Dating
"Eggs Ginny dear? Toast, bacon, kippers? We have some fresh blueberries. Now I know that you love blueberries."
"Erm no thanks mum...I doubt my suddenly gaining fifty pounds will impress the Minister's son."
Mrs. Weasley who was dishing scrambled eggs onto her daughter's plate, regardless of her words grew red and looked away.
"I don't know what you mean. We're not trying to impress anyone. You're just going to give him some help with his homework..." But then a small grin grew onto her face as she clumsily handed George the frying pan. "Oh but he really did seem like he liked your father didn't he? I mean I'm not foolish enough to get my hopes up but...if your father did get promoted..."
Fred, George and Ginny all rolled their eyes
"Mum-"
"We could buy so many new things!"
"Mum-"
"There's so much we need" Mrs Weasley rambled, "And with Ginny starting Honor's Classes...I mean the last person we had in those was Bill and I remember we almost went broke that year we had to buy all of his things and Fudge already wasn't too fond of your father at that time because of the whole belching teapots incident and-"
"MUM!" the three of them yelled together just as Harry and Ron walked into the kitchen.
"What?" Mrs. Weasley asked irritably George rolled his eyes
"Oh nothing, we'd just hate to see what havoc would be unleashed if you were getting your hopes up..." he grinned, liquefying his eggs with two forks
"Stop that!" his mother scolded. She swatted him in the head and turned to Harry and Ron as they took their seats. "I want the three of you to practice a bit more today." Mrs. Weasley nodded, addressing Ginny, Ron and Harry. "The team-"
"Needs us." Ron grunted, "We get it, okay mom?" His eyes flashed for a microsecond to his little sister before returning to his uneaten breakfast that he began to carelessly shovel down his throat
"Does anyone know who the new captain is this year?" Harry asked beginning to eat a bit more politely than Ron.
"Barry Watkins" Ron choked out. Ginny threw her hands in front of her face, shielding it from the chewed up eggs and spit.
"Barry...Barry...that new beater?"
"Yeah," Ron nodded giving a prolonged swallow. "I've never met him. I don't think anyone has except Angelina. That was smart of her you know. Filling in the positions on the last day of school...saves us the hassle of tryouts."
"It's sad that she's gone though." added Ginny "She was a great captain."
Just then the doorbell gave a piercing double ring and Mrs. Weasley dropped the spoon she was holding.
"Gracious!" she hollered jumping up "They're here early! Ginny! Go get the door! Greet your guest!" Ginny gave a lazy breath and stood up, random profanities flowing defiantly through her mind. "And Ginny!" her mother adding swatting at a nonexistent bug on her daughter's hip.
Ginny swung around sporting a dark and annoyed look on her face
"What?" she asked in a voice she didn't dare to give a tone for the simple reason that she knew it would be a rude one. Feeling irritated she watched as her mother peered anxiously to the front door and then back at Ginny
"Be nice"
Ginny answered by turning back around to the door and rolling her eyes to the ceiling before trudging carelessly down the hall and yanking the door open.
"Yo." she said before she even saw who was there.
"Yo, yourself." growled a low voice Ginny recognized. Her head snapped to attention staring through the door
"Mad Eye!" she said surprised "And...Migell...you're...you're both here...great...what are you doing here Mad Eye?"
"I need to talk to your father, he hasn't left for work yet has he?" Mad Eye said hopefully glancing down the hall towards the kitchen
"Actually he hasn't even come downstairs yet." Ginny shrugged "You can go in and have a seat, I'm sure he'll be down soon. Mum'll be pleased to see you. Everyone's in the kitchen."
Mad Eye gave her a hearty wink with his magical eye before slumping down the hallway, leaving Ginny and Migell standing awkwardly opposite each other.
"So..." Ginny said in a croaky voice as she glanced at his unappealing eyes and boring nose. "You can come in I guess...and we'll head up to my room." Migell stepped inside the house reluctantly, although his shoulders had seemed to relax a bit more after Mad Eye left their presence.
"Who was that man?" he asked Ginny as the two of them started up the staircase
"He works for the Ministry..." she said shortly. She felt offended and annoyed that Migell felt so scared of Mad Eye, and for that and many other reasons she didn't embellish on her statement. And on some level she felt that it was good Mad Eye frightened him and not her. It made her feel strangely superior to this boy in a way that higher grades never seemed to manage.
"Oh..." he replied slowly.
Ginny kicked open the door to her tiny bedroom. The bed was unmade and the floor was covered in tiny bits of food and dirt. Random textbooks and articles of clothing were strewn all over the room and a muggle television that her father had scampered eagerly into her room with, to explain to Ginny how it worked, was lying on it's side somewhere near the middle of the room. The screen was cracked a few minuscule shards of glass were lying dangerously next to it. Ginny yawned and shrugged in response to Migell's silence.
"I like it." she said simply.
"I do too." he smiled, sitting down on the bed.
Ginny felt a pang of annoyance. She hadn't told him he was allowed to sit there. Not that she really cared but what did he know? She could care. And she also would have been much happier if he had said he didn't like her room. She did not find comfort or enjoyment out of the fact that she had anything in common with this boy.
"So...should we get started?" she said in a bored voice.
Migell's eyes darted towards her
"Started? Why? What are we going to do?"
"Study." Ginny replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world
He gave a weak laugh.
"Okay, if you want I guess we could study."
"The reason you came over here was to study." Ginny said irritably although she knew that he probably thought that was untrue.
"Yeah..." he said as though he hadn't really heard what she said, "You know I was really glad when my dad asked us out." he said with the trace of a laugh "I really had no idea about it." Something in his voice made Ginny sure he was telling the truth. All right. So he hadn't known about this. He had been just as uninformed as she had been. In fact thanks to Fred she probably knew a bit more... "I mean that's not the way I would have liked to ask you out...but at least it happened. I've liked you for a while now..." he said weakly
What was this? Was the moron trying to be romantic? Was he cocky or just stupid? He had managed to interpret this as a date without any outside help... Both then. Okay, so she was the only one who didn't think this was a date. She knew it was supposed to be a date...well whatever. There was nothing she could do anymore. It was a date to everyone else. She might as well play along. For a little while anyways. Besides, it wasn't like she really had a choice.
"I like you too." she lied.
He grinned.
"Really?" he asked disbelievingly
"Sure..." she responded lamely.
This kid isn't even worth my words. How would I have liked him? I met him yesterday! How does he like me? Has he been stalking me at school or something? Okay, that's it. The next fake date we have, I'm dumping this freak...well no I can't...mum would kill me...and dad might not get promoted...how did I get roped into this? Okay...I'll just...say I'm against physical contact with the opposite sex...and that I'm getting laryngitis and I shouldn't talk past 10AM...
The morning pasted unbelievably slowly. As Migell's dad would be picking him up at noon the only thing Ginny was looking forward too was a lunch free of the stupid kid. She wasn't really sure why she disliked him. It wasn't as though he had done anything incredibly rude or disrespectful to her. There was just something about him that made her want to gag. Maybe it was that her parents liked him so much, she wasn't sure. But whatever hidden quality it was that she hated about them, it was there and it was one of his most pronounced and distinct qualities come to that. Once Migell got talking, he was not only boring, but self absorbed and reasonlessly irritating. Ginny spent most of the morning, up in her room listening to him talk and occasionally nodding or saying something like "Mmmmm" or "Uh huh...". She had to admit she'd been surprised. As much as she had disliked him from the moment she laid eyes on him, she hadn't at all expected him to be so self absorbed. She couldn't stop herself wondering, why if he liked her so much didn't he want to know anything about her? Why did he ask no questions? Of course it wasn't like Ginny was especially eager to answer anything, or talk to him at all. When at last, the clock struck twelve and her mother gave a shrill holler Ginny hurried out of the room with Migell at her heels. She could see the Minister of Magic talking animatedly with her mother at the front door, and she quickened her pace...