(Ginny's Story)
by Frog-Princess
(ginny@darkcastle.com)
A/N: I apologize for the delay! I've been working on my MWPP fic. Here's chapter four!
Chapter Four
Ginny, having eaten little at the feast the previous night, found that her appetite was back. There was a dull, hungry sort of ache in the pit of her stomach, and she quickly started on the bacon and eggs on the plate in front of her.
Despite everything else that was going on, she was looking forward to the start of classes that day. She ignored the glances Harry kept throwing at her every so often, knowing she was probably imagining it anyway, and tried to keep her mind on other things. If she was going to start out the year being called ridiculous names, at least she could try and keep her dignity.
She was actually managing to do just that - keep her mind occupied - and quite well, in fact. She was in the middle of a conversation with a student in her year, a girl with pale skin, long brown hair, and soft gray-green eyes. Her name was Kestrel. Ginny found it easy to forget about what was troubling her, for Kestrel made several jokes and even did a few imitations, and once or twice Ginny found herself laughing. But that was before the mail came.
Within seconds, the Great Hall was filled with owls. It was chaos, with the birds swooping this way and that, flapping furiously, occasionally dropping packages and parcels of various sizes. After being away from the beating of hundreds of wings for three months, one was almost surprised at how much noise it created.
A rather large tawny owl made its way straight towards Hermione, releasing a bundle of newspapers from its talons. Hermione reached up and caught it.
"Finally!" she said, mostly to herself, as she opened up the paper. "I haven't been able to get ahold of the Daily Prophet for ages. It'll be good to see just what's going on--"
She stopped mid-sentence and put the paper down.
"What is it?" asked Harry, concerned. Ron peered down at the front page, which read in big, bold letters: "THE RETURN OF HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED?" He had gone very white. He swallowed and then looked back at Harry. Hermione handed him the newspaper, shaking. It was just what each of them had been dreading. Ginny and Kestrel had fallen silent, watching Harry as he read over the article, his expression impossible to read.
"Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge denies You-Know-Who has regained power," Harry read in a low voice, "but sources say that recent disappearances may be the work of the Dark Lord. Ministry officials assured us that the disappearances of five wizards and three Muggles in a single week are in no way linked to You-Know-Who..."
Harry looked up from the paper. "I don't believe it," he said quietly to Ron and Hermione. "Voldemort's been hiding out all summer, probably trying to get his old followers back, and they still aren't doing anything about it!" He ran a hand anxiously through his messy black hair. "You remember what Dumbledore said at the end of last year. People have got to believe him... Fudge can't just keep pretending nothing's wrong..."
He suddenly realized Ginny had been staring at him, and glared back at her. Ginny was startled by this and, looking hurt, immediately turned back to Kestrel. Kestrel had also been listening and looked deeply shaken. Harry hadn't meant to do that, he'd just been so upset at reading this news that he didn't think about what he was doing. Anger always made him act rather impulsively. But before he could apologize, Ron spoke up. "What d'you think Dumbledore's planning to do about all this?" he questioned.
"I don't know," Hermione said thoughtfully, "but I think it would be a good idea to save this conversation for later..."
Harry nodded. He turned back to face Ginny again and opened his mouth to speak, but she had left.
"Ginny, wait!" Kestrel called after her. It was no use.
"Excuse me," Harry said to her, softening. "D'you know if Ginny--"
"She left because she was really worried about that thing in the Prophet," Kestrel said quietly. "Lot of bad memories, you know? I think she just needed to be alone for a while." Harry didn't ask for any further explanation. The girl was smiling weakly. "Don't feel so bad. It wasn't about you."
Somehow, this didn't comfort him at all.
Later that day, in the middle of Transfiguration class, Ginny sat twirling a strand of hair around her finger, a nervous habit she'd been unable to break for years. What is all this about? she thought. I remember what Dumbledore told everyone before the summer holiday, but it's still so hard to believe... he could be coming back...
"Who would like to read next?" asked Professor McGonagall. The class had been reading certain parts of the text aloud. Ginny looked around. She was in the same classroom as her brother Ron... which, of course, meant that Harry was in it as well. She was always aware of this, no matter what she was doing, but did her best to ignore the butterflies fluttering round and round in her stomach. She raised her hand a little more confidently than she felt. "Miss Weasley," McGonagall said. "Thank you. Please begin at the top of page 26."
Ginny gulped, but smiled sweetly. "Er... okay..." She found her place and began to read. Her mind kept drifting here and there, but she managed to read an entire page without making any mistakes. It was all about the importance of transfiguration in a qualified wizard or witch's daily life, and how transfiguration was making life easier and improving steadily since the Middle Ages.
Finally Professor McGonagall stopped her and called on someone else. "Mr. Finnigan," she said sharply. Seamus had somehow fallen asleep sitting upright in his chair. "I'm awake," he said, blinking.
Ginny was once again lost in her thoughts. Harry's been acting differently towards me lately. Not that I don't want him smiling at me for no reason... but it's just weird, like he feels sorry for me. Why should he? I don't want anyone's pity.
She looked over her right shoulder at Harry, who was sitting towards the back of the room.
He was looking at her.
Ginny snapped her head around and faced the front of the room again. Her heart was pounding. I have to stop it, she silently told herself. I was getting so much better about this whole crush on Harry. I'm not eleven years old anymore...
She hated to relive her first year. She had almost died then. But she remembered it now, her heart still pounding fiercely in her chest. If he is coming back, I'm going to be ready for anything. I can take care of myself... and what's more, I can prove it.
She knew that a lot had changed since her first year at Hogwarts. And while she still retained the looks of a little girl - same full, freckled face, same sparkling brown eyes, same long red hair she'd always had - she was a very different person now. She wanted Harry to be there to protect her, but she had to face the facts and be realistic about the situation. It's funny how intuition works sometimes. It was almost as if she knew something dark was coming, something difficult which would require all of Ginny's strength. But she couldn't have known. Either way, she made up her mind to look out for herself. She was not going to rely on anyone else to keep her safe. A frog princess, as Ginny mused, couldn't always rely on her knight in shining armor. What if he never came?
