"Mom, dad?" Ginny whispered, her face a mixture of shock and confusion. Harry, what are they doing here? She sent, starting to panic internally. Oh god, they're going to expel me aren't they, they have to be. She was starting to shake now. Concerned, Harry laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. It's alright Gin, I won't let them take you away. They probably just want to ask about what happened in the chamber.
Indeed he was correct, as soon as they stepped into the room, McGonagall - noticing Ginny's distress - was quick to reassure her. "You have nothing to fear, Miss Weasley, you will not be expelled for something that was beyond your control. The headmaster, your parents, and I wish only to hear of your ordeal as you experienced it.
Mrs Weasley, unable to contain herself any longer, flew out of her chair and at her daughter, engulfing her in a smothering hug. "Oh my poor Ginny, you're safe, you're really safe!" Ginny, resigned to her fate, looked at Harry through a gap in her mum's arms.
Oh, don't look so high and mighty, she told the snickering boy, smugly, She'll be after you next, and you're the one who saved me, O' valiant one. Harry's expression quickly changed to one of horror, before he schooled it into a mask as Mrs Weasley released Ginny and turned on him.
"And you saved her!" She cried, wrapping him up in a similar, if not more excruciating hug. Behind them, Mr Weasley chuckled. "We Weasleys seem to be building a debt towards you Harry, first Ron and now Ginny.
"Oh, no sir," Harry gasped for breath, "They're my friends, I would never expect anything in return…"
"And that, Harry, is what makes you so special." The headmaster interrupted, his twinkling eyes looking at the scene with amusement. "Release the poor boy Molly, before you do any permanent damage." He said after a moment.
She did so, stepping back to take him in before thanking him once more. "And I'd do it again Mrs Weasley." He promised. At that, Ginny felt butterflies in her stomach and to her dismay, it turned out Harry felt it too, sending a feeling of mirth across their link.
"Right," Dumbledore said, taking control of the conversation, "If you would take your seats, we have much to discuss."
Ginny sank into the free armchair next to her parents. Sensing that Harry was about to stand behind her chair, she turned and glared at him until he relented and squished into the seat next to her. It wasn't a very big chair but they were relatively small, even for 12 and 13 year olds. Mr Weasley raised an eyebrow at the arrangement but aside from that nobody objected in any way.
With the fire crackling merrily in the background, Ginny took a moment to look around the room. She had seen it of course in Harry's memory from earlier in the year, but she had never been inside it herself until now. It was circular, as pertaining to its position in the tower, and filled with many kinds of gizmos and gadgets. She thought she could even recognise some Muggle toys similar to those her dad collected.
The walls were covered almost entirely by portraits of previous headmasters, pretending to be asleep, above the oaken wainscoting. She paused for a moment, wondering how she knew that word, before remembering Harry had been taken along to a stately home for Dudley's birthday and had talked to some of the guides before Dudley had pitched a tantrum about it being boring and demanded to go to Lazer tag - which Harry was not invited to.
Scowling slightly at the thought, she turned her attention back to the office. It had a cluttered, but cozy atmosphere about it which reminded Ginny fondly of home. Feeling more at ease now than she had been when she walked in, she listened to Professor Dumbledore as he started speaking.
"Harry, I'm going to ask you first. What was it that made you go down to the chamber, how did you discover its location and how did you open it? Try to leave as little out as possible, any school rules that may have been broken will be overlooked of course, given the situation…"
So they told him the story, all of it. The further they got, the paler Ginny's parents became. As they reached the part where Harry and Ron discovered the monster was a basilisk, even the normally unflappable McGonagall was visibly shaken. At the point where Harry opened the chamber, the headmaster paused them and asked for a demonstration of Harry's parseltongue ability. The boy's face screwed up for a moment in concentration before Ginny heard a faint hissing emanating from him. Concerningly, she also realised she understood him, he had said "the trick is to think of snakes."
Ginny, shocked at this revelation, totally missed the next few minutes of the conversation. When she finally came back down to earth, she heard Harry telling Dumbledore about the fight with the basilisk, and felt his concern for her through their link. I'm fine she told him, eliciting a mental sigh of relief. I was just shocked at how I understood you. It probably shouldn't surprise me, what with all the other crazy things that have happened to us today.
Harry paused in the middle of his retelling, and asked for water. McGonagall quickly transfigured a nearby quill into a goblet and poured a stream of water into it using her wand. As Harry drank deeply from it, he spoke to Ginny mentally. Gin, I know we're both new to this, and you've just had a shock about being a parselmouth, but it is really hard to concentrate on telling a story and have a mental conversation with you at the same time.
Ginny blushed scarlet, embarrassed at her lack of thought. She must've been getting too used to the instant communication she and Harry enjoyed. She needed to pay more attention to his senses and stop trying to separate him from her as she had been doing. Letting down the mental barriers she'd developed to be able to act semi-normally at breakfast, she fully immersed herself in their bond once more, just as Harry continued with his account.
All the time Harry talked, Ginny started experimenting with what their bond allowed. She could see all that Harry could see, he was mostly looking at the attentive face of Professor Dumbledore, but he occasionally glanced at the others in the room to gauge their reactions. She could also see all of his memories. After playing around for a bit, she worked out that she could recall every detail of every memory Harry had, and even - to her delight - her own. Even things she'd long since forgotten, such as where she'd hidden George's stuffed teddy as a child - she'd have to find it over the summer and surprise him with it. She felt a wry splash of amusement from Harry at the thought, Her mother really had been angry when she found out. Even more so when Ginny could't remember the location of the toy after the fact. She felt Harry shudder slightly, glancing nervously at Mrs Weasley, falling over his words even as he spoke
She focused back on the conversation, trying to keep Harry's perspective in her mind's eye as she did so. It was difficult, and the concentration it required rendered it impossible for her to maintain a conversation, but she could pay attention to both sets of images simultaneously. It was a start she supposed. The topic at hand had moved on from evil diaries, sinister memories and giant snakes, moving on to more mundane topics such as plans for the summer.
"Mom," Ginny said, a flash of inspiration striking her suddenly, despite Harry's protests. "Do you think Harry would be able to stay with us over the summer? He doesn't exactly get treated well at home." This had the desired effect, with Mrs Weasley leaping up to embrace the boy, Immediately offering up their home as a place for him to stay. Before Dumbledore intervened. "As much as I'd love for Harry to reside with you, it is necessary for him to return to Privet Drive over the summer."
Ginny's anger slowly boiled over at these words. "Why not?" she snapped. "Do you have any idea how he is treated over there? He is beaten and malnourished, Professor. He is forced to do all the housework for them. You can't make him go back there!" She finished her tirade and glared at the headmaster accusingly.
He sighed, taking off his pointed hat and placing it on the desk before him. In one moment he appeared to age a dozen years as he looked down forlornly. "Perhaps you are right," he whispered, "perhaps I have fixated too much on the wards, and not what they have cost the boy they were intended to protect." He sat there for a moment, looking harrowed yet thoughtfully at the hat, but not quite seeing it. "Molly, Arthur, I know I am not in a position to ask this, but would you mind if Harry came to the burrow for the summer, at least until I can find some other location for him to reside in.
"Of course," Mr Weasley replied, glancing at his wife, who was still holding Harry in her embrace, and chuckled. "It seems Molly's become rather attached to the boy, and I'm sure Ginny wouldn't mind if Harry came round." He said, raising an eyebrow suggestively at her, causing her to blush scarlet and start stuttering, much to Harry's amusement.
"Thank you ever so much Mr and Mrs Weasley." Harry mumbled, his voice muffled by Mrs Weasley's hug. She released him then, holding him by the shoulders and looking into his deep green eyes. "You're quite welcome Harry, I'm sure you will find much to do at the Burrow with Ron, Ginny, and the twins." she smiled.
"Anyhow," Mr Weasley said, rising from his chair, "We'd best get off and prepare a room for Harry's arrival, and I'm sure these two have other things they ought to be doing today." With a nod from Dumbledore, signifying the meeting's end, Ginny's parents flood out, and Professor McGonagall herded them towards the door, leaving the - still saddened - headmaster sitting at his desk.
When they got out into the corridor, Ginny realised they had the perfect opportunity. After a quick correspondence with Harry, she turned and opened her mouth to speak. "Professor, do you think we would be able to talk to you privately?" She asked their head of house.
