The Life and Times of Ginny Weasley

The Train

Hi, hope you're enjoying the story so far. If you have any suggestions to make it better please let me know! (Characters, places and everything really belong to JK Rowling and Warner Bros. Except for any OCs)

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People were everywhere and as usual the Weasleys were late. "Come on now, hurry up or you'll miss the train! Fred, George, make sure Ginny gets on alright! Ron! You've left Scabbers!" Mrs Weasley quickly passed Scabbers through the window to Ron who was already on the train. "Don't lose him!" She cried as the train began to pull away. "Have a great time! See you at Christmas!" She continued to wave after them and soon the bustle of people left on platform 9 and 3/4 had disappeared as the train left the station. "Hey Ginny, you can sit with us to Hogwarts if you want." Ron offered. Ron, Hermione and Harry were seated in a carriage and Ginny stood by the door. "Oh um... it's.. it's ok. I'm actually meeting someone." Ginny said and quickly walked away. 

As she left she could just hear Ron saying, "she's just saying that. She hasn't got any friends. I feel bad for her you know?" She wanted to go back into the carriage and yell at him for that but she didn't. She just had to find Luna and then everything would be fine. She wandered down the train, peering into carriages before continuing down when she couldn't see the blonde witch. She reached a carriage where four other girls were sitting inside. They were giggling and looked nice so taking a deep breath Ginny slid open the door. The laughter stopped and they stared at her. "Um... hi. I'm Ginny, Ginny Weasley. Do you mind if I sit with you?" She asked, fearing the worst. One of them smiled and said. "Of course not Ginny. I'm Olive-Marie, this is Sadie, that's Julia and that's Grace." She gestured to the girls who waved. "What year are you in?" Olive asked. 

Before Ginny could answer Sadie stepped in. "Oh wait! I know you! You're in mine and Julia's dorm! I didn't recognise you for a minute there! Why didn't you ever talk us last year?" "Oh um... I was just... shy... I guess." Ginny lied. No one knew who released the basilisk and she didn't know if she could trust these girls to keep it quiet. "That's ok! Glad you're talking to us now!" She joked and Ginny smiled faintly before sitting down. "So you know that I'm in Gryffindor, obviously. Grace is in Ravenclaw and Ollie's in Hufflepuff." Sadie grinned at her. "Ok, cool. So Grace, you would know Luna, right? Luna Lovegood?" Ginny asked. "Oh yeah I know Luna. She's a bit odd isn't she? Some of the other girls in Ravenclaw call her Loony, I don't think she likes that too much." Grace ponders. "But you don't. Right?" Ginny asked, hoping that she doesn't and has picked the right people to associate herself with. "Oh no way. That would be so mean!" 

Ginny smiled and the train stopped abruptly, jerking Grace and Julia forward in their seats and pushing Olive, Sadie and Ginny back into theirs. "Why'd we stop? We can't be there yet." Julia asked, peering out the window. It was bucketing down and they didn't seem to be anywhere near Hogsmeade station. Sadie stood up and looked out into the hallway. Lights flickered and suddenly the train jerked again, pushing everyone who had gotten up over. Their door slid shut. "What's going on?!" Grace cried, holding onto Julia's arm. A sheet of ice slowly began to freeze over the door and window. Ginny shivered. It felt as if all the happiness had been sucked from the world. "What was that!?" Olive cried. "What was what?" Ginny asked. "There was this dark cloaked thing that just went past the door!" She cried. 

Ginny turned to the door but she couldn't see a thing. "I don't see anything." Ginny said before a blinding light appeared and she had to look away. The black cloaked figured was pushed back down the hall and off of the train. Then the lights were back on  and the train was moving. "What on earth..." Sadie got up again to look outside but saw nothing. "You guys all saw that too... right?" Grace asked and they all nodded. "Are you all ok in here?" A tall man appeared at their door. "Yes sir, we're fine." Ginny said. "Wonderful." He said before moving on. "Do you know who that was?" Ginny asked. They shrugged before continuing their conversation uneasily.

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When they arrived at Hogsmeade station Ginny enjoyed seeing the look of disbelief on her brother's face when she exited the train with her new found friends and got on a carriage with them, as well as Luna Lovegood. She could hear Harry saying, "thought you said she had no friends" and couldn't help but grin. "How odd, the thestrals are being extra cautious today." Luna said quietly. "What are thestrals Luna?" Ginny asked. "Oh, they're like invisible flying horses that can only be seen by people who have seen death. The carriages are pulled by them." She patted what looked like air. The other girls looked at her in a mix of what seemed to be concern and like she was insane but didn't say anything. Ginny simply smiled and said, "that is odd isn't it." And Luna nodded happily.

Ginny once again had the opportunity to happily decline Ron's offer to sit with them at the feast since, "oh no that's ok, I'm sitting with Julia and Sadie, they're Gryffindor's in my year." He seemed quite stunned and Ginny was beginning to suspect that mum had asked him to include her which made her even happier to refuse. She noticed he sat with Neville, Seamus and Dean which seemed odd before realising that Harry and Hermione had disappeared. She couldn't think on that for long because the sorting was starting and she had to welcome the new first years into Gryffindor. 

After a questionable start of year speech from Dumbledore which announced the new DADA teacher (Remus Lupin, the man from the train), the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher (Hagrid, who Ginny was always welcome to have tea and rock cakes with) and the new accompaniment of Dementors on the school grounds, it was time for the feast. Ginny was sitting across from a boy named Colin Creevey. Last year he seemed to be even more obsessed with Harry than Ginny was. "Hey Ginny, did you notice Harry wasn't here for the sorting? Isn't that weird?" The boy said. "Um... yeah I guess it is a bit weird... I'm sure he's fine though." She said. "Are you excited about this year?" Ginny asked, trying to start a conversation with him. 

"I can't wait to start classes, what do you think of Professor Lupin?" He asked. Ginny thought about this for a moment. "Well, anybody's better than Lockhart." She grinned and he laughed. Ginny couldn't really understand why people didn't like Colin. Sure he could be a little full on sometimes and he does have a bit of an obsession with the boy who lived but I mean, who doesn't? "Nice to finally talk a bit more Colin." Ginny said and stuck out her hand which he shook. It was almost like she was starting her first year again. Making friends, getting to know people, figuring out the castle. But honestly, she could barely remember her first year, so this was it, starting fresh. Her second year at Hogwarts.