Chapter Fifteen: Confessions
A misty haze came over Ginny's eyes as she awoke, her head aching with an almost burning pain where Tom had kissed her forehead. It was just light enough for her to make out a pale face beneath a mess of light brown hair in the haze.
Ginny reached out and touched the face. It was very cold, and as her eyes began to focus she heard a tremendous scream escape her lips.
"Hermione, oh no! Not Hermione! What have I done?" she cried loudly.
She clutched her petrified friend's robe and began to sob uncontrollably. Her only true friend gone. Tom had manipulated her again, taking away from her the last remaining hope of friendship. Someone who would have listened and understood, Hermione.
Ginny's cries did not go unheard however. Madam Pince, the librarian, came running down the corridor as she heard the screams from the library. Ginny didn't even notice her presence until she was steps away from her, screaming herself, "Miss Weasley, what's going on–oh dear! Oh no!"
Unable to restrain her own sobs, Ginny raised her head to look at the stunned librarian. Fear swept over her, suddenly realizing that she'd been caught at the scene of the crime–just like Harry. "I–I," she started, not knowing how to explain herself. "I–I found them."
Madam Pince attempted to pullGinny away from Hermione's frozen body, but she was still clutching Hermione's robes in sorrow with remarkable strength.
"Miss Weasley, you must come with me, please," Madam Pince begged her, continuing to pull her up off the floor.
"NO! I won't leave her!" Ginny screamed at her, before she fell sobbing back into Hermione's robes again. She felt Madame Pince let her go, and heard footsteps run back down the corridor.
Moments later, she heard several pairs of feet rushing back down the hall. Ginny raised her head again to see Headmaster Dumbledore, with Professor McGonagall and Madam Pince flanking him on each side. Dumbledore knelt down to her, putting a warm hand on her shoulder, and soothing voice filled her ears. "Let go, Miss Weasley."
"Hermione, she's petrified," was all Ginny could say to him.
Dumbledore turn to Madam Pince, "Irma, thank you. Can you quickly notify the rest of the staff please?" he asked the librarian.
"Yes, of course," Pince said, walking off reluctantly.
"Minerva," she heard Dumbledore say. "Will you accompany Miss Weasley and myself to my office please?"
Before she realized what had happened, Ginny found herself in Dumbledore's office. She felt overwhelmed and intimidated sitting in the round room, surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of books as well as dozens of portraits of men and women, who she could only assume were the Headmasters and Headmistresses of Hogwart's past.
Ginny could feel Dumbledore's eyes suddenly fix upon her with a penetrating look. "Miss Weasley, can you tell us what happened?"
She had no idea what to tell him. She couldn't tell him what really happened, she'd be expelled for sure then. She could still hear Tom's voice in the back of her head telling her how disappointed everyone would be when they found out it was their wonderful Ginny all this time.
"I–I was on my way to–the Quidditch match," Ginny said, wiping her eyes, still stinging from her tears. "I slept late and I–I was af–fraid that I might miss the match. I was on my way to the pitch, when I came 'round the corner, and I–I . . ."
She couldn't finish, and she bowed her head to cover another onset of tears.
"Well then," Dumbledore said, sitting up from his chair and nodding to Professor McGonagall, "Minerva, while I escort Miss Weasley back to Gryffindor Tower, will you please call the students back to their Houses, we must notify them as well."
McGonagall, who looked as though she was tearing up herself, blinked a few times. "Of course, Albus. Excuse me," she said quickly, rushing off herself.
Dumbledore walked with Ginny back to the Gryffindor common room. They barely shared a word between them.
"Miss Granger must mean an awful lot to you, for you to be so upset about her attack."
"She does, sir," Ginny said solemnly, her eyes concentrating on the floor as they walked. "She's my friend–my only friend here."
When they finally reached the portrait of the fat lady, Dumbledore turned to Ginny, and blinked his eyes slowly behind his half-moon spectacles, asking simply, "Is there anything else, you feel you need to share with me, Miss Weasley?"
At that moment, Ginny almost opened up to Dumbledore, ready to tell him everything. But fear still had a tight grip around her and instead she answered quietly, "No sir, nothing at all," before she climbed back through the portrait hole.
* * *
Ginny sat on the floor of the Gryffindor common room, up against the wall. The Quidditch match was cancelled before it had even begun, and yet even Wood understood the magnitude of the situation. Nearly the entire house was crammed in there to hear Professor McGonagall's announcement. She told them of the attacks on Hermione and the other girl, Penelope Clearwater, a Ravenclaw Prefect.
McGonagall read from a parchment, stating that all students were not to be out of their dorms after six o'clock. And all students were to be escorted by a Professor. Classes, the bathroom, even the Great Hall for meals.
The Professor turned around and left the students, and Ginny glanced at Percy, who was surprisingly saying nothing. He looked deeply saddened, and only Ginny knew why. Penelope was his girlfriend.
She continued to scan the room and caught sight of Harry and Ron, who were talking privately away from the others. Both Ron and Harry were allowed to see Hermione in the infirmary, after the game was cancelled. Ron was visibly shaken, but Harry looked away distantly, not paying any attention to various Gryffindor students who began to blame Slytherin House the instant McGonagall climbed out the portrait hole.
The twins' friend, Lee Jordan had made an argument for casting out the Slytherins from Hogwarts permanently, when it suddenly occurred to her, "Hagrid. They still think it was Hagrid. What will I do? They'll take him to Azkaban Prison for sure! I have to do something!"
It was after eleven o'clock that evening, when Ginny decided to make an attempt to reach Hagrid and warn him. She crept out the portrait hole and down the hallway. Not an easy task, since the halls were nearly swarming with teachers guarding them. But luckily, Ginny was small, and able to hide behind statues and in corners undetected.
The most difficult task was trying to walk out the east passage that lead outside near the Forbidden Forest, and Hagrid's hut. It was darker than most of the other passages, and as she crept silently closer, she noticed that a dark figure was standing near the end of the passage–Professor Snape.
"Oh great. As if this couldn't get any harder for me," she thought to herself. "If only I had a distraction."
No sooner had she thought this, than another cloaked figure swept by her on their way towards Hagrid's hut. It was a man she hadn't seen since the day she found the diary, Lucius Malfoy.
"Good evening Severus," she heard him say to Snape.
"Lucius. Why am I not surprised to see you here?" Snape growled back. "Ensuring that our Gamekeeper goes to Azkaban?"
She saw Malfoy gave him lazy smile, one that reminded her of his son. "No, I have bigger fish to fry this evening," he said, holding up a large roll of parchment. "Now, if you'll excuse me."
Ginny watched as Malfoy walked away from Snape a few steps before turning around again and said, "You know what the outcome will be Severus. I hope that you will use this situation to your advantage." Malfoy spun around again and made his way towards Hagrid's hut. Snape too, grumbled something to himself, and walked back towards the castle.
She stood there in the darkness for a moment, trying to figure out what Malfoy had meant by his last words to Snape. And even more important, why they seemed to know each other well enough to speak to each other on a first name basis. But she shook it from her mind, and tried to focus on her mission, fearing that if Malfoy was on his way to Hagrid's, it might already be too late.
Holding herself back from sprinting past Malfoy to get to Hagrid first, Ginny crept across the cool lawn, and waited patiently by the greenhouses. There was a perfect view of Hagrid's hut from them, and she watched as Malfoy entered the hut. Ginny noticed that there seemed to be several people in there already, and she waited a few moments longer before she finally saw the door open again.
Headmaster Dumbledore walked out of Hagrid's hut first, followed by Malfoy. And then much to her surprise came Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, and her father's boss. She watched as Fudge left the hut with Hagrid close behind him, who looked back into the house with worry, before he stepped out himself.
"If Cornelius Fudge was here to get Hagrid," she thought. "This could only mean one thing . . . Hagrid is going to Azkaban."
* * *
The next morning, Ginny went to the infirmary to see Hermione, but the doors were shut tightly. When she knocked on the door, Madam Pomfrey cracked open the door and poked an eye and nose out.
"I'm sorry Ginny, but I can't allow you to see her," she said stiffly. "With Dumbledore gone now, Professor McGonagall doesn't want to take any chances of the Heir making another attempt on these students."
"Dumbldore's gone?" Ginny said with surprise. "What happened?"
"I'm afraid that he's been suspended indefinitely." Pomfrey said. "By order of the school board of governors."
"Malfoy, that git," Ginny thought to herself. "This is all his fault!"
"Please, Madam Pomfrey." Ginny pleaded. "She is my only friend here at Hogwarts. I have to see her. I beg of you."
Pomfrey's face began to soften a bit, and the door slid open just enough for Ginny to squeeze through. "Now, I will do this for you. But you have to promise me that you won't say a word to anyone about it, understood? You have five minutes." she said, leading her to Hermione's bed, shrouded by a curtain around it.
Madame Pomfrey pulled back the curtain, and Ginny gasped again at the sight of her petrified friend. Hermione looked like a porcelain doll. Her brown eyes glassed over, her pale skin shone like moonlight. And her hand was still raised up as if she were holding the mirror, now lying on the night table beside her.
"Can I have a moment alone with her, please?" Ginny asked quietly.
"Yes, of course," Pomfrey said, walking away to busy herself with other things. "Remember, you have five minutes."
"Thank you," she said, holding back her tears in front of the nurse.
Ginny sat on the bed and took hold of Hermione's hand. It was icy cold. Her own warm tears began spilling down her face.
"I'm so sorry Hermione," she whispered. "I never meant for any of this to happen, I swear. Tom made me do it."
With her other hand, she stroked Hermione's bushy hair on the pillow. " I should have told you everything, Hermione. The diary, Tom Riddle, the dreams–everything. I know you would have understood. I'm such a fool sometimes. Now look where it's got me. Nearly everyone I care about has been hurt, or is in danger, all because of me." Ginny continued, staring into Hermione's rigid face.
"Of all the people in the school, why did it have to be you?" she asked herself. "I can't go on facing him alone like this. I need you more than ever."
"And now, he's after Harry for some reason. I don't understand it. Why on earth would he want Harry so much? Nobody has wanted him this much since–"
Ginny shuddered at the thought, and whispered, "Since You-Know-Who."
At this moment, Ginny realized that she had to tell Harry about Tom and the diary. Before it was too late, and Harry ended up sharing the same fate as Hagrid.
"I promise you, Hermione. This won't happen again. I can't allow it to happen any more. And if Harry and Ron can't stop Tom Riddle, then I will."