Green Tie, Red Hair (HP Fanfic)

Chapter One

Ginny boarded the train and spent way to much time looking for her older brother Ron and his friend (and her crush) Harry Potter. After going down the entire train and not finding the two of them she decided to go back to an empty carriage that she had seen on her quest down the train.

She opened the door and flopped down on one of the seats, after putting away her stuff and opening the window. She licked her lips and wondered where Harry and Ron could be. They must have boarded the train after she had and chosen a carriage that she already looked in or something. She was just tying to think of something that would make it normal for them to have not seen her or her to not see them.

Ron had said, before Harry had arrived, that he would sit in a carriage with her on the way to Hogwarts. She was okay with being alone, but as a Weasley kid she had learned that if you said something you had to follow through. It was something about loyalty and being a good Gryffindor. Ginny was sure that she would be a good Gryffindor. All Weasley kids were good Gryffindors.

Ginny leaned back into the seat and wondered what she would do for the rest of the long, boring ride to Hogwarts. "Hello, I didn't want to interrupt you, you seemed like you were thinking about something important."

Ginny almost jumped out of her seat and looked at the small, pale, blond girl who was sitting on the seat by the window, "I didn't see you."

"Sorry," The little blond said, her fluffy hair floating like a cloud in the breeze that came in through the open window. "I din't want to interrupt whatever you were thinking about."

"How did I not notice you?" Ginny asked incredulously.

"I don't know. I'm pretty quiet." The girl said, looking at her with huge eyes.

"Oh..." Ginny said, at a loss for words. "DO you often do that."

"Not get noticed?"

"That."

"Yes."

There was a silence for a second and Ginny tried to think of something else to say. "What's your name?"

"Luna, Luna Lovegood." Luna said smiling.

"I'm Ginny." Ginny said.

For awhile they sat in silence, Luna reading a magazine and Ginny staring out the window. She saw what seemed like her father's flying car up in the air but decided that she was probably imagining it. What if they hadn't gotten on the train. How would they get to school

"Do you want one?" Luna asked, interrupting Ginny's thoughts.

Ginny looked at Luna dazedly and asked, "Want what?"

"A copy of the Quibbler to read." Luna said holding out a magazine.

"Sure." Ginny said taking the magazine just because it was something to do and opened it to the first article. The article was something about a magical beast that many wizards and witches believed to reside only in myth. It had a couple of blurry pictures that moved and looked more and more like smudges the longer Ginny examined them for authenticity.

The light from the window began to dim as Ginny got closer to the end of the Quibbler. She looked up from an article about quills that could protect your house that was mildly disturbing and saw Luna looking at her. Luna blushed bright red when she saw that Ginny saw her and looked back at her copy of a different Quibbler issue.

"Do you know what time it is?" Ginny asked, trying to pretend that she hadn't seen Luna staring at her.

"I don't know." Luna said.

"Should we change into our robes?" Ginny asked.

"Probably." Luna said, head buried in her issue of the Quibbler. She sounded less airy and more flustered.

"Okay." Ginny pulled her second hand robes out of her trunk and slipped them on over her muggle clothes.

Luna pulled out her own robes and slipped them over her outfit, before sitting back down. The whole ordeal was far less of an ordeal than she had expected. Just slipping on robes over clothes.

Luna put down her Quibbler and looked out of the window, "I see it!" she said her voice filled with excitement.

Ginny looked out the window, "Wow."

The huge castle was even better than she could ever have imagined. It glowed in the darkness and was probably the most amazing structure she had ever seen in her life.

As the train pulled into Hogsmeade station Ginny and Luna's breath fogged up the window as they stared out of the train and at the castle where they would be spending their next seven years.

As soon as they could get out of the carriage they did, running to get out of the train before they were crushed by the older students. Luna and Ginny boarded the same boat and watched in awe as they neared the huge structure.

When they finally got across the lake and into the castle Ginny had to make an effort not to let her mouth hang open at the scale of the castle. Luna didn't seem to care and stared, agape, at everything they saw on their way to be sorted.

Ginny knew there was nothing to be worried about, sorting was normal and she was a Weasley, so she didn't have to wonder what house she would be put into.

They entered the great hall and Ginny searched for the familiar faces of Harry and Ron but couldn't find them in the sea of Gryffindor faces (although she did find her other brothers). Whatever, Ginny thought, I'll find them after I get sorted.

After a song that Ginny only half listened to names began to be called out and Ginny waited expectantly to be called up to the hat. It wouldn't be long now.

When her name was finally called she went up to the hat, expecting it to plop on her head and immediately yell but it didn't.

"Hmmm, Weasley." The had said in her mind, "Bit strange... hmmm. Ah yes. I know the perfect place for you."

Ginny wondered if getting told you were strange was a normal sorting at thing.

The sorting had ignored her thought and called out, for all of Hogwarts to hear, "SLYTHERIN!"