Chapter 1

Doors stopped creaking, stairs stopped moving, passages stopped changing, and whispers died in the air just past the lips that made them in the muffled silence that was Hogwarts at twilight. Dust motes began their slow dance in the last rays of the sun. All was at peace in the castle halls, all sound dying as it was made. That was how the slight pat of Virginia Weasley's feet as she snuck out to the lake went unnoticed. As serene as the pathways of the castle were at that hour, the ever conscious walls gave off a friendly feeling that you were not alone. Though that was usually comforting, it is sometimes better to be left alone to your thoughts.

She made her way to the lake, the squid unseen in the depths of its waters, and sat in her usual spot, a small indent in the ground at the base of an ancient willow, its bows untrimmed and closing her off. A sparrow chirped from the high branches where its nest lay. Ginny had noticed it long ago and began leaving bits and pieces of things behind, a random string here or a broken twig there. Once, as curiosity struck her, she had climbed up to see the nest and had since been keeping track of the four hatchlings.

Now, though, the nestlings had taken wing, and they each chose their own separate branch on which to reside. Seeing this, Ginny was reminded of her own family and one of the reasons she was out in the early September twilight in the first place. Her family was large. Larger than the family of birds that could be heard above her, wings rustling and last minute chatterings taking place before the sun disappeared from the sky till the next day.

Though being poor often helped for the family to become closer, share the difficulties they were facing, it also provided difficulties. Her eldest brothers had taken wing in years past, but many, including Fred, George, Ron, Sirius and herself, remained. In light of the ever growing threat that was Voldemort, life had become much more difficult. Taxes and prices of nearly everything that had to have work done to come in reach of it had risen, and the paychecks of all ministry employees but the Aurors had almost ceased to exist. In much simpler wording, the Weasley family was broke, and in deep trouble.

They faced the decision of taking Ron and Ginny out of Hogwarts, to work for the money to support the whole family, or giving them away, to an orphanage or another family that would care for them. For though the rest of her siblings were now out in the world with homes and jobs of their own, they simply could not afford to donate any money to their parents without suffering the consequences themselves.

Her parents were trapped in a corner with two choices before them, and they had dropped the weight, instead, on their children's shoulders. They had owled both Ron and herself, giving them the choice to go and possibly come back, or go and stay gone. They had to choose between leaving Hogwarts, their second home, to work and stay with the family they knew and loved, and leaving Hogwarts, their second home, and the Burrow, their first home, behind, along with the only family they'd ever known, for a new family that could support them, but with the possibility that they wouldn't return to Hogwarts, or the Burrow, ever again.

Now Ginny herself was the one trapped in a corner, but neither of her choices seemed any good. The first was good for her parents, they would keep their kids and get money at the same time, and she felt that that was probably supposed to give her a little benefit as well, but she couldn't seem to find it. The second would open up many new opportunities, such as getting a nice family with a lot of money that cared for her and allowed her to return to Hogwarts, but at the same time had the downsides of not knowing, for she could just as well get a cruel family that abused her and refused to let her go back to this place that she so loved. Ron, she thought, had most likely already made his decision and owled their parents back, but nothing ever was that easy for her. She only had a week to decide before it was decided for her and she was doomed to a fate that she may well resent herself for.

~¤*¤~

Meanwhile, in the stillness of the halls lurked another student, and he too was headed for the same destination. The willow by the lake, an ancient tree that far surpassed the years of any other being, plant and animal alike, that was within a ten thousand mile radius, had saved the sanity of many a person during its lifetime, not excluding Ginny Weasley and, as some said, some of the founders themselves. It was truly a miracle tree and Hogwarts, it seemed, might not have even existed if it weren't for its "magical" bows, for it really did help to clear your mind and no one could quite explain it.

The front castle door swung open, seemingly of its own accord, and closed, creaking slightly on its long un-oiled hinges, but the sound was still muffled as the walls whispered to each other, sharing the events of the day as the twilight hour waned on. In the open air of the Hogwarts grounds, the chattering of the day birds was slowly dying down and an owl began hooting somewhere nearby in the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid's hut could be seen a little ways away, the light from his fireplace growing steadily brighter as the sun continued its tedious descent, and the moon neared the heavens a slight bit faster.

After taking in his surroundings, the student resumed his path to the willow, unseen by any who cared to look out the window. He, too, had much on his mind, and though it was nothing as pressing as Ginny's problems, they were talking up too much space in his mind and he needed to get them out. After a lifeless saunter that lasted far longer than it should have, he parted the deep, green leave decked vines and made his way into the sanctuary it provided. Still not quite at peace, he stripped off his shoes and grabbed the lowest hanging dark brown barked branch, and swung up on it, then repeated it with the next one, until he was on the branch just beneath the birds' nest.

Now in his spot, Harry Potter removed his invisibility cloak and draped it over a small branch protruding out at shoulder lever to him, then returned to his thoughts, much the same ones as he had been having the past year and a half since the last task. No one had ever really talked to him about, but, then again, he never really encouraged them to confront him about it either, but that was what he needed to do. He needed someone to come up to him, make him sit down, and just listen as he spilled all his thoughts and feelings from the times since then.

He knew in his heart that Ron and Hermione would do that, and they'd be a good audience about it too, but they'd never really suffered anything themselves and wouldn't know what it felt like to blame yourself for something that major. They would attempt to convince him to go to Dumbledore or Sirius, or at least try to get him to stop blaming himself for it, but that wasn't what he needed. He needed someone to listen to his story and remain silent through it, and, afterwards, just stay with him, saying that they understood and that, over time, they'd get through it, not take action right away, for Harry still needed some time to dwell on the past before moving on for good. Where he'd find someone like that? He had no idea, but he hoped there was some one who fit the description, and that they would turn up soon.

As the sun finally gave off its last few rays of the day, the branch his cloak rested on was disturbed, but not by a bird or some other such animal. Harry was still caught up in his thoughts, just barely noticing the disturbance, when somebody settled on his branch in front of him. At first, the only feature he could pick out was their fiery red hair, but, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, just set off by light from the tree itself, he realized that it was Ginny Weasley.

She had a look rather like his own on her face, but she didn't seem too concerned for herself at the time being. He started to shift, ready to get down as he wasn't in the mood for simple small talk at the time, but she stopped him, putting her right hand on his cloak and using her left to push him back into his previous position. She stared at him for a while longer, Harry got the feeling that those dark, ocean blue eyes could see right into his soul, and it unnerved him. Finally, she spoke.

"Talk." Now it was Harry's turn to stare, and they stayed like that for what seemed like an hour before he told her everything he had been wanting to get off his chest for so long.

~¤*¤~

Despite the warm feeling given off by the walls in the rest of the castle, there was one place that would always give you the chills, for those walls had witnessed far more terrible things than good. That place was the dungeons, including the Slytherin Common Room, but no one spent much time there, most preferring to lurk in the shadows and forgotten corridors of the upper castle. The one that actually started that tradition was Draco Malfoy, he hated the coldness of the passageways in the dank, dark, and overall creepy dungeons, so, of course, everyone followed his example. However, Draco needed the cold at this moment, it reflected his mood, and he wanted to be alone to his thoughts, but it seemed that no one could quite understand the orders "Leave me be".

"Hey, Draco," called an amazingly stupid voice followed by the grunt of one equally idiotic if not more so. They followed him everywhere and if it weren't for him they wouldn't even be in Hogwarts anymore, or else they'd be stuck in first year. They could never seem to understand the concept of being alone. And, Draco thought as the click of heels on the stone floor drew nearer, neither could she.

He felt her cold hands pressed against his pale, bare arm, and it felt as if she were sucking all the heat out of him, for his arm immediately numbed as though it had been drowned in ice. He regained some feeling in the arm and pushed her away from him, turning around to glare at her make-up caked, pug-like face as she refused the silent message to leave him be, but, as he turned around, he found Pansy Parkinson standing in the background by Crabbe and Goyle, glaring fitfully at the girl that actually stood before him. He had seen her before, but hadn't paid much attention as that was the type of girl she was, one to stick to the shadows and watch rather than being a part of the crowd, and another reason was the fact that she belonged to the Ravenclaw house.

Her skin was deathly pale, so pale in fact that it made his own looked as if he had a tan, and her hair did nothing to help it. It was blacker than you would believed black could get, blacker than a night in which you cannot see your own hand a millimeter in front of your face. It was long, reaching to her mid-thigh and contained silver streaks that were hard to tell if they were natural or not, though Draco doubted they were. Her eyes also stood out, being a dark turquoise and seemed so wise that it felt as if, in the merest glance, she could reach into you and discover your deepest, darkest secret. Her ears were pierced all the way up on either side and there was a small, silver stub in her nose, balancing her face out as, on the opposite side, (the left) there was a scar, appearing silver on her skin as it would white on another's. Aside from her complexion, however, the first thing Draco noticed about her was how short she was, himself standing a full head taller than her, but, even despite her height, her glare could intimidate you to no end, as he saw demonstrated when she threw the look at Pansy who ran to hide behind Goyle, who was hiding behind Crabbe, who was about to wet his pants. She finally turned back to Draco.

"We need to talk, Draco," she said, casting a meaningful glance at the others. Not knowing what she could possibly want, he let his curiosity get the better of him and nodded before catching the others' eyes.

"Out," he snapped, overjoyed to see them leave readily, glad to be away from the psychotic girl. Then, he turned back to… what was her name? He couldn't get it, it was just on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't quite grasp it. "Well? Oh, and start by giving me your name." She nodded.

"My name is Aidyn and you'd do best to remember it, now come, this place is too open, we'll be better off in the room." Draco was puzzled, but followed her anyway, his curiosity still dragging him along. They walked quickly down many hallways, through a couple passages yet unknown to Draco and finally stopped in front of a large portrait of a raven - itself gray in comparison to Aidyn's hair - perched on a bust of an old man, yet it was not the bust that spoke as he had expected, but the raven, preening its feathers as if paranoid.

"Nevermore," it screeched, but Aidyn just rolled her eyes.

"Mirieth etay unon," she said and the bird glared, but shifted on its perch and allowed the portrait to slide aside, giving them passage to a large room, looking much like a small library, but giving off the feeling that you should not come there to study. Draco followed her in, and took a seat across from her on one of the many fluffy blue couches, the two they were seated on also happened to be near a warming fire, and he soon felt his arm return to its original state.

"Now," she said. "There is much to be said and so little time to say it, so I'm going to try to get in as much as I can before I must leave, and hopefully I can finish, so I ask you now not to interrupt me no matter what I say. This is urgent. Now, I will begin…"

~¤*¤~

Near the astronomy tower, hidden in a crevice blocked from natural view by a cracked stone statue of a griffin, lay a room, piled high with paper and parchment, holding only a couch and a desk otherwise. On the couch, plushy and covered in black velvet material, rested the prone form of yet another student, quill dangling precariously at the tips of her fingers, ready to blotch the underlying parchment, which sported a rough, but clearly excellent sketch of a group of students, recognizable in an instant, especially since they were never seen apart.

In the hallway, a voice could be heard whispering, and the griffin slowly lifted his front paw and stepped forward, casting a suspicious glance at the figure as it entered the room behind him. Leaning over the sleeping girl, the mysterious figure plucked the quill from her hand and began sorting through the random papers, but the movements caused a rustle that woke her up.

"Stop," the girl said weakly. "I like my mess as it is…" The figure looked at her strangely before setting the papers down and kneeling down beside her, pulling his cloak of as he did so.

"As you wish, Susan, but one of these days I shall sneak in here and sort through everything while you sleep in your dorm, and you will eventually thank me. It is much easier than having to throw everything into different spots as you look for a certain parchment." She smiled, sitting up and stretching as she surveyed the room, bits and scraps of paper and other writing materials were scattered over every millimeter of the floor.

"Nah. I'm fine with it as it is, and when I do have to find something then you can stand back and laugh at me as I search every last nook and cranny of the room and still come up empty-handed. Besides, Justin, when do you thing you'll ever get me to sleep in the dorm? There's too much activity there, I'm perfectly perfect where I am and you shant be able to move me," she replied with childish stubbornness, settling back down, now with an afghan draped over her legs. Justin wore a contemplative look on his face before grinning, with the slightest hint of mischief still glinting in his eyes. Seeing this, understanding flashed over Susan's face and her own eyes grew wide in playful fright.

"No… Justin, don't! Justin!" She continued alternating between screaming and laughing as Justin lifted her off the couch and slung her over his shoulder, laughing himself as he carried her to her dorm. The girls already there looked alarmed, but a couple gave him a grateful look as he lay her on her bed and tucked her in.

"See? I got you into the dorm, I moved you. Now will you at least sleep in this bed? It hasn't been used for years, and I know for a fact that it is far more comfortable than that couch." Susan held her grin, still trying to suppress her giggles, but she nodded all the same, and Justin smile as well, then, giving her a short good-night kiss, he left the room, herself drifting into a fitful sleep.

~¤*¤~

Despite the quietness of the rest of the castle, the Gryffindor Common Room was far from quiet, in fact, many were leaving due to the shouting match taking place. Ron and Hermione were at it again, but no one knew what for, and that was the strange thing because they would normally announce it at the beginning of the session.

"For Pete's sake Hermione! Calm down, its not something that I really want to discuss in an argument!" Ron was failing miserably at getting out of it, and he knew it too.

"Calm down? Calm down?! No, Ronald Weasley, I will not calm down! How can you do this?! Does Harry know about this? If not he should, how long were you going to wait before telling us? We have a right to..."

"Hermione! Shut up for a minute will you?! I did try to tell you, but you always blew me off with the same old 'I need to get this done if I want to pass exams this year and you should be doing it too, now go get your homework and study all the time like me!' I finally got sick of trying! And, if you were too immersed in your precious books to notice, Harry's got enough on his hands and on his mind for me to go and tell him something like this is to ask for the world savior to go into a breakdown! I don't want to loose him again, Hermione Granger, I've lost my friends far too many times to go and do it again! Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe you have a date with your Transfig homework!" He turned to the boys' staircase and headed for his dorm, but was stopped with the appearance of Hermione's hand draped loosely over his shoulder.

"If you think that keeping things like this from us is the best way to keep our friendship, then you haven't wizened up as much as I had thought. We're your friends, Ron, we need to know these things, and once we do we'll stand by your side and face it with you. You really need to tell him Ron, despite what may happen when you do." Ron stared at her for a while, expression still cold.

"I'll keep that in mind." He then turned, quickly passed the distance to his dorm and slammed the door behind him. Hermione stood there for a few seconds, debating, before grabbing her books and following his example.

When Ron entered his room he found Errol waiting for him on his bed, which was very strange as he had just received a letter by Pig the day before and it would have been much easier to send it with Alwyne (their owl of two years) besides.

Dear Ron,

We apologize for not putting this in our last letter to you, and for not using Alwyne, but she was carrying our letter to Ginny, of which should arrive there a few hours before this one, and we just learned of this before we sent that. As you know, with the war our money problems have greatly increased and now it has gone a little too far. There is a decision to be made, and we feel you should be the one to make it...

~¤*¤~

The final rays of the sun had long since passed, as had the last stretch of Harry's tale. He and Ginny had been sitting among the willow bows for what seemed like five minutes but was actually an hour, an unusually comfortable silence surrounding them. Then, as a wolf howled at the crescent moon and the crickets momentarily increased their seemingly endless symphony, the silence was broken.

"Your turn," Harry said, his eyes slowly coming back into focus. "Spill. What's got you so worked up? And don't say its nothing, cuz you're little different than Ron in that area, you don't hide it well." The worry on Ginny's face would not seem to leave, and it was now conjoined with confusion.

"Hasn't Ron told you?" As he shook his head, Harry's curiosity peaked, he and Ron told each other everything anymore… well, aside from Harry's tale, Ginny was the only one to hear that. "I would've thought, but maybe… no." Ginny continued, talking more to herself than she was to Harry. "I… It's… We… You're going to have to talk to Ron, it's his place to tell you, not mine." With that, she climbed down the tree and entered the blackness of the outside world. Harry, grabbing his cloak, quickly followed, resolving to ask Ron about it the moment he saw him.

~¤*¤~

Guided through the thickening darkness by a dim light from her wand, was a new student, her shoulder blade length, red-bronze hair, olive green eyes, and pale complexion were just barely visible in the faint glow. A determined expression was plastered on her face as she made her way inside the building, not caring to stop and look at her surroundings. She quickly sought out the nearest "intelligible" life forms and cornered them, giving them an intimidating glare that could nearly rival Aidyn's own. Unfortunately for them, the ones she found were Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson, still getting over the previous incident.

"Where can I find Professor Dumbledore?" she asked, giving each of them a scrutinizing glare of their own, enjoying it thoroughly as she watch them grab the wall, their knees giving way under her powerful gaze. Between them, they managed to nod and motioned for her to follow them, the first words she ever heard from them were "Swedish Fish" before the gargoyle leapt aside. Turning around, she made to thank them sweetly, but wound up with a maniacal grin on her face, finding them half-way down the hall, going at their full, fascinating speed of two kilometers per hour.

Taking an about face, the girl marched up the moving staircase, finding it hard as the stairs were moving down while she was headed up. After ten minutes of marching in place, she finally allowed herself to ride two steps down to the bottom, only to find a red button on the wall, labeled "UP". She stared at it for another five minutes, contemplating, before deciding that that wasn't nearly fun enough. She left the stairs on down, and took them at a run, finally reaching the top. In front of her was an old wood door, clearly being the passage to the Headmaster's office as it had a large star with "Dumbledore" underneath, much like that on the door of stars, pictured in movies. Without another thoughts, she barged in, without annunciation to find the Headmaster waiting patiently for her.

"I," she said, not caring to question how he knew she was coming, "am Rena Moran."

~¤*¤~

A/N: Haha! Ten pages! So, how'd you like it? Got you fooled there with the Ron thing, didn't I? Next Chap:

Where'd Ginny go?

What's Harry gunna do 'bout Ron?

What's Aidyn gotta tell Draco?

What's Susan Bones gotta do with all this?

What's Ron hiding from Harry?

And who the hell is Rena?

I KNOW!!! Haha! No really, it'll be a while for the next chap cuz inspiration for ten pages doesn't come easily and this chap alone took me like two three weeks or more. So, c u soon and thanks to all those who reviewed!

Disclaimer: I own Aidyn, and Rena (figwits*lover) owns Rena… at least… I think she does. All else is property of J.K. Rowling! So no suing!

Thanks to:

Lastat's Chick : don't cry! *hands over a Kleenex box* Here's more for you to munch on.

SilverflameWolf2: Why can't you write like me? I don't know, I'm guessing you're better, but it might be because your museless. I lost my muse in writing this, and then I decided to capture another one. So I drew her, if u want to see her here she is: http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/loth/t/r/triambtin13/muse.gif.html And I loved your review despite its length. You can do an even longer one for this chap! Thank you my devoted fan! And no flames! Despite the temptation.

Rena: No crying! Hey, you said I made you sound cool, well how did you like the last paragraph? (not the one where she said her name) ttyl!

ice-

goddess007: I hate cliffies too, but I love to write them, you're mad at me for this chap, aren't you? Oh wellz

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnddd…

Elisha: glad you liked it… even though I made you read it :D

Till next time!

Toodles!

TAT