Chapter Eleven:

The Black Horse

Friday, December 10th,1993,

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,

Ginny Weasley,

Hogwarts wasn't supposed to be like this. Hogwarts was supposed to be fun and magical like her brothers had described it. It wasn't supposed to involve Ginny hiding away in an unused classroom, crying her eyes out on the dusty floor for the third time this week. She wiped her nose on the tattered sleeve of her robes and opened a folded piece of parchment that someone had stuffed into her Transfiguration textbook.

'Dark Witch go home!' it read.

The note crumpled in her fist and she sobbed harder. Ever since school had started back up in September, people had been glaring at her in the halls and calling her names as they shoved past her; her roommates pretended she didn't exist; and the rest of her housemates either did the same or simply didn't notice her at all. They blamed her for what had happened last year with the Muggle-borns and the Basilisk and Harry. They thought she was a Death Eater in league with You-Know-Who, and they wanted nothing to do with her. She supposed she couldn't blame them: if she had the choice, she wouldn't want anything to do with herself either.

She felt dirty and tainted after last year's events, and no matter how much Bill and her mother tried to reassure her that none of it was her fault, and no matter how much the rest of her family tried to pretend it hadn't happened, it didn't help. She'd had her mind and body stolen from her by a force so evil that it had slowly drained the life from her. You-Know-Who had been in her head for a whole year; he'd seen her thoughts and imbued them with his own; and she hadn't been able to fight it, hadn't even been aware it was happening. If she'd been stronger and smarter, if she hadn't let him in, then none of it would have happened: none of those Muggle-borns would have gotten hurt; Hagrid wouldn't have been sent to Azkaban; Harry wouldn't have had to put himself in danger to save her; and she wouldn't now have this gnawing feeling in her stomach that was slowly eating away at her.

She cried until she couldn't anymore, until she felt so numb she couldn't feel a thing. Then she lay there, alone and breathing in the dust.

Things had been so much better over the summer. Far from Hogwarts she'd been able to forget about it all. She went to visit Bill in Egypt with the rest of her family; she spent endless days at the Burrow swimming in the pond, and exploring the orchard next to the house, and watching her brothers play Quidditch. But when they'd gone to Diagon Alley to get their school supplies, the dread had settled in her mind, only to grow and grow as the 1st of September approached. When finally it was time to board the train, she'd stuck by Ron, Hermione, and Harry, hoping their high spirits would dissipate her oncoming panic, but then Ron told her to go away, and that hope shattered. She'd found an empty compartment to sit in and every time other students had popped their heads in in search of empty seats she'd smiled at them, but each of them had taken one look at her and changed their mind. When the train had stopped and the lights had gone out, she'd made her way to where Ron and his friends were sitting, and when the dementor showed up… she'd never felt so cold in her life, and images had flashed through her mind: Hermione and all the other Muggle-borns dead on the floor; Harry bleeding out with a Basilisk fang embedded in his skin; and You-Know-Who laughing as Ginny wrote one final message on the castle walls, this time using her own blood as it trailed from her wrist…

The sounds of students in the corridors, pulled her from her memories and she struggled to her feet. She wiped away the tears, but she knew it wouldn't help: her eyes were red and puffy from all the crying; her face was blotchy and tear-stained; her hair was lank and knotted from her running her hands through it too often; and her robes were threadbare and covered in dust. She wished she knew more magic, then she could fix her appearance with a snap of her fingers and no one would know she'd been crying. But she couldn't, so she rubbed at her eyes, smoothed back her hair, and peered out the door to check that the coast was clear. The corridor was empty. She hurried out, keeping her head down just in case, turned a corner, and ran right into someone.

"Sorry," the other person said quickly, hands gripping Ginny's shoulders to keep her upright.

She glanced up very quickly and her eyes widened on Kali Black, the girl who was quickly climbing the Slytherin food chain, and who was related to the infamous Sirius Black. "I'm s-sorry, I didn't see you there."

"It's okay," Kali replied. "I wasn't watching where I was going either."

Ginny lowered her gaze back down to her feet, hoping that Kali would walk around her and carry on her way, but she didn't. Ginny felt panic bubble in her chest and, as discreetly as possible, looked for an escape route, that was when her eyes caught on Pandoran and she gasped. The dog that had been trotting faithfully beside Kali was huge, the size of a bear, with long, sharp teeth clearly visible in his open mouth.

"He won't hurt you, if that's what you're worried about," Kali said. Her voice was very gently and Ginny almost thought she'd imagined it.

As though to prove this, Pandoran transformed into a tiny spotted feline which was far too cute to look threatening. Ginny gasped and the daemon changed again, this time into a rabbit, then into a fennec fox, and Ginny felt a tentative smile flit onto her face. She hadn't smiled in months, tentative or otherwise.

"Perhaps a peacock would be more appropriate," Kali said as Pandoran changed into a wombat. The daemon glared at her and made a harsh rasping noise, but he did turn into a peacock and flaunted his impressively beautiful tail.

From there he turned into a harp seal, and then settled for the form of a Friesian horse when Ginny's eyes felt like they were about to pop out of her head. She raised a hand to stroke his muzzle, but quickly thought better of it and took a step back. Pandoran huffed and stepped forward, lowering his big head to her hand. She stroked him uncertainly, staring at him in awe.

"What's your name?" Kali asked, smiling at her.

"Ginny – Ginny Weasley," she said timidly.

"Kali Black," she said. "And the show-off is Pan."

"He's beautiful," said Ginny, and Pan whinnied and tossed his head happily.

Kali laughed, the sound startling Ginny. "You've just made a friend. He likes you," said Kali, stroking her hand along Pan's side as he moved his head to the side of Ginny's face and nuzzled her affectionately.

Ginny almost burst into tears all over again, but then his whiskers brushed against her skin and she giggled instead. "That tickles."

She caught Kali looking over her thoroughly, from her tattered robes and unkempt appearance, to her dull hair and reddened eyes. Ginny knew she wasn't looking her best, she knew that she had the look of someone who wasn't eating properly – because she wasn't – with bones that jutted sharply against pale and clammy skin. She felt like an emaciated troll next to Kali who was tall and lithe with skin that glowed with a healthy tan, and whose hair was clean and shiny.

"Have you had dinner?" Kali asked, and Ginny swore under her breath. She hadn't realized how late it was. Kali raised an eyebrow at the swearing, a smile tugging at her lips, but she shook it off. "I'm heading down to the Great Hall now if you'd like to join me?"

Ginny wanted to refuse, but no one had been this nice to her in months, and Pan was resting his head on her shoulder, and she felt… safe, almost. She nodded and Kali grinned and Ginny didn't feel bad anymore.

"What happened to your robes?" Kali asked as they headed down several flights of stairs together. Pan was perched on Ginny's shoulder as a pine marten, nibbling at her ear and pulling on her hair every few steps.

"One of my roommates has a cat, he got stuck in our dorm the other day, and I'd left my trunk open. He shredded most of my clothes."

Kali stopped walking. "Your roommate hasn't offered to replace your stuff?"

Ginny shrugged and didn't answer as she fiddled with one of the holes. Of course Jennifer had done no such thing; when she'd seen what her cat had done, she'd said that Ginny only had herself to blame and that it served her right.

Kali huffed and grabbed Ginny's hand, dragging her down another hallway and down a spiral staircase which landed them in the dungeons.

"Stay here a sec, I'll be right back," said Kali as she darted through a door that hadn't been there a second before and that disappeared again as soon as Kali was out of sight.

Before Ginny could start to worry about being alone down in the dungeons in front of the Slytherin Common Room, Kali was back with three sets of robes in hand.

"Here," she said, piling the robes into Ginny's arms. "I've shot up about five inches since I bought these. They're too small for me, but they should fit you."

Ginny let her wide eyes flick from Kali to the robes and then back again. "I can't accept these."

"Why not?"

Because they were nicer than anything she had ever owned. The fabric was thick and soft and surprisingly light, they looked like they'd been fitted specifically for Kali, and they were probably more expensive that Ginny was comfortable knowing.

"I can't wear them anymore," said Kali, "and I don't know anyone else who needs robes, so if you don't accept them, they're just going to take up space in my trunk."

Ginny was about to protest again, but Kali gently herded her into a bathroom, pushing her toward one of the stalls to try the robes on, and Ginny gave in. She changed quickly and stepped back out into the bathroom, enjoying how nice the new robes felt against her skin, they weren't at all scratchy like her own robes were.

"They're a bit long," said Kali, drawing her wand and with a fluid motion the bottom of the robes turned in on itself, shortening by a couple of inches, as did the sleeves. "That's better. What do you think?"

Ginny stared at Kali's smiling face, and she felt her eyes sting. She pressed her lips together hard as the tears slipped free. Kali's eyes widened in horror and she rushed forward.

"What's wrong?"

Ginny couldn't say anything through the sobs, so she waved her arms around meaninglessly instead, babbling incoherently as she gasped for breath. Kali gave up on trying to understand her and pulled her into a hug instead. Ginny sobbed harder, sinking into the first human touch she'd gotten since leaving home. She cried for a long time, and Kali let her, squeezing her tightly and whispering soothing words of comfort. Finally, she calmed down enough to pull away, and tried to ignore Kali's worried eyes by rubbing at her face.

When she felt ready to face Kali, she opened her eyes, and saw Kali bending down to pick up a piece of parchment on the floor. It took Ginny a moment to recognize it, and she sprang forward but it was too late. Kali read through the note and Ginny snatched it out of hands.

"Ginny, who gave you that?" Kali asked, her voice was deceptively calm, but her normally clear silver eyes were starting to look an awful lot like two angry storm clouds.

Ginny shrugged, stuffing the note in her pocket, and looking anywhere but at Kali.

Kali took a step toward her, and with a finger under chin, lifted Ginny's gaze to hers. "Ginny?"

"I don't know," she said quietly, her voice shaking. "I found it in one of my textbooks."

"Have you told anyone about it?" Ginny shook her head. Kali sighed and stepped away from her, slowly pacing around the small room. "You need to tell your Head of House."

"No," she said, voice rising with panic. "I don't want to cause a fuss and I'm sure Professor McGonagall has better things to worry about."

"No, she doesn't," Kali replied. "This is bullying, Ginny. It's wrong and it won't go away if you do nothing."

"Please," Ginny pleaded. "I don't – I don't want…"

She'd caused enough trouble last year, and she didn't need to be called a snitch as well as a dark witch. It was enough to know that someone cared enough to get angry on her behalf, even if that person was a complete stranger. Kali didn't like it, but it's what Ginny wanted, so she nodded stiffly and cast the robe shortening spell on the other two sets.

"Come over here," she said, pulling Ginny in front of the mirror. She took a paper towel and ran it under the tap. "Cold water helps bring the redness down." She handed the damp paper towel to Ginny and guided her hand up to her blotchy face letting her wash away the dust and dried tears from her face.

Kali brushed a strand of red hair behind Ginny's ear, took her wand out again and tapped the tip against the top of Ginny's head twice. Ginny's scalp tingled and some of the life returned to her hair until it was no longer dull and stringy.

"Not as efficient as a shower, but it will do," said Kali, observing her work with a critical eye, then throwing a smile at Ginny. "Feeling better?"

Ginny nodded. She wasn't sure what else to do or what she could say to express the extent of her gratitude, but the basics seemed like a good place to start. "Thank you."

"Any time."

They headed up to the Great Hall, and were halfway there when Kali stopped again.

"Why did they call you a dark witch?"

Ginny wasn't sure she wanted to tell her, but all Kali would have to do was ask one of her friends and they'd spill the entire thing, at least if Ginny was the one recounting the story it would be accurate and not as vilifying. "Do you know what happened here at the end of last year?"

Kali frowned. "Harry killed a Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets."

Ginny wondered at the familiarity with which Kali spoke Harry's name, it took her a moment to remember that they were friendly with each other. "Well… it was my fault."

Ginny told the story aloud for the first time since it had happened: she talked about the diary; about bearing her soul to it and how You-Know-Who had used that as a gateway into her mind; about opening the Chamber of Secrets and waking the Basilisk; about killing all the roosters and painting messages on the castle walls with their blood; about Mrs. Norris, and Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Sir Nicholas, and Colin Creevey, and Penelope Clearwater, and Hermione; and about Harry saving her and the phoenix saving him.

She was exhausted by the time she was done. She and Kali were sat on a stone bench in an alcove, and Kali had nodded along as Ginny spoke, her beautiful grey eyes clouding as the story progressed. By the end of it, Ginny felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders.

"Whoa," Kali breathed. "You're… you must be really strong to have survived that."

Ginny ducked her head and scrunched up her shoulders. "I'm not strong, if it weren't for me none of that would have happened."

"I don't believe that's true. I think it would have happened, one way or another, eventually, and if not to you then to someone else, someone who wouldn't have made it to where you are now."

"I haven't done anything."

"You've gotten out of bed everyday since. You've endured people's hate and distrust. You haven't given up yet. That's something, and it's something that makes you very strong and very brave."

Ginny felt herself blush at the compliment as she let herself believe it, because Kali's tone was warm and sincere and trustworthy, and Ginny wanted to be better – needed to be better – than she thought she was.

"Come on, I'm starving," said Kali, holding out her hand and pulling Ginny to her feet.

They finally made it to the Great Hall, and Kali sat at the Gryffindor table as though she belonged there. People stared, Ginny wasn't sure if it was because of her or because of the Slytherin in their midst, but either way Kali ignored them as she served Ginny a generous portion of lasagne. Kali supplied most of the conversation while Ginny gorged herself on food, she hadn't realized how hungry she'd been the past couple of months. She'd been avoiding the Great Hall as much as possible, skipping most meals because the thought of eating alone while the people around her glared at her made her lose her appetite, but Kali acted like a shield between them and Ginny.

Ginny was piling a second helping of desert onto her plate when Kali smiled at someone over Ginny shoulder and waved them over. Ginny turned and spotted Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw in her year, skipping over to them. Luna was an odd person, she believed all kinds of strange creatures existed despite what everyone else said, and she had a bizarre sense of fashion, today for instance, she was wearing Dirigible plum earrings and a Butterbeer cork necklace. She had waist-length, straggly, dirty blonde hair, and pale and protuberant eyes that made her look permanently surprised.

"Hello, Kali," Luna said dreamily.

"Hey, Luna," Kali said brightly, and looked from Luna to Ginny. "You two are in the same year, right?"

"That's right," said Luna. She was swaying from side to side to music only she could hear. Ginny found it amazing how the Ravenclaw didn't seem to care at all what the people around them must be thinking of her.

Kali was about to say more when Professor McGonagall appeared beside her. "Miss Black, may I have a word?"

Kali grinned up at the teacher and slid from the end of the bench as McGonagall led her away from prying ears.

"Do you suppose she's being told off for teaching the coats of armour to sing?" asked Luna taking the seat Kali had just vacated.

Ginny smiled at the thought of the rude song the suits of armour sang every time Snape walked past them. It had been going on for a week and none of the teachers had been able to make it stop, the students all found it immensely funny, though. Snape was a vile teacher who enjoyed humiliating his students and it was nice to see the tables turned on him like this.

"No," said Ginny. "Professor McGonagall doesn't look angry enough. Look, she's even smiling."

McGonagall's lips had twitched into a soft smile and the look in her eyes was almost affectionate, if slightly confused like she couldn't quite figure Kali out. Ginny looked away from them and focused on Luna who was smiling at her serenely.

"How do you know Kali?" asked Ginny.

"Some older boys were teasing me and she told them off. She made them cry… she can be very cruel when she wants to be, they haven't bothered me since. But she's nice to me."

"She's nice to me too," said Ginny, glancing over at Kali's smiling face, then focusing back on Luna. "Have you started on the Herbology homework yet?"

The conversation flowed easily from there. Luna may be weird, but she didn't judge, and she was friendly in an airy sort of way. Kali came back to join them and Ginny knew, for the first time, that she had friends at Hogwarts, and that things could only get better from here.