Author's Note: I am so sorry for the delay! Here's four chapters to make up for it!
Chapter Seven
"Hello, Ginny."
He was coming out of the diary, reaching towards her, smirking.
Ginny's eyes flew open.
She wildly sat up and realized that she wasn't in the chamber; she was in her bedroom.
Or rather, she was in the bedroom at Grimmauld Place.
Ginny sighed with relief as she glanced at the bed across the room.
Hermione was still sleeping.
Ginny leapt to her feet and crept into the corridor.
She didn't go downstairs, however.
She wasn't sure if she could face Sirius after breaking down this afternoon.
And so, she made her way to the drawing room.
She opened the door and bowed.
Buckbeak dipped his head and Ginny raced over, burying herself in the warm feathers.
She turned and sat with her back against his side.
She sat in silence for several hours until the door opened.
"Are you alright?" Sirius asked.
She shook her head, quite aware of the fact that her face was flaming.
"Juniper, listen," Sirius gently said, "There's no need to be embarrassed about earlier."
"Yeah," Ginny sarcastically said, "I was just crying like a bloody tot. What's embarrassing about that?"
Sirius sighed and entered.
He was carrying two mugs of tea.
He nodded towards the floor and asked, "May I join you?"
She nodded and he sat down.
"Listen to me," Sirius quietly said, "When I was in Azkaban…that…that was the worst time of my life…those Dementors were…they were just horrible…"
He put a hand on her shoulder and gravely explained, "I had just lost three of my best friends and I couldn't show any emotion. They feed on it. They take away every happy feeling that you have. And then they feed on the rest. It's one of the worst feelings in the world."
"Yeah," Ginny spoke up, "I…I know how bad the Dementors are. They were swarming the castle in my second year. All because some bloke decided to escape from Azkaban and go after his godson."
She grinned at him and he returned it.
"The point is," Sirius continued, "I know what it feels like to be emotionless. And it's a horrible feeling. Letting emotion out isn't a bad thing. Especially when you've had to hold it in for so long."
Ginny nodded, still not convinced.
Sirius abruptly set the mugs on the floor and leapt to his feet with a simple command:
"Follow me."
Ginny looked up and asked, "Why?"
"I want to help you," Sirius replied, "And I know the perfect way to do so."
Ginny scrambled to her feet and glumly followed him.
They went down to the second floor.
Sirius began to touch the wall in various spots as he cheerfully said, "Now, Mother Dearest and Father Dearest were many things…most of them horrible…but above all…"
He finally found the spot and pushed.
Ginny gasped.
An intricate door had appeared. Sirius pushed it open to reveal a hidden chamber. It was quite large and was filled to the top with sparkling collectables.
Marble statues, golden china, silver tea kettles, glass figurines…
"They were rich," Sirius finished.
"No kidding," Ginny breathed.
"This was our antique vault," Sirius explained, "We had a few vaults at Gringotts, of course, but my parents never quite trusted goblins. Besides, they fancied looking at their wealth."
He stepped inside and Ginny amazedly followed.
"They valued the items in this room more than anything," Sirius continued, "More than their love, more than their lives, more than their sons' lives…"
He looked solemn for a moment before brightly saying, "I've been wanting to do this for weeks but you need it more than I do."
"Need what?" Ginny curiously asked.
Sirius smirked and twirled his wand.
Something appeared in his hand.
He handed it over to Ginny who whispered, "A…a Beater's bat?"
Sirius smiled and said, "Have at it. Just…err…don't hit me."
Ginny glanced from the bat to the man and cried, "You're joking?"
Sirius' grin widened and he cried, "Well, go on!"
Ginny hesitated and nudged a nearby vase.
"You can do better than that," Sirius snorted, "Let it out!"
And so, Ginny slammed the bat into the nearest marble statue.
It immediately crumbled.
She felt a rush of adrenaline and continued.
Within minutes, she was elegantly twirling around, smashing things right and left. Tears flowed down her cheeks and yet, she was donning a huge smile. A genuine smile.
Sirius looked on with a smirk plastered on his own face. He laughed as bits of chandelier rained down around him.
"GINNY, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?"
Arthur and Molly raced over but Sirius held up his hand.
They stopped in their tracks, their jaws dropped, as they watched their daughter unleash her fury, her resentment, and her grief on the valuable Black heirlooms.
The noise also brought Ron, Hermione, and the twins racing over.
Ron's jaw dropped.
Hermione clamped a hand over her mouth.
Fred and George both laughed.
At long last, Ginny tired herself out.
She threw the bat onto the rubble and her legs gave way.
Sirius was right there to catch her.
They clung onto each other's arms and straightened up.
"Better?" Sirius knowingly asked.
Ginny nodded and whispered, "Thanks, Sirius."
"Any time, Juniper."
She hesitated before asking, "Can we have that tea now?"
"Sounds good."
The two walked side-by-side, leaving the disaster in their wake.