Chapter One
The Trip
Ginny Weasley
was happy to be back in Hogwarts. It was her sixth year and she would be
turning sixteen in a month. For some reason, she was more excited about this
year than any other. And she wasn't even one of the oldest students.
Ginny felt like
she'd grown up a lot in the past few years. First year (and even before that)
she'd been obsessed with her older brother Ron's best friend, Harry Potter. Now
she wasn't so lovesick. She still thought he was amazing looking. He'd gotten
even cuter between the first time she'd seen him and the present. He wasn't so
skinny any more, but more lanky. Ginny liked the lanky look much better than
the muscle look most other boys had. She also found it incredibly sexy the way
his inky black hair was always sticking in every direction, despite his
half-hearted attempts to smooth it down. And, for some strange reason, he
looked excellent in glasses. They seemed to emphasize his clear, bright green
eyes.
Yet
Ginny had tried to move on and succeeded. It was true whenever Harry glanced at
her that her insides felt all mushy. But she had gone out with a few other guys
her age, who were actually interested in her, and had finally realized there
were many other fish in the sea.
During
the Sorting, Ginny sat with her four friends Sarah, Rachel, Melanie, and Laura.
She had become really close with them only a year before, but she'd been
sharing a dormitory with them since first year. She really liked them even
though they were sort of air-headed. But they always made her feel like her
problems were small and insignificant.
The
only serious one in the group was Laura, who Ginny didn't like. She'd never
really said it out loud before, but it was obvious Laura didn't like her
either. They both pretended to like each other, because Sarah, Rachel, and
Melanie seemed to like both of them equally. Laura and Ginny had an odd
friendship, sort of an unwritten and unsaid agreement: Stay out of my way
and I'll stay out of yours.
"I got
absolutely no tan this summer," Rachel whined, putting her arm against
Melanie to compare skin colors.
Melanie's
parents had moved to England from Spain when she was just a baby. So naturally
Melanie had darker Spanish skin than any of them.
"Don't
feel bad," Laura said coolly. "Ginny doesn't tan."
Ginny
resisted the urge to give her a glare. It was true, though. She had very pale
skin, dotted with many freckles. When she was younger she had a lot of them on
her face, but over the years they diminished so only the ones on her nose were
visible. She was thankful for that at least.
"But
she's got the cutest freckles," Sarah squealed. She patted Ginny's head.
"And dark skin with this gorgeous red hair? Uh-uh. Doesn't work."
Ginny
was used to compliments about her hair. It was the only thing she really liked
about her appearance. Even though everyone in her family had the same flame
colored hair, hers was the longest. It fell down to her shoulder blades. Since
it was able to grow, it was wavy. Her hair was sort of thin, but she had a lot
of it, so it appeared thicker.
The
Sorting of the first years ended, and they were able to eat. Ginny, who'd been
starving, not having touched the dry roast beef sandwich her mother had given
her to eat for lunch on the train, spent most of her time eating and not
talking. She sort of listened to her friends' conversation, but it was full of
complaints about how frizzy their hair had gotten from spending so much time in
the sun.
Ginny
sighed, the happiness from returning to school fading some. Why did right now
she feel as if her friends were making her problems seem worse, when before
they'd made her feel as if nothing else mattered? Something is missing in my
life, she thought, frowning.
Across
the Great Hall, Draco Malfoy sat at the head of the Slytherin table. His two "friends"
Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, sat on either side of him, eating their
dinner as if they'd been starved all their lives. Draco watched them in
disgust, his own appetite lost. After having not seen them all summer, he had
forgotten how nauseating they made him when they were near food. I'll get
used to it soon, he told himself, pushing his plate away and leaning back
in his chair.
He
surveyed the Great Hall. Once again, the Hufflepuffs still had a bunch of
losers. Their first years were no different than the seventh years ¾ all
totally, helplessly stupid. The Ravenclaws . . . well, was there really
anything to say about them? And then ¾ the Gryffindors.
Draco
sneered as he looked over in their direction. He didn't bother looking at any
of the new first years. His eyes went right to Potter, Weasley, and Granger.
The most idiotic of them all. The three people who somehow made Hogwarts fun .
. . fun for Draco because they were perfect candidates for being picked on.
Weasley, being incredibly poor. Granger, being a Mudblood. And Potter . . .
well, for being Potter. For being the skinny, famous kid who'd come to Hogwarts
and picked being friends with the sorriest people he could manage.
"What
are you staring at, Draco?" a disgustingly sweet voice said, very close to
Draco's ear.
He
jumped, but only because he wasn't expecting it. Instantly he knew it was Pansy
Parkinson. Or as some of the Gryffindors called her: (though never to her face;
Draco only overheard some saying it in the library) Pansy "The Pug" Parkinson.
It was true, she did sort of look like a pug, what with her nose upturned. And she'd
gained weight since Draco had first met her.
He'd
dumped her in fifth year, but she had continued to act like they were still "together"
since then.
"Nothing,"
Draco snapped coldly.
Pansy
looked hurt for a moment, backing off. But then she smiled brightly again (she
was the only person where smiles looked out of place on her face ¾ except
for maybe perhaps Draco's own). "Trying to figure out how to ruin Potter's
life, are you?"
"Something
like that," Draco muttered.
"That's
sweet," Pansy purred, slipping her arms around one of Draco's and hugging it.
"It
would be even sweeter if you let me go," Draco told her. "What part of 'we don't
date anymore' don't you understand?"
"The 'date'
part," Gregory said stupidly. Draco stared at him. Sometimes him and Vincent
said the weirdest ¾ and most idiotic ¾
things.
Pansy
gave Draco a dark look. "Fine. I'll just sit over there."
If she
thought she was punishing him, she was doing the exact opposite. "Good," Draco
said to her rather large retreating back.
Draco
sighed. His life was always the same. It was beginning to bore him. When would
something exciting happen?
The
next day flew by fast for Ginny. She figured it was because she was adjusting
to a new year at Hogwarts, and the professors spent most of the time talking
about what they would be doing over the course of the year.
After
classes ended that day, Ginny lounged in the Gryffindor common room with her
friends. None of them had any homework, being the first day back in school. So
they just told about their summers.
"Let's
go for a walk," Laura said superiorly, standing up. It was about an hour before
dinner.
The
other three girls stood up quickly. As much as Ginny hated to admit it, Laura
was sort of the leader of their group. The other girls seemed to follow her
like baby ducks to their mother. It was kind of annoying, but Ginny never
complained. She was never the one to complain much (she was used to getting
second best, since she'd grown up with six older brothers and nearly no money,
everything being used by someone else before her).
So they
went for a walk around the castle. Nothing had really changed since the year
before. They did find, of course, several staircases they'd never seen before
and figured out ¾ the hard way ¾ that they were fake and
led up to a solid wall.
Laura
stopped right in front of the girls' bathroom. The others stopped, too. Ginny
noticed a rather nasty grin on Laura's face, and then realized they were
standing in front of the girls' bathroom no one used. A very annoying ghost,
Moaning Myrtle, haunted it so no one really wanted to use it and face her
crying, whining about how her death wasn't any better than her life.
"Let's
pay Myrtle a visit, shall we, girls?" Laura asked.
Melanie, Sarah, and Rachel looked at each other nervously. "Are you sure
you want to?" Rachel asked slowly.
"Don't
join me then," Laura spat. "Chickens."
Of
course, they were right behind her as they all went in.
Ginny
didn't go. She stayed outside, furious that her friends didn't have opinions of
their own. Didn't they see what a mean person Laura was? No, they don't,
Ginny thought angrily. They only like her because she's so beautiful and
they reckon she can make them popular. Well, it hasn't happened yet, and it's
been six years. When do they think it will happen?
She
crossed her arms, her brows furrowed angrily. Then, she saw something
glittering out of the corner of her eye. She turned, her expression softening.
Down the hall, about five yards away, something lay on the ground. It reflected
the light of the torches . . . and the way it sparkled it oddly looked like ¾
"Diamonds,"
she whispered, approaching it slowly.
She
stood above it, staring down. On the red carpet directly below her was a
necklace. It had a long gold chain and a gold amulet. The amulet was slightly
bigger than a flattened Snitch. And it was covered with diamonds. Or rhinestones
or some sort of white stone, she thought. It's really beautiful. It must
cost a fortune.
"Hey,
come here, guys!" Ginny shouted over her shoulder in the direction of the girls'
bathroom. For some reason, she hesitated touching it without someone around. It
could be a trick necklace, she figured, and it might disappear as soon as I
touch it. I want some witnesses to say that it's really there. "I found a
diamond necklace!"
That
last sentence would surely draw them.
Laura
poked her head out of the bathroom. "What did you say?"
Ginny
stood aside and gestured at the necklace. "A diamond necklace," she said, somewhat
proudly.
Laura
slowly ventured out, followed by Melanie, Sarah, and Rachel. "Is this some kind
of joke?" Melanie demanded.
"Look
at it," Ginny said. "It looks real, doesn't it?"
She
reached down to pick it up. She'd almost touched it when someone called out.
"No! Don't
touch it!"
Ginny
straightened sharply, batting her hair out of her eyes. To her shock, she saw
Draco Malfoy hurrying down the hall towards her. It was the first time she'd
ever seen him not flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.
He
stopped in front of her, the amulet on the floor between the two of them. Ginny
watched in mild surprise as Draco stared at the amulet, his jaw clenched. He
looked almost angry.
"Why
can't I touch it?" Ginny demanded angrily, finally recovering from seeing him
there. She did not like Draco Malfoy at all. He had never really made fun of
her directly, but he'd always picked on her brother Ron about having no money.
And she took offense to that, because she had no money either. "Do you want to
keep it for yourself?"
He
fixed his gray eyes on her. They were unreadable, though is mouth twisted in a
sneer. He really was a handsome guy, but Ginny knew what a horrible person he
was and felt absolutely no attraction to him. "Maybe," he said.
Ginny
narrowed her eyes at him. Then, she swooped down and scooped the necklace up
out of pure defiance. Her fingers touched the amulet itself, the chain flipping
and hanging around her wrist.
As she
started to straighten, she heard Draco cry out, "No!"
She saw
him move, and by the time she was totally erect again, he had grabbed her
wrist.
Before
she could even think of pulling free, she felt a tugging around her naval. The
Hogwarts hallways melted and disappeared, and then the world molded itself back
together.
Only
she wasn't in Hogwarts.
She was
standing in some filthy alley, Draco Malfoy still holding onto her wrist, the
amulet still gripped in her fingers.
"Portkey,"
she whispered.
