Title: Ginny From the Block
Chapter Seven
Disclaimer: Still don't own them.
Note: Thanks again for the feedback! PLEASE feel free to keep it coming. This chapter is still in the character and plot development stage, so we're not seeing any big action. But it's coming, I swear!
Chapter Summary: Ginny and Dawn face the new day and their first Defense Against the Dark Arts Class. During that class the new Hogwarts professor gets a glimpse of some of the secrets the two girls might be hiding.
As for my feedback:
Jill: We will definitely be seeing most of the Scoobies at one time or another. Buffy is scheduled to come in for the weekends, but who knows? We might see her or a few others even sooner than that. Thanks for reading and I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter!
Stone Cooper: There will be no lack of Ginny and Draco angst, but I just need to get them there which is taking forever at the moment! The real angst begins when they have to admit that they don't actually hate each other. Also, Ginny doesn't really still have the same views on good and evil that she did before leaving Hogwarts and it's only a matter of time before she sees that those changes of view might change the way she sees Malfoy forever. Glad you liked and hope you continue to!
Joe: Sorry about the *'s in cuss words. I'm used to working on ezboard with my rpgs and you have to use them there no matter what rating you've got or they take out all but the first letter. I tried to remove them from this chapter and I'll try to continue to do so in the future.
AND ON TO THE CHAPTER…
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Chapter Seven: First Day Blues
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Location: Sunstone Dorms
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Date: August 25th, 2003 (Monday)
Time: 6:30 a.m.
"Okay Gin, it is now wakeup time…" A soft voice filtered its way through Ginny's brain. She pushed the voice away. Waking up was the last thing she wanted to do. Ginny was on a perfect white sandy beach. She was staring out at the ocean and watching the waves roll in one by one. The sun warmly caressed her face and as she deeply inhaled, Ginny could practically taste the salty ocean air. A mumble to her left brought a lazy smile to Ginny's lips and she leaned slowly towards her companion before meeting his lips with her own…
"WAKE UP!" Dawn yelled straight into her ear.
Ginny shot straight up in bed. Her protective instincts automatically prepared for attack. Her eyes scanned wildly around her for the threat…and landed on a smirking Dawn. Ginny literally growled. "What the hell is your issue, Summers?"
"It's time to get up." Dawn told her perkily. She'd obviously gotten used to the time zone change.
"Goody goody…" Ginny told her acidly.
Dawn snorted. "Well, isn't someone in a good mood this morning? Wouldn't have anything to do with a not-so-pleasant conversation with a certain rodent last night, would it?"
"I told you last night and I will tell you again…I DON'T want to talk about it." Ginny forced.
"Fine." Dawn threw her hands up in surrender. "I was just asking. I am supposed to be your best friend and I thought we shared everything, but whatever."
"Nice try. Still not talking about it." Ginny smirked at the brunette slightly. "Nothing to talk about really anyway. I liked him, he's a wanker, I'm over it." Ginny forced herself to climb out of bed and stumble over towards her closet. She grabbed in for a shirt and a pair of pants and then began dressing.
Her eyes scanned over their brand new dorm room as she did so. It was perfect; exactly the same as the one the two girls shared the year before. Two comfy double beds, a nightstand, mirror, dresser, and closet each; this was the life. The walls were painted a soothing shade of light blue with silver trim and the carpet a complementary color of beige.
Both girls had already placed their own knickknacks and posters up along the furniture and walls. Dawn and Ginny both had their dressers covered with pictures of their families, the Scooby gang, fun times at Sunstone, Sunnydale, and the Bronze last year. They had a few personal stuffed animals they would never admit to owning and a music poster each. Ginny had only rolled her eyes at Dawn's 'Sex Pistols' poster (a present from Spike) and Dawn did the same of Ginny's 'Avril Lavigne'. They were used to the quirks and tastes of the other, and secretly enjoyed both bands anyway.
"Oh yeah." Dawn continued with her topic as she nodded mockingly. "I can tell you're totally over it." Now she walked over to get dressed as well. "Tell me…how is Denial Land these days? Nice weather?"
"Wonderful." Ginny nodded with an evil grin. "Never rains, temperature is never too hot or too cold. Oh, and we're thinking of adding a pool."
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Ha ha ha."
When she finished pulling on her shirt and pants, Ginny grabbed a brush off her little dresser and moved in front of their full-length mirror. She jerked her brush through her red and blonde tresses and then reached over to grab several hair bands from a little dish. With a tap of her wand on the bands, she spoke. "Decoracio."
The bands floated up from her hand into the air and several strands of Ginny's hair began braiding themselves. Then the bands quickly snapped onto the ends of the finished braids. Ginny glanced at the result critically. Several small braids now wove through the rest of her hair. It gave her just the right artistic touch and added to the impression of volume.
Ginny nodded in satisfaction before looking over her outfit. She wore a simple dark blue baby tee with the Whitehorn Unicorn mascot in the middle in silver. Her pants were a matching shade of dark blue cargo pants. The outfit looked cute and casual. Ginny had to admit that she really did like Sunstone's dress codes better than Hogwarts'. Always wearing the same school uniforms got old quick.
Finally Ginny pulled out her wand again as she looked back to her closet. "Accio robes." Her Whitehorn robes floated their way quickly into her hands and she slipped them on and buttoned them. The finished result was neat but comfortable. Yep, she'd do. Ginny smirked to herself. When had she become so fashion conscious? She must be spending too much time with Chris.
"Okay, how do I look?" Dawn's voice sounded out from behind her.
Ginny spun to face her best friend with assessing eyes. She couldn't see Dawn's outfit underneath, but the robes were straight, clean, and looked fine. Dawn's hair was split down the middle and braided into two identical French braids. She looked beautiful and sweet as always. Ginny smirked at the thought. She'd definitely been spending too much time with Chris.
With a grin, Ginny met Dawn's eyes. "You look absolutely horrid and I can't believe you'd dare leave the room looking like that."
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you look great too." She smiled excitedly. "Ready to go?"
"We've got DADA first, right?" Ginny used the abbreviated form of Defense Against the Dark Arts and frowned thoughtfully.
"Yep, then Care of Magical Creatures." Dawn told her quickly. "Then I've got Muggle History and you've got Divination and we come back together for Advanced Training to end the day." Dawn paused thoughtfully. "Do you think Advanced Training will be the same? I mean, Professor Snow isn't here to train us now."
"I'm sure it will be fine." Ginny assured her, but not very confidently. Truthfully she knew she'd miss Professor Snow in the class dreadfully. Professor Snow was the one that started the class at Sunstone personally to help Ginny and Dawn protect themselves against the threats they inevitably came across. Ginny had been extremely surprised to see the class still on her schedule, but too happy to question its continuing at Hogwarts. Still, without Professor Snow…
Ginny pushed the melancholy thoughts away. "There are several Hogwarts' professors capable of teaching the class." She smirked at Dawn. "Just pray it isn't Snape."
Dawn snorted. "Is he really as bad as Rudley?"
Professor Geneva Rudley was the Sunstone Charms teacher. She was also a complete and utter witch, and not only of the mystical variety. The woman was just unpleasant.
"Yep." Ginny answered her. "If not worse. He's the Head of Slytherin and he hates every other house." She paused with a frown. "Actually, he isn't even all that fond of the Slytherins."
Dawn snorted. "I'll keep that in mind." She looked back seriously to Ginny. "Hey…didn't you tell me that the Divination teacher was a flake?"
"Uh huh." Ginny nodded as she whispered the spell for a glamour and added light makeup to her face without her wand (She and Dawn had also spent a lot of time training with Willow last year on Wiccan and wandless magic).
"So, why are you taking that class again?"
"Easy A." Ginny answered her with a grin. "Besides, I've taken all the Muggle History that's offered." She cut to what she knew was bothering Dawn. "It's only one class we don't have together, Dawn, and you'll do fine."
Dawn groaned. "I know, but…this is your school, Gin, and it's completely new to me. I'd feel a lot better if you were just in the class with me."
"Yes, but that would defeat the whole purpose of the exchange program." Ginny reasoned. "You're to experience new things as an individual and meet new people."
"Yeah, yeah…" Dawn grumbled. "Go and be reasonable on me. I swear, that Prefect badge is already wearing off on you."
"Oh…" Ginny smirked as she hopped over to her dresser and grabbed the badge. She pinned it carefully to her robes. "Thanks. I'd forgotten it."
Dawn just snorted. "Anytime." She turned started for the door, but glanced back over her shoulder at Ginny. "Come on. I don't want to miss breakfast."
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Location: Great Hall
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Date: August 25th, 2003 (Monday)
Time: 7:05 a.m.
The Great Hall was almost half full by the time Ginny and Dawn stepped through the doors and the smell of eggs, bacon, and other delicious breakfast delights wafted in the air. Dawn's stomach growled and the two girls shared a grin as they made their way towards the Sunstone table. Ginny waved to several Hogwarts students (mostly Gryffindors) who called out greetings to her as they passed. She noticed the Gryffindor Trio had yet to arrive, but shrugged that thought off. Ron and his group were really none of her concern anymore. She used to watch for them to see Harry, but that was in the past. That was one crush that Ginny had firmly under her control. No more mooning over Harry Potter.
"Hey Gin, Dawn…we saved your seats." Hunter greeted them as they finally reached the table.
Ginny automatically took the open seat next to Hunter and Dawn slipped in between Ginny and Dare. Looking around them, Ginny lifted a surprised brow when her eyes landed on Brad Langford sitting directly across the table from Hunter. They HAD to be discussing something about Quidditch. Either that or the world was ending. Those were the only two viable options. Ginny really hoped it wasn't the second. It was only their second day away from Sunnydale and Buffy would be pissed.
"Oh," Hunter snorted as he noticed the direction of her gaze. "We were talking about the Quidditch trials. Last night after you went to bed Professor Snow dropped in to say goodbye. She let it slip that the Quidditch practice schedule for the year was going up this morning and that we might want to sign up for our practice times. I got to the sign-up sheet for the pitch early and reserved us spots on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for the year. We've got the afternoon slots (4:15 after the last class, to 6:00 when dinner started) so things are looking good." He grinned. "We can actually start the trials this afternoon."
"Better let everyone know about them." Dawn told him seriously. She wanted the Chaser spot, but she was going to win it fair and square.
"I plan to." Hunter nodded.
"You got three afternoon slots?" Ginny asked. Her voice was tinged slightly with disbelief. Hunter gave her a cocky nod and Ginny just smirked. "Oh, I bet the Hogwarts teams are going to be thrilled with us."
It was a well-known fact that the afternoon slots were the best for Quidditch practice. They weren't too early like the morning slots or too late like the night slots.
Hunter shrugged. "There's still the afternoon slots on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. They'll deal." He smirked. "I got there first."
"You got there first?" Langford lifted a mocking brow.
Hunter rolled his eyes. "We got there first." He corrected himself before shooting Langford a sarcastic look. "Satisfied?"
"I'll be satisfied when we take home the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup." Langford drawled.
Ginny groaned as she let her head fall to rest on her crossed arms. "You're like Oliver Wood with an evil twist."
"GINNY!" A familiar voice had Ginny's head snapping around to see Ron, Harry, and Hermione making their way towards her and the Sunstone table. When they finally reached her, Ron continued with an accusing tone. "You didn't tell me that Sunstone would be playing Quidditch against our teams!"
Ginny shrugged. "I didn't even know until after you left last night, Ron. Was I supposed to sneak to the Gryffindor Common Room and bribe the Fat Lady to let me in to inform you?"
Ron paused at that. He then shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. "Oh…well…no, I guess not."
"Ron's just angry that your Quidditch team got the best slots for practice." Hermione spoke up with her opinion. "Not that it matters. Harry got good spots for Gryffindor as well."
Ginny looked to Harry in relief. "So, you got Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays?"
Harry grinned at her and Ginny knew that he understood that she was being pulled by two different sets of house loyalties. "Yes, Gin, no worries. I just beat Malfoy to the sheet. Slytherins are stuck with Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings."
"Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy." Dawn laughed out happily.
Langford snorted. "Told him he messed with the wrong chick. You're never going to let that die, are you?" He looked to Dawn.
"Who?" Ron's eyes narrowed. "Who's been messing with who? Have they bothered you, Gin? Malfoy again? I swear, I'll kill the bloody ferret."
"SO…" Ginny decided to change from that volatile subject. "Are you trying out for the team, Ron? With Fred and George graduated you could try for Beater."
Ron frowned. "I dunno. Might try for Keeper instead. It'd be nice not to have to play in my brothers' shadows."
"You lost your Keeper as well?" Ginny frowned confused. She couldn't remember Ron mentioning who'd taken Wood's place as the Gryffindor Keeper last year.
Harry nodded. "Yep, Angelina moved from Chaser to Keeper last year with Wood gone, so she graduated with Fred and George."
"Oh…" Ginny nodded in understanding even though she couldn't imagine Angelina as a Keeper. She wondered if the girl had been good. She'd probably never find out now. Ginny looked back to her brother with a smirk. "Well, you can try out for what you like, I suppose, but if you're Keeper you'll be going against me."
Ron's eyes widened as realization dawned. "I have to play against my little sister?"
Ginny chuckled and nodded. "Yep. You'll be up against me," She hooked her thumb over to indicate the dark haired boy sitting beside Dawn. "Dare, and…"
"ME!" Dawn jumped in forcefully. "I'm trying out for the open Chaser spot and I WILL get it." She glared around the table in case anyone dared dispute her.
"That's bloody horrid, Gin!" Ron whined ignoring the other two Chasers he might face. "I can't play against my own little sister! What'll Mum say?"
"I was thinking more of what Fred and George will say if we beat you." Ginny grinned evilly.
Harry and Hermione laughed at that. Then Harry got serious. "Well, we'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen. Sorry Gin, but…"
"Quidditch is war." Ginny, Dawn, Dare, Hunter, Chris, and Langford answered together. Ginny continued to smile at Harry. "Don't worry, Harry. I know."
"Hmm…" Hunter looked Harry over critically. "So, this is the Gryffindor Seeker I'll be going against, Gin?"
"Yep." Ginny smirked and fought laughter as the two men began a staring contest.
After about a minute or two, Harry began to fidget a little uncomfortably under the other man's intense stare. He looked back to Ginny with lifted brows. "So, how are you picking the Quidditch team, Gin? I mean, Sunstone has four houses as well, right? So, you're having to pick from a mix of all of them?"
"Well, it worked out almost perfectly." Ginny told them. "We're using all the exchange students that actually played on house teams last year and then we only have to fill two open spots."
"Only five Quidditch players are in the program?" Ron questioned with a frown. "But there are over fifty Sunstone students at Hogwarts, aren't there?"
Ginny nodded in understanding. "I know. I was shocked too. I thought we'd have a real battle picking from the players, but then we looked up and there was just us."
"Just us?" Harry lifted questioning brows.
"Oh," Ginny grinned. "I'm a Chaser." She looked to Dare.
"Nother Chaser." He filled in helpfully.
"Beater." Langford told them gruffly.
"Seeker." Hunter supplied.
"Keeper." Chris finished them off.
Ron's eyes widened. "You mean, you're the team?" He looked closely to Ginny. "All your friends are the bloody team?"
"Except Langford." "Except me." Everyone including Langford spoke together.
Ron looked at Langford and the boy shrugged. "I'm Hawkthorne."
Now Ron's eyes narrowed darkly. "Wait a bloody minute…Langford? Beater? Hawkthorne?"
Harry and Hermione must have picked up on what Ron was piecing together because they moved to block him from attacking. Ginny got it as well and just smirked. Big brother to the rescue.
Ron took a menacing step towards Langford. "The same Langford git that hit a bludger straight at my little sister's face last year?"
Langford gulped as he faced yet another man ready to rip him apart over that stupid bludger. He tried to look harmless and completely remorseful. "Oops?"
"ARRGGHH!" Ron made a leap for Langford but thankfully Harry and Hermione held him back. He glared at the Hawkthorne Beater with white-hot fury. "You slimy little bastard! You EVER hurt or so much as TOUCH my sister again and I'll cut you up in little ruddy pieces and distribute you across the known wizarding world!"
Langford just rolled his eyes in disbelief as he looked around his new teammates. "Why does this keep happening to me?"
Ginny just grinned evilly at him. "And this is just one of my brothers."
Langford's eyes widened further. "One of? You…how many?"
"Six." Ginny and Dawn answered him together with matching grins.
Langford gulped again before looking them over assessingly. He looked to the fierce faces of Ron, Harry, and Hermione. Then his eyes brightened and you could practically see the little idea light bulb pop up above his head. He smiled widely at Ron. "So, you wanna know what the Ferret called your sister?"
Groaning to herself, Ginny reached for her plate and started to dig into breakfast. She pointedly ignored her brother's conversation with their new Hawkthorne housemate and focused on enjoying her food instead. Ginny could already tell this was going to be a long day and she better take what little joys she could get.
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Location: DADA Classroom
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Date: August 25th, 2003 (Monday)
Time: 7:55 a.m.
"So…" Dawn smirked at Ginny as they made their way into the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom. "Do you think your brother is going to kill the Ferret?"
Ginny sighed. "I hope not."
Trying to stave off anymore of Dawn's Malfoy remarks, Ginny looked around the classroom. It was darker than most of the other classrooms with only a couple of windows. Shadows danced around the flickering candlelight, but still enough light shown through to read and write comfortably so it wasn't really an issue. The effect should have proved eerie, but somehow Ginny had always liked this room. It seemed powerful and very ancient in a way. You could almost hear the ghosts of former students sitting in the classroom beside you. How many generations of witches and wizards had moved through this room to learn those vital skills of protection against the darkness? How many more would move through in the years, decades, centuries to come?
Ginny caught the eye of a couple of Hogwarts students she'd met before and they nodded. She nodded back vaguely before taking a deep breath and pushing her feet into action. Front row and center, she decided. Get this off to the right start. She led the way over and slid into an open desk at the front of class.
Dawn sat down quickly beside her and frowned. "Why not? He's a slimy git! He's a wanker! He's a…stupid prat! He's a…uh…"
"Running out of British insults?" Ginny smirked.
"I can always start on the American ones. I have plenty." She shot Ginny a serious expression. "So why?"
Shrugging, Ginny began to arrange her things on her desk and hoped the teacher would get started soon. She wondered who exactly that teacher was. It was a school fact that no DADA teacher lasted more than one year at Hogwarts. Who would this year's be?
"Ginny?" Dawn pushed. "I'm not dropping this. Why?"
"Because I don't want to visit him in Azkaban, Dawn." Ginny snapped at her. "Would you just drop it? I don't want my big brother going around getting into fights for me, okay? I can defend myself. I don't need help and I don't need to be treated like a little fragile baby!" She paused and glared at the desk in front of her. "Malfoy is a slug, this is not new. Ron shouldn't risk getting in trouble just because Malfoy can't keep his stupid trap shut. Malfoy has never been able to keep his stupid trap shut and I doubt Ron pounding him will change that fact."
"No." Dawn spoke thoughtfully. "Be really funny though." As Ginny continued to stare a hole into her desk, Dawn sighed. "You still like him, don't you? Even after the way he treated you yesterday."
"It doesn't matter!" Ginny burst out angrily. "Don't you get that? We'll never be anything. He's a Malfoy and I'm a Weasley. He's a Slytherin and I'm a Gryffindor. He's an asshole and I belong to the human race! We don't mix!" She finally caught herself and gritted her teeth as she pushed back the anger surging through her. "Just drop it."
"Okay." Dawn told her soothingly as she realized she'd pushed a little too far. "Okay, I'm dropping. Sorry. I didn't mean to hit a nerve."
A bitter smile curved Ginny's lips. "It's okay. I just have really bad taste in men. They're either madly in love with someone else or madly in love with themselves."
Dawn chuckled. "I so totally know what you mean. Did I ever tell you about the little undead make-out session that I had one Halloween? At least yours has a pulse."
"That," Ginny grinned as her mood started to lighten. "Is entirely debatable."
Tapping her finger to her chin, Dawn frowned. "Well, he does have the pale thing going…did we ever see him in direct sunlight yesterday?"
Ginny laughed despite herself. The air seemed to clear of the doom and gloom that'd been surrounding them. Taking a deep breath and looking around her, Ginny knew things were going to be okay.
For the next ten minutes, Ginny and Dawn just chatted about average things. Dawn thought Harry was cute and wanted to know if Ginny still had a crush on him too. She wanted to know if Hunter had said anything about the Malfoy crush last night. Ginny wanted to know just how cute Dawn thought Harry was. She told Dawn how Harry was known for his crush on Cho Chang, but the crush seemed to have toned down over the last year so Harry was sort of on the market.
Then they turned the conversation to Sunnydale. What were Buffy and the Scoobies doing? Was the First really completely gone or would he try to knock out the Slayer line once again? Were Spike and Buffy actually going to date now or just patrol and then tear each other's clothes off like last year?
Finally Ginny started filling Dawn in on anything she could possibly need to know about Hogwarts. Dawn had Muggle History, which was on the Muggle Studies floor, and Ginny told her how to get there. They talked about the old DADA teachers (Lupin being the best) and why they each left. They wondered who the new one might be?
The class was actually fifteen minutes late of starting when finally the teacher's office door in the back of the classroom opened and the new DADA teacher stepped out to look them over. As he did a series of gasps echoed through the room. Ginny's was one of them.
"What?" Dawn whispered urgently, but didn't really pay the man himself much attention. "Is this the Big Bad? Cause if so, I gotta get Dumbledore to contact Buffy so she can floo over." Then she paused and frowned. "Look what she's done to me! She actually has me spouting that crap. I'm going to kill her!"
Ginny waved for Dawn to be quiet. Ginny's mouth was still hanging slightly open though. This just…what the bloody hell? Her mouth finally closed and drew into an angry line. "I'm going to kill him!"
"What? Who?" Dawn jerked her head to look around for the attacker. Then she frowned. "You mean the teacher? I have a feeling that would definitely deduct points from Sunstone, but…is he evil then?" She bit her lip and added thoughtfully. "I guess, we really can go get Buffy."
"Not the teacher." Ginny told her in a low angry voice. "I'm going to kill my stupid prat of a brother!"
Now Dawn was really confused. She frowned at Ginny. "Why?"
"I believe that would be because of me."
Dawn's head snapped back around to the front and her eyes locked with the new DADA teacher's. She was finally getting a good look at him and boy was she not complaining. He was a tall man with a lithe but muscular frame, shoulder length black hair, and beautiful blue eyes that were currently flashing with amusement. Damn, he looked good for an old guy. Dawn fought back her instinctive appreciation for his male form and continued to frown at him. "Why?"
Ginny pushed her anger aside for a moment and smiled widely at the man standing before their desks. "Ron never told me in his letters that you were cleared, Sirius. It's nice to finally meet you in person."
Sirius Black's eyes continued to twinkle as they locked with Ginny's. "And you too, Miss Weasley. Don't blame your brother too much. So much happened near the end of last year that it was hard to keep up with it all."
"I'll only hurt him a little." Ginny's smile turned evil for just a moment before swaying towards dreamy. She really was quite thrilled to finally meet him. She'd longed for the opportunity since overhearing the real story of his imprisonment while eavesdropping on Ron and Harry the summer before last. To have faced the things Sirius Black had faced and still come out on top was quite the accomplishment. He was quite a man. Admittedly, his dark good looks and dangerous edge didn't hurt either.
Realizing she must be just gaping at him, Ginny felt her face heat and forced herself to speak. "So, you're the new DADA teacher?"
"Yes." His eyes twinkled knowingly, but thankfully he didn't comment on her dreamy gaze. "And I'm determined to make it through more than one measly year."
"Okay," Dawn nodded with dramatic flare. "Someone wanna explain sometime soon?"
Ginny rolled her eyes and shot Sirius an apologetic look before turning to Dawn. "Sirius is Harry's godfather. He was falsely convicted of murder and sent to Azkaban years ago. Then he escaped and Harry kept in touch with him secretly until he was obviously cleared of his crimes sometime last year."
Dawn looked from Sirius to Ginny and back again. "Okay, cool. Nice to meet you." She looked to the clock on the wall that read almost 8:45. "When do we start class?"
"Dawn!" Ginny groaned, but Sirius just threw back his head and laughed. He nodded to Dawn. "Quite right you are." He turned around and went to take his place facing the class. "Welcome to Fifth Year Defense Against the Dark Arts. My name is Sirius Black and I will be your teacher this year." He paused. "How about we start by calling roll?"
He started with the Ravenclaws (who the Sunstones shared the class with) and then went through the Sunstones. When he finished he put away his register and turned back to face the class. "Okay, now we can begin. Since I'm new to teaching and you are actually my first class, I thought we'd do something a little different to start this year. At the end of every lesson day we will come up with a new topic that you might face and need to know how to defend against. Then you will research that topic and we will discuss it in our next class period. How does that sound?"
It was a rather unusual style for teaching a class, but Ginny knew it could also be fun. The students actually got to choose some of their topics. Obviously most of the other students had worked this out as well because murmurs of approval were running through the classroom.
"Now…" Sirius smiled to them and Ginny heard several females sighs float through the room. "How about we pick our first topic? We'll discuss what we can during this class period and then you can research and prepare to discuss the topic in full the next time we meet."
At first no students moved. Ginny knew that some of them were probably still afraid of Sirius. He had spent years in Azkaban even if he was cleared. Anyone to survive that long in Azkaban sane and then actually escape? Well, it just wasn't heard of. They were hesitant around him and although Ginny knew they had no reason to feel that way, she did understand it.
One Ravenclaw boy finally raised his hand and Sirius pointed to him to speak. "What about…dementers?"
For a moment Ginny saw Sirius' eyes darken to a dark blue with remembered pain and she wanted to rip the boy apart for asking such a thing. Dawn must have noticed it too, because she quickly raised her hand.
Sirius snapped from whatever memories plagued him and pointed to Dawn. Dawn smiled. "I've always been partial to vampires, myself."
Ginny snorted and tried to contain her laughter. Some of the other Sunstone students (mostly other Whitehorns) snorted as well, but the Ravenclaws were just looking confused.
Sirius, however, smiled widely at Dawn. Even doing Dawn was obviously doing her best to appear unaffected, Ginny thought she noticed the brunette preening under the attention. Sirius just nodded. "Yes, I think vampires will make a very nice first topic." He paused before looking around the class. "Well? What do we know about vampires? How about first we dispel some common myths about them?" His piercing blue eyes scanned the faces of the students. "What do all of you Fifth Year students believe vampires really look like?"
The Ravenclaw boy from earlier raised his hand again. Sirius pointed him out and he answered. "They have horrible big fangs and red eyes and pale skin. They look like…er…are monsters."
"Hmm…" Sirius nodded. "Interesting." He looked around again, but this time his eyes settled on Dawn. "You brought up the topic, Miss Summers. How about you tell us what you believe vampires really look like?"
Ginny snorted to herself again, but waited for Dawn to answer.
Dawn shrugged. "Well, that depends really…" Some of the Ravenclaw students began to snicker believing she didn't really know the answer and was about to be embarrassed. Dawn just smirked at them before continuing. "Do you mean in game face or out?"
Sirius eyes widened knowingly. "Game face?" It was obvious he knew what she was referring to, but he was allowing Dawn to explain for the rest of the class…probably to get back at the snickering Ravenclaws.
"Oh, their demon visage." Dawn answered him calmly. "They can either show their demon visage or not and they look different in both phases."
Most of the class fell into an interested and impressed silence. Many of the Sunstones knew who Dawn's sister was, but they didn't have that much first-hand knowledge of vampires so they were still interested.
Sirius smiled in admiration. "How about you tell us what the demon visage or game face looks like, Miss Summers?"
Dawn nodded her okay. "As my big Sis would say…they get the fangs and the bumpies. Their teeth lengthen to form fangs that they bite you with." She pointed to the appropriate teeth. "And their foreheads form ridges that are larger or smaller depending on the age of the vampire. They're eyes also turn YELLOW." She looked to the Ravenclaw boy who'd said they were red and then snickered at her before.
"That is correct." Sirius nodded with a smile. Ginny hadn't missed that his eyes had widened at the mention Dawn made of her sister. That could come back to bite Ginny and Dawn later.
Now he turned his eyes on Ginny. "What about you, Miss Weasley?" Several more snickers from the Ravenclaws. "What do you think vampires look like when they aren't in their demon visage?"
Ginny thought about lying and saying she didn't know. It would certainly save her and Dawn a load of trouble because she knew that look in Sirius' eyes. She'd seen the same look in Harry's too many times to miss it. Sirius was probing for information. Dawn's answer had made him suspicious and he was now trying to figure out what was going on with Dawn, and if Ginny was involved.
Then Ginny looked around the classroom. She knew that the Ravenclaws present would just love a good snicker if she didn't know the answer. So, what was more important? Covering their butts or Ginny's pride?
As the silence continued a couple more snickers broke out. Ginny felt her spine stiffen and stifled a groan.
Oh, bloody hell!
Ginny finally sighed. "They look just like everyone else." That got their attention. Every set of eyes in the class were focused on her. She cleared her throat. "They look human. It's how they trap their prey. They're usually attractive and they try to lure the opposite sex or same sex depending on their orientation to somewhere secluded to drain or turn them."
"But…" Another student started to speak, but then paused.
Sirius nodded to them. "Go ahead." He then turned those knowing blue eyes back on Ginny.
"Uh…" The Ravenclaw girl Ginny thought was named Sarah spoke up hesitantly. "Well, if they look human…then how can you tell that they're a vampire?"
Ginny thought about handing it off to Dawn, but then shrugged and gave up. She was digging them deeper and deeper into a hole with Sirius, but Ginny just couldn't resist the urge to show off. "You can't from their physical appearance. If they get really emotional about something then sometimes their eyes flash yellow, but even if their prey see it they usually dismiss it as a play of light."
"So we're just sitting ducks?" A Buckwood ironically named Drake spoke up this time.
"No." Dawn shook her head. "There are ways to protect yourself."
"Such as?" Sirius eyes' twinkled again.
Dawn frowned. "I'll…uh…just let Ginny cover that…thank you much." She looked to her best friend. "Take it away, Gin!"
Ginny glared at her before rolling her eyes and continuing. "Number 1 rule: Never leave a club with someone you've never seen in direct sunlight before. If you like them…agree to meet them the next day in a nice sunny location."
A sound had Ginny looking up to see Sirius snorting with laughter. He forced himself back to a neutral expression and waved for her to continue.
"Number 2: Grow to love cross necklaces." Ginny pulled her own cross necklace out from under her robes and held it out for everyone to see. Dawn did the same beside her. "Crosses burn a vampire's skin. The cross is pure and the damned can't touch it." She shot a look at her best friend. "Dawn?"
"Oh…" Dawn grinned. "Number 3: You can carry around something filled with holy water. Holy water burns a vampire's skin like acid. It's sorta like the whole cross thing. You can get it from your local church or take plain water in and ask the nice priests to bless it. They're actually quite accommodating." The class stared at her strangely. "What?"
"Check for a reflection!" Ginny jumped back in. "If there are mirrors in the club you can look and see if they have a reflection. If not then you can pull out your compact from your purse and check with that."
"They really don't have a reflection?" Brad Langford spoke up this time with a frown. "I thought that was a myth. I mean…wouldn't their clothes still show up? Unless they wear clothes made of some secret vampire material."
Ginny shrugged. "That's a mystery to me, but they don't show up. The clothes don't either."
"OH…" Dawn smiled widely at everyone. "Another rule of thumb? If they're wearing clothes that are COMPLETELY out of date…they can totally be a vamp."
"Or a wizard trying to pass themselves off as a muggle." Ginny grinned. The whole class including Sirius laughed at that.
After another ten to fifteen minutes of questions about the differences between vampires and humans and how to guard against becoming lunch, Sirius pulled the class to a close. "I want you all to research everything you can on vampires and we're going to have a more in-depth discussion Wednesday. I would suggest you do study because we might very well have a pop quiz. We covered a lot of good material today in class and I want to know you retained that."
The class nodded and voiced up their approval. They were all fired up on the subject anyway considering they seemed to have a couple of experts on the undead in class with them. Ginny had no doubt those with a free period would head straight to the library…the fact that half the class were Ravenclaws didn't hurt. Ravenclaws really didn't need an excuse to research.
Ginny and Dawn were among a few of the last students to stand to leave. Ginny started shoving her books into her book bag quickly. If she knew Sirius from Ron and Harry's descriptions of him…and considering that he was Harry's godfather and they were known to be a lot alike since they'd found each other…well she just really needed to get out of this classroom…
"Miss Weasley?" Sirius' voice rang out clearly.
Ginny winced and pretended not to hear him. Hey, it was possible that she didn't hear him, right? Maybe her ears were giving out. Maybe…
"Ginny?" His voice sounded again, this time from directly in front of her desk.
Another wince and Ginny reluctantly looked up to meet his eyes. They were a dark serious blue at the moment. He looked from her to Dawn and back again. "I just have a few questions if you wouldn't mind?"
"Well, actually," Ginny forced a smile to her lips. "We have Care of Magical Creatures right now and…"
"I can give you a pass for missing the class, Miss Weasley, and I'm sure Hagrid will understand." Sirius told her with a devilish grin. "Since I don't have another class until this afternoon I believe we have ample time to discuss a few things."
Dawn frowned concerned at Ginny, but then an idea hit her. "Well, what about me? Can I go?" She asked hopefully. Ginny glared at her best friend the deserter, but Dawn just shrugged and continued to look imploringly at Sirius.
"I'm afraid not, Miss Summers." Sirius' words deflated Dawn like a needle to a balloon. "I believe this concerns you as well."
Rolling her eyes, Dawn slumped back into her seat. "Whatever." She waved her hand vaguely. "Okay, ask away. Let's get this show on the road."
Sirius paused for a moment to consider and looked both girls directly in the eyes before continuing. "I only have two questions, really." He held up two fingers and indicated one. "Just what exactly have you gotten yourself into over the last year?" He indicated the other. "And how much of that do I need to inform Harry and your brother of?"
Snorting in disgust, Dawn shot Sirius a baleful look. "I don't suppose 'bunches' and 'none' are going to work for you, huh?"
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End of Chapter
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Well? Hope you liked it! I'd love any suggestions or comments you can throw my way! I am SUCH a Feedback junkie . . . LOL
Hope to hear from some of you soon!
Jade Elise
PS: Next Chapter we catch a glimpse of Ginny's Gift (a little something she's been developing over the last year), and we finally see that not everything in Hogwarts is all sunshine and roses. We're finally headed for some action! Hope you hang around to check it out!
