Chapter 3 – Ginny
Ginny awoke the next morning to the autumnal sunshine nearly blinding her due to her lack if closed curtains. Ginny did not like the mornings, but then nor does anyone. Her spirits soared, however, when she realised which day it was – Saturday.
Ginny had developed a love for the weekends in her OWL year. Of course they had homework, but she could easily do that on Friday evening, and leave the next two days free. She decided that this weekend she would mostly stay in the common room, maybe venture down to visit Hagrid, or maybe attempt to find Ron, and spend some time with him. Ginny almost laughed at herself with that thought, she knew that 'spending time with Ron' in fact meant being near to Harry, for she loved to simply be close to him.
It was early; Ginny had not managed a good night's sleep. Her morose mood from last night had gone away, for now. After managing to make herself look as respectable as possible, she made her way down to the common room intent on finding Ron.
"Harry?"
"Morning, Gin."
"What are you doing down here?"
"Couldn't sleep last night, decided to come down here for a think..." He trailed off.
"Don't worry; I know the feeling, mate."
Ginny went to sit down in the chair opposite Harry. He studied her intently.
"Harry... what are you doing?"
"You look... sad."
"Oh I'm just tired."
"If you say so."
And so they talked. All the while Ginny holding back, keeping the subject on school, friends; normal things. She could not tell what he was thinking, he did, however, seem interested in her life. She hated the way he did this to her, but she desperately loved him for it. He did not know how much he was torturing her by talking to her, laughing with her, he was just a genuinely nice person, and she knew this.
Harry's mood swings had clamed down since last year. Everyone else had hated that aspect of him, but Ginny had always thought it was admirable, for years before that he had kept his feelings bottled up inside him, and they had to come out sometime. She loved how he was so fiery; a true Gryffindor. But then she loved everything about him, she doubted he could do anything which she could not help but marvel at.
At about 10:30 Hermione padded down the girls' staircase to the common room. The circular room had slowly filled up with people over the course of an hour or so, and now it was pretty crowded. She came down to find Ginny and Harry chatting in a corner. She smiled. She knew Ginny had a crush on Harry (Ginny thanked God every day that Hermione did not know the sheer magnitude of this "crush").
Another reason why Hermione was smiling was that Harry was smiling. To see her best friend look cheerful was a rare event nowadays. After last summer's brush with death, the trio had become noticeably subdued. Especially Harry. But then everyone in the Wizarding World was worried. Ron was 'cacking himself' – as he so articulately put it.
"Hermione, hey." Harry greeted his friend with genuine cheer.
"Alright?" Ron had come up behind Hermione and pinched her side to make her jump.
"Jesus Christ, that isn't what I need first thing in the morning, Ronald Weasley."
"Ahem." Harry cleared his throat so as to distract the two from their mindless quarrelling.
The two of them sat down and they held the conversation until lunch time found them sitting in the Great Hall.
Harry
As they were walking into the great hall two 5th year Gryffindor girls started squealing Ginny's name, and she ran over to sit with them. Harry realised she was a popular girl, probably the most popular in her year, and he could see why. She was so easy to talk to, and he could relate to her in some ways. It had, after all, been her whom Voldemort had controlled in her 1st year; and she knew how it felt.
Ginny knew how it felt to have no power over herself; to have no control over what she could or could not choose to do. She could be sympathetic to him like no one else. He really valued her friendship.
Ron had been hinting at her all morning to leave, but had stopped when Harry nudged him hard in the ribs. Why should she leave? He was enjoying her company; she wasn't doing any harm to anyone by being there. But he could understand what it might be like for Ron. Hogwarts was a place where he could be rid of his huge family, and having his little sister there all the time wasn't really his idea of fun. Harry had a shrewd suspicion that Ron's relationship with Ginny was the same as it had been with his former 'rat', Scabbers. Ron had complained about the rat endlessly for two and a half years, but when he thought he had lost him Ron had been devastated. In the same way Ron had been terrified when Tom Riddle had stolen Ginny from Hogwarts and taken her to the Chamber of Secrets in their 2nd year. Ron complained about Ginny, but he was the most protective over her of all his brothers (much to her annoyance).
Harry watched Ginny as she ate. She was a good few seats down from him, but he was able to look at her without anyone noticing. There was something about her which he couldn't figure out. Subconsciously he knew there was something about her, there was more to her than people realized, but consciously he thought nothing more of it.
After breakfast Professor McGonagall called Harry's name, and beckoned him towards her.
"Potter, the headmaster wants to see you now; report to his office straight away."
As she said this, McGonagall's harsh exterior faltered for a second, and there was a pronounced flash of a mix of fear and sadness in her eyes. Harry chose to ignore it, and made his way to Dumbledore's office.
"Country Fudge" (It appeared old Dumbledore had discovered a liking for the muggle sweet) Harry grimaced at the hideous gargoyles in front of him. He had always hated those gargoyles. They stood in the corridor and watched you as you walked past. Their gnarled hands curled as if about to lash out, and their leering smiles following you through the shadows were enough to give anyone the shivers.
Without warning the hidden door before him sprang open, and Professor Snape swept out, very nearly colliding with Harry.
"Excuse me, Potter." Snape shot Harry a venomous look and continued down the corridor. Harry watched him turn a corner, and slowly mounted the escalating staircase towards the headmaster's office.
This office had become somewhat familiar to Harry in the past couple of weeks. Dumbledore liked to check up on Harry regularly; Harry suspected it was because he felt guilty about the prolonged absence of his advice throughout Harry's 5th year.
Before he knew it he was standing outside the, now, oh so familiar oversized mahogany door and knocking.
The door creaked open slowly, to reveal the circular office in which Dumbledore resided. The huge armchair behind the desk had its back to Harry for a second, until it swung round to reveal a tired looking headmaster.
"Harry"
Harry was not sure how to respond to this, he decided to try and sound as normal as possible.
"Yes, headmaster?"
"I have just had a visit from Professor Snape; it appears Voldemort has gathered a lot more support over the summer, and we are being told to be careful in whatever we do. For this reason, I must insist that you stay within Hogwarts' grounds."
Inwardly Harry was cursing Dumbledore. 'How dare he? He didn't know fucking anything. He wasn't fucking there last year, what the fuck could he know? Jesus Christ he thinks he has all the bloody answers, well fuck him.' - It was then that Harry stopped himself. Dumbledore only wanted to protect him. He made a mental note to keep his future mood swings the same as this one: inside his head.
All this thinking happened in a couple of seconds, and all he could answer with, was a simple "Okay".
Dumbledore chatted for a bit; it was mostly a one sided conversation. Harry's good mood from earlier had been sufficiently ruined with the prospect of the lack of future Hogsmeade visits.
Eventually he was dismissed, and headed quickly back to the common room. Upon entering, he heard a small gasp from a cluster of first years near the portrait hole. By now Harry knew that people staring at him did him no harm, but he still hated it. He chose to ignore the eleven year olds, and scanned the common room quickly for his friends. There was no sign of Hermione, nor any of Ron. He saw a flash of red hair, and realized it was Ginny.
"Hi, Harry."
"Hi. Erm, you haven't seen Hermione or Ron have you?"
"Oh, uhmmm, I think they went to the owlery to send a letter to Mum, you can wait here for them if you want."
"No, it's alright; I'll go and find them myself. Well... bye."
And he walked away, with no idea of what he had just done.
~~**~~
Bugger; guess what I forgot. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to J.K. Rowling.
Okay, thanks to the two people who reviewed, I only started this a couple of days ago, and I'm not proofreading it or anything, so if you see any mistakes that annoy you, feel free to tell me and I'll change it. Please review; this is my first fic, and I don't consider myself any sort of writer, so tell me if you like it and tell me if you don't.
Jaquelyne – cheers for the review. Yeah I know they're lost, but wouldn't you be? Heh, anyway, cheers.
Gevans – Thank you so much, that was so nice of you to say that. In answer to your question, I suppose I learnt to write like this from English teachers? I'm not all that old, so my writing isn't very good yet, but you know. Anyway, thanks for reviewing, I hope you enjoy the rest of it.
Anyone else who reads this, please review, I'd really like the feedback.
Cheers.
Ginny awoke the next morning to the autumnal sunshine nearly blinding her due to her lack if closed curtains. Ginny did not like the mornings, but then nor does anyone. Her spirits soared, however, when she realised which day it was – Saturday.
Ginny had developed a love for the weekends in her OWL year. Of course they had homework, but she could easily do that on Friday evening, and leave the next two days free. She decided that this weekend she would mostly stay in the common room, maybe venture down to visit Hagrid, or maybe attempt to find Ron, and spend some time with him. Ginny almost laughed at herself with that thought, she knew that 'spending time with Ron' in fact meant being near to Harry, for she loved to simply be close to him.
It was early; Ginny had not managed a good night's sleep. Her morose mood from last night had gone away, for now. After managing to make herself look as respectable as possible, she made her way down to the common room intent on finding Ron.
"Harry?"
"Morning, Gin."
"What are you doing down here?"
"Couldn't sleep last night, decided to come down here for a think..." He trailed off.
"Don't worry; I know the feeling, mate."
Ginny went to sit down in the chair opposite Harry. He studied her intently.
"Harry... what are you doing?"
"You look... sad."
"Oh I'm just tired."
"If you say so."
And so they talked. All the while Ginny holding back, keeping the subject on school, friends; normal things. She could not tell what he was thinking, he did, however, seem interested in her life. She hated the way he did this to her, but she desperately loved him for it. He did not know how much he was torturing her by talking to her, laughing with her, he was just a genuinely nice person, and she knew this.
Harry's mood swings had clamed down since last year. Everyone else had hated that aspect of him, but Ginny had always thought it was admirable, for years before that he had kept his feelings bottled up inside him, and they had to come out sometime. She loved how he was so fiery; a true Gryffindor. But then she loved everything about him, she doubted he could do anything which she could not help but marvel at.
At about 10:30 Hermione padded down the girls' staircase to the common room. The circular room had slowly filled up with people over the course of an hour or so, and now it was pretty crowded. She came down to find Ginny and Harry chatting in a corner. She smiled. She knew Ginny had a crush on Harry (Ginny thanked God every day that Hermione did not know the sheer magnitude of this "crush").
Another reason why Hermione was smiling was that Harry was smiling. To see her best friend look cheerful was a rare event nowadays. After last summer's brush with death, the trio had become noticeably subdued. Especially Harry. But then everyone in the Wizarding World was worried. Ron was 'cacking himself' – as he so articulately put it.
"Hermione, hey." Harry greeted his friend with genuine cheer.
"Alright?" Ron had come up behind Hermione and pinched her side to make her jump.
"Jesus Christ, that isn't what I need first thing in the morning, Ronald Weasley."
"Ahem." Harry cleared his throat so as to distract the two from their mindless quarrelling.
The two of them sat down and they held the conversation until lunch time found them sitting in the Great Hall.
Harry
As they were walking into the great hall two 5th year Gryffindor girls started squealing Ginny's name, and she ran over to sit with them. Harry realised she was a popular girl, probably the most popular in her year, and he could see why. She was so easy to talk to, and he could relate to her in some ways. It had, after all, been her whom Voldemort had controlled in her 1st year; and she knew how it felt.
Ginny knew how it felt to have no power over herself; to have no control over what she could or could not choose to do. She could be sympathetic to him like no one else. He really valued her friendship.
Ron had been hinting at her all morning to leave, but had stopped when Harry nudged him hard in the ribs. Why should she leave? He was enjoying her company; she wasn't doing any harm to anyone by being there. But he could understand what it might be like for Ron. Hogwarts was a place where he could be rid of his huge family, and having his little sister there all the time wasn't really his idea of fun. Harry had a shrewd suspicion that Ron's relationship with Ginny was the same as it had been with his former 'rat', Scabbers. Ron had complained about the rat endlessly for two and a half years, but when he thought he had lost him Ron had been devastated. In the same way Ron had been terrified when Tom Riddle had stolen Ginny from Hogwarts and taken her to the Chamber of Secrets in their 2nd year. Ron complained about Ginny, but he was the most protective over her of all his brothers (much to her annoyance).
Harry watched Ginny as she ate. She was a good few seats down from him, but he was able to look at her without anyone noticing. There was something about her which he couldn't figure out. Subconsciously he knew there was something about her, there was more to her than people realized, but consciously he thought nothing more of it.
After breakfast Professor McGonagall called Harry's name, and beckoned him towards her.
"Potter, the headmaster wants to see you now; report to his office straight away."
As she said this, McGonagall's harsh exterior faltered for a second, and there was a pronounced flash of a mix of fear and sadness in her eyes. Harry chose to ignore it, and made his way to Dumbledore's office.
"Country Fudge" (It appeared old Dumbledore had discovered a liking for the muggle sweet) Harry grimaced at the hideous gargoyles in front of him. He had always hated those gargoyles. They stood in the corridor and watched you as you walked past. Their gnarled hands curled as if about to lash out, and their leering smiles following you through the shadows were enough to give anyone the shivers.
Without warning the hidden door before him sprang open, and Professor Snape swept out, very nearly colliding with Harry.
"Excuse me, Potter." Snape shot Harry a venomous look and continued down the corridor. Harry watched him turn a corner, and slowly mounted the escalating staircase towards the headmaster's office.
This office had become somewhat familiar to Harry in the past couple of weeks. Dumbledore liked to check up on Harry regularly; Harry suspected it was because he felt guilty about the prolonged absence of his advice throughout Harry's 5th year.
Before he knew it he was standing outside the, now, oh so familiar oversized mahogany door and knocking.
The door creaked open slowly, to reveal the circular office in which Dumbledore resided. The huge armchair behind the desk had its back to Harry for a second, until it swung round to reveal a tired looking headmaster.
"Harry"
Harry was not sure how to respond to this, he decided to try and sound as normal as possible.
"Yes, headmaster?"
"I have just had a visit from Professor Snape; it appears Voldemort has gathered a lot more support over the summer, and we are being told to be careful in whatever we do. For this reason, I must insist that you stay within Hogwarts' grounds."
Inwardly Harry was cursing Dumbledore. 'How dare he? He didn't know fucking anything. He wasn't fucking there last year, what the fuck could he know? Jesus Christ he thinks he has all the bloody answers, well fuck him.' - It was then that Harry stopped himself. Dumbledore only wanted to protect him. He made a mental note to keep his future mood swings the same as this one: inside his head.
All this thinking happened in a couple of seconds, and all he could answer with, was a simple "Okay".
Dumbledore chatted for a bit; it was mostly a one sided conversation. Harry's good mood from earlier had been sufficiently ruined with the prospect of the lack of future Hogsmeade visits.
Eventually he was dismissed, and headed quickly back to the common room. Upon entering, he heard a small gasp from a cluster of first years near the portrait hole. By now Harry knew that people staring at him did him no harm, but he still hated it. He chose to ignore the eleven year olds, and scanned the common room quickly for his friends. There was no sign of Hermione, nor any of Ron. He saw a flash of red hair, and realized it was Ginny.
"Hi, Harry."
"Hi. Erm, you haven't seen Hermione or Ron have you?"
"Oh, uhmmm, I think they went to the owlery to send a letter to Mum, you can wait here for them if you want."
"No, it's alright; I'll go and find them myself. Well... bye."
And he walked away, with no idea of what he had just done.
~~**~~
Bugger; guess what I forgot. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to J.K. Rowling.
Okay, thanks to the two people who reviewed, I only started this a couple of days ago, and I'm not proofreading it or anything, so if you see any mistakes that annoy you, feel free to tell me and I'll change it. Please review; this is my first fic, and I don't consider myself any sort of writer, so tell me if you like it and tell me if you don't.
Jaquelyne – cheers for the review. Yeah I know they're lost, but wouldn't you be? Heh, anyway, cheers.
Gevans – Thank you so much, that was so nice of you to say that. In answer to your question, I suppose I learnt to write like this from English teachers? I'm not all that old, so my writing isn't very good yet, but you know. Anyway, thanks for reviewing, I hope you enjoy the rest of it.
Anyone else who reads this, please review, I'd really like the feedback.
Cheers.