isclaimer--If you like it, assume I don't own it. The Potterverse belongs to JKR, Steve Klowes, Scholastic and WB. Fanon belongs to the multitude...I'm simply paying homage. Most of this scene is from GoF by JK Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made.
Author's Notes-- Progress has been a lot slower in this work, but I hope you'll all stick with me anyway. As you all know, I may not own it, but I work hard, and I love it, so if you read it and enjoy it, please review it! Please don't print or post this elsewhere without my knowledge.
I'm not the weakest link--Thanks.
J.Rhaye--Looking forward to your reviews! :-)
Raiining--Thanks! I was excited, too! Yes, Lupin's "dear friend" is Sirius, and the note is refering to a conversation Ginny and Lupin had in SOA, but I don't think you have to remember too much specific detail about it to understand things in SWR, though I certainly won't complain if you want to read my stories more than once! I liked that little reference to Harry, too. ;-)
EEDOE--I certainly hope Snape couldn't get away with that in muggle schools. Bleh. Neville is just so huggable, isn't he? Gred and Forge always make my day better, too! -hugs-
Bill--Pretty cool how Luna can give stuff away and no one notices, huh? --grins-- It is surprising Snape doesn't end up in the hospital wing more...or that parents don't complain. Ginny is quick to notice the change, but she did have a BIT of help from Neville. -winks- I hope I can complete the arc too--this story is already so long, and it's not even Christmas! --grins-
Forced inaction put Ginny in the mood for revenge. Whatever Tom might be plotting was beyond her reach and out of her control, but she could teach Malfoy a lesson, and one he richly deserved. She just didn't know how, exactly. So she thought about it…doodling ideas in the margins of her notes—and then in the notes themselves—a habit that resulted in her answering Professor Binns' question on the incident that started the centar incident of 1273 as "put bubotuber puss in Malfoy's pocket," much to her classmate's amusement and her own mortification. Luckily, Professor Binns didn't seem to catch the slip, let alone its significance. "No, no, I'm afraid that's not it, Miss Wesley. You see, the Centaur Incident--this was the first of five--occurred when Zion the Brave ate two falafel intended for Warlock Tetchy--"
It didn't stop there. She made a similar mistake again during her study session with Hermione and Neville that afternoon, and cringed even before she'd finished saying the words, anticipating Hermione's explosion and Madam Pince's retaliatory hexes. "Really, Ginny," Hermione snapped, surprisingly mild, even absent-minded, "do try to pay attention. I know it's difficult with these ridiculous girls chattering away like a pixie invasion, but just because they've mistaken the library for a social club is no excuse--"
Ginny shared a look of commiseration with Neville, united in confusion even if he had been confused by her abstraction as well as Hermione's outburst, and they both followed Hermione's glare to the clump of girls a few feet from their table. New girls were appearing in spurts of giggling and expressive gestures. "That is unusual," Ginny observed thoughtfully. "Why hasn't Madam Pince run them off?"
Hermione pointed violently. Madam Pince sat behind her desk, her head angled close to Professor Sinistra's as they discussed Viktor Krum. Ginny coughed hastily. "Do you think he'd give me his autograph?" Neville asked almost wistfully, offering a much-needed distraction.
"Sure, Neville," Ginny said immediately. "Why don't you go and ask?"
"I suppose I can't blame him for preparing for the Tournament," Hermione said in a tone that plainly said she'd like to try. "It's very sensible of him, after all—I wish Harry would take after him a bit—only I'll never get any work done with everyone falling all over him just because he can do the Wonky Faint--"
"He doesn't seem to enjoy it," Ginny said, coughing through another fit of wild laughter at Hermione's less-than-accurate use of Quidditch terminology. Krum was scowling as though he were being attacked on all sides by something harmless but infinitely annoying…something like, well, pixies. She thought he kept looking in their direction, but probably he was simply looking for an avenue of escape and she felt as he were looking at them because she was so conscious of discussing someone that nearby. And if his face had another expression, Ginny didn't know about it, so even he was looking at them, his scowl definitely wasn't softening when he did.
Neville returned, grinning widely, triumphantly clutching his parchment, torn into three sections. Ginny started to ask what he intended to do with more than one autograph, but Neville answered before she could. "He gave me autographs you, too," he said happily. "He insisted—he even asked me your names and made me point out who was who and tell him about you—he seemed really interested…I think he enjoyed talking to me, but--"
He glanced back over his shoulder. The girls were pushing one another out of the way, waving quills, parchment, lipsticks, backpacks and handkerchiefs in their rush to get Krum's attention. Ginny snickered. "You started a trend!"
"Honestly," Hermione huffed, folding her arms.
Where's Madam Pince when you need her?" Ginny teased, a wry smile dancing around her mouth as she watched the girls swoop down on Krum like a cloud of hovering vultures—it was almost enough to make you feel sorry for him, if only he wasn't so stormy…but when she caught a flickering glimpse of him as two girls bumped into each other, he didn't look stormy at all, in spite of the provocation. He was sitting patiently, even attempting to offer a slight, mechanical smile, and looking directly at Hermione with a thoughtful look in his eye.
Vaguely dissatisfied with the idea that someone besides Ron would be interested in Hermione, with the fact she wasn't happier with Hermione, with her own half-acknowledged wish Luna had seen Harry looking at her that way even though he wouldn't, even though he didn't…Ginny stalked outside to the Quidditch Pitch at the end of their study session, leaving Neville and Hermione behind her to speculate on why she didn't accompany them to the Common Room as usual.
Ginny missed Quidditch, but she had to admit its absence had compensations…like the fact that no practice meant she could take a broom from the shed and fly more or less whenever she wanted. Flying always helped her think, and by the time she landed, she had come up with the perfect way to get revenge on Draco Malfoy.
The next morning, she woke up early—well, earlier than usual—stole a pair of socks out of Ron's trunk just because she felt like it, and went down to breakfast whistling. It was a good thing she did, because, somehow, as everyone was filing out of the Great Hall to go to classes, Malfoy's green and silver necktie turned into a green-eyed silver-white ferret that managed to scratch up his chin and bite him twice before he finally got it untied and dropped it to the floor…where it landed as a harmless necktie. Ginny was nearly crushed against the wall by students trying to see, and ended with a couple large scrapes of her own on the back of her left hand and the front of her right, but Colin and Tempest were amazed and impressed to find this didn't affect her good mood in the least.