Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Hermione but I am proud to say that I own Ron, in the form of an ornament which I carry around with me in my pocket. However all Harry Potter related people places things, belong to JK Rowling. All bow before her greatness. On to the story!
Sunday
September 1st
Ginny was sitting in one of the train compartments. She was alone. She had started out sitting with Ron and his friends, but after Hermione and Ron got in another fight, she decided to leave. Really you would think by now the two of them would have run out of things to fight about. Apparently not though, Ron had said something to offend Hermione, as usual. Ginny was watching the country side go by, painfully aware of the fact that she had no one else to sit with.
Ginny sighed as she leaned against the seat. Another year of Hogwarts, another year of boredom. Ginny liked Hogwarts, to a point. She loved charms class, and divination was a joy. She was pretty fond of Defense Against the Dark Arts also, but that's where the fun stopped. Potions was a nightmare. It seemed every year Snape hated her just a little bit more. Of course every year she hated him more also. Transfiguration was okay. She didn't hate that class, but nor did she love it. History of Magic was boring, like it had always been. It wasn't just boring it was down right pointless. Ginny never remembered anything she learned anyway.
Ginny was just starting to get comfortable when the door to her compartment slid open.
"Go away Malfoy." Ginny said not bothering to wait for him to insult her.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" Draco asked walking into the compartment, closely followed by his two goons, Crabbe and Goyle. "Looks like we have caught ourselves a little Weasel."
"Go away." Ginny repeated rolling her eyes.
"Why aren't you hanging over Potter like normal?" Malfoy sneered. "Did he break your wittle heart?"
Ginny rolled her eyes again. "You know Malfoy, you should learn some new insults. What's next? Are you going to mention the sorry state of my robes? Just to save you the time, yes, they are secondhand robes." Ginny snapped her mouth shut. Since when did she mouth off to Malfoy? Especially when she was all alone and he had his two henchmen?
"Well, it looks like the Weasel has grown a back bone?" Malfoy smirked.
Ginny didn't answer, she just looked back out the window. She didn't want to start off her year by arguing. She wanted this year to be better than the last.
"What's wrong? Nothing to say?" Draco asked.
"Just go away." Ginny repeated once more. "You've had your fun, you got to play your little game. Go away."
Sorry, can't." Draco said sitting as far from her as possible. "All the compartments are full."
"Fine." Ginny replied. "I'll leave." Ginny got up from her seat. Looks like it was back to listening to Ron and Hermione argue.
"See you around Weasel." Draco called after her.
Draco smirked to himself as he settled back into his seat. He was slightly disappointed though. He was hoping for more of an arguement from the Weasel. Where was her fire? She was usually more fun to argue with than that. She usually argued back. Of course, that's when he didn't have Crabbe and Goyle around him. Why did those two brutes have to follow him every where. Draco looked up when he heard the door slide open. Maybe she had come back for round two.
"Hey Draco." Blaise said walking in. "I was wondering where you were."
"Crabbe, Goyle, can you leave us alone. I need to talk to Blaise about something." Draco lied. "Blaise will come get you when we are done." Draco watched as they walked out of the compartment.
"What do we need to talk about?" Blaise asked him.
"Nothing." Draco replied. "I just wanted them to leave. They give me a headache."
"Right." Blaise said smiling as he sat down across from Draco. "How was your summer?"
"The usual." Draco replied.
"Your dad is still a prick than."
"If you can call him that." Draco drawled. "He has this new theory that he can torture me into submission."
"Hasn't he always had that theory?"
"No, before he tortured me for fun." Draco replied. "Now it is so I will become the perfect little Death Eater."
"Good luck with that." Blaise said smiling knowingly. "When will they understand that teenagers rebel."
"Rebels with out a cause." Draco smirked. Then his face got serious. "He doesn't even wait till mother leaves before he brings his whores to the house. Not that she wouldn't be better off without him. But he won't let her leave."
"Has she tried to?"
"Twice. The first time she got two black eyes and the second time she didn't wake up till the next day." Draco said grimly. "How was your summer?" Draco asked.
"Great." Blaise smiled. "Mum and I went to Italy. Dad didn't like it too much, but figured it wouldn't hurt. He didn't want mum in the house. He has his own whores. Which is fine with mum, because then he doesn't force her to do anything."
"Aren't you lucky?" Draco asked bitterly. "Your dad is just as evil as mine but at least you get to escape."
"Well I still don't know what I'm going to do after I graduate."
"Isn't that the million galleon quiestion." Draco replied sardonically.
"Any new conquests this sumer?" Blaise asked him changing subjects.
"No." Draco replied. "Pansy owled me all summer though. She wants to get together."
"Not her?" Blaise moaned. "Do you know how annoying it is for me? Every time you shag her you always whine about how horrible a screw she is. Just say no!"
"I don't whine." Draco said indignantly. "And it's true she is horrid in bed. "No worries though. I want someone new. Someone who will take some skill to get to."
"Ok so that only leaves the Gryffindors." Blaise said. "They are the only house in school where the girls all hate you. All the girls from the other houses would jump in bed with you in a second."
"That's what I was thinking." Draco agreed. "Except most of them are mudbloods."
Blaise laughed. "Wouldn't that be the ultimate conquest for you though?"
Draco just glared at him.
"Really Draco, don't think like your father. It isn't sexy."
"And you would know."
"Hey I'm one of the most sought after males in our school."
"Yet, you don't date."
"Hey, you know my reasons."
Draco smirked. "Well at least we know you are nothing like your father."
Ginny walked into the compartment to see Hermione sitting in Ron's lap. Harry gave her a 'save me' look and she coughed loudly.
"Hey Ginny." Hermione said sliding off Ron's lap. "Where did you go?"
"I just went to wander." Ginny said sitting down beside Harry. "Did you two make up?"
"What does it look like to you?" Harry asked glumly. "For the past ten minutes they have been in here canoodling."
"Canoodling?" Ginny asked.
"You know ignoring the whole world. Just the two of them. Baby voices, making out."
"Canoodling." Ginny said with understanding. "Are they done with that."
"Yes." Hermione said blushing.
"So what were you guys fighting about anyway?" Ginny asked.
"I said something insensitive." Ron said rolling his eyes.
"And what did you say?" Ginny asked, egging him on.
"Erm," Ron said thinking. "I said she was bossy."
"And are you sorry?" Ginny asked. "You don't really think she is bossy do you? And remember I know when you lie."
"Erm, well, she can be bossy." Ron said glancing a look at Hermione.
"I'm not bossy." Hermione said indignantly.
"What did you do that for?" Harry asked quietly. "Now they are going to go at it again."
"At least they won't be canoodling." Ginny said closing her eyes. "Just pretend their voices are actually the current crashing against the beach."
"Easy for you to say." Harry grumbled. "I'm going to have to choose sides later."
"Shh." Ginny shushed him. "You are interrupting my beach vacation."
"Sometimes you are weirder than Luna." Harry said shaking his head.
Ginny didn't answer him. She was already off in her own thoughts, in her own world.
Draco sat at the head of Slytherin table looking over all the girls in the hall. He looked each one over closely before moving on to the next. He sighed as he counted out every girl before moving on to the Gryffindor table. The first person he happened to see was Hermione Granger so he quickly turned away. Hell, did he really need a challenge? He would get just as much pleasure if it were with Pansy. Even as he thought that he knew it wasn't true.
Draco turned his attention back to his own table. As usual Pansy was hanging all over him. And as usual he was telling her to go away. It was nice to know she didn't listen. It was only the first night and already he was tired of her. Crabbe and Goyle were sitting across from him, stuffing their faces as they normally did. It was a disgusting sight. Apparently table manners weren't important to them. Draco sighed loudly as he pushed Pansy away from him.
"Not now." he said turning away from her only to face Crabbe and Goyle. It seemed no matter where he turned something disgusting was in his line of vision. If he looked to the right than he saw the Gryffindors. Draco got up from the table. He was head boy, he knew the passwords, he didn't have to stay for the whole meal. Draco got up from the.
"Draco, where are you going?" Pansy asked him grabbing on to his arm.
"I'm going to bed." Draco replied shaking her off.
"Do you want me to come?" Pansy asked him trailing her hand down his side.
"No." Draco replied pushing her hand off of him. "I've got things to do."
He left Pansy there looking rejected. It gave him a little thrill that he had that much say over her. She would do anything just for a piece of him. He knew, after all, he had tested that theory out. Draco made his way to his room. Finally he had his own room. He didn't have to share with those two goons who insisted on flanking either side of him constantly.
"Perfect." He said to the picture of the snake. He watched the portrait slide open. He walked into the room. Merlin it was good to be head boy. The room was large and painted dark greem. To his right was a large canopy bed. Black curtains enveloped the bed with a silver bed spread. There was a wardrobe on the wall adjacent to the bed and a desk across from the wardrobe. There was a small sitting area in front of his bed a fire place in front of that. Across from him was another door which he assumed went into a bathroom.
He walked across his room. The bathroom was mostly silver and black tile with green towels. There was a large tub and a separate shower. He had a his and her's sink, which was weird considering that the room was only meant for one.
Draco was pleased to see that the house elves had already put his things away. The life of being a Malfoy. He was finally in charge. He could dock house points for any reason he wanted to.
Draco looked in the mirror. "Five points from Gryffindor for being an annoying know it all." He imagined he was saying it to that stupid mudblood Granger. He smirked at himself. At least he would have a little bit of fun his last year at Hogwarts.
His father had wanted him to go to Dumstrang. Draco might have too if it weren't for the fact that he was head boy. And of course he didn't want to actually please that bastard. The smirk vanished from his face. His bastard of a father actually thought he could control him. And through pain no less. When he was younger thirty lashes with a whip might have affected him. But now? Now he was accustomed to it. His father was going to have to figure out a new way to control him. Pain wouldn't work anymore. After seventeen years pain was nothing to Draco. Pain was a joke. The only thing that could hurt Draco was death. And even he wasn't sure that he would be bothered by that. In fact some nights after hearing one of his fathers never ending lectures he would have killed himself.
"The Dark Lord is rising and more powerful than ever." he said mocking his father. "We must sacrifice ourselves for the cause."
The cause was stupid. Draco wasn't going to get himself killed just because his father was in love the Dark Lord. If Draco was going to die than it was going to be because of something he wanted. Not because he was busy fighting for the Dark Lord. He was a laugh. Draco had seen him. Some disgusting withered looking creature. The eyes were unsettling though. Those red orbs, Draco felt like they could see right though them. If the rumors were true than they could.
Draco remember what his father told him before he left for school. If he didn't become a Death Eater than he would lose his inheritance. He would be forever disowned. Draco had laughed. His father disown him? That was a laugh. He was Draco Malfoy. The only son in the family, disowned. His father would never. That would be bad press. His father would never want to give the Malfoy's a bad reputation. Being a Death Eater was bad enough. His father had finally gotten out of Azkaban. He was totally outraged that someone would dare accuse him of something like that. He was after all Lucious Malfoy. An upstanding member of the wizard community. Somehow he had fooled everyone that he wasn't a Death Eater. It totally amazed Draco. It was so obvious that his father was a Death Eater. It wasn't any of Draco's concern though. After this last year of school he was leaving. He wanted to live his life, not his fathers.
Sure, Draco agreed with his father. Mudbloods and muggles were disgusting. They tainted wizard blood. But he also believed in having himself first. He was the most important person in his own life. He came before anyone and he only cared about himself. It was a great way to live. He didn't feel guilty for anything he did. He did whatever he wanted without worrying about someone else's feelings. Of course, he made sure not to break any major rules. Ending up expelled or in Azkaban wouldn't do him any good either.
Ron hadn't stopped glaring at Ginny since they had gotten off the train. He blamed her for having Hermione yell at him. Once again though, they were all made up. And as Harry put it 'canoodling.' Ginny just blocked him out. She was use to his yelling. Yelling at her because a guy looked her way, however rare that was. Yelling at her when she talked to a guy. Yelling at her for anything to do with a boy. Really Ron yelled at her for the stupidest things ever. Ron just needed to control his temper. He was too overprotective. Of course then there were the times he didn't even notice her. Ginny was also use to that. She was the over looked girl.
Ginny got up from the table and made her way up to the common room. She stopped briefly at the portrait hole to mutter the password, 'muggle love.' She made her way up to her bed. She laid down on her bed and tried to get to sleep. She couldn't though, thoughts just kept rolling through her head.
She didn't understand why her brother was so weird about guys being around her. It wasn't like she was just going to go out and be an idiot and date every guy who asked her.
Well... maybe she would. Ginny didn't really care who she dated, She just enjoyed the experience. It wasn't like any of them were going to understand her anyway. That's what Ginny wanted. She wanted for a guy to see her. To look at her and really see her. See beyond her brother and her Weasley hair. See beyond the second hand robes and the freckles. She wanted a guy to look at her and see the girl who was really there.
The girl who was secretly scared of diaries. The girl who got a rush in her stomach every time she sat on a broom. She wanted someone to see the girl who cried at happy occasions and laughed at all the wrong moments. She wanted someone to look beyond the superficial layer and see who she really was. Was it so much to ask that someone see that she wasn't just the youngest Weasley child, but instead see that she was Ginny Weasley?
And Harry could be a hassle. She didn't like him any more but he seemed to be stuck on the fact that she was still that little girl who blushed bright red in his presence. It was almost insulting the way he treated her. He was always giving her these looks like they shared this special bond. But they didn't. She didn't still have a crush on him. The fact that he was so oblivious to that shocked her. For all she knew his pride was hurt. After all she had a crush on him for so long. But, still, she had grown out of it. She had grown up.
Ginny lay in her bed thinking. Maybe, hopefully this year would be better. Maybe this year she wouldn't feel so out of place around everyone. Maybe she wouldn't feel like she was just a place keeper until someone else came along. Ginny sighed as she rolled onto her side. Maybe this year she would finally be happy.
She pretended alot. Pretended to be happy. That was the easiest. All she had to do was smile. Even when inside she felt alone and sad all she had to do was smile and people believed she was okay. Laughing was harder, but after years of forcing it she could fake a laugh. Really very little made Ginny laugh anymore. She use to be happy. But some where she lost that. She lost whatever it was that kept her going, kept her happy.
She felt empty inside. Someone would think that the youngest and only girl of a family would command attention. But she rarely got any attention. Unless of course her mother was asking her to do some chore. Ron however was rarely asked to do anything. Except degnome the garden. It was just easier to give a task to Ginny than to teach Ron to do something correctly.
Ron was a laugh as far as big brothers went. Most of the time she wasn't even in his radar, unless a boy came calling. Then she couldn't get a moments peace. It was all 'what does he want with you.' and 'you're too young to date.' Stupid prat still thought she was five. Of course when it came down to it she really didn't mind it when he ignored her. At least then she could go off by herself. When she was at home and he was ignoring her she would grab her sketch book and go down by the lake, or into the woods. Occasionally she would run across a fairy or a tree nymph. Over the years she had gotten quite good at sketching. Only Bill knew about it though. He would usually give her a new sketch book every christmas along with charcoals, or sketching pencils, or some new medium she hadn't used yet. One year he had given her a set of water colors. Those were fun to work with, hard, but fun.
When she was at school she would often go up to the owlery. She would either stay there or go up to the roof. Sometimes she would creep off to the forbidden forest. The forest had some of the best plants to sketch. Big beautiful pink ones that were bigger than her head. Little black ones that when in full bloom were no bigger than her pinky nail. Then there were the animals. She knew that there were some dangerous ones. But, there were the beautiful ones. The unicorns were especially beautiful. Sometimes Ginny would sit in one spot long enough and a unicorn would just wander by. It was an amazingly beautiful sight and quite an honor.
Sometimes Ginny wished she wasn't a wizard. Then at least she would have a reason to be left out. Of course then she would be ostracized, and she didn't want that either. She just didn't want to be forgotten all year, again.
Blaise sat in the Great Hall looking over all the girls. He knew the moment he saw her who would be perfect for Draco. He can't believe he hadn't thought of it before. After all she could be stubborn when she wanted to. Hopefully as stubborn as Draco. It would be good for him to learn that he can't always have his way. Blaise's eyes drifted over to another Gryffindor and he sighed quietly to himself. In front of him was a vision of pure beauty. If only he were brave enough to make his move.
Blaise stood up and left the Great Hall. He was tired of tempting himself with things he would never get. Blaise went up to his dorm and flung himself on the bed. If nothing else he could get some sleep.
(A/N Read, review, you don't have to like it but if you review don't be an ass. I tend to not be nice to ass holes.)