Ginny Weasley and the Heir of Slytherin

"Firs' years! Firs' years come here!" cried a familiar voice. It was a Hagrid, holding a lamp above the heads of all the first years. Ginny and the rest of students had just gotten off the train in Hogsmeade, a small wizarding village near Hogwarts. It was now late at night -- probably well past her bedtime, she thought. She couldn't help feeling a bit grown-up knowing she was up and about this late and wouldn't get in trouble for it.

Once Hagrid was sure he had all the first years, he led them down a narrow path, which Ginny's feet kept slipping on. It was so dark she couldn't see what was on either side of her and she found herself feeling rather scared, but it was a "good" scared. Eventually, they rounded a bend and...

It was there.

Right before her bare eyes.

The castle she had wanted to see for so many years was right there and nothing separated her from it but air. Its windows sparkled like the stars behind it and its hundreds of spires reached up towards the heavens. The castle looked to Ginny as if it had been chiseled out of the mountain upon which it sat in moody silence. It was almost overwhelming for her to just suddenly see Hogwarts all at once after waiting years and years for it, but it, though she could have not explained why, made everything she had gone through to get there worth it.

Soon, they were all aboard the fleet of boats which carried them across the lake and up to the school. Ginny knew this was coming as she had heard about it, but it was such a thing to actually experience it. This made her remember that this was the day she had so desperately wanted to come for so long and which for most of her life seemed impossibly far off. And now it was here -- really here. Such were Ginny's thoughts as they glided gently over the water and she continued to stare at the castle. She turned around to see the reaction of the person behind her.

The person behind her was none other than Kimmy Seong, the Muggle-born girl she had met in Diagon Alley. Kimmy obviously recognized Ginny too, because she anxiously smiled at her, which was more than could be said for the boy sitting to Kimmy's left. He was the same shy brown-haired boy Ginny had seen on the train and he seemed to be feeling very self-conscious, looking away to avoid making eye-contact with anyone. There was also a girl Ginny hadn't seen before who was small and thin like someone who had lost weight due to illness. She had long unkempt black hair, dark green eyes and her skin seemed to be tinted slightly green, making it horribly clash with her clothing. Unlike all the other first years, who were gazing up at the castle in awe, this sad-looking girl was staring into the water as though Hogwarts was not at all of interest to her.

However, it was to Ginny and she turned back to face it just as they reached the cliff upon which the castle of her dreams stood.

"Heads down!" Hagrid yelled suddenly, giving Ginny something of a shock.

After they were carried through a curtain of ivy, which concealed an opening into the cliff, Ginny sat back up again to see where they going. It was really dark, but she could tell they were in a tunnel which seemed to be taking them under the castle. Ginny wasn't sure why they were going this way, but she was really excited to find out. When they eventually reached a kind of underground port Ginny started climbing out of the boat a few seconds before they actually landed and ended up being the first person on the rocky shore.

Hagrid led them all up a passageway and onto the grass right in the shadow of Hogwats. Ginny noticed Luna Lovegood seemed to be watching something invisible fly away from the school's entrance and into the forest. Hagrid knocked on the oak front doors four times and it swung open immediately. On the other side was a woman with spectacles and black hair in a tight bun who could only be Professor McGonagall. Ginny's brothers had warned her that McGonagall was very strict, and the stern look on her face did nothing to debunk that.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid explained.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them on from here," McGonagall answered as she pulled the doors wide open, revealing Ginny's very first view of Hogwarts' interior.

The entrance hall was lit with flaming torches and ahead of them a marble staircase led upstairs. Ginny tried to take it all in. She was now inside Hogwarts -- inside that picturesque castle she had seen from the lake -- and she would spend the next several months there. Professor McGonagall led them into a small, cramped chamber. They had to stand closer together than they would have liked to, but Ginny didn't mind much. She just wanted to know why they were in there. After all, this seemed a rather strange place to bring the first-year students on their first day.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGongall told them briskly. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you can take your seats in the Great Hall, you will have to be sorted into your houses. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are here, your triumphs will earn your house points, but any rule-breaking will lose your house points."

McGonagall looked around and seemed to say without words, "But we won't have to worry about that, because none of you will break any rules, right?" Nobody said anything and she pressed on.

"At the end of year, the house which has won the most points is awarded the house cup," she continued as though she had not paused. "I hope each of you will become a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

McGonagall left the chamber with a businesslike walk and somebody gulped. Ginny had completely forgotten about the Sorting and that she still hadn't made Gryffindor. So very soon she would find out if she would be in Gryffindor like her brothers, parents and Harry or... Ginny couldn't even consider the alternatives. She had to be Gryffindor -- she simply had to be.

She looked around at her classmates and instantly saw she was not alone in feeling scared. Both Colin Creevey and the boy with light brown hair Ginny had seen on the train were tense. The sad-looking girl was looking wild-eyed with fear. Fleeta Fleece, on the other hand, was trying (and failing) to mask her obvious apprehension with a general look of disdain and contempt. The only person who might not have been scared was Luna Lovegood, who was staring off into space as though only vaguely aware of the importance of what would be happening shortly.

Ginny hated being stuck in the small antechamber and wished she could at least have something else to think about. She certainly hadn't expected Professor McGonagall to lock up all the first years like this the moment they arrived. How long were they going to be left in there? Listening to the noise and excitement that emanated from the happy people in the Great Hall made her worry that McGonagall might forget about them and leave them in there for ages. And how were they going to be sorted anyway? All she knew was that Ron had assured her that it didn't involve wrestling a troll -- which wasn't all too comforting.

After an aggravating eternity, Professor McGonagall returned and led them out of the chamber in a line. The doors to the Great Hall opened, revealing the most extraordinary room Ginny had ever seen in her life. She stared at the thousands of candles floating in the air and the hundreds of students and dozen or so teachers watching the procession of first years. There were also about twenty pearly white ghosts -- though there was a ghoul who haunted the attic of her house, Ginny had never seen an actual ghost before. She recognized Nearly Headless Nick, the resident ghost of Gryffindor who had not quite been properly beheaded, whom her brothers had told her about.

Ginny was so absorbed by the magnificent room, she probably could have stepped on a nail without noticing. But why were there two empty seats at the the teacher's table? One was obvious McGonagall's, but who did the other one belong to? Ginny suddenly remembered that Harry and Ron might be missing and searched the Gryffindor table with her eyes for them, but she didn't find them. She decided that they were probably there somewhere and that she just couldn't see them from where she was standing, but she still felt a bit worried that they had been left behind.

Professor McGonagall delicately set a stool in front of the first years and then placed a very battered wizard's hat on it. Ginny didn't know what was going to happen, but told herself to stay calm. As Ginny was thinking that this was one of the most important moment of her entire life, a rip near the bottom of the hat opened and the hat began to sing:

"You could say that I am blind

I can't see, as I have no eyes

But I see inside your mind

And I have never told lies

Just put me on your little head

and with my wisdom of old

I'll tell you little young ones

where you fit into the fold

Maybe I'll yell 'Gryffindor'

for all the hall the hear

Then you'll be in the house

for those who control their fear

Or maybe you'll join Hufflepuff,

home of the loyal and just;

For those who value fairness

and hope it never crumbles into dust.

If you value intelligence beyond all,

Ravenclaw is where you belong;

Those of you who answer questions

and never get them wrong.

If you are of the ambitions sort,

'Slytherin' is the word I'll yell.

Your crafty mind will lead you

On the long road to excel!"

The hall applauded and the hat turned completely still again. Ginny felt a bit relieved now that she knew what she was facing, but whatever the hat said, Ginny knew nobody really listened to that. If somebody told you they were in Slytherin, you wouldn't think they were ambitious -- you would think they were a rotten scoundrel.

Ginny wasn't really ambitious, so maybe she wouldn't be in Slytherin -- after all, Percy was pretty ambitious and he hadn't ended up in Slytherin. This didn't comfort her at all and she felt more scared than ever -- the moment of truth was coming. She wasn't sure if she wanted to get it over with or if she wanted it to be postponed forever.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," said Professor McGonagall, holding a long roll of parchment. "Abidawf, Arthur!"

A black boy came forward slowly, looking extremely nervous, and put the hat on his head. There was silence for a moment --

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Sorting Hat yelled.

The table on the right cheered as the boy joined the Hufflepuff table, where he was welcomed by a second-year girl with blonde hair in a ponytail. Ginny wasn't paying much attention. She was bracing herself for when it would be her turn. She struggled to keep a cool head and to not panic. Panicking would do her no good.

"Andrews, Blythe!"

The shortest of all the first years came forward looking terrified and placed the hat on her head. The hat shouted "RAVENCLAW!" and the Ravenclaw table cheered as they got their first new student.

"Creevey, Colin!"

Colin Creevey, looking agitated, put the hat on his head and was declared a Gryffindor. He ran to the Gryffindor table so fast you would have expected him to trip and fall on his face, but he didn't. It sounded horrible, but Ginny would have loved to see it happen, wondering if he would have simply bounced back up again still looking perky. However, she felt considerably more down when Fleeta Fleece inexplicably made Gryffindor. Ginny was going to have to spend seven years sleeping in the same dorm as Fleeta Fleece... at least if Ginny made Gryffindor. As a curly-haired girl named "Frangible, Muna" joined the Hufflepuff table, Ginny found herself feeling very nervous.

"Gemini, Artemis!"

An amiable-looking girl with auburn hair walked up to the hat, which declared her a Ravenclaw. "Gemini, Apollo," evidentially Artemis' brother, came next and also went to Ravenclaw. After "Gumption, Momus," "Harper, Leonard," and "Katsaris, Aris," McGonagall asked for "Lascasas, Minos," who was the shy boy with light brown hair. After he became a Gryffindor, Luna Lovegood joined the Ravenclaw table and "Milsitupary, Dale" became a Slytherin.

"Pasiphaë, Lorelei!"

It was the sad-looking girl from Ginny's boat. Lorelei Pasiphaë was so ungainly it looked as though she had never learned to walk properly. Once she had walked up to the hat, she just stared at it -- looking like she was less than an inch away from a complete emotional breakdown. Apparently, it took every ounce of courage she possessed for her to move her arms off her chest, where she had been cradling them, so she could pick up the hat with her trembling hands.

Surprisingly, the hat declared her a Gryffindor almost instantly and the Sorting continued with "Pendel, Mark" and "Robinson, Sarah."

"Seong, Kim!"

Kimmy Seong, looking no less scared than the others, but still trying to smile, stepped up to the hat and put it on her head. After she was finally placed in Gryffindor, she went to take her seat as "Waterwitch, Cressida" was called up. At long last, when Ginny was the only one left, McGonagall said the two words she knew were coming:

"Weasley, Ginevra!"

Why did she always have to be last? As she walked up, Ginny thought angrily about this. She was happy to put the hat on since it slid down past her eyes, hiding her face from the staring eyes of all the other students. She was still thinking about how angry she was at being last when she realized it might effect the hat's calculations. She quickly and desperately started thinking of every brave thing she had ever done, particularly flying. But what if she didn't end up in Gryffindor? What would her parents say? These thoughts made her feel very aware of her heartbeat and clammy hands. Now she was afraid, she suddenly realized, and Gryffindors were supposed to be brave.

Calm down, she desperately thought to herself, but she had never felt less calm. Her future was being decided right now and she couldn't have even begun to the describe the shame and humiliation she would feel if she were put her in Hufflepuff or, worse, Slytherin. Of all the times for her to have a mental breakdown, why did have to be then? It wouldn't put her in Gryffindor now, not when she was this scared. Maybe Ravenclaw was the best she could hope for at this point. She clenched her fists tightly to avoid panicking and snapped her eyes blindingly shut, preparing herself for the worst.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Ginny let out a gasp of relief no one heard as the hall applauded loudly. The hat had scarcely been on her head for more than a few seconds, but it had seemed so much longer. As she reached the Gryffindor table and was welcomed by her brothers and the rest of the students, everything seemed to become surreal. It was like she was in dream, causing her to became afraid that she might wake up to find herself back in her bedroom at the Burrow. By the time she sat down, she didn't seem to have any real memory of heading down to the Gryffindor table after taking off the Sorting Hat. She knew she'd done it, but it was all a blur. Then a realization hit her.

She was now a Gryffindor -- a real Gryffindor. She decided that this was probably the best moment of her life so far.

Ginny looked up at the High Table, which she could now see properly, and recognized Hagrid and Gilderoy Lockhart. Ginny had forgotten Lockhart would be teaching them and spotting him sitting there in his aquamarine robes with a smug I'm-more-important-than-you smile did not make her very happy. In the center was Dumbledore himself. His crooked nose and twinkling blue eyes behind half-moon spectacles were all there, just as she had seen pictures of him, but there was some feeling you could only get by seeing him in person.

Ginny could have sworn that as he looked over the students he had smiled straight at her for just a moment. She felt like smiling back at him -- not feeling even the tiniest bit embarrassed as she did whenever Harry was near her. Dumbledore stood up, clearly about to make a speech, and Ginny's eagerness grew. This would be the first time she would hear him speak.

SLAM!

Before Dumbledore could open his mouth, an ugly hook-nosed, black-haired and black-cloaked figure swiftly marched into the room. Several people gasped in shock as the sinister figure walked straight up to Dumbledore and began conversing with him. Ginny couldn't hear what they were saying.

"Snape," someone whispered.

Professor Snape, the Potions teacher whom Ginny had not heard promising stories about, certainly looked the way she thought he would. He was clearly the other teacher whose chair had been empty. Ginny realized with a start that Harry and Ron were definitely missing now. Ginny was seated near her other brothers and Hermione -- if Harry and Ron were there, they would clearly be seated nearby which would put them in plain view of her.

Though Ginny had been worried that Harry and Ron weren't there, she had fully expected that she was just being overanxious. She hadn't really thought that it might actually be true. Trust her to not believe her instincts when they were right. As Snape left the Great Hall with Professor McGonagall, Ginny wondered where Harry and Ron had gotten to. Were they still on the platform? No, her parents would have been there and they wouldn't have just left them. Ginny hoped McGonagall was heading off to sort the whole mess out and that Harry and Ron weren't in trouble.

Dumbledore made his speech and then left just as the magnificent feast began. The dishes in front of them were instantly pilled with every variety of food, but Ginny could hardly eat. Harry and Ron were clearly lost and a story was floating around that they had crashed a flying car. The flying car detail seemed just too specific for it to not be her father's car and with that it was logical to assume they had indeed missed the train. Had they flown the car all the way from London by themselves? They must have been so scared...

After the feast ended, Percy led the first years up to Gryffindor Tower. At the end of their trek through endless corridors and passageways, they reached a hall with a portrait of a fat woman in pink dress -- the Fat Lady, Ginny knew she was called.

"Password?" said the Fat Lady.

"Wattlebird," Percy replied importantly.

The portrait swung open, revealing a hole leading into the cozy Gryffindor common room. There were two separate staircases, one leading to the boys' dormitory and the other to the girls'. Despite what Percy seemed to think, Ginny did not need to be pulled aside and told which one she was supposed to go up.

"Now Ginny, you'll be all right sleeping up there, okay?" he asked her. Ginny felt tempted to say something sarcastic, but she couldn't think of anything and nodded instead.

"Great, if you need anything --" he said quickly.

"Percy, I'm not going to need anything," she interrupted, feeling very annoyed. Why did he still have to treat her like this? What made her so different from the rest of the first years?

"Yes, but --"

"Percy, I'll be fine!"

It was not much later that Harry and Ron entered the common room, beaten up but still alive and evidentially not expelled. Their classmates excitedly hounded them, missing the fact that Harry at least was clearly not enjoying it. It seemed Harry frequently got lots of attention and Ginny was the only one to notice he didn't enjoy it. Why didn't anyone else ever notice Harry's feelings? They were always so obvious to Ginny. Was she just that right for him? If that were so, it would make the fact that she couldn't make herself talk in front of him all the more sad.

The rest of the night was uneventful. As soon as Fleeta, Kimmy and Lorelei were asleep, Ginny cautiously took out Tom Riddle's diary and embraced it -- she could feel love -- real love from deep within her wildly pounding heart -- for this little black book. If she hadn't figured out what she'd left behind... well, she didn't want to think about it.

With a shacking hand, she wrote, "Dear Tom, I'm in my dormitory at Hogwarts. How I got here still amazes me. I think I'm really going to enjoy it at Hogwarts, it's even more amazing than I imagined. I got sorted into Gryffindor, just as I'd hoped!" Ginny felt the added exclamation point best expressed her feelings.

"That's good. I can still remember when I was sorted. I didn't know anything about the different houses, and I was afraid I would end up somewhere I wouldn't belong. As I told you before, people are really more scared by the Sorting than they should be. After all, the Sorting Hat has not made one mistake in a thousand years."

Ginny continued writing to Tom Riddle well into the night. It was amazing how so much had happened in the past twenty-four hours. She became more and more tired as time went on and eventually decided to stop when she had trouble forming letters properly, but putting the diary away wasn't as easy as it sounded. What if someone found the diary and decided to inspect it? And what about the next morning? She would have classes, so the diary would either have to remain hidden somewhere for most of the day or she would have to carry it on her person at all times and she didn't much like either option.

After pacing around for awhile and thinking desperately about how tired she felt, she pushed the diary deep under her mattress and climbed into bed. She fell asleep easily.