Ginny rolled over in her bed and sat up. She stretched and got out of bed. The sun was shining through her window, and she felt cheerful. The smell of her mother's sausages and fried eggs wafted up to her nose, and she suddenly felt hungry. Ginny bounded down the stairs and bounced into the kitchen. She stopped suddenly though, stunned at the sight in front of her. Harry Potter - the Harry Potter - was sitting in her kitchen. Am I dreaming? There's no way that the famous Harry Potter - the hero of the Wizarding World - could be in my poor, raggedy house. Ginny saw Harry's eyes meet her own, and she felt a thrill run up her spine at the sight of his dizzyingly bright green eyes. She let out an involuntary squeal, and then realizing that she had just squealed, ran out of the kitchen. Ginny ran up the stairs and went into her room, all hunger gone. She took deep breaths to try to calm herself. This was the first time that she saw Harry Potter after knowing that it was him, and this is how she had reacted. What does he think of me now, she wondered. Why couldn't I have been calm and collected so that he would've thought highly of me? Now he'll only see me as the Ron's little sister. She heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Ginny noticed Ron and Harry walk past her room, the latter taking in his surroundings. She saw his eyes land on her's again, and she couldn't help but stare back. Ginny, flustered, closed her door with a snap. I just hope that I can gain enough confidence so that I can atleast look at him without panicking!
Over the next week, Ginny's confidence around Harry didn't improve. Sometimes, she'd drop her utensils when Harry sat down at the kitchen table with her, and once she even knocked over a chair. One day, when Harry and Ron came down to breakfast, Ginny knocked over her entire porridge bowl. She was mortified, and hoped that Harry hadn't noticed that she was nervous.
"Letters from school," her dad said as he passed Harry and Ron their envelopes. "Dumbledore already knows you're here, Harry - doesn't miss a trick, that man." Ginny sighed quietly in relief at the distraction. "You two've got them, too," he added, adressing Fred and George. The room was silent as everyone was reading their letters. Ginny saw Fred peer over at Harry's letter.
"You've been told to get all of Lockhart's books too! The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher must be a fan - bet it's a witch," Fred said, looking over briefly at his mother. Ginny smiled.
"That lot won't come cheap," George replied with a glance at his parents. "Lockhart's books are really expensive..." Ginny had a feeling she knew what was coming, and surely enough, she was right.
"Well, we'll manage," said Mrs. Weasley worriedly. "I expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things secondhand."Ginny grimaced. She hated being the youngest. It was so frustrating, since she always got the worst things.
"Oh are you starting at Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked, turning to Ginny. Ginny was happy that Harry finally noticed her and was talking to her, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything. So instead, she just nodded as she accidently put her elbow in the butter dish. Percy came in, and Ginny went back to her breakfast. Her heart was fluttering a little since it was the first time Harry had talked to her directly. She heard Ron exclaim "Errol!" as he took their old owl to his perch.
"Finally - he's got Hermione's answer." Ron ripped open the letter and read it out loud.
"`Dear Ron, and Harry if you're there,
"`I hope everything went all right and that Harry is okay and that you didn't do anything illegal to get him out, Ron, because that would get Harry into trouble, too. I've been really worried and if Harry is all right, will you please let me know at once, but perhaps it would be better if you used a different owl because I think another delivery might finish your one off. I'm very busy with schoolwork, of course' - How can she be? We're on vacation!" Ron exclaimed, and then continued reading. 'and we're going to London next Wednesday to buy my new books. Why don't we meet in Diagon Alley?Let me know what's happening as soon as you can.
Love from Hermione.'" Ginny scowled. Hermione sounds too concerned about Harry. I mean, both Harry and Ron are her friends, but she didn't ask once about Ron, who actually went through the trouble to get Harry. Ginny would probably have done the same thing, but she actually liked Harry. And she had heard about Hermione from Ron. Hermione just sounded like a pushy, bossy know-it-all. She probably wasn't a great beauty either, but Ginny still couldn't help but envy Hermione, who was Harry's friend while Ginny wasn't. Well, it seemed like they'd be going shopping at Diagon Alley next Wednesday. Ginny dreaded it, because she'd see other kids get good, new things while Ginny wouldn't.
The next Wednesday, Ginny found herself standing with her family and Harry in front of their fireplace. Ginny's mother took the flowerpot off the kitchen mantlepiece and looked inside.
"We're running low, Arthur," she said. "We'll have to buy some more today...Ah well, guests first! After you, Harry dear!" Ginny saw Harry stare dumbfoundedly at her mother as she offered him the flowerpot.
"Wh-what am I supposed to do?" he asked, stammering as he did so. Ginny briefly thought that his stammering was adorable before she quickly pushed the thought away. Of course Harry wouldn't know what to do. He had grown up with Muggles. But before she could say anything, Ron piped up.
"He's never traveled by Floo powder. Sorry, Harry, I forgot."
"Never?" asked her dad. "But how did you get to Diagon Alley to buy your school things last year?"
"I went on the Underground —" Harry replied, but Mr. Weasley cut him off.
"Really?" said Mr. Weasley eagerly. "Were there escapators? How exactly —"
"Not now, Arthur," said her mother. "Floo powder's a lot quicker, dear, but goodness me, if you've never used it before —"
"He'll be all right, Mum," said Fred. "Harry, watch us first."Because Fred had said that, Ginny had a feeling that it was going to end badly. Fred took a bit of the powder and hurled it into the fireplace. A bright green flame appeared. Ginny noticed that the flame seemed to match Harry's eyes. Fred stepped in, yelled "Diagon Alley!", and disappeared.
"You must speak clearly, dear," Mrs. Weasley advised Harry as George tood some powder from the flowerpot. "And be sure to get out at the right grate…"
"The right what?" Harry asked nervously as the fire roared and George disappeared too.
"Well, there are an awful lot of wizard fires to choose from, you know, but as long as you've spoken clearly —"
"He'll be fine, Molly, don't fuss," said Mr. Weasley, grabbing some Floo powder too.
"But, dear, if he got lost, how would we ever explain to his aunt and uncle?"Ginny hated the way that when her mother mentioned losing Harry, she seemed more concerned about having to explain to his relatives than she did about the loss of Harry himself. Ginny tried telling herself that her mother didn't really mean that, but she couldn't help thinking disdainfully that her mother could be quite oblivious sometimes in many other ways.
"They wouldn't mind," Harry reassured her. "Dudley would think it was a brilliant joke if I got lost up a chimney, don't worry about that —" Ginny winced at that. She wasn't sure if the statement about how uncaring Harry's relatives were bothered her more or the matter-of-fact way that he said it in did.
"Well… all right… you go after Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley. "Now, when you get into the fire, say where you're going."
"And keep your elbows tucked in," Ron advised.
"And your eyes shut," said Mrs. Weasley. "The soot —"
"Don't fidget," said Ron. "Or you might well fall out of the wrong fireplace —"
"But don't panic and get out too early; wait until you see Fred and George." Ginny thought that they were rather overloading him with them trying to talk over each other and trying to pack all of this information in at once. Ginny saw Harry take a pinch of the powder, throw it in, and walk into the flames. The flames seemed to swallow him up, and Ginny saw Harry swallow a mouthful of ash. She hoped that he would be able to speak clearly.
"D-Dia-Diagon Alley," he coughed. Ginny sighed and shook her head. He didn't say it clearly enough. She hoped that he would get lucky and end up at Flourish and Blotts, or atleast somewhere nearby. She grabbed some Floo powder, said "Diagon Alley", and felt herself get sucked up into the fireplace. She felt herself spin fast, felt the cold sensation of hands slapping her, and then she fell out. Ginny stood up and saw her father and the twins.
"Where's Harry? Wasn't he supposed to come before you?"
"He didn't come out?" Ginny asked, worried. She got out of the fireplace just in time as she heard a whoosh behind her, and Ron came tumbling out, shortly followed by Mrs. Weasley.
"Where's Harry?" she asked frantically.
"He didn't come out of the grate," Ginny said grimly.
"Well then, what are we waiting for? We must go look for him. I'll go with Ginny and Arthur, you take the boys along. Come on Ginny." Mrs. Weasley dragged Ginny away.
A half an hour later, Ginny and her mom hadn't had any success. They rounded the corner and saw the rest of their family standing with Harry, a tall giant bearded man, and a girl with thick, unruly, bushy, hair. Mrs. Weasley galloped towards the group, and Ginny struggled to hold onto her hand.
"Oh, Harry — oh, my dear — you could have been anywhere —" she said as she took a cloth out of her bag and started brushing the soot off of Harry. Ginny's dad took Harry's glasses and fixed them.
"Well, gotta be off. See yer at Hogwarts!" said Hagrid, who was having his hand wrung by Mrs. Weasley, who kept repeating, "Knockturn Alley! If you hadn't found him, Hagrid!". And Hagrid strode away. Harry was walking with Ron and Hermione, and he started whispering something to them. Ginny looked at them wistfully, wishing that she could be talking with them, that she could be a part of what Harry was saying to her brother and the bushy-haired girl who also had large front teeth. As they walked into Gringotts, Ginny saw a couple standing nervously at the counter.
"But you're Muggles!" said her dad delightedly. "We must have a drink! What's that you've got there? Oh, you're changing Muggle money. Molly, look!" He pointed excitedly at the ten-pound notes in Mr. Granger's hand.
"Meet you back here," Ron said to Hermione as another Gringotts goblin led Ginny, her family, and Harry off to another vault. They went down to the Weasley vault first, and Ginny felt her stomach swoop unpleasantly as their vault was opened. Inside, there was only one Galleon and only a few silver Sickles. Ginny saw her mother reach around before putting everything into her bag, and Ginny felt more ashamed at how poor her family was. Why does Harry have to see our vault? Then, they went down to Harry's vault, and Ginny was surprised at the huge piles of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. Now Harry must really think badly of us. Even though his parents died, he still has so much money, and we have so little! Ginny felt guilty for thinking that way, but as the youngest child who got the most hand-me-downs for most things, she couldn't help the bitter thoughts. She sometimes felt like they would eventually swallow her whole, but she just needed to find a way to get it out, to tell someone, anyone. After getting out of Gringotts, Percy wandered off on his own, Fred and George met their friend, and Ginny accompanied her mother, albeit bitterly. She saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione walk off, and she wished that atleast she could go with her own friends instead of accompanying her mother like a five-year-old.
"We'll all meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour to buy your schoolbooks," said Mrs. Weasley, walking with Ginny following. "And not one step down Knockturn Alley!" she shouted at the twins.
After buying all of Ginny's other supplies, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny met Mr. Weasley, the Grangers, the twins, and Percy and went into Flourish and Blotts, where there was a huge line of people, mostly witches, waiting for Lockhart to sign their books. About a half hour later, Ginny saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione join them in line.
"Oh, there you are, good," Mrs. Weasley said. She smoothed down her hair, saying, "we'll be able to see him in a minute." The line moved slowly, and eventually they saw Gilderoy Lockhart. Ginny did have to admit that he looked good. A short man in front of them was dancing back and forth trying to get pictures of Lockhart.
Out of the way, there," he snarled at Ron, moving back to get a better shot. "This is for the Daily Prophet —"
"Big deal," Ron snapped, rubbing his foot where the photographer had stepped on it.
Gilderoy Lockhart snapped his head up. He saw Ron — and then he caught sight of Harry. He stared. Then he jumped to his feet and shouted, "It can't be Harry Potter?" The crowd parted, and they all looked at Harry and whispered excitedly. Lockhart grabbed Harry's arm and dragged him to the front. Ginny saw Harry's face turn a deep shade of scarlet and wondered if that's what she looked like when she blushed around Harry. The photographer clicked away madly.
"Nice big smile, Harry," Lockhart said, beaming proudly. "Together, you and I are worth the front page." He's worth the front page without you, Ginny couldn't help thinking. She was a bit angry at Lockhart for embarassing Harry when he clearly didn't want any of it. Maybe other people would like it, but she respected the fact that Harry didn't, and she wished that other people would too. Harry tried to leave, but Lockhart threw an arm around Harry and locked him in place.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he started, and the crowd quieted down. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time! When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography - which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge. He had no idea that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Someone thrust the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart into Harry's hands, and he stumbled to the edge of the room, where Ginny stood next to her cauldron filled with the old, tattered books that they had bought earlier today.
"You have these," Harry mumbled to her. "I'll buy my own-" Ginny was grateful. She was about to thank him, but a sneering, condensing voice cut in.
"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" sneered a blond boy with piercing, sharp gray eyes. "Famous Harry Potter, can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page." Ginny was incensed. How dare this boy treat Harry like that? She suddenly found some inner strength, and she replied.
"Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" Ginny said indignantly. She realized that it was the first time that she had spoken in front of Harry. The blond boy now turned to her, and she felt her resolve falter slightly, but continued to glare at him.
"Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend!" he drawled. Ginny blushed scarlet, and she saw Ron and Hermione come over to them.
"Oh it's you," Ron said. "Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?"
"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley. I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for those." Ron's face contorted in anger as he dropped his books into the cauldron and lunged towards Malfoy, but Harry pulled him back.
"Ron!" Mr. Weasley said, making his way over with Fred and George."What are you doing? It's too crowded, let's go outside."
"Well, well, well - Arthur Weasley," another voice butted in. The man looked like the blond boy's father with the same pale-blond hair, same cold gray eyes, and same sneer. Ginny saw the exchange between the two men and scowled when the other man, Malfoy, reached into her cauldron and inspected her old books disdainfully. Ginny watched with horror as her father attacked Malfoy, and they fought in public. Hagrid showed up and pulled the two men apart. The Malfoy man still had Ginny's book in his hands.
"Here girl - take your book - it's the best your father can give you." With that, he left with his son. They left the bookshop, Ginny feeling awful. Her day and mood was ruined, and there was no one who'd understand her, who'd listen to her, really listen to what she had to say. Ginny was feeling utterly alone. When they got home, Ginny took her stuff up to her room. She sighed as she took out her books and put them into a trunk that she had for Hogwarts. Suddenly, she noticed a small, thin book with a shabby black cover. Ginny didn't remember buying the book. She turned it over. Carved into the book were the words 'Tom Marvolo Riddle'. Ginny opened the book, but it was blank. Maybe Mother decided to buy me a diary, Ginny speculated. The diary looked old like everything else, but Ginny was thrilled to finally have a diary in which to write her thoughts. She could finally pour out her pain and frustration into something. Even though she wouldn't get a response, Ginny needed something to get out all of her emotions which had been bottled up for years. She eagerly grabbed a quill pen, dipped it into ink, and wrote:
"My name is Ginny -" she had started, but she decided to cross out Ginny. It sounded too childish, and Ginny was tired of being childish and young. She wanted to sound older, more mature, even if it was only to herself. "My name is Ginerva Molly Weasley."