The Lion's Temptation

Disclaimer: Iown nothing. I do not own harry potter, nor doI have blonde hair. I own the plotthough, and Damien Quinn, but ifI accidently stole him...my apologies. Great name, eh?

Self-Affirmation

A loud snap resounded throughout the tiny room in number 12 Grimmauld Place, jolting Ginny Weasley from a sound sleep. Groaning at her loss of subconscious state, she cracked one eye open to see if Hermione heard the noise too. Only, Hermione Granger was nowhere to be found, her bed was primly made and her knitting needles were tossed carelessly about. Lying next to the needles was a large, lumpy lilac jumper. Hermione was already preening herself to be the next Mrs. Weasley. Ginny laughed when she thought about what a poof Ron would look like in that jumper.

"Maybe I'll hide them, just this once," Ginny thought to herself, "Nice of her to wake me."

Ginny figured Ms. Know-it-all, the boy who just wouldn't die, and her annoying prat of a brother were secretly planning their next quest for world domination. She rolled her eyes when she thought of Harry. Harry finally cashed in on his fame and his newly acquired good looks. Nowadays Harry Potter strutted; he's probably shagged half of Hogwarts by now, especially all the Hufflepuffs. Ginny sighed with relief that she had quit fancying Harry in her fourth year; she grimaced when she realised that she would have shagged him in an instant if he asked. Not that Ginny Weasley was a blushing virgin, well not blushing anyway. She had actually never gone further than kissing, for which she was thankful. She wasn't waiting until marriage, just waiting for the right person. She had dated her fair share of guys. Michael Corner was sort of trial and error, and then she moved onto Dean Thomas. But, that ended, as he seemed to fancy football more than her. Ginny also had a brief fling with a Slytherin in her year, Damien Quinn, who happened to be her potions partner. She avoided Hufflepuffs at all cost, as they were pretty much worthless. Ginny had never experienced true passion in any of her relationships; she never felt a need to stay, nor had she felt completion.

Sighing, Ginny figured she should go down and eat breakfast. Damn that Weasley appetite. Not many people knew she could out eat Ron; she was more refined around the table than he was.

"Ginny, Get you're bloody arse down here, we leave in hour," Ron yelled, "OUCH! Mum!" Mrs. Weasley had undoubtedly slapped Ron for his language.

Ginny groaned, she didn't want to go back to Hogwarts, but then again, she didn't want to stay here. With Sirius gone, the house seemed like a massive Catacomb. It reeked of death and despair. More than once, Ginny wondered if the war was worth fighting for, if she was on the right side. Tom had left a bit of him inside Ginny, as much as she tried to deny it. Her childhood innocence had been rudely taken from his possession, and she never gained it back. Ginny knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help agreeing with Tom… even just a bit. Muggles, except the extraordinary ones like Hermione, whom Ginny did admire, had a tendency to muck things up. Like Colin Creevey, one of the biggest blithering idiots she knew. High pitched and annoying, Ginny felt like hexing him to infinity and back many times, but she just smiled and pretended to be his friend. Ginny sometimes felt misplaced in her family because they were all poster children for the light, yet she had been touched with darkness at the tender age of eleven.

Ginny secretly despised being in Gryffindor, she loved her family, don't get her wrong, but she felt stifled up in the North tower. Like Harry, the sorting hat felt Ginny would do well in Slytherin, yet Ginny, fearing the reaction of her family begged to be placed in Gryffindor. Now she was regretting it more than ever, yet this year had held a glimmer of hope for Ginny. After, her brief romance with Damien, Ginny began to make connections within Slytherin. Damien's cousin Pansy Parkinson had become one of her good friends, as had Blaise Zambini. She had even made amends with, or at least reached an understanding with Draco Malfoy. Draco was an enigma if she ever saw one. She longed to break that stony façade and see the pool of emotions he rarely showed, but that feat seemed impossible. For some strange reason Ginny felt drawn to Draco, and longed to spend more time with him. Yet, even though they hung out in a mutual crowd, Ginny and Draco had very few conversations, but at least they were civil. He's probably afraid of catching poverty, Ginny mused. Git.

"GIN, HURRY UP!"

Glancing into the mirror, Ginny splashed her face with cool water and drew her long red hair into a ponytail. She donned on a simple black v-neck tank top and paired with her school-issued skirt. She vowed that this year would be different. Ginerva Molly Weasley was fed up with hiding the person she really was.

A/N Draco arrives in next chappie!