Disclaimer: It ain't mine, probably cause I'm nowhere near the writer JK is…

Thanks, Fifespice, for your reviews!!! I'm glad you like Ginny. Do me a favor, readers in general, and holler if you think she's getting off character… I'm doing my best but most of the first two chapters were written last year. This one's the first fresh one!

Also: I need a beta!! If anyone is willing, please contact me, maybe with some info about whether you've beta'd before, what it's been, etc. Or if anyone has an idea of how I can get a beta, that would be helpful too! Thanks!

Chapter Three: Connections revealed, Deirdre's usefulness

Ginny woke when she heard the door to the bathroom open. Accustomed to a loud house, and normally an uncompromisingly sound sleeper, returning to Hogwarts always seemed to have an adverse effect on her. Rather than sleeping soundly through the occasional noise present in the pleasant muffled quiet of the castle, any noise at all tended to wake her up. Of course normally she would have rolled over and resumed dreaming, not much bothered. But not this morning. There was just far too much to be done, the future to rewrite, Fate herself to bargain with, boys who didn't want to come out of their invisible closets whom she'd have to drag by the heels, as subtly as possible. And the depressing knowledge that until Quidditch started, she'd have to work out alone, since there weren't any clubs to dance in for hours as there had been in London this summer.

'Yet' she thought to herself as she rolled over twice, falling in a heap straight onto the thick rug next to her bed.

"Oh god. Is that normal for you?" Came a startled and deep female voice, thick and rough from having just risen.

Ginny heaved herself to her feet shaking her head back and forth on her neck, and then shaking everything out, as if she were completing the motions to the final stanza of the Hokey-Pokey.

"Ah, that's the way to get up!" she yawned widely, looking at a Deidre whom, despite the sound of her voice, was already changed into muggle sweats and an American wife-beater over a halter-top sports bra. "I've gotta start convincing my body that it wants to be moving and energetic right off the bat, you see, or it simply refuses to move for another hour." She said softly, grinning to Deirdre. Yanking some clothes out, she headed towards the adjoining washroom.

"Weird, but makes sense…" Deirdre muttered as she tied back her thick dark hair. Moving on to make her bed and put away the things she had worn last night, she didn't notice Ginny until she turned to leave the room.

Ginny was dressed in muggle attire as well, but it was clearly well-worn (probably by a guy, maybe one of her older brothers). She had on a black sports-bra underneath a large t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off. She was also wearing black basketball shorts that went almost to her knees and beat-up muggle tennis shoes. Her hair was in the process of being arranged severely into a French braid that began high atop Ginny's head.

"You know, you don't usually get up this early unless you're on patrol as prefect. I can honestly say I don't think I've ever noticed you working out without anyone but the Quidditch team… what prompted this?" Deirdre inquired, sitting on the edge of her bed as Ginny continued on with her hair at a rapid pace.

"Well I figure I'm already in shape from this summer, why waste these few weeks between summer and Quidditch to lapse back into bad habits? I'll only be kicking myself for it in a few weeks." She commented, tying off the braid with a flourish.

"And are you going to be flying round with that crowd that does laps around the towers and roofs near the top of the castle, then? I think you may be late for their early-morning kick-off. They start bloody early. Insane, the lot of them." Deirdre commented as the girls made their way down the steps and out of their common room.

"No, actually. I find laps really boring. I dunno if running will be any better, but I know some muggle cross-fitness work-outs now that really keep a girl on her toes. They're not boring and they're fast, too, even if you do need a stopwatch for most." Ginny pointed out her standard-issue wizarding watch. "Mine's pretty piss-poor for timing things and such, but I figure I'll do something this morning that doesn't require a stopwatch type setting."

Deirdre looked at her and smiled. "Yeah, if there's one thing the muggles have got down pat (aside from large weapons of mass destruction) it's millions of different methods of working out. I got into a discussion like this with one of my muggle second cousins once. We agreed that they have so many different sports and things probably because it's their way of releasing energy. We use so much energy in our spells that they don't use while doing regular school-work… But they use incredible amounts of energy up in sports, work-outs, martial arts. He's a football player, himself, and spends absolutely every minute he can messing about with the ball. It's very entertaining, watching him bounce it up and down on his head." They were all the way down at the Great Hall at this point.

Ginny grinned at her and responded, "Yeah, I know what you mean. I spent most of my time in muggle London this summer and it was so strange suddenly to be in a world that different. Most half-bloods or muggle-borns don't mention it, but I think the biggest difference is being in a world where suddenly everyone is moving about all the time, exercising, getting up early and running about and then going to play or watch a sport in the evening, or go dancing for hours on end. Once I got used to it, I loved it though! It's really changed me a bit. I feel as though I can get so much more done in one day. I miss running my body ragged as well as my magic. It makes me think how much can get done that we simply don't try for. I mean, for a while now I've had all these great ideas of things I would want to try- and before that I had complaints about things that the administration or the ministry should do. Or things that I wish were happening at Hogwarts, such as cooperation between the houses, especially in the year above us. Because, you know, to me it's just so OBVIOUS that something MUST be done. I feel like I finally have enough energy to go out there and change it all! And not just right at this moment, either, but throughout the entire next two years at this school. I have all these spectacular ideas I've never had the gall to try, and suddenly I know all these little things I could to try and make things work, and I just so want to help because I finally realize there are things I can do that Harry and them can't or don't have time for. It's liberating and exciting and refreshing! And, now I've pretty much talked your ears right out of your head. Sorry… I haven't really said any of that out loud yet. Luna was with me for most of this summer and well, you know her, she sort of just knew what the change in me was without me even having to say." Ginny stopped talking, looking flushed and embarrassed as she stepped out of the Great Hall. She looked around, obviously unsure of whether she and Deirdre were going to be working out together, or alone. "Oh man, I don't even remember what started that. Er, so... working out?"

Deirdre had listened to all of this, feeling inspired herself as she heard Ginny get worked up. Almost bursting with emotion and a need to respond, but not really knowing what to say, she pointed to the lake in an attempt to end the awkward pause. "Do a warm-up lap with me, jogging, to the lake and around the edge to the Forest and then we can stretch. I know some people who usually drop by in the mornings to work out with me." Ginny nodded, bouncing on her feet a bit, and the two girls began, with Ginny setting a pace probably a hair slower than Deirdre's normal one. Deirdre simply settled into the rhythm, thinking about what Ginny had said, thinking about her own experiences, getting herself worked up and not able to let go of the emotions building in her.

The minute they came close to the forest, about even with Hagrid's hut, Deirdre tugged on Ginny, who had been running in silence, looking lost in her own thoughts. They both began to stretch, slowly and carefully.

Deirdre stared at Ginny, who looked totally focused on laying her forehead on her knee, and suddenly blurted out, "What you said… I know how- I mean, I, I feel as though you've just put into words exactly what I've been feeling for so long. I was frustrated because I love England so dearly, but each summer I leave it all behind when we travel, and there's such a difference returning for august before school starts again. And then we get here and it's so wonderful, but some things are so repressed!

"I feel as though the prejudices from the older generations in England are pressed upon the younger people at this school, and we're all so separated, and I've just barely begun to connect that feeling with the fact that there's a war going to be starting soon. And when I just sit back and think about it all, it's so ridiculous that we can't just stand together and say, Fuck off and give us control of the country already, you've screwed us all over enough. But then I realize that the next people to take over could just mess it up all over again, and I really know who I trust and don't, but I don't think that they've got enough help to get England to where she needs to be. And then I saw you and Luna and thought about last year, and how you're always helping the Three from the outside. And I got into that row with my friends because everything they care about felt so mundane last year, and feels so useless and petty this year. And I don't mean to sound heartless and call them petty because they aren't, they just… we just… My priorities are shifting, and I don't think theirs are."

Deirdre sighed and pulled one arm out to the side holding it in place with the opposite hand as she stretched the muscle. She looked over at Ginny, who had a thoughtful, but intense look on her face. Ginny smiled warmly at Deirdre, and took her time thinking before answering her.

"Yeah, I think you were right about knowing how I felt. It's nice to rave about it to someone finally and hear the best kind of response. I'll be honest with you. I'm planning to do something about it and I'm not going to be orthodox about it at all." Ginny finally said, bluntly. Deirdre gave a little laugh at this, trying to think if Ginny had ever been orthodox about anything she was passionate about. Ginny continued,

"Dumbledore is an extremely progressive headmaster and I plan to use that to do this thing my way. So far, he's gotten a bad rep with the Slytherins, mainly cause he's progressive about things that are counter to the beliefs of many of their parents. Rather than making this about muggle-borns and purebloods getting along, I want this to be presented to the students as us versus the administration." Deirdre started smiling widely, beginning to see where Ginny was going with this. "This is not going to be us doing what Dumbledore and that damn hat keep requesting we do, just kiss and make-up. This is going to be a lot of smart and driven individuals growing up and accepting things now before we all go out and get killed and betrayed learning the facts of life away from a sheltered school. Right now, I know a lot of people who only believe what they think they believe because no one's tried to present logical reasons why they may be wrong. And I know kids who feel repressed because they aren't necessarily compatible with people in their house. And I've met so many people who I think need to meet someone in a different grade or house because I just know that they could rely on each other after school. I even have some ideas about students who need connections to get the right job after school, and who to introduce them to… I just feel like I want to throw them all in a room and see if I was right. I feel bold, not manipulative necessarily. I have ideas for matchmaking, but I also don't want to make people miserable if I'm wrong. Is this making any sense?"

Ginny stopped and realized she was pacing and waving her arms a bit, since she tended to speak with her hands. Deirdre looked at her, more affectionate than awed this time.

"Absolutely. You're going to go about it like a Gryffindor. I'm not saying I've got a sneaking suspicion that you've got a few, ahem, tendencies from other houses, but you definitely are trying to see what will come about rather than forcing things to happen your way. I like the idea. Just think about how many things could go wrong if people tried to do this all themselves? That's what Fate is for, she does the planning, and we just do our damnedest to work with it. That's my current impression of the world anyway…" Deirdre summed up, rising to her feet and gazed over the lake, as though she was searching for something.

Ginny looked at Deirdre, thankful for the girl's fresh look on Ginny's plans. After all, the girl had no inkling of how manipulative Dumbledore could be at times, but still managed to see what Ginny was trying to avoid. She began to mutter to herself, pulling absent-mindedly at the grass. "Wow, I think she's got a better grasp on my idea than me. And … yes I do think she's right, maybe that's why He's going to be defeated in Harry's time and not Dumbledore's… Harry's style, Mione's, Ron's, it's all more hands-off, allow people to think what they want to think. But the question is, who's going to be the figurehead in the future… If we don't all die. Damn, and I always love wondering and guessing until that little thought occurs to me… Hm, What are you doing, D?" Ginny's mutterings transformed into an actual question when she noticed Deirdre wave to two forms splashing about in the water.

"What, you think I usually wait this long after stretching before I run off and find my group? They're late, actually, by at least five minutes… The only question is who is it this morning? It's not always the same bunch, one or two of them prefers to fly round the castle with the crazy lot up there right now, and another just swims round the lake most mornings… some of them only wake up half the time." She trailed off as two male forms pulled themselves up onto the large rocks which bordered the lake near the Forbidden Forest.

Ginny looked on, raising an eyebrow and wondering if Deirdre Boleyn's old best friends had known who her 'work-out buddies' were. This morning, anyway, it was Blaise Zabini and Thomas Nott, younger brother of Theodore. She walked towards them, listening to Deirdre greet them casually. "Surprise, surprise," Ginny murmured to herself, wandering closer as Deirdre walked over to them.

"Hey, Thom. I'm guessing your brother chose flying this morning?" The dark-haired girl inquired.

The Slytherin was wearing only a pair of swim trunks. The younger Nott boy was built taller and thinner than his brother. Ginny thought he looked strong in a lanky, wiry kind of way. His hair, normally thin and brown, was dripping and plastered against his skull, with pieces dangling in his eyes. All in all, although he wasn't anything near her type, Ginny thought he looked quite cute. Especially out of the black and green of the school uniform.

"Yeah" he answered, looking at Ginny curiously. "What's she doing here? I wasn't aware you two were any kind of close." He looked mildly surprised, even. She remembered that he was one of the quieter Slytherins, and a lot of the Ravenclaws had nice things to say about him. She also recalled that he was one of the Slytherin prefects that the Hufflepuffs didn't mind getting paired with for patrols. Which said rather a lot, really.

Ginny looked over Zabini as Deirdre replied vaguely that she and Ginny had found they had several more things in common now than they had last year.

Zabini, she realized, was far more attractive than anyone had a right to be this early in the morning. It just was not fair that he looked that good and she was still too grumpy to care or drool as much as she would normally. Not that looking him over more than once would hurt.

Zabini was very dark-skinned, and it must have been natural, because he didn't have any tan lines. He was dressed in the type of bathing suit that was popular in Europe, a speedo that looked more like little spandex shorts. (A/N: think Casino Royale James Bond here, people, when he's on the beach coming out of the water- that kind of speedo. I'm not really sure if it has a particular name, but I know it would look hot on Blaise!) He had impossibly high cheekbones, a strong jaw, and dark wavy hair that was stuck to his head at the moment. Her eyes lingered wistfully on his body, displayed nicely by his choice of clothing. He was more visibly muscled than Thomas. His body tilted away from her, looking at Nott and Deirdre while they spoke, and she could tell that he bore some sort of tattoo on his back.

She yanked her eyes back up after just a second or two, not wanting to stare. There was a difference between a very appreciative glance and undressing someone with your eyes, after all. Zabini turned towards Deirdre and said in a pleasantly deep voice that was gruff with annoyance, "Hello. Obviously, Macha decided sleeping was a more rewarding use of her time on her first day back, so we don't really have any interesting options aside from running. I've been thinking that this is all getting a little boring, doing the same type of routine every day. It's a shame we don't have any proper equipment, wizarding or muggle."

"Honestly, you say the same thing each time you come out… You're usually just swimming round on your own anyway, Zabini… Oh, and Ginny here was mentioning something about cross-fitness that may interest you. You do know her?" Deirdre motioned to Ginny, who nodded and yawned once more behind her hand.

"Yeah, right, hello, lovely to speak with you for the first time in my life. Deirdre, you know what I said about needing to move or falling asleep again? I wasn't really kidding. So how does this work? Are you all just going to swim, or run or something?" Ginny inquired.

"Oh, right, sorry bout that. Normally first day back from holiday Macha shows us some interesting stuff, she knows all sorts of ways to hurt people and interesting muggle games and work-outs, you know." Deirdre said. "None of us, aside from Zabini, who used to see a personal trainer, really know much about anything other than the typical running, swimming, and flying." Ginny looked towards Zabini, about to ask a question, but was cut off as Deirdre continued, "And before you ask, he's got a dreadful memory for this kind of thing. Not to mention he's never sure what type of workout he wants us to do… If we left it up to him, we'd never get a full workout in. God I wish Macha weren't being lazy. She usually takes charge, she's a total beast, obsessed with being in 'tiptop condition' or some rot."

"But she got landed with Dark Arts first today, and she doesn't know what the teacher will be like. So, better awake than tired, she says." Thomas cut in. "Dunno why she didn't just decide to go to sleep at a normal hour like the rest of us…"

Zabini, who was beginning to look slightly murderous, commented in a chillingly light tone, "So now we have to start the entire year with a boring lap around the bleeding lake."

Deirdre sighed and shrugged helplessly at Ginny, while Thom snorted and said, for Ginny's benefit, "Considering the fact that you pretty much think any exercise we repeat so much as once is boring, you could just contribute a little idea to the brainstorming process."

"Oh!" Ginny said, as inspiration struck her, "Hold up I've got a wicked idea. Have you ever gone hashing? It's an American muggle style of cross-country running." The others looked at each other blankly. "Damn. It wouldn't have worked anyway, since the forest is off-limits, but maybe some other morning when we have time to set it up and make sure it's safe… Forget it. In the meantime, have any of you heard of the workout named Fran? It's fast but it's a total bitch…" She grinned wickedly and began explaining.

About twenty minutes later, after using trees with low branches for pull-ups and after Zabini used Deirdre's wand to transfigure rocks into weighted bars for thrusters, everyone was collapsed on the ground. Thom groaned loudly, lying out completely on the ground, face to the sky, the arm flung over his eyes still trembling.

"What the bloody fuck was that, Weasley? Ohh, I should've taken the lighter weight, my arms are going to be too shaky for wand-work." He complained. Ginny laughed lightly, still catching her breath.

"Well, if you want the truth we did the more difficult version of Fran, the running Fran. Normally you don't run 400 meters in the middle, but Zabini said he was bored, so…" She trailed off, looking over at the oldest one of the four. "And don't worry about the trembling, Nott, you'll have it under control by the time you've showered and had breakfast. Maybe." Zabini looked like he was just about getting himself back to normal, which made sense, since he finished first out of all of them.

He pulled himself to his feet, still trembling a bit, and then walked over to Nott. "Alright, we've gotta get back so we have time to use the Prefect's bathroom before breakfast. Come on, Thomas, pull yourself together. If your brother beats us there, he'll be in there for a full half-hour before one of us gets a shot." This remark managed to get Thomas to his feet, where he began to slowly but surely mosey back to the castle. Zabini made to follow, and then turned back, ticking a raised hand in a slight wave at the two girls. Ginny smiled and gave a little toss of her arm in acknowledgment, while Deirdre just continued gasping for air. She was maybe not as aerobically inclined as Ginny and the other two boys.

"Not a bad choice for our first day back, Ginny Weasley." Zabini told her, lingering on her name, pronouncing the words more carefully, as if to say: which one should I call you by? "Fran's one of the American cross-fitness exercises... I'm pretty sure I remember doing it before. Maybe I'll see you two tomorrow." Nodding again, he and Thomas Nott continued their trek towards the castle. Ginny watched them go, marveling at the ass that was Zabini. He really did have a sadistically fabulous body…

"Yeah, so Ginny" Deirdre said, attempting to stand, "Whenever you're done appreciating Zabini's very fine assets, we should prolly head back as well. And hey, you're lucky, cause the boys don't mind you. Or should I say Zabini. He's pretty picky. He's the only one worth crap to any plans you may have to engage the Seventh-year Slytherins. Daphne's absolutely silent on most issues in Slytherin house as she ignores politics like though her life depends on it, and she's the only other opening I'd imagine you could've had in the Seventh years. So good for you, cause now you've got a good chance of pulling off whatever your first crazy stunt is. I wasn't sure if he'd bother hanging around once I saw Macha wasn't here. Swimming's the only thing that doesn't completely bore him to tears on a regular basis." She said as Ginny followed her towards the main doors. Ginny squinted and watched the small crowd of brooms continue to loop around the tops of the castle.

"Hey, thanks D. Plans aside, it's nice to have some people to work out with who aren't the Quidditch team. I like meeting new people, different people." She answered as the girls plodded towards the castle door.

Back in real time:

Ginny slid away from her memories slowly and carefully, leaving the white wisps floating in the pensieve.

"Ugh" she moaned, leaning a head on the table and nursing a headache. "I'm doing this too slowly… Maybe if I skip some. I don't need to put in EVERYTHING, after all." Pulling out a quill, ink, and some parchment she scribbled onto the sheet: 'note to self: leaving out majority of memories in which Luna and I, with the help of Winky and Dobby, refurbish the Corridor. Will show first time revealing idea, and then skip to first important memory near important opening. Show to Dennis later, be sure it all makes sense!!!'

"Right then," Ginny said, picking up her wand and bravely facing the bowl once more. At least reliving the memories was fun…

yay! Now, on to the next chapter --