Ignis Ferocitas
Prologue: Love Story
'We were both young when I first saw you/I close my eyes and the flashback starts/I'm standing there/ On a platform in summer air'
"Oh Mummy, can't I go this year with Ron please?" Ginevra Weasley whined to her mother, Molly Weasley as they walked through King's Cross Station in London, England. The ten year old had been pleading to go to Hogwarts with all her older siblings since the one closest in age, Ronald Weasley, had received his letter about a month or so ago.
"Now Ginny, you know that you're too young to go to Hogwarts. You'll just have to wait for the next year." Molly said distractedly as she was trying to keep track of her group of red headed sons who were all walking a bit faster than her due to their taller frames.
"Here we are, Platform 9 ¾." Molly said looking at the brick wall between the platform numbers 9 and 10. Just as she was about to give the boys the go ahead, the family heard a rather quiet but determined voice come from behind them.
Ginny's jaw literally dropped as she saw the cute raggedy looking boy standing there with his trolley full of suitcases and an owl cage looking nervously at the group of redheads.
"Did you say that you were headed for Platform 9 ¾?" the messy haired boy asked.
"Why yes dear, now just follow Percy's example." Mrs. Weasley said as she motioned for the eldest boy attending Hogwarts to give an example of how to go through the platform.
Ginny watched on with the rest of her family and the cute stranger as Percy began to walk rather quickly towards the wall between Platforms 9 and 10 and vanished into the thin air as he hit the wall. She smiled at the older boy who had the most intriguing emerald green eyes that simply took her breath away. Ginny longed to put a name to the boy's face but waited patiently for she knew that she could find out somehow through listening to her older brothers.
News travelled fast, and Ginny finally overheard that the mysterious boy was none other than Harry Potter; the Boy Who Lived.
Ginny sobbed as she watched the Hogwarts Express depart without her with the boy she had formed a crush on. The only thing that could possibly make her laugh at that point was her older twin brothers Fred and George promising to send her a Hogwarts toilet lid. Those two were always the pranksters of the family and she liked to spend more time with them than with Percy who had just recently become a prefect. Ron was relatively close to her, mostly because of the close age difference and now that he and Harry Potter were in the same year, Ginny vowed to become friendlier with her older brother.
Ginny awoke sharply as the curtains on her four post bed were pulled back hard by none other than her frizzy haired best friend Hermione Granger. Ginny rubbed her eyes trying very hard trying to wake up and look up at the girl who was waiting patiently, a surprising thing for Ginny who had never seen Hermione in a patient state before.
"Harry's going to be mad if you don't get down to the Great Hall soon." Hermione warned, sitting at the end of Ginny's bed. Ginny sighed looking out the window and seeing the perfect conditions for a Quidditch game—sunny with a hint of a breeze.
"Ginny!" Hermione said, grabbing the girl's attention out of her sudden stupor. Ginny looked over at her friend apologetically. The red head had been a bit out of it with all of her friends with the impending breakup with her boyfriend and fellow Gryffindor, Dean Thomas about 20 days prior. And now that Harry had landed himself in detention with Professor Snape for attacking Draco Malfoy and landing the foul boy in the Hospital Wing, she would have to act as the team's Seeker and Dean would take her spot as Chaser.
'Yup, this is certainly going to be awkward.' She thought to herself finally getting out of her bed and heading to the bathroom with her Quidditch uniform in her hands. Looking in the mirror, she could see how much crying had affected her appearance. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face paler and puffier than normal. Ginny cleared her throat and splashed her face with cold water which further increased her consciousness before exiting the bathroom and smiling at Hermione tentatively.
The older girl gave the red head a suspicious look and then smiled weakly in return. "C'mon Gin, you've got a match to win for Gryffindor."
Ginny grinned even wider and thought, 'And for Harry...' as she followed Hermione down the stairs that led to the Common Room, out of the portal, and towards the Great Hall where the rest of the team was most certainly eating breakfast.