The Plan

The Plan

by Sharlene/mynuet

Prologue:

(Ginny's Fourth Year)

The Weasleys were fighting.

Sure, there were only two of them at Hogwarts now, but two editions of the Weasley temper in opposition had all the fury and volume of a natural disaster. Volcano Ginny and Hurricane Ron were standing in the hallway, completely ignoring passersby, screaming at each other with considerable enthusiasm and volume.

"I told you, I did NOT kiss him, not that it's any of your business!"

"Not my business? I'm your bloody brother, of course it's my damned business when you're canoodling with some twit."

"Some twit? Some TWIT? Colin's my friend, you great pillock!"

"Friend, eh? You should be ashamed, Ginny Weasley! I know Mum didn't raise you to-"

"AAAAAAAAAH!" The last vestige of Ginny's patience was gone, an incoherent shriek marking its passing. Without looking, she grabbed a random passerby by their necktie and planted her lips on his. After several seconds, she pushed him away, then whirled and poked a finger at Ron's chest. "I will kiss who I want, when I want, and if you try to interfere, I will make sure that you never have children."

Stomping her feet, she turned and flounced down the hallway, students parting before her like the Red Sea. It was debatable who was most shell shocked. Ron, who was looking green as it sank in that he'd pushed her too far, and she meant every word she said. Draco Malfoy, who'd never before believed in the beauty of angry women, but now that he'd seen it, resolved to get her worked up about something at the earliest opportunity. Or possibly Vincent Crabbe, whose air supply had been half cut off by her grip on his tie, and who resolved to never, ever, as long as he lived, cross a redhead.

That was the start of the Great Weasel-Ferret War. Any time Draco and Ginny crossed paths, they crossed swords. For bystanders, it was a combination of street theater and thrill ride; It was entertaining, but people were known to dive into broom closets rather than face either combatant directly after one of their encounters. The one blessing was that, because they were a year apart, there were no skirmishes directly in class. The staff mostly ignored the hostilities, only intervening if it seemed the collateral damage would be too high.

Finally it was time for the Trio's last year at Hogwarts. Hermione had been made Head Girl, and was entitled to a room to herself, but she chose instead to share with Ginny, her only close female friend. Ginny would otherwise have had to share with the other Gryffindor prefect, a fifth year with kleptomaniacal tendencies and a vicious streak she kept carefully hidden from the staff. Ron and Harry joked about the room Hermione and Ginny shared being the library's annex for extra storage, since Ginny had picked up a lot of Hermione's study habits and love of reading, and so every available space in the room seemed to overflow with books. Hermione still spent quite a lot of her free time with Ron and Harry and sat with them at all meals, but Ginny also had her own friends and social circle, so she didn't particularly feel left out. All in all, both girls felt fairly content with things as they were.