Chapter 120: The Strain of Family Loyalty
Ginny was rather apprehensive as Fred and George picked her up from the Burrow; the three of them Flooed to the twin's shop in Diagon Alley, and made their way over to Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlor. Ginny wasn't quite sure what to make of it as her brothers hadn't said a word since picking her up. She had tried to ask, but they had both been tight-lipped. When they arrived, the twins quickly found the table they'd been looking for, and sat down, practically dragging Ginny along.
To her surprise, they had sat down across from Neville, who was looking at the twins in confusion, then looked at her with an unreadable expression. Ginny couldn't really meet Neville's eyes, knowing that he was one of Harry's supporters, as well. Finally, the awkward silence was broken by the boy they had come to meet.
"So, why did you bring her here? You only said that you had to talk to me," Neville asked neutrally, looking at Fred and George.
It was Fred who answered, placing an arm around Ginny's shoulders protectively. "A few things changed at the Order meeting last night. Looks like quite a few people finally got it into their thick skulls that Harry is on our side in this. Ginny here gave Mom quite a talking to."
"You should've seen it," George added, "it was bloody brilliant!"
At Neville's confused look, Fred leaned in close, though it was unnecessary - the nearest occupied table was a few yards away, filled with four children who were chattering about this and that excitedly. "Look, Nev, Ginny realizes she made a mistake in listening to the drivel Mom's been spewing about Harry, and she's feeling real bad about it. We were wondering if you could, y'know, arrange something."
"I don't know," Neville looked at the twins dubiously. "She was rather vocal in the crusade against Harry. Are you sure that it'd be a good idea?"
Before either of the twins could answer, Ginny had stood, her chair scraping loudly against the ground, and left with a muttered excuse that she had to go to the bathroom. Neither of the three boys missed the tears that she was desperately trying to hold back. They watched as she slid through the door into the parlor, and Fred turned back to look at Neville. "She made a mistake, Nev. She's young, and Mom… well, she can be a real harpy when she's dead set on something. We can't understand it, ourselves, why she'd turn on Harry so quickly, but think about it. She's been pulling every trick in the book to convince everyone she meets of Harry's guilt."
"That's a lot of pressure," George added. "Especially since Mom refuses to talk to the neighbours ever since she found out that they don't believe Harry's guilty. Ginny is afraid that Mom would disown her, or something like that, as unlikely as it would be. But you've got to look at it from her perspective. She was scared and unsure of what to believe, and Mom was there with all the right words."
"I see…" Neville looked torn as he glanced between the twins and the door to the ice cream shop. "You think talking to Harry would help?"
"She almost had a complete breakdown last night, mate. It's really been eating her up, now that she realizes that everyone's been too quick to condemn Harry," Fred informed him.
"And I think it'd do Harry a world of good, too," George added. "I mean, he's got a wife and a kingdom to run now, but maybe some closure with the old crowd would be a good idea. It worked out with Hermione, didn't it?"
"That's a good point," Neville conceded. He'd seen how much more at ease Harry was around other people, after Hermione had gotten him to let her stay, and after Bella had convinced him to give her a second chance - a real chance, not the instant forgiveness Harry had been so quick to mete out without trying to work through the tension between them. And Harry and Ginny had been rather close, as well, during his last year at Hogwarts. "What do you suggest?" he finally asked.
Fred and George looked at each other briefly, before George replied. "We were thinking maybe we could take her to Nair'i'caix to see Harry. Actually, take her to see Bellatrix first - she seems much better at dealing with people that are coming to beg Harry for forgiveness than he is. See what she thinks, and then she can work on Harry until he agrees to see Ginny."
"As much as I like springing surprises on Harry, I don't think just popping in with Ginny is a good idea, so I agree with that," Neville agreed. He eyed the twins with a suspicious look, and grinned. "Are you sure you aren't just using that as an excuse to get a grand tour of the castle?"
"Oh gosh darn, there goes our secret plan. Brother dearest, he found us out," Fred bemoaned theatrically, placing his hands over his heart.
"Well," George shrugged, "there's always Plan B."
The three boys fell silent for a while, until Neville looked at the ice cream parlor with a worried expression. "Don't you two think you should go look for her? Ginny's been gone for a while."
"We're not going into the girl's bathroom," George protested.
"But we'll knock and see if she's doing all right," Fred finished, and the two got up and left. Neville's worry turned out to be unfounded, as the twins returned a few minutes later with their sister, and Neville could see the tracks left by tears she must've hastily wiped away when her brothers had come to get her. Ginny sat down in front of Neville with a sheepish expression, her brothers flanking her on either side.
"Sorry I ran off like that," she said quietly, not making eye contact. "I deserved that, though. I said some horrible things to Harry, and I understand if you're mad at me."
Neville sighed heavily - he somewhat understood what Ginny had been going through, but he couldn't help but feel a bit of resentment towards everyone who had abandoned Harry. In a sense, Neville understood all too well what it had done to his friend; after all, he had been in a similar situation during his first few years at Hogwarts. He'd been the clumsy one, with very little magical aptitude. He'd been the one who always lost stuff or forgot stuff, which had ultimately left him feeling very much alone, because everyone else always swarmed around the popular people. His gran had been the only one he'd ever called family… but that had changed when Harry had come along. Harry, who had also lost his parents; Harry, who had also spent his whole life as an outcast, and the two had become friends, and Neville liked to think he'd become a better person because of it.
If Neville was brutally honest, then aside from his grandmother, Harry was the only real family he had. Sure, Hermione and Ron were friends, but only Harry ever really bothered to get to know Neville beyond superficialities. Only Harry really knew that Neville was a leader, and only needed the encouragement to become someone others would follow without hesitation. When Neville tried to imagine what he would have felt if Harry had turned his back on him, he could only shudder, and hope that he would have the same strength as Harry to survive it, because it would've been a terrible blow.
"Ginny…" Neville began, unsure of what exactly to tell the younger girl.
"You don't have to pretend you don't hate me," the redheaded witch took it from him. "You've always been honest with me, Neville, and I understand if you believe we don't deserve Harry's forgiveness. I don't believe I deserve it. But I need to talk to him, I need to let him know that at least some of us have realized what big of a screw-up we've made." Her resolve hardened, and she sat up with her back straight, staring at Neville as if to dare him to disagree. "And I need to tell him that whatever he wants me to do, I'll do. I will do everything I can to help him end this war, whether he likes it or not, because that's the only way I can even begin to forgive myself."
Neville shook his head. "No, Ginny, I don't hate you. I… resent you, for turning your back on Harry. The same goes for everyone who should have known Harry, but betrayed him, anyway." His expression softened somewhat when he noticed Ginny taking it like a proverbial man, and nodding in agreement. "But I can understand why you did it, why you believed everyone else over Harry, even when I can't understand why the others did. Public opinion is a powerful thing, and you're young - heck, we're all young, but you look up to your mother for guidance, and she-"
"Can be rather convincing," George chimed in.
...
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