CHAPTER 1

Ginny came flying down the stairs, her long red hair streaming behind her. "It's today! Finally, its' here, Mum!" She gasped, her eyes gleaming with gleeful tears.

It was the 1st of September, and to the youngest Weasley, that meant that it was finally time to do what she had seen 6 brothers before her do: Go to Hogwarts. She was of course the first one to get up, excited as she was. She looked around her kitchen-It was weird to think that she wouldn't see it again for 4 months at least, maybe more if she decided to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas. She would miss the smell that would waft out the windows and under the doors 3 times a day, and how her mum would use magic to make the brooms dance around the floor and clean up. She would even miss hearing that awful Celestina Warbeck on the radio every single morning. "It isn't a patch on what Hogwarts will be like though." Ginny thought dreamily. She snapped back to reality when Molly pinched her cheeks, flicked her wand and sent a fresh plate overflowing with fried egg and bacon flying towards Ginny with a fond expression on her face and a twinkle in her eye - Everyone knew Ginny was her weak spot.

20 minutes later and her siblings streamed one by one into the kitchen. First came Fred; closely follow by George, who was walking behind him; Ron came in next, scratching his head and yawning; and lastly came Percy, with his Prefect badge standing out starkly on his black robes.
"Hey, Gin," He said, handing over a slightly squishy package. "I've got something for you. Just a little something to celebrate you starting school this year. Education is possibly the biggest milestone in your life, you know. I remember when I first started..." Ginny eyed it suspiciously before deciding to open it. Inside was a Gryffindor duvet cover and two cute pillows with the Gryffindor lion on. Ginny smiled and nodded in appreciation. What a Percy thing to say, she thought to herself, although she did love the gift. It would look great on her 4 poster bed that she was going to have in her dorm, with the luscious red curtains, in a soft, but not heavy, velvet material. They had mattresses that must have been charmed into being that soft, because she was told that sleeping on them was 'Akin to sleeping in the softest cloud in the sky", and the duvets and pillows were a similar story. The frames were of fine agarwood.
She was going to share this dorm with her House mates, or at least the ones in her year. Ginny knew what House she was going to be in. She had always known, ever since she was a little girl - Her parents, siblings and practically everyone else in her family was in Gryffindor, and today, she was to place the worn old hat upon her head and follow in their footsteps. (This of course excluded their second-cousin Alvin, who was a Squib accountant, but they didn't talk about him)

After floods of tears from Mrs Weasley and a few jokes from Fred and George, the Hogwarts Express began to chuff away, and Ginny's excitement multiplied by 10. She had been waiting for this day for as long as she could remember. Every year she would go with her mother and wave off her brothers with that familiar longing in the bottom of her stomach, and every year she would see them, leaning their heads out of the window, waving as they disappeared into the distance, away to Hogwarts. But not this year. This time, she was sat in the carriage, surrounded by Ron, his friend (And Ginny's major crush) Harry Potter, and his kind but slightly bossy friend, Hermione Granger. There were a couple of Ron's second year friends in there too, but Ginny was desperate to meet people and make some friends of her own. After all, she was going to be with these other students for the next 7 years, and it wouldn't hurt to get to know people.
Making her excuses to Ron, and mumbling slightly and blushing as she passed Harry, she slid open the door and made her way down the corridor that ran down the middle of the bright red train. A loud chirping voice from behind her made her spin around

"Anything from the trolley?" It was the witch who, every journey, would walk up and down the train selling wizard sweets to the ravenous students. Hundreds of Pumpkin Pasties, Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, piles and piles of Chocolate Frogs. She stood there examining the products with approval, until a large shove sent her falling to the ground.
"Oops! Must have tripped, sorry!" said a girl with mid-length lilac hair and crystal eyes. "I'm Eliza-Marie, but people just call me Liza"
"Ginny. Ginny Weasley" she said, getting to her feet and brushing herself off with a twinge of annoyance. Eyeing her up and down, she secretly thought she was quite pretty, though 'Eliza-Marie' probably didn't realise it. She was quite tall, almost model tall, with a small pointed nose and angled eyebrows. Her lips were of a soft pink, and she looked effortlessly good, although her hair was curly and flying in all directions, and her robes were all of a mess after bumping into Ginny.
Ginny shook her head at herself - She came to make friends, not enemies. Anyway, she thought, she seems nice. Definitely not going to be part of that Slytherin bunch.
"Shall we find a cabin, then?" said Liza, and they headed off in search of one.

They had a stroke of luck when they found an empty cabin that some 4th years had just evacuated to find their friends.
"So tell me about yourself" Said Eliza-Marie, who seemed quite a chatty person. On the way to the cabin she hadn't stopped babbling on about this or that, which Ginny didn't mind because it meant she didn't have to talk as much.
"Not much to tell, really." replied Ginny. Sure, she wanted to be mates, but she didn't want to be interrogated on the train.
"Sure there is. Everyone is full of interesting facts! Don't go all shy on me now" she beamed, and in exasperation, Ginny gave up and avidly started babbling away too, losing herself in stories of her life so far.
They spent the rest of the trip discussing themselves, hobbies, what Hogwarts was going to be like, amongst many other things. Ginny started by telling her all about her home life: How she'd been riding broomsticks since she was 4, about being the only girl amongst her 6 brothers and how little money they had.
Eliza-Marie Atkinson came from a half-blood family. She had 3 siblings (All of them older girls) and the majority of her family were also Gryffindors: Ginny released a sigh of relief when she found this out - She didn't want to meet a friend and end up in different houses, with different lessons and dorms.
The sun had long since gone down when the train puffed to a halt. Outside there was a call from Ron's mammoth friends, Hagrid, who was to take all the first years on a boat up to the castle. "Firs' year over 'ere! Firs' years! I don't bite, yer know!"

They clambered into a boat that was swaying precariously on the dark river, but seemed otherwise safe. Two other first years joined them as it was four people to a boat, or else they wouldn't all get up to Hogwarts in one journey ("And yer wouldn' want that, would yer?") To Ginny, the half hour trip couldn't finish quick enough. She was certain that it wasn't just the river that was turning her face green, and the contents of her pumpkin pasty were just about to make a reappearance when they ducked through a bridge and turned a corner. That's when she saw it: Hogwarts, at last.
Hagrid, who was still holding his lantern, lead them up the front stairs and into the entrance hall. In the pit of her stomach, Ginny could feel her excitement turning into fear. She wasn't quite sure why- She knew she was going to be in Gryffindor. McGonagall, the Gryffindor head of house and deputy headmistress, strode into the entrance hall and started saying all this riff-raff such as "Hogwarts will be your home," etc etc. All too soon, she turned and knocked three times on the large, looming doors that lead to the Great Hall, where she was about to be sorted.
~END OF CHAPTER ONE~