Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Harry Potter, If I did- would I be writing fanfictions? Ah yes, and many lines are from the actual book, and I don't own those FOR THE EXCEPTION OF MY CHANGES!

Chapter 2: Egypt, Birthdays, and Hearty Talks

After that night, Ginny Weasley awoke to yelling and fighting from her parents' room. Placing her ear to the door, she noticed Bill, Percy, and their parents in an extremely fierce argument.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Oh, he didn't know? That explained why he had wanted her to tell him about it.

"It's not exactly something you casually mention in a letter you know, 'Oh, by the way Bill, Ginny was possessed by Voldemort!' We wouldn't have been able to, anyways, with the rate you've been sending us letters! If you would like to know how Ginny is, you should tell us about yourself!" Ginny cringed. Ouch.

"I do! I send letters!"

"Once a month does not tell us how you are. We worry so often! What if Bill got hurt? Is Bill ignoring us? Aren't we good enough for him?" Bill quietly stood as his mum continued to make her questions. Maybe he should write letters more often, if that's how they felt. If they thought that he didn't care, they were mistaken. Or were they?

"And how did you find out about it?" Bill was ready to answer this. His Mum was wonderful, but she wasn't helping Ginny, who needed her.

"She was screaming! She woke up and told me about You-Know-Who possessing her! Percy and I were there when she needed us!"

This took Molly out of her temper. Not love her daughter? She loved her enough to be there for her…Were you? You stopped caring for her. You stopped coming to her.

Then, accidentally, Ginny lost her balance, falling into the door, causing it to open.

"Ginny!" Bill said, surprised.

Ginny then acted as if she heard nothing, and asked Bill if they could have breakfast now. The tension during the meal felt very tense. Bill was glaring at their parents, Percy the same- Molly glared right back. All the while, Arthur was trying to calm his wife. When Ron, Fred, and George joined them, they didn't feel the tension.

"So Georgie-Porgie, what will we do today?'

"Hmm... Maybe look around tombs for giant spiders left to protect them?"

"Yes, no-one can withstand us handsome devils. They must come with us to-"

"Haunt dear Ronnikins."

Meanwhile, Bill was thinking about what to do with Ginny. He wanted to spend time with her. The twins' conversation provided him a stroke of genius. "Ginny! Let's go to visit some tombs! I know of some excellent tours that I know you'll love!"

Molly looked ready to protest, but the glare she received from Percy silenced her. After all, it was Percy who was glaring at her, and he never, ever had done so before.

And so, after everyone got ready, they headed over to a pyramid, coming through the opposite entrance as the Muggles of course. Once everyone was in, they all decided to go to different parts of the tour. Ron wanted to go to the sections about Egyptian food, but there weren't any, so he joined Fred and George who wanted to go to the burial chamber, while Percy wanted to go to the magical artifacts section. Bill then asked what Ginny wanted to do. She decided to do the same as Fred and George. Ron, wanting to be near the twins, followed them. The five of them came to a part of the tomb that was not yet excavated. Bill, being a curse-breaker, was given permission to let the four of them into the area.

By the end of this experience, everyone was smiling, even Ginny. She managed to spook the twins by mimicking their mum after they managed to open a tomb. I will never forget that moment, Ginny thought giggling.

And so, they continued this routine- sleeping next to Bill and Percy, occasionally having a nightmare, joking with the twins, and exploring pyramids. After a week or two, Charlie surprised them all by showing up. He promised he wouldn't leave until a few days after Ginny's birthday. He then joined them on their routine, providing stories about dragons and his life in Romania. When Charlie was awoken by one of Ginny's nightmares, he came to investigate like Bill did a while ago. They informed him of the events of her first year, and then Ginny and her three eldest siblings began to sleep next to one another. Fred and George came nights later, but Ron never did because he always slept through the screams. It was like a happy dream she didn't want to escape.


Finally, the eleventh of August arrived; Ginny's twelfth birthday. When Ginny woke up, the room was empty. Not minding it, she quickly dressed, brushed her teeth and hair, and exited into the kitchen, ready to find out what her day would be like, (it being her birthday and all.) Once she entered, she was greeted with "Happy Birthday!" and everyone proceeded to give her their presents.

Ron gave her chocolate frogs, her favorite. Fred and George gave her a box of pranks, including a book that sang an embarrassing poem about whoever opens it. Then, Percy gave her a book called, "Advanced Transfiguration", before Bill gave her a necklace with an ankh on it, which they had found in a tomb together. Charlie gave her the best present of all though, a baby dragon! Ginny squealed before jumping on top of her second eldest brother and giving him an extremely tight hug. "Gin-ny can't breathe…" he gasped.

Percy then asked, "Charles, isn't it illegal to own dragons in residential areas?" Ginny let Charlie go so he could answer Percy's question.

"It is Perce. That's why this isn't an actual dragon."

"What is it then?" Ginny asked, confused. It looked like a dragon.

"It's a toy dragon." What's a toy dragon? It looks pretty lively to me. Charlie seemed to be able to read her mind, as he continued, "It's not like cards, it's a miniature, kind of like a toy broom. It can't hurt you or anything."

"So how do you," Fred began.

"Make one?" George finished.

"Basically, it's kind of like breeding a toy dog. We used a lenonius lizard, enlarged it, and bred it with a larger dragon with recessive genes in terms of strength and the like. The end product is Ginny's dragon."

"So what was the other dragon?" Bill asked.

"He was an Antipodean Opaleye. That's why her eyes have no pupils."

Ginny smiled. "I'm naming her Seraphina." Seraphina then let out a little yawn, causing Ginny to giggle. "Charlie, can I take her to school with me?"

Charlie answered, "I would think so, but only if Dumbledore agrees. She might have to stay with Hagrid, but I doubt so. We'll ask Dumbledore later."

She then looked at her parents, who gave her a cake and a new Gryl, a small device that played music after you cast the song's charm into the hole. There was also a hole to tilt wands in order to increase and decrease volume.

Once everyone finished their cake, they wandered over to a tomb about an Egyptian noble whose name was… Ginny! Well, more like Inekra, but it sounded close enough. Anyways, it was cool, being in her tomb. Once the sun set, and everyone had arrived at the suite, Molly and Arthur pulled their daughter over.

"Ginny," her father began, "we want to begin by apologizing to you."

Her Mum nodded, "We were horrible parents, and we didn't help you after the incident."

Her father added, "But we do love you, don't doubt that. We realize that we hurt you by not being there for you, but we will now. We're really sorry Ginny. We're really sorry."

Tears welled up in Ginny's eyes, as she pulled her parents into a hug. "I forgive you. Both of you…" Ginny gasped in her tears, "If you want you can join Bill, Perce, Charlie, Gred, Forge and me in our circle of sleep."

Her parent's hugged her back, "We'll join." But they quickly asked, "But what about Ron?"

Ginny let go. "Oh, Ron must feel so lonely. We should invite him too." Ginny ran over to Ron, tapping his shoulder.

"Hey Ron, do-do you want to join us- me, in the circle of sleep. We all sleep together in the same room, no playing or talking, or hugging, or anything. Please... for me? It helps with the nightmares."

Ron hugged Ginny and agreed. "I'm sorry Ginny. I was worried that you were angry at me for being a bad brother. That you didn't want me as one anymore."

Ginny shook her head, "Never." She took his hand and led him to the room. Bill accioed a sleeping bag next to Ginny, and Ron sat there.

"G'night," The family whispered at their little fire, and they all fell asleep.


Or so most thought…

Poke. Poke. Poke.

"What?" Ginny asked, irritated.

"Ginny, it's Percy."

"Yes, Percy?"

"I have one last present for you."

That woke Ginny up. "Yeah?" Percy never gave more than one gift to anyone.

"Here," Percy handed Ginny another book, entitled, "How-To: Animagus Edition." Ginny, shocked, read the cover once more, to double check if she read it right. She rubbed her eyes, and read it a third time. Yes, it was a book on how to become an Animagus!

"Percy, is that really you?"

"Yes, it is me Ginevra. Now look, this may seem strange, but I wanted to give you this book to boost up your confidence when we get to Hogwarts. I don't want you to feel isolated because of some of your classmates and teachers due to last year's … Events." Ginny was so touched that Percy cared this much about her. She hugged him, tightly, before kissing him on the cheek and going to sleep.

Percy looked at Ginny caringly, "Good night Ginevra."


It was now August 23rd, and the day of departure. Oh, she'd miss Egypt, and Bill, and Charlie, and all those amazing days and nights with her family! Ginny began to sob, hopelessly, into Bill's cloak.

"Hey, Min-Gin, it'll be okay. I'll write, and you'd better too; so stop crying." Ginny furiously nodded her head before walking into the International Fireplace. She waved goodbye to Bill, before arriving at the Burrow, and tears flooded her cheeks again.


The day before September 1st, Ginny awoke next to Percy, Ron, Fred, George, and her parents. During breakfast, Arthur told them a hilarious story about Ron's best friend, Harry Potter, who had blown up his aunt. He was also the subject of Ginny's hopeless crush. Molly immediately insisted that they all went to the Leaky Cauldron to find him. Of course, he wasn't there. They then ventured to Flourish and Botts, thinking that he hadn't got his books yet. While he wasn't there, Ron's other best friend, Hermione Granger, was, and so she joined them on their 'Search for Harry'. Funny, this could be a book title: The Search for Harry Potter. It sounded nice too. While in Madam Malkin's, Ginny remembered that she had to do something important, and so she asked Hermione to come outside with her for a second.

"Ginny, is something wrong?"

Nervously, Ginny replied, "Yes, there is, Hermione. I-I want to say that I'm sorry, you know, for what I did last year. I know you probably won't forgive me- after all, I did petrify you, but I just wanted you to know that I'm really, really, sorry."

"Oh, it's alright Ginny, you weren't you. I should apologize for what I did earlier- to you."

"Huh?"

"I mean- we were so wrapped up in ourselves, and even though we noticed weird things about you, we never acted on them. In addition, we never included you in anything. We never talked to you, and always left you alone. We're part of the reason you were possessed, in a way."

"It's- it's alright."

"And if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here for you." This caused tears to well up in Ginny's eyes, and then she hugged Hermione. Hermione hugged back, and as they were on their Search for Harry, they talked a bit, and each found out that the other was rather fun to be around.

As they began to give up on their search, they went to an ice-cream parlor to grab a snack. Ginny got chocolate, while Ron and Hermione had vanilla. Then, Ginny and the others spotted black hair, before Ron and Hermione yelled, "Harry, HARRY!"

Due to a horrid crush she had on Harry after he had saved her life, Ginny was prone to blush and act shy whenever she was around him. Ron and Hermione left her, again, to head for Harry bloody Potter. She sighed, before paying for her ice-cream. She noticed that the Trio had left, and so she walked over to a broom store.

She looked at the brooms inside the store longingly, paying close attention to the Firebolt. I wish I could get that.

After checking the clock, noticing it was almost half past four, she began to run out the door. Mum's going to kill me. Halfway through the distance needed to get to the bar they chose to meet, she bumped into a girl with chestnut hair.

"Oops-sorry!" the other girl said. She stood up, before lending her hand out to Ginny. Ginny took it quickly, letting it go as fast as she could. She didn't want friends right now. All they did was betray her. They would use her. She was fine with only family.

"Wait!" The other girl caught up with Ginny. "Hello- I'm Astoria. Astoria Greengrass," she introduced herself. It didn't look like she would go away.

"Ginny Weasley."

"Have I seen you before?" Astoria asked. Ginny wondered when she would leave. It was only a matter of time. Nobody likes being near the girl who opened the Chamber of Secrets.

"Yeah, probably in the Daily Prophet or at Hogwarts."

"Why in the Daily Prophet?" Not because of the Chamber, that's for sure. Nobody told their parents of what had occurred, as either they loved Hogwarts, trusted Dumbledore, or were ashamed to not be the Heir of Slytherin.

"Oh, because my family won the big galleon draw."

"Ah. Are you a Gryffindor?" I'll just answer her questions. Soon, she'll be horrified. Soon, she'll walk away.

"Yeah, what house are you in?" And maybe I'll make some talk as well.

"Ravenclaw- Blimey! I just remembered, you're the girl who opened the Chamber of Secrets!" It was time for her to walk away. Ginny wouldn't hold it against Astoria. After all, who wants to be nearby someone like Ginny Weasley. Tears began to well in Ginny's eyes. She took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" Astoria didn't leave yet?

"You didn't walk away?" Ginny asked, surprised. Ginny wiped away her tears.

"Of course. I wouldn't." Ginny was embarrassed. She was making a fool of herself. But maybe, maybe she and Astoria could be friends-NO- acquaintances. Friendly acquaintances. That would be okay. She could handle that.

"Sorry, just- you know. What year are you in?" Ginny asked, changing the topic.

"I'm going to be in 2nd year now. You?"

"Excuse me, my mum is expecting me! See you on the train?"

"Yeah, bye!"

Ginny began to sprint to the Leaky Cauldron, slowing down once she saw her mum.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley, you shall never run off for that long without telling me again." Molly was very concerned. She had no idea where Ginny had been for the past hour or so.

"Yes mum."

And so they all walked in, Percy becoming his pompous self again, Ginny her blushing self.

When she saw Harry, she couldn't help but turn red, and have her heart beat erratically in her chest. She didn't look at him again, muttering "Hello."

Percy, however, stuck his hand out and said, "Harry. How nice to see you."

"Hello, Percy." Peeking at Harry's face, which seemed ready to burst into laughter, Percy then shook his hand and said, "I hope you're well?", acting as if he was the most important person on Earth.

"Very well, thanks -"

"Harry!" said Fred, elbowing Percy out of the way and bowing deeply. "Simply splendid to see you, old boy -"

"Marvelous," said George, pushing Fred aside and seizing Harry's hand in turn. "Absolutely spiffing."

Percy scowled. Why did they always act this way?

"That's enough, now," said Mum.

"Mum!" said Fred as though he'd only just spotted her and seizing her hand too. "How really corking to see you -"

"I said, that's enough," Mum said, depositing her bags and such in an empty chair. "Hello, Harry, dear. I suppose you've heard our exciting news?" She pointed to the brand-new silver badge on Percy's chest. "Second Head Boy in the family!" she said, swelling with pride.

"And last," Fred muttered under his breath.

"I don't doubt that," said Mum, frowning suddenly. "I notice they haven't made you two prefects."

"What do we want to be prefects for?" said George, looking revolted at the very idea. "It'd take all the fun out of life."

Ginny giggled. They would say something like that. But then she turned redder, if that was possible.

"You want to set a better example for your sister!" Mum snapped.

"Ginny's got other brothers to set her an example, Mother," said Percy loftily. "I'm going up to change for dinner..."

He disappeared and George heaved a sigh.

"We tried to shut him in a pyramid," he told Harry. "But Mum spotted us." Ginny giggled again, more softly. By Mum, you most likely meant yours truly.

Dinner that night was a very enjoyable affair. Tom the innkeeper put three tables together in the parlor, and Ginny's family, Harry, and Hermione ate their way through five delicious courses.

"How're we getting to King's Cross tomorrow, Dad?" asked Fred as they dug into a sumptuous chocolate pudding.

"The Ministry's providing a couple of cars," said Dad.

Everyone looked up at him.

"Why?" asked Percy curiously, voicing Ginny's thoughts aloud.

George took advantage of this statement, "It's because of you, Perce." He continued, "And there'll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them."

"- for Humongous Bighead," said Fred.

Ginny snorted in her pudding. She noticed Harry did as well, and noticed her doing so. She blushed once more. This confounded crush!

"Why are the Ministry providing cars, Father?" Percy asked again, in a dignified voice.

"Well, as we haven't got one anymore," said Dad,"- and as I work there, they're doing me a favor -"

Ginny knew that her dad was feeling embarrassed and under pressure, since his ears were turning red. Thankfully, her mum intervened, "Good thing, too." She began to explain, "Do you realize how much luggage you've all got between you? A nice sight you'd be on the Muggle Underground... You are all packed, aren't you?"

"Ron hasn't put all his new things in his trunk yet," said Percy, in a long-suffering voice. "He's dumped them on my bed." Ginny stifled the giggle that was arising by quickly stuffing her spoon of pudding in her mouth. Oh why do I have to act so stupid in front of Harry?

"You'd better go and pack properly, Ron, because we won't have much time in the morning," Mum called down the table. Ron scowled at Percy.


After dinner, everyone went upstairs, feeling extremely tired. Ginny and Hermione were roomed together, between Percy and Ron, and Ginny's parents. After hearing Percy yelling about his badge, Hermione asked Ginny, "Why does he care so much about his Head Boy badge?"

Ginny answered as well as she could, "Well Hermione, you would too. Also, Percy is kind of alone in this family. He's always the last option, except when it comes to me, to talk to or hang out with. Being Head Boy is something he's really proud of. Plus, it gives him the chance to talk to other people who respect him, and want to talk to him for advice. You know, like how I talked to Tom about my troubles."

Hermione asked, "What kind of troubles?"

Ginny sighed, "They seem so stupid now."

Hermione shook her head, "No. Nothing that troubles you that much can be stupid."

Ginny took in a deep breath, "I complained to Tom about how my brothers teased me, I complained about my second-hand robes and books, I complained about how Harry would never like me, and I complained about how I was lonely. Hermione, these worries were stupid." Hermione shook her head.

"They aren't Ginny."

Hermione then asked, "Ginny, why do you have a crush on Harry?"

Ginny replied, "Why do you have a crush on Ron?" She smiled when Hermione let out a slight blush.

"I don't like Ron." Ginny nodded disbelievingly.

"Sure you don't," Ginny said sarcastically. She smiled, "I'll tell you why I like Harry, if you tell me why you like Ron."

"First, answer me honestly. Am I that obvious?" Ginny shook her head.

"Only to those with deep crushes. Am I?" Hermione sighed in relief.

"Sorry Ginny, but you are."

Ginny sighed, "Knew it. Alright, so why do I have a crush on Harry?" Hermione nodded.

"It started when I was little, and was told the story of Harry Potter every night to fall asleep. I thought he was so brave and strong and perfect, and I wanted his courage. Then, I met him at the station, and I didn't notice the scar at first, but I thought he was so…," unable to think of a word, she continued, "My crush got even worse that day. And after he saved me from Tom I couldn't help but notice him for being noble, and saving my life. It makes a bond, you know. But I really want to get rid of this crush. It's driving me mad!"

"Oh, Ginny."

"And why do you have a crush on Ron?" Hermione blushed.

"Do I-" Ginny already nodded.

"Fine. I think Ron's my crush because he challenges me, but is always there for me." Ginny gave a disbelieving look.

"That's all?"

"Would you like more details about this- he is your brother after all."

"And Harry's like your brother, but you're fine with me speaking about liking him!"

"Fine. Ron..." And so they continued their girl talk throughout the night, until they both noticed the time and fell asleep, ready for Hogwarts on the next day.


Ginny woke up screaming once more. She looked at the time- nearly two in the morning. She walked over to Percy and Ron's room, and crawled into Percy's bed. She poked his shoulder.

Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. Po- "I'm awake! I'm awake. Just stop that infuriating jabbing!"

Ginny smiled at Percy. "Revenge, dear brother." Percy jolted up.

"Ginny? Here I'll move over; that's barely enough room. Do you want to talk?"

"For a minute. Percy, what- how do you think people are going to tr-treat me like in school?"

For the first time in her life, Percy responded with, "I don't know. But I do know that if anyone mistreats you, all of us will be there for you. I noticed you were late to the Leaky Cauldron. Did anyone mistreat you on the way there? If so, he or she will receive a detention on the first day."

"No- the opposite. Somebody treated me kindly and I don't know if she'll be mean to me, betray me like Tom did."

"Well Ginny, I'm not sure if I'm the best to give advice on that matter. I don't want to give you bad advice, but if I were you, I'd ask Bill. Bill went through something like this, but not as harsh. I won't tell you what, but ask him. You can use Hermes."

"Thanks Percy. For everything." Ginny fell asleep, later to be awakened by Percy.


"Ginny, it's seven, and I must to get ready. You should go to your room and start getting ready as well. Be ahead of the rest so you can write your letter." Ginny sleepily nodded, and walked to her room. She got changed, cleaned her teeth, and began to write her letter. By the time Hermione was ready, Ginny's letter was complete. The two of them then came down to eat breakfast, talking about their crushes using code words like Norm and Ryan. Ginny's mum then joined in the conversation, talking about how she made and used a love potion to get Arthur's attention.

"Now, what happened was, I made Amorentia for your father, because I was hopelessly in love with him at that time, but he wouldn't see me as anything but the girl he was tutoring in Transfiguration. After a week, it wears off, so imagine his surprise to be kissing me by the lake. Strangest thing happens though, he kisses back and…" Ginny was happy to know her parents' love story. It was her hobby, collecting love stories.

As she ate, Ginny pondered about a love story she learned recently, about her grandmother, Abigail Phelps, and her grandfather, Charles Prewitt. They became a couple soon following a Yule Ball, where they danced, and soon fell under a mistletoe. According to her mum, they both were planning to trick the other underneath a mistletoe, because they each believed the other would have standards above a red-head. What made Ginny laugh, was that her mum said, when her grandparents explained the story to each other, Abigail had claimed that male red-heads looked better then female red-heads, while Charles claimed the opposite. In Ginny's opinion, black-haired boys look the best, especially when it was messy, matched with eyes as green as emeralds, and a hopelessly kind smile.

After everyone ate, it was a race to get to the train on time. Ginny was paired with Percy to get through the barrier. Before they went through, Ginny quickly threw a small dungbomb at George, wanting to get back at him for teasing her about Harry in the Ministry car. Grabbing Percy's right hand, they ran through the barrier. Ginny slipped her letter to Bill in Percy's hand, and then… "Ah, there's Penelope!" said Percy, smoothing his hair and going pink. Most people didn't know this, but Percy was in love with Penny, and often did the silliest things for her. So then, when Percy strode over to a girl with long, curly hair, walking with his chest thrown out so that she couldn't miss his shiny badge, Ginny caught Harry's eye, and they both turned away to hide their laughter.

Harry then muttered something to Ron before he said, "Go away Ginny."

Wow-that hurt. Imagine if I magically find another diary and this whole scenario happens again. "Oh, that's nice."

As she began to walk out, she heard a tap on the leg. Ginny stopped for a second, as she heard Ron tap his knee twice, before yawning once, and tapping his knee once more. Ginny smiled, and left. Ron had said, using their secret language from when they were young, Sorry. I would let you stay, but it's private. Hope for forgiveness.


Once Ginny was outside of that compartment, she began to look for another. Maybe I could stay with Percy, or Fred and George. Suddenly, she saw somebody wave to her, getting her attention. It was Astoria. Astoria beckoned Ginny to come over, and Ginny nervously did. They were friendly acquaintances… Looking around, she noticed that a blond girl who was reading the Quibbler sat across from them.

"So, Ginny, do you want to talk about yourself?"

"Nothing much to talk about really- I have six brothers, I love flying, and I opened the Chamber of Secrets last year. What about you?" She would be herself. She would look for signs of Tom. If there were any, she'd go away.

"I'm part of a 'pure-blood' family whom practically disowned me when I arrived in Ravenclaw. My sister's horrible, and I love to draw, so if you ever need a portrait of anything, you know who to ask.

The blond girl dreamily added, "I'm Luna Lovegood, and Ginny, you should know that you have a Patife stuck in your hair. They cause horrible nightmares if not treated or gotten rid of quickly."

"How do you do so?"

"Many ways, common way of being treated is comfort through contact, physical or mental. To get rid of them is really hard though, so I would suggest a book by a Mr. Scamander. He knows his stuff." Maybe I would. I could use my books from first year…


The three girls began to chat for at least 10 minutes, before the lights went out, and Ginny, afraid of the dark, ran out of the compartment and began to search for her brother.

Soon she was in front of a compartment. After she opened it, she bumped her head hard on another person, and squealed in pain.

"Who's that?"

"Who's that?" Ginny asked back. Her head still felt sore.

"Ginny?"

"Hermione?"

"What are you doing?"

"I was looking for Ron -" "Come in and sit down -"And so Ginny began to pick a seat.

"Not here!" said Harry hurriedly. "I'm here!" Oops. That would have been embarrassing.

"Ouch!" said one voice she recognized to be Neville Longbottom, after she stepped on his toe, it seemed.

"Quiet!" said a hoarse voice suddenly.

The stranger then made movements, and none of them spoke the whole time.

There was a soft, crackling noise, and a shivering light filled the compartment. The stranger appeared to be holding a handful of flames. They illuminated his tired, gray face, but his eyes looked alert and wary.

"Stay where you are," he said in the same hoarse voice, and he got slowly to his feet with his handful of fire held out in front of him.

But the door slid slowly open before he could reach it.

Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in the stranger's hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood.

The cloaked figure then began to breathe, and it was sucking everything out of the room. Ginny was beginning to feel cold, very cold. Soon, her eyes were rolling into her head and suddenly, she was in the Chamber of Secrets again. The walls were green and the basilisk in front of her and now Tom Riddle was stalking over to her and he was smiling his sick sweet smile, saying," Hello Ginny. Tha-" Soon the lights were back on, and the train was moving again.

Neville, next to her, looked very pale, and Ginny didn't know if she was going to break down, here, in the middle of 5 different people, one of whom, she didn't know.

Harry then seemed to come to life, but Ginny kept on thinking about Tom and the Chamber and how sick and cruel he was and-

SNAP! Ginny jumped at the noise.

"Here," the stranger said to Harry, handing him a piece of chocolate. "Eat it. It'll help."

"What was that thing?" he asked the stranger.

"A Dementor," he said, who was now giving chocolate to everyone else, including Ginny. "One of the Dementors of Azkaban."

Everyone stared at him, and then he left, claiming to head off to find the driver. Ginny stared at her chocolate, before she noticed Hermione say something.

"Are you sure you're okay, Harry?" said Hermione, watching Harry anxiously. Ginny would have too, but Tom's face was still on her mind. She could still see him. She wiped away tears before they were to happen. She wouldn't cry in front of Harry. Never again.

"I don't get it…what happened?" said Harry, wiping more sweat off his face.

"Well— that thing — the Dementor — stood there and looked around (I mean, I think it did, I couldn't see its face) — and you — you —"

"I thought you were having a fit or something," said Ron. "You went sort of rigid and fell out of your seat and started twitching—"

"And Professor Lupin stepped over you, and walked toward the Dementor, and pulled out his wand," said Hermione, "and he said, 'None of us is hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks. Go.' But the Dementor didn't move, so Lupin muttered something, and a silvery thing shot out of his wand at it, and it turned around and sort of glided away…"

Oh, so the man was a Professor named Lupin, and Dementors were searching us for Sirius Black.

"It was horrible," said Neville, in a higher voice than usual. "Did you feel how cold it got when it came in?"

"I felt weird," said Ron, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably. "Like I'd never be cheerful again…"

Cheerful. Tom was having a cheerful look on his face. He was enjoying tormenting me, and the other students, he was so, so sick.

Ginny, who was huddled in her corner, gave a small sob, but no tears. Hermione went over and put a comforting arm around her.

"But didn't any of you — fall off your seats?" said Harry awkwardly.

"No," said Ron, looking anxiously at Harry again. "Ginny was shaking like mad, though…"

Oh thank you Ron, for telling Harry that. But anyways, it looked like the comment helped Harry slightly. After a few seconds, Professor Lupin came in, looked around, and said, "I haven't poisoned that chocolate you know…"

And so, everyone took a bite of their chocolate. To Ginny's delight, it was soft and warm, and helped her get rid of the cold Tom brought.


Nobody really spoke for the rest of the ride, and when the Golden Trio left her alone once more, Ginny sighed. Professor Remus Lupin saw this action and frowned. His best friend's son shouldn't have just left this poor girl all alone. Speaking of boys, where was that other black haired boy…? Ah, there he was, with a pair of two other boys. Remus then sighed, before walking over to the red-head. Now, where did he ever think that phrase before? Yes! It was from when Prongs and Lily needed matchmaking. Potters and their red-heads.

"Hello", Remus said.

"Oh, hi Professor. Here, I'll go now." She walked away, probably in search of her own friends. Remus saw her run over to a blonde and a brunette before talking to them. That's strange, usually Remus's instincts were correct, after all, he was named Moony, and he rocked in Divination, even if the subject had only been stupid.

Ah well, I guess I'll find more about her later, he thought, before walking to meet his boss and former teacher Professor McGonagall. Maybe he could officially call her Minnie now, something Padfoot and Prongs would have been overjoyed to do. Remus growled, thinking of Sirius's betrayal. He had thought they were all friends, but apparently not anymore. Not after he killed James, Lily and Peter.


Alright then, it's been a long while since I published a chapter, I know. I know it's my fault that I haven't been uploading too. HOWEVER, now that Science Congress is OVER! *happy dance here*, I can update more regularly. I hope to update... Let's say.. AT LEAST once to twice a month. But thanks for not giving up on me!

Dedicated to all my wonderful followers (AKA 13Kali, Comet Moon, LadyTonks1, Terbear1225, Wampire Girl, and bigreddp) and my two fantastic betas (MerlinPsych and Bronze Cat.)

*FUN THING TO GOOGLE: Monkeyfish (Google Images)

-Benture.