A/R: (author's rant)
I'm so sick and tired of this semester and I want to get out of this backwoods
redneck town and go home. Oh, and uh…if
any of you are religious, please pray that I will make it through the next five
days (my two finals are due on Tuesday) without hurting anyone or ending up in
another country (both of which are very likely at this moment).
A/N: (author's note)
Ok, apologies to everyone for the rant, but I actually felt better bitching to
a bunch of strangers : ) I'm so glad that everyone likes the new
version and to be honest, this isn't too much in this chapter that has changed,
but it's still worth a good giggle or two : )
~~~~~~~~~~~
The train ride to Hogwarts was relatively uneventful, not
counting the fact that Hermione's announcement left Harry and Ron looking like
Christmas had come early this year.
"Don't think I'm going to let you three get away with murder
just because I'm Head Girl," Hermione warned them. Ron and Harry each gave her a wicked grin.
"You'll just have to work extra hard to keep me in line,"
Ron replied, giving her a wink. Harry
and Ginny both laughed at her blush.
Ginny ended up sleeping during most of the trip, she
stretched out on one of the empty seats and managed to have a nice nap despite
the constant noise coming from her other companions. Ron and Harry played exploding snap and Hermione caused quite a
commotion when the snap cards landed on the book she was reading and caught the
paper on fire. Ron didn't help matters
when he tried to stamp out the fire with none other than Crookshanks'
tail. By the end of the trip, Ron and
Hermione had made up, although Crookshanks' tail was still smoking a bit and
Ron was covered in scratches.
A squealing of breaks signaled the Hogwarts Express arrival
at Hogsmead Station. Ginny nearly fell
of her makeshift bed if it wasn't for Harry who just so happened to be standing
over her and managed to catch her at the last moment.
"Are you ok?" he asked in what Ginny thought of as a nervous
sounding tone. "I….I… I was just about
to wake you up."
Ginny blinked, confused as to why Harry had been standing
over her and why he was blushing so furiously.
"I'm fine," she yawned. The car
was empty, Ron and Hermione had obviously retrieved their things and left. Shaking off the last remnants of sleep,
Ginny stepped back and began to gather up her things while Harry waited for her
at the doorway. Grabbing her trunk,
Ginny slowly dragged it down the stairs.
"Here Ginny, let me take that," Harry said nudging her away
and catching hold of the handle.
"Thanks Harry," Ginny said, blushing slightly as Harry
returned her smile.
Harry paused and looked at her. "I know you're probably tired of hearing this, but are you sure
you're ok? You still look tired even
though you just took a nap and you hardly said anything on the train. I know these past few weeks were hard, for
all of us, but…..you really have me worried."
"I'll be fine," she assured him. "I think maybe a new change of setting will help."
"You still having nightmares?"
"Yes, but they're not anything to worry about. Just silly dreams." She noticed Ron and Hermione waiting for
them to catch up.
"Well, if you ever want to talk--or anything, I'll be right
here." Ginny's heart flip-flopped at
the thought of Harry being worried about her.
Sometimes, during moments like this one, Ginny got the feeling that
Harry just might think of her more than just a friend, but unfortunately, those
moments never lasted long.
"Hey, Potter!" the snide voice of Draco Malfoy called. "I see you found a girlfriend!"
"Go to hell, Malfoy," Harry retorted, "Before that thing you
date decides to crawl back under her rock!"
Those in hearing distance roared with laughter.
Malfoy's face twisted in rage. "Sorry to hear about your father Weasley," he said as he came towards
them, "Kinda ironic that he was killed by those Muggles he adored so, eh? What's your family going to do now that no
one's bringing home any money?"
Looking back on the incident that was to follow, Ginny never
knew what made her do it. But before
Ron or Harry could react to Malfoy's insult, her wand was already aimed at
Malfoy and "Glamoursi" escaped her lips. She watched Malfoy's sneer slowly switch to a look of horror as
the black of his robes turned into baby blue.
Thick, rich rows of the finest lace appeared around the neck and cuffs and
his expensive pair of dragon-hide boots transformed into matching lace
slippers. The worst, or best part,
depending on one's point of view, was watching Malfoy's short blond hair grow
into long, curly locks as his cheeks and lips deepened into a dark shade of
pink. Malfoy now closely resembled one
of those dolls Ginny had seen little Muggle girls play with.
Silence reigned across the station. Harry and Ron both stared back and forth
between her and Malfoy, jaws hanging. A
thin wisp of pink smoke lingered in the air.
Thankfully, the new Head Girl took over, ordering everyone back.
"Ron, you and Harry take Ginny and get on the next
carriage," Hermione ordered, sounding exactly like Professor McGonagall. "Malfoy, I don't know the counter-curse so
you need to get as quickly as you can to Madam Pomfrey." Harry and Ron, still in awe, jumped at
Hermione's "MOVE", each grabbed Ginny's arm, and led her to the nearest
carriage. Ginny was in shock
herself. What was going to happen to
her? Was she going to be expelled? Her
heart sank and she turned a deep shade of green at the thought.
Harry and Ron caught the first carriage they saw. Pushing Ginny inside, they both sat opposite
of her and gawked at her, identical expressions of fear, shock, and absolute
amazement on their faces. Then, after
a few minutes of complete silence, Harry suddenly let out a hysterical laugh,
which jerked Ron out of his stupor and pretty soon, the carriage was literally
shaking with the two boys' guffaws.
"I've never in my
life been so proud of my little sister," Ron exclaimed, wiping tears from his
eyes.
"It was better than that time Moody turned him into a
ferret," Harry gasped clutching his stomach and giving Ginny an incredible
smile. For once, she was not amused.
"Now don't worry, Gin," Ron told her, still grinning ear to
ear as he noticed her chewing her lip in frustration. "You're not going to be in any trouble. Madam Pomfrey will just perform the counter-curse and everything
will be fine!"
"There wasn't one," Ginny mumbled, not looking at either boy.
"Wasn't what?"
"A counter-curse. That particular spell has no counter-curse."
Ron and Harry roared, collapsing upon each other as they
both fought to breathe.
When the carriage finally stopped, Ginny was forced to wait
until both Ron and Harry had recovered before getting out. Professor McGonagall was waiting for them,
looking as fiercely strict as ever with her eyes flashing behind her spectacles
and her foot tapping impatiently. Harry and Ron were now fighting to contain
their chuckles, and McGonagall gave them a very sharp glance before turning to
Ginny, who was almost trembling with fear.
"Miss Weasley," she said firmly in her no-nonsense tone,
"I'll need to you come with me after the feast." Ginny nodded tentatively, feeling as though she had just been
told she was being shipped off to Azkaban.
Hermione was waiting for them in the Entrance Hall. "I don't think you're in too much trouble,"
she told Ginny, giving her a reassuring hug, "or Professor McGonagall would
have taken you to the Headmaster immediately."
This did not make Ginny feel better as they found their seats at the
Gryffindor table.
Ginny could barely hear the Sorting Ceremony as the entire
Gryffindor table kept on whispering "Good job!" and giving her the thumbs up
sign and winking slyly at her. Harry
and Ron couldn't stop grinning even when Hermione kicked them soundly under the
table. Even she wore a pleased
expression as though she had just received top marks for all her subjects. Ginny felt the heated glares coming from the
Slytherins burning her across the hall during Professor Dumbledore's welcome speech. It was so unfortunate that new spread like
devil's snare among the Hogwarts students and teachers. She couldn't even bring herself to glance up
at the head table, where Professor Snape was sure to be wishing to force feed
her his finest poison potion. Ginny
could only pick at the sumptuous feast when it began and hardly spoke to
anyone, despite her instant celebrity status that made her the talk of the
Gryffindors.
"Look Ginny," Harry said as he stuffed roast beef into his mouth,
"Ron and I have both been in enough trouble with McGonagall to know when she's
got it in for you." Ron nodded as Harry continued, "You have a clean record, so
there's really nothing to get upset over.
At the most you'd only get a detention."
Dumbledore stood up after the pudding had been served and
all golden dishes were wiped clean. "Now
all of you to bed! And I wish you all
well during this upcoming semester." The
scraping of the chairs against the floors drowned out the students' voices as
the all began to file upstairs. Ginny,
however, took a deep steadying breath and began to march towards the head
table, where only a few professors were left.
"You'll be fine," whispered Hermione as the three accompanied
her.
"We'll see you when
you get back to the Tower," Ron said.
"Good luck, Ginny."
Harry whispered, squeezing her hand.
Ginny swallowed, fighting back the beginnings of what was sure to be
another one of her blushes. Damn him
for doing that to her just as she was going to be expelled!
"Ah, yes, Miss Weasley," McGonagall said when she noticed
Ginny standing behind her, now looking quite green which contrasted with her
bright red hair. "Come with me if you
please."
Ginny could only pray as she followed. Up winding staircases they went, passing
curious portraits of dead Headmasters who all stared down at Ginny in
fascination. Stopping at a gargoyle,
McGonagall gave the password "Sugar quill", and marched into
Dumbledore's office. She had only been
there once before, and the memories of her last visit to the Headmaster's
office swam through Ginny's head, leaving her feeling extremely weak, like she'd
been hit with a jelly-legs jinx. She
wobbled over to the chair placed in front of his mahogany desk.
"Thank you Minerva," Dumbledore said. "Miss Weasley will return back to Gryffindor
Tower once we've had our chat." Ginny
peeked up at the Headmaster as she sat down.
The years of Voldemort's return had placed a lot of stress on him. His blue eyes rarely twinkled anymore, he
had lost a lot of weight, and now had the appearance of one who bore the weight
of the world on his shoulders.
"Now Ginny," he said gently, "I know you've had a lot on
your mind these past few weeks and I'm willing to believe that you
weren't…ah…aware of what you were doing, is that not so?"
Ginny looked up at him and answered truthfully, "Yes,
Professor. I didn't really mean—"
"I know, I know," Dumbledore cut in his blue eyes twinkling
as he looked over his half-moon spectacles, "you've been carrying an enormous
burden lately. Your mother wrote to me
about you. Unlike your other brothers,"
he said, smiling at her, "you've always been most well behaved here. Taking that into account, as well as the
knowledge that Mr. Malfoy's…er…ailments will fade in a few weeks, I see no
reason to punish you."
Ginny sat there stunned. No punishment
at all? "But Professor Dumbledore—"
Dumbledore interrupted her again, his eyes twinkling
merrily, "That was quite a spell you cast.
Good job of it too. I won't even
ask you where you learned it. Now, I'm
sure your tired after the events of today, so why don't you get to bed."
Ginny had learned the spell from a book her father had
stashed up in the attic. It was an ancient
tome and Ginny was just browsing through it, not really paying attention to
what she was reading.
Dumbledore walked her to the entrance, his hand on her
shoulder in a fatherly way. "Goodnight,
Miss Weasley." Ginny could see Fawkes
perched in his corner, the beautiful scarlet and gold plumage glinting brightly
in the firelight. Ginny muttered a
thank you and stumbled down the passageways that led to Gryffindor Tower. She couldn't believe she got off so
easily.
"Password?" The Fat Lady asked as Ginny faced the
portrait. Before she could explain that
she didn't know it, not having listened to Hermione when she gave it out during
the feast, the painting flew open as a pair of arms snatched her inside the
common room.
"Here's the guest of honor now!" her brother cried, leading
her to the center of the room. What
looked like to be a spectacular party was going on. A goblet of pumpkin juice was shoved into her hand as Ron jumped
onto the table. Everyone cheered wildly as Harry lifted her up next to Ron.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, fellow Gryffindors!" Ron shouted. "I would like to propose a toast to my
sister, Ginny!" "Here, here," came the
replies as the entire room lifted up their goblets in salute. "Today, my sister, faced the enemy…and….I
just don't think I can go on…." …" Ron trailed off as he wiped away imaginary
tears with the sleeves of his robe.
"Get on with it, Ron!" Harry bellowed, sloshing pumpkin
juice all over himself.
"Ok, ok, ok. My sister, my little
sister, faced the enemy today and showed him never to cross a Weasley! And I, as Captain of the Gryffindor
Quidditch team, would like to declare this day Ginny Weasley Day. Now everyone, raise your goblets to my
brilliant sister Ginny!" The entire
room exploded with applause and the clanking of goblets.
"Wait, I forgot," Ron continued over the noise, "I would also
like to propose a toast to our new Head Girl! You know her, you love her, God
knows I do…Hermione Granger!" Ginny
watched as Ron pulled a glowing Hermione onto the table as well and gave her a
kiss. "I want to toast to Hermione because
she has graciously allowed Harry and I to arrange this celebration!" The crowd roared, spilling pumpkin juice all
over the furnishings and themselves as well.
"Also," Ron, now hoarse, motioned for silence, "I want to toast to the
official Gryffindor photographer Colin Creevy, who, with his quick thinking and
even quicker camera, managed to forever immortalize this glorious day." As Ron finished, the Gryffindor banner above
the fireplace raised halfway to show a large picture of Draco Malfoy. The Draco in the picture was trying desperately
to cover his face with his hands, his golden curls cascading around his
shoulders. Colin Creevy was looking
quite pleased with himself, this was the most attention he had ever received in
his life. Ginny tried not to smile when she noticed that Colin was taking
rapid fire snap shots of Harry, who had just finished emptying his goblet of
juice over Seamus Finnegan's head and was now being chased about the room by an
irate, wet, sticky, Irishman.
"See, we told you everything would work out!" Harry gleefully declared once the party had
calmed down a bit and Ginny gave the details of her meeting with the
Headmaster. They were sitting in front
of the fireplace, Harry and Ron still toasting their goblets to the picture of
Malfoy, who had now hidden himself behind the frame.
"So what did Dumbledore say about Malfoy?" Hermione wanted to know.
"The spell would fade in a few weeks," Ginny replied,
finally giving in the urge to laugh as both Ron and Harry began to prod the
photograph with their wands, trying to make Malfoy come out from his hiding
place.
~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Thanks for
reading! This will probably be the last
installment of this story until next Tuesday when I will finally be done with
this semester of hell. As for "La Belle et La Bete" and "Dear Tom…", I don't plan on writing any
new chapters until next Tuesday as well.
Oh, and for all the other college/university/high school students that
have finals this week and the next, GOOD LUCK!
