Chapter Twenty-Three

It was raining in the forest.

Ginny was sitting near the swollen river. Her knees were drawn to her chest. They had just gotten back from St. Mungo's. Ginny felt a lump form in her throat.

"Juniper?"

Ginny's heart skipped a beat.

Sirius apologized and sat down next to her.

"I was just talking to Moody," Sirius quietly said, "Your father's going to make a full recovery! He should be home within a few weeks."

"That's great."

Sirius frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Juniper…"

Ginny swallowed and croaked, "Sirius, I…I was so…so mean to him…"

"Hey, hey!"

Sirius pulled her into a hug and whispered, "It's okay."

Ginny was still plagued with guilt.

As such, she didn't put up a fight when her mother told her to clean the feathers from the dressing room. She tried to be on her best behavior all throughout the holiday. She cheered with the others when Mr. Weasley was released from the hospital.

Yet one day, she couldn't stop herself.

Her mother, Ginny, and Sirius were the last ones in the kitchen. Ginny was enjoying the rest of her bacon.

"Hurry up, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley ordered, "We have an Order meeting soon."

"Can I join?" Ginny immediately said.

Sirius opened his mouth but Mrs. Weasley answered first, "No!"

"But, Mum," Ginny cried, "The Order needs all of the help that it can get!"

Sirius nodded in agreement.

"No, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley snapped, "You're not fighting and that's final!"

Ginny's jaw trembled but her eyes blazed with a passionate fire.

"Come on, Molly," Sirius bracingly said.

"NO!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, "And you keep out of this! She's only fourteen! She's too young!"

"Remus and I were ready to fight when we were her age," Sirius pointed out, "As were James and Lily."

"Yes," Mrs. Weasley snapped, "And look at how well that turned out for them!"

"MUM!" Ginny shrieked.

Sirius reeled back, as if he had been slapped.

"I'm not sorry," Mrs. Weasley firmly said, "They were fools to join the war at such a young age."

Ginny stepped forward and growled, "Like Uncles Gideon and Fabian?"

Mrs. Weasley's eyes blazed.

For a split second, she looked dangerous.

Sirius crossed the room in a single stride and leapt in front of Ginny. It had been a reflexive move. His own eyes held a fire that was inextinguishable; a fire that had existed for decades. Ginny suddenly realized that this wasn't the first time that he ever protected a child in Grimmauld Place from an irate mother. Her mother was realizing the same thing.

Mrs. Weasley staggered backwards before abruptly racing away.

Ginny also raced away.

Sirius hesitated before making a bold decision. He followed Mrs. Weasley. He had had quite enough of her nonsense. He wasn't going to hold anything back!

His fist pounded against the door of the master bedroom. It swung open. Sirius saw that Mrs. Weasley was sitting on the edge of her bed. Her face was in her hands.

And in that moment, Sirius felt a rush of pride and respect for the weeping woman.

He walked over and sat next to her.

"You…know…that…I…love…my…children," Mrs. Weasley bawled.

"I know," Sirius gently said.

"And…you know that…I…I would never…ever…hurt them…"

"I know."

Mrs. Weasley tearfully blinked as she registered what he had said.

She looked up and croaked, "You know?"

"Yeah," Sirius warmly said, "I do."

He pulled out his handkerchief and handed it over.

Mrs. Weasley gratefully accepted and dabbed her eyes.

She took a deep breath and said, "I dreamed of your mother the other night."

Sirius made a face and muttered, "You know, James once said the exact same thing. I was ready to murder the bastard."

She let out a bubble of laughter and Sirius proudly smiled.

"Not that like," Mrs. Weasley weakly said, "It was a nightmare…I was yelling and screaming and my children were…were cowering in fear…and…and the reason why I was yelling was because…because I wanted to know where this…this mirror had come from…It was right in front of me, you see…and I…I remember finally looking into it…and I saw…I saw her…I saw your mother screaming and I just…I…"

"Molly, listen to me," Sirius interjected, "You are not Walburga."

Mrs. Weasley's jaw trembled.

"You're not," Sirius firmly said, "Not even close."

He put his hand over hers and admitted, "I'm not going to lie – you have your flaws…"

Mrs. Weasley's shoulders fell.

"But," Sirius continued, "You more than make up for them."

"Wh…what do you mean?"

"Molly, my mother…my mother wouldn't have stopped," Sirius explained, "She wouldn't have walked away. And she certainly wouldn't have been as torn up as you are. She wouldn't have shed a single tear."

He squeezed her hand and gently said, "You love your children. And that's way more that can be said of her. And that's your saving grace, Molly. You may make mistakes. But you still try. You try to be a good mother. And, really, that's enough to make you one."

Once again, Mrs. Weasley's eyes were filled with tears.

And yet, she was smiling.

She pulled Sirius into a tight hug and Sirius returned it.

He finally pulled back and mumbled, "I'd be proud to call you my mum."

"Oh, shut up," Mrs. Weasley warmly replied, "I'm only ten years older than you!"

"Really?" Sirius cried, feigning surprise, "Only ten!?"

He laughed and ducked as she swatted at him.

"Do you think that Alastor would mind pushing the meeting back?" Mrs. Weasley whispered, "I'd like to spend time with my family."

Sirius then made his way to the other Weasley female's room. He paused as he realized that Ginny was throwing everything into her trunk.

"Hey, Juniper."

Ginny slammed the trunk of her lid and muttered, "Hey, Sirius."

"Going somewhere?" Sirius quietly asked.

"I'm leaving…"

"Juniper…"

"Will you help me carry this downstairs?"

"Ginny," Sirius sighed, "Listen to me…"

Ginny set her jaw but allowed him to speak.

"You're making a mistake," Sirius simply said.

"What!?"

"You can't run away."

"You did!"

"And I had a good reason to do so!"

He sat on her bed and she apprehensively joined him.

"Ginny, listen," Sirius softly said, "Your situation is nothing like mine was."

"But…"

"Please, listen," Sirius interjected, "We share many similar demons, Ginny. As far as evil parents go, however, I think that I may have a few more than you. My parents were…they were just terrible…no words can describe how terrible they were. They didn't love me. They didn't care about me. Hell, they frequently hurt me! They hit me…they hexed me…they did things that no decent person should ever do…let alone your parents…"

He shuddered before continuing, "Your parents are very flawed."

Ginny snorted.

"But," Sirius added, "They still love you."

"I…I know…but…"

"They still care about you."

"I know but…"

"And though they might not understand you," Sirius finished, "They're still trying."

Ginny swallowed.

At long last, she whispered, "N…no…I can't…"

Sirius reluctantly sighed.

"Can you grab my trunk?" Ginny asked.

"Sure."

Ginny spun on her heel and walked away. She didn't look back. Sirius warily followed her. Ginny descended the stairs and walked past the parlor.

She stopped and turned.

The door was wide open. Her family, Harry, and Hermione were sitting around the crackling fire. Fred and George were showing off their prototype fireworks. Harry and Ron were making bets as to which twin would be injured first. Hermione was eagerly listening as the twins explained the science that went behind making each firework. Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley gasped with delight as the twins detonated a small one. It filled the entire room with color.

Ginny leaned against the doorway.

There was a lump in her throat and a smile on her face.

"Ready to go?" Sirius softly asked.

"I can't."

"Hm?"

"I can't," Ginny croaked, "They're…they're my family."

She wiped her eyes and mumbled, "Sirius, would you mind taking my trunk back up?"

She turned and saw that Sirius was smiling.

"I never brought it down," Sirius gently said.

The two tightly hugged.

They then entered the parlor and joined the happy family. Ginny sat on the arm of the couch, next to her mother. The two didn't say anything, though they did share a smile. Sirius ducked as Fred accidentally launched a firework towards his head. Fred was immensely apologetic, until Sirius threw a sparkler at him. The family was soon in an all-out war! Sirius pulled out his camcorder and it caught everything. Hermione ended up winning. Mrs. Weasley ultimately invited everyone to the kitchen for tea.

Sirius pulled Ginny aside and whispered, "So, how are you doing?"

"I'm feeling a lot better," Ginny laughed, "It's just…"

She broke off.

"Just what?" Sirius asked.

"I just wish that they could understand," Ginny admitted, "They understand that they don't understand. And maybe that's enough. But sometimes…sometimes I wish that they knew what I saw every night when I close my eyes. I wish that they…that they knew about the demons that I had to face…the demons that I still face…I…I wish that there was a way to show them…"

A mischievous expression crossed Sirius' face.

"What?" Ginny quickly asked, "What is it?"

Sirius' eyes sparkled and he whispered, "Maybe there is…"