Sally-Anne Perks wanted nothing more than to be sorted into Gryffindor. She knew what that would mean. She came from a long line of Slytherins, and the last family member to be sorted into any other house had pretty much been ostracized. She was young, but because of her family circumstances, she had to grow up much quicker than other kids her age, making her quite mature for an 11 year old.
Honestly, she wouldn't have minded being sorted into Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff either, though Gryffindor was her first choice. She just wanted anything but Slytherin. She knew the stigma that surrounded Slytherins. They were Death Eaters; servants of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named; traitors; ruthless spies. The perpetuation of these stereotypes came from simple statistics. Slytherins valued cunning and leadership. Those traits easily led to personal gain on such grand scales as to betray the whole of the Wizarding world. Sally-Anne should know. Her parents were Death Eaters.
Sally-Anne was only a baby when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was defeated, but she knew her parents were still loyal to him. She could sense it in the way they talked in whispered tones about the events of that night or hosted dinner parties for other prominent Slytherins. Sally-Anne just wanted to break away from it all. If her family disowned her, so be it.
Truth be told, she might even welcome the disownment. She was tired. Tired of walking on eggshells around her parents. Tired of having to think up ways to diffuse situations on the spot. Tired of having strangers shy away from her and her family when they went out for a walk because they knew who they were. She was just tired.
Sally-Anne sighed and looked down at her brand new robes. Her mother had pinned a Slytherin badge on them before she boarded the train so that "there would be no doubt where her loyalties lay" as her mother put it. Looking up to make sure her compartment was still empty, Sally-Anne took the pin off and shoved it deep into one of the pockets of her robes.
The sound of the compartment sliding open made Sally-Anne look up. She was then faced with a frizzy-haired girl and a short, chubby boy who surveyed the compartment curiously. The girl sighed and looked at Sally-Anne. "Have you by chance seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said, indicating the boy next to her.
Sally-Anne shook her head quickly.
The boy – Neville – looked down dejectedly. "Gran's going to kill me," he said quietly.
The girl sighed again and patted him on the back. "Why don't you sit down, Neville. I'll keep looking."
Neville nodded and sat down across from Sally-Anne before his eyes widened and he stood up again. "Sorry," he said nervously. "I should have asked if I could sit here first." He stood there not quite knowing what to do next.
Sally-Anne was just as confused. "It's okay. You can sit there," she managed to choke out. She wasn't used to speaking with kids her own age. She wasn't used to speaking at all, actually. In her household she was expected to show the proper respect to her elders, and most of them considered silence on her part to be proper respect.
Neville nodded shakily and sat down again before reaching a hand across the aisle. "I'm Neville Longbottom," he said nervously.
Sally-Anne was intrigued. She had heard the name Longbottom before and knew that they were considered enemies of the Death Eaters and You-Know-Who. This made Sally-Anne very much want to be this boy's friend.
She smiled softly and shook his hand. "My name is Sally-Anne," she said, not offering a last name and hoping he wouldn't ask for one. If she recognized his surname, he might be able to recognize hers.
Luckily he didn't push the matter, and they fell into an easy conversation about the upcoming school year. Eventually the subject of houses came up.
"What house do you want to be sorted into?" Neville asked her curiously.
Sally-Anne answered immediately, without hesitation. "Gryffindor."
Neville nodded. "Me too," he said with a hint of nervousness in his voice. "Though I'll probably get sorted into Hufflepuff. I hear that's considered the 'useless house'," he said, shaking his head.
Sally-Anne raised her brows. "Hufflepuff isn't useless," she said matter-of-factly. "They value kindness and loyalty. It's an honorable house."
Neville smiled slightly before the train began to slow down. They both stood up and looked out the window, excitement and nerves radiating off of them in equal measure.
Sally-Anne and Neville ended up getting into separate boats, but she didn't worry. She felt sure she had made her first friend and she would be able to see him later. The boat ride was oddly comforting, and Sally-Anne found herself not worrying too much about the sorting.
Her nerves came back in full force, though, when Professor McGonagall pushed open the doors to the Great Hall and lead them past the already seated students. She managed to squeeze her way to Neville's side. He smiled when he saw her, making Sally-Anne beam from ear to ear, confident in her new friendship.
The sorting hat sang a song which Sally-Anne didn't catch the majority of – too wrapped up in her nerves. Then Professor McGonagall started calling out names.
The names and faces of the 11 year olds blurred in Sally-Anne's mind, until finally Longbottom, Neville was called. He tripped on his way up, and Sally-Anne hid her giggle, knowing it would hurt his feelings.
The sorting hat took a while to decide on Neville before finally bellowing, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Sally-Anne cheered with the Gryffindor table, happy her friend was where he wanted to be. In his excitement, Neville ran off to the Gryffindor table with the sorting hat still on and had to walk back, embarrassed, to give it back to Professor McGonagall. He grinned at Sally-Anne as he walked toward the Gryffindor table for the second time, and she returned it.
Finally Professor McGonagall called out, "Perks, Sally-Anne."
Sally-Anne made her way shakily to the stool and sat down as the hat was lowered over her head. The sudden blackness started her, but calmed her at the same time, clearing her mind. She could hear a voice in the back of her mind, which was definitely weird, but she couldn't seem to focus on it. In what seemed like no time at all the hat was shouting, "SLYTHERIN!"
The hat was removed from her head and Sally-Anne blinked rapidly, realizing what had just happened. She wanted to scream and cry. She didn't want to be in Slytherin. She wanted to be in Gryffindor with Neville and the rest of the brave kids. She wanted to be brave and good. The Slytherin table was cheering, and, somehow, Sally-Anne made her legs walk over to their table, risking a glance at the Gryffindor table, where Neville met her eyes then looked down quickly.
Sally-Anne's stomach dropped. It looked like that friendship was over as soon as it began. She didn't eat much at the feast and went straight to bed in the Slytherin dormitories, listening to the other Slytherin girls her age gossip about Harry Potter – who had been sorted right after Sally-Anne. The words they traded were cruel.
Sally-Anne despised these girls. She despised this house. She despised the sorting hat for sorting her into the house she so desperately wanted to escape from. She despised Hogwarts.
She lay in the darkness of the dormitory, tears falling silently, pretending to be asleep so she wouldn't have to participate in the conversation. She supposed in a way she did belong there. Slytherin house was for those who were cunning. In the household she had grown up in, she had to learn to be cunning. It was the only way to survive. To stay one step ahead of her parents. Maybe she wasn't brave, or smart, or kind. But she was cunning.
Sally-Anne belonged in Slytherin. And that thought tasted like copper in her mouth.