The Piper's Gallery

Ginny Weasley was a small thing. Her brilliant orange hair seemed to draw more attention to her than a match lit in a dark room. Somehow her brothers wore the color much more inconspicuously, or maybe it was just that they liked the attention. Each was always trying to out do the others in their own ways. But Ginny hid from that. She didn't need to fight for individuality in her family--she was the baby, and only daughter in a household of seven children; and at Hogwarts she had earned all the recognition she could have wanted after the horrible dealings of last year.

The summer holiday after Ginny's first year of school had passed by in a numb, sort of calm shock. She had done her best to seem cheerful, and for the most part it was easy enough to laugh at the twins' jokes and feign interest in Percy's stories. Especially after the family won the drawing from the Daily Prophet and headed off to Egypt to visit Bill and take a well-deserved holiday. Her mother was harder to fool-- Mrs. Weasley always fussed over her children-but to Ginny's relief her mother chose to blame most of her sudden reserve on that fact that she was "turning a tender age" and left matters at that.

Summer had ended in a quick flash of blue skies and muggy nights and it wasn't long until Ginny found herself back at Hogwarts-her first day already over with.

She lay in bed that night going over things in her mind until the small hours of the morning. She had been badly shaken after the train ride. Those... creatures had boarded, and she still felt weak and unsettled. She pulled her blankets up, tucking them securely under her chin. Aside from this newfound terror the fears she had of returning to Hogwarts proved to have no foundation. The presence of the Dementors and the escape of Sirius Black overshadowed any lingering doubts about last year. Ginny had dreamt countless nights of finally beginning the school year only to be met by stony silence from her classmates, or boarding the Hogwarts Express and discovering every compartment door shut in her face. She was shocked when Hermione had smiled at her when they had met up with the Grangers in Diagon Alley. No one had even mentioned that she had been the one responsible for the basilisk being set loose on the school--for the near death of four students. They didn't look at her any differently or make any snide remarks. Ginny was sure it was only the excitement of the Azkaban guards, not that she could actually be forgiven. How could they forgive her when she had yet to forgive herself?

She sat up slightly in bed, pulling her nightgown's sleeves over her freezing hands and drawing her arms tightly around herself. She was so cold, almost frozen from the inside out. Climbing out of bed, Ginny took her rob off the peg in her wardrobe and slipped her arms into it, tying it firmly around her middle. It didn't even occur to her that she shouldn't be out of bed at this time of night, all she focused on was that the dormitory was bitter cold and she wanted to be anywhere that was warm. She quietly made her way down the steps into the Gryffindor common room. It was deserted at this time of night, and even the fire that was usually glowing brightly in the hearth had turned to sooty embers. Sliding past the portrait of the Fat Lady, Ginny climbed downstairs, still blind to the trouble she'd find if she were discovered out of Gryffindor's rooms. Half way between the top and bottom landing the staircase rumbled and slowly began to slide away from the wall. Ginny sank down, sitting on a step and tightly gripping the railing. Her heart seemed to skip up to her throat as the whole flight of stairs turned ninety degrees before it stopped with a small shudder at a new corridor. She looked around, disorientated, and slowly walked to the unknown landing; she pushed the door open and stepped into a carpeted hallway. To either side the walls were lined with identical doors. Each was shut, but a warm inviting glow, beamed pleasantly from the lone room at the end of the hall, its door slightly ajar. She had never been in this hall before.

Drawn by the light and ignoring common sense, she walked to the end of the hall. A torch hung magically suspended just inside the door illuminating a burnished scrolling plaque fixed solidly on wall. Ginny tilted her head and touched her fingers to the cool metal.

"Piper's Gallery," she read quietly, and then drew her hand away from the wall to push the door open further.

The hall continued inside, the air warm and still. Ginny blinked, the walls were covered with portraits and paintings dimly illuminated by the limited reach of the torchlight. She took a few paces into the chamber approaching the first portrait--it housed a disheveled looking man, his head cradled in his arms, and greasy, limp hair the color of a February sky, fell lifelessly around his shoulders. He seemed to be sleeping.

Ginny furrowed her brow, stepping to look at the next piece. A woman lay casually across a rumpled bed, wearing nothing but a silk slip that showed off her curvy figure; its straps sliding provocatively off her shoulders. Long loops of jewelry were coiled around her neck and wrists, and her head was wrapped aristocratically in a dazzling scarf. She had empty wineglasses strewn haphazardly on the nightstand next to her, and smoke curled elegantly from the glowing tip of the cigarette she held delicately between two fingers. Ginny's cheeks went red at the sight and she lowered her eyes. The women in the painting gave a soft, husky laugh.

"What's the matter, honey?" she murmured, her eyebrow hooking up in amusement.

"N-nothing," she stammered, she had never seen a painting like this in Hogwarts before and it startled her. The pictures that lined the halls of Hogwarts always depicted prominent witches and wizards or else classic scenes... very few of them had any sort of dark undertone.

"Aw," the woman in the painting chuckled softly, somehow sensing Ginny's discomfort. She brought the cigarette up to her dully-rouged lips and inhaled slowly. "Don't be frightened... you've never come to Piper's Gallery before, have you?"

Ginny shook her head, timidly looking up at the women. "What is this place?"

The women cleared her throat and nodded solemnly at the other paintings. "Look around honey; you don't have to be shy."

She stole a quick glance behind her and her breath caught in her throat. Carefully framed was a painting of a young woman with long, windswept brown hair clinging tightly to a railing along a window ledge as if preparing to jump to her death. Ginny looked away.

"It's... so sad."

The woman nodded her voice gentle. "Yes, Lucille is a sad one... so are many of the others. Some are dark or lonely... or just sort of hopeless I suppose."

"Why... why is this at Hogwarts," Ginny asked, looking down the long hallway towards a large circular window that filled the far end of the gallery with blue starlight. "And why is it hidden?"

"That should be obvious, love," she rested her cigarette lightly in an ashtray and readjusted the straps of her undergarment. "We're not the sort of thing that's meant to be seen... especially by little girls who are troubled enough by their thoughts at night. We are, all of us, imperfect in a way... we should not be seen or heard. But we are safe here at Hogwarts. At Hogwarts we can do no harm," she paused. "You should go to bed, dear. It's almost morning; I wouldn't have you here at dawn."

Ginny took a step back. "W-why?"

The women nodded her head towards the jumping woman. "The things we have started, finish."

She froze a moment as the women's words gained meaning and then turned, running almost noiselessly back to her dormitory.

*~*~*

Ginny's eyes didn't want to stay open at breakfast the next morning. She wasn't hungry really, so she let herself doze as the comforting scents of cinnamon and cream drifted up from her hot bowl of porridge.

"Oy, look here Fred!" Ginny jumped, her eyes snapping open at the sound of her brother's voice. "Would you look at my schedule? I'll be spending more time on my bloody studies than Percy ever did!"

"It's a pity," Fred sighed dismally. "Mine's the same way. Honestly, I've never seen so many classes."

Ginny had barely glanced at her schedule, and now she too sighed in disappointment. She had her Potions class first thing in the morning.

"Can't be as bad as ours, Ginny," George quipped, peering over her shoulder. "Ah, Professor Snape at nine in the morning... not quite the first face you want to see right after you crawl out of bed, right Gin?"

"Blasphemous! I can't believe my ears!"

"Well, I know that's not true of you Fred. After all, you keep a picture of the good Professor on your nightstand so he can smile at you every morning. Aren't I right?"

The twins banter faded in and out of Ginny's mind. Her thoughts turned to last night, to the Piper's Gallery. The name tickled at the back of her thoughts like words whispered years ago--she was sure she'd heard it before, but it hadn't been in connection to Hogwarts... She was brought back to reality with a sudden jolt as Ron sat down letting his books drop heavily onto the table. Harry and Hermione followed suit, not particularly giving Ginny any notice.

She waited until breakfast had ended and everyone was gathering up the books and scrolls needed for their first class before tapping Ron lightly on the shoulder to get his attention.

"Ron," she asked softly, "do you know what Piper's Gallery is?"

He gave her a confused look, distracted by the fact that his friends were leaving without him. "Huh? Piper's what?"

"Piper's Gallery," she repeated, still not willing to raise her voice above a whisper. She didn't know if the Gallery was good or bad--if she'd be reprimanded for finding out about it, if she'd be told not to go back, or if the mention of it would raise alarm. And part of her in the very back of her mind didn't know if she wanted to share her discovery with anyone yet.

"Uh, I don't know Ginny... never heard of it," he started walking away but called back over his shoulder, "Ask Hermione, she knows everything."

Ginny nodded after Ron, but knew she wouldn't ask Hermione... By mentioning Hermione, Ron had given her a better idea--she'd check the library.

*~*~*

It wasn't until dinner the next day, that Ginny could get away to the library to properly look up Piper's Gallery. She pulled several books on Hogwarts, but found nothing about the Gallery located on the sixth floor. Next, she tried famous witch and wizard artists, but came up empty-handed again. Fearing the worst, Ginny found a volume titled Dangerous Enchantments and How to Avoid Them. She remember how the woman in the painting had said that "they could do no harm at Hogwarts," and wondered if that meant the paintings were able to do harm elsewhere... if there was some sort of dark magic in Piper's Gallery. There was no mention of it in that book or any of the others Ginny searched in.

Almost to the point of giving up, Ginny walked past a section of books on Astronomy, where a name caught her eye, On the Life and Times of Alden C. Piper. She paused mid-step and reached for the book--a nervous energy making her hands tremble. She made her way to a private bench in an unoccupied corner of the library. She flipped the book open unable to shake the feeling that she was doing something wrong, that someone would try to stop her from finding out the secrets of Alden C. Piper.

The title page was printed in a large, flowing script.

On the Life and Times of Alden C. Piper:

World Famous Wizard of Astronomy and Lover of Fine Arts

Ginny chewed her lower lip lightly and turned to the table of contents. The first half of the book was given to Piper's advancements in the field of astronomy. He seemed to have written a good number of essays on the topic. Glancing at the in the end of the second section she noticed there was a chapter labeled "The Piper's Gallery." She opened to that page and began to read:

"Known for his unusual taste in artwork, Piper owned several extensive collections by the time of his death. Perhaps the most famous of these collections is appropriately known as Piper's Gallery. This particular gallery is chiefly comprised of Mischief Art, or art that is deemed inappropriate either by subject or personality.

"Piper commissioned several pieces by Marstella Cook, an aspiring witch known for her talents in painting and her dismal, often disturbing subject matter. The Piper's Gallery also houses the only known surviving work of the Dark Wizard, Alistair Osric Eglamour. The Office of Improper Use of Magic discontinued Eglamour's artwork after he was accused of sealing what he called "lost souls" in his paintings. His work has many mystical properties, most of which are unknown, and should be viewed with caution.

"Piper, wishing to preserve these paintings for future wizarding generations, but fearing that they might indeed be dangerous, only allows the gallery to be seen on the first three days of the new Moon. Concern has risen regarding the safety of the Gallery and its whereabouts have been frequently changed over the past decades, so its location is no longer certain. In recent years the Ministry of Magic has concealed all records of Piper's Gallery. And though issuing a warning on the matter the Ministry has yet to put to rest the continuing rumor that all those recorded in Piper's Gallery at the moment of sunrise have either exited the Gallery mad, or have not exited at all."