Disclaimer: I don't Own Harry Potter.

Chapter Nine: Training and Mastery

Ginny groaned as she woke up. It wasn't the fact that it was six AM or that the sun still hadn't risen that made her unhappy. No, it was the brutal training session yesterday. The thirteen year-old slowly got out of bed as her muscles screamed in protest. The physical conditioning that the Flamels had started her on three days after they arrived at the Castle had paid off, but every once in a while there were days that her body was simply pushed past its limits. Yesterday had been one of those days. Hell, the past two weeks had been a long series of 'one of those days'.

Ever since the Daily Prophet had talked about Harry Potter's 'claims' that Voldemort was back had arrived at the Castle, Perenelle and Nicolas had put the training in overdrive. The Gryffindor was on a rigid schedule that started at six-thirty. It was a ten mile run with various exercises at the end of every mile. Push-ups, sit-ups, squats, walking lunges, and planks were all a part of the work out, each one being included more than once.

It took her maybe an hour to complete this part of her training, then she had thirty minutes to take a shower and eat breakfast. At eight Nicolas and Perenelle would take turns working on her sword-work for two hours, leaving her drenched in perspiration and panting. They allowed her a ten minute break before mercilessly driving her into the library to make her study various spells. There she spent the next three hours researching, cross-referencing, and double-checking spells. From exceedingly complex charms, to conjuring rabbits, to hexes and curses – Ginny could probably write books on them all. There was also the fact that she studied dark spells. She never practiced them, only researched them, because as Nicolas put it, "How can you defend against something you don't understand?"

At one, the three sat down for an hour long lunch. Of course this time wasn't only for eating. As Ginny did her best impersonation of Ron, Perenelle would fire questions off about a broad range of topics, while Nic would present different situations that she had to creatively 'escape' from. The fewer and simpler spells she used, the longer she had before he presented the next simulation. Which meant more time to eat. At two, the thirteen year-old practiced dueling with spells for an hour. Then she was forced to brew potions – from the Draught of Living Death to the Polyjuice potion – for three hours.

Ginny then had to swim around in the Lake for an hour. At seven she had to combine dueling with spells and swords. That wouldn't have been so bad if she didn't have face both Nicolas and Perenelle at the same time. She felt an amazing amount of pride when she beat them…But out of perhaps three-hundred duels that had only happened once and that was because they were going easy. After that they stepped the intensity of the sessions up. That took two hours and from nine until ten she stretched. It took a bloody hour to get all the kinks out and she was still sore in the morning. She then had a half-hour to eat dinner and fifteen minutes to shower. By the time it was eleven, the girl was so exhausted that she merely collapsed on her bed, slept for seven hours before getting up and doing it again.

Despite the grueling schedule, Ginny didn't complain. Not once could she find it in herself to ask for a break, despite how hard her body screamed for one. She would do everything the Flamels asked because she was not going to let Voldemort beat her. She would pour her very soul into her training so that when he came for her family she could protect them.

The teen shuffled to her closet and put on some clothes – she didn't really care what they were as long as they were easy to move in – and forced herself to quickly walk out the door. She had to be running by six-thirty, so that meant she now had twenty-minutes to eat. After scarfing down a 'snack' that was probably twelve hundred calories like she was a starving wolf, the girl began her run. Sometimes one of the Flamels would join her but they were apparently having a lie in. Instead Paxluma came and flew beside the girl.

Having companionship during that hour made it more bearable. Even if that companion was laughing its tail feathers off at her when she started to pant. Come on chickling. You can do it…Even if you only have two legs. Ginny growled at the bird before puffing out, "At least…I'm…not…a bloody…fire…chicken."

Paxluma's offended squawking made the thirteen year-old smile before she went back to concentrating on running. When she entered the dinning hall she quickly sat down at her place and proceeded to eat a meal that was perhaps six thousand calories. If she weren't so active she would be afraid of getting fat, but since she would probably burn sixty-five hundred before lunch it wasn't a problem. Taking a short shower to wash the sweat from her body, the girl walked to the dueling room.

Arriving to find an empty room, Ginny realized that either she was early or Nicolas and Perenelle were late. A quick glance at the clock revealed which one it was. With an evil grin the Gryffindor decided that she would punish the Flamels for being late. Ten minutes later she was innocently doing practice strokes with a blade like she hadn't been setting up a prank.

When Perenelle walked into the room she smiled at the sight of her student diligently working. She didn't notice her hair turn green – which was especially insulting because she had been sorted as an honorary Gryffindor – at it was tied back in preparation for the training session. Nicolas entered mere moments after and his hair turned red. He stopped, looked at an innocently smiling Ginny and then to his wife's hair before conjuring a mirror to look at his own. Nic was an honorary Ravenclaw and was always talking about how Gryffindors were overly brave and didn't think before diving headfirst into the nearest pit of quick-sand.

Lord Flamel gave a great laugh at seeing how the youngling had made them pay for being late. Perenelle spun around and seeing her husband's hair, summoned her own mirror. Her enraged shriek was what finally sent Ginny into hysterics. Lady Flamel gave her a murderous glare before saying, "Change it back! Now, Kittling!"

Ginny shook her head. It took a few minutes but she finally managed to choke out, "Can't…Wears off in a few hours." Through her laughter. Perenelle growled like she was in her Animagus form before strolling over and picking up a blade. "You'll pay for this Kittling."

What followed made the Gryffindor truly appreciate how much the Flamels had been holding back in their sessions. While Nicolas was the same as ever, Perenelle was truly a force to be reckoned with. After being thrown into a wall for the fifth time, Ginny decided to never play a prank on the woman again…At least, not right before a training session.

After the brutal duel, the Flamels had decided to have pity on the girl and had given her the rest of the day to spend as she willed. That led her to standing out on the grounds, practicing her Deus das Chamas abilities. She was very close to mastering them, and she was also quite curious about what Perenelle meant when she said "Something more permanent."

Taking deep breaths, Ginny focused all of attention on the fire burning in her heart. It had always been there, but she hadn't really noticed it until the manifestation of her powers. When she had a good grasp on that fire she forced it down her arm and out of her finger tips. The girl smiled when flames started to dance on her hand. She allowed her fire to retreat back inward – it had merely been a warm-up – before she brought it forth all at once while concentrating on moving to the dinning hall.

The thirteen year old had been getting exceedingly close to being able to flame travel –she had been able to make her fire engulf her entire body – but had not been able to make herself move from the spot that she had started on. Maybe it was the anger at the media for vilifying Harry. Maybe it was the frustration of the long training hours. Maybe it was just her lucky day. Whatever the reason, when Ginny opened her eyes she was looking at the casual dinning room – with its comfortable chairs and long table – and two very surprised adults. Their surprise turned to amusement when she shouted, "Chouette , je l'ai fait!" The two didn't say anything about her exclamation, they merely remained silent, staring at her.

Silence had never been something the Gryffindor had liked, especially when the Flamels stared at her like she was some fascinating specimen so she shifted uncomfortably. Finally Perenelle said, "It seems that you've finally managed to master your Deus das Chamas abilities. I suppose that now is a good time to give you that something more permanent."

Ginny gave a brilliant smile, bounding after her mentor as the woman left the room. They went to the Flamels' chambers, Ginny stayed in the sitting room while Perenelle retrieved whatever she thought was necessary. When she opened a case to reveal several needles and ink the girl's eyes widened. "A tattoo? You're going to give me a tattoo?"

The ancient woman glanced up from her preparations. "Is that a problem?"

The thirteen year old shook her head. "No. It just surprised me is all."

Perenelle smiled and then asked Ginny to sit down with her right side facing the woman. The girl flinched slightly at the sting of the needle as the ink was applied, but after a few minutes she got used to it. Twenty minutes later it was finished and the Gryffindor got her first look at the new addition to her body.

It was in the middle of her upper arm, and completely circled it, like an armlet. It was the color of flames – predominantly gold, with red, orange and a small amount of blue. What made it so interesting was that the colors flickered exactly like a fire, and the tattoo also moved around her arm, like a dog always chasing its tail endlessly, except there was no head or tail to the tattoo. Ginny smiled. "It's beautiful…But what is it exactly?"

Lady Flamel continued to put away her materials as she answered. "Like I said, it symbolizes your mastery of your powers. If you look closely enough you should be able to see the Ancient Celtic Runes for fire, power, and goddess."

The Gryffindor scrutinized it closely and found that her mentor was correct. Three runes were evenly spaced in the flickering ink and they shifted slightly with the illusionary fire. She thanked Perenelle before leaving to wander around the grounds. It was funny, how much her life had changed. A few years ago she couldn't imagine being anything other than so-and-so's little sister but here she felt like her own person. Maybe it was because her brothers weren't here to overshadow her.

To be honest though, Ginny would rather have her brothers than not be overshadowed. She was grateful to Perenelle for convincing her to write to her family. Even if they couldn't respond it still felt like they were a part of her life in some way.

Harry Potter glared at the portrait in his room at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. After everything that had happened, he couldn't believe that Dumbledore wouldn't even look at him at his hearing. It was like the Headmaster was ashamed of him or something. The fifteen year old felt his anger beginning to rise but before it exploded a phoenix flamed into his room.

He blinked at the magnificent bird. "You're not Fawkes."

The phoenix gave a trill that sounded remarkably like laughter before giving him a piece of paper. "Thanks, boy."

Another trill this - time angry - came as the bird glared murderously at the boy. "Oh, I'm sorry, you're a girl then?"

The phoenix preened happily, sounding its agreement before nipping at his fingers playfully before flaming out again. "I wonder what that was about."

Shrugging, Harry decided that the only way he would find out was to open the mysterious letter. He frowned, he didn't recognized this elegant script. It was too slanted to be Hermione's, too neat to be Ron's, and not loopy enough to be Dumbledore's.

Harry,

I've never really written to you and for that I apologize. I wanted to thank you for what you did for me my first year. You saved my life and I never did thank you. I'm just writing this to tell you that what happened to that Hufflepuff boy wasn't your fault. It was Voldemort's. You need to understand that nothing that monster does is in any way, shape, or form - your responsibility. I believe you Harry. I've always known that Tom would come back…I'm sorry that it had to be so soon and so traumatic for you though. I'm sorry again, but you should know that not everyone believes the rubbish that the Daily Prophet writes. I wrote to you today because it's the eleventh of August, my birthday, (I always write to my family on my birthday, so I thought that I should just write you at the same time) and I figured you could use some support that isn't from someone who knows you real well.

Sincerely,

Ginevra Molly Weasley

P.S. In case you don't believe that it's me, you can ask Ron about the time he was six and he 'suddenly' started to fear spiders more than anything else. His answer should be that the twins turned his pillow into a giant black widow. Of course that isn't true, I did it (he was being a prat) but he doesn't know that (You mention that Potter and I'll bat-boogey you. I hear that it's a very unpleasant experience). If that isn't enough, the first time you ate at the Burrow I stuck my elbow in the butter dish.

The boy-who-lived gaped at the note in his hands. He knew that Ginny's full name was Ginevra but he had never expected to get a letter from her. Suddenly he smiled. She was right, it was good to hear that someone believed him that wasn't a part of his close circle of friends or allies of Dumbledore.

High Inquisitor Instated at Hogwarts

Ginny snorted at the title and out right laughed at the picture of the woman who was appointed to the position. She looked like a toad. A giant, fat, pink-cardigan clad, toad. The bow on her head was a nice touch. It looked like a demented fly.

Nicolas glanced over to see what she was laughing at and grinned when he saw the photograph. "Ah, Dolores Umbridge. She looks like a toad."

"Nicolas," Perenelle admonished. "Be kind. At least say that she looks like a well-dressed toad."

The two pranksters looked in shock at the ancient woman before bursting out in hysterics.

The fourteen year old smiled as Nicolas came in but it faded when she saw his serious face. She had five categories of faces for the ancient wizard, fun face, prank face, loving face, angry face, and serious face. Serious face meant that something was wrong. Serious face meant that Lord Flamel was – well – serious. "Youngling, I need to tell you something. Your father…"

Ginny gasped. "He's not dead is he? He can't be dead."

Nic smiled slightly at the girl's frantic tone. "No child. Not dead. Merely in St. Mungo's. He was attacked. By a rather large snake, I believe."

The Gryffindor hesitated before asking, "Could I go see him?"

The Flamels glanced at each other before Perenelle replied, "Of course Kittling."

Ginny stood in her father's hospital room staring at his pale face. It was only because Nicolas was so influential that she was able to come after hours. Silently the girl cast a strong sleeping spell on her Dad before removing his bandages. His wounds started to bleed and tears welled up in the teenager's eyes. She didn't stop them from falling but tilted her head so that the fell into the great rents. After crying softly for ten minutes the snake bite was gone and Arthur Weasley was completely healed.

The girl kissed her father on his forehead, placed a letter on his bedside table, removed the spell, and banished the useless bandages before exiting the room. Perenelle whispered a soft, "Well done," to her still teary eyed student. Ginny gave a slight nod, and knew that the time was coming when she would have to return to her family for good. She was dreading that day. Not afraid per se but definitely somewhat nervous at the thought. She could only hope that they forgave her for her actions.

When Arthur awoke a six days before Christmas, he momentarily forgot he was in the hospital. The constant pain that had come from his wounds simply wasn't there anymore. He called out to his healer and everyone was completely astounded as to how it had happened - but the fact remained that the injuries that had stubbornly been refusing to heal weren't there anymore. It was only after the healers left that the Weasley Patriarch saw a letter on his bed-side table. He ripped it open and cried as he read it.

Molly and the rest of the kids arrived near lunch time and the Healers finally gave up and pronounced that he was fit to leave with them due to 'mysterious reasons'. Arthur hadn't shown them the letter. But he silently gave it to Molly to read aloud when she entered. Everyone was in tears because Ginny had been in this very room. For it was Ginny that had healed Arthur. The letter read:

Dad,

I'm sorry that I couldn't be there when you woke up but I'm not quite ready to come back. Soon though, I'll come home and it'll be for good. I can't tell you how, but I'm the reason you were healed. I hope you enjoy you're early Christmas present. I will still send the regular stuff on Christmas day so don't worry about that. I'm sorry I couldn't be there when you were hurt.

Love,

Ginny

P.S. The first time you told me about 'elektricity' was when I was seven. I had asked you how the car worked…And just so you know its electricity. That was when you started to call me spark-plug.

The Weasleys were all extremely touched and slightly confused at how Ginny could have been there at St. Mungo's. The fact that she had healed her father when none of the professional healers could made both of her parents feel a strong sense of pride in their little girl. Everyone was excited to hear the fact that she was going to return to them soon. In her previous letters there had been no mention of her ever coming back to her family and to actually know that she planned on returning gave the Weasleys a sense of hope in their hearts that hadn't burned since Voldemort had returned.

Well it seems that you guys get a special treat this weekend of four updates in a single day. There must be something wrong with me. I apologize for any mistakes...The underline function wasn't working so sorry for that to. Or it was working but not really...I'm not even going to try to explain it so never mind. The French "Oui, je l'ai fait!" means "Yes, I did it!" Or it was supposed to. Any blame for faulty translation lies with Google Translate, so take it up with them. As I've said before, I only speak English so I can only really use other languages when I use a translator like Google.

Thanks to those who reviewed:

Anonymous Reviewer: Nymphadora - I didn't know it wasn't you're birthday. And since you didn't give me a date I suppose I'll just have to make sure to update every month, yeah? I'm glad that me saying that McGonagall would miss Ginny the most wasn't as far out there as I thought. I'm glad you like my version of Nicolas...And I honestly have no idea where the stroke of genius came from when it came to the mud thing. I thought that it'd be funny to have them living in the cottage 'cuz Nic made a mess of their normal home. Ginny and Nicolas's first prank on Perenelle and her reaction to it shall be revealed soon...Very soon. In a hilarious way (hopefully). As for Perenelle's 'Child' thing I've changed it to Kittling for several reasons, one because Lady Flamel stopped seeing Ginny as a child after she advanced very quickly through the material. Two, because of Perenelle's animagus form. Three, because of Ginny's animagus form. More info. about the prophecy will come in time. I will say, nice guesses on the magical creature thing. And Ginny will have some magical creature's blood in her soon to. I'm glad that I can write will enough that errors aren't all that noticeable. For your offer to beta - thanks, and I will take you up on that if no one else offers. Nice title for AP tests by the way. Very amusing. Well, you still have another chapter to read for tomorrow. I'm glad my time skips were done tastefully. After all the suggestions had come in after I had posted it I was afraid that some people might be disappointed. I'm glad you like my idea for Ginny. Had that idea in my head forever. I decided that while Ginny shouldn't see the Weasleys she also wouldn't be able to cut them out of her life. They were very important to who she is after all...I'm starting to think you're a zombie with all the 'juicy brain' comments.

Anonymous Reviewer: Kai - Err...Yes? I suppose now it's four times. Is that a bad thing?

Anonymous Reviewer: thorn - To answer your question. No, Ginny isn't going to save the world. Well she is but she's not going to be superhuman. She'll make mistakes and get injured. And as for Harry, he won't be weak. Under trained - yes. Weak - no. You'll find out exactly what happens to make him into someone that Voldemort should be scared of later.

Anonymous Reviewer: Too tired to login who-claims-to-be Dimitra- the fact that people would get bored was why I was hesitant to do go into full details. Not only would the readers get bored reading it, but I'd get bored writing it! And you're not a 'duche' for stating your opinion...Your brutally honest. Every writer needs someone like that so thanks. I'm glad you seem to enjoy it so much. If I had known that I'd get this reaction with this story, I'd have written it much sooner. And thank you for reviewing if you're going to thank me for updating.

mdauben- don't get used to it. I really have no idea what's wrong with me...Maybe I caught a writing bug? Anyways, I'm glad you liked the little things that I worked into that chapter. Hopefully this one provided more insight as to what Ginny's life is like now.

Comet Moon - This was the beginning of fifth year. Sorry for it being one update later than what you'd have liked. Well, either I'm very predictable or you're a good guesser. Its a lot more fun to be evil and not give all the answers. Just saying.

Lord Hiro - Hopefully this cleared up some of what Ginny did. There will be flashbacks as well when necessary to the story, so you will get a better view of her 'missing years'. Thanks.

Thanks to those who favorited EFGG: TopazEyes137 and Kimbovet .

Thanks to those who put EFGG on their Alerts list: darthal , Bluewater7 , Bear12 , Calhoun83 , tatzelwurmloch , Celox Edath , dragonfire91 , charles cdv and Mister Bigglesworth .

I just want to say how much it means to me that people care enough
to favorite/alert/review this story. All of you are the
reason that this story has gotten as far as it has in such a short period of time.

Thanks!