A/N: This chapter is also still rather short. Anyway. Thank you to reviewers, and I hope you like the input character of Grace Hartwin – as she is 100 based upon me. 'Cause that's how I roll.
Disclaimer: I don't own Ginny Weasley, or Hogwarts, or Professor Dippet, or Tom Marvolo Riddle. I DO, however, own Claude Felina Bastet, Alden Philips and Grace Hartwin. Teehee.
The Letter P
Chapter Four: P is for Peregrine
Unable to help herself, she started to panic. What if the Sorting Hat couldn't choose, and it sent her away? It had been so quick to select Gryffindor in the twenty-first century… perhaps it had chosen due to her family, and now, confronted with her personality, was at a loss. Just go with your first instinct, Ginny begged of it.
"SLYTHERIN!"
…
Ginny blinked in shock. Whatever she had been expecting, it was not this.
Slytherin? But that was impossible. She was a Gryffindor through and through. She was not cunning. She was not sly. She was not a mean person. And she only hexed people who deserved it. And maybe some who didn't.
Maybe.
Are you sure that you chose correctly, Ginny started to inquire desperately, but the Hat was lifted away and now it was her time to scurry to her new green-clad table – staying on the stool, wailing and demanding to have another go might look a little odd.
Oh well. At least the colours don't clash with my hair, was all that she thought as she began the long trek to the Slytherin table.
As she walked, Ginny felt someone's eyes upon her. It felt as though an interrogation searchlight was being shone brightly, burning a hole in her – but try as she might, she could not find the piercing gaze that watched her.
Giving up on finding the mysterious watcher, she sat in a vacant space between a smiling girl and a subdued-looking boy waiting patiently for the food to arrive.
"Hi," said Ginny, sitting, and smoothing out her knee-length black skirt. "What's your name?"
The girl had a big smile. Her light brown hair was in untidy waves, as if the tresses could not decide whether to be curly or straight, and from under a fringe sparkled blue eyes. "I'm Grace Hartwin," she replied. "Where did you transfer from?"
Oh, hell. What was my story? "London," Ginny responded, trying to make it sound as effortless as possible.
"Ooh, where?" inquired Grace, eagerly ladling potatoes onto her plate as they appeared.
"The… East," Ginny said smoothly, while her brain was secretly charging into gear creating facts and figures for her 'life'. I'm going to have to write this down.
"My nan lives in the East!" Grace exclaimed. "Maybe they're near each other. Whereabouts?"
OH. GOD.
"Um. Enfield."
That's in the East, right?
The boy beside Ginny leaned into the conversation, frowning. He had dark hair, dark eyes surrounded by long thick lashes that any girl would be jealous of, and freckles on his naturally tanned skin. "Enfield's in the North," he told her.
Oh. Well. Crap.
"Really?" Ginny gasped. "Oh, God! No wonder I was always so bad at finding my way around!" she let out a giggle, and hoped fervently that her useless cover-story would work.
Grace burst in laughter, slapping her hands to her mouth so as not to spray her half-digested potatoes (Ginny decided inwardly that she liked Grace a lot, plus their shared initials), and the boy grinned.
"So, who are you?" asked Ginny to the boy.
"Alden Philips," he replied, cutting up a piece of steak.
Philips… Philips… PHILIPS!
"D'you have a little brother?" asked Ginny.
"Only the most annoying little bugger in the world," Alden replied. "Why?"
"He joined this year, didn't he? I met him," said the redhead. I knew that Alden was familiar! He's the brother of the kid I made a deal with!
"So why did you transfer here?"
Ginny looked up at a voice behind her.
Standing there was a girl, her age, maybe a little older. A bit heavier than Ginny, and curvy, she was staring down at the redhead with cool, calculating green eyes like a cat's. Her tight blonde curls were cut short and tamed into a neat little halo around her face. Her lips were lined with pink and they were pressed into a thin line. Her robes were fitted, in pristine condition, and adorned with many badges showing how wonderful she was.
"Hey," said Ginny, smiling, despite the girl's cold greeting.
"Hey yourself," the girl replied snidely. "Why did you come to Hogwarts? Usually people join when they're eleven. You're a little big to be eleven, don't you think?"
Feeling a rush of dislike towards the snooty girl, Ginny retorted, "I'm not eleven. If you'd paid any attention to Dippet before I was Sorted, you'd know that I'm sixth-year. Or is that a problem with your ADD?"
The girl frowned. "What the hell is 'Ay-Dee-Dee'?" she demanded, settling her white-gloved hands on her shaped hips.
Damn. Time period. "Sorry. I thought that Attention Deficit Disorder might be a bit long for you," Ginny said, mocking kindness. "What I meant was… you're stupid. And another message to pass along here would be 'I don't like you'."
A smirk grazed the girl's lips. "I like your attitude," she said, extending a hand. "I'm Claude Felina Bastet, sixth-year, one-hundred percent pureblood, boyfriend of the hottest guy in school, and your new best friend."
Best friend.
Two girls, sitting at the bottom of a willow tree, laughing and dipping their hands in the water, the redhead flicking water at the bushy-haired brunette.
Ginny's eyes hardened to hazel steel. "I'm sorry," she said loudly, standing, "but I think you didn't hear me correctly. I don't like you. And I don't think I ever will. So go and sit back down with your make-up and your smug retorts, because standing up here is going to get you demolished." She snapped the final word, taking a threatening step forwards.
Claude and Ginny were up close now, noses almost touching. They were precisely the same height, and, staring into each other's eyes, neither would back down. Finally a teacher began to come over to see why everyone was jeering and placing bets, and Claude turned away, her emerald eyes narrowed dangerously.
Someone was watching her again. That piercing stare that seemed to burning a hole in her face. Not about to give the watcher the satisfaction of knowing that she did not know who he/she was, Ginny sat down again and, triumphant and pleased, continued to eat her peas.
"Oh. My. God." Grace's mouth was open. "In five minutes of being here, you've said to Claude what I've been wanting to say for six years."
A grin made its way onto Ginny's face, and she started to chat happily to Alden and Grace, learning things about them and about Hogwarts (everything, of course, that she already knew). They were both Purebloods, though Grace had a Muggle ancestor many years back. Alden had a younger brother, Dominic, whom Ginny had already met, and a baby sister called Leah. Grace had an older brother called Jacob, who left Hogwarts last year and was training to be an architect for the Ministry of Magic.
Ginny hoped that the two Slytherins would not inquire about her, but as dinner disappeared, the conversation turned to her.
"Are you unlucky enough to have any brothers or sisters?" Alden inquired.
Bam. Ginny's heart stung. Unlucky? Alden, you have no idea how lucky you are. For a few totally ridiculous seconds, she even contemplated telling them, but then she came to her senses, and said quietly, "No."
"Lucky," Grace said sourly, and grabbed a last piece of cake before the food disappeared, her hand flying out so fast that it effectively sent the platter flying into a second-year's chest. "Oops!" she cried. "I'm really sorry!"
"Gra-ace," Alden moaned, whipping out his wand. "Scourgify. Sorry about that," he apologized to the second-year, grimacing.
Why do I get the impression this happens often?
Cheerfully eating the chocolate cake, Grace at least had the decency to look a bit ashamed, but then focused on the wondrous food in her hands.
"Students!" called Dippet, stepping up to the podium. "I hope you have enjoyed your dinner-"
"Yep!" trilled Grace, dusting her hands off on her skirt.
"-and now, if you could continue to your dormitories. Prefects, if you could show the… oh. Bother." Dippet stopped, frowning. "Head Boy and Girl, if you could show the first-years to your houses. Tom, if you could show the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs? And Eleanor, the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, please."
Ginny paid no attention to this, as she was continuing to chat amiably with her two new friends. She only acknowledged Dippet when he called across the Hall, "Miss Peregrine!"
Remembering who she was, Miss 'Peregrine' journeyed across to the Headmaster. "Yes, sir?" she asked politely.
"I seem to have forgotten to assign the Prefects. The Slytherin female Prefect has remained the same for two years, and I think it would do good to have a new one," said Dippet, observing her through hooded eyes. "Perhaps, if you would take the honour?"
The sixteen-year-old smiled. "Thank you, sir, I'd love to!" she said, and pinned the shiny golden badge onto the front of her robes.
"Your trunk will have been taken down to the Slytherin dormitories. I trust you know where it is. If not, ask a fellow student to help you. Tomorrow, after breakfast, before your classes, you will need to report to the Head dormitories for your assignments. That, which you will not know, is on the third floor, behind the portrait of Robin the Rich – the one with the tall hat," Dippet informed her. "The Head Boy and Girl will ensure that you settle in."
"Thank you," Ginny repeated. Then a thought struck her. "Oh – what are their names? The Head Boy and Girl. Just so I know who to find if I have a problem before then."
"Oh yes. Good thinking," said Dippet. He surveyed a piece of parchment, and then returned it to his pocket, looking again at the new Prefect. "They are Eleanor Fionn, Head Girl, in Gryffindor – I think you'll find her more accommodating – and then the Head Boy, in Slytherin. But you needn't worry about him."
"Well, what's his name? If he's in Slytherin, he might be easier to find in a time of trouble," Ginny pointed out.
"I suppose… though he is generally very difficult to find, even in an empty room," Dippet sighed. "Tricky lad. Very well, then. His name is Tom Riddle."
…
A/N: Dun dun DUN! Mwahaha. Haha. Hah. Ha. H. M. Please review and tell me what you thought! Thank you to my beta SilverXan, and enjoy the rest of the fic!