Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or these characters or blah blah blah.
I think you know the drill!
A/N- Hey you've found your way here! This is the sequel to Appearances and
it will follow along with the Ginny/Snape plotline. If you've just
stumbled across this without having read Appearances, I recommend you do
so, because you might be a little confused, but read if you must and please
review!
"We were strangers starting out on a journey. Never dreaming what we'd have to go through. Now here we are, and I'm suddenly standing, at the beginning with you." ~At the Beginning (Richard Marx and Diana Lewis)
Chapter 1: Ginny's Confessions
It's amazing how things can change in an instant. Two days ago I was a happy, normal, well-adjusted, 17-year-old girl at school. Now I'm a miserable disappointment stuck at home with my parents for a year because I got suspended. And how was I suspended? I got pregnant. And not just by anyone, I might add. I got knocked-up by my potions master. Oh I am a smart one.
We arrived back at the Burrow for Christmas holidays not too long ago. I've never spent so much time in silence with the Weasley family. No one said anything the entire ride to Diagon Alley and they've all been avoiding me like the plague since we've been back at home. So far the only thing I've been asked is whether or not I'd like some carrots at dinner.
I can't say that no one's talked to me. Hermione and I are sharing a room again for this visit. Mom is making sure that she's nowhere near Draco without the appropriate chaperone. So we've been talking about my situation some. I'm petrified, because it really doesn't look promising.
***
"Has she said anything to you Hermione?" I asked fearfully as I unpacked my trunk for the long year ahead. "Good or bad, I don't care. Just tell me she's spoken!" I turned to her and began to pout.
Hermione just looked at me for a minute. "She did say something to me earlier," she began. My entire body lifted and sank in the exact same moment. "But it was only about whether or not I still liked spaghetti." I looked away, clearly upset. "I'm telling you, Gin, she hasn't spoken to anyone, not even your father! All she's been doing is cooking everything in the house."
Throwing a sweater down on my bed, I became exasperated. "What is she trying to do, punish me by not talking and worrying me to death?"
"I hardly think that not talking is going to be your punishment," Hermione said, sitting down on her bed. "I think there's going to be a lot of talking before any punishment is complete."
***
We didn't get to finish the conversation because I had to run to the bathroom and get sick. I can already tell that this baby is not going to be a picnic of any kind.
I am genuinely worried about my mother in this new situation. She's the one person who always has something to say about whatever the problem is, and now she just cooks and cleans. We ate the best meal I've had at home in quite some time, but that only makes me more concerned. At the risk of sounding selfish, I need her, desperately. I need her more than I could ever need Severus at this time in my life. About to have a child and still so young, I feel like I'm lost in a giant sea of adulthood and I have no life preserver. She's always told me what to do or to say, when to go to the doctor, how to eat right, and by what standards I should live my life. Now I'm so afraid that she's shut me out for good.
***
"Mum, can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked her as she stirred a pot viciously.
No reply. She grabbed a vial of some seasoning and shook the contents into the pot with all her strength. The overwhelming odor stung my nose and eyes. I noticed her eyes watered too.
I took a small step closer to her and looked up at her with tears in my eyes. "Mum, please," I begged. "I need to talk to you about something."
Still nothing.
Tears began to stream down my face as she stood there, stirring and ignoring. I felt helpless and alone. "Mum!" I cried out in one last desperate attempt to bring her back down to Earth.
"Virginia, please!" she shouted at me. Glancing at me for only a moment, she winced and turned back to her pot.
***
And so here I am. Alone. Just Ginny.
I don't know if I'll be welcome in this house very much longer; if my parents can stand the sight of me. Maybe I can beg Dumbledore to let me back into Hogwarts. Or I could even turn to Severus if the situation got so bad. He wouldn't turn me out; at least I don't think he would, not if I have his baby. Would he?
"We were strangers starting out on a journey. Never dreaming what we'd have to go through. Now here we are, and I'm suddenly standing, at the beginning with you." ~At the Beginning (Richard Marx and Diana Lewis)
Chapter 1: Ginny's Confessions
It's amazing how things can change in an instant. Two days ago I was a happy, normal, well-adjusted, 17-year-old girl at school. Now I'm a miserable disappointment stuck at home with my parents for a year because I got suspended. And how was I suspended? I got pregnant. And not just by anyone, I might add. I got knocked-up by my potions master. Oh I am a smart one.
We arrived back at the Burrow for Christmas holidays not too long ago. I've never spent so much time in silence with the Weasley family. No one said anything the entire ride to Diagon Alley and they've all been avoiding me like the plague since we've been back at home. So far the only thing I've been asked is whether or not I'd like some carrots at dinner.
I can't say that no one's talked to me. Hermione and I are sharing a room again for this visit. Mom is making sure that she's nowhere near Draco without the appropriate chaperone. So we've been talking about my situation some. I'm petrified, because it really doesn't look promising.
***
"Has she said anything to you Hermione?" I asked fearfully as I unpacked my trunk for the long year ahead. "Good or bad, I don't care. Just tell me she's spoken!" I turned to her and began to pout.
Hermione just looked at me for a minute. "She did say something to me earlier," she began. My entire body lifted and sank in the exact same moment. "But it was only about whether or not I still liked spaghetti." I looked away, clearly upset. "I'm telling you, Gin, she hasn't spoken to anyone, not even your father! All she's been doing is cooking everything in the house."
Throwing a sweater down on my bed, I became exasperated. "What is she trying to do, punish me by not talking and worrying me to death?"
"I hardly think that not talking is going to be your punishment," Hermione said, sitting down on her bed. "I think there's going to be a lot of talking before any punishment is complete."
***
We didn't get to finish the conversation because I had to run to the bathroom and get sick. I can already tell that this baby is not going to be a picnic of any kind.
I am genuinely worried about my mother in this new situation. She's the one person who always has something to say about whatever the problem is, and now she just cooks and cleans. We ate the best meal I've had at home in quite some time, but that only makes me more concerned. At the risk of sounding selfish, I need her, desperately. I need her more than I could ever need Severus at this time in my life. About to have a child and still so young, I feel like I'm lost in a giant sea of adulthood and I have no life preserver. She's always told me what to do or to say, when to go to the doctor, how to eat right, and by what standards I should live my life. Now I'm so afraid that she's shut me out for good.
***
"Mum, can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked her as she stirred a pot viciously.
No reply. She grabbed a vial of some seasoning and shook the contents into the pot with all her strength. The overwhelming odor stung my nose and eyes. I noticed her eyes watered too.
I took a small step closer to her and looked up at her with tears in my eyes. "Mum, please," I begged. "I need to talk to you about something."
Still nothing.
Tears began to stream down my face as she stood there, stirring and ignoring. I felt helpless and alone. "Mum!" I cried out in one last desperate attempt to bring her back down to Earth.
"Virginia, please!" she shouted at me. Glancing at me for only a moment, she winced and turned back to her pot.
***
And so here I am. Alone. Just Ginny.
I don't know if I'll be welcome in this house very much longer; if my parents can stand the sight of me. Maybe I can beg Dumbledore to let me back into Hogwarts. Or I could even turn to Severus if the situation got so bad. He wouldn't turn me out; at least I don't think he would, not if I have his baby. Would he?