A/N: Well, it took me long enough. This is really a
hard story to write since I am trying to stick as close to canon as possible,
and just fill in the gaps. A huge thanks and hugs to Ondergirl Carrie for
her enormous help! : ) And you all should be reading
her "Prank Warfare" and "Written in the Stars" if you aren't already,
definitely one of the best H/G stories out there.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny hurt. There was no other way to describe it. She hurt. It
wasn't like she was sick, although she was beginning to
suspect that she might be getting a bit of a cold since everyone seemed to be
getting sick. Ginny was in actual pain, the kind of
which she had never felt before. It seemed that every bone, every muscle,
every cell in her body ached constantly. She sat in
her desk during Potions, her head propped in her hand, trying to make it
through this one last class. She could literally feel the
air in the room as if it was flowing through her, hear the slightest movement
made as if it was a cannon blast.
It was now October, and Ginny's life at Hogwarts hadn't improved much.
The homesickness that had plagued her so had not
abated, despite what Percy, Tom, and Hermione had told her. If anything,
she missed her home more than ever, especially
when her studies were not going as well as she had hoped. It wasn't that
she didn't want to do good in her classes, it was just
that she was so tired that she couldn't even think about doing homework.
Her nightmares woke her up frequently during the
night and during the day, it was all she could do to stay awake. Maybe
she wasn't cut out to be a witch after all.
"If Miss Weasley could keep her eyes open long enough," snapped Professor Snape
in a very nasty voice, "She would clearly
realize that class has been dismissed."
Ginny suddenly jerked up, wide awake as his words sunk in. Looking
around, she saw that she was the only one left in the
class room. Flushing from embarrassment and the fact that she just knew
she was going to be in trouble, Ginny practically
threw her books in her bag and scrambled up from her seat.
"I'm sorry, Professor, it's just that I—"
"Spare me the excuses, Miss Weasley," Snape said, his black eyes
snapping. "You were off to a good start in this class, but
you are well on the way to being much like the rest of your brothers."
Ginny bit her lip, not daring to make any reply to that. Snape had
never made any secret that he didn't like her family, even
Percy who was clearly the smartest of them all.
"I suggest you visit Madam Pomfrey. I'm sure she will have
something that will make you stay awake for your next classes,"
Snape sneered, staring down at her from over his hooked nose. "I do hope
that you will at least get enough sleep before the
next class. I'm sure your older brother Percy would be most interested to
hear about your inability to keep awake as well as
your dropping grades."
Ginny nodded and dashed outside into the corridor. Oh, he did know
where to twist the knife, thought Ginny. Percy was
badgering her enough as it was about school, her health, anything the prat
could think of. He'd even threatened to write home
and tell their parents if she didn't improve which nearly drove Ginny to
tears. They would be so disappointed in her if they
found out and Ginny was determined never to let them know about how their only
daughter wasn't going to be a witch like they
had always hoped.
Ginny went to put up her things in her dormitory and get her diary. Right
now she needed to talk to Tom, he would understand
her, maybe even offer some advice. Hearing laughter coming from inside
the room, Ginny paused outside the door, listening.
"She's just so weird!" said Lisa Parker, who slept in the bed next to Ginny's.
"She wears those God-awful robes that look like
they're at least as old as Dumbledore!"
"I know!" replied Stacy Fletcher, another girl in their dormitory. "I
swear if she wakes me up one more time screaming, I'll
place an unbreakable silencing charm on her!" The two girls giggled.
"I nearly died when she fell asleep in Potions today, it was so funny!"
chortled Lisa.
"It was all I could do to keep that Creevey boy from waking her up. He's
another loser like she is, all he does is chase after
Harry Potter and take pictures," said Stacy.
"Colin just likes her because her brother is friends with Harry," said
Lisa. "I think she fancies Harry as well, do you notice how
she blushes when his name is even mentioned?"
Ginny had heard enough. "Hello!" she said as sunnily as she could as
she walked inside, her head held up as high as it would
go. Ginny secretly relished the expressions of pure astonishment and
horror on the girls' faces. Throwing down her things on
her bed, she grabbed her diary out from under her pillow and walked out.
Ginny went downstairs into the common room and chose a seat at the table
farthest from the center of the room. Maybe she
wouldn't be noticed. She wanted to write a letter to her parents, which
was going to be difficult since she knew that Percy had
been telling them about her; how she was feeling, and she even suspected that
he may have written them about her dropping
grades despite his promise not too. So Ginny now had the task of
explaining away all of the damage Percy had done, while at
the same time trying not to sound like it. Her parents would see through
any trick.
Dear Mom and Dad,
How are you doing? I've been doing fine. Everyone's been getting sick with colds and I think I may have caught a bit of what's going around which would explain why I haven't been doing too good in my classes lately. I'm going to see Madam Pomfrey right after I send this out. She gives everyone this potion which makes smoke come out of their ears. It's sort of funny, but I hope I don't have to take it. Anyway, everyone is ok here. I miss you!
Love,
Ginny
Ginny reread her note. Everything seemed to be in order. She
sounded very casual, which was good. Folding the letter and
sealing it, she laid it aside to send out later. She really didn't feel
up to the long walk to the owlery. She needed to start on her
homework, but right now she had to write to Tom or else he would be mad.
Tom didn't like it when she forgot to write to him,
he'd say stuff like what was a diary for if you weren't going to write your
secrets in it? Tell him all about your worst fears?
Ginny thought that that's what she had been writing, but apparently the secrets
and the worst fears of an eleven year old girl just
weren't good enough.
A bit of laughter broke into her thoughts. She looked over by
the fireplace where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting.
They were playing a game of chess, at least Harry and Ron were. Hermione
was watching the other two, trying to help out
Harry, who was losing as usual. She was amazed that Ron was permitting
this, although knowing her brother, he was most
likely amused that even with Hermione's help, Harry still couldn't beat
him. Ron was quite a chess player.
Oh, Tom! I've had such a horrid day!
You say that every day, Ginny. What happened now?
First of all, I fell asleep in Potions. Then I just heard Lisa and
Stacy talking about me in the dormitory. They weren't saying anything new, just
the usual stuff about my clothes, me, my nightmares. Why am I having
these nightmares? How do I make them stop?
You're just tired, Ginny. They'll go away soon, trust me.
I just wish I could remember them, then I would know what I'm so scared of.
Is Percy still bothering you? I know a few ways to make him leave you alone.
Yes, he is, but Tom, I don't want to do anything to him!
It was just a thought. The last thing you need right now is Percy
nosing around bothering you. Are you still hurting?
Yes, but I'm sure this will go away. It's just part of stress.
Hey Tom , I just thought of something. Can other people write in you and
see all the things I've written?
Of course not, Ginny. They can write, but I have the choice of not
writing back or not. And I'd never tell anyone
what you write in me.
I'm so glad because I was really worried that someone might find you and discover all the things I've written. Oh, I would die if that ever happened!
Don't worry, Ginny. Your secrets are safe with me.
Thank you, Tom. I'm so glad. I have to get started on my homework. Percy's coming over this way to check on me.
Ginny quickly closed the book and stuffed it under her homework.
Percy, being Percy, would want to know what she was
writing in, where did she get it, who gave it to her, etc.
Percy had a determined look on his face as he came over to her, giving Ginny
the idea that she was not going to like whatever
he had to say to her.
"Here Ginny," Percy said as he pulled out a small bottle, "Take this."
Ginny looked from the bottle to Percy and back again. "What is that?"
"Pepper-Up potion. You need to take this," Percy said in a very commanding tone.
There was no way Ginny was going to take that stuff, especially in the
middle of the common room where everyone would be
watching her….especially when Harry was only a couple of feet away.
"No. I don't need that stuff, Perce. I'm fine," Ginny replied.
"Take it," Percy ordered.
"No," Ginny said, her voice getting a bit louder with her temper. Just
like Percy to think that he always knows what's best for
everyone.
"Come on Ginny," Percy said pleadingly. "You haven't been acting like yourself lately. Something's wrong."
"I'm fine," Ginny said through clenched teeth. Fred and George, who had just come in from the portrait hole, walked over.
"What's all this?" George asked, looking from one sibling to another.
"Ginny's just about to take some Pepper-Up potion," Percy told the two.
"Excellent! Come on Gin, it'll make steam come out of your ears!" Fred exclaimed excitedly.
"And with that hair of yours, you'll look like your head is on fire!" George
chimed in eagerly. "Maybe we should get Colin
Creevey to take a picture!" A few Gryffindors nearby heard him and
started giggling.
Ginny instantly turned blood red then paled. Not only were some others
in the room listening to this whole conversation, but
Colin Creevey, who had heard his name mentioned, was immediately getting out
his camera.
"Colin Creevey, you put that thing away! And I am not going to take
that stuff, Percy!" Ginny said very forcefully, hoping that
everyone would get the message and leave her alone. No such luck.
"You take it or I'm definitely writing to mother and father and tell them
all about your grades and those nightmares you've been
having," Percy growled very softly so only she could hear him. Ginny's
eyes involuntarily went over to where Ron, Harry and
Hermione were. They were all staring straight at her; Ron with amusement
etched on his face, Hermione with a bit of sympathy,
and Harry….well, Ginny had to turn away before she got to him. She didn't
want to know what he thought, but most likely he
was laughing at her like everyone else was. She'd never been so
embarrassed in her life.
"Do it Ginny, or I swear I'll tell mum and dad," Percy said.
Ginny bit her lip and grabbed the bottle from him, nearly breaking
the glass as she pulled out the cork and drained it in one swallow, nearly
choking as the liquid fire trickled down her throat,
making her eyes water and her insides melt from the heat. One
moment later, she could feel smoke pouring out of her ears, her
nose, even her fingers looked like they were suddenly on fire. Fred and
George were laughing hysterically, joined by the other
Gryffindors in the common room. She could hear Ron's chuckles coming from
the fireplace, joined in by Harry. A bright flash
of white light told her that Colin had managed to take a picture. He's
gonna pay for that, said an angry voice in her head.
Ginny was so upset and mad that her hands shook as she gathered up her books, ignoring everyone as she ran upstairs. This had to have been the worst day in her young life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing! I'll try to have
the next part out sometime next week. Look for the next
chapters of "La Belle et La Bete," "The Captain," and "The Scar,"
coming soon.