Standard disclaimers. I don't claim to own any of JKR's work. If in doubt, assume it's hers, and I'll be quite flattered if it really was mine.
"Slytherin!"
Melcia Midosa felt a slight smile touch her lips as she slid down from the stool she'd barely had the chance to settle into before the Sorting Hat proclaimed her destiny. She quickly pulled herself under control, though, and held her head high as she walked to the Slytherin table, where she sat primly as a princess among the other most worthy students at Hogwarts.
Like most of her Slytherin brothers and sisters, Melcia was a pureblood, and, had anyone cared to ask her (and no doubt they would later that evening unless tradition had changed significantly since her own parents were sorted into Slytherin), she could have recited four hundred years worth of witches and wizards on either side of her family. Four hundred years of Slytherin witches and wizards, to be precise. There had been a Ravenclaw cousin once or twice, and some hushed whispers suggested that there had once been a Hufflepuff, but that one had been quietly and promptly disowned. Not a Gryffindor one.
As the sorting ceremony drew to a close and Headmaster Dumbledore was rising to speak, a whisper came from her left. "Melcia Midosa, is it? Draco Malfoy, Prefect." Melcia looked at the boy who'd spoken, and smiled graciously. Of course, everyone knew who the Malfoys were, and Melcia had even met Narcissa Malfoy once or twice; Narcissa and Melcia's mother were both members of the Slytherin Alumni Association, and Melcia had been introduced at the last one her mother hosted, last spring. "This is Crabbe," Draco was saying, nodding at a muscular boy to his side, "and Goyle. That's Pansy, and…" Melcia listened carefully and nodded as the introductions seeped by. They ended, coincidentally enough, just as Dumbledore finished speaking, and a vivacious chatter arose as the feasting began.
"Melcia? I'm Adaline," a girl beside her said, offering a hand which was dainty and well-manicured. "Adaline Divers." Adaline Divers was, quite possibly, the loveliest girl Melcia had ever seen. She had pale blond hair, and distant blue eyes, a high forehead and delicate bones. It took little imagination to see ropes of jewels draped about her slender neck, and Melcia had the distinct impression that Adaline was the type of girl she wished to befriend if she wanted to get anywhere in Hogwarts.
"Wonderful to meet you, Adaline," Melcia replied, a broad smile blooming across her face. Melcia couldn't have looked more different from Adaline, with her raven-black hair and sharp brown eyes. Even at eleven, Melcia was already tall, and there was every indication that she would be willowy as she grew older and the rest of her body caught up with her knees and elbows. Melcia's mother was forever cooing over her daughter's beauty, but Melcia did not see it in herself; so if she noticed the appreciative looks from some of the older Slytherin boys, she dismissed them as aimed to the girl sitting beside her.
"Say, your brother isn't William Midosa, is he?" came a question from across the table, and Melcia beamed.
"Yes," she replied, "as a matter of fact, he is." William was quite well-known, though Melcia was generally above bandying his name about. William had the distinction of earning the highest scores on the NEWTs four years ago when he graduated, and had also led the Slytherin Quidditch team to victory as its most talented Chaser. By all indications, the team had slipped to second place, but Melcia was polite enough not to mention that disgrace just yet.
"Very good!" said the boy who'd spoken, and he stood, leaning over the table to offer his hand. "Jason Kirkham," he offered, and Melcia nodded, feigning recognition. It seemed that most of the Slytherins knew each other already, or at least knew of each other, and Melcia didn't want them to think poorly of her if she did not recognize a name she should have. She might have been surprised at just how many of the Slytherin didn't know each other from Adam, but were also feigning recognition. A complex game of many rules, this living in Society, and even at eleven, those select few who were born to wealth and privledge in the wizarding world were expected to begin learning those conventions.
The introductions and pretense at knowing each other continued for several more minutes before Draco Malfoy suddenly sneered loudly, "Look, there's Potter and that filthy little mudblood girlfriend of his."
As a whole, the table sneered and frowned, and Melcia, not wanting to be left out, sneered and frowned too, though she didn't know who Potter was or what was so bad about him. She did know what a mudblood was, of course, though it wasn't a term her mother approved of particularly. The Muggleborns cannot help their parentage, Melcia, she could still hear her mother saying, so you must try to remember not to hold it against them. They will not know or understand everything you do. Just remember that you were born into a world of privledge, and they were not, and they are to be endured with as much patience as you can muster for them.
The rest of the feast was spent in comparatively high spirits, with only the occasional derisive remark directed at Potter and a few other choice students. Melcia spent the time talking with Adaline and another girl named Amritha. By the time they finished their desserts, the three of them were becoming quite close as friends.
"Follow me, everyone! The Slytherin Common room is this way, and I should warn you, watch out for the staircases; they move around a fair bit and the last thing you want is to end up where you shouldn't be just because you had the misfortune to be on them when they began to move." Draco, full of self-importance as the Fifth-Year prefect for Slytherin, was leading the First Year students to their new home, and, despite a general pretense at blasé disinterest, there were few new students who were not enchanted by the portraits that welcomed them and the ghosts who flitted through the corridors. They reached a portrait, and paused, and Draco spoke clearly, "Prestigous Power." The portrait swung forward, and the group crawled through the portrait hole, emerging into a vast room of formal dignity, hung with green and silver.
Fires roared at either end of the room, infernos contained in black marble and flanked by ornately scrolled bookshelves. Along the walls and positioned throughout the room were tables that would serve for desks or for surfaces to play chess, and comfortably padded chairs with green velvet upholstery invited the students to sit. There were half a dozen plush sofas arranged around the fires, and a soft-looking rug on the floor in front of it. The portraits on the walls were stoic-looking, famous Slytherin men and women, all looking down their noses now at the newcomers, some whispering behind their hands and pointing.
"Welcome to the Slytherin Common room!" Draco announced, and all the First Years turned to face him. "The boys' dormitory is through the door on the right," he pointed at the wall, "and the girls' is on the left. You'll find that your things have already been taken up. First Years, you might as well make yourselves comfortable, because Professor Snape should be here momentarily…"
He didn't finish his sentence before the portrait hole swung open again and an intimidating figure in billowing black robes stalked into the room. "You will call me 'Professor Snape' or 'Sir'," he was already saying before he even came to a halt in front of one of the fireplaces, "and there will be no exceptions. That you are here means you have a potential other students did not have, and I will expect you to live up to that potential." His voice was soft, but it held their attention like a hissing cobra. "Slytherin is the most noble of the Houses, and I will not stand idly by while thoughtless dunderheads disgrace it. I expect you to be successful while you are here, and if you are not, you will answer to me." This pronouncement had such an air of finality to it that Melcia shuddered involuntarily. Professor Snape seemed to sense her fear, as his eyes turned to her.
"Curfew is to be strictly observed," he continued, his voice still that deadly soft, like the hum of electricity before a storm, "and there will be no excuses. Boys will find dire consequences to being in the girls' dormitory, and girls will find the same for breaching the boys'. Tardiness will not be tolerated, and if I hear that you are anything less than model students in any of your classes, you will face my extreme displeasure. Some of you have, undoubtedly, heard that I am easy on Slytherin students." There was a slight shifting and a murmur, but it stopped immediately as Snape took a couple of menacing steps towards the assembled students. "Do not believe it," he whispered. "I do not care to see this House disgraced publicly, and I desire to see Slytherin banners adorning the Great Hall when the House Cup is awarded this year. I will see to it that you all do your share in contributing points to the House. If you do not, you will answer to me. If you lose points for this House, you will earn them back in whatever way I see fit."
Melcia thought that it was probably a good idea not to lose Slytherin points to begin with; as she wasn't sure she wanted to know how Professor Snape intended them to make up the ones they lost.
"As head of Slytherin, it is my duty to see you through these years at Hogwarts," he was continuing, "and I take that duty seriously. My office is in the dungeons, and while the door may not be open, I will make time for any of you, so do not hesitate to approach me. Do not, however, waste my time."
And what do you consider 'wasting' your time?
She wanted to ask him, but she was already terrified of him, and was terrified that asking might be a waste of his time."Finally, ladies, I suggest you familiarize yourself with the location of the Hospital Wing and intoduce yourselves to Madame Pomfrey; I have no intention of coaching you through any crises you may have as you mature here, so do not ask me to. I will, however, write you a pass to see her any time you feel it necessary. Rest assured, however, that I will know if you are taking advantage of this. Are there any questions?"
Melcia's face was burning at the insinuation Snape had made, and a quick glance around told her that so were most of the other girls' faces. The boys seemed torn between sniggering at the girls and being afraid of what Snape would do if they did. No one ventured to ask any questions.
"Good," Snape hissed. "Welcome to Slytherin." He spun on his heel and made his departure in as impressive a flutter of robes as he had entered, and when he was gone, the Slytherins all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Free advice," Draco Malfoy admonished, "don't doubt a word Professor Snape says."
A/N:
1. Melcia is a Teutonic name meaning 'determined', and Midosa comes from 'Medusa', Greek Mythological creature known as a Gorgon, a goddess with serpents for hair. Her name carries connotations of wisdom and cunning.
2. Adaline Divers. Adaline means 'noble' and Divers is a derivative of Dives, which means 'wealthy'.
3. This ficlet was just a momentary distraction for me. I found myself thinking about what it would be like to be sorted into Slytherin, and I don't anticipate this will go any farther. But it might.