Ginny was laying on the edge of her bed, staring down at the floor. After what felt like an eternity, she heard the door creak open. Ginny looked and saw the outline of Hermione's bushy hair in the door frame.
"Well?" she said.
Hermione shut the door quietly.
"You didn't miss much," came Hermione's hushed voice from across the room. "Lumos."
Ginny saw a faint glow plaster the walls and floor of the dank room. She turned herself around and saw Hermione pulling on her pyjamas with her lit wand sitting on her bed.
"So? Are you going to tell me?" Ginny tried her hardest to keep her voice even. She was still feeling a blind rage inside her.
"Everything that we were told was stuff we already heard on the Extendable Ears," said Hermione. "Except one thing at the end. Sirius mentioned You-Know-Who was after something that he didn't have during the first war. Something 'like a weapon', he said. That was when your mum put her foot down and ended it."
Ginny felt a pang of guilt at the mention of her mother. As angry as she still was, she knew she should not have said the things she did to her.
"According to Sirius," Hermione continued, when Ginny didn't respond, "You-Know-Who is focused on finding this 'weapon' at the moment. Or whatever it is."
"Humph," said Ginny.
They heard creaking outside the door, which meant Mum was coming to check and see if they were all asleep. Hermione got into bed and put her wand light out. The creaking moved upstairs toward Ron and Harry's room.
"Good night," said Hermione.
Ginny slept very badly. She dreamed she was back in her dormitory at Hogwarts: Tom Riddle's diary was laying open on her desk. She dipped her quill in ink and wrote on one of the blank pages.
"Tom! You-Know-Who is back and he's after some kind of big weapon that's probably going to kill us all! What should I do?! Please help me, Tom!"
The ink sank into the page, but instead of a response appearing in its wake, there was a blinding flash of light, and Voldemort appeared in front of her. This was not the teenage Voldemort she had met in the Chamber of Secrets, however, this was the real thing: hooded, his face chalk-white and masklike, eyes glowing scarlet in the dimly lit room, and where there should have been a nose, two snakelike slits were visible instead —
"Foolish girl!" he hissed in a high, cold voice that sent shivers down her spine. Ginny screamed in terror; she threw the book in the air wildly and covered her eyes. "What would I need with a weapon when gullible, trusting fools like you invite me into their lives so willingly? You're the best weapon I've got — and now your demise will only make me stronger… and dear, wonderful Harry Potter isn't here to save you this time…"
He twisted his face into a demented smile. he raised his wand to curse her into oblivion —
"No!" she shouted, and she got up to run… to where, she did not know… she couldn't move… her legs were like jelly… Voldemort laughed… she tried with all her might…
She rolled off her mattress and hit the floor. She opened her eyes. It was daybreak, and Hermione was already shuffling around.
"Ginny, are you alright?" she said anxiously.
"I'm fine," she mumbled. She rubbed her hip. She did not fall far, but still far enough to leave a sharp pain where her body connected with the floor.
"Did you have a nightmare? I heard you say something, and then you fell…"
"Yes," she said weakly.
Hermione looked at her sadly. "I've been having more bad dreams lately too. I guess it's just another consequence of You-Know-Who being back."
"He was right in front of me!" hissed Ginny, her voice trembling. "He was going to kill me!"
Hermione walked over to her and gripped her arm sympathetically.
"It's all right," she said. "Come on, let's go get some breakfast…"
As the shock of the dream wore off, she remembered what happened the previous night. She thought of Percy, and how distraught Mum had been ever since the falling out. She realized her words had probably torn her heart out and as angry as she still was about being sent to bed last night, she felt awful, and knew she had to apologize straight away.
When Ginny and Hermione entered the kitchen, they found Mum at the stove cooking breakfast. Ginny sat down in the nearest chair silently.
"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione brightly.
"Good morning, dear," Mum responded tonelessly.
"Mum," said Ginny, and her mother looked around at her. Ginny kept her eyes focused on the table. "Mum, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry," she said earnestly. "I didn't mean anything I said." She looked up and met her mother's eyes, which were watery and Ginny could tell they had likely been leaky all morning. Mum's expression softened.
"I forgive you, Ginny."
A relief she hadn't felt in a long time washed over her. Ginny got up and hugged her mum tightly, tears flowing freely. "I love you, Mum," she choked. She heard Mum sniff.
"I love you too, sweetheart."
"I — I've just been having a rough time… with everything that's been going on… and being cooped up…"
"I know," said Mum. "We're all feeling it, I think. I've been miserable too; I can't stop thinking about what's coming and I'm just so worried…"
"We'll be all right," said Ginny consolingly, trying to convince herself as much as her mum. "Everything will be fine…"
She let go of her and sat back down in her seat. She glanced at Hermione, who had a curious look on her face but didn't say anything. Mum took out a handkerchief; she dabbed her eyes and blew her nose. As Ginny went to take a bite to eat, Fred and George appeared with two loud cracks.
"Morning Mum," said George.
"What's for breakfast?" said Fred.
"Eggs and bacon," said Mum, who either didn't have the energy to tell them off for Apparating or just didn't care anymore.
"Sounds good!" said George.
"After breakfast we'll get to work on the drawing room," Mum told them. "There're more doxies in there than I thought. I'll have to get you all some masks and Doxycide."
And so, right after breakfast they were all gathered in the drawing room, their faces wrapped in cloth and each holding a can of Doxycide. Right before she was about to give them a de-doxying demonstration, however, the doorbell rang downstairs and Mrs. Black's portrait began screaming once again. An exasperated Sirius, who had stopped by to examine the rattling desk, bolted out of the room and went to shut the curtain over the portrait, leaving the door to the drawing room open.
"Close the door, please, Harry," said Mum, after the portrait fell silent.
Ginny could tell Harry took as much time as possible to close the door, trying to hear what was going on downstairs.
Mum returned to instructing them how to eliminate doxies, which ended up being quite straightforward, as it was just a matter of rousting them from the curtains and then spraying them with the Doxycide to stun them. Ginny put her first doxy in a bucket that Mum provided after catching it full in the face with a blast of the spray.
"Fred, what are you doing? Spray that at once and throw it away!" Mum was glaring over at the twins, where Fred was holding a struggling doxy between his forefinger and thumb.
"Right-o," Fred said brightly, spraying the doxy quickly in the face so that it fainted, but the moment Mum's back was turned she saw him tuck it in his clothing. Ginny's curiosity was slightly aroused but she focused her attention back on the drapes. After spraying another doxy, she caught sight of Harry muttering with Fred and George. They were keeping an eye on Mum, who had her back turned, making sure she couldn't overhear them. As Ginny was even further away, she had no better luck figuring out what they were discussing. Wondering what secret Harry could possibly have with Fred and George, she silently told herself to ask them about it later. Before she knew it, Ginny had stunned more doxies than anyone else, and Mum decided it was time to take a break for lunch and that they'd move on to some cabinets on the adjacent side of the room afterwards.
The cabinets, it turned out, had many items that didn't take kindly to leaving their shelves. Sirius sustained a bite from a snuffbox filled with Wartcap powder, and Hermione shrieked as a stuffed bird spat small pebbles at her when she tried to remove it. Sirius threw the snuffbox in a bag of rubbish after healing the bite with his wand, and Ginny saw George reach into the bag holding a cloth. He grabbed the snuffbox back and pocketed it which, again, went unnoticed by Mum.
Ginny removed an ugly silver instrument from the shelf. It contained a lid which looked like it could be pried off, but common sense told her to simply throw it away.
"Check this out!" said Ron. He was winding up a strange-looking musical box with a rather stupid grin on his face. Apparently common sense was not so common, because Ron promptly opened the lid and the box began emitting a weird, twinkling tune. Ginny, who thought opening it could have resulted in something much more serious happening, turned her attention back to the cabinet. She felt a little dazed and off-balance, and was having trouble keeping her eyes open all of the sudden. She turned back to Ron, who was still holding the music box, his eyes drooping. Ginny glanced at the others, and all of them looked like they were in some kind of trance.
"Ron, you prat," she said, shutting the lid on the box, which stopped twinkling immediately and everyone woke out of their reverie. She took it from him and threw it in the bag with the rest of the rubbish.
Fred grabbed a locket in the back of the cabinet and tried to open it. Ginny wasn't sure why everyone had the desire to mess with all this dodgy stuff they were finding, but Fred's attempts to open it were wholly unsuccessful. He passed the locket to Ginny, and she examined it closely, suddenly finding that she also had the strange urge to open it. It was gold with spots of grime visible, and on the front, there was a snake in the shape of the letter "S". The locket seemed to be sealed shut. She continued examining it for a moment, trying to see if there was some kind of trick to opening it, before giving up and turning it over to Ron. The moment Ron took the locket Ginny felt a heaviness in her chest dissipate that she only realized was there when she let go of it.
When Sirius took the locket, he used a number of spells to try and get it open, but none were successful. Eventually they all gave up and threw it in with the rest of the rubbish. Ginny thought that was probably for the best. There was something off about it.
"Look at this, Sirius," said Harry, holding up an award he had just pulled out of a dusty box. "Your grandfather got Order of Merlin, First Class for Services to the Ministry!"
"It means he gave them a load of gold," said Sirius contemptuously, and he threw the medal unceremoniously into the rubbish sack.
Several times, Kreacher sidled into the room and attempted to smuggle things away under his loincloth that he wore around his waist, muttering horrible curses every time they caught him at it. When Sirius wrested a large golden ring bearing the Black crest from his grip, Kreacher actually burst into tears and left the room sobbing and muttering stuff Ginny couldn't hear under his breath.
"It was my father's," said Sirius, throwing the ring into the sack. "Kreacher wasn't quite as devoted to him as to my mother, but I still caught him snogging a pair of my father's old trousers last week."
Ginny cornered Fred and George during dinner that evening, who sat by themselves at one end of the table and she inquired about them sneaking doxies and snuffboxes back from the rubbish piles.
"If you were any nosier, Gin, you'd be Mum," said Fred.
"We'd have been more careful if we knew you were so observant, sis," said George.
"Don't worry, I'm not telling Mum," said Ginny exasperatedly. "Not unless you make any more jokes about me and Harry, at least."
"We better watch ourselves, George," said Fred mockingly.
"Yeah, looks like the fun and games are over with the Bat-Bogey Monster on our case."
Ginny scowled.
"Don't worry, Gin," said Fred. "We got big plans for those doxies, but we can't share them right now. You'll find out in good time, though."
That was all she could pry out of them. Ginny knew whatever these "big plans" were, it was something Mum wouldn't approve of, and, knowing them, potentially dangerous. She wasn't going to give up on finding out what they were up to, though.
They spent the next two days cleaning out the drawing room. The rattling desk drawer was now the only remaining thing to be addressed, not counting a huge tapestry of the Black family tree that resisted all attempts of removal. Sirius and Mum still felt it was best to let Mad-Eye Moody look in the drawer first to make sure it was only a boggart before opening it.
They moved to the dining room next, and Ginny noticed that Harry was the only one other than her who appeared to be enjoying cleaning the house. She wondered if he was also appreciating the distraction that cleaning provided with his Ministry hearing looming. She hadn't thought about it too much lately, but now that it was only two days away, she began feeling nervous again on Harry's behalf. The prospect of him being expelled, unlikely though it was, made her physically ill. He would become an outcast, lose his wand and his future, and Ginny wondered whether she would ever even see him again. It was something that just could not happen; and yet, there was the real chance that it could. She didn't understand why everyone else was so blasé about it and taking it as a given that he would be cleared.
Wednesday was her birthday, but her mood was marred by the horrible anxiety of the hearing, which was now twenty-four hours away. Most of her gifts consisted of clothes and books, but Ron had gotten her some licorice wands, which she appreciated. Hermione had warned Ginny not to mention the hearing to Harry, as she thought it would just upset him. Ginny wasn't sure she agreed, but she was too nervous to talk about it with Harry anyway. Mum had made her favorite steak and kidney pie for her birthday dinner, and it was here that Mum finally broke the tension.
"I've ironed your best clothes for tomorrow morning, Harry, and I want you to wash your hair tonight too. A good first impression can work wonders."
Ginny looked over at him. He looked ghostly white and ill.
"How am I getting there?" he asked in a voice of forced calm.
"Arthur's taking you to work with him."
Dad smiled encouragingly at him, but Harry stopped eating afterwards. Ginny wanted to say something comforting, but once again she was scared it would sound weird, and she ate in silence. Though she was turning fourteen today, she couldn't help but feel eleven years old again.
By the time she went to bed, she had convinced herself there were even odds of Harry getting expelled. She tried to come up with the most comforting scenarios in the awful event that he did, but everything seemed like grasping at straws. The idea of him going back to the Dursley's forever, however, was so horrible Ginny refused to entertain it. Surely Dumbledore could do something? Would he let him stay in the castle? Maybe he could prevent his wand from being snapped or secretly get him a new one? Perhaps he would still be allowed to visit them at the Burrow?
Hermione tossed and turned quite a bit overnight, which told Ginny she was not the only one not sleeping. She thought about saying something, seeking reassurance, telling her how scared she was for Harry and how she may never see him again, but she didn't want to have to endure Hermione's smugness and said nothing. She was also scared that Hermione would have nothing reassuring to say anyway. She thought she might lose her voice from lack of use.
Ginny only ended up getting about three hours of sleep, and both she and Hermione ended up late for breakfast. Her body felt like lead as she lay in bed with the sunlight peeking through the window at her. With enormous effort she pulled herself up, got dressed, and headed downstairs.
"Good morning, dears," said Mum when they finally entered the kitchen. "Sleep okay?"
"No," said Ginny at once, with a tone that indicated it was foolish of her to expect otherwise given the circumstances.
Hermione didn't even respond. She took a seat at the table and placed her chin in her hand and closed her eyes.
"I can't imagine how he could be expelled," Mum told them. "There's no legal basis for it at all, and Amelia Bones will be the one questioning him. She's very fair."
"Did Harry already leave?" said Ginny.
"Yes, Arthur took him about a half hour ago."
Ginny ate a piece of toast but wasn't hungry for much else. The next few hours were nothing short of torture. Ginny paced around the house, not paying much attention to where she was going or what she was doing. All attempts at distracting herself proved unsuccessful. She thought she was letting her feelings that she finally had been able to suppress break through again, but every time she saw Ron, Hermione, and Mum, they all looked just as pale and anxious as she was, which was a small comfort to her. Nobody paid any attention to Ginny or seemed to think she was acting strange given the conditions. It was perfectly natural to be scared for a friend who was in a dire situation…
Nine o'clock arrived. The hearing must be starting. Nine-fifteen, the hearing must now be in full swing. Nine-forty-five, the hearing might be over by now. Ten o'clock, a decision most certainly had been reached. What was it? Had he been cleared? Or had he been expelled? She couldn't stand not knowing. Ginny's stress reached a peak, and she ran to the bathroom and vomited in the toilet.
It wasn't until almost eleven o'clock when the moment of truth arrived. Ginny was fidgeting nervously in her seat and feeling sick at the kitchen table with everyone else when they heard footsteps coming down the stairs and Harry and Dad entered, both speaking in upbeat voices, and Harry's laugh was all she needed to hear to know the outcome.
"You got off!" she blurted out.
Harry turned to look at her and gave her a big smile. "I did."
A relief that she had never known before washed over her. A stupid-sounding laugh escaped her lips as the news sunk in, but the sound was lost in the shouts and cheers that now filled the room.
"Brilliant, Harry!" said Sirius, getting up and wringing his hand vigorously. Mum raced over and pulled him into a tight hug.
"I knew it!" yelled Ron, punching the air. "You always get away with stuff!"
"They were bound to clear you," said Hermione, though she had looked like she was about to pass out a moment ago. "There was no case against you, none at all…"
"Everyone seems quite relieved, though, considering they all knew I'd get off," said Harry, still smiling.
It may have been a day late, but it was the best birthday gift Ginny could have received. For the first time in what felt like forever, she felt a sense of exhilarating relief and contentment; all her troubles and worries were gone in an instant. How long would it last? She didn't know, but today, she felt like herself. Even the thought of Cho couldn't kill her newfound happiness. Harry was not going to be expelled. He was not going to be away from her. He was not going to have his wand snapped.
"He got off!" Ginny chanted.
"He got off!" piped in Fred, taking her lead.
Before she knew it, she, Fred, and George were dancing and chanting the words around the kitchen.
"He got off, he got off, he got off…"
The emotions were real. She was happy. She was excited. She was relieved. It was like waking up from a long slumber. She wasn't even aware of the others telling them to stop making a racket until Mum finally managed to shout over them.
"SHUT UP!"
The rest of the day flew by. Mum allowed them a day off from cleaning, and everyone was upbeat at dinner time. Kingsley had joined them for meatballs and potatoes, and everyone was considerably hungrier than usual.
"Let's have a round for Harry shoving it to Fudge," said Sirius with a satisfied smile.
Sirius summoned butterbeer from the pantry and they all drank eagerly.
"Kingsley, did you know Harry was subjected to a full court trial this morning?" said Dad.
Kingsley choked on his butterbeer.
"No! Are you kidding me? For underage magic? That's outrageous!"
"I know," said Dad. "I was waiting outside the courtroom for Harry. I was shocked when the full Wizengamot filed out."
"What a joke," said Kingsley contemptuously. "Either an intimidation move or a political stunt."
"Both, probably," said Dad grimly. "We got very lucky, honestly. They changed the time of the hearing and we would have missed it if we didn't get there really early. Dumbledore was even earlier, thankfully, and he presented Harry's defense. It could've gone very badly if he didn't show."
Harry was taking a keen interest in what little food was left on his plate, pushing it around with his fork. He never liked being in the room when people talked about him.
"Fudge is playing very dirty," said Kingsley. "But it's all over now, at least. You must be quite relieved, Harry."
Harry looked up and nodded.
"Fudge thought I was making things up when I said there was dementors. Mrs. Figg testified that she saw them, but she's a Squib so I'm not sure she was telling the truth. She seemed a bit flustered and didn't describe them very accurately, but she described the effects well, and I guess that was enough to convince most of the court. Fudge still voted to convict me though, he was just outvoted."
"Fudge is a scumbag," said Sirius.
"I'm still angry about getting blamed for Dobby the house elf doing a hover charm at my house a few years ago," said Harry bitterly. "If that didn't happen, I may have just gotten a warning this time instead of having to go through all that…"
"I don't think it would've mattered, Harry," said Dad. "Maybe if it happened last year, but things have changed, as you know. Fudge is out to get you. It's not fair, but it's the way it is."
Harry said nothing. His good mood from earlier had evaporated. It seemed to dawn on him just how outrageous it was that he had to go to the hearing in the first place.
Ginny was surprised to find that she had a letter from Michael Corner that evening. She completely forgot that she was the last one to write and hadn't received a response for several weeks now. She opened it and read:
Hi Ginny,
I'm sorry it's taken me so long to write back. I've been very busy this summer. My parents decided to move so I've been helping them pack and it's been very time consuming. I hope you're doing all right and I can't wait to meet up with you on the train!
Love,
Michael
It struck Ginny how they really didn't know each other well enough to have anything to talk about. She sent a short message back that took a surprisingly long time to write and went to hang out with Harry, Hermione, and her brothers.
The remainder of the holidays went by fast. Ginny's elation at Harry not being expelled did wear off gradually, but she remained more upbeat than she had been at any point before the hearing. She was woken up on the last day of the holidays by an owl slamming into their bedroom window. Hermione shrieked.
"What was that?"
Expecting it to be a response from Michael, Ginny opened the window to let the owl in and quickly realized it was carrying several envelopes, which seemed odd. It turned out to be their schoolbook lists. Ginny found Hermione's and handed it to her. Suddenly Ron came bursting into the room with his wand out.
"Everything all right? I heard Hermione scream —"
"It was just an owl, Ron," Ginny sniggered. "It slammed into the window."
"Oh," he said, blushing. "Right."
"Here," said Ginny, handing Ron the rest of the envelopes. "It's our schoolbook lists. Give those to Fred, George, and Harry."
"Why don't you do it?"
"Because I'm hungry and I'm going down to get breakfast."
"So am I!" said Ron hotly.
"Yeah well, I've cleaned way more of this house than you have, so it's the least you could do."
"Oh, fine," said Ron grumpily, and he took the envelopes and left the room, leaving Ginny alone with Hermione again. They didn't open their letters right away, but started packing up some of their belongings instead, as they had both scattered many of their clothes and books across the floor over the course of the summer. Ginny was just about to head down to the kitchen when a loud gasp distracted her. She looked around at Hermione, who was holding something in her hand that had evidently come out of the envelope.
"I've been made a prefect!" she whispered. Ginny realized the thing she was holding was a badge.
"Oh, wow!" said Ginny. "Congratulations, Hermione!"
"Thanks! I bet Harry got one too!"
She bolted from the room. Ginny followed her out but headed downstairs toward the kitchen instead. She ran into Mum on her way down, who was carrying a load of laundry.
"Morning Mum — our booklists have arrived," said Ginny.
"Oh, right — thanks Ginny," said Mum. "I'll head to Diagon Alley this afternoon to get what you need."
Ginny continued to the kitchen and fixed herself some toast and cereal and ate quickly. Just as she finished eating, Mum walked in.
"Do you have your booklist, Ginny? I'm going to Diagon Alley earlier than I originally planned so I can get Ron his new broom."
"New broom?" said Ginny quickly. "Why is he getting a new broom? I want one!"
"He's getting a new broom as a reward for becoming a prefect," snapped Mum. "We'll have a little celebration tonight for him and Hermione."
"Ron's a prefect?" said Ginny disbelievingly. "I thought Harry would get it!"
"Admittedly I did too, but I was too happy for Ron to give it much thought." She went slightly pink. "Well, Harry probably doesn't mind, he's got enough on his plate as it is…"
She left the room. Ginny went back upstairs to gather her belongings, grabbing the booklist for Mum in the process. To her annoyance, many of her things had been scattered around the house, which given the size of it, made gathering them extremely tedious and time consuming. She took a quick glance in the drawing room as she was passing by late in the afternoon to see if she had left anything in there, when she saw a familiar mess of black hair standing in front of the Black family tapestry. Harry turned to look at her.
"Hi Ginny." He looked troubled.
"Hello Harry — something wrong?"
"No," he lied.
Ginny stepped into the room. This was the first time she'd been alone with him all summer. Maybe it was because she had spent the last month under the same roof as him, or maybe it was because she had the "I have a boyfriend" line ready should she need it, but she did not feel nervous.
"Thought you'd be more cheerful, going back to Hogwarts tomorrow and all," said Ginny. "Especially considering how you close you were to not."
"I am happy!" he said indignantly.
"Oh come on, Harry. You've been moping around these last couple weeks. What's the matter?"
He looked sharply away from her and focused again on the tapestry. He didn't respond.
"Fine, keep it bottled up, then," said Ginny, feeling like the world's biggest hypocrite. "Come on, Mum's having a party tonight for Ron and Hermione. I'm sure that'll cheer you up. There'll be lots of good food and plenty of butterbeer!"
At the mention of Ron and Hermione, he made a slightly strained face; Ginny wondered if they had had a row. Feeling like she may have embarrassed herself or made him uncomfortable, she decided to leave before she started blushing.
"Well, see you later, Harry."
"Bye."
She made her way back to her room to continue packing and found Ron and Hermione chatting near her bed.
"Hey," said Ginny.
"Mum back yet?" said Ron hopefully.
"Don't think so. You all haven't had another row with Harry, have you?"
"No," said Hermione curiously. "Why?"
"I saw him in the drawing room," said Ginny. "He was sulking about something. He didn't tell me what it was, but I got the impression it had something to do with you two."
"I think he's just wondering why Dumbledore didn't make him a prefect," said Hermione. "He started acting funny when he found out about it earlier."
Seriously? Ginny thought to herself. That is really stupid…
"I guess fighting dragons, killing basilisks, and dueling You-Know-Who isn't enough for him," said Ron with a good-natured laugh. "He's gotta be a prefect too!"
"Ron!" said Hermione, aghast, as Ginny had reacted slightly at the mention of the basilisk.
"I'm joking, Hermione!"
Hermione glanced furtively at Ginny while facing Ron.
"Oh, right," said Ron, blushing slightly. "Sorry, Ginny."
"It's all right," said Ginny. "Regardless of what Mum thinks, I'm not that delicate."
