Chapter 1:
A blonde girl, about eleven years old, burst through the front doors of the manor, skidding to a stop on the worn, green carpet. Her short white-blonde hair flew behind her as she flew up the large marble staircase, her sky- blue eyes wild. On the second floor, she thundered through the halls, past the exquisite paintings, and threw the doors of a library open. The two girls inside looked up, startled.
One of them had wavy ankle length black hair, though it was hard to tell in the armchair she was sitting in. Her golden eyes were wide with surprise, her tan skin drained of blood in the heat of the moment. Her face began to gradually regained color. She was wearing a lavender knee- length dress.
The second girl had piercing silver eyes and a strange deep navy blue colored head of waist length hair. She wore black trousers and a dark blue blouse that nearly matched her hair. She looked accusingly from her position on the sofa and expectantly her sister, as if demanding an explanation for the interruption with a single glance.
The blonde girl paused a leaned over for a moment, catching her breath.
"We got letters!" The words tumbled out in an excited frenzy.
Her sisters sat up straight as a board at one, almost as if electrocuted.
The golden eyed one spoke first, cautiously, "Elena, you know what father said. We won't be getting any letters."
Elena crossed her arms. "I obviously know that Illiana, I'm not deaf. He said we wouldn't get any, but we did!"
The third girl joined, "Elena, don't get our hopes up. Father's word is as good as the law, I'll only believe they defied him if I see the letters with my own eyes."
"All right then Raina. If you need to see them, then here," Elena replied as she dropped three letters on the side table between the armchair and the sofa. Raina practically lunged for the one addressed to her, and Illiana cautiously picked hers up, as is she was afraid it would disappear. As the three of them opened the letters, Illiana softy read hers aloud. It said:
Dear Ms. Slytherin,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We await your owl no later than July 31..
The term will begin on September 1.. All students will ride the Hogwarts Express on Kings Cross Station, platform 9 ¾, then report to the Great Hall. You will find your supply list in this envelope as well.
We very much look forward to receiving the very first generation of Hogwarts students. We hope that you choose to attend.
Sincerely,
Headmasters
Rowena Ravenclaw Helga Hufflepuff
Godric Gryffindor Salazar Slytherin
The three sisters collectively gasped upon reading the last name.
"But… But Father said he would never send us…"
"But he signed it right there! He must have changed his mind."
"While I would love to believe that, we should know him well enough to know that he would never back down on something like this."
"I know, but there doesn't seem to be any other possible explanation."
"I know. I doubt they went behind his back or that he backed down, but we need to be certain one way or another. We should ask him about it at supper. It's not like we can go without his consent anyways."
"True. I guess we don't have a choice."
The three sisters stashed their letters between the books filling up the library. They went about their day, studying the homework their tutors had assigned them, yet never fully focusing, the small slips of paper seeping into their thoughts, no matter how hard they tried to force it out. It was a hopeless cause, though they refused to admit defeat even after the battle had been lost. The entire day was one moment of tense anticipation to the next, all leading up to the family dinner that night.
As the meal began, Elena, Illiana, and Raina tried to act naturally. Despite their effort, their nerves leaked through the lack of conversation. It was not every night that they got to see their father, as he was often away, so they were normally much more talkative. The skinny, short, balding old man eyed then knowingly, his face impassive and unreadable but for a small glint in his eyes.
"So girls… I've noticed a certain elephant in the room. Care to address it?"
Elena and Raina looked down in discomfort, while shy Illinana looked up with a rare spark of defiance in her eyes.
"Yes. I assume you know about the letters?"
Salazar cocked his eyebrows in surprise, then nodded in affirmation.
"Is that it? No explanation? Did they go behind your back or did you give in? Well?"
In response, the wizened old man merely took a sip of his wine and sighed. The girls waited in expectant silence.
"Contrary to your belief, I am capable of changing my mind. While your tutors have been doing an excellent job educating you, this school and some well, social interaction will be good for you, or so I'm told."
In barely even a hopeful whisper Illiana asked, "So, you're letting us go?"
Salazar rolled his eyes, "Of course I'm letting you go, do you think I would have signed the letter if I didn't have every intention of allowing you to? You three really are foolish!"
Normally the three would have been shamed to silence by being called fools by their father, but not today. They were too excited to care about anything else. They began excitedly planning for their first day, not even stopping to consider why their father had really allowed them to attend Hogwarts.
He had always told them that the other founders were discussing the idea of allowing muggle borns, or 'mudbloods,' as he put it, into the school. He didn't want his precious daughters to interact with such foul imposters. They had never bothered to wonder why this would have deterred a stubborn and powerful man such as their father, especially with his influence over the school. So while it was true that he loathed muggle borns, this was not the full reason of his initial disapproval.
In their frenzy, the girls didn't stop to look at their father, didn't think to check on him. If they had, maybe they would have suspected this true intentions. The sad yet malicious glint in his eyes may have tipped them off, but alas, they never saw it. They were going to Hogwarts, and Salazar Slytherin was going to fulfill his end of a deal. One he made long ago, with a mysteriously beautiful woman.