Ginny can't sleep anymore. She lays awake in her bed at night, staring up at the ceiling. Her first year at Hogwarts was supposed to be magical, perfect. It had been for all her brothers. But she'd been given that stupid diary, and it had ruined everything. She could still see it in her nightmares, could still hear his voice. Ginny had trusted him so completely.

After a week of sleepless nights at home, she put on her slippers and pulled on her dressing gown. Ginny crept out of her room, careful to tiptoe down the creaking stairs, and went out in the back yard. She knew her dad would be up still, tinkering in his shed. She wasn't really sure that she wanted to talk to anyone, but more than that, she was sure that she was tired of being alone.

The shed door squeaked as she pushed it open. Her dad turned to face her, a smile breaking over his face. "You're still up?"

Ginny didn't want to tell him that she hadn't really slept at all since the incident with the Chamber of Secrets, so she just nodded. She walked over to his workbench and sat on the stool that he kept out there for whenever one of his kids popped in while he worked. It wasn't very often, but Ginny had always liked it in the shed more than any of her brothers. Arthur was happy to keep the stool reserved for her.

"You haven't been able to sleep lately, have you?" Arthur put down the tools he was working with and turned to look at his daughter. She had dark circles under her eyes and she yawned every time she opened her mouth lately. He frowned.

"I've been trying," Ginny insisted.

"I know. And I'm so sorry you had to deal with that, sweetheart. I really should've paid more attention, checked your books before you went off to school. It's all my fault."

Ginny shot him a sad, confused look. It wasn't her dad's fault. Dumbledore had said that it was Mr. Malfoy's fault, even Voldemort's fault. Ginny still blamed herself, but it was definitely not her dad's fault. She told him this.

He laughed, but even that sounded sad. "What about the rest of your year? Was Hogwarts everything you expected it to be?"

"There's a lot I can't even remember." Tears started to well up in her eyes, but she held them back. It took every ounce of Ginny's energy to keep herself from crying; she was so exhausted already. But her dad was already so upset, and he blamed himself—she couldn't let him see her cry. The look on his face told her that she wasn't hiding it very well, though. "It—it was great. I can't wait to go back, really." He raised an eyebrow at her, still looking uneasy. "Can I help you? What are you making?"

Grateful for the change of subject, he showed her the pile of glass and metal on his bench. "Muggles have these things they call lightbulls. They use them to light up rooms, it's fascinating, and I'm trying to make one."

"Is that how they do it? Just put the pieces together and it makes light? Cool!"

"Almost like magic, isn't it?"

They worked for another half-hour before Ginny fell asleep, head resting on the workbench and feet dangling above the footrest on the stool. Arthur wondered how his little girl could have been so strongly affected by the world already—she was still so young. He knew there was another war coming. He knew it was only going to get worse as the years went on. But Arthur still held hope for a peaceful future for his children.

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A/N: Written for Advent Calendar Day 16: (genre) Family;

Writing Club – Showtime 14: (trait) Night owl; Amber's Attic R2: Write about someone struggling at a young age; Lo's Lowdown C4: Write about someone who likes to experiment;

Seasonal – Days of the Year Nov 20: Write about a child;

Writing Month and Dragons: wc 626