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Harry Potter is not the boy who lived. A different prophecy was spoken and a different family died. On October 31st, 1981, James Potter and Lily Evans did not die. On October 31st, 1981, Molly and Arthur Weasley drew their last breaths.
Welcome to your future, Ginerva Weasley. You’re The Girl Who Lived, congratulations.
On that night, Voldemort killed the Weasley parents he also killed the children. He could not let the family of the prophecy child survive. They would grow eventually, and they’d be threats. So, when Voldemort cast his killing spell, it was not only the love of a mother that saved Ginerva Weasley, but the love of a family.
She grew up in the Order of the Phoenix. Her parents gave their lives for the cause, and she had no blood relatives left. She was a year old when Sirius Black offered to house her permanently. He couldn’t stomach the idea of her being passed around like a class pet. So, Ginerva Weasley became Ginerva Cassiopeia Weasley-Black. Sirius hated giving her a star name, but a 3-year-old Ginny was insistent on it.
She grew in fits and spurts. She took to climbing the stairs and then throwing herself off them, giving a 22-year-old Sirius Black many heart attacks. Ginny was brought her first broom when she was 2 and was slightly more adept at it than Harry Potter, something Sirius was extremely smug about.
At 5 she was able to understand that her parents were dead and that she was being raised by friends. Sirius Black was not her father, but he did love her. The other marauders were not biologically her uncles, but she claimed them regardless. Her favourite was Uncle Peter because of his mean humour.
Harry Potter has been a part of Ginny’s life for as long as she can remember. He is always in her peripheral vision. They aren’t family, but they understand that they are linked. Theres no ill will between them but also no interest.
Ginny was 6 when she first realised that not everyone has a werewolf for an uncle. Her school had read her the story of the Little Red Riding Hood and Ginny started crying that wolves weren’t like that. Her Uncle Remus had been the one to pick her up from the office that day. He took her to the park and explained that some people were scared of werewolves because they bite and Ginny had proclaimed, “But you’d never hurt me! Or anyone!” her Uncle Remus smiled, but it was a sad thing, and replied, “No, little red, I’d never hurt you.” The words were normal enough, but they were spoken like an oath.
Ginny was 7 when things started happening around her. She was playing in the living room with Padfoot when the Tapestry suddenly sparked with life. She ran over to investigate, Padfoot looming silently behind her. The burned photo of Sirius suddenly had a branch beneath it. A branch with her name and picture.
After some investigation, it was decided that the houses deemed her a permanent fixture and added her onto the Tapestry but itself.
(Sirius Black will never admit this but in the moments before the Tapestry changed, he called Ginny Weasley his daughter. The damned Tapestry simply read his thoughts.)
Ginny was 8 when she first spoke to a snake. She was out in a forest collecting pretty rocks to give to Uncle Remus when the creature spoke. “Child of the Prophecy. An honour to meet you.” Ginny, ever suspicious, “Who are you?” the snake had the air of being almost amused. “A friend.” It said before leaving. She told Sirius about it, and he told her she’s a parseltongue, which means she can speak to snakes, which is pretty cool.
Ginny is 9 years old when she starts getting the headaches. They blind her for a few minutes and all she can see is green. She wakes up from the trances deathly pale and sweaty, the aura of death swirling around her. Sirius makes her a potion and gives her some ice-cream.
Ginny is 10 when she breaks someone’s nose. she has been sent to muggle primary school since she was 5, under her Aunt Lily’s advice. She likes it for the most part. Her and Harry are a year apart so they don’t have to interact much, that much holds true until today. Some kid was being rude to Harry and broke his glasses and though Ginny may not like him much, Sirius loves him. So, she marched up to the bully and punched him in the nose, then she helped Harry off the ground.
While waiting in the office to be picked up, Harry hands her a toy ring. “I won it in the prize box today.” He looks up at her, “Thank you for helping me.” Ginny smiles and takes the ring.
Aunt Lily is a sight to behold when she storms into the office, all righteous fury until her gaze lands on Harry. She immediately softens. “Oh Harry, baby, are you all right? Point to the kid that broke your glasses.” She tells him, eyes narrowed as she surveys each kid like they’re a top criminal. “Uh, Harry, bud. Please don’t tell your mother that.” Uncle James says nervously, moving to stand closer encase he has to hold her back. Aunt Lily scoffs. Aunt Lily’s gaze finally lands on Ginny and her bandaged hand. “Oh, sweetie, are you okay? Tell me which one it was.” Uncle James looks up in alarm again. “Lily!”
“I’m fine, mum. Promise.” Harry tells her earnestly.
“I’m fine too, Aunt Lily! It was the kid in green sweater.” Ginny snitches. Uncle James groans and moves to hold his wife back from beating up a 12-year-old. “Really Gin? Couldn’t have done me a solid?” Ginny shrugs. “Your hand alright?” Ginny grin turns feral, “Better than his face.” Aunt Lily makes a pleased noise at this. “Right, well come on then. We’re going out for ice-cream. Ginny, love, you're riding home with us today.” Ginny and Harry get their bags.
Ginny gets a double scoop of chocolate and Harry gets fairy floss.
Harry goes to Hogwarts soon after, that being one of his last days at school.
Ginny is 11 when she gets her letter. Sirius throws a party. “Really Sirius? A party? We all knew she’d get a letter. She’s brighter than you.” Uncle Peter drawled. Sirius scowled, “Piss off.” Ginny however was loving the party. The bright streamers in Gryffindor colours, the fancy food, she was even enjoying the company.
The trip to Diagon Alley felt odd. She was excited and jittery until they hit the bookstore before one of her headaches started in full force. There was a snobby blond kid being rude to Harry and she couldn’t let that stand. “Oi! Piss off!” she yelled while shoving the kid. “Ugh! Get off me!!” the blond screeched while Harry chuckled. “Malfoy, let me introduce Ginny Weasley-Black.” He said sarcastically. Malfoy’s eyes widened almost comically. “You know The Girl Who Lived? Really? You?” Ginny felt offended on Harry’s behalf, “Yes, him!”
Uncle James was arguing with Malfoy Sr. when her headache got worse. She felt like death incarnate and so Sirius made her sit down.
She made friends on the train, Luna Lovegood, Parvati Patil, and her sister Padma. Ginny offered to buy lollies with money Sirius had given her. She had her own account of course, Sirius set that up almost immediately, but sometimes he preferred to just randomly hand her money. Not that she was complaining.
The 4 gorged themselves on sweets and talked for the hours-long train ride about how cool Hogwarts was going to be. The feeling of death that hasn’t left her since Diagon Alley lingered in the back of her mind.
The sorting was nerve-wracking. She waited for her name to be called and when it finally was uttered, she walked up.
“Hmm. The Girl Who Lived. Where shall I put you? Ambitious, yes. Loyal, also. Hmm.” It was an odd sensation, someone talking inside your mind. “I want to be placed in Gryffindor.” She told the hat. “No. Sirius Black wants you in Gryffindor, I think I’ll choose,” the hat paused before speaking aloud. “SLYTHERIN!” Ginny felt her heart crumble as she walked to the Slytherin table. Sirius was in Gryffindor, all her uncles were in Gryffindor, what was she going to do? She felt lightheaded.
The only plus side of the whole thing is that Padma was sorted with her. Ginny felt a hand reach for hers under the table and gripped with all her strength.
She settled into the dungeons rather quickly all things considered. There weren’t enough people in her year sorted into Slytherin, so her and Padma got to have a double all to themselves.
The first day of classes, Ginny walked to the Great Hall with Padma to have breakfast. While she was eating her cornflakes, a stack of letters landed in front of her, delivered by Sirius’s owl, Red.
She dreaded reading any of them but picked the lesser of all evils and read her Aunt Lily’s letter:
‘Dear Ginny,
I was so excited to hear your sorting. I know you will do great things. Please remember, sweetie, that you will always be my favourite niece and that I love you dearly. Your house does not change that, and I will hex anyone who says otherwise. If anyone gives you trouble, tell me their names and I’ll take care of it.
Write back soon,
Love, Aunt Lily.’
Ginny felt reassured. She often does when thinking about her aunt. Despite having no responsibility to Ginny, her Aunt Lily always made sure she knew that she was family to her. She loved her aunt a lot and a pang of homesickness hit her suddenly.
Before she could read the other letters, Malfoy interrupted her peace and quiet. “So, are you and Potter cousins or something?” he asked with a sneer. Ginny wrinkled her nose. “No. we share family, but we’ve never been family, if that makes sense. He’s more an annoying friend.” Malfoy glared again but didn’t speak.
The days were starting to blur to Ginny. Her memory was getting worse, and she couldn’t remember how she ended up in different places. It was like she was losing time, to what Ginny had no idea.
So, she sent a letter to Sirius.
He appeared on the weekend and took one look at her and tilted his head. She matched him. “Dark magic.” Was all he said before disappearing somewhere. He came back and tried to find the source but couldn’t. He was getting frustrated, so she told him to go home. With great reluctance, he acquiesced.
A boy her age got petrified. Then Harry’s friend. It seemed the people here were dropping like flies.
Ginny was missing more and more time, but she didn’t miss the worried glances Padma kept giving her.
She woke up in a cold room with water soaking into her. She could hear Harry yelling something but she couldn’t make it out with the ringing in her ears. It sounded urgent though so she reached into her pocket and squeezed the stone Sirius gave her for emergencies. The next sound she heard was an apparition and Sirius yelling. She blacked out again after that.
This time she woke up in a hospital bed with Harry lying on the one beside her. His friends Hermione and Neville were sitting by him. she turned her head and noticed Sirius on her bedside. “Hey.” She croaked. Her voice hurt. Sirius’s head shot up. “Hey red, how’re you feeling?” he asked, worry evident in his eyes. “Like shit.” Ginny coughed. Sirius laughed in her face.
She was possessed by Voldemort. The man who killed her parents and brothers is back and he’s gunning for her. She felt fear at first, of course she did, but then the anger replaced it. If Tom Riddle wanted her, he could fucking try. Ginny’s been angry since she was a child, no way in hell is she going to let some ugly, tantrum throwing, nose-less, dickhead kill her. Ginny will avenge her family and kill Riddle and that’s a fucking promise.
Her first step is figuring out why Voldemort didn’t die the first time. She decided to ask around if there was a way to become immortal. She almost gave up before remembering that the Black family had an extensive library.
“I wish entry.” She told the closed doors in front of her. They opened. Entry granted, she supposed.
“How does one become immortal?” the answer she got was downright cruel, but she knew it was the one she was looking for. She told Sirius about her findings and soon enough, the entire Order knew.
“I am a fucking Auror, Albus! There is no way in fucking hell am I letting you force my niece to search for bloody horcruxes!” her Aunt Lily screamed at the headmaster. She was listening in through a pipe which connected to the kitchen; honestly, the Order was in her house, and they expected her not to listen?
“I am simply saying, the girl is the one who made the discovery, perhaps she’d like to see it through.” There were multiple yells of outrage but the primary one she focused on was her Uncle Peter’s, “Over my dead bloody body!”
It was unfortunate really, that none of the adults accounted for Ginny Weasley-Black’s loyalty to her family. She would not let her family suffer in her place. She would rather die. And so, armed with basilisk venom and a shit ton of hatred, she left her home and searched for the horcruxes. Dumbledore gave her a list of what they were before the meeting started and she had to admit, the old man was evil, but he was not stupid.
The first one on her list was the ring. Dumbledore told her to check the Gaunt’s family home in Little Hangleton. It was a bitch when she first touched it, but the venom did nicely. Her head ached every second she was near the cursed thing.
The locket was in a cave that reeked of death. She shivered when she first walked in but stayed true to her goal. She felt connected almost to the lake of Inferi. They felt familiar. The locket was destroyed in venom as well.
Hufflepuff’s cup was in the Room of Requirement, something that Padma found in their second month at Hogwarts.
Ravenclaw’s diadem was almost embarrassingly easy to find. Really, Riddle should be ashamed.
The last horcrux was the snake. Ginny knew she’d have to be fast about this. Luckily, Voldemort was currently just a body-less spirit, but he wouldn’t stay that way for long. The snake was being housed in Malfoy Manor, which was again, embarrassingly easy to get into. All she had to do was tell the house elf she was here for a playdate, and she was in. she didn’t need directions to the snake, she felt a distinct pull and lets it lead her. Ginny dipped her dagger in basilisk venom and cut the snakes head off.
Over the course of her hunting, Ginny has realised something. Dumbledore knew it’d have to be her because no one else would be able to kill her. Ginny alone bears the burden of killing herself to save the Wizarding world. She wants to cry, and she so desperately wishes Sirius was here to tell her that she’ll be alright. But she does not cry, and Sirius is not here. she walks out of Malfoy Manor calmly and takes a trip.
She arrives at the Burrow because of course she does. It wasn’t even a conscious decision, she just did. It’s like the Burrow is her homing beacon. Telling her exactly where the bodies are buried and where she’ll join them.
Walking inside the home of dead people always feels wrong, Ginny wishes it didn’t, but it does. She feels out of place here; this is not her home; it hasn’t been for a long time. The aura of pure terror is almost visible as she walks through the rooms her family died in. finally, she arrives at a nursery with pink decorations. Her crib is still standing and still reads her name.
She takes her wand, channels her hatred of Riddle and all he took from her, and casts her first spell outside Hogwarts.
“Avada Kedavra.”
With that, Ginny Cassiopeia Weasley-Black falls to the ground. She is 12 and a half and she is dead.
She wakes up at platform 9 ¾ and immediately starts crying. “No, no, no. I failed. I failed. I failed.” She sobs violently, tears running down her face and throat hurting from the screaming. She sits on the floor and grabs hold of her hair in an effort to calm herself; it does not work.
“Shh. You’re okay. You’re okay, I promise.” A woman with red hair soothes before crouching down beside Ginny. “You didn’t fail at anything, love, I promise.” Ginny looks up at the woman and calms down. This is her mother, her mother is dead, she didn’t fail. Everything is fine. “it’s not your time yet, darling.” Ginny pauses at that. “Why not?” her mother smiles, “There are much bigger plans for you yet.” Ginny frowns before she hears yelling to the side of her. She turns and sees a gaggle of boys of varying ages running up and down the station laughing. They look like they’re having fun. “Can’t I join them?” she asks when her mother grabs her elbow, preventing her from getting up. Her mother shakes her head, “Not yet. One day when you are old and grey.” Ginny frowns again before nodding. Her vision goes black.
She wakes up to shouting. “No, I don’t give a fuck James! He gave Ginny a fucking list of horcruxes! He knew what she was going to do!” she can hear Sirius bellow in a tone she’s never heard before. When she opens her eyes, she spots Harry and Padma on either side of her. “Your family is loud.” Padma observes. “The loudest.” Ginny whispers, voice hurting. “That was a really dumb fucking idea, Gin.” Harry’s voice cracks. “Not dumber than you.” She responds. He gives her a look which states that he is not one for banter right now. “Jeez, tough crowd, right Padma?” her friend reaches for her hand and Ginny grips it with all her meagre strength. “The toughest.” Harry harrumphs.
Ginny can deal with the fall out later. Right now, she has her best friend, begrudging acquaintance and is alive. For now, Ginny is content. Not happy, she’s not sure she’ll ever be happy again, but she’s content. She decides it’s good enough for now.