Disclaimer-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.
The character of Professor Auriga Sinistra as she appears here is the artistic masterpiece of She'sAStar, who was kind enough to lend her to me—to my endless gratitude!
Author's Notes—This chapter was inspired by Lamentations of a Starry-Eyed Twit by She'sAStar, and Diaries of a Dungeon-Dwelling Moron by Gedia Kacela. I highly recommend you read them. (You'll be able to understand the chapter without them, but they're highly entertaining, and well worth your time.)
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.
HBP—I'm still digesting. Good stuff, bad stuff, interesting stuff…and stuff I really wish I could have seen more of! Yup. Food for thought…and the GoF movie is on the way!
And—oh, yeah—I know there are a couple little things in previous stories I should adjust to be in canon, but its either revision or new posts...slow though they may be…
Yea—I appreciate your enthusiasm for the next—short!—installment of the story. Thanks. The chapters I post are intentionally short for 3 reasons: 1) it's easier to read when you have to sit in front of a computer monitor and scroll through the chapter without a break, 2) more frequent posts, and 3) yes, I have been really busy lately, thanks for asking.
Realfanficts— I'm glad you're so enthusiastic; thanks! I want to see the ball from Ginny's POV, too, but doing a good story justice takes time! In the good old days when novels were first coming into vogue, they were written as serials (similar to fanfiction posts), so I consider a month short compared to the 3-5 year wait for the next canon novel. Still, I feel for you—it is hard to be patient…which is why I started writing fics in the first place!
Rayny—Great! Glad to see you around! I appreciate the heads up that the last few chapters have been stiff. I'll try to soften them up if I ever have time…though I am very relieved to hear that the last one was more enjoyable for you! I think you bring up a good question about Ginny's reaction to Ron's attitude at the Ball…it's one I've mused over for a while myself. I guess we'll have to see if the answers we came up with are similar, though I kind of suspect they are. ;-)
JamieBell—No worries—I'm just glad to know you're still reading…I hope the long wait hasn't changed your mind! I agree that Ginny's heartache is very real, but is kind of nice to know that life will compensate later on…luckily, I think that's often true…too bad the person with the broken heart can never see that at the time! I agree that we hardly ever see Hermione's feelings from Harry's POV. I've always thought she was very self-contained. That's admirable, but I think it's also quite lonely. I'm not sure if Hermione and Ron's fight will make an appearance in this story or not, but I love that fight too—one of my fave HP moments! Thanks for the great review! hugs
Bill—My heart dropped too. Yup. Resilient. I think that sums it up quite well. This chapter may not tell all, but I think it might answer where Ginny went. I absolutely agree. Ginny doesn't have a complimentary opinion of Fleur, and she will most definitely have an interesting opinion of Fleur's future with Bill…but then Ginny has interesting opinions on most things.
Vixen519—I'm glad to hear your computer is back up…I'll keep an eye out for you online. ;-)
Arachnasloom—I couldn't have said it better myself. snickers Still…I think that may not have been the end of that particular discussion, even if Harry thought it was at the time. Ginny is a Weasley, and quite determined, after all…
J. Rhaye—I'm glad I met your expectations—that's something I'm always happy to hear! I love the whole idea of Ginny disliking "Phlegm," and I can see it quite clearly in my head…and clearly so can you! winks Yes, the more outspoken side of Ginny in HBP was a bit of a shock, but we've always known Ginny had more opinions than she let on! You put Ginny's situation in the last chapter into words exactly. I have the same mixed feelings about moving on as you do…and I suspect Ginny probably will as well…hugs EEDOE—I still haven't the foggiest clue as to what turned Fleur's head to Weasley men…if only I did. coughs I think that was the defining moment myself…until then, she always believed that even if he wasn't ready to act on it, Harry knew that they were connected in some way…now she's seen that probably isn't the case. I don't know how I'd ever get anything done without your help! Thanks so much! hugs
Ginny had no idea where she was going, no idea what she was doing, and no desire to think about either. If she did, there would be no way to avoid the full impact of how she felt. She wasn't ready to face that yet. She wasn't even sure she could, which was why she'd begun running.
"Well, if it isn't the girliest Weasley." The cold sneer made Ginny's steps falter. Pride denied a scream, but so did caution; she refused to give anyone the satisfaction nor the ammunition. She'd helped Tom thrive on her fear and her uncertainty once; she wouldn't give them to him—or anyone else—again, not if she could help it. Before the bone-deep resolution registered in her conscious thoughts, the familiar voice continued, "Dare I suspect you're up to no good?" and she realized it belonged not to Tom, but to the Potions Master, Severus Snape.
"I do hope you aren't taking after your brothers, prowling about making trouble at Potter's whim." Snape's silken hiss went through Ginny like a Basilisk strike, stiffening her spine with a poisonous resolve that made her chest burn.
"I wouldn't spit on Harry Potter if he were on fire," she said. Pain spread acidic and languorous, through her limbs so that her entire body throbbed red, but she looked Snape in the eye.
"Ah. There's no love lost between you and the resident rebel-hero, I see." Snape said, even more silkily.
"No," Ginny choked, the poison in her blood ebbing so suddenly she felt faint.
"That certainly is interesting," Snape said acerbically, "But perhaps you could tell me what--"
"What are you saying to the poor girl, Severus?" Ginny was amused—if taken aback—to see Snape twitch at the sound of a softly irate voice.
"Sinistra! Incompetent, starry-eyed twit though you may be, surely you remember that I—unlike you—am perfectly capable of handling students without interference!"
"Terrifying them into submission is not the same as handling them, you great, greasy, insensitive, dungeon-dwelling moron!" normally mild-mannered Professor Sinistra recoiled (wrong word, because of the meaning to spring back. What about – struck back) without missing a beat. "Go get Hagrid to give you a good scrubbing, why don't you, and leave Miss Weasley alone. She clearly wanted to tell me she might have to miss tonight's lesson, as even a fume-blinded, hygienically-challenged git, like yourself, can see she looks about to faint!"
Snape's eyes flicked momentarily over Ginny's form, but he was already sneering, "Cause and effect all in one speech. Miss Weasley must be flattered indeed to inspire such wit, though I admit if I had to attend your lectures, I would be tempted to plead sick as well!"
"I'll have you know," Professor Sinistra said, pushing the wild, frizzy masses of auburn hair out of her flashing eyes, "Ginny takes my class twice a week, and I've never seen her looking so ill. No doubt she's sickened from standing downwind of you."
To Ginny's astonishment, Snape gave a low laugh. It seemed to throw Professor Sinistra off as well, which was probably why he had done it. "Funny, Auriga," he drawled, inching closer to her, Ginny all-but-forgotten. "I didn't hear you complaining about my stench when--"
Professor Sinistra whirled around toward a door Ginny hadn't previously noticed, but now recognized as the door to the staff lounge, "You're right, of course, Severus, let's discuss this over coffee, shall we?"
Professor Snape turned nearly as white as Ginny felt. "Now, Auriga, that's not really necessary--"
"Um," Ginny interjected hesitantly, "I'll just be going back to my dorm now, okay?"
Neither of them told her that it was okay, but neither of them told her she couldn't. Ginny backed slowly away.
The Gryffindor Common Room was packed when she returned. The twins were setting off Filibuster's Fireworks to applause from the Gryffindor Chasers, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell. Ron and Harry had apparently decided to relieve their feelings in a game of Exploding Snap with Neville. Tempest and Patricia were sitting with Lavendar Brown and Parvati Patil, giggling wildly over something Ginny could only hope was not her. Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan were practicing Seamus' spell to turn water into rum, with disastrous results. Colin and his brother, Denis, had ventured out from their corner and were darting back and forth, taking pictures of everything. None of them seemed to pay any attention to her slipping through the Fat Lady's Portrait, and Hermione was nowhere to be seen. Ginny didn't feel quite ready to discuss things with her anyway. So, torn between guilt and relief, she trudged up the stairs to the silent shadows of her dorm.
Flinging herself out on her bed, Ginny tried to distract herself with thoughts of the scene she had just witnessed in the corridor. She never would have thought that Snape would be afraid of Sinistra, but . . . if he wasn't afraid of her, why had he been so jumpy? It seemed kind of strange that they'd start arguing for no reason that she could see, too—unless they'd been arguing in the staffroom before Snape had come out and run into Ginny? But if that were the case, what had they been arguing about? Though she might normally have found such questions fascinating, at the moment, Ginny couldn't have cared less.
Eventually, she took up the book, Mansfield Park, hoping it would offer the distraction Snape and Sinistra couldn't seem to give, but after several minutes of trying to involve herself in Fanny's joy over her cousin Edmund's thoughtful gift, Ginny was feeling more jealous than comforted. She tossed the book aside with a fretful sigh, and tried to empty her mind the way she'd begun to learn in her study of Occulumency. She felt empty; she was completely unaware of any thoughts, any feelings, anything, but instead of feeling calm, at peace, tingling with magic all she felt was . . . empty.
She was vaguely aware of her dorm-mates coming in, noisy at first and then making a very ineffectual effort to be quiet as to not wake her. Ginny let the murmur of their voices crash over her like the tide, and wash back away, carrying her with it, toward sleep.