Ginny's 6th Year

Hagrid

The weather was clouding in as the train pulled up at Hogsmede Station. Ginny looked out the window, she noticed droplets of rain starting to fall. The usual excitement she felt in the pit of her stomach when she took in the site of Hogwarts for the first time  was absent. The train screeched to a stop and Neville gave her a nervous look. 

"This is it then" he said standing up. 

She grabbed her backpack and followed Neville and Luna out onto the platform. The mood was sombre, students walked quickly in neat lines. Usually there would have been calling out and chattering excitdely, all there was was silence and nervous whispers, the occasional person crying. 

"This is horrible" Ginny whispered to Neville, who nodded back in agreement. 

Ginny scanned her eyes over the crowd, looking for Hagrid, whose role was to chaperone the first years accross the lake. She quickly spotted him up ahead, waving a lantern and calling out "first year's ova here" in a rather subued tone. She nudged Neville and Luna, 

"I'll be back in a second" 

"I don't think that's a -" she heard Neville call after her, but he was out of earshot before he finished. 

She darted in and out of the line and ran up to Hagrid. 

"Ginny, what are ya doin, get back in the line, they might see ya" he looked happy to see her, but his eyes darted around nervously. 

"Who?" 

"The Carrows, Death Eaters, Snape hired him, trouble they are, straight from... he who must not be named's inner circle, here to keep an eye on things"

After what had happened on the train, Ginny wasn't surprised. She scanned the area, looking for anyone who resembled the Carrows. The crowded platform had begun to thin out and groups of first years approached Hagrid and gathered arond him, they stared at him anxiously.

Ginny suddenly had a flash back to the first time she had stepped off the train onto Hogsmede Station eager and excited to begin her first year at Hogwarts, a diary clutched tightly under her arm as she follwoed Hagrid down to the lake, little did she know what the seemingly innocent diary had truly hidden at the time. 

"Not as many as usual" he whispered as softly as he could (which wasn't very soft.

"They were kicking people off the train, checking peoples blood status" Ginny whispered back, Hagrid's skittish behaviour was beginning to put her on edge.

"WHAT!" Hagrid yelled unexpectedly and the first years jumped, a couple screamed. "They can't! Dumbledore would've never! -" Hagrid suddenly seemed to notice the rapidly emptying platoform and the waiting first years. "Ginny, yeh should get on up to the castle, you don't want to get on their bad side, I'll talk to ya in Caring for Creatures firs' lessons tomorrow" 

Ginny nodded and biskly walked towards where the carriages were waiting, Luna and Neville stood off to the side talking urgently. 

"Oh look, there she is, see Neville she's fine" Luna said, ever so placid, adjusting her spectacles. 

"Come on, let's go" Ginny hopped in the carriage, the Threstle pawed the ground softly before starting a rather bumpy gait towards the castle. 

"Threstles are really so beautiful" Luna mulled absently, "I wish everyone could see them"

Ginny hated Threstles, they only ever reminded her of death, and the ministry... and... Ginny realized she'd never asked Hagrid the one thing she'd been so desperate to know in the first place... If he'd heard from Harry, Ron or Hermione. 

                                                                            ******************

Professor McGonagall was ushering students through the  grand double doors as they stepped off the carriage. 

Neville audibally sighed with relief at the sight of her, Ginny gave him a small smile. She was also equally pleased at her prescence. The small slight panic in the back of her head ever since the train that all the teachers had been replaced by Death Eaters evaporated. 

They said goodbye to Luna and took seats towards the front of the Gryffindor table. She only needed to take a quick look around the hall to notice how many studnets hadn't returned for the school year, the exception being the Slytherin table which also seemed chattier than usual.

"Look" Neville nudged Ginny, guesturing towards Slytherin. Draco Malfoy was slouched, towards the back of the table, flanked by his cronies Crabbe and Goyle. 

"What's he doing here!" Ginny was shocked, she hadn't expected him to return, not after what he'd done. She was pleased to see that he looked equally as miserable as she felt about being back at Hogwarts this year. 

"The nerve!" Neville shook his head, Ginny observed Draco, he rubbed his eyes and looked down at his watch, he turned his head to look at his shoulder, and adjusted the sleeve that covered where she assumed his Dark Mark was. 

With a bang the doors to the Grand Hall opened swining back wildly. The Hall fell silent almost instantly, all heads turned to see who would walk through.