Chapter One
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
Ginerva Ruby Weasley woke slowly as the sun fell across her face. She cracked open eye and groaned loudly. I hate the sun, she thought viciously, turning over and reaching for her clock. It blinked 7:00 at her, causing her mood to worsen. She groaned again and went to put the clock back. In doing so, she fell off her bed, landing on her stomach with a crash. If that wasn't enough, someone chose that time to come crashing into her room.
"Ginny!" A girl yelled. Ginny flipped over to stare blearily up at the intruder. She took in the bushy brown hair and groaned for a third time.
"Hermione?"
"Oh… were you asleep?" Hermione Granger looked down at her and cocked her head, smiling.
"No. The damn sun woke me up." Ginny informed her, standing up and rubbing her eyes. Hermione looked her over and then grabbed her in a hug.
"I missed you! I wanted to write but my owl was confiscated by the Ministry." She stepped away.
"So was Errol but no one really cares. It's lucky we didn't send Pig out." Ginny flopped back onto her bed.
"Why do you think they're doing that?" Hermione sat down next to her.
"Because both Harry and Dumbledore openly defied the Minister and everyone knows we're connected with them. It happened to Luna too. She flooed me." Ginny informed her running a hand through her hair.
"Bastards." Hermione muttered.
"Don't let Ron hear you cussing. He'll have a heart attack. He always does when I do it." Ginny grinned.
"Where is he, by the way?" Hermione asked.
"Dunno. Probably asleep, lucky bastard. Now, shoo, I'm hungry." Ginny pushed Hermione out of the room and hurried down the stairs. Harry was sitting at the kitchen table, eating by himself. Mrs. Weasley bustled into the dining room and caught sight of her youngest child.
"You're up early, dear." She smiled, happy to have Harry at the house.
"Not by choice." Ginny slumped into a chair next to Harry.
"Sun wake you up, again?" Harry asked sympathetically.
"Yeah. Fuckin' sun." She muttered. He laughed.
"Here you are, Ginny. What happened to Hermione? She went up to see you." Mrs. Weasley set a plate piled high with food in front of Ginny. Ginny shrugged and fell on her food.
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"No."
"Oh, come on! Mum won't let me go by myself and I hate shopping with Ron and Harry isn't allowed to leave the house and Mum trusts you! Puh-lease!"
"No."
"Her-mi-o-nie!"
"No."
"Please, please, please, please, please, please, please!"
"No."
"Why not?" Ginny flashed Hermione her best puppy dog pout.
"Because I hate shopping." Hermione snapped.
"You don't have to do anything but make sure I don't get lost or mugged or raped or anything. Please?" Ginny's eyes grew, if possible, wider and browner.
"Fine." Hermione scowled, darkly.
"Yes! Thank you Mione!"
"Whatever…" Hermione continued to scowl, following the happy redhead into the kitchen where she informed her mother they were leaving.
"Be careful." Mrs. Weasley kissed Ginny's cheek and smiled at Hermione. They both hurried over to the fireplace. Ginny threw a handful of Floo Powder into the grate. Emerald green fire burst into life.
"Diagon Alley." Ginny said clearly, stepping into the flames. She fell out of the fire, coughing, in the Leaky Cauldron. She stood and got out of the way, as Hermione stepped gently out of the flames.
"Miss Weasley, Miss Granger." Tom smiled toothlessly from behind the counter.
"Hello Tom." They said in unison.
"So… where do we go first?" Hermione asked, grudgingly.
"Well, I have all my money with me so we don't have to go to Gringotts. I haven't gotten my school list yet either so… it doesn't really matter. Let's go someplace different." Ginny grinned.
"I'm going to the book store. Meet me at Fortescues at 12 o'clock and we'll go get lunch, okay?" Hermione ignored the boy's that were grinning at them from a nearby table.
"Fine, spoilsport. Hi." Ginny looked around her to smile at the boys. They motioned her over.
"I'll be at the bookstore." Hermione rolled her eyes and stomped off. Ginny waved at the boys and then headed for their table, her hips swaying flirtatiously.
"Hello there," She winked at them and leaned on one of their chairs, "Any of you want to buy me a drink?"
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After a soda with the boys, (Tom wouldn't allow them to buy her a real drink, knowing she was underage), Ginny said goodbye and headed off into Diagon Alley. She peeked through several store windows before finding one the sold trinkets with magical properties. She ducked inside, checking her watch and realizing she had to meet Hermione in two hours. A blanket of dust met her nose and she sneezed violently.
"Well this is… different." Ginny muttered to herself, looking around. A large red bird squawked in the corner. She picked her way over to the bird and realized with a shock that it was a phoenix. She reached out.
"Don't!" Someone yelled, hurrying out from behind a shelf. The yell triggered something in the bird and it suddenly lunged at Ginny's hand. Shocked, Ginny tried to hurry back away from it and tripped over a box, causing dust to rise everywhere.
"What the fuck!" She snapped before looking up. The phoenix was no longer red but the color of swamp water. Its eyes shone an evil red and it seemed to glare down at Ginny.
"Are you alright? Bad, Tynan! Bad!" A tall man scolded. The bird went red again and hung its head in shame.
"Fine. Dirty but fine." Ginny sneezed again and made to get up. The man offered her his hand and she took it. He helped her up.
"There you go. Tynan isn't really a phoenix. She's a Shifter." The bird jumped off its perch, twisted in midair and became a beautiful dark haired woman. Ginny gasped.
"Sorry about that…" Tynan muttered.
"I told you becoming a phoenix was a bad idea…" The man began.
"I know," Tynan interrupted, "Magical properties. Too much darkness in me. Imbalance. I heard you the first twelve times."
"So, how can I help you? I really can't charge you after my wife attacked you so anything you like, almost, is on the house." The man smiled.
"His name is Marvin, by the way. If you know mine you might as well know his." Tynan scowled at him. Marvin laughed.
"I didn't think she would care." He informed his wife.
"Whatever," Tynan shrugged, "Now what are you looking for?"
"Something different. Something to make my life more… interesting and exciting." Ginny decided this as she said it.
"Ooh! I know!" Tynan turned into a cat suddenly and hurried off on silent paws. Ginny stared after her in amazement.
"Is she like a Metamorphagus?" She asked Marvin.
"No, not really. She doesn't change her appearance as a human but she can become just about anything she wants to. She's also crazy." The last bit was said more loudly then the rest. There was a loud hissing from deeper in the store. Marvin laughed.
"How did you meet her?" Ginny continued intrigued.
"Through this store. When I bought it, what," He paused to think for a moment, "twenty or thirty years ago, she sort of lived in the basement. We took a liking to each other and got married. No one but you, me and one other person knows of her abilities. She must of found something in you to make her transform in front of you." Marvin smiled down at her. The cat reappeared from behind a bookshelf, something following behind it. A second later, Tynan was standing before her again. She snatched the something out of the air and presented it to Ginny.
"Something different. Something exciting and interesting." Tynan grinned. Ginny looked at the object in the Shifter's hand. It was an intricate necklace.
"Tynan, no one knows what that does." Marvin bit his lip.
"But its powerful, it's beautiful and it probably does something exciting. Besides, I can feel her power. She can handle anything it throws at her." Tynan continued to grin. Ginny reached out, slowly and picked up the necklace. She could feel the magic in the object and it made her grin as well.
"I'll take it. How much?" She reached into her pocket.
"Free. I told you. A Demon Bird almost bit you. You deserve a free gift." Marvin looked skeptical.
"Thank you." Ginny slipped the necklace into her pocket.
"You must come have tea or coffee with me!" Tynan said suddenly.
"Huh?" Ginny replied eloquently.
"Marvin will come to. We'll talk! No one comes in here anyway and I'm bored! Come on, Ginny!" Tynan began to bounce up and down on the balls of her feet.
"How did you know my name?" Ginny asked but her question was ignored as Marvin began to disagree.
"Marvin! Please!" Tynan's voice rose dramatically. Marvin winced and Ginny could tell he was weakening.
"Fine, but just some coffee." He sighed.
"Yes! Come on, Ginny." Tynan grabbed one of Ginny's arms and one of Marvin's and began to drag them out of the shop, stopping only long enough for Marvin to lock the door.
"How did you…" Ginny tried again but was overridden by Tynan's chattering.
"She doesn't get to go out with people much." Marvin told her, so Tynan couldn't hear him. Ginny smiled and looked at her watch. She had time.
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The three of them sat in the coffee shop long after they finished their coffee, talking. Ginny couldn't help but admit to herself that she found the two of them fascinating. Soon, though, Ginny looked at her watch to find that it was five to twelve.
"Oh, no. I have to go. I promised to meet my friend at noon." Ginny stood up, smiling apologetically.
"Aw." Tynan pouted.
"Sorry." Ginny offered. Marvin laughed.
"Don't be sorry. She's just being difficult." He made a face at Tynan who replied with by flipping him off. Ginny laughed.
"I had so much fun. Next time I'm here I'll stop in again." Ginny reached out to shake Marvin's hand. He stood and wrapped her in a big hug. Ginny laughed. Tynan stood as well and hugged her.
"You promise." Tynan whispered.
"I promise." Ginny answered, hugging the Shifter back.
"Have fun." Tynan stepped back.
"Huh?" Ginny looked up at the woman, confused. Tynan winked and began to push her out of the shop.
"Hurry, it's almost twelve." She said.
"Oh, no! Bye, Tynan! Bye Marvin!" Ginny waved as she ran off towards Fortescues. She caught sight of Hermione standing in front of the ice cream shop and tapping her foot.
"Hey, Ginny!" Hermione saw her and waved. Ginny skid to a halt in front of her friend, grinning.
"Hey." She said, fixing her hair.
"Did you find your something different?" Hermione asked, mildly.
"Yeah. Something really different." Ginny smiled to herself, know Hermione wouldn't believe her. She barely believed it herself.
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Hermione and Ginny ate lunch together and then began to wander back through Diagon Alley towards the Leaky Cauldron. They chatted idly and occasionally stopped to peer into stores. It was almost one o'clock when they reached the pub again. They waved goodbye to Tom and Ginny winked at the boys that were still at the same table. Hermione borrowed some floo powder from Tom and stepped into the emerald flames. Ginny followed her.
She watched as other fireplaces spiraled past her. Suddenly, she stopped in front of a large hole. In the distance she noticed a soft, glowing light. She stepped towards it, realizing the stupidity of it and yet unable to turn back. The light grew and dissolved into a spiral. She reached it finally and put her hand out to touch it.
Bad Idea! She thought suddenly as the vortex pulled her in. She felt herself spinning around very fast before she came to a crashing halt and then fell onto her face. She smacked her head on hard stone and before she passed out she saw a shape blurring in front of her.
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Cheers,
Sarcastic Romantic