Ginny Weasley and the Writings of Silenus

by Arikel

Ginny has a lot on her mind for her final year at Hogwarts. Voldemort was defeated, but at a great cost. Harry, the boy she loves, is gone. But when she hears about the writings of a prophet named Silenus, she finds something she lost. Hope.

5. Big Brothers Big Sisters

Chapter 5- Big Brothers Big Sisters

After Charms class, Ginny skipped lunch and went up to the library. She went through the books trying to find any mention of Silenus or the Hermetic Order of the Falcons. Given the fact that the last time she had stepped in the library was five years ago, she didn't really know where to start looking. After a few fruitless hours, Ginny resigned herself to the fact that most likely the information she sought would be in the restricted area and made plans for sneaking back to the library tonight.

As Ginny came into the Great Hall for dinner that night, she noticed two pots sitting in front of the Headmistress. There were murmurs across the hall as students were speculated as to what was going on, and after all the students had filed in, McGonagall stood up.

"Quiet everyone!" McGonagall's voice rang out throughout the hall with the use of the Sonorus spell. The students were soon quiet, and McGonagall gestured to the two pots.

"This year, Hogwarts is instituting a program common among the Muggles. It is known as the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program and will pair a seventh year student from one house with a first year student from another. As your name is called out, please stand," McGonagall said and started calling out names. Ginny went back to talking quietly with Heather and looked up when she heard her new friend's name.

"Donninc Baroun, Ravenclaw."

Ginny looked over at Donninc and saw his gaze sweeping over the room. When his eyes met hers, a slight smile appeared on Donninc's face before he continued looking around the room.

"Faye Rookwood, Slytherin."

Donninc looked over at the slim, blond haired girl who eyed him warily and Donninc nodded at her with a warm smile before sitting down. Ginny smiled slightly, not envying Donninc in the slightest for being paired with a Slytherin before returning to her conversation with Heather until it was her friend's turn.

"Heather Maxell, Gryffindor."

Heather stood up and looked down at Ginny, making a mock panicked face. Ginny snorted and took a bite of her rice pudding.

"Sebastian Young, Ravenclaw."

Heather looked over at the Ravenclaw table and smiled at the young boy whose eyes widened as he looked over at the attractive brunette. He blushed slightly and quickly sat down, trying to hide among his fellow Ravenclaws.

"He's cute," Heather said, sitting back down, and Ginny's eyes widened, looking at her dorm mate in disbelief.

"He's eleven!"

"Yeah, well. He's still cute," Heather said and playfully elbowed Ginny in the ribs. "Can a big sister give her little brother tips about making out? Y'know, show him how it's done?"

"HEATHER!"

"I'm kidding!" Heather snorted out through a chuckle and playfully pushed Ginny again.

"Ginny Weasley, Gryffindor."

Ginny frowned, as there was some hushed whispering from the student body about her as she stood up, and Ginny couldn't help but snort. This must have been how Harry felt.

"Aleksandr Dolohov, Hufflepuff."

Ginny's eyes widened as she looked over at the boy. It couldn't be…. Aleksandr's deep-set violet eyes met her gaze evenly as if daring her to say something. She knew then who he was. Ginny looked over at McGonagall, and the Headmistress only frowned slightly before pulling out the next name. Ginny sat down mutely and felt that her appetite had left her.

"He's cute," Heather said beside her in a tone meant to instill some humor into the heavy mood that had just settled onto her friend. Ginny just turned and looked at her incredulously.

"What?" Heather asked, confused. "What's the big deal?"

Ginny cleared her throat. Of course Heather wouldn't know.

"His father is Antonin Dolohov, a Death Eater… and… he murdered my uncles Fabian and Gideon. His… father murdered them."

Heather blanched and looked over at the Hufflepuff table before turning back to her friend.

"Well… he's not a Slytherin, so maybe he's not that bad," Heather said with a false cheerfulness. But seeing that it wasn't going to work, Heather just fell silent and laid a hand on Ginny's arm. "It'll be okay. He's not his father."

Ginny sighed and nodded at Heather, saying that she was heading up to the dorm and with a quick glance over at the Hufflepuff table, Ginny stomped out of the Great Hall.

Ginny went up to her dorm room and fell onto the bed. After a moment, she sighed and went to her desk where Ginny wrote a letter to Hermione and Fred, telling them both about the recent development with Dolohov and then, in Hermione's letter, asking her what she knew about Silenus and the Hermetic Order of the Falcons. She went up to the Owlery and sent both letters to the Burrow with a request that her Mum put the letter to Hermione in the Muggle mail.

Ginny then climbed back in bed and feigned sleep when the girls came upstairs a few minutes later. Ginny lay on the bed, listening to the sounds of her dormmates getting ready for bed and finally lying down. She waited until she was fairly certain that they had drifted off before climbing out of the bed and silently creeping towards the door. She was halfway there when Ginny heard a voice from Heather's bed.

"Watcha doin'?"

"Shh," Ginny whispered and moved closer to the door.

"You shh!" Heather said and climbed out of the bed. Ginny looked back as Heather pulled on her robes.

"Go back to bed," Ginny whispered.

"Shh!" Heather said and started to move toward the door.

"Both of you shh," Lavinia murmured from her bed. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

"Shh," Ginny and Heather both said at the same time, and the girls giggled softly as Heather closed the distance to Ginny and took her arm.

"Where are you going?"

"Library."

"Library's closed," Heather said in an eerily good imitation of Hermione.

"I know that," Ginny said petulantly and opened the door, dragging Heather out with her. "I'm going to the restricted section. Now, go back to bed, Heather."

"Uh… no," Heather said with a smug grin and started heading down the stairs. "If you're sneaking into the library then you'll need someone to play lookout for you in case Filch or a teacher comes along."

Heather looked back and saw Ginny still standing at the top of the steps.

"Well? C'mon! The library's not coming to you!"

Ginny chuckled and followed her friend down the stairs before sneaking out of the tower and down the halls to try and find some more information on the role that Ginny seemed to be fated to fill.

Shortly before dawn, Heather and a disgruntled Ginny snuck back into Gryffindor tower and climbed into bed for a little sleep before having to wake up for breakfast. About the time Ginny was drifting off, the rest of her room started waking up, making noise and getting dressed for the day. Ginny groaned and rolled out, looking over to see a bleary-eyed Heather who looked as bad as Ginny felt. As Heather and Ginny dressed, the taller brunette leaned over to her friend and muttered, "Remind me never to offer to help you sneak to the library ever again."

Ginny grinned through a yawn and muttered, "More often?"

Heather chuckled, and they stumbled down the stairs and out to the Great Hall. The hall was full by the time they got there, and the girls had to force themselves to stay awake as they ate. Ginny was startled as Pig landed on the table in front of her. Yawning, Ginny untied the letters from the owl's leg and saw one was from Fred and the other from Hermione.

Teeny Weeny Geeny,

There was a motto that Gred and I came up with when we first came to Hogwarts, and I'm going to share this pearl of wisdom with you now, dear sister.

PRANK HIS ARSE!

Fred

Ginny smiled and tucked the letter in her robes. She then opened her other letter and read Hermione's response, which dampened her mood a bit.

Ginny,

I'm sure I don't have to remind you that sons aren't copies of their fathers. Didn't Draco Malfoy prove that last year? Just because Antonin Dolohov was a monster doesn't mean that his son is one as well. Just consider that before doing something that your brothers might recommend.

Ginny chuckled. Hermione knew her and her brothers TOO well.

As for your questions, here's what I could find or theorize.

Silenus was the oldest of the satyrs, which were followers of Dionysus (Greek god of wine, vegetation and fertility) and half-men/half-goats. Silenus was always drunk and sometimes prophesied the future. King Midas once had Silenus as a guest and was so hospitable that Dionysus granted the King any wish. This is how Midas acquired the ability to make anything he touched turn to gold. To his horror, Midas soon discovered that he could no longer eat or drink, because anything he brought to his lips instantly became gold. Midas prayed to Dionysus to take back this power so he wouldn't die. Dionysus granted his prayer, telling Midas to wash his greed in the river Pactolus. Midas did as he was told and it was said that to this day the river sands of the Pactolus are gold. It is believed that it was from this river and thus this myth that Nicholas Flamel took his formula. That from the sands of the Pactolus he crafted the Philosopher's Stone.

As for the Hermetic Order of the Falcons, I don't know as much. Silenus is well documented in Wizarding and Muggle books, but this order is not. I can only give you some theories based upon what you told me about them.

First, the name. "Hermetic" refers to Hermes Trismegistus. This is a name given by Greeks and others to the Egyptian god Thoth or Tehuti, the god of wisdom, learning and literature. Thoth is alluded to in later writings as "twice very great" and even as "five times very great" in some demotic or popular scripts. To him was attributed as "scribe of the gods" the authorship of all sacred books, which were thus called "Hermetic" by the Greeks. These, according to Clemens Alexandrinus were forty-two in number and were sub-divided into six portions, of which the first dealt with priestly education, the second with temple ritual and the third with geographical matter. The fourth division treated of astrology, the fifth of hymns in honor of the gods, and a sixth was medical. It is unlikely that these books were all the work of one individual, and it is more probable that they represent the accumulated wisdom of Egypt, attributed in the course of ages to the great god of wisdom.

As "scribe of the gods," Thoth was also the author of all strictly sacred writing. Hence by a convenient fiction the name of Hermes was placed at the head of an extensive cycle of mystic literature, produced in post-Christian times. Most of this Hermetic and Trismegistic literature has perished, but all that remains of it has been gathered and translated into English. It includes the "Poimandres," the "Perfect Sermon," or the "Asclepius," excerpts by Stobacus, and fragments from the Church Fathers and from the philosophers, Zosimus and Fulgentius. These writings have been neglected by theologians, who have dismissed them as the offspring of third century Neo-Platonism. According to the generally accepted view, they were eclectic compilations, combining Neo-Platonic philosophy, Philonic Judaism and Kabalistic theosophy in an attempt to supply a philosophic substitute for Christianity. The many Christian elements to be found in these mystic scriptures were ascribed to plagiarism. By an examination of early mystery writings and traditions it has been proved with some degree of certainty that the main source of the Trismegistic Tractates is the wisdom of Egypt, that they "go back in an unbroken tradition of type and form and context to the earliest Ptolemaic times."

Mr. G. R. S. Mead, author of "Thrice Greatest Hermes" says-

"The more one studies the best of these mystical sermons, casting aside all prejudices, and trying to feel and think with the writers, the more one is conscious of approaching the threshold of what may well be believed to have been the true adytum of the best in the mystery traditions of antiquity. Innumerable are the hints of greatnesses and immensities lying beyond that threshold- among other precious things the vision of the key to Egypt's wisdom, the interpretation of apocalypses by the light of the sun."

Now, I'm guessing that you're probably wondering what all this means.

Ginny snorted. That was a bit of an understatement.

By identifying themselves as a "Hermetic Order," then they are claiming to take insight from the Egyptian god Thoth and his writings. They are identifying themselves as an enlightened society that either dates back to the times of the Egyptians, or more likely the Greeks, given their interest in Silenus. Or they are just using this name to make the order seem more ancient and mysterious than it really is. Which one is the case is hard to say without actually being a member of said society.

Now, look at calling themselves Falcons. In general, falcons are a symbol of the sun and the masculine powers of nature. It is particularly important in Egyptian mythology where it was sacred to Re, Egyptian god of the sun. It was also a popular form of the god Horus. Like the eagle, the falcon, with its strength and high flight, represents freedom of spirit, which perhaps explains its popularity as a sporting bird in Renaissance Europe.

And finally, the ring. The falcon is most likely done in gold for this continued interest in the sun, the "giver of light, fire and life." An amethyst is, of course, a purple stone, so they might have chosen it as a symbol of royalty, due to the fact that in ancient Greece the purple dye was something that could only be afforded by the rich. Furthermore, an amethyst is the stone of humility, peace of mind and piety. It was associated with Dionysus, possibly because water in an amethyst jug looked like wine. So by choosing the amethyst, they may be establishing another tie to Silenus as well as it standing as a symbol of their faith in his works. A symbol of their piety.

As for these Writings of Silenus, I have found numerous references to them, but I have no books containing any of his prophecies. I'm sure that you've most likely searched the library at Hogwarts. It shouldn't fail you.

Note their emphasis on "the sun." Falcon is a symbol of the sun. Gold, the sun. Mead, as mentioned above, said "the light of the sun." Given what you wrote about the excerpt from that portion of the prophecy about Harry possibly being "the Sun," then it would seem that this order appears to have an interest in Harry. Until you figure out what that is, I'd be careful.

I know what your hope is. That these writings will prove definitively that Harry is alive. And while there is only one thing in this world that I personally want more than that, I feel it is my responsibility to warn you that hope can be a dangerous thing. The Muggle-born wizard, Sir James Barrie, once said, "Dreams do come true, if we only wish hard enough. You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it." Anyone that knows you, Ginny, would know how you felt and still feel about Harry. They would probably know the extent you would go to if it meant finding Harry, if he were still alive. I'm just worried that you might get your hopes up and then have them crash down if this prophecy proves to be a hoax.

Putting that aside for now, consider this. Why would Harry hide from you? From his friends? If he WERE still alive, why would he not try to reach us? I guess I'm just saying this to ensure you don't put TOO much stock in prophecies. I remember what it was like for you when we lost Harry. I'd hate to see you go through that again.

Having said that, here's the supportive friend speech. I know that I hold out hope that one day Ron will either come out of this coma, or I will find something to help him. All the mediwizards say that he won't wake up. They say that there's no spell. No hope. So even though I am properly informed of everything that stands against my hope, I still maintain it. As I have pointed out the things that stand against your hope, I hope that you will still maintain your own. Remember always that I love you, and I'll help you anyway I can.

Hope this helps.

Love,

Hermione

Ginny sighed. She really loved Hermione, but sometimes she didn't understand a bloody word of what the girl said. Ginny decided that she would have to write back and ask if she could send an abridged version of her explanation. Ginny was tempted to write back saying that the Hogwarts library had indeed failed her, but she knew it would probably just break Hermione to hear that.

Ginny folded up the letter and stuffed it in her robes with Fred's note and the piece of parchment with the prophecy on it. She looked over and saw Aleksandr coming up to her.

"Ginny? Can I talk to you?"

Ginny eyed him coolly before nodding her head. She gestured to the space beside her, and Aleksandr sat down.

"Uh… I just wanted you to know, I talked to McGonagall. I told her about… I told her there may be a problem, and she said she'd talk to you and see if you wanted to be assigned another little brother."

Ginny's cool demeanor melted slightly, and she frowned at him.

"I… I know you know who my father is," Aleksandr said, his eyes finding something incredibly interesting on his robes. "So… I figured that you'd…."

"Aleksandr… it's okay. Yes, I know who your father is. And yes, I know what he did. But… I'm not going to ask to reassign you. Unless… you'd prefer…."

"No!" he answered immediately and then blushed a little at his own enthusiasm. "I mean… I'd rather, y'know, have you as my big sister."

Ginny smiled slightly. She couldn't help it. The boy was pretty sweet.

"All right, Aleksandr. We'll make this work," she said and held out her hand. Aleksandr smiled and shook her hand.

"My friends call me Alek," he said and quickly scurried back over to the Hufflepuff table. Ginny thought nothing of his hasty retreat until she reached for her pumpkin juice and noticed that her hand was starting to change to a putrid shade of green.

"He pranked me," Ginny whispered, as she looked at her hand. "HE pranked ME! ALEK! THIS MEANS WAR!" Ginny cried across the Great Hall, startling and confusing most of the room except for the Gryffindors around Ginny and a small group of Hufflepuffs around Alek. Ginny turned back to her meal and started to eat again, a smile on her face and various scenarios of how to get revenge on her little brother flying through her thoughts.

Yeah, she thought, Aleksandr might be okay after all.

A/N: Disclaimer: The information on Hermes Trismegistus is from the Encyclopaedia of Occultism. The symbolic nature of falcons and amethyst is taken from the Illustrated Book of Signs & Symbols.