Edit: For those who have read the first chapters before, I rewrote them and added some more, so make sure to look at the changes !
It was September the 1st, Charlie, Percy and the twins were going back to Hogwarts. It was to be the last year of Charlie. Bill was already away, studying under goblin tutelage in Egypt. It was still a hot issue in the family as Molly hated what Bill did and that he was so far from the family. Every Weasley, except Bill, were on the platform, waiting for the train to depart. Next year, Ron will also leave for Hogwarts, and as much as Ginny pushed him away this last year, she knew she will miss him. For now, he was running after the train, crying his brother's name, telling them goodbye.
It was yet another year between mom and dad and Ron.
The next night, Ginny went back to town as usual. She could not believe it was a year since she had begun to sneak away and lie to her family to do what she was doing. But to her now, every day was succeeding without notion of time, she let herself slip away, living for the sake of living.
She was nine now, and aware of new big words such as depression. She had heard one of the guys at the town say it once to the others he had finished his business on her.
He had said: "She is no use now, look at her, she is barely there. Looks like she has fallen into depression. What a shame. But we had our fun."
Curious, she had then found a dictionary and looked up the word. Depression, it said, was a mood disorder. Symptoms affects how you feel, how you think, sleep, eat, or work. What were the symptoms? Ginny could recognize herself in some of them, such as feeling hopeless, pessimism. She was also feeling guilty, sad, anxious, she was always tired, she couldn't sleep properly, she had lost interest in activities and life in general. Hopefully her mother hadn't seen she was eating less and less. She felt like she had been depressed for a long time now. It had only increased when she had gone to the Lovegoods, feeling so alone and away from her family.
She knew what had caused this depression. When she had started to go to town, she hadn't minded what was happening to her at first. She had chosen it, and all was good as long as she had money from it. Then she had met Lola and Tancred, and they had introduced her to real pain and suffering. But they had taken care of her in the same time, healing her and telling her sweet words of comfort. In a way, she had started to love them, and accept the pain on her body. But they had betrayed her, handing her over people who did not care about her and only used her for their pleasure, enjoying her suffering. At this moment, she had stopped pretending everything was okay, because it couldn't be when she was coming home bruised on every part of her body. She started feeling hopeless, tired and had drawn features because when she tried to sleep, she could only relive the violence of the night, and each time woke up sweeting and crying. She was feeling guilty by living this alone and not telling anyone. She was starting to question what she did, why she did it.
The fact that she had done that to avoid making her mother work seemed so far fetched and so far away from her memory. She could only see the result now in her body and soul. She was feeling like tiny bits of broken glass. She didn't know if she could be repaired anymore. In a way, she was also considering Lola and Tancred responsible for changing her point of view on what she considered at the beginning a heroic quest. To her, it had become suffering a bit for her parents to only feeling pain every night and being forced to come back and live again their abuse. There wasn't any Knight in shining armour, simply a piece of meat wondering how it was going to be eaten this time. She couldn't see any more goals, only endless suffering. She wanted to come back to this time where she had simple clients, when she didn't know what real pain was, when she did that on her own free will. That is why she blamed them. She hated that she had to question what she did.
Proud, red-haired, smiling and easy-going Ginny had become a terrified and tarnished little rabbit, with no spirit.
Help arrived in an unexpected way. It was the muggle police. One night, as Ginny was led forcefully to the club by one of Crow's acolyte, they saw when they arrived near the club multiple police cars. Ginny had learned to recognize them with her job. The man made her quickly hide under the seat while he parked the car. "You're not to be seen, understand that?" and then he had disappeared to investigate. Ginny, terrified to disobey by leaving the car was also extremely curious to see what was happening. Yet she did not have to move as all the action took place in front of her eyes. She saw what she had wished for months now. Lola, Tancred, Crow and his band were forced into the police cars. She wanted to dance, to scream, to celebrate. Because if this was not the end of her torture, she did not know what was.
But she stopped celebrating very quickly. Crow had seen her. Crow. Somehow, he had known she was there, in this car. And he fixed her with the most disturbing and horrifying stare. Then he smiled. This false, nightmare inducing smile that you're will still be remembering years after. That was his way of telling it was not finished and that they were going to see each other again. Lola had seen the exchange, and she winked at Ginny to add salt to the injury. Ginny was sure then that with the confidence they were both showing that somehow, they will get out of their situation and get back to her. It scared her greatly. However, she was still going to fight if she had the chance. And she confirmed her decision by taking a foot out of the car, then her leg, then the other leg and finally she was out! It had been months since she had felt so free. And she couldn't help but cry. Someone had heard her plea! She did not wait for Crow's buddy, rather she took off and run for her life.
Later, she heard that it had been one of the bar's neighbour that began questioning what was happening there, and finally after investigating and finding out the real use of the bar, called the police. She couldn't be more thankful towards somebody. That somebody had done more for her than anybody in a whole year. The arrestation was the talk of the region. Everybody followed in the paper what was happening. Still, those who could hurt her where all in prison, and they couldn't get to her. She knew because she had done all the research she could. Crow, Lola, Tancred and the rest will be judged and then they will be in prison for the rest of their life for what they did.
It was October, and she was enjoying her free time, taking the time to feel herself again, away from the shell she had been for so many months. She relearned what she enjoyed, she took time to spend with her mother, with her brother, she began to smile again, to eat more. She healed, slowly, but she was on the good path. She ignored her body who was asking for the usual pain and sex. Instead, she used her energy for sport, running in the garden, degnoming it, rebuilding her muscles. Every morning she opened her window pane smiling. Life was becoming good again.
And of course, her mother took notice of the changes.
"Ginny, I am so happy to see you in this mood! I thought I had lost my outgoing girl! I thought it was only a normal change, my little girl growing up, being more silent and spending time in her room! But now I'm wondering if I should have questioned this behaviour instead. Are you okay sweetheart?"
"Mum, I am feeling so happy right now. You can't begin to imagine the extent of my happiness."
Her mom laughed, thinking it was some sort of joke. Ginny let it go, because she knew it wasn't worth it anymore. She was happy, everyone was, and she saw no reason to disrupt this peace now. Maybe later she'll tell. Later. She still had something to think about, like giving the money earned to her parents. It was still in her top drawer from that trip in Gringotts in August. She had thought about it and she'll transfer it to her parents through a donation from a late friend or an anonymous person.
They received it as a Christmas gift, as she had planned. And as she watched their face when they opened it, their smile, their relief, she couldn't help herself think she had made the right choice. What she had lived was terrible, she was still healing from it, but this participated in the healing.
Well, until February when she learnt the police hadn't any strong evidence of what had happened in the bar. They should have walked on them torturing them to convict them at once. But now Lola and the rest had found arguments to defend themselves. The police were still going to try, but they will certainly get out of prison by the end of the year. And then it will be hell again.
She didn't know if she wanted to cry, laugh at the irony of it all, scream, destroy everything around her or simply stop existing. Why were the muggle police so useless? Couldn't they see? Couldn't they study this place where she had endured multiple tortures? What was the purpose of putting people behind bars when they could get out so quickly? Couldn't they see that they were child abusers? The only thing she could do was render herself to the police, but knowing now how they could be useless, she did not want to. It will put her in danger from Crow, they will put her away like her old clients had warned her. Maybe they won't even believe her. No, it was not an option.
She waited with bated breath the end of the trials and was not surprised when in April everyone was let out. Everything horrible seemed to happen in April. She avoided the town like the plague now. However, one Sunday morning of June when she woke up, she was looking up to the edge of the garden as usual, getting fresh air in her bedroom, when she saw a dark shape approaching her house. She could tell it was a muggle because she or he was confused, coming towards then leaving because of the muggle repellent. Curious, she went downstairs and, in the garden, to see who it was. Every bone in her body froze up when she saws his profile. Crow was here, looking for her as far as her village, just how he promised. And Ginny couldn't breathe anymore.
Panic. Deep, intense and never-ending panic. Ginny couldn't fight it. You need to get him out of here. NOW. Screamed her mind. But everything was happening in slow motion. Her dad, here because it was Sunday, seeing that it was a muggle, went to speak to him out of pure curiosity like he did with every muggle venturing near their house. She couldn't help it. She screamed. Her dad, hearing her distress, called her name. In front of Crow. She had nothing else to do now, but run to her dad, push him back into the wards, and face Crow.
Destiny was sometime too cruel.