Ginny wandered into the Great Hall for breakfast next morning still half asleep. She had meant to get an early night, she really had, but she had revelled in giving Hermione an earful for getting her hopes up. Deep down, she knew Hermione hadn't done anything of the sort, but she felt selfishly gleeful taking her disappointment out on somebody. Hermione just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"I really didn't think Cho would give him a second look this year!" Hermione had admitted "Not so soon after Cedric!"
"Well she was certainly looking in that damn train carriage!" Ginny fumed, launching her recently unpacked school shoes under her bed, in her dormitory.
Hermione was probably regretting coming in to say goodnight, Ginny mused, but that didn't matter right now. She could always apologise later.
"It might not mean anything" Hermione said, her voice a little high.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Ginny spat, "You didn't see his stupid pining face."
"I understand it must be hard, Ginny, and you're probably feeling a little jealous but-"
"Whoa, who said anything about jealous? I'm not jealous! I'm annoyed at the lack of warning, sure, but I am definitely not jealous!" Ginny interrupted.
"Okay, you're not jealous," Hermione said, sounding thoroughly unconvinced "But think logically, her boyfriend only died a few months ago, I don't expect she's going to act-"
Hermione was interrupted again, this time by the arrival of Ginny's fellow fourth year girls.
"Goodnight, Ginny," Hermione told her, bundling Crookshanks closer to her and turning to ascend the stairs to the next floor in a hurry, probably to avoid any more of Ginny's 'Weasley Temper'.
"Good summer, Ginny?" Demelza Robbins asked.
"The best!" Ginny responded, sourly, slamming her trunk shut.
She lay awake for hours, her temper simmering, wondering what on earth was so special about Cho Chang and why she was even bothered about it in the first place.
The Great Hall was still busy as she slumped down onto the bench at the Gryffindor table. She locked eyes with Hermione, several seats down from her. Hermione gave her a rather cautious smile, which she tried to return warmly, showing her apology on her face. It must have worked as Hermione's shoulders relaxed slightly as she turned back to say something to Ron.
Ginny jumped slightly at the tap on her shoulder.
She turned and found herself face to face with her summer pen pal.
"Morning, Ginny!" Michael said, grinning.
"Hey!" She told him, turning back to the table and grabbing a slice of toast, busying her hands so she didn't feel so awkward. He sat down beside her.
"Looking forward to your first day of lessons?" he asked
"I suppose, I just wish I'd slept a little better. I hope we have something easy going today, to make up for it."
Michael looked down at his timetable in hand.
"Seems we have Herbology with you Gryffindor's. That isn't until after lunch though."
"Ginny!" Demelza called, hurrying down the table, "I have your time table here! McGonagall gave them out just before you came down."
"Thanks, Demelza!" she said, gratefully taking the sheet from her.
"Oh," Ginny sighed, looking at it "Transfiguration first."
So much for an easy first morning.
"Never mind," Michael said, patting the top of her hand gently, startling her a little, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling, "Maybe we can meet for lunch and then go to Herbology together?"
"That would be nice, thank you."
Ginny smiled at him and he squeezed her hand slightly, she hadn't realised he still had hold of it. She noticed Demelza's eyes zero in on them and she gave Ginny a look that suggested she was going to be interrogated all morning.
"I'd better be getting off to Arithmancy," he told her "I'll see you later."
He got up from the table and smiled at Ginny, before leaving the great hall, turning and waving slightly as he reached the door before disappearing. She moved back to her breakfast and noticed Hermione beaming approvingly at her from behind her newspaper.
Lunch came around slowly, being overtired hadn't made her morning any easier. She made her way to the great hall, her bag already heavy with homework and extra notes from Muggle Studies. Maybe she would owl dad, he might be able to help with her essay on The Muggle Debate on Adverse Effects of Technology, although she really wasn't sure her father would ever believe anything the muggles created could have a negative impact on their health or the environment. As she was pondering how to persuade him to aid her, she almost walked past Michael, who was waiting at the doors of the Great Hall.
"Hey, you!" he laughed, catching hold of the strap on her bag and pulling her backwards.
"Oh, sorry!" she said, turning and looking up at him. He looked genuinely pleased to see her, which was nice.
"Lost in thought?" He asked.
"Yeah, I was just thinking about my Muggle Studies homework; it seems a little tricky."
"Anything I could help with?"
"Maybe, do you know much about muggle technology?"
"Ah, not really, there might be books in the library though? I was thinking of going there later, after dinner, if you wanted to come?"
"Possibly, although I may need to catch up on some sleep," Ginny told him.
"A fair point," he chuckled.
They had arrived at the four tables.
"Did you want to sit with Ravenclaw?" he asked, gesturing the handful of empty seats nearest the oak doors.
Just as Ginny was about to agree, Cho Chang herself swept into the great hall and sat down with her friend in two of the seats, meaning Ginny would be sitting opposite her. She felt that horrible heavy feeling in her stomach again.
"Actually, do you mind sitting with Gryffindor? I haven't really seen Neville since the train and I was hoping to speak to him about Herbology."
It was a pitiful excuse and she knew it, they hadn't even had Herbology yet, and Michael was in that class with her. But he seemed to buy it.
"Sure, no problem!" he smiled at her and she led him to where Neville was sitting alone with a book propped against his goblet, and eating his lunch.
"Hi Neville!" Ginny beamed at her saviour.
"Hey Ginny, Michael," Neville swallowed and greeted them, "How's your first day?"
"Good so far," Ginny told him "Yours?"
"Not bad, we have that Umbridge woman later today though. She seems a bit of an odd one."
"We don't have her until tomorrow," Michael told him "You'll have to let us know how it goes."
"I will, what do you have this afternoon?"
"Herbology" Michael said, "I think Ginny had a question for you about that too."
"Oh, erm, yes," Ginny said, "I was wondering what sort of thing we will be studying in fourth year, it'd be nice to get a head start."
"Sure!" Neville smiled, closing his book and beginning to talk about his previous year's studies. Ginny breathed a sigh of relief, she was certain even Fred and George would have been impressed with her quick thinking.
After a quick lunch, Michael walked with her to Herbology and stayed beside her for partnering up. Demelza was quite unimpressed with this turn of events, leaving her to partner with Romilda Vane instead, much to Ginny's amusement.
They parted ways in the entrance hall after class, Michael pulling her in for a brief hug before he disappeared to the dungeons for potions and she headed upstairs to charms. Maybe things weren't so bad. Michael seemed really nice and he was definitely showing plenty of interest in her. If she kept this up, maybe Harry would just disappear from her mind altogether and she would be able to chill out and get on with her life. She certainly hadn't had much time to dwell on thoughts of him today, at least. That was definitely a promising start.
However, when she returned to the common room to drop her bag off before dinner, she found that her hopes may have been short lived.
The few people who hadn't gone down to dinner yet were all talking excitedly; something exceedingly interesting must have happened this afternoon. She caught snippets of conversation as she headed for the girl's staircase.
"He really shouted at her, I heard!"
"Well Seth Crawley in Hufflepuff said he shot a jinx at the old bat!"
"That's ridiculous, he would have been expelled!"
"Seth is a second year, what does he know?"
"Well, where is he now then?"
"Come on, Potter isn't that stupid!"
The last one made her stop, dead, her foot on the bottom step of the stairs. What had Harry done now?
Launching her bag into a corner of the common room, she turned on her heel and headed out of the portrait hole and down to the great hall as quickly as she could. As she reached the entrance hall, the man of the hour stormed out of the Great Hall, closely followed by Ron and Hermione. Hermione was talking very quickly to him, but whatever she was saying was clearly making him more annoyed. His hands were clenched into fists and his cheeks were flushed a deep shade of pink. Ron glanced up at his sister as they passed and half-smiled in greeting before he followed the other two up the stairs.
Ginny entered the great hall and took a seat beside Fred and George. They were discussing their Skiving Snackbox design with Lee Jordan. At least they didn't think Harry's life was worth gossiping about. At least, not before business, that is.
"Well hello little Ginny Bean," Fred greeted her, "Had an educational first day?"
"Its been okay," she shrugged "Yours?"
"Quite illuminating," George grinned, "First years are wonderfully naïve!"
"Oh dear, what have you done now?"
"Nothing yet," Fred told her "But we have a healthy supply of them waiting in the common room for us to test our new product range."
"You're going to get into so much trouble," Ginny sighed.
"From who?" George asked, "Do you think dear Ronnie is going to go skipping off to McGonagall?"
"Yeah, him getting that prefect badge was a real stroke of luck for us," Fred positively beamed with pride.
"Hermione might though?" Ginny warned.
"Nah," Fred waved the thought away, "She won't want to land herself in Ron's bad books, at least not this early in the year."
"They'll be too busy with Harry tonight anyway," Lee added.
"What's happened?" Ginny asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
"Put Umbridge in her place from what Ron said," George muttered, seriously, "Told her You-Know-Who was back and that the Ministry was nothing but a bunch of rotten liars."
"Oh." Ginny said, frowning.
"McGonagall looks thrilled." Fred said, nodding at the staff table.
Ginny glanced up and saw a tight- lipped Professor McGonagall glaring down the table at Umbridge. Umbridge herself looked slightly tense.
"Never learns, our Harry, does he?" George commented, standing up, "Come on Fred, before the first years go to bed."
"See you in the common room, Ginny Bean!" Fred told her, as he and Lee took off after George.
Ginny never went back to the common room. She decided she could do without listening to Harry's name on everyone's lips. After dinner, she headed up to the library, to find Michael. If he was working on his homework, the last thing he would want to discuss was Harry Potter.