Tom Riddle was standing in front of her.
Ginny's jaw trembled. She felt Sirius' hand on her shoulder.
Her family gasped at the sight of the horrible man.
"Bloody hell," Ron croaked, "What is this place?"
"Welcome to chambre de l'esprit," Sirius softly said.
The Weasleys all glanced at one another.
"Juniper," Sirius added, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Ginny nodded. Sirius cautiously stepped back to let her concentrate. Ginny continued to think about that terrible first year at Hogwarts. The memories sprung up around the group.
Ginny was writing in the diary…
Something was wrong…
Ginny was writhing in pain…
She was collapsing…
And then, she was standing up again…
But her eyes were unfocused…
She walked like a puppet…
She opened the Chamber of Secrets…
She watched as the green monster slid past her…
She didn't look it in the eyes…
She didn't look it in the eye…
She was dipping her fingers in rooster blood…
She was writing words on the wall…
She was fighting…
She was losing…
She was having terrible nightmares…
She was scared…
She was so scared…
Her finger were bloody once more…
She was writing her own death note…
She was trying to fight…
Trying…
He was laughing at her…
Mocking her…
She was falling…
Falling…
Falling…
Mrs. Weasley was sobbing. Mr. Weasley was wiping tears from his own eyes. Fred and George looked as though they had been punched. Ron looked as though he was going to faint.
Ginny was shaking.
Sirius reached over.
He then hesitated and stepped back.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were in his spot in an instant.
Sirius proudly smiled as they tightly embraced their daughter.
Ginny looked surprised for a moment before melting in their embrace. Fred and George also raced over and joined in the hug. Ron squeezed past them and tightly held his sister.
"Oh, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley sobbed, "I'm so sorry."
"I never knew," Mr. Weasley croaked, "Oh, God…I never knew…"
"I've been a right prat," Ron whispered, "After everything that you've been through."
Fred and George remained silent but tightened their embrace.
It was Ron who finally asked, "Can you ever forgive us?"
"Yes," Ginny blurted out, "Yes, I forgive you!"
Tears were streaming down her own cheeks.
"You're my family," Ginny whispered, "Of course I'll forgive you!"
Mrs. Weasley let out another sob.
"We love you, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley lovingly said, "We love you so much…"
Sirius was beaming.
He had stepped to the side, proudly watching as the family embraced.
He knew that they still had a long way to go to mend.
But they would get there.
And no matter what, he knew that the Weasleys had something that the Blacks didn't.
The Weasleys had love.
oOo
Ginny was the happiest that she had been in years.
Still, something was nagging at the back of her mind.
As such, she set out to find Sirius.
She roamed the corridors of Grimmauld Place.
She passed the dressing room and heard Sirius say, "Listen to me, Arthur…there will come a time when Ginny's going to want to talk to you about something. You and Molly both."
"What?"
"I can't tell you that," Sirius replied, "But I will tell you that she's going to be scared to death when she tells you. And when that day comes, you need to be there for her. And you need to tell her that you're there for her. Give her an endless amount of support. And give her an endless amount of love."
Ginny beamed.
Her father walked out and said, "Hullo, Ginny!"
Ginny hugged him and whispered, "Hi, Dad! Are you feeling better?"
"I am!" Mr. Weasley happily said, "Are you?"
"Yeah," Ginny whispered, "I am."
"Good," Mr. Weasley cried, "You know…your mother and I are always here…"
"I know, Dad," Ginny replied, "Thanks!"
Mr. Weasley nodded and walked away.
Ginny ducked into the drawing room and smiled.
Sirius was lying against Buckbeak.
"Hey, Juniper," Sirius cheerfully said.
"Hi, Sirius," Ginny whispered, "Can…can you do me a favor?"
"Of course," Sirius immediately said, "Anything."
A few minutes later, Ginny found herself staring down at a blank piece of parchment. She dipped her quill in the ink. She took a deep breath and wrote the words:
Dear Tom,
Ginny paused.
"Take your time," Sirius whispered.
Ginny hesitated before continuing to write.
She felt a knot in her stomach loosen with each word.
At long last, she set down her quill and blinked at the parchment.
Dear Tom,
You took away my childhood. You took away my innocence. You took a part of me that I will never be able to get back. I will never be able to forgive you for that. Never.
But I wanted to tell you that I'm not afraid of you anymore.
And you will never be able to hurt me again.
Her jaw trembled and she nodded at Sirius.
Sirius nodded back.
He slowly withdrew his wand and tapped the parchment.
A flame leapt up in the middle and began to spread to the ends, eating the words.
The last word was his name.
Ginny watched as it dissolved into smoke.
"It's gone," Sirius gently said, "He's gone."
And a few moments later, the Weasley brothers were shocked when they entered the den and saw that Ginny was sobbing into Sirius' shoulder. Sirius was tightly hugging her.
"Blimey, mate!" George cried.
"What did you do?" Fred asked.
Ron angrily stepped forward.
"No, no," Ginny croaked, "It's okay!"
They realized that she was smiling.
She was crying tears of joy.
"He's gone," Ginny whispered, "He's finally gone!"
The brothers looked confused but supportive nonetheless.
"Hey, Sirius," Ginny whispered.
"Yeah?"
"I'm alright."
Sirius smiled and said, "Yeah…so am I."
-EPILOGUE-
The forest was blooming.
Ginny sat on the riverbank and smiled. She had finally managed to create the forest on her own. She didn't need Sirius to help her anymore.
Still, she wished that he was at her side.
She blamed herself. She had left her mirror up in her dormitory. She could have used it to call Sirius. Instead, she had blindly followed Harry to the Ministry.
And now Sirius was gone…
Ginny stared at the stars in the sky. She knew that today was her last day at Grimmauld Place. The Weasleys were only there to collect their things. Sirius' will had been read yesterday. The house now belonged to Harry. Ginny smirked as she realized that Walburga was probably rolling in her grave.
He had left her something as well.
His camcorder.
Along with his projector and several tapes.
Ginny had tied a sheet between two branches. She now set up the projector and put in the first tape.The Beatles immediately filled the forest:
Here comes the sun
Doo dodo doo
Here comes the sun
And I say it's alright
Ginny tearfully smiled as she watched the video of her and Sirius dancing around. She sang along to the song before putting in the second tape. It was the video of her singing the song as Sirius played the guitar. Ginny wiped her eyes and continued to sing.
She put in tape after tape and watched the memories.
She and Sirius were walking in the upscale Muggle neighborhood…
She and Sirius were flying on the motorbike…
She and Sirius were shopping in France…
Ginny finally put in the last tape.
"Hey, Juniper."
Ginny gasped.
Sirius's face was on the sheet. He was grinning. Ginny laughed as the video showed Sirius dropping the camera and swearing. She could tell that he had been in the drawing room.
"I'll have to make this quick," Sirius cheerfully explained, "We have an Order meeting in a couple of minutes. But I wanted to make this…in case…You're probably going to find this tape one day and accuse me for being paranoid and pessimistic…but…well…"
His face darkened and said, "I remember how it was last time…I was never able to say goodbye to James or Lily or Alice or Frank or Marlene or Regulus…And I don't want that to happen this time…"
Sirius took a deep breath before saying, "So, if you're watching this and I'm still alive and well, feel free to hex me for doing something this sappy. If I'm not around anymore…feel free to hex me when you see me in the afterlife."
Ginny tearfully laughed.
"You're going to be brilliant, Ginny," Sirius gently said, "In the time that I've known you, you've proven that tenfold. I have never been more proud to have you as a friend and a daughter. You've helped me defeat a lot of my demons. And I've been honored to help you defeat yours. Unfortunately, more are going to come. But you can defeat them. I know that you can. You're going to be alright. I promise."
Ginny wiped her eyes and nodded.
And though she knew that he couldn't hear her, she still whispered, "Thanks, Sirius."
"Take care, Juniper."
Here comes the sun
And I say it's alright…
Author's Note: Mischief managed!