⚜ EVENING, 25TH JULY, 1990, THE GOJO ESTATE ⚜
GINNY WEASLEY WAS not a happy person. She had spent so much time trying to spruce herself up for this party to try and curry interest from the Potter girls but none of them had so much as spared her a moment's attention.
The Potter girls, Jasmine especially, hadn't given her so much as a passing glance. Aside from the simplest of niceties, they had swept past her as though she didn't exist, not bothering to keep up a conversation with her
How could they be so uncaring?
Her jaw tightened as she glanced across the hall, where Jasmine and her sisters stood at the center of their glittering group of golden prodigies, drawing attention and admiration from every corner.
They made it look so easy. They didn't have to try. The very air they breathed was practically worth millions in Galleons in whatever social circle they found themselves. They didn't have to put in any effort to be the most dazzling people in the room — they just were.
And Ginny hated how much that stung.
Why wasn't she one of them? Why wasn't she part of their group? She deserved to be. She was beautiful, clever, and talented — or at least, more so than plenty of other people who seemed to catch their attention.
Ginny Weasley had spent hours getting ready, doing her hair just right, picking out the nicest dress she owned (even if it wasn't brand-new), and making sure she looked perfect — all for what? To be ignored like she didn't even exist?
It wasn't fair. After all, she wasn't some nobody. She was a Weasley. She had six older brothers, for Merlin's sake! She'd grown up dodging pranks, flying on brooms, and learning to be tough in a house full of chaos. She could handle anything life threw at her.
So why didn't the Potter sisters see her that way? They were just kids, like her, weren't they? Jasmine, Ivy, and Rose weren't that much older or wiser. They weren't perfect, no matter how they carried themselves like they had the whole world figured out.
She could be just as impressive as them. She should be part of their world. Yet… somehow, they still seemed to belong to a world of their own that they generated just by existing, a world that Ginny could only catch glimpses of from the outside.
Dammit! It wasn't fair.
She clenched her fists at her sides, frustration bubbling in her chest. She had done everything right. She tried to laugh at the right jokes, smile at the right people, stand exactly where she was supposed to stand. But none of it mattered. No one had noticed. They hadn't noticed.
It wasn't her fault. It couldn't be. She wasn't the problem here — they were. Especially Jasmine Potter, with that perfect smile and that infuriating air of politeness, like she thought she was better than everyone else. The oh-so-tragic Golden Girl of the golden generation.
Ginny could practically hear the whispers that followed her everywhere: Oh, isn't Jasmine just so sweet? So humble, after all she's been through. So mature for her age. It made Ginny sick to her stomach.
She's not that special! Ginny wanted to scream at them. She's just a girl, same as me!
Oh, Jasmine might act nice, but Ginny wasn't stupid. She knew what was really going on. Jasmine had tried to "help" her on multiple occasions, as if Ginny were some little lost lamb who needed guidance.
Who did Jasmine think she was? Acting all superior, pretending to be helpful, when it was obvious she was just trying to rub it in. Jasmine wasn't trying to be kind — she was just trying to make Ginny feel small.
It was all so patronizing, so condescending. And the worst part was, everyone else seemed to fall for it. They all looked at Jasmine like she was some sort of angel, while Ginny was just left standing in her shadow.
No matter what she did, it always felt like there was some invisible barrier keeping her on the outside looking in. Why wasn't she enough for them? What could make them realize that she actually meant something?
Ginny clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms as she stood off to the side, watching the way everyone practically fell over themselves to impress Jasmine and her sisters. The perfect Potters.
And what had they really done to deserve it? Nothing. They were born with power, wealth, and status handed to them on a silver platter, and because of that, people fawned over them like they were heaven descended.
And where did that leave her?
Relegated to the sidelines, listening to people prattle on and on about how wonderful the Potter sisters were. How Jasmine was so kind, so graceful, so intelligent. How Ivy was so sharp and witty. How Rose was so sweet and gentle. It was sickening.
She had to show them — Jasmine especially — that she wasn't just some little lamb — she was the one that should be running the show. She was the one that had greater value. She was the one that should be helping Jasmine.
As these venomous thoughts ran through her head, Ginny felt someone tap on her shoulder, breaking her train of thought. She spun around, confused — maybe even hopeful for a second. They'd finally come to apologise for ignoring her.
Standing before her was a boy who looked to be around her age, dressed in the plain, unassuming attire of a servant. His dark, slightly tousled hair framed a sharp, angular face that might have been handsome if not for the faint air of nervousness clinging to him.
Ginny blinked, momentarily thrown off by his sudden appearance. Her heart, which had leapt with hope a second earlier, now sank into her chest like a stone. It wasn't Jasmine. It wasn't Ivy or Lily. Just some boy — a servant, no less. Probably a companion servant.
"Yes?" she asked, her tone sharper than she intended.
The boy gave a slight bow, his eyes darting toward the floor before flicking back up to meet hers. He looked uncertain, as if he wasn't quite sure how to address her. "My apologies, miss," he said softly, his voice careful and deferential. "I… I was asked to bring you a message."
"A message?" Ginny frowned, her irritation simmering beneath the surface. What could a servant boy possibly have to say to her? "From whom?"
"Lady Saito," the boy replied, straightening slightly, though his posture remained respectful. "She noticed you standing alone and thought… perhaps you might like to join her. She's in the garden."
Ginny's frown deepened. Lady Saito? She vaguely remembered the girl — Lord Saito's daughter.
A quiet, pale thing with wide, nervous eyes and a soft voice that barely rose above a whisper. Ginny had seen her earlier, hovering at the edges of the room like a shadow, clinging to her father's side as though afraid to let go.
The offer shouldn't have stung. It shouldn't have felt like yet another reminder of her place on the periphery, but it did.
She wasn't being invited by anyone important. She wasn't being drawn into the inner circle of the Potters or the other highborn families. No, she was being approached by a girl whose family was barely clinging to its status, through a servant, no less.
For a moment, Ginny considered brushing the boy off, telling him she had no interest in joining Lady Saito. But then, a new thought crept into her mind. Maybe this wasn't a setback. Maybe it was an opportunity.
If Lady Saito's family was on the decline, as the rumors suggested, then befriending her could be a way to position herself as someone valuable, someone who could pull others up — or tear them down.
Ginny plastered on a polite smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Thank you," she said coolly. "Tell Lady Saito I'll be over in a moment."
The boy nodded, bowed again, and turned to leave. Ginny watched him go, her mind already racing. Maybe this wasn't the grand apology she had imagined, but it could still be useful in one way or another.
If she couldn't break into the Potters' circle right away, she could at least start building her own. And when the time came, Jasmine would see that Ginny wasn't just some little lamb waiting to be led — she was a queen in the making.
Breathing a quiet sigh, she headed to the garden, her movement displaying an air of rather awkward elegance from an outsider's perspective.
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Author here.
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