Trigger Warnings:

Start/symptoms of panic attack

Wizarding London felt so mundane after the vibrancy of Egypt. The laughter of Bill and his team, the mystery of the pyramids, the bite of the sand all felt to distant, so unreachable. Ginny grit her teeth and rolled her neck. It was ok. She could do this. Bill had set-up a post box just for her at Gringotts so she could stay in contact. She just had to remember to write the address as Bill Weasley, Gringotts, London otherwise the poor owl would try and fly to Egypt. Charlie had even joined them for a few days. He had wrapped her up in hugs and regaled her with tales of the Dragon Sanctuary in Romania. At least, if the rest of her family turned their back on her, she would have her oldest brothers.

Akila, Bill's bronze skinned teammate, had woven an intimate braid into her hair and decorated it with golden circlets the night of Ginny's departure. She said it was a reminder of the summer and the warmth of self-discovery and would not come undone unless Ginny willed it. The circlets represented strength and resilience. Akila was a mystery, handy with both dagger and wand. Ginny had noticed her appear seemingly out of nowhere after her fight with Mike and start watching her with increased interest. Tom said it was because she was a creep and that Ginny should be careful around her. Ginny knew by now that most of what Tom said was bollocks. Akila started calling her little sand warrior – she didn't mind. Akila was cool. Even Mike seemed wary of her.

Ginny rolled the braid between her thumb and forefinger. Why was she no nervous to see her family?

Because they hate you. Tom supplied, rather unhelpfully. She told him to shut up and took a calming breath. They didn't hate her, they just didn't understand her. Right?

It was only a few moments more before Dad came round the corner. He looked more tired and stressed than she could remember him being. She got to her feet and hoisted her backpack onto her shoulders.

"Ginny! I'm sorry I'm late. The boys...".

Ginny barely paid attention to his rambling. Should she hug him? What if he was still annoyed at her? What if... Her thoughts were cut off by him enclosing her in a hug.

"I missed you, Gin. I'm so sorry for everything that happened".

What was she meant to say to that? Wasn't it too late now? She settled for hugging him slightly stronger before pulling away.

The walk to Diagon Alley wasn't exactly unpleasant but Ginny, finding herself at odds with what to say, missed the carefree conversation back in Egypt. Dad was still rambling on this time about what Mum and her brothers has been up to. Apparently Percy had been made Head Boy (what a surprise) and Ron's rat wasn't very well. She couldn't help but be slightly glad at that – though she did feel a little bad about it. Scabbers was gross and seemed to have a tendency to hide in her laundry. Not that she could blame it really. It was a good hiding place from the twin menaces but Merlin it never failed to make her jump. She could swear that the rat was laughing at her whenever it happened though she knew that was clearly ridiculous.

The headed straight to the Leaky Cauldron. Mum and Dad had picked up her school supplies earlier in the day. Harry was staying at the cauldron after an unexplained incident and Hermione had also joined them. The Ministry had, suspiciously in hers and Tom's opinion, offered to pay for them to stay the night too and had even provided cars to take them to Kings Cross in the morning. She didn't know why the Ministry were suddenly showing so much care towards her family when they had barely glanced in Dad's direction in the past. She supposed it was probably something to do with Harry. It usually was, the poor boy.

Everyone was sat round a couple of large tables when she arrived. The conversation stopped abruptly as heads turned her way. She stopped in her tracks.

"Ginny!" Mum shouted, jumping to her feet. "I'm so glad you're ok, dear. Oh look, you're still covered in sand" she continued brushing off her robes. "You'll need a bath before you're ready for school tomorrow".

Ginny barely had time to think as she was pulled forwards to sit next to her at the table.

Mum continued with the verbal barrage updating her on everything that had been happening while she was away, including the latest gnome infestation. It made her head spin. She hadn't been talked at this much in weeks. The curse breaking team actually wanted her input instead of monologuing her into submission. She was finally released when food was served. She felt her stomach turn as a large portion of Shepherd's Pie was pushed in front of her. Great, why wouldn't they let her order her own food? She wasn't a child! The idea of meat still made her feel distinctly unwell. Bill had introduced her to falafel and hummus while she was away. It had been a lifesaver and much more satisfying than her previous diet of broccoli and potatoes. She ate slowly, picking her way around the mince. The crispy mash top wasn't bad and the generous portion ensured that she had something to eat. Mum pursed her lips when Ginny refused to eat more. Ginny played it off as portkey sickness which earned her a "poor dear" and a pat on the head.

Hermione seemed to take pity on her and leant across the table.

"So Ginny, how was Egypt? You;ll have to tell me everything. Ron's knowledge was... limited" she said eagerly.

Before Ginny could respond, Mum cut in.

"I'm sure Ginny dear has had enough of Egypt for a lifetime. Right dear? And, we have a late birthday present for you! To say sorry for all the unpleasantness".

Hermione sat back on her chair with a huff. Mum reached under the table and pulled out a book-shaped package wrapped in crinkled brown paper. Ginny took it with a quiet thank you and gently unwrapped it. Inside was a hideous pink diary. She stared at it in disbelief.

"We know how much you loved writing in... well, we thought you would like on that is safe. You can set your own password by tapping your wand on the bind".

Tom's laughter blocked out everything else Mum was saying. How the fuck did she think that a diary was a good idea? Her heart was pounding in her chest. Her breath was disappearing and she was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe.

"Ginny, are you ok?" Her Dad said, bringing her back to the present.

"Oh, um. Yes, I'm fine". She heard herself stutter out. "Just feeling really portkey sick. I'm going to go to bed now if that's ok?".

They reluctantly let her leave with the key to the room she was sharing with Hermione.

Thankfully, Hermione didn't come up straight away so she had the room to herself. Well, almost to herself. It seemed that Hermione had purchased a giant, grumpy fuzzball which seemed quite content to leave her alone. No matter how hard she tried, she could not rid herself of the sand. Oh how she missed the showers in Egypt. The one at Bill's was spelled to vanish any sand from the person. It was a real lifesaver after being out in the desert all day. Hermione didn't appear until Ginny was 'asleep' in bed.

Her and Dad were sitting eating breakfast listening to the chaos of the rest of the family rushing around. Hermione had gone to help, or rather boss, Harry and Mum was shouting at the twins and Ron interchangeably. Ginny herself had been packed for the last couple of hours. Though, it wasn't much of an achievement. Mum had packed her trunk for her before she returned to Britain and she mostly left the backpack as it was only replacing some of her clothes from Egypt with some school robes, a second year textbook and some corned beef sandwiches.

"So, Ginny. Do you have any plans for this School year?" Dad asked.

She explained that she wanted to make sure she was caught up with School and that she was thinking of trying out for the quidditch team. Dad told her that it wasn't a good idea. Quidditch that was. He said that as she didn't know how to fly (shows what he knew) it would be quite dangerous and that after her adventures last year she should take it easy and stay safe. In fact, it was probably best that she stayed in the castle and avoided going out into the grounds where possible. He didn't provide any further explanation for why she needed to stay inside and before she could ask Mum was yelling about the time.

They were finally on their way to Kings Cross! She could hardly wait. She had only been back with her family for little under a day and they were already grating on her nerves. There was also definitely something going on. Apparently, she was too delicate for her family to tell her but it didn't matter. Luna and Colin would fill her in – if they can forgive her for her poor contact over the summer...

Thank you for bearing with me and for the reviews, alerts and favs!

Work has been manic and I've barely had time to do anything else.

This is a shorter, transitionary chapter before we head back to Hogwarts!

~ Fiona