"Do you have to?

Make me feel like…

There's nothing left of me"

-Skyscraper

Chapter 8: I Will Not Be Silenced

Disclaimer: I own the plotline, nothing else.

Walking into the backyard, Harry found Ginny, the twins, Luna, and Neville all sitting beneath the tree both he and Sirius had previously sat upon. The boy-who-lived truly wanted nothing more than to head back inside and, if he could, disapparate back to Privet Drive where he could hide away in his cousin's second bedroom. Going back to his deranged family actually seemed nicer than currently being at the Burrow. And that was saying something.

"Come on, Harry," Hermione urged him further out onto the yard. "She refused to let her friend run away a third time. Twice was two times too many in her opinion.

With a sigh, he reluctantly followed the bushy-haired girl and took a seat in between Luna and her beneath the shade tree.

"It's nice to see you again, Harry," said Luna with a warming smile. Harry felt grateful towards the blonde who decided against bringing up his embarrassing earlier actions.

"Yeah, you alright ma-…Harry?" said Neville, quickly catching himself before making that mistake a second time. Unlike Luna, he clearly felt the need to bring up the fact that Harry had been a foolish coward.

"He's fine, Neville," stated Hermione with much firmness laced through her voice. "How've you three been?" she turned and asked the Weasley siblings, changing the subject. Hermione currently sat in front of Ginny who remained between her two brothers.

"Well," started George, "We've been better," went on Fred, "But things are starting to get back to normal around here," George told her, "Thanks for asking," Fred finished. "How have things been on your end?" asked the other twin.

After looking back and forth so much because of Fred and George's annoying way of speaking, Hermione gathered her thoughts and replied, "Like you, we've been better. Mum and dad have been trying to get me out of the house," she looked down at her hands in her lap, "If it wasn't for your invitation I probably would have never left my house this summer," the brunette declared, sadly.

"We understand," Fred reassured her. "What made you change your mind to come over here, though?" asked George. "We thought for sure that none of you would be willing to show up today," Fred concluded, looking towards the others in their little circle.

Neville timidly raised a hand, "My Gran actually forced me to come," he answered. "I would've stayed out in the garden without really leaving my house either if it weren't for you two…" he then became flustered, "Not that I'm blaming you guys or anything," he blurted out, "It's nice to finally get out and be around other people, even with everything that-"

"Relax, Neville," interjected Luna as she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. The small action only made him redder in the face than before. He looked in the opposite direction, away from her compassionate eyes, and didn't respond.

Stifling a laugh, George broke the awkward silence, "It's alright," he told the younger boy, "We get it," Fred added.

"What about you, Ginny?" Hermione piped up. She had yet to get a word out of the younger girl and she was starting to get worried. "Are you okay?"

The youngest Weasley merely looked down, holding onto the silence she insisted on keeping. Ever since she and her brothers had returned home, she only opened her mouth to eat or brush her teeth. Not once had she spoken a word to any of them, despite their efforts of getting her to do otherwise. After so much time had gone by, without any other choice, the rest of the family reluctantly gave up.

Hermione sighed, "You know if you keep everything bottled up like this-"

"'Mione, let it go," the twins said simultaneously. "It's no use," Fred told her. "We've been trying to talk to her ever since we got back," George sighed. "But she refuses to say a word," Fred stated. "She's been writing back and forth with Dean, though," the other twin gave a small smile, "Even though she won't talk with her family," Fred went on, "It's good that she's at least talking with someone out there."

"Dean?" Neville asked before Hermione could respond, "As in Dean Thomas?"

The twins nodded their heads, "Yeah, he wrote to her at the start of summer," George replied, "And they've been corresponding ever since," Fred finished.

Ginny remained sitting in silence while they spoke as if she wasn't there. Normally, being ignored like that would have bothered her to no end. Now, however, she could care less. The only one she felt comfortable opening up to was Dean. They had gotten rather close towards the end of her fourth year at Hogwarts. He proved to understand her like no other. Ginny felt safe around him and knew that she could tell him anything without being judged. Even though she knew her family wouldn't judge her either, Ginny just felt better talking with Dean over anybody else. He had tried to change her mind about that, though. The older boy wanted her to take comfort in her family as well, but Ginny refused. She just couldn't find it in her heart to speak with them yet. Ron was the last Weasley she spoke with and he was the only Weasley she wanted to be with right now. She missed her older brother so much that it literally put her at a loss for words. The young girl was practically a mute.

Harry couldn't help but to feel bad again at Fred and George's words. He knew exactly how Ginny felt at the moment. He hardly spoke a word to anybody after returning to Privet Drive. The only time he said anything was when Aunt Petunia asked if he'd completed his daily chores. Other than that, he was silent.

Deciding that it was time for both he and Ginny to stop carrying on like that, Harry stood up and looked down at the girl, "Ginny, will you come with me for a moment?" he asked quietly. Everybody else in the group refrained from interfering, hoping that she would agree to go along with him.

Fortunately, Ginny agreed and took Harry's offered hand. Once she made it onto her feet, Harry led her back inside the house and into the currently vacated living room. Then, sitting down on the couch, Harry gestured for the young girl to join him.

"Look," Harry started, "I don't expect you to say anything," he admitted, "But I do know what you're going through. When I first got back home, I hardly said a word. I knew that no matter what I said or did, I couldn't change what happened that night down in the Department of Mysteries. So," Harry went on, "I guess that's why I chose to not say anything at all. I didn't see the point in talking if it wouldn't fix the situation," he sighed. "But after your parents came for me and after I spoke with Sirius, I realized that it's just time to move on and accept the fact that I can't change the past. No matter how much I'd like to, there's nothing I can do about it. And not talking isn't going to solve anything. Not venting to others will only make things worse," he said, remembering what his godfather had told him. "It's great that you're writing to Dean, Ginny, but it's your family that you really need to open up with. They need you," he said honestly, "and you know you need them too. Together is the only way all of you will be able to truly get past this," Harry took a deep breath before finishing, "You know Ron wouldn't want you acting like this."

At those words, Ginny's head shot up. Nobody had tried that tactic with her yet. It angered her. "Don't you dare bring Ron into this!" she yelled at him. "You don't know what he would or wouldn't want anymore!"

Now, it was Harry's turn to become slightly angered, "Yes, Ginny, I'm afraid I'd know exactly what he would want. Ron was my best mate for five years!" his voice started to rise, "He definitely wouldn't want you walking around like some sort of zombie just because he's…no longer here," Harry choked out. "And he was your brother!" he accused, "You of all people should know what I'm saying is true. Don't deny it simply because you want to carry on in self-pity!"

Hearing the rather loud commotion, all of the adults stepped inside from the kitchen and the rest of the group entered from the backyard. Before any of them could stop the two, however, Ginny retaliated, "Self-pity?" she spat, "Are you really that daft enough to believe I'm feeling sorry for myself?" she got up causing the other teen to stand as well. He wasn't frightened in the least bit. Bat-bogey hexes or not, he wouldn't allow Ginny to keep on like this. He owed it to Ron to see that his sister moved on with her life.

"If I'm daft for believing the truth, then yes, Ginny, I'm incredibly stupid!" he responded, "Do you see anybody else moping about the house or locking themselves up in their rooms, hiding from the world?" he questioned.

When the other girl didn't reply, Harry continued on, "No, you don't," he answered for her. "It's okay to grieve and mourn over your losses, Ginny," he said, lowering his voice now, "but this is just getting ridiculous."

The room fell entirely silent after that. Ginny had stepped away from Harry, but made no other signs of leaving. Arthur decided to take this opportunity to speak up.

"Harry's right, sweetheart," he told his daughter, "We need you back in our lives," Mr. Weasley walked over to the now teary-eyed girl, "One child lost is more than enough, wouldn't you say?" he tried getting her to see reason.

Ginny didn't argue or pitch a fit of disagreement this time. She knew what her father said was true. The youngest Weasley even recognized Harry's words as the truth. Now, Ginny simply felt terrible that it took her so incredibly long to come to terms with what had happened. While she was wallowing away in her bedroom over something everybody else had to deal with too, the rest of her family was left to worry for her. One Weasley lost was one too many, she agreed. Ginny now felt extremely selfish for her actions. She had only been thinking about herself since they returned.

"I'm sorry," she said almost inaudibly as both her mother and father now approached her. She was about to say more, but her parents, for once, wanted her to remain quiet.

"It's perfectly fine, dear," Molly said, wrapping her arms tightly around her one and only daughter. "It just took you a bit longer than the rest of us."

Ginny merely cried into her mother's blouse while her father rubbed soothing circles onto her back. Her two brothers came over as well, and each placed a comforting hand upon her shoulders.

Surrounded by the warmth of her family, the youngest Weasley cried herself to sleep. Finally, she had released all of those terrible thoughts and horrible feelings that plagued her since Ron's death. Ginny was now set free from all of the silence.

"I'll take her upstairs," said Mr. Weasley once he realized his daughter had fallen asleep in her mother's arms.

Molly smiled warmly and nodded her head as her husband gently lifted Ginny and made his way up the stairs.

Just like her first year of Hogwarts, thanks to Harry, her daughter was back.

A/N:Okay guys, so that concludes chapter eight.

Let me know what you thought!

Here's some answers to your questions on the last chapter:

H. JaneGranger: Sorry if you didn't like the moment between Luna and Neville and the fact that I'm having 3 different relationships going on throughout the story. However, I did mess up on the summary. Snape and Narcissa will not be a couple. They are only going to be good friends and that is for a reason that will be pointed out later. And no, Luna never said she was going home. Anyways, if you don't see yourself enjoying this, you don't have to read it. I don't want you to take up time reading something you dislike. Thanks for your review though.

Anonymous: That's actually a really good idea…Thanks!

TsukiyoTenshi: That's okay. I'm just glad you like the story. Thank you for the review!

And to the rest of you, thanks so much for letting me know what you think so far. Your reviews make my day :) So, please keep them coming!

Next: The group finally begins to move on.

Until then…