Chapter 6: To Hogwarts We Go!
Ginny walked down the train, looking for an empty compartment when she came across a familiar face—Ron and Harry's friend, Hermione Granger was sitting alone reading a book right beside the window. Ginny rapped on the door and waved to her brother's friend, hoping that she would let her seat with her. Hermione looked up at her, saw who it was, and she smiled and motioned for her to come in.
"Hello Ginny," Hermione said happily as she slid the door open. "Have you seen Harry and Ron? I saved us all seats, but I haven't seen them yet."
Ginny sat down opposite of Hermione, who was reading Magical Me and she saw Lockhart's big, self-satisfied grin on the cover as she fought to keep herself from rolling her eyes. Hermione was actually reading that thing? But rather than say that out loud, she answered, "I haven't seen them since Mum and I came through the barrier onto the platform."
She hoped that she didn't sound too worried, "Oh, I know! Maybe they're with Fred and George… playing Exploding Snap or… practicing magic again or something?"
She didn't want to worry about them, so she decided to change the subject, "How is that Lockhart book? I haven't even started on mine yet."
Hermione beamed at her question and said excitedly, and very quickly, "Oh, it's wonderful! I can't believe all the things he accomplished in just a few years! He truly is a extraordinary wizard! I'm surprised that he hasn't gotten his own chocolate frog card yet! But then again, he's done so much it would be hard to fit all that information on just one card…"
And she went on like that for a few minutes until she finally stopped to take a breath. Perhaps it was then that she realized what she was saying because she blushed red and put the book down as if hoping that she could take back what she said. Instead she asked, "So… tell me Ginny… what House do you think you'll get into? Gryffindor?"
"I'm hoping for it," Ginny piped up, giving her a weak smile. "I really don't know anyone but my brothers, except for you and Harry of course."
"Oh, I'm sure you'll be fine," she said kindly. "The Sorting isn't bad at all…"
Ginny and Hermione talked for a long time and Hermione helped to put some of Ginny's fears about Hogwarts to rest. She explained that Hagrid will be taking all the first-years up to the castle in boats before they get sorted into the Houses, which she promised was simple and painless. Ginny was making a mental note to kill Fred and George later for making her worry so much.
"How on earth did Ron get such nice friends?" she thought to herself just when Percy suddenly poked his head through the door.
"Hello there," he said to Hermione, before turning to his sister. "Ginny, have you seen Ron and Harry?"
Ginny shook her head as Hermione, looking worried, placed her book on the seat next to her before standing up. "I'll help you look for them." She looked back at Ginny and said, "I'll be back in a second, ok Ginny?"
Ginny nodded as they shut the compartment door behind them. 'They're probably somewhere else on the train,' she told herself fiercely. 'I know that they're fine. I'll see them when I get to Hogwarts.' Suddenly feeling lonely, she pulled out her diary. She looked at it happily for a few seconds as she reached for the bottle of ink in her trunk; she then heard the door open again. She looked up, expecting to see Hermione…
"Ah! Look here, Georgie! It's our one and only baby sister!" Fred cried out with a huge grin and putting an arm around George's shoulders. George sniffed and pretended to wipe a fake tear away, "Our baby sister is off to school at last!"
Ok, any reasonable girl who has annoying older brothers would've been sorely tempted to throw something hard and heavy at their heads. But the only thing Ginny had in her hands was her diary, and there was no chance in hell she would ever throw something that precious. Instead, she just gave them both the dirtiest look she could muster before she went back looking for her ink and quill.
George came up behind her and playfully pulled her hair, "Oi, Ginny? Little Ginnikins?"
"What?" she snapped at him, wishing that they would go away.
"Relax," Fred said with another grin. "We just wanted to ask if you saw Ron and Harry get on the train because no one can find them anywhere."
"Yeah," George said thinking it over, "I know we went through the barrier before them… did they go before you?"
"No," she snapped angrily before she stopped dead. "No," she repeated in a much softer tone. "No… they were last. Me and Mum went before them, and they were supposed to come after us."
"You mean to tell me that Harry and ickle-Ronniekins got lost?" Fred laughed incredulously. "All they had to do was walk through a wall! It's not that complicated!"
"I don't think they even made it onto the train!" Ginny raised her voice to be heard over her brother's harsh laughter.
"What d'you mean, they didn't get on the train?" Fred asked still laughing at the thought of his younger brother's stupidity.
"Hermione and nobody else have seen them! And now that I think of it, I don't remember seeing them on the platform, or even saying goodbye to Mum and Dad," Ginny told them, suddenly remembering with panic.
"Hmmm," Fred said thinking that over, "Well, I'm sure Mum and Dad will get them to Hogwarts another way. But there's no chance that they would miss the train like that. I'm sure that they're somewhere nearby. I wouldn't worry about it Gin-Gin," George said.
"Yeah, I'm sure that your future husband's fine, Ginnikins!" George added gleefully as he patted her on the head like a dog. Ginny was sure that her face was now hot enough to boil water on. Oh, what wouldn't she give to know a few good curses to shut those two gits up!
"SHUT UP!" she yelled at them.
Fred snorted as her face turned even redder. "They're probably off in some corner of the train with Hermione… oooohhhh, I wonder what they're up to?"
"I just saw Hermione," Ginny said coldly pointed to Hermione's textbook still sitting on the seat. "She was just here and she got up to look for them! And there's no way that she's Ron's or Harry's girlfriend."
At least hoped she wasn't. She would be happy if Hermione was Ron's girlfriend or somebody else's, but not Harry… oh, did that make her a bad person because she didn't want someone else dating Harry? Hermione seemed to be really nice and everything, but she didn't seem like Harry's type… Or was she just trying to convince herself of that?
"Shows how much you know, Ginny," George laughed as they both turned and left the compartment, cackling like hyenas. Ginny, her face as red as a tomato, finally found some ink and a quill and opened to a random page of the diary. She really needed someone to talk to right now.
Tom? She wrote. And sure enough he wrote back, sounding excited.
Hello, Ginny. Where are we now? Are we back at Hogwarts yet?
No, not yet. She told him. But, I'm on the Hogwarts Express right now, and my brothers are being the WORLD'S BIGGEST GITS! Oh, I give anything to know a few good curses to use on them! Or at the very least turn them into slugs!
Oh, Ginny, what did they do to you this time? It sounds like they did something truly horrible.
It started this morning! I overheard Mum telling the twins to take care of me while we're at school! She's still treating me like I'm three years old and need someone there to hold my hand! Why can't she see that I'm not a baby anymore? And to make things worse she had to go and tell them not to tease me about… about Harry. How could she do that? She knows what Fred and George are like! I don't understand why she would tell them not to do the one thing that they're sure to do!
I can't understand it either. You think that she would know her own sons by now.
And just now they made fun of me again, Tom! Sometimes I hate them so much! Oh and Tom! I can't find Harry or Ron anywhere! I'm pretty sure that they missed that they missed the train! You see, we were running really late this morning and I think that something must've happened to them. I sure hope they're ok!
Oh, I'm sure they are, Ginny. You shouldn't worry so much. Even if they missed the train, I'm sure that they'll send someone from the school over to get them.
Ginny smiled and let out a sigh of relief. Oh, she was so glad that she had Tom here to chase her fears away.
Thank you, Tom. I feel so much better with you here telling me that I'm going to be ok. By the way, I was sitting here talking to Hermione, I told you about her didn't I? Ron and Harry's friend? Anyway she didn't know where they were either! Percy came in and they both left to see if they could find them. And that's when the twins came in asking me the same question! It's like they think I just automatically know! That was when George called Harry my future husband! Oh, I hope he doesn't go and blurt that out to the rest of the school! And speaking of that… they also said that Hermione was Harry's girlfriend! I don't know if they were telling me the truth for once, or just trying to make me upset! If they were, they sure did a good job! Oh, Tom, d'you think that's true? D'you really think that they're going out?
Well, I can't really say since I don't know either of them. Tell me, is this Hermione pretty?
Ginny thought about that. Yes, that had been her first thought when she first met her. Hermione had a lovely face and pretty brown eyes… but now that she thought it over, she thought that Hermione's hair looked like a dying bush! And her teeth… they looked like they belonged to a chipmunk for crying out loud! No, she scribbled viciously, but then she felt almost immediately bad at her mean thoughts and added, Well… I guess she is kinda nice-looking… but I really don't know her all that well just yet.
Well, you shouldn't jump to conclusions until you hear it from Harry's mouth. I mean, if they are dating, I'm sure that you're going to hear him say it right? But to tell you the truth, I think they're just friends. So, I shouldn't think you have anything to worry about.
But Ginny was already writing: But he likes her! I don't know how much yet, but I know that he likes her! And I know that they're really good friends to! I mean, I don't know if he actually LIKES her, but I'm still worried. I can see why Harry would go for someone like her! She's smart, the best in their year even! And she…
Ginny,Tom interrupted her. I do feel awful for you. But just know that you are not alone anymore! Neither of us are. You are with me now. Now, I never had any siblings of my own, but your brothers, it sounds like they're only joking. What they're saying may seem hurtful, but they don't intend it to be. However, I do agree that they are being very insensitive to you and your feelings! I do hope things improve for you once you get to school. But I feel that I should tell you that things have a tendency to change within Hogwarts—both good and bad. I'm sure that you will experience many changes very soon Ginny. But try not pay too much attention to them.
I will, Tom. Thanks for listening, to me. Oh, I have to stop writing now, Hermione just came back. But I'll write to you later, I promise!
You're welcome, Ginny. And I'll be waiting eagerly to hear what House you get sorted into.
*Later*
"No, Percy! I keep telling you that we haven't seen them! We're as worried as you are!" Ginny said as Hermione nodded in agreement.
"What's going on here?" Percy yelled in frustration as he looked down at his Prefect badge. "Nobody's seen them! If they get me into trouble for this…!"
He just ran his hand through his hair tiredly and said, "Well, I'm going to look around one more time. If I still can't find them, I'll have to send an owl to the school. I'll let you know if I find them." He then turned and left quickly. Ginny nodded timidly as her brother left the compartment and she looked at Hermione who was looking both angry and anxious.
"You…" Ginny began quietly, "You don't think something happened to them do you?"
Hermione hesitated for a second. "I know that they can take care of themselves," she finally said. "But I really do hope that nothing bad has happened to them. I'm hoping that they just missed the train and that someone will go and get them later."
They didn't have much more time to dwell on it because they all had to change into their robes once they were nearly at Hogsmeade station at last. Ginny felt her stomach lurch as she finally got off the train behind Hermione and entered a giant crowd of people. But before she could do anything else, she heard a familiar voice call out, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"
"See you after the sorting Ginny!" Hermione yelled after her encouragingly and gave her a gentle push in the back towards the sound of the voice calling above all the others.
As soon as Ginny lost sight of Hermione, she looked to see where the first year students were being led to. She then noticed Percy talking to the shaggy mess of hair that belonged to the giant that she met in Diagon Alley. Hagrid… the very man that had broken up the fight between her father and Mr. Malfoy was holding a lantern and looking down at the crowd of students who were all staring up at him with open mouths.
Percy nodded to her and began to head back up to where the rest of the sixth years were but before he was gone Ginny cried out to him in an anxious voice, "Did you find them?"
"I'm afraid not," he called back and soon disappeared in the sea of students.
Ginny's heart sank at the news just as she saw a flash of light. She jumped, and looked behind her, expecting to see someone casting a spell. But no… it was a young, mousy-looking boy with what appeared to have been a Muggle camera and had a look of pure awe on his face as he looked around him, spinning in complete circles.
'He must be Muggle-born,' she immediately thought. Hagrid then called out, "Alrigh'! We should ge' moving! You all will be coming with' me!"
Hagrid led them all to the edge of a enormous lake with hundreds of boats, all waiting for them.
"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid boomed as he climbed into his own. They all did what he said and Ginny got into a boat with two others kids. She was sitting next to a girl with long, blond hair and a dreamy expression, and the boy with the Muggle camera who was looking like he was having the time of his life.
"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid. "Right then — FORWARD!"
And off they sailed.
*A few minutes later*
Ginny's hand dipped into the water, watching the slick, silver fish swimming alongside them. As they glided over a patch of seaweed, she could have sworn that she saw a pair of eyes staring back at her under the water. But when she blinked, she only saw a figure of a tail darting between the flowing grasses.
"Heads down!" Hagrid's called out when they were nearing a wall of ivy. And they all ducked. When they all looked up, they were all speechless when they finally saw the castle for the first time.
The castle had come into view and the boy with the camera was clicking away madly. Ginny felt her own jaw drop as she got her first sight of Hogwarts… and it was more beautiful than she ever dreamt of before. The castle grew larger and larger as the boats drew nearer to it, and pretty soon, Ginny had to crane her neck to be able to see the tips of the towers.
It was so majestic. She didn't think that she blinked once, afraid that to miss anything that might change. It was large and seemed to glow with it's old bricks casting a reflection from the bright moon overhead onto the waters below. The dark outline of Hogwarts was dotted with hundreds of tiny windows, each glowing with bright light.
When they finally arrived at the foot of the castle, she and everyone else was shaking with anxiety as they huddled together, as if they were cold. Their heads turned every which way as Hagrid led them up the great stone steps to a large door. And they all shook with fear as he knocked three times on the door.
"I brough' the firs' years fer ye Professor McGonagall," he spoke when the door opened. Ginny looked over the head of a blond boy to get a better look at the woman. Standing there was an elderly lady with flowing emerald robes and sharp eyes shining from behind a pair rectangular glasses. Her nose was large and angular and she had a pointed chin that was turned up with dignity. It was clear that she was in a position of authority.
"Yes, thank you Hagrid." she nodded politely.
So this was Professor McGonagall, Ginny had heard lots about her from the rest of her family. She was the head of Gryffindor and also the Transfiguration teacher. She didn't have much time to think about it though because Professor McGonagall lead them all inside to a small chamber and started speaking to them.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said to them all. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school."
She looked at them all for a moment before she clapped her hands together and cried out, "Now, come along all of you!"
(Hey there! Sorry for the long wait. But I do hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. For anyone about to complain for what Ginny said about Hermione… just remember that she's still only eleven with a big-time crush. She has a crush on a cute boy and is jealous that Hermione's with Harry. So please, be kind. And I'm already starting on the next chapter, so it should go up very soon as well.)
