A/N: Sorry about the wait. I've been busy... Excuses, excuses, I know.
I put Dumbledore from my mind as the next few weeks flew by. Ginny became shifty around me. I hadn’t told her what had gone on in the Headmaster’s office, so I assumed that was why she was behaving strangely. However, it did not explain her conversation with Paige on evening by the fire.
Paige shut her book heavily and stretched her arms out beside her. “You know what I wish?”
“What do you wish?” I said simply.
“That Colin was sitting here with us right now,” she replied with a sigh.
Ginny dropped her quill and scrambled to get it.
“Why Colin? Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him very much lately,” I mused.
“Well, you know he’s-”
“Paige,” Ginny hissed.
I frowned. Paige rolled her eyes. “Never mind.”
“What are you talking about?” I demanded. Ginny waved her hand at me.
“Nothing. It doesn’t matter,” she inserted quickly. I sat back in my chair, deciding not to argue, but wondering why Ginny refused to talk about Colin. I’d heard his name whispered occasionally for the past several weeks, but I turned a deaf ear, assuming it was meaningless gossip.
However, I dropped the subject as it was late and I needed rest for my Herbology quiz the next day.
I did not predict that I would run into Harry again in the next week. However, I once again found myself indebted to him. Once again, I found myself lost. This time, it had to do with school work.
I was trying to write a short essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts. I found myself horribly confused, since Professor Lockhart had wandered so far from the subject material that day in class that I had made no progress in half an hour. Before I could stop myself, I let out a squeal of frustration and bent over to lay my head on the table.
“Are you… okay?” he asked. I hadn’t heard him come over. Sitting up suddenly, my hair whipped around and grazed his chin. Horrified, I began apologizing profusely.
“I’m fine, seriously,” he said, looking embarrassed. “Are you having trouble with your work?”
“Yes,” I admitted. I glared at my empty sheet of parchment. “It’s for Professor Lockhart. I’m afraid”I, er, lost track of his lecture today.”
Harry rolled his eyes. “Did he go on about his excellent job helping sick children in Hungary?”
I nodded.
“Well, maybe I can help. We had a different teacher last year,” he said. His eyes glazed over for one second, but he quickly recovered.
“Thank you,” I said. I explained how we were supposed to be learning about a certain type of bird with dangerous claws.
“Hang on, I think I remember that. Are they the ones that are often used to hunt down invisible creatures?” he exclaimed.
“That sounds about right…”
Harry began spewing little bits of information he remembered about them. I scribbled as much as I could down on my piece of parchment. “You really should ask Hermione, though,” Harry commented. “She remembers everything.”
“Thanks for your help,” I said shyly. He grinned and strode away. I barely noticed people whispering as he passed.
That night, Ginny couldn’t do her work. I tried to prompt her and give her some of the information that Harry had given me (as well as some of the facts Hermione had told me afterwards), but she couldn’t seem to concentrate. She kept jumping up and going to sit at a different table.
Paige eventually got tired of relocating herself and her papers, so I was left to follow Ginny as she wandered. After moving back to a few armchairs near the entrance to the girls’ dormitory, I refused to sit. “What is going on, Ginny? You’ve never been this distracted before,” I mumbled.
She threw up her hands. “I don’t even know. I just can’t keep Tom out of my head.”
“Tom from the diary, you mean?”
“Of course! How many Toms do we know?”
“Well, what did he do to make you so bothered?”
“He sort of”was short with me. I can’t really explain it,” Ginny said irritably.
“That’s not very descriptive…”
“Does it matter? Anyway, I feel like he doesn’t really care about the things I’ve been telling him. I mean, he’s supposed to be a diary. You’d think he’d listen to me.”
I frowned. “That doesn’t seem right. Are you sure he’s just part of a normal diary?”
“Well, what else could it be?”
I sat next to her mutely. What else was there to say?
“I am so sick of him telling me that I’m a silly girl,” Ginny spat. “He doesn’t listen to me any more.”
“Maybe it’s time you got a new diary,” I suggested hopefully.
To my surprise, Ginny agreed. “Maybe,” she repeated. When she didn’t say any more, I turned to my homework to let her consider this. I feared she’d drop the idea if I pushed her too much. I could just see it: Ginny, normal and healthy-looking again. We could talk about Harry Potter and Charms homework. There would be no more watching her wake up looking haggard and staying that way all day long. There would be no more strange silences or boring times where Ginny did nothing but scribble in her diary. I was very much looking forward to it.
Ginny jumped to her feet after a while. I followed her with my eyes as she disappeared into our dormitory, only to emerge a minute later, clutching the diary. Her jaw was set as she strode out of the common room. I dropped my homework and hurried out the portrait hole after her.
Before I knew it, we were marching into the haunted bathroom that nobody ever uses. Ginny looked back at me as she stopped in front of the stall that was out of order. I smiled encouragingly. She took a deep breath, and threw the little book with all her might into the air. A little shriek escaped her lips. For some reason, I didn’t jump or flinch like I used to. I even smiled slightly as Ginny panted. We left victoriously, ignoring the quiet sobs that had begun to waft out of the girls’ toilet.
The conversation from Dumbledore’s office came back into the front of my mind the next day. I’d forgotten about it almost entirely, what with Ginny’s triumph. She was looking much better the next morning when we went to eat breakfast. However, I still was stirred by what Dumbledore had said. In order to preserve Ginny’s somewhat fragile new state, I decided to tell Paige what I knew.
Her eyes widened when I explained that I was in great danger, possibly. For a moment, she couldn’t think of anything to say. Then, “Merlin… that can’t be good.”
I shook my head unhappily. Danger was for brave adventurers who readily faced it. I didn’t want to be in danger. Mum knew that, too. She had sounded so scared when she asked Dumbledore what it all meant. Paige and I paced around our room. Misty swatted her tail back and forth, poised on the bed as if she were ready to pounce.
“I guess there isn’t much we can do,” Paige remarked.
“I can’t think of anything. It’s all so strange,” I mumbled.
“Definitely. I don’t think Dumbledore expected you to understand. That’s why he had you stand outside.”
“But you would think he’d know I heard what he said…”
“Maybe. But nobody’s perfect, though Dumbledore is a great wizard.”
“Right,” I said. I recalled him mentioning war, one that would continue the past war from over a decade ago. That could only mean the one involving You-Know-Who. I’d read about him, naturally. And I’d heard plenty of talk from the other students.
“Dumbledore will fix it all,” Paige said confidently.
I shrugged and sat next to Misty, who purred softly when I ran my hand over her fur.
A/N: GUESS WHAT! Only about five more chapters left in this story. Yes, five! Around five, anyway. Then, there'll be a sequel. You can guess what it's about from the last few chapters of this fic (which aren't posted yet, you'll see), so I would greatly appreciate title suggestions at the moment! And... I lovereviewers...