Author's note: Recently, a good friend of mine came across some old stories I'd written when I was about 16, much to my embarrassment. When she read the version of Ginny as Cinderella I'd posted to a Harry/Ginny fanfiction archive, she begged me to do a re-write. I figured I could share it again, albeit a little more polished than before. I hope you enjoy!

A Cinderella Story

"Hold still, child!" the servant Minerva cried, firmly placing Ginevra Weasley back in her seat. "We must make sure your presentable for your father and his new wife!"

The Weasley home was bustling with activity, the servants baking, cooking and cleaning in a flurry to get ready for their master's return. A widower, he had left the home for France in search of a wealthy new wife to save the estate. The chateau was a nice, modest home for Arthur Weasley, his two children, and their servants, but they had never entertained anyone of noble blood. Needless to say, the servants were determined to work hard for their kind master, leaving no stone unturned, no candlestick left unpolished.

"I cannot wait until father is home," Ginevra sighed, fidgeting with the lace of her brand new lavender colored dress. "But must I wear this? I feel like I can barely move."

"Only for a while, my love," Minerva answered as she braided her little mistresses hair. "This new mother of yours is a baroness, and a very cleanly one at that. She must meet the angels that you and your brother can be before your covered in mud and muck again."

Suddenly, a quaffle ball came flying into her open window, followed by her brother Ronald's laughing face. Minerva gave him a stern look while she tossed the ball back out. "You must be careful on that broom, sire!"

"Ron!" Ginevra said sternly, stalking to the window. "Don't you remember what today is? I told you."

"Ginny, is that you?" he laughed, hovering closer on his broom. "You look like a girl!"

"I am a girl, you pest!" Ginevra said as her eyes narrowed. "Boy or girl, I'll always be able to put you in your place. Do not test me, Ronald."

"That's only if you can catch me," he laughed, turning about and racing off.

Before Ginevra knew it she was grasping her own broom beside the wardrobe, zooming out of the window in hot pursuit.

"Ginevra!" Minerva cried. "Come back here!"

She quickly caught up with her brother, wriggling the quaffle away, intent on heading back to the house to finish getting ready and end the game when her broom began to drag. Her head whipped back to see her brother holding onto it's tail, laughing uproarsingly as he let go of his own broom and climbed on. Ginevra held the quaffle steadfast as she tried to maneuver him off of the broom. Next thing they knew, their antics sent them into a tailspin, sending them both flying into the pig pen near the barns, covering them both in mud and manure.

"Ron, look what you've done!" she cried, grasping his head to shove into the mud. "I don't know any cleaning spells yet! After all that work Minerva did! We must get back to the house!"

But the sound of many excited voices filled the air. A large carriage and several wagons laden with furniture, at least a dozen trunks, rolled up tapestries, and fine rugs were making their way up the pathway to the house.

With one more forceful shove at her brother as he tried to get up, Ginevra unstuck herself from the mud, pushing her way through the pigs and running towards the house. Minerva stared her down sternly from the lineup of servants as she drew up to the them. Their father exited the carriage, laughing at the current state of his children.

"Is that my Ginny?" he asked, disregarding the dirt and filth as he drew her into a warm hug. "I should assume your brother is not far behind, with a mouthful of mud, no doubt."

Just then Ron appeared at their side, covered in twice the amount of mud than his sister. He smiled sheepishly as their father patted his head. "I wanted to introduce cleanly, fair-mannered children to my new wife. I supposed you two will have to do."

"What is that awful smell?" a lovely voice said within the carriage.

The curtain drew back, revealing a thin, elegant woman, wearing the finest crushed black velvet robes over an ivory silk dress. Inky black hair fell in waves about her shoulders, her sharp nose turned up as she looked upon her new stepchildren, lip twitching in annoyance.

"Ginevra, Ronald, meet your new stepmother, Baroness Aurora Sinistra," father said, taking both of her hands into his own. "And she has two daughters!" he added excitedly as two girls, looking just as displeased as their mother, ambled out of the carriage. The first was tall and thin like her mother, but her face was hard set. The flat shape of her nose reminded Ginny of a dog she had once seen. The other girl was much larger, very tall and box shaped. She had an intimidating air about her behind a curtain of black, curly hair.

"This is Pansy," father said, placing his hand on the thin girls shoulder, "and Millicent."

The girls curtsied meekly. "Bonjour," they murmured in unison.

Ginevra caught the eye of her brother, who looked unsure at best. But their father beamed at his new wife as he ushered her into her new home.

"I guess we must endure," Ronald whispered as he followed his little sister.

Later in the evening, after a second bathing for the two children and supper for the new family, Ronald and Ginevra sat with their father in the parlor, a roaring fire illuminating their happy faces. Ginevra had climbed into her father's lap while Ronald made himself comfortable on an overstuffed ottoman, leaning forward eagerly as he listened to the stories of France with rapt attention.

"The muggles that reside in France are so interesting!" father was saying excitedly. "For instance, the way they empty their chamber pots. The grounds near the windows are absolutely filthy since they have no magic to banish it!"

"Father that's ghastly!" Ginevra admonished while Ronald laughed. "Is that all you got up to? Scaring the locals with your enthusiasm, learning of chamber pots, and finding a new wife?"

"Not quite," father said, digging into the pocket of his robe. He produced two small books. The first he handed to Ronald. "This is the newly published rules and history of the last century's Quidditch games."

"Fantastic!" Ronald said, immediately opening up the book and pouring over it's contents.

"And this," said father, showing her a beautiful, black, leather bound journal, "is for you, my dear. I know you always love to write your stories, now you've got something a little more refined in which to write them."

Ginevra hugged her father tightly. "I shall write in it every day." She kissed his cheek.

"Do you two like your new family?" he asked them, a slight frown on his face. "It's been the three of us for quite some time, I know it is a sudden change."

"They'll take some getting used to," Ronald muttered darkly.

"Ron!" Ginevra said sharply. She softened her face, turning to her father. "I am sure they're lovely, father. We just need to get to know them, is all."

"Well," father began hesitantly, "you two will have a little time, not to mention stories to tell when I return."

"Your leaving again?!" was Ginevra's shocked reply, while Ronald gasped, "You just got back!"

"I won't be going far," father said soothingly. "Only up to the north to finish up some business. I'll be back in a fortnight."

"Half that," Ginevra said, crossing her arms while Ronald nodded eagerly.

"Two weeks is all it will be."

"Just one," Ginevra said stubbornly, sliding off of the chair. "After all, you have a new wife. You shouldn't be going away at all, so you must keep the time short."

"All right, one," father conceded, standing up from the chair. With a wave of his wand the fire extinguished itself, a lit conjured candle filling the room with soft light. "I know that fierceness is your mother shining through you, Ginevra. Best to tread carefully when it comes to that. . . But, it is late. We should have been in bed already."

It was two weeks later that they received the terrible news of their father's demise, his group rousted by a dangerous pack of trolls while they were trying to help a poor family of muggles. Their new stepmother was of no comfort, showing no emotion other than anger at being brought to a "terrible place and left alone!"

It would be a ten long, hard years before Ronald wasn't the only man in Ginevra's life. Though, the man she was fated to meet would still be a boy in many ways.