Chapter 2
Busy Night
It had been two weeks since Harry's note had just appeared on Ginny's desk. He had written on once since then, and only to say; "I'm fine. I'll write later. Don't worry."
She sat on the couch in the family room, reading those three sentences over and over. "Ginny?"
Ginny slipped the note into her palm and turned around to face her mother who stood in the doorway.
There was a controlled grin on her face, and she didn't let her excitement show very much. "Your father sent me a note. He wants to get out early so he can go visit Bill and Lynn with me, but he needs some help getting some work done in the office. So I'm going to go in and help so we can leave."
"Okay, have fun." Mrs. Weasley would have loved to work. She had worked the few years before Bill was born, and Ginny knew that she missed it. Her children kept her at home. But now that her children were growing up, she may soon be able to go back to work.
"Your father says you can come if you want and read through the record library."
Ginny thought about it for a moment. She loved to look through the records. It was how she learned what she could on Harry's parents, and it was always fun to discover history that they didn't think important enough to put in text books. She did research there for her summer history project every year, making her report very original. But the problem she had to solve now didn't have records in the library, yet.
She smiled slightly at her mother. "You know what, I think I'll pass today, and work on my Charms homework. Is that okay?"
"Of course it is. I'll send your brothers your love." She turned to disappear.
"And my sisters!"
Mrs. Weasley turned and smiled at Ginny. "And you're future sisters." She disappeared with a pop.
Ginny bit her lip. Did her mother know about Charlie's engagement to Sandy? She had meant it as a joke, that only Charlie and Sandy would get, but maybe mum knew. That would be like her. She always knew exactly what was going on with the boys. As it turned out, Ginny was the best one at getting away with things in the Weasley household. Being the only daughter had its advantages.
For now, she had to pull her mind away from what was wrong with Harry. Something was wrong, despite what he said. There was something he wasn't telling her. She listened to her favorite band on the Wizard radio, not afraid to sing off key while nobody was here. She couldn't remember the last time she had the house all to herself. In fact, it may have never happened before.
A letter arrived from Ron. The poor little owl was almost to small for the letter. Ginny really pitied the creature. Not only was it too small for half the things it had to do, but its name being Chudley, had been suddenly changed last year when Harry joind the Catapults. Now Ron called the owl Chucky, and needless to say the owl didn't really understand.
Ginny opened the letter and let the owl in the cage that sat on the windowsill for that very purpose.
Dear Mum, Dad, and Ginny,
This is so wicked! Dad, Ginny, you would both love it here. Book just showed me a television. It's so amazing! I'll never be able to watch it all, and when I tell Book that she laughs. She says the point isn't to watch it all, only what you like. But how do you know what you like if you don't watch it all? I keep forgetting that it's not real. Book's parents are really nice. Her mum really likes me. They like to hear about what life is like at home. They really would like Ginny and Harry to stop by at some point. I miss you all.
Love,
Ron
Behind Ron's letter, there was a note from Hermione.
Rose, your brother is hilarious to watch. I know you wouldn't act like this here. He really is going to like Muggle Studies. I talked with the teacher, and found out that you will be working a lot on Muggle clothing this year. Which means Ron should already know it. It's rather difficult to keep his attention on fashion magazines when he insists that the TV is playing important things without him. Soon he'll discover the word "Rerun" and this won't be so hard. I can't think you're lonely yet, getting sometime to yourself, but incase you are, you can always come down here too. Ron's in the guest room, but you could stay in mine. Have you heard from Harry? He hasn't wrote me yet, and I thought he'd already be on my case about Ron being here. Well, I miss you.
Love,
Hermione
Ginny set Ron's letter on the table for her parents to read when they came home. "Hey Chucky, would you mind delivering a message for me before going back to Ron?"
The owl looked up at what he was pretty sure was his name, and hooted a reply to Ginny. "I take that as a yes then."
Ginny went up to her room and sat down at her desk to start her letter.
Dear Harry and Sally,
After taking this to you, this owl is going back to Ron and Hermione, and as I understand you haven't wrote to them yet, so you can save Hedwig a trip. I did receive the notes you, sent.
She wasn't sure how he was sending them. There were never any owls. The notes would just appear on her desk.
I must say that I am very surprised, and very proud. What about the theory that Big V put forth? True, false? What about you? Isn't it supposed to hurt a lot? And your family, they had to have noticed. What do they say? How much power is it? I really don't understand very much about it, but thanks for the note telling me not to worry. I would have otherwise. Truthfully, I still am, but that's just me. How's Sally doing? I'd like to see more of her lettering. It's great that she can learn to do that. Actually, it really surprises me, and when we get back to school, I want to do some research on Parselmouths and snakes. I'm here all by myself today. Mum went in to help dad at the office, and then they are going to go visit Bill and Lynn. Lynn is a week overdue, so when I say any day now, it really could be any day. I'm going to be an aunt. I'm so excited! Lynn says that if it's a girl, I will have to save her from all of her uncles. Especially Fred and George. I really like her. It's really hard to remember that she's my sister in law. I don't feel old enough to have a sister in law. Or to be an aunt for that matter. Lynn was an only child, but I think she loves coming into a big family. Fred and George love her too, and so does Ron even if he does pretend that she's ruined his brother for good. I miss you and Sally terribly, and look forward to my birthday if only to see you both again. I hope your back is doing better and you don't hurt yourself flying. Please take care of yourself, Sally, make him.
Love to you both,
Rose
She closed up the letter and went back downstairs to give it to Chucky.
The rest of the afternoon went by slowly, and Ginny found that being alone for a while was nice, but the quiet was what made her blare the music, not because she liked it loud. Quiet was something she wasn't used to.
Early evening, she was sitting on the couch again, listening to the music blaring in the kitchen, when the radio turned off. She jumped up to go greet her parents.
Her father gave her a hug when she came it. "How was your day?"
"Fine, quiet. How's Lynn?"
"Same as yesterday. You'd swear it was Sandy that was pregnant, the way she was acting today."
Ginny stopped and read deeper meaning into that then her father had probably meant. Could Sandy already be pregnant, and if so, did she and Charlie know yet? Probably not, Charlie would have told her.
"So, where's mum?"
"Mum? She didn't come to see Lynn today, I assumed she stayed home with you."
Ginny looked up at her father. "You sent her a note that you needed her help at the office to get some work done so you could both go see Lynn together. You said I could come too if I wanted."
Mr. Weasley stared at his daughter. "I could have gotten off work at any time today, there was nothing going on."
"But, mum-" Ginny's eyes widened.
"We'll go right to the Ministry. Take my hands." With a pop, both Mr. Weasley and Ginny were gone and the house was empty.
*~*~*
Ginny walked out of the room so her father could be alone with her mother for a while. She looked up to see Charlie running down the hall.
"Ginny! We just heard."
"Charlie, why are you here? I haven't sent the letters out yet."
"Lynn's here, she's in labor. The doctor commented that there was another Weasley here too, and it was mum. What's happened, are you okay?"
Ginny hugged her closest brother. "Everything's fine." She pulled him over to some chairs by the wall. "She's asleep now. She was attacked, but it was nothing serious. The doctors say she can come home tomorrow."
"Attacked? By who?" Charlie asked, his eyes widening.
"They don't know, but they don't think that the attack was meant for her. That's why she's okay. There are all kinds of ministry members on the case. It happened right in the front office, and nobody noticed. They really don't want it to get into the papers."
"But she's going to be okay?"
"The doctor said she'll need a lot of rest and food, but then she'll be fine. You should go tell Bill, Lynn, and Sandy, so they don't worry. You can go in and see her if you want, but she just looks like she's sleeping. How's Lynn doing?"
"She's doing fine now, but they think it's going to take a while. Do you want to come down and see her?"
"I will. I have to send letters to Fred, George, and Ron now, but I'll be over soon."
"We're in room 458. One floor up."
"Okay. Hey Charlie, while you're here, did you think about getting Sandy checked out?"
He paused and gave his sister a look. "What do you mean?"
Ginny grinned. "Well, is there a chance that maybe Sandy's pregnet too? Couldn't hurt to check while you are here."
Charlie blushed scarlet, then grinned at his sister. "You're just bringing it up to make me blush. But you're right, it won't hurt." He gave his sister another hug. "Maybe once the baby is born, we can have Lynn move into this room with mum. She might have a grandchild to wake up to."
"That would be great. It would really make her feel good."
"Okay then, I'll talk the doctors into it."
"I'll be there soon." Ginny watched as her brother sped back down the hall towards the stairs.
She hadn't really lied, the attack hadn't been meant for her mother, and it was why she was okay. But she hadn't told him, just like she and her father would not tell her mother when she woke up. She didn't keep things from Charlie. She was closer to him then even Ron on most levels. The attack hadn't been meant for Mrs. Weasley , it had been meant for Ginny.
~*~*~
Beady black eyes stared Lucias Malfoy in the face. "The brat wasn't there?" Malfoy shook his head. "But you said that she wouldn't turn down a chance to go to the office library."
When Malfoy spoke, it was with a cool and collected voice. It was obvious that he felt himself very above his companion. "She usually doesn't. Something must have come up."
"Well, why didn't you kill the mother? She was right there! Not as good, but something!" There was no sanity left in those eyes.
Malfoy let an evil smile come across his face. "Why kill a small prize that can be used as bait later for an even better prize?"
In the beady eyes that studied Malfoy, a fire of insanity was burning. "Yes, yes. Bait."
Draco say in the corner of the room on a plush chair, his hands folded on his lap. The ice wouldn't come, but he could school his features to impassiveness. It didn't stop the pain, but it kept it from being known. Inside however, he was screaming.
*~*~*
Ginny and her father appeared suddenly back in the kitchen. Ginny wasn't able to get home by herself, and even though it was already three in the morning, Mr. Weasley insisted that she come home and get some sleep.
"I'm going back. They said she could come home tomorrow morning. Lynn will be leaving tomorrow too, so I'll bring them all back here. Lock all the doors, and don't leave the house. We'll be coming by car, because neither your mother, or Lynn, nor Mary for that matter can appeariate, it's dangerous for me to take them. It's dangerous for me to take you. Wait for us, okay?"
"I'll be fine dad. Nobody can get into this house will all the charms you and the boys have stuck on it. Go stay with mom."
Mr. Weasley nodded and was gone. Ginny pulled out a chair and fell into it. So much had happened. She was an aunt, and had a beautiful niece named Mary. And then there was Charlie and Sandy.
"Ginny," Charlie whispered. "Come here." Ginny dragged her eyes away from Mary to walk over to Charlie. "You were right."
"What are you talking about?"
"Keep it down. You were right about Sandy. She is pregnant."
Ginny really had to try to keep her voice down. "Oh my God, congratulations."
Charlie couldn't help but smile. "We talked about it. With everything that's going on, we're going to follow Bill and Lynn's example. Mom can't leave bed, Fred and George can't leave, and Billy and Lynn just had a baby. So if we had a wedding it wouldn't be for a while. Sandy really wants to be married before the baby is born. So we're going down to the chapel downstairs."
"Now?" He nodded. "Let me come, please. Charlie, please let me. I want to be there." She looked over at Sandy, who was watching them, and pleaded with her eyes. Sandy must have understood, and nodded with a smile.
So Ginny walked over to Lynn and whispered into her ear. Lynn looked shocked at Ginny, but it was very easy to agree to anything when Ginny looked at you that way. She nodded slightly.
A few minutes later, Lynn started to cry and claimed that she only wanted her parents and husband in the room with her. The others took it as an effect of the baby, and her mother being ill at the same time. Ginny, Sandy, and Charlie left without a question.
Ginny had been to a number of weddings, all very extravagant and big, for various distant family members. But this was the most beautiful wedding she had ever seen. She started crying before it even started. By the end, even Charlie was tearing.
But Ginny had already seen the problem, even if Charlie and her father hadn't. Her mother would be home tomorrow, but she wouldn't be able to leave her bed for maybe months. Her father couldn't take off work. They would need the money more then ever to pay for doctor bills.
Ginny wouldn't be able to take care of her mother on her own, she was sure of it. And even if she could, her father wouldn't believe it. Because Bill and Lynn just had a baby, it would be Charlie who Mr. Weasley would ask to come and stay. Charlie would agree, because if he didn't he would feel bad. So Sandy and Charlie would be spending their first month as a married couple in his parent's house. They would wait to tell anybody they were married, because they wouldn't want Mr. Weasley to feel guilty that he asked them to stay.
Ginny knew what she had to do, even if she didn't want to. But maybe she did want to. She had to go now, because her father would never agree. Better to beg for forgiveness then permission.
She grabbed a piece of parchment and started to word a note.
Dear Dad and everybody,
I know you told me to stay here, but there's something I need to take care of. I'll be back before afternoon. If you have beaten me home, don't worry. I am fine. This is just something that needs to be done. I love you all, and kiss Mary for me,
Ginny.
She left the note on the table, next to the letter from Ron they still had not read. She grabbed her broom from the closet, and left.
~*~*~
Harry was laying on his bed, where he seemed to sped a lot of his time lately. He was letting his back cool, with the newly fixed air-conditioning flowing through the house. All the pair from the transformation had passed, and all that hurt now was his back. But, he was forced to use a lot of his power. His body was still adapting to the amount of power, and he had to let it adapt slowly. The most he had gone so far without feeling he had to drain off some power was one day. By the end of the summer, he would have completely adapted to the power, and wouldn't have to use any of it if he didn't want to.
A letter had arrived last night from Ginny. Harry had used the owl to send off his letter to Ron and Hermione, but he hadn't replied to Ginny.
"Harry, not writing to her iss not going to help. The notess you do write aren't even ssigned anymore, and only three ssentencess long. She'ss worried about you, let her know what'ss going on."
Harry let out a sigh and stood up. He left the room, and left Sally there. The thing was, she was right. He wasn't helping anything by making her worry. He was making things worse for her. But he still didn't want to write. What would he say? How would he close it?
He walked into the kitchen where the Dursleys were sitting down to breakfast. Normally, his uncle would have turned red if Harry had walked into the kitchen without his shirt on, but nobody talked to him now. They hoped if they didn't say anything, maybe he would leave again.
The doorbell rang, and Uncle Vernon went out to answer it. The voice that Harry heard made him stop dead.
"I- is this where Harry lives?"
There was a pause where there was no movement in the kitchen, and no sound from out in the hallway. Then, there was a roar from Vernon.
"Nobody like that lives here! Don't come back again!"
It was hard to say exactly when it happened. Harry was standing in front of the refrigerator, the door hanging open, frozen by what he had heard. Then, suddenly, he wasn't. He was out in the hall, the door to the fridge still open. As Vernon was slamming the door, it stopped half way and flung itself back open.
Vernon turned quickly to look at Harry who was breathing hard. He had wasted a lot more energy on those acts then needed, and losing so much so fast left him out of breath.
He swallowed once before talking. "That was rather rude, Vernon. Invite her in."
Vernon stared at Harry with hate and fear, but didn't move. Harry raised an eyebrow at him, and growling Vernon turned back to the open door. "Come in," he said shortly, then turned and walked back into the kitchen.
Harry was left staring at the only person that he didn't want to see, but the one he wanted to see most. Had she changed so much in these few weeks? Or was he seeing her differently for the first time? Maybe a little of both. He had very little time to think on it, as she dropped her broom and ran at him, throwing her arms around his neck.
"Oh, Harry," she cried. "They attacked mum! But they were after me. Oh Harry, I'm scared, but mum doesn't know they were after me and I don't want her to." She suddenly broke into hysterical crying.
"Rose, Rose, slow down. Shhh, it's okay now, I'm here. Don't cry."
It took Ginny a few moments to collect herself enough to speak. All the while Harry held her awkwardly and tried to slow his racing heartbeat. Sally had made her way down from his room and was waiting on the stair railing, but she didn't speak, or ask questions.
"Now, tell me what happened."
Ginny pulled away from him, wiping her tears on the back of her hand. "Mum was attacked. In the front office of the main ministry building, yesterday morning."
"Is she okay?"
Ginny nodded. "She's coming home today, but she can't leave bed. Whatever they are doing to help her makes her eat and sleep all the time. The people investigating told dad they think the attack was aimed at me. They stopped attacking mum when they realized I wasn't there."
"Who?"
"We don't know. They hid all around the front office, then attacked mum as soon as she appeared. But they were waiting by the fire. They expected her to use floo-powder. Nobody noticed anything was going on until mum was on the floor, and then they all disappeared."
"You don't think…?" he didn't finish; he didn't want to, he didn't need to.
Ginny shook her head. "I don't. Not so soon. At least, it wasn't him leading. That doesn't mean that it wasn't one of his followers."
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Ginny wiped her tears away again. "I am, it's just all setting in now. A lot has happened, and I haven't slept. My body is moving faster then my mind can keep up. I'm here because I need your help."
"Come on." Harry started to lead her into the family room. As he walked past the kitchen doorway, all the Dursleys were staring at him and the door to the refrigerator was still hanging open. It swung shut on it's own, and he lead Ginny away.
Harry sat Ginny down on the couch. The television was playing the morning news, but turned off with a wave of Harry's hand.
"Harry, that reminds me. That note, my letter."
Harry sat down beside her and looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "I just got your letter last night, I haven't replied yet, but I guess I don't need to now." Sally slid up Ginny's leg to her lap, and Ginny smiled warmly at her.
"So, how is it?"
Harry wished he could lean back into the couch. "It's a lot. Voldemort was right, I already can turn into a lion and a snake. The block wasn't supposed to come down until I could handle all the power without it burning me out. Well, I can handle all the power without burning out, but if I have all the power at once, it hurts. It will hurt until my body adapts to it. So I keep draining some of it off, using a lot of power to do something small and stupid. I do a little less of that each day, and my body gets used to a little more power each day. The Dursleys are terrified of me, because I can't help but do magic."
"The ministry doesn't detect it?"
"The ministry detects our wands. Hermione explained it to me. Once we are of age, this charm will come off our wands and they won't be tracked anymore. I don't need to use my wand. If fact, I have a feeling that it's going to hinder me more then help this year."
"And your back?"
"The same. Hurts like the devil. But it doesn't bother me as much now that I went through the transformation. I can drain some of that power by blocking the pain, and Sally blocks as much as she can too, so it doesn't hurt as much as it did in school. Now what do you need me for. You said you need my help. Whatever it is, you have it." Ginny always helped him, with everything. And the prospect of being able to help her this once made him very happy.
Ginny looked at him, then at the floor. "I promised I wouldn't tell, but I don't think he'll mind. Last night, Lynn had her baby. It's a girl, her name is Mary, and she's the cutest thing on the planet. Charlie and Sandy had been staying with Bill and Lynn for a while to help out around the house. Dad had made a comment about how you would almost think that Sandy was the one that was pregnant. He meant it as a joke, but then I got a feeling. Dad and I were at the hospital with mum when Charlie came running down the hall. He, Sandy, Bill, and Lynn were all there, and had heard about us too. I told Charlie that while we were there, Sandy should get checked, to see if maybe she was pregnant. He just did it to humor me, but she was."
Harry's eyes widened, and Ginny smiled. "I'm the only one who is supposed to know, but Charlie and Sandy have been engaged for a while. They wanted to wait until after the baby was born to announce it and get started on the wedding. But now that they were going to have a baby, Sandy wanted to get married right away. So last night, they got married at the hospital chapel. I'm the only one who knows."
"Why don't they tell anybody?"
"I think they were going to, as soon as everybody calmed down about Mary. But Mum is going to be stuck in bed for a few months. Dad can't stay home, he has to work to pay the doctor bills. I can't take care of her by myself. So dad is going to end up asking Charlie if he will stay at home and help out for a while."
"And Charlie just got married." Harry filled in the missing pieces. "And they won't refuse, and they won't tell everybody they were just married because then your parents would feel guilty about making them stay."
"Exactly. Percy can't leave Brazil because he just started a new job. Fred and George can't come home or they won't get the job at the joke shop when they graduate. Ron can't take care of her any better then I can. But then I thought, maybe with you there, the two of us could do it, and then Charlie wouldn't have to stay at home."
A million things raced through Harry's head. He wanted help, he would help, and there was no question. But with Mrs. Weasley asleep, and Mr. Weasley at work, he would be alone with Ginny. Could he handle that? And then there was the fact that these people were after Ginny. Harry had to be there to protect her.
"I'll come. Right away. Now in fact."
Ginny's face broke into a smile and she hugged him carefully. "Thank you Harry."
"It's no problem," Harry said, hoping she would let go.
"You have to pack," Sally said from Ginny's lap. "You'll probably be there the resst of the ssummer."
"I'll show you to my room." Harry stood up and led the way upstairs to his bedroom, very thankful that he had picked up the room the night before.
When they reached the bedroom, Harry went directly to his trunk. He fell onto his knees because he couldn't bend over, and started to pack his things. Ginny took a seat on his bed, which he silently wished he had made.
"Harry, can you fly with your back?"
"I managed it for the Quidditch game, and this is more important then that, so I'll manage it. So do you know what they hit your mother with?"
Ginny sighed and fell back into a laying position. "The doctor called it a drainer. I didn't really ask what it was."
"That would explain it. It's dark magic. A drainer attacks your magical power. It drains it away until it's gone, and you die either from the shock or lack of will to survive." He placed his photo album very carefully inside the trunk before he continued. "There is a treatment, and is most likely what they are using. If you catch the spell before it drains all your power, they can change the drain from a magical drain to a physical drain. That energy is replaceable, with sleep and food. The magic that has already been drained will come back after time."
"You really did learn a lot in that class with Sirius, didn't you?" Harry nodded, and a silence fell between them. Ginny relaxed into the pillows of the bed. "I haven't slept for at all." Harry didn't respond, and suddenly Ginny giggled.
"What is it?" Harry asked.
Ginny looked up at him with a grin. "Your bed smells like you."
"What, I smell?" Harry asked frowning.
Ginny shook her head. "No, no, you have a scent. Everybody does. You smell like fire and sky."
Harry went back to packing to hide the blush on his cheeks. "Rose, neither fire nor sky has a smell."
"I know, stupid isn't it? But it's true. I guess it would be more accurately described as burning wood, and fresh air. They both have a smell. But that's not really what you smell like. You smell like fire and sky."
Sally giggled from beside Harry. "Shove it, Sal," Harry hissed in a whisper.
Before too much longer, Harry had packed all his things, and used some power to shrink his trunk and make it weightless. He tied it to his broom along with Sally and Hedwig's cages. Then he realized the problem.
"I don't think I can get the cloak over both brooms. I know I can't."
"Oh, I hadn't thought of that." Ginny said, returning from outside where she had recovered her broom. "We can wait until dark if we have to."
"Or you can both ride the ssame broom." Harry threw a glare at Sally the Ginny couldn't see.
"I guess we can." Ginny tied her broom onto Harry's, so it was almost as if you were just riding a thick broom. The walked down into the hallway again, and the Dursleys watched them from the living room.
Harry went to climb onto his broom, than stopped. "Now that I think about it, you should probably ride in the front."
Ginny smiled. "Good point, you'll catch me if I slide off."
Harry was glad she was busy mounting the broom and couldn't see his face heat. Once they were both on the broom, with Sally on Ginny's neck and Hedwig waiting to fly beside them, Harry took off so the broom hovered above the floor. Again using some of his power, he floated the invisibility cloak under them then up around the sides. They were still visible now, but once in the air, nothing would be able to see them from bellow.
Harry opened the door with a wave of his hand and they took off quickly, leaving the house behind.
(A/N: Okay, I worked REALLY hard to have this out by today, because tomorrow at five in the morning I leave for Canada for a week. I will be on a houseboat, and unable to type at all. I'm going to work on this though; I have to draft a few more chapters. So I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. You may notice that these chapters are a little longer then most were in Year of Truth. That's because after chapter 10 in year of truth my minimum was nine pages. In this story my minimum is ten. It can be more, just not less. So you're promised ten pages every time I post. I'll miss you all while I'm gone, and I'll write you a chapter as soon as I get home!)