Difficulties of Avoidance
by dead2self
A/N: Hello again! It's been another one of those long hiatuses - many apologies as usual. I give the full credit of this chapter going up to those of you who recently reviewed or PMed me, reminding me that this story exists and people read it. Nothing is a better kick in the pants to write! I have been writing this story for such a long time that the answer to "Are you continuing this?" will always be yes: I just can't give it up at this point. The speed is, obviously, just very slow. That being said, to anyone who is still around, I hope you enjoy this chapter! I greatly enjoyed writing it.
The silence left behind by the lynx as it faded was eerie. Ginny watched Harry leap to his feet, Hermione beside him, before the crowd on the dance floor erupted into movement. She cried out Harry's name and tried to push toward them, only to be seized around the arm by Charlie and hauled backwards. Cracks echoed – Apparation, the wards around the Burrow were broken – and Ginny caught sight of figures in masks, raising their wands.
"Charlie—Harry—let go—!" she shrieked.
"Protego!" thundered Charlie, warding off some sinister burst of light. He gripped Ginny's elbow so hard that she cried out and then she felt him start to turn.
"My wand is in the house!" she shrieked, twisting hard in the opposite direction. With a jerk, they took off running, jostled by guests. Charlie's feet pounded the ground hard as he yelled curses on impractical Muggle dresses with no pockets, but they reached the kitchen where Ginny had left her wand. Charlie stood sentry on the door, watching as a growing number of masked wizards converged on the house. Most of the guests had Apparated away, but when Ginny joined Charlie at the door with wand in hand, she spotted Fleur with her hands bound behind her back, and Bill struggling rabidly against three wizards. Ginny surged forward, but Charlie grabbed her by the waist and pulled her deeper into the house.
"Let me go!" she wailed, struggling. "We have to help them!"
"Ginny, listen!" Charlie insisted, shaking her sharply. "Whatever they do to us, they aren't going to do it to you. You have to Apparate to Hogsmeade and get to Hogwarts. You'll be safe there. Even the Ministry can't take down their wards."
Ginny wretched away from him, but Charlie stood between her and any exit. "I'm not leaving!"
"They're going to ask us about Harry. If you don't do it yourself then I'll Side-Along Apparate with you and probably Splinch us both." He reached for her and she danced away, remembering his disastrous first attempt at the Apparition License. They both jumped as the kitchen door crashed open. Charlie caught her eye as the sound of trampling feet flooded into the house. "Ginny, go!" he yelled, turning with his wand out.
Harry was not the only person they would ask about.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Ginny concentrated hard on somewhere out of the way in Hogsmeade – the Shrieking Shack – and turned. She had only Apparated a handful of times since her test just after her birthday in the summer; it had never seemed like she would need it at school. Her eyes were already closed, but her breath got crushed from her lungs. The feeling of getting shoved through a too-small space was never pleasant, but when Ginny opened her eyes and saw the dilapidated house, she would have volunteered to take the pain on tenfold in thanks.
Shouts were coming from the village, so Ginny charged toward the castle through the underbrush. She sent a Patronus ahead, hoping that Luna would understand its meaning and fetch a professor to open the gates. She had not yet gotten a handle on speaking through her Patronus.
Ginny arrived at the school gates, still barred, but sighted McGonagall approaching from within. "Thank goodness," called Ginny, moving into the Acting Headmistress' wandlight.
Professor McGonagall jumped back, startling her pointed hat from her head. "Miss Weasley!" she cried, stooping to reclaim it. "What in Merlin's name are you doing out here?"
"The Burrow—The wards went down and there were Death Eaters everywhere. Didn't Luna tell you to get me?"
McGonagall swiped her wand over the gate and it swung open with a creak that did not sound inviting. "Get inside Miss Weasley. Go straight to your dormitory. I will see to it that Hogwarts' records indicate you never left the castle."
In their combined wandlight, Ginny saw that her professor's face was white and stretched. Her stomach felt as though it had turned to water, but she forced herself to ask, "Why are you at the gates if you weren't here for me?"
Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared. "I must welcome our new Headmaster. To the castle, Miss Weasley, and be quick about it." Ginny glimpsed three pinpricks of light coming from the direction of Hogsmeade and fled up the path.
Breakfast in the morning was utterly silent. Even the Slytherins seemed slightly cowed by the sight of Severus Snape sitting at the center of the Head Table, calmly eating breakfast while his staff left their plates untouched. Only two individuals were eating with disgusting exuberance, the new teachers that Snape had introduced briefly the evening before. Students had been dragged from their common rooms after-hours for the announcement: Severus Snape was the new Headmaster and the two Death Eaters that Ginny recognized from the battle several weeks earlier would be teaching Defense and Muggle Studies, a class which would be mandatory in the next term. The Muggle Studies post was not vacant, but no one had seen Charity Burbage since her trip into London on Friday to buy a replica television.
Ginny pushed food around her plate, gut clenching against the thought of eating. While Snape sat up there, occasionally wiping away spittle that flew his way from his ravenous Deputy Headmaster, Ginny still had no word about her family or Harry. With Harry, that was probably for the best. Surely if he had been captured, it would have been proclaimed from the pages of the Daily Prophet instead Pius Thicknesse's appointment to Minister of Magic following Rufus Scrimgeour's untimely and natural death. Harry was given only a small notice warning wizards to be aware that Potter and various allies were at large and dangerous. Dennis and Colin were staring with eyes like tennis balls at the picture of Harry scowling and warding off the cameraman. Every so often, he brandished his wand with a little shake, and Ginny wondered when the picture had been taken. She was suddenly aware that she had not even spoken to Harry at the Burrow and swallowed back the tears pricking her eyes.
Among the readers at Hogwarts, the warning played second fiddle to the headline declaring Severus Snape had been acquitted of all crimes and unanimously selected as the new Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Every time she caught sight of Snape at the Head Table, a shiver ran down her spine that boiled her blood as it went. She kept clenching her fists beneath the table, digging her nails into her leg to remind herself that unless Harry's stories from his fifth year were overblown, Snape was a skilled Legilimens. She wanted to glare up at the new staff in defiance, but memories of Dumbledore dismissing Snape from the Burrow kitchen over Christmas reminded her that the Headmaster had not fully trusted him even then. She could not risk catching his eye.
The scrape of a chair thundered in the echoing hall, and Snape drew every eye as he stood. His hair swung in oily sheets around his stark white face and Ginny had never considered him as revolting as she did now. "Attention," he said unnecessarily, pausing to appreciate the completed silence. "There are a few matters of importance to discuss that, in the interest of time, were ignored last evening. The Ministry of Magic appreciates that Hogwarts has been thrown into turmoil over the past month. Academic standards have certainly… dropped… in my absence." His face twisted into something between humor and disgust, but before he could continue a clatter rose from the other end of the Gryffindor table.
"Because you killed him!" squeaked Dennis, on his feet and quivering like an autumn leaf. "You killed Dumbledore!" Snape's mouth dipped in displeasure, but he was not the first to react.
"Confringo!" roared the lumpy witch to Snape's left. The spell narrowly missed Dennis, and the students scattered in panic as a section of the table exploded into flames. Ginny found herself on her feet and drawing her wand before Demelza hugged her bodily and dragged her back to the bench. McGonagall stood to her full height, but before the violence could escalate, Snape extinguished the fire with a simple sweep of his wand.
"Sit down, Mr. Creevey," he growled in a voice so quiet it should not have been heard. Slowly, Gryffindors crawled back to their bench, but Dennis was still rooted to the spot, staring blankly down at the blackened table. A small snarl escaped Amycus Carrow's throat as he raised his wand, and Ginny realized that Dennis was not going to move.
"Dennis!" Ginny snapped, and his head whipped around. His eyes looked wildly confused, but she caught his glance and inclined her head. Shaking, Dennis lowered into his seat and Ginny felt attention shift to her.
"I gave no one permission to speak, Miss Weasley," drawled Snape. "Ten points from Gryffindor."
Ginny knew that she should probably keep her eyes down, but the sneer in his voice raised her chin. She locked eyes on the Head Table with her jaw tight.
"I should think that in light of your family's questionable history, you would elect to keep your head down. It would be most unfortunate for you to make trouble now."
New rage swelled up in Ginny's chest at the threat. They had welcomed him into their home! Merlin, she had made tea for him at Grimmauld Place countless times over past summers. His smirk was hard and grim, but never wavered from her as if he was kept waiting. With a start at the audacity of what he expected, Ginny ground out, "Yes, Sir," between clenched teeth and then resumed a diligent study of the table grain.
When his gaze left her, Ginny let her breath out all at once. There had been no mad rush to open the Room of Requirement. By the time she had finished grinning stupidly into her glass of pumpkin juice, Snape had moved on, talking about evaluators who would be observing their classes over the next few days to determine how far behind they were. She fought not to roll her eyes – in a few weeks she would take her N.E.W.T.s and he would have no more say over her.
Then the thought nearly bowled her from the bench: she would be leaving Hogwarts the first week of June. It had barely passed through her mind with all the activity of the past month, but somewhere at the back of her mind, Ginny had always assumed that they would have to tell McGonagall about Tom Riddle against Dumbledore's orders and leave him in her care. Now that idea seemed even more terrible. McGonagall no longer had the same authority in Hogwarts, and would likely be spending a lot of time with the new Headmaster. They would have to turn to her only as a last resort, and they would certainly have to move him—
A roar of indignation shook Ginny from her thoughts. "What did he say?" she whispered to Demelza.
"They're cancelling Easter break!" Demelza wailed. Ginny's mouth dropped open – the trains would have been due to depart that afternoon.
"Rest assured that a two-week holiday will be allowed at a future date," said Snape over the squall. "Dangerous wizards have been stirring up unrest against the Ministry of Magic. Until such time that the Ministry can guarantee safe travels, students will not be permitted to leave Hogwarts. Your parents and guardians have been informed."
The Carrows looked stir-crazy trying to decide which of the protesting students to hex first, but Snape raised his arms, looking precisely like an overgrown bat. "SILENCE!" he roared. Indignation petered to frightened quiet at the sight of his eyes. Ginny had not seen that look since her family had barged in on Sirius and Snape preparing to duel nearly three Christmases ago. It looked more frightening now.
It was only then that Snape turned to McGonagall, who was still standing stiff as a flagpole in a space two seats down from her usual seat next to the Headmaster. "Do you have something you would like to address, Minerva?" he simmered.
"Yes, Headmaster," McGonagall replied with bite. "Perhaps you have forgotten that we do not hex students at Hogwarts as punishment."
The severe chill that drifted through her voice did not affect Snape, who inclined his head to her. "The unhappy task of determining punishments – and the criteria surrounding discipline – has also traditionally fallen to the Headmaster and his Deputies," he said. "Students will be punished in a manner appropriate to their misdemeanors." Alecto Carrow gave a wheezy laugh that McGonagall ignored.
"No offense requires more than detentions or deducting house points," she replied. The brim of her hat appeared to be quaking, but she met Snape's eye solidly. "In my tenure as a professor, I have seen even Death Eaters abide by these rules."
In the pause that followed, Ginny was certain that Snape was going to curse her. Both his Death Eater teachers looked to him in anticipation until finally he arched his brow. "Indeed? You must regale me at a later time, Professor McGonagall. For the time being, you have reminded me that the Professors Carrow have volunteered to oversee all disciplinary efforts at Hogwarts for this and all future terms. Please confer with them if you have any questions regarding the topic."
The Carrows leered at McGonagall who, after peering aghast at the Headmaster, stiffly resumed her seat. The entirety of Gryffindor could breathe again and an uncomfortable murmur rippled across the hall. It was on this note that Snape dismissed the breakfast for classes. Masked by the noise of shoes and benches, Ginny charmed some food and scooped it into her bag like Fred and George had shown her. She would miss the potions bottles, but it was no longer prudent to draw attention to last week's attack.
Ginny's first class, Ancient Runes while Luna had Care of Magical Creatures, was her first encounter with the evaluators of whom Snape had spoken. The dotty old wizard spent the morning lecture walking about the classroom, running into desks, and muttering, "Hopeless, hopeless," even as the Ravenclaws in the class routinely answered Professor Babbling's questions. Ginny suspected a hastily executed Imperius Curse – in the very least the man looked Confounded. The witch who took notes during Professor McGonagall's class looked like her sanity was even more precarious than the last.
"What precisely do you find wrong with this student's work?" huffed McGonagall, rushing to save a porcupine that had swelled to the size of a balloon when the woman poked it with her wand.
"Quite right," the witch replied, "atrocious. Poor dears."
Ginny thought Latisha Randle, a Ravenclaw with a mean streak, might hex the woman for calling her perfectly conjured porcupine atrocious, but in the end she settled for sniffling behind her Transfiguration book. Professor McGonagall did her best to stay between the witch and any animals. Ginny gave up watching the witch to lean close to Luna and cast a subtle Muffliato.
"What are we going to do?" she whispered.
Luna had been the same shade as parchment since they had been marched into the Great Hall the night before. If she cared to, Ginny could have counted the veins in her hands.
"We're to have a meeting tonight with the Headmaster," Luna replied, only complicating the question further. "Harper is sure to tell him we've been up to something. What should I say?"
Ginny's stomach clenched with an emotion somewhere between fear and anger. She was feeling the pair so frequently now that she had lost track. "I don't know… But, he can't get into the Room even if he knows about it. I suppose we could hide there as well if it comes to it."
"We would not be able to get out," Luna replied, "or get food any longer. One Patronus has to come in from the outside."
Both girls swallowed. Forcing a smile, Ginny said, "We'll deal with that if it comes to it. We don't even know Harper will say anything."
Luna raised one faint eyebrow at Ginny. As it turned out, they did not have to wait until after dinner.
Ginny and Luna both had a period free before lunch, and planned to spend it giving the Room of Requirement some specific requests to keep Snape and the Carrows out. They jostled with younger students in the corridor and were taken unawares when the crowds parted. Ginny spotted Snape sweeping through the corridor and as he sighted her, immediately turned on her heel. She found herself nose to nose with Harper, who seized Luna by the elbow and pushed Ginny around.
"Headmaster Snape! May I have a word please?" he called.
Foot traffic around them ceased altogether, at least until Amycus Carrow emerged from behind the Headmaster. "Move along!" he bellowed, sending students into a flurry of activity to escape into their classrooms.
"Thank you, Amycus. To your class," Snape said as he drew even with Harper. Though disappointed, the wizard scurried off. Ginny made to leave for a class, but Harper had found her elbow as well, holding her in a vice grip. She was about to rip her arm away when Snape sneered down his nose at them. "Mr. Harper, do you not have classes to attend?"
"It's a free period, Sir," Harper answered. "I thought it might be best to talk while the other students are occupied."
"They will be occupied once they have retired to their common rooms at the time I appointed for a meeting tonight."
"I didn't think it could wait, Sir." He tugged Ginny and Luna forward and the movement allowed Ginny to wrench her arm free. Luna made no attempt to break free, but stared at the Headmaster with protruding eyes. "It's important – these two are up to something dangerous and I believe it needs your immediate attention."
Ginny was just reaching for her wand and poised to run when Snape held up a hand. "Let me stop you there, Mr. Harper. The…" Snape paused, his lips twitching. "…Ministry has granted me a position that is now above dealing with the juvenile antics of children. Should you have any further concerns, please direct them to the Carrows. I'm sure they will deal with these girls most satisfactorily."
Ginny's mouth dropped open; she had never observed Snape openly snubbing a Slytherin. Harper went scarlet. "But—But Sir," he stammered, "Ginny Weasley nearly died!
"Did she?" Snape gave Ginny a disapproving frown, as though she should have spared him the trouble and kicked the bucket. "That reminds me. Mrs. Weasley, your family has been involved in some undue circumstances. It is my unfortunate duty to inform you. Now will do. Follow me."
As they left Harper gobsmacked, Ginny might have appreciated that Snape had somehow gotten meaner if she had not been following him to his office. Instead, she felt a steady dread, accompanied by a smoldering knot in her chest that grew with every step. She had never seen Snape in the same light as Harry, but now if she could go back to Christmas she might hex herself in Harry's place for defending him. By the time they arrived in front of the gargoyle guarding the Headmaster's office, Ginny had nearly decided to tell the Headmaster exactly what she thought of him.
"Albus," said Snape, causing Ginny to jump. The gargoyle stepped aside, and it took walking into the office for Ginny to recognize that the name had been the password. Worse, Dumbledore's portrait was snoring directly across from Snape's desk. Instantly she knew that Tom could starve if it came down to it. It did not feel like a terrible loss at the moment, not when a fire was blazing behind her eyes at the gall of a murderer using his victim's name as a password.
She stomped across the office without direction and slammed down into the chair opposite the desk. Snape followed at a relaxed gait, eyes flicking to the Headmaster's portrait as he sat. Ginny's stomach flopped over when he nearly smiled, taunting.
With no preamble, he said, "Miss Weasley, I trust that Mr. Potter has informed you that I am an exemplary Legilimens."
"He didn't put it in such glowing terms," she answered, surprised at the control in her voice. His eyes narrowed and she belatedly added, "Sir."
"Then you are aware that there is very little you could keep from me."
She sat straighter, wanting to hold her wand. "That's illegal," she said before she realized how silly it sounded.
"On the contrary, the Ministry has approved the use of such measures in extreme circumstances. We live in dangerous times, Miss Weasley. I trust you understand that if you do not answer me truthfully, you will force my hand."
Ginny swallowed, but if there was anything Tom Riddle had taught her this year, it was how to lie using truths. Plastering on a mirthless smile, she finally met Snape's eyes dead on. "Why should I have to lie?"
He did not return the smile. "Why indeed? You are a known associate of Harry Potter. Have you been in contact with him lately?"
"We broke up; it was all over the papers. With their close involvement with the Daily Prophet, I'm surprised the Ministry forgot." Her control was shaking now and her anger was clearly in her voice. She hoped that he assumed it was because of Harry.
Snape rolled the wand on the desk between his fingers and the knot of anger twisted deeper into her chest. "Answer the question, Miss Weasley."
"I haven't talked to Harry since Dumbledore's funeral," she seethed. "In fact, I haven't even seen someone who resembles Harry since then." Satisfied that the half-truth escaped Snape's notice, she pushed back. "You said something happened to my family. What does Harry have to do with it?"
"Your family is under suspicion of harboring the fugitive Harry Potter. They have been questioned thoroughly and have been released under watch, but many witnesses maintain that you were present at the assembly in question as well." Ginny did not answer, could not fully trust herself to talk after Snape referred to Bill's ruined wedding as an assembly. Finally Snape asked directly, "Were you at the Burrow for your brother's wedding, Miss Weasley?"
"If you check the school's records, you'll see I never left," Ginny answered, drawing her chin up.
"I am well aware. I am equally aware that Minerva McGonagall most recently had access to my office. However, the old bat is quite past her prime and a mistake might have been made. Think carefully now, or your family may find itself in further trouble."
Ginny flew to her feet, hands planted on his desk and spitting. "You vile, traitorous—!"
"Detention Miss Weasley!" Snape thundered, standing to his full height. "You must learn to hold your tongue! I will see you in my office on Friday night at eight. Perhaps that will give you the chance to think about answering my questions with a civil manner."
"Civil to a murderer? Not likely!" she snapped.
"Get out!" he snarled, lips twisting back from his teeth. "OUT!" Ginny stumbled back from the desk and then fled.
She shot out from the Headmaster's office into Luna, who was idling in front of the gargoyle, and seized her around the neck to hug her close. She spotted Harper lingering in Luna's shadow and their eyes met. He startled back when Ginny glared at him with every ounce of rage she wished she could have directed at Snape, and she did not take the time to notice the hint of betrayal in his face. Then she hooked Luna's arm and dashed away. She did not stop until they were safely in the empty Gryffindor common room.
"You're alright!" Luna breathed, crushing Ginny in another hug. "I thought—"
"Me too!" she said. "But he only asked about Harry! And my family is safe; he let it all out that they were questioned and released. Probably thought he was scaring me, but it could have been loads worse." She caught her breath and then gasped out a laugh. "Did you see Harper's face?"
"He'll be to the Carrows next," Luna answered. "He was furious."
"I get the impression that they're a pair of idiots. If Snape wasn't asking about Tom, they probably won't be either." She started to pace away the last vestiges of adrenaline. "Why do you suppose Snape doesn't know?"
"Perhaps Voldemort doesn't even trust Snape with his own self," Luna said.
"That makes sense," Ginny mused. Still, she insisted that they go reinforce the Room and get Tom some food before their next class. It seemed as good a time as any, since Harper had probably run off to wait for the Carrows to get out of class and Snape was clearly not lifting a finger to do any real Headmaster work. However, noises outside the portrait arrested them.
A shrill, angry voice sounded through the door. "Let me in you blinking fat picture! I'm Deputy Headmistress, I am!"
"Excuse me!" came the Fat Lady's affronted reply. "I simply cannot. You do not have the password!"
"How do they know we're in here?" Ginny hissed, pulling Luna back from the door.
"I suppose not many students are taking Muggle Studies yet," Luna answered, swallowing. Ginny opened the Marauders Map and spread it across a table. It identified Alecto Carrow outside, though Harper was not with her. Luna found him waiting outside the Defense classroom.
"Why's she here then?" Ginny asked.
The question was rhetorical, but before Luna attempted to answer there was a series of bangs outside the door, like fireworks, and a shriek. Both girls froze, but the door held shut. On the map, Ginny noticed Snape fast approaching.
"Get upstairs!" cried Ginny, clearing the map and gathering it up. To the contrary, Luna had inched up to the portrait hole and put her ear to the door. "Luna!" she hissed, but her friend waved her off.
"What is this commotion, Professor Carrow?" she heard. Snape's voice sounded no warmer than when he had spoken to Harper.
"There's students in there, gorn and said the Dark Lord's name! That bludgering painting won't let me in!"
There was a pause as Ginny imagined Snape examining the frame. "Leave it alone, Alecto. Knowing Gryffindors, they will give you another chance to catch them before the week is out. For now, go fetch Filch to repair this painting. The offending students will have heard your attempts. They will not be coming to us, and without a portrait there is no getting them out."
Ginny let out a sigh and backed away from the door. She was still clutching the map, so she checked it again. Both professors were walking away, Snape back to his office and Carrow down the Grand Staircase.
"Let's go!" she cried, and they sprinted from the common room. Ginny tossed Tom's food in the Room of Requirement without entering and then they both idled nearby, urging it to be untraceable and not to let in any Death Eaters. However small, it felt like a victory. Ginny sailed through class and into lunch, buoyant on evading Snape twice in one day. She almost looked forward to pulling the wool over his eyes on Friday. She had the inkling that it would be easy, at least until lunch. The first year Ravenclaws had just gotten out of their first Defense lesson.
None of them were talking much, not like the fifth year Gryffindors who had had their Defense class first thing in the morning. At the Gryffindor table a vicious, mutinous murmur spread from the fifth years, telling that the class would likely be called the Dark Arts soon enough. But across the hall, one Ravenclaw girl was shaking underneath the arm of an older girl. She may have been trying to keep silent, but Ginny could hear sniffling across the sounds of eating.
As though queued up by the crying, Headmaster Snape stood once more before the school. "A serious matter has been brought to my attention," he announced. His gaze found the sniffling girl and his lip curled. "It appears that some students feel comfortable brazenly speaking the Dark Lord's name. This is unacceptable, a poor example set by my predecessor. Those people who call He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named by his proper name are simply warmongers who wish to inspire fear with the use of a name. Henceforth, a Taboo has been placed on the Dark Lord's name by the Auror's department. Only those who wish to inspire hate and violence utter the name of the Dark Lord, and by using the Taboo, the Ministry is confident that these dissidents will be quickly located and brought to justice.
"This missive comes directly from the Ministry of Magic, and as such we cannot afford to be lenient. Perpetrators will be dealt with swiftly and with the severity necessary to instill the fear of this issue into even the thickest of heads." He found the Gryffindor table and Ginny bristled as she felt his eyes on her. "In time, you will appreciate that you will be dealt with by your professors, and not the Dementors of Azkaban. That is all."
The hall remained quiet until classes resumed. Luna appeared at Ginny's shoulder as they filed out, speaking low.
"She's a Muggleborn. She said You-Know-Who's name in class; she just didn't know any better. They used the Cruciatus Curse."
Ginny's stomach crawled and at once their small victories were put in proper perspective. Even if Snape was not asking about Tom, he had properly won. Hogwarts was conquered.
A/N: Reviews greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading.