Title: Fate
Rating: T
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Ginny, Hermione, Luna
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Word Count: 1,327
Summary: READ the Author's Notes first. Inspired by The Lion King. Ginny is told she must leave or else, so she flees, and ends up meeting two girls that might just make her life better.
Notes: So, Canon has gone completely out the window. Ginny was possessed by Tom Riddle in her first year, and she survived it, but she never met Harry, Hermione, or Luna. Not sure why, but let's just say Harry and Luna are squibs, and Hermione was born as a Muggle. Also, both of Hermione and Luna's parents are dead. Also, please suspend some of your belief as this might be considered a borderline crack plot with OOC characters.
Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition: Season 2 – Round 9 – Montrose Magpies - Chaser 2 – Incorporate The Lion King. Prompts - 2. (word) clumsy / 9. (quote) 'If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it' - Andy Rooney / 12. (word) kaleidoscope
Greek Mythology Category Competition: Antilochus - Write about a sacrifice
Pokemon Trading Card Collection Challenge: Cloyster – Platinum - (plot/action) Searching the beach for seashells.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Myths and Legends - Task - Write about someone homeless, or becoming homeless.
Ginny slowly woke up. Her head pounded as she shifted on the hard ground. She whimpered, wishing for the pain to go away. Not only was her head hurting, but her legs felt tired and achy, and she could barely lift her arms up.
Her eyes opened, and she stared at the ceiling. There was only one thought running through her head. 'What happened?'
After a few minutes of laying bonelessly on the floor, she thought she should finally try to get up. The sooner she got up, the sooner she could figure out what happened. Sitting up was relatively easy despite the slight queasiness she felt. Her standing up was the problem. Her usual gracefulness was gone, and she suddenly felt clumsy and awkward.
Again, she had to ask the question, but this time, it was out loud. "What happened?"
When she was finally on her feet, her knees nearly buckled, but she stayed standing. And when the door crashed open, she smiled in relief at the sight of one of her brothers. "Percy, I'm so glad to see you. Something..." She cut herself off when she noticed the anger and hatred in the eyes of the normally calm Percy.
Suddenly, Ginny felt very afraid. "Percy?" she questioned.
"You killed them!" he accused.
Her eyes widened. "What!? Who did I kill?" she screeched.
"Mom and Dad are dead, and it's your fault," he answered, his face red and his hands clenched into fists at his side.
"Mom and Dad are dead?" Ginny shook her head. "No, they're not. They can't be."
"Don't act so surprised. It's your fault."
"Stop saying that!" Ginny exploded. "It's not my fault! I didn't do anything," she mumbled.
She thought back to waking up, how she had missing memories. 'Did I do something? When Tom Riddle's spirit possessed me, I did things that I had no recollection of. I would never kill Mom and Dad, though. I wouldn't.'
"Ron saw you kill them. I told him I'd call the Aurors," he warned.
"Percy! You can't! I didn't do it."
He glared at her. "You have an hour before I call the Aurors. I suggest you leave and never come back."
"You can't mean that; I'm your sister."
"You're a murderer," Percy coldly declared. "You're no family of mine."
He turned away, but she still saw the small smirk he wore on his face. She didn't think much of it, though. Percy had always acted so much more superior than everyone else, and she had more important things to worry about. Like how she was homeless.
She knew better than to dawdle, as Percy would keep his word. She might be a minor, but if she really was a murderer, that wouldn't matter in a trial. She would be in Azkaban so fast that her head would spin.
She gathered a few belongings and left. She avoided Percy's eyes as she walked to the front door and tried to figure out where she could go.
She couldn't go to any of her friends because they would find out about her parents' deaths. She swallowed as the image of her mom's kind face and father's jovial one flashed in her mind. Her mom and dad were dead. They would never be able to hug her and kiss her again. 'And I killed them.'
By running away, she was sacrificing her family, but she already did that when she took her parents' lives. Her brothers would never forgive her, and the only thing she would get if she stayed was a lifetime stay in Azkaban if she was lucky. If she wasn't so lucky, it would be the Dementor's kiss.
She had to leave.
She called for the Knight Bus and when Stan Shunpike asked her where she wanted to go, Ginny said the first thing that came to mind. "A beach. Any beach far away from here."
Stan looked at her with raised eyebrows but didn't ask any questions.
When she was off of the bus a few minutes later, she took off her shoes and walked in the sand, letting her toes dig into it.
She came upon a circle of rocks, and in the center of the circle were a bunch of shells. She stared at them in awe. It was a kaleidoscope of colors from red, to white, to brown, to pink. It was pretty.
"Do you like my collection?" an airy voice asked from behind her.
Ginny spun around and stared at a pale girl with stringy blonde hair that went all the way down to her mid-back. What caught Ginny's attention the most was her silver eyes that seemed to see so much. "Um, yeah. It's pretty. Who are you?"
"I'm Luna." Her eyes narrowed, and she tilted her head to the left. "You're a witch."
It wasn't a question, but Ginny answered anyways. "Yes. And I guess you are, too."
To her surprise, Luna shook her head. "A squib, but it's not something I every really cared about. My daddy never used magic around me so I didn't realize what I was missing until I was a bit older."
At the mention of a dad, Ginny looked at her feet. "You have a dad? You're lucky. My parents are dead.
"Mine are, too," Luna replied. "And so are Hermione's."
Ginny's eyes immediately went to Luna's. "Hermione?"
"My friend, but she's a Muggle, so no talk of magic is allowed.
"If your parents are dead, then who do you live with?" Ginny asked.
"Each other," Luna answered as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.
"We live on the beach," another voice intruded in on their conversation.
Ginny looked at the girl that joined them—Hermione, she guessed—and tried not to stare at the wild, uncontrollable, bushy, brunette hair. Hermione winked. "Sand and Water and fun all the time. It's a decent life. Especially considering what we lost."
"You can help us search for more seashells," Luna said with a clap of her hands.
Ginny didn't argue, and she followed the girls who happily chattered a couple of feet ahead of her.
When Luna pulled away to go look by the ocean for seashells, Hermione hung back so Ginny was even with her. "Luna is more into seashell collecting than I am, but it makes her happy, so I don't complain about it."
Ginny nodded. "Luna seems to be the happy."
Hermione's eyes were sad. "Luna lost her mom when she was nine and her dad when she was thirteen. Part of me wonders if Luna is truly happy, or is simply putting on a show. My mom used to say something. 'If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it.' I don't know if she's smiling when there's no one else around, though."
Ginny nodded. "I'm still trying to figure out what to do. I have nowhere to go."
"Neither did Luna and me, after our parents..."
Hermione swallowed, and Ginny nodded understandingly, knowing how hard it could be to verbalize something so painful.
"Neither did Luna and me after it happened, and somehow, we found each other and made a little home on the beach. It's not the greatest life, but we're surviving at least. Luna always says that it was fate, that we were meant to find each other. And I have a feeling that she'll say the same thing about you finding us. By the time she's done with you, you'll be agreeing to stay here with us," Hermione warned.
Ginny didn't tell Hermione, but it didn't seem like such a bad idea. And she was already thinking about staying. If she stayed on the beach, at least she wouldn't be alone. Hermione and Luna both seemed like nice girls, and in a different universe, she was sure the three of them could be best friends. So, why not stay when she had no other options?