The quiet whispering that had been going on throughout the whole sorting ceremony screeched to a halt. Dead silence filled the hall for a good three seconds before Robin shouted "What?" into the silence. Suddenly the Great Hall was in an uproar, the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables were throwing insults at each other. One Slytherin student attempted to throw one of the golden plates at the Ravenclaw table, and suddenly magic was flying around the room. Renn sat in horror as she saw Rose's look of fright as she threw up a shield that protected all the unsorted first years, Albus and Kyle's looks of apprehension and confusion as they looked at her, Scorpius' silent look of triumph, but worst of all Robin's look of despair as she sank to her chair, barely lucid enough to throw up a shield against all the charm work flying around the room.

"That is QUITE ENOUGH!" Headmaster McGonagall's voice rang out across the room as suddenly every student's wands flew out of their hands and hovered six feet above them in the air. "You are all a sorry sight!" she scolded as she looked out over her students, many of the Ravenclaws had beaks after someone started throwing a transformation curse, a couple of Slytherins had forked tongues, scaly skin, and slit eyes, but boils, nosebleeds, rug burns, jelly legs, and petrificus totalus were the most common symptoms of both houses. "One Hundred and Fifty points from both Ravenclaw AND Slytherin houses, and detention for all of you at varying times for the next month except for the new first years. I am very disappointed in your lack of unity not just as houses but as a school. Yes, Ms. Ravenclaw's sorting was very unprecedented, but that is no excuse for you all to behave like barbarians. Your heads of houses will also distribute what punishment they see fit. All of your wands will be returned to you after the sorting is done, and all those hit by a jinx will report to the Hospital Wing during the welcome feast." She sat down, still holding her wand erect, and all the wands belonging to a Gryffindor or a Hufflepuff floated down, as well as the wands of the first years, to their respective owners.

Despite the tense atmosphere, the sorting went on without further incident. Rose was happily sorted into Gryffindor and joined Albus and Kyle at their table. Renn had perched herself at the very edge of the Slytherin table, leaving a couple of seats in between her and the next closest person. Scorpius kept scooting down chair by chair closer to Renn until that same boy from before glared at him, at which point he stopped even looking in Renn's direction. Finally, "Zevenberg, Eileen" was sorted into Hufflepuff, and Headmaster McGonagall stood and looked out at all her students.

"To those who are new here, welcome to Hogwarts," McGonagall smiled warmly to the first years. "To those who are not, welcome back. Whether this is your first year or your seventh, you are in for an unforgettable year of learning, magic, fun, and friendship. I must give you a few reminders before we all dig in. The Forbidden Forest is out of bounds, no matter what year you are in. Filch has asked me to remind you that most jokes from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes are still banned from school, for a specific list one is posted in the commons of each house dorm room. Magic is not to be used in the hallways," here she gave a pointed glance to the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables whose wands still floated above their heads. "Other than that, you must be in your dorms by the nine o'clock curfew. Now, I have done enough prattling and I'm sure you all are starving. Madame Pomfrey has told me that those hit by transfiguration curses will need to see Professor Tylwyn after the feast. Otherwise if you were hit by a jinx, go with her now," at these words about half of each table stood up and shuffled out of the room as their wands all fell back into their possession. McGonagall clapped her hands once, and every platter in the hall was covered with any kind of food you could imagine.

"Let's eat," McGonagall smiled at everyone and the Great Hall filled with chatter again despite the half empty Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables. Even though her candy sickness had worn off, Renn lost her appetite for food the second that hat was removed from her head. All her favorite foods were piled in front of her but just the thought of food made her ill. Ravenclaw really has deserted me, Renn woefully thought. Maybe mother was right, maybe I don't deserve to be here. Renn continued to despair, but then she caught the eye of Albus, who smiled at her from the Gryffindor table. Even though he was petrified at the thought of being put in Slytherin himself, he didn't treat her any differently than if she was sorted into Ravenclaw's house.

And then Renn paused. Why should her placement into Slytherin change anything? If anything, her incentive to learn and prove everyone wrong should be even stronger. At that moment, she stopped pitying herself, and pitied more her siblings who wouldn't understand that although she would be picked on, although she would be an outcast, this curse was also a gift, for although she may be in Slytherin right now, she would not forget who she was: Renn Ravenclaw, descendant of the Hogwarts Four. Now was not the time to turn tail and run away. She grabbed a spoon, and put a large helping of cheesy mashed potatoes on her plate followed by half a dozen rolls of sushi.

"Fan of fish?" Scorpius had edged his way down the table to her, and she saw his plate contained some sushi as well. It looked like he was one of the people hit with a transfiguration charm though; his skin had a scaly print on it, his tongue was forked, and he had fangs.

"You could say that," Renn chuckled. Anyone who will still talk to me is worth being nice to at this point, she thought. "Looks like you need to see Professor Tylwyn after this."

"I didn't get hit too badly," he shrugged off his appearance. "You should see what happened to Wayne—he could have given Voldemort a run for his money for most snake-like features. It was bad enough that he lost all his hair!"

Despite her attempt not to, Renn chuckled under her breath. "I'm glad no one sent jinxes flying my way," Renn commented. "Guess that's an inadvertent plus side to causing the whole mess."

"Personally," Scorpius leaned closer to her. "I'm glad you didn't wind up in Ravenclaw. If you had, you would be friends with Potter and Weasley and I wouldn't be able to talk with you again."

"What do you have against them Scorpius?" Renn asked him curiously.

"I have nothing against them at all," Scorpius backtracked some. "Actually I'd sort of like to get to know them and see for myself, but Wayne told me that if I went near them the deal would be off. That can't happen."

"You made a deal with a bald guy?" Renn looked at him with mock seriousness. "That's a bad sign Scorpius—all the bad guys in the movies are bald!" Scorpius burst out laughing for a minute before his face turned serious again.

"I'm not the one who made the deal—my dad is," Scorpius whispered. Before he could say anything else, the same boy from before came up to them and sat down directly across the table from them. It looked like this was the guy Scorpius was talking about earlier—only a tuft of his brown hair was left, and with only a small amount more focus from the caster, he would not just have snake-like features, he would be a snake—even his skull shape had been altered by the spell's strength. Renn could visibly see Scorpius' blood run colder as he put a piece of sushi in his mouth, and Renn thought she heard him mumble something to her about trying the Alaska rolls.

"So, you are Renn Ravenclaw," the newcomer pointedly addressed her, making Scorpius gag on his sushi. The boy flicked his wand at Scorpius, dislodging the sushi from his windpipe and allowing Scorpius to breathe freely after a moment of coughing. His gaze never wavered from Renn and she noticed his eyes would look just like hers without the snake spell—they had the same shape and green coloring.

"That's me," Renn replied cautiously. Anyone who could make Scorpius that visibly uncomfortable was not good news.

"Wayne Fredrickson, fifth former," he extended a muscular hand across the table which Renn did not take. She raised one eyebrow at him and gave him a look that said very plainly "No thank you." His expression turned from politely interested to icy rage for half a second before it was masked again by politeness. "I am the leader of the Slytherin team at the dueling club here and the student vice president of the club itself. If you're interested, we generally don't offer membership on the team to first years but after seeing your charm work on the train..."

Oh dragonhide, he saw that? Renn frantically thought to herself without letting her anxiousness show to Wayne. Was that really so unusual? That was just a lack of focus on my part wasn't it?

"—we are willing to make an exception," he continued with a smirk. "What do you say? Are you in?"

"Wayne," Renn started. "I have only been here for an hour, and the only spells I've ever performed were the ones you saw on the train. Joining a dueling club when I only know a spell and a half doesn't sound like a good idea. So thanks, but no thanks." She gave him a fake, squinty smile before turning back to her food.

"Renn," Scorpius whispered warningly to her. "No one tells him no. If you tell him no, bad things happen and they all look like accidents."

"I got that feeling," Renn whispered back. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to let him push me around. I'll probably join the club later but I won't be part of a dueling team—I'll duel for myself." She looked up to see Wayne staring at her with an intimidating expression on his face made worse by the snake transfiguration.

At that moment, Professor Tylwyn came up behind Wayne and tapped him on the shoulder. "You were hit with the worst of the botched transfiguration spells," she told him with an exasperated look on her face. "Since you will take the longest to heal, and so we can salvage some of your hair, come with me now. You might as well come too," she pointed at Scorpius across the table. With one venomous look at Renn, Wayne got up to follow Professor Tylwyn and Scorpius stood with him. As they walked away, Scorpius looked back at Renn over his shoulder and gave her a quick shrug before the three of them exited the Great Hall.

Renn went back to enjoying her meal in solitude. She couldn't help but think again that if she were placed in Ravenclaw, heck even if she were placed in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, she wouldn't be eating alone. Slytherin certainly was living up to its reputation of being heartless. Scorpius was the only exception to the rule so far, but he was as new as Renn—he would fit into the Slytherin mold soon enough. But no other first year from Slytherin has tried to talk to me either, a wishful voice in Renn's head commented. Maybe Scorpius is different from them. He certainly wasn't too fond of Wayne—the perfect Slytherin. Renn's more practical side told her that Scorpius would probably not change—all he's known are Slytherin tradition and values.

Putting thoughts of Scorpius out of her head, Renn decided that now was as good a time as any to start studying. Knowing Rachel and Rain, she should start with as many protection and counter spells as she could find. Opening The Standard Book of Spells Grade One, she flipped to the section about counter charms. Sadly, there was not much information about countering spells—after all in your first year, concepts and the ability to perform simple spells without error are more important than learning counter charms and protection spells. The first spell that was listed was Protego, a spell to create a bubble shield around yourself to deflect most spells. It was listed "For Advanced Students Only"; Renn knew then that she would need to spend lots of time in the library looking up spells.

She just had time to memorize the wand movement, when the classes all stood up to exit the Great Hall. Startled by the sudden movement of chairs, Renn was late getting out of her chair and was the last to move towards the Slytherin Prefect to be shown to the dorms.

"Miss Ravenclaw!" Renn froze hardly daring to believe her bad luck that Headmistress McGonagall called her out of the group. She put on an inquisitive, and what she hoped was meek look and turned to face McGonagall. Another girl Renn's age was standing by McGonagall looking around the Great Hall with an unreadable expression on her face. She was very pretty; her black hair was cut shoulder length and was curled in perfect ringlets to frame her face, setting off her light violet eyes and her dark mocha skin. She had a willowy frame similar to Renn's, and the two of them were about the same height. McGonagall beckoned, and the three of them walked further behind the Slytherins towards the dungeons.

"This is Miss Marksman," McGonagall gestured to the girl next to her. "She arrived late and was just sorted into Slytherin. In light of the abnormalities in your situations, I thought it would be best for the two of you to room together apart from the rest of the Slytherins." Another way to make us stand out, Renn sighed to herself as they walked closer towards the dungeons.

"I understand that you don't want to do more to distinguish yourselves from other students," McGonagall continued as if she read Renn's mind, "but there is a secret room in each of the dorms in case we have students who would be better protected if they were not sleeping openly with the rest of their class. I have already been made aware of a few plots to humiliate or harm you Miss Ravenclaw and school hasn't even started yet; plus Miss Marksman will be rooming there and I think it would be beneficial for both of you to have someone else sharing a room with you that won't plot your demise.

"My goal is to keep you both as safe as possible and give you both as normal a Hogwarts experience as possible—the best way I can see to do that is to have you both room in here together. Also, since there are students in other houses who are in the same situation, there is a door in each of your rooms that connects to a commons for all the students who are better kept safe separate. They will be your house within your house; anyone who attempts to enter the door into one of the other house's rooms will receive detention and a rather nasty jinx that Madame Pomfrey will have to sort out.

"The students staying in the rooms are expected to meet each other in the commons at 8:30. The heads of house and I will all be there so we will know if you ditch." McGonagall ended her explanation just as all the Slytherins came to a halt in front of a bare wall.

"Venomous Tentacula!" A prefect from the front of the horde shouted, and a door opened in the wall. The Slytherins began to file in, and Renn turned to face McGonagall.

"Headmaster, do we get any say in this at all?" Renn looked at her with what she hoped was a reasonable expression on her face, hardly believing that she was challenging a teacher at all. "I mean I'm sure you're a nice person," she said in regards to Ms. Marksman, "but I want to face my problems with the Slytherins head on, not go cower in a corner somewhere."

"I wish it were that simple Ms. Ravenclaw," McGonagall looked Renn straight on with a mixture of regret and exasperation. "The threats to your own well being are great enough that we want you split from the group. I will explain each of your personal safety concerns to you in private so if you wish to share them with the other you may decide when to do so. But until the threat level against each of you goes down, you will be rooming separately from the others; that is my final decision."

With that, McGonagall entered the archway into the Slytherin commons. The other girl started to follow her, but then turned to face Renn. "I'm Laney," she spoke in a barely audible voice before turning back into the dungeons. Renn went along behind Laney, but what she saw when she got through the door was unexpected. The Slytherins had actually made their dorm look like it wasn't in a dungeon—almost. Green tapestries hung all over the place, with silver candlestick holders and accents in various spots in the room. A lounge area with a fireplace sat dead center from where Renn had entered the room and two spiral staircases sat on opposite sides of it, leading presumably to the boys and girls dorms. Renn looked back towards McGonagall and Laney, who both looked around apprehensively. The Slytherins tour of their own dorm just split off down the two staircases, and as soon as they were all out of sight McGonagall went up to a green tapestry on the left side of the wall and shifted it to the left. A small indent filled with dust could be seen on what was otherwise a bare wall that was revealed by the tapestry's movement.

McGonagall placed her wand tip into the indent and said "Acromantula", revealing a third staircase behind the wall. McGonagall ushered them inside quickly before sliding the tapestry back into place and the wall slid closed behind them. Torches suddenly came on to illuminate the way up the stairs.

"It's a bit of a hike since the other dorms are all in towers, but you can use the charm Glisseo to turn the steps into a slide so you can get down to the dungeons faster," McGonagall explained and they came to a landing with several pillows on it. "We had to add that after a student broke some bones sliding directly into the wall further down."

"Headmaster," Laney spoke quietly from the corner. "Won't the other Slytherins wonder why we're never in the commons or where we disappear to at night through the indents?"

"You have a good point Ms. Marksman," McGonagall conceded as they continued up the never ending staircase. "The other Slytherins will never see you use the passageway because students in protected dorms are allowed an extra half hour to their curfew so the remaining members of their house are sent to bed before you go through the indents. Also, each member of the protected houses is allocated one time turner."

"A time turner?" Renn asked surprised. "My sister told me all of those were destroyed about twenty years ago when Harry Potter and his friends fought off the death eaters in the ministry!"

"Officially they were," McGonagall remarked. "Unofficially, select students are still able to procure time turners and can use them for extra classes, but students living separately need to have them so they can get into their dorm rooms without being seen by their classmates. Do you both know the rules of time turners?"

Renn and Laney shook their heads.

"The most important rule is that you must never be seen by yourself," McGonagall whirled to face them to emphasize her point, "far more experienced wizards than yourselves have been driven mad by the sight of their future selves. Time travel is not something to be trifled with, and unlike popular misconception, altering the past does not create a separate time flow—the time you experienced in the past is with all the alterations made in the future already built into it. Now, before I bore you to tears, let's go see your new room."

Just as she finished, the three of them arrived at another landing, this time with an ornate maple door at its top. McGonagall turned towards them once more, "the rooms here are much like the room of requirement—it changes depending on the students living in it, so when you step into the room you must go together and you will feel momentarily light headed and experience a falling sensation. Once you stop falling, your vision will blur, and the room will come into focus after a minute or two, newly configured to your needs."

"Won't you be coming in with us?" Renn asked, trying to keep her uncertainty about the whole situation out of her voice.

"If I did, the room would be altered to meet my needs too, which is the last thing you two want trust me," McGonagall placed a hand reassuringly on each of their shoulders. "Now, go on in—the clock is ticking!"

And with that McGonagall ushered them both towards the room, and opened the door to a dark room. Laney looked at Renn cautiously, grabbed her hand and they both ran into the room. Renn felt like she just ran off a cliff, and just as suddenly her stomach zipped back into its proper place, and her vision blurred as McGonagall said it would. While her eyesight came back into focus, the room became brighter, until the room was filled with light and Renn's vision had returned to normal.

What she saw made her gasp—the room was twice the size of the room she had once shared with Rachel and Rain, and had two loft beds with desks underneath on opposite sides of the room. Everything in the room was in shades of blue, purple, or green, but the primary color in the room was purple, and tinges of gold and silver accentuated the furniture. Bookshelves lined every wall, full of books on every subject Renn could imagine. The ceiling swirled with constellations, and had three suns rotating in the sky that lit the entire room.

In the center of the room there were plush chairs, a golden pedestal with an empty book sitting on it and an owl engraving whose eyes followed you around the room, and in the dead center there was a table with a milky white, constantly changing surface, with wisps of shadows inside that Renn couldn't make out from where she stood. On one of the many bookshelves, there were jars of ingredients, tea bags, crystal balls, and other objects unfamiliar to Renn.

"Wow," Laney whispered in awe from Renn's right.

"Wow?" Renn turned to her new roommate, "this is beyond wow—this is incredible!" A big smile broke out on Laney's face and the two girls squeaked briefly in excitement to each other before racing to explore the room, Laney heading for the table in the center, and Renn heading towards the bookshelf with the strange objects on it.

A little rap was heard at the door they came in through, and both girls stopped what they were doing, having completely forgotten about Headmistress McGonagall waiting outside. Renn got up to get the door, and once Laney saw her go towards it, she continued staring at the table.

"How did it go?" McGonagall asked Renn when she opened the door. To answer her, Renn just opened the door further, and McGonagall smiled when she saw the room's interior. "Nicely done ladies, sometimes this room looks quite appalling depending on the students who occupy it," she began walking around the room, but froze when she saw Laney sitting at the table in the center, poking the shadows in the surface.

"However I'm surprised that the room manifested one of those," McGonagall said. "Do wither of you know what that is?"

Renn shook her head at the same time Laney nodded.

"In that case, I shall explain it to you Miss Ravenclaw," McGonagall started, "that's a seeing glass on the surface on that table. It is like a crystal ball combined with something the Muggles call a 'Magic-8ball', only it is more accurate and precise. A seeing glass when used properly can show you glimpses of the future based on how you word a question, but isn't used often because it requires more than one person with the predisposition to see the future."

"More than one?" Laney exclaimed, louder than any other time she had spoken since Renn saw her with Headmaster McGonagall. She looked embarrassed by her outburst and slouched a little, focusing her gaze back on the seeing glass.

"Yes Miss Marksman, more than one, which is why I find the presence of this one in your room so unusual," McGonagall continued, "however, they are not to be used lightly. There is the chance that a vision induced by the seeing glass can harm the users physically, and mentally. Some who have been foolish enough to touch one without the necessary skills have been stuck in a coma in St. Mungo's for the rest of their miserable lives being tortured by an unseen force. I hope this old school knows what it's doing.

"Oh, I almost forgot," McGonagall cut herself off and reached into her robes to pull out a small envelope. "A letter arrived for you Miss Ravenclaw. You both should head to the meeting shortly—I suspect some of the other students are waiting already. When you are ready, exit through that door there," McGonagall pointed with her wand to a door that until then neither of the girls had noticed off to the corner of the room, and proceeded to exit through it.

Renn took the envelope in hand, glancing at the seal as she did so; what she saw made her feel like she was falling again—the Raven's eye of her family's seal stared menacingly back at her from the back of the envelope. Better now than never I guess, Renn figured, and opened the envelope to remove a single sheet of perfectly folded paper.

Renee,

I have heard the situation of your sorting ceremony, and I am extremely disappointed. Even the sorting hat could tell that nothing I have said to you for the last eleven years of your life has sunk in. I have decided it is time for an intervention. From this day forth, you are no longer a Ravenclaw; you have brought nothing but shame upon our family and will ruin our good name if you remain a part of it, and I will not squander my time, money, and energy on a lost cause. Your things will be sent to you forthwith.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Roxanne Ravenclaw

After she finished reading, Renn paused and re-read the entire letter twice to make sure she wasn't misreading something. Yes, her mother was eccentric, but she wouldn't kick her out…would she? But the handwriting was right, down to the loops on the Rs and the formal signature. Without realizing it, Renn started crying. Sure, the Ravenclaw house was a hard place to live, but Robin was there, and Robert was on occasion. Now, what's left?

"Renn," Laney's voice whispered from the corner, "are you ok?"

Renn hesitated. Normally she wouldn't open up to someone she had just met, but then again what about today had been normal? Plus, something in her gut told her she could trust Laney, that somehow despite their seeming differences that they were the same. She sighed and plopped down in one of the chairs by the seeing glass.

"Not really," Renn started, "my family wants me to be someone I'm not and now I've paid the price for it. That letter was my mom kicking me out and disowning me."

"What?" Laney's shock was written all over her face. "Parents aren't supposed to do that! A parent should love their child no matter what, even if they don't fit their perfect little mold!"

"Try telling my mother that," Renn grumbled, "or better yet, try telling anyone in my family that you are supposed to love each other no matter what. Except Robert and Robin, they face the wrath of my whole family any time they speak to me, or do something nice for me."

"Maybe one of them will help you," Laney suggested.

"Robin still lives at home or I'm sure she would," Renn thought out loud, "and after tonight I'm not sure if she'll want anything to do with me either. But Robert might help; I'll send him an owl after the meeting."

"Are you up to going?" Laney asked quietly.

"I have to be," Renn replied assuredly, "I've faked happiness for years—I can do it for another day." And with that, Renn wiped her eyes, took a deep breath in and stepped towards the door, Laney following close behind. Laney reached out and squeezed Renn's shoulder once, and Renn flashed her a smile before the two of them stepped out onto the floor.