A Summer Without the Sun

Chapter 2: Trouble in Class

...The sun is out this morning. It looks so strange, like I have never seen it before. But it's really been only three months. There's so much color and brightness. I never want to see black and gray again. I want this color to stay.

Ginny woke to the strange musings of the Voice. It sounded so curious and innocent. 'Imagine feeling like you've never seen the sun!' she thought, dismayed. Yawning, she looked at her Muggle clock. Unfortunately, the owner of the Voice was an early riser. 'Well, I guess it's time for me to become one as well.' She climbed out of bed and got ready for the day.

With each step that she took, she expected the Voice to cut in with a comment or two, but it didn't. This made her extremely jumpy, and many of her classmates gave her strange looks all through breakfast. In fact, the Voice was quiet until the middle of Potions, the very worst time to be hearing voices, especially for Ginny, being a Gryffindor and a Weasley. It caused her to start violently, nearly upsetting her phial of dragon saliva.

The Voice sighed plaintively. There's perfect Potter and his little admirers. Bet he has nothing to worry about. He probably had the best summer of everyone. Wish I could be that carefree.

'Ah, so our dear Voice is jealous!' Ginny thought triumphantly. He mustn't know Harry very well, however; he didn't know how awful living with the Dursleys really was. Her feelings must have shown on her face, because Snape noticed and strolled to her workstation.

"Miss Weasley," he chided, his usual smirk in place, "Need I remind you that the holidays are over and everyone except you are in class? You can't afford to get behind on the very first day."

"Sorry, Professor, it won't happen again," Ginny apologized, avoiding eye contact. Snape scared her when he got angry. She didn't really know why, but the nightmarish image of Lucius Malfoy always showed up when Snape lectured like this.

"I should think not," he growled and swept away, continuing his lecture on Forgetfulness Potions. Ginny sighed. That could not have been good! She carefully concentrated the rest of the lesson, determined not to let Snape or the Voice get the better of her.

That afternoon in Transfiguration, however, Professor McGonagall was not pleased at all. "Miss Weasley!" she exclaimed, "For the last time, please keep your comments to yourself!"

Ginny nodded and blushed embarrassedly. Without thinking, she had replied loudly to something the Voice had said. Unfortunately, that reply had been somewhat rude and quite out of place in a Transfiguration lesson. The entire class had burst into fits of laughter. Ginny had looked around the room, shocked. She slumped down in her seat, wishing for the lesson to be over quickly.

McGonagall gave her a piercing glare as she hurried past with the rest of her classmates. "You're not off to a good start, Miss Weasley."

"You're telling me," Ginny grumbled.