Ginny took the floo network to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Her parents sent her trunk along after her. She left her pigmy puff, Arnold, for Teddy, who had moved in with them after the death of his parents. He was too little to understand what was happening, but he liked Arnold a lot.
She climbed out of the chimney and into a small office space. It was early morning, before the shop opened. George came walking in and grabbed her into a hug.
"It's great to see a friendly face. I've missed you sis."
She grinned at him. It felt strange on her face, and she didn't continue it for long. He showed her to a room just a little smaller than her bedroom back home, where her trunk was waiting. He pointed out his room and the bathroom, then handed her an apron and put her to work.
The store was a lot busier than she expected it to be, although once she thought about it, she realized how badly everyone needed a laugh after so much loss. And, as George pointed out to her, term was about to start and school was starting up. When it was her lunch break she walked over to the Leaky Cauldron for some sandwiches. It was odd to see so many people out and about. She saw people she new from school, although she didn't stop to chat. She was also surprised to the children of so many Death Eaters. She figured that they would be staying close to home. She put it out of her mind as she finished eating and walked back to the shop.
She was almost back when she ran into Draco Malfoy. Literally ran into him. Normally he would have said something nasty to her, but he just apologized and kept walking. Wonders never cease she thought to herself as she finished her walk back. Once there, she stayed busy for the rest of the day. When the shop finally closed, George taught her how to handle the accounts for the day and stock the shelves. They took the floo network to the Burrow for dinner. He told her normally he would've picked something up from one of the stores in Diagon Ally, but he figured their parents would want to hear about her first day.
"I know it's hard Gin, but you have to at least fake a little or else they won't ever let up," he had told her.
So while they were at dinner, she mentioned her encounter with Draco to her father. Her parents looked at each with raised eyebrows, though she was unsure if it was because she was speaking or because she had seen him.
"His father's sentence was lighter than I would have like it to be," he told her slowly, "but Draco was still technically a child. He was still attending school and living at home, so while his trace was broken and he had the dark mark, he didn't actually do anything but let the Death Eaters in the castle, and after a hearing they decided that he didn't even make that choice on his own. They ruled he was forced into it, which I suppose he was. There are many young wizards in his position, or similar ones, whose parents are in Azkaban. There's still a lot of hatred on both sides, and the ministry is still trying to figure out how to fix it. The war might be over, but there is still a lack of peace."