Chapter Two: Sorted

The students all filed into the hall, taking their seats among their respected tables.

"Well if it isn't the Ice Queen and her little ice princesses," Malfoy sneered from his seat between Crabbe and Goyle.

"If it isn't the ferret," Pansy said. "So Crabbe, is Malfoy as good a lover as all the guys say?"

"What?" The three snapped.

The three girls burst out laughing, causing the rest of their house mates to follow suit. Most of the Slytherin house had been divided between Draco and Ginny.

"Settle down, settle down," Dumbledore said. The hall quieted down as the sorting began. When it was finished he stood again. "Now, I am happy to introduce our two new professors. Our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is Mr. James Potter."
Frank, Alice, and Snape's heads all snapped up as their gaze fell on the Great Hall doors.

"Also, our new Charms professor is Mrs. Lily Potter."

Alice was halfway out of her seat, watching as the door opened to reveal Lily and James Potter. They smiled wide as they saw two of their old friends.

"Lily!" Alice said as she moved from her seat at the head table to where Lily was standing.

"Alice!" Lily said happily as she went to hug her friend.

"It's been too long."

"It has, it has."

"Hello Alice," James said as he hugged Alice.

"Hello James."

"Hello Lily, James," Frank said as he swept Lily into a tight hug, lifting her off her feet. This caused a bit of laughter to rise up from the watching students.

Ginny watched the whole exchange. Everyone knew the story of the Potters but no one knew they were still alive.

"Hello Professor Dumbledore," Lily said. Ginny was a bit shocked at how cold the woman's eyes had become when she looked up at the Headmaster. Dumbledore flinched slightly, making Ginny curious as to why he was acting like this.

"Hello Mrs. Potter, Mr. Potter."

"We'd like to introduce you to our children," Lily said in the same cold voice. "Our oldest child, our son, Harry Potter."

Harry walked into the hall, gaining a few gasps from the female students. All of the females and a few males turned their attention towards him. He held his head up high, his eyes scanning the Great Hall. She was a bit surprised when his eyes landed on hers. She felt a chill run down her spine.

The look in his eyes was unnerving but also thrilling at the same time. A small smile crept across his face. Neither of them were aware of the knowing look James shot her or Lily's pleased smile.

"Our daughters, Danielle, Jessica, and Samantha," Lily said brightly as she gave her son a brilliant smile. Danielle, Jessica, and Samantha all entered the Great Hall. The entire school turned to look at the girls. They all walked proudly up to their parents, their eyes never straying to look anywhere else.

"It is a pleasure to have you children here with us," Dumbledore said. Ginny noticed that the twinkle in his eyes had dimmed considerably.

"We are pleased to be here," Harry said curtly with a stiff bow.

Lily rested a hand on her son's shoulder. "This is Alice and Frank Longbottom. You remember your father and I mentioning them to you," she said to her son.

Harry smiled warmly at the couple as he shook their hands. "It's an honor to meet you two. My parents have told me wonderful things about you. Also, your son is a very nice young man. I met him on the train, he and his friends offered to help us if we needed it."

Neville blushed from his seat and his parents were beaming. "Well I am glad that you have met our son," Alice said.

"You've grown quite a bit," Frank said. "Take after your dad in looks but you've got your mother's eyes, all of you do."

James grinned. "I was quite disappointed to see all my children had Lily's eyes but they are stunning."

"Well your son has your hair so I don't see why you complain," Lily said with a grin of her own.

"If I might interrupt," Professor McGonagall said quietly.

"Hello Professor," Lily and James said together. Lily moved to hug the older woman, who hugged her back.

"I suppose our children need to be sorted?"

"Yes, they do."

"Alright, Samantha," Lily said as she pushed her youngest daughter to the chair.

Samantha sat down and the hat was placed atop her head. "GRYFFINDOR," it shouted after a moment.

The Gryffindor table burst into applause. Samantha gave a shy smile as she made her way to the table. Jessica went next. She smiled happily when the hat called out Gryffindor as well. Danielle sat down on the stool, her eyes finally finding Ginny's. She gave the older girl a secretive smile, one that Ginny raised her eyebrow at. It came as no surprise that the hat shouted Gryffindor as well.

Lily and James were positively beaming. The two were Gryffindors themselves when they were in school. They also had been Head Boy and Head Girl. Harry was the last to be sorted.

Well, hello Mr. Potter.

Hello, Harry replied.

You are quite a character. I've only met one other like you.

What do you mean?

One that isn't yet whole. The other was quite difficult to place. I see… I have made a few minor mistakes in some of the placement of some students.

My parents said that you never make a mistake.

Mistakes happen. I am not perfect. I know exactly where to place you. You are a Potter and as such you belong to your house.

Gryffindor, Harry replied with a sigh.

Do you not wish to be placed there?

I do not know where else to be placed.

I see…you will do well no matter where I place you. You shall remain in Gryffindor with your family. "GRYFFINDOR," the house yelled.

No one seemed shocked by this. Ginny yawned and leaned back against the beam that was behind her seat. Her eyes followed his progress to his seat by his sister Danielle. Ginny turned to start talking to Pansy.

Lily, who had been watching the strange interaction between her son and this red head, turned to look at her better. They had taken their seats up at the head table giving Lily free viewing range of the Great Hall.

Her eyes landed on where Ginny was sitting. The young girl was leaning over talking to a black haired girl beside her. She was a Slytherin. From the looks some of her fellow housemates were shooting her she had a suspicion that the girl wasn't close with them. The two girls beside her talked happily to the young red head.

She watched as her son and the girl traded looks again, this time Harry looking away first. Lily gently rested a hand on James' arm. He turned to look at her.

"What is it?"

"Look at Harry," she whispered to him.

James looked in the direction of where his only son sat. He was startled when he saw Harry eyeing the redheaded Slytherin on the other side of the Great Hall. "But he has never showed any interest in any female," James said shocked. "I thought he was gay."

"James!" Lily snapped at her husband.

"What? Oh come on Lils you were thinking the same thing. Harry's kissed a couple of girls so what? He still never had a girlfriend, I just thought maybe he was gay."

"Well he isn't," Lily said lightly, still glaring at her husband.

"I can see that," James muttered as he kissed his wife's forehead. "I should have known it would be a redhead."

"You Potters and your redheads," Lily said with a bright smile. "Interesting choice she is though."

"Danielle looked her over yet?"

Lily looked towards her oldest daughter. Danielle was a seer. Her visions weren't frequent but she also knew a lot more then what she ever let on. She was a great judge of character and had saved them a few times. Danielle looked up at her mother, as if she had sensed her watching. The young girl nodded her head and returned to talking to Jessica.

"She has."

"Then we have nothing to worry about," James said with a smile.

Lily smiled. "Sometimes I worry about Harry. I am not sure what is going to happen soon."

"He'll be fine love," James said quietly as he kissed her cheek.

"Hey Ginny," Daphne called. Ginny stopped walking and turned to look at her friend. The welcoming feast had ended about an hour ago and she was now roaming around the halls. Being Prefect had some perks to it. She could always claim she was out looking for students while she was out thinking.

"Hey Daph, what are you doing out here?"

"I was wondering where one of my best friends had gone off to. What's bugging you?"
"I don't know. I just keep having this bad feeling something bad is about to happen but then I have this feeling that something great is supposed to happen as well."

"Conflicting," she said quietly. "It could just mean that something bad will happen but something great is going to follow."

"Maybe," Ginny said with a sigh. She moved to lean out of one of the windows, gazing out onto the grounds below. "I just hope that it comes swiftly."

"We all do. Are you coming back to the common room?"

"I'll be there in a little bit," she replied quietly.

"Don't think too long Ginny. You can't stop what is going to happen, you know that. Just be happy that it hasn't happened yet."

"I know Daph, but you know me."

"You brood too much. You also take everything in strides. Don't stay out too long."

"I won't," Ginny told her friend, who headed down the halls.

Ginny continued to gaze out of the window, her red hair being ruffled by the wind that was blowing. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes. No matter how many times she tried to get her dreams out of her mind it never happened.

For the past year she woke to the same dream. It was dark, it was too dark. She could hear noises in the distance. Screaming and the anguished cries in the distance. Then there was the cold. The bone chilling cold that made her shiver uncontrollably. Next the door would squeal open, revealing four large figures.

She could never make out what they said but she could tell by the tone that they were hateful, spiteful, and cutting. No matter how hard she tried she would open her mouth to say things back to them. They would laugh, a cold, cruel laugh before the pain started. It usually started on her face. Two sharp blows on either side of her face. Then the pain would be in her hands and knees from when she impacted on the cold stones below her.

Someone would kick her in the middle of her back, causing her to cry out. They would continue, the pain always seemed endless. The pain only increased and it seemed to take longer before she could wake up. Then, the dreams began to change. When the four men would enter they only managed to knock her down before her cell door would burst off its hinges.

It would shatter into a thousand pieces, the wood chunks hitting her captors, but never touching her. They would cry out in outrage but they could never top the screams that filled the halls of the others who were being tortured. She would turn to look at who stood in the doorway.

The light filtering in behind him cast too many shadows to distinguish what he looked like. The only thing she could see was his piercing green eyes. When she met his gaze she could see the colors shift, until the only thing she could see was love within their depths.

Love, she sneered. Who could possibly love a blood traitor like me? Ginny huffed as she pushed away from the window. She didn't really pay attention to where she was going and she really didn't care.

But he is there, he's always there. His magic would never harm me. Each time he would look at me his eyes would be filled with love, not the anger that they held against my captors.

Who is he? Why does he plague me so? Will I never feel complete? Ginny thought to herself as she continued down the now deserted corridors of Hogwarts castle. Everyone would be in their common rooms catching up with old friends and making new ones. Ginny just couldn't bring herself to do that. Half the Slytherin house would taunt and tease her. Malfoy would sneer and say crude, vulgar comments about her. The other half would defend her but they would quickly quiet down.

Most of the house had a problem with her 'friends.' Slytherins didn't always get along with their fellow housemates. She was good friends with a few Gryffindors, which made them mad. Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, Katie Bell, and the Creevy brothers were close friends of hers. They didn't have a big problem with her being friends with Ravenclaws or a few Hufflepuffs.

Ginny stopped by a set of doors. She pushed them open and stepped out onto the balcony. She had found this during her second year and came here often to think. With a loud sigh she leaned against the railing. Her gaze focused off into the distance.

In her dreams he would smile at her before turning to her captors once more. Their wands were drawn, aimed at him. Her screams echoed around the room as she tried helplessly to keep them from attacking her savior. It did nothing, they couldn't hear her pathetic cries. She would watch as one by one they fell to the ground. He would rush to her, wrapping her in his arms.

She would hold him tightly, burying her face in his shoulder. The tears would start then.

'I'm so sorry I didn't make it sooner,' he would tell her.

'It doesn't matter, you're here now,' she would whisper back to him. 'That's all that matters now.'

'I love you so much. I couldn't bear the thought of you ever being gone,' he would say in a broken voice that made her cling tighter to him.

'Don't think of it. It's not going to happen,' she said fervently. 'Don't ever think it will.'

He would nod his head and start to get up. She would take his offered hand but when she tried to get up she found she couldn't. Having spent weeks being beaten and having little to no food had taken its toll on her body. She was too weak to move. The tears would stream down her face faster.

'Go,' she would plead with him.

'I won't go unless you come with me,' he said back defiantly.

'You'll never make it out of here alive if you stay here with me,' she said through her tears.

'I won't leave you. I won't leave you in this place. Not now, not ever.'

'I'll only slow you down. I won't see you die because you had to look after me.'

'I would rather die at your side then die leaving you.'

'I won't see you die. Go, now, before they come,' she begged.

'I won't do it. I won't leave you.'

He would bend down and pick her up. She would manage to hold herself up for the most part so that he wouldn't have to carry all of her weight. He would hand her wand to her, which she held up with shaky arms.

They exited the cell, heading past the cells where the screams could be heard. This wasn't the time, they couldn't do anything for them yet. It hurt both of them to walk away from those that were being hurt but they had no choice.

'I see you've found her,' a voice sneered from behind.

The two turned to see Draco Malfoy.

"Hello?" A voice called softly from behind her.

Ginny jumped, spinning to come face-to-face with Lily Potter. She couldn't stop the yelp that escaped her throat from being startled. The older woman's eyes danced with laughter.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she said softly. "I'm Lily Potter by the way."

"Ginny Weasley," Ginny said softly as she shook the woman's hand. She was surprised at how small the woman really was. She seemed a lot bigger earlier, she thought to herself.

"I see you're Slytherin Prefect. Correct me if I am wrong but aren't you Arthur and Molly's daughter?"

"I am."

"Ah, I met your mother a few times, she's a very nice woman."

Ginny smiled. "Thank you."

"She always said she wanted a big family, I just didn't realize she would have seven children."

Ginny laughed. "I don't think my parents thought that either. I think Ron was the biggest surprise next to when Percy was born."

Lily smiled. "I know how that is. I had no idea I was pregnant with Danielle. It came as quite a shock to us when we found out."

Ginny could only smile.

"What are you doing out here by the way? Shouldn't you be with your friends?"

"I should be but I just wasn't in the talking mood, so I came out here to think."

"May I inquire as to what you were thinking about?"

Ginny dropped her gaze for a moment. Should I tell her?

What could it hurt? She seems like a nice person.

I suppose…

Either you do it or you don't do it. She isn't going to force you to tell her.

Ginny sighed and looked up again. "I've been having some strange dreams for a while and they have only gotten weirder as the days go on."

"I know how that is," Lily said as she moved to stand by the railing. After a moment Ginny followed as well. "I used to have nightmares just before Harry was born. I couldn't ever tell what they meant. That was until Halloween night came."

Ginny looked up shocked. She was a bit surprised by this information. "You mean…"

"Yes, in a way I knew that something was going to happen that night. I guess it helped to make me cautious that night. It saved my life."

"What happened?" Ginny asked quietly.

Lily smiled at the girl.

A/N: As was stated by jade, who seems to get a thrill out of annoying me on every bloody detail! Danielle is in sixth year hence she was born before the attack, meaning that no one knew about her, in other words Lily and James kept it a secret! I'll explain more in the story MUCH later on but right now I think that should be addressed. Also he wants to point out that it is gentically impossible for Ginny and Ron to be regular like they are in the original but i kindly pointed out that in fact they are not! Ginny being taller with no freckles and Ron well he is a bit shorter but still pretty tall but I mean honestly Jade its a STORY hence meaning i can minuplate my characters how I please so hahahaha 'sticks tongue out'

Ok sorry for scaring my reviewers hehe well here is the next chapter and it gets better as the story progresses but I have been taking a break from writing so I hope to get back to that very soon. Much love to all my reviewers and readers and to my two betas who are helping me out.

Seritha