Hufflepuff in Slytherin

Hanna Greene was a proud Hufflepuff, but she wasn't oblivious. She knew Hufflepuff was frequently called "the leftovers" or "the lame ones", especially by the Slytherins, so imagine her shock and anxiety when she was picked for the exchange program to the aforementioned house. And to make matters worse, Hanna was a muggleborn.

On the night of the exchange, Hanna did not get a wink of sleep. Thoughts of her week in the cold dungeon with her new green friends scared the wits out of her. She hadn't had many interactions with Slytherins before, but from the few that she had, they weren't pleasant ones at all. In fact, they were all encounters with Draco Malfoy and his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.

Morning came, and the sun was shining brightly into the Hufflepuff common room. Hanna was in a dreadful mood, and it didn't help that she barely got enough sleep. Her fellow Hufflepuffs hugged her in turn and saw her to the doors of their common room. She was going to miss this. What did it matter that it was only for a week? She was pretty sure this week was going to turn out to be a long one.

Once she arrived at the Slytherin common room, she gave the password "pure blood" and was allowed entry. Professor Snape had given her the password a day ago and she was thankful for that. At least she didn't have to ask someone.

She took a deep breath and entered the dark and cold dungeon. Almost immediately, she felt the different vibe given off by their common room. Where the Hufflepuff common room was brightly lit and decorated in warm colours, the Slytherin common room was dark and carried a gothic vibe. A giant fireplace sat in a corner of the common room; big though it was, it was not lit, giving the room a very unfriendly feel.

"Hey, it's the mudblood!" exclaimed Draco Malfoy, as soon as he saw Hanna.

The Slytherins all roared in laughter and started jeering. Hanna felt her cheeks turn hot, but did not give him a reaction.

"Are you dumb, mudblood? Did mommy not teach you how to talk? Oh, my apologies. You don't have one."

Again the Slytherins laughed and exchanged high-fives.

Hanna felt her eyes prickle with tears and her feet felt rooted to the ground. She couldn't move.

"Whatever. Crabbe, Goyle. We're leaving. I can't be in the same room as a mudblood." Draco and his minions left the common room, and the door shut with a bang. Suddenly, a dark-skinned boy who looked to be a few years older than Hanna and Draco, stood up. Hanna recognized him as a prefect.

"Okay, that is IT. I am sick and tired of listening to that Malfoy kid. Why isn't anyone standing up to him? Do you honestly think it's okay? Are you proud of yourselves for having him as a fellow Slytherin?" The room went dead silent.

"I don't know about the rest of you but I believe my house to be a house of honour and integrity. We value ambition and resourcefulness, NOT blood status and bullying. But at the moment, I'm not too proud of being a Slytherin. Is this how we treat a guest? By showing her that hey, the stereotype that all Slytherins are bad guys is true? I won't stand for this. If I'm the only one, then so be it, but Hanna if you ever need a friend in Slytherin, I'm here for you."

Half of the common room started clapping while the others just looked away and shuffled their feet, looking annoyed but slightly ashamed.

The ones who were clapping started bursting into shouts.

"I'm with you Blake! Slytherin and proud of it! We're not all bad guys. The ones who are just give us a bad rep."

"I've never liked Malfoy and his little gang. Bunch of little gits, they are."

"Finally. Someone has finally said it. I've been too afraid of what Malfoy and his gang would do to me if I acted differently, but I've always hated acting along and pretending that I actually like his racist jokes."

"Hanna are you okay? You haven't said anything."

Hearing her name, Hanna snapped out of her daze. Her face was now wet with tears and her heart was filled with so much gratitude and warmth for these people.

"I'm okay guys, really. Thank you. Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me."

The group of people who had clapped and acclaimed their hate for Malfoy and his cronies made their way over to her and embraced her in a hug.

So what if Slytherin had a couple of rotten kids? These ones seemed perfectly normal. The evil Slytherin stereotype immediately vanished in her head. Draco and the gang were still going to be a pain in the butt, but she was pretty sure she could handle it now with a group of friends by her side.