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Molly Weasely had always wanted a daughter. She was a bit sad when she birthed a son, but loved him nonetheless, and named him Bill. However, she still wanted a daughter, So her and Arthur tried again. And again. And again. And then, she was on her seventh child. Surely, this one would be a girl, she had thought. Seven is a very important number in Wixen culture, after all, surely it had to be a girl.
But it wasn’t. She named him Geoff, and even if he wasn’t the daughter she wanted, she loved him all the same. She thought maybe she could try for another child, but Arthur told her they just didn’t have the funds to take care of another. Arthur’s warning was cemented when the doctors told her she couldn’t carry another child because of the risk of health complications. So, Geoff was the last Weasely.
Fast forward years later, and Geoff was a fine young lad, to new people that is. To his brothers, he gave as good as he got, and he fit right in with the rambunctious Weasley family. One day he slowly entered Fred and George’s room in the summer after their first year.
They were surprised when they noticed her. Fred and George’s room was unofficially declared off-limits by the rest of the family for fear of what exactly would happen if they did happen to enter. So to see their littlest brother, brave as he is, enter their room was a shock.
“Hey Fred, George, can I talk to you?”, Geoff asked, shutting the door behind him. While Fred and George would usually be irked about someone entering their room, without permission nonetheless, they sensed this was serious. They shared a look before they turned back to their younger brother.
“Sure-”
“What is it-”
“Little brother”? They finished together. Geoff giggled at their twin talk as he usually did, but then he had a serious face again. He sat down on the floor in front of them.
“As much as I like your way of talking, can you be serious for a second?” He asked. Fred and George were always impressed with how mature he seemed when he was talking.
Fred nodded, “Sure, kid.”
Geoff scowled, “Stop calling me kid, kid.”
George snorted at the look of mock outrage on Fred’s face before he took over.
“So, what did you want to talk to us about?” he asked.
Geoff looked around nervously and fidgeted with his hands, before finally taking a deep breath and looking determined.
“I don’t feel right. Well, not exactly. I’m fine. I just… don’t fit?” He explained.
Fred and George shared another look. As smart as they were, they had no idea what their brother was talking about.
Seeming to sense this, Geoff continued, “I mean… my body doesn’t. Like I took a poxyjoust potion-”
“Polyjuice.” Corrected Fred and George,
“Yeah, that. I don’t feel like me.”
Fred exclaimed, “You got possessed?!”
Geoff scowled and threw a pillow at his brother, “No, you twat! Merlin, let me finish!” He settled back down as Fred nodded and George made ‘go on’ motions with his hands.
“What I’m trying to say is that I don’t feel like I fit this body. I- I don’t feel like a boy at all.”
Ah. So that was it. Normally the Wixen world wouldn’t know much about this, especially twin brothers who lived in a house miles from anyone else, but Fred and George had always been different. Shortly after they found the Marauders Map the year before, they were shocked to see a girl in their room. After seeing that the last name was Jordan, they had confronted Lee about hiding a sister or female relative in the room. Probably not their best move, as they sent their friend into a panic attack. After escorting him to Madam Pomfrey and showing him the map, he told them about how he wasn’t born in the right body, that he was a boy. That he had never been a girl, even if he thought so for some time and the map said it. After asking a bunch more questions, as Fred and George were nothing if not curious, they started talking about their pranks, and the trio’s friendship was cemented after that.
So, their sibling’s issue was something they knew a bit about. So, just like they had done with Lee, they moved on either side of their sibling and wrapped their arms around the younger.
“Don’t worry, Gred and I know a bit about this. We can’t tell you how, as that would be… what did they call it? Outing? Yeah, that, but we get you. So, what’ll it be then?” Asked Fred.
“Girl?” Said George
“Boy?” Said Fred
“Or something in between.” They finished together.
Geoff had a look of utter relief on their face.
“I’m a girl.” She said, determinedly.
Fred and George ruffled her hair. “Then a girl you will be, dear sister.”
They had never seen her smile bigger than they did that day.
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She wasn’t ready to come out to the rest of the family, however. She had always been closer to Fred and George, and their easygoing ways were what got her to say something in the first place. And she was right about them reacting well, they had treated her exactly how she wanted to be treated.
Which is to say, as a girl, but not some fragile one that couldn’t play quidditch, or make crude comments. They even searched the dreaded attic to find an old family tapestry to help her find a name. And after a while, she found it. Her brothers beamed at her as she proudly declared herself Ginerva Weasley, Ginny for short.
Only three people knew who she was besides herself. Fred, George, and Luna. Though she never had to come out to Luna. Luna had just looked at her one day and said, “Oh, you finally realized. The wrackspurts have almost completely left you. Congratulations, G. You’re my best girl friend in the whole world.”
And that had been that.
So, her coming out experiences had been someone doing it for her and her telling her easygoing brothers. She had no idea how to come out to the rest of the family.
Though she was quite sure Percy at least suspected something. She’d catch him looking at her with his eyes squinted and his head tilted to the side, like he was trying to figure out a puzzle. Percy, as much as they all liked to tease him about being a nerd with his nose always in a book, he was actually pretty observant. Of course he’d notice her becoming more confident, they live together after all.
Regardless, if she ever wanted to start Hogwarts as a girl, she had to tell the rest of her family. So, the summer after Fred and George’s second year, she gathered her family in the living room, Fred and George sitting beside her and Percy taking a small break from summer homework. Even Charlie and Bill were here, back from their respective jobs.
“Well, you’ve got us all here, what is it, dear?” Asked her mother.
She took a deep breath. She could do this. And if things went badly, she had Fred and George in her corner, and probably Percy. Finally, she worked up the courage to speak.
“I- I’m a girl. Ginerva Weasley. I got it from the tapestry- uh, Ginny for short. Nice to meet you?” She finished meekly.
Her mum immediately started crying.
Ginny started panicking, “Mum?! I'm sorry, I just couldn't pretend anymore, I’m still the same kid I promise-” when suddenly her mother flew across the room and wrapped Ginny up in her arms.
“I’ve always wanted a daughter,” her mum whispered, still crying as she hugged her daughter tightly. Ginny smiled and hugged her mother back, tears of happiness and relief falling from her face. Fred and George left her side to go answer questions from the rest of the family as she cried happily in her mothers arms. Before they left the room, she saw Percy looking at her proudly.
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Of course, that didn’t mean everything was perfect. Her brothers and parents still slipped up sometimes, but that was to be expected. The only reason Fred and George never did was because they were unpredictable anyway, and Ginny assumed they had a telepathy twin bond. She wouldn’t press them about it, though.
Ron took the longest to get used to it, but she didn’t blame him. She expected it would be like this, but only because he was probably worried about getting less attention. She and him had always been the extras, not having their own ‘special thing’ like their other siblings. So he felt left out when she suddenly had her own thing. Though she made sure to include Ron as often as possible and slowly he came around.
Bill researched for a while, if only because he wanted to work with the goblins and he was curious how the vault names would work. She was extremely happy when he started telling her about how she could change her name legally as well, and a load of other things in relation to the law. Charlie had come out as asexual a few weeks later, saying it was thanks to Ginny that he had finally worked up the courage to say anything. Percy promised that when he became minister he would politically bury anyone that dared say a word against her. She was always surprised when people thought Percy was the normal one.
Her father actually knew a bit about transgender people, apparently it was one of the muggle things he had studied. Not that it wasn’t a Wixen thing as well, it was just more accepted in muggle britain. Not fully, but better than the Wixen world.
And then it came time where they were on the train. Ginny sat next to Luna, nervous. She was scared that the stairs up to the girls dormitory wouldn’t accept her, even though Fred and George had told her that they made Lee, who had given Fred and George permission to tell Ginny about himself, go up the girl’s dormitory stairs to see if they let him in. They didn’t. She was weirdly charmed that Lee had risked becoming a pariah just to make her feel better, though she was pretty sure Fred and George covered it up somehow anyway.
Luna looked up suddenly from the Quibbler magazine she was reading.
“I’ll be right back.” She told Ginny, and left the compartment.
A few minutes later, she came back with a confused boy behind her. Ginny of course was used to Luna’s strange behavior and so she simply waved at the boy.
“Hello, I’m Ginerva Weasely. Call me Ginny.”
Looking closer at him she expected him to sneer, he was clearly a high-ranking pureblood based on the way he held himself. Most didn’t like the Weaselys. However he simply shyly waved back.
“Theodore Nott. Call me Theo.” He introduced himself, nodding his head in greeting.
She was surprised. The Nott’s were one of the darkest families in the Wixen world, known for siding with Voldemort. Though Ginny and her brothers thought the stigma against dark magic was stupid, they couldn’t deny that the Nott’s were as evil as people said they were. She’s also quite shocked that Theo said to call him by his first name, most Wixen saved that for being at the very least close acquaintances with someone. Perhaps he simply didn’t like his last name, or where it comes from.
As Theo sat down and closed the door, Luna stared out the window.
“Ah, we should get changed. We are almost there.”
At that, Theo looked terrified. Ginny suddenly realized why Luna had brought him in.
She reached a hand across the table and smiled.
“Don’t worry, you’re safe here. I’m the same.”
Theo looked at her, face emotionless, before he let out a relieved laugh. And then he looked at her, hopeful.
“I- I’m not the only one, then?” He asked tentatively.
Ginny’s smile softened. “You’re not alone, Theo.”
And he smiled.