Sorry, just a little more set up in the chapters...
Chapter 2: School time and "Harry"
After hugging her mother and father goodbye, Ginny stepped onto the platform of Nine and Three- Quarters and viewed the surreal scene around her. Ron, Hermione and the rest of her brothers had already gone ahead so she took a moment to get reoriented and looked around. She could see many of the scared faces of parents as they hugged their children, maybe for the last time and the brave faces they wore as they allowed their children to part from them. She also spotted several of her classmates waving to each other and heading onto the waiting steps of the fire-red Hogwart's Express. Several of her classmates seemed to already be seated and staring out the compartment windows for people they might know.
At least somebody is happy, she could not help but think. The sudden clamoring behind her indicated that someone else had pushed through the magical barrier to enter the platform and this also brought a fresh reminder to her about why her thoughts were so dismal. "Harry Potter" stepped out from the barrier, glasses askew and with the same untamed, dark brown hair trying to escape his head as it always did. However, he was standing so straight and poised in a pair of expensive looking jeans, designer grey t-shirt and black jacket that Ginny could only compare his stature to one other person--- Draco Malfoy. While she admired how he held himself now and how Harry had never seemed so confident before, Ginny also knew that who she was watching was not the real Harry Potter. Harry would never look so bored or emotionless. The real Harry's green eyes would light up with joy at going back to school and he would be excited about starting a new year, even with all of the unpleasant things that had happened during the summer holiday. As Ginny's past crush, she considered herself a Harry expert and observing this "Harry", she decided that there was NO way she was going to let Draco Malfoy ruin any hope of the true Harry's safe return.
Dumbledore's crazy plan of hiding Draco from the Ministry and from the Death Eaters out to hunt the last remaining Malfoy heir was not his best idea and it had completely shocked the Order of the Phoenix when he suggested it to them at the beginning of the summer holidays. Dumbledore had wanted to surprise Voldement and using Polyjuice Potion, Draco was going to live as "Harry Potter" while the real Harry was training in secret to defeat the Dark Lord. To Dumbledore, it seemed to be a win-win situation because Draco would be able to hide from individuals responsible for his parent's murders and Harry would be able to train for his battle with the Dark Lord without the enemy knowing about it.
After staying at the Burrow for only a few, short weeks during the summer, the real Harry had been taken to a secret location and no amount of convincing, begging or challenging Dumbledore was enough for Dumbledore to let Ron or Hermione go as well. By refusing to let Hermione and Ron go with Harry, they had blatantly refused to go along with the plan and to pretend that Harry had returned to Hogwarts to finish his education and everything was going great. They had refused to go along with the look-a-like mission so Dumbledore had made them swore a Wizards Silence, which if broken would result in death. While Hermione and Ron did not have to help "Harry", they could not tell anyone of the plan or do anything to compromise the mission. Fortunately, Ron and Harry's fights were legendary at school, so nobody would think twice if Ron and Harry were giving each other the cold shoulder. As Hermione was usually caught in between the two, the plan was to just indicate that Hermione had sided with Ron about an argument and let the rest of the student body think what they will. Plus, if "Harry" were to start acting a little differently this year, nobody would actually come out and say anything, especially if the wizarding world even believed half of the rumors of what happened that night in the Ministry of Magic.
Facing "Harry" now, Ginny could not help but get annoyed at the spoiled, arrogant git who stood before her now glaring at some of the first years walking by. There was NO way he was going to pull off acting as "Harry Potter" when the closest thing to smiling he had ever done was to smirk when ridiculing someone.
"Loosen up and smile, you arrogant prick", she spit at him. Facing him, the "Harry" look-a-like almost seemed to jump and his composure faltered for just a second as his eyes met her brown ones. He obviously never expected her to address him after refusing to acknowledge his presence in her home during the entire holiday. He had stayed in the room he had been assigned and rarely left it, but even then anyone who had ever crossed his path refused to look him in the eye and the few members of the Order who spoke to him had only short, polite replies to make to him. Just as fast as he lost the composure, he regained it and wore his signature smirk that Ginny and her brothers had hated him for in the past.
"Well…Weaslette does have a voice. Here I thought you were dumb and mute", he sneered.
Seeing the face that had pleasantly haunted her dreams as a child in such an open look of twisted disdain finally caused her snap. Before she knew what she was doing, Ginny took a step back, raised her right fist and punched Draco Malfoy in the face. Lowering her hand, she quickly turned around, ignoring the string of curse words that had already started flowing from his mouth aimed at her. Continuing to walk away, she determinedly went up the steps of the Hogwart's Express that led her to a set of train compartments. Ginny also tried to determinedly ignore the stinging in her hand and the open mouthed faces of the classmates and friends who had witnessed her assault. It was only when Ginny finally sat down in the nearest empty compartment she could find did she realize in full of what she had done. She could see it now in the headlines "Pint-sized red Head punches Savior of the Wizarding World". She…Ginny Weasley…had punched Harry Potter in the face! What was she going to do now?! Only a few people in the world knew it was not the REAL Harry Potter she had cuffed. Just as she was pondering her future, said devil himself walked into her compartment with a look that could kill.
No…his accompanying words struck her worse than death.
"Hello, friend…"
