Difficulties of Avoidance
by dead2self
A/N: Special thanks to AllOtherNamesHaveBeenTaken for leaving me a super sweet review/reminding me that this story exists! This isn't much but I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy (for many years now) writing this story.
Edited 11/04/22: Slight edit at the end of the chapter, minor importance for later chapters.
The morning of their detention, Ginny saw Harry Potter staring out at her from the front page of the Daily Prophet. "Undesirable Number One Suspected," read the headline.
"He broke into the Ministry!" Colin whispered as Ginny slid into her place on the bench. The Gryffindors were huddled together around the Quibbler, the same issue that Luna had passed off to Ginny on their way down the marble staircase. Like all editions of the Quibbler these days, it was charmed to look like a battered old Transfiguration Today.
Ginny pulled her own copy from her bag and hid it behind the Prophet. According to the Prophet, the Ministry was beginning to undertake a great inspection of its staff and associates, weeding out "dangerous elements." The Quibbler warned that questionnaires sent out from the Ministry were not a new census, but a means to weed out Muggle-borns. Harry was part of a rescue effort, saving nearly twenty people from bogus trials. The victims, none of whom were named, reported that Dolores Umbridge accused them of stealing their wands from true witches and wizards, and that they had even been threatened with the Dementor's Kiss. Harry, disguised as a Pureblood supporter, had cursed Dolores and led them out to safety, though he and his accomplices had escaped separately.
Colin and Dennis looked sick but Demelza was grinning ear to ear. "Good on Potter," she cheered, quietly of course. She flipped to the front page of the paper, to Harry's mugshot. "This ought to be our next painting. Except we'll put Desirable Number One on it." She waggled her eyebrows at Ginny.
"Let us get through our detention before you take another go at the Carrows, will you?" said Gregory. Ginny snatched up a couple pastries and wrapped them in a napkin. She had gotten so wrapped up in the news that she had hardly eaten, but she certainly did not want to be late for their detention.
Alecto Carrow was waiting for them in the front hall, hunched and scowling. She led the way out to Hagrid's hut. Ginny was quiet for the walk to the edge of the forest for the news had affected her oddly. She was achingly proud of Harry, and also Ron and Hermione who must have been there. Moreover, it had sparked hope. She had felt it in the Great Hall that morning, sensed it swelling despite the slander in the Daily Prophet. Yet her chest was tight with worry. They had broken into the Ministry, and they had nearly been caught. It was no different than any other time that Harry took on incredible, perilous odds, but now she could not see him, could not write him, would not be there if he were caught and killed. Beyond that, it seemed odd, the three of them going into the ministry on a rescue mission. They were supposed to be hunting down Horcruxes.
What were you up to, she thought, and what more dangerous thing was next?
Alecto dropped the three of them with Hagrid at the edge of the forest, leaving them with some none-too-subtle insults as to Hagrid's nature. It was a testament to Ginny's distraction that she did not fire back into the witch's piglike face.
"Been wantin' ter show her the forest," said Hagrid as they watched her climb back to the castle. "I 'spect there's a few creatures tha' could chew her up and spit her out." Harrumphing, he sighted on Gregory's face go pale and added, "Not to worry for yeh, Jones. Yeh're safe with me and Fang here." Calling for the massive boarhound, he struck out with them into the forest swinging a massive basket.
"What's that for?" asked Gregory.
"A picnic, o' course." Hagrid grinned at them conspiratorially. "Professor Snape wanted you all deep in the forest, but I found a nice clearing an' the worst tha' could happen there is pixies. We have ter celebrate Harry!"
Ginny laughed, her strange mood lifting as she breathed in the still, crisp air of the forest. Although she still had to wear a scarf in the dark shade of the forest, the weather was warming. The storm clouds from the day before had cleared to a light drizzle and thin clouds. A picnic! Snape had to be losing his mind to send them on detention with Hagrid. Grinning, she pulled a pastry from her bag and nibbled on it as they walked.
Gradually, Gregory lost his wide-eyed apprehension and he started spotting magical creatures with Ginny. She pointed out two centaurs a distance away, but he didn't see them before Hagrid hurried them along. He in turn saw a nest of bowtruckles, which must have escaped from a Care of Magical Creatures class as they were not native to Scotland. These were taking to the Forbidden Forest quite nicely, clearly having rolled in mud to match the dark bark of the trees. Hagrid gave Gregory a solid thump on the back for having spotted them.
Their walk turned to a true hike. Saving their breath for walking, they fell mostly into silence. Ginny practiced quieting her mind, but quickly found herself thinking about nearly anything else. Soon each step became the farthest she had ever walked into the forest. They stuck to the path, but it grew narrower, pressed between trees that stretched their branches overhead like a tunnel. It was uncannily quiet and even Ginny found herself double-glancing at suspiciously spider-shaped shadows.
Without much warning, Hagrid plunged from the path and began squeezing his way between the massive trucks that lined it. "Stay close!" he called and they almost resorted to pushing and shoving to be the one following at his heels. It was another five minutes dodge between the trees before a wide space opened up before them.
They blinked up into the grey sunlight. It was one of the few places in the forest that Ginny had ever seen sunlight breaking full through the foliage. Hagrid surveyed the clearing as Fang charged past them.
"'S too bad. There's bin a herd of unicorns in the area, thought for certain they'd be here. Seein' a herd of unicorns would do yeh good. That would cheer You-Know-Who himself right up, it would."
Ginny burst out in laughter. She could not un-see it, Tom Riddle surrounded by unicorns and cheery as a schoolgirl on Christmas. If only it were that easy!
Hagrid looked pleased with himself and tramped to the center of the clearing to lay out the blanket. "Righ' then. That's a proper detention served, I reckon, well deservin' of lunch."
They were pleasantly surprised when they sat down to find not rock cakes but a lunch that had clearly been packed by a house elf. Moreover, Ginny suspected she knew the elf that had done it.
"Blimey, that's Harry," said Gregory as Hagrid drew a cake out from atop the rest of the food. The picture drawn in icing on the cake clearly depicted the Boy Who Lived. It even moved, brandishing his wand and shooting sparks made from sprinkles. What followed was more standard fare: scotch eggs, meats and cheese, scones with jam and clotted cream, pork pies, and finally a whistling kettle with four teacups. Ginny and Gregory helped themselves, happy to be eating after such a long walk. Meanwhile, Colin nibbled on a bit of apple.
"Yeh alright, Creevy?" asked Hagrid.
Colin went pink and hurriedly picked up a pork pie. Ginny realized he had spoken hardly ten words since they left the castle and turned fully to see that he looked miserable.
Colin was quiet a moment longer, and then he asked, "Does Hogwarts keep a record of all the students who are Muggle-born?"
"Er… I don't rightly know. The Deputy Headmistress always went ter see Muggle-born students, show their parents the school was no joke. But yeh know tha' on account of Professor McGonagall came to see you and yer brother both."
"But does the school keep record of it after?" he pressed. "Do… Do they know now?" He swallowed quickly and then barreled on. "Because the Ministry is starting to round up Muggle-borns, actually putting us on trial, and if Hogwarts keeps record, then they know and—and—"
"But yeh're just kids!" cried Hagrid. His indignation rang hollow. Being underage had never stopped Voldemort from going after Harry in the past.
"We ought to ask Professor McGonagall. She would know," said Ginny.
"Right. I don't want to ruin our detention," said Colin, picking at his food. "Forget I said anything."
"No, Colin, we ought to talk about it while there's no Death Eaters about," said Ginny, feeling terrible to have not thought of it earlier. "I hate to say it, but if it gets much worse maybe you should find a way to run. A Hogsmeade weekend maybe. You could Disapparate once you're off the castle grounds and we could all help bringing your things down for you."
"That's just it! I don't want to go; I want to stay and fight."
He said it in a steady, quiet way, but Ginny's heart thumped at the proclamation. Colin, she noticed, was no longer the scrawny boy who followed Harry about. He had a new solidness to him. A few weeks back she might have tried to dissuade him, but now she saw him truly. This was not foolishness or misunderstanding the danger; this was bravery.
Gregory had gotten a serious look on his face. "Good on you, mate. But what about the other Muggle-borns, 'specially the ones underage? We should be planning a way to get them all out, shouldn't we?"
"Now hold on," said Hagrid. "Snape and them Death Eaters are right bastards, but Hogwarts is still the safest place in the Wizarding world. Out there the Ministry and You-Know-Who are runnin' wild. Rumor is they're organizin' search parties for escaped Muggle-borns, with rewards an' everything."
"Hagrid's right," said Ginny. "Here at least we have the professors. If Snape ever lined up Muggle-borns to be taken off to Azkaban, someone would do something. But I think Gregory is right too. I wonder if any of the teachers already have an idea of what they'd do."
It would help, too, having some framework in place by the time she and Luna needed to smuggle Tom out. She wondered if it would be possible to involve the Order – they would certainly be concerned with the safety of the Muggle-born students. If only she had some way to get in contact with any of them.
She spoke carefully. "If we can get them out, I may know people who could help them get to safety. They might already have a plan in place. I just have to figure out how to contact them while Snape has the post being watched."
As much as she tried to sound casual, the boys regarded her with something close to reverence. Quickly, she added, "Until then, we should watch over the younger kids. Can you believe the Carrows are blocking off the Hospital Wing? We ought to brush up on medical magic."
"Brush up or learn properly?" said Gregory. Colin laughed as he finally tucked into the lunch with some enthusiasm. Soon he began pitching new exploits for Dumbledore's Army, and their conversation traced from the absurd to the practical and back again. They ended their picnic laughing and toasting to Harry's health. On the walk back, Gregory swore he spotted a unicorn shining through the trees.
Just before they left the shadow of the trees, Hagrid fell back with Ginny, speaking lowly. "The You-Know-What is rumblin' to fight back. Don't rightly know how long Snape will let me stay aroun', being half-giant and all, but if I can help, I will."
Grinning, she squeezed on of his massive hands between both her own. "Thank you Hagrid. If you need to tell us anything, talk to Luna. She's less likely to raise attention talking to you, being Head girl."
And then because Alecto Carrow was waiting next to Hagrid's hut, Ginny hurried to catch up with Colin and Gregory. Hagrid lumbered behind her.
"Here they are, Professor Carrow, brought back all in one piece."
Alecto sneered up at him as though she had sighted upon a rather unpleasant piece of garbage. "I trust you showed them the error of their ways?"
"Properly scared straight, Professor," said Gregory, looking downcast. The witch glanced between them, perhaps sensing his insincerity, and then snapped for the Gryffindors to follow her. Alecto's presence meant that Ginny could not seek out Professor McGonagall as she hoped. Instead, they retired to Gryffindor Tower.
They were met nearly at the portrait hole by Dennis, a blazing look on his normally mousey face. He held a crumpled copy of the Prophet in his fist. "They can't get away with this," he said.
Colin stepped up, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I know, but—"
Dennis shrugged the hand off. "No, I want back in the D.A. I know you're at it again. 'Still recruiting,' that's what it said." Colin opened his mouth, but Dennis seemed to have anticipated any objection. "I'm older than you were when you first joined, and I know Snape's a murderer and worse than Umbrige by a mile, but I'm serious. I can't just sit around doing nothing and being safe when this—" He shook the newspaper. "—is happening out there."
He turned fiercely on Ginny. "You have to let me in. If you don't, I'll just do stuff on my own until you do."
Ginny turned an amused look to Colin, who laughed. "Blimey, Dennis, I was only going to say you still have your coin, don't you?"
Dennis reddened, but quickly fished the fake Galleon from his pocket.
"Welcome back," said Ginny. "Though we ought to lay low a few days, work on treating the students they won't let into the Hospital Wing. Surely between the lot of us we know a handful of Healing spells? I've had some experience mending bones, so there's that."
"Bloody hell, when?"
"Lot's of brothers, you know," she answered vaguely, reveling in the ease with which she could lie when not speaking to a Legilimens.
"I can do the general stuff, Episkey and the like," offered Colin.
"You can spread the word, Dennis. Dumbledore's Army will try to help anyone the Carrows turn away. But carefully. You remember what happened last time."
Dennis nodded, solemn as death. His teeth rattled when Gregory clapped him on the back crowing. "An original member! You've got Demelza and I outclassed." Arm about Dennis' neck, he led the way into the common room.
The weekend was mercifully uneventful. Ginny caught Professor McGonagall walking from breakfast and asked, "Professor, are you free to talk? About some family matters?"
With a meaningful glance over her shoulder, the professor answered, "Not at the moment, Miss Weasley. Do feel free to catch me after class if it remains an urgent matter."
Beyond that, Ginny actually studied for her N.E.W.T.s, even though they felt a petty pursuit with war and Tom and Death Eaters in their midst. She was motivated only by the fear that Snape might institute some new draconian standards, keeping her another year in the castle. She was certainly getting her practice in with Healing spells for it seemed half of Gryffindor had gotten in trouble the previous week. Most were beyond their knowledge to fix or simply needed the potions that were barricaded in the hospital wing, but they did their best.
With Tom, she practiced Occlumency. Nothing big, never looking in his eyes, just telling little lies. Sometimes she got away with it.
By the time classes rolled around on Monday, Ginny was nearly tripping over herself to get to Transfiguration. She spent the class period fiddling with her quills and bungling her attempt to Transfigure a crow into a shrub until finally the class was over.
As the other students filed out, Ginny hung back and approached McGonagall at her desk. The professor glanced over her spectacles and then flicked her wand at the cages lining the wall. Instantly a cacophony of caws filled the room.
"Oh bother, these crows," she grumbled, rising from her seat. She waved for Ginny to follow her as she went to attend to the animals. "You had a question? You may speak freely but quickly."
Glancing over her shoulder to be sure all the other students had left, Ginny pitched her voice low. "Can you get in contact with anyone in the Order?"
"We have no consistent means of contact," She eyed down her nose at Ginny and added somewhat reluctantly, "Some members are still missing."
Ginny's stomach bottomed out. "Who?"
"Alastor, Mundungus Fletcher. They never made contact after the Ministry fell. But if a crisis were to arise, yes, I have my means."
"Are there any plans being made to get the Muggle-borns out of Hogwarts if it comes to that?"
McGonagall fixed her with a steady look and then opened one of the cages, efficiently filling the water bottle and raising more of a racket as the bird protested the invasion. She moved down the line, cleaning some cages, feeding birds, all the while disturbing them to noise.
"I know it is difficult to imagine, but at the moment Hogwarts is the safest place they can be. We believe the Ministry views the students as leverage against their parents, thus they cannot truly hurt any of you. They fear that moving too quickly against Muggle-born students will incite sympathy or, worse, rebellion from the parents. If they remove the Muggle-born students, they will not wish to do so in the public eye. Thus, for now, they are safe."
"For now. Could the Order organize safe houses if we have to get them out?"
"Our legs have been cut from beneath us in many ways, but I would hope so, yes. You should be going, Miss Weasley, before the next class arrives."
"Just one more thing. In case crisis arises." Ginny pressed a Galleon into her professor's hand. The older woman peered down at it and then appeared to combat a smile.
"Quite clever, Miss Weasley, quite clever indeed." For the numeral around the edge had turned to letters spelling out Still Recruiting. She pocketed the coin. "Do be careful."