-1Chapter Three

I stood there in shock, taking in what my mum had just said.

"We noticed you were gone and thought you had been attacked too." she sobbed harder and Bill rushed forward to comfort her, crying silently himself.

I stumbled back, eyes wide. I felt dizzy and couldn't breathe. There was no way…not dad and Percy…and the town next to us?…No…not Ivy too! I backed away more.

"You're lying." I said, my back hitting the door.

"Ginny," Harry began, stepping forward.

"NO!" I yelled, running out the door and hopping on my broom.

I heard shouts behind me, and I flew faster. There was no way Ivy had been attacked. I had just left there nearly half an hour ago!

"Ginny!" I heard someone shout and I looked back. Harry, Fred, and George were flying behind me and catching up fast.

"Come back Gin!" Fred shouted, catching up and flying next to me. George appeared on my other side and Harry appeared in front of me.

"Get the hell away from me!" I screamed and did a nose dive down straight into the woods below.

I landed hard, but stood up fast and started running in the direction of the bookshop. I had cut my arms and legs bad on a tree branch, but it wasn't going to slow me down. I ran faster, getting dizzy from the lack of oxygen. I saw the clearing ahead, and with a burst of energy, made it through.

…The building lay in ruins in front of me. The Dark Mark was above it. There were sirens and cars everywhere. I saw a few policemen talking to some people I noticed in the club. No Ivy though. I walked over to a policeman and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me sir, but have you seen Ivy Stand?" I asked. "I am Gin Wesley, and I work here part-time and I took over singing for Willow Grounds tonight who is sick at home. I left here at ten-thirty when I was done."

I saw him write something down. "The explosion here was caused by a loose wire near the bar. It fell near some alcohol and it ignited the whole thing, causing the explosion." he explained. "I'm afraid the only people who made it out alive, were those three people who were leaving here at the time of the explosion." He pointed to the three people I saw talking to the cop.

The sentence hit me like the Hogwarts Express.

"Thank you for the information, sir." I managed to say. He nodded to me, and turned to another cop.

I ran into the woods, tears flowing freely. I couldn't believe it. My father, my brother, and my best friend! I lost them all! I tripped and went flying into the ground, my broom landing a few feet in front of me, my body shaking with sobs. I heard the rustle of leaves on the ground, then someone pulling me against them.

"Oh Ginny." It was Harry. I sobbed harder and he pulled me closer. He was the last person I wanted to comfort me, much less see me in this state!

I heard the rustle of leaves again. I looked and saw it was Fred and George. I jumped out of Harry's arms and ran over to Fred. I sobbed into his shoulder and he enveloped me in a hug. George came over and hugged me too, their heads resting atop mine. I felt something wet on my head and realized they were both crying. I stopped crying then, and slumped against Fred.

"I think she fainted." Fred said quietly. I felt George move away, so I slumped against Fred a little more. He scooped me up and I leaned against his chest.

"Harry, would you be able to hold her while flying?" I heard him ask. "That way me and George can fly back and with her broom and tell mum we found her."

"Sure, just let me get into the air." Harry replied. There was a pause, then a rustle of leaves. I opened my eye a little and saw him floating about four feet up.

Fred handed me over and Harry held me tightly to his chest. I could hear his heart beating. It was going quite fast.

"Fly as fast as you can without losing your grip on her mate." I heard George say, before they flew off.

Harry followed, fairly slowly. His heart beat went down, and it eased my mind a little. After a few moments, Harry spoke.

"You can stop faking now Gin." He said.

I froze and opened my eyes. Ours locked. His green eyes gave me a deeply concerned look. I broke his gaze, turning away.

"Why did you run Ginny?" he asked quietly.

"I don't want to talk about it." I said quietly.

"Did you know someone in that building?" he asked.

"I said I don't want to talk about it." I snapped, glaring at him. He gave me a hurt look as we landed. I jumped off the broom and ran into my house, slamming the door behind me.

"Ginevra! Where did you-" Mum began, but stopped when I walked right past her.

"Ginny, please talk to us!" Hermione pleaded. I ignored them too.

Bill and Charlie tried consoling me, but I shook them off and stormed up the stairs. I passed Ron who just stared as I slammed my door. I walked over to my dresser, opening the top drawer. I rummaged around until I found what I was looking for: a small dagger Charlie found in his travels for me. I rolled up my sleeves, looking at each tiny pink line fondly, until I found the cut from the tree, and added onto it. It stung, as usual, then felt satisfying.

"I knew I could always count on you to make me feel better." I said, smiling darkly at the blade while rolling up my other sleeve.