"What-what are-" Harry's mouth opened and yet, no sound came out. He
gulped, and then, casting a nervous glance at the door, lowered his voice.
"What are you doing here?" He whispered, she looked stricken for a moment,
and he regretted the question instantly. Ginny was Ron's brother, and
intelligent at that. She couldn't have, wouldn't have come without a good
reason.His mind blanked, and then suddenly his stomach dropped. Was it
possible that the Order of the Phoenix, the secret faction determined to
bring down Voldemort, had been found? Had Ginny perhaps, been the sole
survivor of an attack? These thoughts must have registered briefly across
his face, for Ginny shook her head soundly.
"No, no, it's nothing like that." She whispered conspiratorially, so low he
had to lean in to hear. "Nothings happened-to-to-mum and dad. Well, nothing
like-like-that. No one's dead, if that's what you're thinking. I'll tell
you all of it, but can I just stay for a night? Only one night?" She was
pleading, and Harry, for the first time in months was not concentrating on
guilt or shame, but a burning curiosity a need to know what was happening
in the outside world. He had spent, he realized, a good amount of time
locked within himself.
But that was not his concern now. He had a fifteen year old girl half asleep on his bed, and he himself was wide awake. He pondered the situation for a moment, and then said, softly, so as not to wake the Dursleys, "Ok, but we write Ron tonight to tell him you're here." "He knows already, I think. Write him if you want, he's at Hermione's home though." Ginny said this so matter-of-factly he did not actually register these words for a moment. "Hermione's? What's he doing there?" There were so many questions that demanded answers, and yet he saw her sliding into slumber before him, her eyes fighting to stay open. He, Harry, would have to wait. She fell asleep quickly when the light was put out, but Harry sat up at the window, out into the rain long into the night.
The next morning Harry found the young redhead snugly wrapped in his sheets. She was no dream, no apparition of insomnia, but indeed, the youngest Weasly child. He snuck silently down the stairs and stole food from the Dursley's pantry, hopping slightly over the creaking stair. When she awoke he offered food, and did not speak until she had eaten most of her breakfast. "Why is Ron at Hermione's? Why are you here? How did you get here?" He spoke so quickly, the words tumbling from his mouth, that he doubted she could understand them all at once. She held up a hand, cleared her throat, and began to speak, softly, but slowly and clearly so that he could hear every word. "I'll answer it all, but I have to begin at the beginning. Is that alright?" She paused, waiting for his assuring nod. "Good. So then, you understood last year that my family was-upset-at Percy for breaking with the family? My father was not just upset, he was enraged. Percy was like the devil, a dirty swear word, and my mother-she was a wreck, she felt like she'd failed in bringing up a good son. Percy sent some pretty nasty letter to them, especially after Fred and George dropped out. He told them things like 'at least you have one good son left, even if you don't acknowledge him', and he made snide remarks about the twins' joke shop. He was always jealous of them. He worked so hard because he felt alone in our family. Bill and Charlie were a pair, Fred and George, obviously, and then there was Ron and me, not really paired together but locked in as the babies. So, in any event, he was pretty much the rotten apple for those months that he worked for Fudge. But when term ended, after, after we got back, you know, after-well, after Sirius died, and he found out he was the only one who didn't know all of the Order's secrets he felt even more left out of the family. So he came home as the prodigal son, and he acted as though he had been Disillusioned. He hung on Dad's words; he admired Bill and Charlie even more than usual. He flattered the twins, but they pretty much saw through it, they never cared much about praise anyway. He never spoke to me or Ron, and as you can imagine, we weren't too pleased. Dad and Mum were very into 'forget and forgive', and I, well, I wasn't. I felt like a spoilt teenager, but I just don't trust him. Then Ron got a letter from Hermione and he just sprints to Mum and begged to go to her house for the week. She refused at first, saying she wanted the whole family to be together for this summer. Percy, however, said Ron should go, and he coloured up quite a bit, I think he fancies Hermione, you know. Anyhow, Percy told Mum it would be nasty for Ron to be kept at home all summer, and it was about time he got himself a friend besides you. I personally think he wanted Ron out of the way, because, you see, if Ron is not there, then you can't be there, and he doesn't want to see you, Harry." She hesitated, and looked at him for a moment. "Why doesn't he want to see me?" Harry inquired. "Oh, I suspect he's ashamed of the way he called you a liar, and well, you saw the letter he wrote to Ron about you being a few cards short of a full deck, he doesn't want to talk about Dumbledore either. Anyhow, I caught him going through Ron's things the other night, and when I told Dad, he ignored me. He said I wanted attention. Then Percy was there 'comforting' me and saying he knew exactly what I was going through, and I-I-snapped. I called him a liar and a sneak and I said he didn't deserve to come home that he should have gone to live with Fudge!" Her face flushed with anger, and her hair looked vividly dangerous. "I yelled it to his face, what all of us wanted to say but didn't! He-he-he wasn't pleased, and neither was Mum. She said I could go out and 'think about what I have said'. I marched out the door, and I stuck out my wand. The knight bus burst out of nowhere, you've ridden it before, and you know what it's like, all purple and lurching everywhere. I got off at the one place I figure they'd never look, a muggle street. Your street. Getting in your room wasn't hard, Fred and George had given me a handy little gadget-a set of lock picks bewitched to open anything, trunks, doors, and even," She glanced at his window, "windows. So you see, I'm here on a bit of an impulse, but I hinted to Ron in my last letter that I might not be home when he came back. He'll probably guess where I came. Fred and George too, but they'll keep quiet. So, Harry, what comes next?"
But that was not his concern now. He had a fifteen year old girl half asleep on his bed, and he himself was wide awake. He pondered the situation for a moment, and then said, softly, so as not to wake the Dursleys, "Ok, but we write Ron tonight to tell him you're here." "He knows already, I think. Write him if you want, he's at Hermione's home though." Ginny said this so matter-of-factly he did not actually register these words for a moment. "Hermione's? What's he doing there?" There were so many questions that demanded answers, and yet he saw her sliding into slumber before him, her eyes fighting to stay open. He, Harry, would have to wait. She fell asleep quickly when the light was put out, but Harry sat up at the window, out into the rain long into the night.
The next morning Harry found the young redhead snugly wrapped in his sheets. She was no dream, no apparition of insomnia, but indeed, the youngest Weasly child. He snuck silently down the stairs and stole food from the Dursley's pantry, hopping slightly over the creaking stair. When she awoke he offered food, and did not speak until she had eaten most of her breakfast. "Why is Ron at Hermione's? Why are you here? How did you get here?" He spoke so quickly, the words tumbling from his mouth, that he doubted she could understand them all at once. She held up a hand, cleared her throat, and began to speak, softly, but slowly and clearly so that he could hear every word. "I'll answer it all, but I have to begin at the beginning. Is that alright?" She paused, waiting for his assuring nod. "Good. So then, you understood last year that my family was-upset-at Percy for breaking with the family? My father was not just upset, he was enraged. Percy was like the devil, a dirty swear word, and my mother-she was a wreck, she felt like she'd failed in bringing up a good son. Percy sent some pretty nasty letter to them, especially after Fred and George dropped out. He told them things like 'at least you have one good son left, even if you don't acknowledge him', and he made snide remarks about the twins' joke shop. He was always jealous of them. He worked so hard because he felt alone in our family. Bill and Charlie were a pair, Fred and George, obviously, and then there was Ron and me, not really paired together but locked in as the babies. So, in any event, he was pretty much the rotten apple for those months that he worked for Fudge. But when term ended, after, after we got back, you know, after-well, after Sirius died, and he found out he was the only one who didn't know all of the Order's secrets he felt even more left out of the family. So he came home as the prodigal son, and he acted as though he had been Disillusioned. He hung on Dad's words; he admired Bill and Charlie even more than usual. He flattered the twins, but they pretty much saw through it, they never cared much about praise anyway. He never spoke to me or Ron, and as you can imagine, we weren't too pleased. Dad and Mum were very into 'forget and forgive', and I, well, I wasn't. I felt like a spoilt teenager, but I just don't trust him. Then Ron got a letter from Hermione and he just sprints to Mum and begged to go to her house for the week. She refused at first, saying she wanted the whole family to be together for this summer. Percy, however, said Ron should go, and he coloured up quite a bit, I think he fancies Hermione, you know. Anyhow, Percy told Mum it would be nasty for Ron to be kept at home all summer, and it was about time he got himself a friend besides you. I personally think he wanted Ron out of the way, because, you see, if Ron is not there, then you can't be there, and he doesn't want to see you, Harry." She hesitated, and looked at him for a moment. "Why doesn't he want to see me?" Harry inquired. "Oh, I suspect he's ashamed of the way he called you a liar, and well, you saw the letter he wrote to Ron about you being a few cards short of a full deck, he doesn't want to talk about Dumbledore either. Anyhow, I caught him going through Ron's things the other night, and when I told Dad, he ignored me. He said I wanted attention. Then Percy was there 'comforting' me and saying he knew exactly what I was going through, and I-I-snapped. I called him a liar and a sneak and I said he didn't deserve to come home that he should have gone to live with Fudge!" Her face flushed with anger, and her hair looked vividly dangerous. "I yelled it to his face, what all of us wanted to say but didn't! He-he-he wasn't pleased, and neither was Mum. She said I could go out and 'think about what I have said'. I marched out the door, and I stuck out my wand. The knight bus burst out of nowhere, you've ridden it before, and you know what it's like, all purple and lurching everywhere. I got off at the one place I figure they'd never look, a muggle street. Your street. Getting in your room wasn't hard, Fred and George had given me a handy little gadget-a set of lock picks bewitched to open anything, trunks, doors, and even," She glanced at his window, "windows. So you see, I'm here on a bit of an impulse, but I hinted to Ron in my last letter that I might not be home when he came back. He'll probably guess where I came. Fred and George too, but they'll keep quiet. So, Harry, what comes next?"