storypaint | Fiery (Ginny/OFC)

Title: Fiery
Author: rhap_chan
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Ron/Hermione mentioned, Ron/OMCs, Ginny/OFC
Rating: G
Prompt: lgbtfest: 434. Harry Potter: The Weasleys. How do the family react when Ginny, the only daughter, grows up to be butch lesbian?
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. All fanfiction archived here is a derivative of canon material that is not my property. I do not profit from these writings. The opinions and actions expressed in these stories are not necessarily the views and beliefs of the original author or me.
A/N: Deathly Hallows canon-compliant except for the Epilogue. Slight DH spoilers.

Excerpt: He hadn't been looking for family in the Muggle gay bar, but he'd found it. He'd found Ginny Weasley and at the moment she looked like the butchest girl he'd ever seen.

Red hair was distinctive. It caught one's eye in a sea of brown and brunette and occasional blond. At least, it always caught Ron Weasley's eye. Perhaps it was familial instinct kicking in. It wasn't family on Ronald's mind, however, that caused him to tap the shoulder of the person standing with his back turned away from Ron-- lithe, muscled, with a bright red crewcut that Ron found interesting.

The person turned, beginning to smile, but her blue eyes widened in shock and fear when she recognized Ron's face. He hadn't been looking for family in the Muggle gay bar, but he'd found it. He'd found Ginny Weasley and at the moment she looked like the butchest girl he'd ever seen. And he'd absolutely never seen her like this before.

"Ron!"

"Ginny!"

They watched each other turn red and Ron continued to stare at his little sister. Her crewcut was carefully gelled into place, the short strands accenting a face with a small nose and high, sharp cheekbones. She wore a black wifebeater and the breasts that Ron vaguely recalled her getting at age fifteen were invisible, obviously bound. Her blue jeans, cut in a masculine fashion, clung tightly to boyish hips. To the right woman, his sister would drip with sex appeal. To Ron, this was just scary.

He thought about walking away and pretending that this had never happened. Unlikely. The image would be forever burned into his memory. And there was the side problem of himself being found in a Muggle gay bar. Perhaps he could pretend that he hadn't noticed?

No. This new Ginny would see right through him, Ron saw in an instant.

"Why are you here?" she asked, her face guarded. "Did you hear from someone... that I was here?"

Again he almost lied. Then Ron gulped and said casually, "No. I was... Well, Hermione is out of town, and I thought... You know, no wizards would come here to the Muggle side of things, and... Ginny, when did you cut your hair?"

She raised a hand and rubbed the back of her head. Then she laughed and he recognized her face again.

"It's been cut for ages. I just do a Hair Growth Charm when I pop over to see Mum, and when I go home again, my... my girlfriend cuts it. She's, well, she's a hairdresser. A good one."

"Tamara?" Ron said, dredging up the memory of a quiet woman Ginny had brought for Christmas dinner (her long hair falling around her face, constantly in her eyes, he remembered). Tamara was short, with mousey-brown hair, and she had been introduced around as Ginny's flatmate.

"Yes," Ginny said, relaxing a moment into a stupid smile that Ron recognized from her crush on Harry. "She's why I'm here tonight, actually. Hairdressing is her day job. She's singing tonight."

"She's a member of Clique?" Ron asked, impressed. He hadn't seen that in her personality at Christmas. The band was actually the reason he'd come out to the bar that night-- that, and the loneliness of a night without Hermione.

He knew deep in his heart that what he was doing wasn't quite right. But he felt better about having one-night stands with men than with women. It felt less like cheating. (He knew he was lying to himself.)

Ginny glanced down at her (man's) watch and then dragged her brother out the door into the cool night air.

"How long?" Ron asked hesitantly, as his sister pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and lit one. Learning that she smoked was almost as surprising as finding her here. Ron was starting to think he'd never really known his sister at all. He'd just had his ideas about her when they were growing up, and never thought too much about it. He had always assumed that she'd go back to Harry once he got a clue, have his 2.5 children, and they'd all be one big happy Weasley family.

But then here he was, screwing men when his girlfriend was visiting her parents. And he didn't think Percy knew he'd seen him kissing Penelope's older brother that time in the bushes seventh year-- but Percy had been. Bill and Fleur fought all the time when they weren't having sex. George still paused sometimes to let Fred finish his sentences, so much so that his new girlfriend had taken to finishing them for him. (She wouldn't last, not trying to fill Fred's shoes.) Ron knew his family wasn't perfect, really. But he'd always sort of thought Ginny was... the normal one.

"I've always sort of known I was a lesbian," Ginny said thoughtfully, taking a drag on her cigarette. "I mean, it's just something you know... you know? I mean, you're here. When did you make a conscious decision to screw boys? Or have you always?"

She gave him a look. Clearly she didn't support this. She liked Hermione. Ron paused a moment to consider the possibility that Ginny liked Hermione, but threw that idea away as too much to consider at once.

"Not always," Ron mumbled. "Just... lately."

"I'd suggest you come clean," Ginny said, eyes flashing. Then she sighed. "Not that I'll make you. It's not like I'm a shining example of honesty." She stubbed her cigarette out with a boot.

"Why don't you tell Mum and Dad?" Ron asked curiously, knowing the answer but unable to stop the question. Ginny laughed bitterly.

"What do you think this would do to Mum and Dad, Ron? The stay-at-home mother and the dedicated working father? And their only daughter turns up as a butch lesbian. They'd think they raised me wrong, or something."

Ron thought about it for a moment, and nodded. Sure, they had a second cousin who was an accountant. But then there was cousin Louis. No one talked about him either, and he was a powerful wizard. Mother, tight-lipped, had once said that it was because Louis lived with a Muggle that he didn't come around much. But as Ron got older, he figured out why Louis spent all his time with a Muggle man. The family just didn't talk about it.

Ron put a hand on his sister's shoulder. Surprsied, she nearly shrugged it off, but then she smiled.

"Thanks," she said, shifting in place. Ron noted an oddity in the way she was standing; her hips were set in a way that accented her-- her--

Merlin's briefs, Ron thought, my sister is packing.

It was almost too much. He reached up to brush her short hair, and her face softened.

"Do you... do you want to sit up front with me? I've got really good seats," she said, gesturing at the club. People had been pushing past them at a faster pace as they stood and talked. The show would start soon.

"Yeah, sure," Ron replied. His sister's smile stayed the same, no matter what haircut she was wearing. She grabbed his hand and pulled him back into the garishly lit club. Ron followed, still adjusting to her new profile.

"Start with the hair," he leaned forward and whispered in her ear as they neared the stage and the volume rose. "Once they get used to that, you can figure out how to explain the rest."

"Quit sleeping around, and I will," Ginny replied. She paused and looked seriously over her shoulder at him. Ron nodded. Then he took a seat beside Ginny at the edge of the stage.

"I'd like to hear Tamara sing," he said, leaning over and speaking in her ear. For a moment they were children again, Weasleys sharing secrets.

"It's really amazing," Ginny replied, and they sat back to watch the show.

Fiery (Ginny/OFC)

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