A Blank Verse Romance

A/N - Hello all of the Harry Potter Fandom! This is my first Harry Potter fanfic and I am really excited. I think it is going to be extremely long and of fairly good quality. Just so you know ships in this fan fic will be Ron/Hermione and (eventually) Ginny/Draco. The main character and POV for this story is Ginny! I just adore her with her cute little ways! Sorry, poor Harry doesn't get anyone ... if you ask really hard I'll put him with Cho or some other random pretty, sweet, sensitive girl. Sorry this chapter is so boring. Read and Review!

A Blank Verse Romance Chapter One: A Day at the Burrow

"Ginny!" called out Mrs. Weasley, in a somewhat exasperated voice. "Dinner is on the table!" Looking down at her book, Ginny hesitated to close it. She tentatively called out saying, "Can I eat in my room?" expecting the sharp answer she received.

"You have eaten in your room for both breakfast and lunch, as well as tea. You will come downstairs and join your family or you will not have any supper Virginia!" Virginia, she thought bitterly. She hated being called that. Placing a worn leather bookmark on the page, Ginny left Pride & Prejudice to be finished hopefully later that evening.

She clambered down the stairs to the warm smells of tomato soup, roast potatoes, corned beef and cabbage. Not an especial favorite of hers but she was willing enough. Far be it from any Weasley to turn their nose up to good food.

"Make room Ron," Ginny ordered stoutly, sitting by Ron and Hermione. While piling cabbage onto her plate, she stole a glance at Harry who grinned and went back to stuffing his face with potatoes. Her face lit up scarlet, redder than her famous Weasley hair.

"Hey Ginny, are you going to eat all of the cabbage? I didn't know you were such a vegetarian all of a sudden," grinned Ron happily. Startled at the entire contents of the cabbage dish (seeming to have suddenly apparated onto her plate), Ginny's face went even more red, if that was possible, which is very unlikely.

The rest of the meal continued in relative silence, a compliment to Mrs. Weasley's delicious cooking. Ron and Hermione said they were going to 'take a stroll' which, in any normal language meant they wanted to snog in privacy. As they left Fred and George sang "Ron and Hermione sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Ginny smiled and began back upstairs.

"Hey Ginny?" she whirled at the sound of Harry's voice, slave to it's every command. "Want to play some Exploding Snap?" She blushed and nodded. The scrubbed kitchen table was then exposed to scorch marks in a vigorous round where Ginny lost terribly, mostly due to the fact that her hands were shaking violently. The front door rattled softly and some giggling was heard.

"Ron, stop that!" said Hermione irritably, trying to shush him. They both were grinning and went up stairs, parting their ways for the night. Harry rolled his eyes.

"You haven't any idea how hard it is to sleep with him," Harry jerked his head towards the stairs where Ron had been, "He giggles insanely into his pillow even after he falls asleep." Ginny grinned at him. Harry began to pick up the cards and their hands brushed each other as Ginny had reached to help.

"I'm going to bed," she exclaimed, pushing her chair back noisily and tripping up the stairs in her hurry. She stopped just outside her door, breathing hard and trying to clam the butterflies in her stomach. The door opened roughly and Hermione poked her head out.

"Are you alright? I heard you on the stairs but you --"

"I'm fine, just a bit tired you know." Hermione shrugged and dropped it. She figured something had happened between her and Harry. Sometimes Hermione did wish Ginny was a bit more forward, about boys anyway. Her love life was going no where fast and this year she would be Sweet Sixteen. Glancing over at Ginny, Hermione noticed the book on her dresser.

"Oh! Pride & Prejudice!" she exclaimed, making Ginny jump as Hermione seized the book. The second hand book, with it's very flexible spine, fell open to the book marked page. "I just adore Jane Austen but how on earth did you come across it?"

"Muggle Studies,"she replied smiling, "It's a summer reading assignment. I wouldn't really consider it homework though." She grinned mischievously at Hermione. "Mr. Darcy is a very alluring man, isn't he? Knows exactly what girls want. 'She is tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me,'" she quoted in a deep voice, both girls grinning like loons.

"Goodnight Hermione," said Ginny, as she curled up in her soft blankets, thinking of someone else besides Mr. Darcy. She smiled into her pillow.

-*-*-*-

The following morning, breakfast ensued as usual, slightly burnt sausages and toast all around. As Fred was slathering marmalade on his toast, an owl swooped in, dropping The Daily Prophet and four letters addressed in emerald green ink, nearly missing the marmalade.

"Hogwarts letters today," muttered Mrs. Weasley, "We'll go into Diagon Alley as soon as you're all finished with your food." She cut more slices of bread for toasting. Ginny ripped open her letter with great delight, scanning the list of supplies:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Sixth year students will require:

COURSE BOOKS

The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6 by Miranda Goshawk

The Dark Arts Defense You Thought You Knew Before You Read This Book by Tully Dodds

Advanced Astronomy by W. H. Freeman

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

Muggle Fairy Tales: The Mystery and the Humor by Danielle Donatello

OTHER SUPPLIES

1 muggle compact disc of any selection of music (modern)

1 muggle video cassette tape (modern)

Ginny's eyes widened in alarm. Poking Hermione in the ribs, Ginny only dared ask in a small, frightened whisper, "Hermione, what's a compact disc?"

-*-*-*-

Diagon Alley was cheerful with the usual hustle and chatter of the crowds, a very safe feeling. Mrs. Weasley dragged Ginny off to the second hand book shop while Ron, Harry and Hermione went off in search of their own thing. Why do they always get to go off by themselves? Ginny thought angrily to herself. I am just as capable of taking care of myself as they are. At the back of her mind, Ginny knew the answer of this frustrating question. Her mother, having only had one daughter, clung to her. The day would, of course, come when Ginny was going to be old enough to date, get a job, get out of the house ... Mrs. Weasley was not looking forward to these events.

Ginny looked uneasily at the row of diaries. First of all, she couldn't think of a single reason why anyone would want a second hand diary. It had already been written in if it was second hand. And, giving a nervous shudder, she remembered her very evil, very secret and yet very precious second hand diary. Ginny had almost lost her soul to what she considered to be the worst of devils with that diary. Tom's diary. She left the shop, with mother in tow.

"Mum," Ginny piped up in a squeak, "could I get a kitten?" Mrs. Weasley stopped for a moment and looked at her daughter with soft eyes.

"Dear, dear Ginny. What could you possibly want with a kitten? And why the sudden inclination?" On the contrary, Ginny had been thinking long and hard about this. She had always been a great cat lover and kept feeling a longing for a cat of her own every time she laid eyes on Crookshanks. Though, she admitted, she did not exactly like Crookshanks.

"Please?" Her large brown eyes quivered with hope. A small fight ensued and Mrs. Weasley gave in, saying there was money to spare since Percy had moved out.

"Do realize Ginny," she said, as they headed down the alley, "that a cat is a responsibility. You have to feed it, wash it, take care of it very carefully ..."

The Magical Menagerie had animals of all size and variety but Ginny was hoping to find a cat without any particular magical powers. She didn't want to deal with checking it's magical abilities. The woman behind the counter was tall and thin, with beady black eyes and a hooked nose so incredibly like Snape's that she could have passed as his sister. Mrs. Weasley pushed Ginny towards the counter.

"What animal have you got in mind? Any special favorite?" Her smile was grey, her teeth looking very fake indeed.

"I'd like a cat please. A small one, with no magical powers if you could." The woman led her over to a low shelf that had only two small cages on it. Inside each was a small grey kitten, the one on the left with normal black cat eyes and the other with astonishingly green eyes, that reminded Ginny of Harry. She reached out a hand, slowly and the kitten reached out a paw. It was softer than velvet and her heart melted.

"This one please." The hook nosed woman gruffly lifted the cage and settled it on the counter. Ginny bought her cat and the necessary supplies to take care of it. They met up with Harry, Ron and Hermione at Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlor. Harry offered her some of his ice cream and she blushed terrifically, refusing politely. Ginny sat down with them, while Mrs. Weasley chatted animatedly with some acquaintance at the next shop over. She showed them her cat.

"Thought of a name yet?" asked Hermione. She tickled the kitten under its chin and it purred delightedly.

"I was thinking Ellipsis," Ginny stated firmly, to sniggers from Ron. She gave him a look as he began to choke on his ice cream.

"That's an odd name ... why Ellipsis? Aren't ellipsis the little dots people use in writing?" Harry seemed genuinely curious.

"Well Ellipsis is used when something is omitted or left out and I felt that since I have wanted a cat all my life that it was my ellipsis, my missing --"

"So anyway," Hermione was saying, "I've come up with a little plan for dealing with Ferret Boy this year. Besides being Head Girl ..." she trailed off as Ginny looked forlorn. She didn't much care what they did to Malfoy, as long as he didn't do anything to hurt Harry this year. That little prat seemed to continually be dragging Harry down and she couldn't see why. Besides Malfoy being in Slytherin, a haughty, pompous Pureblood with a head the size of Athens ... I guess nobody had much feelings (besides hate) towards him. How could you?