Chapter Eleven: Letter from Home
The Burrow
9 May 1999
Dear Ginny,
Did you hear the Cannon's game on the Wireless yesterday? Ron did really well. I went to the match to cheer him on. It was a great game. Afterwards, the players all went to a pub to celebrate. I went for a little while just to congratulate Ron, but I left early so he wouldn't have his old dad cramping his style.
I saw Hermione this morning. She arrived quite early, just in time to make me breakfast, a hearty fry-up instead of my usual corn flakes – how lucky can a man get? – and we tinkered in the shed for a while. We even mowed part of the lawn using a Muggle lawn mower! It made quite a racket, though, and it took a lot more time than I thought it would. It said it was "self-propelled," but that doesn't mean what you think it does. You still have to stand behind it and push. Hermione says that the ones that aren't self-propelled are even harder to use. Muggles really are amazing, aren't they? She said that her mother is going to continue to drive all the way to Truro regularly even after her parents start their dentistry practice. I think it's a long drive. But that's Muggles for you!
Ron really has started seeing Luna again, I hear, just as he said he would, and I think he's very serious about her this time. I was very glad to hear that. You all have known each other since you were toddlers, and Luna is a good witch for Ron, I think. She forces him to be the sensible one – though I do think that she's a lot more sensible than we sometimes give her credit for. Hidden depths, that one.
Hermione tells me that you are seeing someone, too. This mysterious revisions partner you have mentioned to me. I don't think I would have ever guessed you would be revising with Draco Newman, let alone dating him, but I look forward to hearing all about him from you. Although I've seen him, of course, I've never really got to know him. When school's over, you will have to have him over for dinner at the first opportunity. It will be interesting to meet him and see what sort of young man he has become.
You can probably tell that I'm not excited about your dating Draco, but if you care about him, I'd like to get to know him and give him a fresh start. If you are happy and he treats you well, that's all a father can demand. It would be nice if he made a decent living, too. And by "decent," I don't necessarily mean well-paid.
Please write me and tell me all about how you're doing. I was talking with Gerald Cummings in Games and Sports the other day, and he said he'd be happy to interview you about a position. If you want to, you can send your CV directly to him.
I hope you're taking care of yourself. We all love you! I'm very proud of you, Ginny.
Love,
Dad
Ginny blinked, then read the letter twice more. She grinned. Her father had decided to give Draco a chance! It must have been Hermione's doing. She thought she could hug her, if she were there to hug.
She pulled out her quill and a fresh sheet of parchment.
Hogwarts School
9 May 1999
Dear Dad,
Yes, I heard the game on the wireless. It sounded really exciting. Ron did great. I hope they let him start more often now. It will be great to be out of school so I can go to the games, too. I'd love to cheer him on with you. Draco loves Quidditch, too, and even though he likes the Harpies best (you can probably guess why!), I know that he'd cheer the Cannons along with us.
I don't know about a job at the Ministry, Dad. I really appreciate your talking to Mr Cummings for me, and if you want me to, I'll send him my CV, but the idea doesn't really appeal to me. I think I wouldn't mind working in the Ministry some day, but I'd like to see if there's anything else I might enjoy more and be better at first.
In fact, Draco has another interview with Mr MacAirt from the Golden Cup Enterprises, and he said that he would introduce us so it wouldn't be too awkward for me to ask him for an interview, too. I think Draco's got a lot of ambition, and he thinks that Mr MacAirt could provide him with some very good opportunities. I hope he does get a job there. He tries to pretend he's not worried about it, but I know that he really would like to work for Mr MacAirt and would be very disappointed if he didn't get a job with him. Anyway, I'm going to see what Mr MacAirt says. I guess that GC Enterprises is really big—he even has some Muggle businesses! But Draco said he's sold most of them, and right now, his main Muggle businesses are a bunch of amusement parks and a sweets factory. Mr MacAirt's concentrating more on his wizarding business now that he's better. He taught your Defence Against the Dark Arts class one year, didn't he? I remember Mum saying something about him once.
Thanks for giving Draco a chance, Dad. He really needs good friends, and it isn't easy for him. I really hope you will like him when you get to know him. He's very sweet and vulnerable inside, and he works really hard at self-improvement. He has some self-confidence issues, too, because he thinks that maybe he wasn't worth anything except his name, if you know what I mean. People were fake friends because of who he was. I try to let him know that he's got a lot of good things about him and that he's really smart, too. He's also afraid that people will judge him because of his father, and that's all a big mess. I'm sure you can imagine! Having Lucius Malfoy for a father? But he has been really nice to me. I loaned him my class notes once, and he gave me a box of truffles to say thank you. And I could tell he was really surprised that I'd loan him my notes just like that, without him even asking about it. He expects people to have a low opinion of him, and I think it makes it hard for him, even though he keeps working away. So we started to revise together just a week or two before Easter, then after Easter, I just got to like him even better. I think you'll like him, too. He's not like he was when he was a kid. And he's not like his father, either.
We had a great time in Hogsmeade yesterday. We hung out with friends and we had a really good lunch at the Three Broomsticks. Draco and I shared this delicious chocolate cake. Oh, and we ran into an Auror who knows Charlie—Clovis Hutchins. I thought his name sounded familiar, but he said to say hello to Charlie for him, so I probably ought to write him a letter today, too. I hope that Charlie can get that other job at the Welsh dragon preserve so he can be closer to home. It would be good to have the family be able to get together more often—maybe dinner at the Burrow at least one Sunday a month? Hermione might want to come sometimes, too. I'm really glad that she's been such a big help to you. I don't know what we would have done without her. Be sure you thank her a lot and are nice to her! Well, I know you're always nice, Dad, but you know what I mean. I just know that she's got a lot going on with her apprenticeship, her Animagus training, and her Muggle university classes, so I think we Weasleys are all very lucky to have a friend like her.
I love you, too, Dad, and I'm so glad that you aren't mad at me. I think I might really like Draco a lot. A lot a lot. But we have to see how things go after the Leaving Feast. He may be too busy for me then. I hope not.
Love,
Ginny
Ginny read over her letter, and then started a new one, though not to Charlie.
9 May 1999
Dear Hermione,
You are an ANGEL! Dad wrote me a letter this morning, and I don't know what you said to him when you told him about me and Draco, but whatever it was, he's willing to give Draco a chance. Thanks!
I assume you found out from Ron and Luna yesterday somehow. I'm sorry I didn't say anything to you sooner myself, but I just wasn't sure how. I know you had a lot of trouble with Draco when you were in school together. So I didn't know how to tell you that he's really different from how he used to be. He's funny, and smart, and really nice to me. And he's gorgeous. I think he's gorgeous, anyway. He's got a lot of ambition, too. He's working hard to get a good job when he gets out of school, and he wants me to get a job I'd like, too. We've even talked about living together. We aren't sure yet, and it was just something he mentioned, but when he said we might be able to get a flat together, I swear, it was not just sweet, it was really sexy, too. But he didn't say it like it was sexy, if you know what I mean. Just like it might be practical. But it still sounded sexy to me. And, of course, we do want to be together like that. Being at school has made it really hard to have private time together. Actually, we haven't. We've been alone, but Draco's being really careful because of being a prefect and he doesn't want me embarrassed, either. But he's really, really, really sexy. It's hard to think about having to wait more than a whole MONTH before we can be alone together. But I'm nervous about it, too. I wish I could talk to you!
Thanks again for talking to Dad for me. And thanks for being such a help to him.
– Ginny
Ginny had another letter to write, and she wasn't looking forward to that one. But first one to Ron.
9 May 1999
Dear Ron,
Thanks for being open-minded yesterday. It meant a lot to me to have my big brother be so supportive. I think that as you give Draco a chance, you'll be glad you did.
I got a letter from Dad this morning. I was really surprised, but Hermione had talked to him, and he actually said that when school's over, he wants me to invite Draco for dinner at the Burrow. It sounds like he's being really open to it. I can't wait to tell Draco. We were just saying yesterday how our fathers hate each other. I'm so relieved Dad's not going to be awful about it. I'm sure that I have Hermione to thank for that.
I really do like Draco, and I think that if you get to know him, you might like him, too. At least you'll see that he's different than he was when you knew him.
I'm going to put a letter to Harry in with this one. Could you give it to him as soon as you get it, and break the news to him gently before he reads it? Please do give it to him in person, even though I'm sure that won't be easy for you—and please, please, please don't tell him how awful you think this is. Please. I don't want you to think it's awful just because of the way things used to be. That's all over now. Draco's important to me, and I don't know what I would do if you were against us.
Thanks for being so nice at lunch yesterday. Oh, and congratulations on the game! You did really great. I listened on the wizarding wireless with a bunch of other girls and we all cheered you every time you blocked a Quaffle!
Love,
Ginny
Ginny set down her quill and gazed out the Gryffindor Tower window at the bright blue sky and the puffy white clouds. She knew what she wanted to tell Harry in her letter, but she knew that what she wanted to say wouldn't be good for him to hear, not at the same time she was telling him that she was seeing Draco . . . and that Draco made her happy. This would be a hard letter to write.
Next: "Dear Harry" Harry reads his letter and reacts. In the meantime, Ginny and Draco spend some time together outdoors on a sunny Sunday.