July 20, 1995, 12 Grimmauld Place

Well, the blackmail pictures of Draco Malfoy are perfectly safe. However, the truth about my nightmares is not.

It turns out that when I had my back turned yesterday, Hermione went and told Mum that I'd been having recurring nightmares about Riddle. She said that I was waking up, panting and scared half to death, in the middle of the night, and that I refused to tell anyone else about the dreams. So, when Mum called me downstairs last night before dinner, it wasn't to ask me to help cook, it was to talk to me about my nightmares.

We sat across from each other at the kitchen table, and Mum explained to me what Hermione had said. At first, I felt a little angry with 'Mione, but when Mum asked me if it was true, my anger faded away. I suddenly felt like a little girl again. I opened my mouth to say something, but my throat had gone dry and I couldn't speak. My eyes filled with tears, and I could see that Mum was about to cry, too. I simply nodded and felt two solitary tears slide down my cheeks. Mum sniffled, put her hands on top of mine, and told me not to worry, that we would find a way to work this out.

I begged Mum not to tell Dad, or Ron, or any of the others. I told her I didn't want them worrying or being too overprotective of me, like they did when I came home from my first year, after the Chamber of Secrets. She said that she needed to tell Dad ("He has a right to know, you're his daughter.") but she wouldn't tell Ron or anyone else unless I wanted her to.

Mum asked me how it was going with Michael, and I saw that she could barely suppress a smirk. I told her the truth: everything with Michael is going smoothly. I explained to her how Michael had signed his last letter, "Love," and Mum smiled and launched into her own rather funny story about the time Dad signed his first letter, "Love,"

Mum let me go back upstairs a few minutes later, after telling me that whenever I had a nightmare, I should tell her right away. I smiled and left. When I returned to my room, I found Hermione perched anxiously on the edge of her bed, mauling her fingernails with her teeth. She said that she hoped I wouldn't be too upset with her: "But your mum had a right to know." I told Hermione that I wasn't angry at her that much, and that as long as she didn't breathe a word about the Malfoy pictures, I would be perfectly okay for the rest of the summer.

Dinner last night was superb! Tonks came by again, and she did some impressions of her boss, Auror Tim Duncan, while we ate. It was quite amusing. Even Mum couldn't help but laugh when Tonks said, in a high-pitched voice, "Nymphadora, how many times are you going to trip in the hallway today?"

After dinner, Mum chased us all upstairs. Mrs. Figg came again last night with another report on Harry, and Fred told us everything that he heard on the Extendable Ears. Nothing unusual is going on, but Harry seems restless, and he's been nicking papers out of bins and reading the front page. He's expecting news about You-Know-Who, I suppose, since obviously Ron, Hermione, and Sirius can't tell him a thing in their letters. He must feel like they're letting him down by not telling him anything, but personally, I think they're doing him a favor. I wouldn't want to worry about the Dark Lord all summer vacation…would you?

I managed to get halfway finished with a Charms essay before Mum came upstairs and told Hermione and I that it was lights out. We bade her goodnight and she closed the door, but I could have sworn that she left it open just a little bit, like she used to do when I was younger. It was a comforting thought, and I slept through the night, only waking up once to use the bathroom.

I woke up this morning to the combined screams of Mrs. Black and Mum. I couldn't quite make out what Mum was shouting about from the room. All I could hear was "Filthy creatures of dirt and scum, be gone from this house!" Still in our nightclothes, we crept out onto the landing, only to be greeted by Fred, George, and Ron, who were coming out of their rooms as well, two of them holding Extendable Ears. But we didn't need the Ears this time. We heard everything loud and clear.

There's an Order member, a man named Mundungus Fletcher, who deals in stolen goods. Apparently, he brought a box filled with stolen toads into the house, and one of them hopped out and got loose in the hallway. Mum threw a fit. She says that Mundungus is a criminal and that Dumbledore should throw him out of the Order and onto the street where he belongs.

After we heard that, Sirius came running down the stairs, to try and settle things down. But Mum and Mrs. Black only screamed louder, so the five of us crept down to the kitchen and waited quietly for our breakfast. A few minutes later, when everything was relatively silent, Mum walked into the kitchen, red in the face and panting slightly from all the shouting she did. She made us eggs, toast, and sausages, slammed them onto plates, served them to us, and left the kitchen with a huff. Ron reckons that she was off to owl Dumbledore about Mundungus's loose toad.

It's just before lunch now, and no one's come upstairs to tell us we have to clean something. For once, I'm able to relax, and I've just written an extra-long letter to Michael. I signed it "Love, Ginny", and my hand was shaking so much that I accidentally knocked over my inkbottle and spilled half of it all over the floor. Bless Hermione; she's letting me borrow another one of her bottles. That girl is a little over-prepared, if you ask me. Ron calls it "intelligence." I call it "insanity."

But of course, our dearest Ronnie would never even think of insulting his precious Hermione. I'm counting down the days until the two of them just attack each other and snog. My guess is that once Harry comes, Ron and Hermione will crack under pressure, leading to Snogfest '95 in the closet on the third floor. I've shared my theory with Fred and George, and Fred seems to believe it, but George doesn't. They've bet each other five Galleons, and hopefully, Fred's the one who wins this bet.

I've taped some of the pictures that Colin sent me into this journal. A few of them are of the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen. The centers are a golden color, and the petals are a mixture of orange and pink, blended perfectly together. I asked Hermione if she knew what they were called, but she was stumped. She suggested that I ask Professor Sprout once term starts again, but I don't think I can wait another month and two weeks.

I've decided to wear my ruby necklace today. Yeah, I know it's a big risk, because then my brothers are going to be asking who it's from, and then they'll find out about Michael, and then I probably won't be able to talk about him without my brothers plotting murder. But if anyone shows a sign of noticing, I'll just wear it inside my T-shirt. Besides, my brothers have to get used to the idea of me dating someone sometime. And sooner or later, that's just what they're going to have to do.

Hmm. That's a rather good note to end on. Hermione's been telling me that I have to take a little break from this journal, but…I think I'm socially attached to this thing. I haven't missed a single day. You know what? I just think she's a bit jealous of this journal. Yeah, it's a bit over-the-top, but I don't really tell Hermione a lot of the stuff that I write down in here.

Oh, dear. She's giving me the Hermione-evil-eye. I better go.

-Ginny


Another lengthy entry. I hope everyone enjoyed it!

I'm updating rather early this morning, so I only have one reviewer to thank at the moment. If anyone reviews after this is updated, thanks so much!

Siriusly Pranked: Thanks so much for reviewing! Yeah, I like Bill, too.

Well, today has been rather eventful for me. The power went out in my neighborhood at midnight, and guess what my first conscious thought was?

"How am I going to update my next chapter without power!"

Yes, I am always thinking of you, my dear readers. Even when I'm sitting in pitch-black darkness and my mother is screaming "The power's out! Get the damn flashlight!"

I know that I shouldn't discuss another story in this author's note, but I have to address it. My Oliver Wood/OC story, "Puddlemere Night Stand", will either be published later on tonight or first thing tomorrow morning. If you like this story, then you'll like "Puddlemere". It's humor, romance, and angst all rolled into one! It's only going to be ten chapters, so don't worry…I'll still update here, and neither story will suffer because of the other.

All right. Back to "Hear My Voice"…

How did everyone like this chapter? I tried to fit in some more of Ginny's thoughts, and I think that I did the party about Mrs. Weasley and Ginny talking about nightmares rather well. I know it didn't include a lot about the Order, or cleaning, but I wanted to break away a little bit and try something new. Tell me how I did!

Please review! I live for the review alerts in my inbox!

-Ginny