The One That Got Away With It

Five-year-old Ginny Weasley was something of a troublemaker, though she would never call herself that.

It was part of being the youngest of seven, she reasoned to herself whenever she thought too hard about it. If you're the little one, you get treated like you're little, even when you're five-years-old and really too big for them to treat you like a baby.

No, Ginny was no baby.

Ginny was sick of it. Since her brothers thought she was too little to play quidditch with them, she came up with a fool-proof plan. She would wake up extra early and borrow the brooms so she could learn to fly. Then, when she was better than them, they would have to let her play with them.

There was no harm in borrowing their toys, right? No, Ginny found it absolutely reasonable. But since they wouldn't let her borrow the brooms, she would just have to be sneaky about it.

Well, that is until the broom veered to the left and she toppled off.

"Bugger," she yelled in pain. It was a word she'd heard Ron use a lot when he messed up in his chess games. The word seemed appropriate then as she clutched at her ankle.

"Well that doesn't look good," Ginny heard someone say behind her. She groaned. Fred and George.

"Double bugger," she muttered this time. Now she was hurt and busted.

"Did we remember lock up the shed yesterday?" one of them was saying. Ginny refused to lift her head. It was too embarrassing. What would they think of her attempts to teach herself flying?

"I'm sure we did," the other twin replied.

"Then how did it get out here, Forge?" Now Ginny knew they were either goading her, or genuinely confused. She would have to look up to tell.

"I don't know, Gred, but it looks like Gin Gin decided to play 'Big Girl' with it." Now she could tell. It was mockery. Instead of feeling sadder, she got a little bit mad.

How dare they underestimate her! She wasn't a baby anymore!

Ginny Weasley was five-years-old and plenty old enough to play with her eight-year-old brothers if she so pleased. It wasn't luck that led her to the broom. She'd had to plan it all out. Her magic had even listened to her to open the shed door.

She wasn't about to let them baby her again, no matter how much her ankle hurt.

Wiping away her tears as subtly as she could, Ginny sat up while still clutching her ankle. "I was playing and I tripped," she explained weakly.

The twins were watching her with raised eyebrows and crossed arms, the broom sitting at their feet. They weren't likely to buy that lie…

"Gin Gin, you know these brooms are for big kids to fly on. You're too small," Fred explained, not unkindly. He was stern, acting like he was protecting her. Ginny knew it was Fred because he was always the one who lectured her when she did something they didn't like

Ginny's anger flared. "I don't need you to protect me!" she shouted. "I'm five now! I can figure out how to fly!"

"We're your big brothers, Ginny. We will always want to protect you," George bent down and explained.

Ginny glared, feeling the pain in her ankle subside as though it were healing itself. "I am not a baby!"

"Geez, Ginny, just take our help," Fred grumbled. "It's a brother's job to help their little sister, even when you're fifty, we'll still be your big brothers."

She just continued to glower. She would not accept that they refused to treat her like an equal. They never treated Ron how they treated her, and they were his big brothers too!

"We promise we won't tell mum that you got hurt," George added.

Her eyes lit up then. "So… you won't rat me out?" she asked hopefully, jumping to her feet.

George rolled his eyes. "We were the ones who obviously didn't put it away right. If we told, we would get in trouble," he explained. Ginny's heart fell. They were just protecting themselves.

"Besides, it's not like you meant to use it. Probably just some accidental magic that let you hover a bit," George added. The gears in Ginny's head began to turn.

That wasn't how it had actually happened. She had figured out how to lift off from the ground, how to move forward a little bit, and how to stop. There was nothing accidental about it. But, maybe they could help her learn.

"Well…" she started thoughtfully. "Could you teach me flying so I don't get hurt next time? 'Cause if it's accidental then I could accidentally make it happen again."

Both twins laughed. Her heart sank even further. They didn't even believe that she could fly with them, or that she was worth teaching.

"Gin Gin, little girls don't need to worry about quidditch and flying," George started.

"They just need to work on cheering on their favorite brothers and not playing with our brooms," Fred finished.

Ginny needed a new plan. Fighting them wasn't getting her anywhere. She still wanted to learn from them, and play with them. For a brief moment, her face flashed with determination as she figured out her next move, but it was missed by her brothers as she put on a very convincing pout.

"Maybe you're right, but I don't have to like it," she muttered. Just as she'd planned, her brothers took that to mean they had won and she had given up. They dropped the subject of protecting her, and of her playing quidditch with them.

"Good, then let's get you home to look at your…" George trailed off. "How are you better?"

She shrugged, then turned and skipped away to the house. Accidental magic sure was helpful when she wanted to get away with something. Her brothers would have to learn to manage theirs better.

No, she wouldn't give up. She'd just make sure next time not to get caught.

A/N: Procrastination time! [#371.] Bagon: Write about a Quidditch injury and (restriction) no characters over age 11. I told myself I would work on Rise and Fall. Obviously that worked out so very well haha… Who cares though? Young Ginny is fun to write! R&R and Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans!