She knew this was going to be the last day she saw them. She could feel it; they were going to leave that night, and there was absolutely nothing that she could do about it. Sighing, Ginny Weasley propped herself into a sitting position, throwing off the covers of her small bed as she did so. She reached onto her bed stand for her wand slipping it into the front pocket of her hoodie. She blinked a few times as she looked around the room, still adjusting to the morning light that was seeping through the cracks in her window blinds, warning her that the day's sunny weather was not going to match her sullen mood.
She forced herself to stand up and headed over to the dresser, appraising herself in the mirror above it and running a comb through her hair. After she had at least managed to get all the snarls out Ginny glanced over at the other bed, occupied by a still-sleeping Hermione Granger. Her friend's hair was tied up in a bun at the top of her head, and her mouth hung slightly open as she breathed slowly in her slumber.
Ginny couldn't help but think that for the first time since the end of last year she looked rather peaceful. It was a look that had been missing not only from Hermione's, but also Ron and Harry's, faces for some months now, replaced by a shadow of importance, secrets and, most of all, fear. The change had not gone unnoticed by the youngest Weasley, and she couldn't help but feel that it would be a pity to wake Hermione from her deep slumber.
Biting her lip, Ginny glanced at her bedside clock radio, which read 9:58- only five hours until the start of the ceremony. Ginny knew that she could not allow Hermione any more of the peace that sleep seemed to bring her.
"Hermione, wake up. It's almost ten o'clock," Ginny whispered, shaking her friend lightly
Hermione sat up and rubbed her eyes tiredly, yawning. She glanced at the clock and groaned. "I can believe I slept in so long! I wanted to get up at 8:00 but I was-"
"Up with Harry and Ron," Ginny finished. "I know, I heard you leave and come back."
"Mmmmm." Hermione's cheeks turned scarlet. "We were just talking. Don't mention it to your mum."
"I gave up any hope of you guys trusting me with what you're going out to do a long time ago." Ginny replied indignantly, and as she continued a hint of anger swelled into her voice. " But I would never tell my mum on you. I can keep a secret whether you think I can or not."
"Ginny it's not-" Hermione began, but Ginny shook her head at the sad look on Hermione's face, stopping her mid sentence. The innocence that sleep had brought Hermione was gone, replaced by the familiar shadow.
"No I'm sorry, I get it," she said. "I'm just frustrated and worried is all.
The shadow seemed fade just a little bit. "We do trust you Ginny. All of us."
Ginny couldn't help but think that it really was the perfect day for a wedding, as she walked down to garden where the wedding party was supposed to meet. A feeling of excitement had replaced most of the negative feelings she had woken up with. The thought that Harry, Ron, and Hermione would probably still be gone by the next morning continued nagged at the back of her mind but she was able to push it aside.
As Ginny neared the garden the first thing she noticed was Fleur fidgeting with the golden dress of her younger sister, Gabrielle.
Fleur smiled at the approaching Ginny and gave her a quick hug. "Ah you look beautiful as always," Fleur said.
"Not as much as you," Ginny replied, returning Fleur's smile and hug, but suddenly her heart wasn't in it. Her eyes slid away from the bride for a second as the gloom she had felt this morning seemed to settle upon her again. She had felt like this her entire summer. One moment happy, the next upset, with the occasional moment of fright thrown in there just for a change of pace. She almost envied Harry, Ron, and Hermione's constant grimness, at least they had a certain level of consistency. Her life seemed to have become one never-ending emotional roller coaster.
"Eet is time to go I think," Fleur said, reaching down to grab Gabrielle's hand, and leading her to the marquee where the ceremony was taking place. Ginny followed, forcing herself to focus on the positive again- she had to be happy for Bill and Fleur.
When they reached the marquee Ginny took Gabrielle's hand from Fleur, and smiled at the younger girl. "I can take care of her," she said to Fleur.
"Ah thank you, Geenenvra," Fleur said, kissing the top of her head and then going to speak with her father.
"Are you nervous?" Ginny asked Gabrielle.
"Not for the wedding," Gabrielle replied.
Ginny looked at her questioningly. "Are you nervous for something else?"
Gabrielle looked at her feet nervously and spoke in barely more than a whisper. "I don't want my sister to stay here," she said. "I want her to come home."
Ginny smiled sadly at her, remembering the sadness she had felt when Charlie had first moved to Romania. "I'm sure you'll be able to visit her all the time," she said reassuringly.
Gabrielle looked up, and there was a fierceness in her eyes that suddenly made Ginny realize that the girl was not so small; she was around eleven years old, the same age that she, herself, had been possessed by Tom Riddle. "That's not why I don't want her to stay," Gabrielle said. "I know bad things are happening here, and I don't want her to be een danger. Why can't her and Beell come live in France instead?"
Ginny's eyes widened a bit as she realized just how much Gabrielle must be going through. She herself had been thirteen when Voldemort returned to power, and she had known the implications, having grown up hearing the stories. Gabrielle was only eleven and she hadn't grown up in Britain, all she knew was that her sister was choosing to live in a place that was much more dangerous than her own home, and she couldn't understand why.
"They're not moving to France because..." Ginny paused, trying to find the right words, "because they want to help stop the bad things that are happening here. They know that there's something more important that they have to do than be safe, and even though it might not be everyone else's favorite thing they have to stay here because it's what's right." Her voice faded away, and though Gabrielle still didn't look like she understood, something suddenly clicked inside Ginny. For the first time since she discovered that her brother, her best friend, and her boyfriend were going to leave she was finally able to accept it.
Suddenly music sounded in the air, and Ginny motioned for Gabrielle to go forward. The younger girl forced a smile onto her face, and walked into the marquee towards where Bill and Charlie and a small minister were standing.
As Gabrielle reached about halfway down the aisle Ginny followed her, shooting a small but encouraging smile back to Fleur as she did so. The whole crowd was grinning at her, and out of the corner of her eye she noticed that even Harry, Ron, and Hermione seemed to have their minds on something other than the war. And suddenly despite the crowd surrounding her and the happy music and the joyful atmosphere Ginny Weasley felt very, very alone.
"Lee, stop it I'm getting dizzy!" Ginny laughed as the older boy spun her around again. They were dancing, and laughing as they had been for the better part of the past two hours. The twins were off with some Veela girls and Harry had been talking to Elphias Doge and her Auntie Murial for the past hour so both Lee and Ginny had decided to enjoy themselves rather than stand around awkwardly.
"You're a wimp." Lee teased, but he stopped to let her catch her breath.
"I am not!" Ginny replied, punching him in the arm teasingly before putting her arms around his neck again as a slower song started. She noticed Ron and Hermione dancing on near them, and smiled.
Suddenly there was a bright light and a wave of silver. Both Lee and Ginny froze as the whole party went silent. In the middle of the dance floor a lynx patronus appeared. It slowly opened its mouth to speak in a voice that Ginny recognized as Kingsley Shacklebolt's.
"The ministry has fallen. Scrimeour is dead. They are coming."
The peacefulness of the party was gone, replaced by a wave of panic as somebody emitted a high-pitched scream and people scrambled about. Ginny searched the room for Harry, Ron, and Hermione, knowing that they would leave at any minute. She turned towards Hermione's voice screaming, "Ron!" from somewhere to her left.
She spotted Harry and Hermione but as she began to run towards them Ron came bolting from their other side towards the pair to grab Hermione's hand.
With a small swish of silver they were gone.
Ginny barely had any time to register that the three people who mattered to her most were suddenly gone. At the exact same moment that the trio disapparated, dozens of Death Eaters appeared with a pop.
The wedding party became even more panicked , and Ginny saw Lupin, Tonks, and a group of Aurors were fighting with a death eater. A jet of purple headed straight towards Lupin's chest, but Ginny shouted "Protego!" and the spell ricocheted away, hitting the wall of the tent and burning a hole through it.
The Death Eater turned and stared at her, fury in his eyes, and Ginny immediately recognized him as Dolohov. "Expelliarmus!" she shouted, but the Death Eater simply flicked his wand and blocked the spell.
"Terentius!" This time the Death Eater didn't manage to block the spell, and his arm erupted into flames. He screamed and Ginny turned to run as Dolohov recovered slightly and said, "Augementi" pointing his wand at his own arm to put out the fire.
Ginny dared to glance back. The Death Eater was right behind her. He seemed to have adopted her as his personal target. He grabbed the back of her dress and pulled her to a stop, spinning her around to face him and throwing her wand across the lawn. "You like to play with fire, eh?" He smiled evilly. "Well let's see what you think of this!" He raised his wand, and Ginny flinched.
Suddenly the Death Eater's grip released and he fell to the ground as if frozen. A blonde figure came into view, her wand pointed directly at where Dolohov had been standing only seconds before. "Hello Ginny," Luna Lovegood said dreamily. "We better run, most of the party's already apparated away."
Ginny stared at Luna for a second, amazed at how she always seemed to keep her head on in the worst crisis. "Yeah, okay," she agreed, and followed her friend towards a hill beyond her house.
"We can go to my house," Luna said. "It's just a bit over there." She pointed to the left, and Ginny could just make out the top of a tall house beyond a couple of hills. "I don't think we have to run. No one's followed us."
"Luna, did you see if any of my family got away?" Ginny asked.
"Oh yes, they all disapparated right away. Your mum tried to stay and look for you, but my father told her that he'd make sure we both got away okay," Luna replied.
"Does he know we're here?" Ginny asked.
"I'm not sure, but I told him if I found you I'd bring you to our house so he'll probably meet us there." Luna said, seeming completely unfazed. "It was a lovely wedding don't you think? Did you see Harry, Ron, and Hermione disapparate? Do you think they've gone on their mission?"
"Yes," Ginny said, completely sure of herself. "They've been preparing for weeks."
"Well I wonder what it is," Luna said airily, "And if there's any way we can help them."
"I don't think there is Luna." Ginny replied sadly, "All we can do is hope."