Hagrid is gruff and strong, and he thinks he knows exactly what he's doing as he leads a quiet Harry Potter through the streets of Diagon Alley. The boy's eyes are sharp and he buys fancy robes, turns down the offer of an owl, and disappears from sight for a moment too long in the bookstore. But Hagrid is still kind and knows he will do Harry a favor.
"Listen 'ere, Harry. You'll need to know something about Slytherins."
But then he stops and looks, really looks, into Harry's eyes. Yes, they're green and bright and the exact shade of his mother's, but there's something else there. Something he doesn't quite understand.
Perhaps wisely, he closes his mouth.
Ron is the last to be packed up in the Burrow, the last of the books he received for his birthday tucked into his trunk. He is quiet as he waits for the floopowder, his mother cheering on his brothers as they disappear in a swirl of flames. Molly glances at him, holding out the jar, before turning back and hollering at something one of the twins has done.
And then he is at platform 9¾, and he sees Percy pinning a badge to his chest, and he sees Fred and George cackling at something they've slipped into their trunk, and he sees Ginny having everything explained to her for next year.
He wonders what he will see if he looks in the mirror.
Hermione's parents are always kind to her, but they're a bit unnerved by this sharp girl they've raised. She knows far too much about things she shouldn't and took to magic without so much as a blink of an eye before asking questions. Her teachers at primary sent back many reports that they did not find until they discovered her secret stash attached on the upper side of the fan.
Her bag is packed with books and potion ingredients that weren't on the needed list, but it's not like they can turn her down. She already has her nose buried in between pages of books that she won't let them read the title of.
They watch her disappear onto the train with a mixture of happiness and fear.
Harry finds his way to the last compartment, tucking himself far against the wall. He doesn't speak until Ron comes through the door, and as they make eye contact, something sparks between them. They're shaking hands when Hermione walks through with a book about potions. The door snicks closed behind them and they can each sense something.
Harry wordlessly hands over a fancy robe to Ron, who offers it to Hermione. She snaps her book closed with a whip-thin smile on her face as she pulls out her wand. It's curved and made of a black wood, designs so faint they can barely see them scratched on its surface. Two words later and the robe is hemmed backward, growing two inches longer. Ron shrugs it on, offering his hand to her too.
There's something about this room, about these people, about the way they can feel their magic sliding over the others' bodies and humming softly. They don't need any words but they're different, they're different enough that they look normal to each other.
Ron brings up something about the upcoming year, a class he's looking forward to. Defense Against the Dark Arts, specifically jinxes and curses. The word defense is soft and narrow in his throat.
Harry says that Transfiguration looks fascinating, although Care of Magical Creatures is just as good. There's a curl of his fingers as he talks, and his grin hides a secret the others don't even try to pry from his lips.
Hermione flips her book cover up, exposing Most Potente Potions. They share a laugh and the ice, if there was any in the first place, is broken. There's a mention of a boy, Draco, that Hermione met and Ron talks a little of his family, shutting off fast. Harry has little to say, preferring to watch.
But the rest of the train ride passes quickly, and no one disturbs their compartment.
The doors slide open and they are walking through the crowded hallway full of shuffling black robes and whispering students. No one notices them, but as they walk with Hermione in the front and Harry and Ron flanking her, people move for a path. They make it to the boats fast and climb in together. Someone nearly joins them but shivers and runs off, and there's a grin on all of their faces as Hagrid sends the boats over the crystal waters.
Some boy with blond hair mumbles words as Hermione passes and her spine straightens like it's about to snap, hand curling around the edge of her wand. It's slipped up her sleeve, steadied by a thin rope tied around her wrist. Harry and Ron had matching ones after she had dug two more out of her trunk, and it's almost comforting to feel their magic dancing over the wood pressed against their arms. They bump shoulders with her and she relaxes, moving quickly to put distance in between them and the boy. She later tells them that his name is Draco Malfoy, and Ron snorts.
But then there's a woman named Professor McGonagall, and she's marching up and down the clump of them with words that are clever but rehearsed. She eyes them all with a steely eye, lingering on Harry the longest. He stares back with a perfectly blank face, and she turns away fast.
The march to the Great Hall is short, and then it is over. It's incredible to see, and all three of them have wide smiles and grins on their face as they take in the enormous four tables, the golden plates, and gently bobbing candles. There are students there too, hundreds of quietly shuffling ones that murmur amongst themselves.
Professor McGonagall appears again, this time with an old hat and thin lips. There is also a stool, but it does not come to life. The hat, however, does, and it sings a quite impressive song. There's something glimmering in all of their eyes, and a silent language composing of gentle kicks and brushes snaps between them.
"Abbott, Hannah!"
A petite girl with bouncing blonde hair runs through the group, jumping onto the stool. The professor lowers the hat onto her head, and there is a moment of confusion until the hat springs back to life and barks "Hufflepuff!"
There's a second of pause and then they look at Hermione. Her last name is Granger. She'll go first. She smiles at them with a little too much teeth and they grin back with equal excitement.
"Bones, Susan!"
Draco, behind them, is complaining again. Hermione's back straightens, and when her name is finally called she marches up with the walk of a warrior. Professor McGonagall looks quite surprised.
The hat is placed on her head and barely a moment passes before it is crowing "Slytherin!"
She grins, slow and steady, before pulling off the hat and gently handing it to the professor. There is clapping, but not enough, and Harry and Ron throw their whole bodies into their applause. She is sneered at from one side of the table but finds the other quite empty, sitting in between two seats.
But all too soon, Harry's name is called. There are whispers of "Harry Potter? The Boy-Who-Lived? Where is he?"
He walks up quickly, sitting down and closing his eyes. The hat nearly slips over his head.
It takes much, much longer than Hermione and there is a white-bearded man sitting at the professor's table that is looking more and more concerned with every passing second. But then the hat bends its tip one last time and calls "Slytherin!"
There is complete silence through the hall, and it even sounds like no one is breathing. The man, Professor Dumbledore, is frozen, much like the black-haired man with a hooked nose. But then Ron and Hermione clap, and then the Slytherins join in quietly, more out of a formality. The Gryffindors, loud and bright and red, are perfectly quiet, sitting in stunned silence at their table. Harry walks over to the Slytherin table, heading straight for the chair on the left of Hermione. Several scowl at him, covering available seats with their hands as he passes them. She smiles at him, before snapping her attention back up to the sorting. All that's left is Ron.
And then it is "Weasley, Ronald!" being announced over the hall. Someone shouts "Come on, Ronniekins!" and Harry and Hermione don't miss how his shoulders tighten and his face darkens. Professor Dumbledore is narrowing his eyes.
The hat is over his eyes but someone else with the same bright shock of red hair and grimacing at the rather fancy robes Ron is wearing. They're not even close to what he had before, what shabby robes he was obviously so angry at despite not saying a word.
"Slytherin!"
And then, even as there is more stunned clapping from the Slytherins, there are several shrieks and boos from the Gryffindors. It's the redheads, the Weasleys. Their calls don't have any words, but Ron is curling his shoulders as he sits next to Hermione. She presses a hand to his side and Harry reaches over to do the same, touching the green outline that appeared b magic on the edge of his robe. He looks at it, blue eyes shining with the hint of tears, and nods at them, shaking his head and standing up straight. But a look across the room shows hostile faces of Gryffindors.
They all ignore it.
The meal appears and they all dig in, carefully not saying anything about the two-seat gap on either side of them. Draco Malfoy is laughing loudly about something a little bit away, and the way he keeps turning to them is quite telling.
But then Professor Snape appears, and they are walking to a place where it is getting colder and colder and walls turn from portraits and tapestries to just stone blocks. There is a painting of a gentle landscape, and he turns and barks "Aconite." to it. The painting slowly unhinges on one side and opens, and they all file in.
The room is in soft greens, silvers, and grays. There are snakes carved on everything, from designs on the couches to markings over the walls. Even the fireplace is carved in the shape of a snake's mouth.
Professor Snape, with his cold black eyes, surveys the room. He spends a long time on Harry and Ron, though there is also careful consideration of Hermione and Draco. He launches into a long speech about House Unity. They are allowed to hate each other, but if that is even slightly shown outside of the commons, they will be punished. There will be a hierarchy for every year, as every year before them. Good grades are expected and required.
And then, as soon as he has finished and stepped backward, Draco is marching toward Hermione. He sneers at her before whipping a hand across her face.
There is silence in the common room.
"I am the leader, and a little mudblood like you will have to do exactly what I say in order to survive." His silver eyes snap to them. "You too, Potter and blood-traitor. Exactly. As I say."
Hermione carefully, ever-so-carefully, presses the tips of her fingers to the red mark on her face. Then she smiles, and it's nothing like the ones she gave Ron and Harry. It's quiet, demure, and not real. They tense.
"Of course," she says rather mildly. She extends a hand to him. He takes it, eyes victorious.
Her grin sharpens, growing wider and thinner. There is something dark and glowing in her eyes, even as a spark of magic crackles between her fingers.
Draco hisses out a pained breath. He tries to pull back but Hermione tightens her grip, still smiling. He starts to shriek in agony.
Everyone is frozen.
She releases him, revealing a burn mark in the exact shape of her hand scarred right on his wrist. There are tears staining his eyes.
Accidental magic, someone whispers.
Not so accidental.
Hermione marches to Professor Snape, who is the best at hiding his shock.
"I'd like a room for three, please." And then she turns to walk away. Harry and Ron move to flank her, copying her movements. Their shoulders are straight and something glimmers in their eyes as they disappear from the common room.
HMMM
Hey guys! This is awesome and so much fun to write!
This will be the story of a quite Dark and Slytherin Trio, going through their not-quite-canon seven years at Hogwarts.
I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Did I mention how much fun it is to write?
And yes, I know, they are quite OOC. But they're going to be doing Dark, though not joining Voldemort. Voldemort was evil. They still can't be sweet little Gryffindors to survive in Slytherin.
Yeah, basically, this will be a story about badass kids and the struggles they face of just being who they are.
This was inspired by an Instagram post my friend shared with me. I'm very sorry, but I don't know that actual name of the person! Kudos anyway, though I don't know who you are.
I hope you enjoy! It may take me a while to get more chapters up but they will appear!
Anyway! Please read and review!
Frost OUT!