Harry Potter: The Witch of the Red

“GRYFFINDOR!” announced the eccentric talking hat that decided the future of 11 year olds based on their current personality traits.

 

The ‘11-year-old’ in question, swiftly took off the talking hat, as she could not stand a second longer under its emotion-reading, privacy-violating tendencies. She was supremely disgusted at having her thoughts and emotions read, as any normal human with common sense should.

 

‘Then again, these wand-waving sheep and common sense should hardly be mentioned in the same breath.' Ginny Weasley’s contemptuous thoughts were contrary to the shy and delightful smile she wore on her face as she made her way to the Lion Cubs' table under their enthusiastic cheering. 

 

Her brothers, Fred and George, were cheering with all their might, promising her all the Skiving Snackboxes she would ever need. One of the perks of being the youngest and only girl child of a massive family is that you are practically a princess; a poor, destitute one, but the treatment was not that different.

 

While Ronald, sitting next to the Chosen One, was also cheering. 

 

On the opposite side, Hermione Granger, waved towards her excitedly while patting the empty seat next to her. She had kept it free, believing that her Sorting was a forgone conclusion. 

 

After thanking those that congratulated her, she sat down, waiting for her food. Old man Dumbledore had better be done with his mad blathering as soon as possible. She was famished.

 

As if sensing her discontentment, Dumbledore rose to his feet, his magnificent beard swaying and eyes twinkling; he spread his arms out widely in a welcoming gesture and orated:

 

“Welcome all, to Hogwarts! And for those returning, welcome back! Another new term awaits you! To fill your minds that you presumably emptied during your summer holidays…”

 

He greeted the students in his eccentric and non-standard style, before finally coming to the topic of the part-time mind-flayer that was supposed to be their Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.

 

“And I believe all of you will be pleased to welcome your new professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts; the one and only Gilderoy Lockhart! Order of Merlin, Third Class; Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League!”

 

The pompous fraud stood up, waving his arms enthusiastically and flashing his blindingly white teeth.

 

‘Toothpaste commercials will glomp him in a heartbeat!’ Ginny ridiculed inwardly.

 

A burst of cheers and screams erupted as Lockhart waved his hands. Ginny very keenly noticed that the overwhelming majority of the people cheering were girls. On the contrary, the male contingent directed piercing glares towards Lockhart, their distaste palpable. A Slytherin, presumably a sixth-year, scowled, his hands twitching towards his other arm’s sleeve as if he was holding back the urge to cast a particularly nasty jinx as he glanced toward a girl who was also cheering loudly. He now wore a green hat both figuratively and literally.

 

Hermione, on the other hand, was being… Hermione, shooting out the ‘achievements’ of the self-cest aficionado like she was reciting the Bible. Ron, like most of the male population, was glaring at him with disgust and more than a bit of jealousy. The Boy-who-was-the-sacrificial-lamb - cough - the Boy-who-lived just followed along and also glared, probably not even sure why he was doing so.

Right, Ron and Harry.

This time, their arrival at school did not involve an illegally enchanted, flying car, the exposure of which would have caused Arthur a lot of trouble. Just the possession of such a contraption would have set the ministry on his arse, much less its exposure to the Muggles. On top of that, he was the Head of Misuse of Muggle Artefacts department! You can imagine what a scandal that would be!

Thus, playing her role as a good daughter, Ginny ensured that the Weasleys and Harry arrived at least an hour early, leaving no opportunity for the braindead house-elf to intervene. All she had to do was feign excitement and plead with Arthur and Molly. 

They had consented easily, relieved that their daughter was finally looking normal after that ‘incident’.

With considerable effort, Dumbledore succeeded in quelling the frenzy of the fervent fangirls. Seizing the opportunity, he resumed his address, his voice cutting through the lingering excitement. "Now that our exuberance has settled, there are a few matters I must address before we embark on this sumptuous feast with the ferocity of a Nundu..."

Forbidden forest, no… blah, blah, blah… Filch with a fake wand up his arse, because he has no use for a real one blah, blah…

“Now that we have gotten less important affairs out of the way…” ignoring a certain middle-aged Transfiguration Professor’s glare at the comment of ‘less important’ Dumbledore's palms met with a sharp clap. “Tuck in!”

Following Dumbledore's resounding clap, a tantalising array of culinary delights materialised before the ravenous students. Barely paying attention to Hermione's blabbering, she tore into her food, with the voracity of a famished hippogriff.

 

As she savoured the positively heavenly food, Ginny recalled the week that had passed since her transmigration. 

 

As a former member of the male population, when she'd found herself in a female body that had not even hit puberty, her first thought while looking down at herself in her birthday suit was, ‘I think I might be the scum of the earth.’

 

‘He’, a 27-year-old healthy male was dreaming of something that is widely known to be morally very wrong. After all, which normal, mentally healthy male dreamed so vividly of being in the body of a child of the opposite sex?

 

While he was all for lolis in anime, it was because they were adorable, not some creepy paedophilic inclination. 

 

But, very soon he realised this was all very real. He had transmigrated in a young girl's body, and very possibly at the cost of her life.

Following that realisation came a wave of crushing guilt. The stark truth hit him like a tidal wave—he was trapped within the body of a young witch, brimming with anticipation for her magical education at Hogwarts, heart full of hopes and dreams. 

Before he could wallow in said guilt, however, a torrent of memories inundated his mind. From Ginny's earliest childhood recollections to the moments just before the transmigration. The experiences of the young girl by the name of ‘Ginevra Molly Weasley’ flashed through his mind, assimilating with his own and also resolving the conflict between his body and soul that before it had to chance make itself known. 

Yet, among the cascade of memories, the final one stood out - the last memory of hers was a blinding flash of light and an instant of horrendous, soul-tearing pain, before going blank. The origin of said light being an ordinary, black diary. And that’s where ‘he’ came in.

In an instant, understanding surged through her consciousness. Riddle, for reasons unknown, had brought forward his plot to possess Ginny, but had failed and, in the process, ended the life and dreams of a shy, yet bright young girl with infinite hope for the future. 

At that moment, born was a wrath so intense, her magic lashed out in a shockwave that swept through the entire washroom, shattering the mirrors into fragments, the walls into blocks of wood and cement, the tiles into tiny pieces while the pipes were forcefully bent away from her. The sheer force produced by her magic was so tremendous that it lifted her a few inches off making her float.

 

At the epicentre of the shockwave, Ginny’s feet suddenly hit the floor, an overwhelming sense of fatigue washing over her.

 

While Ginny was flabbergasted at the fact that she could generate such a tremendous wrath and hatred, the entire Weasley family was frightened into action; with Arthur and Molly Weasley directly apparating into her room, their faces full of concern. 

 

The first thing Molly did upon arriving was to transfigure a rock into a  blanket that she wrapped around Ginny before hugging her closely, “Are you alright, my dear?! What happened?!”

 

Arthur, who was the next to arrive, also cast an extremely worried gaze at Ginny, but remained silent, knowing that Molly was better at handling the girl.

 

“I-I dunno, mum, I was just washing myself when suddenly I felt dizzy and fell down and the next thing I know, I was on my knees, feeling extremely tired…” She hated lying to them, especially when they were so concerned with her well-being and having inherited original Ginny’s love for her family. She had no choice, however. All she could do was suppress the guilt in the depths of her mind and lie through her teeth.

 

At this moment, Percy, Fred, George and Ron who had frantically run up the stairs in a startling unison that no one thought was possible, burst into the room with worry etched on their faces. Followed by Harry, who also similarly looked worried.

 

-x-x-x- 

 

Despite having made sure that there was nothing wrong with her, they still spent a significant chunk of their savings on having her checked-up properly at St. Mungo’s, further deepening her guilt.

 

With a sense of warmth and guilt weighing on her heart at the loving members of the Weasley family, she made a decision.

 

‘I am Ginevra Molly Weasley and this is my family.’