Ginny grabbed her school bag and, stuffing her quill into the first available pocket, started walking towards the grand staircase. She was glad the exams were underway, and couldn't wait for the end of the next week for them to finish. Hermione hollered her name and she stood silently waiting for her best friend to catch up.
"Are you ok? You seem really quiet. Besides, Demelza's been talking to you for the last five minutes and you didn't even notice!" Ginny came back to herself and apologised to Demelza, if half-heartedly, but the apology was accepted and her friend and classmate was already ahead and talking to someone else. Ginny turned back to Hermione.
"I'm fine, just distracted." Ginny and Hermione returned to the common room, Hermione keeping up a running commentary on Potions and the unexpected questions she hadn't anticipated on the exam. Reaching the common room, they found they had little time before lunch. Hermione got stuck in to her next timetabled revision session, head buried beneath stacks of parchments, piles of books and a mound of quills that looked as if it might last her the next ten years.
Ginny grabbed the morning's Prophet from a table beside the fireplace and settled down to read, but besides a small headline announcing the World Cup Semi Finalists (both England and Ireland were out and Wales were holding on so far; Scotland hadn't qualified) was an editorial article about Harry.
Ginny read it over. It commented upon Harry's requests for privacy and normality, his work ethic ('highly motivated' and 'eager to learn' were a few of Cuffe's praises) and the events of the last three weeks surrounding the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. Having refused comment to a society reporter by the name of Barlow all month, the 'intrepid' journalist had not relented, finally managing to get something from Ginny's boyfriend: a few unrepeatable words and a restraining order.
Ginny smiled to herself, full of pride in Harry's choicest phrases; she leapt from her perch to steal parchment and a quill from Hermione's stash. Ignoring the death glare, she returned to the armchair by the fire and, leaning on the Prophet, began to write:
Harry,
I just read the editorial in the Prophet. I'm proud of you! Ron was apparently a bad influence on you after all, and not the other way round, as Mum thought once or twice.
You have to admit that those… phrases were probably not the best thing to say, but Barnabus Cuffe actually makes it sound like his reporter was wrong to hassle you and, what was his phrase?... "Invade the privacy you both request and deserve". So I think you owe Cuffe a letter of thanks – and maybe an apology or two for the bad language at the very least!
Cuffe says in his article that you didn't attend that Ministry thing you told me about a few weeks ago. I didn't think you would, but I'm glad you made the decision on your own. Did you end up at home like Dad suggested or did you attend one of those other gatherings? Just curious – you never mentioned the anniversary!
I just finished the first exam – Potions. It's nearly lunch so there's no point in me starting to revise something else if I'm going to spend twenty minutes on it before I have to put everything away again so we can go to lunch. Did Hermione disseminate all her OWLs afterwards? I always hate when people do that! The exam is over, move on, start revising for the next one right? There's not a lot you can do about it after the exam the over!
We have Quidditch practice tonight, gearing up towards the Ravenclaw game the weekend after next. Will you be able to make it? You have plenty of time to figure it out I guess. My only concern is that Bradley is turning into a halfway decent Chaser… but I've got him covered and Chambers too – he has a nasty Cobbing habit that needs reporting, and has a tendency to Haversack the Quaffle too.
Anyway, I have to go – I'm starving and you know what happens to Weasleys when we don't eat. You live with Ron!
With all my love, always
Gin xxx