Ginger Haired Girl
By PepsiAngel
Disclaimer: Ginny is the creation of that evil (or. . .something) genius, JKR.
Dedication: For Bohemian Storm, in hopes her birthday on the 30th is fabulous. I must apologize to her for the length of this drabble as I forgot it was so short. It's the thought that counts?
Ginny had always secretly liked looking in the mirror.
She was a pretty enough girl, though far from beautiful, but she wasn't vain about it. No, the reason she snuck peaks in reflective surfaces as she walked by was far more humble.
She wanted to observe herself, the way others saw her.
A flash of ginger hair, a glimpse of a nose dotted with miniscule freckles.
Try as she might, all she ever saw was a slightly too small child with a pale complexion and vibrant hair.
She never felt as young and as chaste as she appeared. Perhaps it was because she wasn't, she hadn't been, not since her first year of Hogwarts when Tom had possessed her and changed her forever in the process.
When she was alone Ginny would peer closely into the mirror, studying her face as though it were one of her particularly difficult O.W.L exams. What she saw in her eyes at those moments was what she felt, deep down inside her where no casual observer would ever bother to look.
She could see the haunted look of a scarred person who had so much to tell and not enough time or words to say it all in. The doubt constantly shining in her irises gave her away, even when she was trying to be brave. Only she seemed to be able to see the reservation, though.
Everyone else saw the little girl with the ginger hair and nose dotted with miniscule freckles.
No one saw the broken person within.