Chapter 3- The good, the bad, and Brian
It hadn't taken Ginny too long to get into the swing of things. She did pretty well to keep herself busy during the summer. In fact, she hadn't even noticed that summer was almost over. Ginny had already received a raise at her job, passed the first Auror test to get into the second class, and managed to spend some time with her family. Not much, but some.
In fact, Ginny found that she saw Harry more often than the rest of her family. Strange, she would think sometimes, but soon enough she would excuse it with the fact that he was already around the Auror training academy. So far, real life wasn't too bad. Yet, a little voice in the back of her head (one that sounded an awful lot like Colin Creevy) kept telling her that it was only because she was a Weasley.
It didn't help that all her teachers at the training academy knew at least one of her brothers. Every time she was in a new class Ginny dreaded the roll call. Why can't my name be at the beginning of the roll, she would sigh to herself. If it were at the beginning maybe they would just keep going, but noooo.
Ginny always got, "Oh, how is Bill doing..." or "send Fred and George my regards" or "what is Percy doing these days?" As much as she realized that the rest of the class thought of her as the teacher's pet, or looked at her with jealousy, she answered the questions politely, not wanting to be rude either.
Ginny was thinking on this one day while she was helping her mum with the lunch dishes.
"Is everything okay, dear?" Molly asked, noticing the distant look coming from her youngest child.
"Yeah, I guess... well, not really," Ginny confessed.
"What is it?" Molly was good at listening to her children's problems, and giving advice. However, Ginny was really the only one who opened up to her and recognized her talent for problem solving.
"It's just something Colin said to me before we left Hogwarts."
"My, that must have been some time ago, and you're still worried about it?"
"Yeah."
"Well then, what was it that he said that could keep you worried for so long?"
"The gist of it? Just that I have it easier because I'm a Weasley."
"What's so bad about that?"
"Nothing, nothing at all. It's just, I don't want other people to think I don't deserve anything, I want them to know that I earned it."
They had finished the dishes and made their way to sitting on the large pink-stripped couch in the living room. "All you have to do, Ginny, is make them see that."
"How, Mum? How can I do that, when all anyone sees me for is my six older brothers?"
"I see. I suppose I never thought having a large family could have its down side. Having only grown-up with one sister, I thought any child would enjoy having so many siblings to play with and all. I'm sorry that you have to bear such a burden."
"It's not a burden, Mum; it's just how things are. I mean, I love all my brothers, but it doesn't make it any easier to cope with the way people treat me. How can I get them to notice me for me?" Ginny looked desperately to her mother for the answer.
"I can't give you that answer, Ginny. I wish I could, but I suggest starting from scratch and seeing what you can cook up from there." Molly then got up, and made her way toward the garden, leaving Ginny there to take in the conversation.
After considering what she was told, she had to laugh. Ginny took the advice very seriously, but it was humorous how her mother could relate anything back to food.
Ginny was so engrossed in thought, that she hadn't even noticed the new arrival.
"Ginny?" Harry had to wave a hand in front of her face before she would even respond. "Oh good, for a minute there I thought that perhaps this was your mum's new way of grounding you."
"Very funny, Harry." She rolled her eyes at him. "So what are you doing here?"
"Not much, just seeing how classes are going for you."
"Not bad. Harry can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"How would you describe me?"
Beautiful, kind, funny, smart... he didn't feel that these would go over too well, so he tried to come up with some other response. "Err, well- I don't know. I guess to sum you up, I'd say you're very, err, Weasleyisc."
Wrong answer. Harry was very proud of his adjective, but Ginny didn't seem too pleased. "Why, Ginny? Is something wrong?"
"No."
Harry, not being very good at reading between the lines, took what she had said at face value, and started to engross himself in a magazine to distract himself from his most recent thoughts about the girl sitting right across from him.
"Harry?"
"Yes," he was happy to hear his name.
"Do you often read Witch Weekly?" Ginny had a smile of amusement spread across her face. Harry turned beet red as he put the magazine down.
"Ugh, I have to go." Harry stood up, and apparated.
***
"Ron!" Harry shouted from the dining area of their two bedroom flat, and went into the kitchen, expecting to see Ron there. "Ron!"
"What is it mate?" came a very tired voice from the out of Ron's bedroom, and entering the kitchen to join Harry.
"I have a question."
"Well, if it's about the milk, I'm pretty sure that it went south like three weeks ago."
"No, it's about Ginny." That got Ron's attention. Out of all the Weasley brothers, Ron was probably the closest, not only in age, but in relationship to Ginny.
"What about Ginny? Has something-"
"No, no, calm down, Ron. It's just, well, I was wondering; if it would be okay if... well if I asked Ginny out?"
Ron's face held a look of utter shock before turning slightly pink and gradually reddened into a interesting shade of crimson. Harry began preparing himself for the worst, thinking that this couldn't be a good sign.
"You, you? You want to go out with Ginny?"
"Uh, yeah."
"For how long?"
"Since she got home from school." His hand had never felt so sweaty before, not even during the final battle in which he defeated Voldermort.
"And you didn't tell me? I thought we were supposed to be best mates." Harry let out the breath that he was holding when he saw Ron put on a sort of fake pout.
"Sorry, Ron, I just wasn't sure about how-"
"Don't worry about it, Harry. Yeah, I guess you can go out with her."
"Really? Oh thanks Ron! You're the best," Harry stated this as if he were a five-year-old that just got his first broomstick.
"Yeah, yeah, just, don't hurt her or I'll have to hurt you," Harry gave a look a pure terror. "Mate, lighten up, I'm kidding. Well, Hermione will be happy anyways."
"Why do you say that?"
"Let's just say, I owe her five galleons."
***
A few weeks later, Harry had it all figured out. He was going to ask Ginny on a nice September picnic the next Sunday after dinner. There was a secluded lake near his and Ron's house that they could go for the picnic and a walk. Then maybe he'd bring her to see their place and watch a movie with Ron, Hermione and himself, of course.
Sunday came, and he apperated to the Weasley's Garden as usual. Moments later Ginny was running up to him.
"Harry! There's someone I want you to meet!" Harry's heart had stopped on the fact that she had said his name again, and almost missed the part about meeting someone. Ginny dragged him into the living room where Molly, Arthur, Hermione, a disgruntled Ron, and a stranger all sat around talking.
"Harry, this is Brian Kirkstire. Brian, this is Harry Potter."
Harry stood stunned as Brian stood up, and approached him.
"Well, of course it is, Ginny." Brian put out a hand. It took Harry a moment before he knew what to do with it, but eventually he reached out and shook Brian's hand. "Good to meet you, Harry. Ginny's told me all about you."
"The pleasure's all mine," Harry tried to get out with as little spite as possible. "and, to the contrary, she hasn't exactly told me of you. Where do you know each other from." Harry didn't break eye contact until Ginny started to respond to his question.
"Brian came into my office about a month, looking for the Department of Control of Magical Creatures for an interview. He was completely lost, but we helped him find his way."
"You're so modest, Gin. She helped me and was late to lunch because of it."
Ginny blushed and continued the story. "Anyways, he asked me out a few days later, and we've been on a couple of dates since. I thought he might enjoy coming over to meet all of you."
"So," Harry wanted a direct answer that fishing wasn't going to get him. "Are you two officially dating then?"
"No," this time from Brian, "not yet."
Harry didn't like the emphasis on the word 'yet'.
It hadn't taken Ginny too long to get into the swing of things. She did pretty well to keep herself busy during the summer. In fact, she hadn't even noticed that summer was almost over. Ginny had already received a raise at her job, passed the first Auror test to get into the second class, and managed to spend some time with her family. Not much, but some.
In fact, Ginny found that she saw Harry more often than the rest of her family. Strange, she would think sometimes, but soon enough she would excuse it with the fact that he was already around the Auror training academy. So far, real life wasn't too bad. Yet, a little voice in the back of her head (one that sounded an awful lot like Colin Creevy) kept telling her that it was only because she was a Weasley.
It didn't help that all her teachers at the training academy knew at least one of her brothers. Every time she was in a new class Ginny dreaded the roll call. Why can't my name be at the beginning of the roll, she would sigh to herself. If it were at the beginning maybe they would just keep going, but noooo.
Ginny always got, "Oh, how is Bill doing..." or "send Fred and George my regards" or "what is Percy doing these days?" As much as she realized that the rest of the class thought of her as the teacher's pet, or looked at her with jealousy, she answered the questions politely, not wanting to be rude either.
Ginny was thinking on this one day while she was helping her mum with the lunch dishes.
"Is everything okay, dear?" Molly asked, noticing the distant look coming from her youngest child.
"Yeah, I guess... well, not really," Ginny confessed.
"What is it?" Molly was good at listening to her children's problems, and giving advice. However, Ginny was really the only one who opened up to her and recognized her talent for problem solving.
"It's just something Colin said to me before we left Hogwarts."
"My, that must have been some time ago, and you're still worried about it?"
"Yeah."
"Well then, what was it that he said that could keep you worried for so long?"
"The gist of it? Just that I have it easier because I'm a Weasley."
"What's so bad about that?"
"Nothing, nothing at all. It's just, I don't want other people to think I don't deserve anything, I want them to know that I earned it."
They had finished the dishes and made their way to sitting on the large pink-stripped couch in the living room. "All you have to do, Ginny, is make them see that."
"How, Mum? How can I do that, when all anyone sees me for is my six older brothers?"
"I see. I suppose I never thought having a large family could have its down side. Having only grown-up with one sister, I thought any child would enjoy having so many siblings to play with and all. I'm sorry that you have to bear such a burden."
"It's not a burden, Mum; it's just how things are. I mean, I love all my brothers, but it doesn't make it any easier to cope with the way people treat me. How can I get them to notice me for me?" Ginny looked desperately to her mother for the answer.
"I can't give you that answer, Ginny. I wish I could, but I suggest starting from scratch and seeing what you can cook up from there." Molly then got up, and made her way toward the garden, leaving Ginny there to take in the conversation.
After considering what she was told, she had to laugh. Ginny took the advice very seriously, but it was humorous how her mother could relate anything back to food.
Ginny was so engrossed in thought, that she hadn't even noticed the new arrival.
"Ginny?" Harry had to wave a hand in front of her face before she would even respond. "Oh good, for a minute there I thought that perhaps this was your mum's new way of grounding you."
"Very funny, Harry." She rolled her eyes at him. "So what are you doing here?"
"Not much, just seeing how classes are going for you."
"Not bad. Harry can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"How would you describe me?"
Beautiful, kind, funny, smart... he didn't feel that these would go over too well, so he tried to come up with some other response. "Err, well- I don't know. I guess to sum you up, I'd say you're very, err, Weasleyisc."
Wrong answer. Harry was very proud of his adjective, but Ginny didn't seem too pleased. "Why, Ginny? Is something wrong?"
"No."
Harry, not being very good at reading between the lines, took what she had said at face value, and started to engross himself in a magazine to distract himself from his most recent thoughts about the girl sitting right across from him.
"Harry?"
"Yes," he was happy to hear his name.
"Do you often read Witch Weekly?" Ginny had a smile of amusement spread across her face. Harry turned beet red as he put the magazine down.
"Ugh, I have to go." Harry stood up, and apparated.
***
"Ron!" Harry shouted from the dining area of their two bedroom flat, and went into the kitchen, expecting to see Ron there. "Ron!"
"What is it mate?" came a very tired voice from the out of Ron's bedroom, and entering the kitchen to join Harry.
"I have a question."
"Well, if it's about the milk, I'm pretty sure that it went south like three weeks ago."
"No, it's about Ginny." That got Ron's attention. Out of all the Weasley brothers, Ron was probably the closest, not only in age, but in relationship to Ginny.
"What about Ginny? Has something-"
"No, no, calm down, Ron. It's just, well, I was wondering; if it would be okay if... well if I asked Ginny out?"
Ron's face held a look of utter shock before turning slightly pink and gradually reddened into a interesting shade of crimson. Harry began preparing himself for the worst, thinking that this couldn't be a good sign.
"You, you? You want to go out with Ginny?"
"Uh, yeah."
"For how long?"
"Since she got home from school." His hand had never felt so sweaty before, not even during the final battle in which he defeated Voldermort.
"And you didn't tell me? I thought we were supposed to be best mates." Harry let out the breath that he was holding when he saw Ron put on a sort of fake pout.
"Sorry, Ron, I just wasn't sure about how-"
"Don't worry about it, Harry. Yeah, I guess you can go out with her."
"Really? Oh thanks Ron! You're the best," Harry stated this as if he were a five-year-old that just got his first broomstick.
"Yeah, yeah, just, don't hurt her or I'll have to hurt you," Harry gave a look a pure terror. "Mate, lighten up, I'm kidding. Well, Hermione will be happy anyways."
"Why do you say that?"
"Let's just say, I owe her five galleons."
***
A few weeks later, Harry had it all figured out. He was going to ask Ginny on a nice September picnic the next Sunday after dinner. There was a secluded lake near his and Ron's house that they could go for the picnic and a walk. Then maybe he'd bring her to see their place and watch a movie with Ron, Hermione and himself, of course.
Sunday came, and he apperated to the Weasley's Garden as usual. Moments later Ginny was running up to him.
"Harry! There's someone I want you to meet!" Harry's heart had stopped on the fact that she had said his name again, and almost missed the part about meeting someone. Ginny dragged him into the living room where Molly, Arthur, Hermione, a disgruntled Ron, and a stranger all sat around talking.
"Harry, this is Brian Kirkstire. Brian, this is Harry Potter."
Harry stood stunned as Brian stood up, and approached him.
"Well, of course it is, Ginny." Brian put out a hand. It took Harry a moment before he knew what to do with it, but eventually he reached out and shook Brian's hand. "Good to meet you, Harry. Ginny's told me all about you."
"The pleasure's all mine," Harry tried to get out with as little spite as possible. "and, to the contrary, she hasn't exactly told me of you. Where do you know each other from." Harry didn't break eye contact until Ginny started to respond to his question.
"Brian came into my office about a month, looking for the Department of Control of Magical Creatures for an interview. He was completely lost, but we helped him find his way."
"You're so modest, Gin. She helped me and was late to lunch because of it."
Ginny blushed and continued the story. "Anyways, he asked me out a few days later, and we've been on a couple of dates since. I thought he might enjoy coming over to meet all of you."
"So," Harry wanted a direct answer that fishing wasn't going to get him. "Are you two officially dating then?"
"No," this time from Brian, "not yet."
Harry didn't like the emphasis on the word 'yet'.
