As he ate his bangers with baked beans and fried bacon, Harry occasionally glanced over to where Ginny had been sitting for breakfast the day before, but to his amazement, she was nowhere to be seen. With the other students of her class sitting at the other end of the Gryffindor table, Ginny couldn't have a free period either.
Lost in thought, he scooped a fried egg onto his plate and poked the yolk with his fork to mix it with the beans. Something was wrong with Ron's sister. He frowned, wondering if he'd noticed anything strange about her before, but by Merlin, he couldn't remember anything in particular. Well, one thing Harry could remember - he'd very rarely seen Ron's sister at all since she'd come to Hogwarts last year. Somehow that felt strange. Ron was around him all day, and Harry also knew his older brothers well. Although he only exchanged a few words with them every now and then, he usually saw them every day. But not Ginny. On the previous evenings during their detention, she'd actually been good company even though it had always taken her a while to relax before she was ready to talk to him.
"Hurry up. We wanted to visit Hermione before history class," Ron reminded him, snapping Harry out of his thoughts. "Because you're having detention, we can't visit her after dinner."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm almost done," Harry replied, quickly wolfing down the last few bites of his breakfast before washing them down with the rest of his pumpkin juice. Wiping his mouth with his napkin, he grabbed his school bag and muttered, "Let's go!"
When they got to the hospital wing, Hermione beamed at them from her bed with relief. "I was afraid you couldn't make it before class."
"We wouldn't do that to you, 'Mione, would we?" Ron replied, chuckling when he placed a small stack of parchments on her bedside table. "Without your beloved homework, you would have died of boredom."
"That's not the point." Hermione shot Ron a reprimanding look. "I'm just happy to see you two. Being here alone all day is boring."
"Whom are you talking to," Harry said with a wry smile. "How's your hairy problem doing?"
"Don't make fun of me," Hermione said, frowning briefly, before a smile spread across her face. "Looks like I'll be released soon. As you know, the tail was already gone on Monday. And last night, the last two remaining whiskers fell off. Before Madam Pomfrey dismisses me, she wants to be sure I don't meow anymore when I'm dreaming at night."
Harry grinned. "Yeah, your roommates would certainly ask questions."
"You are impossible." Hermione rolled her eyes and then gave Ron an expectant look. "What's the news at Hogwarts?"
"We still don't know who's the Heir of Slytherin," said Harry, a little disappointed. "I was so sure it was Malfoy."
"I hate to interrupt you, but we have to go," Ron interjected. "Since Harry has detention for the rest of the week, we won't be able to see you again until tomorrow morning."
"You could bring me my homework tonight, even without Harry," Hermione said, raising her eyebrows at Ron. "That is if that isn't too much to ask, and it takes you all evening to do your homework."
"Hermione, you're sick and need to rest," Ron replied, shaking his head in disbelief. "I'll see what I can do. See you later."
Chuckling, Harry followed Ron out of the hospital wing, waving goodbye to their friend before they left.
*** Ginny & Harry ***
At dinner, Harry wasn't in the best mood. The Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson with Lockhard had been followed by a double lesson Potions, during which Snape had more than once promised Harry that he would personally see to it that he was expelled from the school if he felt Potions classes were beneath his dignity. Oddly enough, Harry wasn't aware of what he could have done wrong. He'd tried to pay attention, and, in his opinion, his potion had turned out immaculate as well. Of course, Snape didn't feel the need to take a look at Harry's potion, let alone grade it. Sometimes Harry suspected that Snape just didn't like his looks.
Resigning to his fate, Harry pushed away his half-full plate and stood up. "I'd better go then. I'm not hungry," he muttered, giving Ron a pained look.
"Don't let Snape nettle you too much," his best mate replied sympathetically.
"You going to visit Hermione?" Harry asked, letting his gaze wander down the Gryffindor table.
"Yeah, that's better than doing my homework alone," Ron replied apologetically.
Harry was about to leave when he realized what, or rather who, he was looking for at the Gryffindor table. He paused and skimmed the table again, but Ginny was nowhere to be seen. Uncertain, Harry ran his fingers through his hair and scratched the back of his head. Sighing, he finally sat down again and reached for the toast.
"What's up?" Ron gave him a curious look. "You're not going to make sandwiches for Snape, are you?"
"In case I get hungry after Snape's detention," Harry lied, not in the mood to explain to his friend that he was making the sandwich for his sister.
After walking through the dimly lit corridors of the dungeons, Harry entered Snape's classroom; to his surprise, Ginny wasn't there. Glancing at his watch, he raised his eyebrows. Their detention should start in three minutes.
Tucking the napkin-wrapped toast into his pocket, Harry sat down and waited. It wasn't long before the door opened again, and Ginny slipped in, a haunted expression on her face, closely followed by Snape. Looking pale and exhausted, she avoided Harry's eyes as she stood by the teacher's desk. Irritated, Harry noticed that her robes were smeared with dirt that smelled like she'd crawled through the sewers. Where had she been?
Giving her a disdainful look, Snape sneered, "Even if your parents don't have the money to buy new robes, you could at least clean yours once in a while, Weasley. Take a step back. You stink."
Ginny, obviously fighting back tears, kept her gaze fixed on the floor.
"Today, the supplies in the Potions Laboratory need to be replenished," Snape disclosed. "Come along!"
In the lab, Snape indicated towards a stack of large crates sitting in a corner, filled to the brim with smaller boxes of various sizes. "These boxes contain all kind of plants we need for potion ingredients. Each box is labelled with the name of the ingredient. You will separate the blossoms, roots or leaves, portion them and fill up the respective jars and cans on the shelves. Make sure to fill the ingredients into the correct containers unless you want to repeat your assignment during an additional week of detention. Understood?"
"Yes, Professor," Harry muttered while Ginny just nodded. To Harry's amazement, Snape let her get away with it, growling, "And now, get moving! I don't have all night." And with those words, he turned and disappeared.
Running his fingers through his hair, Harry tried to figure out how to proceed. He stole a brief glance at Ginny, who was staring absently at the stack of crates. "Let's work through the boxes one after the other. What do you think?" When Ginny didn't answer, he called a little louder, "Ginny?"
Startled, she spun around and stared blankly at Harry, shaking slightly. "Harry?" she muttered wide-eyed, as if she'd just now noticed his presence.
"We'd better start, or we won't be done by the time Snape gets back," Harry said and continued when Ginny nodded, "You take a box out of the crate. I find the respective container on the shelf, and we fill it up together. Okay?"
Nodding, Ginny turned to the crates. Irritated, Harry watched her picking up several boxes and placing them on the table. Something was wrong with her. It felt like her mind was somewhere else, like she was sleepwalking.
"Is everything okay?" Harry asked, eyeing her worriedly.
"Of course. Everything is okay," she replied without meeting Harry's gaze.
Frowning briefly, Harry sighed and asked her, shrugging, "What's in the box?"
"Violets," Ginny replied without looking up.
"I'll get the jar for the violet roots," Harry said, grabbing the stepladder. When he returned with the jar, Ginny had already spread the violets out on the table and started cutting the roots. Harry took a knife from a drawer to help her. After restocking the jar with the cut roots, they put the remaining parts of the violets that were not used as a potion ingredient back in the box.
Ginny took two boxes of rowanberries from the crate while Harry looked for the tin on the shelf. In silence, they worked through the boxes and, step by step, replenished the jars and cans with potion ingredients on the shelves. As the evening went on, Harry noticed Ginny yawning more often. Unlike the evenings before, she wasn't talkative at all, only taciturnly answering Harry's occasional questions with yes and no.
They had just started with the last crate when Ginny was hit with a never-ending yawning fit.
"Do you want to take a short break? I can work through the rest of the boxes on my own. There aren't many left, and we still have half an hour before Snape is back."
Giving him a quick look, Ginny shook her head. "That's out of the question. I can't let you do all the work yourself." Before Harry could object, she took the next box out of the box and dumped the contents onto the table. "We need the jar for the tormentil," she said, and started chopping the roots into chunks.
They finished their detention in silence and waited for Snape's return just as silently. Occasionally, Harry would throw Ginny a scrutinizing look, only to find that she was still staring blankly ahead. Harry sighed. Why did Hermione have to be in the hospital wing right now? She would certainly have known what was wrong with Ginny.
Thankfully, when Snape finally showed up, he wasn't in a talkative mood either. He glanced briefly at the crates and waved his wand over the shelves. Harry wasn't sure if Snape was satisfied with the result or just wanted to get rid of them, but he dismissed them without his usual tirade.
This time, Harry was prepared for Ginny to leave quickly and waited for her at the classroom door.
"Let's go back to Gryffindor Tower together," Harry offered.
But Ginny didn't answer. With a distant look, she marched past Harry into the corridor, muttering something he didn't comprehend.
"Potter, close the door," Snape's voice rang through the classroom. Harry hesitated, not sure if he should run after Ginny or follow Snape's orders. In the end, he slammed the door shut and hurried down the corridor, but Ginny was already out of sight, ignoring his calls to wait.
"What was that?" Harry muttered to himself, shaking his head in disbelief.
Lost in thought, pondering Ginny's strange behaviour, he made his way back to Gryffindor Tower. He was about to pass the second floor when he suddenly heard voices and paused to listen.
Harry's heart began to beat louder. There they were again, those strange voices he'd heard a few weeks ago when nobody wanted to believe him.
"Let me tear you apart... let me tear you apart... let me kill you."
Looking about, Harry tried to figure out where those voices were coming from. As the voices grew quieter, he hurried around the next corner, where they could be heard better again, but then suddenly disappeared. As if nothing had happened, it was quiet again. After a few minutes of silent listening, Harry continued his way when the thought of Ginny wandering the castle alone made his heart sink. Hopefully she was already back in the Common room, and nothing had happened to her.
But when Harry climbed through the portrait hole, the Common room was empty save for Katie Bell and one of her friends, who were packing up their things to retire to their dormitories.
"Did Ginny Weasley just come through the door?" Harry asked the two girls.
They both shook their heads. "It's been a while since someone came in. The last one was Ron, I think," Katie said. "What about Ginny? She's a bit weird lately, isn't she?"
Harry frowned. "We were both in detention with Snape, and when she walked ahead, I figured she'd be here already." Harry glanced at his watch. "In ten minutes, it's curfew."
"Someone should talk to her brothers," Katie said, looking concerned. Sighing, she waved, "Time to go to bed. Night, Harry!"
"Yeah. Night," Harry replied, watching the girls climb the stairs to their dormitory.
Briefly, Harry considered to check if Ron was still awake, but then sat down in one of the armchairs by the fireplace, where the flames were slowly dying. As he reviewed Ginny's odd behaviour during detention, the long day soon took its toll, and his eyes drooped.
The sound of the portrait hole closing woke Harry from his doze. Still half asleep, he glanced at his watch. It was two thirty in the morning. As he got up, he saw Ginny at the bottom of the stairs to the girls' dormitories.
"Ginny!" he cried in disbelief. "Where do you come from?"
"Harry?" Ginny turned around. Her robes were even dirtier than before, but while she still looked exhausted, her eyes weren't as distant as they'd been a few hours ago. They were chocolate brown, just like he remembered from the Burrow last summer. And she talked to him again. "Harry. What are you doing here? It's already late?"
"I fell asleep. But where have you been, Ginny? Do you know what time it is?"
Her eyes suddenly became unfocused again, and her lower lip began to tremble. She looked around as if looking for an escape route.
"You can tell me where you've been. I won't tell anyone," said Harry in a calm voice.
Fighting back her tears, Ginny sobbed and said in a low voice, "I really don't know. I can't remember. It's like I had a bad dream, and then I woke up in the girls' loo down the second floor." Without giving Harry another look, she turned around and ran up the stairs to her dormitory as fast as she could.