He took a deep breath as he came down the steps and didn't smell anything. 'Odd' he thought. There was coffee though, and that was the important thing. But, no Molly. He looked around sleepily for her in his early morning pattern. He didn't find her anywhere, but there was a letter on the table from Dumbledore.
'Oh, shit.' He thought. He knew what the letter was talking about, he knew about her dreams, he knew that the memory charm was weighing on her.
When Molly was remembering Becca, she was usually loud. She sometimes made lots of noise cooking, or lots of noise cleaning. She hadn't been cooking. The lack of pancakes proved that. She could be cleaning though. But as she wasn't in the kitchen, not there. He took a swig of his coffee and set off looking for her.
Charlie Weasley dragged his kit bag out from under his cot set up in his tent. He'd finally decided where he was going, which was pretty helpful. He was going home for the holidays, which in and of itself was strange. He, his brothers and his sister rarely spent the holidays at home, much less the shorter ones such as Christmas. Aside from that, he had taken his paid leave that previous summer to visit Bill in Egypt. He stood up and stretched out the kinks in his back from bending over so long. He shuddered as he remembered the conversation between him and his group leader that morning.
"Umm, Roger? Charlie here". He had said, poking his head into his boss' tent. The latter looked up from his maps briefly, then back down.
"Yeah? What is it?"
"I was wondering if I could take a little vacation, to go home for a little while"
"Why all of a sudden?"
"Well, I haven't seen the family," not to mention I've been having nightmares like a little boy, he thought, "And it's almost Becca's birthday…"
"Who's Becca?" Roger had asked, confused.
"Who?"
"Becca, that girl you mentioned, who is she? I didn't know you had two sisters."
"I don't. I don't know who she is actually," he had replied, rubbing his head in confusion.
"Maybe you should go home. You can leave in a few days," Roger said, shaking his head and looking at him strangely. Charlie walked out of the tent, still confused.
Charlie now stood in his own tent, wondering why he'd mentioned that girl. He didn't know anyone named Becca. And Ginny was his only sister. Shaking his head, he grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill to tell his mother he was coming home for the holidays. After sending it out with the camp owl post, he began to pack.
As her father had done, Ginny sat up yawning. She was in her bed again, although she remembered falling asleep in the common room. She shrugged it off. She knew that strange things were happening, some things that she couldn't explain at the moment and didn't want explained at all. Time was of the essence on this Saturday; there was a Quidittch match. So Ginny got out of bed and headed to the showers.
Percy rolled over in his bed, proceeding to roll off the bed into a heap of blankets on the floor. After a few minutes of struggling, he managed to untangle himself and stand up. Memories of his old dream floated back and stuck in his stomach like bad Mexican food. There was that girl…he tried to ignore it now. Looking at his clock, he saw that it was just before he'd normally get up, so he went to take a shower.
Half an hour later, he was eating breakfast and going over his agenda. The light dustings of snow on the ground outside reminded him that the winter holidays were coming up. He had originally planned to stay and get some work done, but in light of recent events…. His plans had changed. He set down the Daily Prophet and walked out of the kitchen. It had been about year since he'd seen the family, even longer for his two older brothers. Maybe he should go. He did have the week off from work. It'd be a shame not to take advantage of one of his few vacations. He tried to ignore the nagging feeling that he was only going home because of a few bad dreams. Sighing resolutely, he went off to start a letter to his parents telling them of his plans, and make the arrangements for his departure and arrival.
He found her. She was kneeling over the trunk he had packed so many years before. Arthur had packed it so she wouldn't do just what she was. Sobbing. He stealthy crossed the attic and sat next to her. He cursed the creaking floorboard as he leaned to hug her, but she didn't hear. His arms went around her in a comforting gesture and slowly her sobs subsided. She looked up at him and seemed surprised that he was there.
"I had the dream last night." She said. There was no need for explanation; they both knew what she was talking about. "And now Fred and George and Ron and Ginny are having the dreams too. They didn't *do* anything. Especially not Ginny. Especially not her."
"Are you sure?"
"Why are you so oblivious in the morning? Of course I'm sure. They wouldn't have sent a note home if they didn't cause a ruckus and complain."
"Ah, I see. Are you sure it's Becca? There could be other spirits, other ones to contact our children."
"Don't be so daft. Of course it's Becca. Who else could it be?" Her cheeks were saturated and the liquid just moved when she wiped her eyes.
"I'm sure that's not it."
"You were sure when we put the memory charm on too. Look at the trouble that caused."
"What trouble?"
"You know what I mean. And don't deny it either. I think we should tell them. I think we should tell them exactly what happened, what we did and why."
"We wiped their memories in the first place so that they wouldn't be traumatized. Why should we go back on that?"
"Because. I think that at this point it's hurting more than helping. I'm going to go write a letter to tell them they're coming home over the holidays."
Arthur was resigned. He knew in his heart that with the dreams they were having they would need to know sooner than later. He sighed. It was too early in the morning to be arguing without a cup of coffee.
He flew over to the row of Weasleys heading in the general direction of Ron, but landed short and ended up in a large jug of orange juice. Errol managed to throw the letter clear. Clear into Ginny's oatmeal. Using her thumb and forefinger she fished it out and handed it to Ron.
Children, It said.
I miss you all terribly. So terribly I'm making the irrefutable request that you come home this holiday. Write to your mum, I miss you. It's not right to keep me in the dark about things. And I have blackmail. Pictures of the twins with their blankies? Sent to the Slytherins? How about that?
Mum
"Oh no!"
"Not the- -"
"Snugglemuffins!"
This outburst was in typical twin fashion, one person starting the thought, the other adding and then completing it together. Said typically, it was received typically, with a round of laughter.
"What's a snugglemuffin?" Harry asked through laughs.
"We all had our comfort objects. Ours were our blankets. Also called the 'snugglemuffins'. Don't say anything about it." Fred whispered.
"It's all very hush-hush" George completed and gestured.
"No it ain't!" proclaimed Ron. "I had a bear that they" he shuddered, "Turned into a spider. They had blankets, and Ginny had a rag doll."
"Don't forget." Said Fred
"Oh, yes. Becca had a sock monkey." Continued George.
Ginny stiffened at the name, but no one noticed. Harry asked, "Who's Becca?"
Fred went back and thought on it. "Don't rightly know. Who is she George?"
"I don't know either."
"Don't worry about it. We have a Quidditch match and we have to go." Harry got up and led the way.
Ginny put her head down on the table, basically acting suspicious.
"What wrong?" said Ron.
"Remember who?" said Hermione, still at the table across from Ginny.
"Becca." She said shortly.
"Who?" said Ron.
Ginny's head snapped up and she glared daggers at her brother. "Where were you last night? When I told you my dream?"
"You never said anything about a name." Said Hermione sensibly.
"Maybe I didn't." she said scornfully. "But the dead are supposed to be remembered."
"What's her name? That would help us remember."
"Rebecca Weasley, currently not a sixth year."
Sighing, Bill looked around his bungalow making sure everything was packed. He was going home for the Holidays. No other reason than he missed the English Christmas where it actually got cold. The fact that he was afraid to go to sleep had nothing to do with it. Nothing at all.
Seeing that he was totally packed, but still feeling that he was forgetting something, He zippered up his duffel bag full of presents and clothes. He shrank it, made it lighter and walked outside to mount his broom. It would take about two days to get home, So he should be greeting his family on Monday. But what was he forgetting?
"And they're off!" commented Lee Jordan as the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw teams ascended into the air.
Ginny was there; sandwiched between Hermione and Ron who were being protective of her after the display at breakfast. Lost in her thoughts, wondering who Becca really was, and what her 'sister' wanted with her. Could it be something bad? Was she dying? She shuddered at the last thought. The Chamber of Secrets was as close to death as she ever wanted to get again. And being lost in her thoughts, she was totally confused and caught unawares when the crowd started screaming and standing up.
Harry had caught the snitch. The game was over and Gryffindor had won.
Charlie got on the train in Northern Ireland to come home. The particular train he was on was a muggle one, but that wasn't going to stop him. His father's ramblings about how ingenious muggles were and his lectures on how various things worked were actually good for something. He'd be in Kings Cross on Monday. Just three days before Christmas.
"Alright, off to bed with you. We're going home tomorrow and we need lots of sleep." It was a day and a night after the stunning Quidditch victory for Gryffindor, a Sunday, and the Hogwarts Express was leaving in the morning.
"Yes, mother hen. I'll go right to bed and sleep like a good chicky," said Ginny smartly. Ron laughed and ruffled her hair.
"And no bad dreams either." said Harry.
"Please!" pleaded Hermione. "I want some decent sleep tonight too."
"Okay." Ginny sighed. "No bad dreams, only good ones. Now, like a good spring hen, I am going to bed. "
She turned on her heal and Ron fained a kick to her behind.
Ginny was once more in the world of muted colors. It was the place where her sister had brought her. "Ah, hell." Ginny said as she sat with a thump and put her head in her hands.
"Must I keep telling you? We're not *in* hell."
Ginny sighed and looked up. "I know that. Why am I here now?"
"I figured you'd have some questions."
"Darn straight." she looked into Becca's washed blue eyes. "What happened to you?"
"Voldemort killed me. In the woods. Behind my babysitter's house."
"I guess what I meant was... If you hadn't died... I was wondering. What would our life have been if you had lived?"
Becca sighed and put her hands on her hips. "You go straight for the hard questions, don't you?" she sighed again. "I so wanted to spend some time getting to know you sis. Pesky questions. I can't answer that, so remember this:
gave you time
Your time
stops eternities.
Eternity is easily given
for other's time."
"You will in time. Remember!" Becca smiled. She started to fade as she skipped away chanting the riddle as if it was the funniest thing in the world.
gave you time.
Your time
stops eternity.
Eternity is easily
given for others' time"
Ginny left the sun-bleached place and returned to her sleeping self. She turned over, and fell into a dreamless sleep.
A/N: Sorry for taking so long. As you may know, with the end of the year coming we both have had many finals. These in turn have fried our brains to useless mounds of pulp not suitable for writing. But we're better now! Well, not really, but at least we can write. This is Sierra, signing off.
Virgo: Isn't she great folks? Let's give her a hand!
(Crickets chirping can be heard)
Virgo: Umm…ok! Now, onto the disclaimer. As you know, Becca is OURS!!!!!! Not yours, ours! Everyone else is property of the illustrious J. K. Rowling. You didn't really think we owned them, did you? If we did, we sure as hell wouldn't be writing fanfiction!
Sierra: I'd be wallowing in money right now.
Virgo: As would I. Well, ta ta for now!
Sierra: See ya!