Disclaimer – I own nothing. I am but a poor delusional woman who enjoys making up stories with other peoples characters. Please don't sue me.

Your head's wrapped around what's around the next bend
You wish you could find something warm
'Cause you're shivering cold – Something Inside (August Rush Soundtrack) Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Chapter One: The Beginning

Ron Weasley eyed the menacing sky with temptation, a storm, he knew, was eminent. If he were any judge it was bound to be one hell of a night. Over the years the Weasley clan had gotten very good at judging the weather and its fickle moods. Wearily he started the long trek from the quidditch pitch to the Great Hall where, please Merlin, dinner would be waiting. He wondered idly if she was already there, and if so, had she taken note of the enchanted ceiling?

Lost in his own thoughts he ignored his team mates as they talked and laughed about that days practice. Harry Potter, noting his friend's inattentiveness, lagged quietly behind. Bad weather always brought a tense atmosphere to Gryffindor Tower, and odds were Ron would kill barehanded anyone stupid enough to remark on it. There was only one hard and fast rule in the tower that no one broke, no matter what. No one, absolutely no one, spoke a word of what happened when bad weather rolled in. The first years were going to learn that sooner than anticipated, apparently, hopefully Hermione would be able to impress upon the new arrivals the need to keep their mouths shut, even among other Gryffindors. As poor Ryan Bailey had learned a few years ago, breaking that rule had dire consequences, Ron's Weasley temper wasn't anything to mess about with.

Hermione Granger was already seated in her usual spot at the table casting quick panicky looks between the entrance and the ceiling. Harry slid into his seat without a word, scanning the table. Ryan Bailey excused himself quickly and made a hasty exit, the boy still couldn't be near the volatile red head without flinching. Harry knew better than to say anything, after last year he was lucky he hadn't been beaten to a bloody pulp. The sandy haired boy a few seats over caught Ron's eye.

"She's overseeing a detention for Snape, a pair of second year Ravenclaws nearly managed to blow him up this afternoon. 'Mione and I have already talked to the first years, so you don't have to worry about that." Colin Creevey muttered, pitching his voice to be heard over his housemates, but not loudly enough to spread any further than his own table. He was still a bit amazed with how easily Hermione had managed to get the first years to agree with anything she said, it hadn't even taken them the entire two weeks they had been in school for the group to realize that when the girl with the slightly bushy hair gave an order you obeyed or suffered the wrath of one of the brightest witches that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had ever seen. They now obeyed blindly. Being Head Girl really did have its perks.

"Ron?" Hermione questioned nervously, "Ron, we have patrols tonight, they really can't be put off." When the boy across from her just stared at her frowning she bit down hard on her lip, she wanted very badly to let him out of the obligation, but knew that doing such a thing could, and with that loathsome toad as Head Boy probably would, come back to haunt her.

Harry opened his mouth, ready to step in and offer himself when Colin's quite voice cut him off.

"I've got her. She is, after all, my best friend." The last was said with a pointed look aimed at the Boy-Who-Lived, causing Harry to flush slightly and look at the plate in front of him as if it suddenly contained the answers to life's greatest mysteries. "She said she was going to hang about in the kitchen and get some studying done instead of bothering with the masses tonight, I'll meet her there." When Ron nodded his agreement Colin pushed away from the table.

"Ron, I-"

"No." Ron said resolutely, "I don't want to hear it, Harry. She asked me to stay out of it and I'm respecting that, it's between the two of you. Don't put me in a position where I have to choose sides, you won't like the outcome. It's better for you if no one ever talks about it again." With that said Ron reached for the platter in the middle of the table, intent on ignoring everything and everyone.

XXX

Ginny was curled up in a ratty chair by the fire, a book in her hand and a bowl of thick potato soup on the small table next to her, untouched. It was her favorite, apparently even the house elves knew, but the thought of actually ingesting it made her feel slightly sick. She looked up when the door to the kitchens swished open, one of the House Elves rushing to assure whoever it was that they could help. She had been wondering how long it would take her brother to find her, only it wasn't Ron that rounded the corner.

"I don't need a babysitter, Colin." She muttered, turning her eyes back to the book as if everything was fine.

"Good, because I have no idea how to change a nappy."

"Just go back to dinner, Col. I'm fine, honestly. I'm just going to sit down here and read this book that I've been trying to read since before school started. Besides, it's really quiet down here." Colin would have believed that she was actually fine if not for the fact that her face was chalk white and the book was trembling in her hold.

"Ginny," he murmured as he moved to kneel in front of her, "you know you can't stay down here, although I understand the appeal, Snape checks the kitchens on his way down from dinner. He's not going to let you stay, and you can't have any more of the potion. Ron has rounds, you're stuck with either me or Harry and I thought you would rather put up with me."

With a resigned sigh she closed the book she had been pretending to read since she had sat down. After letting the two boys go she had decided that she was actually craving conversation, it had only taken one look at the ceiling to send her fleeing back to the dungeons. "I hate this. You shouldn't have to put up with me, Col." She muttered sadly as she pushed herself to her feet and took his offered hand.

"I don't have to, I volunteer because you're my friend and I care. Now, come on, luv, let's go snuggle up in bed, I have a million ideas to distract you." Colin muttered with a grin as he tightened his grip on her, it was like holding onto an ice cube. He was extraordinarily pleased with himself when she let out a giggle.

"You know its comments like that one that got us into so much trouble before." She pointed out, she had a small smile, but her eyes were sad as he pulled her close enough to wrap his arm around.

"Well he's a dense bloody prat that didn't deserve you anyway."

XXX

"If I didn't know better I would believe that rubbish that was being bandied about last term." Luna Lovegood said cheerfully as she threw herself into a chair across from her friends. Ginny's face flushed, but she didn't move away from where she was snuggled into Colin's side, her pillow merely grunted, unwilling to comment, as he flipped a page in the potions text they had been reading. Luna studied the couple for a moment, thinking that they both looked like hell. "Rough night?" She questioned gently, causing Ginny's blush to deepen and the girl to burrow closer to Colin, who merely shrugged tiredly. While she knew Ginny didn't mind talking about what happened in Gryffindor tower, she understood that the red head didn't want to talk about it in the middle of the library, even if they were the only ones in it, so she decided that a change in subject was called for. She was 'Looney' after all, not stupid. "Did you hear about Lana Burns?"

"What? Did she finally stop squeaking over every little thing?" Colin asked as he pushed the text away and turned his attention to the blonde across from him. Lana Burns was a fellow sixth year prefect with the misfortune of being terrified of, well, everything.

"That wasn't very nice." Ginny said with a frown.

"Well, she does. She's unnaturally timid, even for Hufflepuff."

"Colin!" Ginny gasped, sitting up to smack him. "She's a very nice girl."

"I wouldn't know, all she does around me is stutter." He grumbled crumpling up a paper that had been left on the table by a previous student.

"That's because like every other girl in this school she thinks you dreamy." Luna told him, making sure that the last word was wistful enough to make him scowl. "Although I still don't understand why." She said seriously as her cornflower blue eyes twinkled mischievously. "After all, you're still a dorky little troll with a camera!" Colin flung the crumpled up paper ball at her, making her laugh.

Ginny watched her friends bicker good-naturedly, thinking that she understood the appeal that had half of the girls in Hogwarts throwing themselves at her friend. The summer before fifth year the short dorky boy had hit a growth spurt and spent some time helping out at the dairy farm his dad delivered milk for. He had come back to school tall and fit and the girls had gone nutty. The fact that he was genuinely baffled and embarrassed by the attention (unlike Harry who fluctuated between thinking it his due and his own little brand of modesty), not to mention he was just so bloody sweet, just made him all the more desirable. If he hadn't been one of her best friends for so long she might have joined in with his crazy fan club, for a brief moment the year before she almost had, but then they had agreed to forget that little episode.

"Anyway," Luna said, jerking Ginny from her thoughts, "Burns was patrolling last night and took the shortcut with that dodgy staircase, you know, the one that should be condemned? Well someone left a bloody window open so the landing was all slick and she went down the lot of them. They went looking for her when she never met back up with the other prefects that had duty."

"Blessed Merlin, is she oaky?" Ginny asked in horror.

"Pomfrey fixed her up; she's fine, a bit shaken up, but fine. I'm actually surprised you didn't hear about it already, Ron's the one who found her and took her to the infirmary."

"We got up late and came to library, haven't seen anyone but you, actually." Colin muttered, running a hand through his hair wearily, he felt rather bad now for making fun of the girl.

"Oh, well in that case, I guess you don't know that our meeting has been moved up to before dinner tonight, huh?" At her friends blank looks Luna shrugged before continuing, "Dumbledore asked that Hermione and Malfoy apprise the prefects of the new patrol schedules and rules, plus we have to assigned partners."

"We already have partners, though." Ginny said with a frown.

"Gin and I have always patrolled together." Colin agreed.

"That's great, but not everyone does patrol together, which is probably going to be one of the rules, besides, not everyone wants to walk 'round the castle in the middle of the night with their housemates." Ginny figured that was true enough; it was no secret that Luna wished most of her housemates (especially her roommates) to the fiery depths of Hell.

Looked like they were getting new partners.