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Author: Grandma Kate Story: Ginny's Second Year at Hogwarts Rating: Everyone Setting: Pre-OotP Status: Completed Reviews: 3 Words: 30,095
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 Text indicates a direct quote from Chapter Five, The Dementor, in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling.
Ron and Harry looked at the girls giggling with Molly and decided to sit near Arthur and the rest of the boys. Arthur seemed to grow more and more upset as he read the morning paper. As soon as they finished breakfast, they went back up to their rooms and started heaving all their trunks down the Leaky Cauldron's narrow staircase and piling them up near the door with Hedwig and Hermes, Percy's screech owl, perched on top of their cages. A small wickerwork basket stood beside the heap of trunks, spitting loudly. 'It's all right, Crookshanks,' Hermione cooed through the wickerwork. 'I'll let you out on the train.' 'You won't,' snapped Ron. 'What about poor Scabbers, eh?' He pointed at his chest, where a large lump indicated that Scabbers was curled up in his pocket. Arthur told them that the Ministry cars had arrived and they took their belongings and put them in the two dark green cars. The drivers made it to King's Cross without incident. They put their trunks and cages and the basket containing Hermione's cat on trolleys, and proceeded to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Arthur pushed Harry's trolley and they went through the barrier first, followed by Ginny and Percy. Molly and the rest of the children brought up the rear. Percy immediately spotted Penelope Clearwater. 'Ah, there's Penelope!' said Percy, smoothing his hair and going pink again. Ginny caught Harry's eye, and they both turned away to hide their laughter as Percy strode over to a girl with long, curly hair, walking with his chest thrown out so she couldn't miss his shiny badge… Molly smiled at him and the pretty young woman until she heard the twins snickering, and then she glared at Fred and George until they went off looking for friends. Ron led the way to the end of the train, past packed compartments, to a carriage that looked quite empty. He and Hermione and Harry loaded their trunks onto it, stowed Hedwig and Crookshanks in the luggage rack and came back outside to say good-bye to Molly and Arthur. Molly kissed all her children, then Hermione, and finally Harry. He was embarrassed, but really quite pleased, when she gave him an extra hug. 'Do take care, won't you Harry?' she said as she straightened up, her eyes oddly bright. Then she opened her enormous handbag and said, 'I've made you all sandwiches… Here you are Ron… No, they're not corned beef… Fred? Where's Fred? Here you are, dear…' While Molly was passing out sandwiches, Arthur attracted Harry's attention. He jerked his head toward a pillar, and Harry followed him behind it, leaving all the others crowded around Molly. They talked privately for a few minutes while Molly finished giving each of her children something to eat on the train. 'Arthur!' called Molly, who was now shepherding the rest onto the train. 'Arthur, what are you doing? It's about to go!' 'He's coming Molly!' said Arthur, but he turned back to Harry and kept talking in a lower and more hurried voice. 'Listen, I want you to give me your word –' '– that I'll be a good boy and stay in the castle?' said Harry gloomily. 'Not entirely,' he said, looking more serious. 'Harry, Promise me you won't go looking for Sirius Black..' There was a loud whistle. Guards were walking along the train, slamming all the doors shut… 'Why would I go looking for someone I know wants to kill me?' said Harry blankly. 'Swear to me that whatever you might hear –' 'Arthur, quickly!' cried Molly. Steam was billowing from the train; it had started to move. Harry ran to the compartment door and Ron threw it open and stood back to let him in. They leaned out of the window and waved… Molly and Arthur watched the train until it was blocked from their view. 'I could tell from Harry's expression that you warned him about Sirius Black, didn't you?' said Molly with tears in her eyes. 'I did what I thought was best,' replied Arthur. 'We owe it to his parents to try to keep him safe from the madman who betrayed them. How about a cuppa before I go to work and you go back to the Burrow. As I recall, we had tea in a certain tea shop when we got off the Hogwarts Express the week before we married.' 'Oh Arthur!' said Molly with a sigh. 'You remembered.' ***** After the children had been back at Hogwarts for two days, Hermes arrived with a letter from Percy and another from Fred and George. Then, in the late afternoon, Hedwig arrived with two letters. Molly recognized Ron's scrawl and Ginny's neat writing. Molly put all four letters at Arthur's place so they could enjoy them together. 'Letters from all five of our Hogwarts students? Amazing!' said Arthur as he sat down at the kitchen table. 'I suppose the proper thing to do is read them in the same order as their authors arrived, eh? Well, here's what our latest Head Boy has to say –' Dear Mother and Father, Until this week, I had no conception of the excessive expectations that a Head Boy must meet. It is almost like being a junior member of the faculty. The Head Girl and I are kept so busy that we will have to be careful to allow time for study and homework. I regret that I will scarcely have time for any of my friends. The trip to Hogwarts was the worst experience most of the students have ever had. Dementors boarded the train and went from carriage to carriage searching for Sirius Black. Many of the younger students were terrified. Even some of the older ones became chilled, disoriented, and morose. According to Ron, Harry Potter fainted dead away while Ginny huddled in a corner of their compartment, shaking like a leaf. Fortunately, a new teacher, Professor Remus J. Lupin, was with them and chased the Dementors off. He also gave them large bars of chocolate to counter the effects of being in close proximity to them. Professor Dumbledore has warned us to do nothing around them that will cause them to harm any of us. The rain that plagued us from the time we left London is still with us. We couldn't be outside anyway because we all have a great deal of homework already. Rest assured that I shall keep a good eye on Ginny and alert you immediately if there is any reoccurrence of the behavior she exhibited last year. Sincerely yours, 'It sounds like Percy is enjoying some of the advantages of being Head Boy more then others,' said Molly, shaking her head. 'What do the twins say?' Dear Mum and Dad, Having Dementors guard the castle is not a good idea. WHEN DID MINISTER FUDGE EVER HAVE AN IDEA THAT WAS GOOD? We now understand why Dad had the reaction he did when he went to Azkaban. IT SCARED US WHEN YOU CAME BACK ALL WEAK AND SHAKING. The Dementors are truly horrible. THEY'D SCARE ANYONE. Draco Malfoy was so scared on the train he nearly wet himself. BUT NOW HE IS MAKING FUN OF HARRY BECAUSE HE FAINTED. We hope Quidditch starts soon. WE ARE DOING WELL IN SCHOOL BUT WE LIKE PLAYING QUIDDITCH BETTER THAN DOING TONS OF HOMEWORK. Love, Fred and GEORGE Arthur smiled brightly at Molly and commented, 'We can't be accused of having raised children who are all alike. I don't think that Percy will every understand Fred and George, nor visa versa.' 'Variety is the spice of family life!' answered Molly with a shrug. 'They get along a great deal better now that they can communicate. Please read Ron's next. He may tell us more about Harry and Ginny's reactions.' Dear Mum and Dad, This trip to Hogwarts was terrible. The Dementors are the most scary things I have ever seen. And they make you feel like everything is hopeless. Harry fainted and fell on the floor. When he came round he said he heard someone screaming but no one else did. I hope he is not hearing things that no one else can hear again. And poor Ginny turned all white and shook all over and huddled in the corner. Hermione took care of her when she started to cry. Even Neville Longbottom got pale and sad looking. I hate Dementors. Professor Lupin had big slabs of chocolate and he made us eat some of it and it got us warm again. School is started and some of my classes are strange. I don't know about Divination. Harry got to ride on a Hippogriff and then stupid Malfoy wouldn't listen to Professor Hagrid about bowing to it and he got slashed. He's a nancy-boy. Did you hear that he came running to Fred and George because he got so scared on the train? They said he nearly wet himself. This was a really good summer. Going to Egypt and seeing Bill and Charlie was brilliant. I hope the school term will be better than it started out. Love, Ron 'Do you suppose that the Malfoy boy was really slashed by a Hippogriff? His father will probably sue the school,' said Molly in a worried voice. 'Indeed, Lucius Malfoy will make trouble wherever he can. I hope our children stay away from him wherever possible.' Arthur shook his head. 'Like father, like son.' 'How about reading Ginny's letter? Then we should eat dinner.' Dear Mum and Dad, Remember how scared I was when Tom was trying to take my soul down in the Chamber of Secrets before Harry came and rescued me? That is exactly like I felt when the Dementor came to our compartment on the train. It got so cold and I got so sad and terrified all mixed in together. I started shaking all over and couldn't help but curl up in a ball in the corner. Harry fell off his seat onto the floor. I didn't hear anything but my teeth chattering but he says he heard screams in his head. And Hermione says he fainted. I love Professor Lupin. He made the Dementor go away with a silvery thing and he knew we had to eat chocolate right away so we would feel better. I'm glad he is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He is already my favorite teacher but I like Hagrid, I mean Professor Hagrid, too. I will go to see Madam Pomfrey if I get a cold or anything. This is going to be a good year. Love, Ginny 'Oh, Arthur,' said Molly wiping away a tear. 'Ginny must have been so scared.' 'Dementors are foul beasts, even for grown men,' declared Arthur. 'We can only hope they catch Sirius Black soon so they have to go back to Azkaban.' ***** As the month of September passed, Arthur and Molly settled into a routine. They both rose early and Molly prepared their breakfast while Arthur read the Daily Prophet. He Apparated to work most days and she walked with the other witches in the Walking and Talking exercise group. She harvested the vegetables from the garden to prepare for the cold months and cleared out the garden beds so they'd be ready for planting in the spring. She even enjoyed flinging the gnomes over the wall at the end of the garden. 'Such good upper arm exercise,' she said to herself as she tossed the little critters. ***** The weekly letters continued from Percy but they were mostly short and rather non-informative. He complained about all of his responsibilities and homework. Ron was the only other Weasley who wrote the following week. He sent Hedwig with this letter- Dear Mum and Dad, We are all busy with school. Ginny seems to be more like she was around Christmas last year when she was talking to her friends and acting silly with Fred and George. I guess that's a good sign. School is going well. Professor Lupin is a very good teacher and we are studying boggarts in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Neville Longbottom's was really funny. My spider wasn't. Professor Trelawney is very mystical in Divination. I guess she is supposed to be. I wish she would stop telling Harry he is about to die. Professor Snape is still unfair to Gryffindors. Malfoy keeps muttering about his father suing the school and about Sirius Black coming after Harry. Why would Sirius Black want to do that? Next week is Hermione's birthday and I am going to give her one of the trinkets I bought in the Bazaar. I think she will like it. Her mum always sends a big cake. Hermione seems extra busy this year because she is taking more classes than Harry and me. I don't know how she does all the homework. Harry and I would appreciate some food like Ginny used to send us when she was learning to cook. We are doing so much homework that it makes us hungry. Love, Ron 'Sounds like Ron and Ginny have got off to a good start,' said Arthur. 'That was a pretty broad hint about some tarts and biscuits.' 'I'll try and make some for all the children. It might be best if you send them through the post from the Ministry. I'm too worried about Errol to try him with anything but one letter,' replied Molly. Molly made an assortment of treats the very next day while she listened to her two favorite programs on the Wizarding Wireless Network. She'd rather lost track of what was happening on Days of Destiny while they were off in Egypt. The reception there was not good and when she and Ginny tried to listen in early August the programs seemed to be repeats of ones that had been broadcast the first week of July. Missing a whole month didn't seem to matter much because Lord Lyle had lost all his memory again and became convinced he was a famous Muggle painter. The Healers had to watch him round the clock because he was obsessed with cutting his ear off. They'd already had to do Sticking Spells three times. Unfortunately, it had been put back a bit crooked the last time. Even Molly felt sorry for Lord Lyle who had always been evil, but handsome. It was much harder for Molly to follow the plot of Bedside at St Brigid's. She still thought the music at the beginning was too loud and the adverts were all for things that did not appeal to her. However, she did like Healer Hoover, the expert in infertility in identical twins, but worried when Healer Darcy began to just happen to be in the same place that she was all of the times. 'Watch out for him, dearie!' she advised the Healer. 'He's up to no good.'
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