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Darkness Within
By MollyandArthur

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Category: Pre-OotP, Alternate Universe
Characters:Albus Dumbledore, Draco Malfoy, Dumbledore, Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Minerva McGonagall, Neville Longbottom, Other, Remus Lupin, Ron Weasley, Severus Snape, Sirius Black
Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, General
Warnings: Dark Fiction, Death, Disturbing Imagery, Intimate Sexual Situations, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Situations, Negative Alcohol Use, Rape, Sexual Situations, Violence
Story is Complete
Rating: R
Reviews: 144
Summary: Tom Riddle opened the Chamber of Secrets while he was a student at Hogwarts. He committed another horrific act that same year. Now decades later, the students of Hogwarts continue to be impacted by his crimes. How will Ginny and her friends handle the darkness within?
Hitcount: Story Total: 148768; Chapter Total: 6788







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Chapter 12
Party at the Manor

Ginny woke up shaking and breathing hard. She had been dreaming about the Chamber again. At least she hadn’t been screaming this time. She looked around her childhood bedroom and felt relieved to be safely in her own bed at the Burrow -- her Holyhead Harpies poster on one wall and a poster of the Weird Sisters on another. Glancing out the window, she noted the position of the sun and realized she had slept in. With a sigh, she got up and pulled on her dressing gown as she made her way down the stairs.

Molly was in the kitchen cooking breakfast when her only daughter came into the room. One quick glance at her was enough for Molly to know that she had not had a good night’s sleep. The nightmares seemed to be far less frequent this summer than they were the previous summer, and for that she was grateful. Molly had felt so helpless when she learned about the diary that had possessed her youngest child for almost an entire school year. She had also felt angry with herself for not knowing that something was terribly wrong and angry with her many sons at Hogwarts for not managing to protect their sister during her first year at school.

“Morning, dear,” Molly said with forced brightness. “Have some breakfast.” She put a plate with eggs and sausages on the table in front of her daughter.

“Morning, Mum,” Ginny murmured as she poured herself a cup of tea. Her brothers, except for Percy, were at the table eating quietly. Since her dad and Percy were both missing from the table, she assumed they had already left for the Ministry. Percy had a position in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. His office was not too far from her father’s in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office.

Just as Ginny was about to take her first bite of egg, a large owl flew through the open window. “Mista,” she said with a smile, removing the letter and offering the owl some sausage.

“Whose owl is that?” George asked, as he put down his fork. “She looks familiar.”

“She’s Anna’s owl with a letter from Longbottom Manor,” Ginny replied as she scanned the letter quickly. “Mum, it’s an invitation to come for a birthday dinner party for Neville on July 30th. It’s for Ron and I,” she said excitedly scooting closer to Ron to show him the invitation. “Can we go, please?” she asked, as Ron took the invitation from her hand, looking surprised, but pleased.

Molly paused a moment thinking quickly. “Yes, I’m sure that will be okay. What time are you supposed to arrive?”

“The dinner party is from 5 until 9,” Ron answered. “Blimey, what kind of a dinner lasts four hours?”

Ginny sighed and pressed her lips together.

Fortunately, it was her mother who answered. “They are probably planning games or activities to be followed by dinner with time afterwards for opening presents and so forth,” Molly responded. “Do you have any ideas for a present for Neville?”

“Uh…” Ron thought. “Well, he seems to like plants.”

“His favorite subject is Herbology,” Ginny agreed. “We could get him an interesting plant or perhaps a book about plants.”

Molly nodded and smiled. “I’ll come up with something. Go ahead and write back that you’ll be able to attend.”

“Thanks, Mum,” Ginny exclaimed happily as she ate her breakfast rapidly so she could write a letter to Anna.

*********************** **************************************** **********************

The day of Neville’s birthday party arrived quickly. Ginny wore a pretty blue skirt and a white blouse. Ron was in blue jeans, but at least their mum had forced him into a collared shirt. They had a potted plant which Mum had assured them was rather unusual and likely to be of interest to a keen student of Herbology, as well as a book about the healing properties of various plants.

At the scheduled time they took the Floo Network to Longbottom Manor to find Anna and Neville both waiting for them.

“Happy birthday!” Ginny exclaimed as she exited the hearth with a wrapped present in her hands.

“Thanks, Ginny!” Neville said. “I’m so glad you and Ron could come.” He gave her a quick hug.

“Where do you want the presents?” Ginny asked as she embraced Anna.

“Over here on the table will be fine,” Anna answered. “I’m so happy you were both able to come. Is that a new skirt? I don’t think I’ve seen you wear it before.”

Ginny smiled and twirled around once making the blue skirt swirl out around her. “Charlie sent it last month. He wrote that he saw it in a shop and thought of me.”

“He has excellent taste,” Anna observed. “That color really suits you.”

Ron stepped carefully out of the hearth. “Happy birthday, mate,” he said, as he handed over the potted plant in his hands. “I’m not exactly sure what this is, but Mum was certain you’d like it.”

“Thanks, Ron! This will make a great addition to the greenhouse,” Neville said, as he accepted the plant and carefully placed it on the table.

The floo flared again, and Seamus exited holding a blue paper bag. “Happy birthday, Nev,” he exclaimed as he glanced around the room. “Great house!”

“Thanks, Seamus. I’m glad you could make it,” Neville responded with a grin while accepting the bag.

“It’s just a bunch of muggle sweets,” Seamus explained. “I thought you might like to try them.”

“Wow, that’s great!” Neville said as he started poking around the contents of the bag. Ron glanced over curiously as well.

“I see we have two lovely ladies joining us for the evening,” Seamus remarked with a cocky grin. “Anyone else expected, or is our party complete?”

“No one else is coming,” Anna answered him. “We invited Harry and Dean as well, but Dean couldn’t make it, and Harry wrote that he wouldn’t be allowed to come.” She turned and looked at her cousin. “We should probably take everyone to meet Aunt Augusta.”

Neville put the bag of muggle sweets on the table and took his guests into the garden room to introduce them to his grandmother. Then, he and Anna took them on a brief tour of the inside of the manor before taking them out to the greenhouse and for a walk around the grounds.

“So, how has your summer been going?” Ginny asked Anna as they walked.

“It’s been wonderful,” Anna sighed. “I love how quiet and peaceful it is here. We’ve been busy, of course, with lessons, but we have a lot of time for walking, flying, and swimming as well.”

Ron was shaking his head in disbelief. “It’s the summer holiday. Why are you busy with lessons?”

Neville chuckled at Ron’s expression. “You may have noticed I didn’t do that well in school my first two years. I mean I did better last year, but I still have some catching up to do, and lessons with Remus are fun and really useful. Also, it’s not like being at school. We only work a few hours a day.”

“Well, I admit Professor Lupin was definitely the best Defense teacher we ever had,” Ron said. He turned to Anna. “You seemed to do really well in school last year though. What are you studying?”

“Mostly Astronomy and Arithmancy,” she replied. “I really enjoy Arithmancy, but it’s difficult. Hermione seemed to pick it all up rather easily last year, but it was a struggle for me. I definitely want to make sure I completely understand all of last year’s material before we go back to school.” She sighed quietly. “And, my grandmother never taught me any Astronomy at all, so I’ve been trying to learn three years of material in the past year and a half.”

Neville put an arm around her, pulling her in for a slight hug. “You’re doing great,” he assured her. “Remus is really proud of how much you’ve learned.”

Anna smiled at him.

“You know, Anna,” Seamus began with a cocky grin. “I’m quite brilliant at Astronomy, and I’d be happy to spend some time with you in the Astronomy tower this year teaching you all about the constellations.” He quirked his brow suggestively at her, causing her to blush.

“Uh, thanks, Seamus,” she replied. “I’ll keep that in mind. So, Ginny, what have you been up to this summer?”

Ginny told Anna all about life at the Burrow, which in many ways seemed rather similar to life at the Manor. She and Ron had been swimming, flying, and doing various chores around the house most of the summer. Ginny had also read a variety of books and had been studying through her prior notes to make sure she was ready for the coming school year. Ron seemed slightly startled to hear that his sister had also been doing lessons on her own without him even realizing.

Soon they were back at the house making their way into the dining room for Neville’s birthday dinner. The dining room was a large, elegant room with pale green walls, heavy red velvet curtains adorning the windows, and a gold chandelier that hung over the rectangular table. The table had been set for seven, but could probably seat twice as many.

Remus was there and greeted all of his former students while escorting Augusta to her seat at the table. Neville was helping Anna push in her chair at the table, and Seamus, who was obviously paying attention, quickly moved to Ginny to help her. The dinner itself was more formal than anything Ginny had every experienced previously. She watched Anna carefully to see what she should be doing and copied her manners as closely as possible. The food was delicious, and Ginny was surprised to realize they all had a glass of wine on the table in front of them. Since Anna was casually drinking from her glass as she talked and ate, Ginny took a cautious sip of her wine as well. It was mildly sweet and cold, and tasted rather good.

Seamus was telling everyone a story about accidentally setting fire to his mother’s compost heap at the corner of their property earlier in the week. Everyone was laughing, including Neville’s grandmother, who Ginny thought of as a slightly younger and much friendlier version of her Great Auntie Muriel.

“Did you manage to put out the fire?” Remus asked once his laughter had subsided well enough to be able to form a coherent question.

Seamus nodded. “I got the fire out just as Mam came to investigate,” he explained. “She was a bit put out with me. I’ve been working in the field all day every day since as punishment.”

“Do you often accidentally set things on fire, Seamus?” Augusta asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” he answered. “Me Mam said my first bit of magic as a toddler was setting a fire in the kitchen hearth. She often says she’s not sure if I was hungry or just cold at the time, but she definitely knew I was magical at that point.”

By the end of the meal, Ginny felt pleasantly full from the delicious food and rather warm from the wine. They had sung Happy Birthday to Neville and eaten cake while he opened his presents. The youngsters were then sent to the garden room and reminded that the guests would have to start flooing home in a little over an hour.

“So, what would you all like to do?” Neville asked, as Anna put on some music.

“We should play truth or dare,” Seamus suggested. Seeing Ron’s blank look, he explained the basic rules of the game.

The five friends glanced around at each other cautiously before agreeing to play.

“So,” Neville began as they all moved to sit in a circle on the floor. “Who starts the game?”

“Let’s keep it simple,” Seamus said. “Ginny is youngest, so she starts first. She can pick anyone she wants. Whoever she picks goes next, and so on.”

Ginny nodded. “Okay, I’ll ask Neville since it’s his birthday. Truth or dare?”

Neville thought for a moment. “Truth.”

“What’s your favorite activity you have done this summer that did not involve Herbology?” she asked.

“Dancing lessons,” Neville replied with a smile.

“Dancing lessons?” Ron repeated in horror. “Why would that be your favorite activity?”

“Well, it’s fun!” Neville exclaimed. “Have you ever really danced with a girl?”

“No, of course not,” Ron sputtered.

“Perhaps you should,” he said with a laugh before standing up and bowing slightly to Anna. “May I have this dance?”

Anna rose with a giggle and went into Neville’s arms. He began twirling her rather elegantly around the room.

“How many lessons have you had?” Ginny asked in amazement.

“Three lessons per week for the past four weeks with Madam Jones,” Anna answered. “We only have two more weeks of lessons, but I’m rather pleased with our progress.”

Neville spun her around as their little impromptu dance came to an end.

“That was really impressive,” Seamus sounded rather stunned.

“Thanks,” Neville said. “So, it’s my turn, right?”

Seamus nodded.

“Alright, truth or dare Ron?” Neville asked.

“Uh, truth,” Ron decided.

“Okay,” Neville said, thinking for a moment. “You have five older brothers. Pick one of them, it doesn’t matter which one, and tell me why you admire him.”

Ron nodded thinking for a moment. “Well, I’ll pick Charlie. I admire him because he was a Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, he was made team captain, and now he works with dragons in Romania.”

Neville nodded and smiled. “He sounds like a cool brother. Have you ever wanted to play for Gryffindor?”

“Yeah, I mean maybe,” Ron replied. “If a position was available, I might try out for it.” He scratched his head for a moment. “So, let’s see, Seamus, truth or dare?”

“Truth,” he said. “Since that’s what everyone seems to be choosing.”

“What’s it like growing up with a muggle dad?” Ron asked.

Seamus rubbed his chin as he thought about his answer. “Probably a lot like growing up with a wizard dad, I think. He works hard, loves me Mam, takes care of us. I can go to him to talk about anything. Since he’s been married to me Mam for so long, he knows a lot about magic. He’s kind of a tough guy, you know. It takes a lot to rattle him, which is good since I do a lot of stuff I probably shouldn’t, magic and otherwise.” He laughed and shook his head slightly. “Alright, my turn then, truth or dare Anna?”

“Truth,” she responded cautiously.

“Who do you fancy at Hogwarts?” Seamus asked.

“No one,” she replied.

Seamus made a face. “If you had to pick someone you fancy at Hogwarts, who would you pick?”

Anna shrugged. “I really don’t fancy anyone at Hogwarts. If I had to pick, I suppose I would choose one of the seventh years.”

“Why a seventh year?” Seamus asked. “Do you even know any of them?”

“No, I don’t,” she said calmly. “Since you seem to want me to pick someone, I am telling you that I would most likely pick one of the seventh years. My grandmother and mother both married older men and their marriages were happy, so I think someone older is probably the way to go.” Anna smiled as she looked at Ginny. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” Ginny decided.

“Okay,” she said. “I dare you to dance with someone. Pick a partner!”

Ginny giggled. “Neville, will you dance with me?” she asked.

Neville stood up with a grin and pulled Ginny to her feet. He turned up the music and began to twirl her around the room.

“Anna, may I have this dance?” Seamus requested with exaggerated formality as he bowed slightly.

She laughed and went into his arms. The two couples danced around the room with Ron looking at them with a slightly confused expression on his face.

Remus entered the room shortly thereafter to tell them it was about time to end the party. With the normal “thank you for comings” and “goodbyes” the party ended.

Ginny stepped out of the floo at the Burrow with a wistful grin on her face. Her parents both smiled at her and asked about the party. She was just starting to tell them all about it when Ron arrived home.

Arthur looked at his son thoughtfully. “What did you think of the party, Ron?”

“Oh, it was great!” Ron replied. “Just, I don’t know, kind of grown up, I guess.”

“What do you mean by grown up?” Arthur asked.

“Well,” Ron said as he furrowed his brow. “The house is really nice and formal you know. It’s kind of elegant, even more than Great Auntie Muriel’s house. Neville’s Gran is sort of like her, but, well, friendlier, I guess,” he murmured with a quick glance at his mother, who was fortunately not listening to him, since she was focused on Ginny.

“They served wine at dinner,” Ron continued quietly. “At the end of the party, they had music on, and Ginny was dancing with Neville, and Anna was dancing with Seamus.”

Arthur nodded thoughtfully at his youngest son. “Would you have liked to dance as well, or were you fine just watching?”

“Watching was fine,” he replied. “I mean, I never really thought much about dancing with a girl. It was a good party, and I’m glad I went. It was just different, you know.”

“Yes,” his dad said quietly. “You’ve gotten to the age where birthday parties start to change. It’s not just cake and presents and the parents supervising party games anymore. It’s okay if you sit back and watch for a bit.”

Ron nodded. “Yeah, I think I’ll go on to bed now. Night, Dad.”

“Night, son,” Arthur said, a smile on his face. His wife had taken Ginny upstairs to her room. He knew they’d be talking for a while.

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