Disclaimer: Everything you recognise ain’t mine.

Warning: None as of yet.

A/N: Another fic I am starting, and probably another one that will take a while to get going. I just like to get my ideas down before I forget them. Who knows, I might actually have more inspiration for this one and work on this one instead. It all depends on my mood. I hope you enjoy it anyway.

(Oh, and for those of you wondering, yes I did totally steal this title from a Georgette Heyer book :P )

Ginny stared at the letter in her hands, her chestnut eyes widening to the size of dinner plates before her mouth dropped open to form an audible gasp. The parchment that had the flowing, elegant ink on it was squeezed in a tight grasp as she was soon racing down the hallway, bursting through the door into the bright sunlight where Molly Weasley was gardening.

“MUM!!!!!!”

“Ginny, don’t screech in my ear.” Molly scolded, and turned to her daughter, eyeing the flushed cheeks and excited, sparkling brown eyes with faint misgiving. “What?”

Ginny silently handed the letter, practically bouncing on her feet. It was the letter she had been waiting for since she had turned nineteen three days ago; the letter that her Godmother promised she would give her when she reached that certain age.

“Oh, it’s from Celia,” Molly said with a fond smile. Celia Adderson was Molly’s best friend and also Ginny’s Godmother. She had always been the one to give Ginny the nicest presents: dress robes, new wands when she had needed them, and she had also promised to take Ginny into society as all Pureblood girls did when they reached the age of nineteen, since the Weasleys themselves were unable to afford the expense of it, let alone had the reputation for it. While most people called it the marriage-mart where all the young ladies found their prospective husbands, Ginny was more excited about the dancing, wearing the beautiful dresses and eating food that she would never even dream of. She would also get to go to London and stay in a very nice house with Celia herself, which was what the letter had stated. It was driving her practically mad with excitement.

“She wants you to go stay with her in London to be there for the season,” Molly said slowly, holding a hand to her heart, a broad smile on her face as she stared down at her daughter. “Oh Ginny, dear, this is wonderful!! You’ll get to meet lots of nice young men, as well go to parties and balls.” Her smile widened even more as she got a misty look in her eyes. “I remember my first season. I met Arthur then and he whirled me away in a forbidden romance. Of course my parents were very upset when we eloped, but it was worth it….”

“Please, Mum,” Ginny said quickly, interrupting the reminiscing mood. “May I write back to her and say I’m going?”

“Of course!” Molly exclaimed happily. “We’ll have to start packing for you right away. She wants to come pick you up tomorrow.” Her face flashed with a truly delighted smile, making her wrinkles stand out even more. “Oh, I’m in all a flutter. I did hope Celia would do this for you. The boys can make their own way, but I hated for you to miss out on the greatest tradition a Pureblood girl can have. Mind you, Ginny, there is one thing I must warn you about.”

“And what’s that?” Ginny asked curiously, wondering what warning there could possibly be.

“If a Wizard asks you to marry him you will have to say yes. They call it the marriage mart for a reason, for there is a point where the wizards will be given the opportunity to take a witch of their wish. I find it unlikely you will get chosen for obvious reasons…”

Ginny nodded, knowing that her lack of inheritance and reputation meant she would not be one of the favoured ones.

“…But it’s an old tradition that can’t be broken. You will be magically bonded to that person as soon as they choose you. It was made during the old days where Purebloods were dying out and parents made a spell to force the young ones to marry. It still holds today, and they’ve carried on the tradition, so just be wary. However, most of the wizards know what girls they are going to marry anyway, so I doubt you will have any problems…”

Ginny nodded seriously, but she just like her mother doubted that any Wizard would choose her. She was a Weasley for goodness sakes….

“Well, I’m gonna go write back,” Ginny said with a smile and bounced off back into the house, practically skipping back up to her room where she pulled out a parchment and quill. Tickling her face with the feather, she bit her lip for a moment before starting to write:

Dear Mrs Adderson,

     Thank you so much for inviting me to come stay with you in London. Mum says I can go, so I’ll be ready for you whenever you choose to come pick me up tomorrow. I’m very excited to see you again, but I hope I won’t be too much of a hassle for you.

   Love Ginny.

She then pulled out more parchment from her stack and started writing letters to all her friends, including Harry and Hermione, telling them all about how she was going to go to London and stay with her Godmother. She was so excited her ink was practically splashing everywhere and making the writing illegible, but she hoped they still got the gist of it.

Once she was done, Ginny once more made her way downstairs and took a seat at the table, wishing that time would just go faster so she could hurry up and go to London. It was driving her insane to wait when she knew that she would soon be dancing and drinking champagne, while acting like a lady. It was going to be so wonderful! She could just tell already…

“What are you looking so pleased about?” Ron asked curiously, having just apparated into the house. He had moved into a flat with Harry and was studying to be an Auror, along with Harry himself.

“Mrs Adderson has invited me to go to London and stay with her for the season. I get to go to London, Ron!” Ginny exclaimed, while bouncing up and down on her chair.

“Don’t wet yourself,” Ron teased, making Ginny blush a bit.

“I can’t help it, I’m just so excited. We never get anything nice, and now I actually get to go into society. It’s every girl’s dream!”

“I don’t see what’s so great about it. All you do is waltz around in those silly dresses, while being stuck with silly girls, and you have to talk to pompous idiots like Draco Malfoy. You know it’ll just be a bunch of poncy old pansies dressed up like peacocks parading around…”

“Well maybe I want to be a peacock.” Ginny said with a huff. “I’m not letting you ruin this for me, Ron, and I doubt Draco Malfoy will talk to me anyway. He’ll have plenty of other girls to talk to…”

“And what if they’re all like him?” Ron asked, quirking one eyebrow as he leaned against the bench.

“They won’t be.” Ginny said firmly. She hoped not anyway. She had always dreamed of going to the society balls and meeting a handsome young man who would sweep her off her feet. Of course he would be rich as well, and charming….

“Well, you keep telling yourself that,” Ron said with a shrug. Taking a bite of some homemade bread, he just frowned slightly. “So when are you going anyway?”

“Tomorrow, but I have no idea when. She’s promised to take me shopping,” Ginny said with a big, childish smile. “I’ll actually be able to wear those dresses that we used to look at in the old magazines.”

“You really will be a peacock then,” Ron said with a laugh. “Ah well, if that’s what you like…”

“It is,” Ginny said firmly. “And I’m going to enjoy every moment of it.”

Dinner that night was an odd affair. Ron kept teasing Ginny about her upcoming London season, telling her some old crusty Wizard with leery eyes was going to try propose to her, while Molly kept shushing him in between reminiscing about her own season in society. Arthur alone seemed to be the only one who was not raving on about the exciting news, instead just eating his dinner quietly. Ginny wondered what was wrong, and once dinner was over and she saw Arthur beckoning for her to come into the lounge with him, felt a faint feeling of misgiving as she went into the room.

“Close the door behind you, Ginny,” Arthur said tiredly, making Ginny feel even more anxious, but she did as she was told. When she turned around, her father was now seated in a cosy chair, watching her through care-worn blue eyes. It had never really occurred to her just how old her father was looking….

“Come, take a seat next to your old father,” Arthur commanded gently, gesturing for Ginny to take a seat, which she did. Her big, brown eyes looked into his face, a slight frown on her lips.

“Is there something you wanted to tell me, Dad?”

Arthur reached out and cupped her face with one hand, his eyes meeting hers. “Ginny, you’re my only daughter… You’ve always been a good girl, if a little on the mischievous side, but you’re still a good, dutiful girl…”

Ginny just stared at him, wondering where this was going. He wasn’t going to try make her not go to London was he? She inwardly shuddered at the thought. This was her dream- the only thing she had always wanted, and now was he going to take it away from her?

“You’ve never been in society so you don’t know what it’s like…. Just promise me that you will be true to yourself no matter what, and be careful of-”

“I know,” Ginny interrupted with a small smile. “Be careful of wizards who want to marry me… Dad, I don’t think that anyone will want to marry me. I’m Ginny Weasley…”

She was just the girl who had always worn second-hand clothes at school- the ragbag as Draco Malfoy had once rudely called her. Her body was nothing extraordinary, and neither was her face, though many people had told her she was pretty. It wasn’t her features that made her stand out though; it was her fiery spirit that seemed to shine out from within her deep, chestnut eyes, making her seem radiant and almost captivating. In truth, however, Ginny Weasley was no more than a rather plain girl with freckles and red hair- trademarks of her Weasley name.

“Wizards can be unpredictable,” Arthur said with a sigh. “I don’t want to give you up to anyone other than someone you love. I wish you didn’t have to go and risk this…”

“You don’t have to worry,” Ginny said with a laugh. “I’ll be fine, and I’m sure Mrs Adderson will take care of me.”

“I hope you are right, for your sake.”

Ginny just smiled and pulled her father into a hug. “Thank you for caring, Dad, but I’ll be fine. Really.”

“I know, I know,” Arthur said with a small chuckle. “But it’s a father’s right to be worried about his only daughter.”

“Well if that’s the case then it’s a daughter’s right to tell him that he needs to mind his own business,” Ginny said cheekily, before leaning in to give him a small kiss to the cheek. “I love you, Dad, but I want to do this. It’s always been my dream to go to the parties and balls that I only ever got to read about in magazines and old romance novels. Surely you understand?”

Arthur nodded his head. “I do, Ginny. I just still can’t believe my little girl is all grown up and about to go make her debut in Pureblood society.”

Ginny smiled, “Well I am, and I hope you can be happy for me. I won’t be able to enjoy myself if you’re just fretting away here.”

“I am happy for you,” He said with his own smile. “Just remember what I said. Be true to yourself, Ginny- no matter what….”

That night Ginny lay in her room, the faint shine of the moon peeping through her flowery yellow curtains to light up the room with a silvery glow. Her eyes travelled around, staring at the shadowy outlines of her possessions, knowing she would be leaving all of this tomorrow…

She had been given a lot to think about after her talk with her Father. Her excitement was still the same, but she couldn’t deny she was a little worried about how things were actually going to be. Why was he so afraid she would change? Why was he so afraid anyway? It was just a few balls and parties, but he was acting like it was some life-changing thing where she would be tempted to be something she wasn’t. Surely he must know she would never do that? She was always true to herself and always had been….

“I’m not going to change…. I’ll still be me…”

The words were said defiantly, but her mind was still filled with lingering worry, not to mention she was slightly anxious at the thought that some Wizard really might choose her. Molly had discarded it, but Arthur had seemed to think it was a very real possibility. Then again, he could just be making mountains out of molehills….

Ginny sighed and rolled over in her bed. She decided then and there that there was no point worrying about it. She would just go there and enjoy herself like she had planned to, and Arthur and Ron would see that there was no reason to worry about her. She would be perfectly fine, and perfectly single when she came back, unless of course she did meet that handsome, rich and charming fellow who would sweep her off her feet….

With a small smile on her face, Ginny closed her eyes again, all worry slipping from her mind as much more pleasing thoughts occupied her brain, and she was soon drifting off to sleep, dreaming about extravagant dresses and handsome men who would fall in love with her at first sight…

A/N: I’m sure you can gather where this is going, but who ever said stories had to be mysterious. I like the predictable ones every once and a while ^_~

I would love to hear what you think of it though, and don’t worry, not all the chapters will be this short.

I also have to apologise for the confusion. I just realised there was a rather horrible mistake in this once I had uploaded it, so I had to re-upload it.