Ginny’s dread about the school year didn’t seem to pass as the days went on. Students anxiously waited for owls to bring letters from loved ones during breakfast each morning. Occasionally someone would flee from the Great Hall in tears. Ginny and Ron especially looked out for Pigwidgeon, hoping to hear from their parents or brothers of any news. Some like Hermione thumbed through The Daily Prophet for news on the battle front.
Dark headlines flashed across each paper, each accompanied with a rough, yet well composed Rufus Scrimgeour looking as though he was daring the photographer to challenge him.
Giant Sightings Increase.
Amelia Bones Found Dead.
Azkaban Dementors Out of Ministry Control?
Every day seemed to begin with the same bleak start to it.
Ginny sighed, handing Hermione back her copy of The Daily Prophet after reading a piece on an increase in security at Gringotts Bank. “We’re really walking around broken shards of glass here.”
Her housemates grunted in agreement.
They were halfway through breakfast when Harry walked in late, bags lining his eyes.
“What happened to you, mate?” Seamus asked, knitting his brow together.
Harry looked almost alarmed before simply shrugging, “Late night studying.”
This seemed to satisfy Seamus who proceeded to eat his poached eggs.
Hermione looked pointedly at Harry. He shot her a look of mock confusion before helping himself to cereal.
Ginny wished she wasn’t so observant. She wished she could stop caring about them not caring about her.
Ron broke into her thoughts. “Hey Ginny! It’s Pig!”
“A bit late, isn’t he?” Ginny asked, confused, staring at the tiny owl flapping its wings madly into the Great Hall.
“I’m sure it’s just that he can’t fly quite as fast as the others,” Hermione said.
“What are you saying about my owl?” Ron asked defensively.
Hermione looked taken aback. “Nothing. I’m merely reassuring Ginny that his delay is just incidental.
“And why would it be anything otherwise?” Ron scowled.
Ginny huffed. “Oh bloody hell, Ron. It’s because our family is under the watch of every major wizard in London. Not only are wizards and witches from the Ministry and Order,” she whispered, checking to make sure no one else was listening before continuing, “keeping tabs on us, but the dark ones are as well. What’s to stop anyone from attacking Pig for information? It happened to Hedwig last year.”
Ron looked crestfallen just as Pig swooped onto the Gryffindor table. He snatched the letter from his outstretched foot, completely forgetting to praise the little owl for the long journey. Pig looked offended and hopped towards Harry’s bowl of cereal, hoping for a reward.
Harry, Hermione, and Ginny anxiously looked up at Ron, waiting for him to read the contents of the letter. Ginny caught a glimpse of her mother’s tidy scrawl.
Dearest Ron and Ginny,
We are all doing fine. Hope you aren’t worrying. We look forward to seeing you both, Harry, and Hermione during the holidays.”
With love,
Mum and Dad
“Well that was a pathetic excuse of a letter. You’d think You-Know-Who and Dumbledore were playing a nice game of Quidditch outside. I wish they’d left our post alone at least.” Ron balled up the letter.
Ginny had suddenly lost her appetite and began to poke at her sausages absently. Her gaze wandered across the Great Hall towards the other house tables.
She caught sight of Malfoy who appeared to be playing with his food as well. He had his head resting against a propped up elbow while Pansy Parkinson fawned over him, brushing loose strands of his hair out of his eyes. He didn’t seem to acknowledge her presence.
Malfoy suddenly lift his head and stared at Ginny. His face was expressionless. Ginny could see Pansy ask what looked like, what are you looking at? And before Pansy could look up, Ginny forced her gaze back down at her sausages.
Hermione broke into her thoughts. “So what all are you studying in Muggle Studies right now? I almost wish I was still taking it.”
“Transportation,” Ginny responded.
“Oh, that’s quite fascinating. I’ve heard there’s quite a bit of application of knowledge and group work during fifth year. I think it’s quite appropriate what with OWLs and all.”
“Group work?” Ginny asked. None of her other classes had ever called for such a thing.
“Yes. There’s supposed to be a lot of problem solving involved in the class and Professor Burbage feels that two heads are better than one. So I suggest you keep your fingers crossed she places you in a suitable group.”
During Muggle Studies later in the day Ginny was on her toes for any mention of groups. She knew most of the people in her class since they’d been in it together since third year, but they were mere acquaintances.
Towards the end of her lesson on traffic regulation and road signs, Professor Burbage stopped the class.
“From this point forward this class will be slightly different from your other classes. You will be part of a group for the remainder of the year. You will be assigned problems to solve and tasks to follow through on. This will all help in preparing you for your field work at the end of the term. “
“Are we selecting our own groups?” a Hufflepuff girl asked anxiously.
Professor Burbage shook her head. “I will be assigning groups. Or rather, the Sorting Hat will. I have borrowed it temporarily for use in this class.” There were loud groans to follow.
“All right, if you all are finished complaining, I will begin sorting you into groups.”
The Sorting Hat began to pipe off names, pausing momentarily to indicate a new group.
“Creevey, Colin! Lovegood, Luna! Malfoy, Draco!” the Hat called out. Ginny shot Colin a sympathetic look as the poor boy clamped his hands over the sides of his face in despair.
Malfoy on the other hand looked indifferent as he stared towards the ceiling at nothing in particular.
The Sorting Hat continued with Colin’s group. “Summers, Olivia! Weasley, Ginevra!”
Ginny dropped the quill she was twirling in-between her fingers. She’d be working with Malfoy? There had to be a mistake. This was probably some silly joke.
This time a reaction was seen from Malfoy who stared at the Hat in horror.
Professor Burbage paid no attention to the disgruntled looks of all her students. “Now if you would all convene together with your groups to become acquainted with each other. “
Nobody made an effort to move. Professor Burbage rolled her eyes, flicked her wand, and all the students were thrown from their seats.
Ginny pulled herself up from the ground, rearranging her now tousled hair. She noticed that Colin, Luna, and Olivia were already making their ways towards each other. Ginny followed suit and took a seat around them.
“So,” Olivia began, “are we all here?”
They all knew she was referring to Malfoy, who was casually taking his time walking towards them. When he finally approached them he remained standing, giving them all a brief glance of acknowledgement before busying himself with his prefect’s badge.
“Well, I’m Olivia Summers and I’m in Hufflepuff,” she said as-a-matter-of-factly.
“Colin Creevey from Gryffindor,” Colin gave a slanted smile at the group.
“Luna Lovegood from Ravenclaw,” Luna said simply.
“Ginny Weasley from Gryffindor,” Ginny said.
They looked at Malfoy, waiting for him.
“Malfoy, Slytherin,” he said, giving a small yawn.
When Professor Burbage dismissed them, Malfoy was the first to dart out the door. Ginny was fuming. He was going to be a prat the rest of the year. She grabbed her things and followed after him.
“Hey Malfoy!” she shouted after his blond head.
He turned around slowly, draping his school bag over a shoulder as he stared at her blankly.
“I need a word,” she walked towards him, her fists clenched.
“Whatever for, Weaselette?” he drawled unkindly.
“If we’re stuck working together you might as well suck up whatever differences we have. I get that you hate me but I’m not going to do poorly in this class because of you.”
His expression darkened, but an amused smile danced on his lips. “Don’t flatter yourself, Weasley. What makes you think I feel anything towards you? You’re nothing to me. And rest assured, as you witnessed with our essay, I’m doing better than you anyway.”
“We’ll see about that,” she challenged, tightening her fists.
“Are you threatening me?” Malfoy sneered. His amusement infuriated Ginny even more. “Well that’s no good. I think that calls for ten points from Gryffindor.”
Ginny’s mouth dropped open in protest.
“I wouldn’t say anything more unless you want to cost your pathetic house any more points. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a life to live that doesn’t involve people like you.”
Ginny said nothing as he turned on his heel and walked away. When he was about fifteen feet away, she pulled out her wand and whispered, “Prolabor pes!” She watched him trip and land hard on his knees.
He groaned, and before he could rise to his feet and start on her, she tucked her wand away and rearranged her face in mock surprise.
“Weasley! That ought to cost you all your house points!” his normally pallid face was crimson red, his hair disheveled.
“Whatever do you mean, Malfoy? I think you need to watch where you’re going. Never know when you might just trip,” she said slyly. He scowled at her, ran a hand through his hair and stormed off, his robes billowing behind him.
Dark headlines flashed across each paper, each accompanied with a rough, yet well composed Rufus Scrimgeour looking as though he was daring the photographer to challenge him.
Giant Sightings Increase.
Amelia Bones Found Dead.
Azkaban Dementors Out of Ministry Control?
Every day seemed to begin with the same bleak start to it.
Ginny sighed, handing Hermione back her copy of The Daily Prophet after reading a piece on an increase in security at Gringotts Bank. “We’re really walking around broken shards of glass here.”
Her housemates grunted in agreement.
They were halfway through breakfast when Harry walked in late, bags lining his eyes.
“What happened to you, mate?” Seamus asked, knitting his brow together.
Harry looked almost alarmed before simply shrugging, “Late night studying.”
This seemed to satisfy Seamus who proceeded to eat his poached eggs.
Hermione looked pointedly at Harry. He shot her a look of mock confusion before helping himself to cereal.
Ginny wished she wasn’t so observant. She wished she could stop caring about them not caring about her.
Ron broke into her thoughts. “Hey Ginny! It’s Pig!”
“A bit late, isn’t he?” Ginny asked, confused, staring at the tiny owl flapping its wings madly into the Great Hall.
“I’m sure it’s just that he can’t fly quite as fast as the others,” Hermione said.
“What are you saying about my owl?” Ron asked defensively.
Hermione looked taken aback. “Nothing. I’m merely reassuring Ginny that his delay is just incidental.
“And why would it be anything otherwise?” Ron scowled.
Ginny huffed. “Oh bloody hell, Ron. It’s because our family is under the watch of every major wizard in London. Not only are wizards and witches from the Ministry and Order,” she whispered, checking to make sure no one else was listening before continuing, “keeping tabs on us, but the dark ones are as well. What’s to stop anyone from attacking Pig for information? It happened to Hedwig last year.”
Ron looked crestfallen just as Pig swooped onto the Gryffindor table. He snatched the letter from his outstretched foot, completely forgetting to praise the little owl for the long journey. Pig looked offended and hopped towards Harry’s bowl of cereal, hoping for a reward.
Harry, Hermione, and Ginny anxiously looked up at Ron, waiting for him to read the contents of the letter. Ginny caught a glimpse of her mother’s tidy scrawl.
Dearest Ron and Ginny,
We are all doing fine. Hope you aren’t worrying. We look forward to seeing you both, Harry, and Hermione during the holidays.”
With love,
Mum and Dad
“Well that was a pathetic excuse of a letter. You’d think You-Know-Who and Dumbledore were playing a nice game of Quidditch outside. I wish they’d left our post alone at least.” Ron balled up the letter.
Ginny had suddenly lost her appetite and began to poke at her sausages absently. Her gaze wandered across the Great Hall towards the other house tables.
She caught sight of Malfoy who appeared to be playing with his food as well. He had his head resting against a propped up elbow while Pansy Parkinson fawned over him, brushing loose strands of his hair out of his eyes. He didn’t seem to acknowledge her presence.
Malfoy suddenly lift his head and stared at Ginny. His face was expressionless. Ginny could see Pansy ask what looked like, what are you looking at? And before Pansy could look up, Ginny forced her gaze back down at her sausages.
Hermione broke into her thoughts. “So what all are you studying in Muggle Studies right now? I almost wish I was still taking it.”
“Transportation,” Ginny responded.
“Oh, that’s quite fascinating. I’ve heard there’s quite a bit of application of knowledge and group work during fifth year. I think it’s quite appropriate what with OWLs and all.”
“Group work?” Ginny asked. None of her other classes had ever called for such a thing.
“Yes. There’s supposed to be a lot of problem solving involved in the class and Professor Burbage feels that two heads are better than one. So I suggest you keep your fingers crossed she places you in a suitable group.”
During Muggle Studies later in the day Ginny was on her toes for any mention of groups. She knew most of the people in her class since they’d been in it together since third year, but they were mere acquaintances.
Towards the end of her lesson on traffic regulation and road signs, Professor Burbage stopped the class.
“From this point forward this class will be slightly different from your other classes. You will be part of a group for the remainder of the year. You will be assigned problems to solve and tasks to follow through on. This will all help in preparing you for your field work at the end of the term. “
“Are we selecting our own groups?” a Hufflepuff girl asked anxiously.
Professor Burbage shook her head. “I will be assigning groups. Or rather, the Sorting Hat will. I have borrowed it temporarily for use in this class.” There were loud groans to follow.
“All right, if you all are finished complaining, I will begin sorting you into groups.”
The Sorting Hat began to pipe off names, pausing momentarily to indicate a new group.
“Creevey, Colin! Lovegood, Luna! Malfoy, Draco!” the Hat called out. Ginny shot Colin a sympathetic look as the poor boy clamped his hands over the sides of his face in despair.
Malfoy on the other hand looked indifferent as he stared towards the ceiling at nothing in particular.
The Sorting Hat continued with Colin’s group. “Summers, Olivia! Weasley, Ginevra!”
Ginny dropped the quill she was twirling in-between her fingers. She’d be working with Malfoy? There had to be a mistake. This was probably some silly joke.
This time a reaction was seen from Malfoy who stared at the Hat in horror.
Professor Burbage paid no attention to the disgruntled looks of all her students. “Now if you would all convene together with your groups to become acquainted with each other. “
Nobody made an effort to move. Professor Burbage rolled her eyes, flicked her wand, and all the students were thrown from their seats.
Ginny pulled herself up from the ground, rearranging her now tousled hair. She noticed that Colin, Luna, and Olivia were already making their ways towards each other. Ginny followed suit and took a seat around them.
“So,” Olivia began, “are we all here?”
They all knew she was referring to Malfoy, who was casually taking his time walking towards them. When he finally approached them he remained standing, giving them all a brief glance of acknowledgement before busying himself with his prefect’s badge.
“Well, I’m Olivia Summers and I’m in Hufflepuff,” she said as-a-matter-of-factly.
“Colin Creevey from Gryffindor,” Colin gave a slanted smile at the group.
“Luna Lovegood from Ravenclaw,” Luna said simply.
“Ginny Weasley from Gryffindor,” Ginny said.
They looked at Malfoy, waiting for him.
“Malfoy, Slytherin,” he said, giving a small yawn.
When Professor Burbage dismissed them, Malfoy was the first to dart out the door. Ginny was fuming. He was going to be a prat the rest of the year. She grabbed her things and followed after him.
“Hey Malfoy!” she shouted after his blond head.
He turned around slowly, draping his school bag over a shoulder as he stared at her blankly.
“I need a word,” she walked towards him, her fists clenched.
“Whatever for, Weaselette?” he drawled unkindly.
“If we’re stuck working together you might as well suck up whatever differences we have. I get that you hate me but I’m not going to do poorly in this class because of you.”
His expression darkened, but an amused smile danced on his lips. “Don’t flatter yourself, Weasley. What makes you think I feel anything towards you? You’re nothing to me. And rest assured, as you witnessed with our essay, I’m doing better than you anyway.”
“We’ll see about that,” she challenged, tightening her fists.
“Are you threatening me?” Malfoy sneered. His amusement infuriated Ginny even more. “Well that’s no good. I think that calls for ten points from Gryffindor.”
Ginny’s mouth dropped open in protest.
“I wouldn’t say anything more unless you want to cost your pathetic house any more points. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a life to live that doesn’t involve people like you.”
Ginny said nothing as he turned on his heel and walked away. When he was about fifteen feet away, she pulled out her wand and whispered, “Prolabor pes!” She watched him trip and land hard on his knees.
He groaned, and before he could rise to his feet and start on her, she tucked her wand away and rearranged her face in mock surprise.
“Weasley! That ought to cost you all your house points!” his normally pallid face was crimson red, his hair disheveled.
“Whatever do you mean, Malfoy? I think you need to watch where you’re going. Never know when you might just trip,” she said slyly. He scowled at her, ran a hand through his hair and stormed off, his robes billowing behind him.
Author notes: Prolabor pes is my spell for tripping one's feet.
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