Every one of us already had our fate laid out before us. Our ancestors had placed it long ago, when they decided to follow an evil man and train our parents to do the same. Our thoughts belonged to them and our actions are simply their wills lingering inside us. What was to happen to us had already happened to them and their hold on us was too strong to break free from. How does one run from their destiny when it means that everything they lived for would be left behind?
You don't.
It was the simple truth that any Slytherin could tell you. We believed in our hearts, black and twisted as they were, that we were intended to follow in our parents footsteps, to become monsters in the name of fear. There was no changing the road, no cutting off on exits or shifting the directions. It was do as your told or die for a side that has never seen you as good, never seen that Slytherins could join them. Without realizing it, the people who call themselves good accidentally make people worse and the children born into bad families feel they have no choice, growing up to be the enemy.
That was what we were. Slytherin's bad reputation cut our ties with the other houses and just like that, our fates were set. I watched others play and have fun while I sat aside, being drilled with what was expected of me. My hatred of Gryffindors and Muggle-borns sprouted from no more than envy and the constant voice of my father telling me to hate them. They had so much more freedom and knew they had people they could trust, friends. Something that was considered weak to have in my world.
The people around me were the closest I had to friends. The six of us had always stuck together, never fully trusting one another but understanding each other in a way that no one else could. We would claim to be friends, to anyone who asked and to each other, but to our parents we were simply making connections with proper wizarding families to ensure our future. The only thing our parents wanted was for us to stay pure as we grew up, as well as to uphold their beliefs, of course.
"I heard that Harry Potter was on the train." Adelaide Murton said to the other five of us as we rode quietly on one of the carriages up to the Hogwarts Castle. She was a short, pretty girl with black, curly hair that fell just past her shoulders and dark brown eyes. She was an extreme gossip, which was good for the rest of us because any news that had entered the castle would be first known by her and she was always willing to share everything we needed to know with us. It was a simple way to watch what was being said about us and to know how to keep our reputation up.
"Well, that's no surprise." A large boy from our grade said, rolling his eyes at her. Peter Blishwick, the boy who had spoken, and his twin brother, Roy, were the Slytherin heartthrobs of our year. Tall, muscular, and members of the Quidditch team, they both attracted girls from every house, except maybe Gryffindor for obvious reasons. Their golden blonde hair and honey eyes could make any girl melt, though if you looked past their obvious attractiveness, you'll find that Roy is too shy to talk to girls outside our group and Peter is an egotistical hot-head that doesn't know when to shut up. "Sorry to point out but we have been expecting the little brat for the past five years."
"So, the whole time we have gone here?" I asked, ignoring him as he scowled at me. None of us were very fond of Harry Potter, our parents all being supporters of the Dark Lord, and we had all been tracking the time until he would resurface from wherever he had hidden in the muggle world. I had just been teasing him, for Harry Potter coming had been a surprise to none of us, and I flashed him a quick smile to show that no insult was meant.
The rest of the short ride up to the school was quiet, each of us probably thinking of our farewell speeches from our family. The usual stotic farewell, take care speeches were starting to take dark paths as our years here accumulated and we got closer to graduation. We were only fifth years but we were starting to be reprimanded for any positive interaction caught between us and a muggle-born. School was no sanctuary for us, somehow our parents had eyes within and were already expecting us to treat those lesser than us with the expected actions of someone superior.
We joined the crowd of laughing students walking into the large doors. Slytherins were easy to spot, walking blank-faced into the school and pretending, or actually thinking, that the whole business of school was beneath them. We tried quickly to get through the entrance hall without predicament but as it had happened every year, we were not surprised as we were suddenly showered with water followed by a ghostly laugh.
"I have found you my unpleasant group of Slytherins!" Peeves yelled, floating just above our heads with several, now empty, buckets of water. Several of the students from other houses tried to stifle their laughs and others openly cackled with the bothersome poltergeist, causing my face to flush red with anger. My other companions were having similar reactions but as quickly as the anger had come, we all allowed the calm to flicker back into our eyes. "You six are no fun. Learn to take pranks like you should, get angry and try to get back."
"That wouldn't do anything but lower us down to your level, Peeves." I said, walking away from the ghost and hoard of students who had quieted to hear what I had to say. My companions continued to walk, Roy drying us with a quick spell, as I looked over my shoulder, flicking my light brown hair out of my eyes, and gave Peeves as well as the crowd a glare that made a few cower. "And I don't want to be anywhere near the level of a poltergeist who must always bother students, staff, and ghost in order to feel better about himself."
I felt the sudden shift in the students behind me as I turned my back to rejoin my company. No one particularly liked Peeves but the hatred for Slytherins, especially amongst the Gryffindors, was far stronger. I smirked as a sudden commotion of rage exploded behind me and many insults were thrown at my retreating figure. There is no better way to start the year than by angering a majority of the school by saying a couple of sentences.
"One day one of the students are going to curse you." Terrence Higgs said, giving me a smile. He had always been my favorite of the other five and vise versa. We both had very similar personalities, a sarcastic wit that always tended to get us into trouble and the two of us understood each other on a deeper level than the others. Our moms had both been killed at a very young age and that left us with fathers of an even stricter nature. I looked to him as a brother and found that if I had to trust anyone then I would trust him.
"Then I'll just smile and watch as they are given a month of detention with Snape." I replied, shrugging while taking a spot across from him. His girlfriend, Zoe Accrington, gave a light laugh at my response and smiled at me with her perfect white teeth. The two of them had been promised to each other as children and had grown to actually like each other. They were good together too, his blonde hair and perfectly paled skin matched with her dark complexion and slim build. I liked her even more because she understood Terrence's relationship with me and never once acted jealous.
Everyone then managed to file into the hall, taking seats at their respective tables. Light chatter took our group waiting for the new first years, including Harry Potter, and his name could be heard floating around the hall, everyone excited that their savior was back. We all ignored it and spoke of how our summers had been, keep away from family and any other potentially dangerous topics. Within minutes though, the grand doors opened and Mrs. McGonagall made her way in with a hoard of houseless students.
"Well, this will probably be fairly interesting." Peter said on my right, his voice a near whisper as all the students had quieted down to get an assessment of the first years. I nudged him and held a finger to my lips as the Sorting Hat was set up in front of us, starting to sing as soon as McGonagall released it. I clapped along as it finished and the sorting started soon after.
It was as uninteresting as ever until they got to the Ps. Harry Potter was called up and every single student in the hall craned to see him, even the Slytherins wondered what the kid would look like. I was rather unimpressed by my first glance at him, a lanky boy with disheveled hair and black glasses. He looked right nervous as he sat down and I saw his eyes drift anxiously over everyone before the hat blocked them out.
"Ten Galleons he is going to be a Gryffindor." I said, turning around to look at Peter. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the ten golden coins to prove that I could pay up front. He nodded and pulled out his ten coins, shaking my hand to make it official. The two of us watched closely as the Sorting Hat took its time, carefully taking in the golden boy's characters and finally reached a decision after about thirty seconds.
"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat yelled and the table burst into the loudest applause anyone had gotten in all my years here. The Weasleys were being as insufferable as usual but I still smiled anyway, swiping the golden coins from Peter's hand before he could pull them away. Pocketing my money and smirking a Peter, who frowned, I half listened to the rest of the names being sorted, clapping whenever the hat shouted Slytherin. Dumbledore gave a short welcome back speech before the food arrived and everyone began to dig in.
"He is beyond mad, that man." Adelaide said, nodding her head while adding some mashed potatoes to her plate. Her black curls bounced on her shoulders and Peter reached over to pull on one, making it pop back into place. She scowled at him before continuing. "I mean, he said four random words instead of warning the first years about the Black Lake or the Dark Forest. I mean seriously."
"I think their names should be enough to warn them away." I said, taking small portions of everything within my reach. If I had to give credit to Hogwarts for anything, it would be the food. "Of course, they would only know that after someone told them about it. Roy, what are the chances of talking some new Gryffindorks into taking a swim in the Happy-Sunshine Lake before the prefects warn them about it?" Roy looked over at me with an eyebrow raised while everyone chuckled slightly and rolled his eyes.
"Slim to none." Roy said, eyeing the Gryffindor table on the other side of the Ravenclaws. I stood a little and looked too, seeing that Percy Weasley was already talking with some of the first years, including Potter. "I'm sure the little weasel is already warning them about everything and everyone in the school. I'm sure he will mention us, being the Slytherins in his year and all. We have no chance at getting them to believe us at all if he does."
We let the conversation drop after that, eating our meal in silence. Soon all the food disappeared and Dumbledore stood again to finish his speech, warning us away from the third floor corridor. Then everyone stood to sing the school song, my company singing unenthusiastically and hurriedly together, like many of the Slytherins did. When we were finally excused, we all exited the hall and made our way down to the dungeons.
Everyone went straight off to their rooms without muttering much more than a goodnight. The other two girls and I made our way into the fifth year dorm, finding all of our stuff already set up. Ignoring Viola and Gemma, our other two dormmates, I flopped onto my bed, tired from the days events and flicked of my light. Tomorrow, school would start and the last thing I needed was another tardy on the first day.