Ginny Weasley and the Specter of Atonement
by Jedi Amoira
--Dedicated to Bill, EEDOE, and Strawberries and Blueberries for their loyalty, encouragement and enthusiasm. You guys are a huge part of this story. Thanks. :-)--
Disclaimer--The Potterverse and its inhabitants don't belong to me, I'm just borrowing them with grateful respect for those who brought it into being for us to visit. Any influences from the books, movies, or fellow fanfic writers are not intended as copyright infringement, only the sincerest form of flattery.
Author's Notes--So...a first post...the beginning! This is being simultaneously posted with chapter of "Ginny Weasley and the Memory of Power", and is intended as a sequel/continuation of Ginny's story in her second year at Hogwarts. I've put a lot of time, thought, and effort into this story--I love it and I'm proud of it. Please don't print or post it elsewhere without my knowledge, and if you read it, please let me know what you think.
***************
Ginny Weasley sprawled across her bed, boneless as a cat, absentmindedly burrowing her feet through the tangles of blankets behind her. A butter-soft leather book with gilt-edged pages lay open across the pillow, its blank pages staring expectantly up at her. Ginny frowned back at it, tapping impatiently at her chin with the tip of her quill, searching for a way to put her feelings into ink on paper. Her eyes strayed to the window, a blank sliver of cauldron-gray sky and drizzling rain that suited her mood a little too perfectly, and she set the book aside with great care and a strangled sigh.
Ever since she'd stepped off the train home from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with her four older brothers, things had been the same. She'd been completely adrift in thought and emotion with no idea how to bring the shore back into sight. If she'd been lost, none of her family seemed to have noticed...which was reassuring in its own way, as at least it proved some things never changed-or would have been reassuring if Ginny could be sure they weren't just pretending not to notice because they had no idea what to say. She knew it was probably ridiculous, but she couldn't help feeling as if her family were treating her differently because of the way her first year at Hogwarts had ended.
"It's only a memory," Ginny said aloud, repeating what Harry Potter had told her for what had to be at least the hundredth time.
Harry Potter...
The Boy Who Lived.
Her brother Ron's best friend.
And the boy who had saved her life a few short weeks ago.
Ginny's hero.
Being separated from him just made her feel that much more lost and alone...Ginny would have given anything in the world to be able to talk to him. But, even if she could, she had no idea what to say...just thinking about him made her feel uncomfortably vulnerable...
Voices exploded down below, making Ginny jump so adamantly her bedsprings squealed in protest. By the time she landed, she was already smiling. "Gred and Forge," she said indulgently, "Up to no good again."
Her twin brothers, Fred and George, played so many pranks that no one in the family would have known what to do if something unexpected didn't happen at least once a day. Yelling was Mum's most frequent form of exercise. In fact, the shouting downstairs was positively restrained-Ginny couldn't even make out the words. Not that it mattered. Ginny knew Mum's lecture by heart. "If you devoted half as much time to your studies...a little focus...someday you're going to hurt someone...show some responsibility...lucky you haven't knocked the house down around our ears..." Ginny recited, putting her hands on her hips and lifting her chin.
She stopped in mid-pose, suddenly aware of something she hadn't noticed before. In spite of being quieter than usual, it sounded almost as if more than one person were shouting. She considered that for a moment, shrugged, and reached for her schoolbooks with the vague idea of getting started on her assignments for the summer. If her brothers-except, of course, for Percy, who had probably already started-knew she was even considering such a thing, they'd feel it their duty to correct such misplaced energy. With a prank, more than likely. But such a concept would never occur to them anyway.
"Ginny!"
Ginny jumped again, spilling books across the floor with a clatter.
"Gingersnaps!" The twins added their summons to Ron's.
"Ginny," Mum called, "could you come--"
"Get down here already," Ron bellowed.
Ginny blinked. "I haven't done anything," she grumbled under her breath, disentangling herself from the blankets just the same.
"Gin!" The twins shouted again before she had time to make it down the stairs.
"All right, all right," she said as she came into the living room. "Keep your pants on."
"Ginny!" Mum sounded scandalized.
"Sorry, Mum." Ginny rolled her eyes. "What's going on?"
Ron, Fred, and George were standing clustered together, all looking impossibly excited. Dad had his arm around Mum, and they were both beaming. Even Percy looked very happy about something standing off to the side. Definitely not the usual family portrait.
"We've just received some wonderful news," Mum said.
Ginny hardly had time to glance enquiringly in her father's direction before he added, "I've won Grand Prize!"
"Congratulations!" Ginny said immediately. "Erm...Grand Prize in what?"
"The Daily Prophet Galleon Draw!" Dad explained, nearly bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.
Ginny stared. "No way."
"It's true!" Ron waved an official looking piece of parchment so energetically it was impossible to make out the words.
"What are we going to--"
"Mum and Dad wouldn't tell us until we were all here," George said, eyeing her in mock-irritation.
Ginny raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm here now," she said.
"Well..." Dad exchanged a glance with Mum. "It's been a long time since we've had a proper family holiday."
"So we thought we might use the money to visit your brothers," Mum said.
Looks were flying around the room like owls flew through the Great Hall during mail call.
"But it turns out Charlie can't really find accommodations near the Preservation, though he's very sorry he won't be able to see us," Dad said.
"So we're just going to extend our visit in Egypt with Bill," Mum said. "We should have a lovely time-your father and I loved it at Christmas."
Egypt!!
It sounded so exotic!
Ginny could scarcely believe it...
"We'll be leaving Saturday," Dad said as soon as he could get a word in edgewise.
"This is fantastic!" Ron was beaming so brightly he was bright red. "Dad...can I fellytone Harry? He wanted to hear from me anyway."
"Telfun," Dad corrected, smiling. "I don't see why not...there's a booth at the outside corner of Ottery St. Catchpole."
"I'll go with you," Ginny said quickly. This was perfect...a chance to feel less disconnected from Harry without having to say anything.
"I guess it might be nice to have some company on the walk," Ron said a little doubtfully.
Ginny didn't give him a chance to change his mind. A few seconds later, they were splashing through puddles in the drizzling rain, and Ginny felt more cheerful than she had all week.
by Jedi Amoira
--Dedicated to Bill, EEDOE, and Strawberries and Blueberries for their loyalty, encouragement and enthusiasm. You guys are a huge part of this story. Thanks. :-)--
Disclaimer--The Potterverse and its inhabitants don't belong to me, I'm just borrowing them with grateful respect for those who brought it into being for us to visit. Any influences from the books, movies, or fellow fanfic writers are not intended as copyright infringement, only the sincerest form of flattery.
Author's Notes--So...a first post...the beginning! This is being simultaneously posted with chapter of "Ginny Weasley and the Memory of Power", and is intended as a sequel/continuation of Ginny's story in her second year at Hogwarts. I've put a lot of time, thought, and effort into this story--I love it and I'm proud of it. Please don't print or post it elsewhere without my knowledge, and if you read it, please let me know what you think.
***************
Ginny Weasley sprawled across her bed, boneless as a cat, absentmindedly burrowing her feet through the tangles of blankets behind her. A butter-soft leather book with gilt-edged pages lay open across the pillow, its blank pages staring expectantly up at her. Ginny frowned back at it, tapping impatiently at her chin with the tip of her quill, searching for a way to put her feelings into ink on paper. Her eyes strayed to the window, a blank sliver of cauldron-gray sky and drizzling rain that suited her mood a little too perfectly, and she set the book aside with great care and a strangled sigh.
Ever since she'd stepped off the train home from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with her four older brothers, things had been the same. She'd been completely adrift in thought and emotion with no idea how to bring the shore back into sight. If she'd been lost, none of her family seemed to have noticed...which was reassuring in its own way, as at least it proved some things never changed-or would have been reassuring if Ginny could be sure they weren't just pretending not to notice because they had no idea what to say. She knew it was probably ridiculous, but she couldn't help feeling as if her family were treating her differently because of the way her first year at Hogwarts had ended.
"It's only a memory," Ginny said aloud, repeating what Harry Potter had told her for what had to be at least the hundredth time.
Harry Potter...
The Boy Who Lived.
Her brother Ron's best friend.
And the boy who had saved her life a few short weeks ago.
Ginny's hero.
Being separated from him just made her feel that much more lost and alone...Ginny would have given anything in the world to be able to talk to him. But, even if she could, she had no idea what to say...just thinking about him made her feel uncomfortably vulnerable...
Voices exploded down below, making Ginny jump so adamantly her bedsprings squealed in protest. By the time she landed, she was already smiling. "Gred and Forge," she said indulgently, "Up to no good again."
Her twin brothers, Fred and George, played so many pranks that no one in the family would have known what to do if something unexpected didn't happen at least once a day. Yelling was Mum's most frequent form of exercise. In fact, the shouting downstairs was positively restrained-Ginny couldn't even make out the words. Not that it mattered. Ginny knew Mum's lecture by heart. "If you devoted half as much time to your studies...a little focus...someday you're going to hurt someone...show some responsibility...lucky you haven't knocked the house down around our ears..." Ginny recited, putting her hands on her hips and lifting her chin.
She stopped in mid-pose, suddenly aware of something she hadn't noticed before. In spite of being quieter than usual, it sounded almost as if more than one person were shouting. She considered that for a moment, shrugged, and reached for her schoolbooks with the vague idea of getting started on her assignments for the summer. If her brothers-except, of course, for Percy, who had probably already started-knew she was even considering such a thing, they'd feel it their duty to correct such misplaced energy. With a prank, more than likely. But such a concept would never occur to them anyway.
"Ginny!"
Ginny jumped again, spilling books across the floor with a clatter.
"Gingersnaps!" The twins added their summons to Ron's.
"Ginny," Mum called, "could you come--"
"Get down here already," Ron bellowed.
Ginny blinked. "I haven't done anything," she grumbled under her breath, disentangling herself from the blankets just the same.
"Gin!" The twins shouted again before she had time to make it down the stairs.
"All right, all right," she said as she came into the living room. "Keep your pants on."
"Ginny!" Mum sounded scandalized.
"Sorry, Mum." Ginny rolled her eyes. "What's going on?"
Ron, Fred, and George were standing clustered together, all looking impossibly excited. Dad had his arm around Mum, and they were both beaming. Even Percy looked very happy about something standing off to the side. Definitely not the usual family portrait.
"We've just received some wonderful news," Mum said.
Ginny hardly had time to glance enquiringly in her father's direction before he added, "I've won Grand Prize!"
"Congratulations!" Ginny said immediately. "Erm...Grand Prize in what?"
"The Daily Prophet Galleon Draw!" Dad explained, nearly bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.
Ginny stared. "No way."
"It's true!" Ron waved an official looking piece of parchment so energetically it was impossible to make out the words.
"What are we going to--"
"Mum and Dad wouldn't tell us until we were all here," George said, eyeing her in mock-irritation.
Ginny raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm here now," she said.
"Well..." Dad exchanged a glance with Mum. "It's been a long time since we've had a proper family holiday."
"So we thought we might use the money to visit your brothers," Mum said.
Looks were flying around the room like owls flew through the Great Hall during mail call.
"But it turns out Charlie can't really find accommodations near the Preservation, though he's very sorry he won't be able to see us," Dad said.
"So we're just going to extend our visit in Egypt with Bill," Mum said. "We should have a lovely time-your father and I loved it at Christmas."
Egypt!!
It sounded so exotic!
Ginny could scarcely believe it...
"We'll be leaving Saturday," Dad said as soon as he could get a word in edgewise.
"This is fantastic!" Ron was beaming so brightly he was bright red. "Dad...can I fellytone Harry? He wanted to hear from me anyway."
"Telfun," Dad corrected, smiling. "I don't see why not...there's a booth at the outside corner of Ottery St. Catchpole."
"I'll go with you," Ginny said quickly. This was perfect...a chance to feel less disconnected from Harry without having to say anything.
"I guess it might be nice to have some company on the walk," Ron said a little doubtfully.
Ginny didn't give him a chance to change his mind. A few seconds later, they were splashing through puddles in the drizzling rain, and Ginny felt more cheerful than she had all week.