Disclaimer: standard disclaimers apply.
Well, next chapter is the last! I'm glad all of you like it (although I think the characters come out rather one-dimensional). I do not have much of the sequel done; I have a bit of writer's block on it. I'll try to write it the best I can during study hall and homeroom.
I'm sorry if there are mistakes in this chapter; I'm really tired (I've been getting about two or three less hours of sleep than I usually get for the past few nights, and I don't function well on anywhere between 7-4 hours of sleep. Yes, that's a lot for some people, but I'm special.) ANYWAYS… I'm still really busy with school and stuff, and I haven't been on the internet pretty much all week.
On a brighter note: I got my braces off yesterday and I don't have to get a retainer until next Thursday! w00t! Hello, caramel and sticky foods! And gum, we can't forget gum! (Our teachers let us chew it in school unless they see it… and they have selective vision)
So yeah. You probably won't be seeing the last update from me until next weekend, BUT I might be able to post on Sunday during my mom's big work party at our house (100 people at the last count; I'm going to barricade myself in my room with Stella and the computer)
Now, without further ado, I'd like to welcome you to chapter eight of (drumroll, please) "Coming Home."
"And guess who our new member of the order is!" Harry said, standing in the doorway of the living room.
They had been living in the new headquarters for almost two months now – only one month for Ginny – and they had launched a silent campaign to replace Remus Lupin and Kingsley Shacklebolt. This was the first person they'd successfully not scared off.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Who, Harry?"
He stepped aside with a flourish. "Dun dun dun DA!" There in the doorway, smiling shyly, was…
"Kristi?" Ginny gasped. The girl smiled.
"In the flesh. And I know you're Ginny, even though you look kind of different. Paler. You look more tired than you used to, flutterball Ginny."
Ginny smiled weakly. "That's what happens when you get hit with the Cruciatus curse for minutes at a time."
Kristi gasped. "You weren't!"
"Wanna bet? I have the Healer papers to prove it."
Kristi stepped forward shyly. "Can I give you a hug?"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "'Course you can! I'm not about to break."
Kristi laughed and flung her arms around Ginny. Ginny put her arms around her and hugged her back, pleased that her best friend from school was now with her. Molly hadn't allowed her to go out of the house ("You're still weak, and you're a magnet for trouble!"), and she was going crazy with boredom.
"So what have you been doing?" Ginny asked. "I haven't talked to you in ages! I suppose you broke up with Sean?"
"Well, we were engaged, but I had to break it off to be here," Kristi said casually. Ginny gasped.
"That's horrible! You broke up with him just to be part of the Order?"
"You act like the Order's not more important than love," Harry remarked accusingly. "It's more important than anything!"
"You didn't think so at the end of your fifth year, Harry. And I didn't say that. I'm willing to risk my life for the Order, and I think I've shown that."
"Yes, I suppose you have," Harry said grudgingly, and turned away and walked up the stairs, probably to complain to Ron that his sister was being a prat.
"Who stuck the pole up his arse?" Kristi whispered to Ginny, and they giggled like they were back at Hogwarts.
"What're you laughing about?" Charlie asked, coming into the room. "Oh, who's this?"
"I'm Kristi," Kristi said, putting her hand out. "I'm the new member of the Order."
He shook her hand. "In that case, nice to meet you. I'm Charlie." He wandered off in the direction of the kitchen.
A brown-haired blur came speeding across the room and crashed into Ginny, saying, "Ginnyginnyginnyginnyginny!" Kristi looked at the little girl amusedly.
"And who are you?" Kristi asked Lily.
"I'm Lily," Lily said politely, smiling her innocent smile. Kristi immediately melted the way that most adults did when they saw Lily. She was cute while she wasn't being a terror. She had already gotten ahold of Ron's wand once, making carnivorous pink bunnies out of Hermione's favorite books. They had crept through the house, attacking any living thing that they came across. Well, except Lily. Lily stayed perfectly unharmed.
"Lily, why don't you go draw us a picture while I show Kristi around the house?"
"No, I wanna help show her around!" Lily whined. Ginny restrained the urge to roll her eyes and instead forced a smile.
"Alright, Lily, you can come."
Lily broke out in a smile and she took Kristi's hand. Ginny heaved a sigh. Here we go…
"This is the entryway. Over there is the kitchen, and in front of you is the living room. There's a bathroom in the back and another one upstairs. I suppose you'll be rooming with me."
"OK… Ginny, you're still so pale!"
"I'm FINE!" The statement came out as more of a bark than a simple declarative sentence. Kristi looked hurt.
"Well, OK then. Forget I said anything. What's upstairs?"
"Upstairs is the bedrooms and storage." Ginny led the way up the stairs. Lily evidently got tired of being there, as she darted off to her own room, leaving two tense adults behind.
"So, Ginny, what've you been doing all these years?" Kristi asked. Ginny shrugged.
"Moved to Muggle America," she said casually. "Tried to adopt a little girl, but I was too late for her."
"Aww, that's sad," Kristi said, not sounding very sad. "Must've been difficult for you, Ginny, with all that going on. Now, tell me, were there any guys in your life?"
Ginny almost choked on her own spit. "Yeah, right. There was one almost, though."
"What happened?"
"He was shagging my best friend while I was trying to save peoples' lives and fight Death Eaters. And when I was handing Laura over to the police."
"Who's Laura?"
"The little kid I wanted to adopt. Her whole family was killed, but I saved her life. Anyway, in the Muggle world you can't just take an orphan and keep them; that's called kidnapping. I had to take her to the police and give her up for adoption, even though, and especially because, she wasn't mine." By the time the explanation was done, Ginny was nearly in tears.
"Ginny, don't cry," Kristi said soothingly. "Come on, let's go to your – our – room. Is anyone else around? All I've seen so far are you, Harry, and Charlie. Don't tell me that's all."
"No, it's not," Ginny said. "There are all sorts of people that come in and out all the time, and I have no idea where they are." Ginny walked up the stairs, leaving Kristi to follow. Kristi did, and Ginny opened a door down the hall to the right.
"Ta-da. Our room."
It was a very plain room, with two beds and two dressers. There was a mirror on the wall, and a lamp, but not much else. There was a wood floor and the walls were green.
"It's… nice," Kristi said politely.
"It's the best we've got at the moment," Ginny said. "I'll admit, it's not beautiful, but it's enough. It's home, at the moment, and that's good enough. As long as we know we're safe, we're good."
"Well, that's good, I guess…" Kristi said. "Hey, what do you guy do for fun around here?"
"Knit," Ginny said, and then laughed at the expression on Kristi's face. "No, we don't knit. I swear. We read, or we play with Lily, or we talk. Or we go out, but since the Death Eaters seem to be more active around me, I generally stay in."
"Let's go out," Kristi said, a scheming look on her face. "We could drag Harry to a strip bar, or a nightclub, or…"
"No nightclubs," Ginny said firmly. "No strip bars, either. I want to visit my friend Cammie. Care to come with me?"
"Sure," Kristi said. A tsk-ing noise came from behind them. They turned to see Hermione.
"Hermione, what are you tsk-ing about now?" Ginny asked. "We were about to go visit Cammie so she can tell the Muggle world that I'm retiring and won't be writing any more books!"
"That's why I'm tsk-ing!" Hermione said. "It's not exactly safe to go out to a friend's house when you're a magnet for Death Eater attacks! Not only would you be putting yourself in danger, you'd be putting your friend in danger, too!"
"Oh, stuff it, Hermione," Kristi said nastily. She had never liked Hermione at school, and it apparently wasn't going to change now that she would be working with her. Hermione looked insulted.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. C'mon, Ginny, let's go."
"Not if you're going to be mean to Hermione. She helped me."
Kristi gave an exaggerated sigh. "Fine. I'm sorry, Hermione."
Hermione just gave a haughty sniff and went on her way towards the kitchen.
"What is it with people and poles up their arses?" Kristi whispered to Ginny. Ginny shrugged.
"I dunno, I haven't noticed it. I'm going to make dinner with Mum; you can do whatever."
"OK." Kristi drifted off in the direction of Lily's room.
Ginny walked to the kitchen where her mother, Hermione, and Charlie were. Her mum and Hermione were making dinner and Charlie was sitting at the table and offering unsolicited cooking tips. Men.
"Oh, Ginny," Molly said. "The potatoes need peeling. And don't use magic; it diminishes the taste and texture of the potatoes."
Ginny obediently picked up the knife and started peeling the potatoes.
"Where's Kristi?" Hermione asked, dislike evident in her voice. Hermione didn't hate Kristi; she loathed her. The feeling was mutual. Kristi despised Hermione just as much.
"She went to play with Lily, I think," Ginny said.
"Dear God," Hermione groaned. "I don't want Lily around her."
Ginny hid a smile as she put the potatoes in the pan full of boiling water. "She was pushing going to Cammie's."
"Yeah, well, that's Kristi. The social butterfly."
"Just because you only had two friends in your Hogwarts days doesn't mean the rest of us can't have more," Ginny pointed out. Hermione scowled.
"At least I had better friends than yours. Mine are still here with me."
"Geez, you make it sound like my friends died. Only Scarlet did, and that was because Death Eaters killed her and her family. It wasn't her fault."
"I never said they died, or that it was their fault if they did. All I said was-"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. What else can I do, Mum?"
---------------------------------------------
"But I want to meet Cammie!" Kristi whined.
Ginny looked at her amazedly. "You never give up, do you? You've been asking me for a week and a half now! What's it matter to you if I go see Cammie or not?"
"I want to meet her! I've never had an actual conversation with a Muggle. Can you believe that?"
"She's rather odd. I don't want you to get the wrong idea about Muggles."
"Please?"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Argh, fine. We'll go tomorrow."
"All right! I'm going to bed now. G'night!" She practically ran up the stairs. Ginny stared after her, confused.
"It's only eight…" she muttered.
"She's up to something," Hermione said, appearing behind Ginny. "I wouldn't go if I were you."
"Well, it's a good thing that you're not me, huh?"
-------------------------------------------------------
"Well, are you happy now?' Ginny asked. Kristi grinned.
"Of course!"
Ginny faced her seriously. "Kristi, I swear, you have to answer this honestly. Are you doing this with a motive, or is this completely innocent?"
Kristi gave her an incredulous look. "Are you kidding me?"
"Answer the question, Kristi," Ginny answered, crossing her arms.
"Good Gods, Ginny! It's totally innocent!" Kristi exclaimed, throwing up her arms. "When have I ever given you reason to distrust me?"
"When you went to bed at eight last night," Ginny said, but felt relieved. "Come on, let's go. OI! Mum! We're going!"
"OK," Molly called from upstairs. "Be back by dinner!"
"We will; we're just going to say hi. Send a search party if I'm not back in twenty minutes," Ginny answered. She led the blonde girl outside and told her the location. After Kristi had gone, she Apparated to Cammie's house. Looking around, she didn't see Kristi.
Maybe she's in the house already, Ginny thought, hoping Kristi had made it. She made her way into the house and rang the doorbell. No answer. She ran the doorbell two times, knocked loudly, and called, "Cammie? If you don't get the door, I'm breaking in!"
A high, piercing wail rang through the air. Ginny's Order instincts kicked in and she burst into the house before the fact that the scream sounded like a more-terrified version of Cammie's spider-scream sunk in.
"Where are you, Cam?" she called, thinking immediately after that that was probably the worst possible things she could have done. No matter; the house was silent until another shriek emitted from the upstairs. Ginny climbed the stairs, carefully avoiding the creaky fourth stair. At the top stood Kristi with her wand drawn and an evil look on her face.
"Hello, Ginny-Gin," she said. "Come to enjoy the view?" She gestured to the bedroom where Cammie sat, her eyes wide with fear. She was trembling.
"What did you do to her?" Ginny hissed. "She's innocent, leave her alone. It's me you've got a problem with it, not her!"
"Oh, it's not you we've got a problem with either, Ginny. It's Potter, who will undoubtedly be here in about 15 minutes. Probably sooner because he's protective of you."
"Why were you threatening Cammie, if she and I aren't your targets, Kristi?"
"I'm not telling, Ginny. Telling one's plans is the mark of an arrogant amateur," Kristi said, rubbing her inner arms as if she was cold. Ginny knew better.
"You're one of them, aren't you?"
Kristi smirked. "Why would I tell you? But, since you'll soon be oh-so-tragically killed, I guess I can tell you. First, though…" she muttered something and ropes bound Ginny, knocking her wand out of her hand. Kristi laughed. "That was easy. Yes, I am a Death Eater. I'm surprised it took this for you to figure it out."
"When? Why?"
"Two years ago, and I don't believe it's your business!"
"What happened to the sweet little girl I met when I was 13 and I loved to be around?"
"She was a front, a fake. That me existed only when I needed her to. My father beat me, didn't you know? And you never noticed! Maybe if I had a true friend, one who picked up on the abuse, I wouldn't be here like this today. It's your fault, Ginny."
"How touching," a voice behind Kristi sneered. Hermione stood there, her face contorted in dislike.
"Talk about touching," Kristi sneered. "The Mudblood is coming to save her friend. Isn't that sweet? And you know what's eve better? Soon Potter will come to rescue both of you, and the Dark Lord will triumph!"
"Triumph over what, his trained gerbil army?" Ginny asked, referring to an inside joke she had had with Kristi. Kristi smirked.
"I knew you'd bring up our gerbil army," she said smugly, "so I made it the codeword. The others should be here in five-four-three-two-one-here they are."
As she counted down, Death Eaters Apparated into the room with loud 'pop's.
"Oh, shit…" Ginny muttered as she tried unsuccessfully to cut her bonds and get her wand. "Not good, not good, not good."
"Are you kidding? This is excellent!" Kristi exclaimed. "I've got you, the Mudblood, and a Muggle!"
"What did we ever do to you?" Hermione asked, apparently forgetting she had a wand.
Kristi laughed. "Well, you were a bitch and Ginny never noticed anything, although she was the closest thing I ever had to a friend, so she can die last. The Muggle… well, she's just a Muggle. She can go first."
"Excuse me?" Cammie said indignantly. "I am a much better person than you ever were and ever will be, whoever you are. I don't go around killing people."
"Don't talk again. Crucio!" Kristi obviously remembered she had a wand and that her fellow Death Eaters were in the room.
Cammie convulsed, screaming in pain. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell unconscious. Ginny remembered that Cammie had an extremely low level of pain tolerance.
"Leave her ALONE!" Ginny shouted from her spot on the ground. "She never did anything to you!"
"She was born," Kristi snarled.
"Did you know that your precious Lord Voldemort is a half-blood? His dad was a Muggle," Ginny said. "So you might as well attack him for being a half-blood."
At that, all the Death Eaters' wands were pointed at Ginny, who laughed. "Are you going to kill me? I die last, remember?"
"Not if you keep it up," Kristi growled.
"Just kill her already!" a gruff male voice said from the crowd. Kristi fidgeted.
"I'm waiting for Potter to get here. He should be able to witness his girlfriend's death before the Dark Lord kills him."
"I'm not his girlfriend!" Ginny contradicted. "He doesn't have one, so you can't use that against him."
"He still loves you. He'll come and try to rescue you," Kristi said confidently, pointing her wand at Cammie. "But in the meantime, Avada-"
"Expelliarmus!"
Everyone turned towards the entrance as Kristi's wand flew into the hand of a tall figure silhouetted at the top of the stairs.
"Harry!" Hermione was first to speak. Ginny was next.
"Get your arse out of here before he comes! He's got you outnumbered by far! Hermione and I can take care of ourselves."
Harry wasn't listening. He was too busy staring at Kristi, who had put on a black mask while everyone was staring at the Chosen One, aka Harry Potter. "You."
"Me. What a surprise, huh? The brand-spankin' new member of the Order, a Death Eater. I fooled you, huh? I passed all your tests."
"You bitch!" Ginny snarled.
Kristi shrugged. "Hey, you can't win them all. I'm perfectly happy about where I am today. It's your position I would be more inclined to worry about."
"Less talk, more action!" a voice in the crowd said and a Death Eater pushed their way towards Ginny. Cammie lay still in the corner; nobody bothered with her for now.
"No!" Hermione, Harry, Ginny, and Kristi called simultaneously.
"Why do you say 'no'?" the offending Death Eater asked Kristi.
"Because the Dark Lord wants Weasley alive, along with Potter. Says he's got a surprise for her. Have fun with the Mudblood, though."
Hermione screamed and Harry crossed the room to stand in front of her. He pointed his wand at the crowd, where it should have been long ago.
"If you want her, you'll have to go through me," Harry hissed. Ginny attempted to stand up, but, as she was bound at her ankles and wrists (and her wrists behind her), she found herself quite unable to get up.
"There will be no need for that," a high, thin voice said from the corner. "You may take the Mudblood and the Muggle and do with them as you like. In fact…" There was a hiss of a spell and the room faded for Harry and Ginny. When they could see again, they were alone with Voldemort in a familiar place.
Cookies who can guess where they are! It's REALLY easy. I'm sure you could guess in a second.