The nervous redheaded first year cautiously filed herself off the steaming red train and into the line of other first years forming behind the massive shadow of the Hogwarts groundskeeper Hagrid.

" First years o'er here!" Hagrid called, waving around the arm that wasn't carrying his customary oversized lantern.

Ginny turned towards her brother and his friends before fully stepping into line to get onto one of the small boats that would take her and her fellow first years to the castle.

"You lot are totally sure that those little boats won't tip over?" Ginny asked fearfully.

"Of course they won't tip over Ginny, don't let your Ron and Harry scare you. They are only trying to tease you." Hermionie said with a kind smile before turning towards the two boys standing next to her. "We should go get a carraige you guys, don't want to miss our only ride to the castle." She said.

Ginny reluctantly said goodbye to her older brother and his friends and let herself be shepherded onto one of the tiny boats that would be her passage across the lake to her new school

OOOOOOO

Ginny, warm and dry inside the magnificent castle that housed Englands finest young wizards and witches, was suddenly feeling nervous, even though she knew that she shouldn't. Unlike the Muggle-born witches and wizards, she had been aware of her family's magical traditions and abilities since she was born. She knew that her family had a long history of succesful witches and wizards that had all been placed in Gryffindor the moment the weathered old sorting hat touched their heads. She knew that this pattern had not been broken for the past two-hundred years, and it was highly unlikely that she be the one to break that tradition. But, somewhere deep down inside of eleven-year old Ginerva Weasly's mind, she had an inkling of doubt as to which house she would be sorted into.

As Ginny ascended the platform and sat in the fateful stool where her six older brothers had all previously sat, she remembered the taunts and threats her brothers had teased her with on the train ride there. You better hope that you don't get sorted into Slytherin or else Mum and Dad will disown you! teased Ron. The Weasley family has never had a Slytherin before…. better make sure that you're not the first one to break the tradition, taunted Fred. We may be purebloods, but you better make sure the sorting hat knows that our blood isn't pure enough to be in Slytherin! whined George. The word Slytherin had been imbeded in her mind for the rest of the train ride to Hogwarts, no matter how hard she tried to get it out. So, as the sorting hat descended upon her mass of curly red hair, Ginny Weasley was thinkng only one thing: Anything but Slytherin.

OOOOOOO

Despite her pleads, when the sorting hat yelled throughout the hall her new house, it was not what Ginny Weasley wanted to hear. The sorting hat had taken its time with her, unlike the experiences of her brothers, whose sorting hat experiences where fairly quick and straightforward. The sorting hat had crooned it's usuall "Aaaahhhh…… another Weasley is it?" but that was where things had taken a drastic turn for the worse. It had continued on with: "But…. You seem more complicated than the rest! There's something deep down inside of you, something especially, how should I put it? Serpent like." The hat had practically hissed the last two words. It continued: "You would do well in Gryffindor… but you would excel in Slytherin! Oh the choices! You are the toughest one yet! Well, I guess it will have to be……." At that moment, Ginny had wished for Gryffindor with all her might, but the response she got was totally different. "SLYTHERIN!" the sorting hat had shouted, adding in hushed tones to a bewildered Ginny "And the color will go lovely with your hair my dear!"

At the announcement of Ginny's placement in Slytherin, the entire hall went silent. Then, over at the far left side of the hall, a slow clap emerged from the seventh years at the far end of the Slytherin table, over which hung the house's banner, with the glittering silver snake emblem stuck proudly in the center. The cheers soon erupted across the table and Proffesor McGonnagal silently ushered the last of the seven Weasley children over to the rest of her new, green and silver clad housemates.

Ginny sat as close to the first year side of the table as she could. She wanted to avoid the teasing she was sure to get if she sat anywhere close to the space that the second years were occupying. Once there, despite her nervousness, she turned her attention to the two girls sitting across from her at the dining table.

Ginny Weasley had a normaly outgoing personality, and, since she knew that there was absolutely no way that she was ever going to be able to switch houses, she had decided to make the best of her stay at Hogwarts. So, throughout the ocurse of dinner, she quickly made friends with the two pretty girls across the table from her. The blonde one, named Astoria, and the brunette, named Morgan, had been frineds snce birth due to their traditional pureblood upbringings. However, despite this, they were more than happy to invite Ginny, their fellow Slytherin, into their small group.

As the main course of dinner dissapeared and the desert was apparated to their tables, Ginny Weasley realized that she had actually been having a very good time. She had not been taunted or teased once by any of the older students, and especially not by Draco Malfoy and his gang of troublemaking friends that often terrorized Ron, Harry, and Hermione. She was so sure that she wasn't going to be bothered by anyone that night, that she even decided to tell her new friends.

"You guys wont believe this, but I cant belive that I havent been teased yet by that second year Draco Malfoy. He's always terrorizing my older brother and his friends in Gryffindor and when I got placed into this house, I was so sure that I was going to be onfronted immediatley. But, so far I haven't been, not even once!" the amazed Ginny said.

"Well, it seems as if you've spoken a tad to soon." said Astoria gazing at the two figures behind Ginny's head.

"Yes, it seems you have." said a drawling voice from behind Ginny, one that couls only belong to none other than Draco Malfoy himself.

Ginny whirled around at the sound of his voice, immediatley turning the color of her hair as she realized that he had probably heard everything she said about him. She noticed another boy standing next to him and immediatley recognized him as the young Blaise Zabini, whose mother was fairly famous and was on Witch Weekly's "Top Ten Best Looking Witches of Their Generation" list several times, right along side Narssica Malfoy, Draco's mother.

The boys immediately sat down on either side of Ginny and Draco put his arm around shoulders the suddenly nervous Ginny, who knew that no good could come of the conversation to happen next.

"So," continued Malfoy, "I didn't expect someone the likes of you to get into Slytherin, but it seems that I have underestimated you. Tell me Weaslette," he paused there, smiling at his own genious in creating a nickname for Ginny. "Tell me, what is your inner secret. The one thing that the sorting hat noticed in you that he put you into this house that the rest of us didn't know about you? Are you secretly the adopted child of a prestigious pureblood family?" he asked.

"No…" Ginny said, but hardly got anything out other than that one word before Blaise jumped in from her other side.

"Or do you have some deep dark twisted past that involves you and some really Dark Magic? he asked, a amused hint to his voice. He continued, "Or, even better, you are secretly harboring some great sadistic desire to do great harm to others and you are just waiting for the right moment to release you Dark potential?"

"No!" said a now exasperated Ginny, "Its none of those!"

"I've got it!" said Malfoy, an excited, yet slightly snide tone in his voice that let Ginny know that he meant the words that he said next as an insult. "You have decided that you hate having a brother that's friends with idiots like Potter and filthy Mudbloods like Granger, and you hate having a disgusting, oversized, poor as dirt, blood-traitor, family and have decided to come over to our side and help us serve the Dark Lord in bringing about the domintion of purebloods over filthy Mudbloods and Muggles?" he said, a smirk on his pale face.

There was a silence at the table and Ginny looked at Malfoy with a spiteful look. She turned around in her seat all the way, pulled back her hand, and slapped him hard across the face. Her friends gasped while Blaise erupted in a fit of laughter.

"None of the above," said Ginny. "The reason I am in Slytherin is so that I can look at your slimy face everyday and do that to you for the rest of my life here at Hogwarts. I hope you enjoy the stinging burn of that slap, because of you ever insult my family again, I'll make sure that that red mark of my hand stays on your stupid little face for the rest of forever!" she retorted, before turning away and following her friends and the rest of the first years to their dormitory.

Blaise was still laughing as ginny walked away. "Oh man," he said, "she got you good. C'mon mate, lets get to bed. I'm exhausted." He stood up and, without checking behind him to see if Drco was following, walked out of the Great Hall.

Draco sat in stunned silence for another five minutes before he turned and followed Blaise to the Slytherin dormitory where, exhausted, with the sting of Ginny Weasleys slap still on his cheek, he fell into a deep slumber.