The Guardians

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these wonderful characters; they all belong to the magnificent J.K. Rowling. (Except for the original few that you'll be able to recognize yourselves!)

Chapter 2: Packing and Leaving

Despite Ginny's uneasy slumber, she woke early the next morning. The sun had not yet finished rising, but she could no longer stay in bed, staring at the patterns on her ceiling. Anxious to have everything ready for her prolonged stay at Privet Drive, Ginny pulled her school trunk from underneath her bed. Within the trunk were last year's books, old parchment, broken quills and empty ink bottles. She quickly removed all of this, transferring the books to a corner of her room and the rest to the rubbish bin.

All the while, she had her thoughts fixed on Harry. She knew that it was inevitably her responsibility to take care of him. This part didn't bother her, however, Harry was known for blaming himself for the tragedies that occurred around him; the death of his beloved godfather was certainly not going to be an exception. It was going to be a difficult task, convincing Harry that he had no reason to feel guilty; but Ginny was determined to bring him out of it, even though she had no experience with the loss of loved ones.

After about an hour, everything Ginny needed was packed into her trunk. It was a bit difficult to close, but eventually she managed to cram it shut. She headed downstairs, following the smell of eggs and bacon that her mother was cooking. She groaned inwardly as she was reminded that Harry's relatives did not feed him well. She was definitely going to savor this last breakfast at home.

As she entered the kitchen, Ginny was greeted by the sight of Fred and George. They had moved out after their glorious departure from Hogwarts and leased a flat above their joke shop in Diagon Alley. Fred, determined to keep the mood light, began to tease Ginny, "So Gin, are you excited to be staying with Harry all by yourself this summer?"

George responded in a mocking tone before Ginny got the chance to do it herself, "Oh Fred, didn't you hear she's given up on our Harrykins. Besides, aren't you still dating that Dean bloke?"

Ginny smirked, "Actually Dean and I broke it off last week. He wanted me to go stay with him, but I told him that I would never be able to. He didn't seem to agree with my reasons, so I told him that if we couldn't agree then maybe we shouldn't see each other." She left out the part where he accused her of doing it in hopes that Harry would suddenly change his mind about her while spent the summer at the Burrow. This would only give the twins something more to rib her about. But Dean was being ridiculous at the time; she informed him that Harry was not to be visiting the Burrow until August, but he wouldn't hear it. Ironically, Dean had been right in one sense; she was about to spend the entire summer with Harry…alone.

Of course she would always love Harry; but she had given up on that silly hope that he too felt something for her. They were friends now and that was all that had mattered.

"Yes 'gave up on him' isn't the same as getting over him. She's still madly in love with the boy." Fred added with a huge grin.

Ginny rolled her eyes at the twins, but inwardly she panicked. They had hit it right on the nose; was it really that obvious for everyone else to see? Her question was answered by her own blush betraying her. She cringed and looked down at her plate, hoping that they had not noticed.

"AHA!" Both twins cried in unison. They were enjoying this way too much. If her mother had not been standing two feet away, Ginny would have undoubtedly used her infamous bat bogey hex to make them wish that they had never breached the subject. She glared at them threateningly.

Before either of them could retort, Molly cut in sternly, "Enough boys. Your sister is under enough stress, you don't have to tease her." The twins grinned wickedly at Ginny one last time before turning their full attention back to their breakfast.

"Dear, would you like some help packing?" Her mother interjected a few minutes later.

"Actually I've already packed everything. I couldn't sleep, so I just got it over with." As she suspected, Fred and George jumped at the occasion to tease her once more.

"See, she's anxious to—"

But much to Ginny's pleasure, Ron walked in, yawning as he did and asked, "Mum, has Hermione gotten here yet?"

Fred and George's eyes glinted with mischief and Ginny rose from the table and said, "There, he's a more worthy candidate for your ribbing. He'll actually react much more satisfyingly." She grinned at the twins, and walked past Ron, patting him on the shoulder almost apologetically.

The hours seemed to fly by, and at around three pm, Hermione arrived. "Ginny! Ron's told me everything." Hermione looked concerned, but it was clear that she didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

"We'll try to find out as much about the prophecy as possible while we're at headquarters." Ron added this in a whisper so that only Ginny and Hermione could hear. They had now moved from the sitting room, where Mrs. Weasley was sitting.

Hermione looked a little disapproving at Ron's statement, but then nodded in agreement. "That's probably the best way to figure any of this out. Personally I can't believe they won't tell you. Didn't Dumbledore learn from his mistake with the other prophecy that it's not beneficial to anyone to keep it a secret?"

"Apparently not; Dumbledore knows what it says though, doesn't he? His name was on that prophecy too." Ron suddenly remembered.

"Do you think he told Harry?" Hermione's voice rose with a hint of excitement. They both turned to Ginny. "He's bound to tell you since you'll be with him every day."

"I suppose he would but, it's not like I can write--"

Hermione shook her head, "No, of course not. We wouldn't expect you to…just try to get him to talk things through. He might feel a little better. We all know how Harry gets, Ginny."

The rest of the day was spent with Ron and Hermione. They spent most of the day outside, until it was time for supper; the last decent meal Ginny would consume before she left to spend the rest of the summer at the Dursley's house. Much to Ginny's (as well as the rest of the Weasley's surprise), Percy showed up right after Arthur apparated back into the Burrow. If anyone had been paying attention, they would have seen not one, but two arrows on the enchanted clock rounding towards "home."

"Hello." Percy fidgeted awkwardly in the kitchen. Molly's eyes welled up with tears and she engulfed her estranged son in a bone crunching hug. Ron and the twins sat glaring at Percy, clearly not as forgiving as their parents were. Ginny didn't know how to react to this situation; she glanced at Hermione who looked just as shocked as the rest of the family.

"Hey Perce, what brings you home?" Ginny tried her best to sound indifferent. She knew there was no use in starting a fight with him, since she was soon leaving.

"Er…well, Dad told me about the prophecy, and how worried everyone was. I just…er—Look I'm sorry. To all of you. I've been such a prat, and I can't begin to explain how much regret I feel." His face turned red as he looked at each of them in turn.

Fred and George seemed to become less tense, but Ron, however didn't budge. Percy seemed to notice this too and pressed on, "Ron, I didn't mean anything I said about Harry. I was stupid; Fudge had us all believing--"

"Save it Perce, I don't want to hear it. Dad works for the ministry too, and you didn't see him doubting Harry." Ron excused himself from the dinner table and left the room. Hermione followed shortly after.

Ginny stood to do the same, but her mother, still silently crying, stopped her. "Hermione will take care of it Ginny, dear. You just enjoy your meal." She wanted to protest, but thought better of it; she would be leaving in less than an hour and her mother didn't need to be upset anymore today.

Ron eventually made his way back into the kitchen, due to Hermione's persuasion. The tension gradually evaporated from everyone else at the table, but Ron still seemed upset by the situation.

Before they knew it, it was seven, and Remus and Tonks arrived. "Ready to go Ginny?" Tonks asked.

Ginny nodded silently and then turned to each of her family members to say goodbye. She hugged all of them (including Percy); her mum was crying for the second time today and Ginny tried to think of comforting words to say but nothing came to her.

"Send our love to Harry, dear." Her mum said through her tears.

"Be careful mum, she might take that quite literally!" George grinned. Ginny smacked him playfully before she hugged both of the twins.

"Fred, George, isn't it time that both of you went home?" Her father stated with a tone of amusement. "We'll see you at Christmas, that is, if it's safe." He added to his only daughter, more seriously.

"Oi, Fred, they've got Percy back now, they don't need us anymore!" George said, elbowing his twin. They both ruffled Ginny's hair in turn, "We'll see you soon."

Ginny made it over to Ron and Hermione last; she hugged each of them and Hermione whispered, "Take care of Harry for us."

"Make sure you take care of Ron." Ginny replied to her friend.

She'd said goodbye to all of them, so now there was no more delaying. She turned to Remus and Tonks, "I'm ready." With one last look around the Burrow, Ginny took the portkey that Remus held out for her; he took hold of her trunk, and within seconds she felt the familiar jerk behind her navel, and the familiar room of the Burrow dissolved around her.