Rocked World

Pain coursed through her body, and Ginny screamed. She didn't know where she was. She couldn't open her eyes. Her face was swollen from where Rose had hit her.

"It's alright, dear!" someone shouted.

It sounded like her mum, but that couldn't be right. Were they at Hogwarts? No, Rose had captured her!

Ginny tried to thrash at her captor, but something held her down.

"Firecracker, you're safe! You're in St. Mungo's!"

Something cool flowed over her face, and Ginny opened her eyes.

Harry and her mum were in her field of view. She strained to turn her head, spotting most of her family.

They tried flocking to the bed, but Bill and Harry ushered them back.

"Give her space," Bill said. "It's a lot to take in."

Even worse than her entire family there with her, worse than her brothers returning home, was seeing Fred and George. For a split second, they had a look on their faces she never thought she'd see: concern.

"What—" she tried, then heard her voice. It was rough, cracked. Her throat was dry and sore.

"Rose got to you," Harry said. "She killed Taltria. Do you remember?"

A flash of Taltria struggling to hurt Rose entered her head. Tears trickled down her face.

"I thought…"

Her throat burned again, and she tried coughing. With each rasping cough, pain seared through her body.

"You don't have to say anything," her mum said. "You rest."

Ginny wanted to speak, to say anything. She had a lot to say.

<Skyeyes?>

<Firecracker?>

<I'm sorry I didn't try harder in practice. Thanks for not kicking me off.>

Harry smiled at her.

<I'm not in the habit of kicking my best Chaser off the team.>

Ginny tried to smile at him, but the pain stopped her.

<What's everyone doing here?>

<What do you mean? They're here for you. Rose dragged you back to Hogwarts, then we rushed you to the Hospital Wing. Once you were stable enough to move, we rushed you here. Your mum and dad were here before lunch that day, and everyone else arrived before nightfall. Ron was excused from classes to stay here with you, and Sally-Anne and I have been taking turns watching over everything. McGonagall gave us all passes to come here.>

Ginny looked at her family. Did they know what she'd done? They couldn't have known; they wouldn't have all been there for her if they had.

Guilt washed over her. She thought of how afraid she'd been. Staring at Rose, someone who'd been her friend until only a few years ago, walking towards her, ready to kill her. Is that how Macnair had felt? Had he had time to feel anything?

You! Get away from me!

Fresh tears fell and stung her face. She'd done to Macnair what Rose had done to her. Except Rose had let her live. Ginny hadn't been so kind to Macnair.

"Mum," she croaked.

Her mum sat down beside her bed.

"What is it, dear? I'm right here for you."

Ginny couldn't fight the tears. She wanted to rest, to fall asleep and let it all pass her by, but one look at Skyeyes and she knew what she had to do.

"Last year… in the forest… I did something…"

"You don't need to tell us now," her mum said. "You've been through so much. You need rest."

"But—"

"Rest," her mum repeated. "Tell us when you're feeling better."

Darkness set in, and Ginny slipped back into a deep sleep.

Ron left Ginny's room and returned to the waiting room. He felt better once he got out. How had Rose done so much damage? Why had she? She'd turned Lav to dust with one spell, but she'd beaten Ginny nearly to death like it was some sort of sick game. To have done the damage she'd done, she must've been trying to do as much damage as she could without killing Ginny.

Sally-Anne was waiting for him when he arrived.

"How is she?" she asked.

"Alive," Ron said.

He pushed down the image of his little sister, beaten and broken. She wasn't herself. Rose had broken more than her body.

Percy came in behind Ron and sat down not far from them.

"Are you alright?" Sally-Anne asked him.

"Yeah," Percy said. "It's taking a bit to wrap my head around what's happening."

"Why?" Ron asked. "Rose is a monster. She's always been like that."

"Please don't go there," Sally-Anne said. "Anger and revenge aren't the answer. They're what got Taltria killed."

"You don't understand," Ron said. "You can't. This is twice now Rose has come after the people I care about. Who's next?"

"No one," Percy said sternly. "Dumbledore will—"

"Why not? Is he gonna stop her? Are you? Bill? No one can stop her!"

Percy stood up.

"I'm gonna wait outside."

He walked out of the room, leaving Ron and Sally-Anne alone.

"You're not the only one suffering," she said. "I know this is hard, especially after what happened to Lav, but I understand how you feel. This isn't easy for anyone, and yelling at them won't do any good."

Ron glared at her. He felt his anger rising.

"What do you know? How could you understand what it's like?"

"Because it wasn't some random person that attacked Viktor, it was Rose. She cast one of our spells, but since it wasn't the same, they couldn't dispel it. She did that to get under my skin, like she killed Lav to get under yours, like she keeps sending messages to Hermione to get under hers."

"Lav wasn't just some means to an end!" Ron shouted. "She's the only girl whose so much as given me the time of day, and I stood there and let her die! You're the only one who even mentioned her after that! Now she's gone, and I'll be alone for the rest of my life!"

Ron was shocked by his own words. He didn't regret them; he'd meant every word. He didn't know why he'd shouted them, or felt the need to say them. It felt good to get them out of his system.

"Why would you think that?" Sally-Anne asked. "Of course you're not going to be alone the rest of your life."

"Easy for you to say," Ron scoffed. "You're not a failure like me."

In hindsight, Ron should've seen the slap coming. At the time, it caught him off guard and nearly knocked him out of his chair.

"Don't you ever talk about yourself like that!" Sally-Anne snapped. "You're not a failure, Ronald Weasley! You're one of my best friends." She dabbed at her eyes. "It's a struggle for me to keep my head in a crisis, but not for you. You were on top of things when Rose killed Lav, even if you couldn't save her. I couldn't do anything when Rose showed up, nor after she left. If you hadn't been there for me, I don't know what I would've done."

Ron didn't know what to say. He forgot other people thought highly of him. Sally-Anne did. Harry did. Even Hermione and Neville sometimes. He wasn't as much of a failure as he'd thought.

He tried finding something to say, but all he could manage were a few sounds and stammers.

Thought of his friends filled his head. He thought of the chess piece Hermione had given him, of Sally-Anne smiling at him when he thought all was lost, of celebrating with Harry and Ginny when they'd won.

Sally-Anne smiled at him and touched his cheek where she'd slapped him.

"I hate it when you talk about yourself that way. You've been so distant, and I can't bear it. You don't need to be. You can talk to me about anything."

He glanced at the door to the back area where Ginny was resting.

Sally-Anne withdrew her hand and laid it on top of her other in her lap.

"How do you stay so positive all the time?" Ron asked.

"I think of something positive. My friends, or my parents. The people I love, how happy they can all be. I think of my hopes and dreams, and remember that I'm not going to get them if I can't pull myself together. When things go wrong, I can't always think. Dad says that happens, and that it may never go away. It doesn't mean I'm still a scared, timid little girl, but that I'll always have an obstacle to overcome."

She smiled at him, that bright, kind smile only she could do.

"The idea that other people are better than you may always be with you. When it happens, when you feel like it's too much, think of me. You've done some stupid things, said things you didn't think through, but I know that's who you are. I know you don't mean to hurt my feelings. We're family. No matter what stupid things you say or do, I'll be right here. I don't care how clever you are, or how talented your brothers are. We've stood by each other as we've grown, and you've made me so proud with all you've accomplished."

A warmth grew in his chest. He felt it lifting him up, as though he'd fly away. His face burned, and tears trickled down his face. Once again, he found himself lost for words.

"Thank you," was all he could manage. He felt as though he should say something else, but he didn't know what.

Sally-Anne hugged him. He���d never been so happy.

"You're welcome, Cohort."

For once, he enjoyed the nickname. Then again, everything sounded better when Sally-Anne said it.

Ginny walked through the forest. Flames licked the trees, climbing higher into the night sky. People screamed around her, but there was only one person in whom she was interested.

Macnair lay on the ground. He slowly turned and saw her.

"No! Please, have mercy! Get away from me!"

Without a word, Ginny raised her arm. It was covered in fire. The flames leapt from her to Macnair.

He screamed as the flames engulfed him.

"What did you do?"

She turned around to face the voice. Her brother stomped through the trees to reach her.

"I'm telling Mum and Dad what you did! They'll disown you when they find out."

She tried to open her mouth to plead him to stop, but it was sealed shut. Instead, she tried running to him, to grab him and stop him. When she touched him, the flames on her spread to him. He screamed, just like Macnair had, and fell to the ground.

"Firecracker, stop!" Harry shouted.

Ginny's heart leapt when she saw Harry. He wasn't mad at her. He knew it was only an accident.

She reached out to him. He was so close. He smiled at her.

"I don't blame you," he said.

When she touched him, the flames spread. Her screams mirrored his.

Her friends all tried to approach her, but one by one, she burned them all. No one could touch her, much less stop her.

"I'll make it all end," a new voice said.

Ginny whirled around and backed away from Rose.

"I'll put you out of your misery, Firecracker."

Ginny tried to run, but Rose grabbed her and beat her over and over.

"Stop!" Ginny screamed. "Please!"

She thrashed and screamed, but Rose held her down.

"Firecracker! Wake up!"

Ginny tried to open her eyes, but they'd been sealed shut. Pain coursed through her body with every blow from Rose. She wanted to cower in a corner. This was all life was. It was pain and suffering. Fear. She wanted it to stop.

"Firecracker," a soft voice said. It sounded familiar. She'd heard it somewhere, long ago.

"Alavel?"

"Its not real. Rose won't get past us. Me, your brothers, your parents, Princess, we're all here. Brain warded the room against her. You're safe."

One by one, they appeared beside her. Hermione waved her hands and Rose faded away. Harry took Ginny's hand, and the flames died down.

The forest melted away, and St. Mungo's came into view. Harry was there, his hand resting on hers. Her mum sat on her other side, tears in her eyes.

"Welcome back," Harry said.

"Don't you scare me like that again, young lady!"

Ginny looked around, taking in everything. Her dad sat in the corner next to Bill. She didn't see anyone else.

"The others are taking a break," Harry said. "It's been hard on them."

Ginny tried to nod, but her body still hurt.

"Thank you," she said, her voice a little less raspy than the last time she'd tried.

Her mum held a straw to her lips.

"Have some water, dear."

The cool liquid flowed down her throat. She'd never drank anything so refreshing in her life.

"Thank you."

"Think nothing of it, dear."

She thought back to her dream, then glanced at Harry. He smiled at her when she caught his gaze.

<If you're thinking of telling her, now would be a good time.>

She nodded as best she could.

"Mum."

"Yes, dear?"

"I… last year in the forest, I… someone was attacking me and Brain, and I… I killed him."

Fresh tears fell down her face.

"I didn't mean to. He was the one that tortured Brain, and I… I got so angry, and he was attacking us, and—"

"I know, dear. Professor McGonagall told us after that awful accident with your brother."

Ginny gasped. They'd known all this time?

"How… but I killed someone."

"In self defence," Bill said. "You survived the forest. Most people your age wouldn't have. It takes a lot of courage to get through something like that."

"No one's going to fault you for making the choice you did," her dad added. "There was no right choice."

All this time she'd thought they'd hate her, that they wouldn't understand. She caught Harry's gaze, and he smiled at her. She felt as though she were in a dream.

"Everything's going to be fine now," her mum said. "You rest and worry about getting better."

Ginny nodded and laid her head on her pillow. Everything was going to be fine.

Emma Granger looked forward to the day her daughter returned home every year. It brought with it a sigh of relief, and knowledge that they were one step closer to her being finished with that world.

She and her husband both suspected Hermione would want to pursue a career in that backwards world, but they held onto hope that she'd grow tired of it one day.

The day she returned to them was a week away. They'd spent the past several worried about her after finding out that Rose had beaten Hermione's friend nearly to death. Hermione assured them over and over again that Hogwarts was the safest place for her to be.

That didn't stop them from worrying. That didn't stop the nightmares of finding their daughter beaten, or having to tell their family some lie about how she'd died.

It also hadn't stopped them from digging deeper. They'd met with Sarah and Wilfred many times over the past few months. None of them were thrilled with the way things were, but the Perks family was far less worried than the Granger family.

That day was a particularly special day. Emma would've liked to have received a letter from Hermione telling them she was coming home, that she'd had enough of that world. That wasn't the letter they received.

If you want to know how the Ministry of Magic enforces the Statute of Secrecy, come to the Solomon building at noon on Saturday.

Burn this letter after reading it.

Dan and Emma stared at the letter. They had no way to know it wasn't a trick, but they had no better leads.

Dan looked over the letter again. It was a standard sheet of paper. Why had the sender used so much paper for such a small letter?

He fetched a lighter and held it to the letter. Sure enough, it revealed more to it.

Elderberries

While the rest of the letter was typed in small print, the invisible part of it was scrawled over the paper.

After showing his wife, he burned it with the lighter and tossed it in the fireplace.

"Do we go?" Emma asked.

"What choice do we have?" Dan replied. "If we want to know, we've got to. At least then we've got a chance of being prepared when the Ministry shows up to wipe our memories."

"Maybe we should ask Sarah and Wilfred. They might have some ideas."

"We've got two choices. Go or don't go. If we go, we could be walking into a trap, but we might also learn what we need to know. If we don't, we're safe for now, but we may never know what's going to happen to us in a year when Hermione graduates."

Emma looked at him. It was hard to argue with him when he spelled it out like that. For their daughter's sake, and for theirs, they had to go.

Sally-Anne returned to Hogwarts, bringing news of Ginny's condition with her. She hadn't wanted to leave Ron alone, but he had convinced her that he'd be alright on his own.

Sally-Anne found Hermione pacing around their room, muttering to herself.

"Calm down," Sally-Anne said. "She's recovering. There's no need to worry."

"Are you sure? I can add more protections. The dimension lock should hold for long enough, or there's—"

Sally-Anne grabbed Hermione's shoulders and held her in place.

"Deep breaths."

Sally-Anne breathed with Hermione, hoping it would calm her down.

"None of this is your fault."

"I knew where Rose was. I should've told Professor Dumbledore. Then he could've—"

"Let him handle it. If he needs to find her, he'll ask you."

Hermione looked around the room, likely expecting Rose to pop up at any moment.

Sally-Anne hugged her friend.

"Professor Dumbledore was right," Hermione whispered. "He's been saying I've got to remember Rose isn't our friend anymore."

Sally-Anne felt Hermione's tears fall on her shoulder.

"It's so hard. I… I don't know how to feel about her. I… I still don't want to hurt her."

"Professor Dumbledore isn't going to hurt her any more than he has to. He'll bring her back, and then you can have your answers. But Brain, you might not like them when you get them."

Hermione nodded, her head still buried in Sally-Anne's shoulder.

"Why don't we talk about something else?"

Hermione lifted her head and backed away. She wiped the tears from her face and tried to smile.

"I've been wondering about the Shield Rune." Sally-Anne held up her hand. "How am I supposed to use it to block a spell I can't see?"

Hermione smiled, and Sally-Anne was glad she'd found a question Hermione could answer and that she'd taken Hermione's mind off Rose.

"You can use it to project a shield around one of your arms," Hermione said, drawing a notebook from her pack. "Sort of like armour. It's not easy to sustain, but it can stop an attack against that arm."

She stopped on a page in the book.

Sally-Anne glanced over her shoulder.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to something on the right page.

"Pandora had an idea for a massive Shield Rune. The idea was it would lock down an entire area. She could never power it, though. She'd had an idea for a rune that would draw in ambient energy in the air, but I think it was unstable."

Sally-Anne nodded, hoping Hermione wouldn't realize how lost she'd become.

"I'd ask Harry," Hermione said. "About blocking spells. If you get a second one, they create a sort of closed circuit, and you should be able to cover your body for a few seconds. Then he could show you how to track an enemy's attacks. Him or Neville, I think they both know."

Sally-Anne nodded, still a little lost, but certain Professor Babbling could explain.

"Why do you think it was unstable?" Sally-Anne asked, hoping the answer wouldn't confuse her more.

"Most of her notes for it were burned. I think she was working on it, and it exploded… taking her with it."

Sally-Anne gasped.

"Oh. I see."

Hermione closed her notebook.

"I hope that helped."

Sally-Anne smiled and nodded.

"Don't worry. It did."

"Taser?" Dan asked.

"Taser," Emma replied, handing him the weapon.

"Mace?"

"Mace." That one went with her.

"We recorded our notes in case they wipe our memories," he said.

"In two separate places hidden throughout our house."

That was a lie. It was really four, but they didn't know if someone was listening to them. They'd also hidden a note written in invisible ink for Hermione in case the worst happened.

They parked their car a few blocks from the meeting point and began the long walk. Every small movement made them both jump.

Dan kept his hand in his pocket, gripping his only chance of beating a wizard. It was close range, which gave them the advantage, but he wasn't allowed anything else.

They approached the empty lot and found a man waiting for them.

He looked about as nondescript as people came. Sort of tall, scraggly, leaning against a building, smoking a cigarette. He put it out when he saw them approaching.

"Dan and Emma Granger?" he asked.

Dan narrowed his eyes.

"Who's asking?"

The man took out a notepad and scribbled something.

"There was a part of my letter written in invisible ink," he said. "What did it say?"

Dan and Emma exchanged glances.

"Elderberries," Dan said.

The man held up the notepad. He'd written the word "elderberries".

"My name's Eric," he said. He nodded to the building behind them. "Follow me."

Neither of them liked the idea of going inside a building, out of daylight, but they didn't have much of a choice. If they wanted answers, if they wanted to know how the Ministry operated, if they wanted to know if their family was safe, they needed to do as they were told.

"I promise you, you'll return home later today, safe and sound, with your memories intact. Boss doesn't want either of you harmed."

Dan narrowed his eyes, keeping his hand on the taser in his pocket.

"I don't blame you," Eric said. "I wouldn't trust me either."

Without waiting for them, he walked in through the glass door. After exchanging looks, they followed.

They walked through an atrium, then out through a door on the other side. The alleyway behind the building didn't fill them with confidence, nor did the lack of security cameras.

"If they could see us, it wouldn't fit with the whole 'secrecy' thing, would it?" Eric said, anticipating their concern.

"I suppose not," Emma said slowly.

Eric walked a few meters down the alleyway, then stopped next to a dumpster. He knocked on two of the bricks, then pushed a third into the wall.

Dan and Emma flinched when the wall slid back and away. They looked around, keeping their hands on their respective weapons.

"Inside," Eric said, nodding to the opening.

He walked through the opening. Dan walked through first, then Emma. They walked down a dimly lit corridor, coming up to a security checkpoint.

"They're clear," Eric said, presenting ID. "Boss wants to talk to them. Man's got a taser and pocket knife, woman's just got some mace. Both are green lit to pass."

The man at the checkpoint picked up a phone and punched in a few numbers.

"Ma'am, sorry to… yes, a man and a woman… yes, he's with them… I verified his ID. He said they… alright, I'll send them up."

He put down the phone, then held a button down and waved them through. They walked through the metal detector. Eric signed himself in, handed them visitor passes, then lead them further into the facility.

"What is this place?" Emma whispered.

They got an answer when they past an insignia on the wall.

"What's the Extraphysical Security and Intelligence Service?" Dan whispered.

Emma shrugged.

"A government agency that doesn't officially exist," Eric said.

Dan's heart sped up, and suddenly, he felt trapped. He looked around frantically for a way out. A secret government organization wasn't about to let them leave of their own free will. Whoever their boss was, she was likely going to figure out what they knew, then make them disappear. Or worse, there was no way to know.

Eric stopped at a lift and pushed "up".

Dan couldn't remember being so tense about waiting for a lift. He felt as if he were waiting to be executed. Perhaps he was. He glanced at his wife. If it came down to it, he promised himself right then and there that he'd do whatever was necessary to ensure she made it out alive.

"You can stop looking so tense," Eric said as the lift arrived. "This isn't America, and we're not the CIA. As I said before, you'll be free to go, unharmed, but hopefully enlightened as to the depth in which you find yourselves."

Emma struggled to swallow. Her mouth had never felt so dry. Her hands shook inside her coat pockets.

Dan took his hand out of his pocket and held his wife's. Together, they stepped inside the lift.

The ride up to the top floor was quiet. Dan took a look over their new friend. He didn't look armed, but Dan wasn't convinced he meant them no harm.

"Still not going to hurt you," he said as the lift doors opened.

Dan hoped Eric was trained in reading people and not reading minds.

Inside, it looked like any other office. Cubicles littered throughout the floor, not necessarily nice, but not bad either. People toiled away as Eric led them along.

"Eyes to yourself," he said. "It's for the best."

Dan and Emma did as they were told. They didn't want to risk incurring whatever punishment awaited them for espionage.

They turned down another aisle and walked along until they reached another office. Inside, a woman typed away at a computer.

"Dan and Emma Granger, for the boss," Eric said.

"I'll let her know."

A door lay behind the woman, with tinted windows on either side. The office behind looked larger from what little they could see. Emma caught traces of a desk inside. The only indication of what lay inside was a name plate on the door that said "Director's Office".

"Dan and Emma Granger for you."

The woman put down her phone and nodded to them.

"Go right in."

Dan turned the door handle and pushed the door open slowly. He went inside, then held the door for his wife. The two stood still as the door closed behind them, facing the desk.

The chair swung around, and they both gasped.

"Dan, Emma," Sarah Perks said, "I'm told you've got a few questions about the Statute of Secrecy. How may I help?"