There are so many people all around her, boarding large, sleek Muggle trains. Everyone is rushing in all directions holding children, bags, animals, brief cases, and folders.
Ginny feels strangely melancholy. She watches on as Ron and her parents dash for the wall between platforms nine and ten.
Deep breath, she thinks, after there is no sign left that her family ever stood in the station. And…run.
She takes her first step, and then another, her speed building with each and every second until she is in a full blown sprint. Her eyes closed, Ginny attempts to focusing on just getting through the gateway, into Platform 9 ¾.
Run.
The wheels on the trolley rattle, and her luggage shakes against the straps securing it.
Run.
And for just a split second everything is silenced. She sees nothing, hears nothing, and feels nothing; it is as if time itself has frozen. Then, just as it has for the last seven years, the silence is cut with a loud whistle and Ginny opens her eyes.
A familiar large red steam engine with the words "Hogwarts Express" printed neatly on the front stares back at her. With a small smile, Ginny weaves through the hoards of witches and wizards and goes to board the train for the last time.
Ginny hasn't really thought about it, but she sees all too well now that it is her last year at Hogwarts. As her brother jumps out of one of the car doors to help her load her trunk onto the train (her mother in the background, blowing her nose woefully into a ratty, old handkerchief), Ginny thinks back to the first time she set foot on the Hogwarts Express, at age eleven.
She had been so excited, so nervous, so enthralled with everything around her at Platform 9 ¾, even though she had been there every year of her life prior to see her brothers off with her mum and dad. Everything there was new to her that year because she wasn't just a teary-eyed child waving goodbye to her brothers and chasing after the train until she couldn't keep up. This time she was a student, boarding the train alongside her brothers, looking for a compartment that wasn't full, discussing the teachers and classes, and then she was the one waving goodbye to her mother.
But now it is Ginny's last time on the Express. As her brother leads her to their compartment, her luggage in his hands, she studies everything about the old train, just as she did when she first boarded it. The pattern on the hall rug, the style and brightness of the lights, the peeling opaque wallpaper covering the narrow path, and every scratch and scuff in between.
"This is our compartment, Gin." Ron catches Ginny's attention as she was looking studiously at a stray burn mark on the wall. He leads her into a small compartment occupied by three other people.
"Hullo Harry, Hermione, Luna." Ginny greets them with a smile as Ron shoves her luggage into the upper compartment.
"Hello, Ginny. It's good to see you again." Luna's dreamy eyes focus on Ginny for a moment before going back to wandering in the air.
Hermione nods to her in response before moving to sit next to Ron.
Ginny's eyes connect to Harry's.
"Hey...Gin," Ginny sees the blush rising to his cheeks, and her own grow warm as well. She shoots him what she hopes is a brilliant smile and takes the vacant spot next to him.
The train's whistle sounds and, as she, Ron, and Harry smile and wave to the teary eyed red headed woman waving vigorously in return, the train begins to roll away from Platform 9 ¾.
"Ron and I've got Prefect duties, so we'll see you, alright?" Hermione and Ron rush out of the compartment as soon as the train is out of the station. Not a full two minutes after they leave, the compartment door opens. Ginny looks up to see Neville Longbottom standing in the doorway.
"Hi. Sorry I'm late; I was sort of cornered by Romilda Vane. I have no idea what she wanted."
Harry busts out laughing. "Didn't take any Chocolate Cauldrons from her, did you?" Neville chuckles and takes a seat across from Luna.
As Ginny and Harry slip into conversation, Neville and Luna slowly fade into the background.
"We'll be in the same year, now, won't we?" Harry points out with a broad smile. In the beginning of the summer, along with their supply list and usual letter, Ginny and Ron had received a note informing them that they had a chance to chose whether they wished to repeat a year ( or, in Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville's case, graduate.) or to stay behind. Ginny chose to move to her seventh year, whereas Neville, Luna, and the Golden Trio chose to stay in their respective years. Ginny didn't know how many students had been given this chance (she suspected it was mostly members of Dumbledore's Army.), but was glad nonetheless that she was.
"Yeah, we will. So we'll have a few classes together, yeah? What're you taking?" And Harry launches off into telling Ginny about all of the classes he's taking to become an Auror, detailing about which classes were going to be easy or hard and what marks he needed to be accepted into the Auror Training Program.
"You know, Ginny, I've been thinking a lot over this summer…" Harry trails off.
"Oh, Merlin," a voice complains loudly. "Don't tell me the Boy-Who-Lived-Four-Times-Too-Many is going to confess his everlasting love for you- again. I may get sick."
Ginny shoots out of her seat. "Uh, I'm sorry, Harry, really, I am, but I've got to pop out for just a second." and before the black haired boy next to her can say a word, she races out of the compartment, slamming the door behind her.
"Oh, are we going to speak again?" Tom goads as Ginny silently closes the door to the empty compartment.
"I'm tired of you," Ginny says softly, looking away from Tom, who's face takes on a slight look of surprise (Probably because she spoke directly to him.) before slipping back into it's mocking mask.
"Oh, really? And we were getting along so well, Ginevra," he mocks her, his arms crossed and his smirk in place.
"Stuff it and listen!" Ginny's head snaps up to glare at Tom, who doesn't bother to hide his shock this time. "I'm tired of you and I'm not going to be kicked about by you anymore. You're not going mess up my things, you're not going to insult me or my family, and you're not going to mess with my head with those… things, like before, understand?"
"Is it just me, or do you get a sense of déjà vu?" Tom chuckles. "And what will you do if I continue my way-ward ways, hm?" Tom says, matching her glare.
Ginny smiles wickedly. "When we get to Hogwarts, I'll find that book you're looking for, that one of a kind, and burn it. Shred it. Give it to the Giant Squid for lunch; anything to ruin your precious plans to pick up where Voldemort failed."
Tom's handsome features darken. "You wouldn't dare-" Ginny cuts him off.
"Try me. After all you've done, why wouldn't I?" Ginny stares Tom, whose lips have curled back into a snarl, down. After a few silent moments, he bows his head, relenting, and disappears.
Ginny returns to the compartment to see Ron and Hermione back in their seats. "Gin, where'd you go? The snack trolley just passed, I bet if you get to the next car, you'll catch-"
"Its fine, Ron. I don't want any sweets at the moment." Ginny smiles at her brother tightly. He looks disappointed at Ginny's lack of enthusiasm for eating.
Ginny slips into the same vacant seat as she did before, and can feel everyone's eyes on her as she stares at her shoes. She says nothing, and neither does anyone else.
Finally, Luna breaks the awkward silence. "Ginny," she asks airily. "Have you seen the latest article in the Quibbler regarding Crumple-Horned Snorkaks? Daddy almost caught a photo of one last week, but it disappeared before he could catch it." She holds up a copy of the Quibbler, upside down,and Ginny wonders where it came from, as Luna's hands were quite empty when she returned.
As Luna hands Ginny a spare copy of the magazine, the mood lightens considerably.
Neville's face light up with humor, "My gran almost blew my uncle's arm off four times this summer because she thought he was a Death Eater. He doesn't apparate to the house anymore." Everyone laughs at Neville's tale, and they all try to top Neville's story with recollections of their own.
"Teddy turned himself into a duck two Thursdays ago when Andromeda and he visited. He had these funny white feathers all over him, and he grew a purple bill." Harry recalls, trying not to giggle at the thought of a feather-wrapped one-year-old Teddy Lupin.
The compartment filled with laughter.
"The castle looks like its old self again!" Ginny hears Pavarti (or is it Padma?) Patil comment in one of the near by carriages as the Hogwarts castle comes into view.
During the Final Battle, a lot of damage was done to the castle, especially the lower level. Whole walls of ancient stones were smashed in from the giants and acromantulas. Stairways were caved in. A few paintings had to take refuge in other frames until new ones could be commissioned for them. When re-construction had started that summer, no one thought it would be done in time for the next year. Now, as Ginny, along with the rest of the returned students, made her way into the castle, she could hardly tell old stone and windows from new.
"My, my; it does look fantastic in the dark, doesn't it?" Ginny doesn't have to look to know that it is Tom Riddle who is beside her. She discreetly glances to her side to see Tom sitting on the edge of the open carriage, his body still and not showing any sign of being jostled by the carriage like Ginny and her companions. His voice holds none of its previous sarcasm and maliciousness used on the train. Ginny hopes this means he will stick to his agreement this time, if only to protect the sole means he has of regaining a physical being.
"It does," Ginny whispers in return, careful not to let the others in the carriage hear her. She is silent for the remainder of the ride.
The ceiling of the Great Hall glistens with stars as bright as diamonds as Ginny takes her seat at the Gryffindor table. Tom is still beside her, not having left her side since the carriage ride.
The Sorting Ceremony passes, with an additional twelve Gryffindors, ten Hufflepuffs, thirteen Ravenclaws, and four Slytherins. Ginny amuses herself, imagining how many children hopped onto the stool begging not to be tossed into Slytherin; the house having lost a good amount of its glamour to many a snobbish pureblood child.
The feast is magnificent, the sweet potatoes, roasted chicken, and various assortments of other delicious foods being cooked to perfection by the many house elves.
Professor McGonagall- or, rather, Headmistress McGonagall- stands after the golden plates, not one holding an untouched array of foods, disappear into thin air. The hall goes silent.
"To those of you who have returned to Hogwarts, I wish to welcome you back." McGonagall's tight voice rings out. Was it Ginny's imagination, or was she hearing a hint of nerves in the new Headmistress' voice? "To our new students, I wish to welcome you to Hogwarts and I congratulate you on being sorted into your house. A great man once said, 'Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when only one remembers to turn on the light.' I know that this past year or so has been hard for us all. We've all lost friends and family alike, but I hope that we can use the events of the past to fuel our determination to do the best we can do, so that we may make the future as bright as possible, for ourselves and for future generations who will walk these same halls." As the Headmistress steps down, applause erupts from the hall, and, once it dies down, the prefects lead the students to their respective dormitories for a well-earned nights rest.
"Ginny," Luna's dreamy voice surprises Ginny from behind her just before she becomes caught up in the great rush of students.
"Yes, Luna?"
"Ginny, who was that peculiar boy with you?" Ginny's face freezes. She forces her mouth to remain closed and keeps her eyebrows from shooting up to her hair line. Surely, Luna didn't see…?
"What...what boy, Luna?" she asks hesitantly, knowing she couldn't have meant Tom.
"The one standing behind you in the Great Hall; he had a very lovely face, and wavy hair. He was looking at you rather a lot, so I assumed he was your friend. A bit odd, really that he was wearing a Slytherin uniform but not at the Slytherin table."
Ginny stares in shock at Luna as the last of the students leave through the enormous door way and the Great Hall empties.
A/N: A LITTLE BIT OF THIS MAY BE SLIGHTLY IMPORTAT, BUT READ ANYWAY, YEAH? Hey, everyone! Sorry it's been so long. I guess it's been a bit cause I just can't seem to make the chapters good enough anymore, so I want to spend more time on it (yet never know quite how to fix what I feel is off in each chapter.), you know? I sort of feel like as I get further into it, the quality is dropping ever so slightly- Like Global warming. Not to mention I have absolutely NO idea where I'm going with this. Suggestions?
Also, I just realized something. The story is set after the Final Battle, but in Chapter 2… Fred's alive. Yeah. I don't know if I want to go back and write him out, because if I do that could be a really good angst-y thing for Gin and everyone. And then I could always have the family excuse Gin's behavior with "her brother just died" and all. And I'm thinking I have to make the story truer to the books, but Fred was my favorite twin! I wasn't really sure where I was going with the story then, cause I hadn't planned on it being more than one chapter but… good things come in small surprises…wait, that's not right…
Hm, what else…? OH! A reviewer asked me "how can Tom not turn a page, but CAN destroy a room?" Well, for anyone else who may be wondering, here it is: Tom's strength doesn't feed off Ginny's, it is his own. Therefore, if he spends a lot of energy, he must build it back up- that takes a longer time. So, if he were to use all of his energy on small things, he wouldn't have enough to keep his physical appearance or do anything, really. Like in the Bee Movie- bees don't fly everywhere 'cause it's like humans running everywhere. Tom's a bee. Anyone else picturing him as a bee, with wings and a stinger? I am.
And last, but NOT least, AT ALL, in ANY way- Thanks to ALL the reviewers of Chapter 6: TwinkleMae1991, seriana14, ms Masen, stewart02, Percy, Kaye, and insantiy75. Love you guys so, so much. A LOT. But not in a stalker way…maybe. Wink.