Ginny... Wednesday
Ginny lets the memories of last night replay in her mind. She's fighting three mountain trolls at a time, dodging spinning and practically flying from place to place. Ginny critiques her form as she replays the scene of the first time she was hit by one of the trolls. Her roll had been sloppy therefore causing her to lose her balance and stumble into her dueling stance. She'll need to work on that during training today.
Ginny lets the memory of the troll grabbing her, play in her mind next. She had missed her original target, the troll's neck, and hit the troll's chest instead. The cutting hex is deadly when it hits an artery but it looked like she had tried killing it with a pocket knife! Last night's fight was a sloppy mess! I should be better!
When her cutting hex missed she couldn't implement her original plan and slips behind the dying troll and out of arm's length of the troll on the other side of her. I should have had a backup plan!
Ginny replays her near-death over and over again in her mind. If that troll was a second faster she would have been killed. Instead, another troll wanted the pleasure of killing her and swung its club, missing her, and hitting her captor in the head, causing the troll to lose consciousness. Her memory shifts to another memory. The memory of Harry's fingers softly tracing the bruise.
He'd looked furious at her for a few seconds before his expression changed into one of sweet tenderness and care. His touch was a welcome distraction from the pain, but the feelings that came with his touch were unacceptable. If she was any other girl she'd be putty in his hands. If she hadn't been kidnapped and tortured she would probably flirt outrageously and touch him unnecessarily.
But she was tortured and she isn't another girl. So, she won't have feelings for him and she won't let him get any closer to her. She can't. She'll break if she does, she's sure of it.
Ginny steps out of the shower and is hit by the cool draft that is always in the castle. The prefect's bathroom is one of the few places in the castle with tile. The floor is white marble and has stained glass windows. While Ginny always thought they could drop the mermaid and turn it into a merman she loves the bathroom. The Hufflepuff and Slytherin houses didn't use the bathroom very often considering it was on the fifth floor.
Ginny threw on her clothes from the previous night and goes to her dorm room to change clothes and grab her book satchel. Ginny loves the satchel she bought right before her fourth year at Hogwarts. It had a laurel design of blossoms on it that reminded Ginny of the orchard back home. Ginny grabs the satchel and checks to make sure she has all of her books and textbooks before leaving her dorm room quietly; not wanting to wake her roommates.
In the common room, Ginny finds a chair in the corner that gives her a view of every exit and entry point. Ginny closes her eyes for a second and enjoys the light streaming in from the windows. Ginny is exhausted. She fought dark creatures late into the night. Fought with Harry... again. Dealt with bad dreams and the feeling that Harry was watching her the whole time.
Ginny opens her eyes and grabs a book from her satchel. Maybe she can study some new spells while she waits for Hermione and Ron to come down so they can eat breakfast together.
She won't shut them out like she did her third year. She'll be a good friend and a sister while at the same time being a vigilant warrior. Yes, she can and she will. Because if she doesn't she'll drown in the feeling of helplessness and guilt.
Ginny messes with some spells and writes down the ones she wants to practice later. The list is fairly short considering she's only writing down the ones useful for a fight. Some of them have long names that can slow her down in a fight but give her an edge because her opponent won't recognize them. She'll need to determine whether to keep them in her arsenal or not.
"Good morning Ginny," Ginny lifts her head and smiles at Hermione. Her smile fades quickly when Hermione's eyes land on her neck.
"Don't ask," Ginny mutters. Ginny pulls her hair until it covers her neck and anything else that might still be healing.
"Okay, then I'm just going to assume that the bruise on your neck was given to you by a boy," Hermione smirks when Ginny scoffs indignantly.
"And who would I let give me a hickey?" Ginny says more than asks. No one.
"You and Harry seem to click. Of course, it could be Mark or even Evan. Both of them can't take their eyes off of you," Hermione says smiling. Ginny rolls her eyes and starts putting away her notes and book.
"They've all heard what a great kisser I am and all want some action," Ginny tosses her hair behind her soldier before walking to the portrait leading to the rest of the castle. Hermione follows her out and into the corridor laughing.
"Oh yes. Everyone's heard. Some of the seventh-year girls are being quite nasty. Maybe you should kiss all their boyfriends. That'll make them go wild," Hermione says teasingly.
"You've been spending too much time with Ron," Ginny says laughing. She's missed this. She's missed just talking with Hermione. While Ginny doesn't think she'll ever be able to admit it out loud. Harry was right. She can't stop living her life. Harry won't be in it though. When they kick Tom's ass he can go back to America for all she cares.
"Are you excited for quidditch this year?" Hermione asks. Ginny gives her a weird look. Hermione never brings up quidditch.
"Why are you trying to get on my good side?" Ginny asks. Hermione scowls at her and Ginny smiles smugly. She sussed her out!
"Where did you get that bruise?" Hermione says her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"I told you to drop it, Hermione," Ginny says with a sigh.
"We both know you aren't spending time in broom closets with the seventh years so what's it from?" Hermione's tone implies no leeway. Hermione will get her answer even if she needs to dose her pumpkin juice with veritaserum.
"There was a small attack on Hogwarts last night and I happened to be outside, so I fought them," Ginny shrugs and tries to make it sound like nothing.
"All by yourself? Ginny!" Hermione snaps at her. Ginny flinches away.
"Of course, I wasn't by myself!" Ginny snaps back. She's not an idiot.
"Who were you with? Colin and Demelza were in the common room!" Hermione's tone doesn't lighten up and Ginny's temper starts to rise.
"I fought with Harry Potter alright? Lighten up I'm fine," Ginny starts walking faster. The faster they get to breakfast the sooner she can tell Hermione to shut up. Hermione keeps pace with her.
"Harry?" Hermione's eyebrows disappear into her frizzy hairline. Ginny gives her what she hopes is a threatening look and keeps walking.
"You could do worse," Hermione mutters. Ginny stays quiet in hopes that Hermione will drop the subject. She doesn't want to talk about the fight or Harry.
They walk in silence and Ginny wonders if this is what her life has come to. Will she always prefer silence? Will she be annoyed every time someone brings up the war? She hopes not. Because as far as she can tell. Harry doesn't plan on ending it any time soon.
Ginny walks to the Gryffindor table on autopilot. She sits in the middle and Hermione sits across from her. Ginny grabs two pieces of toast and some orange marmalade, spreading the sticky substance onto her toast.
Soon, Ron and Harry join them. While on autopilot she forgot that Harry would probably join her brother and because Ginny is with Hermione would therefore be sitting with her. He better keep his mouth shut and just eat.
"Ginny, what happened to your neck? I thought you had sworn off boys this year?" Ron asks, the bacon that was previously in his hand falls to the plate and splits into two. His tone was teasing but his actions give a different impression. He'd beat whatever boy marked her. Just like the overprotective git he'd always been.
Ginny scowls and flips him off. She'll need to use a concealing charm before class.
"Ginny fought in a battle last night," Hermione says in a disapproving tone. Ron's jaw clenches and his eyes narrow.
"Why are you running into the danger, Ginny? Do you want to get yourself killed? I know you feel guilty about Luna but dying isn't going to solve anything!" Ron whispers harshly. Ginny slams her toast onto her plate, crumbs flying everywhere, and glares at him.
"Don't you dare speak to me like that," Ginny growls. Ginny glances at Hermione who seems torn between defending Ron and hitting him. Ginny looks at Harry to see if he'll defend her and he seems to be in the same situation as Hermione. Pillock won't ever shut up and now he's silent? Why do I even want him to defend me? I'd rather he just left, right? Right.
Ginny huffs and quickly downs her pumpkin juice, wishing it were fire whiskey instead. When her goblet is empty she stands up, grabs her satchel, and leaves the Great Hall.
"Ginny wait!" Harry calls from behind her. Ginny whirls around and casts a silencing charm and her famous bat bogey hex. Ginny smirks in satisfaction as Harry keels over, silently clawing at his nose as bats start flying from his nose. Serves him right.
"Miss Weasley!" Minerva says hurrying to Harry's side.
"Yeah yeah, five points from Gryffindor. My apologies Professor," Ginny says snarkily. Minerva gives her a warning look before she starts attending to Harry who's now on his knees, tears sliding down his face as he tries to counter her hex.
Ginny spins on her heel and starts walking away. Before she can get more than five yards Harry is cursing. Minerva must've gotten rid of my silencing charm.
"Shit! Karmas a bitch!"
Harry...
Harry impatiently dabs at the blood running from his nose. His nose has been bleeding since Ginny hexed him earlier. He wonders if she tweaked the spell in any way to make his nose bleed as it has been.
Potions had been a bitch because of his nose. His potion had turned out wrong because his blood kept dripping into his cauldron. Snape had, of course, called him out on it, trying to embarrass him in front of the class. It didn't work. While the constant bleeding was annoying, how could he stay mad at Ginny? He'd been a dick and she made it clear what would happen if he was a dick again. He loved it. She doesn't take any shit.
"Mr. Potter, will you please go to the hospital wing? I can't have you staining the desks red."
Harry nods his head to his professor and leaves his ancient runes class, silently gathering his things and leaving the classroom.
Harry says hi to the portraits that aren't asleep as he passes them in the corridor. They all wave and a few even asked if he's ok, seeing as he's dripping blood on the floor. Some milkmaids, in a golden framed portrait, flirt with him mercilessly causing him to blush and mutter his thanks. The portraits are something so unique to the magical world, and Hogwarts does an amazing job showcasing them. In fact, Hogwarts showcases so many fantastic magical things! The castle isn't purely practical, it's like a museum for magic!
The knight's armor lining the corridors, the high ceilings with large windows, and candle-lit chandeliers. The portraits fill the empty space between the windows. Not to mention the moving staircases that leave him gaping in awe when he's suddenly on the fifth floor and not the third. The whole castle is magnificent; it truly is a magical place.
Harry steps onto a moving staircase that currently leads to the corridor, leading to the hospital wing. Harry looks over the staircase railing as he climbs the stairs, and several stories below he sees some giggling girls go through a door. Must be a girl's restroom. Why do they always go together?
Harry steps into the corridor and quickly heads into the hospital wing. His white shirt has blood on it, his red and gold tie has more red than gold now and the previously clear buttons are stained orange. This is the second white shirt I've gone through in less than twenty-four hours!
Harry steps into the hospital wing and grimaces as his eyes make direct contact with the glowing rays of the sun. What a great way to start the day. Piss off the girl you like, get cursed, get a bloody nose, get kicked out of class, and visit the hospital wing for a second time! Fantastic!
"Mr. Potter, what are you doing back here?" Madam Pomfrey asks when she sees him.
"I seem to have run into some trouble this morning and my nose won't stop bleeding," Harry sits on the bed he'd left just that morning and gestures to his, still bleeding nose.
"What caused the bleed? It looks like you've tried healing it a couple of times with magic. Did it not work, or did it make it worse than before?" Madam Pomfrey asks all business.
"I did, try and heal it a couple of times, but it just made the bleeding worse!" It ruined a perfectly crisp white shirt too, Harry adds in his head. Seriously is he going to need to buy more white dress shirts?
"You were cursed then?"
"Yes," Harry says slowly. Please don't ask what curse.
"Do you know what you were cursed with?" C'mon, really?
"It was the bat bogey hex I believe. This one is different than I've ever seen before! Usually, I can get rid of the hex and fix myself up in a few minutes! This one isn't fading away, however."
"Ah, you must've gotten on Miss Weasley's nerves. I must say, this is the most powerful one I've ever seen her do! What did you say to her?" She asks, aghast. Her wand continues waving near and around Harry's face making him dizzy as he tries to follow her movements. Harry closes his eyes.
"Oh, you know, just trying to get her to fall in love with me," Harry says nonchalantly. He shrugs his shoulders and he thinks he hears a soft snort escape Madam Pomfrey's lips. Harry opens his eyes to check but sees no sign of amusement on her face.
"That'll hack her off for sure. You better give her a couple of hours before you risk being in her presence. I dare say you best make it up to her soon if you want her to fall in love with you," Harry feels a weird tingling sensation in his nose when she taps her wand on it. Harry puckers his lips and moves his nose around. It feels like the bleeding has stopped. Hallelujah!
Madam Pomfrey mutters a few cleaning charms and Harry opens his eyes to see a proud Madam Pomfrey.
"I recommend lilies. They're some of her favorite flowers. Don't tell her you found that out from me though," she says as she turns and walks away.
She must really want to win the bet she made with the other professors if she's giving me advice!
Class is over so he figures he might as well head to Albus's office and get started on his research. He stands up but falls back onto the bed when the door slams open.
"Harry, what the hell have you been up to? I get a message that you've already been in battle and are in the hospital wing, and where do I find you when I get here? The hospital wing! Again!" Harry winces at his Godfather's loud, outburst. Dramatic as always, sweeping into the room like he's the King of England.
"It's not my fault I'm in here! The people here are crazy! Now I know why you are, the way you are!" Harry exclaims. Pomfrey gives him a disapproving look and Sirius looks hurt. What an actor.
"Seriously, Harry. You aren't trained enough to go head first into battle, especially by yourself," Sirius sits on the bed adjacent to Harry's with a sigh.
So he doesn't know that Ginny was with me? Would it make it better or worse if I mention her?
"Ummmm, about that. I wasn't alone," Harry trails off and stares at the floor.
"Albus didn't mention anyone else. That old blighter is probably trying to get you to take some responsibility. Has he spoken to you since it happened?"
"We spoke in the hospital after the fight and he didn't seem angry or anything. He did send me a note during potions that I'd be going to the seventh year's ancient runes class instead of meeting him in his office like I usually do though," Harry's mind reels as he tries to remember anything indicating Albus possibly being angry with him.
He definitely wasn't angry at me, but Sirius definitely is. Should I make it seem like Albus is angry at me so Sirius will get off my back? Will it help him to completely forget about the fact that he dragged Ginny into battle with him?
"He might be," Harry says with a shrug.
"Who was with you anyways?" Sirius asks. Damnit.
"You remember that girl who fired spells at us the night I first got here?" Harry asks, intentionally not mentioning her name.
"You're twisting my leg here right?" Sirius asks, giving Harry a look he doesn't understand. Is he mad or is he laughing on the inside but doesn't want me to see?
"No..."
"You dragged Arthur'd daughter into battle with you! Harry! I know I raised you differently than others, but I know for a fact I didn't raise an idiot!" Sirius stands from the bed and starts pacing. He stops and glares at Harry, before returning to his pacing. He repeats the process and Harry panics.
Why does he know Ginny?
"Do you even know what that family has gone through? What Ginny has gone through? Her case file sits open on my boss's desk at all hours of the day because of what she's gone through!" Harry leans back on his hands and stares at his lap.
He knows she's been through a lot. He figured her family had been through a lot too, but he didn't think about that last night when he was arguing with Ginny. Instead, he let his hormones get in the way of his rational thinking and almost got her killed!
"I'm sorry," Harry whispers pathetically. He doesn't want Ginny to be hurt. He doesn't want her family to deal with anything else, but he can't just leave her alone! Not only is he supposed to train with her, but he really truly likes her. A lot! He's been joking around about loving her, but he honestly thinks he could fall in love. Maybe by the end of the week!
It's only Wednesday and he's already majorly screwed up. Way to go idiot.
"Sirius, how am I supposed to do this?"
"It's simple. You stay away from her and let that family heal!" Sirius stops pacing and stands before Harry. Harry tries to read his face and the only thing that registers is Sirius's disappointment.
"That's not what I'm asking," Harry says softly, brokenly.
Sirius takes a deep breath and really looks at Harry. Harry feels like he's under a muggle microscope. Sirius looks like he's studying something extremely important that will make or break his entire life. Maybe it will.
Sirius must sense something is very wrong with Harry because he forgets his pacing and approaches Harry with his eyebrows pinched together and his lips set in a frown.
"What's wrong, cub?" Sirius asks, squatting at the knee. Harry has to sit up straight and look down to see him. Sirius's hands rest on Harry's knees and he feels like a kid again. And like a child, tears start to fall from his eyes. Harry wipes them away quickly and blinks repeatedly to try and get them to stop. They don't.
Remus used to call Harry cub. Sirius would usually call him, pup. Why did he call Harry cub this time?
"I-I don't know what I'm doing! I'm trying to save the world and be a kid at the same time, but I can't! I don't want to have to save the world! I don't want to show up to the hospital wing because I got hurt in battle or I didn't know what to say when someone talks about their experiences with the war and end up getting hexed!
"I want to be in the hospital wing because I forgot my girlfriend's and I's anniversary, or I pulled a stupid stunt on my broom! I want to fall in love with whoever I want, but no! I'm stuck fighting in a war, thousands of miles from home! I'm going to school and taking five classes. One per day and the rest of my day is research on how to kill someone!
"Sirius! I don't know how to do this! I don't want to do this! I just want to be happy and have a future. But I can't have either of them," Harry's voice is choked and the tears continue to silently fall. Sirius's own eyes shine with tears as he watches Harry break down.
"You can have both of those things soon. You just need to trust yourself and the people fighting with and for you. You can be happy and you can have a future!" Sirius's voice is just as choked as Harry's but his words hold a confidence that Harry can't quite hold onto.
"I'll either die, or I'll live. If I die then I won't get to be happy or have a future. If I live I'll be unhappy in both England and America and I don't understand Mandarin so, that rules out most of Asia, and I hate sharks so I can't go to Australia. Plus, the girl I think I could fall in love with, is off-limits apparently, oh, and did I mention she hates my guts?"
Sirius's eyebrows furrow and then raise as his eyes widen.
"You fell for Ginny didn't you?" Sirius asks quietly.
"Why am I the only person who's surprised? She's fantastic obviously but it took me months to even figure out that I liked Keira and here I am practically in love with a girl who hates me, is off-limits, and is someone I've just met!" Harry raises his hands in exasperation and then lets them fall back to his sides. Seriously. They all quickly tell me it's no surprise I fell for her so fast, but are just as quick to say I shouldn't be with her!
"You're so much like your dad," Sirius whispers. A lone tear falls from Sirius's cheek and Harry immediately feels even worse.
Sirius has lost everyone. Harry lost them too, but he didn't know them nearly as well as Sirius did.
"Will you go tell Albus I'm not feeling well? I'm going to go to my dorm and take a nap. Tell him I'll be out for the rest of the day and to not expect me for any tutoring or training," Harry clears his throat before standing up. Sirius follows his lead and stands.
"I'll go do that now. Take the day to remember that you're not alone, and while right now things might seem impossible or they seem like you can't have them. It's only today and as long as I'm living, you'll have a tomorrow too."
Ginny...
Ginny closes her eyes as the sun filters through the greenhouse leaving the room warm and smelling green. Ginny's exhausted. She hasn't slept well since the chamber incident in her second year and it only got worse when she was kidnapped this last summer. It doesn't help that she has Prefect duties at least twice a week to deal with too.
Ginny's eyes snap open when she hears the sound of multiple people walking. Ginny rubs her eyes and follows the rest of her classmates out of the greenhouse. Ginny has a free period and decides to head up to her dorm room to try and catch a nap.
Ginny tries to keep herself vigilant as she walks to Gryffindors tower but finds herself walking without any thought or care about her surroundings. You better pray for sleep or else you'll get kidnapped again.
Ginny follows a younger Gryffindor into the common room, glad that she doesn't need to try and remember the password to get in. She drags herself up the winding staircase and into her dormitory. She collapses on her bed and groans when her body finally relaxes.
Ginny flings her arm to the side and tries to find her nightstand without having to open her eyes; too tired to try. Her hand smacks into the corner of the said nightstand and Ginny hisses in pain. Bloody hell all I want is some sleep!
Ginny drags her hand along the surface of the nightstand until her hand hits a small stand that holds twelve vials of dreamless sleep potion. Dumbledore had Poppy make her some when he saw the dark circles under Ginny's eyes the night she'd arrived. Bless his soul.
Ginny grabs a vial and uncorks it. She lifts her stiff neck so she can down the potion before letting her head fall back to her bed.
Ginny waits for the potion to take effect and slides under the covers of her bed.
Ginny mentally checks off her list of things that need to be done that day. She went to her classes ate breakfast and hexed Harry. She hasn't done much, but what she has done leaves her feeling accomplished. She's survived half the day and she only has another half left.
Her mind goes blank and Ginny quickly slips into sweet oblivion.
Still Ginny...
Her body is shaking. She can feel it moving back and forth following the movements coming from her arm. Ginny blinks and quickly takes in her surroundings. She's in her bed, in Gryffindor tower. She's being shaken by her roommate, Julie.
"Why are you shaking me?" Ginny mumbles. Ginny tries to clear her head but the potion is slow to wear off. The worst side effect of this potion is how it lowers all of her inhibitions. She hates it, but not sleeping at all is worse.
"The Headmaster stopped me in the corridor and asked me to bring you this note. He said I needed to get it to you as soon as possible," Julie places a note next to Ginny on the bed.
"Damn it. What time is it Julie?" Ginny frantically searches for a clock. Where the hell is the clock? I swear I've had a clock on my desk since my first year!
"It's almost three o'clock. I'm sorry for waking you up by the way," Ginny waves away her apology and picks up the note, trying to open it as fast as she can.
"Thanks for bringing me the note," Ginny mutters as she fumbles with it. How did he fold this thing? Merlin is this origami or something?
Julie hums in acknowledgment of Ginny's gratitude and leaves the dorm room. Ginny gets fed up with the note and rips the thing in half. She unfolds the two halves before grabbing her wand and casting Reparo.
Instead of meeting with Harry to go to the Room of Requirement, meet me there for training. Harry won't be joining us today.
-Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore
A feeling unknown to Ginny shoots through her stomach. She doesn't know if it's exciting because she's training with the most powerful wizard alive or if it's fear that she hurt Harry and that's why he can't come.
Ginny frowns. Why should I care if he's hurt? He's been nothing but a giant pillock since I met him on Sunday.
Ginny chalks the feeling up to being a weird mixture of the two of them. She decides the fear is originated around the fact that if she's permanently damaged Harry, she won't be able to learn how to be an animagus.
Ginny lays back down and tries falling back to sleep. While doing homework or studying for classes or dueling would be useful, she figures if she's going to be working with Albus tonight, she'll get a bit of all three in at the same time, and can afford the extra sleep.
Alas, now that she's woken up, her mind is awake and ready to respond to everything in sight. It's unusually bright and it looks like practice will have nice weather for once. Feeling a mixture of parched and restless, Ginny gets out of bed and gets ready for practice. On her way out of her dorm, she pours herself a glass of water from the jug by the door and downs it. The feeling of cool water flowing down her throat makes the thought of a sweaty quidditch practice, that much more appealing.
Ginny takes the steps two at a time and smiles at her classmates as she passes them. She looks around for Ron and finally see's him, sitting by the window, staring at the quidditch pitch longingly. Ginny walks over to him and smiles at Hermione when she lifts her eyes from her books briefly.
"Did you polish my broom?" Ginny asks, letting her hands fall to her hips. Ron brings himself out of his daze long enough to scowl at her.
"I did, but you definitely cheated! There's no way you scored on me four times in a row, that third shot was definitely from Angelina! You should have been practicing with the snitch anyways!" Ron complains. Ginny just smiles at him smugly. Last night's practice, Ginny had forgone searching for the snitch and decided to help the chasers practice. She'd made a bet with Ron that she could score on him four times in a row, and she had done just that!
"No cheating was involved, just skill and a thirst to be the best Weasley this damn school has ever seen!" Ginny says smugly.
"Language," Hermione mutters, her head still in her book. Ginny rolls her eyes and Ron smiles affectionately. Poor sap doesn't even realize he's staring at her like a poor man does to another man's pouch of galleons.
"Go get my broom, Ron. I'm going to go get some flying in before practice," Ginny says, tilting her head toward the boy's dorms. Ron sighs and leaves his perch, his long legs leading him toward his dorm. Or hopefully his dorm. Ginny really wants to be outside already. If only she could charm the tower's windows to open; she'd be able to fly straight to the pitch!
Ginny grabs her broom as soon as she sees Ron turn the corner on the stairs. With a, "Thanks!" Thrown over her shoulder she leaves, anxious to get outside and up in the air. From the air she has the advantage, she can almost guarantee that she can outfly anyone who could ever be a threat to her and with that knowledge, Ginny lets herself focus on solely quidditch. Whether she's with her team or by herself.
Quidditch is the one distraction she'll allow herself, but even then, being versatile and knowing how to fly a broom well, is an advantage. What if she fought from the air? She'd have to focus on her aim and not getting hit, which would be a disaster, but if it were her against a small group, she's sure she could pull it off.
Maybe she'll work on her aim and maneuverability as a warm-up before practice?
Ginny nods at her classmates as she passes them in the corridors, but doesn't stop to talk to any of them. If she did, she'd need to get herself in a corner somehow so she could see from all angles.
When she leaves the castle, the first thing she notices is the bright sun. Her eyes water and Ginny wipes them quickly is she doesn't look like she's crying. As much as she doesn't care, she really doesn't want to be known as, not only the girl who was possessed, kidnapped, tortured, and defiled but she could also be known as the girl who cries when she sees the sun! Yeah, her rep would be outstanding.
The second thing she notices is how quiet it is. More people should be out and about on such a nice day. Ginny takes in the green rolling hills and the glittering blue lake. It's the perfect day for a walk, or even to just lay in the sun by the water. Where is everyone?
Weary of the silence, Ginny hops on her broom and flies to the quidditch pitch. Better safe in the air, than sorry on the ground. Ginny flies leisurely, scanning the surrounding area. She sees smoke coming from Hagrid's hut, the edge of the forbidden forest, the quidditch stadium, flowers, - and every other plant - the greenhouses, and yet no people. Hagrid, who is always doing something outside, is nowhere to be found, the students are all cooped up inside the castle and nowhere to be seen.
The strangest thing is that nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. Ginny feels tense. She's waiting for people to come out and assault the castle. It's like in quidditch, when you see a blunger flying at you, your body tenses and you either frantically get out of the way, or brace yourself to get hit. Ginny feels tense, waiting for something to go wrong.
Ginny keeps her eyes peeled for anything that's out of place as she flies over the stands and into the quidditch pitch air space. Ginny flies a few laps around the pitch, simultaneously warming up and keeping an eye on her surroundings.
After ten minutes of high-speed flying and keeping a watchful eye on her surroundings, Ginny finally lets herself feel the wind in her hair, the sound of cutting through the air at high speeds, and the smell of fresh air on a bright sunny day.
It's freedom when you're up in the air on a broom. Ginny hasn't flown by herself in ages and it's a breath of fresh air, it's invigorating, it's empowering. Here she is, a young girl who's seen and done things she shouldn't have - all against her will, and it doesn't matter. Up in the air, she's a skilled flyer, a quidditch player, a teammate, and she's free.
Not long after she executes the perfect Wronski feint, Ginny notices movement at the quidditch pitch entrance. She quickly pulls her wand from its holster and starts zigzagging to the entrance.
She knew something felt off! She could feel it in the air!
"Ginny!"
Ginny dives to the ground at the sound of her name. They obviously knew who she was, she needs to make a plan, circle back around, and evaluate her options. There will probably be multiple Death Eaters and a chance for even more to come.
Ginny pulls up at an angle and circles back. She needs to count how many death eater's there are.
She looks back to the stadium entrance and counts four people dressed in black. She tightens her turn and makes the quick decision to take these four Death Eaters out and then double back and wait for their backup.
"Ginny! Get down so we can start practice!"
The words register in Ginny's brain and so does the voice.
Ron.
It's just her brother.
Ginny slows her speed and dives toward the ground. She picks out the Weasley red hair quickly and slows down even more. She slowly approaches until she can make out Ron's and three of her teammate's faces.
"Hurry up! We're having a short practice today, we're not really supposed to be out here today," Ron calls.
Ginny's guard instantly goes up. Ron would never cut practice short, no matter what, and what's this about being outside today?
Ginny points her wand at him, and she watches his eyes widen and his hands fly up in a defensive position.
"Bloody hell, Ginny! What's the matter with you?" Ron asks. She watches his eyes fit over her face and then crinkle in the corners like they always do when he's confused.
It's poly juice. Ginny knows her brother, and why isn't he attacking her? Ginny scans her faux teammates, looking for wands. None of them have wands out and they look terrified.
Did her brother seriously say he was going to cut practice short or did she mishear him? If they were death eaters they would have tried to kill her by now. Right?
"You're not imperiled again are you?" Faux Ron asks. Ginny glares at him. Death Eaters are tricky. She can't fall for it. She should incapacitate them first and then ask questions.
But what if it really was her brother? She'd get expelled for hurting another student, and then her mum would kill her for hurting her brother.
"Prove it to me," Ginny commands, lifting her wand to look more threatening.
"Bill calls you firefly, Charlie calls you shortstop, the twins think you're scary, and you're my baby sister!" Ron says, sounding indignant.
Her famous bat boggy hex is on the tip of her tongue. Anyone could know that stuff. The twins told the whole school as a joke to introduce me to the school in my first year.
"Something else," Ginny demands.
"You hate Brussel Sprouts!" Ron says triumphantly. Ginny scoffs.
His answers have been general knowledge, or things anyone could find out if they asked her twin brothers. They'd tell anyone Ginny's most embarrassing moments just so they could tell a fun story. She can't blame them, they can deliver a story like no one else. They command the room, fluctuate their voices, use exaggerated hand gestures, and ultimately make you laugh.
"Everyone hates Brussel Sprouts. You have one last chance," Ginny threatens. She points her wand lower until it's pointed to a place any man would be scared to get hit.
"Fine, first of all, you hate Brussel Sprouts because you bet Fred you could eat more than him, and then threw them all up. Second of all, something only I would know, is that you kissed Hermione last year when I beat you in wizards chess," Ron wiggles two fingers at her and Ginny doesn't know whether to sigh with relief that it really is Ron or scowl because he scared her.
Ginny, instead, smirks. Hermione will openly admit to anyone that Ginny is the better kisser and what can she say? Ginny's always been a giver.
"Why are you guys in your school uniforms? You should be in your Gryffindor quidditch robes! I thought you guys were death eaters! And what's all this about cutting practice short?" Ginny demands, stomping her foot childishly.
Ron's shoulders sag, obviously relieved about being off the hook, "Sixth years have an exam in NEWT potions and Hermione demanded I cut practice short so we could study."
Ginny nods her head slowly. Hermione would definitely ask Ron to cut practice short if they had an Exam in potions, and Ron would do anything for Hermione, even if it meant giving up his second favorite pass time. It's honestly kind of gross; being at someone's beck and call, dropping everything for someone else, like what you were doing wasn't as important.
"You might want to head up to the castle Ginny. You look tired and I don't want you to get hurt at practice," Ron says, giving her a patronizing look.
Ginny scowls at him and is ready to cuss him out but honestly, she has a sick feeling in her gut, and she doesn't feel like figuring out why. Besides, she's supposed to meet with Dumbledore tonight for training. She wants to show him she's ready for everything. Ready to fight, to defend, to protect not only herself but also her beliefs. She's more than a student. She isn't a victim.
"Fine, but clean up your keeping skills, Ronald," Ginny says, hopping onto her broom and accelerating out of the stadium. Ginny flies leisurely, trying to keep her stomach settled. The high sun burns her pale skin and she briefly lets go of the broom handle to stretch her arms out.
Ginny, still unsettled from her encounter with Ron, keeps her eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. She can feel it in her bones. Something is off.
She's halfway to the castle when she spots it. On the East side of the castle, a few black dots in the distance. Ginny pulls on her broom handle until she's about fifty meters in the air and gliding over the forest, hopefully out of the black dot's line of vision.
The closer Ginny gets, the more she's convinced that the black dots really are Death Eaters. Her first clue is the fact that they're on the very edge of Hogwarts's wards, her second clue is the black robes. They're all different. All of them are black but in different styles, unlike the Hogwarts robes that are all the same.
Ginny dives lower so her feet are just above the tree line. She needs to stay out of sight until she's within range to start attacking them. The thought of diving right into battle reminds her of a spell. A spell that was taught to her not too long ago.
Ginny creates her Patronus and smiles at the small victory. She remembers the incantation and sends a message to Dumbledore.
By the time the message is sent she's within range of the Death Eaters. She knows it's them because of the heavy black robes and the white masks they use to cover their faces.
Ginny slows her broom and dives into the trees. The branches too small to avoid, scrape all of her exposed skin. It stings. Ginny repeats to herself that she's dealt with worse. She needs her mind focused.
She steers her broom to the right, cutting between two trees that are a bit more barren than the rest. She keeps a steady pace until she reaches the tree line and has a clear view of the Death Eaters. She hovers over the ground in anticipation. Waiting for them to all turn their backs so they won't see her initial attack coming.
It only takes a few seconds until the group of Death Eaters seem to get frustrated with their lack of progress passing the wards. None of them are facing Ginny and with a deep breath, she makes the decision to just blow them up and incapacitate as many as she can with her surprise attack.
She leaves the shelter the trees give her and fires a Confringo at the Death Eaters. She watches as the spell flies through the air, hoping the group doesn't notice the dangerous spell hurtling toward them. Her spell hits the wards surrounding Hogwarts with a loud woosh.
Blocked.
Ginny curses when she remembers the wards stop spells from flying into the warded area and outside of the warded area.
The Death Eaters quickly point her out and Ginny is somewhat surprised that they don't just apparate away. They instead turn their attention back to the wards, working even more furiously than before.
Ginny ducks behind the trees and gathers her thoughts. The Death Eaters didn't apparate away like she thought most of them would do. They've refueled their efforts to get past Hogwatrs' wards and Ginny has two options.
She can hope her Patronus reached Dumbledore and wait for him to arrive, or she can sneak past the wards through the forest and attack them from a different angle.
Ginny peeks around the trees and watches the Death Eaters whoop in joy. They don't move past the wards, so they didn't bring them down, or create a hole in them, but if they're happy then they've made progress. Progress is dangerous. The longer they work on the wards the more the wards will weaken. If any of the Death Eaters are skilled with runes or were curse or enchantment breakers then the chances of them getting through the wards rise significantly.
Bill had once told her that if he and some of his work buddies were given an hour, they could probably make a hole in the wards and keep it open for a short while.
Ginny glances at the castle and waits for a sign of life. There's nothing. Dumbledore should be out of the castle by now if he got her message. Should she send another one? Should she try and reach Minerva or didn't Dumbledore mention something about Sirius Black being the Auror in charge of Hogwarts' protection?
The chances of Harry finding out skyrocket if she sends a Patronus to Auror Black. She'd be better off sending a message to Minerva.
Ginny produces another Patronus and relays where the Death Eaters are, what they're doing, and as a last-second thought, adds that she's going to start attacking them from behind.
She sends her Patronus away and takes a deep breath. She can't be scared of them. If she attacks them, she won't give herself the time to be scared. She will take it to them and never look back.
Ginny mounts her broom again and makes her way through the dead trees. The few leaves the trees on this side of the castle produce are limp and brown, ready to fall off. The branches offer plenty of cover because there are so many of them. The only problem with the number of branches is the fact that there's no way to not hit them as she flies her broom. If she goes any lower than she risks being seen and the same with going any higher.
She needs to make sure the Death Eaters lose sight of her and hopefully, they think she's returning to the castle.
Ginny flies quickly until she feels the magic of Hogwarts' wards, wash over her. The wards that surround Hogwarts are a great deal of magic. She might have to borrow Hermione's Hogwarts A History book and read up on the wards.
Ginny scolds herself for losing focus. She needs to plan her attack. Start by blowing them up and confusing them. Try and pick off the ones who aren't as disoriented, and can fire back. Should she stay on her broom? No, she hasn't had enough practice firing from her broom. She'll need to work on that.
Ginny pulls to the left when she thinks she's gone far enough past the wards. She dips her broom until she's once again close enough to the ground to jump off the broom and hide behind the tree trunks.
Ginny jumps off her broom, crouching low when she hits the ground so her impact isn't as loud. Not that it helps much with all the dead leaves on the ground.
She sneaks around trees trying to get a good glance at the Death Eaters. Once she gets closer to the edge she has a clear view of them. Two of them are lookouts and the rest of them are working on the wards.
Ginny wonders why nobody else is here. Don't people have trinkets and such that keep watch over the school's wards? She knows for a fact that Dumbledore has such things, but Dumbledore is an esteemed wizard known to every wizard in England and a good few throughout the rest of the world, he isn't always around. Dumbledore takes care of the big things and if Ginny was ever asked, she'd admit to them that Minerva does more work for the school than Dumbledore does.
A cheer goes up among the Death Eaters and they start getting in a single file line and shuffling through the wards. One by one they go into the wards until there's only one of them left. He must be the one holding the wards open. She'd be impressed with his rune and ward work if she wasn't too busy cursing him.
She makes a quick plan, a simple one. Take out the person holding the wards open, trap the others inside, fly back into the wards, blasting them while she's in the sky, and then get on the ground and take it to em'.
Taking a deep breath, she sneaks past the tree line. She points her wand and pauses.
One last try.
She quickly thinks about Christmas in Romania during her first year and produces her Patronus. She says the spell that Harry had taught her, and then, gritting her teeth, she sends it to Harry.
He's her final option. She'd send it to her brother on the quidditch pitch, but she can't risk him, or any of the other students. Harry is expendable to a certain point. Plus, she can trust him to take care of himself.
She then fires off a disarming charm and her strongest binding jinx in quick succession. She then hops on her broom and watches him fold like a lawn chair. The wards ripple and make a noise that she wasn't expecting. She flies as fast as she can until she passes through the wards.
Too late.
The Death Eaters have all noticed her. She throws herself into a steep dive and jumps off her broom when she's within ten feet of the ground. She rolls when she hits the ground, her legs vibrating uncomfortably with the force of her landing.
She jumps up and ignores the small throb in her legs. She needs to keep moving. She sidesteps a pale yellow curse and quickly gets her bearings. There are nine of them.
She sidesteps a red curse and fires off a few disarming charms. All of them miss but it gives her time to notice something. One of them is not wearing Black robes and a white mask.
No.
Ginny remembers Fenrir Grayback. How could she not when he'd done awful things to her for an extended period of time.
As soon as someone fires an unspeakable curse. She won't hold back. Not like she had been. It won't be disarming charms and binding jinxes anymore. She'd learned a few things since this past summer.
"Hold your fire," Fenrir growls. The Death Eaters stop advancing but keep their wands trained on her.
"Hello, my Luv."
Ginny holds back a wince. No weakness.
Don't show any weakness.
"It's rude to not say it back you know?" Ginny keeps her mouth shut.
Fenrir waves his wand in random motions like the prideful ass Ginny knows he is.
"I thought with how we left things you'd come running back," he pauses and smiles maliciously.
"And I was right."
He laughs and the others join him. She wants to kill him. She wants to cut him so many times he'll bleed to death.
"When I bring you back to the Dark Lord, he'll be so pleased, he might let me get an actual taste this time."
Ginny shudders, not being able to hold it back. She remembers the feeling of his tongue on her neck, his hands on her ribcage-just below her breasts. Time to take the ball back.
"Times up, Fenrir. I hope you're ready to die."
He has the audacity to laugh and it's the last straw. She uses her limited knowledge of silent casting and swishes and flicks her wand at a rock. The rock floats in the air, halfway between Fenrir and Ginny.
Fenrir laughs and Ginny holds back a smirk. He has no idea.
Ginny flicks her wand outward and upward causing the rock to fly at Fenrir. She silently recasts the spell right before it hits him and instead of flicking her wand, as the original spell calls for, she twists her wrist making the rock explode in his face.
Thank you, Seamus and Hermione, for arguing at breakfast.
Ginny takes a quick moment to appreciate Fenrir's gasp of pain before she starts the process over again.
And over, and over, and over. Fenrir yells in pain, falling backward, his wand held in front of him, casting what must be a shield. Ginny throws a blasting curse at the ground hoping to make Fenrir fly back and get the breath knocked out of him.
After the little show, the rest of the Death Eaters snap out of whatever daze they were in and start throwing spells at her.
Ginny throws herself into a roll and comes up blazing. She throws a Confringo curse at the ground in front of a group of three and watches the ground explode. Two of them throw up shields and are blasted back, but are otherwise unharmed, the third however-Ginny throws herself to the right barely escaping a sickly green spell-tries to dodge and ends up taking the brunt of her blasting curse.
She turns her focus to the death eater who tries to circle around and come at her from behind. She Accio's a rock to herself, steps over it, and then transfigures the rock into a giant stone wall, reminiscent of the Stone Henge pillars. She let the rock shield her back while she turns her focus back to Fenrir.
He's the one who had cast the killing curse. That kind of dark magic isn't easy to keep up, Ginny plans on exhausting him until his spells are confined to simple curses and hexes.
Ginny throws a weak Stupefy at him, and then runs around the stone she'd transfigured, and comes face to face with the Death Eater she'd left alone.
Ginny drops her shoulders and throws all of her weight into him, causing them both to fall to the ground, Ginny landing on top of him. She takes the risk of dropping her wand and taking things into a more physical route. She grabs the wand he tries pointing at her and pulls, until their hands both hit the ground, the impact, crushing Ginny's fingers.
Ignoring the pain, she uses her left hand, makes a fist, and smashes it into the man's nose. He instantly uses his remaining hand to cover his face, and with the little time that gives Ginny, she jumps up, and swings her foot to the other side of his body, placing it on his wand.
Ginny puts all of her weight on her left foot and pulls her right hand until his wand snaps. She quickly stands up straight, and kicks the Death Eater in the side of the face, making his body go completely limp.
Ginny searches for her wand and finds it by the knocked-out Death Eater's feet. Ginny bends to grab it and feels a searing pain in her side. Ginny stumbles back, tripping over the death eater, and barely dodges a yellow spell.
Ginny scrambles up, turning her back to the Death Eaters, and starts running. Ginny glances over her shoulder and sees that all the remaining Death eaters have regrouped and have left at least four meters of space between them, taking away Ginny's idea to blast multiple of them at once. They're walking slowly, which is to Ginny's advantage.
She transfigures another stone as she passes it and then hides behind it to catch her breath and asses her side.
These Death Eaters are showing more teamwork than Ginny has ever seen from the dark forces. Ginny wraps her arm over her stomach and places her hand over her side, where she was hit. She winces and pulls her hand away to see her hand covered in the rich color of red.
Blood.
Ginny casts diffindo at the bottom of her robes and cuts off a good length. She then wraps the fabric around her side, tying it off on the opposite side of her wound. Ginny takes a second to breathe before she's running again.
When she's more than 12 meters she turns around and starts backpedaling, to continue putting distance between her and the wall of stone. The Death Eaters might have spent time doing team exercises but they'd obviously forgotten to practice their aim. Their spells end up wide or close enough Ginny actually thinks of changing directions so she isn't backpedaling in a straight line.
Ginny finally gets far enough away and throws the strongest, bombarda maxima at the stone. She watches the wall explode, making pieces of stone fly in all directions, and hitting the Death Eaters. Their synchronized walk is interrupted, half of the Death Eaters stop fighting, hands covering scrapes and cuts across various body parts.
She casts stupefy multiple times in a row aiming, at the Death Eaters whose attention was scattered by her blasting curse.
She hits two of them and then turns to run. She watches over her shoulder and panics as three curses come at her. One green one, coming right for her, and two blue curses at either side of it. Ginny dives to the ground as the killing curse flies over her head.
Ginny scrambles to her feet and falls again when Ginny feels her skin split open from the back of her neck down her back. Ginny screams briefly, but returns to her feet, barely doing another curse.
There are five Death Eaters left, counting Fenrir. Ginny races toward the castle, stumbling as her vision burs and her head swims.
Blood loss.
Ginny stumbles to the ground and turns so she's facing her opponents. She has two options, stall them until she bleeds to death, or try and kill them one by one and hope she survives. Being captured isn't an option.
Definitely option number two, She'd risk Azkaban over death. Maybe that makes her more similar to the Death Eaters than she would care to admit. But she loathes the thought of dying or getting captured. Loathes the idea of not being able to survive after making it this far.
Ginny rolls to the side as another green curse flies her way. That should deplete any of their magic stores. Every single one of them should be magically exhausted, so it's time to get creative.
Ginny focuses on the Death Eater within closest range of her. She fires a pitiful stupefy and then follows it with the spell her mother had taught her would freeze any meat they brought to the house. As Ginny expected, the Death Eater blocks the first spell and gets hit with the second. The Death Eater freezes, his skin turning paler then even any kind of English skin in existence.
Ginny rolls to the side, dodging more spells, and then fires a blasting curse at the frozen Death Eater, causing his body to crumble to the grass. The scattered pieces of his body give everyone pause.
Ginny sucks in a quick breath and exhales shakily. Kill number one.
That I know of at least.
"Get her before she bleeds out and the Dark Lord has our heads!" Fenrir growls.
Ginny gets to her knees and tries something she'd only heard of on the wireless. A spell that Ginny's brothers would probably use if Ginny were to ever get a boyfriend.
She circles her wand around her head and then flicks her wand toward all of the Death Eaters. A purple spell that looks instead of firing in a straight line fires sideways and moves forward like a shockwave, passing through any shield.
The Instant Hair growth spell that people got a little too familiar with in the seventies and then they continued to advertise it for time and all eternity.
Just like the spells name indicates, all of the Death Eaters' hair grows to the point they can't see after not even a second. The spell, if left unguided-which Ginny had done-makes all the hair on the human body grow.
Ginny quickly casts engorgio on a rock and then levitates it. Making the best use of her distraction, Ginny starts wreaking havoc. She hits them all over the head with the stone and then lets it fall on top of Fenrir.
Ginny collapses onto her side and watches the dust rise and swirl in the air, evidence of their carnage. Ginny is left with the sting of a thousand wasps. The heat of a million stars. The physical pain she wishes she could learn to avoid.
Ginny looks back to the Death Eater's Bodies when she hears movement.
Her eyes lock onto the bloodied stone that was supposed to have killed Fenrir.
That lucky son of a bitch.
Ginny lies in wait, as Fenrir slowly sits up. The werewolf's bones crack as they repair themselves and are physically put back into place. It's a gruesome sight, and it makes Ginny want to vomit, and not just because it's gross.
"Bitch," He growls as he starts walking toward her. Damn straight she's a bitch.
Fenrir must catch her smiling because his eyes narrow and he points to his collarbone, where bones are still shifting, creaking into place.
"Just because I have supernatural healing abilities, does not mean you can throw rocks at me!"
Ginny gives up on trying to watch him and lets her head fall to the earth, the grass obscuring her vision.
"Any last words before I take away your freedom for the last time?"
Ginny has many things pop into her head, one of them being a quote she'd heard Harry use on Draco Malfoy.
And then she thinks of Minerva.
Minerva.
She's near the castle entrance, isn't she?
"Piertotem Locomotor."
She smiles with satisfaction as thud after thud is heard.
"Not this time dog," Ginny says. And then it all goes black.
I enjoyed this a bit much I think.
-Ace