Burning Slow (A Linny story)

1: I Try Not To Cry Over Spilled Milk And Fail Spectacularly

Ginny's POV

It was October 17th when I realized I no longer had a crush on Harry.

 I didn't know how that was possible; I'd had a crush on him since I was ten years old and I thought it would last forever.

 But when I looked at him that morning, I didn't get as red as my hair.

 I noticed that he had too many scars and an odd chin I didn't like.

Ron frowned at me. "What's wrong, Gin?" "Nothing." I snapped.

 "Obviously something is wrong" Fred said. "She didn't go red when she looked at Harry" George continued. 

"Oh shut up you two. And you, too, Ronald. She might simply not like him anymore and that's it. And that is all right. And if she doesn't want to talk about it now, she might want to talk about it later. You're stressing her, I know that look." 

Hermione said, shooting them a look I knew very well - the look she got when Ron and Harry were doing fun and noisy things rather than studying.

I shook some cereal in my bowl and poured some milk over it, but before I even got the chance to eat, Errol, our old house owl, crashed into it with a little card tied to his left leg, spewing cereal and milk all over me and the rest of that part of the Gryffindor table. 

The card was surprisingly dry, but Errol was soaked and had his eyes closed. 

Percy snort-laughed at the irony of the situation and soon we were all snorting so hard instead of eating that I completely forgot about the card. 

Then we walked to escort Harry, Ron, and Hermione to their Transfiguration class. 

 Hermione tried to take notes while she also tried to wring out her hair, which was practically black and so frizzy it looked like a sponge. 

Harry's glasses were fogged up and dripping. 

And my brother faceplanted on the floor. It was so typical I had to smile.

"Come here, Weasleys, Granger, Potter. You're all soaked. You will not enter my classroom like that." Professor McGonagall snapped when she saw us.

 Fred giggled. "Did you see that, Georgie?" "She is actually caring about us?" George answered, and they both grinned. I rolled my eyes. 

"I actually care about my classroom, Misters Weasley. Now shut it if you don't want twenty points from Gryffindor."

With a flick of her wand, we were more or less dry, but my hair was still damp and stuck to my neck. Great. Milk hair for the rest of the day. 

"More I cannot do. I would recommend not missing the milk next time." McGonagall said with an arched eyebrow.

Suddenly the bell rang. Oh, come on.

 "What do you guys have next?" Hermione asked.

 "Herbology." I said. 

"Charms." My twin brothers said at the same time. I swear, someday I was going to force them to tattoo their name, no matter where.

 "I have Care of Magical Creatures, Hermione, thanks for asking," Percy said.

"Oh, and thank you, Professor McGonagall, for removing the milk Errol spilled from Ginny's breakfast. It was a truly flawless spell."

 He truly was insufferable.

I was halfway down the corridors to go to the greenhouses when I heard my name. I turned.

 "Hey Gin!" "Ugh Fred!! What do you want, seriously? I have to go to Herbology!" "MILK HAIR!!!!! HAHAHA!!!" He called back. I stretched out my middle finger in response. Guys.

Herbology was awful. Every five minutes, someone called far too loudly, "HEY MILK HAIR!!!! HOW'S IT GOING?" 

I had to pretend Professor Sprout was more interesting than she actually was.

Potions was even worse. 

I had a double class with the Slytherins, who were the worst people I could ever cross paths with, considering my current situation.

But they didn't know they were hurting me, or didn't care at all about the feelings of a Weasley.

And they'd also heard Fred's joke and kept calling me Milk Hair and Milk Girl and Was The Milk Tasty? 

Even Professor Snape looked at my hair and said, "Miss Weasley, did you attempt to wash your hair in milk? Ten points from Gryffindor for making my floor dirty and slippery." 

I couldn't believe he was actually saying that! I mean, I knew he was mean but not like that!

"WHAT?!" He glared at me with disgust. "Shut it or I'll take twenty. And a detention for the whole month."

"And don't forget tomorrow's test, everybody. OUT OF MY CLASROOM! NOW!" 

I stormed off faster than you could say Potions. My neck itched. My hair smelled of milk. I had cornflakes all over my hair and face. And I felt like crying, too.

I held my head high and the tears at bay all day long. I didn't eat lunch, so I was even more irritated at the second half of the day.

I ran to the Great Hall when the final bell rang, probably worrying Hagrid. But he didn't say a thing.

I didn't even make it to the bench. My brothers found me when I stepped into the room. "Yo, Milk Hair!" 

I stopped, breathed in and out slowly with my eyes closed, just like Luna had taught me for the exams week, and opened them again, my surroundings blurry. I fought the tears back. Or I tried.

"How did you get brown hair, Weasley?" Malfoy asked. 

That's when I snapped. I walked quickly to the Gryffindor table and slapped each of my twin brothers' cheeks, twice.

"STOP IT!!! BOTH OF YOU! ALL OF YOU! YOU ARE CRUEL, IT ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE! 

I SMELL OF MILK, AND EVERYONE IS JUST LAUGHING AT ME AND MAKING FUN OF ME AND SNAPE TOOK TEN POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR BECAUSE OF YOU GUYS AND YOU DON'T EVEN CARE!!!!!

YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR HOUSE, I GET IT!

BUT NOT CARING IF YOUR SISTER IS MAYBE HURT BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPID JOKE IS JUST NOT RIGHT, DAMMIT!!"

My hands shook. Tears streamed down my cheeks hard, making the world blurry and with that, impossible to see which of them I was yelling to. I didn't bother. Both of them deserved it.

I didn't even bother what Malfoy thought or said of me. I just wanted my brothers to understand that they'd hurt me. And they didn't even get that one simple and stupid thing.

They proved it to me when Fred said, "Ginny, it was just a-" I didn't let him finish that sentence. I slapped him hard.

Hermione was by my side in two seconds, an arm around my shoulder and glaring at the two in a way that would have made Professor McGonagall proud. 

"You're hurting her, can't you see that?! She is crying, guys! Crying!" "Hey, stop being-" George started. "Stop being what, George? Hm? Say it! Say it out loud, if you're so brave!" Hermione interrupted him.

"Well... I would say dramatic, because it's just milk in the hair." Ron said. I gasped, shocked. Hermione was furious. "RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY HOW DO YOU DARE SAY THAT????"

I couldn't watch this anymore. I sobbed even harder and ran to the Gryffindor Common Room. "Balderlash!" I sobbed to the Fat Lady and ran into the circular room. Footsteps approached.

I sank into my favorite armchair, sobbing. My hands slipped into the pockets of my robe. Only then I noticed the card that had started this disaster. I was so angry that I threw it on the fire.