Chapter 1 – Ginny.
Ginny sat on the hard stone floor of the North tower. She was staring out into the cold night sky. To an onlooker she would have looked emotionless; a statue. Only she knew what was happening underneath the sugar coated exterior, and only she could stop it. She was sure she couldn't have been the only student in the whole damn school to be feeling the way she was. Lord Voldemort was back, and no one could do anything about it. She feared for her family, her friends, and most of all her love.
Ginny could talk to The Boy Who Lived now, she could look him in the eye, she could even stand to undermine him on occasion, but her feelings for him had been the same since she had first seen him, and, if possible, they were growing every day.
Harry would walk past her in the corridor, he would smile, the occasional wink, and she would respond with the arching of a perfect eyebrow, or a small smile at him. Nothing more, nothing less. She was sure he could never think of her as anything but a friend, for God's sake she was his best mate's little sister. Ginny cursed the world for creating all this in such a way so that the prospect of a relationship with Harry was near to impossible. She willed things to be how they were in her dreams; Voldemort had been long since defeated, she had no worries, no cares in the world. Harry would hold her in her dreams, and his smile would belong to her. She would control his emotions; she would tease him, she would give to him whatever he desired, and he to her, but most of all she would love him.
Ginny scolded herself for daydreaming again. What was the point in having these fantasies? It only made the harsh step back to reality sting even more.
The wind suddenly picked up, and she felt the sharp hint of a tear on her face. No one could describe the feelings she had for Harry. She thought about him every second of the day, but when she was with him, she always felt she never made the most out of it. She felt that at this rate Harry would never know her true character.
The cogs in Ginny's brain started to turn. She could feel it happening. She hated this, she never trusted herself on her own. Thinking of future events terrified her, so she tried to prevent herself from doing so.
"Shit, shit, no, not this again." She could hear herself murmuring, for in her head she was doing the maths yet again. She had just started her 5th year at Hogwarts, meaning that Harry was beginning his 6th. The final battle would, no doubt, occur at the end of his 7th year (her 6th). This meant she would have just under two years left of being with him at school, or maybe she only had two more years left of him full stop. Who knew? Voldemort was one of the most powerful wizards ever to walk this Earth, and Harry, well Harry was just a boy. And even if he did survive, after he left Hogwarts there was a possibility she may never see him again, he would be gone, off doing something adventurous while she completed her final year at Hogwarts.
"No, that won't happen. He's best mates with Ron for God's sake; of course I'll see him again." The girl had a point. Wit the exception of Fred and George, Ron and Ginny were the two closest siblings in the Weasley family, and she was fully confident that she would visit him frequently when they were not near each other. This gave her confidence, because, with Ron, came Harry, and vice versa. This was all assuming that both Harry and Ron were still around after the end of their 7th year. Everyone who knew both Harry and Ron knew that they would always remain loyal to each other, no matter what. This meant that Ron would no doubt have some part in The Final Battle. Ginny knew Ron would happily die for Harry, and, although Harry would do the same, that situation would never arise, as it was Harry who was The Chosen One.
Ginny was still a bit confused about all that business. She was not sure why it was Harry who would be the one to defeat Voldemort, and she did not know how it was supposed to end. Only a strict few people knew what that prophecy had said exactly, and, as usual, Ginny wasn't one of them. That was another thing, she did not mean to be the stereotypical nagging younger sister, but she wished she could be included in the trio's schemes and plans. No one seemed to understand that she would soon be a woman, and that she could handle anything anyone decided to throw at her. There was so much more to Ginny Weasley than anyone could imagine. She kept herself to herself, never sharing any of her thoughts or worries with others, not that there were many people to share things with.
Ginny had friends, she had lots, but not many of them really meant a lot to her. Ginny regarded a real friend as someone whom she would die for. She knew it seemed slightly extreme, but, in all truth, that is what friendship is about, isn't it? A true friend is someone whom you would rather be dead than live without. But, saying this, she would have died for Harry, but she was not sure whether he would have done the same for her.
Suddenly a beautiful owl swooshed past her, she recognized it at once.
"Hi Hedwig, sorry I don't have any food to give you. Why don't you try Harry? He might have something for you." The stunning snowy owl nipped her affectionately on the hand, and gracefully took flight. Ginny watched the bird descend smoothly in the direction of the Gryffindor tower, and decided she should do the same. It was, after all, late September, and Ginny was only wearing an old thin nightdress with a rather worn cloak over it, causing her to feel the chill of the Scotland night air.
She silently made her way towards Gryffindor tower, her bare feet slapping the cold stone floor softly. It wasn't long before she was prodding the picture of the Fat Lady, attempting to wake the portrait from her oh so frequent slumber.
"What do you want?" The irritable painting snapped.
"To get in..."
"Password?"
"Leones Dormient"
"Very well."
Ginny climbed through the portrait hole and into the common room. The only source of light was the glowing embers in the fire place, meaning shadow was cast on the circular room. She sighed with disappointment. It wasn't like she was expecting anything, or anyone, it was just a let down, always the same. Actually, if she was honest with herself, it would have been nice to see Him there, sitting by the fire, in need of someone to talk to. For it had happened before, Harry had been in need of someone to talk to, and that someone had ended up being Ginny. But she wasn't sure whether it was purely out of circumstance that he came to her, or he sought her out especially, because he enjoyed her company.
Slowly Ginny made her way up to the girls' dormitories, careful not to wake anyone. She lay down on her bed and fell asleep in an instant, not allowing herself to fall any deeper into thought.
What she didn't know was that she had not been the only Gryffindor deep in thought that night, and she had also not been alone in the common room those few seconds before. A bespectacled boy had been sitting in an armchair deep in shadows. She had walked straight past him, too wrapped up in her own thoughts to notice him.
Ginny sat on the hard stone floor of the North tower. She was staring out into the cold night sky. To an onlooker she would have looked emotionless; a statue. Only she knew what was happening underneath the sugar coated exterior, and only she could stop it. She was sure she couldn't have been the only student in the whole damn school to be feeling the way she was. Lord Voldemort was back, and no one could do anything about it. She feared for her family, her friends, and most of all her love.
Ginny could talk to The Boy Who Lived now, she could look him in the eye, she could even stand to undermine him on occasion, but her feelings for him had been the same since she had first seen him, and, if possible, they were growing every day.
Harry would walk past her in the corridor, he would smile, the occasional wink, and she would respond with the arching of a perfect eyebrow, or a small smile at him. Nothing more, nothing less. She was sure he could never think of her as anything but a friend, for God's sake she was his best mate's little sister. Ginny cursed the world for creating all this in such a way so that the prospect of a relationship with Harry was near to impossible. She willed things to be how they were in her dreams; Voldemort had been long since defeated, she had no worries, no cares in the world. Harry would hold her in her dreams, and his smile would belong to her. She would control his emotions; she would tease him, she would give to him whatever he desired, and he to her, but most of all she would love him.
Ginny scolded herself for daydreaming again. What was the point in having these fantasies? It only made the harsh step back to reality sting even more.
The wind suddenly picked up, and she felt the sharp hint of a tear on her face. No one could describe the feelings she had for Harry. She thought about him every second of the day, but when she was with him, she always felt she never made the most out of it. She felt that at this rate Harry would never know her true character.
The cogs in Ginny's brain started to turn. She could feel it happening. She hated this, she never trusted herself on her own. Thinking of future events terrified her, so she tried to prevent herself from doing so.
"Shit, shit, no, not this again." She could hear herself murmuring, for in her head she was doing the maths yet again. She had just started her 5th year at Hogwarts, meaning that Harry was beginning his 6th. The final battle would, no doubt, occur at the end of his 7th year (her 6th). This meant she would have just under two years left of being with him at school, or maybe she only had two more years left of him full stop. Who knew? Voldemort was one of the most powerful wizards ever to walk this Earth, and Harry, well Harry was just a boy. And even if he did survive, after he left Hogwarts there was a possibility she may never see him again, he would be gone, off doing something adventurous while she completed her final year at Hogwarts.
"No, that won't happen. He's best mates with Ron for God's sake; of course I'll see him again." The girl had a point. Wit the exception of Fred and George, Ron and Ginny were the two closest siblings in the Weasley family, and she was fully confident that she would visit him frequently when they were not near each other. This gave her confidence, because, with Ron, came Harry, and vice versa. This was all assuming that both Harry and Ron were still around after the end of their 7th year. Everyone who knew both Harry and Ron knew that they would always remain loyal to each other, no matter what. This meant that Ron would no doubt have some part in The Final Battle. Ginny knew Ron would happily die for Harry, and, although Harry would do the same, that situation would never arise, as it was Harry who was The Chosen One.
Ginny was still a bit confused about all that business. She was not sure why it was Harry who would be the one to defeat Voldemort, and she did not know how it was supposed to end. Only a strict few people knew what that prophecy had said exactly, and, as usual, Ginny wasn't one of them. That was another thing, she did not mean to be the stereotypical nagging younger sister, but she wished she could be included in the trio's schemes and plans. No one seemed to understand that she would soon be a woman, and that she could handle anything anyone decided to throw at her. There was so much more to Ginny Weasley than anyone could imagine. She kept herself to herself, never sharing any of her thoughts or worries with others, not that there were many people to share things with.
Ginny had friends, she had lots, but not many of them really meant a lot to her. Ginny regarded a real friend as someone whom she would die for. She knew it seemed slightly extreme, but, in all truth, that is what friendship is about, isn't it? A true friend is someone whom you would rather be dead than live without. But, saying this, she would have died for Harry, but she was not sure whether he would have done the same for her.
Suddenly a beautiful owl swooshed past her, she recognized it at once.
"Hi Hedwig, sorry I don't have any food to give you. Why don't you try Harry? He might have something for you." The stunning snowy owl nipped her affectionately on the hand, and gracefully took flight. Ginny watched the bird descend smoothly in the direction of the Gryffindor tower, and decided she should do the same. It was, after all, late September, and Ginny was only wearing an old thin nightdress with a rather worn cloak over it, causing her to feel the chill of the Scotland night air.
She silently made her way towards Gryffindor tower, her bare feet slapping the cold stone floor softly. It wasn't long before she was prodding the picture of the Fat Lady, attempting to wake the portrait from her oh so frequent slumber.
"What do you want?" The irritable painting snapped.
"To get in..."
"Password?"
"Leones Dormient"
"Very well."
Ginny climbed through the portrait hole and into the common room. The only source of light was the glowing embers in the fire place, meaning shadow was cast on the circular room. She sighed with disappointment. It wasn't like she was expecting anything, or anyone, it was just a let down, always the same. Actually, if she was honest with herself, it would have been nice to see Him there, sitting by the fire, in need of someone to talk to. For it had happened before, Harry had been in need of someone to talk to, and that someone had ended up being Ginny. But she wasn't sure whether it was purely out of circumstance that he came to her, or he sought her out especially, because he enjoyed her company.
Slowly Ginny made her way up to the girls' dormitories, careful not to wake anyone. She lay down on her bed and fell asleep in an instant, not allowing herself to fall any deeper into thought.
What she didn't know was that she had not been the only Gryffindor deep in thought that night, and she had also not been alone in the common room those few seconds before. A bespectacled boy had been sitting in an armchair deep in shadows. She had walked straight past him, too wrapped up in her own thoughts to notice him.