Chapter 1: Misery's Beginning


Ginny gazed around the crowded tent, thoroughly displeased, although of course she couldn’t let anyone catch on to that little detail. She detested everything about this event, from the ugly gold dress she was forced to wear to the ever-annoying bride that her brother had somehow fallen for. Ugh. Phlegm.

She supposed she had played her part well. She smiled in all the right places as she walked down the aisle in front of the bride, she’d forced herself to enjoy dancing with a few of the guests, and she’d kept her giggling to a minimum as Fred and George wolf-whistled at Bill mid-ceremony.

Suddenly everything seemed to slow to a crawl. There was a silver lynx sitting ten feet away, with warnings of imminent danger for everyone gathered at the Burrow. As cracks filled the air, Ginny took off into the crowd, searching for any and all signs of her family. She spotted Harry, Ron, and Hermione turning on the spot to Disapparate, and the panic she had been trying to suppress took over; if she couldn’t find her parents she could very well be left behind. She pushed her way through the chaos of Death Eaters and wedding guests until a vice-like grip grabbed her arm from behind. Her breath caught and her stomach clenched into knots when she realized she’d been stopped by a very large figure in black robes and a silver mask. She could feel the blood drain from her face as her heart started beating double time. There was no way to get out of this.

Ginny just stared, her mind completely blank, until she felt the masked man shake her. The side of her head felt cold pressure on it, and her fear was instantly laced with confusion. What spell could possibly have that effect? After another rough shake she blinked and the silver mask fell away, revealing a frighteningly familiar face. Neville Longbottom was staring back at her, with cold, dead eyes.

“Ginny,” he mumbled. There was absolutely no awareness in his face or in his voice.

What was going on? Neville couldn’t be a Death Eater; she had just gotten mail from him last week. Her head started to spin, and she felt like she was falling through both space and time. All the air from her lungs seemed to be slowly disappearing.

“Ginny,” Neville repeated, shaking her arm once again, but there was more life to it this time. “Ginny, wake up. We’re almost there, and you haven’t changed into your robes yet.”

Her eyes flew open as she gasped, nearly choking on all of the air that had suddenly rushed back into her lungs, and she realized she’d been holding her breath. Reality swiftly caught up with her. Neville was standing over her, shaking her awake before they arrived at Hogwarts. The cold pressure on her head was the window of the train, where she had leaned against it to relieve the headache she’d had that morning. The headache she’d only gotten after crying endlessly over her beyond-miserable situation.

Because the fact of the matter was, everything that had happened over the summer had contributed to her misery. Harry had left her (for her own protection, or some other heroic-minded bullshit reason). She was now officially related to that cow, Fleur, because Bill had gotten married. Three of her best friends had been forced to leave for good to go into hiding when Death Eaters interrupted said wedding. Many of her friends were no longer allowed to attend Hogwarts because they were Muggleborns. And all of this left her returning to a Hogwarts that was no longer welcoming after Dumbledore’s death, because that morning it was announced that Severus Snape and some of his dark side cronies were taking over the school.

The only comfort Ginny had was that some of her friends were still there; Luna and Neville were the only reasons she did not refuse to board the train when she had gotten to the station. She stole a glance at the pair of them as she pulled out her robes. Luna was trying to explain the characteristics of whatever creature she and her father had gone hunting for over the summer to Neville. He was unabashedly gawking at her, only listening so that she wouldn’t try to explain it again at a later date. He turned to Ginny, floundering for help, but she had to turn her gaze back out the window to hide the laughter that was struggling to force itself out of her.

Surprising, she thought, to know that one could still laugh in situations like this. And with that ironic thought, she couldn’t hold it in any longer. She snorted into her hand and, turning back to Neville, burst out laughing. Relieved, he joined in, and they continued in that fashion until they heard their compartment door slide open with a bang to reveal the one person she really didn’t want to see.

****

Day one, and Draco already abhorred his duties as Head Boy. He felt like the playground police as he strolled down the train’s corridors. Fortunately for him, roughhousing tended to stop whenever he came near; nobody wanted to be the first to mess with Draco Malfoy after what happened at the end of last year. That is, until he heard laughing from the last compartment on the left. When he reached the door he immediately slammed it open to reveal, to his delight, three of the people he hated most.

“Weasley, Longbottom! What the hell is so funny?” he barked at them.

The glare he was receiving from that annoying red headed girl (what was her name, Jenny? Jessie?) was one of pure hatred. She obviously knew what he’d done; precious Potter would have wasted no time in telling her. While the thought made Draco uncomfortable, he wasn’t going to show it, so instead he just smirked at her. That seemed to infuriate her even more.

“Shove off, Malfoy,” she spat back.

“Oh, very witty, little weasel. But is that any way to treat your new Head Boy?” Draco leaned against the frame of the doorway as her face went from red to purple in less than five seconds. Those Weasleys and their tempers, he mused, bound to get them into trouble one day. The thought only made him more smug.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she groaned into her hands, quietly enough that she could have hoped that he wouldn’t hear. Unfortunately for her, though, he was quite adept at hearing things he wasn’t supposed to.

“You’re very lucky today Weasley, I’m feeling generous.” Her head snapped up and confusion was written all over her face before he continued. “Actually, no, I’m not. But the rules are clear that I’m not allowed to start handing out punishments until we’re on school grounds. But consider yourself warned. Any funny business and you’ll be in detention for the rest of the year. I’d consider being polite if I were you.”

Draco could feel the girl’s murderous stares on his back as he turned and left the apartment, but his sense of self-accomplishment in antagonizing the enemy made him feel light as air. Maybe this year won’t be so bad after all…

****


A/N- This is my first story. Let me know if it sounds interesting... I know there isn't much to go by in the first chapter as it's pretty much an introduction, but reviews always help.