A/N: Surprise, surprise, I actually updated at a decent time. yay! Anyway, thanks HiddenFlame42 and anna for your encouraging reviews. I appreciate it. Also, sue sue brought up the point that the title and the forgotten birthday/ sibling getting married comes from that 1980's classic movie Sixteen Candles. And although sue sue thinks "ripping this storyline from a movie shows an extreme lack of imagination, and makes you seem a bit lazy for not trying to come up with your own plotline.", I must point out that there are major differences between my story and the movie. You'll see (don't wanna spoil anything). Plus, stuff like this doesn't just happen in the movies. Believe me, it's happened to me. But, if you the reader feel that way, then I have some advice: don't read it! move along! read another fanfic. it's not the end of the world. you'll survive, i'll survive. It's as easy as that. anyway...

Disclaimer: I don't ownit, and I don't own the movie Sixteen Candles(except as a DVD, but that's besides the point).

Now, without further ado...

Chapter Two: Chance Encountering

After Ginny finished her rather unsatisfying breakfast, she got up and washed her bowl out of pure habit. At least they could have left me something warm! She thought scowling.

Usually, whenever it was someone's birthday, Molly Weasley would make a special "Birthday Breakfast" which consisted of every breakfast food conceivable. Ginny had been looking forward to a blueberry muffin and blueberry pancakes, for it was also well known to anyone who knew Ginny that she loved blueberries. All she had been left with though had been cold porridge-- nowhere near her expectations.

The apparent oversight of her birthday and lack of a proper "Birthday Breakfast" was certainly not helping Ginny's already morning-induced foul mood.

She stormed up to her room and slammed the door shut behind her. Flopping onto her bed, she buried her head into her hands. This is not happening! Any moment now, they're all going to burst into my room with presents and sweets in their hands singing "Happy Birthday." Surely then couldn't have forgotten my birthday! Surely Mum couldn't have forgotten!

Indeed the thought was inconceivable. Molly Weasley was known fondly as the "Walking Calendar," for she always remembered birthdays, anniversaries, and even such things as when someone had lost their first tooth. Mrs. Weasley even had the habit of reminding people outside of the family dates they needed to remember.

However, Ginny mused, it had also been inconceivable to Ginny that Percy would actually get married. He was so absorbed in his work with the Ministry that the thought that he could actually care about another person was laughable. His relationship with Penelope Clearwater, however, had clearly been underestimated, for the announcement of their intentions to wed had come nearly six months ago, shocking everybody. Mrs. Weasley had been, of course, ecstatic over the prospect of a Weasley wedding. She quickly set out planning every aspect of the ceremony and reception, conveniently forgetting that the bride's family was usually responsible for such matters. Penelope and her family, though, had been rather amiable and had allowed Mrs. Weasley to plan away, occasionally putting in their own input.

Mr. Weasley had been, of course, happy for his son, but had not gone overboard with the congratulations. The same attitude was also true for Bill, Charlie, and Ron. The twins, on the other hand, were another story. They were simply too amused by the whole thing. Every time they saw Percy, they would tease him and act like live countdowns to the date of the nuptials. They were often heard saying in a song-song voice simultaneously things like, "Why hello there dear brother. Don't worry! Only three months, thirteen days, seven hours, four minutes, and twenty-eight seconds until you get hitched!" It could grow tiresome, and Percy learned to avoid them as much as possible.

Bloody hell, is the world coming to an end! Percy's getting married, and here I am alone and forgotten.

It was then Ginny remembered Diagon Ally. Groaning, she got up half-heartedly and walked downstairs. She was not looking forward to yet another dress robe fitting. It was truly ridiculous how many hours of her life she had wasted sitting around in Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Today, she would be forced to waste even more of her life away.

The thought was enough to once again enrage Ginny. Forcefully snatching up some of the Floo Powder, she threw it into the fire and stepping in screamed in frustration "The Leaky Cauldron!"

A whirlwind of colors and blurred images quickly engulfed her, and the old, familiar sensations of floo travel settled in the pit of her stomach. In a matter of seconds, she was stepping out of the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace, brushing soot off of her black skirt. Taking an unchecked step forward, she tripped over a stool and went sprawling onto the floor. Unfortunately, on the way down, she heard a distinct rip. The ruined condition of her favorite skirt was the last straw. Really, the events of the day were enough to make any girl want to cry. Still lying on the floor, Ginny felt her eyes begin to smart with tears.

Suddenly, becoming aware of her surroundings, she felt a presence beside her. Glancing up, fighting the tears, Ginny saw a familiar pair of startling blue eyes. Embarrassment flooded her face, and she squeezed her eyes shut in the childish attempt to make it just go away.

"Are you ok, Ginny?" a quiet, feminine voice penetrated Ginny's thoughts. Looking up again, Ginny fought the urge to run.

"Just fine, Ari. You?" Ginny got up carefully and attempted a weak smile. Ariadne Zabini was having none of it.

"Fine? You look like hell, Gin! What a shame that skirt ripped! It was so cute, too. Do come with us, though. Blaise and I were just heading out to Muggle London to shop." Ariadne gestured towards her silent brother. "Mum wanted us to look around and see if there was anything interesting. We do that every once in a while. Kind of fun, really."

Ariadne was a sixth year Slytherin, and to say she was unconvential was a serious understatement. Like her brother—Ginny blushed at the thought—Ari had the classic Zabini appearance. With her raven black hair and startling blue eyes, she had the facade of a hard-core Slytherin, but her attitude was anything but. Ari's frequent trips to Muggle London were just a few items on a long list of "Slytherin Don'ts" that Ari conveniently ignored. Yet another was her friendliness toward everyone, even the Slytherin girls who scorned her. Thus, Ari had quite a collection of very diverse friends.

Ginny had meet Ariadne first year during the boat trip over to the castle. Although they had talked easily on the boat, Ginny didn't really see much of Ariadne until 5th Year when she was her Potions partner. Ginny and Ari were not close friends per se, but they did hang out sometimes and spent hours complaining to each other about school and whatnot. However, there was something Ginny would never talk about, and that something was standing not two feet in front of her. Glancing in that direction and then quickly averting her eyes, Ginny blushed again.

Blaise Zabini. What could be said of 7th year Slytherin? He was handsome, smart, athletic, charming, funny, and COMPLETELY out of Ginny's league. Well, Ginny wasn't even sure she had a "league." Basically, he was the definition of a girl's "Dream Man." And at that moment, he was looking at Ginny with amusement dancing in his blue eyes.

"Oh, yes, quite fun. Passes the time anyway. Anyway, you're welcome to come if you want, you being Ari's friend and all. But we must hurry-- have to meet some people in a bit."

Ginny was sure she was imagining it all. Did Blaise Zabini really just talk to her? Was she really dreaming all of this? "Oww." Nope, she wasn't. That pinch had been real all right.

Ariadne blinked. "Sorry, what? I didn't catch that. Was that a yes or a no?"

"Ermm…… ah… I mean, yes. Yes, I'd love to join you."

"Good, come along. O wait, your skirt! Can't have you going out in public like that. Blaise, give her your jacket to put around her waist."

Ginny blushed as she accepted the jacket. She could smell his distinct scent embedded in the soft fabric of the jacket as she tied it around her waist, and she savored it. Had she struck her head during the fall, died, and gone to Heaven? It certainly felt like it. Either that, or she was living in an alternate universe.

She followed Ariadne and Blaise out of the Leaky Cauldron to the Muggle street outside. They hurried down a few streets before they arrived at a small shop that seemed to be quite busy. Blaise hurried in ahead of them. Ariadne looked up at the store sign and smiled.

"Ah, here we are. Looks like Arden and Lark's is busy. Hope you're not claustrophobic, Gin. I love this shop, and apparently, so do a lot of people."

Ginny grinned. "Happy to say that claustrophobia is not one of my phobias. Though, I warn you, if there are people running around with pointy objects running, I might run out screaming. I am deathly afraid of getting my eyes poked out."

Ariadne snorted. "Getting your eyes poked out? I must say, I've never heard that before. Spiders, yes. But the threat of your eyes being poked out in a freak accident? You're the first."

"Yes, well, what can I say? Let's go in and see this shop of yours."

Ariadne's eyes lit up. "O, yes, let's. It's fun." Then grasping Ginny's wrist, Ariadne pulled her into the bustling shop.

The first thing that hit Ginny was delicious smells permeating throughout the small shop. Ginny quickly located the source of the deliciousness. Towards the back of the shop was a glass counter full of pastries and other treats that had Ginny's mouth watering. At the front of the shop were some bookshelves full of all types of books, both old and new. The rest of shop was filled with knick-knacks and random oddities. And toward the back corner were Blaise and Draco Malfoy.

Wait, what? Draco Malfoy? No! Malfoy couldn't possibly be barging in on the first good thing that happened to Ginny on her "Sweet Sixteen!" That was just cruel!

Malfoy looked up and scowled. "What's the Weaslette doing here, Zabini?"

O yes, it was all quickly turning into a nightmare.

...A/N: The plot thickens. Thanks for reading. Reviews welcome. Chapter 3 soon to come.

draco or blaise? haha