A/N: This takes place during Ginny's fourth year, which would be Harry's fifth, The Order of The Phoenix. It doesn't really follow that structure though, so for the sake of this story you may aswell ignore it. I have taken some of Umbridge's speech out of the book though, so if it sounds familiar, that's why! I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I don't own nor claim to own the Harry Potter Series.
Ginevra Molly Weasley leaned out of the train window as the large steam engine began to pull away from Platform Nine and Three Quarters, giving her mother and father one final wave goodbye. She was heading back to Hogwarts, ready to start her fourth year.
As the train rolled to a stop, Ginny was eager to get off of it and out onto the platform.
"Jeesh, what's her hurry?" She heard Ron mutter as she darted out, dragging her belongings with her. She didn't bother trying to listen to some of the responses.
Ginny closed her eyes let out a huge sigh of relief as the fresh air from outside crashed over her. The wind caused her hair to go haywire and whip her face, but for once, she was rather glad. The others didn't know, but Ginny had a small fear of being in cramped places, ever since Charlie had accidently locked her in the small broom cupboard under their stairs at The Burrow...
"Awww come on Bill, let us play!" Fred and George had both whined whilst four year old Ginny stared at them with wide eyes, clutching her Cornish Pixie teddy.
"No." Bill replied firmly, reaching into the cupboard and pulling out two broom sticks. He handed one to his younger brother Charlie and kept the other in his hand.
"But why not? You're letting Charlie and Percy play!" Fred demanded, irked that twelve year old Charlie and nine year old Percy were both allowed to play, yet he and George were not.
"I'm not letting Ginny play either," Bill snapped back at them. "And Percy isn't playing, he's being a judge. Charlie will be starting his second year soon, and he needs to practice if he wants to make the house Quidditch te-" Bill's words were interrupted by a sudden screeching coming from upstairs.
"FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY, YOU GET YOURSELVES UP HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT!" Molly's voice echoed through out the house, causing Arthur to heave himself off the dining room chair and come into the hall to stair sternly at his sons.
"What in Merlin's beard did you do this time?" His voice was filled with a curiosity that didn't match his face and, soon enough, his face had changed into complete curiosity and bewilderment. Arthur hurried the twins upstairs, leaving Percy shaking his head in disappointment.
"They have no respect at all." He muttered, earning a small thump on the shoulder off of Bill.
"Oh lighten up, Perc." He looked up the stairs swiftly and added, "Come on, let's hurry before she errupts." before marching outside, followed by Percy. Charlie began to follow, until Ron, who had previously been reading a story about Babbity Rabbity, came running through and almost slammed into him.
"Watch it, little brother!" Charlie'd grunted, accidentally shoving Ron backwards into Ginny, who in turn tumbled into the broom cupbard. Having not realised, Charlie locked the broom cupboard and went to join his brothers outside.
Not knowing what to do, Ginny's tiny knuckles rasped on the door. Nothing. She sat in silence for a few moments, assessing the darkness, before she began screaming. Her cries, however, were soon drowned out by Molly's further screeching.
"YOU COULD HAVE DONE SOME SERIOUS DAMAGE! WHAT HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU TWO LATELY?" This made Ginny bawl louder and harder, until her small voice couldn't do anymore.
It wasn't until a couple of hours later that people realised she wasn't anywhere around the house. "Where's Ginny?" Her father asked some one, presumably one of the twins. She tried to scream, to get their attention, but no sound came out. "Ginny?" "GINNY?" Several voices were calling her name now, her mother's most frantic,
"Oh dear lord! Where is she? She didn't follow her brothers out did she? Oh Ginny! GINNY!" Mustering up all her strength, Ginny rammed her shoulder into the door of the broom cupboard. It wasn't a particularly loud thud, but someone had to hear it. She hoped.
They had. George wrenched the door open and Ginny ran out, her eyes all red and puffy, tear tracks sailing down her cheeks. He enveloped her into a tight hug as she sobbed quietly into his shoulder. "Mum! Dad!" he called out, "I've got her."
She shuddered at the mere memory.
Being inside the small compartment along with her three brothers Ron, Fred and George and then Harry, Hermione, Luna and Neville, she had felt quite trapped and a tad queasy.
"What's wrong, Weaslette?" A familiar voice sneered. She opened her eyes to see Draco Malfoy staring coldly at her with malicious eyes. She glared. "Upset about not having any decent clothes to wear? How old is that jacket anyway, fifteen, maybe sixteen years?" Ginny glanced slowly down at the jacket as Crabbe and Goyle, his so called 'friends' (Minions or wingmen, in Ginny's opinion) snickered. Yes, the jacket had been her oldest brother Bill's, but there was nothing wrong with it. It looked exactly fine. Nevertheless, she let Malfoy continue, glaring at him all the while. "I suppose I would be too, not that I'd ever have to worry about it though. Does your family even have a single galleon in your vault?" He smirked and Ginny finally lost it.
"You know what, Malfoy? You have got exactly three seconds before I-"
"Before you what?" Draco's eyebrows shot up, daring her to continue. She did, taking a step closer to him in the process.
"Before I take out my wand, point it at you and hex your stuck up arse into oblivion." She spoke slowly and menacingly, putting extra emphasis on her words.
Malfoy just laughed, stopping only when he saw the expression upon the young Weasley's face. She was angry. More than angry, furious. And there was something else. Determination. It actually frightened Draco so much that he took an automatic step back, recoiling out of her reach. At the same time it was frightening, it was also entertaining. But Draco couldn't bring himself to laugh. He didn't have time to. Before he knew it, Ginny had taken out her wand and Bat-Bogey hexed them; her wand set off a dark purple jet of light that blasted him, Crabbe and Goyle backwards and onto the ground. She watched as large green slime balls flew out of their nostrils and hovered around for a couple of seconds. Malfoy clambered to his feet, and glared at Ginny.
"I'll get you back for this, Weaslette!" Draco spat before he ran off, followed by a wailing Crabbe, desperately trying to swat away the large bogeys that were now attacking him. Now it was Ginny's turn to laugh as she climbed into the nearest carriage, grinning all the way up to the castle.
Entering the Great Hall, she soon spotted her family and friends sat at the Gryffindor table. Sitting next to Hermione, she glanced swiftly over at the Slytherin table, smirking when she saw that Malfoy and his pals had not yet recovered.
"Where have you been, little sister?" George inquired, both him and Fred resting their chins on their hands, staring Ginny down.
"Oh you know, around. I just had people to see." She waved her hand in dismissal, turning to face the teachers table at the front of the hall. Her eyes swept the length of the table, carefully avoiding Severus Snape's patronizing glare that seemed to be directed at her. She had no doubt that he was the teacher Draco had run off to squealing, too bad Snape couldn't do anything since it had technically happened before school. Ginny's eyebrows rose as her eyes passed the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, a fellow worker for the Ministry of Magic. She wore a baby pink fluffy cardigan and a riducolously matching bow ontop of her her. She rather reminded Ginny of a horse.
She mostly sat in silence as the sorting commenced, cheering only when students were added to her house.
The food appeared rather suddenly; just the sight alone was mouth watering. Inhaling deeply, she supressed a moan. She couldn't wait to start eating. Although Ginny had far many more manners than her brother Ron, her appetite was just as large. She carelessly shovelled heaps of bacon and chicken onto her plate, as if food was a delicious stranger to her.
It was during dessert that an enraged Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe and Greggory Goyle entered the Great Hall, shortly followed by a smug looking Lee Jordan. As malfoy passed the Gryffindor table, he scanned it quickly for Ginny. As soon as he spotted her, his eyes glared like sharp shards of ice, and Ginny had to stifle a giggle.
As Lee Jordan sat down next to Ginny, he thumped her on the back.
"Nice one, Gin." Said Lee, winking. "Although," he added, lowering his voice slightly, "Snape's not too pleased, you better watch yourself in his class." Ginny nodded; that explained the glare then.
"What're you talking about mate?" The twins chorused in unison. Lee laughed while looking at Ginny, over at Malfoy, then back at Ginny.
"Well," She began,
"Wait - you didn't have anything to do with Malfoy coming in late, did you?" Harry interrupted her, looking rather proud. She blushed slightly.
"Gin?" asked Ron, finally looking up from his jelly pudding. She wasn't quite sure what to say, which was unusual for her. Harry had that kind of effect on her. Lee gladly took over, over animating the whole thing.
"She bloody Bat-Bogey hexed them! Saw it all first hand as I got off the train. One minute he was smirking, then laughing, and then BAM! He and the other two filthy gits were threw backwards. Didn't know what hit 'em, neither did any one else, Ginny was too quick, she had her wand out in a second." Lee snapped his fingers to emphasis his point. "They all ran off screaming like little girls, up to Snape who banished the bloody bogeys. Shame really, it was quite amusing." By this time, the twins, Lee, Harry, Ron and all the surrounding Gryffindors who had been listening in were roaring with laughter, congratulating Ginny whose cheeks burned brighter. All except Hermione.
"Ginny!" She hissed, "You could have gotten into serious trouble! What were you thinking?"
"Oh give her a break, she did good!" Ron defended,
"Yes, you might think so," Hermione replied impatiently, "but if a teacher had-"
Albus Dumbledore, head master of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, rose from the staff table and proceeded to the eagle altar at the front, ready to begin adressing the school.
"Settle down students!" Dumbledore's voice bellowed, hushing all the voices within the room, including Hermione's. Ginny was relieved, the didn't want another lecture from her, not this early into the term. There was a small clatter as many students put down their cutlery. "Welcome back for another tremendous year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! Please, raise from your tables and join me in giving your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Dolores Umbridge, a very warm and Hogwarty welcome." Dumbledore signalled to Proffessor Flitwick and the band started playing the school anthem. Students all around stood up and began singing in an array of different tunes:
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot."
"Ah yes, that was quite magnificent, if I do say so myself." Dumbledore smiled proudly at everyone in the hall. "Now, tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will take place on the-"
"Hem-Hem..." Dolores Umbridge had interrupted Albus Dumbledore during his speech. Ginny cast curious glances at her friends, who each looked equally confused. This had never happened before. She looked back at the front to see Umbridge leaving her seat from the staff table and join Dumbledore at the front, who was simply staring at her with a patient look. Proffessor McGonnagall, on the other hand, was glaring daggers at her as though she wanted to murder the bitch.
"Thankyou, Headmaster, for those kind words of welcome." Dolores continued, ignoring the growing whispers of the student body. "Well, it's lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" She smiled down at the students, a gesutre Ginny found rather sickening. "The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. Instruction that is given by those strong witches and wizards who's calling has been to the nobel proffession of teaching."
Professor Umbridge paused here and gave a small child like giggle, turning towards her colleagues and bowing, which none returned at all. In fact, they looked even more bored than the students. This didn't, however unfortunate, perturb her; she continued as though nothing unusual had happened. Ginny was beginning to lose focus of the words spilling from her mouth, eventually yawning and rolling her eyes at Fred.
"Progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance must be retained between old and new, between permanence and temporance, between tradition and innovation, as some changes shall be for the better, whilst others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognised as errors of judgement. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practises that ought to be prohibited."
Dolores gave another childish giggle and returned to her seat. Dumbledore was the only clapping, and had probably been the only one paying attention. Other than Hermione, of course. She seemed rather furious as Ginny heard her whisper through gritted teeth to Harry and Ron, "I'll tell you what it means, it means that the Misitry's interfering at Hogwarts."
"Thank you very much, Proffessor Umbridge, that was most illuminating." Said Dumbledore, his voice reverting Ginny's attention. "Now, as I was saying Quidditch tryouts will be held on the 19th September. Prefects, will you please lead your first years back to the common rooms, off you all go!"
Ginny stood up walked out of the hall, making her way to the common room. Hermione had told her the new password for the Fat Lady portrait on the train, so she had no reason to wait for them to catch up.
"Cornish Pixies." Ginny muttered and the portrait swung open, revealing the never changing yet still warming decor of the Gryffindor common room. She checked the notice board to find her dorm and dorm partners were still the same, before making her way up to unpack.