Title: Losing Faith
Summary: It's the summer after Ginny's sixth year, and Voldemort is dead. But still, things are not how they should be. How will everyone cope now that the worst threat is over? HG RHr
Genre: Angst/Drama
Rating: T
Disclaimer: It's all JK Rowling's. 'Nuff said.
A/N: Muchos thanks to my kind reviewers – Gryffindor-girl12, Mei fa-chan, Amaherst, Cappygirl116 and MoniqueDubois. Cappygirl116, I've actually been reading your fic, and I will review as soon as I finish! Also, my knowledge of the Italian language is just about nil, literally – I am relying on online translators which I know are not often reliable, so apologies for that.
V I V I V
LEARNING
As the world stopped tilting and spinning around her, Ginny's feet connected solidly with the ground and the only thing that stopped her from falling was Ness' grip on her arm. Feeling vaguely queasy, never a fan of the transportation of Portkeys, she kept her eyes tightly closed for several more moments until she was sure her arrival into Italy would not be accompanied with the remains of her breakfast.
"Are you okay?" Ness' concerned voice forced Ginny to open her eyes and she squinted against the bright sunshine, seeing white spots for a few seconds until her vision adjusted to her new surroundings. She found herself only giving a brief nod as she stared around in utter awe. They were standing in what looked to be a cobbled courtyard just behind a two-story, flat-roofed villa with holes in the walls that Ginny presumed to be windows without glass. To their left was the most spectacular view of the city a while below; they appeared to be situated at the top of a steep, grassy hill. The right led off down a dusty, dry track, which Ginny suspected probably led to nowhere and in the center of the courtyard was a fountain that had a stone fairy prancing around in the water, spurting out gushes of water through her wand.
"Wow." Ginny murmured, moving to the left and leaning over the wooden fence to peer down at the city. While the atmosphere was so different to England, it reminded her of a much larger version of Ottery St. Catchpole. Tiny figures cycling and walking continuously chattered foreign language to each other and waved as they passed in the street. Street venders yelled across the pathways to each other, and no one seemed to be in a hurry to get anywhere. "It's amazing."
"It is, isn't it?" Ness agreed, abandoning the trunk that she had kept a hold of and joining Ginny at the fence. "I've only been here about five months but I've really grown to love it."
Ginny turned in surprise. She didn't know what had possessed her to think that Ness had always lived in Venice – Healer Gregory had never mentioned anything of the thought, and the English accent the Empath had surely gave it away. "Where were you before?" She asked, curiously.
"I've been all around – there are so few Empath Healers nowadays, because it's such a taxing job, that we're always being transported across the world when we're needed." Ness explained, blowing a strand of dark hair out of her eyes. "I grew up in Cornwall, and then we moved to Edinburgh when I was eleven – my parents wanted to be closer by when I started at Hogwarts. Then I undertook my Empath training in America, and my Healer training back in Scotland – I was stationed around the North of England for the first year of my actual career, then sent to France – and then here."
"Blimey." Ginny said. "You're well traveled, then." There was no small amount of envy on her face. The trip she had taken with her family to Egypt had been their one vacation and a wonderful one at that, but her thirst to see the world would not be quenched at that one country.
"I am." Ness nodded, turning so that her back leant against the fence. "It's great most of the time, but I do miss my family and friends – being so busy, I don't get a chance to see them much. I do feel guilty, because it is my choice to do this job, and that means neglecting my family and friends." Her keen eyes looked over Ginny. "You feel the same."
Ginny opened her mouth to protest, deny, and found that no words were escaping her. "Um…" She began lamely. "Well, I don't have a job – well, I did, but only for this summer, and I still saw my parents and my brothers in the evenings and mornings, and at weekends, so it wasn't…" She trailed off as Ness raised her eyebrows, and sighed. "Okay, so maybe I did overwhelm myself in the first year of my NEWTs, and – I didn't come home for Christmas and Easter because I wanted to study and – so maybe I neglected my friends a bit but I just wanted to do well."
"And you feel bad now because two of those friends are gone and you can't go back and spend more time with them." Ness stated matter-of-factly. Ginny shifted uncomfortably, aware of the Healer's scrutinizing gaze and the heat of the summer sunshine on the back of her neck.
"Damn, you're good." She said with a shaky laugh, and pushed herself away from the fence.
"It's not a bad thing, Ginny." Ness insisted, following the redheaded girl as she moved towards her trunk. With a flick of her wand and a mutter of the familiar levitation charm, the wooden case was floating in midair next to them. "We all have to make choices, and they may not always be the right ones, but we learn from them and move on." She gave Ginny a heartening smile before striding across the courtyard and through the open kitchen door. Still feeling guilty, Ginny trailed behind, taking in the simple context of the first room – a tiled floor, a long counter that stretched across one wall and accommodated an oven, a sink and a fridge, and a wooden table surrounded by chairs. "It's not much." Ness said apologetically. "Rather impersonal at the moment, I'm afraid – Glyn and I are trying to make it seem a little more homely, but we're so busy that we simply haven't had time."
Ginny frowned. "Who's Glyn?"
"Oh!" Ness slapped her hand to her forehead, looking ashamed. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot – Gregory mentioned that I had another patient, didn't he?"
"Yes, he did say something." Ginny recalled.
"Well, that's Glyn Charlton. He's eighteen, has been with me a few months – keeps himself to himself mostly, though he's become a little less withdrawn over time. He's a lovely lad – I'm sure you'll get to be good friends over time. Don't be put off by him at first, he's just shy." Ness encouraged, pushing open the one remaining door in the kitchen and stepping out into what appeared to be a living area. A spiral staircase stood just in the corner of the room, two cream couches set nearby and three comfortable armchairs settled around a coffee table in the middle. A large bookcase was next to another door, crammed to the top with books and games. "This is the study, where we'll have our sessions." Ness explained, pushing open the door next to the bookcase to reveal another large, rather empty room that only possessed a long oak desk, three armchairs identical to the ones in the living room, and another bookshelf filled with strangely titled books. "We mostly try to keep outside, though – it's much cooler, and more comfortable."
Nodding, feeling sick with nerves, Ginny followed Ness up the twisting staircase and found that they were standing at the end of a long hallway with several doors on either side. Ness moved down the hall in a straight line, pointing out the doors on the way. "That's my bedroom, there." She said, tapping on one door that was held ajar. "And that's one of the two bathrooms. This is Glyn's room – this is the other bathroom, and what we call a store room – which is basically where all the junk is thrown." She grinned mischievously, her eyes twinkling. "I wouldn't dare open the door; we'll get trapped underneath mounds of things that I thought I'd lost a long time ago."
At the end of the corridor, she pushed open the last door with a dramatic flourish. "And your bedroom, milady!"
Ginny couldn't help but gape again. The entire house was, as Ness had described, impersonal, as was this room, but it was still quite spectacular. With a tiled floor to stop the room from getting too hot, and cream walls, it was fairly plain, though the king-sized old fashioned oak bed with gold and cream drapes certainly made up for it, as did the oak armoire and the double French doors leading out onto a balcony that looked out over the city.
"Feel free to brighten it up in any way you can." Ness suggested, pulling a face. "I don't know your tastes – though I suspect a few discarded clothes and a large selection of Muggle books does the trick for you."
Ginny grinned. "Got it in one." She said, thinking of her room back at the Burrow with the shelf groaning under the weight of her Muggle books and the clothes that took up every available piece of floor space.
"I'm off to go and make some lemonade – I'm parched." Ness said suddenly, moving back towards the door. "I'll leave you to unpack – I think Glyn is out with our neighbours at the moment, and the moment they hear I'm making lemonade they'll be right back, so you can meet them all soon."
The younger girl forced a smile, still trying to adjust to the fact that she was in a foreign country without a soul she knew, living with two strangers and about to meet what sounded like a hoard more. The fact that Ness had started to analyse her practically as soon as they had entered the country, mere minutes after they had met for the first time, made her feel slightly uneasy, and she scolded herself inwardly. It was part of the woman's job, and she would have to get used to it.
Ginny glared at her trunk still standing by the doorway for several moments before purposely turning her back on it. She was never a fan when it came to unpacking - there wasn't really a need for it, she decided firmly, as her clothes looked perfectly comfortable folded up at the bottom of the case. Moving to the double doors, she pushed aside the flimsy curtain and stepped out onto the balcony, gasping simultaneously at the heat that struck her and the view from her bedroom.
It was incredibly peaceful up on the hill away from the city, despite the fact that she could still see many people coming and going along the streets. The silence was odd; Ginny was used to noise, being a member of a rowdy family of nine and spending most of her year living in a massive boarding school, and she knew that it would take a lot of getting used to. Ness didn't seem like the type of person to be overly quiet, however.
Not wanting to get lost in depressed thoughts, especially as the tiny nagging voice in her head was asking her what she would do if Harry returned whilst she was still in Venice to find her gone, Ginny headed down the stairs to the kitchen. Voices from within the room startled her; she had not heard anyone come in. Pushing open the door, she found herself the center of attention in front of a group of strangers.
Swallowing hard, Ginny kept well back, only feeling mildly relieved as she spotted Ness somewhere behind the cluster of teenagers, pouring out glasses of freshly made lemonade.
"Ah, un nuovo arrivato! Che è il suo nome?"
Ginny stared at the petite dark-haired girl that had spoken a flurry of words in a strange language. Another girl, a sister perhaps, giggled and nudged the speaker.
"L'idiota, Rosa! È inglese, lei non può dire?"
"Erm…" Ginny stated blankly, glancing worriedly at Ness, who was struggling to hold back her own giggles. "Sorry, I don't understand."
"Oh, no, I'm sorry!" The first speaker exclaimed, her English thick with an Italian accent. "I forget often that Ness and Glyn are English, for they speak Italian like us."
"That's because of a spell, Rosa." The one male said, sounding amused. So this must be Glyn, Ginny thought interestedly, eyeing the boy. He seemed to be a few years older than her, tall and lanky with floppy brown hair and gray eyes. He caught her gaze and held it for several seconds, his expression unreadable. Suddenly uncomfortable, it was Ginny that broke the gaze, instead turning to force a smile towards the four girls clustered around her. They were all equally olive-skinned, with dark hair and dark eyes. It was only their facial features and their body structure that told Ginny they were probably not even sisters, let alone twins or quadruplets.
"I'm Ginny." She said haltingly when no one made any move to introduce each other.
"That's pretty." The smallest girl said softly; she could not have been older than twelve or thirteen years old. "I'm Carlotta."
"We're cousins." The first speaker explained, motioning around at the other girls. "I am Rosa; I live next door with my aunt, uncle and Carlotta. Anna and Gina are just visiting for the day; they live across the other side of the city."
Ginny nodded politely, feeling rather out of place as the girl that Rosa had introduced as Anna turned to Glyn and started to chatter away in Italian. He replied with equal fluency, his expression never changing. Carlotta and Gina, who seemed around Ginny's age, were playing 'slapsies' with their hands and giggling wildly, whilst Rosa stared unashamedly at Ginny, curiosity evident in her eyes.
"Lemonade." Ness interrupted, to Ginny's relief, and set the tray of drinks down on the table. There was a wild scramble, Carlotta and Gina still giggling – Ginny realised that those two were going to grate on her nerves awfully quickly – and soon the seven of them were squeezed around the kitchen table, glasses in hand.
The conversation flowed easily – to all but Ginny that was. All six were constantly alternating between Italian and English, confusing the English girl to no end, and not for the first time that day she found herself longing to be back at the Burrow, amongst the people she knew and loved. She stared dismally into her glass, focusing on the bubbles that rose to the surface and popped with tinny sounds that she could only hear if she focused hard.
Ginny moved down the staircase almost in a trance, barely aware of the fact that she was shredding the letter into tiny pieces and leaving it in a trail behind her. As the gargoyle slid closed, she paused, the realisation hitting her so hard her legs very nearly buckled under her.
"Damn it." She whispered, the tears springing fresh to her eyes. Luna's death came flooding back to her… Neville's numb shock as he was informed of his grandmother's death… seeing Harry, so still and white and fragile in the hospital bed… and the celebrations of Voldemort's defeat ringing through the ruined streets of Hogsmeade, even in the aftermath when so many were lost and so many homes were destroyed. The bitterness overwhelmed her and she kicked the wall in a fury, ignoring the throbbing pain as her foot connected with solid stone. "DAMN IT!"
Ginny snapped her mouth closed, aware that she had been about to curse or do worse, and flushed as she realised that Ness was scrutinizing her again, not looking concerned but simply – intrigued. Pushing her chair back, Ginny muttered an excuse and left the kitchen, blinking back the tears. Sitting down on the bottom step of the staircase, she put her head in her hands, breathing hard, trying to sort out her jumbled emotions. Someone clearing their throat uncomfortably made her shoot upright, clutching her hand to her chest and gasping.
"Bloody hell, you scared me!"
Glyn shifted from foot to foot. "Sorry. Are you all right?"
Biting back a snide retort, which she had tended to do whenever Hermione or her family had asked her that question – this was a stranger she was talking to – Ginny lifted her shoulders into a shrug and forced a smile. She seemed to be doing that quite often lately. "I'm fine." She lied. He didn't look convinced.
"Why are you here?"
Ginny gaped, astounded, and felt herself prickle with indignation. "I don't see that's any business of yours." She said finally, stiffly. He blinked, taken aback.
"Oh – oh, right, of course. Sorry." There was a pause. "But, we're going to be living together, so surely…"
"I've known you all of twenty minutes." Ginny said, narrowing her eyes. "It takes a little longer for me to trust someone enough to reveal something so personal."
Glyn took several steps backward, raising his hands in the air in a gesture of defeat. "All right – okay, sorry I asked. Just – came to see if you were all right, that's all. Never mind."
"Wait." Ginny said suddenly, feeling bad. "I'm sorry – I didn't mean to snap. This is just taking some getting used to – I've not been here long."
"You only arrived today, didn't you?" Glyn queried, settling down in one of the armchairs. She nodded, slowly lowering herself back onto the stair, swiping a hand across her eyes to make sure that they were dry. His gaze never faltered from her, unnerving her, and she glared at him.
"Stop that!"
"Stop what?"
"Staring." Ginny wrapped her arms around herself. "You keep staring at me. What's so interesting?"
It was Glyn's turn to flush, and he shrugged. "Sorry. I just didn't expect you to be so…"
"So what?" Ginny pressed as he failed to continue.
"Grown up." He replied bashfully, breaking the contact and looking towards the floor. Ginny laughed.
"I'm only sixteen."
"I know – but you seem so much older." He started tugging at the threads of his trousers. "Sorry, but… well, if I didn't know how old you were, I'd say you were about nineteen."
"That's what war does to you." Ginny said dryly. "Makes you grow up before your time. Even my brothers are a lot older than they should be, and they used to be so irritating and immature."
His head snapped up, and Ginny could have sworn there was a glint of something – a twinkle, perhaps – in his gray eyes. "How are they?"
She blinked, startled. "I beg your pardon?"
"Oh, I mean – your family is all okay after the war, aren't they?"
It was rather an odd question to ask, Ginny decided. "They're fine." She informed him. "I've got a large family, and we were rather – directly involved – so there was always the worry that one of us would fall, but miraculously none of us did." She failed to mention Harry, or Luna, who had really been a part of their family… but she doubted that Glyn would understand.
Another awkward silence fell. Unable to stand it, Ginny stood back up, pushing her hair away from her face. "Well – I'm – I'm off to unpack." She said finally, knowing she would do no such thing but needing to get away, feeling rather stifled. Glyn gave her a mere nod as she hurried up the stairs, and stopped at the top, leaning against the wall to try and make sense of what had just happened. There was something quite odd about the boy – in the extremely short time she had known him, she could tell that he wasn't quite as shy as Ness had made him out to be – simply withdrawn. He certainly seemed advanced in managing to hide his emotions and thoughts. Those gray eyes were creepy, she decided with a shudder. So piercing, yet… empty. It scared her.
But the little nagging voice was back, telling her for some reason that she should get to know this Glyn… and find out why he had been sent to live with an Empath Healer.
V I V I V
Dusk fell, and Ness found Ginny in her bedroom, curled on the floor by the balcony doors surrounded by screwed up pieces of parchment and broken quills. The girl gave a grin up at the Healer who perched on the end of the bed, eyeing her contemplatively.
"Trying to do my homework. It's not working."
"I'm shocked." Ness said, raising her eyebrows. "First night in Venice, and you're doing homework. Somehow, I didn't think that you would be that type of person."
"I'm not – I hate homework with a passion, like just about everyone else." Ginny said wryly, standing up and brushing down her robes. "But I didn't – well, I wasn't sure what else to do."
"Are you kidding?" Ness exclaimed, her eyes wide. "First of all, there are about a gazillion books and games downstairs. Secondly, you've just come for the first time to Venice. There are plenty of places to explore!"
Ginny paused, her mouth slightly open. For some reason it hadn't occurred to her that she would be allowed to explore the city – her mother was always so overprotective, and they had never been allowed even into London without being escorted by an Auror.
Of course, things were very different now. Ness giggled at the expression on her young charge's face.
"You didn't think I'd lock you up and keep you confined to the house, did you?"
Ginny's face flushed a dull red and she ducked her head, struggling to keep the sheepish grin off her face. "I didn't really think about it."
"Right." Ness said firmly, pushing herself off the bed. "We're going out to dinner. You need to meet the city, and what better way to start than with the best Italian food around?" She moved towards the doorway. "What say you?"
"I say – excellent!" Ginny gave a genuine smile for the first time that day.
An hour later saw Ness, Ginny and Glyn sitting at a small table outside one of the popular Italian restaurants, all kitted out in Muggle clothing to blend in with the crowd. Whilst Ness and Glyn chattered quietly, Ginny continued to twist around in her seat, desperate to see everything, her eyes wide with awe, and constantly pointing out things that interested her. Her company kept glancing at her in amusement; it was nothing new to them, but Ginny's enthusiasm was contagious.
"Pasta!" Ginny said gleefully as their dishes were set in front of them, and dived in as if she hadn't eaten for weeks – despite her mother's insistence to fatten the entire Weasley clan up, her appetite had been nil, yet she was suddenly absolutely starving.
"Before I forget, I think I should mention ground rules." Ness piped up as they dug into their dinner. "Considering what Ginny thought living here would be like, things need to be made clear."
Glyn glanced at Ginny curiously. "What did you think?"
"Oh, nothing." Ginny waved a hand dismissively, hoping that she wasn't turning red again. She seemed to be doing that a lot – though it was probably a combination of heat, she reassured herself.
"Don't think you're confined to the house." Ness said, turning to her newest charge. "But don't go off without telling me, either – I know you're nearing adulthood, but that doesn't mean it's safe, especially as at the moment you can't use magic to protect yourself."
Ginny nodded, expecting as much.
"We have a two hour group session each evening aside from tonight – and an hour session in the mornings alone." Ness explained. "But anytime you need to talk, just come and seek me out – I don't have much of a life, so I'll be around." She grinned cheerfully. "Healer Gregory also comes once every two weeks, just to check how things are going."
"Only because he fancies you." Glyn muttered under his breath, earning a stern glare from the Healer. Ginny didn't even bother to stifle her giggles.
"During the day, you can do what you want – go out, or there are plenty of things to do around the villa. We have a house-elf, Twinkie, so there's no need to help out with chores."
"Isn't Twinkie the name of a Muggle sweet?" Ginny asked, remembering the class trip to London she had been on with her Muggle Studies class. She subsided under Ness' rather amused stare. "Sorry. Carry on."
"Nothing is out of bounds in the villa aside from each others' bedrooms, unless you have permission." Ness stated, spearing a tomato and chewing on it with a blissful look on her face. "Privacy is important." At Ginny's nod, she leant back in her chair, raising her arms above her head and patting her stomach. "And that's about all, I think."
"You forgot the fairy." Glyn pointed out. Ginny stared at him.
"What fairy? There's a fairy?"
"Yup." Glyn grinned. "The stone one, in the fountain – I suppose she's not really real but she certainly acts that way. Think Moaning Myrtle. I'd keep out of her way if I were you – she gets so moody at the slightest thing, and then other times she doesn't stop giggling – her, Carlotta and Gina together are rather awful. Don't antagonize her, because she'll either drench you or throw a fit loud enough to wake the Muggles down in the city."
Ginny shook her head, surprised – she had only just caught the tail end of Glyn's words, his first few sentences still registering in her mind. "You went to Hogwarts?"
"Yes." He eyed her warily. "Where did you think I went?"
"Oh, I don't know." She shrugged. "I didn't really think about it – but I suppose, you can't have gone to Beauxbatons as that's an all-girls school, and Durmstrang – well, I've met pupils from Durmstrang and you certainly don't seem like one of those, so – I don't know what I thought." She rested her chin in her hands. "When did you graduate? And what house were you in?"
He shifted, looking strangely uncomfortable. "Uh – I was in – um, Hufflepuff, yes. And I graduated – uh, this year."
Ginny pondered for a moment before looking apologetic. "Sorry, I don't remember seeing you around at all. I'm just about to go into my seventh year – and I'm a Gryffindor."
"I know."
"What?" Taken aback, Ginny paused in the process of raising her glass of coke to her lips. Glyn gave her a small smile.
"I mean, everyone knows the Weasleys – I've seen you and your brothers plenty of times."
"Oh." Ginny said blankly. She knew that her family were well-known, but didn't realise that she herself was. "I – sorry, I've not seen you at all."
"Not a surprise." Glyn returned dryly. "I wasn't the most favourite of people at Hogwarts."
They lapsed into a more comfortable silence, the only sound the slurping of drinks and cutlery scraping against china, until Ginny, the last to finish eating, put her utensils down and say back with a happy sigh. "That was, undoubtedly, the best meal I have ever had – and I don't think that I'm going to be able to eat for another week."
"You have to." Ness looked horrified. "Ice cream always comes next – we never leave this place without having a sundae!"
Glyn snickered. "Even if we're absolutely full to bursting." He informed Ginny. "Ness insists. She'll actually bind you to your chair until you eat it."
Ginny groaned. "Please, please don't give that idea to my mother – she'll start doing the same."
Another snicker emitted from the boy, and she glanced towards him to see that glitter in his eye again… almost as if he knew… Ginny resisted the urge to shake her head and the thoughts out. He was a stranger. Of course he didn't know her, or her family, or her mother's ways.
"What house were you in, Ness?" She asked after they had ordered – Glyn a banana split, Ness a chocolate sundae and Ginny a strawberry sundae. Setting her glass back down, Ness grinned.
"I was a Hufflepuff – in your brother Percy's year."
"Weird – we were all at Hogwarts at the same time, but we never once came across each other." Ginny commented, frowning slightly. Ness shook her head.
"Oh, with the amount of students in Hogwarts it's not a surprise, but I did see both of you around." She gave Glyn a keen look that Ginny couldn't quite differentiate. "Both of you were pretty impossible to miss."
"Really?" Ginny asked again, astounded and feeling inexplicably guilty. "I – I never saw you."
"Stop feeling guilty." Ness scolded. "Like I said – there are hundreds of students in Hogwarts; you can't possibly know each and every one, even if it is only by face and not by name." She let out a girlish squeal that did not quite match up with the stern expression she had plastered on her face as their sundaes were placed in front of them, and, picking up the long spoon, dived in with a vengeance. Glyn and Ginny exchanged amused glances before following the woman's lead.
"Ish good." Ness mumbled through a mouthful of ice cream.
"Cold." Ginny added, though she nodded in agreement. It felt strange, to be sitting eating ice cream with two strangers, talking with her mouth full and not worrying about getting berated by her mother, attacked by Death Eaters or turned into a canary or something similar by the twins.
Actually, rather everything felt strange at that point.
"As we're not going to have a group session tonight, what say we have a game of cards or something?" Ness asked as they traipsed back up the hill towards the villa. Ginny clutched her hand to her side, vowing that she was going to get into proper shape if she was going to be walking up that hill a lot. "They're rather taxing, as Glyn can vouch for, and I didn't think that would be a particularly good start to your time in Venice."
"A game of cards sounds good to me." Glyn piped up, trailing into the living room behind the two girls and collapsing onto one of the sofas, Ginny joining him and Ness sitting cross-legged on the floor opposite, so that the coffee table was between them. Picking up the pack of cards, she proceeded to deal them out so fast that they ended up skidding across the room.
"Ness said you've been here a few months." Ginny stated, picking up her cards and peering at them. "I can't imagine spending that much time away from home – it's different at Hogwarts, you know? I mean, I still managed to see my family quite frequently."
Glyn shrugged, staring hard at his own cards. "Well, I don't really have a family to miss, so I'm all right."
Ginny bit her lower lip hard, trying to tell herself that while she had managed to put her foot in it, she couldn't have known. Seeing her worried look, Glyn hastened to reassure her.
"Oh, it's all right. It's been a long time. And my adoptive family, so to speak – well, I miss them, but it's for their own good."
He tossed a card from his selection down onto the pile, ending that topic, though his words echoed around Ginny's head.
'Ginny… I'm sorry I've not replied to your letters before now. But please, understand… it's for your own good. All of you.'
"Ginny, your turn." Ness pressed gently. Distractedly, Ginny tossed down the first card she picked out of her pile, and with a cry of triumph Ness announced that she had won the game.
"What?" Glyn asked in astonishment. "How? We weren't even playing a game – we were just putting down cards randomly!"
"Were we?" Ness asked innocently, scooping the cards towards her as if they were chips in a poker game. "Well, the game that I thought we were playing meant that I won."
"I swear you're not really four years older than me," Glyn grumbled, scowling at her. "You act younger than Carlotta, for crying out loud."
Ginny snickered as Ness stuck her tongue out at the boy. They didn't seem to have a mentor-charge relationship as she had imagined herself and Ness having. It was more a brother-sister one, and considering what Glyn had just told her, she supposed it was a good thing. She voiced her thoughts out loud, and the two exchanged charming smiles.
"We figured it too, but it's nice to hear someone else mention it." Ness said. "And you, my dear Ginny, will be the addition to our strange little family."
"Please, no." Ginny moaned, holding her hands up in mock defeat. "I've enough brothers as it is. Though I've always wanted a sister."
"Hey!" Glyn said indignantly. "That's not fair." He paused, thinking. "How many brothers do you have?"
"Six." Ginny informed him, and groaned again, Ness matching it with plenty of enthusiasm. "Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George and Ron. And to make matters worse, I'm the youngest, so they can get far too overprotective. They give anyone who dares want to date me the third degree beforehand, and it usually scares people off." She smiled fondly. There had, of course, been the third degree with Harry, though not half as harsh as they had tried it with Michael or Dean, and Harry had stuck it out with determination.
"You have a boyfriend though?" Glyn asked, trying and failing to make his voice sound neutral. Ness' head snapped up and she looked between the two, smirking.
"Yes." Ginny stated firmly, and said no more.
She thought she had seen a flicker of a smile trace across Glyn's face, but decided she had imagined it, and joined in on the rowdy game of cards with matched excitement to the hyperactive twenty-two year old.
V I V I V
Later in the evening, when Ginny had departed to bed long before the other two, she found herself waking up to the sound of hushed voices just outside her room. Frowning, she slid out of bed, padding silently to the door, and, knowing that she shouldn't be eavesdropping, was about to open the door to inform them of her presence when she heard her name mentioned.
"Shh! She'll hear you – it's not a good idea to have this conversation right outside her bloody bedroom!"
"She sleeps like a rock."
Ginny frowned. How could Glyn know how she slept – even if it was true?
"Even so, it's not a good idea." Ness repeated. "Look, we'll talk about this tomorrow."
"You're stalling." Glyn stated. "What on earth possessed you to agree to this? Do you know how dangerous it could be? All that work – could be for nothing!"
"It won't. I know you, and I know that you won't let that happen. Besides, I don't refuse anyone, and when Gregory came to me with Ginny's case, I knew that she would be one I would definitely work with."
"But… things are going to come to light eventually, you know that, and it's not going to go well."
"Whose fault is that?"
"I panicked, all right? I wasn't ready! And now… now, she'll hate me when she finds out…"
"She might not." Ness sounded optimistic, hopeful, but Ginny could have sworn she heard Glyn shaking his head.
"She will." And then there was the sound of footsteps retreating. Puzzled, completely forgetting that she had needed to go to the bathroom, Ginny moved back beneath the thin bed sheets, trying to make sense of what she had just heard.