Was It Something I Said?
Chapter 8 --Walking down the crowded streets of Hogsmeade, Ginny tightened the scarf around her neck and pushed open the door to Flourish and Blotts. She needed a new Quill desperately, the one she was using had belonged to her father when he was a boy, or so he'd said. She had a sneaking suspicion that he was just teasing her, as so many people had once found fun to do.
Not anymore. She thought miserably. At least when they were making fun they were talking to me. She thought to herself wryly.Ginny had woken up early and was one of the first people to board the carriages bound for Hogsmeade. She'd had a carriage to herself and had contented herself with staring out the window at the countryside. It seemed like only a few minutes before she arrived along with the other carriages. She'd spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione amongst the crowds but had long since given up trying to talk to them. Well Ron and Hermione at least. Harry was another story. He seemed like he wanted to talk to her, to spend time with her but he didn't want to leave the other two. Ginny wasn't bothered; she had things she wanted to do that she'd rather do alone.
After leaving Flourish and Blotts, she headed to visit Gidgeon's Gifts and Gadgets. She wanted to buy Colin a new camera as she'd noticed that he looked a little lost without one. She figured she could use it as a peace offering; anything to have him talking to her again. She hadn't realised how wonderful Colin was to her until he'd stopped talking to her. Of course, she'd been appreciative of him talking to her and as far as she could tell, genuinely taking an interest in her friendship. She didn't like to admit it, but Colin had seemed down since they'd fought and Ginny couldn't help but think it was because of her and if there was anyway that she could make him smile again, she was going to try.
"How much?" Ginny asked, her eyes widening slightly in shock.
"Twelve Galleons." The salesclerk said snootily, looking down his perfect nose at Ginny who cowered slightly.
"I…can I come back for it?" she asked, blushing, wishing that she didn't have to admit that she didn't have enough money on her.
"I suppose." He said, taking the camera from her hands and polishing it as though she had dirtied it.
Ginny left the shop and was halfway to Gringotts when she realised that she didn't have any money in her bank account. Not enough for the Camera anyway and she desperately needed it. She wandered around the shops, feeling depressed now more than ever. She'd finally had the brilliant idea of buying Colin a new camera and it had backfired horribly on her. There was only one thing she could do to get the camera that day…
"Ron…" Ginny said timidly, having found her brother in Quality Quidditch Supplies, laughing heartily with Harry at a pair of gloves that claimed to search out the Snitch for a seeker who wasn't exactly up to par on his gaming skills.
Ron turned around with a smile on his face, obviously not recognising the voice because he scowled a moment later. He made to move away but Harry put out a hand, holding him in place and he nodded to Ginny which made Ron frown even more but he stopped and faced his sister for the first time in weeks.
"What do you want?" he asked her coldly. Ginny felt the sudden urge to cry but held it in.
"I need…some…er…money." She said, each word getting quieter as it slipped from her mouth. She ducked her head as Ron laughed.
"Oh ho! My birthday money I suppose? What do you need it for?" he asked as he glared at the top of her head.
"I…can't exactly tell you." Ginny said wishing that she could but she knew he wouldn't give her money to buy a camera for Colin. Though she supposed, he wasn't likely to lend it to her without a reason either.
"Well in that case…no!" he said and broke free from Harry's grip and stalked to the back of the shop.
Ginny shot Harry an embarrassed look and made to leave the shop before she embarrassed herself further.
"Ginny! Hey, wait." Harry said and he put his hand into his pocket and extracted his moneybag. Ginny's eyes widened and she held up her hands in front of her.
"No you don't. I'm not taking money from you." She said before she could stop herself and say it politely. Harry didn't seem to notice her rudeness though.
"Take it, I don't need it. I'm sure whatever you need to buy is important because I doubt you would have approached Ron if it wasn't." he said quietly, pulling her aside so Ron couldn't seem them from the back of the room.
"I won't take it and yes, it is important. Thanks anyway Harry." Ginny said making her way out of the shop faster than she'd ever moved in her life.
"Is she gone?" Ron asked from Harry's elbow.
"Yes." He said sighing, watching as Ginny disappeared down the street.
"Good." Ron said grudgingly.
"You know, for someone who was seriously worried about the well being of his sister, you aren't being all that nice to her."
"She can take care of herself."
"That wasn't your attitude all those weeks ago. So suddenly she's old enough to deal with being ignored and neglected?" Harry asked Ron, frowning at him.
"Ok, so I may have been a little harsh on her." Ron said as he too left the shop. Harry shook his head and followed his somewhat clueless best friend.
Ginny sat down on a bench outside of Gidgeon'sand sighed. She only needed five more Galleons. Maybe if she wished hard enough they'd appear in her purse. She wished and peeked into it and found that it still held only seven Galleons. She hadn't really wanted to spend that much money as it was her savings for the school year but if that's what it took…Ginny peeked into her purse again and squeaked. The five Galleons that she needed were sitting right there, within reach. She poked one with a finger and found that it felt the same as any other Galleon. She looked around quickly but couldn't see anyone that she knew. Without thinking anymore of it, she ran into the shop and grabbed the camera she had chosen an hour earlier and put it onto the clerk's desk and smiled as he rung up her purchase on his gold cash register. She watched as it expelled purple smoke and a gold coloured receipt.
"Keep that in case of a refund." He said to her, bored as he turned to serve the next customer. Ginny grinned at his back and took her purchase from the counter and left the shop, swinging her bag around gleefully.
Ginny hadn't been in such a good mood since…before that awful Potion's lesson she'd had many weeks ago now. She couldn't believe how long it had been since that awful day. She hoped that this little surge of happiness would last; she could do with a little happiness in her life. She hadn't realised how withdrawn she'd become until she saw that the girls in her dorm weren't even scared of her anymore. (She had an inkling that they didn't even notice her at all anyway.) With a sudden thought Ginny decided that it didn't matter if Harry, Ron and Hermione didn't want to be her friends. She didn't need them or anyone else for that matter. Sure, she would talk to them but she wouldn't go out of her way to talk to them anymore...or more correctly when they started talking to her again, if ever.
Ginny walked towards the three Broomsticks, realising how thirsty she was from all the walking she'd done of Hogsmeade that morning. As she opened the door she was knocked off her feet by an unknown force. All she knew was that there was a sickening crunch of metal and plastic. A sound that she recalled hearing once before. She looked down in dismay and saw that the newly bought camera now looked like nothing more than scrap metal. Ginny felt dizzy, like she was going to fall but since she was already down, it didn't last long though she saw the popping in front of her eyes as she looked up into the ever cold eyes of Draco Malfoy.
"You bloody idiot! I payed good money for this!" she yelled, indicating the bag from Gidgeon's.
"Like you would know what money is, let alone good money." He said and motioned for his cronies to laugh, which they did, twenty seconds too late.
"Shut up Malfoy. I should make you pay for this." She muttered and he laughed.
"I already have." He said staring at her and she frowned then made to open the door again but Malfoy held it shut with the palm of his hand.
"Let me in you git!" Ginny spat in his face and he recoiled.
"Keep a safe distance would you Weasley? I don't want you to contaminate me." he said laughing which set the other two off. Sick of Malfoy's taunts Ginny rounded on the one she thought was called Crabbe.
"Why do you even bother laughing, I highly doubt you even know what 'contaminate' means!" she said as the other one, Goyle, laughed. She rounded on him too.
"And you…what happened to you, did your mother drop you on your head when she saw the monster she'd given birth to? I mean, Merlin, you're uglier than Snape and that's certainly saying something." Ginny said as both Crabbe and Goyle laughed again and after what seemed minutes Goyle's smiled faded and he frowned at her, as though deep in thought.
"Hey…" he said gruffly and cracked his knuckles. Ginny looked down and laughed.
"Don't even try it." She said as she finally made her way around Malfoy to push open the door to the Pub.
The three boys stared after her. Though Malfoy's stare clearly showed that he was impressed with her, though it soon vanished due to the fact that someone may have been able to see it. He looked left and right then motioned for his thugs who were still scratching their heads in confusion and they walked off down the street, leaving scared people in their wake.
Meanwhile, Ginny sat down at her table and after ordering herself a Butterbeer she turned her Camera bag upside down and sighed as the contents spilled and rolled every which way across the table. She caught a screw as it headed for the edge of the table and held it up to her face. Ginny couldn't' remember ever being so angry. She'd payed for the Camera and it was going to help her set things straight with Colin again. Now that was ruined. All because of Malfoy.
Ginny pulled her wand and waved it around absently whilst muttering. 'Stupid Git.'
"I don't believe that it the incantation." Hermione's voice came from behind her. Ginny turned in her seat and flushed lightly.
"No, no I don't think it is either." she said quietly as she took a sip from her Butterbeer as Hermione stood next to her awkwardly. "Can…can I help you with anything Hermione?" Ginny asked her hopefully though she didn't think it showed in her voice. Hermione started slightly as she'd been staring at the table in thought.
"What? Oh…Oh! Yes. I came over to inform you that we have another study session tomorrow night in the library." She said and looking as though she'd much like to sit with Ginny, she turned and walked back to Ron and Harry who were sharing a table and chatting with Neville quietly.
Ginny watched them for a while and during that while Harry looked over to her many times. She wondered vaguely why but didn't think too much of it as she had bigger problems. She'd discovered that 'Reparo' wasn't doing anything to the camera except making it flash in her face and rendering her blind for several minutes at a time.
Blinking rapidly, Ginny jumped slightly as she saw someone sitting across from her.
"Luna?" she queried of the person who now sat in front of her.
"Yes, tis me." she said as she clicked her fingers above her head for a waitress. Ginny watched amused as her clicking was awarded with a Butterbeer.
Ginny had never seen anything like this before and asked Luna about it.
"Daddy and I attended a Muggle restaurant once and that is how they order themselves drinks. Quite clever really isn't it?" she asked though she didn't look as though she expected an answer. Ginny merely nodded and scooped the demolished camera pieces back into their bag and resolved to work on it until it functioned like a camera should.
Ginny found that sitting with Luna really was quite a boring affair and excused herself soon after to the bathroom. She did what she had to do and washed her face to wake herself up and she stood staring at her reflection and scrutinizing it. She really was too pale and those freckles! Could they be more noticeable? Ginny tugged at her hair and decided that was the part that she'd most like to change. Grinning wickedly she pulled out her wand…
A/N: Just another chapter to keep the story going. I regret ever stopping updating. Sorry guys!