Ginny's Purification Ritual
darthcourt10
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Harry Leferts
Chewing her lip, Ginny glanced at where Haru was softly talking with Natsumi over something. Then her attention turned to the rather odd object in front of her. In the middle of a scaffold of bamboo was what looked like a large, circle or rope. From what Ginny had been told, said rope was composed of some sort of grass. The big part of the ritual was for her to walk through the circle. However, that is also what confused her as from what she had heard from growing up, rituals were complicated and could be rather flashy.
This, from everything that she had been told, was not.
Once Haru walked back over, Molly spoke up. "Are you sure that Ginny will be okay, Haru? I mean... I have heard quite a bit about rituals and not all of it was good."
Lips twitching, the disguised Kitsune held back a chuckle. After all, it would not help here for her to do so no matter how much she wanted. "Ginny-Chan will be perfectly fine, Molly-San. Oharae is a ritual that we do at the Shrine here twice a year to cleanse people of impurities. It is also performed all across Japan at the same time for people." She then gestured at Ginny with a small smile. "All that will happen is that it will remove any remnants of... Tom, from Ginny-Chan."
Even as she swallowed, Ginny looked over at her worried mother and summoned up her Gryffindor courage. "Mum? I want to do this. And... you know what we were told about me, how it could affect me."
Sighing, Molly gave a small nod before she felt a hand on her shoulder and found Nagato there. The Battleship having taken the morning off from her usual work just for this. "Molly, Ginny will be perfectly fine. This can only help after all."
With a nod, Molly gave her daughter a hug. "Of course, but I still worry." Gently kissing Ginny on the head as the younger girl returned the hug, she held it for a few seconds before stepping back. "Okay."
Now walking over, Natsumi raised an odd wand with paper streamers on it. The older girl gave Ginny a small smile. "Just relax, Ginny-Chan." When Ginny gave a small nod, Natsumi closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she spread out her arms, Haru on Ginny's other side doing the same. Slowly, they brought the haraegushi in their hands over the red head in a rhythmic motion as they softly chanted. The paper streamers made the barest of a rustling noise as they did so.
After a few minutes, they switched places and soon were done. Gently taking Ginny's hand in hers, Natsumi guided her towards the Chinowa. Not quite sure what was supposed to happen, Ginny only stayed quiet and observed as the two went through the rest of the ritual including throwing cut pieces of rope onto her before they went through the Chinowa themselves three times in a figure eight pattern.
It was then Ginny's turn to go through the circle and she gulped some as she got closer. Taking a step forward through it though, her breath caught slightly as it seemed to be a small bit of resistance. Only just noticeable, but the red head pushed through the resistance and blinked as the Sun seemed to brighten. What she did not see was the small streams of smoke that rose from her as she had entered the Chinowa were trapped inside of it and burned away in the sunlight.
But the rest of her family caught sight of that and their eyes widened.
Soon after, the ritual was finished and Haru and Natsumi bowed to Ginny before the younger of the two Kitsune gave her a smile. "Well? How does it feel, Ginny-Chan?"
Frowning, Ginny turned to her and furrowed her eyebrows. "How... does it feel?" At the nods, her frown turned thoughtful before she shook her head. "It's hard to describe, I guess? I mean, it's sort of like taking off a really muddy cloak, you don't notice the weight until it's gone." Her eyes widened some and the witch whipped her head to stare at Haru. "So... it worked? Anything left of Tom is-"
With a chuckle, Haru nodded some. "Gone? Yes, anything he left in you is now gone and you are now clean of his taint."
Rapidly blinking away the tears in her eyes, Ginny gave first Haru, and then Natsumi, a hug. "Thank you. I don't know what to do, but thank you."
Lips curling upwards into a smile, Natsumi leaned towards her ear as she whispered. "Then just keep living your life, Ginny-Chan. Don't let his shadow control you... And maybe become one of my friends?"
Only nodding, Ginny let out a laugh. "I think that I would like that, thanks!"
With one last hug, she ran over to her parents and family before getting, and giving, hugs of their own. After they left though, Natsumi turned to the Chinowa and frowned some in thought. "Oba-Chan? May I ask you a question?"
Just sighing, Haru shook her head. "I assume that you want to know why it has not removed that... thing from Harry-Chan?" At the nod, she grimaced. "There are a few differences I hate to say. For one, Ginny-Chan only had remnants of what was in the diary. Rather like being smeared with something, while with Harry-Chan it is, for lack of a better word, still there. It is also inside him and had years to dig itself in. But!" Reaching over, she gave her niece's shoulder a squeeze. "But, that is why I asked Nagato-San to make sure that Harry-Chan makes it to each Oharae. It is like wiggling a loose tooth and will slowly work at the parasite. So that when the time comes it will more easily be removed from Harry-Chan. I am also looking for other methods of purification to help it along."
Hanging her head some, Natsumi gave a nod. "I guess so, Oba-Chan."
Simply giving Natsumi's shoulder another squeeze, Haru leaned down. "Now, how about you head back to the house and get ready, hmm? Harry-Chan is staying over tonight after all since Rose-San and Haruna-San are having their bachelorette parties."
Eyebrow raised, the younger Kitsune gave her aunt a look. "Which you're going to, of course." When she got a grin, she rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to need to go and pick you up, am I?"
Pouting, Haru gave a fake whine. "Why must you be so hurtful, Natsumi-Chan?" Her pout then transformed into a grin. "Now off you go, you did some good work today after all and should be proud. Besides, you might get the chance to tease Taichi-Chan some more about what happened the other day."
That brought a grin to Natsumi's face and soon she was off as Haru chuckled.
Meanwhile, Harry turned to a slightly mortified Ginny who was holding a hand to her stomach after it growled. "A bit hungry, huh?"
Brightly blushing, the eleven year old gave a nod. "Um, yes?" She hung her head some. "I was sort of worried and skipped most of breakfast."
Just behind her, Arthur sighed and shook his head. "Your mother did warn you about not eating as much as you could." Frowning slightly, he scratched the back of his neck. "Not that I could really blame you..."
Ron chuckled a bit and put his hands behind his head. "Well, I'm kind of hungry too, you know."
Even as Ginny gave him a thankful look, the only black haired boy among them snorted. "Hungry? Ron, you're always hungry and that's the truth."
All Ron did though was shrug and grin. "And? I'm a growing boy, Mate. I need to eat to grow nice and tall, something that you might want to look into."
Scowling at him, Harry turned and grumbled some. "I'm just a bit short for my age. Besides, you probably got problems getting oxygen to your brain from how far it needs to go."
Behind them, Molly shared a look of amusement with Nagato, both mothers realizing that the two boys were attracting attention to get it off Ginny. Clearing her throat, Nagato brought the conversation to an end before speaking up. "Well, if it is food you want then I am sure that we can find some around. It may be early in the morning but some places are open besides the mess hall."
Now frowning, Molly glanced around. "Perhaps... do you know of a place, Nagato? Since we are in Japan it wouldn't be a bad thing to try some of the food around here. That ramen we tried was not bad after all."
Finger tapping on her arm as she crossed them, the shipgirl thought things over before nodding. "I don't think that the normal stands are open at the moment, at least not until later on in the morning. Perhaps we could try some of them later..." Still frowning, Nagato tilted her head back. "Though there is also how you want to get some dresses..."
It was then that Harry spoke up. "Mum? There's that one bakery on the way to Daisuke's shop. They're open early in the morning and they do sell melonpan and anpan after all."
Blinking as she gave it some thought, Nagato then turned a smile onto him. "I suppose that does sound good this early in the morning."
Confused, Bill glanced at Amisi who was listening to her fairy translate with an interested expression. "Anpan? Melonpan? What sort of food are those?"
Hands behind his head, Harry chuckled. "They're types of bread made here in Japan. Anpan is bread that has sweet red bean paste in the middle of it. Melonpan sort of has cookie dough on top of normal dough. Because of how it's made, it looks like it the skin of a cantolope. Trust me, it's really, really good."
Eyebrow raised, Molly gave it some thought before turning to Arthur. A silent conversation happened between the two of them before she gave a nod. "That does sound rather interesting. And as I said, we should try some different things while here in Japan..."
________________________________________________________________
As Ginny finished up the bread, Molly looked down at her daughter. "Well? How was it?"
Swallowing what was in her mouth, the red haired girl tilted her head some before giving a shrug. "It was okay, I guess? Not really what I was expecting, but it tasted good."
Only grinning, Harry looked towards her and gave a laugh. "Well, as long as you found that it tasted good, that's enough for me. Glad to hear it though." He then nodded with his head towards the store that they found themselves by. "Anyways, we're here."
Percy turned in that direction and raised an eyebrow at the store that they found themselves in front of. "Is this the place for dresses?"
With a nod, Nagato opened the door and held it open as the others walked in. "It is as a matter of fact. It might not be what you're used to in Diagon, but Daisuke's store has plenty of clothing for good prices." Letting the door close behind her, the Battleship gestured at her body. "He often has clothing made for women from America who are here with their husbands in the USN. And unfortunately, such clothes are the only thing that will fit some of us..."
Looking her over, Molly just gave a small nod. "I can understand that since from what I have see it must be difficult for you to find items that fit."
Just sighing, Nagato shook her head. "You have no idea, trust me. Some of needed to order from the United States, Canada, and Australia in order to get something that would at least fit somewhat."
Chuckles made them all turn as Daisuke came into view. "That is not too surprising, Nagato-San. Granted, I luck out as I have my own connections." Turning towards the Weasleys, he gave a small bow. "Welcome to my shop, I am Daisuke, the owner. Can I help you?"
Interested by what she can see, Molly hummed before placing a hand on Ginny's shoulder. "We're going to the wedding and we both need some nice clothing for it. We're on a bit of a budget sadly..."
Rather then be insulted, Daisuke gave a small laugh and smiled. "Not to worry, I'm sure that we have something here for you. Now, for those on a budget I do have a section. If you would follow me?" Guiding them through the cluttered store, he comes to one section and gestures at it. "Here we go, most of these are either on sale or marked down for various reasons. You can have a look if you want."
Eyes wide, Molly walked over to one of the stands and began to look through them. "Some of these are quite lovely. Oh, Ginny, you would look lovely in this one." Pulling out a blue dress, she smiled at her daughter before turning to Daisuke. "There wouldn't happen to be a changing room, is there?"
Lips curling upwards, Daisuke pointed a short distance away. "Of course, they're right over there as a matter of fact. But please, leave your shoes outside the stalls so that people will know that you're in there."
Despite being somewhat confused by that bit, Molly only nodded and shuffled Ginny over to the change rooms as Harry glanced around as Nagato looked through what was there. Arthur meanwhile gave a small chuckle and shook his head. "We might be here a while, boys."
While there were groans, Harry gave a snort and smirked at them when they looked at him. "What? I've grown up with shipgirls and often gone shopping with them." He then shrugged some. "So I'm kind of used to it to be honest."
All he got though were looks and groans.
Several minutes later, Molly was once again looking through the various clothes and noting which ones looked good as well as the prices. The family finances may well have been much better then they had been even a few years ago, but the Weasley Matriarch still did not see that as a reason to spend money unnecessarily. Pulling back some though, she blinked at one dress that was on display and hummed. "That's an interesting dress."
Glancing in the same direction, Nagato gave a small nod. "That would be a Cheongsam, a Chinese dress. I will admit that they're very beautiful dresses to say the least."
Only nodding, Molly examined the dress more closely and made a thoughtful sound. After all, it was not the sort of dress that one saw very often. In fact, the one time she could remember was when she had seen a picture of one woman in the papers. 'Now who was it... Right, Missus Li was who had a dress like this.' Shaking her head, she glanced towards Nagato. "Do you know, I was considering buying one of those Kimonos that I heard are worn over here?"
Nagato turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "A Kimono?" When Molly nodded, she frowned some. "If you can afford one, they are nice to have for whenever you're in Japan. I know that Iowa has a kimono of her own that was designed by a friend whom she went to university with."
Turning from one dress, Ginny blinked a bit. "Afford one? They're expensive then?"
Just nodding, the shipgirl shook her head. "Very much so. Even a second hand one can cost several hundred pounds to buy. Many families just pass them down for that reason. Alternatively, you can rent them for the day. It can add up very quickly."
Soon after though, their attention was grabbed as three other women, who Nagato and Harry recognized as the newest Natural Borns in Yokosuka. And all too soon, all six were talking among themselves and helping with each other.
Chewing her lip, Ginny glanced at where Haru was softly talking with Natsumi over something. Then her attention turned to the rather odd object in front of her. In the middle of a scaffold of bamboo was what looked like a large, circle or rope. From what Ginny had been told, said rope was composed of some sort of grass. The big part of the ritual was for her to walk through the circle. However, that is also what confused her as from what she had heard from growing up, rituals were complicated and could be rather flashy.
This, from everything that she had been told, was not.
Once Haru walked back over, Molly spoke up. "Are you sure that Ginny will be okay, Haru? I mean... I have heard quite a bit about rituals and not all of it was good."
Lips twitching, the disguised Kitsune held back a chuckle. After all, it would not help here for her to do so no matter how much she wanted. "Ginny-Chan will be perfectly fine, Molly-San. Oharae is a ritual that we do at the Shrine here twice a year to cleanse people of impurities. It is also performed all across Japan at the same time for people." She then gestured at Ginny with a small smile. "All that will happen is that it will remove any remnants of... Tom, from Ginny-Chan."
Even as she swallowed, Ginny looked over at her worried mother and summoned up her Gryffindor courage. "Mum? I want to do this. And... you know what we were told about me, how it could affect me."
Sighing, Molly gave a small nod before she felt a hand on her shoulder and found Nagato there. The Battleship having taken the morning off from her usual work just for this. "Molly, Ginny will be perfectly fine. This can only help after all."
With a nod, Molly gave her daughter a hug. "Of course, but I still worry." Gently kissing Ginny on the head as the younger girl returned the hug, she held it for a few seconds before stepping back. "Okay."
Now walking over, Natsumi raised an odd wand with paper streamers on it. The older girl gave Ginny a small smile. "Just relax, Ginny-Chan." When Ginny gave a small nod, Natsumi closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she spread out her arms, Haru on Ginny's other side doing the same. Slowly, they brought the haraegushi in their hands over the red head in a rhythmic motion as they softly chanted. The paper streamers made the barest of a rustling noise as they did so.
After a few minutes, they switched places and soon were done. Gently taking Ginny's hand in hers, Natsumi guided her towards the Chinowa. Not quite sure what was supposed to happen, Ginny only stayed quiet and observed as the two went through the rest of the ritual including throwing cut pieces of rope onto her before they went through the Chinowa themselves three times in a figure eight pattern.
It was then Ginny's turn to go through the circle and she gulped some as she got closer. Taking a step forward through it though, her breath caught slightly as it seemed to be a small bit of resistance. Only just noticeable, but the red head pushed through the resistance and blinked as the Sun seemed to brighten. What she did not see was the small streams of smoke that rose from her as she had entered the Chinowa were trapped inside of it and burned away in the sunlight.
But the rest of her family caught sight of that and their eyes widened.
Soon after, the ritual was finished and Haru and Natsumi bowed to Ginny before the younger of the two Kitsune gave her a smile. "Well? How does it feel, Ginny-Chan?"
Frowning, Ginny turned to her and furrowed her eyebrows. "How... does it feel?" At the nods, her frown turned thoughtful before she shook her head. "It's hard to describe, I guess? I mean, it's sort of like taking off a really muddy cloak, you don't notice the weight until it's gone." Her eyes widened some and the witch whipped her head to stare at Haru. "So... it worked? Anything left of Tom is-"
With a chuckle, Haru nodded some. "Gone? Yes, anything he left in you is now gone and you are now clean of his taint."
Rapidly blinking away the tears in her eyes, Ginny gave first Haru, and then Natsumi, a hug. "Thank you. I don't know what to do, but thank you."
Lips curling upwards into a smile, Natsumi leaned towards her ear as she whispered. "Then just keep living your life, Ginny-Chan. Don't let his shadow control you... And maybe become one of my friends?"
Only nodding, Ginny let out a laugh. "I think that I would like that, thanks!"
With one last hug, she ran over to her parents and family before getting, and giving, hugs of their own. After they left though, Natsumi turned to the Chinowa and frowned some in thought. "Oba-Chan? May I ask you a question?"
Just sighing, Haru shook her head. "I assume that you want to know why it has not removed that... thing from Harry-Chan?" At the nod, she grimaced. "There are a few differences I hate to say. For one, Ginny-Chan only had remnants of what was in the diary. Rather like being smeared with something, while with Harry-Chan it is, for lack of a better word, still there. It is also inside him and had years to dig itself in. But!" Reaching over, she gave her niece's shoulder a squeeze. "But, that is why I asked Nagato-San to make sure that Harry-Chan makes it to each Oharae. It is like wiggling a loose tooth and will slowly work at the parasite. So that when the time comes it will more easily be removed from Harry-Chan. I am also looking for other methods of purification to help it along."
Hanging her head some, Natsumi gave a nod. "I guess so, Oba-Chan."
Simply giving Natsumi's shoulder another squeeze, Haru leaned down. "Now, how about you head back to the house and get ready, hmm? Harry-Chan is staying over tonight after all since Rose-San and Haruna-San are having their bachelorette parties."
Eyebrow raised, the younger Kitsune gave her aunt a look. "Which you're going to, of course." When she got a grin, she rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to need to go and pick you up, am I?"
Pouting, Haru gave a fake whine. "Why must you be so hurtful, Natsumi-Chan?" Her pout then transformed into a grin. "Now off you go, you did some good work today after all and should be proud. Besides, you might get the chance to tease Taichi-Chan some more about what happened the other day."
That brought a grin to Natsumi's face and soon she was off as Haru chuckled.
Meanwhile, Harry turned to a slightly mortified Ginny who was holding a hand to her stomach after it growled. "A bit hungry, huh?"
Brightly blushing, the eleven year old gave a nod. "Um, yes?" She hung her head some. "I was sort of worried and skipped most of breakfast."
Just behind her, Arthur sighed and shook his head. "Your mother did warn you about not eating as much as you could." Frowning slightly, he scratched the back of his neck. "Not that I could really blame you..."
Ron chuckled a bit and put his hands behind his head. "Well, I'm kind of hungry too, you know."
Even as Ginny gave him a thankful look, the only black haired boy among them snorted. "Hungry? Ron, you're always hungry and that's the truth."
All Ron did though was shrug and grin. "And? I'm a growing boy, Mate. I need to eat to grow nice and tall, something that you might want to look into."
Scowling at him, Harry turned and grumbled some. "I'm just a bit short for my age. Besides, you probably got problems getting oxygen to your brain from how far it needs to go."
Behind them, Molly shared a look of amusement with Nagato, both mothers realizing that the two boys were attracting attention to get it off Ginny. Clearing her throat, Nagato brought the conversation to an end before speaking up. "Well, if it is food you want then I am sure that we can find some around. It may be early in the morning but some places are open besides the mess hall."
Now frowning, Molly glanced around. "Perhaps... do you know of a place, Nagato? Since we are in Japan it wouldn't be a bad thing to try some of the food around here. That ramen we tried was not bad after all."
Finger tapping on her arm as she crossed them, the shipgirl thought things over before nodding. "I don't think that the normal stands are open at the moment, at least not until later on in the morning. Perhaps we could try some of them later..." Still frowning, Nagato tilted her head back. "Though there is also how you want to get some dresses..."
It was then that Harry spoke up. "Mum? There's that one bakery on the way to Daisuke's shop. They're open early in the morning and they do sell melonpan and anpan after all."
Blinking as she gave it some thought, Nagato then turned a smile onto him. "I suppose that does sound good this early in the morning."
Confused, Bill glanced at Amisi who was listening to her fairy translate with an interested expression. "Anpan? Melonpan? What sort of food are those?"
Hands behind his head, Harry chuckled. "They're types of bread made here in Japan. Anpan is bread that has sweet red bean paste in the middle of it. Melonpan sort of has cookie dough on top of normal dough. Because of how it's made, it looks like it the skin of a cantolope. Trust me, it's really, really good."
Eyebrow raised, Molly gave it some thought before turning to Arthur. A silent conversation happened between the two of them before she gave a nod. "That does sound rather interesting. And as I said, we should try some different things while here in Japan..."
________________________________________________________________
As Ginny finished up the bread, Molly looked down at her daughter. "Well? How was it?"
Swallowing what was in her mouth, the red haired girl tilted her head some before giving a shrug. "It was okay, I guess? Not really what I was expecting, but it tasted good."
Only grinning, Harry looked towards her and gave a laugh. "Well, as long as you found that it tasted good, that's enough for me. Glad to hear it though." He then nodded with his head towards the store that they found themselves by. "Anyways, we're here."
Percy turned in that direction and raised an eyebrow at the store that they found themselves in front of. "Is this the place for dresses?"
With a nod, Nagato opened the door and held it open as the others walked in. "It is as a matter of fact. It might not be what you're used to in Diagon, but Daisuke's store has plenty of clothing for good prices." Letting the door close behind her, the Battleship gestured at her body. "He often has clothing made for women from America who are here with their husbands in the USN. And unfortunately, such clothes are the only thing that will fit some of us..."
Looking her over, Molly just gave a small nod. "I can understand that since from what I have see it must be difficult for you to find items that fit."
Just sighing, Nagato shook her head. "You have no idea, trust me. Some of needed to order from the United States, Canada, and Australia in order to get something that would at least fit somewhat."
Chuckles made them all turn as Daisuke came into view. "That is not too surprising, Nagato-San. Granted, I luck out as I have my own connections." Turning towards the Weasleys, he gave a small bow. "Welcome to my shop, I am Daisuke, the owner. Can I help you?"
Interested by what she can see, Molly hummed before placing a hand on Ginny's shoulder. "We're going to the wedding and we both need some nice clothing for it. We're on a bit of a budget sadly..."
Rather then be insulted, Daisuke gave a small laugh and smiled. "Not to worry, I'm sure that we have something here for you. Now, for those on a budget I do have a section. If you would follow me?" Guiding them through the cluttered store, he comes to one section and gestures at it. "Here we go, most of these are either on sale or marked down for various reasons. You can have a look if you want."
Eyes wide, Molly walked over to one of the stands and began to look through them. "Some of these are quite lovely. Oh, Ginny, you would look lovely in this one." Pulling out a blue dress, she smiled at her daughter before turning to Daisuke. "There wouldn't happen to be a changing room, is there?"
Lips curling upwards, Daisuke pointed a short distance away. "Of course, they're right over there as a matter of fact. But please, leave your shoes outside the stalls so that people will know that you're in there."
Despite being somewhat confused by that bit, Molly only nodded and shuffled Ginny over to the change rooms as Harry glanced around as Nagato looked through what was there. Arthur meanwhile gave a small chuckle and shook his head. "We might be here a while, boys."
While there were groans, Harry gave a snort and smirked at them when they looked at him. "What? I've grown up with shipgirls and often gone shopping with them." He then shrugged some. "So I'm kind of used to it to be honest."
All he got though were looks and groans.
Several minutes later, Molly was once again looking through the various clothes and noting which ones looked good as well as the prices. The family finances may well have been much better then they had been even a few years ago, but the Weasley Matriarch still did not see that as a reason to spend money unnecessarily. Pulling back some though, she blinked at one dress that was on display and hummed. "That's an interesting dress."
Glancing in the same direction, Nagato gave a small nod. "That would be a Cheongsam, a Chinese dress. I will admit that they're very beautiful dresses to say the least."
Only nodding, Molly examined the dress more closely and made a thoughtful sound. After all, it was not the sort of dress that one saw very often. In fact, the one time she could remember was when she had seen a picture of one woman in the papers. 'Now who was it... Right, Missus Li was who had a dress like this.' Shaking her head, she glanced towards Nagato. "Do you know, I was considering buying one of those Kimonos that I heard are worn over here?"
Nagato turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "A Kimono?" When Molly nodded, she frowned some. "If you can afford one, they are nice to have for whenever you're in Japan. I know that Iowa has a kimono of her own that was designed by a friend whom she went to university with."
Turning from one dress, Ginny blinked a bit. "Afford one? They're expensive then?"
Just nodding, the shipgirl shook her head. "Very much so. Even a second hand one can cost several hundred pounds to buy. Many families just pass them down for that reason. Alternatively, you can rent them for the day. It can add up very quickly."
Soon after though, their attention was grabbed as three other women, who Nagato and Harry recognized as the newest Natural Borns in Yokosuka. And all too soon, all six were talking among themselves and helping with each other.