Shadows

Chapter Two: Shikoba

"Where's Harry gone?" Ginny asked, making her way down the stairs. Harry had been spending most of his time at the Burrow, since he was no longer allowed with the Dursley's and he didn't want to spend time alone at Sirius's old house.

"Some interview or other," Ron grunted. He hadn't been so happy about spending less and less time with his best friend, who was torn between work and Ginny. He got to spend less and less time with Hermione, too, who was off exploring job offers of her own. Ron had been given a number of opportunities, but had turned them all down. It had seemed like a good idea at the time (since he wanted a break after saving the world) but now he was left at home with nothing to do but attempt to not fight with Percy, which wasn't easy for the hot-tempered boy.

"Oh," Ginny replied softly, sitting at the table to stare down at the food. Her stomach growled impatiently, and she poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice and sipped it slowly, attempting to settle her upset stomach down without actually having to eat anything. The idea of food made her feel a little ill. How strange, to feel both ill and hungry at the same time.

But she couldn't dare let herself eat anything. On her way downstairs she had heard, 'Persephone was trapped in the underworld for eating pomegranate seeds. How much will it take to trap you?'. And though she was fairly certain that eating her mother's cooking wouldn't trap her anywhere, she didn't want to take the risk.

"Ginny," Molly Weasely entered the room with a large smile. It was the same fake smile she'd had all year. "Good to see you up."

"Good morning," greeted Ginny, not making eye contact with her mother. She'd been so afraid that someone might be able to tell she was insane by looking in her eyes.

"What will you be doing today?"

"I was thinking of going on a walk," she replied, and then finished off her glass of pumpkin juice.

Molly nodded. "Good. Get some fresh air."

Ginny stood from the table and left the Burrow.

----

Ginny Weasely walked for what seemed hours or days or weeks, but what was likely only forty minutes. She soon arrived at an unfamiliar pond which had purple and yellow wildflowers growing around the edges, while three willow trees caused shadows across the water. Colorful ducks floated along the surface, along with a few geese and a pair of swans.

Ginny made her way through the tall grass until she stood under a willow tree. She took a seat on a small rock, and looked across the pond.

Soon, a small black-and-white diver came out of the water, looking curiously at Ginny. It carefully, slowly moved forward, its head tilted at a slight angle, accenting the curious look. Ginny sat perfectly still as she watched it approach, not wanting to scare the bird away. As it reached her feet it gave a low, mournful call. Ginny looked down at it.

"Hello," she greeted. It gave another call in response. She smiled. "Nice day, isn't it?" The diver flapped its wings. "Yes, I bet it's great for flying."

The diver sat at Ginny's feet, still looking cautiously at her but seeming a little reassured. Ginny carefully reached a hand down and patted its feathers, and the bird gave her a short song. As Ginny continued petting the diver, she talked.

"I didn't see any other divers out there. Are you alone?" she glanced back up at the water, but still could not see any others. "It must be awful, not having a family. I have one, though...it's rather broken. My brother died, you see. And another left us for a long time. So now everyone hates him." The bird looked at her sympathetically. "And what's worse...I think I've gone insane. I keep hearing voices, and seeing shadows. And I'm scared to tell them. And I'm just plain scared. And I want to be with Harry so badly, but how can I when I keep hearing his voice?" Everything was so confusing. All she wanted now was to be with Harry. But how could she let herself, when every day she would lie to him and tell him that the shadow she'd seen was nothing, that the voice she'd answered was just her own thoughts? She couldn't, not when she knew they were both...