Chapter 4: Scalding

Ginny tumbled, panting, struggling to keep her lunch down after the abrupt Apparition. The hard wooden floor dug into her knee, forcing her back to reality, and she yanked her head up.

She was inside an old house facing a kitchen adorned with cracked ashwood cabinets and a dated chandelier. The ceiling was covered in a layer of cobwebs and the whole room looked decidedly Muggle. Looks like a temporary hideout.

She stood shakily, spinning around to find a hooded man, pointing his wand at her. Before she could say a word, he flicked his wrist and ropes shot out, encircling her and sticking her against the wall. Ginny strained against the ropes, feeling more and more helpless as they refused to budge.

The man stared at her. He looked to be in his mid-forties, with a gruff, unshaven face and no trace of emotion on it. Ginny hastily put up her Occlumency shields, but didn't feel anything touching her mind. His hood cast a dark shadow over his eyes, but as Ginny studied them, she became more and more convinced something was wrong with them. His pale blue irises looked dull and dead. He looks Confounded. Or Imperiused.

"What — what do you want?" she demanded, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. So he had removed the Silencing spell. He wanted her to talk.

"Why are you going to the Ministry?" he asked. His voice was flat, expressionless. Almost as if he didn't care what she said, despite abducting her in broad daylight for the interrogation. Something was definitely off about this man.

"Why are you following me?" she shot back, boldness appearing out of thin air.

"You have information that I need," the man replied. Expressionless, again. It really seemed as if he wasn't invested in this interrogation. "What are you doing at the Ministry?"

"I'm… visiting my family. My father works there," Ginny said. Act irritated, like you have no clue why he's inconvenienced you. "But you probably already know that. Can you let me go now?"

"There is another reason," the man said. His empty eyes didn't waver from Ginny's face.

Ginny eyed the man tiredly. "I don't know what you're talking about. You need to look for someone else, because I don't have whatever… reason you're looking for."

"Ginevra Weasley, correct?"

Ginny pursed her lips.

"I go by Ginny," she said drily.

"Ginevra Weasley," the man repeated, as if testing the words in his mouth. "Ginevra Weasley, where is Harry Potter right now?"

The question set off alarm bells in her head. Where the hell are you, MLE? Aurors? Ginny screamed internally. They had tried to kill Harry, and instead killed Ron. Was she next?

"I — I don't know," Ginny said. "I last saw him months ago. Why do you ask?"

"There is information I need from you," the man stated. "Harry Potter resides inside Hogwarts castle, correct?"

"I don't know, actually. I have no idea what he'd be doing at Hogwarts. We don't keep in touch."

"Tell me the truth," the man said instantly, mechanically. Ginny double-checked her Occlumency shields, but the white door in the back of her mind was still there, untouched. He wasn't using Legilimency.

"I don't know why you care, but —" Ginny swallowed her words in horror as the man pulled a vial of clear liquid out of his robe and strode toward her. Veritaserum? Poison? This was it. She needed to get out. This was going to be the last thing she ever drank. Mum, Dad, I'm so sorry. Her heart accelerated and anxious magic bubbled in her core, warming her arms, grazing her fingertips.

Oh.

A scorching burst of energy exploded from Ginny's fingertips and she felt the rope around her hands melting, withering into black ends. Her torso was still trapped but she raised her hands to direct the barrage of bright destruction toward the man. The intense yellow-orange fire of her accidental magic completely obscured the man from her view, but as far as she could tell, he hadn't put up a shield. She could smell something charred, something smoking. She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling her magical reserves flowing through her veins, fully activated, uncontrollable.

Then, several things happened at once. She felt someone's hand on hers, grabbing her wrist, yanking it downwards. The outpouring of magic stopped, and Ginny blinked rapidly to reset her vision. The hooded robe came into view, then the man's face. Ginny couldn't hold back a shriek. Part of his cheek was scorched black, starting to bubble downwards. But he was still moving toward her, seemingly unaffected.

He seemed to feel no pain.

This was bad.

This was really bad.

Ginny shoved her elbow up, catching the man in the shoulder. Her fingers blazed with magic again, but the bursts of fire didn't stop him. He grunted, shoving her hands down harder. She felt him reach for his wand, but before he could reach it, several loud cracks echoed in her ears and the red light of Stunners filled the air.

The man's body went down, sliding limply down Ginny's side as she remained pinned to the wall. He'd been Stunned. Without missing a beat, Ginny snatched his wand from his holster, and in one clean motion, Vanished the ropes and cast a rippling shield around herself. She held his wand out, facing her new opponents.

Four Aurors stood before her, the sight of their red robes enough to make her dizzy with relief. She instantly recognized one of them — Gawain Robards, Head Auror, Harry's former boss.

Ginny kept her wand up and looked Robards in the eye, wracking her brain for a security question. "What object did I ask you about after Ron was killed?"

"You asked about the horcrux — Tom Riddle's diary," he replied, voice steady, calmly holding Ginny's gaze. Ginny let out a ragged breath, lowering her wand, and the Aurors followed suit. Three of them jumped to examine the hooded man's prone, burnt body while Robards approached Ginny.

"Are you okay? Are you injured?" Robards scanned Ginny head-to-toe, and Ginny shook her head.

"I think I'm okay. This man abducted me, and he Apparated me here and asked me questions and uh —" Ginny stumbled over her words, not quite sure what she was trying to say. Robards grabbed a wooden dining chair nearby and she sat down, hunching over. The events of the day were catching up and she struggled to stay upright through a wave of dizziness.

"We were alerted by a passerby on Brook Avenue. They heard you shouting and we were able to follow the Apparition trail," Robards explained. He held out a piece of chocolate to her and she took it, fingers trembling. She let it melt in her mouth, trying to focus on the sweet, sticky taste instead of the scene around her.

Robards stepped aside to confer with an Auror about the assailant. Ginny only heard the words unregistered criminal and skin burnt and otherwise unscathed, her mind unable to process the whole conversation.

The next several minutes passed by in a blur of strange activity. All she could tell was that the Aurors had cast diagnostic spells on her assailant and then looked at each other in shock. They hadn't bothered to secure him, to take away his wand. That meant he was dead.

Bloody hell, the man is dead.

How? He didn't even seem bothered by my accidental magic.

Shite, I could have died, too.

The stakes were too high. There was a dead man not twenty meters from her. A man who could have easily killed her. Ginny focused on taking deep breaths as she felt the panic setting in. Deep breaths.

In. Out. In. Out.

"Ginny?" Robards was speaking to her. "I can Apparate you back to Headquarters now. We'll need to collect your statement and then we can make sure you get back home safely."

Ginny murmured her assent and grasped Robards's hand. With a disorienting crack, she was tugged to the Ministry for the second time that day.

It was pitch black when she was dropped off at the Burrow, courtesy of a senior Auror named Julia. Molly was waiting at the door.

"I got your Patronus, dear," Molly said, welcoming Ginny into a tight embrace. Ginny inhaled deeply, taking in the familiar smell of her mum's clothing. "You know you can stay with us anytime."

"Thanks, Mum. It's just been a rough day," Ginny said.

"You said you were accosted outside the Ministry?" Molly's voice was laced with concern. "By who? Did they get caught?"

"It wasn't anything too bad," Ginny said, not quite meeting Molly's eyes. "I'm not sure what he wanted. He might've been drunk. But I didn't get hurt. The man was killed by the Aurors. Accidentally. They only Stunned him, I'm not sure if his head hit the ground wrong or something. But the Aurors found out what was happening really quickly and they were able to stop him."

Ginny realized she was babbling, struggling to spin the day's events into a believable lie. Like the situation was just some Knockturn-Alley type trying to rob her, not a blank-eyed man asking pointed questions about Harry Potter and her activities at the Ministry. A blank-eyed man who hadn't been thwarted by her violent accidental magic, yet died instantly after a few Stunners. Nothing was adding up, and the disorienting confusion had solidified into a pit of dread in her stomach.

"Oh, my poor baby," Molly cried, hugging Ginny again. Ginny saw her dad come down from the stairs. "Arthur, we need to think of something. We need to set tracking spells, or get an emergency portkey for you. "

"We're so glad you're home safe, Ginny," Arthur said, taking Ginny from Molly. Ginny nestled into her dad's shoulder, closing her eyes briefly. Yes, she was home safe. That was what mattered. Answers would come later.

Ginny woke up late the next morning, feeling completely and utterly drained. Her body groaned like she had just endured a ten-hour quidditch practice and her magic felt all washed out, like she was in first year waking up in the Chamber again. She was barely able to summon a vial of Pepper-up Potion, grateful that her mum always kept a few in stock. She let her fingers linger over the curves of her wand for a little longer than usual, thanking Merlin and whoever else was listening that she was able to get it back.

They had found her wand in the pocket of her assailant. It was the only thing there — no identification, no personal belongings, nothing to give a hint of who he was or what his motive was. The Aurors were working with the Records department to see if they could identify his wand, but Ginny was doubtful. When she had used his wand after the Aurors arrived, she immediately knew it was an illicit wand. The quality of spellcasting had felt distinctively crude.

Ginny doubted she'd be hearing anything conclusive from the Aurors. They had taken her statement, asked a few questions, and then dismissed her with instructions to avoid low-traffic areas and travel with a companion as often as possible.

The Aurors had concluded that she was a target because of her former relationship to Harry, and while Ginny couldn't eliminate the possibility, she considered them awfully short-sighted. When she'd mentioned the diary, Robards had deflected the question the same way he had after Ron's death. Tom Riddle's diary was destroyed permanently by the basilisk fang. Horcruxes cannot come back to life.

She wondered if the Auror department had ever talked with the Department of Mysteries.

She also wondered if the Auror department would be talking with Harry.

It was possible. But Ginny needed to know for sure. This attack was a warning, and she'd be damned if she let it escape Harry's attention.

"How are the students this year?" Ginny asked, grimacing as she burnt her tongue on the scalding hot Earl Grey. She watched with amusement as Hermione blew on the steam before scrunching her nose at the overly sweetened tea. It had been Hermione herself who had suggested Madam Puddifoot's, mostly for the nostalgia factor, but also because, as Hermione had put it, who else is going to invite us there?

"They're still rowdy, but it's better than last year," Hermione replied. She laughed drily. "I mean, the younger kids are more attentive. The older kids think that because they survived the war, they deserve to cause infinite mischief."

"Or maybe you're getting better at teaching," Ginny suggested. Hermione had been teaching Muggle Studies at Hogwarts for the last two years, unable to resist the urge to return back to school. She had broken up with Ron shortly after the war ended, and Ginny interpreted the move back to Hogwarts as a coping mechanism, a return to her true love of knowledge. Two years later, Hermione seemed happy teaching and excelled at it, and Ginny could no longer picture her doing anything else.

"Well, I would hope so. Harry and I have been having this competition, you see," Hermione said. "If more students get O's on the Muggle Studies OWL than on the Defense OWL this year, then he says he'll go back to being an Auror."

"Does he really mean it?" Ginny was taken aback.

"I think so," Hermione said. "I think he wants an excuse to go back. He knows he can't stay at Hogwarts forever. He's too restless. There's a lot of dangerous crime still happening, and I mean, especially with what happened, no one's finding anything out…" Hermione trailed off with an uncomfortable expression on her face.

Ginny knew what Hermione meant to say. No one's found Ron's murderers yet. Ginny hadn't told Hermione about all the hunting she had been doing, and she had no plans to. She didn't want to force Hermione to keep the secret from Harry, and there was no way in hell that Ginny would let Harry find out.

Harry would throw himself into the mix in the most self-destructive way, itching to join in on the action to alleviate his guilt. But he didn't have the connection to Tom Riddle's diary. He didn't know mind magic. He had no more leads than the rest of the Auror force.

For once, Harry wasn't the Chosen One.

"Dangerous crime is, uh, actually kind of what I wanted to meet today," Ginny said, picking at her tiny raspberry scone. "Something happened to me recently and I needed to tell you and Harry."

"What do you mean?"

"Someone abducted me in a small alley in London, asked me where Harry was living. They asked if he was at Hogwarts. I don't know if they're connected to Ron's attackers, but you two need to be careful, really keep your guard up when you're in public."

Hermione's eyes widened. "'Abducted'? What do you mean?"

"I was stopped by this man, and he got my wand and asked me a bunch of questions. But the Aurors were able to come in time and I didn't confirm anything about Harry —"

"Forget Harry, he's safe at Hogwarts. How did the man get your wand? What did he do to you?" Hermione's face was the very picture of concern. It reminded Ginny of her mum and left a warm feeling in her chest. She'd forgotten how much Hermione cared.

"I'm fine, really. Don't worry about me, Hermione, the Aurors got there pretty quickly. It's put me on my guard and I needed to tell you and Harry to both be careful as well," Ginny said. "Those people who killed Ron — they're still active, and they're after Harry. And I wanted to tell you to tell him to be careful. You've always been the one who gets through to him the most."

Hermione looked at Ginny with almost-sad eyes. "You could tell him yourself. You know he still cares about you a lot."

"I know."

"Why don't you talk to him?"

Ginny looked away, dragging a long breath. "I can't. It's easier if we don't, for now."

"He might be ready. I think he's doing much better. He doesn't wallow all day and actually spends time on his lessons."

Ginny laughed. "I've heard glowing reviews of Professor Potter. But I don't know if I'm ready just yet. It's only been three months and we… we remind each other too much of the past. We weren't happy together and I don't want all the bad stuff to come back to me."

"It wasn't always like that," Hermione said, her voice soft.

"Yeah, we were children in school, fighting a war. We needed each other then. But maybe we weren't meant for each other. Your first love isn't always the one that lasts, right?"

Hermione nodded, squeezing her lips together. It looked like she wanted to press the matter further but didn't. After all, this was something Hermione knew firsthand with Ron.

It wasn't easy for her either. It wasn't easy for any of us.

Ron had made many mistakes in the latter part of his and Hermione's relationship, and that was all Ginny knew. Hermione had never shared with Ginny the details, but after their explosive breakup, she had taken a year to forgive him. They had come to peace at some point, but the easy camaraderie they'd shared for almost a decade had disappeared.

In a way, Hermione had had a head start on the grief. She'd already known that some things were beyond repair and could only be lost.