Character: Bellatrix Lestrange, age 11
an. Okay. So, she doesn't quite fit in this series, because she's not in the same generation. But I had this idea & had to write it.
The tiny girl with dark, curly hair saunters to the center of the Great Hall and places the Sorting Hat on her head. Her lip curls, because it's dirty and disgusting and old, and it used to be worn by a Gryffindor. And she knows about Gryffindors.
She doesn't lose her smirk for an instant, even when it's whispering in her ear. After only a moment, she stands up and takes her time heading to the Slytherin table, sitting down next to a boy she knows already - Lucius Malfoy, one year older than her.
However, the smile is a lie, though no one will ever know it. Because Bellatrix Black was not, in fact, Sorted into Slytherin at first. The Hat looked inside her twisted mind and offered her a choice. Take Slytherin, my dear, and you will be unhappy. Should you follow my advice and join the Gryffindors, your loyalty will have a home, and you can make a difference.
She wasn't tempted, because she'd been waiting for years to become a Slytherin. But there were many instances in the following years when she wondered. Could things have been better?
