Disclaimer: Everything belongs to the great J. K. Rowling!
I hope this chapter is better than the last one and I hope you enjoy it! I am German so if you find mistakes, please point them out, or if you don't like a part I am happy to change it! Please remember this is my first fic! And if anyone wants to be my Beta Reader: Please! I really need one!
Rewritten
Chapter 1: Arrival
I made my way through the people around me and quickly found an empty compartment. After I tried several times to get my trunk on the baggage rack I let it on the ground. I searched for my father in the crowd of parents and children through the window. I don't have the best relationship with my father. Scratch that, I don't even HAVE a relationship with my father. He says it's my fault my mother's dead, and he's right. I mean, if I didn't exist, my mother could be the best mother for my sisters and brothers. In this moment I found my whole family except for Adam. Nick hugged Fiona, my youngest older sister, and kissed her hair. All of my family was or is in Ravenclaw, the house of the smart ones. Except for me, Fiona, Danielle, Ellen, Colin and Ben would be in school too. It was Ben's last year and Danielle's and Ellen's O.W.L. year.
My oldest brother Adam graduated two years ago and is currently working in the Ministry alongside with my father. He is the only one who doesn't really give me the cold shoulder. He even gave me presents for Christmas. Of course my birthday would just be ignored because it's Mom's day of death. Nobody could figure out why my Mom died. We both were healthy but my mother didn't woke up after she fell asleep.
I was so deep in my thoughts that I didn't saw a guy enter the compartment and ask me something. Only as the boy touched my shoulder I came from my world to the real one. It felt like I jumped three meters in the air. I tried to catch my breath. It was a boy with shiny black hair, brown eyes and glasses.
"I'm sorry if I scared you, but I wanted to ask if we could sit here."
He gestured to two guys behind him and I just nodded. The three came in and the one with the glasses sat beside me. I looked at the two boys in front of me. The one by the window was small and had blonde hair and ice blue eyes. The boy to his left was tall, had red hair with blue eyes and a golden skin. As the boys looked at me, I noted that I didn't hear what they said. I mean, that happened often because nobody wanted to talk to me. So I just made my own world and stayed in there for the time being.
As a hand was waving in front of me I realized that I had again ignored the boys.
"Yes?" I asked so quietly that all of them came closer to me. I pressed myself into the seat and tried to be so little and invisible as possible. I am extremely shy and don't like to be the centre of attention.
"We just wanted to know what your name is?" the boy with the blonde hair asked. He held his hand to shake mine. Hesitantly I took it and shook it.
"My name is Louis, and these are Fred and James." I just nodded.
"My name is Georgina." Again, my voice was small and quiet. I took my hand and pressed myself into the corner. The boys looked confused, but I didn't care. If they didn't ask questions I was ok with it. The rest of the train ride I was in my own world and looked out the window. I got up after what felt like three hours and took my backpack. The boys went quiet and looked up at me. They had put my trunk in the baggage rack, sat down on the floor and were playing Exploding Snap. I just got out of the compartment and into the toilet. I changed my clothes to my school robes and walked back to the boys.
I opened the door and saw the guys sitting still on the floor, but with the same school robes that I have. I took out my book and began to read to the point where the train stopped. I collected my things and climbed out of the red train.
"First 'ears over here. First 'ears!" I looked in the direction of the voice and saw a really big man. I smiled. My fellow first years were scared of the man and tried to be so far away from him, that giant. I saw the three who'd sat with me running to the man and laughing with him.
"Follow me, ye' lot!" We went down a path to a big lake.
"Just four in a boat and not more!"
I was one of the last and climbed in a boat with two bullies. They smirked at me and talked silently to each other. As we were in the middle of the lake they turned and looked at me.
"Isn't the lake beautiful?" One of them asked. I just nodded.
"So black, and you can't see what's in it." The other one said.
"Wha...?" but before I could stammer my question they threw me out of the boat. My clothes were like ten kilo weights and pulled me under the water. I didn't know where was up and where was down. I just wanted to come to the surface. After what felt like an eternity, I saw some light and just swam to it.
I broke through the water surface and took a shaky breath. I turned and searched for something that gave away where the castle was. I saw some distant light and swam in the direction. After more than ten minutes I wasn't any nearer to the shore. I was tired and my clothes were so heavy and I shook from the ice cold water. I didn't have any energy left so I just let my body sink down into the black.
But as I couldn't hold my breath any longer, a big tentacle slung itself about my shivering figure and pulled me out of the cold wet. It laid me down on the muddy ground and I just lied there for a minute to catch my breath. I was so cold and my whole body shivered. When I looked up, could I see a giant castle looming in the dark. I pushed myself off the ground and walked slowly to the school. When I finally was in it I couldn't even lift my feet anymore because I was so tired. But then I heard a manly annoyed voice calling out my name.
"Grey, Georgina!" It sounded as he had called many times. I took a deep breath and braced myself for the stares I would get. I opened the door and everyone looked at me. I blushed and hurried to the Professor with an old hat. He looked at me sharply, but when he saw in which condition I was he just looked worried.
"Why are you covered in mud and sea grass?" His voice was soft, but I still got white and looked down. I was really covered with mud which didn't look so good with my brown hair. I heard snickers from the students behind me.
"I fell out of the boat, sir." My voice wasn't more than a whisper, but he had to have heard it because he actually looked a little surprised. What did he think I'd done? Mud wrestling with the magical creatures?
"It's alright Ms Grey. If you would just sit on the chair so we can place you in your house?" I nodded embarrassed and walked to the chair but he stopped me with one hand and waved his wand. I felt dry and warm. I gave him a grateful smile as I sat down on the chair. He put the hat on my head and stepped back.
"You didn't really fall out of the boat, did you?" I jumped out of my skin as I heard a voice in my head that didn't belong to me. I heard the students laugh at this. Had I been too long under the surface? Am I crazy now so I don't know who my family is and hear voices in my head? I panicked and it didn't get better when the same voice answered my thoughts.
"You are not going mad, George. I am the Sorting Hat. I can read your mind and see who you really are. Without mask or anything."
I shivered, but not from the cold.
"You mourn because of your mother, you fear you will disappoint everyone and you are angry and hurt how you are treated by your family."
"How do you know that?"
"Like I said, I am the Sorting Hat. I am here to help you choose what house you will be in for the next seven years."
"Can you put me in Ravenclaw? My family will be even more disappointed if I would be somewhere else."
"Why do you want to make your family feel good but ignore your own feelings?"
"BECAUSE I KILLED HER!" I screamed in my head. I sobbed quietly and the hat was still for a while.
"You didn't kill her. You know that George." Now tears were streaming down my face.
"I did. If I'd not been born she would still be alive. I live and she died. I should have died that day, not my mom. She had more value than me."
"Now you have to draw a line! You can't blame yourself! Did you want to kill her?" I shuddered at the mere thought of killing my own mom.
"No! Of course not!" I could feel the hat smiling above me.
"Your mother chose her path, child! You know that deep in you, you know the truth."
"They will never forgive me!" My anger was gone, now I just felt loneliness.
"They can't forgive you if you won't forgive yourself!" I thought about it. He had a point there.
"And I know you will bring light in a time of darkness. But it's a long way to that. I know where you have to be, to become this person!"
"Which is..." but I couldn't say more because the hat screamed his answer out loud.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Thanks!" I gave the hat to the nice Professor and went to the table with the golden and red people sitting there clapping for me. I sat down next to a girl with the same red hair the boy on the train had. She smiled at me and I felt my heart being a little lighter. I turned back to the Sorting.
"Nott, Patrick." One of the bullies walked the stairs to the hat. I looked at him darkly and grounded my teeth.
"SLYTHERIN!" Patrick made his way to the table with green and silver.
After 15 minutes they came to the letter P.
"Potter, James!" The whole hall went quiet. He didn't even look nervous. He just walked to Professor Longbottom (I heard that the girl with the red hair called him that) sat down and just 5 Seconds later he was put in Gryffindor. The whole table exploded into applause. He looked sheepishly at us and sat down next to me. We waited till...
"Weasley, Fred." James nudged me and we looked at Fred. He jumped the stairs up and pulled the hat on his head so you could only see his mouth. The whole castle started giggling. Like James the hat didn't need long to decide. And he came to us and sat down.
"Weasley, Louis." The blonde from the train made his way to the chair and sat down. It took a little longer than for James but he got Gryffindor just like us. He sat down across from us.
"Weasley, Lucy." A girl with dorky glasses and long red hair sat down.
"RAVENCLAW!" My family applauded like crazy and they welcomed her. I looked sadly at Fiona, Danielle, Ellen and the rest of them. I thought that would be the end of the Weasleys, but then Roxanne Weasley got called and was made a Gryffindor too. As she sat down I could see that Fred and she were twins. The headmistress stood up and asked us to be quiet. The talking stopped and we looked at her.
"I assume you are all very hungry so I think we should just eat and I will wait with my Beginning speech."
"That's a great idea, Minnie!" James screamed.
"Thanks Mr Potter, but now we are at school, and we should act respectively, don't you think? Well, if you don't want to I could call you the nickname your sister came up with?" She raised an amused eyebrow. James blushed a little.
"That's ok Professor McGonagall!" The students began to laugh and I even saw Professor Longbottom chuckle.
"So now that we've cleared these things we'll eat!" And food appeared on the tables. Everything you could think of was there. Even blood pudding. I ate some and waited till everything was cleared.
"So now to my speech. Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts. I hope you all kept your knowledge over the summer and that you who just arrived will be happy to learn all the useful things we teach. The Forbidden Forest is forbidden!" I made a 'duh' sound at that and Fred laughed. "Our caretaker Argus Filch wants me to remind all of you that every article from 'Weasleys Wizard Wheezes' are not allowed in this school. So now that we are all tired and have stilled our hunger we should go to bed. Good night!"
"Gryffindor First Years here! Follow me to our common room." We followed the girl with the red hair. She led us stairs and stairs up until we finally reached a portrait with a lady in a pink dress.
"You just have to say the password to the Fat Lady, Merlin's Beard and she will open the door to the common room." She turned to the Lady.
"Merlin's Beard."
"That's right, my dear!" We all followed her into the room. It was golden and red and looked all in all very comfy.
"The dormitories for the girls are to the right and the guys' to the left. I hope you can all sleep well. If you have any questions I would be very happy to answer them. I am Molly Weasley." Again a Weasley? How many are there? After I climbed the stairs of the girls and changed in to my pyjama I took the bed which was next to the window. As soon as my head hit the pillow I fell asleep, tired from the long and hard day.