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Author: Grandma Kate Story: Ginny's Sixth Year at Hogwarts Rating: Everyone Setting: Pre-DH Status: Completed Reviews: 6 Words: 45,693
The Harry Potter Universe belongs to J.K. Rowling. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while. This is for pleasure only, no profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended. Bold Face Type indicates a direct quote from Chapter Twenty-three, Malfoy Manner, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. A/N" This story is told from Molly's Weasley's point of view and parallels the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and the summer after it.
'We have something very important to tell you and just hope you will forgive us,' began Bill. 'Ron has been staying with us for the past six weeks.' Molly sank into a chair at the kitchen table and looked terrified. She whispered, 'Six weeks?' 'Eet was only five weeks because 'e left on zhe morning of Noel,' corrected Fleur. 'November twentieth was when 'e landed on our doorstep, starving and feelthy, wiz 'is mind all broken.' 'He begged us to hide him from You-Know-Who. He told us that he had just escaped from Snatchers by telling them he was Stan Shunpike.' Bill put his hand on his mother's arm and said, 'Ron threatened to leave if we let anyone know that he was with us. He was afraid that you wouldn't let him go back to help his friends.' 'We were so zhocked by 'ow 'e looked and acted zat we made ze promise we would not tell you 'e was wiz us.' 'I told Dad a story about Fleur not feeling up to celebrating my birthday and wanting to be alone at Christmas,' Bill said sheepishly. 'Ron was worried that Mum would make him stay in bed all covered with Spattergroit pustules.' 'Do not tease your mozher!' said Fleur sternly. 'Eet was zo he could go back to 'Arry and 'Ermione when 'e 'ad regained 'is 'ealth. 'E tried to find zhem but zhey 'ave very strong wards around zheir tent.' 'Fred and George were suspicious about our story all along,' said Bill. 'They showed up the Sunday before Christmas and took a picture of him so you could see with your own eyes that he was all right. Christmas morning when we woke up, Ron was gone. He didn't leave a note so we waited a week to see if he would come back if he couldn't find Harry and Hermione. According to Ron, they are camping and eating nothing but mushrooms and berries.' Molly gasped, thinking of how hungry they must have been. 'Poor Ronnie!' she said. 'He likes at least three square meals a day plus snacks.' Ginny nodded in agreement. 'Did he say how Harry and Hermione are? Where are they? I could feel Harry not too far away just last Saturday.' 'The day of the big explosion?' asked Molly. Ginny nodded. 'He said that they were well but hungry. Something that they have with them because of what they are doing for Dumbledore was causing them all to be depressed and quarrelsome.' Bill paused and looked very serious. 'We didn't press him but just let him talk when he felt like it. Actually, he slept quite a bit.' 'And 'e ate 'uge meals many times a day,' said Fleur. 'Mum, can you get word to Tonks and her mother that Ron heard her father one night? He and Dean Thomas from his class were with two goblin friends of mine named Griphook and Gornak. They had met up with Dirk Cresswell, the wizard who was sentenced to Azkaban but got away before he was taken there.' 'Cresswell got away?' asked Arthur. 'There was nothing in the Daily Prophet about that!' 'Can we tell Tonks about Ron?' asked Ginny. 'It might be better if you told her that Fleur and I just heard that Ted Tonks was seen salmon fishing near the end of November,' said Bill in a serious voice. 'We have another eventuality that we must prepare for. If Ron is caught, our whole family must go into hiding. We will all be blamed for misleading the Ministry about his illness.' 'Yes, we realize that,' said Arthur. 'We have a Fidelius Charm on The Burrow now. What else do you propose that we do to prepare in case he is caught?' 'Too many people know where The Burrow is and not all of them can be trusted,' Bill sighed. 'There are too many Ministry workers that are either under the Imperious Curse or who are actually followers of You-Know-Who.' 'Auntie Muriel would hide us. She has a big house and she and her house-elves just rattle around in it.' Molly looked from Arthur to Bill. 'Must we send Ginny back to Hogwarts? Death Eaters have captured her friend Luna.' 'I have to go back. Neville shouldn't have to lead the resistance all by himself,' Ginny pleaded. 'They punish him a lot more than they do me because I am a girl.' Bill and Arthur both looked up sharply and said in unison, 'Punish you? How?' 'As punishment, students have to practice the Cruciatus Curse on another person in detention,' she said very softly. Molly ran to her. 'No! That settles it. You are not returning!' Her eyes blazed. Ginny looked worried. Arthur looked distressed but spoke in a firm voice. 'If Ginny does not return to Hogwarts, we must think of a plausible reason for not sending her back. Ron's long illness is making some people suspicious as it is.' When Bill and Fleur were getting ready to return to Shell Cottage, Molly took Bill's hand and said, 'I understand that you and Fleur did what you thought was best in not telling us that Ron was with you. Just don't let it happen again, please.' It took Ginny the rest of the Christmas holidays to finally convince her family that she must return to Hogwarts or their lie about Ron having Spattergroit would be revealed. She kept pressuring her mother to take her over to Luna's to see if there had been any word about her and to see if the explosion before Christmas had come from there. Finally, on the Friday of the second week of January, Molly Side-Along-Apparated Ginny over to the Lovegoods' house and found it in ruins. 'The explosion two weeks ago must have done this,' said Molly. 'That's the day you said you could feel that Harry was near. I hope that the three of them weren't hurt.' Ginny said that she was sure that they were still not too far away because she could feel Harry. Molly hoped that she was correct. Nevertheless, Molly and Arthur reviewed the plan that must be followed if Ron's disappearance was discovered. The Ministry was already listing Muggle-born Hermione Granger as a known associate of Undesirable No.1, Harry Potter. If Ron were caught, the twins would manage to get into Hogwarts and remove Ginny. The entire family would go into hiding. Arthur was to be the Secret Keeper for another Fidelius, which had already been cast on their safe house. Ginny and the rest of the family knew the phrase that would enable them to see where they were going to hide was, 'This welcoming house is safe for Weasleys.' The following morning, Molly and Arthur Side-Along-Apparated Ginny and her trunk and Arnold's cage to the alley next to King's Cross. Fred and George came along to wish her well. Neville and Augusta Longbottom were standing in the same place as they had been in September. 'I told you that Ginny would come,' said Neville to his grandmother. 'I knew she wouldn't leave me all alone.' 'You'll never be alone,' said Ginny, holding up the Galleon that she always carried. Augusta gave what Ginny thought was a slight smile and leaned in to kiss her grandson on his cheek. Neville took Molly's hand and said, 'I will do what I can to protect Ginny.' Molly nodded at the serious young man and thanked him. Arthur and Molly kissed Ginny and watched as she climbed up the steps onto the Hogwarts Express. 'We'll pick you up at Easter,' Molly shouted as the train puffed away. 'I have a very bad feeling about this,' she said to Arthur. He nodded seriously, took her arm, and they walked slowly to the alley where they could Apparate to The Burrow. As soon as she returned home, Molly began to pack and shrink bags of clothes and bedding in preparation for the possible flight to Auntie Muriel's. She also continued her duelling practices with Corrine. 'I have a feeling that I am going to need to be in top form before this school year is over,' she said after a particularly grueling session. 'My reaction time and endurance are both improving. I just hope it will be enough to save the life of someone I love.' Corrine nodded in agreement. 'You've made such good progress. I think you are at least as fast as you were when you won the Hogwarts' Duelling Championship in our sixth year. The rest of January was stormy and cold. Molly worried about Ron and his friends. She hoped that they had food to eat and somewhere warm to sleep. If she had known he was at Bill's at Christmas, she would have made him, Harry, and Hermione warm jumpers and some extra thick socks to sleep in. She started her needles working on three jumpers with the wool she had available and hand-knitted three pair of thick socks. It made her feel better to think that she would have them ready in case they needed them. The Potterwatch wireless programs continued every other week or so. River assured the audience that they were constantly moving around and so were in no danger of being apprehended. Sometimes Fred and George were on, telling jokes. Once Molly recognized Kathleen's voice reading the list of witches, wizards, and Muggles that had been killed in some way or Kissed by Dementors. Remus was on once and delivered the "Good-night Harry Potter, wherever you are!' closing with feeling. Molly wanted to do something special for Arthur's birthday on February 6, but finally decided that it had better be just a dinner for the immediate family. She prepared Arthur's favorite breakfast, poached egg on ham on a scone, before he went off to work at the Ministry. She was a little worried that he hadn't got anything from Charlie or Ginny yet but felt relieved when two owls arrived at nearly the same time, around noon. She gave each of them an owl treat and put the two small boxes with the letters at Arthur's place. When Arthur got home, he found that the box from Charlie had tiny boots along with a letter. Dear Mum and Dad and Ron, Kathleen says that you have been over to visit nearly every week in January. That means a great deal to them. She says that Tonks is getting huge and will have to stop working this week because the baby is due in just six weeks. Remus has been home a great deal recently, but Kathleen is going to stay until the baby is about six weeks old. She is writing another book but will not tell me if it is the one about vampires that her publisher wants her to write. Bill wrote to tell me that a long lost distant relative came to see him at Christmas. I wish I had been there to see him. How is my poor sick youngest brother? Is he still suffering from a bad case of Spattergroit? Happy Birthday, Dad! I hope that you can use some new dragon-hide boots. These are supposed to be easy on your knees and other joints. Many of the older dragon researchers wear them. They have arch supports but will mold to your feet and fit snug as a bug when you cast an Expansion Charm on them. Love, The second box seemed to contain only a hand-knitted hat, but when Arthur tried it on, a Disillusioned note fell out of it. Dear Mum, Dad, and poor sick Ron, I am better so don't worry. Headmaster Snape has said that the Slytherins can't cast the Cruciatus on other students any more unless they are in detention. So all they can do to me is 'bump me in the halls by accident' so long as I am careful not to do anything that I would be sure to get detention for. Teachers can still cast it on students if they want to but are supposed to have a reason, like insubordination. Neville reacts very fast and is getting very strong so some of the teachers are worried about hurting him too much. I think they are afraid that he will retaliate. He is trying to protect me when he can. Give Ron my love. Tell him that I will be home for the Easter holidays. Thank the twins for their care package. It will be put to good use. Happy birthday to Dad! I knitted this hat for you because it is so cold this winter. I hope you like it. Love, 'She's a wonderful daughter. I am very proud of the young woman she has become,' said Arthur. Bill and Fleur and the twins came for dinner and ate the steak and kidney pie that Arthur had requested. Fleur looked a bit unhappy with the meal, but the rest of the family tucked in with enthusiasm. For a change, Molly made two apple pies instead of the usual birthday cake. Arthur got very useful presents besides the boots from Charlie and the hat from Ginny. The twins gave him a very fancy seven-compartment trunk like the one Made-Eye Moody had owned. They said that he might want to put some of the items that they were perfecting out in his shed in one of the rooms of the trunk. Arthur nodded in agreement and thanked them profusely. Bill and Fleur gave him a book that was used in Curse-Breaker training and suggested that he read the chapter on wards and protective barriers. Arthur appreciated that, as well. The short month of February went by fast. The Potterwatch program said that Death Eaters or the bounty hunters who called themselves Snatchers had not captured Harry despite all manner of efforts. Nor had they captured Hermione who was listed by the Ministry as'known to be traveling with Harry Potter'. Lupin and Kingsley and the twins all contributed to the program with Lee. It made Molly feel better to hear what was really happening. The Daily Prophet and All the News You Need to Know on the WWN never mentioned anything that would reflect badly on the Ministry. Molly finished the jumpers for the three missing children along with some warm socks but she had no idea of where to send them. She tried to teach Tonks how to knit when she was complaining about how slowly the weeks were going until the birth of her son. However, neither she nor Kathleen could manage to teach Tonks the sequential knotting aspect of knitting. She could tangle a ball of yarn almost instantly but never produced anything. The three women laughed at her efforts. Kathleen Apparated into St Mungo's to take a one-day home Midwifery class and returned with a bundle of supplies for the birth. Lupin planned to attend and Andromeda and Molly were invited to assist. The last few days of February were very difficult for Molly. She wished they could celebrate Ron's birthday on the first of March properly, but had no idea of where he was or what he was doing. Arthur tried to comfort her as she tossed and turned on the night before Ron's eighteenth birthday. Neither of them got much sleep.
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