June 1st - June 19th
It's almost summer! The last few weeks of school have come, and students will need to study hard for their final exams! Don't let up yet, or your grades won't be what you want them to. Of course, the weather is almost perfect and pristine, in attempts to lure students away from their studies.
Fade Together [3/14 ; ISO: Ginny]After a few days of opening the fridge and finding nothing, thus resorting to ordering pizza or Chinese food, Harry grudgingly decided he needed to go out and get some food. Grocery shopping wasn't one of Harry's favorite passtime, but unfortunately, it was a necessary part in sustaining his life and thus needed to be done. And because he lived in a Muggle village, he was forced to do everything the hard way. Instead of being able to wave his wand and get what he needed, Harry had to get himself into his care, drive down to town, find the supermarket, grab and cart, and manually fill it up with the necessities. It was tedious work, but for some reason, as Harry walked through the many isles within the store, he felt himself feeling strangely calm. The whole shopping in the supermarket thing was rather soothing and Harry idly thought that maybe he should do this a bit more often.
Of course, he felt like a pathetic bachelor as he walked through the store having no idea what he wanted and needed. He also felt quite pathetic picking up a whole bunch of microwavable dinners and made a silent promise to attempt to cook something at least once a week. And, if he could manage it, without magic even. It was definitely a stretch, but it wasn't as though he had any other hobbies he could indulge in around the village. While he would have loved to take out his broom every now and then, he couldn't simply go outside and do it. He'd have to find some secluded area away from Muggles to do a bit of flying, and most of the time Harry was far too lazy or unmotivated to go through all of that trouble. So a hobby like cooking would definitely lighten up his life a bit more, not to mention Harry could never imagine himself doing something like knitting or whatever. That would just be reaching a whole other level of pathetic that Harry wasn't willing to dabble in.
But what Harry really needed in his life was a person. He'd isolate himself so much that he hardly knew what to do when someone actually talked to him. Teaching apparition lessons was good for him and being able to wander through Hogwarts had been useful in trying to reintroduce himself back into society, but it wasn't enough. Harry needed friends again. He needed someone in his life, but at the same time he didn't want just anyway. Who he really wanted was Ginny, though he wasn't sure what chance there was of that. Although the two had reconciled to an extent (and did a bit more that Harry often blushed at when he found himself thinking about it), but they hadn't left on perfect terms, exactly. Ginny had tried to get him involved in the fight again, but Harry hadn't been willing to be dragged back into the thing that had destroyed his life. He was sick of fighting and he just wanted to rest. He wanted to try and be normal, despite the futility of that attempt. But at least if he didn't get involved, he would at least be able to continue living.
Harry finally reached home, trunk filled with a few paper bags of food. He put his car in park and, like any typical male, attempted to carry all of the bags at once to avoid making a second trip. He was, for the most part, successful in carrying everything, though he looked as though he would drop something at any moment. And once he saw that his door had been forced open, he almost did. But somehow, Harry managed to run to his house without dropping anything and once he was in, quickly set his bags in the kitchen before grabbing his wand out of his pocket. He knew it was risky using magic against someone who could possibly be a Muggle burglar, but Harry wasn't willing to take the chance. He knew that the Death Eaters were active again and if the Ministry could find him, it wouldn't be long before the Death Eaters found him, too.
Wand held tightly in hand, Harry quickly and quietly moved from the kitchen to the hallway, heart pounding against his chest. It had been a while since he'd felt like this and he felt both excited and scared. But as he entered the living room and spied a form on his couch, all of his Auror training was forgotten and Harry rushed over to the couch. "Ginny?" he hissed, clearly confused. What had she done? Walked into his house and fallen asleep on his couch? No, that didn't seem like her, not to mention she seemed totally knocked out. Calming himself down a bit, Harry did a closer inspection and concluded that someone had stupefied her. But instead of trying to forcefully wake her, Harry just put away his wand and retrieved a wet rag which he dabbed on Ginny's forehead.
As he did so, he spied what looked like a journal and a pendant on the coffee table. He went to pick it up, but then glanced back over at Ginny. Maybe he shouldn't look at it. But Harry was far too curious to be able to resist and told himself he would just look at the first page to see what it was. He was almost disgusted at what he found. Percy. This journal belonged to Percy, the only Weasley Harry could ever say he hated. What was Ginny doing with Percy's journal? Had Percy been in his house? If he had been the one who had broken into his house, Harry would no doubt be extremely pissed off.
But instead of getting angry right then and there, Harry sat himself down on the armchair across from the couch Ginny was lying on and watched her with a contemplative gaze. But as time wore on, his gaze softened into what could almost be described as loving. Harry rested his chin in his hand and waited for Ginny to open her eyes.
Being stupefied was always so strange. Ginny had experienced it before, yes, but every time it always had some sort of aggravating side effect on her. The first time it had happened, she had woken up feeling so sick that she just wanted to retch and get it over with. Sometimes she had dreamless sleep. Others, it was filled with nightmares. Horrific images and visions that made her wonder if she was ever going to open her eyes again. This time, however, was different. For the most part, it was dreamless sleep, but every now and then, a vision would crash into her brain. The vision of Percy's face, Ginny's anger. And then, there it was. The Dark Mark. Burned onto Percy's arm as clear as day. But she couldn't control her thoughts in her current state, and she would quickly drift off into dreamless sleep again.
Wetness... there was something on her forehead. Slowly, Ginny was being pulled back to consciousness, and in a few moments, her eyes fluttered open, catching an eyeful of a white ceiling. She felt as if her head had been hit with a hammer. Her vision was clouded and fuzzy, and for a few moments she couldn't even make out the shapes around her. As she came around, she realized that she recognized that room. Where was she? Blinking hard, she rolled over to her side, and saw Harry. Merlin...Harry? Where had he come in? How long had she been out for? What had happened...?
Everything was coming back to her, and Ginny finally sat up, looking at Harry, and around the room. She couldn't get herself to say anything. Not yet. What would she say, were she to speak?
Her eyes finally caught the coffee table, and three items sat alone. A small book, a necklace, and a letter with her name scrawled in a hasty manner on it. It was Percy's writing. Looking quickly up at Harry, Ginny wasn't sure whether to be accusatory or simply curious. "Did Percy bring me here?" She demanded, suddenly growing more frantic. Before waiting for an answer, she reached forward and snatched the letter, unfolding it with shaking hands.
Ginny,
I know how this seems. Actually, I don't, but I don't have the time to try and say everything that I should. I know you want to kill me right now, but there's no use. I've sealed my fate, I know what's going to happen to me. I owe you, and our entire family, an explanation of my life, but again, I don't have the time. I've left you my journal. I know it will only expose what I've been hiding for my entire life, and that you'll all be ashamed to know you were even related to me, but it doesn't matter anymore. Please, just read it.
I left the necklace for you. Keep it close no matter what happens. NEVER LET IT OUT OF YOUR SIGHT. I can't express the importance of it, but please.
If you're wondering why you're at Harry's cottage, it's because I heard you had reconciled with him, and heard that he still cared very, very much for you. I needed to leave you with someone that could protect you, at least for the rest of the day. Until I'm gone. Again, I don't have the time to explain. Please, know that I'm sorry. Understand that I know a simple apology will never make up for the mess of my life, but I'm hoping it's a start. I love you. I love mum and dad, and Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, and Ron. Tell them for me.
Love Always,
Percy
Throughout the entire reading of the letter, Ginny's hands were shaking. She couldn't breathe, and didn't dare to take in a single breath. This was so...indefinite. Percy had been a Death Eater. And now he was speaking as if he was already dead.
Before she could stop herself, tears began to pour down her face. Weeping uncontrollably, Ginny thrust the letter at Harry for him to read.
"The thing about growing up with Fred and George is that you sort of start thinking anything's possible if you've got enough nerve."
Re: Fade Together [3/14 ; ISO: Ginny]When Ginny's eyes fluttered open, Harry leaned forward a little before scooting out of his seat to kneel next to Ginny. He knew he was probably being far too protective for his own good, but he wanted to make sure Ginny was okay and that she wasn't hurt in anyway. He went to touch her forehead again, but she soon sat up and Harry backed off a little, not wanting to crowd her. She was probably a bit confused and panicked, much in the way Harry was. But he would assume Ginny was probably even more so because well, she was the one who had been stupefied. It wasn't the greatest feeling in the world, being stupefied, and it was actually quite frustrating. But at least now that Ginny was awake, she could enlighten Harry as to why she was in his house and why someone had to force his door open instead of just waiting for him to get home.
"Did Percy bring me here?" Ginny then demanded, which confirmed Harry's suspicions that it had been Percy who had brought Ginny. His blood boiled at the thought of that prick breaking into his house to leave his little sister, whom he probably had stupefied, in his house. The least Percy could have done was fixed the door. But then again, the man had never really had what Harry would call a respect for others whom he deemed "below" him and Harry knew what Percy thought of him.
"I have no idea," Harry replied. "I was hoping that maybe you could tell me. I just got home and I saw someone had broken the door and--" But Ginny had moved her attention to the coffee table where Percy's journal sat. She immediately grabbed the letter that was addressed to her. Harry had had half the mind to read that, too, but after finding that the journal had belonged to Percy, he hadn't much motivation to read anything Percy had to say. But as he thought about it more clearly, Harry began to seriously wonder if something was wrong. After all, why would Percy go through all the trouble of leaving Ginny at his house when he could have just as easily placed her in the care of his parents at the Burrow. He knew Percy wasn't exactly in good terms with his parents, but it wasn't as though Harry was any better.
So that meant that Percy was desperate. He had to have been. But the question was why?
Green eyes watched Ginny as her eyes scanned the letter. Harry noticed her hands were beginning to shake and he had the urge to crawl over and put his arms around her, but he didn't. He just sat there and watched as Ginny read the letter. And then the tears came. Harry couldn't stand seeing Ginny cry, but he had endured it on more than one occasion, which he wasn't proud of at all. But this time, he didn't know what had caused the tears and was about to ask what was wrong when Ginny shoved the letter into Harry's hands. Harry hesitated, eyes lingering on Ginny for a moment, wishing he could do something before glancing down at the contents of the letter.
After finishing it, Harry's brow was furrowed and he didn't quite understand it. What was Percy talking about? Why did he sound as though he was writing his last statement?
Harry glanced up at Ginny, who was crying. Harry wanted to confort her, but he had to know what was wrong. If Percy had thought Harry could protect Ginny, he needed to know what he was protecting her from. He needed to know why Percy had left Ginny in his care. There were so many questions Harry wanted to ask, but he doubted Ginny could answer all of them, both because of the state she was in and because of the fact she probably didn't have the knowledge the answer.
"Ginny," Harry said, doing his best to talk softly and stay calm. He placed a hesitant hand over hers. "What is he talking about?"
Re: Fade Together [3/14 ; ISO: Ginny]"I have no idea," Harry replied, meaning he was probably more clueless than even Ginny was. It was his own house, and he didn't even know how she had gotten there. But really, DID Percy bring her? Would he, after stupefying her and betraying her, would he try to bring her to safety? "I was hoping that maybe you could tell me. I just got home and I saw someone had broken the door and--" Harry trailed off while Ginny started to read the letter, and she paid absolutely no attention to him from the moment she started until the moment she finished. She wanted clarity. She wanted answers. She wanted Percy to come in and explain what the hell was going on. Oh wait, she wanted him to explain right after she was done hexing him into oblivion. Nothing was making sense anymore. Nothing seemed to matter at the moment, nothing but this letter.
Once Harry had read the letter, it seemed that he had absolutely no idea what was going on. And why should he? He hadn't been there with her. He hadn't seen it all happen. "Ginny. What is he talking about?" Harry asked, keeping his voice level and calm. Ginny didn't know what to say or where to start. How could she explain something that she didn't even want to admit to herself? How could she "reason" or what not when she couldn't even see straight? It was dark outside, so Ginny knew she had been knocked out for quite some time. What had happened in that duration? What had taken place? Was Percy even alive anymore? What in the name of Merlin was he talking about in his letter, where he couldn't explain but he wanted her to tell her family that he loved them... It didn't make any sense at all.
"Harry..." Ginny said softly, her puffy, tear-filled eyes turning to look at him. "Percy..." she let out a sob, and a sharp intake of breath while she tried to get her words out. "I was in his office today after I heard he had gotten fired," she said, trying to explain quickly before she would lose her voice. "And I saw... Harry." She was beyond herself. But she had to get it out. He had to understand what was going on, and why she was in such a panic. "Percy's a Death Eater." At that, Ginny dissolved into nothing, tears steaming down her face. "And when I saw it, he stupefied me, and then I woke up here..." What was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to react? A Weasley? A Death Eater? It was absolutely impossible. The entire wizarding world knew their family for their resistence against Lord Voldemort. And now, Percy was doing his bidding.
Unsure of what else to do, Ginny reached for Percy's journal, her hand trembling as she lifted it's weight and pulled it into her lap, flipping open to the middle of the book, a random entry.
October 5, 2008
Fudge and I are going up to the Hogwarts castle today. He thinks we're going to discuss policy and management of the school. You know, a nice little chat over tea with small implications that he wants Ministry interference in the school again. He's such an idiot that it disgusts me. But that's what we have to work off of, his sheer idiocy. Or else this wouldn't work, and that's not an option. Failure is not an option.
I've been brewing the poison for a month now. It wouldn't take so damned long if it didn't have to be so specific. We want her impaired, unable to be at the school. But not dead. Not yet. Just in case we need her for something else.
Close for now,
Percy
Ginny raised her hand to her mouth, and while she was reading, she had fallen silent. Tears were still trickling down her face, but she couldn't manage to make a sound. She had wanted the truth? Well here it was. The bloody, gory truth, nothing censored to lessen the blow. Percy was a Death Eater. Percy had destroyed Minerva McGonagall until she was in her current state of being. It was indescribable. Ginny had been living a lie.
"The thing about growing up with Fred and George is that you sort of start thinking anything's possible if you've got enough nerve."
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