OMG! SHE UPDATED! Unbelievable, isn't it? Or do I just feel like it's been a long time since the last one? Who knows!

Anyway, I give you chapter nine, hoping it's not too disappointing. Enjoy it! Bunny out.

The dinner was over in a blink of an eye and before Ginny knew it, people were getting up all around her. Having no other choice but to follow them, the redhead let the stream of students steer her and soon they were descending into the dungeons. Realising she didn't have the slightest clue where the Slytherins' home was situated, she started paying close attention to the path they were taking in order to remember how to get there at a time when she wasn't surrounded by the whole population of the house. They were rounding corners and delving deeper and deeper into the labyrinth.

Then suddenly, the group stopped. Ginny started searching for the portrait that would mark the entrance to the common room, but there was none. Now thoroughly perplexed, she gaped as the prefect leading them said the password and a stone door suddenly started sliding open. It sure as hell hadn't been visible before the girl had spoken.

How the hell am I supposed to remember a random wall in the dungeons?

Quite a bit panicky now, Ginny was extremely reluctant to follow the stream of students that were filtering into the common room. If she went in there, it would all become real, she would confirm it. From the moment she set foot in there, she would officially be a Slytherin too. Wiping her suddenly sweaty palms on the front of her skirt, she took one last deep breath, strengthening her resolve before she entered.

The room wasn't the eerie dungeon she expected to walk into. Instead, it was tastefully furnished with black leather couches, polished mahogany tables and delicately woven Persian rugs in the house's signature green colour. To be truthful, it actually looked pretty cosy. Letting out a tense breath that she'd been holding, the redhead felt herself relax immensely. Then a hand clasped around hers and she was on her toes again in a second.

"Look who's jumpy," a teasing alto jibed from her left and she was relieved to find that it was only Pansy. Ginny had to actually giggle at that thought. If someone had told me I'd be reassured by Parkinson a few weeks ago, I would have laughed in their face...

Still smiling in that teasing way, the older girl tugged on her arm. "Come on, I'll show you your room! Too bad you're younger; we could have been roommates..." The dark haired beauty even winked at her, which made Ginny blush to the roots of her wavy locks. Somehow, she could make her uncomfortable in the best possible way, and she didn't even know her for a good hour.

They crossed the common room and came to two separate doors. Pansy opened the right one and behind it, there was a long corridor, instead of the staircase that led to the dorms in Gryffindor. "I have to ask... What keeps the boys out? I mean, up in the tower, the stairs would turn into a slide if one of them tried to come up..."

The wolfish grin with which the other girl turned to her was telling enough on its own.

"What, kitten, you scared of bad boys creeping into your bed at night?" Upon seeing the slightly shocked expression the redhead was sporting she actually laughed aloud. "Don't worry, they are well mannered. They don't come unless invited... Usually..." Pansy now said, while still leading her down the corridor. And I'm supposed to be reassured by that? Of course, I should have known Slytherin wouldn't have thought of things like that when he was designing his house's quarters...

Suddenly, they stopped in front of a door and Ginny was pulled out of her musings. "Home sweet home," said the older girl before opening it.

The redhead was faced with a much bigger dorm than she had resided in in her former home. The furnishing resembled the one in the common room, except for the beds, which were very similar to the ones in Gryffindor, save for the difference in colours. All in all, the room seemed to be better than her old one in every aspect.

"Wow, this looks... Spacious," Ginny commented wide-eyed while the other girls who occupied the room barely spared a few glances in her direction while unpacking.

"I'll hazard a guess and say that that one is yours," Pansy motioned to the only unoccupied bed in the room before patting her on the shoulder. "Girls, be nice to the kitten, okay?"

Surprised at the sharp tone in the older girl's tone despite her joking words, Ginny stared at her back as she left, very perplexed. She just couldn't wrap her head around Slytherin's social system, seeing that her new roommates looked like they were actually going to listen to Pansy. One by one, they got up and walked up to her, the smiles on their faces looking various degrees of fake.

There were only four of them: Astoria, Leanne, Kathryn and Eve. She knew them by name, as they had after all shared quite a few classes up to this year, but apart from that, Ginny had no clue what they were like. Each of them shaking her hand and introducing herself, the redhead could quickly draw a few conclusions.

Kathryn seemed to be the most stuck up of the bunch and it was obvious that even coming close to her seemed to cause her nose to wrinkle up in disgust, never mind the plastic smile on her lips. "You don't need to introduce yourself, I know who you are," were her first words, which she followed up by her full name, all three middle names included. How much more stereotypical can you get, Miss Pureblood?

Next Leanne and Eve shook her hand in very quick succession, showing neither disgust nor approval, which was definitely better than the other roommate, but they quickly retreated to their beds.

The last one to come up to her was Astoria. She actually genuinely smiled when she shook her hand and was the only one who lingered after their introduction. "This is exciting! A new girl, huh? I've heard so much about you Ginny!"

Grabbing her hand – a thing Slytherin girls apparently did a lot, Astoria tugged her over to a bed before she jumped onto it and begun chatting enthusiastically. "You have to tell me your story! It was a huge scandal when they threw you out last year! I know that part of course, but you got back in. How did you manage that? And to get into Slytherin, no less!"

Feeling quite confused, the redhead shuffled in her place. Seriously, what is up with the snakes today? At least some of them are behaving like they should, she thought with a glance in Kathryn's direction. But why should she look a gift horse in the mouth? Not only was she in a completely foreign environment, she was also alone and had no one to help her through the transition.

"You know what? That is actually a question I don't have an answer to, Astoria. But it sure is exciting to be here!" Ginny answered, slipping a carefully practiced smile on her face. Best not to show how she really felt if she had no idea what she was dealing with. "Slytherin is so much different from Gryffindor though! You guys had me really confused today... Would you mind showing me the ropes, explaining how things work around here?"

The blonde's toothy smile was answer enough.