Harry Potter 1. Chapter 1

Dumbledore stood up at the staff table in the Great Hall. "It's been a great year for all of us. You've all become a little wiser, a little older, and have become a pleasure to teach. For those of you who are leaving us this year to go out into the real world, I wish you the best of luck. Everyone have an enjoyable summer, and I hope to see you again in September ready to relearn the magic you lost over the summer!"

I looked down at my plate that had suddenly filled itself with food. Normally I would have immediately devoured the chicken pie that was on my plate but today I couldn't eat at all. I couldn't even be glad about the fact that Gryffindor had won the house cup for the eighth year in a row.

Colin looked over at me. "Hey, Ginny, why aren't you eating?"

"I don't know. It's kind of sad. It's our last meal here."

Colin laughed. He had grown up so much since our first year. His photography habit was annoying at first, but he had improved so much that he was going to be starting a job with the Daily Prophet in two weeks as a photographer.

"You know, we still have breakfast in the morning. That will be our last meal here."

I threw a biscuit at him. "You're so witty, you know that?"

"Witty, yes. It's one of the reasons why you love me," Colin said dramatically. I laughed. He had become quite popular over the past two years, ever since we went with Harry to defeat Voldemort in the Forbidden Forrest. It was a hard fight, and although people seemed to be attracted to both of us because of our newfound fame, he handled his popularity well. Colin is one of those guys who can be friends with everyone and still make them feel special, unlike Malfoy, who was popular while he was here even though he was a complete jerk. I know it's awful to say this, but sometimes I'm glad that I killed him in that final battle.

People started leaving the Great Hall. Soon it was just the seventh years that were left. We were supposed to be having some sort of ceremony, but Dumbledore didn't want students in younger years to find out. Ron told me about his last year, and I was upset that I wasn't allowed to go. This would be the first time that all of the Weasleys would be together for a graduation. I think my mum felt old, because the last of her children would be leaving Hogwarts.

"Students, if you could please stand up," Professor McGonagall asked. We all stood up and she made the house tables move toward the walls. Smaller tables and chairs appeared in the room and our families came in.

I saw the group with vivid red hair in the midst of the couple hundred people in the room. I ran over toward them.

"Mum!" I shouted, trying to get her attention. I could see her looking around the room for me.

"Ginny!" George yelled. He came up to me and gave me a huge hug. Soon I was in the middle of a large group of Weasleys, all of us laughing and crying.

"Families! If you could please take your seats," Professor McGonagall shouted. It took awhile, but soon everyone was seated.

Professor Dumbledore stood up. "I want to thank you all for coming. I also want to thank you for giving all of us the opportunity to educate your children, your sisters, your brothers for these past seven years. They have shown remarkable courage and determination. You should be proud of the achievements that these men and women have made. I hope that you all give them the support that they need to succeed in the world."

Everyone clapped. I looked at my family. I knew they would be there for me as I made my way out into the world. My mum was crying. The people at the next table over were looking at us.

"Mum," I whispered. "Mum, don't cry."

Fred laughed. "You should have seen her at Ron's ceremony. It was awful."

"Oh, shut up," Mum snapped.

"Before we start in on the food, there are some awards that I would like to give out," Professor Dumbledore said. 

"We wanted to wait until your families were here to give you this, even though it's been awhile since you fought." Dumbledore glanced over at our table and winked.

I stiffened up. I never do well with having to stand up in front of large crowds. One time I had to give a presentation in history and I was so nervous that I forgot most of my presentation. I still have nightmares about it.

"Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, and Colin Creevey, would you please come up here."

I got up and walked up to the staff table. Colin and Luna joined me up there.

"For pure nerve, bravery, courage, and strength, you have earned Special Awards for Services to the School."

I took my award and could feel my face getting bright red. I looked over at my family and saw them giving me a standing ovation. Mum was sobbing while cheering, and Fred and George were whistling.

The ceremony ended sooner than I would have liked. Soon it was time to go to bed, and then breakfast came so fast that I couldn't believe that I was in the Great Hall at all.

Colin came up and put his arm around me. "Ready for our last meal?"

I smiled weakly. We went into the Great Hall and ate. After we finished breakfast, everyone made their way to the train.

Luna, Colin, and I found a compartment on the train and shut the door. Luna and Colin were Head Boy and Girl, but since we were technically no longer Hogwarts students, they didn't have to perform their usual duties. Luna and Colin sat next to each other, and I sat across from them.

"Does anyone else feel old?" I asked after about an hour of silence.

Luna looked up from the magazine she was reading and Colin snapped out of his reverie.

"How can we be old?" Luna asked. "We're only eighteen."

"Think about it. Our time as little kids is over. Now we have to be adults and assume responsibilities."

"You're only as grown up as you want to be. Look at your brothers," Colin said. "You wouldn't think they were twenty one, would you? Sure, they work, but they have so much fun and act the same as they did when they were thirteen."

I laughed. "Okay, you're right."

Luna picked up her magazine and Colin put his head on her shoulder and fell asleep. No one else knew it, but they had been dating for a year. Word couldn't get out because they were Head Boy and Head Girl, and one of them would have had to give up their position. So they kept their romance a secret, and the only reason I knew about it at all was because they were my two best friends. It's hard to keep a secret from your best friend.

I got off the train and dragged my trunk behind me. Colin, Luna, and I walked through the barrier together.

"Well, guys, there's my dad," Luna said. She walked over to me and gave me a hug. "Ginny, I guess I'll see you later." She walked away. Colin gave me a hug and walked with her.

"Wish me luck," he mouthed to me behind Luna's back. I grinned and gave him a thumbs up. This was going to be the first time he met Luna's dad and he was nervous.

I walked a little and saw Ron, Harry, and Hermione waiting for me. God, Harry looked so good. He seemed to have built up some muscle since I saw him last during spring break.

"Hey," I said, slightly out of breath from carrying my trunk around.

"Are you ready to go home?" Harry asked as he took my trunk for me. I looked at him and smiled. He knew that I liked him and I knew that he liked me, but we had both decided during spring break that it would be best if we waited until after I graduated before we decided to try to work on a relationship. That didn't mean I didn't stop thinking about him every night though.

"Yeah," I said.

We walked out of the station and stopped at a black car.

"Why are we stopping?" I asked.

"We borrowed the car from the Ministry," Ron said. "Being the son of the Minster of Magic has its benefits, I must say."

"Yeah, too bad he doesn't know how to drive," Harry said as he got behind the wheel. Ron helped me put my trunk in the backseat of the car and we got in.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh, my darling girl, thank goodness you're home!" Mum squealed as we walked into the house. She pulled me into a hug so tight I couldn't breathe.

"Mum," Ron said. "Mum, she's turning blue. Let go!"

Mum let go of me and I breathed in deeply. I looked around the kitchen. For the most part, it looked the same, although one of the walls was now covered in pictures. I walked over to the wall.

"I like the collage," I said. Some of the pictures were of my brothers and me when we were younger. It was hard to look at at first, because of all of the movement. I looked closer and saw pictures of Bill's wedding, Charile's wedding, and pictures of Bill's son Jeff and Charlie's daughter Angela.

"So, Ginny, what are your plans for the summer?" my father asked as he walked into the kitchen and sat down with the rest of us at the table. Mum was busy making us dinner.

"Um, you know, I haven't really thought of anything yet." Actually, I had thought a lot of things over. But I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life yet. The only thing I did know was that I wanted to snog Harry. A lot. Every single day for the rest of my life. But I definitely couldn't say that to dad.

"Well, what about once the summer is over? Any ideas on what you want to do with your life?"

I sighed. Here's the thing. All of my brothers, even Harry and Hermione, knew what they wanted to do with their lives. I seemed to be the one lacking direction.

"Not really. I figured maybe I could take some time off, figure out what I want to do."

This seemed to make my father angry. "Ginevra Weasley! Life is not about taking time off to figure out what you want to do! You need to pick a direction! Be a housewife for all I care! But you need to decide what you want to do." He slammed his fist on the table. The kitchen was quiet. Even my mum had stopped peeling the potatoes.

I stood up angrily. Ron, Hermione, and Harry looked down at their plates, trying to stay out of the conversation.

"Fine. I'll pick a career. Thanks for welcoming me home, dad." With that, I grabbed my trunk and stormed upstairs.

AAAABBBBBAAAAA

"Ginny?" a soft voice said outside of my room.

"Go away!" I yelled, throwing a book at the door and covering my face with a pillow.

The door opened and I saw my dad come in.  
"Honey, I'm sorry. I've just had a rough day," he said quietly.

Tears started to form in my eyes. "I've never seen you act like this, dad."

He sighed, sat on my bed, and took my hand. "I know. I want to tell you a story."

"Okay."

"I was at work today, and one of my colleagues came into my office. Said he needed to talk to me. Do you remember Mr. Perkins?"

"Yeah."

"Well, his daughter graduated last year from Hogwarts. She was a good daughter, came home at respectable hours of the night, didn't smoke or drink. But then she made some friends over the summer, and her life went in a downward spiral."

"I wouldn't do that, dad." I felt a few tears slide down my cheek.

"I know, I know. And I'm sorry for yelling at you. But let me finish the story."

I put my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. I had stopped crying at this point but now my eyes were hurting from crying.

"Last night she was admitted into St. Mungo's. Apparently she was doing some sort of muggle drugs. She overdosed and died this morning. That's not all. She was also four months pregnant."

I opened my eyes. "Oh, dad, I'm so sorry."

He patted my head. "I know. I was just so worried. I don't want anything like that to happen to you. I don't want to lose my only daughter."

"Don't worry dad. You won't lose me."

He smiled. "I'm sorry for yelling."

"Me too. I'll pick a career soon, don't worry."

"You don't need to do that. I just want to make sure that you're happy."

He got off of my bed and walked out of the room.

AAAAABBBBAAAAA

I spent the next few days at home, helping my mum clean house. It looked as if Percy was never going to come back home, much less reconcile with my dad, so my parents had decided to let George move into his room.

"About time," he said as I helped him move his stuff into Percy's old room. "I mean, come on, we're twenty one. We need our own rooms."

I laughed. "You're twenty one. Shouldn't you have moved out by now?"

"Nah. I like it here."

"You guys have an apartment over the store," I pointed out as I carried a box labeled "Highly explosive" into his room.

"Yeah, not anymore. The guy who owns the building gave the apartment to his nephew, so we had to get out."

We spent the afternoon working on his room. I performed a color charm to change the color of his walls from the boring gray that Percy had to a nice green that suited his personality.

"So, how's it going with Harry?"

My face went pale. "I don't know what you're talking about," I said as I put some clothes into his dresser.

"Oh please. I know you like him. In fact, I know you love him," George teased.

I threw a sock at him and it bounced off of his head. "Shut up."

"You love him! You do! Oh my gosh."

"She loves who?" Ron said as he walked in, holding a sandwich in his hand.

I glared at George. He looked at me and must have known what I was thinking.

"Percy. She still loves him even though we know he's an idiot."

"Oh. Gin, you have to forget about him. He's not part of our family anymore."

I didn't say anything, but George was right. Even though everyone else had disowned Percy from the family, I still had hope that one day, we would see him again and he would come back to our family.

AAAAABBBBBAAAA

"So what kind of party is this again?" I asked Luna. I was sitting on her bed, getting ready for a party that she had invited me to that night. We'd been out of school for two weeks, and I was bored at home. I wrote to Luna, seeing what she was up to, and she had owled me back, inviting me to a party that some people she knew in London were having.

"Just a party, I think. Cho was excited because her quidditch team made the World Cup semi-finals."

The World Cup was going to be held in Wales this year, and I was hoping that Ron was going to be able to get tickets through his work. He was working in the accounting department for the Canons. I didn't really like Cho Chang very much, we just didn't get along, but Luna said that it was going to be a huge party, and so I probably wouldn't have to see Cho anyway.

"Cool. I didn't know Cho was playing quidditch."

"Oh yeah, she's a backup for England."

"Huh, I thought she kind of sucked when I played against her in my fourth year."

Luna laughed. "I dunno, maybe she does. But she's really nice, I don't see why you don't like her."

I looked in the mirror and put on some make up. "Hmm. Well, we'll see."

"Luna, Ginny," Mr. Lovegood yelled from the living room. Luna and her dad lived in a relatively small apartment, so it wasn't necessary for him to yell. "Colin's here."

"Hey, how'd that go anyway?" I asked as we quickly put on our shoes.

"You mean him meeting daddy? Fine, he really likes Colin. Which is good for me, I suppose."

We went into the living room, said our goodbyes to Mr. Lovegood, and apparated to London.

AAAAABBBBAAAA

"Wow, that's really loud music," I said as we walked up to Cho's house. She and her two sisters owned a house near Diagon Alley.

"Then it's going to be an excellent party!" Colin yelled. We went into the house and were immediately overcome with the sight that met us. Over a hundred people were at the party. A guy with a four foot afro was the DJ, and as we walked into the house, we passed a few guys doing a beer bong and a couple making out on the floor.

I turned to ask Colin if he knew what song was playing, but he and Luna had made their way over to the table and were getting some drinks. Firewhiskey, from the look of it. He was going to have a fun night tonight. Luna gets hyper when she drinks. Me, I don't really like the taste of alcohol, so I was always the sober one whenever we snuck out of the castle to go to parties in Hogsmeade.

I wandered around for awhile, running into people that I knew.

"Ginny!" Seamus yelled over the music. I walked over to him and saw him on the couch next to Susan Bones. Seamus was in Gryffindor with me, and Susan and I were in the Charms club together.

"Hey, Seamus, Susan," I greeted. "How goes it?"

"We're engaged!" Susan said happily as she tried to scoot away from a guy who had decided to dance on the back of the couch.

"Oh my god!" I shrieked. "Congratulations! When did this happen?"

"Back in February!" Susan replied. "We're getting married in a month. You will come, won't you?"

"Of course! Just send me an invitation!"

Seamus grinned. "We will, don't worry!"

I left them on the couch because they had started making out, and walked around some more. I needed to go to the bathroom, so I opened a door that I assumed would lead to the bathroom, and saw the event that changed my life.

Percy and Cho were on a bed, snorting cocaine. Percy and Cho then stopped, and Percy crawled on top of her. They started to kiss passionately.

I closed the door quietly, tears pouring down my face. My brother, the one I had so much faith in, was doing drugs and probably sleeping with that whore Cho Chang. I walked back out to the living room where the drinks were.

"Ginny, what are you doing here?" Ron yelled.

I pushed him away. "Leave me alone!" I yelled. I walked over to a table, grabbed a bottle, and drank out of it. Firewhiskey. I grimaced.

"There's nothing left in this!" I yelled when I went to take another sip. Zacharias Smith turned around.

"You want a drink?" he asked.

I nodded my head. He gave me a drink and I gulped it down. It tasted like vodka.

"More!" I yelled. He grabbed the bottle and gave me more to drink. One cup turned into four, and I very quickly became drunk.

AAAAABBBBAAAA

A/N: Okay, third time's the charm-I hope. First off, please leave a review! One review would make me really happy. This story is posted at another site, but this version is better (excluding the line breaks which I don't know how to do) because I've edited it and added a few things. My last note is that I really hope you guys like my story, and things will get tumultuous for Ginny in future chapters!


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up to the sound of Ron breaking a dish. I knew it was him because he breaks a lot of dishes and squeals like a little girl every time one breaks. I sat up, immediately lay back down, rolled to the side, and saw my world spin. Then I threw up.

"That's gross," Hermione said as she walked into the room. "Scourgify!"

"What are you doing in my bedroom?" I muttered, looking around for my clothes. I found my sweater at the foot of the bed and put it on.

"Why on earth is my brother making so much noise?" I asked. He was yelling something and I heard another dish break.

"For christ's sake Ron, keep it down. Stop breaking my dishes," Harry yelled.

"What's going on?" I was so confused. Harry's dishes? Throwing up? When did I put an owl cage on top of my dresser? When did I get an owl?

Hermione looked up from the newspaper that she had brought into my room with her. Wait, this isn't my room…

"You got very drunk last night," Hermione said. She looked at the paper again.

"Why is Ron so loud?"

Hermione laughed. "Because you got drunk."

"Obviously. Then why is he throwing dishes?"

"Ah. Well, you told him what you found out about Percy."

"What I told him…oh god, now I remember." A flood of memories came back to me. Percy on top of that stupid whore Cho, the cocaine, and vodka.

"Ron found out about Percy. Well, he hates him anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter." I fell back onto the pillows.

"How did I get in Harry's bed?" Oh merlin, I was in Harry's bed.

After he graduated, Harry moved into an apartment in London. He could have lived in Grimmauld Place, but he said that it was too big for his needs. He hasn't said it, but I think the memories of Sirius still haunt him.

"Does Luna know I'm here? I was supposed to spend the night at her house."

"Yeah, she helped calm you down. You were quite a sight last night."

"Oh no."

Ron and Harry walked into the room.

"What is your problem? Getting drunk like that? That was so stupid of you!" Ron yelled.

I covered my ears with a pillow. He was so loud that he was making my head hurt.

"Okay. I think I'm hung over. Stop yelling at me." I pulled the blankets over my head and closed my eyes.

I felt Harry get on the bed and pull the covers away from my face.

"Uh, Ginny, about last night," he started. "You were really drunk."

"How much did I drink?"

"I don't know. A lot."

I grumbled and pulled the covers back over my head. "What happened?" I didn't really want to know, but it's better to find out these things from your friends than find out later from people you hate later on.

Ron started to get angry. "That stupid git, I could kill him."

"Ron, let's go back in the kitchen. I'll make you something to eat." Hermione pulled Ron out of the room. She knows the way to my brother's heart. I was unhappy when they started dating at first, but I'm glad she's his girlfriend. She's made him calmer.

Harry crawled under the covers with me. Oh. My. God. I've never been this close to him before. He was so close I could smell his shampoo.

"You okay?"

"No. I don't know exactly what happened. I remember Percy kissing Cho Chang, but that's about it. Next thing I know, I'm in your bed."

"Do you remember drinking with Zacharias Smith?"

"No."

"Yeah. Apparently you were really upset about Percy and decided to drink your pain away."

"My father warned me against this. Oh, my head hurts."

Harry laughed a little. "That's what happens when you drink seven shots of vodka. Oh, and at one point there was firewhiskey involved."

"Why aren't you hung over?"

"Because we had just shown up when you decided to drink. By the way, you're a really good dancer, did you know that?"

I looked at Harry. He must be trying to play a joke on me. "Ha ha, really funny Harry."

"No, seriously. You were dancing on top of a table with Zacharias."

Actually, that would explain why my legs were sore. I never dance. The last time I danced was at the Yule Ball back in my third year. Neville stepped on my feet so many times that I was a little afraid to dance with anyone again.

"Thanks for the compliment then. I think."

"Yeah, it was overall a great party until the cops showed up."

Oh lord. Police? We were so loud that the muggle police showed up? Because wizarding parties are usually allowed to get pretty wild; the only enforcement that we have are parents.

"Why did the muggle police show up?"

"Well. It's kind of funny actually. They would have never have shown up if Ron and Zacharias hadn't gotten in that fight out in the middle of the street."

"Fight? I was so drunk I can't remember a fight?"

"Well, at that point, you had fled to a bathroom and you were crying. Hermione and Luna were trying to calm you down, and Colin and I were out front trying to keep Ron from getting arrested. In the end Colin had to Stun the two police officers so we could get Ron back to my apartment."

"Oh. Why was I crying?"

"Percy. Ron got mad that Zacharias let you drink so much, so they got into a fight, and so you were crying about that. Overall, you really just had too much to drink."

My head was spinning at this point. Not just because of the hang over (although that didn't help matters much), but because of all the information I had to take in.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm going to go back to sleep now."

He kissed the top of my head. If I hadn't already been laying down, I think I would have fainted. He got out of the bed and walked toward the door.

"By the way," he said, "you're a really good kisser."

AAAABBBBAAAA

I left Harry's apartment around the middle of the afternoon. He wasn't there when I left, which was a good thing, since I still can't remember when I kissed him last night.

I walked toward Percy's apartment. Percy didn't know it, but he and Harry actually live on the same block. Or maybe he does, but since I don't really talk to him anymore, I don't really know what he's up to. He left the family because of his support for Fudge, but Fudge was voted out of office two years ago and he still hadn't come home. Last I heard, when Dad became Minister, Percy quit his job and started working in a restaurant in muggle London.

"Percy! Open up!" I yelled, banging on his door. His door didn't open, but the door in the apartment next to his did.

"Shut up!" a foul looking woman screeched at me. She slammed her door shut.

"That was rude," I muttered. I knocked on Percy's door again. The door opened slowly but I couldn't see who opened it. I pushed the door open and walked inside. The house was a mess. There was garbage everywhere, it reeked of cigarette smoke, alcohol, and trash, and lying on the kitchen counter were used needles. Fantastic lifestyle my brother has going for him.

"Percy?"

"No," a woman's voice answered. I looked around the room. Cho was laying on the couch. She looked awful. She couldn't have weighed more than a hundred pounds and there were bruises and track marks all over her arms.

"Ginny, what are you doing here?" Percy asked as he joined us in the living room. He didn't look much better than Cho.

I could barely contain my anger. "Percy Weasley. How could you? You've abandoned your family, you're ruining your life, and now your messing around with this skank?"

"Don't call her a skank. I didn't ask you to come here. What do you want?"

He sat down on the floor and lit a cigarette. Cho sat down next to him and started kissing the back of his neck. What a slut. I'm not calling her that just because I don't like her. Which I don't. But I know for a fact she slept with at least seven guys in her last year at Hogwarts.

I looked around the room. Lying on top of a pile of newspapers was Percy's wand. I walked over to the pile and picked up his wand.

"Don't you ever bother to come near us again. You are no longer a Weasley. I was the only one who had faith in you, Percy. I defended you when everyone else started to say horrible things about you. Now I know why they said those things. You are a piece of filth unfit for society."

"I hadn't planned on ever stepping foot again in that hovel you call home. But thanks for telling me how you really feel. Get out of my house."

"You call this a house? This is a dump! But I'll leave you and your little piece of trash to your business." With that, I performed the Bat-Bogey hex on both of them, snapped Percy's wand out of frustration and fury, and walked out of the apartment.

AAAABBBAAA

I apparated home and walked into the kitchen. Mum was sitting in a chair near the fireplace, knitting a scarf and listening to the Wizarding Wireless.

"Where on earth have you been?" Mum screeched.

"I saw Percy."

Whatever Mum was expecting, it wasn't that. Every time someone mentions Percy's name, her face goes pale and she drops whatever she's holding. This time she dropped the scarf.

"How's he doing?"

I looked at her. Her eyes were so hopeful, so trusting, I couldn't bear to tell her the truth.

"He's fine, Mum. Just busy with his new job."

She picked up her knitting again and smiled. I walked out of the kitchen and up to my room. I sat down on the bed and started to cry.

A/N: Congrats to conformityissuicide for being my first (and only) reviewer! It's cool though because I had a lot of hits which still makes me happy!


	4. Chapter 4

The next two weeks were uneventful for the most part. I got the invitation to Seamus and Susan's wedding.

"You're going to a wedding?" Luna said incredulously. "Interesting."

"Yeah. I don't know what to wear though, and it's in two weeks."

I was sitting at a restaurant with Luna in muggle London. She has this weird fascination with muggle hamburgers, which she says are not the same in the wizarding world. She was working for her father now, writing articles for The Quibbler. I'm slightly jealous. She has a job, Colin has a job with The Daily Prophet, it seems like everyone has something to do now but me.

The waiter came by with our bill and left it on the table. I looked at it, and put down my half. I really need a job. What with lunch and the wedding, I'm not going to be able to do anything at all for the next three weeks. I could work for Fred and George, but the last time I did that I got my hair blown off and it didn't grow back for three weeks. I definitely don't want to go through that again.

We left the restaurant and went to Diagon Alley.

"I know a shop that you might be able to afford…" Luna started but stopped. I hate talking about money. She always has so much, and I have so little.

"Don't worry about it. Let's just go to this place, okay?" Luna nodded and led the way to a shop called Patil Occasions.

"Patil?" I said. "You don't mean Padma and Parvati, do you?"

We walked into the shop. There must have been a thousand dress gowns in there. The walls were a pale blue color and the shop was brightly lit.

"Wow," I breathed. Padma came up to us, slightly out of breath.

"Hey," she said. "Can you wait a moment? We're kind of slammed here."

She walked away and we started looking around. We quickly found pale yellow dress robes that looked good on me and were actually in my price range. I was going to ask Padma her opinion but she seemed too busy helping a woman capture her son who had decided to climb on top of the clothing racks. We walked up to the counter to pay. Parvati looked frustrated.

"Crap! I didn't add the last sale correctly!"

Luna and I just glanced at each other. The store was really busy, considering it was a Tuesday afternoon, when most people should be working.

"Uh, Parvati," I said. She looked up at me. "Ginny! How're things?"

"Alright, I'm just buying a dress for Susan Bones's wedding."

"Oh, you're going too? That's great!" She rang up my dress robes and I paid her.

"So, you guys sure are busy," Luna commented. Good job on stating the obvious.

"Yeah, and we're so short staffed, it's ridiculous." She looked down at the figures she was adding, then looked back up at us. "You guys wouldn't happen to want to work here, would you?"

Holy crap. Here it was, the opportunity I was looking for.

"Yeah. This looks like it could be fun."

Parvati laughed a little. "Okay. Come back tomorrow and we'll get you trained to work here."

I thanked her and we left.

"So," Luna said as we walked toward Fred and George's shop. "Nice lead in, wasn't it?"

"Brilliant. Couldn't have done it better myself."

Luna grinned. "I know."

AAAABBBBAAAA

"Hey you guys," Lee said as we walked into Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. He was working on some paperwork up at the counter. The store wasn't nearly as busy as Patil Occasions was.

I walked behind the counter and gave him a hug. Luna started looking around at the products on the shelves.

"Guess what?" I said, bouncing on my heels.

"What?"

"I've been offered a job!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, at a clothing store."

Lee started to laugh. "You? Working in a clothing store?"

I started to get angry. "Hey, I need the money. I notice that I haven't been offered a job here again."

Lee stopped laughing. "You'd really work here? After last summer?"

I thought about it for a moment. I really did want to work with my brothers, but then I remembered the situation with my hair last year.

"She can't work here," George said as he came up to the counter carrying a large pile of Extendable Ears.

"Why can't she work here?"

George put the pile down on the counter. "It's too dangerous."

"Oh, gee, thanks for putting my life on the line then." Lee looked a little upset. I think he just wanted me to work there so I could start introducing him to female customers.

"You know what I mean. Would you really want Ginny helping us test out our products? Last summer should have taught us all a lesson. Especially when Mum went ballistic on Fred after she saw Ginny's lack of hair. And that was after working here for one day!"

Lee thought for a minute. Some of their products really were dangerous. Fred came home from work one night during Christmas with a faucet sticking out of his forehead. Good thing mum and dad were at a party that night, because Ron and I ended up having to take Fred to St. Mungo's to get it removed.

"I suppose you're right."

I picked up some of the Extendable Ears and started to play with them. "It's cool, don't worry about it. I see enough of these two at home anyway."

George grinned. "Why are you here then?"

"To tell you that I've been offered a job."

"That's amazing! Where at?"

"Patil Occasions."

"The dress shop? You hate clothes!" George exclaimed, then he started laughing.

"You know what? It's a job. I need money. I could like clothes," I said, a little offended. I could like clothes. You know, if I had six sisters instead of six brothers.

"I'll just see you guys later. Come on, Luna." Luna put down the pack of Wizard Crackers she had been looking at (and they were good ones too, not like regular Wizard Crackers that had chess sets in them. These had fireworks, toys, and really nice candy in them) and we walked out of the store.

"My brothers suck sometimes."

Luna laughed. "I'm sorry." Luna was an only child, so she didn't really know what it was like to have to deal with annoying, irritating, and overall pains in my butt brothers.

AAABBBBAAA

"This dress is too big, I really need a size eight," Mrs. Malfoy said to me. I had been working at Patil Occasions for three days now, and I was starting to realize that maybe this wasn't going to be as fun as I had thought it was going to be.

"Mrs. Malfoy," I said, tugging the dress off of her head. The woman didn't need a size eight, she needed a size twelve. "I really don't think a size eight is the best fit for you."

"I think it is. I've never had this much trouble in this store before. Maybe I should just leave."

Padma could sense some trouble and came over to help. "Mrs. Malfoy, I'm so sorry, this dress is labeled wrong! This was a size four. Let me get a size eight for you. Ginny, will you help me find one in the back?"

We went into the backroom, where all of the extra clothes that didn't fit out on the floor were kept. "You know that is a size ten, right? And that she didn't fit in it?"

Padma pulled out her wand. "Uh huh, I know." She used her wand to change the number on the tag, make the dress wider, and gave it back to me.

"Don't be so surprised. She's one of our best customers. So, I just fix the clothes, she spends hundreds of galleons, and then I move on with the rest of my day."

I was amazed. This was outright lying. Then I realized that she was Malfoy's mum, and she deserved everything that she got.

I walked back out front and helped Mrs. Malfoy put the dress back on.

"See? A size eight is the right size for me! You were just being stupid." She walked over to Padma at the register, paid for the dress, and left the shop.

"She's so…so…evil!" I yelled. Padma looked around the shop. There was no one in right now. Then she started to laugh.

"I can see where Malfoy got his good graces from," she said sarcastically. I laughed too. I started to walk around the store, putting back the things Mrs. Malfoy had picked up to look at and then had thrown on the floor.

"How are your wedding plans coming along?" I asked Padma. She was going to be married in December to a man named Ritesh. He was a year older than her and had been in Hufflepuff when he went to Hogwarts. I'm surprised that she actually fell in love with him, considering it was an arranged marriage. Most wizarding families don't do arranged marriages, but Parvati and Padma's parents are from India, where they do have arranged marriages. They decided to stick with the custom when they moved here before the twins were born.

"Oh, good. I don't think Parvati is too happy though." Padma started to straighten a display in the window.

I know why Parvati is unhappy. Her parents had arranged for her to be married too, but when she met the man they wanted her to marry, she immediately knew that he wasn't the man for her. It didn't help that he was twenty years older than her and that she had been secretly dating Ernie Macmillan for two years now.

"Well, give her time. Maybe she just feels like she's losing you to Ritesh."

Padma nodded. "I know. I don't really want to leave home. But Ritesh is the one for me, Ginny. I can't live without him."

AAAABBBAAAA

"This is ridiculous!" Parvati said. She had taken over in the store so Padma could meet Ritesh's mum for lunch to discuss stuff for the wedding. I was still thinking about what Padma said. She had found the man she was waiting her entire life for, and now she gets to marry him. I love Harry with all my heart, and we still can't even get our act together so we can go out on one stupid date.

"What's ridiculous?" I said.

"My parents. They still want me to marry Anwar." Anwar was the man Parvati was supposed to be getting married to.

"Oh. What does Ernie think?" I always thought their relationship was unexpected. Ernie's very reserved and follows the rules, but Parvati is loud and feels that most rules are made to be broken. I still can't figure out how they got together.

Parvati looked around, went up to the front of the store, put a "closed" sign on the door, and pulled all of the shades down.

"Ernie proposed to me. We're going away so that we can get married and my parents can't find us."

"Oh my god," I said.

"We're leaving in three days. Don't tell anyone, especially my sister."

I nodded. Now I'm part of a secret wedding. This is either really cool, or one of the worst ideas I've ever heard.

A/N: Could someone tell me how to get line breaks to show up on here? I keep trying different ways, but they don't transfer over from my typed up version to the site. I know that this story doesn't seem that bad, but the drug use in chapter two and a fight that takes place in a later chapter pushed the rating up to M. Please take a minute to review!


	5. Chapter 5

Before I knew it, it was time to go to Seamus and Susan's wedding. I finished getting ready for the wedding at home, then apparated over to Harry's apartment. Luna and Colin hadn't been invited, so I was going to go with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Harry and Ron were going to be in the wedding as groomsmen, and Hermione and I were just guests.

I apparated to a spot outside of Harry's apartment building. I walked up the stairs to his apartment on the third floor, and walked into his apartment without bothering to knock. I knew I could do this because there are only a few people who know where Harry lives, and he figures that if he likes them enough to let them know where he lives, then he likes them enough to let them walk in as they please.

Hermione and Ron were sitting on the couch, waiting for Harry. Ron had spent the night here last night after Seamus's bachelor party. I don't even want to know what happened at it. Hermione was tapping her foot impatiently, and Ron was resting his head on her shoulder.

"Will you go get him?" Hermione said exasperatedly to me. "He's still not ready and we need to be there in ten minutes."

I walked over to Harry's door. "Harry? Are you dressed?" I yelled.

Nothing. I tried to open the door but it was locked. Maybe he was still in the shower. I pulled out my wand and used it to magically unlock the door. I walked into the room and saw Harry sitting on the bed in just a pair of pants. No shirt on at all. I didn't know he was so built. Enough muscles to look good, but not so many that he looked tacky. He looked as if he had taken a shower, because his hair was slightly damp.

He looked up from the newspaper he was reading. "Hey."

"You're sitting on the bed reading a paper. You know that we have to be at the wedding in ten minutes, right?"

"Uh huh, I know. I've still got time."

Typical guy. Waiting until the last possible minute to get dressed. Honestly.

"Harry James Potter!" I yelled, stamping my foot on the ground. "Get off of your lazy butt and get dressed right now!"

Harry's mouth opened slightly from shock. "Okay."

I walked out of the room. Hermione had a smile on her face and Ron had fallen to the floor, laughing hysterically.

"He'll be out in a minute." Sure enough, Harry came out of the room, pulling his dress robes over his head.

"See? Was that so hard?" I said.  
Harry laughed a little. "No. I don't see why we have to be there so early though."

"Harry!" Hermione yelled. "This is one of the most important moments in your friend's life! We can't be late to this."

"Yeah, yeah."

We apparated to the wedding. Seamus's mother had insisted that the wedding be at her house in Ireland. It took a couple of minutes to apparate just because of the distance. I was a little worried that I would get lost because I'm still kind of new to it and I've never apparated to another country before.

"Welcome, welcome!" Seamus's mother greeted. "Ron, Harry, come this way." Harry gave me a small wave as Mrs. Finnigan dragged them off to see Seamus.

Hermione and I walked around for a little bit. We were kind of early for the wedding because Ron and Harry had to be there for a last minute rehearsal.

"Ginny!" Padma exclaimed as she walked up to me. "You look amazing!"

I faked a smile. Parvati and Ernie had ended up leaving yesterday instead of a week ago like they had wanted to because Ernie needed to get one more paycheck from his job at the Leaky Cauldron before they could go. I think they ended up going to Australia to get married and settle down there.

"You haven't seen my sister, have you? She didn't come home last night," Padma said with worry in her voice.

"Uh, no, I haven't," I said. It's not exactly a lie, I just wasn't telling the whole truth. There's a difference, I swear.

We all made small talk for a little while and then we sat down on white chairs placed in the backyard. Soon the wedding began.

Seamus came down the aisle first and stood up at the front. Harry and Susan's sister came down the aisle next, followed by Ron and Susan's friend Kaitlyn. Then Dean, who was Seamus's best man, walked down the aisle with Hannah Abbott, Susan's maid of honor. Finally Susan came down the aisle. I actually got a little teary eyed. She looked really pretty in her dress robes.

The ceremony came and went, and Seamus and Susan were now husband and wife. I felt kind of sad, but happy at the same time. It's hard to see people you know doing things that are considered to be grown up.

AAABBBAAA

We walked down the receiving line and I gave Harry a hug. "This wasn't so bad, was it?" I whispered in his ear.

"No. It was actually kind of fun."  
I had to walk away from him since the line kept moving (and some stupid cow behind me pushed me because she wanted to meet "the famous Harry Potter!"), and I gave Seamus a hug as well. "Where are you going on your honeymoon?" I asked kind of quietly.

Seamus smiled and winked. "Can't tell you, it's a surprise."

Boys are so frustrating.

We all ate, although Hermione and I had to sit at a different table than Ron and Harry did.

"I can't believe Parvati didn't show up," Padma said as we were eating dinner. "This is so unlike her, she was talking about how she really wanted to come yesterday."

I knew that Parvati really did want to come to this wedding. She and Ernie had to leave in a hurry though, because Parvati's parents had told her that her engagement party to Anwar was going to be in a week. They still believed that she was going to marry him. In a way, it's actually kind of funny. Funny in a whole "oh my god, my life is doomed" sort of way.

"It's time for the bride and groom to have their first dance together!" Seamus's mother yelled.

Seamus and Susan walked onto the makeshift dance floor and danced. Soon other people joined them.

Ron came over to Hermione and led her to the dance floor. Harry came up and stood next to me.

"You want to dance?" he said casually.

I nodded and we went over to the dance floor. A slow song came on and he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"You look really nice tonight, Ginny," he said.

I put my head on his shoulder. "Thanks. You look good too."

"Uh huh, okay."

"No, really. You smell amazing too."

Harry laughed. "Thanks." He pulled my head away from his shoulder and looked into my eyes.

"What happened between us?" Harry asked me.

"When?"

"When we decided not to date. Why did we say that? Why did we drift apart?"

I thought for a minute. "We decided not to date because you had to do your whole "saving the world" thing. We both knew that it couldn't work if you weren't there with me at Hogwarts."

Harry nodded. "I know. I knew that then. But I wish we could have had the past year and half together. I've missed you."

I smiled. "I've missed you too. I don't think we drifted apart, I think that we were just so busy making our lives work that we didn't have the opportunity to talk to each other everyday. But you're still one of my closest friends."

"Thanks for making me feel better about the situation between us," Harry whispered into my ear as we passed Ron and Hermione.

"If I kiss you right now, will you get mad?" I asked, a little fearfully.

"You kissed me that night when you were drunk and I didn't get mad. That was after you threw up too."

Oh lord. I kissed him after I threw up. I don't think I want to kiss him ever again.

"I don't want to kiss you anymore." I could feel my face getting red with embarrassment.

Harry smiled. We danced a little more, and the song ended. I pulled away to go sit down, and he pulled me back toward him.

"Ginny," he said. "Don't feel bad. I liked it." He pulled me very close to him and kissed me.


	6. Chapter 6

"Harry kissed you?" George asked incredulously. I was sitting in his room while he was working on some papers from the store. He had asked me about the wedding and I was trying to tell him what happened.

"He kissed you? I don't understand," George said, the confusion growing on his face.

"Well, George, you see, kissing is when two people press their lips together in order to physically express an emotion."

He threw a wadded up piece of paper at me. "I know what kissing is. But why would he do that?"

"Hey!" I said as I stood up angrily. "Just because you don't realize I'm a girl doesn't mean that other people don't."

"Okay, okay, relax. I just didn't know that Harry liked you in that way."

I sat back down. Does Harry like me in that way? He did, once, but that was over a year ago. Maybe he has found someone new since then and was just caught up in the moment.

"I didn't think about that. Maybe he doesn't."

George sat in his chair looking uncomfortable. He knows something that I don't.

"Spill it, George Weasley. What do you know?"

A smile played across his lips. "Nothing, Ginny dearest. Nothing at all."

What a liar. Fine. He can be that way for all I care.

AAABBBAAA

"Look at this dress! It's so gorgeous!" Lavender Brown squealed from a dressing room to my right. She and Hannah Abbott were in the store looking for something to wear on Saturday night.

"That looks really good on you," I said, walking past them with several shirts in my hand. We had recently expanded our merchandise so that we carried muggle clothing as well as wizarding formal clothes. Padma was hoping to entice a younger market.

"Thanks," Lavender said. "I have a date on Saturday."

"Oh, have fun with that." Lavender usually had a different boyfriend every couple of months, so I didn't even want to ask who she was going out with on Saturday. She claims she's just playing the field. I think she doesn't know what she wants. Hermione thinks she's a slut because Lavender went out with Ron for a brief while back at Hogwarts, then went out with five other guys after Ron broke up with her. Personally, I think Hermione's just a bit jealous because Lavender dated Ron first.

I walked back to the register area and pulled out some inventory sheets. Padma was working on hers as well, a frown on her face.

"What's wrong?" I said, concerned.

"I'm always so bad at this. Parvati usually does this. But no, she had to up and run away."

I tried to look surprised. "What do you mean?"

"I mean she sent my parents an owl the same night as Susan's wedding! Do you know what she did?"

"No," I said, maybe a little too quickly.

"She went and got married! To Ernie Macmillan!"

"Oh," I said softly.

"I don't understand why she would do that. And they're living in Australia now!"

I looked thoughtful. "Maybe she really loves him."

"I don't know. But my parents are furious. They're going to go bring her home once they figure out exactly where she's at in Australia."

Oh lord. Maybe I should try to warn her before things get ugly.  
"Ernie Macmillan! One of the world's biggest dorks, and my sister goes and marries him! What's the world coming to?" Padma ranted as she threw her quill down on the counter.

"Maybe they love each other?" I offered timidly.

Padma pursed her lips and bent back over her work. Hannah and Lavender walked up to us, arms full of clothes.

"Are you ready to pay now?" I asked. They put their things on the counter and I rang them up.

"Didn't you have a lovely time at the wedding?" Lavender asked me.

"Yeah, it was nice. Do you know where they ended up going on their honeymoon?"

Hannah laughed. "I know. Susan sent me an owl yesterday. They're in France and won't be back for another two weeks."

"I bet France is a nice place." I've never been to France before. I've always wanted to visit the Eiffel Tower.

"It was nice seeing you again," Hannah said as they gathered their bags full of new clothes. I wish I were rich like that. Hannah's father is a healer at St. Mungo's, so she gets a large allowance. Lavender works really hard at a tea shop in Hogsmeade but doesn't have any bills to pay because she lives at home so she spends the money on whatever she wants.

I let out an audible sigh. Lavender and Hannah had already left, so only Padma heard me sigh.

"What's up?" Padma asked.

"I wish I were rich. I also wish I had a date to go on this weekend. Luna and Colin are eating dinner at Colin's house on Saturday so it's a lonely night for me."

"You want to hang out with me then?" a male voice said suddenly. We both looked toward the door and Harry was walking toward us.

Padma bent over, pretending to pick something off of the ground but I could hear her laughing. I had told her all about the kiss at the wedding.

"Hey, Harry," I said casually.

He came over to me and leaned across the counter. "I mean it, Ginny. Why don't you go out with me on Saturday night?"

I smiled. "Okay."

"Be at my house at seven? I have to work on Saturday so I can't come pick you up."

"Sure." It was best anyway. If he showed up at my house trying to take me out on a date, George and Fred would most likely hex him before hand just to make sure Harry behaved himself on our date. Stupid brothers.

"I have to go now. Duty calls," Harry said sarcastically as a magical pager went off. He was working at the Ministry now, learning how to become an Auror. When he wasn't in class, he had to do odd jobs in the muggle relations department.

"See you Saturday!" I yelled after him as he walked out of the shop.

Padma came back up, her face red with laughter.

"Looks like Ginny Weasley has a new boyfriend. Ginny has a boyfriend, Ginny has a boyfriend," she taunted.

"Shut up!" I said, laughing too.

AAABBBAAA

I apparated over to Harry's on Saturday night. I was excited. Padma and I spent the rest of the week looking at clothes trying to find the perfect outfit and working on my hair so that I looked good for our date. Harry had owled me on Friday telling me that we were going to go to a muggle movie. I've never been to a muggle movie before.

I walked up to the apartment building and saw a woman standing at Harry's front door. Must be a sales woman. I started to walk up the stairs and heard Harry open the door.

"Lavender," he said, surprise in his voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for our date, silly," she said coyly. What? I don't understand what's going on. Harry's supposed to be going out with me tonight.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked. I walked up the stairs and stopped at the landing. His apartment was three doors down from the stairs.

"Don't you remember the other day at the Leaky Cauldron?" Lavender asked.

"No," Harry said, a little irritated now. He still didn't see me.

"Then maybe this will help you remember." She pulled him to her quickly and kissed him passionately. My eyes started to well up with tears and I ran back down the stairs, banging my hip on the railing as I made my way down.

"Ginny!" I heard Harry's voice yell. "Ginny, come back!"

I heard him yelling but I didn't care. I ran to the point where I usually apparate from and apparated home.

AAABBBAAA

I walked into the house, still wiping tears from my eyes, and found mum crying at the kitchen table. George, Ron, and Fred were standing around her with grim looks on their faces.

"What's wrong?" I asked, putting my stuff down on the table.

"Percy!" Mum wailed, crying even harder. Ron put his arm around her, and George pointed to the clock.

I looked up at the clock. It showed his face pointing at "dead."

"What? No, that's not right," I said, my voice croaking a little.

"It's true, Ginny," Fred said quietly. "I went over to his apartment. He was just lying on the couch, eyes wide open and not moving at all."

I sat weakly down at the table. This went from a really good day to one of the worst days of my life within the time span of an hour.


	7. Chapter 7

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust," Mr. Allen said. We all grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it on Percy's coffin. Mum started to cry. We watched the dirt fall on the coffin and rise up slightly, covering our black robes with a fine layer of dust.

My parents had a large backyard, so his grave was going to be under a tree near the edge of the property. There are very few wizarding cemeteries around Britain, and although we could have put Percy in one of those, I think my parents wanted him to be home.

Two days ago Percy died. After I came home from Harry's house my brothers told me. I went with George and Fred to Percy's apartment. We found him lying on his couch, eyes wide open, a needle still sticking out of his left arm and a needle gripped tightly in his right hand. His apartment, if possible, was in worse shape than it was in when I was last over there. The floor was covered in trash, and there were ants everywhere. We tried to move his body to make it easier for Fred and George to carry him but rigimortis had already set in. Fortunately Percy had a fireplace in his bedroom, so we were able to Floo back to the Burrow using the little bit of Floo powder George found in a pot under Percy's bed. It was a very awkward trip home. Mum was surprised to see me appear in the fireplace because we had all stopped flooing now that we could all apparate. She screamed when she saw Fred and George supporting Percy's body between them.

Bill and Charlie picked up shovels and started to bury Percy. Mr. Allen (who officiated over wizarding ceremonies in our community) and Dad stood at the head of the grave, talking in hushed tones. Mum started crying harder, so Hermione and I took her back to the house. Bill's wife, Charile's wife, and the children followed us to the house.

"My poor baby!" Mum wailed. "What kind of monster would hurt him like that?" Mum had seen all of the scaring on his arms. She thought that someone had come into his house to steal his belongings and murder him.

"It's just awful, Mrs. Weasley. Would you like me to make you some tea?" Hermione offered.

"Yes, dear. I'm going to go up to bed now," Mum said vaguely as she wandered upstairs. The others followed her upstairs.

"What is your mum talking about?" Hermione asked as she started to make tea. I sat down at the table.

"She thinks Percy was murdered."

"Oh. So what really happened?"

"Overdose. He was clutching a needle in his hand when we found him."

Hermione gasped. "I had no idea."

"Yeah," I said grimly. "I still can't figure out how Fred and George found out though."

The door opened and closed, and Harry, Ron, Fred, and George all walked in, eyes slightly red.

"How did you find out, George?" Hermione asked.

"How did you know he was dead?" I asked at the same time.

The boys all sat down at the table. "Well, one of his friends came to see us."

"Percy had friends?" Ron asked. Hermione kicked him underneath the table. "Sorry, sorry, you know, it's Percy."

"Ha ha, funny. Anyway, his friend came to see us because he hadn't seen Percy at work in a few days," George continued. "So, we decided to go to Percy's apartment to see what was going on."

"Then we found him on the couch. Cho Chang was huddled in a corner, crying," Fred finished. That's great, that stupid whore was the last person Percy ever saw. We all sat in silence for a while until Bill, Charlie, Mr. Diggory, and Dad came in.

"How's mum?" Charlie asked as he washed his hands at the sink.

"Oh my gosh, the tea!" Hermione exclaimed.

I was sitting in the living room, looking at a magazine when Harry came in. I couldn't bear to be in the kitchen any longer. I wanted this day, this week, this month to end. One of my brothers was dead.

"Ginny, I'm sorry about Percy," he said softly. I kept my head down, pretending to read an article about make-up charms.

"Ginny, come on," Harry pleaded.

"Harry, I really don't want to talk to you right now," I said quietly. He sat down next to me, but I scooted farther away from him.

"Ginny," he said, grabbing my hand. I pulled it away.

"Don't talk to me Harry. I don't want to speak to you right now," I said loudly.

"Why?"

I started to cry. "Come off it, Harry. You really don't know?"

"Why you're mad at me? Not really."

"Because you led me on!" I spat. "I really believed you were interested in me."

"You're still mad about Lavender? You know I don't like her in that way."

"That's not what it seemed like!" I shouted. I stood up and the magazine fell to the floor. "You kissed her, Harry! You kissed her!"

He stood up too. "I didn't kiss her! She kissed me!"

"Oh, right, whatever," I said. "Go away, Harry."

"Fine. I'm going. Tell your family goodbye for me." He apparated out of the room.

I sunk to the floor, hands covering my face and tears dripping from my eyes. I heard the sound of two people apparating (probably Ron and Hermione) and felt someone sit on the floor next to me and put their arms around me.

"Go away," I muttered.

"Ginny, why don't you go to bed?" Charlie said. I moved my hands so that I could see him through my fingers.

"I don't want to go to bed. It's five in the afternoon," I said.

"Well, go upstairs and change then."

I sighed. "Fine, fine." I stood up and went over to the stairs. "Why do boys suck?" I asked.

Charlie laughed. "Why are women so confusing?" he countered.

I smiled. "Good point."

I sat down at the desk in my room. In my grief, I had almost forgotten about Parvati. No need for someone else's life to be ruined if I can save them.

I wrote a letter to her, telling her that her parents were coming. I found Ron's owl and sent him on his way to Australia. Hopefully she could think of a plan to make her parents happy with her marriage to Ernie.

Charlie knocked on my door. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said. "I mean, no, but I'm going to be."

He walked away and I collapsed onto my bed, exhausted from anger and grief.

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has been reading my story! There are only two reviews, but my stats are showing that you guys are reading. How come 20 more people read chapter 4 than chapter 3? Is it not showing up anymore? Please review if you've got a minute!**


	8. Chapter 8

I walked along the River Thames in downtown muggle London with Colin and Luna in mid November. I pulled my coat closer to me to try to keep warm. Normally we don't ever come to this part of London, but Colin was going to propose to Luna and needed me to be there to photograph the event. He has pictures of everything, including their first date.

We stopped at a little dock that had a bench on it. Luna sat down.

"Isn't it beautiful here?" Luna commented, eyes wide open. "Colin, tell your friend thank you for recommending this place." She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, as if trying to savor the last of the fall air. I saw Colin fumbling around in his pocket, looking for the ring we both picked out two weeks ago.

"Luna," Colin said softly. I walked a little bit away, just in case the bad thing happened and she said no. I really wouldn't want to see that. I pulled out the camera Colin had given me and focused it.

"Luna," he said again. He got down on one knee. Luna stopped looking at the boats on the river and looked into his eyes. I took a picture.

"Colin, what are you doing?" Luna asked.

Colin smiled. He opened the ring box and pulled out the ruby and diamond ring we had picked out. I took another picture.

"Luna, I've loved you ever since I saw you in our first year wander into the Great Hall fifteen minutes after the rest of us had been sorted. I knew then that you were amazing and unique. I've watched you grow into a magnificent woman, and I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Luna Lovegood, will you marry me?"

"Yes," she said as he put the ring on her hand. Through my happy tears I was able to take a few more pictures and then I ran up to them.

"I'm so excited for you!" I said as I gathered them into a group hug. It's been a while since I've had anything really happy to look forward to.

AAABBBAAA

Padma slammed her purse down on the counter at work a couple of days later. "Do you know what my foolish sister has done?" she said loudly.

"No," I said, very confused. After the letter I had written, Parvati wrote me back saying that her parents had already been to her house but she had refused to leave. Then Ernie hexed Parvati's father and kicked him out of the house.

"She's going to have a baby!" Padma exclaimed.

"Oh," I said softly.

"This is awful!"

"You know, she is married."

"It doesn't count! He's not even Muslim!"

I grimaced and looked down at the table. Padma's point of contention with this whole event was that Ernie was not Muslim like Parvati was. In their culture, it is very bad to marry a non-Muslim, much less have a child with them.

"You know, she does love him."

"Love? What is love? How can she love someone so different from us?"

"Isn't it more important that she's happy? So what if he's not from the same culture as you?"

Padma calmed down a little. "I suppose you're right."

"This child will be related to you, whether you want them to have a child or not," I continued.

Padma smiled. "That is true. I would like to have a child around to spoil."

"Nieces and nephews are fun. You can spoil them, and at the end of the day, they go back to their parents. It's way better than having your own children."

"Good point," Padma said as she picked up her purse and walked toward the back room. I sighed with relief and went back to folding clothes.

The bell above the door rang and Harry walked into the shop. Like I needed this today.

"Harry, what can I do for you?" I asked with feigned politeness.

"Ginny, I've been thinking. This is a big misunderstanding. I really do like you. Please, please, please, just go out on one date with me."

I looked at him. This was Harry, after all. The man I've been dreaming of for eight years. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding.

"You really aren't dating Lavender Brown?"

"Are you serious? I never have, and never will date Lavender."

"Okay," I said. "But this time you have to pick me up."

Harry smiled and we made arrangements for our date later that night.

AAAAABBBBBAAAA

I was upstairs getting ready when I heard a pop downstairs.

"Ginny, Harry's here!" Mum yelled up the stairs. I finished my hair, grabbed my purse, and ran downstairs.

"Fred, get off!" Harry yelled. At first I couldn't see him because he was buried under Fred and George.

"Not until we've had our say. If you hurt her in any way, we will make sure that you suffer for the next two weeks," George threatened as Fred kicked Harry in the shins.

"Guys, that's enough," I said, rushing over to Harry. I grabbed his hand and pulled him up off of the floor.

"It's okay, Ginny," Harry said as he brushed himself off. "They're just looking out for you."

I glared at my brothers. They flinched a little and ran out of the room.

"Wow, Ginny, you look amazing," Harry said appreciatively. I should look amazing. Padma and I spent three hours making this dress because none of the ones in the store were good enough for this date. I wanted Harry to know what he had been missing out on.

"Where are we going?" I said sweetly.

"A café near Buckingham Palace. I'll meet you there?" he said.

I nodded and we apparated out of the house.

AAAAABBBBBAAA

"I've never been to this place," I said as we walked into the café. Apparently it was a wizarding café that served to wizard tourists.

"Well, I thought we'd try something new," Harry said as we followed the hostess to our table.

No sooner did we sit down that hordes of women came up to the table. "Harry Potter!" they squealed. "Can we have your autograph?"

I rolled my eyes. Everywhere Harry goes there's somebody who wants his autograph. Hello? We're on a date here.

"No, no, I'm here with my friend, I'm sorry," Harry apologized.

"Look! It's Ginny Weasley!" a woman yelled. Even more people came up to our table. Soon we had no choice but to sign autographs.

"Excuse me, excuse me!" the hostess of the restaurant yelled. "Mr. Potter, Ms. Weasley, I'm so sorry about this. We have a table in the V.I.P. room if you'd like some privacy."

I looked at Harry, who was signing some woman's hat, and I nodded. We got up from the table and went into the V.I.P. room.

"This room is gorgeous!" I gasped as we walked in the room that was decorated to look like Buckingham Palace. We sat down at the table and ordered our food.

"Ginny," Harry started. "Why do you work?"

What an odd question. Kind of invasive, too. "Because I have to," I said curtly.

"I'm sorry. It's just…your dad is the Minster of Magic."

"There are seven kids in my family, Harry. People get in debt with that many kids. So, I work so that my parents don't have to support me. Besides, I don't know what I want to do with my life, and working kills time until I make that decision. Look at you, you're rich, you have two inheritances, and you still work."

Harry looked down. "Think about how I got that money. I don't really deserve it. I work so that I don't have to use it."

I never thought about it like that. He must miss his parents and Sirius terribly. We sat in silence until the waitress brought our food to the table.

"Harry, this is really good. Good choice," I complimented.

"Are you having fun?"

"Yes! I'm just sorry that it took us so long to get together again."

"It's okay." He grabbed my hand underneath the table.

There was a commotion outside of the door. "Miss, you can't go in there!" the hostess yelled.

"You can't stop me!" a woman yelled back. The magically locked door burst open and Lavender Brown came in.

Great. Just great. I finally get to go out on a date with Harry, and the stupid whore shows up.

"Harry Potter, how dare you?" Lavender hissed. I looked back and forth between them. "I can't believe that you're cheating on me with that little tramp."

I clutched my wand angrily. She's the one who sleeps around, not me!

"Lavender, for the last time, I'm not your boyfriend," Harry said firmly. He got up from the table.

"You have to be!" Lavender said.

"I can't be your boyfriend. I just don't like you in that way."

"You have to be! Harry Potter, I'm pregnant with your baby!" Lavender yelled. The whole restaurant became silent.

I stood up. "Harry, I'm leaving. I've had enough of this." I walked out of the restaurant.

"Ginny, wait!" Harry yelled after me.

"No! Go back to your girlfriend!"

I ran down the street crying. Soon I found myself outside of the Leaky Cauldron. I went in and got a table.

"A glass of firewhiskey, please," I said. One glass turned into three, and I found myself staring down my fourth glass of firewhiskey. Why did it keep looking at me that way?

"Ginny?" a man asked. I looked away from the glass. We'll finish this later, punk.

"Neville?"

Neville sat down next to me. "Are you sure you should be drinking?"

"I don't care. Stupid Harry. What are you doing here?"

"I was in Diagon Alley picking up some things for my grandmother." He pointed to the bags that were on the floor next to him.

"Neville, I can't do this anymore," I sobbed as I burst into tears. I put my head on his shoulder.

"What's the matter?" he said sympathetically as he gently rubbed my back.

I ended up spending the whole night in the Leaky Cauldron with Neville, telling my sad story to him.


	9. Chapter 9

The sunlight came into my room and blinded my eyes. I pulled the covers over my eyes and curled up into a ball.

"So bright," I muttered.

"What's so bright?" a voice asked. I screamed.

"Ginny! It's Neville," Neville said.

I opened my eyes. Nothing but a blue blanket. Wait, I don't have blue blankets. Am I in Neville's room? No, I can't be.

I sat up in bed and looked around. Sure enough, this is Neville's room. Sure enough, that's Neville in bed next to me.

"Morning," I said as I rubbed my eyes. "What happened?"

"You cried a lot. You must have been tired if you can't remember," Neville said.

"Wait, wait," I said. "I did cry a lot. Then stupid Malfoy showed up. So I tried to hex him," I faltered. I couldn't remember what happened next.

"He knocked you out. So I brought you back here. Only I put you on the couch," Neville explained.

"I must have woken up and crawled in here. Sometimes at home I fall asleep on the couch and stumble to bed in the middle of the night."

Neville got out of bed. I covered my eyes. He might sleep in his boxers like my brothers do. When the Weasley men walk around in boxers, it's not a pretty sight.

"Ginny, it's okay, you can open your eyes."

I opened my eyes. He was wearing an undershirt and a pair of pajama pants with snowmen on them.

"Oh. Hey, cute pants!"

AAABBBAAA

Neville left for work (he works as an assistant to Professor Sprout at Hogwarts but doesn't live at the castle) and I went home. Since he lives in Hogsmeade, it was easy for me to apparate out of his apartment. It's harder in muggle London, where you can't apparate out of buildings that muggles live in, like at Harry's apartment.

"Where have you been?" Mum roared as I walked into the house. "Gone all night, no note, nothing! Where's Harry? He and I need to have a little chat." She was holding a rolling pin in her hand, waving it around threateningly.

"I'm going to bed, Mum," I said as I walked through the kitchen and to the stairs.

"Freeze!" Mum said. She pointed her wand at me and I froze. "Sit." Using her wand, she made me sit.

"I'm going to ask you one more time. Where were you last night?" Mum said sternly.

"Mum. I was not at Harry's house last night," I said, starting to feel sad.

"Well then, where were you?"

"At Neville Longbottom's house."

"Neville's house? What were you doing there?" Ron said as he came downstairs.

"I spent the night there."

Mum's face became red. Ron's got even redder. You could have fried an egg and some bacon on his face.

"Relax. I got into a slight duel with Draco Malfoy and was knocked out. Neville took me there to recover. I didn't wake up until this morning."

Mum's face returned to its usual color although Ron's didn't.

"I'll kill him," Ron said as he made for the door.

"Ronald Weasley. Sit down," Mum ordered. Ron sat down next to me.

"Okay, Ginny, you need to let me know next time you are not coming home. Ron, I don't want you killing anyone over this. Azkaban isn't worth it."

Ron and I looked down at our hands. I hate being yelled at. It makes me feel like I'm five instead of eighteen.

"Sorry, Mum," I apologized.

"That's quite alright. Who wants breakfast?"

AAABBBBAAAA

"I met a new girl last night," Fred said to me. I was on my lunch break and was hanging out at his shop.

"Really? Do tell," I said, intrigued. George has been dating Katie Bell for almost two years now. Fred tends to go out with a girl for a couple of weeks but doesn't make much of a commitment.

"Her name is Tasha. She's really pretty. She's into comic books, which is so cool," Fred said excitedly.

"That's good, I'm happy for you," I said.

"Yeah, she's coming over for dinner next Friday."

"That's cool."

"Is he going on about that girl still?" George said as he came to the back of the store. "He can't shut up about her."

"Don't make fun, I'm happy for him. He's being brave enough to bring home a girl. I believe you brought home Katie after you dated, what, eight months?"

George's face got red with embarrassment. "Shut up."

I looked at the clock on the wall. It was shooting out purple sparks, which meant it was two o'clock and time for me to get back to work.

AAAAABBBBBAAAA

"It's a dinner party?" I asked dumfounded. "What's that?"

"Well," Mum said as she worked on her knitting. "It's a thing we're having for your father's office. But you have to have a date."

"Why?"

Mum rolled her eyes. "That's what dinner parties are. Everyone has a date. You sit around, eat, and have a good time. With a date."

My spirits sunk. Lovely. Everyone else in my family has a date but me. Wait a minute. I know who to invite!

"Mum, I'll be back," I said as I got up and kissed her on the cheek. I apparated to Neville's house in Hogsmeade.

"Neville!" I yelled as I walked through his apartment. Since that fateful evening in which I ended up in Neville's bed, I've spent a lot of time here. Neville and I were friends at Hogwarts, but now he's become one of my best friends.

"Ginny?" he shouted back.

"Are you in the shower?"

"Yeah!"

I sat down on his bed, waiting for him to come out. He came out, but he wasn't dressed.

"Oh my god!" I yelled.

"Oh no," Neville said.

"Wow, I am so sorry," I apologized as I stumbled out of his room. Neville got dressed and came out to the living room.

"Um. I came to invite you to a dinner party my parents are having," I said, not able to look Neville in the eyes.

"Oh. Ginny, I can't be your date. I'm sorry, but I just don't like you in that way."

My spirits fell. I seemed to have developed a bit of a crush since I spent the night in his bed.

"Oh, it's okay. I didn't mean like that. I just can't go if I don't have a date."

"You mean your parents wouldn't let you go?"

"No, cause it's some sort of party for my dad's office."

Neville sighed. "I don't know, I'm kind of seeing someone right now. They wouldn't be happy."

"You have a girlfriend? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know, of course you can't go with me. It's not important anyway."

"Ginny, I don't have a girlfriend."

I was confused. He said he was involved with someone. But he doesn't have a girlfriend.

"I'm confused. Who are you involved with?"

Neville sighed again. "His name is Justin Finch-Fletchly. He went to Hogwarts with us."


	10. Chapter 10

"Wait, what exactly happened?" Luna asked me. It had been a couple of weeks since I had seen her and she knew nothing about my date with Harry.

"Things were going fantastic. I thought maybe it would be our time to get together. Then Lavender Brown shows up."

"Oh no," Luna groaned. "She always seems to ruin everything."

I sighed. "She did. She told everyone in the entire restaurant that she was pregnant with Harry's baby."

Luna gasped and put her hands to her mouth. "Oh, no. Are you serious?"

"Dead serious. So I left. Then I ran into Neville Longbottom and spent the night at his house."

"You spent the night at his house? Why?"

"I was tired. Didn't want to go home. I'm pretty sure there was a fight with Malfoy involved. But Neville's a great guy."

"Mmm hmm. Great guy, huh? So when are you going out with him?" Luna asked.

"Well, I don't like him like that. But he is going to go with me to my parents' dinner party on Friday."

"Oh good, I'll see you there."

Huh? I thought Mum only invited a few people. I'm confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Colin's covering the event for the Daily Prophet and I'm his date. Your parents invited us, didn't you know?"

"No," I said slowly. Maybe I should pay more attention when Mum is talking at the dinner table. This party is turning out to be a bigger deal than I thought.

AAABBBBAAAA

I apparated home and took a walk. It's December, but the woods near my house are so beautiful that I don't mind the cold outside.

I sat down on a log near a stream. The animals have all gone into hibernation or have flown south. In the summer it's different, there are so many things to look at. There is this deer that always comes up to me when I'm here. I've named it Blackberry because of the spot on its forehead.

A twig snapped behind me. I stood up and pulled my wand out, ready to curse if necessary.

It was an owl, bearing a letter. I put my wand in my pocket, pulled the letter from the owl's talons and it flew away. I looked at the handwriting on the front of the envelope; it looked familiar but I didn't know for sure whose it was. I ripped open the envelope and pulled the letter out. It was from Harry.

_Dear Ginny,_

_This was the only way I knew how to contact you because I figured you didn't want me to come to your house. I'm sorry for the way things turned out. I wish that you and I could be together, but we can't. This situation with Lavender has made all of our lives complicated. I need to figure some things out first before I can see you again. Please forgive me for all the things that I've done to hurt you._

_Happy Christmas,  
Harry_

I balled up the letter and threw it to the ground. How can I forgive him? He led me on for almost a year and at the same time was with Lavender. That jerk.

I pulled my wand out. "Incendio." The paper began to burn in spite of the snow and I walked home.

AAAAABBBBBAAAA

In the year that my father has been Minister of Magic, my parents have paid off their bills and have done major improvements on the house. All of the bedrooms were expanded. The house overall looks more like a mansion now than the decrepit building it used to be. I still don't see how we're to host a dinner party though; the table in the dining room seats twenty and it seems like more people than that are coming.

"Mum," I said on Wednesday morning before the party. "How many people are coming to this thing?"

Mum looked up from her knitting. "About three hundred."

"Where are we putting everyone? I don't think this house can hold three hundred people."

"We're not having it here. I thought we went over this already."

I racked my brain, trying to think. Nope. Can't think of what she's talking about.

"No, I don't remember," I lied. It's easier to lie than to admit I don't pay attention when she's talking.

"At The Gardens, Ginny. Now, don't you think you should bring your dress down so I can press it before Friday?"

I walked upstairs. Since when can we afford to have a party at The Gardens? The Gardens is this amazing hotel in Diagon Alley. It has two ballrooms and only the richest wizards and witches stay there. In fact, I had to use my discount at work just to buy a dress to this party because Mum and Dad wouldn't give me any money to buy a dress. You know who hasn't reaped a lot of rewards since Dad became Minister of Magic? Me. Why am I the last to know these things?

AAAAABBBBAAAA

"I want to thank you all for coming," my father said. "I'm hosting this party to express my appreciation and gratitude for all of the support and help you've given me in my first year in office!" Besides my family, much of the Order (actually, everyone excluding Snape, because nobody likes him), many of the affluent members of our community and people my father worked with were at the party.

My father's assistant, Pierre Rosen, stood up. "To Minister Weasley!" he said as he raised his glass of champagne in the air.

"To Minister Weasley!" everyone toasted. Pierre clapped his hands. The food appeared on our plates and everyone began to eat.

"Aren't you glad you decided to come with me?" I said to Neville, who was eying his lobster apprehensively. We were sitting at a table with my brothers and their dates.

"Yeah, it's all really nice. But what is this?" Neville said, poking his lobster with his fork.

"It's a lobster. I don't know, I've never had it before either," I said, poking my lobster too. My family has never been able to afford lobster before.

"It smells weird. Fred, make it go away," Tasha whined. I had met Fred's new girlfriend earlier in the evening. She seemed pleasant for all of ten minutes.

"Oh, honey, let me take it away. I'll get you a steak," Fred said hurriedly. He took her plate and rushed to the kitchens. She has made him stupid. I know for a fact he can conjure up a steak, because I've seen him do it several times after George has attempted to make dinner.

Hermione's eyes grew wide but didn't say anything. I just stared after my brother. He's never acted like this before. Tasha sat there, smoothing her napkin in her lap and checking out Charlie, who was discussing Quidditch with Ron and George.

"Stupid bitch," I muttered under my breath. Neville heard me and laughed, spitting out the bit of lobster he had finally tried.

AAAAABBBBAAA

Dinner ended; the tables disappeared and the chairs moved to the walls. The lights dimmed and a band appeared on the stage at the end of the ballroom. They started to play a slow song and people went out on the dance floor. When did a dinner party consist of dancing?

"Hey, Neville," I said. He was talking with Professor Sprout about work. "I'll be back, okay?"

"Sure," he said. I walked out of the ballroom and took a deep breath. There were a lot of people in there and it was a bit overwhelming.

I went into the bathroom and found all of my brothers' dates sitting on a couch.

"Wow, this is kind of a creepy coincidence. Did my brothers do something to piss you all off?" I said jokingly.

"Good, you're here," Katie said.

"Is this a meeting?" I asked. This was a weird coincidence.

"It's just, well, your mother is kind of scary," Katie said timidly.

What a weird comment. "Okay," I said slowly.

"Look, all of your brothers seem to do what she wants them to do," Fleur (Bill's wife who I especially don't like) said.

"I know," I said. I didn't know how to respond to that.

"This is boring. Can I go now?" Tasha complained. Here we are, having a family meeting, and she's whining.

The other women looked at each other. "Fine," Hermione said simply. Tasha walked out.

"Crazy, skanky pain in the butt. Remind me to hurt her later," I said. I walked over to the door, looked out to make sure no one was coming, and magically locked the door shut.

"Okay, this is weird. Can someone please just tell me what's going on?" I said impatiently.

They looked at each other again. "I'm pregnant," Katie said simply.

Oh my god. You have to be kidding me.

"Wow," I said. "I mean, wait. I'm happy for you, but my mother is going to be furious."

Katie started to cry. Megan (Charlie's wife) put her arm around Katie's shoulders.

"That's what we were afraid you were going to say," Megan said.

"Have you told George yet?" I asked Katie, my mind still spinning.

"No," Katie sobbed.

I paced around the bathroom. "Okay. We need a plan. Because if she finds out in the wrong way, she will curse you horribly."

AAAAABBBBAAAA

We came up with a plan. We straightened our hair, makeup, and dresses, and walked toward the bathroom door.

I opened the door and George facing me. "What's kept you all so long?"

I looked at the other women. The first part of our plan was going to happen sooner than we thought.

"George, Katie needs to talk to you," Hermione said as she pulled George into the bathroom. The rest of us left, leaving Katie and George alone in said bathroom. We had made it about ten feet down the hallway that led to the ballroom when we heard cheering. George came bolting out of the bathroom, a huge smile on his face. Katie came out too, although she was not smiling.

George ran into the ballroom. We all followed. He ran up to Fred, who was dancing with Tasha. "Fred, guess what?" George yelled. Tasha looked pissed that George had interrupted her "dance" (although we all knew she was dancing like an idiot) with Fred. It was hard to hear because the music was so loud.

"What?" Fred yelled back. The music started to get quiet. Oh no. This isn't going to happen. Please let George stop yelling.

"I'm going to be a dad! Katie's pregnant!" George yelled. Unfortunately for him, the music stopped right at that moment and the entire room heard him tell Fred that Katie was pregnant. Everyone stopped moving and stared at my brothers.

"Oh my god!" Mum screamed. Then she fainted and fell right to the floor.

A/N: Yes, I know, some of you are upset that I made Neville gay. Hey, I rated this story M for a reason! But don't worry, I won't focus on Neville's relationship much. Other than that, I hope you've all liked what I've written so far. Please leave a review!


	11. Chapter 11

Holidays

"Oh, no," George groaned. He looked around, found Katie, and they ran out of the ballroom.

"Molly!" Dad shouted. He ran toward her and picked her up. He was carrying her in his arms to a chair when she woke.

"What do you mean, she's pregnant?" Mum yelled. Other people started looking at each other. It was as if the group made a collective decision to leave, because the room was filled with the sound of almost three hundred people disapparating.

"Mum," Charlie said. "George isn't here."

"Good thing he isn't. If you see him, you tell him that if he and that tramp try to come home, I'll curse them both. They are no longer welcome at the Burrow." With that, she picked up her purse and disapparated home.

Dad sighed. "I'll see you all later." He disapparated as well.

Hermione flicked her wand and the chairs lining the room started to stack themselves.

"Fred, I'm bored," Tasha whined. "Let's go do something."

"Okay, honey pie. We'll see you all later," Fred said. He took Tasha's hand and they walked out of the ballroom.

"Wow. I think I'm starting to hate her," I said. Tasha seems to only think of herself. I've known her for all of three hours and I want to beat her with a stick.

Ron laughed. Hermione frowned. "I'm sure there is something nice about her that Fred likes," Hermione said reproachfully.

"Maybe it's a love potion," I muttered. We finished cleaning up the ballroom and left.

Christmas day was not a happy day. Mum started crying when she realized that Percy wasn't at the table. She purposely kept George's plate off of the table, but she had inadvertently set Percy's place at the table. She spent the rest of the day crying and silently cursing George.

Fred had invited Tasha over for Christmas dinner ("She and her mother don't get along" he told Dad) which ended up being a mistake. She whined about how the room was too warm and wouldn't shut up until Fred put out the fire, forcing the rest of us to freeze during dinner. Ron and I spent the rest of the dinner cursing her under our breaths.

I was in my room listening to the Wizarding Wireless when I heard yelling from George's bedroom.

"Get out of my house!" Mum yelled. I ran toward George's room. I slid to a halt in the doorway.

"Mum, this is my house too," George yelled back.

"Do you pay the bills around here? No. So get your belongings and get out. I never want to see you again! I cannot believe the shame you've brought upon the family!" Mum picked up a shoe and threw it at George's head. She missed.

"Mum, you're being unreasonable. You should be happy. You're going to have another grandchild," I commented.

"Ginerva Weasley, now is not the time," Mum said in a deadly tone. She thinks she can boss me around, but not this time.

"No. I'm happy for them," I said loudly.

"Oh you are, are you? You think it's okay for two people their age to be unmarried with a baby on the way?" Mum yelled.

"Whether it's okay or not, it's going to happen! So suck up all those negative feelings you have and accept this." I yelled.

"That's it. I will not tolerate any child of mine talking to me like that. You can get out of my house too!" Mum screeched. She took out her wand and pointed it at me. "You both have ten minutes to gather your belongings and get out of my house."

I walked to my bedroom. "Are you serious?" I said in disbelief.

"Pack!"

I packed up my belongings. It didn't take long because I don't have that much stuff.

"Mum, I love you."

"Out!" She cast a spell at me that caused boils to pop up all over my skin. I picked up my trunk and ran out of the house.

I took the Knight Bus to Hogsmeade. I was pretty sure that Neville would let me stay with him in his apartment until I found a place to live.

It started to rain. I got off of the Knight Bus and dragged my trunk behind me. A carriage came by, splashing me with mud and water. I reached Neville's apartment building and knocked on the door. 

"Ginny!" Justin said with surprise. Justin Finch-Fletchley was a guy in my brother's year who I didn't know too well outside of Hogwarts. Come to think of it, I didn't know him too well while we were at Hogwarts, but that's not the point. "Come in, come in!" I wasn't expecting Justin to be there but I went inside anyway.

"Where's Neville?" I asked as I set my trunk down on the floor. I pulled out my wand and magically dried myself off. "What are you doing here?"

"Neville's at work and I am making a casserole for dinner. Oh, and I live here now," Justin replied, taking my cloak from me and putting it on the coat rack.

"Oh, I see," I said. There go my plans of staying here for a few days.

"Ginny, let me help you with that trunk." He took my trunk and put it in a corner of the room so that no one would trip over it.

"Now. Sit down. What happened?" Justin asked.

"My mother threw me out of the house because I defended my brother," I said, starting to cry a little.

"Oh. Yes. Neville told me something about your brother getting some girl pregnant. I'm sorry to hear about that," Justin said.

"Why? It's not my problem. This is what I get for being nosy and trying to get involved in other people's business," I defended. I sat down on the couch while Justin finished dinner and began to cry.

Neville came in the door. "I'm home!" he greeted. "Ginny, what are you doing here?"

I started crying harder and walked hurriedly to the bathroom. I locked the door and slumped down against the wall.

"Ginny!" Neville yelled. "Open the door!"

"No!"

"Ginny, you do realize I'm a wizard?" He must have used his wand to unlock the door because he came in and sat on the counter.

"Now. Justin told me what happened. So you are going to stay here for a few days until your mum calms down and then you can go home. Okay?"

I sniffled and nodded. He came over and gave me a hug.

"It's going to be okay you know," he said sympathetically.

Padma and her fiancé had gotten married a few days ago and were on their honeymoon, so I was left to watch the store by myself. It was New Year's Eve and I was just about to close the store when Harry came in.

"Go away," I said. "Don't even start with me."

"Ginny," Harry said softly. "Lavender isn't pregnant."

"What are you talking about? Yes, she is."

Harry sighed. "Lavender's not my girlfriend. I've never been on a date with her. We don't have a relationship."

"Please, Harry, why would she lie?" I said in disbelief.

"Because she's crazy."

"Oh, that's a horrible thing to say!" I exclaimed.

"No, I mean it. She's manic depressive and she lied to make herself feel worthwhile."

"Oh."

"Yeah. I've just stayed away all this time to give you space. Please, Ginny, forgive me."

I opened my mouth to say yes, I would forgive him, when Neville walked in.

"Hey, Ginny, ready to go home?" Neville asked. Ever since I moved in, he and Justin have become incredibly over protective and insist on dropping me off at work and picking me up at the end of my shift. "Oh, hi Harry."

"Hey, Neville."

"Ginny, I've made a really good dinner for tonight. You're going to love it!" Neville said excitedly.

Harry looked at us. I finished closing up.

"Ginny, I have to go," Harry said. "Neville, I'll be seeing you later." Harry left the store.

"Neville!" I yelled.

"What?"

"You totally ruined it! I was about to forgive Harry!"


	12. Chapter 12

I stayed away from my house for a month. It wasn't worth trying to go home before then. I spent New Years' with Neville and Justin. We ended up having a small party at the apartment. I didn't get a New Years' kiss, but I didn't care.

It was the beginning of February when I decided to go to my brothers' shop to see what they were up to. I also wanted to see if I could go home yet.

"Ginny! Long time no see," Lee greeted as I walked in.

"Hey, Lee. How're things? Get a girlfriend yet?" I said as I wandered around the shop. It was relatively slow because many of their customers were at Hogwarts. During the school year, the shop does a lot of mail order business.

"You know what? I actually do have a girlfriend," Lee said. "I hear you're seeing someone as well."

My eyes opened wide with surprise. Who am I seeing? I'd like to get in on that action.

"Who told you that?"

"Harry."

Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no.

"Really?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

"Yeah. Oh, hi Fred!"

Fred came into the shop with a large canvas bag over his shoulder and smiled at me. "We get so much mail these days that we can't have the owls come into the shop. So they go to the owl post office and I have to go pick it up there." He dropped the bag on the floor and a few letters spilled out of it.

"So, Ginny," he said, regaining his composure. "What can I do for you?"

"Do you have any idea when I can come home?" I asked. No point in beating around the bush.

Fred sighed. "I really don't. Mum seems bent on kicking all of us out of the house. Did you know Ron and Hermione have their own apartment now?"

I gasped. "What? When did this happen?"

"Couple of weeks ago. Ron said that he wanted to move in with Hermione once summer started and she got mad and said he might as well move in with her now. So he just up and left."

"So I'm not coming home any time soon, am I?"

"Nope. I hate being there alone. Now Mum has no one to boss around but me. You might as well find yourself a permanent place to stay, Gin. I think she and Dad want the house all to themselves."

Fantastic. Now what am I going to do?

"Wow. Okay. You wouldn't be able to tell me where Ron lives now, would you? I kind of miss him, annoying as he is."

Fred and Lee both laughed. "I don't really know. But George does, if you want to wait for him to get here."

I decided to wait until George came in. Apparently he comes in later than Lee and Fred do because he has to take care of Katie in the morning. I guess she has horrible morning sickness.

George walked in, brushing snow from his clothes. "Ginny!"

"Hi, George. How's Katie?"

"Except for the horrible morning sickness, fine."

"So do you know where Ron lives?"

"Yeah, actually. He lives in the same place I do."

"You do?" Fred asked. "I didn't know that."

"He doesn't want Mum to find him so he doesn't want anyone to know. I wasn't even supposed to know but I ran into him the other day."

"Well, where does he live?"

"In Hogsmeade. In an apartment."

Wait a minute. I live in Hogsmeade and I haven't seen anybody! Wait a minute, there's only one apartment complex in Hogsmeade and I live in it! What in the world?

"Interesting. So are you going to tell me which one or do I have to find it myself?"

"Sorry, can't tell you. Have fun looking!"

"George, you suck."

"Yep."

I hexed him (he really doesn't look good with elephant ears) and left the shop. Now that I think about it, no wonder I never see them. I usually apparate from place to place but don't really take the time to walk around Hogsmeade, much less my apartment complex.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Neville said happily as he came into my room.

"Mmm hmm. Good night now," I said sleepily as I buried my head under a pillow.

"Up! This is going to be a good day!" Neville said as he bounced onto my bed.

"Too early. My day off. No one to love. Me sleepy. Go away."

Neville pulled the blanket off of me and grabbed my ankles. "I'll pull you out of bed," he warned. I grabbed the edge of the mattress. 

"Go ahead and try."

Neville pulled and I fell off of the bed. "Ow."

"Get dressed! It's already three in the afternoon."

"You're freakishly strong, did you know that?"

"Yep. No complaints from Justin though."

Oh dear god, I so do not want to know. I got dressed and we left for Hogsmeade. My store was closed for the holiday, so I had the day off.

"Where's Justin?" I asked.

"He had to work. He asked us to stop by though."

Justin works as a manager at a flower shop in Hogsmeade. We went in to say hello, but he was really busy so we left.

"So what are you two doing tonight?" I asked.

"I dunno yet. It's a surprise."

"That's cool." Tonight I would be going to Luna's house. She and Colin insisted I hang out with them tonight because they didn't want me to be all alone.

We walked into the Three Broomsticks and saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione. By instinct and out of fear I grabbed Neville's hand.

"Harry! Hermione! Hi!" Neville yelled, pulling me toward them.

"Neville! Ginny! What a surprise!" Hermione greeted. She got up from the table and gave each of us a hug.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked coldly.

"Just enjoying time off. You?" Neville responded.

"It's Valentine's Day and we didn't want Harry to feel left out. So I have two dates today!" Hermione boasted.

"That's cool. Neville, we really should be going." I turned on my heel and made my way through the crowd to the door.

"It was nice seeing you again!" Neville yelled to Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Ron and Hermione waved at us. Harry sat there with a dark look on his face.

The rest of the day passed and was pretty much uneventful. I went with Luna and Colin to the movies and out to a restaurant in a muggle town. Being the third wheel definitely sucks.

I was walking home through Hogsmeade, keeping an eye out for my brothers to see where they lived, when someone came up behind me and put their hand over my mouth. I struggled and fought, but they were stronger than me and pulled me into an alley behind Madam Puddifoot's. They reached into my robes, found my wand, and snapped it into two pieces.

"Let go of me!" I yelled.

"Shut up!" the man hissed. He threw me away from him and I stumbled into a couple of garbage cans.

"You'll stay still if you know what's good for you," the man said, pointing his wand at me. I looked at him.

"Goyle? Gregory Goyle, is that you?" I asked.

"Shut up." He took out his wand and muttered a spell that had me stuck to a wall. Then he backhanded me.

Someone else came into the alley.

"Thank you. Here's your money," the woman said. She held out something in her hand and Goyle walked away from me to take the money. He pocketed the money and ran away.

"Who are you? What do you want?" I said fearfully.

"Stay away from Harry. He's mine!" the woman yelled. Oh, I know who this is.

I strained against the bonds. "Lavender, you're insane. I know all about you. You can't threaten me like this!"

"Stay away from Harry!"

"Or what?"

"I'll kill you!"

Oh, that's it. She can't boss me around. I screamed and lunged toward her, breaking whatever spell Goyle had ineptly cast. I hit her in the face and soon we were involved in an all out brawl. I made Lavender come out into the street. She punched me in the face and I threw her up against a window. Someone must have heard our yelling, because I was being pulled away from Lavender.

"Stop! Stop!" a man yelled. I stopped fighting and stood still. There were about twenty people staring at us. Lavender was dragged away and I was forced into the Three Broomsticks.

I sat down at a table. Someone gave me a napkin and I started to wipe the sweat and blood from my face and hands.

"Ginny?"

I looked up. There was Harry, standing over me.

"Harry," I said simply.

"It's okay, I'll take her from here," Harry said. The people that were standing around me went away.

"Lavender attacked me," I said. "But I'm okay now. I'm just going to go home." I got up and walked out of the bar. Harry followed.

"Ginny," he said. "I'll walk with you."

We walked through the streets of Hogsmeade until we reached Neville's apartment building.

"I have to go," Harry said. He wouldn't even walk me into the building. "My girlfriend is waiting for me."

"Oh," I said softly. "What were you doing in the Three Broomsticks then?"

"Talking with Hagrid. My girlfriend works there too, I was just waiting for her to get off."

"Oh. Okay then," I stated.

"Is he a good boyfriend?" Harry asked.

"Who?"

"Neville. He seems to like you a lot."

"What are you talking about? Neville isn't my boyfriend."

Harry seemed to get angry. "Then what are you doing with him? You spend all of your time with him and you live with him. Don't lie to me, Ginny!"

He walked away from me. "Harry, he's not my boyfriend!"

"I don't want to hear it, Ginny!"

"Harry, Neville's gay!" I yelled. I don't think he heard me though, because he kept his head down and walked down the street, away from me.


	13. Chapter 13

"Ow!" I yelled, jumping up and down holding my foot. "Neville, one of your plants bit me again! Can't we keep these on the porch?"

Neville ran into the living room and picked up the wretched plant that bit me. "Aw, poor baby, are you alright?" he crooned to the plant. 

"Neville, that plant is fine. I'm the one bleeding here," I said, irritated that he was paying more attention to the Venus Fly Trap than me.

Neville glared at me. "You have to be more careful," he said sharply. Then his expression softened. "I'm sorry, Gin, I didn't mean to be mean like that. Let's see your foot." I sat down on the couch. He picked up my foot, looked at it for a minute, pulled out his wand, and healed the cut. Then he grabbed a towel and wiped it off.

"Thanks," I said. "I'm sorry, too."

"I know. Listen, Ginny, Justin and I have been talking. And, well…this is hard for me to say, but," he started.

"Neville, don't say it," I interrupted. "I already know where this is going. I've overstayed my welcome. I've been here for five months now and it's time for me to move on. I can't keep sleeping in the magical room you built for me forever."

"It's not that we don't want you here," Neville said quickly.

"Oh, I know. But I've been thinking about getting a place of my own. So, I talked to the landlord, and I'm going to rent an apartment in this building too! It's just a floor down, so you can come see me whenever you want!" I rushed. I was a little nervous. I didn't want to tell Neville that I had wanted to move out because I was afraid to hurt his feelings. He's a fantastic roommate, he really is, but he keeps bringing home scary plants from work. This is the third time this week that Venus Fly Trap bit me, and it's only Tuesday.

I gave Neville a hug. "I'm sorry I've stayed so long."

Neville gave me a kiss on the forehead. "It's been a pleasure."

Two days later I moved out. The move went smoothly and I went with Luna to get stuff for my house at random shops in Hogsmeade.

"You know, you're lucky," I said to Luna as I looked at different plate patterns at The Magical Home housewares shop. "You get all of your stuff for free. I have to pay for all of my stuff. I wish I could get married and have people give me house stuff."

Luna picked up a plate with ducks on it. I shook my head no. "I have to plan a wedding. With Colin's stepmother. Do you know how insane she really is?" Luna said bitterly.

I laughed. I've only met Colin's stepmother once, but I know exactly what Luna is talking about. His mother has the ability to offend someone within the first five minutes of meeting them. When I met her she mentioned something about how being a hero was nice and all, but it didn't mean much in the real world and that heroes always tend to kill themselves after the fame has left them. Most of my fame from killing Voldemort has gone, and yet I'm still alive.

"It'll be a June wedding at least, that'll be nice," I said hopefully.

"Yeah, because then I'll be rid of the wedding advice from Colin's mother," Luna said. We walked up to the counter with all of my stuff, paid for it, and left.

We went back to my apartment and put the new stuff away. Luna sighed. "Okay, I have to go. I'm supposed to meet Mrs. Creevey in Diagon Alley. She mentioned something about silverware or some crap like that for the reception. I don't know, I've started zoning out when she talks to me."

I laughed. "Awesome. I'll see you later then." Luna disapparated from my apartment and I went out to my patio. My apartment is on the third floor of the building and it faces a pond, so I like to sit out there near sunset and watch the ducks swim. All of a sudden, I saw Harry walk up to the building. I haven't seen Harry since Valentine's Day. I quickly ran out of my apartment and down the stairs. I met Harry at the door.

"Ginny!" Harry said, surprised to see me.

"Harry, I'm so sorry," I said, trying to catch my breath. "I'm sorry for not seeing you, for the misunderstanding we had so many months ago, for everything."

Harry looked me in the eyes. "Ginny," he said softly, grabbing my hand. "I'm sorry too. I should have told you that night that I was engaged."

My heart fell into my stomach and my hands became clammy. Harry was engaged this entire time?

"When are you getting married?"

"At the end of the year."

"What's her name?"

"Pansy Parkinson."

Wait, what? Pansy Parkinson? I'm confused. Pansy is huge. She can literally crush Harry. Not to mention that she's evil. When I was in fifth year we got into this huge fight that resulted in me breaking her arm and earning a week's worth of detention, and she broke my leg but got off with it because Professor Snape was the one that saw us fighting in the dungeons. I was trying to sneak out with Luna and Colin so we could meet up with Harry and defeat Voldemort. She was a Death Eater and tried to stop us. Eventually we made it out of the castle after Snape told us off and Luna healed my leg.

"That's good. Congratulations," I said weakly. "So, yeah, now that I feel like an idiot, I'm just going to go back to my apartment now."

"Oh, okay. Well, I'm glad you ended up with Neville, at any rate. He's a good guy," Harry commented.

"Harry, I'm not dating Neville. I was just living with him," I explained. Maybe there was hope left after all.

"Oh."

"I'm still sorry. I wish we could have another chance," I suggested.

"I'm sorry, Ginny, but I can't. Maybe if things had turned out differently, we could have dated and even ended up getting married. But this is how our lives turned out. I love Pansy. You'll come to our wedding though, won't you?"

"Sure, Harry. I'd love to." He didn't notice the hope leave me and my soul fill with fear that I would be alone for the rest of my life.

I gave Harry a hug and ran back to my apartment, trying to hold back my tears but failing miserably.

I sat right outside of my door, tears pouring down my face. I'd been sitting there like that, rocking back and forth, for an hour, when someone came down the hallway.

"Ginny?"

I looked up. It was George and Katie. Katie was looking swollen, but happy.

"Hey."

"What's wrong?" George asked as he came over to me.

I wiped the tears from my face and put on a fake smile. "Nothing that's all that important."

"You liar," George said.

"Yep. I didn't know you lived on this floor," I said quickly, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, yeah, since December. Wait, when did you move here?"

"Couple of days ago. I was living with Neville and Justin, but we mutually agreed to kick me out of the apartment."

Katie put out her hand and I grabbed it and pulled myself up. She winced slightly. "Sorry," I apologized.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "George, I'm going to talk to Ginny. I'll see you in a little bit."

George got up from the floor too. "Honey, you should really be in bed."

Katie stamped her foot. "I'm tired of being on bed rest. I'm just going to be in Ginny's apartment! Go home!"

George put his hands up in defense. "Okay, okay, I'm going. You have any problems, yell."

"Go!" Katie shouted. George went into the apartment next door to mine. Huh. So that's where they live. I really should visit the people who live around me. Make sure they're not serial killers or related to me.

We went inside and Katie sat down on the couch. "I'll be so glad when this baby comes. I'm so bored being at home alone everyday. Plus my stomach is really hurting today."

"Why didn't you tell me where you were? I would have visited."

"No offense, but your mom is crazy. I didn't want you to accidentally let it slip. She came to my parents house a couple of days after she kicked George out. Called me a scarlet woman and that I would never be a daughter to her. George said that if she was going to behave like that, he didn't need to be part of the family anymore either. She cursed us both and left. It took a week to get rid of the bees that she cursed into my parents house."

"Oh. You know she threw me out too, right? And Ron?"

"No, I didn't know. But that's not important. Why were you crying?"

"I just ran into Harry," I said, looking down at my feet.

"Ah. I hear he's getting married," she said anxiously. She started to rub her stomach nervously.

"I know. To Pansy Parkinson," I muttered.

"He's marrying her? No way. I hated her when we were in school."

"Yep. Apparently he loves her."

"That's a load of crap if I ever heard one."

I laughed. I looked at Katie. She was starting to get really pale.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"I don't know. I really don't feel good."

Oh no oh no oh no. "Maybe I should get George," I said, wringing my hands.

"Okay. I'm just going to lay down on the couch."

I ran out of my apartment and banged on George's door. "George!" I yelled. "Come quick!"

George opened the door quickly. "What's wrong with Katie?"

"I don't know, but please, come on!"

We went back into my apartment. George rushed to Katie. "Are you okay?" he asked concernedly.

"I think the baby's coming," Katie said, her breath ragged.

"Oh my god. Okay, I'll be back." He apparated out of the room. I went into the kitchen and got Katie a glass of water.

"Can I lay in your bed?" she asked. I nodded and helped her to my bed. She lay in it and drank the water I brought into the room.

"Katie!" George yelled. He was back! I went into the living room. Megan was sitting on the couch.

"Is she in bed?" Megan asked. I nodded and she got up and went into my room.

"Is there anything I can do?" George yelled after her.

"Is there anyone you want here?" she yelled back. "If there is, go get them. But be quick!" He walked out of my apartment this time. I went into the bedroom.

"Ginny, have you ever seen a baby born before?" Megan asked.

"No."

"Well, you're about to. You're going to help me deliver Katie's baby."

It was a long night. Katie finally gave birth to her baby girl, Anna, at three in the morning. She, George, and the baby slept in my bed that night.

I went out into the living room while they were in my room greeting their new baby. Harry was sitting on the couch alone. Fred, Charlie, Bill, Megan, Hermione, and Ron had been here throughout the night, but had left shortly after the baby was born.

"Hey," he said. I sat down on the couch next to him.

"Harry, what are you doing here?" I asked, closing my eyes but still trying to listen.

"Ron flooed me. I wanted to see the baby. I wanted to see you."

"Harry, that's nice and all, but you have a fiancé," I said. I definitely was not up to discussing our whole "what are we" status after helping deliver a baby.

"Good point. Can I just stay here for awhile with you then?"

"Okay."

I felt him slide closer to me on the couch, and then I fell asleep.


	14. Chapter 14

"Two days. You realize I'm getting married in two days?" Luna said loudly. We were in Hermione's apartment getting ready for Luna's bachelorette party.

"Yes. Thus the whole point of the bachelorette party," I said, taking a tray of food out of the oven.

"No more misguided wild days of our youth," Luna said dramatically.

"Wild days? Luna, you realize that we really don't do anything wild, right?"

Luna pursed her lips. "Yes, but we could have. But now," she paused, "I'm going to be Mrs. Colin Creevey. Who hates her mother in law."

I put some food on the table and started to put out plates. "I think that's normal though. Look at Katie. She doesn't like my mum."

"True. Then again, your mum was nice for a long time. Mrs. Creevey doesn't know what the word nice means. There's still hope for your mum. Me, I'm outta luck with the monster in law."

My mum was nice for a long time. It seemed like she changed a lot once my dad became Minister of Magic. It was almost as if she had to impress the world and if something wasn't perfect, it had to go.

"Cheer up. I'm sure if I ever get married, I'll hate my mother in law," I said, trying to cheer up Luna.

Hermione apparated into the room. "Hey," she said, putting a gift on the table. I had found Ron and Hermione's apartment a week ago, and decided to invite Hermione to the party. When I found them, I yelled at Ron for a bit for keeping their life a secret from me and then made up with both of them. Hermione being Hermione, she insisted that the party be held in her apartment. Whatever. That just means that I don't have to worry about my stuff getting broken. Luna really doesn't know a lot of people, so I invited some of my friends to make the party really crazy.

"Hermione! I didn't know you were coming!" Luna exclaimed. She ran over to Hermione, gave her a hug, and put a lei around her neck.

"Luna, it's my apartment," Hermione said with a confused look on her face. I just laughed. Luna is such a space cadet, but I love her for it. The theme of the party was a tropical paradise. Most wizarding families don't do bachelorette parties even though the men have a bachelor party, but I got the idea from a muggle magazine I had found lying on a table in the Leaky Cauldron one day.

"Do you know what your mother did?" Hermione said suddenly. I don't think I want to know.

"No?" I asked sheepishly.

"Sent me a letter."

"Well, that's not so bad."

"Yeah, only she called me a whore and completely disowned Ron from the family. It was full of wartcap powder. I had to go to St. Mungo's to get rid of the rash and the burning sensation that was all over my body."

"Oh."

"You know," Luna interrupted, "I'm glad Colin's stepmother isn't like that. Although I wouldn't put it past her. She already set my hair on fire with her wand twice. She claims it was an accident, but I heard her mutter incendio."

I swear, the weirdest things happen to Luna. One time in our fifth year she disappeared for two days and came back wet and dripping, saying she had decided to go join the merpeople in the lake for tea and they wouldn't let her come back to school until she taught the youngest child in the village how to sing. To this day I don't know how she escaped.

"That sucks," Hermione said. Just then, all of my sisters in law appeared, plus a few other people that we both knew.

We all sat around talking for a while. 

"How are you doing your hair?" I heard Padma ask Luna as I went into the kitchen to get more drinks.

Katie came into the kitchen. "Guess what?" she said excitedly.

"What?"

"Now, you can't make a big deal about this, okay? This is Luna's night, not mine."

"Tell me!" I said impatiently, bouncing on the balls of my feet.

"Well, if you must know, something really great happened."

"Okay, so what happened?"

"George proposed to me last night!"

"Oh my god!" I squealed.

"What happened?" several people shouted from the living room.

"Uh….I made a cake right!" I lied quickly. Everyone went back to their chattering.

"I'm so happy for you!" I said, keeping my voice down.

"Thanks. We're getting married next week. It's just a small wedding at the Ministry."

"No big wedding?"

Katie's smile faded. "No. We wanted one, but we were afraid of what your mum would do if we had a big wedding. But a small civil union in the Ministry of Magic means she can't hurt us."

"Hm. Well, we'll see." We went back out into the living room and started to open presents.

Luna grabbed the smallest package. She opened it and blushed. Then she held up some see through underwear. "Where did you guys get this?" she asked.

Hannah Abbott, and her sister, Sarah (who was in Ravenclaw with Luna) blushed. "There's this store in downtown muggle London," Sarah started. Luna shook her head. "You know, that's okay, I don't want to know. But thanks for the present."

I laughed. Poor Luna. She has so much to learn about muggle London.

We went through the rest of Luna's presents (which included massage oils, more lingerie, and some bath stuff) and about thirteen bottles of firewhiskey when someone knocked on the door.

"Who in the world could that be?" Luna said as she hiccupped.

I went to the door and Sarah followed me. "I'm sorry," she whispered with a huge grin on her face. "But I had to do it."

I stopped abruptly. "You didn't."

"Strippers!" Sarah yelled as she threw the door open. Two muscular men strode in, dressed as muggle police officers.

"Oh my god!" Megan, Padma, and Hermione squealed at the same time. We couldn't see the strippers' faces.

"Ladies, we've had a call about the noise here," one of them said. "I'm afraid I'll have to search you all."

Everyone started laughing and we all gathered around the couches. They conjured up some music through the walls. The men started to strip, but kept their heads bent low.

"You know, one of those guys looks awfully familiar," Katie whispered to me. I couldn't look at the men. They were down to a tee shirt and boxers.

"Which one of you is the bride?" the other stripper asked. Everyone pointed to Luna. The stripper pulled her up from the couch and started dancing with her. Soon everyone but me was dancing.

Luna pulled the stripper's hat off. I screamed.

"Fred Weasley!" I yelled. The music stopped.

"Ginny?"

"What are you doing here?"

"He's stripping, obviously," the other stripper said as he pulled his hat off.

"Lee!" I exclaimed.

I looked around. Everyone was looking down at their feet. My sisters in law were red with embarrassment.

"Uh, I think I have to go home now," Megan said. She disapparated. Everyone else took the opportunity to leave as well. Soon it was just Lee, Fred, Katie, Hermione, and I in the room. Fred and Lee started to put their clothes back on.

"I saw my brother strip!" I yelled. "Do you understand how traumatizing that is?"

Lee laughed. "Acutally, that's gotta be really gross."

"Exactly!"

"Great way to ruin a party, Ginny," Fred said sarcastically. "I only made twelve galleons tonight."

"You. Own. A. Store. Why do you need money?" I said, barely controlling my temper.

"Because."

"Wow, great answer," Katie said suddenly. "Does George know you guys are doing this?"

Fred and Lee looked quickly at each other. "I suppose we should tell her."

"Tell me what?" Katie demanded.

"George told us about a month ago that he was going to propose to you," Fred started. "Lee and I decided that we needed to get you guys a really good wedding present, what with the baby and all."

"Okay," Katie said slowly, the confusion showing on her face.

"So, we decided to get you a house," Lee finished. Katie's mouth opened with shock.

"Wait, you guys strip so that you can buy Katie and George a house?" I asked.

"Yeah," Fred sighed. "We usually strip for muggle parties. This was our first magical party. Our last too, I would imagine."

I went into the kitchen to look for my wand and to try not to throw up. This was one of the weirdest nights ever. I went back out to the living room and used my wand to start cleaning up the apartment.

"That's one of the nicest things I've ever heard," I commented.

"Thanks," Lee said. "I think it's time for us to leave though." He said his goodbyes and left.

Fred came over to me and gave me a hug. "I'm sorry you had to see that. Please don't tell mum." He gave Katie a hug and left as well.

"I can't believe it," Katie said softly. "A house for us. Amazing." She walked out of the door.

"Can someone obliviate me please?" I begged.

A/N: I'm so sorry for waiting four months to update. Thank you for sticking with the story! I hope that having four chapters will 1) Make up for me waiting to update and 2) Get me more reviews!


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Harry Potter, Humor, Romance