The Frog Princess
(Ginny's Story)

by Frog-Princess
(ginny@darkcastle.com)



Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling is the creator of everything that is Harry Potter; this is fan work created for your enjoyment and mine, not for profit.

A/N: Yes, Sirius is back! Expect to see more of him in the future, as well. Things will get a bit more serious in this chapter - no pun intended.



Chapter Seven



"Sirius!" Harry exclaimed, trying to keep his voice down but failing. His face broke into a smile as he started to run. The black dog stood and wagged its tail happily. One would have thought it was just an ordinary animal, a dog like any other...

What is he doing? Ginny thought to herself. He's crazy! He can't just run into the Forbidden Forest like that!

But he did, and Ron followed, so Ginny had no choice. The full reality of what was happening didn't hit her until they were a little way into the forest, out of sight and out of earshot, just in case anyone happened to notice them. It was then that she realized who the dog was.

Turning the corner, she saw that the dog was no longer there, but in its place was a rather handsome man. He was tall and thin, with dark hair and eyes. He wouldn't have done so normally, but he was so happy to see Harry that he caught him in a big hug. "How was your summer?" he was asking.

"Sirius Black," she murmured. Noticing Ginny, Sirius looked up. He looked extremely surprised to see her there, but then gave her a tiny smile. "That's right. And... you must be Ron's sister?"

Ginny swallowed. It was all she could do just to nod. An odd look came over Harry's face as he realized he wasn't sure just how much Ginny knew. Ron had told him that he and Mrs. Weasley had called a sort of 'family meeting' over the summer, very carefully explaining to everyone the whole situation with Sirius Black. According to Ron, Ginny was well aware of the fact that Sirius was an innocent man. But she still looked as if she had no idea what was going on.

"Er... Ginny?" Ron said carefully, biting his lip. "You do remember what we talked about this summer, don't you?" He looked at Harry.

She stared fearfully at Sirius. All she could think was, Harry Potter has just hugged a convicted murderer. Harry Potter has just hugged a convicted murderer! The smile had vanished from Sirius' face. Ginny, without fully realizing it, was backing away slowly.

"Ginny," said Harry in a soothing tone. "You're perfectly safe. Please... it's very important that you don't panic..."

Ron was staring at his sister nervously. Ginny went pale and couldn't speak for several seconds. She had stopped moving backward, which Harry thought was a good sign, although she'd only stopped because her legs suddenly felt like jelly. She could barely control them enough to take another step, and didn't trust herself to walk. She felt as though she would collapse at any second.

Ron approached Ginny and put a hand on her shoulder. He lowered his voice so only she could hear him. "I know it's hard, but it's really important right now that you hear me out. Just stay calm." Ginny was breathing deeply and staring up into her brother's face. Her eyes were wide with fear, but for Ron's (and Harry's) sake, she struggled to control it.

"Listen to me. This man" - he pointed to Sirius - "is innocent. You have to think back. Remember what Mum and I told everyone? About Scabbers? About Sirius Black?"

Strangely enough, Ginny was somehow comforted by being spoken to like a little girl. It made her think that maybe she was rushing things, that maybe she didn't want to grow up completely. She nodded, deciding to put full trust in her brother. "Yes, all of it," she said weakly. "I... I remember."

"Alright, Ginny. That's good." Ron patted her shoulder gently. "Just keep thinking back to what I told you. Sirius is an innocent man, and you've got to believe me." He gave her a reassuring smile. "You do believe me, right?"

Ginny had to smile.

Sirius spoke up. "I apologize for frightening you," he said, a touch of sadness in his words. "Ginny, was it?"

She nodded. She was feeling very faint, and a little sick, as if she might throw up. She glanced over at Harry, who was actually looking at her with a considerable amount of concern. Her nerves began to subside. She still didn't trust herself to walk, but she managed to mumble an apology to Sirius Black.

I've got to stop thinking of him as a murderer, she thought guiltily.

"I'm the one who should be sorry," she admitted. "I'm just... I'm just not used to..."

Her words weren't coming out the way she wanted them to, but somehow, Sirius seemed to understand.



A few minutes later, Sirius had taken out of his pocket a copy of the Daily Prophet and was showing it to Harry. "He's been sighted a few times," Sirius said, pacing back and forth while Harry looked over the article on the front page. "A few random attacks. But for the most part, nothing. That's what's worrying me the most."

"You're right," Harry agreed. "It's a relief that he's not resorting to dark magic yet, but--"

"But you're worried because he's planning something," Ginny finished, still pale with fright, but this time from hearing Sirius and Harry openly discuss Voldemort's possible return. "You're worried because... because it's been too quiet... and you think he's up to something."

"Right," said Harry, and Ginny could tell without looking that his emerald green eyes were watching her. It was just a feeling she had.

"Sirius, what d'you think he could be planning?"

Sirius stopped pacing, deep in thought. "It's impossible to say," he muttered, frowning and walking over to Harry. He glanced at the newspaper anxiously. "But you know the drill. For right now, you're going to have to--"

"Stay inside the castle," said Harry. "I know, I know..."

"Harry, listen, it's--"

"All for the best?" Harry offered, interrupting his godfather once more.

"Yes, and--"

"And don't get involved. And leave it to you and Dumbledore, you'll figure things out, I can't risk getting in trouble again. And don't go looking for Voldemort."

Ginny wondered if Harry had practiced this little speech. Sirius sighed wearily. "Yeah, I think that's pretty much everything."

"I know," said Harry. "I'm told the same thing every year. I don't go around looking to get into trouble, bad things just sort of find their way to me. But..." He looked up at Sirius and sighed. "I'll try."

"You will? Promise?"

Harry thought. "I can't promise anything. But... yes. I will try."

"...Thanks, Harry," was all Sirius could think to say.



That night, Ginny was having a lot of trouble sleeping. Well, in all truth, she hadn't exactly been trying to get to sleep. She'd stayed awake in the common room long after she had planned on going to bed. By nine o'clock, some of the students were still awake, but Ginny didn't feel like talking. She decided to go and sneak into the kitchens for a bit of food - she'd have to be very careful not to be seen, of course, but she'd have a bit of time to herself to think on the way there.

Without speaking a word, she got up, crossed the room, and pushed open the portrait hole. Just as she was about to climb out into the corridor, she bumped into someone.

"Harry?" she said. She hadn't heard any footsteps. Either he'd been waiting outside, or he'd appeared out of nowhere. He looked a great deal surprised to see Ginny, of all people.

Harry greeted her with a wave. He was carrying plates of food from the kitchens. Ginny saw this and raised an eyebrow. Harry began to explain. "Er, I... okay, I went down to see a friend of mine, and he wanted me to take--"

Ginny laughed, getting over the initial queasy feeling that had resurfaced as soon as she saw Harry again. "Don't worry, it's fine. I was actually thinking of doing the same thing," she admitted.

"Is everyone still awake?" asked Harry. Ginny nodded. "Pretty much," she said.

"Oh... I was kind of hoping they'd be asleep by now. Just... er, wanted a bit of--"

"Privacy?" Ginny smiled.

Harry stopped, a faint smile crossing his lips as well. How does she do that? he wondered. "Yeah," he said. Suddenly he blushed, remembering his manners. Ginny had said she was about to go to the kitchens for food. "Er... would you like some?" he said, offering Ginny a tray of biscuits and a glass of milk, which she gratefully took.

"How are you able to carry all of that?" Ginny questioned. Harry grinned. "Well... practice," he said rather sheepishly. "And it's not as much as it looks like. I have to go and give these to Ron and Hermione, but d'you want to walk around a bit?" Ginny agreed, and waited patiently in the corridor.

He wouldn't leave me out here, would he? Ginny wondered. But Harry soon reappeared, and the two of them started on their walk. They strolled down to the end of the corridor, both a bit nervous after their meeting with Sirius in the Forbidden Forest. Ginny took a sip of milk from her glass, and finally voiced one of the concerns that had arisen that evening.

"Harry, did you mean what you said to Sirius earlier?" she asked carefully, not wanting to upset Harry, but curious to know whether he'd been telling the truth.

"What, about staying out of things?" Harry replied. He paused. "Yeah, I did."

Ginny nodded, but there was something else on her mind.

"But you won't go looking for him, will you?" As Ginny said this, Harry opened his mouth to reply, but Ginny continued, "No, that's not what I meant..." She bit her lip. "I know you don't mean for anything to happen the way it does. I just... worry about you." She looked away, ashamed that she had told him this. It's a good thing it was dark, or he'd see her blushing again, like some lovesick schoolgirl. She shuddered at the very thought.

"You do?" said Harry, breaking the silence.

"Of course."

Harry thought about this. A small voice inside him was saying, She thinks about me! She worries about me! But it had been a stupid question, and he felt guiltier than ever when he reflected upon just how many people were constantly worrying for his safety. Especially when he had let so many people down...

Ginny hesitated. "Er... Harry... don't ever feel guilty," she said to him. He stared at her again. Don't look into his eyes! Ginny reminded herself, as if doing so would result in some kind of terrible curse. Then again, maybe it would.

"You've read my mind again," he stated. It had been a good twenty minutes or so, and they turned back the way they had come, retracing their steps.

"What do you mean 'again'?" asked Ginny, smiling to herself.

Harry allowed himself a quiet chuckle. "You seem to be reading my thoughts a lot lately. That's all."

As they returned to the common room, Ginny's deep brown eyes kept wandering to Harry. She studied his profile silently. It wasn't so bad, just being friends... she supposed. But was that all it was ever going to be?

They reached the portrait hole, but before entering the common room, they stopped. Ginny wanted to do something, anything... but she'd have to act quickly before the opportunity was lost. Without thinking, she took Harry's hand in hers, gave it a tiny squeeze, and smiled at him.

"Harry... thanks," she said before releasing his hand.

Harry blushed. "Anytime."

Now Ginny was able to crawl under the covers feeling a little more at ease. She snuggled against the blankets, and as soon as she closed her eyes, sleep had taken her. It had been a very tiring day.