Ginny walked back towards the stadium through the woods, humming softly to herself.
Crouch Junior was dead and gone. Now Voldemort had nobody to put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire next year. Well, Voldemort was probably still in Albania because Peter Pettigrew was dead, but better safe than sorry.
She heard raucous singing in the distance from the direction of the lantern-lit path leading to the campground.
The Quidditch match had probably ended without her and everybody was returning to their tents. Well, Ginny didn't mind. It was much more important to thwart Voldemort's plans than to watch Krum catch the Snitch.
She decided to head straight for her family's tent instead of going back to the stadium.
Then she heard an explosion nearby.
She recast her Invisibility Charm, just to be safe, and slowly approached the direction of the sound.
It wasn't just idle curiosity.
If the canon Death Eater attack had happened despite Malfoy being dead and Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, Rowle, Avery and the Carrow twins still being in Azkaban, then she needed to be prepared. What if the changes she'd made to the timeline had put Harry or her family in danger?
She stepped into a clearing and saw her father lying motionless on the ground, his eyes open.
Had he been Stunned by someone?
"Rennervate," she whispered as the red spell hit her dad. But he didn't react. Strange.
Now Ginny felt truly worried. Had her father been hit by some exotic Dark variant of the Stunning Spell? Or had he been Paralysed by some other magic?
"Finite Incantatem. Reparifors. Rennervate."
Nothing happened. Her heartbeat echoed loud in her ears.
"Reparifarge."
It wasn't a transfiguration, at least.
"Revelio. Specialis Revelio."
Nothing.
"Homenum Revelio," she muttered and froze. There was a signal of a human being nearby. She glanced at a tree and saw a slightly plump, heavily wounded witch lying unconscious against it. But what frightened her was that the spell wasn't reacting to her father lying in front of her.
"No," she muttered. It couldn't be.
A trembling hand touched her father's cheek. He was still warm. He couldn't be dead, right?
She needed to know what had happened here!
She quickly walked to the witch.
"Legilimens!"
The Legilimency spell struck the unconscious witch, breaking through every mental defence almost instantly. Her worst apprehensions were confirmed.
Jorkins had cast the Killing Curse on her father while under the Imperius Curse cast by Macnair, who wanted to kidnap Harry for Voldemort…
Her Occlumency slammed down on her inner turmoil.
She had no time for sentimentality. First she had to save Harry…
Ginny looked at the silvery substance stretching from her temple to her wand like a thick gossamer strand. She gave it a gentle pull and the connection broke - the memory of finding her murdered father now hanging from her wand like a silvery, misty ball.
She could still remember everything, but the memory was now more… faint. Like something that happened many decades ago. She could understand why Dumbledore and Snape liked to use this method for their most unpleasant memories.
Ginny had never tried this before, not even with Alexander's memories of the void - the risk of someone finding them if she stored them in a phial or Pensieve, even in the Chamber of Secrets, was too great. She knew from Occlumency books that extracted memories would lose much of their emotional connection in the wizard's mind, but experiencing it was still something else.
Ginny closed her eyes, still holding the memory at the top of her wand, and slumped down on her bed.
She wanted to sleep so badly without seeing her father's corpse in her dreams. Without remembering that she caused this - Arthur Weasley didn't die in the books from her past life, after all.
Others had died because of her choices - Macnair, Crouch Junior, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, Lucius Malfoy… Hermione. She had never mourned any of them.
But Arthur Weasley was her father. The only one she ever had. Even if he was only her father because she took over the body of his real daughter…
Maybe she would feel differently if Alexander or even Tom had ever had real parents and she had memories of someone else being her father. But this stupid man, far too enthusiastic about Muggle technology, had somehow wormed his way into her heart.
Unconsciously, her fingers brushed her left earring. It was a present from her dad, who was now dead and gone.
She took a deep breath.
Ginny knew that she couldn't store the memory in a phial somewhere. Not only did it not match the story she had told the Aurors, but it was also indirectly linked to Crouch Junior's death.
With a sigh, she held the wand to her temple and inserted the memory back into her mind.
Fuck.
She wished Macnair had died much more painfully. Hopefully Voldemort's soul was having a nice time inside the Dementor.
There was a knock and she heard Harry's voice through the door.
"Ginny, the funeral is about to begin."
She looked down at her long black dress - appropriate for funerals. She had bought it secretly in Diagon Alley with money from her Gringotts account. She could have transfigured one, but she wouldn't wear a transfigured dress to her father's funeral.
She didn't want to go. She wanted her dad back.
"Ginny?" Harry asked gently as he slowly opened the door.
"The Portkey's ready?" she asked.
"Yeah. A Ministry official came by earlier. The rope lying in the garden is the Portkey and it'll activate in half an hour," Harry explained.
"Fine, but I want to check on Mum first," she sighed as she stood up and left her room.
She was worried for her mother. Dad's death had really taken a toll on her…
The living room of the Burrow was still crowded with relatives. She simply couldn't endure any more condolences, so she had spent some time in her quiet room to escape all of them, but unfortunately, she couldn't just skip the whole thing.
Ron was already in the hallway leading to the living room - probably fleeing Aunt Muriel, who loved to reprimand her brother.
Unfortunately, he didn't seem thrilled to see them.
"Potter, go back to your Muggle family," Ron said scathingly. "It's your fault Dad is dead! Macnair was after you and Dad only died because he was with you! Why are you still here?"
Harry lowered his eyes.
"And you," Ron continued, angrily looking at Ginny. "If Dad hadn't searched for you and if Potter hadn't been there, then Dad would still be alive. I hope you two are happy!"
"Enough, Ron," Fred said, stepping into the hallway, also wearing black, like all of them. "Why are you bothering Ginny and Harry today of all days?" he asked with a sigh.
"What is Potter doing here anyway?" Ron asked Fred, turning away from Ginny. "He isn't family. He doesn't belong here."
Fred met Ron's eyes without saying a word. Eventually, Ron broke the stare and marched away.
"You must forgive him," Fred said tiredly. "He isn't dealing well with Dad's death…"
"He isn't wrong," Ginny whispered more to herself, but Fred and Harry immediately focused on her.
"Well, this wouldn't have happened if Dad hadn't searched for me," she said a bit defensively with a shrug.
"Ginny," Fred began, but she waved him away.
"Whatever, I'm going to check on Mum," she said and pulled Harry along to the kitchen.
On the way, she glanced at the clock in the living room, now missing her father's hand. It had probably pointed to 'mortal peril' when he met Jorkins…
Ginny paused in the doorway of the kitchen.
The familiar dance of household magic filled the kitchen - pans floated from cupboards to the stove, soup stirred itself and bread sliced itself into even pieces - but something felt wrong. Her mother moved through the enchanted bustle like a ghost, her face pale, her eyes unfocused, as though she no longer noticed the magic she was performing.
She was cooking for the funeral reception at the Burrow later that day. Ginny had offered to take over the cooking, while Bill and Charlie had advocated ordering the food or renting a house-elf, but their mother had vehemently disagreed. It was her role as Arthur's wife to prepare the funeral tea, and she would let nobody else do it.
"Mum," Ginny said quietly, fully stepping into the kitchen. "It's almost time for the Portkey to the service."
Mrs Weasley twitched slightly when she heard her voice and turned around. She looked tired.
"I just need to finish this and I will join you," she tried to appease Ginny.
Ginny glanced at the mountain of already finished food under various warming and preserving charms and sighed.
She took a step forward and just hugged her mother.
"I just don't want you to collapse from exhaustion… And I think we already have enough food to feed an army of mountain trolls," she mumbled, feeling her mum's arms tighten around her.
"I miss him too, Mum."
Her mother's arms trembled ever so slightly.
"Yeah, I guess it's enough food," Molly sighed exhaustedly. "I don't want my little girl worrying about me, do I?" she joked with false cheer.
With a flick of her mother's wand, the movement in the kitchen stopped and the half-finished food floated back to the inactive stove.
Then she took Ginny's hand and led her to the living room, where some family members were quietly talking to each other. Her mother's hand felt so frail to Ginny.
"Are you okay, Mum?" Bill asked, sending a grateful glance at Ginny as her mother let go of her hand. Bill, together with Charlie, had tried to be there for their mother, but she would just ignore them.
Ginny stepped aside.
The funeral service was pretty normal for the magical world - Ginny had memories of the original Ginny from when her grandmother had died.
Her father's body lay on the empty white stone plate, waiting for them.
A small, tufty-haired wizard was the official who presided over the ceremony. Then people were allowed to say a few words in front of the body lying there.
Her mum spoke about Arthur being the love of her life and a wonderful husband and father. She cried almost non-stop throughout the speech, while Ginny sat frozen on her chair next to Harry, a heavy feeling settling in her stomach. Her grandfather and two uncles - Dad's brothers - also talked about Arthur Weasley's childhood, while Charlie and Bill talked about him as a father.
Ginny had previously agreed to say a few words too, as the youngest Weasley, but now she was frozen with fear. She couldn't move. She didn't deserve to say anything and when Bill looked at her expectantly, she just shook her head like a scared little girl.
Bill's understanding look was annoying.
After a few more words by the small, tufty-haired wizard - she still didn't know his name - the white stone seemed to come alive, folding itself around Arthur until only the completed tomb remained. Ginny had once read that this was some kind of tradition, symbolising magic welcoming the wizard back…
Later they were back at the Burrow, where her mother had prepared all kinds of food for the family and guests who had joined them at the funeral service.
Ginny was just standing in a corner. Harry remained quietly at her side, glancing at her with concern every now and then.
She knew that Harry had nightmares after watching her father being killed and felt guilty about what happened. He also felt guilty towards her, since she had lost her father because of him - at least in his mind.
She could talk to him later about that. She really didn't feel like doing anything right now…
An old wizard with silvery-white hair approached Ginny with a slight limp - her grandfather, Septimus Weasley. His face looked so much like her dad's that it made Ginny freeze for a moment.
"Oh, Ginevra dear…" her grandad looked at her sadly. "I see you are wearing Cedra's earrings. That's good... I'm glad Arthur managed to give them to you before…" He took a deep, shuddering breath. "You look beautiful with them," he continued with a sad smile.
Ginny could only nod mutely. Her grandfather had just lost his wife a few years ago to Dragon Pox and now he was burying his youngest son. He looked like a broken man…
Instead of saying anything, Ginny simply stepped forward and hugged him. She felt him stiffen and suppress a quiet sob.
Afterwards, they spoke quietly about Hogwarts, her friends and she introduced Harry as her boyfriend to him. Septimus was slightly worried that she was a bit too young to have a boyfriend, but didn't say much about it.
Their conversation was interrupted by Molly's raised voice from across the room.
"Absolutely not! You will finish your Hogwarts education and find a respectable job at the Ministry like your father did!" she loudly berated Fred and George, drawing the attention of the rest of the room.
"Mum, we've always dreamed of opening a joke shop in Diagon Alley. We don't need N.E.W.T.s for that," Fred tried to calm her down, but it had the opposite effect.
"A joke shop! Are you out of your mind!? And where would you get the money for this nonsense?"
"We already have the necessary starting capital," Fred explained calmly, probably referring to their betting winnings from the Quidditch World Cup.
"Enough, Mum!" George interjected, raising his voice slightly. "We are of age and have our O.W.L.s. We are adults!"
That was the wrong move.
"Oh yes, you are so grown up," their mother remarked sarcastically. "Throwing your future away to sell silly joke products."
They were probably worried that Mum couldn't afford the cost of sending them to Hogwarts without Dad's income. So they had decided to start earlier than planned, since they already had the starting capital.
Ginny sighed. They really could have waited a few more days…
She hated watching her family fall apart around her.
Ginny left the living room while nobody except Harry noticed her leave. She could still hear the shouting as she closed the front door behind her.
Ginny sat next to Harry in silence, hugging her knees beneath the old oak tree near the Burrow. She hated how pleasant the weather was. Patches of sunlight filtered through the leaves and nearby those blasted frogs kept croaking.
Rain and thunder were much more fitting for a funeral…
She just wanted to have a family. Why did the world try to take that away from her?
No… not the world. Voldemort, Macnair, Malfoy…
Without warning, a fierce hatred flared inside her. It completely washed away her guilt and self-loathing.
"Are you okay, Ginny?" Harry asked, breaking the silence. Ginny wasn't looking at him.
"I'm just angry… They took my dad away, Harry," she answered, after looking into the distance for a while.
"Macnair's dead and Voldemort's gone, Ginny," Harry said gently, trying to take her hand, but Ginny pulled it away. Harry froze awkwardly.
"I'm sorry, Harry, but can you leave me alone for a bit?" she asked, still not looking at him.
"Yeah... sure, Ginny. Whatever you need," he said, sounding a bit hurt, but not wanting to show it.
There was something Ginny hadn't told Harry or anyone…
When she used Legilimency on Macnair in the graveyard, she had seen recent memories of him meeting Narcissa Malfoy…
Narcissa Malfoy had let Macnair, who had been on the run from the Aurors at the time, use an unplottable Malfoy cottage in Yorkshire. She had also offered him several thousand Galleons if he managed to kill Arthur Weasley to avenge her late husband and Harry Potter to reverse the court decision of Judge Abbott regarding the Black fortune.
Ginny felt a burning anger just thinking about it.
How dare she! This woman tried to take away Ginny's family and boyfriend after everything Ginny had done to finally achieve a normal, peaceful life.
She remembered Malfoy's cool and regal countenance from the memories… she wanted to see her suffer.
Narcissa Malfoy had to die. There was no question about that.
Not just because of revenge. Ginny had enough composure not to be controlled by that, but because Narcissa Malfoy was still a danger to Harry and maybe even the rest of her family.
Fortunately, she had brewed a few useful potions at the end of her last school year.
Before she had killed Barty Crouch Junior, Ginny had stored an antidote to Veritaserum in a magically created hole in her back tooth, so that she could escape any form of interrogation by Aurors in the worst-case scenario. She had also brewed other useful potions like Ageing Potions and a Polyjuice Potion.
There was one potion she was especially proud of. One she had invented herself, with the knowledge of Tom Riddle and her own research over the last two years. It was a potion that would paralyse the victim, making it impossible for them to move or even feel their own magic.
She had ten days till Hogwarts started. That should be enough.
Afterwards, she could fix her family.
She touched her earrings.
If only Dad was still alive…