Fading
"Hey 'Gel!" his father exclaimed when Migell showed up a few steps behind Ginny. "Ginny, a pleasure as always." he said shaking her hand
"Thank you sir." she replied not knowing what else to say.
"Well this was fun." Migell said to her softly "Maybe we could do it again sometime?" He gave her a hopeful smile and the three of them stared at her.
"Sure, fine, that's be wonderful." she grunted. No one got the sarcasm. But then it wasn't like she had expected them to.
A smile grew onto Migell's face and Ginny felt her mother's hands drive into her shoulders.
"How adorable!" she blurted out.
"Mum-" Ginny warned
"Right, right I'm sorry. Goodbye then Alfred. Migell. I'm sure we'll be hearing from you soon!" she beamed.
He returned the smile and exited curtly with his father. Not but a second after the door had been slammed Ginny pried herself from her mother's grip.
"How was your date?" Mrs. Weasley asked still grinning
"Mum, you know I wasn't really aware that this was supposed to be a date." Ginny said quietly
"What do you mean?"
"What do I mean?" she asked temper rising once more "What I mean is that when a boy's father asks you if you'll help him study, it isn't usually interpreted as a date."
"Well I'm sorry!" Mrs. Weasley snapped "What is it that you kids do on dates today then?"
"We don't study mum!" Ginny cried pleadingly
"Well, lord Ginny! Migell understood what his father was implying! I got it, your father got it!"
"GOT IT?" Ginny screamed "It was YOUR IDEA!"
"It was not MY IDEA!" Mrs. Weasley bellowed, "Alfred was the one who asked US if it would be all right if the two of you went out on a date-"
"We didn't go out on a date! We didn't even GO anywhere!"
"And we said it was fine! And he told us that he would probably have to make the move because his boy is a little shy! All we thought was it'd be nice for you to have someone! We did this for you!"
"Bullshit! You did it so dad would get promoted!"
"THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR! BESIDES, YOU'RE THE ONE WHO AGREED TO THE DATE IN THE-"
"I WOULDN'T HAVE EVEN KNOWN IT WAS A DATE IF IT WASN'T FOR FRED EAVESDROPPING!"
"HE WHAT?"
"AT LEAST HE CARES ABOUT ME!"
Mrs. Weasley froze.
"You take that back Ginny." she said shakily
"Which part?" she spat coldly
"You know I care about you. We just thought that you would enjoy some company. And Migell's liked you for so long-"
"He's never even spoken to me mum!" she insisted, her voice breaking
"We just thought-"
"Well fine mum." Ginny said in a defeated voice. "But tell me. If you did this for my benefit then what would you say if I told you I didn't want to go out with him again?"
Mrs. Weasley turned beat red.
"Ginny...for the simple reason that...if the only reason you don't want to continue dating Migell is out of spite then that is an awful thing to do. You really seemed to like him!"
"Mum I was only-"
"I'm not going to let us miss out on this!" she cried turning red again
"Us?"
"You! I mean you! You know what I mean! And he is a nice boy and you are going to keep seeing him! You're not going to miss out on an opportunity just because you're mad that your mother likes your boyfriend! You could do a lot worse Ginerva, and don't think, I don't know that there are hardly any nice boys out there anymore! I will not have you wind up with some-
some-"
"Some what?" Ginny shrieked almost laughing
"GO TO YOUR ROOM!"
Deafening silence cut through the hallway as Ginny sliced her eyes at her mother. And then she turned around silently and jogged up the stairs, taking them four at a time. When she reached her room she fell face down onto her tiny bed and sobbed...
Ginny did not cry for long. In fact, seconds after she stopped, she despised herself for offering herself such self-pity. She couldn't be the girl who cried over every stupid argument she had with her mother. Feeling that it would be best to keep herself busy, Ginny set to work on one of her last Potion's essay's. Several hours later, her hand ached with numbness, but she did not let herself stop writing. She was supposed to be smart. The smartest of the Weasleys. The smartest of her year. What kind of smart girl couldn't even finish a stupid essay? A loud knocking sound cut through her thoughts. Ginny jumped and turned to the door.
"Come in." she grunted returning to her homework
"Mum told me to tell you dinner's ready." came George's voice.
She let his meaningless words flow cooly past her.
"Joy..." Ginny responded not looking up from her paper.
There was a long pause
"Hey are you okay?" George asked finally
"Peachy." said Ginny shortly, still not facing her brother "Why?" She could tell he was shrugging.
"I dunno. I just heard you and mum yelling is all..."
"Not like it's the first time." she said flatly, turning to face her brother. A grin spread across his face
"Too true, little one." he agreed slapping her on the shoulder. Ginny felt blood seep onto her tongue as she slowly bit into the inside of her bottom lip. It was a game to him now. "In the rink weighing in at four pounds it's our very own Ginny Weasley!" he yelled jokingly using his fist as a microphone "And opposite her, weighing in at a hell of a lot more then Ginny it's our very own- mum! The ref reads the topic of discussion...and oooohhh the crowd goes wild! Today they'll be arguing over the boy who Ginny either did or did not go out on a date with!"
"George-"
"Intrigue! Danger! Suspense! Everyone in the crowd is on their f-"
"GEORGE!" she screamed over him George paused.
"Miss Ginny Weasley has called for a time out!" he said, his announcer's voice fading away "What's up?"
"What's for dinner?" she asked putting away her essay
"I don't know...some sort of weird looking meat, served with an equally weird looking vegetable, topped off with some ugly goop."
"Sounds appetizing." Ginny laughed
"Yes, tres delicious." George nodded raising his eyebrows. "Let's not miss out, shall we?"
He stood up dramatically offering Ginny his hand which she took, standing up with a smile. She headed down the stairs feeling considerably happier, though she wasn't really sure why