The two of them said their goodbyes on the train since both their parents would not approve of their friendship. They both agreed to keep in touch over the summer. And they did. They corresponded through Draco's eagle owl. Because of him she was able to get the courage to go back to Hogwarts. Because of Tom Riddle's Diary she was scared of what the students of Hogwarts will think. But thanks to Dumbledore no one except Harry, Hermione, her family, Draco and his family knew what happened. So all through her second year she remained Draco's friend and all of the Slytherins helped her stay strong against Alex Johnson who still didn't stop bothering her. In fact, life for all the Weasely's got better in general. Ginny had to let a few comments slide passed her because of Ron and the twins, but Ginny had become that bond between the Gyffindors and the Slytherins that somehow got them to cooperate.
Her second year was uneventful. She refused to join Draco's attempt in getting Hagrid fired and Buckbeak executed. She liked Hagrid and the hippogriffs he had used in his first Care of Magical Creatures class, even though she wasn't even old enough to be in the class. Her biggest shock was when the news that their professor Remus Lupin was a werewolf hit her ears. He never struck her as the werewolf type, even though it explained his frequent illnesses and shabby robes. It also made the summer even more awkward than it was before since Draco was her best friend at school and Ron pretty much didn't talk to her unless forced. Especially during the Quidditch World Cup while they were sharing the top box with the Malfoys. Lucius Malfoy especially didn't approve of their friendship, but there was nothing he could do with the Minister of Magic right there. Ginny assumed that Draco was going to get it from his father later that night. But then the death-eaters came.
Ginny lost track of things as her twin brothers dragged her through the forest. She couldn't help but worry for Draco, even though he was the son of a death-eater. She didn't speak until she got home and waiting in her room was Draco's owl. He explained in the letter that he wanted to make sure that she was ok, unharmed. He'd wanted to ask her earlier but that he didn't have the chance. Ginny scribbled a reply telling him that she was fine and sent the owl back out. Then she began to sift through her new school supplies and organize her trunk. All of her books were laid out on the bottom of her trunk followed by her casual clothes then her robes. It was then she noticed a package on her bed. She opened it and gasped. They were dress robes, more a dress than anything. They were blood red, strapless and black lilies embroidered on the lower half. She wondered what they were for. She folded them gently and packed them into the top of her normal robes.
The day the train left for Hogwarts she slammed her trunk closed and dragged it down the stairs. It was very early, her mother was just getting up and making sandwiches for her and her brothers for the train ride. She bid her daughter a good morning and asked her to help her pack the sandwiched into bags. She did but they didn't talk. It was awkward, as it often was when Ginny was alone with one member of her family. But finally Molly Weasely spoke. "Ginny," she said. "Will you do something for me this year?"
"Of course, mum."
"I want you to watch yourself. There is something strange going on and I don't want you getting hurt."
"I'll be fine, mum. Don't worry about me."
Molly hesitated for a moment. She looked down at her daughter spreading butter on a piece of bread. She put a hand on her shoulder and Ginny looked up. "I've never told you how proud of you I am. You're a strong young woman and a strong witch. But you'll have to be careful this year around the Slytherins. Please promise me you'll watch out for yourself and not let the Slytherins get inside your head."
Ginny tilted her head in confusion. "Mum," she said. "I can take care of myself. And it doesn't matter if I'm friends with a Malfoy. I'm still a Weasely through and through. That's never going to change."
Molly smiled, obviously satisfied with her daughter's answer. After that everything got hectic. She stood back and out of the way and let her brothers, father, Harry and Hermione panic over getting to the station or work on time. She was squashed into the middle of a taxi between the twins. Her dragon puppet was shoved in her pocket. It wasn't too happy about that and she had to attach a muzzle that Charley had made for her. The dragon also was especially active since Charley had replenished the charm on the dragon. Her parents didn't approve but since it made her happier they allowed it.
She loaded her trunk onto the train and followed Harry, Ron and Hermione into a compartment as she had done the previous year until Draco showed up to insult Harry, Hermione and the Weasely family and take Ginny back to the compartment he shared with Crabbe and Goyle. Until then she curled up on her seat next to Harry reading her transfiguration textbook. Soon after the train departed Ginny changed into her school robes and Neville joined them. While talking Ron pulled out his Viktor Krum figurine and dumped it onto Neville's hand. Ginny's dragon puppet, now sitting on her shoulder, watched it as hungrily as Crookshanks was. "It was amazing Neville," Ron was saying. "We were in the top box!"
"For the first and last time in your life, Weasely."
Ginny looked up. The door slid open and Draco walked in. He nodded in Ginny's direction and she marked the place in her book. Ron stood up but Hermione grabbed his arm. "Don't rise to his taunts, Ron." She warned.
But Ron wasn't glaring at Draco. He reached out and grabbed Ginny's arm. "How could you let him insult our family?" he snapped. "How can you just sit there?"
"Because it's probably true." She replied, shoving her book back into her bag. "I'm not going to object something that's true. At least when I'm his friend it might not be my last time in the top box."
Draco chuckled. "She has a point, Weasely."
Ginny had to resist laughing and followed Draco out of the compartment. Her dragon puppet jumped onto Draco's shoulder, sniffed him, and jumped back onto Ginny's shoulder. "He seems to have gotten used to me." he said slightly nervous. In previous times he'd been burned and bitten by the dragon puppet.
Ginny chuckled. "I guess they bond with the friends of the beholder."
"I guess so, oh bloody hell, its Parkinson." He sighed deeply. "She'd be a lot prettier if she could keep her big mouth shut."
Ginny laughed as Pansy Parkinson sauntered towards them. She looked at Draco, smiled broadly, but then looked at Ginny. "Sorry, Draco but I need to talk to the Weasely girl."
"She has a name, Pansy," Draco called as Ginny was dragged away.
Completely surprised, Ginny allowed the older girl to drag her down the train, almost back to Harry, Ron and Hermione's compartment. Finally she ripped her arm free. "What in the name of Merlin's beard do you want?" she snapped. She and Pansy have never exactly seen eye to eye.
"I want you to stay the hell away from Draco."
"Pardon?"
"Stay away from Draco Malfoy!"
"Any particular reason why I should?"
Pansy bit her lip angrily as if trying to keep herself from jinxing Ginny. "Look," she said. "You can go ahead and be his bloody friend if you so wish but I'm warning you, blood traitor, if you so much as talk to him during the two months before Christmas, I'll jinx you into the next millennium."
"I don't understand."
"You will. Just stay away from him during that time and everything will be ok."
Confused and quite annoyed Ginny made her way back to the compartment with Draco and the other two. He gave her a confused look but she shook her head as Pansy followed her in and sat so close to Draco she was basically on his lap. He gave her a weird look but she simply ignored it. "How was the cup, Draco?" she cooed. "I heard it was amazing."
"Yeah," he said slowly. "It was pretty cool."
"How about the after show?" she winked at Ginny and giving her a knowing look.
Ginny scowled. Her father's job had suffered from that little incident with the death eaters. Draco knew that and while he openly mocked her family he never did it so openly in front of her. He shifted uncomfortably against her closeness. "So," he said awkwardly. "What do you think of the events of this year?"
Crabbe and Goyle grunted in appreciation. Ginny looked between all of them. "What events? What's going on?"
"You don't know?" Pansy smirked devilishly. "You have a father in the ministry and you don't know?"
"Pansy," Draco hissed before turning to Ginny. "The minister told my father directly. Hogwarts will be hosting the Tri-Wizard tournament this year."
Ginny sat up. "You're kidding, right?" she asked excitedly. "You're actually serious?"
"Yeah," he beamed. "Should be real interesting. I'm definitely putting my name in for the fight."
Ginny snorted. "Yeah right. Like they would let a fourth year in the tournament. There's already a huge mortality rate, Dumbledore wouldn't risk the life of an underage student."
"How do you know that?" Pansy snapped rudely.
"Because I have this marvelous thing called common sense," Ginny snapped back. "The Tri Wizard was discontinued because of too many deaths. Why would they start it up again just to let someone underage run blindly in to get killed? I would bet my house that they're only allowing students who are seventeen and older."
Pansy snorted again. "I wouldn't want your house if I won a hundred bets."
Suddenly the window shattered and the room was blasted with cold, wet wind. In seconds they were all soaked and Pansy ran out screaming something about her hair. Ginny had a stony look on her face as she pulled out her wand and repaired the room as well as dried it. The tension was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. "So…" Draco said awkwardly.
"It's fine," she said in a deathly quiet tone. "I'm used to it."
She leaned against the window and stared out into the rain. It was true that she was used to being teased and taunted about being related to a blood traitor, having no money and being the one outsider in the Slytherin, but it got tiring. She was a pureblood. And that was more than some could say.
Ginny blinked a few times. She sounded like a real Slytherin. How could she possibly think she was better than Hermione? Hermione who had always been so kind to her, after the initial shock of being sorted into the wrong house. Maybe Draco was rubbing off on her a little. "You ok?"
She sat up a little and noticed that Crabbe and Goyle were gone. Probably off to find the food cart. She shrugged and looked back out the window. "I don't know why I'm so bothered." She grumbled. "I've heard it all before."
"Yeah, but there's a difference between seeing me piss your brother's off and someone else aiming it at you."
"Shut it," she shrugged but smiled a little. "You know I'm not as sensitive as that."
They laughed before Draco stood up to grab his school robes. Ginny got hers too and they changed with their backs to each other.
It seemed that Ginny's efforts to dry them off after her subconscious shattered the window were pointless. The second they stepped off the train they were soaked to the bone. She followed Draco, between Crabbe and Goyle to protect her from the wind, to one of the horseless carriages. At the castle they dodged Peeves' water balloons and ran to the safety of the dining hall.
Ginny's senses were suddenly assaulted by the warmth of the hall, bright candle light and smell of the feast. When they sat she drew her wand and dried them all off, allowing the heat to finally sink in. "I'd hate to be those first years." She pulled out her ponytail to let her red locks dry out. "If none of them drown I'll be shocked."
"Pity you're not on that boat," Johnson snarled behind her.
Ginny ignored him. Johnson had always been bigger than her and the year before had resolved to physical abuse as well as verbal. Now, if anything, he would be even bigger, though not as big as Crabbe or Goyle who cracked their knuckles as he walked by.
The feast was concluded by Dumbledore's official announcement of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Ginny saw her brothers exclaim excitedly and Ron's wide open mouth at the news, and for all of that to disappear when it was explain that only those of legal age would be allowed to participate. Ginny met Pansy's eyes and gave her a knowing smirk. The older girl scowled and stood up with the rest of the students to follow a prefect back to the dorm rooms.
Not wanting to get caught in the crowd, Ginny, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle raced ahead to the doors. They didn't stay up much longer as they were full of food and classes started the next morning. Ginny took out the Dragon Puppet and it made its regular perch on the top post of the bed and they headed to bed.
