Chapter 3
The Howler
xoxoxoxox
Ginny Here,
Today was great! I just arrived at Hogwarts, and I already have a friend! Her name is Jenna Smith, and we met on the train. We look almost exactly alike; except she has blue eyes and I have brown eyes. Surprisingly enough, even though she was a muggle born, she was sorted into Slytherin! She was so happy. I was sorted into Ravenclaw. We made a promise to each other, that 'no matter what friends forever'
Ginny paused in her writing, trying to think of what to write next. She decided to write about how Ron wasn't there today at the feast, but when she looked back down at the page to continue, the words she had written were gone. In their place new words had formed.
'Hello, Ginny. My name is Tom Riddle. Congratulations on making it into Ravenclaw. I went to Hogwarts myself, and was sorted into Slytherin House, just like your friend.'
Ginny stared at the newly formed words for a second, before they faded away into the page. She then dipped her quill into the ink once more and wrote.
'You came to Hogwarts? When?'
'A long time ago. Fifty years to be exact'
Ginny became excited, and wrote about how her brother had not been there at the feast, along with Harry Potter, whom she secretly loved. She also wrote about her other brothers. Tom steadily wrote back to her, occasionally making comments about things her brothers had said or done. She finally had someone she could trust with her secrets.
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Ginny Weasley woke early the next day, before anyone else in her dorm. She walked over to her trunk, grabbing some clothes and headed up to the showers. When she returned her dormates were just beginning to wake up. She grabbed a brush from her trunk and began the process of detangling her hair. Once she was ready, she pulled on her robes, and walked down to the common room. She sat down in one of the chairs in front of the fire to wait untill she needed to leave. At about 8:15, she pushed open the door and descended from the tower, making her way towards the Entrance Hall. There she saw Jena coming up from one of the dungeons. She smiled and waved to her friend, who smiled back and ran over to her.
They entered the Great Hall and sat down together at their tables, but facing each other, like they tend to do in muggle schools. That way, they figured, no one looks at them funny because they're at the wrong table. They ate their breakfast and chatted about the people in their houses and what classes they couldn't wait to go to.
"I can't wait to learn to fly!!" said Jenna excitedly "that and I can't wait for potions. They say the potions professor favors the Slytherins"
"I know me too!! My brothers say he hates Gryffindor, but I dunno how he treats the Ravenclaws...probably like the other teachers do..." Just then Professor McGonagall came around handing out timetables.
"What do you have first?" Jenna asked Ginny while looking over her timetable.
"I got Transfiguration, and then History Of Magic." Ginny replied.
"I have History of Magic first, and then Herbology. Hey! We have Charms together this afternoon!"
"We have potions together too!! I can't wait!"
They sat and talked like this, untill Ginny noticed Harry and Ron enter the Great Hall. "I'll be right back; I'm just gonna go see my brother Ron for a minute okay?"
"Ooh! I always wanted to meet your brothers! Can I come with you?"
"Okay, just make sure not to mention that your in Slytherin...Ron'll go ballistic" Ginny smirked at the mental image of Ron finding out that she was friends with a Slytherin. Ginny and Jenna walked over to the Gryffindor table, getting a few curious glances on the way. Before Ginny headed over to see Ron, she stopped to see her favorite twins.
"Hi!"
Fred and George looked up to see Ginny standing there with Jenna. "Whoa! If I didn't know better, I'd think I was seeing double!" George joked.
"Now you know what it's been like for us ever since you've been born" laughed Ginny. "This is my friend, Jenna."
"Pleased to meet you" said the twins in unison, holding out their hands for her to take. Jenna laughed, crossing her arms so she could shake their hands. "Let me guess, your Fred and George...right?" she added looking to Ginny for conformation, who nodded.
"Sure are! Glad to know we're so famous 'round here! Your fist day and y'already know our names" Said Fred grinning.
Ginny laughed turning to walk away "well we're gonna go see Ron, and ask him where he was yesterday.
"See you at Lunch!" Jenna called over her shoulder as they walked down towards the other end of the table with their arms linked. Just then, the mail came. Jenna was in awe as she watched the hundreds of owls fly around the Great Hall, delivering their parcels to the students. Ginny stopped walking to watch as a bright red letter Ron was holding began to smoke.
"Ooh, Ronnie's in trouble" Ginny said in a singsong voice.
"And why is that?"
"You'll see..."
Ginny smirked as the letter Ron had been holding burst into flames, and Molly Weasleys voice could be heard all through the Hall.
'...STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT HAD GONE...'
Her voice rattled the silverware, and dishes on the tables, and everyone had stopped to look around for who had gotten the howler.
'...LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED..."
Ginny looked over at harry. She hadn't even noticed he wasn't at the feast either.
'...ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED, YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN ENQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME."
The voice died, and all that was left of the letter was a smoldering pile of ashes. A few people could be heard snickering, and the students gradually resumed talking. As they continued their quest to talk to Ron, Jenna had to hold in her laugh at the look on Rons face as Hermione scolded him.
"...Don't know what you expected Ron, but-"
"Don't tell me I deserved it" snapped Ron.
"So that's what you missed our sorting for..." Ginny said with a fake pout on her face, making herself noticed by the three friends, and laughing at the expression on Rons face as he looked at her pouting. "I'm only kidding. Jeeze..." She smiled.
"So, what house did you get Ginny?" asked harry "I didn't see you in the common room this morning, or last night when we arrived for that matter"
"I'm in Ravenclaw..." She replied blushing and looking nervously over at Ron for his reaction.
"Good job on not making Slytherin!" Ron said "But I do wish you could've been in Gryffindor with us"
Ginny shrugged "I guess I'm just not the Gryffindor type..." then she smiled as if suddenly remembering something "Oh yea!! Harry, Hermione, Ron... This-" She said gesturing to Jenna, who waved, being her usual happy self " Is my friend Jenna, who I met on the train"
Harry, Ron and Hermione looked as if they saw Jenna for the first time "Oh...hello, I'm Hermione" Hermione smiled, putting down Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart.
"I'm Harry, nice to meet you" said Harry shaking her hand. He looked over at Ron, who still looked like he never wanted to come out from under the table again. "And this Ron"
"So this is the brother Ginny's been telling me all about."
Ginny smiled at this. She knew that Jenna was just trying to cheer him up after that howler. Even though they just met yesterday. Just then, Professor McGonagall came around to the Gryffindor table handing out timetables, and Ginny and Jenna returned the their seats at the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables. Lucky for them, they didn't ask what house Jenna was in, or they'd have been in for a whole lot of embarrassment from Ron.
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As Ginny and Jenna split up after breakfast, Ginny turned to go up one staircase for transfiguration, and Jenna turned up another staircase to go to History Of Magic. As soon as she arrived in transfiguration, and sat down in seat beside another Ravenclaw girl the Professor gave everyone a sharp talking to.
"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned" She immediately gave the impression that she was not someone to get on the bad side of. She then turned her desk into a pig and back again. Everyone was really impressed and couldn't wait to get started. Of course, they weren't going to be doing stuff like that for a long while, but all the same. Ginny found it exciting to be able to change something from one thing to another.
After taking a lot of complicated notes, everyone got a match, and was trying to turn it into a needle. Ginny was determined to get it first, just like Hermione. She really looked up to Hermione; she was after all the smartest witch of her age. By the end of the class, Ginny managed to make her match kinda pointy and a little grey at the end. She was so proud of herself. Professor McGonagall came around helping people with wand movements and incantations, and when she got to where Ginny and Luna were sitting, awarded her 5 points for her work.
At the end of class, she and the rest of the Ravenclaws made their way down to history of magic, and the Hufflepuffs headed towards the greenhouses where they would have Herbology with the Slytherins. As it turns out, History of Magic classes were boring. The most exiting part of the class was Professor Binns entering through the chalk board. Professor Binns just happened to be a ghost, who apparently fell asleep in front of the staff room fire one day, and woke up to teach, leaving his body behind.
Next, they had a hurried lunch at which point Ginny introduced Jenna to Luna, and they all hurried off to the Charms classroom on the second floor. Ravenclaw and Slytherin had double Charms together Monday afternoons. Charms class was taught by a very small wizard called Professor Flitwick, who had to stand on a pile of textbooks in order to see over his desk. The Professor started the class by taking role, pausing after every name in order to see who was who.
Professor Snape, The Potions Master, was again different. Potions classes took place in one of the Dungeons. Like Flitwick, he started the class by taking role. Snape put them into pairs to make a simple potion to cure boils. He roamed around watching them weigh dried nettles, and crush snake fangs, stirring their potions carefully. Professor Snape was criticizing almost everyone, except some of the Slytherins. This of course included Jenna, who was sitting at the table beside Ginny. As he looked into Ginny's cauldron, he obviously couldn't find anything wrong and continued his rounds, not saying a word. An hour later, they all bottled their potions and turned them in for marking.
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I thought I'd just clear up something from the last chapter. The sorting hat put Jenna in Slytherin because it is mentioned in the Harry Potter books that the sorting hat puts people in whatever house they wanted to be in. Jenna wanted to be in Slytherin, because she had never really heard about the big bad Slytherins' reputations, and it sounded like an okay place to be. If you don't believe me, check for your self...I think it's mentioned in the second book when harry wonders why the hat put him in Gryffindor.
Anyways... On to the next chapter :) Please review? Means a lot to me!!