Chapter Twelve
Ginny felt the blood drain from her face.
How in the name of Merlin was the Minister at her house!?
"Sirius," Ginny gasped, "We need to go…now!"
"We can't!"
"Why not!?"
"They'd hear the sound of us Apparating," Sirius worriedly explained, "They'd know that someone was here."
Ginny bit her lip and cried, "Well…what if we take the motorbike?"
"We can't risk that, either," Sirius swallowed, "If they saw us…"
"Alright," Ginny frantically murmured, "Alright, alright, alright…Apparate without me."
"What!?"
"Apparate back to Grimmauld Place," Ginny whispered, "If they come snooping, I'll tell them that I let off a firecracker or something."
"I'm not leaving you here," Sirius hissed, looking mortified by the thought.
"It'll be okay," Ginny retorted, "I can take care of myself."
"I'm not leaving you," Sirius firmly said, "Besides, your mother would kill me if I did."
"They're going to kill you if you don't," Ginny argued, "Sirius, please!"
But Sirius was just as stubborn as she was.
Ginny sighed and turned her attention back to the officials. They had climbed up onto the porch and were peering through the window.
"What are they even doing here?" Ginny whispered.
"I have a hunch," Sirius muttered, "But you're not going to like it."
"Go on."
"They're looking for your family," Sirius explained, "The last few weeks have left Fudge paranoid. He's worried that Dumbledore is forming some sort of resistance and that your family is a part of it."
"Err…" Ginny slowly said, "That's not paranoia, Sirius. That's actually happening."
"True," Sirius whispered, "But he can't know that!"
Ginny hesitated.
She suddenly had a plan.
She turned towards Sirius and muttered, "Stay here and wait for my signal."
"What!?"
Ginny took a deep breath and raced out of the thicket.
"Juniper!" Sirius hissed, "Get back here!"
Ginny didn't listen.
She raced up on the porch and made her presence known.
The men turned.
"Oh, hullo," Ginny pleasantly said.
The men exchanged glances.
At long last, Cornelius Fudge, "Hullo, little girl."
Ginny's nostrils flared but she maintained her smile.
One of the other workers hesitated and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"This is my house," Ginny cheerfully replied, "What are you doing here, Minister?"
Fudge looked as if he had swallowed a lemon.
He ignored Ginny's question and asked, "Is it your house?"
"Yes," Ginny evenly said, "It is."
"Your family seems to be gone."
"Ah," Ginny replied, "That's because we're visiting my Great Aunt Muriel."
"Your Great Aunt Muriel?"
"Terribly dreadful woman," Ginny continued, "Her house smells like mothballs. We're staying there for the summer."
"You are?"
"We are."
"Really?"
"Really."
Ginny had brought herself up to her full height and was vehemently glaring at the Minister.
"Why?"
"The dog, you see," Ginny explained, "We think that it's rabid."
She could see the color drain from their faces.
One of the men behind Fudge whispered, "A…r…rabid dog?"
"That's right," Ginny calmly said, "I only stopped by to see if it was still here."
At that moment, a large black dog charged from the thicket of trees. Drool hung from its chin, its teeth were barred, and it was loudly growling.
Fudge actually let out a scream.
The men scrambled for a moment before fearfully Apparating away.
Ginny chuckled as Sirius changed back.
"Juniper," Sirius excitedly roared, "That was fantastic!"
Ginny swelled with pride.
"Cream of the crop!" Sirius praised, "Belle of the ball! Absolutely brilliant!"
"Thanks," Ginny sincerely said, "There's just…one problem…"
"What's that?"
"We're not at Great Aunt Muriel's house."
"Ah," Sirius replied, "Yes, that's…that's a bit of a problem."
"Let's go!" Ginny exclaimed, "We don't have much time!"
Sirius held out his arm and she grabbed it.
She felt the sickening sensation and closed her eyes.
Once again, she landed on a hard floor.
She realized that she was kneeling in the foyer of 12 Grimmauld Place.
She scrambled to her feet and took a deep breath.
Sirius preemptively grabbed the curtains as Ginny screamed, 'OI, YOU LOT! WE NEED TO GO! NOW!"
"WEASLEY FAMILY," Sirius loudly added, "PLEASE REPORT TO THE FOYER. WEASLEY FAMILY TO THE FOYER, IF YOU PLEASE."
Fred and George immediately Apparated into the foyer.
"Ginny—"
"—what's wrong?"
Before Ginny could explain, her father came up from the kitchen with her mother in tow.
"Ginevra Molly Weasley," Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, "You better have a good reason for making such a racket!"
Hermione raced downstairs and cried, "What's going on?"
"We need to all go to Great Aunt Muriel's," Ginny explained, "Immediately!"
"What?" Mr. Weasley yelped, "Why?"
"There's no time to explain!" Ginny exasperatedly said, "RON! GET DOWN HERE!"
As usual, her brother was lagging behind.
He finally trudged downstairs a few moments later and cried, "Blimey, Ginny, I was taking a nap."
"Oh, were you?" Ginny snapped, "I'm so sorry. I'm just trying to save our skins. But by all means, go back to your nap."
Ron's ears turned pink.
"Let's go!" Ginny continued, "NOW!"
"G…go where?" Ron spluttered.
Ginny ignored him.
"I can't go with you, I'm afraid," Sirius spoke up, "Good luck!"
Before Ginny could reply, her mother indignantly cried, "Now, wait just a moment! I demand to know wh—"
Ginny threw the twins a pleading glance and they immediately understood.
Fred grabbed their parents' hands and Apparated away. George grabbed Ginny's hand, Ginny grabbed Ron's hand, and Ron grabbed Hermione's hand.
Ginny saw the fear etched into Sirius' face and felt her stomach twist.
Before she could say anything, she was whisked away.
She landed on a plush carpet and immediately realized that she hadn't even said goodbye to Sirius. She hadn't thanked him for the ride. It was okay…she could thank him in a few minutes…after they returned to Grimmauld Place…because they were going back…they weren't going to just leave him there…
"Arthur! What on earth is going on!?"
"Sorry, Aunt Muriel," Mr. Weasley was saying, "I didn't have much of a choice."
Ginny straightened up and saw that her parents were glaring at the twins.
"Don't look at us," Fred began.
"Yeah," George added, "Ginny was the one who wanted us to come here."
"We figured that she had a good reason," Fred finished.
Ginny appreciatively smiled and leapt to her feet.
"Well, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley bit, "What is this good reason?"
"When…"
Ginny glanced at their aunt and told a small lie, "When I was at the Burrow, I saw Cornelius Fudge and a few other Ministry workers."
"Good Lord!" Mr. Weasley yelped, "The Minister? At our house!?"
"Why would Fudge be at our house?" George amazedly asked.
"Fancy meeting the commoners, does he?" Fred joked.
"He was looking for us," Ginny explained, "'Seems to think that the Weasley family is hiding out in some underground resistance aimed at fighting Tom Riddle."
"Is that right?" George asked.
"Where on earth would he get an idea like that?" Fred wondered.
"Simply daft," George agreed.
Their mouths twitched.
"I lied," Ginny finished, "And told him that since there was a rabid dog on the loose, we were staying here for the summer."
"You lied to the Minister?" Hermione gasped.
Ginny nodded.
"Brilliant!"
Ginny flushed at the twins' cry.
"What's this?" Great Aunt Muriel cried, "An underground resistance!?"
"Ah, Aunt Muriel," Mr. Weasley sadly said, "I'm so sorry."
He waved his wand and whispered, "Confundus."
The old woman looked baffled for a moment before brightly saying, "Well, since you're all staying for the summer, how about I whip us up some scones?"
"That would be lovely," Mr. Weasley replied, "Thank you."
Ginny anxiously watched as her aunt raced off.
She then jumped as they heard a knock at the door.
Mr. Weasley drew himself up and answered it.
Sure enough, the three Ministry officials from earlier were standing there.
Along with…
Ginny gasped.
"No bloody way," Fred and George simultaneously muttered.
Percy Weasley was solemnly staring at them.
