Disclaimer--Still the property of JK Rowling, Steve Kloves, Scholastic and WB...darn it. Also still intended only as flattery...Dialogue concerning V-day is taken from CoS text, but no copyright infrigement is intended, and no profit is being made. Trust me, I have NOTHING, please don't sue.
Author's Notes--
EEDOE--I loved Percy's discomfort throughout that whole scene...it was highly entertaining...and considering what a hard time he's given Ginny, it certainly felt like poetic justice. ;-) I'm glad you liked the bit about the twins...I thought it was pretty realistic!! I changed his name to fit with OotP, I hadn't realized it was mentioned! Penelope...just sort of appeared on the page, so I guess she chose her own personality. I hope it fits with canon, but it's she's a bit of a mystery (as every woman has the right to be. ;-) ) Lee is great...I love how he's such a bad influence. :-D I hope you enjoy Ginny's next mishap as much. *hugs*
Bill--I'm so glad you enjoyed it!! You're right about the hint...I was refering to Chapter 7. *winks* One of the fun things about Ginny's mischief so far is that no one in her family realizes how far it stretches, not even the twins. I'm not sure they ever will, but I do plan to have them share more joint adventures later. I'm thrilled Ginny's more natural moments remind you so much of her later personality...I consider that an incredible compliment. *grins and blushes* I definitely think one of the noticable things about Ginny in OotP is that while Hermione is the uncontested Genius and Bookworm, Ginny is practical and clever--she struck me as very smart. I'm glad my Ginny portrays some of that, too. The storm is on the way, and I hope I can do justice to it, but, in the meantime, Ginny's about to prove she may be smart, but she isn't infalliable...*winks* Enjoy! *hugs*
***********************
They regained the Common Room to find Hermione had reappeared.
Ginny eyed her closely every chance she got over the next two weeks, and couldn't see the slightest sign of a run-in with a snake...or of anything else for that matter. She couldn't help feeling relieved, and a little encouraged, as if Hermione's return to health was indeed a sign she could pretend her mysterious experiences with Tom Riddle's diary had never happened. Even the rumor Madam Pomfrey had been overheard telling Mr. Filch the Mandrakes would be ready for the restoration potion soon didn't worry her...much. She tried not to think about it...which was a bit hard, really, with the memory of Tom's voice saying her name echoing sibilantly in the back of her mind, as if calling her. She kept telling herself that if she didn't remember what happened, the victims probably didn't remember either, the words repeating themselves in her thoughts over and over like a mantra, mingling with the sound of Tom's voice until they merged in one constant wave of internal hissing that left her head dizzy and spinning. But if she felt less relief than most, she wasn't alone. There was Harry.
Harry, who'd lost his family to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-all except a vile Aunt and Uncle who locked him up and starved him, and Ginny refused to believe they counted-who'd never had a friend until he met Ron, who'd never done anything but try to defend the school and his fellow students. Harry who never got so much as a thank you from anyone but Dumbledore. Harry who now had to put up with being accused loudly at every turn for something she herself had done...Every time she thought of it, Ginny was nearly overrun with tears.
Whenever she heard Gilderoy Lockhart telling someone he'd made the school safe again, Ginny had the urge to look him straight in the face and tell him that if he really wanted to do something useful, he'd say something nice to Harry.
She went down to Valentine's breakfast in a dark cloud. Finding herself confronted by huge flowers of a pink so blinding they made her head hurt, only made it thicker and darker. If she hadn't wanted a cup of coffee and something fattening to cheer herself, she'd have walked right back out.
Coffee-in-hand, Ginny wondered if she hadn't made a mistake in staying. Heart-shaped confetti floated in her cup and dotted the surface of her cheese omelet. As much as she liked Hermione, and as worried as she had been with her in the infirmary, Ginny couldn't quite stifle the impulse to hex her if she didn't stop giggling. At least Ron's slightly nauseous expression better suited her mood.
"What's going on?" Harry asked. He was fighting a loosing battle for his bacon against the confetti. Ginny felt for him, but, then, she always did.
Ron pointed to the Teacher's Table.
Ginny nearly spit out her coffee. Lockhart was wearing robes to match the flowers! The rest of the teachers looked as if they'd all been sent Howlers. Only Dumbledore seemed completely unaffected. If it wasn't impossible, Ginny might have thought he just hadn't noticed.
"Happy Valentine's Day!" Lockhart shouted gleefully. Ginny groaned. Harry shot her a commiserating look. At least, she thought he did-she might have imagined it. "And may I thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards!"
Hermione was eyeing Lockhart with a rapt expression, and she seemed a little flushed. Ginny had the nasty impression if Hermione had been facing her, she wouldn't have met her eye. /She has to have more sense than that/, Ginny argued with herself. /Hermione's brilliant!/ She couldn't worry about that now, she had bigger problems. Lockhart was saying, "It doesn't end here!" He clapped his hands, and a dozen winged dwarves marched through the double doors wearing expressions like Ginny's. "My friendly card-carrying cupids! They'll be roving around the school today delivering your valentines!" Ginny wondered how he managed to avoid hearing the collective groan that seemed to shudder through the Hall.
Valentines! What was he thinking, thinking people would enjoy being singled out in front of everyone to receive embarrassing notes from other people they never knew existed? Standing in the center of a staring, muttering group with no control over what was happening to you and no idea what to do was more Ginny's idea of sadistic torture than an exciting treat. /Odd, considering it sounds like a typical day with my family/, she thought with an ironic twist of her lips.
Realization struck like lightning.
/Family./
Harry had no family...
No one had ever told Harry they love him the way Mum and Dad told her-the way she and her brothers knew they felt about one another...No one had ever told Harry how much he meant to them...
He deserved that much. Everyone did-even Malfoy-let alone someone as thoughtful and brave and kind as Harry.
If she really wanted to reach out to him, to help him feel less alone, she'd give it to him.
/Torture. The whole school knowing how I feel.../ Ginny stopped in mid-thought, startled. She blinked, tipped her head to the side, considered, and tried to start again. /They already know/, the other side of her brain repeated impatiently.
Ernie Macmillan's face as she yelled at him in the library came back in perfect relief, making her snicker.
/All right, all right...you got me...but it would still embarrass Harry./
/Unless they give it to him when he's alone. Imbecile./ Ginny slapped her forehead at the simplicity of it all, drawing a few confused looks from the Slytherins, who nodded at one another knowingly. She ignored them without even trying, a trick she wished she could remember for later and knew she wouldn't, and started composing Harry's valentine in her head.
In her rush to catch a dwarf, she all but threw her pot at Professor Sprout when she began to collect them at the end of class, only adding to the Slytherin's amusement, but she was a girl with a mission. /Well...what else is new/, she observed to herself sarcastically. /Shut up/, she retorted wittily, and grabbed the dwarf who'd just been singing to Doug Duran by the back of the shirt.
"I want to send someone a private valentine. Can I do that?"
"That's what we're here for," the dwarf droned, rolling his eyes. "To deliver messages of love throughout the day."
"I've got that," Ginny said shortly. "But I want you to deliver this one just to the recipient without anyone listening in-capeesh?"
"You mean alone?" the dwarf asked, proving he wasn't a stranger to sarcasm himself.
"Exactly," Ginny said. "I want you to give it to him alone."
"Well," the dwarf said huffily, "if that's what you want."
Ginny was going to be late for Transfiguration if she didn't get a move on. "Great," she said, stabbing the dwarf with her note. He gave her an extremely dirty look. Already heading back to the castle, she shrugged apologetically and kept moving.
Author's Notes--
EEDOE--I loved Percy's discomfort throughout that whole scene...it was highly entertaining...and considering what a hard time he's given Ginny, it certainly felt like poetic justice. ;-) I'm glad you liked the bit about the twins...I thought it was pretty realistic!! I changed his name to fit with OotP, I hadn't realized it was mentioned! Penelope...just sort of appeared on the page, so I guess she chose her own personality. I hope it fits with canon, but it's she's a bit of a mystery (as every woman has the right to be. ;-) ) Lee is great...I love how he's such a bad influence. :-D I hope you enjoy Ginny's next mishap as much. *hugs*
Bill--I'm so glad you enjoyed it!! You're right about the hint...I was refering to Chapter 7. *winks* One of the fun things about Ginny's mischief so far is that no one in her family realizes how far it stretches, not even the twins. I'm not sure they ever will, but I do plan to have them share more joint adventures later. I'm thrilled Ginny's more natural moments remind you so much of her later personality...I consider that an incredible compliment. *grins and blushes* I definitely think one of the noticable things about Ginny in OotP is that while Hermione is the uncontested Genius and Bookworm, Ginny is practical and clever--she struck me as very smart. I'm glad my Ginny portrays some of that, too. The storm is on the way, and I hope I can do justice to it, but, in the meantime, Ginny's about to prove she may be smart, but she isn't infalliable...*winks* Enjoy! *hugs*
***********************
They regained the Common Room to find Hermione had reappeared.
Ginny eyed her closely every chance she got over the next two weeks, and couldn't see the slightest sign of a run-in with a snake...or of anything else for that matter. She couldn't help feeling relieved, and a little encouraged, as if Hermione's return to health was indeed a sign she could pretend her mysterious experiences with Tom Riddle's diary had never happened. Even the rumor Madam Pomfrey had been overheard telling Mr. Filch the Mandrakes would be ready for the restoration potion soon didn't worry her...much. She tried not to think about it...which was a bit hard, really, with the memory of Tom's voice saying her name echoing sibilantly in the back of her mind, as if calling her. She kept telling herself that if she didn't remember what happened, the victims probably didn't remember either, the words repeating themselves in her thoughts over and over like a mantra, mingling with the sound of Tom's voice until they merged in one constant wave of internal hissing that left her head dizzy and spinning. But if she felt less relief than most, she wasn't alone. There was Harry.
Harry, who'd lost his family to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-all except a vile Aunt and Uncle who locked him up and starved him, and Ginny refused to believe they counted-who'd never had a friend until he met Ron, who'd never done anything but try to defend the school and his fellow students. Harry who never got so much as a thank you from anyone but Dumbledore. Harry who now had to put up with being accused loudly at every turn for something she herself had done...Every time she thought of it, Ginny was nearly overrun with tears.
Whenever she heard Gilderoy Lockhart telling someone he'd made the school safe again, Ginny had the urge to look him straight in the face and tell him that if he really wanted to do something useful, he'd say something nice to Harry.
She went down to Valentine's breakfast in a dark cloud. Finding herself confronted by huge flowers of a pink so blinding they made her head hurt, only made it thicker and darker. If she hadn't wanted a cup of coffee and something fattening to cheer herself, she'd have walked right back out.
Coffee-in-hand, Ginny wondered if she hadn't made a mistake in staying. Heart-shaped confetti floated in her cup and dotted the surface of her cheese omelet. As much as she liked Hermione, and as worried as she had been with her in the infirmary, Ginny couldn't quite stifle the impulse to hex her if she didn't stop giggling. At least Ron's slightly nauseous expression better suited her mood.
"What's going on?" Harry asked. He was fighting a loosing battle for his bacon against the confetti. Ginny felt for him, but, then, she always did.
Ron pointed to the Teacher's Table.
Ginny nearly spit out her coffee. Lockhart was wearing robes to match the flowers! The rest of the teachers looked as if they'd all been sent Howlers. Only Dumbledore seemed completely unaffected. If it wasn't impossible, Ginny might have thought he just hadn't noticed.
"Happy Valentine's Day!" Lockhart shouted gleefully. Ginny groaned. Harry shot her a commiserating look. At least, she thought he did-she might have imagined it. "And may I thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards!"
Hermione was eyeing Lockhart with a rapt expression, and she seemed a little flushed. Ginny had the nasty impression if Hermione had been facing her, she wouldn't have met her eye. /She has to have more sense than that/, Ginny argued with herself. /Hermione's brilliant!/ She couldn't worry about that now, she had bigger problems. Lockhart was saying, "It doesn't end here!" He clapped his hands, and a dozen winged dwarves marched through the double doors wearing expressions like Ginny's. "My friendly card-carrying cupids! They'll be roving around the school today delivering your valentines!" Ginny wondered how he managed to avoid hearing the collective groan that seemed to shudder through the Hall.
Valentines! What was he thinking, thinking people would enjoy being singled out in front of everyone to receive embarrassing notes from other people they never knew existed? Standing in the center of a staring, muttering group with no control over what was happening to you and no idea what to do was more Ginny's idea of sadistic torture than an exciting treat. /Odd, considering it sounds like a typical day with my family/, she thought with an ironic twist of her lips.
Realization struck like lightning.
/Family./
Harry had no family...
No one had ever told Harry they love him the way Mum and Dad told her-the way she and her brothers knew they felt about one another...No one had ever told Harry how much he meant to them...
He deserved that much. Everyone did-even Malfoy-let alone someone as thoughtful and brave and kind as Harry.
If she really wanted to reach out to him, to help him feel less alone, she'd give it to him.
/Torture. The whole school knowing how I feel.../ Ginny stopped in mid-thought, startled. She blinked, tipped her head to the side, considered, and tried to start again. /They already know/, the other side of her brain repeated impatiently.
Ernie Macmillan's face as she yelled at him in the library came back in perfect relief, making her snicker.
/All right, all right...you got me...but it would still embarrass Harry./
/Unless they give it to him when he's alone. Imbecile./ Ginny slapped her forehead at the simplicity of it all, drawing a few confused looks from the Slytherins, who nodded at one another knowingly. She ignored them without even trying, a trick she wished she could remember for later and knew she wouldn't, and started composing Harry's valentine in her head.
In her rush to catch a dwarf, she all but threw her pot at Professor Sprout when she began to collect them at the end of class, only adding to the Slytherin's amusement, but she was a girl with a mission. /Well...what else is new/, she observed to herself sarcastically. /Shut up/, she retorted wittily, and grabbed the dwarf who'd just been singing to Doug Duran by the back of the shirt.
"I want to send someone a private valentine. Can I do that?"
"That's what we're here for," the dwarf droned, rolling his eyes. "To deliver messages of love throughout the day."
"I've got that," Ginny said shortly. "But I want you to deliver this one just to the recipient without anyone listening in-capeesh?"
"You mean alone?" the dwarf asked, proving he wasn't a stranger to sarcasm himself.
"Exactly," Ginny said. "I want you to give it to him alone."
"Well," the dwarf said huffily, "if that's what you want."
Ginny was going to be late for Transfiguration if she didn't get a move on. "Great," she said, stabbing the dwarf with her note. He gave her an extremely dirty look. Already heading back to the castle, she shrugged apologetically and kept moving.
