Something More

Hogsmeade was quite a lively little village during the holiday season, and with Christmas only fifteen days away, there was a lot to be done, sweets to be purchased from Honeydukes and dinner invitations to be sent out from the owl post office.

The cold winter weather certainly didn't prevent anyone from coming down to the only all-wizard town in Britain, in fact, most people fancied standing out in the snow, conversing with friends and catching up on old memories. Essentially, Hogsmeade was a gathering place for witches and wizards alike.

It had been snowing now for nearly six days straight, and the prospect of a white Christmas had everyone in high spirits.

Well...almost everyone.

Ginny Weasley stood leaning behind the shoppe counter, chin in her hand as she peered out the large window, watching the little children run around in circles while they happily chucked balls of snow at one another. She watched as couples passed, holding hands and grinning wholeheartedly.

Oh how she wished she could switch places with any of them.

The Weasley's, primarily Fred and George, had opened up a store in Hogsmeade - Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, after the owner of Zonko's Joke Shop retired at the age of seventy. He had agreed to give the family a generous discount on the shop, and they had gladly accepted.

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes had thus far done extremely well. People simply adored Fred and George's crazy contraptions; Ton-Tongue Toffees, Canary Creams, et cetera. The two mischievous men were constantly creating new and amusing inventions.

She supposed some people never grew up. Her brothers certainly had a way with the kids, anyway, and not so much the adults.

Ginny had decided to help out with the store, doing small jobs such as keeping up with the maintenance, greeting customers and whatever else Fred and George would probably forget to do, and it had undoubtedly contributed to the success of the place.

The youngest Weasley figured that working at the store would take her mind off of the fact that she didn't really have much of an eventful life. Yet even with that, Ginny still felt that something was missing from her life. Something...she didn't know what exactly, but the girl held onto the less than promising belief that maybe, whatever it was, it had just been misplaced somewhere, and that it would eventually come back to her.

Virginia didn't think herself pretty, never did. She never wore any makeup, never did anything special with her hair, and her clothing always seemed so...so plain...so simple.

Ginny was a Weasley, and if a Weasley ever stood out, it usually wasn't a good thing.

Throughout her years at Hogwarts, her siblings had to some extent overshadowed her. They were always getting into mischief, always breaking the rules, and for the most part behaving like giant goofs...but they were known for it. Among the Gryffindors, at least. But Ginny...she had always remained hidden in the shadows, along with the title of "Ron's little sister", regardless of the fact that he was only a year older.

Ginny was always...just Ginny. Just Ginny.

And at nineteen, that was all she was convinced she would ever be.

Suddenly, the form of Mrs. Weasley apparated right in front of the girl's eyes. Ginny jumped back, startled. "Mum," she breathed, placing a delicate pale hand over her chest. "You scared me."

"Sorry about that, dear," Molly laughed, patting her daughter on the back.

The stout woman looked around the room suspiciously. "It's terribly quiet in here...where are Fred and George?" The woman paused, before pointing a finger at Ginny. "They didn't leave you to do everything, did they?" she questioned angrily, but the remark resembled more of an accusation that anything else.

"No mum, they just walked down to The Three Broomsticks to get themselves some lunch," Ginny replied. Stepping over to the shelf next to the counter, she began to stock it with Cockroach Clusters, candies believed to actually have real cockroaches inside.

Mrs. Weasley watched with a hint of a frown, as her daughter aimlessly stocked the shelves, not even appearing to be paying attention to the task. Just doing. "Oh...well aren't you hungry?" the woman inquired.

"Not especially, no," the redhead answered.

"Virginia, dear...I'm awfully worried about you." Ginny didn't dare to turn around and look at her mother, aware that if she did, she'd see nothing but worry etched across her face. So instead, she continued to place the packages of magical candy on the shelves. Her mother continued, realizing that Ginny wasn't going to reply. "It just seems that you're always so...distracted from..." the woman momentarily trailed off "well..Everything, really."

Finally, Virginia turned around. "Mum, I'll be fine. Really," the girl assured, not wanting her mother to worry. I'm always fine, she thought bitterly.

Walking up to Ginny, Molly cupped her daughter's face with her hand, and sighed in defeat. The last thing she wanted to do was force the information out of her. "Alright, dear...just remember; you can talk to me. Anytime. About anything. Okay?" Ginny nodded, albeit reluctantly, and Mrs.

Weasley dropped her hand. "Well, I should probably get back to your father. When I left, he was trying to magic one of those Muggle radios...or whatever you call them."

Ginny forced out a little laugh, certain that it would put her mother at ease. However, it only caused Mrs. Weasley to tilt her head to the side and offer Virginia a brief, yet curious glance.

She knew.

"Just keep in mind what I said," she pressed, giving her daughter a sympathetic smile. "And tell Fred and George that I said not to leave you here alone all the time!" Then the plump little woman was gone. Dissapparated, of coarse.

Ginny let out a breath of relief. Mrs. Weasley could see right through her cheerful masquerade, and every time she saw her mother, the redhead felt a fresh pang of guilt. Ginny couldn't believe herself; she was actually beginning to dread her own mother's visits.

Frowning, she glanced around the room to see if anything needed to be done, anything that might divert her attention from her current predicament. She reckoned Fred and George would be gone for at least a half an hour.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ginny noticed her family's precious flower vase sitting on the desk in the corner of the room, filled with beautiful pink and white camellias, a winter flower. The piece of pottery had survived several generations of Weasley ancestry, and she had to wonder why her mother would trust Fred and George with it.

Walking over to the desk, Virginia picked up the vase, feeling that the arrangement would look much more wonderful near the front window.

It's always the same old bloody line..."I'm fine..." she scoffed aloud, walking towards the window next to the door. "Fine, fine, fine, fine-"

The sound of the creaky old door opening abruptly stopped Ginny from her venting. She plastered on a warm smile, ready to greet the new customer...only...when the person's face became visible, Ginny's smile immediately fell and her brown eyes widened.

It was Draco Malfoy.

The vase unconsciously slipped through her fingers, though she vaguely heard the diminishing sound of delicate porcelain shattering into thousands of pieces of Weasley family heirloom.

Horrified, Ginny stepped back until she was completely pressed against the wall.

Draco's face and ripped shirt were almost entirely veiled by dirt and mud, as well as the unmistakable red fluid - blood. His arm was tightly clutched at his side, and the exposed skin was covered in cuts and bruises, which horribly complemented his blue and black left eye.

He stood there, coughing, shoulders slumped, body shaking from the frigid weather outside...

"So it's true..." he sputtered, along with bits of crimson-coloured blood, before collapsing to the ground with a sickening clunk.

To be continued.