Summary: Ginny's finally moving on with her life. Five years after Hogwarts, she's on her way to becoming a great Auror. But one night she runs into an old acquaintance, and she's not completely sure it's a pleasure.
Across the Stars
Chapter One
Rude Awakening
Ginny's muggle alarm went of at the same time on Thursday morning as it did each Thursday. She opened one eye, grunted, smacked the snooze button, and rolled over. Ten minutes later it went off again. She sighed and pulled off her blanket, shivering as the cold hit her nicely warmed skin. She grunted again, and hit her alarm. She pushed the little button so it was officially off, and pulled herself into the bathroom. She went through her normal morning routine, showered, dried her now fully tamable curly red hair, and dressed for work. Now more awake, she made herself coffee, and heated a danish, and buttered some toast. She peeled a banana and went ahead chewing while the coffee poured. A distant thud on her living room window announced the arrival of the Daily Prophet. She ran to the window, took the paper, tipped the owl and opened it on her Dining Room table. She read through it, frowning at the news while biting her toast and sipping her coffee. For any wizard or witch, it was a normal day. But for Ginny, the day had yet to begun. Ginny's days began with inhuman screaming, and begging and pleading for mercy while evil creatures laugh happily at the pain they've caused, then scream when the time for their own death's came. Her day's ended with a goodnight kiss with the guy of the week, a series of protection charms she set up, and a given nightmare or two.
"GINNY!!" Parvati yelled, her head bobbing in Ginny's fireplace. "You're expected here in ten minutes!! Hurry it up!" And then she was gone. Ginny sighed and downed her coffee. She pulled her hair back into a messy bun, and pulled on her boots.
"Black is so NOT my color..." She muttered to herself as she pulled on her dark cloak. She grabbed her wand and raised it high.
"Ministry Building. Fifth Floor. Harry's Office." Ginny commanded while concentrating. She easily found herself-- her WHOLE self-- in Harry's spacious, comfy office. "Okay, Parvati. I'm here. Let's get this over with." She flashed a smile at her impatient friend and plopped down into a cushy chair.
"Don't be so mundane." Hermione advised. "Ginny, this is something you need to take seriously. At least PRETEND that you worry..."
"Okay, 'Mione..." Ginny put on her best worry face. "But seriously... What is it today? Another Death Eater meeting that we need to bust up?"
"Actually..." Harry and Ron apperated at that very moment. "What we're looking at today would be... Well... Why don't you tell her Ron."
"A trip to the Malfoy Manor..." Ron gave an uneasy smile. "We have good reason to believe that that's where He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is residing."
The friends looked from one to another. Hermione bit her lip. Harry paced, his green eyes filled with worry. Parvati wrung her hands, and Ron just stared at the papers in his hands. Ginny, for once, looked a bit shaken.
"The Malfoy Manor?" She hoped her voice sounded as level as she could get it. Not one of them had gone near there after their last encounter with the Malfoy Manor. It happened back when Hermione was still an actual Auror, and not in the Minister of Magic's inner cabinet. Back in Ginny's second year of Auror Training; which was really her first year as a certified Auror. Back when... Back when Dean, Seamus and countless others were still alive. Back when she and Harry... Well, when the work wasn't as stressful on them all. They had done one raid on the Manor. They had gotten word from Neville that Lucius and some Death Eater's were getting together to try to conjure up more dark things from the giant abyss of endless dark things. They had all gone, and it turned out that Neville, like other before him, had turned. Well, not turned, but was cursed into oblivion to the point where he was Voldemort's sockpuppet. They treaded cautiously into a a perfectly hidden, well laid trap. Twenty others had gone, and only nine had returned. Dean, Seamus, Padma, and Lavender had been a few of the casualties. Neville, too, was later killed.
After that the team broke apart for a while. Harry and Ginny had gone their seperate ways for a while; Ron and Harry went to America to handle things over there, while Ginny went to Russia for a few months. Parvati helped her family get back on track after her sister's death. Hermione went into a major depression, as they all did in their own ways. But she, being the smart and capable woman that she was, pulled herself together quicker. She she had gone and owled everyone she knew, urging them to help her find her friends. Word got out and soon they all came together in one way or another. Nothing had just fallen back into place, bonds that had been broken weren't fixed, but at least the major ones were taken care of. Harry and Ginny never talked of what they had, or what they lost, or whether they were ever going to get it back. And it never bothered either one, really. Hermione and Ron were much closer than ever before, though. Ginny wondered if they were ever going to admit it to everyone else.
"Ginny?" Harry was saying, breaking Ginny from her dark thoughts about the past.
"Huh?" She blinked and looked around at her friends. "Sorry... I uh..."
"It's okay." Harry quickly covered for her. "We know. We ALL know. But I asked you about which approach you wanted to take to penetrate the grounds."
"Well...." Ginny waved her wand over the desk and muttered something. The Malfoy Manor, as she remembered it, came into perfect view on Harry's large desk; all nineteen acres of it. For another hour and a half the group set up a defense plan. Ginny, Parvati and three others were to enter through the south east. That was the general direction most of the Death Eaters came from. Harry, Ron and a few more were going to come in from the northern side, where the more dangerous group came from. Their entire plan depended on whether all the traps were similar to before. Unfortunately they hadn't been near the manor in quite a while. That's why Ginny's heart was pounding in her chest as she and her group approached the gate of the large estate.
Across the Stars
Chapter One
Rude Awakening
Ginny's muggle alarm went of at the same time on Thursday morning as it did each Thursday. She opened one eye, grunted, smacked the snooze button, and rolled over. Ten minutes later it went off again. She sighed and pulled off her blanket, shivering as the cold hit her nicely warmed skin. She grunted again, and hit her alarm. She pushed the little button so it was officially off, and pulled herself into the bathroom. She went through her normal morning routine, showered, dried her now fully tamable curly red hair, and dressed for work. Now more awake, she made herself coffee, and heated a danish, and buttered some toast. She peeled a banana and went ahead chewing while the coffee poured. A distant thud on her living room window announced the arrival of the Daily Prophet. She ran to the window, took the paper, tipped the owl and opened it on her Dining Room table. She read through it, frowning at the news while biting her toast and sipping her coffee. For any wizard or witch, it was a normal day. But for Ginny, the day had yet to begun. Ginny's days began with inhuman screaming, and begging and pleading for mercy while evil creatures laugh happily at the pain they've caused, then scream when the time for their own death's came. Her day's ended with a goodnight kiss with the guy of the week, a series of protection charms she set up, and a given nightmare or two.
"GINNY!!" Parvati yelled, her head bobbing in Ginny's fireplace. "You're expected here in ten minutes!! Hurry it up!" And then she was gone. Ginny sighed and downed her coffee. She pulled her hair back into a messy bun, and pulled on her boots.
"Black is so NOT my color..." She muttered to herself as she pulled on her dark cloak. She grabbed her wand and raised it high.
"Ministry Building. Fifth Floor. Harry's Office." Ginny commanded while concentrating. She easily found herself-- her WHOLE self-- in Harry's spacious, comfy office. "Okay, Parvati. I'm here. Let's get this over with." She flashed a smile at her impatient friend and plopped down into a cushy chair.
"Don't be so mundane." Hermione advised. "Ginny, this is something you need to take seriously. At least PRETEND that you worry..."
"Okay, 'Mione..." Ginny put on her best worry face. "But seriously... What is it today? Another Death Eater meeting that we need to bust up?"
"Actually..." Harry and Ron apperated at that very moment. "What we're looking at today would be... Well... Why don't you tell her Ron."
"A trip to the Malfoy Manor..." Ron gave an uneasy smile. "We have good reason to believe that that's where He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is residing."
The friends looked from one to another. Hermione bit her lip. Harry paced, his green eyes filled with worry. Parvati wrung her hands, and Ron just stared at the papers in his hands. Ginny, for once, looked a bit shaken.
"The Malfoy Manor?" She hoped her voice sounded as level as she could get it. Not one of them had gone near there after their last encounter with the Malfoy Manor. It happened back when Hermione was still an actual Auror, and not in the Minister of Magic's inner cabinet. Back in Ginny's second year of Auror Training; which was really her first year as a certified Auror. Back when... Back when Dean, Seamus and countless others were still alive. Back when she and Harry... Well, when the work wasn't as stressful on them all. They had done one raid on the Manor. They had gotten word from Neville that Lucius and some Death Eater's were getting together to try to conjure up more dark things from the giant abyss of endless dark things. They had all gone, and it turned out that Neville, like other before him, had turned. Well, not turned, but was cursed into oblivion to the point where he was Voldemort's sockpuppet. They treaded cautiously into a a perfectly hidden, well laid trap. Twenty others had gone, and only nine had returned. Dean, Seamus, Padma, and Lavender had been a few of the casualties. Neville, too, was later killed.
After that the team broke apart for a while. Harry and Ginny had gone their seperate ways for a while; Ron and Harry went to America to handle things over there, while Ginny went to Russia for a few months. Parvati helped her family get back on track after her sister's death. Hermione went into a major depression, as they all did in their own ways. But she, being the smart and capable woman that she was, pulled herself together quicker. She she had gone and owled everyone she knew, urging them to help her find her friends. Word got out and soon they all came together in one way or another. Nothing had just fallen back into place, bonds that had been broken weren't fixed, but at least the major ones were taken care of. Harry and Ginny never talked of what they had, or what they lost, or whether they were ever going to get it back. And it never bothered either one, really. Hermione and Ron were much closer than ever before, though. Ginny wondered if they were ever going to admit it to everyone else.
"Ginny?" Harry was saying, breaking Ginny from her dark thoughts about the past.
"Huh?" She blinked and looked around at her friends. "Sorry... I uh..."
"It's okay." Harry quickly covered for her. "We know. We ALL know. But I asked you about which approach you wanted to take to penetrate the grounds."
"Well...." Ginny waved her wand over the desk and muttered something. The Malfoy Manor, as she remembered it, came into perfect view on Harry's large desk; all nineteen acres of it. For another hour and a half the group set up a defense plan. Ginny, Parvati and three others were to enter through the south east. That was the general direction most of the Death Eaters came from. Harry, Ron and a few more were going to come in from the northern side, where the more dangerous group came from. Their entire plan depended on whether all the traps were similar to before. Unfortunately they hadn't been near the manor in quite a while. That's why Ginny's heart was pounding in her chest as she and her group approached the gate of the large estate.