Author's Note: Screams in anguish and pain. Why does all technology hate me? FINALLY, Chapter 7 is up. Personally, one of my favorite chapters, because of the Weasley family action, but mostly the entrance (partially) of Fed and George, the rock-awesome twins! I love them! By the way, in the letter the twins wrote, later, Fred is in bold and George in italics, just so you can tell. Thanks, and I really hope you all like this chapter!

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, except for a few new things and characters, I think. Whatever you don't remember from the book is mine, the rest is J.K.'s. Love that bitch. :)

Puffy Red Eyes

Chapter 7: Letters, Sausages, and a Train Ride

"Jenna? I'm back." Ginny called into the still house.

"Ginny?" Jenna's muffled voice sounded from the kitchen.

"Coming." Ginny called, entering the kitchen.

Jenna was sitting at the kitchen counter, a bowl of orange slices at her fingertips. She glanced up from the magazine she was reading. "Hey, Gin. Where were you? Or, should I say, what were you and Malfoy doing for so long?"

Ginny smiled radiantly. "Sorry I'm so late. We were having a good time just hanging out, though I'm still a little fuzzy on why you had to leave…" She broke off.

Jenna grinned and bit into an orange. "You and Malfoy looked like you could use a little 'alone time', if you know what I mean." She waggled her eyebrows at her friend.

Ginny blushed. "Well, thank you, whatever your motives were."

Jenna jumped up suddenly. "Oh yeah." She said, walking over to a pile of envelopes lying on the other end of the counter. She went through them, then pulled out a thick beige one, which she handed to Ginny.

"This came when you were out." She explained as Ginny ripped open the letter from her brothers and parents.

Dear Gin,

How have you been? I've been worried about you. You haven't written at all since you left. I was hoping to see you before summer vacation was over, but we've been so busy. It's wonderful. Bill's getting married! He proposed to Adrienne last week. They're to be married around Christmas. Hopefully you'll be able to come home for the Christmas break for the wedding. We're having it at St. Bartholomew's Cathedral in Swansea on the water. There's a beautiful old castle there from the time of Godric Gryffindor. It's going to be a lovely wedding, and Adrienne is such a nice girl. Your father is working on several large cases concerning the Death Eaters. He thinks he's getting close to catching them. Can you imagine; your father finally sending the last Death Eaters to Azkaban! That would be wonderful. The twins are leaving home in a few weeks. They pooled their money and bought a flat up there in London. Things will be so quiet without them. I'm not sure whether to be relieved or sad. Only time will tell. Look for me at King's Cross when you get there. If I don't see you then, I'll see you at the wedding!

Love, Mum.

Ginny smiled and looked up at Jenna. "Bill's getting married!" She beamed. So, her older brother had finally worked up the courage to ask Adrienne.

"S'about time." Jenna muttered through her orange.

Ginny turned back to the next letter, which was incredibly long, taking up several pages.

Hey Ginnibean,

Where have you been? You left at dinner that night, and that was the last we saw of you. Mum said she was going to write to you, since you didn't feel inclined to write to us. George and I were so affronted. Yes we were. Fred said we shouldn't write to you, to teach you a lesson, but I wanted to tell you the good news. Shut up George, I'm talking now. Where was I? Oh, right. So, I never said we shouldn't write to you. George was making that all up. No I wasn't! Shut up George! Damn! Now she's not going to understand it! Shut it! Now…oh yes. Bill's getting hitched. Adrienne said yes, so now we all have to run about the house doing whatever pointless job Mum asks us to. If she knew how much more respect she got during times like this, she'd have all of us getting married. Who'd want to marry you, Fred-face? Same person who'd want to marry you, you moron; we're identical! Now, shut up and let me finish! Well, the wedding's at Christmas, so we expect to see you there. I dunno where you're going to get a dress, but Bill wants you to be the flower girl. Ha! Flower Girl! I can just see our Gin walking down the aisle tossing flower petals cheerily. GEORGE! SHUT UP! It's my turn to talk anyway, Fred. Give me the paper No, I'm still talking because you couldn't shut up for two seconds! I get to tell her about the wedding, and you tell her about the other thing. Right, right, go ahead Fred. Right, now…yes, flower girl. So, try and find a way to order or rent a dress or something because you won't have much time before the wedding. The color is…wait…emerald green, that's right. Bill and Adrienne thought it would go well, what with all us Weasleys and her family being quite red-headed as well. So, you'll get to chuck flowers at people. Have fun Gin, now, here you go George, it's your turn…yes, it's your turn. Hey Ginnibean, how are you?I already asked that! Shut up, Fred, it's my turn now! Look at this, she's not going to understand a single thing! Hey, it was your idea to use the damn Quick-Quotes-Quill. Too lazy to write her a letter…gods, what a horrible brother you are.Shut it Fred! So, yeah, we're using a Quick-Quotes-Quill because we're packing. Yep, that's my good news. We're moving! Fred and I found this wicked place in London. The rent's not too bad, and with the profits from the shop, we can afford a two-bedroom flat. It's great. Mum doesn't know it, but we're going to be able to move in by this weekend. It's excellent! We'll have just missed you, I'm afraid, but you can come and stay with us over Christmas break before the wedding, if you like. From what I hear, it's not too far from where Jenna lives. It's right above this great bakery, so Fred and me can go downstairs for a warm breakfast everyday. It's the best! Yeah, and once we're old enough to drink, there's this great pub down the street where these girls…FRED! This is Ginny! You can't tell her about stuff like that. Sorry, George, I forgot who we were talking to for a moment. You know Gin, you're my favorite sister.Fred, she's your only sister. So? That still means she's my favorite sister, doesn't it? Okay, fine. You're my favorite sibling, next to blockhead here. Oh, Fred, stop it, you're making me go all red. George, you moron…look, we've taken up 'bout fifty pages. I think we've taken up enough of Ginny's time. You have to promise to write back to us. Yes, or we'll send you…something nasty that I'll think up later. Well, time to go. Have you found anyone special to use to Looker on? Do tell. In a responding letter.

Love, George.

And Fred.

Ginny smiled. Jenna glanced up from her magazine. "What're you grinning at?"

"The twins."

"Ah." Jenna said, nodding comprehendingly, as if that explained everything.

Ginny opened the last letter.

Hello Ginny,

How are you? I haven't heard from you since…that day. I just wanted to say I'm really sorry about that, Ginny. I never wanted to hurt you. I was being really selfish after Hermione and I split up. I'm sorry if I lead you on. I had a great time with you when we were going together, but, I don't know. You're my best friend's sister, and one of my good friends. I guess I wasn't thinking about your feelings. I know I can't just say sorry and make it better, but I wanted to let you know that I feel really badly about it. I hope you find someone great to be with. You deserve it Gin. Friends? Write back to me soon, I'd love to hear from you. In any case, I guess I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express.

Harry

Ginny bit her lower lip, then grinned. It really didn't matter whether or not Harry felt any guilt anymore…she was happy with someone else.

She folded up her letters and slipped them into the envelope again.

"Bill's getting married and the twins are moving." She informed Jenna, hopping onto the barstool next to her snacking friend.

"Great." Jenna said. "So, did you and Malfoy have a good time together?" She asked, swiveling around in her chair.

Ginny rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Merlin, Jenna. Do you think of anything else?"

Jenna shook her head happily, her beaded hair whipping around. "Nope. My entire life is a storybook romance."

Ginny laughed at her friend's blunt admittance. "Yeah, we had a good time." She said noncommittally.

Jenna rocked back and forth. "And…?" She asked.

"And nothing. We just read for a while." She shrugged.

Jenna's shoulders drooped in disappointment. "That's it? I give you two free time together and you read?!" She laughed.

Ginny nodded. "I want to take this slow. Not like me and Harry."

Jenna's eyes widened. "Ginny? You and Harry…well, you never…you know…did it, did you?" She stressed, leaning forward in her seat.

Ginny flamed, her mouth hanging open in shock. "Jenna! Of course not! How could you think that I would do something like…that?!" She felt her cheeks warming.

Jenna sighed and leaned back in her seat. "Good. So you've never…y'know? Shagged…?" She trailed.

Ginny hit Jenna on the shoulder. "Yeah, right Jenna. Do you really think I'd do something that stupid?" She cocked her eyebrow at her friend.

Jenna shrugged. "I didn't think it was possible for you and Malfoy to get together, but, here you are…together." She frowned, mulling thoughts over. "Where do you think your relationship is going?" She asked, rising from her stool to get a glass from the cupboard.

"Jenna, our 'relationship' had barely even started. I have no idea where it's heading. I don't even know where I want it to go. It might be a successful, long relationship, though I doubt it, or it might be just a fling. Either way, I just know that I'm enjoying it here and now, so I don't really care much about the future. It will happen when it happens."

Ginny stared off into space as Jenna poured herself a cup of tea. Where was their relationship going? Did it really matter? As her mother had said so wisely in her letter; Only time will tell.

"Ginny! Ginny wake up, it's time for you to wake up now! We've got to get ready! Wake up!" Jenna said, shaking a semi-conscious Ginny's shoulders.

It was the morning they were due to leave for King's Cross.

Ginny opened her eyes groggily. "Wha-what?" She yawned sleepily.

Jenna was pulling on a pair of jeans. "It's time to get up. We'll have to leave in a couple of hours. You've got to get dressed, packed, and eat breakfast so hurry up!" She said, buttoning her pants.

Ginny swung her feet over the side of the bed. "Mmmm. Wake up. Right." She stretched and yawned again. "I'm too tired. Dress me for today, will you?" She asked, flopping back on the mattress.

Jenna frowned at her still form. "What do you mean, dress-"She cut off, an evil smile forming on her lips. "Okay, I'll get you some clothes to wear." She said sweetly.

"Thanks Jen." Ginny mumbled from the pillows.

Jenna, grinning deviously, crept over to Ginny's semi-packed bags. She dug through the small mountain of assorted fabrics, finally pulling out a short black pleated skirt and a soft lavender shirt with a purple fish on the chest. Very form-fitting, flattering, and exactly the type of outfit Ginny would hate.

Jenna glanced over at the slumbering form of her friend sleeping blissfully oblivious to anything but the dream world.

Laying the clothes down on her chair, Jenna grabbed a long-sleeved yellow button-down shirt and pulled it on over her black camisole. Buttoning up the shirt halfway she walked back over to the bed and tapped Ginny's foot, which was hanging over the edge of the mattress. "Ginny, it's seriously time to get up now."

Ginny groaned. "Go away. I just want to go back to sleep." She moaned, pulling a pillow over her head and blankets over her body.

Jenna frowned and walked out of the room. Twenty minutes later she reentered the room, carrying a steaming plate of sausages and bacon. She knelt by the bed, holding the platter under Ginny's nose. "Wakey-wakey, sausage and bakey." She said in a sing-song voice.

Ginny's brown eyes flickered wide open. "Mmmmm. Food. That smells delicious." She said, suddenly wide awake. She reached for a sausage link, but Jenna pulled the plate away. "Clothes first, breakfast afterwards." She said, wagging her finger at Ginny, who groaned. "Not fair!" She whined, her mouth watering at the sight of hot food.

Jenna laughed and put the plate away on her dresser. "Your clothes are on the chair over there." She said, pointing to the desk and heading into the bathroom.

Ginny pulled the covers off. Grumbling something unintelligible, she stood, stretched, and walked stiffly over to the desk's chair.

Covering a yawn with her hand, she pulled off her boxers. Ginny grabbed the skirt off the chair and yanked it on, zipping the side up. "When do we leave?" She asked, wiping sleep from her eyes.

Jenna stepped out of the bathroom, mint toothpaste foaming around the corners of her mouth, her toothbrush hanging from her mouth. "Id a cuple howrs." Jenna said around her green toothbrush, and turned back into the bathroom.

Ginny grinned wryly and tugged her tee over her head. She wrapped a bra around her chest and fumbled with the clasp as Jenna walked back into the room.

"Riske, Gin." She commented dryly.

Ginny uncrossed her eyes as she attempted, in vain, to hook the catch together. "D'you know how difficult it is to simply put underclothes on when you're half-asleep?" She grumbled, finally latching it together.

She reached for the shirt. "Jenna…" She trailed, finally realizing what she was wearing, or, being asked to wear. She held up the shirt. "What is this?" She asked, shaking the purple material in front of Jenna's face.

Jenna arched one defined eyebrow. "Gee, I dunno Gin, I'm not too familiar with such alien items, but I think you will find that that is commonly referred to as a 'shirt'." She said solemnly, making 'quotation marks' in the air with her fingers.

Ginny rolled her eyes dramatically. "Really, Jen, why d'you want me to wear this? It's so…tiny and…not there." She explained for lack of better, more descriptive words.

Jenna grinned ruefully. "It looks good on you. And it's not tiny, it's just a bit smaller than the huge pants you always wear. The only way you'd ever wear that outfit would be if you weren't fully conscious when you were dressing." She cocked her head innocently. "Hence my taking advantage of your slumber-esque state."

Ginny scowled playfully at her friend. "Just this once, I'll humor you." She slid the shirt on over her head, and smoothed out her hair.

"I must admit, you do have a good fashion sense." She said, taking a quick glance at her reflection in the mirror. She sighed and pulled her hair up with a clip.

Jenna glanced over at her clock. "Let's get moving. We have to be out of here by half past nine if we want to make the train." She bent down and started gathering up hair ties they'd discarded over the past few days.

"What precisely do we have to do that would take up the next two hours? We're already dressed. I could have slept for another hour or so." Ginny grumbled.

Jenna shoved all the ties into her large, shiny trunk emblazoned with gold letters: J. Werner. Zipping up a small compartment, she pointed to Ginny's still unpacked trunk.

"We need to get packed."

Ginny's eyes flicked over to where her clothes were handing over the sides of the trunk. "Oh. Right." She strode over to her trunk and pulled all her extraneous clothes out. Carefully refolding them, she placed them in a neat pile next to her.

Jenna looked over from where she was doing the same. "Much better."

Ginny sifted through her clothes, which seemed to multiply as she folded them. "Jenna, I didn't think I'd ever be in a position to say this, but I think I've got too many clothes."

Jenna laughed freely as she placed a huge stack of clothes into her trunk. The stack shrunk smaller and smaller to fit into the space provided. "Ginny, if there's one thing I know; it's that you can never have too many clothes."

"Well, then, thank the gods for magic trunks." She said, as her pile of clothes also shrunk.

Jenna grinned. "Now you're catching on."

Later, after packing and eating breakfast, the two girls brought their trunks out to the grand hallway. "Just a second, Gin, I need to leave a note for mum saying bye." She hastily scribbled a message on a notepad and walked back over to Ginny.

"I think that's everything. The Underground's just a couple of blocks away and your trunk does have wheels, doesn't it?"

Ginny nodded.

"Great. We should get there at about a quarter to eleven. That gives us plenty of time." She grabbed the handle of her trunk and hauled it out the door. "Gods this thing weighs a ton." She groaned, pulling it down the steps with several jarring thuds.

Ginny grinned and followed suit. Bella's cage was perched precariously on top of Ginny's massive trunk, held there by many cords and wires. Ginny had sent Bella on ahead, not wanting her to get hurt should the cage fall.

They lugged their burdens for two seemingly endless blocks until they finally saw the Underground escalator. Ginny frowned in distaste. She hated these things.

They made it down successfully, however, with no major mishaps. They strolled past several gates until they were standing between gates nine and ten.

Jenna turned to her companion. "You first, Gin?"

"Sure." Ginny tightened her grip on the handle of her trunk and broke into a jog. Building up her pace, she ran straight through the gateway. Seconds, later, Jenna appeared.

They had taken a bit longer than expected; they had five minutes to get on. Jenna grinned at Ginny. "Welcome to the start of your sixth year, Gin." And she pulled her trunk up to the steps of the train. She struggled for the first two steps until a tall, muscular boy with dreadlocks popped his head around the corner of the doorway.

"'lo Jen. Need a hand?" Dean Thomas asked. Jenna smiled gratefully at her friend as he grabbed hold of the strap and pulled the trunk into the train. His head poked back out again. "Hey Ginny. How was your summer?" He asked, as she pulled her baggage up to the steps.

"Just wonderful, Dean. I heard Chelsea was flattened in the semi-finals." She grinned, referring to the disgraceful loss of one of Dean's favorite soccer teams.

Dean darkened for a second, then brightened. "On the other hand, Man. U slaughtered Liverpool and Arsenal, so they have a chance to make the finals." He beamed.

Ginny smiled. "Right." She tugged her trunk up the stairs, hers being considerable lighter than Jenna's, yet hampered by Bella's empty cage. With one final yank, Ginny hauled the trunk into the train.

Jenna and Dean were ducking into a compartment to the left. "Coming, Gin?" Jenna asked, grinning mischievously.

Ginny flushed. "Eh, no, I'm going to go sit in the back for once. I'll uh…see you in a little while." She stammered, pulling her trunk along the spacious corridor.

Dean turned to Jenna questioningly. "What's going on here?" He asked curiously.

Jenna grinned. "It's our little secret." She whispered, putting a finger to Dean's lips.

Ginny was walking slowly down the train, occasionally bumping into people she knew, and stopping for a few seconds to say hi. Jenna's probably going to tell Dean about me and Draco. She thought. Which didn't surprise her. Jenna was notoriously bad at keeping secrets. What did surprise her was the fact that she really didn't care whether or not Jenna told Dean, even though he was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team with Harry and Ron. It didn't really bother her.

She was so immersed in her thoughts that she accidentally ran into someone. She stumbled back and nearly tripped over her trunk when strong arms reached out and grabbed her shoulders. Ginny looked up. Draco was grinning down at her.

She could feel her heart rate speed up and an unconscious smile crept to her lips. "Hi Draco. Sorry about that, I didn't see you." She explained, moving away from her trunk.

He smiled and let go of her shoulders. Ginny had seen him smile that rare smile more times in the few times she'd met with him than in the six years she'd known him. "Obviously, Weasley." He commented dryly, though his tone was light.

He stepped aside for her to move ahead. The last compartment's door was open, and, glancing in, Ginny could see that it was empty, save for a trunk that doubtlessly belonged to Draco.

Lugging her trunk into the compartment, Ginny flopped down onto the seat.

Draco stepped inside the small room and slid the door shut. He walked over and sat down next to Ginny, who leaned over so her head was resting on his shoulder. "I missed you." She ventured.

Draco looked down at her. She was wearing those clothes again. The type that made every other guy notice her, and him ultimately more jealous. What if some idiot finally saw her and asked her out? Would she break it off with me? He thought nervously.

She glanced up at him and smiled softly, leaning up to plant a kiss on his jaw line.

He smiled. It didn't look that way.

"I missed you too, Weasley." He said softly, dropping a kiss on the end of her nose.

Her smile grew ever wider, her eyes lighting up.

Suddenly Draco remembered something he'd been meaning to ask her. "Are you taking that seventh year Potions class by any chance?" He asked, nonchalantly.

Ginny looked up at him quizzically and nodded. "Yes, why?" She asked.

Draco shrugged. "Because you know, the Gryffindor seventh years share that class with the Slytherin seventh years…and-" He broke off.

Ginny's eyes widened and she smiled happily. "I have a class with you?" She exclaimed.

Draco nodded and grinned at her expressive joy. She sat up onto her knees and threw her arms around Draco's neck. "That's terrific!" She whispered in his ear.

Draco simply couldn't help himself. She was so close, and so happy with him. This might be his one chance to see how she felt about him.

He turned his head and kissed her cheek softly. Her arms hung loose around his neck. He removed his lips from her cheek only to replace them on her chin. He moved his lips up; he couldn't stop now, he'd been away from her for far too long.

His lips had barely left her jaw when she found his lips, pressing hers into them. Her eyes closed as she felt the familiar tingle his lips sent throughout her body. Her hands moved around to his face, cupping it gently as she showered kisses over his lips, nose brow, anything she could.

He pulled away from her gently. She stared at him with such need, such hunger, such want, that their lips weren't separated for long.

Draco trailed a soft line of kisses across her cheeks and down her nose, kissing every single freckle rapturously. He ran his hands through her hair, pulling some of it from her clip to fall down her back.

She touched her hands to his chest, moving them up to his shoulders, just above his collarbone. He nearly gasped as a jolt of energy zapped through him from where she'd touched him. She smiled and moved her lips down his neck to rest where her hands had been.

Draco bit his lower lip and pulled her head back up to his. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes shining. He smiled a small smile and touched his lips to her cheeks, to the tip of her nose, up to the bridge. She closed her eyes. He kissed her eyelids, too. He sat back and looked at her. She looked so calm and content.

He felt the electricity that only she could create leave his body, only to be replaced by a warm sensation of something indescribable. The best he could do was to say that he'd never felt more at peace.

She sat back down on his lap, and curled her body up. Draco wrapped one arm underneath the back of her knees, and the other around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. Removing his hand from her legs, he placed it in hers, which was warm and comforting. She grasped at the cloth of his dark blue shirt with her other hand and rested her head on his chest, her back leaning against the window. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Here, she felt safe.