Ginny slowly came awake with a sense of deep comfort and warmth. She tightened her grip on the feathery stuffed animal sitting between her arms. Then the stuffed animal moved and Ginny flinched. She opened her eyes and saw that it was Fawkes sitting there staring at her balefully.

“Sorry, Fawkes,” Ginny said and loosened her grip. She looked around the room. She was still in the hospital, she was wearing one of those thin patient gowns that she had seen some of the others in when she first arrived here.

Fawkes chirped and she looked back at him, “What happened?” She asked, “Did you… help me? While I… whatever it was that happened?”

Fawkes trilled a note and Ginny looked at him while staying lying on her side. “I hurt people? Are they okay? I, I don’t remember, did my magic lash out?”

Fawkes chirped again and Ginny relaxed, “That’s a relief. You scared me, Fawkes. Only a few bruises and scrapes… that’s not too bad. Where are the healers? Do they know I’m awake?”

Fawkes chirped.

“Oh. Five days… Whoa. Did you stay with me the whole time?”

Chirp.

“Wow, thanks Fawkes,” Ginny said and began petting Fawkes head, “You’re such a good friend. You’re kind of my only friend right now actually, I don’t really remember anyone else… Hey! I can understand you?! What’s going on?”

Fawkes trilled and flared out his wings after hopping up to perch on Ginny’s hip as she lay on her side.

“Familiar?” Ginny said as she twisted her head to look at him while keeping her body the same so Fawkes wouldn’t fall off of her, “You’re my familiar? That’s how we can talk? Is that what that tendril of magic was doing while I was panicking? If you don’t want to, you don’t have to be my familiar. I didn’t know what I was doing and…”

Fawkes trilled firmly and hopped so he was standing on her shoulder and peering down at her from above with his wings flared out.

“Oh. Thanks, Fawkes. I would like to do it, but I don’t want you to feel like you made a mistake. That you only became my familiar to save from my magic going out of control.”

Fawkes hopped off of Ginny to land on the bed in front of her and chirped again.

“What? Hey, I’m not your familiar!” Ginny said, “That’s not how it works!”

Fawkes head snaked out and he lightly poked her forehead with the top rounded end of his beak.

“Hey! What? No, it doesn’t go by age…”

Fawkes poked her with his beak again.

“Fawkes, stop it…”

He stepped forward and kept poking her, chirping again and again. Ginny started scooting away from him and started giggling as she fended off.

“Fawkes! Hehehehe. No, okay, okay! I didn’t mean it like that! Fine, fine. I just meant we’d be equal. You think I’d suddenly become mean and demanding because we have a familiar bond now?”

Fawkes trilled and sat down, appearing satisfied. Ginny put her head back on the pillow and Fawkes shifted over to sit next to her and she felt his warmth pulse through her body again. She closed her eyes again and yawned. Just a little more sleep couldn’t hurt…

— — —

Ginny woke up again after a while and the healers discovered that she was awake after a while. There was a huge amount of activity as people rushed in and out to check on how she was doing. Apparently she was considered too dangerous to have visitors until they were sure she was stable, so they hadn’t let her family sit with her while she was unconscious. Fawkes gave another tap of his beak before hopping off and bursting into flames to leave again. But Ginny could feel the string of magic connecting them. She felt that if she tugged on it then he would know to come. That helped her feel better about him leaving again.

But after they had checked her over and decided that she was stable, Arthur finally came back in. None of her brothers were with him.

“How are you, feeling Ginny?” The haggard man said. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days, with huge bags under his eyes. Maybe he hadn’t.

“Better,” She said, “Sorry about freaking out. And for hurting all of you. I’m not sure exactly what happened. If not for Fawkes who knows what might have happened…”

“It’s not your fault,” Arthur said, “Don’t you worry now. We’re all fine. Friends with a phoenix? That’s not something I’d think possible a week ago.”

Ginny shifted in place. She hadn’t told anyone yet… but he was her dad, right? She should probably be able to trust him.

“Actually, uhm. Something happened. Fawkes is, well. He became my familiar. I can actually talk to him and everything now…”

Arthur’s eyes widened as far as they could go.

“A phoenix familiar…” He breathed, “But that hasn’t happened in… generations. Are you sure?”

Ginny nodded. She had figured that Fawkes was special, but her Dad seemed very shocked at the revelation. He sat there and pondered for a few seconds and then looked at her again, “I’ll tell the Ministry and start the balls rolling in the government. It may take a while to sort out.”

Oh. Ginny hadn’t thought about that. Of course the government would want to know something like that.

“Moving onwards though,” Arthur said, “Did you… remember anything? You seemed to be rather upset with Eric Potter…”

Ginny felt herself growing annoyed and angry at just hearing the name. It stayed like that for a second or two before dissipating. She sighed. She opened her mouth to tell him about Balthazar and the other world she had been in… before thinking about it more. How could she prove it? Why would he believe her? What would it sound like to him? She closed her mouth and changed what she was going to say.

“I don’t know. I just know I really hate him,” She said, “Whenever you just mention him I start getting annoyed. I haven’t remembered anything else.”

“Well, that’s something at least,” Arthur said thoughtfully, “I wonder why you’re reacting so strongly to him? As far as I know you’ve fancied him all of the last year, I don’t see why you would dislike him so much even with your memories gone.”

Ginny shrugged. She didn’t know.

Neither of them spoke for a bit.

“How much longer will I be in here?” Ginny eventually asked, “What will happen next? Will I go back to school with that Dumbledore? Or… What’s happening?”

“If you’re feeling well it should be only another day or two,” Arthur said, “We’ll be taking you home for the rest of the term. Hopefully being home will help your memories… none of the mind healers were able to restore your memories so we can only wait and see.”

“Will I be going back to that school next year? Will my brothers be at the house with me?”

Arthur shook his head, “We’ll see about your school at the end of the summer. Your brothers are taking their final exams soon. It’s in two weeks. After that they’ll be back for the whole summer.”

“Oh, should I get one of those sticks? Wands?” Ginny asked, “Everyone else seems to have one,”

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She knew that Balthazar said she shouldn’t use it, but she should at least have one around so she wouldn’t stand out as much.

Arthur blinked, “They never did find your wand, did they? We’ll… We’ll get some money and buy you a new one.”

“You don’t have to if it’s expensive, I was just wondering.”

“No, no. We’ll take care of it. You’ll need a wand to cast your magic.”

Ginny gave the man a strange look. She did? But that wasn’t true? Did he need his wand to use any magic? What if he lost it? Maybe that’s why Balthazar told her to not use them. It had felt so freeing to use her magic to push away the balls coming at her. She imagined it wouldn’t be as fun if everything had to be channeled through some dull stick first before her magic did anything.

But everyone here seemed to love using wands for everything, so she probably shouldn’t say that out loud.

The two of them spoke a bit more, Arthur explaining to Ginny about the world a bit more. What the Ministry was, about Hogwarts, the school she and her brothers had attended. After a little while, one of the nurses came in with some food and she ate.

“D-Dad? Why are you here and not Moll- Mom? Shouldn’t you have work?”

He shook his head, “I’m taking some time off. Your mother, well… She hasn’t been taking it well. All of this. We thought it best to have her stay back until you were out of the hospital.”

“Alright. I hope she feels better soon. Will she not like me because I can’t remember anything?”

“No, no…” Arthur said, “She’s just having a hard time accepting it. She still has hope that it’ll all come back when you see the house and she shows you around.”

Ginny sat up and scratched her head.

“I don’t know… probably not,” She admitted.

Arthur stood there silently for a few moments, a series of expressions flashing over his face.

“Even if you don’t remember, it’s okay,” he eventually said, “You’re still my daughter. We’re still your family either way. I see how you look at us, not knowing who we are… If… If we get back home and you still don’t remember, then you can tell us. We can get to know each other again. As a family.”

“Okay…” Ginny said in a small voice, “Dad.”

He smiled and nodded, “Right.”

— — —

The door opened and Ginny looked up.

Her dad had left a while ago to report her familiar bond with Fawkes to the ministry. The nurses told her that given her improvement she should only have to sleep one more night here and that her family could take her home in the morning. She had been consciously trying to think about them that way. What Arthur… Dad had said had made her think. Even if she didn’t remember, they were still her family, right? Like her dad had said, they would just have to get to know each other from scratch again. So Ginny was consciously trying to think of Arthur as Dad and Molly as Mom, and the four red headed boys as her brothers.

Through the open door, the old man Dumbledore strode through with his long white beard there. Another unfamiliar man in blue ministry robes followed behind him and stood next to him. Ginny craned her neck around but appeared that it was only the two of them as the ministry man closed the door behind him.

Dumbledore smiled at her gently although his gaze was piercing.

“Ms. Weasley. How are you feeling? Any progress on your memories?”

Ginny shook her head and glanced between the two of them without saying anything.

“Ah, we’re here to discuss your bond with my Phoenix Fawkes.”

Ginny frowned. His Phoenix?

“Okay.”

“Well, I know you’re a rather special little girl and that Fawkes has taken a liking to you. But you are nowhere near ready to care for an animal as dangerous or territorial as a Phoenix. You actually need a license to do so, which I acquired after I demonstrated that I could subdue the beast on my own if it became out of control.”

Ginny’s eyes widened, “You beat up Fawkes?!” She asked, stunned, “Why?!”

Dumbledore shook his head, “No, you misunderstand. I did not hurt him. Just demonstrated I could bind him and prevent him from causing harm.”

Ginny settled down a bit but grumbled, “Still seems mean…”

“Regardless, bonding to Fawkes is perfectly understandable in your moment of need,” Dumbledore said kindly, “But that moment of need is over. The Phoenix belongs to me, but we can discuss purchasing him after you’ve graduated and settled yourself in the world as an adult. I would be more than happy to leave Fawkes in your care when you are prepared to handle him if he grows out of control.”

“Don’t talk about Fawkes like that! Like he’s some stupid animal,” Ginny said, “He’s perfectly kind, caring, and a good bird… He wouldn’t hurt anyone, he’s intelligent and everything.”

“Even so,” the man from the ministry said, stepping forward, “The bird does legally belong to Dumbledore here. You have no basis for keeping him. It is essentially theft.”

Ginny paused, confused at the man’s words, “Keep him? But I’m not doing that? Fawkes can move around as he likes. He’s a person, you can’t just own somebody.”

The two men glanced at each other and the man from the ministry coughed, “Ms. Weasley, despite how intelligent they may act, magical beasts are dangerous. They do not think like we do and must be controlled in case they hurt unaware little girls like yourself.”

Dumbledore sent the man a sharp look at that. Ginny puffed up, offended. What the heck was this guy trying to say?!

“Fawkes is way more intelligent than your dumb face! I can talk with him now that he’s my familiar and he’s as smart as any other person I’ve talked to. Don’t talk about him like he’s stupid!”

Both men flinched slightly at her loud outburst and she crossed her arms and stared at them. So there!

“What do you even want, anyway?” Ginny said, annoyed, “I told you. Fawkes and I are friends. He comes or goes as he likes.”

The man from the ministry cleared his throat.

“I think it would be best for everyone involved if you broke your familiar bond with the phoenix. At least until you’re old enough to get the proper license for ownership. Otherwise it could be illegal to maintain it. The law is uncertain for cases this rare, but the justification is there. You aren’t able to take on the responsibility like this when you are a child.”

Ginny looked between the two of them. Dumbledore was stroking his white beard and nodding along. She felt disgust coil in her gut as she even considered the idea of cutting off her bond with Fawkes. It might be okay if they both wanted to. But just because an old man and some government person said so. No way!

She had to find her dad, he would help her. She pulsed out her magic senses as she sat there scanning the building. Her dad wasn’t in the building, at least in the part she could detect. She thought of what she could do. She could tell Fawkes to come, but who knew what the two adults would do? They might hurt him if they were already being this mean to her without him even being there…

She detected a nurse walking down the hallway in their direction. Remaining silent, she waited as the two men stared at her expectantly. Just as the nurse was right at her door, Ginny took a deep breath. The two men leaned in, eager for her response.

“HELP! HELP! THERE’S TWO WEIRD GUYS IN MY ROOM!”

The door burst open and the nurse leapt in, wand at the ready, looking at the scene. The two men looked shocked, while the nurse looked just as shocked as she saw the old man.

The nurse started lowering her wand. “Headmaster Dumbledore?” The woman asked in confusion. Dumbledore straightened and Ginny saw him about to open his mouth. Oh no, he’d use his position to make her go away again! And then they’d force Ginny to break her familiar bond somehow.

Ginny pointed at the two men, “These two guys came in and started being really mean to me! They’re trying to make me break my familiar bond with Fawkes! The guy from the ministry said I would be arrested!”

The nurse wavered, but her wand raised back up as she looked at the two men.

“Is this true? Where’s the girl’s father, what are you two doing in here?”

Dumbledore cleared his throat.

“We were given permission by the hospital director for our visit. It’s an urgent legal matter that we must clear up. It’ll take no time at all, then we can be on our way. I believe Mr. Weasley is at the Ministry building at this moment.”

The nurse’s wand sank down and Ginny’s heart sank with it. Oh no!

“Both of you out,” the nurse said tersely, “No upsetting our patients. And especially no visitations of children without parental presence or even permission presumably.”

Oh, yay! Both men tried to protest, but the nurse quickly shooed them outside and shut the door behind her. She put her wand back into her robes and turned to Ginny.

“How are you feeling dear? What happened?”

Ginny explained what had happened, the words tumbling from her lips. The nurse nodded and hummed supportively as Ginny ranted about how mean and dumb those two were for treating Fawkes like he couldn’t make his own choices about stuff.

“So, they can’t do it. What if they have some way to force me to do it? You’ve got to go get my dad, he can help. He works in the government, right?”

The nurse reached out and patted Ginny’s hand.

“I think I understand, dear. I’ll get your father to come here as soon as I can. Now, I’ve got to go yell at those two… ‘old guys’ for bothering you. You just holler if anyone but one of the nurses or your father tries to come in here. Okay?”

“Okay.”

The nurse patted Ginny’s hand one last time before standing up.

“Good girl. We’ll sort this mess out. If there’s any trouble just ask for nurse Sharon.”

“Okay. Thanks, Sharon. I was so worried… People seem to think that this Dumbledore person is rather important.”

Sharon blinked before smiling, “Yes, I’d say so. But I’ll give him a tongue lashing anyway. How does that sound?”

Ginny giggled a little as her stress let out all at once, “Thanks, Sharon.”

Sharon left and Ginny settled back on the bed.

She really hoped that her bond with Fawkes wasn’t illegal somehow. She could ask her dad. He worked in the government, he could probably tell her. Ginny really hoped she wasn’t breaking the law. Because unless Fawkes said it was okay, she just felt sick about getting rid of it.

The man was just trying to intimidate her. No way it was actually illegal. That wouldn’t make any sense.