Author's Note: Oh, hi there! It's been... eight months? Wow. I have tons of excuses, but I'll spare you. Let's just say that I've been busy with school, writing a novel and other stuff. I decided to come back to this story, since HP was the reason why I got into writing. This story is going to be pretty long, and unfortunately I can't promise constant updating, but I'll try my best.
Chapter 12
This last year has not been sweet on Ginny Weasley. The OWLs were a stress as it is, but when death eaters invaded the supposedly safest place in magical England, it got worse. It was a terrifying night, even scarier than the night at the Ministry. That was because it was Hogwarts, their home, and they had to fight for their lives in it. What was more disorienting was the fact that Harry and Dumbledore, their two leaders, were gone at that time.
It went relatively alright, no one got hurt too bad (oh how wrong she was to be optimistic). Then suddenly, everyone were standing in the courtyard, their Headmaster's dead broken body lying in front of them, Harry sitting next to him with a blank face.
From there, everything just went so wrong. She found out about Bill; Ginny couldn't sleep for many weeks after that, having nightmares about wolves. On the day of Dumbledore's funeral, Harry broke up with her, for her safety. Ginny loved him dearly, but he was such a stupid noble git at times. She didn't have the heart to be angry at him though, Ginny realized that Harry wouldn't be able to live in peace until Voldemort was dead and gone forever.
It was an impulsive and childish of her to do what she did on his birthday, but Ginny knew he would be leaving soon on his quest. She wanted him to remember her. She was proven right, of course, at the wedding of Bill and Fleur, the sudden collapse of the Ministry and the invasion of death eaters forced Harry, Ron and Hermione to flee.
Ginny wasn't too worried, or at least she tried to convince herself to not. The trio always got themselves into situations like that, and they always came out of them unharmed. Perhaps it was naive of her, but the only way she could stay sane was to wait for the moment when the three friends came, dressed in shiny armour and riding white horses, declaring the defeat of the horrible Dark Lord.
It was the main reason why she ended up in detention the first day back to school, for hexing a Slytherin that came to gloat about the down fall of Harry-Bloody-Potter. Despite experiencing firsthand the brutality of the Carrows, their new professors, Ginny knew that people still saw the reason in fighting when they saw her, Neville or anyone else stand up to the Slytherins or Professors.
As much as the Carrows attempted to squash out the will of the students, the always-expanding group of rebels, known as Dumbledore's Army, kept the fight going. By that time, it wasn't just a fight for fairness, it was a fight for their freedom, in memory of Dumbledore and Harry. At first, the actual professors seemed to be opposed to the idea, but at some point they realized there wasn't much left to do other than that, simply helping out behind the scenes.
Ginny still remembered when Professor McGonagall requested her to stay after class. The redhead was sure it was again a lecture about endangering her life with their 'rebellions'. She was shocked however when the stern professor smiled sadly at her, telling her to simply be careful, and how proud the professor were of all the students who refused to bow down.
Surprisingly, the DA was operating moderately well without their leader, who always seemed to give an enormous morale boost to the whole group. They were a tight group of friends that refused to back down. Of course, they were unable to do anything major, but the group continued training and learning to fight. The main thing that kept them going, even after all the punishments and detentions, was that they knew that Harry would be proud if he saw them. Also, the desire to be ready to fight if, no, when Harry marched in to liberate Hogwarts and the magical world was enough to motivate them.
It all changed though. It all terribly changed when Ginny came down to breakfast, one seemingly ordinary day. At first, there didn't seem to be anything wrong. It was supposed to be an absolutely normal day that she should've been enjoying with her friends. How much she wished she could've just gone on to classes and simply endured the typical November gray day.
It was too much to have, apparently. When Ginny sat down at the Gryffindor table, the unnatural silence suddenly hit her. The redhead looked around herself to find everyone staring mutely and in different stages of shock at the papers in front of them. Her gaze finally landed on the extremely pale Neville who was sitting next to her, he handed her the newspaper that he had in his hands, almost dropping it in the process.
The moment Ginny recognized the face staring at her she felt a sickness building inside of her stomach. She didn't recognize where the picture was taken, but Harry's visage met her, crunched in annoyance because of whoever took it. For a second or two, Ginny simply stared at her ex-boyfriend, realizing that she hasn't seen his face in many months. She always saw him as handsome, it was one of his qualities that attracted her from the start. As much as she tried to move on, Ginny still held the hope of them getting back together once the war was over.
Any thought about a future full of little cute kids and love vanished the moment she read the title, colour fading away from her face. Her eyes grew to impossible measures and her mouth opened in horror. It was a joke, she decided abruptly, there was no way it was true. It must've been a way to lower their morale.
It was almost funny, Ginny thought, how desperate the stupid death eaters got. Harry was probably laughing at them right now. Yes, Harry, his eyes sparking with humour and liveliness as he laughed with his friends, not blank and expressionless as he lay down in his grave.
A thing suddenly occurred to her and she looked at the newspaper once again, Professor Remus and Kingsley were dead? Ginny hoped it was not true, she was rather fond of the two men. The major thing that bothered her however was the lack of mention of Hermione or Ron. Where were they when Harry...
No, he's still alive, her mind argued stubbornly.
A crystal clear spoon's tap on glass immediately silenced every single conversation in the Great Hall. Numerous pairs of eyes turned to the head table, where their beloved Headmaster stood up, looking at them expressionlessly. His black eyes didn't betray even the smallest flicker of emotion, as always.
"May I have your absolute attention please." Professor Snape spoke softly, but it rang in the deathly silence of the hall. The Carrows looked extremely pleased, Alecto barely held her maniacal giggles quiet, but Snape shut her up with a glance.
"I am more than certain that all of you have heard the... exciting news that were announced only a few hours ago, yet seem to spread like wildfire." Sniggers were heard from the Slytherin table, met only with glares from the other houses.
"I decided that announcing this right now would hopefully put an end to any already planned arguments. If that won't work, we can always use... more direct actions." The professor continued in a lazy drawl, yet something in his expression gave out the message that it was by far not a joke. Amycus' ugly sneer enforced that notion as he looked almost hungrily at the students.
"I have consulted a very trusted source, and Harry Potter's death announcement is…" The Potion Master let it hang for a few tense moments, knowing everyone was craving to hear the end of that sentence.
"...true. Mr. Potter's body has been brought in to the Ministry and was identified by the officials. Harry Potter is dead, and he is not coming back." The finality of these words seemed to freeze the Great Hall for quite a few moments.
Then, chaos erupted. It started with mocking applause and jeers from the Slytherins, followed by the angry response of the other houses, and answered by the teachers' futile attempts to restore peace. In that chaos Ginny sat with her eyes wide open staring at Snape's uncaring ones, unwilling to accept what he was saying, begging him to take it back.
A large bang overcame all the sound in the hall, making everyone flinch from the sudden violent noise. Snape stood with his wand pointed upwards, a sneer marring his face.
"Enough. Keep yourselves calm or you will be removed from this room, with the addition of many, many detentions." Snape punctuated every word with just enough venom to send shivers down every person's spine in the room.
"I realize some of you have this... silly notion that Potter is some kind of a boy wonder that was destined to save the world. I advise you to simply let it go, he is dead. Harry Potter was nothing but an arrogant cheeky boy, and in my honest opinion, the world is better off without him tainting it with his presence." The Headmaster declared to the outrage of the staff and some of the students, those who were not cheering along.
"I am going to say this only once, the mere mention of the boy's name will land you in detention and a loss of fifty points to your house. I refuse to let the school fall into madness because of the brat." Snape hissed through bared teeth, his eyes settling on the DA members, and then surprisingly moving to the Slytherin table that quieted down under his glare.
"Now that we got this issue out of the way, have your breakfast in peace. Ms. Weasley, if you please, follow me to my office, there is an urgent matter to discuss." The attention of the hall shifted to the still spellbound Ginny, who looked surprised at Snape, but after a moment she nodded.
"Neville, I trust you to talk with them, we can't stop fighting, even... if it's true." The redhead whispered to the pale teenager, her voice breaking at the end. Neville looked at her for a few moments with an unreadable expression, before nodding, a determined smile making its way to his face.
She took a last glance around the hall, getting the feeling it would be the last time she saw it in quite a time. Her friends looked at her hopelessly, clearly shaken by the announcement. Ginny tried to give them a confident smile, but it came out as a grimace.
The way to the Headmaster's office was too long for Ginny, Snape walked in a pace that she found to be extremely difficult to match. The man didn't even acknowledge her.
The silence let her a moment to reflect on the shocking news that crashed down on her world. It hasn't sunk in yet, Ginny realized, a part of her refused to believe that Harry was dead. It was impossible! It was easy to start such a rumour, and she refused to believe it until she saw the proof for it.
If anything, Ginny had the perfect flaw in their story; if they captured Harry, they would've found Hermione and Ron. The redhead felt confident that she was right. It was just a failed conspiracy of the death eaters.
"Serpent's Triumph" The Potion Master said clearly when they reached the stone gargoyle statue, missing or ignoring the snort Ginny couldn't silence it time.
When they finally entered the room, the young woman couldn't help but look around it in wonder, as she only was here once, at the end of her first year. It felt strangely lonely and cold, unlike the welcoming warm atmosphere it once had when Dumbledore was the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Dumbledore's phoenix was gone, and most of the former headmasters and headmistresses seemed to be absent from their portraits. She could see the sword Harry used against the Basilisk, it was probably useful and Snape sure didn't deserve it, Ginny decided to talk to Neville about stealing it in the near future.
"Weasley." Snape said quietly, settling himself in the seat that he would never deserve. The look in his charcoal black eyes was a mix between pity and resentment.
"Your parents have sent me a letter, they believe that you will be extremely upset about the recent news, therefore they asked for permission for you to stay home for a week. Against my better judgement I agreed. As your parents are such an example of outstanding citizens." Ginny scowled as she could pretty much see the sarcasm dripping from his statement.
Before she could even wonder why in the world Snape was agreeing to such an arrangement, the fireplace lit up in green flames and Mr. Weasley stepped out of them. He looked extremely tired and upset, much more than he looked the last time Ginny saw him, and her heart sank a bit lower.
"Professor Snape." Her dad greeted him stiffly, obviously holding himself from saying anything else.
"Weasley. It's Headmaster Snape now, I'm sure you've heard." The Potion Master said with a sneer, enjoying the fact her father was holding himself from lashing out verbally at him.
"Of course. Ginny, are you ready to go?" Her dad turned to her, smiling warmly at her, clearly happy to see her despite the current situation.
"Umm, sure dad, but what about my trunk?" Ginny asked, knowing it was still in her dorm.
With a snap of Snape's fingers, the trunk appeared in front of him. Ginny nodded her thanks stiffly making the Headmaster raise an eyebrow mockingly.
"You go ahead and floo home Ginny." Her dad said lightly, but she got the hidden message, I'm not quite done here.
The redhead stepped into the fireplace, and with a clear "The Burrow" she was gone in a swirl of green flames.
Ginny stepped out of the now familiar fireplace of her house, carefully cleaning the soot that glued itself to her robes. The unusual silence caught her attention after a moment; Ginny couldn't hear her mom busying herself around the house, the twins' explosions and mischief, or anything that made the Weasleys the family they were. The house looked dark and abandoned, did she arrive to the wrong place?
Ginny simply decided to sit around and wait for her dad to pick her up, she found a chair to sit at while looking around. All of their possessions were gone, and so was the furniture. Did they move houses?
She didn't have to wait for long, Mr. Weasley came out of the fireplace a few moments later, his jaw set stiffly, and yet he had a confused look on his face.
"What did you say to Snape, dad?" Ginny asked him curiously, seeing that whatever it was, it wasn't a pleasant social call.
She saw his forced smile as he turned to her, trying to act as if nothing happened.
"Don't worry about it Ginny. Here, read this so we can be on our way, Molly is already worried as it is, no need to make her wait." He told her with a light tone that was as fake as that darned article.
She took the piece of folded parchment after giving him a look that clearly said that she didn't buy his excuse.
The Weasley' new home is at The Order of the Phoenix' safe house.
Something clicked in her mind and she understood it was the Fidelius Charm, though it seemed to her that the wording was a bit too vague for that.
"Just floo to the Order's safe house Ginny, it'll take you there right away." He softly told her, smiling gently.
She nodded before stepping into the fireplace, and with an uncertain shout of "The Order's Safe House" she found herself spinning around.
Before Ginny could look around the foreign place, she felt herself being crashed in a hug.
The redhead was barely able to gasp out a few words.
"M-mum! I need- Air!" Ginny heard a chuckle behind her, scowling at her dad's amusement.
"Molly, let her go, she does need to breathe." She gasped in relief as her windpipe finally opened. Some things never changed, no matter what happened.
Once her mum let her go, Ginny got her first good look at her parents since the start of the school year. As much as they tried to hide behind a mask of warmness, she could see the exhaustion behind it. Her mum's cheeks gained a hollow quality that wasn't there before, and the bags under her eyes spoke of sleepless nights. Her dad was a bit less conspicuous, but Ginny's searching gaze detected a change in the way he held himself. Arthur might've been a mild man to an outsider's biased opinion, but his children knew better. To see the uncertain way he stood pinched Ginny's heart.
"You've grown so much, I could've sworn you were still my height the last time I've seen you." Her mum said fondly, and Ginny couldn't even bring herself to roll her eyes. Somehow, the smothering affection felt welcome after the foreign coldness of Hogwarts.
"We were really worried about you, with all the trouble you've been getting into lately." Her dad told her with attempted sternness, though it wasn't wholehearted. That worried her.
"I'd think that you would be used to it after Fred and George." Ginny replied in a teasing tone, but her brain was filled with anxiety.
Her parents chuckled uncomfortably. There was something wrong. Ginny felt as if she was in some stuck up party where the truth has died and everyone circled around it.
"Where are the three actual trouble-makers? Are they still running around like some heroes?" The redhead asked flippantly, trying to hide her nervousness.
Her parents exchanged a look.
"Ron and Hermione are upstairs." Her dad answered her quietly, not inclined to elaborate.
"And Harry?" She heard herself ask, though her mind was racing elsewhere.
A silence stretched for many moments, none of the three was willing to break it. It was the sob from her mom that answered Ginny, it was more than enough for her to see the tears in her mom's eyes to have the answer.
Seized by a sudden desire, Ginny turned around and rushed towards the stairs, ignoring her parents call for her. It was her first time in the unfamiliar house, but she didn't care. Hurt clouded her thoughts, the only thing she wanted to do now was to scream.
A very familiar brunette almost slammed into Ginny, but caught herself in the last second.
"Ginny? What are you doing here?" Hermione asked in surprise. The redhead considered for a moment to take her frustration out at her, but seeing the red tint of her eyes, she reconsidered.
"Where's Ron?" She demanded, unable to keep her tone civilized.
Caught off guard, the only thing Hermione could do was to point mutely behind her down the hallway.
He better be ready.