The Warning

Dark clouds loomed over London that night. Gusts of wind rattled windows, announcing their presence and streetlights seemed to dim under the shadow of the clouds. A low rumbling of lightning broke the silence of the quiet neighbourhood, as a single window lit up in one of the houses. An old, shabby man raised a dusty lantern and peered outside his window towards the Ansteds' house on the opposite side of the road. He could see the light of the main bedroom on, and a shadow bustling about. Presumably, it was Mrs. Ansted getting ready to go to bed. The wind howled against his window and he saw another light flickering on in the house. The one in the attic. And then he saw it.

"There's no doubt about it," he muttered to himself, with a crooked smile.

The kids were tucked into bed and the house was thankfully quiet. It had been a tiring day what with the paranormal researchers coming, the flower pot breaking and her trying to calm Clara down enough to sleep. All this had led to Agatha lagging behind in her household chores and now, stifling her yawn, she had to finish folding the laundry before going to bed.

A low rumbling of thunder clouds sounded from outside the window and a shiver ran down her spine as a gust of cold wind wafted past her. Drat, this London weather, she thought as she moved towards the window to shut it. A mist was creeping across the street below. Through it, she thought she saw a small light in one of the windows of old man Hickerson's run down house across the street. It flickered off as she tried to peer inside. What was he doing up so late? Thinking that it was none of her business, she turned back into her room.

She was arranging the folded clothes in the cupboard when she thought she heard footsteps scuttling about in the corridor. She paused for a few moments, trying to figure out whether she had just mistaken it for another sound. A few seconds of silence lapsed. It must have been her imagination. She turned back to head towards her bed, when the light in her room flickered off. She had slept in this room since years now, but never had it felt so cold and unfamiliar before. It was unnaturally dark. Heart beating heavily in her chest, she stood still for a few moments, waiting for her eyes to adjust in the sudden darkness. A slight moonlight streamed through the window which helped her see a little bit. The room had gone frostily cold and she could see a mist forming before her nose every time she breathed. She could feel it; a presence. Her heart banged frantically inside her chest.

"Mommy," Clara's voice whispered near her ear suddenly. She jumped.

"Clara?" Agatha said out loud as goosebumps erupted throughout her arms. Even though she instinctively knew it wasn't Clara, she inched towards the bedroom door. She could see a small figure standing in the shadows of the corridor.

"Clara, is that you?" She asked in a small voice, her heart thumping frantically against her chest as she slowly moved towards it.

The figure giggled in a strange, echoing voice and ran off. Agatha's hands were shaking as she reached the switch and tried to switch it on. It wouldn't work. She peered outside her door in the corridor. It was as unnaturally dark as her bedroom. She saw the small figure standing outside her daughter's bedroom as soon as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She could feel it grinning at her.

"Who are you?" She asked in a trembling voice.

The bedroom door slowly opened on its own. Agatha stood frozen for a moment and so did the figure. And in an instant, it darted inside Clara's bedroom and the door banged shut!

"Clara!" screamed Agatha and ran towards her daughter's room, mothers' instinct kicked in.

She pushed the door open and saw her daughter sleeping peacefully in her bed. Her chest heaved with long breaths. She looked around and there was no one else in the room.

Then the closet rattled.

"Agatha…" she heard a hoarse whisper coming from inside it.

Angered by the terror it was causing to her family, she finally decided to stand up against the force.

"What do you want?!" she said in a loud voice. Clara stirred in her sleep.

"Agatha-aa…" it almost moaned.

"What the hell do you WANT?!" she shouted and pulled open the closet door.

She saw a figure of a lady in black, her face oddly twisted in a permanent scream, before she blacked out.

Marty woke up with a start due to a scream in his sister's bedroom.

Ginny sat under the tree which was in front of the black lake. Stormy clouds had lined up the sky and it had started drizzling but it made no difference to her. She just sat there, tears streaming down her face, skipping pebbles on the surface of the water.

She had thought that a good night's sleep would make her feel better, but she was wrong. It made her feel worse if anything. She had woken up quite early because of a nightmare. The first thing that she had done was seek out Harry. He was asleep in his dorm, along with Ron and Hermione. He lay sprawled on his four poster in his robes, just as they were the night before, undoubtedly exhausted. She looked longingly at his peaceful face. The war had worn him out, and her brother, and Hermione. What exactly the three had been through over the year, nobody would know. Whatever it was, it had brought them closer than ever. She gave a small smile as she looked over at Ron and Hermione serenely asleep in each other's arms. Well, at least one good thing came out of the war.

Just as she was contemplating snuggling on the bed next to Harry, she heard footsteps outside. A streak of red hair and a bandaged ear going out of the portrait hole told her it was George. She knew he was the most devastated of all, and hoping against hope that he wasn't planning on doing anything stupid, she rushed out after him. He moved pretty quickly for someone who was depressed, or maybe it was because he was much taller than she was, but he was nowhere to be seen along the corridor. She ran downstairs towards the Great Hall, and saw him moving quickly outside into the grounds. She sprinted after him, pushing open the great oak doors, with her wand, that had closed behind him.

Dark clouds looming overhead, she spotted him walking towards the forbidden forest. She called out to him, but the wind was so strong, he couldn't hear her. She jogged ahead and screamed out his name. This time he heard and spun around.

"Ginny! What are you doing here?" George shouted as she managed to catch up to him.

She looked up at him, trying to catch her breath. He looked like a mess. His hair was untidy, a stubble lined his jaw, his lips were pale and cracked and his brown eyes, so much like her own, were red and swollen. He clearly hadn't slept all night.

"George, where are you going?" she finally panted.

"Doesn't matter, Ginny. You shouldn't be here at this time,"

"Why? Because I am your baby sister?" her very own lack of sleep was catching up. She felt irritable. She hadn't jogged all the way behind him just to be told off.

"No, Gin, because everyone would be miserable if we lost you as well!" he seemed to spit this out.

"That's ridiculous! George, listen, you can't be off on your own all the time, OK? We are all here. You need to be around people…"

"I don't want to be around people at the moment, OK?! I am tired of hearing…" he seemed to be trying to urge himself not to shout anymore.

"Listen, Ginny. I want to be alone for a while, alright? Don't worry about me. I am just going to take a stroll in the forest. We – I have been in there loads of times. We – I know my way in and out over there, OK? Just leave me alone for a while. And go back to the castle. It's still not safe out here," he told her and trudged off towards the forest again.

Prat. He thinks he is the only one affected by Fred's death. And why does he have the perfect liberty to take a stroll in the forbidden forest of all places and she wasn't even allowed to be out on the grounds? She turned back to look at the now ruined castle. All the thoughts of being mollycoddled by her mother came to her and she thought she could do with some fresh air. So she trudged towards the black lake and settled herself down under one of the trees when thunder rolled and it started drizzling.

They had all been through so much over the past year, she thought, as she picked up nearby stones and started skipping them on the water in front of her. It had been emotionally shattering. She had so wanted to be a big part of the war against Tom. All year long she had stood up against the Death Eaters swarming Hogwarts and done all she could to protect the younger students and rebelling against scum. But even after all of that, all everybody thought was how young she was and how she should be protected. What they didn't understand was age is just a number. What the Hogwarts students had gone through the past year had made them all mature beyond their ages. What did the family know? What did the trio know?

Uncharacteristic tears spilled down her eyes as she thought about Harry and a strange bitterness filled her heart. She did admire him of course, for all that he had done for the wizarding world, and she wouldn't have expected anything less from him, but he always seemed to think it was all about himself. He always thought that all this was his fault and this was a war he had to fight on his own. The prat. It was enough that her parents and brothers pestered her about being safe all the time without having Harry to keep himself away from her for her own 'safety'. She hadn't said anything before because she was overwhelmed that he cared about her so much that he would want to distance his 'best source of comfort', but now it all seemed silly. Throughout the year, she had been anything but safe at Hogwarts. If only he had let her come with them to do whatever they were doing. After all, she was the only one who knew how it was to be possessed by Riddle. But no, it was always Ron and Hermione that he needed by his side. And they were just a year older to her. Them, he needed to fight a war; she, he needed to come back to from it.

Another tear streamed down her face and got mixed with the rain that was pattering down quite hard now.

"Ginny?" called out a familiar masculine voice from the grounds. She peered out to see a dark, tall shadowy figure coming towards her. She instinctively clutched her wand, but it was Dean. He was completely drenched as he finally reached the tree near the black lake.

"Ginny, what are you doing here at this hour? And in this weather?" he looked at her, perplexed, shielding his face from the rain with his hand. "Wait, are you crying?"

She quickly wiped away her tears.

"No, it's just… The rain went in my eyes… What are you doing here?"

"I thought it was you when I looked out of the castle. Came to see what was wrong," he gave her an apologetic look as he casted the impervious spell and they started walking together towards the castle. He knew she didn't like him being too 'gentlemanly', and a rush of affection ran through her towards her ex-boyfriend.

"It was nothing. I couldn't sleep well because of everything that has been happening… And I thought I'd take a stroll near the lake just to- to clear my mind," she shrugged.

"And you thought the rain would wash all your worries away?" He said in a falsely dramatic voice and grinned down at her. She gave him a look.

"I understand…" he sighed. "This year has been tough for everyone. But now it's over… And hopefully we won't have to face this kind of a thing for a long time."

"Hopefully we won't," they shared a smile.

"Anyway, it's nearly time for breakfast," he said. "If we run the rest of the way then maybe we can have some time to dry off before acidity kicks in!"

Ginny giggled and Dean started to jog ahead.

"Well, let's see who reaches first, shorty!" he shouted mischievously back at her and started to sprint.

Ginny sprinted after him as well, shouting, "Hey! That's not fair! You're taller AND you've had a head start!"

They laughed and clutched at their sides as they reached the entrance hall, Dean obviously before her. The sudden sprint and competition seemed to refresh Ginny and she playfully punched Dean as she skidded to a halt behind him.

"You cheater!" she laughed.

"Hey, that was the only way I could get you to chase after me!" he grinned, raising his hands in submission.

She laughed again as they dried themselves and reached the ruined great hall where a few people were sitting on whatever was left of the tables and getting served by house-elves. Her mum and dad and Percy were already there sitting at what was left of the Gryffindor table, probably out of habit, with some sandwiches and pumpkin juice in front of them. Her mum waved out to her as soon as she spotted her. Ginny gave her a nod looked over at Dean. He was waving towards Luna and Neville who were sitting at the Hufflepuff table.

"Ginny, I've got to get going. Luna has a pumpkin pasty…"

"Dean?" Ginny stopped him before he went. He looked at her quizzically.

"Thanks for coming for me," she said emotionally. He continued to look at her, confused, but then it struck him and he pulled her into a bear hug.

"It's ok. Though I was a bit scared at first that you would hex me for invading your privacy," he grinning. Ginny giggled guiltily against his shoulder.

"You're a great guy, Dean," she smiled up at him. "I hope you… Never mind, bye…" she ended softly.

He looked at her for a moment, then said bye and moved off towards the Hufflepuff table. Ginny turned towards her family, but a streak of black hair and a woodsy smell told her that Harry had just walked past her.

CRACK!

A particularly loud sound of lightning half woke her up. Oh no, it was that dream again. After so many years… She had to finish it…

Harry had avoided talking to her all day. All he had done was give her a small smile and made small talk during breakfast when she sat next to him and then disappeared to join the people who were repairing the castle. All day, she was stuck being around her family, as Molly seemed to want all her children right under her nose. Even Ron and Hermione (who were not bickering for a change) pretended to have no idea where he had gone. Hermione, the all-knowing one, had shrugged it off by saying that he must probably be with Kingsley. Then the funerals had happened and it was all emotionally draining as they all remembered their loved ones who had gone. Harry stood right at the front with Kingsley and the other ministry officials, taking an oath in his speech that he would change the wizarding world for good and everyone had clapped and her mum had practically howled with 'tears of pride', but all Ginny felt towards Harry was annoyance.

At long last, after having stalked him all day (he always seemed to be with someone or the other), she finally cornered him outside the portrait hole after it was so late at night that everyone had fallen asleep.

What happened after that drove the Fat Lady and the other portraits mad due to the shouting and Ginny had to urge herself not to hex the wizard who had just defeated Voldemort with one freaking spell. Like the perfect little clueless prat that he was, he had commented about how happy Ginny seemed with Dean and that she deserved someone 'better' than he, himself. And when she had refused to accept that she wanted anyone else and that she had put up with all his overprotective nonsense just because she loved him, he told her that all he wanted was her to be safe from harm. That was when she had lost it. She told him that he didn't understand that for her being with him was more important than being 'safe' and her temper flared even more when he looked away from her and she shouted that she had abided by every idiotic plan of his to keep her safe and away from him just to be at his side when he came back. But what did he do? He completely ignored her. Not to mention that he had never confided anything to her but he also spent time with to everyone else apart from her on the day he killed Riddle. And then he slept off and when he did wake up, he ignored her the entire day. What kind of a couple were they if they couldn't be together at their darkest times? Didn't he think that she was equal to him? And if she was going to be mollycoddled by him this way all her life then yes, she was better off with someone else!

He had not looked back at her. He had just left. He had left the castle. He had left her life. He had joined the Ministry as an Auror and busied himself so much that he did not even have time to visit the Burrow when she was around. She herself had shifted to a small apartment in London after graduation which made the ministry more accessible to her. He never wrote a single letter. He never looked at her even when he passed her in the Ministry corridor. It was not like Ginny hadn't tried. She did write to him. She did try barging in on him in his cubicle, but in vain. That was when she gave up. She couldn't waste precious time of her youth chasing an idiotic prat who thought only he was right. She had better things to do…

Tap! Tap!

Like date other handsome men with dark hair.

Tap! Tap!

Flush Harry's face down a toilet.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Lock Harry up in a glass cage.

Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!

Look at him trying to tap himself out. He, he, he!

CRACK!

TAP! TAP! TAP!

Ginny woke up with a start. Something was tapping at her window! Hastily pulling her robes on, she moved towards her bedroom window in her small London apartment and pulled back the curtains in a swish.

It was a grey eagle owl, shivering in the cold of the night, perched on her window sill and tapping away at the glass.

"Wait a minute," she said, opening the window with her wand. The bird immediately flew in and settled next to the fireplace. Her own Burrowing owl, Flydel was unimpressed and gave an angry hoot at the intruder.

"There, there, Fly, this one's had a cold flight. Here you go," she tossed the eagle owl a tidbit, which he caught in mid-air and gobbled up instantly.

"Hey, you're good!" she said, kneeling down next to him. "Now let's see who that idiot is who wants to disturb me in the middle of the night."

She untied the letter from his leg and he flew away instantly back into the cold of the night. Suddenly feeling a bit unsettled, she moved closer to the fire in order to read better. The paper was damp from the humidity outside and it was much thinner than a parchment. Something only a muggle would use. There were only two words written on it, made from newspaper cuttings:

'STAY AWAY'

At that same moment, the fire place roared with green flames and Martha's face bobbed up in the green fire.

"Ginny, there has been a telephone call from the Ansted's place to Worthington right now. It was the boy. He said his mother has been attacked. I want you and Potter –"

"Wait, Martha, look at this," she showed her the warning.

"What? When did this come?" she shouted.

"Just now. From a grey eagle owl."

"Where is that bird?"

"He flew away just as I untied this."

"Aargh! I am coming over. And calling Potter as well," she said irritably and went off.