Chapter 4~A Fancy Arrival

Ginny breathed freely as she pulled the Sorting Hat off her head. Seconds before,
it'd screamed "GRYFFINDOR!" for the whole hall to hear, much to her relief. To think,
the shame of being put in any other house, when the whole family...
She didn't think about it as she sat down with Percy at the Gryffindor table. She
didn't know many others, but even that was a poor excuse for sitting with this particular
brother. He condescendingly patted her on the back and whispered how glad he was to
have her at their table, as if he were the Minister of Magic. Ginny bit back the anger and
pretended she liked sitting next to him. It was almost time to eat anyway; Weasley was the
third to last name in the list of first years.

Dumbledore took a stand and spoke, "Welcome, new first years, and welcome
back to all our other students. I'm sure we'll have a great year, as we do every year! Well,
enjoy the feast!" As he finished, food appeared on the tables, pumpkin juice in the goblets,
and everyone started shouting for sandwiches, roast beef, chicken, and potatoes and all the
delicious foods that were presented. Ginny was as eager as anyone as she reached for a
serving spoon to get some of the steaming soup she'd spotted in front of her.

"Excuse me? May I talk to you? Please?" Ginny looked up, startled, and managed
to pour a bit of soup onto the table. She yelped and Percy went after the little river of
soup with a napkin, directing her a glare her mother used often.

Remembering the voice who had been speaking to her, Ginny turned to look at a
small boy, the one she remembered going on and on about Harry. "Um, what?" she asked
shyly, blushing as she realized he'd been witness to the whole soup scene. She hated doing
stupid things in front of people, and yet, she always accomplished just that.

"Hi, I'm Collin Creevey." Ginny hadn't time to introduce herself as Colin went on,
not pausing for breath, "I heard that Harry Potter stayed with your family during part of
the summer and was wandering if you could tell me somethings about him. I really like
Harry, even though I haven't met him, but I'm sure I will. I'm so glad that I'm in
Gryffindor, aren't you? I mean, Harry's here and everyone knows how good he is, saving
us from You-Know-Who and all, so the house he's in must be the best. I really would like
to get his picture, you know, type of souvenior..."

"I-" Ginny tried to interrupt, not wanting to listen to this monolouge.

"-and then, I overheard some teachers, even though I didn't mean to, and they
were talking about Harry and your brother hadn't come to school and they had this paper
and it had this flying car in it and then-"

"Collin, we're trying to eat," Percy stopped the bumbling first year from continuing
his speech. But Hermione came in,"Flying car? Collin, are you sure?" Ginny knew what
she was thinking; the car they'd driven to the train station in could also fly, the
transportation her brothers had used to get Harry to The Burrow.
Collin nodded, as if he'd never been more sure in his life.

By this time, the whole Gryffindor table was listening to little Creevey, who went
off again, "Anyway, the teachers were very upset and Proffessor McGonagall and
Dumbledore left, following Professor Snape who'd come in, and I guess Harry and Ron
must have come in the car! Isn't that great? I mean, who would've thought. A flying car!"
As Collin went on and on about how fabulous that was, Ginny glanced at Hermione, then
Percy, both of whom were tight lipped and looked reprimanding, and lastly looked for
Fred and George.

Fred and George were joining in on the whoops and excited chatter about Ron and
Harry, arriving with style. Gryffindor was proud.

~~~~

Dear Tom,
You wouldn't believe how my brother, Ron, and Harry got to school! They
actually used Dad's car, the one that flies, and drove all the way, in the clouds! They got a
bit ruffled by crashing into the Whomping Willow, and Ron's wand is totally wrecked, but
the worst news is that Percy told me he bet Mum would also sent a Howler, which is ten
times worse than anything. At that thought, I really hoped that that wouldn't happen.
Maybe Ron is annoying, but he doesn't deserve that. I hope I can stay out of trouble
because I think I'd die if I got one of those.

Ginny was used to the swirly words that appeared where hers used to be. Every
night she couldn't wait to get all her feelings about the day, confiding in her friend she'd
found.

Wow. Sounds like you have quite an exciting time already, with school not even
started. Things are Hogwarts sure have livened up since I was there. But things weren't
exactly void of events either. There was alot of mystery in my day.

With eyes that were used to reading quickly to catch everything before they
disappeared, Ginny wondered what he meant. She scribbled a reply quickly.

What happened when you were here?

She waited, but not for long.

The Chamber of Secrets happened.

Ginny gasped. She'd heard about it before, though most said it was a legend. There
was supposedly a "chamber" somewhere in the school that no one knew where, and a
horrible beast laired in it. No one the exact truth except the teachers and students of fifty
years ago who lived through it. All Ginny knew for sure was that The Chamber of Secrets
was a big, scary deal.

Can you tell me about it?

She clenched her hands, making them tight fists as she watched the book for the
reply. The diary didn't answer for a long time. Ginny worried that somehow Tom had
walked away, like the people in pictures, but words came and canceld that fear.

No, I think it might give you nightmares. Isn't it late, by the way?

Ginny looked up to see that the window's light had long been gone and she'd been
hunched over the diary with her nose practically to it, using the glow of a candle she'd set
out in the common room, after everyone had left. Startled, Ginny wrote a quick goodnight
and raced for her bedroom.