Melancholy

[Ginny Weasly]

((I'm feeling rather melancholy at the moment. Forgive me.))

Ginny stood in the center of a clearing, her eyes downcast upon the forest floor. Her hands were in her hoodie pockets, and she hardly moved. Only her hair stirred when the warm wind lazily went through the clearing. She seemed oblivious to all around her, including the large grey wolf that lay at the edge of the clearing.

Over five years ago, this very clearing had been where her life had changed for the better. Up until that point, Ginny had led a respected but unhappy life. She had just begun the final steps of her divorce from her first husband, Conan, and had escaped to the forest to think about where things had gone wrong between them. Then Fate literally kicked her in the stomach, in the form of a boy she hardly knew.

"Sorry," he said.
She rubbed her side and sat up, blinked.
"Ow." She said, shaking her head then looking at him, "It's alright, I guess. You didn't mean to." She smiled.
"What's up, Xaver?"

Ginny closed her eyes, a small smile forming on her lips as she recalled the sillyness of that day. He had been so sweet, trying to cheer her up about her divorce. It had worked, he made her laugh. She remembered the way he watched her, and a flush crept up into her cheeks. She'd been blind then, not to realize the looks he kept giving her were more than the usual. She recalled helping him with his barriers, he'd been really bad at them. The way she'd held his hand to lend him some of her powers, the upside down feeling it had given her stomach upon touching him. Then the way a vision had flattened her barriers and he had opened his powers to her.
And the way she had thanked him.

She leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. It was like an electrical surge went through both of them. She let go of his hand and took a step back, "Thank you."
"You are welcome. Literally. Whenever." He was smiling, but she didn't see that. She looked away in embarrassment. Xaver gently hooked his finger under her chin, looking into her eyes for a long moment. He smiled slightly, then returned her kiss with one of his own.

The wolf on the edge of the clearing let out a small whine, and slowly stood. His noise knocked Ginny from her memories and she shook her head to clear it. She was still smiling, but sadly.
"Come here old guy." She said softly to the wolf. He slowly walked to her, bumping her hand with his nose so she would pet him.

"I wish we were both younger. I really do, Moon." She told him, kneeling and rubbing behind his ears. "But I do love my life. Who would have thought I'd be the one with a happy ending? Not me."
She shook her head, sighing.

She had gone through a lot before she was 16 years old. She had seen death, had caused it. She knew the worst parts of life and had seemingly gone through hell to get back. She'd seen her friends come and go, had seen friends die. But upon reflection, she wouldn't change a thing Because even she knew that one small thing in the past changed everything in the future. And she loved her future.

[potter_fan122]

The wind was warm against Stacey`s bare arms. Her hoodie had been abondoned, for it was much too warm for it. Stacey loved the warmth, she loved her gift of fire. She loved the way the sun felt on her bare skin in the summer. She hated winter and snow.

Her trips through the forest were normal, almost daily. She didn`t go into the far depths of the trees, but close enough. She had mer dangers often enough here not to want to go further. She was weaving through the trees when she came upon a figure in a cleared area. At first she thought it was another seventh year, but the bright red hair gave Ginny away. She smiled to herself.

Hello. She thought softly, not wanting to startle her favorite old teacher.

[Ginny Weasly]

"Stacey, hi." Ginny's voice was still as soft and quiet as it had been a moment ago when talking to the wolf. Upon hearing Stacey's footsteps, the wolf had half turned, his bright yellow eyes watching Stacey as she came nearer. But he could sense Ginny's calmness, and thus he too was calm about the approaching girl.

Ginny didn't turn to see Stacey, she didn't have to. She could still feel the power of times long past around her, and she didn't want to disturbed that. She enjoyed recalling her past now that she had such a bright future.

[potter_fan122]

Stacey smiled at the back of her old teacher. She could feel the happiness leaking from Ginny. The area around her was so... blissful. Not wanting to ruin that, she sat down silently. Little grass poked up from the mostly bare groud. She rested her chin on her hand and her eyes swirled bright green.

She watched her teacher`s back, waiting until she--on her own accord-- would decide to speak.

[Ginny Weasly]

"Stacey, did you know that when I was a first year student, I was possessed by Voldemort?"

Ginny finally turned to face Stacey, and surprisingly she had a smile on her face. The wolf rubbed his nose into her hand and whined, wanting her to continue petting him, but she drew her hand away from him. She watched Stacey for a moment before walking over to her and sitting beside her.

The grey wolf followed, then lay next to her, his head on her knee. He closed his eyes and made a sort of sighing noise as he relaxed.

[potter_fan122]

Stacey couldn`t help but smile as Ginny did. "Yes, I did actually. It`s amazing what you learn when you read once and a while." Her grin turned smug. She loved reading, and not many people took their time to read as much as she did.

As the wolf made a noise, she leaned forward slightly to look at it. When she saw it easily, a sharp feeling hit her chest. She hadn`t seen her two wolves in a long time; it made her wonder what they were up to.

[Ginny Weasly]

"It is amazing." Ginny agreed, smiling and rubbing between the wolf's eyes. This specific wolf had been with her back when she was a second year. He knew more about her than anyone ever would.

"At any rate, when I was 11, I was possessed by Voldemort's memories." Ginny shook her head, almost laughing, "I wasn't too smart then. That entire episode is the beginning for why I am the way I am."

She did laugh here.

"Because of the mental trauma, my psychic powers were pushed to appear faster than they would have normally. Telepathic powers are in my family," She explained, "But no one usually gets them until they are about 13 years old. Because mine developed earlier, I was even with my brother Ron. Wasn't long till I surpassed him."

Ginny giggled, 'He didn't really care about his psychic powers then. He was stronger in so many other ways."

[potter_fan122]

Stacey `s smiled stayed put as Ginny talked. "I`m amazed that you came within such close contact with Voldemort as you did, and you are the way you are. Most people would be corrupt, I would think." She said, offering her thoughts on the matter.

She began to think about her own powers. She hadn`t had any close contact with anyone evil. She hadn`t been abused as a child. She hadn`t been haunted by anything until three years ago. Nothing seemed to have pushed her into learning, although she was slightly more advanced than others. She was the only person that she knew of that could absorb other people`s powers, and she was a fast learner, but what would that have to do with anything?

[Ginny Weasly]

"That wasn't the last time I came in such close contact."

Ginny closed her eyes, her fingers momentarily stalling on the wolf's fur. Her smile stayed put, however, and when she reopened her eyes she looked them on Stacey.
"I did become corrupt. But I thought I was helping. I thought I was doing good."

She shrugged one shoulder, her smile turning slightly sad, "I was wrong, of course. I hurt more people than you've ever even met. Killed quite a few of them too."

The pretty redhead was so caught up in her strange thoughts that she wasn't paying attention to Stacey's thoughts.

[potter_fan122]

Stacey nodded slowly, not noticing anything different in Ginny`s movements or thoughts. She was minding her own buisiness. She had been around Ginny enough to know that if she didn`t mind her own buisiness by herself, she was made to mind her own buisiness.

"What years where you in when you realized you had different powers?" She asked suddenly. her thoughts still mostly on curiosity about herself.

"I mean, I`m guessing you got powers at a younger age. Most do. Where you even in school?" She added.

[Ginny Weasly]

Ginny smirked, "All my life. But I had no idea how different my family was until I was older and found out that not everyone can do magic as well as me and my brothers could. As for my psychic powers, it's like  I said. I would have developed them years later in life had I not been kidnapped and forced into the darkest part of my own mind."

Her smirk slipped away. Ginny's darkest thoughts were terrible, horrible. Beyond the imagination of scary ideas, she thought of things that even demons feared.

"At any rate, when I was 13, I found that magic and psychic powers can't always help you. Especially if your powers are stripped. So I learned to fight. Which is why I can break ribs with one kick." She shrugged one shoulder as if it was nothing. But it was indeed. She was a short, tiny looking woman. What weight she had had to be muscle, because such force behind her hits needed some muscle.

[potter_fan122]

Stacey`s smile that spread across her face looked almost... evil. "I can crack a rib with a spinning kick, but not break ribs." She said softly. Her father had made sure that she could fight. With words and her body. Most people didn`t have the kind of strength her small self had. She was just about the same size as Ginny, and she could take down someone three times her size. She knew. She had done it before.

"Although I`m sure you probably put a little more force behind it." She said, thinking out loud. "You can get a lot madder than I can." she smirked to herself as she remembered the time that she had been dumb eough to try and get away from Ginny. All she got out of it was a twisted wrist and a bruised arm.

[Ginny Weasly]

"I do have a temper problem." Ginny assented with a small smile. She even chuckled, that was a complete understatement. Ginny had a terrible temper, always had. It came from her mother.

She shrugged, "But I have calmed down a small bit. Having children does instill patience." She glanced at Stacey, "Are you planning on having children?"

[potter_fan122]

Stacey smiled and looked at the ground, her eyes and cheeks growing pink. "Someday. Not soon. But someday." She said softly. A lot of people had thought that Aiden had gotten Stacey pregnant, and that was why she married him, but that wasn`t the case. Not even close. People just couldn`t understand that she was happy with Aiden, and she loved him.

"That what my mom thinks." She added in a soft whisper, knowing that Ginny had probably heard her train of thoughts. She wasn`t trying to hide them from Ginny, and she could tell by the softness and openness in her mind that Ginny wasn`t either.

[Ginny Weasly]

Ginny nodded. She had known that Stacey wasn't marrying Aiden because of a pregnancy. She wasn't stupid. The comment about Stacey's mother caused a small smirk, though. Ginny had been pregnant with Cody when she was 17. She hadn't been able to let Xaver know until three years after she had her son.
What would Stacey's mother think of the pretty, hot tempered, ex-teacher?

"Children are so strange. Not exactly a perfect blend of their parents, but just enough like them that it's scary." The Ministry often reminded Ginny how dangerous her family was. Magical children had enough trouble controlling their powers. Ginny's children had powers beyond what anyone knew, it scared the Ministry.

She looked at Stacey, "Cody looks exactly like his father, for example, but has my temper when needed."