Ginny's Fate

'Harry, you can't possibly! It's way too soon,' she heard Hermione's heated voice coming from Ron's bedroom. She tiptoed nearer to Ron's door and looked through the keyhole. The first thing Ginny saw was Ron, leaning against his bed. His face was on his knees and he was moaning very softly. He looked positively sick, and with the amount of alcohol he'd had just a few hours ago, Ginny wasn't surprised.

Ginny's eye then moved up to Hermione, who was sitting on Ron's bed, facing Harry, with an agitated look on her face. She looked much more composed than Ron, yet her skin still had a faint tinge of green.

As Ginny's eyes moved towards Harry, her heart skipped a beat. He looked so handsome even now, sitting in his sleeping bag and staring defiantly at Hermione.

'I said I would stay for Bill and Fleur's wedding and I did. You're not going to stop me, Hermione.'

'Please, Harry, just think about it for a moment! You haven't even passed you Apparation test yet. You won't be able to get anything done if you can't Apparate. Those Horcruxes could be anywhere in the world! It would take you ages to find them.'

'I don't need a license to Apparate, I've already done it twice!'

'Don't be stupid, Harry,' snapped Hermione. 'The Ministry could track you down in a heartbeat! And I'm sure you're not going to find any Horcruxes in Azkaban.'

'Hermione, I'm going tonight, with or without you.'

'You know that's not going to happen; Ron and I are going to come with you no matter what. It's just that we need to think rationally about this and come up with an actual plan first! How could you possibly think of going tonight? You're not even packed yet!'

Harry pushed his right eyebrow up and sneered at Hermione. He looked so adorable. Ginny suppressed a dreamy sigh and listened as Harry said, 'Is that the best you've got?'

Hermione looked flushed. She looked around hastily and her eyes fell upon Ron. 'What do you think, Ron?' she asked, looking pointedly at him. He lifted his head up. His eyes were narrowed and he looked very green.

'I think I'm going to be sick,' he said. His voice sounded very throaty.

'Ugh!' she said, in disgust as Ron slowly stood up. It seemed as though Hermione had no recollection of her whereabouts earlier that afternoon. As Ron wobbled towards the door, Ginny moved away from the keyhole and flattened herself against the wall. It was lucky she did, as Ron opened the door only a second later. Ginny noticed he had buttoned up his shirt wrong, and thus looked slightly lopsided. She held her breath, and to her relief, remained unnoticed. As Ron made his way down the stairs, Ginny moved away from the wall, gently closed the door and listened to Harry and Hermione. They were still arguing and didn't notice the door close.

'Harry, please! A few days won't make a difference. Just wait until you get your Apparation license and then we can all go. Besides, Ron won't be any help now, he's too sick. And Lord knows I could use some rest myself.'

'What is up with you two today?' Harry asked suspiciously.

At this, Hermione began to blush furiously. She looked down and mumbled something about "food poisoning". Perhaps Hermione remembered more about the wedding reception than she was letting on.

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione cut him off. 'That doesn't matter. What matters, Harry, is that we can't go now. Things are so hectic as it is. Leaving now would only make things even harder for everyone. Please, just a few more days.'

Harry rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. 'Fine,' he said, sounding defeated. 'But as soon as I get my license, we are out of here!'

'Oh, Harry!' said Hermione happily and she jumped off Ron's bed to give Harry what looked like a bone-crushing hug.

'Okay, okay,' said Harry, pushing Hermione away. He then checked his watch.

'It's pretty late. You should go to bed,' he said.

Hermione looked suspicious. 'Harry, you're not going to leave tonight, are you?' she asked slowly.

'Oh I couldn't possibly, Hermione. I'm not packed yet!' he sneered at her.

'Be quiet, Harry!' said Hermione, as she lightly hit his arm. At this, Harry began to laugh. 'Ugh, boys!' Hermione got up and moved towards the door.

'Goodnight, Hermione,' Harry called after her, still chuckling.

Ginny ran downstairs as fast as she could. She went inside her room and locked her door. As she was gasping for air, she tried to make some sense out of what she had just heard.

Her body was numb with shock. Her mind buzzing with questions. Where did Harry want to go? What on Earth were Horcruxes? And more importantly, why had Harry not told Ginny about all this? Was she not important enough to him? Was she not in his "inner circle" of friends? Did he not know that the mere thought of him being gone was enough to give her a heart attack?

She did know one thing, however. She was going with Harry to wherever he was going, and there was nothing he or anybody else could do or say to stop her.