Yet again it was a scream that jarred Hymn Cassidy out of bed, during the latest hours of September 1 1991. To her immediate relief she could vaguely make out Neville and Harry tiered silhouette sitting up on either side of her.

Suddenly one of Harry's cold hands traced carefully down Hymn's left checks, frowning into the darkness when he felt wet tears running down her cheeks. Frowning Hymn whipped at her cheeks in frustration, she hadn't even realized she'd been crying silently in her sleep.

"You guys heard that right," Neville asked, scrambling quietly into Hymn's bed. Mentally marking tonight as the fourth night in a row Hymn had been crying in her sleep. "T-That scary scream...coming somewhere from deep within creepy and drafty castle we're going to be living in for the next seven years."

"We should probably go see what it was…" Harry mumbled, snuggling deeply into Neville's side, as all three children stayed motionless as stones in Hymn's small bed.

Slowly thirty minutes passed, lulling the three friends into an uneasy half asleep once it was clear none of them were willing to go investigate. Than suddenly around the thirty-five minute mark, Neville was keeping track of the minutes by the ticking of a clock somewhere down the winding stairs, their door burst open in a giant gust and send all three hiding in different degrees of terror.

Neville was the one most obviously frightened, hiding somewhere under Hymn's bed, shaking violently enough to actually stir Rat (Hymn's black kitten) from her deep sleep. Harry fared better when it came to keeping some level of composure, but did end up hiding behind one of the yellow curtains. It was Hymn who kept her composure completely intact, managing a draw a completely passive look excluding her pale eyes that were wide open in plain fright. Whether it was fear or courage that kept her perched casually on the bed no one would ever know, because she would never admit it to anyone even on her deathbed.

Still nothing came, or more specifically the three didn't see anything but they did find three chocolate frogs placed in a line in front of their door the next morning. It was agreed that they would not eat them -because Harry someone has already sent one death threat with a frog attached- and they prepared for their first day of classes.

It was strange and ceril for each of them at first, seeing themselves dresses in their houses yellow and black robes for the first time.

Hymn can honestly say she never imagined being in any house other than Slytherin, and she highly doubted she belonged in Hufflepuff (or any other house) or would have been assigned to the house if she hadn't licked Trevor. Yet if it meant being with her 'brothers' she was willing to be a snake disguised as a badger for the next seven years.

Harry had to practically scream at the Sorting Hat to place him in Hufflepuff with Nevil. He always saw himself dressed in Slytherin green or Gryffindor red when he'd envisioned his time at Hogwarts, but he hated the idea of leaving Neville alone in a house -because Harry swore Hymn wouldn't be placed anywhere else but Slytherin, no matter how much she argued- even if it is the 'nice' house.

Neville, who was obviously the only one of the three who truly belonged, had been disappointed at first that he wouldn't be with his friends but was happily surprised that they had actually followed him. He had always doubted his Grandmother's claims that he'd be a regular Gryffindor, he was much to patient and just for the house of lions.

The three had gotten up early, almost three whole hours before their first class, to go explore their new home and to find Hymn's father. What they didn't expect to find when they walked into the common room was Professor Sprout, Hymn's Father, and Hagrid quietly sipping tea on one of the couches.

"Hymn." Snape said shortly, acknowledging his daughter with a short nod of his head. "You look well."

Hymn nodded her head in a similar fashion, hesitating ever so slightly before taking a seat next to her father on the couch. Neville and Harry followed the girls lead, obviously as uncomfortable as their friend being in the presence of her father.

Sprout cleared her throat to lighten the mood, "Augusta sent a letter ahead informing me you three were early risers, I thought we'd all take sometime getting to know each other. Hagrid had told you three had meet, so I thought you'd like him to come."

"I brought you each some chocolate from Hogsmeade." The half giant explained with a grin, handing each a bag of treats. "I got you all something a bit different so you could share."

"Thanks!"

"You're the best, Hagrid."

'I like chocolate.'

Sprout and Hagrid couldn't hide their amusement as the three friends happily went through the bags of chocolate with excitement. The grounds keeper silently noted how each of the friends eyes light up and swore to himself to bring more sweets just to bring that light back to their eyes.

Snape, who was as/if not more uncomfortable around Hymn as she was around him, just watched as the three eased into conversations with the two other adults. He decided that this is how he'd remember Hymn and her friends from this moment on, carefree and happy. He also hoped that's how the three stayed

Despite how see looked on the outside, Hymn felt something silently break inside her as she realized that Snape would never care for her like a father should. Neville and Harry noticed the slight changed in their friend, and swore to help her through any pain that came.

Ironically, Hymn realized that the day she expected she'd never have a normal relationship with her father is the day their relationship greatly improved. She became a student to him, one of his favorites and he genuinely wanted to see her achieve greatness. In a way they even started understanding each other.

It was also the day Aunt Justice sent a howler to Snape threatening castration if he so much as looked at Hymn the wrong way. She later sent two more warning him to not to treat Neville and Harry badly either, followed by a very passive aggressive note from Augusta threatening bodily harm if he hurt any of her cute grandchildren.