Disclaimer: Sadly I don't own the Potter universe, I only own the plot of this story. I have used some diaglogue from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in this chapter, but that probably wont happen again.

Authors Note: This promises to be a long story. Its the fourth story i've started and the most ambitious i have attempted. It is mostly drama and adventure, although there will be romance here and there, i just can't resist putting some in. It creates an alternate world from the beginning of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I hope you enjoy, please drop a review by, it would mean the world to me.

Chapter 1

I jumped out of bed, hearing voices and smelling food, I ran downstairs to join my brothers. I didn't exactly hate being the only Weasley girl, but it wasn't a picnic, not even at the best of times. Not to mention that I was going into my first year at Hogwarts, and they would all be older brothers, meaning keeping too close an eye on me, and generally taking the piss. I ran downstairs in my nightdress, not bothering to get dressed because my stomach was rumbling and I really couldn't be bothered. Then I saw him. Those eyes. Those green eyes staring at me and that gorgeous messy hair. Why did I love his hair so much? And that scar. Everything about him was amazing, hot. But he was way out of my league. So I did the thing that any girl would do to get into a guys good book, I ran upstairs and squealed. Well done Ginny, I told myself, smooth. If I wanted to get Harry then I couldn't just squeal, but what the hell was he doing at the Burrow? I'd known he was going to be coming, but I had expected at least five minutes warning, not to walk downstairs and find him there sitting in my kitchen.

I fell back onto my bed, wishing my life was different. Its so cliché, I know. Every girl is trapped in their life, wanting a way out, wishing things were different. Never happens though. I love my brothers, I really do, they're just in my face, all the time, day after day, 24/7. At least I'd had a break during term time when they were at Hogwarts, now everything was going to change. On the bright side, I had been looking forwards to Hogwarts ever since I'd seen Charlies's letter arrive, (when Bill's arrived I was too young to realise) and seen the list of books, ingredients and robes. I'd snuck the letter from his room and ran my fingers across it, smelling the new parchment, wanting more than anything to go to Hogwarts. I'd never been, but I knew it would be like my second home, all my brothers said so, even Mum and Dad said so. Hogwarts would be great.

I decided to get dressed and look presentable, to try and get back in Harry's good books and not be seen as a little sister who just got in the way all the time. I stood up and threw on a pair of jeans and a short sleeved blue top. I brushed my hair, it had looked like a rats nest when I ran downstairs, and added a little make-up. Not that anyone would notice, except Mum. I heard voices coming from the garden and I peered out my window. I saw my brothers and Harry de-gnoming the garden. Harry hesistated for a moment too long, and I almost shouted out a warning. I knew from experience that it really hurt when they bit you, I'd had more than my fair share of bites, owing to my sensitive nature myself. They weren't cute, but they were alive. I saw them leave the garden, as most of the gnomes were far away, dizzy, but slowly swaying towards their holes. I walked towards my door, hoping to go downstairs and try to talk to Harry. I wasn't fast enough, when I opened my door I found myself face-to-face with Harry. Shoot. I slammed the door as fast as I could and threw myself back on the bed. Why did I have to get everything wrong? Why couldn't I get things right, just for once? I acted instinctively, saving myself in the moment, but I knew that it would be really awkward later.

I woke up early, excited. Today we were going to Diagon Alley, a place I'd been before, but never with anything in mind to buy. As far as being a Weasley was concerned, you didn't buy anything unless you absolutely had to. Seeing as I'd never needed anything but clothes, and those were passed on from distant relatives, I'd never had to buy anything before. It was embarrassing that everything had to be second hand, but I was going to Hogwarts. At Hogwarts everything would be different, everything would be special.

I went downstairs, where the others were already helping themselves to bacon sandwiches. I wolfed down a few, but was too excited to eat anymore. Mum bustled round and cleared up, and led us all over the to the fireplace.

"We're running low, Arthur, we'll have to buy some more today… ah well, guests first." She offered the pot over to Harry, who looked surprised. I stared at him, as did all the others.

"W-what am I supposed to do?" He asked with a bemused look on his face.

I took my mind away from the conversation as the rest of my family explained to Harry how to use floo-powder. Fred and George went through first, closely followed by Harry. The rest of us followed suit, Mum pushing me through and telling me to be careful, sometimes she was just too overprotective. The green flames rushed past me and swept me out of a grate, Mum closely behind. When I got there, everyone was there, everyone but Harry.

"Where's Harry!" Mum shrieked. "Where is he?"

Fred and George shrugged, "He didn't come through, we were getting worried."

"Blimey." Ron blinked, "He must have got out the wrong grate."

Mum ran around fussing, asking random people if they'd spotted Harry.

"Did you see him? He's got black hair, green eyes, you know Harry Potter? That's him, Harry Potter."

Dad was listing all the grates he could have come out of, putting them out of his mind when he discovered Harry hadn't been there. Hermione and her parents came up to us, and we told them Harry was missing. Hermione looked terrified.

"Floo powder isn't exactly the most reliable way to travel. I do think that they should rely on more convenient methods than the floo network, I don't really trust it, its quite worrying really, when you think how many people travel by floo every day, this must happen quite often."

I tuned out Hermione, she was a lovely girl, she just got a bit much, with her constant talking and her fast talking, the way she had to know every single last fact or life just wasn't worth living. I spotted Hagrid walking through the crowd, and then saw Harry close by him.

"Harry, Harry, over here!" Hermione shouted, waving her hands so he spotted her. She ran down to meet him, "What happened to your glasses? Hello Hagrid… Oh, its wonderful to see you two again… Are you coming into Gringotts."

"Ginny, go and find your mother will you?" Dad came up to me, "Last time I saw her she looked like a constipated chicken."

I laughed out loud at that comparison, "Kay, I'll bring her over." I ran off to find her.

I saw her in Flourish and Blotts, asking anyone if they'd seen Harry.

"Mum, they've found him." I called.

"And you didn't think to tell me? I've been running round Diagon-"

"Mum, what do you think I'm doing? Telling you! Come on, they're over here."

I grabbed her by the hand and dragged her towards Harry, muttering nonsense, as usual, wiping the dust off his clothes and fussing over him. He was like another son, although I didn't want him to be my brother.

We all set off for Gringotts, where the Grangers changed muggle money, and the rest of us went down to our vaults. I was so embarrassed when we opened our vault, there was only one gold galleon amongst a pile of sickles. Not for the first time, I wished we were richer. When we went to Harry's vault it was filled with galleons and sickles, and I saw he was trying to hide all the gold from us, probably as embarrassed as I was, but he didn't succeed, there was too much gold.

Mum took me to a second hand robes shop, where I got fitted for my Hogwarts robes. After that, we met the others in Flourish and Blotts, where Gilderoy Lockheart was signing books.

As we walked in, Harry was having his picture taken with Gilderoy Lockheart. I saw Mum blush, I knew she had a major crush on him. He was ok, I suppose, just not my type. Not Harry. Harry staggered over to me, well us, although I like to think he staggered to me, with a pile of Gilderoy Lockheart books, and tipped them into my cauldron.

"You have these, I'll buy my own." He muttered. I know he was doing a good deed, but I didn't want him to babysit me, Mum wouldn't complain though. A tall blonde figure stood up, and glared down at us. My first thought was how attractive he was. My second thought was how the sneer in his eyes was just horrible.

"Bet you loved that, didn't you Potter? Famous Potter, can't even walk into a book shop without making the front page!" He sneered, and I remembered his name was Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. I realised in that moment I hated his guts.

"Leave him alone, he didn't want that!" I retorted, plucking up the courage to speak in front of Harry for the first time. God that felt good. Was it bad that shouting made me feel good? Because it did, I suppose it just helped me let my steam out.

"Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend!" Malfoy sneered. My face went even redder than it had before. I wish. Potter was about as close to being my boyfriend as Errol was to actually completing a journey without falling on something at the end. In other words, nowhere near. Malfoy made more comments, about our family and our money, as if we weren't quite aware of the fact we were poor. His Dad appeared, Lucius I think it was, and started to talk. He took my book, A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration, and examined it, upturning his nose at the obvious disarray of the book.

Dad jumped at Lucius, and I jumped and dropped my cauldron as Lucius went flying back into a bookcase, sending books flying everywhere. Fred and George were cheering Dad on, Mum was shouting at him to stop, pleading with him. I stood there silent. Why did it always have to end like this? It wasn't fair. Why couldn't we just be friends? Call me naïve, but wouldn't it all be better if we were? Hagrid broke them apart, and I noticed Lucius was still holding my transfiguration book, he shoved it at me, and I stuffed it in my cauldron.

"Here, girl- take your book- it's the best your father can give you." He turned and swept from the shop. What a prat. We headed out of the shop and towards a fireplace where we could floo back home. If that shopping trip had been anything to judge from, then it certainly was going to be an interesting year…

Authors Note: I haven't changed this much from the original chapter, i was just reading Chamber of Secrets and i realised that the Weasleys all went to Gringotts with Harry, so I just added in a pargraph for that. Please review, it makes my day!