Happy reading.

Year 2: The Pyramid of the Buzau

Chapter 10: Hogwarts Bound and Mistrust

The sunset could be seen clearly from the windows of the Hogwarts Express. A few of the leaves were beginning to change and the sky was filled with purple and orange. It still felt like summer outside, but this scene was one that would only look this spectacular in the fall. The 4 occupants of the back compartment of the Hogwarts Express barely noticed.

Even with knowledge of dangerous tasks before him, Harry Potter was very excited to be heading back. As a far as he was concerned, Hogwarts was more his real home than anywhere else he had ever been, and he had missed it.

Harry looked at his 3 companions. They were all looking out the window, seemingly lost in their thoughts. The silence was getting to him. Finally he turned to his best friend. He asked, "I wonder if classes will be harder this year?"

Ron didn't respond. Harry nudged him on the shoulder. Ron turned around quickly. Annoyed, Ron asked, "What?"

"Sorry." Seeing his friend apparently didn't want to talk, Harry said, "Nevermind."

"Sorry," said Ron. "I'm just a little distracted. I talked with Mum before coming onboard and she asked me about the memories."

Hermione, whom had apparently been thinking about the same thing, looked up immediately. "What did she say?"

"Just that I didn't have to get them back."

Hermione asked, "What did you say?"

"I told her I had to get them back. I'm not going to leave Ginny with them by herself."

Hermione nodded. "I guess you're right." After a sigh she added, "Maybe we should talk to Dumbledore. He might have some idea to speed up the process."

Ron gulped and nodded. "Yea. I guess you're right. There's really no hurry though."

Hermione could tell that Ron wasn't quite as convinced he wanted the memories back as he pretended, but didn't say anything. She had somewhat mixed feelings too.

Hermione looked over at Ginny. "Are you ready to go back?"

Ginny didn't respond.

"Ginny…"

Still she didn't respond. That troubled Hermione. Hermione repeated, "Ginny….Ginny."

Ginny turned around. "Sorry. Distracted. What?"

Growing more worried, Hermione asked, "Is something wrong? Is something else going to happen?"

Ginny shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. I'm not sure I really know that much anymore unfortunately." She sighed with the last part. Then she added, "I'm just a little nervous."

Harry asked, "What for?"

"Nothing really," said Ginny. "It's just… well, it's been a long time since I went to Hogwarts, but I remember so much, but it's still really the first, well 2nd time I've been there. Where do you think the Sorting Hat is going to put me?"

Not completely following Ginny's train of thought, Ron said, "But you've already done all that and you know you're going to be in Gryffindor."

"It's perfectly normal," said Hermione, frowning at Ron. "Everyone's nervous before the first year, even if you've done it before. I'm sure the sorting hat will know you need to go in Gryffindor."

"I don't think it works that way," said Ginny.

Harry interjected, happy to have an answer no one seemed to for once. "It thought I'd fit in well in...other houses, but put me in Gryffindor anyway. I'm sure it will put you were you want."

Ginny smiled a little. "Thanks Harry."

Ginny heard the door start to creak open. The four turned to see Malfoy followed by Crabbe and Goyle.

Malfoy strutted in. "Well if it isn't the boy with the sacred scar, a couple of poor blood traitors, and a mudblood."

Ron reacted instantly. "Take that back!" He stood and drew his wand, pointing it at Malfoy. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had their own wands out a moment later.

Ginny quickly stood between Ron and the Slytherins. Harry and Hermione also drew their wands. "Don't Ron. They aren't worth it."

"I'm not just going to let them call Hermione…"

"I know," said Ginny. "But names are stupid things to get mad over."

Ginny turned to Malfoy, ignoring her brother's reply. "As for you, why are you here? Are you here to see the girl who stomped you in all your tests or are you here to see the guy who defeated your master and will beat you in Quidditch this year? I assume Daddy bought your way onto the team."

Malfoy's face turned beat red. "We'll see who is better at Quidditch."

"We will," said Ginny. "Am I right about your daddy?"

"Like you could make the team." Malfoy turned to his two minions. "Let's go."

As the train approached, the last bits of daytime light vanished. Everyone changed into their school robes. While many students hadn't gotten a great deal of sleep last night, excitement (and a certain sense of dread in many cases) seemed to give the train a lot of energy. Ginny ran into Luna heading back to her compartment.

"Hi Luna."

"Hello Ginny. Did you have a pleasant summer?"

Ginny smiled. "An eventful one. How about you?"

"Oh it was quite enjoyable. Dad took me to France to investigate the recent reports of Algerian Pinska attacks."

"So were there attacks?" asked Ginny, bracing herself.

"No."

"Oh," said Ginny surprised by the answer.

"The French Ministry is actually testing a new weapon."

Ginny smiled. That was the kind of answer she was expecting.

A voice boomed out. "First years, over here. First years."

Ginny walked over to Hagrid. "Hi Hagrid."

"Well, you must our new Weasley girl. I hope your twin brothers haven't been giving you too much advice."

Ginny laughed. "None that I plan on taking."

"Well that's good. The boats are over there. We're going to row to Hogwarts."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in a carriage heading to Hogwarts with Neville and a couple other 2nd years.

Hermione turned to Ron. "What was it that Malfoy said?"

"Mudblood. It's a really insulting term for muggle borns."

"Oh," said Hermione. It hurt a little to be thought of that way. She couldn't very well go back to being a muggle now, and she was staking her future on being accepted as a witch. If that didn't work out, she'd be in real trouble.

Neville overheard. "He called Hermione that?"

"Yeah the git," said Ron.

Neville frowned. "Yea"

Hermione remembered part of Ginny's story. Neville had been there with them for a long time. His memories would have been sent back too if something hadn't happened to him on the journey. It felt kind of wrong that he wasn't included at all. "How was your summer Neville?"

"All right," said Neville unenthusiastically. "My grandma made me study a lot to improve my grades this year."

This was not a subject, Hermione had much experience with. Ron had a little bit more. "Your grades weren't much worse than mine."

"They were pretty bad. She just wants me to do better this year." A little more enthusiastically he added, "It's not all bad. I think I might actually be a little ahead in herbology. I got a book about some of the plants that are out there and it's pretty incredible."

Hermione smiled. The carriage stopped. They were at Hogwarts.

Ginny wasn't soaking wet when she entered Hogwarts, but she was definitely a little damp. Viewing Hogwarts from that angle had been worth it though. She hadn't seen it like that since her first, first year. It seemed just as amazing now. She just hoped this year was better than the last time through.

Along with the rest of the first years, Ginny was quiet as McGonagall came out and explained what was going to happen. She could just feel the fear in her classmates.

Ginny wasn't immune. She was legitimately nervous about what would happen next. She belonged in Gryffindor, but no matter what Harry said, Ginny considered the hat unpredictable. It was after all the hat which had messed up her plans last year.

She forced herself to calm down and looked at her classmates. She'd grown close to many of them in her years at Hogwarts. That made a part of her feel sad. She probably wasn't going to get as close this time. She'd be spending more time with a different group and she couldn't explain what she would be doing with so much of her free time. That would make it harder to form deeper friendships this time.

The Sorting Hat was anxious for this class. Its attention had been sparked last year by Hermione and Ron and it was ready to see what the last member of the time traveling trio was like.

As the first years came in, he did a quick scan. Impossible to tell for certain just yet, but if the numbers were going to be ideal, it might need to stretch for a Gryffindor boy or two and maybe a Ravenclaw one too.

He said his song and his work began.

"Weasley, Ginny."

The girl walked up nervously. From the hat's perspective, the girl really was not standing out too much right now. She may have been a tad less nervous than an average first year, but only a tad.

It went on her head. "Interesting. I've been waiting a year to see what is up here."

"You know that is kind of creepy."

"Well I don't get too many time traveling 11-year-olds. Hmm. I suppose I didn't do you any favors last year."

"It worked out alright. Things were bound to change anyway."

"Yes. Well for what it's worth, I wish you luck. Now on to the sorting. Hmm, that plan certainly is worthy of a Slytherin. Cheat the rules of time and ignore the possible consequences to many for what you want."

"It's not like that."

"Not as true in recent years, but the difference between Slytherin and Gryffindor is actually not that big, certainly not among 11-year-olds. One house often values blind courage and the other blind self-interest. Very often the 2 go hand in hand."

"OK," thought Ginny, not really caring. "Please put me in Gryffindor though. This will be so much harder in Slytherin."

"I suppose you are right. I'm not sure it's best for you in Gryffindor either though. You could have new experiences somewhere else and would fit in well anywhere. Are you sure you wouldn't like to join Luna in Ravenclaw."

For a brief moment, Ginny was tempted, but came to a quick, "No."

"Very well."

"GRIFFINDOR!"

The smells of food still lingered in the air as dessert was lifted from the tables. Fred and George intercepted their sister on her way back from the bathroom. "Well are you going to show us this room?"

Ginny yawned. "Tomorrow, after classes. Let me get settled in first. Besides, we can't just barge in and start throwing things around. We need to talk about this first."

The twins started walking away immediately which Ginny thought was odd until she saw Professor Dumbledore making his way to her.

"Professor," said Ginny.

"Ah yes, Miss Weasley. I would like to have a word with you and your 6 companions tomorrow after your classes if you are up to it."

"Of course sir."

"7:00 then, but only if the three of you aren't too tired. If you are, we can of course reschedule"

He walked off just as quickly as he had gotten there. Ginny doubted anyone besides the twins would have even noticed they were talking.

Over their first couple of years at Hogwarts, the Weasley twins had developed a reputation as pranksters. It was a well-earned reputation.

While the twins loved to prank, they were smart about it. They had received a fair number of detentions because of their acts (often accompanied by Lee Jordon), but usually kept them low key enough or discrete enough to avoid punishment.

One of the smart things they had decided over the years was not to prank in Snape's class. Actually they rarely did prank in class, as it was higher risk and they weren't stupid, but they especially paid attention not to in Snape's class. It was a simple loss/gain situation. In their first year, they'd tried a couple of times and been caught each time (partially because Snape didn't seem to actually care about evidence). After they got caught, the punishments were much more severe than justified.

The twins had been itching to change that for quite a while, but it had been Ginny's story which had prompted them to finally try another prank. They had worked out the details over the end of the summer. They had decided not to include Lee as he probably wouldn't want to get involved in anything against Snape.

The twins made their way down to the dungeons for their first class of the year. The other Gryffindors and Slytherins were headed down with them, most fighting the anxiousness that always accompanies the first day of school.

Snape began class as his usual cheerful self and talked about the high expectations he didn't think anyone in the class was smart enough to meet (other than maybe one or two of his favorites). Pretty quickly he had them working on a new potion in pairs.

Fred and George worked together at one end of the room. They worked and talked to each other, but what no one knew was that they were listening closely on the other end as Bill and Christopher, a couple of Slytherins, worked on their potion.

Bill and Christopher weren't having luck. They thought they were doing the potion right, but instead of turning a light green, their potion was a dark purple. The more they tried to correct it, the worse it got.

Fred and George didn't let themselves smile as Snape headed toward the pair. They knew doing a prank in class would be more likely to be caught, so they'd gotten a hold of Bill's cauldron on the train and worked some magic on it then.

Snape approached the pair of Slytherins, "What's the matter?" he said as the cauldron started hissing and steam rolled off of it.

The two were speechless, but Snape had figured it out. "This cauldron has been tampered with." Snape took out his wand and said a quick spell. The brewing potion disappeared. As it disappeared, magic seemed to be reflected back at Snape. Snape himself wasn't affected, but his clothes were. In big bold letters across the middle of his shirt was one easy to read word: Traitor. It was plastered in various sizes hundreds of times all over his outfit.

Snape eyed around the room. In a calm, low voice, but one filled with fury, Snape said, "I want to know who is responsible for this now."

Accusing words started going around the room. Many were directed at Fred and George, but not all.

"Silence!" The room instantly went quiet. Snape went one by one to each student, starting with the Slytherins and asked if they were the ones who did this. Fred and George were the first 2 Gryffindors he asked. They said no, but Snape eyed them for a few moments.

"So you're not going to take credit for this one."

"We didn't do it," said Fred.

"Sir, we'd come up with much better sayings if we did."

"50 points from Gryffindor a piece, and I will be discussing this with both your head of house and the headmaster."

"We didn't do it," protested George.

"I likely story," said Snape.

"You have no evidence."

"Which is the only reason you two will likely be remaining at this school. Be grateful."

Snape's ice words quieted the twins. They were pleased though.

Snape had used legilimency. It wasn't something he actually used very much, but the spell had worried him. His first thoughts had not been to the Weasley twins, but to Slytherins students. He wondered if one of the former Death Eater parents had influenced them and Snape was worried they might be willing to go much further than a simple prank.

In the end, it wasn't anything that severe though fortunately. When he had asked the twins, he could tell from their emotions they were lying to him.

Why had they chosen that particular word though? He would have expected a much more childish one from them.

He was probably over blowing things. They had probably learned he had been accused of being a Death Eater from their father. While Snape didn't like that, he was hardly the only person around who bared that mark.

He would make sure their punishments were severe.

Hermione wasn't entirely sure how to look at the potions master as she sat at her desk. On the one hand, she trusted Dumbledore, thought of him as the greatest wizard in all of Europe if not the world, and he trusted Snape. On the other hand, Ginny said that he wasn't to be trusted and if Hermione recovered her memories, she was sure they would only confirm Ginny's position.

Hermione listened to the drudge coming out of Snape about how big of idiots they all were. While there were many times were she doubted herself and knew she could easily slip up, she wasn't intimidated today, at least not by a potential bad grade. Snape could say all he wanted, but she was going to get a good grade again.

That Snape might well be a murder and a traitor was more intimidating. Could she actually take classes and learn from someone like that?

Distracted or not, Hermione did pay attention and took notes, even on the things she already knew. It always helped to write things down.

Snape started quizzing students on facts they should have learned over the summer. He called on many, probably hoping to trip up most. Harry got one and missed 2 others. Ron missed his question. Neither was respectful and both lost points for Gryffindor. Snape didn't call on Hermione. Neither did she raise her hand.

With just a minute left in class, Snape looked at her. "No answers today Miss Granger. Learn not to be a know-it-all over the summer."

Hermione didn't answer. She couldn't. She just hoped she could stand being in the class for several more years.

Harry and Ron bit their tongues somehow.

As the Gryffindor and Slytherin first years came into the room, Snape wondered if the headmaster would return some of the points he had taken from Gryffindor today. He had taken a 100 from Fred and George (points Gryffindor was unlikely to have even earned yet). To top it off, Harry Potter had been his usual insolent self and the disease seemed to have spread to his sidekick, another Weasley. Snape hoped taking away another 20 points there would teach them a little about respect, although he doubted it.

Snape dismissed the thought as he started his 1st year Gryffindor/Slytherin class. His main job in the first class was to scare the students away from making trouble in any later classes. He was very good at this, and it did lead to a good learning environment.

Snape easily succeed at his mission from the moment the class began. Gryffindors and Slytherin alike were scared. Many of the Gryffindors and a few of the Slytherins would break out of it eventually and try some antics, but he would lay down the hammer for any disrespect to his authority.

There was only one noticeable exception. A first year Gryffindor, a red headed one, seemed to be in a different sort of mood than the rest of her classmates. Snape caught on quickly. He also thought he recognized the girl for some reason.

"Miss Weasley."

"Yes sir," she said. Her voice every bit a cold as his.

"I had some trouble with some of your brothers earlier today. Can I hope for better behavior from you?"

She seemed to bite her tongue. "I'm not stupid sir. I have no attention of pulling any silly pranks. I'm more serious than that."

For some reason, Snape didn't think those words were meant to be reassuring. Very odd behavior. Interesting day from the Weasley family. He wondered if anything had happened over the summer. "Let's hope so."

Snape spoke for about half the class and then gave them an incredibly easy potion to try. 1st years wouldn't do too well at it anyway, but the process would instill in them both the delicate nature of potions and its complexity.

He looked back at the Weasley girl and he remembered where he had seen her. She had come in last year at night toward the end of school to talk to the headmaster. He never had gotten an answer as to why. Very interesting. He would ask Dumbledore about that again later.

Going around the room, he saw the usual mistakes. No one was doing very well. That was until he made it to Miss Weasley. Her potion looked perfect. That was not something he wanted to see on the first day. It would instill overconfidence and lead to possibly dangerous mistakes. "Its color is slightly off. That will take a little off your grade."

"Yes sir. I didn't expect you to be fair."

"Are you questioning my authority to grade your work?"

She looked him straight in the eyes, a difficult feat for most 11-year-olds. "Not at all sir. Give me what you want. Even if it's a zero, I won't complain. We'll both know what grades I'll deserve though and that's all that matters to me…Sir."

"10 points from Gryffindor."

The girl didn't flinch or look shocked in anyway. Interesting indeed.

The headmaster's office was full of all kinds of artifacts, both personal and those of previous headmasters and headmistresses. Behind the desk sat the headmaster, rubbing his hands against his head. He was old and he could feel it. There had been so much to consider in the last few days and things weren't going to slow down much.

Dumbledore looked briefly at the photo of his long dead sister. No one knew it, but he looked at it every day. It was his reminder that for no matter how powerful he was and no matter what people said about him, that he could and did fail in his most important duty. She was dead and it was his fault and history may repeat itself in his failure again.

His thoughts often returned to Slytherin's ring. Ginny had speculated that it had done great damage to his hand. Dumbledore had considered how this could be and the only likely explanation he came up with was that he had put the ring on. But why? Was the ring…

Dumbledore shook his head and dismissed the thought. Now was not the time.

His hearing, still quite good, made out the sounds of footsteps and talking coming up the stairs. A few moments later there was a knock at the door. "Enter."

Seven students entered the room quietly; all interested in what this could be about.

"Welcome everyone. Before we begin, would anyone like a lemon drop?"

Everyone declined. "Very well, please take seats."

The twins pulled up the chairs as did Percy. The other 4 sat on the floor.

Dumbledore looked sympathetically at his pupils. They were trying so hard to do good, and he was very proud of them for it. Proud or not though, there was a reason he would have preferred not to include children. He had to get across to them the danger of what they were going to attempt and the need for, as Moody would put it, constant vigilance.

"Thank you for coming here this afternoon. I'm sure that your first day has used up a considerable amount of energy and I will make things as short as possible. I will also need to speak with some you in smaller groups later on." He glanced toward the twins.

"There are two issues I wish to discuss with you. The first one is about Professor Snape."

Several voices started, but Dumbledore held up his hand to stop any interruptions. "I understand that most of you do not trust him. Given the knowledge that you have, this is understandable, but please understand that I have as many reasons to trust him."

Ginny was shaking her head in pure frustration. This did not go unnoticed by Dumbledore. "Miss Weasley, please calm down."

Ginny's emotion level dropped a little and Dumbledore guessed that was the best he could hope for. He focused his attention entirely on her. "I realize that nothing I can say will convince you that Professor Snape is on our side. So, for the remainder of our conversation, I will speak as though he were not."

He continued addressing everyone, "If you were to assume that Professor Snape was willing to work with Voldemort and that you could not convince me to ask him to leave, what would be a wise course of action?"

Many thoughts came to the students. Hermione responded quickly. She raised her hand and Dumbledore politely called on her amidst a little snickering. "We should try not to act any differently toward him or do anything he would consider suspicious."

"But," said Fred, "we can't just let him get away with everything."

Percy came to Hermione's aid. "We don't want him to know anything is different. If everything works out right, You-Know-Who will be gone before Snape even knows there's a chance to bring him back. If he figures something out though, he might help You-Know-Who."

Fred and George looked at each other before conceding. As much as they wanted to, they couldn't argue the point. "All right," they said together.

Dumbledore looked to Harry. Harry guessed if Dumbledore could live with knowing what might happen to him, then Harry could too. He nodded slowly.

Dumbledore turned his gaze to Ginny. "Fine for now," she said quickly and without much conviction.

Dumbledore chose to ignore that. "Very well then. On to the main reason you are here. Have you discussed how you wish to start looking for this Horcrux?"

Percy spoke up, "We're going to start by looking in the Room of Requirement. We'll look for Ravenclaw's diadem and if we can't find it, we'll start checking other items. We have a couple of spells we think will help."

Dumbledore nodded. "I agree that is the best place to start. I must emphasize a few things before you begin though and it is very important that you listen."

They were all ears. Dumbledore started. "Using Ginny's directions, I have examined the room she described. In it are thousands of items. Most are pretty innocuous. Some are extremely dangerous though. I removed from the room three items that could kill someone who is not careful and several others which could be just as dangerous. There are undoubtedly at least a few others still there however."

"What should we do?" asked Hermione nervously.

"As tempting as it may be to split up, stay in groups of at least 3 at all times. If you do not know what an item is, do not simply approach it. You can come to me with questions."

After a silence, Dumbledore asked, "Does everyone understand?"

Seven heads nodded. "Good and please be exceptionally careful. Now, before the night is over, I do need to speak with Fred and George alone, followed by Ron and Miss Granger, and finally Miss Weasley. Hermione and Ron would you please return at 8 o'clock and Ginny would you return at 8:30?"

Everyone nodded and all left except the twins.

Percy had prefect duties. The other 4 headed toward the Room of Requirement. They didn't go into the room to hide things. Instead Ginny made it appear like the Burrow.

Ginny didn't say much. Harry did ask her a few more questions about the room which she answered as best she could. She'd come here on Hermione's suggestion, but wished she hadn't. Even if it looked like the Burrow she knew this was the room that Harry had been laid to rest.

Ron and Hermione hardly noticed Ginny's sour mood. They talked excitably about what Dumbledore would want to talk to them about.

Hermione and Ron ran into Fred and George on their way up to Dumbledore. "So what did you get?" asked Ron.

"A week's detention," said George. "Without any proof."

Hermione said, "Well you did it, didn't you?"

Fred said, "That's not the point."

"It was the word that got us," said George. "Dumbledore knew it had to be us so he told McGonagall he was convinced."

"Or rather he had us give her the note," said Fred. "That wasn't fun."

Hermione nervously played with her hair as they walked up the stairs to Dumbledore's office.

Ron asked, "What's the matter?"

Before today, she had never been in the headmaster's office and now she was heading for a 2nd time. "Do you think we are in trouble?"

Ron looked at her like she was crazy. "In trouble, in trouble for what?"

"I don't know," said Hermione, knowing she sounded ridiculous, but helpless to stop it. "Fred and George were."

"Blimey Hermione, you're too paranoid."

"I know it's just, I've never really been in trouble."

"You call going up against a giant 3 headed dog and playing as a piece in a terrible game of chess, just so you might have the chance to face You-Know-Who as not being in trouble?"

"But it's different," insisted Hermione. "Dumbledore is a professor."

"I'll never understand you," said Ron. Thinking better about it, he added, "but I guess it kind of makes sense…Um… You don't want to get in trouble for doing something wrong."

"Yea," said Hermione. Apparently that had been a good response. 'Pure luck' thought Ron.

They knocked and Dumbledore told them to come in. He greeted the two and asked them to take a seat.

Dumbledore started, "I'm sure you 2 have figured out what this is about." Looking at Hermione he said, "I suppose not. I wanted to ask if you two have made any decisions about what to do about the memories locked in your heads."

Relieved Hermione said, "We want to get them out."

Looking at Ron he said, "Do you feel the same way?"

Ron paused a moment and then said, "Yes."

"Very well then. If you truly do wish to recover the memories, and I do advise taking some time to think about it, then I have a few ideas. Only one is likely to be quick however."

On a couch that looked like the one Ron once laid on after passing out after receiving his memories, Harry said, "Ginny are you alright?"

Clenching her hands together hard, Ginny said, "I'm just mad at Dumbledore."

"About Snape?"

"Yea mostly. A little about him going through the Room of Requirement too, but mainly Snape…"

"Why do you think he doesn't believe us? Do you think it's a potion or something?"

Ginny thought a moment. "I don't really have any idea. I doubt it's a potion. I think Dumbledore is too smart to fall for that. Snape did something that convince him. He did more than what we know."

Confused, Harry said, "What do we already know that Snape did to convince Dumbledore?"

Ginny tried to remember the summer. Had she gotten into it? Surprisingly she didn't think so. "I'm not completely sure. You heard something from Trelawney, and told us later. She's pretty odd herself though."

"What did she say?"

This was going to make things harder on Harry. He was going to have to act normal in potions. Ginny was done with secrets though. "He heard part of the prophecy about you and told Voldemort. Later he felt really guilty and went to Dumbledore."

It came slow, but the enormity of what Ginny said hit Harry. "So it's his fault?" said Harry. "It's his fault my parents were murdered!"

Ginny couldn't really argue this even if it might be for the best. "Maybe. He wasn't the one to go after them, he wasn't the one who gave up their hiding place, and he didn't know what the prophecy meant, but he did probably give it to Voldemort."

"And I have to act like this is nothing!"

Ginny shared his outrage. She put her hand on his shoulder. "For now. If we let him know something is up, we'll make it easier for him to get what he wants. After we take care of Voldemort, then we can worry about Snape."

'Great' thought Ginny to herself. Now she was giving the same advice Dumbledore was.

Harry started to pace. He liked Dumbledore, but right now he was furious at the headmaster. "And he wasn't going to tell me. He lets him work here!"

After a few minutes, Harry calmed himself down enough to sit back down, but he was still furious. "He...I can't believe..."

Several more minutes passed. In a voice a little whinier than she would have liked, Ginny said, "It's really not fair you know."

"What?" asked Harry, fuming himself and not prepared for Ginny's outburst.

"I TOLD HIM EVERYTHING! I told him about the Horcruxes, about his hand, about Voldemort coming back, about his death, about that stupid diary. AND HE HASN'T TOLD ME ANYTHING THAT I DIDN'T ALREADY KNOW!"

Harry scooted back a little. That was the first time he had heard Ginny like this.

Harry thought for a moment. "Do you think that's all? Do you think Dumbledore has any other reasons?"

Ginny didn't look at Harry. "I don't know."

What Ginny didn't tell Harry was the thought that had come to her head when Dumbledore had asked them what the best thing for them to do about Snape was. Knowing Dumbledore wouldn't dismiss him, the rest had concluded it was best not to raise suspicion. Ginny had that thought too. She'd also had a thought that had been much darker. Most of her, especially the 11-year-old part of her knew that thought was too dark. There was another part though, the piece of her that knew what the consequences of failure were, that said there were things they could do to Snape which wouldn't require Dumbledore's cooperation. That piece of her said that it was the best thing to do no matter what it did to her personally.

Harry and Ginny met Ron and Hermione outside Dumbledore's office. "What did he want?" asked Harry.

Hermione said, "He gave us a few suggestions on memory charms."

"He talked about one potion that would probably work," said Ron, "but he couldn't make it." Hermione hit him.

Ginny asked, "Could anyone else?"

Ron looked between Hermione and Ginny before finally saying, "Snape could." He quickly added, "But we told him no."

Harry joined Ron and Hermione heading back to the Common Room and Ginny went into the office. She would have to try to control her temper.

"Miss Weasley, thank you for coming back to see me at this late hour. I will of course make sure you get back without getting into any trouble."

Ginny nodded politely. Here, alone with the headmaster, she could almost feel some of her normal 1st year fears. They were overpowered by her older memories however. "With all due respect sir, what did you want to talk about?"

Dumbledore ignored the bit of disrespect. "I want to make sure that you realize your position among your brothers and friends."

She had expected this conversation to be about Snape. Confused, Ginny said, "What do you mean?"

"You are the youngest in the group. In most circumstances this would mean that you had the least authority."

"I don't see where you're going with this."

"Ginny, when dealing with matters involving the future, I need you to realize that you are often leading the group."

Confusion finally replaced anger as Ginny's dominant emotion. "We are all in this. I don't know if there really is a leader. It's not like my older brothers are about to take orders from me."

"In the previous timeline I have gotten the sense that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were a very close knit group."

Ginny thought of the three of them always on their own. An inseparable group and one impossible to join. "Yes."

"And was there a leader?"

Without hesitation Ginny said, "Harry."

"And did Hermione and Ron always do what he said?"

"Of course not."

"But when there was a situation and someone needed to take the lead, who was it usually? Who were the others most likely to turn to?"

Ginny nodded. "Harry." She thought for a moment. She felt more like a first year again. "But I'm younger. They aren't going to follow me."

"I think you'll find that they will. It is unquestionably an awkward situation with your brothers, but I believe that Harry and Hermione are already looking to your lead and that in matters relating to the future, your brothers will as well."

That made Ginny feel much less comfortable.

Dumbledore said, "Do not mistake me. I am not suggesting that you can give orders, that you should expect others to defer to you, or that this is necessarily permanent. I also believe you have done a remarkable job of it thus far."

Ginny nodded weakly.

"This is very important for you to remember though especially as you start to explore the Room of Requirement. I tried to instill caution, but I fear enough hours in there will temper it, particularly among a few of your less cautious brothers."

Ginny nodded. He thought that exploring the Room of Requirement would be dangerous and she would be the one best able to keep everyone safe. She half thought he was crazy, but she would think about it.

Peter Pettigrew shivered a little after the spell. He had to say it every hour without fail. Slowly his master had regained a little bit of substance. It wasn't much, but he had at least a little bit of a physical presence again.

"Master, I can find the ingredients on my own if you let me leave for a few days."

"If you leave, I'll lose even the little bit that I have regained. No, we need another. There are no loyal servants available. We'll have to take a chance with one not completely loyal servant."

Sorry again everyone that this took so long.

Ven'K: Thanks for the review. There is definitely tension because of Dumbledore's decision not to reveal Snape's secret and that's going to be an issue until something comes to a head (can't say exactly how that will be right now). Both sides are acting based on things they believe completely and both are a little too sure of themselves. You're right that no one but Dumbledore knows about Harry being a Horcrux.

I hadn't thought of Mr. Weasley getting payback yet, although that would be fun. It might happen, but would have to flow from the story. Right now he's focused on Horcruxes and feeling bad that his bold actions put Ginny in danger. I could see it working out down the road though.

Fraewyn: Sorry you had to wait so long.

Secret world: Thanks for the review.

SlytherinLuver: Thanks for the reviews!

Creampuff: I suppose a year later wasn't soon. Sorry.

LillyRose95: Thank you.

Nos: Thanks.