Yay, another chapter! Review if you liked this :) and I don't own, obviously.

Chapter Five-Leaving

There was a crinkle as my fingers smoothed out the wrinkles on the Dunkin' Donuts receipt. I tucked it in my backpack and fingered the locket on my neck, playing with it, toying with the lock.

I'd missed the first year in Hogwarts, Mrs. Weasley had explained as we got back home. And that was why, to catch up, I'd be moving into Hogwarts tomorrow morning with my father to get a sort of first year boot camp. Dumbledore wasn't sure how long it would take before I could catch up, but I'd probably have to extend the extra lessons even as I went to second year.

Mrs. Weasley was cooking frantically in the kitchen; pots and pans clattered in a chaotic symphony. Mr. Weasley was arguing with Mrs. Weasley about a muggle car. Upstairs, there were slight explosion noises-Fred and George were experimenting again. Harry and Ron were outside, playing with a couple of brooms, shouting in excitement. I liked it like this. I liked the Weasleys' loudness, their crazy household.

Sitting on the couch, I wrapped myself closer in the blankets and stared blankly out the window, taking a break from the book I was reading. There was a creak, and I snapped my neck towards the noise.

There was a flash of bright Weasley hair, and a squeak before someone disappeared.

"Hello?" I asked curiously.

A pair of bright eyes peaked out, as well as the tip of bright red hair. A girl, I realized.

"Hey," I greeted. "I haven't seen you around-or have I? I'm Rowan, what's your name?"

"Ginny," Ginny appeared fully, and smiled slyly. "I'm going to Hogwarts this year."

I patted the cushiony seat next to me. "Why don't you sit?"

"Oh, no," Ginny said, horrified. "He might see."

"Who?"

Ginny blushed furiously. "Harry Potter."

I felt a smile spread across my face. "Harry? Do you like him?"

"Ah-," Ginny stuttered, her face red as her hair. "Er-you can't tell him!" She panicked.

Laughing a little, I nodded. "I won't, it's alright. Come on and sit, Harry's too absorbed in his broom flying anyway."

Cautiously, Ginny sat down next to me and nestled her chin into the couch, staring at Harry with dreamy, wide eyes. I grinned.

"Are you two friends?"

"Oh, I wish!" Ginny said. "But Ron's got him all to himself."

"Well," I propped myself up with my elbow. "Maybe he'd like you back if you hung out with him."

"Oh, but what if he doesn't?" Ginny said miserably, staring out the window.

I watched her, amused. "Well, let's go see, then? Can you ride?"

"Yes," Ginny straightened. "Fred and George said I wasn't allowed, but I didn't listen."

Standing, I pulled the blanket to the side. "Well then, come on. I need to brush up; I only learned yesterday and I'm rubbish at it."

O-O

If I thought Ginny was shy, it was nothing compared to when I dragged her outside. She scampered off to get brooms quickly, face hidden by her hair, as Harry looked at Ron, bewildered. Ron sniggered, and ignored me.

Ginny came back, her face red and her voice two octaves high. "Here you go, Rowan, I'm going to teach you how to ride now, do you know how to get on, you said you did, you said you learned yesterday, well let's see how good you are, here," she rambled, eyes wide. Thrusting a broom at me, Ginny hurried away from Harry.

I shrugged at Harry, and followed Ginny. She was already swooping into the air, gliding through the sky. I muttered under my breath and tried to copy her, swinging my leg over the broom awkwardly and trying to find balance as I kicked off.

The problem was my feet. They needed something to stand on, something to find balance on. The fact that they swung in the air kept me off-kilter.

I tried to steady myself, tried to find the little balance I had last time. Instead, my legs slipped and I swung upside down, letting out a yelp and holding tight onto the broom.

There was a giggle, and then somewhere to my right a few snickers. Ginny's face appeared, upside down, but it was obvious she was smiling.

"Swing yourself back around," Harry called. Ginny's face flushed pink as he came closer to me, and she zipped away. "Here,"

With a single twist, Harry pulled my arm and I swung back into place. I blew hair from my face.

"Want to play?" Harry jerked a thumb at the big red ball Ron held. "We're just catching."

I jerked unsteadily to balance myself. "I can barely stay with my head in the right direction and you want me to catch a ball?"

Ron snorted. "Yeah, she's too scared to."

"Are you?" Harry pressed me, his eyes twinkling.

I glared at them. "That's not nice."

Ginny caught on, and grinned. "Rowan, are you scared?"

"No," I protested. "Stop it."

"Think you'll be bad at it?" Ron grinned impishly. Harry swung over to take the red ball.

Smiling cheekily, the black-haired boy tossed the ball into the air at me, and it landed perfectly in my arms as my hands clutched the broom handle. "Come, on, Rowan...or are you going to back down?"

I used a hand and threw the ball at Harry's head. He caught it, infuriating me as I tried to regain my balance. "Let's play, then."

I found out quickly that deciding to play was a huge mistake. I fell, twice, and was lucky that I wasn't too far from the ground.

Ron tossed the ball at me, and panicking, I jerked at my broom and kicked the ball with the side of my foot-the ball was heavier than I thought, and my foot throbbed rather painfully.

"Penalty!" Ron bellowed. "This is catch, not….kick!" Behind him, Harry flattened himself on the broom and chased after the ball, catching it and sweeping his broom around next to Ginny.

I squinted. "You can get a penalty in playing catch?"

Harry grinned at Ginny. "Apparently so, huh?"

Giggling, Ginny blushed and smiled. I hid my own grin, but chose to make heart shapes with my hands for Ginny's eyes only as Harry turned his back. Ginny widened her eyes, blushed more, and waved me away, embarrassed.
"Well, what do we do with my penalty?" I asked.

Ron shrugged. "You can't play," he suggested snidely.

"Ron," Harry said quietly.

"Alright," I directed my broom towards him until I was facing him. "Why do you hate me?"

"You're the daughter of Snape, and a greasy, slimy Slytherin," Ron declared.

"What's a Slytherin?" I asked, eyes narrowed.

Ron curled his lip. "Only the worst House in Hogwarts. Your father is the head of it, and you're bound to get into it."

"House...?"

"There are four houses in Hogwarts. Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. They stand for different things-Slytherin for slyness and cunningness." Harry spoke up.

"Oh," I blinked at Harry, and craned my head back at Ron. "And that's bad how?"

"It's the darkest House there is. You-know-who came from there."

"Who?" I frowned.

"Voldemort," Harry said. "He killed my parents. Let's move on." Looking away, Harry tossed the ball at Ginny, who caught the ball with a squeak.

"Oh." I caught the ball with some trouble as Ginny tossed it at me, and threw it at Ron, who was looking glum from the lost battle. The game resumed, but the competitive excitement never quite returned the same.

O-O

"Oh, this is simply fantastic," Mrs. Mason clutched my arm and shook slightly, her lips widened in an ecstatic smile. "This deal means everything to the company."

I smiled back, happy for the Masons. "Celebrate?" At the age of five, I'd already learned to take advantage of these moments.

Mr. Mason raised his eyebrows and quirked his lips into a smile. "Celebrate? Where?"

I looked up at him, a toothy grin on my face. "Beach?"

"It would be a nice walk," Mrs. Mason considered.

And not long later, we were walking on the dock, Mr. Mason in his crisp suit, Mrs. Mason in her elegant periwinkle gown, and I in my white high-low dress. And the Masons were discussing their next deal, but I didn't mind because we hadn't done this in years, just the three of us doing something together.

A man in a flowery shirt chased us down, a camera in hand, while his assistant photographer followed and stumbled with the tripod. They took a photo for us for ten dollars, and printed it out at the photo shop. Mrs. Mason placed it in a nice little frame and it was my birthday present the following year.

I traced the edge of the frame, watching the little girl in it with one hand raised in the air, poised to wave enthusiastically at the camera, and the other hand clutching a strawberry-banana ice cream with fudge. Standing in between the two adults, they seemed like a family.

We hadn't gotten the chance to do that again, ever;. The Masons' company grew, and they were so occupied with their work, they forgot about me sometimes. I placed the framed picture in my bag gently, and closed the zipper on it.

"Hey."

I didn't have to turn my head to know who it was. An unwilling smile crossed my face. "I'm just packing up for tomorrow."

Harry sat down on the couch as I folded my blanket. "Will the next time I see you be at school?"

I shrugged. "Probably."

A voice from behind us called,"Rowan!" Ginny appeared, skidding to a stop with a squeak as she saw Harry. Her cheeks turned crimson.

"Hey, Ginny," I smiled cheerfully. "Did you need anything?"

"Er-" Ginny's eyes darted to Harry, flitting frantically about. "Mumwantedtoinviteyoutocomeandshopforschoolstuffwithusnexttime," she said in one breath. I blinked.

"Oh, shop for school supplies?" I grinned. "Sure."

Ginny beamed, swinging her hair. "Great! See you, Rowan! Uhm-bye Harry," Tentatively, the eleven year old girl scuttled away.

Harry watched her go, amusement flickering across his face.

"DINNER!" Mrs. Weasley's voice rang out throughout the house, and there was an abrupt clattering of feet and voices. I could make out Ron's shout of indignation as Fred trod over his toes.

I followed Harry to the dining room, where everyone had begun to settle down already. Dinner was a loud, crowded event tonight, and everyone was hungry. Platters were emptied in no time, and the clinking sound of silverware lapsed into loud talking. I smiled quietly with a mouthful of pudding. Was Hogwarts like this?

But Snape would be there. If i were to have dinner with him, it would be a dreadful event. I grimaced.

"Pudding too sweet? Thick? Creamy?" Mrs. Weasley asked, concerned. I shook my head quickly.

"No, no. I was just thinking. The pudding is amazing," I assured her.

Mrs. Weasley accepted it with a slight frown, but the conversation was soon forgotten as Ron reached for a third helping and was reprimanded. Dinner resumed as usual, and I scooped a mouthful of pudding onto my spoon.

I never want to see you outside of school circumstances again.

The cool pudding slipped into my mouth as I removed the spoon, hovering it above my bowl.

Oh, believe me, the feeling is mutual.

"May I be excused?" I asked abruptly.

Mrs. Weasley nodded, but wrung her hands. "Yes, dear, but wouldn't you like to wait for the cookies to come out of the-"

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley, but I'm quite tired." I explained with a tired smile.

"Sick?" Mrs. Weasley asked hopefully. "Perhaps you ought to stay for the summer-"

I wish. "No, I'm good." I stood, pushing my chair back and heading for the living room.

Burying myself under the blankets, I closed my eyes.

I didn't fall asleep until dawn crept up the horizon.

O-O

"Blimey, how will we contact you?" George asked me. I took my bag and slung it over my shoulder, waiting outside for someone to take me to Hogwarts.

"How do students contact their parents?" I asked curiously.

"Owl," Fred explained.

"Like Hedwig," Harry added, as he came outside. "When are you leaving?"

I shrugged. "Around nine. What time is it?"
"Dad?" Fred asked.

Mr. Weasley checked his watch. "Eight fifty-eight."

I leaned against the wall of the Burrow, sighing through my nose. "Where's Ginny?"

"Inside, sulking," George chuckled. "She's finally found a girl to talk to and now you're leaving."

There was a loud crack, and I jumped.

Yeah...not one of my longest chapters. But I'll try to update faster for the next chapter if you promise to review *hint hint* :)

ChristineoftheOpera-thank you so much! I realize I'm evil for leaving everyone hanging with the plot twist but ;) thanks for your review!

sakurapetals0192-I totally see where you're going with this. Snape always protects Harry, but *spoiler* he did it for Lily and his promise to Dumbledore. He's unprepared to take in a daughter, and doesn't even want her for many reasons other than "she's a burden". Thanks :)

Son of Whitebeard-Oh, man, me too. Sadly it won't come in a while, but it will happen and he will die painfully *evil smile*

Thanks for reading :)