Author's Note: Hello all! I'm on the lookout for beta readers! So if you want to be a beta reader for this story, please e-mail me: ! In the subject line put: Beta Reader! Thanks so much!
M.M.
"Juliet, would you like another owl treat?" Ginny fed her new owl, and in reply, it hooted happily.
"Ginny, I don't think you should keep that owl," Ron said, skeptically. "I mean, since Harry didn't send it, who knows who did?"
"What do you think she's going to do?" Ginny asked, annoyed. "Wait til I'm asleep and poison me with bird droppings?"
Harry snorted from across the room and Hermione chuckled from behind the book she was reading for Muggle Studies, What is Electricity?, but Luna Lovegood replied in her usual dream- like voice, "Owls have been known to do that, you know."
"Let me guess," Hermione said instantly, putting her book down. "There was an article in The Quibbler about it."
"March issue, two years ago."
Harry and Ginny both suppressed their laughter.
About an hour after Ron came to the infirmary, Harry and Hermione came in and visited Ginny. About 20 minutes afterwards, Luna wandered in, looking lost.
"So, Gin, are you able to leave yet?" Harry asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah, but I don't want to just yet," she admitted.
"Well, we've go to run. Sorry Gin," Ron interrupted, quickly standing up.
"Going where?!" Ginny demanded, jumping out of bed making herself dizzy.
"Be careful, Ginny!" Hermione scolded, running over to her, grabbing her arm to stabilize her.
"To quidditch practice, of course."
"Don't you remember, Gin?! Today's the first practice for Gryffindor. You told me you would come watch and tell me our weak spots and moves we need to work on!" Harry whined.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry, Harry. I just forgot."
"So, you're coming with us!" Harry said, joyfully, grabbing her other arm.
"Harry! There's no way I'm letting her!" Hermione shrieked as they walked out of the door, Ron and Luna following. Harry held out an arm and Juliet flew over to him, rose and letter tied securely back onto her leg, and gently landed on it.
"That's my decision, thank you!" Ginny yelled at both of them.
"I really wish you'd stay inside and rest, Ginny," Ron said quietly.
"Rest? Rest?! I've been resting all day!"
"So you're coming?" Harry asked, hopefully.
"Yes, Captain Harry, I'm coming."
They all walked to the Gryffindor Common Room together, with the exception of Luna, who wandered off somewhere else.
"You guys go on without me," Ginny told them as soon as they walked through the portrait. Harry let Juliet fly onto Ginny's arm as he and Ron went upstairs to get their brooms.
"No," Hermione said firmly, stomping a foot. "What if you faint or something?"
"Faint, Hermione? That's highly unlikely," Ginny replied, rolling her eyes.
"Ginny," she said, sighing. "You can't go around, incautious. You could faint, you know! Or worse! You lost quite a bit of blood, and you were out of it for such a long time! I mean-"
"Save it, Hermione. I'll be okay."
Hermione furrowed her brow and bit her lip, apparently trying hard not to say something 'know-it-all' to Ginny. She exhaled and calmly said, "Please Ginny. Just let me stay and walk with you out there." Then, she playfully pouted and put on her puppy dog eyes.
"Come on, Hermione. We've got our brooms," Ron said, walking towards the portrait, Harry following.
"Fine, you can walk me."
Hermione grinned at Ginny and said, "We'll be out there later. I'm going to wait for Ginny."
After they left, she went upstairs to take a shower and Hermione stayed in the Common Room to wait. 'Finally!' Ginny thought, happily. 'I've been waiting since yesterday to take a shower!'
Ginny walked out of the shower, refreshed and happy. She walked over to her bed and put on the clothes she had chosen to wear out to the quidditch pitch. A bright orange, baggy shirt and a pair of blue jeans that had holes on each knee. She grabbed a ponytail holder, and pulled her hair into a tight ponytail.
Ginny sat on top of her bed, and untied the letter and rose from Juliet's leg.
"I'm sorry, Juliet," she cooed. "I forgot to take this off of you." Ginny stroked the beautiful owl's feathers and asked, "Do you know where the owlery is?" When the bird hooted, she replied, "You can go there to rest and sleep, if you'd like."
As the bird took flight, Ginny deeply sighed. 'Such a beautiful owl. Who sent it?'
Just then an idea popped into her head. She grabbed a piece of parchment, a quill, and an ink bottle, stuffed them into her book bag, and quickly headed downstairs to get Hermione.
"Can you believe it?!" Harry growled after a 2 ½ hour quidditch practice. "I told Danny that our practice was today at least 15 times!" He and Ron were covered head to toe in sweat and some grass stains. They even both had some blood and bruises on themselves from where the bludgers hit them.
"I know!" Ron yelled angrily. "And it didn't help that Trish twisted her wrist when she fell running out to the pitch!"
"Who's Danny and Tish?" Hermione asked Ginny. They were following Harry and Ron because they didn't want their heads to get bitten off.
"They're the beaters," she whispered back.
"At our next practice, I'm going to make them do so many drills, they'll puke!" Harry yelled, infuriated. As they reached the doors to the castle, Ginny remembered something.
"I have to go to the owlery, you guys. I'll see you at supper."
"Okay," the two boys grumbled. Hermione raised her eyebrows in question, but held her tongue.
Ginny ran as fast as she could to the owlery and called Juliet down from where she sat.
"Juliet, I want to you to deliver a letter for me, okay?" She took a piece of parchment from her bag and read it:
Thank you for the gracious present you've given me, but I really don't deserve it. I don't know if you did this intentionally or accidentally, but you didn't sign your name. I really wish I knew who you were. Where did you get the rose? It's beautiful, but I've never seen one like it. Once again, thank you.
Ginny Weasley
She was most of the way satisfied with the letter, so she decided to send it just like it was. She tied the letter to Juliet's leg and whispered, "Will you please deliver this to the person who gave you to me?"
Juliet hooted in understanding and quickly took off.
Ginny was jogging to the Gryffindor portrait when the most unpleasant of the unpleasant happened.
"Oof!"
"Ouch!"
She was knocked to the ground, hard. She quickly stood up and rubbed her bum.
"Apologize," a voice commanded. She looked at who the voice came from and inwardly groaned. She looked at his eye, and her anger almost disappeared. He had a big, purple and blue bruise on his left eye.
"Where'd that bruise come from, Malfoy?" she asked him, grinning.
"Ah, Weasley. I should have guessed it was you. Watch where you're going next time, you clumsy little girl. Now I have to go and scrub forever to get your stench off of me," he replied, ignoring her question.
"Shove it, Malfoy. I was having an excellent day until now, so I'm not going to let you ruin it!"
Ginny walked quickly away from him and started back on her way to the Gryffindor portrait, until something curious reached her ears.
She heard an owl screech and from a distance she heard Draco say, "Hello, Juliet. Long time, no see."
Ginny quickly whipped around. "What did you call that bird, Malfoy?" she demanded.
He turned around and she thought she saw nervousness in his eyes, but if it was, it was only a fraction of a second.
"Juliet. What is it to you?"
She quickly walked over to the spot he was standing at, holding a black owl.
"Give me my owl, Malfoy!" she yelled.
"It's not your owl, Weasley," he said, cooly.
"It is so, now hand her over!"
"It is not!"
Ginny glared at him, then studied the owl. It was identical to her owl except for one thing. It had bright blue eyes.
Really annoyed and embarrassed, Ginny turned quickly and stalked away. 'Another embarrassing encounter with the spawn of Satan,' she thought grumpily to herself, her cheeks reddening.
After supper, Ginny went back to the safety of her bed and found Juliet sitting on her bed with a letter attached to her leg.
"Thank you, Juliet!" Ginny squealed, stroking her bird and taking the letter from her. Juliet puffed her chest out proudly.
Ginny,
No need to thank me. Of course you deserve it. Your parents died. It was on purpose that I didn't sign my name. I don't think you'd appreciate it as much if you knew who the gift came from. I got the rose from my private garden at home. The only appears in the coldest part of the world, but we cast a special freezing charm on it. It doesn't need watering but the charm needs to be cast on it once every two months. Send Juliet back to me October 8 with the rose. I will be honored to cast the charm for you.
M.M.
Ginny read it and smiled. This person really made her day. Especially after the embarrassing
run-in with ((she shuddered)) Malfoy. He just made her so angry, she couldn't stand it.
She took out a piece of parchment, her quill, and her ink bottle. She wrote a small note to 'M.M.':
M.M.,
What does M.M. stand for, exactly? Your initials, maybe?
With an owl treat, she sent Juliet on her way.
Author's Note: Hope this chapter isn't too disappointing. I'm going to try my hardest to get the next chapter up here by tomorrow, and I'm going to try to put a lot more Draco/Ginny action in the next chapter, also! Thanks to the following:
Damia - Queen of the Gypsi's- Thanks, again! And Ginny will get some help... very, very soon, by a certain someone... hmm....
LunarianPrincess- Thank you so much!
Morena Evensong- Thanks for the review and the idea about the eye! Wonder who it came from.... lol! And the reason the owl hates Ron is because he called her stupid.... I think.. Hmmm....
Fireylove- Thank you, and here's more!
SlainBySpike- Thank you, thank you! And a couple people have suggested to me to get a beta reader, so I'm on the lookout. Thank you again, and LONG REVIEWS ARE OKAY IN MY BOOK! lol!
restless-soul63- Thank you! The owl may be from Draco, GUESS! Thank you again.
Thank you all for the millionth time for reviewing! It really means a lot!