Disclaimer: I do not, and will never own any characters from the Harry Potter books. I wish I did, but, alas, my genius is restricted to this. A few of the new characters are mine, other than that, I bow down to the greatness that is J.K. Rowling.
This is my first fanfiction. I will try and update often, but I am at the end of a semester right now, so I may not do it as often as I would like. I would love feedback, positive or negative, as long as it is constructive. I do try and stay true to the books, so, if I got something wrong, let me know. Now, enjoy!
Chapter 1: The Summer
Ginevra Molly Weasley had never had anything in her life that she could call her own. All her life she had been dictated by those around her, namely her older brothers and her parents. Ginny was the seventh, last, and only female child born to Arthur and Molly Weasley. She had inherited many things from her parents, but anyone with eyes could see that she was truly her mother's daughter. Unlike the rest of her siblings her red hair was not the same bright garish red, but closer to the golden honey red that her mother's had been back in her Hogwarts days. Her eyes were a bright blue color, one could almost call them turquoise, the like of which had never been seen in the entire history of the Weasley family, and no doubt stemmed from somewhere in her mother's Prewitt ancestry. Her skin was pale and flawless, excepting a few light freckles spread across her body. Her temper was much like her mother's, and meant that no one could hold their own with her when she was fully riled up. She had grown to the startling height of 5'11, and had surpassed her mother's height years ago, and had grown into the awkward form that had come with the growth spurts over the years. She had escaped notice from others over the years, as she was still wearing her brother's old clothing, and using their old things. This was all about to change however. It was the summer before her sixth year, and as the world had changed, so would she.
That summer, like the few before it, the wizarding world was engrossed in the war with Voldemort. Though the ministry had long since admitted his renewed presence in the world, they were still running a wild goose chase to find him. Things had calmed down since the end of the last school year, and the Order was finally getting the change to regroup and plan out a strategy for the upcoming battles. Harry was obviously staying at Headquarters this summer, due to the need for his protection at all times. Hermione, Ron and Ginny had all been given the option of staying at Headquarters as well. Hermione wanted to spend the summer with her parents, as she rarely was able to spend time with them anymore. Ron had decided to spend the summer at Headquarters with Harry, and Ginny had decided to spend the summer at the burrow. The rest of the Weasley children all had their own places to live now, and were an active part of the order. This meant that Ginny was spending the majority of the summer alone, or with her parents. Not that she minded, in fact, it was a refreshing change for her.
Ginny had taken a job in the nearby muggle town to keep herself busy over the summer. She was working at a clothing store called Wardrobe. Honestly, Ginny thought that it was the most boring name for a clothing store, but they paid her good money to work there, so, who was she to complain? The summer to herself had done Ginny a lot of good. She had changed dramatically over the summer, so much so, in fact, that she was still adjusting to the changes in herself. Her hair fell in soft waves down her back, reaching to her waist. Her eyes were always bright and alight with some mischievous secret no one else was let in on. With the money she had earned over the summer she had purchased a whole new wardrobe so, for once in her life, she actually looked like the young woman she really was.
A lot of things had changed for the Weasley's recently. Arthur was making more money at the ministry, as he had been promoted to head of his department. Also, as Ginny's parents were only paying for two of the seven children now, the financial burden had been lifted off of the family by a considerable amount. Both Ron and Ginny had received new school things, including robes, wands, supplies and familiars. Ginny had picked out a beautiful pure white kitten with startling steel blue eyes, where Ron had opted for a new owl (Pigwidgeon had lost his appeal a while ago). Ginny had named her kitten Oleander, after a poisonous flower she had read about in one of her potions textbooks. She found the flower beautiful and intoxicating, in a morbid way of speaking. The name fit, and then first time she called her cat that, she responded by mewing contentedly and settling herself in Ginny's lap.
Fortunately for Ginny the summer had been good to her. With the money she had made from he job at the clothing store (and a considerable employee discount) Ginny had been able to buy herself a whole new wardrobe. For her wearing clothes that were made for a girl was still a new feeling, as she had spent her whole life wearing her brother's hand-me-downs. She was also nice enough to buy her brother Ron some new clothes as well, as his were close to rags with how much time he spent playing quidditch in them and the like. One of Ginny's muggle friends, Natalie had insisted on taking Ginny out for a 'surprise' on their day off that week. Ginny had no idea what was in store for her, but she knew it would be fun.
She woke up at 8:00 that morning and made her way downstairs in her pajamas. It was early for a Sunday morning, but she could smell the telltale signs of her mother's cooking downstairs. She made her way down and sat at the table with a half-hearted "morning mum" mixed with a huge yawn.
"Good morning dear. When's Natalie going to be here? Does she want breakfast?" Molly asked, a little too cheerfully for this early hour.
"Any minute now, and knowing Natalie, I'd say she's already eaten," Ginny paused to yawn again, and upon seeing her mother's slightly saddened face she added, "but, knowing her as I do, I'm sure she'll be up for another breakfast, she's never been one to turn down your cooking." Molly's face brightened considerably at this, and went about bustling around the kitchen and busying herself with work. It was taking her longer than usual this morning, as she had to do everything the muggle way, because Natalie was coming over. A few minutes later, a knock came from the open kitchen door as Natalie poked her head in, "Hello?"
"Hello Natalie dear, do come in! Help yourself to food if you'd like," Molly answered, inviting the girl in to sit next to Ginny.
Ginny finished eating and turned to her friend, "So Nat, what exactly should I plan on today?"
"Nothing too special," she winked. "I'd just wear something simple today, jeans and a t-shirt. Oh, and no make-up, and don't do anything too special with your hair, just something simple," she said, pointing to her own head, where her hair was piled, rather sloppily into a bun in the back.
"Okay," Ginny said, looking at her friend warily. She then left to go upstairs and change into a pair of faded, old jeans, a stretchy white t-shirt and a pair of flip-flops. She quickly braided her long hair, as she did on most days when she didn't want to deal with it and grabbed her purse and made her way back downstairs. She grabbed some muggle money and put it in her wallet and joined her mother and her friend back in the kitchen. She paused at the bottom of the stairs when he heard her mother and Natalie talking about her. Her mother was just saying, "oh! That'll be wonderful dear! Just don't do anything to her hair color please, I do love that color. My hair used to look like that," she finished wistfully.
"I love her hair too Mrs. Weasley."
"How many times must I tell you to call me Molly?"
"Molly, then. I love her hair too. I wouldn't dream of letting her change the color, just a cut, it's getting rather ridiculously long you know. And besides, she's leaving for school this week, she needs a big change. Knock everyone dead."
"Okay, well, in that case, I suppose it is okay. Here's some money dear, this should take care of both of you. Buy yourselves something nice as well, I don't want to see any of that money back."
With this Ginny cleared her throat and stepped back into the kitchen, "Mum, I do have my own money you know."
"I know dear, but it's nice to be able to do something nice without worrying about what it will cost you. Now, go have fun. You'll be home for dinner?" Ginny nodded.
"Oh, that's right!" Natalie said suddenly. "I was wondering, Mrs...I mean, Molly, if I could come over for dinner tonight. My parents are out of town tonight, they went away on vacation for a couple of days for their anniversary, I'd rather not be eating food from a can tonight."
"Of course you can dear! You're always welcome to come. You can come every night until your parents come home if you like," Molly said smiling, loving to have another person to cook for, the house just felt too empty.
"Thank you, I think I will," Natalie said, smiling genuinely. "But, Ginny and I must be going, or we will miss our appointments."
"Bye dears! Have fun!"
"So, where exactly are we going Nat?" Ginny asked as she stepped into her friend's beat-up old Jeep Wrangler.
"You'll see dear, I just thought it was time we both had a change. Besides, don't you want to knock that Dean's socks off for breaking up with you last year?"
"Well, yes, I do, but I'm confused. What kind of change are we in for? I've already bought a whole new wardrobe."
"Well, we need you to catch up to that wardrobe then. I only promised you mother that we wouldn't dye your hair," she said, smirking mischievously.
"Oh my god! A makeover? Why didn't you tell me, I don't know that I'm ready to chop all my hair off or anything!"
"Don't worry, they won't do anything you don't want them too. But, you must admit, your hair is a little boring." With this Ginny looked down at her hair, and admitted, to herself, that it was boring. It was all the same length, and a bit too long to do anything fun with it.
"Okay, you win. I'm in."
"I knew you'd come around eventually!" With this they pulled into the local beauty shop's parking lot. The two friends stepped out of the car and looked at each other. The two looked nothing alike. Where Ginny was tall and sleek Natalie was shorter, only 5'3 and curvy. Natalie had been heard to complain about her so-called "roundness" but Ginny envied her sometimes. Natalie's curves were beautiful; her hips were round and alluring, and her chest, though it was the same size as Ginny's, looked much bigger on the smaller girl. She had a much darker complexion than Ginny's, and looked altogether exotic. Ginny supposed it had to do with the fact that her mother was Japanese and her father was English. The combination was striking. Her dark eyes shone out from her face and her sleek black hair was always shiny and left Ginny wishing her own hair was straight and easier to manage. The two walked into the salon, arm in arm, ready for anything, or so Ginny thought. The next 3 hours were spent cleansing, moisturizing, waxing, plucking, painting, cutting, coloring (for Natalie) and primping. The two girls saw almost nothing of each other throughout the three hours, and when they went in for their makeup, both were tired and in desperate need of food. They both bought everything they needed and when they finally were given a mirror to look at themselves were both speechless. Ginny's hair was still long, and as promised still it's own natural beautiful color. But they had taken up some of her hair in the front, so it fell about her face in soft layers. Because of the weight that had been taken off her hair was curlier and bouncier. Her makeup was simple, yet beautiful, just what she had asked for. Her eyes were lined with black eyeliner, which made her eyes pop out of her face and come alive. They had put on some simple natural eye shadow, a clear lip-gloss and a little bit of blush on her cheeks. The mascara made her already thick eyelashes pop and drew even more attention to her eyes. Natalie on the other hand had gone for a more intense look. Her black hair was cut short and choppy, so that the pieces in the front fell into her eyes when she moved. She had colored some of her hair to be red (A/N. actual red, not the natural red hair color) and even had some bleached pieces running through her hair now too. Her makeup was also a little more intense than Ginny's, but it suited her well. As the two friends smiled at each other and began to leave, Ginny ran into the one person she had never expected to meet outside of school, much less in a MUGGLE salon. As she turned to apologize to the person she had bumped into, she looked up at him and recognized,
"MALFOY?"
"Do I know you?" He asked, looking at Ginny closely. "I think I would have remembered you.
Ginny blushed at his comment, "Yes, you know me, but then again, you've never given a thought far enough past my last name to pay me any attention, so I'm not surprised the ferret has no memory of who I am."
"How do you know about that?" he asked defensively.
"Three words Ferret," with this she leaned into his ear and whispered, "Bat Bogey Hex." She smirked at this, and left to walk out with Natalie. Malfoy stood there for a second before he realized just who it had been. The Weasley girl? He had just been caught checking out a Weasley? Not just any Weasley of course, the one who was obsessed with the boy-who-should-have-fucking-taken-a-hint-and-died-already. He shook his head and went about his work for the Order. Not many people knew that he was involved with the Order, but he, like Snape, was a spy for the Order. Today had taken a turn for the better. The Order thought that they had a lead in finding He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and had sent Draco to check it out. He smiled to himself. The Weasley had grown up, that was for sure. But, he was still a Malfoy, and as long as his father was around, nothing could be done.
Draco wanted nothing more than to be rid of his father forever, but he couldn't just rat him out to the ministry. Every death eater would know Draco had turned traitor if he did that, and he couldn't risk his place as a spy. Draco sighed audibly and went about his business; letting his thoughts stray to the feeling of Ginny's lips against his ear. Draco knew that it was both ridiculous and wrong to think about her in the way that he was. She had an ungodly amount of older brothers who would be only too happy to tear him apart limb for limb. He knew it couldn't work, rationally. Honestly, a Malfoy and a Weasley? It just wasn't meant to happen, ever. But that didn't stop him from smiling at the thought of her.
Ginny and Natalie made their way to a local Chinese restaurant and sat down inside. Niether had said much on the drive over, but both were deep in thought. Suddenly, Natalie turned to Ginny and asked, "So, who was that?" She asked "innocently".
"That was someone I know from my school. He's a rich, pompous, son of a bitch who has spent the last 5 years trying to make my life a living hell just because my family wasn't as rich as his was. And damn him all to hell for it too!" Ginny said, wishing she could get the memory of Draco's scent out of her mind. He had smelled like the morning after a spring rain, fresh, clean, and very refreshing.
"Hmm, handsome AND rich? Too bad he's as awful as you make him out to be. He would have made a very fun project," Natalie said, winking at her friend.
"Don't you dare even think it Natalie Rayne! That scum is not worth my time, not a bloody second of it!" With this they moved onto other topics and spent the rest of the day shopping and giggling over idle gossip and rumors. When the two girls returned to the Burrow that night they were greeted by a myriad of Weasley's, all laughing and talking at the kitchen table.
There was Bill, the oldest of the Weasley children, along with his wife Fluer. Bill still had his trademark long hair (which Mrs. Weasley was constantly trying to get him to cut), his dragon fang earring, and several tattoos, most of which he was certain the Weasley matriarch had no knowledge of. Next came Charlie. He was tall, like Bill, but broader in stature and more muscular. He did not bring a girl home. In fact, he never had. Ginny knew this was not because his lack of dating, but rather because of his lack of dating girls. Charlie had come out to Ginny a couple of years ago, and did in fact have a semi-serious relationship at the moment, but he wasn't sure how to break the news to the rest of the family. Arthur would be surprised, but not mad, Percy would huff in dissaproval, but say nothing, Ron might well blow his top in shock, but the wild card in this case was truly Molly. Her desire for grandchildren might drive her dissapointment, but then again, Molly was never one to be irrational about matters when it came to her children. Percy sat across the table from Charlie, next to his father, looking ever so stuck up and holier-than-thou. His fiance, Penelope, was sitting next to him, chatting politely with Mrs. Weasley about the weather and her health. The twins were nowhere to be seen at the moment, but if Ron's purple hair was any indication, they were around somewhere. Ron sat with his two best friends, Harry and Hermione, looking decidedly put out at his new hair color. He was the first to notice Ginny standing in the doorway, and immediately bolted to the door to envelop her in a hug. "Ginny! Oh my god! Look at you! How I've missed you!"
"I've missed you too Ron, but I do need to breatheÉ" at this Ron released her, looking at Natalie questioningly. Ginny took the hint and proceeded to introduce Natalie to her Family. She mouthed the word 'muggle' behind her back at her family, and shook her head at her father's exited look and said, "Natalie, you know my mother. This is my father, Arthur, my oldest brother Bill, his wife Fluer, Charlie, Percy, his fiancŽ Penelope, Fred and George are around here somewhere, don't take anything from them, just trust me, this is Ron, not his natural hair color, I assure you, and these are his friends Harry and Hermione," she paused to let all of this sink in to Natalie, "Everyone, this is my friend Natalie, from work." She smiled, sat Natalie down next to Hermione (she had decided that this was safest, seeing as Hermione had lived as a muggle for most of her life, and would be kind to the poor girl who knew almost no one there), and left to go change into a different shirt (she had spilled food on hers earlier). She changed into a dark green long sleeved t-shirt, set all of her bags down and headed back downstairs. The family spent the night talking and laughing. Ginny almost forgot about the war and everything else that was worrying her about her life. She went to sleep that night content. She could hear Hermione in the bed next to hers sleeping soundly. She smiled. This was good. Life, was good. If only it would last.
The next day everyone had to leave again. Ginny hugged all of her brothers, Laughed with Fred and George over Percy's bubble gum pink hair that he hadn't yet noticed, and saw everyone off. She sighed, turned and sat down on the sofa and closed her eyes. What to do today? She opened her eyes again and they fell upon her guitar. It had been one of the first things that she had bought this summer. Her friend Chris had taught her to play over the summer, and she had taken to it like a fish to water. She hadn't picked it up in over a week though. She'd been so busy with last minute school work (that she had put off over the summer) and work that she just didn't have the time. Now, however, she picked it up, strumming a few chords she cleared her throat and started on a song that she had been working on for a while now. It was the first song she had attempted to write by herself, and she wanted to finish it before the summer was over. She picked out a black leather bound journal from her guitar case, a pen and tied her hair back into a ponytail. She hummed to herself lightly, wrote down a few words, hummed again, played a few notes, scratched something out and hummed again. About ten minutes later she began to play her guitar, singing silently to herself. After a couple of minutes she stopped, changed a few things on her paper. She read over her paper, smiled. Closed her eyes, started to play her guitar again and opened her mouth to sing.
You're the lucky one, so I've been told
As free as a wind blowing down the road.
Loved by many, hated by none
I'd say you were lucky 'cause I know what you've done
Not a care in the world, not a worry in sight
Everything's gonna be all right
'Cause you're the lucky one
You're the lucky one always having fun
A jack of all trades a master of none
You look at the world with a smiling eye
And laugh at the devil as his train rolls by
Give you a song and a one night stand
You'll be looking at a happy man
'Cause you're the lucky one
Well, you're blessed I guess
By never knowing which road you're choosing
To you the next best thing to playing and winning
Is playing and losing
You're the lucky one I know that now
Don't ask you why, when, where, or how
You look at the world through your smiling eye
And you laugh at the devil as his train rolls by
Give you a song and a one night stand
And you'll be looking at a happy man
Cause you're the lucky one
Well, you're blessed I guess
By never knowing which road you're choosing
To you the next best thing to playing and winning
Is playing and losing
You're the lucky one
I know that now
Don't ask you why, when, where, or how
No matter where you're at that's where you'll be
You can bet your luck wont follow me
Just give you a song and a one night stand
You'll be looking at a happy man
Cause you're the lucky one
Ginny finished the song, looking at her song journal adoringly. She had a wonderful voice, at least that's what people told her. She did, truly, have an amazing voice, but she did not see that in herself. She simply loved to sing. She loved music in any form. Actually, to be more precise, she loved art, in any shape or form. Ginny had taken to drawing in her free time over the summer as well. She enjoyed it immensely, as it worked beautifully as a way to get her emotions out onto paper. Ginny smiled at the fact that her song was finally done, and she couldn't wait for critique from her friends, namely Chris, who she knew wouldn't sugarcoat the truth. She put her guitar away and walked upstairs and grabbed her potions textbook, some parchment and some ink and made her way back downstairs to work on her summer assignment for potions. She didn't mind potions really. Snape didn't hate her as he did most Gryffindors, not that he liked her, persay, but he was certainly nicer to her than he was to any of the other houses, excepting only his own, Slytherin.
She had found that the easiest way to Snape's good graces was not in answering all of his questions to the maximum like Hermione did, but rather to wait until he called on you to prove yourself. It was almost as though he believed that Hermione was, indeed, trying to show off by answering every question he asked. He knew that she knew the answer, so he didn't want to hear it from her. He already knew she knew it all, so she didn't need to prove it to him. The way to truly prove yourself in Snape's classes was through your work. He watched his students as they worked, watching who was sloppy in the process and who took the time to be meticulous about their ingredients and potions. Ginny was often the student sitting after class finishing her potion because she was determined to do everything correctly, and not to rush the potion simply because the class was over. She put herself into her work, and it was evident to Snape. He actually enjoyed Ginny Weasley as a student, despite the fact that she was a Gryffindor. He often thought that she would have done well as a Slytherin. But, one would never know now. Ginny sat there and wrote her essay, checking every detail a second or third time, making sure it was correct. When she finished, she sighed in relief. Her summer homework was done. At last. She put her essay and supplies away in her school trunk before making her way back downstairs for dinner.
The rest of the week went by amazingly quickly. Ginny was slightly sad that she was going to be leaving her new friends, but she was more than exited to return to Hogwarts. So, on September the first, Ginny woke up early, finished packing her trunk, showered, braided her hair back into a French braid, leaving a few curls around her face, put on some makeup an left the bathroom to get dressed. She picked out a pair of low, slung dark jeans, a tight, black, v-neck sweater and a pair of black boots. She took her things downstairs, and waited to make the ride to Kings Cross with her mother.
The muggle cab arrived 15 minutes later, and after Ginny's trunk was placed into the trunk, and she had calmed Oleander down enough for the ride, they left. Ginny's sixth year at Hogwarts was about to begin, and things had just started to get interesting.