Questions and Answers

little_bird

Story Summary:
What happens when the past collides with the present and threatens to cast the Potters' and Weasleys' lives into disarray...

Chapter 20 - The Princess Diaries

Posted:
04/21/2010
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2,014


Scorpius slid into his seat at breakfast, two days before Christmas. Narcissa was the only other occupant at the table, lingering over a cup of tea. 'Have you finished your Christmas shopping?' she asked.

Scorpius shook his head, his mouth full of eggs. Swallowing, he reached for his juice and gulped half of it before replying, 'No. I just have Lily left on my list.'

'You're cutting it awfully close. Tomorrow's Christmas Eve, and you're going with Teddy to the Potters' after tea on Boxing Day.'

'I know.' Scorpius slouched in his chair, picking at the sausages on his plate. 'Nothing seems right.'

'You could just get her a large box of Honeydukes' best,' Narcissa commented idly, deliberately baiting her grandson.

'No!' Scorpius exclaimed. 'I mean... No, that's not fair to Lily if I'm giving James and Al something to just give her a pile of sweets,' he stammered.

'Hmmm-mmmm.' Narcissa didn't miss Scorpius' reaction to her suggestion. He'd nearly come unglued at the idea of giving Lily something as impersonal as candy.

'No, really, Grandmother.'

Narcissa smothered a laugh. 'Finish your breakfast, and I'll take you into London. We'll find something for Lily.'

Scorpius shoved his plate aside. 'I'm finished,' he said, gulping the rest of his juice as he stood up.

'Go get your coat and I'll tell your mother where we're going.' Narcissa watched him race out of the dining room, her eyes creased in amusement. Even if Scorpius merely harbored a crush for Lily Potter, he had it bad for her. She hadn't missed the flush that stained his cheeks when he'd been informed he would spend part of his holiday with the Potters.

'Where's Scorpius heading in such a hurry?' inquired Daphne, coming into the dining room.

'We're going to London so he can get a gift for Lily.'

'Ohhhhh,' Daphne breathed, nodding in comprehension. 'He really does like her.'

'Okay, Grandmother,' Scorpius panted slightly, winding the blue scarf Ginny had given him last Christmas around his neck. He already wore the matching mittens and hat.

'Diagon Alley or Muggle London?' Narcissa asked, as she pulled her coat from a cupboard near the front door.

'Muggle London,' Scorpius replied promptly, following Narcissa out to the snowy lane in front of the mansion. Narcissa held out a hand and Scorpius grasped it with his mittened one, and they Disapparated to Diagon Alley, going through the Leaky Cauldron to the busy streets of London.

*****

'Mum?'

Ginny looked up from the article she was editing for one of the younger reporters. Eleanor Selwyn, who had been the editor since before Albus was born, was looking to retire at the end of the current Quidditch season, and was trying to find a replacement for her job as editor of the sports section of the paper. Ginny was one of the two current reporters under consideration for the job. 'What, Lily?' she asked in minor irritation. She had to finish editing the article soon and get it back to London.

'When you're done with that, can I ask you something?'

Ginny looked at her daughter, who bore an uncharacteristically solemn expression, her irritation dissipating as quickly as it had arisen. 'Give me ten minutes.'

'Okay.' Lily walked back to the sofa, dragging her feet. She remembered last Christmas, when her parents had told them about their lives before she and her brothers were born. Lily didn't remember much of the details, but she remembered something about a diary and Ginny. Lily hadn't given the conversation much thought over the last year, but one of her teachers at school had assigned them keep a diary over the holiday, and the thought of her mother and a diary kept niggling in the back of her head. She did also remember that her parents did agree to answer any and all of their questions from then on.

'Lils? What's wrong?' Ginny sat on the sofa next to Lily and put an arm around her shoulders. Lily automatically snuggled into Ginny as Ginny's hand began to stroke her hair.

'Mum, do you remember your diary?'

'You'll have to be a little more specific than that. I've had more than one.'

'The one you and Dad talked about last Christmas.'

'Oh, that one,' Ginny murmured flatly.

'You said someone gave it to you...'

Ginny stilled and her hand ceased its stroking of Lily's hair. 'Yes, I did.'

'Who?' Lily asked.

Ginny's arm tightened around Lily. 'It's not important. You really don't need to know. They're gone now.'

'But why?' Lily protested. 'You promised! You and Dad promised you'd answer any questions we had.'

'I know, but this one...' Ginny hesitated. She cupped Lily's face in her hands and looked down at her daughter's face. She looked into Lily's bright, determined eyes and came to a decision. It was better to hear it from either her or Harry, than to find it in a book somewhere. 'I will need for you to be very grown-up for this.'

'Why?'

Ginny used the back of her hand to gently push one of Lily's plaits over her shoulder. 'It was Lucius Malfoy,' she admitted.

'Malfoy? But that's Scorpius' last name...' Lily's coppery brows knit, as she made the connection and recoiled from Ginny.

Ginny closed her eyes and put a hand on Lily's knee. 'Yes, it is.' She inhaled slowly. 'Lucius Malfoy is - was - Scorpius' grandfather. He died last spring.'

Lily's eyes were round in her small face. 'No...'

'Lily, Scorpius is nothing like his grandfather. He wouldn't be in Gryffindor if he was.' Ginny pulled Lily closer to her.

Lily shook her head. 'No, no, no...' She tore herself from Ginny's arms and ran upstairs to her room. Ginny jumped as Lily's bedroom door slammed.

'What was that?' Harry came in the front door and hung his coat on a hook by the front door.

'Lily.' Ginny pushed off the sofa and darted into the office, scooping the articles off the desk and stuffing them into her bag. 'I need to go,' she told Harry as she walked back into the sitting room. 'I need to go... To the paper,' she mumbled, snatching a handful of Floo powder from the flower pot on the mantle and throwing it into the flames.

Harry grabbed Ginny's arm before she could go through the fireplace and the emerald flames died away. 'What happened?'

'She asked about the diary,' Ginny replied shortly, trying to remove her arm from Harry's grasp. 'She didn't take it well when I told her it was Scorpius' grandfather.' She gave up attempting to tug her arm from Harry's hand - his grip was too strong.

Harry didn't say anything for a moment. He began mildly, 'Storming out and sulking during emotional upheavals is my department.' He let go of Ginny's arm. 'You have to go tell her the rest of it. You're the only one who can tell her what she wants to know.' When Ginny looked at him doubtfully, he continued, 'I'll go with you.'

Ginny sagged against the mantle. 'I can't.'

'You have to. We promised them.'

Ginny whirled around to face Harry. 'You didn't see her!' She jabbed a finger sharply into Harry's chest, making him grunt. 'You didn't see her when she realized her friend - a boy we've welcomed into our home with open arms - is related to the effing bastard that nearly killed me!' she shouted.

'And you want me to go upstairs and tell her about all those blank spots in my mind and how I nearly killed four people and a cat! And damn near killed a ghost, too!' Ginny started shaking. 'I almost killed you,' she sniffed.

'It wasn't you,' Harry stated calmly.

'Well, it certainly wasn't Riddle getting his hands dirty, that's for damn sure,' she snarled. 'I can't do it,' she repeated and snatched another handful of Floo powder from the pot and threw it into the fireplace, saying, 'The Prophet.' She darted into the fireplace before Harry could stop her.

*****

The Prophet office was deserted on the fifth floor, where the Quidditch department was housed. Ginny sat at her desk, the same desk she'd used for nearly fifteen years, with her head in her hands. She stared unseeing at the stacks of parchment in front of her, the writing long since blurred to nothing. She slowly pushed back her chair and carelessly gathered the articles in one hand, knocking over an open bottle of ink. It splashed over the desk's surface and Ginny froze, the parchment fluttering to the floor.

*****

Arthur carried Ginny into the hospital wing. She was still weeping uncontrollably into his shoulder. She cried all through Madam Pomfrey's examination. She was relieved when Madam Pomfrey suggested she stay in the hospital wing overnight and not return to her dormitory.

'Why don't you go get cleaned up, dear?' Madam Pomfrey advised, fingering Ginny's dirty and matted hair.

Ginny nodded and stumbled blindly into the bathroom. She peeled off her uniform, letting it fall to the antiseptically clean floor in a filthy heap. Sniffling, she stepped into the shower cubicle and immediately tried to wash out the ink caked into her hair that had run from the mutilated diary. She spent nearly half an hour washing and re-washing her hair until the water ran clear when she rinsed it. Ginny picked up a face cloth, draped over a small hook and picked up the bar of soap resting in a small recess of the wall. She lathered the cloth and proceeded to scrub every inch of her skin she could reach. When she had scrubbed herself pink and nearly raw, she still felt grimy, but it had nothing to do with her physical cleanliness. Ginny wished fervently she could take the face cloth to her mind.

'Ginny?' Ginny's head snapped up. Molly's voice penetrated through the fog that had enveloped her since she woke up in the Chamber, Harry dying in front of her eyes. 'Ginny, are you all right? You've been in there for nearly an hour.'

'I'm fine, Mum.' She winced at how much her voice quaked. 'I... I'll be out in a minute.' Ginny turned off the tap and reached for a towel with a trembling hand. She wrapped it around her dripping hair, then wrapped another one around her body. Her hands had shriveled into deep ridges from being in the shower so long. A clean set of pajamas sat neatly folded on a chair by the door. Ginny pulled them on. They were much too big, but they were clean and dry. It was all that mattered at this point.

Ginny shuffled back into the main part of the hospital wing, where Molly sat in a chair next to one of the beds while she knitted what appeared to be Charlie's Christmas jumper. Ginny could smell the bitter scent of the Fireproofing charm Molly put on the yarn as she wearily pulled herself on the bed. Molly handed Ginny a large mug of hot chocolate. Ginny didn't make an attempt to drink it, but stared into the liquid. 'You'll feel better,' Molly urged. Ginny half-heartedly shrugged and took a few tentative sips of the drink. Molly's hand hovered over a small vial. 'Madam Pomfrey left you a Sleeping Draught. If you want it.'

'Maybe later.' Ginny set the mug down and picked up the comb lying on the table next to the bed and tried to pull it through her tangled hair.

'Here, let me?' Molly's hand hovered over Ginny's and Ginny handed her mother the comb. Molly gently teased the snarls and tangles from Ginny's hair until she could freely run the comb from Ginny scalp to the ends of her hair. Ginny felt her shoulders droop, but she couldn't allow herself to sleep yet.

'Mum?'

'Yes, Ginny?'

'Could you... Would you please cut my hair?' Ginny felt Molly's hand jerk in surprise. Ginny's hair fell nearly to her waist.

Molly cleared her throat. 'Of course, dear.' She drew her wand from a pocket of her robes. 'How much?'

Ginny pulled a lock over her shoulder and glanced down at it. She drew a line with a fingertip a couple of inches below her shoulder. 'There.'

Molly didn't ask why Ginny chose that particular length. She had seen just how far the ink snaked up Ginny's hair, marring the bright copper waves with sticky black. She moved to sit on the bed next to Ginny, and quietly used a Severing charm to cut her hair. She laid each lock of hair she sheared from Ginny's head on the table and when it was done, pointed her wand at the pile of glimmering hair and murmured, 'Evanesco.' Molly looked at Ginny, who seemed so much younger than she was, and so much older at the same time. She ran a hand over Ginny's shorn hair, tucking a wayward lock behind an ear. 'There. It's done.'

Ginny smiled tremulously. 'Thanks, Mum.' Her hand closed over the vial and she upended it into her mouth, grimacing at the bitter taste. She picked up the mug and drained it, as well, to rid herself of the taste. Ginny slid down into the bed, and let Molly tuck the blankets around her like she was a small child.

In moments, she blinked drowsily a few times, and was asleep.

*****

Nobody outside the family had ever known it had been Ginny who opened the Chamber. Dumbledore had seen to that before she had left school for the summer. They hadn't been home more than a couple of weeks when Arthur won the Prophet's Galleon grand prize. Ginny had wondered a time or two over the years if her parents had deliberately taken them to Egypt to visit Bill, just to get her out of the country, so she wouldn't have so much time to brood about the last several months.

She opened her bag and pulled out her wand, and began to siphon the ink from the desk. She stooped to collect the scattered articles and put them on Eleanor's desk. Ginny glanced at her watch. It was getting late. She went back to her desk and grabbed her bag and headed for an Apparition point in the back of the office.

*****

Scorpius heaved a weary sigh. They had combed through various toy shops and even a few large Muggle department stores. But nothing screamed "Lily" to him. 'It's hopeless, Grandmother,' he muttered. 'I'm never going to find something.'

'We'll find something.' Narcissa pointed to a book shop window. 'That looks promising.'

'Well, she does like to read...' Scorpius trudged to the shop window. His flagging spirits rose slightly as he took in the decorations. Twinkling fairy lights bordered the windowpane and a small, Christmas tree stood in the middle, a tiny village under its branches and a miniature train chugged its way around the village. He tugged open the door and went inside.

Scorpius began to scan the shelves, his head tilted sideways, until he bumped into someone. 'Pardon me,' he murmured automatically, his eyes glued to the books.

'Looking for something in particular?' A voice came from above his head and Scorpius looked up to see the person he had bumped into. It was a sales clerk for the shop.

'Yes.'

'What's the title? Maybe I can help you find it faster.'

Scorpius sighed. 'I don't know the title. I don't even know the book...'

'But you'll know it when you see it, eh?' the clerk said wryly.

'Yes.'

'Is it for you?'

Scorpius shook his head. 'No, it's for a friend.'

'What's he like?' The clerk sat down on the edge of a small stage, used for a daily story hour, patting the space next to her, inviting Scorpius to sit next to her.

He plopped down on the carpeted space, thinking about Lily. 'Well, she's a good, uh...' Scorpius scoured his brain for the name of that Muggle sport Teddy was so fond of. 'Football player,' he blurted. 'She's a little girly, likes flowers, and the color pink.' Here, he shuddered a little. He remembered Al telling him about his and James' punishment right after they came home for the summer and how Lily had the upper hand over them both. 'She's kind of a princess sometimes. But she's all right.'

'A princess, huh?' The clerk gazed at the shelves of books surrounding them, lost in thought.

'Yeah. But not one of those kinds of princesses who get locked in a tower and need to be saved,' Scorpius added. 'She knows what she wants, and how she's going to get it.'

'Ah. I think I might have something.' She went to a section of shelving and ran an index finger of the spines of the books. 'Here it is.' The clerk handed Scorpius the book.

He read the title aloud. 'Many Moons?'

The clerk smiled wistfully. 'Yeah. It was one of my favorites as a child. The princess gets sick, and when asked what will make her better, she says the moon. So everybody comes up with these elaborate answers about what the moon's made of, but nobody asks her. Well, until the court jester does. She's a resourceful one. Has all the answers.'

'Can I read it first? Before I make a decision?'

'Sure. I'll just leave you to it. If you need any more help, I'm Natalie.'

'Thank you.' Scorpius opened the book, grinning at the whimsical drawings. Lily would like those. He laughed at the convoluted reasons why nobody could get the moon for the poor girl, when all they had to do was ask her in the first place. Oh yes, Lily would like this one. He turned to see Narcissa gracefully perched on a small, child-sized chair. 'Found it.'

'Lovely. Let's go pay for it, then find some hot chocolate somewhere.'

'And some cake?' Scorpius wheedled. 'I'm hungry.'

'You just ate lunch a few hours ago. Nearly ate the plate, too.'

'Yes, but I'm hungry now.'

Narcissa grinned. 'I think we can arrange for some cake, too.'

'Brilliant...' Scorpius joined the queue at the counter, clutching the book to his chest.

*****

Ginny opened the back door of the house, stepping into the warm kitchen. A covered plate sat on the back of the stove. She lifted the edge of the serviette, and wrinkled her nose at the vegetables, beginning to shrivel. Harry must have forgotten to put a Stasis charm on the plate. She set her bag down in a chair and made her way to the sitting room. It was empty. Light spilled from the office, and Ginny went to investigate. Harry was at the desk, preparing for January's probation interviews. 'Hey,' she said softly.

He looked up over the rims of his glasses. 'Hey,' he responded. 'Lily's still in her room. Hasn't come out, didn't eat the dinner we left for her.' He leaned back in his chair. 'You have to go talk to her.'

'I know.' Ginny looked down at the rug, idly noting it was getting worn at the edges. Her eyes filled with tears and she blinked rapidly, trying to keep them at bay.

Harry shot out of his chair and darted around the desk, wrapping his arms around her. 'None of it was your fault,' he crooned into her hair. 'She'll know that.'

Ginny buried her face in Harry's shoulder. 'I don't like to think about it.'

'I know, love, I don't either.' He lifted Ginny's chin with his finger. 'But we did promise.' Ginny gulped and nodded. 'You don't have to do it alone.'

'I don't think I want to go up alone,' she confessed. Harry reached down for her hand, and laced his fingers through hers, and led Ginny up the stairs to Lily's room.

Ginny took a deep breath, before she knocked on the door. 'Lils? It's Mum. Can I come in?' She was met by silence. Ginny looked up at Harry, who motioned to the door. 'Lily?'

The door opened and Lily turned and padded back to the bed, curling up on it, with her stuffed bunny held tightly in her hands. Ginny followed her into the darkened room, waving her wand at the lamp, making it glow dimly in the room. Ginny sat on the edge of the bed. 'Lily? You mustn't hold anything against Scorpius. He couldn't help what family he was born into. His mum and grandmother are really nice.'

Lily didn't respond, but clutched the bunny tighter.

Ginny licked her dry lips and plunged ahead. 'Lucius Malfoy put the diary in my cauldron when we were out buying my things for school for my first year. He sort of goaded Dad into a scuffle and in the melee, slipped the diary in with the rest of my books. I just assumed Mum and Dad bought it for me.' She reached for Harry's hand, and continued. 'When I started school, I was expecting your uncle Ron to sort of pick up where we left off when he went to school. But he had his own friends and didn't want me tagging along after him. So, I started writing in this diary. And amazingly, it wrote back to me.

'It was Riddle, or the part of his soul that was embedded in the diary. And the more I wrote, the more he was able to posses me. He... He used me to do things. Like kill the school chickens, or paint nasty messages on the wall. He made me open the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, and allowed a basilisk to Petrify four students, one cat, and a ghost. I didn't really know what I was doing. Most of it's these large blank spots in my memory. He really wanted to kill your father, and he made me go to the Chamber to lure Harry down there.

'Your dad almost died.' Ginny felt a tremor go through Lily. 'And I blamed myself for a long time. It wasn't until months after Riddle had been defeated at the end of my sixth year of school that I was able to try and forget about it. I never went down that corridor at school where the entrance was again after my first year.'

'Didn't you know what was happening to you?' asked Lily in a muffled voice.

'Eventually. I tried to flush the diary down a toilet, but it wasn't going to go away that easily. Your dad found it and found out a few things, but he didn't write in it like I did. He didn't try to pour his soul into it out of loneliness.

'When I found out Harry had the diary, I panicked, and broke into his dormitory.' Harry gently squeezed her hand. 'I tore apart his trunk looking for it.'

'Why?' interrupted Lily.

'I thought your dad would find out I was behind all the attacks and hate me. And I didn't want that to happen.'

'Did Lucius Malfoy know what the diary was?' Lily asked in a small voice.

'I don't think so,' interjected Harry. 'He didn't know it held part of Riddle's soul. Malfoy was one of Riddle's Death Eaters. Do you remember what we said about them?' Lily nodded. 'He thought it was just cursed to open the Chamber.'

'How can someone as nice as Scorpius be related to someone so bad?' Lily asked.

Harry gave his daughter a wry smile. 'One day, I'll tell you about my Muggle relatives. But it depends on a lot of things. Mostly how you're raised.'

'And Scorpius will never do anything to hurt you. Or anyone else.' Ginny stroked Lily's hair from her face.

Lily lay staring at the ceiling. 'I think I'd like to go to sleep now,' she said, turning on her side, and closing her eyes.

Ginny stood and draped a blanket over Lily. 'Good night, Lily.' She kissed Lily's cheek and stumbled from the room. She collapsed across the bed in her bedroom, shivering. Harry came in a few minutes after she did, and stood over her long enough to remove her shoes. He nudged her over, so he could turn down the bed, and urged her to get under the bedding. He climbed in with her, and gathered her in his arms.

After several minutes, Ginny slowly stopped shivering. 'How do you deal with it?' she asked. 'You have so much more than I do.'

'I was never possessed by him,' Harry pointed out, tightening his embrace. 'Have you ever told anyone else the whole story? Besides me?'

'No...'

Harry sighed and nuzzled the back of Ginny's neck. 'Try to get some sleep.'

*****

Hours later, a snuffling sound woke Harry. Lily was standing beside the bed, rubbing her eyes with a fist. 'What's up, Lils? Bad dream?' Lily nodded. Harry lifted her into the bed and settled her between him and Ginny. Lily was asleep almost instantly, but Ginny's eyes opened and met Harry's.

He slid his free arm over Lily and Ginny. Ginny's hand sought his and she held it through the night like a lifeline.


***** A/N: The book Scorpius gets for Lily is called Many Moons by James Thurber. It was one of my favorite books when I was younger, and I spent years trying to track it down. (I couldn't remember the title, just the plot.) It's still in print, too. If you want to go read it, just to see for yourself. :)