|
Ginny Weasley and the Bat Bogey Hex | ||||||
|
Category: First Week Challenge (2008-2) Characters:None Genres: Comedy, Drama Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: PG Reviews: 41 Summary: NOW COMPLETE - What do a prank by Fred and George, Luna Lovegood and a jar full of dirt, an enchanted diary, and way too many snakes and spiders have in common? Erm, I'm not sure, but they all made appearances during Ginny's first week at Hogwarts. And in the middle of it all, Harry and Ginny find out that being friends is a lot better than being embarrassed. Written for the "First Week" Challenge (2008 -2) Hitcount: Story Total: 13592; Chapter Total: 3649 Author's Notes: Well, here is the end. I did my best to tie up as many loose ends as possible to make the story canon compliant. Obviously, there are a couple of big things I had to leave out because of Challenge length constraints. See the A/N at the end for my ideas on how I may expand the story at a later date. Enjoy! |
Previous |
|
||||
|
Harry sat looking at Professor Dumbledore with horror. Ginny put her head into her hands and began to cry. “Stupid. I’m so stupid!” she sobbed. “My dad always warned me not to trust something that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain!” “Very sound advice, Miss Weasley,” said Dumbledore. “But much more powerful wizards than yourselves have been taken in by Tom Riddle.” He turned back to Harry. “Harry, I’m sorry to have to ask, but I need to know everything else that happened.” Harry was still in shock. It couldn’t have been Voldemort. It just couldn’t. How could he have missed it? How could he have gotten Ginny into so much danger? He forced himself to look back at Professor Dumbledore. “Professor,” he cracked, “I am so . . . so sorry. I don’t know what . . .” “Don’t worry about that now, Harry,” said Professor Dumbledore, glancing again at the gold sphere that still hovered in the air, the black diary visible inside. “I just need to know everything you remember.” Harry looked to Ginny, who finally sat up and looked back at him with a tearstained face. He shuffled his chair closer to her and put his hand on her arm. She leaned into it a bit and gave him a watery smile. “Can you help?” he asked. “I . . . I don’t remember everything.” Ginny nodded and Harry took a deep breath. “Okay, this is what I remember.” Slowly, the two told Dumbledore the rest of the story, how they sat under the tree together, writing, how Tom asked them to hold hands, how he kept promising to help them prove Hagid’s innocence, and then how they only vaguely remembered going to Hagrid’s for something before they ended up in the bathroom, covered in blood and feathers. Dumbledore looked sharply at them when Ginny described how she had watched Harry hiss at the sink until a large hole opened, and Harry explained how Ginny urged him to listen to Tom and to call up whatever it was that lived below. “And the hole is still open?” he interrupted. “I, I guess so,” said Harry. “I didn’t close it before we left.” Dumbledore sighed and turned to Ginny. “And you think your mum got you the diary in Diagon Alley?” Ginny shrugged. “That’s what I thought. It was in my things after we left Flourish and Blotts.” She grimaced. “Where my dad and Lucius Malfoy almost got in a fight.” That reminded Harry of something. “Professor,” he said, “a house elf named Dobby came to visit me this summer. He warned me not to come back to Hogwarts because something bad was going to happen. Fred and George guessed that he might belong to the Malfoys. Could this be what Dobby meant to warn me against?” The old professor looked thoughtful. “That is a serious accusation you are making, Harry. But still, I suppose it should be checked out. With subtlety, of course.” Dumbledore stood up then and raised his wand. A silvery substance shot out of the end like a bird and flew away through the door. “I just called Professor McGonagall to take you both to the Hospital Wing. I want you both to stay there overnight and for part of tomorrow, until we can determine if you have suffered any lasting harm.” At this, Ginny began to cry again. Harry awkwardly patted her arm, not sure what to say. What did Dumbledore mean, lasting harm? What had happened to them in the bathroom? Professor McGonagall showed up in a tartan dressing gown, her mouth a thin line as she took in the sight of Harry and Ginny. Professor Dumbledore took her aside and spoke quickly to her. Harry heard the words “security wards, for their own protection, and to protect the rest of the students,” but he didn’t understand what it meant. Then he turned back to them. “Professor McGonagall is going to take you to Madame Pomfrey now. I need you both to stay in the Hospital Wing until I come for you, hopefully some time tomorrow. No visitors — not even family,” he said. I have quite a bit of work to do before then, it seems.” “Wait!” said Harry, suddenly. “Can I, I mean, can we go with you? To help? It was . . . our fault in the first place.” Ginny started. Go with him? Down that hole?? She shuddered, but at the same time, a warm flush crept up her cheeks. Harry had included her in his request, he hadn’t ignored her or left her out like her brothers would have, saying she was too young, or just a girl. Despite everything, she smiled to herself. Harry was a little more like her fantasy than he thought. Dumbledore looked up at the golden sphere and then to Harry and Ginny. “This was not your fault,” he said firmly. “And it is just too dangerous to risk . . . especially with the two of you together. Tom is already greedy and I don’t want to give him anymore chances to hurt you.” He turned back to Professor McGonagall. “You will act as deputy Headmistress while I am . . . indisposed?” “Of course,” she replied. “I would suggest cancelling classes for tomorrow and requiring all students to stay in their common rooms until we determine whether there is any danger about.” Harry and Ginny looked at each other, silently sharing the same thought. What more danger could there be? “Professor,” Harry began, wanting to know exactly what was going on. “I can’t explain now, Harry,” said Professor Dumbledore soberly. “There are things I need to . . . confirm, first. Once the situation is contained, I’ll be able to tell you more.” This was sounding worse and worse to Harry, but there was nothing they could do but obey the Headmaster. Ginny and Harry followed Professor McGonagall silently as she led them to the Hospital Wing. Ginny was sniffling crying and Harry’s sense of guilt was growing, but he didn’t want to say anything in front of the professor. Instead, he hesitantly grabbed Ginny’s hand, surprised to feel her squeeze it back tightly and not let go. When they got to the Hospital Wing, Professor McGonagall spoke quietly to Madame Pomfrey and then walked to the door, waving her wand in a complicated pattern as she did so. The walls glowed blue, and then gold, before settling back to their normal stone color. As she left, there was a distinctive click of the lock behind her. Madame Pomfrey hustled Harry and Ginny into pajamas and then began checking them over thoroughly. She spent the most time looking into their eyes and asking them questions about themselves and their studies, and whether their heads hurt or they felt dizzy. Finally satisfied that they were in no immediate danger, although from what, Harry had no idea, she made to leave them. “The Headmaster instructed that the two of you remain here, without visitors, until he returns. He also told me that I’m not allowed to give you anything to help you sleep, although you by no means have to remain awake. I’ll come to check on you every few hours. Goodnight.” With that, she left the ward, dimming the lights and leaving Harry and Ginny in near total darkness, save for light from the moon through the high windows. Harry leaned back against the pillows on his bed, lost in thought about what had just happened, trying to figure out where and when he should have suspected that something was wrong. The snakes, he decided. Both Tom and Luna had told him that being able to talk to snakes was a rare and powerful gift. Luna had even told him that it meant he was related to Slytherin. Maybe it was actually true. A thought struck him then. The Sorting Hat had wanted to put him in Slytherin! Of course! It could see terrible things inside him, things that Tom had obviously seen too. Only Harry had missed the danger. A sob from the bed where Ginny was sitting brought him out of his thoughts. No matter how angry he was at himself, Harry couldn’t ignore how upset Ginny was. He went and sat next to her and made as if to pat her on the back. Instead, she threw herself into his arms, sobbing piteously. “H-h-h-ow could I be so stupid, Harry? My parents are going to kill me! Taking orders from a book!” “Ginny!” Harry spoke urgently to her, taking her shoulders in his hands and forcing her to look him in the eyes. “This is not your fault! It’s all mine! I, I have faced Voldemort before. I know he wants to kill me. I should have been more suspicious!” “No Harry.” Ginny took a deep breath. “If there is one thing my parents always taught me about magic, it’s what I told Dumbledore about never trusting something that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain. I should never have trusted that diary. I was just too excited about pranking the twins.” “And I was too excited about helping Hagrid.” Harry paused. “And there is something else.” He took a deep breath. Ginny might very well hate him after this. “I, I think Tom wanted to get to me because he could see I am like him. I . . . I think I should have been in Slytherin. The Sorting Hat wanted to put me there.” Ginny looked at him in surprise. “Harry, you are the least Slytherin-like person I have ever met. You always think of others, never of yourself. I mean, how many people would’ve wasted an entire train ride cleaning embarrassing love notes off their best mate’s little sister? And you said it yourself, you listened to the diary because you wanted to help Hagrid. At least that's a good reason, not like mine.” She looked like she was going to cry again. “You wanted to help Hagrid too,” said Harry firmly. “And we both wanted to prank the twins.” “Yeah, but . . .” In the moonlight, Harry could see a flush creeping up Ginny’s face. “There is another reason it’s my fault, and it’s the worst reason of all.” She spoke the last quietly. “What is it, Ginny?” “It’s . . . it’s because I still had a crush on you!” she wailed. “And I was secretly thrilled that we had something to share, apart from my brothers, or Hermione, or anyone. I, I didn’t want to stop and think about the danger because then you would go back to just hanging out with them!” She pulled away from Harry and buried her head in her hands. This time, Harry did manage to pat her on the back. “Ginny, don’t cry, please?” He had no idea what to do, his experience with crying girls being nearly non-existent. “I really liked hanging out with you too, really I did.” Harry thought about it for a second and knew it was true. Now that he had gotten to know her, he could see that Ginny was funny and fun-loving, kind and caring, and, he suspected, pretty smart. “And so brave,” he said out loud. Ginny snorted as if she did not believe him, and Harry tried to put it into the right words so that he didn’t sound like he was just trying to make her feel better. “No really, Ginny. I mean it. Without you, there in the bathroom, I would probably be down in that hole right now, fighting who knows what, or maybe even hurt . . . or dead. You knew something was wrong, and you kept fighting, even when it meant knocking me half-unconscious.” He looked at her. “It saved my life.” “Yeah, right after I urged you to jump down into the hole,” she said. Harry grinned. “Maybe we should call it even.” Ginny finally smiled a real smile through her tears. “Deal.” She yawned widely. “Now let’s get some sleep.” SEPTEMBER 5 The next day actually passed fairly quickly, considering that Harry and Ginny were stuck in the Hospital Wing and decidedly not sick. They played exploding snap and chess, and Harry told Ginny more about his life with the Dursleys and the few things he knew about his parents. “Hagrid wrote to all their old friends, at the end of last year, and made me a photo album of pictures of them. It was the best present I have ever gotten, other than my Hogwarts letter. I'll show it to you when we get out of here.” "I'd like to see pictures of your parents." They both tried hard to avoid mention of the events of the previous day, other than to wonder about what Dumbledore was doing and hope he was all right. But when conversation ran short, they did start talking again about prank ideas for the twins. “Only this time,” said Harry with a grimace, “we’ll come up with ideas for ourselves.” “Oh, I don’t know,” mused Ginny. “Luna was actually starting to suggest some good pranks. She found this book on hexes that looked brilliant. I’ll have to find her, once we are free — she’s crazy, but in a good way.” Harry was struck again by Ginny’s kindness. Even in the few days he had known Luna, he had seen the other students shy away from her oddness, some to the point of making fun of her. But Ginny saw right past that. “Okay, Luna then. But no one else.” Just as the two were finishing dinner, the locks on the door began to click and the room glowed blue and gold again. Dumbledore appeared in the doorway, looking tired and rather disheveled. A brilliantly plumed red and gold bird perched on his shoulder. “Well, Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley, it is finished. And no lasting harm was done.” He looked at them both over his half-moon spectacles. “And, may I say, given what I have discovered, I must commend both of you for fighting off Tom as well and as long as you did.” Harry sagged with relief and saw a similar sentiment cross Ginny’s face as well. “Sir,” he began hesitantly, “can you tell us now what happened?” “I can tell you some of it right now. Parts . . . well, parts will have to wait for another time.” Dumbledore conjured up a chair and sat down next to them. “Tom Riddle put those memories of himself into the diary when he was sixteen years old to create a way to open the Chamber of Secrets long after he had left the school.” “The Chamber of Secrets?” asked Ginny. “Yes, the Chamber,” said Dumbledore. “A secret cavern deep under the castle and the lake, built by Salazar Slytherin himself to contain a terrible monster whose sole purpose was to rid the school of those students that Slytherin did not think worthy of studying magic. Namely, those born of Muggle parents.” “What??” Ginny looked outraged. “That’s crazy!” “Yeah,” Harry agreed. “Hermione is Muggleborn and she's the smartest witch in our year!” “Quite right,” agreed Dumbledore. “I didn’t say it was a sound idea, and it caused Slytherin to break away from the other founders of the school over a thousand years ago. He planned it so only a direct descendant of Slytherin could open the Chamber.” “Voldemort?” asked Harry. “That’s right,” confirmed the Headmaster. “In his Fifth year, Tom Riddle discovered how to open the Chamber and release the monster. A student was killed and the school threatened to close. Rather than risk leaving Hogwarts, Tom managed to frame Hagrid for the deed. He never opened the Chamber again, but instead, put the instructions in this charmed diary, which he then left with a trusted follower.” He looked pointedly over his spectacles at Harry. “It seems you were not incorrect, Mr. Potter.” “Malfoy!” Harry breathed. The Headmaster nodded. “Magic like that leaves certain signatures. It was not hard to discover where the diary had been residing all these years. Lucius slipped the diary into Miss Weasley’s things in Diagon Alley, hopeful that it might fulfill some of his Master’s plans.” Here, the Headmaster paused, looking at the outrage on Harry’s face. “Although, to be fair, I don't think that even Malfoy knew exactly what the diary could do, and I don’t think he was acting on his Master’s orders when he gave it to Miss Weasley.” “But Dobby knew,” said Harry. “He knew that Malfoy was planning something horrible.” “So it seems. But House elves are bound by their own type of magic; they cannot make their own decisions and must always follow their masters’ orders, no matter how terrible. That Dobby was able to break away enough to give you a warning is remarkable indeed. “Please sir,” asked Ginny in a soft voice, her eyes still showing shock from what she was hearing, “can you tell us what the monster is?” “What it was,” said Dumbledore, with emphasis on the last word. “For after I finally discovered all of the diary’s secrets, I went down into the Chamber itself and destroyed the monster — a Basilisk. "A what?" Harry and Ginny spoke at the same time. "A Basilisk. A giant serpent which, in addition to its poisonous fangs, kills its victims by staring at them with its great yellow eyes. His own eyes twinkled a bit at them. “It was a great battle, I wish you could have seen it.” Harry was still confused about something. “But, how did the diary try to get us to open the Chamber? It’s just a book, isn’t it?” Here, Dumbledore sighed. “Well, yes and no.” Tom Riddle was probably the most brilliant student this school has ever seen. The magic he was able to encase in the diary when only sixteen is quite remarkable. Am I correct to assume that the two of you told the diary certain personal, or private things?” Harry was quiet for a moment. “I told him about my past, and about my mum dying for me.” Ginny jumped in then, “And I told it about Harry, and how strong and brave he is, and about the twins and things, and we both talked about Hagrid.” Dumbledore nodded. “The diary fed on your thoughts and emotions, and used them to delve into your own minds and beings. Eventually, Tom thought he had enough of your souls to be able to possess you both.” Harry felt as nauseous as Ginny suddenly looked. “Possessed? We were possessed by . . . by Voldemort?” “Briefly, it seems. You were very lucky. Tom was greedy. He didn’t wait until you had written that much to start trying to control you. And he made another mistake. He thought that by working to possess both of you, he could gain twice the power from your combined souls. Instead, you worked together, against him.” Dumbledore’s gaze rested for a moment on Harry alone, and when he spoke, it was with a seriousness that made Harry pay attention, as if he would some day be tested on the information. “Tom Riddle never had any use for true friends when he was at school. The adult Voldemort I knew was much the same. He may have had followers, but no confidants or people he could rely on merely because they liked him. He controlled by fear and domination.” Dumbledore’s gaze became even more piercing. “Voldemort always underestimates the power that comes from having connections to other people. Friendship, loyalty, love, mean nothing to him. You and Ginny were able to overcome him by using those very things. You care about each other, you wanted to protect each other, and, I daresay, you shared more private thoughts with each other than you did with the diary. Together, you were strong enough to beat him.” “Sir,” said Harry, still trying to digest what he was hearing, “what about the mist that came out of the diary?” “That was Tom, attempting to take on a corporeal form. As I told you, he got greedy, probably when he discovered who you were, Harry, and how you were connected to his future self. He failed to get enough of either of your souls before attempting to escape. I destroyed the diary quite completely. Tom Riddle will not be able to either possess anyone else or escape its pages again.” “And why the blood and feathers?” Ginny was doing her best not to start crying again. Harry felt much more comfortable than he had previously putting his hand on hers and grasping it. “The crowing of the rooster is fatal to a Basilisk. The first thing Tom had you do after he possessed you, when his control was the strongest, was to go to Hagrid’s and kill all the roosters.” That reminded Harry of something. “Professor, what about Hagrid? He was expelled for no reason!” “And steps have already been taken to clear his name and rectify the situation. More will be said about it later, but suffice it to say that when I last saw Hagrid about an hour ago and delivered the news, he immediately rushed off to make a particularly large batch of rock cakes to send to the both of you.” There was not much to say after that. Dumbledore cleared them both to leave the Hospital Wing, and go back to their dormitory. “And may I suggest,” he added, “that you limit those to whom you tell your tale to trusted friends and family? I have contacted your parents of course, Miss Weasely, and persuaded your mother to refrain from sending one of her famous Howlers.” Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled. “She has already sent, I believe, three of them to the twins this year, and I rather thought she should rest her voice. And now, I bid you goodnight.” Harry and Ginny walked slowly back to Gryffindor Tower, talking only a little bit about the things Dumbledore had told them. There would be many more conversations between the two of them in the days and weeks to come, Harry was sure of it. He looked forward to them, and told Ginny so. She gave him a grateful smile. “I guess I was kind of right about you after all, Harry.” You did swoop in and save me, just not from my mental brothers.” “And we did become friends,” said Harry. “Good friends.” “Friends,” agreed Ginny. “Now, what about Fred and George?” SEPTEMBER 6 “Ginny, there you are! I wondered if the bandybugs had gotten to you already. I heard you were in the Hospital Wing.” “Luna, do I even want to know what bandybugs are?” “Why, they are little bugs that nest in your ears and fill your head with random songs! I get them all the time so they don’t bother me. But if you are not used to them they can make it quite difficult to concentrate in class.” “Oh, well, yes. I think I did have a case of the bandybugs.” “I thought so. But I am glad you are back. I found the most wonderful hex for you to use on the twins! I think if you practice it tonight it should be ready by tomorrow morning. Here, look in this book.” “Luna, this looks great. I have to go show Harry!” SEPTEMBER 7 “Oh Fred, Oh George?” ……… “MYOTIS MUCOCUS!!” FIN A/N So, obviously, the major omission in the story is the absence of the sword of Gryffindor. I really wanted Harry and Ginny to go down into the Chamber with Dumbledore to help and work both the sword and Fawkes in that way. When I do expand this story, I will add a section in the chamber. I wil also probably set Dobby free, although I like to think that Harry and Ginny spent part of the rest of the year trying to do figure out a way to do that, and that their attempts involved working with Ron and Hermione to make Polyjuice Potion. Maybe having one of them impersonate Draco's father and having him order Draco to set Dobby free . . . |
| Reviews 41 |
Previous
|
