After all
by Altra
Harry Potter. For no sane reason, the name makes my face blush, makes my knees go weak, makes my mind run in circles. Oh yes, I like him. I always have. He's sweet, kind, shy, polite, friendly. He's saved the Wizarding World on numerous occasions. He's constantly stealing my heart. He's handsome, smart, charming, funny, and absolutely perfect. My mother says that Harry must have hung the stars in my universe. She says that he must be the perfect boy for me. She says he is a wonderful example of the perfect boy. My brothers all agree that he is wonderful. Bill says that he has a very interesting Quidditch technique. Charlie says that Harry has the courage to be a dragon tamer. Percy says that he needs to study more often and leave Dark Wizards to the Ministry. Fred and George both agree that trouble always follows him. Ron, well Ron is Harry's best friend. Hermione also thinks Harry is something special, and how could she not? She is his other best friend. They know each other inside out. Everyone agrees that Harry is a wonderful person, Diary. It's amazing how kind and humble a person can be, especially with such a well known history! I hope he notices me. Oh, there's mom, she says it's time to leave for King's Cross! I'll write more when I get to Hogwarts!
-Ginny
"Ginny, if you don't hurry we'll be late," a voice bombed.
A short, red-head was just placing a tiny blue book into her pocket. Her brown eyes quickly surveyed her small room, looking for any forgotten items. The small bedroom had a rather large window, under which was a worn desk and chair. A calendar hung on the wall, a poster of the Weird Sisters pinned up besides it. The figures danced around, singing, but no sound came out, as Ginny had been forced to mute it. Her closet was open a bit, revealing a dresser and many empty hangers. On the only remaining side of the room was a tiny bed, covered with a white comforter.
Satisfied, the young girl left her room. She walked into the cramped hallway, the peeling paint and dirt marks on the walls making no impact on her mind. After all, the Weasley's home had always been that way. Ginny skipped down the stairs, humming a part of her favorite song. Ron groaned as she flounced into the room, still humming.
"Please shut up Ginny! I've been listening to that damn song all summer!" he exclaimed, just as Mrs. Weasley had entered.
"Ronald Weasley!" she hollered, grabbing him by the ear and leading him from the Burrow. "How dare you use language like that! And in front of company no less! You should know..." Molly Weasley fumed, her voice steadily fading away. *Company?* Ginny thought. *But Harry is already outside...* Ginny spun around, turning an amazing shade of red when she saw Harry behind her.
There was no doubting it, Harry Potter was not an average person. At the age of one, Harry had defeated the most powerful wizard of the time. He later went on to defeat him two more times, once in his First Year, and again in his Second. He became the youngest Quidditch player in a century, an excellent Seeker at that. He mastered the 'Expecto Patronum' charm in his Third Year. In his Fourth Year, he was the fourth person in the Triwizard Tournament, a plot set up by Voldemort. But Harry won. Oh yes, Harry Potter was quite an extraordinary boy.
But he didn't look all the impressive. Sure, he had a lightning bolt scar from Voldemort, but other than that, he was quite average. His bright green eyes were hidden behind chunky glasses. His unruly hair shot off in all directions, and Ginny for one had never seen it tamed. Harry was short. No other word for it. He barely reached five and a half feet, which, for a fifteen year old, was quite small. He wasn't that muscular either. But for some reason, the entire Harry as a whole was what made him so appealing. After all, Harry Potter was perfect.
"H-h-hi Har-Harry," she stuttered, backing away from the stairs so he could exit. Unaware of how far back she was walking, Ginny's shaking hand slammed into a small table, knocking a few pictures frames over. *Stupid! Now Harry is going to think you're a clumsy oaf!* she mentally screamed at herself. Quickly she knelt, trying to gather all the fallen knickknacks as fast as she could.
"Let me help you with that," Harry said, helping Ginny place the items back on the mini table. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
"It's okay," she said quickly, trying to keep from running. *Why on earth do I always want to run when Harry's around?* a corner of her mind questioned quietly. The greater side of her inner monologue quickly capped anymore such thoughts, just as Ginny placed the last battery on the counter.
"Well at least let me help you up," Harry said, offering her his hand. Turning an even darker shade of red, she took his hand and he pulled her to her feet. Hurriedly, Ginny walked out of the room, still red, but looking for any strategically placed tables.
The Weasley's had acquired a new car after their Ford Angelina was crashed into the Whomping Willow. Yes, they now had a Dodge Caravan. Sure, the old van wasn't much for style, but it could hold multitudes of people and objects at the same time. After all, it was the perfect vehicle for the Weasley family. In her rush to get away from Harry, Ginny sat down besides Fred. Not a second later George sat down on her other side.
"Well if it isn't our favorite sister in the whole wide world!" Fred exclaimed, slinging an arm around her shoulders.
"I'm you're only sister, dimwit," she mumbled, still embarrassed about her encounter with the Boy who Lived.
"Of course, Ginny-Winny! Which is why your favorite brothers would like _you_ to be the first to try our new juice," George said, offering the goblet in his hand to her. Raising an eyebrow, Ginny smiled sweetly at her brother.
"Oh no, I couldn't! But why not save it for Alicia? I hear you two had _quite_ some time at that concert Mom said you couldn't go-"
"All right! All right!" George said quickly, putting the goblet in the convient cup holder.
"What are you three talking about?" Mr. Weasley asked as he started the van. Harry and Ron jumped up into the two seats in the front, slamming the sliding door shut as Molly Weasley took her seat in the front passenger chair.
"Nothing Dad," the twins chimed, sending Ginny looks which clearly said 'say anything and feel my wrath.' Mrs. Weasley cast a suspicious look over her shoulder, eyeing the three Weasleys. Arthur Weasley sighed, turning the car on. Ginny let her smile fall, her eyes unwillingly focusing on Harry. He appeared to be deep in thought. This perplexed Ginny. Sure, every other year Harry was sad to leave the Burrow, but he never seemed to think so much about it.
All three of her brothers were in a heated debated over Quidditch. Each to busy trying to prove their point. Harry caught Ginny's eyes in the reflection on the window. He smiled sadly at her, causing a desire to run to rise again. *Maybe it means something... maybe I should run from him...* she thought suddenly. *Then again, maybe I'll just ignore it,* she thought, brushing all hints of 'running' from her mind. Breaking off the eye contact, Ginny leaned back against the stiff cushion. Within minutes she was sound asleep.
***
"Gin-ny! You-hoo! Fred to Ginny! Fred to Ginny, are you there?" Groggily, Ginny opened her eyes, blearily looking around. The sun was brightly shining down on the parking lot for King's Cross Station.
"Look! The dead wakes!" George said, flailing his arms around. Ginny smacked him in the chest. She was rewarded with a 'oof' and room to get up. She somehow managed to stumble from the car while yawning.
Ginny glanced around the full parking lot, blocking out her noisy family, all of whom were congregating behind the car, fighting over who got the best trolley. She held her hand up over her eyes, shading the sun. Muggles talked freely to one and other, some talking into funny devices they held up on the side of their face. And this confused Ginny. After all, how many wizards had seen a cell-phone before?
No one in wizarding robes were among them, causing Ginny to blush, self consciously running her hand along her Hogwarts robes. A group of rather odd looking people passed her, one casually glancing over his shoulder at her. Ginny barely kept her mouth from dropping open.
The group of muggles wore different shades of gray, black, and white, with the occasional blue. Each person in the group had a different hair color, ranging from black to hot pink. The boy who had turned to look at her was stark pale, black eyeliner encircling his eyes, dark purple lipstick on his mouth. But the fact that they were so different didn't surprise Ginny. Oh no, it was the fact that the different appearances did not bug her in the least.
"Look at those weirdoes," she heard Ron mutter at Harry. She turned around to glare at Ron, but only half achieved her mission. She did get her glare in, but turned a horrible red when she noticed Harry staring at her.
"Ginny, come get your trolley dear," her mother called. Obediently the small red-head hurried over to the back of the blue van.
Her father must have gotten the best parking spot in the entire lot. Well, at least is seemed that way. In the next lot over, someone (or rather someone's) had left a fleet of trolleys. Now, the trek across the parking lot was something she could do without.
But the walk had to be done, so all six Weasleys, and Harry, trooped across the asphalt. Ginny and her parents were fending off questioning looks at their clothing, Fred and George racing their trolleys, and Harry and Ron talking about Quidditch. For the most part, Ginny found the walk to be just a tiny bit tedious. *Scratch 'tiny bit tedious' and put in 'tremendously boring in the worst possible-wish-to-hurt-someone way!* she snapped at her inner monologue. *Oh hush! 'Just a tiny bit tedious' sounds much more ironic!* her monologue snapped back. Ginny shook her head, the monologue replied. Blinking, Ginny somehow managed to separate her imagination from her inner monologue. Much to her surprise, and relief, the whole lot of them had made it into the Station. What surprised her even more was that she was already on Platform 9 3/4. But what surprised her the most was walking by.
"Ginny!" Looking up at hearing her name, Ginny could barely make out a bush of brown hair before Hermione hugged her. She hugged back, eyes wandering over the other occupants of the platform. That was when he walked by.
Now, by all means, Draco Malfoy was a jackass. For the three years that Ginny had known him, he was always the scrawny boy who would stop at nothing to annoy her. Draco was a racist jerk, against muggles and all things muggle. Wealth has obviously gone to his head, for he constantly harassed the Weasleys about their lack of it.
Now, physically Draco was the opposite of Harry. Or at least he had been. Draco used to have perfectly cut white blonde hair (that Harry was sure was bleached, whatever that was), that was parted in a ruler straight line. He had clear blue eyes that were always narrowed. His sugar pale complexion never darkened a shade, while his mouth was always scowling.
But Draco must have suffered a really bad blow to the head. His once perfect hair was jagged at the end, falling around his ears. For the most part his hair was still blonde, but the last two inches of it had been dyed black. His pale complexion was ever paler. Draco Malfoy had defiantly changed, but changed enough to wear black eyeliner? For an odd reason, Ginny doubted anyone could have changed that much in a matter of months. However, Draco's excursions into make-up did not end there. He wore black lipstick on his mouth, which for once was not scowling. Draco was tall. Unlike the vertically challenged Harry, Draco seemed to have grown a foot over the summer. But like Harry, he was still rather scrawny, giving off an underfed appearance.
No no, that wasn't the biggest surprise. No, that honor was reserved for the muggle contraption around his head. The thing resembled a headband, but came down over the ears, where two round things were. Black strings hung from each side to the circular object in his hand.
Hermione must have sensed Ginny's surprise, for she pulled out of the loose embrace, following Ginny's line of sight. Her jaw fell open too. Oblivious to the dumbstruck girls, Draco walked by song lyrics drifting behind him.
"You get me closer to God..."
The lyrics faded away, as did Ginny's surprise. But Hermione was still processing what she had just witnessed.
"Wha-wha-wha?" she exclaimed, curiously looking at Ginny. "How on earth did a muggle get on the Platform?"
"That's not a muggle, Hermione. That's Draco Malfoy," she replied, staring after the odd boy.
"No. Nu-uh. It's probably just an amazing look alike. There is no way Malfoy would have a compact disc player."
"Is that what it is?" Hermione looked at Ginny confusion written across her face.
"You know what a compact disc player is?"
"Oh yes. Didn't you hear? They started converting muggle things like that into magical ones. It runs on magic, no eklectry."
"Electricity. And they run on batteries anyway," Hermione corrected automatically.
"Yeah, that's it. Those things are really popular with 'high society.' Apparently, Malfoy isn't too good to pass up a trend, whether it's muggle in origin or not," she snapped. Hermione laughed, patting Ginny on the back.
"Oh well, Gin. Now, where are Harry and Ron?" she asked, scanning the crowd.
"I have no idea," Ginny answered.
"Oh no."
"Oh no, what?"
"Come on," Hermione said, pulling Ginny through the crowd.
"Bloody git! You did that on purpose!" Ginny shut her eyes tight, praying against all logic that the voice did not belong to her brother. She opened her eyes after Hermione stopped pulling on her arm.
Ginny sighed. Oh yes, Ron was red in the face with anger, Harry struggling to hold him back, Hermione rushing to help. Ginny glanced to Draco, and was, to put it bluntly, terrified. Malfoy had always looked rather creepy, but scrawny pale guys with make-up weren't exactly a comforting sight. Especially with malicious smirks on their mouths.
"Honestly Weasley, if you can't keep track of your feet, then maybe you should go back to nursery school. Learn to walk again, eh? Or maybe you were hoping to knock some change out of my pocket?" Draco said, his grin deepening when Ron roared, struggling to pull free.
"Sod it, Malfoy!" Ron yelled, following with an array of curses that Mrs. Weasley would have gasped at.
"Really Weasley, you're not my type, but I'm sure Potter will be more than willing to experiment with you."
Now this isn't exactly a lovely situation. Verbally fighting with Malfoy is never fun. And of course, where Malfoy is, the Slytherins follow. But no Slytherins were around, and Draco seemed to realize this a split second to late, for Ron just barely managed to pull free of Harry and Hermione, and roughly tackled the wide-eyed Malfoy to the ground. The two boys slammed against the sun warmed pavement, Draco's disc player pulling free of the head phones and skidding to a halt at Ginny's feet. The other people on the platform were calmly walking along, parents ushering their kids ahead, other teens gathering in a mini-circle. Ginny screamed for her brother to hit Malfoy hard, while she bent down to pick up his disco player. She popped the case open and examined the disc inside while Ron was pulled off Malfoy by Crabbe, who had magically appeared. *Nine Inch Nails? Sounds gruesome...* she thought.
"Can't you ever control your temper, Weasley?" Malfoy sneered. Ginny looked up at the Slytherin, finding his "perfect" hair mussed and his lip cut. She had a sudden urge to heal the tiny cut, an urge she always got when she saw people injured. If baffled her, for she would sometimes long to heal people she had never met, even if they only suffered from a minor-scratch. Shaking her head, she capped the urge to heal. After all, a Weasley doesn't just go and heal a Malfoy.
On Malfoy's one side was Crabbe. Well, Vincent Crabbe if you wanted to be technical. On Draco's other side was Pansy Parkinson, a simpering brunette. But she wasn't simpering. No, quite the contrary. She was grinning quite maliciously at Harry, Hermione and Ron. Now, her appearnce had changed also. For starters, her hair was purple. *Geez, what is this? Rainbow hair day for the Slytherins? What next? Snape with bright orange hair? Ack! Horrid mental pictures! Back! Back I say!* Pansy had, well silver lipstick and dark eye make-up, giving here a walking dead impression. At least Crabbe was the same.
"Can't you Slytherins control your faces?" Ron snapped back. "Turning into a woman already?"
"As you can tell," Draco began, sharing a glance with Pansy, "Hogwarts has had a very negative effect on us."
"Hogwarts?! You changed over the summer! You git! Who on earth would believe Hogwarts changed you?" Ron hollered.
"Why, my darling parents of course. Wouldn't yours? Oh that's right, _your_ mum probably would have forgotten about you. Out of ten kids, why remember the bad one?" Draco said mockingly. Pansy snickered, Crabbe grinned. Ron sputtered indignantly, unable to find the correct words.
"Why-you-I-... there's only seven of us, dumbass."
"Seven? Are you quite sure that you haven't any illegitament siblings?" Pansy questioned, while Draco smirked.
"Stuff it, Malfoy. We'll finish this at school," Harry said, red in anger. After all, he saw the Weasley's as his family.
"No no, Potter. I won't be going to Hogwarts this year," Draco said, grinning snidely at the dumbfounded looks he received.
"Drake!" Draco turned around to find the high pitched voice. He waved to a girl, who walked over, scowling the whole way.
"Ah, Icicle! Just who I wanted to see. Potter, Weasley, Mudblood, this is Icicle, my younger sister." Icicle smirked broadly at the three. Icicle had pale blonde hair that reached her waist. She had sharp features, dulled slightly by her youth. Her blue eyes were much darker than her brothers. She was dressed in designer wizarding robes, like the other three Slytherins.
"Is _this_ the famous Harry Potter? I was expecting a bit more," she said, as if Harry was some sort of animal.
"Yes, I know Ice. Anyway, I thought you four should be introduced. I'm sure you'll get along just fine," Draco said.
"Of course, Drake. Of course," Icicle said, more as in agreement to an under lying meaning. She glanced around quickly and spotted Ginny. "Oh look! It's another Weasley! Dear me, Draco. Is that your CD player she's got?" Draco whirled on Ginny, who had gone red at having attention placed on herself.
"Give that back, you little thief!" he snapped, pulling the player from her hands.
"Jerk! I just picked it up! I was going to give it back to you after you'd apologized to my brother!" she yelled back. Harry stared at her in shock, not able to comprehend the idea of Ginny yelling at anyone.
"Sure you were. Don't lie, Weasley. Your as bad at it as your brother is." With one last smirk, Malfoy, his sister, Pansy, and Crabbe walked off into the crowd.
"Yes! No Malfoy forever!" Ron whooped.
"This is wonderful! Now Snape will have to give me a perfect score in Potions!" Hermione exclaimed. Ron scowled at her, but quickly began cheering again. After all, no Malfoy meant no harassment. the four of them made their way to the train, and Ginny couldn't help but notice the furtive glances Harry kept giving her. A small blush escaped her as she fought through the crowd. *Harry couldn't possibly be interested in me... could he?* Ginny blushed even more at her hopeful thoughts. At the same time, in a tine part of Ginny's conscious mind, a smidget of dread bubbled up as the young Weasley stepped onto the train.
*********
A/N: Well, I hope someone is enjoying this. A note of warning, just because Ginny likes Harry, it doesn't mean that H/G is on the way. As a matter of fact, I haven't the faintest clue about who I want together, but romance will not be a large factor in this story...
by Altra
Harry Potter. For no sane reason, the name makes my face blush, makes my knees go weak, makes my mind run in circles. Oh yes, I like him. I always have. He's sweet, kind, shy, polite, friendly. He's saved the Wizarding World on numerous occasions. He's constantly stealing my heart. He's handsome, smart, charming, funny, and absolutely perfect. My mother says that Harry must have hung the stars in my universe. She says that he must be the perfect boy for me. She says he is a wonderful example of the perfect boy. My brothers all agree that he is wonderful. Bill says that he has a very interesting Quidditch technique. Charlie says that Harry has the courage to be a dragon tamer. Percy says that he needs to study more often and leave Dark Wizards to the Ministry. Fred and George both agree that trouble always follows him. Ron, well Ron is Harry's best friend. Hermione also thinks Harry is something special, and how could she not? She is his other best friend. They know each other inside out. Everyone agrees that Harry is a wonderful person, Diary. It's amazing how kind and humble a person can be, especially with such a well known history! I hope he notices me. Oh, there's mom, she says it's time to leave for King's Cross! I'll write more when I get to Hogwarts!
-Ginny
"Ginny, if you don't hurry we'll be late," a voice bombed.
A short, red-head was just placing a tiny blue book into her pocket. Her brown eyes quickly surveyed her small room, looking for any forgotten items. The small bedroom had a rather large window, under which was a worn desk and chair. A calendar hung on the wall, a poster of the Weird Sisters pinned up besides it. The figures danced around, singing, but no sound came out, as Ginny had been forced to mute it. Her closet was open a bit, revealing a dresser and many empty hangers. On the only remaining side of the room was a tiny bed, covered with a white comforter.
Satisfied, the young girl left her room. She walked into the cramped hallway, the peeling paint and dirt marks on the walls making no impact on her mind. After all, the Weasley's home had always been that way. Ginny skipped down the stairs, humming a part of her favorite song. Ron groaned as she flounced into the room, still humming.
"Please shut up Ginny! I've been listening to that damn song all summer!" he exclaimed, just as Mrs. Weasley had entered.
"Ronald Weasley!" she hollered, grabbing him by the ear and leading him from the Burrow. "How dare you use language like that! And in front of company no less! You should know..." Molly Weasley fumed, her voice steadily fading away. *Company?* Ginny thought. *But Harry is already outside...* Ginny spun around, turning an amazing shade of red when she saw Harry behind her.
There was no doubting it, Harry Potter was not an average person. At the age of one, Harry had defeated the most powerful wizard of the time. He later went on to defeat him two more times, once in his First Year, and again in his Second. He became the youngest Quidditch player in a century, an excellent Seeker at that. He mastered the 'Expecto Patronum' charm in his Third Year. In his Fourth Year, he was the fourth person in the Triwizard Tournament, a plot set up by Voldemort. But Harry won. Oh yes, Harry Potter was quite an extraordinary boy.
But he didn't look all the impressive. Sure, he had a lightning bolt scar from Voldemort, but other than that, he was quite average. His bright green eyes were hidden behind chunky glasses. His unruly hair shot off in all directions, and Ginny for one had never seen it tamed. Harry was short. No other word for it. He barely reached five and a half feet, which, for a fifteen year old, was quite small. He wasn't that muscular either. But for some reason, the entire Harry as a whole was what made him so appealing. After all, Harry Potter was perfect.
"H-h-hi Har-Harry," she stuttered, backing away from the stairs so he could exit. Unaware of how far back she was walking, Ginny's shaking hand slammed into a small table, knocking a few pictures frames over. *Stupid! Now Harry is going to think you're a clumsy oaf!* she mentally screamed at herself. Quickly she knelt, trying to gather all the fallen knickknacks as fast as she could.
"Let me help you with that," Harry said, helping Ginny place the items back on the mini table. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
"It's okay," she said quickly, trying to keep from running. *Why on earth do I always want to run when Harry's around?* a corner of her mind questioned quietly. The greater side of her inner monologue quickly capped anymore such thoughts, just as Ginny placed the last battery on the counter.
"Well at least let me help you up," Harry said, offering her his hand. Turning an even darker shade of red, she took his hand and he pulled her to her feet. Hurriedly, Ginny walked out of the room, still red, but looking for any strategically placed tables.
The Weasley's had acquired a new car after their Ford Angelina was crashed into the Whomping Willow. Yes, they now had a Dodge Caravan. Sure, the old van wasn't much for style, but it could hold multitudes of people and objects at the same time. After all, it was the perfect vehicle for the Weasley family. In her rush to get away from Harry, Ginny sat down besides Fred. Not a second later George sat down on her other side.
"Well if it isn't our favorite sister in the whole wide world!" Fred exclaimed, slinging an arm around her shoulders.
"I'm you're only sister, dimwit," she mumbled, still embarrassed about her encounter with the Boy who Lived.
"Of course, Ginny-Winny! Which is why your favorite brothers would like _you_ to be the first to try our new juice," George said, offering the goblet in his hand to her. Raising an eyebrow, Ginny smiled sweetly at her brother.
"Oh no, I couldn't! But why not save it for Alicia? I hear you two had _quite_ some time at that concert Mom said you couldn't go-"
"All right! All right!" George said quickly, putting the goblet in the convient cup holder.
"What are you three talking about?" Mr. Weasley asked as he started the van. Harry and Ron jumped up into the two seats in the front, slamming the sliding door shut as Molly Weasley took her seat in the front passenger chair.
"Nothing Dad," the twins chimed, sending Ginny looks which clearly said 'say anything and feel my wrath.' Mrs. Weasley cast a suspicious look over her shoulder, eyeing the three Weasleys. Arthur Weasley sighed, turning the car on. Ginny let her smile fall, her eyes unwillingly focusing on Harry. He appeared to be deep in thought. This perplexed Ginny. Sure, every other year Harry was sad to leave the Burrow, but he never seemed to think so much about it.
All three of her brothers were in a heated debated over Quidditch. Each to busy trying to prove their point. Harry caught Ginny's eyes in the reflection on the window. He smiled sadly at her, causing a desire to run to rise again. *Maybe it means something... maybe I should run from him...* she thought suddenly. *Then again, maybe I'll just ignore it,* she thought, brushing all hints of 'running' from her mind. Breaking off the eye contact, Ginny leaned back against the stiff cushion. Within minutes she was sound asleep.
***
"Gin-ny! You-hoo! Fred to Ginny! Fred to Ginny, are you there?" Groggily, Ginny opened her eyes, blearily looking around. The sun was brightly shining down on the parking lot for King's Cross Station.
"Look! The dead wakes!" George said, flailing his arms around. Ginny smacked him in the chest. She was rewarded with a 'oof' and room to get up. She somehow managed to stumble from the car while yawning.
Ginny glanced around the full parking lot, blocking out her noisy family, all of whom were congregating behind the car, fighting over who got the best trolley. She held her hand up over her eyes, shading the sun. Muggles talked freely to one and other, some talking into funny devices they held up on the side of their face. And this confused Ginny. After all, how many wizards had seen a cell-phone before?
No one in wizarding robes were among them, causing Ginny to blush, self consciously running her hand along her Hogwarts robes. A group of rather odd looking people passed her, one casually glancing over his shoulder at her. Ginny barely kept her mouth from dropping open.
The group of muggles wore different shades of gray, black, and white, with the occasional blue. Each person in the group had a different hair color, ranging from black to hot pink. The boy who had turned to look at her was stark pale, black eyeliner encircling his eyes, dark purple lipstick on his mouth. But the fact that they were so different didn't surprise Ginny. Oh no, it was the fact that the different appearances did not bug her in the least.
"Look at those weirdoes," she heard Ron mutter at Harry. She turned around to glare at Ron, but only half achieved her mission. She did get her glare in, but turned a horrible red when she noticed Harry staring at her.
"Ginny, come get your trolley dear," her mother called. Obediently the small red-head hurried over to the back of the blue van.
Her father must have gotten the best parking spot in the entire lot. Well, at least is seemed that way. In the next lot over, someone (or rather someone's) had left a fleet of trolleys. Now, the trek across the parking lot was something she could do without.
But the walk had to be done, so all six Weasleys, and Harry, trooped across the asphalt. Ginny and her parents were fending off questioning looks at their clothing, Fred and George racing their trolleys, and Harry and Ron talking about Quidditch. For the most part, Ginny found the walk to be just a tiny bit tedious. *Scratch 'tiny bit tedious' and put in 'tremendously boring in the worst possible-wish-to-hurt-someone way!* she snapped at her inner monologue. *Oh hush! 'Just a tiny bit tedious' sounds much more ironic!* her monologue snapped back. Ginny shook her head, the monologue replied. Blinking, Ginny somehow managed to separate her imagination from her inner monologue. Much to her surprise, and relief, the whole lot of them had made it into the Station. What surprised her even more was that she was already on Platform 9 3/4. But what surprised her the most was walking by.
"Ginny!" Looking up at hearing her name, Ginny could barely make out a bush of brown hair before Hermione hugged her. She hugged back, eyes wandering over the other occupants of the platform. That was when he walked by.
Now, by all means, Draco Malfoy was a jackass. For the three years that Ginny had known him, he was always the scrawny boy who would stop at nothing to annoy her. Draco was a racist jerk, against muggles and all things muggle. Wealth has obviously gone to his head, for he constantly harassed the Weasleys about their lack of it.
Now, physically Draco was the opposite of Harry. Or at least he had been. Draco used to have perfectly cut white blonde hair (that Harry was sure was bleached, whatever that was), that was parted in a ruler straight line. He had clear blue eyes that were always narrowed. His sugar pale complexion never darkened a shade, while his mouth was always scowling.
But Draco must have suffered a really bad blow to the head. His once perfect hair was jagged at the end, falling around his ears. For the most part his hair was still blonde, but the last two inches of it had been dyed black. His pale complexion was ever paler. Draco Malfoy had defiantly changed, but changed enough to wear black eyeliner? For an odd reason, Ginny doubted anyone could have changed that much in a matter of months. However, Draco's excursions into make-up did not end there. He wore black lipstick on his mouth, which for once was not scowling. Draco was tall. Unlike the vertically challenged Harry, Draco seemed to have grown a foot over the summer. But like Harry, he was still rather scrawny, giving off an underfed appearance.
No no, that wasn't the biggest surprise. No, that honor was reserved for the muggle contraption around his head. The thing resembled a headband, but came down over the ears, where two round things were. Black strings hung from each side to the circular object in his hand.
Hermione must have sensed Ginny's surprise, for she pulled out of the loose embrace, following Ginny's line of sight. Her jaw fell open too. Oblivious to the dumbstruck girls, Draco walked by song lyrics drifting behind him.
"You get me closer to God..."
The lyrics faded away, as did Ginny's surprise. But Hermione was still processing what she had just witnessed.
"Wha-wha-wha?" she exclaimed, curiously looking at Ginny. "How on earth did a muggle get on the Platform?"
"That's not a muggle, Hermione. That's Draco Malfoy," she replied, staring after the odd boy.
"No. Nu-uh. It's probably just an amazing look alike. There is no way Malfoy would have a compact disc player."
"Is that what it is?" Hermione looked at Ginny confusion written across her face.
"You know what a compact disc player is?"
"Oh yes. Didn't you hear? They started converting muggle things like that into magical ones. It runs on magic, no eklectry."
"Electricity. And they run on batteries anyway," Hermione corrected automatically.
"Yeah, that's it. Those things are really popular with 'high society.' Apparently, Malfoy isn't too good to pass up a trend, whether it's muggle in origin or not," she snapped. Hermione laughed, patting Ginny on the back.
"Oh well, Gin. Now, where are Harry and Ron?" she asked, scanning the crowd.
"I have no idea," Ginny answered.
"Oh no."
"Oh no, what?"
"Come on," Hermione said, pulling Ginny through the crowd.
"Bloody git! You did that on purpose!" Ginny shut her eyes tight, praying against all logic that the voice did not belong to her brother. She opened her eyes after Hermione stopped pulling on her arm.
Ginny sighed. Oh yes, Ron was red in the face with anger, Harry struggling to hold him back, Hermione rushing to help. Ginny glanced to Draco, and was, to put it bluntly, terrified. Malfoy had always looked rather creepy, but scrawny pale guys with make-up weren't exactly a comforting sight. Especially with malicious smirks on their mouths.
"Honestly Weasley, if you can't keep track of your feet, then maybe you should go back to nursery school. Learn to walk again, eh? Or maybe you were hoping to knock some change out of my pocket?" Draco said, his grin deepening when Ron roared, struggling to pull free.
"Sod it, Malfoy!" Ron yelled, following with an array of curses that Mrs. Weasley would have gasped at.
"Really Weasley, you're not my type, but I'm sure Potter will be more than willing to experiment with you."
Now this isn't exactly a lovely situation. Verbally fighting with Malfoy is never fun. And of course, where Malfoy is, the Slytherins follow. But no Slytherins were around, and Draco seemed to realize this a split second to late, for Ron just barely managed to pull free of Harry and Hermione, and roughly tackled the wide-eyed Malfoy to the ground. The two boys slammed against the sun warmed pavement, Draco's disc player pulling free of the head phones and skidding to a halt at Ginny's feet. The other people on the platform were calmly walking along, parents ushering their kids ahead, other teens gathering in a mini-circle. Ginny screamed for her brother to hit Malfoy hard, while she bent down to pick up his disco player. She popped the case open and examined the disc inside while Ron was pulled off Malfoy by Crabbe, who had magically appeared. *Nine Inch Nails? Sounds gruesome...* she thought.
"Can't you ever control your temper, Weasley?" Malfoy sneered. Ginny looked up at the Slytherin, finding his "perfect" hair mussed and his lip cut. She had a sudden urge to heal the tiny cut, an urge she always got when she saw people injured. If baffled her, for she would sometimes long to heal people she had never met, even if they only suffered from a minor-scratch. Shaking her head, she capped the urge to heal. After all, a Weasley doesn't just go and heal a Malfoy.
On Malfoy's one side was Crabbe. Well, Vincent Crabbe if you wanted to be technical. On Draco's other side was Pansy Parkinson, a simpering brunette. But she wasn't simpering. No, quite the contrary. She was grinning quite maliciously at Harry, Hermione and Ron. Now, her appearnce had changed also. For starters, her hair was purple. *Geez, what is this? Rainbow hair day for the Slytherins? What next? Snape with bright orange hair? Ack! Horrid mental pictures! Back! Back I say!* Pansy had, well silver lipstick and dark eye make-up, giving here a walking dead impression. At least Crabbe was the same.
"Can't you Slytherins control your faces?" Ron snapped back. "Turning into a woman already?"
"As you can tell," Draco began, sharing a glance with Pansy, "Hogwarts has had a very negative effect on us."
"Hogwarts?! You changed over the summer! You git! Who on earth would believe Hogwarts changed you?" Ron hollered.
"Why, my darling parents of course. Wouldn't yours? Oh that's right, _your_ mum probably would have forgotten about you. Out of ten kids, why remember the bad one?" Draco said mockingly. Pansy snickered, Crabbe grinned. Ron sputtered indignantly, unable to find the correct words.
"Why-you-I-... there's only seven of us, dumbass."
"Seven? Are you quite sure that you haven't any illegitament siblings?" Pansy questioned, while Draco smirked.
"Stuff it, Malfoy. We'll finish this at school," Harry said, red in anger. After all, he saw the Weasley's as his family.
"No no, Potter. I won't be going to Hogwarts this year," Draco said, grinning snidely at the dumbfounded looks he received.
"Drake!" Draco turned around to find the high pitched voice. He waved to a girl, who walked over, scowling the whole way.
"Ah, Icicle! Just who I wanted to see. Potter, Weasley, Mudblood, this is Icicle, my younger sister." Icicle smirked broadly at the three. Icicle had pale blonde hair that reached her waist. She had sharp features, dulled slightly by her youth. Her blue eyes were much darker than her brothers. She was dressed in designer wizarding robes, like the other three Slytherins.
"Is _this_ the famous Harry Potter? I was expecting a bit more," she said, as if Harry was some sort of animal.
"Yes, I know Ice. Anyway, I thought you four should be introduced. I'm sure you'll get along just fine," Draco said.
"Of course, Drake. Of course," Icicle said, more as in agreement to an under lying meaning. She glanced around quickly and spotted Ginny. "Oh look! It's another Weasley! Dear me, Draco. Is that your CD player she's got?" Draco whirled on Ginny, who had gone red at having attention placed on herself.
"Give that back, you little thief!" he snapped, pulling the player from her hands.
"Jerk! I just picked it up! I was going to give it back to you after you'd apologized to my brother!" she yelled back. Harry stared at her in shock, not able to comprehend the idea of Ginny yelling at anyone.
"Sure you were. Don't lie, Weasley. Your as bad at it as your brother is." With one last smirk, Malfoy, his sister, Pansy, and Crabbe walked off into the crowd.
"Yes! No Malfoy forever!" Ron whooped.
"This is wonderful! Now Snape will have to give me a perfect score in Potions!" Hermione exclaimed. Ron scowled at her, but quickly began cheering again. After all, no Malfoy meant no harassment. the four of them made their way to the train, and Ginny couldn't help but notice the furtive glances Harry kept giving her. A small blush escaped her as she fought through the crowd. *Harry couldn't possibly be interested in me... could he?* Ginny blushed even more at her hopeful thoughts. At the same time, in a tine part of Ginny's conscious mind, a smidget of dread bubbled up as the young Weasley stepped onto the train.
*********
A/N: Well, I hope someone is enjoying this. A note of warning, just because Ginny likes Harry, it doesn't mean that H/G is on the way. As a matter of fact, I haven't the faintest clue about who I want together, but romance will not be a large factor in this story...