Cry Wolf
Chapter XXVI : The Plan
"Ginny I'm so happy to see you!" Mrs. Weasley shouted through the crowd as she raced towards her only daughter. "Visiting Charlie without you over Christmas was just so unfortunate but we couldn't afford to take you along. And then missing you at Easter! That school might as well have become your home. Come here and give me a hug, Oh dear what is that?" Her voice abruptly changed to shock as she noticed the 'K-line', as Ginny now called him, cradled in her arms.
"His name is Tim! Isn't he cute?" Ginny asked. Molly stared at the creature in astonishment.
"Well I suppose after you get over the initial shock he is quite cute." She admitted, reaching out a hand to let the little animal sniff her hand. Tim wagged his long kitty tail furiously while purring and licking her mother's finger. "Hello Tim, you are a cutie aren't you? But Ginny, wherever did you get him?" She asked.
"I made him."
"You made him?"
"Yep. In transfiguration, we were supposed to be changing puppies into kittens but I ran out of time. McGonagall said I could keep him and I couldn't just leave him behind to be gotten rid of. You understand don't you?" She explained in a hurried rush.
"Ginny relax, it's okay, you can keep him. But you shouldn't have left your work unfinished, no doubt you were daydreaming about some boy." She said with exasperation.
"Not exactly." Ginny said with a suppressed grin.
"I should have known." She said with a roll of her eyes. "Now come on dear, your father's off finding your trunk and he's got to get right back to work as soon as he's dropped us off at Grimmauld place so we need to hurry and meet him outside the gate."
Her mother rushed her along towards the barrier, giving her precious little time to wave goodbye to Anna-Rose before they stepped through and the train disappeared behind them.
The muggle world quickly materialized around them with it's hustle and bustle of businessmen and other mid-afternoon travelers rushing their way to their destinations.
"Where are we meeting Dad?" Ginny asked, holding tight to Tim who was trying to wriggle free and run off to sniff every occupant in the station.
"Over by that blue car." Molly said, pointing to a battered blue station wagon that was parked beneath a nearby streetlight.
"Tim stop!" Ginny said firmly. Tim settled with a disappointed growl and didn't squirm anymore.
"Your father should be along any minute. Ah, there he is." Molly said. Ginny stood on tip toe to see across the crowd and spotted Arthur's balding head weaving its way toward them. When he was closer Ginny could see that he was lugging her heavy trunk and smiling broadly at them.
"Ginny dear! It's so good to see you!" He exclaimed, wrapping his free arm around her in a cautious hug so he could avoid crushing Tim. "Who's you friend?" He asked after he had pulled out of the hug and begun to lead them towards an alleyway a short distance from the car.
"His name is Tim, I made him in transfiguration." Ginny answered as they all stepped into the ally, away from prying eyes.
"Didn't finish eh?"
"How'd you know?" Ginny asked. Arthur chuckled and scratched Tim's ear, eliciting a purr from him.
"I did the same thing when I was turning my badger into an otter in my seventh year. Her name was Ollie. Now, we really must hurry, I've got to be back to work in 15 minutes and I'm sure Ginny will be happy to see her surprise at Grimmauld."
"Surprise?" Ginny asked.
"Arthur, you weren't supposed to tell her!" Molly said.
"Oops, silly me I forgot, would you hold this for me Molly dear?" He was holding out something small that looked strangely like a candy wrapper.
"Honestly Arthur," Molly rambled, not looking to see what she was taking, "I ask you to keep one little thing quiet and you blurt-" Her speech was abruptly cut short when she completely took the wrapper from Arthur and disappeared into thin air.
Ginny stared at where her mother had been standing moments before while she tried to figure out what had happened. Arthur was chuckling jovially behind her and continued to do so until she turned around.
"Portkey." He explained, "That's how we're getting to Grimmauld but Molly didn't know that I had two. I thought I'd play a little prank on her before I had to go back to work."
Ginny laughed. "She'll be cross with you." She pointed out.
"Probably." He agreed. "But she'll have cooled down by the time I get home."
"Maybe, so… what's my surprise?" She asked innocently but Arthur shook his head.
"No, I've said enough, now we've got to hurry, quick, grab onto this." He held out a battered muggle pen, she took hold of it and they both stood there, each holding onto an end of the pen looking foolish to the muggles passing by.
"Three… two… one." Arthur counted and Ginny felt the odd pull at her navel and held tighter to Tim so she wouldn't lose him.
When the world stopped spinning Ginny landed not so gracefully on her backside while her father landed easily next to her and, with a kind smile, stooped to help her up.
"Thanks Dad."
"You're welcome dear, hold tight to that little critter until we're inside." He said, leading her towards the doorway and heaving her trunk up the stairs.
Ginny followed and the two quickly ducked into the house.
"Arthur Weasley that was an awful trick to play!" Molly's stern voice immediately met their ears and Ginny was quick to spot her mother in the hallway with her hands planted firmly on her hips. Arthur was quick to drop Ginny's trunk.
"Jus a small prank Molly dear, really must be getting off to work now, I'll see you tonight." He said in a rush and then hurried out the door.
"How could I ever wonder where Fred and George got it from? Sending me off by portkey by myself and startling me half to death." Molly muttered to herself, shaking her head at the closed door. Ginny suppressed a smile as she imagined what her dad might have pulled in his Fred and George-ish younger days when she suddenly remembered what she had been so excited about.
"Mom, where's my surprise?" she asked, setting Tim down and letting him bound off down the hall and into the kitchen, his kitty tail held high in the air. Mrs. Weasley smiled mischievously, making Ginny think that Fred and George didn't get it all from their father.
"In the den dear. You go see while I take your trunk upstairs." She said while casting a quick levitation charm onto the trunk.
"Thanks mom!" Ginny said then raced passed her mother and into the den.
"Ron!" She exclaimed. "You're home!"
"Hi Ginny." Ron said, looking slightly out of place behind a large pile of open books that were spread across the entire table. Ginny ran over and latched Ron into a tight hug.
"It's good to see you! I haven't even heard from you since you and Hermione ran off to help Harry find the horcruxes! Wait, if you're back does that mean Voldemort is dead? Is Harry here? Where's Hermione?" She rambled.
"Ginny slow down, You-Know-Who isn't dead." He said, there was a tired edge to his voice that suggested he could wish for nothing more than the dark lord to perish and life to go back to normal. "Harry's not here either." He admitted, the tiredness was replaced by wariness, almost as if he expected her to burst into tears. She could only imagine the fury his voice would hold if he knew who she'd gotten over Harry with.
"But is Hermione here?" She asked. Ron seemed surprised that she'd brushed over the subject so quickly but didn't comment. "Well?" Ginny persisted.
"She most certainly is." A voice said from behind them.
Ginny whirled around and there was Hermione, setting two glasses of ice tea onto the table in the precious space available between the many books strewn across it. Once the drinks were put aside Ginny gifted Hermione with an identical hug that she had Ron.
"I've missed you both."
"We've missed you too." Hermione said.
"Yeah." Ron agreed. "I wish we could have gone back to Hogwarts this year but we've had to help Harry."
"Don't make it sound like such a chore Ron! Helping Harry is more important than school. If we don't help defeat Voldemort now there won't be a Hogwarts to go back to." Hermione said sternly.
"I know Hermione but it's not exactly enjoyable, besides, it's not like I'm going to quit or something." He said indignantly. Hermione rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to retort and Ginny figured that she'd better jump in before they began bickering.
"But, if you two are helping Harry, why isn't he here? Or why aren't you off with him anymore?" She asked. Ron suddenly fell quiet and fidgeted with the page of a book in front of him. Hermione worried her lip with her teeth but neither made a move to answer her question. "Well? Why don't you tell me?" She asked, miffed about being left in the dark.
"Oh, Ginny, it's just that we're not sure if we should tell you." Hermione began, flashing a glance to Ron before continuing. "It's just that, well, we know that you must miss Harry," Ginny tried her best here to look in a missing mood, which wasn't hard with the prospect of two months without Severus lurking ahead of her. "And we don't want you to think any less of him because of what he's done."
"What did he do?" Ginny asked.
"He was only trying to protect us." Hermione continued.
"What did he do?" Ginny repeated.
"It was for our own safety."
"Hermione! What did he do?" She repeated again.
"He left us behind." Ron said from his spot at the table.
"What?" Ginny asked with shock. "But you're his best friends!"
"I know." Ron said.
"You're not explaining it very well Ronald." Hermione piped in.
"How could I explain it well Hermione, it's exactly what he did."
"But it's not the whole story!" She objected. "Look Ginny, we helped Harry destroy six of the seven horcruxes; the only one left is Nagini, Voldemort's snake. Harry's left us behind because he thinks it's too dangerous for us to go with him. He's trying to protect us."
"His hero complex is acting up again is what's happening." Ron said sourly.
"Ron is sore about the entire thing. He thinks we've been in danger so much that it would be unlikely for us to die now."
"Statistically speaking it is."
"Statistically speaking it is even more likely for us to die now because this situation is even more dangerous than the previous!" Hermione snapped back.
The two quickly dissolved into another argument and Ginny left them to it, knowing that there would be no pulling them out of it until they'd worn themselves out. Exiting the room she wandered into the kitchen where she found her mother cooking dinner.
"Were you happy to see Ron and Hermione, dear?" Molly asked while she stirred a pot of deliciously bubbling beef stew.
"Yea." She answered. "It's good to see them after so long but they're arguing again now." Molly took on a knowing look and a small smile tugged at her lips.
"Yes they're like an old married couple." She agreed. Ginny smirked at her mother's attempt to be secretive. It was blatantly obvious that she thought they were together, suspicions aside they probably were.
"Mom?"
"Yes dear?"
"If Harry left Ron and Hermione behind, why aren't they trying to find him?" She asked. Molly gave the stew one last stir before flicking her wand so that it ladled itself into bowls and two of them floated away towards the living room. (Which was now silent and bicker free.) The other two bowls placed themselves at the table, one in front of Ginny and the other in the space next to her.
"They know where he is." She answered. "Moody tracked him down for them nearly a week ago."
"Then why haven't they gone to help him?" Ginny asked incredulously. Molly sighed.
"Ginny, Harry hasn't had a lot of things go his way in his lifetime. I think Ron and Hermione are respecting his wishes more than anything, but that doesn't mean they've stopped helping him. They've been researching advanced magic and owling it to him for days now.
"And what does Harry think of that?"
"He doesn't owl them back." Molly said, as gently as she could. Ginny ate her stew in silence, remembering her dream from so long ago. Harry wasn't only refusing to return for her. He'd pushed Ron and Hermione away as well. "I think they'll go to him in the end, when they know he's going to act they'll go to fight." Molly said with a small smile of sad acceptance on her face. "Why don't you go unpack your things dear, I'll take care of the dishes." She said, rising from her seat and taking away Ginny's dirty dish.
Recognizing that her mother wanted to be alone Ginny trudged from the kitchen and up to her room.
Tim, somehow knowing that it was her bed, had curled up on her pillow and was purring in his sleep. Ginny smiled at the K-line and muttered 'little rascal' before going to the trunk and unloading all of her possessions, her mind reeling over the new information she'd gathered as she placed everything onto it's rightful shelves.
XXX
Midway through July the tension in the house seemed to rise. Ron and Hermione were on edge most of the time and when Ginny would sometimes help them with their research she noticed that there were dark circles under both of their eyes and they seemed more than a little stressed.
'Mad Eye' Moody was making a lot more appearances in the house and so was Dumbledore. Most often the two could be found conversing seriously in a corner of the kitchen farthest from the pantry so that she couldn't overhear them whenever she went to get a snack.
Sometimes her father would be sitting with them or Kingsley and sometimes Tonks but as much as Ginny wished she could catch Dumbledore alone and somehow discreetly ask about Severus, he was always wearing a comforting 'be patient' look whenever he glanced at her but other than that kept his distance. At least she could take that to mean nothing had gone wrong.
Although he was a member of the order, Ginny had not seen Severus entering or leaving Grimmauld all summer, but she knew that he'd been there because when her mother and father discussed the meetings that took place after she was 'banished' to her room for the night she could always hear his name muttered among the others.
Despite the drama in the house, Tim was growing like a weed. It seemed the dog parts of him that had been left over controlled his size because he was nearly up to her knee and still growing.
"Tim, sit still!" Ginny scolded about a week before her birthday as she wrestled with the critter while picking burdocks from the backyard out of his fur. Tim whined but settled down and grumpily let her pull the burdocks from his fur.
"Why on earth are you doing that by hand baby sister?" George asked as he waltzed into the kitchen.
"Let's see some wand waving!" Fred agreed, close on his brother's heels as he too strolled into the room.
"You both know I'm still underage." She grouched, wrenching another burdock from Tim's fur.
"Ah, so true." Fred sighed.
"You could help." Ginny said contemptuously. George opened his mouth, most likely to say something smart when Mrs. Weasley entered the kitchen and interrupted them.
"Hello dears," She said to the twins. "When did you get here?"
"Just now, actually." Fred answered. "Thought we'd pop in for a visit." George agreed.
"Well behave yourselves. Remember what happened when-" but whatever was supposed to be remembered was cut short when they heard the front door close and frantic footsteps hurried down the hall, pausing for only a fraction of a second before the door to the kitchen burst open and Snape was revealed, slightly dishevelled but his same intimidating self. His eyes roamed from Fred to George to Molly, then lingered on Ginny before flicking back to Molly.
"Where is Dumbledore?" He demanded.
"Severus!" Molly said, flabbergasted. "What are you doing here?"
"Where is Dumbledore?" Severus repeated.
"At the school I suppose." Molly said, still off set from his sudden entrance.
"No he's not, I was just there." He said irritably. In a flash he snapped his wand towards the window and something silvery, four legged and massive erupted from its tip and leapt through the paned glass without shattering it. Ginny squinted, trying to figure out what it could be, but it was gone before she had the cahnce.
"What's going on?" Fred asked, his gaze snapping from the window to his former professor.
"Get the rest of the order here and fast." Snape instructed, as if not a day had passed since Fred had been his student. To Ginny's surprise Fred opened his mouth, changed his mind, went to the hearth and began flooing people.
"What's happened?" George picked up where his twin left off.
"You'll find out as soon as the rest of the order gets here and not a moment before." he drawled, clearly annoyed. George looked taken aback for a moment but then went to sit at the table while Fred continued contacting members and Molly stood awkwardly in the center of the room.
"Right then." She said, snapping out of her trance. "Ginny, bed."
"What?" Ginny exclaimed.
"You heard me."
"But I want to stay!"
"You're too young." Her mother snapped.
"By a week! Besides, I'm de-burdocking Tim!" she argued. Molly flicked her wand and the K-line was instantly burdock free.
"There, it's done."
"But Mom, I want to know what's going on! I hate being left in the dark, why can't I join the order, Ron and Hermione are in it." She said.
"Ron and Hermione are of age, you aren't!"
"But-"
"Your mother is right." Severus suddenly interjected. He paused in the pacing he had begun, "Let your parents and the rest of the order take care of this." The intensity of his gaze was a barefaced reminder of his end of school letter and the second of two simple requests he'd asked of her. Stay safe and let your parents take care of you. Ginny stared him in the eye, hoping that right now he'd have the insight to use Legilimency.
"Fine, I'll go to bed." She sighed while clearly picturing the hallway closet and having every intention of hiding there until the meeting was over.
"Say goodnight to your nightlight for me." Fred quipped as he pulled his head out of the fire for the last time, finally finished flooing. Ginny felt her face heat as she marched past Severus, who had raised a questioning brow before resuming his trek back and forth.
Fred and George's chuckles were drowned by the roaring of the floo and then abruptly cut off by the closing door as she left the kitchen, hung a left and prepared to possibly spend the next few hours huddled among disregarded and ancient Black family coats.
XXX
When pacing began to give him a headache Severus sat himself in a chair and traced his mouth with one long finger in contemplation. It took minutes for the order to arrive but in his impatience it seemed like forever. Surprisingly, Dumbledore was the last to arrive, and was looking confused for an uncommon change.
"Severus, what has happened?" He asked, pulling up the hem of his robes as he sat at the table.
"The dark lord has called all of his death eaters away from the ministry and all of their respective assignments." He said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "He's planning a full scale attack on an all muggle village on the outskirts of London; they're due to begin at noon tomorrow." He rose to pace again, willing to put up with the headache in order to alleviate his restlessness. He took a few trips back and forth before halting in the middle of the room, arms crossed over his chest as he thought.
Everyone at the table looked shocked before they all spoke at once in such a variety of tones and opinions that not a word could be distinguished.
"Quiet, quiet." Dumbledore said. "We mustn't jump into this with wild suggestions, If we remain calm we can prevent this."
"No." Severus said sharply.
"Beg pardon?" Dumbledore asked.
"We can't, the Dark Lord didn't tell anyone but me, and if the order interferes in this at all he'll know that I'm the leak."
"And you'd rather let all those muggles die to save your own skin? How predictable." Moody growled.
"Alastor." Dumbledore shouted but something in Severus snapped and he exploded before Dumbledore's warning could sink in.
"If it meant that the Dark Lord would die with me then I would let the order interfere Mad Eye! But this is only a demonstration and Nagini is not dead! He cannot die!" In his fury he was advancing on Moody and drawing his wand, his hand shaking as his anger got the best of him on this rare occasion. "I have worked since before the Dark Lord fell for the first time to foil him, I have never given you reason not to trust me and you still continue to question my loyalty!"
"Once a death eater always a death eater." Moody snarled, ignoring the wand pointed between his eyes and staring coldly at Snape.
"You're a paranoid old man who'd imprison his mother for stealing the bank's quill." Snape spat, his wand point dropping to Moody's throat.
"Severus." Dumbledore said, his voice radiating authority and after applying enough pressure to make Moody flinch Severus withdrew his wand and resumed pacing.
"We can't just do nothing." Mrs. Weasley said after a moments silence where the only movement at the table was Moody's eyes following Snape back and forth, filled with loathing.
"We have no choice." Dumbledore said gravely.
"So we let hundreds of muggles die?" Moody sneered.
"The order cannot be involved." Snape snarled; a twitch developing in his temple when he looked at Moody.
"I will not have Severus' position compromised." Dumbledore agreed. "If we lose him we're fighting blind."
"Why can't the ministry get involved?" Arthur suddenly suggested.
"The ministry considers the order a problematic organization, they're not going to head off to some muggle town on a tip we've fed them." Moody reasoned; his voice considerably less harsh when he spoke to Arthur.
"But that's the beauty of it!" Arthur exclaimed; his eyes alight with a sudden brainstorm. "We don't have to tip them off, I'll just make up some phoney baloney story about one of the muggles buying an enchanted object while they were in London and that I'll need most of the day to fix the problem, then I'll call in when I see the attack has started.
"But Arthur, you'd be right in the crossfire!" Molly objected.
"I'll make sure it's the auror's first priority to get Arthur back to the ministry." Kingsley Shacklebolt spoke for the first time.
"What do you think Dumbledore?" Moody asked.
"I think it's a brilliant plan in the very least. Severus?" Dumbledore prompted.
"Definitely better than the alternative." He agreed, silently praising Arthur for his quick thinking. As far as he could see there was no way the Dark Lord could justify it as anything more than a coincidence.
"Then it's settled, I'll mail myself an owl under a fake name so an official report will be filed and tomorrow the death eater's will have quite a surprise in store." Arthur said, sounding genuinely pleased that his idea had been chosen. Dumbledore nodded and after confirming that there was no other business he dismissed himself and left through the floo. The rest of the order members bid their farewells and left as well, following Dumbledore through the floo while Molly fussed over Arthur and told him to be careful for the fifth time.
Severus cast them a quick glance to make sure that they weren't paying attention before slipping into the hallway. The image of the closet Ginny had sent him was fresh in his mind and he had all intentions of seeing her before he had to disappear again for who knew how long.
XXX
Ginny sat patiently in the closet, feeling foolish for sitting in the dark. She hoped she'd be able to hear what was going on in the kitchen but it seemed the days of Fred and George's extendable ears were still fresh in her mother's mind because the walls had all been soundproofed, leaving her oblivious to the proceedings inside.
It wasn't until she heard the whoosh of the fire through the chimney that she knew the meeting must be over and people were flooing home. With a sigh she waited, hoping Severus had understood her meaning when she had pictured this closet.
Finally she heard the kitchen door open, close, steady footsteps approach and pause outside the closet door. Ginny stood up in anticipation and sure enough the door opened and Severus stepped inside, closing the door behind him and lighting his wand to ward off the darkness.
"You understood did you?" she asked.
"It was kind of obvious." He smiled, the rarely seen expression made him appear younger even in the dim light. Ginny grinned back and stood on her tip toes to plant a kiss on his lips. There were voices muffled through the walls but Ginny thought them more towards the den and they both ignored them as Severus stooped and deepened the kiss, resting his hands on her hips possessively and drawing her towards him.
"What was the meeting about?" Ginny asked when they broke apart and the voices had disappeared.
"You know I can't tell you." he mumbled, burying his nose in her hair and breathing her scent.
Ginny sighed. "To think I'll be seventeen in a little more than a week but I'm still not allowed to join the order."
"Be patient." He said, running kisses down her neck. "If you're lucky this will all end soon and you won't have to join the order."
"Hopefully." She agreed.
"I should go." He admitted, drawing her into another kiss but making no move to go. Suddenly he broke the kiss and froze, their faces still very close but his eyes were wide.
"What?" She asked but Severus shook his head to motion her quiet. It was then that she heard the footsteps approaching.
"Honestly Ron if you'll just let me get my coat we can go, it's still cold at night even though it's July and I think I left my wallet in the coat pocket anyway." Hermione's voice echoed through the hall outside and to Ginny's horror the door was wrenched open before either of them could move and Hermione was revealed, staring in shock at the sight of them so close. Severus quickly stepped away from Ginny, releasing her waist and standing awkwardly, glaring at Hermione and daring her to speak.
"Hurry up Hermione." Ron said from further down the hall but they could both tell that he was approaching. Ginny frantically put a finger to her lips and then laced her hands together in a silent prayer for Hermione to keep quiet. Hermione snapped out of her trance and quickly grabbed a light summer jacket off the back of the door and shut the two back into the closet.
"Okay Ron, I'm coming but let's not be too long at the post office, I want to spend some time with Ginny when we get back." Hermione answered; her meaning obvious to Ginny. Shortly afterwards the front door shut and two distinct pops could be heard as the two apparated.
"She won't tell." Ginny immediately said when the silence had fallen back into place. Severus nodded but still looked grim.
"I'll see you in August." He said, placing a kiss on her cheek and leaving her alone. To Ginny his pop of apparition echoed much louder than those that had preceded it.
