Chapter 4
After they got back to the common room, Aurellia turned to Ginny.
“Is it normal… to be taught that?”
Ginny shrugged.
“I don’t know. I’m the only girl in my family, and… well, my mum raised me to be like her—or at least what she thinks I should be… Merlin, did that sound as bitter as I think it did?”
Aurellia smiled softly.
“Yeah, a bit.”
“It’s not that I mind really… I like cooking and I don’t mind cleaning, but that's all I’m allowed to do. I was never allowed to ride a broom before school, even though all my brothers were. I had to sneak out and steal Charlie’s old broom.”
Aurellia was silent, looking at her.
“And I’ve really been trying not to think about it, but you heard that howler. She called Slytherin a snake pit.”
Aurellia laid a hand on her shoulder.
“Ughh, sorry, ignore me. Why were you upset in class?”
Aurellia sighed.
“I know you have your own problems with your mother, but I was just a little jealous. I know… I know my parents weren’t… good people—well my father at least. But I miss them… even though I can’t remember them…”
Ginny hugged her friend and could feel the girl’s tears against her robes. She rubbed her back gently.
“It just gets… really lonely,” she said, sniffling. “Pans is great, but she doesn’t really see how much her parents dislike me.”
Ginny didn’t say anything and they stayed together in the dorm until Aurellia pulled herself together.
“Dinner?” Ginny finally said. Aurellia nodded and they left for the Great Hall.
Ginny, caught up in her thoughts about family, both her own and Aurellia, didn’t look up at the staff table until they had taken a seat.
“Oh no…”
Her mother was sitting next to the Headmaster, back straight, and looking directly at her. Ginny felt the blood drain from her face. There was a stool in front of the staff table.
“She wouldn’t. Not in front of the school…”
“Attention!” Everyone turned to look at Dumbledore. “It is rare that the noble sorting hat makes a mistake, but it does happen. Will Ms. Weasley please approach the front.
The entire hall’s attention swivelled to her and she cringed internally. Pansy, who, Ginny realised, had strategically placed herself next to Ginny, whispered to her.
“Head high, get sorted back here as quickly as possible.”
Ginny nodded and stood, walking towards the stool. She sat and Professor Dumbledore himself strode up next to her and placed the hat on her head.
“Slytherin. Put me in Slytherin,” she thought.
She could hear the hat chuckle in her head.
“Seems I was correct the first time. Slytherin!”
The Slytherin table went wild, jumping up as one and cheering. Flint led the older students and Pansy the younger. She beamed at them, hopped off the stool, and handed the hat to the Headmaster. His expression was surprisingly placid given how embarrassing this must have been for him and her mother. She didn’t waste any time and half ran to her table. Hands patted her on the back like she’d just single handedly won the house cup and Pansy pulled her into a very tight hug. Aurellia did the same a moment later.
“Ah, I knew you’d be fine, but I was so worried!” Aurellia said. Ginny grinned and then looked up toward the staff table.
Her mother had turned red with fury. Her hand clenched around her goblet and she whispered into Dumbledore’s ear as he sat down. He just looked at her sadly and whispered something back.
Honestly, they acted as if she’d just died. She turned from them.
“So what was with the celebration?” she asked Pansy.
“When we saw what was going to happen, we wanted to rub it in a bit when you got back into Slytherin,” Pansy said smugly.
“Thank Morgana.” She turned and saw Flint. “I would have burned the hat alive if you ended up with the Gryffs.”
“I didn’t know you cared,” Ginny said, smirking.
“I care about the Quidditch Cup. As long as you can remain in one piece and don’t manage to get sorted in with the Puffs or transferred to Durmstrang, we have this.”
Ginny snorted.
“I don’t think Hufflepuff was ever an option.”
Flint shrugged and made his way back to his friends.
It was at the end of dinner that her mother approached her.
“Ginny, with me.”
Ginny cast a “help me” look at Aurellia and Pansy, Pansy just waved her on with smirk on her face. Once they were in a secluded classroom, her mother turned on her.
“How could you? You made me look like a fool up there.”
“I made you look like a fool?” Ginny said calmly. A week ago, she probably would have yelled. But she’d seen how Pansy responded to everything with an unsettling calm that unnerved everyone. “I think you did that yourself. You ambushed me without even speaking to me first about it.”
“What’s there to speak about? You were accidentally sorted into Slytherin! We need to get you out. I don’t know what’s influencing the hat—”
“What?” Ginny said, reeling back. “Nothing. The first time it told me I would do well in Slytherin. The second time I asked for it.”
“You what!?” her mother shrieked. “Do you know what those people did to my family? My brothers? How dare you?”
“I’m fairly sure, Pansy wasn’t alive when your brothers were, and Flint was probably a toddler.”
“Don’t be flippant with me young lady! All of them joined up with You-Know-Who last time. Do you think anything’s changed? That house breeds hatred and bigotry!”
“Really? Because the only bigotry I see is right in front of me. Pansy’s family were never death eaters, neither were Daphne’s.”
“I can’t believe it…” Her mother took a step back. “This is not the girl I raised.”
“No, the girl you raised was supposed to get married out of school and have ten children, all while keeping house for some low-level Ministry flunky. Merlin forbid I want more!” This time she did yell.
Smack.
Ginny lightly held her cheek. It hadn’t been a hard smack, but she stared at her mother with a sense of unreality. She had never hit her. Not once in her life. She felt tears spring to her eyes and then she pushed her mother aside and dashed out of the classroom. She sprinted toward the dungeons, toward safety.
“Ginny!”
She ignored the voice and flew down a flight of steps and down toward the stone wall. She heard footsteps behind her and finally a hand grabbed her shoulder. She whirled around.
“What!?”
“Ginny…”
“Hermione?”
“I saw you running. Are you okay?”
The words “yeah,” “I’m fine,” and “go away” ran through her head, but what came out when she opened her mouth was a sob. And then she was hugging Hermione.
“I hate my family,” Ginny said. Hermione didn’t respond. She just held her in a bone crushing hug that felt good despite the dangers of a collapsed lung. It was a while longer when Ginny finally said, “I didn’t mean that.”
“I know.”
“But I think they hate me.”
“They don’t hate you… I think they just expected you to be someone you’re not.”
“How do you know?” Ginny said, not a little bit hopefully.
“Well, my parents wanted me to be a doctor, and I’m going to a school for magic. I have some experience in this area.”
Ginny choked out a laugh and Hermione pulled away and held her at arm's length.