Disclaimer: Once again, I own nothing. Everything Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, Warner Bros, Scholastic, etc.
AN: There aren't a whole lot of mentions of Ginny in PoA, so that could explain why this one isn't as long or as detailed it maybe could be. Once again, it's Ginny's POV about the events in PoA. This one was a bit harder to get a handle on, mainly because of the few mentions of Ginny and because I'm not too sure of just how much Ginny actually knows about what happened to Harry in his third year. Ok- that's enough justification. Read on!
Well, that was another year gone. Another year of pranks, Potions classes, Quidditch and watching Harry Potter's frequent and alarming brushes with death. Ginny sighed. She was currently ensconced in an empty compartment on the Hogwats Express, heading home to another summer holiday. Blessing her luck that she was alone, she gave herself up to the memories of the previous term. Ginny still didn't know all that had happened in the past term, but she had two eyes. And they worked better than they should sometimes. Why else would she notice every little thing about Harry Potter. She had stared at him so much in the common room that she had a running list of possible adjectives for "green" that described the color of his eyes. She had topped number twenty-five around Halloween with "verdant." Ginny was convinced that she needed a new hobby. Listing other words for green seemed like a good pastime when Harry had arrived at the Burrow the previous summer, but now on number forty-six seemed a bit much.
Yep, her eyes worked fine. And she knew some of what Harry had been through this school term. She knew that Sirius Black was after Harry. And she knew how he felt every time he ran into the Dementors. After that disturbing encounter on the Hogwarts Express, Ginny could only imagine the horrors that he was reliving. She knew what was flashing through her mind in that train compartment: glimpses of herself covered in chicken blood, the horror that she felt looking into Tom Riddle's eyes as he drained her of her life force, and the overwhelming guilt that she felt when she had realized just how close she had come to being responsible for the death of countless Muggles.
By the time Harry had arrived at her home, Ginny was still coping with the aftermath of her own disastrous encounter with Riddle. She was working through her guilt and had made some marginal successes. She no longer woke up shaking uncontrollably from her nightmares, and thankfully she had learned to awake before the screams could rip out of her throat. No, she had downgraded into crying silent tears now. Thankfully, the nightmares were slowly lessening in their frequency. Part of that was due to her crazy brothers. It was hard to be morose when you lived in a house with Fred and George. Ginny loved her brothers more than ever after that summer. The twins' antics were mostly responsible for the good mood she was in when Harry arrived at the Burrow.
Ginny was positive that she was never going to get over her bad, and so far unbreakable, habit of blushing whenever she laid eyes on Harry. His arrival was no different. One look from those eyes and she was red enough to be mistaken for a lobster. She jerked her eyes away from his graze, mumbled "hello," and stared at the floor while she tried to get her unruly complexion under control. She knew that everyone else had gathered that she was a bit taken with Harry. Everyone hid smiles whenever they witnessed her amazing displays of facial pyrotechnics. Ginny was okay with everyone thinking that she still had it bad for Harry. It was better than the alternative.
The real reason that Ginny turned red wasn't only because she was in love with Harry. The main reason was that she was still too ashamed to look him in the eyes. Harry knew what she had done. He was there when she had awoken in the Chamber of Secrets. He had watched Riddle gloat over her stupidity in trusting her every secret to that diary. He had watched her completely break down in front of Professor Dumbledore and her mum. He knew that she was responsible for hurting all those Muggles, including one of his best friends, Hermione. But he still could look her in the eye and not blame her for what she had done. Ginny couldn't meet his eyes. She knew that the guilt and shame was reflected in her eyes. She was so embarrassed by all of it that she had spent most of the remaining summer holidays trying to avoid Harry and trying to overcome her embarrassment.
By the time that September 1st had rolled around, she was able to look Harry in the eye. It was such a small thing. Percy was being himself, still clinging to his pompous attitude as he chased comically after Penelope Clearwater. Ginny was trying not to laugh out loud at her usually serious brother. She had turned her head, and there he was. Harry's emerald eyes were shining and he looked to be fighting to keep a full-fledged grin off his face. Their eyes had met in that instant. She had to turn away, fearing that the laughter would burst free at any second. It was such a commonplace occurrence, but it meant something ever so precious to her. She was already in love with Harry Potter. It had grown out of her love and appreciation of what Harry had meant to Ron as his best friend. Now, there was no questioning it. One grin and she was certifiably head over heels in love with the boy who lived.
What else could explain that misfortunate occurrence with his get-well card? After Harry had ended up in the hospital wing, again, this time after the Quidditch with the Dementors, Ginny had to do something. There was no way that she was brave enough just to walk up to him, smother him in an embrace and sob all over his robes like she really wanted to do. Sitting by his bedside and watching him was out of the question. Madame Pomfrey wouldn't stand for it, and they weren't good enough friends for her presence to be accepted without a lot of questions and unwanted teasing. Ginny had settled on a nice, homemade get-well card that would sing a nice, peaceful song. Of course, performing the charm to make the card sing might have been better done in her dormitory. She had almost perfected the charm when the twins had spotted her. Guessing immediately that it was for Harry, they began to make kissing noises that had sorely interrupted her concentration. The result: a get-well card that screeched continuously. Ginny had serious doubts about giving the card to Harry and had even went to far to hide it from view in her dormitory. She had obviously not reckoned with the twins' determination to tease her. That card had "mysteriously" appeared in the hospital wing.
Ginny shook herself out of her thoughts as the Hogwarts Express slowly eased onto platform nine and three-quarters. Gathering up her belongings, she joined the line of students eager to disembark from the train. Stepping to the ground, her eyes sought out her mum. There was Mrs. Weasley, waving eagerly. There was Ron, holding a ball of fluff, and there was Harry. He was talking to an older man that strongly resembled an angry rhinoceros that was scowling down at him. Harry looked pretty happy. Whatever he was saying certainly terrified his uncle. The man looked as if he was going to be sick at any moment. The crowd shifted, and Ginny lost sight of Harry. Angling towards her family, Ginny paused and hoped that Harry would have a good summer staying with those horrid relatives of his. Her summer would be spent the way they always had been; thinking about Harry.
AN: Thanks to those of you that had reviewed my other two fics! I really appreciate it! To answer katc's question- I am really considering it. I have a rough idea of what questions I want to see answered, but no broad idea of a plot. Maybe the inspiration will kick in soon!
Enter the Red Age: Thanks for your comments! I agree totally. That is probably what has bothered me thus far about the HP books- you really don't get an idea of what Ginny thinks about all this stuff that has happened to Harry. And how scary would it be to have a possessed diary?!
Darcel- thanks for the encouragement!
Flamaeo- thanks for the comment and the compliment!