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SIYE Time:15:05 on 29th March 2024
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Not From Others
By FloreatCastellum

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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: 108046; Chapter Total: 3579
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:
As you've probably noticed, I don't usually write author's notes. But I just wanted to thank everyone who has reviewed this; your words have been shockingly kind. I began writing this to distract myself from my mum's serious illness, and I never imagined people would even read it, let alone leave such incredible encouragement. So thank you, so much, I cannot tell you how much it's meant to me. I hope you all continue to enjoy the story. Edit: Half of this chapter has vanished. I am trying to find the solution, but please check back in a few days.




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They were gathered in the living room, packed tightly together and hastily trying to tidy up the mess the Death Eaters had left. The sofas had been ripped open, curtains pulled down, and books pulled off shelves and scattered across the floor, almost hiding the rug covered in muddy boot prints. They cleaned up by hand in an oddly casual way, as if nothing was wrong and it was an everyday occurrence to have your home ransacked.

Still wrapped in her mother’s shawl, Ginny half-heartedly kicked the crumpled rug back into a flat position, glumly watching her mum attend to her dad’s bloody nose.

‘You shouldn’t have run at him,’ Molly scolded. ‘I mean, really Arthur, there’s a time and a place for heroics…’

‘I wasn’t going to stand for him treating Remus like that,’ said Arthur firmly. ‘Not without putting up a fight.’

Remus gave a small smile as he picked a broken lamp up off the floor. ‘I’m very touched, Arthur, but I’m fine. It’s not worth risking your life for the sake of protecting my feelings.’

‘Even so,’ said Arthur stubbornly, ‘I won’t have my family and friends tormented. Not to mention how disrespectful it was to the Potters. That file should never have seen the light of day, let alone be used as some twisted interrogation tactic.’

‘I never realized how much Harry looked like his Dad,’ said George, looking dumbfounded. ‘I mean, I know you guys always said it, but…’ he trailed off, looking uneasily at Lupin.

Remus nodded. ‘Yes, quite remarkable really. Even as a baby it was clear. We used to tease James, said it was proof that Harry wasn’t the milkman’s baby.’

Fred snorted. ‘That would be a good twist in the Chosen One legend, wouldn’t it? You’re all right though, Lupin?’

Remus look strained, but smiled at Fred. ‘Of course. It’s been an unpleasant end to a lovely night, but we’ll all recover.’ Tonks smiled up at him and reached up for a kiss, but Remus apparently didn’t notice, turning his head away so she caught the edge of his jaw.

It had not gone unnoticed, but thankfully Arthur leapt in to break the embarrassed silence. ‘Well they’ll still be watching us, I expect. I know most of the guests have gone, but I think Order members should stay here for a little longer at least. They couldn’t get too rough with so many witnesses but I don’t want to risk anyone being cornered alone.’

Lupin looked irritated, but Tonks looked outright distraught. ‘I need to check on my parents. I’ve got such a horrible feeling-’

‘I’m sure they’re fine, Tonks,’ said Bill quietly. Stay here, just for the night.’

She nodded, sighing heavily. ‘We’ll conjure something up and sleep in here.’

‘We’ll all have some tea first,’ ordered Molly. ‘To calm the nerves.’

‘Yeah, Ginny looks like she could do with some,’ said Charlie.
Ginny scowled at him. ‘I’m fine!’ she insisted. ‘Just bloody freezing still!’

‘No, you look really shook up-’

‘I’m not a little girl! You’re so-’

‘Stop it, you two,’ snapped Molly, heading towards the kitchen. ‘None of us need to listen to your bickering. Everyone, and I mean everyone, sit down while I get some tea.’

Nobody was going to argue, so they all found somewhere to settle in the chaotic room, even if it meant conjuring cushions and sitting on the floor. Through the dark window, they could occasionally see spots of light by the edge of the garden that were surely from wands.

‘Are they staking us out?’ demanded George. ‘Cheeky bastards!’

‘I told you,’ said Arthur grimly. ‘No one leaves until morning.’ Fleur sighed huffily and rested her head on Bill’s shoulder. He kissed her on the head and whispered something apologetic. Ginny pulled a face at Fred, who responded by waggling his eyebrows.

‘I can’t get zat ‘orrible picture out of my ‘ead,’ said Madam Delacour, shuddering and holding a very drowsy Gabrielle on her lap. ‘It iz just ghastly.’

‘Vile,’ agreed Monsieur Delcaour, dabbing his clammy forehead with a handkerchief.

‘I’m sorry you had to see that,’ said Remus, looking tremendously guilty.
‘Don’t be a plonker,’ said Fred. ‘It’s not your fault, is it? It’s just messed up.’

‘It wasn’t right,’ said Tonks furiously. ‘That file is incredibly sensitive, it should never have left the records room.’

‘I just don’t get it,’ said Charlie. ‘Why would they think showing us that would make us more likely to dish out information on Harry?’

‘I imagine they hoped emotionally fragile people would be easier to frighten and get information out of, which is why they brought Greyback along as well,’ said Tonks. ‘Or maybe they just wanted to gloat.’

‘Plus they wanted to make us think that resisting them can only end in death,’ said Arthur quietly. ‘It was a threat too.’

‘Yes, it was,’ agreed Lupin. ‘That’s why he showed only me the picture of Lily. It was a threat that my partner would be harmed, as James’s
was.’

‘Misogynistic arsehole,’ said Tonks bitterly. ‘If he wanted to threaten me he should have threatened me personally, not through my husband.’

‘Well he used an orphan’s family, he wasn’t going to stop there, was he?’ said Fred venomously. ‘It’s sick, I’m never going to be able to think of Harry and his family the same now, it’ll just be that creepy picture in the back of my mind.’

Lupin sighed and shook his head, reaching into his robes. ‘Here,’ he said, opening his wallet. ‘I’ll not have James remembered like that.’
He passed Fred a small photograph that had clearly been folded and unfolded many times.

‘Bloody hell,’ laughed Fred. ‘You look young!’

‘Ooh, l want to see!’ said Fleur excitedly, somehow looking elegant even as she scrambled across the sofa to peer over Fred’s shoulder. ‘Oh! Fred iz right! You are very young here, and quite ‘andsome! And ‘oo iz zat attractive man in zee back? He’s iz gorgeous, almost as much as my ‘usband.’

Lupin gave a bark of laughter. ‘That would be Sirius.’

‘Never!’ gaped George. ‘Azkaban didn’t do the poor bloke any good did it? Who’s the skinny kid next to you?’

‘Peter. Let’s not talk about him.’

‘Let me see!’ insisted Ginny, standing and trying to figure out how to cross the room without standing on anyone.

Molly had returned and was handing out cups of tea. She pushed one into Ginny’s reluctant hands as she passed and looked suspiciously at the twins and her new daughter in law. ‘What’s that you’ve got there?’

‘Picture of Remus and company,’ said George cheerfully. ‘Before everything got depressing.’

Ginny had reached them, and leaned awkwardly over Fred to look. The black and white photo showed four young men, grinning proudly into the camera. They all seemed to have a relaxed, cool air about them. Harry’s father was there, at once looking just like him and somehow nothing like him at all — there was something different in the way he smiled, in the way he held himself…

‘Harry’s dad looks pleased with himself,’ she said to Remus.

Remus chuckled fondly. ‘He didn’t quite have Harry’s modesty. Everything was a big joke, and he was the comedy star, in his opinion.’

‘Sounds like our kind of bloke,’ said Fred approvingly, stretching up to pass the photo to his mother.

‘Oh, look,’ she crooned. ‘How lovely. When was this taken, Remus?’

‘Not long after we left Hogwarts, James proposed to Lily just a few days later, I believe.’ Ginny had not seen him like this before, suddenly so much more cheerful than just a few minutes ago. The nostalgia had given him some sort of strength, and he suddenly looked inspired, and proud. It seemed odd to her that he was suddenly willing to reminisce after shrugging off her enquiries about the Potter’s wedding.

‘We were very active in the Order at that point,’ he continued excitedly as Molly passed the photo to Arthur and Bill. ‘Dumbledore asked us to join on our last day of school, and we just leapt into it. James and Sirius in particular thought it was quite the adventure. They used to compete to see who could apprehend the most Death Eaters.’

‘Well now I feel like I’ve achieved sod all,’ grumbled Charlie. ‘Nothing like looking at some shockingly young revolutionaries to make you feel lazy.’

‘Don’t forget cowardly,’ said Fred helpfully. ‘When were you going back to Romania again? Wednesday, was it? Don’t let us keep you, the war effort’s overcrowded as it is.’

‘Yeah, we can barely move for all the people helping us out,’ added George. ‘I was saying the other day I wish there were enough dark wizards to go round. I’ve got another ear I need to get rid of.’

‘Tell me,’ Ginny interrupted aggressively, staring at Fred and George. She was not sure where this outburst had come from, but something about the conversation and the photo had fueled a fire in her. ‘You have to tell me. Tell us all. What you know.’

They both looked at each other uneasily. Everyone else in the room looked shocked and confused; Madam Delacour was looking at her as if she had gone mad.

‘Are you all right, Ginny?’ asked Charlie, looking alarmed. ‘They were just joking, you know…’

‘They know something. About what Harry, Ron and Hermione are up to. The mission. They’ve been hinting about it for days.’

‘We were just joking,’ said George.

‘No, you weren’t. Don’t lie to me.’

There was a crushing silence. Fred and George seemed to shrink a little under the heavy gaze of the room. ‘Look… It might not mean anything,’ said Fred slowly.

‘Tell us,’ demanded Lupin. He looked fierce, ready for action.
George scratched the side of his neck awkwardly. ‘Well, it’s probably nothing… But they said they weren’t returning because they had something to do, right? Something Dumbledore left them. Well, we were in our old room, and the window was open. Ron and Hermione were talking in the garden.’

‘This was before Harry arrived,’ added Fred.

‘What were they saying?’ asked Ginny. Her heart felt like it was in her throat. Charlie was gaping open mouthed and Arthur had frozen with his teacup in front of his face.

‘Ron was asking what they would do when they “found them all”, and whether Hermione had worked out how to get rid of them.’

‘Get rid of what?’ asked Tonks.

‘We don’t know,’ said George. ‘They never said. But then Hermione said she was hoping Dumbledore would have told Harry how to do it, and then that she was worried that “that was how Dumbledore injured his hand”. Then Ron sounded all dejected and said it was hopeless, that they were way too inexperienced and that it wasn’t fair that Dumbledore had left them to do this.’

‘Well he’s quite right!’ said Molly. ‘He had the whole Order at his command!’

‘There’s something else,’ said Arthur. ‘Isn’t there?’

‘Yeah,’ said Fred heavily. ‘Hermione was trying to shake some sense into Ron… She said… Well…’

‘She said “with magic this dark, we have no choice”. Then she said something about Voldemort going against the very laws of nature,’ said George. ‘And then she told him to buck up because Harry was already convinced he’s going to die and she didn’t have time to search for “those evil things” and act as a cheerleader for them both too.’

There was a long silence. ‘That’s… That’s all we heard,’ said Fred lamely.

‘So they’re searching for something then?’ suggested Lupin. ‘Several of these things?’

‘Very dark objects by the sounds of it,’ said Bill, his brow furrowed in concentration. ‘Ron’s right, they’re way too inexperienced to go round trying to break curses and get involved in stuff that injured even Dumbledore. They need someone experienced with them, someone who knows dark magic.’

‘Harry’s under the impression he can’t tell anyone anything,’ said Molly.
‘I’ve tried. He’s not very trusting.’

‘He trusts Ron and Hermione well enough,’ snapped Ginny, feeling resentful. ‘Are you sure they didn’t mention the names of these things?’

The twins nodded. ‘We were hoping you’d know, that’s what we were trying to get out of you.’

‘Nope. He didn’t tell me anything,’ she replied bluntly. She felt furious and frustrated and suddenly quite happy that Harry wasn’t here. Tonks was looking at her sympathetically.

‘Look, let’s all get some rest,’ said Molly impatiently. ‘Hopefully we’ll hear from them soon. It’s been a long day and we’re all exhausted.’

Oui’ said Monseiur Delacour, yawning widely. ‘Zee sun iz coming up.’

Sure enough, a pinkish glow was peeking over the horizon, and the dark features of the garden could now be seen in a dull grey light. They all hastily said their goodnights, deciding who would sleep where with some confusion, and settled down to get at least a few precious hours of sleep.

***

ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS

Pass Grades:
Outstanding (O)
Exceeds Expectations (E)
Acceptable (A)

Fail Grades:

Poor (P)
Dreadful (D)
Troll (T)

GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY HAS ACHIEVED:

Astronomy: A
Arithmancy: D
Charms: O
Care of Magical Creatures: O
Defence Against the Dark Arts: E
Herbology: E
History of Magic: P
Muggle Studies: O
Potions: E
Transfiguration E


The parchment was crinkling under her firm grip, but she was half laughing, half sighing with relief. Her mother was kissing her repeatedly on the side of the head.

‘Oh, wonderful, Ginny! Just wonderful! You’ve always been such a bright girl, and just look! Oh, I’m so proud of you…’

‘They’re not too bad, are they?’ she said happily. ‘I mean, I’m a bit disappointed with Arithmancy, but Hermione persuaded me into it and-’

‘Oh, pish!’ interrupted Molly, waving a hand. ‘I’ve always thought that was a needlessly hard subject, who needs it anyway? Besides, three O’s! Three! And plenty of E’s too, oh, I’ll send word to your dad right away…’ She hurried off, wiping proud tears from her eyes.

Ginny grinned, opening the rest of her letter. It was excellent news, just what she and her mother needed after the events of the wedding, and she hoped that-

Her brain seemed to stop as she scanned the rest of her letter.

Dear Miss Weasley,

We welcome you back to Hogwarts for your sixth year of studying. All school aged students should be made aware that attendance is now compulsory for all young witches and wizards, starting this September 1st. Non-compliance with this regulation could result in an investigation from Law Enforcement wizards and a jail sentence of up to five years.
Please find enclosed the book list…


Feeling slightly in a daze, she walked into the living room, where her mother was crouching down with her head in the fire and Charlie was lounging lazily on the sofa, still in his pyjamas.

‘All right?’ he asked gruffly. ‘Not still thinking about the other night are you? I told you-’

‘No, I’m not thinking about the wedding,’ she said faintly, handing him the letter. ‘Look at this. Something’s not right.’

As he read it, he raised his eyebrows, and hoisted himself up on his elbow. ‘Compulsory? That’s… a change. And what are they on about, jail sentence? You can’t put people in Azkaban until they’re of age.’
‘I don’t know… That’s why it’s frightened me so much,’ she admitted. ‘I mean, everyone goes to Hogwarts already, don’t they? But there’s something really odd about it.’

He nodded, still poring over the letter. ‘Yeah… There’s no head teacher address either…’

‘What?’

‘Look.’ He turned the letter towards her and tapped the top of the parchment with one finger. ‘That’s where Dumbledore’s address always went. For replies. But we still don’t know who the Head is and they haven’t even requested a reply… Because it’s compulsory, I guess.’

‘It’ll be McGonagall, won’t it?’ asked Ginny, perplexed. ‘She was Deputy Head.’

Charlie shrugged helplessly. ‘That’s what I thought.’

Molly scrambled up from the grate, looking a little flustered. ‘Dad says well done,’ she said briskly. ‘Was, er, anything in your letter?’

‘You mean except for the compulsory attendance bit?’

Molly’s face fell. ‘It’s true then. Your dad said that it’s all over The Prophet, they made the announcement this morning.’

‘It’s weird,’ said Ginny darkly. ‘I don’t like it.’

‘Nor do I, much,’ said Molly, looking distressed. ‘Nothing we can do about it though. We can’t have more Ministry people poking around, I’m amazed they fell for that ghoul trick.’

‘Did you read the rest of this letter, Ginny?’ asked Charlie, frowning.

‘No, it’s just the standard stuff about books and uniforms and the train, isn’t it?’

‘You have to attend an interview at the Ministry first… to confirm your attendance.’

‘But it says it’s compulsory,’ said Molly, looking horrified. ‘It doesn’t make sense.’

‘I bet it’s so they can interrogate us!’ said Ginny. ‘Like the wedding!’

Students will receive details of their attendance interview at the Ministry for Magic in due course,’ quoted Charlie, staring intently at the letter as if it would suddenly reveal more to him. ‘Yeah, perhaps you’re right, perhaps they’re going to question everyone about where Harry and Hermione are.’

‘They don’t know that Hermione won’t be there,’ said Ginny. ‘And that’s a lot of students to get through just to find Harry, most of them don’t even know him.’

The answer was revealed to them when Arthur returned home from work with a copy of the newspaper. To their horror, the paper detailed the new procedures which would establish the ‘Blood Status’ of students, in order to ensure that all children enrolled in the school were there ‘under legitimate and fair circumstances’.

‘It’s to weed out the Muggleborns then?’ said Ginny furiously. ‘What happens to the students who turn up and don’t have good enough blood?’

‘Not allowed to go, I suppose,’ said George. ‘But they still have to attend the interview to make sure, by the looks of things…’

‘Well that doesn’t sound suspicious at all,’ said Fred. ‘What was everyone saying in the Ministry, Dad?’

‘Most people are savvy enough to keep their heads down, so no one is really saying anything,’ said Arthur. ‘I would say most people are definitely uncomfortable at the very least, but there’s always been an underlying culture of anti-Muggle sentiment, so it’s not hard for them to ignore it while it’s not affecting them.’

‘What happens to the eleven year olds?’ asked Ginny sharply. ‘The ones who don’t even know anything about this world?’

‘I have no idea,’ said Arthur sadly. ‘But even adult Muggleborns are being called in for questioning. Kingsley was saying that Ted Tonks is thinking of going on the run.’

‘I’m not surprised after what happened to him and Andromeda,’ said Molly.

‘Has Lupin come back yet?’ asked Ginny. The morning after the wedding, they had woke to find a teary Tonks sitting alone at the kitchen table. Remus had told her that he’d figured something out, and he had something he needed to go and do. He hadn’t been heard from since.

‘No,’ said Arthur crossly. ‘Who knows where he’s gone? Kingsley thinks there may be someone living in the old headquarters, but we don’t know whether they’re friend or foe.’

‘Could be Ron and the others,’ said Fred hopefully.

Arthur nodded. ‘That’s what I’m inclined to believe, but it’s too risky to check. There are Death Eaters loitering outside any place that has even the slightest connection to Harry, apparently they’ve even been in Surrey.’

‘I’m not sure I want Ginny going back to Hogwarts,’ said Molly tearfully.
‘Perhaps it’s safer if we all go into hiding.’

‘Are you joking?’ replied Ginny, outraged. ‘You spend all summer trying to convince Harry bloody Potter, his Muggleborn friend and my blood traitor brother to go back, and now you’re agreeing with them? If you didn’t want me to go there you should have let me go with them!’

‘Don’t be silly,’ snapped Molly. ‘Things have obviously changed.’

‘I think we’re better off playing along for now,’ said Arthur warily. ‘We’ll just draw more attention to ourselves if we try to vanish. Our blood will protect us in the foreseeable future.’

‘Blood didn’t protect Bill!’ cried Molly. ‘Or George! Blood isn’t going to protect Ron either! Oh, Arthur!’ She burst into tears, and Arthur obediently went over to console her.

Feeling emotionally exhausted and not at all in the mood to look after her mum, Ginny headed up to her room, vaguely thinking of running away from home to find the others. She heard Fred and George following her up the stairs, and turned on the landing to face them.

‘I’ve been thinking about what you guys said the other night,’ she told them.

They looked at her irritated. ‘We should never have said anything,’ muttered George. ‘None of you will leave us alone now.’

‘Do you think those weird things Dumbledore left them could be the evil things? The Snitch and the book and the clicker thing?’

‘They didn’t look very evil,’ said George dismissively. ‘Move out of our way, I’m so bored of talking about depressing stuff.’

She ignored them. ‘Riddle’s diary didn’t look evil either.’

‘Look, those things were tested at the Ministry and they said they were fine. Now please move, we have business to discuss.’

‘But not the sword!’ she said quickly. ‘They wouldn’t give Harry the sword!’ But the twins had already pushed past her, tired of the subject that had dominated the house since the wedding. ‘It could be the sword!’ she shouted, running after them. But they slammed the door in her face.

Charlie left the next day, lamely apologizing that he couldn’t stay and help out, something the twins and Ginny agreed was quite selfish of him. Fred and George were staying round so often that it was like they had moved back, but even so the house seemed quiet after the chaos of the wedding. Feelings of boredom surfaced, which made Ginny feel oddly guilty — shouldn’t she be consumed with worry? Instead she spent hours pondering the mysterious objects Ron and Hermione had been discussing, and the relevancy of Dumbledore’s bizarre will.

An additional letter had also arrived for her, ordering to report to the Ministry for questioning the following week. A rather animated argument had ensued about whether she should bother going, but ultimately it was decided that she had no reasonable choice. Her father was beginning to talk of sinister changes in the Ministry, and the new regime was not one they could stand up to easily.

The quiet and nervous household did not contribute to a happy mind, so it was with some relief when a rather disheveled and agitated looking Remus Lupin turned up midway through dinner.

‘Where have you been?’ Molly demanded, taking his cloak from him.
‘We’ve all been worried sick, Tonks was beside herself.’

‘Sorry,’ he muttered. ‘I’ll need to go again soon, I just needed to talk to Arthur-’ He stumbled a little as he sat at the table, before placing his head in his hand looking devastated.

‘Have you been drinking?’ asked Fred, looking alarmed.

‘Huh? Oh, no… Well, yes, but it doesn’t matter. Look, Arthur, I went to the old headquarters earlier.’

‘Is that where you’ve been living these last three days?’ asked Arthur. Molly placed a plate of sausages and mash in front of Lupin, who smiled gratefully at her.

‘No, not me, but your son and his friends have.’

‘You saw them?’ shouted Ginny, overjoyed. ‘Are they ok? What happened?’

‘They’re fine,’ Remus said impatiently to her, before turning back to Arthur. ‘They ran into some Death Eaters on Tottenham Court Road after the wedding. It’s really worrying how quickly they were found.’

‘Are they ok? They weren’t hurt?’ repeated Ginny.

‘Merlin,’ said Arthur, aghast. ‘How?’

‘They don’t know,’ said Lupin, his words slurring slightly. ‘They wondered about the Trace, but that’s impossible. I was hoping you could do some digging in the Ministry and find out how they’re tracking him.’

‘I don’t think I can,’ said Arthur. ‘It would look far too suspicious.’

‘So they’re living in Grimmauld Place? They can be contacted there?’ said Ginny.

‘Do not contact them,’ ordered Arthur sharply. He turned back to Lupin.
‘Is the place secure? What about Snape?’

‘The enchantments we left are still in place and there’s been no sign of him.’

‘What enchantments?’ asked Ginny. ‘Why wouldn’t it be secure?’

‘So they’re not at risk of more Death Eaters, then?’ continued Arthur.

‘There are Death Eaters lurking outside but they can’t get in. I’m more concerned about them being found in the middle of Muggle London though.’

‘Did they say anything about-’

‘Well, I’ll ask Kingsley,’ said Arthur, talking over Ginny. ‘But I can’t do anything myself. Perhaps-’

‘STOP IGNORING ME!’

They stared at her, startled, and Molly gave a scandalized admonishment of ‘Ginny!’ while Fred and George grinned at each other over the gravy.

‘We weren’t-’

‘I know I’m not of age but I’m not a little girl either,’ she hissed. She glared at Lupin. ‘I want you to tell me how they are, everything they said.
I’ve been going mad thinking about them, all of them. And I want to know why you were there in the first place, considering Mum spent hours reassuring your crying wife.’

‘You’re just like him,’ said Remus through gritted teeth. ‘I just spent three hours in a pub trying to calm down, but I’m not going to waste time explaining myself to young people who don’t see how the world works.’

‘Calming down?’ asked Molly, frowning. ‘Did something happen?’

‘Harry and I argued,’ Remus said shortly. ‘I’m not going to argue with anyone else, I only came here to talk to Arthur. Drop it.’

‘What about?’ asked Ginny.

‘I said drop it,’ he said coldly. When they all continued to stare at him, he took a bite of mashed potato and ate it slowly before, eyes cast down at his plate, he admitted, ‘I offered to go with them, and he said no.’

‘Oh, how could you!’ Ginny practically got whiplash as she turned to look at her mother, who had dropped her fork with a clatter and was now looking at Lupin with such an expression of fury that Ginny was surprised he didn’t run out of the house.

‘I assume Tonks told you, then,’ he said dully, playing with his food.

‘What? Told you what?’ asked Ginny, looking at them back and forth so quickly that she vaguely resembled a meerkat.

‘Remus has responsibilities to attend to,’ growled Molly. Ginny did not feel too left out; the rest of the family looked equally befuddled.

‘I can’t,’ Remus whispered hoarsely, looking ashamed. ‘I tried to explain it to Harry-’

Molly burst into disbelieving laughter, looking quite manic, and Remus covered his face with his hands. ‘Oh, you tried to explain it to Harry, did you? I bet he was completely understanding. Merlin’s beard, no wonder you argued.’

Remus was shaking his head in his hands. ‘I can’t,’ he was mumbling, his speech slightly slurred. ‘I can’t, I can’t, you don’t understand-’

‘Oh, I understand, Remus,’ said Molly, her voice wobbling and her eyes welling with tears. ‘I know that terror. I know that this world is not… Not suitable for what you’re about to face. I know you don’t feel prepared. But how could you? How could you?’

‘No, you don’t understand, it’s deeper than that… But I just… I just thought…’ Lupin’s voice was so hoarse that Ginny wondered if he was crying behind his hands. ‘He doesn’t understand what I’ve done to them, but I could still be… James and Sirius, they… They did so much fighting, and Harry… Harry’s inexperienced…’

‘He’s not the child you need to look after,’ said Molly gently. ‘And what James and Sirius were like doesn’t matter now.’

‘I know,’ said Lupin, his shoulders shaking slightly. ‘I’m not like Sirius. I’m not. I know they’re different people. I do. I’m not like Sirius. Not Sirius.’
Molly rose and embraced him. Arthur jerked his head to the others and they quietly left to the living room to give them privacy.

‘What on earth was that about?’ whispered Fred, once George had closed the door behind them. Ginny shrugged, utterly bewildered, but Arthur sat down with a heavy sigh.

‘I think…’ he said slowly, removing his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose. ‘I think that’s a very frightened man…’

‘Yeah, we could see that,’ remarked George. ‘What’s got into him lately? He’s always been so composed.’

‘And what’s Tonks said to Mum?’ asked Ginny. ‘Do you think it’s
something about Sirius? And that’s why Harry was angry?’

‘No, I think…’ Arthur paused and considered them. ‘I think for the time being if your mother didn’t think it was right to announce it during the argument then we shouldn’t push to find out. Don’t look like that, Ginny,’ he scolded, spotting her huffy expression. ‘I understand you’re frustrated, but you have to respect people’s privacy, and it’s clearly not something Tonks and Lupin want many people knowing.’

She nodded solemnly, suddenly feeling incredibly guilty for her childish behaviour. Memories of Harry’s voice yelling through the corridors of Grimmauld Place struck her. ‘I’m sorry for shouting,’ she said. ‘I’m just a bit frustrated.’

Arthur simply smiled. ‘We all need to shout to get heard sometimes.’
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