Disclaimer: The words are mine, the characters and concepts are Rowlings'.
Hopefully the lawyers are satisfied.oh, and the readers, too!
Author's note: This is my first fic. Reviews are encouraged, especially ones that correct any canon mistakes I have made, or that correct my American English into British English.
*******
Facades: Chapter 1 - Threats and Lies
*******
Summer holidays were over.
Ginny Weasley cracked an eye at the early morning light streaming through her bedroom window and groaned, burrowing back under her worn and faded comforter. She could already hear her mother bustling downstairs, which meant that she only had a few more minutes of blessed silence before the call to get ready for the school year came.
It had been an unnerving summer. The Order of the Phoenix had hardly heard a peep from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his Death Eaters, but with the Ministry's official acknowledgement of the Dark Lord's reappearance everyone else was suddenly in a panic. People were hexing each other at the slightest provocation. She'd even heard that a fresh fruits and vegetables grocer in Diagon Alley had been taken into custody after using dark magic on an old witch who had only asked if he had any avocados.
"Wakey, wakey!" Molly Weasley's voice shrilled from downstairs. Ginny turned and shut her eyes against the faded paisley of her curtains.
The world had gone mad, and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named hadn't even done anything yet--well, that wasn't precisely true. The Death Eaters that had been caught last spring in the attack on the Ministry had all escaped from Azkaban. There were all sorts of rumors that the Dark Lord had freed them, killing several guards in the process, but Ginny knew from the members of the Order that the rumors were a load of bunk. Unfortunately, the Death Eater escape had caused a whole new set of rumors and accusations about people being in league with the Dark Lord. Several Ministry officials had been suspended pending investigation, and it was becoming increasingly clear to the members of the Order that an accusation alone was enough to condemn a person. The wizarding world was doing the Dark Lord's work for him.
And Harry Potter, supposed savior for them all, was indulging in a colossal sulk.
As if on cue, Ginny heard the pounding rhythm that indicated that Ron and his best friend had just stampeded down the stairs for breakfast. She quickly calculated and figured that she could snooze for five more minutes before somebody came up to pester her out of bed.
Harry had come to stay with them, as he usually did, for the last few days of the summer. According to Tonks and Kingsley, the Dursleys had been on their best behavior (or what passed as best for them), and Harry had suffered an uneventful summer. Suffered was apparently the key term, for Harry had sullenly subjected the Weasleys to the list of his many woes: He hadn't had anyone to talk to; he'd been cut off from all news of the wizarding world; he missed Sirius; he'd had to sit and listen to Mr. Dursley talk about inflation and unemployment, and Mrs. Dursley talk about the recent scandal with the Royals; he'd missed all the excitement and activity of the summer.
Ginny snorted softly in disgust. She was half-tempted to offer to switch places with the grousing git next year. She could do with a quiet and uneventful summer for once.
"Ginny, love," Molly's frazzled countenance peered around her doorframe, "it's past time you were up. We need to leave soon if we're to catch the train."
"I'm up, mum. I'm up," she resignedly signaled as she threw off the covers.
"There's a dear," her mother said as Ginny began to pull out her one unpacked change of clothes, "I'll just wrap up your breakfast so you can eat it on the way. If there's anything left after Ron and Harry are done, that is."
Ginny nodded as her mother left. Knowing her mother, there'd be enough left to feed the entire train. She smiled faintly and began re-braiding her pigtails.
****
Like everything else recently, the train station and platform 9 ¾ were a hotbed of over-reaction. Ginny counted at least 7 Aurors in muggle clothing, trying to look inconspicuous amongst the crowds of Charring Cross. As she pelted through the barrier that led to the Hogwarts train platform, she realized that this was just the first line of defense. Aurors and Ministry officials stalked through the crowd of students and parents, wands at the ready. The miasma of paranoia was enough to dampen the usually heightened spirits of the students, even the most excited First Years. Ginny heard Ron and Harry behind her commenting in satisfaction that it was about time people took the threat of the Dark Lord's return seriously, but all she could do was sigh in weary resignation. She'd hoped things would return to a semblance of normalcy once they were at Hogwarts.
Mechanically, she turned and hugged her mum goodbye, trudging behind Ron and Harry as they boarded the train. They quickly found Hermione in one of the compartments, and Ginny was subjected to another round of self- congratulatory satisfaction. She settled next to the window and tried to ignore it, gazing idly at the cityscape as the train pulled out of the station.
She managed to stomach about a half-hour of the Trio's conversation, but then Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood invaded the compartment, and she was suddenly surrounded by chattering people exulting in their escapade the previous spring, and in its obvious effects. Tensing her shoulders, she stood and gritted a smile out to the group that was now actively trying to include her.
"Hey, uh. I'd love to catch up and stuff," she cut into the conversation as she pushed past them and out of the compartment, not caring that she was being abrupt, "but, uh. I told Dean I'd find him and ride with him for part of the way. Y'know, cause we're...yeah. Uh, so I'll see you guys later." She ducked out past the astonished looks on the faces of her friends.
"What's with her?" she heard Harry ask Ron as the door to the compartment was sliding shut.
"Gin? Ah, I don't know. Been like this all summer. I think it's hormones or somethi--Ow! 'Mione, what'd you do that for?"
Ginny hurried down the train in search of peace.
The aisles were remarkably empty compared to most years. She passed a few Fourth Year Hufflepuffs that she vaguely knew, but most everyone else seemed content to stick close to what they knew. She briefly considered looking for Dean, but quickly discarded that idea. Agreeing to go out with him had seemed like an okay idea last year, but all his letters over the summer had been filled with the same mad speculative paranoia that had overtaken everyone else. She'd quickly grown tired of their correspondence, and right now she couldn't face a live performance of the same.
She began glancing into compartments, hoping to find an empty one, or at least one with some quietly studying Ravenclaws. Because she wasn't really looking for the identity of the occupants, she was surprised when she heard the swish of a door opening behind her, and the menacingly smooth voice of Draco Malfoy.
"Hey guys, look. It's a weasel who's left her burrow." She turned and saw Malfoy, backed by the perpetually menacing pair of Crabbe and Goyle stalking down the hall towards her. She backed up a step in instinctive fear before she realized that she was on the Hogwarts Express, with at least ten Aurors within shouting distance, and four times as many students. Squaring he shoulders, she tossed her pigtails defiantly at the bullies.
"I'm not a weasel, Malfoy. I'm a girl. Although from what I've heard about you, I wouldn't expect you'd be able to tell the difference," she grinned pride at her witty comeback. Malfoy closed the distance between them and she held her ground. He considered her with his trademark sneer.
"Red hair like a weasel, covered in dirt like a weasel," he sniffed the air near her, "stinks like a weasel," crossing his arms, he smirked, "Sorry, Weasel, but I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to mistake you for a girl."
Ginny felt her face go red as Crabbe and Goyle laughed dutifully at the insult they didn't quite understand. Still smirking, Malfoy raised a brow in silent challenge and Ginny's eyes narrowed.
"Well, there are a lot of stupid people in this world, I guess. I mean, they've obviously mistaken you for someone who isn't a Death Eater," as a comeback it stunk, but the wild strike apparently hit a nerve. Malfoy closed the distance between them in two strides and bracketed her head with his arms, transfixing her with an icy gray glare.
"Careful, Weasel. You wouldn't want to go making false accusations, now would you. I mean, I've obviously been cleared of any guilt over my father's associations, or I wouldn't be here," he leaned in closer and whispered so that only she could hear, "So if you go making accusations that everyone knows are wrong, they might start wondering if you've got an ulterior motive. I mean, it's not like you haven't had some dealings with the Dark Lord yourself, once upon a time. Think of how terrible it would be for you if that became common knowledge." Malfoy pushed away from the wall, his glare no longer so icy cold, "Think about it, Weasley." With a curt gesture to his bully-boys, Malfoy disappeared back into his compartment.
Ginny collapsed back against the wall, releasing the breath she'd been holding while Malfoy threatened her. Tom Riddle. She hadn't even thought about that, or what it might mean if it got out. Suddenly the paranoia that had irritated her so much with its absurdity became something far more menacing. Blindly, she stumbled down a few more compartments before arbitrarily slipping into one. She clutched at the door and looked out the window, half expecting a bunch of Aurors to come seize her into custody. Then she heard a soft rustling behind her and twisted around to find a pretty dark-haired girl about her age watching her curiously.
"Uh. Hey," the girl smiled tentatively, "Y'know, if you're hiding from someone, you might not want to press your face up to the glass like that. Makes you easier to spot, is all."
"What?" Ginny suddenly realized how odd her behavior must look and blushed, "oh. I'm not hiding. I just...I had a run in with the official school bully. I don't think he'll follow me in here."
"Wow. School bully. Like, really? They have those here?"
Here? Ginny puzzled for a second, then realized the girl spoke with a distinct accent, "You're American."
"Bingo. First try. You win the prize," the girl dug in her pocket and pulled out a colorfully wrapped piece of muggle candy, handing it out as an offering. Nonplussed, Ginny took it and sat.
"And you're new. What are you doing coming to Hogwarts?"
The new girl smiled and took out another piece of candy, unwrapping it and popping it in her mouth, "my mom was a witch; she's dead now. My dad's a muggle, a newspaper correspondent. He got assigned to cover some of the parliamentary stuff over here, and I made him bring me along. He doesn't know about all the stuff that's going on in the wizarding world, otherwise I don't think he would have brought me. He's just relieved that Hogwarts is a boarding school, so he won't have to look after me. Things have been rough since mom died, and oh my gosh am I just babbling on and telling you things you probably don't care about."
Ginny smiled, "It's okay. It's actually nice to talk to someone who isn't obsessed about all the stuff that's going on right now with He-Who-Must-Not- Be-Named. I'm Ginny, by the way. Ginny Weasley."
"Ursula Vane. Isn't that the most horrible name in the world? I mean, I sound like a Disney villain. And it rhymes with everything awful - pain, bane, inane, insane."
In spite of her recent scare, Ginny smiled at the girl's gregariousness, "You should try having a name like Weasley," at the face that Ursula made, Ginny laughed, "yeah, pretty awful, isn't it."
"Well, my theory is...do you want to hear my theory?" at Ginny's nod, Ursula continued, "My theory is that you just have to brazen it out and make fun of yourself. If you've already made all the good jokes there are to make, then the bullies just come out looking dumb and uninventive."
Ginny smiled, and she and the new girl chattered about stupid inconsequentials that didn't have anything to do with the Dark Lord or Harry Potter or Aurors or Death Eaters. Slowly she began to feel her fearful unease and irritation subside. By the time they arrived at Hogwarts, Ginny was persuaded that with Ursula to help her keep things in perspective, maybe this year wouldn't be so bad after all.
Author's note: This is my first fic. Reviews are encouraged, especially ones that correct any canon mistakes I have made, or that correct my American English into British English.
*******
Facades: Chapter 1 - Threats and Lies
*******
Summer holidays were over.
Ginny Weasley cracked an eye at the early morning light streaming through her bedroom window and groaned, burrowing back under her worn and faded comforter. She could already hear her mother bustling downstairs, which meant that she only had a few more minutes of blessed silence before the call to get ready for the school year came.
It had been an unnerving summer. The Order of the Phoenix had hardly heard a peep from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his Death Eaters, but with the Ministry's official acknowledgement of the Dark Lord's reappearance everyone else was suddenly in a panic. People were hexing each other at the slightest provocation. She'd even heard that a fresh fruits and vegetables grocer in Diagon Alley had been taken into custody after using dark magic on an old witch who had only asked if he had any avocados.
"Wakey, wakey!" Molly Weasley's voice shrilled from downstairs. Ginny turned and shut her eyes against the faded paisley of her curtains.
The world had gone mad, and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named hadn't even done anything yet--well, that wasn't precisely true. The Death Eaters that had been caught last spring in the attack on the Ministry had all escaped from Azkaban. There were all sorts of rumors that the Dark Lord had freed them, killing several guards in the process, but Ginny knew from the members of the Order that the rumors were a load of bunk. Unfortunately, the Death Eater escape had caused a whole new set of rumors and accusations about people being in league with the Dark Lord. Several Ministry officials had been suspended pending investigation, and it was becoming increasingly clear to the members of the Order that an accusation alone was enough to condemn a person. The wizarding world was doing the Dark Lord's work for him.
And Harry Potter, supposed savior for them all, was indulging in a colossal sulk.
As if on cue, Ginny heard the pounding rhythm that indicated that Ron and his best friend had just stampeded down the stairs for breakfast. She quickly calculated and figured that she could snooze for five more minutes before somebody came up to pester her out of bed.
Harry had come to stay with them, as he usually did, for the last few days of the summer. According to Tonks and Kingsley, the Dursleys had been on their best behavior (or what passed as best for them), and Harry had suffered an uneventful summer. Suffered was apparently the key term, for Harry had sullenly subjected the Weasleys to the list of his many woes: He hadn't had anyone to talk to; he'd been cut off from all news of the wizarding world; he missed Sirius; he'd had to sit and listen to Mr. Dursley talk about inflation and unemployment, and Mrs. Dursley talk about the recent scandal with the Royals; he'd missed all the excitement and activity of the summer.
Ginny snorted softly in disgust. She was half-tempted to offer to switch places with the grousing git next year. She could do with a quiet and uneventful summer for once.
"Ginny, love," Molly's frazzled countenance peered around her doorframe, "it's past time you were up. We need to leave soon if we're to catch the train."
"I'm up, mum. I'm up," she resignedly signaled as she threw off the covers.
"There's a dear," her mother said as Ginny began to pull out her one unpacked change of clothes, "I'll just wrap up your breakfast so you can eat it on the way. If there's anything left after Ron and Harry are done, that is."
Ginny nodded as her mother left. Knowing her mother, there'd be enough left to feed the entire train. She smiled faintly and began re-braiding her pigtails.
****
Like everything else recently, the train station and platform 9 ¾ were a hotbed of over-reaction. Ginny counted at least 7 Aurors in muggle clothing, trying to look inconspicuous amongst the crowds of Charring Cross. As she pelted through the barrier that led to the Hogwarts train platform, she realized that this was just the first line of defense. Aurors and Ministry officials stalked through the crowd of students and parents, wands at the ready. The miasma of paranoia was enough to dampen the usually heightened spirits of the students, even the most excited First Years. Ginny heard Ron and Harry behind her commenting in satisfaction that it was about time people took the threat of the Dark Lord's return seriously, but all she could do was sigh in weary resignation. She'd hoped things would return to a semblance of normalcy once they were at Hogwarts.
Mechanically, she turned and hugged her mum goodbye, trudging behind Ron and Harry as they boarded the train. They quickly found Hermione in one of the compartments, and Ginny was subjected to another round of self- congratulatory satisfaction. She settled next to the window and tried to ignore it, gazing idly at the cityscape as the train pulled out of the station.
She managed to stomach about a half-hour of the Trio's conversation, but then Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood invaded the compartment, and she was suddenly surrounded by chattering people exulting in their escapade the previous spring, and in its obvious effects. Tensing her shoulders, she stood and gritted a smile out to the group that was now actively trying to include her.
"Hey, uh. I'd love to catch up and stuff," she cut into the conversation as she pushed past them and out of the compartment, not caring that she was being abrupt, "but, uh. I told Dean I'd find him and ride with him for part of the way. Y'know, cause we're...yeah. Uh, so I'll see you guys later." She ducked out past the astonished looks on the faces of her friends.
"What's with her?" she heard Harry ask Ron as the door to the compartment was sliding shut.
"Gin? Ah, I don't know. Been like this all summer. I think it's hormones or somethi--Ow! 'Mione, what'd you do that for?"
Ginny hurried down the train in search of peace.
The aisles were remarkably empty compared to most years. She passed a few Fourth Year Hufflepuffs that she vaguely knew, but most everyone else seemed content to stick close to what they knew. She briefly considered looking for Dean, but quickly discarded that idea. Agreeing to go out with him had seemed like an okay idea last year, but all his letters over the summer had been filled with the same mad speculative paranoia that had overtaken everyone else. She'd quickly grown tired of their correspondence, and right now she couldn't face a live performance of the same.
She began glancing into compartments, hoping to find an empty one, or at least one with some quietly studying Ravenclaws. Because she wasn't really looking for the identity of the occupants, she was surprised when she heard the swish of a door opening behind her, and the menacingly smooth voice of Draco Malfoy.
"Hey guys, look. It's a weasel who's left her burrow." She turned and saw Malfoy, backed by the perpetually menacing pair of Crabbe and Goyle stalking down the hall towards her. She backed up a step in instinctive fear before she realized that she was on the Hogwarts Express, with at least ten Aurors within shouting distance, and four times as many students. Squaring he shoulders, she tossed her pigtails defiantly at the bullies.
"I'm not a weasel, Malfoy. I'm a girl. Although from what I've heard about you, I wouldn't expect you'd be able to tell the difference," she grinned pride at her witty comeback. Malfoy closed the distance between them and she held her ground. He considered her with his trademark sneer.
"Red hair like a weasel, covered in dirt like a weasel," he sniffed the air near her, "stinks like a weasel," crossing his arms, he smirked, "Sorry, Weasel, but I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to mistake you for a girl."
Ginny felt her face go red as Crabbe and Goyle laughed dutifully at the insult they didn't quite understand. Still smirking, Malfoy raised a brow in silent challenge and Ginny's eyes narrowed.
"Well, there are a lot of stupid people in this world, I guess. I mean, they've obviously mistaken you for someone who isn't a Death Eater," as a comeback it stunk, but the wild strike apparently hit a nerve. Malfoy closed the distance between them in two strides and bracketed her head with his arms, transfixing her with an icy gray glare.
"Careful, Weasel. You wouldn't want to go making false accusations, now would you. I mean, I've obviously been cleared of any guilt over my father's associations, or I wouldn't be here," he leaned in closer and whispered so that only she could hear, "So if you go making accusations that everyone knows are wrong, they might start wondering if you've got an ulterior motive. I mean, it's not like you haven't had some dealings with the Dark Lord yourself, once upon a time. Think of how terrible it would be for you if that became common knowledge." Malfoy pushed away from the wall, his glare no longer so icy cold, "Think about it, Weasley." With a curt gesture to his bully-boys, Malfoy disappeared back into his compartment.
Ginny collapsed back against the wall, releasing the breath she'd been holding while Malfoy threatened her. Tom Riddle. She hadn't even thought about that, or what it might mean if it got out. Suddenly the paranoia that had irritated her so much with its absurdity became something far more menacing. Blindly, she stumbled down a few more compartments before arbitrarily slipping into one. She clutched at the door and looked out the window, half expecting a bunch of Aurors to come seize her into custody. Then she heard a soft rustling behind her and twisted around to find a pretty dark-haired girl about her age watching her curiously.
"Uh. Hey," the girl smiled tentatively, "Y'know, if you're hiding from someone, you might not want to press your face up to the glass like that. Makes you easier to spot, is all."
"What?" Ginny suddenly realized how odd her behavior must look and blushed, "oh. I'm not hiding. I just...I had a run in with the official school bully. I don't think he'll follow me in here."
"Wow. School bully. Like, really? They have those here?"
Here? Ginny puzzled for a second, then realized the girl spoke with a distinct accent, "You're American."
"Bingo. First try. You win the prize," the girl dug in her pocket and pulled out a colorfully wrapped piece of muggle candy, handing it out as an offering. Nonplussed, Ginny took it and sat.
"And you're new. What are you doing coming to Hogwarts?"
The new girl smiled and took out another piece of candy, unwrapping it and popping it in her mouth, "my mom was a witch; she's dead now. My dad's a muggle, a newspaper correspondent. He got assigned to cover some of the parliamentary stuff over here, and I made him bring me along. He doesn't know about all the stuff that's going on in the wizarding world, otherwise I don't think he would have brought me. He's just relieved that Hogwarts is a boarding school, so he won't have to look after me. Things have been rough since mom died, and oh my gosh am I just babbling on and telling you things you probably don't care about."
Ginny smiled, "It's okay. It's actually nice to talk to someone who isn't obsessed about all the stuff that's going on right now with He-Who-Must-Not- Be-Named. I'm Ginny, by the way. Ginny Weasley."
"Ursula Vane. Isn't that the most horrible name in the world? I mean, I sound like a Disney villain. And it rhymes with everything awful - pain, bane, inane, insane."
In spite of her recent scare, Ginny smiled at the girl's gregariousness, "You should try having a name like Weasley," at the face that Ursula made, Ginny laughed, "yeah, pretty awful, isn't it."
"Well, my theory is...do you want to hear my theory?" at Ginny's nod, Ursula continued, "My theory is that you just have to brazen it out and make fun of yourself. If you've already made all the good jokes there are to make, then the bullies just come out looking dumb and uninventive."
Ginny smiled, and she and the new girl chattered about stupid inconsequentials that didn't have anything to do with the Dark Lord or Harry Potter or Aurors or Death Eaters. Slowly she began to feel her fearful unease and irritation subside. By the time they arrived at Hogwarts, Ginny was persuaded that with Ursula to help her keep things in perspective, maybe this year wouldn't be so bad after all.