Hermione Granger and the Chamber of Secrets (Completed)

Chapter 3 - Meeting Ginny

The rest of the summer went much too slowly for Hermione's liking. She couldn't wait to see her best friends again, and get back to Hogwarts. She wondered what Ron's little sister, Ginny, was like. She hadn't talked much at Diagon Alley, but Hermione had the sneaky suspicion that it was because Harry was there

Finally, the 1st of September arrived and Hermione found herself pushing a trolley with her trunk on it through crowds of people in Kings Cross station. She got many strange looks from passers by, as she had already changed into her Hogwarts robes.

She finally reached the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. To any muggle it would look like any other brick wall but to her it was the gateway to the wizarding world. Her world. She said goodbye to her parents, who didn't want to stay, before gripping her trolley and running straight into the wall. For anyone else this would result in several broken bones and a lot of pain but she found herself standing in front of a scarlet train, which was billowing smoke and whistling. Hermione grinned

She got into the train and quickly found an empty compartment. She went to the window and watched the hordes of witches and wizards boarding the train. Finally, just as the train was about to leave, Hermione spotted Mr and Mrs Weasley running through the crowd, followed by a large group of gingers. She was frantically scanning the group for Ron and Harry, when her suitcase feel off the shelf she had put it on. By the time she had picked it up and rushed back to the window, only Mr and Mrs Weasley were left on the platform, waving at the train as it rode away from the platform

A few minutes later, Hermione was just wondering where Ron and Harry were when there was a tapping on her door. She turned, expecting to see the two boys grinning faces and was therefore surprised to see Ginny standing in the corridor. When Hermione had first seen Ginny at Diagon Alley, she had been shy and timid, barely uttering a word the whole time, but now she seemed a lot more confident, waving at Hermione and wearing the trademark Weasley grin. She pointed at Hermione and mouthed can I come in?. Hermione nodded and opened the door for her.

It turned out that Ginny Weasley didn't like small talk. The moment she sat down opposite Hermione, she started bombarding her with questions about everything from lessons to toilets. Hermione was all too happy to talk about lessons, and she made sure to warn Ginny not to use the girls bathroom on the second floor, as it was inhabited by Moaning Myrtle, a depressing teenaged ghost who didn't seem to care about privacy

They talked for so long that Hermione didn't notice that Ron and Harry weren't there until the train stopped. She presumed that they were on a different carriage, so she wasn't very worried. She and Ginny got off the train and she introduced her to Hagrid. She returned his friendly wave, before following the rest of the school off the platform

Hermione was very interested as to how she would be getting to the school this year, as it was only first years like Ginny who took the boats across the lake. Her questions were answered almost immediately, and she found herself standing in front of the most beautiful carriages she had ever laid eyes on. They were purple, and decorated with ornate golden embroidery, depicting intricate swirling patterns. They seemed to be pulled by invisible horses, judging by the distance between them. They looked like something from a children's tale that Hermione never read.

Hermione still couldn't find Ron and Harry, so she joined several Hufflepuffs whom she knew by sight. There was a curly haired blond boy called Justin Finch-Fletchley, a proud looking boy call Ernie Macmilan, a girl with long, plaited black hair called Susan Bones and a girl with blond pigtails called Hannah Abbot. Hermione seemed to be getting better at people as by the end of the journey, none of them seemed to be viewing her as if she was some kind of freak, which is what would normally happen to her