Chapter 7- Something in the Night

Christmas really started to cheer up once Harry had come around to acting natural around Ginny. In the confinements of the Burrow he would often take her hand in his and in more private areas an occasional kiss—light and sweet.

One night, as they were all sitting around the living room—Ron and Hermione comfortably laying on the loveseat together, while Arthur and Molly were dancing around to the wireless network—Ginny and Harry looked through old volumes of Arthur and Molly's yearbooks.

"Look, Bones," Harry pointed out. The young second year held some resemblance to Susan, though a girl on the opposite page looked exactly like her. Ginny turned the page and did a double take.

"Holladay?!" she exclaimed.

"Who?" Harry asked confused.

"You know who that is?" Arthur asked with light surprise.

"He is… well, was, my Transfigurations professor," Ginny said, looking up from the page where Dolfus Holladay's eyes twitched back and forth between Ginny and Harry in a familiarly skeptical way.

"Really?" her dad laughed. Her mum lightly hit him.

"Be kind," she reprimanded, and then turned as though not to speak to him.

"Oh come now, Molly," he replied, still jovial at his private joke. They started dancing again. "Did he quit?"

"No," Ginny answered.

"You didn't stop taking Transfigurations did you?" Hermione asked seriously.

"No," Ginny replied again. "Actually, we didn't see eye to eye—" her dad started laughing again, throwing his head back "—and McGonagall's been continuing my lessons… what's so funny?" she asked as her dad continued like a hyena.

"Oh stop it," Molly said, pushing away and heading for the kitchen. Fred and George were split as they entered.

"What's with her?" Fred asked.

Ginny ignored them. "Why's that so funny?" Ginny asked her dad again. Everyone seemed to watch as he calmed himself down.

"Dolfus and I go back."

"You were friends?" Harry asked.

"Not exactly," her dad said. "You see, Dolfus had a… well a crush, I suppose is the best way to put it, on your mother."

Ginny started laughing as her father had just been. "You're joking right?"

"No," he continued. "He used to write her sonnets and secret notes. Of course she was too kind to put an end to things, so poor Dolfus ended up crushed when she started going steady with me." He didn't seem to sympathize with 'poor Dolfus', as his face was practically wicked with glee.

"Mum seems a bit sensitive about it still," Ron said. Fred and George were whispering now and Ginny was certain they were coming up with ways to use this.

"Yes, well, he never seemed to want to let it go," Dad said again. "I had to put him in his place quite a few times."

"How?" Hermione asked.

"He kept challenging me to Chess and Exploding Snaps, but could never win. I out did him in grades no matter how hard he tried, and then--" Arthur paused as if basking in the glory of it all, "—I beat him out for a job he wanted with the Ministry."

"He wanted to be in Muggle relations?" Fred asked.

"No," their dad explained, "I was originally offered a place just under the Minister at the time, but turned it down to work with the Muggle part of the ministry. He was the second choice. He took the job, but quit when he found out that I'd been who they originally wanted."

"All because he couldn't get Mum?" Ginny asked.

Arthur smiled again. "Something like that."

Molly emerged from the kitchen again, still looking a little put out. Fred and George started to chant a little rhyme:

Molly dumped so many boys,
Broke their hearts like little toys,
Poor blokes, they can't find another,
So they go crying to their mothers!

"Stop that, stop that now," she cried as they made the image of Dolfus Holladay dance around her head, the poem repeated over and over again. Everyone laughed, but Ginny continued to think: somehow she would find her own way to use this information.

School started back up again and Ginny continued at her pace. About three weeks into classes, she received a note from Professor McGonagall, saying to use her time to practice their 'general topic of study' for her a test that night. Ginny skipped her potions class even, to have the extra time to trot around her room as a fox, watching in the mirror on her dresser the way she looked as she went low, looked up, barred her teeth, and many other positions that should prepare her more for whatever she would be doing tonight. She had figured McGonagall might take her into the Forbidden Forest, but then that might be a bit much. After all, Centaurs were still roaming around looking for revenge and her brother had told her about the giant spiders. It just might not be safe.

She couldn't figure out any other test, but walked just before lights out to McGonagall's office. She was waiting in front of her desk, silent and firm. "Good evening, Ms. Weasley."

Ginny nodded in response.

"I'm sure you're wondering what your new assignment will be." Ginny nodded again. "The same balls that we used near your home have been placed around the school tonight. Specifically in the rooms of each of the professors you have taken courses from this year—" Ginny gulped. "—you objective is the same, though the challenge is different. I trust you have a map that will tell you where each teacher resides?"

Ginny wondered how she knew about that. "Yes ma'am," she said.

"Good," McGonagall responded. "You may need a bit of information from me before you go… Professor Holladay's room is just off from my old office," she said.

"Why would you need to tell me that?" Ginny asked. If McGonagall knew about the Marauder's map, then she knew about how it worked and that she should be able to find Holladay in the room itself.

"Because he knows you will be out of bed after curfew. He will be on patrol tonight. If you are caught, I will submit to whatever form of discipline he sees fit, short of expulsion and physical punishment," she said. Ginny could swear there was a glint of mischief in her eyes.

"That's not fair!" Ginny exclaimed. She was ratted out before she even started.

"When you have evidence that You-know-who will be fair, Ms. Weasley, then you may complain. I suggest you get back to your room and chart out your course before you begin. The last place you will go is to The Three Broomsticks to meet me there. Upper room," McGonagall finished.

Ginny looked at her watch. If she ran now, she would spare herself having to transfigure until she was ready for the task.

Within half an hour Ginny had her course and task mapped out exactly in her mind. Four professors, four balls: first was Slughorn. She could talk him out of detention in a heart beat. Probably wouldn't even need that. She walked down the stairs and carefully left the dorms. She thought she heard someone at first, but no one seemed to be around, so she slid out of the commons and into the hall, allowing herself to change into her fox figure. She trotted carefully to the second floor, cautiously turning the corners and making her way into an unlocked room. Ginny figured this had to do something with McGonagall. She couldn't imagine any teacher keeping their quarters unlocked at night.

With great care she pushed the door open, first with her nose, then squeezed her head through until it was wide enough for her entire limber body to get in with ease. She was starting to like this persona. Over in the corner was the first gold ball. She started to take a step when there was a sudden jumble to the silence.

Startled, Ginny stepped backwards. She looked around the room for the thunderous presence, but saw Slughorn, sleeping in a chair. She heard the noise again and realized that he was snoring. She breathed more steadily, and was grateful for the reminder that this might not be as simple as it seemed.

Ginny examined the dark room more closely. She jumped up on a nearby ottoman. There, just inches from the ball, there appeared to be a mote with something floating around the ball. She wouldn't have seen it if she hadn't had the high vantage point. She thought. It wasn't too big a leap, but the color of the potion didn't seem to help: dark blue. They had just learned about these jumbling potions. They would disorient, or transport and confuse, or even render the partaker unable to think at all. Worst, it was a potion not to be consumed, but touched.

Over to her left, Ginny could see a way around it. There would be a spot behind the ball large enough to stand comfortable without risk of touching the potion. She would have to use it. With ease she jumped from one spot of a chair, to one on the desk. There was a pile of books that she nudged down from the other side to give her a place to jump once she was done. Then it was accomplished. The ball was gone and Ginny vigilantly made her way out of the room.

One down: three to go. Ginny wasn't going to be taken so quickly this time. She knew better than to think these balls would just sit there as they had at The Burrow.

Next on the list was Professor Binns. She turned course and took the route up the stairs. When she came to the room Ginny realized what the challenge in this would be: being a ghost, Binns didn't sleep. Instead he was sitting at his desk and muttered his next lecture over and over again.

Ginny held her breath. Here, she would have to be noiseless. The ball was rolling back and forth between the legs of Binns' chair, methodically and with a noisy patter; back and forth, back and forth. She knew she would have to keep it up as not to be noticed. She couldn't touch it, not yet. It would need to be close enough to the door to avoid getting caught.

She looked at what she might use. The ball seemed to follow a little mouse going back and forth under the desk, perhaps looking for an escape. Ginny went over, walking just past the transparent legs of her professor. The mouse froze. So did the ball. Professor Binns stopped talking.

Thinking quickly, Ginny went forward—so did the mouse. So it became a game: getting the mouse to go just far enough, then jumping in front of it, and making it go back a shorter beat. They did this until she was inches from the exit. Leaping suddenly, Ginny leaned her nose forward and touched the gold orb, letting the mouse run from her as she dashed out the door. Binns hadn't come out of his drone, and she was safe.

That was for now. The next was to either be the simplest or the most difficult. As she made her way to the room, she looked even more skeptically at each turn, knowing that Professor Holladay was on the lookout. She started to wonder if she should have overcome this obstacle first. If she couldn't do this one, the rest were a waste of her time anyways. But you were able to learn from the mistakes with the others, she reminded herself.

When she came to the room, nothing seemed amiss. The ball was in the middle. She walked around it several times, trying to see what trick might be taking her, but there was nothing she could tell of. She went forward slowly, precisely until her nose felt the cold metal.

Instead of the ball disappearing, it began to change, turning into a loud bell. She didn't realize it, but she looked down and saw a human body instead of fur and noticed her hands were clamped over her ears. He would find her out! In a hurry, she thought, pulling out her wand and grabbing two pieces of neglected parchment. She tapped both, then grabbed a quill from within a desk drawer.

Carefully, she transfigured into a fox and jumped up until she could push her way into a hole behind his bed. She was grateful to find a bit of an alcove and get settled just as the door burst open. "I've got you!" he shouted, but stopped. Ginny couldn't see him very well, but he appeared to be pacing back and forth throughout the room, trying to figure out where she had gone. Ginny pulled out her wand and inked her pen to make this work.

Dear Dolfus,

The quill scratched softly, but was captured within her small space and hidden by the ongoing alarm. Ginny saw his feet going towards the desk that she had laid the counter paper on.

I recently found out about your appointment at Hogwarts, though I deeply regret not having found out any sooner…

Ginny smiled to think what her mum would say.

… I have thought of you often and wish I could go back and change the way things went. It is too much to write. There have been some… changes in recent years concerning my affections and I would hope you could forgive me in the many ways I have robbed you and myself of our happiness together.

Ginny smiled wider to think of how her dad would laugh.

I wish to start to make these amends sooner rather than later. I will be under the large Oak on the grounds this night. If you come, I hope to make things up to you… if not… I understand.

YoursMolly.

"Molly," Professor Holladay exclaimed with such sentiment that Ginny almost laughed. There was another noise, one that sounded as though he were sniffing the charmed paper. In moments he turned the false ball back into its former shape and was out the door, letting it slam behind him.

Ginny became a fox once more, looked more thoroughly and found her actual prize sitting in a corner, covered by a hat. She had to take human form to exit, but did so slowly until she was sure Holladay was gone.

With a renewed sense of success, Ginny made her way to Professor Flitwick's bedroom now. It seemed to have a variety of floating items. She looked among them and found the ball floating just over Professor Flitwick himself. She used her ability to climb onto his nightstand, and realized the bed was so low in comparison that she didn't have any chance except one: to use the ball to rebound to the other nightstand. She crouched low, pulled back and made a flying leap, touching the ball with her paws and pushing against it just hard enough to get some more air before it disappeared. She landed on the floor with a light plop and she could hear Flitwick turn over. Four.

Now she just had to get to McGonagall. She left the school out one of the first floor windows, sure she couldn't get out the front door with as much luck as she had Professor Holladay's room. She made her way through the snow and was pleased as she saw Professor Holladay sitting under the large oak tree. She would have loved to go see what he was doing, but knew there were more important things.

She had to wait outside the pub for ten minutes before someone came that she could sneak in with, another five before she could make it up the stairs. There, she found Professor McGonagall pacing. Tonks and Lupin were both with her. Neither noticed until Ginny turned back to form.

"You did it!" Tonks cheered, holding up two Butterbeers. Ginny smiled.

"Congratulations Ms. Weasley," McGonagall said with a smile. "You passed, and not a moment too soon."

A/N: I really really enjoyed writing this chapter, so I hope you all enjoy reading it. It's really a big part of the idea I had when coming up with Holladay and I almost forgot to write in the little sub plot! gaspshock As always, reviews are great :)