Chapter 7: Mass Murderers and Muriel
-The Truth Behind Major Events-
Although the house was not much of Ginny's style‒not much of any sane person's style if she was being completely honest‒ Ginny loved being around Harry. Growing up, she had always been hidden in the background. With all of her brothers competing for her parents' attention and the affirmation of their brothers, she was normally overlooked as only a little girl. Besides the twins and Bill, her other three brothers had very little time for her, especially after they went to Hogwarts.
Furthermore, her only friend for years was Luna. Even though Luna was amazing, her thought process changed after her mother's death. She was a completely different person. She and her father used their oddities to cope with the devastating loss. Younger, naive Ginny didn't understand their reasoning, but after the Chamber Ginny did. Ginny now understood wanting to lose oneself in their imagination; however, her stubborn nature and lack of such an imaginative imagination hindered her efforts at the beginning of the summer of trying to live in a make believe world.
She also had the hardest time making friends her first year. Ginny literally had Voldemort in her head. Why would anyone want to deal with that. Her family surely didn't. Her parents avoided her eye contact, Charlie had not even written to her since April, Percy left the room whenever she walked in and ignored her, and Ron sneered at her in a Draco Malfoy like fashion. The only reason Ginny was sane at the beginning of the summer was the constant encouragement from Bill and the efforts of bulstoring her spirits from Fred and George.
But Harry treated her like a normal person. Like someone who mattered, who was untainted, who had no right to be judged. To Harry, she was just Ginny, the girl who was beginning to understand his own mind, the girl who had the possibility of becoming a friend. And if Ginny was being honest with herself, that is all she really wanted, especially at the young age of 11 almost 12. Yes, a boyfriend would be nice, but a friend would be just as good.
As the tour finished up (rather quickly due to the number of uninhabited rooms in the house), Ginny followed Harry downstairs. They were chatting about everything from electricity to Hogwarts and from treacle tart to quidditch. The ease of conversation astonished both of them, especially since the start had been rocky at best, but both pre-teens were starved for a casual conversation. A chance to just be children.
Their nonchalant chatter abruptly haltered, however, when they entered the kitchen. Dancing in front of the stove making grilled cheese sandwiches was Sirius Black. He looked much more amicable and healthy than the wanted posters plastered on all of the issues of the Daily Prophet, but that really wasn't saying too much if Ginny was being honest. The two friends began to laugh quietly as they watched Sirius dance to a strange tune he was humming under his breath, although the tune wasn't the strangest part. The dancing was hilarious. There was no way to accurately describe it, but the closest description would be of a bizarre mix between the traditional Russian Dance, an Irish Jig, and street dancing. All in all, it was a train wreck, and a great form of entertainment.
After a minute or two, Harry finally interrupted, "Hey Sirius, isn't it polite to at least acknowledge guests?"
Sirius jumped about a foot in the air, bringing the grilled cheese he was making up with him. Both landed on the floor. "Shit! Harry you scared me!" Sirius then turned to Ginny, "Hello, you must be the lovely Ginny Weasly Harry was so excited to meet today. Welcome to the majestic and modern home of the Black family." Sirius then did a mock bow, emphasizing the mockery of the house even more.
Ginny smiled, "And you must be the Mass Murderer Sirius Black." Sirius feigned offense before Ginny continued. "I got to say, this house really matches your last name." At this all three busted out in laughter.
"I got to say Harry, you really underplayed the wit of Miss Weasley here," Sirius said once they finally calmed down. "If I would've known I would be in the company of such an expert on sarcasm, I would have prepared some more material. You know it's been a while since I participated in such lovely banter."
This caused Harry to chuckle once more. "If I would've known what to expect I would have warned you. Instead I warned GInny of your own tactics."
"Oh trust me," Ginny began, "I've been able to hold my own since I was three-years-old. You have to learn how to think on your feet with six older brothers, two of them being Fred and George."
"Oh!" Sirius interjected, "Harry told me about those two. Now tell me, what can you tell me about the best prank they've pulled. But let me serve lunch first. Don't worry. This old dog will eat the one that fell of the ground" Sirius finished by gesturing to himself. He then proceeded to pass out the grilled cheese sandwiches, which everyone promptly began to eat.
"It would depend. Do you find public humiliation, fear, or good natured fun better?"
"Why not all three?"
"Okay! Well there was this one time…" and Harry and Sirius were told about Ginny's favorite prank done by the twins. It involved shaving cream, candy corn, and a battery somehow.
"Are you all ready for the best part?" asked Ginny. Sirius and Harry both nodded with anticipation. "Well, the twins didn't exactly pull off the prank. I did." At this Harry and Sirius were practically rolling around on the ground with their laughter while Ginny was grinning like a cat who caught the canary.
"That was the best story ever, Gin," Harry said. "Never knew you could be so devious." Ginny smiled again. She was beginning to see Harry as a friend and he was seeing her as one too. She was so happy that she didn't even mind the fact that he called her Gin, a nickname that particularly irritated her when she was growing up.
Glancing up at the clock, Ginny saw that it was already two o'clock. "Oh no, Aunt Muriel will be home within the hour. I should probably get going." The three stood up and began to make their way to the door.
Sirius whispered a goodbye and said, "feel free to stop by any time, Ginny. It was a pleasure having you around. Conversation with Harry tends to get monotonous."
"Hey!" Harry whisper yelped. "I'm taking offense to that! I am not boring."
"Just keep telling yourself that, Potter," Ginny interjected. "Now, shouldn't you be walking me home?"
"Well of course dear lady, I'll be back soon Sirius!" At that both preteens left the house and started walking down the street. Harry turned to Ginny and said, "Really Ginny, feel free to come over any time."
"Oh, I will, Things tend to get boring sitting around Muriel's stuffy old house. I could use a break."
"Good!"
And at that the duo continued walking down the street in amiable silence. This time, it was only 3 blocks instead of 6 for Ginny, which for once disappointed her.
As they approached Aunt Muriel's house, Harry stopped and looked at Ginny, "Look, Gin, I.. um… wrote a letter for you a few weeks ago. You know, to check up on how you were doing." Harry ran his fingers through his hair. "I know we didn't get into all that deep conversation stuff today, but I just want to let you know that I'm here for you. But, um, the letter explains part of what I am thinking."
Ginny smiled at Harry while he gave her the letter he had hidden in his pocket. "I appreciate that. And you know that listening thing goes both ways. I'm here for you too." Ginny briefly paused before continuing. "I also want to thank you for today. So far you and Sirius were the only ones who treated me like I wasn't made of glass or the Future Dark Dutches of the Magical world. I really appreciate it."
"I understand what you mean, Gin. Sometimes it's like people treat us like kids, but then they expect us to act like adults. Kind of a contradiction."
At that Harry and Ginny heard a cry of "Ginevra! Ginevra where are you!" from inside the house.
"Well, I guess Aunt Muriel is looking for me. Bye Harry! I might try and come over tomorrow."
"That would be great! See ya."
And at that, Ginny left to go make tea and biscuits for Aunt Muriel and Harry made the trek home to Grimmauld Place. Unbeknownst to them, this was the start of a beautiful friendship. One between two who saw each other as equals in everything. One that when the friends were together, they could accomplish anything. This friendship would grow to heights, rarely seen to people. It was the kind of friendship that was a once in many life times kind of thing. And it was just the beginning.
-The Truth Behind Major Events-
A/N
Hey y'all! I thought I was going to include Ginny reading the letter in this chapter, but her interactions with Sirius and Harry were longer than expected, so that's gonna be in Chapter 8! Hope you all are having a better week than I am. Please give me some critiques, especially on my introduction of dialogue. It feels bleh to me.
Have a nice night/day/morning/whatever!
~SS
-The Truth Behind Major Events-
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter stuff is JKR's in this entire story. Please don't sue me.
