Author's notes:

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

Good news, I managed to get the whole chapter to upload.

HARRY POTTER AND THE MUGGLE'S DAUGHTER

Ginny

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"BIWWY!" Ginny Weasley darted from her mother's grasp across the platform to her eldest brother.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley," Mum shrieked.

Bill Weasley, fresh from his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy, caught the onrushing Roman candle that was his baby sister up in his arms. "Firefly!" he greeted her joyously. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her tiny arms around his neck and hugged him for all she was worth. He kissed her crown and gave her a little tickle in her side. She squealed and squirmed away from his nimble fingers. "How's my favorite four-year-old?"

"Now, Molly dear," Dad chastised Mum gently, "she's just excited to see him and you can see her just fine."

"Oh, I know Arthur. It's just she listens so horribly and it is terribly crowded."

"I'm a'most five!" Ginny cried

Bill chuckled. "Really?" he asked in wonder. "You can't be, can you?"

"I kin too! Some day I be as o'd as you and I kin go to Hogwarts too!"

"And you'll do the most amazing magic, won't you?"

"YES!"

Bill laughed and turned with her to his younger brother Charlie – who had just finished his first year at the renowned institution. "Look who I found," he stage whispered.

"CHARWIE!" Ginny squealed and all but threw herself from Bill's arms to her second oldest brother.

Laughing, he managed to catch her. "How's our little princess?" he asked around the blood-flow reducing grip she had around his neck.

"I'm a'most five! I'm no' li'le no more."

"No?"

"NO!"

"You're right. I can't possible hold you up any longer." Charlie pretended to drop her, catching her just before her feet hit the floor. Ginny squealed with his antics. While he was engaged with Ginny, Bill had greeted the rest of their brothers and parents. He then took Ginny back from Charlie and the ritual was repeated once more.

Dad used his wand to shrink their trunks and tucked them in the pocket of his jacket. "Shall we then?" he asked.

"How we getting home, Dad?" Charlie asked.

"Your father insisted on bringing that car of his," Mum said, clearly put out with her husband. "So we best get started for the ride home." She turned, pulling Ron along by the hand.

Bill and Charlie exchanged a look. "Cool," they said together.

In short order the group had piled into a car that by all appearances should never have held them all. Of course Dad drove. Percy had claimed the seat next to him with Ron immediately to his left and then Mum. In the back, Fred had one window seat while Bill had the other. Wisely, Charlie had sat himself between Ginny's twin brothers. Hopefully it would be enough to keep George and Fred in line for the drive home. Normally Ginny would have been put out that Percy got to sit up front next to Dad, but not now. She was sat in her favorite spot of all; Bill's lap. She happily snuggled into him and rested her head against his chest.

Bill kissed her crown. "Did you miss me?" he whispered. Ginny nodded and wiggled in tighter. While they drove Bill unconsciously rolled his wand between his fingers. It was going to be a long ten weeks till he got back to school and could use it without fear of being caught. Mind, it was only his mum and dad he was worried about now. He'd spent the year sneaking into the restricted section and found the charm to break the trace on his wand. He was going to get a job as a Gringotts Curse-Breaker upon graduating if it killed him. He noticed Ginny intently watching him play with his wand and offered it to her. "Would you like to hold it?" he whispered.

Two months shy of being five, she knew better than to do anything other than silently take it from him. She tucked her arm up between her and Bill, effectively hiding the evidence from sight. It was a well known, if frequently broken, rule in the Weasley home that you weren't to touch a wand if you were under eleven. Bill glanced up and winked at Charlie and the twins. Charlie rolled his eyes while the twins smirked. It might not seem like much, but it was a fairly impressive prank for a four year old.

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Six-year-old Ginny Weasley sat at the dinner table and did her best to look happy. She didn't quite understand how it had happened. Sure Father Christmas had failed to bring her things she'd asked for in the past. But this year she'd been very careful to only ask for one thing. Surely you were supposed to get what you asked for if it was the only thing you had asked for, weren't you? Apparently her disappointment was too much to fool Dad though.

"What's wrong Ginny-girl?" he asked.

"Nothing!" she said quickly. Complaining wasn't in her nature and she had received some very nice gifts. Her jumper and dress hadn't even been from the second-hand shoppe.

"Now Ginny," Dad said, "I think I know when something's bothering my little girl."

"I'm not little!" Ginny protested.

Dad sighed. "Alright, you're not little."

"Just miniature," Fred teased. Ginny shot a glare at him.

"Careful, Fred," George said, "Princess Ginny might kick you in the bits. Oh, that's right she's too short to reach above your knee. OWWW!" George howled, clutching at his shin.

"DON'T CALL ME PRINCESS!" Ginny screamed before bolting from the table. She raced up the stairs to her room, slammed the door as hard as she could and threw herself onto her bed.

It wasn't too much later that there was a knock on her door. "GO AWAY!" The door opened and she sat up in a rush. "I SAID GO AWAY!" she shouted and launched her stuffed unicorn at the intruder. Her eyes widened fearfully as she realized what she had done. She was going to be in sooo much trouble.

Bill caught the toy, slipped in her room and closed the door behind him. "Aren't you glad I'm not Mum or Dad now," he teased gently. She scowled at him. Bill raised a brow at her. She crossed her arms defiantly. Bill smirked and she couldn't help breaking into giggles. He sat down on her bed and held his arms out and she quickly crawled into his lap. "Alright?"

She snuggled into him. "Yes."

Bill leaned back against the wall and rested his chin on the top of her head. "You'll get a wand soon, Luv."

"It's so far away," she protested.

Bill chuckled. "You'll be there soon enough. And then you'll have your wand and not long after you'll get yourself a boyfriend and you won't need your old brother anymore."

"EWWWW!" Ginny squealed. "Boys are icky."

"Hey! I'm a boy."

"You're different. You're not like Ron or the twins or even Percy."

"I thought you liked Percy."

"He's still icky… he was playing with his…" she stopped and pointed to the area.

It was all Bill could do not to break into peels of laughter. Apparently his uppity brother had been busted wanking by their baby sister. That was going to be some serious blackmail material when she got old enough to know what the hell it was Percy had been doing. He had no doubt Ginny would use it too. Every time he came home she seemed more and more calculating in her actions. He was thinking about that when she asked, "Billy?"

"Yes?"

"Father Christmas isn't real, is he?"

Case in point, Bill thought. Despite his parent's hard and fast rule about not getting a wand till your eleventh birthday, Ginny was singularly focused on having one. It didn't matter that she wouldn't be able to perform magic with it. She wanted it now. And figuring Father Christmas was her best bet, she had asked for that and that alone.

Additionally, letters from his mother had revealed she had been amazingly well behaved since her birthday. She helped in the kitchen, took on extra chores, kept her room spotless and went to bed without ever putting up a fuss. Mum had been over the moon with her little girl suddenly being much more compliant than in the past. He didn't even think Dad realized the reason behind Ginny's change in behavior. His little sister was more driven to reach her goals than he was. Considering he was in line to be Head Boy next year – which would be of no small help in getting him his desired position with Gringotts – that was saying something. "I'm sorry, Firefly, he isn't."

Ginny nodded slightly. "I thought so… It's Mum an' Dad, isn't it?"

Bill nodded. "Don't tell, Ron,"

Ginny let out a sigh. "I won't."

Bill kissed her crown. "That's my girl."

She snuggled into him again. "Billy, how much does a wand cost?"

Bill sighed. Even if she bought it herself, he knew his parents. They wouldn't allow it till her eleventh birthday. He didn't really agree with it. Near six years at Hogwarts had taught him plenty about how the ministry tracked underage-magic use. It seemed to him, if you read between the lines, the vast majority of the laws around it made it much more likely that half-blood and Muggle-born children ended up being the ones caught and punished. As Dad so often pointed out it seemed much of it was an attempt to make it harder for them to compete with children from pure-blood families. Every year he returned to school the vast majority of his Muggle-born friends seemed to have regressed much further than the students from pure-blood families. His parents' strict adherence to the laws had hindered both he and Charlie till he'd found the charms to remove the Trace on their wands a few years back. "They're really expensive, luv," he answered.

"Like ten Galleons?" she asked. "I have that much. I could buy it myself."

Bill sighed again. Expensive was relative. Ten galleons certainly seemed a fortune when you were a Weasley; especially if you weren't even seven yet. "I'm sorry, Luv. They're much more than that.

She sat up and looked him in the eye. "How much?"

"Usually between three and four hundred Galleons."

Her eyes widened. "Hundred?" she whispered.

Bill nodded. "Depending on the core and the wood, they can even be as much as a thousand.

For a second her eyes seemed to brim with tears, but then they hardened. "How long will it take me to save that much?"

"How much is your allowance?"

"Six Sickles a week. But I get seven when my birthday comes."

Bill nodded sagely. He was well aware of the allowance structure his parents set up. Starting at age five, if you managed all your chores and didn't get in trouble for something, you got five Sickles a week. Each year you got another sickle up to the start of your third year at Hogwarts. Then you got a Galleon a week so you'd have a bit of money for when you were allowed to visit the village of Hogsmeade. Birthdays usually brought a small bit of spending money as well. He was pretty impressed she'd managed to save enough to have ten Galleons already. Birthday money plus allowance for her couldn't have totaled much more than twenty Galleons to begin with. "I'm not sure, Luv. I'll have to work it out for you, alright?"

"Ok," she agreed.

Bill hugged her tight. "I can't promise Mum and Dad will let you get one before you turn eleven, but I promise when you do, you'll have the Galleons to get whichever wand chooses you."

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him for all she was worth. "I love you, Billy."

Bill patted her back. "I love you too, Firefly."

She let him go and focused on him. "What do you mean chooses me?" she asked.

Bill smirked. There were days she was entirely too smart for her own good. "Wands choose the witch or wizard, Firefly. If they don't, they won't work for you. We'll they will," he amended, "but not as well as a wand that chooses you will."

She frowned. "I don't understand."

Bill took his wand out and handed it to her. "Give it a little wave." She eagerly did; getting a weak streamer of sparks for her efforts. "That's pretty good," he said. "But when you do that with a wand that chooses you instead of mine, you'll get a whole bunch more."

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The majestic Pharaoh Owl floated through the kitchen window of the Burrow and settled next to Ginny. "Ma'at!" she exclaimed. Bill had acquired her when he'd moved to Egypt just after her eighth birthday. He'd lived at home the first year after graduating Hogwarts, gathering the experience he needed before putting in for a transfer. With him being of school age when she was all of one, it was the only year she could remember him living at home with her. It had been brilliant. But then his transfer had come in and he'd left. She missed him terribly.

"Whoo," Ma'at cooed softly and held her leg out.

Ginny quickly untied the bundle of letters before offering the owl a sausage from her plate. "I'll bet you're tired," she said, gently stroking along the owl's head. The owl nipped at her finger. Ginny giggled. "Oh yes, I forgot. That trip is nothing for an owl like you, is it?" Ma'at leaned into her fingers happily. Ginny fed her another sausage. "You're perch is up in my room. I'll be up in a bit and get you some fresh water, ok?" The owl bobbed her head and took wing out the window just as Mum came in from the garden.

"Oh, was that Ma'at?" she asked.

Ginny downed the last of her juice. "Yes. She sorted through the letters. "Looks like he wrote each of us," she said. She was pleased to note that, but for the one for her parents, hers was a bit thicker than all the rest. She offered the letter addressed to her parents to her mum and stood. "I'm just going to put mine in my room and then I'll start my chores."

"That's fine, Ginny," Mum said, already opening the letter from Bill.

It was afternoon before Ginny made it to her room. She locked her door, grabbed her letter and, after giving Ma'at a quick scratch, settled on her bed. It had been five weeks since she'd heard from her brother and it had been utter torture forcing herself to save his letter for after her chores so she could really enjoy it. She broke the seal and very quickly found part of the reason for why her envelope was so thick. A good-sized pile of Galleons fell from the envelope to her lap. She stared at them for a moment before dropping her letter to scoop them up and count them. "Twenty-five!" she gasped. She stared at them for a moment before counting again to make sure.

Ever since he started working for Gringotts Bill had been giving her a Galleon a week. Thanks to him, she was well on her way to having the money to buy her own wand. She knew she didn't have to, her parents had bought wands for each of her brothers for their eleventh birthday, but she wanted to do it herself. It wasn't completely altruistic on her part. She was hopeful if she bought her wand herself she might be allowed to get new robes instead of having to make do with hand-me-downs. Some of her brothers' things weren't too bad, but she really didn't fancy wearing boys' robes when she started school. She quickly climbed from her bed and grabbed her deposit box.

Charlie had given it to her last Christmas. It was modeled after a dragon; a Hebridean Black, and emitted puffs of smoke when it wanted attention. There were two slots along its back. One to keep her spending money from ending up in the hands of the twins or Ron; Stupid Gits! The prats had all gotten burnt by it once when they tried to 'borrow' a Galleon from her without asking. The second slot sent her money directly to her parents' vault at Gringotts, thereby helping to take temptation away from her. She had to ask them to get her money from there and whenever she did her mum gave her the biggest hassle about being frivolous. It really rankled her because none of her brothers saved even a Knut of the pocket money they ever received. Well none of them except for Percy that is.

Ever so carefully she dropped nineteen of the golden coins into the slot for Gringotts. She hesitated for just a moment on the twentieth before shoving it in as well. Five galleons was more than enough walking around money. She'd long ago decided the sweets her brothers bought in Ottery St. Catchpole were nowhere near as good as what Mum baked at home. It was only the Mars Bars that she struggled with and five Galleons went a really long way in a Muggle shoppe. It seemed quite strange to her that a single Galleon was worth five whole pounds! But it was, and she could get enough Mars Bars to make herself sick with that! She quickly slipped four Galleons into the second slot of her deposit box and put the last in her pocket. She'd trade her mum for pounds later and make sure to tell her about the Galleons she'd sent to Gringotts so they could be added to her tally. She was now up to one hundred fifty-eight!

She did a quick calculation in her head. She had almost two years left till she turned eleven. She'd very nearly reach three hundred by then. As long as she didn't end up with some exotic wand with a phoenix feather or something, it should be close to enough. She thought about it for another second before grabbing the deposit box and shaking out another Galleon to send to Gringotts. She was going to get that wand if it was the last thing she ever did! Satisfied with her banking, she settled in with Bill's letter.

Firefly,

I'll bet you can't guess what I did? That's right, your favorite brother managed to break a curse the goblins have been working on for five years! They were so ecstatic they gave me a MEGA bonus! Bet you can guess why you got a little bonus yourself now, can't you? Gotta take care of my favorite sister. I know; you're my only sister. Doesn't mean you can't still be my favorite though. What are you up to now? I'll bet you have enough to buy old Ollivander's whole shoppe by the time you get there for your birthday. Just so you know, I put in to have the week after your eleventh off. I know it's still a year and a half away yet but I'm the new Curse Breaker on the pyramid and if I want it, I had to do it now. I will be taking you to get that wand. If for no other reason than to make sure you keep your hands off mine!

Egypt is amazing. The pyramids are even bigger than you can imagine. Especially the ones the Muggles don't know about. I'm pretty sure one or two are even bigger than Hogwarts. You should see the statue of Bastet. She's almost a hundred meters and she's sitting down. Not only that, she's inside a pyramid that's almost three hundred meters tall.

You want to know something that's really scary? When they first opened the central chamber where Bastet is, there was a living basilisk in it! It killed a whole bunch of wizards and goblins before about a hundred of them decided to all try and transfigure it to stone at the same time. It took three volleys to get the job done but they managed it. The thing is still in the chamber coiled around Bastet's feet. Serious heebejebbes, I'm telling you. It's huge, over seventy feet. When I asked the goblin giving me the run down on the place why they didn't just summon a rooster and make it crow, he started beating his head on the wall and muttering about lost income from the sale of potion's ingredients.

My Muggle friends are always commenting that wizards sometimes seem to lack common sense. I suppose I can see that. But it's a lot easier to find a simple solution after the problem is solved than it is during the heat of the battle. There's two lessons for you there. Remember them both.

I'm really hoping I can talk Dad into talking Mum into letting me bring you down here for a week the summer before you start school. You'd learn a ton and it is just really amazing. The magic they did here hasn't been seen in thousands of years. Even the founders of Hogwarts would be pressed to match up to some of what was done here. There are times I wish you weren't so much younger than me. I think we'd make a brilliant team searching for new tombs and stuff. Maybe we'd even find what Merlin did with Camelot. Wouldn't that be something? Mum would love it cause I'd move back to England in a heartbeat to study Camelot.

I miss you tons and will do everything I can to be home for Christmas; even if it's just for two days.

Love you,

Bill.

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A scowl on her face, Ginny Weasley watched her youngest brother out the window of her treehouse. The git. It wouldn't be so bad if he weren't rubbing it in every chance he got. It was 4th September and Ron had turned eleven the day before. Per family tradition that meant Dad had taken him to get his wand. Ron had been brandishing it in her face at every opportunity since. She could tell he was looking for her now.

Thankfully Bill had hidden the path to get to the ladder for her. If you didn't walk exactly in the prescribed route you couldn't get to the ladder and that was the only way in. Thoughts of Bill could only keep her irritation with Ron at bay for so long though. So he had his wand. It wasn't like he could actually use it. And when it was all said and done, they were going to be in the same year at school anyway. She couldn't help grinning a bit at that. She was going to turn eleven only a few days before term started. He would turn twelve only a few days after. She would start Hogwarts almost a full year earlier in her life than he did. And if her plan to buy her own wand worked out, maybe she'd get the new robes she was hoping for. That thought was enough to make her smile again.

She settled back on the cushion and picked up her most recent gift from Bill. It was another Cipher-Box. He had given her the first one this past Christmas. Gringotts' Curse Breakers used them as training tools. They would program them with past curse puzzles and give them to new trainees. By working through the various keys on the cipher you could safely learn how to unravel the puzzle. If you made a mistake, the puzzle would let you know what curse you had triggered and you'd have to start over.

The first one had taken her two weeks to unlock. Inside Bill had hidden ten Galleons as a prize. The second one had taken a month and netted her another twenty Galleons. This one, she'd been at it since April. Considering it was now September and Percy and the twins were back at school for the year, she was more than a bit frustrated with it. Bill hadn't been kidding when he'd said he was tired of underestimating her and made this one harder. Frankly, she was beginning to think he'd overestimated her this time. Still, it was far better to get herself 'killed' playing with the Cipher than put up with Ron or even her mum right now.

It was going to be a long four months at home with just them. Of course Dad was home too, but he had to work. So most of the time it was just her, Ron and Mum. And the two of them drove her mental. Ron was just lazy. All he ever did was read Quidditch magazines and endlessly poor over broom specifications. Honestly, she liked brooms and Quidditch too, but the specifications weren't going to change just because you poured over them a thousand times! And he barely did his chores; half the time she ended up having to do them on top of her own. But did she get any extra allowance for doing it? NOOOooo.

And her mum, it seemed the older she got, the more her mum wanted to treat her like she was five. That and the ever-growing admonishments to behave like a lady and what she would need to do to find a good husband. She was ten! Finding a husband was the furthest thing from her mind. If her mum was happy being a house witch, bully on her. But Bill's countless letters had filled her head with tales of wondrous magic and marvelous adventures. She'd made up her mind to follow her brother to the crypts and pyramids of Egypt over a year ago and nothing was going to stand in her way.

Well maybe she'd make a detour and play Quidditch with the Harpies for a few years first. She was a fair turn on a broom after all. Not that Ron or the twins ever let her play with them! She'd show them though, once she got to school. But one thing was for certain; she was not going to be a house witch!

She'd been quietly working on the Cipher for about half an hour when she was startled by the trap door opening. "BILL!" she exclaimed when he poked his head in. She frowned. He'd just gone back to Egypt on the first after coming for the joint birthday party they'd had for her and Ron before Fred, George and Percy went back to school. Her confusion quickly changed to foreboding at the look on his face. "Why are you here?" she whispered. Bill finished crawling up into the treehouse where he sat down and held his arms out to her. Ginny shook her head. "Not till you tell me why you're here."

Bill closed his eyes; taking a deep breath he let it out before focusing on her. "It's Dad."

"Dad?" Ginny squeaked.

Bill swallowed and a tear slipped down his cheek. "He's d–dead, Ginny."

Ginny stared at him, tears slowly starting to slip down her face. "That's not funny, William Weasley," she said angrily.

"Firefly, Luv," he said.

Ginny shook her head. "NO!"

"Ginny."

"NO! TAKE IT BACK!" Bill grabbed her as she tried to dive for the trap door. She fought him, pounding at his shoulders and chest. "TAKE IT BACK! YOU TAKE IT BACK RIGHT NOW!"

"Shush," he tried to soothe her.

She broke into sobs, clutching at him. "Take it back. Take it back," she pleaded.

"I know. I know," he whispered, rocking her as his own tears spilled into her hair. "I know, Luv. I know."

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Ginny left the house and wandered the garden aimlessly. She wasn't sure how long she'd been out there when she found herself at the ladder to her treehouse. She stared at it, frowning. She hadn't been out here since… that day. But now she had somehow managed to walk the prescribed route to reach the ladder without realizing she was. That pretty much described her life for the last three and a half months; existing without really knowing you were. Dad had been killed attempting to reverse a curse placed on some piece of Muggle machinery. Something called a wood chipper. She'd been in town with Mum about a month after Dad had been killed and she'd seen a group of Muggles working in the park. They'd been standing around a very large and very loud piece of machinery when one of them began throwing large branches – some of them were bigger around than Charlie into one end of the machine. The already loud machine had made a god-awful noise and spit thousands of woodchips out the other end of the machine. She had stared in horror for a few moments before throwing up on the spot. Her nightmares of how her father had died had been non-stop ever since. Giving herself a shake, she gripped the ladder and climbed into her treehouse.

It was freezing inside. But, as it was Boxing Day, that was to be expected. It was also easily remedied by activating the warming stones Bill had spelled for her a few years back. It took a bit longer than normal for them to take the chill away and she absently thought she'd have to ask Bill to recast the spells before he went back to Egypt on the 31st. She settled on her favorite cushion and stared blankly at the wall for a time. It wasn't till a fairy zipped in the window that she was brought out of her stupor.

"Oh," Ginny gasped. The tiny creature stopped in mid air, clearly surprised to find her there. "I'm sorry, you've moved in, haven't you?" The fairy floated closer. "I'm glad you're a girl fairy," Ginny said. "I've too many boys in my life as it is." The fairy floated closer still. "This is my treehouse, but you're welcome to stay as long as you like." The fairy sneezed and Ginny suddenly found herself in a cloud of fairy dust. "Though I'd appreciate if you covered your nose when you sneeze," Ginny grumbled.

The fairy flew a loop and darted up to the ceiling where a tiny house was under construction on one of the beams. She watched the fairy for a few moments and sure enough, another bit of wall magically formed before the fairy zipped out the window again. "It was nice to meet you!" Ginny called. Feeling a strange sense of loss at the departure of her new friend, Ginny let out a sad sigh. Casting her eyes around she found the Cipher she had been working on… that day. She hesitated a moment before reaching for it.

Over the next few hours she quietly worked away at it. The fairy came and went a half dozen times; each visit bringing a new addition to her house. Ginny talked to her each time, praising her skill and the beauty of her work. "Oh, I like the flower boxes," she said. The fairy flew a loop and zipped down where she alighted on Ginny's knee. The tiny being sat on her knees and leaned forward on her hands, inquisitively looking at the Cipher Box. "My brother gave it to me," Ginny said. She leaned down a bit, holding the box out so the fairy could examine it. "It's a kind of puzzle. Do you know what that is?" The fairy shook her head. "It's kind of like a test, or maybe a trial. Does that help?" The fairy nodded quickly. "A trial, you know what that is?" Again the fairy nodded. "Well, when I figure it out, the box will open and there will be a prize in it."

The fairy leapt off her knee, flew a loop and settled on her knee to watch again. She made a motion, indicating that Ginny was to get on with solving her puzzle so she could see the prize.

"I'm trying," Ginny said. "I just keep getting stuck here. No matter what I do I can't figure how to get past it without tripping this curse." The fairy glanced up at Ginny. "What's it do?" The fairy nodded. "It's a Severing Curse. It's supposed to cut your head off." The fairy scrambled back and hid behind Ginny's leg. Ginny giggled. "It's not real, silly," she said. "Remember, it's just game." The fairy cautiously poked her head above Ginny's leg. "Really," Ginny urged. "It's safe. It's so I can learn without getting hurt." The fairy gave her a look, clearly conveying she thought Ginny was a bit loony for wanting to play a game like that. "Watch," Ginny said. She keyed in Finite Incantatum to try and dispel the Severing Curse. The Fairy cringed expectantly. The Cipher turned red and vibrated in Ginny's hands. "See," she said. "Now I have to start over."

The fairy climbed back up on Ginny's knee and settled cross-legged with her chin propped in her hand. "You want me to try again?" Ginny asked. The fairy made a motion with her hand for Ginny to start the Cipher over. "I just don't know what to do?" Ginny said while keying in the various spells and counters to the Cipher. She'd done it so many times already it only took her a few minutes to get back to the sticking point. "I think I might need to try coming at it from a different direction entirely." She held the Cipher out for the fairy see. "I've been over the books Bill sent with it. He wouldn't make it something I couldn't figure from them." The fairy climbed to her feet and began pacing back and forth on Ginny's thigh. Ginny giggled. "That tickles!" The fairy stopped for a moment but then began hopping instead. Ginny laughed. "Stop that, you!" The fairy made a chittering sound before prancing back to her spot on Ginny's knee and sitting down again.

"Oh, you're hilarious," Ginny teased. She wasn't sure, but she thought the fairy stuck her tongue out at her. "And don't get fresh with me," Ginny teased. The fairy covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hide her chittering laugh. Ginny couldn't help laughing with her. The fairy shifted to her knees and motioned for Ginny to try her Cipher again. "But I don't know what to do," Ginny protested. It was tough to tell because she was so small, but it seemed the fairy made a frustrated face.

The two of them sat there for a few minutes before the fairy jumped up and flew up to her house near the eaves. She ducked inside and was back a moment later. She settled on Ginny's knee where she brandished a miniscule sword and shield and assumed a battle stance. She made a motion for Ginny to try the Cipher again. Ginny frowned. "I don't understand." The fairy made a slashing motion with her sword and then ducked behind her shield. "You think I'm supposed to trip the spell on purpose?" Ginny asked. The fairy flew a quick loop and settled on her knee again. Ginny turned the Cipher over in her hands for a moment before carefully keying in Protego and then Finite Incantatum. The fairy leaned forward while Ginny held her breath. There was a click and the Cipher opened, spilling a pile of golden Galleons in Ginny's lap. The fairy flew a loop, darted up to her home where she deposited her sword and shield before darting back down to Ginny where she threw herself against Ginny's tummy and hugged her. The creature was so tiny her arms barely stretched from Ginny's side to her bellybutton. She let Ginny go and jumped down to stand by the pile of coins where she clapped her hands excitedly.

Ginny giggled. "You're brilliant!" She held her hand out and the fairy smacked her tiny palm against Ginny's, creating a tiny puff of fairy dust. "Should we count them?" Ginny asked. The fairy clapped her hands excitedly. Ginny quickly started piling the coins in stacks of five. "Fifty," she said. She studied the fairy for a second. "Would you like one?" she asked. The fairy clapped her hands, darted forward to hug Ginny again before settling on the floor where she walked between the stacks; seemingly trying to pick which one she wanted. "They're all the same," Ginny said. The fairy waved her off and kept searching. She stopped at one stack, pushed the top coin off and pointed at the next coin before clapping her hands excitedly. "That's the one you want?" Ginny asked. The fairy flew a loop and settled next to the stack of coins again. Ginny laughed. "Well go on then." The fairy grabbed the coin and it instantly shrunk to fit in her palm. She darted up to her house where she enlarged the coin just a bit and mounted it above the doorway. She floated back a bit to study her work. "It looks wonderful," Ginny said. The fairy flew a loop, darted down to Ginny where she raced around her head twice and settled on her shoulder.

Ginny laughed. "Just make yourself at home," she teased. The fairy fluttered her wings, tickling Ginny's ear with them. "Oh you are a trouble maker, aren't you?" The fairy sat down on her shoulder, kicked her feet absently and leaned against the side of Ginny's head. "Oh, I'm so glad I met you." The fairy cuddled into her a bit. They sat in silence for a few minutes but then the fairy suddenly darted behind Ginny's head a moment before the trap door opened in the floor.

A blonde head poked into the treehouse. "Ginevra?"

"LUNA!" Ginny exclaimed.

Luna beamed. "You are here." She climbed the rest of the way into the treehouse. The fairy poked her head out from behind Ginny.

"It's ok," Ginny assured the creature. "Luna's my friend."

"KAI!" Luna cried. The fairy darted out from behind Ginny to fly laps around Luna's head. She stopped between the two girls, floating on buzzing wings and clapped her hands excitedly.

"You know her?" Ginny asked

"Oh yes," Luna said. "She came to me after Mummy died."

Ginny's eyes snapped to the fairy. "Is that why you came?" she asked softly.

The fairy floated down and settled on Ginny's shoulder where she snuggled against her cheek again. "She knows when she's needed," Luna said quietly.

A tear slipped down Ginny's cheek as she leaned into the fairy. "Thank you," she whispered.

Luna moved over and laid her head in Ginny's lap. "I thought she might have come to find you."

HPHPHP

Ginny sat on her bed, tears streaming down her face. The argument between Bill and her mum was epic. And well it should be, she thought. How dare her mother spend the money she had spent years saving to buy Ron a broom! she fumed.

This had to be the worst birthday ever. Her mum had tried to give her Grandmum Prewett's old wand that morning; dressing it all up in a pretty box with a ribbon and presenting it to her like it was some great honor to have a wand that hadn't chosen her just because it had belonged to Grandmum Prewett. She had stared at the wand after opening the box, not hearing a word her mum said as she started going on about the wonderful magic Grandmum had performed with the wand and wasn't she excited to have such a beautiful family heirloom. Thankfully, Bill had been there and recovered before she had. Because if Ginny had been the one to figure out why Mum was giving her Grandmum's old wand, she didn't want to think about how ugly it would have gotten.

"AND WHAT ABOUT GINNY, WHAT IF SHE WANTS TO PLAY QUIDDITCH?" Bill's voice came up the stairs.

"NO DAUGHTER OF MINE IS GOING TO BE PLAYING QUIDDITCH!"

Ginny gave a sob and curled her arms around her legs tightly. Kai flew in the window and settled on Ginny's shoulder. She gave her a hug and then began combing her hands through Ginny's brilliant red hair. "Hi, Kai," she sniffed miserably. The argument downstairs stayed below a volume she could overhear for the next while and the next thing she heard was Bill bellowing up the stairs for her and Ron to come down.

Ginny took a deep breath before heaving herself off the bed. Kai gave her a kiss on the cheek for support before darting out the window. Ginny wiped her eyes and opened her door. Ron was just coming past and shot a dirty look at her. "Thanks a lot, Princess," he sneered. Ginny followed him down, resisting the urge to give him a shove as they descended to the parlour. "Sit," Bill growled pointing at the couch.

Ron sullenly threw himself on one end. "Why am I in trouble?" Ginny sat on the other end, as far from him and her mother as she could

"William," Mum protested.

"Not a word, Mum," he snapped at her. "You made this bed and now you're going to lie in it."

"How dare you!"

"DON"T," Bill snapped harshly, "test me," he finished when Mum backed down.

"You shouldn't talk to her like that!" Ron said.

Bill rounded on him. "I'm the head of the family, Ronald. I'll talk to her in whatever manner I see fit. You will keep your mouth shut until such time as your opinion is asked for." Ron glowered at him but didn't say anything else. Bill ran a hand through his hair. "Now, I'm sure you both heard some of what's happened. The short of it is Mother stole –" Mum huffed angrily. "–the money Ginny had been saving to buy her wand and used it to buy the broom you got for Christmas, Ron."

"He needed to practice!" Mum exploded. "How else will he make the house team?"

Bill rounded on her. "Once more and I'll silence you."

"You wouldn't dare."

Bill waved his wand, proving that not only did he dare silence her; he would also stick her to the chair. "I'm going to say this only once, Mother. I will not allow you to jeopardize Ginny's future because of your antiquated ideas of what is and is not proper for a witch." Leaving her fuming, he turned around to face his siblings. "Ron, this is not your fault. Never the less, you have come by something through less than honest means. Now, it is far too late to take your broom back to the shoppe and get your sister's money back—"

"YOU CAN'T" Ron bellowed.

"Don't make me silence you too," Bill snapped harshly. Ron fell silent, but continued to glower sullenly. "As I was saying, it is too late to take the broom back. So I'm going to give you two options. You can either give Ginny your broom—"

"I'M NOT GIVING HER M—" Bill flicked his wand and Ron's mouth snapped shut.

"As I was saying," Bill went on. "You can either give Ginny your broom or you can pay her for it." He flicked his wand at Ron again. "You may speak now."

Ron crossed his arms defiantly. "I'm not giving her my broom."

"Then you'll pay her for it. Go get your deposit box."

"But I don't have that much money!"

"You will give her half of whatever you have. After that, the Galleon per week that I've been sending you will go to Ginny till the debt is paid."

"You can't do that!"

"I can, I will and I am." Bill turned to Ginny. "Is that acceptable?"

"But it will take me years to save up enough again," she whispered, tears sliding down her cheeks. "I'll be stuck using a wand that didn't choose me all that time."

"I have some money saved. We're still going to get your wand today."

Blinking rapidly, she stared at him. "Really?"

"Yes."

Ginny launched herself from the couch to him. "Oh, thank you, Bill." She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him for all she was worth. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Bill patted her back. "You go get cleaned up and wait for me in your room. I'll come get you in a few minutes."

"Ok," she agreed. She ran for the stairs but stopped and turned back. "Ron," she said.

"What?" he asked, glowering at her.

"You don't have to pay me back."

"I don't?"

"Firefly?" Bill asked.

"You're really good a quidditch," she answered. "So you do need to practice as much as you can if you're going to play for the Cannons some day. The broom can be your Christmas and birthday presents from me from now till we finish school."

Bill grinned at her. "That is exceedingly generous of you, Ginny."

She smiled back, but then turned hard eyes on her mother. "Like you said, it wasn't his fault." She turned and ran up the stairs.

Bill turned to Ron. "So I don't have to pay her back then?"

"That's all you have to say? Your sister just gave you a broom she would love to have herself, a broom that by all rights should be hers, and the only thing you're concerned with is that you don't have to pay her back? Don't you think you should maybe go thank her or something?"

"Fine, I'll thank her. I just wanted to make sure I don't have to pay her back."

"She said you didn't. If she's happy with the arrangement, then I'm not going to force you to."

"Ok… Does that mean I still get my Galleon a week?"

"I'm not sure. Funds are getting tight. Might be that neither of you gets it pretty soon."

Ron scowled. "Then how can you afford to buy her a wand?"

Bill glowered at him. "Are you seriously asking me that?"

"What? What did I do?"

Bill shook his head. "Ron, you really need to start using your brain once in a while before you open your mouth."

"Alright already, it was just a question."

"Just get out of here before I decide to sell the damn broom because you're an ungrateful little git." Ron wasted no time in bolting for the stairs and his room. Bill turned to his mum. She glared at him angrily. "There is nothing wrong with that kid's mind or magic other than the fact he's lazy as sin." She tapped her foot and pretended to ignore him. "I'm warning you, Mum, if you don't stop Molly-Coddling him, he really isn't going to have any future but as a Quidditch player." She crossed her arms and turned away. "Are you seriously going to sit there and pretend he would have done what Ginny did?" She continued to ignore him. "Fine," Bill said. "You can sit there and think about what you did to your daughter till we get back from Ollivander's."

HPHPHP

Author's notes: For anyone wondering, yes, Ginny will figure prominantely in this story. And I've obviously moved some birth dates around from what JKR gave us.

For all my American readers, remember, the English drive on the wrong side of the road so yes, Percy would be on his father's left, with Ron on his left.

I'm sorry about Arthur Weasley. It wasn't easy, but this should serve as a warning things will be drastically different than what JKR gave us.

Also, could Bill have found the way to break the trace on his wand at Hogwarts library? I certainly think so. This is why. Tom Riddle. How, exactly and where, did Riddle first read about Horcruxes? Personally, I think he found the stuff in Hogwarts library. I think this is so, because he tried so hard to stay there and not be sent back to the orphanage between 6th and 7th year. I mean being at the orphanage and being able to leave and go where he liked seems to me to be the better option for being able to learn and research magic than being at the school. After all, we know he has already killed his father and framed his uncle Morfin Gaunt for it. So he was obviously moving around and leaving the orphanage with rather a lot of freedom and performing underage magic without being caught. It doesn't make a lot of sense that he wants to put himself somewhere he is going to face rather a lot of supervision. Unless, there is some really nasty stuff in the Hogwarts library and even though he'll be under observation at the school over the summer it is less than he'll face during the school year.

Galleons and the cost of things; especially wands. In fan fiction, this seems to be something that is kind of all over the place but is usually between 3-10 galleons. I'm not certain JKR actually ever tells us what the cost of a single thing truly is. I've re-read books 1 and 2 so far and have yet to see anything specific. But there is one thing JKR is on record as saying somewhere in some long ago interview or article, a Galleon is roughly equal to 5 pounds sterling. A pound is roughly $1.50 US. So a galleon is roughly about $7.50 US. Now, when I think about a wand in the magical world and just how significant it is, I tend to think these are not cheap items.

First off, a wand is likely the single most important purchase a witch or wizard makes in their life. After all, the wrong wand means you'll perform far worse in school than you are capable of and this severely affects your job prospects which affects your earning potential over your life time. The wrong wand can literally be the difference between being viewed as a powerful and competent sorcerer or a near squib. Second, it seems, for the most part, that a sorcerer purchases a single wand during their life. They might purchase a second, but it seems pretty rare. I mean somehow, after the botched killing of Harry and Voldemort's eventual resurrection, he still has the wand he used at school. Third, if it is true that the vast majority of sorcerers only ever purchase a single wand, then the wand maker needs to charge quite a lot in order to earn a living. Hogwarts only enrolls about a 100 or so students a year. Again, JKR once said she envisioned about a thousand total students at Hogwarts. That means Ollivander is only going to sell a hundred or so wands a year. Maybe more if there are schools for less gifted students and home schooled children, but let's say he sells 150 wands a year. If the average cost was some piddling little sum like 3 galleons, that means he makes about 450 galleons a year. Which is 2,250 pounds sterling, which is $3,375.00 US. Not exactly a lot of money. And that is before he starts deducting the costs of making the wands. So when I set my wand prices, I tried to do the math and price them accordingly. I came up with an average price of about 300 galleons. 150 wands at 300 galleons is 45,000 galleons a year. That is 225,000 pounds sterling and $337,500.00 US. That seemed like a good number to me for someone who is the maker of what is the single most important item a witch or wizard will ever own.

And last, Molly. First, it will be explained shortly just how it is Bill can tell her what to do. Second, try not to judge Molly too harshly. That's all I'm going to say.