Note: This chapter is altered in a few ways more than just dialogue. See notes after chapter.
Chapter 9: A Secret No More
Ginny had somehow made it outside after Mum's lecture by herself. The sun was now setting as she walked back. Ginny's time for joy at getting the diary was unfortunately brief.
Ginny had already more or less decided how she was going to tell her secret before she got the diary. As she approached the house though, she decided to head to her room to outline everything in her mind again. Before she got there, she had to confront Harry and Ron. She quickly walked to her room as they spoke.
Ron asked, "Why did you invite Hermione over?"
Harry asked, "Did the event happen?"
"I'll explain everything Saturday, maybe even a little Friday, but no questions until then."
"Why does she need to be so darn secretive?" said Ron to Harry as Ginny closed her door and blocked out their voices. After going over everything in her mind, she picked a quill and wrote a letter.
For the last year, Ginny hadn't wanted anyone suspecting that there was anything odd about her, but now was time to reverse that. She was going to be revealing a lot of shocking things over the next week, and she didn't want it to completely blindside everyone. If they suspected something weird was going on, maybe they'd be a little more accepting of and prepared for her story.
Ginny had already got Fred and George's attention. She'd start working on her parents after this. Now it was time to work on the last member of the household.
Ginny had never consciously decided to tell Percy anything, but given that she had committed herself to telling every other member of the household, she couldn't very well leave Percy out.
Ginny went to Percy's room and knocked.
He said, "I'm busy."
"I really need to talk to you Percy."
She heard him sigh. He probably won't have gotten up for Fred, George, or Ron, but he was a little closer with his youngest sibling.
As soon as he opened the door, Ginny slid in over his protest. She saw covered parchment on his desk, probably letters to Penelope. She saw Hermes was in his cage. Good, she thought.
"Percy. It's really important. I need to use Hermes."
"You can't. I need him. Use Errol."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "I need to send a message to Dumbledore."
"To Dumbledore," said Percy taking a step closer to Ginny. "Why?"
"I can't say. It's a secret." A secret? She sounded a little too much like an 11-year-old there for her own liking. She added, "I'll tell everyone Saturday, but until then please don't say anything."
At first, Percy looked concerned. Then he looked like he was feeling important. "Ginny, it's probably nothing, but if you're in trouble, we need to tell Mum and Dad."
"I'm not in trouble."
"Ginny, obviously something is going on. Tell me or I'm going to have to tell Mum and Dad this now." He didn't turn away from her, but he did take a step back toward the door.
"Goodness Percy," said Ginny throwing up her hands. "You know, if you stopped assuming you always knew everything, Fred and George would have a lot less to tease you about."
"Don't change the subject."
"OK. Fine. As long as we're talking about telling secrets, should I mention to Fred and George that you are writing to Penelope Clearwater."
Percy's mouth dropped as far as this Ginny ever remembered seeing it go and his cheeks turned red. Then he became angry.
"You've been reading my mail."
Ginny shook her head. This wasn't going well. "No. I haven't read a line."
"I don't believe you."
"Look. I'm not going to…"
"Just use him!"
Ginny forced herself to remain calm. "No matter what you what you do, even if you tell Mum and Dad what I just said, I won't tell anyone about Penelope. It's not my business to."
Percy looked at her strangely. "Then why did you say…"
"I just wanted you to know that sometimes it's better to keep secrets. I know you were going to tell Mum and Dad what I just said because you cared about me. I also know you were going to tell them because you were prepared to jump to the conclusion that gave you the most power."
Percy's anger seemed to have dissolved. "I…"
"Can I still use him?"
He sighed, apparently not sure how to feel. "Yeah."
Ginny attached her letter and sent Hermes flying.
She turned back to her brother and gave him a hug. "You'll understand on Saturday."
Arthur Weasley was in the shed looking through some of his muggle contraptions when he heard Ginny come up behind him.
"Hello Ginny. How are you doing?"
One look at her revealed to him something was on her mind. He put the CV (or was it CD) down and gave her his full attention.
In a tone that Arthur thought contained some guilt, Ginny said, "Dad, I have a secret."
Arthur took a seat and offered one to Ginny next to him. "What is it?"
"I can't tell you until Saturday. I just wanted you to know now and be ready."
"Be ready? Be ready for what?"
"I can't tell you yet. I need to wait until Saturday."
"Honey…"
"I wanted to ask you another question too. I wanted to ask you about the governments."
Was that a change of subject or was Ginny actually worried about getting in trouble for some reason? In a cautious tone he said, "What did you want to ask?"
"Well, I know in America they have a written Constitution that they are supposed to always follow. We don't have a written one here. Is that that better?"
The complexity of the question startled Arthur. Still, he was the father of Fred and George, and he did recognize a diversion when he heard one. "Well I have to admit, that's never a question I expected to hear out my just turned 11-year-old daughter, but I guess I do have a pretty smart one." Arthur put his arm around Ginny. "Why don't you tell me what is bothering you first though. Then I'll answer anything you want."
"Dad, I know you worry, but I really do need to wait until Saturday. I promise it will make sense then." Ginny slid out from under his arm. "What about the constitutions? Which is better?"
Arthur considered this for a second. It had never been in his nature to push. He sighed. "It really depends; there are advantages and disadvantages of both systems."
Molly was listening to the radio alone when Ginny walked into the room. "Hello Ginny."
"Hi Mum. I have a question."
"What is it dear?"
Slowly Ginny said, "Mum, if you saw a Boggart what would it be?"
Molly looked at Ginny. Something in her daughter's voice told her this was more than a passing question. She turned the radio off. "Well, those things change over time. Is there something frightening you?"
"Would it be us? Do you worry about something happening to us?"
Molly stared at her. She hadn't thought about how a Boggart would appear now, but of course that was her worst fear. Wasn't it every mother's? What had brought this question though? "Are you worried that something is going to happen to us?" Then a worse thought occurred to Molly. "Ginny, did you see a Boggart?"
Ginny voice remained relatively calm. "Oh no. I just wanted to know what it would be for you. I was guessing that, and I wanted to see if I was right."
That was amazingly insightful, almost too much so. "I suppose maybe it would be now, if that's possible for Boggarts anyway. It wasn't last time I saw one, but yes, that would be my true worst fear." Molly studied Ginny's face again. There was a nervousness there and something she was trying to get out. "Is anything wrong?"
"Nothing. Well, nothing to do with a Boggart anyway. I just thought that was what you would see."
"That's very perceptive. Is there anything you want to talk about?"
Ginny swallowed and Molly could tell this was the real reason Ginny was here. "There is something, but I can't tell you till Saturday. I promise I'll tell then though."
"If there is something wrong, it doesn't help to hold it in. It would be better if you told me now."
"I can't, not yet. You'll understand Saturday."
"Ginny, I promise not to yell, but you need to tell me."
"You wouldn't believe me now. I promise it will make more sense on Saturday."
"Ginny, I'll believe you."
"Saturday. I promise."
Before Molly could say anything else, Ginny sprinted out of the room. Molly was more than a little confused. Maybe she should let Ginny wait until Saturday if she was that determined to. She had the sense though that Ginny was fretting over whatever this was, and Molly knew putting off things usually only made them worse. She went to talk to Arthur.
Finally Friday arrived. Hermes arrived with a letter from Dumbledore that Ginny fortunately managed to keep out of sight of everyone else, although she didn't need to have bothered. Dumbledore was very covert in his reply. After reading it, Ginny nodded her head. Good.
She ran through the list of people she was about to inform. Harry, Ron, and Hermione already basically knew what was going on. They just didn't know most of the details. Fred and George would be easy enough to convince. She wasn't sure about Percy one-way or the other.
Ginny thought she had made some inroads with her parents the last couple of days, but this was still going to be one big shock for them. They hadn't asked her what her secret was (for which Ginny credited Dad's influence). They had spent extra time around her though.
Ginny was feeling nervous again. Actually, she thought she might be more nervous about this weekend than she had been about the diary. The days since Wednesday had seemed to just drag on and on.
Hermione arrived soaking wet with Dad at about 6:30. Her parents had driven her to a secluded spot and Dad had flown her to the Burrow from there. Unfortunately, it had started pouring during that time.
By the time Hermione was dried off, they had dinner, and dinner was cleaned up, it was getting late.
Knowing that the three would want answers, Ginny had planned on going outside and talk to the trio, but it was still drizzling and almost dark. Ginny thought about going out anyway, but decided Mum would never allow it.
The four headed towards Ron's room. Ginny knew the trio was expecting her to talk about the future. She really would just rather wait for morning though.
"So are we finally going to hear about the details?" asked Hermione excitedly.
Before Ginny could answer, Mum knocked at the door. Ron went to answer. "I know you just got up here, but your father brought some homemade butterbear kits for you kids, could you come down?"
"We'll be right down," said Ron, a bit disappointingly. Mum left not noticing.
Ginny looked at them all. "Listen, I know I owe you three an explanation of everything more than anyone else, but I plan on telling everyone tomorrow. Would you mind waiting until then. I'm not sure we'll get enough privacy now, not without being interrupted anyway, and I really don't want to go through this story twice."
They all reluctantly agreed.
"Fred. You've got to look at this one."
Fred put down the prank book he had been reading and turned to the much larger book that George was holding. "No way."
"But it makes sense. That would explain how she knows so much."
"But…really?"
They just stared at each other for a minute.
Most the rest of the night, the four played Exploding Snap and Wizard Chess downstairs. Eventually, Fred and George came down and seemed to be eyeing them suspiciously. As soon as Mum and Dad went to bed, Fred and George headed toward the four.
"Does Hermione know your secret too?" asked Fred.
Hermione looked at Ginny. Not finding much help in that direction, she uncomfortably said, "What secret?"
"Oh she knows," said George.
Fred said, "At least as much as Harry and Ron."
"She's not a very good liar."
Accusingly, Hermione said, "You told them?"
"No. I needed them for something and had to give them a very little hint to get them to help."
Hermione did not look convinced.
Proudly, George said, "Oh, it was the greatest prank ever."
"Yeah, I mean getting us to go through a 3215 page book in small print looking for a needle in a haystack."
Harry laughed. Ron laughed so hard he knocked over the chessboard he and Harry had been using and screaming pieces fell all over the place. Finally, Hermione joined in a little.
Ron said, "I can't believe you actually got those two to study. I would have lost that bet."
Fred said, "But she was such a mystery."
"But not anymore," added George proudly.
"Why not?" said Ginny with some concern.
"It starts on page 2357."
Ginny put her hand to head and rubbed her eyes. Couldn't they have just waited another day? "They know."
"So it's true," said George. "Time travel."
"In a manner of speaking," said Ginny. "I still can't believe you read through that book."
"Oh, we're way behind on our summer pranks, but let's not change the subject."
As serious as she had ever heard him, Fred asked, "Why did you try it? That looks really dangerous. Was it just for fun or does something happen you want to change?"
Ginny looked at the twins and shook her head. "I'll explain everything tomorrow. I'm not going through it until then." She looked around the room. "Maybe we should go to bed."
Fred and George pestered Ginny for another hour, but eventually agreed to wait another day. After that, no one slept much. Ginny knew it had been past 4 in the morning before she had fallen asleep and Hermione had been awake nearly as long.
The next morning, they awoken late with Percy telling them breakfast was ready.
Ginny got ready slowly. When she came down, she must have had dark circles under her eyes.
Oblivious, Percy asked, "Sleep well?"
"Alright," Ginny lied. Mum barely took her eyes off Ginny as she ate. She ate slowly. She really couldn't stomach much. After it was finished, Mum gave the twins clean up duty and called Ginny into another room. Dad was there too.
Wasting no time, Mum said, "Ginny, is there something you wanted to talk to us about?"
Ginny looked at the time on the magical clock on the wall. It shouted, "It's 11:03."
It was still a little too early. "At 11:55. I'll meet you in the living room at 11:55. It's not quite time."
Ginny walked out quickly and fortunately wasn't stopped.
Arthur said, "Well, if she is worried about a specific time, I don't think this is anything too serious. Maybe just some surprise she has for us."
Molly said, "I guess you're right. Maybe we read a little too much into this."
The four were in Ron's room. Harry and Ron were sitting on the bed. Hermione was in a chair and Ginny had her back against the wall sitting on the floor.
Hermione said, "This is exciting. We finally get to learn the details."
"It's not like you don't already know most of the important stuff," said Ginny trying to control her temper. She was feeling panic and not at all sure she could go through with this.
A whole year, she had waited a whole year.
Hermione said, "I know this is hard, but we are here with you."
Ginny nodded, not even able to say thank you.
Hermione looked at Ginny another minute and then finally went over to the bed and sat next to Harry. She whispered something in his ear.
"Hold her hand? Why?" he said.
Hermione said, "Just do it."
Ginny looked up. That girl was sure perceptive. How had it taken her the better part of 7 years to actually get together with Ron? Ginny said, "Don't worry about it Harry. It's almost time."
Another 5 minutes passed in silence. Finally Ginny said, "Hermione, could you get Percy and bring him downstairs? Harry could you get the twins?"
Ginny and Ron walked downstairs.
Mum and Dad were sitting on the couch, the radio on.
Mum looked up. Unconvincingly she said, "Oh. Is it time? Ron would you mind giving us a few minutes alone with Ginny?"
Ron looked to Ginny. She spoke. "It's OK Mum. I need to tell the whole family this." Ginny and Ron sat down and were followed shortly after by Harry, Fred, and George and then by Hermione and a surprisingly compliant Percy.
Mum clearly did not like the crowd, but didn't protest. She said, "What is it? What do you want to tell us Ginny?"
"There is something really important that I need to talk to everyone about today. I want to wait until everyone is here though. Professor Dumbledore will be here in about 4 minutes."
That turned Mum's concern up by about 1000 notches. "Dumbledore? Ginny, what is it going on? Surely Dumbledore isn't coming here?"
"Please, just wait Mum."
Dumbledore arrived precisely at noon, just when Ginny had asked him to, although she wished he'd been early. The 4-minute wait was a long one. Mum tried more times than Ginny could count to get her to say something, but she refused each time. Everyone else sat in silence, with most staring at her.
When everyone heard a pop outside, Mum quickly went to the door, followed by Dad. "Professor Dumbledore. It's a pleasure to see you. Come in. Come in. Would you like some tea?"
Dumbledore stepped in, but seeing the increasingly frantic look on Molly's face declined tea. "Thank you Molly, but I am fine."
Dad spoke next. "Pardon me Professor Dumbledore, you don't happen to know what this is all about, do you?"
"I only have a very limited amount of knowledge. I believe, however, that Ginny has a most interesting story to tell all of us, and given everyone's worried expressions, I believe it would be best for her to begin."
Dumbledore found an open spot to sit and Mum and Dad sat back down too.
Everyone was looking at her. Ginny stood up; she couldn't sit and tell this story. She swallowed and then began.
"I've been thinking about how to tell this story for quite a while, and I am still not sure I've figured out the best way." She paused a moment. She felt very much like an 11-year-old. She tried to summon her older self's determination. She guessed she received it, but this wouldn't have been easy at any age. "This is all kind of complex, and I think answering a million questions when I'm explaining would just make it even more confusing. So if you guys don't mind, I want to finish explaining everything before answering any questions."
No one said anything. Harry and Ron nodded encouragingly. Hermione had taken out some parchment and a quill.
"OK then. Last year, about a week before school started, Ron passed out outside."
Hermione nodded, as if confirming a theory she had. "He came inside and seemed disoriented for a while."
"What does this…" began Percy, but Ron and the twins shushed him.
"He wasn't the only one who passed out that day though. Both me and I assume Hermione," Hermione nodded, "did as well."
"But you didn't…" began her mother.
"Mum, I'm sorry, but please let me finish." This was so hard. She needed to just get into a rhythm to make it tolerable. Mum still looked very distraught, worried, and since she hadn't known about Ginny passing out, guilty now too. That thought just made Ginny feel worse.
"All three of us received something that day. We received memories."
Percy asked, "What memories? Whose memories?"
"Ours," said Ginny. "We sent them to ourselves. They were from the future…or at least what would have been the future."
Mum, Dad, and Percy looked from Ginny to Dumbledore. He nodded his head a little, seeming to confirm her story. Questions started to emerge again from Mum and Percy, but after looking at Ginny they cut themselves off.
"The memories reacted somewhat differently with me than Ron and Hermione. Ron and Hermione's minds buried them deep. They couldn't actually remember anything, at least last summer they couldn't. They started working on memory charms because of advice from the Sorting Hat, but they still don't remember much. I was different though. I remembered everything. I don't know why."
Mum looked torn between disbelief and hurt. "Why didn't you tell us?"
Ginny tried to fight the tears, but she could feel them coming anyway. Now she had to explain why she had lied, why she lied for a year. "The memories arrived too early. There was one event; one event that the future Ron, Hermione, and me thought had to happen. It wasn't going to happen for almost a year though, not until this summer."
Tears were rolling down Ginny's cheeks now. She couldn't help it, maybe at 22 she could, but she couldn't now. She was just making excuses wasn't she? "I should have told you anyway, but I knew we already had so much to do, and if I changed anything, it might have messed everything up." Ginny looked down, she couldn't face her parents. "I'm sorry."
"Oh. Ginny." Mum rushed up and hugged Ginny. As much as Ginny had promised herself that she was going to be strong and just make it through this story, she buried herself it her mother's arms and sobbed.
Dumbledore stood up. "I believe I will make myself some tea afterwards." He went into the kitchen. The rest of the room, outside of Molly, Arthur, and Ginny, followed.
Ginny wasn't sure how long she cried on her mother's shoulder. When she could finally pull herself away a little and look in her mother face, she didn't see any anger. She looked at her father. She didn't see any there either.
Mum said, "This is all true, isn't it?"
Ginny nodded.
Dad said, "Don't worry. It will be OK."
Ginny hugged him tight. "Thank you, I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Another tear or two fell, but she held most of them in.
"It's OK. It's OK."
Ginny didn't want to let go. She just wanted to stay here hugging her dad. Eventually he spoke though. "Do you think you can tell us the rest now or do you want to wait?"
Ginny took a deep breath. She had to tell the story and waiting any longer wasn't going to do any good. Ginny felt her resolve returning. "I want tell it now." She called to the kitchen before her parents could say anything. "You can come back in."
They all trodded back in. Dumbledore brought a glass of water for Ginny. She was embarrassed, still had almost the entire story to tell, and had just cried more than she ever remembered doing in her entire life, but surprisingly she felt much better. Just knowing that her parents weren't about to disown her, as illogical as that fear was, and knowing that they were trying to support her was enough to give her back all her resolve.
"I'm sorry everyone. I've just had that bottled up inside for so long." Everyone started assuring her that it was alright.
"OK," said Ginny. "Then on to the memories. For most of you, this last year wasn't much different than my future self's memory of it."
Ginny told them of the trio's first year, a story they pretty much already knew.
"This year was different though," said Percy. "Hermione got hurt in the chess game, not Ron."
"Yes," answered Ginny, "but I'll talk about that later."
She continued, "Over the following summer… this summer, Harry wasn't getting his letters. Dobby, Lucius Malfoy's house-elf, knew Malfoy was plotting something against Harry and tried to keep him from coming back to school by making him feel he didn't have any friends. He also directly warned Harry. Fred, George, and Ron broke Harry out in the other timeline too."
Dad quietly commented, "A house-elf directly interfered against his master's wishes."
"When we went to Diagon Alley, Dad and Mr. Malfoy got in a fight. Mr. Malfoy had picked up my Transfiguration book then too."
From the look on Dad's face, Ginny could tell he just realized that he had been set up. Angry at Malfoy, angry at himself, Dad spoke mostly to himself. "He put something in there. He used my anger. He was using you to get to me."
"It's OK Dad. It all worked out. What he put in there was a weapon though. It was a diary."
Everyone looked confused even Dumbledore, although Ginny guessed he'd put it all together pretty quickly. "It was the diary of Tom Riddle, better known as Voldemort."
Everyone remained silent, but Ginny could feel the effort that took them. "I found it when I got to school. There was nothing written in it except Tom's name. I was lonely, so I stupidly wrote in it." Ginny didn't look at anyone's faces. She felt guilty enough for what she had actually done in this timeline, she wasn't going to feel bad for what the other Ginny had done differently, at least not too guilty, even if the memories were all too real.
"She…Sorry, if I switch between I and she, the other Ginny both feels like me and another person. Anyway, she wrote in it and Tom answered back very supportive and understanding. I started having blackouts and when they occurred, terrible things happened. People all over the school were becoming paralyzed. At the end of the year, the diary took me over entirely and brought me down to the Chamber of Secrets."
Ginny waited through the expected surprise comments and then continued.
"Hermione had been paralyzed herself, but Harry and Ron had figured out the last couple of clues and followed me down. Ron was blocked behind some rubble though. Harry came in and with Fawkes, the Sorting Hat, and the Sword of Gryffindor defeated the basilisk that Tom had been controlling through me. He then destroyed the diary with basilisk venom."
"A basilisk!" shouted Fred. "Harry defeated it!" There was excited talk from others too.
Ginny looked at Harry. He didn't want any more attention. There was so much more credit to give him, but for his sake, she'd try to downplay the rest if she could.
Percy started, "Was the diary the rea.."
Dumbledore cut him off. "Let's continue with the story shall we."
Ginny explained who Sirius Black was to Harry (and to a lesser degree, her siblings). She then explained that he had been framed and was in fact innocent.
"But who framed him?" asked Harry. "Wait. I'm sorry. I'll ask later."
"No need," said Ginny. "I can't go on without explaining that anyway. At the last minute, Sirius had Peter Pettigrew become Secret Keeper. He thought your parents would be safer that way."
George said, "That's why he killed Peter?"
"I already said he didn't kill him. Peter faked his own death, cut off his own finger. Then he transformed and escaped. He was an animagi. He could turn into a rat."
"No," said Ron. "It wasn't…?"
"In the other timeline, Peter or Wormtail lived 12 years with us. We called him Scabbers."
She gave them a moment for that to sink in. Ron asked, "Did he go missing in the other timeline?"
"Not until the end of your 3rd year, when he was discovered. Your 1st year was different this time around though. He probably heard you and Hermione talking about future memories, got scared, and ran off."
Ron said, "We should have been more careful."
Ginny said, "You were careful, extremely careful; otherwise, I would have realized you remembered sooner. There was certainly no reason for you to suspect your pet rat, especially with people like Snape running around."
Percy said, "She's right Ron. I had Scabbers a lot longer than you, and I never suspected a thing."
Ginny told them about the Tri-Wizard tournament and how Barty Crouch Jr. had impersonated Mad Eye. She told them he entered Harry's name and got it chosen as a fourth contestant. She told them about how the trophy was actually a portkey.
"Harry and Cedric arrived in a graveyard close to Tom Riddle Senior's house. Cedric was killed almost immediately. Wormtail used Voldemort's father's bones, a little of Harry's blood, and Wormtail's severed hand to get a new body."
Everyone went silent. Ginny took a drink of water.
"He was back. Much of the protection Harry had from him was also gone. Voldemort decided to duel Harry. There was something he didn't know though. Both wands shared a common base, a feather of Fawkes. When two spells hit each other, their wands connected." Ginny didn't see any reason to go into any more detail on that. "That gave Harry a chance to escape with Cedric's body."
Ginny regretted now that she hadn't told this to Harry first. As hard as it would have been to go through this story twice in a day, she hated how he was learning this at the same time as everyone else. He wasn't prepared for all of this, and looked as uncomfortable as she did.
"Once back, it was figured out that Mad Eye was an imposter; the real Mad Eye had been shut up in a trunk for the whole year. Unfortunately, Fudge had the Dementors kiss him. Fudge didn't believe a word about Voldemort's return from either Dumbledore or Harry."
"But…" started the twins, but Ginny held a hand up.
Ginny told them about the restarting of the Order of the Phoenix, of Fudges moves to discredit Harry and Dumbledore, of Voldemort not directly revealing himself. She told them about how Voldemort was trying to get a prophecy hidden at the Department of Mysteries. She told them about Dolores Umbridge (whom Dad already seemed to dislike) and the laws that quickly increased her power. She told them of the start of the DA, but gave equal credit to Harry, Ron, and Hermione for it.
"At Christmastime, Dad," Ginny looked at him, "you were guarding the prophesies for the Order, and you were attached by Voldemort's snake, Nagini. You would have died, but Harry saw what happened in a dream and told Dumbledore, who got medical attention to you in time."
"Is Harry a seer?" asked Fred.
"No," said Ginny. "But Harry's scar connects him with Voldemort in a few small ways. Harry could feel powerful emotions that Voldemort felt and sometimes, especially in his dreams, could even see through his eyes."
George said, "Wasn't that dangerous?"
Ginny nodded. She glanced over to Harry. She couldn't avoid this part of the story as much as she'd like to for his sake. "Voldemort can't possess you Harry. He can't take you over. Your connection was a good thing. It saved Dad's life, it let us have a great victory at the end of that year, and it would even eventually give us an idea about where something important was hidden."
"But…" said Harry, clearly not liking where this was going.
"But, after you saved Dad, Voldemort became aware that you could see through him, and he started setting up a trap."
Percy asked, "How could Harry see through Voldemort's snake's eyes?"
"I'll get to that," said Ginny, who wished they would just let her tell the story.
"Eventually the DA was discovered and," Ginny looked at the headmaster, "you took the blame. You left the school and Umbridge became official headmistress."
There were more jeers from the boys, and even from Hermione, but Ginny waited for them to pass. After they had, she told them about the false image Voldemort placed in Harry's mind that led to their trip to London.
"Sirius wasn't there, but Death Eaters were. The prophecy that Voldemort wanted was one that was about both him and Harry. It was destroyed by accident in the battle." Ginny ignored questions about the prophecies contents. "The Order of the Phoenix arrived and the battle was a victory for our side. Several Death Eaters were captured. Voldemort showed up and was seen by the Minister of Magic himself. After that, the war became clear to everyone." Ginny decided to skip Sirius's death.
Ginny looked at Dumbledore. "Professor, I know you waited to tell the prophesy in the other timeline, but I've got to tell him now."
"I'm not sure if that would be fair to him."
"He wanted to know. He wanted to know sooner." Ginny looked at the floor. "Besides, it didn't come true."
Dumbledore left it to her, "If you believe it's for the best."
"I don't know it word for word."
Dumbledore spoke slowly, "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"
"Thank you," said Ginny.
Harry asked, "What does it mean?"
Ginny said, "What it is supposed to mean is that either you must kill Voldemort or he must kill you."
Harry nodded. He didn't like that. He didn't want to be a murder, but wasn't he already one. This evil had already used Quirrell, killed his parents, and threatened his friends. All of that was just in this timeline. If given the chance, Harry didn't doubt Voldemort would try to destroy everything he loved. If he had to become a murder to stop that, he thought maybe he could do it. "If that is what it takes, I hope I stop him."
That comment seemed odd to Ginny, and for the first time, she truly appreciated the fact that this Harry might well turn out different from the one the other her had known. "Harry, you don't have to worry about that. Most prophecies don't come true and this was no exception. What's important was that Voldemort believed it."
Ginny continued. "After the battle at the Ministry, Fudge fell and Scrimgeour become minister. Voldemort started acting in the open. Dumbledore was placed back as headmaster at Hogwarts. During my 5th year, Dumbledore started going over information about Voldemort with Harry."
Mum said, "But he was underage."
Dumbledore said, "He had also demonstrated considerable talent. I suspect even more than Ginny is revealing. If this situation is as desperate as I believe it might be, I may have considered such a thing."
Ginny didn't answer that. She looked at the adults. "Before I go on, I need a promise. Mum, Dad, Professor Dumbledore…" Ginny looked at all three. "I need you to promise that you aren't going to take over and leave us out of this. I know we're young, but we have as much at stake as you and we are already involved."
Mum was already shaking her head. "Ginny, you've already done your part today. We can't let you do anything dangerous."
Dad said, "We need to know what it is first."
"If you don't agree…" Ginny braced herself. She had to say this. "I can't go on. We need to be involved."
Mum said, "Ginny…"
"Molly," interrupted Dumbledore. "Keeping them involved does not mean giving them the most dangerous of jobs. It would be better for the children to be involved under our supervision than trying something on their own."
Mum shook her head. "Fine. Involved, but not doing anything dangerous."
Ginny considered that for a minute. It was more than they'd ever gotten with the Order of the Phoenix and the most they'd agree to right now. Reluctantly she nodded. Then she turned to Dumbledore.
"Professor, the prophecy was a secret Harry needed to know. This secret I'm not sure I have a right to give. You only told it to Harry, and he only told it to Ron and Hermione. I didn't learn of this secret until after Voldemort figured out what was going on."
Dumbledore said, "Am I correct in assuming that this has something to do with the diary?"
"Yes."
"Will Harry, Ron, and Hermione learn of this regardless of my answer?"
Ginny hesitated. "Yes."
"Very well then. I must express the importance of keeping this a secret however. Will everyone give their word to reveal this to no one?"
Everyone gave it.
Ginny explained Horcruxes. She told them about the ones she was sure of and the one she wasn't.
"So we need to destroy those 6?" said Ron.
"Five, Nagini isn't a Horcrux yet. Well, Nagini might not be one yet. I don't know; Wormtail is already out there making that a difficult guess. Let me finish the story."
Ginny told them about the Malfoy's fall from grace and Draco's orders. She told him them about Harry and Dumbledore coming back from getting the fake locket, and about Dumbledore freezing Harry with his last spell.
"Could he kill me?" asked Dumbledore as calmly as if he were asking for a lemon drop.
Ginny shook her head. "No. I don't know exactly what happened up there. I know several other Death Eaters made it past us. Eventually Snape went past. We didn't try to stop him. We trusted him."
"And he killed me?"
"Yes."
Cries of outrage came from the room.
Fred yelled, "That bloody traitor."
George said, "We won't let him get away with that again.
Dumbledore quieted the room. "I do not wish us to jump to conclusions. There is a lot of information that Ginny has divulged to us. I believe she should finish her story and we will consider actions at a later time."
Ginny did not like that comment at all. He wasn't convinced. How could he not be? Was there any possible scrap of evidence that would convince him that Snape was a traitor? Why wouldn't he believe that?
"Professor, I'm sorry if I sound rude," she wasn't, "but in both timelines you have shown a remarkable amount of trust in Snape. In fact, your trust seems to contradict all reason."
"I assure you Miss Weasley, I do have my reasons for trusting Professor Snape."
"What are they?"
"I afraid I must keep them to myself."
Ginny felt a horrible anger rising up within her. For a moment she didn't care that this was her future headmaster. "That cost you your life and possibly the entire war last time. I came back to stop that from happening again. I can't just continue if you're going to keep trusting that man."
An outraged Mum spoke up. "Ginny! Dumbledore would never do anything he thought was putting us in danger to You-Know-Who."
"I understand your position," started Dumbledore, "but I'm afraid, that doesn't change my answer."
Ginny had a new appreciation for Harry's position in the other timeline. No piece of evidence seemed enough to convince Dumbledore that Snape was not on their side.
"Professor, I'm not making these things up. Snape killed you! I saw your body. A month later, he took off…took off someone's ear in a battle. He was VOLDEMORT's [most the room flinched] right hand man. Two months after you died, the Ministry of Magic fell and VOLDEMORT put Snape in charge of Hogwarts after your death. Defense Against the Dark Arts simply became the Dark Arts. If the situation was reversed and I refused to agree after all that evidence, would you be willing to trust me? Would you assume I was of my right mind even?"
Mum shouted, "Ginny!" Dumbledore put up his hand and everyone looked to him.
Dumbledore looked down at the ground. He was visibly uncomfortable, something very uncommon for him. "Your response is exactly how you should feel given your knowledge and responsibility."
Dumbledore looked Ginny right in the eye. "I am not under a spell or potion of any kind, nor am I being naïve. I don't wish to boast, but I have always very easily been able to detect and fight off all mind effecting magic. As for my reasons for trusting Professor Snape, it is not simply an expression of regret from him or something that could be faked. My word to him is as absolute as my word to you. I will never discuss anything we say here with him, but I must take a similar position with him."
Ginny was incredulous, "So you are just going to ignore all the evidence because it doesn't fit what you want Snape to be?"
"Ginny, I promise you I am not ignoring it. I have to consider that I am wrong. Given what I know of Professor Snape and given what I know of my own mind however, I also can't assume I did not set him on the course intentionally, hoping perhaps that a position close to Voldemort would give him an opportunity to make a difference and that a position as headmaster might help the school avoid the worst case scenario."
Ginny shook her head. Dumbledore said, "If one fact is true, I will dismiss him today."
Ginny didn't have much hope here. "What?"
"Did he live long after the final battle and continue to serve Lord Voldemort?"
Ginny shook her head. She couldn't lie or he'd see through it. "I don't know. I never heard about him again after that, but he probably did." She knew that wouldn't be enough and she was right.
"Ginny, I promise to exclude Professor Snape from all our plans. I hope you will eventually forgive me for not doing more. If you wish for me to leave the room for the rest of your story, I will do so."
Ginny remained furious at Dumbledore, but the offer to leave took her aback and she knew she couldn't accept that. She was going to need Dumbledore. "No. Stay. Nothing to Snape ever though."
"You have my word."
"What happened next?" asked Fred trying to get the story going again. "You said the ministry fell?"
Ginny told them about getting Harry out of Privet Drive, about Dumbledore's will, and about the fall of the ministry.
Dad said, "I can't believe it was that easy. There was resistance afterwards right?"
Ginny told them about Voldemort remaining covert for the time being, but shifting negative publicity to Harry. She told them that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had gone on their own Horcrux adventure. She told them about her year at Hogwarts. She told them about trying to steal the Sword of Gryffindor and immediately regretted doing so because even though he remained silent, Ginny was sure the relatively minor punishment they received further cemented Dumbledore's belief that Snape was innocent.
Ginny told them what she knew about the trio's Horcrux quest. Ginny told them the sword was still a mystery, but that some deer like thing had led Harry to it. Somehow Ron had been there too.
Ginny told how the trio had gotten the locket and the cup of Hufflepuff and had then proceeded to Hogwarts after a vision of Harry's. She told them of the search for the semi-final Horcrux, and about how Harry had somehow become convinced it was Ravenclaw's diadem and had guessed (although with less certainty according to future Ron and Hermione) that it had been in the Room of Requirement.
She told them of the battle that had been going on and how she had been supposed to stay in the Room of Requirement. She told them about her finding the trio later in the hallway. They hadn't been sure if they had destroyed the Horcrux or not.
She was at the point where everything went to pieces. She forgot her anger at Dumbledore. "We looked for a while longer. I didn't even know why we were looking for it. Then…" a single tear did slip out, but just one. "Then a giant hit the side of the castle. It knocked us all down. Ron, Hermione, and I were OK, but Harry…Harry was dead."
She didn't look at Harry; she didn't look at anyone. "Voldemort was furious. He wanted to defeat Harry himself. After a few minutes, he decided that everyone in Hogwarts should pay. The three of us made it out. We met up with Luna and Neville on the way out. Not many others were as lucky." Ginny gulped. "None of the rest of you made it out."
Ginny went on quickly; she didn't want to stop and answer questions now. "The next couple years things got worse. Voldemort took over directly. He encouraged pure bloods from other countries to come and become Death Eaters and supported pure blood revolutions in several other countries too. The Statue of Secrecy gradually disappeared. Attacks on muggles became really bad. Voldemort did keep control of the muggle government, but Britain became a wasteland for the muggles."
Ginny continued, "Voldemort knew about the Horcruxes, so there wasn't much more we could do anymore. Hermione came up with the idea of time travel. We had to go on a lot of risky missions to get a lot of books and then several magical objects to increase the power of the spells. On one of them, Neville and Luna died."
Ginny didn't pause for more than a moment at that. "We finally got everything together. We used the spells and the next thing I remember was waking up on my bed and hearing Mum downstairs fussing over Ron."
George said, "So that's it."
Percy added, "Other than this year. How different was this year?"
Ginny finished the glass of water and closed her eyes for a second. She was almost done. "I already told you I was scared about changing something. If you haven't guessed, it was the diary. I know that may seem so small, but Mr. Malfoy could have been hiding it anywhere. I didn't know if we could find it on our own. We already have one Horcrux we aren't sure of; I didn't want to make it two."
Dumbledore said, "I think that was very wise. Given how hard it was, it was very brave too."
"Maybe it was," said Ginny. "But I still shouldn't have. Ron and Hermione were a little different this year. The Sorting Hat told them to start looking into their memories. That meant they were exploring that in addition to the 3rd floor and naturally thought the two were related. Scabbers ran off. He might be with Voldemort right now, and we may have much less time than I thought we would."
Dad was nothing but comforting, "Given the circumstances, you did excellent. I'm very proud of you." He hugged her.
Percy spoke. "How did they figure everything out still then?"
The twins laughed.
Mum looked at them, not liking that sound right now. "What is so funny?"
"Nothing," they both said quickly.
Mum wasn't going to accept that. Before more could be said though, Ginny said, "I had to go help with the last part. I got word to Professor Dumbledore."
"How?" asked her mother, in voice that said she knew she wouldn't like the answer.
"She contacted me," said Dumbledore. "She told me only enough to make me realize that I needed to help her. I observed as they went through their obstacles and made sure they were safe."
"That's good" said Mum. She clearly took Dumbledore's comment to mean that Ginny wrote to him. Ginny wouldn't correct that misunderstanding unless she had to.
Percy said, "What about the diary?"
"It's in my room. We need to get something that will destroy it."
"I'll want to put that somewhere safer," said Mum, which clearly meant somewhere away from her children.
Percy asked, "So what do we do next? Go after the Horcruxes?"
"I believe," said Dumbledore, "that we should first remove Voldemort's way of regaining a body."
Hermione said, "Tom Riddle Senior's bones." Ginny smiled, she had thought the same thing.
Dumbledore nodded. "I will go there now."
"You shouldn't go alone," said Dad. "I'll go with you."
Half the room started saying they wanted to go too.
"Absolutely not," said Mum. Mum quieted down Ron, then the mutinous twins, and then told Harry as long as he was under her care, she couldn't allow it. Finally, Ginny got her say in.
"Mum," said Ginny. "I really have to see. I don't think I'll believe it until I do."
Mum was about to respond, about to tell her no chance, but she looked into Ginny's eyes and apparently changed her mind. To Ginny's absolute amazement Mum didn't say no. Never in a million years would she have believed it, Mum said, "You really need to see this?"
"Yes."
"Perhaps," said Dumbledore, "we can put a disillusionment charm on her."
Mum still didn't like this at all, but she gave in. "OK. But no one else! Arthur, keep her at your side!"
Dumbledore put an invisibility spell on Ginny and Dad grabbed her. They walked outside, and a minute later, the three of them were standing in the woods.
The sun was low in the sky and it felt kind of eerie. The shadows of the trees left long shadows around them.
Dumbledore led. Dad didn't let go of Ginny's hand as they walked. They walked a good half-mile to the edge of a town. Finally they reached a cemetery. Ginny had to struggle to remain calm. Was Voldemort already here? She kept her eyes peeled for any signs of someone watching them, but didn't find anyone.
The three walked into the graveyard. They walked past several badly kept graves. Ginny tripped and it took Dad a minute to find her again. Finally, they stopped in front of a big grave. She read the name: Tom Riddle. This was it. Now the question was, were they too late?
Dumbledore started several spells that would hopefully prevent anyone from noticing what they were doing here. Finally he turned back to the grave. "This will not be a pleasant sight."
He turned to the ground. Dad was keeping watch around them. Ginny had her eyes glued to Dumbledore. Dumbledore shouted. "Wingardium Leviosa."
Dirt flew up from the ground; Dumbledore effortlessly moved it away from them.
He then walked to the grave. She walked there too. Dad followed, not letting go of her hand.
Ginny looked down and saw the casket. The constant pressure of dirt for decades had pressed it in somewhat, but it was still intact.
Dumbledore repeated, "Wingardium Leviosa." He directed it up out of the hole and on to the ground.
Dumbledore opened the casket. The decaying remains of Tom Riddle were clearly visible. It was a sickening sight.
Dumbledore said, "Relvente touch."
A small amount of thin blue smoke came from the coffin.
"The body hasn't been disturbed in decades," said Dumbledore.
Then they weren't too late. Maybe Wormtail wasn't even heading towards Voldemort.
Dumbledore told them to stand back. He said a spell that Ginny had never learned. A deep orange fire, that reminded Ginny somewhat of the Fiendfyre curse that she had been taught during her sixth year, consumed the coffin quickly.
The fire started to spread away from the coffin's location, but Dumbledore easily controlled it. After another few seconds, he halted it.
The coffin was completely gone, as was the body.
When they got back, dinner was half prepared. It wasn't quite the one that Molly would have prepared had it not already been getting so late, but everyone was hungry and did appreciate it.
It was far from a silent meal.
"So what do we do now?" asked Fred, taking a bite out of a chicken leg.
Molly scowled, "Don't speak with your mouth full."
George said, "I assume we are going to make sure You-Know-Who is never a problem."
Percy said, "We have to destroy those Horcruxes. It's the only way."
"Percy," said Molly. "Don't eat with food in your mouth."
The twins snickered.
Ron asked, "But which one do we go after first?"
"We already have the diary," said Hermione. "We need to work on getting Sirius out of Azkaban, before we can get the one at his house. The ring would be the easiest to go for next. It's also the most vulnerable."
Molly said, "I don't want you kids getting anywhere near those Horcruxes."
Everyone started to protest. Dumbledore cleared his throat and everyone went silent.
"We did promise to include the children. I believe that a good compromise would be to have them start investigating the final Horcrux that likely remains at Hogwarts."
Molly liked the idea, or at least liked it better than most other alternatives. "But if you find where it is, don't touch it," she said. "Come to us. Is that clear?"
Everyone responded that it was, although Ginny wasn't sure they would follow that direction.
"Professor," said Ginny in a low voice so Mum wouldn't hear. "The ring caused you to lose a hand last time. Your hand looked dead your last year. I think we should help you with that."
"Most interesting," said Dumbledore. "We will have to consider that Horcrux carefully." In a louder voice he said, "In the meantime, I believe our first priority must be free Sirius Black."
"Will the ministry let him go?" asked Hermione. "I mean they put up a huge struggle last time."
"The Minister of Magic has much less stake in the innocence or guilt of Sirius at this time. Fudge has not publicly commented specifically on Sirius. He has not invested political influence on capturing him. Should it be revealed that Sirius is innocent, the blame would fall on Fudge's predecessor. This will make matters much simpler, although the issue will still be very delicate. The ministry has claimed that all Death Eaters have been sent to Azkaban. Fudge will still be very reluctant to go against this claim, especially without incontrovertible proof. It would certainly create turmoil for him."
"Without Peter," said Arthur, "how are we going to convince him? Do you have any ideas?"
"I will have to consider the matter some more?"
"Well…" said Percy.
"Go on," said Arthur.
"Prisoners are allowed visitors sometimes right?"
Dumbledore answered, "Restrictions are generally tight. Family members are allowed to visit on a few select days of the year and…"
"So I could see him," said Harry.
"I afraid not," said Dumbledore. "Sirius, while your godfather, was neither directly related to you by blood nor marriage and never had the chance to become your guardian."
Percy went on. "But that's not the only way to see prisoners."
"There is one other legal means of visiting them and one defacto way," said Dumbledore. "High ministry officials can usually arrange to see prisoners, although that is not officially written into the law. I suspect that I myself could arrange this, but it will likely take months."
Hermione asked, "And the other way?"
"If the prisoner accepts, the law does specifically allow the press access to prisoners. Access must be granted within 2 weeks."
Percy smiled. "What if we gave a tip to the Daily Prophet that Sirius was innocent? We could comment that he never had a trial and Veritaserum was never used. It would probably be worth their effort to check it out. They'd definitely publish their results."
"It is a good idea," said Dumbledore. "But it will put Fudge on the defensive. It would be better if he could be presented with the data first, and come out as if he discovered the problem."
Ginny remembered The Prophet too well. "The Prophet is too influenced by the Ministry. Fudge particularly has a lot of influence over them. I wouldn't count on them."
Dumbledore said, "Fudge does have influence, but I don't believe it is to the point you remember it being just yet. Regardless, I think we would want the report to go relatively unnoticed at first."
Ginny wasn't really following along, but she knew what could do that. "The Quibbler would definitely do it then I guess."
Half the room laughed, although not Dumbledore. Ginny spoke over it. "I know Mr. Lovegood publishes some odd things, but he would be a lot easier to convince than the Prophet, and he isn't influenced by the Ministry."
"I believe that may work," said Dumbledore. "The Quibbler can issue its report. Afterwards, I will inform Fudge that I believe it is accurate and that the Prophet will likely follow the story soon. I believe, that under those circumstances, Fudge will feel that it is politically expedient to order an investigation which can be used to place the blame with his predecessor."
Harry said, "So what should we do now?"
"I will get started with Mr. Lovegood and work on securing a means of destroying the Horcruxes. There is no point in gaining anymore until we can dispose of them properly. This is the final week of summer, and when you return to Hogwarts, it looks as those you will be very busy. I suggest you enjoy this week."
The next week didn't go quite the way Ginny had pictured it. She had revealed her secret. Somehow she had been expecting that to be followed by a quick hunt of the Horcruxes. Instead, actions had been taken slowly and cautiously. Dad and Professor Dumbledore had visited Mr. Lovegood. Tom's Riddle's diary had been placed in the attic for now. Dumbledore informed her that he had placed a spell around the Gaunt house which would immediately alert him of trouble, but had not attempted to go near the ring. She had heard the adults speaking a little of how to get the Cup of Hufflepuff, but they still seemed undecided on that one.
There really seemed to be surprisingly little the younger generation could do. The task of the children was to figure out the last Horcrux and until they got back to Hogwarts, there wasn't a lot they could do in that matter. None of that is to say that they didn't discuss the Horcrux, they did and even came up with a couple of useful spells they'd need, but they really needed Hogwarts books and the ability to search Hogwarts itself (particularly the Room of Requirement). They were also limited without the ability to use magic and with Hermione back home.
Ultimately, they did decide to take Dumbledore's advice of enjoying this last week, at least to an extent. This particularly meant a lot of Quidditch.
One evening Dad sat and watched them for a while.
Ginny landed to trade off with Harry when the twins started up again.
George said, "Ginny, you really need to try out for the team this year. Wood already told us he is going to have open tryouts. I'm sure you'd beat out Alicia."
Ginny gave an exacerbated sigh and shook her head.
"Come on, we're just going to keep pestering you until you say yes."
Dad spoke next. "I think you should Ginny."
Ginny turned to him surprised. "We have too much we need to do."
"All the more reason you should have something you enjoy to look forward to. I watch you play. I can tell you love being on the broom."
"Yes, but…"
"You know what responsibility comes first. You have to keep more in your life than that though."
"Maybe if I was a reserve player. I can't actually be on the main team. I'm would be taking someone else's place. Katie, Alicia, and Angelina are supposed to be chasers."
Dad said, "There is no supposed to be anymore. I'm sure all three of them were probably the best eligible people for the team in that other timeline. They may not be here. You have that other Ginny's memories, but you aren't her. We already have enough to worry about. You can't worry about making sure every event works out just the same. You have to live your own life."
Even though a part of her still felt like this was being extremely selfish, that was all the convincing Ginny needed. "Alright, I try out for the team."
In some ways, Hermione reflected, this summer had seemed so quick she could hardly believe it was almost over. In others, it had seemed to just drag on and on. Having no one to talk about the future to over the past week had made her incredibly anxious. At the beginning of the summer, Hermione had wished Ginny would just tell them everything. Now she was glad Ginny hadn't. There was little for her to do at home except go through her textbooks looking for clues about the Horcrux. So far that had turned out to be a pointless exercise.
Hermione looked outside. She decided she'd take a walk, maybe that would clear her head and help her come up with something new.
Hermione walked a little ways down to a local park. She had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't see a group of kids about her own age there until they came up to her.
"Aren't you that nutter whose parents sent them off to boarding school?"
Hermione turned and saw the group of 11 and 12 year olds, most wearing outfits too revealing for their age.
Hermione ignored them and turned another direction.
"You are the girl who was always alone at school aren't you?"
A year ago that comment would have stung, but now Hermione could just ignore it.
"Yeah that's her," said a voice that Hermione recognized very well.
She turned around. "Rebecca."
"I can see you haven't changed a bit. Still the incessant bookworm."
"I don't consider that a bad thing," said Hermione. "You didn't either before. Do you remember when we read Huckleberry Finn?"
"I decided to have a life."
Hermione heard the venom in the voice. She also noticed something else, something she wouldn't have noticed a year ago. Uncertainty. Rebecca had made a choice about the person she wanted to be, but she wasn't nearly as confident it was the right decision as she pretended.
Hermione realized something else far more amazing. She wasn't intimidated, not in the least. A year ago she would have made some excuse and run out of here as quickly as possible and then been depressed all day. Now she felt completely different. If she was going to be stopping You-Know-Who, then these girls had nothing on her.
Hermione shook her head sadly. "I have a life. I have friends again too. Friends, who don't expect me to change everything about myself to fit in. I would guess I like my life a lot more than you like yours."
"I don't believe you," said Rebecca. Once again, Hermione could hear beyond the toughness in the voice. It hurt Rebecca to even think that maybe changing her whole personality wasn't necessary. To think that she might have been happier without changing was even worse.
"Rebecca, I know it's hard, trust me I do, but it's better to be yourself. It might take time, but you'll find new friends, and they'll like you for you."
Rebecca spit at her feet. Then she turned around and walked away. The rest of the group did too.
Hermione felt sorry for them. She realized at that point how lucky she was. She may officially have fewer friends than Rebecca, but Hermione was pretty sure none of Rebecca's "friends" actually cared too much about her.
Hermione laughed. What a difference a year could make. She had changed so much, and it hadn't just been an influx of memories. She was much calmer now than she had been a year ago. That seemed really odd; now that she was trying to stop one of the biggest murders in history, she was calmer. Maybe she was going to die trying to stop You-Know-Who, but she had friends and family, she knew who she was, and she had a purpose in life. What more could she ask for?
Peter walked through the forest for what seemed the millionth time. He was seriously considering abandoning this. There was only so much time any person could spend in nature. He was scared to go back to Britain though. Something had happened to Ron and it seemed that Hermione girl too. Could he go somewhere else though? Maybe he would head to America or Australia.
The night Ron had actually commented on seeing him turn into a man was all Peter had been able to take. He didn't understand exactly what was going on, but he knew enough to know his cover was in jeopardy. He'd left Britain and spent the last several months in Romania looking for Voldemort.
He'd had no luck though. He'd seen all kinds of magical creatures and even some kind of stone pyramid in the middle of the forest, but he hadn't spotted his master.
Right now, Peter was checking an area of the forest for the second time. There had been rumors about this part of the forest for over a decade, but Wormtail had spent a week here in early June with no success.
All of a sudden, Peter felt cold. He didn't see anything, but he heard something.
"Wormtail, have you come to serve your master?"
Peter gulped. "Yes. Yes, my master."
The Weasleys and Harry got to Kings Cross a little early. Molly wasn't anxious to see her children off. Last year had proved dangerous and this year might very well be more so. Still, she couldn't very well keep them home, no matter what some of her instincts told her.
They made it on the platform just fine. Molly took Ron's shoulder and directed him to the side.
"What is it Mum?"
Molly had listened with horror as Ginny, as her 11-year-old daughter, had told of an unspeakable future. Molly wouldn't wish those memories on her worst enemy; hearing her child say them had been heart breaking. Ginny remember being processed by You-Know-Who, she remembered seeing Harry die, and she remembered the experience of the rest of the family being killed. Molly hated all of that. There wasn't anything she could do about it though. Maybe Ron could be different.
"You know, we already know what we need to know from Ginny. You don't need to worry about those memories."
Ron looked at his mother. The truth was, he had thought about that too. He wasn't anxious to remember all of the terrible future. Still, he couldn't ignore the memories. "There might be more though Mum. Ginny wasn't as involved in a lot of stuff. I might remember something else."
"We know what is important Ron. That other you, Ginny, and Hermione talked about all the important things."
"I know, but… Mum, they're always there. It's like I can almost remember them a lot of the time. It might drive me mad if I don't get them."
Molly nodded. She didn't like the answer, but it looked like the memories were already taking a toll, better to get everything over with. "If you need me, don't hesitate to write. And be careful."
She gave him a hug and then returned him to the rest of the group. Realizing there were only a few minutes left, she gave the twins the regular warning. She gave everyone, including Harry a hug and said goodbye.
"Make sure you write Ginny."
"I will Mum."
"I'm very proud of you, of all of you. Please be careful."
They all promised they would.
A couple minutes later, the train rolled away.
Notes: I made a few changes to this chapter beyond dialogue/cosmetic changes. Most importantly, I originally had a scene with Dumbledore making an unbreakable oath not to tell Snape anything here. It was his idea and he suggested it both to calm Ginny and because he believed he needed to consider the possibility that some potion was making him overly trusting (he doubted it, but couldn't dismiss it). I got rid of it because I didn't plan on using it later and it seemed like a distraction. Another change I made was that originally Molly found out about Ginny being at Hogwarts at the end of the year. It didn't sound natural and I figured Ginny wouldn't mention it if she could help it, so I took it out.
Thank you for all the reviews and constructive criticism. I really appreciate them.
Bishop2420: Thank for the review. Ginny was trying to preserve the timeline in order to get Tom Riddle's diary. She was admittedly overly paranoid about changing things before that event, but given the guilt she feels because of the changes that occurred that she wasn't aware of, I think that's realistic. There will be no more trying to preserve the timeline now.
Maqiquill9: Thanks for the review.
Anonymous: Thanks for the kind words.
Zahrdal: Thank you. I really wasn't sure about that chapter and am glad you enjoyed it.
Me262: Thank you very much for the advice. I will definitely try to follow it in the future (although this chapter was admittedly just about done before I read your review). It is interesting looking back at old writing that I have from high school. It was completely plot driven and contained a lot more grammatical errors than I'd like to admit (not to suggest I still don't have a lot of room to improve in both, I know I do). I agree that description is really the area I need to focus on improving next.
Tombadgerlock: Thank you for the continued reviews. My original idea for this story did have Ginny not getting the diary, but I changed my mind a couple of chapters ago. That really would have been hard on her, if she hadn't gotten it.
NonyMouse: Thanks for the review. Everything in the books still applies to this story except for the details about the Ravenclaw's diadem (which will be revealed in time), and obviously the conclusion to book 7. Snape is still on Dumbledore's side, but there is almost no reason for Ginny to accept that fact.
Tamira: Thank you very much for the continued reviews. As far as chapter 7 goes, Ginny doesn't know that Dumbledore is actually watching them. She knows things have changed and that Harry almost died the first time around (he was a lot worse off than Ron). She doesn't trust that things will work out the same and wants to be there to make sure Voldemort won't prevail this time. Harry did feel left out, but that has greatly dismissed over the last 2 chapters.
Chapter 8: Ginny is definitely overreacting, but I think given how guilty she feels over the changes that have already occurred that is realistic. The diary is just in hiding now, but they are going to have to deal with it sooner or later.
I do want to try to keep this story as balanced between all 4 major characters as I can (even if Ginny will probably still get a little extra attention), so don't worry about Ron.
Dobby, will probably be back in this year, but I haven't figured out how exactly yet.
I started this before book 7, but everything from book 7 other than the details about the Ravenclaw's diadem and obviously the outcome of the battle are the same. There isn't any reason for Ginny to trust Snape at this point though and Dumbledore has made promises that prevent him from talking about either Ginny's or Snape's secrets.
Mangagirl18: Thanks for the review. I try to avoid messing up Miss and Mrs. in the future. I didn't even realize I messed that up, thanks for pointing it out. As for British vs. American editions, I've been divided on that. I know the Philosopher's Stone is the correct term outside the US, but I'm in the US and I figured at least half the people reading here would be Americans. If most reviewers want it to be switched, I'll gladly switch it however. (So anyone who wants it changed, shout out). Thank you again for the review.
