A/N:
Ok, so
I'm not perfect.
Has everyone picked
themselves off the floor yet? : )
Good.
Before
you read this chapter, I would like to ask that you go and read Chapter
5 again, just the last bit starting from where Ginny visits Hagrid.
Doctor
Cornelius made an outstanding point that I, in my nearsightedness in trying
to analyze CoS, completely missed out on.
It
would seem more likely, and it would flow better with canon, that the Basilisk
was not hatched out at the beginning of CoS like I had originally planned,
but was there all along waiting for another Parselmouth to control it.
It's
one of those cases where I couldn't see the forest for the trees, and I'm
sure it won't be the last.
It's
really difficult to analyze something like this without missing some rather
obvious things that don't
seem so rather obvious at the time.
I
also changed the location of the bathroom to the second floor, although
it does say in both versions at the beginning that it's on the first, not
that that was an important detail.
Guess
Hermione isn't right all the time.
:
)
Thanks to Dr. C for all his help and suggestions!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ginny!"
Ginny could hear someone calling her name.She
rolled over in her bed, wondering why she was being poked in her side.
"Ginny!Wake
up!"
She tried to brush the hand away."Leave
me alone! I'm not done sleeping yet," she murmured into her pillow.
"Ginny Estelle Weasley! You wake up this instant!"It
was Percy.Ginny slowly opened her
eyes, frowning as she looked up into the face of her older brother.
"What are you doing down here?" He asked, the morning
sun hitting his horn-rimmed glasses, blinding her.Ginny
sat up, confused as she looked around.She
was in the Gryffindor Common room on the sofa.
"Ginny?" Percy sat down next to her."What
on earth is wrong with you?"
Ginny's brow furrowed as she tried to remember why
she was down here. Something
about a nightmare she had had last night.However,
it wouldn't do to tell Percy this whowould
either do two things:he'd either
tell her it was nothing and to not worry about it, or he would worry and
send her off to Madam Pomfrey.
"I just want to go home," she said at last, realizing
how true that statement was.She
missed her bedroom with the dancing unicorns and fairies, she missed hearing
her mum downstairs making breakfast, she missed the ghoul in the attic
that would constantly howl and drop things and most of all, she missed
her daddy.Percy, despite all his
well-meaning, was a poor substitute.
"I know you aren't adjusting well here," Percy told
her as he hugged her to him."Look,
go get dressed and we'll go down to breakfast, ok?"
"What's going on?" asked Ron as he came down the stairs.
"Where are you off to?" Percy asked him, wanting to
keep tabs on all his siblings.
"Me and Hermione are going down to the Quidditch field
and watch Harry practice, like it's any of your business," Ron told Percy.
"Ginny, would you like to go?" Percy gently asked
her."You love Quidditch."
"Oh, come on Perce!I
don't want Ginny tagging along with us!"
"Ron!She's
going through a tough time here, you should be more concerned!"
"Then why don't you make her hang around you today,
eh?"
"Because, as a Prefect, I'm on duty all morning!"
"I don't want to go!" Ginny cried, making both of
her brothers turn and look at her, mouths open in shock. "I
think I might go to bed, I didn't really sleep well last night," she explained,
hoping that would be enough.It wasn't.
"Ginny," Percy said quietly, looking at her very intently,
"All we heard from you this summer was you getting to watch the Quidditch
matches.Something's wrong, you aren't
acting like yourself."
Ron, seeing his chance, left the common room."Tell
Hermione I'll meet her downstairs," he called after them.Both
Ginny and Percy, however, were staring at each other and didn't hear Ron.
Ginny sighed.She
did not want to have to go into this, not right now, when she wasn't too
sure what was happening either."I'm
just tired, Percy," she whispered, "I miss home."
Percy sat down next to her, "I know you do, Ginny.When
I first came here, all I wanted to do was take the next train back home.But
you'll be fine, I know it.You just
need to learn to socialize more, that's all."
Ginny nodded.She
had too much pride in her to tell him that no one liked her because she
was a poor Weasley with ugly red hair and freckles, with second-hand robes
and school books, who suddenly was having some very strange dreams that
didn't make any sense."You're right,
Percy," she said at last, thinking that it was better to let him think
he was helping her.
Percy puffed out his chest.He
always loved being the one who was right."Go
on and get dressed.You might want
to wash your face with some cool water, you have dark circles under your
eyes."He gave her a brief hug and
left.
Ginny slowly stood, stretching her aching muscles
and checking her arms to see if the scratches were still there.She'd
have a hard time explaining them if they were.Thankfully,
her mum's healing salve did its job as usual and no trace was left.She
went back up to her dormitory room and plopped down on her bed.She
was very tired, but now that she was up here, she was no longer sleepy,
if that made any sense.Closing her
curtains around her bed, she took her diary from its usual place and began
to write Tom.Right now he was the
only person with whom she could talk to, the only person who understood
her.Maybe he would know what to
do about her dreams.
Tom.Things
have gone so wrong here.
Hello, Ginny.What's
happened?
For starters, I've been having some terrible
nightmares lately and the one I had last night was the absolute worse.Oh,
Tom, it was so horrid!I can't remember
anything about the dream itself, but when I woke up early this morning,
my arms were all scratched up and I had feathers all over me and I can't
remember how they got there!I want
to go home!I hate it here!
Now, Ginny.Calm
down a bit.I'm sure there's a reasonable
explanation for your nightmares.
Well, what is it then?
You're just homesick, Ginny.That's
all.Things haven't been going like
you expected when you first got here and you are homesick.I
bet you miss your daddy and your mummy.
I do!I never
had nightmares like that when I was home!
That's right.You're
homesick.I had the same problem
when I was first here.I didn't like
how everyone treated me because I was an orphan from a Muggle Orphanage
who didn't know anything about magic and I turned out better than all of
them!You'll be fine, Ginny.I
promise you.You are a sweet, beautiful
young girl and if perfect little Harry Potter and the rest of these stupid
Gryffindors can't see that, well….that's their problem!
Ginny softly laughed at those words on the page.Tom
sometimes could be very funny.
Thank you, Tom.I
feel better.
Do you?I'm
glad.Get some rest, I know you must
be tired after the night you had.
I will.I'll
talk to you later.
Goodbye, sweet Ginny.
Ginny closed the book and stretched out on her bed.Maybe
she would feel better after a nap.
***********************************
When Ginny woke up, it was time for lunch.She
finally got dressed and washed her face.Percy
was right, she did have dark circles under her eyes.If
only she knew enough magic, she could charm them away.It
wouldn't do for Harry to see her like this, she looked bad enough in her
second-hand robes.She went down
to the Great Hall, looking for a place to sit.
Ron was sitting with Harry and Hermione, as usual.Both
he and Harry were looking a bit downcast, and Ron appeared to have a greenish
tint to his skin.He was barely
picking at his food.Ginny thought
about going over to them, but Ron would just be mean to her, just to show
off in front of Harry and Hermione.She
saw Percy, surrounded by his sixth year friends and some of the younger
years as well.He caught her eye
and waved her over.Not
wanting to appear rude, or give Percy any more suspicions about her, Ginny
came over and sat down to him.He
quickly introduced her to the people around him.There
was Neville Longbottom, a round faced second-year, Colin Creevy, who Ginny
already knew because he sat next to her in Charms, and several sixth years
that smiled at her and then completely ignored her for the rest of the
meal.Ginny wasn't too sure what
to say to Neville and Colin, both of them seemed really nice, although
Ginny knew for a fact that Colin could be a bit irritating.Percy
ignored her as well, after the initial introductions, and went to go talk
to a bunch of prefects over at the Ravenclaw table.She
noticed a few of the girls in her dormitory kept on casting her strange
looks from down at the end of the table where they sat, but she ignored
this as well.She finally excused
herself after finishing off her shepherd's pie and went back upstairs.She
needed a friend to talk to.
Hi Tom.
Feeling better, Ginny?
Not really.We
just had lunch here and there's just no one I can talk to.I
don't have any friends here.I want
to go home.
Why don't you
send your parents a letter and tell them how miserable you are?They
might be able to help you.
Because, I don't want them to know.They
would be so disappointed if they knew how unhappy I was here.They
were so excited when I got the letter, it would crush them if they knew.And
besides, I can't understand it myself,I
so wanted to come here ever since Bill started.This
place just didn't turn out like I had expected.I
thought I would be making so many new friends, learning so many new things,
and having just so much fun.So far,
I've made no friends, haven't learned too much despite the heavy load of
homework I've done, and I'm not having any fun at all.My
brothers all ignore me, especially Ron.And
Percy tries really hard to help me out, but he ends up hanging around with
his prefect friends, which I can't really blame him.Oh,
Tom, I'm so glad I have this diary to confide in, if
I didn't have you to write to I don't know what I'd do.It's
like having a friend I can carry around in my pocket.
I'm glad I can
be here for you Ginny.What's Harry
up to today?
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, I was so wrapped
up in feeling sorry for myself.You'll
never believe what happened during Harry's Quidditch practice.Colin
Creevy told me all about it during lunch.
Colin Creevy?The
boy who sits next to you in Charms?
Yes, that's him.He's
nice, but sort of annoying.He absolutely
idolizes Harry.He followed Harry
down to the Quidditch practice this morning to take pictures of him.He
was so excited when he found out that wizard pictures move.He's
from a Muggle family and never saw them before.He
told me that Muggle pictures don't move.Did
you know that?How weird!
Yes, I knew that
Muggle pictures don't move.What
happened during Quidditch practice?
Well, the Gryffindor team was just starting when
the Slytherins came up and said that they had a special note from Professor
Snape claiming that they had permission to use the pitch first.Ron
and Hermione were there to wait for Harry and they walked up to see what
was going on and Draco Malfoy—you remember him, he's the mean boy from
Flourish and Blotts that my dad got into a fight with his father—ended
up calling Hermione a really terrible thing!Ron
cursed him and it backfired, since his wand is still not working properly
from the crash into the Whomping Willow.He
was burping up slugs, that's what Colin told me.
And Hermione
is who again?
She's Harry and Ron's best friend.
What did Draco
call Hermione?
It's a really bad word, Tom.We're
not supposed to say stuff like that.I've
only heard it once before, and that was a long time ago and my dad said
that it was just the absolute worst thing you could call someone and he
better not ever hear of any of us using that word at all.Ever!
But what did
he call her?And you won't be saying
it, you'll be writing it, so your daddy won't have to get mad at you.
I didn't think of that.I'm
only going to do this once, though Tom.Draco
Malfoy called Hermione a MUDBLOOD!
That is a terrible
thing to say.Is Hermione a Muggle
born too?
Yes, but she's the most smartest person in the
school.Everyone knows that!Dad
says that the Malfoys are part of the group of wizards that believe that
they are better than anyone else because they're pure bloods.They
were also part of You-Know-Who's inner circle and that they still believe
that, despite claiming that they don't.Dad
says that You-Know-Who believed that pure-bloods were better than the rest
and that the others should be killed.Isn't
that awful, Tom?You
don't believe that do you?
Of course not,
Ginny.I'm half-blood myself.Didn't
I tell you that my father was a Muggle?
I remember.I
was just asking though.
Did Harry do
anything to Draco like Ron did?
Colin said he was too busy trying
to keep Ron from killing him, and then when Ron started burping up slugs,
Harry and Hermione took him to Hagrid's to fix him up a bit.I'm
sure that Harry would have though, if he had the chance.He
could've probably done something really bad to him though.I
bet Harry could curse him good, since he defeated You-Know-Who and all.I
bet Draco would have been sorry he ever messed with Harry.
I bet so too.Harry
sounds like he is a very brave boy.
Oh, he is!I
mean, how could you not be if you defeated the Dark Lord?And
Ron told me that Harry isn't even afraid to say You-Know-Who's name!He
says it without even flinching!It
was years before I even knew
what You-Know-Who's real name was!And
I told you all about how Harry came face-to-face with him again last year.Ron
and Hermione helped him!
Ah, yes.I
recall you telling me about that.You-Know-Who
was trying to steal a stone or something.
The Philosopher's Stone.It
was supposed to grant the person who had it immortality, but Harry stopped
You-Know-Who from getting it.
Very interesting.
I'd love to tell him how brave I think he is,
but I don't think he would like it.He
doesn't seem to like me much, he never so much as notices me at all, except
when we were back home and I would do something stupid or clumsy.I'm
so scared that Harry will never like me.
I'm sure he will
one day, Ginny.You just have to
practice patience.
Do you really think so, Tom?I
would so love that.Anyway, I have
to get started on some of my homework.Professor
Snape and Professor McGonagall gave us so much this weekend and I have
to get started soon.If I can't
have a lot of friends, at least I'm going to be the smartest person in
my year, just like Hermione is.I'll
show them all.
Good for you
, Ginny.Let me know if you need
any help, those were my favorite classes in school.
Thanks, Tom.I
will!Bye!
Bye Ginny! Write
me later on!
Ginny closed the
diary and got out her school books.Tired
of being upstairs, she went back down into the common room and chose a
nice little nook behind the girls' stairs.One
of the main disadvantages of having such bright red hair was that it could
gain one lots of unwanted attention, especially from bored siblings who
could use a good laugh.Ginny hoped
that the stairs would hide her from the rest of the common room so that
no one could see her.
She was right in
the middle of her three foot essay on the properties of a bezoar, when
Hermione Granger came up to her.
"Hi, Ginny!"She
said brightly, taking the seat opposite her and getting books, quills,
and parchment out of her own bag.
"Hi, Hermione,"
Ginny replied."Where's everyone
at?"
"Oh, Ron and Harry
had to go serve detention, you know for that whole thing with the car and
all.Really, I don't know why they
are so upset about it, they were lucky they didn't get expelled." She said
this all very fast, and Ginny's head spun."What's
that you're working on?"
Ginny frowned down
at her essay."Potions homework.Describing,
with examples, the uses of a bezoar and their properties when dealing with
certain potions."Ginny held out
her essay for Hermione to look at.
Hermione took it,
and read over it."Very good," she
praised.Ginny smiled at the compliment.The
rest of the evening passed very well for Ginny.She
and Hermione both worked on homework and talked about classes and other
things.Ginny even mentioned being
homesick, although she downplayed it a bit so as to not make herself sound
so pathetic.
"Oh, Ginny.I
was just like you when I started here!" Hermione exclaimed."I
didn't have any friends and no one liked me at all!I
almost packed up my bags and went home to my parents."
Ginny was absolutely
shocked to hear this confession.Hermione
was always so self-assured, and not to mention the smartest girl in the
school.And best friends with Harry
and Ron at that!"But what about
Ron and Harry?Weren't you all—"
"Not at first!Why
your brother and I really didn't like each other at all, and it wasn't
until they saved me from a troll that we all became friends."
Ginny was amazed."Wow,
Harry and Ron saved you from a troll?I
never knew that!"
"Yes," Hermione
said."Ron made a club fall on its
head while Harry stuck his wand up its nose!"Ginny
nearly fell out of her seat laughing as the mental image of Harry sticking
a wand up a trolls nose popped into her head.Hermione
laughed as well and it was hours later before they finally noticed that
they were up late.
"Wonder how long
their detention was,"Ginny said
as they both packed up their bags and started up the stairs.
"Ron's working with
Filch, so that could take hours, but Harry's working with Professor Lockhart
and you know how sweet he can be.I
bet Harry has it much easier than he deserves,"Hermione
said.Clearly, Hermione was one of
the many students who fancied Lockhart."Imagine
what it must be like to work with such genius.Have
you read all his books yet, Ginny?"
"No," Ginny replied."I've
only read what he's assigned us."
"Well, he is absolutely
wonderful!" Hermione gushed."The
way he does things, why it's almost unbelievable!"
Ginny smiled, not
too sure what to say, and feeling that this was the way she sounded to
Tom when she talked about Harry.She
didn't know how to feel about that.
They said goodnight
at the top of the stairs and each went into their dormitories.Ginny
changed into her nightgown, feeling that maybe things were not as bad as
they had originally seemed when she woke up this morning.Maybe
things will be just fine here, like Percy, Tom and Hermione had said.
It wasn't long after
Ginny fell asleep, her bright red hair fanned out on her pillow, that she
began to dream again.
