Ginny sat in the kitchen of the Burrow in a corner on her own, watching as her brothers discussed the task ahead in great detail. It was not long until Harry's seventeenth birthday, and it was extremely important that he be brought to safety before that day. Tonight was the night they were going to bring him to the Burrow.
Ginny knew very few of the details; she didn't even understand why it was so important to get Harry under the Order's protection before he came of age. She had tried to listen in, using a batch of Extendible Ears that Fred and George had secretly passed to her, but it would seem that her mother was determined to make sure Ginny knew as little as possible. This was a fact that Ginny was bitter about, and she blamed it whole-heartedly on Harry, and her brother, Ron, for managing to sweet talk their way into Order meetings two years before. She had lost many of her Extendible Ears to her mother: two were blown up, and one, she could only assume, had been sliced by a large knife. After several scoldings, Ginny had learnt that she would have to keep the ears out of sight. Unfortunately, that inevitably meant losing some of her ability to hear the meetings.
On the whole, it was one of those moments that she felt quite useless. Even if she could volunteer to help, as an underage witch she was barely able to defend herself, let alone anybody else.
From outside there was a sudden bang as several witches and wizards Apparated into the garden, all there to help with the task. Ginny could feel the nervous tension amongst them, despite the false confidence and smiles they wore as they all greeted each other. One of the newly arrived witches was Hermione Granger, one of Ginny's closest friends. Hermione slipped past the main group, after warmly greeting Ron, and made her way over to where Ginny sat. The two girls smiled at each other.
“How are you doing?” Hermione asked, kindly.
“I'm good, a bit bored but good,” Ginny replied.
Hermione gave her a sympathetic look. She had an unmatched knack for knowing when someone was holding back feelings... except for where Ginny's brother, Ron, was concerned. To the rest of the world, Ron's heart was obvious, but Hermione was blind to it.
“We'll get Harry here safely,” Hermione said, softly, so only they could hear. Ginny appreciated her tact. Very few of the Weasleys knew about what had previously been between Ginny and Harry whilst they had been at Hogwarts, and she preferred it that way. She could not stand people being overbearing and making a fuss. Ginny liked to deal with issues herself and not be mollycoddled. But Hermione was different; Ginny could talk with her, honestly, about anything. It was, after all, thanks to Hermione that she had gotten to be with Harry at all, even if it had been only briefly.
True to form, Hermione sensed her thoughts again.
“You miss him, don't you?”
Ginny sighed. “Yes, I do. I was so happy when we got together. But as quickly as it happened, it was all taken away again.”
Hermione seemed to sense Ginny's need to rant and kept silent.
“And the annoying thing is, I can't even be angry with him because he's being all selfless and noble. Stupid git.”
Suddenly, the two girls were laughing as if it was some big joke.
“Well, it's enough of a hassle just being his friend,” Hermione said between bouts of laughter “I can imagine being his girlfriend would be exhausting.”
After the two girls composed themselves, Hermione again looked sympathetic.
“I've never seen Harry happier than when he was with you. Don't lose faith. When he gets through what he has to do he'll be back with you in a heartbeat.”
“Well, let's hope that he doesn't get himself killed in the process. He's come far too close too many times before,” Ginny sighed.
“Hermione!” Ron called. “Moody's here, we need to finalise the plan.”
With that Ginny was, again, left to her own thoughts and worries.
In moments, her father, brothers, Hermione, and several Order members she cared for dearly would be facing dangerous circumstances to keep Harry safe. If things went wrong, she could face losing so much tonight. She, however, determinedly reassured herself that Moody, Kingsley, and Tonks were all accomplished and powerful Aurors. Then, of course, there were Ginny's brothers. Quite honestly, Ginny felt sorry for anybody who tried to mess with them. And although Hagrid had no magical prowess, she knew he had once taken on several Death Eaters and Ministry members and come out unharmed. The comforting thoughts certainly helped as she hugged her brothers, father, and Hermione, and wished the entire group good luck.
“Right, we better go and get Harry before he tries to escape on his own,” Lupin declared, half laughing. With that, they moved out into the garden, covered themselves with disillusionment charms, and mounted their various thestrals, brooms, and, in Hagrid's case, a large motorbike. In the time it took to blink, they were gone.
The previously packed house was eerily quiet now that only Ginny and her very worried mother remained. For one very tense moment, Molly Weasley looked as if she was going to collapse into a heap of tears. Instead, however, she appeared to gather her wits. “The beds are not going to sort themselves, and we have a lot of guests to cater for tonight,” she said, quite sternly.
Ginny followed her mother upstairs and helped her make the beds.
Ginny saw her resemblance to her mother only occasionally: they did not look much alike nor act alike; her mother was far too fussy, whilst Ginny was able to go with a situation and make the best of it. The few times they were alike were when there was a need for brute determination and strength. The night was going to be hard for the two women, but they both knew that they needed to stay strong, and face whatever was going to come home tonight “ and possibly who wasn't going to come home “ with courage.
Because Ginny knew that, although she cared for him deeply, Harry Potter was usually followed by trouble.
Ginny Weasley and the Deathly Hallows by fizzingwizzbee
Story Notes:
This story very closely follows the canon events of Deathly Hallows. As such, on occasion I will lift character dialect directly from JK Rowling's text. However I do not take any claim on these words and any chapters that contain such things will be appropriately marked.
Chapter Notes: Ginny watches as her family and friends get ready for a dangerous mission.