Screaming Air and Surprise Guests
She was dead...dead she had to be. Whoever she was right now was not alive...but there was light...and there were voices...maybe-
"RON!" she gasped sitting up and looking around. It felt strange to know her brother's face, to know the Burrow, to even have the faintest clue where she was...the sight of the place she had always called home suddenly seemed remarkably odd. But looking at Harry who was knelt next to Ron looking anxious...looking at Harry did not at all seem as unsettling.
"Bloody hell Gin what happened?" Fred asked helping her stand up
"Nothing..." she said automatically "N-nothing...I mean. I-I was tired, I guess...dozed...dozed off...I was tired." she said lamely.
Ron gave her a look somewhere in between pain, confusion and exasperation
"Then sleep Gin...is that difficult? Sleep. Don't come out here, and almost break your neck!. I mean if Fred hadn't been there to catch you-"
"Ah, but that's where you're forgetting something important as always little bro." said Fred who was grinning as usual. "Fred Weasley." he said, "Is always there when you need him. Keep your feet on the ground Gin." he said mysteriously before tapping his nose and gliding off in the direction of the house.
"What was he doing out here anyways?" Ginny asked almost suspiciously
"Telling you that mum wants you inside." answered Ron
"She does?"
"Yeah she said you've been out for too long or something. And something about a prefect...and honor...and you...and Dumbledore...I don't know, Fred said she wasn't speaking clearly. Going on about something..."
Ginny felt the color die instantly from her face.
"I have to go inside." she said frantically
"Yeah that might be best." said Ron rolling his eyes.
Ginny didn't answer. She was already up the lawn. Halfway through the prospect of where to look for her mother once inside, Ginny wasn't paying attention to anything as she opened the door and nearly screamed when her mother charged at her with a slip of paper clutched in her plump hand.
"Ginny" she sobbed throwing herself on her daughter "My little Ginny a prefect! That's-"
"Everyone in the family." said George tonelessly. He approached from behind with a grin to match his twin's "That's what we've heard. Haven't disowned us just yet have you?"
"Oh stop" Mrs. Weasley cried through sobs
"How did you find out about this?" Ginny demanded. She eyed the paper in her mother's hand.
Has she found out about the-
"Oh won't it just be incredible when you win that award?"
Oh.
"Mum I might not win." she said quietly
"Oh balderdash, of course you will. Now go fix the upstairs up a bit would you? And wash up for dinner as well. We need to celebrate. I'm going to get started."
"God be with you." George muttered jokingly to his little sister as she started slowly down the hallway.
Ginny made her way up to her room, with no intentions of sleep. Simply blinking, seemed unappealing. She felt spent and jaded. The school year was yet to begin and already she had awards to think about winning. Without warning her stomach gave a hollow lurch as realization dawned on her; she wouldn't even have time to see Laura this year. Ginny doubted whether they were even in any of the same classes, and she dared not get her hopes up. Laura was unbelievably hilarious and most of her memories from the previous years had been of the two of them romping around and acting ridiculous, but Ginny knew that her best friend had neither the discipline nor the desire to take Honor's classes. Laura was much more of a free spirit. She took whatever came to her and she took it without disappointment or want for anything more then what god dropped on her plate. It hurt Ginny to think that there was a time when she was like that. Her door creaked open with an all too high sound.
"What?" she asked irritably before she even saw who was there
"Ginny dear..." said her mother lovingly, "I want you to put on some nice clothes for dinner."
"Why?" she grunted. Her mother stooped down to once again finger her long red hair "Mum don't." she said coldly "Really..mum stop!" she yelled slapping her mother's palm away more fiercely then she had intended. Her mother looked shocked and offended
"Y-young lady I-"
"Is there something you want mum?" she asked loudly
"If you ever paid a shred of attention to me you would know there was!" she snapped sounding shaky and slightly deranged "I only want the best for you! Sometimes I think you're our only-"
"Mum..." Ginny interrupted quietly
"What?"
"I...I just meant...why do you want me to put on nice clothes?" she mumbled lamely.
Quickly Mrs. Weasley gathered up her own hair and pushed it around as though she needed something for her hands to be doing.
"I-I-I don't know! I mean I know that, that was what you meant, I j-just mean...is it so horrible for you to look nice once and a while Ginny? Besides maybe we have company coming! You don't know! Sometimes you really need to stop acting like you're in charge of this household! I do work too you know! And there are some decisions that are made without going through you! And if I tell you to put nice clothes on you will because I am your mother and I love you, and it...it won't kill you to socialize for once in your life will it!" she bellowed shrilly. Her face red from yelling she stood quavering and stumbled out of the room. Ginny waited until her mother was clearly a distance away before she opened her mouth and gave a bloodcurdling, energized scream. Its power echoed around her before returning and reverberating off the walls of her head only making her shriek louder.
Welcome to existence
As much as it angered Ginny to do so, she changed from her hoodie and jeans into an ugly skirt her mother was rather fond of and a black blouse. She left her hair down, and ran a brush through it a few times before examining herself in the mirror. She didn't like how she looked. It was almost as though beauty was teasing her. She looked like a girl with the capabilities of being at least a small bit pretty...only she didn't...she gave off the aura of someone who didn't know how.
"I'd much rather look like I don't care, then I don't know how" she thought with a bitter glance at her too-big sweater. But disobeying her mother did not even seem like an option. Running a single tiny finger through her hair, she looked around her room and found herself feeling contained and compressed. She needed to get out of that room even if it was only for five minutes. But her mother and entire family was downstairs, and from what Ginny gathered from her mother's dramatic speech, so was some sort of company. They would stop her for sure. And then it dawned on her what the insane thought running through her mind was.
I'll have to go out the window
And she did so. Quietly and smoothly she slipped out her bedroom window, clumsily propping it open with one of her many thick textbooks that were littering her bedroom. Balancing herself, she walked along the rain gutter avoiding the open windows, and trying to ignore the strong wind. She reached the drain pipe, and not allowing herself to be afraid she grabbed hold and slid down in one smooth motion.
"Wow..." she muttered to herself when she reached the bottom and stared around. Fourteen miles of nothingness, surrounded the Burrow. Looking in front of her Ginny could actually the feel the cold air entering her lungs and circulating through her system. The blue sky stroked the hilltops and ran teasingly around and up through the deep cannon of white misty clouds.
"It is good to finally be back here with you..."
Ginny gave a startled jump and peered over her shoulder. It had been a woman's voice who had spoken. But the Weasleys had no neighbors. And it had sounded like no girl Ginny knew...
"I have waited so long." said the voice breathlessly
"Whose there?" Ginny yelled trying to sound intimidating
"Why do you not speak to me? H-have I displeased you in some way?" the voice said shaking for the first time
"I am speaking to you!" she barked "Who are you?"
"You look at me as though you do not even know me..." the voice mumbled quietly...but Ginny could hear it loud and clear.
"Who is that? Laura?" she called wildly "Is that you?...I'm not looking at you! I don't even know where you''re coming from!"
"T-tell what I have d-done wrong!" the voice cried shakily "I swear to you I shall fix my mistake! Give me another chance!"
the voice cried shakily"I don't even know you!" Ginny yelled frightened. She stumbled to the left, trying to escape the voice. "Who are you?"
"Will you not do the honor of simply facing me?" the voice said in a dead whisper. But Ginny could still hear it. It was still deathly loud.
"Stop it!" she screamed now running quickly in a random direction "Get away from me!"
"PLEASE FORGIVE ME! PLEASE I WILL DO BETTER! I WILL NOT DISAPPOINT YOU AGAIN! MA-"
"Ginny! What on Earth are you doing out there?" Mrs. Weasley snapped "It's time for dinner! Get inside now and wash that filth off your hands!"
Ginny cricked her neck as she turned startled, to face her mother. She was breathing fast, and made a point of saying nothing in response... but... the voice was gone.
"How did you even get out here with out me realizing?" her mother continued "I would have stopped you. You haven't even greeted our company yet. That is no way for you to be acting. Now get inside!"
"O...ok-kay..." she stammered prolonging every step she took still glancing wildly around the field surrounding her searching for the culprit of her unease... "Mum, who are we having for dinner anyways?" she asked as her mother shut the door behind the two of them and headed up and flight of stairs. "Someone from the Order?"
"No, no they're all busy at Headquarters. Your father and I are only staying here until you kids are back at school, it was far too much of a hassle to have you living at-"
"Mum who is coming to dinner tonight?" Ginny interrupted rudely. Mrs. Weasley turned a dark shade of pink and hurried in front of her daughter.
"Don't ask me silly questions. Wash your hands and go into the kitchen. Everyone's already there."
Ginny felt a pang of annoyance but ignored it. She watched her mother pass her and make her way cautiously into the kitchen only after dusting herself up and putting her nose into the air. Who was here that was so important? Ginny wondered many things irritably as she combed the dirt of her hands using her small bitten fingernails. She dried them off using the pink towel, that always resided by the sink before stepping into the kitchen not bothering to dust herself off, or put her nose in the air.
"Ginny!" her father cried breathlessly, when she entered. "Good!"
Ginny scanned the table...Harry, Fred, Ron, George, her mother, her father...and-
"Hermione?" Ginny said in disbelief "You're the company that I got all dressed up for?"
Hermione looked highly affronted
"What? N-no...I didn't think my arriving would be...I come every year though! I'm not company am I?" she said timidly
"Wait we didn't have some big fancy dinner when I got here!" exclaimed Harry
"Little sad about that mate?" Fred asked with a wink, and Harry grinned.
"No, it's just odd. Hermione isn't company-"
"Of course she is!" Mrs. Weasley snapped. "Now all of you stop being so rude and you had better be polite when the guests arrive I'm warning you-"
"So I'm not the guest-"
"Of course you're not the guest you come every year!" Ron chortled
"That's what I said-" Hermione started in an exasperated voice.
"ENOUGH!" Mr. Weasley bellowed suddenly. The table fell silent. "Now everyone...please just sit...and don't talk...and please...please be nice..." he pleaded. Ginny could tell she wasn't the only one who was unbelievably confused, but she was also not the only one to keep her mouth shut. She cocked her eyebrow at Harry who gave a confused shrug. Moments passed in silence...until-
knock, knock
"I'll get it." George grunted, obliviously
"You will not!" his mother snapped "You will sit down!" George opened his mouth a little before lowering his body back into the seat. Mr. Weasley rushed down the long hallway and the door creaked open. There were voices...the sound of jackets be hung...laughter...then footsteps. Everyone strained their ears harder then ever, and kept unimaginably still as the footsteps gradually moved towards them. And then the door opened. Mr. Weasley was standing there, pink eared looking deathly nervous. A blonde haired woman who looked to be counting her teeth with her tongue, stood next to him. A man; presumably her husband was standing before them all looking impressive. At least a head taller then Mr. Weasley, he had hair to match his wife's and an oddly shaped nose. He looked quite important...but at least he was smiling. And then there was a boy who looked roughly Ginny's or Ron's age. He was standing timidly a few steps behind his father glancing around the table.
"E-everyone," choked Mr. Weasley "This...this is Alfred Prang...the new...Minister for Magic."