A/N: Hello and Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah a few days early. This Chapter is dedicated to Elwen of Lorien, my only reviewer for this story so far. I still am posting updates on it because I have found that I really like writing this story. Hehe, as you may see I'm making poor ikle Ginnykins a bit unhappy here, but I suppose that's to be expected. Please read and review as always.
Ginny headed down the stairs to face the nutty people that she unfortunately called her family. She had no idea what to expect the day would bring. One thing was certain, she could not wait until tomorrow, when she could have some semblance of her normal life back. As she descended the stairs, she heard her mother shriek in a tone that only she was capable of. She heard the door slam and the mumbling of entering voices.
"I know that mumble" Ginny thought to herself. It was her brother! She took the last few steps very fast, so fast in fact that she missed a few crucial ones on the way down. She was falling of that she was certain. She fully expected her landing to be in a rather large heap on the kitchen floor. Imagine her surprise then when it was something soft that she landed on, the ground would not have been this soft. She looked at her waist and saw two very familiar arms.
"Perfect. Of all the things that could have happened, I think I'd of taken the floor." Ginny thought to herself, however that was not what came out of her mouth.
"Oh, sorry Harry." She said without a trace of bashfulness that the old Ginny seemed to posses in excess. "Thanks." She said as he helped her on her feet. For her part, she felt a little smug to see the look on his face was one of extreme discomfort.
"Good." She thought slightly maliciously to herself. "Serves him right for being so damn noble where nobility is not due...Wow that was bitter!" She chided herself. Shaking herself out of her internal monologue, she looked to the other two new people standing in the kitchen. "Hermione!" She squealed, running over and giving her best friend a tight hug.
Hearing a small tut behind her she turned slightly to see her brother, his arms crosses, a false hurt look on his face.
"Sure, I see where I stand." He said gruffly.
"Ron! I'm glad you're back too!" She said running to hug her older brother as well. Ginny didn't miss the slight wince as she did.
"Are you alright?" She asked worriedly, holding onto his shoulders and looking critically at him.
Hearing two snickers her concern turned to curiosity. She turned beck to her brother, who was now glaring murderously at Harry and Hermione.
"He'd gone and splinched himself earlier today. Lucky for him I put it right, but let me tell you it was a sight to see." Hermione explained around her laughter.
"It was not funny...It was.." Ron broke off as Harry fought, and lost the ability to hold back his laughter. "Stuff it Harry." Ron mumbled.
"Ron, seriously, who leaves a shoulder? Really, you could have at least made it something that sticks out...a hand perhaps...but a shoulder..." Harry choked out
"Well, he's lucky he caught the rest of his arm that managed to go with him, I can't imagine how annoying it would have been if he had dropped it off the pier... we'd still be there looking."
"Yeah, I guess I should give you that... good reflexes mate!" Harry ducked quickly as what looked like a rubber boot was flung at his face.
Ron was examining a knot on the wooden floor with mounting interest.
Ginny laughed and then stopped herself, "what am I doing! This is Harry, the most stubborn boy alive...Hermione, the bloody traitor...and Ron, my bumbling moronic brother!" Her face sobered instantly.
Her mother bustled back into the room leading a rather disgruntled looking Arther, and then gathered Ron in a bone crushing hug.
Ginny's amusement turned to slight concern when she noticed his freckles standing out more and more against his rapidly paling skin, once his skin took a slightly bluish tint she cleared her throat.
"Mum... I don't think he can breath." She said calmly. Her mother did not relent. "MUM! He's suffocating!" she said louder this time, tugging at her mother's vice-like arms.
Molly appeared to get the hint and dropped her death-grip.
With a huge bellowing breath the color raced back into his face, and Ron grabbed hold of the table for support.
"Thanks for that Ginny." He said weakly.
"Oh sorry Ronald. I was just so happy to have you home." His mother gushed, tears in her eyes.
Ginny rolled her eyes and turned her back on the kitchen. She wasn't hungry any more.
Harry Ron and Hermione stared after her retreating form. Ron turned to see his older brother Charley walking into the kitchen.
"Oh, don't mind her, she's been in a right state since she came home from Hogwarts. I mean, what with the wedding and Dumbledore's death it should have been expected." Charley broke off, looking confused. "Somehow it just doesn't seem normal. Ah well, what woman is I suppose."
"Hey! I resent that!" Hermione's shrill indignant voice rang over the kitchen. Ron stole a glance over at a very guilty looking Harry. He chose wisely and didn't utter a word. The trio already knew full well what Ginny's problem was.
Ginny walked down the hall quickly, trying to appease the sudden urge to put as much distance as humanly possible between the new arrivals and herself. Shutting the door with a firmness that she usually didn't exert she paced the room angrily. She saw much to her chagrin Hermione's large ginger cat Crookshanks making himself right at home on her unmade bed.
"Alright, not fair, not fair at all. If I were to come home after two weeks, running tither and hither (whoa, when did I start talking like my Grandmother?) across the country side my mother would send me from here to Kent with one good kick! What does Ron get, a big hug! Grandmother speech aside, still, my point stands, right Crookshanks?"
The ginger cat continued his methodical licking of his paws, not even looking up at the sound of his own name.
"I mean really! You have been living here ever since Hermione, aka the traitor...left Hogwarts. Let me tell you that is the last favor I do for that ungrateful witchlett! I mean aren't you angry as well! She dumped you off here without a passing glance! You have every right not to spea-I mean look...or do what ever cats do...to her ever again!" Ginny stopped her tirade to gather breath.
The cat licked on.
"Are you even listening to me!" Ginny said in a high pitched voice, hands firmly planted on her hips.
"Ginny, are you talking to the cat?"
Ginny looked up at the voice of her best-before-she-turned-traitor of a friend standing in the doorway.
"Maybe." Ginny replied coolly.
"Is he answering?" She asked, amusedly.
"He's not feeling very talkative today." Ginny snapped.
Hermione's face dropped a little. "I see you're a bit angry with me."
Ginny snorted softly, "Really, ya think?" Her voice dripping with disdain, sitting on her bed to glare at her friend.
"Look, I'm sorry I just up and left you, really I am..." Hermione broke off, her eyes straying around the room to anyone but Ginny.
"Than why did you?" Ginny said icily "You're supposed to be my best friend." Ginny said, her tone giving way to the hurt that was written all over her face.
Hermione heaved a great sigh that seemed to deflate her and Ginny swore she shrunk an inch.
"Look, if it were you..." Hermione started and Ginny laughed.
"No Hermione, it wasn't me. It's never me. I'm too young, to inexperienced, too raw. Maybe you would do well to learn that I don't care what it is I don't know, you would also do well to learn that there is precious little in this world that I have and what I do have I will fight for. When you three turned your back on me you took away three of the most important things I have." She didn't yell it, but her words cut like daggers and they were meant to. "Good, let her feel an ounce of what I have gone through these past few weeks." She thought bitterly
"You didn't wake up each morning wondering if your brother, ex-boyfriend, and best friend were dead. Three people in this world that I care most about who obviously don't give a damn about me. Until you know what that feels like, please, just don't even go there." She added softly.
Hermione ran her hand through her hair and placed her small bag on the side of the room. She gave a small wobbly smile and backed out of the room slowly.
"I'm sorry Ginny, that's all I can say. Oh yeah, and by the way, we all care about you. Especially your so called ex-boyfriend." She said barley over a broken whisper.
Hermione closed the door with a soft click and padded down the hall. That had been much harder than she could have ever imagined.
Hermione blindly found her away down the stairs, her thoughts completely still on Ginny's room above her.
She passed Harry on the stairwell. "You okay Hermione?" His emerald eyes narrower in concern.
Hermione sniffed and looked up at him. "You going to see Ginny?" She asked.
Harry nodded, "Yeah, I think I should go talk to her or something, I dunno..." He broke off not really sure where he was going with the conversation.
Hermione's eyes rose slightly. She reached up and patted him on the shoulder. "Good luck buddy." She said wryly and continued down to the kitchen.
Ginny lay on her bed. Her clock told her that it was only nine thirty in the morning.
"Lier." She hissed at the ticking contraption. There was no possible way that she had only been out of bed for half an hour. She felt as though she could sleep for a year.
She heard a knock at the door and sank deeper into her pillows.
"Go away." She moaned half-heartedly.
She rolled her eyes as she heard the door creak open on less-than-oiled hinges despite her command.
"Gin?" The soft voice that reached her ears made her bite her lip and grimace into her pillow. Couldn't he just leave well enough alone? No, of course he couldn't he's Harry frigging Potter. It would be to simple to assume that anything regarding that boy would be simple.
Ginny peeled the pillow away from her face to glare at the intruder in her own little moody-world
Harry blanched at the venomous look on her face and faltered. It was amazing how much she could resemble a very angry bear, or lioness perhaps...
Ginny realized to her cynical amusement that she appeared to be frightening the poor boy.
"I'm not going to bite you...for now." She said with half a smile.
"No matter how much I want to be mad at him I can't!" Ginny thought exasperatedly. "Good lord, I'll have to work on that, that's an issue of mine I suppose." She continued her internal conversation. It was almost as fulfilling as the ones she would have with the cat.
Harry wasn't stupid. This was a life line that she had thrown him. He also knew that this might just be the only one he was going to get so he latched on with every ounce of wit he possessed. He crossed the room and took a seat tentatively next to her on her bed.
Ginny chuckled at his nervousness "I meant what I said about not biting you." She said wearily
"Yes, well I also recall a 'for now' somewhere in that statement. Besides it's not your teeth I'm worried about...it's your wand." He said darkly, scanning the room and relaxing considerably when he saw it lying safely on her desk.
"So, I know judging by the terrified, wounded puppy look Hermione had on her way out of here that this is most likely a really bad question, but how are you?" Harry asked tentatively.
A/N Alright. Here is a short chapter just before the holidays. Even though I only got one review I have decided to keep going with this story, mostly because I really do like it. Hope some of you that read it like it too. As always please read and review and Happy Holidays, (whatever you may celebrate:)