Hi All,
Welcome to chapter 21 of Little Red Bird. Thanks for showing it love.
As always, keep the flames low, any constructive criticism is welcome. Drop a comment, it's always refreshing to hear your views
As always,Don't like, Don't read. - DZ2
Disclaimer: All HP rights and characters owned by JK Rowling, and fics are created for entertainment only
Even though the castle was almost empty, the news about Harry, Ron and Hermione spread like wildfire by the next morning. Almost all the professors barring Snape and McGonagal were shocked to know that their favourite and brightest student would partake and lead such a deplorable act. The students openly booed and mocked her, the Slytherins went a step further and cursed her lineage and upbringing.
The best entertainment of the day was, however, a Howler from Molly Weasley during lunch the next day. Apparently Professor Snape had written a letter to Arthur Weasley himself, with the details of the Trio's crimes and the list and cost of ingredients stolen, a third of which was to be paid by the Weasleys. Molly Weasley literally tore into her youngest son for tarnishing their already tattered reputation courtesy The Flying Car incident.
Ginny saw the now tarnished Trio of Gryffindors for the dinner feast sitting far down the Gryffindor table alone. Even the twins and Percy refused to sit with them. True, there was barely anyone else there during the holidays and most tables were empty, yet one couldn't discount the cold and disdainful glares everyone was giving them.
She couldn't hide the smirk when Hermione looked up in her direction. With a slow shake of her head Hermione turned her attention back to her food and whatever the trio was busy discussing.
Ginny filled up her plate with a hearty fill of eggs and lamb stew. Her workout demanded something called protein in her diet as per her guide which apparently came from eggs and meat.
Astoria followed suit, yet cut back on the portions. She wasn't doing it as hard as Ginny, yet she would reluctantly agree that working out made her feel good.
Both of them had developed a fair bit of muscle strength and Ginny's shirt had started getting tighter around the biceps and shoulders. The loose robes mostly hid any changes to her physical structure, but it was proof enough that she was on the right track.
"How's Daphne doing? Was she discharged from the infirmary?" Ginny asked between bites.
"Madam Pomphrey said she'd be discharged tomorrow. It was nothing serious as I told you, just a concussion and remnants of Sleeping Draught in her blood." Astoria replied, setting her eyes on the bushy haired Gryffindor.
"That's great, she'd be able to accompany you to the Malfoy Yule Ball then."
"Why don't you come with me Gin? I could ask mother for permission." Astoria turned towards Ginny expectantly.
Ginny looked up at her with a smile, "That's really sweet of you, Tori. But, I'd have to say no. This is not the right time, and I can't be seen at Malfoys. It'll create too much of an uproar."
"True, Your family might officially disown you if they see you fraternizing with an openly dark family. I didn't think of it actually."
"Reaaally! You didn't think of it?" Ginny drawled, raising a perfectly cured eyebrow.
Astoria just rolled her eyes taking one last bite of her stew and primly wiped her mouth, "Yes, I Did Not!"
"Oh, please! Off with that snobby tone, you know it irks me so much." Ginny launched a pea at her friend.
"Heeeyyy! Are you a pureblood or a dung beetle? I just wiped my face, and that pea's covered in gravy."
"Well it serves you right. Maybe that'll teach you a lesson." Ginny remarked with a wink grabbing herself a bowl of mixed berries ice-cream.
Astoria's demeanour changed as she again glared daggers at Gryffindor's Golden Girl, "Someone else needs a lesson too, Gin!"
Ginny followed Astoria's line of sight to realize the object of her friend's hatred, "Well, her reputation has gone for a toss. I believe she has been punished by the other professors too, set on probation once the classes start again till this year's end. Surely, that's a win for us."
"No, Gin! It's more personal this time. No one dares mess with a Greengrass. Especially not a fucking Mudblood!" Astoria gritted her teeth, her knuckles turned white from holding the spoon so tight.
"Calm down, Tori! This is not the place or time for this discussion." Ginny hissed closer to her ear.
"How can I? It burns me every time I have to look at her walk free without a mark of retribution on her body for the pain she caused my sis. How are you so calm, Gin? She was the one who attacked you, almost to the point of-"
Ginny gave her a warning look, "-Do NOT finish that sentence, Tori. I know everything. You need to understand that this is also revenge. People like her care more about how other people perceive them, and I have begun destroying that goody-two-shoes perception. And about the pain, well, if you attack her now, she'll only get more sympathy. Be patient, Tori. You'll get your chance too. She isn't going anywhere, and neither. are. we!"
Astoria just nodded in understanding, and dropped the now deformed fork back on the table. She would wait, wait for the perfect opportunity.
The morning came with an excited Astoria bouncing around Ginny's bed, trying to wake a peacefully snuggled body of her friend under layers of warm blankets.
"Wake up! Wake up, lazy bones! Get up Gin!" Astoria tried to pull the blankets off while Ginny just whined covering her head. "Go away, Tori! I'm sleeping!"
"But it's Yule! Come on Gin! I don't wanna open the presents on my own." Astoria climbed the bed and shook her friend hard by the shoulders.
"I swear, Tori, I'll hex you hard. Ughhh, lemme sleep!" Ginny said, feeling frustrated she just hurled a pillow at Astoria, who caught it and finally went for the golden trick and tickled Ginny hard. Within a few minutes Ginny joined in and turned it into a tickle fight filling the room with giggles.
Finally both settled near the common area in their room between their beds where two stacks of gifts were arranged neatly on the green and silver Slytherin rug. Ginny sat alongside Astoria with their mugs of steaming hot chocolate to keep them nice and warm in the drafty dungeon.
"Since you were so excited, why don't we open your stack first!" Ginny remarked sipping on her chocolate.
"No, We'll start with you, Gin! There, the box wrapped in blue, open that first." Astoria quipped pointing towards a thick long box.
Ginny picked up the box and unwrapped it carefully, the shape of the box was giving her a funny feeling and she just burst out laughing upon opening the box. Astoria was taken aback and felt really bad at being laughed at for her gift. She had spent hours going through the catalog and had it ordered from Ukraine a month in advance by her mother specially for Ginny. She was crestfallen and on the verge of tears when Ginny saw her reaction.
She immediately dropped the box and hugged Astoria who was trying to break away from her, "No, no, no Astoria. Sorry! I… really wasn't laughing at your gift. I'm Sorry if it seemed that way. It's just…" Ginny stepped back looking at her, "...that… What really gave you that idea about the dagger?"
"That was very rude, Gin! I really thought you're laughing at my gift and me. It's a special order from somewhere near Russia, I had mom get it for you. You know I wanted you to have something to protect yourself if and when you're in a fight and don't have your wand. It has a self-sharpening charm and can cleave through meat and bone like a hot knife through butter. And the sheath has disillusionment and anti-summoning charms. Not exactly Goblin steel, but it's made by the Russian dark elves who're as good at forging metals I'm told as the Goblins. Now. Why did you laugh?" Astoria replied with her expression going from irritated to intrigued.
Ginny just stood up and left, returning a couple of minutes later. She lifted her night suit to expose her ankles and shin. "Do you see something?" Astoria shook her head in amusement.
Ginny bent down and pulled out her 9 inches long serrated Goblin-made Silver dagger from it's holster. Astoria's eyes widened comically as realization hit her and she couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, okay! Miss Show off. I get it, no need for such an intricate demo. You could have just said that."
Ginny just shrugged, plopping down to sit besides Astoria, "Hmmmm, where's the fun in that. However, I love your gift, I'll carry it on me always. This one's special too, I got it for my birthday. It's a cursed combat dagger, if you get a cut, it'll never heal. Unless you use dark magic to repair the damage. Excellent in a fight, but not useful here if I have to remain unnoticed."
"Good luck with that. The way you act sometimes, it seems you're trying for the opposite. You don't really miss any chance to rile up the Trio, do you?"
"I don't know, they just rub me the wrong way. Besides I don't really care, we can handle them." Ginny replied, placing her dagger on the rug and picking up the slightly smaller yet sharp and serrated edged dagger gifted by her friend.
"That does look good in your hands, Gin! You should practice using it. Although, this one's so much more beautiful and deadly. I won't envy you using this one over mine." Astoria picked up the shimmering silver dagger holding it against the light.
"Careful Tori! The blades are sharp and only my blood is keyed to protect against the curse. I know how to wield a blade, though I'll practice some more if you'd like to join me. Open your gifts now."
They spent the morning checking out gifts they received lazing around in the dorms. Dinky was gracious enough to provide them refreshments time to time. Ginny got Astoria a charm bracelet, that had potion detection charms and a charm for shield against minor hexes. Additionally, she had given her a beginners book on dark hexes and counters, which she had owl-ordered from Knockturn Alley in the name of Bonnie Carter as usual. Draco received the same book along with a couple more on Quidditch. She didn't interact much with Mel, so she sent her a personalized hamper of exquisite chocolates.
Ginny herself, on the other hand, got a set of self adjusting school robes in the non premium material from Narcissa as the premium ones she gave weren't being used. A book on wards from Bill written and translated from Egyptian language. Charlie gave her a safety charm carved into the fang tooth of a Hungarian Horntail he works with back in Romania. The charm came with a silver chain to go on her neck.
Surprisingly, Draco had given her the snitch he caught during his first game against Gryffindors along with a box of Honeydukes' finest chocolates and a thank you note. Astoria was surprised to see gifts from Draco and his mother, yet didn't pester her more once Ginny asked her about her Occlumency shields.
From her own mother, Ginny received an apology note that she couldn't knit her a Weasley jumper this year as she didn't have enough time before leaving for Romania. The twins sent her a pack of weird canary yellow cream treats, which she would definitely not eat or let Tori eat, probably laced with some or the other sort of prank. Percy as usual forgot to send her anything, so he sent her a list of books she can read for getting ahead in class which she has already read and referred to.
Ron didn't send her anything as expected, however, what was weird was that there was no gift from Bella. She mulled over thinking if Bella forgot to send a gift. Maybe Bella was miffed that she wasn't coming home for Yule. She would mirror call her in the evening once Astoria left for the Malfoy Ball along with Daphne.
Having had an early dinner, Ginny just retired back to her room settling down for some light reading. Her mirror lit up suddenly vibrating with an incoming call. She perked up assuming Bella's call and picked it up off the dresser.
It was Bellatrix on the other side, but the surroundings seemed a bit odd. She wasn't inside the manor as usual and the trees looked familiar to Ginny.
"Hey, Little Bird!" Bella greeted cheerfully.
"Bella! Happy Yuletide! Where are you? You're not at the manor, are you?" Ginny asked.
"No, of course not. I'm here! At Hogwarts!" Bella said with a grin.
Ginny on the other hand, started to freak out, "Bella! You are a wanted criminal by the Ministry. Someone might alert the aurors. Why are you at Hogwarts? Are you safe? Is everything all right?"
"Calm down, dear. I'm perfectly fine, and don't worry I'm well hidden inside the forest. Now, call Dinky and she'll guide you to me. I came to meet you for Yule!" Bella said, trying to calm her down.
"It's still a huge risk Bella. You shouldn't have done that."
"Do you want me to go back then?"
"Wait! I didn't mean that. Hold on, let me get dressed. Just stay put, I'll come there shortly." Ginny said disconnecting the call.
A short while later, Dinky slowly but steadily guided Ginny through a secret passage that opened up behind the castle and led her towards the Forbidden Forest away from Hagrid's hut. After walking nervously for about 10 minutes into the Forest, they reached a clearing.
"Is this it, Dinky?" Ginny asked.
The little elf nodded and pointed towards a thick tree and then disappeared after bowing to her. Ginny walked towards the tree looking for any signs of Bella, but all she could see was darkness and the leaves crushing beneath her feet.
Without a warning, a huge Black Jaguar almost twice her size and dark as night jumped down the tree and landed on top of her pinning her to the ground. Ginny felt her heart explode in fear, her hands were pinned and she couldn't get to her dagger or her wand.
Her breath hitched in her throat as the growling face remained just inches from her face, it's fierce blue eyes glowing in the dark eyeing her like a prey to be ripped by those sharp powerful jaws.
The jaguar growled and moved it's head closer as Ginny closed her eyes wishing for Bella to just save her. She has to be somewhere close, if only she would reach in time. Tears welled up in her eyes as she let out a whimper, "Bella!"
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