WARNING: Major Weasley angst!
A Fresh Start
Ginny met Oliver in Hogsmeade. It was a Hogsmeade weekend and she and her fiancée were going shopping together. Not the activity that they wanted to partake in but there were way too many whippersnappers around and Ginny needed to set a good example being a Hogwarts professor an all.
"Oliver," she said waving her arms to get his attention. He ran over to her and lifted her up and twirled her around.
"God Gin, I missed you," he moaned kissing her softly.
"I missed you to Oliver," she said, "your letters were the only thing keeping me sane, not that my students would agree."
"You're not worse than Snape are you?" he asked warily
"No, Oliver no one could be that bad, " she scandalized not knowing he was behind her.
"Professor Weasley," she could hear the sneer in his voice "is that any way to talk about your benevolent employer?"
""Depends on the day, headmaster." Oliver was shocked at her cheek. Anyone else would have been hexed into next year.
"Wood," he said nodding at the auror.
"Professor," he said.
"Excuse us, we have some shopping to do," she said pulling on his hand. Severus smirked as he watched them walk away. He recognized the signs; Oliver was whipped.
"What are you smirking at?" Aurora Sinistra walked up and took her husband's hand.
"Ginny has Oliver Wood whipped."
Ginny dragged Oliver into every shop in Hogsmeade looking for gifts for her family. She was going to see them for Christmas, not any sooner.
""Fred and George will not be happy to know that you went into Zonko's instead of Triple W."
"They can kiss my arse," she told him as they made their way to The Three Broomsticks.
"So are you just going to show up and hey family what's up, sorry I disappeared, didn't write, or talk for months."
"No, I was planning on saying, did ya miss me?" she giggled; suddenly she saw a flash of red hair that was so familiar to her.
Her brother.
Ron.
"Merlin," she groaned ducking her head, "please don't let him see me."
"What, who is it," Oliver asked, "Gin."
"Shush," she said. It was too late. Ron saw her. He made his way over to the table with a very unusual snarl on his face," Got to go, Love you,"
She tried to make a quick get away but her brother's large frame got in her way.
"Ginny," he snarled, "what the hell?"
"Gotta go," she smiled; shoved past him and ran towards Hogwarts. Ron turned to Oliver who just shrugged.
""WOOD, you got some explaining to do."
"Go after her you idiot," Oliver said pushing Ron towards the door.
Ron took off in the direction that his sister had taken. Belatedly he realized that this was the way to Hogwarts. His much longer legs was an advantage and he caught up with his sister by the before she got too far.
"Gin, please," he pleaded. She stopped and waited for her brother to continue.
"What?" she asked slightly irritated.
"Why'd you leave," he asked slightly puzzled, he had seen neither hide nor hair of his sister in months, and she was at Hogwarts the whole time.
"You care?" she scoffed.
"Of course we care, Gin, we love you."
"You all sure had a funny way of showing it."
"What's this about?"
"Think Ron, I know you're not that stupid," she said sharply.
"What happened, Gin?" he asked again, "you came home one night and disappeared the next day."
"You're on the right track Ron, now think what happened at dinner that night?" she asked and her favorite brother could see the pain in his baby sister's eyes.
"You and mum got into it, again," he said.
"The daylight's beginning to glimmer," she smirked, "now, my dear brother," she said sarcasm dripping, "why did mummy dearest and I fight?"
"I don't know," he racked his brain, "she yelled at you for interrupting Bill."
"I did not interrupt that sodding git," she hissed not to draw attention to them from her students, and headed back to Hogwarts.
"Ginny," Ron called after her, "where are you going?"
"Home," she replied. Oliver came up behind the youngest Weasley.
"Well, you sure fucked that up," he commented mildly and started on his way back to Hogsmeade.
"Wood, wait up," Ron called after his sister's boyfriend.
"What, Ron?" he asked as the redhead caught up with him.
"You knew all along where she was and you didn't tell us?"
"Your howlers got to her." He watched the youngest Weasley blush, Ron and Arthur were the only one that hadn't sent Ginny a howler.
"Why didn't you tell us where she was?" he demanded.
"Ginny asked me not to," he said watching the rage grown on the younger wizard's face.
"But Percy is your best friend?"
"Yes he is," Oliver replied, "but Ginny is my fiancée and I love her more than I love Percy."
Ron's jaw dropped. Oliver appartaed away. Ron decided to go to Hogwarts and get to the bottom of this. He arrived at Hogwarts and asked a young Slytherin if he knew a Professor Weasley.
"Professor Weasley, sure," the little boy, who had a lisp and a snake wrapped around his small body, said, "she teaches potions in the dungeons."
Ron took off towards the dungeons. He figured that she had Snape's old office. He remembered the way there from his own days as a miscreant Gryffindor. He was right; he knocked on the door and was beckoned by his sister.
"What do you want," she groaned, "I have things to do."
"I want to know why you left," he said.
"Think Ron, I know it hurts, but try anyway."
"Was it what mum said at dinner?" he asked
"You are so close Ron, now use that brain of yours and figure it out," she said.
"Well, you came home early, and Fred and George said that they were opening another shop, Percy handed you the potatoes and, Bill got a promotion and then you got yelled at for interrupting him. Got pissed and left, is that all that happened?"
"Don't forget, what I tried to say before George told the marvelous news, oh, and what I tried to say before my beloved brother Bill spoke up, and then when he was finished," she said her voice raising to a dangerous level, "Anyone wonder why I got off work early?"
"I guess not," he replied hesitantly.
"No of course not, everyone is more important than little Ginny Weasley?" she said, and was interrupted mid rant, by a knocking on her office door, "Come in," she called.
A young girl poked her face inside.
"Professor," she said timidly, "Professor Jordan asked me to give this to you."
"Thank you, Chloe," Ginny said taking the note from the third year.
"You're welcome Professor Weasley," she said, and quickly left the office.
"Jordan, Lee, Jordan."
"Yes, Lee," she said and set the note on her desk, "now dear brother, as I was saying, do you know when I left?"
"No," he said honestly.
"Well mum's beloved Harry Potter come over and you all were so taken with Hermione's tale that no one saw the only female Weasley child walk out the door."
She threw the clock hand at him. He caught it and looked at her.
"Don't forget this," she said, "now get the hell out of my office." She pointed towards the door, "oh and Ronald Weasley, don't you dare think of telling them that you know where I am."
Ginny sat in her office; she wanted to go after her brother, but she wouldn't. She was kind of glad that it was Ron that found her. She didn't know what the others would do. But she trusted Ron not tell.
Ron meanwhile was fighting an internal battle. A part of him wanted to go home and gather every Weasley he knew and drag them to Hogwarts to bring Ginny home. But it was losing to the part that of him that respected Ginny's wish to be left alone. It knew that she would come around. She always did. She and the twins held grudges; they were slow to anger this they got from their father.
Ron thought of Oliver and Lee keeping this from his brothers. Arthur had asked Snape if he had hired Ginny, Severus Snape and evaded the question. Casper Sinclair the master that Ginny had been apprenticed to wouldn't tell them where she went. Harry asked Sirius, if Ginny was at Hogwarts, Sirius never answered him. Parvati and Penelope, two of Ginny's dearest friends, had not told. Ginny had trusted all these people; so Ron wouldn't betray her trust either.
He knew that he had respect her wishes to be left alone. Their mother would just send more howlers. Molly was down to one a week. Ron went back to Hogsmeade and nursed a beer in the three broomsticks. He sat there mulling over the conversation that he had with Ginny. His mind kept going back to her rant.
"Everyone is more important than little Ginny Weasley," she had said.
Did she really think that none of them care for her? Ron thought, that would explain why she left.
Suddenly he had an epiphany. He knew why she left; she was always feeling over shadowed by her brothers. They had ignored her one too many times. Ron realized sadly. Now his sister, the one person he was closest to in the world was gone. She had big news that she had wanted to tell them as a family. She got a job at Hogwarts. Not just any job either. Potions Professor. Headmaster Snape had chosen her himself.
Ron groaned and put his head in his hands. He felt sick. His sister, who used to tell him everything, was now engaged to Oliver Wood and none of them knew…not even Percy. His whole world had been flipped on its side when she left.
Bill and Charlie went back to their homes. The owled on occasion to see if there was any news. They missed her, even though they were so much older, they noticed how the house seem weird with out her making sure everyone was ok, so that their mother didn't know that they had fought again.
Fred and George quieted down in her absence. They were afraid that they were the ones to drive her away. They were always asking her to brew them things. They tested more potions on her than she could count. She yelled at them, but still helped them. It was like were broken hearted.
Percy buried himself even further in work. He didn't want to think about it. He would often be seen however staring at a document for fifteen, twenty minutes at a time. And Ron, it was the hardest on Ron. He and Ginny had always been close, something about being the two youngest. They had done everything together.
Molly was torn up inside, but couldn't let it show. She was angry with herself, but took it out on everyone. Arthur missed his baby girl more than anyone imagined. The father and daughter had been very close. He sort of shut them all out. He was still there, but it seemed like he was on autopilot.
Ginny was the heart and soul of the Weasley clan.
To be continued…