Professor Draco Malfoy

Ginny Weasley sat up happily. Today she was returning to Hogwarts, where she would be starting her seventh and final year. She was somewhat sad that Ron, who was the closest of her six brothers, was not going to be there this year, but she shoved the thought out of her head as she jumped out of bed.

Her trunk lay packed on the floor at the foot of her bed, with her broomstick and clothes for that day next to it. Grabbing her jeans and white tank top, she put them on, ran a brush through her long red hair, and dragged her trunk downstairs.

Her mother, father, twin brothers Fred and George, and Ron were already in the kitchen eating breakfast. When she sat down at the table, a plate whizzed through the air and landed right in front of her. "Thanks Mum," she said, and began to eat.

"Ginny, dear," her mother said, glancing at the clock on the wall that actually told the time, "is everything packed? We have to go leave for King's Cross in ten minutes."

"Yeah, I've got everything. Who's coming with us?" she asked, looking around the room at all of the red haired boys in the room with her.

Before anyone could answer, the door opened, and Harry entered the kitchen, still looking asleep. After Voldemordt had been defeated at the end of the previous school year, Dumbledore had removed the spells that had protected Harry while at the Dursleys, and allowed Harry to move permanently in with the Weasleys. Of course, he and Ginny's entire family had been ecstatic about this, and the arrangement had been made as quickly as possible.

"Harry dear," Mrs. Weasley said, "here's your breakfast!" Harry barely managed to catch the plate as it came zooming across the room towards him.

At first the constant presence of Harry in the house had been hard for Ginny, who had never really gotten over her crush on him, but, as she found out during the second week he was living there, he already knew about the crush. He had told her quite plainly that he liked her a lot, but just as a friend. She was embarrassed at first, but he was really nice about it, and so now they were just really good friends.

All of a sudden there was a *pop* and Percy appeared in the kitchen. "Morning Mum... Dad... Everyone.... Ginny, aren't you supposed to be at the station?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah Perce, can't wait to get rid of me, can you?" Ginny asked, pretending to look hurt.

"Ginny, I simply meant that the train is going to be leaving in exactly an hour, and it takes almost that much time to get there." Percy replied in his superior tone that always made the entire family except his mother want to strangle him.

"Save it Perce," Ron said, rolling his eyes at his brother, "She was joking."

"Yeah, and anyway, we're leaving in five... no... now two minutes. I was just asking who was coming to the station." Ginny said, hating the way conversations always ended up with her third oldest brother. It was so boring. However, at that moment Percy, who had just taken a bite of his French toast, started sprouting flowers all over his face.

The whole room was still ringing with laughter five minutes later as Ginny and Mrs. Weasley left to go to the station. Ginny got into their new car - which could not fly this time - and smiled and waved at the rest of her family as they stood watching her leave. At the last moment Fred ran up to her and shouted "Wait, Mum, I just have to give Ginny one thing." He ran into the house and returned thirty seconds later with a small white bag in his hand which he handed to Ginny with a whispered "Don't forget to break some rules."

Ginny smiled at her brother, and took the bag and looked inside. There were jokes that could live up to any mischief maker's dreams. Before she could say thank you, the car had started moving.

It was an uneventful drive, although it was slightly rushed, as the slight distraction of Percy turning into a flower garden had lost them some time. When they arrived at the station, Ginny hugged her mother goodbye, and hopped onto the train, excited to be starting a new year at Hogwarts.

Climbing onto the train, Ginny found an empty compartment, and decided that she would occupy that one. She barely had time to begin stuffing her trunk into the compartment above the seats when she heard a familiar voice behind her. "Ginny!" the voice said, obviously happy to see her.

Turning around, Ginny saw the face of Colin Creevey grinning at her from the entrance to the compartment she had claimed. "Mind if I join you?" he asked, still smiling.

"Of course not! Come on in!" Ginny replied, smiling at him. When he was younger, Colin had been really annoying, always following Harry around, and always being there when you didn't want him to be. But as he got older, he had also gotten much more... well... normal.

Colin came over to where Ginny was standing, trying to shove her trunk into the overhead compartment, and helped her get it in. Then they both put his in and sat down to talk about their summers. When she told him about how Harry had come to live permanently with the Weasleys, he was really excited, but didn't demand that she take pictures of him or anything that he would have done when he was younger.

Once the train began to move, more and more students could be heard passing their compartment, some poking their heads in to see if their friends were there, and talking happily with each other. After a while, Meg Smithy, a seventh year Gryffindor girl who shared a dormitory with Ginny arrived at their compartment, followed by Debby Brown, Lavender's sister, who was also in their class. They both said hi to Colin and Ginny and sat down with them.

The train ride was fun, as they spent the entirety of it talking happily about their summer vacations, eating Chocolate Frogs, and playing the occasional game of Exploding Snap. The only disappointing part about the journey was when Carl Devel and Dirk Kildson, seventh year Slytherins, decided that they wanted to come and bother Ginny and her friends.

Ginny was busy telling her friends about Ron and Hermione's blossoming relationship and the embarrassing moments at which she had walked in on them, when the door to their compartment slid open, and in walked Devel and Kildson. Smirking, Devel looked at Debby, and sneered, "Brown, don't even think that you are going to have any chance whatsoever of winning the Quidditch Cup this year. You shouldn't have won ever, of course, but now that your precious Potter is gone, you have no chance." Debby was a beater on the Gryffindor team, along with a third year, Tina Grey, and Devel was a chaser on the Slytherin team.

"Yes, Harry was probably the best seeker that we have ever had, Devel, but we have just as much chance of winning without him. We still have the strongest team in the school. There's no way that you're going to win," Debby said, glaring at the boy, who, to everyone's amazement, was actually able to stay on a broom, no matter how much he weighed.

Devel and Kildson just smirked, and left the compartment, slamming the door shut behind them. Ginny rolled her eyes. Everything was quickly going back to the normal Hogwarts day: talking with friends, fighting with Slytherins, and soon there would be homework and detentions on top of that. Yeah, Ginny thought, definitely back to normal.

When a high-pitched voice sounded through the train -"We are now approaching Hogsmeade. Leave all of your baggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately. You should by now have changed into your robes."-, the girls kicked Colin out of the compartment so that they could change, which, of course, they had forgotten to do. When they were done, they went out of the compartment to let him change. By the time that they had all changed the train had stopped, and, looking out of the window, Ginny saw the horseless carriages waiting to take them up to the school.

Ginny groaned as she stepped onto the Hogsmeade platform: her legs were stiff from being in practically the same position for so long. But she grinned as she saw Hagrid towering above the swarming students and calling "firs' years! Firs' years over here! Firs' years!" Then, glancing around, he saw her and smiled, calling out "All righ' there Ginny? Good to see yer!"

"Hi Hagrid," Ginny shouted across the platform, before being swept along with the crowd and into a carriage with Colin, Meg, Debby, and Bobby Ulyth, who shared a dorm with Colin. They chatted happily for the five minutes it took to get to the school, and when they arrived, they pushed and shoved their way through the crowd - while being pushed and shoved themselves - until they managed to sit down at the Gryffindor table.

Ginny sat down with her friends, still talking, until they saw the first years, looking extremely nervous, walking into the hall behind Professor McGonagall. She followed the line with her eyes until they stopped in front of a shabby looking hat on a stool. She remembered when she had been sorted. It had been one of the scariest moments of her life, sitting on the stool with the hat on her head, begging to be put in Gryffindor, and listening to the hat tell her that she would do well in all of the houses. Even Slytherin. But she had been put in Gryffindor, and that was all that mattered.

There was a brief silence in the hall, and then the hat began to sing. Every year it came up with a new song, and this year was no different. Ginny was barely listening to the song; she was so busy feeling sorry for the poor first years. But certain phrases stuck out in her mind, and made her smile.

"... Gryffindor. These noble Gryffindors, they hold true to their name. Wise like the eagle, brave like the lion. Together brave and wise as a Griffin."

It was not the best songlike praise, but it was true, and definitely high praise, even for a hat. The other part that made her smile was what the hat had to say about Slytherin.

"Slytherins are true to their word. They are loyal to each other, if not each to another."

That was not praise at all, and it was certainly true, and Ginny loved it that even a hat would dislike the Slytherins.

When the hat was finished singing, Professor McGonagall began calling out names of those to be sorted. Ginny clapped along with her friends for the Gryffindors, and booed for the Slytherins. When all of the new first years had been sorted, the students slowly began to turn their attention towards the front of the room, where Dumbledore was going to be making his start of term announcements. Ginny heard whispers going around the room, and glanced up at the high table. The sight of a certain person sitting at the table next to Snape, looking smugly around the room made her heart stop. She stared, stunned, at Dumbledore, as made his announcements concerning new teachers. "I am pleased to announce that we have two new additions to the staff this year. First of all, we have a new Muggle Studies teacher: Harriet Yachtly. Second..." he paused for a moment before continuing, "Our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is... Draco Malfoy."