Strange Little Girl

Virginia Weasley doesn’t dislike her name, really. Other’s might suit her better, of course, but sometimes you have to take what your given and move on. Virginia (no one calls her Ginny any more, save for her family out of habit and affection, and Harry out of habit and absent-mindedness) is a strong believer in this. Virginia would never spend time worrying about something as silly as a name. ‘Virginia’ helps her image, after all. Innocent. Pure. The victim of horrid tragedies. There isn’t much to a name.

She has changed drastically ever since the events of her first year. She is no longer the innocent child she was at eleven. Tom (She still thinks of him fondly. Her Tom.) knew she was different. He knew she wasn’t just another Weasley, distinguishable from the others only by her sex. He could tell that she wasn’t just the quiet, shy first year with a crush on The Golden Boy that she seemed to be. Of course he betrayed her in the end, nearly caused her death - but this was no more than she had expected. Tom Marvolo Riddle. ‘I am Lord Voldemort.’ Yes. And she thinks, ‘Virginia Weasley. I was his lover.’ She could have been a Slytherin, she knew. The sorting hat told her so, as she sat perched on the wooden stool feeling very small under the gave of her future classmates, but she convinced it that no, Gryffindor she must be, and it had reluctantly placed her in the house of her choice.

That summer, before her first year, Virginia had found a small leather diary tucked inside the pages of one of her school books. She thought it was a present from Percy at first - he’d always encouraged her to write. Percy knew she was different too. Percy. Her favorite. She barely saw him now that he’d left. He shared a flat with Oliver - so that he could be closer to the Ministry, he said. Mum believed this. Virginia had her doubts - the two always looked so tousled whenever she stopped by, and once she’d found a copy of “The Ancient Art of Homo Erotic Spells”, fully illustrated with moving photographs that appeared to be of two men, or in some cases more than two, on Percy’s desk, when searching for a quill. Virginia had smiled knowingly, and chuckled a bit before placing it carefully back under a pile of outdated Daily Prophets.

But Virginia had begun to write in the journal, before discovering its magical properties. Tom began to talk to her, to teach her, and eventually to ‘educate’ her. She was always willing, even when he cut her, and bruised her and made her sob and beg. It’s been six years, and she has never found a lover who can compare to Tom. Virginia knows. She's searched.

Virginia dislikes the Hufflepuffs - they’re disgustingly naive, and they have no stamina. She’s likes a challenge and they provide none - Justin has no idea how to pleasure his partner. Ravenclaws on the other hand, are surprisingly sexual, in a studious fashion. They perform with a practiced ease, but they consider everything an experiment - Virginia draws the line at fucking in accordance with the scientific method. Virginia likes the Slytherins best. They don’t raise an eyebrow at her kinks, nor do they object to polyamory, and Ginny doesn’t like to limit her pleasure options by something as silly as gender. Pansy Parkinson is just as good between the sheets as Blaise Zabini. (Not that Virginia would ever share this information. Discretion is important to her - she has brothers, after all.) She’s learned that Gryffindors are to be avoided - much too close to home for Virginia’s taste. After one slightly drunken session of groping behind the broom shed with one Seamus Finnigan after Quidditch practice, Virginia decided that it just wasn’t worth it. Seamus would never say anything for fear of Ron’s wrath, but it was far too risky. The only one she’d break her rule for is Harry. Virginia has always liked Harry.

Harry Potter. The Golden Boy of Hogwarts, and the hero of witches and wizards everywhere. Harry has changed since the events during his fourth year. He blames himself for Cedric’s Death and has lost all confidence - and the wizarding world, which has grown increasingly uneasy over the past few years, has begun to lose faith in him. Since Voldemort’s return, there have been few attacks, and the general population is in agreement that Something Big is going to happen - and soon. Even those expected to be the Future Death Eaters of Hogwarts seemed to have been left in the dark about any future happenings. (What, Virginia thought, a silly title. Not at all fitting, unless the followers of Lord Voldemort were some sort of post-mortem cannibals - an accusation which Draco Malfoy took great offense to when questioned. His whole family, he replied, were vegetarians, and while he personally had no wish to become a Death Eater - Virginia wasn’t entirely sure that his only dislike for the idea didn’t just stem from the fact that masks weren’t in style this season - if he were to be one, he wouldn’t be eating anyone or their grandmother, thank-you-very-much.)

Along with his loss of confidence, Harry seems to have gained a new persona. His exudes an awkward sort of quietness - his presence is like an uncomfortable silence on even the loudest of days. He shields vulnerability behind a hardened mask - Harry doesn’t seem worried that masks, figurative or literal, are most definitely not in style this season. Draco might have told him this if ever he thought it appropriate to advise Harry - but he never does. Draco tries to avoid discussing anything with Harry these days, as he often feels the urge to commit acts that are far less appropriate than conversing. This makes Draco uncomfortable. He longs for approval, and he’s quite sure that his father would not approve.
Virginia watches Harry, and sees the occasional moments when his shield breaks - just for a second. She sees him during Quidditch practices, when he’s suddenly care free, and he literally shines. (Virginia has been the Keeper for Gryffindor ever since her fifth year, much to Ron’s disappointment - he wishes he’d made the team, and the shock of the rest of the school who had absolutely no idea she was athletically inclined. Actually, neither had Virginia - she tried out on request of Katie Bell, who had been her lover at the time. She found that she truly loved Quidditch though, and she loved to watch the other players.)

She watches Draco too. She sees the way that he watches Harry. Everyone watches Harry - but not like Draco. He stares at Harry with a passionate hatred that seems less like hatred and more like a general passion. Draco feels passion for Harry, and at Harry, and he hates Harry so much that he wants to love him, and he hates Harry because he can’t. Draco Malfoy. What a name - and what a reputation attached. Draco never should have been Malfoy, Virginia knows this even if Draco does not. She’d be the last to say that Draco wasn’t as malicious and affected as he appears, but Virginia knows he’s not as shallow as some might think. Draco’s very torn when he thinks no one’s looking. He doesn’t want to be a Death Eater - he doesn’t have that thirst for power, that need to prove himself. He’s an independent. Virginia knows what he wants.

Of course, no one at Hogwarts - not a Slytherin nor a Gryffindor, could really guess what Draco wants. If he’s anything, he’s discreet. Her brother is convinced, Virginia knows, that he wants to kill Harry. Ron has always been melodramatic, and no matter how jealous he is of Harry’s fame, Ron worries. He has more loyalty than anyone Virginia has met - even those silly Hufflepuffs. And Draco might want to kill Harry, but he’s shag him rotten before he did it, and Draco would never risk his dignity like that. For Draco’s part, the Wonder Boy will remain alive, and un-shagged.

Virginia is not the naive and oblivious little girl she appears to be - she notices everything. She has always been intelligent - Dumbledore placed her in classes above her level, an unprecedented event at Hogwarts. She learns along with the seventh years, much to Hermione’s envy. Hermione has always been the best. She has become more and more active since Ginny (as she still calls Virginia) joined the class, as if daring Virginia to show her up once again. Virginia is quiet, though. She observes, always the observer, and she notices the subtleties. She sees the way Hermione watches Ron, as though she’s afraid that if she stops he’ll disappear. And the way Ron watches Harry, because Harry is the best, and how sometimes he watches Lavender from the corner of his eye. And she watches Harry, she watches Draco watch Harry, and Harry watches no one.

Virginia watches, and she fucks. She enjoys them both equally, and finds them both satisfyingly informational. She knows that Blaise chews his fingers during sex, and that behind his closed eyes he pretends she is Draco. She realizes that Draco feels no affection for Blaise, and sees delicately concealed initials on his notebooks: H. P. She knows that Hermione is saving herself for Ron, at that Ron will never notice her as more than another sister. She knows that Ron loves Lavender, and that Lavender loves him, and both are far too shy to act on these feelings. She’ll send Lavender a rose under his name - Virginia knows how to romance a girl. Pansy hates boys - her supposed relationship with Draco Malfoy was a fabricated charade to keep up appearances. Pansy longs for the day Millicent Bulstrode will finally admit her love, (though Virginia is sure she really loves Vincent Goyle) while Draco pines for Potter. Pansy likes to be courted with chocolates and flowers - she is a born romantic, and not so horrid looking once she washes her hair.

Divination intrigues Virginia, and her talents are quite apparent. She’d never tell Professor Trelawney her results though. The woman is an utter failure at the art, with the brain capacity of an insect. So Virginia studies on her own. She knows that Harry will die young. (Though the cause she does not know - tea leaves are a bit sketchy.) Hermione will never marry Ron, but she will join the Weasley clan anyway - Bill takes a fancy to her. Pansy will be married to Vincent Crabbe through a family arrangement - both will be unfaithful, both will carry out affairs with Millicent Bulstrode (who will finally grow into her nose). Ron will marry Lavender, they will live a fairy tale marriage and adopt the children Lavender is unable to bear. Blaise Zabini will overdose on Muggle drugs in his late twenties. He will never find the love he seeks. And Draco will finally love Harry - briefly and with all the passion that he contains. Stuck in a boring ministry position after Harry’s death, he will drink and remember better times.

Virginia chooses not to look for her own future. She is a strong believer in fate, and knows that nothing will keep her from the inevitable. Ignorance is bliss. She thinks of Tom, and she loves wildly and physically, and she wonders how a name could be so unfitting. Virginia. She doesn’t dislike it, really. She sips her tea, and watches the tea leaves swirl away down the drain, unread. Her future waits for her, somewhere.