Her Father's Daughter

Her Father's Daughter

Chapter Two

Two days later, Ginny returned to the Burrow. She and Harry hadn't spoken about her predicament since she'd arrived, though he had spoken with Arthur, Molly and Ron at length. However, they'd not told him any more than they'd told Ginny.

Ginny took to her room most of the time and worked on leftover summer homework. She barely spoke to her family. Instead, she opted to barricade herself in her room, packing her few precious things away for her final year at Hogwarts.

Her eyes lingered on the gold locket lying on her dresser. The charm was in the shape of a star; her parents had given it to her long ago. Come to think of it, she'd never remembered not having it. She picked it up and fastened it about her neck. Perhaps it would make her feel closer to them, especially since she felt like such an outsider.

Her parents and brothers tried in to get her to come out and talk, but she refused, only allowing Charlie to come in periodically with food.

Finally, August 31 arrived. Molly was ready to take her daughter to the train station for her last year of school. But when Ginny came downstairs, her trunk in tow, she headed to the door without saying a word to anyone.

"Ginny, dear, are you ready to go?" Molly asked sweetly.

Ginny turned to her, her face stoic. "I'm Apparating to the alley behind the station," she explained. "I'm going alone."

"Ginny, please," Molly pleaded.

"No," she replied firmly. "I don't want anyone to go with me."

Molly sighed and wiped her hands on the front of her robes. She steeled her gaze at her daughter and pursed her lips.

"Young lady," she began sternly, "You've had long enough to get over this. It's done; it's over. You are still a part of this family, and you will do well to remember your place in it."

"How dare you," Ginny hissed. "You kept the truth from me for seventeen years. You kept me from my father, and took away any chance I had of getting to know him. Don't you dare talk to me about family. I have no place in this family."

Without another word, she Apparated to King's Cross Station.

=

The train ride had been long and uneventful, and Ginny was glad to be walking up the steps to the castle, if anything, just to get away from her giggly friends.

Just inside the doors, she saw a familiar face smiling at her. She returned his smile and headed straight for her friend.

"Ginny!" Remus Lupin called. He welcomed the young girl's hug and returned it warmly. "Good to be back, isn't it?"

"You have no idea," Ginny said in relief. "I'm so glad to see you."

Remus' expression grew serious and he bent lower to speak to her more quietly.

"Ginny, I hope that we can retain our friendship this year, but you know you can't call me by my given name in class," he said. "You understand, don't you?"

"Of course, Professor," she teased with a glint in her eye.

"I'm sure you're glad to not have your brothers around, but it may be hard at first," Remus continued. "If you need anything, I'm here for you." His voice held concern, and Ginny was glad to have a friend still at Hogwarts.

"Thanks, Remus," she said before hugging him again and heading into the Great Hall.

=

Halfway through McGonagall's welcome speech, which was not as entertaining as Dumbledore's had been, Ginny tuned out. Though thrilled that Remus had returned to teach Charms, she'd been more than disappointed to find that Draco Malfoy had been hired for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. Though he'd turned to the Order during the War, he was still a git, as far as Ginny was concerned.

As the feast was ending, the professors asked the Head Boy and Girl to stay behind for some instructions on patrols, so Ginny and Christian Zabini remained in the Hall while the prefects led the houses to the dormitories.

Draco smirked at her as she approached the other teachers.

"Weasley," he drawled. She nodded in response and started to turn away.

"Congratulations," he continued. "On becoming Head Girl, I mean."

She stared blankly at him, and his trademark sneer returned to his face.

"The least you could say is thank you, Weasley," he ridiculed. "But I guess your family was too poor for manners."

Before Ginny could retort with anything, he'd turned from her to speak to Christian. She merely shook her head and walked over to where Professor McGonagall was arguing with Snape about Gryffindors having almost all the nighttime patrols.

Remus intervened and quickly settled the squabble, much to Ginny's relief. It had been a long day, and she was ready for her private room and bath. She and Christian planned to divvy up most of the patrols to the prefects, but she knew she'd have to do some. She just hoped that Draco, or rather, Professor Malfoy, wouldn't be the teacher in charge.

=

When classes started the next day, Ginny was tired. She'd barely slept the night before. She'd been haunted by dreams, and she'd been forced to forgo sleep very early in the morning.

She was the first down to breakfast and had already finished when Lupin, the new Head of Gryffindor, began handing out timetables. Ginny retrieved hers and perused it. Herbology was first, followed by Double Charms. She didn't have to see Draco until the afternoon, but unfortunately, it was Double Defense Against the Dark Arts after Transfiguration. Potions, Arithmancy and Astronomy weren't until the next day.

Since she already had all her books, she gathered her things and headed out to the greenhouses. The weather was nice, and that morning, Professor Sprout had the students reviewing medicinal plants and herbs from sixth Year, but she also gave them lots of reading for homework. Ginny knew she'd have no trouble with it, since medicinal plants were going to be part of her private study with Snape, so she knew she had to know them very well before she went to work with him.

After Herbology, Ginny was glad to go to Charms. She'd loved Remus, of course, when he'd been her Dark Arts teacher in her second year, and she was confident he'd be a good Charms professor, too. Her heart clinched a little at the thought of tiny Professor Flitwick. He'd made classes fun, and Ginny would miss him, naturally.

Ginny was one of the first students to arrive in the class, and Remus strode over to her. His smile was warm, but to Ginny, it seemed slightly forced. He put his hand on her shoulder and spoke quietly.

"Harry owled me this morning," he said in a near whisper. Ginny's face fell at his words, and she busied herself with organizing her books and parchment.

"How are you doing at dealing with this... information?" he asked, the concern evident in his voice.

"I'm fine," Ginny said simply.

"Really?" he asked disbelievingly.

She nodded firmly. "Sirius is my father," she said with a shrug. "That's the way it is."

Though he still wasn't quite sure, Remus thought she seemed to be handling the news better than Harry had indicated. He'd hoped that perhaps she'd had a heart to heart with her family before returning to school.

It was time for class to start, so Remus left Ginny after patting her again on the shoulder and began to prepare for class.

Like in Herbology, Remus began by reviewing Charms from their sixth Year before starting on new ones. He gave them instructions, performed the charm for them and let the students start to work on it themselves. For their first Charm, he'd given them a rather difficult Protean Charm. Most of the students were unable to succeed at it, but Ginny easily mastered it on her second try.

"Wonderful, Ginny!" Remus beamed. "You must have inherited your father's Charms ability."

In an instant, Ginny's mood changed. She stared blankly at her goblet she'd been Charming to become cold before raising her eyes to meet her professor's proud gaze. She narrowed her eyes at him and threw down her wand.

"Don't you dare talk to me about my father!" she yelled. "You leave him out of this. I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to hear Sirius' name!"

In truth, Remus had been referring to Arthur's uncanny Charms ability, namely charming cars to fly, but he could see how Ginny had misunderstood. Sirius, also, had been exceedingly excellent at Charms.

"Miss Weasley, please calm down," Remus said, bewildered. "I only meant -"

"I know exactly what you meant, you prat!" she screamed. "You leave him out of this."

The entire class gasped at her insult, and all the color drained from Remus' face. He knew she was conflicted about her situation, but that did not give her the right to behave like a spoiled child.

"Miss Weasley, I'm afraid I'm going to have to give you a detention," he said sternly, turning back to his desk.

"You're going to give me a detention?" she asked haughtily. "For what? For telling you I don't want to talk about my father? You can't do that."

Remus sighed. It was obvious she was acting out her frustrations, but he didn't dare say that to her in front of her classmates. He stood behind his desk, wrote out a note, and magically sealed it.

"Miss Weasley, please collect your things," he said quietly. He handed her the note. "You're to go straight to the Headmistress' office and give this to her. She'll see to your punishment."

Ginny took the note from him, glaring at him the entire time. How dare he, her friend, treat her like this in front of her schoolmates?

"Please go now, Miss Weasley," Remus insisted.

Huffing the entire time, she threw her things into her bag and left the room, slamming the door in her wake. She trudged up to the Headmistress' office, where she realized she didn't know the password. Just as this thought came to her mind, the statue turned, giving her access to the stairs.

She sighed and stepped onto the staircase. When the statue stopped turning, Ginny found herself at the somewhat familiar door to Dumbledore's old office. Without knocking, she opened the door slightly and peered in.

Minerva McGonagall was sitting behind her desk, writing a letter. She looked up when she stuck her head in and eyed her.

Miss Weasley," she greeted in a stern voice. "I've been expecting you. Please come in and sit down, young lady," she said. "I believe you have something for me?"

Silently, Ginny handed her the note from Professor Lupin. As she read it, Ginny sat back in her chair and braced herself for a fight. There was no way she was going to serve a detention after what Lupin had done.

When Professor McGonagall finished the note, she raised her eyes to meet Ginny's.

"It seems, Miss Weasley, that we have a slight problem," she said. "Neither Professor Lupin nor I can allow you to address a teacher in such an impertinent manner."

Ginny opened her mouth to argue, but McGonagall raised her hand to stop her.

"Please let me finish," she said. "I can, however, assure you that we are both aware of your extenuating circumstances, and Professor Lupin feels that you misunderstood his remark. Nevertheless, being Head Girl, you are expected to show an example of decorum. Therefore, you will serve three nights' detention with Professor Lupin, beginning tomorrow evening. You will report to his classroom directly after dinner."

"Yes, ma'am," Ginny said in a small, defeated voice. "But can't it be with another professor, Malfoy even?

McGonagall fixed her eyes on Ginny shrewdly.

"I needn't remind you that he is to be addressed as Professor Malfoy," she said sternly.

Ginny resisted the urge to roll her eyes as the Headmistress continued.

"And no, your detention will be served with Professor Lupin," she said. "After all, he is the one you insulted in front of your class."

Ginny, who'd begun to feel quite small in the Headmistress' office, had the good sense to blush at her last comment. She began to stand and collect her things to leave.

"Miss Weasley, just another moment please," McGonagall said. "I understand you're having a difficult time right now. But remember, you do have people here who care about you, namely Professor Lupin. He is a friend, and he will help you, if you let him."

"Yes, Professor," Ginny replied. She turned and walked towards the door, but McGonagall's voice stopped her again.

"I needn't remind you that you still owe Professor Lupin an apology," she said. "I'll trust you to set things right, Miss Weasley."

Once outside the office, Ginny sighed and gulped back the tears that had started to form. She knew that she needed to apologize to her Professor, but she still couldn't help feeling hurt that he'd divulged her secret to the Headmistress. She knew better than them, she thought. She'd just go about her business, accept her punishment and not speak of anything personal to anyone at all. Nodding once to herself, she hurried down the steps towards the Great Hall for lunch.

=

After lunch, unfortunately, Ginny's day didn't get much better. It was Double Defense Against the Dark Arts with Malfoy, and she groaned to herself as she entered the classroom.

With every teacher, the classroom had taken on different looks. Gilderoy Lockhart had mirrors and self-portraits covering the walls. Professor Lupin had various books lying about, and he always had some mysterious creature in a tank. The pseudo-Professor Moody had dark-detecting instruments on every shelf, and Professor Umbridge's classroom had always looked like one giant teacozy. Snape had kept the room as dark and chilly as his dungeons, and as for Professor Shacklebolt, a student could almost always find neatly-arranged skulls on the shelves, serving as bookends for various Dark Arts texts. But Malfoy was different. His shelves were completely bare, and the only item on his desk was their textbook.

Ginny looked around curiously, wondering what he was possibly going to have the students do. Her imagination didn't have far to wander, since Malfoy began class exactly on time.

"Good afternoon," he said, entering the room from the office at the top of the steps.

"This is your N.E.W.T. level Defense Against the Dark Arts course, and because of that, I shall expect nothing short of perfection from each of you." As he spoke, he stepped down, pausing briefly on each step, demonstrating a precision which awed Ginny.

As he came to the bottom of the steps, he stopped and put his hands into his pockets. He ran his eyes across the room, making a split-second's eye contact with each student before he strode purposefully over to his desk.

"I know some of you think this course is no longer necessary, with the fall of the Dark Lord," Draco said bitterly. "But I'm here to prove you wrong. Evil isn't just Voldemort. There are still dark wizards in the world, and you will need to be prepared.

"I know many of you felt that Defensive Magical Theory was a load of rubbish brought on by Umbridge and the Ministry, but it does have its advantages," he continued. "Please open your books to Chapter One and begin reading."

Silently, the students, probably too stunned to grumble, opened their books and read for the rest of the period. Malfoy sat at his desk and scribbled onto scraps of parchment, at times, gazing intently at the students.

When their class period was almost up, he sighed loudly and stood. "Your homework for next time is to compose an essay at least one foot in length on what you perceive as your personal weaknesses."

When some of the students glanced curiously at each other, he clarified. "No, not your physical weaknesses. I want you to look into yourself and put onto parchment any character flaws you see that an enemy could use against you."

A student raised his hand towards the back of the class. "Professor Malfoy," Michael said, "I'm not sure I understand what you mean."

Malfoy smirked at the Ravenclaw prefect. "Well, Mr. Young, let me give you an example. As all of you know, I became a Death Eater before turning spy for the good side. Now, what Voldemort's more prominent Death Eaters knew, thanks to those close to me, was that as a young, naïve man, I yearned for power. They tempted me with the promise of that power, and I came very close to achieving it. But when it came down to it, I couldn't finish the task that had been asked of me. I was very nearly killed because of that, but Professor Snape saved me."

His face clouded at the memory as the students' mouths hung open. He cleared his throat and continued, "Now, your weaknesses may not be that severe, but I want you all to really think and be honest about what you write. I assure you, no one but myself will see it."

He walked back around to his desk and glanced back up at the class. "You're dismissed," he said, waving his hand impatiently. "Weasley, please stay behind."

Ginny groaned outwardly as she stuffed her books back into her bag. She promised her friends she'd catch up with them before traipsing up to her teacher's desk.

"Yes?" she asked impatiently, tapping her foot.

Malfoy raised his head slightly and quirked an eyebrow at her. "Yes, what?" he asked, clearly enjoying his command over her.

"Yes, sir," she said, emphasizing the title. "What can I do for you?"

"For one thing, Weasley," Draco began, "you can drop your attitude. I understand it's already gotten our illustrious Head Girl into trouble today. Three detentions on your first day? I'm astonished."

"How did you know about that?" Ginny asked, hoping that Professor Lupin hadn't said anything.

"Your classmates talk, but I'm sure you knew that already," he said uncaringly. "What made you blow up at Lupin? I thought he and your family were close."

"It's none of your business," Ginny replied icily. "What do you want?"

"Calm down, Weasley. Your antics are of little concern to me," Draco said. "I just wanted to tell you that I'll expect you to report back to me tonight after your patrols."

"What's wrong with Professor Snape?" she asked. He'd been assigned for their first night.

"It's none of your business," he retorted, throwing her own words back at her.

She rolled her eyes at him, and he narrowed his eyes.

"It would serve you to know your place, Weasley," Draco hissed.

Fearing another attack on her family's inferiority, Ginny whirled around, an insult on the tip of her tongue.

"Just because you help Potter defeat Voldemort doesn't make you superior to others around you," he said sternly. "You are still a student here, and I am your teacher. So is Lupin for that matter. I don't know what's happened to you since you came back to school, but I guarantee you that no one here will stand for your attitude. I will not hesitate to put you into detention, I promise you."

They stared each other down for a moment, and Ginny briefly wanted to tell Malfoy that he was the pot calling the cauldron black. However, she refrained. She was already going to be behind on her work with her patrols and detentions.

Finally, Malfoy turned from her and began collecting his things. He strode to the door before finally telling her, "You're dismissed."