Not mine
The Durselys were an utterly normal in almost every way. Perhaps the only way they deviated from the ideal white picket fence family was that they didn't actually have two children. They had a son and a niece. To compensate Aunt Petunia made sure she knew her place, and Uncle Vernon tried to keep her out of as many social events as possible, declaring it to be due to her delicate nature.
Heather didn't feel particularly delicate though. Her cousin and his friends often offered to toughen her up - However, they rarely caught her. From a very young age she had known she didn't belong. When strangers commented on her 'daughters pretty red hair,' her Aunt was always quick to explain that she was her niece. There weren't any family pictures up, at least not with Heather in them. It didn't take long for her to understand she wasn't like other kids. Being scrawny might have come from living in the cupboard and 'lady like' portions for meals, but odd things tended to happen around Heather. Things she couldn't really believe we're caused by her unfair living conditions.
It was a relief then, to find out she was different but in a good way. That her parents were good people who loved her and that someone wanted her somewhere. It was even better to spend the day with Hagrid, who didn't seem to care if she behaved like a 'well-mannered young lady' or if she really enjoyed the wild ride in the bank's carts. It all came down to magic. Magic was wonderful and exciting and impossible and it was in her! Everything she had ever done wasn't freakish, it was to be expected. Like her eyes and hair she got it from her parents and suddenly she had more to look forward to then hoping she could someday be married and escape the Durselys once and for all.
To be fair, there was bad news to go with the good. Her parents had been murdered and when their killer had failed to take her out, Heather had become some sort of hero. People stared and whispered, and probably wanted Heather to act a certain way like Aunt Petunia did. But the negative things made it all seem real, and she really couldn't wait until school started.
The whispering really got old fast though. It'd be different if she had road a dragon into the great hall, but they were all interested in something she didn't even remember happening. Heather just hoped she'd be able to do something amazing on her own. Then they'd at least be talking about her for the right reasons. Now though, now was the defining moment. Did she belong here? Or would she sit upon the stool until the minutes stretched on in silence and they sent her back to the Dursley's?
The hat was so large it covered her eyes and she waited nervously for something, anything to happen. For a moment there was nothing and her stomach rolled. Then she heard a voice, one that tickled inside her ear. It told her things she wanted to hear, that she could fit in any of the houses, that she did belong. She was so relieved she didn't even argue when it said she could do great in Slytherin. Could one argue with a hat? As she stood, her new table erupted into cheers. Now that the awful waiting was out of the way, she could look around; notice the ghosts, the ceiling, and how amazing everything was.
Dinner finally appeared in front of them, a feast on golden platters. She took a little of everything within reach, glad to be away from Aunt Petunia's idea of how much she should eat. "Potter!" A demanding voice called from down the table, causing more than just her to look at the source. It was Draco Malfoy, the rude boy from the train. He was grinning smugly. "My offer still stands, Potter." Heather frowned in confusion. Offer? Oh, the 'right sort of wizards' thing. Really, who talks like that? She rolled her eyes at him and replied, "My answer hasn't changed Malfoy." The look on his face told her she had permanently burned that bridge, but who cared? He was a bully and she'd had enough of that.
Prefects eventually stood and guided all of them down into the bowels of the school. They stopped at a blank bit of wall, identical as far as she could tell to every other wall they had passed so far. The prefect pointed at the wall. "This is the entrance the dorms, the password is currently 'Unity'. That will change every fortnight so check the notice board for updates. If you forget where the common room is, or what the password is you obviously deserve to sleep outside." His tone brooked no argument. They followed him in where what looked like the rest of the house waited.
It was a very formal room, with dark button-tufted leather sofas and dark wood tables and cupboards. The light was green tinged, and the windows were very dark though every now and then Heather though she saw something moving outside. There were stylized snake decorations, but there were also skulls and grand tapestries that lined the walls. The room was packed but the first years somehow managed to find room amongst the rest. Heather decided to sit on the floor in front of the couch, legs crossed and folded sideways underneath her. She yawned and hoped this wouldn't take too long. It had been a surprisingly tiring day.
Several people gasped as a man in black robes simply appeared in front of the assembled students. The superior smirks of the upperclassmen showed that this was expected. "I am Professor Snape your head of house and the potions master. For the duration of your stay at Hogwarts, Slytherin will be the only place you belong." He didn't seem too welcoming, his hook nose and sneering mouth made him look like a cartoon villain in fact.
His dark eyes glittered strangely as he swept his gaze across the room. "The rest of the school, and even the rest of the world, will fear you because of your cunning and ambition. It is your job to cultivate the skills necessary to change that fear into respect. Everyone in this room has the potential for greatness. However, not all of you will actually succeed in reaching that lofty height." His eyes met hers and paused for a moment, as if he thought she might not make it.
The professor looked away and his tone became hard. "You will not be coddled in this house, weakness and failure will not be tolerated. I only have time for the most promising students, for the rest of you direct your attention to your prefects. Fawley, Burke." He disappeared as abruptly as he had arrived. Heather couldn't see quite how he did it, and so focused on the two students who had moved to the front of the room.
The girl spoke first. "We're a resource one you won't have once forever so we suggest you come to use while you can. We also make sure all of you snot noses know what's expected of you and keep you in line. In Slytherin we don't dock points, we're here to win after all, we assign detentions - as many as needed to correct the problem. If that means your evenings are spent with Filch from now until the end of term so be it." She heard a couple of murmurs behind her; apparently the girl had carried through with her threat last year. The stern boy from before continued the lecture. "Success is measured in power and power comes from two sources, knowledge and connections." Pausing, he set his mouth into a firm line. "For you that means outside of these rooms we present a united front."
The girl shook her head. "Perhaps you might think to get by trading on the bonds made because of our standard of house pride, but remember we are not Hufflepuffs." There were derisive comments from the older students. Why did everyone dislike that house? Loyal sounded like an okay thing to be. "If a person is not useful there is no reason not to discard them once you've completed your education and they have no value." Ah right. No use being loyal to lazy people I guess.
"We suggest you read ahead in classes. We also encourage extracurricular activities. If you want to be a lazy fool so be it. Slytherin will continue to be the greatest house, even if that means we have to remove the dead weight." Apparently the boy felt like he needed to threaten the first years too. Heather supposed they were trying to make them behave, but just in case decided it would be a good idea not to get on the prefects bad side.
"Speaking of extracurriculars Flint, our Quidditch captain, has an announcement." A tall, small headed boy got up and spoke in a bored tone. "Anyone who wants a chance of being on the team this year or the next will meet every Sunday at six. If you aren't there, don't bother showing for tryouts." He sat again and several of the first years began whispering furiously. She definitely heard Malfoy say something about his broom.
The girl prefect spoke again, silencing the whispers. "Tomorrow morning you are to be up and ready to go at seven. We will escort you to breakfast and pass out your schedules." That was apparently a dismissal, and everyone began to leave. "Boys dorms are on the left, girls are on the right. Don't try going down the wrong hallway, or you'll get a nasty shock." As she crawled into bed, Heather realized she hadn't seen Ron since the sorting and that he didn't like Slytherin. Tomorrow. She thought as she drifted off. We'll have classes together and talk about it.