The smell of burnt jam erupted into the kitchen as Ginny opened the door to the magical oven, after it had started yelling out 'Burning! Burning!'. Ginny growled in frustration as she pulled on an oven mitt, and removed the two trays that were inside. She groaned as she saw the blackened jam drops she had been making, and glared at them momentarily, as though it were their fault she had forgotten about them.
"Ginevra!" her mother scolded with frustration. "I told you to be more careful."
Ginny withheld a groan as her mother entered the kitchen, scrutinizing the cookies with a grimace. Her mother had been in and out of the kitchen all day, refusing to believe that Ginny was capable of cooking something herself.
'She did have a point' Ginny thought glumly to herself.
She had been cooking since late that morning, trying to distract herself from what was going on, but had soon realized that she wasn't the great cook she had hoped to be. From the chocolate cake that hadn't risen, to the caramel slice that rivaled Hagrid's in terms of hardness. And now she had burnt the jam drops.
"I was careful!" Ginny protested, even though she knew her mother was right.
"Obviously not enough," Mrs. Weasley replied as she filled the kettle.
"Well it's not my fault! The oven didn't tell me they were burning until it was too late."
"Well darling, it's not that hard to keep track of ten minutes," Mrs. Weasley said. "You shouldn't need the oven to tell you when things are ready."
Ginny clenched her mouth shut, biting back the smart remark that would probably earn her another scolding.
"Well, could you please fix them," Ginny asked through clenched teeth.
"No," Mrs. Weasley replied shortly.
"Why not?" Ginny replied in dismay. "You've done it before."
"I won't always be here to fix your mistakes, young lady," Mrs. Weasley answered firmly. "Just make some more."
"But can't yo-"
"That's enough," Mrs. Weasley interrupted with frustration as she made to leave the kitchen. "You can make some more, or you can eat the burnt ones. Easy as that."
"Now?" Ginny exclaimed. "It's past eight! Any other time I want to make something you say no!"
"Well, now I'm saying yes," Mrs. Weasley replied wearily, as she tied the strings of her dressing gown.
"But Mum!" Ginny whined.
"Ginny! I said that's enough!" her mother snapped. "You can make more, or you can't. It's up to you! And you still haven't put away the chickens like I told you to earlier!"
Ginny sighed, her heart sinking slightly. "Mum! Why do I always have to do it! Why can't Ron do it?"
"Ronald already has his own chores,"
"But can't we swap?"
"No! I want them put away before you go to bed."
Mrs. Weasley turned sharply and left the kitchen before their fight could continue. Fuming, Ginny stood in the kitchen, very much desiring to throw the burnt drops at the wall. She pondered for a moment, as to whether or not she should make some more, when she found herself already measuring out a cup of flour and taking a fresh egg out of the basket.
She stirred the ingredients together vigorously, taking out her frustrations on the dough. She added the correct amount of sugar to the mixture, and then continued stirring, reciting in her head exactly what she would have liked to say to her mother.
Ginny ignored her mother as she came back in and made herself a cup of tea, before silently leaving the kitchen. Ginny watched as her mother left her sight, then grabbed a teaspoon from the drawer. Knowing that her mother wasn't watching, she dipped it into the bowl, before tasting the raw dough.
'This is the best bit,' she thought to herself as she took another spoonful. Reluctantly she began spooning the mixture onto the trays, and carefully put them in the oven. She looked at her watch, mentally marking ten minutes. She couldn't let herself forget this time.
Ginny smiled gently as she remembered that Harry loved her mother's jam drops, which was why Ginny had chosen that recipe in the first place. She leant against the kitchen bench, staring vacantly at the oven door, where the drops were cooking. It was strange, that a week since Harry went missing, it still felt completely unreal, like any moment he would walk through the back door, his Firebolt slung over his shoulder, his face alive with radiance.
Tears sprung up behind Ginny's eyes, and she clenched her eyes shut, determined not to cry again. There had already been too much of it this week.
She opened her eyes and looked out into the backyard, seeing the chickens that were still roaming around in their pen. Ginny checked her watch, before she reluctantly opened the back door, walking out into the warm summer evening. She clenched her jaws together to make sure that she didn't start crying again, and approached the chicken enclosure.
Her eyes slowly adjusted to the dark as she opened the gate and stepped inside, her joggers sinking slightly into the soft earth. She quickly grabbed the closest chicken, carrying it over to the hen house, determined to make quick work of the chore, and to not burn her drops.
Soon the only one left was the rooster, which she had purposely left until last. She tried in vain, to simply herd it into the hen house, but with no luck. Finally, she unwillingly grabbed it, and before it could make an escape, she dropped in into the hen house amongst a flurry of feathers.
Ginny quickly left the enclosure, latching the gate firmly shut so as to not let any foxes in over night. She closed her eyes and leant against the wire door, taking a moment to herself, a moment away from burnt food and missing boyfriends. She remembered briefly, the night she had kissed Harry when they had put the chickens away together. She had thought things were complicated then, but they were nothing compared to now.
She felt the tears welling up behind her eyes again, but she did nothing to stop them from falling. She lowered herself to the ground as she felt her throat and chest tighten, and she brought her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly. She sobbed quietly for a few moments, feeling as though a deep poison was slowly been sucked out of her.
She slowly calmed, and immediately regretted her tears as she realized she had given herself a headache. She released her knees and stretched them out in front of her, raising her head to look up at the starry sky, automatically looking for various constellations.
The fresh air soothed her headache as Ginny relaxed for a few minutes, staring vacantly up at the night's sky. She closed her eyes gently, enjoying the peacefulness, enjoying the time alone. She remembered dimly that it was her birthday this coming Thursday, four days away.
'Some birthday that will be,' she thought glumly to herself.
She remained still for a few more minutes, before she suddenly felt rather uncomfortable. She opened her eyes and sat up straight, looking around as she continued to feel uneasy. Something in the trees a few yards away caught her attention, and she stared at it for a few moments, trying to make out what it was.
Her pulse began to quicken as she realized it was the silhouette of someone. She hesitantly got to her feet, straining her eyes to see it more clearly.
'Stop over-reacting,' she thought to herself. 'It's just a shadow.'
She took a few timid steps towards the house, not taking her eyes off the silhouette in the trees. They didn't move, and Ginny shook her head, laughing at herself as she turned toward the house. She breathed a sigh of relief, knowing she had over-reacted again. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her shorts as she strolled back to the house, hoping she hadn't let the jam drops burn again.
A twig snapped behind her, and she spun around quickly, barely seeing the tall figure that had approached her. She screamed loudly as they grabbed hold of her roughly, covering her mouth with their hand.
Fear pounded through her as she struggled furiously, throwing her arms and legs everywhere in her attempt to get away. She forced the hand away from her mouth and screamed as loudly as she could, remembering her mother's words from many years ago.
"If you're ever attacked, Ginevra, make sure you scream loud enough for Merlin to hear."
"Get off me!" she screamed, still struggling against the person's hold. "Mum! Help me!"
She saw with relief as bedroom lights flickered on in the windows of The Burrow, and she screamed again, begging for help. Suddenly her attacker released her, and for one fleeting moment she thought it was over.
But they pushed her hard, and she fell painfully to the ground. She screwed up her eyes and choked as dirt was kicked into her face, blinding her temporarily.
The figure bent down, grasping hold of her arm tightly as she heard the sound of the back door bursting open. Suddenly an awful compressing feeling took over her body and she began to panic even more. She tried to scream again, but no sound came out. Just when she couldn't take it any more, she was released from the compression and drew in a great breath.
Ginny lashed out again as somebody grabbed hold of her, dragging her to her feet.
"Get off me!" she screamed. "Get off me!"
She opened her smarting eyes as another figure also grabbed hold of her, and the two dragged her up a set of stone steps. She continued struggling furiously and screaming, as they dragged her through the open doors of a grand house towards the only source of light. She caught a glimpse of somebody sitting in a high-backed armchair before the two Death Eaters threw her to the floor, not caring if they hurt her.
"I have done what you asked of me, my Lord," a voice she recognized as Professor Snape's. She twisted around to look at him, and realized with a sinking heart that it was him, who had taken her.
"Thank you, Severus," a high, cold voice said. "You will be rewarded highly."
Ginny raised her head, and horror filled her, as she fully realized what was happening.
"My, my, my," Voldemort said softly. "Ginny Weasley. You were always a feisty one."
Ginny looked back at the ground as tears spilled from her eyes, her whole body shaking with terror.
"You'll have to excuse my lack of hospitality, Miss Weasley, but I'm afraid this isn't a social visit."
"Where's Harry?" she managed to choke out through her tears.
Voldemort's lip curled slightly before he answered. "I'm afraid we managed to let him escape, temporarily."
Voldemort looked away from her, looking at the circle of Death Eaters that had just formed.
"Well, Death Eaters, it's time to bring our guest back. Dolohov, put her in the corner. I don't want Potter to see, nor hear her when he is brought in."
"Yes, my Lord," Dolohov said, and he immediately approached Ginny, dragging her over to a corner, before performing a few complex spells to hide her.
"The rest of you," Voldemort continued. " Let Greyback do the honors, but I want Potter alive. Make sure he doesn't kill the boy."
"Yes, my Lord," the Death Eaters murmured obediently.
"Good," Voldemort replied. "Get to it then."