Ch 4 – So Now You're Back
IMPORTANT: If you go to my bio you will see I have a livejournal now. This means you can go there if I haven't updated and you want to know why. I update it all the time (well I will) and there are quite a few questions answered on it. Check it out (and leave a comment if you wish because I will answer quickly).
Dedication: Happynutcasebecause I forgot about you last chapter.
[ a/n I am SO SO sorry this chapter is so short, you can expect the next one sooner than a week and a half this means. I really am sorry. puppy eyes - plus, it's the party! By the way, I was shellshocked at all the reviews, so thank-you so much for them, it means a lot. Oh, and can you believe that Ginny's real name is Ginevra?! This is from JK herself. It's kind of weird actually, in way a way I am writing an AU now lol. Thanks to my daring, diligent and delightful BETA's: Nesserz and Luvhp224]
- - - - - -
So now you're back
From outer space
Gloria Gaynor – I Will Survive
- - - - - -
Ginny banged her head against her kitchen counter for the fifth time that evening. After regaining consciousness after recognising Harry, she had not been able to string one sentence together properly to say to him. Fortunately, he had only stayed a few seconds more, just long enough to sign some more autographs. Ginny had sat on her chair for half an hour after the last child had left the daycare. She had barely blinked when she looked out the window and had seen uninviting darkness.
Of all things, he had seen her looking her absolute worst. After five years her absolute worst! Of course that would be the case. Ginny stopped banging her head and didn't lift it up off the counter this time. She hadn't eaten or showered yet; just had come home, stood at the counter and cursed this awful day. She peered down at her outfit, cringing at the paint all over her ugly skirt and cardigan.
She looked at the clock, the Ministry welcoming party for the visiting Quidditch team visiting started in three hours. Merlin, she would give anything to just crawl under her covers and die.
Quidditch team, she mused to herself.
"Oh my gosh! The Quidditch team! Harry!" she yelled aloud suddenly, smacking the counter with her fist as she lifted her head up with a snap. She lay it back down again and sighed deeply, knowing that there was no way of getting out of it; she was expected to go.
Suddenly her head came up again.
They lied to me! She thought in anger and betrayal of her family.
That was who Ron and Hermione were visiting, that was what everyone was hiding from me. Everyone!
"But why?" she asked herself, disbelief showing on her delicate facial features. In Merlin's sake, why wouldn't they tell me?
Ginny's face hardened as she got up. Once again, her family had some explaining to do.
- - - - - -
Ginny stomped into the Burrow's kitchen, still in her filthy clothes. She saw Ron standing next to the counter, reading something. She could hear people in the living room but she didn't care. She couldn't remember ever being this angry in such a long time.
Ron looked up and smirked when he saw what she was wearing. His eyes traveled from her angry face and then back down to her clothes.
"Hello sunshine." He said sarcastically.
"Sunshine? Sunshine?" she yelled. She heard people rushing into the kitchen behind her but didn't take any notice of them.
Ron raised an eyebrow. "Gin, I've had a rough day. Please don't make a scene."
Ginny laughed maniacally. "You've had a rough day? You?" She laughed again. Ron looked a bit puzzled.
Ginny walked towards him slowly. "I woke up late this morning, I cut my foot on glass because I had no idea and got a shock when I realized the time. This was the only outfit that I could find. Do you honestly think I would wear this by choice? Then I tried to Floo to Enfantes, but of course there would be no Floo powder, right?" Ron gulped as his sister continued to walk slowly and deliberately towards him.
"I tried to Apparate and ended up in a Muggle park two miles away from where I was supposed to be! Some rat dog peed on my bag and when I tried to wash it in the lake I fell in. Yet do you think anyone offered to help? Oh, of course not. That would be too fucking much to ask wouldn't it?" Ginny was no more than an inch away from Ron's slightly scared eyes, her brown ones staring coldly into them. Ginny whirled around and faced the rest of her family, who were now looking at her in shock from the doorway.
"Then I had to walk to Enfantes in the pouring rain, covered in mud from the lake. Did I mention that someone stole all my money? Yeah, cause believe it or not, someone did. Then, this afternoon, Tommy Peterson decided to steal my wand and single-handedly destroy the classroom. Yeah, that would explain the paint all over me, as he used me as the bloody canvas!" Everyone was speechless as the usually calm and collected redhead screamed at them. They stared as Ginny lost her temper for the first time in years.
"Oh and this is where it gets good." Ginny said sarcastically, taking what Ron had been reading and throwing it on the kitchen floor. "Why don't you all guess who strolled into the school while Tommy was doing his personal best to destroy it? Oh please, take a guess." She whispered dangerously.
Fred looked around nervously while Percy looked like he wanted to run away. Mrs Weasley's hands shook and she didn't meet her daughter's eyes while Hermione breathed heavily and looked at Ginny in shock. Ron was still backed up in the corner of the kitchen, too scared to say anything. Sabine and Nate were looking terrified in their mother's arms, both of whom were also looking a little apprehensive.
Ginny laughed coldly again. She walked up to them, eyes glinting in the light like steel.
"Harry fucking Potter."
Ginny spun around angrily, striding towards the fireplace. She threw some Floo powder over the flames and closed her eyes as it glowed a brilliant emerald green, reminding her too much of Harry's eyes. She stepped into the fire and turned around to stare at her family, all of whom hadn't moved. "So don't tell me you had a rough day." She snarled before shouting "Chesterfield! And disappearing.
"Well that went well." George observed dryly after about two minutes of dead silence. Mrs Weasley glared at him.
- - - - - -
Ginny stepped out of the large stone fireplace, looking around the nicely furnished living room. She heard footsteps in the hall and turned to the doorway.
A frazzled blonde woman came into view, her face relaxing slightly when she saw Ginny.
"Hi Gin, how are you?" she asked, coming over to give her friend a hug.
"I could be better Luna, I really could." Ginny replied, hugging the blonde woman back somewhat stiffly.
Luna pulled back suddenly and looked at her, eyes wide with realization.
"Heavens, Gin! The Ministry party starts in two hours!" she exclaimed.
"I'm not going!" Ginny cried out suddenly, sick of the party already.
Luna looked puzzled. "Why on earth not?"
"Don't lie to me! Everyone knew except for me!" Ginny yelled, storming across the room.
Luna looked astonished. "Ginny what's gotten into you? I've never seen you like this before."
"Maybe because everyone lied to me? How was I supposed to know he was going to be there?" Ginny said, mostly to herself.
"Who?"
"Harry, Luna! Harry bloody Potter!" Ginny yelled in answer, clutching a pillow from the couch tightly.
Luna gaped. "But surely you knew? How could you not; I believe it was in the papers a number of times." She said logically.
Ginny gave her a look, growing redder by the second. She threw the pillow across the room and groaned in frustration. Luna looked like she didn't know who the woman in front of her was.
"But why is it such a big deal?" she asked, a few seconds later, somewhat timidly.
Ginny stopped pacing and looked completely baffled.
"I don't know…" she whispered, rubbing her forehead. She looked up at her friend, completely distressed.
"Come on, come have a cup of tea." Luna said consolingly, hugging Ginny around the shoulders and leading her to the kitchen. Ginny nodded wearily and allowed herself to be led out of the room.
Ginny sat down on one of the sturdy wooden chairs that surrounded the kitchen table while Luna prepared the tea. She ran her fingers over the smooth surface of the table, picturing the last time she had seen Harry.
"Harry we need to talk." Ginny said. They were alone at Hogsmeade. Harry was over for one of the Hogsmeade weekend on a break from his Quidditch to see Ginny.
"I thought we already were." Harry joked, his eyes merry and teasing.
"Harry. . ." Ginny warned. Harry became serious instantly, leaning closer to her over the secluded table in the back of the Three Broomsticks.
"What about Gin?" he asked her, studying her troubled face.
Ginny took a deep breath, not wanting to say what she was about to say. Yet George had told her that Harry felt that way. She and George had been arguing during the Christmas break one evening; arguing over how Mrs Weasley seemed upset. Ginny had said it was because of him and Fred, and George had replied somewhat cuttingly, "Yeah, you of all people know how people feel. Take Harry for example." Ginny had defensively asked what he had meant defensively and he had said something along the lines of Harry not wanting to be tied down by a schoolgirl while he was away. Not outright, but Ginny had known what he had meant. Which was why she was about to do this.
"Harry. . . I think . . . we should break up." She had said quickly. Harry's face had gone completely blank.
"Yeah. . ." he said after a couple seconds of silence. ". . . me too."
Ginny took in another deep breath, knowing this was for the best but hurting inside anyway. Now she knew that George had been telling the truth, Harry hadn't wanted to be tied down by her. It really was for the best.
Harry got up abruptly. "Bye Gin." He said, striding out and leaving her sitting at the table alone.
"Bye. . ." she whispered to the air.
That had been so many years ago; it had slipped her mind until now. She looked up as Luna placed a white china mug in front of her and sat across from her. Ginny smiled in thanks and took a sip. How does she always get the perfect temperature? She wondered off-handedly.
"So why can't you go to this party now?"
"Because." Ginny replied obstinately.
"Because of Harry? Because if that's so then that's just ridiculous."
"How?" the redhead asked defensively.
"Because you're getting married and you haven't seen the guy in almost five years. No one has."
"Six years." Ginny corrected her, taking another sip.
"Whatever," Luna said with a distracted wave. "What matters is the fact that you're making a big deal out of nothing."
Silence fell between the two friends; a comfortable yet deep silence. Luna looked at her clock pointedly and then looked at Ginny.
Ginny, taking the hint, said, "No, Luna I am not going to the party."
"You most certainly are!" Luna cried. "I'll go with you if I have too. Neville is always having to go to them and I always refuse because I hate them, but I'll go with you for this. Neville is going anyway."
"Where is Neville anyway?" Ginny asked eager to change the subject.
"Still working. He should be home soon to get ready." Luna answered.
Ginny nodded and drained her cup of tea. She thought back for a second to this afternoon and found herself telling Luna about it.
"I saw him today." She said, no emotion in her voice or expression.
Luna shook her head in bewilderment. "Who?"
"Harry Potter."
Luna looked very excited at this. "Aha!" she cried, drawing closer. "And?"
"I didn't even recognise him." Ginny said, biting her lip slightly and looking amused.
"Really?" Luna whispered in a scandalised voice.
"No. I was too busy trying not to be killed by one of the kids with my own wand." Ginny replied, satisfied to see Luna's eyes go round in shock.
"It wasn't Tommy, was it?" she asked.
"The one and only. He got my wand when I was saying goodbye to Katie Wood." Ginny replied, drumming her fingers on the table.
"I really dislike the Peterson's." Luna said distastefully. "Neville does too." She added.
"A lot of people do and Tommy is no different from his parents. Spoiled, rich and haughty." Ginny said as she leaned back in her chair.
"So how did Harry come into all of this?" Luna asked, intrigued.
"Ran in when Tommy was in the midst of doing everything in his power to destroy the place and I was cowering in a corner." Ginny said with a small laugh, knowing the situation would have been very humorous to witness.
"Did he recognise you?"
"Don't know, I fainted." Ginny laughed outright now and Luna giggled slightly.
"He stayed long enough to make sure I was alright then made a dash for the door as soon he was sure." Ginny went on.
"Was he as handsome as they claim him to be?" Luna asked.
"Luna!" Ginny exclaimed, shocked.
"What?" Luna asked with no embarrassment. "The papers always go on about how good looking he is and I want to know the truth!"
Ginny thought for a second. "He is." She said grudgingly, as if she didn't want him to be. "If truth be told, he knows he's good looking too." She added.
"I thought as much." Luna replied.
At that moment Neville appeared in the doorway and Luna jumped up to give him a kiss.
"Hi sweetie." She said, taking his bag.
"Hi." He replied fondly to his wife.
"Hullo Ginny." He added, catching sight of her sitting down at the table.
"Hi Neville, how are you?"
"Good, good. Are you two coming tonight?" he asked.
"Yes." Luna said at the same time Ginny said "No." Neville grinned and sat down.
"No Luna." Ginny argued.
"Virginia Weasley, you are going to that party no matter what you do." Luna said icily.
"I don't think you're going to win this one Gin." Neville informed Ginny from his spot across from her. Luna was standing in front of her with her hands on her hips.
Ginny sighed and held up her hands in surrender. "Fine." She muttered, casting Luna a glower.
Luna clapped her hands in delight and took her by that hand.
"Come on." She said. Turning to her husband, she said. "We're going to get ready now. Don't leave without us."
Ginny sighed again as Luna frogmarched her upstairs. It looked like it was going to be a long night.
[Don't forget to review! Once again, sorry about the shortness, but it means the next one will be out in a week. =D]
Sorry for not replying personally and thanks to (I honestly wanted to reply to so many of you but because this chapter was so short, the reviews had to be shorter too, even though I got the most for this chapter so it was difficult. I'm really sorry if I should have replied to you. Leave a comment at my livejournal and I will answer in a jiffy however.): Swishy Willow Wand, lost angel92, HannahLuLu, miss ray317, JamieBell, gerdieSI, magic sparkle 1, magic sparkle 1, CrazedChipmunk, Kaitee, JuNiSGiRl, Rinny2, Alona, kelliethehottie, DK Lili, BeccaRadcliffe, DanielLover4Lyfe, LauraKay, angela, CRoberts, Jewls1, Christina
Sorry these are all such brief replies, I have no time and no room.
VoicezWithin – Yup, flashblack included. But it's not all of the reason, well depends on how you look at it. I don't see it as the whole reason.
Licky – They didn't recognise each other because it had been six years since they had last seen each other – not four years! I didn't even recognise my cousin after four years though. . .
Snowman1400 – of course I can answer that question! Harry and Ginny will get together, why else would it be an HG? Lol.
Clau-hogwarts-writer – that's fine, it's lovely to see you again. This fic will be about 28 chapters, yup, slightly longer than WAM.
Deer boy – I keep falling asleep in English and geography. Surprisingly I am still doing well in English, though not really geography lol.
Lizzie Weasley – such a nice long review! I feel so bad it can't be a nice long reply! You're welcome for the dedication. I must admit I was scared you wouldn't read this, I felt really bad and also I would miss you. (I'm getting quite emotional here lol) Yup, story is fairly long, about 28 chapters. To see how many people are on Author Alerts, just go to Stats after you've logged & you can also see how many people have put you on faves.
Miss Sammieh – no, you weren't rude about the suddenness of Tommy's misbehaviour. What happened was the little symbols didn't show up so it looked like it was at the same time. Sorry about that. Jason comes in next chapter.
Naz1 – Grr! I never get to speak to you on MSN! Partly because I never have time anymore. . . I will try and go on more so I can talk to you.
Hippie-Banana – they didn't recognise eachother because they hadn't seen each other in six years. I didn't recognise my cousin after four years, walked right by her lol.
Sarah Noisette – Argh, I'd like to speak to you on MSN too! I never have the time! Hopefully I will get to soon though… I've never heard of the TV show, what's it about?
Luvhp224 – did you get chapter's 6-11 that I sent you? I am currently wrapping up Ch 12 so that should be along soon.
Midnightdreaming – I would love to help you with your story! I don't think I'm that good but if you honestly want me to I'd love to. Email me!
Hecate Aiwe – I'm afraid you're going to be a bit disappointed at the briefness of this chapter. The next one is longer though, promise. Hope you enjoyed it anyway. I don't like Tommy either, but he's here to stay. He'll get his 'just desserts' though. Thanks for reviewing again!