When the first day of sixth year came around, I expected it to be awful- everyone in Slytherin hated me, and I had no friends in the rest of the school. Then during dinner, Cissy ran up to me.

"EMMA! Where have you been?" she squealed, "You didn't sit with us in the train! Now what have you been up to, you haven't written all summer!"

"I- I thought we weren't friends anymore-" I stuttered, completely confused. I wasn't the only one of us who didn't write!

"Not friends?!" Cissy stared at me in wonder. "Em, five years of best-friendship doesn't go up in smoke just because you went through some stupid little phase. We all have them! Yours was very, er, public, but-"

"Cissy… it wasn't a phase."

"Huh?"

"It's my opinion. I don't think Muggles are dirt."

"Oh." She paused. "Well, just keep that quiet then, it isn't that big of a deal-"

"No, Cissy, listen to me-"

"No, you listen to me!" She grabbed my arm, pulling me towards the Slytherin table. "Come eat. Zurie and Maia and Jessica aren't angry, so don't worry. I've spent a lot of time making sure no one's mad at you; everything will be just the way it used to be!"

There were just a few problems with her idea- over the summer, I had changed a lot. I took a look at my parents' stuck-up pureblood friends, and realized that they were exactly what I was destined to become if I didn't do something. I'd even hung out with muggles a little, and they weren't as bad as I had always heard they were.

So Cissy was wrong. I wasn't a 'real' Slytherin, and I was done pretending.

But for the first week of school, things went almost as well as she had hoped. Zurie, Maia and Jessica seemed a little colder to me, but we were all friends. Everyone was careful about mentioning the end of fifth year or anything related to mudbloods.

I almost thought that Cissy was right and everything was going to be fine. Of course, I was wrong. One Friday night in the common room, Rodolphus Lestrange and his band of Death Eater wannabes came up to me.

Bellatrix spoke first, using the sugary sweet voice she used with teachers when she was in trouble. "Emma, our families have known each other for a long time, yeah? Well, as a family friend and fellow pureblood, I –well, we– feel we need to speak to you about something."

"Last year you said a few things that didn't quite sound like the Emma Doherty we've known." Rodolphus growled

"What he means, Emma, is that we just want to make sure those thoughts are out of you head." Bellatrix smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"I- I dunno," I stuttered. What was I gonna say? I couldn't lie again, I had to start standing up for myself!

"Okay," I started, "I don't have a problem with mudbloods. But I mean, what's so bad about that? Just because they're parents don't have magic-"

"Merlin." John Avery, a boy I had been good friends with, rolled his eyes at me. "We hate mudbloods because their blood's all… dirty. They come from muggles."

"Well, why are muggles dirty?!"

John took a step back, looking at me in a way I'd never seen him look at another Slytherin before. "Emma… come on." He said in a quieter, almost pleading voice. "You can't understand that? You're a pureblood!"

"She can't understand," Bellatrix said very loudly, "because the girl's a damn blood traitor!"

The common room went quiet, and suddenly all eyes were on us.

"I- I'm not a blood traitor!" I gasped. Sure, I had made a few muggle friends around my neighborhood, and yeah, I had gone to a few music shows with them. But why was that so wrong? I was proud that I was pureblood. I just didn't get why these people were so obsessive about it?

"Ha! Not a blood traitor?" Rodolphus laughed. "Really?"

"Yes!" I cried. "I mean, no, I not! So what if I have a few muggle friends-"

Bellatrix gasped, and so did all of the other wish-they-were-Death-Eaters.

"She's worse than I thought." Bellatrix whispered to Rodolphus. Turning to me she said (all traces of sugar and sweetness gone from her voice), "We'll talk tomorrow."

Taking that as a sign to go to my dormitory, I grabbed my book bag, and walked as fast as I could without running up to my room.

I got into bed early. Zurie, Cissy, Maia and Jessica came up together, and as soon as they walked through the door they got very quiet. They got dressed and into bed quickly and without talking, but they were all giggling a little and trying to stifle it. I tried not to cry- this was even worse than the end of fifth year.

As much as I wanted to, I couldn't sleep. This was all way too much. I leaned over to my bedside table and grabbed my wand, just in case. I was scared that Bellatrix had something up her sleeve.

Turns out, someone did have something up their sleeve- it just wasn't Bella. It was this psychotic third year with frizzy hair- her name was Alecto or something. Her fiery orange spell hit my bed instead of me (though it did singe a big chunk of my hair), so I rolled to the floor before she could send another one at me. I grabbed her ankles, which made her topple to the ground and leapt up before anyone else could do anything. I raced down the stairs, pushing everyone out of the way.

I heard Bellatrix scream, "What the hell happened?! Where is that little muggle lover going?!"

I made it through the doorway, but of course, it wasn't a clean getaway straight out of the common room. I was followed -I didn't stop to check how many people it was by- and it took several complicated turns and a good use of secret passageways to lose them. When I looked around, I realized I had no idea where I was. The only distinctive thing about the corridor I was in was a lot of paintings of food.

Rule number one at Hogwarts: Don't get lost.

I leaned against the wall to catch my breath, wincing as the cold stone touched my bare shoulders. Then, deciding there was no way I could get any more lost, I wandered around trying to find some sign of life. Nothing, no one. Everything was totally unfamiliar. Stupid castle.

Then, there was a big crash and the sound of metal clattering to the floor, followed by a loud voice spewing out cuss words. I peeked around the corner, and saw four boys in my year levitating a good load of food that was obviously stolen from the kitchens.

It was Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.

It appeared that Potter had dropped an oversized platter of cookies on his foot, and he was jumping up and down letting out a stream of curses.

"You guys been in the kitchens?" I asked, stepping out into the open.

All four boys stopped and stared.

"Um…" Pettigrew swallowed. His gaze was directed a bit too low for my liking.

As I realized that, several things hit me.

One: I was walking around Hogwarts in my pajamas, which included a flimsy tank top and shorts.

Two: I had a very long, very fried strip of hair that was still smoking

Three: I was a Slytherin, which meant it was basically written law to turn them in for being out after hours.

"What exactly… happened to you?" Lupin asked.

I grimaced. "I was chased out of my bed by a mob of angry Slytherins. They don't really like me."

"Wait…what?" Black looked confused. "You're like... popular."

I shrugged. "Was. Until I spoke my mind and they decided I'm not Slytherin enough for them or some shit like that. Now I… actually, I have no idea what I do now."

"Oh."

"Um, where are we exactly?"

I had just asked that, when I heard a voice come from behind the tapestry I had just come out of. "Where is she, dammit? I swear I'm gonna kill her…"

I turned white and backed up, wildly looking for somewhere to run.

Seeing this, Potter moved at lightning speed and pulled something out of Black's robe, throwing it over me. It took a moment for me to realize what it was… an invisibility cloak.

I shifted it so I was fully covered and moved to the side. Bellatrix burst out of the passageway, red in the face.

"We lost her! Rodolphus this is your fault…"

"I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry," he said quickly as he appeared from the hidden corridor as well. Although Bellatrix and Rodolphus were the seventh year alphas, his crush on her was hopeless. I almost pitied him for it.

Almost.

"Well keep moving!" Another Death-Eater-wannabe came out behind them.

"You guys…" Cissy poked her head out. "Don't hurt her…"

Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "She'll get what's com- what are you four doing here?" she spat, trying to hide her bewilderment of finding the Gryffindors standing out in the open.

Potter gave her a look. "The inbreeding's really gotten to you lot, hasn't it?" He drawled, "Basement equals kitchens. Kitchens equal food."

Bellatrix matched James's steady gaze. "Do you forget my dearest cousin Sirius? If anyone's touched in the head, it's that sod."

Black rolled his eyes and muttered. "More like I'm the only one that that escaped it. Now," he had a commanding, yet casually disinterested air about him, "we won't tell on you if you don't tell on us. Now move along and go do... whatever it is you people do."

The Slytherins left without another word, just lots of glares. When they were gone, I pulled off the cloak and handed it to Pott- James. "Thanks. A lot." I said

"No problem. Now what exactly is their deal with you?"

I blushed. "I kind of… well, I guess I changed my mind about a few things, mainly pureblood/mudblood nonsense. And they have major issues with that, obviously."

They all nodded slowly and thoughtfully, like they were trying to figure out if I was lying or not.

As James put his cloak into his pocket, Black gave him a funny look. "Mate, that thing's valuable. You can't just give it to every random girl in distress… especially Slytherins…"

I put my hands on my hips. "I thought I made it clear I disassociate myself from them."

Obviously, they weren't entirely convinced. There were a few moments of silence before I spoke.

"Um… I'm going to go talk to Dumbledore." I said trying to fill the awkward noiselessness. "Or someone. I don't know. Thanks for the help, though. Seriously," I smiled.

"See ya." Black said, still giving me a funny scrutinizing look. I blushed even more.

As I turned to leave, I could see that Lupin's smile was the only one that looked completely genuine. I couldn't really blame them, though- hadn't I spent the last five years jeering rude comments and being an overall bitch around them? I was going to have to work hard to earn a new reputation, or spend the rest of the year in loner-y misery, since it seemed like all of Slytherin was going to totally shun me. Or kill me. Or something.

I wandered around for a while before I found my way to the teacher's lounge. There were always teachers there, up until around midnight. I was lucky to catch McGonagall.

"Miss Doherty!" she cried, surprised. "What are you… why are you-"

I took a deep breath. "I was chased out of my dorms by a bunch of deranged so-called friends who hate me because they say I'm a blood traitor, which I guess I sort of am, but it's really just my views and I hid them for a really long time but it's always been me I can't help it but I like myself better now- they don't but that's just them, you know they way they are- but I can't survive the next two years with them, like really they're kind of crazy and I need to see the Headmaster now, please. Ma'am."

"I believe he's in a meeting right now with some Slytherin students right." she stuttered, still slightly flustered by my sudden appearance

Oh no.

It's really not hard to guess which Slytherin students she was talking about.

As soon as McGonagall saw the horrified look on my face, her expression softened a little. Well there's something she'd never done for me before!

But her voice and face quickly returned to their usual strict and disciplined quality. "I'll take you to see him now." she said, and with a confused glance at me, turned and led the way.

We walked to the office in silence, and got there just as the other Slytherins were leaving. It was most of same kids who'd been chasing me. As we passed them they all shot me total death-glares and I tried to look small. As soon as Dumbledore saw me, he raised his eyebrows.

"Miss Doherty… I've just heard an earful about you. Well then, sit down."

I chose a comfortable looking armchair, and immediately sunk six inches into the cushions. Trying to reposition myself so I didn't get sucked into stuffing, I cleared my throat. "Er… yeah. About that conversation with the other Slytherins you had…"

"You don't seem to be the favorite in your House right now."

"Well... yeah."

"Miss Doherty," the headmaster laced his fingers together and leaned forward. "what I heard from the other Slytherin students is, well, a little confusing. Quite frankly, they seemed to be describing a person very different from the Emma Doherty that I'd seen before. So I'd like to discuss that."

Instead of responding immediately, I tried to find the right words to say while looking around the room.

The office was furnished with taste, but Dumbledore's eccentricity was definitely apparent from all of the odd objects about, clicking and whirring and smoking. I spotted the Sorting Hat on tall mahogany shelf nearby, and felt my cheeks turn red. I distinctly remembered our conversation six years before… the hat had said I was un-Slytherin. Before it had seemed impossible, but now it was obviously correct. There was just no denying it.

"Miss Doherty?" Dumbledore's voice broke me away from my memory

I sighed. "The other Slytherins and me... well, we never quite meshed right. Everyone else thought I was ok, but I knew inside it wasn't really right, I knew that something didn't click with me and them. At first it wasn't too bad, but then started getting worse. Lately it's been getting really... difficult. Really really difficult."

"I heard you ran out of your room after attacking a third year?"

I let out a tiny gasp of indignation. "You mean that Carrow chick? She attacked me, while I was sleeping!"

"I see. I thought it may have been a bit different then what they told me. Now, what were you saying about things not clicking?"

"Oh... well, um, to be honest, sir…" I looked down, the blurted, "I don't want to be in Slytherin!"

"Ah." he leaned back. "And why is this?"

"Why? It's awful! I hate them! All of them! Well, most of them anyways. I mean, I had a lot of friends but now everyone hates me and thing has gotten completely out of order and people are always talking about the Dark Lord and I'm always going along with things I don't believe in and now I've gone and completely blown it all up, and they're ALL going to hate me now, they'll call me blood traitor freak! I'm proud of it, I guess now I am, but where do I have to go and-"

"Emma." Dumbledore stopped me. "Please, slow down."

He was being very calm about the whole situation, when this was there was the happiness and well being, not to mention social life at stake for one of his students.

So I decided to try again. "I'm only in it because of my family. The Sorting Hat warned me before, about me not doing well in Slytherin." I explained. "I didn't listen, which was stupid. Now I'm stuck and I have to spend the next two years with these people! I'm going to go insane!"

I was on the brink of tears, as well as hysteria.

Dumbledore seemed to realize this, and leaned forward. "Miss Doherty, something may be able to be arranged. If your problems with your peers are really this bad, I'm sure I could arrange with Poppy for you to stay in the Hospital Wing."

I smiled. "That would be great."

"Now, do you think you'll be fine going to bed?"

I made a face. "I guess so, as long as everyone is asleep…"

He leaned back. "Well, after the… talk I had with them earlier, I'm sure you'll be fine."

He sent me along to go back to bed, but when I got back to the dungeons I was greeted by a very unhappy sight.

All of my belongings were sitting, perfectly packed, outside of the blank stone wall that was the entrance to the Common room.

"Password?" the familiar disembodied voice asked as soon as I was close enough

"Thestral Wings…" I replied absentmindedly, staring at my trunk. Who had put that there? The girls from my dorm?

"Wrong." the voice said.

"Huh?" I snapped my head up.

"Wrong password. Try again."

"Wrong?!" I shrieked. "No! It's thestral wings!"

"Try again."

They changed the damn password on me. I had been kicked out of my own house.

Staring at my trunk on the ground, I could think of a good thing about this situation- at least they had packed my stuff for me!

Ah, optimism. It can make any crappy situation better.