Ginny Weasley was an ordinary baby. That was the only ordinary about her; when she was a baby, she was normal. When she was a young child, she was not. When she was a young adult, she was not. But as a baby, she was ordinary.
At least, until Halloween night, when Ginny was a little over a year old. Her mother had just put her into her crib for the night when there was a loud bang at the front door. Ginny's father looked through a small hole in the door and his eyes widened.
"He's here! Molly take Ginny and go! Run! I'll hold him off-"
The door burst open and a large hooded figure entered the house. Molly saw (a) flash of green light and heard laughter from the front room of the Burrow. She picked Ginny up and ran as fast as she could towards the back door, but Lord Voldemort Apparated in front of them. Molly Weasley lost her balance and fell to the floor. But the Dark Lord did not care about her and he rounded on Ginny.
"No! Not Ginny! Take me, kill me instead," She moved in front of Ginny.
"Stand aside you silly girl!" Voldemort said while he pointed his wand at Molly.
"No!"
"AvadaKedavra!"
In a flash of green light Molly Weasley crumpled to the floor. Dead.
Voldemort turned his wand to Ginny. He pointed it at her forehead below her fiery red hair. He then said the fateful words that would change the wizarding world forever.
"AvadaKedavra!"
* * *
Ginny Weasley woke up, bright and early that morning, barely able to contain her excitement Today was July 31, her eleventh birthday. She went down the stairs to find her aunt in the kitchen by the stove cooking eggs with her wand. She sat down at the table and waited for breakfast.
Ginny had lived with her Aunt Fiona ever since Lord Voldemort killed her parents. She didn't even remember them, as she had been only a year old at the time. The only reason Ginny survived the attack on her family was because something about her made the Dark Lord's curse rebound upon himself, stripping him from his body. She had been a celebrity in the wizarding world since that night, and she hated it. Everyone looking at her, and staring at her forehead where yet another thing that made her different lay. A thin scar, shaped like a bolt of lightning. It was where Voldemort's curse hit her and rebounded. She didn't know for sure why she survived the attack, or why she was targeted in the first place, but all her life she had been called - The Girl Who Lived.
After breakfast an owl came swooping into the small kitchen of Number 8 Lovewell Street, Ottery St. Catchpole. The letter it was carrying bore a seal with a lion, snake, eagle, and badger, all around a capital letter "H."
When the letter dropped into Ginny's hands, she tore it open. Aunt Fiona came around and read it with Ginny. It said:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY ~ Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Miss Weasley,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1st.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
"We'll go into Diagon Alley this afternoon," Fiona told Ginny. Fiona was rather tall, she had fiery red hair and brown eyes like Ginny. She said that both Ginny's parents, and their families, had red hair. Aunt Fiona was Ginny's father's sister. She was the youngest of seven. Arthur, Ginny's father, had been second youngest.
Ginny could not wait to get her school supplies. Above all else she wanted her own wand.
* * *
When Ginny arrived in Ollivander's, (makers of fine wands since 382 B.C.) the shop seemed to be empty. Fiona was at the owl emporium buying Ginny a birthday present. Suddenly an old man with white hair appeared behind the counter.
"Can I help y--" Ollivander saw Ginny and his eyes flicked up to her forehead. "Ah, Miss Weasley, I was wondering when I would see you in here."
Ginny was feeling very uncomfortable.
"Now, let's see, how about you try this one." He took a small long box off of one of the many shelves in the small store. "Unicorn hair, 12 inches."
Ginny took the wand and waved it around. Nothing happened. Ollivander grabbed the wand from her and gave her a new one. "Dragon Heartstring, 9 inches"
Ginny barely moved her hand before he snatched the wand up and replaced it.
"You are a difficult one. But nevertheless, the wand chooses the wizard!"
After another twenty minutes, they had been through about 50 wands, the last of which, Unicorn hair, five inches, was the smallest wand Ginny had ever seen. Ollivander went in the back of the shop and emerged with a dusty box about a foot long.
"I wonder..." Ollivander was murmering to himself as he handed Ginny the wand.
Ginny took it and immediately felt warmth under her fingers. She waved the wand and red and gold sparks shot out of it.
"Curious, very curious."
"What's curious?" asked Ginny.
"It is curious that you should be destined for this wand. As the phoenix whose tail feather resides in your wand, gave another feather, just one other. The other feather resides in the wand, that gave you that scar," he pointed at her forehead.
"You-Know-Who's wand..."
"Yes. Well, Miss Weasley, I think it is safe to say that we can expect great things from you, after all He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things, terrible, yes, but great."