Chapter 1: Ginny Weasley
I was sitting on the Hogwarts Express, on my way to my second year at Hogwarts. A month or so earlier, Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban. That was at least what the ministry said. My dad thought it was rubbish. According to him, Azkaban was only an excuse for the ministry to kill any wrongdoers they liked. The ones they didn't feel a need to kill, they'd keep in a dungeon. That's what my dad thought. He wrote an article about it in the Quibbler: Sirius Black - Escaped Mass murderer or Ministry Fantasy? At the moment, I was reading that exact article. I was so caught up in my reading; I didn't notice anyone standing in the doorway to my compartment until in a shy, little girlish voice,
"Hi, is it alright if I sit her?"
"Yeah, sure", I answered absentmindedly. She sat down opposite of me.
"You're Luna Lovegood, right? We've got Charms together."
"Yes, I suppose so."
"I'm Ginny, Ginny Weasley."
Ginny Weasley? Where had I heard that name before? Ah, yes, the girl last year who was bewitched by a dairy. I put down my magazine.
"Is it true that you go possessed by You-Know-Who last year?" I asked.
Suddenly, Ginny looked scared.
"I - I've got to go to, um, to my brother. Eh - bye!" And with that she was gone. I shrugged and went back to reading.
When the train slowed down to a stop at Hogsmeade, Ginny came up to me.
"Hi, listen, I just wanted to say sorry. I shouldn't have run away like that. It's just that, well, I don't like talking about - about what happened last year.
"It's alright," I said. She was clearly very nervous.
"Great!" she said happily. We got into one the Thestral-drawn carriages, and once again, Ginny tried to involve me in a conversation.
"You now, I think it's strange how the carriages are drawn all by themselves", she told me.
"They're not." "But I can't see anything that draws them."
"They're drawn by Thestrals only people who have seen someone die can see them."
"Oh" was all Ginny said. After a moment of silence, she asked timidly,
"Who did you see die?"
"My mother. I was nine".
"I'm sorry."
"It's alright. I've still got dad". But it wasn't really all right. I miss mum very much. She used to come into my room after I had gone to bed and give me a glass of milk. She would sit by my bed and wait for me to finish. Then she would hug me, and whisper,
"I love you, Luna." That is my favorite memory.
The carriage slowed down in front of the castle, and we got out. Ginny went to the Gryffindor table and I went to sit with the Ravenclaws.
The first-years came in, and McGonagall started calling out names.
"Apples, Sadie!" A freckle-faced, brown-haired girl came forward. She put on the hat and after almost a minute, while Sadie grew redder and redder, the hat called,
"Ravenclaw!" Sadie came over to our table and sat down next to Scott, a just as freckle-faced, brown-haired boy who was in my year and Sadie's brother.
"I did it Scott!" Sadie chattered excitedly. "You said I would be sorted into Ravenclaw, and I was! You were right Scott!"
" You did great, Sadie! You're lucky. Ravenclaw is the best house. You wouldn't want to be a lousy old Slytherin, would you?"
Sadie giggled. The table to our left shot them evil looks.
"I want to be in the same house as you, Scott!"
I rolled my eyes. How mushy can you get?
Finally, McGonagall called out,
"Zacharias, Martin," who became a Gryffindor. I saw Ginny applaud him.
After dinner, Penny Clearwater, the head girl, stood up.
"First-years, follow me, please!" she commanded. The kids scrambled out of their seats. Scott took Sadie's hand. I followed after a group of giggling girls, including the Queen of Ravenclaw, Cho Chang, and her most faithful lady-in-waiting, Marietta Edgecombe. When I arrived at the Ravenclaw common room, Penny was starting her welcoming speech.
"Welcome first-years, to Ravenclaw and Hogwarts. We hope you will enjoy your time here. Now, Ravenclaw has some rules of it's own, in addition to the ordinary school rules, that we expect you to follow. Rule number one, always do your very best. Whether it be classes, quidditch, or even detention, only your best is good enough. Number two, the Common Room isn't only for studying. If it's too loud, go to the library. Number three is to have fun. Not even Ravenclaws have to be study-addicts. And rule number four, which may seem silly, but is just as important as the others: Always be respectful to the Lady Greenwood, Ravenclaw's ghost. A ghost glided through the wall, and paused by the great fireplace to survey the newcomers.
"Who are these children, miss Clearwater?" she asked.
"These are the first years, lady Greenwood."
"I see. Well children, one of the most important things you will learn here at Hogwarts, is that no matter how brave, loyal or shrewd you are, mind always matters more. You can solve any problem with just a little bit of cleverness. Always remember what our great founder Rowena Ravenclaw said. 'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure'." She pointed at the banner where these words were embroidered, and disappeared.
I've always thought that Lady Greenwood is much nobler than any of the other ghosts. She is dressed in a simple robe from the 17th century, which is when she was killed because the people of her village thought she was a witch. If she had been burned alive she would have been fine, but instead they stuck a sword in her heart. Then they burned her. Her hair is let out, a mass of silver blonde ringlets flowing down her back. She cares allot about us Ravenclaws and likes to come into our dorms and ask the most personal questions. I once heard her ask Mandy Brocklehurst, "Has your Bleeding begun, my dear?" when Mandy complained over a stomachache. Mandy went red as a tomato.
I share a dorm with four other girls who have a club together called the Phoenix Feather. They giggle allot and do each other's hair. They did ask me to join, but I told them that what looked like a phoenix feather probably was a Fire-winged Woth. Since then they have been avoiding me. I really can't understand why.
When I woke up the next morning, I was very eager to begin a new school year. My first class was Charms with the Gryffindors. Charms is not my best subject. The switching charm we where practicing was very difficult, and my Bertie Bott's every flavour beans, which I was supposed to be switching, usually ended up in completely different places of the room. But Ginny managed to do the charm perfectly on her second try, and was awarded ten points from Flitwick.
After class, I went up to Ginny.
"You're really good at charms," I commented. Ginny blushed.
"Oh, I'm not that good. And you're good too. I mean, it's nothing special."
"No, I mean it. You're great. Do you think you could help me learn the switching charm?"
"Sure! How about after school by the big tree by the lake?" I nodded. I knew exactly which tree she meant. I've always liked sitting there on a branch, dreaming or reading the latest issue of the Quibbler.
When I came out, Ginny was sitting on a large root, reading. When I got closer, she snapped her book shut.
"Great!" she said. Have you got anything to practise with?"
"Let me see," I answered and started searching through my bag. Finally, I found to old hairclips.
"Now, concentrate. It's very important not to let your mind wander."
I almost laughed out loud. She sounded so like a teacher! But instead I pointed my wand at the hairclips and said,
"Changorum!" The hairclips disappeared, but instead of switching places and reappearing, they remained gone.
"Oops," Ginny said. "Well, I guess we'll just have to start looking for them." We got up. Almost ten minutes later, Ginny called out,
"I found one!" and I answered,
"Here's the other!" After six tries I was ready to give up. Then Ginny told me her secret trick. ""I always try and imagine how the result of my charm will look. It actually helps."
"Why didn't you tell me this before?" I asked, exasperated.
"Wanted to see if you could figure it out yourself, she answered with a shrug. I smiled.
"You are evil, Ginny Weasley!"
She grinned.
"I know."
When I finally had mastered the spell, and we were getting ready to go back inside, we saw Ginny's brother Percy, the head boy, and Penny, disappear behind Greenhouse 3. Ginny's eyes gleamed with mischief.
"Let's see what they're up to," she suggested. We quietly followed them. When we peeked behind the greenhouse we saw Percy and Penny kissing. Ginny stuffed her knuckles in her mouth to keep from giggling. When she succeeded, she whispered to me,
"You know, this is the perfect opportunity to try out your switching charm."
"How?" I whispered back.
"Switch their badges."
"What?!"
"You heard me. Go on, just do it. I promise we won't get in trouble."
I shrugged my shoulders, concentrated and whispered,
"Changorum." The badges changed. Penny was now Head Boy and Percy's badge read Head Girl.
After a while, the two seventh-years left and we followed. At the doors they parted. Ginny and I debated on whether to follow Penny or Percy, and Decided on Percy, because, as Ginny said, "His reaction will be funnier".
Percy strode pompously towards the Gryffindor Tower. Almost everyone he met gave him odd looks or snickered.
Then he met Oliver Wood. They're pretty good friends according to Ginny. Wood gave Percy a look and asked,
"Perce, since when are you Head Girl?"
"What?!" Percy tore of his badge. "Fred and George!" he screamed.
"OK, now is the time for confession," Ginny stated. She went up to her brother and I followed.
"Percy, it wasn't Fred and George."
He wheeled around.
"It was Luna and I," Ginny continued.
"Ginny, why?" Percy asked. He was clearly not comfortable with the idea of his sweet little baby sister playing a prank on him. Ginny shrugged.
"It was fun. Besides, Luna had to practise her switching charm." Percy glared at me, and I smiled up at him.
"Ten points." he started, but Ginny interrupted.
Hold it. If you take any points from us, we'll let the whole school know that you were kissing Penelope Clearwater behind the greenhouses. Percy stared at her. "You wouldn't," he whispered.
"Oh yes I would. Now what's it going to be, rule or ridicule?"
Percy "humphed" and stalked of.
Ginny and I exploded into giggles.
I was sitting on the Hogwarts Express, on my way to my second year at Hogwarts. A month or so earlier, Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban. That was at least what the ministry said. My dad thought it was rubbish. According to him, Azkaban was only an excuse for the ministry to kill any wrongdoers they liked. The ones they didn't feel a need to kill, they'd keep in a dungeon. That's what my dad thought. He wrote an article about it in the Quibbler: Sirius Black - Escaped Mass murderer or Ministry Fantasy? At the moment, I was reading that exact article. I was so caught up in my reading; I didn't notice anyone standing in the doorway to my compartment until in a shy, little girlish voice,
"Hi, is it alright if I sit her?"
"Yeah, sure", I answered absentmindedly. She sat down opposite of me.
"You're Luna Lovegood, right? We've got Charms together."
"Yes, I suppose so."
"I'm Ginny, Ginny Weasley."
Ginny Weasley? Where had I heard that name before? Ah, yes, the girl last year who was bewitched by a dairy. I put down my magazine.
"Is it true that you go possessed by You-Know-Who last year?" I asked.
Suddenly, Ginny looked scared.
"I - I've got to go to, um, to my brother. Eh - bye!" And with that she was gone. I shrugged and went back to reading.
When the train slowed down to a stop at Hogsmeade, Ginny came up to me.
"Hi, listen, I just wanted to say sorry. I shouldn't have run away like that. It's just that, well, I don't like talking about - about what happened last year.
"It's alright," I said. She was clearly very nervous.
"Great!" she said happily. We got into one the Thestral-drawn carriages, and once again, Ginny tried to involve me in a conversation.
"You now, I think it's strange how the carriages are drawn all by themselves", she told me.
"They're not." "But I can't see anything that draws them."
"They're drawn by Thestrals only people who have seen someone die can see them."
"Oh" was all Ginny said. After a moment of silence, she asked timidly,
"Who did you see die?"
"My mother. I was nine".
"I'm sorry."
"It's alright. I've still got dad". But it wasn't really all right. I miss mum very much. She used to come into my room after I had gone to bed and give me a glass of milk. She would sit by my bed and wait for me to finish. Then she would hug me, and whisper,
"I love you, Luna." That is my favorite memory.
The carriage slowed down in front of the castle, and we got out. Ginny went to the Gryffindor table and I went to sit with the Ravenclaws.
The first-years came in, and McGonagall started calling out names.
"Apples, Sadie!" A freckle-faced, brown-haired girl came forward. She put on the hat and after almost a minute, while Sadie grew redder and redder, the hat called,
"Ravenclaw!" Sadie came over to our table and sat down next to Scott, a just as freckle-faced, brown-haired boy who was in my year and Sadie's brother.
"I did it Scott!" Sadie chattered excitedly. "You said I would be sorted into Ravenclaw, and I was! You were right Scott!"
" You did great, Sadie! You're lucky. Ravenclaw is the best house. You wouldn't want to be a lousy old Slytherin, would you?"
Sadie giggled. The table to our left shot them evil looks.
"I want to be in the same house as you, Scott!"
I rolled my eyes. How mushy can you get?
Finally, McGonagall called out,
"Zacharias, Martin," who became a Gryffindor. I saw Ginny applaud him.
After dinner, Penny Clearwater, the head girl, stood up.
"First-years, follow me, please!" she commanded. The kids scrambled out of their seats. Scott took Sadie's hand. I followed after a group of giggling girls, including the Queen of Ravenclaw, Cho Chang, and her most faithful lady-in-waiting, Marietta Edgecombe. When I arrived at the Ravenclaw common room, Penny was starting her welcoming speech.
"Welcome first-years, to Ravenclaw and Hogwarts. We hope you will enjoy your time here. Now, Ravenclaw has some rules of it's own, in addition to the ordinary school rules, that we expect you to follow. Rule number one, always do your very best. Whether it be classes, quidditch, or even detention, only your best is good enough. Number two, the Common Room isn't only for studying. If it's too loud, go to the library. Number three is to have fun. Not even Ravenclaws have to be study-addicts. And rule number four, which may seem silly, but is just as important as the others: Always be respectful to the Lady Greenwood, Ravenclaw's ghost. A ghost glided through the wall, and paused by the great fireplace to survey the newcomers.
"Who are these children, miss Clearwater?" she asked.
"These are the first years, lady Greenwood."
"I see. Well children, one of the most important things you will learn here at Hogwarts, is that no matter how brave, loyal or shrewd you are, mind always matters more. You can solve any problem with just a little bit of cleverness. Always remember what our great founder Rowena Ravenclaw said. 'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure'." She pointed at the banner where these words were embroidered, and disappeared.
I've always thought that Lady Greenwood is much nobler than any of the other ghosts. She is dressed in a simple robe from the 17th century, which is when she was killed because the people of her village thought she was a witch. If she had been burned alive she would have been fine, but instead they stuck a sword in her heart. Then they burned her. Her hair is let out, a mass of silver blonde ringlets flowing down her back. She cares allot about us Ravenclaws and likes to come into our dorms and ask the most personal questions. I once heard her ask Mandy Brocklehurst, "Has your Bleeding begun, my dear?" when Mandy complained over a stomachache. Mandy went red as a tomato.
I share a dorm with four other girls who have a club together called the Phoenix Feather. They giggle allot and do each other's hair. They did ask me to join, but I told them that what looked like a phoenix feather probably was a Fire-winged Woth. Since then they have been avoiding me. I really can't understand why.
When I woke up the next morning, I was very eager to begin a new school year. My first class was Charms with the Gryffindors. Charms is not my best subject. The switching charm we where practicing was very difficult, and my Bertie Bott's every flavour beans, which I was supposed to be switching, usually ended up in completely different places of the room. But Ginny managed to do the charm perfectly on her second try, and was awarded ten points from Flitwick.
After class, I went up to Ginny.
"You're really good at charms," I commented. Ginny blushed.
"Oh, I'm not that good. And you're good too. I mean, it's nothing special."
"No, I mean it. You're great. Do you think you could help me learn the switching charm?"
"Sure! How about after school by the big tree by the lake?" I nodded. I knew exactly which tree she meant. I've always liked sitting there on a branch, dreaming or reading the latest issue of the Quibbler.
When I came out, Ginny was sitting on a large root, reading. When I got closer, she snapped her book shut.
"Great!" she said. Have you got anything to practise with?"
"Let me see," I answered and started searching through my bag. Finally, I found to old hairclips.
"Now, concentrate. It's very important not to let your mind wander."
I almost laughed out loud. She sounded so like a teacher! But instead I pointed my wand at the hairclips and said,
"Changorum!" The hairclips disappeared, but instead of switching places and reappearing, they remained gone.
"Oops," Ginny said. "Well, I guess we'll just have to start looking for them." We got up. Almost ten minutes later, Ginny called out,
"I found one!" and I answered,
"Here's the other!" After six tries I was ready to give up. Then Ginny told me her secret trick. ""I always try and imagine how the result of my charm will look. It actually helps."
"Why didn't you tell me this before?" I asked, exasperated.
"Wanted to see if you could figure it out yourself, she answered with a shrug. I smiled.
"You are evil, Ginny Weasley!"
She grinned.
"I know."
When I finally had mastered the spell, and we were getting ready to go back inside, we saw Ginny's brother Percy, the head boy, and Penny, disappear behind Greenhouse 3. Ginny's eyes gleamed with mischief.
"Let's see what they're up to," she suggested. We quietly followed them. When we peeked behind the greenhouse we saw Percy and Penny kissing. Ginny stuffed her knuckles in her mouth to keep from giggling. When she succeeded, she whispered to me,
"You know, this is the perfect opportunity to try out your switching charm."
"How?" I whispered back.
"Switch their badges."
"What?!"
"You heard me. Go on, just do it. I promise we won't get in trouble."
I shrugged my shoulders, concentrated and whispered,
"Changorum." The badges changed. Penny was now Head Boy and Percy's badge read Head Girl.
After a while, the two seventh-years left and we followed. At the doors they parted. Ginny and I debated on whether to follow Penny or Percy, and Decided on Percy, because, as Ginny said, "His reaction will be funnier".
Percy strode pompously towards the Gryffindor Tower. Almost everyone he met gave him odd looks or snickered.
Then he met Oliver Wood. They're pretty good friends according to Ginny. Wood gave Percy a look and asked,
"Perce, since when are you Head Girl?"
"What?!" Percy tore of his badge. "Fred and George!" he screamed.
"OK, now is the time for confession," Ginny stated. She went up to her brother and I followed.
"Percy, it wasn't Fred and George."
He wheeled around.
"It was Luna and I," Ginny continued.
"Ginny, why?" Percy asked. He was clearly not comfortable with the idea of his sweet little baby sister playing a prank on him. Ginny shrugged.
"It was fun. Besides, Luna had to practise her switching charm." Percy glared at me, and I smiled up at him.
"Ten points." he started, but Ginny interrupted.
Hold it. If you take any points from us, we'll let the whole school know that you were kissing Penelope Clearwater behind the greenhouses. Percy stared at her. "You wouldn't," he whispered.
"Oh yes I would. Now what's it going to be, rule or ridicule?"
Percy "humphed" and stalked of.
Ginny and I exploded into giggles.