Chapter 2:
The First Morning As Slytherins
Ginny opened her eyes. The black, silver and green shocked her until she remembered where she was, and why. She would have been content to stay in bed all day, the sheets were warmer and silkier. She got up, having no other choice, and stared getting dressed. Obviously, the other girls were heavy sleepers, they had not woken up during her morning stretches. She had a shower, did her hair, put on her jewelry, her safety pins, paper clips and chains. She had seen some music videos for a group called "Good Charlotte" on a laptop her father had brought home from work. She had loved Benji and Billy's style, they were quite good-looking also. She hadn't been brave enough, nor had she had the money to get anything but her ears pierced, again, high up in the cartilage. She had got them done in a muggle shop in London, the second time, the first time her mother had done them, as part of her twelfth birthday. Her parents hadn't noticed or if they had, they hadn't said anything.
Finally, she was done. She went down the stairs to the common room to see who else was awake. She saw no one else so she continued up to the Great Hall for lunch. By herself. She was heading towards the Gryffindor table when she noticed that they were all glaring at her. She didn't know why, until she looked at her robes and realized that she had a Slytherin crest on her robes. She then further realized to what level the hatred had risen between Gryffindor and Slytherin. They didn't even look past the crest, didn't see Slytherins as individuals, but as one big whole. She, a Weasley, was being scorned as a Slytherin. She sighed, turned and looked for Colin at the Slytherin table, he was sitting a little ways apart, staring into space. She walked over and sat down beside him and recounted her tale.
"They hate me Colin." "No they don't, they only see you as a house now, just as Gryffindor is seen through favoured eyes, Slytherin is seen as evil." Colin had become an eloquent speaker starting in his fifth year. "Still, I can't believe it. Were we that bad Colin? Did we only see them that way? I. Oh man being a Slytherin is going to be harder to handle then I thought." "I don't know Ginny, I think that we were a little less hateful but, I really don't know, you are right about one thing though, being a Slytherin shall be quite challenging."
Suddenly their little talk was interrupted as the King and prince of Slytherin arrived and sat down. Draco Malfoy, the King ( of course ) sat beside Ginny and Blaise Zabini seated himself beside Colin and struck up a conversation, even Malfoy was stunned by that action, Blaise was just one of those people who didn't talk much, even to the people he knew. But, here he was talking to someone he didn't know and who had been in Slytherin for barely a day.
Draco turned to Ginny.
" Since we will be sharing a house, but also because I am a prefect, we should probably be civil towards each other. In light of that, I, with your consent of course, would like to declare a truce, to stop the childish rivalry. I mean that I will show you the ropes, so, if we still hate each other, it would be more difficult." Ginny just sat there for a few seconds, staring at the hand Malfoy had extended. She then extended her own hand and shook. She also responded verbally, albeit a tad hesitantly. " I will be civil, if you try to be, I never really hated you to begin with." "Alright then, I never hated you either it was more your brother. Speak of the devil, here he comes."
Ron, Hermione and Harry came up to the Slytherin table amid stares, glares, snickers and hissing.
" Ginny, why on earth are you sitting at the Slytherin table? Why aren't you the Gryffindor table where you belong?" Asked Ron. " I don't know, maybe because I'm now in Slytherin or, maybe because I don't want to sit with a bunch of people who are giving me death glares. Take you're pick, it's one of the two or maybe it's both," she pulled a mock-thoughtful pose. After hearing that, stated in such a matter-of-fact way. Ron stared, open-mouthed; Ginny had never spoken to him in such a manner. " What your brother meant was, why don't you come sit with us, I'm sure you don't want to sit with such riff-raff." Said Hermione. "woooooooooooooow!!," said Ginny, in mock-awe," I'm glad that all it took was me getting transferred to Slytherin to be asked to sit with you guys. Six years of being told ' go away, Ginny, you're annoying' or ' Ginny we have important DreamTeam-can't-tell-anyone-top-secret-stuff to talk about, go see your other friends.' Now you want me to come sit with you. Now? Well I'm sorry, I don't want to. Go back to Gryffindor where you belong. Go be the good little kids we know you aren't, and let me live my life. You never noticed me before, why start now?"
Harry, Ron and Hermione looked aghast, but were jolted into walking when they heard Colin, who was unfazed, he had heard all of that before, say:
" Well, you heard the woman, get moving!"
The Slytherins who had been close enough to hear, and who knew something of the soft-spoken Ginny, were stunned into silence for a few seconds, then broke out into applause. Draco looked at Ginny, his trademark smirk gone, his mouth open, slightly slack-jawed, yet it only lasted a moment, then he raised his eye-brows at her and said wryly:
" Good job, knew you had it in you, jolly good show!!"
" Yeah, well, they had it coming, I mean, when I was sitting with the Gryffs, I couldn't really knock them, they'd hate me. Here with te entire Slytherin table backing me I can say it." Responded Ginny.
" Yeah but only you would get away with it," retorted Draco.
" I suppose, oh well."
" Ginny, you know it's true," commented Colin, entering the conversation.
" I would have to agree with him," said Blaise, surprising people, again, as he barely ever agreed with people. This Tom Riddle look-alike was full out Goth now, Benji style (A/N: Benji from Good Charlotte). Even the teachers were afraid of him, yet here he was calmly talking to Colin. Only Draco knew what it meant, for only the Slytherin King knew that his Prince was a "Bonnie Prince" (A/N: it means he's gay) and that when Blaise got a crush on someone he would change, just a little, like agreeing with the person, but someone who had known him since his childhood, like Draco, could. He was one of Draco's good friends, one of his only friends.
Ginny opened her eyes. The black, silver and green shocked her until she remembered where she was, and why. She would have been content to stay in bed all day, the sheets were warmer and silkier. She got up, having no other choice, and stared getting dressed. Obviously, the other girls were heavy sleepers, they had not woken up during her morning stretches. She had a shower, did her hair, put on her jewelry, her safety pins, paper clips and chains. She had seen some music videos for a group called "Good Charlotte" on a laptop her father had brought home from work. She had loved Benji and Billy's style, they were quite good-looking also. She hadn't been brave enough, nor had she had the money to get anything but her ears pierced, again, high up in the cartilage. She had got them done in a muggle shop in London, the second time, the first time her mother had done them, as part of her twelfth birthday. Her parents hadn't noticed or if they had, they hadn't said anything.
Finally, she was done. She went down the stairs to the common room to see who else was awake. She saw no one else so she continued up to the Great Hall for lunch. By herself. She was heading towards the Gryffindor table when she noticed that they were all glaring at her. She didn't know why, until she looked at her robes and realized that she had a Slytherin crest on her robes. She then further realized to what level the hatred had risen between Gryffindor and Slytherin. They didn't even look past the crest, didn't see Slytherins as individuals, but as one big whole. She, a Weasley, was being scorned as a Slytherin. She sighed, turned and looked for Colin at the Slytherin table, he was sitting a little ways apart, staring into space. She walked over and sat down beside him and recounted her tale.
"They hate me Colin." "No they don't, they only see you as a house now, just as Gryffindor is seen through favoured eyes, Slytherin is seen as evil." Colin had become an eloquent speaker starting in his fifth year. "Still, I can't believe it. Were we that bad Colin? Did we only see them that way? I. Oh man being a Slytherin is going to be harder to handle then I thought." "I don't know Ginny, I think that we were a little less hateful but, I really don't know, you are right about one thing though, being a Slytherin shall be quite challenging."
Suddenly their little talk was interrupted as the King and prince of Slytherin arrived and sat down. Draco Malfoy, the King ( of course ) sat beside Ginny and Blaise Zabini seated himself beside Colin and struck up a conversation, even Malfoy was stunned by that action, Blaise was just one of those people who didn't talk much, even to the people he knew. But, here he was talking to someone he didn't know and who had been in Slytherin for barely a day.
Draco turned to Ginny.
" Since we will be sharing a house, but also because I am a prefect, we should probably be civil towards each other. In light of that, I, with your consent of course, would like to declare a truce, to stop the childish rivalry. I mean that I will show you the ropes, so, if we still hate each other, it would be more difficult." Ginny just sat there for a few seconds, staring at the hand Malfoy had extended. She then extended her own hand and shook. She also responded verbally, albeit a tad hesitantly. " I will be civil, if you try to be, I never really hated you to begin with." "Alright then, I never hated you either it was more your brother. Speak of the devil, here he comes."
Ron, Hermione and Harry came up to the Slytherin table amid stares, glares, snickers and hissing.
" Ginny, why on earth are you sitting at the Slytherin table? Why aren't you the Gryffindor table where you belong?" Asked Ron. " I don't know, maybe because I'm now in Slytherin or, maybe because I don't want to sit with a bunch of people who are giving me death glares. Take you're pick, it's one of the two or maybe it's both," she pulled a mock-thoughtful pose. After hearing that, stated in such a matter-of-fact way. Ron stared, open-mouthed; Ginny had never spoken to him in such a manner. " What your brother meant was, why don't you come sit with us, I'm sure you don't want to sit with such riff-raff." Said Hermione. "woooooooooooooow!!," said Ginny, in mock-awe," I'm glad that all it took was me getting transferred to Slytherin to be asked to sit with you guys. Six years of being told ' go away, Ginny, you're annoying' or ' Ginny we have important DreamTeam-can't-tell-anyone-top-secret-stuff to talk about, go see your other friends.' Now you want me to come sit with you. Now? Well I'm sorry, I don't want to. Go back to Gryffindor where you belong. Go be the good little kids we know you aren't, and let me live my life. You never noticed me before, why start now?"
Harry, Ron and Hermione looked aghast, but were jolted into walking when they heard Colin, who was unfazed, he had heard all of that before, say:
" Well, you heard the woman, get moving!"
The Slytherins who had been close enough to hear, and who knew something of the soft-spoken Ginny, were stunned into silence for a few seconds, then broke out into applause. Draco looked at Ginny, his trademark smirk gone, his mouth open, slightly slack-jawed, yet it only lasted a moment, then he raised his eye-brows at her and said wryly:
" Good job, knew you had it in you, jolly good show!!"
" Yeah, well, they had it coming, I mean, when I was sitting with the Gryffs, I couldn't really knock them, they'd hate me. Here with te entire Slytherin table backing me I can say it." Responded Ginny.
" Yeah but only you would get away with it," retorted Draco.
" I suppose, oh well."
" Ginny, you know it's true," commented Colin, entering the conversation.
" I would have to agree with him," said Blaise, surprising people, again, as he barely ever agreed with people. This Tom Riddle look-alike was full out Goth now, Benji style (A/N: Benji from Good Charlotte). Even the teachers were afraid of him, yet here he was calmly talking to Colin. Only Draco knew what it meant, for only the Slytherin King knew that his Prince was a "Bonnie Prince" (A/N: it means he's gay) and that when Blaise got a crush on someone he would change, just a little, like agreeing with the person, but someone who had known him since his childhood, like Draco, could. He was one of Draco's good friends, one of his only friends.