Thanks to my wonderful beta Spencer on this one, he beta-ed his and the next chapter in under a day...
Expect Ch. 10 very soon. As in, next 15 minutes. When its validated is not up to me... If you were wondering, this story will end at Chapter 12.
Also a very warm thank-you to everyone who reviewed. I just love getting reviews, I usually look at them during my computer science class at school! So thanks. Also thanks to the amazing number of people (49!) who put my story among their favorites. I am shocked and very grateful.
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Category: Pre-OotP, When Ginny Met Harry Challenge (2007-1) Characters:Albus Dumbledore, Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Severus Snape Genres: Fluff, General Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: PG Reviews: 138 Summary: ** Honorable Mention (tie) in the When Ginny Met Harry Challenge ** Ginny Weasley is disappointed by her first view of Harry Potter, but quickly realizes that she is more than ready to forgive. She starts a pen-pal correspondence in hopes of becoming friends with Harry, and then perhaps more... Hitcount: Story Total: 59887; Chapter Total: 7035 Author's Notes: |
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Ginny woke in the dead of the night to a tapping on her window. She was just starting to debate whether it was worth it to get up and see what the noise was, when she suddenly realized what it must be. She almost gave a squeal of excitement when she crossed to the window and saw not one, but three Hogwarts owls, flapping laboriously outside her window and waiting for her to let them in. She eagerly opened the window, trying to make as little noise as possible. She wasn’t quite sure why, but she still had not told her parents about her correspondence with Harry. She certainly didn’t want them to know about her plans with the little bundle that had just arrived. The owls fluttered across the room and landed heavily on the bed, the parcel still tied between the three. Although she desperately wanted to open the package, her mother had always told her to open scrolls first, so Ginny unrolled Fred and George’s note and scanned it quickly. She smiled when she read about the reason for the twins’ choice of name. Ginny had never met her, but Minerva McGonagall was infamous in the twins’ stories. Minerva, Ginny thought to herself. All I have to do is unwrap this package, and… Ginny sighed to herself. She knew that her part of the plan was yet to come; it was also the most dangerous part. Her job was to somehow locate the Dursleys’ home and deliver Minerva to their doorstep. She was sure that Dudley’s greed would motivate him to keep the kitten, even if he only planned to torture her. The evil grin returned to Ginny’s face. Dudley would find Minerva very hard to torture. Ginn y groggily awoke once more to a tapping at her window. After spending a late night admiring Minerva, though not activating her, Ginny was in no mood to wake up. Blinking, she looked around her room and was surprised to find that the sun was shining in through the window. The window. Once more there was an owl hovering just outside the house, waiting to be let in. Ginny sat up and looked more closely at the owl. “Hedwig!” No longer sleepy, Ginny hopped out of bed and opened the window. She stepped back to allow the owl to flap in. Ginny quickly untied the scroll from Hedwig’s leg. Another letter from Harry! She loved getting letters. But this wasn’t any letter; this was a letter from Harry! Ginny gave a little bounce on her bed, wincing as she felt the springs. She knew that she liked getting letters from Harry even more than she liked normal mail. Ginny tried to tell herself that it was just because Harry was famous, but she knew it was more than that. Harry seemed to care about Ginny in his letter, even though he wasn’t family. He wasn’t even really an acquaintance, seeing as she had never met him. Ginny sighed. That’s what made this all so hard. Harry had given no sign that his letters to her were anything more than a distraction from everyday life. That hurt her, to think that the letters she treasured so were nothing more than entertainment. She wanted more from Harry than that. Ginny had just realized what she wanted most in the world: to be Harry’s friend. She remembered her old feelings for Harry. Well, she thought, bemused. You’ve come quite a long way from hating the scrawny boy who couldn’t lift his trunk, and even further from your childish crush on a hero you’d never met! Ginny couldn’t help remembering her old fantasy of spending hours encircled by Harry’s arms. She couldn’t help wondering what it would feel like… Ginny smiled to herself. That would be wonderful. She shook her head. Stop it! she chided herself. If Harry doesn’t even see you as a friend, what makes you think that he’d want to be your girlfriend? You’ll have quite a challenge becoming close to him without encouraging that type of feeling! Ginny giggled at her own foolishness, then remembered the scroll she still held in her hand. She unrolled it and began to read. When she finished, she slumped against her pillows, shocked. Harry’s most embarrassing moment wasn’t just embarrassing, it was cruel. What type of person could humiliate a boy on so sensitive a topic? Dudley was a monster. Her resolve hardened. Before the week was out, Minerva would be with the Dursleys. But Ginny couldn’t help feeling horribly guilty. Harry had told her his most horrendous, terrible memory of being embarrassed, and she hadn’t even been able to tell him about her silly, albeit embarrassing, moment. She would have to rectify that in her next letter — to do otherwise would be unfair. Re-reading the letter, Ginny’s eyes locked on the part where Harry asked for her photo. Hope rose in her chest. Surely he wasn’t just being polite! He must want to see her! She smiled. Perhaps there was hope for a friendship between her and Harry after all! And someday, perhaps more… Ginny shook her head at her own foolishness. Harry isn’t even your friend; not yet! she told herself. You do not like him that way! You should give that up because he’ll never look at you that way! Harry will be your friend, nothing more. Gin ny took a deep breath, preparing herself to lie. She walked casually into the kitchen. For once, her mother was absent, off on a three-day trip to Aunt Muriel’s house. Thank Merlin that Ginny had been spared this trip! Her father was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the Daily Prophet. She walked over to him. “Hi Dad! I have a quickie question to ask you.” He looked up from the paper and smiled at her. “What is it?” “About Muggles…” Ginny was rewarded when his face lit up with interest. “How do they find one another? You can always use a Location Spell to find someone’s address, but how do they do it?” Ginny knew that without a wand, she would be forced to resort to Muggle methods of detection to locate the Dursleys. The only one in her family who might know how to do it would be her father. Arthur Weasley tapped his chin, thinking. “Well, they often use a commuter to find out information — they can search on something call the Inter-tent. I’m not quite sure how it works. Oh!” Ginny could see the enlightenment on her fathers face. “They also use a fellytone book!” “A fellytone book?” Her father nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! It’s a list of names, addresses, and fellytone numbers!” Ginny grinned. “Perfect! I mean, thanks, Dad, that’s very interesting.” A fellytone book! All she had to do now was find one… Number 4, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. Ginny had waited until her father left for work the next morning, then left the house, feeling extremely nervous. It was the first time she had ever gone anywhere unaccompanied. It was only a short walk to Ottery St. Catchpole. When she arrived, Ginny had walked up to a Muggle house at random, and knocked on the door. It opened, revealing a plump, cheerful-looking lady not unlike Mum. She looked down in surprise at the red-headed little girl standing on her doorstep. Summoning her courage, Ginny took a deep breath. “Good day, ma’am.” The lady smiled. “Hello, cutie! What are you doing here all alone?” Ginny barely stopped herself from making a face — cutie? Sticking out her lower lip just the tiniest bit, she put on what she hoped was a pitiable-little-girl face. “Please, ma’am, I was separated from my parents at the market just down the way. I don’t know my fellytone number yet, so could I borrow your fellytone book?” There, it was out! Ginny was fairly sure she’d acted well, having practiced it in front of the mirror. The lady chuckled merrily. “Fellytone? Oh, you poor thing! Of course you can use our telephone book!” Inwardly, Ginny smiled in triumph, but she kept her little-girl face. She took the lady’s hand and followed her inside. Ginny couldn’t help staring as the lady went to fetch the book. She was in a Muggle house! There were lights that ran on eckeltricky! And there was a commuter sitting on the desk in the corner, and an actual fellytone, or telephone, on the wall! The lady came back in the room clutching a large yellow book. “Here you are, dear,” she said, smiling. “What is your last name?” Ginny had not planned for this, and she wasn’t going to tell even this nice lady that she was tracking down the Dursleys. Struggling to think of an excuse, she remembered what her mum had drilled into her brain. “Um, I’m sorry, ma’am, but my mummy told me never to tell my name to strangers.” The lady smiled. “All right. But if you need help looking up your number, just tell me.” Ginny had quickly located the Dursleys’ address, avoided the lady’s offer of use of a phone, and walked back home. Back in the safety of her room at the Burrow, Ginny could hardly believe what she’d done. It gave her a bold feeling of independence, knowing that she’d walked into a Muggle house! And it gave her hope that she could do the next step of her plot to discipline the Dursleys. |
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