TW: Mentions and descriptions of parental neglect and abuse
Ginny Weasley was an absolutely perfect miracle child. At least, that's what her parents thought.. The youngest of seven siblings. The only girl born to the Weasley line in five generations. A girl with bright copper hair that she usually wore in loose braids, and freckles spattered across her face and body, like stars in the night sky.
She looked up to her brothers, wrote to Charlie and Bill daily, and followed the twins around constantly. Every summer, she would ask Percy to teach her whatever he'd learned in school that year (even if he was terribly stuffy and condescending about it)
And then there was Ron. Ginny didn't particularly like Ron. Ron was annoying. But Ron was friends with Harry Potter. And Ron and the twins were bringing Harry Potter to the Burrow. Ginny, like many little witches, had a crush on Harry Potter. Who wouldn't? His books showcased his many adventures -how he was kind to everyone. How he was brave and good and absolutely, positively perfect.
When Ginny saw him in her own kitchen, she squealed and ran upstairs, blushing from head to toe. That summer, she shadowed Harry constantly, sneaking behind trees and in bushes whenever she saw him with Ron or one of her other brothers.. At least she did until one bright August morning.
On that particular morning, she was up a tree, huddled in the crook of where all the limbs met, when she heard Harry and Ron approach. She ducked into the leaves, hidden from view, as they walked towards the tree and sat at the base, sinking down with their legs sprawled out.
"I can't wait to go back to Hogwarts," Harry said.
"Really?" said Ron, "Even with everyone in Slytherin?"
Harry shook his head fervently, "No, not them. Evil gits, the whole lot of them."
"Too right."
"You know, Malfoy always acts like Greengrass is a saint."
"Which one?"
"Hermione."
"Since when do you know the snake's names?"
"Since Malfoy yelled at her about being nice to her. While we were in the Forest of all places. Honestly, he needs to get his priorities straight."
Ron scoffed, "She's a snake. End of story."
"I know! She wouldn't have been sorted into Slytherin if she wasn't just like the rest of them."
Ginny's heart sank as she realised that maybe, just maybe, Harry Potter wasn't as perfect as she had always thought he was.
Because she wanted to be in Slytherin. Actually, it was more than that. It wasn't that she wanted to be in Slytherin. It was that she knew she would be in Slytherin with every fibre of her being. When Bill had told her the traits of each of the four houses, that was the one she'd matched with. Indeed, from the very first time she'd heard the name Slytherin, it had called to her, called to something deep within her.
The boys continued to complain about and deride each member of Slytherin one by one, until her mother called them from the Burrow. Ginny let out a sigh of relief, and swung herself down from the tree. She landed lightly, feet sinking into the soft grass, before running off to find Fred and George.
They turned out to be sitting by the lake, skipping rocks.
"Fred! George!" Ginny called out, as she ran towards them. They turned around, twin smiles on their faces.
"Ginny!"
"What brings you here?" George asked.
"Besides you wanting to hang out with your favourite brothers," Fred winked.
Ginny paused. "I have some questions." They gestured for her to continue. "About Hogwarts."
"You came to the right blokes then!" Fred grinned.
"Nobody knows more about Hogwarts than we do," George bragged.
Ginny gave them a small smile, "I know. I just need to swear you guys to secrecy. You can't tell anyone about this, okay?" She paused. "And please don't make fun of me," she pleaded.
Fred and George exchanged a worried look, mentally communicating in the way that only twins could. They seemed to come to a decision. "Of course," George said softly.
"Anything for our favourite little sister," Fred added.
Ginny gathered all her courage, and took in a deep breath. "Do you guys….hate Slytherin?"
George shook his head, "I don't, not really. And Fred," he hit his twin in the shoulder, "really likes Slytherins. In fact, you could say he lo-"
Fred clamped a hand over George's mouth, blushing Gryffindor scarlet, "Er - well, they're all right, I think. At least, they don't deserve the hate they get from Gryffindor."
Ginny's eyes lit up. "You have a crush on a Slytherin!"
George grinned triumphantly as he wrestled his way out of Fred's headlock, "Her name's Emiline Rosier."
"Hey!" Fred protested, "I swore you to secrecy-"
"Oh come on! Anyone with half a brain can tell you like her!" George crowed, "You watch her in the Great Hall so often, you'd think your eyes were attached to her!"
"That's brilliant, Fred," Ginny said genuinely, before her brothers could start tussling again.
Fred froze, his head snapping towards her, "Really?"
Ginny nodded. "Yeah. What's she like?"
Fred lit up, "She's absolutely incredible. She's a Beater on the Quidditch team and she's wicked good at it. She hit me with a bludger twice during the Slytherin-Gryffindor game." Fred's smile was goofy, and took up his whole face. "She's incredible at dueling and Charms. We were partners for a duel in DADA this last year, and it was the most fun I've ever had. She hit me with a jinx so that I had to speak in rhymes for the rest of the day, and when McGonagall tried to fix it during Transfiguration, she couldn't! Emiline just sat there with a smug expression on her face. It was wonderful."
"She acts like she hates our pranks, but I think she secretly likes them," George added.
"She totally does," said Fred confidently.
"Any other questions?" asked George.
"Do you know who Hermione Greengrass is?" Ginny asked.
George's face went hard. "Where'd you hear her name?"
Ginny bit the inside of her cheek, "I overheard Harry and Ron complaining about her. They said some really awful things."
Fred's face darkened, "They haven't eased up on her?"
"What?" Ginny asked.
George launched into an explanation. "Hermione Greengrass is this Slytherin firstie. She's close to Draco Malfoy, which" he held up a hand hastily, "is neither here nor there. I know Mum and Dad don't like the Malfoys, but I've never really met any of them, so I'm reserving judgement until I do. She's got a twin sister named Daphne and also hangs out with a Nott-"
"-Theo Nott-" Fred cut in.
"-And a Parkinson-"
"-Pansy Parkinson-"
"Who are both in her house in her year. There's also an Italian kid with a famous mother who she also hangs around-"
"-Blaise Zabini-"
"And some Hufflepuff whose name I can't remember-"
"-Hannah Abbott-"
"And she's also friends with Neville Longbottom. Really sweet girl, from what I can tell. For some reason Harry and Ron, especially Ron, have it out for her and her friends. They mostly go after her, though Merlin knows why. She hasn't really done anything to them! We've told them to back off, as has McGonagall, but for some reason they won't."
"She's also Emiline's cousin," Fred added, "I'll sometimes see her and Emiline eating together. And she once covered for us when Filch was trying to grab us for covering his office in peanut butter. She'd seen us go running round the corner and hide behind one of the suits of armour, and when Filch came running by and asked her where we'd gone, she told him the wrong direction, and then went off like it was nothing."
"Don't know why she did it, but she did, so that's earned her a spot in our good books,"George shrugged.
"Wait," said Ginny, "How do you know all their names, Fred?"
Now it was Fred's turn to shrug, "I make sure that I know everybody's name in the castle."
Ginny nodded, tucking that piece of information away. "Okay, my last question is," Ginny paused, "If I go to Slytherin, will you guys be mad at me?"
"Merlin, no!" George cried.
"I mean we were almost put there ourselves, you know."
"A toss-up really."
"Fifty-fifty split!" They grinned at each other.
"But," said George, with a serious look on his face, "If you get sorted into Slytherin, we won't be upset with you."
"We'll be proud!" Fred said, "In fact, you can help set me up with Emiline!" George hit him in the back of the head. "Ow!" He scowled at his twin, before turning back to Ginny . "But, seriously, there's nothing wrong with being in Slytherin. We'll fight anyone who tries to get on you if the hat puts you there."
"The hat?" Ginny asked.
"Oh," said George, waving his hand, "When they want to Sort you, they make you wear this hat that talks to you and figures out which house you should go to."
Ginny raised an eyebrow, "Didn't you tell Ron last year that you had to fight a troll or something?"
Fred laughed, "Ah yes, that was brilliant."
"But the difference is between you and Ronniekins," George leaned in.
"Is that we actually like you," Fred finished, whispering conspiratorially.
"In fact, we'll even teach you the Bat-Bogey hex on the Hogwarts Express if you sit in our compartment!" George grinned.
"I thought we weren't allowed to do magic on the train?" Ginny asked, "How can you teach me a hex if we can't do magic?"
"Oh!" Fred brightened, "We figured out a year or two back that the Trace can't really tell who's casting what in a magical area. In fact, we practice in our room sometimes, but don't tell anyone we said that."
"Really?" Ginny grinned, "That's brilliant!"
And so Ginny Weasley went about the rest of her summer with a much lighter heart, and dreams of green and silver echoing through her mind.
Pansy Parkinson was born a disappointment. At least, she was if you asked her parents.
"She should've been born a boy," Perseus Parkinson had said to Posey Parkinson a week after she was born. Posey had whole-heartedly agreed.
"Although I suppose she's not a total waste," Posey had conceded, "She could secure a prosperous marriage."
And so Perseus and Posey Parkinson attempted to create a betrothal between every wealthy pureblood family and their little Pansy. But for whatever reason, Lady Magic would not allow a single contract to seal. As such, Pansy returned to being a disappointment.
Perseus and Posey tried to have another child, a son, for years, but were eventually declared to be infertile by the Healers at St. Mungos. So they returned to their disappointment of a child and tried to turn her into the perfect Pureblood daughter. But no matter what Pansy learned, or how hard she tried, she was still a disappointment.
When she befriended a young Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott, as well as the Greengrass girls, Pansy was less of a disappointment. That is, until Perseus tried to secure a betrothal between Pansy and one of the two boys and discovered his efforts would be fruitless. Young Theo Nott was already betrothed to Daphne Greengrass, and they shared a soulbond, so that was completely nonviable. And when Perseus approached the Malfoys, Narcissa, having already heard how the Parkinsons had tried to tie their daughter to every pureblood boy in England, had firmly declined, claiming that she wanted her Draco to be able to choose his bride for himself, within reason, of course
That was when her mother and father gave up. After that, Pansy rarely ever saw them. Instead, she was raised by a myriad of House Elves and least she did until her friends' parents got wind of the situation. By the time she was five, Pansy all but lived with the Greengrasses. And then the Abbots had moved in next door.
Pansy had gone with the Greengrasses to welcome the Abbotts to the neighbourhood. She was standing a little apart from everyone else when a blonde girl with pigtails and a bright smile walked up to her and said, "Hi, I'm Hannah. We're going to be best friends from now on, 'kay?"
And so that was that. When Pansy was about eight, Blair and Maurice Abbott found out about the Parkinsons' less than ideal parenting style. In their typical generous fashion, they insisted that she move in with them, and wrote a letter to the Parkinsons, inquiring if they would be able to host her and have her learn her pre-Hogwarts curriculum with Hannah. The Parkinsons had written back in approval. After all, Pansy was a disappointment, and the Abbotts were Purebloods, so it was an acceptable situation.
The last time Pansy had seen her parents was on her eleventh birthday, and that was only so that could respond to her Hogwarts owl.. The conversation was brief, and had ended with Posey scolding Pansy to 'Hold your tongue!" Perseus Parkinson, meanwhile, had told his eleven-year-old daughter to find her husband, before muttering under his breath that she probably wouldn't, because she was a disappointment.
Blair Abbott had moved forward at that, but before she could speak, Pansy had run upstairs into Hannah's room and slammed the door behind her.
"I hate them," she said, "I hate them so much, it makes me want to burst."
Hannah pulled her into a hug. "What was it this time?"
"They told me that I was a disappointment," Pansy rolled her eyes, "As if they haven't told me already. But I didn't take it lying down this time. I'm not a baby any more. I said, 'Posey, Perseus, I am aware that I am a disappointment to you. Fortunately, I do not measure my self worth by your asinine standards and ideas. Even if I did, I'd still never be enough because all you two do is project your insecurities onto me.'
Hannah's mouth dropped open, "You didn't."
"I did. Perseus was pissed that I called them by their first names, so I told them that if they wanted me to call them mother and father, then they should've actually been parents. I told him that conceiving and birthing me, before ignoring me for eleven years, hardly qualifies. Posey told me to hold my tongue and that-" Pansy switched into a parody of her mother's voice-"You'll never find a husband if you act like that." Pansy laughed, "You know, I'm never going to have a husband. Just to spite her. I'll either never marry or I'll have a w-" she cut herself off, "Probably I'll just never marry. I think they want me to marry Draco."
They both made a face, before bursting into laughter.
"That'll never happen," Hannah giggled, "You and Draco would never work out in that way. You work as friends, but if you got married, I think you two would last all of five minutes before tearing each other apart." Pansy grinned. "Besides, he's been besotted with Hermione for ages."
"I still think he doesn't realize that all of us know. Well all of us minus Hermione, of course," Pansy snorted, "For all the brains she has, she cannot realize what's right in front of her."
"But you're okay? From everything your parents said?" Hannah asked suddenly, worried.
"Of course," Pansy shrugged, "It's not like I haven't heard it all before. They need to learn some new insults."
Despite her brave words to Hannah, however, as Pansy lay in bed that night, the words echoed through her room. Disappointment. You're a disappointment. You'll always be a disappointment.