Life at Grimmauld place was less than exciting for the teens residing there. Members of the Order could occasionally be seen passing through but for the most part were too busy looking for the missing boy and werewolf to spend much time at the ancient and noble house of Black. The cleaning of the house had been completed early in the summer and with only a few chores to do, the teens were left mainly to their own devices to pass the time.
Ron spent most of his time trying to convince Hermione or Ginny to play chess with him or reading about the Chudley Cannons latest defeat. Hermione, unsurprisingly, spent most of her time in the library reading up on various subjects that interested her or unsuccessfully looking for counters to the tracking spell Dumbledore had placed on Hedwig. It was mostly busy work to keep her mind off her missing friend as she knew she was too scared of a Ministry reprimand to cast the counter curse even if she found it.
Ginny took the disappearance the hardest, feeling as if her dreams which had been so close to coming true had slipped away from her. She continued to write her other friends and the letters helped her pass the time but her thoughts always seemed to find their way back to the emerald eyed boy she'd had a crush on for as long as she could remember.
It was a long month at Grimmauld place without Harry there, but by the time September first rolled around they were all resigned to the fact that they would not be seeing him for a long time. The entrance hall was bustling with activity as the occupants prepared to leave for school.
"Ronald Weasley!" Molly yelled up the stairs, "Get down here this instant or you'll be staying here with me this year!"
With wide eyes and a slightly pale complexion at the thought of having to spend the school year at home with his mum, Ron quickly made his way down the stairs with his trunk thumping along behind him.
Molly sighed in exasperation as Ron appeared at the bottom of the stairs and shaking her head let out an exasperated harrumph. "I swear, how you can wait until the last minute to do everything I'll never understand." As she continued to rant at her youngest son she opened his trunk and cast a spell to fold and neatly pack the clothes that had been sticking out from the sides.
Their packing complete, the adults in the room shrank the teen's trunks so they'd be easier to carry and the group set off for a tube station a few blocks down. As they passed through the turnstiles to board the under ground Molly wore a slight grin. She was sorry her husband had to work today, he would have loved to experience the muggle transportation, but she was also glad he wasn't there to slow them down with his many questions and interactions with any muggles who happened by the group.
They made it too the station with fifteen minutes to spare and quickly slipped through the barrier at platform 9 ¾. Once on the other side the adults enlarged the trunks and the group said their goodbyes.
As they approached the Hogwarts Express, Hermione, Ron and Ginny noticed there were many people looking at them and it didn't take them long to realize they were all looking for their missing friend, Harry Potter.
Shaking off their inquiring looks, the group quickly made their way on to the train and began searching for an empty compartment. Near the end of the train they finally found one containing Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood.
"Hi Neville! Hi Luna!" Ginny said as she led the group into the carriage.
"Hi Ginny!" Neville replied followed shortly by the odd Ravenclaw they had befriended.
The rest of the group exchanged greetings and stowed their trunks before taking their seats.
"Where's Harry?" Neville finally asked. He was surprised to see the sadness that appeared on their faces.
After a moment Hermione responded. "He left this summer, he isn't going to Hogwarts this year."
Neville was visibly shocked by the news but Luna seemed completely unsurprised by the revelation as she continued to read her upside down edition of the Quibbler.
"It's probably the Frobnarles. I knew his hair was infested with them, it's the only explanation for why it stays messy the way it does. He's probably gone to see a Witch Doctor in Larnabubu to have them exercised."
Hermione look somewhat scandalized by the young Ravenclaw's theories while the rest of the compartments occupants were grinning and trying their best not to laugh.
A moment later the trains whistle sounded and it lurched into motion. Getting up from her seat, Hermione gestured to Ron. "Come on Ron, it's time to go to the prefects car to meet with the other prefects and Head Boy and Girl."
Ron groaned as he got up from his seat and reluctantly followed Hermione out of the car.
"See you later guys." he said as he left.
"We'll save your seats and grab you some food from the cart when it comes by." Neville replied getting a grin from Ron at the thought of the food cart.
As the door closed behind the pair of prefects, Neville turned to Ginny. "So what exactly happened with Harry this summer?"
Ginny sighed and began her story noticing that Luna had closed her Quibbler and was listening intently to the story she was telling. She had just finished up when the door to their compartment slid open to reveal a nervous looking Dean Thomas standing in the doorway.
"Hi Dean." Ginny greeted the boy she had exchanged several letters with over the summer.
"Hey Ginny." he replied before turning to the other occupants of the carriage. "Hey Nev, Hey Luna."
Neville returned the greeting and Luna replied with a smile before Dean returned his attention to Ginny.
"Umm, I was wondering if we could talk for a minute? Alone?" he said nervously.
Ginny smiled and got up from her seat. "Sure Dean."
With a quick wave to her friends, Ginny left the compartment and followed Dean to an empty one further up the train. He gestured her in before him and closed the door as he entered the compartment. Turning to find a smiling Ginny sitting on one of the benches he nervously took a seat next to her.
"What's up Dean?" Ginny finally asked.
Dean was ringing his hands and having a hard time looking at the beautiful redhead sitting next to him. "I, well, I mean I really enjoyed writing to you this summer."
"I did too. It was nice to keep in touch this summer."
Dean seemed to gain a small amount of courage from her replies. "It's good to see you again, you look amazing."
Ginny blushed slightly at his comment.
"I was hoping maybe you would go to Hogsmeade with me sometime?"
Ginny felt a small flutter in her chest at the question, she really did like Dean a lot and thought he was pretty cute.
"I'd like that." she said smiling.
After letting out a deep breath he had been holding, Dean reached out and took her hand in his before taking another deep breath. "I was also hoping that you might want to be my girlfriend?"
Ginny's breath hitched in her chest. She felt another small flutter in her chest but also saw an image of Harry drift across her mind. Her thought's seemed to be a mess, she really liked Dean but it was Harry she loved. But Harry had left and she wouldn't be able to see him for who knows how long. Finally she decided she needed to move on.
Still a bit unsure, she looked into Dean's eyes and nodded.
A large grin lit up Dean's face as he saw Ginny's nod and he slowly leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
Pulling back after the short kiss, Ginny wasn't sure quite what to think. The kiss had been nice, but that was about it. There was no overwhelming passion or lightning and the world definitely had not moved. It was just nice.
As she looked back at Dean she could see the dreamy look on his face and began to feel terrible that within a minute of agreeing to be his girlfriend, she already knew he wasn't the one.
Standing up from her seat she held out her hand. "Come on Dean," she said with a smile, "let's go back to the others."
A grinning Dean took her hand and led her out of the small compartment. As they walked down the train, Ginny thought about the quick kiss they had just shared and how she thought it was just 'nice'. It occurred to her that Harry had described his first kiss with Cho Chang as 'wet' and her description of her first kiss with Dean was not all that far off from that, only lacking the tears. A bit further down the train Ginny stopped and Dean turned to look at her. "I need to stop by the loo. I'll meet you back with the others."
Dean nodded and leaned in to give her another quick peck before turning and heading down the train. Entering the loo, Ginny locked the door and cast a quick silencing charm before sitting on the counter with her legs tucked up against her and her arms wrapped around them as she started to cry.
Thoughts of Harry raced through her mind as the tears continued to stream down her face. She quickly realized she didn't really want to date anyone right now but she really did like Dean and didn't want to hurt him. She also realized that Harry was gone and even when she did see him again, there was no guarantee he wanted the same thing she wanted. Who's to say he wouldn't meet someone else wherever he was and move on anyway?
Finally coming to a decision, Ginny wiped the tears from her eyes and cast a quick spell to remove the redness and puffiness from her eyes before canceling her silencing spell and heading back to the compartment she was sharing with her friends, and her boyfriend. She would stay with Dean.
Opening the door to the compartment, Ginny put on her brightest smile and walked in.
Dean looked up with a large smile on his face as she entered and after closing the door behind her she took a seat next to him, giving his hand a small squeeze as he took hold of hers when she sat down.
Ron and Hermione had returned while she was gone and Ron was now glaring at Dean.
"What the bloody hell is this about?" Ron finally ground out looking at the pair.
Dean once again began looking very nervous, even more so that he had when he had been asking Ginny out. "I, well, I mean, well, umm, Ginny and I are dating now." he ended softly, barely able to maintain Ron's gaze.
He seemed to shrink as Ron began turning red and looked to be about to start in on his roommate.
"That's enough!" Ginny finally roared standing up but not letting go of Dean's hand as she began laying into her brother. "It's none of your bloody business who I date so sod off Ronald Weasley!"
"The bloody hell it isn't!" he yelled back standing to face his sister. Though he didn't show it he paled inside at the cold calculating look that appeared on her face as she took in his comment.
"Fine." she replied laughing to herself at the look of shock that appeared on his face. After giving him a few seconds to fully absorb her comment she continued. "That's absolutely perfect. If you feel it's your right to get in the middle of all my relationships, then I think it's only fair that I be allowed in the middle of yours."
Ginny completely ignored the look of horror that crossed his face as she turned towards Hermione. "My stupid git of a brother has been in love with you since before your fourth year. It's all I ever hear out of him when you're not around. 'Oh Ginny, do you think she could ever love me back?' 'Oh Ginny, she's so beautiful, I love her so much.'. You have no idea how sick I am of hearing him go on and on about how beautiful and wonderful you are and how much he loves you."
Hermione's eyes were open wide and her mouth was hanging open in shock at Ginny's revelations. Looking very smug, Ginny turned back to her brother who was the brightest shade of red that she's ever seen, his look a mixture of anger and embarrassment. A moment later he fled the compartment slamming the door loudly behind him.
Taking a deep breath, Ginny let out a long sigh. She released Dean's hand as she sat down, crossing her arms as she did. Staring at the floor thinking about what she had just done, she couldn't help but think that maybe she had gone a bit too far. Looking up she found Hermione hadn't budged an inch and was still staring at her with the same look of astonishment on her face.
"Sorry Hermione." Ginny mumbled.
Hermione seemed to snap out of her daze at Ginny's apology and blushed slightly as she noticed everyone in the compartment looking at her.
Luna looked up from her Quibble with a dreamy look on her face. "You know, often the cause…" she trailed off deciding it might be best to let this one go as she saw the glare she was receiving from Hermione.
The uncomfortable silence stretched out for a few minutes before the door to the compartment was thrown open and Draco Malfoy stepped in with his two goons close behind.
"Well, well, if it isn't Potter's little fan club." Malfoy said in a pompous drawl. "I hear the Golden Boy of Gryffindor finally showed his true colors and ran away like the coward I always knew he was."
Everyone in the compartment was fuming except Dean who seemed to be a bit out of his element and even somewhat scared about what was going on.
"Sod of Malfoy, you don't have a clue what you're talking about." Ginny growled out in Harry's defense.
"Ah the Weaslet." he said looking her up and down. She could actually feel her skin crawl as his eyes raked up and down her body. "Still pining after Potter eh? Why don't you forget about that looser and come with me? I'm sure we can find something entertaining to do for the rest of the train ride."
That was it, Ginny was already in a bad mood and this slimy arrogant git had just pushed her over the edge. Skipping anymore pleasantries she pulled her wand and launched her famous bat bogey hex straight at Malfoy's face. Without a chance to dodge or fight back, Malfoy ran from the compartment with bogey's chasing him and attacking his head the whole way.
Crabb and Goyle started to advance on Ginny but quickly shied away and followed behind their leader as they realized Hermione and Luna had their wands trained on them while wearing cold looks of fury on their faces.
Slamming the door closed behind them Ginny returned to her seat. She shook of Dean's hand as he tried to take hold of hers. "Thanks a lot for the help Dean, and for standing up to Malfoy for me." she said crossing her arms with a frown on her face. Dean didn't say anything but had the courteousness to look abashed.
Wonderful, Ginny thought, this relationships off to a great start.
Eventually the train neared Hogsmeade and the students all changed into their Hogwarts robes. As the train pulled to a stop the group stepped off and onto the platform where they could hear the familiar and comforting voice of the friendly half giant booming above the crowd of students.
"Firs years oer here. Firs years this way!"
They waved to Hagrid and after receiving a wave and loud greeting in response headed towards the carriages for the trip to the castle.
The ride was quiet as the occupants of the carriage contemplated a year at Hogwarts without Harry. As the castle came into view the twinkling lights held little of their normal warmth and the excitement of the coming year was duller than normal.
The carriages finally pulled to a stop next to the front doors of the castle and the teens all stepped out. Sighing in resignation Ginny stepped up next to Dean and took his hand, giving him a smile and receiving one in return as they made their way up the stairs to the front doors of Hogwarts.
Luna separated from the group with a small wave as they entered the great hall and made their ways to their respective houses tables. Ron had rejoined the group in the carriages and sat with them at the tables but he would not speak and he and Hermione pointedly refused to look at each other. Not long after sitting down the hall became quite and the sorting ceremony proceeded. Once the new students had all been sorted into their new houses, Headmaster Dumbledore stood to address the returning students.
"Welcome everyone to another year at Hogwarts. I can see you are all hungry so without further ado, let the feast begin!"
With a clap of his hands the tables filled with all manner of delicious looking dishes and the students happily dug in.
The feast passed slowly as Hermione, Ron and Ginny had to repeatedly put off the many Griffindors and well wishers from the DA who wanted to know where Harry was. Eventually, however, the feast was finished and the tables cleared as the Headmaster stood.
"Now that we've all been fed and watered I have a few announcements to make. First, Mr. Filches list of items which are banned from the castle has grown to include all of the items created by the infamous Weasley twins."
Many snickers and grins could be seen at this announcement. Ginny smiled and made a mental note to write the twins later to let them know. They'd be thrilled!
"Also as usual, the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all who do not wish an early and no doubt painful death."
Once again several students could be seen grinning or acting innocent at the announcement.
"Classes start tomorrow so I suggest you all try to get a good nights sleep instead of staying up all night chatting. Prefects, please lead the first years to the dormitories."
With the announcements complete the students all rose and headed up to their dormitories. As Hermione, Ron and Ginny entered the common room they were confronted by a large group of curious Gryffindors.
They spent the next hour or so giving explanations until finally most of Gryffindor had headed off to bed. Walking towards the stairs, Ginny gave Dean a quick kiss before heading up to her dorm room. After filling in the girls with the details of her and Dean's relationship she was finally able to change and climb in to bed.
She cast a quick silencing charm around her bed followed by the lumos charm. In the dim light given off by her wand, Ginny stared at a small picture of Harry she had been carrying with her ever since he had gone missing. Tears slid down her cheeks as she cried for her lost friend and what could have been.
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AN: Hey everyone, I'm back! Sorry for the lack of updates recently, but as you may have picked up from some of my other few and far between Author's Notes, I've been pretty busy with the new job and all lately. Not to worry though, I find myself with a fair amount of spare time again and should be able to crank a few updates out. Sorry this chapters a bit shorter than the others but the story is in a bit of a transitional point. Thing will be picking up again soon.
I'm thrilled to see that Kaela has been so well accepted. I really like the way her character has come out. It'll be interesting to see how she develops in future chapters! I love all the hub-bub I've managed to create over the pairing and fully intend to continue to twist the knife for quite a while!
MintChocolate5 – You were wondering if you were going to hear anymore of Ginny, was that anything like what you were expecting? Grins!
Shavaineth – Nice catch on Bella's hair. I'd like to say that she was in disguise…yeah, that's it, it was a disguise… but the truth is I screwed up. Oh well, nice one!
GlueStik – You're right, I should have put something in about Harry and the crew noticing Hedwig had not returned. I firmly believe that they would know exactly why she didn't though.
Shinigami – You'll just have to wait and see… smirks…
Dragonmaster – Thanks so much for you wonderful review! You bring up many fascinating points and seem to be thinking a lot deeper than I am. Thanks. Just so you know, I will not be killing Kaela or her mom off.
As always, thank you all so much for all of your reviews and support. As I mentioned before, I do find myself with more time again so am happily back to writing. I'll do my best to get the next chapter out much quicker than this one! Thanks for reviewing!