Chapter Five
Ginny was unraveling.
She tried to keep herself together as she poked at her breakfast.
"Juniper," Sirius whispered, "At least touch it."
She merely sighed and pushed the food around with her fork.
"Brilliant," Sirius murmured, "Ingesting by photosynthesis, are you?"
"You said to touch it," Ginny replied, "You never said anything about eating."
Sirius' shoulders sagged.
At that moment, they both jumped as Fred and George abruptly appeared on the table.
"Eh, sorry about that," Fred meekly said.
"Overshot the landing!" George cried.
"Boys, sit down," Mrs. Weasley sighed, "You're just in time to hear the daily chores."
"Oh, goodie!" Fred exclaimed.
"I was afraid that we were going to miss it," George unblushingly added.
Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes and curtly said, "I thought that we would work on the bedroom on the fourth floor."
"You thought wrong," Sirius spoke up.
All eyes turned to him.
"Not your room," Mrs. Weasley explained, "The one across from yours."
"You still thought wrong," Sirius simply said, "Nobody enters that room."
"Why not?" Mrs. Weasley cried.
"That's for me to know," Sirius replied, "And you to accept."
"But…"
Ginny groaned and snapped, "He said no, Mum!"
"I heard him, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley testily said, "But it needs to be cleaned."
"Why?" Ginny shot back, "Do you really think that cleaning this bloody house is going to bring Percy back?"
"Ginny!" Mr. Weasley cried.
Mrs. Weasley's eyes brimmed with tears.
"Oh, give it up!" Ginny sighed, "Look, I felt bad for you the first twenty times that you threw yourself a pity party. But now, it's just getting old."
The rest of her family gaped at her.
Even Sirius looked surprised.
"Ginny," Hermione whispered, "Are you…erm…are you alright?"
"No, I'm not," Ginny retorted.
Hermione swallowed.
"Don't mind her," Mrs. Weasley eventually said, "She's still throwing a tantrum because I won't let her join the Order."
"That's not what this is about," Ginny groaned, "Although, I should join."
"You're not joining," Mrs. Weasley snapped, "You're too young, too inexperienced…"
"Inexperienced?" Ginny screamed, leaping to her feet, "INEXPERIENCED!?"
She knew that her face was as red as her hair.
Her hands balled into fists as she hissed, "I can't…I can't believe that you would…"
Sirius uncertainly stepped towards her.
"Ginny," Mr. Weasley sighed, "You're fourteen!"
"Even you?" Ginny cried, "Even you're too blinded to see…?"
"Come now, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley cried, "Just sit down and—"
"NO!"
And at that moment, every piece of glass in the room exploded.
Fred and George cried out and Apparated away from the falling pieces.
Her mother ducked and her father shielded his head.
Hermione screamed and Ron let out a string of cursewords.
Only Sirius raced towards Ginny, shouting her name.
His cries were drowned out by Mrs. Weasley's bellow, "GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY! GO TO YOUR ROOM!"
Ginny took off running.
"JUNIPER!" Sirius exclaimed, "GINNY, WAIT!"
Ginny ignored him. She wrenched open the front door and leapt out into the street. She ran as fast as she could, the hot air beating against her skin. She ran across the street and the Muggle automobiles screeched and blared their horns. She didn't care! She didn't care!
She continued to run…and run…and run…
Her legs ached and her chest heaved.
But she didn't care!
She didn't even care where she was going.
She didn't care!
She only started to care when she realized that she was jogging in a desolate alleyway.
Nothing looked familiar.
Then again, why would it?
She knew that Grimmauld Place was in the centre of London.
Other than that, she had no clue where it was.
And now, she had no clue where she was.
She slowed down and heard footsteps behind her.
She spun around and saw a large black dog running towards her.
Ginny's jaw dropped.
Sirius glanced around, ensuring that they were alone, before transforming.
"Did you…did you follow me?" Ginny whispered.
"Of course," Sirius worriedly asked, "Are you alright?"
"Forget about me!" Ginny shrieked, "You're a bloody fugitive! Change back!"
He blinked before doing so.
Ginny sighed with relief.
She then crouched down and croaked, "You…you really came after me?"
The dog nodded.
"Thank you," Ginny whispered.
The dog lifted a paw and placed it on her shoulder.
"Do you…do you know how to get back?"
The dog nodded and started to turn.
"Wait," Ginny cried.
He halted and glanced over his shoulder.
"Not yet," Ginny whispered.
She expected Sirius to argue, to keep walking, to whine, to even growl.
Instead, the dog turned on the spot and flopped onto his stomach.
Ginny smiled and sat down, her back against the cold wall.
The two of them sat, side-by-side, in the dark alleyway.
It wasn't the ideal spot.
But it was fitting.
Pedestrians rushed past on the main sidewalk.
Nobody even noticed them.
oOo
The two sat in the alleyway for several hours.
At long last, Ginny whispered, "Alright…I suppose that we should return."
The dog's ears drooped but he nodded.
Ginny scrambled to her feet and followed him.
She took the time to properly look around at the Muggle neighborhoods. She eventually took Sirius' video camera from her pocket and began filming. Everyone was happy! Mothers were tending to their gardens on the hot summer day. They waved at her and called greetings. A few Muggles were mowing their lawns. A few more were sitting on lawn chairs.
A few children dashed in front of her path, giggling as they tried to drench one another with water balloons. Ginny smiled with amusement as Sirius, still in her dog form, gave several happy barks. The children laughed and threw a balloon at him. Sirius tried to catch it with his mouth but ended up popping it, soaking both him and Ginny. The former cracked up.
After a quarter of an hour, they had reached Grimmauld Place. Ginny suddenly realized just how grimy this neighborhood looked compared to the others Litter was scattered about and many windows were either broken or boarded up. There was also a stale stench in the air.
Ginny watched as the dog stared as the spot between Number 11 and Number 13.
12 Grimmauld Place appeared and the two entered.
As soon as Sirius was across the threshold, he transformed back into his human self.
Ginny closed the door and Sirius took in a sharp breath.
Sure enough, the curtains fell and Walburga's portrait began to shriek.
Sirius and Ginny yanked the curtains back to their positions.
The door to the right opened and Mrs. Weasley entered.
Her eyes narrowed.
Ginny swallowed.
Sirius put a hand on her shoulder; just as he had when he had been a dog.
"Well," Mrs. Weasley quietly said, "Are you going to apologize?"
Ginny sighed and said, "I'm sorry for running off. I just…"
"Running off?" Mrs. Weasley interjected, "What are you talking about?"
"For…for leaving," Ginny cried.
"You left!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, "Wait a minute…you left this house!?"
"I…I've been gone for hours," Ginny whispered, "You didn't notice?"
"I JUST THOUGHT THAT YOU HAD GONE UP TO YOUR ROOM!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked, "GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?"
The curtains had fallen once more and Walburga's screams joined in.
"You know what!?" Sirius loudly said, "I've had just about enough of mothers screaming at their children in this household!"
He grabbed the curtains and furiously heaved.
"I can't believe that you didn't notice," Ginny whispered, "Then again, you never do!"
She thought about going back outside once more.
In the end, she shoved past her mother and climbed the stairs.
She made it halfway down the corridor before she heard someone say, "Juniper—"
She turned at Sirius' voice.
He was looking more solemn than ever.
"Are you alright?" Sirius whispered.
"No," Ginny muttered, "I'm not."
"What is it?" Sirius coaxingly asked, "Tell me."
"I just…" Ginny exasperatedly said, "I…I feel so…bottled up! Like there's no one that I can turn to…no one that I can…that I can talk to…"
"You can talk to me," Sirius pointed out.
"I know," Ginny sighed, "I know that…and…thank you…but I…I feel like I've had a weight on my chest for years…and…I've had so many thoughts…so many emotions…and I have no way to get rid of them!"
Sirius surveyed her for a moment before asking, "Have you tried a diary?"
And just like that, Ginny Weasley burst into tears.