Chapter 2
Ginny POV
A little less than two weeks had gone by since Ginny's 13th birthday, and she was thriving. Every morning she'd wake before everyone else, even her mum and dad, and head out to the orchard to fly. After that, her days were filled with completing as many chores as possible, as that seemed to enable her to practice without her mum chiming in too much about how dangerous and reckless the sport was. Every evening she'd rush to clear the dinner table, help her mum with the dishes, then dash back out the door with her Comet 260 to end her day with as much flying as she could.
"She's addicted, that one," Ron mumbled one evening as Ginny snatched up his empty plate as soon as he'd taken his last forkful.
"You could do with taking a leaf out of Ginny's book, Ronald Weasley. She's been nothing but helpful as of late, and while I don't quite understand her preoccupation with such a dangerous hobby, at least she's passionate about something," Mrs. Weasley scolded as she gave Ron a look. "Ginny dear, hold on a moment!"
Ginny froze in the frame of the back door, Comet 260 in tow. "Yes Mum?"
"Hermione will be arriving within the hour, and it would be nice if you were here to greet her."
Ginny frowned. "Why? She's Ron's friend, not mine."
"Ginny Weasley, she will be staying in your room until the start of term, and as her host you should be here to welcome her when she arrives!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, giving her the same scolding look she'd given Ron moments before.
Ginny knew her mum's patience was wearing thin, she could feel it, but she could also hear the clearing in the orchard calling out to her. However, she also had to acknowledge that her mum had been very understanding in letting her fly as much as she had the past few weeks.
Ginny sighed as she turned and walked back into the kitchen. "Alright, Mum, I'm sorry. I'll go put the finishing touches on my room."
Ginny strode past her mum and brother and climbed up the stairs to the first landing. She passed one door and opened the next, it quietly creaking open to reveal a room that undoubtedly belonged to her.
Even though it was a bit small, Ginny loved her room. She'd papered nearly every bit of her walls with posters of the players of her favorite Quidditch team, the Holyhead Harpies, the biggest being the poster of team captain Gwenog Jones that had been meticulously plastered right beside her bed. She also had one non-Quidditch related poster, that of the Weird Sisters, her favorite band. Her bookcase was filled with her school books and a few loose quills, as well as numerous copies of Seeker Weekly, a Quidditch magazine. She walked across the room to the bay window, placed her Comet 260 in the corner of it, and sighed again as she looked off into the distance at the orchard. Missing just one practice probably wouldn't kill her, but it sure felt like it.
Turning back to her room, Ginny surveyed the layout. She had shoved her bed up against one wall as tightly as she could, and had set up a cot on the opposite wall, again, as tightly as she could up. With the help of her mum's light insistence, she'd decided to let Hermione sleep in her bed, while she'd take the cot. She didn't really mind the cot, but it was a slight inconvenience for her to be sharing a room with someone she honestly didn't know too well. Yes, Hermione was one of Ron's best friends, so she knew the girl through her brother, and yes, they were in the same Hogwarts house, but they'd never really spent any time together just one on one. Ginny nervously ran a hand through her long red hair, wondering what exactly she and Hermione would end up talking about, or if they'd just be subjected to an awkward silence whenever they were in the room together. She knew that while Hermione did come to Gryffindor Quidditch matches during the school year, it was strictly to support their friend Harry, who'd been on the team since his first year at Hogwarts. Other than that, Hermione was known to think very little of the sport, which unfortunately just so happened to be all Ginny was talking about, thinking about,and essentially living for these days. Ginny let out a deep breath, hoping they'd find some common ground over the next few weeks.
Ginny cleared off the bench below the window, shoving an old beat up Quaffle she'd been using for practice towards her broom to make space on the other side of the bench for Hermione. She also punched a pillow into shape before setting it on Hermione's side of the bench as well, hopefully making it appear more welcoming. She did the same with her bookcase, quickly organizing her schoolbooks and stacking her many copies of Seeker Weekly into a neat pile on top, giving Hermione her own side of the bookcase to use if she wanted to. Ginny figured she would, as Hermione was known for lugging around what appeared to be some of the largest books in existence for "a bit of light reading".
"Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley called up the stairs, "Hermione is here!"
Ginny gave one last glance to her room, deemed it to be good enough, and headed downstairs. As she bounded down the flight of stairs and around the corner, she spotted Ron, her mum, and her dad greeting Hermione at the front door.
"Hermione dear, so good to see you!" Mrs. Weasley welcomed Hermione warmly as she wrapped her in a tight hug.
"It's good to see you too Mrs. Weasley!" Hermione managed to squeak out even with the fierceness of the hug.
Ron chuckled. "Mum, loosen your grip, she's not going anywhere!" Spurring Mrs. Weasley to finally release Hermione, who gave Ron a thankful look.
Mrs. Weasley waved him off. "Yes, yes, I know that! Well then, help her with her bags Ron, don't just stand there!"
Ginny stepped forward. "Actually, how about I help you with your things and show you to my room?" she offered.
"Sure Ginny, that would be great." Hermione nodded and gave Ginny a small smile.
Ginny lugged Hermione's trunk while Hermione carried her smaller bag up the stairs towards Ginny's room with Hermione's half-cat, half-Kneazle Crookshanks bringing up the rear.
Ginny bumped open the door with her hip and side-stepped into the room, pulling Hermione's trunk in behind her. "Well, here we are. Just one flight of stairs, so, just a bit more convenient than Ron's room." Ginny grinned. "You can have the bed. Do you want me to set your trunk on it or – "
"Oh Ginny, you don't have to move out of your bed. I can sleep on the cot, it's quite alright," Hermione insisted.
Ginny's grin grew. "Well, my mum might actually kill me if she found out you'd been sleeping on the cot and I'd stayed in my bed. According to her, it's not very hospitable. Really though, I don't mind." Ginny set Hermione's trunk down on the floor next to the bed before nodding towards the bookcase. "I've cleared some space out for your books, but if you need more room I'm sure I could do a better job of organizing my stuff. The bench by the window is actually a pretty nice place to read, especially when the sun rises over the orchard. And that's about it – the whole grand tour." Ginny shrugged, giving Hermione a small, crooked grin.
"Well thank you Ginny, you've been perfectly hospitable. I'll be sure to report back to your mum with a rave review." Hermione laughed lightly.
"Thanks," Ginny said as she laughed along. "So, I'm actually going to get ready for bed. I've been getting up pretty early in the mornings to get in some Quidditch practice. Is that going to bother you, or – "
"Not at all! I've never been one for sleeping in. Will you be trying out for Chaser this year? Maybe challenge Alicia or Katie for their spot on the Gryffindor team?"
Ginny stared at Hermione, eyebrows raised in shock. She didn't know that Hermione paid attention to anyone but Harry when it came to the Gryffindor Quidditch team, never mind what specific positions they played. Or what positionGinnyplayed, for that matter.
"Uh… Maybe. We'll see. There's no way that I could outfly Alicia, plus, she's best friends with Angelina, who I hear is going to be the new team captain now that Oliver Wood is gone. Maybe Katie though? She's only two years above me. Really my goal is to just impress the whole team and make a statement at tryouts. I don't want to be considered just because I'm a Weasley, just because of my brothers that have made the team before me."
Hermione nodded, listening while she placed book after book on the bookcase. "Does the new broom help your case at all?"
Again, Ginny stared at Hermione. "How did you know about my new broom?"
"Well first of all Ginny, it's sitting in your window. I highly doubt you'd be keeping one of your brothers' brooms up here." Hermione nodded towards the broom no more than five feet from them. Ginny blushed at this, her face nearly matching her hair. "Also, Ron wrote to me last week whining about you getting a broom for your 13th birthday. I told him he was being ridiculous and that your parents have the right to get you whatever they want for your birthday. You're a good student, reasonably well-behaved compared to a certain pair of your brothers while at Hogwarts, and you're obviously obsessed with the sport." Hermione motioned to all of the posters on the walls and the large stack of magazines on the bookcase. "Seems to make perfectly good sense to me. That brother of yours… Honestly…" Hermione shook her head.
Ginny laughed at this and processed how much the girl across from her knew about her. She knew Ginny got good marks and didn't intentionally act out at school. Compared to her brothers, well, maybe with the exception of Percy, she was a good representation of her family, and Hermione had noticed. She frowned slightly. Ginny didn't like the thought of being so much like her tightly-wound older brother Percy. Hermione continued placing books into the bookcase, slightly adjusting the last one so it fell perfectly in line with the rest, before nodding her approval.
"So, how are you feeling about your fourth year at Hogwarts?" Ginny asked.
Hermione lit up. "Oh, I'm excited! I won't be taking as many classes as last year – no more Divination for me…"
Ginny smirked at this, as she recalled Harry and Ron telling her about how Hermione stormed out of Professor Trelawney's class last year.
"I really am excited though to get back to school and to continue on with my education. And I know I should also be more enthusiastic about the social aspect of going away for school every year, but I can't help but be so fascinated by everything the Wizarding World has to offer. I also can't help but think of how I'm 11 years behind everyone else in that regard, so I have no choice but to learn as much as I can as fast as I can to catch up." Hermione was now seated on Ginny's bed, stroking Crookshanks gently as his yellow eyes were fixed on Ginny.
For the third time that evening, Ginny just stared at Hermione, this time with her mouth slightly agape and her brow furrowed. "Hermione, I can confidently say that you are nowhere near to being 'behind everyone'. Honestly, I'm not even sure you'd be considered to being behindanyone."
Hermione blushed at this, not as red as Ginny had earlier, but still noticeably darker than her normal complexion. "Ginny, I'm Muggle-born.Of courseI'm behind everyone who had at least 11 years of magical experience while I had my non-magical life in the Muggle world. I've got to close that gap somehow, so educating myself as much as possible and as quickly as possible is how I do it. There's so much to read, so much to learn, so much to know… It's a little overwhelming sometimes, but it's important to me," Hermione blushed again, looking down.
"You know… Now that I really think about it, you may be right. You probably won't ever be as good as me, and of course you'll never even touchRon'smagical abilities and knowledge, what with his 11-year head start and all…"
The brunette snapped her head up at this, looking offended and ready to argue, until she saw the smirk playing across the redhead's face.
"Ginny!" Hermione laughed and shook her head at the younger girl.
"I couldn't help it!" Ginny laughed as well. "Seriously though, Hermione, you're doing so well. I do understand wanting to be the best, and I admire the work ethic and passion that goes into that, but maybe being a little more realistic about your abilities and just how knowledgeable and able you are could help relieve a little bit of the pressure you put on yourself. It doesn't have to be work and stress all the time." Ginny looked at Hermione earnestly.
"I know you're right. It's just hard knowing that someone out there knows things that I don't."
"Hermione, I have no doubt that someday you'll be the most knowledgeable witch around. I don't think I've ever seen anyone read more than I've seen you read in our common room. And on the rare occasion that I do wander into the library, I've never not seen you there. Just because you started a little later than some of us, doesn't mean anything, really."
Hermione gave Ginny a small smile. "Thanks Ginny. I know we've never gotten a proper chance to speak before, but this is nice. You have much more insight than your brother, and even Harry."
"Setting the bar high, I see." Ginny grinned broadly. "It is nice though. I didn't know you knew so much about Quidditch."
"Well, I'm certainly not a fan of flying, but with how obsessed everyone is, I couldn't not at least educate myself a little bit…"
"I can respect that. I know flying isn't for everyone."
"No, it certainly is not… Well, I'm going to go downstairs and leave you to get to bed. Don't worry about accidentally waking me. If you do it just gives me a little extra time to read and maybe check out the back garden," Hermione said with a reassuring smile.
Ginny nodded. "Sounds good. And if you do happen to learn everything there is to learn about the Wizarding World before breakfast tomorrow, feel free to head out to the orchard. I promise I won't make you fly, but it's a nice walk out there and I could always use someone to critique my training. I assume you'd be a little less whiney than Ron would be seeing me on my new broom." Ginny smiled. "No pressure, just something to do if you get bored. G'night Hermione."
"Goodnight, Ginny," Hermione said as she walked out into the hallway, pulling Ginny's door closed behind her.