks. Ginny nodded, practically tingling with anticipation. They left the house and stood huddled by the front door, the rest of the family waving at them from the kitchen window. She gripped Tonks’ arm, and suddenly the world was a blur of colour. She felt the familiar, unpleasant squeezing sensation, and just when she was on the edge of panicking because she couldn’t breathe, she was standing on damp concrete. She panted and stumbled a little feeling nauseous, and looked over to see Tonks leaning against a wall, Remus rubbing her lower back. ‘Ugh… I think my Mum was right… I’ll have to stop Apparating here, there and everywhere…’ While Tonks recovered, Ginny took a moment to examine her surroundings. The road was wide and busy even in the spitting rain, but the place they had Apparated to was tucked away behind the entrance to the tube. Muggles, out for the Boxing Day sales, hurried by unseeing, heavily laden with bags. Tall, glass covered buildings reached high into the grey sky, and a black cab trundled past, splashing nearby shoppers with grimy water. Tucked stubbornly between two monstrously tall office buildings was a brightly coloured brick house, the high pitched roof looking a little ambitiously foolish squashed between the walls of the offices. At some point it may have been a rather rundown building, but the façade was a sunny yellow, and the square window frames had been painted a bold red. Tonks linked arms with her, and guided her across the busy road (an experience Ginny found quite intimidating) towards the little house. The front door was pushed back a little; a bay window jutted out onto the street, taking up the rest of the width of the house. Rather than knocking on the door, Tonks gave a small grin and tapped on the side of the window. A grumpy face briefly appeared from behind the curtains, and shouted, ‘knock tha door!’ Tonks laughed, and gave a gentle rap on the knocker. They didn’t have to wait long before Lee opened it, shouting over his shoulders. ‘I am! I am! Come in, guys…’ The entered, and Ginny could hear a heavily accented woman shouting loudly. ‘Lee! Who’s knocking on ma windows?’ Lee rolled his eyes. ‘Ignore her,’ he muttered, then looked at Tonks sharply. ‘Was that you?’ Tonks giggled. ‘Sorry, couldn’t resist.’ ‘Lee!’ ‘Leave it, Mum, it’s the Potterwatch guys!’ She continued to shout, though Ginny struggled to understand her accent, and Lee led them up a flight of creaky, narrow stairs. The house was just as colourful inside as it was outside, and Ginny could smell something delicious and spicy from the kitchen. They entered a room that had apparently been dedicated purely to radio broadcasting, with a wireless set dominating the room and multiple microphones floating by comfortable armchairs and poufs. Bill was already there, lounging casually on the windowsill and scribbling on a script. He raised a brief hand in greeting, but was engrossed in his work. ‘STACE!’ yelled Lee. Tonks and Remus settled into chairs, and Ginny awkwardly copied, trying not to make it too obvious that she was looking around. ‘No Kingsley?’ asked Remus. ‘Oh, he’s just a bit late I think- STACEY! …He’ll be along soon.’ ‘Where’s your dad today?’ asked Tonks conversationally. A woman’s voice began shouting down the stairs back at Lee. ‘Doing some research for me, as it happens. Someone said they spotted Harry, and it sounds like a load of rubbish to me, but still worth checking out- Oh, good, you’re here.’ A very beautiful young woman had entered, thick Senegal twists piled on top of her head. ‘You didn’t have to shout,’ she said, but Lee ignored her. Lee introduced them all to his sister just as they heard his mother loudly inviting Kingsley into the home, and she turned to start fiddling with the complicated-looking knobs, dials and sliders just as he entered. ‘Afternoon, all,’ he said cheerfully, a copy of The Daily Prophet tucked under his arm. They all gave him a lazy greeting, and he turned to Ginny. ‘What’s this I hear about Luna Lovegood? Is it true?’ ‘Yes,’ said Ginny. ‘She was in my compartment, I don’t know where they’ve taken her.’ ‘Well, I wouldn’t worry too much. Xeno Lovegood said recently that he was being pressurized for being too outspoken. I expect they’re holding her as a threat to him, I’m sure she is alive.’ Ginny nodded. ‘That’s what I’ve been telling myself. I cried for days at first, but then I thought, they’d have just killed here there, wouldn’t they? They took her for a reason.’ Lee wrinkled his nose. ‘Is that the girl at the wedding who-’ ‘Yes,’ said Ginny with a small smile. ‘She’s a tough thing, I know she’ll be all right.’ ‘That’s the spirit,’ said Tonks. ‘Shall we get going then, everyone?’ The Christmas episode of Potterwatch was more somber than they perhaps would have liked, but Ginny admired the steely expression in Lee’s face as he read out the news, Kingsley’s calm and collected manner as he explained the nuances of anti-Muggle sentiment, Remus authoritative but kindly voice as he explained the complexity of You-Know-Who’s taboo, Bill’s joy as he recounted the celebrations at the end of the first war (and his promises of even better celebrations to come), and Tonks’ ability to inject humour into explaining complex shield charms. ‘And now,’ said Lee, grinning over at Ginny, ‘Our final guest is particularly special. For one night only, welcome Roma!’ The others clapped politely, and Ginny responded with, ‘Thank you, L-River.’ Stacey covered her mouth in an effort not to laugh, and Lee widened his eyes and shook his head at her. ‘Roma is here today to tell us about the man we’re all eagerly awaiting news on, Mr Lightening himself, Harry Potter!’ ‘That’s right, River,’ said Ginny, and she noticed for the first time in her life how terrible her own voice was. Tonks grasped her hand and smiled reassuringly at her, and the nerves melted away slightly. ‘But I have unfortunate news too.’ ‘I assume this is in regard to the recent changes at Hogwarts? For our listeners, Roma is a current student at Hogwarts,’ said Lee. ‘Yes. I’m sure everyone is aware that Severus Snape, the man who murdered Albus Dumbledore, was this year named Headmaster. In addition, he has hired two known Death Eaters, Alecto and Amycus Carrow, as Professors of Muggle Studies and Defence Against the Dark Arts respectively.’ ‘Would our listeners be right in assuming that your year at Hogwarts has so far been unpleasant?’ ‘It has been horrendous. Corporeal punishment is handed out freely — both Carrows seem unable to control their tempers and have been witnessed throwing objects, beating and even cursing students. Draconian rules have been enforced which break up student socializing, confine us to our dormitories outside of school hours, and at times seem deliberately designed to catch us out.’ Remus scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to Lee, who nodded and continued. ‘And what has the student reaction been to this?’ ‘As you can imagine, people have resisted as much as they dare, but they are afraid. I know that a few weeks ago you announced the deaths of the Gardener family. Myself and several other students witnessed Samuel Gardner being pulled off the train by his terrified mother, never to be seen again. More recently, the sixth-year student Luna Lovegood, daughter of the editor of The Quibbler was kidnapped from the Hogwarts Express by Death Eaters. Other students have returned from detentions with visible bruises, many have been threatened with the Cruciatus curse… Some have even received it.’ ‘It sounds like a terrifying environment,’ said Lee gravely. ‘It is. Students are certainly too frightened to speak out. But one thing is keeping us going. Many viewers may already be aware, but there was a brief period two years ago when Dumbledore was ousted from his position as Headmaster, and replaced by Dolores Umbridge. She was also unspeakably cruel to many students, creating many of the harsh policies and rules that are affecting us today. In particularly, she encouraged the isolation and rejection of Harry Potter, who at that time was trying to convince the wizarding world of You-Know-Who’s return.’ She was growing in confidence now, slipping deeper into the conversation as though it were just her and Lee. He was also looking increasingly solemn, staring into her eyes and nodding slightly. ‘I’m sure everyone remembers the rumours and lies that were unfairly encouraged against him at that time… Of course, now we know that he was right all along.’ ‘Indeed. I imagine he felt as hopeless and lonely as many of the students do now. But to any of them listening, I say quite clearly… We did not give up in the face of Umbridge. Harry did not give up. We will not give up. During that year, Harry would stand, shout back, insist the truth. He never wavered from his convictions. He organized the students into a resistance. We resisted. And we can do it again.’ She chanced a glance at the others. They were looking grim, but inspired, as though awaiting a battle. She hoped the listeners at home felt the same way. ‘In what way did he organize resistance?’ asked Lee. ‘He taught us. He inspired us. I know that many students, as well as those who left Hogwarts recently, will remember how he taught us practical defense, how he helped us feel prepared for the storm that was coming.’ ‘And that helped?’ ‘Undoubtedly. Being prepared, or feeling like you’re preparing? It’s a great comfort. It helps you feel useful. It gives you strength. It helps you recognize your own independence and skill. Because that’s where your strength must come from, in the end. Not from words, or stories, or songs — not from others. But from within yourself, from your own abilities, your perseverance, and your determination to survive. Find that inner strength and use it to inspire and help others, just like Harry did.’ ‘And if Harry was listening, what would you say to him now?’ She had not been expecting this. Evidently it had been improvised on the spot by Lee. Something caught in her throat. Are you there? Are you listening? Can you hear me? ‘We miss you.’ |
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