AN: Hello! This is the first Harry Potter fan fiction I've written, and the first fan fiction I've written in nearly a decade, so reviews and constructive criticism would be great! This story will center around Ginny and Hermione, and will fluctuate between their POVs, but will include plenty of interactions with Harry, the Weasleys, and their Hogwarts classmates (and others). The first chunk of the story will start during the summer of 1994 and work through the 1994/1995 school year, with plans to possibly continue through to and past Ginny's 7th year.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 1

"Ginevra Weasley! Where are you going?"

Ginny could hear her mum yelling after her as she dashed out the back door of the Burrow, but she just couldn't bring herself to stop. Out into the back garden she ran, as fast as she could, past the green, frog-filled pond, through the hedges, and up over the hills towards the Weasley family orchard. Making her way past a few dozen rows of apple and pear trees, Ginny finally slowed to a walk as she arrived at her destination: a clearing within the tree-lined orchard that her older brothers used for pick-up Quidditch matches and training. The smell of grass, honeysuckle, and lavender drifted through the warm summer air as dusk began to settle in around her, and Ginny inhaled deeply as she caught her breath. She knelt down, pushing her long red hair over one shoulder as she went to unwrap her birthday present. Brown paper packaging covered the entirety of her gift, and while she could easily guess what was inside based on the unique and recognizable shape, she wasn't quite prepared for the quality of the present her parents had bestowed upon her for her 13th birthday.

"A Comet 260?" she exclaimed out loud to herself.

Ginny couldn't believe it. When her parents presented her with the gift moments before she grabbed it and sprinted outside to the orchard, she knew immediately that it was a broom, but could never have guessed it would be this nice of a broom. For more than half of her young life she'd been sneaking her brothers' brooms out of the broom shed to ride – Ron's Shooting Star, Fred and George's Cleansweep Fives – so she was assuming that she'd be getting something closer to that, if not just one of their brooms handed down. A smirk played on her freckled face and she chuckled to herself, she couldn't wait to see her brother Ron's reaction to this. Not only did his younger sister get her own broom, but it would outstrip his easily. A Comet 260? Blimey… She felt as if her heart could burst. What an absolutely perfect gift for her. Ginny had only owned it for about 15 minutes and she wasn't sure if she had ever loved anything more. She'd have felt badly about the financial burden this would've been on her parents if her dad hadn't preceded the presentation of her gift with the story about how he had acquired it.

"One of the Aurors had listed it for sale, there were flyers all over at the Ministry! A brand new Auror, she's very young, I believe she went by 'Tonks'? Well, she was looking into upgrading to a newer broom as a gift to herself for becoming an Auror after three years of training. When I told her the broom was for my youngest child and only daughter, she knocked ten more galleons off of the already reduced price!" Mr. Weasley beamed as he announced this and pulled the wrapped package out from behind his back and handed it to his daughter. "Happy 13th birthday Ginny!"

Ginny smiled genuinely as she thought about how proud her dad was as he presented her with the gift. Even with the discount, it must've cost her parents a bit more than they would usually spend on one of their many children's birthdays, but she couldn't dwell on that now. All Ginny knew was that she had her own broom, finally, and that it was more than she ever could've imagined receiving for her 13th birthday.

Ginny stood up, stepped to the side of the Comet 260, stuck her right hand out and commanded "Up!", and the broom shot up into her hand with no hesitation. Just the feeling of the broom in her grasp made her smile widely. Ginny climbed onto the broom and kicked off hard from ground. Her red hair whipped back behind her and the warm air around her turned cool as she sped around the clearing. Careful to stay just below the tree line, Ginny accelerated rapidly and tested a few different Quidditch moves as she flew – she was exceptionally pleased with the agility and aerodynamics of the Comet 260 as she near-perfectly executed the Wollongong Shimmy. She continued for a few more minutes until she gracefully landed back on the ground and happily sighed. She still had a few more weeks of summer left before she'd make the return journey to Hogwarts, and prior to that she'd be attending the 422nd Quidditch World Cup with her dad, her brothers, and her brother's best friends, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Ginny smiled to herself as she began to walk back towards the Burrow, the Comet 260 firmly in her grasp. As she entered the garden, she paused. She took in the stars above her, listened to the frogs as they croaked invisibly around her, and couldn't help but think how great her life was in this moment. Nothing could make her feel more complete and content than she felt right now, she had no doubt in her mind.