The next day was Sunday, the official end of term. Harry had stayed awake most of the previous night brooding over Sirius Black, and slept in late. When he awoke, he was in no shape or mood to begin any sort of mental training.

On Monday, the four friends met in Harry and Ron's room. They could talk privately there, as the other three roommates had left for the holiday, along with most of the other students.

Ginny took a breath, and began. "Ron, before we begin, there's something you need to know. Did Harry tell you where I learned Legilimency?"

"No. I assumed Lupin's been teaching you both."

Harry said, "No. I just found out the other day too."

Ron said, "Okay. What's the big secret?"

Ginny said, "I learned it from the diary. From Riddle."

Ron made a face. "Bloody hell. That's the last person you'd want in their head. Are you alright?"

"It didn't seem like a big deal at the time. Looking back on it doesn't feel great, knowing what I know now, but I'm dealing with it."

"Good. Still don't know why you kept it a secret though. I get not wanting the whole world to know, seeing how some might take it, but you can't think any of us would hold it against you."

Hermione made an uncomfortable sound in her throat. "That's my fault. When she first told me, I had a rather more forceful reaction than you or Harry."

Ginny snorted. "Yeah, that's one way of putting it."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. We hadn't talked much before that. I was just the girl who got you and a bunch of other students petrified."

"Even so."

"At least you took the threat seriously."

Ron scowled at Hermione. "My sister is not a threat."

"Yes, I know that now," Hermione snapped.

Ginny said, "The way she reacted was better than going too far the other direction. Our whole family sees me as the baby they need to take care of, and Harry is too trusting and forgiving in general."

When Harry frowned at this, she told him, "Don't take it the wrong way. You don't know how grateful I am that you're like that with me. It still makes me terrified for you."

Ron asked, "If you and Hermione weren't even friends yet, why did you tell her and not us?"

"I thought it'd be easier to get her started on it first, then bring you guys in. I didn't mean to let it go this long, but with Black and the Dementors and everything, and Harry already busy learning the Patronus, there never seemed to be a good time. Sorry."

Ron shrugged. "No harm done."

Harry said, "Sure. And now that everyone knows, including Lupin, I guess he can help."

Ginny said, "We can ask him, but I don't think he knows Occlumency. His mind didn't feel closed off, like Hermione's does when I test her progress. It just wasn't a place I felt safe hanging around in." She grimaced at the memory. "The wolf in him is–territorial, I guess?"

Hermione said, "Oh, how fascinating. I haven't come across any mention of that in my reading. I suppose since Legilimency and the werewolf curse are both rare, any interaction between them would be even more so. At least that dreadful curse has a tiny bit of silver lining. Er, sorry. Poor choice of words."

Ginny said, "I wonder if this is what makes Lupin think there might be other defenses against Dementors, even if he doesn't know them–or doesn't want to tell us."

"It sounds like the Patronus is the only safe way. It's the same as with Legilimency. As much as I hate the idea of anyone forcing their way into my mind, I certainly have no intention of asking Professor Lupin to infect me, in hopes of getting whatever sort of protection he has."

Ron said, "Ginny's onto something though, thinking about uncommon defense strategies. Maybe not for Legilimency or Dementors, if the alternatives have too much downside. But if you look at all the times Harry or his parents faced Riddle and managed to drive him away, it never came down to ordinary dueling."

Harry gave him a glum look. "You mean I got lucky, and caught him by surprise. The problem is, I don't know how long my luck will hold out. The more I learn about all the different spells he can use against me, the more it seems like I'll never learn enough to beat him."

"Maybe you don't have to. Maybe you just need to keep learning ways to distract him, or trick him, or surprise him by being better than he expects. For long enough for help to arrive, at least."

Ginny added, "You don't need to be good enough to beat Riddle by yourself. We won't let it come to that."

Ron and Hermione voiced their agreement.

"Thanks," Harry said quietly.

Ron said, "Of course. But to my other point, if we don't think we can beat Riddle at his own game, we don't try. We force him to play a different game."

"And we don't hesitate to cheat," Ginny added.

Harry said, "Sounds good, but how?"

Ron said, "Uh, well…"

Ginny waved this concern away. "Hermione will figure something out."

"Oh, sure, simple as that," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes. "I agree with the basic premise though. I think you're talking about what Muggles call asymmetric warfare."

"Not sure what that is, but I like the sound of it," Ron said.

"I don't know much about it, to be honest," she admitted. "But the basic idea is if the other side has a bigger army with more or better guns, or more magic users who know more dangerous spells, you don't line up against them on opposite sides of a battlefield and have it out. You use ambushes and sneak attacks and such instead."

Ron nodded. "Come at them from the side or behind, rather than head-on."

"Yes, though you might also attack them head-on at the same time as a distraction, so they don't see your actual main strike until it's too late."

Harry said, "Alright. How do we start? With getting good enough to hold Riddle off as long as possible, I mean."

"Depends how much of a hurry you're in," Ginny told him.

"If Riddle is in my head like he was in yours, I want him out now."

She shifted uncomfortably. "I get it, but the fastest way would be awful for both of us. I would have to attack your mind over and over, trying to drag your most painful memories to the surface, while you try to stop me. The idea is to make it suck as much as possible, so you're forced to fight back as hard as possible."

"Oh. Is there a less awful way?"

"Yeah. The less awful way is how I learned, believe it or not. It's how I've been teaching Hermione. But to make progress, you need to put in a lot of time." She gave Hermione a pointed look, which Hermione ignored.

Harry asked, "When you tried it on Lupin, you had to be in the same room, right? You had to see him, like with most spells?"

"Right. I needed to make eye contact. It also helps to say something to prompt the person's thoughts to move in the direction you want."

"If I'm looking Riddle in the eye, I'm already in trouble. I'm hoping he doesn't find any new people or diaries or anything to possess any time soon. I vote for the slower but less awful option."

Ron said, "Neither option sounds that great to me. I get why Harry needs this, but it's not like I know any secrets Riddle would care about."

Hermione gave him a pleading look. "Please do this with us. Maybe you don't need it as much as Harry right now. But if you don't learn it, there could come a time when we have to keep things from you, for your safety and ours. We can't let that happen. You and Harry and I have stuck together since first year, and we still need you. Maybe now more than ever."

Ron looked at Harry, then back at Hermione. "Alright. I'm in."

"Good," she said, letting out a breath. "Before we leave, we'll give you both some exercises to practice."

"Oh, great. Homework. I should have known."

"It's for your own benefit, you know. The more effort you put into practicing on your own, the less likely you are to let embarrassing memories slip when Ginny starts testing you."

"Yeah, alright."

Hermione described the mental exercises Ginny had taught her. Ginny was content to let her handle the lecturing, just adding a point here or there.

After that, they decided they'd spent enough time on the subject for one day.

~*~

Christmas morning arrived later that week. Among the gifts Harry received, he found one with no note to identify the sender. When he opened it, he and Ron stared at it in silence for several seconds.

"Mate…" Ron managed at last.

"Yeah."

"That's…"

"Yeah."

"Who sent it?"

"I don't know. There's no note."

"McGonagall? She got you the Nimbus."

"Yeah, but a Firebolt is a whole other level. And I can't see her doing it anonymously."

"Dumbledore? He gave you the Cloak anonymously."

"That wasn't really from him though. He was passing it along from my dad."

At that moment, Hermione and Ginny came in, with Hermione holding Crookshanks.

"Hey!" Ron objected, "How about knocking? And why did you bring that monster?"

Ginny froze when she saw what Harry was holding. "No fucking way!"

"Ginny!" Hermione objected.

Ginny ignored her. "Harry, that's…"

"Yeah. I know."

Hermione looked at what he held. "What? It's just a broom."

The other three turned to her with affronted looks. In unison they exclaimed, "A Firebolt is not just a broom!"

Hermione frowned. "Isn't that the new one that's frightfully expensive? Who would send something like that?"

"Dunno. No note," Harry answered.

Ginny suggested, "A rich Gryffindor alum who wants to see Harry destroy the other teams." She grinned at Harry. "Do you think Malfoy will cry when he sees it? I bet he cries. Ah, sucks that you already played Slytherin this year. I bet he still cries though, out of pure envy."

Harry laughed. "Oliver is going to cry tears of pure joy."

"Harry, I don't know about this," Hermione said. "You've had trouble with cursed Quidditch equipment before. More than once."

"No one would curse a Firebolt," Ron told her. "That's… sacrilege."

Just then, Crookshanks managed to heave himself out of Hermione's arms, and proceeded to go straight for Scabbers. Ron grabbed his pet with a yelp and lifted him out of reach.

"The only thing that's cursed is that mangy demon of yours!" Ron roared. "Get it out of here!"

"Stop yelling! You'll scare him!" Hermione shouted back. She picked up Crookshanks and carried him out of the room.

Ginny sat next to Harry to get a better look at the broom. They gazed upon it in awe, then looked up and grinned at each other.

In the same instant, they both realized they were not only quite close to each other, which was common, but quite close to each other on his bed, which was not. At least, not since her first rough nights in the hospital wing, after he rescued her from the Chamber. This felt different.

Ginny blushed and jumped up. "Er, sorry."

"No, it's okay. I just–Ginny, it's fine."

"No, I know. Um, I should see what Hermione's up to. See you both down in the common room in a bit?" She bolted from the room without waiting for an answer.

"Great," Ron muttered. "Back to this again, are we?"

"What?" Harry asked.

"Nothing."

"So… Firebolt," Harry said.

"Damn right, Firebolt. I hope Malfoy does cry."

"It's what I've asked Santa for every year since I got here."

Ron laughed. "Maybe we'll get a Christmas miracle."

~*~

Ginny made her way to Hermione's room. She felt awkward about whatever boundary she'd unintentionally crossed with Harry, but also really did need to talk to Hermione. She hadn't liked the way the other witch had been eyeing Harry's new broom before she got distracted by her cat going all Hungarian Horntail.

"Quite the Christmas gift, huh?" Ginny asked as she stepped into the room.

"Yes," Hermione answered. "Especially for an anonymous gift."

Ginny was quiet, then in a resigned tone admitted, "Okay, yeah, it's possible. Damn it. But you have to convince Harry. He's had too many people hiding stuff from him lately, including us. You can't go behind his back."

"About what?"

"You know what. You can't turn it the Firebolt in."

"It could be from Black!"

"I know it could," Ginny said. "But you have to convince Harry, and get him to turn it in to get checked."

"I saw how the three of you were staring at that broom. I'm glad you're being reasonable, but Harry and Ron will never agree. Don't worry though. It'll all work out in the end, and they'll see I was right all along."

"In the end? I thought you stayed here for the holiday to hang out with us."

"And?"

"How's that going to work if you're at war with the guys?"

Ginny realized she'd chosen the wrong argument when she saw Hermione's lips press together.

"At least Harry will be safe," Hermione said. "Sometimes you have to do what's right, even if it makes you unpopular. And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you going to be at war with me too?"

"No one has to be at war with anyone. If you and I both go to them and explain why we need to be careful, they won't be happy, but it'll be a thousand times worse if you go behind their backs. We're all supposed to be on the same team here."

"I'm keeping my team from getting killed by a cursed broom!"

"And that's a good thing, but there's a better way to do it."

"What if Harry says no?"

"Then as a last resort, you can go to McGonagall yourself."

"And you'll be on my side if I do?"

"I won't stop speaking to you, but if they do, I won't stop speaking to them either."

"Even though they'd be in the wrong?"

"They may not even give me the choice. We're both going to argue for turning it in. If they freeze you out, they'll probably do the same to me."

Hermione snorted. "As if Harry would ever do that to you."

"Don't be so sure. It is a Firebolt. At least his Nimbus 2000 is still a decent broom. I don't think anyone here has anything better, aside from the Slytherin team, and we already won our match against them for the season."

"When you put it like that, it's not such a big deal after all."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. It's a Firebolt. It's a huge deal. I better talk to Harry alone. You don't get it, so you'll be too dismissive. Besides, having you and Ron involved would only add drama."

"I suppose. Ron does try to provoke me for no reason."

"Uh. Sure. I'll talk to Harry after the feast. He won't have time to go flying before then, and I don't want to ruin his day sooner than I have to. Just don't do anything on your own. Agreed?"

"I agree to try it your way first. If he won't be reasonable about keeping himself safe, I'll have to do it."

"I hope it doesn't come to that. But while we're on the subject, I've been kicking around an idea for how to get him away from those awful relatives of his."

"What's your idea?"

"Burn their house down."

"That's not funny."

"It wasn't meant to be."

Hermione stared at her. "Besides the fact that arson is a crime, and wrong, we'd never get away with it. We're not allowed to use magic outside of school."

"That's why I'm asking you for help. Are you a Muggle-born or not?"

"Oh, right! Whoa, déjà vu." She shook her head. "Using non-magical means wouldn't work either. The magical authorities might not notice, but the Muggle ones would. They can tell if someone set a fire intentionally. And it's still wrong, no matter the method. We're not doing that."

"I haven't heard any better ideas."

"I can't believe I'm having this conversation. In fact, I'm not. We're done. Besides, our priority right now is to get this whole broom issue sorted."

"Alright. After the feast."

~*~

Ginny handled the delicate issue of the Firebolt differently than Hermione would have in more ways than one. Going to Harry instead of straight to McGonagall was just the first of these.

Ginny told Harry she worried the broom might be cursed, but admitted she couldn't be sure. She didn't confront him with the unshakable sense of her own rightness that Hermione often brought to an argument, and this made him less defensive in response.

He could see Ginny understood the sacrifice she was asking him to make, which made it easier to bear. She was by his side for moral support as he made the long walk from his room to his Head of House's office. She took one of his hands in her own, while he carried the Firebolt gripped tight in his other.

McGonagall was as awed by the broom as her students, and as disappointed over not being able to put it to immediate use on the Gryffindor team, though she showed greater restraint in expressing those feelings. Harry felt somewhat comforted by how proud she was of him, which she showed by awarding him five house points for acting responsibly.

Harry hadn't forgotten that Hermione had been the first to raise objections, but he knew her intentions were the same as Ginny's, so he couldn't in fairness be angry at just one of them.

Ron was also consistent in his reactions, but in the opposite direction. He was outraged at both girls when he found out, though once it became clear Harry wasn't holding a grudge, Ron let the matter drop after taking a day to stew over it. After all, it was Harry's broom at stake.

~*~

Less simple to resolve was the conflict over Crookshanks' ongoing efforts to remind Scabbers of their relative positions in the food chain.

Harry leaned towards Ron's side, on the grounds that Hermione's pet was the aggressor, while Ginny thought Crookshanks was merely following his natural predator instincts. She'd never liked the rat, and summed up her feelings by saying, "Cats are pets. Rats are vermin."

All the same, Harry and Ginny both did what they could to smooth things over. After one shouting match between Ron and Hermione that ended with Hermione storming away, Ginny suggested getting a cage.

Ron asked, "Do you think she'd go for it?"

"I meant for Scabbers."

"Scabbers? He's the victim! Hermione should either train her cat, or cage him."

"It would be cruel to keep a cat locked in a cage. A rat doesn't need as much space to roam. Especially one as lazy as Scabbers. Besides, it would also keep him safe from the other cats. And the owls. I'm sure they'd see him as a tasty snack too."

Ron hotly retorted with a lengthy diatribe to the effect that Hedwig–for example–was a brilliant and kindhearted creature who would never resort to coldblooded murder, unlike Hermione's demon pet, and that this difference demonstrated something profound about the character of their respective owners.

On another occasion, Harry suggested, "Let's settle it with rooster, Basilisk, Acromantula."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Hermione demanded.

"It's a game to settle things. Rooster crows at Basilisk, Basilisk scares Acromantula, Acromantula eats rooster." As he explained, he demonstrated a series of hand signs which formed crude representations of the animals he named.

"That's awful. You could just play rock, paper, scissors like a normal person. And why not sword slays Basilisk? Then Acromantula, um…"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Duh. Sword of Gryffindor slays anything."

Hermione said, "It's still ridiculous. I'm not doing that."

Harry said, "Right. I'll shoot for Hermione then. On three."

Ron said, "No way. You always win. How about a game of chess?"

"Nice try, but same problem in the other direction."

Hermione ended the discussion by asserting, "Reasonable people settle differences of opinion with informed debate, not games."

As a last resort, Ginny turned to Percy for help, as the one person in the castle besides Ron who might feel genuine concern for Scabbers' well-being.

Percy presented Ron with a cage, and after a long discussion, Ron agreed to use it–mainly to escape the discussion.

Ron did make use of the cage, though not consistently, and so the issue was less than fully resolved.

~*~

The saga of the Firebolt continued through into January and the resumption of classes. McGonagall tried to remain patient with Harry's regular queries about getting it back, but was less measured in her response to Oliver Wood's suggestion that even with a cursed broom, Harry could probably hang on long enough to catch the Snitch.

Ginny commiserated with Harry each time he returned from McGonagall's office with the same disappointed look on his face, but she couldn't actually do anything to fix the situation.

There was one problem she could do something about. She'd been helping Hermione with research for Buckbeak's legal case, but she felt her real strengths lay in more direct action. Practicing over the holiday, she'd gained confidence in her ability at the mind arts, and was ready to put her skills to another test.

Catching up with Malfoy in the corridor one afternoon, she called out, "Hey, Drakey!"

When he turned to sneer at her, she looked him in the eye and asked, "What's new? Your daddy get any new Dark objects lately?"

"Watch your mouth, Weaselette. One day you and your father are both going to wind up in Azkaban for harassment and slander. Of course, I'm sure that'd be an improvement over your current living conditions."

"Uh-huh. Listen, tell your father I asked if he knows any good Riddles. Say it exactly like that. Riddles, not jokes. Although the particular Riddle I'm thinking of is a joke–a bad one. You can tell him I said that, too."

Malfoy gave her a baffled look. With a shake of his head and a parting sneer, he turned and continued down the corridor without another word.

She'd gotten nothing more than a quick mental image of a hidden room in Malfoy Manor, but that was enough for a letter to her father, letting him know right where to search on his next raid.

She explained her knowledge by claiming to have overheard Draco bragging to his friends, and hoped that all the times her parents had caught her eavesdropping at home would make this plausible. To make sure her father followed through, she ended the letter by writing how worried she was Malfoy might use the Dark objects in his possession to hurt someone else like he'd hurt her.

She felt guilty about the lying, though less so about the emotional manipulation. It wasn't a stretch to think that if the Malfoy family had their hands on cursed objects, they'd put them to terrible use sooner or later.

The next day, the Daily Prophet reported on a raid of Malfoy Manor which turned up several objects of questionable legality. Ginny also received a letter from her father, reassuring her he wouldn't let Lucius Malfoy hurt her or anyone else.

Lucius Malfoy found he had more pressing matters to spend his political capital–and actual capital–on than continuing his vendetta against a Hippogriff.

Hagrid was overjoyed when he received the news that Buckbeak was no longer in danger. Ron and Hermione put their differences aside to join Harry and Ginny in celebrating with him.

Ginny felt she'd repaid a small part of the debt she owed the groundskeeper, even if he refused to accept that she owed him anything.

Draco gave her more than one suspicious look in the days following the raid. She knew this might lead to consequences somewhere down the line, but on the other hand, fuck him and his whole family. She'd barely even started settling that account.

~*~

The two other ongoing situations–the broom and the rat–both came to an end without further involvement from Ginny.

With a pleased smile, McGonagall returned Harry's Firebolt–verified by Flitwick and Hooch to be curse-free–just in time for Gryffindor's match with Ravenclaw.

The following day, Scabbers went missing, with nothing left behind but drops of blood on Ron's bedsheet, and a tuft of incriminating cat hairs.