Breaking the shadows

First meeting with Ginny.

1996

Friday September 10th

Weekend finally, I quickly go to my room and change into one of my summer dresses, trying to get the most of it before it's too cold outside. I put my denim jacket over, in case it gets chilly, I take my bag with my art supplies, me and Ginny's trip to the lake yesterday gave me an idea for a painting. I grab my tiny easel and a blank canvas, and I run down to the lake. I sit down on the grass and start imagining, me and Ginny from yesterday, I got better at drawing myself over the summer, so I start by making the lake and the trees around. Then I make the bathing jetty. While drawing Ginny and me I start thinking back to the first time we met:

(1992)"It's the first day at Hogwarts and I'm sitting in the great hall with all the other students, I'm sitting next to Hermione, but she is speaking with her friends, I know one of them is Harry Potter and I think the other one is named Ron. Across from me is sitting a girl with flaming red hair and a face filled with freckles, she looks kind of cute, she is talking with three boys, two of them look like twins, and the last one I believe is Hermione's friend Ron. They all have the same freckles and flaming red hair, I believe that they are all siblings. I sit by myself looking down on my plate, I haven't taken any food, I feel nauseous in big crowds and when everyone around me is eating it doesn't make it better. After dinner another red headed student followed us to our dorms, the girl and the three boys seemed kind, but the Gryffindor prefect is arrogant. He points to one room and says: "Boys in there and girls in the one beside it." I start walking to the room he pointed at, but he stops me: "Not you, come with me."

We walk down the hallway to another room; he points to it and says: "There were more Gryffindor girls than we expected this year so you will be living with the second years as they are not as many."

I peak inside the room and see three girls and one of them is, Hermione, I am so happy that I get to be in a dorm with her. I go inside and Hermione lights up and says: "Girls this is my little sister Harlow."

The two other girls look at me and a blond girl says: "Hi Harlow, my name is Crystal, and that's Sophie."

Sophie waves shortly but she is occupied with something else. Hermione tells me that the bed beside hers is mine and that you don't change roommates over the years only rooms, so there are two rooms for each year, one for the girls and one for the boys. This is the first time that roommates have not been in the same year. I sit down on my bed and ask Hermione: "Who are all the redheads?"
Sophie looks up as ask my question, I didn't realise that she was a redhead too, but hers is darker and auburn.

Hermione: "You mean the Weasley's?"

"I guess"

Hermione: "The youngest Weasley started today so she's a first year like you, Ron told me that her name is Ginny"

"She was sitting across from me in the great hall, right?"

Hermione: "Yeah she was, I think you two would be great friends"

Thinking back on Hermione's comment makes me laugh a little, mostly because she was right, but now we are more than just great friends. We are a couple. It's a little wired saying out loud, but it feels right. I'm nearly done with my painting, just making the last few details on mine and Ginny's eyes and the flowers in our hair. I've realized while painting that I can't just take my brown paint to make my eyes and hair, because my hair isn't just brown, its more reddish brown and my eyes aren't just brown they are more like hazel. And I love that I can see that in myself now, I've always thought that I had boring brown hair and even more boring brown eyes. I put last detail on the eyes and then I head back to the castle.

Just before entering my room Ginny runs up to me and says: "I've been looking for you, where have you been?"

"I was down at the lake painting, is everything okay?"

Ginny: "It is now, I thought you were gone"

Ginny hugs me tightly and I whisper in her ear: "Don't worry I'm right here, and I'm okay."

Ginny: "Why didn't you tell anyone where you were?"

"I just needed some alone time and time to focus on my art and not anything else."

Ginny: "I understand, I was just worried"

"I know, I'm sorry."

Ginny: "Don't say sorry okay, you are here now, that is what matters"

I go to my room to put down my art supplies, and then I go back to Ginny in the common room, we sit down on the couch with Neville, Harry, Hermione, and Ron. And we just stay up for hours talking.
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Puplished: 17-05-23