Disclaimer: Do I really need to say it? I do not own Harry Potter. If I did then I would have more then $60 in my bank account.

Spoilers: Yes indeedy! There are passing references to pretty much all of the books.

A/N: I'm BAAAAACK!!! lol, right. So this chapter is dedicated to Silver Witch. She motivated me to finally get going on this story again. I'll admit it, I'm vain, so the promise of reviews got me off and running again. Without reviews I assume that no one likes my writing so I give up and throw myself a pity party, lol. Right, so if you are reading this…congratulations! You made it through the first chapter! I've considered rewriting it, but I might as well keep going. Please review if you want more. This chapter picks up right where the other left off. It's Ginny's POV though. Oh, right, and its pretty depressing.

L.K.

"spoken"

'thought'

'telepathy'

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A flood of warmth and laughter escaped through the open door to linger in the cool, evening air. Ginny smiled as she stepped into the lively house, letting the sound of her family's merriment soothe her troubled mind. Ron wasn't the only one worried about their friends. There were times when Ginny could barely keep her fear and apprehension from slipping through the bond. She held it together, though. Ron needed her to be strong. Though he liked to play the role of protective-older-brother, Ron sometimes needed Ginny to protect him. They gathered strength from each other and Ginny wouldn't have it any other way.

A sudden warmth filled Ginny. It was like eating one of mum's cinnamon buns fresh from the oven. The feeling was so smooth and creamy, yet spicy and full of life. It soothed her tense muscles and eased her mind as the sweet benevolence and reviving energy coursed through her veins. It was one of her favorite feelings, besides flying of course. The warmth meant love. It meant safety. It meant friendship. But most of all, it meant Ron. Ginny smiled as Ron rested his hand on her shoulder. 'I knew the mention of dinner would get you inside.'

'How could I resist? Mum practically made a feast.' Ron replied. He was right, Ginny decided. The dinner table was covered in food. There were three different main courses, two different types of bread, and more side dishes than the table could hold. Ginny giggled slightly at the sight. Mum was going through what Dad called "empty nest syndrome." Now that most of her children had moved away, leaving Ginny and Ron who were away at school all year, Mum was depressed and called everyone home for a visit. She said it was about time they had a family dinner with the full family again. Ron and Ginny had invited Harry and Hermione but they never received responses.

The thought of her friends saddened Ginny. She needed a distraction from the darkness of the world. She definitely found it when she turned and looked at Ron. His face was full of lust, eyes slightly glazed and lips parted. His hair had grown a bit and was now hanging in his cerulean blue eyes. His red locks, illuminated in the lamplight, contrasted greatly against his pale, freckled skin. Ginny knew that there were a few girls at Hogwarts who would love it if Ron looked at them that way. Unfortunately his attention was now focused on a gigantic turkey dinner.

'I suppose Mum could sew a dress for the turkey.' Ginny thought to Ron as she slung an arm around his shoulder. He tore his eyes from the dinner table and gave his little sister a bewildered look. 'It may be difficult to find a veil for it, though, since it is headless. Will you ask Harry to be your Best-man or will the bowl of mashed potatoes stand in?' Ginny grinned as she teased Ron. This was better. Teasing Ron was fun and definitely distracting.

'Oh, haha.' Ron returned with a small smirk. 'I'd never have mashed potatoes as a Best-man! I'll have the berry pie or nothing else.' Ginny choked back her laughter. It wouldn't do to burst out laughing when neither of them had "said" anything.

'Come on. We'd better get some before the twins eat everything'

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"Pass the peas."

"Oi, Fred! Toss the me a roll"

"Can I have some more turkey? Uh….please?"

The dining room was filled with the ringing of voices and the clanging of silverware. Conversations were crossing the table in so many directions it was a wonder anyone knew what was going on. Ginny just ate quietly and listened to Bill as he told about a particularly interesting curse he encountered. Further down the table Fred, George, and Charlie erupted in laughter when the twins explained their "graduation" from Hogwarts. Mum and Dad were down at the other end talking quietly with Percy.

Ever since the attack on the ministry building, Percy had tried to make amends with the family. Of course he wouldn't come right out and apologize. That just wasn't his way. If he apologized he would be admitting that he was wrong and that was unthinkable. The first day he arrived was rather awkward, with insults flying every which way and Weasley Wizard Wheezes going off everywhere Percy went. But the bitterness had passed. Percy was once again accepted, but not quite welcomed, into the family. That alone seemed to have done wonders for Mum's mood. Ginny knew that Mum was happy to have her entire family together and on speaking terms.

Dinner was going rather well. There was only one food fight, started by Fred and George of course, which Mum ended very quickly. She even looked intimidating with mashed potatoes dripping down the side of her face. Ginny started to laugh at the memory of it. Bill gave her a curious look and she quickly shook her head and stuffed her napkin in her mouth to stifle her laughter. Bill just grinned at her, glanced at mum, then back at Ginny and winked. He mimicked Mum's face as the potatoes flew across the table to hit her right in the head. Ginny and Ron both cracked up with laughter, as Bill did a very good imitation of Mum incredulously wiping a handful of potatoes off of her cheek.

"William!" Mum yelled out sharply. They all stopped laughing and looked down the table to see her glaring at Bill. "I do believe we are here to eat dinner, not play charades." She said scolding, but they could all see the smile lurking beneath the surface.

"Yes, Mum." Bill replied and stuffed a big spoonful of potatoes into his mouth. Mum grimaced slightly, but turned back to her previous conversation.

The noise level returned to its usual high, drowning out all other sounds in the house. Ginny reveled in it. She loved the noisy bustling of her family. She'd heard the saying "silence is golden" and she didn't agree. She had been in silence before, and she never wanted to return there. The world had seemed so silent and lonely when she was under Tom Riddle's control. That definitely wasn't golden. Ginny had been engulfed by the silence in the attack on the ministry. That attack had caused further silence from Harry and Hermione. As far as Ginny could tell silence was anything but golden. It was darkness and danger. She would trade silence for the noise of her family any day.

'Can you hear that?' Ron's voice floated into her thoughts, interrupting them. He sounded curious, almost worried. Ginny couldn't understand why. All she heard was the noises that her family was making. She raised her head to make eye contact with him. She looked at him questioningly.

'That ringing.' Ron explained. 'It's faint, I can barely hear it over all the noise in here, but…can't you hear it?'

Ginny closed her eyes and concentrated on listening. She could hear laughter, talking, clinking of forks and knives, and…something else. Beneath all the surface sound was a shrill ringing. It was nearly drown out by the noise of the Weasleys, but it was definitely there. She nodded at Ron and then turned to look at her parents. "Hey Mum!" Ginny called down the table. "What is that ringing noise?"

"Ringing noise?" Mum repeated questioningly. She then sat and listened for whatever sound was bothering her daughter. "Quiet, all of you! I can't hear a thing!"

The very second the family fell silent, the ringing seemed to erupt from the walls. It was so loud it nearly overpowered Ginny. She didn't know how they could have missed it before. The twins were loud, but this was ridiculous. She saw the panicked looks her parents were exchanging and knew that this was not a good sign. Everyone whipped out their wands as Dad yelled instructions.

"It's the wards! They've been breached! We're under attack! Everyone get out!" Dad stood by his chair, scanning the room holding his wand at the ready. He snapped to attention when he heard a loud pop behind him. He spun around shouting, "Stup--" Dad did not get the chance to finish the spell before the killing curse hit him. The rest of the family found themselves absolutely frozen as Arthur Weasley's lifeless body, illuminated in an unnatural green light, fell to the dining room floor.

And for just one moment, everything was silent. There was no laughter, no talking, no alarm, and no curses. Just silence. Tears filled Ginny's eyes as she stared at her father's dead body. She didn't wonder why her limbs refused to work. She didn't notice that the noise, the screaming, had started up again. She didn't notice when her wand was taken from her. All she heard was silence and all she saw was her father, her loving, caring father, lying cold and pale on the floor.

And all she could think was, 'Silence is golden.'