Ginny lay curled up in her bed, staring blankly at the bedroom wall. It hadn't even been a week since her attack, and already Ginny was beginning to feel isolated and unwanted in the wizarding world. She wasn't wanted at school, hence the reason she was back at home, and she wasn't even sure how much she was wanted at home. Of course her parents had never once indicated they loved her any less now she'd been attacked by a werewolf, but she under no illusions how tough life was going to be for the Weasleys from now on.

It hadn't taken long for Ginny to realise that despite the fact she was the one who'd been attacked, she wasn't being viewed as a victim. Within hours of her explaining how Pansy and Hermione had set her up, the pair had managed to wriggle off the hook. Pansy was denying ever haven spoken to Ginny in anything that might resemble the way Ginny described, and she backed her claims up by using veritiserum. As for Hermione, she'd provided so called proof that she hadn't left the castle the evening of Ginny's attack. Of course it hadn't helped that Ginny's own memories had been useless, and even though the Weasleys remained adamant that they'd been tampered with in some way they had no way of proving it. Even McGonagall who was firmly on the Weasleys side, admitted that Hermione's alibi was unshakable, and she couldn't see a way the dark could have messed with Ginny's memories.

Molly and Arthur had been fuming at the way Hermione and Pansy had wriggled out of trouble, and they'd been even angrier when both Severus Snape and Bernard Nott began to place the blame at Ginny's door. No matter how much the Weasleys argued that Ginny had been lured into a trap, the Headmaster and Minister were insistent that it all could have been avoided if Ginny had remained in the castle. She was the one who left the safety of the castle, therefore she was responsible for the predicament she'd ended up in.

As if it wasn't bad enough that she'd been attacked and then been blamed for the attack, word began to spread around Hogwarts that Ginny had been attacked by a werewolf. The same day as Ginny was found, everyone in the castle knew about her attack and there was outrage among the students. At the time Ginny had been safely ensconced in the hospital wing, but she could remember the outrage when Lupin was revealed to be a werewolf, and she was relieved to be away from the gossips.

The Weasleys had hoped the gossip would die down while Ginny was recuperating in the hospital wing, but they'd had no such luck. Once the students knew Ginny had been attacked, a lot of them had wrote to their parents and angry owls started bombarding the school and Ministry, demanding her removal. Molly and Arthur had fought to keep Ginny at Hogwarts, as they didn't want the dark to win, but in the end even they had to admit that it was in Ginny's best interests to leave Hogwarts. Following her attack she had a target on her back, and Ginny and her parents could imagine the abuse she would have received if she's remained at Hogwarts. Still, it had been annoying that she'd been forced to leave and the Weasleys felt as though they'd been defeated in some way.

Ginny's attack hadn't even managed to stay private as the papers quickly picked up the story, more than likely with the aid of a tip off from someone on the dark, and just over twenty four hours after her attack, the first stories about Ginny began to appear in the papers. At the time it hadn't been known for sure that Ginny had been attacked by a werewolf, or if she'd even been turned, but the implications had been pretty blatant in the papers. And then when the test results did come back a few days later, the papers somehow managed to get their hands on the results and they published the news that early tests indicated that Ginny was infected with the lycanthropy gene.

Not one of the reports in the papers were sympathetic towards Ginny, and a lot of them took the view of the Ministry and Hogwarts that she'd brought the attack on herself. A lot of the reports were only too happy to point out that Ginny had been stupid enough to leave the safety on the castle on a full moon, and furthermore her attack had taken place outside of the school grounds. What little sympathy Ginny might have received had been snatched away as the papers continuously reported how careless she'd been.

Not that Ginny's carelessness were the only accusations the press threw at the Weasleys. One of the reporters had latched onto the fact Ginny was blaming Hermione for orchestrating her attack, and they claimed the entire attack was a ruse by the Weasleys to try and turn people against The Dark Lord and his family. The reporter suggested that the Weasleys had arranged the attack themselves with the help of Remus Lupin, and they'd willingly sacrificed their daughter in the hopes of finally gaining some support in the wizarding world.

Of course the claims were total fantasy, but that didn't stop people believing them. Especially when Fenrir Greyback had been proved to be out of the country at the time of the full moon and Remus was unaccounted for. It didn't matter to people that the Weasleys hadn't seen Remus for over a year, in fact Ginny didn't even know if Remus was still alive as Bill and Charlie had been incarcerated before they'd been able to finish tracking him down. The family still had a connection to a known werewolf, and the people they were accusing of being behind Ginny's attack had cast iron alibis. It was only too easy for the press to convince people that the entire attack had been down to the Weasleys and they only had themselves to blame that it had backfired so spectacularly, and now their only daughter was a werewolf and an outcast.

With everyone turning against them, Ginny and the Weasleys knew that even if they could produce untainted memories of the night of her attack that it would do her no good. By now everyone believed the dark's version of events and even memories of the evening in question would no doubt be claimed to be forgeries on the Weasleys part. After all, it had been mentioned several times in the papers that Ginny had been unable to back her accusations up since her memories had proved hazy of the night in question. Somehow the dark had turned a brutal attack by them, into a way of discrediting the Weasleys and ending any resistance they may have still had in them.

Thinking about what had happened over the past week did little to settle Ginny, so hauling herself to her feet she quietly left her bedroom. Thanks to her improved hearing she didn't even had to go down a whole flight of stairs before she could hear the voices of her family coming from the kitchen. Unsurprisingly, she heard her name mentioned and she knew they were discussing what had happened and what they were going to do next, a conversation they'd had numerous times since her attack. Sitting down on the stairs, out of sight of her parents and remaining three free brothers, Ginny listened to what they were saying.

"Fighting it is mad," Percy spat. "Yes, it's unfair that Ginny's been forced out of school, but we all know it's for the best."

"How can it be for the best?" Arthur countered. "If we let this stand, we're isolating Ginny ourselves. We need to prove she's no threat to anyone."

"How?" Percy asked. "Everyone knows werewolves are vicious and dangerous."

"Remus was never dangerous," Molly argued. "If only he were here, he could help us. He could help us prove to the world that Ginny doesn't deserve to be ostracised."

"But he's not here," Percy argued. "And he hasn't responded to any of the letters you've written to him. Let's face it, Remus Lupin does not want to help us. He wasn't even able to help himself, was he? He's never fitted into society, and he was only too happy to be ran out of Hogwarts when the truth about him emerged. I don't think he's any sort of role model for Ginny."

"Then who do you suggest? Greyback?" Fred questioned, or at lease Ginny thought it was Fred, she couldn't be sure without actually seeing her brothers. "Remus is the only werewolf we know. It's either seek help from him, or go it alone."

"Fred's right," George said. "Remus is the only person who might be able to help. We just have to find him."

"Why? I've just said, he clearly doesn't want to help," Percy snarled. "He went to ground after what happened at Order headquarters, and he hasn't been in touch since. His best friend was sent back to Azkaban, and yet he remained hidden. He's only interested in himself, and counting on him to help us is foolish."

"If we forget about Remus, what else do we have?" Molly asked in a quiet voice. She had moments where her old spark and anger were evident, but after everything she'd been through they didn't last, and she was lapsing into despondency following Ginny's attack.

"Nothing," Percy replied. "I think we all need to face facts. Ginny's life, and by extension ours, has changed irrevocably. We can never change the fact she's a werewolf, and we can't get people to accept her. People are understandably afraid of werewolves, and whether we like it or not, Ginny will be shunned, and as her family we're also likely to be shunned with her."

"You sound like you would rather walk away from her," Fred accused, voicing the thoughts Ginny herself was having listening to her older brother.

"I would," Percy replied bluntly. "It terrifies me that my little sister is a werewolf. I would love to run away and pretend it's not happening, but I can't. The whole world knows about Ginny's condition so there's no escaping it. I will always be the wizard with a werewolf for a sister, and we'll always be the family with a werewolf as a part of it."

"You make it sound like her life is over," Molly said in a watery voice, and Ginny could tell her mother was on the verge of tears.

"Her normal life is," Percy replied. "Things are never going to be the same for Ginny, and the sooner we accept it the better. We can't make things any better, all we can do is deal with the mess we've been left in."

"And forget about the fact Ginny was attacked?" Arthur asked. He hadn't been up for fighting earlier, but he was sick of his family being torn apart.

"How much more do you want to lose, Dad?" Percy questioned. "Ron's gone, Bill and Charlie will never get out of Azkaban, and now Ginny is a bloody werewolf. But if you want to get yourself killed, by all means continue with a fight you'll never win."

Sitting on the stairs, Ginny thought about how a few weeks earlier she would have charged down into the kitchen and challenged Percy and his attitude. However, after what had happened she didn't have any fight left in her. It killed her to admit it, but the dark had won. They'd crushed her spirit and she didn't see any point in fighting anymore. After all, what was the point in fighting, when she didn't have anything to live for? Her life had been ruined, and Ginny just didn't see a future for herself as a werewolf. The only people she could see relishing being a werewolf were monsters like Greyback, and Ginny wasn't a monster. She didn't want to be a killer, and she knew she would spend the rest of her life, however long that might be, making sure she didn't hurt her family.

C.O.T.D.

Ginny being run out of Hogwarts was met with utter glee from Hermione, Harry and the Slytherins. Pansy had done her job of spreading the news about Ginny superbly, and it wasn't a big surprise that the students and parents had rallied against her and gotten her removed from the school. Then to add to the Weasleys trauma, the press had latched onto the story and Ginny was absolutely crucified. The Weasleys were on the way out, and any potential rebellion they might have mustered had been well and truly ended. They were on their way to being the outcasts of the wizarding world, and Hermione felt as though it was nothing less than what the family deserved.

A week after Ginny's attack, Hermione returned to the head dorms in high spirits. However, her mood dampened when she found Draco sitting on the sofa, staring into the flickering fire. Draco had been just as elated as everyone else following Ginny's departure, but Hermione had noticed that over the last couple of days he'd started to withdraw into himself and he'd been quieter than normal.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, throwing her book bag onto the floor and joining her boyfriend on the sofa. "And don't say nothing, because I'm not stupid. Something is bothering you."

"It is," Draco confirmed, although he didn't elaborate any further.

"And do I have to prise it out of you by force?" Hermione questioned.

"It's all this stuff with Ginny," Draco conceded with a sigh as he turned to face his girlfriend.

"You regret what we did to her?"

Draco shook his head. "No. Your plan worked perfectly. Not only is she out of our hair, but her entire family is tainted and being shunned."

"So what's the problem?" Hermione asked.

"I guess seeing the strong reaction against her is just making me realise I can never go public with being a werewolf," Draco said. "I suppose part of me thought that this could be an opportunity to educate people. To show people that being a werewolf isn't this big disaster they think it is."

"But if we try and do that now not only will people put two and two together and realise you were the wolf that attacked Ginny, but it could improve her life," Hermione said softly. "At the moment she's ruined, but if we try and change things for werewolves, we could inadvertently improve her life."

"Exactly," Draco said with a wry smile.

"Do you want to try and change people's perceptions of werewolves?" Hermione asked. "Because if you do, I'm sure we can find another way to keep Ginny down."

"No, let's leave Ginny as she is," Draco said. "I guess it just might have been nice in the future to not have to hide part of who I am."

"In the future we can do something to change people's perceptions on werewolves," Hermione insisted. "But look on the bright side, right now everyone who matters to you, knows your secret and accepts it. You're not hiding from the people who truly matter. And in the future, we can deal with Ginny and change how people think about werewolves."

"I guess you're right," Draco said with a smile as he slid his arm around Hermione and pulled her into his side. It wasn't as if he was ready to tell the world about him right now, so they had years to really think about how best to deal with Ginny once he was ready to go public with his secret. "Everyone I love knows that I'm a wolf, and they all accept it."

"They do," Hermione replied. "And speaking of accepting it, I've started my research into becoming an animagus."

"And?"

"It's not going to be easy," Hermione said. "But I can't see any reason why we can't all do it. Although I think with exams, it might not be before we leave school."

"I can manage a few more months on my own," Draco said with a shrug.

"I do have one bit of news though," Hermione offered. "I can't be certain, but I think there's a good chance when I transform, I'll be a wolf."

"How?" Draco asked.

"You can't pick what animal you turn into, the magic involved picks the most suitable animal for the individual person," Hermione explained. "A lot of the time a person's animagus form is some sort of reflection on themselves. Take Sirius for example, he was a literal representation of his name."

"Sirius – the dog star," Draco chuckled, surprised he'd never made the connection before.

"Exactly," Hermione said. "And since my soul mate is a wolf, I think there's a strong chance I'll also be a wolf."

"But it's not guaranteed?" Draco checked.

"No," Hermione replied. "But we can hope, can't we? Wouldn't it be cool if I was a wolf like you, and we could spend the full moon together?"

"It would," Draco agreed with a smile. "But let's just wait and see what happens."

Hermione agreed with her boyfriend, knowing that they would just have to wait and see. From what she'd read, she was confident she would end up being a wolf, but she didn't want to count her chickens. They would just have to wait and see what happened when Hermione and the others finally mastered the art of turning into animals and becoming animagi.

A/N - That's the last we'll see of Ginny in this year, but her story will be continued in the collection pieces. We'll also not be getting to Hermione and the group turning into animagus's in this year, but again they will be featured in the collection piece as well. As you can see, I've made a decision on what Hermione will be, but I would love some suggestions for the others.