After everyone had stopped yelling and Headmistress McGonagall had had a serious talk with the Sorting Hat, a table was conjured up for Rose and the feast began. Several furtive glances were directed her way but she ignored them and ate her food.
Now, after the heat of her anger was gone, she was beginning to wonder what on earth she had done. Sure, the system was extremely corrupt, but now she would have to spend the next seven years alone, unsorted. Where would she live? When would she attend classes? What about Quidditch Teams, and the House Cup, and just everything? There was no precedent for this.
No, she thought. She wouldn't doubt herself. If no one rebels against a flawed system, it will never change. And this needed to change. She couldn't bear seeing her friends, or anyone, so alone because of stupid, outdated prejudices. Even if she was completely alone, she would fix this.
When the feast was finished and everyone began to leave the Great Hall with their respective Houses, Rose stood up and looked around, unsure of what to do. Then Headmistress McGonagall caught her eye and beckoned her up to the Professors' table. Rose lifted her chin and walked up confidently, back straight. She would not show any doubts to these people, especially when she recalled their silence during the sortings of three of her friends. She looked defiantly at the Headmistress, daring her to question the sorting.
She did not. Instead, McGonagall said, "The Sorting Hat claims that you chose to be Unsorted." It was almost a question.
"I did," Rose answered simply. The other Professors looked slightly taken aback but McGonagall simply looked resigned.
"All right," she said. "For now, we'll settle you in the Room of Requirement. That will provide necessary accommodations. Professor Longbottom should be able to show you the way," she gestured at "Uncle Neville," as Rose had always known him. She shied away from the term of endearment as she thought of his, along with all the other Professors', silence during her friends' sortings. He nodded and began to lead her away.
Rose followed Neville through the castle, ascending to the seventh floor until he stopped in a corridor quite suddenly. "Professor Longbottom?" she asked. "Are we there?" She looked around, but there were no doors anywhere in the corridor.
He did not answer her question, but instead asked, "Why did you do it, Rosie?"
"Do what? You mean not get sorted?" She shrugged. "It's a corrupt system and I don't want to be in any of the Houses when they can all treat people so badly. Someone needs to stand up for people when everyone else is just content to persecute them. I'm not going to cave to the pressure and join in with the kind of people who participate in this kind of mindless bullying."
Neville blinked.
"So? Where is this Room of Requirement?"
"Ah, um, yes. Just walk past this stretch of wall three times while thinking of a dormitory for yourself and it will appear."
Rose turned to the wall. "Right, thanks. I'll be fine from here." She followed his instructions and disappeared into the Room of Requirement when it appeared, not bothering to see if he had left or not.
As soon as the door was closed, she sank to the floor. That had been difficult! She'd known Neville all her life, but she couldn't be familiar with him now. Not after his behavior during the sortings. He was, at the very best, a bystander to the bullying that some innocent eleven-year-olds were put through just because of their parents' actions almost twenty years ago. Every last professor was the same! She couldn't believe it. These people were supposed to be accepting. She had expected to come here, Hogwarts, and finally be free of prejudices and baseless judgments. But it was worse, because now she could see the other end of the spectrum. She had always resented being idolized by people who didn't even know her. But these other children… they had to deal with hatred from all these people. Tears sprang into her eyes at the thought of sweet Helena, cheerful Will, and brilliant Scorpius, victims of persecution. She no longer felt badly about her behavior to Neville—no, Professor Longbottom—because her was in the wrong.
She sighed, still feeling alone, but she was old enough to know that she was right. She held on to that as she stood up, exhausted and ready to sleep. Now that she looked around the dormitory, she realized that is was absolutely beautiful. It wasn't particularly grand, as she imagined the other House dorms were, just a single room and a door (which she assumed led to the bathroom). Everything was white. Instead of looking boring, it appeared clean and bright and open. There was a fireplace and a pair of comfy-looking, cream-colored chairs. She also had a whitewashed desk and chair, and a bed with a white, lacy spread. Her trunk sat at its foot. She quickly opened it, put on some pajamas, and passed out on the bed.
oOo
She woke up early, got dressed, grabbed something for breakfast, and received her class schedule, which appeared rather normal despite her lack of House. Even though she was awake before most people, she still drew several stares. She was the Unsorted one, with the white tie and no House.
She was about to walk out of the Great Hall when Albus came in. She waved and walked over. As she neared, she noted his appearance. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair messier than usual, and his glasses were spellotaped in the center. She frowned. "What happened to you, Al?"
He colored slightly and looked down. "Slytherin happened."
Her frown deepened. This was not okay. "Hey, give me your glasses," she said, holding out her hand. He took them off as she pulled out her wand. "Reparo," she said the spell her mother had taught her, and removed the spellotape. "Let's get you something to eat." She grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the food. While he ate, they compared schedules. They had Transfiguration, Muggle Studies, and Potions together. She smiled. Well, they would be together in two of the classes at least. And she could get a look at the other Slytherin first-years, and perhaps kill them if she got the chance.
At that moment, Helena scurried in, quickly grabbed a roll to eat and collected her schedule. She was almost out the door again by the time Rose and Al caught up with her. "Hey, what's the rush?" Albus asked.
Helena smiled slightly and looked like she was about to answer when some other Hufflepuff first-years walked in. "Oh, look, it's that girl. You know her family's all murderers, right? If you don't watch out she'll curse you." They laughed as Helena blushed and looked down, tears springing into her eyes.
Rose made to move towards them, but Albus grabbed her sleeve. "It's not worth it, Rose. You don't want to get into trouble on the first day." Helena nodded in agreement. Rose glared at the Hufflepuffs but stayed where she was.
Scorpius and Will came in together before she could do anything more. They greeted each other, all looking a little worse for the wear but still happy to see their friends. They didn't talk about their ordeals in their respective Houses and no one questioned Rose's white tie. After comparing schedules and eating breakfast, they split up to prepare for classes, agreeing to meet up in the Entrance Hall in half an hour.
oOo
Rose was the first one back down, after sprinting to the Room of Requirement and back, schoolbooks in tow. She had Charms, Herbology, Muggle Studies (which was now compulsory), and Transfiguration today. She heard the whispers behind her back, saw the stares when people thought she wasn't looking. She held herself tall and pretended not to notice.
And then: "Rosie?" She looked around to find Dominique and Lucy, ties striped scarlet and gold for Gryffindor, moving towards her. Her older cousins were third-years. "What happened last night?" Dominique asked.
Rose looked up at her and said simply, "I got Unsorted."
Dominique looked down at her pityingly. "It was probably a mistake. I bet if you talked to McGonagall she'd put you in Gryffindor. It'll be all right." She put a comforting hand on Rose's shoulder.
Rose stepped back, and the hand fell. "It is all right. I don't want to be in Gryffindor. It wasn't a mistake. I chose to be Unsorted."
Dominique and Lucy stared at their younger cousin, taken aback. "Why?"
As Lucy asked, Will came down the stairs, some Gryffindor boys harassing him and pushing him around. James was among them.
"That's why," Rose said as Will reached the bottom of the stairs. One of the Gryffindors knocked his books from his arms. They all laughed as he bent over to pick them up.
Rose started towards them, but Dominique grabbed her arm, stopping her. "Rose! What are you doing? He's a Death Eater's child!"
Rose jerked her arm away. "So? He's not a Death Eater, and the war's been over for almost twenty years."
"But his family—" Lucy began.
"Is his family. This is exactly why I wasn't sorted. I don't want to be a part of this. It's wrong." She turned to go help Will, but the Gryffindor boys had already moved on. She aimed a glare at James's back before helping Will up.
The others came down soon after, and they had time to walk out to the lake for half an hour before classes started. It was fun, and they were all in good moods again by the time they reentered the castle. They parted ways, Scorpius, Helena, and Rose to Charms, and Albus and Will to History of Magic.
When they got to class, Scorpius, Helena, and Rose stood around in the center of the classroom with the others, waiting for further instruction. The other students in the class—Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws—whispered and shot glances at them, but they hardly noticed, because they had each other and that was enough for the time being. They were not alone. And then class began.
The professor, a pretty Asian woman with long black hair who looked about her parents' age, introduced herself as Professor Chang and announced that students could sit anywhere they wanted. Everyone smiled happily at their friends. Rose, Scorpius, and Helena chose seats near the front. Professor Chang frowned when she saw this. "Mr. Malfoy, please move to the empty seat in the back. And Miss Nott, you may move to that desk," she gestured to the far left side of the room.
The three looked at each other but Scorpius and Helena reluctantly picked up their things. Rose scowled. "Excuse me, but Professor Chang, didn't you just say that we could sit anywhere we chose?" she inquired.
Professor Chang turned to her and frowned. "I won't take your cheek Miss Weasley. Five points from—" she cut off, not sure where to deduct points from. She shook her head and continued. "I will place problem students myself to conserve order in the classroom."
Rose stared at her. "But how can you know that they're problem students? We haven't even begun with classes!"
"Rose," Scorpius began, attempting to prevent her from losing status because of him.
"Detention, Miss Weasley. And Mr. Malfoy can join you." She turned smugly to the rest of the class to begin instruction.
"Sorry," she mouthed at Scorpius, but he just grinned and shrugged, like it didn't matter. He and Helena switched to their new seats.
oOo
The rest of the classes that day were much the same. The group skipped dinner altogether, instead opting to visit the kitchens for food. They talked and laughed as they ate. The warm atmosphere was comforting, a nice break from the stark atmosphere of the day. They all regaled each other upon the horrors of the first day of classes. Professor Creevey of Defense Against the Dark Arts had given Will a detention for not knowing how to fend off a hinkypunk, even though no one else knew either. Helena had gotten her Potions book stolen by some fourth years, and she lost fifteen points for not having it in class. Albus had nearly gotten into a fight with some fifth years—fifth years!—for talking badly about the "Death Eaters' kids". And, of course, there had been the whispers and the stares all day.
It was almost eight o'clock before they reluctantly went to their respective dorms, not wanting to break curfew.
The next weeks and months were much the same. They either ate meals at Rose's Unsorted table in the Great Hall or in the kitchens. They stuck together when they could, but they still had to part ways every night and spend hours alone with their dorm mates (or, in Rose's case, just alone). There was still bullying and prejudice: their things were stolen, they were constantly victims of insults, and none of their peers would speak to them. This was bearable.
But then there were the teachers… Rose still couldn't believe that adults could be so awful. The five of them received detention at least once a week, constantly lost House Points, and had little freedom. Rose thought it was the worst for Scorpius. He knew the answer to every question, and always raised his hand, but was never called upon by any teacher. It must have been incredibly frustrating. And they were all given lower grades on assignments and tests than they thought they deserved. Scorpius and Rose had levitated feathers in Charms before anyone else in the class, and yet they were given failing or barely passing grades! All the other classes were similar stories.
Finally, one day in early November, Rose gave an aggravated huff as she received her grade on an essay in Transfiguration. She'd spent hours writing and researching, and yet she got a 64 percent! Albus fared worse, however, with his 31 percent. That night after dinner, as the children sat around in the Room of Requirement (Rose had configured it into a recreation room for the time being), she announced suddenly, "This has got to change."
They all looked at her, somewhat used to her passionate overreactions. But this time she was serious! "What has got to change, Rose?" Scorpius asked mildly, quirking an eyebrow.
"This… situation. I'm tired of the teachers failing us for no reason and spending every other day in detention. I really don't want to be put in remedial classes when I don't need it! We don't deserve this!"
The rest looked somewhat wistful. "Well, yeah, but how do you expect to change it?" Albus asked. "It's not like we can confront the teachers. They'd just deny it outright."
Rose sighed. "I know. So we'll just have to be better. We've got to do everything right. We've got to be so amazing in classes that they can't help but give us the grades we deserve. We've got to earn their respect before they'll give in."
They exchanged glances and Rose wondered what was passing between their eyes but didn't ask. Will sighed. "I suppose we have no choice. We'll have to actually study." Then he grinned. "But I'm glad that we'll actually be doing something about it." They smiled, too, and then began to work. Hard.
From then on, they convened in the Room of Requirement (which transformed into their own library/study area) every time they had a free moment. Rose and Scorpius acted as the resident tutors, helping the others when they could. When the teachers requested a two-foot research paper, they would write four, pooling knowledge and resources to make them accurate and well-written. When assigned charms and incantations to practice, they did so exhaustively until they could perform the spells flawlessly. The students read ahead in their textbooks so that they knew the material beforehand and would not mess up in class.
During classes, they always sat up straight (Rose's idea), looked alert, and raised their hands to answer questions. They never spoke out of turn, never broke curfew, never did anything wrong. Even when provoked, they never fought back. Never.
Yet they still ended up en detention weekly and the best grade any of them ever received was an Acceptable. It was always, "Your potion isn't pale enough" (even though it was an almost sheer pearl color and the other students' potions, which received higher marks, were quite pink at best) or, "This should be a semicolon, not a period. That's dreadful," or Rose's personal favorite: "I don't like the quirk of your eyebrow. Detention."
It was late December before Rose stood up in the middle of one of their study sessions. "This isn't working. We deserve better than this, and even though we're the best students by far in any of those classes, we're failing! What's the point! They're not going to see our side."
There was a pause before Helena looked up at her and said, "Yes, but we all knew that from the start. We were just waiting for you to catch on."
Rose blinked. "Oh." She looked slightly deflated.
Then Albus grinned. "That doesn't mean we have to stop, though. We know the material better than anyone else. Who cares if we're failing? We've still learned more than anyone else in our year."
Scorpius nodded. "Yes, let's not stop. I don't care about grades. I just want to learn everything I need to know."
Will sighed at the prospect of studying more, but he and Helena nodded, too.
Rose sat down. "Okay. Well, I guess we'll just continue the same way we have been, then."
They all smiled.
But the next week was the beginning of the Winter Vacations and they would all have to go back home for almost two weeks. Everything would change.
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