Chapter 15
Kati and Danni headed for Hogsmeade, chatting happily. Every so often, Kati would look at her in amazement. She's really nice. She thought in surprise. I always thought she was so stuck up. How typical that the only reason we've become friends it because of Gwynny's disappearance. Danni looked at her uncertainly.
"What's the matter?" She asked. "Do I have something on my face?"
"No, no." Kati reassured her. "It's just…I never realised how nice you were before." Danni blushed.
"Well, we haven't exactly spent that much time together, have we." She said sensibly. Kati nodded.
"And I'm really sorry for that now. We could have had so much fun together." She mourned. Danni shrugged.
"Well we've got the rest of our lives to be friends." She said. "So let's not waste any time mourning what could have been. Remember Uncle Harry and Uncle Sirius. If that necro–mewhatsit hadn't brought him back – and I still don't know why she did so – then I don't know what would have happened. Mum and Aunty Ginny tell me that Uncle Harry was really, really cut up about it." Kati nodded.
"I know." She said sadly. "Mum says it wasn't until after Voldemort's death that he finally came back. And it's Necromancer. Her name was something really weird…it started with 'A'" Danni smirked.
"Asha." She said. (AN: Pronounced Ah-shah)
"That's right!" Exclaimed Kati in surprise.
"I remember the oddest things." Danni said, smiling. Kati grinned back, and turned to walk into Dervish and Banges. "What are you doing?" Danni asked.
"Well, I thought we'd get the ingredients for the potion. The sooner we cast this spell, the sooner I get my little sister back." Kati said. Danni nodded.
"Right, let's do it." She said.
~*~
Gwynny carefully scrawled her mother's name 'Ginny Weasley' at the bottom of the essay. She knew that her grades had become higher ever since taking over her mother's body; after all, she was more into studying than her mother had ever been.
"Weaslette." Gwynny automatically looked up, and scowled at Draco Malfoy.
"Malfoy." She acknowledged coldly.
"Don't you know better than to be out here at night? The big bad monsters might hurt you."
"I'm sure the monsters and I could think of more interesting things to do." Gwynny said. Emrys appeared, slithering up to her, a dead rat in his mouth. "Oh, clever boy!" She praised him, picking him up. Malfoy raised an eyebrow.
"I would have thought you'd have had enough of snakes, what with what happened in your first year." He sneered. Gwynny laughed.
"Malfoy, I absolutely adore snakes, why do you think I was such a good candidate for Voldemort? And besides, Emrys has saved my life more than once, haven't you Emrysss?" The last word came out as parseltongue and Gwynny winced, she hadn't meant for it to. Malfoy backed away, looking frightened. Gwynny grinned evilly, Boo She hissed. He gabbled, and ran away. Gwynny chuckled, then gasped, as a strange pain lanced through her stomach. "Ouch" She snarled.
What issss the matter, Maer? Emrys asked.
Nothing. Gwynny replied, putting the snake in her pocket. Come on, let's go.
***
"Expecto Patronum." Gwynny said, waving her wand. To her delight, she got the spell right first time, and a huge snake, a basilisk, she thought, erupted out of her wand, causing most of the class to draw back in fright. Gwynny giggled at the shocked looks on the students' faces, they were all waiting for her to pounce on them. How ironic, she thought, that my saviour should be the king of serpents, when one almost killed my parents, and other members of my family.
"Well, that is certainly an interesting Patronus, Miss Weasley." Uncle Moony said in amusement. Gwynny smiled at him.
"Yes, I thought so too, Professor." She said.
***
"Ginny!" Gwynny ignored the voice and kept walking. "Ginny, wait up!" Ginny sighed, and swung around.
"Yes, Colin?" She asked.
"Wh-what was that thing?" He asked, panting slightly.
"What thing?"
"Your Patronus. What was it?"
"Oh." Gwynny grinned wickedly. "It was a basilisk. You know, King of Serpents? I believe that was what attacked all those muggle-borns in our first year here." Colin paled.
"Y-your Patronus is a b-basilisk?" He squeaked. Gwynny giggled.
"Yup." She said cheerfully. "See ya."
***
Gwynny turned the page in Harry's photo album, and saw yet another picture of her grandparents. She grinned happily. She'd never seen these particular pictures before. Sure, she'd seen pictures of them, but never these ones. I wonder what happened to them. She thought absently, turning the page. She looked up, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione came into the Common Room. Then she looked away, and turned yet another page. This one had a picture of her mother, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. She traced her mother's familiar features with one hand, smiling softly.
"Hi, Ginny." Hermione said enthusiastically, sitting down beside her on the couch.
"Hey, Herm." Gwynny replied absently, turning the page in the photo album.
"I've been looking for that!" Harry cried, when he saw the album.
"That's nice." Gwynny replied, and she smiled at the picture of Ron's face being stuffed with snow by her mother.
"So, Ginny, I heard that you had an eventful DADA lesson." Hermione said.
"Oh, I don't know. It wasn't that eventful. All I did was conjure a Patronus perfectly the first time. No biggy."
"Yeah, but what was your Patronus?" Hermione pressed.
"Oh, that's easy. A basilisk." Gwynny grinned at the looks on her family's faces. "Interesting, no?" Ron nodded numbly.
"Yes, very." He croaked.
"Well, I'm late," Gwynny lied cheerfully; glancing at her watch, (which hadn't worked since a Kappa had tried to eat it), "See ya." She got up, and left the Common Room, handing a dumbfounded Harry his photo album on the way out.
***
"Hi, Ginny! What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, as she walked into the kitchens.
"Eating." Gwynny replied, taking another bite of triple choc fudge ice cream. She had a weakness for it, and it was the only thing she ate as fast as her family.
"I can see that." Hermione said dryly. Gwynny nodded, and handed her empty dish to the house-elf that ran up to her.
"Thank you Moky." She said, smiling at him.
"That's ok, Ginny Weazy!" He chirped. "Moky is very happy to serve you, Ginny Weazy!" Gwynny shook her head, and followed Hermione out.
"So, what were you doing down here?" Gwynny asked.
"I was going to talk to Winky, y'know, a gal's gossip session, but now I can talk to you!" Hermione smiled, and Gwynny grinned back. She gulped slightly, as a strange pain rippled through her tummy, but pushed it off as a reaction to too much chocolate.
"Let's go then." She said.
An hour later, Hermione and Gwynny sat in the Library, chatting about their friends, and family and the like. Gwynny had to keep reminding herself that she was playing her mother, and not to let anything loose about her real family. She was laughing particularly hard about one of Hermione's tales (which involved her, a cousin, and, for some strange reason, cheese in a can), when she felt an acute pain in her stomach. She moaned slightly, but ignored it.
"What happened next?" She asked, trying to ignore the pangs.
"Well-" Hermione began, but was soon interrupted. Gwynny gulped, and clutched her stomach again.
"What's the matter?" Hermione asked, looking at her in concern.
"N-nothing, I'm fine." Gwynny said, the last word coming out as a hiss of pain, as the sharp ache lanced across her abdomen again.
"Are you really sure?"
"Yes." Gwynny nodded firmly, and fainted.
~Preview of Chapter 16~
"Harry, I like you a lot too." Gwynny said softly, saying exactly what she knew her mother would say in such a circumstance.
"Really?" He grinned. "Oh, that's wonderful." His head began to descend, and Gwynny's eyes widened in horror. Sweet Merlin, he's going to kiss me!
Gah! Poor Gwynny! As you've no doubt guessed, she did not mean that he was going to kiss her on the cheek. No…we're talking about a full-blown kiss here…I'm thinking about writing a few one-shots in relation to this story…things like…oops, can't tell you yet…I'll talk more about it at the end of the last chapter…