Author's Note: Well, the end of the school year is rapidly approaching, and things have gotten busier and busier- not to mention I now have to find a job to raise money for my trip to Scotland with my sister this summer… (YAY!) So I apologize for the delay in an update…
Right. On to the reviews.
Jenni: You can drool over Bill- I'll take Fred or Draco any day… here's that crumpled paper fan you wanted… ;)
Zoe: Ah. Zoe. Knew you'd like this one. I had to do it. I just had to. You were becoming such a pest, I knew the only way to get rid of you would be to just insert you in there somewhere. ;) Of course, now you'll have to deal with whatever comes next, ya know…
Anjelline: I know. The poor boy. No one likes him, and he's so- hey! What am I saying? He totally deserved it!
Dragon Eyes: I'm glad you like it – I'm doing my best to update quickly! (see the author's note at the beginning… ;) )
Louisa: Yes…we will see, won't we? I know you got at least a few of those questions right! Hehehe…
Darcel: Thankee much – enjoy this next one as well!
MelissaAdams: Glad you like what I've done – but where's the fun in them getting caught??? ;)
Nancy: Payoff schmayoff. You'll just have to wait. And OF COURSE Fred has a winning smile… lol I had to be careful there not to turn this story into a Marion/Fred one… lol!
Luna Elentari: …I'm an author supreme? Wow! Hehehe… I'm absolutely tickled! And no, I haven't gotten the chance to read your story yet – like I said before, it's been a rough few weeks… BUT. In three days, it will all be over, and I'll have a little free time to read it! But don't worry – I will!
Polkat: Yes, FanFiction.net IS addictive, isn't it? Glad you like my story – only encourages me to go on. And as for Lucius, NO I wasn't ignoring you… It's just that you reviewed for a different chapter and I usually respond to the reviews for the last chapter – so I simply forgot to answer. So Lucius is NOT dead, but he's as good as. He's in Azkaban, and I don't remember if I directly said that in the beginning or not. But now you know. ;)
MagiKittie: Wow! What an honor! I'm quite pleased to be added to your favorites list! I hope I can uphold your good opinion of me…
Sabriel4: I must say I think your review is my favorite ever – don't quite know what it was but something you said made me very thankful that you'd reviewed…lol As for Bill and Charlie, well, I love the Weasley family, so I'm sure we'll be seeing a little bit more of them. And I'm quite familiar with the movie, (actually, it's not Audrey you hear singing, did you know that? They recorded over her at the last moment – without her knowledge!) and I have to say I quite agree with you. I did sort of reverse the effect there, didn't I? The sad thing is I did it without any knowledge of it… lol! DARN it! I knew something was wrong with that phrase…but carpe dium didn't show up as wrong on my spell check, so I figured I was okay. It was one of those days when you can't seem to spell anything right… lol!
Wow. That was the most reviews yet! Keep 'em coming, all, I LOVE them! And now, on to the story! LOL!
Ginny eyed her brothers cautiously. "I think you'd better-"
"Bill! How dare you play this sort of juvenile game with me! Come here and discuss this like a MAN!" Percy hollered from the bottom of the stairs, and the four of them turned to see him, glasses askew, eyes bloodshot, and spit flying from his mouth as he yelled. A hush fell over the upstairs. George pushed Bill forward slightly.
"Go on then Bill, go…discuss…" Putting on his most charming smile, Bill sauntered down the stairs.
"Right then, Perce. Why don't we 'discuss' this over a cup of tea and some scones, eh?" Charlie snickered as they disappeared, and Ginny turned back to them.
"Really though – what did he give Percy?"
"An Erratic Scarab Beetle."
"A what?"
"Erratic Scarab Beetle – people tend to keep them purely for the sake of decoration, but no one knows what they're actually good for. They have completely random magical qualities…erratic, you see. I think there are…how many, George?"
"Seven hundred and thirty-one."
"Right. Seven hundred and thirty-one recorded magical properties, but like I said, they're completely random." Ginny didn't even want to know how her brothers knew all of this. "Well, Percy took his to work to show off, of course, and it uh…enlarged until it shattered its glass cage. Then it decided to go invisible, and apparently its fire-consuming; one minute Percy was closing a deal with the Finnish Dept. of Magical Liaisons, and the next, Johan Finglebjort's head was gone, along with the flames." Charlie smiled apologetically.
"Needless to say, Percy wasn't too happy…" George tried to control the grin that had been spreading deviously across his face. Ginny tutted.
"You boys… will you EVER grow up?!"
"NO!" Various cries of protest echoed throughout the house as her brothers answered her. She threw her hands up in exasperation and started up the stairs to her room.
A week had passed, and Draco still had no idea as to how he should get back at the Weaselette for her stunt at the Manor. It was irritating him to Hell and back, and if there was one thing a Malfoy hated, it was to be bothered by a Weasley. He had sulked around the house for the past few days, muttering under his breath, and had scared a scullery maid away from the house with his glare. Only when he realized that he was becoming reminiscent of his father did he curb his rage.
Draco was walking towards the kitchen to grab some food when he heard voices coming from the sitting room. He recognized his mother's, but couldn't place the second one. He'd always had a rather curious streak, so he edged towards the slightly open door to hear what was going on.
"…Minister has been elected for another term – cause for celebration, of course!" The other voice was that of a woman, but still, Draco couldn't put a name to it. At the mention of the Minister, he grimaced, and turned to go, when something caught his ear. "Naturally thought I'd come to the very best – everyone knows how magnificent your parties are! Would you consider it?"
"Why, I'd be absolutely honored!" Draco heard his mother say. "I'll begin on the preparations immediately. You'll have a guest list, then?" The neatly oiled wheels in Draco's head began to whir. Party…Mother's planning a party…for the Minister… That was it! If the party was for the Minister, all Ministry employees would be invited to attend, of course… and then he, Draco, could get the young Weaselette on there – and voila! Revenge was his. Resisting the urge to chuckle evilly, Draco slunk away into the kitchen, rubbing his hands together. Oh…he'd forgotten how good it felt to be evil.
"GINNY! POST!" Someone was bellowing up at Ginny where she lay daydreaming on her bed, avoiding the call of the outside world. This past week had brought many worries with it; the cat was still shrunken, and was so afraid of being fixed that it had taken to hiding in impossible places, which made their mother irritable. While her birthday was swell, she was still a lighted fuse, ready to explode. Ginny had also realized that the time had come for her to look for a (gasp) job. She couldn't continue living off of her parents, even with her father's raise. They simply had too much to handle to be supporting a fully grown child of theirs. Her parents had impressed upon her a few days ago the need for her to focus on a career. She could keep living at home, as long as she brought in her own income.
Percy had been there too – he'd been trying to convince her to join the Ministry, and take a job under him. The past week had been hard on him, too. Poor bloke, Ginny thought. He's had a rough few days… Penny had come storming back to the Burrow, demanding to see Percy, and forced him to call his 'friend', Zoe, over. After a few hours of yelling and tugging on Percy's arms, the truth had come out – Zoe had indeed thrown herself at the poor fellow, leaving him quite unable to escape, and at that unfortunate moment, Penelope had walked in. Needless to say, the two women did not part happily, and Percy later admitted to his furious fiancée that he really, in all honesty, had only met Zoe once.
Anyway, Ginny was avoiding the troubles of the real world, and had been hoping to stay sprawled out on her bed, gazing at her ceiling (enchanted to show fairytale scenes across it – from her younger days) for hours on end. But she'd been found.
"GINNY!"
"I'M COMING!" She hollered, tearing her eyes away from Prince Charming and the glass coffin of Snow White to mutter her way down the stairs. "Can't a person get any privacy here?" She glared around the kitchen at her remaining brothers. (Bill and Charlie had left a few days before) Fred and George grinned jauntily and continued to butter their toast, while Ron avoided her gaze. "Oh, just give me the letters…" She snatched them off of the table and began to flip through them.
Wave Your Wand to Earn A Brand New Cauldron! Only residents of Kent, Yor… Junk mail…
Witch Weekly: A magical solution to those secret ailments… That will have to be looked at in private…
Climb your way up the ladder of success by applying here TODAY! …Ginny looked at the brochure in surprise. She had certainly never sent for an application to this place…what was it, anyway? A cruise-line? As if…
You are cordially invited…Just as she started to toss it aside, the words Malfoy Manor caught her eye. What in the world…? Ginny glanced around the room, then headed quickly for the stairs.
"Where are you going, Gin? You just got down here!" Ron looked up from his breakfast.
"Uh… private letter. I'd rather read it away from your prying eyes." With that she disappeared up the stairs, leaving her brothers looking curious and worried at the same time.
Author's Note: Dun dun duuuuuuun! (Haha I seem to be ending a lot of my parts like that recently, don't I?) What in the world is in that letter? Come back next time to find out…. (Sorry guys, this one wasn't quite up to par, but I wanted to get you all a part – it's been a while since my last one… )
