A/N: For the five things challenge by Cuban Sombrero Gal. Thanks for the challenge!! Not sure how this turned out...opinions??
Disclaimer: I seriously don't own. I promise. -Pinky-swears across the cybermiles-
Loyalty
A Hufflepuff Fiction
i. Ravenclaw
She's standing in line, waiting for her name to be called.
She's first. Her nerves nearly send her off the edge, but she sits down on the stool, begging for Ravenclaw.
Her cousin was in Ravenclaw. Rebecca Whitney…her best friend, and her idol. She misses her then, misses her smile and her hug. So she wishes for Ravenclaw, in a tribute to the best cousin a girl could have.
The Hat makes its decision quite quickly. "Hufflepuff!" it shouts, and she's off to the clapping table. Her stomach and spirits are sinking, and she isn't smiling. It's all she can do not to let out a bit of a sob.
But then she gets to the table, and meets her friends, and she thinks that Ravenclaw can't be this good.
ii. Slytherin
It's Fourth Year, and she can't help thinking Slytherin might be nice.
She knows most Slytherins don't like Hufflepuffs. They're described as pushovers, boring, unimportant. And she's angry about that.
She wishes she cared nothing about Cedric Diggory, because then she wouldn't be crying. She wishes she hadn't come to idolize him as much as Rebecca. She wishes she could laugh at the stupid Hufflepuff that he is.
She wishes she were a Slytherin, because then the fact that her friend was risking his life for the pride of Hogwarts wouldn't matter much to her.
But then Cedric dies, and her house is united in the bittersweet sort of victory, in their grief, and she knows she couldn't have in any other way.
iii. Gryffindor
It's Fifth Year, and she's begun to be interested in boys.
Her best friend, Susan, laughs as she moons after Harry Potter.
"I know I'll never get him, Susan—but look at those eyes! And that smile! And he's so brave and sweet!"
"And moody!" snaps Susan, who knows him better.
"Whatever!" she snaps back, and goes back to staring at him.
"If only I were a Gryffindor," she murmurs, and Susan overhears.
"Seriously? A Gryffindor?"
"Yeah. Harry would notice me, then."
Susan laughs bitterly and shakes her head. "He wouldn't. He's with Cho Chang, anyhow. And besides, Gryffindor is for people who feel like they're supposed to lay down their lives, be all chivalrous and brave. Psh. It's mostly for bigheads."
She laughs at her friend's description.
"Feel lucky you got blessed with Hufflepuff. I mean, seriously. Do you want to be so chivalrous all the time? Or have McGonagall as your Head of House?"
This makes her laugh again, and as Susan slings her arm around her, she is glad for Hufflepuff.
Still…it might be nice…
iv. Out
She does not want to be here anymore. She is done with Hogwarts.
She is done with Hufflepuff, and her silly crushes, and her slight fear of the Dark Lord.
It is more than all that, now. She doesn't care about Quidditch or House Pride or her classes. She just wants to get out.
Her mother is gone forever. Her lemony scent will never hang in the air after she's left the room. She'll never again wear those beautiful pearls that looked so well on both her and her daughter.
And that's it. She can't handle anymore. Kiandra is dead, gone forever, and there is nothing she can do.
Neville Longbottom finds her sobbing in the hallway after missing Charms.
He comforts her, he tells her the pearls look beautiful on her, and he tells her he's never even known his parents. "It's worse for you," he tells her simply, "because you know what she was like. And now it's gone. For me, I only just hear the stories. I ache for what they could have been."
She cries into his robes, soaking them, and he lets her. He doesn't say anything else, only rubs her back awkwardly.
That's what he is. He's an awkward boy. But they've always been friends, with their shared love of Herbology, and now this.
And she finds Hogwarts to be a bit more bearable now that he's here, ready to comfort her at any moment.
v. Slythergryffiravenpuff
She's not sure what she wants anymore.
It's Seventh Year, and she's back. Back to help fight, to save the Wizarding World, to make her mother proud.
She can picture Kiandra; "You are so brave, my dear. You should have been in Gryffindor. But you're so smart, too, so Ravenclaw would have been right for you. But you're ever so cunning and ambitious—perhaps you would have fit in Slytherin."
She can't decide, either. That's why her Dream Mum is so indecisive too.
Neville gives her a big smile.
A Gryffindor, to win his heart, to cheer for Harry during the Triwizard Tournament, to fight Umbridge more effectively, to have lived through these two years when she's been grieving with her family. To gain courage for this battle in front of her.
Cho Chang and Luna Lovegood talk of the Ravenclaw bust.
A Ravenclaw, to be smart enough to outwit Voldemort, to know how to help Harry, to invent ways of coping with her extreme grief.
She sees the Slytherins leaving in the Great Hall.
A Slytherin, to run away, to fight against stereotypes, to be on the neutral side, to be a daughter of a Death Eater, so Voldemort wouldn't attack you—
She is naive, she knows. All of her thoughts are so jumbled. She sighs and looks around her, her fear building, wondering how they can possibly win.
She throws herself into battle loyally, ready to fight to the death for her school, for her teachers, for Harry, Ron, and Hermione, for Neville, and for her mum.
She knows what she'd say to Dream Mum if she were real. "I'm loyal. I'm a Hufflepuff, through and through." And she's her best self this way. This is how it's meant to be.