The first chapter is here
The platform didn't feel like it usually did, there was a shadow on everyone's faces, a shadow that they were free from for last few years but it managed to strangle them much more painfully this time.
Ginny didn't necessarily make Dumbledore her role model like many in the Wizarding world did. But he indeed was someone whom people of their world relied on, at least on some level.
It was almost like they believed as long as he was alive, Tom couldn't harm them.
She saw Neville coming to her with a worried look on his face, but before she could ask anything he grabbed her in a tight hug.
"I was so worried, I didn't know if you were okay."
Their friendship was quite unpredictable and effortless. He was one of the very few people Ginny trusted with her entire heart, because she had seen his soul.
And it was one of the purest souls she's seen, apart from Luna's.
"They're questioning everyone, we should go, after what happened to you-"
Ginny looked around the platform, and there indeed were Death Eaters questioning students. She took a quick look at her mother's face and was not surprised to see it pale and worried. She quickly disentangled herself from Neville and went to her.
"Mum, don't worry, I'll be careful, I promise. You go now, I'll be fine." Molly looked like she wanted to say something else but settled with a last hug and a kiss on her daughter's forehead.
"Do not forget to write us, baby, and you know, Professor McGonagall will help you if there's any trouble."
She nodded one last time before collecting her luggage and walking towards the train.
Neville was beside her, he had his wand in his hand. At that moment, Ginny missed Harry, she missed Ron and Hermione too. She missed having Harry walking beside her and she could admit that she even missed Ron and Hermione's bickering.
They might not be her best friends but after being honorary Weasley for 7 years, she saw Hermione as the sister she never had and Harry-
Well, she tried not to think much about him, her emotions were already all over the places, the last thing she needed was losing control. But he was somehow always there, in a safe corner of her mind, and he'll always be.
He was her salvation, he was her inspiration but mostly he was her strength, even when he was miles away.
"GINNY!", Luna's high pitched voice broke her from her reverie, the blonde was walking towards them in a dreamy stance, but it was Neville who spoke.
"Shh! Luna, not so loud, we need to avoid drawing people's attention, specially on her-"
"It's okay, Neville, I don't think they're gonna attack students openly on the platform.", Ginny cut him off before hugging Luna.
At least that's what she thought, she was almost certain Tom would try something after she sent his death eaters empty handed from the Burrow, but so far, there was no retaliation. She started thinking that Lestrange might be a bigger coward than she thought him to be. If Tom would've heard that a little girl sent them back he would surely punish them.
The death eaters on the train were different though, Ginny didn't think she knew them. But once they reached their compartment, they were immediately faced with two middle aged men.
Ginny immediately could feel their aura, it was almost as if the marks on their arms were something more than just inks, which Ginny knew, but she hadn't exactly figured out Tom's magic yet.
"Weasley! We were waiting for you."
She glanced at Neville's nervous face and Luna's nonchalant face, then stepped ahead.
"And how can I help you?", she kept her voice as calm as possible.
"We were expecting another of you, where is the brother of you that is usually stuck to Potter's arse?"
"He's sick, and he won't be attending this year."
Their lips thinned at this, to others they probably looked intimidating when they towered over her with glaring dark eyes.
"Look girl, you are a pureblood, a traitor, but a pureblood nonetheless, and the Dark Lord asked not to spill your blood, so we'll let you go this time, but if we find out that you're hiding something, you and your family's traitor blood will be first to get spilled and we'll make sure that Potter will be there to watch."
Ginny had to clench her fist so tight that she could almost feel the magic inside her threatening to blow their heads off. She shut her eyes to calm herself down. But thankfully they left soon after that, and she let out a deep breath.
"We need a plan."
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Hogwarts was different.
It was never full of singing fairies and unicorns, there was always a dark aura around the school, it was almost like it was there to protect the school and its people.
But it was never dead, if anything, it was full of life and light, and it was home.
But standing in front of the castle, Ginny felt the change in the air instantly.
It was not home anymore , it felt dead, when she tried to feel the aura, but it sent a shiver down her spine. She knew that aura, she could never forget it.
It was Tom's aura.
Hagrid was there at Hosmeade to receive the first years, but Ginny had felt his sorrow as soon as she'd looked into his eyes. She had sent a small smile in his way before moving forward, she had made a mental note to catch up with him as soon as possible.
She was in the same carriage with Neville, Luna and Seamus when Luna asked about Thestrals.
Sometimes she really thought Luna could read souls or auras, like her.
Because Ginny had been familiar to those mystical creatures since the end of her first year.
She knew death, and Tom made sure of that.
.
.
Severus Snape was one of the puzzles she couldn't solve yet. Albus Dumbledore was one too, well, before he died.
And the last one was Harry.
She couldn't read those people fully, it might be because there were so many auras around them, so many auras mixed together, it was almost like a web, and she couldn't separate it.
She was much more familiar to Harry, but there was still a part of him that was unknown to her, and she had a feeling that it was unknown to him as well.
But the way the current headmaster was giving her a hard look from the high table, she understood one thing, this year was going to be one long year.
The carrow siblings were a different headache altogether. Ginny was not unfamiliar with them, and they were one of those cruel death eaters she knew she had to avoid, at least for some time.
She couldn't risk it yet, it wasn't the time.
The welcoming feast was anything but a joyous occasion, and she had never seen students looking so dull and lifeless in Hogwarts Great Hall. Even the first years seemed scared.
By the time the Sorting started, she noticed it was only pure blood students who attended that year, and she wasn't really surprised.
She had also noticed Amycus Carrow glaring at her direction quite often, well it was going to be a long night, she thought.
...................................................................................................
As they were returning from the feast, she noticed quite a lot of students giving her perplexed looks, they were probably not expecting a Weasley to attend that year.
But as soon as she had stepped into the Gryffindor common room, she knew something was wrong.
"Well, well, well, if it's not the traitorous house."
Her body had stiffened.
It was the Carrow Siblings sitting on the couch.
Amycus was still looking at her with that disgusting stare that made her want to rip his eye out.
But instead she stayed quite. Neville and Seamus both took a step ahead of her, their wands in their hands, Neville even tried to guard her from their eyes.
She grabbed her wand tighter.
"Ah! Potter's friends here to protect his little girlfriend, or the little Weasley giving you something too boys?"
Neville was about to say something when she interrupted him.
"Professor!", she had pushed Neville by then and was standing in front of the Carrow Siblings.
"It's not often we see Professors welcoming us! How lovely! And here we thought this year would be dull!"
She could kill them, but this was better when she noticed their flushed faces.
"Weasley, don't play with us girl, we aren't here to be your precious professors, we are here because our Dark Lord wanted us here, to teach you brats how to be a pure blood wizard and how to not be a traitor . And if you know anything about your boyfriend's whereabouts, this might be a good time to spill, because I'm sure Potter isn't as important to you as your family."
She couldn't help but roll her eyes, she was getting tired of these questioning sessions with Tom's pets.
"Professor, as much as I wish, but Harry is not my boyfriend anymore, that git left me for a Muggle born girl, didn't you know? And I don't know where he is."
She knew she was playing a dangerous game, but she couldn't piss them off yet, she needed to focus on her magic, and she couldn't do it with to angry death earters chasing her at every point.
She stepped closer to Amycus Carrow, "I am a pure blood witch, Professor, more than you think, more than everyone thinks. More than he thinks."
She could almost see through his soul, and it was vile. She could see his hatred, his lust, his cruelty.
There was nothing good left in them, and there was nothing worth saving in them.
That night she had slept in Harry's t-shirt, she managed to steal quite a few last year, and they were the only things that kept her sane.
She missed him, she missed him more than she thought humanely possible. She missed his lopsided smiles, she missed his kisses, she missed his darkened eyes when she had her hand wrapped around him for the first time, she missed his messy hair that was softer than anything she had ever touched.
When she closed her eyes, she could still see his face.
They were two teenagers with no care about the world then. With Ron and Hermione constantly bickering, he had often escaped with her. She had always thought Harry to be someone who preferred their space, and didn't like affection much, but that was until he had kissed her in front of the whole common room.
He was always touching her, kissing her, and that was Ginny's heaven.
She still remembered how delirious she felt when he had made her come for the first time. She was no prude, she knew what sex was since she was 11, but what she didn't know was intimacy. She had always drawn a line between her and her previous boyfriends.
But with Harry, it was almost as if she didn't have any boundaries, he could've asked her to give her soul, and she would've gladly done so. He was everything she'd hoped and more. She was weak for him and yet he was her biggest strength.
She wished he was here, with her, his smell and his shirt was not enough, she needed to feel him, the real him.
She remembered how she had stolen that shirt, it was midnight and she had come down because she couldn't sleep. And there he was, sitting on the couch, with ruffled hair, he was looking at his Marauders map. He had looked up when she came down, and gave her a slow smile.
The marauders map was put aside immediately when she had sat beside him.
"It's late...", his voice was hoarse, and his eyes was darker, which flicked to the hint of her cleavage that was showing in her night suit.
"I couldn't sleep..."
His hand was already caressing the skin of her neck, it was unintentional, almost like he needed to touch her. She had kissed him first, but soon she had found herself on her back. It was something she had discovered too, Harry Potter liked to be giving when it came to intimacy.
They had snogged before, but that day something was different, Harry's eyes were darker than usual, and his hands were restless, so was his mouth. He had touched her before, she knew what his fingers could do, and how good they felt. But as he stopped sucking her nipple, it wasn't his fingers she had felt. If she'd thought his fingers were good, she had no idea what to say about his tongue. She had hoped her screams weren't loud enough to wake up the school, not noticing that Harry had already cast a silencing charm around them, but as she had dared to look down she'd almost passed out from the sight. Harry's messy head was burried between her thighs, one of his hand was kneading her breast while other was fingering her, it was too much for her. But at that moment he had looked up, the look in his eyes made her feel like a prey but he had gone back to devouring her soon, and she had gone back to moaning like a wrench.
She had returned the favour later too, and to say it was arousing to see Harry cursing and groaning while she had sucked him dry would be an understatement.
He had kissed her sweetly later before falling asleep with her in his arms.
She had woken up before dawn, Harry was still asleep. He looked peaceful, it was as good as them being two normal teenagers who sneaked out of their dorms because they were too horny.
But they were not normal, so she had memorized his peaceful face, every inch and pattern of it, before taking his shirt.
Ginny knew nothing was permanent as long as Tom lived, but she would cherish those temporary moments.
And lying on her bed, Ginny didn't realize that a tear had fallen from her eyes, she had wrapped the shir around her tighter before closing her eyes.
Love prevailed everything, and her love for Harry was much more stronger than her hate for Tom.
She didn't notice the dim red aura surrounding her body.
