Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related names and places are the legal property of J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, and AOL Time Warner and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione and Ginny slept very late the next day. At one in the afternoon, Mrs. Granger finally coaxed them from under the covers. "Girls, you need to get your things packed. I've washed up all of your clothes from the trip, Ginny. Hermione, I've laundered all of your school...er...things."
Hermione giggled from under her quilt. After five years of dealing with them, Mrs. Granger still couldn't bring herself to say "robes. Hermione had always found it very funny. Still laughing at her mother, Hermione disentangled herself from her bed. Ginny, however, showed no signs of life in the other bed. Hermione threw her pillow at her friend.
"Hermione, I swear my threat from yesterday still stands. I swear when I get through with you, you'll look like the child of Millicent Bulstrode and Crabbe!" Ginny's voice was very muffled; she had her head buried under her pillow.
"Oh, come on you grump! We have to get packed. Now let's go." Hermione pulled the cover off Ginny's bed and threw it onto the floor.
After protesting and muttering curses under her breath, Ginny was dressed and following Hermione down the stairs. Mrs. Granger had made the girls lunch. The pair sat at the small table in the kitchen, talking about the return to Grimmauld Place. Suddenly a thought struck Hermione. She was amazed that something so important could have slipped her mind. She leapt from her chair and started to shout.
"Mum! Have you noticed any letters lying about? Or has a post owl come today?"
"No, dear, there hasn't been any...um...post for you. Were you expecting something? It's a bit too early for your school book list, isn't it?"
"No, it's not my Hogwart's letter; my O.W.L. scores were supposed to be delivered some time in July." Hermione slumped back into her chair, apparently annoyed at the missed chance to ensure her parents that she was a perfectly brilliant witch.
"Hermione, you still have another week of July. I'm sure the scores are on their way right now." Ginny smiled and took a bite of her sandwich. She wasn't very enthusiastic to talk about the O.W.L.'s. Ginny was entering her fifth year and the exams were looming in the distance.
The girls passed the afternoon packing their belongings. Hermione's trunk sat on the floor, as she piled her neatly folded robes on top of her books. "You know my mum still doesn't understand how I manage to get everything in here." Hermione had just picked up her cauldron and set it carefully into the corner of the trunk. "I keep telling her that it's charmed so that everything fits, but..." She shrugged and placed her last pair of socks on top of the neat pile.
Ginny laughed. She dearly liked Mr. and Mrs. Granger, but she was amazed at how little they understood about the world to which their daughter belonged. Like Hermione, she had thought that five years of exposure to it would have brought about some sort of understanding.
The next day dawned brightly. Hermione stretched as the sunlight filtered through her bedroom window. She was happy today. She would be going back to the world in which she belonged. She would see her friends again. However, Hermione couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt as she thought this. Her parents were always sad to see her go. She loved them dearly, but there was something inside her that made her feel almost detached from them. It was a feeling she had had as long as she could remember. When she was a child, she often felt that she simply didn't belong to the world her parents resided in. When she received her first Hogwart's letter, the difference became quite clear. She was very different from her family. Her parents encouraged her to work hard in school, but she knew they often wished they had a "normal" daughter; perhaps one who would follow in their footsteps and become a doctor. She couldn't confide in them about things happening in the wizarding world, her ambitions for when she left Hogwarts, or her fears of Voldemort's return. They simply didn't understand.
For once, Ginny didn't need Hermione's persistence to force her out of bed. No matter how much she tried to hide it, she missed her family deeply. (Yes, even all 6 of her brothers. Well, with the possible exception of Percy.) She had been away from them for three whole weeks. Even when she was at Hogwarts, she at least had her brothers. And now, in only a few hours time, she would be right in the middle of them again. And, of course, she would be seeing Harry again. She no longer felt the swooping sensation in her stomach when she saw him, no longer tripped over things, or even stuck her elbow into butter dish in his presence. Harry was simply...Harry now. She couldn't explain the sudden change in her feelings toward him to anyone; she simply let them believe whatever they wanted. She had been deeply worried about him for awhile now. She knew that Sirius' death had been extremely hard on him. And, of course, she felt a strange bond with him. They were perhaps the only two people to have escaped Voldemort alive. Ginny was glad to have Harry as a friend, and the two seemed to get along much better once the "hero-worship" subsided.
The girls showered and dressed, even before the Grangers made any sign of waking up. Mrs. Granger laughed when she came downstairs and saw the two sitting at the breakfast table, ready to leave.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you didn't like it here." she laughed.
"Mum! You know it's not that!" Hermione was horror struck. How could her mother think she didn't absolutely love being home with them?
Hermione's mother laughed again. "Oh, Mina, calm down! I know that you're eager to get back to school. We...er...what are we called again? Oh yes, we muggles can't be much fun to be around after spending nine months practicing all sorts of wonderful magic." She kissed her daughter's cheek and then poured herself a cup of coffee. "Well, after you leave your father and I are off to the office. I can only imagine the state of the place. I'll bet Jennifer has booked three people every hour for the next six months."
"Yes, and I'll bet that will be the good news." Hermione looked up to see her father coming down the stairs wrapped in his blue dressing gown. She laughed as he rubbed his eyes, trying to focus them. "Good lord girls! What are you doing up at this ungodly hour?" He seemed to have just noticed the pair, sitting and giggling like mad.
"Morning, Daddy!" Hermione launched from her chair and wrapped her arms around her father.
"Good morning, cricket. And a very good morning to you, Ginny." Mr. Granger hugged Hermione and patted Ginny's head. "I see the two of you are ready to go." He glanced down the hall to see Hermione's trunk and Ginny's suitcase setting next to the fireplace.
"Well, we weren't sure when or how Mum and Dad were coming, so we decided it would be best to be ready just in case they came early. I'm almost pretty sure they will be coming by Floo. Neither of us can apparate, and Mum isn't fond of portkeys." Ginny said. She looked up as she realized what she had said. The Grangers were staring at her in amazement and Hermione was shaking with silent giggles. "Sorry, I keep forgetting. I'll bet most of that sounded really strange." She laughed as Hermione finally collapsed onto the table.
"Well Mina has explained the...er...Floo, is it? Yes, she's told us all about that. I'm afraid I'm rather lost on the others." Mr. Granger poured himself a glass of milk as he spoke.
Ginny was just about to explain when she heard a familiar sound issuing from the living room. "Yes, they've used the Floo." She bolted from her seat, with Hermione on her heels. And there they stood, her mother and father, in front of the living room fire. They were covered from head to toe in dust. Both of them looked up as the girls bounded into the room.
"Ginny-girl!" Mr. Weasley shouted. He raced forward and scooped his daughter into his arms. "I've missed you, darling!" He hugged her very hard as she laughed and tried to speak.
"I've missed you too Dad, but let me breathe!" She was finally released from her father's grip, only to be attacked by her mother.
"Oh, Ginny darling, I feel like I haven't seen you for ages." Molly's grip on her daughter wasn't nearly as bone-crushing as Arthur's, but it was every bit as warm and loving.
"And Hermione..." Hermione was given the same welcome by the Weasleys' as Ginny had been.
The group stood around talking for a few minutes. Molly looked at the girls finally. "Well, do you both have your things ready?" Both girls pointed to the luggage next to the fire. "Oh, very good."
"Arthur, let me show you that thing I was telling you about at King's Cross. It's just in my office." Hermione looked up to see her father leading Arthur into his private office. Neither her mother nor Mrs. Weasley looked interested in this at all. She joined in the conversation once more.
A few moments later the two men returned. "Well, are we all set girls?" Both girls nodded.
Hermione turned to say goodbye to her parents. She saw her father give her mother a little nod and her mother returned it. Although puzzled by the act, she pushed it from her mind. This was the hard part; she hated saying goodbye to them. "Well, I suppose we'd better be going."
Mrs. Granger moved forward and embraced her daughter. "Darling, I don't want you to feel bad about leaving. Your father and I understand. We are very proud of you, alright?" Hermione nodded. "Right then, have a good term. Write and tell us when you get your exam scores." Hermione nodded again.
Now she turned to her father. "Look cricket, we go through this every year. Be good, study hard, and remember I love you." Hermione tried to blink away the tears forming in her eyes.
She pulled away from her father. "I love you both. I promise to write as often as I can."
"Oh and Mina, promise you won't go falling off any more broomsticks this year. We were very worried about you last time. You seem to have a lot of accidents at school. I think you need to be more careful." Mrs. Granger's mouth twitched slightly as she surveyed her daughter. Hermione felt her face flush.
"Alright are we all ready then? Here you are Ginny, remember Number 12 Grimmauld Place." Mr. Weasley held out the bag of floo powder.
Ginny hugged the Grangers' goodbye and thanked them for taking her on holiday.
"You're quite welcome. Perhaps you could come around for Christmas; we'd love to see you again."
Ginny nodded and took the floo powder. "Number 12, Grimmauld Place." And with a roar of flames, she was gone.
Mrs. Weasley went next, followed by Hermione, and then Mr. Weasley.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The kitchen was not at all what Ginny had been expecting. She stared around until she heard the others fall out of the fireplace behind her.
"What happened here?" Hermione asked in awe.
This was certainly not the room they remembered. It seemed warm and inviting. Cabinets filled with white china gleamed on the walls. The wooden table sitting in the middle of the room looked practically brand new.
"Mum, are we in the right house?" Ginny stared at her mother, who was smiling broadly.
"Well we've done a bit of cleaning while you've been away. Dobby, Winky and I seemed to have finally gotten the old place scrubbed down."
Hermione turned sharply. "Dobby and Winky are here? But, I thought they worked at Hogwarts!"
"Well, when Dobby got wind that Harry had a large home now, he nearly broke his neck to offer his services to him. You know how that elf feels about Harry. And he convinced Winky to come along. It's done wonders for her to have a proper master, again. She hasn't taken a single drink since she's been here."
"Does Harry know about this?" Ginny asked, uncertainly.
It was Arthur's turn to speak. "Well yes. He wasn't exactly keen on the idea when Dumbledore wrote to him about Dobby's request. I still think he doesn't want to think of all of this as his." Mr. Weasley looked around the room, wearing a mournful expression. "After a bit of insisting on Dobby's part, Harry gave in."
"And where is Kreacher? Harry certainly didn't let him go! He knows too much about the Order to be set free!" Hermione exclaimed as she searched for the horrid little elf.
Molly looked at the floor. "Well, when Kreacher was notified that Harry was the new master of the house, he...well...he grabbed a bottle of poison from his hiding spot. He drank it before anyone could stop him. He mumbled something about "blood traitors" before he finally passed, though."
Hermione clapped a hand to her mouth. "Oh, how horrible!"
Ginny snorted however. "Good riddance to the little..."
"Ginny!"
"Well it's true Hermione! If it wasn't for him, Sirius might still be alive! He lied to Harry, and we all know what came from that!"
Molly intervened before either girl could get further into their argument. "We all know what Kreacher's actions caused, but that is in the past. We have to forget and move on."
Arthur levitated the girls' things and suggested they all head up to their rooms.
As the girls climbed the stairs they noticed just how much different the place was. Walls now shone bright and not a trace of dust could be found.
In the entrance hall, Ginny sneezed very loudly. Immediately, she and Hermione stuck their fingers in their ears to try and muffle the old woman's usual screams. The screams did not come however. The only sound was loud laughter. Ginny looked at her mother and father; they both were laughing and pulling the girls fingers from their ears.
"You need not worry about Mrs. Black anymore. With a little help from Dumbledore, we managed to unstick the portraits."
Hermione looked around and realized the walls, where the portraits had once hung, were now bare. They gleamed in the sun pouring through the windows. The draperies hung on the windows looked crisp and new.
"We decided that the house should look as Sirius had wanted it. He had wanted this place to be a home for Harry, and I intend to make sure it is." Molly sighed deeply and dabbed at her eyes. "Well come on, I'll show you your rooms. It will only be you two, Ron, Harry, and you're father and I this summer. So no one will have to share a bedroom."
"Mum, why did we come back here? I mean I know you've been cleaning and all, but it looks pretty nice here now. Why couldn't we have just spent the rest of the holiday at home? Harry could have come with us, couldn't he?"
"Well, I'm not really sure myself. I received a letter from Dumbledore the day before you arrived back in London. He asked if we would mind staying here with Harry for the remainder of the summer. He didn't give any explanation, and I assumed he had good reason."
Hermione and Ginny exchanged significant glances. "Don't you two start assuming things. I can promise you that his reason is very good, and you needn't worry. Now the boys should be arriving tomorrow. Tonks and Mad-eye are bringing them straight from the Dursleys'"
Ginny heard the usual bitterness in her mother's voice as she said the name. "And also, Harry's birthday is on Friday. I want to make it special for him, nothing big, just something. I realized that we haven't been able to celebrate his birthday properly in five years!"
After unpacking and taking a tour of the house, they all sat down for lunch. Dobby and Winky greeted Hermione very warmly. They remembered her from two years previous when she, Ron, and Harry has visited them down in the kitchens.
"Mum, what does Harry think about coming back here so soon after..." Ginny's voice trailed off.
"Well, I don't know. We wrote to him and Ron telling them. Ron wrote back saying that Harry hadn't shown any sort of emotion either way. I'm very worried about him, but you know how he is. It takes him awhile to open up when something bothers him. And then it's usually only to you two or Ron. Poor thing, I can't blame him, though. He's had a rough time of it lately."
All four sat in silence for a moment, then changed the topic. The rest of the day was spent ambling about the house. Night fell and eventually everyone felt too sleepy to talk anymore. The girls had separate rooms, but Ginny joined Hermione in her room after she had heard her parents retreat at last to their own bed.
"What do you think Harry will be like when he gets back?" Ginny asked, hugging her knees and sitting at the foot of Hermione's bed.
"I don't know. I hope it isn't as bad as last summer. I don't think I could stand him yelling at me all the time again."
The two eventually fell asleep on the small bed, and awoke the next morning awaiting the arrival of the boys.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ron and Harry arrived around midday. They were greeted with shouts of "Welcome back!" and "We're so happy to see you again!". Ron smiled happily and hugged each person very tightly. Harry, however stood back and accepted hugs, but did not make any sort of greeting of his own.
Ginny surveyed him for a few moments as her mother fussed over him. To an outsider, Harry would have looked like he had not a problem in the world. He seemed to have gotten a bit of sun on his holiday, his hair stuck up in its usual peculiar fashion, his glasses were perched on his nose, and he even managed a small smile to the group. Ginny, however, saw through this facade. She saw the sad way his shoulders slumped, how he shifted uneasily as people asked him how he was doing. He was thin and looked tired. But the thing that gave him away the most was his eyes. His eyes, which used to be a bright and vibrant green, now held a clouded look. Ginny recognized that look; she had seen the same haunted look in Sirius' eyes. Their eyes told the same tale. They had seen far too much death and despair. They had both seen people dear to them perish at the hands of evil. Though Sirius was now relieved of his horrors, Harry still had many to face.
Dinner was a strange affair. The four Weasley's, Hermione, and Harry sat around the table in almost perfect silence. Ginny watched Harry push the food around on his plate. Hermione watched him from across the table, also. Finally, Harry seem to give up his attempt at feigning an appetite, and pushed away from the table.
"I think I'll go up to stairs. Fancy a game of chess, Ron?" Harry looked like he was only asking to be polite.
Hermione placed her foot on top of Ron's and pushed down lightly. She wanted him to realize what she wanted, but without making it obvious to Harry. Ron had started with "Y...", but at Hermione's signal, he said "No, I want a bit of Mum's cake. I'll be up in a bit though."
Harry nodded, indifferently, and called goodnight to the others. As soon as his footsteps faded Ron turned to Hermione. "What did you tramp my foot for?"
"Because we want to talk to you, idiot!" Ginny said, glaring at her brother. "What else do you think?"
Ron didn't look surprised. "Yeah, I figured this was coming. And of course you all want to know how he's really doing, I suppose." He looked at his mother and father. When they both gave a slight nod, he sighed. "Well, it was strange. Sometimes he was like himself. You know, laughing a bit, talking about Quidditch, things like that. Then he would turn, just like that." Ron snapped his fingers. "Mostly, it happened close to nighttime. He's still having dreams, I think. We had to share this little room, so of course I heard everything."
The others did not look shocked at this. Mr. Weasley spoke, finally. "Could you tell what they were about? Did he ever say anything?"
Ron frowned, trying to remember. "I don't think it's like before. When he was seeing things about You-know-who, I mean. I think he's been dreaming about..." He stopped, swallowed, and continued. "...about that veil thing. He usually tosses about a lot, and acts like he's ripping at something. I've never said anything to him about it. I just pretend I slept through it all. A few days ago, it got pretty bad though."
Mrs. Weasley looked suddenly worried. "What happened?"
Ron's face was mixed with anger and fright. "Well, he had gone to bed earlier than me. His aunt and uncle had pretty much spent the better part of the two weeks ignoring us. So, I was sitting out back on the porch when I heard Harry screaming for Sirius." Ron stopped as all three of the females in the room gave loud gasps. "So I went running in there and there he was tearing at whatever it was. He was yelling like mad. I was trying to wake him up when his uncle came storming in the room like a wild hippogriff. He pushed me out of the way and grabbed Harry; it looked like he was going to shake him to death. He just started screaming 'Wake up you stupid boy! I'm tired of this nonsense, we've put up with it long enough. Can't even get a decent nights sleep because of you!' And Harry just sat there looking at him. He didn't say a word."
Hermione and Ginny clapped a hand to their mouths at the same exact moment. Molly's hands were clenched and trembling on the table; Arthur looked livid.
Ron continued. "I didn't know what to do. I started screaming at the git before I realized it. I told him to leave Harry alone or I was going to curse him into next week. Then he let go of Harry and turned on me. He didn't yell like I thought he would. He was all calm and said, 'No, you won't. I know you can't do any such thing, you aren't old enough.' Then he pointed at Harry and said, 'That one has already been expelled for doing it.' He actually looked happy at the memory of Harry getting expelled."
Hermione lowered her hand and said, "So what happened? Did he leave you alone?"
"Well, I told him that even if I couldn't do it; I certainly could contact the people who could. His face went all white and he turned back to Harry and shouted at him to keep quiet or else, and then stormed out. And the worse part is Harry just sat there, he never said a word. I didn't know what to say. We just looked at each other for awhile and then he said, 'Welcome to my private hell.', then he just lay back down and went to sleep."
The room was filled with a horrified silence. Molly was fighting back tears of rage. She spoke in a strangled voice. "And it was I that fought Dumbledore so hard to have him go with those awful people. This is my fault."
Arthur patted his wife's arm. "Now Molly dear, I don't think any of us realized how horrible those people really were. It isn't your fault. Why didn't you write to us about this, son? We would have taken you both out of there immediately."
"Well, Hedwig was still out with Harry's last letter to you. And by the time she got back, we were leaving for home. There wasn't time. After that Harry was really quiet though." Ron frowned down at the table. "You know, the strangest part was how his aunt acted. She never once said a cross word to Harry; not the entire time. I mean she didn't bother to stop that overgrown eggplant from bullying him, but she never helped him either. And from what Harry always said, she was just as bad."
Hermione removed her hands from her face, her eyes filled with tears. "It isn't going to be easy for Harry now. He's got a lot to deal with here." She waved her hand around the room, demonstrating the idea of living in Sirius' home. "And then with everything that's happening with Voldemort. I'll bet he's worked himself into a deep depression. That would explain his moods and why he's so quiet."
Molly looked at Hermione. "What do you mean by depression?"
"Well my parents had a friend who was a psychiatrist." She received looks of utter bewilderment. "A psychiatrist is a muggle doctor who studies people's minds and feelings. Anyway, my parents' friend is one of them. He gave me a book to read once and it told all about how the mind works. Sometimes when people go through really horrific things in their life, their mind sort of shuts down. They start to withdraw from the world, without really meaning to. And when you've been through what Harry has just in the last two years, anyone would want to just escape. Add that to what he's put up with living with those horrible people and I guarantee he's got to be...well..." Hermione broke off, not wanting to finish her sentence.
Ginny's hands were shaking with rage. When she spoke, it was in an unusually quiet voice. "So, you think he's losing it, do you?"
"No, Ginny, that's not what Hermione is saying. She's simply saying that maybe Harry is trying to block out everything around him, so maybe he can forget everything that's happened to him." Arthur reached out to touch Ginny's arm, but she pulled away.
Hermione looked startled, but went on. "I'm thinking that maybe we should keep an eye on him. Write down all of his mood changes and things. Then let Professor Dumbledore know what's going on. If this keeps up, Harry could shut us all out. Then no one would be able to help him."
Ginny's chair flew backwards and turned over as she stood up. Everyone around the table jumped as she slammed her fists down on the table. "None of you understand, do you? You all sit here, thinking you're helping him by sneaking around and spying on him! You think you can just say a few comforting words and everything will be alright again! You think that Dumbledore is his one true salvation! Well, let me tell you something! Have you ever thought that perhaps Harry just wants to be alone for a bit? Do you think coming here was easy for him? No, it wasn't! Sirius was the only father that Harry has ever known! And now he's had his father taken away, twice! You sit here analyzing and predicting, but you have no idea! You don't know what it's like to come face to face with that...that..." Ginny felt tears stinging her eyes and her throat constricted.
Molly made to take her daughter in her arms, but was roughly pushed aside. "No, get away from me! I don't want your pity or your help! None of you have ever had to face Voldemort, have you? You haven't had him inside your mind! You haven't spent day after day just wondering when he wouldn't need you anymore and just kill you! Until you have had to live with that kind of horror, don't sit and judge those who have!" Ginny turned and swept out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
Tears of rage were pilling down her cheeks, and she could hardly see where she was going. And she didn't see Harry standing just outside the kitchen door. He had heard the entire conversation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny sat on her bed, reading the piece of parchment. It was now tear stained, but the memory of receiving it was still vivid.
"Well, you all know why you are gathered here. Shortly before Sirius's death, I advised him that it would be a good idea to decide what to do with his estate. I feared that if something were to happen, our headquarters might fall into the wrong hands. I knew things were beginning to get dangerous, and Sirius was getting restless..." His voice trailed away.
Ginny looked away from Dumbledore and her eyes fell on Harry. He was sitting, staring out of the window. She knew he didn't want to be here, this had to be very hard on him. She looked back at Dumbledore, who had stopped speaking and was pulling several rolls of parchment from a drawer. She had no idea what this had to do with her or her family. It was pretty much a common idea that Harry, as his godson, was sole heir to everything that Sirius owned.
"I shall read Sirius's wishes." Dumbledore cleared his throat and looked at Professor Lupin. "To Remus, my dear friend, nothing I could give to you could equal the friendship you have blessed me with these many years. I only hope that you are not hearing this anytime soon. However, as the last remaining true Marauder, I leave you one-fourth of the fortune in my family vault."
Ginny saw shock and disbelief on Remus's face.
Dumbledore's gaze now went to the Molly and Arthur. Ginny swallowed. Surely Sirius hadn't left them anything.
"To the Weasleys', I hope that I get to know you better than I do now as I sit writing this. The time you've spent at Grimmauld Place made the place I once loathed feel like a home. I am truly grateful for the way you have protected and cared for Harry in the years I was not there to do so. I ask you to continue to care for him, if I am not there to do so in the future. To show you my appreciation, I also leave to you one-fourth of my fortune."
Arthur's mouth fell open, Ginny and Ron stared at each other, and Molly's silent sobs died away in shock.
Dumbledore looked to Hermione. She stared back and said, "Not me..."
Dumbledore nodded, "To Hermione Granger, I have not known you long, but I have come to respect and admire you. Your intelligence is something I envy, and I doubt that even you know just how clever you really are. You remind me of two other witches that I came to know and love many years ago. I can only hope your life doesn't end the way theirs did. We haven't always seen eye to eye and I know you think me reckless, and perhaps you are right. No matter how I felt about Kreacher, understand that I do not feel the same about all house-elves. I think your attempts to better there lives' is a noble cause. I leave to you one-fourth of my fortune; with the hopes you will use it to further your cause."
Hermione gave a loud sniff and dabbed at her eyes.
Dumbledore turned eyes on Harry, who was still not facing him. "Lastly to Harry Potter..." Harry's eyes met Dumbledore's. "...I must first offer you an apology. I am sorry I was not there to be the godfather I should have been. Your parents entrusted you to my care, and I failed them. I only hope that by the time you hear this, I have rectified my mistakes. I have come to love you as if you were my son. I leave to you the remaining quarter of my fortune and also the residence at number twelve Grimmauld Place. I had hoped to make it the sort of home you had always deserved. I only hope I was able to before my death."
Dumbledore rolled up the parchment and no one spoke. Quietly he stood from his chair with six smaller rolls of parchment in his hand. He handed each person a roll and spoke. "Sirius addressed one of these to each of you. I believe they contain private messages for each of you."
Ginny broke the seal and unrolled her letter. She looked around at the others who were quietly reading. She looked back down at the parchment and recognized Sirius' handwriting:
Ginny,
I have told Dumbledore to deliver these only if I die before Voldemort's downfall. I wanted to give you some words of help and encouragement. You are the only person besides Harry to have escaped the likes of Voldemort with your life. You understand him better than most because of this bond. Even though Hermione and Ron are his best friends, there are things about him that they will never understand. There will be times when Harry will need someone who understands him. I'm asking you to be that person. You will know when the time is right. You remind me very much of Harry's mother; quiet and kind at times, but fierce and strong when you need to be. That is why I think you will play an important role in the upcoming war. People like you are a rare find indeed. I ask you again to be the person that Harry will need in the future.
Sirius
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny sat reading the letter again. She still didn't understand what Sirius had wanted her to do. He had said that she would know when the time was right. She had never shown the letter to anyone, nor did she tell anyone about the contents of it. The others had kept their letters private as far as she knew.
Rolling the parchment up again and stowing it back in her trunk and climbed into bed. No one came to talk to her; she figured they were probably afraid of another outburst. She knew she knew she would have to apologize in the morning, but she really had no desire to. She had only told the truth; they were trying to pretend to understand what it was like. Her parents had done the same to her after her brush with Voldemort. They had been overly nice to her; they had talked to her to no end about it. She had desperately wanted to be the one to talk, she wanted them to listen, but they never did. They continually told her that nothing was her fault, and she should just forget about the whole thing.
But as she lay, staring at the ceiling, she thought, "How could they expect anyone to forget that Voldemort had possessed them? How can they expect me to just pretend it never happened? How can they expect me to believe he won't come after me, now that he's come back?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Alright, this is the end of the prologue chapters. If you want to the rest of the story, hop on over and read HP & the Lost Phoenix