Through the Cracks: Part 2
A/N: ok, since I didn't write a prologue or anything beforehand, I thought I'd add that Harry, Draco, Ron, and Hermione are 6th years, leaving Ginny as a 5th year. And I know this is slow going but I've had work and other things, but more will be up soon.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters; don't chase me with pitchforks and mops. Mops scare me.
***
They met up with Ron and Harry and found a vacant carriage. Feeling the spider-like vehicles lurch, they sat down and relaxed as they began their journey to Hogsmeade.
***
The rain fell heavily; the inky black drops obscuring the view from the window. All Ginny could see was the blurred shadows of the trees that stood beyond the road. The atmosphere on the inside of the carriage, however, was quite warm and inviting. The flickering candles on the side of the coach cast an amber glow across the faces of the four students.
Beside her, Hermione was engrossed in a copy of her Advanced Transfiguration book while persistently battling to keep her shoes on, despite Ron's efforts to steal them. She finally stood up, seized the book, and whopped him on the head with it, grinning. Ginny glanced over at Harry guardedly. He was smiling, telling Ron off, as Ginny's brother massaged the lump forming on his head.
"I always wondered why Hermione carried around all those books," Harry added.
Ron punched his arm. "Shove off, or she'll whack you too." Then he looked at Hermione. "C'mon love, maybe it'll knock some sense into him. Or at least raise the IQ a bit."
Hermione rolled her eyes, and Ginny smiled. The boys then settled into a game of Exploding Snap as Hermione turned Harry's scarf into a tap-dancing rabbit. Ginny never had much to do on these lengthy trips, so she pulled out a notebook.
She absentmindedly twirled her pencil in her left hand, wondering what she would do with the blank page before her. She could write something poetically deep, possibly tragic and filled with angst, or she could try her hand at sketching. She waved her hand back and forth, willing inspiration. With a resigned sigh, she closed her eyes and gave up. Quite unexpectedly a face flashed in her mind; a face with fair skin and silver eyes.
She pushed the thought aside, focusing on Harry, on the asymmetry of his ears, and how when he smiled, you could see how his teeth were a bit crooked, giving him an endearing look about him. She also loved the small patch of freckles that were always noticeable after he'd been in the sun too long. Apparently she must've dozed off because soon Hermione shook her arm.
"C'mon Gin, We're here. Don't want to waste our shopping time sleeping in here." Ginny slid her notebook back in her bag, trying not to blush as Harry held the carriage door open for her. Ron and Hermione walked beside her and Harry, hand in hand.
Passing the Apothecary, Ginny and Hermione promised to meet up with the boys later and they walked over to the window of Gladrags Wizardwear. The gray clouds threatened to unleash a torrent of either rain or snow fairly soon, so the pair exchanged excited glances and quickly rushed into the dimly lit store.
There was a pleasant witch sitting behind the counter and an infinite number of aisles filled with formalwear. Ginny felt the fine silk gowns and gave a sharp intake of breath once flipping over the price tags. She moved over to a row of more moderately priced, yet wonderful dresses. She deliberated over three very different choices, while Hermione slipped into a dressing room.
Hermione emerged from behind the door positively radiant. She had chosen a silken bottle green colored gown that suited her perfectly. Ginny smiled. "I'm sure my brother will be completely floored, Mione."
With a delighted grin, Hermione spun around, the dress slinking with her, resting in a bell shape. Ginny gave a nod and she rushed back into the room to change back into her robes.
'Now all I've got to do is find a dress that I can afford and isn't awfully embarrassing,' Ginny thought.
She rummaged through a few frightening neon dresses and then settled into the more demure, darker hued gowns. She held up a deep navy dress made of soft velvet. She shrugged and retreated to the dressing rooms. Hermione had reappeared near the front of the store, paying for her dress. Then she noticed Ginny was standing before the mirrors by the windows, dressed in an absolutely beautiful gown.
Hermione rushed over with her bags to give her friend a closer look. Upon inspection, she discovered that in fact the dress was rather simple, yet it looked amazing on Ginny. The cut of the dress was also quite elementary, a clean wide V, resting low on Ginny's shoulders. It accentuated her narrow waist and didn't make her seem too tall, though she was now taller than Hermione herself. Ginny's hair fell into place, framing her face, completing the striking ensemble.
'Ron wouldn't be too upset with this one. It's not terribly low cut. Of course, he wouldn't be happy if she wore a full-body tarp and snow boots,' Hermione thought with a laugh.
"I think this is it, Mione. What do you think?" Ginny's eyes were bright as she fought to keep from smiling.
"Now, do you really want to know what I think about the dress, or what I think Harry would say?"
Ginny blushed. "Well, that could be quite useful as well. Though, I'd really love your opinion."
Hermione surveyed her friend. "You'll knock him dead. Really, we might have to 'enervate' him a few times. And I do think you look positively stunning. No pun intended"
Ginny smiled once more and gave a small laugh. "Really? You think he'll like it?" She paused. "Well, not that his opinion's all that matters, but I do want to look nice."
"Really, Gin, I think he'll love it. As will a fair number of other guys." She emphasized other guys as often as she could. Hermione had tried to encourage Ginny to spread her focus out to other boys in the school, because she knew that Harry could be quite oblivious sometimes. 'Sometimes. Hmph,' she thought. 'You could put a blue monkey wearing lime green spandex on his head and scream 'Fire', and he wouldn't budge.' But Hermione wasn't going to tell Ginny this; she didn't want to ruin her enthusiasm.
Ginny surveyed herself once more, trying to fix her hair. She didn't notice the shadow just outside the window, watching her through the frosted glass.
--- A young man with flaxen hair had ventured through the light snowfall, setting out for the Three Broomsticks when something had caught his eye. He shivered as he walked towards Gladrags, peering through the clouded storefront. He wiped a spot clean on the glass and peered in. He saw a girl about his age trying on a gown. More importantly, his eyes were fixed on the silver locket around her neck. Seeing the necklace stirred something inside of him. He looked away for a moment, but found it hard to avert his attention. He recognized the girl. Her lithe build and long scarlet curls gave her away. It was Ginny Weasley.
He quickly withdrew from the open walk in front of the store as he noticed she was about to exit with another familiar face. Hermione Granger. Draco hurriedly turned into the alleyway between Gladrags and the Solaris Astronomy Offices. He was flushed and slightly perturbed as he nearly ran through the alley towards the Three Broomsticks. He ducked into the building out of breath. The warmth of the fire didn't quite reach him as he took a seat at the bar. ---
.tbc again.
A/N: ahhhh. Never ever let me write at 2am ever again. I've revised to no end, and yet I'm still finding errors. Aghh. and I hate writing filler. But let me know what you think. Suggestions are quite welcome. As you can tell I'm pretty awful with dialogue. But that's ok, it should get better in time, or that's how the theory goes. - ry
A/N: ok, since I didn't write a prologue or anything beforehand, I thought I'd add that Harry, Draco, Ron, and Hermione are 6th years, leaving Ginny as a 5th year. And I know this is slow going but I've had work and other things, but more will be up soon.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters; don't chase me with pitchforks and mops. Mops scare me.
***
They met up with Ron and Harry and found a vacant carriage. Feeling the spider-like vehicles lurch, they sat down and relaxed as they began their journey to Hogsmeade.
***
The rain fell heavily; the inky black drops obscuring the view from the window. All Ginny could see was the blurred shadows of the trees that stood beyond the road. The atmosphere on the inside of the carriage, however, was quite warm and inviting. The flickering candles on the side of the coach cast an amber glow across the faces of the four students.
Beside her, Hermione was engrossed in a copy of her Advanced Transfiguration book while persistently battling to keep her shoes on, despite Ron's efforts to steal them. She finally stood up, seized the book, and whopped him on the head with it, grinning. Ginny glanced over at Harry guardedly. He was smiling, telling Ron off, as Ginny's brother massaged the lump forming on his head.
"I always wondered why Hermione carried around all those books," Harry added.
Ron punched his arm. "Shove off, or she'll whack you too." Then he looked at Hermione. "C'mon love, maybe it'll knock some sense into him. Or at least raise the IQ a bit."
Hermione rolled her eyes, and Ginny smiled. The boys then settled into a game of Exploding Snap as Hermione turned Harry's scarf into a tap-dancing rabbit. Ginny never had much to do on these lengthy trips, so she pulled out a notebook.
She absentmindedly twirled her pencil in her left hand, wondering what she would do with the blank page before her. She could write something poetically deep, possibly tragic and filled with angst, or she could try her hand at sketching. She waved her hand back and forth, willing inspiration. With a resigned sigh, she closed her eyes and gave up. Quite unexpectedly a face flashed in her mind; a face with fair skin and silver eyes.
She pushed the thought aside, focusing on Harry, on the asymmetry of his ears, and how when he smiled, you could see how his teeth were a bit crooked, giving him an endearing look about him. She also loved the small patch of freckles that were always noticeable after he'd been in the sun too long. Apparently she must've dozed off because soon Hermione shook her arm.
"C'mon Gin, We're here. Don't want to waste our shopping time sleeping in here." Ginny slid her notebook back in her bag, trying not to blush as Harry held the carriage door open for her. Ron and Hermione walked beside her and Harry, hand in hand.
Passing the Apothecary, Ginny and Hermione promised to meet up with the boys later and they walked over to the window of Gladrags Wizardwear. The gray clouds threatened to unleash a torrent of either rain or snow fairly soon, so the pair exchanged excited glances and quickly rushed into the dimly lit store.
There was a pleasant witch sitting behind the counter and an infinite number of aisles filled with formalwear. Ginny felt the fine silk gowns and gave a sharp intake of breath once flipping over the price tags. She moved over to a row of more moderately priced, yet wonderful dresses. She deliberated over three very different choices, while Hermione slipped into a dressing room.
Hermione emerged from behind the door positively radiant. She had chosen a silken bottle green colored gown that suited her perfectly. Ginny smiled. "I'm sure my brother will be completely floored, Mione."
With a delighted grin, Hermione spun around, the dress slinking with her, resting in a bell shape. Ginny gave a nod and she rushed back into the room to change back into her robes.
'Now all I've got to do is find a dress that I can afford and isn't awfully embarrassing,' Ginny thought.
She rummaged through a few frightening neon dresses and then settled into the more demure, darker hued gowns. She held up a deep navy dress made of soft velvet. She shrugged and retreated to the dressing rooms. Hermione had reappeared near the front of the store, paying for her dress. Then she noticed Ginny was standing before the mirrors by the windows, dressed in an absolutely beautiful gown.
Hermione rushed over with her bags to give her friend a closer look. Upon inspection, she discovered that in fact the dress was rather simple, yet it looked amazing on Ginny. The cut of the dress was also quite elementary, a clean wide V, resting low on Ginny's shoulders. It accentuated her narrow waist and didn't make her seem too tall, though she was now taller than Hermione herself. Ginny's hair fell into place, framing her face, completing the striking ensemble.
'Ron wouldn't be too upset with this one. It's not terribly low cut. Of course, he wouldn't be happy if she wore a full-body tarp and snow boots,' Hermione thought with a laugh.
"I think this is it, Mione. What do you think?" Ginny's eyes were bright as she fought to keep from smiling.
"Now, do you really want to know what I think about the dress, or what I think Harry would say?"
Ginny blushed. "Well, that could be quite useful as well. Though, I'd really love your opinion."
Hermione surveyed her friend. "You'll knock him dead. Really, we might have to 'enervate' him a few times. And I do think you look positively stunning. No pun intended"
Ginny smiled once more and gave a small laugh. "Really? You think he'll like it?" She paused. "Well, not that his opinion's all that matters, but I do want to look nice."
"Really, Gin, I think he'll love it. As will a fair number of other guys." She emphasized other guys as often as she could. Hermione had tried to encourage Ginny to spread her focus out to other boys in the school, because she knew that Harry could be quite oblivious sometimes. 'Sometimes. Hmph,' she thought. 'You could put a blue monkey wearing lime green spandex on his head and scream 'Fire', and he wouldn't budge.' But Hermione wasn't going to tell Ginny this; she didn't want to ruin her enthusiasm.
Ginny surveyed herself once more, trying to fix her hair. She didn't notice the shadow just outside the window, watching her through the frosted glass.
--- A young man with flaxen hair had ventured through the light snowfall, setting out for the Three Broomsticks when something had caught his eye. He shivered as he walked towards Gladrags, peering through the clouded storefront. He wiped a spot clean on the glass and peered in. He saw a girl about his age trying on a gown. More importantly, his eyes were fixed on the silver locket around her neck. Seeing the necklace stirred something inside of him. He looked away for a moment, but found it hard to avert his attention. He recognized the girl. Her lithe build and long scarlet curls gave her away. It was Ginny Weasley.
He quickly withdrew from the open walk in front of the store as he noticed she was about to exit with another familiar face. Hermione Granger. Draco hurriedly turned into the alleyway between Gladrags and the Solaris Astronomy Offices. He was flushed and slightly perturbed as he nearly ran through the alley towards the Three Broomsticks. He ducked into the building out of breath. The warmth of the fire didn't quite reach him as he took a seat at the bar. ---
.tbc again.
A/N: ahhhh. Never ever let me write at 2am ever again. I've revised to no end, and yet I'm still finding errors. Aghh. and I hate writing filler. But let me know what you think. Suggestions are quite welcome. As you can tell I'm pretty awful with dialogue. But that's ok, it should get better in time, or that's how the theory goes. - ry