Things Change
A/N THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! You have to go back and read chapter one, because I have added something to the beginning and made some subtle but IMPORTANT change all the way through, which are, as I said, extremely IMPORTANT to the story line - oh, and it's now more interesting! And from now on all the chapters have names.
Well, chapter nine is here! Happiness! Uggh, what is *with* me lately? I keep missing out one of the 'p's in happy'. Oh well.
I'm in a continental mood because I've just had Russian; which means many continental things may happen in this chapter. The plot bunnies have finally given me a valuable idea, which is also good. #_#
Anyways, thanks for all my reviews - more shout outs today! I'm glad everyone liked the D/G action, I was hoping it wasn't too sudden or stupid or whatever. Comments on that would be nice. That's just reminded me; no one told me what they thought of Professor Trelawney! I was really hoping for some feedback on her, about whether or not she was written okay. Pleez tell me your thoughts!
And now, on with the story!
p.s. I may mention pink sneakers (You know, shoes) a couple of times, as I have just acquired some, and I'm MAD about them!
Btw, Nalia is watching me write right now - it's quite odd. Nah, she's just gone mental, that's all. Nalia is registered by the way - check out her fics! But finish reading mine first! (Ah ha, cheep propaganda for a friend - I'm very nice ^_^)
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Ginny was *not* in a good mood, and even the floating candles and warm atmosphere of the great hall wasn't helping. She leant her chin on her hand glumly, watching the other students as they got up to date with each other and the news they had missed over Christmas. The others had already said hi, leaving her slightly removed from the conversation, as usual. But Ginny didn't really care. Her life was too...odd right now for her to care.
She watched as Dumbledore rose from his seat and the hall became quiet. He smiled round at everyone and began his usual speech about...whatever he was talking about.
"Welcome students, both those of you who were here yesterday and the ones who have just joined us. I trust you have all had a good Christmas"
He paused, looking down at the Gryffindor table with the usual sparkle in his eyes. Probably seeking out Harry, who was bound to have had an adventure over the holiday.
"I know all of you are eager to begin work" (another twinkle in the eyes) "but for now, we will do something more enjoyable. Eat!"
The plates filled just as Dumbledore finished his speech, and students rushed to load their plates (and their bellies) with the house-elves' splendid food. Ginny just picked at the piece of chicken and the few chips she had put on her own dish, stabbing her fork around on the plate and spearing a couple of fries in the process. Her appetite, which an hour ago had been considerably large, had dwindled to practically nothing. All because of that damned Draco Malfoy.
'Stop thinking about him, silly girl!' she scolded herself silently. 'You'll go crazy at this rate! Anyway, it was just one kiss, and he only kissed you because you were *there*, not because he wanted to kiss *you*! Anyway, you shouldn't care!'
Ginny scowled, trying to get all thoughts of Draco out of her mind. She was feeling confused, frustrated and most of all, tired - which didn't help the situation an awful lot. Deciding to go straight to bed as soon as she could - and pushing all thoughts of seeing Thom out of her mind - she went straight to the dormitory as soon as the rest of the Gryffindor house had risen from the table. Everyone else stayed downstairs in the common room, as she had counted on them doing if she wanted some time alone.
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Ginny tossed and turned later that night, gazing at the dark red canopy above her. With one arm under her pillow and the other hand fiddling with the sleeve of her nightgown she desperately tried to get back to sleep, but to no avail. She sighed, looking around her to see if anyone else was awake. Seeing she was the only one, she quietly got out of bed, grabbing her dressing gown and pink sneakers and making her way down to the common room, where she turned on one of the lamps and sat on the window seat. She gazed out at the grounds for a while, staring into space, until she noticed a shape. It was a boy, and she was sure recognised him...
She threw open the window to get a better look. Leaning out, she saw him sit under a willow tree near the lake, with what looked like a book in his hand.
Making a note of which willow tree it was, she threw on her sneakers straight away, turned off the lamp and made her way through the portrait hole, walking down the corridor as fast as she could without making any noise, trying to evade capture. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough.
Creeping down a flight of stairs (ones that usually led to the entrance hall), she saw Mrs Norris patrolling the steps. Swearing under her breath, Ginny pressed herself into the shadows in a hopeless effort not to be noticed. She held her breath, but then, there was a familiar tickling in her nose...
'Great,' she thought. 'I'm going to sneeze'
She tried to hold it in, pinching her nose and holding her breath, and for a moment it looked like it might be working.
But just as Mrs Norris slunk past her, the tickling sensation got too much for Ginny and she let out an almightily sneeze.
"ACHOOOO!"
The cat's head swung round, her yellow eyes glowing in the faint moonlight, and she spotted Ginny in the shadows. The yellow cat meowed for Filch, all the while watching Ginny as she tried to move away. Ginny sincerely wanted to hurt that stupid fat cat (A/N that was really painful to say; I love cats!), with her horrible yellow eyes and horrible yellow fur and...Ugh!
At that moment, she heard Filch muttering to himself, calling Mrs Norris ("Where are they my pet, who is it?"), and his footsteps echoing through the corridor. He was obviously coming round the corner. Ginny grimaced, cursing softly as she sprinted down the last few steps and away from Filch as fast as she could, the light from his lantern slowly following her. She jumped the final three stairs, skidding across the entrance hall, the rubbery soles of her shoes squeaking as they hit the polished floor, and she flung open the heavy oak doors, tearing into the shadowy grounds.
Looking around for a moment, she spotted the boy sitting under the tree and ran towards him. He looked up at the sound and upon seeing her, he stood up.
"Thom!" she half-shouted, careful not to make too much noise. She waved energetically and he waved back, looking calm. He obviously didn't realise who was following her.
"Filch!" she cried, stumbling over the grass towards him and leaning against the tree with one hand, the other at her chest as she tried to catch her breath. "Filch is coming!"
Thom's face turned serious, and he tugged on her sleeve.
"Hide over there, behind the trees!" he whispered, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the Forbidden Forest. Tearing across the grounds (both careful to stay in the shadows of course), they got to the edge of the forest just in time, hiding behind one of the tall dark trees. Filch passed them a few moments later, a lamp in his hand as he searched the grounds. Mrs Norris walked beside him, and they held their breath as she passed, hoping she wouldn't smell them, but she didn't even look their way.
Ginny and Thom let out a collective breath as Filch disappeared from of sight, both leaning against the trees, their faces lit by the moon, which was full. They stayed silent for a moment, until Ginny, reflecting on the incident, started to giggle. Just a small giggle at first, as she looked sideways at Thom to see if he was laughing. She put her hand over her mouth, trying to stop the laughter from escaping, but it was too much, and within seconds she fell about laughing, clutching her stomach. Thom grinned and started to laugh too, until both were in hysterics.
"It...It's not even...funny!" Ginny managed to say between giggles, and Thom nodded, almost crying with laughter himself.
"No, no...we...we have to be serious now" Ginny said, trying to keep her face straight as she rose from her position of being bent double.
In that moment she found herself almost level with Thom's eyes. Suddenly, the situation changed. Both of them stopped laughing immediately, aware of just how close their bodies were for the first time. The tension between them seemed to crackle in the air, and Ginny found herself gazing into Thom's eyes, and he her. Slowly, Thom moved closer, placing one hand lightly on her waist, the other tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. Ginny stood transfixed, not moving, all the earlier thoughts of Draco that had been crowding her mind gone, as if they had never been. Their lips drew close, closer, and closer still...
"Hello?" thundered a voice from outside the trees.
Thom and Ginny jumped apart, leaping behind the nearest tree. They could see the light from a lantern coming from the outskirts of the forest, just out of range from where they stood.
"Hello?" yelled the voice again, and Ginny recognised that it was Hagrid. It looked like Thom had as well, because Ginny felt him relax beside her. As long as they didn't make a noise, Hagrid would probably leave them alone.
They stayed still for a few moments longer, until they heard the distinct sound of Hagrid moving away over the grass. Peeping out from behind the tree, Ginny saw that he had indeed gone.
"We, uh, we can come out now Thom" Ginny said, looking at the ground and feeling slightly awkward.
Thom stepped out from behind the tree, looking equally uncomfortable. "Yeah, well, um...shall we get back to our dorms?" he asked.
Ginny nodded, and the two of them headed back across the grounds to the castle, the two of them surrounded by an uncomfortable silence until they separated in the halls, although as Ginny said goodbye, she thought she saw Thom send her a smile.
Heading through the portrait hole, Ginny thought about the little moment back in the forest, and felt her heart flutter.
'Does Thom *like* me?' she asked herself as she walked up the stairs to the dormitory, climbing into bed as quietly as she could. She felt thoroughly confused, and as the moonlight filtered in through the curtains, she wondered if her life would ever straighten itself out.
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A/N I apologise profusely for that. In short, it was one of my crapest chapters yet. It's more like a bridge between chapters than anything else. Also possibly one of the shortest chapters I've ever written, and as I aid before, *definitely* not one of my best either. Oh well, I'll just blame it on the writer's block that has been plaguing me this past week. I wrote anything, alright?
::Author cries into handkerchief, deeply distressed at the lack of good writing she sees before her::
Well, maybe it's not *that* bad. Anyways, more shout-outs this chapter (I don't get enough reviews to do them every chapter *hint hint*. Nah, just kidding) so look out or those.
Anyways, see ya around,
R&R!
Luv, S.e.a
Okeanos - Thanks for one of the shortest reviews in history! Anyways, you love Lara don't you? Oh well, no surprises there! And no, 'it' is not Awais! And it's all fine about town. See ya soon!
Scarlett - I like checking out the stories of people who review me, so reading your fic was no problem. Thanks for your congrats on the funeral scene (I was quite proud of it) and I thought it might be cool to have the presence of another guy in there. He'll play a big part!
cashew - Poor you, with your hectic life! Anything bad?
Anyways, I'm really glad you like Thom! He's one of my better creations, and I thought I'd stick him in there as someone to complicate everything. He's a bit of a smoothy, isn't he?
And, yes, I would mucho like to know what all your American holidays are! They confuse me terribly sometimes! And it's SO cool that you love Moulin Rouge too! I'm totally in love with Ewan too (his voice is GORGEOUS!) and I listen to it a LOT more than I should too i.e. when I write. I love El Tango de Roxanne as well, but my mate Alistair thinks it's hilarious because of the Narcoleptic Argentinean's voice! Humph! Anyways, I love 'Your Song' as well (it's great!) and I like the single remix thing of 'One Day I'll Fly Away' on the second disc. It's one of the only ones I can sing properly! 'Hindi Sad Diamonds', 'Lady Marmalade' and 'Elephant Love Medley' are brill too!
Oh, and you're totally forgiven about missing three chapters! No worries!
~*~
Now go and be good readers and please review!
A/N THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! You have to go back and read chapter one, because I have added something to the beginning and made some subtle but IMPORTANT change all the way through, which are, as I said, extremely IMPORTANT to the story line - oh, and it's now more interesting! And from now on all the chapters have names.
Well, chapter nine is here! Happiness! Uggh, what is *with* me lately? I keep missing out one of the 'p's in happy'. Oh well.
I'm in a continental mood because I've just had Russian; which means many continental things may happen in this chapter. The plot bunnies have finally given me a valuable idea, which is also good. #_#
Anyways, thanks for all my reviews - more shout outs today! I'm glad everyone liked the D/G action, I was hoping it wasn't too sudden or stupid or whatever. Comments on that would be nice. That's just reminded me; no one told me what they thought of Professor Trelawney! I was really hoping for some feedback on her, about whether or not she was written okay. Pleez tell me your thoughts!
And now, on with the story!
p.s. I may mention pink sneakers (You know, shoes) a couple of times, as I have just acquired some, and I'm MAD about them!
Btw, Nalia is watching me write right now - it's quite odd. Nah, she's just gone mental, that's all. Nalia is registered by the way - check out her fics! But finish reading mine first! (Ah ha, cheep propaganda for a friend - I'm very nice ^_^)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ginny was *not* in a good mood, and even the floating candles and warm atmosphere of the great hall wasn't helping. She leant her chin on her hand glumly, watching the other students as they got up to date with each other and the news they had missed over Christmas. The others had already said hi, leaving her slightly removed from the conversation, as usual. But Ginny didn't really care. Her life was too...odd right now for her to care.
She watched as Dumbledore rose from his seat and the hall became quiet. He smiled round at everyone and began his usual speech about...whatever he was talking about.
"Welcome students, both those of you who were here yesterday and the ones who have just joined us. I trust you have all had a good Christmas"
He paused, looking down at the Gryffindor table with the usual sparkle in his eyes. Probably seeking out Harry, who was bound to have had an adventure over the holiday.
"I know all of you are eager to begin work" (another twinkle in the eyes) "but for now, we will do something more enjoyable. Eat!"
The plates filled just as Dumbledore finished his speech, and students rushed to load their plates (and their bellies) with the house-elves' splendid food. Ginny just picked at the piece of chicken and the few chips she had put on her own dish, stabbing her fork around on the plate and spearing a couple of fries in the process. Her appetite, which an hour ago had been considerably large, had dwindled to practically nothing. All because of that damned Draco Malfoy.
'Stop thinking about him, silly girl!' she scolded herself silently. 'You'll go crazy at this rate! Anyway, it was just one kiss, and he only kissed you because you were *there*, not because he wanted to kiss *you*! Anyway, you shouldn't care!'
Ginny scowled, trying to get all thoughts of Draco out of her mind. She was feeling confused, frustrated and most of all, tired - which didn't help the situation an awful lot. Deciding to go straight to bed as soon as she could - and pushing all thoughts of seeing Thom out of her mind - she went straight to the dormitory as soon as the rest of the Gryffindor house had risen from the table. Everyone else stayed downstairs in the common room, as she had counted on them doing if she wanted some time alone.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ginny tossed and turned later that night, gazing at the dark red canopy above her. With one arm under her pillow and the other hand fiddling with the sleeve of her nightgown she desperately tried to get back to sleep, but to no avail. She sighed, looking around her to see if anyone else was awake. Seeing she was the only one, she quietly got out of bed, grabbing her dressing gown and pink sneakers and making her way down to the common room, where she turned on one of the lamps and sat on the window seat. She gazed out at the grounds for a while, staring into space, until she noticed a shape. It was a boy, and she was sure recognised him...
She threw open the window to get a better look. Leaning out, she saw him sit under a willow tree near the lake, with what looked like a book in his hand.
Making a note of which willow tree it was, she threw on her sneakers straight away, turned off the lamp and made her way through the portrait hole, walking down the corridor as fast as she could without making any noise, trying to evade capture. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough.
Creeping down a flight of stairs (ones that usually led to the entrance hall), she saw Mrs Norris patrolling the steps. Swearing under her breath, Ginny pressed herself into the shadows in a hopeless effort not to be noticed. She held her breath, but then, there was a familiar tickling in her nose...
'Great,' she thought. 'I'm going to sneeze'
She tried to hold it in, pinching her nose and holding her breath, and for a moment it looked like it might be working.
But just as Mrs Norris slunk past her, the tickling sensation got too much for Ginny and she let out an almightily sneeze.
"ACHOOOO!"
The cat's head swung round, her yellow eyes glowing in the faint moonlight, and she spotted Ginny in the shadows. The yellow cat meowed for Filch, all the while watching Ginny as she tried to move away. Ginny sincerely wanted to hurt that stupid fat cat (A/N that was really painful to say; I love cats!), with her horrible yellow eyes and horrible yellow fur and...Ugh!
At that moment, she heard Filch muttering to himself, calling Mrs Norris ("Where are they my pet, who is it?"), and his footsteps echoing through the corridor. He was obviously coming round the corner. Ginny grimaced, cursing softly as she sprinted down the last few steps and away from Filch as fast as she could, the light from his lantern slowly following her. She jumped the final three stairs, skidding across the entrance hall, the rubbery soles of her shoes squeaking as they hit the polished floor, and she flung open the heavy oak doors, tearing into the shadowy grounds.
Looking around for a moment, she spotted the boy sitting under the tree and ran towards him. He looked up at the sound and upon seeing her, he stood up.
"Thom!" she half-shouted, careful not to make too much noise. She waved energetically and he waved back, looking calm. He obviously didn't realise who was following her.
"Filch!" she cried, stumbling over the grass towards him and leaning against the tree with one hand, the other at her chest as she tried to catch her breath. "Filch is coming!"
Thom's face turned serious, and he tugged on her sleeve.
"Hide over there, behind the trees!" he whispered, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the Forbidden Forest. Tearing across the grounds (both careful to stay in the shadows of course), they got to the edge of the forest just in time, hiding behind one of the tall dark trees. Filch passed them a few moments later, a lamp in his hand as he searched the grounds. Mrs Norris walked beside him, and they held their breath as she passed, hoping she wouldn't smell them, but she didn't even look their way.
Ginny and Thom let out a collective breath as Filch disappeared from of sight, both leaning against the trees, their faces lit by the moon, which was full. They stayed silent for a moment, until Ginny, reflecting on the incident, started to giggle. Just a small giggle at first, as she looked sideways at Thom to see if he was laughing. She put her hand over her mouth, trying to stop the laughter from escaping, but it was too much, and within seconds she fell about laughing, clutching her stomach. Thom grinned and started to laugh too, until both were in hysterics.
"It...It's not even...funny!" Ginny managed to say between giggles, and Thom nodded, almost crying with laughter himself.
"No, no...we...we have to be serious now" Ginny said, trying to keep her face straight as she rose from her position of being bent double.
In that moment she found herself almost level with Thom's eyes. Suddenly, the situation changed. Both of them stopped laughing immediately, aware of just how close their bodies were for the first time. The tension between them seemed to crackle in the air, and Ginny found herself gazing into Thom's eyes, and he her. Slowly, Thom moved closer, placing one hand lightly on her waist, the other tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. Ginny stood transfixed, not moving, all the earlier thoughts of Draco that had been crowding her mind gone, as if they had never been. Their lips drew close, closer, and closer still...
"Hello?" thundered a voice from outside the trees.
Thom and Ginny jumped apart, leaping behind the nearest tree. They could see the light from a lantern coming from the outskirts of the forest, just out of range from where they stood.
"Hello?" yelled the voice again, and Ginny recognised that it was Hagrid. It looked like Thom had as well, because Ginny felt him relax beside her. As long as they didn't make a noise, Hagrid would probably leave them alone.
They stayed still for a few moments longer, until they heard the distinct sound of Hagrid moving away over the grass. Peeping out from behind the tree, Ginny saw that he had indeed gone.
"We, uh, we can come out now Thom" Ginny said, looking at the ground and feeling slightly awkward.
Thom stepped out from behind the tree, looking equally uncomfortable. "Yeah, well, um...shall we get back to our dorms?" he asked.
Ginny nodded, and the two of them headed back across the grounds to the castle, the two of them surrounded by an uncomfortable silence until they separated in the halls, although as Ginny said goodbye, she thought she saw Thom send her a smile.
Heading through the portrait hole, Ginny thought about the little moment back in the forest, and felt her heart flutter.
'Does Thom *like* me?' she asked herself as she walked up the stairs to the dormitory, climbing into bed as quietly as she could. She felt thoroughly confused, and as the moonlight filtered in through the curtains, she wondered if her life would ever straighten itself out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N I apologise profusely for that. In short, it was one of my crapest chapters yet. It's more like a bridge between chapters than anything else. Also possibly one of the shortest chapters I've ever written, and as I aid before, *definitely* not one of my best either. Oh well, I'll just blame it on the writer's block that has been plaguing me this past week. I wrote anything, alright?
::Author cries into handkerchief, deeply distressed at the lack of good writing she sees before her::
Well, maybe it's not *that* bad. Anyways, more shout-outs this chapter (I don't get enough reviews to do them every chapter *hint hint*. Nah, just kidding) so look out or those.
Anyways, see ya around,
R&R!
Luv, S.e.a
Okeanos - Thanks for one of the shortest reviews in history! Anyways, you love Lara don't you? Oh well, no surprises there! And no, 'it' is not Awais! And it's all fine about town. See ya soon!
Scarlett - I like checking out the stories of people who review me, so reading your fic was no problem. Thanks for your congrats on the funeral scene (I was quite proud of it) and I thought it might be cool to have the presence of another guy in there. He'll play a big part!
cashew - Poor you, with your hectic life! Anything bad?
Anyways, I'm really glad you like Thom! He's one of my better creations, and I thought I'd stick him in there as someone to complicate everything. He's a bit of a smoothy, isn't he?
And, yes, I would mucho like to know what all your American holidays are! They confuse me terribly sometimes! And it's SO cool that you love Moulin Rouge too! I'm totally in love with Ewan too (his voice is GORGEOUS!) and I listen to it a LOT more than I should too i.e. when I write. I love El Tango de Roxanne as well, but my mate Alistair thinks it's hilarious because of the Narcoleptic Argentinean's voice! Humph! Anyways, I love 'Your Song' as well (it's great!) and I like the single remix thing of 'One Day I'll Fly Away' on the second disc. It's one of the only ones I can sing properly! 'Hindi Sad Diamonds', 'Lady Marmalade' and 'Elephant Love Medley' are brill too!
Oh, and you're totally forgiven about missing three chapters! No worries!
~*~
Now go and be good readers and please review!