August 1, 1995, 12 Grimmauld Place

I managed to get some sleep last night, but in my opinion, I need about five more hours of rest. Surprisingly, I didn't have a nightmare last night, but no matter how hard I tried, I just could not close my eyes for longer than five minutes at a time. Strange, I know, but true.

It's early in the afternoon, just after lunch, and Hermione's been worrying about Harry the entire day. And since Ron's busy with some holiday work he left until last minute, it's me who's had to put up with it. Considering that I'm trying to stop thinking so much about Harry, it's getting on my nerves.

In fact, she's talking to me even as I write. I'm just nodding my head every few seconds so at least it looks like I'm listening. I don't want to be rude by actually telling her to shut her mouth.

"Harry usually writes a thank-you letter to us after he receives a present." "What if he's upset with us?" "What if he didn't even get our presents?"

Does she ever shut up? Maybe I should go ask Ron for advice on making Hermione just be quiet. I pity his soul if he's the one who has to listen to her gabbing all the time.

All right. Enough pitying my brother.

The entire house seems silent, apart from the fact that Hermione is running her mouth a mile a minute. Even Kreacher has stopped his muttering. In fact, I don't even know where Kreacher is. Sirius reckons he went into the attic again to try and save some of the Black junk.

Anyway, it feels like something's about to happen. It's like…what was Bill talking about yesterday? About Fleur's French romance novels? Oh yeah.

It's like the calm before the storm. Nothing seems to be going wrong today. Mrs. Black isn't screaming…Kreacher isn't insulting…Order members aren't flooding in with bad news about the Death Eaters…even the noise from Fred and George's room is minimal. It's just so…weird, I suppose. I can't really find a better word to describe it.

Now, I'm not a Seer or anything. Don't go thinking that I'm like that crazy Divination teacher, Professor Trelawney, because I'm not. It's just this gut feeling I have…but then again, my gut feelings aren't always right. One time, I had a gut feeling that Colin Creevey was going to ask me out, but all he really wanted was for me to help him with his Transfiguration homework.

So I could be wrong about this entire "calm before the storm" thing. Maybe it's just a quiet day in the house…but then again, there's never a quiet day in this house…

You know what? I'm just going to go with my gut feeling on this and say that something's going to happen in the next day or two. And if something doesn't happen? Well, I'll just say that my gut feeling was wrong, that's all.

I am so bored. That's the only bad thing about having a quiet day in the house. There's nothing to do, nothing to eavesdrop on, no one to yell at…the list goes on and on. Bill's got another "lesson" with Fleur today after he finishes his work at Gringotts, so he won't be home until later on tonight. I'm not even going to bother trying to change the subject with Hermione. She'll probably be talking about her concerns all day.

That's why I'm half-hoping that something big will happen, and soon. I need a little variety to shake things up a little bit around here. Planting fake spiders in Ron's room with Fred and George can only provide so much entertainment. And besides, after the fifth time, Ron's screams aren't the same as the first through fourth times.

So, for the sake of my sanity, I hope Tonks comes for dinner tonight. Watching her morph into different people can never get old.

I think Sirius mentioned something about Mundungus Fletcher stopping by for dinner. That should be fun. Mum thinks that inviting him to a meal is going too far, but he's entertaining, especially with his imitations of the people he's hoodwinked. Mum isn't terribly fond of him, but he's help to the Order, so she tolerates him. I reckon she's going to blow her top if Mundungus smokes his purple pipe like he did last time.

Now that was a row to remember.

Ah. Hermione's finally left the room. She's probably off to see if Ron is finished with his homework yet, so that she can have another person to relay her Harry troubles to. I stopped responding to her voice about five minutes ago, so she probably gave up on me and decided to move on to the next "victim", my brother. I hope she stays there all night, for the sake of everyone's sanity. Except for Ron's, of course.

Nah. Just kidding. I wouldn't want my brother going insane. Because then Hermione would be forced to talk me to insanity, and that would be good…

Oh my god. I'm babbling about…Hermione. Hmmm. This is a first. I wonder if this is how Ron feels every time his train of thought drifts to Hermione. He must feel like this every day! Wow.

Lovely. There's a spider crawling across my ceiling. It's not that I'm afraid of them or anything, but it's annoying when they just crawl out of nowhere like that and surprise you. Maybe I should go get Ron and lock him in my room with me.

No. I won't do that. I've got a gut feeling that I'll get in trouble if I do.

There goes my gut feeling again. Ah, well. Here's to hoping that my gut feeling turns out to be true. But not the getting in trouble feeling. The one about something big happening. Yeah, that's the one.

Good night!

-Ginny


Wow. I'm updating earlier than usual. I've got loads of time on my hands, it seems, and I'm finding it rather frightening.

But enough about that.

Cheers to my reviewers. I can't even keep track of all of my reviewers anymore, but I just want each and every one of you to know that I adore you all! It's because of you that I haven't given up on this story, so thanks for motivating me after every update!

Puddlemere News: I'll try to get the third chapter up later on tonight or first thing tomorrow morning. Here's a little spoiler: it's the morning after Natalie and Oliver's little "fling"…what happens when they wake up? And what will Andrea say if she finds out?

So…how did you like this chapter? I know I ask that question a lot, but I really value your opinions. And because of that, I've made up a little survey for you to complete in a review:

1) More humor or more seriousness?

2) Which character would you like to see Ginny bonding with?

3) Do you think I am portraying Ginny's spirit and personality correctly? If not, please tell me how I can make it better, but please be kind, no flames allowed.

4) Are any of the other characters becoming OOC (out of character for my less-fan fiction literate reviewers)? If so, how can I make them more true to Jo's ideas, but please be kind, no flames allowed.

5) Is there anything that I've written that confuses you? Please tell me if there is anything that you don't fully understand, because I'd be happy to explain anything to you.

Please answer the above questions truthfully, but kindly, as I've said before, no flames allowed. I value your opinions and suggestions, but please be nice!

And now it is time for you to press the little purple button on the lower left-hand corner of your screen and send me a review! Don't forget to number your answers to my survey.

Thanks so much, and keep reviewing!

-Rox