(HP) A Girl and Her Book

A GIRL AND HER BOOK, "For Your Protection"
31 August, 1992 ○ 7:30 PM GMT


Luna and her dad are taking longer than you expected them to. You knew they weren't exactly the type for large gatherings, but you had still expected them to make at least a brief appearance. It was the last day of summer, after all, and Mum had been convinced that they would come. No. It hasn't been that long. They're still on their way, you're sure.

You frown and survey the Burrow yard again. Harry moved on from talking to Mr. Diggory to talking to Cedric when you're looking. That can't be good. What if they unionize? Uncle Tristram says that's a bad thing, but Dad never seemed so sure. Maybe it'd be okay if Harry and Cedric unionized. Wait. What does that even mean? If Harry's unionizing with anyone, it should be you. Probably. Unless unionizing is bad, and in that case, he shouldn't be doing it at all.

Ron is still nowhere to be found. The Twins just finished up with Dad and now they're making their way over towards the porch, probably in route to talk to Uncle Billius. Mafalda and your Mum are talking, which is almost never a good thing, though with you being gone at Hogwarts you don't think there's that much she can do to stick your cousin on you. Auntie Leonie is walking over to your Dad… they always end up having interesting conversations.

You pout. No Luna Lovegood in sight.

"Who are you waiting for, Ginny? I'm excited to meet them," came a wispy voice behind you. You blink and look back over your shoulder, spotting Luna only a few feet away from you. You didn't see her coming at all, and from her posture, you don't think she's only just arrived.

"Oh no," Luna whispers, seeing the confusion on your face. "Be very still, Ginny! I think—" As Luna speaks, she begins to crawl towards you, utterly uncaring of the dirt stains now forming on her otherwise perfect silver-and-blue dress. "—the Nargles might've gotten you." In a moment, she's just beside you, her face less than a foot away from yours. Raising a slightly dirtied hand, she removes her cork necklace and rests it down on you.

"You should be safe now," she says, her voice lost as always in a dreaming monotone. "How'd you find such an infestation in summer anyway, Ginny? It's the season of heliopaths. Though Uranus is in retrograde," Luna muses on as she sits back up from her crawl beside you.

You adjust your hair so that the butterbeer cork necklace isn't awkwardly clutching it.

"Thanks, Luna," you start.

She breaks her dreamy stupor immediately, tilting her head to the left. Her eyes glitter for a second and your memory of Fred describing them as "mad, probing things" lingers for a second too long before you're able to force it away.

"For what?"

Before you can answer her, she's smiling at you again. "Did you get your wand yet?"

You nod and pull your wand out from your dress's wandloop.

Luna looks at your wand and shivers. You try to hold back a pout while Luna steadies herself, and the two of you move past the slight awkwardness. Luna ruffles her hair for a second before pulling her own wand from its resting place on her left ear, bringing it to face yours.

Hers is shorter than yours and made of Apple, you think.

"It doesn't feel the same as Mom's does," Luna says, her voice unusually mellow. "Oh, but I do like her. I don't know her name yet, but I think she'll tell me soon."

You turn your wand over. "Did you get yours from Ollivander's?"

Luna shakes her head.

"No, he's too involved with the Shi'ar Conspiracy. Dad says he's been spreading phoenix propaganda to impressionable witches and wizards for too long. Of course, the Ministry lets him do it because it distracts from the mysterious case of Mr. Crouch," Luna glowers after her words, before shrugging and returning to her normal relaxed look of disinterest. "Dad knows all sorts of people, of course. One of The Quibbler's sponsors is a wandmaker, and she's quite good."

"Where's your wand from?" Luna asks, tucking her wand back behind her ear.

You consider holding back, but Luna is your closest friend.

"It's part of that ministry program Dad was talking about last summer for Ron," you say. Luna blinks rapidly. "It used to belong to one of the Gaunts, so it must be really old."

Luna reaches forward and touches the wand, gently brushing your fingers with her own. She looks concerned for a moment, before she pulls her hand back and nods knowingly.

"She suits you. There's a venom to her, but no hate." Luna keeps the knowing expression on her face for a second too long, and the seriousness of the situation breaks. The two of you break into a mutual fit of giggles.

So it continues long into the night. Keeping to yourselves, the pair of you talk the night away, dreaming aloud the possibilities Hogwarts brings.


31 August, 1992 ○ 9:25 PM GMT


Mr. Lovegood came to collect Luna just after 9:00 and you took the opportunity to excuse yourself to your room for the night. Mum and Mafalda had looked at you and Luna talking just a few too many times for you to be comfortable staying outside there. Uncle Billius gave you a little wave as you headed inside, and you gave him a little wave back, but otherwise your escape went unhindered.

You went to your room and locked your door, practicing your new locking charm on the door after you locked it by hand. Locking it yourself was really only a step against Ron wandering into your room. Percy had no interest in coming in to your room and would knock and wait outside if he wanted something, Mum and Dad had keys and some thirty years of magical experience on you, and the Twins are… creative. Even so, it gave you a little sense of security.

It was time to get cracking on Bill's puzzle.

It was only when you went to bed, much later that night, that you realized you were still wearing Luna's necklace.

A GIRL AND HER BOOK, "Late Arrivals"
1 September, 1992 ○ 10:57 AM GMT


Everyone in the Wizarding World knows that the Hogwarts Express leaves King's Cross Station at precisely 11:00 AM. The fact that it had still taken your family until 10:55 to arrive at King's Cross was something you might be embarrassed about for the rest of your life. Mum might've went overboard calling Dad's work-of-a-summer a 'spelled-up speed-buggy not worth its luck or charms.'

Biting your lip, you watch as Percy crosses through the barrier at a near sprint. Dad follows after him, calling out "I'll s—" before he vanished.

"Hurry up now, Fred, through the Barrier!" Mum calls, her voice more frantic than you'd heard it in at least a year. You suppose she had reason; there was only a minute or two more before the Train would be leaving the station.

"Come now, Mum, don't you know I'm George—" Fred replies to Mum's words, feigning offense at the situation. Mum, however, isn't having it this time.

"Fred or George or whoever you are, you're going through or I'm auctioning your broomsticks to pay for Percy's next—"

Fred and George are both through the barrier before the threat is fully out of her lips. Mum grabbed your shoulder, a little stronger than gently, and the two of you crossed through the barrier together. You gave one last look back to Harry and Ron before you passed, seeing the stress writ large across their face, and forced an encouraging smile.

Then you crossed the barrier, and found yourself staring back at a set of bricks. Mum squeezed your shoulder.

"Go on, Ginny. There's more I wanted to tell you, but, oh," Mum tripped over her words, pulling you to the barrier's side and bending down to give you a gentle kiss on the forehead. The Hogwarts Express whistled. "You'll do great. Now get going! You can't miss the train your first year!" She gave you a gentle push with her words, and you started moving, rushing to catch up to your siblings entering the train.

The train whistles again, and you can see the wheels starting to work. Penny Clearwater reaches out and grabs your arm as you get near the train, pulling you across the threshold and onto the train just in time.

Mum's voice carries across the station. "We'll write—" The station fades before your eyes as her last words leave her lips. You're not sure what she's saying, but the last look in her eyes is one of worry.

Penny releases her grip on you and smiles. You exhale and look up to the blonde Ravenclaw prefect. She was way too pretty for Percy.

"Are you okay?" She asks, watching your reaction more than listening to your words. You nod your head, adjusting your grip on your luggage and glancing nervously down the train hallway.

"Good. Get to one of the compartments and take a seat, okay? You'll be okay. This happens more often than you'd think,"

You nod to Penny's words and thank her, then the two of you are off. You follow after Penny for only a second before she dips into the Front Compartment, and from there you're alone, heading down the train in search for a compartment to sit down in. Most of the compartments that you pass by are full, but with your goal in mind, you're eventually able to find a compartment that looks to be full of first years.

Alright, Ginny, time to make some new friends.

You pull open the compartment door, interrupting the ongoing conversation inside. Those present turn and look at you; there's three girls and two boys. After a moment of confusion, one of the girls shrugs and smiles at you.

"Late arrival too, huh?" She's a bit paler than most people you've met and wears quite a bit of makeup, but it compliments her strawberry hair. "Come on, take a seat, Beth won't bite."

You exhale and step into the compartment. "Thanks." There's only a corner-seat open in the compartment, next to the black-haired girl – next to Beth, you correct yourself – and you make your way over to it.

The first girl to talk keeps talking. "I'm Ruby Jukes, that's Beth Squire," Beth nods at Ruby's words, "and we were just getting to everyone else's name, so you're all caught up, but now you have my name and I don't have yours."

You secure your luggage and take a seat next to Beth. She adjusts herself, not really moving away from you but posturing so the personal space and distance between the two of you is clearly defined.

"I'm Ginny," you start, smiling.

"Weasley, of course," one of the boys from the other side of the compartment interrupts. You don't recognize him, and you're not a fan of his interruption, but it isn't as hostile as you've heard some purebloods spit your family name. "Can always tell by the hair," he says, forcing a little laugh as he realizes his insult. His voice is a gruffer one than you'd expect of an eleven-year-old.

"Er, not that I mean anything by it, not really. Just, ah, what the hell. I'm Eurig Cadwallader." After he finishes, he mumbles quiet enough that you can barely catch it, "not really much of a people person."

The boy next to him, who was of clear Indian background, patted Eurig on the shoulder and smiled. "You can tell Weasleys by the hair? It is good. People tell me they can recognize me by the way I am all the time too, Miss Weasley."

Ruby giggles. You think Beth is rolling her eyes. He continues nonetheless, introducing himself.

"My name is Arjun Balaji. Since you all invaded my compartment, I think it's only fair that you take care of snacks when the trolley lady arrives,"

Eurig, Ruby and Arjun laugh together. You smile along, but don't fully laugh with them. Beth glances at you, and though she's keeping a straight face, you think she's a little amused as well. On the corner of the compartment opposite to you, the last girl present speaks. She's kept her expression even more reserved than Beth's.

"Helen Prince," she says, completely matter of fact. "I can pay for the snacks, Balaji. Thank you for letting us sit in your compartment." With her words said, she folds her hands back over on her lap and looks back out the window, keeping her expression as tight as her bun of cinnamon brown hair is to her head.

"Ah, nobility! You are a true patron to the poor, my friend," Arjun chimes in response to Helen, cheerful even in face of her cold shoulder. "Eurig, what does her hair tell you?"

Beth interrupts, her amusement running out. "I think it means to give her some space, Arjun."

At Beth's words, Arjun deflates and Ruby moves to steer the conversation back on track.

"Well, have any of you figured out how to do any real magic yet? I know we're not supposed to be practicing before Hogwarts, but if we're on the train, I think that's got to be good enough,"

Helen's eyes glint in her reflection at Ruby's words. Beth leans forward, much more interested in the newfound conversation. Eurig spreads out a little, flexing his… physique? Huh. With a better look at him, the Welsh boy is much more fit than you'd expected.

Arjun laughs. "Well, my baapu is a bit strict with the rules, but I've gotten some potions to work. Mostly to cure some, ahh, boils,"

Ruby coos at that, impressed.

Beth chimes in. "I got a Shield charm to work, once—or maybe I just confused the raccoons away. I mean, whatever I did, it worked,"

Helen rolls her eyes and mouths 'Gryffindors' to the window.



Should you chime in?
[] (Topic) Well, now that they mention it, you're something of a witch yourself…
-[] Show off a spell (write-in).
-[] Brag, but don't actually cast a spell.
[] (Topic) Let them lead the conversation. If they ask you if you know magic,
-[] Demonstrate a spell.
-[] Decline.
[] (Topic) Lead the conversation to something else.
-[] Write-in a topic.
[] (Topic) Ignore the conversation and start reading.


Is there anyone present you want to focus on befriending?

[] (Friendship) Ruby Jukes
[] (Friendship) Beth Squire
[] (Friendship) Helen Prince
[] (Friendship) Arjun Balaji
[] (Friendship) Eurig Cadwallader
[] (Friendship) Try to befriend everyone equally.
[] (Friendship) No; keep mostly to yourself.