Rumor Has It (Ginny)

[summer]

She never thought that it would be this big. Not in a million years. But as she looked around the Great Hall, watching people’s eyes scan the crudely printed newspaper, she could hardly breathe. Summer Cresswell had done it. She had managed to publish her own underground gossip newspaper at Hogwarts. And it had every dirty little secret that everyone wanted to keep hidden written in it’s inked pages. Every secret she had been collecting since school started. There was something on everyone...well nearly everyone. She felt giddy. And rather like she was going to throw up. Perhaps sick more than giddy.

Watching the reactions was her favorite part. The way that people seemed so surprised at what was written. How could they not have known that the Slytherin at the end of the table had runway Death Eater Parents? How could that Ravenclaw to her left not have known that her father had imprisoned 3 Death Eaters since the end of the War. Of course, not all of it was so heavy and war-centered. There were a few pages toward the back detailing Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley’s little get together over the summer holiday. Summer laughed to herself. Her hands played absentmindedly at the locket around her neck before she made her way to the Gryffindor Table, where she spotted a familiar face reading the paper. She couldn't have missed that red hair from miles away. It was Ginny Weasley.

”Oye, Gin-and-Tonic-”

[/b] She said as she pressed her hands to her friend’s head, tilting it upwards so that she could see her. The playful nickname was one of Summer's favorites, one that she couldn't stop using for some reason. Summer’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she continued, ”Well, what do you think? Took me ages to get the print right on the first page...but I think it’s bloody brilliant.”[/b] She asked, nodding toward the newspaper in the girl’s hand.[/size][/blockquote]

[ginny]

Ginny sat in the Great Hall, surrounded by students, and for once there wasn't anyone sneaking glances or gossiping about her. Ever since the war Harry had become even more famous (if that was even possible). Now he was regarded as something of a hero. Everyone knew how he had defeated Lord Voldemort. In fact, a lot of the students had been there to see it themselves. And everyone knew now (thanks to Harry) the huge role Ginny's brother Ron (and his now girlfriend, Hermione Granger) had played in the whole thing, and Ron was almost equally famous.

So, now that Hogwarts had reopened, Ginny had found herself the girlfriend of the most famous wizard on the planet, and the sister of a close runner up. It had made her something of a target for stares and whispers. She was getting a taste of what it was like to be Harry, and she wasn't too sure she liked it. But then she remembered that they were whispering and staring because what the love of her life had achieved, all the good he had done, and it was hard not to feel proud of him.

But today something else had grabbed the students attention; an underground newspaper, filled with gossip about the students. Ginny held a copy in her hand now, and smiled as she thought of the only student who could possibly be responsible for it- her friend, Summer Cresswell. The newspaper was crudely printed, but somehow that only added to the authentic, underground feel of the paper. Right now Ginny was only looking at the first page. A part of her was worried she might find something about herself in there! But she knew Summer wouldn't write anything to be mean. It was just that she was a journalist at heart, and she believed in indiscriminate truth, and freedom of the press.

Speak- or rather think- of the devil; Ginny felt hands on the side of her head, tilting it backwards, and found herself looking at an upside down Summer. "Hey yourself," she said, reclaiming her head and smiling at Summer's nick-name for her. Ginny looked back at the newspaper as Summer nodded towards it. "Its great, Sunshine!" she said, sincerely. Sunshine was an obvious nick-name for Summer, and it suited her. Ginny particularly enjoyed greeting Summer in the mornings by her nick-name, and rarely missed the chance. "But I'll admit, I'm a bit scared to read the whole thing. Will I be finding something about myself?" Or about Harry, or Ron, or Hermione. She especially didn't want to read about the escapades her older brother might be up to, now he'd finally got the girl... yuk!

[summer]

Summer let go of her face and then hopped over the bench so that she could sit next to Ginny. Her fingertips grazed the outside of the page of the Newspaper. It was beautiful to her...like a fresh work of art. It was something that she would remember for the rest of her life; something that she hoped everyone else would remember to. This was a turning point in the Wizarding world...they had a chance to catch all those people who had tried to overthrow order and honest and this newspaper would hopefully help to catch some of them - as well as providing an in depth portion on Hogwarts gossip. It was about real journalism and that was something that Summer Cresswell was proud of.

”Ha ha, very funny-”

[/b] Summer said and rolled her eyes. She had to promise that she wouldn’t write anything about Ginny in the paper. Now Harry Potter? Harry Potter was a completely different story. She had to have the occasional piece about him to keep up readership. Everyone wanted to know what the Boy Who Lived was up to these days and she couldn’t deny them that, ”Of course there’s nothing about you in here.”[/b] She said and stole one of the unused papers off the center of the table. She opened it and started flipping toward the back, ”Now-”[/b]

She stopped at the page toward the end which started up rumors. There were a couple of crudely printed moving photographs, but for her first print edition, it was amazing. At least to her, ”Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger: Unexpected Hook Up? Or Long Time Coming?”[/b] She read one of the headlines and then laughed. That poor couple, Summer was pretty sure that everyone had known what was coming between them, ”Your brother is going to kill me if he ever gets ahold of one of these.”[/b] Her eyes flitted up to the Slytherin table so that she could see how other people were taking the paper. A few of the Slytherin’s looked nervous and she could only assume it was because the first page detailed the whereabouts of some of the Death Eaters. Some that were still on the run. [/size][/blockquote]

[ginny]

Ginny rolled her eyes as Summer leafed through her own paper. If she kept looking like she already knew it back to front, she was going to blow her cover! And that wouldn't be good for journalism now, would it? Ginny smiled to herself; that wouldn't happen, of course. People we far to immersed in the paper to notice a 6th year Hufflepuff looking like she knew it a bit too well.

Then again... Ginny looked over at the Slytherin table. They didn't look too happy. Probably because some of their parents had been named as Death Eaters by Summers paper, and rumours of the whereabouts of Death Eaters on the run were included. "You'd better be careful, Summer," Ginny said quietly. She knew better then to suggest Summer censor herself- "freedom of the press!"- but she didn't want Summer to get into any 'accidents'. "Just make sure you stay anonymous and, you know, underground."

Ginny looked at the page as Summer opened to it, the one featuring her brother and his girlfriend- and Ginny's close friend- Hermione. She laughed, "Long time coming is putting is mildly!" she said. Ron and Hermione had been dancing around each other for almost seven years. Everyone had seen it coming. Everyone. Professor Binns had seen it coming, and no one was quite sure if he'd even noticed his own death! Everyone had known, except them.

"I think the chances of him getting a hold of one of your papers is quite good!" Ginny said with a laugh. There had to be enough copies to paper the Great Hall. "But don't worry, we can take him." That was probably true; Ginny was deadly in a duel, and if they had to do it muggle style, well, Ron was Ginny's older brother; she knew how to wrestle him down.

Ginny picked up her own copy again, and started flipping through, stopping when she reached a familiar name. 'Uh-oh...', she thought, spreading the paper on the table. There was an article about Harry, which Ginny had to admit wasn't a surprise, but she wondered if it was more more journalistic or gossip-mag in nature.

[summer]

”Of course I’m being careful,”

[/b] Summer said as she followed Ginny’s gaze. The Slytherins looked upset. One of them was even storming out of the Great Hall with an angry scowl written all over his face. She was going to have to be even more careful now that the first issue had surfaced, ”Do you not know me at all?”[/b] Summer joked and then playfully nudged her best friend, forgetting all about the Slyther-freaks that looked like they were about to throw her paper into the trash can and storm out like the boy had. Summer was a pretty careful person, especially when it came to her writing. She tried her best to keep her stories as close to the truth as possible, meaning that she spent a lot of time researching what was actually going on in the Wizarding World instead of just taking the Prophet’s word for it, ”Alright, so I’m not exactly covering my tracks all too well...but you know what they say about freedom of the press,”[/b] Summer said and then stuck out her tongue at Ginny.

”Long time coming is putting it mildly!”[/i]

”I just couldn’t resist,”[/b] Summer said, her eyes sweeping the Gryffindor table for any sign of the Head Girl. But it appeared as if she wasn’t to be found this morning. Probably off studying already. Summer laughed lightly to herself, ”You know, when you’re best friends with Ron’s little sister, you tend to get a lot of information about the pair of them. Just couldn’t leave it out of the paper.”[/b] She said a little bit more quietly. People were already around them and she wasn’t sure that she wanted anyone to know that this was her handy work. At least not yet. Maybe in a few years after the whole Death Eater thing had gone stale, ”Well, if he ends up getting ahold of it, it’s anonymous. There’s no way he’ll know it was me.”[/b] Except for the excruciating detail about the summer holiday. Summer had spent a couple of weeks at the Burrow and gotten her fair share of stories out of the happy couple.

She looked back down at the paper, scanning a few of the headlines as if seeing them for the first time; they just looked so different in actual print, ”You know, I’ve called it The Underground, what do you think of the name?”[/b] She asked, seeking her friend’s approval.

Summer noted her friend’s uh-oh and then smiled as she looked down. Ah, the piece on Mr. Harry Potter...The Boy Who Lived. She was especially proud of that one. It was more of a tribute to Harry than anything. A recount of the things that he had been doing since the Battle. Harry was a stand-up gentleman, and she wasn’t just thinking that because he was Ginny’s soul-mate. She actually had a great deal of respect for him, although she wasn’t sure that it went both ways. Harry and her had gotten off on the wrong foot a couple of years back when she had posted something a little risqué about Cho Chang and him on the school message board. It hadn’t gone over well with either party, but Harry had been especially mad at her. Since then, the pair of them had rarely spoken except in Ginny’s presence - but even then, it was only polite pleasantries. She bit down on her lip, trying to gauge Ginny’s reaction.[/blockquote][/size]

[ginny]

Ginny watched as the angry Slytherin skulked out of the Great Hall, a troubled look on her face. She really didn't want any of the Slytherins giving Summer any trouble, and she especially didn't want them to go talking to any Death-Eater parents they may or may not have. But then again, the time for living in fear of the Death-Eaters was over. They had won, and their leader was gone. If they let themselves be afraid of them, then they were giving the remaining Death-Eaters power- fear was a powerful thing. And they couldn't let that happen again. So it was a good thing there were people like Summer, who weren't afraid to speak out and point fingers.

Summer was an interesting friend to have. She did all her own researched, and never relied on The Daily Prophet (something with Ginny had really appreciated in the years when the Prophet was bad mouthing Harry and Dumbledore). Ginny had taken to going to Summer for news, which was often much more reliable. Ginny just knew that when they left Hogwarts, Summer would be the one to revolutionise the Prophet. In the past years the Prophet had been in the Ministry's back pocket, and didn't care about lying. Then the Death Eaters had taken over it. Right now the Prophet was on shaky ground, and other newspapers were trying to capitalise on that.

"Of course I know you," Ginny said, smiling, finally coming to the conclusion that Summer's newspaper was a good thing. She laughed as Summer talked about Ron and Hermione, and about the 'inside scoop' being Ginny's friend had given her. "Well, its not as though their relationship is a secret, or a bad thing," she said "But I think Ron will have a pretty good idea of who wrote it!" The truth was Ron was just too loved up to care much about anyone else. He was in such a good mood lately that she thought even if he did find out it was Summer who wrote about him, he'd just laugh it off.

Harry was another matter, however. Harry and Summer's relationship had always been a bit tense, ever since she added to the media speculation surrounding him in his 5th year, and wrote a piece about him and Cho. Harry had been hounded by Rita Skeeter that whole year, and his 'relationships' (real or imagined) were made public. It had been a really horrible time, and so Summer's harmless article had hit a nerve. Of course, Harry was far from holding a grudge against Summer. They just weren't the best of friends. So it was with a bit of trepidation that Ginny started to read the article about Harry. It all seemed harmless enough, and it was very complimentary. Mostly it was about what Harry had been doing since the battle (which was mostly just being at the Burrow with Ginny, her family, and of course Hermione). Summer had a couple of weeks of first hand experience of exactly what Harry had been doing, and that was where the detail came from. But mostly, the article was fine. Harry was getting a lot of press right now, but for once it was all good. She was sure he wouldn't really mind the article in The Underground.

When Ginny was finished reading, she looked back at Summer and realised that Summer had asked her a question. "Oh, yeah, sure! The Underground is a great name." Ginny really couldn't think of anything better for the paper.

[summer]

Summer bit down on her lip and pointed to the names of some of the Death Eaters at the top, ”Had to report on where Grayson’s mother is allegedly hiding.”

[/b] Archer Grayson was her cousin. They were both approximately the same age, but Archer had gone a completely different route in his life. He was spiteful, full of anger and destruction...Summer just wanted those things to end. It was hard enough dealing with them after the war, let alone from her own cousin. Well, at least Archer would never suspect her. He knew that Summer loved reporting but he also thought that she would have enough sense not to betray her own family like that.

Summer put her feet up on the bench and managed to cross her legs in a sort-of indian style. Then she bit down on her lip as she thought, ”You know...On second thought, I probably should have put ‘Anonymous Sources say’ instead of ‘Weasley’s Younger Sister commented that-’”[/b] She laughed as she pointed to a part in the paper that clearly identified little Ginny Weasley as the culprit of the snitching. She would have to pay more attention to that during her later issues. She wouldn’t want to start some sort of war between the Weasley Family. In fact, she didn’t want to start any sort of war, if she was being honest. All she wanted to do was to report the truth and nothing but the truth. That was her game and it was about time that she started following her heart and doing what she wanted to.

Summer knew that Ron would be alright with what she’d written. At least, she had hoped that he would. He seemed like a relatively straight-forward kind of guy, one that didn’t get upset too easily...after all, he had been to hell and back and managed to make it out alive and well. She respected him for that, perhaps almost as much as she respected Harry Potter for the way that he fought his battles.

”I thought so too,”[/b] She answered in return after the girl had finished reading the paper. She was glad that Ginny agreed on the name, although, she was sure that even if her friend didn’t agree, that was still going to be what she called it. It was the perfect fit for the paper to be flitting around Hogwarts.

With a smile that had not seemed to leave her face since she had walked into the Great Hall, Summer picked up a piece of toast and put it into her mouth. Then she began speaking to Ginny, ”You know-”[/b] She said, taking a chance to swallow what she had just been chewing. Her mother had always told her it was impolite to chew with her mouth open, ”I have a feeling that I’m going to be needing some more reporters, don’t you?”[/b] She looked around to see if people were still reading and sure enough, everyone seemed to be gossiping away about what was in front of them. That was good news, ”This is going to go big. I can feel it in my veins.”[/b] She said hopefully. She wanted this paper to be something bigger than herself. Something that would be a breakthrough in finishing up the war that had been started years ago. Summer just wanted to put all of it behind her and move on in her life. Report on normal things, like the state of the ministry...which she had determined was still in mass disarray. [/size][/blockquote]

[ginny]

Ginny frowned as Summer mentioned her Slytherin cousin, Archer Grayson. His parents were Death Eaters, and Grayson hadn't been at school last year. Ginny had some serious suspicions about him, and had been very surprised when he showed up at Hogwarts on September the 1^st, ready to repeat his 7^th year.
"Hopefully someone will see it and catch her," she said. Ginny- like most of the wizarding world- wanted every last Death Eater rounded up and made to take responsibility for what they had done. Not least because having Death Eaters out there meant there was a threat for another war, if they started to get organised.

”You know...On second thought, I probably should have put ‘Anonymous Sources say’ instead of ‘Weasley’s Younger Sister commented that-’”

"You what?!" Ginny exclaimed, snatching up the paper. Yup, there she was, named as one as Summer's sources. "Summer," she said, exasperated, "apart from the fact that I do not want to be named as snitch, how do you expect to keep it a secret that you wrote the paper, if you're saying your best friend is a source?" Ginny rolled her eyes again, but couldn't really find it in herself to be mad at Summer. She hadn't known when she was talking to Summer about Ron and life at the Burrow that she would be cited as a source, but she should have. "From now on all our conversations are either anonymous, or off the record."

When Summer said that she thought she'd need more reporters, Ginny glanced around the Great Hall too. A lot of people were reading the paper. She didn't know how Summer would keep it up all by herself. It was a lot of work. "You need to be careful about who you get working for you," she said "if you want to stay underground." If the wrong person was asked they could blab to everyone. "If you need a Quidditch correspondent, look no further." She added, with a grin. Ginny was an avid Quidditch player, and one day wanted to go pro.

[summer]

Summer laughed loudly and then covered her mouth, a little bit afraid of drawing too much attention to herself, ”I’m sorry-”

[/b] She managed to say through her hands and threw the giggles that were coming out of her mouth. There was so much to tell about Hermione and Ron. So much that she had to cite Ginny because she was such a reliable source. After all, she did live with Ron during the summer months, so if she knew it was true, then it had to be true. Summer’s reporting had to be sound and reliability was one way to improve soundness, ”Gin-and-Tonic, you talk to loads of people every day! How is Ronny-kins going to know that you didn’t just...let some information slip about his little relationship with Granger?”[/b] Summer asked and finally was able to remove her hand from in front of her mouth. She was still grinning though, quite wickedly. Ron would figure it out eventually...he wasn’t always the brightest tool in the shed, but he wasn’t an idiot like most people thought. But if Ginny wanted to keep her name out of the paper, Summer had no choice but to agree. After all, she was a very dear friend, ”Anonymous it is.”[/b] Summer said and pushed a piece of her unruly blonde hair behind her ear.

She picked up another copy of the paper and then glanced at it, wondering if every issue had turned out the same. She had wondered how good the print job was going to look and it appeared that it wasn’t half bad. It could use some work, but for right now, it looked great.

She bit down on her lip, agreeing with Ginny that it was important that she be careful who she invited to join her at The Underground, ”A lot like Dumbledore’s Army-”[/b] She said with a slight frown, remembering how that had all gone down in their 4th year. It had been a down-right disaster after people had started snitching. She was going to need to find reliable people who would keep her secret. People that knew what this paper meant to her and knew what would happen should someone find out that she was the one behind it. Someone like-

”If you need a Quidditch correspondent, look no further.”[/i]

Summer immediately perked up and grinned at Ginny, ”You mean it?”[/b] Of course she could trust the youngest Weasley. They had been friends for ages. And she knew that Ginny was good at Quidditch, a sport that Summer, quite frankly, did not understand in the slightest. That’s why there weren’t any pieces about the pitch in the paper, ”Well congratuations, Miss Weasley-”[/b] Summer said and stuck out her hand for a handshake, ”Unfortunately, I can only offer you a salary of left over food in the kitchen because The Underground is a non-profit newspaper...but that’s better than nothing!”[/b] She laughed and then rolled her eyes, happy to have Ginny aboard.[/size][/blockquote]

[ginny]

Ginny laughed as Summer told her that she wouldn't be paid. Obviously she had known that. "Don't you worry, Sunshine, I wasn't expecting any galleons from this." She said, still grinning "Just promise not to forget me when you're a big newspaper editor, and promise not to print too many mean stories about me when I'm a Quidditch star."

When Voldemort had come back at the end of Ginny's 3^rd year, she had sort of put thinking about her future on hold. As the war started to build she started to question whether or not there was a future to plan for. She might have been killed in the war, or else Voldemort could have won, in which case her career dreams would hardly be relevant. And then she had to worry about her family, about her friends and about Harry. Her future just hadn't been a thought. But since Voldemort had been defeated, Ginny had started to allow herself to think about what it was she wanted to do once she finally left Hogwarts. Yes, it would be a year later then intended, but that was the same for everyone so it was nothing to worry about. After a while Ginny finally admitted to herself something she really wanted, something she hadn't really allowed herself to want; she wanted to play Quidditch professionally.

Ginny played Chaser on the Gryffindor team. She had had a brief stint as Seeker in her 4^th year, when Umbridge had suspended Harry from the team, but goal scoring was where she really felt at home. She loved Quidditch, and couldn't think of anything else she'd rather do. But she was scared that she wouldn't be good enough. A career as a professional Quidditch player was a tough one to attain. There were so many people who wanted it. But Ginny couldn't deny that she'd been bitten by the Quidditch bug at a very young age, and seeing the Quidditch World Cup in the summer before her 3^rd year at Hogwarts had sealed her fate. She was destined to end up either a Quidditch star, or a miserable wannabe.

She felt more comfortable talking about her Quidditch dreams with Summer than with anyone else. Summer, too, had big dreams, and only one career she could see herself having. She wanted to be a reporter, and nothing else would do. So Ginny was happy to be Quidditch Correspondent for The Underground. It wasn't about the money. And besides, who better to report on the Quidditch matches than someone who was in them? Well, in a quarter of them. It would be tough not to be biased; Ginny firmly believed the Gryffindor team was the best.

"So, what exactly does a Quidditch Correspondent do?" Ginny asked. "I'm the Quidditch expert, not a journalist. You're going to have to fill me in." Of course, Ginny knew that what a Quidditch Correspondent did was report on Quidditch matches, but she didn't get the ins and outs of it like Summer did.

[summer]

”Done and done.”

[/b] Summer said with a laugh and then offered her pinkie to her best friend. That was something that she had picked up while she had been in the Muggle world for a little bit. She would often see younger teenagers making ‘pinkie promises’ which she took to be rather like an Unbreakable Vow - well, except for the fact that they could be completely and utterly broken without either party suffering any insurmountable damage. Therefore, she liked them loads better than she liked the idea of binding herself eternally to anyone for the time being.

”So that’s what you’ve decided to do then?”[/b] Summer asked, leaning back a little bit on the bench so that she could peer around Ginny. The other Gryffindors still seemed to be reading the first couple pages of the newspaper which led her to believe that she had captured their attention. She was happy about that, ”You know-”[/b] She shook her head and then returned her eyes to meet Ginny’s, ”Play Professionally?”[/b] Summer had never really thought about their lives outside of Hogwarts. She couldn’t imagine not spending every waking moment with the people that she had grown up around. It would definitely be an interesting experience: growing up. But she supposed that it was better to do it now before another war broke out. The Wizarding world was in desperate need of fresh blood to rejuvenate the damages that had occurred during the war. They needed fresh ideas, innovative ideas. They needed people like Summer Cresswell and Ginny Weasley.

She smiled when she thought about it, knowing full well that the pair of them were going to be alright by the time that their schooling days ended. Summer knew for sure that she was going to get herself hired by the Daily Prophet and kick that Rita Skeeter off of her high horse. Sure, the woman had inspired her to become a writer in the first place, but there was only so much a washed-up old maid could write about before ‘Me, Myself, and I’ became too tiresome to read. Summer fully intended to take over the woman’s column, pay her due respect, and then revamp it into something that would draw readership from all over the Wizarding community...not just those who had a fascination for Skeeter’s views on life. She smiled at the thought and then picked up a goblet in front of her.

”Well, obviously you’ll have to report on the matches-”[/b] Summer began ticking things off on her mental checklist as she spoke. She pressed the goblet to her lips and then took a sip, thankful that it was pumpkin juice and not something else, ”See who the other teams have to watch out for. Be unbiased-”[/b] She raised her eyebrow at Ginny, knowing full well that her friend might try and take a jab at the Slytherin team. Summer lowered her voice, ”We both know who the supirior team is this year-”[/b] She said, nodding toward the Gryffindor’s table and grinning, ”But if we let on that we’re baised, this whole thing could be over like that.”[/b] She snapped her fingers and then smiled at Ginny, ”But no pressure, right?”[/b][/size][/blockquote]

[ginny]

Ginny looked sceptically at Summer as she extended her little finger. Ginny's family was pure blood (although considered 'blood-traitors'), and when not at Hogwarts the Weasley family was pretty much independent of others. With so many siblings there had never been any need to look outside of the family for company, and their house was fairly remote, with fields stretching out on either side. Even though Ginny's father was muggle obsessed, they never interacted with muggle's in their day to day life. Especially since they could never bring a muggle into their house without breaking about 10 laws at once, the international statute of secrecy being one of them.

So she had never seen a pinky promise before. But Summer was looking at her expectantly, so with an incredulous look on her face Ginny mimicked Summer, sticking out her little finger. Summer linked her little finger with hers, and Ginny looked a them, expectantly. When Summer let go, she said "That's it? Nothing happens?"

”So that’s what you’ve decided to do then?”

Ginny went slightly red, and looked down at the table, nodding. "Yeah, well..." she said "you know, if I'm good enough and everything." Being a professional Quidditch player was a big dream to have, and you had to be really good. Ginny knew that Harry could be a professional Seeker, if he wanted to be, but she didn't think that was his plan. Ginny was confident in her abilities, but she didn't want to be too sure of herself, only to be knocked down later.

Ginny listened and nodded as Summer explained the ins and outs of Quidditch reporting, pulling a face as Summer said she had to be un-biased. "Right, but if, say, a certain team dressed in green are acting like total prats, I have to report that, right? 'Cause it would be biased not to..." she grinned, then saw how seriously Summer was taking it. "Ok, ok," she said "no bias. I won't blow our cover."

[summer]

”That’s it-”

[/b] Summer laughed as she saw Ginny’s confused expression. The girl probably expected to see some giant sparks or perhaps something exploding in the background. Summer knew what to expect from the linking-pinkies because her mother had been a Muggle herself, meaning Summer had a lot of time on the other side of the fence. It was amazing what she had picked up from the Muggles. But no, pinkie promises were far less formal and far better between friends. There was no risk of dying included, ”Think of it as an Unbreakable, except there’s nothing to stop you from breaking it.”[/b] She grinned wickedly and rolled her eyes, ”Except for of course, me...who will absolutely kill you if you back out of our little deal.”[/b] She winked, letting the youngest Weasley know that she was kidding.

“You know, if I’m good enough and everything.”[/i]

Summer snorted and then pushed her plate away from her. She turned her body so that she was sitting cross-legged and facing Ginny, ”Of course you’re good enough.”[/b] Summer said and blew some of her hair out of her eyes. She reached over and patted her friend on the back, playfully. Summer had seen Ginny in action. She had seen the way that she was able to move after the ball as if it was second-nature. If her bestfriend wasn’t able to make a professional team, then there was something seriously wrong with the world of Quidditch. But she knew that Ginny would be able to do whatever she wanted with life - after all, she had Harry Potter to stand by her side. Summer felt her face grow a little hot as she laughed nervously, knowing full-well that the pair of them were probably going to be together for a very long time. She was happy for Ginny - a little jealous - but incredibly happy.

”That certain green team-”[/b] Summer raised an eyebrow as she looked over at the Slytherin table, making sure that none of them were listening to their conversation, ”Is always a bunch of prats. I can’t imagine having to report old news,”[/b] She offered Ginny a smile. Summer would have liked nothing more than to write about how incredibly rude, crass, and unsportsman the Slytherin Quidditch team was, especially with Archer Grayson at the helm, but she knew that would only draw more attention to herself as the distributer of The Underground, ”Thank you.”[/b] She answered about Ginny’s offer to not blow their cover. Ginny knew how important this was to her.[/size][/blockquote]

[ginny]

Ginny frowned, her nose wrinkling slightly as Summer said that nothing happened in a pinky promise. That there was nothing to stop you breaking the vow. What was the point, then? She didn't think too much of this muggle tradition.

She grinned as Summer told her she was good enough, and tuned cross legged on the bench to face her. Summer was a good friend, and Ginny knew she would always support her. But Summer wouldn't flat out lie either. She would never tell Ginny she was a bad Quidditch player, but Ginny didn't think she would tell her she could make it as a pro if she didn't genuinely think so.

Ginny nodded in agreement as Summer talked about the Slytherin team. She knew which Slytherin in particular she was talking about. "Graysons a nasty piece of work", she said, glancing over at the Slytherin table to see if he was there. "He never looks too happy to be back, does he?" she said, more quietly. "Did his parents take him out last year?" Archer Grayson was Summers cousin (although not a close cousin), and she wondered if Summer knew anything about it. There were a lot of odd reappearances at school this year, students who didn't look as happy as everyone else did at winning the war. Students who hadn't been around last year, or who certainly hadn't fought against any Death Eaters. If Ginny was honest, some of the students she had expected to show their true colours and not return to Hogwarts at all, had come back.

[ϟ ADMIN ADRIENNE]

Closed, since we haven't posted in this thread in 2 weeks