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Author: Grandma Kate Story: Ginny's First Year at Hogwarts Rating: Everyone Setting: Pre-OotP Status: Completed Reviews: 7 Words: 32,456
The Harry Potter Universe belongs to J.K. Rowling. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while. This is for pleasure only, no profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended. Bold Face Type indicates a direct quote from Chapter Thirteen, The Very Secret Diary, in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling. The stormy weather finally cleared around the first of February at the Burrow but it remained quite cold. Molly and Arthur went out to dinner to celebrate Arthur's birthday but had cake at home. He opened the presents from Molly and the children and agreed to take the rest of the cake into the office on Monday so neither of them would finish it off. When the weather warmed a little, Molly was glad to be able to get out a bit more often to her Witches and Stitches Sewing group. They were working on a big quilt using the exotic fabric that Molly brought back from the Bazaar in Cairo. To help with it, she found the book that Bill had sent Ginny for Christmas a year ago. It was about the hieroglyphics that the ancient Egyptians used to portray the animal forms of gods and goddesses. Some witches used their wands to embroider cats and other animals on the plain fabric that bordered the quilt. It was going to be lovely and quite a keepsake for Molly and Arthur to pass on to future generations. Arthur was even busier than he had been before. He was involved in several Ministry raids on suspected Death Eaters' homes and they confiscated a multitude of Dark Objects. They found an almost empty storage room under the drawing room at Malfoy Manor but it did not contain anything. They suspected that the seriously Dark Objects had been moved elsewhere because the entire room was filled with traces of Dark Magic. ***** Percy's owl Hermes came one evening during the first week of February with letters from him and from Ginny. Molly read Ginny's letter aloud. 'Arthur, listen to this.' Dear Mum and Dad, I am getting caught up on all my assignments. I really fell behind when I was sleeping so much and writing in that diary all the time. I haven't needed to go get any Pepper-up potion since the weather turned warmer. Most of the students are worried about getting petrified. I get very angry with people who think Harry Potter is somehow behind all the mysterious happenings. He's too brave to be the Heir of Slytherin; he's a Gryffindor through and through. Fred and George are really being nice to me. They've been sitting with me in the common room at night and they let me talk about things and people that I am interested in. I haven't seen much of Percy or Ron lately. Percy is always gone being a Prefect. Ron and Harry Potter haven't been around much, either. They did their homework in the hospital wing with Hermione all of January. Madam Pomfrey let her come back to Gryffindor Tower this week. She seems just like she was before she got her mysterious illness. One of the professors keeps saying he's going to do something to cheer everyone up for Valentines Day. We could use some laughs, but what might be fun for Professor Lockhart might not seem like fun to the rest of us. Don't worry about me. I'm pretty much back to being my old self. I don't have as many nightmares. They must be finally going away. I guess I am getting used to being at Hogwarts. Love, Ginny 'She does sound more like our happy little girl,' said Arthur. 'You were right, Molly. She just needed some time to adjust. She wasn't quite ready to be on her own yet. Thank Merlin; her brothers are there to take care of her.' Molly was relieved that Ginny sounded more like the girl they had sent off to Hogwarts. 'It just took her a little while to get used to being away from home,' explained Molly. 'And she got run down. As I always say- Pepper-up Potion may make your ears steam, but it works!' Percy's letter told them that he thought Ginny seemed to be finally adjusting to school. Most of it complained about all the time he was spending on Prefect duties. He also complained that only a few of the other Prefects took their responsibilities seriously. He wrote that he had decided to associate only with Prefects who understood what an honor it was to keep order in the halls of Hogwarts. Arthur wondered aloud if the right-thinking Prefect that Percy was associating with had curly hair. He reminded Molly that one of the other boys had commented that he liked a Ravensclaw Prefect. Molly smiled. 'Now, how about an early dinner?' said Arthur smiling back at her. 'Getting more rest has done wonders for Ginny. We should try it.' ***** Percy's next weekly letter repeated that he was very busy with schoolwork and Prefect duties. He reported that Ginny certainly seemed to be more like her old self since the Christmas Holidays but that he was so busy that he didn't have much time to spend with her. Therefore, it was a surprise when Molly and Arthur received his next letter the week after Valentine's Day. Dear Mum and Dad, Things are not going as well for Ginny as I had hoped they would be by now. I blame myself for not noticing that she and Fred and George have become thick as thieves. They are not a good example to anyone. In my defense, I can but plead that I was terribly busy with my Prefect duties in these troubling times. Someone has to protect the students from the monster that is stalking and petrifying those he has targeted. The twins have been teasing Harry Potter about being the Heir of Slytherin for some time. For Valentines Day, I suspect that Fred and George wrote some doggerel about him and paid a dwarf dressed as cupid to deliver it. Harry tried to get away but the dwarf tackled him and sat on him while he sang something about toads and blackboards. It happened in the hall when a great many people were passing between classes. Ginny and many other first years witnessed his discomfort. Fortunately, I was on Prefect Patrol and dispersed the crowd. Draco Malfoy tried to defy me and take a book that had fallen out of Harry's Potter's ripped backpack. He gave it back when I told him I would report him and have points taken from Slytherin. Ron was there, as well, but my presence helped him restrain himself from reacting to Malfoy's taunts. Largely because of my prompt intervention my youngest brother stayed out of trouble and his friend got his little black book back. Ginny grew more and more agitated during the altercation, and when Malfoy was leaving he yelled at her that Harry Potter did not like her valentine. She was so embarrassed. Now Fred and George sing the awful poem every chance they get in our common room. She begs them not to but they continue to remind everyone about the unfortunate incident. They are acting more childish than usual. I will write when I can but I am very busy. Sincerely, Percy 'Why do I have a feeling that we'll hear about this poem again?' asked Arthur. 'Ginny is still very shy around Harry,' said Molly. 'I'm sure she would never have written a poem to him. It must have been terrible for both of them for everyone else to think that she had sent it. Oh dear! I'd better write to comfort her.' Molly sighed and looked like she was about to cry just thinking about how Ginny must feel. 'Molly, we can't protect Ginny from every embarrassment. Perhaps we should just wait and see if she mentions the incident in her next letter.' Arthur put his arms around Molly and rubbed her back in the same way she always comforted her children, 'You and I have raised our children to be strong and take care of their own problems. We have to have faith in them.' Arthur knew his daughter well. Harry's owl Hedwig arrived two days later with three letters. Molly read Ginny's first. Dear Mum and Dad, This has been the worst week of my life. Everyone thinks I sent Harry Potter the valentine that compares his eyes to fresh pickled toads. That's just stupid. They're really more like emeralds. I'm sure that the twins wrote the silly poem but when I ask them if they did, they just say, 'we'll never tell!" Maybe it was Draco Malfoy. He's really mean and he hates Harry Potter. His father is rich enough to hire a dwarf, too. I am almost caught up with my homework. I don't write in a diary any more. We are going to have a little party for Ron in the common room for his birthday so please send a lot of food. He certainly likes to eat. Love, Ginny 'Arthur was correct, as usual. Ginny is handling all the fuss by herself,' mused Molly as she poured herself another cup of tea. 'We have to remember that she and Ron are growing up. My goodness, he will be thirteen soon.' Dear Mum and Dad, I am doing a lot of homework and so is Harry. Hermione is always nagging us to start revising for the tests at the end of the year. She is mental but she does know a lot. She is very good at spelling, too. Harry is spending a lot of time trying to figure out what is in the Chamber of Secrets but he doesn't talk about it much. The whole thing with the ugly dwarf making Harry listen to the poem was very strange. No one really knows who sent it. I told him that it wasn't Ginny unless Fred and George dared her to. She is still not talking much around Harry so I think she still fancies him. Everyone in Gryffindor is a good eater so if you are sending me a birthday treat, please make it extra large. Or make two of everything. Love, Ron Molly thought that Ron was probably correct about Fred and George having something to do with the poem. 'Maybe they were trying to make Harry notice Ginny,' murmured Molly. The letter from the twins was very short. Dear Mum and Dad, Our brothers and sister are quite brassed off at us but we think we didn't do anything wrong. WE DIDN'T SIGN ANYONE'S NAME. You can judge for yourself. HERE IS THE WHOLE POEM- His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad, His hair is as black as a blackboard. I wish he was mine. He's really divine, The hero who conquered the Dark Lard. Angelina says it should be 'I wish he were mine". THAT'S SILLY. HARRY IS JUST ONE BLOKE, NOT TWO. Anyway, we don't think we did anything worth getting excited about. IT'S NOT LIKE WE SIGNED GINNY'S NAME. We'll help with Ron's party. REMEMBER IT'S OUR BIRTHDAY NEXT. Love, Fred and GEORGE 'That explains why Harry and Ginny are so embarrassed. Arthur will know if we should do anything at all. I'll just write letters to all of them to send along with Ron's cakes and a couple of treacle tarts.' When he got home that night, Arthur was overjoyed that they had heard from their youngest. 'See, Molly. Ginny is getting better. She is working hard on her class work. That is all we can ask of her.' He didn't have any comment about the letter from the twins. 'I'm going to make the cakes for Ron's birthday tomorrow so you can send them through the Ministry post.' Molly brought a cauldron of stew to the table and put it next to the freshly baked bread. 'I thought we might spend a little time listening to Celestina Warbeck tonight. With no children home, we can even dance.' Arthur dished himself a bowl of stew and smiled at Molly. 'I can't think of anything I'd rather do than dance with my Mollywobbles.' ***** While the oven kept track of the cakes the next day, Molly wrote letters to her four sons at Hogwarts. They all said the same thing. Dear Son, Work hard and get good grades and take good care of your sister. Your Dad and I are proud of you. The school year is more then half over. We'll be glad when we are all home together. We wish we could all go on a family trip but unless a miracle happens, we can't afford to. Love, Dad and Mum She added 'Happy Thirteenth Birthday' to Ron's and then wrote a long newsy letter to Ginny. Dear Ginny, Your father and I are so happy that you are feeling better. Don't hesitate to ask Madam Pomfrey for Pepper-up Potion if you start to feel run down again. Don't pay attention to the people who are teasing you about liking Harry. You have always liked him and I suspect you always will. Some things never change. Have you been able to listen to the weekend Days of Destiny marathons? When I was a student at Hogwarts, we had a lot of trouble getting good reception in the winter. It must have something to do with all the wind and snow. I always appreciated when my mother would write and tell me what was happening. You are not missing much on Days of Destiny because there is an epidemic of Magical Memory Loss that the Muggles call Amnesia so most of what has been happening is people reminding other people about what they forgot. The Magical Memory Loss is quite contagious and they think that people are getting it from having their hands kissed. I hope someone gives it to Lord Lyle soon. Then he won't know to cause mischief. What do you think of Bedside at St Brigid's? I am not sure if I am going to be able to keep all of the characters straight. So many of them have accents. And the music is so loud! There is an epidemic of Magical Memory Loss in Ireland, too. Maybe someone from Days of Destiny kissed someone's hand there. I had never heard of Forensic Healers but I guess they'll figure out what caused both of the epidemics. Have a good time at Ron's birthday. I remembered that Harry like treacle tarts so sent a couple so he'd know we love him too. Love, Mum Arthur took the letters and the big package of food to the Ministry the next day and sent it through the Post to Hogwarts so it would be there for the First of March.
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