Chapter Five
Suspicions and Surprises

The first few minutes had been in silence, that night that Ginny and Dumbledore went to Number 12 Grimmauld Place. In spite of everything that had happened that day, everyone seemed to be acting cheerfully in order to make the situation seem less significant than it actually was.

Ginny had apparated very well, Dumbledore told her, but still, she was frightened to death of being splinched, so she decided that until she officially had her license, she wouldn't be apparating or disapparating very often.

By the time Mrs. Weasley, Tonks, and Ginny had finished preparing the dinner, Lupin, Dumbledore, Bill, Charlie, Mr. Weasley, Minister Krum, and Moody were gathered around the table, talking in hushed voices. As soon as the women entered, though, the whispering stopped.

"Ah, Molly! I haven't eaten anything as delicious as your fabulous cooking since, well, the last time I ate your fabulous cooking!" Moody complimented, but Ginny still wondered why they had stopped talking as soon as she walked in.

The meal was eaten pretty much in silence, until the doorbell rang, and Sirius's mother's portrait started wailing and screeching. Everyone just looked at each other for a moment, but then Ginny jumped up to answer the door before anyone else. Tonks chased after her, as Lupin attempted to close the curtain over the screeching portrait.

Tonks caught up with Ginny just before she reached the door.

"Ginny, why don't you let me answer it?" Tonks asked gently.

"Why? Are you expecting someone in particular whom you would not want me to greet?" replied Ginny in a falsely sweet voice. "Or are you trying to treat me like a child who is incapable of facing whomever it is that is standing behind the door?" Ginny finished in a more severe tone.

"Ginny, no. It's just that, well, I can't explain now, so just, um, finish eating, and you'll find out soon enough. I know you must be frustrated into a right state, but in a half hour's time, you'll feel different. C'mon, can't you trust me?" Tonks answered with a smile. Ginny agreed, half-heartedly, but she couldn't help but think they were all up to something.

After she finished her meal, she decided to take a shower. But something distracted her from entering the hall and ascending the stairs.

"Well, just keep quiet! She can't see you yet. I know, I know, calm down! She's off taking her shower; she should be down in about fifteen minutes. It's supposed to be a surprise, you know. She has a difficult month ahead of her, and we're trying to make her relaxed before she leaves. Just please, keep quiet!" Her father's voice rang into the drawing room where Ginny had been attempting to make her way to the staircase. All of sudden, Mr. Weasley appeared in the drawing room and found Ginny standing behind the doorway.

"Ginny! I thought you were taking a shower? Well, off you go then! What were you doing standing behind the door anyway? Oh well, no harm done. So why don't you just…what's the matter, dear?"

Ginny had burst into tears and ran through the drawing room and into the hall, and then up the stairs as fast as a Firebolt. She locked herself in the room where Buckbeak was kept and sat down on the floor, making sure to avoid the dead rat parts.

She needed to clear her mind, because if she didn't, she would start screaming and she couldn't afford to lose her temper now. What were they keeping from her? She felt like she was twelve again, and everyone thought she was too young to understand what was going on. But she was sixteen and they had just about run out of excuses for not including her. All this sneakiness, and hushed conversations, and avoiding her eye: what were they up to? She hated it when people kept things from her, but now, she was afraid she was at her boiling point. And for what? All they wanted to do was make her feel better, but she was about to explode with anger!

"I must be stressed, or something. I'm going to take a quick shower, and then I'll go downstairs and pretend I didn't even notice that they were acting so strangely," Ginny whispered, not even noticing she had just talked to herself.

Ten minutes later, Ginny went downstairs in her pajama pants and a Weird Sisters T-shirt. She entered the hall; no one was there. She walked into the drawing room; no one was in there either. Wondering where everyone could possibly be, and who her father had been talking to, she walked into the kitchen with her mind wandering. A loud explosion, and colorful objects floating through the air greeted Ginny, and she was so startled she almost fell over. Standing in the kitchen were Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, and everyone else in the D.A. Ginny was so dumbstruck, she couldn't think of anything to say.

"Ginny! Did you notice the new and improved Weasley's Wildfire-Whiz-bangs? Only 25 Galleons will get you-" George started, but was nudged in the ribs by Hermione.

"Ginny! Come, in, please. We all came here to wish you luck," Hermione explained. But Ginny's eyes were focused on a slim package lying in the middle of the table.

"Why are there presents?" was all that Ginny could manage to say.

"Oy! Ron! Give her the presents!" Fred yelled to his younger brother, who was scooping up the parcels for Ginny.

"Ok, this one's from Hermione, and that one there is from Bill, and Charlie gave you this one, and that would be from me, and Fred and George's, and Mum and Dad's is on the table, and the others are over there," Ron said quickly as he handed all the packages he was holding to Ginny.

She didn't know what to say. She half wished she had not been mentioned in that prophecy and so she would have enough time to enjoy all these presents. 'If you hadn't been mentioned in the prophecy, you wouldn't even be getting these presents,' she reminded herself. But the truth was, she wished Harry could be here and they could both enjoy themselves tonight, and leave, together, tomorrow. But Harry didn't even know about the second prophecy, and she'd have to deal with it. She did need to relax, because she had tough times ahead of her…