Whhheee! DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone! I sure wish I did… I guess people wouldn't read it if it was mine. All Harry Potter things belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling.
Notes: I shouldn't stay up so late. I wonder if events are happening too quickly? Mebbe not, or mayhap it doesn't seem so. We'll see (^----^)
Another Sort of Life
The sun rose silently over the towers at Hogwarts. It was yet another day in the idyllic setting which had bourne so many wizards and witches, the home now to many students who wove their ways through the difficult curriculum and many adventures besides. For now, it was spring break. Those children who cared or had family to go home to had left, but the other students remained at the school, always a welcoming place to its charges. A few such students who had remained were one Harry Potter, Miss Hermione Granger, and all of the Weasley children. It was the middle of the fifth year, and much mischief was about.
However, although Harry practiced Quiditch, and Hermione found many interesting things in the library, and Ron enjoyed himself with a steady supply of sweets from the town, this story is not about them. Many stories see them, but there are many other students in a school so large. Many are shy and quiet, some are loud, but none are perhaps so overlooked as little Ginny Weasley. This is her story, a delightful, and perhaps angsty and romantic, romp through the life of one of Hogwarts' most insignificant students.
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As the sun leaked through the windows of the girls' side of the Gryfindor dormitory, fourth year Ginny Weasley sat up in bed. She brushed back her short, shoulder length red hair, a Weasley trademark. Glancing at the mirror opposite her on the wall, Ginny smiled at her reflection. Her bright green eyes and bouncy red hair smiled back. She was glad she'd asked one of her dorm mates to help her perm it, she'd become more noticeable in an instant. Now, people turned to look, sure that she must be someone new. She wasn't quite free of the stigma that seemed to follow her family among the snootier circles of wizardry, but she didn't mind. She was proud of her parents and siblings and was glad to be a part of the Weasley clan.
She stretched her arms high above her head, reaching towards the ceiling. Her plain white muslin nightgown shifted delicately on her thin frame, revealing one silky shoulder. The morning sun glinted off the window panes, and though it was rather early for during break time, Ginny got up and dressed. She went to the clothes chest at the foot of her bed and picked out a dark blue pleated skirt, shorter than the gray one required as part of her uniform. She took out a ¾ sleeve white dress shirt and a green vest, placing them alongside the skirt. Finally, she pulled out a metal studded belt and some ankle socks.
Ginny caressed the belt lovingly. It had been a gift from her brother Ron, who had seen her admiring it in an American fashion magazine. She smiled again, putting the clothes on as she glanced around at the beds in her room. Most of the other girls were gone, but Cornice Malcolm, a black haired girl from Devon who sat next to her in Potions class, lay asleep in her bed next to the opposite window. Sometimes people made up stories about why people stayed at Hogwarts during the breaks. Ginny thought it was a rude habit, but people seemed to think less of you if you didn't have something so wonderful to return to.
Wiping the scowl off of her face, Ginny smiled towards the sleeping Cornice and said a quiet goodbye as she left the room. She really had no aim this morning, it was the third day of break and she had nothing to do. She'd finished most of her work, and she'd already done all that she'd needed break time to do. So, instead of looking for an aim, she wandered aimlessly. She had often pondered that, even by her last year here, she would never have discovered all of the mysteries of the school. Looking up at the high ceiling of the hallway, she let go a happy sigh, wondering at the gothic beauty of the place. It was her second home, but she felt much more at ease here. She had friends here, even if she was still one of the outcasts, not cool enough to hang with the social elite.
She paused to glance at herself in the reflection from a window in the hall. She was amazed at what a little makeup and a change to her hair could do. She wasn't used to wearing any makeup at all, so when her dorm mates offered to make her over several weekends ago, they just gave her some eyeliner and lip gloss and a little blush, not that her cheeks weren't already often red as a result of her shy nature. Her proudest achievement, however, was indeed her hair. They had cut it a bit, and permed and highlighted it. It now had shadows of deeper red, the standard Weasley red-orange, and blonde highlights, which the sun gleefully glinted on. Her hair shone brilliantly as it bobbed in the loose curls she now sported, a pleasant change that her kin applauded. She'd blushed when Fred and George had pretended they didn't know who she was. Hermione, who had become like a big sister to her, said the curls suited Ginny's face and gave her a sweet and beautiful look. Ginny subsequently loved and was bewildered by peoples' positive reactions to her slight physical change.
One thing that Ginny liked was how her favorite teachers also stayed at the school over breaks. Unfortunately, Filch was still there too, but gentle as she was, Ginny had befriended Mrs. Norris, Filch's omnipresent watch-cat. She had tried convincing her brother and Harry that Mrs. Norris was really a friendly girl when you got to know her, but they'd had too many run-ins with her to believe it. It hadn't helped that they'd been accused of killing her back when Tom had taken Ginny hostage. Ginny blushed and went silent when they mentioned the ordeal of the Chamber of Secrets. No one else save she, the ghost of Tom, and He Who Must Not Be Named knew quite what had happened during that time. She had told everyone that she woke to see Harry's face and remembered nothing. Everyone knew she was shy and probably still in shock, so they hadn't pressured her, but secrets still remained, secrets that she didn't know if she was willing to share, secrets she knew must be kept.
But such were thoughts for different times and places. Now, it was a pleasant afternoon in the spring, with sun pouring through the windows and settling in beautiful patterns on the stone floors. Ginny turned down a different hallway, heading to where a huge stained glass window refracted what seemed to be every single ray of the morning sun. She stood stunned by the beauty of it, staring at the myriad possibilities in the glaring light. She imagined she heard soft footsteps behind her and a hand lightly on her back, but she turned quickly to find no one there. Sighing, she kept walking down the lighted hall. She would never understand this place, no matter how much time or love she spent on it.
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Ginny strolled down the halls, dragging her hand gently over the rough bricks of the walls. She wondered nostalgically how many countless girls had done the same thing in ages past, and what had become of them. It reminded her of Moaning Myrtle. Hermione had introduced the two of them, and though she often thought Myrtle was a little melodramatic, she liked talking to her. Myrtle reminded her of herself. Ginny had a habit of making herself invisible to avoid derision, and it worked almost too well. She was kind of glad people were starting to notice here. Cornice joked one day in Potions that all of the boys in the class were staring at her. She blushed and Professor Snape shot her a funny look. She blushed even more and bent over her pot, the euphoric steam from her pleasantry potion catching her in the face, so she spent the day smiling widely at everyone she saw. She was glad she had a little better fortune than her brother, whose spell and potion mishaps were becoming legendary.
What to do? Ginny thought, looking about her. There was a small din coming from the dining hall; some students who were still used to getting up at school times were already eating breakfast. As for Ginny, she wasn't very hungry. Not for food at least. Something inside of her wanted something, but she wasn't quite sure what. Sometimes, she wished she could have adventures like her brother and his friends, but who would she share them with? She didn't have a close group like that. Besides, wasn't there an ancient Chinese curse 'May you live in interesting times" ? Ginny didn't know if she was ready for adventures. She'd always lived a quiet life, especially for a witch. Would she want to sacrifice that for the interesting life her brother and his friends led? Ginny wasn't sure.
In all of her years at Hogwarts, none had been so fun as this year and the past two. Her favorite teachers were Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, both of whom she'd gotten to know as teachers, and then as friends through her brother and Harry and Hermione. Remus was their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and Sirius had taken up a position with Hagrid as a Care of Magical Creatures teacher. It was a happy time at Hogwarts, and the imminent war with He Who Must Not Be Named seemed all but forgotten. They had both gotten to know Ginny and insisted she call them by their first names. She was glad she could be so friendly with older people that she adored, and they told her to come to them anytime she needed anything. Although it wasn't urgent, she figured she at least needed something to do, and that they could help her for sure.
Her mind made up, Ginny set out for the teachers' wing of the school. It was all the way on the other side, so she had a long walk ahead of her. Passing the dining hall, she decided to stop in and pick up a juice box to take with her. As she entered the room, she saw many students from different grades, because much of the students were awake now, and all were hungry. Some of them she knew, and Cornice began walking towards her from the side of the room. She smiled happily, her jet black hair pulled back with a headband. She wore a long black skirt with white lace lining and a white bell-wristed dress shirt with black lace edging and a black necktie. She had a brown leather choker and several beautiful metal studded bracelets on. Ginny admired her style. Cornice never cared if people made fun of how she dressed, and Ginny always thought she was beautiful in spite of them all.
"Hey, Ginny." Cornice greeted her. Ginny smiled in response. "Would you like to meet me for lunch under the willow trees at the edge of the lawn today? It'll be fun. (^---^)3." Ginny nodded in agreement.
"That'll be great, Cornice! We can bring some sandwiches from the kitchens and you can tell me all about that book you've been reading."
"All right! See you then, Ginny!" Cornice waved as she went into the kitchen area to get her breakfast. Ginny stopped by a nearby table and picked up a box of kiwi peach juice and turned back out the dining hall doors. She turned down the long main hall and took a left. She knew there was a shortcut somewhere around there, but she didn't want to risk being lost all day, maybe another time. Right now, she was actually liking the idea of going to see Sirius and Remus, even if she had found something better to do.
Turning right at the corner, Ginny kept going for what seemed like forever, but was actually only ten minutes. Finally, she had arrived at the teachers' wing. It wasn't strictly off-limits to students, but its distance did discourage them from making their way there too often during normal school hours. However, now was break time, and the teachers who were about waved to Ginny as she made her way down the hall to where Sirius and Remus's rooms were. She passed their private offices and climbed the short flight of stairs up to their apartments, pausing to throw away her juice box and make sure she looked okay before knocking on the door.
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