Harry Potter: The Witch of the Red

 

Their vacation came to an end far too soon, according to Ginny. She was really starting to like Bill, too! He's probably one of the best big brothers one can have: he was cool, he was kind, he had a great sense of humour and so much more. She understood why the original was as clingy as she was. Sadly, all good things come to an end. 

It was already the third week of August by the time they were back in Britain, so they rushed to Diagon Alley to get their supplies for the new term. It was also at this time Ginny pondered whether to get herself a pet for her birthday, she had earlier this month. Too bad Hogwarts did not allow dogs. Which Ginny thought was blasphemy of the highest order! They allowed toads but not dogs?! 

When she asked Molly why that was so, she replied, “They’re too loud. So the Hogwarts’ Board decided not to allow dogs.”

Too loud?! Too loud?!! That was the third best part about them! She really wanted to dig up and violate the graves of the braindead Board members who made such an imbecilic decision! 

Her faith in the future of Wizardkind hit an all-time low. These people can ban dogs! 

She made a resolution: She would make dogs the most popular pet in the Wizarding World!

Since she could not bring her doggo to Hogwarts, she decided to not get herself a pet at all.

-x-x-x-

Walking into Ollivander’s, she looked around at the shelves that reached the ceiling filled with long, narrow boxes. 

‘How many wands did this fella make, anyway? Surely, he can’t have made all of them?’ she pondered idly while waiting for the eccentric wandmaker. She slightly let out her Magical Perception and covered a few of the shelves. Immediately, she felt a great many rhythms of Magic enter her sensing range. Each wand had its own song, its own tune: some patient, some happy, some overbearing, some longing, some intense, some lamenting. But all of them felt slightly sluggish, very unlike her own wand, which felt much, much more active. Much more lively and… complete. It was now that she realised that wands were much more than they seemed to be.

“Good Evening, Miss Weasley, I did not expect to see you here so soon.” the soft voice of the enigmatic wandmaker startled her out of her reverie. 

“Good Evening, Mr. Ollivander.” she greeted him, “I am here for my birthday, actually. I wanted a holster and a servicing kit for my wand.” She was getting more and more paranoid about simply sticking the wand into her pockets. She didn’t want to accidentally snap it when she sat on it: she had brought the bad habit of just sticking whatever in her back pocket over from her previous life. This coupled with the fact that her body was far heavier than a 12 year old should be, made snapping the wand by sitting on it an actual risk.

Ollivander raised his brows before he nodded approvingly, “That is a great choice, Miss Weasley.” he smiled, “It is honestly astonishing how wizards disregard their closest partner not long after having gotten it. It is a breath of fresh air, truly, to see someone who actually cares for their wand enough to get themselves a holster and a servicing kit.” Ollivander shook his head lightly.

“And most of those that do get a holster, it is either because of tradition or they have too many Galleons.” He extended his hand, asking for her wand. She handed it over.

“Ah, yes. Yew, 12 and a quarter inches, Thunderbird tail feather core. Slightly springy.” eyes slightly unfocused, he continued. “You’ve used and treated it well, Miss Weasley. Rarely have I seen such an active wand.”

“I do practise a lot of magic, yes.” she said. 

Chuckling he said, “That is not the only thing.” He gave her a deep look. She couldn’t help but feel something was off. Before she could ask, however, he turned away. “I have just the one for you! I’ll be back in a second!”

15 minutes later, she stood outside Ollivander’s, in a slight daze. She couldn't help but recall the deep, knowing look that Ollivander had given her. She couldn’t help but feel something was off.

She was soon broken out of her daze by Molly, “Have you gotten what you wanted, dear? We’ll be going back soon.”

Shaking her head inwardly, she replied with a “Yes, mum.”

-x-x-x-

Ginny sat on the sofa, perusing the Daily Prophet. The front page of Britain's most popular paper showed a Sirius Black screaming madly at the camera.

‘So that’s still in order.’ she mused, her eyes involuntarily flickering towards Ron, who was describing to Harry and Hermione in great detail the gruesome curses the ancient Egyptians Sorcerers placed on their pyramids and tombs.

‘Black saw Pettigrew in the Daily Prophet and escaped.’ she suddenly felt a headache coming on. ‘What to do with Pettigrew?’

She knew the right thing to do would be to expose Pettigrew and save Black - an innocent man incarcerated in what might very well be a true Hell on earth. But the problem was: how to go about it anonymously? She did not want to get on the ministry’s radar. She still wanted to live a relatively normal life for at least another year or two. 

‘Ugh. What to do? What to do?’ Despite spending a better part of the day pondering, she could not come up with any viable solutions. So she just went to sleep. After all, it was back to school tomorrow!

-x-x-x-

Having given both Molly and Arthur a tight hug, she bade them farewell. She was gonna miss them.

Casting a Feather-light Charm and a Shrinking Charm on her trunk, she pocketed it and got on the Hogwarts Express and walked down the compartments looking for her friends. Unfortunately, she did not find Aileen, Gwen or Luna so she shared a compartment with the Golden Trio and a werewolf.

Ron, who tried to shoo her away, received a smack from Hermione.

As they talked, Harry brought up how he’d overheard Molly and Arthur arguing over whether to inform Harry about Sirius Black. Ron’s shock and Hermione’s eyes full of dread were in Harry’s expectations. Ginny’s question was not.

“But why now?” Ginny had put on a deep frown. “Why now, when Harry’s in his Third Year? When he’s obviously less vulnerable than before? Why not when he was in his First- or Second-Year?”

“Maybe because it was only now that he found an opportunity?” Hermione rationalised. 

“No, Hermione. The Azkaban guards - Dementors are not human. In fact they are not even considered Beings or Beasts. They are Amortal. They don’t tire. They don’t rest. Meaning, it is almost impossible for Black to have such an opportunity. It is very likely that Black could always escape. But chose to do so now.” She looked at Harry ‘worriedly’. “Don’t go looking for trouble.”

Harry rolled his eyes. He never went looking for trouble; it came after him. 

“What’s that noise?” Ron said, looking around in confusion. Which was soon found to be a sneakoscope.

The sneakoscope, a rather curious magical artefact that Ginny had considered for assimilation, was a Dark Detector that could detect lies, untrustworthy people and Dark Wizards. It was a great ability if it wasn’t for the fact that it wasn’t exactly reliable. Most were rather prone to false alarms. And the more reliable ones, like the large scale one that the Auror office used, were too expensive. So, that would have to wait until she had enough capital to splurge on something like that.

The conversation after that turned to lighter topics - such as Hogsmeade Weekends. Sadly, Ginny did not receive a Hogsmeade permission letter despite being a third-year. She was going to have a word with Minny about this. She was very unhappy that she did not get one.

Crookshanks, deciding he wanted some Animagus for dinner, jumped on  Ron only to be tossed away by him. Ginny watched in dark amusement, hoping that Crookshanks would give Pettigrew a great time. In fact, she had long wanted to murder the damn rat. She did not like that she shared a house with such scum. But since he was the only way to prove Sirius’s innocence, she let him be with a powerful tracking charm that she reinforced every few weeks. 

Besides, he made for a great ‘lab rat’. Ginny had used him rather liberally for her spell creation experiments. That was also why he looked much worse than he should have. Obviously, she also relieved him of his memories after the fact. 

The Trolley came and left, with Ginny buying more than a little of everything, spending almost two Galleons on snacks. An act that drew strange looks from the non-Weasley members that were not asleep. It wasn’t really appropriate to ask about how she could buy so many snacks, so they could not ask either.

“Are you going to eat all that?” Hermione asked her eyes wide open as she saw Ginny ruthlessly bite off the head of an innocent Chocolate Frog. Ginny nodded in assent. It was not good manners to speak with food in your mouth, after all. Besides, the head was the best part of the entire frog! The creator of these things definitely had a screw loose. Or he really hated frogs.

“Tsk, Flamel again. Ron wanna exchange for that Morganna of yours? I’ll give you some of my snacks. And I’ll eat mum’s sandwiches.” She knew Ron did not like the sandwiches. And she needed more food. It was the perfect exchange!

Her good mood on finally gaining a Morganna was ruined by the arrival of a ferret and his minions. “Well, look who it is.” the ferret said in a lazy drawl. “Potty and Weasel.”

Crabbe and Goyle sniggered.

“Does your dad pay them to laugh?” Ginny sounded genuinely curious. “I mean, you’re not exactly the most humorous person I've met. Besides, it’s not that he has anything else, right?”

The trio snorted lightly in amusement, while the Malfoy heir turned red in anger. Before he could say anything, however. Lupin stirred and snorted, drawing Malfoy’s vigilance. He just gave Ginny a glare and turned to leave. Just as he took a step forward, his shoelaces decided to go on a strike and come loose, causing him to trip up and fall flat on the floor. 

“Oof-!”

“Your daddy can’t have the floor to soften for you? Tsk, Tsk. And here I thought he had lots of money!” 

Ginny still hadn’t had her revenge on Malfoy Senior. Even if it was Riddle’s Horcrux that caused Ginny’s death, it was Lucius Malfoy that facilitated it.

“Ah, do tell your father that Dumbledore liked his old student’s diary!” and shut the compartment door, while casting a silencing charm and a Colloportus on the compartment.

She wondered what Lucius’s reaction would be? The Malfoys’ mansion had been raided in December, which was just enough time for the diary to make it into Dumbledore’s hands and organise a raid. She really wondered now, what Malfoy Senior would make of it? That the minister, despite his generous donations, was still in Dumbledore’s pocket? A wicked smile came over her face.

Though, there was a good chance that what she hoped for would not happen, but it wouldn’t really matter. This was merely some advance repayment.

-x-x-x-

The train slowed down coming to a screeching halt, nearly tossing their luggage out of their racks.  Ron stepped on Hermione’s foot, causing her to exclaim in pain. “Honestly, you’re third-years. Can’t you use a bloody Lumos?” Ginny said in exasperation. “Lumos.” 

The compartment did not light up.

There was a moment of awkward silence, before Hermione also tried to use the wand-lighting charm, only to fail. Ginny said seriously, “Wake up the professor. There’s something wrong.”

“There’s no need. I’m awake.” a hoarse voice sounded from somewhere near the compartment door.

“Lumos Solem!” the end of her wand flickered a bit before going out. 

‘Interesting, so the Solem modifier can resist the Dementor’s influence? But why?’ She didn’t have time to ponder any longer as the compartment, which had been locked with an overpowered Colloportus, did not do anything to slow down the Dementor. The compartment slid open slowly and brought in an intense, creepy chill that swept over them, drilling into very depths of their being. A terrifying feeling of despair washed over them. Happiness seemed but a distant memory, fading into oblivion, never to be felt again.

While Ginny, through her Magical Perception, felt the Ambient Magic around the Dementor writhe and recoil, as if repulsed by the very presence of it. It was as if the Dementor's presence invoked a primal loathing and a visceral revulsion from the very depths of Magic itself. And as part of her own magic was intertwined with the Ambient Magic, she felt with incredible clarity its hatred of the vile thing’s presence; a feeling that was reflected in her own eyes. 

It was also, in a strange twist, the first time she felt the Ambient Magic with such clarity.

The dementor, which completely ignored Lupin, floated towards Harry and took a deep rattling breath as if absorbing something unseen. A violent shudder wracked his frame, causing him to collapse to the ground, writhing in torment of his memories as a baby.

Ginny grew more irritated, as more and more of the Ambient Magic’s hatred filtered back to her. She watched as the Dementor refused to listen to Lupin and insisted on attacking Harry. Unable to stand the presence of this abomination any longer, she directly pointed her wand at it. “Expecto Patronum!” A tremendously bright light burst out of her wand, shaping itself into the colossal figure of an elephant, completely dwarfing the dementor’s own. 

Lupin watched on in shock as the elephant made a trumpeting motion and slapped the dementor away with its trunk, sending it careening through the wall on the other side. Before the dementor could do anything else, shockwaves of pure white erupted from the elephant, blasting it further and further away, along with a few of its mates.

She let the patronus dissipate after having made sure that no more were around.

Lupin stared at her, his eyes nearly popping out of its sockets. A few moments of silence later, he said appreciatively, “That was an excellent display of the Patronus charm, Ms. Weasley. Few adult wizards are capable of such a powerful corporeal patronus.” As he moved to examine Harry, he continued, “I’d give you points, but we’re not at Hogwarts yet.”

“You can always give them when we reach, sir.” She wanted some advance capital to bully Snape.

Blissfully unaware of her actual thoughts, Lupin chuckled, “Of course, Miss Weasley. You will have the points you deserve.” He merely just chalked it up to the case of a particularly hard-working student. 

“You should have a bite of those Chocolate Frogs. All of you. It will help.” Lupin instructed them as he slapped Harry awake.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go have a chat with the driver.” Lupin slipped out of the compartment. 

“What was that?” Ron, like everyone else, looked very pale. 

“A dementor,” Ginny said. “Guards of Azkaban. And one of the most vile creatures to ever walk the earth.” She was still somewhat overwhelmed by the intense revulsion the Ambient Magic showed towards them. For the normally harmonious and vibrant Magic to show such intense dislike for something, that was totally beyond her expectations. It was at this moment, that she realised that the Wizarding World was much vaster than she’d ever imagined.

“And what was that silvery white creature you made? That scared the dementor off?” Ron suddenly turned to her, “That elephant?”

“That was a Patronus. Professor Lupin had mentioned it.” Hermione explained. “It is the only known spell that is effective against the dementors.” She then snapped her head towards Ginny, her eyes shining. “Where did you learn it?! It isn’t even in the O.W.L. syllabus! And I doubt it’s in the N.E.W.T.s syllabus either.”

“Well, I kinda came across it while…”

Their conversation turned to lighter topics until they reached the Hogsmeade Station. 

-x-x-x-

Harry, who was still feeling weak and shivery from the ordeal and ashamed that he was the only one who fainted, felt a pat on his shoulder. He turned to find Ginny, who smiled and said to him, “Don’t feel bad about fainting, Harry. It has nothing to do with your strength or weakness.” Her voice was strangely soothing and serene, bringing calm to his turmoiled mind, “The dementors are dark, vile creatures that bring out the worst experiences in a person. You have experienced a lot more than the average wizard, Harry. It is only obvious that the dementors affect you much more.” She patted him again before walking away, not before hearing a small ‘thank you’.

Ginny smiled. 

‘Enchanting Voice Charm. Sound Augmenting Spell. Bestows an enchanting quality to one’s voice, inducing emotion in the listener as per the speaker’s desire through their voice. 

‘Practical Experiment #55 (Final Experiment): Target seems to have ‘received’ my soothing intentions. Spell in perfect working condition.’

Though, she was hoping to get a better name for the spell.

-x-x-x-

In the Great Hall, Ginny’s eyes darted across the Gryffindor table in search of her roomies, completely ignoring the Malfoy Junior’s loud blabbering. Her eyes lit up, as she had noticed Aileen, who was waving toward her excitedly.

Completely ignoring Malfoy, Ginny immediately made her way towards her - half walking and half jogging. Her arms extended forward, seemingly ready to embrace her with a warm hug. Aileen also extended her arms expecting a hug. All she got, however, was a mighty squeeze in her cheeks!

“Aileen! Are you not eating? Why have you become so thin?! If you become thin, whose cheeks am I going to squeeze? My own?!” she exclaimed, squeezing Aileen’s cheeks into all sorts of shapes.

“Owh! Shtoph, Gwinny!” poor Aileen tried to push the demon away, but failed miserably and could only allow herself to be squeezed in all directions. When Ginny finally stopped, she opened her mouth to give her bestie a good scolding, but then she was given a tight hug, squeezing out all the steam, “I missed you, Aileen. ”

And she couldn’t even scold her anymore! While lamenting the unfairness of it all, she could only tearfully reply, “I’ve missed you too.”

‘Tsk, wait till Gwen comes. I refuse to believe this demon will spare her.’ She was already hoping someone else would share her misfortune.

Gwen also appeared in the Great Hall and was immediately noticed by Ginny. Aileen saw her roommate get the same torturous treatment with schadenfreude. The idea of Resistance was nowhere to be seen.