Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Harry Potter or the characters in it. It all belongs to JK Rowling and respective companies.
Chapter Two: The First Weekend
On Saturday, Ginny woke up and realized that she didn't need to make a fool of herself in Potions for another two days. Feeling full of good cheer in the way that Richard Simmons must feel every time the camera is turned off, she stretched and resolved to stay in bed for most of the day and take full advantage of having nothing to do.
It didn't last long. Almost as soon as she closed her eyes again, the door to the dormitory crashed open and there was the sound of two pairs of feet running very fast in Ginny's general direction. Groaning and lamenting the loss of some peace and quiet, Ginny rolled over and pulled the blankets up over her head.
Sunlight spilled into Ginny's eyes as the curtains to her bed were ripped open and the blankets pulled down. She looked up to see the flushed, disheveled face of Mandy looming over her. "Everyone is talking about you - it's brilliant!" Mandy made to drag Ginny out of bed but she held onto the bedpost.
"Can you please - PLEASE - let me get dressed first and retain at least a bit of my dignity before you do anything else? Thank you."
After she'd gotten dressed, Mandy wasted no time in grabbing her by the arm and yanking her towards the stairs, explaining, 'You have to keep up appearances, Gin!'
When they reached the bottom of the staircase, the first people Ginny saw were Colin and Dennis Creevey, who, in attitude, were more than reverant but something less than subservient. Many of the first years, having never known Fred and George, all treated her like something of a celebrity. Forgetting her earlier discomfort about the whole thing, Ginny instead chose to bask in all the attention.
It more or less died down throughout the rest of the day, though some snatches of a lyrical praise to Ginny were still shouted out occasionally, until dinner. Throughout the meal students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff went over to the Gryffindor table in an almost constant stream until the teachers had to call for order.
Ginny strode out of the Great Hall early with Mandy and Rose on her heals after dinner, noticing many head turning to watch her leave. She held her head high and her back straight as she passed the Slytherin table, though she noticed that jeers and taunts were strangely absent. She and her friends were alone for the long trek upwards to the Gryffindor Tower, and as soon as they were out of site of the other students, the three of them simultaneously lapsed into giggles and began running up the many flightd of stairs.
They had a few minutes of precious solitude by the fire in the common room, during which they considered adding more items to The List. Ginny didn't want to tell them, but the thought of doing more than the thirty-five that was left seemed genuinely daunting. She was spared, however, telling them this by the arrival of two more people.
Harry and Ron walked towards them, Ron with a look on his face that said quite clearly that he didn't want his baby sister to follow in the footsteps of their brothers, and Harry with something resembling deep respect, until he broke out into a huge grin as he and Ron neared them.
"So Ginny," Harry asked, still grinning, "what's this I hear about your attachment to my socks?"
Ginny felt her face turn beet red.