The Sorting of Severus Snape
by Aerynfi
"Snape, Severus" Professor McGonagal called out.
If Severus had been a less practical child he would have hoped to be placed in Slytherin. His pale face and stringy form held a less than idealistic soul which entertained no hope of ever earning his mother's love. Nothing he did would ever make her proud of him, not even gaining entry to the honourable Slytherin House at Hogwarts. On the long train ride to school, he had barely even thought about which house he would be in. Houses seemed irrelevant to the prospect of learning how to really use his magic. However after he saw Lily Evans sorted into Gryfindor he wondered if the hat could put him in the same house as her. For the fifteen or so minutes it took to work through the alphabet from 'E' to 'P' Severus daydreamed about being in Gryffindor. He could sit near her at meals, they could study together, he could be her friend. She had bravely approached the chair of the sorting hat and grinned cheekily when it announced its decision. She was beautiful, her spirit shone from her face like the sun, and eleven year old Severus wanted to be near her. He sensed that even the opportunity to argue with her each day would make his school life cheerful. But when James Potter that unpleasant boy from the train was put in Griffindor, he reconsidered. Sererus' family had always been in Slytherin, and when he surveyed the group at the Slytherin table he felt that he would probably fit in better there. Their families were similar, there were no Muggle-borns in the group and the seriousness of his magic heritage seemed to be personified in the proud features of the teenagers there. His mother would not be proud of him for being sorted into Slytherin, but she couldn't possibly be angry about it. The hat was placed over his eyes and he heard a voice.
"Well well, a bit conflicted are we?" it asked
"It hardly matters" he thought grumpily.
"It is always difficult to decide whether or not to change" the hat told him.
"How would you know?" Severus responded.
"Touchy" commented the hat
"I suppose I could still talk to her" Severus thought. "Even if I were in Slytherin. I don't think she would ignore me. She's not the type."
"I've already sorted Sirius Black into Gryffindor today" the hat said. "You could join him"
"I don't want that" Severus said finally. "I want to be great. I want to be the top student at the school. I want to be a perfect potion maker and a wizard of unparalleled power. I want to show my parents that I don't need them. I will be greater than them"
The sorting hat was able to see everything in Severus' head. It could detect every hope, every fear, every dream and every ambition. The hat made its decision.
"Slytherin" the hat shouted out. And Severus Snape stepped toward his destiny.