The Tuesday of the third week of summer break found the Burrow in a hectic state. The Weasley's, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger had been in the middle of a hearty breakfast when they received an urgent and unpleasant floo call from Albus Dumbledore; Voldemort had found out that Harry was at the Burrow and it was only a matter of time before the Death Eaters began arriving. Chairs toppled over and bits of breakfast fell on the floor as everyone fled the kitchen. Arthur Weasley grabbed the emergency portkey, an old woolen sock that led to the street in London where the Black family house was hidden. Nobody noticed as they reached out to touch the portkey and Arthur spoke the activating password that one finger was missing.

Ginny Weasley was upstairs, in her room having a lie in. The sounds of hysteria in the kitchen as her family left did not wake her as she had become accustomed to sleeping through the rattling and wailing of the ghoul in the attic, just above her bed. She slept peacefully, one leg and arm hanging out from under the pink hand-made quilt, as a dozen Death Eaters apparated in her living room with a series of pops. It wasn't until a hand was laid on her shoulder and a voice gently spoke that she managed to groggily begin to wake.

"Ginny…Ginny?" a soft voice asked, lightly shaking her shoulder. She grunted in response, eyes still closed.

"Ginny, where's Harry?"

Had Ginny been more awake, she would have snapped, "How should I know? I'm not his keeper!" for she had long since gotten over her ridiculous infatuation and hero-worship. Instead, all she could croak out with a thick morning voice was, "Ron's room." She really wanted to go back to sleep, but the voice persisted,

"I looked there. Where else would he be?"

Ginny rolled her eyes behind closed lids. "Outside," she grumbled, burying her face in her pillow. The hand gripped her shoulder a little tighter in what her foggy morning mind recognized as a "Charlie's waking me up" grip.

"He's not outside, Ginny. Do you know where he would be?"

Ginny's mounting annoyance caused her to snap into her pillow, "I don't know! Try Headquarters!" She growled and shrugged her shoulder out from his hand and tried to ignore his presence.
"Where's Headquarters?"

The simple question caused Ginny to tense and hold her breath. Charlie most certainly knew where Headquarters was. Her whole family did, except Percy. Percy! Was he back?

"Percy!" she shot up and came face-to-face with a white mask.

Tired of trying to trick Potter's whereabouts from the youngest Weasley, the Death Eater roughly grabbed her arm, "Where's Potter, girl?" he demanded.

Ginny recognized the arrogant aristocratic voice, the steely gray eyes and the silver-blonde hair. Lucius Malfoy was perched on the edge of her bed, holding her arm in a vice-like grip and questioning her about Harry. For a moment Ginny was terrified. Then she was furious.

Yanking her arm out of his grip, she flung herself out of bed and stormed to the middle of the room to face him and the other three Death Eaters standing by her door. Feelings of hurt and betrayal ran through her mind as she quickly began to realize what had happened. Once again, because of Harry, her family had forgotten her. She knew without a doubt they had taken the emergency portkey to Number 12 Grimmauld Place to escape. And they had left her.

Her ears turned red at the thought as the infamous Weasley temper crept up on her. Years of hurt feelings poured out of her as she yelled at Lucius, "How the hell should I know where Headquarters is? Obviously they've forgotten me!" she gestured wildly around herself. "And it's all your bloody fault!" She pointed an accusing finger at Lucius as he sat still, face calm behind the mask.

"All because of that stupid diary," she vented. "No one ever remembers poor, little, tag-along Ginny!" she swore loudly as she stomped her foot.

"And YOU!" she shrieked, now pointing at one of the Death Eaters standing at her door with folded arms. She would recognize that tall, imposing figure with lank, black hair anywhere. His dark eyes narrowed through his mask and glittered dangerously.

"I knew it!" she yelled. "I knew you were one of them, Professor!" she spat.

She turned and glared back at Lucius who was obviously enjoying her tantrum. Her voice, suddenly calm and cold, sobered him quickly as she said, "I don't know where Harry bloody Potter is, and frankly, I don't care," and she was gone.

Ginny apparated in front of Number 11 Grimmauld Place and stalked across the street to Number 12 as it ballooned into existence. She realized as she was stomping up to the door that she had left her wand at the Burrow under her pillow, but she didn't care. She didn't really need it anyway. For the past years she had only been using it to keep up appearances. She did not want anyone to know that she was quite adept at wandless magic. She also didn't want anyone to know that she had secretly learned to apparate, but she was afraid that secret would be out the moment her family saw her.

She threw open the door to the Black residence with a bang, waking the awful portrait of Mrs. Black. The curtains covering her flew open and she inhaled to begin screeching of the abomination on her house and name. But before she could get one word out, Ginny turned to her and morphed into a dragon, spewing hot flames at the portrait. She quickly turned back to herself and stomped up the stairs, into the first room at the top and slammed the door.

Molly Weasley came bustling out of the kitchen in time to see her daughter's petite frame disappear behind the study door with a bang. She was distracted from going after Ginny by the flaming curtains in the hallway, however. Pulling out her wand, she muttered a spell that caused water to pour out and dowse the flames. Sufficiently cowed, Mrs. Black peered out from behind her chair and remained silent in her charred portrait.

Ginny was infuriated with her family and had no desire to speak with them at the present. The room she had carelessly walked into was a dusty study, and when she slammed and warded the door, a number of irritating doxies came flying out of the curtains in front of the window across the room. Still hot with anger, Ginny turned her palms toward the furry creatures, pushing the air in front of her and all the doxies fell to the ground, unconscious. She waved her hand and they were all swept into a neat pile in the corner.

Feeling the need to cool down, Ginny slipped into her tiger form and began pacing the room. That was yet another secret of hers – she was a polyanimagus; she could turn into any creature, magical or not, at will. As a tiger, she continued to pace the room and growl, sorting through her thoughts. She was disturbed by a knocking on the door and her mother's voice,

"Ginny?" When she refused to answer, her mother touched the doorknob and received the full brunt of Ginny's famous bat-bogey hex.

"GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY!" she shrieked. Ginny just shook her feline head and continued pacing, ignoring her mother's pleas and threats to open the door.

She listened, amused, as Fred, George, Ron and Harry all tried to open the door. They all received the bat-bogey hex and more, for she had warded the door specifically with difficult curses. The more they tried to open it, the worse the hexes and curses became, until they were bordering on the line of "dark magic". Finally, they stopped, although she could still hear them murmuring outside.

Suddenly, the door blasted open, causing Ginny to crouch under the desk in fear with her ears laid back on her head. Professor Snape walked in and stared down his long nose at her. Ginny calmed and slipped back out to resume pacing, until Ron stuck his face in the room. Then she roared and pounced toward him. Snape slammed the door shut in Ron's startled face, causing Ginny to dive headfirst into it.

Crumpled against the door, she turned back into her human self and began to sob. She hugged her knees to her chest and buried her face in the crook of her arm as she cried, letting out all the hurt and pain her family had caused her through their neglect.

"Miss Weasley," the professor began in his normal cold and clipped tone. Ginny's shoulders shook as she tried to pull herself together, but she only sobbed harder.

"Miss Weasley," he said again, sounding exasperated. "I am in no mood to listen to sniveling, pathetic little girls," he hissed at her.

Ginny pulled her head up, tears coursing down her cheeks, "Then why are you here, Professor? Huh? So you can make fun of me and forget about me like everyone else does?" She felt much more bold speaking to him now that she had seen him in his Death Eater garb, almost as if she had something to hold over him.

"I am here, Miss Weasley, to discern how, in the name of Merlin, you managed to escape. And to give you this."

Ginny looked up, once again, and found the handle of her wand in front of her face. Tentatively, she reached up and grasped it, clutching it in her fist so tightly her knuckles were turning white. "Thank you, Professor," she croaked, swiping the free-falling tears from her eyes. She moaned and used the back of her hand to wipe the sticky mess from her face. Professor Snape rolled his eyes and brandished a handkerchief. "Thanks," she said, meekly, and blew her nose.

He then startled her by lowering himself gracefully to the ground and sitting next to her, leaning back against the wall. He closed his eyes and gave an almost imperceptive sigh, reminding Ginny that he had most likely also had a long and weary morning.

Feeling somewhat guilty about yelling at him back in her room at the Burrow, she rested her chin on her knees, staring straight ahead and said quietly, "Professor…I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier."

Eyes still closed, Snape said, "Apology accepted, Miss Weasley."

A comfortable silence stretched as each sorted through troubled minds. Ginny, however, could not stay quiet for long. "I really do feel bad, Professor. I didn't mean what I said. I know you're on our side."

"I know, Miss Weasley."

"It was just an act for Malfoy and the others."

"Thank you, Miss Weasley," he remarked with a bit of finality but sincerity.

Ginny decided to keep quiet for a little longer, before she really began to irritate him. After a moment or so, she said, "I apparated."

Snape's brow furrowed and he slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her. She was still staring straight ahead, chin on her knees, as she continued, "I've been practicing for a while now. Every night, in my room. I only go a few inches so if I splinch I can fix myself. I've only splinched twice, and neither time was too bad. Just a couple of fingers and toes…" she trailed off. "This is the furthest I've ever gone. I'm really glad I made it." She fell silent again as she could see him staring at her in her peripheral vision. She had the feeling he was looking at her like a botched potion and it made her uneasy.

Finally he broke the silence, "How long have you been able to control wandless magic?"

Ginny smiled a half-smile and gave a small sad chuckle, "Since Tom."

At that statement, they let the comfort of silence descend again for another five minutes. There was a crash downstairs, the unmistakable sound of Tonks knocking over the umbrella stand again. Snape and Ginny braced themselves for the inevitable screeching portrait, but curiously, nothing came.

"Well, I'll be!" Ginny said with her first real smile of the day, "It actually worked!"

Snape looked at her in confusion, "What did you do?"

Blushing lightly and chuckling, Ginny said, "I scared the bejeezus out of the old hag!" Noting his continued confusion, she explained further, "I turned into a dragon and breathed fire at her."

If anything, Snape was more lost, brows furrowing deeper. Ginny felt somewhat smug having the upper hand on her professor, but took pity when she realized his confusion was rapidly deteriorating to annoyance.

"I'm a polyanimagus," she whispered. "But please," she quickly added, grabbing his arm, "don't tell anyone!"

He glared at her hand until she hastily removed it.

"I-my family doesn't even know. I haven't told them anything."

"Why," Snape asked, "when you have such a large and caring family, would you choose to hide your talents from them?" He seemed genuinely curious.

"Why should I tell them?" she countered. Before he could lecture her on her cheek, she continued, "I don't really know why I keep it all a secret. I guess it has something to do with my first year. I got so used to keeping secrets. Granted, half the time I didn't even know what I was doing, but still…I almost feel like, and it's horrible to say, but especially after today I almost feel like they don't deserve to know. Like, maybe if they actually paid attention and noticed when I was missing…remembered me in times of crisis, maybe then they'd have a right to know…I don't know. It doesn't really make sense."

She paused. "Maybe it all comes down to Harry. My family considers him like another son, or brother, which is fine. I don't really mind that. But it's like they replaced me with him. I can't help but feel annoyed whenever I see him. And he always finds out all the important secrets. So this is like my own little way of saying, 'you don't really know everything.'" Ginny stopped her rambling to chance a glance at her professor and was not surprised to see the look of pure loathing etched across his face that was always found whenever Harry Potter was mentioned. It made her smile.

"Perhaps," Professor Snape said, completely changing the subject, "you'd like some lunch?"

Ginny shifted nervously, not entirely keen on meeting her family after they had been subjected to a number of her more powerful curses.

"I-I don't think I'm quite hungry for lunch yet," she lied. Her stomach growled traitorously. She nervously looked sidelong at her professor who simply raised a single eyebrow.

Slowly and carefully, he hauled himself to his feet and looked down at her.

"I do not advise starving yourself to avoid questions, Miss Weasley. However," he continued more slyly in response to her disgruntled face, "you do have the means to be… unobtrusive." He smirked, showing his true Slytherin colors.

Her caramel eyes lightened with realization and a smile slowly crept its way onto her face. "Thank you, professor," she said, "in more ways than one."

He merely inclined his head in acknowledgement and turned to open the door. Ginny transformed into a small black cat and followed him out, winding between his feet as cats do.

Ron, Hermione and Harry were sitting a bit further down the hall, and Ron immediately jumped up at their exit. "How is she?" he demanded of the professor.

Snape sneered, "She is just fine, Mr. Weasley, no thanks to you." He shut the door behind him with a snap and Ron's ears turned red in anger,

"What are you doing? I want to talk to my sister!"

"I'm sure, Mr. Weasley, your sister will open the door when she's ready to talk to you," Snape sneered as he headed toward the stairs. Ginny had paused in her winding path to listen to her brother's outburst, which unfortunately caused Snape to trip over her and curse. "Blasted animal!" he muttered as he bent down to pick her up.

"Well how come she'll talk to you but not me?" Ron persisted indignantly.

Snape stopped and turned slowly, sneering nastily at him. "Because, Mr. Weasley, I did not leave her behind." He raised an eyebrow and turned back to the stairs, letting his robes swirl behind him as he cradled the black cat in his arms.

Stung, Ron stared at his back, silently admitting defeat. As he rejoined Harry and Hermione, he asked, "Do you think that cat was Ginny?"

"Don't be silly, Ron," Hermione said, "You said yourself she was a tiger animagus."