The Sense of Magic

Summary: Ginny is going to be the governess of 5 children. Why? Who? When? What is that Slytherin doing in this fic? And what is Ginny going to do with 5 children? Need I tell you? R&R!!

Disclaimer: Oops! Forgot this earlier. Sadly, the recognizable characters are not mine. The foundation of the plot cannot really be called mine, either. But the idea of combining the characters from Harry Potter and the plot of the other story IS mine!!! Please respect that as I am respecting the rights of the people who DO own the characters, setting, and basic-est storyline.

            "What should we do?" Hermione cried at two of her best friends. "It's been months now, and she still hasn't…recovered…"

            "Hermione," Harry soothed. "Give her more time. NONE of us have recovered. Is it even possible to recover from losing a sibling?"

            "TWO siblings," Ron butted in. "We lost TWO siblings, and they're the two that were always here to cheer us up when we were down. Of course none of us have much cheer in us, now. It's not just Gin."

            "And she was the one who was caring for them," Harry added. "SHE was the one doctoring them from the moment they arrived. She worked endlessly for weeks so that they might survive! She has a good reason to be a little withdrawn."

            "I KNOW all of this!" Hermione exclaimed. "But it hurts to see my best friend hurting so much. We're all hurting, but Ginny's hurting the most. I don't think it's just the disappearance of the twins!"

            "She has been down in the dumps…" Mrs. Weasley added, entering the room and the conversation.

            "She's been depressed and quiet for quite some time," Bill followed his mother. "It's all of the people she's lost."

            "What do you MEAN?" Hermione exclaimed. "We've ALL lost friends and family. This cursed war has taken its toll from everyone."

            "But she has been stitching people up, cleaning up vomit, and washing away blood from everyone," Charlie walked in, wearing a worried frown. "She's a medic and she's seen more than her share of deaths."

            "Another thing," Percy reminded the gathering as he meandered into the room. "She just lost another child."

            "You can't mean the newborn she was planning to adopt?" Mr. Weasley murmured, surprising everyone as they hadn't heard him enter. "The baby of Gin's old school mate who had died in childbirth? She had nursed the baby so lovingly…"

            "That's it," Hermione whispered.

            "What's it?" all the Weasleys (minus the one whom they're discussing, plus a Potter) asked.

            "She needs a break from healing…" Hermione was still lost in thought.

            "But we NEED all of the healers we have," Ron refuted, "and she's one of the best in the world."

            "But do you want her to lose it all?" Harry argued. "She NEEDS to stop for awhile. She has to want to FIGHT. Haven't you noticed? She's lost her WILL."

            "Did you know," Hermione continued to whisper. "She's given up using the wards against infection for herself? She's even stopped taking the basic potions to boost her immune system and her strength. She's just given up…But how to make her stop trying to heal the world…"

            "Children," Mrs. Weasley suggested. "We all agree that Ginny's lost her will to live. What better way to remind her why to keep fighting than giving her children?"

            "Are you saying we should choose a bloke for her to marry and to impregnate her?!" Ron hollered.

            "Of course," Mrs. Weasley said, sarcastically.

            Ron didn't catch the sarcasm, though, and started to hyperventilate. Luckily for him, others had caught on and hurriedly assured him that his mother had not meant what he thought.

            "That would take too long, anyhow," Hermione said, logically. "What we need are some healthy children who would be capable of distracting and enchanting Ginny."

            "Where to find them, though?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

            Just then, an owl flew into one of the windows of the room. Charlie hastened to the poor thing and relieved it of its burden and pulled out his wand and an Owl Treat. After he was sure the owl was okay, he finally noticed his family's annoyance with him and he opened the envelope. Everyone jumped when Charlie's hair turned purple.

            "Fred! George!" he yelled, knowing it was them and tearing the sheet of paper within the envelope. "The bas-"

            "CHARLES WEASLEY!!" Mrs. Weasley bellowed. "YOU DO NOT USE SUCH WORDS IN THE PRESENCE OF LADIES. YOU ESPECIALLY DO NOT SPEAK OF YOUR FAMILY IN SUCH A MANNER!!"

            "Sorry, Mum!" Charlie apprehensively apologized. "I really didn't mean it!"

            "Just read the letter!" the other Weasleys (plus a Potter) screamed.

            "Okay, okay!" Charlie cried. "It says,

'Dear Ginny,

If you're not Ginny, we're sorry we turned

your hair purple, but you should have seen

it was for our sister, not YOU. If you ARE

Ginny, we just wanted to remind you why

we are your favorite brothers. If you're not

Ginny, STOP READING THIS. If you are

Ginny, we have a favor to ask of you. Our

friend has called in a debt. Sadly, it

requires taking care of his children, and we

are not up to the task. Please, Ginny, dear.

Will you consider taking the job? It'll only

take a month of your time. Please, darling,

baby sister? For your favorite brothers? The

thing in the little bag in the envelope is a

Portkey. It'll take you to the house of our

friend. PLEASE? Do this for us, your best

friends and your favorite brothers? PLEASE?

Thanks!

Love from your favorite brothers,

Feorge and Gred'

They always DID have trouble with compositions."

            Charlie passed the letter to his mother, who was glaring at her son. As she looked the letter over, she started to cry. "My babies…my babies…They left us a postscript." Overcome with tears, she couldn't continue for a minute. "It says, 'P.S. Sorry for the mistakes in our letter. Whoever you are, tell the family we love them. Tell them we must be desperately missed and not to worry!!!'" Here, Mrs. Weasley completely broke down and wailed. "'Not to worry!' What a joke…"

            Ginny herself walked into the room at that point. "Mum." she asked softly, automatically going to her mother to check for a wound. "What's wrong?!"

            "Oh, my sweet babies…" Mrs. Weasley continued to cry, pulling Ginny and whomever else was close enough into her arms.

            After Mrs. Weasley gained control of her tears, she handed Ginny the letter from the twins. When she recognized the handwriting and the handiwork of Charlie's new 'do, she smiled for the first time in ages. As she read the letter, she looked up at her family. "I can't." she whispered wearily. "I can't. I need to work. I can't care for children…"

            Smiling, Mrs. Weasley urged her to finish reading the letter before deciding.  At the letter's end, Ginny's face cracked into another smile, but her eyes remained sad this time. "I can't…" she whispered. "I'm sorry…"

            "Dear," Mrs. Weasley interrupted. "Please. Consider this for you brothers. Think of this as a vacation. You deserve one. No one else has worked so hard or so much. You haven't rested since before your graduation years ago. Please?"

            "Mum…" Ginny whined. "I can't…" Seeing her mother's baleful glare, she added, "I'll consider it…"

            "How in Merlin's name did I let them convince me to do this?" Ginny asked herself, when she found herself too tired to fend off her family. "And why did they ALL insist I do this? They treated Fred and George's note as if it were exactly what they prayed for. Sure, it was a message from them, telling us that they're fine, but they're all so anxious to see me gone! If I weren't so tired..."

            The Portkey had transported her to the front lawn of a huge property. After she was finished muttering to herself about her family's strange behavior and wiping particles of who-knows-what from her clothes, she looked up and gasped. The manor house was enormous and rather daunting looking. Taking a step back, she almost fell into the lake behind her. There was a path to the large wooden doors, and Ginny slowly trudged up the path with her baggage. It took her minutes to reach the steps to the front doors where she miserably sighed. Gathering whatever remained of the old Ginny, she raised a hand, picked up the large brass knocker, and let it fall with a bang.

            The door opened and she popped up, saying "Hello!" to what appeared to be the butler. He opened the door for her and let her in, before she could introduce herself. With a "Please wait here," the man left her in the large and elegantly decorated foyer. Unable to resist, Ginny walked to a set of doors and opened them to a dark and dusty room. Before she could step into it and satisfy her curiosity, she heard someone clearing his throat. With a jump, she turned around and was a little shocked when she saw the man she least expected to see.

            "Miss…Weasley, I believe?" he said. Upon her nod, he continued, smugly. "Yes, I thought so. Even though you have covered your hair, the state of your robes and your freckles are still enough to give you away."

            "Well," she huffed.
            Before she could finish huffing, Blaise Zabini interrupted her. "You should listen to what people tell you. When Franz told you to remain in the foyer, you should have remained there. Fortunately for you, I am in a tolerant mood and you weren't found by your new employer. I am here as a friend and advisor. I shall endeavor to help you in your first efforts as the governess of this brood."

            "Excuse me," Ginny finally got in. "Why are you here?"

            "I just explained that, Miss Weasley. I'm here to insure your safety and continued employment. He hates trying to locate new governesses. If I remember rightly, you're the…fifty-second governess these children have had in the past six months."

            With a weary sigh, Ginny followed the former Slytherin warily into the foyer. "Are you joshing me?! FIFTY-SECOND? What is WRONG with the children?"

            "There is nothing wrong with the children, only the governesses," a sharp voice cut in. "They all lacked the discipline to control my children."

            "Bloody hell," Ginny muttered under her breath before turning around. "Please, not him. Please…"

            Raising her eyes to meet his hard, gray ones, Ginny groaned. As she had feared from his drawl, it WAS 'him.' How she managed to recognize his voice after all these years, she doesn't know. Already exhausted, she resignedly met her new employer, Draco Malfoy.

Author's Note: So! What do you think? Please tell me!!!!!!!!! If it's awful and I should stop right now, TELL ME! I don't want to waste my time writing something that no one wants to read. If you liked it, TELL ME! I'd like to know that I'm not wasting my time writing this. Please, review!!!!!!!! It only takes a couple of minutes, even if you're on a slower computer. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm BEGGING YOU. If there are corrections that need to be made, please tell me. I'll go over this later, if any of you care enough to review and tell me someone read this. I'll make corrections then! Thanks. More thanks to anyone who is planning to review. PLEASE??????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! By the way, the plot is not ENTIRELY mine. I do not claim what belongs to the movie that inspired me or what belongs to the owners of all things Harry Potter, but A LOT OF THE STUFF IS MINE, TOO! And someone's smart and already realized what movie…Wow.