Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I write for entertainment purposes only.

Author's Note: I apologize for not getting this out sooner, but it was a bit of a hectic, busy week for me last week. We're one chapter away from a most important meeting between Ginny and Sirius, but I won't spoil any surprises. For now, we'll visit her as she receives some more news. Thank you for all your comments! I appreciate each and every one!

Prisoner 79934: Ginevra Weasley

By: Rae

-A "Harry Potter" Story-

It was another gray morning, and Ginny could hear distant rumbles as she slowly sat up from another nightmare. But when the nightmares followed you into wakefulness, were they truly nightmares? Or were they just grim reality? She shook the thought away, banishing it to examine later.

The days had passed, and she wondered if it had been five or six days since her parents' visit. Sometimes time slowed to a crawl and passed in such a monotonous manner that she couldn't remember if it was day or night, especially with such gray days of late. She decided she didn't want to know.

Lucretia had yet to stir from her torpor. Lately the Dementor visits left her silent once they'd slithered their way out of her hall. Ginny often wondered what the other witch dreamed of afterward because she spent much of her restless nights alternating between muttering curses and begging the Dark Lord for something unintelligible. Given how her own dreams had turned so dark and foreboding, Ginny didn't doubt the other woman suffered a similar fate.

The door at the end of the hall clanged open, the sound of booted feet bustled toward her, and Ginny stared at the bars. A moment passed before Dirk's form appeared from the left. He marched to the bars with a tray of mush and…was that a newspaper? She narrowed her eyes, wondering.

"Well, well, Heir of Slytherin, I suppose I have the honor of sharing the news wi' ya this mornin'," he greeted, bending down to slide the mush through the small opening towards her. It sloshed out, and she barely noticed, hanging on his words.

A slow dread crept over her. It had been a week. What news would he share? The anticipation and fear held her in its grasp, and she held her breath.

"Minister 'imself sent it this mornin'," he said, pulling the paper out from under his arm. "Said ter gi' it to you straight away." Dirk opened the newspaper before him and scanned the contents. He looked up at her and studied her for a brief moment before sighing.

"Won' say as I'm surprised, but well…" his voice trailed off, and he looked down at the ground. "Well, you'll see."

He tossed the paper through the bars and turned to march back up the corridor without a word. Ginny stared down at the paper, reaching a tremulous hand toward it. She steeled herself with a breath and then picked it up, flipping it over to see the front page.

"Wizarding Britain Can Rest Easy After Heir of Slytherin Is Expelled."

The large print leapt off the page, and her heart slammed into her chest even as she uttered a wordless cry. The paper fell from her fingers, forgotten, as her mind whirled with the implications.

Expelled.

She was expelled from Hogwarts. Mr. Putterglen had failed. Her parents had failed. Even Dumbledore had failed. All the letters from teachers and friends and Harry meant nothing. The Wizengamot had gotten their way, and now she had nothing. No wand. No education. What would she do?

What could she do?

Ginny latched onto that thought. The only person she knew who had been expelled from Hogwarts was Hagrid. Hagrid had his umbrella that everyone suspected had become the home for his broken wand and served as a replacement for the magical core. He had Dumbledore on his side and his job as Hogwarts' groundskeeper to keep him occupied and in the center of magic being taught all around him.

Ginny very much doubted whether anyone would ever allow her to come close to Hogwarts again. No one would want the Heir of Slytherin near their children. A job working in Hogwarts would likely not be an option for her.

What would be?

Oh, her parents would let her come home to stay and would allow her to live with them during the rest of her adolescence, she supposed. But they wouldn't give her another wand. Her father worked for the Ministry, after all, and he couldn't be seen breaking the law. Her mother might have wanted to continue her education in private, but she knew they'd be watched to make sure they didn't try to help her learn magic. And then, when she was an adult, what would she do? Maybe she could go join a nice Muggle-born's family and learn how to do things the Muggle way.

That thought gave her a dark chuckle. She imagined showing up on the Grangers' doorstep with Hermione, begging them to take her in and teach her how to operate a Muggle kitchen. Or watch one of those…what was the word? Telly? She couldn't remember.

Suddenly she realized throughout her ruminating she'd been rocking back and forth, holding her knees to her chest. Ginny slowly released her legs and straightened them out before her. She sat up ramrod straight, her mind blazing with one thought.

I am a witch, and I am innocent!

She picked up the paper and began to read. By the time she was done, the blazing thought had turned into a righteous indignation that left her feeling raw and burnt through. The article was worse than she'd imagined, and she realized that it didn't matter that her parents, teachers, friends, even Dumbledore were in her corner. The rest of the Wizarding world had no idea what had happened in the Chamber of Secrets or indeed through the year when Tom Riddle had terrorized Hogwarts.

Even if they did, she thought, there was no way they'd have ever believed her over the word of people like Lucius Malfoy.

The reminder of the elder Malfoy made her even more furious. He was the entire reason she'd been put in this predicament. She was convinced he'd somehow slipped her the diary. There was no other explanation. Lucretia had said he could have been given something that belonged to the Dark Lord, and since the other witch had clearly been one of his followers, she was probably right.

Ginny knew there was perhaps a thread of madness in agreeing with Lucretia or even in trusting her judgment, but the other witch was her only ally in this horrific place. Lucretia had been teaching her things she would never learn elsewhere. She'd gifted her knowledge and companionship despite Ginny's so-called crimes, and in Ginny's book, that mattered a lot.

Was it safe to trust Lucretia? No.

Ginny's heart hardened. If the outside world was going to turn on her, if her parents and those she trusted couldn't help her out of this mess, she'd have to find her own way in the world. So maybe she wouldn't trust Lucretia–not entirely–but she would take what she could from the other witch and learn it very, very well. If she ever got out of Azkaban, Ginny vowed, she would take down every person who had determined to put her in there and make them pay.

In the distance, she heard another door clang. A biting cold filtered through the hallway. She heard Lucretia stir briefly before an ear-splitting shriek filled the air. The Dementors had come back for the other witch again.

As Lucretia lapsed into her lunatic ramblings and screams behind her, Ginny almost wished the Dementors would come for her. At least they'd make her forget the newspaper for a while if they did, and she could see Tom again.

She lay down on the pallet, bowl of mush forgotten, and tried to sleep. She could rage at him in her dreams.