Once upon a time, there was a little, red haired girl with hand me down robes and mostly hand me down books, except for a few extremely bright colored books with pictures of an obnoxious man on the front and back. She was stepping up to the stool in the middle of the Great Hall, a nervous chill going down her spine.

But, the little, fiery haired girl was more excited than nervous, for she had a plan.

“Ah, the last Weasley until this generation has a child! And, a girl-child at that! I have waited a long, long time to sort a Weasley girl-child.”

“Ha. I know that I am the only girl in the Weasley family for generations. I have to hear it all the time.” Ginny said sadly.

“Ah, but you are so very different than your brothers before you. You are so very different from every Weasley before you.”

“How so?”

“You have enough cunning and wit to put the whole of Slytherin house to shame, my child.”

“To live with my brothers, that is a must. They are all in Gryffindor, however, for a reason. They may be brave, but they do not think before they act.”

“I do believe that you belong in Slytherin. Slytherin will help you on your way to greatness. And you will do great things, child. There I have no doubts.”

“However, you will not put me in Slytherin.” Ginny said.

The Hat, for a few moments, was completely silent.

“What do you mean? Slytherin is where you need to be…”

“No. No true Slytherin would wish to be in that house right now. My family members are all seen as blood traitors. As much as my parents try to hide it, I know that we are seen as such. I will not thrive in Slytherin. I will be lucky to survive.”

“Well, I suppose Ravenclaw…”

“No. I will be in Gryffindor. It is what is expected of me. But, you shouldn’t worry, my Slytherin tendencies will only thrive.”

“I do not know whether that is a good idea or not….”

“Sorting Hat, you will place me in Gryffindor, and we both know it. So, why act mischievous?” Ginny asked with a small giggle.

“Hmph.”

“Oh do not act offended. You know I have been under here for quite some time…”

“Oh by jolly you have! I better go ahead and sort you…I can see that Severus Snape is beginning to become antsy…You shall do well, Miss Weasley….GRYFFINDOR!”

The Great Hall was silent for several moments. They had never seen someone take that long to sort.

But soon, it was forgotten and the Hall broke into applause.

~sdrawkcab~

The year had not gone as planned for Ginny Weasley. Not at all.

Tom Riddle’s diary had nearly been her undoing.

She didn’t remember even three quarters of her first year.

She was sitting in Dumbledore’s office, alone, while her parents, Dumbledore, and McGonagall discussed things in the hallway.

Ginny spotted the Sorting Hat and went over to it, carefully and quietly summoning it down from its shelf and placing it on her head.

“Ah, Miss Weasley…”

“We made a mistake…didn’t we? I would have never done well in Slytherin.”

“Never fear, Miss Weasley. You would have been great in Slytherin; although, I am pleased to have put you in Gryffindor in the end. As much as I did not want too, I see now that it was for the best. It got you through this ordeal.”

“Ha. Ordeal. That is what you call being taken over by Voldemort.”

“You speak his name.”

“Why should I not? I may not do it in front of many, but I cannot live my life in fear. Yes, I am scared, but living in fear is different. Besides, I believe that I will be needed. I know how Voldemort thinks.”

“Keep that quiet, Child. Not everyone will have your best interest in mind. Not when the greater good is at stake.”

“I know. I know.”

Ginny did not say anything else. She simply took the Hat off and used her wand to float it back to the top shelf.

~sdrawkcab~

Sixth year. A year from hell. The year from hell.

But, finally, it was over. Voldemort was dead.

Harry…Her Harry…was still alive. Cracked, but alive and healing.

So many people were broken. Her own mother and father were broken. The death of her brother had broken them, but they would survive.

So many dead.

Fred. Tonks. Remus. Colin. Snape.

So many more deaths.

Quietly amongst the rubble, she had walked to the Headmistresses office. The Gargoyle was standing there proudly.

“I wish to see the Sorting Hat.” Ginny spoke through the tears that had not stopped falling since she had finally been able to wrap her arms around Harry.

The Gargoyle looked at her with his eyes.

And then opened.

Ginny walked slowly up the stairs. The Sorting Hat had disappeared, and the only place Ginny could think that it would be was in that office.

Ginny walked up the stairs and entered the office. It was still bare, but Ginny knew that soon Professor McGonagall would move her things into the office, and it would once again have a homey feeling to it.

But now, it was practically bare, except for the desk in the center with the Sorting Hat and Sword of Gryffindor.

Ginny walked over to the Hat, picked it up, sat on the floor, and placed the Hat on her head.

“Ah, Miss Weasley. We meet again. The Battle has been won.”

“Yes. Yes it has been.”

“Why are you crying, Child. The Battle is over, you should be proud.”

“I am proud. But lives were lost, and that is never anything to be proud about. Even the Death Eaters have those who will mourn their deaths.”

“Child, you have grown so much in six years. You are now wise beyond your years.”

“So many people. My brother was one of them. But, oddly, while he is my greatest loss, he is not the one that will affect me.”

“And which one will?”

“Inara Ledon. I am sure you remember her. White blonde, long hair. Odd purple eyes. She had elf in her blood. She was a Slytherin. A brilliant little girl. Apparently, Pansy Parkinson has been hiding the first years. All of the ones who have been disappearing, she has been protecting them. But, Inara snuck out of their hiding place. She said that she had seen something, something she had to do before she died.

I watched that little girl maim five Death Eaters before I could get to her. But, it didn’t help. Bellatrix Lestrange killed that child, then turned on me. My Mum killed her. But that child, that little girl, she saved the lives of so many. She walked out of her safe haven knowing that she was going to die. I watched her die the death of an eleven year old hero. That was not how things are supposed to be. She has no one to mourn her. Her family was killed earlier this Spring.”

“Miss Weasley, because of this, you will always be strong. You are a Slytherin in a Lion’s Den. How else do you believe that you and the Longbottom boy managed to keep everything hidden all year long? While Longbottom is brave, he hasn’t the whit and cunning to keep things hidden.”

“I had to help keep them all alive.”

“Miss Weasley, you survived. Now you must live. You have spent your life fighting. For a sixteen year old child, you have lived a lifetime, just as your friends have.”

“Yes. I need to thank you.”

“Thank me? For what?”

“For placing me in Gryffindor, where I knew that I had to be, despite the fact that I did not fit in as well as I would have had I belonged.”

“That, Miss Weasley, is why you are special. You are a snake. You can fit in anywhere. You can blend. Even if that meant you had to pretend to be a lion for so long. You will do great things with your life, Miss Weasley.”

“Thank you.”

Ginny took the Hat off of her head. Somehow, she knew that this would be the last time she ever had the Hat upon her head.

But she was thankful to the Sorting Hat. The Sorting Hat had helped her…and she would always remember that.

Ginny Weasley walked slowly down the steps.

The steps that led her to her future, and possibly a happily ever after…