AN: This is mostly for my good friend Openbookclosedmind. My silly friend insisted that it was not super nerdy to write HP fanfiction. Now look, I like it.
I need reviews. I crave them. Satisfy my craving?
So, I don't own HP… wouldn't that be nice? Think of the fun…
Ginny Weasley tossed her messenger bag over her shoulder and called back to a classmate "What time are we studying tonight?" She smiled at the answer, unaware of the pretty picture she made in the sunlight, all burnished red hair and bright smiles. A wizarding camera flashed, its light lost in the brightness of the day and Ginny Weasley's image was captured. The shadowed figure turned away, his camera hidden again, and disappeared, leaving no trace of his appearance on the grounds of Hogwarts. Ginny dashed off, rushing to meet her friends before heading off to Potions. Her photographer made his way to the edge of the grounds and disapperated, leaving nothing behind.
The date was awkward, as most first dates turn out to be. It was a Hogsmeade weekend and Ginny was currently stirring a cup of tea with a little silver spoon, her hair pulled back and her eyes watching the swirling drink. A sharp rattle caused her to glance up at Seamus, a smile immediately coming to her face.
"What's wrong?" The expression on her face was amused.
Seamus cleared his throat. "Is there somewhere else we could go?" His freckled face blushed so easily. It was open and honest, one of the things that attracted him to her.
"Uh… yeah, we could just walk." She suggested, trying not to blush herself. It was awkward for her to be like this with any boy, especially Seamus. When Harry left, he'd kissed her forehead and whispered, "Don't wait for me, Gin. I can't promise I'll come back." Ginny had looked up at him, eye filled with unshed tears but mouth firm. She nodded once, acquiescing to his last wish.
"Damn, I'm so bad at this!" She swore, coming back to her sense and standing up quickly, trying to hide from Seamus' eyes. He had been so good even though he knew that she could never truly be his. He reached to take her hand and she let him, mostly out of pity.
"We'll figure it out." He whispered in her ear. She blushed and tears filled her eyes. How did he always know what she was thinking?
The two walked quietly in the sunlight, hands clasped and heads bowed, heading for Lover's Hill, a prominent feature of the Hogsmeade landscape. Their minds were busy, both trying to guess what the other was thinking. Before they reached the top, Ginny pulled him away towards a more secluded site on the slope facing away from Hogsmeade.
"Please, I don't want to be on display." She said, reaching for his other hand. He smiled down at her, all big blue eyes and blond hair.
"I understand." He pulled her close, and they stood together in the bright afternoon sun, swaying to music neither heard nor understood. They knew they were neither one enough for the other but just for now it was good to pretend.
Afternoons like that did not happen enough. Dark magic had been released in the Wizarding world and some innocents would always pay the price. Three weeks before Christmas, Seamus fell in a preemptive strike for which he had volunteered. Dumbledore's death had left the school in a patriotic fervor with flames only fanned by Harry, Ron, and Hermione's departure from Hogwarts to "battle Voldemort." Very few people, Ginny being one, knew what they were truly looking for. The night before Seamus left, Ginny met him on top of the Astronomy tower where he proceeded to slip a ring on her finger. Ginny wore that ring on a necklace, keeping it close to her heart. The fire of her hair was covered with black lace at the funeral; Seamus' body was burned in the tradition of ancient Wizarding warriors. Standing in the flickering firelight, Ginny's life took on a new bent. Her eyes narrowed and her heart hardened. Life would not find her waiting again.
When Remus Lupin arrived at Hogwarts after Christmas to teach his new "Advanced Defense" class, he found one student waiting for him, Ginny.
"Go to bed, Ginny." He said, his voice sad and his eyes tired. "We'll begin tomorrow." He walked off down the darkened hallway, rain dripping from the edges of his traveling cloak. His footsteps echoed in a melancholy way, bouncing off the hallways and ringing through the suits of armor. Moments later, in front of a roaring fire in his apartments, he thought about the good times he'd spent here. It was a quiet and lonely school without Dumbledore and the three around. He reached for a poker and stirred up the fire, smiling at its sudden warmth. He reached over for the steaming goblet of butterbeer, downing it with two shuddery gulps.
With a little stab, Remus knew that he shouldn't have been so quick with the Weasley girl. She was a lonely little thing now that her brother and friends were gone. He allowed himself to think of her, eyes hard, skin pale standing in the Great Hall watching him. For just a moment he wondered when she'd become so grown-up. Then he forced himself to think of Tonks. Where was she tonight? He'd lost her so quickly. They'd had only one perfect summer. Only one and then she was gone. Just that quickly, one curse and she was gone. The medics said she felt nothing but Remus knew the truth. True love always hurts.
There had been several close calls in the Daily Post recently and even one in muggle tabloids. As the werewolf go-between for the ministry, he'd had to investigate these stories himself, an unpleasant task.
His hardest task was meeting with a little girl in the hospital, looking into her eyes and telling her the truth. Her test had come back positive. She would never see the full-moon again from human eyes. When she cried, all he could do was hold on, listening to her little snuffles. It was only a week later that he held off his transformation for a full hour so he could hold her while her snuffles turned into screams. Then, he touched noses with this little gray wolf and turned, allowing himself to be loaded into the back of a carriage and carried back to his apartment. Then he settled down, tail over nose, to wait out his curse.
Trying to distract himself, Remus pulled out the class list he had been given. The names were familiar to him. A few even brought smiles to his face. "Let's see," He mused, running his finger down the page. "Creevey, Colin; Corner, Michael; Greengrass, Daphne; Longbottom, Neville; Lovegood, Luna; Smith, Zacharias; Weasley, Ginny." At the name Greengrass, his eyebrows shot up. "A Slytherin on the list," He mused. "This could bode well for the class." Closing his eyes, he spared himself further thought and fell fast asleep.
Ginny Weasley found herself unable to sleep. She lay in her massive, dusty bed and tried to remember life when it was simple. With a little snort she thought about how very pathetic that made her sound. "Life was simple." Holding a pillow over her face, she fought to contain her giggles. "Life has never been simple. How boring would that have been?" Ginny Weasley was made for the abnormal, the insane. She would have hated any stab at normality. Her attempts to remain quiet failed as her giggles grew louder.
"I'm pleased that some of us have time for this foolishness." An icy voice hissed through the room.
Ginny looked over at one of her many roommates and replied, "Shut up Melinda, it's not too late to apply for a Slytherin transfer." She flipped Melinda off and rolled over, all humor gone from her face. The velvet comforter felt too hot against her cheek and her legs were sticky against the sheets.
Melinda, a light sleeper, grumbled back before pulling her curtains shut with a loud bang. Ginny humphfed one more time then remembered the hilarity of her situation and abandoned her fight for sleep. Instead, she sat up, tucking her feet into cozy slippers at the side of her bed and grabbing her wand. She padded down the stairs of her dorm and collapsed into one of the chairs. From her vantage point the fire flickered and she imagined pictures in it.
She found herself there in the morning, hunched in the chair, the fire gone to coals and her neck stiff. A blanket was laid across her lap and she looked up into the worried face of Colin Creevey.
"You okay Gin?" He asked. At her slightly pained nod, he smiled and tugged on the blanket. "You looked cold. You know," he continued. "You should get more sleep." Almost despite herself, Ginny had to chuckle.
"I'll take that into consideration next time." She smiled, her tone light and a bit sarcastic. Could war ever be good for a person? If so, war had been good for Colin Creevey. He had come into his own since Harry had left, becoming a taller young man with a ready smile and slightly messy brown hair. He held out his hand and Ginny used it to pull herself up. She grinned up at Colin,
"I'm such a mess. If it makes you feel any better, I wasn't out drinking last night." Colin grinned back at her.
"I assumed as much Miss Weasley." He teased, "McGonagall would never stand for it, her prized pupil out drinking too much butterbeer at night!" Ginny punched his arm lightly.
"That would be you, Mr. Genius." She laughed, running a hand through her messy hair. "Hey, I've got to go. I've got class in an hour." Colin watched as she ran up the stairs before turning away and heading out the portrait hole. After the Fat Lady swung shut behind him, he walked towards the Great Hall whistling tunelessly.
Meanwhile, Ginny was rushing through her morning preparations and pulling on her robes feverishly. After rooting through her trunk and pulling out a hairbrush, she ran for the stairs. Ten minutes later she skidded through the door and into her seat, just on time for Charms.