Chapter 6 Fey Words
So far: Ginny is still reeling from the murder of her father. Voldemort has expressed his private desire to reclaim his former toy – a possible 'evil' future for our young Weasley? Yet Ginny is still unaware of her hidden gifts, powers which will either aid Voldemort in the future or help destroy him. Now a new influence enters her life
"Miss Weasley, I suggest you either pay attention or leave!" Snape snarled harshly, his black eyes narrowing with distaste. The rest of the class turned to glare at the redhead, who was staring blankly into space, a small smile resting on her face. Ginny Weasley was in her own private world, a safe place where nothing ever happened; it was a place just for her, a sanctuary. She blinked once, twice and again, her gaze moving absently onto the looming thing in front of her. Hmm… it looks angry she thought…very angry…but that's wrong…bad things don't belong here.
"Miss Weasley!!" a voice bellowed once again. Ginny shook her head, reality rushing into her like tidal wave, Hogwarts, lessons, potions…she looked up and swallowed…Snape.
"I'm glad I have your attention" the potions master drawled sarcastically, "Perhaps now you've joined us back on planet earth, you can explain to the class the merits of berryhertz herbs? Hmm…we're waiting Miss Weasley"
Ginny looked down at the blank piece of parchment in front of her, no answers there. She peered around the room, there wasn't one face not focused on her.
"I don't know" she mumbled dully. Or care she wanted to add. Why is he asking such irrelevant, stupid questions? She was feeling like a walking corpse and he was asking about herbs!?
Snape's thin lips twisted into a patronizing smile and he said nastily, in mock sympathy "Aw, that is a shame. Would you be so kind to enlighten us why not?"
She could have offered some excuse, muttered an apology and accepted her inevitable punishment with a meek nod. If she cared she could have done a lot of things. But a sudden realization swept over her; she didn't have to sit here and listen to an overgrown bat spewing out a load of nonsense. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered.
"I asked you a question, answer it" Snape stated, his tone curt and cold.
Looking up at him with disdainful eyes, Ginny smirked and said in a neutral voice "To be honest I couldn't give a rat's ass. Sorry"
Quickly shoving her things into her bag, she strode out of the dungeon, head held high, ignoring Snape's livid response and the shocked expressions of her classmates.
Once outside, Ginny felt a slow smile playing on her cold lips, she felt better than she had in along time. Her happiness was of a cheap, short-lived kind but even so, it filled her with feeling; a feeling which wasn't tinged with grief. She was tired of feeling sorry for herself. Distractions helped.
"Her? Nah! She wouldn't do that" a first year whispered to her friend. Both looked down the Gryffindor table to where Ginny Weasley sat eating alone. The small redhead hardly looked the rebellious type.
"It's true" the mousy brunette responded "My cousin heard it from his friend who heard it from his sister who heard it from her room mate. Everybody's talking about it; apparently she stamped out of class, telling Snape where to shove it and he went mad! Even madder than usual!" the girl stalled and looked nervously over to the staff table, to her relief there was no sign of the greasy haired teacher.
"I wonder what he'll do?" she continued "I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of him!
Her fellow first year, a blond, rosy cheeked girl, nodded in agreement and said in a slightly fearful voice "I bet he'll curse her. Give her boils or something. Or maybe he'll poison her…yeah, I bet he will!" she stopped and looked suspiciously at the pumpkin juice Ginny was drinking, then added in an quavering voice "If he hasn't already…."
"puh-lease!" her friend said dismissively, the gossip around Snape's hatred of disobedient pupils (especially Gryffindor) was notorious, but she thought even he would draw the line at murder. At least she hoped so.
"She'll get away with it, her dad just died"
"Oh that's her? No wonder she's gone a bit nuts" the blonde looked pityingly at the older girl. Both girls were heartily glad that there fathers, were just an owl away
Professor McGonagall peered at Ginny through wire rimmed spectacles, a mixture of pity and disappointment showing in her wise eyes. She had been sitting quietly in the staffroom, enjoying a rare moment of peace, when her enraged colleague had swept in, fiercely declaring "the wickedness of Weasleys!" Severus had never been a well-tempered man, even when he was totally silent; an essence of bitterness and never ending hostility seemed to seep through. Minerva had looked up at him, puzzled but not surprised. (Snape never had been a big fan of the redheaded pupils) This was a feeling which soon departed as Severus snared and spat his way through a replay of the previous potions lesson.
"I can not believe Ginny Weasley capable of such an outburst" Minerva had said, incredulously. She had known the youngest Weasley for the past six years, and never once had she given any reason not to think her, polite, well mannered and well…nice.
"Well believe it!" Professor Snape said curtly. "I do not think a simple detention would suffice for such a vile burst of crude disrespect!"
Minerva surveyed her fellow teacher; his thin lips were frozen in a tight frown and the black, beady eyes, which so many found threatening, were protruding unnervingly.
She let out a deep sigh, the kind that seemed to come from the very recess of the soul, and ran her hands absently over her tight bun of grey hair.
When she spoke her voice was heavy and wearied, "The girl has lost her father, she doesn't know how he was killed or why. All she knows is that Voldemort (she had long since ceased to refer to him as you-know-who) was the one who destroyed her family and she is powerless to stop him or avenge such brutality." Minerva suddenly stopped and looked sharply at him, adding in a distinctly cooler tone "A little understanding wouldn't go a miss"
"Understanding…?" Snape scoffed "I'll remind you that other people, not just the Weasley family, have lost their fathers, or their mothers or" he stalled and added quietly "or their lovers"
The older woman nodded in resigned acknowledgement and made to speak but Snape continued, this time the anger had returned to his voice
"Why should the Weasley's receive special treatment? It's bad enough that wonder boy Potter is wrapped in cotton wool, never mind the privilege being extended to his nearest and dearest!"
"Severus, calm yourself!" Professor McGonagall had said severely. The hatred Snape had for young Harry Potter was a well known fact, but Minerva would not stand for it. Sooner or later Harry would decide the fate of all, be it salvation or destruction. That kind of sacrifice deserved respect at the very least.
"I will talk to her" she had said, silencing her fuming colleague with an icy stare.
"So Ginny can you explain this to me?" Professor McGonagall now spoke. Ginny, who had been staring down at the hard, stone floor, shrugged her shoulders and murmured "No I can't" What could she say? And more to the point what did it matter?
Minerva nodded stiffly and said in a reluctant voice "I'm aware that…things have been difficult for you and your brothers but things…" will get better she trailed off not willing to send the cliché out in the hard light of the day.
Ginny smiled mirthlessly and smothered a scoff Yeah things would get better, her father's bones would turn to ash and they'd all forget. Everything would be perfect and they'd all live happily ever after…better…sure!
"Anyway" Professor McGonagall continued "If you ever want someone to talk to…I'm here"
A small smile pressed itself on Ginny's face and she made the necessary noises "Yes miss, I'm fine. But if ever I need to talk…"
The professor looked less than convinced but nodded in dismissal. As the girl left, Minerva had the strangest feeling, like cold fingers were trailing down her spine, warning of things to come, a ghostly reminder from long ago. Shivering, Minerva let out a nervous laugh and scolded herself, me and my imagination…she thought I'm getting as bad as Trelawney, thinking I'm a seer…nonsense.
Curled under thick white sheets, Ginny breathed heavily. If she could just keep breathing everything would be ok…one…two…three…if she breathed, she lived and if she lived she was fine…in and out…in and out… People needn't worry about her anymore, she was breathing, she was fine. She had to be fine.
She was choking, her throat felt on fire, raw and rough. Sharp nails scratched at her, clawing into her soft flesh. They were calling out her name, singing her name as if she could save them, like she was hope. The only hope. They were moving closer, she could see them now, a tide of energy, like people but strangely not. Their eyes were shining bright, looking at her with desperate need. Their hands were everywhere, pleading and grasping; couldn't they see she couldn't breathe? didn't they know that they were killing her? "Please! Please!" they cried as if they were one being. She shook her head, slowly at first and then stronger, "What do you want?" she wanted to scream, but no sound could escape. "Leave me alone!!" she tried again; her heart was pounding so fast she thought it would burst. Even if they could hear her, they wouldn't answer. She gave them hope not questions.
"Help us!" they said before disappearing.
"No!" Ginny screamed, sitting upright "No!" Her blood was rushing around her body far too fast, her thoughts were muddled and all she could think was "No!" one word, just one word. Looking around with wild eyes, her whole being was shuddering, as if the dream (was it a dream?) had taken her; body, mind and spirit.
Calming slightly, Ginny gazed around the circular dormitory absently checking the sleeping girls for signs of life. Before she could even steady her breaths, a sudden light shone down on her. Quickly shielding her eyes Ginny looked up. Between fingers she could see that the mysterious light was coming from a curious round ball. It was about the size of a tennis ball, but relations to normalcy stopped there, it glowed with such an impossible radiance that it couldn't be anything but magical.
The oddest thought crossed Ginny's mind, she believed, no, she knew that if she spoke, the light, strange as it may seem, would understand her. Any notion of the ridiculous was soon swept away as Ginny cleared her throat and said nervously "Hello…?"
The light bobbed up and down, dimming its brightness to a dull glow.
"Can I help you?" the girl asked in a polite voice
Jumping to and fro in the air, the light zoomed to the door and back again, making its point clear.
"You want me to follow you?" Ginny said dubiously, she once again looked around the room; all that could be heard was the gentle (and not so gentle) snoring of her fellow Gryffindors. The question Could I go? Seemed suddenly irrelevant, quickly grabbing a shabby but warm cloak, Ginny followed the mysterious gleaming ball of light out of the safe confines of the dormitory and into the cold, harsh night.
If anyone had happened to look out of the windows on that dark, strange night then the sight that would greet them would be unusual indeed. After all how common was it to see a small flame-haired girl blindly follow a speck of luminance into the daunting and dangerous forbidden forest? Stranger still was the sudden mist which seemed to envelop the whole forest just after the girl had stepped inside. Luckily for the girl, Hogwarts had been curiously dormant on that night, even the old headmaster has neglected his nightly walk around the castle. It almost seemed like everything had been pre-planned, many years ago.
"Where are we going?" Ginny asked the light, not expecting an answer but wanting one regardless. The ball speeded on, the only source of light in an otherwise pitch black forest. This wasn't Ginny's first time in the forest, far from it in fact. But ever since it happened her visits were becoming more and more frequent. It was a place of escape, an escape from the pitying looks and half hushed conversations. To other people the tall forbidding trees were far from a comfort but for Ginny they felt like a haven. Over the last few weeks she had often wondered how she did it, how she managed to flee to the forest without being noticed, it seemed impossible that the all-knowing Dumbledore didn't stop her.
"Are we there yet?" Ginny wanted to ask but decided against it, sounding like an impatient seven year old wouldn't help anyone. Her feet were starting to hurt, she looked down at them, only just realising that she was barefooted; they had been cut badly on the rough forest floor and were covered in a thick layer of brownish dirt…if mum could see me now…Ginny thought absently before picking up her pace to catch up with the distant glow of her guide.
All of a sudden the light abruptly stopped and waited for the now jogging girl. Ginny soon halted directly underneath it, her body panting and her eyes curiously surveying the area. It was a small gap in the thick forest, a perfectly circular area free from trees and debris. On the forest floor two mounds of earth, oddly similar to chairs sprouted up from the ground, it you squinted long enough it almost looked like a living room, (of course a rural version) Ginny, still slightly breathless from her run, moved to sit on one of the mounds and looked up at the light as if to say "This it? Are we here?"
For an answer the light suddenly burst with a surprisingly loud bang, sending rays of brilliant light diving through the night sky.
"Oh" Ginny said dumbstruck, an odd feeling of loss threatening to emerge. As quick as if a cloak had suddenly swept over her, the forest went completely dark. Ginny swallowed and tried to peer through the darkness but it was no use, she couldn't even see her own hand never mind any lurking dangers.
"Hello" said a soft voice, like the falling of blossom on a summer day.
Ginny looked anxiously around; not entirely sure if the unearthly voice was real or just a runaway thread of her imagination.
"Hello" it repeated in its fey way.
Now certain of it being real, Ginny answered hesitantly "Hello…"
The circular area rapidly filled with light, not the defintively intense glow of Ginny's departed guide but a natural, almost normal light, like the kind you'd expect on a sunny day. Stranger still was the fact that the surrounding forest retained its heavy shroud of darkness, even the sky above the circle remained a deep, midnight blue.
Ginny shut her eyes against the new light and when she opened them her loud gasp echoed around the forest. Sitting on the opposite mound of ground was a small…woman…there was no other way to describe it. But this woman was no mere mortal; she was barely two foot tall for one. Her impossibly red hair curled tightly around a small, oval face free of the freckles which would normally come with such a vivid colour. Her small face could not be classed as beautiful but it did have a certain charm, a mischievous way which matched the glint in her emerald eyes. Her small, svelte body was completely covered by a large poncho like garment of a musty brown colour but although the outsized outfit easily covered any curves, it couldn't quite hide the large, multi-coloured wings which sprang from her back.
"Wings!" Ginny blurted out incredulously "You're a faerie!"
The small being scoffed loudly and responded in a voice distinctly unlike the one she used earlier "Faerie! Do I look like a Faerie?"
"Well yeah" Ginny asked, recovering from her surprise "You're a bit big I suppose but certainly faerie like"
Scrunching up her tiny nose, the alleged faerie said "Well I'm not; end of story actually there is no story, nope! Not even a tiny footnote on an inexistent story written in invisible 'stop talking rubbish' ink." The being drew her breath and finished with a loud "Okay!"
Ginny not sure if she should laugh or back away very slowly, nodded and changed the subject "So it was you who brought me here?"
"Yes" she responded calmly and said apologetically "Sorry about the outburst. I was sent here to talk to our saviour and I end up spewing out my life story. Sorry again. By the way the name is Fainee."
"Saviour!" Ginny spat out "What the hell are you talking about?" Her dream came flooding back to her the hands, grasping, choking…she couldn't breath…No!
"What are you?" she added in a failing voice.
Fainne let out a sigh and her young features seemed to age in an instance.
"It does not matter who we are. You are the only thing that matters. I haven't much time and we have so much to discuss" she said soberly, her manner once again changing.
"You didn't answer my question" Ginny responded angrily, the dream was still swimming in her mind along with the many, many unanswered questions.
"You are who you are. Saviour is just another word to describe you Ginny Weasley. But even that is unclear. Nothing can be certain you of all people should know that"
Ginny nodded and an alarming thought occurred to her, I've forgotten him! How could I forget about my own father! He's dead and I'm sitting in a forest thinking only of myself! How could I? What kind of daughter am I…was I?
"Don't fret girl, forgetting about him for an instance doesn't mean he's not in your heart forever"
Ginny was broken from her guilt and let out a mocking "Ha!" where did she get her material Ginny thought.
Fainne's small face smiled and she said in a lighter tone "Wow! That was sappy. I must have read it on a card or something…Anyway lets get down to business"
Ginny looked speculatively at Fainne, wondering whether to just leave or actually listen to the insuring madness. She decided on the latter.
"The dream" Fainee began (Ginny wondered not for the first time if Fainee could read thoughts) "Was sent to you by the upper circle, a group of….people who know things and I mean know things. Knowledge is like an aphrodisiac to them. They are part of the…people" she once again stalled slightly "who you my dear will save, or might save…It really depends whether you turn to the dark side and become Voldemort's lapdog"
"What!?" Ginny said, caught between a shout of outrage and a whisper of fear.
Fainne blanched her former perky exterior fading away as she scolded herself "Damn! I shouldn't have said that…stupid, stupid me! Just forget it…I meant nothing by it. Just forget it"
Ginny moved towards Fainne, her body suddenly chilled and shuddering "Tell me what you meant!" she demanded in a low, dangerous voice. Her heart had begun to thud heavily and long-dead memories, ones which terrified her to the core, had begun to stir like a slumbering demon waking from a long sleep.
"I can not tell you" Fainne uttered apologetically, a hint of panic causing her voice to quiver. Her eyes had become strangely wide and fearful as if the girl advancing towards her was more than just a young witch; much, much more than an angry mortal.
"Tell me!" Ginny said once more. It wasn't a question, it was an order. Fainne looked around the forest, silently asking the shadows for guidance.
"Ok" Fainne sighed after a long hush "But I cannot give you any answers that you do not already know"
Ginny did not understand but nodded for Fainne to continue.
"You remember if course your first year and Tom Riddle…"
A haunting chill ran through Ginny…how could she forget?
"We watched you even then; we watched how we took over your body and polluted your mind. You were so young and so alone but we were powerless to help. If we had somehow prevented it from happening, then who knows how we could have damaged the future? Not only ours but yours too. You see Ginny, everything does happen for a reason, I know it sounds like a flimsy excuse, but believe me its true"
Ginny looked down at her hands, a bitter laugh threatening to seep through. How could she say that there was a 'reason for everything'? How could that possibly be true? Was it right that an eleven year old child, a girl who had never done anything wrong in her life, be put through such horror? Was her father's death meant to be? Was it right that her mother should have lost her soul mate and that the only thing keeping her from wasting away, was her children?
"I can only imagine" Fainne continued "what you must have gone through Ginny. I know full well the blackness of Voldemort's soul but I have never had the displeasure of meeting him face to face, of that I am thankful"
A twisted scowl marred Ginny's face and she thought sourly good for you!
"To answer your question Ginny, we are not entirely sure why he wants you back we only know that he does. Visions have been seen, terrible visions of you and him…" Fainne winced in disgust before finishing grimly "…together"
Ginny shook her head in confusion and odium, what this strange creature was saying was utter madness! Ludicrous ramblings of a disturbed mind. It had to be. But however much Ginny repeated this frantically in her mind, a creeping animal of doubt seemed to have nestled in her mind. Flashbacks of the cold chamber and the soft, seductive words of Tom came flooding back to her, adding further fuel to a fire of fear.
"You're lying" Ginny said in a pleading tone "You're insane, Tom…I mean he doesn't want me. What use could I possibly be to him?"
Fainne was lost for words. How could she possibly tell the girl that her path led to darkness? That the great and powerful gifts, she had yet to discover might mean the deaths of all she held dear? As she looked in the hurt and lost eyes of the girl, Fainne wondered why she had been set to guide such a creature. Fainne was a being of light, one of the few of kind left in the world, so why should it be her whose job it was to prevent such a girl from becoming…evil? It seemed so difficult to look at the small girl, with her halo of flame coloured hair and see a future creature of wickedness, but Fainne knew it was true. She had seen the visions, she had seen the blood, the horror, the death and she had seen the redhead dancing amidst it, a look of freedom on her pale, beautiful face.
No, I must do this, Fainne resolved; I must save this innocent from becoming Voldemort's wretched pet. I must.
"What use could I be?" Ginny croaked once more, no longer feeling anger only ice cold dread.
Fainne broke from her thoughts and said softly "I'm sure you've been told before, he wants to abuse your gifts"
A half formed memory of her father came and then vanished.
"I've heard this before" said an unsure Ginny "But I don't understand, I have no gifts" she reached for her wand before remembering she had left it inside "I'm not even that good at magic"
Fainne's tiny face grew hard and she said shortly "Don't do that! Don't sell yourself short. You have powers, trust me you do. They will come to you shortly"
Ginny shook her head, what was she talking about? Her brother and Harry were the special ones, she was just…
"No!" Fainne stated, dismissing Ginny's thoughts "You have a strength that even Harry Potter could only dream of. You're not just somebody's sister or daughter, you will be more powerful than you can imagine and nobody, nobody can take that away from you"
Ginny stared at Fainne, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. When she spoke her voice was heavy with contempt and disbelief "You're inane! Who are you to lure me here in the middle of the night, declaring me a saviour and then telling me Tom wants me back? Even if I did believe you, which I don't, what makes you think I care? If I have all these…" she stopped and scoffed sarcastically "…powers then I can look after myself. I don't need any schizophrenic Tinkerbelle telling me what to do!"
Fainne sighed and closely scrutinized the girl before her. Ginny's face was flushed and her hands were placed on her lips in a stance of determination, but for those who looked closer, as Fainne did, would have seen a barely hidden panic and vulnerability in the girl's deep brown eyes; a reminder that this was just a sixteen year old child, one who had not only lost her father but also herself.
"I cannot tell you everything just yet Ginny. But your powers will come, weak at first and then so intense that your whole body will convulse with the shock. When they do come back to me, here in the forest where it is safe and I will help you" Fainne spoke solemnly, displaying a completely different persona to the one so outraged at being labelled a 'faerie'
Completely unsure of everything she had heard, Ginny merely stared at Fainne and for long minutes the forest was deathly silent. Fainne spread out her tiny, beautiful wings and flew to Ginny's side, barely coming past her knees. Ginny looked down at the creature, whose red hair was so much brighter than her own, is this a face that would lie? She wondered in confusion.
"Here" Fainne said, gesturing for Ginny to hold out her hand. Crouching slightly, she did so and Fainne placed a small ring in the centre of her white palm. It was of no colour and every colour and the jewel at the centre of it was of a strange brown colour, the exact shade of Ginny's eyes.
"For protection" Fainne said, looking up at her new charge, a girl of both light and dark.
A second ball of brilliant light popped up out of nowhere, it was time to leave. Ginny began walking back but before she reached the edge of the circle she turned back and said quietly "I don't believe you" before carrying on.
Fainne stared at the retreating girl, whose hair was a bright beacon through the darkness. Sadness stirred inside her, this child would face much hardship, she would carry a heavy burden for one do young and yet there was no escape, no easy answer. Events, however painful, must run their course. Fainne let out a heavy, sorrowful sigh and responded to a hushed forest….
"You will"
In upcoming chapters- Ginny begins to discover her hidden talents. While Voldemort blackmails a vengeful Draco into spying on her- a fact Ginny will not take kindly to…
Harry takes on a larger role in Ginny's life (what do you think romantic or purely friendship?) Any ideas would be GREATLY welcomed. Thanks!