Last time I checked, my imaginative lawyers were still busy to try and talk JK and WB into selling Harry Potter to me- in normal English that means I still disclaim every right.

26. (About suggesting and confronting)

-Those with the greatest awareness have the greatest nightmares.-

Mahatma Gandhi

"Wait – what? How?" Ginny spluttered. She didn't know if she should laugh in Hermione's face, or whether to just be flabbergasted. Apparently, her mind had chosen the latter.

"Listen, I just find it weird that just like Harry, you've had close contact with V-V-Voldemort. Just like Harry, you have these weird dreams and nightmares. And just like Harry, you're told that you should empty your mind and try to close it before you go to bed. I mean, wasn't that what Lupin told you?"

Ginny kept staring at her. It was pretty weird, but when laid out this way, it did sound rather logical. When she didn't answer, Hermione continued.

"I'm sorry, Ginny, but it sounded to me like Lupin was teaching you Occlumency in your second year. It would make perfect sense if that little bit of Occlumency didn't work anymore: Voldemort is getting stronger."

"But…" Ginny swallowed, finding it hard to formulate sentences, "but Voldemort's been back since the Tournament. Why didn't I feel him then?" For a moment, she thought she had come up with a possibility Hermione hadn't thought about, but that hope was crushed immediately.

"Well, last year, Voldemort was focusing on Harry, since he knows there's some sort of connection between them. However, Dumbledore told Harry…" Hermione paused suddenly, looking hesitant to go on.

"Dumbledore told Harry what?"

"I can't say much about it, I've promised not to say anything, but let's just say that Harry hasn't felt anything since that day at the Ministry. Voldemort isn't focused on his mind anymore. That would explain—"

But Ginny interrupted.

"Why is Voldemort closing his mind towards Harry? Couldn't he use him as a spy?"

"Ginny, please don't ask me to explain all of that! It's a rather long story and Harry and Ron will kill me if they knew I told you! Besides, it's quite dangerous to know all those things and I really don't want to give you that responsibility," the older girl begged.

Ginny nodded, slightly disgruntled. "Okay, okay, you can't tell. But why would that explain why I didn't feel anything last year?"

"Well, since Voldemort was focused on Harry, his subconscious wouldn't have made a connection with you. However, now that he's closing his mind off to Harry…"

A nauseating feeling rose in her stomach. She didn't like what Hermione was saying. At all. Why did it have to sound so logical? She suddenly felt very dirty. As if she hadn't washed herself in several weeks.

"Ginny…. I think you should go to the headmaster. Explain to him what's been happening lately, and ask if it has anything to do with what was happening to Harry last year," Hermione said softly. Ginny knew the girl sitting in front of her would push her to do it until she gave in. Not that she minded much; at this point, she was startled by what Hermione had just suggested and wanted nothing more than to hear from her headmaster that Voldemort had truly left her mind.

"McGonagall said Dumbledore would pay a quick visit to the castle on Friday morning. Go during lunch."

"And I can just storm in, claiming that I have weird visions and demanding to know what they mean?" Her sarcasm took over. "Just because Harry does that every once in a while doesn't mean every student knows the password of the headmaster's office and can stumble in!"

"No, but the best friend of Dumbledore's favourite troubled child might know," Hermione said, just as sarcastically. "Try 'Acid Pops'. I'm sure that the gargoyles will take that."

Ginny stared at her, a little uncomfortable. Hermione had thought of everything.

And that was why, haunted by visions of her turning into Voldemort and vice versa, Ginny stood in front of the gargoyle the following Friday. Students were filling up the corridor, since the last lesson before lunch had just let out, but the corridors emptied out soon. Still she stood in front of the gargoyles, hesitating to use the password.

She had only been in the Headmaster's office two times; neither occasion had been any fun at all.

Last time, she had been woken in the middle of the night by McGonagall, who said she should come down to the common room immediately and wait for her, while she would wake her other brothers. Harry had somehow seen an attack on their father and they had to follow her to the headmaster's office at once. There, Fred, George and herself had found Ron and a very angry and disturbed Harry, while Dumbledore explained the matter and conveyed them by portkey to Grimmauld Place. Ginny remembered how frightened she had been that night, constantly thinking about how her dad would look dead and lying in a coffin and how the hell Harry had been able to "see" the attack happening. He had told them, but still… there were a lot of things Harry hadn't answered… as how much blood was already oozing on the ground for instance…However, by the look on his face she hadn't dared to ask, rather letting the fear running through her mind than asking him something like that when he had already looked so occupied and guilty…

The time before that had been more painful for herself. Though it technically had been McGonagall's office she had stood in, it was still a visit to the Headmistress, since Dumbledore had been sacked. The diary had been destroyed and it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. But she still had to confess everything to her parents. Come to think of it, she had done a pretty poor job; Harry had told the main story, and only when he was done did the grown-ups question her.

And now she stood here again. Not woken up in the middle of the night, not softly guided by her brother and Harry, not with Harry telling a story about her or her relatives but by her own free will (though a bit bossed around by Hermione).

She wished that somebody would force her trough that door: force her to spill out the password: she wasn't sure if she could do this on her own.

But the choice was taken away from her; without her saying the password, the gargoyles had suddenly slipped open and Dumbledore came walking out of his office, almost falling over Ginny.

"Miss Weasley!"

"Hello sir. Um…" she swallowed and then looked bravely at the blue twinkling eyes. "I'm sorry to bother you, sir, but could I talk to you for a moment?"

The headmaster eyed her curiously over his half-moon glasses, and then said: "Certainly. Would you care to join me for lunch upstairs?"

Sighing deeply and throwing all the angst and fear aboard, she climbed on the moving stairs behind Dumbledore.

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hmm... apart from Ginny's reaction, contemplating some old memories and spreading some fear in Ginny's heart, nothing is happening in this chapter: sorry! The next chapter will be about Ginny too... for those who get sick of waiting every week and then get such crappy short filling-chapters: just leave the story for a couple of weeks alone and then read a few new chapters at once... it's better than sending me nagging reviews. Though I love those too! however, don't forget to come back!

thanks to LEAD, who is now updating one of her own stories... go check it out! It's called "the project" and the first 2 chapters are online!

keep reading! and a review once in a while wouldn't hurt ;-)

x-mokimik-x