Days passed. Ginny and Ron fell into a routine at Shell Cottage. They would wake up in the same bed, Ginny having had a nightmare at some point during the night and climbed into bed next to Ron, get dressed, and go downstairs. Fleur would meet them with breakfast, glaring at them—she was mad at them for leaving their friends—while Bill would say goodbye to them before he went to work.
The rest of the morning they would help Fleur clean, trying to make her talk to them again, and when she hadn't smiled at them by lunch, they would give up. After lunch they would lock themselves in either Ron or Ginny's room and talk about ways they could get back to Harry and Hermione.
When Bill came home, they would eat dinner and listen to how his day went. After the dishes had been washed, they would sit down in the living room and listen to the radio until it was time for bed.
Bill had been informed of a radio station that was for Harry, and every night they would say the password and listen to voices that were familiar to them. When the radio was off, they would say goodnight and go to their rooms.
Ginny would then have a nightmare and move into Ron's room for the night, just like old times.
This pattern continued until the day before Christmas. That night Ron had stayed up later than usual, his arm curled lightly around Ginny's shoulders. Her breathing had evened out a while ago, signaling that she was asleep.
He was absently flicking the Deluminator Dumbledore had left him on and off, watching the lamp beside his bed go out, then back on.
If he had looked out the window he would have seen that it was actually early in the morning, but he didn't. He was too busy trying to hear what he had just heard again.
And then he heard it again, a whisper of what sounded like Hermione's voice. "Your wand…" she had said.
He blinked, sure he wasn't imagining things. He glanced at the Deluminator, clicking it. Like usual, the light went out. But when he clicked it again, instead of returning the light to the lamp, it appeared outside his window.
Ron blinked again and carefully extracted his arm out from under his sister, moving silently over to the window. Then he smiled, nearly laughing in his happiness.
He slid back over to the bed, shaking Ginny awake. "Ginny," he whispered. "Get up."
Her eyes fluttered open, and she glared groggily at him. "What?" she hissed. "I'm trying to sleep."
"Who cares?" he said, moving over to his pack. He shoved his clothes and what other things he had brought with him in there. "Get packing. I know how we can get to Harry and Hermione."
Ginny sat upright, staring at him. "Seriously?"
He nodded. "Yeah. But we have to leave before they get up, or else Bill won't let you leave. He'll want you to stay here."
He had barely finished his sentence before she was creeping out the door to her room across the hall.
Ron quickly changed clothes and scribbled a note to Bill explaining what had happened to them. When Ginny came back, he was ready to leave and gestured for her to follow him.
They walked through the house as quiet as mice, silently closing the front door behind them. Ginny didn't know what her brother's plan was, but as long as they got back to their friends safe and sound, she would go with anything.
She stopped short at the sight of the glowing blue ball hovering above the garden.
Ron went right on ahead though, stopping a foot short of the dark dirt. His red hair shone under the rising sun, making it look much more vivid then it actually was. His hand stretched out towards the ball, but it moved out of his reach, leading him to the shed.
Ginny cautiously followed. She didn't know what this thing was, and she had learned her lesson with the diary in her first year. Don't interact with things that can think for themselves. She didn't know if this ball fell under that category or not, but she wasn't going to be stupid.
Oh well. Sorry, Dad, but I can't let Ron go alone, she thought.
When Ron stretched out his hand to touch the ball of light, Ginny wasn't surprised when the light flew forward and into her older brother. She had seen so many weird things lately; she doubted anything could surprise her now.
Ron held out his hand to Apparate, but Ginny froze when she heard Bill call her name frantically. She turned her head, gazing at the eldest Weasley as he yelled at her from his bedroom window.
"Sorry, Bill!" she called, taking Ron's hand. The last thing she saw was Fleur appear next to Bill and call her name, also.
When the world stopped spinning, Ginny looked around at their surroundings. They were in a forest, tap trees rising up around them. There was a light covering of snow under her feet, and it crunched under her boots as she shifted her weight.
She let go of Ron's hand and sighed, leaning against the trunk of tree behind her. "So," she said. "Where are we?"
"I don't know." Ron said, blue eyes searching the dark forest for something. "The light told me what to do."
"You're kidding me, right?" Ginny asked worriedly, her own eyes raking over her brother's face. He shook his head. "What about everything Dad told us about not trusting things that have a mind of their own?"
"This was Dumbledore's, Ginny."
"So?"
"Whatever. I'm going to go scout around and see if I can find them."
"Fine. I'll stay here."
Ginny climbed the tree to sit on the lowest branch, swinging her legs as Ron disappeared.
A/N: Okay! So, I was thinking that you guys deserve a prize for all the reviews you've been giving me—I mean, the story. Oh, who am I kidding, the story's mine, they're for me. Anyways, I've decided that you all are so nice, and I wanted to do something nice for you, back. So, whoever is the 75th reviewer, YOU will get to choose what story I update next, or if you want, I can write a oneshot for you. Doesn't matter to me, really. I'll announce who it is when we get there, and you can PM me or something with your choice.
Love you all, thanks so much for the reviews! Keep 'em coming!