Another chapter for you all!
The instant she stopped spinning and felt her feet on the ground, she knew she was in trouble. There was a shimmer of where Ron had landed alright, but along the lines of her usual luck while blind, she immediately stumbled forward and tripped a warning ward. She could only wait to see what kind of people came to hex her. There wasn't any use in running, and apparating without her sight always took a lot out of her and after her recent trip down memory lane…she wouldn't be able to apparate again for a while.
She got hit with a knock back jinx and flew backwards, falling onto her rear. "Who are you?" A woman yelled.
Miranda put her wand on the ground next to her and held up both hands, begging herself to stay calm even as her instincts begged her to let loose and fight back, "My name is Miranda Peverell. I'm looking for Ron Weasley."
"Looking for Ron?" The same woman said breathlessly, and, after the way she said his name, Miranda was fairly certain that she was Ron's mother.
A male voice spoke, "He's ill. Has been all year."
Miranda smiled, "I know Ron isn't ill. I was with him a few days ago. I've been helping Harry too."
She felt a wand at her throat, "Pull up your left sleeve."
Miranda complied, but couldn't resist opening her mouth, "They checked already. I don't have whatever mark you're looking for. I haven't even the slightest idea what it's supposed to look like. I am blind after all."
"She's not marked." The man confirmed.
"I told you." Miranda quipped before dread filled her, "Ron's not here, is he? He wouldn't have stayed here, it's too obvious. He changed his mind. He's not here. Damn it."
She had let her emotions get the better of her after all, hadn't she, and she'd made a hasty decision. She supposed the only consolation was that the thing inside of her hadn't killed everyone she'd ever been near.
The woman was oblivious to her inner turmoil, however, and kept talking, her voice becoming more and more shrill with every word, "Arthur, what if she's telling the truth? What if Ron isn't with Harry anymore?"
"Molly!" Another male voice admonished, far deeper than Miranda had ever heard before, and enough to make her flinch back unintentionally, "How did you come to be acquainted with Ronald Weasley, girl?"
"I used to work in a muggle cafe..."
"What's a ka-fe like?" The first man asked excitedly.
"Um...it has coffee? This is the Burrow, is it not?" Miranda said tentatively.
"Yes, now, coffee..." The man who had to be Ron's father continued.
"Arthur!" The deep voiced man hissed, cutting the apparent ramble off. "Girl, continue."
Miranda smiled as best as she could, even though smiling was the last thing she wanted to do. "The night the trio left here, they ended up in my cafe and were attacked. I've been with them since."
"How can we believe you?" Deep Voice said again.
Miranda searched her memory and her mind fell upon an image of the haggard werewolf she met in Grimmauld Place. She scrambled for his name, "Remus…uh…Lupin? I met him whilst we were staying in Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. If you're looking for someone to vouch for me, Lupin can, or even Kreacher the house elf."
"You met Remus?" Molly Weasley asked, and Miranda nodded, "Come on, Kingsley. Surely we can take the girl inside until Remus can get here. You can hold on to her wand, but I don't think she means any harm. She's blind and she looks as though she's been through a lot recently."
Miranda smiled in the direction of the woman, hating that she apparently looked as lost as she felt, "You're everything I imagined. I've heard loads about you, all good things of course, Mrs. Weasley."
"Girl, you may come inside, but your wand is mine until further notice." Deep Voice said authoritatively, and Miranda wanted to resist. Ollivander had given her that wand, even if he'd somehow known or thought she didn't need it. The wood was familiar, and it had never failed her when she needed it.
"Thank you." She whispered instead, trying to stand, but slipping on what appeared to be the edge of a marsh, drenching herself. Mrs. Weasley grabbed her arm and pulled her up.
"Careful, dear, let's get you inside and get some food in you. You are far too skinny." Molly tutted, steering the girl by an elbow.
Miranda laughed awkwardly, "Harry told me you always tell him that."
Molly laughed softly, "It's why the men folk keep me around. I keep them from starving themselves. Now, why is Ron not with Harry and Hermione anymore?" She asked, guiding Miranda to the sofa in the front room.
Miranda sighed, "He and Harry got in a fight. He was tired and hungry, and he lost his temper. Hermione's devastated. I was going to try convincing him to come back."
Molly tutted once more, tucking a blanket in around her and whispering a spell to banish the chill, "I was afraid something like that would happen. Those boys really are like brothers, you know?"
"Exactly like brothers." Miranda agreed, "It will all be fine once Ron comes back. Harry's already forgiven him I think. Do you have any idea where else Ron might have gone?" Miranda asked, feeling exhaustion start to creep in. She should have rested before she'd gone off after Ron. Another strike against her decision making abilities.
Molly put a cup into her hand, "It's water, dear. I'm not sure, besides Hogwarts, Ron hasn't spent much time anywhere else. My baby boy." She said trailed off, obviously distressed.
Miranda shook her head, "You shouldn't worry. He'll be fine. Although if I can't find him, I'll have to go back to Harry and Hermione in a few days and tell them that he's not going to come back to us to help again."
"How are things going?" Arthur asked, "What are you kids up to? Staying safe?"
Miranda shifted uncomfortably, "Harry made me promise not to tell. We're being safe, after all."
"Remus is on his way." Deep Voice interrupted, sounding unhappy, "He says he knows her but wants to make sure it's her."
Molly tittered on about Ron, Harry, and Hermione animatedly, and Miranda found herself loving every minute of it, letting herself be lulled into a half asleep state where her eyes drifted shut every so often. This woman was the closest thing to a mother Harry had ever had, and she found herself endeared to the woman for it. She didn't think either of them were surprised when she finally fell asleep.
"I was told you were here." Came the unpleasant voice of Remus Lupin as he strode into the house, jolting Miranda out of her nap.
Miranda was too tired to rise to the bait he was setting, "Are you going to hex me again, or would you rather me go get Harry so you can do a two for one again?"
He hissed at her like an animal, "You impertinent little girl."
Miranda could tell she channeling the rage Harry still felt at his ex-professor, but with her recent discovery fresh on her mind she sucked in a deep breath before she opened her mouth to speak again, "I just don't appreciate being hexed."
Lupin sighed heavily, "You have every right to be angry. Has Harry forgiven me?"
The rage fled Miranda's body completely, and she nodded, "He loves you. He's still angry, but you're practically an uncle to him. He'll forgive you once you set things right."
Miranda stood carefully, doing her best not to get tangled in the warm blanket she'd been covered in. She shouldn't have been able to feel Harry from so far away, in any capacity. Unless...yes, it had to be...the parts of her brother that were in them both connected them.
Her brother had been reduced to an insane creature driven by anger and rage, and something dark was barely held tight inside of her, so it only made sense that the rage could have seeped into the both of them. She was chilled by the idea of feeling such powerful anger that wasn't her own.
The stark reality was that if she hadn't made her new revelation, that she might have flown off the handle, and she might have killed Lupin. She was certainly capable, and it would have been all too easy if the thing had gotten loose. He wouldn't have had anytime to protect himself, werewolf nature or not.
Lupin cleared his throat, "That's her. She was in Grimmauld Place with the others."
"I didn't mean to fall asleep," Miranda started, unsettled by the whole situation, "I should go now."
"Nonsense, dear, come have a cup of tea and get some food. Any friend of those three is a friend to me. You must meet Ginny. She only got home this morning for a long weekend. I think that's her just come down into the kitchen. We will all be thrilled to hear about what you four have been up to while we fire call around for Ron. He might be with one of his bothers." Molly stated firmly, and the small child in Miranda responded instantly to the tone of voice she had heard so frequently in the orphanage. She had to remind herself that Molly wasn't those women, she just wanted to help her, and it kept her response in check.
"Mrs. Weasley, I couldn't, really. I really haven't got any substantial news that I could share, regardless." Miranda protested meekly.
"Nonsense, you are a friend and we treated you like an enemy before letting you say a word. You really are far too skinny, just like Harry." Molly Weasley insisted, ushering her husband towards the kitchen.
Kingsley stopped them from reaching the kitchen, "Your wand."
The wood pressed into her hand, and Miranda couldn't help but sigh, "Thank you." She felt so much better with her wand in hand, but suddenly stopped when she realized that the girl sitting in the kitchen she was walking towards had dated Harry. Now was her chance to see what kind of girl Ginevra Weasley was. But she wasn't sure she wanted to take it.
Of all the things she could have been thinking, she just really didn't want to hurt the girl. She wanted to be friends with her, for some unknown reason. She took a deep breath and headed towards the comforting, bustling noises of the kitchen, only running into one coffee table with her shins. "This could go so, so badly." She whispered to herself at the kitchen door, bracing herself.
Strangely enough, it wasn't that bad. Naturally though, Miranda left out the fact that she and Harry were in love, deeming such a topic inappropriate to discuss over sandwiches and tea. Ginny was nice, and offered Miranda a bed in her room to spend the night.
Against her better judgment, Miranda agreed and that night, after a dinner spread bigger than any she'd ever eaten or even seen in her life, settled into the bed across the room from Ginny's with her belly full for the first time in a long time. It was nice to sleep, for the first time since she woke up, in a bed that wasn't terrible or charmed to hell. Ginny and the rest of them had kept her up until nearly midnight asking questions, each of which required intense thought on Miranda's part about how much could be told.
"Miranda, does Harry talk about me?" Ginny asked when they were in bed. The redhead hadn't laid down yet, and had to be sitting, staring at her, waiting for an answer.
Miranda just stared at the ceiling. She should have expected this question at some point, but it seemed to blindside her. "Um..." The dark haired girl started hesitantly, "They all talk about you...that's how I know so much about you and your family. You're Ron's baby sister, Hermione's best girl-friend, and Harry's ex-girlfriend. I know that you're amazing a Quidditch and your signature spell is some...Bat Bogey Hex or something like that. There's not much to do out there but to talk."
Ginny sighed, "So I'm the ex-girlfriend now. I should have seen that coming."
"Ginny, I'm sorry." Miranda said, ashamed that she was the cause of the other girl's distress, and feeling guilty that she'd said 'ex' so thoughtlessly.
Ginny shook her head, "Don't be. Unless..." She went quiet for a moment before hissing, "You."
Miranda stood up, putting a hand on the wand in her pajama pocket. "Ginny, I'm sorry. Really, I am. Harry and I...we love each other."
Ron's little sister audibly clenched her jaw, "He used to love me." She said harshly.
Miranda waited for the rage to flare up again, but the monster inside her stayed at rest, allowing her cooler side to speak with the girl. "Ginny, I don't know what happened in the past and I do feel bad, but until he decides otherwise, he and I are together. I'm sorry if that hurts you. I don't want to hurt anyone. That was never my intention."
Ginny flopped back on her bed, "Well at least you didn't say anything in front of my parents. They would have ripped you to shreds on my behalf."
Miranda took her hand off of her wand and sat up on the edge of her bed, astounded, "You're taking this rather well."
Ginny smiled grimly at her, even though she knew the older girl couldn't see her, "I have six brothers, I know how guys work. I guess I'd sort of prepared myself for this. At least you're nice. If you were a total bitch, I would have probably hexed you."
Miranda laughed, "Well thank you for not hexing me. I was rather afraid I wouldn't survive staying the night here."
Ginny pulled her covers up over herself, "The night's not over yet. I still have time to change my mind and be angry." She shrugged, "I guess that means I'm single again, right? If we weren't in the middle of a war, I could have a rebound boyfriend in ten minutes."
"You wouldn't really do that, would you?" Miranda said with a smile.
"Nah." Ginny replied and the two girls stayed up talking for another hour.
At breakfast, something wasn't sitting right with Miranda. Molly tittered on about Ron, Harry and Hermione, and Miranda listened intently, at least until a strange noise floated to her ear. "Do you lot hear that?"
"What?" Said Deep Voice, who she now knew to be a powerful and influential wizard named Kingsley.
"I don't hear anything, dear. Are you alright?" Molly asked.
"I'm fine." Miranda said as she stood from the table, excusing herself quietly, "That...hissing." She followed the noise, running into a door and fumbling helplessly with the knob, which obviously had been the victim of one of the Weasley's modifications.
"I hear it too." Arthur said suddenly, hopping up from his chair and opening the door for Miranda, "It's coming from my garage!"
"Oh, honestly, Arthur, what on earth have you got in there now?" Molly said, striding towards her husband's workshop. Miranda could imagine that her face was as red as her hair was likely to be in her frustration.
"Nothing, Molly, nothing! I haven't got anything..." He trailed off, "I did bring home a cursed little trinket from the office. They couldn't get the spells off of it. The thing bites. Yaxley brought it to the department for it to be investigated." The muggle fanatic said.
Miranda stopped, her head tipping to the side at the name, "Did you say Yaxley?"
"Yes, I did. How do you know about him?" Arthur said.
Miranda nodded, "He stole something from me, and I believe it's trying to come back to me." She made the final strides to the workshop and flipped the latch she found on the door.
She stopped once she entered, closing her eyes. She nearly cried when she felt the warm pulsing metal on the top of her foot, trying to slither up her leg. "Careful!" Arthur yelled, "It does bite."
Miranda bent down and picked up the thin silver snake, her eyes still closed. "It won't bite me."
"Bloody hell." Arthur said, watching a girl, barely any older than his youngest son holding the silver snake that had nearly killed two of his coworkers when it went for their throats.
"I'm sorry if it hurt anyone. It rather has a mind of it's own." Miranda said, holding the snake to her face and sighing contently and marveling at her luck. "It helps me see." And it apparently helped to keep the dark sparking monster at bay too.
"What?" Molly asked.
Miranda opened her eyes and Ginny gasped. "Your eyes are blue! They were hazel last night!" She exclaimed.
"So I've been told. I helped..." Miranda began.
Kingsley was staring at her, his wand pointed in her direction, yet again. And Miranda scowled at him yet again, "Yaxley took that off one of the girls that broke into the Ministry." He said, his tone demanding an explanation.
Miranda nodded furiously, her heart pounding, but the shaking didn't come, "Yes, that was me. I thought I told that last night? I was quite upset when I lost this." She turned her blue eyes to Arthur, "I must thank you for bringing it home with you. I can be a lot more use to everyone now." And hopefully she wouldn't accidentally kill or maim anyone while she figured out what was wrong with her.
"How could a silver snake bring back your sight?" The huge black man asked her, still keeping his wand trained on her.
Miranda shrugged, downplaying the fact that the man was more than a little terrifying, "I haven't the foggiest. I was just a child when my father gave it to me. He never explained the fine details and I didn't know it bit people that got too close without my permission until it bit my best friend's youngest brother when he tried to sneak up behind me. Past that, it's just a charmed bracelet."
Ginny approached cautiously, "It's really actually quite beautiful. For a snake."
Miranda smiled, "Thank you. I always thought it was too. This thing changed my life. I was almost totally blind for the first eleven years of my life." She looked the other girl over, "You are quite lovely. The red hair suits you much better than it does Ron."
Ginny laughed and slung an arm around her new friend's shoulder. "Don't I know it? Speaking of Ron...any news, mum?" She asked, looking at her mother.
Molly rung her hands, "He's at Shell Cottage with Bill. He doesn't want us to come see him." She looked upset by being rejected by her youngest son.
Miranda put a hand on the Matriarch's shoulder, "You shouldn't take it personally. He just doesn't want to put you in danger. He is supposed to be here sick in bed, right?"
Molly nodded, "I suppose that makes sense. Will you go see him?" Miranda murmured her affirmative. "Oh, alright, come on, girls, we might as well get a start on lunch."
She arched an eyebrow at Ginny as they went inside, "Didn't we just have breakfast?"
The red head shrugged with a smile, "Mum likes to cook when she's upset. I think it's part of the reason the Order has mostly been based here. Who wouldn't pass up free food?"
Ginny was a whole new sort of creature. Miranda had never met someone who simply glowed the way she did. As the day wore on and her time to floo to Shell Cottage approached, she couldn't help but feel insignificant in comparison to Ginny. What could she offer to Harry that Ginny couldn't? Nothing. Ginny had a family, and Miranda knew that that kind of background and support was invaluable.
It didn't matter anyway, after the war was over, when the truth was out, she and Harry would be over, one way or another. She was sitting in Ginny's room when the other girl found her. "Miranda, aren't you ready to go yet? Mum has the fireplace set up already."
Miranda had found a sweater of Harry's in Ron's room and had it draped over her lap. It was what she had found in the pocket of the pants under this sweater that had her wanting to start sobbing or to kill something to make herself feel better. Of course thinking of wanting to kill something only made her feel worse.
On a worn piece of paper, she had found a prophecy written, and she could only assume that this was they prophecy that Harry, Ron and Hermione had spoken of so frequently:
'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.'
Harry had interpreted it as that he just had to kill Voldemort, but Miranda read it differently. No one had factored her into the reading of this prophecy. She had to be a part of it, because she was Tom Marvolo Riddle's twin sister. She knew, deep down, that she was the 'other'. She blinked back tears at the thought of the implications of what had to happen if she was indeed, the 'other'.
"Ginny. I-I need to ask something of you." She began softly, her chest tight.
Ginny sat next to her, concerned, "What's wrong?"
Miranda felt like crying, at the blatant injustice of what she had discovered in the last two days. "Nothing yet, but, Ginny, if I don't make it through all of this, I need you to promise something."
"What is it?"
"We need to talk about Harry. At the end of the war, if he's still alive, he's going to need someone to be there to pick up the pieces." Miranda said.
"Miranda, I know you don't believe that I'm really okay with this, but I am..."
"No, Ginny. I want you to be the one that takes care of him if I can't."
"What do you mean if you can't take care of him?"
"I'm going to be quite plain. Ginny, if I die, if you still care about Harry, I give you my blessing to get back with him." Miranda said bluntly, wincing at her own words.
Ginny's hand snapped across her face. "You bitch!" Miranda just stared at the younger girl, stunned, her cheek stinging. "You make it sound like Harry's a pet we both want to adopt! He's not something you can just give away to anyone!"
Miranda felt like she could cry at any moment, her throat was tight and her jaw felt like jelly, "That's not...not what I'm saying..." She didn't know how to tell Ginny what she meant without telling her about the prophecy or who she was and how terribly he would hate her in the end. "I just...I don't want him to be alone."
Ginny's expression softened, "You know, it doesn't matter if he's not my boyfriend, Harry will always be my friend, and I'm going to be with him whenever he needs me." She shook her head, "Even if he did want to get back together, who's to say I would even still feel the same way?"
"I...understand." Miranda whispered.
Ginny pulled her to her feet, "Come on, if you don't go to Shell Cottage now, I think Mum will go in your place."
Miranda gave her a watery smile, "I just hope your brother doesn't hex me again."
Ginny laughed, handing her a well worn handkerchief, "You have a problem with that, don't you?"
Miranda couldn't help but to giggle as she wiped her eyes, "Yeah, this is actually the best introduction to new people I've had in recent months."
Ginny hugged her before she stepped into the fireplace, her bags a little heavier, with food and some things the other three had left, as well as the folded piece of paper in her front pocket. "I think you and I are going to get along just fine, Miranda Peverell. Even though I bet he does hex you. You just make sure to bring them all back to us in one piece."
Miranda smiled at her new friend, "I'm going to do my best, Ginny. I really am." As she stepped into the fire, she braced herself for what would happen next, even though she knew that no amount of fore knowledge would make a difference. To bring her brother down, good people were going to have to die. The only thing she could do was make sure he went with them. And if she had to go with him, so be it.
The next chapter has already been edited and will be up this weekend!
Would love to know what you think!
-Jenn