+ONE +

Another Summer Passed

The day was promising hot sun and warm breezes since the moment dawn cracked open her clouded eye, and the youngest Weasley child slowly fluttured open her own, the pale, early light seeping through a gap in her curtains. She didn't move and might have passed away from the realm of living, but for the small, steady motion of the rise and fall of her breath, and her restless eyes roving across the picture she'd stuck above her bed on the ceiling, of bewitched movements from witches and wizards the snap shot had captured, the photograph magically blown up to about the same width and length of the pillow her head lay upon.

The picture was of a day as bright as the sun cresting the horizon of grass and trees viewed far out from her high-up window promised today to be. It was set on, or rather, above, the rolling green grass of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's Quidditch Pitch, a familiar site it was, for she would be going back to that school for her fifth year in a mere matter of days. The photograph though, was not taken to marvel at the wonderful job the groundskeeper did. In the air, high off the ground, about level with the tall stadium seats where students could watch the matches were fourteen broomsticks and their riders, plus the referee, Madam Hooch.

Half of the players were in deep, dark blue robes, the other group of players were uniformed in bright, brilliantly scarlet, these made up the team of Gryffindor, playing against the blue Ravenclaw's. Of all the players zooming around., tossing the quaffle, dodging bludger's (or whacking them, in the beater's cases), and hovering about, watching for the snitch, she gave one of them particular attention. She was slightly pale with bright hazel eyes scanning the air as she flew, dark red hair, slightly longer than shoulder length, framing her face. It began to fan behind her slightly, one lock whipping across her face, as she accelerated, faster, faster, faster, eyes gleaming...

With a pang, Ginny rolled over, and silently said good-bye to being seeker on Gryffindor's Quidditch team.

"Ginny, are you awake?" came Hermione's soft voice. Like how Ron would be sharing a room with Harry once he arrived, Hermione was sleeping in Ginny's room, and the young girl couldn't help but feel a stroke of sadness and, somehow, guilt and frustation at being so poor.

"Yeah," she murmured in response, feeling no reilief that a night's sleep was supposed to give you. She rolled over again to look at Hermione across the room, who had sat up in her bed, and took a quiet moment to look her over. Since she had first seen her coming off the Hogwart's Express back from school with Harry Potter and Ron, her hair had seemed to loose a lot of it's bushiness. It was softer and smoother and darker, a nice almost chestnut brown, and rather than hang a few inches past her shoulders as it had then, it brushed the tops of them. She was taller, of course, and maybe fitter, and a lot more leniant about not bossing everyone around. Ginny had thought she was nice, but bossy, and nothing special, just a simple friend, not a best friend, not a giggle and gossip friend, more like a cousin. More like a brother's friend she happened see a lot. Which was the truth of it, really.

But Ginny was an easy observer, and in the third year, around when Hermione started changing about breaking rules and other leniancies, when Ron started doing small things that Ginny noticed, and realized her brother somehow liked Hermione (which was probably why he always got so show-offy around her, followed by being defensive at her remarks, not that his temper helped, and then fighting with her, because Ron's a fool and doesn't know how to act around people he doesn't fall in love with, Ginny had reasoned). Observing and understanding seemed to be the way of Ginny, and when she watched and listened and understood Ron's feelings, she re-examined Hermione, and realized, or decided upon, what sort of person Hermione was, and slowly a more solid relationship developed between the two, once Ginny ventured forth. She valued her as a friend, valued her as a person, saw inside her what other's didn't seem to see, or ignored. Hermione was a real person, with a real need for friends, with a real liking for thinking and knowing and talking, with a nice sense of sarcasm and amusement.

"Anything he matter?" Hermione ventured, crawling onto Ginny's bed.

"Nothi...well, just that, Umbridge is gone." Hermione looked alarmed but the expression washed away into amusement, as if Ginny was kidding.

"And aren't you glad?"

"Oh! Yes, but see, with Umbridge there, Harry was banned from Quidditch."

"Yes..." Hermione said slowly, drawing out the 's', knowing where this conversation was going. "So is Ron..."

"Yeah but...Harry's seeker."

Ah hah, I'm right, Hermione thought without any trace of normal self-assured smugness for getting an answer right. A small frown tugged the corners of her lips. "Yes...?" she repeated.

"And, well, I was Seeker when Harry was banned. And I mean, I'm glad...for the team...that Harry's on it again, and I'm happy for him, but that means I won't be on the team anymore, and I really liked it, and a lot of people told me I was really good!" Ginny said in a rush, looking desperately at Hermione, as if she could help.

"Well..." Hermione said, for once unsure of what to answer with. She looked down at Ginny's pale blue bedspread and after a moment back up at Ginny, smiling sympathetically. "It's alright. Isn't their a position for chaser still open? And you were good, you can know that. And when Harry and me and Ron are gone, you'll have the position."

"Only for a year," Ginny muttured, with a trace of bitterness, but looked away with a sigh and a small nod. "I know, I'm just-" But the conversation Hermione happened to be itching to get away from was interrupted.

"Hey Hermione, Ginny! Are you up?" someone shouted, knocking roughly on the door. Ginny slipped out of her bed and yanked the door open.

"We are now!" she snapped, and went to slam the door shut, but he stuck his foot in the way, then his shoulder, and managed to elbow his way into the room. He blushed fairly pink on the tips of his ears when he saw Hermione and murmured a good morning, ignoring Ginny as much as he could while she stood before him telling him how rude he was.

"Uh, right," he said, and looked dumbly about himself, "Oh, right, I remember now! No thanks to you, Ginny. Harry's here, Dad actually went to get him! Says the Muggles didn't through much a fit this time, quite disappointing, I say..." but he was shoved from the room by the combined fores of his friend and his sister, who were jabbering at him about getting dressed, and got a closed door in his face. "Girls," Ron muttured, but left them anyways, to harass his Mother about breakfast.

About five minutes later Hermione and Ginny emerged, giggling about something, walking down the stairs to the Weasley's kitchen, where, at the table, sat a sleepy looking Ron and Harry.

"Harry!" Hermione squealed, beaming at him as she sat down next to him, Ginny on her other side. "How was your summer, Harry?"

"Alright," he said, plastering on a fake smile, even though he was pleased to see his other best friend. Sirius, his godfather, had died at the end of the previous school year, and almost in unusion, Ginny and Hermione recalled this with stabs of horror that they could forget. Of course Harry had been brooding about it all summer, and Hermione wished she hadn't asked.

After breakfast they all used floo powder to travel to Diagon Alley for school supplies and when Ginny wandered into the same shop in which Hermione had gotten her cat, Crooshanks, Harry followed her in. He watched her smiling sadly at a open, blanketed crate of kittens and quietly stepped up beside her.

"Do you want one?" he'd asked, watching them too.

"Of course I do," Ginny said simply, without thinking, watching one of them wistfully, a small kitten with moss green eyes and pure black fur, but for a dusting of red-brown on its chest.

"Which one?"

"Oh Harry, don't," Ginny said miserably, not wanting to think anymore about the kitten, about taking it home, because she knew it was a dream. She turned her back on the kittens and saying flatly that she should be going to Flourish and Blotts, now.

"As a present," Harry said, ignoring her aimless talking of getting school books, "for becoming a prefect."

"No," she said wistfully. "My mom said she would get me something, like she did Ron, and Percy, and-"

"Can't your friends get you something too? I know Hermione is."

"Is she?" Ginny said, her eyes lighting up. How amazing. She'd never figured such a thing would happen. The morning all their letters had arrived, Ginny held her envelope with a lump in one corner, and when she opened it was awed and faintly disgusted by a shiny, red badge with a bold black 'P' on it's center. Her brother had shaken his head, Hermione had bounced up and down with her raving, gushing mother, and Harry had put on a smile too, but Ginny noticed the subtle grief beneath it and knew what he had been thinking. Ron and Hermione had been named prefects, not him, and this had been found out at Sirius's house. "Oh but Harry, I can't accept, really, I-"

"I think you had your eye on this one," he said, completely ignoring her and picking up the green-eyed black kitten, brining it to the counter. "I'm going to get this," he said brightly to the clerk, who smiled at him, seeming a bit confused, and said, around a toothpick in her mouth,

"Yep. Thats a galleon and only six sickles, we're on sale today, we are."

"Harry no, don't, you don't need to, really." But again he seemed to ignore Ginny, fished out a small array of coins, and gave them to the lady.

"Oh, yeah, ma'am, do you reccomend any cat food?" The lady's eyes definitley gleamed a bit more as she nodded her head.

"Yes, I do, do I do. Anirup's Best," she declared. "It's near the back of our store, a sickle a bag."

"Another sale, huh?" Harry said, handing her two silver pieces and putting the kitten in Ginny's arms, he disappeared behind the shelves.

Ron actually looked faintly interested.

"Ginny," he said, sitting up straighter as he saw his sister and friend. "Where'd you get that?" Hermione looked up too, as did Mrs. Weasely, and both saw a very pleased looking Ginny with a tiny kitten hugged to her.

"This," Ginny said proudly, "is my new cat, Serena." The two had found the other three at a small outside table next to Florean Fortuscose's Ice Cream Shoppe.

"How did you get this cat?" her mother asked sternly, though you could see she wanted to pet the small black kitten cradled in her only daughter's arms.

"I've been saving," Ginny lied smoothly, having made Harry promise to stick with what she said, because she knew, and Harry had to agree, that Mrs. Weasley would become embarassed and tell Harry it wasn't necassary and have Ginny give it back. "To get her and two whole bags of food only cost about two galleons..."

"Where'd you get two galleons?" Ron asked his sister in a slightly odd sort of voice. Unless you counted the fake Leperchaun gold from his fourth year, from the Quiddith match, or the fake, bewitched galleon made by Hermione for last year's secret meetings, he had never held a gold galleon in his palm.

"Ron," Ginny sounded exasperated. "I've been saving knuts and I had a couple sickles. They added up to the same amount of two galleons."

"I know," he said defensively, and stubbornly scooped about with his spoon in his empty icecream dish. Mrs. Weasley, looking slightly grim for a moment, shook her head.

"Arthur will like it, I'm sure," she muttured. "Any magical abilities?"

"Oh..." Ginny murmured, quirking an eyebrow slightly. "I dunno. I don't mind if she doesn't though."

"Mmm," her mother sighed, mumbling to herself, something about how Ginny's 'savings' would be better put to use for needed school supplies. "Let's go then," she said, almost cheerily, ushering Ron out of his seat, "we need to get you school books, dears."