Trigger warnings:
• Schizophrenia-like symptoms
• Sexual-assault of an adult on a minor (non-physical) – no explicit sexual scenes with this incident, trigger warning comes more from what could have happened and the character's reaction.
The Triwizard Tournament was almost all anyone would talk about for the first couple of months. The other schools would be arriving on the 30th October and everyone, Ginny included, seemed excited to meet students from other schools. For Ginny, the tournament was a welcome distraction from other, more concerning matters. In fact, her first week back made her almost dream of being back at the Burrow.
She had made it down to breakfast on the 2nd September and all was going well until the owl post. One of the students who subscribed to the Daily Prophet over on the Hufflepuff table let out a scream after unfurling the paper. The Gryffindors who had a subscription scrambled to read their own while the others looked over their shoulders. Having nobody near her with a paper her and Colin waited for an opportunity. A few more screams and disturbed muttering broke out over the hall until Dumbledore silenced everyone with a small explosion from his wand.
Bellatrix Lestrange had escaped from Azkaban.
Ginny knew enough about the last war to know that it was a bad sign. She finally got her hands on a copy of the paper. Neville had been reading it until he turned white and left the hall. Bellatrix was a loyal death eater imprisoned for 'unimaginable crimes' and had broken out of Azkaban that evening. She was one of only two prisoners to ever make this feat, and the last one was an innocent animagus – Sirus Black. Since his escape, they had fortified the cells with anti-animagus protections which prevented them from even transforming inside the prison.
Mr Crouch was quoted as leading a major investigation into the security of the prison and a re-vetting of all personnel. Apparently, he had visited the prison the day before for a routine inspection and nothing was amiss. There had also been no other visitors since which put the night staff under particular scrutiny. The DMLE suspected that that one of the staff had aided her escape but so far there was no evidence.
Dumbledore reassured them that Hogwarts' security had been strengthened over the summer and that they had nothing to fear. That did little to ease the sense of dread Ginny felt. If rumours about Ron's first year were correct, then there had been significant danger in the castle for the past three. Ginny also worried about the safety of her family who had always been known supporters of Dumbledore. What if the mad witch targeted them?
Tom chuckled darkly. He didn't know who 'this Bellatrix' was but took delight at one of his followers breaking out of prison. He told Ginny that he hoped she would sow more chaos than the petty display at the World Cup. Ginny, as always, told him to shut up and focused on her mindscape again.
The second thing to go wrong was MadEye's first lesson. In the wake of Bellatrix's escape he apparently decided it would be a good idea to teach them all about the unforgiveable curses by cursing spiders at the front of the class. It was horrific.
The lack of control from the imperious curse caused Ginny to shudder as the spider scuttled around the classroom. Though, she was one of the few that did. It reminded her far too much of being possessed for her liking.
"You have the right of it, girlie" Moody snarled as he snapped the majority of the class out of their laughter.
"With the imperious curse death eaters could control another to do their bidding. Imagine being caged in your own body forced to kill your parents, your friends, a younger sibling. They would need no locks to imprison you. No other curses to kill you. They could watch you waste away unable to move, unable to fight. NOTHING MORE THAN A PUPPET!" He roared the last making the class jump.
Nobody made a sound as he continued with the explanations.
The descriptions and demonstrations of the other two curses were just as explicit and unsettling. Though nothing was as unsettling as the mad gleam in his eye when casting the torture curse. It was almost as if he were enjoying himself but that couldn't be the case. Could it? Tom seemed to like him which was not a good sign.
Perhaps even more unsettling still was the ominous warning that he would be teaching them how it felt to be under the imperious curse shortly.
Luna had her first class with the new professor directly after Colin and Ginny. She was humming to herself outside the classroom. Ginny tried to smile at her but it came out as more of a grimace. She received a sympathetic smile in return.
They met by the lake during dinner. Colin had volunteered to pilfer enough food from the hall wanting to pop by to check in on Dennis anyway. Luna had brought a soft blue blanket and they huddled close after the stressful day. Ginny was still shuddering at the thought of being controlled. Colin sensing her distress put his arm around her and pulled her into his side. She put up little resistance, finding comfort in his embrace.
"Do you think he'll harm us?" Colin asked, voicing some of Ginny's concerns for her.
Every worst case scenario was running through her mind. If Dumbledore had truly given the mad professor permission, then the curse would be expected to show up on his wand which, as Tom kindly pointed out, meant that he basically had free reign to use it as much as he liked in between classes with little fear of being discovered. Especially if he was anywhere near as proficient as their first year teacher.
"I think we are safe" Luna replied pulling Ginny from her thoughts. "At least for now" she added stopping Ginny's relief in its tracks.
"What do you mean, Lu?" Colin asked.
Luna cocked her head to the side.
"I'm not sure. But I think it's best that we're not our selves around him. At least as not ourselves as we can be without losing ourselves".
Colin seemed to understand what Luna meant and nodded in agreement earning a beaming smile in return.
"We should also get back to training" he proposed.
Ginny agreed enthusiastically with that. There was little space to train at the Burrow and she had lots of new things to show her friends.
...
It was with a sense of dread that Ginny trudged to the next defence lesson the following Monday. The weekend was little respite from the last. The rest of her classmates, bar Colin, seemed to have forgotten Moody's tirade the previous lesson and exchanged excited whispers in the corridor.
"Contant Vigilance!" A loud voice boomed behind them, abruptly stopping the whispers and causing Lisa to scream. Yes, it was rather startling but Ginny didn't think the shout itself was that scary. At least, not as scary as being cursed.
It was a rather tense group of students that stepped into the classroom.
Ginny fought the rising panic as she headed to a seat at the back of the class wanting to put as much distance between herself and MadEye as possible. She still couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right with the newest professor.
If you let him take control you'll never get it back, Ginny. Tom taunted.
Are you really going to submit yourself to him. Give yourself to him like you gave yourself to me? Pathetic. I'll relish in your fall, your suffocation, your imprisonment.
Colin nudged her gently before seating himself. Then Ginny had an idea.
Don't forget whose mind your trapped in, Tom. If he controls me, then he controls you too.
Then, without waiting for a response Ginny cleared her mind focusing on the sandstorm that Bill had helped her with over the summer and grit her teeth. Tom was still present but she could barely make out what he was trying to say.
Her knee bounced nervously as her classmates were put under the curse one after another. When Colin was forced to roll around on the floor she felt like she was going to be sick. Finally it was her turn.
"No need to look so nervous, girlie. It'll be over before you know it" MadEye said clearly trying to be reassuring. It wasn't.
The curse washed over her like warm rays of sun. She felt herself leaning into its embrace, feeling calm and peaceful. Then a quiet voice came, as gentle and enticing as a summer breeze.
"Run around the room".
It sounded rather reasonable. After all, her legs were a bit stiff and some exercise would do them good.
Stop another voice commanded harsh and cold.
Why? She questioned the other voice.
He's trying to control you Tom practically shouted.
Ginny didn't see a problem with that. She wanted to run anyway so what did it matter if the other voice was telling her to run?
She was standing now, dusting her robes. The voice was still telling her to run. It still sounded like a good idea.
You're pathetic. Tom snarled. Who knows what he'll make you do next?
The other voice quietened for a moment as she considered Tom's words. That was a good point she thought. In fact, didn't she find Moody creepy? And why would she want to run in the middle of a classroom anyway? If she stopped and thought for a moment, it was all rather stranger.
The gentle voice called to her again. It sounded strained as if it were trying to shout but something was blocking it out. It sounded empty now. Full of broken promise.
Then she remembered Luna's warning and understood its meaning.
She ran.
...
When she was released panting for breath she noticed Moody giving her an intense stare from both eyes. She dropped his gaze and took a shuddering breath. Did he suspect anything?
She sighed in relief when he barked at her to take a seat.
With Ginny being last to be 'tested' the class ended quickly after that. She gathered her things and hurried for the door. Unfortunately, being at the back of the class left her at the back of the queue. As she was about to follow Colin through the doorway Moody held her behind with a hand on her shoulder.
"Miss Weasley, a moment if you will" he asked.
"She'll be fine without you Mr Creevey" he chastised Colin who had hesitated on the other side of the doorway.
Ginny didn't have time to do anything before the door closed with a lock.
She was about to turn and ask the Professor what he wanted when, without warning, he put her under the curse again.
It was stronger and wilder this time. The joy hit her like a brick wall and she stumbled before finding her footing. She struggled to remain upright in her mind. Everything felt fuzzy but she could almost see the footholds to right herself again should she choose.
Knowing that she had to play along she stood dumbly waiting for instruction.
"Take off your robe".
Ginny was rather hot after all the running so gladly undid the clasp letting her robe drop to the floor. She still didn't understand why they had to wear the blasted things when it was hot. Perhaps he was going to make her run again. She met his gaze and almost shrunk away under his glare but forced herself to remain passive.
"Take off your shirt".
No. That wasn't right. That couldn't be right. But the command was unmistakable.
Fuck, fuck, FUCK. Her panic was disjointed and hazy but it was very much present. Who knew what he would do if she didn't comply? She was sure that any ex-Auror worth their salt would know the memory charm.
All she knew for sure was that she didn't have time to hesitate.
She forced Tom's panicked voice away and reached for the bottom of her shirt with surprisingly steady hands. She gripped the material mentally grimacing and lifted.
She felt the cool air on her midriff and forced herself to stay calm.
"Stop".
Ginny released the shirt immediately and felt the curse lift.
Without the euphoria of the curse the severity of the situation threatened to stop her from breathing. Her breaths came quick and panicked as she struggled to regain control.
Tom was furious and her control over him threatened to slip.
Moody grunted and nodded his head toward the now open door "This will be kept between us" he growled.
Ginny squeaked out an affirmative, gathered up her robe and rushed from the room. Heart pounding in her chest.
Her control broke as she sprinted down the corridor. Tom's voice crackled with anger and distain insider her mind.
Slut. Whore. Weak.
She screamed internally for him to stop, tears blurring her vision, breath stuttering, hand sweating.
Ginny nearly toppled into Colin who was hiding round the corner waiting for her. She grabbed his hand without breaking her stride and pulled him along with her. They didn't stop until they reached their spot by the lake where Luna was already waiting with open arms.
Ginny crashed into her friend's embrace and broke down into tears.
I bet you're sad he stopped Tom snarled.
Luna rubbed soothing circles on her back and gently lowered her to the floor. Colin put his hand on her shoulder unsure of what else to do.
Eventually her sobs calmed down and she started to come back to her senses.
"You can tell us know" Luna murmured in her ear.
"I...I think I can throw it off. Tom, he, he helps keep me grounded and helps me fight the voice".
Luna hummed in understanding.
"Then I remembered what you said about pretending so once I realised what was going on I played along. I thought I'd gotten away with it but he kept me behind. He..." She choked out another sob.
"He put me under the curse again when I was on my own and told me to take off my robe. I... I didn't see the problem. I thought he was going to make me run again".
Ginny stopped taking a moment to compose herself.
"But then...then he told me to take off my shirt. I didn't want to! But, I just knew it would be worse if I didn't... if he knew I could maybe resist".
Luna stroked her hair gently.
"You were so brave".
"He... he told me to stop before I got it past my bellybutton but what if he didn't? What if it wasn't just a cruel trick to see if I could resist him...? He told me not... not to tell anyone" Ginny stuttered and started sobbing again.
"I'll kill him" Colin growled from behind her. Ginny felt Luna shake her head.
"Not yet" was all she said.
...
The next day Ginny had the first of her new elective classes, Runes, with Colin. She didn't have defense again until the end of the week and so let herself her distracted by the excitement.
Their schedules were a bit full and she had to take History with the Ravenclaws to accommodate her schedule. However, that clashed with Divination so Colin instead joined Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw for potions and Luna joined the Gryffindors for History.
History was just as boring as ever and she was surprised that despite their reputation, few Ravenclaws managed to stay awake for the whole class. She missed Colin in potions though nothing much had changed. Snape was just as surly as ever and didn't hesitate to assign homework during the first class of the year.
Ginny was filled with excitement as she entered the Ancient Runes class. There were less people than she expected. Only her and Colin from Gryffindor, all the Ravenclaws (except Luna), three Slytherins and a single Hufflepuff. Rather than the usual classroom set-up there were three larger desks each with four chairs seated around it. Colin pulled her over to one and they sat on adjacent sides with a good view of the front of the class. They were joined by the lone Hufflepuff boy.
Professor Babbling looked kind enough, she had one of those friendly faces Ginny thought that you couldn't help but trust. Her hair was slightly bushy, had more grey than brown and was held back in a loose ponytail at the nape of her neck.
She started by explaining some ground rules for the class. Due to the lengthy nature of translations they would be doing a lot of group work. The desks were laid out to facilitate this and they would have a new seating plan each week. Their current arrangement would remain for the rest of the week. Ginny had exchanged a relieved glance with Colin at this. Apparently, it was good to get other people's points of view when working through translations as once they got to the more complicated texts it became a bit more subjective.
Babbling then started talking them through the basic outline for the year and then taught them the first five runes they would need to memorise. After that, they each had to copy out the runes on a piece of parchment and swap with someone else on their table. Their references texts were then hidden and they had to try to decipher one another's' runes. Babbling assured them that it was useful to see runes in different handwriting styles and with imperfections as they would often encounter damaged or imperfect runes if they pursued the field further.
Ginny thought her runes has turned out quite nicely though she struggled to interpret the runes of Derick the Hufflepuff boy. His handwriting was a bit scratchy but nevertheless she got three out of five correct. She felt smug that Colin was able to identify all five of hers. They were given the next five runes to start studying before their class the next day. Derick chatted with them both happily on their way down to dinner.
After dinner the trio caught up together properly. Luna and Colin had their first Divination lesson earlier in the day. Colin noted that it wasn't as enlightening as he hoped and Luna wasn't sure how much Trelawney, the Divination professor, would be able to teach them. She wasn't worried though. Apparently just by being introduced to new techniques and being in the right atmosphere with a closer proximity to the stars could help clear the sight.
In return, Ginny enthusiastically filled Luna in on runes. Surprisingly, the blonde was already familiar with the ones they were currently learning as her Dad often published runic riddles in the Quibbler – the family-run magazine.
Ginny was excited for a full day of electives the next day. Well, with the exception of the weekly midnight astronomy lesson that she was already seriously considering skipping. Professor Vector, the arithmancy professor, was much like a younger McGonagall but with a terrible sense of arithmancy-related humor which Luna found hilarious. The professor herself assured them that by Newts they would be cracking their own numerical jokes. Though Ginny was rather dubious.
The arithmancy class was somehow even smaller than Runes. It seemed that the majority of students had been put off by its infamous difficulty. In fact, Colin and Ginny were the only Gryffindors of their year to venture into the classroom.
So much for house of the brave Ginny scoffed internally.
Their red-trimmed robes were met with some raised eyebrows by the other students, three Ravenclaws and a studious looking Slytherin. A rather pitiful showing.
Colin earned a glare from the Slytherin after Vector's introductory lecture when he excitedly exclaimed that it was just "magic math".
Vector however, was far from annoyed.
"Indeed, Mr. Creevey. There are a lot of parallels. You'll find that your knowledge of probability and statistics will help you greatly this year. Please do assist your classmates if they need it".
Ginny found the whole introduction talk rather perplexing. Her Mum, presumably like all wizarding parents, taught her the basics of numbers before she attended Hogwarts but since then there had been little opportunity to develop her skills. Sure there were some calculation of degrees in Astronomy and Potions and Herbology both included calculations of various measurements and timings but aside from that the instruction was pretty thin on the ground.
Regardless, she was willing to stick it out. Arithmancy was essential for safely crafting your own spells and was also used with runes when creating, or breaking, warding systems and curses. Sadly, they wouldn't get to the 'good stuff' until their NEWTs so Ginny was determined to pass her OWL with at least an E – and not just to prove to her Mum that she could.
In direct contrast to Runes, Arithmancy seemed to focus on independent study. They were given several sheets of parchment with questions increasing in difficulty so the Professor could gage the numerical abilities of the class. They were also given a box of 'calculators' a muggle tool to assist but everyone except Colin had no idea how to use it. She made a mental note to ask him later.
Colin seemed happy enough with the majority of the question pack but Ginny's head was spinning less than half-way through. Who in Merlin's name decided it was a good idea to put numbers in math? She wasn't even sure what to do with those questions and left them blank. Luna hummed happily throughout and, to sate her curiosity, Ginny took a peek at her answers. Under one of the questions that included letters, her friend had drawn a flower. At least she wasn't the only one who was struggling.
It was a slightly dejected Ginny who bid goodbye to Colin and headed off with Luna to find Muggle Studies. The blonde, despite also answering few questions, seemed unperturbed by the difficulty and was happily skipping next to her.
"You know, Muggles think numbers are imaginary" the blonde commented.
Ginny didn't know what to say to that and remained quiet.
...
The Muggle Studies classroom was the strangest one she had been in by far. It was filled with a lot of objects she didn't recognise and some that she had seen dismantled in her Dad's shed. She dragged Luna over to a pair of beanbags next to what she recognised as a toaster. There were a series of strange lifeless posters on the wall from a Football team called 'The Rangers' and a strange image of a giant monkey-like creature on top of a large tower with the title of "King Kong".
Professor Burbage seemed happy enough to let the students wander around and poke at various objects. The others looked at the beanbags dubiously before copying Luna and Ginny's positions. A few let out surprised yelps when they sank further into the seat than expected.
This class was undoubtedly more popular than Arithmancy. There were lots of Hufflepuff students, two other Gryffindors who Ginny recognised as Colin's roommates, a total of two Ravenclaws (including Luna) and a very lonely looking Slytherin who she had never spoken to.
The starting exercise was interesting. Burbage gave them each a pen which was a lot thicker and brighter than the one Colin carried with himself for 'emergencies' and a stack of rigid, brightly coloured parchment. Burbage called them marker pens and coloured card.
To the side of the room was a bright red cylindrical box with a rectangular flap which Burgage explained was a post-box and a key part of the muggle mail system.
Their first task was to write out five things they thought they knew about Muggles, one per card, and deposit them into the post-box through the rectangular flap. They didn't need to add their names.
The majority of the class seemed apprehensive but after Luna's excited squeals each time she deposited a card and Ginny's uneventful attempt they soon queued up for a turn. On closer inspection, there seemed to be some kind of label on the postbox with some symbols and collection times. After seeing one of the Ravenclaws try to decipher it, Burbage said that she would give them an explanation in a later lesson.
Once everyone was settled back down Burbage opened a compartment at the back of the postbox and pulled out the stack of cards. She mixed them up a little bit and stood by a large white rectangle with a shiny surface.
"Well done, everyone! Now let's see how right your expectations are" she pulled a card from the top of the pile. "The first card we have... oh very good!".
She turned and wrote 'Muggles use electricity which is kind of like their magic' in a bright purple marker on the shiny white rectangle.
"That's correct! We'll start talking about electricity in depth after Christmas. But to those of you who don't already know it's a kind of energy Muggles can create and harness to do various tasks. Whose card was this?".
Ginny raised her hand.
"Well done indeed, Miss Weasley. Two points to Gryffindor".
"The next card, in fact the next three cards all have very similar ideas" she turned and wrote on the Board 'Muggles live like they are in the middle-ages compared to Wizards'.
Despite the disparaging suggestion, their professor smiled widely.
"Interesting but not completely accurate. Put your hand up if you wrote one of those cards. Don't worry you're not in trouble at all!"
The Slytherin and a couple of Hufflepuffs raised their hands.
"A point to Slytherin and two for Hufflepuff. Muggles have a wide and varied culture. There are some areas which still have poor provisions but a lot of them live with good standards, using their creativity to solve problems like cooking food or travelling that we would usually do with Magic, especially in Britain. One of the things we will be looking at first is a comparison of Muggle and Wizarding timelines".
There were several other suggestions put forward including: 'They don't believe in nargles', 'there are lots of them', 'they are inventive' and Ginny's favourite for being the strangest 'they feed their babies white powder' which Burbage explained turned into milk when you added water and was designed to meet the babies needs if you were unable to breastfeed.
It was a very interesting lesson. Burbage gave them each a study pack which included: a book of bound parchment with lines on it called a 'notebook', a fabric tube with a weird metal opening called a 'pencil case', some pens, a wooden stick with a dark grey pointed end a 'pencil', a slightly squishy white block called a 'rubber', a strange contraption filled with pockets called a 'ringbinder' and a hard bit of board with a meal bit on the top called a 'clipboard'. She gave them no homework except to familiarise themselves with the objects before the next lesson and to practice using them.
After lunch the trio headed out to Hagrid's hut for their first Care of Magical Creatures lesson. Ginny still couldn't believe that Hagrid had been made a teacher considering he hadn't actually finished his education to even OWL standard – and neither could Tom. Even more surprising was that he had kept his post after the poor reviews he received the following year. In fact, only the Gryffindors and a some Hufflepuffs had something good to say about his teaching.
Regardless, there was a record turnout. It looked as though all the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs had showed up, along with half the Slytherins and Ravenclaws. It seemed the lure of learning about some of the more fascinating creatures, and lack of essays, was enough for students to at least try to give Hagrid a chance.
They weren't so lucky as to get something as interesting as Hippogriffs but she supposed the knarls were kind of interesting. More so when one bit a dopey Hufflepuff who had offered it a roll from his pocket before Hagrid had the chance to explain the paranoid nature of the creatures. The bite was thankfully quite minor and didn't break the skin so the Hufflepuff didn't need a trip to the infirmary. Though he did spend the rest of the lesson glaring at the knarls.
Hagrid was surprisingly knowledgeable and it was quite interesting to compare the knarls with the hedgehogs up close. Though, it was quite awkward to take notes. The Ravenclaws in particular seemed quite disgruntled. Ginny pulled the clipboard from her bag, took a sheet from her notebook and tried to balance it on the board to take notes. Colin, after a little chuckle, showed her how to use the metal clasp to secure the paper and pen when it wasn't being used in place. This allowed her to easily take notes standing and Luna, and a couple of others who had also taken Muggle Studies, quickly followed suit.
The students who hadn't taken Muggle studies looked on jealously while the Slytherins turned up their notes at using muggle equipment. The lonely Slytherin boy from the Muggle Studies class didn't take his out but looked quite uncomfortable at the attitude of his peers.
The other students fought over a few flat-looking tree stumps while Ginny and Luna offered to share their notes with Colin. An approach which was also chosen by the Hufflepuffs.
"I'll ask Professor Burbage if you can borrow some supplies Colin" Ginny offered but he waved it off.
"Thanks, Gin but I'll just message Dad. They're pretty cheap really".
...
The rest of the week seemed to speed up towards defense class. When the class arrived, Ginny entered with a pull of dread in her stomach despite the reassurances from Colin. She opted to sit in the middle row this time hoping that with students behind her it would be more difficult to call her behind at the last minute.
Moody once again took turns putting them under the imperious curse. Ginny allowed him to make her twirl around the room singing off-key without hesitation and she was glad that his curiosity seemed quenched. She wasn't held after class again.
As the weeks flew by the lessons got more and more interesting. Vector had shown them how to use the calculators and explained how the letters were used in numeracy. Burbage had explained some of the key timelines between muggle and wizarding culture. It was fascinating how quickly they had developed and changed in the past century compared to wizards who rarely made new developments in comparison. She now knew quite a few runes and they had started working together to translate paragraphs of text. Hagrid's classes still weren't too bad, they had covered Flobberworms and Horklumps in a single lesson and had since studied fire crabs.
Colin's Dad had come through with his own set of muggle supplies similar to the package Ginny and Luna had been given in Muggle studies. Though he also had a few sets of brightly coloured paper squares which were slightly sticky on one side called 'sticky notes'. He said they could easily be used to make notes on pages in a book without actually writing on the book itself. They were extremely useful and Luna was fascinated. She stuck a reminder to study to her own head.
At their next Care lesson, Colin was approached by one his dormmates asked if he could supply them with the same equipment. He agreed to ask his Dad to get them the basic notebook, pens and clipboards for two galleons each and by the end of Care had requests from the majority of the class - Slytherins being the exception.
Ginny had hoped Moody would get bored of cursing them and her wish had partially come true. He delved almost reverently into other curses, countercurses, hexes and jinxes. However, he decided that as none of the class had the aptitude to withstand the imperious curse instead they should focus on recognising when someone was under its power.
As part of their "Constant vigilance" he would sometimes put a class member under the curse without telling them. Noticing that a class member was cursed and letting him know earned you a point with more being given depending on how long it took you to notice. You would also get an additional point if you could explain what had given it away. If you wrongly accused him, you would lose a point.
This proved to be quite tricky as unlike with the initial rounds of curses, he would make the students act relatively normally. Ginny was wary of the information he was gathering on the students so when she noticed that Colin was cursed (he didn't share in the usual exchange of glances with her when Moody was talking about a particularly violent curse) she omitted to give a reason why. Instead just saying
"I don't know why Professor but I think you've got Colin. He just seems a bit off" and earned a single point.
They learned from Luna that her experience with Moody was much the same. Though they overheard Harry complaining that he was a favourite target for the professor who would put him under the imperious every lesson and was nearly able to resist it completely. In fact, Moody seemed to have attracted an unhealthy amount of attention from the professor. Harry himself seemed enthused that the professor was helping him build up a resistance but Ginny had a bad feeling.
We have a heatwave here in the UK and it's bloody hot. I swear we're not cut out for this weather. Hope you're all doing ok.
Thank you to everyone for your continued support and welcome to the new readers!
Thank you Not So Cliche and Herbet Fleet for your comments!
Not So Cliche - Perhaps it's a cultural thing, but it's very common in Britain for teenagers to rebel against their parents and feel misunderstood. When you mix in everything that Ginny's been going through it just makes all those normal feelings quite a lot worse.
Herbet Fleet – Glad you're looking forward to it! I'll be playing about with the tournament a little bit. It always frustrated me that the audience viewing for the second and third tasks was very poor. It can't have been fun staring at the surface of a lake for an hour!
~ Fiona