A/N: Alright, this is a shorter chapter but I can't really see what to add on here that wouldn't seem like stretching it a bit to far. Please for the love of Smesus review, I am dying to know what you guys think of it.
Chapter Eight - It Begins
It was the day of the sorting and Aislinn had spent the entire afternoon preparing for the event. When Lucius had taken her to purchase a pensive, which now sat full and gleaming with memories in a glass fronted cabinet, they had stopped by a high end clothing store as well. The dress and over robes she had purchased were already laid out on the bed, a storm gray dress with the pure white over robes beside it. First she had to see to Freya.
With great care Aislinn bundled the girl in her new school robes and brushed out her short hair with great care. She wove silver ribbons into the curls and hung a crescent moon necklace around her throat. With great care and no small amount of laughter Aislinn applied make up, perfume, and nail polish until Freya beamed at her reflection. When all that was done she turned to take care of herself.
She spent over an hour in the bathroom, bathing and affixing her makeup before the mirror. Finally Aislinn stood to examine herself in the full length mirror, the gray dress holding her tight to her knees before falling loosely away, perfect white robes open over it gave her a pleasing and less severe appearance. She pinned back her burgundy waves with a custom moon carved clip and covered her hair with spider silk thin netting that held many small emeralds to match her necklace, an emerald that had also been shaped into a crescent moon. She took a moment to smile at her reflection, finally proud of what she saw for the first time in a long time.
"Freya, Are you ready?" Aislinn called.
"Yes." Came the meek reply as Freya padded into the room. "Mama?"
"Yes lovely?" She asked, playing with her daughter's beautifully highlighted hair.
"Will there be lots of people?" Aislinn nodded down to her daughter. Freya's brow puckered in worry. "What if no one likes me? Draco told me they hate Slytherins; what if I go there and they hate me to?" The sting of true worry in Freya's voice sent a little prickling feeling to Aislinn's stomach.
"Freya," Aislinn's tone turned serious and soft as she tilted her daughter's chin up. "I will not lie to you; people long ago let a spoiled few paint the whole, it is easier for most that way instead of thinking it through. Long ago I told you Slytherin was my house, and if you are sorted there you will have the closest and most trustworthy companions. In adversity my house has grown stronger, they will protect you. Be assured, however, that no matter where you may be sorted, I will always be by your side." Freya smiled up at her mother, comforted by her words. A soft rapping at the door interrupted their time together. Aislinn stepped away to answer it finding, unsurprisingly, Severus on the other side.
"Well, don't we look elaborate today." The Potions Master drawled sarcastically, obviously working for some sense of normalcy.
"Why would I not be? This is a rite of passage for Freya, I would not dream of wearing anything less to attend such an event." She said stepping aside to allow him in the room.
"Ah, I see," Snape's face fell slightly at that. "I need to speak with you, young Mister Malfoy is just outside in the hall. He has offered to give Freya a tour of the castle before the other students arrive for the sorting." The girl looked to her mother eyes alight and expectant.
"Can I go mama?" Freya pleaded.
"Of course darling, just be careful and don't soil your robes." Aislinn warned with mock severity.
"Yes mama." The younger witch answered with a squeal of pure delight before disappearing through the painting. Aislinn waited for it to click shut behind her daughter before continuing.
"What is it you wish to speak to me about Professor Snape?" She asked. By his tone and carefully neutral expression she could tell whatever he had to say was not something she wanted to hear.
"The headmaster has informed me that he does not think it…prudent, for you to attend the sorting." Some of his words were slow but he kept strait to the point. Though there was no cruelty in his voice Aislinn still felt the words like a blow.
"What do you mean "not prudent". It is my right to attend her sorting, there is no rule in the Hogwarts ledgers that say I can not attend." The Witch said as calmly as possible as rage darkened her eyes. Severus felt a trill that wasn't quite fear, almost an awareness, as if he were in the presence of a very dangerous animal.
"Not safe would be a better term I suppose." Snape said carefully. "He is concerned that Death Eaters may have children who are loyal to their cause. While I do not think he will cast his net so wide as to involve them, at least not yet, The Headmaster does not wish to risk your well being by being see He had been quite insistent actually. Freya was Voldemort's true objective, he would not risk coming out into the open simply because someone had spotted the child. The evil bastard would wait until he was sure he had Aislinn in the open, he wouldn't act until he was positive his plans could be put into action.
"The solution is simple enough; a disillusionment charm would handle it quite nicely." Aislinn shot back simply. He could tell by the look on her face that she did not quite believe it herself.
"I am sure you are quite aware, as am I, that there are ways to see through that charm. The least complicated of which is to pay attention." He said sharply, easily sliding into the tone that made students sit straighter in fear; she seemed unaffected. "Should you even breathe the distortion would be noticeable to someone keeping a lookout." He replied stiffly. However, as the silence after his statement grew, his offense at her anger subsided. Her face had gone blank, almost as if she were looking at something far away; oddly she reminded him of a porcelain doll as she gazed into some unknown place.
"So I have been forbidden from attending." Aislinn's voice was as blank as her face, even the rage had gone from her eyes. Though no emotion flickered across her features, he knew the feelings that must be building within her. Years of isolation from Freya, enduring innumerable humiliations for her sake and now free of that prison she was being denied to see a true milestone in the girls life. This was a milestone she had properly never dared hope to see in those dark times, and now she was pulled away once more. Someone was taking that control from her, ripping her from her child, and it did not matter how small of a thing it was. He could almost feel the panic that must have been pounding in her chest, and his heart softened.
"Yes," Severus said slowly. He paused for a moment as an idea dawned on him. "But not forbidden from seeing it. Follow me." The potions master turned, snapping is robes as he exited. She followed stonily, her slippered feet not making a sound. The fact that her robes continually swished around her ankles did not slip his notice, giving him a constant nearly mechanical beat to keep her location detectable. The noise was so quiet he doubted many others would have heard it, unless they were listening for it.
A few feet down the hall Snape stopped before a section of stone wall, it was the same as the rest of the hall except the shadows fell just right to seem to make an image. Every time Aislinn focused on it the most subtle shift would occur, obscuring whatever image may have been there before. Snape pushed his password with this Legilimency and, slowly, an ornate door formed itself with a brass handle and a painting covering its surface. Without so much as allowing the time for the painting to fully come into focus the man had grabbed the handle and pulled the door smoothly open.
"Not even a hello Severus? Where are your manners?" A female voice said reproachfully. The Professor sighed in irritation and closed the door slightly so they might both see the painting. Within the brass frame stood a witch in centuries old clothing, standing in a forest under a twilight sky. The Potions Master closed his eyes in exasperation but swung the door shut to stare at the woman on the canvas.
"Hello Arianna; is there something I can do for you?" His voice was professional.
"Oh, so distant," The woman replied playfully, her fondness for the surly man obvious in her tone. Obviously fighting a snarky retort Severus disappeared inside, leaving Aislinn alone with the woman in the paining. By the time the Potions Master returned they were conversing rapidly in a language that was utterly unfamiliar to him. He waited patiently for them to finish, standing in silence for the last few words to be exchanged, before pushing the door closed once again. Once it clicked shut the painting became a nondescript section of wall once more, the protections laid upon moving back into place.
"Finished?" He asked unnecessarily. Aislinn did not respond to his terse statement only smiled warmly at him, completely unruffled. He looked down the hallway and motioned for her to follow him back around the corner to her rooms. "Here, this will let you watch the sorting from your room; it's called a Looking Glass." He announced, thrusting a velvet wrapped package into her hands once they were safely out of the public hall. "Just concentrate on what you want to see. Now if you will excuse me, I am required in the Great Hall." He turned on his heel and was gone before she could offer her thanks.
Pulling away the velvet Aislinn revealed an ornate hand held mirror, Freya's face already flashing up at her from the smooth surface. The room around her daughter was a riot of blurred color, but the young witch's face shone like a star, making it that much easier to focus. Aislinn settled onto her couch and lost herself in the little bit of glass, truly happy for the first time in years.
~o0o~
Freya fiddled with her fingers as the dull roar of conversation filled the room, eager first years milling around her in small nervous groups. No one spoke to her, and she was grateful, so many people were making her nervous, it didn't matter that they were all so much smaller than her. When the large door creaked open silence feel on the students all at once, a platinum head poked regally through, turning the quiet into a palpable thing. He made a motion for Freya to follow him before disappearing outside once more. She was quick to scuttle after him, comforted by his face, closing the door behind her. The deluge of voices roared to life with new vigor as soon as the door had completely closed, excited and worried voices chattering all at once. The voices of the Great Hall and those of the first years mingling into an unintelligible babble.
"They want to sort you before anyone else, so try not to be nervous. We have all been through this, there will be a lot of people in here, but I will be there too. Will you be okay?" Draco's face went from impassive to concern in two seconds flat with no one to watch him. Freya nodded mutely. "Alright, I am going to go inside, wait a minute before you follow. Don't be nervous okay? No matter what happens we are all here for you." The wizard gave her a small smile before putting his mask back into place, his expression cold and aristocratic, and striding into the Great Hall. Freya waited, counting seconds nervously, before stepping through the doors.
Instantly hundreds of eyes locked onto her, and for a second she stood rooted to the spot. She spotted Draco at one of the tables, his blonde hair setting him apart, and Snape sitting at the head table. She forced herself to move step by step as every face followed, her chin high, until she stood before a small three legged stool. A severe faced woman with square spectacles motioned for her to sit. Freya complied, only to have a too large hat set upon her head. She was relieved when it slid over her eyes and blocked out the hundreds of eyes that seemed to see right inside her soul.
"Ah, a Blackwater, it has been quite some time." A voice mused in her mind. Despite the shock of it's voice Freya kept quiet, gripping the sides of the stool with all her might. "And a quick wit, much like your parents indeed, and so much strength to endure as you have. Many things have been lost to you but I see it all, I see who you are. You are afraid." The Sorting Hat was quiet for a moment, thinking to itself. "Oh my dear great things are on your horizon, so it best be….SLYTHERIN!" The hat cried causing the Slytherin table to erupt with cheers. The hat was pulled from her head and Freya bounded to her new table to settle into the seat next to Draco, who was grinning broadly at her.
"Welcome to the family, we're here for you now." A dark skinned boy said from the Draco's other side. "I'm Blasie Zambini." Many heads leaned forward, gazing at her with welcome and acceptance. Freya smiled blindingly back, feeling happy and content surrounded by her new housemates.
~o0o~
"It only proves what I have been saying all along!" Ron shouted, stomping around the common room in a temper. "A mysterious transfer student? Not bloody likely; Death eater spy more like. It's the same skirt we saw with Malfoy and Snape in Diagon Alley."
"Honestly Ron all this house rivalry stuff it ridiculous, leave it to the first years already." Harry said rolling his eyes. He toyed idly with Ginny's brilliant hair, she sat before his chair on the floor, studiously reading a textbook.
"Why aren't you even the least bit suspicious Harry?" The Weasly asked hotly. He seemed almost as offended by Harry's lack of concern as he was at the girl's sudden appearance. "Besides, that girl has got to be at least 15, why is she only just now being sorted?" It was a good question, but any number of things could have been responsible for the abnormality. Besides that, Mrs. Weasley hinted that their might be a new girl in their year whose circumstances had warranted extra attention.
"Ron you haven't said two words to the girl, you have no reason to dislike her other than the fact you saw her with Malfoy." Ginny said with the exasperation only a sibling could truly muster. She looked sharply at her brother. "Quite frankly I am tired of hearing you gripe about a girl you haven't even met." She snapped the book shut with an irritated flick of her wrist and stood. "I'm going to bed." She told Harry, leaning down to kiss his cheek, before turning an angry gaze at Ron again. "Do try to remember that others have to listen to your constant complaining Ron, maybe just keep it to yourself once in a while."
Ron spluttered after his sister as she rose and made her way up the girls stairs. He gestured wordlessly after her, looking to his best friend as if he expected him to say something. Harry only shrugged, he knew better than to get involved in family politics. The gangly boy seemed to give up, choosing to stomp up to his room without another word. As the redhead vanished into the stairwell the painting swung open to admit Hermoine, who seemed to be carrying twice her weight in books.
"Good grief Hermoine, it's our first night back, you could take it easy you know." Harry said in a good humor. She rolled her eyes at him.
"Honestly Harry with that attitude you will never get head in your studies." The bookish girl said no more as she settled her books on a table and promptly began flipping through the pages. Harry smiled at her and rose from his seat, heading for his bed.
A/N: There you have it. Freya is officially a part of the Hogwarts world. Tell me what you think.
