A couple of hours later, after washing up from cleaning the fireplace, Ginny sat at her writing desk. Her dad had attached a mirror to the wall a few years ago behind it so it also functioned as a vanity desk. She brushed out her now clean long red hair and toyed with different ways of putting it up like how she saw girls in the village do. Many of them didn’t wear theirs parted down the middle like how Ginny’s fell on its own, but rather a side part.
Ginny pulled her comb along to make her own side part, but her hair kept trying to fall back into a middle one. No matter what she did, she couldn’t make it lie normal with the side part, and wound up pulling it into a low ponytail halfway between the nape of her neck and the crown of her head. The ponytail held the part in place and it didn’t look like a little girl mess nor like the style was too old for her.
She could just hear her mother’s voice in her head, –I’m harping on you now to care about managing your hair and learning how to do it properly because I’m not going to be there at school to help you or remind you.†Yeah, well I won’t have to worry about that if I never get my letter so I guess all this is a waste of time, Ginny thought to herself bitterly. Ginny was used to waking up early not only because she wanted to ride her brothers’ brooms in peace, but because she had been trained every day since she was six to get dressed and fix her hair before presenting herself to her mum at breakfast time.
Checking her hair from all angles one last time before going downstairs to where her mum could see her, Ginny noticed the very back of the side part closest to the ponytail was starting to disappear already; it was straightening, and looking loose. Normally when she ponytailed her hair it all went straight back and the hair ties kept it in place out of sheer resistance. However, with a side part, some of the hair had to curve a bit before neatly going into the hair tie. Then when it straightened, it loosened and flopped about a bit.
How did Muggles deal with this problem? She viciously wet down her comb with the water cup she kept just for that purpose on her desk and pulled it tight again with the side part and reworked the ponytail, using some of the Muggle hairspray her mum got for her quite some time ago that was nearly run out, Ginny waited for it to dry and, satisfied, went back downstairs.
It’s not fair, thought Ginny. Her brothers never had to present themselves. They just rolled out of bed and went on with their day. Molly only made them sit still long enough to cut their hair when it got too long and that was it, but Ginny’s mum’s words came back to her again, –I don’t care if you want to think and act like a boy, you like your long hair, don’t you? Well, then I expect you to take care of it, simple as that. It won’t look right when you do want it to look nice, not without a lot of magic, and you shouldn’t have to whip your wand out for everything when you’re an adult!â€
If I ever get a wand, thought Ginny.
Downstairs she began to help set the table for dinner. When Molly looked over she said, –Ginny, dear, I love that ponytail. You should wear it more often.†Ginny explained the problems she found with it, and Molly showed her a tricky little charm that was somewhat difficult to use but styled a person’s hair based on how you can imagine it. –It’s because everyone’s hair is so different from everybody else’s. I didn’t master this charm until I was half way through third year and back then I could only do it on my own. One charm doesn’t really manage all so in the beginning there are variations for wrist movements for curly, straight, and wavy depending on what you want it to do. Much better to use Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion; you can comb it the way you want it to look and done,†explained her mum.
Errol woke with all the noise downstairs at dinner time and afterwards Ron sent him out with his letter to Hermione. The old family owl l didn’t look like he wanted to go but drank a lot of water and then took off out into the darkening evening. Then Ron sat down at the dinner table after it was cleared off so he could shout questions to whoever was within listening distance about his summer homework essays. The twins had gone back up to their room where if you listened hard enough you could hear small popping noises, probably some game they were playing, and Percy had shut himself into his own room again as well.
Ginny sat at the dinner table and pulled one of Ron’s books towards her, and began leafing through the pages. –A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration, what’s a snuff box?†she asked Ron.
Ron seemed annoyed at first that his concentration was broken. –It’s a little ornamental box Muggles keep this brown powdery stuff in that they inhale or chew to make them ‘feel good in their heads.’ ’’ He shook his head, clearly not knowing what that meant any more than Ginny did. –Dad would probably know what it was called. There was a bit of it still left in most of our boxes at school and it smelled weird,†he said.
–You didn’t ask what that meant in class?†Ginny asked. I would want to know details like that if I were learning about this stuff, she thought to herself.
–We didn’t have to know what that meant,†said Ron exasperatedly. –We only had to know what they looked like, so that’s all me and everyone else cared about.â€
She knew her brother only did as much as he needed to in order to get by in lessons; that much was apparent when their mum taught them basic math and reading skills instead of going to the primary school in the village. Ginny, however, loved getting the minutiae details on the backgrounds of stories and lessons. Mundane as they feigned to be, the finer points made everything unique and interesting.
–And you had to turn a mouse into one?†asked Ginny.
–Yeah, I mean, mine wasn’t very good; it still had whiskers, not like Hermione’s which of course was perfect, but yeah, you got extra points if it looked pretty,†he replied. Ginny grinned to herself and imagined her brother probably rolled his eyes in class upon hearing about the extra points instructions.
Ginny never really got to see transfiguration magic. Most of what she was exposed to was potions, usually cleaning ones, and charms. Especially charms that made cooking and chores a whole lot easier. She and her brothers didn’t really have to do chores, not when their mother could do it all with a wave of her wand, but as they were all in trouble for one thing or another much of the time, they were all quite proficient at helping out around the house with no magic. Ron still had to make up for all the yelling and stomping he did earlier today.
Ginny watched her brother run his hands through his hair in frustration, making it stick up more than it already was. –What are you working on?†she asked him.
–My potions essay. I’m starting with this one to get it out of the way. I don’t need to give Snape an excuse to give me detention my first day back,†said Ron. –He would love that too much,†he muttered to himself.
–Why would he love it?†Ginny asked, picking up his potions book while Ron referenced his notes in his untidy scrawl.
–He loves to punish Gryffindors,†Ron replied offhandedly at the same time trying to prepare his next sentence to write in his essay, –and to show favoritism to the Slytherins because he’s a horrible git,†was all the explanation Ron gave.
Every single one of Ginny’s brothers, even Bill and Charlie, were Gryffindors. Molly and Arthur were also sorted into Gryffindor back when they attended Hogwarts. Ginny didn’t know how she would feel if she were sorted into a different house, especially Slytherin, if she ever got to go, that is. She would be more of an outcast in her own house than she already felt.
Only girl child, only girl Weasley in all of the extended family. Ron had his close friends now and paid more attention to his unanswered letters, the twins had each other like always, and even boring Percy had whoever he was sending secret letters back and forth to. No matter how much Ginny tried to be interested in their interests, it seemed they thought she was either copying them to aggravate them or it didn’t matter because she was just the little sister.
Her earlier thoughts echoed in her mind: everybody at home was positive that Ginny was a witch and that it was a no brainer she would be attending this year with the boys, they probably even expected her to be a Gryffindor, but that nagging feeling came back. What if she wasn’t? She knew math pretty well from Molly’s elementary homeschooling and didn’t think the odds of seven brothers and sisters all getting into the same house were very high. Glancing over at Ron, she remembered in one of his letters home last year he described a boy in his dorm who thought for years he wasn’t magical enough to go to Hogwarts because his family didn’t ever see him do anything. That boy was from an all wizard family like Ginny, and nobody paid enough attention to her for a long enough time to even see if she was magical.
As much as Ginny did not miss Ron telling her how annoying she was for always trying to tag along with him, she was almost jealous of these friends of his that she didn’t know. How is it Ron, of all her brothers, has a girl who is one of his best friends? Ginny had asked herself this question since just after Halloween last year after getting over the shock of Ron saving this Hermione from a mountain troll in the first place, and Ron’s letters began to include this Hermione more and more often. She was mentioned every time Harry Potter was.
Not for the first time Ginny came to the conclusion that it must be Harry Potter who held the three together, and she tried not to resent Ron wanting to spend more time worrying about him than hanging out with his sister who was right here with him. After all, Ginny probably wouldn’t be able to think of anything else either if world-wide-known Harry Potter was her friend period, let alone best friend.
Ginny put Ron’s book back in the pile. He gave her an irked sigh warding off any more interrupting questions from her. One of Ron’s brotherly ways of shooing away the annoying little sister. Ginny just raised her hands in mock surrender and headed upstairs to bed. Between the broomstick ride and cleaning out the fireplace and worry about her Hogwarts acceptance she went to bed more exhausted than she ever thought it was possible to be.
The next morning Ginny woke up much later than usual. She could hear commotion going on downstairs and realized her brothers were already up and at breakfast. She hastily got dressed and went to throw her hair up in a ponytail. Hearing her mother’s voice in her head made her pause though. She sat back down, and again forced her hair into the side part with a low ponytail. After putting in more Muggle hairspray she headed down to the kitchen where she heard the twins making fun of Ron’s dismal toast attempt.
As soon as Ginny entered the kitchen she was scooped into a hug by Fred, –GINNY! We miss you! Just look at this poison Ron is trying to feed us!†He brandished a half burnt half undercooked piece of bread in front of her and looked over at Ron to see his expression while Fred made fun of him. Before setting Ginny back down Fred whipped his face back to hers and said, –Hey! Your hair smells good. Why does your hair smell good?â€
Ginny dropped into a seat at the table and before she could answer, Fred’s twin George had jumped up to smell her hair for himself and tilted her head back so he could get his own whiff. Boys were so gross about that, thought Ginny, I would never stick my nose right into something to see how it smelled.
–Kind of stinky in the nose, but good,†agreed George. –Did you put perfume in your hair or something? Why would you put perfume in your hair?â€
Freed from her brother, so she could sit and eat normally, Ginny rolled her eyes and said, –It’s Muggle hairspray, not perfume. I’m training my hair to lie how I want it to, not how it wants to.â€
Molly rescued Ginny from the three blank stares her brothers gave her and said, –Ginny you look lovely. You boys leave her alone now, what she’s doing is good practice for when she’s at school.â€
–Hermione doesn’t care what her hair looks like,†commented Ron offhandedly. –All she cares about are books and learning magic and always knowing the right answer to every question a teacher asks.â€
–Yes, well knowing how to put in a good appearance never hurt anyone either. I can put mine into a nice do for smart parties your father gets us invited to for the Ministry,†said their mum. –You boys could use some practice yourselves.â€
–Ron could use some practice making a simple piece of toast,†said Ginny, inspecting what her brother had made in her absence.
–I forgot to turn the bread, that’s all!†said Ron, –Sheesh, you’d think you’d get a little appreciation for even doing it!†Ron eyed Ginny when she sat down in front of the kitchen fire and began make her own toast in the small cooking fire to go with her eggs and he went on, –Where have you been this morning anyway? You always help Mum make breakfast.â€
–I was sleeping,†said Ginny. –Even servants get days off,†she shot back.
–You wouldn’t have been so tired if you weren’t in trouble in the first place and had to clean out the fireplace. What did you do anyway? It must’ve been awful to make Mum make you do that,†said Ron.
–Never you mind, Ron,†said Molly. –Ginny is doing her punishment and that’s the end of it.â€
–That’s not fair!†said Ron. –She always knows why we’re in trouble,†gesturing around the table at the boys.
–That’s because you holler about it at the top of your lungs the whole time you’re being punished,†said Molly.
–Wait, she’s still doing her punishment?†asked Ron. He turned to goggle at Ginny. –What did you do?â€
Arthur and Molly didn’t ground the kids very often, and Ginny had never been grounded in her life; she only knew that when her brothers were grounded they hung around the house a lot. Smiling at Ron’s puzzlement, Ginny began to eat without answering him. After the boys finished, Percy went back to his room, and the twins and Ron went to ride their brooms in the Weasleys' paddock by the orchard to practice Quidditch.
When Ginny was nearly finished, there was a knock on the backdoor. Curious, Ginny went with her mother to go see who it was. Wizards usually knocked at thenbackdoor since it was closer to the Burrow’s Apparition site, and Muggles knocked at the front door which was closer to the road and driveway. Standing there with a basket in one arm, stooped over a bit while petting and talking to their chickens, was one of their wizarding neighbors, the Lovegood girl.
Luna Lovegood was as recognizable by her hair as the Weasleys were by theirs. Hers was very, very long, down past her bottom, and pale, pale yellow, almost white. It was also curly, not tightly curled so as to look bushy, but great big ringlets that if she pulled back a bit at the top would have made her look like a princess. Ginny almost never saw Luna with her hair pulled back in anyway though. It was always down, sometimes over her shoulder but usually just cascading down her back.
Ginny’s mum opened the door with a great big smile and walked out to hug Luna in hello. Luna looked up with her pale blue eyes and smiled her warm unassuming smile she always gave everyone and hugged Ginny’s mum in return.
–Did you walk all the way over here all by yourself?†Molly asked Luna when she looked around and didn’t see anyone else.â€
–Yes.†Luna never said anything more than was necessary.
–Whatever for, dear?†asked Molly, full of concern and ushering her back inside the kitchen.
–Well, I tried to use the Floo Network yesterday but I didn’t go anywhere when I said the Burrow. I thought maybe I had said it wrong and tried again. Then I thought, maybe you changed the name of your homestead. So I decided to walk over here today and find out. But I saw the sign outside still said the Burrow. Is your fireplace not working right now?†Luna inquired.
–No, dear it’s fine, it’s fine! We just had it disconnected yesterday while …while Ginny cleaned it,†Molly responded.
Luna walked over to the fireplace and inspected it herself. If you didn’t know her you would’ve thought that she was trying to see if you were being dishonest, but Luna had always done whatever she chose to satisfy her curiosity. –Well, you did a very good job. I’m sure your mum is very proud of you,†she said to Ginny.
If only Luna knew how proud Mum was of me yesterday, Ginny thought to herself as she picked her plate up from the table and carried it over to the sink to begin washing the breakfast dishes her brothers had just left behind. (Mum said before that the boys were used to just leaving them at the table at Hogwarts and to just be thankful that they at least carried them to the sink.)
–I am very proud of her, dear. Was there something you needed to come by for yesterday though?†Molly asked Luna.
Luna serenely turned away from the fireplace and looked directly at Molly, –I came to ask about three things,†she said, –I was wondering if you had any spare eggs? A fox got into our chicken coop a few days ago, it killed all of our chickens and I was hoping to make a cake before term starts.â€
–That’s right, you are just a few months older than Ginny, aren’t you?†said Molly, getting into their ice box and putting eggs into Luna’s basket, –Well, giving you eggs is the least I can do as you looked after our chickens while we were away to Romania last Christmas. Goodness, you didn’t walk over here every day in the snow did you?â€
–No, no, Daddy let me use the Floo Network to come over and back,†Luna said matter of factly.
Perking up from the sink and glancing at Luna, Ginny asked, –You used Floo powder by yourself?â€
–Oh yes,†said Luna. –I only do so for short trips though. Daddy often finds it useful to send me with messages to writers and to get their columns while he works at his printing press. Since it doesn’t require a wand, I can come and go without breaking the Reasonable Restriction for Underage Sorcery.â€
Molly pursed her lips but didn’t say anything. Ginny was astounded somebody so young traveled on her own so often. Luna’s father was the editor for the Quibbler, which he printed out of his own home, and Luna was his only daughter. Young witches and wizards under the age of seventeen weren’t allowed to do magic outside of school, period.
Ginny thought about this though: they can, however, travel by Floo powder. Normally, an adult travels before or after them in accompaniment because it’s cramped trying to get two or more people to go at the same time. Ginny still traveled with her mother but that was getting more and more arduous. In a few months Ginny should be able to travel on her own. She supposed it was a good thing that her father already owned a Muggle car for her to practice with otherwise.
There was an awkward pause as Molly and Ginny adjusted to the idea of Luna traveling alone throughout the wizarding world, but Luna didn’t seem to notice it. Finally, Molly asked, –Well, what else did you need dear?â€
Luna paused in a rare show of hesitation, took a deep breath and said, –Mrs. Weasley, I was wondering if you would give my hair a trim for school? Daddy and I always notice that your boys’ hair is never shaggy and when Ginny wore her hair short it was always very straight and even. I was hoping that you could do something with mine to help with the split ends? My mother used to trim them but she kept it long overall, and my hair hasn’t been cut for two years now. Not since my mother’s passing.†Luna said it all very slowly and precisely the way she spoke all the time, but Ginny could tell it immediately broke her mum’s heart.
Luna’s flirtation with underage magic forgotten, Molly went and put an arm around her, –You listen to me now, you come over here anytime you need help with anything your mother used to help you with, mmm?â€
–Thank you, Mrs. Weasley,†Luna smiled.
Turning around to get a chair and towel and to hastily wipe her eyes, Ginny’s mum said, –Would you like a spot of breakfast before we get started?â€
–No, thank you. Daddy always wakes early to print during the summer time; that way it isn’t adding to the summer heat in the afternoons,†said Luna, –So we breakfast then.â€
Luna sat in the chair Molly provided and her hair hung to within inches of the floor, her mum performed the Engorgio Charm to raise the height of the chair and it made Luna look barely older than a toddler sitting in it. Molly asked, –Now how much were you thinking of cutting off? And did your mother do it wet, dry, or damp?â€
Ginny listened as Luna gave her mother a complicated set of directions and they discussed curly hair springiness and how cutting off bottom sections always made the top even shorter than anticipated because the cut away section was no longer weighing down what was left behind…
Ginny was lost early on as she tried to pay attention while drying and putting away the silverware, but Molly, who loved cutting hair, seemed to understand exactly what Luna was describing. Ginny, and her brothers all had straight hair and so she never thought about these things before. She had no clue what they were talking about until she watched her mother begin to magically cut Luna’s hair with a severing charm at a point farther down the strands than they had discussed the final length should be. As the cut sections fell away, Ginny watched the still cascading hair above pull into tighter ringlets shortening the overall length to almost where they initially talked about leaving it. Ah, now she understood, the curls were originally being pulled straighter by the weight, and Ginny’s mum had to compensate.
After she magically removed the majority of the split ends Molly went to work on evening out the remainder into a gorgeous v-shape. This took quite a bit of time, much longer than she spent on Ginny or any of her brothers. Ginny remembered when her mother made Weasley sweaters last year for Christmas like she did every year and she included one for Harry. His she made with far more care and quality. Apparently if you weren’t one of Molly’s own, you received quite a bit more effort from her.
While Luna sat patiently on the engorged kitchen chair, Molly remembered she had one last thing to ask about. –I was wondering if Ginny would like to accompany me to make our first-year purchases together in Diagon Alley,†said Luna as though she were asking if they could simply take a stroll in the yard and not wander around the largest gathering of wizards in the middle of London by themselves. –Daddy and I are taking a trip next week to do some investigating for one of his future editorials and we won’t be back until just before school term begins,†she explained.
Ginny could tell her mother instantly went into protective mode but kept her voice calm when she asked, –Accompany you? Is your father not taking you?â€
–No,†said Luna, –I have been to Diagon Alley many times on my own to meet with daddy’s writers. I know my way around quite well.â€
Ginny was torn. She didn’t know Luna that well, but they were the only two girls from wizard families their age who lived anywhere around here. She wanted to go exploring Diagon Alley without her brothers or mum moving her along at their pace, but on the other hand it was terrifying to think about traveling all the way there without an adult, even if Luna had done it many times before.
Then realization hit before her mother could respond. –I can’t,†said Ginny. –I haven’t gotten my letter from Hogwarts yet,†she admitted hanging her head a bit.
Noticing how downhearted Ginny looked, Molly attempted to lighten the mood by saying, –She can’t anyway. Ginny is grounded.â€
Puzzled, Ginny said, –Wait. What does being grounded have to do with not being able to go to Diagon Alley?†She looked inquisitively at her mum.
Molly smiled in disbelief and said, –Sweetheart, what do you think being grounded means?â€
Ginny didn’t want to admit in front of Luna that she didn’t know, but put her best guess out there, –Doesn’t it mean I have to stay on the ground, that I can’t ride any brooms?â€
Molly burst out laughing so heartily that she had to walk away so she didn’t accidentally ruin Luna’s hair. –No dear, it means you aren’t allowed to leave the house and yard, so yes, in a way I guess it does also mean no broom riding,†she said.
Luna, polite as ever, merely smiled after Ginny had answered and then said, –You’ve never been grounded before have you? Is that why you had to clean the fireplace yesterday?â€
A little guarded, Ginny lowered her eyes and felt her face getting hot when she said, –Yes.â€
Luna however, did not pry and said, –Well, it’ll be over before you know it. I’m sorry that you can’t go with me.â€
Finished with cutting her hair, Molly began to brush it out and took a deep breath before saying, –You know, Luna, I wouldn’t let Ginny go with you by yourselves even if she had her letter and weren’t grounded. I don’t think you should be coming and going that far away alone either. It’s just not safe. I would have been happy to accompany the both of you and taken the boys another time if we could’ve arranged it.â€
–Mrs. Weasley, I would have loved for you to come with us as well. I did not want to take you away from the rest of your children,†said Luna.
Molly shrank the chair back to normal size and walked around to the front to face Luna, –You just promise me that you stay safe, and stick to the places where there are lots of people, lots of families. I can’t tell you what to do, but I can at least give you my opinion and my advice, and important business father or not, I don’t think you are old enough to be on your own.â€
–Mrs. Weasley,†Luna smiled again, –you are one of the kindest people I know and therefore your opinion and advice are both treasured.â€
Pleased, Molly walked back around to Luna’s hair again and asked, –Now, how would you like a nice side part like what Ginny is sporting?†Ginny watched as her mother easily made Luna’s hair stay exactly as she styled it without any Muggle hair spray or spells to keep it in place. It’s all the curls, her mum explained when Ginny got a look of incredulity on her face.
Shortly afterwards Luna picked up her basket of eggs, thanked Molly graciously, and bade them both farewell. Ginny’s mum invited her to come over any time and thanked her again for watching their chickens over Christmas. As much as Ginny enjoyed the company, Luna was vastly different than any other person she knew, aside from maybe Luna’s father, and Ginny didn’t know if she would have wanted to spend all day with her in Diagon Alley. On the other hand Ginny’s own dad collected Muggle plugs, and she adored him. Perhaps she just needed to get to know Luna better.
* * *
Ginny spent the next six days leafing through more of Ron’s spell books and helping Molly around the house. She practiced spells with her makeshift wand and fixed all the rips and tears in every single pair of wizard robes and Muggle artifact of clothing she owned, a project she had always meant to start a long time ago but never got around to it until she didn’t have anywhere to go. Her mum had shown her how to use a needle and thread when she was eight, and let her do it on her own since she was nine. During this time, Ron had received a reply from Hermione that no, she had not been getting any word from Harry and was also very concerned about him. Even the twins started to wonder about their prize Seeker.
On her last day of being grounded Ginny passed the morning hours away by practicing different braided looks in her hair. Ready to give up and find a new project to start, and anticipating being finished with her grounding tomorrow, Ginny put down her comb and changed out of her pajamas. Right when she found her shoes to slip on, thinking she would sit outside on the porch and leaf through another of Ron’s books he’d left on the kitchen counter, Ginny heard her father’s voice calling to her from downstairs.
Hurrying with her laces, she heard him call for her again and again. Ginny took off down the steps as fast as she could go, nearly knocking over the chicken feed bin at the bottom of the stairwell. Her father never hollered her name like that throughout the house, especially not right when he arrived home.
Everything Ginny had done this past week raced through her mind. She had made fun of Ron when he had to take all the rugs outside and beat the dust out of them for stomping in the staircase while yelling and slamming his door the other day. She had played lookout for the twins when they tried to capture and hide Hermes from Percy as a prank. The feathers Hermes lost weren’t flight ones; he was okay. She had deliberately burned Ron’s toast a couple of mornings in a row for his jab about her not being out of bed in time to help make him and the rest of their brothers a perfect breakfast.
Ginny was apprehensive at the thought of further groundings; none of these incidences should have merited her father calling for her so urgently. Ginny wanted her freedom back, she missed Abellios, and flying, and the horses.
She found her father in the living room, gesturing towards the owl perch. There were two unfamiliar owls there. One had a bag which her father was putting five Knuts inside of to pay for his copy of the Daily Prophet. The other had an envelope still tied to its leg on what looked like heavy parchment and written in emerald green ink was:
Miss G. Weasley
The First Floor Bedroom
The Burrow
Ottery St. Catchpole,
Devon
Ginny stared at the letter. The owl it was attached to kept stretching his wings and ruffling his feathers, in anticipation of finishing his delivery.
At long last Ginny’s letter had come, inviting her to Hogwarts. She was magical enough after all. She wasn’t going to be left behind by the rest of her family and forced to live as a Muggle, although her father probably would’ve loved that.
She was going to learn the twelve uses of dragon’s blood and how to turn a mouse into a snuff box, she was going to get proper flying lessons, and one day be able to try out for her house Quidditch team. At this moment she didn’t even care if she were sorted into Slytherin house, because even if that came true, it still meant she would be at Hogwarts.
–Ginny, don’t keep that owl waiting all day,†her dad said gently. Arthur knew this was a big moment for his daughter and watched as she carefully untied the thongs from around the owl’s leg. As soon as it was free, the school owl took off into the morning again. Ginny, slit the envelope open. She sat down on the couch and read:
Hogwarts School
of
Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear
Miss Weasley,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress(1)
Ginny couldn’t believe it. It was a like a balloon had absorbed all the worry she’d been holding inside and it floated away lighter than air.
–There see, nothing to worry about,†her father said.
Molly bustled into the living room and held out her hands for Ginny to take and then pulled her into a hug. –Looks like you get to go shopping in Diagon Alley after all,†she laughed, –with me of course.â€
Ginny spent the rest of the day happily drifting from one chore to the next, never minding that this was her last day of being grounded. With her mother’s help she composed a neat reply accepting her reserved position at Hogwarts and sent the letter on with Errol, hoping that he would make it okay.
The next day, finally off her grounding, Ginny woke very early and flew straight to the tree grove and told Abellios her good news while she fed him more seeds. From there she walked to the part of the horse pasture that was also inside the tree grove and called the bays over to her and visited with them on the ground, giving each another apple from the Weasleys' orchard before flying back home again. Too excited to concentrate on Quidditch training, Ginny kept her flying to a minimum of carrying her to the tree grove and home for the next week, trying to visit Abellios and the horses as often as she could now that she knew she would be gone for quite some time soon.
* * *
Errol came back from Hogwarts a full seven days after leaving with Ginny’s answer, just in time for Ron to send him away again with a birthday card for Harry Potter. The money Bill and Charlie sent in the summers arrived and Molly had added it to her shopping purse. Ginny began to get excited about her future brand new school robes and especially about her wand. She spent many hours in her room going over her wardrobe again and again trying to decide which Muggle clothes to wear to King’s Cross and bring with her to school for the weekends.
Most astonishingly, everyone in the whole house seemed more distracted than usual this past week, so much so that not a single Weasley kid got grounded, let alone in trouble. Ginny thought it was some kind of record, and realized that the twins were absolutely just as concerned about Harry Potter as Ron was by now and their dark brooding mood permeated the entire house, dampening Ginny’s genuine happiness considerably. One evening she heard her mum and dad talking at the kitchen table, agreeing that if Ron didn’t hear from Harry soon, Arthur would travel to Surrey to check up on him.
Then, on the very first morning of August, precisely one month before Ginny got to go to Hogwarts herself, her dad came home with terrible news about Harry Potter. –Last night Mafalda Hopkirk had to send Harry a letter, apparently he did a hover charm at his aunt and uncle's house, and what’s worse, they’re saying at work that he did it in front of two completely Muggle strangers who weren’t related to him!†said her dad.
At the breakfast table everyone turned to look at Ron, –Harry would never do that, Dad. We were put in a lot of stressful situations at Hogwarts and he never lost control of his magic. He knows we aren’t supposed to do magic outside of school.†Ron looked really shaken up. From what Ginny gathered, students were only given one warning about doing magic outside of school while under age, and the next time you were expelled from Hogwarts. Ron agreed with the twins to write another letter to Harry. Errol seemed extremely put out as he only just made the same journey and hadn’t been back long.
The next day Errol arrived with another school owl with him. Once again he had no reply, but the school owl had a letter for Percy. Percy opened the letter, which told him he passed all twelve OWL’s he took last spring. Uncharacteristically, Percy folded up and gave a smug satisfied smile to everyone downstairs and then just disappeared right back up to his room. A few minutes later he had sent Hermes out with yet another secret letter.
When Ron saw this it only emphasized the no responses from Harry, –I keep hoping if he doesn’t send a quick reply back with Errol that maybe he’s writing a longer letter to send with Hedwig,†Ron said mournfully to them. –Hermione gets the same thing though, her owls come back with no reply and she hasn’t seen Hedwig either.â€
Curious about something new about Harry Potter, Ginny asked, –Who’s Hedwig?â€
–She’s Harry’s snowy owl. Hagrid got her for Harry for his birthday last year when they were school shopping in Diagon Alley,†replied Ron listlessly.
At the mention of Hagrid, Ginny remembered that Ron and Harry had tea with the Hogwarts groundskeeper a few times according to Ron’s letters. –Has Hagrid heard from Harry at all this summer?†Ginny asked tentatively.
–I don’t know,†said Ron, –and now I can’t write to him to find out because both Errol and Hermes are gone again.â€
–What do you mean Errol’s gone again? Didn’t he just get back from Harry’s?â€
–Yeah, but I sent another letter to Hermione,†said Ron a bit evasively.
Casting around for anything to distract Ron, Ginny thought back to a point he made earlier, –Hey, Hermione is Muggle-born, right?â€
–Yeah, so?â€
–So, where is she getting owls to send to Harry that are coming back with no replies? Does she have her own owl too?†As much as her dad loved Muggles, Ginny never really paid attention to what he said about them before.
–No, I have no idea. I …I don’t know. Ginny, can you just shut it for once and stop asking so many questions? I’m trying to think,†said Ron.
–Oi! Ron!†called Fred, –Let’s go play Quidditch.†Apparently Ron was done thinking, as he got right up and left with the twins. Ginny went to her room in a huff. I was only trying to help, she thought to herself.
Later on, when the three of them came back inside, Ron was talking about them going to Surrey to check on Harry themselves.
–You can’t ride your broom stick there and back,†said George. –Never mind someone seeing you, that old Shooting Star is way too slow. It’ll take you ages.†Ginny lingered in the stairwell out of sight, originally having come down to looking for a snack, and listened to their conversation. Her brothers traveling the countryside without Mum or Dad? That was as crazy as Luna doing it.
–Well, we can’t use the Floo Network. Dad says the Muggle fireplaces aren’t hooked up to it and to get them hooked up you have to get all sorts of permission from high ranking people,†said Ron. –If we go on our brooms, Harry can at least ride his own back.â€
–That Shooting Star is too slow, Ron!†interjected Fred this time. –It would take days to ride that thing just fifteen miles!†Ginny listened to them go back and forth on this until Ron noticed she was there and shooed her out.
The next day Ron and the twins had a lie-in longer than usual. They must have been up pretty late talking about Harry, thought Ginny. The twins came down first and Ginny hung out in the kitchen while they got themselves something to eat that morning. –Is Ron still thinking of a way to go see Harry Potter?†Ginny asked them.
–Yep, he’s still adamant about flying on that old Shooting Star,†said Fred, rolling his eyes.
Glancing outside at the driveway, Ginny sarcastically said, –Wouldn’t it make more sense to take Dad’s car? You all could fit and it’s faster than Ron’s broom at least.†Both of the twins immediately stopped focusing on their food and glanced at Ginny. –I mean, haven’t you both driven it before?†she asked. Ginny just shook her head and headed outside to feed the chickens and collect eggs from their nests for her mum.
After another visit to the tree grove, this time in the late evening as the boys had been gone nearly all day playing Quidditch in the orchard, Ginny headed upstairs to read some more in her room. It was quite some time after dark when she realized that she hadn’t heard a peep out of the twins’ room right above hers for the last few hours. Normally, she fell asleep listening to them making little explosion noises and laughing at each other.
Figuring they tired themselves out playing Quidditch to distract from Harry Potter’s predicament, Ginny rolled over and fell asleep.
Quote References:
1 SS/PS page 51 (I realize I took out the part of the quote that included another paper that listed a first-year’s supply list, I plan to write about Ginny receiving her list with her brothers like she does in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and that is why that line is missing from the quote from Sorcerer’s/Philosopher’s Stone. For aesthetic purposes of how my blog looks while one reads it I chose not to include a set of ellipses –…†to denote a missing part of a quote. I simply ask you to please excuse this grammar atrocity and just know that I debated with myself back and forth for quite some time before finally settling on the final product you see, knowing that I would make a full explanation and apology here because I did not want to confuse readers unfamiliar with ellipses. That being said, I’m sorry.)