Chapter Five
The summer passed by too quickly for my liking. True to Eloise’s word, I learned how to fly, even race, Goldenwing, along with how to shoot and aim fire. When only two weeks remained in the summer, Charlie told me it was time to come home. I packed my trunks dutifully and lugged them down the stairs to the front door where Tait and Lacey were waiting to say goodbye to me. Lacey pulled me into a hug the minute I set my trunk down.
“You’ve got to owl me all the time, Ginny,” she told me sternly. I smiled and returned the hug.
“’Course,” I said as she released me. Tait pulled me into a hug next.
“Owl me, too,” he said and released me. They stepped aside and I noticed the Knight Bus, and the figure beside it. Draco was leaning rather impatiently on the side of the bus.
“Come on, Weasley. I don’t have all day, you know,” he said sourly. I rolled my eyes at him, but picked my trunks up and dragged them to the bus. Once they were loaded, we got on the bus and waved goodbye to the Council members that stood outside to see us off. Charlie would not be returning with me. I turned to face Malfoy, but found that he was across the bus and already climbing the stairs to the top level. Once on the top level we chose a large table and sat down at it. Draco spent most of the ride glaring at the table, as if it were doing some sort of truly heinous thing.
“God, Malfoy, what is your problem?” I sighed. He stopped glaring at the table to look up and glare at me.
“What does it matter to you, Weasley?” he sneered.
“You’re going to put me in a horrible mood by the time I get home, that’s what it matters to me,” I snapped. Inside I thought and I have a crush on you and therefore care about you and want you to like me, and not be all Malfoy-ish to me. There was no way I’d ever say those words aloud.
“If you must know,” he said, sighing and glaring at the same time, “I’m not exactly thrilled at the prospect of going home.” He turned away from me to look out the window, and I knew the topic was closed. Pity filled my heart; I wanted to reach out and comfort him, to hold him and tell him that everything would be all right. I might have done so, had he not spoken. “Don’t, Weasley. I don’t let anyone pity me, especially not Weasley's,” he said, turning to look at me. There was such an intensity of emotions in his eyes that I had to look away. I looked down at the table, blushing.
We didn’t speak again until we reached the Burrow. I looked up, suddenly ashamed at the state my house was in. I could see him physically restraining himself from making comments on my house. I got up quickly, determined to leave before anything more embarrassing could happen, when my mother came out of the house. Wearing her apron…her polka-dotted apron…over her striped dressing gown. I closed my eyes for a second and bit back a groan. I could hear Malfoy’s smirk.
“Lovely attire your mother has,” he said, unable to restrain himself any longer. I was about to reply to that, when he spoke again. “Have a good summer, Weasley.” I turned to him, smiling slightly.
“Have a good summer, Malfoy.” I continued down the stairs and off the bus. Once I was completely off the bus, there was a large Bang! and the bus was gone. Mum pulled me into a hug.
“Oh, Ginny, I’m so glad you’re back,” she said, tears running down her cheeks. I pulled away slightly.
“Mum, I can’t breathe,” I choked. She released me and wiped away her tears.
“Inside, now. I have breakfast waiting,” she said busily. I sighed contentedly as we made our way into the warm kitchen. As much as I loved Romania and the dragon reservation, there was nothing like home. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting at the table, eating breakfast, when I walked in. There was a scraping of chairs and Ron and Hermione launched themselves happily on me. Harry sat at the table, looking unsure as to how he was to greet me. They let me go, and I sat down across the table from Hermione.
“How was Romania?” Harry asked.
“It was wonderful,” I said, smiling dreamily. I heard Mum huff angrily, and didn’t continue my thought. Instead, I did an activity she approved of: I ate.
Several days later, I was finally used to being back home. I missed Goldenwing terribly, but I got several letters from Charlie reporting on her health. A week before school was to start back, I got a letter from Lacey.
Ginny,
It’s been so lonely here in France. There are no dragons to ride, people to tease, and no you to gossip with. I didn’t miss Romania this much last year; I guess it was because I didn’t get really close to a lot of people then. But it doesn’t matter. Soon I’ll be back at school and I’ll be with friends again. Mama says we’re going to Diagon Alley tomorrow- we might live in France, but she says the English are much easier to deal with- and I was wondering if you’d like to meet us at the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow at noon for some lunch and then school supply shopping. It would be wonderful to see you one last time before we head back to school. I’ve written Tait already to invite him, but his parents do his shopping while he’s in Romania, so I doubt he’ll be able to come. Contact me through Floo with your answer. Just ask for Chambre de Rachat. If I’m not waiting by the fireplace, just ask for me. I await your answer.
Tout mon amour,
Lacey
I set the letter down on my bed and hurried downstairs. I found Mum sitting in the living room, listening to the Wizarding Wireless and knitting.
“Mum, my friend Lacey- her family is good friends with Mad-Eye- wants to know if I can meet her and her mum in Diagon Alley tomorrow to do school supply shopping. Can I go? Please?” I begged. Mum looked like she was going to say no, but thought better of it.
“All right. We’ll all go. We need to be going anyway. Go tell your brother and his friends about our plans,” she said and continued on with her knitting. I rushed and gave her a hug.
“Thanks Mum!” I said and ran up the stairs to tell Ron, Harry, and Hermione.
The next twenty-four hours flew by quickly. Before I knew it, I was pulling on the skirt of my yellow sundress and stepping into the fire to get to the Leaky Cauldron. It was a particularly hot and muggy summer in London, so most witches and wizards were donning Muggle clothing. Cooling Charms weren’t helping much. Hermione was wearing a baby blue sundress that was very similar to mine.
“Ginny!” Lacey called out. I found her sitting next to a tall woman with graying brown hair and mauve robes. Lacey was wearing white shorts and a red shirt. She waved and smiled at me. I grinned back and headed towards her.
“Hallo,” I said, taking a seat beside her.
“Mum, this is Ginny, Ginny this is my mum,” Lacey said. We said our pleasantries and were soon joking and eating together.
“We’d better get started on our shopping,” I said, standing up from the table. Lacey agreed and followed me out of the pub.
“Where to first?” she asked, pulling out her list. I had already memorized mine.
“Madame Malkin’s. Charlie sent some money with me for new robes,” I said as we made our way to the robe shop.
“What can I do for you, ladies?” Madame Malkin asked us.
“She needs a set of Hogwarts robes, and I need a set of Beauxbatons robes,” Lacey said, smiling pleasantly at the woman.
“Right. Just set up here and I’ll get Trudy to measure you. TRUDY!” she called, turning around the open doorway behind her. A short woman with rosy cheeks came out, holding measuring tapes.
“How has your holiday been?” I asked Lacey as we got measured for our robes.
“Terribly boring since leaving Romania. I miss Noah so much,” she sighed wistfully, thinking of her dragon. I laughed.
“Noah isn’t the only boy you miss,” I teased, winking at her. She blushed a pretty shade of pink. Her blush left and a smirk found its way onto her face.
“Yeah, well, I can think of a certain blonde that you’re missing,” she said smugly. I rolled my eyes, and kept the blush from appearing in my cheeks.
“Honey, I don’t miss Gwyn the way you miss your guy. I don’t swing that way,” I said, sticking my tongue out at her. She giggled.
“Oh, come on, Ginny. You know you fancy him,” she whined. My eyes flickered at the two women who were measuring us.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I sniffed. I wasn’t about to tell anyone, not even Lacey, about my newly developed crush on Draco. I still wasn’t used to the idea of having it. Lacey laughed again.
“Sure you don’t. Invite me to the wedding, will you?” she grinned. I rolled my eyes, but chose not to reply. I looked forward and out the window in front of the shop. My breath caught in my throat as I saw who was glancing our way from across the street. He, too, was wearing Muggle clothes, although this didn’t surprise me at the time. He had on a simple white shirt and gray trousers. His hands were in his pockets and a house elf was walking behind him, carrying many packages. A tall witch with the same white blonde hair was standing next to him, looking into the window of a boutique on the opposite side of the street from Madame Malkin’s. She was wearing robes of deep red and was keeping the hem of it from dragging by holding her skirt slightly with delicately boned, jewel-encased fingers. Draco turned to the woman, whom I assumed to be his mother, and said something to her. She looked over at the shop and frowned slightly. He shrugged slightly and they came into the shop. Giggling from next to me brought me out of my daze. Trudy had just finished with Lacey’s robes, and Lacey, while pulling a few coins out of her purse, was giggling at me. Madame Malkin looked up at this disruption of the silence and looked to the door. Faster than one could say “Chudley Cannons”, she was on her feet and greeting the Malfoys.
“Mrs. Malfoy, Mr. Malfoy, it is always such a pleasure to have you here. What will you be requiring today?” she asked, wiping her hands slightly on her skirt. I frowned. Was she ever going to finish my robes?
“Draco here needs a new set of Hogwarts robes and some new dress robes. I’ll look around for some, shall I Draco?” Mrs. Malfoy said and, without waiting for an answer, started to browse through the racks.
“Of course. Step on to this platform, if you would, Mr. Malfoy,” Madame Malkin said, pointing to the platform that Lacey had just vacated. With a curt nod, he stepped on it. Madam Malkin seemed to have just remembered that she’d been working on pinning my robes. “Trudy, will you finish this young lady’s robes? Thank you,” she said in a very sing-songy voice. Trudy knelt in front of me and got to work.
“Hallo Malfoy,” Lacey said, grinning cheekily at him.
“Hello Lacey, Weasley,” he said, nodding at each of us.
“She has a name, you know,” Lacey said coolly, before I could say anything for myself. Draco looked calmly at her.
“I’m very well aware of that,” Draco said, and left it at that. I rolled my eyes.
“There you are, dear,” Trudy said, standing up. I gave the woman my money and left, promising to return in an hour and pick up my finished robes. Lacey linked arms with me as we made our way to Flourish and Blotts.
“He fancies you, Ginny. Why else would he have gone to Madame Malkin’s? I heard him complaining just before we left Romania about how horrible of a job she does, and how he gets all of his clothes from Gladrags, if not a bigger name,” Lacey smirked. I felt the uncontrollable blush creeping onto my cheeks.
“Maybe they’re in a money crunch since Lucius is in Azkaban,” I said, half-heartedly. Lacey let out a small laugh.
“Yeah right! The Malfoys have more money than anyone could spend in three lifetimes! Well, you don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to, but your first child had better be named after me,” she said, entering the bookstore. A small grin escaped as a single thought raced through my mind: Draco Malfoy might like me!
The day came to a close too soon for my liking, and soon I found myself hugging Lacey and promising to owl her every other day before stepping into the fire place and returning to the Burrow. Mum was waiting for me when I stepped into the kitchen.
“Ginny…let’s go to your room. I’d like to have a bit of a chat with you,” she said, trying to smile at me. I looked at her for a moment before replying.
“Um, okay, I guess.” We made our way up the rickety staircase before going into my room. I sat on the bed of my small room while she stayed standing, looking at the knickknacks around the room.
“You’ve gotten so old so quickly. It seems like it was just yesterday when you walked for the first time. We used to talk all the time, Ginny. It seems we haven’t had the time lately,” she said softly, picking up a picture frame from the dresser. The frame was red with pink jewels and the words Daddy’s Angel across the top. The picture in it was of Dad and me when we’d gone to Hogsmeade for my sixth birthday.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” I asked her as I crossed my legs. She sat down on the bed beside me.
“I just wanted to make sure that you didn’t do anything that you need to talk to me about, or that no one made you do anything you didn’t want to,” she said carefully. I was confused. Did Fred and George frame me for some prank they’d pulled?
“What do you mean, Mum?” I asked slowly.
“What I mean is...have you…you know. Taken the big step with a boy,” she asked in the same careful voice. My jaw dropped. What had made her think that?
“Of course not Mum! Why do you ask?” I asked, a little hurt that she would think I would go and do something like that with someone I barely knew. Sixteen or not, I could keep control of my hormones, thank you very much.
“Women dragon tamers don’t have the best of reputations, that’s all. Well, I’m relieved to hear that your reputation is still untarnished. I need to go and get dinner started. Ron, Hermione, and Harry are all in Ron’s room. Hermione told me to tell you to come on up when you got home.” With that, she left, shutting the door sharply behind her. My jaw was still slightly dropped. How could she say such horrible things about all the nice people that were dragon tamers? I shook my head and turned to my wardrobe. Fred and George were coming to dinner and if I knew them, there would be a Quidditch game and it was not good to wear a dress while playing Quidditch. I pulled out a pair of well-worn blue jeans and a black tank top and quickly changed into them and ran a brush through my hair before heading to Ron’s room.
When I got to his door, laughing could be heard from coming inside. I felt slightly jealous that they were in there, having a perfectly good time without me, but I pushed those thoughts aside as I knocked on the door. The laughter stopped and footsteps made their way across the room. The door opened to reveal Hermione who, like me, had changed into jeans and a white shirt. She smiled brightly at me.
“Come on in,” she said cheerfully. Harry was lying on Ron’s bed, reading Which Broomstick and Ron was sprawled across the floor, leafing through a new book. Hermione sat down on Ron’s cot, and I took a seat next to her.
“How about this one?” Ron asked, taking a bite out of a chocolate frog. “Bad Hair Day Curse. It gives them bad hair for about a week. Malfoy would hate to have his precious hair messed up for even an minute, let alone a week.” The Golden Trio laughed at this and I smiled slightly.
“I bet he spends hours in front of the mirror,” Hermione said, glancing into Ron’s own mirror and frowning at what she saw. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and secured it with an elastic band from around her wrist. The door was flung open and my twin brothers, whom I hadn’t seen in a year, came barreling in.
“Ginny!” George cried.
“So nice to see you again!” Fred said. They both grinned and caught me in a hug. I laughed. The twins had always been my favorite brothers, aside from Charlie.
“Mum sent us up to tell you that dinner’s ready,” George said as Fred swung me on his back and ran down the stairs.
Dinner that night was an enjoyable affair, as it usually was the night before we left for Hogwarts. Fred and George entertained with stories of their shop, and I told some stories of my stay in Romania. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had spent a boring summer at the Burrow, so there were no funny stories to tell from them. Too soon for my liking it was time for bed. Hermione and I changed into our pyjamas and crawled into my double bed. There was silence for a few minutes and, just as I was about to speak to Hermione, gentle snores told me she was already asleep. I smiled softly and rolled over so that I could also go to sleep, excited at the prospect of seeing Goldenwing again.
The summer passed by too quickly for my liking. True to Eloise’s word, I learned how to fly, even race, Goldenwing, along with how to shoot and aim fire. When only two weeks remained in the summer, Charlie told me it was time to come home. I packed my trunks dutifully and lugged them down the stairs to the front door where Tait and Lacey were waiting to say goodbye to me. Lacey pulled me into a hug the minute I set my trunk down.
“You’ve got to owl me all the time, Ginny,” she told me sternly. I smiled and returned the hug.
“’Course,” I said as she released me. Tait pulled me into a hug next.
“Owl me, too,” he said and released me. They stepped aside and I noticed the Knight Bus, and the figure beside it. Draco was leaning rather impatiently on the side of the bus.
“Come on, Weasley. I don’t have all day, you know,” he said sourly. I rolled my eyes at him, but picked my trunks up and dragged them to the bus. Once they were loaded, we got on the bus and waved goodbye to the Council members that stood outside to see us off. Charlie would not be returning with me. I turned to face Malfoy, but found that he was across the bus and already climbing the stairs to the top level. Once on the top level we chose a large table and sat down at it. Draco spent most of the ride glaring at the table, as if it were doing some sort of truly heinous thing.
“God, Malfoy, what is your problem?” I sighed. He stopped glaring at the table to look up and glare at me.
“What does it matter to you, Weasley?” he sneered.
“You’re going to put me in a horrible mood by the time I get home, that’s what it matters to me,” I snapped. Inside I thought and I have a crush on you and therefore care about you and want you to like me, and not be all Malfoy-ish to me. There was no way I’d ever say those words aloud.
“If you must know,” he said, sighing and glaring at the same time, “I’m not exactly thrilled at the prospect of going home.” He turned away from me to look out the window, and I knew the topic was closed. Pity filled my heart; I wanted to reach out and comfort him, to hold him and tell him that everything would be all right. I might have done so, had he not spoken. “Don’t, Weasley. I don’t let anyone pity me, especially not Weasley's,” he said, turning to look at me. There was such an intensity of emotions in his eyes that I had to look away. I looked down at the table, blushing.
We didn’t speak again until we reached the Burrow. I looked up, suddenly ashamed at the state my house was in. I could see him physically restraining himself from making comments on my house. I got up quickly, determined to leave before anything more embarrassing could happen, when my mother came out of the house. Wearing her apron…her polka-dotted apron…over her striped dressing gown. I closed my eyes for a second and bit back a groan. I could hear Malfoy’s smirk.
“Lovely attire your mother has,” he said, unable to restrain himself any longer. I was about to reply to that, when he spoke again. “Have a good summer, Weasley.” I turned to him, smiling slightly.
“Have a good summer, Malfoy.” I continued down the stairs and off the bus. Once I was completely off the bus, there was a large Bang! and the bus was gone. Mum pulled me into a hug.
“Oh, Ginny, I’m so glad you’re back,” she said, tears running down her cheeks. I pulled away slightly.
“Mum, I can’t breathe,” I choked. She released me and wiped away her tears.
“Inside, now. I have breakfast waiting,” she said busily. I sighed contentedly as we made our way into the warm kitchen. As much as I loved Romania and the dragon reservation, there was nothing like home. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting at the table, eating breakfast, when I walked in. There was a scraping of chairs and Ron and Hermione launched themselves happily on me. Harry sat at the table, looking unsure as to how he was to greet me. They let me go, and I sat down across the table from Hermione.
“How was Romania?” Harry asked.
“It was wonderful,” I said, smiling dreamily. I heard Mum huff angrily, and didn’t continue my thought. Instead, I did an activity she approved of: I ate.
Several days later, I was finally used to being back home. I missed Goldenwing terribly, but I got several letters from Charlie reporting on her health. A week before school was to start back, I got a letter from Lacey.
Ginny,
It’s been so lonely here in France. There are no dragons to ride, people to tease, and no you to gossip with. I didn’t miss Romania this much last year; I guess it was because I didn’t get really close to a lot of people then. But it doesn’t matter. Soon I’ll be back at school and I’ll be with friends again. Mama says we’re going to Diagon Alley tomorrow- we might live in France, but she says the English are much easier to deal with- and I was wondering if you’d like to meet us at the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow at noon for some lunch and then school supply shopping. It would be wonderful to see you one last time before we head back to school. I’ve written Tait already to invite him, but his parents do his shopping while he’s in Romania, so I doubt he’ll be able to come. Contact me through Floo with your answer. Just ask for Chambre de Rachat. If I’m not waiting by the fireplace, just ask for me. I await your answer.
Tout mon amour,
Lacey
I set the letter down on my bed and hurried downstairs. I found Mum sitting in the living room, listening to the Wizarding Wireless and knitting.
“Mum, my friend Lacey- her family is good friends with Mad-Eye- wants to know if I can meet her and her mum in Diagon Alley tomorrow to do school supply shopping. Can I go? Please?” I begged. Mum looked like she was going to say no, but thought better of it.
“All right. We’ll all go. We need to be going anyway. Go tell your brother and his friends about our plans,” she said and continued on with her knitting. I rushed and gave her a hug.
“Thanks Mum!” I said and ran up the stairs to tell Ron, Harry, and Hermione.
The next twenty-four hours flew by quickly. Before I knew it, I was pulling on the skirt of my yellow sundress and stepping into the fire to get to the Leaky Cauldron. It was a particularly hot and muggy summer in London, so most witches and wizards were donning Muggle clothing. Cooling Charms weren’t helping much. Hermione was wearing a baby blue sundress that was very similar to mine.
“Ginny!” Lacey called out. I found her sitting next to a tall woman with graying brown hair and mauve robes. Lacey was wearing white shorts and a red shirt. She waved and smiled at me. I grinned back and headed towards her.
“Hallo,” I said, taking a seat beside her.
“Mum, this is Ginny, Ginny this is my mum,” Lacey said. We said our pleasantries and were soon joking and eating together.
“We’d better get started on our shopping,” I said, standing up from the table. Lacey agreed and followed me out of the pub.
“Where to first?” she asked, pulling out her list. I had already memorized mine.
“Madame Malkin’s. Charlie sent some money with me for new robes,” I said as we made our way to the robe shop.
“What can I do for you, ladies?” Madame Malkin asked us.
“She needs a set of Hogwarts robes, and I need a set of Beauxbatons robes,” Lacey said, smiling pleasantly at the woman.
“Right. Just set up here and I’ll get Trudy to measure you. TRUDY!” she called, turning around the open doorway behind her. A short woman with rosy cheeks came out, holding measuring tapes.
“How has your holiday been?” I asked Lacey as we got measured for our robes.
“Terribly boring since leaving Romania. I miss Noah so much,” she sighed wistfully, thinking of her dragon. I laughed.
“Noah isn’t the only boy you miss,” I teased, winking at her. She blushed a pretty shade of pink. Her blush left and a smirk found its way onto her face.
“Yeah, well, I can think of a certain blonde that you’re missing,” she said smugly. I rolled my eyes, and kept the blush from appearing in my cheeks.
“Honey, I don’t miss Gwyn the way you miss your guy. I don’t swing that way,” I said, sticking my tongue out at her. She giggled.
“Oh, come on, Ginny. You know you fancy him,” she whined. My eyes flickered at the two women who were measuring us.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I sniffed. I wasn’t about to tell anyone, not even Lacey, about my newly developed crush on Draco. I still wasn’t used to the idea of having it. Lacey laughed again.
“Sure you don’t. Invite me to the wedding, will you?” she grinned. I rolled my eyes, but chose not to reply. I looked forward and out the window in front of the shop. My breath caught in my throat as I saw who was glancing our way from across the street. He, too, was wearing Muggle clothes, although this didn’t surprise me at the time. He had on a simple white shirt and gray trousers. His hands were in his pockets and a house elf was walking behind him, carrying many packages. A tall witch with the same white blonde hair was standing next to him, looking into the window of a boutique on the opposite side of the street from Madame Malkin’s. She was wearing robes of deep red and was keeping the hem of it from dragging by holding her skirt slightly with delicately boned, jewel-encased fingers. Draco turned to the woman, whom I assumed to be his mother, and said something to her. She looked over at the shop and frowned slightly. He shrugged slightly and they came into the shop. Giggling from next to me brought me out of my daze. Trudy had just finished with Lacey’s robes, and Lacey, while pulling a few coins out of her purse, was giggling at me. Madame Malkin looked up at this disruption of the silence and looked to the door. Faster than one could say “Chudley Cannons”, she was on her feet and greeting the Malfoys.
“Mrs. Malfoy, Mr. Malfoy, it is always such a pleasure to have you here. What will you be requiring today?” she asked, wiping her hands slightly on her skirt. I frowned. Was she ever going to finish my robes?
“Draco here needs a new set of Hogwarts robes and some new dress robes. I’ll look around for some, shall I Draco?” Mrs. Malfoy said and, without waiting for an answer, started to browse through the racks.
“Of course. Step on to this platform, if you would, Mr. Malfoy,” Madame Malkin said, pointing to the platform that Lacey had just vacated. With a curt nod, he stepped on it. Madam Malkin seemed to have just remembered that she’d been working on pinning my robes. “Trudy, will you finish this young lady’s robes? Thank you,” she said in a very sing-songy voice. Trudy knelt in front of me and got to work.
“Hallo Malfoy,” Lacey said, grinning cheekily at him.
“Hello Lacey, Weasley,” he said, nodding at each of us.
“She has a name, you know,” Lacey said coolly, before I could say anything for myself. Draco looked calmly at her.
“I’m very well aware of that,” Draco said, and left it at that. I rolled my eyes.
“There you are, dear,” Trudy said, standing up. I gave the woman my money and left, promising to return in an hour and pick up my finished robes. Lacey linked arms with me as we made our way to Flourish and Blotts.
“He fancies you, Ginny. Why else would he have gone to Madame Malkin’s? I heard him complaining just before we left Romania about how horrible of a job she does, and how he gets all of his clothes from Gladrags, if not a bigger name,” Lacey smirked. I felt the uncontrollable blush creeping onto my cheeks.
“Maybe they’re in a money crunch since Lucius is in Azkaban,” I said, half-heartedly. Lacey let out a small laugh.
“Yeah right! The Malfoys have more money than anyone could spend in three lifetimes! Well, you don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to, but your first child had better be named after me,” she said, entering the bookstore. A small grin escaped as a single thought raced through my mind: Draco Malfoy might like me!
The day came to a close too soon for my liking, and soon I found myself hugging Lacey and promising to owl her every other day before stepping into the fire place and returning to the Burrow. Mum was waiting for me when I stepped into the kitchen.
“Ginny…let’s go to your room. I’d like to have a bit of a chat with you,” she said, trying to smile at me. I looked at her for a moment before replying.
“Um, okay, I guess.” We made our way up the rickety staircase before going into my room. I sat on the bed of my small room while she stayed standing, looking at the knickknacks around the room.
“You’ve gotten so old so quickly. It seems like it was just yesterday when you walked for the first time. We used to talk all the time, Ginny. It seems we haven’t had the time lately,” she said softly, picking up a picture frame from the dresser. The frame was red with pink jewels and the words Daddy’s Angel across the top. The picture in it was of Dad and me when we’d gone to Hogsmeade for my sixth birthday.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” I asked her as I crossed my legs. She sat down on the bed beside me.
“I just wanted to make sure that you didn’t do anything that you need to talk to me about, or that no one made you do anything you didn’t want to,” she said carefully. I was confused. Did Fred and George frame me for some prank they’d pulled?
“What do you mean, Mum?” I asked slowly.
“What I mean is...have you…you know. Taken the big step with a boy,” she asked in the same careful voice. My jaw dropped. What had made her think that?
“Of course not Mum! Why do you ask?” I asked, a little hurt that she would think I would go and do something like that with someone I barely knew. Sixteen or not, I could keep control of my hormones, thank you very much.
“Women dragon tamers don’t have the best of reputations, that’s all. Well, I’m relieved to hear that your reputation is still untarnished. I need to go and get dinner started. Ron, Hermione, and Harry are all in Ron’s room. Hermione told me to tell you to come on up when you got home.” With that, she left, shutting the door sharply behind her. My jaw was still slightly dropped. How could she say such horrible things about all the nice people that were dragon tamers? I shook my head and turned to my wardrobe. Fred and George were coming to dinner and if I knew them, there would be a Quidditch game and it was not good to wear a dress while playing Quidditch. I pulled out a pair of well-worn blue jeans and a black tank top and quickly changed into them and ran a brush through my hair before heading to Ron’s room.
When I got to his door, laughing could be heard from coming inside. I felt slightly jealous that they were in there, having a perfectly good time without me, but I pushed those thoughts aside as I knocked on the door. The laughter stopped and footsteps made their way across the room. The door opened to reveal Hermione who, like me, had changed into jeans and a white shirt. She smiled brightly at me.
“Come on in,” she said cheerfully. Harry was lying on Ron’s bed, reading Which Broomstick and Ron was sprawled across the floor, leafing through a new book. Hermione sat down on Ron’s cot, and I took a seat next to her.
“How about this one?” Ron asked, taking a bite out of a chocolate frog. “Bad Hair Day Curse. It gives them bad hair for about a week. Malfoy would hate to have his precious hair messed up for even an minute, let alone a week.” The Golden Trio laughed at this and I smiled slightly.
“I bet he spends hours in front of the mirror,” Hermione said, glancing into Ron’s own mirror and frowning at what she saw. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and secured it with an elastic band from around her wrist. The door was flung open and my twin brothers, whom I hadn’t seen in a year, came barreling in.
“Ginny!” George cried.
“So nice to see you again!” Fred said. They both grinned and caught me in a hug. I laughed. The twins had always been my favorite brothers, aside from Charlie.
“Mum sent us up to tell you that dinner’s ready,” George said as Fred swung me on his back and ran down the stairs.
Dinner that night was an enjoyable affair, as it usually was the night before we left for Hogwarts. Fred and George entertained with stories of their shop, and I told some stories of my stay in Romania. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had spent a boring summer at the Burrow, so there were no funny stories to tell from them. Too soon for my liking it was time for bed. Hermione and I changed into our pyjamas and crawled into my double bed. There was silence for a few minutes and, just as I was about to speak to Hermione, gentle snores told me she was already asleep. I smiled softly and rolled over so that I could also go to sleep, excited at the prospect of seeing Goldenwing again.
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