A/N: Written for the Hogwarts Life Challenge, Stage Two. Prompt: Muggle-born — Your magic comes from a more distant ancestor than many people's, but of course, that has no effect on your abilities at all. Write about someone involved in bullying or discrimination.
A Pair of Misfits
The halls of Hogwarts had never been a sanctuary for Ginny Weasley.
As Ginny walked down the corridors, books clutched to her chest, head bowed, the halls assaulted her with memories. Here was the classroom where she had first pulled out her textbook to discover the small black diary tucked inside. Here was the alcove where she had first awoken to find rooster feathers all over her and fingers smeared with red, memory wiped clean. And around this corner…
Ginny came to a halt, staring up at the wall. She could see two images overlaying each other; one the blank wall in front of her, the other a wall marred by messages in blood, messages her own fingers had traced. Ginny swallowed, paralyzed. There was a strange hissing sound in her ears.
A moment later, Ginny realized the hissing wasn't in her ears. It was all around her; up and down the corridor, students were whispering. Ginny Weasley…traitor…murderer…
"I didn't mean to do it," said Ginny before she could stop herself. The whispering hushed, all at once, like a candle being extinguished. They were all staring at her, fear clearly etched into their faces. "I…"
She clamped her mouth shut and turned on her heel, fleeing back down the hallway. Her vision was blurry with tears; she blinked hard and kept running, eyes turned down and away from the students lining the walls.
"Oof!"
Suddenly, she crashed headlong into something. Her books tumbled out of her arms. Hastily, she stooped to snatch them up, keeping her head bent.
Another pair of hands joined hers and picked up her last book, offering it to her. She took it, still not looking at the person she had collided with. "Thanks," she mumbled, and turned to leave.
"You're Ginny Weasley."
Ginny froze, heart pounding. She looked back; the girl was watching her closely, eyes wide with curiosity. She had long, dirty blonde hair that reached her waist, and the more Ginny looked at her, the odder she seemed. She had what looked like a cork hanging on a chain around her neck and her wand was stuck behind her ear, from which dangled what appeared to be a radish. Perched on her head were a colorful pair of glasses. Ginny waited for the strange girl to say something else, but she simply gazed at Ginny, head tilted slightly to the side as if Ginny were a fine specimen to observe.
"Well?" said Ginny. "Aren't you going to call me a murderer or something?"
"No," said the girl airily. "I don't think you could be a murderer. A murderer has to be fearless, you see, or they wouldn't take the risk of murdering, they'd be too afraid of the consequences. You don't look fearless, though. You look frightened."
Ginny bristled. "I'm not frightened."
"Yes, you are," said the girl matter-of-factly. "Your eyes say so."
Ginny stared, unsure what to say to that. The girl smiled. "You shouldn't be frightened," she said. "I know you never meant to kill anyone."
"No one else seems to think that way," said Ginny.
The girl nodded seriously. "They don't know the truth," she said. "But I do." She tilted her head again, examining Ginny. "What does being possessed feel like?"
Ginny gaped at her silently. No one had ever asked her that before. Probably because they were all terrified of her. "It's…" Ginny said finally. "I don't really remember. I would just wake up and have chunks of memory missing. But I don't remember being possessed."
The girl opened her mouth, no doubt to ask another question, but before she could say anything, someone shoved past her and she staggered, almost knocking into Ginny. "Ooooh," said a sneering voice. "Look who Loony Lovegood's talking to!"
Ginny looked up. Alanna MacDougal, a Ravenclaw in Ginny's year, smirked at her, her arms crossed over her chest. Behind her were two other Ravenclaw girls, leering over Alanna's shoulders.
"Careful, Loony," Alanna drawled. "Don't want to get too close to Weasley. She might petrify you." The other girls giggled, and Ginny flushed.
"It's all right, Alanna," said the girl, lightly. "I'm not afraid of Ginny, even if you are."
Alanna's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?" She took a step towards the girl. "I'd watch yourself, if I were you," she said in a low, deadly voice. "You might not be afraid of her —" She threw Ginny a disgusted look — "but you sure as hell should be afraid of me." She shoved the girl, hard — she fell sprawling to the floor. Alanna and her friends burst into laughter.
"Leave her alone!" The words were out of Ginny's mouth before she could stop them.
Slowly, Alanna and the other girls turned to her. "What did you just say to me?" Alanna demanded.
"I said," said Ginny, stepping forward, "leave her alone."
Alanna laughed. "Make me."
Ginny smiled. "You know, you're right, Alanna. You should be afraid of me." She took another step towards Alanna, who she was pleased to see looked slightly apprehensive. "You want to see if I still remember Parseltongue?" Ginny whispered.
Alanna blanched. "You're a freak, Weasley!" she shouted, and she took off down the corridor, her friends on her heels.
Ginny turned back to the girl, who was already getting to her feet. "They'll spread rumors, you know," said the girl, watching Alanna and the other two girls flee. "About you, I mean."
"I know," said Ginny, sighing. "It's all right."
The girl looked at her with a surprisingly sunny expression. "I'm Luna, by the way. I want to be your friend."
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Really?" she said drily. "You want to be my friend? Did you not just see what happened?" She looked away. "Anyone who befriends me is asking to get bullied."
"I get bullied anyway," said Luna cheerfully. "They call me Loony Lovegood. It's all right, though. I don't mind."
Ginny looked at her curiously. "You really want to be my friend?"
"Yes," said Luna simply. "We misfits have to stick together, you know."
Ginny's lip quirked. "Yes," she said. "I suppose we do."
And they set off down the corridor together.