Harry of Hog and the Saga of Hogswarth
A/N: Here I am again, ready with a new chapter! I hope the Hermione chap wasn't too much of a letdown, I realise the story has so far progressed very slowly – it is a mixture of me liking to write character musings and because there is a lot of backstory to tell about all these characters. But now I've got the bulk out of the way for all our main players – Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione – and we can properly start the story, finally! Now of course there will be all the revelations and yadda, but hopefully you'll approve of how I go about it. :) This chapter does contain a fair bit of reflection by our main character of the week, but it's necessary for the story.
Cynthia Cacciola: Thank you! If by finish you mean finish the story, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a while though… hopefully you'll enjoy the ride!
rweasley500: Wow, such a sweet thing to say. I'll try to live up to that expectation…! I have had my doubts about this story of course, but actually I think it's going pretty well, and I'm pretty happy with it so far.
MagikCat: Thank you for saying I'm organised, lol! I am trying very hard not to rush anything, but omg it's so difficult to know what to put in and what to wait with etc… I'll try my best at balancing it! I'll check out the story you recommended as soon as I have a bit of time to go to the library… I literally can do nothing else right now than to upload this story, cause I am using modem and have very little time…
lifeisawesome89: lol! You are very good! I know it's a bit out there, and I'm not one of the people who believe the theory or anything… but I do really like the idea, and wanted to incorporate it into my fanfic!
Happy December, everyone!! Enjoy :)
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Chapter 7: Wedding Blues
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It would be soon. In no more than a month Ginny would have to walk down the aisle, to accept Lord Riddle's hand in marriage – if she did not, Riddle had sneered at her just the previous night, her parents would not live to see the next sunrise. This information, incredible as it may seem, cheered up Ginny considerably. She always knew she would be made to wed Lord Riddle, but his threat had suddenly made her understand – Riddle had not yet hurt her family, and as long as she behaved he would not dare to do so, knowing that the threat of hurting them was the only thing that could make Ginny do as he wished.
Ginny would do anything to keep her family safe. But the thought of marrying Tom Riddle… she knew he must be quite old, but he did not look to be dying any time soon, and this was not exactly what Ginny had imagined for herself. She had of course never expected to be rescued, but in the dead of night she would permit herself to dream of the white knight coming for her, or even King Albus finally coming back. Surely he must know of Riddle's take-over by now? But Ginny knew now that all hope had vanished. She would marry Riddle, and everything would be as he had told her it would. Riddle was never wrong, after all, and Ginny was beginning to wonder how she had ever dared to consider otherwise.
"Lady Ginny!" Ginny jumped in surprise and turned around, she had been staring out of her window as usual and had not even heard the door open. Parvarti was in the doorway. "Lady Ginny, you are required for your gown fitting," she said. She had a sort of half-apologetic smile on her face. Ginny smiled back. When she became the true Lady of Hogswarth… well there was not much hope of gaining much more power over the servants, but maybe in time she would find herself in a position where she could let Parvarti and Lavender go, set them free at last. It was a bittersweet notion, as with this action Ginny would lose the closest thing she had to friends, but she was prepared to do everything in her power to help the two girls who had done the most for her in her life.
"Thanks Parvarti," Ginny said, and she followed the girl into the next room, her dressing room, where an old, bent woman was waiting for her. There were various pieces of white cloth strewn around the room, and needles and scissors ready on the table. For the next hour Ginny had to stand on the raised platform in the middle of the room modelling for a dress, which she would give anything not to have to wear.
After what seemed like forever the old woman spoke for the first time, in a raspy voice, "So Miss Ginevra, are you looking forward to the tournaments?"
Ginny blinked. She had been so worried about the upcoming wedding that she had spared little thought for the festivities leading up to the ceremony; in a few days the party would start, and would carry on all the way to the wedding day, where it would commence in a massive feast at the castle – the peasants would get to come and watch, too. Noblemen were coming from all over the country to participate in the competitions – there would be horseback riding, sword fighting, archery and much more. It was an ancient tradition in Hog, and Riddle had only grudgingly agreed to it, accepting that while he would have to endure the "stench of those filthy peasants," as he had so pleasantly referred to it, this was the perfect opportunity for him to influence the right people, in order to gain even more power over the kingdom. Ginny thought it was despicable.
"Oh, yes, they will be most entertaining I'm sure," Ginny said absent-mindedly, remembering that she had to answer the question.
They probably would be, but Ginny doubted how much she would be able to enjoy them, with the knowledge that with each day the wedding was looming ever closer. And what was the point of bringing men of all ages to the castle now, when she was already promised away? Ginny had met only a few other men than Riddle, and though she had thought them a hundred times more pleasant than him, she had never felt anything for any of them, never found them exciting or attractive in any way. It did not matter if she did of course, and she was very thankful that she had not been so unfortunate as to fall in love with another man – even if she could somehow manage to keep her feelings hidden from Riddle, and avoid the man's head ending up on a stick, it would only have made the marriage to Riddle more painful for her to endure. No, she was better off this way.
"There we go milady, my work is complete. Take a look at yourself," the old lady smiled, turning Ginny to face the tall mirror on the wall behind her. Ginny could not help herself. The dress was absolutely gorgeous, flowing off of her in waves of the finest white silk, it was like the dress of an angel. And she suddenly bent over, hiding her face in her hands as she felt the gut-wrenching sobs coarse through her, tears sliding down her face and splotching the beautiful wedding gown. She cried, cried for what seemed like an age, crouched on the floor while the old woman looked on, shocked and bewildered. She was getting married, to the old, evil man who plunged the peasants of Hog into deep poverty and despair, and there would be no one to save her. She wanted her mother, she did not want beautiful gowns and servants and be all alone for the rest of her life.
But there was nothing to do about it. Ginny allowed herself five minutes to cry her heart out, then straightened up slowly, removing the gown carefully, and with a word of thanks to the befuddled woman, exited the room, resigned to her fate.
