Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter NOR any of his friends NEITHER any of his enemies. It's hard to admit, but when I'm done with them all, I have to return them to Joanne K. Rowling in an original wrapping and unharmed.
I make no money, I mean no harm.
Patchwork
Mischievious
The nature around Hogwarts, as many a wizard or witch remember, is beautiful and magnificent. The mountains rising at the horizon give the impression of overwhelming dignity, the Forbidden forest reaches as far as a human eye can see, and the lake offers an ever-changing sight.
Ginny was standing at the entrance to the Astronomy tower balcony and watching the scenery of sun rising above all the beauty. The morning was chilly and she was huddling in the warm cloak she had thrown over the school uniform. She watched a flock of birds rise from the Forbidden forest with annonyed cries, circle several times above the trees and disappear back among the branches at a place which - supposedly - posed no threat to them. A doe walked out of the forest together with a fawn. Ginny crept to the parapet and leant on it to better watch the young animal and smiled. The fawn was examinating its surroundings with curiosity reserved to youth, until the doe looked to the castle and with a startled sound led the fawn back into the forest.
Ginny looked for the thing that scared the animals away, but found nothing. Once a human body showed before her eyes; a crumpled heap at the base of the tower, and she realised she was looking at the spot where Dumbledore's body had hit the ground. Also, she was clearly imagining things, because the spot was empty. She was too tired of everything related to the war to dwell on that memory, so she hurried back to the Gryffindor tower.
The dream that had woken her up just before the dawning was different from her usual nightmares. She was walking through the school, the halls unnaturally long and eerie, occassionally meeting someone. Everyone she met was dying, and as the person died, their faces changed to the next one she was about to meet. First Cedric, and his face changed into that of Sirius Black; then Black died and then Dumbledore, Charlie turning into Harry followed by Ron, who finally turned into Snape. And when Snape died in her dream, Ginny woke up.
She slowly walked into the corridor that led to the portrait of Fat Lady. The grave feeling of something terrible coming disappeared somewhere along the way, but she still wondered whose face would have been next.
The Fat Lady cleared her throat politely and Ginny realised she had been standing in front of her for some time. She spoke the password and quickly squeezed through the opening.
"Morning," came a double greeting from before the fireplace. Ginny sighed.
"What are the two of you doing up so early? It's Saturday, you know." Elizabeth and Robert both chuckled. They were lying on the rug with a Muggle notebook between them, obviously planning something.
"It's a day already," Elizabeth exclaimed, pointing to the window.
"I know." Ginny raised her eyebrows pointedly, but the two first-years just continued giving her the best innocent look she had seen in ages.
Kind of reminded her of Fred and George.
"Oh, do whatever you want," she exclaimed. "Just don't break anything, don't wake up anybody and don't tickle any dragons."
"There are dragons here?" Robert jumped up to his feet. He seemed extremely excited again. It was so easy to get the boy excited, Ginny mused.
"It's the Hogwarts motto," Elizabeth said exasperatedly and tugged at his robes to get him back down.
"Enjoy your mischief," Ginny called, already climbing the stairs to the girls' dormitories. She grabbed a book from her nightstand and returned to the common room, not at all surprised to find it empty.
By the time Elizabeth and Robert reached the top of the Astronomy tower, the charm of the dawning was gone. Elizabeth climbed the parapet with Robert watching her anxiously.
"What?" she asked with a little laugh. She was used to climbing trees, and although she hadn't climbed a tree as high as the tower, the height itself gave her no trouble at all.
Robert, on the other hand, was well too aware of the possibility of her falling, and tugged at her robes.
"If you fall, you'll break something. And Ginny said don't break anything."
"But the view!" Elizabeth turned to look around. The scenery was truly breathtaking.
"I can see the hut from here," she pointed. Robert carefully looked over the parapet. Hagrid, the groundkeeper, was just leaving, followed closely by his dog.
"I wonder where he's going," Robert mused. At that moment, the big man stopped, took off his hat, rubbed his forehead and looked around. Robert pulled Elizabeth down from the parapet and the children ducked.
"Do you think he saw us?" Robert whispered, as if Hagrid could hear them.
"I can see you!" an unpleasant voice boomed from the entrance. They both quickly turned to find Mr. Filch looming over them. "The Astronomy tower is strictly off limits for you outside your lessons!" And with a malevolent smile he grabbed them by their ears and started dragging them inside, all the way mumbling about all the things he would have done to them if only he had been allowed.
Mrs. Norris stood under the stairway, meowing loudly. Filch stopped planning torture for rule-breaking students for long enough to praise his only friend and continued on his way to his office. One floor lower, they ran into Professor Snape.
"Mr. Filch," the Professor said instead of a greeting. He looked at the two first-years who, by that time, were yelping with pain as the caretaker never released their ears.
"Professor Snape," Filch cried with uncovered joy. "These students," Filch pushed them forward, "broke the rules."
"That much is obvious from the way you were... forcing them to follow you," Snape uttered.
"They were at the Astronomy Tower."
"Is that so?" Although the question was purely rhetorical, Elizabeth timidly nodded and Robert looked ashamed. "Well, I believe we don't need to bother Professor Vector with that. She has a lot on her hands right now and doesn't deserve more." Filch's eyes lit up at that. Vector, as strict as she was when teaching, was much more lenient towards misbehaving students than Snape. "Fifteen points from Gryffindor each and you will both report for a detention with me today at five o'clock." With an impatient movement of head, he released them, and the two quickly walked to the nearest corner, behind which (not being under the official supervision any more) they broke into a run.
"Now, Mr. Filch, the door to the Potions classroom cannot be fully closed. Have a look at that before Monday." Snape turned away from the caretaker, not waiting for a reply. He had been forced to get up early by a sick Slytherin student - it had been one of the first-years and couldn't find the Hospital Wing without his Head of House - and afterwards had decided to walk a little private patrol. Some troublemakers, as had just proven, tended to start early in the day.
He finished his usual patrol around the highest floors and decided to head directly to the Great Hall. As he passed by Tisha's door, he paused and contemplated asking her to join him. It was not too early for the house-elves, but still before the Saturday rush hour. Chances were the Hall would be empty. Hand already almost on the door, he noticed a pair of Ravenclaws came around the corner and frowned. There was a knocker on the door, so merrily looking Severus had never before even thought about using it; now he bent forward as if examining it, lifted it a little, and abruptly left, letting the knocker fall on the door.
"Are you lost?" he barked at the two Ravenclaws, who quickly declined. "Then why are you standing here in the middle of the corridor? The Great Hall is this way," he pointed in the direction he was walking himself.
The students exchanged a confused look and followed him, much more slowly to make sure they wouldn't accidentally keep up with his pace.
Tisha hadn't slept well. She had unpleasant, confusing dreams, filled with hissing voices and high-pitched laughter. The voices, of course, were the same she had heard from the dark corridor the night before that.
The laughter she remembered from the time when she had been still living at the Manor.
She hadn't been directly involved in either war. Lucius was ashamed of his Squib sister and made sure to keep her away from his friends, mainly other Voldemort's followers, and most of all from Voldemort himself. But she was curious and often tried to learn what those secret meetings were about. And once she overheard Voldemort laughing.
She took a long bath to wash away the sour feeling of the dream and the memory it had roused. As she was drying her hair with a towel, someone very lightly knocked on her door.
"Coming!" she called, or tried to - her voice failed her and she merely rasped. Shaking her head, she quickly walked to the door and swung it open.
The corridor was empty. Tisha waited for a while, frowned and closed the door again.
"That was weird," she said to herself in a low voice. Still not perfect, so she started humming.
"It's so good to see someone good-natured this morning!" The Nearly Headless Nick floated inside her room through the wall next to the door. "Please accept my apologies for entering without knocking, but I was lured in here by the beauty of your voice."
Not resistant to flattery, Tisha smiled and said, "Good morning, Sir Nicholas." The ghost beamed at her, happy to hear his own name used once in a time.
"Please do not feel at all disturbed," he begged. Tisha resumed humming while brushing her hair. Sir Nicholas quietly floated out of her room when he realised she wanted to change.
He continued down the corridor and up the stairs that led to the Gryffindor tower. The sunlight was coming in through the windows, making him close to transparent, so that when Ginny emerged from the Gryffindor common room, she almost walked through him.
"Nearly Headless Nick!" she exclaimed. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."
"No harm done," he answered, bowing to her chivalrously. Ginny giggled and made a little bow herself before hurrying down to breakfast. It was not a Hogsmeade weekend, she thought, but maybe she could slip out to go to see Blaise - sooner than after curfew. Lost in thoughts, she collided with Draco on the last landing above the Entrance Hall.
"Ginny!" Draco caught her with one arm, grabbing for the banister with the other.
"Sorry, I didn't... see you there." She stepped a little away from him and cleared her throat embarassedly. "You okay?"
"Yes, you?"
"Fine, thanks. Going to the breakfast?" They slowly descended the last flight of the stairs.
"Sure. I want to pay a visit to Blaise, see how he's doing, and I want to be there before he has to open the shop." Draco held the door for her.
"Oh." So there goes her plan, Ginny thought bitterly. She couldn't appear at Blaise's while Draco was there. Not that Draco would tell on her for leaving the castle without permission, but he would probably fail to keep that secret from Hermione, and Ginny didn't want Hermione to know how easily she broke the rules.
The Hall was almost empty. There were two Ravenclaws whispering at their table, Robert and Elizabeth at the Gryffindors', a small group of Hufflepuff and absolutely no Slytherin except for Snape sitting at the Head Table. Ginny frowned at him, to which he replied with his best intimidating stare, and that lifted Ginny's spirit a little.
"That's a nice plan," she said as joyously as she could. "Give Blaise my love, will you?" She tapped at Draco's shoulder and briskly walked to take a place next to the two first-years.
Draco slowly sat down at his place. Hedwig landed next to his hand, dropping a letter in front of him.
"For me, really?" He took the letter - it was for him and Hermione from Mrs. Weasley. "Better wait for Hermione before I open this." Hedwig gently hooted and hopped on his arm. He petted her and fed her a strap of bacon, shooting a sideways glance at Ginny. The two first-years next to her loudly laughed, looked at Snape and immediately turned very sheepish.
"They must have already run into him," Draco informed Hedwig, covering the feelings of jealousy over Ginny not even looking at him. The owl hooted once again and flew away, up to the windows below the ceiling and outside. She circled the castle once, not comfortable in the sunlight, and slipped into the owlery to sleep after the night flight.
Outside, the sun was rising higher above the trees, engulfing the castle and the grounds in warmth and brightness. A wave ran across the lake, as the squid swam close to the surface for a while, and from the top of the Astronomy tower it looked like a flash of light. The school was almost completely woken up by then, the corridors fully lit, except for the dungeons.
There, a shadow was lurking.
A. N.: Excuse me for a lyrical part. :)