Summary: She had met him for the first time on a muggle boat trip that her father had sent her on. They had had a great time dancing and eating, but she had been only six then. Now she was much older and he was her professor. Could things change? ONE SHOT! Ginny/Severus
Disclaimer: I own nothing but I wish to own the tears that may cascade down your face at the end so that I could use them after I run out of tears…
(you can tell it's going to be an attempted sad ficlet from that, can't you?)
Tiptoes
She smiled as she strode onto the cruise ship and turned back.
"Bye bye daddy!" cried six year old Ginny as she waved with her chubby hand bye bye to her Arthur Weasley.
"Bye baby! Have fun!" he replied as he waved back to her.
"Remind me why she gets to go on a cruise ship?" asked Charlie.
"Because we want to pamper her!" said Arthur as he patted his son's back and steered him away from the dock.
"No fair," Charlie said as he crossed his arms and walked away with his father. The Weasleys weren't exactly poor at this time and had enough money and a bit more to satisfy their needs.
Ginny raced around the ship to find a room for herself. Finally she settled into a room and walked out.
Cruise Ship
It was such a wonderful cruise. The ocean air kept blowing her silky red hair behind her. She ran around the boat enjoying a few moments standing on the edge peering down into the depths of the ocean. A few hours later it was getting dark. She was running inside when she collided with a raven haired guy.
"Watch where you're going young lady," the raven haired man chided Ginny. She looked up at him with innocent, sad eyes.
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to get inside before I couldn't see anymore," Ginny replied.
"It's okay," the man replied patting her on the head.
At around dinner time music was always played to entertain the diners inside the boat. The music swirled its way outside and reached Ginny and the man's ears.
"Do you want do dance?" asked Ginny confidently. She had always been a tad outgoing and bold.
"I suppose I may dance for a while," the man said. He held out his hand and Ginny slid her small, chubby, pale hand into his.
The two glided over near the pool and began to dance. Ginny's mother had taught her to dance once and always said: "When you meet the right man you'll have the best time. But it has to be the proper man."
Ginny smiled as he twirled her around like a little ballerina. After minutes of dancing with the mysteriously nice man, Ginny decided to try to dance on her tiptoes.
Slowly, she rose to the tip of her feet. Luckily she was wearing her silky blue nightgown so her clothing didn't weigh her down and she was barefoot. Slowly, slowly, slowly, she rose up slowly. The heels of her feet were lifted off of the floor.
She was dancing on her tiptoes.
She felt so light, like a little feather. She grinned happily. This was the right man. But she didn't know his name. She decided to enjoy the dancing and then she would ask his name later.
The dancing went on for a few more minutes before the man got tired.
"I'm sorry; I believe I've tired myself out. Why don't we go in for some dinner?" asked the man.
"Okay. But first, since I can't talk to strangers, what's your name?" asked Ginny as she walked into the dining room with him. The mysterious man smirked.
"Aren't you smart? My name's Severus Snape. But you can call me Severus," the raven haired man said.
"Swev-er-us?" Ginny repeated slowly. Severus chuckled. "Can I call you Swevy for short?"
"That's fine," Severus said as they sat down at the table and awaited their order. "Now, what's your lovely name?"
"How do you know it's lovely if you don't know it yet?" asked Ginny as she fingered the tablecloth. She was a bright child for her age, hence the fact that her father had allowed her to go on a one day cruise all by herself.
"Well, for a lovely little girl like you it should be lovely," Severus replied. He liked the little girl. She was smart.
"My name's Ginny. Ginny Aphwodite Weasley," Ginny replied with pride.
"Well, Ginny Aphwodite Weasley, it's nice to meet you. And see, it is a lovely name. Did you know that Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty?" Severus asked. Ginny shook her head, little strands of red hair swaying side to side with it.
"Oh, food!" Ginny said as she clapped her hands with delight and they both dug into a joyous meal. Then Severus remembered something about the name Weasley. It had sounded familiar when Ginny had said it and now he knew why.
"Weasley…that's a wizarding family," Severus said in a low voice. "Bill Weasley!"
"How do you know my brother?" asked Ginny as she stopped eating and looked at Severus inquisitively.
"He goes to Hogwarts, right?" asked Severus. Ginny nodded. "I teach there."
"Oh! That's right! You're their Potions Master!" cried Ginny.
"Shh…remember we are with muggles!" Severus reminded her.
"Oops, sorry."
"It's okay."
They continued to eat again until a question popped into Ginny's little mind.
"How old are you, Swevy?" she asked.
"You shouldn't ask grown ups that question." Ginny hung her head down in shame for being so stupid. "But I'll answer none the less." She raised her head up, eager for the answer. "I'm twenty-two," Severus replied.
"Oh! You're not that old!" Ginny squeaked.
"Did you expect me to be old?" asked Severus.
"Nope, you look young."
"Thank you." Severus chuckled. What a nice little girl.
Later on that night they both said good night to each other. Severus tucked Ginny into her bed in her room and he left to his. At night Ginny thought about how she had been able to dance on her tiptoes when she had been dancing with him. She thought, and somehow her little mind knew, that he was the right man for her and fell asleep with that happy thought.
The next morning she woke up all cheerful and packed her bag like a good girl. She raced excitedly to the breakfast hall hoping to meet Swevy there.
She raced through the mazes of tables looking for Severus.
"Boo," said a voice from behind. Ginny turned around quickly to face the man who had the voice.
"Swevy! You scared me!" Ginny said.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't resist," Severus replied. Ginny smiled and they headed for a table.
"How long are you going to stay on the cruise?" asked Severus.
"Today's my last day," Ginny said after she swallowed a piece of her toast and jam.
"Great. Then I will have the pleasure of walking you off the ship," Severus said. Ginny giggled.
He smiled at her and she smiled back. He was so nice, just as Bill had described him.
After they had finished their breakfast, they decided to go for a swim before they arrived at the dock. Ginny did not know how to swim though she had a swimsuit with her.
"I can teach you," Severus offered.
"B-but it's s-so deep," Ginny said as she peered into the limpid water.
"It doesn't matter. I'll teach you how to float so you can't drown," Severus explained. Ginny looked at him, unsure of whether to trust him or not. He jumped in and did a few laps to show her there was nothing to worry about.
"O-okay," Ginny stuttered as she walked over to the steps with her floats on. She dipped in a foot. Luckily, the water was cool.
"Don't worry. If anything happens, I'll be here to pull you out of trouble!" Severus said. Ginny smiled and waded down the steps. "Here give me your hand."
Ginny stretched out her hand and grabbed his. He pulled her to him slowly. They were in the shallow area but her feet couldn't touch the floor. After all, she was only six. She was quite frightened and held onto Severus for support.
"Relax!" Severus ordered.
"But I'm going to drown!" Ginny exclaimed as she clung onto Severus's back.
"No, you won't! I didn't, so you won't. You've just got to trust me. Do you?" Severus asked, looking into Ginny's caramel brown eyes. Ginny nodded slowly.
"Okay then. First…"
Severus and Ginny spent about two hours in the pool before Ginny was able to swim across the pool and back and float in the pool without her floats. Water, swimming, it all brought life to her, it allowed her to relax.
She swam up to Severus and gave him a big hug.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed. "You're right! I didn't drown yet!"
"I told you so," Severus said. Ginny grinned happily.
They both got out of the pool and headed to the shower room. After showering, getting dressed, and eating lunch, they had arrived at the dock.
Severus, with his luggage in one hand and Ginny in the other with her luggage, walked off the ship and onto the dock. Almost instantly, Arthur Weasley spotted his daughter.
"Ginny! I'm so glad to see you!" Arthur cried as he rushed up to his daughter and swung her around. Ginny giggled and embraced her father.
"Hi, daddy! Daddy, do you know Swevy?" asked Ginny as Arthur set her back down and she pointed towards Severus.
"Yes, I believe I've met Severus. Hello," Arthur greeted as Severus replied hello and they shook hands.
"Swevy took care of me while I was on the boat," Ginny explained.
"Oh, how nice of him. Thank you Severus," Arthur said. Severus nodded.
"Quite an angel you got there, Arthur. Can't wait to have her in my class," Severus said. "Bye, Ginny." And with that Severus waved good bye to the both of them and walked off.
"Daddy, you won't believe what I did!" Ginny began. "First, I met him outside…"
Arthur and Ginny spent the whole ride home conversing about Ginny's day on the cruise ship. It had been Molly's idea to allow Ginny to spend a day on the ship: "So she can learn to be independent for when she goes to Hogwarts," Molly had explained.
That night Ginny scrambled into bed and hugged the blanket against her chest. She dreamt of her proper man, Swevy, and her day on the cruise ship.
11 Years Later
Ginny raced through the hallways until she reached the entrance to the lake outside. She raced over to a tree and collapsed on the ground.
"It's not fair," she whispered as she looked around her and tried to breathe in to calm down. "Why won't he accept me? We got along great when I was younger, why can't we get alone now?" Ginny asked herself.
In her first year at Hogwarts she had raced up to Severus crying out Swevy! and had embraced him in a huge hug in front of everyone. He had taken away ten points from Gryffindor and had told her to leave him alone. Ginny hadn't understood why. First she had thought that he didn't remember her, but later on she found out that he thought he was too old for her.
It wasn't fair. Why did age matter? She stood up and took a deep breath. She looked around and her eyes fell on the sparkling lake. She smiled as she recalled her day on the cruise ship when she had learned how to swim.
She walked over to the lake and plunged in. She swam a few laps, trying to erase the pain from her mind. He was supposed to be her proper man! He was supposed to accept her for who she was!
She glanced around and when she saw that no one was there, she charmed herself to be able to float on top of the water. She remembered how she had danced with Severus on the ship and began to do the same.
She swirled and twirled and moved around happily, reliving that day. Then she decided to see if she could still dance on her tiptoes. She slowly began to lift her heels off the water. Slowly, slowly, slowly, her heels drifted off the lake.
Then she plunged into the depths of the water.
She bobbed up again and breathed in deeply, spitting out any water she had swallowed when she had fallen in. She sighed and pushed her hair out of her face. She got out of the lake and sat leaning on the tree.
And she began to cry. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, burying her face in her legs, sobbing.
A figure moved in a window in the castle and observed Ginny as she sat there crying. Severus moved away, not wanting to see her upset.
She had been such a sweet girl when he had met her on the boat, but they weren't meant to be. He was too old for her. She would have to accept that. But it hurt to see her cry. He wondered why she had been trying to dance on her tiptoes. He went back to the window and looked out at her.
She was now struggling to her feet, tears streaming down her face like a waterfall. She sighed as she looked around. No one cared for her anymore. All her brothers had graduated along with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. She was the littlest Weasley and after so many kids you don't pay much attention to them anymore. And when she had met Severus she had thought he was the right man. At age six, she didn't think twenty two was too far away. But he had broken her heart now. She had tried reasoning with him, but he kept saying it wasn't meant to be and he was too old for her.
She walked around and decided to plunge into the lake again. She dived in and floated on her back, staring at the starry night sky with a sliver of the moon.
He watched her float on her back and remembered when he had been teaching her how to swim on the cruise. He racked his brain trying to think why she had been trying to dance on her tiptoes.
Then he remembered.
When they had been dancing together on the cruise ship she had been able to dance on her tiptoes easily. At first he had thought that he must've been holding her up, but then he realized she had done it herself. But why hadn't she been able to dance with any other guy at the Hogwarts dances like that? Was he that special to her? Was he really the right man for her?
Ginny was sick of everything. She really cared for Severus, yet no one cared for her. Her anger led to confusion.
And soon, she was drowning.
She was at the bottom of the lake, not allowing herself to breathe.
She remembered floating gracefully in the pool on the cruise ship.
She remembered dancing in his arms on the floor of the ship.
She remembered eating with him at dinner, she remembered him calling her name lovely.
Suddenly, she no longer felt, no longer heard, no longer smelt…
…no longer was alive.
The water, that had once brought life and allowed her to relax, how now brought about her death.
Severus paled. Ginny had still not come back up from the water. He raced down the steps of the school and out near the lake. He dived in quickly and pulled her back up and laid her on the grass. He checked her pulse.
She was dead.
Severus tried to calm himself down, but to no avail. He felt as if he had brought about her death, as if he had killed her. Why hadn't he just accepted her? They had gotten along well when they were younger! He should've given her a chance! He punched the ground angrily. Then a thought aroused in his mind.
She would never be able to dance on her tiptoes again.
A/N-Hey! Did you like? I tried to make it sad, but it's my first Severus/Ginny ficlet so please review and be nice! I'd love some feedback! BTW THIS IS A ONE SHOT! NO UPDATES WILL BE MADE ON THIS!
THANKS IN ADVANCE TO ALL MY READERS AND REVIEWERS!