Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters...yes, that's all.

A/N: This is my first fanfic! Please be nice, and I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1: In Over My Head

Ginny gazed longingly out the window from her seat in the back of the Charms classroom. The trees were turning slightly in color as fall hit Hogwarts, and everything looked so peaceful. Ginny had been at Hogwarts for nearly a month now, and she was already beginning to feel the strain. She loved being at Hogwarts; it was the single greatest place on earth, in her opinion. But her sixth year was going to be far more difficult than any other year. She would be taking her NEWTs the following year so her professors were dumping loads of homework on her and her fellow classmates so they'd be ready by that time.

Professor Flitwick was bustling around the spacious classroom making sure that everyone could do the new spell he had just taught them: Evanesco. This complicated charm caused the object the spell was directed at to vanish. Each table had been given a box of small cushions and told to begin. When Ginny had first tried the spell she had concentrated hard for three minutes. She had cleared her mind and stared at the small cushion in front of her. She muttered the incantation less than a dozen times before she got it down perfectly. After that Ginny leaned back in her chair and turned her attention back to the window. The day was perfect, and she longed to spend the afternoon outside. Unfortunately, her usual mound of homework was keeping her indoors in the cramped common room.

"Hmm, hmm." Someone cleared their throat from behind her.

Ginny turned around to see Professor Flitwick standing expectantly and waiting for her. The whole class was silent and watching her with expectation as well. How long he had been waiting there until he cleared his throat Ginny didn't know, but she quietly picked up another cushion, muttered the incantation and flicked her wrist. The whole class gasped as Ginny's cushion disappeared, like she knew it would. It seemed to Ginny that no one else had successfully made their cushion fully disappear. Flitwick just looked at her and then moved on to the next table.

The class passed by slowly and Ginny was pretty sure she had dozed off more than once, but finally it was over. She grabbed her bag and books and bolted out into the corridor. Ginny turned the corner and ran smack into someone.

"Ah!" she squeaked while her books, bag, and self went sprawling to the floor.

"Weasley!" the other someone shouted.

Ginny turned and saw Draco Malfoy glaring at her from a spot on the floor next to her. He hastily picked himself up, all the while still glaring at her.

"Watch it next time!" he snarled as he moved on his way.

Ginny sighed and started collecting her things. Why can't I ever stand up for myself she wondered. It's not like I meant to run into the jerk. Sighing again, Ginny went on her way and spent the rest of the day, like every other day she had spent: dozing off in class, being detached, and not really caring about anything or anyone.

Back in the common room, Ginny sat alone in a corner doing her homework.

"Hey, Gin!" Hermione said as she approached the red head. Following her was Harry and Ron.

"Hey, Gin!" they said in unison as well.

"Hi guys," Ginny said with a little less enthusiasm than they had showed her. She turned her attention back to her work and ignored the looks the trio exchanged amongst themselves.

"Well," Harry started, "we were just wondering how you were doing."

"I'm good, thanks." Ginny said without looking up at them.

"Gin," her brother began but stopped because he didn't know quite what to say. There was an awkward pause when the three of them looked at one another again, while Ginny just kept on working.

"What they're trying to say, Ginny," Hermione said, coming to the rescue, "is that we're worried about you."

Ginny sighed. Here it comes she thought.

"You never do anything but work, you're always somewhere off alone, and you're just so detached!" Hermione finished dramatically.

"Guys," Ginny began, saying the rehearsed excuse she told them every so often when they cared enough about her to actually pay her some attention. "I'm fine. You remember your sixth year, right? It's crazy, and it's just beginning for me. I'm just really focusing on doing my work and making sure I learn everything I need to know from my NEWTs next year."

This explanation always worked with them. Their usual relieved expressions washed over their faces and they smiled and said their goodbyes. This part was the worst for Ginny. She screamed on the inside as they turned their backs on her and left her in the ever-growing shadows. They never saw what was really there, never heard what she was really saying. They never knew that she needed their help…anyone's help. She was slipping and no one ever noticed.

She gathered her things quietly and tip toed out of the room where her sleeping classmates dreamt peacefully. Out through the portrait hole, and down the deserted corridors Ginny crept. Carefully checking around the corner, she continued along, though she never met anyone along the way. When she couldn't sleep, Ginny would take a short trip outside to the grounds. Her feet making no more than a soft pattering, she wandered anywhere her feet would take her. Normally she'd end up at the edge of the lake, where she'd sit and let the cool night breeze wash over her.

More than once she'd stay there and cry till dawn. When the sun would start coming up she'd realize that her cheeks were drenched with tears and she wouldn't ever remember when she started crying.

Today she stopped at her usual spot at the bank of the lake. Slowly, Ginny sank to the ground and stared out into the darkness. After less than an hour, something rustled in the trees farther down the bank. Ginny didn't move. A couple times she would hear things, but soon enough she realized that the sounds were always her imagination.

She focused in the distance at the tops of the trees. She imagined the sun rising slowly, warming her inside and out. The sun always made her feel-.

There it was again, the same rustling, coming from the same direction. She shivered as she tried to control her breathing. Even though she knew it was her imagination, she was still getting anxious. Slowly but surely, Ginny calmed down. She let her mind drift and pulled the blanket she brought with her tighter around her small body. Before long, she heard it again.

This time Ginny knew she wasn't imagining the sounds. The rustling was louder than ever and she even heard the snap of a twig. Slowly, she stood up with her things held close to her chest. She stood stock-still. Squinting into the darkness, Ginny gasped. A dark shadow stepped from the small grouping of trees. The shadowed figure started walking toward her, getting faster and faster with every giant stride.

It took Ginny a moment to realize what was happening and when she saw the figure less than twenty feet away she ran. She ran and ran all the way back to the portrait hole of Gryffindor Tower, not caring whether she was caught or not and not once looking back. When she finally stopped, her body bent over, her breathing hard and irregular. Glancing up, she saw the empty corridor and sighed in relief. Once Ginny could breathe again, she crept inside to the common room and back up to her bed. She lay down but wasn't able to fall asleep. Ginny stayed like that until morning when her other roommates began to stir.

Ginny again found herself daydreaming in her Charms classroom. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy Charms; it was that she felt the class went utterly slow. She had already mastered what they were learning today: a simple drought charm. Each student in the class was given a small goblet of water along with a bucket of water if they indeed succeeded so they could refill their goblet.

Ginny sat alone in the back, the only one at her table. Since when have I become so anti-social she thought to herself. Looking around the room, she saw people she had known for the last six years laughing and joking with each other as they attempted to dry up their water. She looked at her own dry goblet. She'd learned the charm at least ten minutes ago and was now watching sadly as her classmates enjoyed the class.

Soon enough Flitwick made his way over to her. She performed the charm and her little cup of water dried up right before their eyes. Ginny leaned back in her chair satisfied by her own skill, like she had done yesterday…and the day before… and the day before that. Except this time, Professor Flitwick didn't leave. He filled her goblet again and muttered an incantation of his that made her goblet grow to twice its size. Some of her classmates that noticed the over-large goblet in front of her had fallen silent and were watching her.

"Again," Flitwick squeaked.

Ginny concentrated only slightly harder before she performed the charm and she drained the larger amount of liquid from her new goblet. She looked at her professor and saw a slight smile appear on his face before it was gone. Flitwick bent down and reached for the water bucket. Clumsily he lifted it onto her desk while some of the water sloshed over the edge. He then looked at her expectantly. Now the whole class was watching her.

She sighed then turned her attention to the bucket and concentrated even more. Ginny muttered the charm and slowly but surely the water dried up, including the water that had splashed onto her desk. She looked to her professor with a smile of achievement on her face, but he was already moving away. The smile faded and Ginny slumped in her seat. The rest of the class she drifted in and out, and as she was leaving Professor Flitwick called her over.

"Miss Weasley," he began, "would you come here for a moment please?"

Crap. She turned slowly and dragged her feat all the way to his desk. She stood there expectantly waiting for him to speak first.

"Well, I've noticed that you seem a little…" he trailed off trying to think of the word, "detached, in my class."

"Professor-" Ginny began.

"No, no," Flitwick interrupted, "now I understand that sometimes my class may be a little dull," he said with a small smile, "but you seem to always be disconnected."

"No, it's not-" she tried again.

"But I don't think that's the issue with you." He said with a very serious expression. "You seem to be off in some other world, but when put on the spot you can perform the charm no sweat. I haven't seen anyone with the ability to pick up on a charm that fast, in a long time."

At this moment Ginny couldn't help but smile. She didn't receive such genuine compliments that often.

"So," he said with a sigh, "I have an offer for you." He paused and watched her expression and then continued. "Because of the ease you seem to have in learning new charms, I would like to ask you if you would want to move up to my advanced charm class."

Ginny just stared at him, mouth gaping open. "But Professor," she stammered, "I would be missing an entire year of material! I wouldn't know all the spells that I would need for my NEWTs next year!"

"I know," Flitwick sighed, "Don't think that I just offered you this on a whim. I've thought about it, and I think I have a decent plan."

Ginny opened her mouth again, but stopped when Flitwick held up his hand.

"If you would accept my offer, you would have a lot of work ahead of you. You would be taking the advanced class and learning the new spells and charms in there, but I understand that you still have things to learn for your NEWTs. So, I could give you a list of charms and spells that you would need to know for the exam every month," he paused, "and it would be up to you to practice them and learn them. I could have you come in at the end of the month to show me that you actually learned them all. And if you ever seem to be lagging behind in the advanced class, then I could work something out for you to receive help."

Ginny just stared at him, bewildered. No teacher had ever offered her such a wonderful deal…but she hesitated. What if she couldn't learn all the charms? She'd fall behind and probably crack under the pressure.

"Err," Ginny stammered, "I think it would be easier if I just stayed where I am. You know, I already have so much work with my other NEWT classes, and I don't think I'd be able to keep up in them." She added.

"So you just want to play it safe?" he asked, "Of course staying where you are will be easier, but if you moved up, you could learn so much! I know you can handle it, Miss Weasley,"

She hesitated. Ginny longed for the advanced class. She'd love to prove her worth, and inside she knew she could handle it. She loved the challenge of a new spell. At first she'd feel defeated if she couldn't get it right away, but she would try and try again. Then when she did get it perfectly, she swelled with pride. It was one of the few moments when Ginny felt like she could actually do something right.

"So how bout it?" he squeaked.

What the hell she thought. "Sure, I'll do it."

"Excellent! Now what do you have for your fourth class of the day?"

"Err, nothing actually."

"That's perfect!" he said, "So, come down then later today and we'll get you settled in. You'll also have to learn the things we've gone over so far in that class." He added.

Great Ginny thought this is going to suck.

"Don't worry, dear," he said as if reading her mind, "I know you can handle it."

Ginny gave him a small smile and walked out of the classroom. What have I gotten myself into she wondered. I am so in over my head.

A/N: Alright! That's it for now! Read and review please.