The dinner passed rather uneventfully, and she took Draco's advice. She managed to stop fidgeting with the handkerchief, and nibbled on a bit of tart. She yearned to fall into her bed, but she refrained from leaving until at least half of the other students had left. After all, Ginny didn't want her new house mates to think she was a coward. The other first year girl who had smiled at her earlier started to stand and glanced at Ginny with her head tilted a bit. This was all the encouragement that she needed. Slowly she stood and started to follow the girl out of the hall. She briefly glanced back a Draco who looked rather uncomfortable as the girl next to him tried to feed him a bit of her pie.
"I'm Anna Parkinson," she said softly, looping her arm through Ginny's. She seemed to know where she was going, so Ginny let her lead.
"I'm Ginny We…"
"Oh, I know who you are," Anna stated with a laugh. "I'm sure the whole school knows your name after that scene from earlier. I though McGonagall was going to have a heart attack, and your brother's face… Could he turn any more red? I thought you handled it well though. Honestly, Slytherin isn't that bad."
Ginny wasn't sure how to respond, but she nodded slighting, taking in the sorting debacle. She didn't mind being sorted into Slytherin, but her brother's reaction bothered her. They often have their disagreements, but the look on his face hurt her. He looked so disappointed and angry with her.
Anna nudged her a bit with her elbow. "It'll be alright."
Ginny realized that they had stopped in front of a dark ebony door, dimly lit by a torch. "Silver kiss…" Anna whispered. Ginny's attention was drawn to the metal snake that adorned the dark wood. It seemed to hiss as the lock clicked and the door creaked open.
Ginny regarded the girl with curiosity. "How did you…" her words seemed to trail off as they entered the large room lit by a warm fire. It cast mysterious shadows across the room and made the silver chandelier shimmer. She realized that it was made up of snakes intertwined with emerald eyes that seemed to glow with fire.
"I visit my sister here on occasion with my mum. She has a tendency to prattle on about things. I know pretty much everything about Hogwarts, Slytherin in particular." Anna continued to pull her along past the warm glow of the fire toward the winding staircase. They walked down a long hallway lit by gothic style torches holding slighting melted candles.
Anna finally stopped in front of a door that had four names engraved in a silver plaque on the door. Anna smiled brightly at Ginny and opened the door with a flourish. "Welcome home."
She wondered in, followed closely by Anna. The other two girls were already in the room, chattering excitedly on the sofa in the middle of the room. There were also a couple of chairs and a glossy ebony coffee table, as well as a small fireplace. There were alcoves with beds to either side of the sitting area. Both of the girls turned toward them as they entered.
"Oh! We were wondering when we were going to see you. You weren't with the rest of us when we left with the prefects," said one of the girls. She smiled politely at them, while the other girl remained silent. A scowl seemed to grow deeper by the minute on her face as she regarded Ginny with distain.
"You know I don't like to rush my dinner, Edellen." Anna walked toward the smiling girl and placed a kiss on her cheek. "It's been too long. You weren't at any of the parties this summer."
"Yes well, my parents decided to cart me off to France. Really, I don't understand their fascination with that tower. It's really rather horrid looking in my opinion. Oh, how rude of me! This is my cousin, Kyra." She gestured toward the scowling girl. She looked like a porcelain doll with dark black curls and pale flawless skin. Ginny couldn't see any family resemblance to the very tan skinned, blonde haired Edellen.
Anna smiled brightly at the girl, trying to relieve some of the tension. "Very nice to meet you, Kyra. You were at the Malfoy's Christmas part a couple of years ago, weren't you?"
Kyra nodded sharply before standing and waltzing over to one of the beds to the left of the room.
Edellen smiled apologetically. "Sorry, she's not very fond of your family, Ginny. I traded beds with you, I hope that's alright. I figured it'd be best if you two were as far away as possible." She gestured toward Ginny's old faded black trunk that rested in at the foot of one of the beds of the right. An elegant white trunk with black leather straps and a silver lock with the letters ACP engraved on it sat next to the other bed.
"That's fine," Ginny said politely. She supposed the odds were pretty good. At least two of her new roommates liked her, or at the very least tolerated her.
"I suppose I should turn in," stated Edellen. "I'll see both of you in potions class bright and early." She sauntered over to the bed next to Kyra, and fell rather ungracefully onto the green satin sheets.
"Maybe we should do the same?" Ginny turned toward Anna who was rummaging around in her trunk.
Anna glanced over her shoulder at Ginny with mischievous eyes. "Are you kidding? The night is still young, and there are boys to terrorize," she said with a laugh. She turned back toward her trunk. "Here, put this on." Anna tossed a black cloak over her shoulder at Ginny, and pulled a similar one out for herself.
Ginny smiled to herself. Anna reminded her of the twins. Ginny quickly pulled the smooth fabric over her shoulders and tugged the hood over her head. It swished over her pale skin like dark water, making her shiver with excitement.
Anna nodded, pleased with herself. "I thought that might fit. It's one of my old ones. I hope that's alright?" she questioned as she pulled on her own cloak.
"Are you kidding? It's nicer than any of mine," Ginny stated, a slight blush creeping over her face.
"Well feel free to borrow any of my things. We're nearly the same size, and a lot of my older clothes might fit you," she said with a smile. She grabbed a hold of her hand and tugged her out the door. Anna pulled her own hood up over her head as she walked quickly down the hallway. Ginny followed silently behind her.
They wandered down the stairs and across the nearly deserted common room. One student had fallen asleep on the sofa near the fireplace, but there weren't any other witnesses to see the two girls creep up the stairs toward the boys' dorms.
"So, what shall it be? Spiders in the bed, whipped cream in the hair? I know a few spells that could have interesting effects?" Anna stopped next to the first door, and Ginny gazed at the plaque. She didn't recognize any of the names, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Anna tapped her finger on her chin, and her eyes seemed to light up after a few moments. She pulled out her wand and started to mutter a spell. Ginny regarded her curiously as she waited for something to happen. Then she noticed that the door knob seemed to be taking on an orange glow.
"I wonder how the potions master will react when all of his first years are MIA?" Anna asked, not really expecting Ginny to answer.
Ginny watched as the knob started to sag. "What are you doing?" she whispered, full of curiosity.
"Oh just melting it a little so they can't unlock their door. Don't worry, I'm sure they'll find a way to get out. Perhaps up the chimney?" she said with a laugh.
Ginny replied with a mischievous smile of her own. "How can I help?"
It took only moments for Anna to teach Ginny the spell, and the two girls made their way down the hall. About halfway through, Ginny stopped in front of a door, gazing at the plaque. Anna came up behind her.
"Oh, the famous Malfoy and his merry little goons. Perhaps a special treatment is in order?" Before Ginny could respond, Anna waved her wand and muttered a spell. The lock clicked, and Anna pushed the door open, shoving Ginny in first.
Ginny stopped near one of the chairs and twisted the handkerchief between her fingers. She watched as Anna crept over to one of the beds and pulled the shear green fabric back to reveal a peaceful looking angel of a boy. Ginny slowly moved to Anna's side, careful not to make a sound. She could hear Anna whispering something softly, her wand making lazy circles over Malfoy's pale hair. A green glow was dripping from the tip on her wand, making streaks through his hair.
Suddenly, a fire roared up in the fireplace and a voice whispered Draco's name rather persistently. The handkerchief slipped from Ginny's fingers as Draco started to stir. Anna quickly grabbed Ginny's hand and pulled her toward the door.