Things Change

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or anything, but I definitely own this piece of writing! J.K Rowling owns all the characters and stuff.

A/N Eeugh – I'm ILL! And I have exams tomorrow! Dun dun dun!

Anyway, this chapter might be quite short, I don't know. Also, this will turn out to be a D/G in later chapters, in case anyone was wondering. He just hasn't appeared yet. You're also gonna find out more about Ginny's friends and her relationship with them in this chapter.

Well, I don't have much to say at the moment, so here we go. The first chapter two I've ever written!

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Ginny and Ron had gone home to the burrow after the memorable few hours in Dumbledore's office. They had flooed home with their parents and both gone straight to bed (neither bothering to get undressed) after greeting Fred and George, who had arrived from Hogsmeade a couple of hours before, on the way upstairs. Percy and Bill would be arriving later that day, sometime around late afternoon.

Ginny lay in the dark, staring at her ceiling. She was in shock, she could tell. Even though she had been telling her self for what felt like forever, her brain just couldn't seem to accept the fact that Charlie was gone. She kept saying it to herself over and over again in the dark, but it didn't help. She had always had six brothers and she had always assumed it would stay that way. There had always been six boys at the dinner table, six boys divided between the numerous (although cramped) bedrooms, six boys playing Quidditch out on the Weasley's plot. Sure, she knew the war would claim casualties, but she hadn't ever considered that one of them might be her brother. By all means, it was possible, but things like that didn't happen to her. Didn't they only ever happen to other people?

And then there was Ron and her parents. What had happened there? Wasn't she a part of their family too? As the youngest of seven – or six, as she now reminded herself – she had always expected nothing more than hand-me-downs and only a part of he parents' attention, but to be shut out almost completely from something as important as grieving? That was new. Of course, she knew neither her parents nor Ron had meant to do it, but that didn't stop it hurting. Ginny fell into a light and uneasy sleep thinking about what a horrible turn her life had just taken.

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She was walking down a deserted corridor. The walls were full of pictures of dragons, the beasts breathing fire and roaring noisily from the photographs. She looked at them, marvelling at the beauty such terrible creatures could possess. Then she heard a noise outside. It sounded like a real dragon. Curious, she made her way down the passage until she reached a door. Opening it, she saw a large stretch of land with what looked like paddocks all over it. They were all full of dragons and their keepers. In the one nearest to her were a Hungarian Horntail and his keeper. She recognised him. It was...

"Charlie!" she cried happily, running towards him.

He didn't turn around, just carried on watching the dragon.

"Charlie?" she said again, this time quieter and more timidly.

Still he didn't turn round. She was right next to him now. She reached out to touch him...

The scene swirled before and this time everything was different. She was in the same place, but now it was empty. The paddocks had been almost completely destroyed and the fences had fallen over in the gale force wind that was whipping her hair around her face ferociously. There was fire everywhere, and lightning split the sky. Black storm clouds were darkening the sky and a fog was gathering slowly. Then she heard a voice calling her name...

"Ginny..." it said mockingly.

"Where are you?" she cried. The fog was thicker now, and closing in on her, suffocating her.

"I'm here Ginny...I'm here...I'm just out of reach...Just a little too far away...Goodbye Ginny…" replied the voice.

"No! No, don't leave me!" Her cry was desperate, her voice panicky.

"Goodbye..."

The fog was thick now, closing around her, blocking up her throat and lungs, blocking her air supply. She couldn't breath, she was going to suffocate, she was going to die...

Ginny woke up sweating, the sheets damp and tangled around her legs. It took her a few seconds to remember where she was, and why she was there, but then it all came flooding back. She could feel fresh tear tracks on her cheeks from where she had been crying in her sleep. Letting out a few calming breaths, she swung her legs over the side of her bed and wiped the sleep from her eyes.

Just then she heard the noise of the front door closing and people's voices downstairs. Sitting up sharply in bed, she looked at the old clock on her beside table. She'd been asleep for nearly four hours! Pushing off her duvet, she flung open her bedroom door and ran down two flights of stairs into the kitchen to find Bill sitting with their mother at the table. Fred and George were their too, as well as Ron and her father. Her whole family. Or what was left of it anyway.

Bill looked up as she came in. His eyes were full of sadness as he looked up at her, and he just stood and put his arms around her, holding her close, an acknowledgement of the wordless communication of pain between them both. She had a strong bond with Bill, he being the oldest and she the youngest, and she was thankful he still accepted her. She cried into his shirt, her salty tears leaving little wet patches on the cotton. He led her over to the table where she sat down, until she gradually stopped crying. Wiping her eyes on a kitchen towel, she took a deep breath and looked around the table at her family (or what was left for the moment). All of them had been crying too, their faces red and tear stained, just like hers must be. Tentatively, she reached out a hand across the table to her mother, and grasped it tight. To her relief, her mother squeezed it back. So she wasn't a complete outsider. They sat round the table in silence, just thankful to have each other, at least.

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It was later when she was sat outside in the garden that she had her first proper talk with Bill since he had arrived. It was early evening, the sun just beginning to set over the hill, and she was sitting on the garden wall, staring into space and swinging her sneaker clad feet.

"Gin?"

She jumped and turned round. Seeing Bill, she smiled weakly for a moment before her face fell again. She patted the wall beside her in a silent invitation, watching the sun set in the distance. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, the two siblings at ease in each others company. Then Ginny spoke.

"It's like it's not real, isn't it?"

Bill paused for a second before replying, as if thinking about what she had just said.

"I know. I feel like I'm having a really bad dream"

Ginny nodded.

"I know what you mean. I never thought about it before now – the war, I mean. I never even considered the possibility that something like this could happen to me...could happen to all of us"

"Neither did I. You never think that it'll be your loved one that gets caught in the crossfire, and then when it is..." Bill trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging. They both knew what he meant, but it was too painful to voice.

They didn't speak again until the garden had started to get dark, each one lost in their own thoughts until they went inside, when Bill tugged on Ginny's sweater and motioned for her to go in. She obeyed, too tired and emotionally drained to argue .The door to the lounge was open slightly, and as she walked past she could see Ron sitting on the sofa dejectedly, staring at the fire. Just yesterday she would have had no qualms about going in there to talk to him, but today...she didn't know about today. So she carried on past the lounge and up the stairs to her own room, closing the door behind her.

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Ginny and Ron returned to Hogwarts a week later. Their parents had been organising Charlie's funeral for the past few days, and the house had been so silent you wouldn't even think the Weasley's lived there anymore. The funeral was to take place the next Saturday, but it was thought best by all that Ginny and Ron returned to Hogwarts for the week before, so as to make everything seem 'more normal', as Percy had put it. Bill dropped them off in the Gryffindor tower fireplace during breakfast.

"You guys are sure you're going to be okay?" Bill asked as he hugged both of them goodbye.

"Yeah," Ron replied. "Dad said that Dumbledore's let the Gryffindors know, so we don't have to tell them why we weren't at school or anything"

"Okay. I'll see you next week...". Bill trailed off. It was weird knowing that the next time they'd see him, it would be at the funeral. Ginny hugged him extra tight, making a mental picture of everything. She couldn't risk forgetting her brother, couldn't risk not remembering what he looked like, in case...

But no, Bill was safe and sound for the moment, at home. He wouldn't be in too much danger there. She could start worrying about him when he went back to Egypt. She mustn't start thinking things like that. She just had to get through school first.

"Bye Bill. We'll owl you all to let you know how things are going" she said, waving a bit as Bill got into the now green and blazing fire. He shouted 'The Burrow' and then he was gone.

Ginny sighed and turned to speak to Ron, but he had already started up the stairs to the boys' dorm, leaving her alone in the deserted common room. She ran a hand through her hair miserably, staring after him. Flopping down on a chair, she curled her legs underneath her, thinking. She wasn't hungry, and besides, she didn't feel like going down to the Great Hall just yet, so she decided to skip breakfast. She didn't want to go up to her dorm either. She knew all her stuff would be waiting for her, in exactly the same place as it had been when she had left it to go to double potions, and that just felt...wrong, somehow. Like none of the past week had even happened, and as much as she wanted to try and make everything seem even a *tiny* bit normal, she couldn't just turn her back on it all, and that was a way of doing that in her opinion. And besides, she wasn't ready for complete normality yet. But then again, would she ever be?

Deciding to just stay in the common room until the bell went for first lesson (A/N I don't know if they have bells at Hogwarts, but how would they know when to get to lessons otherwise? I've written one in now anyway, so), Ginny all stared into the fire where Bill had been standing a few minutes before and sighed again. 'That's all I seem to do these days', she thought wryly. 'Sighing'.

She stared into the flames for a long time, fiddling with the hemline of her skirt. The common room was silent, the morning sun falling across the floor. It was peaceful, and she was thankful for that, but she knew that soon she would have to get going so she could go to her first lesson. The teachers had all been notified of the Weasley's loss, and Professor Dumbledore had given both her and Ron permission to leave class or miss their lessons completely if they felt like it (A/N try telling that to Professor Snape! Heehee!), but she was determined to get all her lessons done. It was sort of like a focus for her, a way to keep her going through the week. And she needed a focus. She needed one bad.

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Charms was already crowded when she came in. The Ravenclaws were sitting on one side of Professor Flitwick and the Gryffindors on the other, all chatting noisily, but when Ginny entered, the whole of the Gryffindor side went silent, everyone suddenly finding their shoes or the ceiling rather interesting. The Ravenclaw noise died down too, most of them looking puzzled. That meant that the Gryffindors were still pretty much the only ones who knew anything, but that would probably change soon, judging by the sympathetic looks she was getting from a couple of Ravenclaws.

Spotting her friends sitting at the back, she quickly made her way over to them, her head down. They all smiled sympathetically at her and then went back to braiding each other's hair. Ginny stood there for a moment as if waiting for something, and then sat down, quietly getting her wand, book and some parchment out of her bag.

"Hey Gin, how are you? We all heard about your loss and we feel real sorry for you and all" said Lara suddenly, startling her. Ginny just smiled waveringly at her. Lara smiled in return and then went back to working on Ana's hair. Ginny felt slightly snubbed, but she ignored the feeling, telling herself that they were just trying to make everything seem normal for her. It was always like that anyway, those four pairing off together and her left just slightly outside. It had always been that way, ever since they had been roommates on their first day at Hogwarts. During the whole Chamber of Secrets episode they had steered clear, but gradually they had made friends again, although she was still a partial loner. That had got a bit better over the last few months, but now everything was slipping backwards again. But she didn't mind, not really. Well, that was what she told herself. Now it was genuinely starting to bother her. Dismissing it to the back of her mind, she just got on with the lesson, trying to concentrate on what Professor Flitwick was telling them about intermediate invisibility charms (only usable on inanimate objects of course). Halfway through they had to pair up, and, as usual, it was Ginny who had to go off with someone else. This time it was Colin Creevey, who she decided was definitely better than her last partner. Roderick Mohnagan was the most annoying Hufflepuff in the whole school as far as Ginny was concerned. 'Can I do this for you Ginny, can I do that?' God, that boy was irritating. Ginny felt slightly bad, because she hadn't talked to Colin for ages, too absorbed in trying to be 'one of the girls'.

Sliding into the seat next to her, Colin smiled slightly and, to her surprise, covered her hand with his own. She looked up at him, surprised. He smiled again, this time thoroughly shy.

"I just wanted to let you know I'm here for you Ginny, if you want to talk or something..." he said quietly, reddening a little.

Ginny smiled back, albeit a little waveringly, but it was a smile.

"Thanks Colin, I really appreciate it. I mean it too," she added, blushing slightly as she thought of how she hadn't been paying much attention to him recently. "And I'm sorry I haven't talked to you for, like, ages..."

"Don't worry about it," he replied.

They got through the work quite quickly, Ginny concentrating thoroughly on her work to stop her mind wandering. Colin's camera almost got lost when Ginny knocked the already invisible object off the table with her arm.

Soon enough the lesson was over, and Ginny hurried to catch up with the others as they walked out of the classroom, still trying to stuff her wand into her bag.

"C'mon Gin!" Sophie cried over her shoulder, stopping impatiently, tapping her foot on the stone floor. Ginny caught up with them, a little out of breath, and they carried on towards Care of Magical Creatures.

When they reached Hagrid's hut they found him stooped over a crate of fluffy, round, custard coloured balls of fur.

"Puffskeins!" He announced jovially to the class. The muggle kids crowded round for a closer look, but Ginny had owned a Puffskein once and so she slumped against the fence, watching as Ana and Lara cooed over the ball of fur in Ana's hand.

Seeing Ginny propped up against the fence, Hagrid walked over to her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"'Ello Ginny, 'ow are yer?," he said, giving her a slight squeeze. Ginny just looked down at the floor.

"Oh yeah, sorry 'bout that, silly of me, forgettin' an' all..." he said apologetically. "Puffskeins not new t' yer then?" he said, changing the subject.

"Nope," Ginny replied. "Ron had one once, but Fred got a bit too boisterous when he was using it for Bludger practice. Mum hasn't let him near one since"

Hagrid chuckled and patted her on the back, almost throwing her to the ground in doing so. "Well, I'll let yer off fer this lesson, but I'd like t' see yer participatin' next time round, alrigh'?" he said, chortling.

"Okay"

"And I'm 'ere if yer need t' talk, yer hear me?" he added, turning serious.

Ginny nodded in thanks and smiled a bit. "Sure Hagrid, I'll come down here if I need to talk. Thank you"

"No' at all" he replied, and then he went back to the class, handing out more Puffskeins to the excited students crowded round the crate.

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Ginny sat up in bed that night, the hangings around her bed shut, listening to the other girls as they talked about some new hottie in 'Witch Weekly', Orli Blum or something like that. They were giggling excitedly on Lizzie's bed over on the other side of the circular dorm.

Ginny had a book in her hand, but she wasn't reading it. She was thinking about how lonely she suddenly felt. Charlie had gone, her whole family had almost completely ignored her (apart from Bill), and now she knew that her 'friends' were starting to leave her out again. But then, had they ever really been her friends? She had always thought so, but maybe, maybe she was wrong. They had never included her as much as they did each other, but Ginny had just assumed that was normal. Everyone got that once in a while, didn't they? 'Yeah, once in a while' said a voice in her head. 'Not permanently!'

Shaking her head to clear it, Ginny sighed and closed the book, putting it on her bedside table. Then she nestled down under her duvet and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to come.

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A/N Phew! Chapter two done, finally! It took me long enough! Sorry to anyone (if there even was anyone!) who wanted this updated, but I've done it! It's amazing!

I'm going to start work on chapter three pretty much straight away, so that might not take quite as long.

I'm in a confused mood at the moment too, cause my mate Jack told me that one of my other guy friends likes me in that way, so be prepared for Ginny's life to get *very* confusing, so as I try to emulate my life in my writing, poor Ginny is gonna have a rough time with the ol' love life!)

Anyways, gotta go!

p.s. EXAMS ARE OVER!