Hogwarts AU! HTGAWM. I know that it's probably the most overdone AU in any fandom, but this really really worked in my mind and it wouldn't leave me alone. Do enjoy; maybe it'll take your mind off the crippling pain the finale left us all in. (BTW I totes knew he was the murderer) Bg.97 xx
She belonged in this house. Laurel Castillo was Slytherin to the core.
Her family were shocked. Their daughter, a Slytherin? She had always had the makings of a Ravenclaw. She was nonchalantly brilliant and intelligent beyond her years. She was creative and eloquent. Her essence screamed Blue and Bronze. She was born to be a Ravenclaw.
When she sat down on that chair, however, she knew that the only place she could end up is on the far right table with everyone else in their green and silver robes. She is ambitious- She knows exactly what she wants and how to get there. She will go to any ends to achieve her means. She is cunning, sly, sneaky. She knows the workings of the minds of the people around. She could be a Legilimens if she wanted to be. It would be as easy as a simple levitation charm to her.
However, the others don't see that; the other interns of Annalise Keating at the Magical Law Enforcement office at the ministry. Two Slytherins- Michaela Pratt and Connor Walsh, and two Gryffindors- Asher Millstone and Wes Gibbins. Yet none of them recognise her potential, none of them see that your house colours follow you once you leave school. They nickname her puff- referencing her meek nature. She's a wallflower, yes, but that doesn't mean she's a Hufflepuff. Oh no. Because Laurel knows how to manipulate. She knows how to lie and cheat and to get away with their crimes, and it's a damn good thing that she does, because she's the one carrying them through.
Without her, she is damn sure that their sorry asses would all be in Azkaban for the things they've done. Killing a high profile ministry official isn't easily excused.
She's proud of her house colours. Well most of the time she is. When she has a good hearted Ravenclaw boyfriend, yet she can't stop herself from wanting Frank- she resents that side of her. Still, she shrugs it off. She's a Slytherin after all.
There are times though where she wears it like a badge: she smothers in the face of her stupid aristocratic, pureblood Ravenclaw family. Her eyes flash with the green of her old robes as she gets up and storms away from their Christmas dinner. She is a Slytherin, she feels powerful and she freaking loves it.
Her true colours start showing as they get themselves in deeper and deeper. Her friends are slowly starting to realise that she's the smartest of the all. And hey, even if she isn't- she's the one who knows exactly how to use her smarts.
Rebecca sees it first. The two girls aren't even friends, but the younger girl is good at reading people. She notices the little flashes in Laurel's eyes that say I want this and I don't care who goes down to get it. She knows the look because it was the one she always tried to have herself, even if the façade sometimes fell.
"That's when I told my husband we had to come straight away." That's the moment Wes sees it. The way in which she is so at ease as she lies to the St Mungo's receptionist is really quite impressive. He had always felt that he and Laurel are very similar and here is where he sees that she is the other side. They are two sides of the same coin. He is in awe of her.
Connor always had his doubts. Every time they called her 'Hufflepuff', he'd have a little voice in the back of his head- "Well, you know that isn't true." He'd seen her at school. The intensity with which she focused; the way she ignored anyone who spoke against her. She was cool and collected. She was kind, she was beautiful, but she was ruthless. When she is the one who says to tie Rebecca up, he's not even surprised- he's just reassured.
Michaela was the one who couldn't bring herself to believe that she and Laurel Castillo were built of the same bricks. But when she is drunk on firewhiskey and the other girl slides her engagement ring across the bar, she does a double-take. How could she, the quiet, timid girl have kept up the act for so long? Not just weeks but months… She has a feeling that she has to re-evaluate her theories.
Annalise Keating always knew. "The quiet ones are the most dangerous." If she hadn't believed that, she wouldn't have bothered hiring her.
Laurel Castillo is a Slytherin to the core… And it's a damn good thing she is. God knows how they would have survived if she wasn't.
Hope you enjoyed this. I absolutely love Laurel and I love the fact that her character is quite a bit darker than we ever give her credit for so yeah, that was just spewing some thoughts. I hope you liked this. Please favourite/review/share/ whatever Bg.97 xx