A/N: Welcome one and all! I'm Vira Xyn, and this is my first fic! Please be gentle, I've done a lot of reading, but not much writing. Anyway, without further ado, I give you...

Disclaimer: Ha, gotcha, you were expecting the title, not this note that says that I don't own anything even remotely connected to Harry Potter (except the books of course, mmmm my pretties... cough anyway, JK Rowling owns Harry and Ginny, not I, no sir no way. Now, without further ado, I give you...

Worth Fighting For

Chapter 1 - Decitions Under the Starry Sky
An HP fanfiction, by Vira Xyn

Summer had started on a sour note for Ginny Weasley. There had been Dumbledore's funeral, then Harry had broken her heart in one of his noble, protective, and oh so idiotic gestures. How could he think that not being together would be better? She loved him, and was pretty sure he loved her back, damnit! As she lie awake that night she wondered, and not for the first time, what he had been thinking. That she'd be happier to be safe, than to be with him? That she wasn't already a target, just for being the only daughter of a known family of bloodtraitors, not even to mention the sister of one of the Trio. Surely Snape, that bloody traitorous bastard, had told his precious Dark Lord all about Harry's friends. Hell, he probably had their pictures on his dartboard for target practice..

She rolled over to stare out the window. He would be here tomorrow, in the room right next to her, so close that she'd hear him if he snored. Not that it would matter. She could be sitting on his lap, and he'd never react. He'd probably already locked his heart in the cold dark place he sent it when he was afraid to hurt. When Sirius had died, his heart had gone away. Not that Ginny was one to puff up her ego too much, but she liked to think she'd had some help in coaxing it back into the light. Now, she was the reason he locked it away. To keep her safe, yes that was part of it. She knew there was another bit too though, he had to make himself feel better about putting his life on the line to defeat Voldemort. Oh, how she hated that name. Stupid Riddle and his Dark Lord complex, that's all it was! Guy kills a few people; gets some crazed, power hungry followers, and he thinks he's Merlin's gift. Tommy was just lucky that she wasn't allowed near him. She had something of a score to settle, between the ordeal he'd put her through in her first year, and what he'd put Harry through his whole life.

As she stared out the window, her resolve began to harden. Why should she and Harry suffer for the Dark Tosser's pleasure? Why shouldn't they have each other, and maybe, just maybe have some fun, too? Ron and Hermione got to have each other (or they would if her big brother ever got his head out of his arse and admitted he loved the poor girl. Anyone could see they had it bad for each other) they were both targets, and Harry didn't try to protect them. Something occurred to her just then. Harry did try to protect them. He tried to leave them behind; he'd tried last year when they'd gone to the Department of Mysteries! They hadn't had any of it, even Ginny had been allowed to go when she'd stood up to him. Maybe that was it, maybe all she had to do was stand her ground, show him she wouldn't just go away and leave him to suffer in silence.

"Bugger, why didn't I think of that before," she whispered to herself as a smile slipped across her face, her first real one since the funeral. She had a lot of planning to do, not to mention some shopping, and maybe a haircut.. Yeah, that would get him. Make him really think about what he was missing, then when he couldn't get her out of his head, she'd hit him with the logic. Ginny was actually grinning at this point, when suddenly she jumped, nearly falling out her window. She groaned and looked at the offending door, when she heard the soft knock again.

"Ginny?" the youngest of the Weasley brothers called softly. Ginny groaned inwardly, but went to the door to let Ron in.

"What's up Ron? You're up kind of late, and here I figured you'd be getting lots of beauty rest before Hermione gets here tomorrow," she said, a knowing twinkle dancing in her eyes. She motioned for her brother to enter, and closed the door behind him. When she turned back from the door, Ron was watching her with an odd look on his face. That and the fact that he wasn't blushing madly at her crack about Hermione were making her a bit nervous. She decided to play it off though, and gave him a smile. "What is it? Do I have something on my nose?"

"What?" he said, coming out of his stupor. Ron didn't credit himself as being the most perceptive man on the planet (most would say he was closer to dead last, as long as it took him to notice a certain wavy haired Gryffindor), but every once in a while, he would catch the quaffle when it was thrown. He stuttered out his answer finally, "No, your nose is fine. Its just, Ginny, I think that may be the first real smile I've seen on you all summer."

"Oh, really? I must just be excited about Hermione coming over tomorrow," she replied, trying to be nonchalant. If her brother knew she was planning on seducing (or maybe re-seducing?) his best mate he wouldn't let the two of them out of his sight all summer. Then they'd go back to school, and back to worrying about Tom, the Dark Twat, and that would be that. She'd die old and alone, heartbroken, with her several dozen cats. Oh sure, she'd have a large beautiful house, but it would be all for the cats.

"Yeah, that must be it. I'm rather looking forward to her coming over too," Ron said, his eyes getting a far off look for a moment, before he came back and realized what he'd said, "and Harry too of course. Sorry little sis."

"Ron, its fine. You don't have to walk on bloody eggshells with me. Harry and I broke up, its not the end of the world," she lied, because it sure as hell felt like it to her. "There'll be other boys."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," muttered Ron, looking at his little sister.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley! What did you just say?" hissed Ginny, her eyes narrowing to slits as she advanced on her brother. Ron was looking rather nervous, perhaps remembering that he didn't have his wand, and she did. Ginny got right up to him, her face looking up into his. Ron may have had some pretty good height on her, but the youngest Weasley made up for it in pure venom. "I had better not have heard you threatening to interfere in my future relationships. At least I hope that's not what you said, for your sake.. If it was, just remember, I know all of your secrets. Every embarrassing thing you've ever done? I have records of it, and if you so much as put an eyebrow into my love life again, I'll make sure that those records go straight to Hermione."

"Hermione wouldn't ever hold something like that against me," Ron started to protest, but Ginny cut him off.

"Then a second set would go to a certain set of twins, who run a certain joke shop, who would then be instructed to do whatever they see fit with said records," she said, her voice soft and even, which really, was even more terrifying than if she'd yelled. Ron gulped and looked around nervously.

"You wouldn't do something like that," he said, his voice breaking a bit.

"I think it would be best not to tempt me, Ronald," she said, and suddenly his little sister was back across the room, smiling pleasantly at him. "Now what did you say?"

"I said, uh, I said that you should get to bed, its getting late," he said, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow. "I'm going to turn in myself, lots to do tomorrow. G'night Ginny."

"Goodnight Ron," she said sweetly, waiting until he'd retreated from her room (and at nearly a run, that didn't take long) then she beat her pillow, suppressing the urge to scream in frustration. It was bad enough that she had six older brothers, but when they started in on that overprotective bollucks, it was enough to make a girl crazy.

After extinguishing her light, she curled up on her bed, still fully clothed. She was still mad at Ron, but what truly occupied her thoughts, and deprived her of sleep were her plans for tomorrow. She would have to get up early, hopefully get downstairs while only her mum was up. She needed to go into Diagon Alley, and possibly even muggle London. She also needed her mum not to go with her, which was going to be a piece of tricky work all in itself. With a final sigh of frustration, Ginny realized she wasn't going to get any sleep anytime soon. This wasn't the first time this problem had arisen, and it was one of the times that she appreciated the Twins most. After the incident with the Chamber in her first year, she'd had a lot of trouble sleeping. Her brothers, never being ones for the conventional means of treatment, had figured that maybe she just needed some time to sort out her thoughts. They'd shown her a path that led to a small clearing they'd discovered, and had promised to never tell anyone else about. Then George had held out his hand to her. In it he held what looked like a small ball of yarn. She'd looked up at him, very confused.

"Its Leviosa Rope," he'd told her, a proud smile on his face. Fred picked up the narrative here, switching off, as the twins tended to do. "We invented it ourselves. You just tie one end here, to your bed, then toss the other end out the window."

"Then you grab hold, and say 'Decendo' if you want to go down the rope," continued George, "You'll float gently to the other end of the rope, which should be on the ground."

"When you want to come back up, just say 'Accenta' and it will take you back up," finished Fred. "Bloody brilliant isn't it?"

She'd just stared at them in awe, before jumping on them and hugging them fiercely. It had been the best thing anyone had done for her. Well, except maybe Harry, but he was the one who rescued her, so he didn't really count. Now, tonight, she needed to use her retreat once more. She hadn't been there much the last couple summers, but she knew the way by heart. After stretching the Leviosa Rope from her bed and tossing it to the ground, Ginny grabbed hold and whispered, "Decendo."

A few minutes later, she was lying on the ground, looking up at the stars. She'd pretty much planned out tomorrow on the walk to her clearing, but it was still nice to just get out of the house. Now, there was no doubt that Ginny loved her family, but sometimes you just need to get out and know that you're by yourself. Okay, maybe not the best thing to do while there's a war between the light and the dark going on, but she wasn't thinking about that tonight. No, her mind was on one thing and one thing only. How to win back Harry Potter, and damn if her plan wasn't a good one.

A shooting star flashed across her vision, the long tail seeming to linger after the body was long gone. Ginny smiled and closed her eyes, quietly making a wish.

"I wish for strength, so that I can stand up for myself. I've got to go up against Harry, who is going to be hard enough, but then I have to deal with my brothers as well," she whispered, not daring to disturb the night with her voice. "I wish for patience, and the ability to hold my temper, because I know Harry, and with all his high noble intentions, he's not going to make this easy."

A small tear slipped from her full eyes, trailing quickly down her pale, freckled cheek. She wiped it away with one finger, still looking up at the sky. Finally she looked down, and curled up a bit, closing her eyes. Just as she was starting to drift off, she smiled again and muttered softly to herself.

"I wish for love," she said, and the smile stayed gently on her lips as she slipped off to sleep.

The dawn found Ginny running back to the Burrow, muttering under her breath and shivering. No matter how wonderful and romantic it seemed, to fall asleep under the stars on a beautiful summer's night, one should always remember that in the morning, there would be dew.. And waking up in damp clothes, is not at all a pleasant experience.

"Shit, shit, shit," she chanted, hurrying toward her window. Luckily the sun had woken Ginny from her slumber shortly after it had peeked over the horizon, so it was still nice and early. She grabbed the Leviosa Rope and whispered for an accent. Back in her room, the damp redhead struggled out of her shirt and jeans before grabbing a black tank top, and a pair of cute tan Capri's. She pulled a set of underwear out of her dresser and the matching red bra. Then, clad only in a pair of pink and purple boyshorts, she hurried quietly down the hall, locking the bathroom door and jumping into the shower as soon as it was warm.

An undisclosed time later (because no one should judge a girl on her shower time) a refreshed, and nearly awake, Ginny stepped out of the bathroom. She slipped into her room, tossed the damp and dirty clothes into a hamper, and looked in the mirror. After magically drying her hair, she pulled it up into a quick ponytail. No need to do anything special with it, as she planned to get it cut while she was out. She put on the tiniest bit of makeup; just enough to give her pale cheeks some color, then headed down to where she could already hear breakfast being made.

"G'morning mum," she said as she bounced into the kitchen. The youngest Weasley grabbed some toast and a bit of bacon, before folding it into a sandwich and tucking in.

"Oh, good morning Ginny dear," her mother said pleasantly, "You're up rather early this morning. Special plans?"

"Actually yes, I was hoping to run into Diagon Alley," she said carefully. This would be the tricky part. If she screwed this up, her plan's timing would go all to hell. "I want to pick up some things for Hermione and I, and maybe get some new clothes before school starts again."

"Oh, of course dear," her mother said, thinking this all sounded very reasonable. She only had one concern, "But who's going to accompany you? I need to stay here and get ready for our guests, and everyone but you and Ron are out of the house now. Could your brother go with you?"

"Actually mum," she said, laying on the charm, "I was hoping I could just run out by myself. I promise I'll be real careful, and besides, it'll go faster if it's just me. If I take Ronald I'll have to talk him into going in all girly shops that I need to go in, and that'll take extra time. Plus he'll be really uncomfortable, and I don't know if I'll be back before Harry gets here or not. You know Ron will want to be here for that."

Molly thought this over for a moment. Yes, it was true that Ron would cause a stink if she made him go into the girly stores that Ginny liked so much. And yes, Harry was arriving before Hermione, and Ron would want to be here for that. She was just worried; there had been so many attacks recently, and after the mess at the Ministry.. But, she supposed that she couldn't keep her babies young forever.

"Alright, but you promise me you'll be back no later than three o'clock," she said sternly, looking Ginny in the eyes.

"Of course mum!" her daughter replied happily. She couldn't believe it, she'd been expecting to have to put up a fight! Today was going perfectly, well aside from waking up soaking wet, that hadn't really been all that pleasant, she supposed. "I'll see you late mum!"

"Ginny dear, wait one moment," she said, wiping her hands off on her apron and pulling a small dish down from the cupboard. Pulling the lid off, Molly pulled a small sack that clinked when she shook it. She handed the sack to Ginny. "You get some nice new clothes, no silly hand-me-downs from your brothers this year."

"Mum! How did you.." she trailed off, shocked at her mother. They were always tight on money, and here she was, handing over a small stash to her daughter. Ginny felt guilty for a moment, but then her dual X chromosomes kicked in and she saw her shopping horizons expanding. "Thank you so much mum! I'll be home before three!"

Rushing over to the floo, she tossed down a handful of powder and directed herself toward Diagon Alley. Upon stumbling out of the floo and dusting herself off, Ginny headed immediately toward Sylvia Sylver's Syntillating Styles. It was the newest, most up and coming hair salon in the magical London and the perfect place to begin her plan. A small bell chimed as she entered. There were only a few people in this time of the morning, which had been Ginny's plan all along.

"Hello darling, can I help you?" asked a young witch at the counter. Her short black hair was cut at angles around her head, and she had two platinum blonde streaks framing her face. Ginny smiled, this was going to be fun.

"Yes, I need a cut and style, and no, I don't have an appointment," she said, still smiling, she already knew exactly what she wanted, no need to even look at the styling pictures who were waving for her attention.

"No problem dear, you're early enough that I can slip you right in," replied the girl, "I'm Vivian, just call me Viv, and I'll be handling you. You know what you'd like done?"

"Yep, just lead the way Viv, its time for a whole new me!" she said excitedly.

An hour and a half later, Ginny got up out of the chair. Her normally shoulder length hair had been magically lengthened so that it reached the small of her back, and had been styled so that it fell in gently curling waves. They'd decided to add to the affect of her fiery hair, and had treated it with a potion that accentuated the effect. It made her hair a bit darker, but it was lighter underneath, making it look like burning embers. Ginny grinned at herself in the mirror. Harry wasn't going to know what hit him, it was perfect!

"Happy dear?" asked Viv, smiling at her. The girl had wonderful hair, and she'd hardly had to do anything at all to bring out its beautiful shine and body. She'd also added a little bit of eye shadow to her simple makeup job, giving her a more mysterious air.

"Its brilliant! Thank you so much," Ginny cried, nearly jumping up and down. "How much do I owe you?"

"It'd normally be twenty-one sickles, but I'll give you the student discount since you're going to Hogwarts," she said smiling. She'd been a Ravenclaw herself, and still had lots of school loyalty. "Twelve sickles and 4 knuts."

"Here you go, just keep the change Viv, its amazing," she beamed, handing her fifteen sickles. Her mum had been really generous, and Ginny had some savings of her own to use as well.

"Thanks Ginny, good luck with your boy problem!" Vivian called as the redhead left the store.

The rest of the day went uneventfully as Ginny slipped from Diagon Alley to some of the nearby muggle shops. She picked up a few new shirts, a really pretty Asian top (it was black and red with a Mandarin collar and cute little red wooden toggles instead of buttons), some new jeans that made her arse look great (if she did say so herself, which she did). She also got a pair of strappy black open toed heels, which went great with the Asian top, and a couple pairs of muggle shoes called Chuck Taylor's, that were just really cute. One was red with a white toe, and the other was black with flames on the toe. She loved them!

Slipping her wizarding robes back on, she lugged her bags into the Leaky Cauldron, where Tom, the barkeep, let her borrow a room for a minute to changer her clothes. She pulled off her robes; her clothes, and after making sure that the door was locked, slipped out of her undergarments as well. Blushing she pulled out a back that she'd hidden at the bottom of one of the others. She slipped a lacy black thong from it, and pulled it on, as well as the matching bra. The bra was enchanted to give her the best possible fit and positioning for whatever shirt she had on. Grabbing a new white button down shirt from her bag, she put it on and smiled in the mirror. The bra did as advertised, giving her just a bit of cleavage and helping the shirt catch her curves in just the right spots. After pulling on a pair of jeans (the ones that made her arse look good) she looked in the mirror and smiled, little Ginny Weasley had grown up..

After thanking Tom, she stepped into the floo, her bags in hand. She had also slipped on her flaming Chucks, and was all set to make Harry drool. She walked calmly out of the fireplace in the Burrow, to find that no one was around.

"Just like them," she muttered, hurrying to put her things in her room, then go find them. "Waste of a perfectly good entrance, first time I've not gotten soot all over myself. Bloody prats.."

Ginny muttered all the way downstairs, and out into the backyard. She could hear voices out by the street, and looking at her watch, she realized that she was right on time to greet Hermione too. She couldn't wait to see her friend, and possibly enlist her into the plan as well.

"Hermione dear, it's so good to see you. Arthur and I are so glad you can spend the rest of the summer with us," her mum was saying, she could almost hear the bone breaking hug she would have just pulled Hermione into.

"Hey 'Mione, missed you these last few weeks," she heard a male voice say, and she choked, stopping in mid-stride. She wavered for a moment as she heard Harry continue. Suddenly, this close to him, Ginny wasn't sure if she could do it. Could she really face him, the wounds so raw, and pretend it never happened? Because that was the only way this was going to work. She had to push aside the pain, and make him remember why he loved her. She set a smile on her face and took a deep breath. She could do this; after all she was a Weasley.

"Hermione!" She squealed, running around the corner and grabbing her friend's hands. The brown haired girl squealed back and they jumped up and down, in the manner that schoolgirls do, for some time.

"Ginny, its so good to see you!" her friend said, finally letting go of her hands and stepping back. She gave the redhead an appraising look, then nodded and smiled, her eyes twinkling. There was a reason this girl was called the brightest witch of her age. Ginny smiled and winked at her friend, then turned to Harry.

"Harry, its good to see you too," she said, her voice friendly as she reached up and hugged him, before he had a chance to stop her. He flailed awkwardly for a moment, then blushed but hugged her back.

"Its good to see you too, Ginny," he said, then he actually looked at her. Really looked at her. She smiled at him, and only at him, then turned and walked over to Hermione, giving him a decent view of the reason she loved these jeans.

"Harry dear, why don't we get Hermione's things inside and let her catch up with Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley said to him, more a statement than a question. He grabbed her bags, nodding at Ron's mum, then motioned with his head for Ron to follow him with the rest of the luggage. As he turned to go, he saw Ginny turn and catch his eye, then wink at him. He then proceeded to nearly trip over his own jaw, seeing as how it had just dislodged and hit the ground.

After he had gone, Ginny breathed a huge sigh, letting out all the tension that had been building in her. She'd done it. Not only that, but the look on his face when she winked at him! That was priceless. Hermione turned to her.

"Ginny, you are evil. Pure, unfiltered evil," Hermione said. It would have almost sounded like she was scolding her friend, except that she then grinned wickedly and put her arm around her shoulders, "Whatever your plan is, I'm in one hundred percent!"

A/N: That's it kids! The very first chapter of my very first story and I hope you all love it. I'm so bloody excited!!! Please let me know what you think, I'll love you forever if you review. I'll try to respond to questions as quickly as I can, but I work mornings, so don't expect anything before evening. Also, I'm planning on continuing this into seventh year, so if anyone would be interested in proof reading for me, just let me know. I hope to update this fairly frequently, and I've already started chapter 2, so maybe we'll have another lovely chapter soon!

Lots of love,

Vira Xyn