Chapter Two:
The Reckless Nerve of Us

─────────⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅─────────

He was running through a field of flowers, a glade of greenery, wind pinching his cheeks because of the momentum.

All of a sudden, he collapsed to the ground. Lying, asleep, in front of him was the girl he had long since accepted as the love of his life. Her eyes, beautiful brown orbs, were closed peacefully, her eyebrows set in determination. Each of her freckle stood in stark contrast to her pale skin. Fiery red hair flowed behind her head as she lay on her side.

He felt his hand act up on its own accord when his fingers tasted the feeling of cafuné. Her eyes fluttered open at his touch and when they met his, he felt as if nothing in the world mattered but him and her, them, together and blissful. Not even the damned letter.

"Ruddy Merlin!" Harry woke up with an amazing way to start the day: yelling profanities.

"Whazzit?" Ron murmured, sleepily from his bed.

"I'll be right back!" Harry shouted, grabbing his glasses and his wand before Apparating away. He did not hear Ron's sleepy shout.

"Zon't c'back."

—xoxo—

Ginny loved the feeling of summer and all the nostalgia it brought along with the heat waves. As she sat overlooking the orchard, a cup of morning coffee in her hand, she reminisced about countless sunlit days spent in Hogwarts, with her best friends and Harry. Ah, those were serene times, indeed.

So, when the boy she missed the most turned up at her room, in his pyjamas and with bed-hair, to say that she was shocked and secretly delighted would be an understatement. "Harry?!" She set her coffee down to embrace him. They stood in silence for a while, holding each other and hearing the other's ragged breathing and hammering of heart. Harry was the one who broke away from the hug and applied privacy charms.

"Gin–I–did you get anything mysterious? Something bizarre?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck the way he always did when he was shy or nervous or embarrassed. Ginny could not place which emotion of the list it was that he was feeling but deep down, her gut just told her what she ought to do then.

"Why don't you tell me what it is, Mr Potter?"

"I-I was just asking. . .Erm–" He hesitated so she took control.

"The ministry, a weird name. Does it ring a bell?"

Harry looked visibly overcome with relief. "Oh, yes!"

"I did. A certain person with a rather odd name sent it but it's not addressed to me, y'know?" Harry's expression faltered.

"You mean the name?"

"Yeah. It was to some girl named Fierce."

Harry looked thoughtful. "There's something with these names. . ." he said more to himself than her.

"What was yours?"

"Brave. Hermione is Smart and Ron is Loyal. Ring any bells?"

"Probably," Ginny replied, grabbing his hand and dragging him to her bed to sit. "But I need to confirm with two more people before telling my theory."

"Who might they be?"

"Just give me some time. I don't wish to be wrong, otherwise," she said, then reached for her pillow. Soon enough, she was handing him her letter.

Miss Fierce,
We are in dire need of your help. Please be present at the atrium of the Ministry on 7th of April, 1999 dressed in black and, with a hood on.

Five of your close cousins have been selected for the same task. You may bring them along, if you have found them without revealing to anybody but them that you have received this letter. May I warn you that consequences will be hard if the speech of this letter gets to unwanted ears.

We don't mean to cause you any harm. We are not Death Eaters.

Sincerely,
sUnekapable

"What a weird name?" Harry mused.

"I know."

"Who do you think –" But Harry could not continue his sentence as his eyes met hers, which held a strong, blazing look. A silent understanding dawned upon them, just like it always did, and he knew to not probe further.

Retrieving the letter from him, she smirked, throwing her head back in a way which fascinated him. "So this is what brings my boyfriend at this time of dawn, in pyjamas and badly messy hair, huh? More mysteries to solve."

Harry grinned cheekily before giving in to what both of them wanted.

—xoxo—

The sound of her shoes against the rocky terrain resounded in her ears like a faint bell. The trek up to the Lovegood's never particularly took this long. But this time, it was filled with careful thoughts as to how to make a move. Life was like a chess game, something she was never quite great at when compared to her brother, Ron. Diplomacy was not in her veins either. She was one reckless witch and she knew that all right.

Ginny rapped her knuckles on the thick, black door of the bizarre rook-shaped house. The knocker, shaped like an eagle, was an evident factor of the elegant and power-emnating architecture sense of the Lovegoods. Wild Snargaluff, Gurdyroots and Dirigible plums grew on the front yard, littering the pathway to the small staircase. Two old crab apple trees stood on either side of the front door, its leaves ruffling lightly with the wind.

The door opened, just as Ginny was about to turn back, revealing the bright and eccentric face of Luna. Her hair was stuck to her face, plastered by the sweat dripping down. Ginny momentarily wondered if she had interrupted on yet another findings of the blonde witch. "Ginny! Hello!" Luna greeted, paving way for Ginny to enter.

"Hey, Luna! Do you mind if I steal some of your time?" Ginny asked, rubbing her sweaty palms on her sundress.

"Of course not! Come in, come in!" Luna hustled to get them a cup of something as she directed Ginny to go to her room on the second floor. Ginny's eyes caught the magnificent painting of herself along with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville. The elegant wordings 'friends' seemed to echo in her ears as she admired the art piece. No matter how many times she had seen this before, it always moved her and made her feel so much more happier. The photo of Luna and her mother was by her bed, newly joined by another one which contained a creature, Luna herself and, another guy with blonde hair, who Ginny presumed to be the companion who was assigned on a Magizoology project with Luna.

"I see Wrackspurts around your neck, Ginny," Luna said in her usual dreamy tone, proffering a cup of tea. Although confused about what on earth Wrackspurts were, Ginny chose to ignore it for the moment.

"Luna, how are you?"

"As sane as I can be," she replied, looking at her desk. "Oh, I was just about to visit you. I had something for you which you might find useful. It can get rid of the Wrackspurts." She fetched something from the desk and handed it to Ginny with a smile. It was a burn-tipped parchment: the letter!

"You–?" Ginny could not get words out of her mouth.

"Yes, Ginny. Funnily enough, I'm called Miss Wise." The girl knew everything, Ginny could just say that.

The letter just looked the exact xerox copy of hers, besides the sender and the receiver's names; just like the difference between hers and Harry's.

Miss Wise ,
We are in dire need of your help. Please be present at the atrium of the Ministry on 7th of April, 1999 dressed in black and, with a hood on.

Five of your close cousins have been selected for the same task. You may bring them along, if you have found them without revealing to anybody but them that you have received this letter. May I warn you that consequences will be hard if the speech of this letter gets to unwanted ears.

We don't mean to cause you any harm. We are not Death Eaters.

Sincerely,
mA

"Oh, well," Ginny whispered. "I have one more wild guess to finish this guessing game." Her eyes shot a look at Luna's art. If she were to be right, they would be one step closer to solving the mystery. . .

—xoxo—

Flares of ashes burnt away as she took a step out of the mantel of the Longbottom's residence. Neville was standing there, awaiting for his friends. She felt Luna step in after her just as he greeted her with a hug. "Ginny! Luna! I just got your owl! What brings you here?"

She had decided, long ago, to be reckless just like she always was. That was just who she was and she would not be able to change it, even if she were to try. "Neville, did you get a letter?"

Your thoughts on this chapter? Comment!

Thank you for reading!

Miyoko x