Chapter 2 - Brothers and Boyfriends (NOT)

After finally getting off the train (my arse was so sore) I got into the first carriage I saw, not noticing who got on with me. It was only when I heard a soft drawl that I looked up to see who was in there with me. It was none other than the Great Ferret Prince, Malfoy.

"Damn it Malfoy, why the hell do you have to follow me around like this? First the train compartment, now here. I mean I know I'm irresistible, but you must try to control your hormones," I told him cutting him off from whatever he had previously been saying.

"Oh is that what you think I'm doing Weasley? Following you? Don't make me laugh. The only reason I am in here with you is because I have an important errand to run for Dumbledore before the feast begins and I have to be one of the first people in the castle. So I wouldn't get too conceited if I were you," he answered sharply.

"Look who's talking about getting conceited," I muttered under my breath.

The truth was that being with him in the same carriage gave me the jitters. I wasn't scared of him, well not in the sense that most people were, at least. I didn't really know how I felt at the moment. I just knew that I was uncomfortable and wanted to get out. So when Draco called into the carriage, "Are you coming Weasley?" and stretched out his hand, I was not only relieved that we had finally arrived, but I was also shocked that Draco, I mean Malfoy, had informed me about our arrival and was actually going to help me out of the carriage. Okay so he informed me, he didn't help me out. As I reached for his hand, he took it out of my grasp and looked down his nose at me.

"What do you think you're doing Weasley? You didn't honestly think I was going to help you out did you? What a laugh!"

"Sod off, Malfoy," I told him weakly. "I don't need your help to get off a carriage." And I jumped down next to him as if to prove my ability. "Besides, don't you have something you have to go do for Dumbledore? I bet he won't be too happy with you if you show up late to do it."

I heard Malfoy curse under his breath and then I saw him run off.

"Ginny, don't tell me you've been in the same carriage with that lump of turd the whole way here!"

Damn brothers! Can't they just leave me alone?

"Well, if you really want me to lie to you," I countered, looking at him in the eyes.

"Ginny!"

"Well it's the truth. We did ride in the same carriage together and it's none of your business what we did in there either!" I exclaimed in a tone so convincing that they all looked at each other and then back at me. I turned and began walking to the castle.

"Ginny! What - ? But how - ? Are you serious?" Hermione asked running to my side. "But what about Harry?"

"What about him?" I asked nonchalantly, waving my arm behind me.

"Virginia Weasley! What do you mean 'what about Harry?' He's your boyfriend, that's what! What the bloody hell has gotten into you?! You tell us what you did or- or Harry will tell you that it's over and then you'll be sorry, won't she Harry? Go on tell her."

Before Harry had a chance to 'tell me' whatever he was supposed to tell me, I walked into the castle, turned around and said, "Oh really? Well, obviously Harry hasn't cleared you up on that matter. Haven't you told them yet Harry?"

"Told us what?" my brother looked at us suspiciously.

"Oh my gosh, Ginny you're pregnant and you're now engaged to Harry! Congratulations!"

For being Hermione, she was pretty stupid.

"Yeah that's it Hermione, and my grandparents just died and left us a grand fortune and a huge estate!" I waved my arms dramatically for effect turning and walking toward the Great Hall.

"Really?" Ron asked.

"No stupid. We broke up. Harry broke up with me. Apparently- No wait, Harry gave me no reason for his decision. He just thought we weren't meant to be."

I was about to ask him exactly why he had done it so that he would have to explain it to me in front of my brother and Hermione (evil cackle), but we unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, I shall never know) reached the Great Hall at that precise moment.

I opened the double doors and walked in, not bothering to hold them open for the trio. I looked around the Great Hall and would have had my breath taken away from me at the sight, except for the fact that I had seen four times before. Sure, the decorations tend to change a little, but you get the general gist. Before coming to a complete stop at the Gryffindor table, my eye caught sight of that vile, repulsive Slytherin, Malfoy. And do you know what he did? He smiled at me. No, it was more of a smirk. Kind of like he was trying to tell me he knew something I didn't. I raised my eyebrow and walked over to our table. I plopped down next to - Colin Creevey?

'Damn, he looks fine this year. I wonder what he's been up to this summer.' I immediately thought.

"Hey hot stuff," he said playfully when he looked over at me.

"Who are you kidding Creevey?" I asked him. "Anyway, you're not lookin' too bad yourself," I remarked casually.

"You think so?" he asked looking me up and down.

I shook my head. "I know so."

And we burst out laughing. I leaned my head on his shoulders and sighed. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and rubbed it a little. It felt nice. Just then, our best my best friend Celine walked in.

"Hey lovebirds, how's it goin?" she asked.

"Not bad, not bad," Colin answered.

"Yeah I mean we have from the time the feast ends till oh I should say around five in the morning. Unless, of course, you want some too. In that case I get him till two, and you get him till five."

Colin smiled and said, "Yeah, you know there's always enough Colin to go around right?"

"Of course it will be a trying first day of school tomorrow, especially for Colin since he won't be getting any sleep, but that's okay right, it's not like he needs it," I added.

"Oh we all know he's used to it already," Celine added.

We burst out laughing again.

Finally, the first years came in and the Sorting Ceremony began. It was the same as it had been for the past umpteen years, but I still partook of the cheering and applauding (and booing in the Slytherins' case). Finally, all the first years had been sorted, Dumbledore had said his yearly announcements, and the feast was ready to begin.

The food appeared on the tables and I was soon lost in the delicious aromas of the feast. I heard Colin talking to some friend or another beside me and smiled. Colin was always one to make friends easily. Sometimes I envied him so much. I was just about to spoon some mashed potatoes into my mouth when I felt like I was being watched. I looked around the hall, but the feeling left me as soon as it had come. I shrugged and continued to eat, but I still felt slightly disturbed.

When we reached the desserts, again I felt the sensation of being watched. I tried to shrug it off thinking it was just my imagination, but this time it wouldn't go away. I again looked around the hall and it wasn't until I reached the Slytherin table that I found the source of my discomfort. There, sitting lazily in his chair, was none other than the Great Ferret Prince himself, not eating anything, just looking straight at me. We made eye contact and, even from across the hall, I felt myself starting to drown in those icy grey eyes of his.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see what it was.

"Ginny, are you okay?"

"Hmmm. Oh yeah, I'm fine, Colin."

"Are you sure. I thought I saw you looking at Malfoy but I wasn't - "

"Wait, me looking at Malfoy? The question is, Colin, are you feeling okay? Why the hell would I be looking at Malfoy?"

"Getting a little jealous aren't we?" Celine asked playfully.

"Well, in any case he's still got you right?" We laughed at this and then resumed our former positions.

He turned around again to talk to his friend, and I looked up at the Slytherin table. There was Draco Malfoy, evil but perfect. He was now talking to Crabbe, or was it Goyle? Well, he was talking to one or the other. And then he looked at me again. I stared back at him maliciously and then dropped my eyes to talk to Celine.

Finally the feast was over and we all went up to our dormitories. We caught up with Loony along the way and Celine and I chatted away with her until we had to head up the stairs. Colin was in between Celine and I as we made our way up the stairs, but he said nothing. We talked in front of him, but he didn't seem to notice. We looked up at him, noticed he was spacing out, and grinned mischievously at each other. Celine counted on her fingers to three and we both threw ourselves at Colin. Just as our bodies were about to come in contact with his, he stopped and we came crashing into each other. The result, I ended up on the floor with Celine on top of me, both of us, no the three of us laughing so hard tears almost came out of our eyes.

When we finally stopped laughing, Colin helped us both up and smiled his trademark you-thought-you-would-get-me-but-you-didn't smile, which made us laugh again.

"Colin, that wasn't very nice," I pretended to pout.

"Yeah, we actually thought you were lost in thought."

"Well, you see I was. Until, of course, I saw Celine start counting down on her fingers. Then I became alert. Muahahaha."

"Hey do either of you know the password?" Celine asked us as we came up to the portrait of the fat lady.

"Yeah it's 'pixiedust'"

Celine and I jumped and turned to see who had spoken; Colin only turned.

"Thank you Harry," he said.

"No prob," Harry replied. "Um... Ginny, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sorry, Harry, I have other things to do. Better ways to use my time, or waste it for that matter."

I walked through into the common and sat down on one of the more secluded poufs. Colin and Celine walked up to me as soon as they got in and asked at the same time, "What the hell was that about?"

We broke into laughter for a moment at the absurdity of the coincidence.

"No but seriously - " they both started again.

"You go first - "

I started to laugh at them both. This happened so often last year, I actually got tired of it. Now I loved it. This was another thing I had been missing without my own knowledge.

"Okay Creevey, ladies first, that means you, I mean Celine."

"Thank you Ginny dahhhling," Celine told me, over exaggerating the dahling. "Well, what's going on? I thought you two were going out."

"Yeah so did I," added Colin with a smile and a wiggle of the eyebrows.

"Well, yeah we were. But then Harry broke up with me," I told them feeling a sudden spout of anger rush to my head.

"What?"

"But why?"

"I dunno, he didn't tell me. I guess I just wasn't good enough for him."

"No, Ginny, don't say that. Anyone who has the heart to dump you isn't good enough for you," Celine told me.

"She's right, you know," Colin reassured me.

I smiled and said, "Thanks guys," at the same time trying to suppress a yawn.

"I think we better go to sleep," Celine said, also trying to stifle a yawn.

Colin nodded and we parted at the foot of the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories.

"See you two tomorrow."

"See ya."

Celine and I went up to our room and walked up to the two beds that had always been ours. On my bedside table I found a single scarlet rose lined with gold powder. Next to it was a note with spidery handwriting.

"Oh how beautiful," Celine murmured.

"You can have it," I told her. "I don't need it, nor do I want it."

"Aren't you going to open the letter?" she asked.

"I can guess who it's from, but if you want to, open it and read it yourself."

She did open it, and she did indeed read it. However, after having done so, she went out the door, down the stairs, and into the common room again. When she returned, she didn't have the letter anymore.

"Burnt it," she replied to my questioning gaze.

I smiled at her and gave her a hug.

Then I lay down on my bed, not even bothering to change, and fell asleep almost instantly.