Ginny Weasley and the Memory of Power
by Jedi Amoira
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Disclaimer--I don't own Ginny, the Weasleys, Hermione, Harry or Tom. I don't Hogwarts, Diagon Alley or the Chamber of Secrets. I don't own...well, if you see something you like just assume I don't own it, and you'll be fine. I have done my best to rely largely on my own imagination and vocabulary for the scenes I describe, however I have borrowed from JK Rowling, the movies, and my fellow fanfic writers wherever I found something I really liked. I hope they all take this in the manner in which it is meant--as sincere flattery of their skills.

A/N--I have some great reviewers, but an author writes for praise, and I need more! If you like it, PLEASE leave a review! I may not own any of this, but I have worked very hard and do love this story. If you like it, please say so. And please respect my work and don't print or post it elsewhere without my knowledge. Thanks!

Bill--I meant to reply to your remark about seeing some of the background of some of Ginny's older friendships earlier and accidentally overlooked it. I hadn't actually intended to do much with them in this story, in spite of the fact that they do seem like pretty interesting material, but I am hoping to write a sequel or two that may develop them a lot more. And, since you asked, I've been mulling over whether or not there's any way to elaborate on them in this story after all. The twist I promised you is coming up. :-)

Thoughtful Phoenix--Thanks so much for your review!:-) I hope you find the rest of the story as easy to relate as Ginny's problems with her family.
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The cake was waiting in the Common Room as promised, candles merrily alight. The twins were hardly through the door before they started singing Happy Birthday at the tops of their lungs, and Harry and Ron immediately joined. Ginny was laughing almost too hard to blush—they really had a surprise party planned!

She didn't have to decide on a wish…she already knew what she wanted more than anything. The flames wavered, hesitating, and went out. Ginny's grin deepened—she had the urge to clasp her hands together and chortle with anticipation, but no girl with five brothers could do any such thing and hope to keep her self respect, so she rounded on the twins and said, "Now, about those presents…"

Laughing, the twins tossed them at her; she'd been through enough family Quidditch games to catch them with ease. "What should I open first?," she demanded of the group at large.

"Perfect Percy's," George announced promptly.

"Yeah…we already know it will be something boring," added Fred with a martyred sigh.

Ginny struggled not to laugh. "Be nice," she admonished, shaking her head.

The twins looked affronted, which only made it harder to keep a straight face. She hastily turned her attention to the package. The twins were right—not that she'd ever actually doubted. What use she had for a dusty looking copy of "Advice to the Aspiring" by Tru Lee Ambitious , Ginny couldn't begin to imagine. Still the thought was what counted…

She tried to open the package from home, but the string tied around the outside wouldn't come unknotted. She pulled at in vain, feeling ridiculous under the eyes of Tempest, Colin, Fred, George and Ron, not to mention—

"Here, let me," Harry said. Ginny couldn't believe the sudden, knee-weakening warmth that washed through her at the sound of such a simple little sentence. To her infinite relief and her infinite sorrow, Harry didn't seem to notice. He gave the string a couple of sharp tugs, and it fell apart. Ginny didn't know whether to feel grateful or annoyed. "How do you--" she began, and lost the rest of the sentence somewhere in the impossibly green depths of Harry's eyes. "Thanks," she finished limply, back to being shy. Harry smiled, as if he were trying to be encouraging, but Ginny was a little relieved when he stepped back so that he was half hidden behind Fred.

Inside were a brightly colored scarf from Charlie, a necklace of glass beads from Bill, a rubber duck from Dad, a box of donuts from Mum, and a page torn from Witch Weekly that had an interview with some of the players from the Chudley Cannons about their plans for the upcoming season. "Hey!," Ron shouted, grabbing it, "Why didn't they send this to me?"

"Ginny--" Colin began to explain.

Ginny shook her head and mouthed, "Nevermind." Maybe Ron's behavior ought to bother her, but she was too happy, and he didn't mean anything by it. Colin didn't look convinced, but nodded and lapsed into silence.

"Ours next," Fred commanded.

"Yeah. Sorry, Ronnikins, but we already know yours will make us look bad," George elaborated. "And we'd like a little appreciation."

Ron was even more hidden than Harry, but Ginny could see enough to know the tops of his ears went pink. She grinned sympathetically; the twins always teased him about how nice he was to her on her birthday, and even though he was always embarrassed, she knew Ron didn't really mind…it was family tradition.

Making a face at the blinding random colors, Ginny broke the seal on wrapping apart, and barely had time to register the paper pulling itself up into the air like a Howler, let alone the sound of the twins' voices, artificially high and shrill, yelling at her before she received a violent coughing fit. Windmilling her arms wildly, she managed to escape the equally loudly-colored smoke more by knocking her chair over than fanning the air away from her, but it worked. "How dare you be so well-behaved," Fred's voice was trilling. "Quit making the rest of us look bad—this minute," George warbled close behind. "Ginny Weasely we're going to send you right home--" threatened Fred. "If you don't put a toe out of line immediately," demanded George. The present sounded firmly confident. The twins, however, seemed to be trying to edge out of her line of sight. "Happy" Fred's falsetto concluded. "Birthday," George's finished, and the mock-Howler burst into confetti that rained down, flecking the room and its inhabitants with birthday cheer.

"Sorry," George said from somewhere behind Tempest.

"Couldn't resist," Fred added, almost incomprehensible through the noise of Colin's camera.

"Oh," Ginny retorted dryly, careful not to look at Harry and lose her nerve or her train of thought. "What a great present. I can't imagine why you thought I'd like Ron's more."

She caught sight of Ron out of the corner of her eye as she spoke. He looked so sick, she almost wondered if he was going to belch up slugs again—she had to admit to a certain academic curiosity since she hadn't gotten to see it the first time and was forced to make do with descriptions from Colin and the twins, but she didn't like seeing Ron uncomfortable. She was considering whether or not she ought to say something when the twins crawled up on their knees. "It was only a joke."

"Can't you take a joke?"

"Here's your real present."

"Yeah, mercy."

"Mercy, Snaps."

"Well.." Ginny said, crossing her arms and pretending to consider…fully aware she would let them off until their birthday, at which time she was going to play the best trick she and Lee together could muster. "Let's see the present."

George put a smooth, solid rock in her hand.

Ginny glanced down at it with as much disdain as she could muster. "A rock? That's it?"

"A rock," Fred confirmed. "But not just any rock."

"Remember that rock we charmed as a light?"

"This one makes a set."

"Yeah, but they're not identical like us," George said with a smirk.

"This one is charmed to pick up the Wizard's Wireless Network," Fred explained smugly.

"Really?," Tempest demanded. "That's awesome!"

"Yeah," George said humbly. "Might be a little temperamental, though."

"Still!," Ginny exclaimed, attacking them both with a hug, "Thanks you guys!"

The twins grinned broadly and hugged her in return.

"Okay, Ron," Fred said generously.

"Do your worst," George invited complacently.

/And/, Ginny thought in spite of herself, /It had better be good to make up for not being around to wish me a Happy Birthday last night./

"I," Ron said, looking even sicker than before. "I…erm…"

"Ron," Harry said, with a sudden look of realization, "you don't mean--"

/But/, Ginny realized, looking at the flaming tops of Ron's ears, /that's exactly what he does mean/. Suddenly, she was the one who felt sick.

"Maybe she should open ours," Tempest interjected hastily. "Right, Colin?"

"Ooh," Colin said enthusiastically. "Yeah…I'm dying to see what you think of it, Ginny. If it works really well, I might try to take one home to my dad for Christmas—he's always working long hours as a postman and I'm sure he'd be fascinated by anything magic, especially it was something like this--"

"I'll go get it," Tempest finished, disappearing in the direction of the girl's dormitory.

Ginny sat still, trying not to think about how she felt, and trying not to glance in Ron's direction. It was an undertaking made all the harder by the desire to see what he had to say for himself, but she already knew he didn't have an excuse. No excuse except the one she'd been trying to ignore all year…he was too busy to remember her. Her tongue felt heavy and bitter with disgust. She wished she had something to drink.

It seemed ages and no time at all before Tempest finally ran back into the room and handed her a plain pasteboard box. "This is from Colin and me—my brother picked it up for us when they went Hogsmeade."

"Blaise?" Ginny asked.

"No," Tempest answered, obviously trying not to snicker."Blaise is my sister, and she would have picked it up for us, only she's a second year and isn't allowed to go to Hogsmeade yet. Forrest is my brother."

"Oh." Ginny vaguely remembered him now. Forrest was a seventh year Gryffindor. In fact… he was a Prefect, but if she mentioned that in front of Fred and George, she'd never get to open her present.

"It's a coffee mug," Colin said. Unnecessarily.

"I see," Ginny said, trying to muster enthusiasm. /Just what I need…another reminder they don't serve coffee here/.

"You put water in it," Tempest said, obviously seeing the non-plussed look on her face, "and the mug turns into coffee."

"You don't even have to say an incantation or anything!," Colin added in a rush.

Ginny didn't know what to say. It was almost enough to make her forget about Ron.

"I…you…WOW! Thanks, you guys," she sputtered in amazement. Tempest and Colin beamed at one another before mobbing her in a huge hug.

They were finishing off the last of the cake and playing a raucous game of Exploding Snap—in which Ron and Harry were both oddly silent—when everyone else began filing in. Ginny wasn't sorry for the end to the party…it had been a long, tiring, and thought-provoking—but mostly happy she supposed—day, and she needed rest and some time to think.