Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I profit from any of the fiction that I write. I write purely for my entertainment as well as for those who wanted a reason to point and laugh at me. (Here's your reason! J ) I'm in no way associated with J. K. Rowling or Warner Bros.

Summary: Persephone Potter is an ordinary girl, as ordinary as a young witch can be at least. She's got an older brother, a mum and dad… That's all about to change. We have appearances from the Marauders, several familiar Slyths, some new people and our favorite villain, Voldie.

This Chapter: We have a little visit from Sevie, Persephone gets a bit of info on the ring. One word will change her life forever. Also, if you can't tell, the chapters are getting longer. Trust me. Next chapter is like O.O

Persephone Potter and the Ring of Hope

Chapter Three: Surprise

Five weeks passed by quickly. During that time Persephone had gone through her books at least seven times each. At least that's what it felt like to her. She'd practically memorized her charms book.

James hadn't done much reading. He'd gone over to Sirius' and Remus' house several times and they'd come to stay at the Potter Mansion. Though they were at the Potter residence often, Persephone rarely talked or played with them. She'd go to her little spot by the pond and sit there, reading.

Something had been bothering her though. That ring. Since the night she got it off, she'd been keeping it around her neck, on a chain. It constantly bugged her. She knew that she'd seen something like it before. It just didn't seem right. There was a design on it. Two squiggly lines intertwined. But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't put her finger on it.

It was her last night at home before starting school at Hogwarts. So naturally, she'd had a hard time sleeping. But it was more than that. Every time she felt herself drifting to sleep, she'd see her ring and bolt upright.

'If only I had books on this sort of thing…'

It didn't take long for her to come up with an idea. She desperately needed a book about the ring. But where would she find books on artifacts and such? Her own house of course!

She slipped a pair of socks on and tiptoed out of her room and up a floor. This was basically her parent's floor. It had their bedroom, offices, some empty rooms…and the library. She came up to the door and tried the door knob. Locked.

'Not a problem.'

She whipped out her wand and whispered, "Alohamora!"

Again she tried the door knob. A smile of satisfaction crossed her lips as it turned the whole way. She pushed the door slowly, only leaving enough room for herself to slide through, then she closed it, hoping her parents didn't wake upon hearing the old door squeaking.

'Alright…Now where to start…'

"Lumos!"

'Where to start' was a good question indeed. The room was large and was filled with book cases. Even worse than that, the book cases were packed from top to bottom with books! How on earth was she going to find the right book?!

She began reading titles to herself, moving from book to book quickly.

"Ancient Curses: A Guide to Curses from the Barnon and Lendsley Series", "Ancient Legends: A Guide to Legends", the list went on and on.

'I've seen something about it! Now where was it?!' She was loosing her temper. Already twenty minutes had passed and she was still in the 'A' section.

She suddenly froze as a slight noise filled the room. It was a dragging noise…No, it was as if a book was being pulled from a cabinet! But that was impossible. If her parents were up, they'd probably have scolded her by now. She held her wand out in front of her as she slowly and cautiously approached the origin of the noise.

'The 'M' section?'

Indeed. Her eyes were not deceiving her. A brick read book had fallen to the ground. Luckily, there was a short carpet where it had fallen, so the noise had been minimal. She held her wand to it, lighting up the cover and title.

'Of course! Sirius' house!'

She picked up the book, looked it over, then sat down on the carpet area.

"What was it called…"

She quickly flipped through the pages, look briefly at several talismans and charms. But none that looked like her ring.

After another moment or so, she almost bit her lip in delight.

'The Ring of Hope. This extraordinary ring was made back in the time of the founders of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. (For details, see page 63-a)…'

Her head began throbbing as she continued to read every word of the page. By the time she finished reading everything that concerned the ring, she'd had such a bad headache, it felt like it would explode. She looked at her watch. Two twenty-six A.M.

'Oh! I've got to be up in less than seven hours!' she thought franticly to herself.

Finally coming to a conclusion, she ripped the pages concerning the Ring of Hope out of the book. Yes, her mother and father might scold her to no end for ripping one of their books. And sneaking into the library. But something told her it was definitely worth it.

Quickly, she put the book back and fled back to her room. Sighing deeply as she shut her door, she put the pages into her trunk and her wand onto her bedside table. Right next to the Ring of Hope on it's beautiful silver chain.

Despite being up at Two thirty in the morning, Persephone woke up bright and early…thanks to her alarm clock. At Eight o'clock, she rolled out of bed. One thing noticed was, her headache was gone. Perhaps it was just there because a lack of sleep?

An hour later, she was ready to go. Wearing all of her uniform with the exception of her robe, she'd fit in perfectly at the Muggle train station, and at arriving at Hogwarts, she'd only have to put it on rather than change her clothes completely. Her long hair had a single thin braid was set down the middle with the rest of her hair sliding down her back, but that was all.

"Good morning dear," her mother said as she dragged her suitcase to the front door.

"Morning mum," Persephone responded as soon as the trunk was directly in front of the door, ready to be loaded in the car.

"It'll take a bit under an hour to get there, so we'll leave in about forty-five to fifty minutes."

Persephone nodded, "I'll be outside…mum, can you lift my trunk into the car?"

"I'll take care of everything. Just make sure you've got everything, alright?"

"I've already done it mum, me and Ebony are going to sit outside…"

Persephone grabbed her cat and walked around the front garden toward the small gazebo.

Sitting on one of the benches, she pulled her hair back before petting Ebony and scratching her behind the ear. She hadn't forgotten last night's 'bedtime story'. Quite the opposite. IT had been plaguing her mind. Even as she slept. The word she had read echoed in the back of her mind.

"What am I going to do Ebony?" she pulled out the ring on the chain necklace and continued talking. More to herself than her cat. "According to what I read, it chooses it Bearer…"

The cat simply purred in response.

"If I remember correctly, the ring didn't come off my finger. In fact, it was stuck! It only moved after I got my wand. My first wand…And it wouldn't budge when I tried to take it off…"

She pulled a wrinkled piece of paper of her pocket.

"The Ring of Hope is said to have what not many magical items have, the ability of choice. It will choose it's Bearer…" she stopped reading as she pet Ebony. "For what and why though? It's been around for a thousand years!"

"Persephone!" she heard her mother calling her, "We've got to go!"

Persephone quickly stuffed the paper back into her pocket before running towards the car with Ebony.

"We thought we'd have to leave without you! Not that that's a bad thing…" James joked.

"James!" Mrs. Potter growled at James.

"Oh, I was only joking mum! I'm sure Persephone will be an excellent addition to Gryffindor…" he patted her on the back as she got in and shut the door.

It took around fifty minutes before they arrived at Kings Cross Station. On the way there, James and Persephone were very quiet and hardly made any noise. Of course, their mother was a bit suspicious, but she let it go. They wouldn't do anything wrong on the first day back to school. At least that's what she wanted to think.

On the way there, their mother suddenly said, out of the blue, 'Your fatherly Apparate in before you leave, so you'll be able to see him. He won't be there for long, mind you.' And that was the last word spoken before they arrived at the station.

There, Mrs. Potter levitated both trunks onto two separate carts and the two children began pushing them towards the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

Two men in red suits came up to them, "Shall we take your baggage for you?"

Persephone answered, "Please." Before taking the cat carrier whereas James simply nodded.

Mrs. Potter looked at her watch, "Oh god."

"What is it, mum?" Persephone asked.

"Well, the train leaves in about four minutes or so, and your father still hasn't shown up."

As if it were a cue, a sudden popping sound signaled the arrival of Jeffery Potter. "Sorry I'm late!"

A chorus of the word "Dad!" began.

"Nice timing dear," Mrs. Potter smiled before giving Mr. Potter a kiss on the cheek. "You had me worried for a second."

"Sorry!" He said quickly with a squeak in his voice. "There was a bit of an accident…but nothing serious. Now," he kneeled down, "James. I've got one word for you. Behave." He then shifted slightly, turning to Persephone, "I'm going to miss you…Be good alright? Don't stray off and wreak havoc on the school, no matter how much James tries to persuade you, alright?"

Persephone was giggling, "Alright dad."

"If you ever need anything, use your brother's owl or a school owl. Whichever you'd like."

They kissed and hugged when the whistle began blowing. "Love ya mum, love ya dad!" Persephone called back as she made her way onto the train.

She began following James. Now all they needed to do was find Sirius, Remus and Peter. Should be that hard on a train filled with children. Piece of cake!

It was a minute or two after the train started out, but they did find the trio rather easily. Remus had one of the window seats, Peter was across from him while Sirius was in the isle with a slightly upset mood on his face.

"Well? Why'd it take so long?" Sirius demanded.

"What, are you my mother? Need to know where I am every second?" James grinned.

"Ugh, god no!"

Remus had that knowing look on his face as he continued to stare out the window whereas Peter had that worried sort of look.

"Calm down, will you!" Persephone said as she came in from behind James. "Is it really that important where he's been?" She pushed in between the two and took a seat next to Remus. Still holding her cat. The not purring anymore cat. Why wasn't he purring? In fact, Ebony looked a bit nervous or tense. It was hard to tell since it was, in fact, a cat.

"Hey there," Remus said, for the first time turning away from the window.

"Hey," she began stroking Ebony, hoping the cat wouldn't jump at anyone and shred them. It was a very picky cat! "I gather you've met Ebony?"

Remus eyed the cat. "Yes. We've met."

James plopped down next to Peter while Sirius plopped down next to Persephone.

"So, how's it feel to be going to Hogwarts for your first year? Nervous?"

"Just a bit," she said.

"C-" Sirius began his sentence. Well, a word. But he never finished, for the sound of the door opening caused both James and Sirius to stand from their seats. Persephone sometimes thought that the two shared a brain. And incredibly small one at that. And her thoughts weren't unfounded.

A tall boy with coal black hair reaching down to his shoulders walked in.

"Get out Snake," Sirius hissed.

"I'm just passing through, Black," the boy hissed back, just as venomously before muttering, "No need to get prissy."

"What was that Snake? I didn't quite hear you." James said, stepping in front of him.

Persephone looked at him as he glared at her brother. He seemed familiar. Snake…Snake…Snape! The one from Diagon Alley!

"Potter," Persephone was brought back from her own little dream world before realizing it wasn't her he was addressing. "I just want to go through the compartment."

Remus was watching the situation, debating whether he should help. Help who? James or Snape? It would make sense to a twelve year old to help his friends, but Sirius was more than enough back up. In fact, he sort of worried about Snape.

Persephone was thinking very similar thoughts. Snape looked as though he could handle himself against a grown man. But Sirius looked somewhat deranged. James didn't look as sane as Persephone hoped either. And they'd been the ones starting it! How stupid can they get!?

"You're just a greasy, pathetic, chicken. That's all you are Snape." Sirius sneered at Snape.

"T-" Snape was about to respond when Persephone stood up clutching her cat. "James! Sirius! It's Ebony!"

All the boys in the compartment looked at her. Even Snape. "Look at her!" She placed the sleeping cat onto her seat and backed away, looking as if she were about to start crying.

Lupin, Sirius and James all approached the cat while Peter kept his distance. Snape however, was unmoved. Well, he was looked at the cat from his position quite curiously but otherwise, he was in the same position he'd been in a moment earlier. Persephone kept backing away. Right into Snape.

Before he could respond, she hissed, "Go!"

He looked at her, eyebrow raised.

"What's wrong with her sis?" James said, his as well as everyone else's back still directed at Persephone and Snape.

She sniffed out, "I don't know!" before hissing again, "Go! Leave!"

He didn't need to be told twice. Well…alright, he did. But that's only because she took him by surprise. In fact, the only reason he did need telling twice was because he was about to give her some healing potions.

James finally turned around. By this time, Persephone was watching the door swing as Snape left.

"There's nothing wrong with 'im from what I can see, Seph."

"Same here." "Seems alright to me."

Persephone smiled before walking over and scooping up Ebony. "Oh! It must have been a false alarm! Thank god!"

Sirius had his head in his hand while Remus' head returned to leaning against the window.

"I almost had a fi-"

"Hold on!" James narrowed his eyes, "Where's Snape!"

Remus was the one to answer. In a drawling tone, he said, "Must've left while we were having a look at Ebony," in a lifeless tone.

"Damn! We'll get him when we get to Hogwarts then," Sirius growled.

Persephone would have asked why they wanted to go after him. But it would make her seem suspicious, she thought.

The rest of the trip was mostly uneventful. Sirius and James played cards while Remus and Peter read. Persephone took a seat farther away from the four. She needed to think. And hearing Sirius and James threatening each other with hideous colored hair wasn't helping any.

'Ebony, what am I going to do? I mean, I haven't gained the ability to use any special powers or anything! So what've I got to be worried about?!' She continued to stroke Ebony as she gave out a short yawn.

"You know what I'll do?" she whispered to her purring cat, "I'll write a letter to mum tomorrow…She'll examine the ring, tell me I was just hallucinating finding the ring and I was wrong when I thought it was the Ring of Hope, and we'll be fine! Sounds good, eh?"

'See! Nothing to worry about! I just need to write a letter, send the ring, and I'll be done with it!'

When the train arrived at Hogsmeade Station, Ebony was put back into her cat carrier and her robe was on. She was all set to go. Yes, she was nervous. But who wouldn't be? It was the first day arriving at school! Of course she was nervous! She'd be worried if she weren't!

She hopped off the train and went towards a tall man calling out to all of the first years.

When actually getting on line with the other first years, she had to look up to see the top of the large man. He had to be fifteen feet tall in Persephone's opinion. He had a long tangled beard that messily reached down in front, the same could be said about his hair, though it went down his back instead of his front.

"I'm Hagrid," he said in a gruffy voice, "Now jus' follow me ter th' boats."

Hagrid lead the group of nervous first years to a lake. By the shore, there were several boats floating around.

"Alrigh', four t' a boat," he said ushering them to the boats quickly.

Persephone got into a boat with two boys and one other girl. One of the boys had dark brown hair, neatly parted in the middle. He looked somewhat thin and a bit short. However, the one on his left was mid sized, not too tall, not too short. He had blonde hair neatly patted down against his head. Then there was the girl on her left. She had blonde hair, very much like the boy's, that reached about midway down her back. Not anywhere near as long as Persephone's. She had a smile on her round shaped face. She wasn't fat! Not near it! She was just one of those people with a somewhat round shaped face, and in Persephone's opinion, looked as if she could model clothes.

"Hi, I'm Narcissa Grey," she smiled cheerfully, looking over to Persephone.

"Hi, I'm Persephone Potter," Persephone smiled back. "Nervous?"

"Just a bit."

That response sounded familiar… "Ah," she nodded, "My older brother James said it wasn't too painful being sorted. I reckon he was just trying to scare me though…"

"That's definitely an older brother like thing!" Narcissa giggled back. "I've got one here. He's a fifth year in Slytherin, Head Boy this year! God knows how he got that title! Probably had to murder someone!" She laughed.

"Oh," Persephone laughed a bit nervously, though she tried not to make it so apparent. "Well, my brother told me their were Kappa's living in the pond by my house…got him to tell the truth though…it kind of slipped out," she grinned.

"Tricked him into the truth, eh? Sounds clever."

Persephone only blushed, though it was hard to see in the night. Before anyone could say anything else, they came around the bend and they had a beautiful, clear view of Hogwarts.

'So this is why the first years take the boats…'

"Good first impression," Narcissa said, her face in a mix between awestruck and bored. A mix Persephone didn't think possible. Apparently she was wrong.

"Exactly what I was thinking…" The boy with brown hair split in the middle said. He then turned around abruptly, "I'm Marcus Quirrel, by the way."

"I'm Narcissa," Narcissa responded, smiling.

"Persephone Potter," Persephone smiled as well.

"Nice to meet you." He then turned back around.

After a few more minutes, they came ashore. One by one, they got out of the boats and formed a messy group behind Hagrid.

"Alrigh' follow me t' yer sortin'" he said gruffly before turning around and starting up a staircase.

They did so. All thirty or forty children marched after the giant, though some of them stuck close to friends. Having shared a compartment with her brother and his friends, the only people she knew were Narcissa and Marcus. So she walked by Narcissa the whole way up. And it was a long walk. Climb. Whatever you'd like to call it. Walking up the stairs for a few moments more, Hagrid had disappeared and they came upon an old looking witch in emerald green robes.

"Hello and welcome to Hogwarts. I'm Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor and the Transfiguration professor. In a few moments, you'll be lead into the Great Hall where you'll be sorted into your houses. Your houses here will be like your family. You'll eat, sleep and dine with them for the rest of your time at Hogwarts. This ceremony is one to be taken seriously." She gave the group a stern look.

Though she, Narcissa and Marcus were right up front, Persephone couldn't get a good look at the witch. She was tall. About as tall as Persephone's dad, possibly taller. But what was clear, was the tired look on her face. She turned and went through the doors, leaving the children standing there, absolutely shaken.

"I know I'll be in Slytherin. Everyone in my family's been there," Narcissa said, turning to Persephone as soon as the doors closed behind the tired looking professor.

"I'll probably be in Ravenclaw… My mum was a Ravenclaw and the rest of my immediate family is in Gryffindor. But then again, I heard they sort you based on personal qualities rather than family history. If so, I'll probably be a Hufflepuff…"

"Oh, you wouldn't! I bet you'll be a Ravenclaw, really!" Narcissa reassured her.

Persephone debated saying 'Anything but Slytherin's fine with me.' But since the girl obviously favored that house, it wasn't wise.

Just then, the doors reopened and the witch was back. "We're ready. If you'll follow me please."

She turned and headed into a large room. Possibly the largest single room Persephone had ever seen in her life. And the ceiling. It was beautiful. It had the night's sky, but it was indoors! It was simply beautiful!

When they stopped walking down the isle between two tables (filled with older children, I should add!), they arrived at a platform. On the platform was a four legged stool. And on the stool? A wizard's hat. It was fairly torn and ripped around the edges. A few patches were sown onto it as well.

Suddenly, a voice began to sing. It was coming from the hat!

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, filled with young,

Made several centuries ago by the head strong,

Four great wizards and witches thought,

It would be wonderful to have the young taught.

And so they built a castle here,

Hidden from all Muggle ears,

Now for placement, what to do?

It was Godric Gryffindor who knew!

Where to place you for your years,

They made me, to look at every tear,

Will you be in Gryffindor,

Where the courageous go

Or maybe in Hufflepuff,

Where their hard work does show,

Maybe you'll be in Ravenclaw,

Filled with intellectual minds,

Last but not least Slytherin,

Home of the cunning, you'll find.

Now try me on,

And I'll tell you where to go,

Don't worry about error,

Because everything is known!"

The Great Hall erupted into applause as the hat finished singing.

"I'm going to call each of your names, you'll come up to the stool and I'll place the Sorting hat on your head. Then you will be sorted into your house," professor McGonagall announced as she held up a piece of parchment.

"Aries, Jake" was the first to be called, … "Ravenclaw!"

"Bass, May", …"Hufflepuff!"

"Boot, Michael" The blonde haired boy who had been on the boat with Narcissa, Marcus and Persephone was quickly made a "Slytherin!"

"Case, Justin", … "Slytherin!"

"Davies, Craig" , …"Gryffindor!"

"Delphy, Katerina", … "Ravenclaw!"

"Edwards, Julius", … "Hufflepuff!"

"Grey, Narcissa," Narcissa quickly hurried from her place on Persephone's right hand side. It took only a moment for the hat to call out "Slytherin!"

"Hents, Malcolm" , … "Hufflepuff!"

"Hinston, Garry", … "Hufflepuff!"

"Johnson, Jennifer", … "Ravenclaw!"

"Jones, Rick", …"Ravenclaw!"

"Leffert, Amanda", … "Hufflepuff!"

"Marks, Orion", … "Gryffindor!"

"Marsters, Albert", … "Gryffindor!"

"Menard, Rachel", … "Hufflepuff!"

"Michaels, Morgan", … "Gryffindor!"

"Michaels, Matthew", … "Ravenclaw!"

"Picard, Luke", … "Slytherin!"

"Potter, Persephone!" McGongall called out. Persephone felt her cheeks becoming very warm. She quickly, well as quickly as someone that nervous can, walked up to the stool and sat down as McGonagall placed the hat on her head.

It was an extremely big hat. Well, for a kid, because it easily covered her eyes, something she hadn't noticed with the previously sorted children.

'Hello there!' A voice called out from all directions. 'tough decision here…'

"…Sorry…"

'You've nothing to be sorry for! …Now let's see…Your quite the reader…very smart girl… You aren't a complete coward though, so Ravenclaw and Gryffindor are definitely in the picture here. You'd get a tad bit bored in Hufflepuff…not enough of a challenge for you there. You are quite clever though, ambitious…'

A pause.

'Where to put you…How does Ravenclaw sound to you? You'd be surrounded by intellectual minds who would help you do your best…'

"That sounds quite nice… If I studied enough and read all my books, I might become Prefect…top of the class…No one would do better than me if given an equal chance…"

'…That's interesting…'

"What is?"

'You've got a secret…and it should be kept that way…this definitely changes everything…well, with the exception of the outcome…'

"What are you talking about?"

"SLYTHERIN!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Thanks to my only reviewer, Evanne Martine Hall! It's good to know someone actually wants me to continue!