Trigger Warnings:
Schizophrenia-like symptoms
The last few days of summer were uneventful and stifling. Mum had nearly suffocated her in a hug when they returned exhausted from the World Cup. Bill gently extracted her from her Mum's embrace and advised the older woman that her youngest desperately needed rest. Ginny had barely got a wink of sleep after the attack and was unsteady on her feet.
The rest of the siblings, Harry and Hermione included had kept their distance from her seemingly ashamed that they had gotten separated. The twins had taken it hardest and hadn't made a single joke since the attack.
Though, it wasn't as if Harry, Ron and Hermione had escaped without their own adventure. Ginny was sure by this point that Harry was cursed. The trio had ended up being accused of casting the Dark Mark by Percy's boss which was ludicrous. Though not as ludicrous as the actual culprit bring Mr. Crouch's elf with Harry's stolen wand. The poor thing had been given clothes and apparently Percy had been a right pompous git about it. Him and Hermione had been butting head constantly over it, part of which was the reason why she didn't get any sleep. Their constant bickering this morning was driving her crazy.
Though nothing could drive her more crazy than her Mum's persistent overbearing nature. Since Ginny had been caught up in the fighting at the World Cup she was barely allowed out of the woman's sight. That was without even thinking about how her Mum reacted to her "ridiculous" study plans.
Ginny had been sat at the kitchen table happily munching on a sandwich after a morning pottering outside enjoying the sun. The trio and the twins were with her, a sheen of sweat on their brows after a furious degnoming session which Ginny was, thankfully, banned from – one of the perks of being 'too delicate' she supposed. A swoop of owls came soaring into the kitchen with their Hogwarts letters. Hermione's squeal of excitement brought the Weasley matriarch bustling into the kitchen.
Ginny gently opened her letter and was proud to see that all her elective choices had been approved. The book list was quite extensive but she certainly had the money to get everything she needed. Bill had already grabbed a couple of the more interesting books for her, confident in her abilities.
"Oh Ginny dear, you never told us what classes you picked for next year" her Mum said. "Did you get the ones you wanted?"
"Yes, Mum".
"Well...go on then!" She replied rather impatiently.
Ginny spotted Hermione eyeing her with interest and she took a breath.
"I'm taking Muggle studies" Mum nodded at that.
"Care of Magical Creatures..."
"Oh, well that's not too bad then" Mum interrupted. "You'll help her with Muggle Studies won't you, dear?" She asked Hermione.
Hermione beamed. "Of course!"
"I'm also taking Runes and Arithmancy" Ginny blurted out.
Her Mum's eyes widened in surprise. In fact, everyone at the table looked shocked.
"Oh no".
"Another swot" the twins chimed faking despair as they banged their heads on the table.
"I don't think that's wise, Ginny. It will be too difficult to study four new subjects on top of the others. Two would be more than enough. If you write back to Professor McGonagall now and let her know you'd like to stick to Muggle Studies and Care I'm sure she'll let you. It's not too late". She patter her gently on the shoulder, a kindly smile on her features.
Ginny bristled with indignation at her words and shied away from her touch. Was she actually being serious? Hermione was still blinking at her stupidly.
She's not lying. You're taking on far too much for your tiny brain. It's sad how deluded you are. Tom added.
Ginny grit her teeth "I'm not dropping any classes" she responded with a slight bite to her voice.
Mum pursed her lips as if she had sucked on something sour. Her eyes darting quickly to Harry and Hermione and back.
"Look, I know you think you can do it but it will just be a waste of money when you need to drop out later in the year..." She added in what she must have thought was a placating voice.
However, she received the complete opposite effect to what she desired. How dare she?! Ginny thought. Outraged she jumped to her feet.
"I am NOT dropping any classes" she repeated. "I don't care if we don't have enough money for the books, I'll just borrow them from the library".
Her Mum's face flushed with embarrassment and the twins and the tri, sensing further escalation took the opportunity to sidle out of the room.
"I will not be spoken to like that, Ginevra!" She snapped. "You WILL pick two subjects or I will write to Professor McGonagall and do it for you".
"No! You cannot make me drop any classes and you can't speak to me like shit and not expect the same in return" Ginny practically shouted.
"Now you're just being stupid!" Mum shouted back "there is no way you can keep up with all those classes after your poor Astronomy and History marks. My decision is final, Ginevra.
Ginny balled up her fists.
"I WILL keep up and for your information I didn't do well in those two subjects because they are fucking boring and pointless!" She shouted turning on her heel and storming out of the room. Through the blood pounding in her ears she should hear her Mum screaming that she was grounded but she didn't care.
In the quiet of her room she angrily quilled a letter to McGonagall pleading to let her keep all four courses despite her Mother's doubts. Some of the anger had subsided by the time she finished and she felt the sting of her Mum's words more than she had in the moment.
Ginny took a deep breath and swiped at the tears which were threatening to fall. Quietly she snook out of her room and headed up to Ron's room. Without pausing to listen into their conversation she barged in making the trio, who were camped on the floor, jump. Ginny didn't let this perturb her.
"Harry, can I borrow Hedwig please?" She asked quietly. Eye flitting to where the owl was perched atop Ron's wardrobe.
"Oh, um, sure" he replied.
She muttered her thanks and headed over to Hedwig.
Standing on the tips of her toes she affixed the letter to her leg.
"This is for Professor McGonagall at Hogwarts, girl. Thank you for your help".
Hedwig hooted in affirmation and launched herself out the window.
Harry looked slightly alarmed at his owl, and therefore him, being dragged into the dispute with Mrs Weasley but Ginny just nodded her head at him and left.
...
Ginny had received a relatively encouraging response from Professor McGonagall who had admitted that she had been reluctant to allow Ginny to take on so many classes but was willing to let her try. After all, most students who took more than two classes dropped down before OWLs once they had a better idea of what each entailed. Regardless of the Professor's slight doubt Ginny was determined to do well. She was heartened to hear that unless her health or the grades of her core classes were effected then it was ultimately up to her what classes she did or did not take. Her Mum couldn't force her to drop any.
Professor McGonagall must have written back to her Mum as well. At least she presumed her Mum had followed up on her threat. As the rest of the holiday consisted of her Mum alternating between suffocating her with her presence and trying to convince her to drop "even one class".
Ginny was sick of it.
Her Mum even had the audacity to only purchase her Care and Muggle Studies textbooks from Diagon Alley when gathering the school supplies on behalf of all the kids. She almost glared at Ginny daring her to argue when she unwrapped her books ready to be packed. Instead, Ginny didn't rise to the bait and instead thanked her Mum and reminded her that she was happy to get the others from the School library.
Bill at least was sympathetic and snuck her out a couple of times before the new term. She was sure that he had words with Mum, though neither of them said anything to her. With his help she saw more of muggle London and was just as amazed as the first. There was always something new to surprise her.
The muggles also had a far superior selection of clothes some of which were now tucked away in her trunk next to the additional Runes and Arithmancy books Bill purchased for her from Diagon once he found out about Mum's discouragement. She had also bought some 'sports bras' blushing deeply while Bill and Charlie looked away. They were much more comfortable than the wizarding counterparts that she could afford. Her Mum had bought her one after noticing that she was developing and it was an ugly frilly pink thing that she cringed at whenever she put on. At Bill and Charlie's insistence she also bought a deep red dress with gold trim around the bottom and a matching pair of gold flats for a 'mysterious event' which they refused to tell her anything about.
With Bill's help she had also opened a small vault of her own at Gringotts. Usually minors were unable to open their own vault without giving control and access to the main family vault but Bill kindly let her open hers as a sub-section of his. He even helped her make a couple of minor investments in a couple of smaller Muggle and magical companies with some of the money gifted to her from Sirius.
"It's a shame Mum and Dad wouldn't let me help them invest. I even offered to put in the starting amount when I got my first pay check but they've always been too proud" Bill sighed.
Ginny wondered whether it would have made much of a difference.
Another benefit of being a part of Bill's family vaults was that it was protected against Ministry interference. Curse Breakers were under the protection of goblins in that sense and it was one of the reasons why they vetted their wizarding curse breakers so carefully. They didn't want to pick someone who would bring unnecessary trouble to their door.
...
Ginny sighed and looked out of the window. Since the death eater attack there was a sense of gloom pressing down on Britain. The usually warm summer was broken with more drizzly days than sun and Dad had been at work almost constantly. He had given a comment without permission from a senior about the death eater attack and there had been backlash.
This caused a bit of a rift between Percy and the rest of the family when he decided to chastise Dad for his behaviour. He was a pompous git but Ginny did understand where he was coming from. Even if he did go about it in completely the wrong way. The Weasley name was a bit of a joke in the Ministry and Ginny couldn't really blame Percy for getting annoyed. He had been trying to outperform his name for some time and this was just another setback for him.
Charlie had also left to go back to Romania and she missed him already. The house always felt livelier with him and Bill around. It was always nice to have another adult looking out for her. Charlie was never as direct or confrontational as Bill but everyone seemed to act a bit nicer when he was around regardless.
Charlie had been rather annoying though since the World Cup. He kept asking her if she had figured it out yet. She had not. Maybe she was just attracted to Veela. She hadn't had a crush on anyone else. Akila definitely didn't count she told herself.
She remembered when she found out about Charlie. It was a few years ago and he and Bill had taken her out for ice-cream at Fortescue's. Her and Charlie had located a table while Bill was supposed to be buying the sundaes. In reality he had been distracted talking to a blonde woman with long legs who was eyed him up appreciatively while he leaned nonchalantly on the counter.
"May be waiting a while, Gin" Charlie snickered and rolled his eyes.
Ginny let out a giggle too.
"Do you like blondes too?" She asked innocently.
Charlies eyes had widened in surprise and a blush crept up his neck.
"I. Um... Well...You see..." He stuttered while Ginny cocked her head in confusion.
"Ireallydon'tlikemuchofanyone" he mumbled.
Ginny was taken aback for a moment. All adults seemed to talk about were relationships, children, work and chores. Though, thinking about it, she couldn't imagine Charlie actually kissing anyone.
"Makes sense" she chimed happily and Charlie let out a small breath.
"So no follow-up questions? No worries about how I could possibly have children if I don't take a wife?".
"Nope! As long as you're happy it doesn't matter" she smiled before adding conspiratorially "I don't like anyone either".
This elicited a bark of laughter from her brother who ruffled her hair fondly.
Bill finally made it back to the table with three sundaes and a wide grin.
"Probably for the best that I don't like anyone. How could I compete with Mr Ladies Man over here" Charlie whispered nudging Ginny and sending her into a fit of giggles.
Bill simply raised his brow.
"Oh, is that how we're playing, Char?" He asked with a cheeky wink at Ginny. "Did Charlie ever tell you about Cindie?"
Charlie tied to warn his brother off to no avail.
"It was hilarious, Gin. Kids don't usually do accidental magic once they have their wands you see but our Charlie is a special case. In fact, he would have been in his fourth year. There was this cute little brown-haired girl in his class who was absolutely smitten".
Charlie had rested his forehead on the table and groaned, resigned to the story playing out.
"The final straw was the unicorns class in Care. Charlie was the only boy who the unicorns had allowed to approach and Cindie took that as a sign that he was the one. She'd obviously been giving out some pretty big hints throughout the year but Charlie hadn't noticed. Anyway, she caught him after quidditch practice one day, he'd stayed late with Tonks to pratice – a friend from his class" Ginny now recognised Tonks as the exuberant woman who had put Charlie in a headlock at the World Cup.
"Cindie backed him up against the broom shed and our little Charlie was completely oblivious chattering away about quidditch manoeuvres until she tiptoed up and kissed him".
Charlie groaned louder from the table and Ginny leant forward in anticipation.
Bill paused for dramatic effect.
"Our little Charlie panicked and blasted the poor girl away".
Ginny's eyed widened in alarm.
"Luckily he didn't seem to want to hurt the girl and his magic has manifested some sort of cushioning charm which caused her to bounce along the ground for a good few meters. Then, instead of helping her he jumped on his broom and flew away".
"As Tonks tells it, she was left pissing herself laughing and had to help the rather shell-shocked Cindie to her feet. Luckily she was unhurt and took it in good humour but Tonks never let him live it down".
Ginny succumbed to her laughter and patter Charlie on the shoulder.
"Tonks even kissed him once in sixth year to see if it would happen again".
Charlie mumbled something that sounded like cruel bitch from the table.
"No accidental magic that time but he froze up like he'd been petrified. Tonks had to sit him down and reassure him that it was a joke before he regained control over his body again. After that she helped to ward off any interested parties. People actually thought they were a couple for their final years at Hogwarts and there was quite the scandal in their final year when Tonks was caught kissing someone else" Bill ended with a chuckle.
Ginny patted her other brother on the back through giggles as he muttered something about Bill not playing fair.
...
Finally, it was September first and Ginny was ushered through Kings Cross and onto the platform. Bill regrettably had to leave the night before on an urgent curse breaking raid and left a tearful Ginny behind. She at least felt reassured that she could write and at least nothing bad could possibly happen for a third year in a row – right? Especially as Hogwarts was the safest place in Britain. She resolutely ignored Tom when he reminded her that that was bullshit.
In true Weasley fashion they were late and Ginny was glad that Luna and Colin had secured a compartment. They greeted her enthusiastically and Ginny sunk into their embraces. Colin has somehow grown even taller since the Quidditch Cup and the top of her head brushed his chin when they hugged. He had a bit more colour on his skin which brought out the sandiness of his hair. Luna on the other hand looked as though the only part of her which had seen the sun was her hair which was considerably lighter. It suited her.
The two had been somewhere in Italy for the last week or so before school with Mr Lovegood following up on a promising lead. Ginny had been invited but her Mum has predictably turned it down without even speaking to her.
Ginny asked where Dennis was and Colin let her know that he had been lost to some other first years. She was glad that he seemed to be making friends already.
The train ride was the perfect peace and quiet that Ginny needed before the madness of Hogwarts. Sometimes she spoke to Luna and Colin and other times she sat back letting the conversation wash over her. A couple of prefects checked in on them once but seemed content to leave them be for the rest of the journey.
A crack of lightning made her jump and Luna squeezed her hand gently. The rain had come on suddenly about half an hour previous and she didn't envy poor little Dennis who would be travelling to Hogwarts via boat instead of the drier carriages. Colin reassured her that his youngest brother would think it a grand adventure and that didn't surprise her in the slightest.
After making sure that Dennis got to Hagrid safely that made a mad dash to the carriages. Ginny sighed as she wrung out her hair. Colin opted to shake his madly like a dog causing Luna, who opted to keep the almost-drowned look, to break into laughter.
Another mad dash from the carriages and they made it to the great hall. They tried, without much success, to dry themselves as they parted from Luna. Ginny was already dreaming of a warm shower and bed. She didn't notice that the defence professor's chair was empty until Colin nudged her in the ribs for the third time.
Before they could do more than exchange confused glances Dennis came staggering into the hall with Hagrid in front of the other first years. He looked to be little more than a lump from his position in what Ginny presumed to be Hagrid's giant overcoat.
"Colin! Col!" He shouted across the hall.
Colin waved back enthusiastically.
"I fell in the lake!".
Ginny thought he sounded rather cheery about that as if falling into the lake in the midst of a storm was a treat rather than downright terrifying.
"The squid pushed me out!"
Delightful.
Colin, seemingly not wanting to risk intensifying McGonagall's glare gave him a double thumbs up and wished him luck for the sorting.
Ginny tried to focus on the other first years instead of Tom's murderous muttering about how the mudblood filth should have done them all a favour and drowned.
Dennis was predictably sorted into Gryffindor and Colin allowed him to squeeze between them giving his younger brother a pat on his damp hair. Dennis was practically vibrating with excitement as he copied Colin's meal choices and chattered happily about the other first years he had met. He pointed them out with glee and gave an exaggerated wave to a boy sat with the Hufflepuffs which to his credit was returned.
Dumbledore was about to make the after feast announcements when the doors crashed open. In hobbled a man that looked like he had seen several wars but somehow lived to tell the tale. Ginny spotted the magical eye straight away and frowned in confusion. Madeye was literally mad and she had no idea what he could be doing at the School.
Her frown deepened when Dumbledore introduced him as the new defence professor. Sure he was a brilliant dark wizard catcher in his day but there was a reason he was retired. Her Dad had helped him just before term get out of a scrape with the muggle aurors after some kind of animal set off some traps in his dustbins. His eye lingered on Harry for just a few seconds too long for it to be the usual 'seeing a celebrity' and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Dumbledore wouldn't hire someone who was downright dangerous though. Tom scoffed at that line of thought.
It turned out that the 'big event' her older brothers has been winding everyone up about since the World Cup was an old death tournament. She breathed a sigh of relief when they confirmed a participatory age of seventeen meaning that neither Harry or her brothers would be allowed to compete. The twins were, loudly, disappointed and Ginny didn't doubt that they would try to convince the judge once revealed on Halloween to allow them to enter anyway. She guessed that the Headmaster of each School would choose from their own students. If so, there was no way anyone under seventeen would be able to convince Dumbledore. Maybe this year wouldn't be so bad after all.
...
A bit of a transitionary chapter before things pick up again. Thank you everyone for your patience, favourites, reviews and alerts. It means a lot!
Herbert Fleet – Thank you very much! I'm glad you like my writing style. I'm trained in more formal report writing so writing creatively is a little difficult but this story just wouldn't let me be until I wrote it down! You'll have to wait and see what pairings I have in store. Though I warn you that there will probably be a few pairings before Ginny settles down with one. I felt like she was one of the only characters in cannon that had a more accurate reflection of relationships. After all, very few people find their "one" straight away.
Abhayakara – Yes she does and she will continue to do so!
setokayba2n - Thank you! An interesting idea, though I don't want to draw her into the prophet's attention...yet. I'm counting on the fact that in the chaos nobody got a really good look at her and she was overshadowed by several other people fighting and the Dark Mark. Though, that doesn't mean that she won't be recognised later on.
CARO – I'm glad you like my AU Ginny even if you don't like how she treats her parents! I think there's often difficulty between teenagers and their parents and Ginny has been through more than most. I'm not against some reconciliation later down the line.
~ Fiona