Ennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnjoy. Continue sending in your pairing ideas, they're fun to read. People seem to like Hansy and Dramione. Also, I'm looking for a beta. If anyone's seriously interested shoot me a PM. As always, long AN below with an interesting challenge.

Somehow the first sight of the Sorting Hat didn't get any less intimidating with age. Pansy looked around the Hall, taking in the beauty of seeing everything whole. Oddly enough seeing the building intact was even more intimidating than seeing everyone alive. People died one by one around her in the Wars. It was systematic, it was expected. But Hogwarts had fallen in a day and despite attempts to the contrary, stayed that way. No one expected that.

Pansy thought she could almost smell the putrid scent of the nervous sweat her classmates exuded. Unlike the first time, she actually took the time to look at the faces of the upperclassmen. She saw many bored faces, some smirking, some expectant. Those who had younger siblings among the first years seemed to be trying to get their attention in overly obnoxious ways.

She'd discovered over the years that the Slytherin table was a study in contradictions. Some were full of an understandable disdain, others foolish hope. At their core they all wanted one thing; a class, a few, a single student who would bring redemption and show Slytherin without a doubt wasn't evil. Prejudiced gits yes, but not evil.

It was funny how she had used to wish for the same thing. Validation, the ultimate ambition.

Her classmates were waiting with rapt attention, seemingly all discerning the meaning of the hat right away. Now that she thought about it, wasn't it odd that a group of usually quite inattentive and frankly sometimes moronic eleven-year-olds would immediately figure out the purpose of an otherwise completely innocuous object?

Pansy blinked. Now where had that come from?

Without much preamble, the Sorting Hat opened it's rip of a mouth and began to sing.

Oh you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head or time
The Sorting Hat can't see,

Pansy, who had been somewhat ambivalent about listening up until then, suddenly stood at full attention. Wait, what did it just say?

So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;

However you must be careful
To know when true bravery looks you in the eye
For the innate foolishness that comes with courage
Has lead to some's demise

You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;

A fair warning to those in Hufflepuff
Loyalty comes at a cost
Know that those you're loyal to
May at times look to be lost

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;

They must never think their cleverness
Is a type of salve
For the coldness of the heart
That some with intelligence have

Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends.

For you I have only one warning
That I want you to take heed
You may find the solution for your problem
In accepting those not of your breed

So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!

The Hall burst into confused applause. Pansy smirked. It was never amiss, to her at least, to individually point out in a very public way how each house was a little shit. Especially when there could be no consequences. After all, what could you do to an ancient hat created by the Founders themselves?

Professor McGonagall gave a tiny little sniff, no doubt offended by the insinuation that her precious house didn't know courage when it stared them in the face. Pansy felt no pity. The only way to fix your flaws was to know them. Unless, of course, there was no need to fix them.

Professor McGonagall pulled out the old scroll that held the names of the children around her and issued some quick instructions. With how nervous everyone around her was, there was no doubt in Pansy's mind that they needed to be told how to sit on a stool and put on a hat.

"Abbott, Hannah"

A couple seconds passed before the hat declared,

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The little blond girl went scampering towards the cheering table of yellow and black to the sound of their cheers. Pansy squinted. A weirdly familiar boy she couldn't quite put her finger on sat there as well.

"Bones, Susan"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Boot, Terry"

"RAVENCLAW!"

Now the table of blue and bronze cheered, and on the sorting went. Pansy had to catch herself from tapping her finger on her thigh in a sort of anxious boredom.

"Granger, Hermione"

Hermione gave out a little sort of squeak and looked at Pansy in a panic. She gave the bushy haired girl a little shove, and Hermione scampered up to the stool. The hat drooped over her head, and all was quiet.

Unlike most of the other sortings, Hermione sat under for what seemed to be forever. Pansy could see the girl fiercely arguing against whatever voice was whispering in her ear.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Slytherin clapped politely, while Gryffindor gave their customary boos. Hermione held her head high, a steely glint in her eyes as she moved over to sit at the table of green and silver. Pansy noted McGonagall's look of surprise and for once she couldn't help but agree with her. What had she changed to cause Hermione to switch houses like that?

"Should have known she was a slimy little snake, the way she talked to me." Ron muttered. Pansy restrained the urge to punch him in the face. Merlin, his family had fallen far.

"Malfoy, Draco"

The pale boy swaggered up to the stool. Though his sorting wasn't as instantaneous, he soon joined Hermione at the Slytherin table. Hermione looked incredibly relieved, and they bent their heads together. When they spotted her, they shot her matching encouraging smiles. A weird warm feeling spread in her chest.

"Parkinson, Pansy"

Pansy flounced up to take her spot on the stool. The last thing she saw before the rim covered her eyes was the eyes of her school, all staring at her expectantly.

Hello Pansy, it's so nice to see you again. My, so different and still the same.

Pansy jumped before she could catch herself. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you can see the future. You're a hat with a conscious after all."

I am sentient, yes, but my ability to tell the future isn't as straightforward as you would believe. Godric Gryffindor gave me the ability to see potential, and that stretches to all things.

"So why didn't you stop the Dark Lord?" Pansy thought with more than a little anger.

Do you know how many potential Lords pass under me? So many children have what it takes; the work potential, the fierceness, the ambition, the little seed in that heart that tells them they could do great things. Some have it a little more than others, and I see maybe one every ten years or so who if they really wanted to they could take it all the way.

Of course, some houses are better at turning out Lords than others. Hufflepuff and Slytherin are good for that. Those are the houses that really foster work ethic. You yourself could be a Lady, you have that bitterness that really seems to get so many of them going.

"I am not bitter."

What is it you used to call yourself? The Girl Who-

"Shut up you dirty little hat. You know nothing about me."

Ah, touchy. Have you noticed how you're reverting back to your old self yet?

"What?"

So oblivious. What do you think has been happening to you lately? You didn't just replace the girl who's already in here, you joined her. You are her. After all, nothing physical came back with you.

"What does that mean?"

Oh, I don't know, I'm just a dirty little hat. Thank you for liking my song by the way. Those revisions were just for you. I suppose it's time to sort you now. You'd be a good fit for any of them, so let's narrow it down. Well, we can take out Ravenclaw, you rarely pursue knowledge for its own sake.

"What are you doing? Just place me in Slytherin like I belong."

That's for me to decide. We can take out Hufflepuff I guess. You'd be good there, yet your potential to do what you need to do goes down a bit.

"I'd be good there?"

I can't say much for your disdain of hard work unless absolutely necessary. Plus you really aren't that nice. However, you're incredibly loyal. You love more than you let others know. Well, that leaves Gryffindor and Slytherin.

"Gryffindor?"

It can't be denied that it's brave, if a bit rash and foolish, to risk ripping apart time and space for all you know to save others.

"But I'm a Slytherin!"

Through and through. But maybe you need a bit of a change to let another side of you shine through. Watch out for Fate's Gift. Better be GRYFFINDOR

Distantly, Pansy heard the Hat's voice ring throughout the Hall only to be met with complete silence. McGonagall gently pulled the Hat off of her head, leaving her in plain sight of the disappointed looks of Hermione and Draco. Although, to be fair, the incredulous stares of Weasley and Daphne would have been quite amusing if she were in the proper mood. A frown tugged at the corners of her mouth. Pansy thought she could feel the burn of tears behind her eyes.

Don't let them see you weak my flower. They'll take any opportunity to crush your petals.

Her mother's voice reinforced something in her. Her spine went rigid and straight, she brushed the invisible dust off of her skirt, and Pansy carried herself to the unwelcoming Gryffindor table with the grace of a queen.

She chose the side that deliberately faced away from the frowning Slytherin table, and her new housemates reluctantly moved over to give her room on the bench.

"Patil, Padma"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Patil, Parvati"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Parvati slid into the spot between her and Brown and gave Pansy the first true smile she had seen at that table.

"Pansy, I didn't expect to see us in the same house." Parvati said with genuine warmth. Parvati had always been way better at that than Pansy. She was also great at reading people's emotions, which explained why she covertly slid her hand over to grips Pansy's. Neville gave her a reassuring smile from across the table.

Pansy snorted internally. Being comforted by an eleven year old Longbottom was not what she expected when she came back.

"Perks, Sally Anne"

"GRYFFINDOR"

Pansy felt as if a bucket of ice cold water had been poured down her spine. What had she done?

What had she done?

There was absolutely no reason Sally Anne Perks should have been in Gryffindor. The girl was a Hufflepuff Pansy hadn't even had any contact with her. Now that she thought about it, she had never had any contact with the girl except the one time Perks had helped her in third year when she knocked over a large stack of books.

The mousy, bespeckled girl slid into the spot between Neville and Finnegan. Her tiny little hands folded in her lap, and when she didn't bother to give anyone a greeting they all seemed content to completely ignore her, except for Pansy.

"Potter, Harry"

"GRYFFINDOR"

Harry plopped down at her side with a wide smile. His green eyes were sparkling so much that she immediately forgot about the odd occurrence that was Sally Anne Perks.

"Isn't this great Pansy? Though I kinda wish Draco was with us." Harry enthused at her side.

Weasley soon joined the table, and after Blaise went into Slytherin the old man rose to give the beginning of the year speech. Pansy could feel the power rippling off of the man. It seemed to want to push and pull her like the tide of an ocean. For a moment she could imagine it as waves of light reaching into the students.

She had never liked Dumbledore. There was a part of Pansy who had to begrudgingly respect the man. He was the defeater of Grindelwald, held one of the most powerful positions in the international government, and still managed to run one of the top magic schools in the world.

However, he was also a mass manipulator who blatantly played favorites and never did anything for anyone without expecting something in return.

And yet then again, that all reminded her of her father, which made her kinda like him.

Dumbledore smiled benevolently over the crowd of excited students.

"Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you."

"Is he — a bit mad?" Harry asked in apparent confusion.

"Yes." Pansy replied at the same time as the pompous Weasley said "Mad? He's a genius

"Best wizard in the world!" Pansy said, with a bit of a condescending twist to her lips. Pompous Weasley glared at her, but he must have seen that for once she was truly sincere.

"But he is a bit mad, yes," he conceded, "Potatoes, Harry?"

The spread looked delicious, and Pansy realized she was completely ravenous. She hadn't eaten anything since breakfast that morning. She neatly served herself small portions of everything around her.

Meanwhile, Harry's eyes certainly served to be bigger than his stomach. He gave himself overly huge portions and couldn't even get most of it down. Not to mention when dessert showed up he looked as if he was going to vomit.

"Slow down, we're going to be fed again in the morning after all." Pansy teased, scooping a spoonful of peanut butter ice cream into her mouth. He groaned, and she laughed at the pained expression on his face.

"Merlin she's going to be a naggy terror." Pansy heard Finnegan say from a few spaces down the table.

"Yeah, if we were gonna get a wanna be Slytherin, why'd we have to get the ugly one bossy one?" Weasley replied.

The smile slipped from Pansy's face, and she looked blankly down at her melting ice cream. I'm not eleven anymore, she reminded herself, the words of some useless gits aren't about to hurt me.

TOF

Despite the almost excessive efforts of Parvati, the other girls were simply not comfortable around Pansy. More than once she heard Lavender Brown mutter some variation of the words "Should've been in Slytherin."

The other three girls sat rather quietly. Fay Dunbar and Eloise Midgen sat in the corner with one another and whispered to each other. Sally Anne Perks disappeared almost immediately behind her bed curtains, and as she was right next to Pansy she occasionally heard a pathetic little sniff from the mousy girl.

It suddenly made a hell of a lot of sense why Pansy had barely even noticed the other two girls originally sorted into Gryffindor. They were the most cardboard cutout, bland, unoriginal girls she had ever seen in her life. If was if they were created simply to fill up the dorm. They were like tiny specks on a wall; clear enough if you looked directly at them, but if you took your eyes away for a moment it was hard to find enough focus to even want to spot them again. Well, at least Eloise was. Fay seemed to like Quidditch or something because that's all Pansy heard when she bothered to listen to her speak.

Brown and Parvati on the other had were two of the most vibrant people she had ever met. Girly, loud, bossy, tough, and unapologetic about it all.

They wasted no time in adorning the entire room in decorations that could be described as...extravagant. Parvati apparently believed she had the sight, and maybe she did, because all of the decorations she brought were red and gold. Gold elephants, red tapestries, the works. She even brought red and gold cashmere scarves that she gave to all of the girls. Pansy respected the girl for her taste.

All the while Pansy sat primly on her bed. Unlike the bland girls, she didn't get to just sit there without scrutiny. After Parvati finally stopped her attempts to include her, the others repeatedly shot her looks of confusion and distrust.

And it didn't get any better in the morning. The other girls all collected into a flock that seemed to have made the decision to keep far away from her, with the exception of Perks who floated away on her own. When the boys came down, Neville and Harry shot her guilty and suspicious looks before running off with the rest of the Gryffindor boys who were not stingy with their sneers.

By the time they finally arrived at the Hall, Pansy had had it. She separated from her so called 'house family' with a huff, and they all watched her walk away with no one attempting to make one move in stopping her.

Pansy shouldered her way through the crowd to sit at the Slytherin table in between Blaise and Draco. Wordlessly, and with a little more force than what was absolutely necessary, she began piling her plate with toast and jam. Pulling another dish towards her, she speared a few sausage links and dumped those on her plate too. Pansy ate with a dignified gusto before she realized that she was surrounded by complete silence.

"Um, Pans?" Blaise inquired. Pansy looked up from her plate to see the stunned and somewhat irritated faces of her classmate. The girls in particular eyed her with disgust. She rose her chin in defiance.

Pansy took her time answering, slowly putting down her fork, wiping off her mouth, folding up her napkin, and putting her hands in her lap. She tilted her head in feigned confusion.

"Yes?" she said, taking the time to look each of them in the eye.

"What are you doing here?" Blaise asked cautiously. Hermione was the only one who looked amused, a playful little smile playing around her lips and a twinkle in her eye.

"Why in the world would I want to sit with those Gryffindor prats?"

"Because you are one of them. Or at least now you are." Daphne said accusingly. Pansy was taken aback by the amount of venom in her words coming from one of her childhood playmates.

"Really Queenie, you're just going to turn against me like that because I live in a tower and you live down in the dungeons?" Pansy asked sweetly. Those who knew her well around the table tensed as the smile on Pansy's face became dangerous. A smile like that meant tread carefully. Daphne stood up a little straighter and refused to back down.

"Houses are family Pansy, if you're in Slytherin you have no one else but other Slytherins. And when you eventually become all buddy buddy with them you're not going to want anything to do with us just like the rest of them." Daphne said. While her tone was angry and accusatory, Pansy didn't miss the little tremble of her bottom lip.

"Don't be silly Queenie, that's never going to happen and you know it." Pansy said, turning her attention back to her toast. "We've been nothing if not loyal to one another since the time we were five, and a house isn't going to change that. You know me." Pansy emphasized, finally looking Daphne back in the eye.

Daphne bit her lip, and nodded. Daphne and Pansy were never close friends, but they were allies in a world that would hurt them. And Daphne knew that Pansy never turned her back on her allies. With the exception of Draco, they were the closest thing she had to friends.

The others went back to their food with little fanfare. They stumbled over her presence a couple times, but Pansy noticed that they accepted Hermione without question. It was true, when you were in Slytherin you didn't have anyone else. You watched out for your own in a school that wanted nothing more than to see you fail. Only the most extreme of pureblood supremacists would truly have a problem with her being there, and thankfully most of them didn't have kids.

Hermione nudged Pansy's foot under the table. Pansy looked up to see Hermione positively glowing, which frankly kind of creeped her out because why the hell was Hermione so freaking happy?

"Yes?" Pansy said.

"I'm just so happy, this means we can still be friends!" Hermione exclaimed quietly.

Allies, Pansy corrected in her head, but she smiled at Hermione all the same. She looked over at Blaise. In the original timeline, Pansy and Blaise definitelydid not become true friends until they started their seventh year. Something about being surrounded by constant fear and torture really bonded people together, and there was no point when Slytherin house was closer. Then there were those three years after the war "ended", after they were acquitted and got an apartment together right at the edge of muggle and magical London.

But this Blaise was different. He was still spoiled and obsessed with blood purity. He also hadn't come into his inheritance yet. She would have to see if he had read his journal through yet.

"Miss Parkinson, what are you doing over here?"

Pansy turned to see McGonagall standing behind her, her face set in apparent confusion over just why Pansy wouldn't want to sit over with her arrogant arsehole Gryffindor house members?

"I wasn't aware there was a rule against it Professor. I just really wanted to talk to my friends." Pansy said innocently. McGonagall raised her eyebrows, and Pansy continued staring at her with her eyes nice and wide. McGonagall finally huffed.

"Well I hope you make sure to continue to try and make friends with your new house members. Also, you weren't over there so I wasn't able to give you your schedule." McGonagall said, handing the slip of parchment over to her. Pansy scanned the parchment quickly, before bestowing McGonagall with her best megawatt-you're-not-going-to-be-able-to-put-shite-on-me-this-year-because-I-look-too-nice smile. There were a number of advantages and disadvantages for not fitting the beauty standard, and two of them were people assumed you were really mean because ugly equaled evil, or you were really nice to make up for the curse you bestowed on the world.

Pansy wasn't a good person, but teachers didn't need to know that. However, she knew at some point she'd slip up in front of McGonagall. She still hated her for her blatant favoritism towards the Gryffindors, the one house in the school who most definitely didn't need it. Just because she was one of them now, didn't mean she would forget where she came from.

McGonagall walked away, and Pansy really looked at her schedule past the quick scan she had done earlier. Wow, Gryffindor barely associated with Ravenclaw. No wonder they didn't initially notice how Granger was just crushing them in the class rankings.

"Herbology with the Hufflepuffs." she read aloud, barely holding in her excitement. Great, one of her favorite subjects. Breakfast was coming to an end, so Pansy grabbed her leather satchel and stood to leave. The Slytherins were in a much better mood than when she first sat down, and they all gave her perfectly cordial goodbyes.

Draco smiled in that mean way she loved. "Go show those ridiculous wankers who's superior."

TOF

For some odd reason that Pansy definitely couldn't discern at all, not a single student from her house deigned to partner with her. Parvati was adhering to one of the more stupid girl codes, and Perks seemed terrified by her. Not even Neville and Harry, who were kept in by a tight rein clearly tied around their balls held by the rest of the Gryffindor boys. The older part of Pansy said that they were just eleven, they were being stupid. The younger part of Pansy said that they were her age, and their rejection hurt. All of her, because Pansy wasn't much one for forgiving, said that they were being cowardly gits. Who knew there was so much bravery missing from the house of courage?

"Parkinson, come sit with us."

Pansy looked to her right to see Hannah Abbott waving to her. Susan Bones sat by her side, and Pansy almost snorted. She had completely forgotten about those ridiculous bangs Susan used to have. Well, she would just have to convince the girl to switch it up.

She gratefully, though she didn't show it, sat down at their table with them as Professor Sprout began their lesson. Pansy pulled out the journal she had had her father transfigure into something that somewhat resembled a muggle notebook instead of a thick book. She found it was easier to write in and it stored easier in her bag.

"What's that?" Abbott whispered at her side.

"Just a transfigured journal. My dad made it look more like a muggle notebook. It's easier to write in this way, and I don't have to carry around a bunch of rolls."

If Abbott was in any way surprised at the fact Pansy even knew what a muggle notebook was, it certainly didn't show on her face. Instead, she seemed fascinated.

"Do you think we could do something like that for me?" Abbott inquired politely. Pansy thought for a moment. She certainly wasn't opposed to the girl, and doing something that could be considered nice would certainly gain her an ally. Plus, once you had one Hufflepuff you basically had them all. She hadn't missed the looks of pure fear they had given her.

"Of course, Abbott. Order some journals and I'll practice the transfiguration. I'll even have my head of house help." Pansy replied in a crisp tone. Despite the completely business like reply, Abbott smiled warmly and went back to taking notes on basic safety in the greenhouse.

Pansy dared a look to her left. Ron Weasley sat there fixing her with a glare though there was a smug twist around his lips as he glanced at Harry beside him. Pansy scoffed. Did he really think Harry was some prize to be won? Did he think she lost? Well, he had another thing coming.

TOF

By the middle of the day, Pansy thought she had managed to out swot even Granger. She rose her hand for every question, took notes diligently, and never seemed to mind that no one from her own house seemed to want anything to do with her.

As she walked to lunch - alone - she wondered just how her plan was going to work out. Even though it wasn't much of a plan, she knew it at least involved becoming friends with Potter. There were a lot of people the public would just ignore, but not the leader of the light. The first time around, Potter had managed to get the Malfoys a nice cushy sentence with barely any repercussions. Her family was hit way harder, but Pansy was young and she had only wanted to turn Potter in to Voldemort because come on he was seventeen years old and going against the strongest wizard alive with nothing but the power of love and she didn't want anyone else to die.

Because seriously they could stop him later from going on to kill all of the muggles later. She had a bunch of little scared Slytherin first years to think about. Her family was out there. Anyway, her fortune was taken away but she was free, and that was good enough.

She already had the whole of what would become some of the core fighters in the light against her. Pansy figured she could go and castrate herself in front of them. Try really hard to be nice and act all ashamed of who she was and where she came from. Of course they were all better than her, and they were a bunch of fucking saints to put up with her very presence.

Pansy snorted.

They had to grow up because Pansy kneeled to no one, especially not a bunch of freaking eleven-year-olds. She was too proud, and they were too arrogant. Doing so would just reaffirm in their heads that they were right in every decision they made, plus would cement what seemed to be Weasley's budding position as their leader.

"Pansy, how's your day been?" Hermione asked appearing at her elbow. The whole of the Slytherin first year group was with her, and Pansy felt herself smile. These were her people. They might not be as close as they were in her future, but they were her allies and for now, they had her back.

Hermione linked arms with her, and Draco appeared at Pansy's other side. With barely a "hello, how are you?" he immediately launched into a tirade of how none of the teachers realized his true brilliance and how he was just so muchbetter he was just on another level and right Hermione it's like the other houses got mad at her and him for being so smart especially Ravenclaw.

They all just laughed and jostled themselves into the hall. The group passed Weasley walking with Harry and Neville. Hermione, not knowing what had happened in their house, smiled at the two boys. Harry and Neville just turned away, while Weasley sneered nastily at her.

"Leave us alone you slimy little snake." he whispered, perhaps smartly. Pansy had no doubt Vince or Greg would gladly beat the pulp out of him. Pansy and Hermione stopped in their place, letting the other Slytherins continue on without them.

"I should have known you were evil on the train. Now at least, you're with your kind." He paused, looked Pansy up and down, and added "You too. Don't bother sitting with the rest of us. You're like a snake in a lions skin."

Pansy frowned at him. "I prefer not to fit in any arbitrary box you've made simply to please your simple little mind."

A heavy warm hand settled on Hermione and Pansy's shoulders.

"Is he bothering you?" Vince asked in his already deep and rumbly voice. Ron paled slightly at the sight, but held his chin up anyway. Pansy sighed. She knew Ron Weasley was a battle she was going to have to deal with herself, and if she tried to solve it with violence nothing would ever be resolved.

"No Vince. He's just a stupid boy saying stupid things." Pansy replied, dragging Hermione with her to their table. Pansy looked over at her to complain about the ginger boy, only to see Hermione barely holding back tears. Her large teeth were biting so hard into her lip Pansy thought she might draw blood, and her fingernails were digging hard into the flesh of her palms.

Pansy grabbed one of her hands as they sat down. The rest of the Slytherins politely ignored them as Pansy gently tugged her fingers out and gave them a little massage to relax her.

"Don't listen to that idiot. He hasn't grown up yet, his brain cells are a bit slow to multiply is all." Pansy said with more than a little bite to her words as the tears flowed down Hermione's face. She didn't mention the real problem, that Neville and Harry had snubbed her. From what Pansy remembered, Hermione was rather isolated in the beginning, and didn't seem like she had an abundance of muggle friends back home like Colin or Justin.

Hermione finally calmed down, and awkwardly set her head on Pansy's shoulder as she contemplated the ways she could tear Weasley's head from his shoulders.

"So Granger, who made you cry?" Daphne asked innocently. She didn't even look up from the tuna sandwich she was scraping some of the excess fish off of.

Draco finally stopped complaining, his brows furrowed. "Someone made you cry?" he asked, taking in her proximity to Pansy and her red lined eyes. His mouth set in a frown.

"The Weasel." Pansy replied for her, nudging Hermione off of her shoulder so that she could make the girl a plate. It wouldn't do any good for the bushy haired girl to starve.

"What would you like us to do to him?" Greg asked, cracking his knuckles. The other Slytherins, even some of the older ones, didn't look at all disturbed by this insinuation of violence. They all knew what it was like, that first debilitating remark that made you realize absolutely no one else in the school liked you. It cut something deep.

Hermione sniffled, and looked to be seriously contemplating letting Ron Weasley get injured. Pansy didn't want it to happen, but she knew she couldn't stand in the way of Slytherin justice at this moment.

"Nothing." Hermione finally said. The rest of them looked faintly disappointed as she lifted her head and tossed back her mane of hair. She sniffed one last time, before a cool mask settled over her features.

"I'm just going to crush those little idiots in absolutely every thing."

Yay. Just to be clear, this isn't a bash fic, one of those cheap fics where the main character is able to just magically fix everything that's wrong and becomes mega powerful without any work. This is all about being realistic. She has magical potential like the hat said, but that doesn't mean crap if she doesn't work at it.

No one managed to guess Sally Anne Perks being sorted into Gryffindor. I'm not surprised, she's kinda (incredibly) obscure. There's a great reason why she was sorted that you might have caught.

HopeWithinDarkness - I hope it met your expectations!

Jily71102 - Wrong, but great guess! Unfortunately, in this story Hannah is Hufflepuff through and through. I've actually never read ronXmillicent, I'll need to checkout a story or two.

carick of hunter moon - Why thank you. I hope I'm still doing well.

KodeV - I tend to avoid them as well. I can't even judge though, with how much Drarry I read. I'll definitely write that outtake, so watch out for it. You were right on the nose with Pansy, so you've earned it as you were the first.

blinddivinity - I'll just reply to them all at once. You'll see what happened later, as Pansy goes on through this year. She's an interesting character, and since KodeV asked you'll get a bit more history about them.

Musicangel913 - I certainly hope they turn out better as well. I want Blaise with his kids and Pansy with some wine.

Imraphel - I tried to map out what I wanted in the future so I can lay the groundwork here.

As KodeV was the only one to guess that Pansy would be sorted to Gryffindor, they get a requested outtake! Anyone who is the first to meet one of my challenges will be able to request an outtake or one shot of their choice. The next chapter should cover chapters 8-10 from SS. THAT MEANS HALLOWEEN. So the challenge is this: After the troll, will everyone become friends? Why or why not? OR With Pansy there, how do you think the midnight duel will go down?

SEE YOU WEDNESDAY