A/N: ahhh, winter break. my loyalties lie with fanfic – i'm all yours! review, review, review, I'll love you if you do.

Chapter Ten: Gone

Draco had offered to take Ginny home, but she politely declined. She wanted to be alone for a while. Outside of The Talking Raven, Draco sweetly kissed Ginny on her rosy cheek and then they Apparated their separate ways.

Once Ginny was safely in her apartment she carelessly threw her purse on the couch. Rubbing her head she retired to her room and changed into pajamas. The night could have been perfect, perfect. She was enjoying herself, enjoying Draco Malfoy's company which she never thought would happen in a million years until he interned at Charm and she came to find out it was because of her. And Harry fricken Potter messed it all up!

Ginny sunk onto her bed and put her face in her hands. She brought her knees up to her chest. The longer she sat the more she thought the whole scenario over, the angrier she got at Harry. She supposed being the only girl and the youngest in the family, taught her how to let things go. Yes, she had to cut Harry some slack; he had lost a lot in his youth and maybe the thought of letting Ginny go was too much to bare. Ginny gave Harry the utmost respect – as a person, as a part of her family.

Eventually Ginny fell asleep only to be awoken not much earlier by a piercing shriek. Ginny's chocolate brown eyes snapped open and she sat up bolt right.

Outside her window Diddle pecked at the screen carrying a letter in her beak.

Slowly rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Ginny got out of bed and unlocked the screen to let Diddle in. She flew through and landed pathetically on Ginny's bed.

"What's this?" Ginny asked rhetorically. Whoever wanted to speak to her must have had something important to say because no one ever owled her so late.

Ginny took the parchment from Diddle and tore it open at the seal.

Ginny dear,

Earlier this evening the Healers informed me that there is no longer any hope for Arthur. Only hours later he died.

Dear, if you would see if Jason would be so kind to let you off so you could come home. We're holding a funeral for him, here at the Burrow this weekend. I love you somuch, Ginny.

Lovelovelove,

Mum

Molly Weasley's handwriting had started to get sloppy towards the end of the letter. Ginny though, stood stock still rereading her mother's words…only hours later he died…

Ginny collapsed to the floor not being able to believe it.

No. No. No. No. Her father wasn't dead. He wasn't. He was not because Arthur Weasley was a fighter.

Ginny waited a long time for someone to pop into her room and say, "Just kidding!" but no one came.

As she tried and tried again to convince her brain that it was a joke, Ginny hugged herself and rocked back and forth on the floor trying to get her breathing right. In…out…In…out…She blinked a couple times. She tapped her finger over her knee caps.

She was frustrated now. The jokesters were not emerging from thin air. They were not flashing a pop bulb in her face brooding over how embarrassed Ginny would look on the cover of the Daily Prophet.

Diddle looked at her with those large amber eyes. She cocked her head following the movements of her frazzled owner who was now pacing the room running her hands through her fire red hair.

Any day now, Ginny thought.

Her mind was so set on those jokesters in purple suits with plastic flowers in their lapels that squirted water at you at the perfect moment. And they weren't here. Maybe they were watching her and just soaking up all her frustration like it was an enjoyable mug of bloody butterbeer.

Ginny's hair was starting to knot and tangle from her constant gripping. She was growing impatient.

Ginny, frustrated still, turned on her heel and wrenched open her nightstand drawer grabbing a spare roll of parchment, a battered quill, and the last of a jar of ink. She scribbled furiously saying she'd be at the Burrow as soon as possible. She sent Diddle on her way after she had also written a letter to Jason. As she watched Diddle fly towards the moon the bitter truth, the naked fact that her beloved, brave, heroic and caring father, Arthur Weasley, was gone had finally settled at an uncomfortable point in her stomach.

-:-

All six of the remaining Weasley children lay under a blanket, their heads nearest to the fire. They had lain that way for almost the entire day. They gripped each other, they cried and they grieved together in a fashion that suited them best.

Molly Weasley was in her room. She had claimed to need some time to herself for a moment, and all of the non-Weasley's were in bed. Teddy and Victoire would be coming on Saturday for the funeral. Rose and Hugo were up in bed with Hermione.

Charlie had come home from Romania. Ginny was lying next to him now.

"You've been studying dragons all these years? It's been so long, Charlie," Ginny said. Her throat felt sore but she wanted to know the real story.

Charlie rolled his eyes to the ceiling and said, "Oh, come off it, Gin."

"No, I will not. Something is going on with you. And I want to know what it is," Ginny did not back down.

Charlie gave her a hard glare, but she just gave him a hard glare back. "I…eloped. With a Romanian woman I met," he whispered.

Ginny popped up, "You eloped?"

"Who eloped?" Ron asked as if he would hex the person who admitted to the deed.

"No…" Bill said staring straight at Charlie. "Who's the woman?"

Charlie turned a shade of pale pink and said, "Her name is Violeta. She's quite lovely and…well we thought we'd live in Romania for awhile. But, considering the circumstances she's okay with being in Britain."

There was a sparkle in Charlie's eyes that made everything seems so serious. Was this really her brother?

"Charlie! Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you tell Dad?" Ron asked; his eyebrows furrowed.

"He knew," Charlie explained. "I begged him not to tell Mom because I knew she'd go ballistic. I told him 'cause he was the only one who would take it in a calm fashion." He glared at Ginny.

"Are you expecting me not to be bloody surprised?" Ginny spluttered. "Because…that is not a very realistic expectation, Charlie!"

He sighed.

"Look, I'm just not into big weddings and crowds. When the time was right I was going to tell you. And now you know so…"

For a fleeting second Ginny thought of Draco but she soon refocused back to Charlie. As she listened to the dirty details of Violeta she wondered if her eyes would ever light up the way Charlie's did now. Years ago she would have been swooning over Harry but she wasn't anymore.

Ugh, there were too many thoughts running through her mind: Harry's outburst, Draco's comfort and her father's death. Ginny had suffered losses during the Battle of Hogwarts. She'd lost Fred, her dear brother, Colin Creevey, one of her closest friends and Lupin and Tonks; faithful members of the Order.

Then suddenly she was wondering why God would do this? The Second War was enough. It was enough. Ginny had certain ways for handling death but this had hit her like a Stunning Spell. And she hadn't yet been revived.