Disclaimer * Ginny, her family, Harry, etc., all belong to J.K. Rowling.

A/N * I'm definitely not British, and i confess i do not fully understand their syntax of the English language, but i do know that Mum=Mom, jumper=sweater, and fringe=bangs.
 
 
 

early eleven years had passed since the Boy Who Lived had defeated You-Know-Who.  Over the past year he had discovered his true heritage despite his relatives best efforts, become best friends with Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, and had rescued the Sorcerer's Stone from the clutches of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.  In sort, he had successfully completed his first year at Hogwarts.

But he wasn't the only one who had been busy.  Not unlike Harry, Ginny Weasly had been precocious from a young age.  She was like her brothers in many ways:  brave, curious, intelligent, mischievious, hardheaded, and with a tongue like a whip to match.  She may have been smaller and younger than all of her siblings, but she was just as driven to succeed.  She had her own opinions about what she wanted to do with her life.

Though Ginny seemed quiet and innocent, nothing could have been further from the truth.  This was largely sprung from the fact that she was the youngest Weasley and the only girl.  This being the case, her parents had understandably wanted to protect Ginny from the harsh realities of the world from a young age.  Simply put, her parents would not tell her the truth about anything scary or dangerous if they could possibly help it.  She didn't understand this double standard--she was twice as mature as Ron, just as sneaky as Fred and George, nearly as smart as Percy, and just as brave as Bill and Charlie--but instead of complaining about it she learned to get around it.

Ginny spent a lot of time silently observing her family:  if she didn't make her presence known she always learned more as any real information she acquired was only overheard when she was "out of earshot."  It is perhaps by accident that she thus learned to absorb everything she saw and heard like a sponge and--being the innocent and easy-to-ignore youngest daughter--how to easily swipe whatever she wanted or wheedle information out of whoever had it.  She learned the Bat Bogey Hex from Bill before the Twins had even gone to Hogwarts (Bill had reasoned that she needed some defense against their antics while he was gone).  She took out Charlie's broom for the first time when she was six.  And she regularly came up with outrageous schemes to prank Percy or Ron that the Twins were only too happy to put into effect--or take credit for--for her.  Ginny had effectively pulled the wool over her parents' eyes... and everyone else's as well.

Ginny also learned from a young age how to manipulate boys:  after all, her entire world was filled overflowing with them and it also seemed to revolve around her.  Cry, and her father came running.  Express an interest, and Bill would tell her anything.  Trip, and Percy would carry her.  Set something on fire and Charlie, Fred, or George would get it.  Swipe something and the Twins or Ron would.  She could control men almost as easily as a Veela and twice as subtlely because her gift was doing all this without being noticed.  She was cherished by her grandfathers and uncles, held to high standards by her grandmothers, aunts, and her mother, and easily forgiven for failings by all.  Being the first girl to be born into the Weasley clan in eight generations and the only Prewett grandaughter definitely had its benefits.

The first boy Ginny had ever wanted was Cedric Diggory; the fact that he was several years her senior did not deter her in the slightest.  Cedric had dreamy eyes, gorgeous hair, and--most importantly--was quiet.  He didn't stand a chance.  She had him wrapped around her little finger in five minutes.  She got bored with him just as fast.  She kissed him, he cried.  She punched him, he balled even louder.  It was at that moment that she realized that searching for the perfect man might be a lot harder than she thought; not every man can be as brave and handsome and considerate as her Daddy.  If she was going to raise a family twice as big as her Mum's while working full time as an Auror she had her work cut out for her.  Ginny's philosophy became to use boys if she could, but if they were getting annoying to simply do something better than they could as this was the fastest way to get rid of them.

Upon deciding that Harry Potter was the man she was destined to marry Ginny was required to put her full talents to work.  The journey home was long and forlorn.  She was simply bursting with questions; the trouble was, there was only Mum or Dad to ask the answers of.  Well, they weren't about to give a full and honest answer about anything having to do with You-Know-Who if they could possibly help it.  The truth was far too much for their little girl to handle in their eyes.  The information she sought would be hard to obtain, but this did not deter Ginny:  after all, she had an entire year in front of her.

At first she asked her mother to teach her to knit, volunteered to help Dad in the shed, even interrogated Mr. Lovegood when she had playdates with Luna (not that he was any great help).  Though she drilled them over and over to hear the stories from so long ago that even Bill could hardly remember (at least, that was what he said in reply to her letters), they rarely slipped up.  But these questions seemed natural to them:  of course she would be curious to learn more about her closest brother's closest mate.

Ginny next attempted to find books on the subject, but these were hard to come by and--she could tell--not reliable sources.  The facts in them did not at all align with what her parents told her.  It was easy for her to conclude that her parents had more to do with said events than they were letting on and the Ministry had everything to gain by censoring what the history books had to say on the matter.  She didn't even mind when Mum found these books and confiscated them; she had already exhausted them as a resource, had memorized all the pertinent information held therein.

It was Charlie who turned out to be her biggest break.  She had never dreamed that she would get to visit him in Romania, but then her parents surprised her with a trip for Christmas.  She knew they were worried about her; she had become so very introverted all of a sudden, so intent on her knitting, so lonely.  The chance to see dragons, touch them, visit a new country, would be an invaluable experience for her.  Ginny was overjoyed to see her brother again and find a more pliable and willing informant, for Charlie, it seemed, knew everything that could be obtained without going to the true source.  From him she learned that the Potters had known they were marked for death, that Professor Dumbledore had advised them to go into hiding, that Sirius Black had betrayed them and then gone after their best friend, Peter Pettigrew, too.  Ginny learned all this but instead of satisfying answers only found more questions.

Lastly, Ginny always made sure to point out little things to Mum, like the fact that Harry's eyes are green and wouldn't it be nice of her to knit him a green sweater for Christmas.  He was so thin that maybe Mum should send him food, too.  Since he and Ron are friends, could they invite him to come for a stay next summer?  None of this relieved the longing, the waiting, the loneliness, and she knew that Harry would never learn of her acts of kindness towards him, but it seemed natural for her to do them anyway.

Thus Ginevra Weasley's last year at home passed slowly but surely.  She learned that Ron and Harry had become friends, that Harry had defended a boy from Draco Malfoy and become the youngest Seeker in a century, heard whispers about their narrow escape with a troll and how they would sneak out at night.  They would get in trouble and sometimes have to serve detention in the Forbidden Forest of all places!  Ginny tried to imagine that quiet, polite, small little boy doing all these things, and so her respect and admiration for him soared.  The day that she would get to go to Hogwarts with Ron--and Harry--could not come soon enough.

Upon her brothers' return to the Burrow, Ginny descended upon them like a vulture.  To her parents this seemed understandable because she had missed them for so long.  To her brothers it was a downright nuisance:  there was only so much information they could provide, and multiple retellings only roused their suspicions.  Boys were also not the best benefactors of information because they often neglected to remember or notice details that a girl often realizes and catalogs away without having to even decide to.  Ginny had quickly exhausted all paths of knowledge and completed her research to the best of her ability.  Now all she could do was wait for Harry to arrive.

But Harry Potter had not made an appearance at the Burrow, nor been heard from, all summer long.  This worried Ginny immensely:  she could discern from Ron's ramblings that the Dursleys were not the most loving guardians.  Mum tried to explain everything away by saying the Dursleys surely had taken Harry on a vacation, perhaps to the continent.  Errol was not entirely reliable when delivering the post anymore and surely Harry was having a perfectly good holiday without them.  Ginny did not believe any of this:  Errol had returned to the Burrow without his letters or packages which surely meant they had been delivered or intercepted.  Errol had also not experienced any difficulty delivering Harry's Christmas sweater to Hogwarts from Romania (Mum had put the finishing touches on the gift after they left on holiday).  Most of all, Ron didn't hold with Mum, and she could see for herself that he was worried and being perfectly honest about the Dursleys, who had basically sent Harry a knut for Christmas and didn't care for his magical abilities at all.

Ron had, in fact, spun horrible tales of near-torture treatment from the Muggle relatives Harry was stuck with.  The Twins were outraged to hear of such treatment towards their star Seeker.  Ginny, for her part, found Harry's silence to be terrifying.  After all, Ron had told her all about what Harry and Hermione were like, and not being in contact with his best friend definitely seemed out of character for someone as considerate as Harry.  Even if Harry didn't like to write long letters, surely he could have sent them a postcard in response to Ron's petitions for news.  It seemed that even Mum and Dad were starting to wonder if such stories were true.  Ginny knew it was only a matter of time before they would physically go and try to find out for themselves what was up.  If the reports from Ron were to be trusted then the Dursley were nearly as evil as the Malfoys...  Malfoys that hate all magical folk instead of all Muggles, of course.

Ginny was, predictably, very nervous about finally really truly meeting Harry, and had knitted herself a jumper for this very occasion.  Unfortunately the jumper had a tendency to go missing.  She had yet to be wear it because of said disappearances and because she was saving it for the day of Harry's rescue.  Ginny knew that it was probably the Twins' fault, but she had yet to be able to prove it.  Mum had had to rescue the piece of clothing in question no less than five times, all under suspicious circumstances, but there had yet to be a letter received regarding said jumper from the Improper Use of Magic Office.

    On the morning in question Ginny awoke at her usual time, which was not too early as she wasn't an early riser (Ginny never got out of be before seven o'clock if she could help it).  Predictably enough, though she had left her jumper laid out the night before it was mysteriously missing.  Ginny pulled on her robe and headed for the back stairs.  She was furious at the Twins, but she knew exactly how to deal with them:  innocently ask Mum how her belonging had gone astray.  She bounced down the stairs into the kitchen, asking ever-so-sweetly:

    "Mum, have you seen my jumper?"  Ginny slid to a halt, her eyes widening in horror:  her mother just happened to be currently serving breakfast to none other than the boy with raven-fringe hanging into his oh-so-emerald-eyes right at that very moment!

    "Yes, dear, I saw it on the cat..." her Mum answered, oblivious to the horrified look on her daughter's face and the fact that Ginny was already halfway back to her room.  Ginny was appalled:  not only had she turned white as a ghost, but she had squeaked like a mouse and lost all nerve the moment she had seen Harry.  That was most definitely not the way a Gryffindor should act!  What was more was that the cat was most likely off chasing gnomes wearing her brand new jumper!  She could just die.

    Ginny did not allow herself any tears.  She may have made an utter fool of herself, but she had managed to remain composed and make a relatively good impression the first time they had met.  She just needed to get dressed and get downstairs quick.  Act as if nothing had happened, yes, that's the ticket.  She pulled on her jeans and her favorite tee (it wasn't jumper weather anyway) and made her way downstairs... only to find that Ron and Harry had already been sent to the garden to deal with the gnomes.

    Sometimes she wondered if her brothers had used up all the family's luck before it had even gotten to her.