Mundane No More

Bill and Charlie continued to glance around wearily, more worried by the second the more students jumped off the train and all but barreled into waiting families anxious arms. The vague notes Ginny had sent their parents had only been brief and of so little substance it was a wonder why she still sent them except to prove she was still alive.

When the eldest brothers finally caught sight of their baby sister, they swore in unison and almost tore her away from a blonde girl she had been talking to, cataloging every visible injury.

A split lip and a blossoming black eye were only the most vivid of Ginny's injuries, there was a bruise across her left temple and a fading but deep scratch etched from her right eye down to almost her neck. Before either boy could demand what happened, Ginny simply said, "Can't I please go home and tell you all at once, you know they aren't going to be any happier."

Without waiting for a response, Ginny turned and waved back at her friend, and exited the train station with her brothers shadowing her. After walking a discreet distance from the crowded station, they each grabbed hold of her and apparated back to the Burrow. Fleur was the only one in the kitchen when they arrived, and while she at first glanced up and around with a warm smile, it quickly melted into shock and she swore violently in french.

She was on her feet and bustling around to their side of the table at once, switching randomly between her native tongue and English as she demanded "-happened- all those-"

"Fleur," Bill interrupted kindly, "I'd like to know as well, but since I'm the only one vaguely following you, I'd suggest calming down first." She stopped from twisting Ginny's head in the light to better inspect said injuries, and took a deep breath while Charlie gave one more anxious look at the young girl before almost sprinting from the room, to go fetch their parents Bill knew.

Bill and Fleur escorted Ginny to the table, and Fleur used the short pause to jump around the kitchen to make Ginny a pot of tea while Bill took up an almost casual though still territorial seat next to Ginny, still giving her furtive looks that she was pointedly ignoring.

There was a crash from above, and the three only had to wait a moment when there was an audible sound of feet running down the stairs and Molly and Arthur Weasley made their entrance to the kitchen, making a beeline right for their only girl. Charlie appeared a few steps behind them, with Fred and George hot on the tails. Bill arched a brow in surprise, he hadn't realized the twins had come over while they were out, but he was glad they were all the same.

There was a huge hubbub for several minutes while all the Weasley's talked at once, trying to find out what had happened to their youngest, when Arthur finally resolved the situation by throwing a few bright red sparks from his wand. Then, with the closest thing his children had ever seen to sternest crossing his features, he turned on his daughter and demanded, "Who did this?"

Ginny would have taken an automatic step back had she not still been seated, but her reply came swiftly enough. "Where to start? At least school isn't exactly mundane anymore." She blinked once, a benign smile creeping across her face as she elaborated without prompting, "Look, it's not that bad, I'm not even the worse one. Neville's got this huge lump-"

"We didn't ask about Neville," Molly cut her off severely, bright red still coloring most of her face in anger as she pulled out her wand and began casting a few silent spells on her daughter to help ease the healing.

Ginny nodded in ascent, recognizing there was no point in continuing to delay what she'd never have been able to put into words in her letters anyways. She looked around the room one more time, taking in almost her entire family staring right at her, and finally relinquished the horrible story. "Hogwarts happened to me." She released a blistering breath, and they saw anger beginning to flare up in her as she explained, "Those awful Carrow's is what. They're so horrible I don't even know where to begin. From the first day of term they've been going about the school, punishing anyone they didn't think they liked. At first it was just detentions and stuff, but even before the first month was up it was already getting worse."

"Detentions like Umbridge's?" Fred demanded, remembering her regime all too well.

Ginny gave a sardonic laugh, eyeing him pitifully. "The Carrows make Umbridge look like a princess. No, this," she gestured to the black eye, "is a tame punishment for someone who speaks out against them. They've gotten to where they're starting to use other punishments like Hex's and-" she broke off when her Dad convulsed and stumbled back like someone had just slammed something over his head, making Charlie put a concerned hand on his shoulder.

He shook it off quickly, demanding, "Ginny, this has been happening to you all year? Why didn't you say anything?"

To their horror, they saw her bright brown eyes get a glossy look about them for a few seconds, before she blinked and it was gone and she replied calmly, "Our mail's being checked, Dad. I couldn't have told you even if I could find the words to properly explain, I'm not even doing a good job now. Besides, you can't do anything, no one can. Snape's not exactly stepping out against this, and we all know the Ministry is backing him."

The horrid silence that came after that little speech was one of the longest that ever lasted in this particular kitchen.

Really though, what could they say? The world was falling apart around them.

I reserve the right to use this as an opener in a full-blown HP story I'm working on, but until then enjoy this small snippet.