"What I'm about to say … please believe me when I tell you that it has absolutely nothing to do with fact that my hand is … where it is right now, OK?"

"Absolutely."

"What I want you to know is … I'm really, really glad you're on my side."

I have read many - many stories that are much longer than this but fail to even come close to the depth and feeling packed in here. This very well could be one of the ways she saves him and, by extention, the rest of the wizarding world.

Nicely done.

Glad you liked it. 

"Ginny Weasley Saves the World"  -- kind of a catchy title now that you mention it ...

I just read your story, I must say to hell with others and what they might say about it not being in canon, this was outstanding. And who says it not in canon. JK Rowlin who is an outstanding author, created the characters but they are not written in stone! Most of the outstanding stories I have read would be considered AU. Hell for that matter, every story not written by Mrs. Rowlin would have to be considered AU since she didn't write them.

I like your version of Harry and especially Ginny. You have a unique understanding of teenagers and the angst generated with Sirius death and what would be needed by the Harry character to start to heal. You also have the necessary understanding of Ron's and Hermione characters as well.

I just wish this wasn't complete, I would love to see this story continued and the penseive and what they do with the info...

Thanks for the kind words.  I too would like to see the story continued, and I trust that it eventually will be but, for the time being, I am back to working on other projects.  As for questions of canon, I am not as fanatic on the subject as some, but it is the game we play after all, so it's worth trying to play it well. 

Now, see, I think you're really good at finding things to say about a story.  You zeroed in on my personal favorite sentence (in fact, it may not be altogether impossible that the whole rest of a story was just a pretext to get that bit in ...). 

Thanks!

Coming from you, this is high praise.  Thank you.

Compact and economical -- yes, this is what I was striving for (if for no other reason that I simply don't think I have 200k words in me at this point).  Crises, meanwhile, do not suddenly build (or change) character, but they do sometimes reveal it rather abruptly.  The way I imagine it, the changes consumated that afternoon had been building for a very long time indeed.

Always happy to make the work day a little brighter ... Thanks for the kind words.

J

I like this!  Ginny does seem a little old here than 15, but she's been through a lot the last 5 years, so I can believe it!

Great job!

Oh I wish that was how it will be in canon. Such a lovely mix of grief and laughter. I particularly liked the knee.Now I may be refined but I'd love to know more about Weak at the Knees. Where is it, please? I agree with those who would like to find out what happens when they return to the family. I found myself happily continuing the story in my head but it wasn't you, was it? Please go on.

clare

Thanks for your kind words.  I did work hard to keep this scene from being just totally sappy.

A number of reviewers have paid me the compliment of asking what happens next (and I hope you won't mind my using this response to address that question more generally).  The good news is that I do indeed plan to follow up on this scene.  The bad news is that I don't see myself describing Harry's birthday dinner in any detail.  Partly this is for technical reasons -- the way I write lends itself much more to dialogues than to conversational free-for-alls such as I imagine a Weasley dinner to be.  In any case, what interests me more, at least at this point, is how Hermione is going to react to this sudden shift in the situation, so I'm thinking that  what you all have to look forward to next are some Harry-Hermione and Ginny-Hermione scenes.  (In the meantime, anyone who wants pick up the thread and go with it is welcome to.  That's the fun of fan fction.)

A word, finally, with respect to the stories cited in the A/N.  The classics are classics for a reason and are easily found.  The other one is obscure for a reason, and a quick search today leads me to think that either its author or the Internet-Purity-League has removed it from general circulation.  In retrospect I probably shouldn't have mentioned it at all, but that willow tree was bothering my conscience ...

...I don't know what to say except... wow... just wow...

That was amazing!  I really like it!  I can't wait to see what else you end up writing!

Oh this was great fun to read. There were so many little lines that I loved when reading.

"What Harry was actually doing, although he didn't realize it at the time, was putting to good use the skills that he would not admit to having acquired as a result of his lessons from Professor Snape in the art of Occlumency. Higher and stronger he built his defenses, more intent on keeping out his friends than he had ever been on eluding his enemy." I found this particularly poignant. Like many other passages in this, the sentiments and feelings are beautifully written.

"Slowly the frozen heart began to thaw.
And then, after a moment in which it became abundantly clear that the Boy who Lived had no clue what to do next …

"Harry?"

"Yes …"

"Brace yourself."" I found this quite an enduring Ginny aspect. Like most of the Weasleys, she would not be one to beat around the bush.

"Listen like you've never listened to anything before in your life, because if there's one thing I know more about than you do, it's Tom Riddle. I am the world's leading bloody authority on Tom Riddle. I've been Tom Riddle!" This is quite a good point. I guess I hadn't realized before that Ginny is going to be the one to tell Harry how he is not like Tom. This act will probably be very important, though it will most likely happen a little later on, it fit quite nicely into your story.

"What I'm about to say … please believe me when I tell you that it has absolutely nothing to do with fact that my hand is … where it is right now, OK?" I loved how you had serious bits intermingled with some great teenage realities (I think that is the point I am trying to say).

I know you stated at the beginning at how this was just an exercise of sorts, but it is quite a well written and characterly developed exercise. I look forward to reading more of your works. (And you have only made me slightly curious as to the Weak at the Knees story which you briefly mentioned.)

~Megs... wow I guess my review is quite long..oops

 This was GREAT! I really enjoyed reading this! I loved every little part of this story, and  hope you write more really soon!

Happy New Year!

~Maria~

 This was GREAT! I really enjoyed reading this! I loved every little part of this story, and  hope you write more really soon!

Happy New Year!

~Maria~

 This was GREAT! I really enjoyed reading this! I loved every little part of this story, and  hope you write more really soon!

Happy New Year!

~Maria~

WOW ! Your story blew me away.

 OUTSTANDING!

 and  sittin' under a tree, K. I. SS. I. N. G!  Aargh! Fluff attack!  Beware the bouncing hairballs!   Ok, now that I've taken my insulen I can continue.  I am with several of the other viewers in that I would at least like to see one more followup to this with the party and the family's reactions to Harry and Gin's newly formed relationship as well as a conversation with Dumbledore about what they discussed.  Whatever you write I will be adding you to my update list so don't keep us waiting, get back to writing.

I really liked this story! I feel that your characters are interesting. I particularly like your depictions of Harry in shock and trying very hard to not feel anything.

(I loved the car scene, when Fred threw in that information about Ginny eloping to see if Harry was listening. Great touch.)

I like how Ginny thawed Harry out. I think you are absolutely right on this front. Talking to Harry isn’t going to help him at this point. He just needs the comfort of human touch.

Your writing style is quite elegant. You do a good job in setting the feel of a scene and your dialog is spot on, I think.

I do have one complaint... your author's note. I really don't care for long author's notes at the beginning of the story. An acknowledgement of your influences shouldn't take more than a sentence or two.

You should not apologize or defend your characterization (and certainly not before anybody criticizes it). We know you're not J. K. Rowling. (If you are, though, can I have your autograph?)  Long author notes tend to put readers off.

I got this rule of writing from Marion Zimmer Bradley:  "If you think there's something wrong with the story, then fix it."

To which I add: If you think the story is good enough to post (and yours goes considerably beyond "good"), just post it. Don't anticipate criticism.

Very cute.  I didn't mind Ginny's bossiness, because Harry really does need someone to take over once in a while.  Besides, she's encouragingly bossy. 

The way that Ginny's victimization can be turned around is a great idea, and I hope that some version of that happens in canon. 

Loved this bit: I'm in charge, you hang on for the ride, and everyone else look out below.

This was great fun to read.  I can't see JKR starting off HBP this way, but I enjoyed your story quite a lot.  I don't find your Ginny OOC, although perhaps acting a bit older than her age.  I did like her fierceness, and found her insistence on honesty refreshing.  I loved the line, "If you even think of apologizing at this point, I will hurt you. A lot."  I think the whole story well thought-out, and very well put together.  The only false note, to me, was Harry's reference to seeing Dumbledore right away with Ginny's information.  I think Harry has too high a regard for his privacy to rush into compromising some one else's. 

I don't know how much more of this idea is kicking around in your mind, but it would be wonderful to see some of these themes fleshed out a bit more.  Thanks so much for sharing this.  You've given us a lot to think about; and I'll definitely be looking for more of your work to read.

Aside from the part about going to Dumbledore (which I can't quite see Harry doing at this point) I see nothing here that wouldn't be out of line with the opening of HBP.  Great story and I'd love to see it continue, at least through the b-day party and Ron's reaction to them as a couple (combined maybe with a bit of R/Hr finally getting a clue)  Bravo all around.

Robert

I agree that the reconciliation with Dumbledore is a bit sudden (although I try to foreshadow it just a bit by having Harry express regret for his behaviour in the Spring).  The way I see it, the twin shocks of the afternoon  (and, in this case, mostly Ginny's new information) have gone a long way toward helping Harry get over his resentment on that front -- although I don't think he will ever go back to idealizing his Headmaster as once he did.  Practically speaking, in any case, where else is Harry going to go for this sort of high-level technical help?

Thak you for the kind words.  Two points you bring up:

Advanced for her age -- yes, actually they all are both in Cannon and in most fic.  It's a general feature of school stories.  In this case we can rationalize it by remembering that they've all been through some pretty harrowing experiences by this point.

Physical closeness -- I'm glad you liked that because, for me, it's absolutely central to who Harry is.  Never mind romance for the moment, Harry has gone through life absolutely starved even for the sort of ordinary casual touching that is part of any healthy family, and that's one thing for which school has not provided a substitute.  The Weasleys, on the other hand, are presented as a very hugging sort of family, so this is (yet another) area in which Ginny is way ahead of him. 

I can definetly see canon!Ginny do at least some of this, if not quite so... far.

I liked this fic very much, and I like your writing style.  Keep up the good work!

YES!!! Brilliant!!! One of the best portrayals of Ginny I've read so far; strong, determined, daring and yet caring. I really, really liked this fic, you've done a super job in telling this story - enough detail to paint a good picture to help the 'mind's eye' yet not too detailed to bog down the story. Good, nicely flowing dialogue that feels natural and actually, rather canon-like behaviour from the main characters, at least in my opinion. I definately think that this type of Ginny is foreshadowed in OotP - whilst all the others walk tenderly around Harry she is the only one to break his funks and who is not afraid to tell him off when needed. She does not fear him, not in the slightest. I'm very impressed with 'your' Ginny - many other writers tend to depict her as weak and giggly, frightened to show her undying love for Harry. This feels much more real and proper. Thank for writing and sharing this - may I hope for a continuation?

Well, no, I'm pretty sure that that isn't something that'll be showing up in the books. It is something, however, that seems perfectly plausible. A little bit of H/G proto-smut would certainly go a long way to sorting out Harry's head, I feel, and teaching him that life goes on even without all the loved ones that he's lost.

Ginny certainly shows a great deal of maturity here, more then many girls her age would have been capable of. The possession of her mind by Tom Riddle was doubtless a sobering and maturing experience for her, and she knows in exquisite detail what it is to be a sixteen year old boy, and one with definite problems to boot. Who better to shock Harry out of his funk?

The whole story has a verve and humour about it not often seen. A step shy of direct narrative, your descriptions of Harry in particular wink at the reader with a real impudence that makes your tale a real pleasure to read.