Ginny: We are all powerful, and we are owned by shadow, Starr and Tara!

Ron: That's right! And don't you say otherwise or we'll tell Harry on you!

J. K. Rowling: #throws down a blot of lightening with extra lawyer power#

shadow, Starr and Tara: #sizzle#

Tara: We definitely do not own Harry Potter and co. … -.-'

Ch. 2

"Ginny! Come clean your room up! Before Juniper gets here!"

The tall red headed girl turned from watering a group of crisp white orchids in the garden behind the Burrow, her long hair swinging out behind her as she did so. Her name's Hazel... she thought to herself. "Yes Mum!" she called back, setting down the watering can and going inside. As she came in the back door, she noticed the battered valise near the front door, and the jacket on top of it. The bag was Mrs. Weasley's constant companion whenever she travelled, a little voice at the back of Ginny's head was telling her that her mum was about to leave for a while.

"You're going back to Grimmauld Place, mum?" She asked as soon as Molly came back into the kitchen.

Mrs. Weasley's face fell slightly, "Yes, I'm so sorry Ginny. I'm needed by the Order, Fred and George will be over to look after you for a while, Juniper will be staying too. Bill and that Fleur girl are going to come check on things later tonight, and I'm sure everything will be all right. Besides, your new kitty can keep you company." The stress of the Dark Lords' return was beginning to show on Mrs. Weasleys' face, and more often then not, the twins, or someone similar were called away to 'look after' Ron and Ginny for a few days. To be straight, it was irking both to the point of madness.

Ginny had to fight a suddenly strong urge to tell her mother she wasn't allowed to go traipsing off to London and leave Ron and herself at the Burrow; and that although she loved the cat she'd been given for her birthday, he did not take the place of her mother. Normally she loved how quiet it was when she had the house mostly to herself, and the disorder that often followed when Fred and George were in charge. Now though, with this becoming a regular event, she was beginning to hate the evenings without her mother telling them off for something or other. She was also beginning to hate being the youngest. In a few years Ron, Harry and Hermione would all be members of the Order and doing something; she, Ginny, would be at home waiting for updates from the unreliable Daily Prophet.

Instead of saying what was on her mind, she settled for: "I don't like it, I hate sitting here waiting."

Molly nodded. "I know, Ginny dear, I'm so sorry." Her eyes flicked to her pocket watch, once she'd read the time her eyes came back into sharp focus. "I have to go, I'm going to be late. Tell Ron what's happening, would you?" Without waiting for her daughters answer she hugged her and disapparated with a 'crack!'

Ginny stared at the empty kitchen for a minute before wandering upstairs to tell her brother what had occurred. I'm almost starting to wish we weren't part of the Order at all now, or this awful war. She winced for a second, imagining for a second what life would be like if they weren't. …Almost…

---

Not too far away, a girl with light chestnut hair reaching just below her ears was pounding her way along a wooded path. Her build was small and slightly gangly, her pale grey and violet eyes almost watering with the combination of her own speed and the oncoming wind. She'd already been running for well over three kilometres at top speed. Breathless, she slowed enough to collapse against a tree. "Getting lazy." She chided herself. Her eyes caught sight of the little stream she passed every time she took this route, she pushed herself up off her tree and walked slowly over to the water.

Juniper Hazel Evans scooped out a little of the cool water in her hands, splashing it on her face to cool off. From where she sat, she could see the top of Ginny's house. In one quick motion she rose to her feet and started running again; grinning as the trees thinned into a passing blur beside her. She whipped around the final bend in the path, hurtling up the drive and skidding to a halt in front of the door. As she raised her hand to ring the bell, footsteps thudded down the stairs inside the house. Hazel stepped to the side as Ginny threw open the front door.

"Ginny!" Hazel yelped, despite stepping to the side the door had knocked her knees out from under her, a nasty habit Mrs. Weasley had been trying to get rid of. Hazel toppled over backwards, rolling down the steps and stopping with her nose pressed into the dirt. "Tad exuberant, eh Ginny?"

"Tad rusty, 'ey Hazel?" Ginny grinned as she mimicked her friend; they went through similar routines almost every time Hazel came over. Ginny reached out a hand and hauled her friend to her feet. "C'mon, my snapping orchids have got their first set of teeth!"

Hazel raised her slim eyebrows sceptically. "Is this a good thing to be happy about?"

Ginny stuck out her tongue. "Yes! Of course! They haven't got legs yet or anything..."

Hazel rolled her eyes. "Eh heh, safest thing since picking daisies..."

The pair spent the rest of the day in the garden, climbing trees, feeding the snapping orchids, and seeing who could find the most gnomes and throw them highest. When the twins arrived after 3:00 pm. They were quickly coerced into cooking waffles, as that was the only thing they could really cook without it turning into charcoal. By the time enough waffles had been cooked, it appeared that Fred and George already had a sort of… welcome home inquisition ready for their sister.

"So," George started once they'd all sat down at the table. "Whatever happened to this Dean Thomas I heard about from a reliable source, Gin?" Fred 'slyly' slid another waffle towards his sister.

Ginny smiled. "Nice try, no way. Can you toss the syrup here too?" Her grin broadened until she saw the expressions on her siblings' faces; a sort of mix between extreme agitation and the mockery of a new challenge being dangled in front of them. Fred rose to the opportunity barely a second before George, meaning he got to ask his question first.

"Does he look good?"

"Is he a Gryffindor?"

"Does he brush his teeth?"

"How'd you meet?"

"Is he a prat?"

"A Prefect?"

"Does he like Quidditch?"

"Is he a good kisser?"

"How long have you been with him?"

"Is he anything like Harry?"

Ginny glared. "As soon as we get back to school, you guys better watch your mail."

Hazel had a grin on her face that matched the twins. "Are you going to answer these gentlemen's questions? Gin?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Why should I?"

Immediately the whole table jumped, this time, it was George who got his words out. "You're hiding something from us! If you weren't, you'd answer!" His younger sister looked about ready to curse him with something incurable.

"Yes. Yes. Yes. At school. No. No. Yes. Yes. Wouldn't know. Never was. No. Happy?"

Fred, George and Hazel stopped, comparing the questions to the answers. Hazel smiled broadly. "You said he was a good kisser."

Ginny's mouth hung slack. "Did not!"

"Did too! And you answered some non-existent question 'no'." She beamed.

"I – You – That's not – we never – it wasn't – I mean it – joke – " Ginny sputtered, turning a particularly nice shade of pink. "I should hex you, you know we never dated."

Fred and George had managed to keep straight faces throughout their sister's conversation with her friend, now it was simply too much. Ginny was still flushed, and now truly looked ready to do some damage, despite the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Wizardry. Hazel, on the other hand, was sitting tense and grinning in the chair across the table.

" 'S just a kiss Gin, not a marriage proposal." George said, letting his undertone hint at an obvious unknown.

"George!" Ginny yelped, standing up suddenly and knocking her chair over. Her glare was fantastic.

"Calm down Ginny, like you said, it was you who dumped him." Fred added.

Now she was torn between telling the very clearly that Dean Thomas had been a joke to scare Ron (which had been very effective, she'd been pleased to note) and chasing them around the house until each and every one of them had been hexed to the point of immobilization.

"Ginny?" A voice called from upstairs.

"Ron! Help!" She called back.

There was a moment's pause, as if he were actually considering coming downstairs to help her. Then: "Sorry mate, not a chance, just keep it down, will you?"

Ginny went to drop herself back into her chair, only to discover that it wasn't there. "Wha!" CRASH!

Fred and George grinned. "Gotten a tad slow since we've been gone?" George asked as Hazel slipped around the table and pulled her friend off the floor.

"C'mon, there're ripe crab apples in the backyard." Fred put in. "I haven't had one of those in ages!"

As the group made their way into the backyard, Ron watched from his bedroom window. Smiling slightly as Ginny caught the tiny red fruit one of the twins had just thrown at her, he couldn't tell which one from up there. With a light sigh, he collapsed back onto his bed, rolling over onto his stomach and staring at nothing. After a moment, he picked up his quill and continued writing his already one-and-a-half foot long letter. If Hermione's not happy with this then she's gone completely mad. He finished the letter off much later with a hastily scrawled signature when Fred called him down for their real dinner perhaps an hour later.

He came pounding down the stairs only to be surprised by the smell of properly cooked steak, potatoes, and gravy... Wow, the twins must have found a recipe book. "Mmmm..." He drooled as he dropped into his chair, reaching for the potatoes the same time as Hazel. He prepared to fight tug-o-war style for them until he looked up; blue-green eyes that resembled clear ocean water looked back at him. Soft light chestnut hair that fell around her ears as an amused smile played around her lips. "I take it you'd like some?" Hazel's familiar grin widened.

"Ladies first mate." George whispered to Ron from his right, followed closely by Fred's:

"I'd find something else to do with your eyes instead of staring, 'specially if you've finally taken a fancy to her."

Ron hastily dropped his gaze to his empty plate. "Er... yes. You have them first though." He mumbled.

"Thanks." She smiled, apparently completely oblivious to the brief exchange that had just taken place in front of her, after all, she'd been a family friend for years. She scooped a mound of potatoes onto her plate, then passed the dish back to Ron; who was still staring at his plate, knuckles bone white from his death grip on his fork and knife.

"Erm, thanks Hazel…"

The meal continued with light discussion, which picked up when Bill and Fleur apparated into the kitchen. Hazel shot a questioning look at Ginny, who understood immediately. "They 'work together at Gringotts'." She grinned.

"Ah..." Breathed Hazel. The couple sat down, and Hazel just raised her eyebrows incredulously as Fleur attempted to distract Bill's attention from his food.

As the meal drew to a close, Bill began giving out the instructions Mrs. Weasley had owled him before hand.

"Alright, tomorrow morning's going to come and go pretty quick, we're meeting Harry and Hermione at Diagon Alley, they've got their own transportation. Hazel your mum dropped off your trunk earlier today. I hope you don't mind sharing a room with Ginny for a while..."

Hazel shook her head, it was less then a week until school started and none of them had bought anything yet. She herself needed Hogwarts robes and books; she'd switched schools over the summer from Eyrie Academy on the other side of Hogsmeade, to Hogwarts. Her mother had thought it would be safer due to Dumbledore's presence.

"Fred, George, have you figured out how you're going to get them all to Kings Cross? I want that sorted out tonight, tomorrow at the latest."

The twins exchanged not-so-subtle glances, and then nodded. Bill eyed them carefully. "Whatever, so long as it's not illegal." He mumbled. "Now I want the rest of you upstairs with your trunks at least partially packed and in bed in half an hour. Fleur and I will look after the dishes."

Everyone finished whatever small morsels were left on their plates and then bolted upstairs to pack and prepare for sleep. Fred and George disappeared into their room, Ginny was next up the stairs to change into her pyjamas as Bill and Fleur began to clear the table, putting the dishes in the sink and starting to wash them; this left Hazel and Ron to go up the stairs at the same time, which really shouldn't have been a problem.

As they reached the landing where Hazel was sleeping, she bid goodnight to Ron. "Night Ron, have a good sleep." She called after him, not really expecting an answer.

He turned, "Goodnight Hazel." He blurted, turning on his heal and smashing into the wall, tumbling down the stairs and landing with a very final sounding 'thud' at Hazel's feet.

"Oh! Ron? Ron, are you okay?" She lowered herself into a crouch, resting her hands on his shoulders with a look of friendly concern written on her face.

Ron moved to sit up quickly muttering: "I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fi– " The end of his sentence was cut short as he sat up and smacked heads with Hazel, both tipped over into the walls. "Sorry!" Ron yelped as he stood up, trying valiantly not to stagger, and ran up the stairs.

Hazel pushed herself off of the wall she'd just been leaning against, massaging her forehead where he'd run into her. You'd think he was afraid of me or something. She thought to herself. Odd... do I have the dark mark stuck on my forehead or something?