Chambers, chapter 5
CHAMBERS (chapter 5 - final chapter)
Summary:
In the winter after the war, Ginny navigates not only her own recurring nightmares, but also the demands of Quidditch captaincy, the weirdness of double-dating with one's brother and the surprisingly difficult path back to Harry, along with Hermione's obsession with inter-house unity, Neville's retreat into his books, Luna's lonely family life and a gaping hole in Ginny's family where her middle brother used to be.
In the winter after the war, Ginny starts putting the pieces back together, with a little help from her friends.
Characters: Ginny, with Harry, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Ron and all the Weasleys!
Chapters: 5
Story:
CHAPTER FIVE
Ginny visited Luna during the holiday, too, in her house just up the hill, and one day shortly before Christmas, the two of them arranged to meet up with Hermione in Diagon Alley.
Mum fussed over the idea of Ginny going there without an adult, and Ginny had to remind her that she was an adult, and so were Hermione and Luna, and besides, the war was over. Then she felt guilty for putting it like that, even if it was true.
In the end, Mum agreed to their trip, but hovered around the Floo as Ginny and Luna went through, and made them send back a note from the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace saying they'd arrived and met Hermione.
It was cold in London, but it felt good to be out in the world, bumping shoulders with what seemed to be all of Wizarding Britain, abuzz with last-minute shopping.
"What should I get Ron?" Hermione asked Ginny anxiously.
"If you don't know, I certainly don't," Ginny said, but nonetheless nudged Hermione on out of Flourish & Blotts, just in case she got the ill-advised notion to try to find a present for Ron there.
"Ooh, look, the unexpurgated edition of 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'," Luna said as they passed a display rack near the door, and Ginny and Hermione just smiled at each other.
They went back to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch, then took a more leisurely stroll up Diagon Alley, where a few snowflakes now swirling down.
"Angelina!" Hermione said in surprise, and Ginny stopped too - she'd almost walked right past the older girl, not recognising her under her thick winter hood.
"Hi, Hermione," Angelina said, turning away from the shop window she'd been studying. "Oh, and Ginny! And -"
"This is my friend Luna," Ginny said quickly.
"You were in Dumbledore's Army," Luna told Angelina, "And you were Gryffindor's Quidditch captain that year, too. You were a good captain, but a bit tough on your team, I think. And now you're a reserve player for Holyhead Harpies. I imagine you're very good at it."
"Er, yes, that's right," said Angelina, giving Ginny a look that plainly said, Who is she again?
Ginny just smiled and shrugged. Luna was more than capable of making her own impressions on people.
"Are you Christmas shopping, Angelina?" Ginny asked instead.
"Nah," Angelina said, and Ginny thought her face seemed sad, or impatient, or maybe both. "I'm all done, done ages ago, actually. I try not to do it all by the end of November, but somehow I always do."
"That's what I meant to do this year," said Hermione, sounding a little panicky. "But I still haven't got anything for Ron of all people, or for Mr and Mrs Weasley…" She trailed off, probably running through her mental shopping lists.
Ginny looked up and realised that where they'd ended up - the window Angelina had been gazing at - was Fred and George's shop.
George's shop.
"Have you been in there lately?" Ginny asked Angelina, looking toward the entrance to show what she meant.
"No… I've been meaning to stop in and see George, but I just haven't found the time. You know how it is," Angelina said.
She looked so terrifyingly sad that Ginny said, "Luna? Hermione? We were going to meet up again in half an hour, right? At that new sweets shop?"
Hermione caught on. "Yeah, I wanted to get some stuff from the apothecary first. Luna, want to come with me?"
Hermione and Luna headed off, and Ginny turned to face Angelina, the girl Ginny had probably idolised most in her time at Hogwarts - tough, strong, funny. Three years her senior. Quidditch captain.
Not someone Ginny had any idea how to comfort.
"How are things with the Harpies?" Ginny asked.
"Great," Angelina said, "Really great. Probably the only thing that is." Then: "Oh, ignore me, what a stupid thing to say. What about you, Ginny? Still thinking of trying out?"
Ginny nodded, feeling a little shy admitting it to Angelina. "Yeah. I am."
"That's good. We need you."
"And I need Quidditch," Ginny said, before she could stop herself.
Angelina smiled crookedly. "Has a way of keeping you sane, doesn't it?"
"I guess so."
Angelina leaned against the shop wall and tucked her gloved hands inside her sleeves. "How's Hogwarts?"
"You know," Ginny said, then realised she herself didn't know how to explain it. "The same as ever, but not the same at all."
Angelina nodded, and Ginny was horrified to see her blink as if fighting against tears. "Angelina -" she started, not sure what to say.
Angelina shook her head angrily. "It's fine," she muttered, more to herself than to Ginny. "Everything is fine." She puffed out a breath and tried to smile. "Sorry, Ginny. Look at me. I don't know why I'm such a mess. I didn't even lose anyone, you know, it's not like I lost family. But with Fred gone, and George doesn't talk to anyone, and Lee never visits, and Alicia's abroad and Katie's always so strange…" She shook her head. "Forget it."
Ginny thought of George, silent in the doorway of the Burrow, silent over dinner, so silent behind the register of the shop when they'd visited him earlier that day that Ginny had eventually gone out again, feeling terrible about herself, because she just couldn't figure out what to say to him.
"I think George would really like if you visited him," she offered. "I mean, he won't say that he's glad, he probably won't say all that much of anything, but it would be good for him. That is, if you can stand to be around his…morose silence."
"Morose silence I can do," Angelina said, with a watery smile.
"It's not -" Ginny started, and tried to think how to put it. "It's not fine for anyone," she said finally. "None of us are fine, I mean."
Angelina nodded slowly. "That actually makes a weird kind of sense."
"So you'll visit George?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah…" Angelina said. "Yeah, sometime."
"Why don't you go now," Ginny urged, and had an unnerving sense she might be channelling Hermione.
"Now," Angelina repeated. "Yeah, okay." She looked around, and looked at the shop. "I guess I will."
Ginny nodded.
"See you around, Ginny," Angelina said.
Ginny watched the door to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes open and close behind Angelina, then started slowly back up the street. She was just thinking she'd head toward the shop she'd mentioned to Hermione and Luna, though she was early, when Luna herself appeared in front of Ginny, waving happily. She was tugging Dean Thomas by the hand.
"Look who I found!" Luna exclaimed.
"Hi, Ginny," Dean said, looking bemused, as he generally did around Luna.
"Hi, Dean," Ginny said.
"Well, you probably want to catch up. I'll see you later, then," Luna chirped, letting go of Dean's hand and patting him on the arm.
Ginny sighed and gave up any pretence of this not being unintentional-heart-to-heart-with-everyone day. "Thanks, Luna," she said, and Luna smiled and headed off again. Ginny turned to Dean, feeling tongue-tied. "How are you?"
"Okay," Dean said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "You?"
"Yeah," Ginny said. "More or less, I guess."
Ginny looked at Dean and thought about what a nice guy he was, and how that should have been enough, but hadn't been.
"What are you doing now?" she asked. "You didn't come back to Hogwarts this year."
Dean shook his head. "No, I guess I felt done with all of that. I've been apprenticing with a swordsmith in Wales, so N.E.W.T.s don't seem all that important."
"Wow, Dean," Ginny said, impressed. "That's great. Good for you."
"And you?" he asked. "Are you and Harry - I mean -"
"Yeah," Ginny said. "Sometimes more and sometimes less, but - yes. Dean -"
"Look, Ginny -" he said at the same time.
"Sorry. You first," she said.
"Oh. No, I just wanted to say, I don't mind. Really. I wouldn't want you thinking I'm still cross with you or something."
Typical of Dean, to be so good. Too good, maybe. Ginny said, "I was unfair to you, and I'm sorry. That year - fifth year - I was kind of…in denial about some things."
"Some Harry-shaped things?" Dean asked with a quirk of a smile.
Ginny felt ashamed. "I thought I didn't care. I really thought that. And you were always so incredibly nice…"
"You don't have to apologise."
Ginny huffed impatiently. "There, you're doing it again! I almost wished you'd get angry, sometimes. Don't you ever get angry?"
Dean looked at her quizzically. "Not much. Are you going to get angry at me for not getting angry?"
Ginny was about to be annoyed at him for making light of it, but then she saw the funny side too. She sighed. "So, basically, you see why I make a really awful girlfriend."
"That's not true," Dean said.
"And it's very nice of you to say so," Ginny replied, but somehow she found herself feeling a little easier with Dean.
"I heard you were really brave last year, at school," he said.
"I heard you were brave," she countered, "at the Malfoys' mansion." Just the thought of that still gave her shivers.
Dean shrugged and said, "I didn't do much. We'd barely even arrived there before Harry got us out again." Ginny marvelled at how there wasn't even the slightest trace of bitterness when he said it.
"So do you like Wales?" she asked instead.
"Yeah," Dean said. "Yeah. More than I'd ever have thought, actually."
"I'm glad," Ginny said. "Listen, I was about to meet back up with Luna and Hermione, at that new sweets place everybody's talking about. Do you want to come along?"
"Oh, no, that's all right."
"Really," Ginny said. "Come on, did you even get a chance to talk to Luna before she dragged you over here?" Ginny knew Luna and Dean had got to be friends of sorts during the time they'd stayed with Bill and Fleur, and Ginny was firmly in favour of Luna having friends.
"Not really," Dean admitted.
"Then come on," Ginny urged. "We can all have hot chocolate or something, at least if the place isn't already too crowded to find a seat. Everywhere I've been in Diagon Alley today, everyone's talking about it. They're supposed to have some Peruvian wizard's secret recipes…"
Dean grinned. "Don't worry, you had me at 'hot chocolate'. I'll come."
As they set off up Diagon Alley together, Ginny had to laugh at herself, because here she was already turning into her mum, collecting all the strays.
Seeing Angelina, meanwhile, had reminded of Ginny of something she'd been meaning to talk to Harry about. When she knocked at 12 Grimmauld Place the day before Christmas, Harry ran to open the door and hugged her so enthusiastically, he swept her off her feet.
"What was that for?" she gasped, laughing, as he swung her around.
"I'm just happy to see you," Harry said, and Ginny had to admit that was a pretty good reason.
A while later, comfortably entwined with Harry in their favourite armchair, Ginny said, "I was thinking."
"Mmh, thinking's good," Harry mumbled into her shoulder.
"No, that means 'I was thinking, and now you have to listen while I tell you what I was thinking about.'"
"Oh…" Harry wiggled into a sitting position, stopping to kiss Ginny's shoulder on the way.
She giggled. "You're distracting me."
"Distracting is good," Harry said, and kept doing it.
"Quidditch!" Ginny remembered.
"Quidditch?" Harry repeated, surfacing from where he'd been kissing her collarbone. "What about Quidditch?"
"I've been thinking I'd like to play professionally, after Hogwarts. Or try out at least. What do you think?"
"What do I think? Seriously, you have to ask what I think? I think that's fantastic. I'm so proud of you!"
"Well, I mean, I have to try out and be accepted by a team and all of that first…"
"Ginny, who are we trying to fool? I've seen you play. You'll have your pick of teams."
"You don't think it's weird?" she asked. "A weird choice of career, I mean? When I ought to be an Auror or some kind of politician or at least a Healer." She made a face. "Except I don't want to be a Healer, because Potions and Herbology are both boring."
Harry laughed. "I think you should do what you want. And if you want to play Quidditch, you should play Quidditch." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "You know, contrary to popular belief, I don't want to be an Auror because I have a 'saving the world' complex. I want to be an Auror because I think I'll enjoy it, at least if I make it out of training in one piece."
"Except that you also do have a -"
"Shh!" He laughed and silenced her with a kiss.
A while later, Harry asked almost plaintively, "Can we go flying together sometime? Tomorrow at the Burrow, even?"
"Of course," Ginny said.
Harry sighed happily. "It's one of the worst things about living right in the middle of the city. Hard to just get out and fly."
"Come a little early tomorrow, and we'll take our brooms out for a bit," Ginny promised. "Maybe we can even get the others to play some pick-up Quidditch."
Harry's eyes sparkled.
Ginny arrived home that evening - Christmas Eve - to find her mum in the kitchen in a flurry of preparation for the next day, and her dad whistling to himself as he hung up the family's stockings in the living room.
It was like letting out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, to see her parents so relaxed.
Still, Ginny went into the kitchen with some trepidation, knowing she was about to be roped into some sort of cooking. Sure enough, as soon as she stepped into the room, Mum set her to work assembling the ingredients for a truly massive pudding, while Mum herself was up to the elbows in bread dough.
Once she'd set the dough to rise, Mum came to help Ginny finish the pudding, still chattering happily about all the things she had to do before dinner the next day.
"So much still to do," Mum was saying, as they set the finished pudding in the cold cupboard. "Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but with seven of you -" Mum stopped short and her face went white. She turned to Ginny, stricken. "Just for that one moment I forgot," she whispered. "Oh, Ginny, you must think I'm a terrible mother."
"No, Mum!" Ginny cried.
"I think about him every day," Mum said fiercely. "Every second. But with Christmas, and everyone coming home, it almost feels like -" She broke off again, lip trembling.
Desperately hoping Mum wouldn't cry, because then she would cry too, Ginny cautiously put her arms around her mother. It felt weird to be comforting a parent, instead of the other way around. "You're the best mother anywhere," Ginny said. "The best."
Mum sniffed, and valiantly didn't cry, and then thank goodness Dad was there, wrapping his arms around both of them.
"Oh, Molly," he said. "My love. We knew the first Christmas would be hard. We knew that. We'll make it through." Gently, he steered them both out of the kitchen. "Come on, now, whatever you two talented chefs are working on can wait."
He sat them down in the living room, and pushed a plate of Mum's own biscuits on her, which made her laugh a little.
Then Mum looked at the mantelpiece and saw that Dad had hung out all seven stockings, the ones they'd had every year growing up. "You've got -" she said.
"Of course," Dad said softly. "It's not as if he isn't here with us."
That, Ginny thought, was a good way to put it. Fred was there with them as much as they could possibly make him be.
From the kitchen came the sound of the back door opening and closing again, and a voice that was unmistakeably Charlie's called, "Hey, is anybody home?"
Ginny shrieked in an embarrassingly girly fashion that only her family was ever allowed to hear and went running toward the sound of his voice, Mum and Dad close behind.
"How's my favourite sister?" Charlie asked, as he picked Ginny up and swung her around easily.
"I'm your only sister," Ginny countered, but he just laughed and swung her once more before setting her back down.
After that, they all started arriving: Bill and Fleur (Ginny saw Mum flush with embarrassment and slip into the living room to Conjure another stocking for Fleur, because of course they'd forgotten her), then Percy with a new haircut that actually suited him, then Ron and George. The whole family would be under one roof tonight, and tomorrow their friends would be there too, and it would be as good as they could possibly make it.
As promised, Harry came early the next day, so he and Ginny could go out and fly for a bit, and they chased each other through the brittle winter branches of the orchard, laughing.
They went back inside through the front door - Mum had banned all of them from coming anywhere near the back door or the kitchen - to find Ginny's brothers pulling on warm clothes to come out and join them.
Percy peeked cautiously around the doorway and Ginny said, "Perce, come on, play too."
"I can't," Percy said.
Ginny rolled her eyes.
"No, really," he said, looking discomfited. "If I do, and Harry does, we make an odd number."
Because they didn't have Fred.
"Well, zen I weel have to play too," Fleur declared, appearing in the hallway with a toss of her hair. "I am not so bad at Queedeetch, alzough in France of course we prefer le fossé quid."
Harry poked Ginny in the side and muttered with a laugh in his voice, "Your mouth's hanging open."
Ginny snapped her jaw shut and said, "Good, that's eight of us, then. Four a side."
Once everyone had claimed brooms from the broomshed, Bill said, "Okay, Charlie and Harry are our Seekers, that's the most obvious thing, so why don't you two pick the teams. I'll play Beater," he added, in a tone that brooked no disagreement. "Harry, you start."
"I'll take Ginny as Chaser," Harry said with a grin.
"George as Beater," Charlie said immediately.
"Bill as Beater," Harry said fairly.
"Ron as Keeper," Charlie said.
"Percy, can you Keep?" Harry asked. Percy shrugged and joined their side.
"Well, Fleur, you better be able to Chase," Charlie declared.
"Indeed, I can," Fleur said, and she said it with such confidence, they believed her.
They reached the orchard and kicked off, and it turned out the teams were surprisingly well matched. Fleur was no professional, but still better than anyone expected, and if her presence on Charlie's team was a bit of a weak link, it was made up for by the fact that George and Ron were both much better than Bill, on Harry's team. Percy was pretty woeful, but he could just about keep up with Fleur, and Ginny was sort of pleased to find that Ron as Keeper actually gave her a tough match.
And of course watching Harry and Charlie compete for the Snitch (an old cast-off somebody must have brought back from school at some point, but Bill Charmed it so it flew at almost normal speed) was a dream. Ginny was pretty sure she'd never seen anything like it outside the Quidditch World Cup. At one point they lost track of the two of them entirely among the trees, and had to just keep playing on the assumption that the Snitch hadn't been caught yet.
Finally, Harry plummeted back into their midst, catching the Snitch in a spectacular dive that took him nearly all the way to the ground. Ginny couldn't help being just a little bit sorry he'd got it in his head to be an Auror instead.
Charlie shook his head ruefully, but gave Harry's hand a hearty shake once they'd both landed. Then Charlie leaned in, and Ginny could have sworn she heard the words, "But if you hurt my sister, we'll be fighting over more than just a Snitch."
Ginny was going to have to have yet another a talk with her brothers about that whole protective-and-menacing routine they were always doing.
Mum called them inside then, because the guests would be arriving any minute, she said, and look at them, all of them in old Quidditch gear and spattered in mud, and was that any way to welcome their guests for Christmas?
With some grumbling, they trooped inside to make themselves presentable.
Luna and her father arrived first, Luna guiding her father gently by the elbow and Xenophilius hovering in the doorway, as if unsure of the welcome he would receive.
Ron spotted him first, unfortunately, and glared.
Ginny pushed past Ron and said, "Luna! Mr Lovegood! I'm so glad you could come."
Harry appeared in the hallway next to Ron, and Mr Lovegood cleared his throat and said, "Mr Potter. Mr Weasley. I owe you an apology. I was…not myself last year." His hand tightened convulsively on Luna's shoulder.
"Apology accepted," Harry said, stepping forward. "And we're glad no harm came to Luna." He turned to her and grinned. "Luna! How are you keeping?"
"Quite well, Harry, thank you," Luna said, as Mum showed up to urge them all into the living room.
Hermione came next, and she and Ron were annoying and cute for a while. Then Andromeda arrived, with Teddy bright-haired and babbling in her arms, and it was all Ginny could do not to push Harry out of the way to get her turn holding Teddy.
Neville arrived, smiling shyly in the wake of Augusta Longbottom, but Ginny saw that he no longer seemed quite so terribly intimidated by his grandmother, and that his grandmother smiled proudly at him, and Ginny was glad.
Last to come was Kingsley - Minister Shacklebolt, now - who apologised to Mum and Dad from the outset that he wouldn't be able to stay very long, but said he was very honoured to be included in their family circle.
"Hello, Minister," Harry said stiffly, when Kingsley stepped into the living room.
Kingsley placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and they stepped away a bit. Ginny couldn't hear what they were saying, but she saw Harry's posture relax by degrees as they talked.
Ginny moved off to say hi to Neville. "How was Christmas Eve at Marie's?" she asked, and enjoyed watching the blush spread all the way to his ears.
"Nice," he said, and Ginny took pity and didn't quiz him for details - or maybe it was just that Andromeda chose that moment to settle Teddy in Ginny's arms, and Ginny lost track of the rest of the world for a while, as she made faces at Teddy and tickled him under his fat little chin and dissolved into laughter at his infectious giggle.
"Dinner is ready!" Mum announced, and they all went to squeeze in around the magically expanded kitchen table.
Once everyone had found a spot, Dad stood and said, "I hope no one minds if I say a few words."
Harry's hand found Ginny's under the table, and she squeezed back gratefully.
"I'd like to thank our guests for joining us for Christmas," Dad began. "We're glad you could be here. And I know we're all thinking about the people who couldn't be here with us tonight. We in our family have been preoccupied with our own great loss, but everyone in this room lost people dear to them in the war. We lost a son; you lost friends, children, parents, loved ones. It would be wrong to let them go unmentioned today, because without their sacrifices, none of us could be here. Let us toast to their memory." Dad raised his glass, and everyone else did the same.
Dad looked at George, and it was George who said, "Fred Weasley."
"Nymphadora Tonks Lupin," said Andromeda. "Ted Tonks. Remus Lupin."
Ginny saw Kingsley place a comforting hand on Andromeda's shoulder, and Andromeda's arm around baby Teddy tightened, but the hand holding her glass didn't waver.
"Sirius Black," Harry said. "And James and Lily Potter."
"Albus Dumbledore," said Ron.
"Alastor Moody," said Bill.
"Emmeline Vance," said Kingsley.
"Frank and Alice Longbottom," said Neville's grandmother.
"Dobby," said Luna.
"Cedric Diggory," said Neville.
"Colin Creevey," a voice said, and Ginny realised it was hers.
"Gideon and Fabian Prewett," Mum said with a waver in her voice.
"Severus Snape," said Hermione, and a little ripple went around the table, but no one disagreed.
"To all of them," Dad said, and they raised their glasses and echoed, "To all of them."
After that, somehow it didn't feel quite so wrong to talk and laugh and enjoy their dinner. Ginny heard about Hermione's time at home with her parents and about Neville's holiday so far (spent revising, obviously). She watched Harry feeding messy, small spoonfuls of mashed-up potato to Teddy, who looked more like Tonks every time Ginny saw him.
"Harry, you'll spend the night tonight, of course," Mum said at one point, then paused as she seemed to hear what she'd just said. "In Ron's room. You can stay with Ron, and Hermione will stay with Ginny."
Ginny met Hermione's eyes across the table. Hermione blushed, and Ginny knew they'd both arrived at the same plan.
Kingsley left shortly after dinner, though not before Hermione cornered him in the hall. "…Starting the first Hogsmeade weekend after break," Ginny heard her saying, and, "…someone from St Mungo's, a Trainee Healer perhaps…?"
Andromeda went to lay Teddy down to sleep in Mum and Dad's room, but the rest of them drifted into the sitting room, talking and listening to the carols on the Wizarding Wireless Network.
Ginny took a moment just to look around. She saw Neville's grandmother catching up with Mum and Dad, while Fleur seemed to be blithely engaged in improbable conversation with Xeno Lovegood. Neville was chatting with Bill and Charlie, as Hermione earnestly quizzed Percy on something to do with the Ministry. Off in one corner, Ron was trouncing Harry at chess. And by the fire, it looked like Luna was managing to make George almost smile.
That night, after the guests had gone home and the family to bed, and after Harry and Hermione had performed a small switch that slightly rearranged the official room assignment plan, Ginny dropped off to sleep warm and contented in her childhood bedroom, in Harry's arms, and was somehow not surprised when she found herself back in the Chamber of Secrets, back in a dream about Tom Riddle.
Except this time, she wasn't afraid of him.
When Riddle reached for her, Ginny brushed him away and said, "You're like a Boggart, you know that? You're always trying to be whatever we fear most. And Professor Lupin taught me that how to handle a Boggart is with laughter, but Harry taught me the way to deal with you is love. So whenever you sneak into my mind and try to make me afraid or hateful, I'm going to turn you into the people I love."
Ginny took a deep breath and said, "I love you, Harry," and it was Harry in front of her instead of Tom Riddle.
"I love you, Mum," she said, and Mum was there too, next to Harry.
Ginny named her family, her friends, everyone she could think of, everyone she held in her heart, right through to Teddy, who turned up giggling in Harry's arms, and Professor McGonagall, who had always been scary but good and who came and stood sternly next to Augusta Longbottom, who'd somehow pushed her way in together with Neville.
And then, even though she hadn't dared to ask for him, Ginny saw Fred, right there in the middle next to Harry and Ron and Hermione and George.
Fred smiled. "Good on you, sis," he said. "The joke's on Voldemort this time."
Ginny could feel herself starting to wake, the dream growing indistinct, and she reached out to squeeze Fred's hand.
"Good on you," he repeated. "You just keep turning him back into the people you love."
Then Ginny woke up, the memory of everyone she cared about still held close inside her heart.
THE END
(PS: Perhaps you'd like to read the companion-but-also-stand-alone piece "Saturdays at the Shop with George", which tells Angelina's story from the point when she runs into Ginny in Diagon Alley.)
(Updated note: I've also finally expanded a little on Hermione's extracurricular club idea, in a small fic here: " Bright-Eyed and Bushy-Tailed.")
Summary:
In the winter after the war, Ginny navigates not only her own recurring nightmares, but also the demands of Quidditch captaincy, the weirdness of double-dating with one's brother and the surprisingly difficult path back to Harry, along with Hermione's obsession with inter-house unity, Neville's retreat into his books, Luna's lonely family life and a gaping hole in Ginny's family where her middle brother used to be.
In the winter after the war, Ginny starts putting the pieces back together, with a little help from her friends.
Characters: Ginny, with Harry, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Ron and all the Weasleys!
Chapters: 5
Story:
CHAPTER FIVE
Ginny visited Luna during the holiday, too, in her house just up the hill, and one day shortly before Christmas, the two of them arranged to meet up with Hermione in Diagon Alley.
Mum fussed over the idea of Ginny going there without an adult, and Ginny had to remind her that she was an adult, and so were Hermione and Luna, and besides, the war was over. Then she felt guilty for putting it like that, even if it was true.
In the end, Mum agreed to their trip, but hovered around the Floo as Ginny and Luna went through, and made them send back a note from the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace saying they'd arrived and met Hermione.
It was cold in London, but it felt good to be out in the world, bumping shoulders with what seemed to be all of Wizarding Britain, abuzz with last-minute shopping.
"What should I get Ron?" Hermione asked Ginny anxiously.
"If you don't know, I certainly don't," Ginny said, but nonetheless nudged Hermione on out of Flourish & Blotts, just in case she got the ill-advised notion to try to find a present for Ron there.
"Ooh, look, the unexpurgated edition of 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'," Luna said as they passed a display rack near the door, and Ginny and Hermione just smiled at each other.
They went back to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch, then took a more leisurely stroll up Diagon Alley, where a few snowflakes now swirling down.
"Angelina!" Hermione said in surprise, and Ginny stopped too - she'd almost walked right past the older girl, not recognising her under her thick winter hood.
"Hi, Hermione," Angelina said, turning away from the shop window she'd been studying. "Oh, and Ginny! And -"
"This is my friend Luna," Ginny said quickly.
"You were in Dumbledore's Army," Luna told Angelina, "And you were Gryffindor's Quidditch captain that year, too. You were a good captain, but a bit tough on your team, I think. And now you're a reserve player for Holyhead Harpies. I imagine you're very good at it."
"Er, yes, that's right," said Angelina, giving Ginny a look that plainly said, Who is she again?
Ginny just smiled and shrugged. Luna was more than capable of making her own impressions on people.
"Are you Christmas shopping, Angelina?" Ginny asked instead.
"Nah," Angelina said, and Ginny thought her face seemed sad, or impatient, or maybe both. "I'm all done, done ages ago, actually. I try not to do it all by the end of November, but somehow I always do."
"That's what I meant to do this year," said Hermione, sounding a little panicky. "But I still haven't got anything for Ron of all people, or for Mr and Mrs Weasley…" She trailed off, probably running through her mental shopping lists.
Ginny looked up and realised that where they'd ended up - the window Angelina had been gazing at - was Fred and George's shop.
George's shop.
"Have you been in there lately?" Ginny asked Angelina, looking toward the entrance to show what she meant.
"No… I've been meaning to stop in and see George, but I just haven't found the time. You know how it is," Angelina said.
She looked so terrifyingly sad that Ginny said, "Luna? Hermione? We were going to meet up again in half an hour, right? At that new sweets shop?"
Hermione caught on. "Yeah, I wanted to get some stuff from the apothecary first. Luna, want to come with me?"
Hermione and Luna headed off, and Ginny turned to face Angelina, the girl Ginny had probably idolised most in her time at Hogwarts - tough, strong, funny. Three years her senior. Quidditch captain.
Not someone Ginny had any idea how to comfort.
"How are things with the Harpies?" Ginny asked.
"Great," Angelina said, "Really great. Probably the only thing that is." Then: "Oh, ignore me, what a stupid thing to say. What about you, Ginny? Still thinking of trying out?"
Ginny nodded, feeling a little shy admitting it to Angelina. "Yeah. I am."
"That's good. We need you."
"And I need Quidditch," Ginny said, before she could stop herself.
Angelina smiled crookedly. "Has a way of keeping you sane, doesn't it?"
"I guess so."
Angelina leaned against the shop wall and tucked her gloved hands inside her sleeves. "How's Hogwarts?"
"You know," Ginny said, then realised she herself didn't know how to explain it. "The same as ever, but not the same at all."
Angelina nodded, and Ginny was horrified to see her blink as if fighting against tears. "Angelina -" she started, not sure what to say.
Angelina shook her head angrily. "It's fine," she muttered, more to herself than to Ginny. "Everything is fine." She puffed out a breath and tried to smile. "Sorry, Ginny. Look at me. I don't know why I'm such a mess. I didn't even lose anyone, you know, it's not like I lost family. But with Fred gone, and George doesn't talk to anyone, and Lee never visits, and Alicia's abroad and Katie's always so strange…" She shook her head. "Forget it."
Ginny thought of George, silent in the doorway of the Burrow, silent over dinner, so silent behind the register of the shop when they'd visited him earlier that day that Ginny had eventually gone out again, feeling terrible about herself, because she just couldn't figure out what to say to him.
"I think George would really like if you visited him," she offered. "I mean, he won't say that he's glad, he probably won't say all that much of anything, but it would be good for him. That is, if you can stand to be around his…morose silence."
"Morose silence I can do," Angelina said, with a watery smile.
"It's not -" Ginny started, and tried to think how to put it. "It's not fine for anyone," she said finally. "None of us are fine, I mean."
Angelina nodded slowly. "That actually makes a weird kind of sense."
"So you'll visit George?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah…" Angelina said. "Yeah, sometime."
"Why don't you go now," Ginny urged, and had an unnerving sense she might be channelling Hermione.
"Now," Angelina repeated. "Yeah, okay." She looked around, and looked at the shop. "I guess I will."
Ginny nodded.
"See you around, Ginny," Angelina said.
Ginny watched the door to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes open and close behind Angelina, then started slowly back up the street. She was just thinking she'd head toward the shop she'd mentioned to Hermione and Luna, though she was early, when Luna herself appeared in front of Ginny, waving happily. She was tugging Dean Thomas by the hand.
"Look who I found!" Luna exclaimed.
"Hi, Ginny," Dean said, looking bemused, as he generally did around Luna.
"Hi, Dean," Ginny said.
"Well, you probably want to catch up. I'll see you later, then," Luna chirped, letting go of Dean's hand and patting him on the arm.
Ginny sighed and gave up any pretence of this not being unintentional-heart-to-heart-with-everyone day. "Thanks, Luna," she said, and Luna smiled and headed off again. Ginny turned to Dean, feeling tongue-tied. "How are you?"
"Okay," Dean said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "You?"
"Yeah," Ginny said. "More or less, I guess."
Ginny looked at Dean and thought about what a nice guy he was, and how that should have been enough, but hadn't been.
"What are you doing now?" she asked. "You didn't come back to Hogwarts this year."
Dean shook his head. "No, I guess I felt done with all of that. I've been apprenticing with a swordsmith in Wales, so N.E.W.T.s don't seem all that important."
"Wow, Dean," Ginny said, impressed. "That's great. Good for you."
"And you?" he asked. "Are you and Harry - I mean -"
"Yeah," Ginny said. "Sometimes more and sometimes less, but - yes. Dean -"
"Look, Ginny -" he said at the same time.
"Sorry. You first," she said.
"Oh. No, I just wanted to say, I don't mind. Really. I wouldn't want you thinking I'm still cross with you or something."
Typical of Dean, to be so good. Too good, maybe. Ginny said, "I was unfair to you, and I'm sorry. That year - fifth year - I was kind of…in denial about some things."
"Some Harry-shaped things?" Dean asked with a quirk of a smile.
Ginny felt ashamed. "I thought I didn't care. I really thought that. And you were always so incredibly nice…"
"You don't have to apologise."
Ginny huffed impatiently. "There, you're doing it again! I almost wished you'd get angry, sometimes. Don't you ever get angry?"
Dean looked at her quizzically. "Not much. Are you going to get angry at me for not getting angry?"
Ginny was about to be annoyed at him for making light of it, but then she saw the funny side too. She sighed. "So, basically, you see why I make a really awful girlfriend."
"That's not true," Dean said.
"And it's very nice of you to say so," Ginny replied, but somehow she found herself feeling a little easier with Dean.
"I heard you were really brave last year, at school," he said.
"I heard you were brave," she countered, "at the Malfoys' mansion." Just the thought of that still gave her shivers.
Dean shrugged and said, "I didn't do much. We'd barely even arrived there before Harry got us out again." Ginny marvelled at how there wasn't even the slightest trace of bitterness when he said it.
"So do you like Wales?" she asked instead.
"Yeah," Dean said. "Yeah. More than I'd ever have thought, actually."
"I'm glad," Ginny said. "Listen, I was about to meet back up with Luna and Hermione, at that new sweets place everybody's talking about. Do you want to come along?"
"Oh, no, that's all right."
"Really," Ginny said. "Come on, did you even get a chance to talk to Luna before she dragged you over here?" Ginny knew Luna and Dean had got to be friends of sorts during the time they'd stayed with Bill and Fleur, and Ginny was firmly in favour of Luna having friends.
"Not really," Dean admitted.
"Then come on," Ginny urged. "We can all have hot chocolate or something, at least if the place isn't already too crowded to find a seat. Everywhere I've been in Diagon Alley today, everyone's talking about it. They're supposed to have some Peruvian wizard's secret recipes…"
Dean grinned. "Don't worry, you had me at 'hot chocolate'. I'll come."
As they set off up Diagon Alley together, Ginny had to laugh at herself, because here she was already turning into her mum, collecting all the strays.
Seeing Angelina, meanwhile, had reminded of Ginny of something she'd been meaning to talk to Harry about. When she knocked at 12 Grimmauld Place the day before Christmas, Harry ran to open the door and hugged her so enthusiastically, he swept her off her feet.
"What was that for?" she gasped, laughing, as he swung her around.
"I'm just happy to see you," Harry said, and Ginny had to admit that was a pretty good reason.
A while later, comfortably entwined with Harry in their favourite armchair, Ginny said, "I was thinking."
"Mmh, thinking's good," Harry mumbled into her shoulder.
"No, that means 'I was thinking, and now you have to listen while I tell you what I was thinking about.'"
"Oh…" Harry wiggled into a sitting position, stopping to kiss Ginny's shoulder on the way.
She giggled. "You're distracting me."
"Distracting is good," Harry said, and kept doing it.
"Quidditch!" Ginny remembered.
"Quidditch?" Harry repeated, surfacing from where he'd been kissing her collarbone. "What about Quidditch?"
"I've been thinking I'd like to play professionally, after Hogwarts. Or try out at least. What do you think?"
"What do I think? Seriously, you have to ask what I think? I think that's fantastic. I'm so proud of you!"
"Well, I mean, I have to try out and be accepted by a team and all of that first…"
"Ginny, who are we trying to fool? I've seen you play. You'll have your pick of teams."
"You don't think it's weird?" she asked. "A weird choice of career, I mean? When I ought to be an Auror or some kind of politician or at least a Healer." She made a face. "Except I don't want to be a Healer, because Potions and Herbology are both boring."
Harry laughed. "I think you should do what you want. And if you want to play Quidditch, you should play Quidditch." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "You know, contrary to popular belief, I don't want to be an Auror because I have a 'saving the world' complex. I want to be an Auror because I think I'll enjoy it, at least if I make it out of training in one piece."
"Except that you also do have a -"
"Shh!" He laughed and silenced her with a kiss.
A while later, Harry asked almost plaintively, "Can we go flying together sometime? Tomorrow at the Burrow, even?"
"Of course," Ginny said.
Harry sighed happily. "It's one of the worst things about living right in the middle of the city. Hard to just get out and fly."
"Come a little early tomorrow, and we'll take our brooms out for a bit," Ginny promised. "Maybe we can even get the others to play some pick-up Quidditch."
Harry's eyes sparkled.
Ginny arrived home that evening - Christmas Eve - to find her mum in the kitchen in a flurry of preparation for the next day, and her dad whistling to himself as he hung up the family's stockings in the living room.
It was like letting out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, to see her parents so relaxed.
Still, Ginny went into the kitchen with some trepidation, knowing she was about to be roped into some sort of cooking. Sure enough, as soon as she stepped into the room, Mum set her to work assembling the ingredients for a truly massive pudding, while Mum herself was up to the elbows in bread dough.
Once she'd set the dough to rise, Mum came to help Ginny finish the pudding, still chattering happily about all the things she had to do before dinner the next day.
"So much still to do," Mum was saying, as they set the finished pudding in the cold cupboard. "Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but with seven of you -" Mum stopped short and her face went white. She turned to Ginny, stricken. "Just for that one moment I forgot," she whispered. "Oh, Ginny, you must think I'm a terrible mother."
"No, Mum!" Ginny cried.
"I think about him every day," Mum said fiercely. "Every second. But with Christmas, and everyone coming home, it almost feels like -" She broke off again, lip trembling.
Desperately hoping Mum wouldn't cry, because then she would cry too, Ginny cautiously put her arms around her mother. It felt weird to be comforting a parent, instead of the other way around. "You're the best mother anywhere," Ginny said. "The best."
Mum sniffed, and valiantly didn't cry, and then thank goodness Dad was there, wrapping his arms around both of them.
"Oh, Molly," he said. "My love. We knew the first Christmas would be hard. We knew that. We'll make it through." Gently, he steered them both out of the kitchen. "Come on, now, whatever you two talented chefs are working on can wait."
He sat them down in the living room, and pushed a plate of Mum's own biscuits on her, which made her laugh a little.
Then Mum looked at the mantelpiece and saw that Dad had hung out all seven stockings, the ones they'd had every year growing up. "You've got -" she said.
"Of course," Dad said softly. "It's not as if he isn't here with us."
That, Ginny thought, was a good way to put it. Fred was there with them as much as they could possibly make him be.
From the kitchen came the sound of the back door opening and closing again, and a voice that was unmistakeably Charlie's called, "Hey, is anybody home?"
Ginny shrieked in an embarrassingly girly fashion that only her family was ever allowed to hear and went running toward the sound of his voice, Mum and Dad close behind.
"How's my favourite sister?" Charlie asked, as he picked Ginny up and swung her around easily.
"I'm your only sister," Ginny countered, but he just laughed and swung her once more before setting her back down.
After that, they all started arriving: Bill and Fleur (Ginny saw Mum flush with embarrassment and slip into the living room to Conjure another stocking for Fleur, because of course they'd forgotten her), then Percy with a new haircut that actually suited him, then Ron and George. The whole family would be under one roof tonight, and tomorrow their friends would be there too, and it would be as good as they could possibly make it.
As promised, Harry came early the next day, so he and Ginny could go out and fly for a bit, and they chased each other through the brittle winter branches of the orchard, laughing.
They went back inside through the front door - Mum had banned all of them from coming anywhere near the back door or the kitchen - to find Ginny's brothers pulling on warm clothes to come out and join them.
Percy peeked cautiously around the doorway and Ginny said, "Perce, come on, play too."
"I can't," Percy said.
Ginny rolled her eyes.
"No, really," he said, looking discomfited. "If I do, and Harry does, we make an odd number."
Because they didn't have Fred.
"Well, zen I weel have to play too," Fleur declared, appearing in the hallway with a toss of her hair. "I am not so bad at Queedeetch, alzough in France of course we prefer le fossé quid."
Harry poked Ginny in the side and muttered with a laugh in his voice, "Your mouth's hanging open."
Ginny snapped her jaw shut and said, "Good, that's eight of us, then. Four a side."
Once everyone had claimed brooms from the broomshed, Bill said, "Okay, Charlie and Harry are our Seekers, that's the most obvious thing, so why don't you two pick the teams. I'll play Beater," he added, in a tone that brooked no disagreement. "Harry, you start."
"I'll take Ginny as Chaser," Harry said with a grin.
"George as Beater," Charlie said immediately.
"Bill as Beater," Harry said fairly.
"Ron as Keeper," Charlie said.
"Percy, can you Keep?" Harry asked. Percy shrugged and joined their side.
"Well, Fleur, you better be able to Chase," Charlie declared.
"Indeed, I can," Fleur said, and she said it with such confidence, they believed her.
They reached the orchard and kicked off, and it turned out the teams were surprisingly well matched. Fleur was no professional, but still better than anyone expected, and if her presence on Charlie's team was a bit of a weak link, it was made up for by the fact that George and Ron were both much better than Bill, on Harry's team. Percy was pretty woeful, but he could just about keep up with Fleur, and Ginny was sort of pleased to find that Ron as Keeper actually gave her a tough match.
And of course watching Harry and Charlie compete for the Snitch (an old cast-off somebody must have brought back from school at some point, but Bill Charmed it so it flew at almost normal speed) was a dream. Ginny was pretty sure she'd never seen anything like it outside the Quidditch World Cup. At one point they lost track of the two of them entirely among the trees, and had to just keep playing on the assumption that the Snitch hadn't been caught yet.
Finally, Harry plummeted back into their midst, catching the Snitch in a spectacular dive that took him nearly all the way to the ground. Ginny couldn't help being just a little bit sorry he'd got it in his head to be an Auror instead.
Charlie shook his head ruefully, but gave Harry's hand a hearty shake once they'd both landed. Then Charlie leaned in, and Ginny could have sworn she heard the words, "But if you hurt my sister, we'll be fighting over more than just a Snitch."
Ginny was going to have to have yet another a talk with her brothers about that whole protective-and-menacing routine they were always doing.
Mum called them inside then, because the guests would be arriving any minute, she said, and look at them, all of them in old Quidditch gear and spattered in mud, and was that any way to welcome their guests for Christmas?
With some grumbling, they trooped inside to make themselves presentable.
Luna and her father arrived first, Luna guiding her father gently by the elbow and Xenophilius hovering in the doorway, as if unsure of the welcome he would receive.
Ron spotted him first, unfortunately, and glared.
Ginny pushed past Ron and said, "Luna! Mr Lovegood! I'm so glad you could come."
Harry appeared in the hallway next to Ron, and Mr Lovegood cleared his throat and said, "Mr Potter. Mr Weasley. I owe you an apology. I was…not myself last year." His hand tightened convulsively on Luna's shoulder.
"Apology accepted," Harry said, stepping forward. "And we're glad no harm came to Luna." He turned to her and grinned. "Luna! How are you keeping?"
"Quite well, Harry, thank you," Luna said, as Mum showed up to urge them all into the living room.
Hermione came next, and she and Ron were annoying and cute for a while. Then Andromeda arrived, with Teddy bright-haired and babbling in her arms, and it was all Ginny could do not to push Harry out of the way to get her turn holding Teddy.
Neville arrived, smiling shyly in the wake of Augusta Longbottom, but Ginny saw that he no longer seemed quite so terribly intimidated by his grandmother, and that his grandmother smiled proudly at him, and Ginny was glad.
Last to come was Kingsley - Minister Shacklebolt, now - who apologised to Mum and Dad from the outset that he wouldn't be able to stay very long, but said he was very honoured to be included in their family circle.
"Hello, Minister," Harry said stiffly, when Kingsley stepped into the living room.
Kingsley placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and they stepped away a bit. Ginny couldn't hear what they were saying, but she saw Harry's posture relax by degrees as they talked.
Ginny moved off to say hi to Neville. "How was Christmas Eve at Marie's?" she asked, and enjoyed watching the blush spread all the way to his ears.
"Nice," he said, and Ginny took pity and didn't quiz him for details - or maybe it was just that Andromeda chose that moment to settle Teddy in Ginny's arms, and Ginny lost track of the rest of the world for a while, as she made faces at Teddy and tickled him under his fat little chin and dissolved into laughter at his infectious giggle.
"Dinner is ready!" Mum announced, and they all went to squeeze in around the magically expanded kitchen table.
Once everyone had found a spot, Dad stood and said, "I hope no one minds if I say a few words."
Harry's hand found Ginny's under the table, and she squeezed back gratefully.
"I'd like to thank our guests for joining us for Christmas," Dad began. "We're glad you could be here. And I know we're all thinking about the people who couldn't be here with us tonight. We in our family have been preoccupied with our own great loss, but everyone in this room lost people dear to them in the war. We lost a son; you lost friends, children, parents, loved ones. It would be wrong to let them go unmentioned today, because without their sacrifices, none of us could be here. Let us toast to their memory." Dad raised his glass, and everyone else did the same.
Dad looked at George, and it was George who said, "Fred Weasley."
"Nymphadora Tonks Lupin," said Andromeda. "Ted Tonks. Remus Lupin."
Ginny saw Kingsley place a comforting hand on Andromeda's shoulder, and Andromeda's arm around baby Teddy tightened, but the hand holding her glass didn't waver.
"Sirius Black," Harry said. "And James and Lily Potter."
"Albus Dumbledore," said Ron.
"Alastor Moody," said Bill.
"Emmeline Vance," said Kingsley.
"Frank and Alice Longbottom," said Neville's grandmother.
"Dobby," said Luna.
"Cedric Diggory," said Neville.
"Colin Creevey," a voice said, and Ginny realised it was hers.
"Gideon and Fabian Prewett," Mum said with a waver in her voice.
"Severus Snape," said Hermione, and a little ripple went around the table, but no one disagreed.
"To all of them," Dad said, and they raised their glasses and echoed, "To all of them."
After that, somehow it didn't feel quite so wrong to talk and laugh and enjoy their dinner. Ginny heard about Hermione's time at home with her parents and about Neville's holiday so far (spent revising, obviously). She watched Harry feeding messy, small spoonfuls of mashed-up potato to Teddy, who looked more like Tonks every time Ginny saw him.
"Harry, you'll spend the night tonight, of course," Mum said at one point, then paused as she seemed to hear what she'd just said. "In Ron's room. You can stay with Ron, and Hermione will stay with Ginny."
Ginny met Hermione's eyes across the table. Hermione blushed, and Ginny knew they'd both arrived at the same plan.
Kingsley left shortly after dinner, though not before Hermione cornered him in the hall. "…Starting the first Hogsmeade weekend after break," Ginny heard her saying, and, "…someone from St Mungo's, a Trainee Healer perhaps…?"
Andromeda went to lay Teddy down to sleep in Mum and Dad's room, but the rest of them drifted into the sitting room, talking and listening to the carols on the Wizarding Wireless Network.
Ginny took a moment just to look around. She saw Neville's grandmother catching up with Mum and Dad, while Fleur seemed to be blithely engaged in improbable conversation with Xeno Lovegood. Neville was chatting with Bill and Charlie, as Hermione earnestly quizzed Percy on something to do with the Ministry. Off in one corner, Ron was trouncing Harry at chess. And by the fire, it looked like Luna was managing to make George almost smile.
That night, after the guests had gone home and the family to bed, and after Harry and Hermione had performed a small switch that slightly rearranged the official room assignment plan, Ginny dropped off to sleep warm and contented in her childhood bedroom, in Harry's arms, and was somehow not surprised when she found herself back in the Chamber of Secrets, back in a dream about Tom Riddle.
Except this time, she wasn't afraid of him.
When Riddle reached for her, Ginny brushed him away and said, "You're like a Boggart, you know that? You're always trying to be whatever we fear most. And Professor Lupin taught me that how to handle a Boggart is with laughter, but Harry taught me the way to deal with you is love. So whenever you sneak into my mind and try to make me afraid or hateful, I'm going to turn you into the people I love."
Ginny took a deep breath and said, "I love you, Harry," and it was Harry in front of her instead of Tom Riddle.
"I love you, Mum," she said, and Mum was there too, next to Harry.
Ginny named her family, her friends, everyone she could think of, everyone she held in her heart, right through to Teddy, who turned up giggling in Harry's arms, and Professor McGonagall, who had always been scary but good and who came and stood sternly next to Augusta Longbottom, who'd somehow pushed her way in together with Neville.
And then, even though she hadn't dared to ask for him, Ginny saw Fred, right there in the middle next to Harry and Ron and Hermione and George.
Fred smiled. "Good on you, sis," he said. "The joke's on Voldemort this time."
Ginny could feel herself starting to wake, the dream growing indistinct, and she reached out to squeeze Fred's hand.
"Good on you," he repeated. "You just keep turning him back into the people you love."
Then Ginny woke up, the memory of everyone she cared about still held close inside her heart.
THE END
(PS: Perhaps you'd like to read the companion-but-also-stand-alone piece "Saturdays at the Shop with George", which tells Angelina's story from the point when she runs into Ginny in Diagon Alley.)
(Updated note: I've also finally expanded a little on Hermione's extracurricular club idea, in a small fic here: " Bright-Eyed and Bushy-Tailed.")