"Mum, for the last time, I'm not going. And I'm not going to change my mind. Now or later tonight. So it was pointless for you to buy me a dress." Ginny Weasley said with a firm voice as she looked into her mothers pleading eyes.
"Ginny, please go. For me." Molly Weasley practically begged, "It would mean a lot to your father and me. Please."
Ginny sighed and resisted an urge to massage her temples.
She had told her mother that she had no plans to attend the upcoming ministry ball ever since Molly had announced it to everybody 4 weeks ago over dinner. The ball was to celebrate 'the unity and strength acquired since Voldemorts defeat' three years ago.
Kingsley was urging everybody employed at the ministry to take their families and friends. Arthur, of course, had invited everybody he knew and even a couple of people he encountered at Gringotts that he didn't know.
So far, Molly had tried almost everything to get Ginny to go. She had demanded that she go, yelled at her to go, tried to bribe her to go, and now she was begging her to go.
Ginny knew she'd end up giving in if she saw her mum beg anymore. Because of that, she decided it was time for her to go back home.
"Mum, I told you know and I meant it. I'm sorry, but you know I don't like balls and much less dancing." Standing up, she walked towards her mother and gave her a hug, "I have to go back to my apartment now because I'm still working on an article and the deadline's tomorrow."
As she pulled away from her mother, she heard a sniff and rolled her eyes. Her mum would do anything to get her to go. Even cry.
"Fine. Don't go. I'll just be at one of the greatest balls of all my lifetime without seeing my only daughter there. It'll go down in my memory how much you didn't care about my feelings and my wanting to see you dressed up and enjoying yourself with the rest of your family." Molly managed to say in one breath as Ginny walked to the Borrow's fireplace. Ginny shook her head as she took some Floo Powder from the jar on top of the fireplace and threw it in the fire. It roared green and she turned around, stepped back into the fire, and blew her scowling mother a kiss before saying in a clear, loud voice, "Merlin's Beard Apartments!"
With that, Ginny whizzed through the Floo Network until she landed in her apartment fireplace.
As she was stepping out of the fireplace, she somehow managed to trip over her own feet, landing face first on the floor. From her knees to her feet, she got covered in soot. Good one Ms. Decorum, she thought as she heard someone ask in a breathless voice, "Miss? Miss are you okay?"
She mentally slapped herself for not flooing directly into her apartment instead of the apartment lobby. Feeling her face get hot and feeling extremely stupid, she raised herself with her hands till she was kneeling. Looking to see who had witnessed her act of grace and asked if she was alright, she saw it was only a little girl, probably about 5 years old.
She was without a doubt, the prettiest little girl Ginny had ever seen. She had blonde curls down to her elbows, tied into a loose ponytail. Her eyes were startlingly blue and her brow was furrowed with concern and uncertainty. She blinked and took a step forward, "Miss, I can get my uncle to help you get up if you can't get up yourself. He's right over-"
"No!" Ginny exclaimed in a hasty tone. She didn't need anyone else knowing she tripped over her own feet. "I can get up by myself." she replied as she clumsily got to her feet. She looked down at the child and added, "Thank you, though."
The little girl smiled and blinked again.
Ginny started to swat her knees to try to get rid of some of the soot when as she felt her face loose some of the hotness. Great day so far, huh? Thank Merlin I didn't fall in front of a lot of people. Otherwise, Id've probably stayed lying down. Fake a concussion or something, just so I wouldn't have to face everyone. Angelina would've died laughing if she saw me. Probably pee her pants and-her thoughts were interrupted by the little girl. Ginny straightened up as she remembered she wasn't totally alone.
"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked once more as Ginny met her stunning eyes.
What a beautiful child. I wonder who her parents are.
"I really am fine. Just a little humiliated and low dignified, that's all."
The girl tilted her head to the side and gave her a blank stare.
She's about five, Ginny, remember. No hard phrases. she reminded herself as she smiled and said, "I just feel kind of embarrassed to have fallen in front of such a pretty little girl." There. Simpler and nicer.
The girl smiled and blushed, making her cheeks rosy and making the little girl seem
even more magically beautiful.
"Now, I have to go up to my room and hopefully I won't fall again, okay?" Ginny said as she turned to go towards the stairs.
"Okay. I'm going outside to buy myself some ice cream. My uncle gave me money and told me I could. Cuz I'm old enough to do stuff by myself now." the girl replied as she smiled proudly and took off in the direction of the door leading outside.
Ginny waved goodbye and grinned as she remembered when she was little and wanted to feel grown up. Enjoy your childhood while you can sweetheart. You're going to miss it when you grow up. she thought as she walked in the opposite direction, to where the stairs were.
She lived in the second story of the beautiful indoor Merlin's Beard Apartments. When she had graduated from Hogwarts, she went apartment shopping and automatically fell in love with this one. It was quiet, clean, and was in downtown Diagon Ally, which meant all the stores she liked were just around the corner.
As she thought about all the tweaking she needed to do on her article upstairs, she turned into the doorway were the stairs were at, and bumped into something solid. That something caught her arm, steadying her, and saved her from falling for the second time in the last five minutes. Looking from the hand that was holding on to her forearm, which was paler than her own, to the strangers chest, which was right in front of her face, she noticed that her anchor was a muscled and tall man.
He smells good. I wonder what cologne he wears, she thought stupidly as she stammered, "Th-thank you.", and tilted her head back to look at the man she had collided with.
"Your welcome." she heard him reply in an amused tone as they looked at each other.
At first she couldn't recognize him, but a split second after she made eye contact with him, she felt her face go from red to paler than usual.
No fucking way. was all she could think as she gasped and pulled her arm out of Draco Malfoy's hand.