To everyone, I'm so sorry for the delay but saying that these past three weeks haven't been the best would be a huge understatement. I'll leave it at that. But I saw all of your support—last chapter got a whopping 8 reviews and that's more than what I'm used to—so I just really want to say thank you. It made real life a bit more bearable to deal with so thank you for reading, following, and even reviewing.
To my guest reviewers in the order when the reviews were posted:
Guest: I'm sorry I made you cry w/ the last two chapters. I cried too. I still haven't decided if Ginny will be with someone. To me, no one's like Theo.
Maya: LOL, not Harry. A lot of readers have said not Harry. I think I should do a poll or something. We'll see. And this story is going to be a whole other path for Ginny when it comes to healing. Will she heal at all? You'll understand what I mean when you finish this chapter.
FeR: I'm not a big fan of Harry and Ginny but I just don't like how people write them being together. If I was to put them together, you can bet that their relationship wouldn't be a typical Harry-Ginny relationship. Right now, I'm still undecided. I'm focusing on Ginny coping with losing Theo than anything else. For now.
Chapter 37—Pensieve
Ginny awoke to the sight of beautiful sun rays shining into the room, and to the sound of the piano playing lightly from downstairs. She stood out of bed, stretched, and then briefly stared out of the window and saw the cascading sea waves.
She heard the most beautiful laughter that she loved to hear all day, every day. Ginny ran down the staircase and into the sitting room, seeing a five year old girl with dark red hair sitting on Theo's lap in front of the piano.
"Daddy, I did it!"
"It was perfect. You'll have to show your Mother."
"I heard you, sweet heart." Ginny said upon entering the room.
Her daughter's head snapped up and her eyes widened with surprise and happiness. She shot out of Theo's lap and flung her arms around Ginny's waist tightly. Ginny bent down and scooped up herself in miniature, carrying a giggling Selene with her over to Theo. He grinned as he stood up from the piano, giving Ginny a peck on the mouth before winking at Selene.
"Way to go waking up your Mother. Besides, she shouldn't sleep in so late, right?" Theo asked Selene with a cheeky smile.
Selene shook her head back and forth at her Dad, saying with a smirk. "It's not that late, Daddy."
"Traitor."
Selene giggled and reached for her Dad, who gathered her in his arms. Then, he grabbed Ginny's hand and kissed it. Ginny felt giddy as the smile on her lips spread so wide that she could feel her face muscles somewhat straining.
"Come on, it's time to open presents." Theodore said, pulling gently on her hand and leading her back upstairs to their room.
On the way back, they listened to Selene chatter about all the books she looked forward to reading; they were from her favorite aunt, Hermione.
"Can I open them, plee-ease, Daddy, please?"
"Go ahead." Theo let Selene down, and the moment he did, she took off into her room.
"You're going to love my gift." Theo said, wrapping an arm around Ginny as they made it to their room.
"You've hid it well." Ginny said, beaming at him before taking the box he offered her. Ginny gave Theo her gift to open in return, seeing him shake his package before opening his.
Ginny peered inside of it, and the moment she recognized the handwriting on a sheet of parchment that lay upright inside, she flung the box away and rushed to Selene. She threw open Selene's door with Theo right behind her and gasped at what she saw.
Selene—pale, blue, and lifeless on the floor at the feet of Tom Riddle with the diary clutched tightly in her hands.
"Like mother, like daughter." Tom spat at her, drawing his wand and headed straight for Ginny. She froze, terrified of him and what he'd done to Selene.
Theo began to rush Riddle but the green light that left Tom's wand struck him so violently that Theodore's body was blasted aside and into the bedroom wall. Ginny knew he'd never move again. The look of pure loathing on Tom's face was livid. His hands wrapped around Ginny's neck, lifting her off of her feet, until her legs shook so badly because she couldn't breathe. He slammed her on the floor beside Selene, and when Ginny tried to touch her, Tom's wand shattered every bone in her hand.
"Face it, you're poison," Tom hissed in her ear, as he fisted his hands in her hair and forced her to look at what he'd done to both Theo and Selene. "Everything good and pure around you dies. This is all your fault, monster."
"NO!"
Ginny jolted upright in bed, screaming at the top of her lungs until she was hoarse. She registered small hands running through her hair and tracing smooth circles on her back, shushing her and telling her that she was safe.
It was Twinky.
"Miss. Ginny, you're okay. Mistress okay." The elf repeated, hugging Ginny and wiping away her tears.
"My f-fault." Ginny said, looking around the same room that her dream took place in. The same room, the same sounds, the same smells. Theo. Then, a cold chill went down her spine. And Tom! Ginny looked around the dark room wildly, seeing nothing but pitch black—but growing more panicked with each second.
"Drink, Mistress."
Ginny shook her head, trying to slap away the cup. But Twinky had forced it to her lips and tilted it upright. The last thought Ginny had was hazy to her. The last time I had water? Instantly, she felt sluggish and heavy, until at last, she registered nothing at all.
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"First, you force me here. You stun me! You drug me! WHY?"
"Mistress wasn't safe. Twinky save Miss. Ginny, and Twinky knew Mistress would go back." The elf pleaded, wringing her hands as she knelt on her kness with tears flowing down her cheeks.
"Twinky forgot that Mistress needed her potions to sleep, and Mistress woke screaming and crying. Twinky gave her potions and she went back to sleep. Twinky so sorry. Twinky go punish herself now."
"I told you not to." Ginny snapped, glaring down at the elf before closing her eyes and taking a calming breath, only to release it. "I'm sorry." Ginny said in a quiet voice, taking a seat in Theo's favorite chair in the drawing room.
The whole house was completely quiet. Only the sounds of the ocean outside could be heard, along with sea gulls. This place should've made Ginny calm, but in actuality, it made her depressed. I hated taking pictures of me, so every one that Theo put up, I took down and replaced with pictures of him instead. There were a few pictures of her and Theo that Ginny hadn't dared to touch, not only because she didn't want to irritate Theo but because those pictures captured the best moments of Ginny's life. My wedding, or Theo and I dancing. Our first kiss as husband and wife and our Christmas with Danny, Percy, and Audrey. It's all here.
And the fact that every perfect moment they had together seemed like just yesterday to Ginny left her bitter, hurting, and furious. Her head felt like a web of nightmares that she was trapped in. Thoughts of Tom and all the horrible things Ginny had seen—every fear that she ever harbored—replayed over and over in her head, filling it till she could barely think of anything else but pain or Theo. She was feeling trapped.
Sometimes, she wasn't lucid. Sometimes, she felt so…unlike herself.
"So you brought me here to keep me safe." Ginny said, seeing Twinky nod. "Safe from what? The Ministry. Death Eaters?"
"Yes, Miss. Ginny."
Ginny sighed. No matter how often she'd told Twinky to call her Ginny, she refused.
"I'm in a bad spot right now." Ginny said, worrying her bottom lip. "You see, Twinky, I'm torn between disappearing forever and staying. Do you really think I could leave the Wizarding World behind?"
Twinky gave Ginny a wide-eyed incredulous look that Ginny probably would've found funny if this was a laughing matter. The little elf remained quiet and listened to Ginny ramble, which was funny in itself because she rarely ever thought aloud to herself. It was always too dangerous before.
"It wouldn't be easy, but I think I could manage if I went far enough where no one could find me." Ginny reasoned. "I'd have to give up magic, of course—and I say that like it's the easiest thing in the world. But I've rejected my magic before. I can do it again."
Still, Twinky remained quiet.
"But, somehow, I'd be found. It'll either be by my family or by the Ministry, but I can't run and hide forever—and why should I?" Ginny spat, glaring at nothing in particular as she got more angry thinking about the reality of her situation.
She stood to her feet and began pacing the sitting room.
"I've been a part of bad things. I've done some pretty awful stuff, too." Ginny said to herself. "But why should I be made to answer to any of them, hmm? Most of them cared nothing for my problems or for everyone else who was being slaughtered and hunted. No, the Ministry turned a blind eye—even participated in the persecution and killings. And now they want to use me as an example to demonstrate their fake strength."
"Miss. Ginny—."
"They dared to ruin Theo's funeral!" Ginny said, ignoring Twinky as she shook her head in anger. "They're going to pay for that. I'll make every last one of them sorry."
"B-but Mistress cannot g-go up against the Ministry. It's not safe!"
Ginny knelt down in front of Twinky, placing a hand on the little elf's shoulder.
"No one's safe." Ginny said, seeing Twinky look at her with fear. "And I'm not running. I won't hide, and I won't turn myself in so that I can be threatened, humiliated or worse."
Ginny saw Twinky frown at her before the little elf asked her, "What will Mistress do?"
A smirk slowly spread across Ginny's face. "What I do best, of course. Fight. Bring me every issue that the Daily Prophet's had since the war's end. I need to know what they're spewing about me, Theo, and the lies that I'm sure they're telling the public about the war."
Ginny saw Twinky give her an energetic nod. Eager to please as always but too eager. Before she could disappear, Ginny stopped Twinky.
"You are to keep this place's location from everyone. Bring no one here, unless I tell you to. Do not ever speak of my plans, and if you are asked about how I'm doing, lie as convincingly as you can."
Ginny watched Twinky's ears fall comically. This time, Ginny really did smile. She'd suspected that Twinky would go off and tell Snape about her plans the instant she left.
But I anticipated her, just as I'll have to do for the others. The only real question is, where to begin?
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"What the hell were you thinking, Weasley?" Snape snapped at her through the Floo channel. Seeing his fury at her 'foolish' brashness—and that combined with the incensed look on his face—well, it made a wicked smile spread across her face.
"You're only making me enjoy what I've done even more." Ginny said, meeting the man's steady (and livid) gaze, "And why would you even ask me that? I certainly didn't hold back on my thoughts in that article, which you obviously read. I thought you would be—."
"What? You thought I would encourage—even indulge—such reckless stupidity."
"I only wrote the truth! You know I did and everyone has the right to know about the Ministry's lies and everything that they've gotten away with for years." Ginny seethed, standing up from the hearth in front of the fireplace afterward to begin pacing. "They're trying to convince the public that their leadership is strong; that they have the power to protect people. But where the hell were they when muggleborns were being slaughtered or carted off to Azkaban! Oh, that's right. They were setting up commissions investigating genealogies—."
"Weasley—."
"Where the hell were they when students were being tortured at Hogwarts, or even during the battle!" Ginny yelled, getting more furious the more she thought about it. "I told them two hours before the battle became heated, but no, they couldn't be bothered to protect young, innocent lives. So many—too many—died for their…their—."
Theo died because they didn't care about any of us! And that goes for my so-called contacts, too.
"Calm your mind."
"I DON'T WANT TO BE CALM!" Ginny yelled, seeing Snape look at her like she was deranged. "I am tired of controlling my mind to the point where I can't really admit how I feel. And you should know that that article was only the beginning. I'm going to make them pay for it all."
"Antagonizing the Ministry—."
"Fuck the Ministry!" Ginny spat with deep loathing. "It's time that they be made to answer for their crimes and their failures, because too many people depended on them."
I depended on them. They gave me their word! And they failed me. They failed Theo. They failed us all!
"And I warn you, sir—if you get in my way, I won't hesitate to hurt you."
With that said, Ginny abruptly ended the connection and continued with the second part of her plan to make the Ministry accountable.
(Snape's POV: Spinner's End)
"We need to find her, and we need to find her now before she does something that I can't help her fix." Percy said, pacing the sitting room of Spinner's End with The Quibbler clutched tightly in his right hand.
"Be seated, Weasley." Severus said distractedly, though he shared the same worries with Percy and Bill Weasley.
"How can you be so calm about this?" Percy said, holding up the Quibbler and shaking it before throwing it at Severus's feet. "She's exposed the embezzlement of Fudge and Scrimgeour's administrations. She's provided evidence—how she got it all, I don't know—and she's gotten Ministry officials admitting to the corruption in Magical Law Enforcement and The Wizengamot! She's only spared a few departments from this! What the hell is she thinking?"
"Ginevra wants revenge." Snape stated bluntly. "She blames them and she is determined to have her justice more than anything else."
"By declaring war against the Ministry," Bill Weasley said with sheer incredulity, shaking his head afterward. "She can't understand what this could mean and what this could do to her."
"And what about what this can do to our world?" Percy Weasley yelled, and Severus sent the boy a vicious glower. Cease acting like a raging fool and devote your energy to helping your sister. "She's dividing the Ministry from within and she's undermining its mandate to govern our world. The possibilities where this could lead—and the blowback from this…"
"Percy, calm down." Arthur Weasley said tiredly. Severus raised a single brow at the Weasley Patriarch. That's the first thing he's bothered to speak since his arrival half an hour ago. Once Percy had taken his seat, Arthur addressed Severus. "You're sure you can't find her in Naples?"
"No. The house elf is the Secret-Keeper, but as its master, she has forbidden it to divulge their whereabouts. I also do not have the time that I need to find her. I surrender myself to the Ministry in four hours." Severus replied in a clipped tone.
"Well, we only have four hours to stop Ginny from getting herself Kissed." Potter said bluntly, getting to the reason for why they were now here. "If we can't find her, then what can we do?"
"Try talking to her again, I guess." Ronald added, though it was clear by his tone that he wouldn't be the one speaking to her.
"You heard Ginny," Fred began.
"She's not in a talking mood." George finished.
"And even if she would talk to someone—."
"It won't be us. She'd listen to Mum—."
"Danny!" Fred and George said together with their eyes wide open in realization. They nodded at one another before Fred said, "Danny could make her calm down."
"Mafalda has removed Daniel from the country. She has taken him to the States, hoping that the distance will help him better cope with the loss of his mother and Theodore." Severus said more to himself than to the others. "He never did have the time he needed to grieve."
"Then, we anticipate her." Percy and Ronald said at the same time, staring at one another with discomfort afterward.
"You know her better than any of us," Potter said bitterly, looking at Severus with begrudging respect mixed with anger. "What's her next move?"
"Perhaps I do not know her as well as I thought." Severus admitted to himself and to the others about his best pupil, and that truth greatly troubled him. "There were times when Ginevra would seek my counsel before carrying out anything of import as this. She has made it clear that she is beyond those times now."
"So we just give up?" Ronald asked heatedly.
"No," Severus replied without looking at the insipid boy, "Yet this will require delicacy, which is something that you all extremely lack."
"If she doesn't turn herself into the Ministry—." Potter began.
"Even before she wrote that blasted article, Ginny couldn't surrender to the Ministry." Percy snapped at Harry, glaring at him afterward. "Her mind is not well. But you, Dad, and Ron can't see that."
"Percy," Arthur Weasley began warningly.
"It's the truth! You're all too busy criticizing her for something she had no real choice in." Percy seethed, glaring at his father, Potter, and his youngest brother.
"We have every right to be angry, Perce—." said George.
"And even hurt." Fred added.
"She didn't trust us." The twins said together.
"I know," Percy Weasley said quietly, "But she did it to keep you safe—to keep us all safe. No matter how angry you are with Ginny, she is still your daughter and our sister. We can't afford to fail her again."
"How are we supposed to help someone who doesn't want to be helped?" Potter asked, folding his arms across his chest as he studied Percy with a blank, uncaring expression. "Someone without the ability to trust in others. Someone who lies, schemes, and manipulates people just because she wants to. You think a person like that can be saved? That she deserves to be helped?"
Severus sent Percy a sharp look that silenced Weasley from further rowing with Potter.
"Albus believed in me when no one else did. It was not that I deserved his mercy; rather that he understood the harsh realities of this world and how it can shatter a person's faith in everything that is good, let alone a person's sanity." Severus said, looking at Potter with barely concealed contempt. "If our intent is to truly help the girl, then we must first understand her."
Severus saw all of the male Weasleys—except for Charles—frown at him in confusion. Potter scoffed, shaking his head to himself afterward. With a simple flick of Severus's wand, the cabinet doors that had hid a Pensieve behind them opened. Severus levitated the basin onto the coffee room table, seeing the Weasleys and Potter watch him with curiousity.
"This Pensieve belongs to Ginevra." Severus began.
"How did you get it?" Bill asked, giving Severus a scrutinizing gaze that was searing.
"Ginevra trusted the elf with its safety, but once I made it clear that I could use the Pensieve to heal the girl's mind, the house elf begrudgingly parted with it and left it in my care." Severus responded to Bill, raising a challenging brow at the young man who looked somewhat satisfied by his response. "I cannot heal Ginevra if I do not know the exact nature of the damage that the Dark Lord wreaked on her mind. The girl, however, for years has refused to speak of what happened—."
"She spoke enough about what happened at the battle," Potter interrupted Severus. "I heard her. She admitted to knowing that Riddle was using her; that she stayed quiet because she was—well, I don't know exactly."
"Your point, Mr. Potter?" Severus said, barely tolerating the boy.
"My point is that she was willingly helping him and even protecting Riddle." Potter said, sending him a vicious glower.
"Perhaps," Severus sneered at the boy, "But that is conjecture. This pensieve allows us to know exactly what happened from Ginevra's subjectivity."
"Wouldn't this be a violation of her trust, sir?" Potter spat at him, alluding to the incident that occurred in his fifth year.
"Obviously," Severus said with a smirk, "Be that as it may, we cannot aid the girl if we remain ignorant of her involvement with the Dark Lord."
"You were there." Arthur began, his voice quivering with barely concealed rage. "You and Albus helped her lie to us—let my child bow to that monster, and now you're telling me that you don't know everything that He did to her! How could you not? I don't believe you. Did you both even care what He was turning her into?"
"Dad," Bill began, but Severus could see that he agreed with his father.
"If she had died, you both would've looked Molly and I in the face and lied."
"It was necessary."
"Necessary!" Arthur raged. "It was necessary for her mother and I to be made aware of the situation, so that we could protect our daughter. You and Albus denied us that. You had no right!"
Severus allowed Arthur to rage at him because the man's anger was justified.
"We did not," Severus admitted just this once, stunning them all into silence. "There is not a day that passes when I do not regret that decision and my negligence, but it is done. I cannot undo it. I can only devote all of my energy to help the one who it was the most detriment to."
To Potter, he pointed at the Pensieve and replied, "And this is the only way so, yes, I will betray her trust and risk her wrath if it means that Ginevra's mind has some measure of peace. I owe her that much and more. That goes for the rest of you. Now set aside your anger and bitterness towards her—towards me—and focus on understanding the root of the girl's problems."
"So where will we start?" Ronald sighed.
"For once in your life, you have asked a substantive question." Severus said, seeing Weasley give him a vicious scowl afterward. They all moved to stand around the Pensieve, watching it with apprehension. "We begin with Ginevra's first year at Hogwarts. She is young. Her memories are not nearly as vast; therefore, our viewing time is short."
For that, I am grateful. I do not wish to waste my last few hours of freedom with Gryffindors.
They begin with Ginevra's sorting. It was interesting to hear the Hat's remarks from another person's perspective. Severus took note of the Hat's remarks about Ginevra being obsessed to prove herself. Later that night of the sorting, he read what Riddle had written to the girl about how Slytherin House would distinguish her from her family.
I wonder, was the ambition to be so much more than her family always so potent—or was it an infinitesimal matter that the Dark Lord preyed upon until it became her greatest insecurity. Before the Diary, she probably wanted to be like a few of her brothers. Severus spared his company an assessing, albeit cursory glance. Few of her family are somewhat intelligent. She would not have been exorbitantly ashamed or insecure about being their younger sister. But the Dark Lord preyed upon such a small issue in her mind, until it festered and grew to be the girl's obsession.
Severus could see how Riddle could convince an eleven year old girl that such a desire to be like her family rather than serving herself would be a weakness.
" 'People can hurt you but only if you let them." Ronald read over eleven year old Ginevra's shoulder. " 'Most will seek to use you…a constant game for power…played throughout our lives…by Gryffindors, too'."
"He called love a terrible power," Bill said with anger to his eyes. "He's only bothering with his little speech to drive a wedge between Ginny and anyone who cares for her. To make her question the motives of everyone who's kind to her or loves her."
I'm impressed. "Yes," Severus said, "His aim was to poison Ginevra against anyone who could be her family or perhaps her friend. His first purpose was to isolate her."
As the memories progressed, one of the twins asked. "Why is Ginny so obsessed with greatness?"
Observative. Good. That'll be useful. "That, Mr. Weasley, is the Dark Lord's obsession manifesting itself in the girl. His goal was to make Ginevra's every ambition centered on gaining power, and though he would never tell her while she remained stronger than him, Riddle obviously wanted Ginevra to believe that only he could make her strong and distinguished from you all."
" 'You are weak,' " They heard eleven year old Ginevra tell a twelve year old Draco. And she sounded nothing like a child. " 'The only thing you have to offer our world is your money. You—are—nothing.' "
There was no lost love between the Weasleys and Malfoys, but Severus could tell that Ginevra's mannerisms—they were beyond cold—deeply unsettled her brothers and Potter but especially her father.
"It's a cursed object," Bill Weasley began slowly and thoughtfully, relying on his expertise as a curse breaker to form an opinion. "It shouldn't have affected Ginny so soon. When did she first get the diary?"
"Early August." Percy Weasley replied without hesitation. "She'd spend all day writing in it. She'd forget to eat. Sometimes, I wondered did she even sleep." Guilt filled his eyes before he added, "I thought she was just nervous about leaving for school."
They watched Draco bully young Ginevra in her dorm room. That inane brat. How is it possible for him to be in the girl's dormitory?
"How is he even there?" Potter asked, glaring at memory-Draco before he leveled the same look on Severus. "You didn't know?"
"Of course I didn't." Severus said contritely, remembering incidences involving Ginevra and a few other girls. Instances that they never spoke of, not to me.
As memory-Draco bullied memory-Ginevra, they saw the girl's eyes flash red. "Accio book." She said.
"That's a fourth year spell," Potter said with astonishment. "She just stunned him! But she doesn't really know what she's done."
"How was Ginny able to learn all of that so quickly?" Arthur Weasley asked with fear to his eyes. His eldest son, Bill Weasley, picked up on Arthur's true meaning.
"It's possible to learn it at that rate, but still, she shouldn't be that advanced on the practical side—no matter how well-versed she was on theory." said Bill Weasley.
We've seen the girl forego eating and sleeping for days in favor of study, but they are finally beginning to see and understand my fear about what truly happened.
" 'The weakling won't speak of it,' " They heard memory-Ginevra say to Greengrass, and she did not sound like herself at all.
"Her voice," said Fred.
"That's not Ginny." said George with unease.
They saw Ginevra's eyes flash once again before watching her display her usage of non-verbal magic at eleven years old. Even then, she could levitate heavy tomes without uttering a single word and with little to no movement of her wand. As Severus continued to watch her use her magic, he thought, I can't blame the Dark Lord for being so intrigued by her power.
The tension from earlier came back once they viewed a memory of Severus bullying memory-Ginevra into attempting a sixth year potion that resulted in her hospitalization. Yet, the revelation of her visit to the infirmary calmed the Weasley men and allowed them to focus on the more important issue at hand.
"I remember that," Arthur began. "Poppy wrote us and told us about Ginny's illness. Molly was so confused by the severity of it. We should've known then that something was really wrong."
"We were there," Ronald said quietly, "—and we didn't notice a thing."
Guilt. Severus could see it in his and Potter's eyes. It was a sentiment he also shared. I focused on everything—the Chamber opening, brewing Mandrake potion, giving Ginevra detentions—but I did not help her. My own student.
"Now that I see it," Fred began with wide-eyes.
"It's like she's fading day-by-day." George finished, seeing Fred give an absent-minded nod.
"Like she doesn't even recognize herself." Fred added, and Severus knew that there was truth in the boy's words.
Severus was grateful that they had mentioned these two important details. It's essential for them to notice this aspect of her behavior if they wish to truly understand.
More memories played out before them. They watched Draco assault Ginevra with his bare hands, so much so that his hand prints still remained around her neck for a week afterward.
"She wanted him to do that," Ronald said with confusion and disbelief, shaking his head afterward. "I don't get it. Why would she want him to hurt her?"
"She's becoming more manipulative," Percy said, his eyes being the most observant of them all. He mostly had stayed silent. "She's learning how to really get inside peoples' head to truly upset them. In Muggle Studies, we learned a bit about muggle psychology."
"What?" Ronald, Fred, and George asked.
Percy Weasley sighed wearily before elaborating, "She's playing mind games with people so that she can manipulate them or read their intentions—and she's really good at it, too. Look at the way she manipulates the Professor. She knows exactly how everyone sees her—from Astoria Greengrass, to Draco Malfoy, even Professor Snape—and she uses their opinion of her to make them think what she wants them to think about her. That way, she has the control."
Severus had never given that idea much thought, but he could tell that Weasley's assessment was accurate.
"Look at how she pretends to not know that locking spell." Percy Weasley said and his eyes never left his little sister. "She knows how to do it, but she probably wants Professor Snape to think she's a defenseless kid without a clue. And she holds back a lot. I imagine that Ginny can do a lot more than what we've seen so far. But it doesn't benefit her to reveal her magic, not when she can have us all thinking what she wants us to think about her. Again, she has the control."
"Very Slytherin of you, Weasley." Severus said somewhat as a compliment.
"I'm in politics, remember?" Percy said without sarcasm, making Severus force himself not to smirk at his response.
"I think she knows Occlumency," Potter said slowly, worrying his bottom lip. "I can't be sure, but sometimes she avoids eye contact with you," He said, looking at Snape. "But there've been a couple of times when she's looked at you almost with…challenge."
Bill Weasley's eyes widened with realization. He said exactly what Severus thought. "She's testing herself."
"Is that Ginny, or is that Riddle?" Ronald Weasley asked, and once again, Severus was impressed by his question. The boy truly is a strategist, because Riddle could only gain one thing by teaching the girl Occlumency: To keep Albus and I unaware of his presence in her mind—at least, until it was too late to stop him. And he would not see her learning the art as a threat to himself. He, the great Lord Vold—the Dark Lord. Perhaps the world's greatest Legilimens.
"Both," Percy Weasley answered with shrewd, narrow eyes. "But Riddle has really miscalculated. Ginny learns fast, and Occlumency would give her a bit more clarity."
Understanding dawned on everyone's face. "She'd be able to notice the changes in her, especially the memory lapses. She may even notice other things, too." Percy said.
As the memories progressed, Percy's evaluation proved to be accurate. Ginevra was beginning to notice how accepting of the Dark Lord Riddle was, and how eager he was to hear of Lord Voldemort's deeds. Riddle had Ginny combing through book after book on the war because he was eager to know of his future; he had manipulated Ginevra into believing he was only curious. That Ginevra's knowledge about the war could protect herself and her family.
The true irony is that it actually did. Severus thought, watching the girl write down her findings to Riddle in the diary. Riddle shared his analysis on each bit of information that Ginevra shared with him, explaining the purpose behind calculated moves that were made by his future self. That educated Ginevra about Him and the way he thinks. Severus now understood another reason why the Dark Lord considered her his prodigy: He mentored her on such a level where he could never do so towards Lucius or Bellatrix. She understood how he thought and mostly the reasons behind his every action made.
He would see it as molding her to him.
"Ginny was friends with Hagrid?" Ronald asked, listening to the half-giant encourage his sister to tell Potter about her foolish infatuation.
"I dunno." Fred said, frowning at their exchange.
"They must be. She told him that she wouldn't eat his cakes." George said with a smirk.
"Oh, Hagrid's evil." Ronald said with disbelief after hearing the half-giant admit to being amused by them all eating the cakes that they clearly didn't enjoy.
The memory changed and they were once again in Ginevra's dormitory, watching the girl stare down at the book with unease mixed with distrust. What are you thinking? Severus asked himself as he watched the girl hold the diary with a scrutinizing gaze.
"The Occlumency is helping her to realize." Percy Weasley said, "But there's more, isn't there Professor?" He asked a question that he already knew the answer to.
Severus didn't bother to answer; rather they all continued to watch Ginevra stare at the diary before she bolted out of the room with the book wrapped in a maroon scarf. Surely, she knows that they are so connected to the point where it is irrelevant whether or not there's physical contact between the diary and herself. They watched the book glow gold. They saw the Dark Lord's words: 'I will destroy you.'
"I've never seen a horcrux act like that," Potter began thoughtfully. "I mean, that bit of soul always goes on the offense when it senses that it's being really threatened. That's the only time I've ever seen a horcrux…wake, I guess. But she's not really threatening it. He must know what she's feeling."
"He knows exactly what she's feeling and thinking," Severus said, watching Ginevra throw the book in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
"I've never seen her look so afraid." Bill Weasley said, watching Ginevra run back towards the dungeons.
Yet again, the memory shifted. The tension in the room built a great deal at the sight of Theodore Nott ambushing Ginevra.
" 'You're pathetic,'" The boy spat at her, clearly jealous. " 'Potter doesn't know you. He doesn't even see you.' "
Severus took a great deal of pleasure in the look of discomfort that Saint Potter had on his face upon hearing the truth.
" 'You barely sleep at night…every morning you wake up and wonder for hours about who you really are to the point where you can't even remember who you were in the beginning,'" young Nott said.
"How was he of all people able to see?" Arthur Weasley asked with a troubled look to his face. Arthur had made it quite clear to Severus, Bill Weasley, Percy Weasley, and to anyone that bothered to ask him that he could not accept Theodore Nott as his son-in-law. That such a boy could only bring torment to his daughter.
"The bond," Severus replied, meeting Arthur's gaze with barely concealed distaste. "Though it strengthens with time, young Nott was drawn to the girl just as she was drawn to him. To Ginevra, it would have been an attraction she could not understand. Can you not see her fear when she is near him?"
"Or maybe those were her instincts telling her that he's trouble and that she should keep away from him," Ronald argued, glaring at Theodore Nott in a way that made Severus want to curse the imbecile.
"Shut up, Ron," Percy said, scowling at his younger brother. "You don't know what you're talking about. You didn't know him!"
"Muggle-hating scum."
"You disrespectful—."
"Silence!" Severus snapped at them both, giving them looks that silenced the pair of idiots. "The topic of Theodore Nott will be discussed at another time. If I hear another insolent word leave your mouth, Mr. Weasley," Severus said to Ronald, "I will eject you from this Pensieve."
"While you were busy with Ron and Percy," Bill Weasley said, giving his youngest brother a reproachful look before continuing, "I think she used Legilimency on Nott. She said she knows that he's sincere, but how could she know that without really knowing him. And he asked her what she just did to him."
The revelation was valuable, and Severus glared so foully at Ronald because the boy nearly made him miss out on it. Luckily, Bill Weasley is perceptive. The memory shifted to Ginevra sitting on the bed.
"What is she doing?" Potter asked with a frown.
"She is clearing her mind," Severus sneered at the boy, hoping that Potter would remember his superb failure at the art.
"It's more than that." Percy Weasley said. "She looks…nervous."
They watched the girl sit rigidly upright on the bed with her ankles crossed and her elbows rested close to her knees. She looks small. Truly a child. They watched Ginevra using the palms of both her hands to clutch at each temple on the side of her face. The foreboding feeling at the pit of Severus's stomach nearly made him sick. He knew that Ginevra had resisted the Dark Lord, but this—this took courage. It was also very stupid to challenge him in such a manner.
"What's going on?" Fred asked.
"What's happening to her?" Arthur asked; his question echoed by his sons.
"She's fighting him. In her mind." Bill Weasley said with a look of powerlessness reflected in his eyes.
They saw Ginevra's head snap back so powerfully that Severus thought it may just break her neck. Her hold on her temples released as her arms limply fell in her lap. Ginevra began to make choking noises, clawing at her neck so badly that she drew blood.
Severus could barely stand the sight of seeing someone broken from the inside-out. This isn't just someone. She is a child. A pupil of my very own, who I failed to protect. For Arthur, Severus could see the man on the verge of tears. He took a seat on the bed next to his daughter and provided her memory with comfort that would do the girl absolutely no good now. This battle has already been fought and lost.
When Ginevra began to shake so uncontrollably, it was clear what curse the Dark Lord was using as her punishment.
"How can he do that?" Potter asked fearfully, staring at the sight before him with wide eyes. "How is that even possible?"
"He is—was—Lord Voldemort." Severus said without malice. "When it came to the mind arts, his power was more than tremendous. It was genius but terrible."
"The tremors are lessening," Percy Weasley said with a frown. "She's whispering something. I can't tell what she's saying."
"You're not strong enough." Arthur croaked from beside the crying girl, "She told him that he's not strong enough."
Before Severus could even form an opinion about what Ginevra had told the teenage Dark Lord, the girl's entire body seized up. She fell onto the floor and screamed so badly till the point where she could scream no more. She must have exhausted all of her energy, because despite the excruciating agony, she could no longer move a single muscle. Now, she lay entirely still. Her eyes were wide and full of an emotion more powerful than fear. She stared straight up into the ceiling. All sense of herself or awareness of her surroundings was absent.
If it were not for her moaningand various flinches, Severus would have thought little Ginevra catatonic. And after every flinch, she grows weaker. Loses herself.
"What is he doing?" Bill Weasley asked.
"Proving his point," Severus said with exhaustion. "I cannot be sure."
"Ginny, listen to me," Arthur said to the girl. I do not have the heart to tell him it will do no good. That the damage is already done. "I'm here, okay. Daddy's here."
As Severus met Bill and Percy Weasley's gaze, they thought the exact same thing. No you weren't. None of us were.
"I can't take anymore," Ronald said with a look to his eyes that resembled a caged, powerless animal. "I want out."
"No." Percy said firmly without sparing his brother a glance.
"How can you stand it?" The boy snarled, looking at his sister with a pained expression full of helplessness and guilt. "Just make it stop. Stop. Please stop."
He sounded like a child to Severus, but miraculously, the moment he'd finished his last word, Ginevra began to glow brightly. And then her tremors stopped. Her eyes closed and her body completely relaxed.
"It's over. She's out." Fred said, sounding both relieved and baffled.
"How?" asked George. To Severus, it sounded like the only word that the boy could form.
"Her magic," Severus said, choosing that moment for them all to leave the Pensieve. Once they returned to his sitting room, they all collapsed down into their seats and simply remained silent.
"Why didn't we finish seeing it all?" Percy Weasley asked with a thoughtful frown.
"For now, I have seen enough to begin to understand the trauma done to her mind. What I just witnessed will simply have to suffice after my business with the Ministry is done." Severus said, checking the hour with his wand. He stood, deciding that he should leave now if he wanted to avoid the Kiss.
"Ginevra's magic was the only thing that spared her from a permanent mental break. It reacted of its own accord in defense of the girl, but it was only ever a temporary solution that could keep Riddle at bay. It was a battle of psychological warfare that she lost, and I have the feeling that Ginevra lost a lot." Severus said, directing his next words to Bill and Percy Weasley. "She will need you all now more than ever. We cannot help her if we cannot begin to understand her. Continue to study her Pensieve and observe her behavior without judgment."
Severus said that more to Potter, Ronald, and Arthur Weasley.
"Theodore Nott is no longer here to love the girl, nor can he heal Ginevra's pain any longer." Severus said, eyeing them all with a severe gaze that reflected how crucial it was for them to try to understand her. "Without him, the girl grows more aggressive by the hour. I fear that in her pain, she may perhaps give in to the very thing that she has fought from the age of eleven."
Potter asked him, "What's that?"
Before apparating away from Spinner's End, Severus replied with only one word.
"Darkness."