A/N: I am really sorry that it took me forever to update, but I am uber- busy with school and other things. One of them is my first Star Wars fic that I am co-writing with Haezel (to any Star Wars fan out there: please read it! We are having lots of fun writing it!!), and you know, offline stuff. I shall try to write more and more often xD. Happy Holidays everyone!
Disclaimer: Belongs to JKR blah blah blah
The owls flew all over the country, bringing the devastating, or joyful, news to everyone affiliated with the Wizarding society. The Burrow, in Ottery St. Catchpole was no exception, and the snowy owl that was working on schedule there was getting more and more aggravated as the man, who sat at the table weeping silently in obvious despair, continued ignoring her tapping. His shoulders were shaking as he pounded the table again and again in mute agony.
Poor Mr. Weasley! There was nothing he could when his only daughter was tried for crimes, he knew she couldn't commit! Tried by his own friends, nonetheless! During the past month, there were times when he almost went to Azkaban knowing that Ginny, his Ginny, could had never done those things they accused her of, but then there were times when he was sure that his own daughter was possessed. He, much like the rest of the family, spent the past month in indescribable agony: they wanted to know for sure, and yet they were afraid of gaining the knowledge. What must have Ginny thought of them! They sent her to her death… Mr. Weasley's shoulders shook more violently as a new wave of sorrow overtook him. No, not his little princess.
The owl outside grew more restless. He was cold, hungry, and thirsty and on schedule- the grief, however great, of another man was of no matter to the bird. He tapped the window with more force until the man finally rose, put on his glasses, and let the owl in.
Mr. Weasley quickly gave the owl a Knut and opened the paper. 'Murderess Murdered' rung through his ears, as he sank to the floor. This must be a nightmare. It was bad enough when the Wizengamot announced their verdict, but Ginny, violently murdered by some fanatics? No, it could not be real. The Dark Lord was defeated, the worst should be gone. And why, oh why, was this happening to his family? Had there not been enough?
A loud 'pop' outside disturbed the flow of his desperate thoughts. The 'pop' was soon followed by another, and the small kitchen of the Burrow was filled with his sons and their wives hurrying inside in no time.
"Dad, have you seen?" Bill, his eldest, asked, as Fleur stared at them with eyes wide open.
"Ginny? I mean…" Fred, whom as it turned out did not die during the War (Lee Jordan and Fred Weasley were experimenting with long-lasting Polyjuice when Harry Potter called for reinforcements during the Battle of Hogwarts) and George had the same perplexed expression plastered on their freckled faces.
"Harry declared it, Dad," Percy explained, walking in through the door with his wife, Penelope, on his arm..
"This is horrible news," Penelope said moving towards the stove as she sensed that a cup of tea would do everyone good.
"Oh, Ginny, why did you…" Fred did not have to finish his twin's sentence this time, for it was obvious what his thoughts were.
Bill wrapped his arm around Fleur as she cried quietly into his shirt.
"I was the last one to speak to her," he said into the silence that overpowered them.
"I- it's all my fault." Mr. Weasley said, turning to the window to hide his tears from his children, "I should have been there for her."
"Dad, we are all guilty of that charge," Charlie, who came in late said as to comfort his father, but his own sadness was displayed all too well on his compassionate face.
It was a long night at the Burrow. Every member of the family felt like there was a part of the guilt on everyone's shoulders, but still, their own conscience seemed to burn the hottest. The tea that Penelope gave out became salty with their tears, some of them crying openly, others hugging their closest ones and some turning away. Though the scene was filled with grief, some of the members of the family were still missing. The ample Weasley matriarch and the youngest son were not there, but it was not until an hour or so after the news had been delivered that anyone had the mind to ask about them.
"…Fred, not a word to your mother about this, mind you," Mr. Weasley warned Fred, but it was clear that the warning was addressed to the whole family, "She would be devastated."
"And what is she now?" Percy muttered under his breath, and Bill, sitting next him, flashed him a threatening look. "Where is Mum?"
"She is sleeping," Mr. Weasley replied. "She spent the whole time since the trail weeping, and I persuaded her to take some sleeping potion."
"Are Ron and Hermione going to join us?" Penelope chipped in, now realizing that Mrs. Weasley was not the only one missing from their flock.
"I think that they are still working with Harry, dear," Percy replied tentatively.
It did not matter to them that the night outside was passing by, or that Mrs. Weasley's sleeping potion wore off, or that the whole Wizarding world was discussing the hot topic as they kept their vigil. The family ties, silent understanding, and knowing, or hoping, that they could withstand the worst, even something as horrible as death of their little sister, was what kept them all awake. True, the night was spent in the memory of Ginny, but to the Weasleys that were present, the vigil meant so much more.
The Weasleys had spent the night that they bonded more closely as a family, in vain, for their only daughter was not dead. In fact, she was quite well, and except a few scratches, in one pieces at the new Malfoy Manor in Wales. Despite the conspiracy theories that tried to link the events with variety of wizarding terrorist groups, religious fanatics and secret societies, the series of events that took place that night was quite simple:
"Hurry up," the man muttered to Ginny, reminding her to jump off the broom as they landed, running towards a small shack.
The dark shack was soon illuminated by the light shining from the four wands, illuminating a cage that contained a chimpanzee. Ginny gave her masked rescuers a puzzled look; what in the world…? The three figures remained masked, one of them taking something from under their cloak that looked like a thermos, and a shinning silver dagger. Ginny's eyes widened at the notion.
"Don't be silly," the woman, for it was a female that came forward with the dagger and thermos, said in almost an angry tone.
"What are you going to do?" Ginny mumbled, backing against the wall- even if she was not afraid of death, the current situation was at the very least… peculiar.
"Here," the woman trusted the thermos full of sticky potion in her hand, "Put some of your hair in it, would you?"
Ginny did as she was told, still quite confused by their actions. If they were going to kill her, they would have done it by now, right? And what was the chimpanzee for? Well, on the other hand, she could see what the alternative would- was. The woman gave a cup of Polyjuice with Ginny's hair to the chimpanzee who drunk it thankfully. Ginny almost felt bad for the animal when it was hit with an Avada Kedavra from the man's wand.
"Should I cut it?" he offered meekly, as the two women backed away.
"Wait," Ginny peeped from her place by the wall.
"What?" the man, almost nervously, snapped at her.
"I know a curse that might help," she offered weakly and pointed her wand at the chimpanzee's body: "Sectusempra!"
"Should have thought of that," one of the women said in a dreamy voice.
The other three joined in and slashed the body that now looked like Ginny. The escapee found the picture very grotesque, seeing her own body, although she knew it was an altered chimpanzee, on the floor covered with slashes, it was like seeing one's death from a bird's perspective.
"Drink this," the woman with the dream voice said, handing Ginny a cup. Ginny gave her a puzzled look, for her voice appeared familiar.
"Do I know…"
"Shh. Drink." the woman shushed her quickly, drinking from another cup that was filled with Polyjuice as well.
Ginny obeyed her, and soon she felt her body transfiguring into someone else's. The wizards and witches around her changed quickly as well and took of their masks. There were two men, one of them looking distinctively like Gilderoy Lockhart and the other had dark brown hair and a beard. The two men hurried outside, bringing the levitated body and the dagger along. The other woman turned into someone well into their forties, and Ginny, horrified, realized that her hands shrunk and that she had the body of an old woman.
"Hurry up," the woman muttered. "We have to use Muggle transportation for at least part of the journey and the train leaves in twenty minutes. Besides, I am surprised that the Ministry hadn't showed up yet."
The four of them made it through the forest alright, and hurried towards the train station. None of the Muggles paid them any attention, with the exception of the lady who sold tickets and asked if she had seen Ginny somewhere. Ginny froze and replied that it is highly unlikely. Checking her complexion in the station bathroom mirror, she was once again appalled because she recognized the face staring back at her.
"Walburga Black!" she exclaimed in whisper to her companions after she returned from the bathroom. "Out of all people! Are you insane? Someone can recognize me!"
"She is dead. Nobody liked her when she was alive," the bearded man replied slowly. "They will be careful not to look for her now."
"John is right," the 'younger' woman replied. "No one would like her to come back. Now stop this chatter, people are starring."
Ginny was about to reply with a sharp 'let them stare', but a warning look from the man that looked like Lockhart stopped her.
In similar fashion, the quarto made it to a small train station in Wales. The bearded man, 'John', had explained to the few passengers on the train that they were bringing his 'aunt' back to her secluded house in Wales after she had spent the holidays in Scotland with John, his sister and her husband. Ginny's rescuers played their roles cheerfully, as if they did not realize the implications of their crime. Oh, if they were caught, the Kiss would be a certainty for all of them.
Once they got off the train in Wales, the quarto went and quickly hid behind a green train. There, to Ginny's surprise were four brooms waiting in the hands of a smiling Draco Malfoy who was leaning against a cart in the most cocky way possible.
"Seems like my plan had worked after all, hm?" he said with a self-satisfied smirk, and handed the brooms to them.
Ginny had no idea how to react.
"How does it feel to be free?" he practically glowed with glee, reminding Ginny of a small child when it finally learns how to fly his kite.
The other three, John, his sister and her husband, waited for Ginny to say something. And then she smacked him with her big, brown purse.
"You idiot!" she started yelling and continued hitting him. "You can get a Kiss for rescuing me! And they too! I don't even know who they are! Stupid Malfoy! Can't lose a client, can you? Ah! You are so insecure! Who asked you to put your head on the line for me? Why did you rescue me?"
Ginny's rescuers stared at her astounded. Draco slowly pushed her away, moving slightly as to bow and said in an icy voice:
"I should like to think that's obvious. I am sorry, your Highness. Feel free to return to Azkaban, if you'd like."
It was Ginny's turn now to gasp.
"I- I am sorry," she muttered, looking down, now ashamed of her reaction. "It was not an appropriate way for me to react. It's just that you are risking so much for so little…"
"No matter," Draco, obviously still sulking did not reply, rather John did. "This is neither the time nor the place. Let's fly to the Manor and all arrangements, including throwing axes at the Malfoy, swearing and throwing flower pots, shall be made."
The flight was not long, but with Ginny flying in the middle and the other four forming a cross around her it took slightly longer. It also gave her no opportunity to try to appease the proud Malfoy, for which she was grateful since she had no idea how to treat him. Of course, she knew that there was some attraction between them, they kissed and she enjoyed it very much. But she thought she would never see him again, and the kiss was the last thing that would pass between them. On the whole, she was not sure if he felt the same way about her, or even, if he had a girlfriend or fiancé. He rescued her, but all in all, it could have been his pride that drove him to the recklessness and not some hidden feelings for her.
"You will have to stay inside for some time," Draco said as they landed and he levitated the brooms into the broom shed by his mansion. "We are going to tell people that you are my cousin from France and that you are staying over because your mother died and you have nowhere else to go."
"Okay," Ginny nodded. "Except that I look nothing like you."
"You are going to be inside for most of the time," Draco replied coolly.
"Let's go inside. We have more work tonight, you know Drakie," the woman, slowly changing back said before walking through the kitchen door and the others followed her.
"Draco," Ginny coughed out, grabbing him by the hand, before he had the time to walk through the door, "I am really sorry about what I said. I am not ungrateful, you know, but you should not have risked that much for me."
"Would you have rather died?" he asked her coldly, slowly freeing his wrist from hers.
"I-" Ginny hesitated for a second, and he scoffed.
"It is my neck on the line again," he told her. "I cannot let you leave and return to Azkaban now. They would kill me, and the people who rescued you, as well."
"I know that," Ginny said, wanting him to understand that it was more complicated than it seemed. "I just wanted to say 'sorry' and 'thanks'."
He gave her a long look before he nodded courtly and the two of them went inside.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciated reading your thoughts! Now to my replies:
Orlando's Dancer- Just striving to please, you know Yeah, it was a cliffie..
LoVeAngel97- posted xD. Thanks for the review!
PinkMusicalCherry- Good guess, but no. Their identities should come clear in the next chapter.
fic-princess- Cliff hangers are fun though hehe
duj- Harry is not a Minister... not yet, anyway. But you were right on.
Dracoginnylover24- Hehe, thanks for the review. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. \
AuntAnnie- I know, it took me forever to update... so sorry. Thanks for the review though.
boredlittlestudent- Lol, I don't think I topped it with this chapter, but there is more to come! I promise!
Alexandria J. Malfoy- Aw, so you were the first click, eh? Thanks for the review!!
Runa- Aww, thanks. I am doing my best, really.
Beidah- Glad that you like it ;)
tree stump- Oh, wow, thanks. I like that analogy too. Well, her family did not completely write her off- I tried to shed some light on their feelings on the whole thing in this chapter. They are all conflicted because well, they don't know whose side they should take... Thanks for the review :)
flamingbunnies- You were almost right. Of course, the kidnappers are someone else, but you are close.;)
gineveramalfoy1894- I am happy to inform you that Ginny is not dead :D Thanks for the review!