THC - Round 3 - Slytherin - HoH - Standard

Prompt - [Word] Smile.

Word Count - 1609

Beta(s) - CupCakeyyy, Butterflies765, shy-n-great, Fires of Eden Red Rose Aurora. (WOOP! GO SLYTHERIN!)

Note - The first paragraph is purposefully written that way to allow the first letter of each sentence to make a word.

She walked down the corridor, her head low.

Minding her own business.

Ignoring the stares, she stared at the cobblestone floor.

Letting the comments fall on deaf ears.

Even the ones from those who she thought were her friends.

Ginny clutched hold of her books, held her head high, a brave smile on her young face, and walked down the corridor. There were only a few days left of her first year at Hogwarts, she could get through it, and she would do it with a smile. That's all she had to do. If she pretended she was okay, then she would be.

At least, in public she would, however, behind closed doors, she was a mess, she was afraid, she was alone.

You'd think coming from a big family meant you were never alone - that wasn't true. Sometimes being in a crowded room made you feel even more alone, especially if you had nobody to talk to. Yes, her brothers said hi to her and checked in on her regularly, but they never stayed around long enough to see her facade dissipate. It was easier for them to believe that she was okay - easy for them, at least.

"I wonder if she was adopted," a fifth-year Ravenclaw whispered - conveniently loud enough for her to hear. "I thought Weasleys were supposed to be brave."

Ginny gulped as she kept her lips turned up and forced the tears to stay at bay. She knew the truth; she could be strong and brave and courageous. She was a Weasley.

"Nah, she's just as pathetic as the others," a different one spoke, not even pretending to lower her voice.

Quickening her step, she made it to her class, but even that wasn't a safe haven. Slipping onto a seat in the back, she watched as others actively avoided her.

The twelve-year-old had always dreamt of attending Hogwarts, following in her brothers' footsteps, making friends, having fun, and learning about all things magical.

However, her first year had been stripped away from her; instead, she had spent it alone, no friends, her brothers too busy for her, finding comfort in a diary, being possessed, and had her life slowly drained away. Her first year at Hogwarts had almost been her last on this earth.

A sigh left her as she glanced up at the board and started to silently get on with her work, sending a small smile towards anybody that looked her way.

She's a freak.

Weak, more like it.

Doesn't deserve her family.

She's evil, should've been in Slytherin.

I wonder if she's the heir of Slytherin?

Should be expelled.

Look at her smiling, everybody knows it's fake.

We should wipe that smile off her face.

Ginny almost tripped up the steps to her common room, her thoughts filled with everything people had said about her. While she hadn't been physically attacked, every word against her was like a blow to the stomach.

"Hey, Gin!" Fred called as she entered the room, a huge smile on his face as George started to approach her. She quickly hid her true depressive feelings.

"We were telling Lee about our Quidditch games at home and…"

"...He doesn't believe us!"

An arm went around her shoulder and led her towards the other fourth-year as she forced her lips to turn upwards. "Tell him."

Gingerly, she looked towards the older boy who she didn't really know. "Yeah, many games, a few matches."

Lee's glance on her softened. "I guess I'll have to come over sometime," he replied, his voice still chipper.

Fred and George cheered. "Fantastic!" they said in unison.

However, Ginny couldn't match their excitement, she couldn't even keep the smile on her face. "Great," she muttered, her facade quickly diminishing. She didn't want to pretend to be fine in front of her family, but how could she be the one to ruin their mood? That wasn't fair on them. She just had to keep pretending, keep smiling, keep… keep…

"Gin?"

"I want to go home," she confessed, her voice instantly breaking and the tears welling up in her eyes.

George was suddenly bent down to her level, one arm still around her. "Gin, it's okay."

"No, it's not."

Fred looked around before dropping something on the floor. Suddenly, purple smoke began to fill up the common room, making everybody start chattering loudly in confusion as Ginny felt George pick her up. Without caring why she wrapped her arms around him and let him carry her wherever he wanted.

Hopefully, he'd take her far, far away. She didn't want to spend another minute in this dreadful place. She wanted to feel safe again, and right now, the only way that would be accomplished was by going home into her mother's arms. Nothing else mattered apart from where she wanted to be.

So as she held onto her older brother, she felt her whole self break down and finally allowed herself to release all of her emotions that she had held in for so long. The tears wet her cheeks and her brothers' tops, but she didn't care. She didn't care about anything right now. Not what the other students thought, not if she looked weak, not whether she was smiling, not even if she deserved to be here.

Her brothers' comforting words fell on deaf ears, she just couldn't pay attention. It was too much. It was all too much. She couldn't do this. But more importantly, she didn't want to anymore.

She just wanted to go home, hide in her bed, and never come out - to have her mother come up with hot chocolate, scones, and hugs.

Her hand clasped a handful of tissues. She brought them up to her face and looked up at Fred who was standing in front of her. "Can I go home?"

"Tomorrow," George stated simply as if the prospect of that changing was beyond him.

Taking a breath, Ginny shook her head. "I can't wait that long."

"What's going on?" Fred asked, handing her a tissue.

"Is somebody picking on you?"

"Talk to us."

Ginny wiped her cheeks again, the tears still falling freely. "I don't like it here. Everybody is mean and they whisper and talk and look and… and… please."

"Gin, it's all just rumours," Fred said softly, sitting down on the other side of her.

"Nobody really believes that you went down there willingly."

Ginny shook her head. "No, they know! They know! Do you think they know that I let the snake out? What if somebody had died? Maybe I should have been expelled."

Her brothers shared a look. "Gin, it's just rumours, nobody knows the truth of what happened except you!"

George leant in a little closer and lowered his voice. "If you tell them… or show them that you're upset by their words, they'll keep on talking."

"All they really know is that you nearly died in the chamber of secrets," Fred continued, his tone now more sombre. It wasn't an easy subject to talk about.

"They're grasping at straws of how or why you were involved."

"Children's imaginations."

Ginny sniffed as the tears continued despite her trying to stop them. "They said I wasn't a true Weasley…"

"Well that's ridiculous!" George exclaimed as he dramatically threw his arms up.

Fred nodded in agreement with his brother. "You're far too cool to not be one of us!"

George gently wiped her tears away. "How about we spend the whole night getting into mischief?"

Ginny looked at George in confusion, then turned to Fred expectantly, wondering how this was supposed to help - although, already on the verge of agreeing. The random suggestion had settled her down slightly. "Then it'll be like we were already at home."

"Just like we did-"

"-or at least tried to-"

"-the day before we came to Hogwarts," George finished.

Ginny smiled genuinely at that memory. She had been so excitedly nervous that Fred and George offered to do an all-nighter with her, it would have been the first time ever. She had wanted to live up to their expectations, however, she had only managed to play one game, do a few pranks, and repack her clothes before she had fallen asleep. The twins had accomplished pulling an all-nighter without her, and now she had another chance. Just her and two of her brothers; they'd protect her.

"What's that?" George asked.

"It can't be!" Fred added.

"What?" Ginny asked, looking between them and around the room, confused by her brothers' exclamations.

Fred and Geroge were both grinning. "The first real smile we've seen you wear all year."

A small laugh almost escaped her but she held it back. "I've smiled this year… I smile all the time."

"We said-"

"-Real smile."

Fred poked her side. "We know you, sis."

George poked her other side.

"Okay, okay!" she relented, knowing from experiences that the pokes would turn into tickles. "Maybe… just maybe… you're right."

The issue with being on edge for so long was when she finally felt relaxed, a new bout of tears came. They were tears of relief and happiness. Ginny made a promise to herself that she wouldn't keep everything to herself in the future - after all, that's how she had ended up in the chamber - and she'd remember that no matter how alone she felt, it was a lie. She was part of a big family, and all you had to do was remember to speak. Family was always there for each other. And even though her first-year at Hogwarts had been absolutely awful, there was no better way to end it than with a bang, Weasley-style!