Chapter 26: The Raven Weasley

Ginny woke up feeling as if she was lighter than air, almost as if she was empty. She took a quick look around and figured out that she was in the hospital wing. She tried to lift up her body, only to realize that she was being weighed down.

She looked down and was met with a head full of red hair. Ron. He was sleeping with his upper body draped over her, his hands holding on tightly to her arms.

'That's weird.' she thought as she tried to move. Ron had her heavily pinned.

"Ron? Ron wake up." she said trying to stir him. Ron groaned as he turned his head to face Ginny.

"Gin?" he said raising his body slightly, his hands still pinning her arms down.

"Ron, why are you giving my arms the death grip?" asked Ginny.

"Because I had to. You were thrashing around so much that we all had to take turns holding you down. You almost knocked Malfoy out a couple times. And you gave me a right nasty kick to the face." said Ron, chuckling as he let go of Ginny.

Ginny sat up quickly. "I did what? Why? What happened to me?"

"Well, what do you remember?" asked Ron.

Ginny closed her eyes and tried to recall what had happened. "I was arguing with Harry. He was being horrible to me. And I was getting mad at him. And then I felt as if I was being pulled apart. Then a result light. And then, nothing."

Ron nodded. "Well first let me say that Harry didn't mean a word of what he said."

"What?"

"He didn't mean it. He just said everything to piss Ivory off."

"But why?! That was so dangerous of him! She could havw easily killed him!" yelled Ginny.

"She almost did actually. If Malfoy and I wasn't hiding in the stands, Ivory would have demolished him. She has a seriously mean right hook, she does." laughed Ron.

"But why did he do that? Why did you let him?" asked Ginny.

"It was a plan. Nothing else we came up with was helping to get Ivory out." said Ron.

Ginny froze. No wonder she felt so light. No wonder her body felt completely different.

"Ivory is..."

"She's right over there sleeping. Wanna see her?" said Ron helping Ginny off the bed.

Ginny nodded as Ron tried to guide her over to what looked like a quickly made enclosed room. At first, Ginny felt her legs were weak but after a few steps, she had gained her stride back.

"Wow, you even walk different now." said Ron as he observed his sister.

Ron knocked three times fast and then two knocks rather loudly and Draco opened the door. Ginny flew into his arms, almost knocking both Draco and Ron over.

Draco hugged Ginny as close to his body as he could. "I thought I lost you." he whispered in her ear.

Ginny drew back some, looking at Draco's worried face. "I'm here silly. Why would you have thought that?"

"Well, when you passed out, you hit your head pretty hard. Then later you were thrashing around like a mad man for hours. We had to take turns watching you. Not even a body bind curse worked. You broke out of all the ones that we casted, including Dumbledore's."

Ginny went wide eyed. She suddenly found herself scared of her own body. Draco, sensing her fear, lightly brushed her cheek with his hand.

"You're fine now love. Everything is fine. You wanna meet her? She's asleep now, but she is more stubborn and feisty than you are." laughed Draco.

Ginny nodded as Draco intertwined their fingers. The room was apparently bigger on the inside than it appeared from the outside because the space was huge and Hermione, Harry, and Blaise were in the room along with a couple of beds.

Hermione ran up and swiftly kissed Ron, then crashed into Ginny, hugging her tightly, eyes filled with tears.

"Ginny! You're okay! I wanted to see you but Ivory needed me and Ron said that he would take care of you and-"

"Catch your breath Hermione, I'm fine." laughed Ginny. "I wanna see this girl now. Where is she?"

"Sleeping over there, Red. She's the spitting image of you, only..." said Blaise pointing over to the beds.

Ginny walked over to the bed that was occupied and gasped. It was like she was looking at a picture of her 11 year old self, only Ivory's hair was jet black. Her skin was a bit paler than hers, almost like Draco's. Her nose and under her eyes were lightly freckled, as if it was dusted by cinnamon. If a person who didn't know a thing about her was to gaze upon her, they would think that they would be looking at an innocent child. Ginny fell in love with her in an instant, as if she really was Ivory's mother.

"Gorgeous isn't she?" said Draco coming behind Ginny, hugging her from the back. "You should see her eyes. They're like mine."

Ginny laughed. "She has gray eyes?"

"Well not exactly. They look like glass actually. Like a clear grayish blue or something. Either way, it's brilliant."

Ginny reached out and touched Ivory's face. She felt as if she has a fever. "Why is she so warm?" asked Ginny.

"An Empath's body temperature is warmer than ours." said Hermione.

"Are you okay?" asked Harry out of nowhere. Ginny was surprised that he was sitting so close to Ivory's bed. He could reach out and touch her easily if he wanted to.

"Yeah, I'm fine." said Ginny quietly.

Harry got up and walked up to Ginny as Draco walked away to speak to Blaise.

"I didn't mean any of what I said. I just said anything to make Ivory so mad she would want to personally hurt me. We figured that she needed to feel a strong enough emotion to want to be able to unbind with you, and anger seemed to be her strongest and we figured the only one that would piss her off more than Tom would be me." said Harry smirking.

"That was dangerous Harry. You could have been killed." said Ginny putting her hands on her hips. "And why are you in here with her? I thought that you hated her just as much as she hated you."

"We have a better understanding now." said Harry. "Mind you when her spirit form leapt from your body she almost did try to kill me, but eventually she came around and understood why I was so mean. And besides, I couldn't stay pissed at her for very long after finally seeing her. She's like a baby almost, you know?"

"I know what you're talking about. I felt it too when I looked at her." said Ginny smiling slightly as she looked back over at Ivory. "When will she wake up?"

"Dumbledore said probably sometime in the morning. She used a lot of energy coming out of you. She was only up for about three hours. You've been out all day." said Ron.

"Can I stay in here with her?" asked Ginny. She felt as if she needed to be there.

"Don't see why not. Want me to stay with you?" asked Draco.

Ginny nodded as Draco sat down beside her, the others taking their leave to sleep themselves. Ginny took Draco's hand and rested her head on his shoulder, her eyes locked on Ivory as if she thought if she looked away, the girl would disappear.

The two looked upon Ivory as if they were parents looking at their child sleeping. It was hard to believe that so much power rested in such a small form.

What would happen when it came time for her to face Tom? Would he dare try to kill a child? Would he give her life a second thought? He didn't have a problem trying to kill Harry when he was a baby. All of a sudden Ginny felt terrible that Ivory had been freed. Maybe she was the one who really needed the protection, not Ginny.

"I don't want her to fight, Draco." whispered Ginny.

"I know what you mean." Draco whispered back. "I just want to lock her in our room until everything is over. I never felt so strong about somebody before."

"Me neither. Not even my siblings."

"She felt bad for hurting you, you know." said Draco. She kept repeating it as you screamed. She felt like she had done something wrong."

"But she didn't!"

"She knows now. The only person that relaxed her was Blaise. I feel she has a bit of a fancy for him."

Ginny laughed. "Much too old. Technically she's only five."

"She is 11 technically technically."

"Why say it twice?"

"Sounded intelligent in my head."

"You're hopeless."

"I prefer the term too dashing to care."

"I see your modesty is still in tact."

"Always, love."

Ginny laughed as she got up and walked over to Ivory, tucking her raven locks behind her ear as she slept.

"I wonder why her hair isn't red like mine." said Ginny as she gently played with a strand of Ivory's hair.

"Probably because of your moronic crush on Potter back then." said Draco rolling his eyes.

"Jealous?"

"Never. You're mine now. Told you a long time ago that I always get what I want." said Draco smugly.

"You didn't want me as a person at first Draco. Don't try to act like you did. "

"Yeah. You're right. It didn't start out like that, but your Weasley ways grew on me. It's like your kind just warps the minds of sensible thinking witches and wizards." said Draco grabbing Ginny's hand and turning her to face him.

"I know you just insulted me, but I'm too in love with my Empath to care about your words right now." said Ginny kissing Draco's nose. "I'll get you back later."

The next morning, Ivory opened her eyes and looked around. She felt a soothing calmness all around her, making her feel content.

She looked over at the bed beside her and smiled. She could feel the love emitting off the two people that shared the small bed. It was more intense now that she was out of Ginny's body and could see from her own and not out of Ginny's eyes.

She got out of the bed and went to the small bathroom that was attached to the room. After she had used it, she gazed at herself in the mirror.

Finally, she was seeing her true self. True, she looked like a spitting image of an eleven year old Ginny, but she also saw the differences. Her hair, black as a starless night and long down her back, her eyes, clear as prisms, and her cheeks babyish and full. She couldn't help but giggle as she took in every inch of her.

She looked down at the pajamas she was in. A cups. Didn't even need a bra. How immature. She would certainly miss having the size breasts of Ginny's making her feel like a woman, even though she was far from it.

She took a quick shower and conjured up a pretty blue jumper for herself along with a nice flowing khaki skirt, tights, and flats. She twirled in the mirror, delighted with how she looked in her own body wearing her own clothes.

When she came out of the bathroom she seen that Draco and Ginny were still asleep. She decided not to disturb them, and went off on her own.

She walked out of the little room and out of the hospital wing. She skipped down the corridor, smiling at everyone she passed by. Most looked at her as if she was a regular first year just having a happy day. Others gave her looks of annoyance.

She spotted Ginny's friend Luna sitting on a bench, making something. Ivory liked Luna a lot. She was odd, cheery, and sweet and while her stories made Ginny laugh, they made Ivory's imagination soar.

"Hi Luna!" she said a bit too loudly as she sat beside her.

Luna looked beside her and was stunned. Who was this smiling baby? She looked like a long lost Weasley minus the red hair. Still, she felt as if she knew this little girl.

"Hello. And how are you?" said Luna politely.

"I'm fine! What are you making?" asked Ivory enthusiastically.

Luna couldn't help but smile at the little girl. "It's a charm necklace. This tiny vial is filled with fairy dust you see. Keeps zanies from attacking you."

"What are zaines?" asked Ivory, genuinely curious.

"They are bat like creatures that suck out souls instead of blood. They have the same throats at dementors." said Luna calmly.

Ivory covered her lips quickly. Luna smiled and moved Ivory's hands away from her mouth.

"You have anything to worry about. There aren't any around at the moment. I don't want to sound rude by asking this but how do you know my name?"

"Because you're Ginny's best friend, silly. Of course I know who you are. You're Luna, the sweet one who's daddy write The Quibbler and believes in everything." said Ivory excitedly.

Luna smiled sweetly at the girl. She thought about how this child seemed like a little sister almost, and for some reason she felt waves and waves of positive energy, especially when the girl's eyes changed from crystal to a bright blue.

"You're not like other witches are you?" asked Luna.

"No, not really." said Ivory. "Actually I'm-"

"IVORY! There you are, we finally found you!" interrupted Ginny before Ivory could say another word.

"GINNY!" squealed Ivory as she latched onto Ginny as if she was her long lost mother. Ginny couldn't help but hug her back, a bit gentler than Ivory was hugging her of course.

" I see you've met Ginny's little cousin, Lovegood." said Draco nervously, hoping Luna would buy it.

"Cousin you say? That explains the resemblance. But why not red hair? I thought red hair was a Weasley trait." inquired Luna.

"Only with the Weasley's in England." said Ginny. "We have Weasley's everywhere. Ivory is from Italy actually."

"Ohhhh. That's nice." said Luna, completely and utterly not believing them at all, but she wasn't going to let them know that. If Ginny was lying then it must be something serious that needed to be a secret for now.

"I'll be seeing you around then. So long Ivory, you were a delight to talk to." said Luna, waving as she skipped away.

Ivory unlatched from Ginny and looked at Draco's annoyed face.

"Ivory, why did you leave the hospital wing without waking us? We were worried sick not knowing what happened to you." said Draco, surprised that he was sounding more like a scolding father than a teenager.

"I'm sorry." apologized Ivory innocently. "It's just you two looked so comfortable, and I knew that Ginny was probably still tired after what happened. And I was only talking to Luna."

Ginny couldn't help but admire the girl. She looked at her now back to crystal eyes and felt that she saw all the goodness that was in the world in them. It was then she knew, Ivory was hers forever, no matter what happened.

"I know you don't want to be spoken to like Freddy first year, but you need to stay with us, Ron, Hermione, or Blaise. Luna is nice, but anybody else will wonder, especially since you look exactly like me, minus the red hair." said Ginny.

Ivory nodded, her eyes turning to an icy blue.

"Well since she is out and about, what do you think we should do?" asked Ginny to Draco.

"I think we need to speak to Silas and Dumbledore. They will know." said Draco.

"What about Professor Snape?" asked Ivory.

"What do you mean?" asked Ginny.

"Well, shouldn't he know what's going on? And besides, I think he's hiding something. Something to do with Tom. And now that I have my own form, I can probably sense it better and figure out what it is."

Ginny and Draco looked at each other and then back at Ivory.

"Not here." said Draco. "Let's get to Dumbledore's office."