Crash And Burn
Disclaimer: I don't own HP.
Author's Note: I'm so sorry this is taking me forever to update! I promise they'll be more frequent. It's the last week at my job working at night so naturally they're killing me with the hours. Anyway, on with the fic!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny was allowed, with much protest by Madame Pomfrey, to go back to Gryffindor Tower. She agreed that she would return to the Hospital Wing immediately after waking up. Truth be told, she didn't want to have to spend the night alone and she was eager to get information out of Sirius about the Animagi potion. And she was sure that there would be a questioning session for her when the three were alone.
The moment she entered the common room, however, she was bombarded by questions from Ron and Hermione. She had neglected to remember until now that they too had been in Hogsmeade and may have heard what happened. She groaned, heading over to the couch to lay down and listen.
"Ginny! Are you alright? Were you hurt? What happened," barraged Ron.
"Ron, give her a bit of space will you? She's obviously very tired," scolded Hermione, albeit a look of questioning on her face as well.
"I promise you that keeping this secret is killing me right now, but until I get clearance from those who I promised it too, I can't tell you. What I can tell you is that I'm alright and everything is fine," she said, covering herself with the blanket.
Ron looked a bit disappointed at this answered but feared that it was the best he was going to get out of her. He had learned long ago that when Ginny wanted to keep something secret, not even the gods could drag it out of her. Ron and Hermione headed out the portrait hole then, leaving the three alone.
Ginny turned to Harry. "Alright. I can read what you're thinking. You want to know what the hell I was babbling about in the infirmary don't you," she asked, reading in his eyes that it was exactly what he was searching for. "Well, after I went out I woke up in this grey smoky world. A horse came, I got on, I went and met Merlin and Epona. They just confirmed that we're the pair in the prophecy and said that Yule Night is when the spell will have to be performed. The bit of magic I pulled off was her way of helping. We've got forces from almost one thousand years ago working on our side. I'd say we're pretty safe," she added, curling up into a ball on the couch.
Harry walked over to the couch, lifted her head, sat down, and put her head back down. He lazily stroked her hair as they watched the fire with Sirius. Finally Harry spoke again. "Well, at least we know when all this is gonna be over. I just wish it would be sooner."
Ginny smirked. "You do? I'll trade your Pain Reliever Potion for my Vision Block Potion any day of the week. I swear I must have a mile's worth of cobblestone paved in my head." She giggled a bit at this, as did Harry.
"Ginny, why are you taking Vision Block Potion," asked Sirius. He'd heard about Lily occasionally using this. When she had episodes of intuition she told the rest of the Marauders that the visions were almost unbearable. She was the only one who got along with Snape as well so Snape kept her supplied with Vision Block when she needed it.
"Oh that's right. You don't know. Well, ever since the Chamber of Secrets, after Voldemort invaded my memory I've had visions of the future, visions only of what he will do. I see the death, the mayhem, the utter chaos that this man causes and I can't do anything about it. I tried Pain Reliever Potion, I've tried Dreamless Sleep Potion, nothing worked. Then when that village with the small boy was attacked and I took Harry to Dumbledore about his scar everything came out and I was sent to Snape to get Vision Block Potion. It's the only way I can sleep." She yawned, stretching herself out before recoiling again into a ball. She sat up suddenly, though, and announced that she had to go up to her room to get a pair of socks.
Harry watched her go. Sirius watched Harry. When she was finally gone Harry turned back to Sirius. "You know, if I could take any of her pain into myself I would if only it would relieve her stress."
Sirius nodded. "I know what you mean. You two are more like your parents that you may ever realize. I see the same kind of relationship between you two. You both look so much like them, act so much like them, it's almost uncanny. You know, your mother was just as smart as Ginny was too. Top in her class. They wanted to move her up a year but she refused so she could stay with James at school."
Harry smiled. "My mum sounds as amazing as Ginny is. Tell me more about them Sirius. About my mum and dad. How were they in school? What did they do? How did they meet?"
Sirius laughed. "We've got ages to catch up on that, but I supposed a few stories of the adventures in the land of the Marauders wouldn't hurt."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny hadn't really needed socks. She came upstairs to her room because she felt something calling her up there. She had a feeling that there was something in this room that would become very important very soon. That and she wanted to give Sirius and Harry some time to talk. It wasn't every day you found out that you were being given your life back.
Oddly enough, whatever feeling she had led her to her sock drawer. She started rifling around in the bottom. She couldn't find anything, not right away anyway. She looked through the rest of the drawers too. Still, that feeling that something was in her sock drawer kept nagging at her. Finally, she just grabbed the drawer and pulled it out. Underneath the drawer, in that little space between the floor and it, was hidden a journal of sorts.
She could tell even in the dark that it was older. The edges of the pages appeared to have been yellowing with age, although the cover seemed to be made out of a very nice leather. She reached in and gingerly brought the journal out. She took the edge of her robes and wiped away the dust. Tooled into the leather on the front was the word Journal. Shrugging, she flipped open the cover and gasped. On the first page was written, in very scripty handwriting, The Diary of Lily Evans.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cho had just returned to the Ravenclaw common room. Her fellow housemates had been avoiding her recently. After seeing her behavior in front of the school and around Ginny and Harry they hadn't had much respect for her. Her Quidditch teammates all but extricated her. They couldn't boot her off the team without proof of wrongdoing but they felt something going on.
Cho walked into the common room with her head held high, her chin in the air. She knew she was better than all of them. She had the power of the most powerful wizard on her side. She could control whomever she felt like and they would never know the difference. She went and sat in front of the fireplace. Immediately all those who were there cleared out, glaring daggers at her before going to their respective places. Cho just glared back and went to her work. Though everyone else thought she may have been doing homework she knew what she was doing, as did the only other two who were going to help her in her quest for the Weasley girl: Draco and Snape. She was thinking of different plans of how to get the girl into a trap. It was only a matter of time before she came up with the perfect plan. When she did, she let out a quiet cruel laugh. ~This is going to work like a dream. They'll both pay for what they did.~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny stood up slowly, still clutching the journal in her hand, and sat on the edge of her bed. She stared at the beautiful book wondering what to do. ~Should I read on? Should I let Harry read it first? What should I do?~ She knew it was his mother's. He would see it eventually. Suddenly the room got very cold and she started to shiver. She felt a presence and turned around to come face to face with a ghost.
"Hello Ginny," said the ghost, a smile on her face. "Do you know who I am?"
"Yes mam. You're Harry's mother, Lily," she said, still staring at the ghost. She was hoping that this wasn't some sort of side effect of that Vision Block Potion.
"Yes, I am. I have come to you because you are the one who found my diary."
"Why did you come to me though? Why not Harry," she asked.
"Because you are the one whom I need to speak with. You see, as far back as my first year I had a feeling that things would start happening. I started getting visions with more intensity, more feeling. I knew something was going to happen. Then, one night, in a dream, I too met Merlin and Epona."
"But how could you--" began Ginny.
"I was called to them through my visions to get a warning of things to come in my seventh year. They told me that I would have a son and that he, along with a red headed girl much like myself, would bring about the downfall of the Dark Lord but that I would not live to see it. I did not tell anyone, yet I couldn't keep it in so I bought myself a muggle journal and kept my thoughts and secrets in there. I want you to have it Ginny. You are the one who needs to read it as much as Harry. It holds my thoughts in there on many things, some of which may help you with the visions," she said, walking around the bed to face Ginny.
"Ms. Potter, why should I see it before Harry does? He misses you so much. He wants to know what his parents are like. Why come to me," she asked, almost on the verge of tears.
"Please, call me Lily. I want you to see it before him so that you may be prepared for what you are going to face. There are records of my dreams involving Merlin and Epona in there which you may find interesting. Plus, you'd understand what's in there better than he would," she said, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Lily, may I show this to him when I'm done reading it," she asked.
"When the time is right I will let him know you have it." Lily lay her ghostly hand on Ginny's back. "You truly are the one for my son. I can see why he chose you. He is so much like James, much as you are like me." She got up to leave.
"Lily, I want you to know that I love your son and I will stand by him no matter what," she said, a few tears trickling down her cheeks.
Lily turned to face Ginny. "I know dear, and I know that he loves you just as much. James and I watch you two every day, watch how you look at each other. It was the same way with James and I. I want you to do something for me, though."
"Anything Lily. What do you need," Ginny asked.
"I want you to write your mom and ask her for a box that I once sent her a long time ago. She'll know what I was talking about. Tell her that it is time Harry saw what is in it."
"Yes mam," she said, turning back to the journal for a moment. "Were you and my mum--," she started asking, turning around again. Lily, however, had vanished. She immediately set about writing a letter to her mum requesting what Lily had asked her to get.
Dear Mum,
I know I haven't written to you lately and I'm sorry about that. I've been very busy with everything and I just missed writing to you. What I am about to write to you may seem odd, but please, bear with me.
Tonight I found Lily's journal in my drawer. After I found it she appeared to me and told me to write to you and ask for a box she sent you a few months before she died. She told me it was to be given to Harry when he was ready and now was the time for it. If you can, please send this box back with Merlin. Oh! I'm guessing you thought the owl with this letter was Hedwig! Harry actually gave him to me. His name is Merlin. Oh, so many things have been going on. Perhaps I shall write you again soon!
Love,
Virginia
Ginny read and reread the letter. It seemed a bit informal and rushed but she was too excited about this to care. She quickly folded the parchment and sealed it then ran out the door and down the stairs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sirius and Harry were sitting by the fire, roaring with laughter at something Sirius had told him about his father. It appeared as though Fred and George were the worst ones with pranks in the history of Hogwarts.
"Your father was almost as bad as the twins were. He would've enjoyed testing out a few of the things they have invented. And I'll have you know he was the only one yet to date to actually kick Filch's cat, albeit by accident."
Harry fell over from his sitting position on the couch and dissolved into a fit of giggles. "He actually kicked Filch's cat?! When?"
Sirius had to stop himself from laughing at what had caused it to happen. "Well, the four of us, meaning your mother and father, me, and Lupin, decided to go on a midnight trip to Hogsmeade. Not a big deal in the least bit. We'd done it all the time. Anyway, getting back was the worst trip we ever had. Lupin was in the endstage of his transformations and the rest of us had to transform to keep him in order, just in case. We were going up the stairs, your mother under the Invisibility Cloak as she couldn't very well walk around in her Animagi form. Just as we crested the top of the stairs Filch's cat was waiting there. Everything went chaotic after that. Lily jumped and the cloak came off. She grabbed it and ran for the portrait hole, the three of us after her. James stopped and made sure that everyone was inside and was about to follow when Pettigrew scampered in, brushing his leg. He gave a good buck and Filch's cat happened to be too close. It went flying. James jumped inside and the four of us plus Peter let out the breath we hadn't know we'd been holding."
Harry lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling. "So my dad is the only known person to ever give that damn cat what she deserves." He rolled over onto his side, still facing Sirius, and sighed. "I wish I could see my dad, just once. I miss them more than anyone can imagine."
Sirius sighed as well. "I miss them too."
Just then Ginny came tearing down the stairs like someone was chasing her, startling the two solemn men.
"Ginny, what on earth are you running around like a banshee's after you for," asked Harry, still a bit startled from her bursting down the stairs.
"I…need…Merlin…mom…immediately." With that she jetted out the portrait hole, leaving Harry and Sirius stunned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny walked into the owlery to find Merlin and Hedwig nipping at each other, preening themselves. She smiled, watching and waiting for them to stop. She didn't want to interrupt such a tender moment. It was kind of cute to her. They appeared to be totally absorbed in each other, much as she and Harry were. Finally they both appeared to be ready to sleep. She walked over to them, calling Merlin to her. His head shot up and he hooted a greeting to her, eyeing the letter with interest. She tied the letter to his leg and kissed his beak then took him over to the window. She set him on the ledge, waiting for him to fly off. Merlin turned and hooted affectionately to Hedwig then flew off. Just as Ginny was leaving she heard a flutter of wings and turned to catch Hedwig flying out after him. She left the owlery and headed back to Gryffindor Tower. She couldn't wait to tell Harry and Sirius about the apparent relationship between Merlin and Hedwig. Little did she know that it would be a longer trip than she thought.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cho sat in front of the fire in the Ravenclaw common room, staring into her cauldron. The potion was almost brewed. Soon her plan would come into action. She got up, moving the cauldron over to the table and letting it simmer while she went out. She needed to send a letter to her parents requesting more money for her potions ingredients. Snape had agreed to help her but refused to give her any of his potion stock, making her collect and buy what she needed. She ran into someone on her way out. The red hair was familiar….
"Virginia Weasley, the tramp who stole my boyfriend," Cho growled out, her anger immediately flaring up.
Ginny turned around to come face to face with Cho. "What do you want Cho," she asked, an edge to her voice out of the obvious anger she felt towards Cho. She then remembered the warning Epona and Merlin had given her in the vision: Beware a girl with dark hair. She is a danger. Ginny pushed her way past Cho and was leaving the owlery when Cho pushed her to the ground. Her hands flew out in front of her and she fell hard to the ground. She turned her head angrily from her position on the ground. "What the hell is your problem bitch?" She stood up and faced Cho.
"My problem is you taking Harry from me. He was my man. He stayed by my side until you came along. Now you're gonna pay. You and that bastard for cheating on me," she growled out. She had her wand out and pointed directly at Ginny.
Ginny waved her hand and Cho's wand came to her. "Knock it off Chang. You know that he never felt that way about you. Now leave the two of us be and find someone else to torment."
Cho had taken a step back when Ginny used wandless magic to get her wand. She then lunged at the girl, surprising her and knocking her to the ground. Ginny's head hit the stone floor hard. She could feel the gash back there and reached her hand behind her head. When she drew her hand back in front of her she saw blood. Ginny glared up at Cho. "Alright Chang. Have it your way." And a fight for all time ensued.
Ginny clawed at Cho's face, drawing blood. She knocked her to the ground and sat on top of her. Cho reached up and had her hands around Ginny's throat, effectively choking her. Ginny's grip loosened and Cho rolled over, pining her to the ground. "How does it feel Weasley? How does it feel to know that I'm the one that's gonna kill you?" Cho didn't count on Ginny knowing how to defend herself hand to hand.
Ginny reached her legs up, hooking them around Cho's back and crossing her ankles in front of her neck. She pushed back, knocking Cho off of her. She bent over on the ground, gasping for breath while Cho groaned in pain. Ginny, however, didn't give her the benefit of the doubt. She whipped her head around, her red hair flying, her face flushed in anger, blood dripping from cuts and scrapes. She stood up and lunged at Cho, tackling her to the ground again right after the girl had just stood up. The two rolled around on the floor again, punches connecting with jaws, more cuts and bruises appearing. Suddenly Cho grabbed Ginny's wrist and jerked it violently. She could feel the bones breaking.
Ginny howled in pain, rearing back from Cho and moving back a few paces. She grabbed her broken wrist with her hand, applying pressure where the bone had broken through the skin. The blood was gushing out from it. She turned to Cho and, using her good hand, waved it and screamed out "Petrificus Totalus!" Cho's body suddenly went straight and rigid, falling to the ground with a thud. She muttered "Mobilicorpus" and started on her trek to the Hospital Wing. She could feel herself getting weaker as she went and by the time she arrived at the Hospital Wing she was about to pass out. She suddenly thought of something and tried it. "Harry, come to the Hospital Wing" she repeated. Over and over in her head she repeated this as she stumbled into the ward. "Poppy…." She struggled over to a bed and lay down. She muttered another spell and ropes flew out of her hand and around Cho's body, preventing her from moving after she took the other spells off of her. Poppy came rushing out just then and saw Ginny bleeding out on the bed, Cho tied up next to her on the floor, a full body bind and ropes around her. She immediately attended to Ginny's wounds, stopping the bleeding and healing the small cuts she could see.
"Good gracious Virginia, what happened here," Poppy asked as she was tending to her.
"Cho attacked me outside the owlery and we fought. She broke my wrist and I hit the back of my head pretty hard. Please, can you send word to Harry and Sirius," she asked, squirming around, waiting for the Pain Reliever Potion to work. She summoned her cloths to her. "Here," she said, handing one to Poppy and using the other on the back of her head. "This is a Pain Reliever Cloth. I made it this summer. Same effect as the liquid. Use this." She lay her head back on the pillow and closed her eyes. Soon she was in a peaceful slumber.
Harry and Sirius came rushing in a few moments later. "Poppy, where is she? Where is Ginny?" He looked over at the bed and ran to the side. "Ginny," he said, petting her head. "Ginny, can you hear me? Please, please, Ginny, answer me!"
Ginny groaned. "Harry, can you please quiet down? I've got one hell of a concussion." Harry gave a small chuckle. She slowly opened one eye then the other, turning her head to look at him. "Harry, go to Dumbledore. Have him come here."
"That won't be necessary my dear," came a familiar voice.
"Hello Professor Dumbledore. Can you please take Cho and do something about her? She attacked me in the owlery and obviously something came of it," said Ginny, groaning with the effort. Harry sat up on the edge of her bed and lay back, letting her head rest against him, his arms going around her protectively.
"Professor Dumbledore, can you please make sure that there are wards to keep Cho away from Ginny? This is ridiculous," he said, growling at Cho.
"I assure you Harry, Cho will be dealt with most severely for this. When you are feeling better," he said, turning to Ginny, "you may ask for me to come. I would like to discuss this incident with you." He turned to leave, using the Mobilicorpus spell to move Cho.
"Professor," she said, "there's one more thing you need to know right now. While we were fighting I ripped her robe. She has the Dark Mark. Cho is a Death Eater."