Author's Note: Well, this is it! The last three chapters! Thank you so much for everyone who gave kudos, commented, or sent me messages on tumblr!

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ginny was freaking out.

She practically flew through the corridors.

She dove into a broom cupboard and pulled the mirror from her bag.

"Padfoot?" Ginny whispered, "Padfoot!"

Sirius' face swam into view.

Before he could say anything, Ginny blurted out, "Michael Corner just asked me out!"

"Fantastic!" Sirius exclaimed, "What did you say?"

Ginny flushed.

"You ran away to ask my opinion, didn't you?" Sirius amusedly asked.

"Maybe."

"What's going to happen when you're in a white dress at the front of a church?" Sirius laughed, "Are you going to run to me to ask whether you should say, 'I do.'?"

Ginny rolled her eyes and his smirk deepened.

"I would love to go out with him," Ginny admitted, "But…"

"But what?"

"What about Harry?"

"What about him?"

"I still want to be with him one day," Ginny whispered.

"Juniper," Sirius gently said, "Listen to me and listen carefully…If you and Harry are meant to be together then it's going to happen. And trust me, you're meant to be together. But you can't just wait around for him to realize how amazing you are. It's going to take him a long time to figure it out. Trust me; he's a fifteen-year-old boy. He's an idiot."

Ginny laughed.

"In the meantime," Sirius continued, "You can date as many people as you want to."

"Thanks, Sirius," Ginny whispered.

"Take care, Juniper."

- One Week Later-

"It was amazing!" Ginny gushed, "Michael invited me into the Ravenclaw Common Room! It's beautiful in there! They have a balcony that overlooks the grounds! Michael set up a table! We had tea and scones! The house-elves brought them! And we talked for hours! And then I had my first kiss! It was absolutely amazing!"

Sirius beamed and said, "I'm glad."

"SIRIUS, STOP GOSSIPING AND COME ON!"

Ginny jumped.

Sirius turned the mirror and Ginny realized that Moody had entered his room.

"In a minute, Mad-Eye," Sirius lightly said, "This is more important."

"What's more important than a bloody meeting to take down Voldemort?"

"Ginny just had her first date," Sirius explained, "And her first kiss!"

Moody gave Ginny a twisted smile and asked, "How'd your mother react to that news?"

"I haven't told her," Ginny remarked, "Would you like to do the honors?"

Her mouth curved into a smirk.

Sirius snickered and said, "It would make the meeting more interesting."

"Aye," Moody agreed, "I suppose that it would."

"I'll let you know how she reacts," Sirius promised, "Take care, Juniper!"

-One Minute And Forty Seconds Later-

The screams were so loud that Ginny nearly dropped the mirror.

She realized that she couldn't tell which screams belonged to her mother and which screams belonged to Sirius' mother.

"Molly didn't like it!" Sirius gasped, "Molly definitely didn't like it!"

Ginny laughed as she realized that Sirius was running.

Moody raced past him and growled, "Merlin's balls! We should tell her that Ginny's pregnant and just turn her loose on Voldemort!"

Ginny cracked up at the thought.

The war would be over in seconds!

"I have to go," Sirius wheezed, "Take care, Juniper!"

-Several Weeks Later-

Ginny was in excruciating pain.

She held her hand and blinked back tears. She raced up into her dormitory and ensured that she was alone. She gazed at the cuts on her hand. They formed the sentence:

I must not hex my classmates.

Ginny whimpered. She had overheard Crabbe and Goyle tease Luna. A quick Bat Bogey Hex had ceased their bullying. Unfortunately, Umbridge had seen her.

Thus, she had spent her Halloween writing lines.

Ginny pulled the mirror from her bag and whispered, "P…Padfoot!"

It took a moment for his face to swim into view.

Any thoughts of the pink-clad toad immediately left her mind. Ginny's eyes widened as she realized that Sirius looked terrible. His eyes were bloodshot and his clothes were stained with a brown liquid.

He tried to force a smile as he croaked, "'Lo, Juniper. Are you okay?"

"Are you?" Ginny gasped, "What's wrong!?"

"Notttthing," Sirius quickly said, "Notttthing at aaallll."

Ginny frowned. He was slurring his words.

"You're drunk!" Ginny whispered, "Sirius, please, what's wrong?"

Sirius sighed and murmured, "It's been fourteen years…"

"Since what?" Ginny asked.

Her eyes widened and she whispered, "Oh. Oh. Oh, Sirius, I'm so sorry. Is there…is there anything that I can do?"

Sirius shook his head.

"Is Professor Lupin there?" Ginny worriedly asked, "Or Mad-Eye? Or Kingsley?"

Sirius shook his head once more and muttered, "They're all on a mission."

Ginny's heart ached.

"Anyway," Sirius mumbled, "Why did you call?"

Ginny hesitated and said, "I…erm…I just wanted to tell you that the first Quidditch match was coming up!"

She stuffed her hand in her pocket so that he couldn't see it. That was the last thing that he needed to worry about tonight.

Sirius perked up and said, "Brilliant!"

"You said that Prongs was an excellent player?" Ginny carefully asked, "What was his position again?"

"Chaser," Sirius fondly said, "He went berserk whenever a match was approaching. He was unbelievably superstitious. He would wear his robes inside out and would wear his lucky socks for two weeks in a row."

Ginny was caught between grimacing and laughing.

"Prongs took losses pretty hard," Sirius continued, "There was a time when Reg caught the Snitch within a minute. It was sheer luck. The score ended up being 150 to 0. James flew up into the Hogsmeade mountains and stayed there for three days."

Ginny cracked up.

Sirius' eyes were now sparkling.

He continued to talk about James, Regulus, and Remus.

They stayed up until the sky was filled with pinks and oranges.

"Blimey," Sirius abruptly said, "I didn't realize…you ought to get to sleep!"

"I'm fine," Ginny yawned, "Really."

"Nah, go on," Sirius laughed, "Thanks for everything, Juniper."

Ginny smiled and said, "Take care, Sirius."

- Several Weeks Later-

Ginny was smiling from ear-to-ear.

She flew her broom into a secluded thicket of trees. She then pulled her mirror from her pocket and whispered Sirius' name. It was a moment before his face appeared.

"Say hello to Gryffindor's new Seeker!" Ginny gushed.

"Hello to Gryffindor's new Seeker," Sirius remarked.

She laughed and he sincerely cried, "That's amazing, Juniper!"

"Thanks!" Ginny proudly said.

She hesitated and added, "I wish that Harry wasn't sacked though."

"So do I," Sirius agreed, "But you should make the most of it. Just watch out for Bludgers!"

"I will," Ginny remarked, "Katie was just telling us a story about something that her mother had witnessed. Apparently an old Gryffindor Chaser had nicked the Beater's bat and had sent a Bludger barreling into the Slytherin Seeker."

"Yeah," Sirius chuckled, "Poor Reg was in the Hospital Wing for a week. Still, James got the bad end of it. Professor McGonagall was yelling, I was yelling, a charming red envelope from Mummy Dearest was yelling. Reg ended up getting him back during their rematch. He put grease on James' broom. James took off and ended up slipping right off of the end!"

Ginny shook her head and wryly said, "I should have known."

"Should have known what?"

"I should have known that the story was about you lot," Ginny cried, "Every story leads back to you."

"You say that as if it's a bad thing," Sirius remarked, "Now, go make some stories of your own!"

- Several Weeks Later-

Ginny was bleeding.

Her knuckles were white as she tightly gripped the mirror.

She growled Sirius' name and his face appeared.

"Blimey," Sirius cried, "What happened?"

"Do you something that can send a bunch of Slytherin girls running?" Ginny growled.

"A picture of Wormtail in a thong?"

Ginny shuddered and muttered, "Thank you for that mental image."

"Don't mention it," Sirius cheerfully said, "Anyway, use the spell Reducto. Aim it at the wall behind them. It will explode, causing them to flee."

"Or I could just aim it at their heads," Ginny muttered.

"You could," Sirius agreed, "But you'd be sent to Azkaban."

"I can escape," Ginny laughed, "You did."

"Ginny," Sirius gently said, "What's bothering you?"

"They were picking on my friend, Luna," Ginny blurted out, "I've told you about her."

Sirius nodded and said, "What did she do to warrant teasing?"

"Well," Ginny softly said, "She…erm…she's openly pansexual and…"

"Oh," Sirius brightly said, "Join the club, Luna!"

Ginny blinked and said, "Really?"

Sirius nodded.

Ginny hesitated. She trusted Sirius more than anyone else in the world. She knew that Sirius would never judge her. And he didn't – even as she told him that she was bisexual. He told her that he just wished that she could have waited until she was at Grimmauld Place so that he could hug her. Sirius still gave her the emotional support and love that she needed. He also answered all of her questions. Soon, she just had one left:

"Did you tell your parents?"

Sirius' face was unreadable.

At long last, he gave a sharp nod.

Ginny swallowed and whispered, "What did they do?"

Sirius' eyes flickered to the left but he remained silent.

Ginny heard Buckbeak squawk behind him. That meant that Sirius was in the drawing room. He had reflexively looked towards the tapestry.

Or more specifically, the burn-mark that had once been his name.

Ginny paled.

"But don't worry," Sirius quickly said, "That won't happen to you."

"But…but what if it does!?" Ginny cried, "Oh, Merlin…"

"Juniper—"

"I…I can't…" Ginny gasped, "I can't ever tell them…"

"Ginny," Sirius firmly said, "Listen to me…"

She reluctantly made eye-contact.

"My parents were spawns of the Devil," Sirius quietly explained, "They were the worst people that you could ever imagine…they were filled with nothing but hate and disgust. Your parents are nothing compared to mine. They have their flaws, sure, but they still love you and I guarantee that that will never change."

"Are you saying that I should tell them?" Ginny whispered.

Sirius shook his head and said, "I can't tell you that. Only you can decide whether or not you want to tell them. But I will say that there's no reason to be afraid."

Ginny wasn't so sure.

There was a ware brewing.

And only a fool wouldn't be afraid.

-One Week Later-

Ginny was sitting in the forest. She could see the various animals. She could hear the roar of the river. She could feel the earth beneath her feet.

"Miss Weasley?"

Ginny jerked and cried, "Yes, Professor?"

Professor Binns peered down at her and drawled, "Can you please tell us the year of the Mountain Troll Invasion of London?"

"Erm…1834?" Ginny uncertainly said.

"That is incorrect," Professor Binns replied, "The answer is 1843."

The ghost continued to drone on about the importance of precise dates.

"Ginny?"

Ginny gasped as her name rang out from her bag.

"Ginny? Are you there? Ginny?"

"Arthur, give it here!"

"How does this thing work?"

"For Merlin's sake! You're going to break it!"

"Professor," Ginny exclaimed, "I have to use the restroom! Medical emergency!"

She grabbed her bag and raced out of the classroom.

She dove into the nearest broom cupboard. She pulled her mirror from her bag and saw that her father and Sirius appeared to be fighting over it.

"Hey, Juniper," Sirius cheerfully said, "How are you?"

"What's going on?" Ginny demanded.

"I needed to talk to you," Mr. Weasley cried, "Your mother has been upset for months!"

"I don't care," Ginny snapped, "She deliberately tried to get Sirius caught."

"Ginevra, you know that that's not true."

Ginny rolled her eyes and muttered, "You're just as bad as she is."

She waved her wand and cried, "Silencio!"

She then threw the noiseless mirror back into her bag.

Her blood was boiling.

Her father always had to take her mother's side!

It wasn't fair.

Then again, life rarely was…

-Several Days Later-

'Oh, Tom,' Tom mockingly said, 'You are my best friend!'

He gave her a vile smirk.

Instead of teeth, Ginny found herself looking at a cavern of ink.

"Miss Weasley, wake up!"

Ginny stirred awake.

Professor McGonagall was standing at her bedside.

"Professor?" Ginny yawned, "What…?"

"Your father has been injured."