2: The Longest Night

If Harry had ever sat through a longer night than this one, he could not remember it. Sirius suggested once, without any real conviction, that they all go to bed, but the Weasleys' looks of disgust were answer enough. They mostly sat in silence around the table, watching the candle wick sinking lower and lower into liquid wax, occasionally raising a bottle to their lips, speaking only to check the time, to wonder aloud what was happening, and to reassure each other that if there was bad news, they would know straightaway, for Mrs. Weasley must long since have arrived at St. Mungo's.

Fred fell into a doze, his head lolling sideways on to his shoulder. Ginny was curled like a cat on her chair, but her eyes were open; Harry could see them reflecting the firelight.

Rowling J.K., Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, PDF, Chapter 22: St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, page 357.

At half past three in the morning, Ginny rose silently from her chair, stretching out her numbed limbs. She had not closed her eyes once.

Fred, George and Ron were huddled together, sound asleep, and she could not blame them. This night was never going to come to an end; might as well rest now.

Harry was drowsing off in his chair, head tilted sideways, eyes half-closed and Sirius had his back to her, sitting close by the fireplace.

Her small movements did not seem to wake anybody up. She sighed in relief.

There was a portkey somewhere on the third floor. If she got to it without being noticed, she could transport herself to the city and then to St. Mungo's. She had a vague idea of where it could be.

Once there, her mother wouldn't be able to just send her back home. She would consider it a done deal. And she would finally see her father.

The thought of that gave her the courage to walk about the pitch black empty house with only a wand at her side.

Everything was quiet. She was lucky Walburga Black was fast asleep as well.

There were moments when she felt a presence behind her, but that was not out of the ordinary at 12 Grimmauld Place.

She reached the second floor relatively safe, climbing up the staircase, but just when she was about to step on the landing, she heard a soft noise behind her.

Her breathing stopped. There was another weight on the steps. She felt it. Someone had either popped up right behind her, or they had been following her quietly.

She tightened her grip on her wand and prepared herself to whip around and throw an immobilising spell at whoever had decided to stop her, but Lumos revealed a pair of scruffy sneakers and when a hand grabbed her wrist, she suddenly recognized him, without being able to see his face.

She let out a deep breath.

"Why'd you do that for? You scared me!" she panted.

"What do you think you're doing, Ginny?" Harry asked, his voice filled with concern.

"What are you doing, Harry? Following me around like that?"

"Sorry, I just thought you were going somewhere."

"And you couldn't let me know you were breathing down my neck?" she snapped, yanking her arm away.

"I wasn't sure what you were up to. I wanted to make sure you... weren't leaving Grimmauld," he replied steadily.

She could see his face now because her wand was pointed straight at him. Her own deadly pale complexion was reflected in his glasses and it made her flinch.

"And what if I were?" she asked defiantly. "You lot can't keep me locked in here. I need to see dad. One more person there won't make any difference. The Ministry won't know."

"But how can you be sure of that, Gin? Don't you think I want to go and see him right now? Don't you think we all want that?"

"Not enough to actually do something about it!" she whispered furiously. "I can't just stay awake and stare at the fire! I'll go insane."

"Ginny, please, you have to wait while longer. Your mum will come home soon, she'll tell us what to do. We can see him in the morning," Harry pleaded.

"No! It's morning already anyway and I'm done waiting," she muttered, turning her back on him.

"You're putting yourself in danger, not to mention the Order-"

"I couldn't care less about the Order right now."

"You know that's not true. You know you're just as invested as me," he contradicted, coming a step closer.

"Maybe I'm not. You don't know me, Harry. My dad's more important than the Order," she retorted.

"But I do know you. And I know you'd never do anything to put us or your dad in danger," he replied calmly.

Ginny's head whipped around so fast she thought she might pull a muscle.

"But I've done that in the past, haven't I?" she asked coldly.

For a moment, Harry had nothing to say. Her fiery eyes were drilling holes into his chest.

"You're a part of this, Gin. Just like everyone else. You need to accept that. And you need to stay here for now. With us," he said at length.

Ginny shook her head, unable to accept this ultimatum. Her eyes were filling with unshed tears she quickly blinked back.

She turned around and stared walking again, faster, towards the third floor.

Harry lunged after her immediately. She almost avoided him, but he was faster and he pulled her back towards him.

She tried detaching herself, but his Seeker grip was stronger and unrelenting.

"Let me go!"

"No."

"Harry, I'll hex you if you don't!"

"Do it!"

"I swear I will!"

"I know you will," he said, showing her his other empty hand. His wand was tucked in his back pocket.

She held her own aimed at his chest, her fingers wavering slightly.

"Do it," Harry repeated.

"It's not a fair fight," she mumbled into her hair.

Harry sighed heavily.

"Believe me, Ginny, if I could make it happen right now, I would. I'd take you to St. Mungo's myself."

That seemed to have an effect on her.

"Stop doing that!" she snapped.

"Doing what?"

"Trying to fix everything. You can't fix everything!"

For a moment he was taken aback. The truth of her words cut right through him. But he had heard much worse.

He lowered his head. "Well, neither can you."

Ginny's eyes widened. "Wh-What?"

"You can't just go to St. Mungo's and expect everything to get better. He'll still be in danger. You'll still be in danger. And you won't be able to help him, or your mum. Or us. We'll just have an extra person to worry about."

Ginny's heart sank. Although she felt angry at him for saying these things, she knew deep down that he was right.

The sudden realization that, despite her inability to wait, she needed to anyways, for the sake of her family, made her resolve fall to pieces.

Harry felt her going weak in his hold. He searched her eyes for a reaction, but they were blank now.

He let go of her arm.

"I'm so tired," she exhaled.

"I'll go make some tea," she added tonelessly, pushing past him down the stairs.

He waited for a moment to watch her movements in the dark, after which he followed her.

"I'm sorry, Ginny. I'm really sorry," he told her, his voice laced with pain and guilt. He wasn't apologizing for stopping her. He was apologizing for her father.

"I know, Harry. I'm sorry too," she mumbled weakly.

Their figures became one with darkness as they extinguished their wands.