Ginny ascended the stairs, her heart racing. As she turned the corner, she collided with a shiny golden plate affixed to the intricate mahogany door. The elegant cursive handwriting read "G. Weasley" alongside "A. Greengrass." So, they were assigned as roommates—just two students sharing a dorm, rather than the usual arrangement of all girls from the same year in one room. While having her own room would have been ideal, this was certainly better than the alternative. She hoped the blonde beauty was A. Greengrass, not the snobby brunette who had been making rude comments all evening.
Taking a deep breath filled with anticipation, Ginny turned the serpent-head knob. The heavy oak door to the dormitory creaked open with a mournful groan. Stepping inside, Ginny was met with a stark, almost monastic space. The room was long and low-ceilinged, with walls constructed from rough-hewn black stone that seemed to absorb any light that dared enter. Narrow windows, adorned with thick, emerald green drapes, offered only slivers of moonlight, casting long, skeletal shadows across the floor.
Two imposing four-poster beds, each draped in emerald velvet hangings that matched the window coverings, dominated the room. Each bed was adorned with a silver Slytherin crest that gleamed faintly in the dim light. Beside each bed stood a heavy oak chest, intricately carved with serpents coiling around the legs. The only other furniture was two tall, narrow wardrobes at the far end of the room, their dark wood polished to a mirror-like sheen.
A thick green rug, threadbare with age, stretched across the stone floor, offering a small patch of comfort in the stark room. In its center stood a single, sturdy table with two mismatched armchairs, they certainly did look comfier than the high-backed leather chairs in the common room. Ginny imagined this to be the only place for the Slytherin girls to gather, a far cry from the Gryffindor common room's bustling armchairs and plush sofas.
Despite the initial chill, Ginny couldn't help but notice a certain hidden elegance in the room's starkness. The Slytherin aesthetic, though different from what she had expected, possessed an undeniable allure.
Ginny spotted another heavy oak door at the far end of the room beside the wardrobes, probably the bathroom. The door suddenly creaked and out stepped the Greengrass girl, the blue-eyed blonde from a while ago. Relief washed over Ginny. She immediately moved towards her with her hand outstretched, hoping, praying to make a good impression now that she knows she has to share her space with her for the entirety of their stay at Hogwarts. "Hey, I'm Ginny Weasley. And you are?", she introduced herself politely.
The girl stared at her hand momentarily before finally settling on nodding her head and replying haughtily, "I know who you are. The misplaced Weasley girl. I am Astoria Greengrass. I think our Hogwarts journey would be smooth sailing if we both mind our own business and continue to have absolutely no expectations of each other."
Ginny was gobsmacked. Without missing a beat, Astoria turned toward their shared room and looked around, displeased. She asked Ginny politely—well, as politely as she could muster with the ever-present frown on her face—whether they should slightly alter the room's decor.
Ginny looked on, confused. Afterall, it looked just fine to her. Was the arrangement not typical for every other dorm at Hogwarts?Beds lined up along a single wall adjacent to tall bookshelves, a small study desk and chair for each student opposite them, and wardrobes near the shared bathroom. Slytherin dormitories even boasted a small sitting area, and there were only two students per room. What more could they possibly need?
"Privacy," Astoria countered dryly.
Ginny didn't realise she had blurted her musings out loud. She bit her tongue and looked back at Astoria with question in her eyes. Astoria then shared her 'slightly' different idea of decor for the room.
Essentially, the plan is to split the room into three sections. Upon entering the dormitory, there will be a cozy sitting area. Each girl will have her own side of the room with wardrobes and study desks, creating a clear boundary that cannot be crossed without explicit permission. To enhance privacy, a thick curtain will be added between the desks and the sitting area.
Well, it sounded like turning the room into a labyrinth to Ginny but she rationalised that added privacy can't really hurt, especially if she were to survive the next seven years here.
Ginny hesitantly nodded and expressed her doubts about their capacity to handle the furniture moving alone, suggesting the idea of seeking assistance from an older student.
Astoria looked at her as if she had grown a second hand and breaking her indifferent persona she asked incredulously, "Are you a witch or not? Why would we go through the trouble of moving furniture manually when a wand can do it effortlessly?"
The insult made Ginny's cheeks flush with heat, prompting her to respond indignantly, "It's not as if we could practice those spells at home. I simply thought we could ask an older student to show us how."
Astoria was taken aback and asked, "Did you really not practice any magic at home once you had your wand?"
"Greengrass, you're aware that underage magic is illegal, right?" Ginny spat out in annoyance.
A smug voice, filled with arrogance, coming from the open door of their dorm enquired, "Is that what your mummy and daddy have been teaching you, Weasley?"
Malfoy, predictably, had arrived. The insufferable git couldn't even wait a day before making his grand entrance. He swaggered in, as if he owned the entire room, and settled into an armchair right in the center, that infuriating smirk plastered across his face. Did I just call him an insufferable git again? After being sorted in Slytherin, Ginny didn't think she could fall any less in her eyes and then she lost the ability to conjure colorful names for Malfoy!? But let's focus on Malfoy, that proud peacock. Nope, my flair for colorful descriptions is still intact.
Ginny managed to maintain a semblance of calm, though every fiber of her being screamed to smack the living daylights out of him. "Your point, Draco?" she finally uttered, her voice surprisingly steady given the circumstances.
Malfoy, predictably, had arrived. The insufferable git couldn't even wait a day before making his grand entrance. He swaggered in, as if he owned the entire room, and settled into an armchair right in the center, that infuriating smirk plastered across his face. Did I just call him an insufferable git again? After being sorted in Slytherin, Ginny didn't think she could fall any less in her eyes and then she lost the ability to conjure colorful names for Malfoy!? But let's focus on Malfoy, that proud peacock. Nope, my flair for colorful descriptions is still intact.
Even though he held his wand right at her head, in between her brows, Ginny's composure did not waver and she looked Malfoy right in the eyes asking him politely with sugar dripping from her every word, "Is your name a curse a for you, Drake?"
It should not have been possible but somehow she managed it. She just made Draco Malfoy, the undisputed Slytherin prince loose his control. Losing his wand in a murderous rage, Draco gripped her collar tightly and enunciated each word slowly, "You. Filth. You absolute filth. I. Am. Going. To. Make. This. Hell. For. You. How dare you speak like that to me as if I, Draco Lucius Malfoy is lesser than you. You've just made an enemy of me, and the next few years will be a nightmare for you."
I did not disagree with him on that. Afterall, this is my life now. Ginny Weasley, a poor blood-traitor amidst the wealthy Purebloods who consider themselves the true Slytherins, and a wicked Slytherin in my Gryffindor family, who view the world as good and Slytherins. I truly am doomed. But I'd be damned if the likes of Draco Malfoy would "show" me my place and tell me what I deserve.
Ginny's smirk slowly spread across her face, causing Draco's menacing expression to waver. That was all the incentive she needed and Taking advantage of the situation, she gently placed her hand on Draco's clenched fist, coaxing him to release his grip on her collar and soothingly said in a failed attempt to placate him, "No, you don't want to do that, you don't want to threaten me. There is a reason even the twins do not think it wise to cross me. I may not look like much but I will have you know that I don't appreciate you coming in my dorm and drawing your flimsy wand at me. The next time you wish to throw a temper tantrum find a willing audience elsewhere. I will have none of your bullshit. I don't even know why you are so interested in me right now. No, I get it. I get it now. See, I think you are just jealous of all the attention I seem to be getting. I mean I would be jealous of me if I were you, my mummy and daddy may not be as wealthy as your daddy seems to be but despite everything, atleast I know their love for me is genuine. You cannot say the same, can you?"
At the end of her short rant, Ginny realised the reason for her not being in Gryffindor. If it were one of her brothers, he would have a absolutely gone ballistic on Malfoy but she chose to handle him in a way that he understands and the learning sticks in his pea-sized arrogant brain.
Malfoy's lips thinned and his wand hand lightly twitched as he glowered at her. Ginny held up her own wand and decided that a change in tactics was required. She stood straight, legs shoulder-length apart, back tight, and a heated glare on her face. Ginny's fiery stance was the last thing Draco expected after her chilling speech. Here she was, after showing that Slytherin side, and now she was pulling a move straight out of the Gryffindor playbook?
Ginny suppressed a smirk seeing the visible confusion and distaste on his face. She just loved doing the least expected thing ever. It had been her savior all these years living at the Burrow with her twin brothers and sometimes Ron too. And it was also necessary to keep her wand at ready when in the presence of the likes of Malfoy. While she may not know how to perform even the first-year spells, but her eldest brother Bill had taught her the Bat-Bogey Hex when she was just five. It was a surefire spell to keep her rambunctious brothers in check. The mere mention of it would send shivers down their spines. Even the name was enough to make them quiver in their boots.
" I don't know what game you are playing at here, Weaselette, but the worst thing you can do in Slytherin is have animosity with the Malfoys. What can a little girl like you do with a wand anyways? You don't even know the first thing about performing spells. Weakling.", Malfoy sneered in a final attempt to intimidate the youngest Weasley.
Little girl. One thing you should never do is underestimate Ginny Weasley. Calling her 'little girl' was a grave mistake. Throughout her life, her brothers had treated her as if a mindless creature who couldn't make decisions for herself. They never trusted her with her own well-being. She is someone who could not possibly be allowed to make decisions for herself, for how can a little girl know what is good for her?
Ginny's blood ran cold at his words. Malfoy's arrogant sneer ignited a fury within her hotter than a dragon's breath. With a snarl that would have sent shivers down a troll's spine, she whipped her wand out. The curse erupted from her lips before Malfoy could even blink. A grotesque transformation took hold. His sneer curdled into a look of pure horror as his own magnified snot erupted from his nose, morphing into a swarm of leathery-winged bats. They launched themselves at his face in a flurry of tiny, disgusting claws and flapping wings.
It was the beauty of the spell. It focused on the victim's nasal cavity. Their regular bogies are magically enlarged to the size of small bats. These aren't cute little fruit bats, but rather black, creepy ones designed to be unpleasant. And these enlarged booger-bats sprout wings and gain the ability to fly. Once formed, the bats take off from the victim's nostrils and launch a mini-assault on the victim's face. Imagine a swarm of angry, slimy bats buzzing around your head and trying to get tangled in your hair - not a pleasant experience.
Ginny watched in grim satisfaction as Malfoy's high-pitched shriek echoed through the dorm room. The snot-bats, emboldened by their freedom and his terror, seemed to take particular pleasure in dive-bombing his ears. He stumbled back, tripping over his own robes in his haste to escape, his blonde hair whipping around his face like a frantic halo.
His wand clattered to the floor forgotten as he turned and bolted for the door, his blonde hair whipping behind him like a frantic banner. The sound of his retreating footsteps echoed through the hallway, punctuated by the frantic thwack of his shoes against the stone floor.
A triumphant smirk spread across Ginny's face. Years of being underestimated by her brothers, of being treated like a fragile ornament, all boiled over into a surge of delicious vindication. She, the youngest Weasley, had just reduced Draco Malfoy, the epitome of Slytherin arrogance, to a blubbering, snot-covered mess.
The sound of his frantic escape reached the ears of a few curious students lingering in the common room. They peeked around the corner, only to catch a glimpse of a rapidly retreating Malfoy, his face a grotesque tableau of oversized bogies and blind panic. Stifled snickers erupted as they witnessed the spectacle.
The sound of his frantic footsteps faded, replaced by the distant slam of a different door somewhere down the hall. He'd probably barricade himself in his dorm, fuming and scrubbing his face raw trying to dislodge any lingering bat-boogers. The thought made Ginny erupt in a peal of laughter that echoed through the deserted corridor.
Tonight, Ginny Weasley wasn't just the misplaced Weasley, the misfit Slytherin or the little sister. Tonight, she was the one who made Draco Malfoy run away screaming. And the memory of that image, the snot-bat-crowned Malfoy fleeing in terror, was a trophy she'd hold onto with fierce pride.
Astoria, who had been a silent spectator the whole time, pushed herself up from her bed, her face a mask of cool indifference. But Ginny, still buzzing with the afterglow of victory, caught a flicker of something else in Astoria's sparkling blue orbs - a calculating glint. It was a fleeting moment, gone as quickly as it appeared, but it sent a shiver down Ginny's spine.
Had Astoria found amusement in Malfoy's humiliation? Or perhaps, a flicker of something more… respect? Ginny couldn't decipher it, but the uncertainty gnawed at her. One thing was clear, though: Astoria Greengrass was no ordinary Slytherin, and her interest, however veiled, was a development Ginny couldn't ignore.
A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips, a stark contrast to her usual cool indifference. "Well, Weasley," she drawled, her voice laced with a hint of amusement, "it seems you can actually do magic. Perhaps more than just conjuring miniature bat-swarms."
Ginny, still flushed with victory and a touch wary of Astoria's sudden shift in demeanor, narrowed her eyes. "What do you want, Greengrass?"
Astoria's smirk widened. "Let's just say your little display of wandwork has convinced me. Our original plan might actually work after all."
Ginny's brows furrowed in confusion. "Original plan? What are you talking about?"
Astoria's smirk widened, "You do remember this whole mess started because of your admittance of not being able to perform basic levitation charm, right?"
Ginny stupidly blinked that, still high on her win over Malfoy. Then the memory of their, or rather Astoria's vision for their dorm room hit her.
Grinning at Astoria's unexpected offer, Ginny straightened up. "Alright, Greengrass," she said, a playful glint in her eyes, "let's see what kind of magic we can work together. But first things first," she added, brandishing her wand, "since we're revamping this room, how about a little 'Wingardium Leviosa' to get us started?"
Astoria's smirk faltered for a brief moment, a flicker of surprise crossing her features. "You know that charm?" she recovered quickly, a hint of suspicion lingering in her voice.
Ginny's grin widened. "Of course I do," she replied, a touch of defiance in her tone. "Just because I haven't been caught practicing every first-year spell doesn't mean I don't know them."
Astoria studied her for a moment, her cool indifference momentarily replaced by a flicker of something akin to grudging respect. "Very well," she conceded. "Perhaps we can forgo the beginner's lesson then. How about we divide the room first, then worry about levitating furniture?"
Relief washed over Ginny. She wasn't exactly keen on revealing the extent of her limited (non-existent) practice. "Sounds like a plan," she agreed, stepping further into the room.
Ginny surveyed the scene, a spark of determination igniting within her. This wasn't just about putting things away; it was about creating a space that felt like their own.
As per their initial plan, they were to divide the room into three distinct sections. The first section, directly upon entering, would be a shared space. A cozy armchair and a small, round table would create a welcoming sitting area for them to relax or chat. Thick curtains, a deep emerald green on Ginny's side and a cool sapphire blue on Astoria's, would then be used to partition the remaining space. Their wardrobes and study desks would be strategically placed along the newly created divide, creating a sense of privacy for each of them.
Together, they began rearranging the furniture, their initial awkwardness melting away as they fell into a comfortable rhythm. Ginny, fueled by her victory over Malfoy and the unexpected camaraderie with Astoria, worked with surprising efficiency. Astoria, ever the planner, directed the flow with a quiet efficiency, her cool demeanor masking a hint of grudging admiration for Ginny's feistiness.
After a while Ginny hesitated, a small furrow appearing on her brow. " What about the curtains? While rearranging furniture is perfectly acceptable, conjuring something entirely new is a bit more advanced, perhaps even N.E.W.T. level."
Astoria nodded curtly. However, I may have a solution for the curtains." A sly smile played on her lips. Ginny watched with a mix of curiosity and suspicion as Astoria rummaged through her trunk, finally pulling out a roll of what looked like enchanted fabric. "See this?" Astoria said, unfurling the material. "It's not technically conjuring a curtain, but rather, a simple Extension Charm placed on pre-existing fabric my mother gave me. We can do a colour changing charm on it and add the colour of our choice."
Ginny let out a slow whistle. This Astoria girl, she was full of surprises. Maybe sharing a dorm room with her wouldn't be so bad after all.
By the time the last bookshelf was shifted into place, the room had been transformed. The shared sitting area offered a welcoming first impression, while the thick curtains and strategically placed furniture created a clear division between their personal spaces.
Stepping back to admire their handiwork, Ginny felt a surge of satisfaction. This dorm room, once a symbol of her outsider status, now held the promise of something new – a shared space, a strange alliance, and maybe, just maybe, the beginning of an unexpected friendship.
A/N: This is my first fanfiction and if anyone wants to give me a few tips it would be most appreciated.
Until next time!