Cursebreaker, Earthshaker

Written by Katrina "the She-King of the Seas" Mac. I haven't any money, nor would I ever claim that Harry Potter belonged to me, so suing me would be most unprofitable. That said, enjoy!

"You know, Harry, you really are quite stupid."

She would say it quietly, serenely, with just the barest, most subtle suggestion of force.

"Look at what you should have wanted, look at what you could have had, look at what I have become."

Remember to drop your voice on 'become'. Would a gesture to her figure be too much? Perhaps. A simple tilt of the chin and a seemingly casual flip of her hair would do.

He would look on, suitably impressed, with those big sad eyes of his and open his mouth to speak.

"No, Harry. There's nothing for you to say now. I've moved on."

He would get down on bended knee, start begging for forgiveness for his decidedly single-minded stupidity, and then she'd decide---

"Ginny!"

Oh, drat.

"Ginny? Ginny! Hurry up or we'll be late!"

She headed towards her bedroom door, looking around for anything she might have forgotten to pack. It looked good to go. She caught her reflection in the mirror on her closet, and in that time-honored detached feminine fashion, gave herself a quick once-over to see if she looked presentable. There she stood, all frizzy red hair and freckles and gangly limbs. So gawky. Oh, her face was nice enough, for all that her mouth was a shade too big, but her figure left something to be desired. She was dressed simply as ever in a rather shapeless robe similar to her Hogwart's uniform, only in a shade of dusty blue rather than black.

She snorted. A shapeless robe for a shapeless girl. The speech she was preparing to deliver to one hapless Harry Potter would simply have to wait until she grew breasts.

Not that he'd even notice, a small voice in her mind whispered. She shook her head, red curls slapping at her face as though admonishing her. Surely she had better things to think about than Harry Potter's obliviousness, today of all days.

A whole summer with Bill in Egypt. Her liquid brown eyes lit up in a way that people outside the family rarely saw. Oh, she could hardly wait. Bill would teach her the basics to Defense Against the Dark Arts better than any professor, although her mother would never know. Bill thought that girls should know their way about it, what with living in troubled times such as these; sheltering her because she was the baby was eventually going to hurt more than help her, and he knew it. Bill would let her see the pyramids; if his crew went into cursed ones, she'd be allowed to go too. Bill would insist that she be in the thick of things, so long as she didn't let on to Mum---

"Ginny? I mean it!"

And Bill wouldn't yell at her when she was in the middle of her very important day dreaming sessions. At least, she hoped not.

Obediently (wasn't she always obedient?), Ginny got up off of her last trunk and surveyed her room. Posters of moving people (mostly Quidditch players) lined her walls, covering the cracks and dents that magic didn't seem to repair for very long. Her battered dresser and desk sat in a corner, forlorn. She hadn't written there in so long... Oh, it had to have been five years since she'd hidden her diary there.

The mere thought of diaries made her shiver. Never again would she be able to look at a bound volume without wary suspicion in her eyes. It was laughable, really. A sixteen year old terrified of books. The dormmates who noticed thought she was insane, the way she never walked into the library alone, the way she tapped any book she absolutely needed to use with her wand before opening it, the way she couldn't walk library or bookstore aisles without feeling claustrophobic and slightly nauseous. She could still hear his voice...

She made up some story about how Fred and George had ambushed her with children's literature when she was very young, leaving her emotionally traumatized and barely able to work out of textbooks without breaking into a sweat (although, with the taste Hagrid had in textbooks...). A ridiculous story for a Riddleculous fear. She smiled grimly, thinking how much Tom would have been offended for her making light of his thwarted scheme. Thank goodness for the twins' reputation; they themselves had taught her that the best lies were couched in truth, and no one would have put it past the twins to bombard their baby sister with editions of Babar and the Velveteen Rabbit and the entire illustrated works of Beatrix Potter and then for them to leave her there, buried and alone. Just look what they had done to Ron and his poor teddy bear.

She stopped for a second, eyes still locked on the desk. This would be her first big adventure, going to Egypt. Granted, Bill would be there, and Charlie had promised to come visit, but she was going to leave the Burrow. She'd have to get to know strangers, not just family or Harry or Hermione (who were as good as family anyway).

The thought frightened her, more than a little.

Taking a deep breath, she gathered what strength she could from the familiar view. She could do this. She could. Leaving home would be perfect, just what she needed. Just what her family needed, so that she wouldn't be underfoot when it came to Order business, which didn't bother her as much as she thought it would. She'd be safe with Bill and his squad, safe and learning how to defend herself, so that neither Tom Riddle nor anybody else would ever, ever, hurt her again. So that the darkness he had fed within her would remain in check. So that she could finally sleep without nightmares.

"Ginny! Down here, NOW!"

Ah, the Howler voice. Time to go. Pulling her wand from the deep pocket of her robe, she magiced her trunk to follow behind her. Summer, she thought, lifting her chin, her eyes flashing, prepare yourself, because here comes trouble, and her name is Ginny Weasely.

What do you think, guys? Is it too boring? Maybe I should jazz it up a bit... Make her half werewolf, half banshee, and half mermaid, with all three halves of her being desperately in love with Malfoy for absolutely no reason at all, what do you think? Ooh, ooh, and while we're at it, can we make her in all of his classes, too, just because we want to see bloodshed/chaos/death/destruction/fire (oooo, oooo, fire)? ;) Naw, just kidding. But really, any and all suggestions (although hopefully not as hairbrained as mine) are treasured possessions. You know I'd adore hearing from you! And by the by, what do you think, Draco in chapter 2 or chapter 3?

K Mac