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CHAPTER TWO

Ginny found herself making her way alone through the corridors of a carriage. She'd expected to sit with her brothers, but as soon as they'd got on, Fred and George had gone off with a couple of girls from their year with a claim that they had to discuss quidditch tactics, while Percy had announced he had to attend the prefect meeting. It had quickly dawned on Ginny that she knew no-one else on the train. The least humiliating option was to find an empty carriage but it seemed like a futile goal.

"You can come in here with us if you like,"came a voice from the compartment she was passing.

Ginny looked round. The speaker was a green-eyed, dark-haired boy, accompanied by another boy and a girl, all of them in Gryffindor colours. They looked friendly enough, so Ginny slipped into the compartment and sat down.

"I'm Harry,"the boy explained."This is Hermione and Neville."

"Harry Potter?"Ginny asked.

The boy looked surprised. "Yes."

"My brothers told me about you. Youngest seeker in a century, right?"

Harry looked a bit embarrassed. "Ah yes, something like that."

"You're Ginny Weasley!"Hermione blurted out.

Ginny reddenned slightly. Neville gave her a sympathetic look. "Watch out, Hermione's read so much about wizarding history, she probably knows more about you than do."

Hermione seemed to realise her faux pas. "Sorry. It's just my parents were muggles so…"

"We've probably got something in common then. You know what happened to my parents?"

Hermione looked even more awkward. "Um, yes."

"Murdered by You-Know-Who, along with two of my brothers." Ginny saw that everyone was looking shame-faced. "Don't worry, I don't remember it, I was only a baby. My other brothers got out through the floo network but I was left behind. They say he tried to kill me and failed. That's how I got the scar."

"You call him You-Know-Who?"Harry asked.

"Our parents have never been sure about that one,"Neville agreed. "But we usually call him that because everyone else does."

"My brothers do,"Ginny agreed. "Professor Dumbledore didn't seem keen on it though."

"You know Dumbledore?!"Hermione shrieked.

Ginny looked in confusion. "Well, yes. Don't you?"

"We know who he is,"Neville explained. "But we don't talk to him much."

Ginny nodded in understanding. "It was him who arranged for us, me and my brothers, to stay with my father's cousin. He's a squib and his wife's a muggle. Professor Dumbledore came round personally when I got the Hogwarts invite, explained he thought it was time for me to rejoin the wizarding world."

Harry struggled to think of something to say. "I hope you like it,"he said at last.

Ginny smiled at him. "Well, I do so far."

Ginny had hoped to stay with her new friends all the way to the castle, but when she disembarked she heard a loud voice shouting "First years over here!"

"That's Hagrid, the groundkeeper,"Harry explained quietly. "He took us up to the castle last year. You'll be all right with him." Neville looked as though he wanted to say something, then thought better of it.

Ginny left the trio and introduced herself to Hagrid, who gestured her over to the group that were waiting. Ginny found herself sat opposite a blonde girl. "I'm Ginny,"she explained.

The girl looked at her in confusion for a moment. "People don't usually talk to me." Then she managed a smile. "Hello, Ginny. I'm Luna."

"Do you know much about Hogwarts?"

"Well, my parents were a witch and a wizard and they both came here. They haven't told me much about it though. My mother died when I was young and my father tends to be busy with other things. I know he was in Ravenclaw though. Maybe I will be too."

"My parents were in Gryffindor,"Ginny recalled. "My brothers as well."

Luna's face fell. "Oh dear. I thought I might have a friend."

There was a vulnerability about the other girl that made Ginny instantly want to make her happy. "Well, even if we are in different houses, we'll probably have classes together and see each other at other times."

Luna brightened up slightly. "Oh yes, that's true."

Hagrid had obviously finished marking students off on his list because he suddenly bellowed for everyone to get on their feet and marched them down to the lake. They were herded onto small boats, with Ginny making sure she shared one with Luna.

At first, she didn't know what the idea was, until she caught sight of some lights in the distance. She focused on them as they got closer and slowly she made out the shape of a castle. The lights flickered all around it in the dark, giving it a majestic look that took Ginny's breath away.

"Oh, so that's Hogwarts,"Luna remarked airily. "I suppose it's quite beautiful."

Ginny could only think that the other girl had a gift for understatement.

For some reason, Ginny was nervous. She wasn't sure why. She'd heard of the Sorting Hat ceremony. Was she nervous about the outcome? Being one of the last alphabetically didn't help. She'd watched as most of the other students were sorted. Her gaze flicked to the Gryffindor table where Harry, Hermione and Neville sat, along with her brothers Percy, George and Fred. She'd hoped Luna would be sorted there as well, but as the other girl predicted, the hat had placed her in Ravenclaw.

That wasn't so bad. At least it meant she'd have a friend if she was sorted there.

Finally, Professor McGonagall called out her name and she took her place. The hat was placed on her head and she heard its voice in its mind. "Oh, this is a curious one. A member of the Weasley family, but so much more than that. Something else inside you. Something from Slytherin. Would you like to go there?"

Ginny hesitated. She hadn't even thought of Slytherin. Her brothers made jokes about how it was where all the future dark wizards and witches went but it couldn't be that bad, could it? She looked over at her potential future housemates and her gaze fell on a blonde-haired boy, looking at her with a malicious expression. "Trying to work out if Weasley's actually got any magic in her,"he remarked to his friends, loud enough for most of the hall to hear. "If she's anything like the rest of her family, she'll be kicked back to muggleland."

"Not there,"Ginny insisted.

The sorting hat gave a sigh. "Very well. The choice is yours. Gryffindor!"

Ginny smiled and ran to the table. She saw Harry make a space next to himself and sat in it. Hermione was the other side of Harry, and on her right were Fred and George. Neville sat across from them.

Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat. "So, a welcome to all our new friends. At this point, I'm supposed to make a long and tedious speech. Fortunately, I've never been one for doing what I'm supposed to. Tuck in!"

"You made it then, sis,"Fred remarked.

"Keep your head down and they might even think you belong here,"George added.

"No chance of that." Somehow, the blonde-haired Slytherin had ended up behind them. "Make the most of this year. Things are going to change soon." He sauntered away.

"He's really grown as a person,"George remarked.

"I was thinking that too,"Fred agreed.

"That's Draco Malfoy,"Neville explained to Ginny. "I would explain why he hates you, but he basically hates everyone."

"Harry, who's that?"Hermione asked.

Ginny followed where the girl was pointing and saw a rotund man sat among the teachers. "Peter Pettigrew,"Harry explained . "The new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. He's a friend of my parents."

"What happened to the old one?"Ginny asked.

There was an awkward silence. "He died,"said Neville at last.

"His name was Professor Quirrell,"Hermione added helpfully.

"How did he die?"Ginny asked.

"They didn't give many details,"Harry explained. "But apparently, it looked like something had…burst out of him."

Suddenly, Hogwarts didn't seem that quiet and friendly a place after all.