Ginny was in the basement, ripping open boxes and raiding shelves, searching for the red flag. It wasn't an easy task; the basement was very dark. The only light came from two small windows near the ceiling, not to mention the fact that the place gave her the creeps, especially since, when trying to clean the basement when they first arrived, Ginny found a disembodied hand in a jar.

What in Merlin's name Sirius' parents needed with a disembodied hand in a jar, she didn't want to know. She shuddered at the thought.

The game had been going on for almost an hour. As far as she knew, no one had been caught, and neither team had any idea where the flags were. As slow as the game was moving, it was still thrilling.

Ginny kicked aside a pile of empty bottles, briefly examining each one, just in case. Suddenly, the basement door slammed shut, causing Ginny to jump and spin around.

I could have sworn I closed it when I came down here... she thought.

Her eyes scanned the darkness beyond the dim light, searching for who- or what- had caused the noise.

Slowly, alertly, she reopened the door and moved to the staircase. She looked up into the dark hallway, but couldn't see anything except for thin beams of light under the doors.

It must have been Kreacher, she thought, trying to reassure herself. Merlin, I hope it was Kreacher.

For a moment, it struck her as odd that she was actually hoping it was Kreacher, but then she realized that the Black family's evil House Elf was probably better than a giant monster that wanted to eat her flesh with barbeque sauce and a side of chips.

Ginny turned, meaning to go back to searching, when the heard a creak to her left. Her eyes darted to the area of the noise. Then there was a rustling sound to her right which reminded her of the bad horror movie she and her brothers had watched not long ago.

Her heart was pounding. "H-hello? Kreacher? That you?" She quietly spoke into the darkness. Silence. Ginny stood, scanning the darkness for a while longer, almost afraid to move.

Ginevra Molly Weasley, you are being ridiculous! she mentally reprimanded herself. Ginny took a deep breath and held it, closing her eyes and trying to calm down. When she exhaled and opened her eyes, there was a tall, dark figure in front of her.

"Hello, Ginny," came the low growl. Her scream was muffled by a hand over her face. She struggled to escape, but when she felt the cold water running down her neck, she knew it was too late.

"I have a prisoner!" proclaimed Sirius cheerfully as he entered the study, the Ninja team's prison. His hand was still over Ginny's mouth and he held the nozzle of the gun to the side of her head. He didn't really need to, since she had already been shot, but he had seen something like that in a Muggle movie once, and it just looked so dramatic, so he did it anyway.

"Brilliant! Hello there, Gin," said Hermione, an undeniably evil glint in her eye. Ginny hadn't thought Hermione was capable of evil glints, or evil anything for that matter. She was officially scared of her.

"I'll never talk! You'll never get the flag!" Ginny yelled, hoping the volume of her voice would conceal the nervousness it held.

She reminded herself to kill Bill for giving the other team costumes that are camouflaged in the dark. Hermione only gave a small laugh.

"We'll see about that," she said, pacing the floor, the menacing grin never leaving her face. "Sirius, come here, I have an idea."

Sirius released Ginny and went over to Hermione who whispered something in his ear, causing an equally menacing grin to spread across his face. He giggled. Yes, the mighty Sirius Black giggled.

"No!" he said in a hushed tone to Hermione, but Ginny still heard. "We can't do that! That's cruel..." Hermione continued to whisper to him.

He glanced over to the prisoner, who was trying and failing at keeping up a fearless expression. When Hermione was finished, Sirius sprinted to the door, glancing outside to make sure the coast was clear, then sneaking out like the stealthy Ninja he was.

Hermione took to pacing again, looking contemplatively at Ginny, as though she wasn't quite sure the torture she had devised was horrible enough.

Ginny swallowed, her throat dry from fear. They remained in silence, Ginny sitting quietly, stoically in a chair, Hermione now leaning against the desk, examining a very shiny, very sharp letter opener. The evil grin had returned to her face.

After a few minutes, the door burst open, trailed by a jet of water, which Sirius just barely ducked. He slammed the door and leaned against it, panting slightly.

"You got it?" asked Hermione anxiously. Sirius beamed.

"But of course!"

Ginny couldn't quite tell what the mysterious weapon was. It was about medium sized, translucent, no real shape or form. Sirius slowly unfolded it.

It was- Oh, Merlin, no, though Ginny. Lying flat on the desk in front of Sirius and Hermione was a large sheet of...

Bubble wrap.

The color drained from Ginny's face. Still, she tried to look calm. "How- how did you know?" she asked. "Did George or Ron tell you? I'll kill them..."

Sirius laughed. "Don't you remember? You told us!" Ginny tilted her head in confusion.

"What? When?!"

"Your dad brought some back from work one day and started popping it, at which point you let out a string of four-letter words and demonstrated your infamous Bat-Bogey hex. It was very funny actually," he said, laughing. Ginny blushed at the memory.

That little incident had caused her to be grounded for a week. She couldn't help it, though. The sound of popping bubble wrap just made something in her snap.

"Sirius, would you like to do the honors?" offered Hermione.

"Thanks, but I'll leave this one to you. Flags to find, Pirates to capture, you know, the usual."

"Of course. Good luck!"

"The same to you. Have fun, girls!" On his way out the kitchen, Sirius gave Ginny an almost apologetic glance, but on the inside he was laughing, and she knew it. She wished a watery, painful death upon him.

Once again, Ginny and Hermione were alone. Hermione resembling a madman again. Ginny hated it when she did that.

After a few moments of tense silence, Hermione spoke. "You know," she said, "It doesn't have to be like this." Ginny remained silent.

She knew where this was going. "I don't want to do this to you, Gin. You're like a sister to me." Her tone was almost sympathetic. Almost.

Still, Ginny remained mute. "However... I will do what I must." Hermione took a corner of the bubble wrap in her hands, running her fingers over the plastic. A bead of sweat rested on Ginny's forehead. This was it. "Now, where's the flag?"

Ginny stayed still, glaring daggers at Hermione.

Hermione laughed. "I thought so."

POP 

Ginny flinched. "I will ask you again, where is the flag?" Still, Ginny said nothing.

POP POP

Don't give in, thought Ginny. Don't give in...

POP

Seeing that this would get her nowhere, Hermione thought of something that made her smirk. She placed the bubble wrap on the floor. Ginny's eyes widened in horror.

"NO!" she cried. "You can't! Please, no. Please, Merlin no!" she sobbed.

"I don't have to!" said Hermione innocently. "Just tell me where the flag is..."

Ginny raised her head, he face red with anger. "No," she stated simply and quietly.

"Very well," said Hermione. She raised her foot above the bubble wrap. Ginny braced herself.

On the top floor, Tonks and Harry heard the screams of anguish. They glanced at each other, sadly, knowingly. "There's nothing we can do," said Harry. They resumed their search, fearing what the Ninjas could possibly be doing to poor Ginny to make her scream like that.

And then there were four on the Pirate team.