By the Speakers
Chapter One: A Loss
A/N: Well, here's part one to our very dramatic story. The first, of hopefully many parts. In Book one, Hagrid says that many people lost family members and friends. What about the Weasleys? They seem like the perfect family, close and whole. What if they aren't? This is a tale of their sorrow and loss. Now, I'm sorry if we get carried away, or too drmatic! Don't hurt us! ::ducks tomatoes:: this is only the first part, after all. And, as always, please, please review!!!!
Disclaimer and Claimer: God I hate these. If I owned Harry and co., do you think We'd be writing fanfiction? I'd be rolling in dough!!! But, I don't own them I wish I did, but I don't. We do, however, own Rebecca Weasley and this plot!!! It's OURS!!!!!!! Hahahahehehe!!!!!!! And Please Review!
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Molly Weasley did a head count of read heads as she headed out the door. Her oldest son Bill was starting his first year at Hogwarts next week and she needed to take him to Diagon Alley for supplies. Arthur Weasley was, as usual at work leaving her with all seven kids. However, there was no way she was taking five kids under eleven including an infant. The seven of them were almost too much for her at home.
Bill was already in the car like any other excited eleven-year-old ready for a trip to get school supplies. All Molly had to do was strap six more in, which was difficult with a child carrier on her front.
"Mom! Where's my Mad-new-frying glass?" Charlie yelled. The nine-year-old was fascinated with creatures of any kind and all he need to be preoccupied was the one beat up magnifying glass.
"On the table." Charlie found it and ran out the door. She paused for breath. "Percy! Where are you?"
"Right here mom." And it was true. Six-year-old Percy was sitting on the front stoop of the Burrow and Molly was just inside the door.
"Go get in the car." She sighed. Three down and four to go. "Fred, George! Come on!" There was no answering reply. Molly hrumphed. She went to find them and they were not where on the first floor. She was about to climb the stairs when she heard giggling behind her. She smiled at her three-year-old troublemakers. The twins were trying to sneak behind her without being seen to the car, but their giggling gave them away. Molly could only hope they would grow out of trouble making.
Molly counted again in her head. There were now… Five children in the car. Two more. She patted baby Ron's head. Six. Then it clicked. "Rebecca Weasley! We're going to be late!"
"I'm cumin mum." Said the two year-old. Her red baby curls were done into pig tales high on each side of her head tied with green ribbon. She was Molly's pride and joy. Her baby girl.
"Come on Becca, we have to go to Mrs. Corey's house for a little while."
"'Kay!" said Becca brightly and headed out to the car.
Molly grabbed her wand and the car keys off the table and set off for the babysitters with seven children in tow.
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Bill waited in the car while Molly turned over control of her tribe to old, gray Mrs. Corey. Hurrying she gave each child a hug and a kiss, careful not to disturb sleeping Ron who was still slung over her shoulder. She bid her brood, sans Bill and Ron, goodbye and headed to go shopping.
Mrs. Corey broke the silence. "Welcome children. Why don't you go outside in my lovely garden? I'll watch you from my window, as being outside too long can aggravate my arthritis. Now be dears and go out and play."
The children, long since taught to give muggles respect from their father, did as they were told and went outside. Percy, being sensible, sat in the shade out of the August sun and began to read a rather thick novel for a six-year-old. Charlie whipped out his spyglass and started hunting around the unfenced garden for a gnome hole. Becca, Fred and George started playing hides and seeks, but they soon tired of that.
"Hey, Becca. Ever been out in the woods?"
"No, and neither have you." She said with a surprising intellect for a two-year-old.
"We're a year older than you. There was a time when you weren't around." Fred slyly said. There was a game afoot. A sibling game.
Together the twins looked towards the window. Mrs. Corey was asleep. They smiled at the same time and said together, "We dare you do go into the woods."
Becca wasn't stupid. She knew a monster called You-know-who was killing little wizard children in the woods. But it wouldn't be behind the woods of a muggle's house?
With another glance at Mrs. Corey to make sure she was asleep, she said, "Why should I?"
"Because you're a chicken if you don't!" Fred and George started squawking and flapping their arms.
Becca drew herself up. She wasn't one to back down to her older siblings. She hated the fact that they were stronger. And smarter. She especially hated backing down to Fred and George. And with no voice of reason around, Becca wordlessly accepted the challenge. She walked into the woods.
Fred poked George. "Why'd you tell her we've been in there?"
"Because I wanted to see her do it. She'll always do what we dare her too."
Fred nodded. For awhile there was silence. Then they heard a high scream.
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Hogwarts, Seventh year boys dorm
Fred Weasley sat bolt upright in his bed at Hogwarts. The momentum sent him tumbling to the floor with a loud crash. In the bed next to his, George sat upright with a look of pure terror on his pale face.
"Wha…. Who…. I didn't mean it!" he said, shaking with fear. Fred got up and went over to his brother's bed and sat down, shaking himself.
"Did you see her? Wasn't it Ginny? Where'd she go? What happened?" He shook with silent tears as the lights flickered on. A disgruntled Lee Jordon stumbled over rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Could you two keep it down? It's two in the morning? What's the matter anyway? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"It wasn't anything. Just a nightmare. Go back to sleep," George said quickly. He hugged his knees to him and shivered. It was all so… Eerily familiar, it scared him. It was like a bad song lyric, you can't remember where it came from, but you can't forget it. He looked over at his twin who looked back. They didn't speak, but the feeling was mutual. Why did they dream it up? Was it supposed to mean something?
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Somewhere in Northern Ireland
Charlie Weasley sat up in his small tent in his team's campsite in Northern Ireland. They had been tracking a band of Germanic Ridgebacks for months, and were almost up to them. But something had been keeping him awake. It seemed like a movie clip, but somehow…. It wasn't. He pulled his sleeping bag around him and tried to block the vision from his mind, but found it impossible. He remembered their old baby-sitter's house clearly, and how, for some reason his mother stopped taking them. Something had happened, but he couldn't remember what. Shame really, she had some very interesting plants in her yard that he had used to observe. In his dream he had seen a two-year-old Ginny, but that couldn't be right. He was only nine, and Ginny hadn't been born yet. But it had to be her. He closed his eyes and brought back the scene in his mind. It was hot and his mum had been taking Bill school shopping. He'd been looking for gnome holes, and then that scream, and then…. Nothing. He shivered. 'It's just a dream, not real. Ginny's fine, and nothing ever happened.' He pushed his thick red hair back and laid down. But the vision kept him awake for the rest of the night until the first rays of dawn peaked through his tent flaps.
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Godrics Hollow
Warm wind swept through the open window of Percy Weasley's bachelor flat in Godrics Hollow. He sat up, pushing his glasses on his face and scratching his head. That was strange, it wasn't like him to have nightmares. He hadn't had them since he was six. And this one seemed so… haunting. It was like his subconscious was trying to tell him something important, but couldn't remember all the details. But now he had begun to dream again, and not just superficial nightmares. This seemed real, but couldn't be. Even so, he remembered it as clearly as if he had really been there.
It had been muggy, and he had been smart enough to stay out of the sun. The twins were off doing something stupid, no doubt getting themselves blown up. Charlie had been looking for something, he always was. What else had happened? He remembered a scream, and that he had thought it was just one of the twins playing, but then there had been people crying, yelling, and then… nothing. He couldn't remember, and not being able to remember things annoyed him. He looked around his room. Diplomas, pictures-his graduating class, his girlfriend Penelope, a family photo. He got up and walked over, taking that one down and looking at it.
It was your basic picture, for a wizard that is. He had been nine at the time. Charlie was running around showing off his new broom, and Bill was polishing his prefect badge. He was reading a book, while the six year-old twins lit a firework and aimed it at a bird in the tree in their yard. Ron, then only five, was rolling a ball at four-year-old Ginny. Every once in a while one of them would make it float in the air, an early sign of their magical abilities. His parents were off to the side, holding hands and gazing happily at their clan. His mother gazed at Ginny, but there was a touch of sadness in her eyes. His dad put his arm around her and she smiled, looking away.
Percy hastily put the picture back. He was imagining things. It was just an ordinary picture, noting else. He walked back to bed and was asleep by the time the sun began to rise.
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Somewhere in Egypt
He had seen mutant mummies and curses that would make the ordinary man want to puke, but this was far worse than any of that. It had all started out ok…
He remembered the dream like it had really happened. It was about a week before school started, and he had naturally been excited about starting Hogwarts. It would help him get away from his endless line of family. His mother had dropped everyone off at the baby-sitters, except for him and baby Ron, and they had gone to Diagon Alley to shop. It had been fun, being just him and her, Ron didn't count, and he was enjoying the peace and quiet. After shopping for all the supplies and having lunch, they were about to leave for the baby-sitters, when an official looking Ministry man had approached them. He had told his mother that there had been an accident at the sitters. She had reported hearing a scream and dialed 911. When the ambulance arrived, they had searched the woods where the twins had said she walked into, and discovered the body of a girl, his sister. The police were apt to say wild animals had done it, but one man had been married to a witch and recognized it as a victim on you-know-who, as he had read in The Daily Profit, and called the ministry. They were sorry, she was dead.
He remembered feeling like none of it was happening, and seeing his mother break down. The rest had passed in a blur. Picking up the other kids, the twins babbling about some dare, and going home.
Bill knew that was only dream. He didn't hold much stock in dreams and didn't in this one, but something about it made him feel as if a hole were forming inside of him. Why, he didn't know. He only had one sister, who at the time wasn't born.
"It's probably just those tacos you had for dinner. They're disagreeing with your stomach, and you're dreaming," he told himself quietly so as not to disturb anyone else in the bungalow he shared with his two roommates. Once he had convinced himself that it was all an illusion, he laid down, but it took him until dawn to fall back asleep.
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Hogwarts, Fifth year boys dorm
There was crying, grieving, flowers. It was like a funeral out of a horror movie, but worse. Ron could see his mother weeping into his father's arms, but couldn't do anything. His whole family was sitting in the front pew of a church, or what of his family there was at the time. He recognized the oldest as Bill, looking to be about 11. His face was frozen in a mask of disbelief. Next to him was Charlie, about 9. Charlie looked identical to Bill, but had tears running down his face. Ron couldn't believe this. His brother never dried. Charlie was always laughing and joking, not crying. On his left was a 6 year-old Percy who was openly crying, though silently. Now Ron knew it was serious. Percy had no emotion, save power, and that was only to show people that he was in charge. Next came the three year-old twins. They simply looked in wonder at their saddened family, as if they had no idea what was going on, which they probably didn't. In his mum's arms was a baby, which he assumed was him. Ron watched in horror and sadness as the group processed to the front of the room, to where the small, open coffin loomed like death itself.
Ron followed his family up, wondering who had died. All of his grandparents were alive, and neither of his parents had any brothers or sisters. As he reached the altar, he stood over the casket, his eyes widening in horror and disbelief.
Inside lay the body of a two-year-old girl. It had to be Ginny, but Ron knew that was impossible. Ginny was fine! And even if she wasn't, he was older than her, not younger. A million thoughts ran through his mind, but one stood out. Who was she?
Ron Weasley sat up in his bed, sobs choking at his throat. He had no idea what it had meant, but was overcome with grief, like he'd never felt before. He heard a rustling across from him, but ignored it until he felt the curtains around his bed pulled away. A sleep shrouded Harry stood, rubbing his eyes.
"Ron? What's the matter?" he asked, now thoroughly concerned. He hadn't seen Ron cry since he'd broken his leg, and that was different. This wasn't pain.
Ron wordlessly kept on crying, aware that the other three boys had woken up. Harry sat down and put an arm around Ron's shoulders, not prying.
"It was Ginny, but it wasn't. She…she was dead and I was there, but I was only a baby and it was the funeral and everyone was crying, even Percy and Charlie and…. And…." he babbled. Harry just sat listening. He understood what Ron felt like. He had had dreams like this, of his parents and knew the best thing to do was to let him cry.
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Hogwarts, Fourth year girls dorm
She followed the redheaded girl through the woods. It looked like her, but she knew it wasn't. For some reason, she knew exactly how the little girl felt. Right now, she was angry at her brothers for daring her.
Meanies. I make them see. I no chicken. She thought. Ginny smiled at the queer two year-old speech. Still, she could feel the girl grow scared. It was dark in the woods, and her mind was telling her she needed to get out…now.
There was a rustling behind them, an both girls whipped around to see a tall man, or it may have been woman, in a long black robe and hood twirling a wand. She shivered in fright, but was frozen to her spot, as was the girl.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Are you lost little girl?" the person said in a scratchy voice, like sandpaper. The girl gulped and stepped back.
"No, no, no. We can't have you running off, now can we?" the figure reached up one old, callused hand to pull back their hood and Ginny felt terror rise up in her throat, choking her. As the hood dropped back, she saw the worst sight she had ever seen. The face was chalk-white with glaring red eyes, and slits where a nose would have been, making it resemble a snake. Ginny's body shook with compulsive spasms as what could only be described as you-know-who raised his wand. She fought to get away.
The last thing she saw was the little girl opening her small mouth and turning her blue eyes to Ginny. They were filled with a terror that could never be described. And then she screamed. Ginny screamed with her, one long terror-filled howl that cresendoed to the sky.
All of Gryffindor heard it. The sound that only came from someone in pure agony and fear. Ron stopped crying as he recognized it. In a split second, he was out the door and sprinting towards the girl's dorms. He heard doors open and people talk, and recognized his brothers following him, they too, knowing who it was.
He opened the door to Ginny's dorm and saw Hermoine comforting a hysterical Ginny. She looked up as he entered and shook Ginny, who looked up to see her three brothers in the doorway. She detached herself from Hermoine and flung herself at Ron, holding onto him as if her life depended on it, sobbing. The four of them held on, each knowing the feelings the other was experiencing. They sat, vaguely registering the whispers of the other students, but not caring in the least, until they heard McGonagall and Dumbledore enter shortly after.