Chapter One: The Shy, Lonely Girl
Disclaimer: I don't own anything at all in this story. It all belongs to J. K. Rowling, so don't sue me!
Don't forget to review!
~*~
Virginia Amber Weasley looked at the ground, avoiding all eye contact. Her trolley glided swiftly behind her in King's Cross Station as she hurried as quickly as possible to find a compartment to herself. No eye contact meant no awkwardness, and a compartment to herself meant a quiet ride to the castle.
While in the train's hallway, she bumped into another student. Her trolley and everything in it collapsed and scattered everywhere, along with the other person's belongings. Humiliated and cursing quietly to herself for being so stupid, she plopped onto the ground and began picking up her mess. She was so concentrated on pretending to be absorbed in the situation, she didn't even see who she had run into. When all of her things were back on her trolley, she stood up, mumbled, "sorry," and was on her way. She didn't hear a response from the other student, whether it was because they were rude, or if she had just left so quickly she couldn't hear an apology if one was given.
She finally found a compartment and set her things on the seat across form her when she sat down. She took out her book, To Kill A Mockingbird, and began to read it for about the sixth time.
Ginny was fourteen years old, soon to be fifteen December 24th, in her fifth year, and still had no friends. Sure, she hung out with her brothers occasionally, and Hermione she sometimes talked to, but other than that, she was alone. If someone had started to talk to her and be nice to her, she would just give vague answers to any questions and put them out of her mind later on.
Ever since Ginny was a toddler, it was evident she liked to be by herself. Being in the company of adults, kids her own age, or anyone else for that matter, was very uncomfortable for her. At a very young age, she learned how to be completely independent and never ask for help. Because of all this alone time, she often read books and did nothing else other than that except homework. It was hard not to find Ginny in the common room cuddled up in a corner reading a novel. She didn't follow sports, and she rarely went to the school Quidditch matches. It was just way too many people and too much noise.
It wasn't that she didn't like her life. In fact, she was very content, and wouldn't have it any other way. But this year, all of that would change.
~*~
Harry beamed as he took a long look at the Hogwarts Express. This was going to be a great year. Last year, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Plus, he'd be with his two best friends. How could it possibly get any better than this?
"Harry, over here!" cried Ron.
"Hey Ron!" he ran up to meet him. Hermione was beside him. "Hey Hermione."
"Hi Harry," she grinned and looked at her watch. "We'd best be going, then."
The three went into the train. Obviously, all of them had arrived late, so there was only one compartment left.
~*~
Ginny jumped as the compartment door slid open noisily.
"Hey Gin, it's Ron. Mind if we sit in here with you? You can still keep reading, if you like. We won't bother you."
She smiled weakly and said, "Sure, come on in."
Ron came in and sat across from her; then Hermione sat beside her, and her heart dropped when she saw the next person enter the room.
"Sit here, Harry," said Ron, patting the seat next to him with his hand.
Harry sat down, and Ginny put her back to the wall, brought her knees to her chest, and continued reading while the others started talking.
Ever since the first day she had laid eyes upon him, Ginny had a huge crush on Harry. Whenever he entered the room, her shyness doubled. Of course, he never noticed her, but this didn't bother her. It wasn't like she actually wanted to date him or anything. She just fancied him a little, and left it at that.
Throughout the conversation, like a curious toddler, Ginny would peek over her book to get a glimpse of Harry. Once, she caught his eye and he smiled at her. Embarrassed, she hid her face back behind her book and continued to read.
Harry began to feel bad for Ginny. She was sitting there, in the corner, while three other people were having a conversation. Surely, didn't she feel left out? She didn't look it, but he just couldn't resist letting her in the talk.
"So, Ginny…" he began. Ginny looked up from her book, startled. "Looking forward to this year?"
Lip trembling slightly, Ginny thought and said, "Yeah, I guess."
Ron at Harry with a bemused look on his face, while Hermione mouthed, "What are you doing?"
"Do you like Quidditch? Maybe we'll have better luck this year."
"No, I don't like it. And, yes, maybe you will." she said. She buried her face back into her book.
Harry shrugged. There was nothing he could do about it. Obviously Ginny truly didn't want to be in the conversation.
After an hour of mindless talk of Quidditch and whatnot, the Hogwarts Express finally stopped at the station. Ginny regretfully put her book away and went into a horseless carriage with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
In the middle of the ride, Ginny looked out the window. What she saw was a dark, pitch sky freckled with stars. The weather was placid, and a calm breeze bathed her face and made her hair ripple.
Further along the road, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry appeared with its numerous towers and long, but plain windows. In just two hours, she would be back in her dormitory, sleeping or quietly reading a book.
Without warning, the carriage suddenly stopped. Ginny rescued herself from her thoughts and got out of the carriage. Taking one last look at the night sky, she began to climb the vast amount of steps to the great oak doors.
A few minutes later, Ginny found herself once again in the beauty of the Great Hall. Thousands of candles floated in the air, and the ceiling viewed the night sky just as Ginny had seen it moments before.
Sitting at the Gryffindor table, beside Fred on one side and Colin Creevey on the other, she looked patiently towards the wooden doors in which the first years would be passing through any moment to get Sorted.
Sure enough, they opened, and Professor McGonagall walked through, leading a long line of first years to the stool and the famous Sorting Hat. Ginny smiled as she remembered the first day she was Sorted; it seemed funny that she had been so ridiculously nervous.
"When I call your name, sit on the stool and I will place the hat on your head. It will Sort you into your house, and then you may sit at the appropriate table.
"Anderson, Melissa."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Basil, Travis."
"SLYTHERIN!"
And so it went on. Numbers of students were Sorted, and Ginny completely lost interest. It wasn't until one particular boy was Sorted that she focused again.
"Finnigan, Timothy."
A rather tall boy for his age took a few long strides to the stool and sat down. McGonagall placed the Hat and waited. After almost a minute, the Hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!"
Ginny thought as the Gryffindor table roared with applause. Hadn't she heard that name before somewhere? …
The boy ran over to the table and sat down immediately next to Seamus. She rolled her eyes at herself. Of course, how stupid can you get?
Shortly after, the Sorting was over, and the feast began. Eating slowly, Ginny ate little, only wanting to go to bed. When the time came to go to her dormitory, someone stopped her in the common room.
"Excuse me?" said a shy voice.
Ginny turned around. It was Seamus.
"Hi. I just wanted to tell you that it was me that ran into you today. I'm sorry."
Blushing furiously, Ginny smiled. "You're forgiven," she said quietly.
Seamus smiled back and trotted up the stairs to the boys' dormitory.
Glad that someone had said a nice thing to her at the start of term, Ginny merrily made her way up to bed.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything at all in this story. It all belongs to J. K. Rowling, so don't sue me!
Don't forget to review!
~*~
Virginia Amber Weasley looked at the ground, avoiding all eye contact. Her trolley glided swiftly behind her in King's Cross Station as she hurried as quickly as possible to find a compartment to herself. No eye contact meant no awkwardness, and a compartment to herself meant a quiet ride to the castle.
While in the train's hallway, she bumped into another student. Her trolley and everything in it collapsed and scattered everywhere, along with the other person's belongings. Humiliated and cursing quietly to herself for being so stupid, she plopped onto the ground and began picking up her mess. She was so concentrated on pretending to be absorbed in the situation, she didn't even see who she had run into. When all of her things were back on her trolley, she stood up, mumbled, "sorry," and was on her way. She didn't hear a response from the other student, whether it was because they were rude, or if she had just left so quickly she couldn't hear an apology if one was given.
She finally found a compartment and set her things on the seat across form her when she sat down. She took out her book, To Kill A Mockingbird, and began to read it for about the sixth time.
Ginny was fourteen years old, soon to be fifteen December 24th, in her fifth year, and still had no friends. Sure, she hung out with her brothers occasionally, and Hermione she sometimes talked to, but other than that, she was alone. If someone had started to talk to her and be nice to her, she would just give vague answers to any questions and put them out of her mind later on.
Ever since Ginny was a toddler, it was evident she liked to be by herself. Being in the company of adults, kids her own age, or anyone else for that matter, was very uncomfortable for her. At a very young age, she learned how to be completely independent and never ask for help. Because of all this alone time, she often read books and did nothing else other than that except homework. It was hard not to find Ginny in the common room cuddled up in a corner reading a novel. She didn't follow sports, and she rarely went to the school Quidditch matches. It was just way too many people and too much noise.
It wasn't that she didn't like her life. In fact, she was very content, and wouldn't have it any other way. But this year, all of that would change.
~*~
Harry beamed as he took a long look at the Hogwarts Express. This was going to be a great year. Last year, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Plus, he'd be with his two best friends. How could it possibly get any better than this?
"Harry, over here!" cried Ron.
"Hey Ron!" he ran up to meet him. Hermione was beside him. "Hey Hermione."
"Hi Harry," she grinned and looked at her watch. "We'd best be going, then."
The three went into the train. Obviously, all of them had arrived late, so there was only one compartment left.
~*~
Ginny jumped as the compartment door slid open noisily.
"Hey Gin, it's Ron. Mind if we sit in here with you? You can still keep reading, if you like. We won't bother you."
She smiled weakly and said, "Sure, come on in."
Ron came in and sat across from her; then Hermione sat beside her, and her heart dropped when she saw the next person enter the room.
"Sit here, Harry," said Ron, patting the seat next to him with his hand.
Harry sat down, and Ginny put her back to the wall, brought her knees to her chest, and continued reading while the others started talking.
Ever since the first day she had laid eyes upon him, Ginny had a huge crush on Harry. Whenever he entered the room, her shyness doubled. Of course, he never noticed her, but this didn't bother her. It wasn't like she actually wanted to date him or anything. She just fancied him a little, and left it at that.
Throughout the conversation, like a curious toddler, Ginny would peek over her book to get a glimpse of Harry. Once, she caught his eye and he smiled at her. Embarrassed, she hid her face back behind her book and continued to read.
Harry began to feel bad for Ginny. She was sitting there, in the corner, while three other people were having a conversation. Surely, didn't she feel left out? She didn't look it, but he just couldn't resist letting her in the talk.
"So, Ginny…" he began. Ginny looked up from her book, startled. "Looking forward to this year?"
Lip trembling slightly, Ginny thought and said, "Yeah, I guess."
Ron at Harry with a bemused look on his face, while Hermione mouthed, "What are you doing?"
"Do you like Quidditch? Maybe we'll have better luck this year."
"No, I don't like it. And, yes, maybe you will." she said. She buried her face back into her book.
Harry shrugged. There was nothing he could do about it. Obviously Ginny truly didn't want to be in the conversation.
After an hour of mindless talk of Quidditch and whatnot, the Hogwarts Express finally stopped at the station. Ginny regretfully put her book away and went into a horseless carriage with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
In the middle of the ride, Ginny looked out the window. What she saw was a dark, pitch sky freckled with stars. The weather was placid, and a calm breeze bathed her face and made her hair ripple.
Further along the road, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry appeared with its numerous towers and long, but plain windows. In just two hours, she would be back in her dormitory, sleeping or quietly reading a book.
Without warning, the carriage suddenly stopped. Ginny rescued herself from her thoughts and got out of the carriage. Taking one last look at the night sky, she began to climb the vast amount of steps to the great oak doors.
A few minutes later, Ginny found herself once again in the beauty of the Great Hall. Thousands of candles floated in the air, and the ceiling viewed the night sky just as Ginny had seen it moments before.
Sitting at the Gryffindor table, beside Fred on one side and Colin Creevey on the other, she looked patiently towards the wooden doors in which the first years would be passing through any moment to get Sorted.
Sure enough, they opened, and Professor McGonagall walked through, leading a long line of first years to the stool and the famous Sorting Hat. Ginny smiled as she remembered the first day she was Sorted; it seemed funny that she had been so ridiculously nervous.
"When I call your name, sit on the stool and I will place the hat on your head. It will Sort you into your house, and then you may sit at the appropriate table.
"Anderson, Melissa."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Basil, Travis."
"SLYTHERIN!"
And so it went on. Numbers of students were Sorted, and Ginny completely lost interest. It wasn't until one particular boy was Sorted that she focused again.
"Finnigan, Timothy."
A rather tall boy for his age took a few long strides to the stool and sat down. McGonagall placed the Hat and waited. After almost a minute, the Hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!"
Ginny thought as the Gryffindor table roared with applause. Hadn't she heard that name before somewhere? …
The boy ran over to the table and sat down immediately next to Seamus. She rolled her eyes at herself. Of course, how stupid can you get?
Shortly after, the Sorting was over, and the feast began. Eating slowly, Ginny ate little, only wanting to go to bed. When the time came to go to her dormitory, someone stopped her in the common room.
"Excuse me?" said a shy voice.
Ginny turned around. It was Seamus.
"Hi. I just wanted to tell you that it was me that ran into you today. I'm sorry."
Blushing furiously, Ginny smiled. "You're forgiven," she said quietly.
Seamus smiled back and trotted up the stairs to the boys' dormitory.
Glad that someone had said a nice thing to her at the start of term, Ginny merrily made her way up to bed.
