Disclaimer: Don't own it- ALL JKR's.
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! And anyone who's worried, I'm updating the Light of Darkness in a day or two, so don't worry! : )
Chapter 5:
Arthur and Molly sat at home, enjoying a hot cup of tea each. It was quiet, with all the children at school once more. Her thoughts landed on her daughter, as they often did. "She would have been a first year today, Arthur," Molly whispered. She then looked up to their family clock, which had a picture of newborn Ginevra- and her hand was pointed at 'school'.
"Yeah," sighed Arthur, taking off his glasses and grabbing Molly's hand. "I'm never going to stop wondering about that clock. It seems so defective and unlikely- but it's worked fine for everyone else…" Molly nodded. The children's hands were all on 'school,' except Bill's and Charlie's, which both pointed on 'home'. Their new homes- not the Burrow. Charlie was now nineteen and Bill twenty-one. It was so hard to believe.
"Do you think she's still alive?" whispered Molly. Baby Ginevra had been taken from her bassinette when she was only two days old- suddenly the Weasleys (Molly was checking on Fred and George, who were teasing baby Ron, in the next room, and Arthur had been downstairs) heard a window blasted open. Molly had rushed into the baby's room, but there was no baby in the cradle. There had been no sign of anyone ever being in the house but the missing window. No dark mark, even- Ginny had disappeared forever. The hand on her clock went to Mortal Peril immediately- but an hour later landed on 'home'. At first Molly thought it might mean she had died and gone beyond; to heaven- wherever people went when they were dead. But the next day the hand was on traveling for a few minutes. The Aurors said it was a dysfunctional clock- even Dumbledore said the baby was probably dead- but the Weasleys never gave up hope.
"I don't know if she's alive," sighed Arthur. One day, after playing Quidditch, Molly had gotten the far-away look in her eyes that only came when she thought about her baby.
"Mum," Bill, then fourteen, had whispered, "She's gone on by now. Mum?"
Charlie hated his sister. "Why did she have to get kidnapped and ruin our lives? If you wanted to kill her," he screamed at the sky in rage, "you could have at least given us her body! Made her die of some problem after being born! But you had to leave us in a shadow forever! I hope she's dead- because she's dead to me!" He hadn't thought anyone would hear his little outburst, but Arthur had heard, from inside. He had watched his second son collapse onto the ground and cry- and never cry again. And then he realized that they had six healthy, safe children left to raise- and there was no use thinking of his lost little daughter his entire life.
"We didn't know her," wept Molly, in the present time, clutching to Arthur for dear life. "I said I'd never cry again for my baby girl- but I am… What would her favorite color be? Favorite food? What house would she be sorted into- and writing us about tonight? Who would become her best friend- and who would she marry?" Molly then burst into tears. "I-if only I l-l-left Fred and G-george; R-ron was fine; they wo-wouldn't hurt him… I-I could've saved l-little Gin-Ginevra…." Arthur didn't speak, but held his wife tightly as her sorrow poured from her soul.
Ginny Malfoy followed the red-headed prefect to the Gryffindor tower along with the rest of the Gryffindor first years. Besides Ginny, there were four other girls in her dormitory, and there were six Gryffindor boys her year. The girls were Maeve, the only other Pureblood, Ceridwen and a girl named Jaclyn Murphy, who were both Half-bloods, and a Mudblood, Kayla Agostino, who, to Ginny's annoyance, was probably the prettiest of all the first years. She had olive skin and pale blonde hair with streaks of a darker brown, with bright blue eyes, and she was the tallest of all of them as well.
The red-haired prefect's name was Percy Weasley. What a name, thought Ginny wryly. He seemed even more of a pompous ass then all the others in the family she'd seen before- and judging by the looks the twins were giving him right now, no one in the family liked him much. But of course, he was family and they loved him. Ginny rolled her eyes. "And there's the set of girls' staircases- and those are the boys," the Weasel was saying. Ginny was fairly pleased with the Common Room. It was very warm and comfortable- certainly more so than what Draco had said of the Slytherin Common Room. She sighed. Maybe Gryffindor had its advantages… But, somehow, she was greatly doubting the credibility of a House whose password was 'wattlebird.' "Now if you'd excuse me," said the Prefect in a self-satisfied voice, "There are ridiculous rumours circulating that my brother and his little friend flew here and crashed into the Whomping Willow…" He laughed pompously. "Have a nice night, all…"
Ginny exchanged glances with Ceridwen. She looked just as surprised as Ginny. I wonder if Draco knows, thought Ginny. She then went upstairs with the other first years to have a look at the dormitory. Ginny picked the bed on the far end of the room, by the window, immediately. Ceridwen took the bed next to her- she was nice, for a half-blood, Ginny supposed. She decided to be sort of friends with her- since she was the only person in Gryffindor she sort of knew- but she couldn't let her parents find out. And of course, Draco would probably tell on her. Oh well; it was her life, and she wasn't afraid to face her parents. She smirked; she was a Gryffindor, after all. But she still was quite afraid of her family's reaction to this- this wasn't grounds for disowning, was it? She hoped not.
"So- when did everyone have their first sign of magic?" asked Jaclyn, who was currently extremely hyper. Sometimes Ginny wished she could be that type of person- hyper and charming and not caring what others thought. A glowing, funny spark seemed to be radiating off of Jaclyn, who had lots of freckles, curly light brown hair, and turquoise-ish eyes. "Mine was when I was six," Jaclyn continued, eyes sparkling. "We were visiting my older brother's friend, and they were twenty- but his friend had a Muggle family, and they were going bungee jumping, and I went- but I just bounced back up!"
"Did the cord break or something?" asked Maeve, who was going through the robes in her trunk. Jaclyn looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Um- I don't think so." Kayla and Ceridwen laughed, while Maeve looked skeptical.
"I don't think that was magic, sweetie," said Kayla, grinning.
"Oh, sorry- wrong story!" apologized Jaclyn, laughing. "I tell so many stories that it gets rather confusing. Okay, I was five, and we were skiing, and I accidentally got off at the wrong lift, down this horribly steep hill- and then my skis ended up lifting and working themselves. It was so cool!"
"What's skiing?" asked Maeve snobbishly. Kayla then explained. "Oh. Well my first sign of magic was when I was four and I communicated with a dolphin at my family's summer home."
"What did it say?" laughed Ginny, eyebrows raised.
"It asked if I wanted to play."
"And what did you say?" asked Ceridwen, playing along. Maeve frowned.
"I screamed and ran away."
"Ah. You're sure it wasn't an Animagus?"
"What's an Animagus?" asked Kayla. Ginny ignored her.
"Animagi can't talk to people when they're in their animal form," she told Jaclyn, who shrugged, as if it was of no importance.
"What about you, Ginny?" asked Maeve.
"Er… I don't remember," she said thoughtfully. "I was only a baby. But I did it nearly every day."
"Really?" gasped Ceridwen. Ginny nodded uncomfortably. She'd always thought that everyone did that. Of course, she knew that she was supposed to be powerful and all, but… then again, Draco had hardly ever done magic. "Yeah," said Ginny. "But the first big magic I did was when I was three, and I broke a really old family heirloom, that was irreplaceable, and supposedly couldn't be put back together. But right after it exploded, it fixed itself. I didn't tell my parents, though… I would've been in trouble for breaking it." Everyone was looking at her in awe. Suddenly, a loud noise emitted from the common room, and people began screaming happily.
"Let's go see what the fuss is about," said Kayla, frowning. Everyone nodded in compliance and left the dormitory. Ginny was the last one out and shut the door behind her. When they reached the Common Room, it seemed as if some sort of party was going on. Everyone was yelling excitedly and clapping. Ginny pushed through the crowd to see what was going on. No one even looked at her; it seemed as if the Malfoy names didn't matter as much here. She scowled as she made her way to the front of the crowd, where all the attention was focused on Potter, Weasley, and Granger.
The Mudblood was standing there, looking cross, as everyone congratulated Weasley and Potter, who were both grinning somewhat idiotically. "Hey, Malfoy!" called a voice suddenly. Ginny spun around. It was the Weasley twins.
"Yeah?" she asked, trying to look tough.
"Come here- we want to talk to you." Ginny frowned, wondering vaguely why two fourth years would have any interest in something Ginny knew. Ginny shrugged and walked over to where they were sitting and sat in a seat near them. "Yes?" she asked.
The first twin looked around as the second spoke quickly. "We were wondering- are you sure- this will sound stupid- are you sure you're a Malfoy?" Ginny laughed coldly.
"Yes, I'm a Malfoy- why on earth would you think any different?"
"Er," began the other twin. Suddenly, a tall black boy walked over to the twins, grinning.
"So, what'll our first prank be this year- Oh, Fred; George… you never told me about a sister!"
"I'm not their sister!" said Ginny, scandalized. "I am a Malfoy- Ginny Malfoy."
"Oh… er, sorry then. But to tell the truth, I'd rather be a Weasley than a Malfoy. Take it as a compliment that you didn't take after that little Slytherin runt- your brother?" Ginny gasped. How dare he?!
"He's not a runt- he's better than you, by every stretch of the imagination. Who are you, anyway?"
"Lee Jordan," said the boy, stretching out a hand. "Pleased to meet you, Malfoy- but take my advice, and don't be so ready to bite someone's hand off next time an upperclassman, like me, talks to you." Ginny snorted.
"Whatever," she said angrily, storming away.
George Weasley looked closely at the girl as she stormed away- that girl… the way she walked and spoke- some might say it was Malfoy-like. But George knew better. There was a fine line between Malfoys and Weasleys- actually a thick line, well… more of a circle. They were so opposite that they were quite alike in some ways, like in their pride. And hardly anyone could tell the difference. Fred and George exchanged looks.
"Think Percy's noticed?"
"I don't know," said Fred darkly. "But Ron's mentioned her."
"What are you talking about?" asked Lee, bringing the twins to reality. They shook their heads. "Nothing," muttered Fred.
That night, when Ginny was pulling out her nightgown, she came across the little book Weasley had given her that day in the bookshop. Curious, she looked it over. It was some sort of diary, and said T. M. Riddle. Ginny opened it up and decided to start a diary- surely her parents hadn't needed the book.
Dear Diary- she began, but to her amazement, the ink disappeared. Suddenly, different ink showed up on the paper. Ginny looked up nervously; nobody was paying attention to her. She then leaned down and read what the diary said.
Hello. But my name is Tom, not diary. Tom Riddle, to be precise. What's your name and how did you come by my diary? Ginny's eyes widened. Maybe this wasn't a good idea- what if her parents had wanted it? But then why would they give it to Weasley? She shrugged and dipped her quill into a pot of ink.
Er… hello. My name's Ginny Malfoy. I kind of found this book, you could say. My father gave it to a Weasley boy, I think, but the boy threw it at me so I took it and forgot about it until now.
Oh, that's interesting. I wonder how your father ended up getting this? Oh, well. Tell me about yourself- what is the year, what's going on in your life?
I'm a first year at Hogwarts. I just arrived today. Well… I'm a pureblood, I have a brother a year older than me, and the year is 1992. I looked at the date in the front cover- it's fifty years from your time, right?
Yes, it is. So you're a first year? I am sixteen in this preserved memory. I attend Hogwarts also. How has your first day of term been, Ginny?
Okay, I guess. I was sorted into Gryffindor, and I wanted to be a Slytherin so bad. Now I'm in stupid Potter's House…
Who's Potter?
Harry Potter. Ugh- he's so stupid, and a half-blood. He struts around like he's the greatest ever! All because he killed the stupid Dark Lord…
What Dark Lord?
I don't really like to say his name. But I guess I can write it. Voldemort… I think that my father worked for him, though.
Voldemort? So what happened? How did this boy defeat him? Is he your age?
Well, no. He's a second year. He killed Voldemort, but no one knows how. You-Know-Who was at the height of his power, and he tried to kill the Potters for some reason. He killed both Harry's parents (Harry was one) and then was destroyed when he tried to kill Harry. And Harry survived with just a scar.
Wow. He must be an amazing boy. But he's stuck up? That's never good.
I know. And he hates Draco, my brother. They fight all the time.
Really?
Yeah. But Harry is sort of cute. But I don't like him or anything! I mean, really… yuck.
I know what you mean, Ginny.
But, anyway, er… good talking to you. My roommates are about to turn out the lights.
Will you talk later?
Of course.
The next morning, Ginny flounced to the Great Hall, remembering that she'd forgotten to write her parents. Whoops. She sat down next to Ceridwen and Maeve and across from two boys, Aidan Ellison, a Pureblood, and Kyle Moran, a half-blood. They were both very cute, and Ginny began to learn how fun flirting was. After they'd been at breakfast a few minutes, the mail arrived. Two owls landed by Ginny, one with a letter and the other with a large parcel. She decided to open the letter first.
Ginny-
How could you be sorted into Gryffindor? Did you tell Mum and Father? Oh, they won't be happy! I suppose it's all right, but don't you dare get cozy with the Dream Team, any Weasleys, or Mudbloods!
-Draco
Ginny rolled her eyes at the unfairness of the letter and grabbed a quill and wrote on the back of the parchment.
Draco Malfoy, it is not my fault I'm in Gryffindor! I will choose my own company, and you cannot tell me what to do! But I assure you, I will most certainly not be friends with any of the people you named. When you are ready to apologize in person like a mature adult, I will ask you how your first night was. From Ginevra.
"Take this to Draco," she snapped at the eagle owl waiting for her. The owl hooted and took off towards the Slytherin table. Ginny then turned to the other package and opened it. It was filled with treats from home, including delicious foods and spending galleons. There was also a letter attached.
Dearest Ginevra-
We hope you had a wonderful first night and are making lots of friends. We are awaiting your letter about your House and first day at Hogwarts. We miss you and love you and can't wait until we see you at the Yuletide!
Love,
Your Father and Mother, Lucius M. Malfoy and Narcissa L. Black Malfoy
Ginny had only a moment to comprehend the letter, for the next second a loud explosion sounded from farther down the Gryffindor table. Ginny stood, as did everyone else, to get a better look. It was Weasley, getting a howler! She peered over at the Slytherin table, where everyone was howling with laughter as Weasley turned steadily redder. Ginny rolled her eyes and giggled as Professor McGonagall handed out timetables- she was happy to see that she had Potions first, with Professor Snape, though Ceridwen was groaning about it. "Everyone's told me how horrible Snape is to the Gryffindors…"
"I wouldn't worry," said Ginny cheerfully. "Don't tell anyone, but he's my godfather."
"What?" gasped Maeve and Ceridwen. Ginny grinned.
"You heard me… Anyway, we better go so that we aren't late." The others nodded and followed Ginny down to the dungeons, which were very difficult to find. They reached the Potions classroom, however, several minutes early, to find that they had Potions with the Slytherins. Ceridwen groaned at hearing this, and Maeve seemed quite indifferent. Ginny, however, was thrilled. Soon after entering the classroom, Eira, Trista, and Maeryn walked into the classroom.
"Hi, you guys!" said Ginny excitedly. Maeryn smiled and Trista hugged her, beginning a long list of questions about Gryffindor and her first day, but Eira looked upset. Ginny didn't have time to answer Trista's questions or ask Eira what was wrong, though, because at that moment, Ginny's Uncle Severus strode into the room, robes billowing behind him. The class quieted immediately, everyone straightening up attentively in their chairs. Uncle Sev began taking role immediately, without so much as a hello.
"Kayla Agostino." Kayla raised her hand, trembling slightly. "Desmond Baird." A Gryffindor raised his hand. "Cygnus Bowings." A Slytherin whose name Ginny had never heard answered. "Trista Caffery." Trista smiled and raised her hand. "Jordan Camp," was another Slytherin. Colin Creevey was called, and he fell out of his desk. Ginny tried to stifle her laughter. "Aidan Ellison." A cute Gryffindor Ginny had met earlier raised his hand. Then a Slytherin and Gryffindor were called, then Maeve and another Slytherin. Finally, "Genevieve Malfoy."
"Here," said Ginny brightly. Snape looked at her and gave a slight smile. Ginny then concentrated on writing a note to Eira, who was sitting in the aisle across from her.
Eira- what's wrong? She then discreetly passed the note to Eira in a moment that Snape was looking down. A minute later, Eira pushed the note back.
Nothing, I suppose. I just had counted on us being in the same House, and always being best friends and all. Why were you sorted into Gryffindor? You're a Malfoy, and a Pureblood.
Ginny frowned and wrote back hastily.
I didn't want to be a Gryffindor! And we're still best friends, right? Nothing can change that, right?
Sure, came the reply. But- I don't know. What did your parents say?
They don't know yet. Ginny had passed the note, and Eira was replying, when suddenly, Snape was standing behind her. Ginny cringed.
"What's this, Miss Zabini?" Eira looked up, horrified.
"It's my fault," said Ginny immediately. "Sorry, Professor. I was asking her a question…"
"Indeed," said Snape, picking up the note and reading it quickly. He then turned his dark eyes to Ginny's. "Ten points from Gryffindor." All the Gryffindors scowled.
"See?" whispered Ceridwen. Ginny rolled her eyes, annoyed beyond words. Why had he just done that? Just wait until Father found out… only she couldn't tell Father, because she had been passing notes. She sighed with frustration as forty more points were taken from Gryffindor as they failed to answer question after question. At the end of the lesson, she told Ceridwen and Aidan and Kyle, who were all waiting for her, to go ahead. Once everyone left the classroom, she approached Snape's desk with caution.
"Yes, Miss Malfoy?" asked Snape without looking up.
"Er…" began Ginny. "What happened to 'Ginny'? And why are you being so unfair to the Gryffindors? And why are you acting like we don't know each other?"
"People would think I played favorites, Miss Malfoy. I am going to treat you like any other student, just as I treat your brother," he said, standing up.
"Like any other Slytherin or any other Gryffindor?" demanded Ginny.
"I don't have time for this, Miss Malfoy," sighed Snape. "Why don't you go on to your next class, all right?" Ginny sighed and nodded, though still angry. Wait until her father heard about this! She walked to Transfiguration in a bit of a huffy mood. This was great- she wasn't going to be favored by any teachers! If anything, she would be disliked, all because of her stupid brother. Transfiguration went rather badly. She simply couldn't turn her needle into a matchbox and was assigned extra homework. And when she tried to catch up with Eira in the halls later, Eira shrugged her off and ran away. Why was everyone treating her like this? And what was more, she completely failed Lockhart's pop-quiz about herself and was taken points from Gryffindor by Percy Weasley for yelling in the Common Room. What an awful first day!
That evening Ginny skipped dinner and sat in her room, brooding about her misfortune. Then she realized the perfect person to tell- Tom! She hurriedly fished out her diary.
Dear Tom,
Today was horrible! My best friend, Eira Zabini, won't speak with me because I'm a stupid Gryffindor. I hate Gryffindor. Now my brother and Uncle Sev are against me as well! At least Trista is still nice… I swear, if my parents give me a hard time, I'll just… I don't know! I'll start talking to Mudbloods and ask Potter out or something, just to make everyone mad! I hate this, I hate this, I hate this! Ginny then awaited Tom's reply.
I'm sorry, Ginny. I know how you feel, though. I was a Slytherin when I'd wanted to be a Gryffindor- but being a Slytherin helped me become great; it's the best thing that could've happened to me. I'm quite sure you'll like being a Gryffindor someday; the Sorting Hat is very wise. As for Eira… she must not be worth it. And I'm sure your parents will understand. Everything will be all right, Ginny. You can always confide in me.
Over the next weeks, Ginny wrote to Tom faithfully every day. Her parents had written and said that it didn't matter that she was a Gryffindor, though they were a bit disappointed, as long as she kept up the family dignity and acted her class, like Draco. One morning near Halloween Ginny had gotten to the showers and realized she'd forgotten her special formula shampoo. "Maeve," she called to the only other person in the showers, "Can I borrow some shampoo?"
"Sure," called Maeve, throwing a bottle over the shower. Ginny used some and then got out and got dressed. She then rushed downstairs, as she was running late, to ask a second year, Parvati, to do a drying spell on her hair, as no first years could do it yet. Parvati muttered the incantation which made Ginny's long curls immediately bounce up, soft and silky.
"Wow," said Lavender Brown, walking over, "I like what you did with your hair, Malfoy."
"What are you talking about?" asked Ginny. She rushed over to a mirror and gasped. Her hair had turned at least five shades redder. She screamed. "MAEVE KAVANAGH!"
"What?" called Maeve, annoyed, rushing up the stairs.
"WHAT DID YOUR SHAMPOO DO TO MY HAIR?" shrieked Ginny. By this time girls were pouring from their rooms to see what the commotion was about.
"Cool hair, Gin!" exclaimed Ceridwen, impressed. Ginny scowled. She hated to say it- but her hair looked like Weasley hair! She vowed under her breath to do anything to get Maeve back.
Throughout the day, she got compliments on her hair. Draco, however, looked disgusted when he saw her. "What did you do?" he demanded of his little sister.
"Why, in Merlin's name, would I do this?" demanded Ginny. "It was that stupid prat, Maeve-"
"The one who's all full of herself?" asked Draco. Ginny nodded.
"Bloody Gryffindors- they're all going to get what's coming! Anyway, did you hear what happened the other day?"
"The rooster attack?" asked Ginny. It had scared Ginny to death when she heard Weasley talking about it earlier- for the morning after it happened, she'd woken up with rooster feathers all over her, and couldn't remember what she'd done the day before. Maybe she'd done it in her sleep!
"Not that," said Draco, brushing the matter aside. "Weasley tried to hex me- and his wand backfired! He ended up spitting out slugs the rest of the day!" Ginny laughed, though she hadn't heard Draco. Had she been the one that killed the roosters? This thought chilled her blood, though she was glad it was only a rooster or something else. It probably wasn't me, anyway, she thought, trying to sound confident, as she hurried over to the Slytherin table.
A/N: Long chapter! :-D Okay, I have a thought. The main plot is not going to thicken at all until the end of Ginny's third year. So I was thinking of telling the first year in a few more long chapters and then kind of jumping, and not much having changed, and Ginny just have times where she remembered things which will tell you anything you missed. So tell me what you think of that idea so we don't have a million useless chapters- and remember, review! I love feedback and anything you can say about the story!
((JinglebellZ)) :-D