Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin

Chapter 14: Ginny's Day (Pt 1)

2 September 1992, 7:00 a.m.

(The First Morning)

Ginny awoke suddenly and stared at the ceiling in wonder. For a second, she wasn't sure where she was and briefly wondered whether the previous day – and night – had been a long strange dream.

"Good morning, Ginevra," said a dorm-mate with a cheerfully nasal voice. Ginny closed her eyes. No, it had not been a dream.

1 September 1992, 6:45 p.m.

(The Sorting Ceremony)

When the rest of Ginny's class arrived by the edge of the lake for the boat ride over to the castle, she was already there to greet them in her school robes. She estimated about thirty-five students in her year – smaller than Ron's class but quite a bit bigger than Percy's. As Ginny and Luna got together to discuss their separate journeys, Luna introduced the girl to two other First Years: Tori and Colin. Tori, who Ginny had met briefly at the Potter Birthday fete, was a bubbly, hyperactive girl with lustrous black hair in an attractive bob cut who was incredibly excited about going into Hufflepuff. Colin was a bubbly, hyperactive boy with curly blond hair ... and a camera he insisted on using to take a picture of every single thing that crossed his path.

Ginny noticed a few odd looks thrown their way as the foursome talked. Then, she remembered that Tori's full name was Astoria Greengrass and her sister, Daphne, was a Slytherin in Harry's class, while Colin was so transparently a Muggleborn that he might was well have been wearing a hat with the word emblazoned on it in flashing letters. Luna, who was fairly knowledgeable about their year-mates, pointed out some of those who were glaring at them. Drusilla Crabbe was the daughter of a suspected Death Eater, while Niles Harper and Kevin Bletchley were apparently just bigoted jerks who liked to hang around with the children of suspected Death Eaters. The fourth member of that group was Marietta Edgecombe, a stuck-up social climber who Ginny had known and disliked for years. Undoubtedly, they all disapproved of Tori fraternizing with "blood traitors" and "Mudbloods." Neither Ginny nor Luna knew any of the other First Years who were all milling about anxiously while waiting to get into the boats. Ginny did notice one skinny girl with brunette hair that fell haphazardly down into her face, mainly because she made a point of standing apart from the rest as if unwilling to socialize.

Hagrid loaded the First Years into their boats and guided them to the castle where he turned them over to Professor McGonagall for the introductory speech. There was a brief bit of excitement when various ghosts wandered into the room and carried on a conversation about Peeves. Later on, she would mention that to Harry, who laughed to realize that the Hogwarts ghosts carried on the exact same conversation every year in order to spook the First Years. As the children were ushered into the Great Hall, Ginny looked around. On one side was the Gryffindor table where the Twins were waving at her excitedly, much to the embarrassment of Percy who smiled at her and then hissed at Fred and George to settle down. Interestingly, Jim and Ron smiled at her wanly, but they both looked completely dejected about something. She was pleased to see that they'd gotten to Hogwarts in one piece, but she suspected that they were now in trouble, which, to be fair, they deserved to be. On the opposite side of the room at the far end of the Slytherin table, Ginny could barely make out Harry Potter, but he did make eye contact and nodded at her reassuringly.

The Sorting was mostly a blur. The Hat sang something about the Founders that she barely followed in her nervousness. Then, McGonagall started calling out names. Creevey went to Gryffindor, where he immediately introduced himself to a startled and annoyed Jim. Bletchley, Crabbe and Harper all went to Slytherin, as did Astoria Greengrass, seemingly to the young girl's great surprise. She made her way to the end of the Slytherin table and sat next to her sister and directly across from Harry and his two friends. Marietta Edgecome went to Ravenclaw. The big surprise, though, was Luna Lovegood being Sorted into Gryffindor. Apparently, she'd already made some Gryffindor friends on the train because a girl with incredibly bushy hair and a blond guy who was a bit stocky but on his way to being rather handsome stood up and clapped for her before inviting her to sit with them. Jim's reaction was less welcoming, as he literally put his head down into his hands as if the day couldn't get any worse. Finally, it was down to Ginny and the shy girl who hadn't spoken or even made eye contact with anyone thus far.