DEAR HARRY,
CHAPTER I
Just a Letter, Dear
"Now what's the platform number?" her mother asked. Ginny knew she was just being silly to cheer her up. As if she could ever forget the platform number. It had been the same for about two hundred years.
"Nine and three quarters," said Ginny. "Mum, can't I go ..." she pleaded, tugging a bit on her mother's hand. Normally, her mother would have caved in to her puppy dog look and agreed to anything she required, but she was "not old enough."
The last two years had been bad enough in the absence of the twins to keep her sane. Ron was fun enough, although he was a bit insensitive and tended to treat her like a boy once in a while. On the whole, she had been glad Ron had not been going to that place yet.
But now he was. It was September the first, a couple of minutes to eleven. It was time for her brothers - all her brothers who still lived at home: Percy, Fred, George and Ron - to leave for Hogwarts.
She really was not looking forward to the coming year. She would be all alone at home, with no one to play with. Her mother had said she would be her friend, but, well, she just wasn't the right age. Luna might come over once in a while, like she did the past two years whenever her father was out on Snorkack expedition. But she was ... well, odd. Although she was a lot more sensitive than Ron, she tended to say the stupidest things. Like when she accused the newly elected Minister for Magic of being a former member of the Official Goblin Hater Club.
Ginny was shaken out of her reverie when Fred said something funny. He wore a straight face and to the inexperienced, his voice sounded as if he wasn't lying. Ginny, however, could detect the hint of amusement that betrayed him whenever he tried to pull her leg.
"I'm not Fred. I'm George," he said. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"
"Sorry, George, dear,"
"Only joking, I am Fred." Ginny considered the possibility that Fred did that to cheer her up. If that was the case, it was a poor attempt. Indeed, Fred winked at her before he left to go through the barrier. Ginny glared back.
"Excuse me," said a Muggle boy behind them. He had scruffy black hair and baggy clothes. And - hang on - he was carrying a white owl. He must be going to Hogwarts, too.
"Hullo, dear," her mom said, "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too."
"Yes," said the boy, "The thing is - the thing is, I don't know how to -"
"How to get onto the platform?" Ginny's mother supplied helpfully. As she explained to him how to reach platform nine and three quarters, Ginny considered the boy. He must be Muggle-born, or else one or both of his parents would have known how to get there. Speaking of parents ... why weren't they here? Shouldn't they at least see their son off?
"What a polite soul," her mother said as she watched Harry disappear into the barrier. "If only there were more of him, the world would be a better place. Ron, your turn. Maybe you should do it at a bit of a run, too, just like he did."
Nodding, Ron pushed his trolley forward and broke into a run. Just as he disappeared, Ginny said to her mother, "I wonder where his parents are. Shouldn't they be here?"
Her mother nodded. "They should be. Poor soul. No one should be left alone at a train station to find their way."
"I'll ask him," Ginny said determinedly as she felt her mother push her in the back, signaling for her to move through the barrier, too.
Suddenly, her mother held her back. "No!" she said. "Ginny, you must realize that it may be a sensitive topic for him. He may not want to talk about it."
"Why wouldn't he want to talk about it?" Ginny asked in confusion.
"Well," her mother explained, "maybe his parents are disappointed in him that he's a wizard. Maybe they don't want him anymore. I'm not saying this is the case, but if it was, would you want to remind him of that fact?"
The horrible truth of that possibility dawned on Ginny as she nodded meekly. She followed her mother through the barrier, holding her hand tightly.
Her brothers quickly joined her and her mom for a last goodbye. Their usual, casual humor put a smile on her face after all.
But then the subject changed to something else. Fred was talking about that black-haired boy who asked her mother for directions not ten minutes ago.
"Who?"
"Harry Potter!"
For the second time in a short period of time, the horrible truth dawned on Ginny. The boy's parents weren't there because they were dead. They had died just after she had been born - Harry Potter had been one year old at the time. Therefore, he was Ron's age. Of course, he would be going to Hogwarts with him.
She wanted to see him again. No, she had to see him again. "Oh, Mum, can I go on the train and see him, Mum, oh please ..."
"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in the zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?'
Fred answered something about the famous lightning scar. It must be horrible for everyone to recognize you by one glance at such a horrible relic of a terrible past. Ginny hoped none of her brothers would be stupid or insensitive enough to gape at it.
Suddenly, the whistle sounded, signaling for everyone to board the train. Just as suddenly, Ginny was overwhelmed by her own fear: loneliness. She was going to spend a whole year alone. The chance that her brothers would return at Christmas was small, as her parents had plans to go on vacation. Ginny was going to have to wait, in utter loneliness, until school was over.
Ginny couldn't stop the flow of tears leaking from her eyes nor could she stop the sobs that escaped her mouth. She was so sad. Every time her brothers came out of school in the summer, it would feel as if she got new friends. And every time she had to say goodbye to them, it would feel as if she'd lost them.
"Don't worry, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls!" said Fred.
"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat."
"George!"
"Only joking, Mum."
The train started moving, and Ginny started running after it. Tears were still dropping from her eyes, but she managed to conjure a smile. The train gathered speed, and she fell behind, still waving.
"Ginny? Are you all right? You seem a little absent," her father said, shaking her out of her thoughts about Harry Potter. They were having dinner at the Burrow without Percy, Fred, George and Ron. "It's okay to be sad, you know. I'm sure your brothers will send you lots of owls. They did last year."
After the train's departure, she had Side-Along Apparated with her mother. Ginny hadn't said a word since she had come back home.
Home. That word was going to take on a new meaning. Home used to be where her brothers were - where they had fun. Now it was just the house where she lived. Although she loved her parents very much, they just weren't the same. They couldn't act like children. They always had too many responsibilities.
"Tell you what," her father continued. "After supper, we'll grab two brooms from the shed, and we'll fly. I know how much you like flying when your brothers are sleeping or doing something else."
Ginny finally forced her attention on her father. He wanted to cheer her up. "I can't stop thinking about Harry Potter," she said.
"Harry Potter? Well, I guess he'd be about Ron's age, so he would be going to school this year. Wouldn't he?"
"We met him," Ginny's mother supplied.
"Oh really?" her father said, barely hiding his disbelief that his family was fortunate enough to meet the famous Harry Potter. "Did you see his scar?"
"The last thing he needs is everyone else goggling at his scar," Ginny said coldly. "I'm afraid he's going to get a lot of that where he's going."
"Of course," said her father, instantly apologizing. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. So, what did you think of him?" Dad always had a way of conveying his respect for Ginny's impression of strangers. Harry Potter, however, was difficult to analyze.
"He asked for directions," Ginny answered dully. "How to get to platform nine and three quarters."
"Did he really?" her father asked again. "And you told him how, I presume?"
"Of course," her mother said. "He was ever so polite when he -"
"Dad," Ginny said, unknowingly interrupting her mother. "What happened to Harry after he beat You-Know-Who?"
Her father sighed. "Last I heard, he was sent to his Muggle relatives. You probably saw them on the platform."
"No," Ginny said quickly. "He was all alone. What kind of family would drop their kid off at an unknown railway station? It doesn't make sense."
Her words were followed by a short silence that was broken when Ginny continued. "There was something about him. Something ... I can't explain. He was ... confident and yet not confident. Hopeful and yet ... scared. I want to see him again."
Her father smiled. Was Ginny developing a crush on the hero of the wizarding world? "Maybe you should write him a letter. Get to know him a bit."
"I dunno, Dad."
"Come on, what have you got to lose? The worst that can happen is that he ignores you."
Ginny smiled wryly. "What if he ends up in Slytherin? He won't want anything to do with a Weasley."
"But you're the smartest and the cutest of the lot. He'd be insane not to write back."
Ginny smiled wryly again. "Let's go fly for a bit."
Her father's eyes lost a joyous gleam. It had been the same gleam that sparkled in his eyes whenever he surveyed a Muggle toy - the gleam of amusement. Ginny knew perfectly what that meant, even though it didn't apply to her. She was glad the subject changed, however. "All right, all right," he said. "But don't go too fast on me, okay? I'm not as young as I once was."
"Ginny, breakfast!" Ginny woke in her bed with a smile on her face. She and her father had been flying deep into the night until her mother came out and started shouting at her father for letting her stay up so late. It had been a very enjoyable evening. Too bad Dad wasn't available every evening.
Her mother had just called for her; breakfast was ready. Ron, always the first to want to eat, would probably get up soon and make a lot of noise going down the stairs.
But then reality dawned on her. Ron was at Hogwarts as were Fred and George and Percy. Her good mood instantly spoiled, she got up and started walking downstairs.
"Good morning," her mother said cheerfully as she fried sausages and bacon. "Did you sleep well? There's a letter from one of your brothers."
"Gumonning," mumbled Ginny in reply. Then she registered the meaning of her mother's second sentence. A letter from Hogwarts? "Where?"
"It's on the table, dear," her mother said as she tipped a sausage onto her plate, next to the magically scrambled eggs.
Ginny went to the owl, Errol, who was sitting on the dining table. She untied the scroll from his leg and started reading.
"Well, what does it say?" her mother asked.
"It's from Ron," Ginny answered. "He's in Gryffindor."
"Oh, good!" Ginny's mother exclaimed. "Your father will be glad to hear that. What else?"
"He's friends with Harry Potter," Ginny answered. "He's in Gryffindor, too."
"I told you he wasn't going to be sorted into Slytherin," her mother said.
Ginny, unable to recall such a statement and deciding to ignore it, continued summarizing the letter. "They met on the train. Ron says he insisted on buying him sweets. They met Draco Malfoy, who offered Harry his friendship on the condition that he ditched Ron - what a prat! - but Harry chose Ron."
"He sounds like a sweet boy," her mother said.
"Yes, he does. I hope he doesn't think he needs to buy friends with candy. That would get him in the wrong crowd. But at least he refused Malfoy. That's a good thing." Ginny sighed. If only she could see him again, she might be able to determine what kind of person he was. She couldn't stand not knowing what he was like. Normally, she could pick up on the vibes people emitted when she met them. But Harry ... she couldn't figure him out. She just didn't know about Harry.
Harry? When did she start calling him Harry? Even Ron referred to him as Harry Potter in his letter. They hadn't even exchanged a pair of words, and she was already calling him "Harry" in her head.
Her mother's eyes sparkled with that same gleam that had sparkled in Ginny's father's eyes the previous evening before they went flying. Why was that? "Why don't you send him the letter your father was talking about yesterday, Ginny?" she said. "It doesn't sound like a bad idea. Maybe you need a quill friend." When Ginny remained silent for a while, she prodded again, "It's just a letter, dear."
Now that she'd slept on it, it didn't sound like such a bad idea after all. "Maybe I will," Ginny said. "Maybe I will."
Author's Notes: To all you devoted readers, this doesn't mean I am going to abandon Harry Potter and the Dark of the Lord. This is just a side project of four chapters, 12000 words in total.