A Closer Look

Chapter 2: Let the Chaos Begin

And all I really want is some patience

A way to calm the angry voice

And all I really want is deliverance

~ All I Really Want, Alanis Morissette

"So then he says, 'did it hurt when you fell from heaven?'!"

The group exploded in laughter at Ron's re-telling of Harry's embarrassing flirting incident. Harry found himself burning red but managed a weak smile. Ginny felt for him.

"Well, it really wasn't that bad! I mean, come on now, Harry said in self-defense. "Ginny, wouldn't that work on you?"

"Now that's not fair! Ask someone else ...Hermione?" Ginny blushed, but remarked all this in good humor. Everyone knew she still felt the aftereffects of her long crush on Harry.

"If someone said that to me," Hermione said, coming to her defense. "I'd laugh my head off. Of course, Harry is quite endearing simply for trying...for him, I'd make an exception."

The group chuckled again. Just then, Ginny heard the doorbell ring and excused herself to answer it. She was in especially good spirits. She loved it when the Weasley clan got together, and that particular night, even Harry and Hermione had come along. Even better, at the door was Desdemona, who had agreed to come for dinner.

"Hey, Desde!" she said, answering the door. Desde was (as usual) dressed in the latest fashion, which happened to be the new autumn robe collection by Draea Fields, an aspiring designer.

"Ginny, darling, I just love your house! It's got such a country charm to it!" Ginny wasn't quite sure what Desde meant, so she simply smiled and ushered her inside.

Leading her through the house, she was stopped many times, and details of family heirlooms were requested. Ginny patiently explained the story of several objects. Finally, she led Desde outside.

"Everyone, this is Desde Crushane." Desde flashed a dazzling smile at the group. Various family members rushed to introduce themselves as Ginny showed Desde her seat. She immediately regretted seating her next to Ron. She could tell they wouldn't hear much out of him for a while, as he sat transfixed, staring at Desde.

As dinner got started, Ginny was quite pleased to see Desde was fitting in well. She said all the right things and enthusiastically piped up on any discussion. She even had a thing or two to say about Percy's report on the Standard Quill Model three. Ginny herself was happily engaged in a conversation with Hermione.

"...but eventually he caved and let some very useful information slip. As you can see, he's not an easy one to crack! Can you believe that's the third Death Eater we've tracked down this month?" Hermione was busy telling Ginny all about a case she'd been working on for a while.

Hermione, who had originally planned to be an Auror when she graduated from Hogwarts, discovered that her real path lay in law. She was now one of Wizard London's most prestigious attorneys.

"Wow, Mione, sounds amazing! I don't know how you manage that much passion over it, though. I'd never make it in law, myself." Ginny mused.

"Oh, well, it's just not your thing. I'm sure you'll find something soon enough. Don't fret." Ginny beamed. Hermione always had such a comforting way with Ginny. When she'd been sick last year, Hermione had come once or twice a week to check on her. She was truly like the big sister Ginny'd always wanted.

"Ginny, can you show me to the loo?" Desde cut in. Ginny excused herself and led Desde inside. She then took the opportunity to run upstairs and put her hair into a ponytail. She had started with it curled, but as the atmosphere became less formal she felt it was okay to get it out of her face. She smiled to herself in the mirror and bounded back downstairs.

Desde was already outside when she came back, and it seemed Ron had finally found his tongue. He was talking Desde's ear off about, Ginny gathered, the latest discovery of some dark files by the Ministry department he worked in. Oddly enough, Desde was looking rather uncomfortable; an emotion Ginny'd never seen her display. She was usually the calm and collected type, as well as fun loving. This just didn't fit in.

"Er, Ron, why don't you help me clear the table?" Ginny suggested, coming to Desde's rescue.

"Why don't you get Harry to help?" Ron asked, looking at Ginny in annoyance.

"No, I want you to help. Harry's a guest." Ginny had him trapped and he gave in. He promised Desde he'd be right back, although she didn't look too upset. As Ginny carried a few dishes inside, she saw Desde was already chatting with Harry. Ginny tried not to feel jealous about this.

"Thanks a lot Gin!" Ron snapped, pulling her out of her silent contemplation.

"No problem," she said airily, flashing him a Desde-like smile. He rolled his eyes and went back out for more dishes.

Just then, Harry walked in.

"Hey, Ginny, want some help with the dishes?" he said.

"Oh no, I've got them, really." She smiled up at him.

"Let me help you anyway." Harry said, taking up place next to her at the sink. They worked for a while in a comfortable silence. Ron came in occasionally with dishes, but after a while settled down in conversation with Desde. Poor girl. Ginny said to herself. After awhile, Ginny noticed Harry watching them too.

"So you, er, like Desde?" she said, venturing a guess. Harry glanced down at her and smirked.

"She's not really my type," he said cautiously. Ginny tried to hide her smile. "No offense!" Harry added.

"None taken, of course. She's quite the opposite of me, really, but we just seem to get along," she answered, turning back to the dishes.

"Sometimes the best friendships form that way. I mean, Hermione and I are quite the opposite, too!" They chuckled together, and lapsed back into their comfortable silence. Finally, Harry set down a dish and turned to look at her. She was a bit taken aback by the nervous glint in his eyes.

"Ginny, I was wondering if..."

"Gin, Mum's calling for you!" Ron said coming into the kitchen. Ginny wanted to die, and both her and Harry turned to glare at him. "What?" he asked cluelessly. Ginny sighed, exasperated, and hurried out of the kitchen.

"Great timing Ron." Harry said, as he headed off after her.

****

Desde woke up early the next morning and stumbled down the stairs to breakfast. At the landing, she took a minute to stare out the huge bay window in her living room. The magnificent sunrise was pouring in, colours of peach and blue highlighting the walls. She yawned and plopped down in front of a glass of orange juice and a stack of pancakes.

"Maria!" she called through a mouthful of pancake, "Where's the paper?"

The young maid came running in carrying the paper, and looking quite nervous.

"Well, don't just stand there! Bring it here!" She sighed and turned back to her meal as the paper was placed by her side. After a few more bites, she picked it up and stared at the front page.

"Would you look at that?" she said to no one in particular. "Death Eaters Caught in Secret Meeting Late Wednesday Night: One Girl Escaped Unidentified."

"'Tis a shame?" Maria asked questioningly, trying to find the right words.

"A shame, Maria? What makes you say that?" Desde commented, looking quite taken aback. "Honestly, we mustn't act sad about this, now should we? Wouldn't want people getting the wrong idea about our family..." she smiled sharply and turned back to the article.

****

Ginny strolled down the aisle at the little grocery store in town. It was Thursday morning and she was attending a meeting with Desde that night. According to Desde, it was a town meeting for the magical community. Ginny hadn't even been aware their town had such a thing. She figured it might be fun to get involved, so she'd even offered to bring a side dish.

She'd been casually walking around the store for several minutes when she felt that she was being followed. Whenever she turned around, there were two elderly ladies, twittering amongst themselves. Ginny shook her head a little, then continued on.

Unfortunately, this little charade continued on for the next ten minutes, until Ginny had had enough. She turned slowly to face the ladies.

"Excuse me," Ginny said rather rudely. "But may I help you?"

The ladies exchanged a meaningful glance before the one on the left answered.

"Oh, thank you for asking, dear, but we're just fine."

"Yes, no problems here," the second lady added. Once again, Ginny watched as the two looked at each other. They looked almost as though they were communicating telepathically, Ginny thought. She was beginning to get annoyed and was quite sick of them staring at her.

"Well then, would you mind telling me why you're following me around the store?" she asked, putting on a stern face.

"Oh, Claire and I were just wondering what you were doing out in public." Up until then, the two had been using sweet little old lady voices. Now their tone sounded icy and accusatory. Ginny was a bit taken aback.

"Doing out in public?" she asked, genuinely confused. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Other than the fact that you're a criminal?" The lady called Claire hissed. Now, Ginny was angry. First she was harassed by the two, and now in the process of being accused of criminal activity?

"Criminal!" Ginny burst out. "Wherever did you get that idea?"

"I told you! I told you, Mary!" Claire practically yelled, turning to the second lady. "Look at that temper! She's obviously in cahoots with Voldemort!"

"Yes, and apparently her red hair is getting to her. You know how their tempers are."

"I'd hate to see her in action."

That did it. Ginny turned an unheard of shade of red.

"I'm still here you know!" she yelled, disturbing a few scattered shoppers. "I can hear you!" The two ladies turned to look at Ginny as she tried to control her rage.

"What nerve! How dare you talk to your elders like that? Didn't your mother teach you any manners?" Mary snapped. Now Ginny's colour faded. She was so violently mad she thought she might faint.

"Listen here you two! My mother is the most...the most dignified, courteous, lovely woman you'd ever have the pleasure to meet! Where do you come off insulting her?" She paused for breath and tried to control her temper. "And my hair! How can you have an issue with my hair? It's red! So? That's a stupid old rumor that redheads have wild tempers and you damn well know it!" Ginny, unfortunately, was not doing a good job proving her point. She was shaking with anger. "And last, I hope you know that You-Know-Who is dead! Dead, okay, dead! I mean honestly, you're just judgmental, and are more likely to be in with You-Know-Who than me." She then leant against a rack of chips to catch her breath. She noticed the two ladies were still staring. The embarrassment at the scene she made was beginning to sink in. "I'm, ah, done now."

"Well, thank heavens for that. I won't live forever, you know." Claire said, glaring at Ginny.

"Hey, wait a minute! Why did you call me a criminal?" Ginny said, finally realizing the real matter at hand.

"Why do you think? Because of this, of course!" Mary said, brandishing a paper at Ginny. She grabbed it and looked to where Mary was pointing. It was a chaotic picture, and very badly developed, Ginny noticed. She had once been into photography. She looked at it closely, and saw there was a blurred picture of a girl. Ginny gasped as she realized what she was seeing. She looked up at the women then back at the picture. There she was, pale complexion, long legs, and signature Weasley red hair. Her eyes frantically focused on the title.

"Death Eaters Caught in Secret Meeting Late Wednesday Night: One Girl Escaped Unidentified."

*****

Driving home, Ginny did all she could not to be violently sick. How could this have happened? Someone was framing her, but why? Who had a quarrel with her? Questions she had no answers to were crammed into her head, adding to her monstrous headache. And then there was the fact that the picture was on the front page of the Daily Prophet where anyone could seen it - which meant her parents could see it. Tears started rolling down her cheeks, and soon built into silent sobs. Then the rain came.

It was perfect, and fitting that it should rain. It mirrored her feelings exactly. The raging torrents mocked her anger. The grey bleakness swallowed her in despair. The bright, dangerous flashes of lightning stated her shock. The sound of thunder drilled its way into her brain.

She entered her house, soaked from the rain, feeling numb. She walked through the living room, ignoring her mother's worried protests, and up the stairs. She sat down on her bed trying to piece it together. As hard as she tried, it just didn't make any sense. She was starting to feel as though nothing made sense. So she let sleep take her.

*****

In her dream, she slept on a bed surrounded by beautiful curtains. She'd never felt anything so comfortable. Outside, she heard the gentle sound of a bird chirping. A small part of reality seeped in, telling her this wasn't right. The birds had already flown south for the winter. She was quick to squash those thoughts.

She drew back the curtains, and looked to the far wall where there was a window. The sky outside was the bluest she'd ever seen it. Standing up, she noticed she was wearing another elaborate dress, and realized once again she was a princess. She seemed to float as she walked over to the window. Gazing out, she saw nothing for miles, except luscious gardens and intriguing forests. She knew she'd love to spend forever there exploring.

A splash of red in the corner caught her eye, and she turned away from the window to get a better look. It was the rose. She felt a bit queasy at the sight of it. Without thinking, she ran over to where it sat on her dresser, grabbed it, and flung it out the open window. The action held no logical reason, yet it gave her a sense of triumph.

It was then she turned to the mirror. Gazing into it, she gasped. The reflection was not her own. She opened her mouth to scream ...

Ginny bolted awake, and sat straight up. She was breathing hard and her pulse was racing.

"Katie."

*****

Ginny was mad. Madder than ever. She was beyond confusion and sadness. Now, there was only a deep hatred. It hit her the minute she was fully able to think. Everything made sense.

Katie Cook had used a glamour charm to look like her. The conversation she'd over heard the other day flooded back into her mind. '...Oh use your brain, Vinford! Do you expect me to walk into a DE meeting without a bloody disguise...' She should have known Katie would hurt her. She had needed someone to blame, and had gone back to the old reliable resort of Ginny. Of course, just like old times. Let's make everything bad happen to Ginny!

She could hardly process it all. Why else would Katie have wanted to meet with her? She probably just needed to remember what I looked like, Ginny thought. And then there was the fact that Katie had said she was attending a Death Eater meeting. She should've told someone right then, right when she found out. She swore out loud.

She was bloody mad, but it also hit her that she had an alibi. And seven people to back it up. When the Death Eater meeting was being held she was at dinner. But the awful feeling of being framed still hung in the air like an ugly reminder.

*****

When she finally came downstairs at three o'clock, Hermione was sitting at the kitchen table chatting with Mrs. Weasley. Ginny had forgotten that Hermione had spent the night. She lived in a flat in London and had driven to the Weasleys, so when the weather got bad, she opted to take up the offer to spend the night. She hadn't been up yet when Ginny left for the grocery store.

"Ginny, there you are! I came up to see you but you were napping. Would you like some tea?" Hermione asked, smiling kindly. Ginny nodded politely, which wasn't the smartest idea. Her head exploded at the simple movement. She had a headache the size of the London Underground. As Mrs. Weasley poured her a cup of tea, Ron came bounding down the stairs.

"....Here it is Hermione! I found it! This one was take on graduation day when ...oh, hi Gin." Ron said enthusiastically. He had obviously been wound up about something. It looked like he was holding a picture.

"Ginny, are you quite alright? You're looking a bit pale." Hermione peered into Ginny's face, looking concerned. Ginny shrugged and turned back to the steaming cup of tea. It was then that she remembered the meeting she was supposed to attend that night.

"Mum, I don't think I'll go tonight." she said, sipping her tea.

"What? Why ever not? You were so excited all morning." Mrs. Weasley looked concerned, but also a bit annoyed at her daughter's indecisiveness-It had been common lately.

"Well that was then. Now, I've got a terrible headache." Without even a backwards glance, Ginny got up and went to the phone in the living room. She dialed the numbers gingerly, and waited patiently as it rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello, may I speak with Desde, please?" The lady on the other end mumbled something, and Ginny heard her calling for Desde.

"Yes?"

"Hi, Desde, it's Gin."

"Ginny! It's great to hear from you."

"I just wanted to let you know that I don't think I'll be able to attend the meeting tonight."

"What? Is everything all right?"

Ginny smiled, pleased that for once a friend cared about her wellbeing rather than that of the situation.

"Oh, I've just got a bit of a headache and I don't think I'd be much fun."

"Nonsense! Oh really, you must come!" Ginny sighed. It was that tone of voice that always made Ginny give in.

"Well...I suppose I could try and come-"

"That's the spirit! Remember, I'll pick you up at 6:30 this evening. See you then."

*Click*

"Hello? Hello?!" Ginny stared at the phone for a second, before placing it back on its receiver. She let out a loud groan and collapsed onto the settee.

*****

Katie woke up to the gentle splashing of rain on her face. She sat up, glancing around trying to remember where she was. The Garden. She sat on a lawn chair, tools scattered around her. She loved to garden, but it was autumn, so there wasn't much to be done. She had been busy tidying the garden up, getting it ready for spring. The sun had been shining brightly in the afternoon sky when she'd fallen asleep. Now, the sky was painted with greys and rain came splattering down to berate the flowers. She hastily grabbed the black tarp to cover the poor plants, which were already on their last legs.

When her task was finished, she stood in silence for a few minutes, her head tilted skyward. She'd always enjoyed the rain. She let the cool droplets slip and slide down her cheeks, reaching the tip of her chin then dropping lazily to the ground. They nestled in her hair, before exploding to dampen it. When the chill began to settle in, she grabbed her hat and ran inside.

Shaking out her wet clothes, she stopped once more to gaze out the window. Just then, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she let out a short cry. She spun around to face her fiancé. Locking her arms around his back, she smiled up at him.

"I was just coming to get you. You do realize you have to be at the meeting in less than an hour?"

Katie gasped, letting go of Colin. "An hour? Oh God, I let the time slip away! I've got to go change!" She tried to run off but slipped in the puddle she'd made. Colin grabbed her just as she was about to do a split. Giggling, she clung to him.

"Oops!" She smiled weakly. "I'll just clean that up later."

"You know," Colin grinned mischievously "You could always stay home. I'd make it worth your while."

"Oh sod off!" she said teasingly, breaking free of his grasp. "Besides," she said as she walked off towards the stairs. "You know I can't do that. I've got an appearance to keep up!"

*****

Ginny tapped her foot impatiently as she huddled under her umbrella, waiting for Desde. Just as she was about to give up and head inside, a silver jeep screeched up. Closing the umbrella, she made a mad dash for the car.

"Sorry I was late," Desde said, turning down the radio.

"Oh don't worry about it." Ginny said as they took off down the road. Desde's driving made her just a bit nervous.

"Hey, Gin, everything okay? You look a bit pale."

"font color="Black">Oh, it's just this bloody headache!" Ginny sighed, rubbing her temples. "Oh bugger! I've forgotten the salad." Ginny looked apologetically at Desde. After all the fuss, she'd totally forgotten about bringing the side dish.

"Don't sweat it. I'm sure some stay-at-home mum will have spent all day baking cookies and such." Desde smiled at Ginny, erasing her forlorn look.

"Well, if you're sure..."

"I am." Desde remarked, ending that conversation. "Shall we have some music?" she said, playing with the dials.

"Mm," was all Ginny managed.

"Here," Desde said, holding something out to Ginny. "Have this cookie. You'll need some energy." Ginny thanked her and took it. She settled back preparing herself for the evening that awaited.

*****

When they arrived at a building Desde called the 'Town Centre', there was already a crowd at the door. It was the oddest thing Ginny had seen in quite a while. It seemed that one by one everyone was putting on glamours. How odd, she thought. It was then she turned to look at Desde, only to be met by the site of a brown hair and stunning green eyes. Ginny gasped.

"De-Desde?" She ventured.

"It's me. Come on, let's go inside."

'But... but... why..." Ginny started.

"Lets go, we don't want to be late." Desde said, slamming the car door. It was then that the smallest feeling of discomfort was planted in the back of Ginny's mind.

When they reached the door there was an uptight looking woman with blonde hair piled on top of her head checking people in. Ginny wondered if she'd be on that list. Before she had the chance to panic though, Desde was checking them in. Except something wasn't right. Ginny was beginning to feel dazed but she was certain of what she'd heard.

"Yes, I'm Desde Crushane, and this is Elita West." Desde had said without any hesitation. She never got a chance to ask Desde about it though. All of a sudden, Ginny was being swept away into a crowd. Disorientation was seeping in. Everything was going hazy, and then she blacked out.

*****

Ginny awoke to see sunlight pouring into her room. Her curtains had been drawn back and bright morning light was shining in. It was hurting her eyes, so she squeezed them shut. She felt groggy from her night's rest, and was waiting for her brain to start processing.

It was then that she began to feel the awkward sensation of what a hangover must feel like. She couldn't remember a thing from the night before. She remembered going into the building but after that her mind was blank. She knew there was no way she had gotten drunk, but it sure felt like it.

She stood up and made her way downstairs, looking for her mother. She found her out in the garden.

"Pesky gnomes! Oh, Ginny love, you're up!" Her mother was on her hands and knees yanking at the ear of a gnome.

"Mum, what happened last night? How did I get here? Did I even leave?" She was starting to feel that the whole evening had been a dream.

"You must still be sleepy. Desde, bless that girl, brought you in last night. You fell asleep on the way home. Busy night it seemed." She turned back to her work, leaving a puzzled Ginny staring at her. Turning, she made her way back into the kitchen.

She was taking a bite of toast when it hit her. She felt information rushing into her head. It felt as though she'd just gotten her memory back. And then it was there, all the information.

They'd gone into the meeting, and it had been a typical, normal town meeting. At least, it had been what Ginny expected. Issues where discussed, such as policies of where magic was allowed to be used. A few ladies stood up and presented their case for trying to get a Quidditch stadium put up so their little ones could practice. One man addressed the need for more teachers in the primary schools. Over all, everything was normal, and the evening was enjoyable. So why did Ginny still feel something was missing?

*****

Ginny looked up from her magazine as the bell on the door announced the arrival of a customer. Seeing as everyone else was busy, Ginny stood up to take care of them. Walking up to the front, she was greeted with a most unpleasant sight.

"What do you want?" Ginny spat.

"Wha-What? I just came to get my hair done. Ginny, is everything alright?"

"It was till you got here." Her eyes narrowed. "Why are you doing this, Katie? Why don't you just leave me alone?"

"Should I come back at a better time?" Katie said cautiously.

"No, if you want your hair done I'll do it. It's my job." She stalked off and Katie followed. She settled herself at the station next to Desde so she would have some comfort. She then fixed Katie with an icy glare.

"What would you like?" She smiled falsely.

"Um-" Katie faltered. She was clearly confused, but Ginny didn't care.

"Yes? I don't have all day, you know! My shift ends at five."

Katie seemed to be gathering herself. She then took a moment to clear her throat.

"Alright then, I'd like a little bit off the bottom, so that it has a slight inward curl." With that, Ginny went to work in complete silence, except the occasional comment to Desde. After a while, Katie became very visibly uncomfortable. Desde noticed and decided to ignore Ginny's warning glare.

"So, um, you know Ginny?" she said in a friendly tone as she finished up with her customer.

"Oh, yes!" Katie exclaimed, glad for a distraction from the unnerving silence.

"Well, isn't that something? Ginny hasn't really mentioned any old friends." Desde turned her head to fix Ginny with a questioning look.

"No, I wouldn't have." Ginny remarked putting a stopper on any further questions. Meanwhile she was busy hacking away at Katie's hair, pulling hard enough that Katie had a bit of a pained expression on her face.

"You might want to lighten up." Desde whispered, so only Ginny could hear. Ginny rolled her eyes, but loosened her grip.

"So, where is it that you work?"

"I work over at the Ministry. If you two ever consider it, let me know. I'll write you a recommendation." Katie was beaming. She clearly liked whatever job she had there. Desde, however, had paled beyond belief.

"Ministry, my arse." Ginny mumbled.

"Hm?" Katie asked innocently, turning a bit to look at Ginny. Ginny just rolled her eyes and jerked Katie's face so it was facing forward again.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name." Desde's voice was flat () and a bit scary in its lack of emotion.

"Katie Cook. And you are?" Ginny watched as Desde paled further.

"I'm sorry, I uh, I just forgot that-that...this thing-and-" Desde didn't bother to finish. She rushed through the curtains into the back room where Ginny heard her grab her things. A door slammed, and then there was silence. Ginny cocked her head slightly.

"Desde?" There was no answer. Without warning, Ginny turned and ran after her. She knocked over a vase on the way out and didn't bother to grab a coat. When she got outside, the cold was bitter and nipped at her through her jumper. She spotted Desde, and ran up grabbing the other girl's bare arm.

"Gin, listen, I have to go. I have to. I'll call you later." Ginny was so confused, all she could do was stare as Desde hurried off. She stood there for a minute, trying to understand. She wrapped her arms tight around herself to fight off the chill. When she realized that her bare legs had gone white from the cold, she turned slowly and headed inside.

"Is everything alright? Ginny?" The voice didn't even reach Ginny as she had shut herself away, lost in her thoughts. She felt numb. Something wasn't right. Katie wasn't right, and something about Desde obviously wasn't right. And for no apparent reason, it hit her. Thursday night most definitely hadn't been right.

*****

The week had been one of the oddest of Ginny's life. Everything had become obscure. Reality and fiction were mixing, and nothing made sense. She didn't know it then, but that moment in the beauty parlour had changed everything.

It was a sickening feeling, the realization. It was in that instant that something deep inside her snapped. Everything she knew about Thursday night, as surreal as it already was, was not true. She had no physical reason to believe it wasn't, but all the same, she just knew. There had been no town meeting. As she sat on her back porch, trying to read, all she could do was repeat that to herself, over and over.

The scariest part was that she didn't know what had happened. She knew that the memory she had of Thursday night wasn't real. It just wasn't. But she didn't know what had happened. So in the place of the false memory was a deep pit of blackness. Her mother had always said that a lack of knowledge was one of the scariest things. She was now beginning to understand this phrase.

She lay awake that night, craving sleep. The moonlight beamed through the curtains and spread throughout the room. She spent the time mulling over pointless things. Like how she missed her bed in the Gryffindor dorm. The heavy curtains would have blocked out the light and allowed quiet slumber. Not much she could do about that though.

Finally, in frustration, she flung back her covers and swept over to the window. She pushed aside the curtains, which did nothing to block the light, and opened her window. She stuck her head out, sucking in the fresh air. Leaning out further, she surveyed the scenery. The Weasleys may have had an odd house, which was too small for the many children, but no one could deny that the land was breathtaking.

Her window faced the back, so the view was great. The backyard stretched out a ways before giving way to a forest of tall trees of many varieties. In those woods was a beautiful, cool creek, which provided refreshing swimming in the summer, and icy skating in the winter. And if you followed that creek, as Ginny did now with her eyes, you would hit a little pond, where the Weasley children had spent many a grand day. If you looked on past the woods, you would see rolling hills of green, where the oldest Weasley boys had set up a Quidditch pitch.

Ginny switched her attention to the westward part of the yard. The area there was scattered with trees, one of which held Ginny's treasured swing. She couldn't count the times she'd enjoyed its ride. That area of the yard also held a little flower garden that Ginny had enjoyed tending as a child, and still continued to enjoy. It was quite different than the garden near the house, which held vegetables and was infested with gnomes.

Deep brown eyes that found their way back into the forest one last time, and rested on a darling little bridge. She smiled slightly, and then let out a small sigh, which could be discerned as half content, and half distressed. Finally her gaze swept over the land in finality, and she shut the window. Pulling the curtains shut again, she made her way back to the bed again. This time she slept.

*****

She had landed back in the same old dream. This time she wasn't quite sure whether to be pleased or exasperated. What did it all mean? She got up from the chair she was sitting in and turned to find herself facing a wall she hadn't seen before. She realized then that she hadn't taken the time to properly look around the room until that moment. She had only concentrated on a certain area; the first time the mirror and last time the window. Of course, she realized maybe her unconscious hadn't wanted her to see the rest of the room yet.

As she looked around, she observed many little treasures. Golden tapestries hung from the walls and a rich wooden wardrobe stood at the opposite end of the room. After fully surveying her surroundings, it hit her that something big was missing. A door.

It made her a little nervous that there was no door. Was she a captive? She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, and saw that she was wearing yet another fancy dress, this time lavender with gold trim and a low neckline. The sleeves were tight until the elbow where they billowed out.

"No," she assured herself out loud. "Captives don't dress like this."

She was hoping she might spend a bit more time in this dream than she usually did, but that dream was short lived. A hand came lightly down on her shoulder, causing her hand to fly to her mouth. She spun around. How had he gotten in? She looked around again and sure enough, there was a door next to the dresser that hung open.

She looked back at the stranger then. Her eyes flew up to meet his. He held her gaze for a few moments until she tore her eyes away. She looked back at the door, wondering if she should run. She didn't feel in any real danger but then again there didn't seem anything else to do. As if in answer to her internal struggle, the stranger gave a slight wave with his hand and the door creaked shut.

"Guess not..." She mumbled.

"Elita..." The stranger whispered then. "Why won't you join me? Don't you love me any more?"

She stumbled backwards a bit and landed hard on the bed. Without thinking, she picked up the long train of her dress and ran over to the door. Grasping the handle, she turned it and found that it was looked. She tugged at it and cried out in anxiety. She continued pulling in vain until the room fell away from her and she was left in darkness.

"This is all your life is without me." The man's voice rang out one more time before the darkness swallowed her up.

Ginny woke up, drenched in sweat and shivering. The dream had been alarming, - but she felt no terror - only anger. She was sick and tired of not understanding. Her life was becoming a labyrinth of mysteries and questions with no answers. Then there were the sleepless nights, such as this one, which were becoming normal. It was all getting to be too much.

She swung her legs out of bed and wrapped a shawl around her shoulders. She tiptoed out of her room and down the stairs to the kitchen. She lit a few candles, not wanting to do anything that would wake the others up. This was her burden to bear.

She settled into preparing a cup of hot chocolate. She chose tea as her preferred drink, but this evening she needed the comfort factor of a nice mug of hot chocolate. She watched as the chocolate melted into the milk and swirled around, getting lost in the pools of white. She then poured it into her favourite mug, one that sported the Gryffindor seal, and sat down at the kitchen table.

Sipping at the hot chocolate, she took a moment to revel in the nostalgia. She saw flashes of her blissful childhood. She saw herself spending endless winter days out in the snow with her brothers, partaking in snowball fights or snowman contests. Winter had always been a special, magical time for her. Now it was fast approaching, and the coldness didn't give her much delight. For once, the cold felt cold.

Slowly, exhaustion was creeping in. Coherent thoughts were few and far apart. In the last moments before she gave in to the appetizing sleep, her thoughts drifted back to her current situation. Things were getting out of hand in her already troubled life. She vowed right then and there, that no matter what it meant, she would regain some sense of order. With that unspoken promise hanging in the air, Ginny Weasley collapsed onto the kitchen table.

*****

A/N: Thanks so much to Lissanne for her wonderful beta work-I'll miss her dearly! I'd also like to pay a debt of gratitude to my awesome advisor, Rachel Gold, who let me know when it didn't make sense. I'm hoping to get the next chapter out in early December, but bear with me if it's later than that. I'm so busy lately, and I'm shopping around for a few new betas! Thanks to you all for reading!

Next Chapter: What really is going on with Ginny? And Desde? And Katie? More chaos, clues, and confusion ahead! Oh yeah, and I wonder what it all has to do with a cookie...

My endless thanks go to:

LilSilverPheonix (As requested, here's more!), Rachel Gold (Glad you liked it! Thanks for the well needed help!), Witch-Child (Thanks!), Kathena (Hehe-guess you'll have to keep reading to get your questions answered! Thanks for the encouraging words!), Angelic01 (All I'll say is the dreams are important! *wink*), Hermione123 (Wow! I'm glad you liked it! Hope you'll keep reading...I could use all the supportive fans I can get!), Bink4090 (Hmm...I can't tell you that, but I hope you'll keep reading to find out!), Samantha and Lana (Thanks for the review Lana-Glad you liked the names too!)