Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. JK Rowling owns it. I write for entertainment purposes only and not for pay.
Author's Note: This story will likely feel a bit slow, but that's just how my stories go. I hope you'll give it a follow and a review if you like what you're reading. I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Prisoner 79934: Ginevra Weasley
-A Harry Potter Story-
By: Rae
"Food," came a gruff voice as the sounds of a bucket sliding across the concrete jolted Ginny from her restless sleep. She startled into wakefulness, shaking her head to oust the vestiges of sleep. "Git yer plate, prisoner." She blinked into the dingy light and saw the face of a nameless guard levitating a cauldron full of some food she couldn't identify.
Ginny rolled out of her bed and crawled to the plate on the floor. Shoving it through the gap in the bars, she watched as the guard dipped a ladle into the cauldron and removed an indistinct looking gruel, slopping it into her plate. He shoved the plate back through the bars, spilling some. As he began to walk away, Ginny called out to him.
"Wait, please," she called. He grunted and stopped. "Can I get a spoon?" The guard flicked his wand and a spoon materialized in her plate.
"Eat fast," he said, not looking at her. "Elves'll vanish it back to wash soon."
With that, he strode away, the cauldron floating along behind him. When the door slammed shut, Ginny looked down at the gray gruel. She sniffed delicately, but the scent it gave off was faintly nauseating. Swallowing hard, she dipped her spoon in and slowly took a bite. The taste was neutral and bland, much like a bit of porridge she remembered getting once when she visited her Great Auntie Muriel once. Ginny swallowed it, realizing how hungry she was as she did so.
After finishing the bowl of mush, Ginny dipped her cup in the bucket and removed a cup of water to drink. She sipped it slowly, reminding herself it was the only thing she would have for the rest of the day till dinner came. Then she sat back on her pallet, thinking over her first night in the fearsome wizarding prison.
She vaguely remembered hearing something distantly that woke her up for a moment, but now she couldn't remember what it was. She settled back to think about the next three years of her life.
Then she heard it.
A howl filtered into the cell, low and long. It sounded like an animal was in mourning, and she listened to the gruff sound as it filled her cell. Ginny wondered where it was coming from when another sound joined it. This one was shrill, infuriated, and maniacal. The shriek filled the cell now, overpowering the howl with the high pitch and relentless nature of it. Ginny shuddered, covering her ears in her horror.
She lowered her hands, but the shriek seemed to have no end. As she listened, she realized it wasn't just one shriek but many, building on one another in intensity. She wondered what was happening as she vaguely made out the more distant sounds of other screams now filling the corridors. Her brain was so filled with the sounds that she almost missed it when a cold breeze seemed to drift down the hallway. Ginny shivered a bit, still focused on the sounds of agony that continued incessantly.
Then she was pitched violently back into a memory, her brain consumed with thoughts of the deepest, darkest fears she'd put into her diary, writing to Tom. She convulsed horribly at the thought of his name, signing each compassionate response. A sinking sensation filled her as she saw each and every pained entry, written alone in the dead of night in the Common Room, tears filling her eyes as she poured out her heart and the way Tom made her feel: safe, secure, confident, and loved.
Ginny blinked, shaking her head to rid her mind of the images. As she opened her eyes, though, she gasped, horrified by the sight before her. Not one but two Dementors had drifted into the hall, bringing their cold aura with them. She shivered violently, unable to look away from the sight before her. The black hooded creatures seemed to float above the ground, their bodies sheathed in the dark cloaks that concealed their true nature. Ginny scooted nervously to the back of her cell, her entire body covered in goose bumps, but there was no escape from the beings.
They seemed to observe her from beneath their hoods, and as she looked from one shadowed face to the next, Ginny felt herself falling into a memory and couldn't stop the feelings rising up in her as she did so.
"You'll be next, Mudbloods!" Draco Malfoy screamed the disturbing words that broke the silence filling the hall as what seemed the entire school stood in horror. Ginny stood limply, her mind unable to comprehend what she was seeing even as George and Fred moved in front of her, George holding her close to his side in a protective gesture.
The room erupted into quiet conversation and gasps as the students tried to understand the words painted on the wall in what looked like blood. Ginny read them too, frantically trying to piece together their meaning as she did so: "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir beware." The blood looked strikingly familiar, and she glanced down at her hands as she remembered her last memory.
Finding herself lying in the girls' lavatory, Ginny groaned and rolled over, noticing her diary lying on the floor nearby and her bag next to it. She pushed herself to a seated position, almost falling down when she noticed the red on her hands and the white things stuck between her fingers. Ginny gasped, almost screaming in fear. It took her a second to realize she was in no pain, but when she did, her heart began to calm down as she lifted her hands to examine them. The red was blood all right, but from what? And the white...she plucked one from between her fingers and realized they were feathers. Her heart raced again as she tried to remember what she'd done or where the blood and feathers came from.
Feeling terrified, Ginny scrambled up. What if someone came into the bathroom and saw her like this? What would she say? Ginny rushed to the sink and began to scrub her hands furiously, washing off all the blood and feathers. When she was finished, she looked at herself in the mirror and plucked a few feathers from her clothes. Thankfully there was no more blood on her clothes, and she smoothed down her robes as she gathered her diary and stuffed it into the bag. Taking a few deep breaths, she walked out of the bathroom.
Now as George held her close, Ginny looked around at the other students, all of whom seemed scared and uncertain as the teachers began to arrive. She vaguely heard Filch screaming about justice and Mrs. Norris, but she was too busy trying to figure out what had happened to care. She glanced down and noticed a tuft of white clinging to the bottom of her shoes. Gripping George closely, she surreptitiously lifted her foot and used her other hand to pluck the feather from it. No one else had noticed her movements, so she quickly dropped her hand and released the feather, watching as it wafted slowly, leisurely to the ground.
Ginny's vision cleared as suddenly as it had clouded, and she blinked. Dirk was now standing in front of her. She stared at him as a headache formed behind her temples. Her mouth was dry, and she glanced at the bucket in front of her longingly. As she did so, she realized she was slumped over, almost lying down on the ground, her fists clenched painfully. She pushed up, noting the cold still filling the air and saw that Dirk's teeth were chattering slightly. She couldn't see them, but clearly the Dementors were still in the hall somewhere out of sight.
"We always schedule a Dementor visit when it's visiting hours," Dirk explained, sounding tense. "Gotta remind you what you're looking at if you don't follow orders. Your family will be here in an hour, and I'm supposeta leave you wi' 'em for the whole time. But I'l giv ya a bit o' a break and on'y leave 'em half that. You'll be free of 'em soon, so hol' up, eh?" He quirked his head at her, and Ginny swallowed hard, aware she'd be right back in the clutches of her memory soon enough. She nodded somberly, unable to speak.
"Right then," Dirk said, and turned away from her, marching back down the hall. Ginny sat against the wall and pulled her knees up to her chin, hooking her arms around them tightly. Her entire body felt tense, and she tried to regroup only to realize the chill was now returning in earnest. She looked out of the cell bars and saw the moment the black hooded creatures returned to view, bringing with them the same curiously cold and unfeeling gazes of their shadowed faces.
She drew in a shuddering breath of cold air, clutching her legs more closely to her chest, and then she felt herself falling into a memory again.
"Dearest Ginny,
My, it seems you've been through so much in such a short time. Your dear parents have worked hard to take care of their seven children, but they can only do so much, you know. Now that you're at Hogwarts, you must start to become your own person. And I can help you figure out exactly who you want to be.
I'm leaving you this letter because I know it's been difficult for you to find your own place. With all those brothers, I can only imagine how much harder you have to work to get noticed and fit in. But at Hogwarts, you can find your own magic, Ginny. I did. I want to tell you all about it and how you can learn to harness your own magic like I did.
Ginny, do you remember what I told you about the secrets Hogwarts has? I want to share one of those secrets with you tonight. Go to the third floor girls' lavatory at 11:00, and I'll share a secret I've never told anyone else. You're a bright girl, Ginny, and I think you can go far. So let me know when you've arrived, and we'll experience one of Hogwarts' secrets together. It's the kind of magic they don't let first years' know about, so you'll be the only one to learn it…"
