Chapter 64: The Journey... and the Sorting
The compartment door opened, and Number Six appeared in the doorway.
"Bloody hell, full in here too... Ginny?!"
He spotted his sister and quickly registered exactly whose company she was in.
"What are you doing with him?!"
Something had evidently been drilled into him over the summer, because he stopped short of an outright insult. Or perhaps he had simply lost his voice at the sight of his sister sitting among us. Though the latter seemed unlikely, since he did manage to ask the question.
"Ronald. I'm sitting here."
Ginny's expression did not change in the slightest. Her tone alone communicated that her brother had asked a spectacularly stupid question.
"With him?! And his... his... his..."
He could not find the word, because the moment his eyes met my pleasant and understanding gaze, he grasped that the instant he said anything untoward, the wand currently spinning lazily between my fingers would find a purpose.
"Yes, I chose to travel with the girls, and Harry and Draco. Is that a problem for you?"
"Yes!"
"Well, nobody invited you."
"What's going on..."
"What's all this..."
"...then, brother Ronniekins?"
"...have you decided to bother..."
"...our dear..."
"...sweet..."
"...beloved..."
"...little sister?"
Ginny went slightly pink, but showed no reaction to the twins' manner of address. I would have said she rather liked it.
"I..."
Number Six had visibly lost the ability to speak.
"Come along..."
"...with us..."
"...before you..."
"...once again..."
"...say something foolish."
"Well done, Ginny!"
"You've chosen..."
"...excellent..."
"...company!"
The twins collected their brother and steered him firmly away. We resumed our conversation, and roughly twenty minutes later, Penny appeared.
"Hello."
"What?"
Ginny, catching sight of Penny, stared at her in complete bewilderment. Luna's gaze at our prefect was rather more thoughtful.
"I'm here. Not for long. I have to patrol the train."
I nodded.
"Join us and have something to eat before a long shift. Besides, you know you're always welcome."
"Mm."
"Er... why does she meow?"
Ginny asked it in a whisper, but the compartment had chosen that precise moment to go quiet, and her question was heard by everyone.
"Speaking of which, allow me to introduce our future first-years to someone. This is Penelope Clearwater, Penny for short..."
Penny acknowledged the introduction with a nod.
"...she's the Ravenclaw prefect. And these are Ginny Weasley, Astoria Greengrass, and Luna Lovegood, though we call her Luna."
"Lovely to meet you. If any of you end up in my house, I will be very glad to help. Though even if you end up elsewhere, you are always welcome to come to me. As for your question, I simply lost a number of bets to this unpleasant character..."
A finger was pointed in my direction.
"...so I have to go about meowing. And wearing cat ears. So a word of advice: if he ever offers you a bet with a peculiar condition, think very carefully about whether you are prepared to carry out whatever forfeit Draco might assign."
"Oh."
Ginny looked somewhat uncertain.
"Come on, stop frightening the girl."
I shook my head.
"All right... but you remember, little one..."
"Yes..."
We continued together until Penny had to leave again, though she came back once more before the journey ended, just as briefly as before.
And when the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade station, we all spilled out of the compartment, wishing our soon-to-be first-years good luck.
"Well, there they are."
I shook my head, looking at the Thestrals.
"Mm."
The girls nodded as well. As it happened, nearly everyone in our group had seen death by now, and those who hadn't were already well aware of what pulled the carriages from the station to the castle.
"I never thought so many students beginning their second year would all be able to see Thestrals."
"Oh, don't."
I shook my head.
"There's nothing terrible about it. Though I won't pretend that death is a pleasant thing to witness."
"Right, let's get into the carriages..."
We had to split into smaller groups, simply to fit into the carriages, since loading the Thestrals beyond their capacity would have been unkind, even with a Space-Expansion Charm.
"Hogwarts."
I shook my head slightly and took a careful look around the Great Hall, then settled with the rest of our group at the table and waited for the Sorting. Though for us, the Sorting was not particularly significant this year. We were watching for Astoria, and keeping half an eye on Ginny and Luna.
"Greengrass, Astoria!"
Daphne's sister walked calmly to the stool and sat down. The Sorting Hat settled onto her head and did not remain there long.
"Ravenclaw!"
The Hat announced it and lifted away. The delighted girl jumped up immediately and ran to our table, taking the seat beside her sister.
After that, we largely lost interest in the Sorting, until it was Luna's turn. She did not sit under the Hat for long either. The moment it touched her head, it reached its verdict.
"Ravenclaw!"
And then the minutes stretched out in complete indifference to us, until McGonagall's voice rang out.
"Weasley, Ginevra!"
The girl walked to the stool and sat down. The Hat was placed on her head.
"Gr..."
Silence.
"Did I hear that correctly?"
I murmured the question to Penny, who was sitting beside me. She gave a thoughtful shake of her head.
"I heard it too."
We looked at each other and exchanged small smiles. It had not been difficult to notice the way Ginny had been looking at Harry during the journey. Only Harry himself had missed it, which was understandable, as he had been talking to Tracey, who had noticed all of it.
Where would this lead?
Goodness only knew. But it did seem to me that Ginny was not at all keen to leave Harry in Davis's capable hands, and that was precisely why the Hat had gone silent mid-word.
"No, no, no..."
The Hat began to shift around on Ginny's head, muttering to itself. But after sitting on her for nearly seven minutes, it finally sighed and called out:
"Ravenclaw!"
The delighted girl leaped off the stool and took several steps toward our table.
"Miss Weasley, please come back and allow me to remove the Hat."
The girl turned very red. Laughter rippled through the Hall. She turned around with excruciating slowness and walked back to McGonagall, who lifted the Hat from her head, and then Ginny, on stiff, unyielding legs, made her way over to our table at last. She clearly wanted to take a seat at the far end, but she was caught, just as Luna had been, and placed firmly among us.
The Sorting concluded shortly afterward, and Dumbledore rose.
"My dear students, I am glad to welcome home those returning to continue their studies, and to those beginning their first year, welcome!"
The Hall applauded.
"I am afraid I also have some less welcome news for you."
Dumbledore's expression grew grave.
"It has recently come to my attention that strange black creatures have been attacking people indiscriminately: wizards, Muggles, and magical beings alike."
He shook his head sadly.
"I made inquiries among a number of authorities working on this matter. The news, I regret to say, is that these attacks are expected to continue."
The Hall fell silent. No one had expected this from Dumbledore. Not even me.
"Of course, some feel it is wrong to tell you this. But Hogwarts has always been a refuge, and a place of preparation for the life to come. This year, therefore, the principal emphasis in lessons will be placed on practical work, and the theoretical material will need to be studied largely by your own effort."
"Well, that's one way to do it."
"On the one hand, it was probably the right call. On the other, perhaps he ought to have announced it at breakfast rather than spoiling the feast. Though then again, he's a wise old man, gray head and all, so perhaps he knows better."
I managed to lighten the atmosphere a fraction, as students who had overheard me began casting glances at Dumbledore and smiling with varying degrees of success.
"Now, eat!"
A clap of his hands, and the tables filled with food.
"Girls, don't overdo it."
I felt obliged to save Ginny, Luna, and Astoria from making a common mistake.
"If you eat too much now, tomorrow morning will be very unpleasant."
"Yes."
They nodded, and we ate in comfortable peace.
Before long, however, Dumbledore rose again, and a second clap cleared the food from the tables.
"And now, let us sing the school song, each to their own favorite tune!"
Music struck up, and the whole Hall sang along in cheerful, jangling discord. After that, we were sent off to our common rooms.
"Draco..."
"Understood, Penny. You go at the front, and I'll bring up the rear."
"Thank you. Come along, everyone. Two by two, please!"
The first-years looked at Penny with mild surprise, but she had long since grown accustomed to the attention and paid no mind to the extra notice her cat ears attracted.
The children lined up, and we set off in a cheerful procession toward the Ravenclaw common room, where everyone soon settled in.
"Right. My name is Penelope Clearwater, Penny, if you like. Before anyone asks: yes, I meow because I lost a bet, and you will get used to it. I am very glad to welcome you to our house. I have an excellent helper in the form of Draco Black, who I'm sure will be happy to take responsibility for the first three years again this year..."
I nodded in agreement.
"I don't expect it to be any harder than last year. It'll be my pleasure, Penny."
"Wonderful. Now, I was going to say a few words, but..."
The common room door opened and Professor Flitwick came in.
"...actually, I'll hand over to our beloved Head of Ravenclaw and Professor of Charms, Filius Flitwick."
"Thank you, Miss Clearwater. I am delighted to welcome you all to Hogwarts, and to Ravenclaw, the house that values knowledge above all else! As your Head of House, I also wish to say: my door is always open. If for any reason you cannot come to me, Miss Clearwater and Mr Black will always be glad to help."
Penny and I both nodded.
"I should mention that Mr Black is my assistant and will be teaching lessons for the first through third years."
The first-years looked at me with a mixture of surprise and mild skepticism.
"I won't say too much. Only this: Hogwarts is your home now, and all of us who already think of it that way will do everything we can to help you love it too."
[Illustration: Thestrals.]
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