The days of August slipped by quickly, still without any sign of Harry. Many in the wizarding world seemed to have given up of finding the Boy-Who-Lived, but as Ginny, Hermione, and Ron told each other, they would never give up on Harry; not as long as Hermione kept having her dreams, anyways.
The 11th of August marked Ginny's 14th Birthday, and the members of the Order prepared a small celebration for her. Ginny found herself wondering if Harry would have bought her a present if he had been there. He's Hermione's boyfriend, she told herself over and over again. Besides, he doesn't like you like that.
Despite the fact that everyone had a reason the be unhappy in Number 12, Grimmuald Place, Ginny's party was the most fun any of them had had in a long time. Mrs. Weasley cooked an amazing dinner, and finished it off with a huge cake with homemade frosting on top. Almost everyone from the Order attended as well. Ginny decided that it was good that everybody had a night were their minds weren't thinking about Harry for once.
However, the slight happy feeling that Ginny's birthday celebrations had created didn't last long. Less than a week after Ginny's Birthday, their letters from Hogwarts arrived; this only lessened the bit of happiness still inside Ron, Hermione and Ginny. None of them said it, but all of them thought the absence of Harry's letter wasn't a good sign.
A week before term started at Hogwarts, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George were lead into the drawing room by Lupin and Sirius.
"What's wrong?" Ron asked as soon as Lupin has shut the door.
Lupin smiled weakly. "Sit down, please," he said, gesturing to a couch in the room. He and Sirius sat in chairs across from them.
"We wanted to tell you five," Sirius began, "that since we haven't—"
"—Found Harry," Lupin finished, somewhat hesitantly; Sirius looked as if he didn't want to say anything, "that there's going to be Memorial Service held in Harry's memory on the first day of term at Hogwarts."
The Weasley's and Hermione stared at Sirius and Lupin in a stunned silence.
"What?" Ginny cried, breaking the silence. "Does this mean you're giving up on Harry?"
"No, that's not what we mean at all!" Sirius cried back, standing up to face Ginny, who had stood up as well.
"Well, what do mean, then?" Fred asked, standing up too.
"We didn't even set this up," Lupin replied. "We're just merely telling you so that you know."
"But it makes it seem like your giving up!" Ron stated. "We can't give up on, Harry! He has to be out there somewhere!"
"Look, you lot," Lupin said. "It's been more than two months without any leads, and let's be honest— I don't want to give up on Harry either, but we should have found something by now."
"Don't say that you think Harry's dead!" Ginny snarled, tears forming in her eyes.
Lupin opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off by the other Weasley's screaming at him.
Hermione sat quietly in the corner as the Weasleys' screamed at Sirius and Lupin, tears forming in her eyes as well.
Ginny glanced in her direction, but Hermione made an effort not to look at her.
"Hermione, I think you have something to say—" Ginny started after the yells had ceased.
"Oh don't be harping on me again, Ginny!" Hermione shouted, standing up, tears falling from her eyes. With that, Hermione stomped across the room, ripped open the door, and slammed it shut with a loud bang.
The room fell silent, as they all stared at the door. Ginny let out a frustrated sigh, and stomped out after Hermione, slamming the door as well.
"What was that about?" Sirius asked curiously.
"I don't know," Ron muttered, looking away and blushing.
"Goodness, what's all this noise about?" Mrs. Weasley asked, smiling and walking into the room.
Fred, George, Ron, Lupin, and Sirius all mumbled, "Nothing."
Hermione stomped up the stairs, not caring if she woke up Sirius' mother's portrait. Her face was red and shining with tears, and her fits were curled into balls. She was sick of everything and everyone right now. She was sick of crying, sick of not knowing where Harry was, sick of the stupid dreams she was having, sick of Ginny always pestering her about the dreams, and sick of fake leads.
Once she got to her room, Hermione wrenched open the door and slammed it behind her. She threw herself on her bed, with tears falling faster and thicker down her face.
"Why doesn't any adult ever listen to teenagers? Why don't they think it's possible that we could possibly be right about something for once?" Hermione cried in frustration. "I don't think I can live without him," added Hermione, in a quieter voice, more tears sliding from her eyes.
Hermione lay in her room for the rest of the night, miserable as ever. Ginny had enough sense not to bother Hermione when she walked into the room late that night, although she felt horrible herself.
The rest of August went by quickly, and soon September 1st was upon them. The day dawned grey and cloudy, reflecting the Weasley children and Hermione's moods.
Fred, George, Ginny, Ron and Hermione all walked with Order members to King's Cross, where they would board the train on Platform 9 ¾; though the start of a new term usually brought plenty of opportunities for conversation, no one said a word as the group made their way to King's Cross. While getting on to Platform 9 ¾, the only words spoken were those that were deciding who would go first, second, and so on.
"Good-bye!" Tonks called to the teenagers. "Stay safe and have a good term!"
Hermione and Ginny both nodded, both looking glumly at their feet, while the twins and Ron said nothing.
Mrs. Weasley was busy hugging everyone, and had tears forming in her eyes. "Oh do be careful, you lot," Mrs. Weasley said in a slightly choked voice. "What with everything going on—" she began, shuddering.
"We will, Mum," Ron muttered, glancing toward the train.
"Yes, Mum," Ginny said, looking up. "There's no need to worry about us—just as long as you lot keep us updated on Harry's case."
"Don't worry about that, Ginny," Lupin replied, smiling small. "We'll tell you what we can put into a letter—we wouldn't want any Death Eaters intercepting our information. I suppose if anything big happens, you'll hear about it in the Prophet, though."
"Yeah, and like we'd trust that paper?" Ginny muttered darkly, walking away towards the train.
"Well you lot had better get on the train now," Tonks suggested, gesturing towards the scarlet steam engine. "We'll see you tomorrow, then—" Tonks added, looking as though she wished she hadn't brought it up.
The remaining Weasley's and Hermione turned their backs the minute the idea of tomorrow was brought up—none of them had forgotten that Harry's memorial service was going to be held tomorrow at Hogwarts, after the days' classes.
Once on the train, Fred and George walked off to find their friend Lee, looking depressed. Ginny found an empty compartment and was soon joined by Neville and then Luna Lovegood abruptly after, who she introduced to Neville. Ron and Hermione went off to the Prefect meeting and then joined Ginny and the others shortly after lunch; both of them were promptly introduced to Luna as well.
The ride was unusually silent, and as the day wore on, the sky became darker and gloomier. Although all of them were miserable, Ron felt especially sad as he had never ridden the Hogwarts Express with his best friend, Harry. He stared out the window for most of the ride, talking to no one. Even the excitement of being a Prefect hadn't lasted long, although he had received a gift from his mother for it.
Ron, Ginny, and Hermione stepped off the train without a word. Students surrounded them, calling out cheerful greetings to their friends that they hadn't yet met on the train, although the wizarding world was still dark and frightening.
"How are yeh three?" Hagrid's booming voice called out to Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. Hagrid held up a lantern that cast a yellow glow across his face, and a group of timid looking first years surrounded him.
"We're—we're—" Hermione started, but couldn't finish.
Hagrid nodded in acknowledgment; he knew how much the three of them had been missing Harry. "I see yeh later, then," Hagrid added as Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were pushed forward by the crowd.
Ginny, Ron, and Hermione silently climbed into a carriage, looking glummer now that they had arrived at Hogwarts; none of them said a word as Neville and Luna climbed into the carriage after them.
Luna made a few attempts at a conversation, but everyone ignored her. Neville, who wasn't as miserable as the Ron, Ginny, and Hermione, looked as if he wanted to answer Luna, but decided not too because the rest of his friends were determinedly staring out the windows.
Fortunately, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny managed to avoid Malfoy completely, although all of them could see him whispering to Crabbe and Goyle at the Slytherin table during the entire feast. Malfoy smirked at the three of them continually as well.
"Just ignore him," Hermione muttered, looking away from the Slytherin table. "We've got enough going on without that git, too."
Ron and Ginny both looked as though they were going to protest, yet both returned to picking at the food on the golden plates in front of them.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said warmly, after the feast had finished.
Usually, Ginny listened intently to Dumbledore's speech, but tonight was different; she barely listened as he welcomed the students and gave out start of term notices. She'd heard most of this three times before anyways. She barely noticed any of the new first years that joined the Gryffindor table during the sorting either. One glance over at her friends told her that she was not alone in tuning out the headmaster tonight. However, Ginny's attention returned back to the headmaster as soon as a babble broke out in the hall.
Looking wildly around, and having no idea what caused the students in the Great Hall to began whispering frantically to each other, Ginny asked, "What's going on?"
Ron looked just as bewildered as his sister and shrugged. "No idea," he muttered.
"Dumbledore just said that Snape would be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts as well as Potions," Hermione explained; apparently she had been listening to some parts of Dumbledore's speech. "Dumbledore said that he was unable to find anyone else who wanted the job, so every Potions class will be a double period, split with Defense Against the Dark Arts, except for N.E.W.T. level classes. Those classes will be separate—"
"Hermione, a simple 'Snape is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions' would do," Ron said.
"I just thought you'd like to know—"Hermione started, looking frustrated. "Oh never mind!" she snapped.
"So that means Snape's going to have a very full schedule, and he'll be an even bigger git," Ginny stated. "Great," she added dully.
"Well, I expect that classes will be cut shorter now, because there's no way a teacher could teach two classes at once—" said Hermione.
"Now it is time for a talk about more pressing matters," Dumbledore said loudly, which quieted the Great Hall. Once the entire hall was quite, he began to speak again; even Ginny gave Dumbledore her full attention this time. "As you all know, Lord Voldemort has again returned to power."
Several people gasped and flinched at the sound of Voldemort's name, but Dumbledore ignored it. "It is imperative that everyone is aware of the immense amount of danger that this situation creates. No one is to go wandering off at any time, and I must impress upon all of you the importance of this. Although many extra security measures have been placed upon the castle, recklessness and rashness from any student could endanger this entire castle. Therefore, I urge you all to be careful, and report anything unusual or suspicious to a teacher inside this castle."
Dumbledore's blue eyes cast a piercing look over the entire hall. He remained silent for a few seconds before continuing his speech. "As many of us may have heard, classes will be postponed for one day. Tomorrow, a memorial service will be held for Harry Potter down near the Lake on Hogwarts Grounds."
Many students looked down when Dumbledore mentioned Harry Potter, but Dumbledore continued to speak. "I will beg you once more that anyone with information will step forward. One can only hope that we will be able to find Harry Potter."
Hermione and Ron were both still staring at the wooden table in front of them, but Ginny glanced over at the Ravenclaw table where Cho Chang sat with tears streaming down her face. A friend of hers had her arm wrapped around her shoulder in a comforting way.
When Dumbledore dismissed them with a goodnight and Ginny stood up quickly, brushing the tears from her eyes.