Ginny Weasley, In Her Own Words

GWIHOW

Later

Joanna, you won´t believe this - Hermione agrees with me about Harry!

Well, of course she does. You keep saying she´s smart, right?

She´s the smartest witch of her year. And of mine, and the sixth-year, too, truthfully. There´s a seventh year Ravenclaw that might come close, but that´s about it. And you know what that means, Joanna?

I haven´t a clue.

It means that Harry really does fancy me! Maybe. Hopefully. Probably.

Ginny, you sound giddy.

I feel giddy. Brighid - she´s the sixth-year prefect - yelled at me for running on the stairs, but I don´t care. I feel like I could dance.

I´m sure you do, Ginny, but isn´t it quite late? Shouldn´t you be asleep?

I suppose so, Joanna, but how can I sleep knowing that Harry´s probably regretting not asking me to the ball? And think of Christmas - he´s going to be in my house! Of course, he´s been there before, but this will be different, I just know it will.

Gin-

But you know what, Joanna? Winky agrees with you. She´s glaring at me, and waving my nightdress in my face. Joanna, I think she means to undress me!

Well, Ginny, she is your - ow! What was that for, young lady? ...Ginny?

GWIHOW

December 3

Hi, Joanna! You won´t believe what Harry did today - he almost sat down next to me at breakfast, but then he realized I was there, and went all the way around the table to sit next to Ron instead. Isn´t that wonderful?

If you say so, Ginny.

But don´t you think it´s significant, Joanna? Hermione and I do - we think it shows he´s feeling awkward around me, which shows -

Hold on, Ginny, slow down. Yes, I think it´s significant, and yes, I think it means what you think it means, but I´m also waiting for an explanation of your slamming me shut the last time you wrote.

Oh, Joanna, I´m so sorry! That wasn´t me - Winky did that. She thought I´d written enough, and should be asleep, so she Summoned you right out of my hands! And she wouldn´t give you back.

Oh, Ginny.

Joanna, are you laughing at me?

How could you tell that?

I don´t know, I just had a feeling. Don´t you worry, though, I´ll handle Winky.

What socks are you wearing right now, Ginny?

Plain gray ones. Oh, all right...this will take some managing. But I will - she´s supposed to be my house-elf, not the other way around!

Good luck, Ginny.

Thanks, Joanna. Talk to you later - I need to head to Divination. Unmingled joy.

GWIHOW

December 5

Were you serious about wanting Yule Ball updates, Joanna? Because I´m finding that I like to talk about it all, and Hermione just isn´t that interested.

Of course I was serious! I´m ready and waiting, Ginny.

Okay, I´ll start with the obvious ones. Fred and Angelina are going together, of course, and so are Lee and Alicia. They´ve been couples since last year, though, so that´s not a news flash. But, George hasn´t asked anyone yet.

He hasn´t asked Brenna yet? Why not?

Well...remember when I had that snowball fight with Theo and Katie, and I said that Katie would deny that she was primping for Theo? The reason she´d deny it is that she´s fancied George for years.

Does he know?

Of course. She´s been almost as obvious about it as I had been about my crush on Harry, and the fact that she´s best friends with Angelina and Alicia hasn´t helped. It really hasn´t helped George, either, because everyone just expects all six of them to pair up. They do everything together, anyway.

Except that George meets Brenna in the library, and Katie is learning wandless magic with you and Theo.

I know. Well, Fred and Angelina, and Lee and Alicia, need some time to sneak off and snog, and it´s not as though George and Katie would be doing that.

But Katie would like that.

Truthfully, Joanna, I´m not sure that Katie knows what she wants. I´ve seen her with George, and I´ve seen her with Theo. I know what it looks like to me, but it´s almost as though she´s so used to fancying George that she can´t see what´s right in front of her.

George is planning to ask Brenna to the Yule Ball, right?

How would I know? I´m only his sister - he certainly doesn´t talk to me. I think he wants to, but he doesn´t want to hurt Katie.

That will only hurt Katie more in the long run.

I know that, and you know that (even Hermione knows that!), but you keep telling me that boys are oblivious.

Maybe you should talk to him.

I really don´t think George wants relationship advice from his little sister.

Hmm...you´re probably right. What about Katie?

Joanna, she´s three years older than I am! I just couldn´t.

I suppose not. Well, we´ll just have to watch and wait. Any more news?

Oh, yes, lots! Seamus Finnigan and Lavender Brown are going together - they´re in Harry´s year - but that´s not really news, either. Remember when I saw them together in the Three Broomsticks?

Oh, yes. She was sitting on his lap.

Yes...

What is it, Ginny?

Well, remember how I said that it showed low class?

Yes.

I´ve been thinking...I still think it wasn´t in the best taste, but if Harry wanted me to sit on his lap, I don´t think I´d care where we were.

That´s the spirit, Ginny!

Really? You don´t think less of me for that?

Of course not. I´m not saying that you should sit on Harry´s - or anyone else´s - lap in the Three Broomsticks, only that you shouldn´t be ashamed that you want to. You don´t want to develop into a prude, after all.

Oh. Oh! You´re right, Joanna, I don´t. And Lavender certainly looked very happy. I´ll just try to pick a more private place, when my turn comes, but I won´t be fanatical about it.

That sounds just about right.

Good. Joanna, I have to go. Miss Stuart is expecting me. Bye!

GWIHOW

December 6

Joanna, you will not believe who just asked me to the ball. You simply won´t.

Yes, I will.

Draco Malfoy.

Okay, maybe I won´t. You´re teasing me, right?

No, I´m not.

Really, Ginny, what was he thinking?

He was thinking that no girl could refuse the wealthy, pure-blood, witty, charming, and, above all, devastatingly handsome Draco Malfoy. Especially not little Ginny Weasley, who is as boring and plain as her family is poor. Though at least I´m a pure-blood.

Oh, breila. Ron wasn´t around, by any chance, was he?

No, I was walking with my class from Potions to History of Magic. Why?

I was just hoping that Malfoy creature now has a black eye.

Hee. No, though Colin almost tried to give him one. Colin! I held him back, of course - Malfoy had his goons with him, and they could practically step on Colin. It was better than that, though - Annis, Brie, Velvet, and Enid all laughed at him.

Good for them! Are they your dormmates? And, is one of them really named Velvet?

Yes. One of the problems with trying to keep the bloodlines pure, the way her family does, is that you tend to inbreed. Her mother is very odd; her younger brother and sister are named Suede and Tulle, respectively.

That is...odd, Ginny.

I´d call it `insane´, myself, but `odd´ works, too. Luckily, their mum was so `odd´ that she didn´t marry someone from the old Gryffindor families. She actually married a Muggle! So, Velvet´s quite normal, though she seems a little ashamed of her Muggle blood - not because it´s Muggle, but because it´s not Gryffindor.

I thought you said she was normal.

Well, except for that. Myself, I´d be more ashamed of her mother than her father, but I´m not her.

Good thing. I don´t think the name Velvet would suit you. But I like your Velvet, Ginny, because she laughed at that Malfoy creature.

Well, she didn´t do it for me. At least, I´m pretty sure she didn´t. I think they all laughed because the idea of a Gryffindor going on a date with a Malfoy is nothing short of ludicrous. I hope that´s why they laughed, anyway.

Why, Ginny? Couldn´t they have been laughing because they know how much you hate him, so they know you wouldn´t go with him? After all, your families are feuding, aren´t they?

Oh, yes. You should have seen my father and Lucius Malfoy go at it in Flourish and Blotts my first year. And my dormmates certainly know that, but...I just hope that they weren´t laughing at the idea that someone - anyone - would ask me to the ball.

Oh, Ginny, you know that´s not true! After all, Colin asked you, the very night it was announced, and they know that, right?

Yes. And...someone else asked me, too. Or, at least, told me that he would have asked me, if he hadn´t already known that I had a date.

Really? Who?

Dean Thomas.

Refresh my memory, Ginny.

He´s in Harry´s year. I don´t really know him that well - the only times we´ve really talked were when he came to ask Hermione questions about schoolwork.

Oh, now I remember. After Hermione bit his head off, when you two were talking about Ron.

That´s the one. He´s been asking her more questions lately.

Um-hm. So he could talk to you?

Well, it looks that way, doesn´t it? But, Joanna, I hope...well, I hope it´s just a friendly thing. Or that it will fade to one quickly. Because Dean´s just not Harry. I must admit that it´s nice to have boys asking me to the ball, but...well, I´d give anything for Harry to be one of them.

Ginny, you´re a heart-breaker!

No, no, no. I don´t want to be, Joanna! I really don´t.

I´m just teasing, Ginny. Don´t worry, Colin and Dean must both know how you feel about Harry. Just make sure you don´t lead them on. Speaking of which, have you talked to Colin yet?

Joanna, I don´t know what to say!

Ginny -

No, really. Colin´s not acting any differently from normal - in fact, he´s acting more like he did last year, just plain friendly. So, how do I say, `By the way, Colin, I´m just going to the Yule Ball with you as a friend´?

I do see your point, Ginny.

Thank you. Don´t worry, though, if he ever does start acting...you know...I´ll set him straight.

Good. Breila, I´m glad to know that some boys can appreciate you, even though Harry´s too daft to show it yet.

Me, too. It does make me feel good. Oh, class is over. Bye, Joanna!

You´ve been writing in me in class again? Ginny? Oh, drat that girl.

GWIHOW

December 8

Joanna, with all of the fuss over the Yule Ball, it´s almost easy to forget that Christmas is coming up, too.

Is it? I always found it difficult to forget about Christmas.

Me, too, but this year, there´s so much else to worry about. Besides the always-worrying issue of presents, of course. There´s just never enough money to buy everything I want for everyone.

Ginny, I understand that that would be difficult, but it just means that you have to be creative.

I know, and I actually enjoy coming up with unique gifts. It´s just that there are so many people I want to give things to this year! My family, of course, and Harry and Hermione, and Miss Stuart, and Colin, and Remus. He´s been so supportive. I think that´s it. Oh, and Hagrid. And Winky. Whew!

That does sound like a lot of people. How much do you have to spend?

Not much. I do have some ideas. I´m going to make Fred and George´s picture frames for Miss Stuart, Hagrid, and Remus, with pictures of all of us in them, but especially of Harry. I think they´ll all like that.

That sounds perfect, Ginny.

Now, Ron´s more difficult. Last year, I made a scrapbook of Chudley Cannons memorabilia and clippings for him. They´re his favorite Quidditch team, and they´re horrible. Last in the League for decades.

Why does he like them so much?

I don´t know. I always tease him about them - it´s so much fun to tease Ron.

I´m sure it is. Well, what are you going to give him this year?

Well, Hermione´s giving him a set of Quidditch balls signed by the entire Bulgarian national team - Viktor Krum sent them to her, but she obviously doesn´t want them - and I thought of making a stand for them.

That sounds like a good idea.

Maybe. I think I´d like something more personal, but...I´ll think about it. And Hermione´s easy. She not only loves books, she loves used books, so I´ll find something in the Rowan and Oak in Hogsmeade next weekend. The real worry, though, is Harry.

Oh, Ginny. He loved your birthday present, didn´t he?

Yes, but I can´t give him another one, can I?

Of course not. I just meant that he´ll love whatever you give him. It will be coming from you, after all.

I know. That just gave me the nicest tingle, Joanna! Sigh. Anyway, I think I´ll probably - hang on a second.

*****

Sorry about that, Joanna. Annis actually burst into the room and jumped on my bed, which is highly unusual - Annis is normally very quiet and well-bred.

What happened?

Oh, Gryffydd ap Owen asked her to the Yule Ball. What else is anyone excited about nowadays, really? Gryffydd´s a Ravenclaw, though he´s the first in his family for generations who wasn´t a Gryffindor. He´s just crazy about Annis, but she´s so shy that she doesn´t believe it.

But now she does.

Well, she´s closer to believing it, anyway. Oh, Joanna, I forgot to tell you about Harry, if you can believe that.

What about Harry?

Well, he´s been acting really oddly ever since the ball was announced - avoiding me, like that day at breakfast, mostly. I wondered why (or rather, I knew what I hoped it was), but, of course, I didn´t want to ask him. Anyway, after Miss Stuart´s class today, he asked if he could talk to me. Remember how I told you that Harry and Hermione are coming to the Burrow for Christmas?

So Hermione is?

Oh, of course. She just wasn´t going to tell that to Ron when he was being such a prat. Her parents are going to come over for Christmas Day. Anyway, Harry wanted to know who he should buy presents for.

Whoever he wants!

That´s what I told him. He´s so sweet, isn´t he, Joanna? He was really worried about this. Oh, and I finally had the chance to tell him that I don´t want another brother. I told him that I really wanted a friend.

But that´s not all you want!

Of course not, Joanna, but one step at a time. What I don´t want, under any circumstances, is for Harry to feel like a brother to me, so that´s what I emphasized. Besides...I didn´t need to say anything more. Unless I´m much mistaken, his mind went there all by itself.

Really?

Well, I paused before I said `friends´, and I swear, Joanna, he almost stopped breathing.

Ginny, I think you´re turning into a flirt.

Oh, no, Joanna. I just think it´s fair to put Harry through some mental anguish, for all that he´s put me through over the years. Besides, what was I supposed to do, throw myself on him in Miss Stuart´s classroom?

Oh, very well, Ginny.

Anyway, he´s been acting more normally since then, so what I said obviously helped.

I´m glad, Ginny.

Me, too. Oh, Joanna, I forgot to tell you - Harry and Hermione aren´t the only ones coming to the Burrow for Christmas. Winky and Dobby are, too.

Don´t you want them to? They´ll be a big help for your mother.

Oh! Well, that´s true, of course, and that´s...good. But I was rather looking forward to some time away from Winky.

Having problems with her, are you?

You have no idea. It´s, "Miss Ginny must do this!" and "Miss Ginny must not do that!" all day long. With a much bigger emphasis on the latter.

I thought you were going to manage her, Ginny.

I thought so, too! Any suggestions, Joanna?

Truthfully, Ginny, I think this is just something the two of you will have to work out for yourselves. Remember, I didn´t have any house elves, but I did have servants. With them, it was mainly realizing that they had a job to do - taking care of me - and that I had to let them do their job, or there would be problems.

But did any of them ever try to order you around?

Of course! Whenever a servant feels trusted and needed, the master-servant relationship can change quite a bit. I would think that could be even more true in your case, because Winky can do magic - some of it better than you can - so there´s that dynamic added into it. Besides, Ginny, she´s really just learning to be free, to be a servant, instead of a slave. That´s going to take some time.

All of that is true, Joanna, but it doesn´t exactly help me. And Harry´s having the same problems with Dobby. Poor Harry - ordered around by his horrid relatives all his life, and now he´s supposed to be ordering someone else around. He´s just not comfortable with it.

And you are?

Neither one of us is. Help, Joanna!

I´m sorry, Ginny, but I can´t offer much more help than I already have. Each master-servant relationship is different, so I can´t really even tell you how to start. I also can´t see you and Winky interacting, after all. Besides, Ginny, you´re so young. You might just have to put up with her ordering you around until you´re a bit older. Would that be so horrible?

Yes! Besides, Brie and Enid keep laughing at me not being able to manage my house-elf. Velvet and Annis are trying to help by giving all sorts of advice, but that´s almost worse.

Well, Ginny, I think you´ll just have to put up with it all. Unless you want to ask Professor Dumbledore to take Winky back?

No, I don´t want that. She´s definitely happier now than she was before. All right, Joanna, I´ll keep trying. Sorry to whine.

Ginny, to whom can you whine, if not to your diary? I´m just sorry I can´t offer any real help.

That´s all right, Joanna. Some things I just have to work out myself, I know that. Like the Protection Charm. And speaking of that, I need to go meet with Professor Flitwick. Talk to you later!

GWIHOW

December 11

It´s dinnertime, Joanna, but I´m not hungry, so I think I´ll write to you.

And why aren´t you hungry, young lady? You need to eat.

Oh, I did. I just had a lovely tea in the kitchens. The house-elves showered us with food.

What were you doing in the kitchens, Ginny? You don´t have Winky as an excuse anymore, and you´re really not supposed to be there.

Oh, I know. But...as we were coming out of Divination, Annis said that she was starving. We do talk a little in Divination, because we´re the only two Gryffindor girls in our year who take it. And I remembered what you said about giving my dormmates a chance, so I asked her if she wanted to sneak into the kitchens.

Are you corrupting innocent youth, Ginny?

Ha. Although Annis is pretty innocent - she´s too shy to be anything else. And she didn´t have the advantage of growing up with six older brothers.

Excuse me? Did you just say `advantage´?

Well, there was certainly no chance of me staying innocent for long! Not that it´s not a useful pose to take, sometimes.

True. So, what did you and Annis talk about?

Oh, you know. Girl stuff. Clothes, and make-up, and boys. I couldn´t believe it, to tell the truth. I kept thinking that I must be saying something wrong, but she didn´t seem to think so.

Of course not. It´s not some esoteric mystery, Ginny.

I know. It´s just that I so rarely do it. Oh, we talked about the Yule Ball, of course - every conversation between two girls these days seems to involve the Yule Ball. It still surprises me that I don´t mind, but I don´t. This is so much fun! Anyway, I knew who she´s going with, of course, and she knows I´m going with Colin, but she wanted to know if anyone else had asked me. Besides Malfoy, of course, she knew all about him.

Did you tell her about Dean?

No...well, I did mention that another Gryffindor had asked me, but I didn´t say who.

Ginny! She probably thinks it´s Harry.

I know. I can be sneaky, too, you know.

But why are you being sneaky about this?

Well, we think he doesn´t want people to know he...he fancies me, because of Voldemort, right?

Right...

Well, if everyone already knows, he might as well make it official, don´t you think?

Ginny, I´m not sure that´s going to work.

Neither am I, but it´ll be fun to try!

I just hope it doesn´t blow back in your face.

How could it? Harry´s as honest as they come - if he really does have feelings for me, he´s not going to be scared off by other people knowing about it.

I hope not, Ginny.

I know not. Oh, Joanna, I hear people coming back from dinner. I´d better head down to the common room and start my Transfiguration essay. Bye!

GWIHOW

December 14

Joanna, I´ve met a centaur!

Have you.

Yes, isn´t that exciting?

If you say so, Ginny.

You don´t think so?

Well...centaurs have never been either friendly or useful to me.

Really?

Maybe they´re different now, but the ones I knew...all they´d talk about was Mars being bright, a new double star in Gemini, and the dangers of the Christmas Star.

...I hope that makes sense to you, Joanna, `cause it doesn´t to me.

Oh, sure, it does now! But there´s always war in Wales, and how could I know that Llewellyn´s grandsons would cause so many problems? And even if I´d connected the Christmas Star with my niece Nell, I really don´t see how I could have stopped her from marrying Simon. If only that centaur had been clearer...

Yeah, Fleur warned me that they can be vague.

Vague! No, I´m sorry, Ginny. You were very excited, and I´m being unsupportive.

That´s okay, Joanna. When I´m excited, nothing can stop me! But someday, I´d like to hear all about it.

I thought you´d read all about it.

Yes, but I want to hear all about everything from you!

Not today, Ginny. Someday when I´m calmer about it all. Tell me what your centaurs said.

Oh, it´s not what they said. They didn´t say all that much, actually...though, come to think of it, they did say that Mars was bright. It was how they felt.

How they felt? They let you touch them?

No, no. I can´t imagine...no, I mean...almost an aura. Not that I can usually feel auras, so maybe it´s just that they´re so wise. They came galloping up to us, kicking snow everywhere, and it should have been wild and animalistic...and it was, but, somehow, it was also serene and stately.

Ginny, how long were you out in the snow?

Not very long. Not that that stopped Winky when I came back here. "Miss Ginny must not let her shoes and socks get so wet!" "Miss Ginny must not stand about in the snow for so long!" As though I don´t know how to cast Warming Charms. And my socks were not wet, just a little damp, from when I let my concentration lapse. The centaurs were just so interesting! But I really wasn´t out there a long time...they didn´t really want to talk to a human girl for very long, not even after Fleur told them that I´m a Seer.

Really? Now, that does surprise me. The centaurs near Aberfriw always wanted to talk to Catrin.

Well, these didn´t seem all that eager to talk to me, but Fleur warned me before we went that it would probably take time for them to warm up to me. She said that because I´m a Seer, they´ll feel drawn to me, almost as though they can´t help but talk to me. But they´ll fight it, because they don´t like humans, and they´ll resist that pull as much as they can. It helped that she was there - they like her, because she´s part Veela. They like anyone better who isn´t completely human, she said.

So, you´re lucky she´s taking the Care of Magical Creatures classes right now, huh?

Oh, the centaurs like Hagrid, too. He´s a half-giant, remember? Besides, Hermione told me (she wanted to hear all about it when I came back, of course) that in her first year, she served a detention with Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest, and he talked to the centaurs. Hagrid called them "ruddy stargazers," she said, but they seemed to like him. Come to think of it, she said that they´d mentioned Mars being bright back then, too. And...

What is it, Ginny?

Hermione said that the centaurs had said, "Always the innocent are the first to suffer." And it´s true, Joanna! Cedric was innocent, and he was killed...and Harry´s innocent, and look what Voldemort´s done to him. He grew up without Christmas! Or a family, or a home...

Ginny -

And whatever Muggle house I saw in my vision - they´re innocent. They might be killed, and it´s just because they´re Muggles, just because there´s an evil man who delights in killing. And I can´t do anything about it.

Why do you feel that you should be able to do something about it, Ginny?

Because I do! Because it was my vision, and I should have been able to see something more than I saw!

You can´t direct visions like that, and you know it, Ginny. I´m sure Miss Stuart has told you that.

I know, but...

And you´ve done all you can. You told Miss Stuart everything you saw, and I´m sure she told your headmaster. There are wizards and witches who specialize in strategy, you know. They´re the ones who need to do something about this - you´ve done your part already.

Do you really think so?

I do. Ginny, you´re fourteen years old. You´re a young girl, who happens to be a Seer, but, still, a young girl. You can´t live your life always worrying about Voldemort.

Harry does.

Well, he shouldn´t, either. You both need to relax more. Can´t you help him with that? Maybe it would help you, too.

Joanna, don´t think I don´t know what you´re trying to do here. You think that all you have to do is mention Harry, and I´ll forget about everything else.

Am I right?

No! But...you´re awfully close. Anyway, Harry´s been doing much better lately - all the worrying he seems to be doing is about Christmas presents.

That sounds much more normal. How about you? Do you have everything ready for Christmas?

Everything except Harry´s present. I still don´t know what to get him. Hermione suggested that, since this weekend´s a Hogsmeade weekend, the two of us could shop until we found something. I´ve saved most of my money for Harry´s present, because I could make almost everything else. I just don´t feel right making his Christmas present, when I already made his birthday present.

I´m sure he won´t mind, Ginny.

I know, but I would. I don´t know why, but I would. Anyway, I reminded Hermione that Ron would be there with us (Harry said he needs to do some shopping alone, so I think he needs to buy Ron and Hermione presents), but she said we could do it under his very nose, and he won´t even notice. She´s probably right. He´ll be so taken up with her, that he probably won´t even realize I´m there. Speaking of which, she´s starting to huff at him, because he wants her to play chess with him, and she wants to study. I think I´d better go rescue her and offer to play.

All right, Ginny. I hope you win.

Oh, I won´t. But that´s all right, because it´s Ron. G´night, Joanna.

GWIHOW

December 16

Joanna, you will never, ever believe what I´ve been doing for the past hour. Not in a million years.

What?

Helping Hermione try out different hairstyles for the ball.

You´re right, I´m having a hard time wrapping my mind around that one. What brought this on?

I´m not sure. We were sitting in the Three Broomsticks, and Harry was being sweet, and she suddenly said that she wanted to! So, Parvati and I have been having lots of fun. Hermione´s hair is challenging, but that just makes it more satisfying when we´ve found a style that works.

How was Harry being sweet?

Remember what I said about your one-track mind, Joanna? Honestly, you´re worse than I am! Not that I mind.

Sorry, Ginny.

I said I don´t mind - do you really think I mind talking about Harry? He´s being sweet by taking Cho Chang to the Yule Ball, by the way.

Ginny, I think you tell me these things just to torment me.

Well, maybe a little. But, really, he is. They´re going as friends, he said, because she wants to go with someone who understands about Cedric.

Oh. Oh! But...doesn´t she have any friends, that she has to rely on Harry?

I don´t know about that. Besides, no one could understand as well as Harry does. He´d probably be thinking about Cedric at the ball, no matter who he took, so it´s most likely just as well he´s going with Cho.

You´re sure you don´t mind?

I´m quite sure. He had his chance, and he wasted it. Besides...well, let´s just say that I´m really quite convinced that he...likes me. When he came into the Three Broomsticks and saw me, he just lit up. That´s the first time I´ve seen that, and it felt wonderful, let me tell you.

I´m sure it did. I´m so glad, Ginny.

Me, too. And then, later, he put his hand on my arm, and left it there for a long time. It felt...well, I said wonderful before, and I meant it, Joanna. Whenever he touches me...it´s like I suddenly can feel the air around me, like I come alive. Even though I couldn´t enjoy it to the fullest this time, because I was busy arguing with Ron.

What about?

Well, we´d basically been arguing all day. Hermione was right; we were able to pick out my gift to Harry right under Ron´s nose, just by distracting him with an argument. And he wouldn´t let it drop, after that. Hermione had fun - those two really enjoy their fights - but I felt drained by the time we reached the Three Broomsticks. I was glad to just drink some butterbeer, relax, and leave them to it.

Where was Harry?

He´d said that he needed to do some shopping alone, and since I needed to get his gift, that was no problem.

What did you get him?

Oh, Joanna, it´s just perfect! I got him a small crystal that can hang around his neck. It reminded me of him as soon as I saw it, because of all the times he´s tried to scry in a crystal in Miss Stuart´s classes. It´s not too girly, do you think?

Well, I can´t see it, Ginny. What does Hermione think?

She doesn´t think it´s too girly, or at least, she doesn´t think Harry will mind. I had to borrow some money from her to pay for it - I wouldn´t have, but it was just too perfect to pass up. She tried to convince me to take it as a gift, because she still wants to pay Winky´s wages, and I won´t let her, but I won´t let her do this, either. She means well, I know, but she just doesn´t understand. She´s never been poor.

Well, it was nice of her, anyway.

I know, but, besides, this way it will really be from me, and not me and Hermione.

That´s a point. Did you just get the crystal, Ginny?

Well, I couldn´t afford a chain to go along with it - I was determined not to borrow too much from Hermione - so I´m going to thread it on a cord. I found a nice green one, to match Harry´s eyes. I really hope he won´t think it´s too girly.

I´m sure he won´t, Ginny. Besides, he´ll love it anyway, just because it came from you.

I do hope so, Joanna.

So, how did Harry happen to ask Cho to the ball, anyway?

Oh, he didn´t ask her, she asked him! I really do feel sorry for her, Joanna, because she felt so alone that she had to do that...not that I couldn´t cheerfully have strangled her this afternoon, when she and Harry walked into the Three Broomsticks.

Why? I thought you said Harry `lit up´ when he saw you?

He did, but I didn´t see that at first. At first, all I saw was that he and Cho came in together, and looked remarkably cozy. They smiled at each other before Cho headed for her friends, and Harry turned to look at us. That´s when he lit up. That´s when I started to breathe again.

And that´s when he explained to you what happened?

Yes, and then I could have cheerfully strangled Ron, too. Really, I seem to have been in a strangling mood - not that I didn´t have provocation. Guess what my prat of a brother did? He started teasing Harry about Cho! With me right there, and he knows how I feel about Harry. Besides, he managed to get a dig in towards Hermione, too, and I´m convinced he didn´t even realize what he was saying.

What did he say?

He said something about how lucky Harry was to be going to the ball with the girl he wanted, without having to work at it at all.

Ouch! What did Hermione say?

Oh, of course she stood up for Harry, saying that we don´t know who Harry wants to take this year (of course, I know who she thinks he wants to take, but Ron doesn´t), and basically ignoring what Ron had implied about her. She´s very good at that, when she wants to be. Harry was simply amazing throughout it all, Joanna. He just sat there, letting Ron and Hermione´s argument wash over him - probably because he knew that if he said anything, it would only make it worse. That´s when he put his hand on my arm...I can´t even remember why...my arm´s starting to tingle again, Joanna.

Slow down, Ginny. So, when did Harry explain about his date with Cho?

That was later, when Dean and Parvati were there. And Hermione hugged him, which earned her funny looks from Harry and Ron, of course, but I envied her, Joanna! Because I´d love to have hugged him right then, too, and not just because I always want to hug Harry. He deserved it - not many boys would give up an evening of fun to listen to a girl talk about the boy he thinks he killed. Did that make sense?

Yes, it did. Harry is special, isn´t he, Ginny?

So, so special. Sigh. Besides, just the fact that he´s able to take Cho as a friend, and to tell us about it, really shows that he´s over his crush, doesn´t it?

I´d certainly say so.

Yes. Yes, yes, yes. I feel like doing back-flips or something, only I don´t know how. Oh, Joanna, I forgot to tell you something else - Katie is going to the ball with Theo!

Really? What about George?

Well, I don´t know about that, but Katie stopped in while we were playing with Hermione´s hair, and she mentioned that she was going with Theo. I noticed that she and George were having an intense discussion today in the Three Broomsticks, and that, after that, George went over and talked to Brenna, so I think Katie finally realized that George will never be interested in her, so she´d better move on.

I hope so, Ginny. That didn´t sound like a healthy relationship.

No. I just hope that Katie isn´t going with Theo on the rebound.

Well, we don´t know when she accepted Theo - maybe it was before her conversation with George. Maybe she realized that she actually likes Theo better.

That´s possible, Joanna! Oh, I hope so. I do like Katie - she´s been so nice during our wandless magic training sessions, and she helped me out with a tricky potion I was trying to understand. But I like Brenna, too, and I want George to be happy.

Well, it sounds like everything´s working out. You´ll have to tell me how they all look at the ball. Speaking of which, any new gossip?

Let´s see, what haven´t I told you? Oh, yes, Dean is going with Susan Bones, who´s a fifth-year Hufflepuff.

Well, he couldn´t go with you, so I suppose he had to ask somebody.

Yes. Susan also...happens to be a red-head.

Reeeally?

Very different color from mine, of course.

Of course.

Yes. And Parvati is going with a seventh-year Ravenclaw. She´s over the moon about it, and tells everyone who´ll listen. Why doesn´t that bother me, Joanna? Because it doesn´t, but when Lavender plopped down next to me on one of the sofas in the common room and told me that Seamus had asked her, I cringed.

Maybe it´s the way they told you?

I don´t know. Parvati was just really happy...I should probably feel more sympathy for Lavender, because she really likes Seamus, and I don´t think Parvati likes Malcolm Progen as anything more than a friend. But Lavender was just so proud, and it felt like she was condescending to me...she had a date, and I didn´t. Or at least, she thought I didn´t, because Colin had already asked me by then, of course. She also wasn´t happy to hear that.

Whyever not? Why should she care that you have a date, if she´s going with the boy she likes?

Exactly! I think that´s what bothered me so much. She just seems so petty. Before this year, I really thought Parvati and Lavender were exactly the same, but I don´t anymore. Of course, I´m still jealous of how pretty Parvati is, but I can handle that.

That´s good, Ginny. I´m sure there are plenty of people who would like to tell you just how pretty you are, yourself, you know. Colin, Dean, Harry -

Stop, stop, stop. You´ll go to my head, Joanna! Oh, I have to go. Hermione wants to go watch the Gryffindor team´s Quidditch practice.

I thought she didn´t really like Quidditch.

She doesn´t, but she does like a certain Gryffindor Keeper.

Ah. Well, I´m sure you won´t mind keeping her company.

Not at all!

And don´t forget your Warming Charms, young lady.

Joanna! You´re as bad as Winky. She wanted to come with me, just to make sure I didn´t forget. Argh!

GWIHOW

December 22

Joanna, how do boys do it? I just finished my History of Magic exam, and it´s a good thing I´ve been studying so much, like you asked me to, because I could barely concentrate. How does Hermione function, being so close to Ron all the time, and with all of the things he does that make it quite obvious how he feels about her? Which is cute and nauseating at the same time, by the way.

What did Harry do, Ginny?

He said...but, no, I have to tell you the whole story, or it won´t make sense. Today at lunch, Harry told us that Sirius had contacted him during Potions class.

I bet your Professor Snape liked that.

Yeah. Harry thinks Sirius picked Snape´s class on purpose just to bother him, but Ron said that if anyone noticed Harry in Snape´s office, they´d just think he was being told off, whereas using another professor would be more suspicious. I´m not quite sure why Ron is worried about that - I mean, Snape is Voldemort´s spy in Hogwarts, and he obviously knew about it. But that´s not important right now. What Sirius had to say is. They really do think there´s going to be an attack on Christmas.

The attack you saw in your vision?

Yes.

Well, you were expecting it, right?

Yes, but that doesn´t make it any easier.

I know.

And Harry´s having a problem with it. He seems to think that we shouldn´t have the Yule Ball anymore.

But...oh, because he doesn´t feel like celebrating, so he thinks it´s wrong for other people, as well.

You know, I hadn´t thought of it that way before, but I think you´re right, Joanna. Harry...Harry does have a hard time seeing things from other people´s points of view. I suppose it´s because of the way he grew up. I mean, he never had any friends, and he knew enough to realize that the Dursleys´ way of looking at the world wasn´t a good one. He just didn´t know that there were other ways out there, if you know what I mean.

I do. He´s had the opportunity to observe many different ways since he started at Hogwarts, though, Ginny.

Yes, but you know how we´ve talked about how skewed the house system is. Since the vast majority of his friends are in Gryffindor - and all of my family is in Gryffindor - the only world-view he´s been in contact with has been the Gryffindor one. And I can see how a Gryffindor might have trouble partying while he knew of an imminent attack on an innocent family. I can see how he might think it wrong.

You don´t, though?

No, I don´t, and neither does Hermione. When Harry said that he thought we should cancel the ball, we both said the same things: that everyone needs a break from the tension. We also need to enjoy our lives, or Voldemort will win.

What did Harry say to that? I think you´re right, by the way.

Thank you. Harry didn´t say much of anything, actually. I don´t think he´s going to be standing up Cho, though, so at least we accomplished that.

That´s another thing, Ginny - the rest of the school doesn´t know about the possible attack, so canceling the ball would look rather odd.

To say the least! I hadn´t even thought of that, Joanna.

So, that´s what Harry did to make it hard for you to concentrate?

Oh, no. That was afterwards. See, Hermione had said that she´d need a lot of time to get ready for the ball (she was trying to distract Harry), and Ron couldn´t believe it. She said that she´d done the same thing last year, and he said that that was for Viktor Krum! Can you believe it? He´s so...so clueless! And cute though it may be (Hermione certainly seems to think it is)...how am I related to a boy who´s as thick as that?

Oh, Ginny.

No, really, Joanna. Sometimes, if it weren´t for the hair, I´d think I was adopted. Anyway, I mentioned that Bill is coming as Fleur´s date (I told you I thought they were getting serious), and I sort of muttered that it wasn´t fair. I didn´t mean anyone to hear, but Harry did, and asked what wasn´t fair.

I´m glad he did, Ginny, because I was going to ask you the same thing.

It´s not fair that she´s so pretty. I know that there´s more important things, and I know I´m not ugly, but Fleur´s just absolutely gorgeous, and it would be nice...

Ginny, you´re starting to worry me. First it was Parvati, and now Fleur. Do you think that their lives are any easier, just because they´re beautiful?

No, I know they´re not.

Well, then, do you want all of the boys at Hogwarts to fancy you?

No, I don´t want that.

In that case, I don´t see the appeal in being `absolutely gorgeous.´

Well...I´d like to be prettier for Harry.

You don´t think you are?

Well...maybe I do. Because...well, you won´t believe what he said.

What did he say?

He said that I `don´t have anything to worry about!´ Can you believe it? I almost fell off of the bench! Of course, then he added that he was sure Colin would be happy to tell me that, too, but I didn´t care. Harry thinks I´m pretty!

Ginny! He said that?! Well, that just proves it, then, he definitely fancies you.

Really? Just because he thinks I´m pretty? I´m sure he still thinks Cho is pretty, and he can´t help but think Fleur is beautiful, because she is.

No, no, because he said it, but then tried to cover it up. That´s what proves it. Breila, you´ve done it. You´ve managed to make Harry Potter interested in you. Congratulations!

Oh, Joanna. I...it all feels too good to be true, doesn´t it? After so long...and, besides, he still has to admit it - even to himself!

That will come. He is a fifteen year old boy, after all.

I know. And I know it will come, eventually. I just know it! And right now, I´m just going to enjoy what I have.

That´s the spirit, Ginny! One thing, though...I don´t want you to start basing who you are on your looks. I suppose it´s natural for you to feel this way at your age. I remember being fourteen and hating my dark hair, because it was unfashionable, don´t think I don´t. It´s just that you´re so much more than your looks, Ginny. I´m sure Harry knows that, too.

I hope so, Joanna, but is it really a bad thing that he thinks I´m pretty? Would he really fancy someone who he didn´t think was pretty? Because I don´t think any fifteen year old boy in the world would.

Of course he wouldn´t, and it is a good thing. Just...don´t forget that the way you look doesn´t define who you are.

I won´t, I promise. Of course, so much of who I am is that I´m a Weasley, and a lot of that is the hair, you know.

Some of that is the hair, Ginny, not a lot of it. You know that.

Yeah, but the hair makes us recognizable. I doubt someone who didn´t know him well would recognize George or Charlie if they dyed their hair. Say, that´s a good idea, I wonder if it would work for me? I could spy on the Death Eaters, like Professor Snape, and no one would recognize me.

That Malfoy creature would.

Oh, that´s true. His father probably would, too.

Besides, Ginny, don´t think I don´t know what you´re doing, trying to distract me.

Speaking of which, Joanna, the bell just rang. Talk to you later!

GWIHOW

Later

Joanna, you are not going to believe this. I think half of Gryffindor is in the fifth-year dormitory, helping Hermione get ready for the ball.

That´s sweet.

Isn´t it? Only, I don´t think Hermione really thinks so.

Why not?

Well, she doesn´t feel very confident about her looks, you know.

Yes, I know. Was this your doing, Ginny?

No, no. Parvati asked me to come help - she said because we came up with a hairstyle before. But I think it´s really so she´d have morale support.

Why does she need morale support?

She wanted to convince Hermione to lower her neckline a little, and to wear makeup. Hermione picked out her own robes, and they´re a very pretty lavender color, but the neckline is very high. Parvati thinks that´s wasteful.

Did she manage to convince Hermione?

Well, she´s putting the finishing touches on Hermione´s face right now. She really knows how to put it on - you can´t even see it, but Hermione looks wonderful! I can´t wait to see Ron´s face when he sees her.

So, everyone else is watching Parvati work?

Basically. Lavender´s hanging around, thinking she´s helping, but she really isn´t. Parvati´s not letting her, and I´m glad. Lavender always wears far too much makeup, and that wouldn´t suit Hermione at all. I don´t think it suits Lavender, either, to tell you the truth, but I care a lot more about how Hermione looks than how Lavender looks.

Ginny, if you´re supposed to be there for morale support, shouldn´t you be supporting, and not writing to me?

Oh, Parvati doesn´t need me now. She has Lavender.

And that means you can´t help, too?

No, but it means I´m not needed.

Do you think Hermione would rather have Lavender with her than you?

No...

So, you´re not helping just because you don´t like Lavender.

It sounds horrible when you put it that way, Joanna.

Well, I do think it´s a little selfish, Ginny. Hermione is probably wishing you were there with her.

All right, all right. I´ll talk to you later, Joanna.

GWIHOW

Still later

Well, Joanna, I´m all ready for the ball. After Parvati finished with Hermione, she swept me off to my dormitory, dragging Hermione along. She told everyone else to go get ready, and she didn´t want anyone messing with her handiwork, especially Hermione herself. Then, she took one look at my dress robes, sighed, and said, `I suppose they´ll have to do.´

What´s wrong with your dress robes?

Nothing, really, except that they´re slightly...dull. Mum bought them for me when I was at Miriam´s, and you know how she doesn´t really like to admit that I´m growing up. Also, Hermione said that Ron helped pick them out, and I can just imagine that scene.

Well, describe them, Ginny.

Oh, they´re a soft sky blue, rather severely cut, with long sleeves. It´s a soft, plushy fabric, not like Hermione´s floaty robes. There´s nothing wrong with them, really. Especially now that Parvati took in the bodice a little and lowered the neckline. She changed the shape of the neckline a little, too - now it´s sort of scoopy, like a heart. And she took one look at the sleeves and said, `Well, if long and tight´s what they want, that´s what they´ll get,´ and then tightened them even more, so they´re practically molded to my arms. It feels slightly odd, but I suppose I´ll get used to it. Besides, I´ll always love these robes, because Hermione told me that when Ron asked Harry what color would look good on me, he said blue. Can you believe it?

Do you look good in blue?

Well, yes...though I prefer other blues to this one. But, still!

I´m sure Harry will think you look lovely. How did Parvati do your hair?

She put the front and sides up in a knot on top of my head, and curled tendrils from the knot around my face. She left the rest down, and curled that a little, but not too much, because I didn´t want to feel too unlike myself.

Isn´t that the point of dressing up?

I still want to feel like myself. Who would I be, if I weren´t me? Besides, I thought you didn´t want me to base who I am on my looks.

I don´t. Which is why you should feel comfortable making yourself look different from the way you usually look.

Oh, I do. I never wear my hair like this, and I never wear sky blue. Although...I do like what it does to my eyes...it makes them look, I don´t know, warmer than usual. Or that might be Parvati´s touch with makeup.

Probably a bit of both.

I´m so glad she did mine. My dormmates are so jealous, and it´s so rare that they´re jealous of me that it feels good. It´s not a feeling I´d want a lot, but just this once...

I understand, Ginny. I hope they all look good, too.

Oh, they do. Annis looks perfectly sweet, in rose pink, and even Brie almost looks pretty. But I´d better go, Joanna. Parvati went back to her own dorm, towing Hermione, to get ready herself, and she said to come along in fifteen minutes for touch up. It´s been about that.

So, how do you feel, Ginny? Nervous?

No, not really. I´m going with Colin, after all. I´m sure if I were going with Harry, it´d be different. Hermione´s almost beside herself, but I´m sure she´ll pull herself together and not let Ron know. She´s definitely a friend to be proud of.

I´m glad. Now, you go let Parvati work her magic, and then have fun, young lady.

Oh, I will. Wish me luck.

Good luck, Ginny!