Chapter 15: Everything

Luna wasn't on the train.

Shit.

Ginny had arrived early for probably the first time in her life. She had preemptively said goodbye to her friends in the common room and explained she probably wouldn't see them on the train. She had an important meeting. They understood, and Ginny quickly made her way down to Hogsmead to be one of the first on the train to ensure she had a compartment all to herself.

Time passed and she waited… and waited… and waited. It wasn't until the train pulled out of the station that Ginny had started to get worried. She performed a slow, methodical search of the train, but like her quest for Harry Potter at the start of her first year, her target was nowhere to be found… and… well, Ginny highly doubted a house elf had closed the entrance to the platform, forcing Luna to take a flying car home. Firstly, Hogsmead station had no special entrance to enchant. Secondly, she doubted Luna had access to a flying car… actually, Ron said the car was living in the forest now, and it would be very much like Luna to befriend it… so scratch secondly. Thirdly, that entire situation was simply too ridiculous to happen again, much less within two years.

Since Ginny couldn't find Luna anywhere on the train, that meant Luna didn't want to be found. Hence… well, shit.

Ginny found herself standing in the empty compartment. She stared at the empty seats, wondering. This wasn't how she thought the day would go. She thought she would have some closure. Either Luna would hate her, or forgive her, or something in the middle. At least she would know where she stood. At least she would be able to do something!

But she must have done something. Luna had agreed to meet. She must have done something between that letter and this morning that made her change her mind. The thing was Ginny had not done anything. She hadn't tried to speak with Luna; she hadn't even interacted with any Ravenclaws.

Ginny sighed. She could use a distraction. Her friends weren't expecting her, and she didn't want to share her failure with them. Ron, Hermione, and Harry were sitting together discussing Merlin knew what. Neville was sitting with Seamus and Dean. She would go find the twins. They were always good for a laugh. Maybe they were pulling a prank or up to a game of exploding snap. Accept the failure and move on. Don't look back.


Ginny would have liked to sleep in on the first morning of summer vacation, but she found herself sitting up in bed, wide awake while the sun still hung low over the horizon. It had been the same in school. She rarely could get a reasonable night's sleep and was always awakened by a nightmare, whether she remembered the contents or not. Ginny had long ago gotten acclimated to the lack of sleep, but at home she had her parents to worry about. They would freak out if they found out she was still having nightmares. In school, it was easy to hide – her friends just thought she didn't need much sleep and her brothers couldn't get into the girl's dormitory to check on her at night – but at home things were different. She had gotten a pass last year, but if they noticed now, they would force her to see a healer for sure. If there was one thing Ginny knew, it was there was no way in hell she would ever see a healer. She was not some wacko. She was not broken. She was fine… well mostly fine. Maybe she could convince them she was just an early riser? Bloody hell she wished Bill were home. He would help cover for her.

Ginny climbed out of bed. If she was going to be up before everyone else in the house, she might as well take advantage of it. Fred and George had their brooms in the shed, and Ginny had not flown in far too long. Grabbing her wand to remove the security enchantments on the shed, Ginny silently crept down the stairs. Tom had told her that the Ministry couldn't really detect magic performed by children within magical households, and Ginny – after writing a few letters to Bill asking about the detection of underaged magic – made her first test last night. No official Ministry reprimand had arrived, so she was in the clear – although she expected Bill knew what she was asking about. Mum and Dad would still be furious at her if they saw her using any magic because it was technically still against the law, but she would be fine if she were careful. She would only use it for important things… like flying.

To her shock, there was someone sitting on the front step of her house, watching the sun rise above the treetops.

"Hello Ginny."

"Um… hi Luna."

"We should talk," Luna said as she turned down to walk down to the clearing. Ginny rushed to keep up.

Luna stopped to sit under the shade of one of the trees, and Ginny took advantage to ask the question that was now burning in her mind. "Where were you yesterday?"

Luna flushed and averted her normally piercing eyes. "I got a bit held up and missed the train. I flooed directly home, but that's not why we're here."

"I suppose not," Ginny replied, taking a seat opposite the blond.

"You said if I would hear you out, you would explain everything."

"You heard me! I thought you slipped away again. Why didn't you come?"

"Because I wasn't sure if I could trust you."

Ginny grimaced. "What made you change your mind?"

"I saw your boggart. That was Tom, right?"

"Yeah," Ginny sighed, "That was Tom."

"So, what did you want to tell me?"

"I needed to explain everything. I owe it to you… it's just… I don't even know where to begin?"

"How about at the beginning?"

"Yeah," Ginny chuckled, "I guess… Okay…so it probably started when I got the diary on the trip to Diagon Alley to get my books for school. I found the book hidden inside my cauldron when we got home. I figured my Dad added it for me as a present or maybe it was just left in the cauldron by accident. It was so crazy when we were leaving with Lockhart and the Malfoys. It seemed mostly blank, with only the name of the previous owner on the inside cover. I wrote in it, and Tom wrote back. He was so nice to me. I could just tell him things; like how Harry was staying by us, and I couldn't work up the courage to talk to him. How I didn't think he noticed me. How Ron was ignoring me because Harry was here. How worried I was about starting Hogwarts… I could tell him anything. I told him everything. He gave good advice. I had no one else to talk to, and he understood me."

"Why didn't you talk to me?"

"Because you weren't here. You weren't here, and Tom wanted to listen."

"Why didn't you tell anyone about Tom?"

"I don't know really. He was… he was my friend and no one else's. He was my secret friend. I didn't want to share him with anyone else.

"At home, I think I was mostly okay. Everything was so busy those weeks. Once I got to Hogwarts, I started spending more time with Tom. He liked it when I told him what was going on in school and classes. He said it was like reliving his time as a student. He even helped me with classes. I probably learned more from him that year than from most of the professors. He also helped me with my roommates and brothers. He was always there and so… steady… you know? Whenever anything happened, be it a problem or just feeling a bit lonely, I could always pull out the diary and write to Tom. He was so patient and kind. He said I was never a waste of time, even with my stupid, dumb issues. I just kept writing with him.

"A couple weeks after school started, I started getting sick. I kept falling asleep at weird times and there were these gaps in my memory; like I couldn't remember where I was during the feast for Halloween. They kept happening more and more. I was terrified, but Tom convinced me not to tell anyone. I should have suspected him then, but I took his advice, and everything just kept getting worse. I kept waking up in places without knowing how I got there. I thought I was going mad, and I relied on Tom more and more. He would tell me what I was doing before and where I needed to go. I trusted him with everything.

"It took me months, but I eventually tried to get rid of the diary. I thought the diary was cursed or something. Not Tom, but the diary. Never Tom. I tried to flush it down a toilet in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, and I thought I was feeling better. I tried to talk to you then. I couldn't remember what happened between us, but Tom said you didn't want to be friends in school. I wanted to respect that choice, but I needed other advice, and you were the only person I could ask. The only other person I trusted enough. Do you remember?"

"Yes. I cast a sticking charm."

"Yeah. I thought that meant Tom was right: that you didn't want to be friends anymore. I left you alone after that. I didn't realize what your reaction meant then. I'm sorry."

Luna nodded in response.

"Well… I saw that Harry had found the diary. I couldn't let that happen. If there was a curse on the diary, then he would get sick instead. I couldn't let that happen. He was too important. To be completely honest here, I couldn't let Tom share everything I told him. I didn't think he would intentionally, but he might let something slip… so I stole the diary back. I stole Tom back. Things were okay for a bit, but then they started getting even worse than before. I had this seemingly crazy idea that I was attacking people. I never could remember where I was when there was an attack. The idea wouldn't go away, despite Tom's assurances. I think I tried to tell Harry. To talk to Harry. He was the only other person to have met Tom, but I didn't get a chance.

"Tom stopped pretending. He had been possessing me all year. The blackouts were from him erasing my memories of his possessions. I had opened the Chamber of Secrets. He made me go down there… and… well… Harry found me and saved me.

"I've slowly been remembering what happened during those gaps in my memory, and I hurt you, and I need to apologize," Ginny concluded, feeling drained. She had never told anyone the story before. Not like this.

Luna sat there, staring at her with a blank expression. "So, what do you want me to say?"

"I don't have the right to expect you to say anything. We were friends, and I hurt you. I didn't trust you early enough. I just need you to know the truth of what happened."

"Well, I believe you…," Luna replied. Ginny felt a tightness in her chest suddenly relax. "… but I don't think that's why you wanted to tell me."

"Huh?"

"You're not looking for my forgiveness. That's not why you told me… I think you want someone to blame you. Someone else to blame you the same way you obviously blame yourself," Luna looked up to meet Ginny's eyes with a hard, piercing gaze. "I do blame you. Everything that happened in our first year was your fault."

"But…"

"No. Now is my turn to talk," Luna scolded. "You could have told your father. You should have asked about the diary. You could have told Percy or Ron or Bill. You should have told Bill. When you started to feel sick, you should have gone to the hospital wing. You should have told someone. Anyone. You could have told me. You should have told me. I even tried to warn you about the diary on the train, remember? You just ignored me. So, yes. This is your fault."

"I know."

"No, you don't! There are a hundred times where you could have made a different decision. A thousand times! But this is not all your fault. What about whoever gave you the diary? I doubt it was your father. Maybe it was dropped by accident, but given the outcome, I doubt that as well. Someone planted it on you, probably knowing what it would do. Don't they deserve blame? What about Dumbledore and the professors? It is their responsibility to protect their students. That includes you. What about your parents? They failed to protect you as well. Why don't you blame them? What about the Ministry? What about the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures? What about the DMLE? What about Slytherin himself? He left the Basilisk in the school. Is he free of fault as well?"

"No, but…"

"What about me? I tried to warn you about the diary. I should have tried harder. I should have done something different. You should blame me. Everything you went through is my fault."

"No, it's not, Luna…"

"I'm not done. What about Tom? What about the diary itself? He deserves the most blame. It was his plan. He tricked you. He deserves orders of magnitude more blame than you."

"I know."

"You may know, but do you understand? Yes, what happened is partially your fault, but there are so many more people who are also to blame. You screwed up. I screwed up. We all screwed up. Everything is screwed up, but you have nothing to blame yourself for."

Ginny started to cry. She couldn't stop it. The tears just flowed out of her eyes. Bloody hell, she didn't need to be crying now.

Luna hesitated for a moment, before pulling Ginny into a tight hug.

A few minutes later, Ginny pushed the last tears from her eyes and said. "I'm okay. I think I'm okay… So where do we go from here?"

"I don't know."

"Well, I would like to be friends again."

"I would like that too," Luna replied. Her face broke into a nervous smile, which Ginny mirrored on her own.

Ginny sighed. "You know, I was so worried about what you would say. I really thought you would say no."

Luna shrugged. "I can't. Now that you explained everything, the past two years finally make sense. I don't think we ever weren't friends. We just needed to be much much much better with communication."

"Yeah…" Ginny trailed off and the pair sat in quietly for a couple minutes. The silence became increasingly oppressive until Ginny finally asked, "You mentioned earlier that you warned me about the diary. I was wondering… well how did you know?"

Luna froze, color draining from her face. "I can't answer that."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I can't tell you. Please don't ask me to."

"Okay," Ginny replied cautiously. "After everything I just told you, I get why you would be worried about telling me."

"That's not what I meant. It's not that I don't trust you. I do. I really do. This isn't a matter of trust… I made a promise. I can't tell you. I can't tell anyone."

"Yeah… no… I get it." Ginny rapidly cast her mind to find another, safer topic of conversation. "So what classes are you taking this year?"

"Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy, and Divination. You?"

"Ancient Runes and Divination as well. We'll be in the same class!"

"Do you know much about the subject?"

"Well, Ron and Hermione took it this year, and they both thought that Trelawney was a batty old fraud."

"Well that is disappointing."

"Why?"

"Because I was hoping to actually learn something. Isn't that the point of taking classes?"

Ginny shrugged, remembering how she chose her class list. Learning had not been a particularly high priority then.

With the failure of both topics, the oppressive silence began to fall again.

A voice called out from the top of the hill. "Ginny! Where are you!"

"Down here!" Ginny shouted back at her mother. "We should probably head up."

The two girls walked to the edge of the clearing. "Disappearing like that. You nearly gave me a heart attack," Mrs. Weasley scolded. Then she saw Luna emerging from the trees, and she gave a relieved smile. "Hello, Luna dear. It is so nice to see you. Will you be joining us for breakfast?"

Luna turned to Ginny who shrugged. "I suppose. Thank you, Mrs. Weasley."

"Oh, it's no trouble dear. No trouble at all."

As they walked up the hill, Ginny asked, "Did you hear about the Quidditch World Cup?"

"No, but did you hear about the Ministry's plans to import dragons to help overthrow Gringotts?"

"What? Why would they need dragons to do that?"

"Well we don't really know Fudge is planning on using them against Gringotts. My father just heard from a reliable source that the Ministry plans on importing three highly dangerous dragons."

"I doubt that."

"The World Cup would even be the perfect way to get the wizarding population safely away while they make their move."

"Luna!"

Luna gave a wide grin and wink. Ginny couldn't help but laugh.


There was a loud crack. Molly gave a quick glance to the clock as Arthur's hand moved from Traveling to Home. She then checked the time and clucked her tongue at the hour.

"They really kept you late tonight Arthur."

"It's not something I can really control, dear," Arthur said before giving his wife a kiss. "Amelia wanted to discuss preparations for the Cup. The campgrounds are muggle owned after all, and we need to be prepared for the inevitable muggle baiting schemes."

"Do you want to know who stopped by today? Luna Lovegood."

"Xeno's girl? Isn't Ron a bit young to be dating?"

"Of course, he is. She was here to visit Ginny."

"It's nice that Ginny is starting to have friends over again."

"I know, but that's not the most important thing. Arthur, I heard Ginny laughing again."

"That's wonderful! I knew she would be alright."

"You've always said so, but I'm finally starting to believe that you might be right," Mrs. Weasley replied. "Well, how was your day dear?"

"It was good. I was just very busy, but the DMLE is nowhere near as busy as the Department of International Cooperation. When is Percy supposed to start there?"

"Next week."

"It's an exciting time for him to join the department with both the Cup and the Tournament preparations underway."

"As long as they don't work him too hard. He's still so young, and it's the summer. He needs to have fun and relax."

"This is Percy, dear. He'll love the work… Oh, that reminds me. I asked Bagman about the extra tickets, but he was only able to give me one. The box is already full. I know Ron wanted to bring both Harry and Hermione, but we only have ten tickets."

"That's no problem. They can take my seat."

"But Molly…"

"No Arthur. Harry is practically family. We need to take him to the Cup. He loves Quidditch as much if not more than the others, and he'll love the match. Hermione is a muggleborn. If we don't take her, she won't be able to go. Besides, I've never liked Quidditch. I always thought it was a needlessly dangerous sport. I never understood why you and the children were so obsessed with it."

"If you're sure, dear."

"I am sure. You just need to promise to look after all of them, especially the little ones."

"I promise, Molly."


"Sunshine, I got this letter saying you made an abnormally high number of trips to the hospital wing this year. The school nurse seems to be concerned about some sort of bullying."

Luna looked up from her copy of A Wizard's Introduction to Warding, Third Edition as her father walked into her room, holding the offending letter. "Daddy, Hogwarts is a magical school with a terrible Wackspurt infestation. People are getting injured all the time. She is just concerned I missed the train."

"Why did you miss the train, buttercup?"

"I was contemplating the properties of footwear, Daddy."

"I'm glad we cleared that up. People can be so excitable at times."

"Of course, Daddy. I think it would be best if you ignored similar letters in the future. As a school nurse, her job is to worry. I am just as safe at Hogwarts as any other student."

"That is truly a relief, butterfly. Also, I have been meaning to talk to you. Svenson thinks he found a couple lakes with nokken. What do you think about traveling to Denmark at the end of the summer?"

"Oh," Luna said, clapping her hands in delight, "that sounds really exciting!"


A/N: So this wraps up the second arc of the story, which focused mostly on Ginny's recovery from the diary. I hope this fit together a couple loose ends from cannon, most notably if the Weasleys are so poor, why did they spend all of their winnings on a trip to Egypt? On another note, I was hoping to have finished the third arc (GoF) before posting this chapter, but I've been having a lot of trouble with some of the later chapters. That being the case, it will probably be a couple months before I am resume posting. However, any feedback from a favorite, follow, or even better, a review or PM is really appreciating. It is incredibly motivating to hear that people have been reading and enjoying the story!