A/N 6/7/23: Reposted to fix some of Fleur's dialogue. Will post next chapter in the next couple of days.


Ginny expected an angry rant from Mum about their trip to the Ministry, but rather than shouting, Ginny just caught the occasional muttered "could have gotten yourselves killed" and "honestly" as they rode back in a Muggle taxi from platform nine and three quarters.

"At least now everyone knows You-Know-Who is back now, right Mum?" said Ron.

Mum did not respond, and though Ginny was sitting in the back seat and could not see Mum's face, she imagined she was pursing her lips. Her thoughts drifted to what she had said about Dean and Harry in her conversation with Hermione. Guilt was starting to set in again, and she regretted what she had said to her back on the platform. She imagined the look on Dean's face if she were to tell him she would be dumping him for "someone better" in the event that Harry started fancying her. He was clearly smitten with her and had been for a while, perhaps months, before they kissed by the lake. She was not sure that she had the heart to do something like that, and even if she did, she could not help but feel it would make her a really terrible person. She figured she would just have to cross that bridge when she got to it, if it ever arrived at all, which it probably wouldn't. She was going to listen to Hermione though and not give up hope, as she could not let herself fall back into a deep depression. At the same time, she was not going to allow herself to fall for any more encounters like that day in the library and the classroom, as she could not let her heart get broken either. It was a difficult needle to thread, but she was incredibly thankful to have Hermione as a friend; someone who was in her corner and doing everything she could to help her with her situation.

She took a deep breath when she walked through the door of the Burrow fifteen minutes later. It had been a year since she had set foot in the house, and now that the Ministry finally was acknowledging the threat of Voldemort, there was no need to return to Grimmauld Place. The scent of the Burrow was warm and refreshing, and Ginny felt a sense of calm wash over her. She hadn't realized just how much she had missed being home.

The first thing she did was take her trunk upstairs to her room and drop it in front of her bed. When she turned to head back downstairs, Ron was standing in the doorway.

"What's this rubbish about you dating Dean Thomas?" he said angrily, taking a couple steps into her room.

"Ron, this is my room, please don't just barge in without asking," said Ginny sternly. She had a feeling Ron had been stewing about this the entire way home. "And yes, I'm dating Dean Thomas now. So what?"

"It's just — you can do better than him, and I don't want to see you get hurt."

Ginny could feel herself going red with anger.

"You should be more worried about how you've had five years to get your nut up with Hermione and still haven't done it!"

"You watch your mouth!" Ron bellowed, and Ginny was pleased to see him flush. "That was uncalled for, all I said was that you could do better!"

They glared at each other.

"You don't tell me how to live my life, Ron. And I saw you glance at Harry when you said the same thing on the train. What the hell was that about?"

"Huh?" said Ron, looking slightly bewildered. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You told me to 'find someone better' and then looked at Harry. What did that mean?"

Ginny felt her heart thump faster. She had been convinced that Harry would never confide his feelings to Ron if he started fancying her, but still wanted to be absolutely certain.

"I didn't realize I did that," he said, "but I always thought… you know… if it had to be someone, I'd prefer it was Harry… and you used to fancy him and all…"

Ginny scoffed. Harry had definitely not said anything to him. Ginny expected that, but she still felt that twinge of disappointment.

"Look," she said. "Let's say — for the sake of argument, of course — that I still fancied Harry, and I asked him out. He says no. Then what?" She was trying to spell this out for him as simply as she could without admitting anything. Surely Ron could grasp something so obvious?

He did not answer, but just looked at her with his mouth slightly open.

"You never think things through properly, do you?" said Ginny harshly. Of course, she had exhausted every option and scenario in her mind the past several years when it came to formulating a plan to get with Harry, so it was understandable that Ron would not fully get it, but still, she expected better than this.

"What is all the commotion up here?"

Ron jumped and looked around; Mum appeared in the doorway with her hands on her hips.

"Ron barged in my room without asking!" said Ginny.

"She's got another boyfriend!" Ron blurted out.

"Oh you do?" said Mum, looking at Ginny now. "That's great, Ginny!"

Ginny wondered if she was going to say anything regarding Ron's use of the word "another", as she had never told her about Michael, but she did not.

"She's only fourteen!"

"Oh Ronald," sighed Mum. "Girls start dating at that age all the time, including me. What's his name, dear?"

"Dean," said Ginny.

Mum smiled and said, "Don't you have a girlfriend yet, Ron? You're so handsome, you should attract plenty of women!"

"He couldn't pull even if a girl walked up and kissed him on the lips," said Ginny nastily. "Five years and he still can't even make a move with Hermione!"

"Shut it!" snarled Ron, who turned scarlet once more.

"Enough!" said Mum angrily. "Downstairs, both of you!"

Ron did not bring up Dean again, and they remained icy towards one another for the remainder of the day. Breakfast the next morning was eventful, as Mum had an announcement.

"Bill's getting married."

Surprisingly, she did not seem excited about this. Quite the contrary, in fact; her tone was cold and rather stern.

"To Fleur?" said Ron, astonished.

"No, Umbridge," said Ginny sarcastically, before Mum could answer. "He ran into her after she fled Hogwarts, and who could resist falling for that when you've been stuck with that old hag veela for a year?"

"Sod off."

"Ooo, really witty comeback there," Ginny jeered. "Don't know how I'm gonna recover from that one."

"Anyway," said Mum loudly, "Bill wants to have her over for the summer so we can 'get to know her properly'." She put a strange inflection on the phrase. "She'll be here in a couple of days. I'll have her sleep in Percy's room."

Ron dropped his fork with a clatter, and his mouth fell open. Ginny giggled as she remembered how he had stupidly asked her to the Yule Ball two years ago. He had always been enthralled by the part-veela. She was going to have a lot of fun taunting him this summer and could not wait for her to arrive. Mum sighed and was rather aggressive in cleaning away the dishes after they had finished eating.

Ginny noticed the Weasley Clock in the sitting room now had every hand pointing to "mortal peril". This startled her at first, but seeing her own hand there made it clear that the clock considered them all to be in mortal peril now that Voldemort had come out into the open and the wizarding community was now at war. It was still a disconcerting, foreboding sight.

Bill and Lupin dropped by during dinner, bringing unpleasant news about attacks by dementors, who had deserted Azkaban and joined Voldemort.

"How are you, Ginny? Ron?" Lupin inquired politely.

"Fine," said Ginny, while Ron merely grunted.

"I don't know if Molly's told you yet, but none of us are to enter Grimmauld Place, per Dumbledore. Sirius left the house to Harry, but he's worried there may be a jinx on it to prevent it from being inherited by anyone other than a pureblood."

"Didn't know that was possible," said Ron.

"Not like any of us are dying to go back there," said Ginny.

"I'm aware, but I still needed to pass along the message."

Mum had Ginny and Ron help clean up the house for the arrival of Fleur in a couple of days. It was tedious work; the house was a pretty big mess and it took a while to pack away stuff that served no other purpose than to get in the way.

"Wish Hermione was here to help us," Ron grumbled as he took a couple of boxes up to Fred and George's room. "This would go a lot faster. She probably knows a spell that could clean this house in two seconds."

Ginny snorted. Wish Hermione was here. He could have stopped right there. That was all he needed to say.

They were all worn out by the time Fleur arrived, but the result was satisfying as the house was now refreshingly tidy. They were eating dinner when they heard a knock on the door and Mum let Fleur in. She was stunningly beautiful and seemed to radiate a silvery glow that filled every corner of the room.

"Eet ees a plezzur to see you all!"

She beamed around at them, her silvery blonde hair flowing around her like the purest water.

"It's great to meet you, Fleur!" said Ginny brightly. She had seen her many times during her third year, but they had never actually met. She was happy to have another female to talk to that was at least somewhat close to her age until Hermione arrived. Fleur gave her a dazzling smile that seemed to emit light.

"Where's Bill?" asked Mum.

" 'e is working late," said Fleur. "Poor thing, zey are overworking 'im something awful at zat bank! 'e said 'e'd be coming later, zough."

"I'll save him a piece of chicken," Mum muttered.

"How's your job at Gringotts?" said Ginny.

"Eet's great, my Eenglish has been eemproving since I met Bill," said Fleur, "but I am only working part-time right now."

Ginny smiled politely as Fleur looked around the table, and her eyes quickly fell on Ron.

"I remember you!" she said. Ron blushed furiously and merely gaped at her, apparently shocked she had addressed him specifically. Ginny stifled her laughter. "You're a friend of 'Arry's! You were at ze bottom of ze lake with my seester before he came and rescued you! 'ow is 'Arry anyway? I 'ave been dying to see 'im! 'e is such an 'andsome, brave boy, and I 'ear 'e's been up to 'eroics again at ze Meenistry!"

Ginny could feel her warm feelings towards Fleur draining like water out of a bathtub that had just had its stopper removed, and the coquettish way she uttered Harry's name and talked about him gave her a sudden, fiery urge to curse the part-veela into next week.

"You must be Geeny, right?" she said, looking at her. "Bill 'as told me all about you! You're the youngest Weasley, aren't you?"

"Yes," replied Ginny.

"You are a pretty little thing!" she crowed. "You remind me of my seester, except with red 'air! I think you two would really 'it eet off!"

"Isn't she like eight?" said Ginny, who was suddenly finding everything about Fleur, from her falsely sweet cadence to her goddess-like beauty, deeply irritating.

"Ten," Fleur corrected her, which did not make her feel any better. Being compared to a ten-year-old was not flattering when you were turning fifteen in a month. Fleur began recounting the story of the second task of the Triwizard Tournament, positively gushing over Harry.

"…And zen, just when I thought all 'ope was lost, 'e pops out of ze water with not only 'is friend, but also my seester Gabrielle! I was so relieved, I thought she was going to drown down zere! 'Arry's girlfriend ees a very lucky girl!"

Nobody spoke, and Ron stared stupidly at Fleur without noticing that his food was falling off his fork and onto the table. Ginny was aggressively stabbing her chicken with hers and shoving it in her mouth distractedly.

"Who ees 'is girlfriend? 'E 'as one, doesn't 'e?"

"I'm not sure," said Mum. "Ron, does Harry have a girlfriend?"

Ron did not respond but continued to stare at Fleur with his mouth slightly open.

"Ron?" Mum said again.

"Huh, what?" said Ron, snapping out of his trance.

"He doesn't have one, Mum," said Ginny.

"You are keeding me!" Fleur exclaimed. "A charming young man like zat — famous 'ero, Triwizard Champion — 'e should 'ave girls all over 'im!"

"He had one, but they broke up a couple months ago," said Ginny, who could feel her face start to burn. She had a sudden fantasy of telling her that she was his girlfriend and that she should shut her fat mouth if she knew what was good for her, but it would only remain a fantasy.

"Zat ees 'er loss. 'E would be perfect for my seester if only she was a few years older!"

Ginny excused herself to go to the bathroom but tiptoed quietly up to her room instead, with " 'Arry" still playing on a loop in her head like an annoying song. She was not sure why Fleur's words were having such an effect on her when she was engaged to Bill; perhaps it was the veela magic in her that was amplifying her feelings of jealousy. All she knew was that the thought of this French tart in the same room as Harry, kissing and slobbering all over him the moment he arrived, was enough for Ginny to long for Fleur's immediate eviction from the house. Or even better yet, the entire country.

It was much the same story the next day, though Ginny found Fleur slightly more tolerable when Bill was with her, which unfortunately was only in the evening after he got home from work. Bill's presence usually meant that they were all subjected to stomach-turning displays of affection between the two, however, so that did have its drawbacks as well.

"Zat ghoul in the attic makes such a racket!" Fleur was saying during breakfast on Friday morning. "I could hardly sleep!"

Mum cleared her throat noisily as she poured herself some iced tea.

"Ginny, I washed some of your things last night, they're in a basket in the sitting room."

"Right. Thanks, Mum."

"Bill does all my laundry for me," Fleur said adoringly. "'e is such a gentleman."

Ginny started eating her breakfast quicker so she could get away from Fleur as soon as possible, though she was rapidly losing her appetite.

"Zees keechen is rather small, eesn't it?" said Fleur, looking around. "But I suppose eet's rather cozy too, zough I can't imagine trying to get around in 'ere with a family as big as yours!"

She gave a tinkling laugh. Mum cleared her throat again.

"Need a cough drop, Mum?" said Ginny slyly. "Or is it just Phlegm?"

Mum turned to look at her. Ginny smirked and shot a furtive look towards Fleur while Fleur was busy examining the patterns on her now-empty cereal bowl, oblivious to Ginny's remark. Mum gave Ginny a reproving look when she registered the pun, but Ginny also thought she saw her mouth twitch slightly in amusement. Ron, who was too busy goggling at Fleur, did not give even the slightest indication he had even heard her. Ginny privately thought she could start dancing on the table and Ron still would not tear his eyes away from the French beauty.

Tonks joined them for dinner that night, which should have been something that helped drown out the presence of Fleur, but this was not the Tonks that Ginny was accustomed to seeing. She looked thoroughly miserable. Her bubbly personality was seemingly gone; it was as if the depression that Ginny suffered from for nearly a year had been transferred to her like a contagious disease. Her hair was a mousy-brown color rather than the spiky, bubblegum-pink that she usually had, and she ate very little food. Ginny wanted to ask her about it but did not want to put her on the spot with everyone around. Unfortunately, no opportunity to get her on her own occurred, and she abruptly bade them goodnight and left the house. Ginny could not understand it; Tonks had seemed perfectly normal when she greeted them as they got off the Hogwarts Express less than a week ago.

"Mum, Hermione wrote me and says she wants to come over in a few days, is that all right?" said Ron.

"Of course, dear."

"She's wondering when our O.W.L. results are coming, do you know?"

"I'm not sure, probably in a week or two, though with everything that's been going on…"

"Not like it matters in her case," said Ron. "We all know she got O's in everything."


The news started coming fast and furious in the aftermath of the Ministry fiasco. There were two notable murders that sent shockwaves through the house when they were reported in the Daily Prophet: Emmaline Vance, who was a member of the Order, and Amelia Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Then Fudge was deservedly sacked as Minister for Magic, replaced by Rufus Scrimgeour. What really caught Ginny's attention, though, was the story about Harry. Imagine that.

HARRY POTTER: THE CHOSEN ONE?

Rumours continue to fly about the mysterious recent disturbance at the Ministry of Magic, during which He Who Must Not Be Named was sighted once more.

'We're not allowed to talk about it, don't ask me anything,' said one agitated Obliviator, who refused to give his name as he left the Ministry last night.

Nevertheless, highly placed sources within the Ministry have confirmed that the disturbance centered on the fabled Hall of Prophecy.

Though Ministry spokeswizards have hitherto refused even to confirm the existence of such a place, a growing number of the wizarding community believe that the Death Eaters now serving sentences in Azkaban for trespass and attempted theft were attempting to steal a prophecy. The nature of that prophecy is unknown, although speculation is rife that it concerns Harry Potter, the only person ever known to have survived the Killing Curse, and who is also known to have been at the Ministry on the night in question. Some are going so far as to call Potter the 'Chosen One', believing that the prophecy names him as the only one who will be able to rid us of He Who Must Not Be Named.

The current whereabouts of the prophecy, if it exists, are unknown, although (cont. page 2, column 5)

Ginny found the corresponding page and continued reading.

it is believed that it was destroyed in the Death Chamber after being removed from its shelf by Harry Potter himself, as it was in this room that Unspeakables reported seeing shattered glass littering the floor. Others speculate that the prophecy was among the many destroyed that night in the fight between the Death Eaters and six Hogwarts students, including Mr. Potter. For more details about the other students believed to have taken part in the skirmish, see Section 5.

"They don't have a clue," said Ron, after he saw the story. "The prophecy smashed and no one heard it. Neville said so. This is just the usual sensationalism from the Prophet. There's no way they could know what it said."

Ginny was not sure if Ron fully believed what he was saying, though it could have just been paranoia on her part. It was true that the Prophet engaged in sensationalism frequently, and they certainly did not have a reputation for reporting accurate information, especially after last year, and Ginny used these facts to comfort herself.

She wondered how Harry was holding up in the wake of everything, especially the death of Sirius, and decided to do something that she had never done before, which was send him a letter. She could do that, right? It seemed to her that they were close enough friends now where it would not be awkward. She grabbed a quill and some ink and began writing.

Dear Harry,

I hope things aren't going too horribly with the Muggles. I know Mum wants to have you over as soon as possible, hopefully she can persuade Dumbledore. Let us know if your awful aunt and uncle are starving you and I'll see if she can't send you some treacle tart or mince pies in the meantime. Things have been pretty normal here apart from a houseguest that's driving Mum mad. I won't spoil the surprise, though. I don't think Ron minds her, though most of the time he just goes on and on about how wonderful Hermione is, but don't dare accuse him of fancying her or he'll go apeshit. Anyway, can't wait to see you. I'm looking forward to playing some Quidditch with you this summer!

Ginny

She read it through at least seven times, then tore it up and threw it in the fire. Ten minutes later she changed her mind again and rewrote it practically word for word, as she had read the first one so many times that she basically had it memorized. She did, however, change "can't wait to see you" to "hopefully we'll see you soon", then sent it off.

"Who ees the letter for?" said Fleur, who had evidently been watching her.

"A friend," said Ginny, who did not want to bring up Harry in front of her if at all possible.

"Your muzzer tells me you play Queedeetch."

"That's right," said Ginny.

"I am surprised! You don't look much like a Queedeetch player!"

"What does that mean?" said Ginny testily.

"Only that Queedeetch players are usually big and you are tiny!"

"Just makes it easier to dodge Bludgers," she retorted, trying to keep her voice pleasant. She was feeling the anger building up. Fleur let out a sickening chuckle and left the room.

Hermione Flooed in the next day, greeting Ginny and Ron with a couple of hugs.

"My plan was to have you sleep in Ginny's room. You two are okay with that, aren't you?" said Mum, looking at the pair of them.

"Yeah!"

"Of course!"

"Excellent," said Mum, beaming. "I'd let you sleep in Percy's, but Fleur is sleeping there, and I plan to have Harry sleep in Fred and George's room when he gets here."

"Fleur is here?" said Hermione curiously.

"Ron didn't tell you? I thought for sure he'd fill you in on that in one of his letters."

Hermione shook her head, so Mum explained about Bill and Fleur's engagement and their decision to have Fleur stay at the Burrow for a little while to get to know the family.

"I see," said Hermione. There was a certain hardness to her tone that told Ginny that she did not like Fleur much either.

Ron made a conscious effort to act more normally around Fleur now that Hermione was here, though he still blushed frequently and had odd, dazed looks when she was near. Hermione obviously did not miss this and glared at Ron any time he did so much as pass the salt to Fleur during mealtimes.

"Mum doesn't like Phlegm either," Ginny told her as they were sitting together on the couch in the sitting room that afternoon. "She's been inviting Tonks to dinner almost every evening, though she doesn't always show up. But I think she wants Bill to go for her instead."

"What did you call her?" said Hermione, half-laughing.

"Phlegm," said Ginny, and they both laughed in earnest this time.

"So what's your problem with her?" asked Hermione.

"She's rude and snobbish," Ginny answered. "She always has something insulting to say about our house and treats me like I'm a child."

Much like when she had told Neville that she went to the Department of Mysteries to help save Sirius, it was not a lie, but it was not the whole story either. She did not feel like talking about her jealousy problem just now, though. Hermione nodded sympathetically.

"She was like that when she was at Hogwarts, too. I remember when I was Krum's date and we sat at that table up front, she kept going on about all the problems with the school. 'We have ice sculptures at ze Palace of Beauxbatons, none of zeese ugly armor suits'," she mimicked derisively, and Ginny laughed.

It was a lively day, as Dumbledore and Lupin arrived an hour later. Lupin brought news of another dementor attack as they all sat in the sitting room, Mum having poured everyone a drink.

"As I'm sure you know, Molly," said Dumbledore, "we will have to have every security measure that the Ministry can provide when Harry gets here, and your post will have to be inspected by the Ministry before it can be sent on."

"Of course, Albus," said Mum. "Whatever is necessary to keep everyone here safe. When will he be here?"

"I'll be taking Harry from his aunt and uncle's Friday night," said Dumbledore. "He and I will have some business to attend to first before I bring him here, but you should expect him first thing Saturday morning."

Ron and Hermione exchanged significant glances.

"Oh, that's great!" said Mum happily. "Thank you for not making him spend more than a fortnight at that awful place this time."

Six weeks of Harry at the Burrow? Ginny was excited at the prospect for a moment, but then thought that if he was going to spend that entire time drooling over Fleur like Ron was, it was going to turn into a pretty miserable time. The adults began making small talk, and Ron lost interest.

"Want to play some Quidditch?" he asked, looking at Ginny.

"Sure. Want to play, Hermione?"

"No, thanks."

As it was just the two of them, "playing Quidditch" merely turned into Ginny trying to get a Quaffle past Ron for a half hour until Mum called them in for dinner.

"We'll have more fun when Harry gets here," said Ron. "Then we can play two-a-side. Just have to get Hermione on board."

"Or how about you and Phlegm against me and Harry," said Ginny. Ron scowled.

They helped Mum set the table when they returned to the kitchen. Ron rushed to place Fleur's plate and silverware at her spot first. Ginny snorted loudly.

"Will Tonks be joining us this evening?" asked Dumbledore pleasantly.

"I asked, but she declined," said Mum unhappily.

There seemed to be a gloomy atmosphere around the table as they ate. Ginny just chalked it up to the times they were living in now. Ron shot what he apparently thought were covert glances at Bill and Fleur as they ate, but neither Hermione nor Ginny had any trouble noticing. Ginny was amused, but Hermione did not find it funny at all.

"To hell with Phlegm," Hermione said under her breath after dinner. They were on the sitting room couch again where they could have a private conversation. "Ron's pathetic. I'm really going to have to deal with this all summer?"

Ginny patted her arm sympathetically.

"I just hope Harry doesn't act like that when he gets here," said Ginny.

"Is there any way we can put a stop to this wedding?" said Hermione furiously.

"Maybe we can whip up some love potions and get Tonks and Bill to drink them and fall for each other? I think Mum would be ecstatic to have Tonks in the family."

"I may just warm up to that idea," said Hermione.

Ginny knew this was merely venting on their part and that no love potions were going to be "whipped up", but it was undeniably therapeutic.

Ron played Exploding Snap with her that evening while Hermione spent time with Mum in the kitchen. They went out to join them when the game was over; Hermione was explaining about Muggle dentistry, as both of her parents were dentists. It took Ginny and Ron a moment for them to realize that Tonks was also sitting at the table. She looked the same as she had the last time with her mousy-brown hair and rather ill complexion.

"Hi Tonks," said Ginny brightly.

"Hi."

"How come you didn't join us for dinner?"

"I was working late."

"That's too bad."

"Speaking of which," said Mum excitedly. "I found out today that Arthur's been promoted!"

"That's wonderful!" said Ginny, while Ron and Hermione also expressed their excitement at the news.

"He's certainly earned that," said Tonks, and Ginny was glad to see her smile, even if it looked somewhat forced. "Tell him I said congratulations, would you, Molly? I better run along."

"Are you sure, dear? Don't you want to stay and have a cup of tea or something? I can boil a pot in a jiff."

"No thanks, I really need to get going…"

"Well, all right…"

And Tonks left. Mum sighed.

Hermione and Ginny tried their best to steer clear of Fleur the next two days. They spent most of their time outdoors, where Fleur tended not to go ("Zere is too much mud out zere for zeese shoes!") and Ron always tagged along since he didn't want to be by himself. Even ogling Fleur got old after a while. When Ginny and Hermione went to bed on Friday night, Hermione addressed the elephant in the room.

"Are you looking forward to six weeks with Harry?"

"Sure, if he's not slobbering all over Phlegm like Ron," said Ginny. This was greeted with silence, so Ginny continued. "Anyway, I thought about what you said to me back when we got off the train, and you're right. I really don't want to break Dean's heart like that. I just don't know what I'd do if Harry started fancying me."

"We can worry about that later," said Hermione. "Just relax and focus on being yourself right now."

Ginny had no choice but to shove these thoughts aside and think about something else. Her mood didn't improve when ones of Bill and Fleur replaced them. How was she going to get through the entire summer with her in the house? How was Harry going to react to her? Would he act like Ron? Ginny was positively nauseated at the thought.


A/N: Credit goes to FGHermione for the idea for Ginny's letter. Thanks for letting me use it!