This chapter has the sorting scene in it. I wasn't entirely sure if everyone would agree with my choices, so I put an explanation in at the end. Please actually read the chapter before skipping down to it.
The flashback text in this chapter comes directly from Will of the Empress.
Chloe Loves Pie: Sorry this took so long. I'm in second year university, so once classes started things got crazy really fast. Happy pre-birthday!
Malacoda: If you haven't read past the fourth book, I recommend looking up summaries of the last three, because I've been referencing a lot from the fifth book and there will be spoilers for six and seven. Your eagerly anticipated memory-bomb is in this chapter, but some of the results will be in the next. Thanks for the review!
ElementalStarRanger: As I mentioned in the first chapter, the story takes place during Order of the Phoenix and post Will of the Empress. The Circle are kids again because when they were pulled over to the HP world, the stress on their bodies plus the magic swirling around de-aged them. The flashes that they get are them remembering some of their adult memories.
Avatar of Wurms: Lol, my story is officially better than lasagna.
And I'm getting the sense that someone doesn't like Malfoy...
Stormrider7: There wasn't really any huge significance to the way that Briar was looking at Harry. It's just how I figured he would react in a situation like that. After reading that Briar was jealous of Amery in Tris' Book and the way that he seemed hostile to Rizu in Will of the Empress when she was going to eat with them I realized something; Briar doesn't like sharing.
It only really seems to apply when he feels that someone is interfering with his bond to the girls, but at that point in my story he was already on edge. They are in a strange place with strange people and no idea how they got there. They need to stay united more than ever, and Harry already got both Sandry and Tris to confide in him. It was also a bit of a reminder that the Circle still isn't really opening up to the wizards yet.
PerpetualLurker: Thanks! My story has a bit of a weird concept, so it's good to know that I'm pulling it off ok.
ShyShard: Thank you! (and you're welcome...)
On another note, I've been working on the first chapter of the Circle-Raises-Harry story I talked about, and it should hopefully be posted soon
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or the books that they came from. They are the creations of JK Rowling and Tamora Pierce. All that is mine is this particular scenario that I am putting them in.
...
September 1st, Morning
Harry couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief when he finally made it out the door that morning. Between the twin's attempts to speed up the process by using magic, coming downstairs to find himself in a sea of trunks that for some reason seemed much greater than the normal amount, waiting for the mages to come say goodbye to them and wondering where they were, learning that he apparently needed a guard to get to the station, and Moody's grumbling about Podmore not showing up when they were 'already one short' Harry had felt like they would never make it to the station.
An excited bark made him look up, and he laughed at the sight of Sirius chasing his tail. Apparently faced with a lack of guards, the Order had finally agreed to let him out of the house for a while. As they walked to the station Harry stole another glance at his other guard.
It would have felt strange enough to see Lupin in muggle clothes, but seeing him in muggle clothes that were in as good of a condition as the robes he was wearing at the party was startling. He looked…younger.
As they walked, Harry found himself wondering if it was really just the clothes that made his former professor look so different. He still seemed tired, but the bags under his eyes were lighter and his face was less grey than Harry had ever seen it.
Then Sirius scattered a flock of pigeons, and Harry decided that it would probably be rude to ask.
Hogwarts Castle, Evening
"That's odd," said Hermione, staring at the front of the hall.
Harry agreed, but he wasn't sure if she was referring to the fact that Professor Grubbly-Plank was back and sitting in Hagrid's usual seat, the Defence teacher's seat being empty, or that McGonagall was still holding the Sorting Hat even though 'Zeller, Rose' had already hurried to the Hufflepuff table and there was no one else waiting to be sorted. A low murmur started up among the students and died down when Dumbledore got to his feet.
"As you are all probably beginning to suspect," he said, "I have some important announcements to make."
Taking a quick look around the room, Harry suddenly noticed Luna Lovegood, the girl he'd met on the train, sitting at the Ravenclaw table. She still had the Quibbler open in front of her, but she was lowering it to get a better look at Dumbledore, and her face looked unusually (or at least, what he judged to be unusual for her) serious. In all honesty, he was surprised that had never noticed her before, especially with the butterbeer cork necklace.
"First off," Dumbledore continued, "most of you are likely aware that we appear to be missing a Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. I would like to reassure you that this is nothing to be concerned over. Our professor simply had other things that needed to be attended to tonight, and will be present in class tomorrow. Secondly, I would like to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank," the woman stood briefly, "who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures while our Professor Hagrid is away on other business"
Harry felt a little alarmed. What other business could Hagrid possibly have?
"Finally," said Dumbledore, "Hogwarts will be hosting some very unique guests this year. Their home country is...very far from here, and they have a kind of magic that none of you have ever seen before. We do not know for sure how long they will be with us, but I hope that in that time you will all do what you can to make them feel welcome."
He spread his arm and gestured to the back of the Hall.
Hogwarts corridor, 15 minutes earlier
For the fifth time that day, Tris jumped as a ghost suddenly popped out of the wall.
I am never going to get used to that, she informed the others.
Just before the other students had started to arrive, they had been told to wait outside the Great Hall until they were introduced. Madam Pomphrey, the school nurse, waited with them. They weren't sure if this was to give them extra instruction or to make sure that they didn't bolt, but they found themselves liking the woman; if she was bothered at all by the four unnaturally silent children with mysterious powers, she didn't show it.
Sandry peered around the open door. I didn't think that there would be so many people here! she exclaimed at the sight of the full house tables.
Tris went over to the door to see for herself, and found herself feeling abruptly nauseous as she looked at the chattering students. Until now, she had been able to think of going to school as more of a concept than a reality, but now she couldn't distance herself from it anymore. Despite reading the books, making sure she had the supplies that she needed, and learning how her classes were supposed to work she suddenly felt horribly unprepared. This was starting to remind her a lot of the temple that Niko had found her at and living in the Winding Circle dormitories before going to Discipline.
Neither had gone well.
Before, it hadn't really mattered if she was rejected, because she didn't really have anything that she was leaving behind.
Sensing that Tris was getting worried, Briar reached out and touched her hand.
You okay? he asked.
She looked back at him, took a deep breath, and slowly nodded. I will be.
So, you read the books on the school, said Daja, trying to distract her. She waved her hand towards the charmed ceiling of the Great Hall. Why isn't there a roof in there?
There is, Tris answered, calming down a bit now that she had a book to recite. It just looks like the sky.
Is that hat singing? said Briar. The others were too distracted by what Tris was saying to notice.
...some kind of charm, but I don't know what it is. I've been trying to figure out whatever I can about it. I want to see if Niko can do that to the ceiling of my bedroom–
There's a singing hat!
This time, Briar managed to get the girls' attention. The four of them peered together around the doorway and looked in astonishment as the hat singing cheerfully at the front of the room.
The Sorting Hat, explained Tris. I read about it in one of the books I read. Apparently it belonged to one of the founders, and they use it to figure out what house new students should be in. She stared at the hat again. But I didn't know it sang!
Can you make a singing hat? Briar asked Sandry.
Why would I ever need to?
How does a hat sort anything? Daja asked.
Watch, said Tris, and the four of them saw a brown-haired boy step nervously from the group and walk to the hat, which had apparently finished its song. Professor McGonagall picked up the hat and set it on the boy's head once he was settled on the stool. There was a moment of silence, and then the hat opened its mouth(?) again to cry "Griffindor!"
That's one of the Houses, right? Sandry asked Tris.
The weather witch nodded. Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff. They all have different qualities, and the hat is supposed to look into the student's minds and figure out which house they fit into the best.
Wait, said Briar, startled. You mean that thing is going to take a peek around in our heads?
Mutinously, Briar immediately began throwing up as many mental barriers as he could.
They watched the rest of the sorting and Dumbledore's speech in silence, staying where they were until Madame Pomphrey told them quietly "You're on" and ushered them into the room.
...
Harry watched, stunned, as the four mages came down the aisle and stopped together in front of the stool. People in the hall started chattering curiously again.
"Chandler, Tris!" McGonagall called over the noise. Everyone fell silent to watch.
Tris was looking a little alarmed at being called on first and glanced around at her friends. Briar squeezed her shoulder slightly, and Daja and Sandry lightly nudged her forward. Tris went to the stool and the hat was placed on her head. There was silence for about thirty seconds. And then…
"Ravenclaw!"
The Ravenclaw table started to cheer, and Harry clapped along with them, still not entirely over his shock at seeing them at Hogwarts. He thought of the focused look he had seen on her face while she was reading last night, and figured that Ravenclaw made sense for her. Tris took off the Hat and walked to the Ravenclaw table, looking flushed and not sure how to respond to the applause. She sat next to Luna Lovegood, who Harry noticed had an unusually large amount of room on the bench.
"Fa Toren, Sandrilene!"
Sandry went up more assertively than her friend had. She sat on the stool, and the Hat was on her head for less than a second when it cried, "Griffindor!"
The Griffindor table gave her an even warmer round of applause than the Ravenclaws had given Tris, but Harry saw her glance wistfully at the table where her friend sat. Sandry seemed to perk back up a bit when she saw that all of the Hogwarts students she had met at Grimmauld place were Griffindors. She sat beside Harry.
"Kisubo, Daja!"
Daja walked forward, leaving Briar standing on his own. It took her longer than the others; it was a few minutes before the Hat made a decision.
"Hufflepuff!"
The Hufflepuff table was ecstatic. Clearly, they had not been expecting to get any of the school's strange new guests. They cleared a spot for her as she came to sit down. Next to Harry, Sandry sighed, clearly disappointed again.
"Moss, Briar!"
As Briar walked up to the hat, people began whisper amongst themselves. Some had noticed the pattern, and were already suspecting what was about to happen.
Briar pulled on the hat (while not looking happy about it). He sat there for as long as Daja had while the room watched with bated breath, until finally the Sorting Hat opened its brim of a mouth to speak.
"Slytherin!"
…
It may have just been Briar's imagination, but his reception seemed to be a bit different from what the girls had gotten.
He had been so relieved to get away from the hat that murmured in his mind about cunning and courage and intelligence that he didn't even notice it until he was almost at his table. They were still clapping for him, but there was something other than the simple enthusiasm and interest from the other tables. There was speculation in their faces, and a kind of dark excitement in some that made him involuntarily press his arms against his sides to feel that his knives were still in their wrist-sheaths. He sat down gingerly in an empty spot on the bench.
It wasn't just his own table. Most of the students in the hall were having some kind of reaction. Up at the head table, Dumbledore's eyes were flickering between intensely between each table to look at them. The only person in the hall who looked completely uninterested was the blond girl sitting next to Tris, who was humming to herself and looking dreamily at the star-filled ceiling.
What's that about? asked Daja.
Tris shrugged. I read that Griffindor and Slytherin are rivals, but I don't know what's bothering everyone else.
Briar was momentarily distracted by the appearance of the banquet, but started feeling too self conscious to eat normally when he noticed that a group of the Slytherins (led by a blond boy who's face reminded Briar of a ferret for some reason) kept glancing over at him while talking to each other in low voices. No one was really trying to talk to Tris, but she got the sense that it had more to do with the person she was sitting beside and she didn't really want to talk anyway. Daja was talking to someone who claimed to be a prefect and was going over things that they had already learned that afternoon. Sandry was just listening to the conversation at her table when she realized that people were looking at her too.
No. Not at her, but at Harry. People were looking over to him with both curiosity and suspicion. She looked at him from the corner of her vision and saw that he noticed too, and was looking even more self-conscious than Briar.
It was at that moment that the room lit up.
No one else at the table seemed to notice, but Sandry jumped and knocked her drink off the table. From across the room, she saw Briar start to rub his eyes.
What did you do? Daja snapped at Tris.
All of the other students and teachers were now glowing.
Sorry, said Tris. I've been trying to figure out how to see their magic for a little while, and I just got it. I didn't think of it spreading to you three again.
Sandry squinted as she dropped her napkin over the spreading puddle of her drink on the floor. The magic of the wizards manifested in an odd pearly sheen that she had never seen before. Most of them were bright, but some had dark smudges. She glanced up at the head table and saw that Dumbledore gave off more light than anyone else
Suddenly, there was a touch on her shoulder. She looked around and saw Harry looking at her in concern. He had noticed her reaction.
"Are you alright?" he asked. Sandry opened her mouth to reassure him, but then got a better look at him and completely forgot what she had been planning to say.
Harry's glow, although a bit brighter than that of most of the others at the table, did not in itself look all that unusual. But starting at his body and leading across the room and through the room was a rope. It was a sickly green, and to Sandry it looked like it was trying to ooze into the rest of Harry's otherwise pearly aura.
Can you see that rope? she asked the others, directing their attention to it.
They could, sort of.
Looks like a rusty chain to me, said Daja.
Briar used Sandry's eyes to get a better look at it. He saw a vine that was starting to rot.
Whatever it is, said Briar, it doesn't look healthy. If I saw something like that in a garden I wouldn't even try to fix it. I'd just try to get rid of whatever plant it was on before it spread.
I hope that you're not using Harry as the diseased plant in that analogy, Tris told him sternly.
While unaware of their conversation, Harry was nevertheless beginning to feel increasingly concerned and more than a bit awkward. Sandry was taking a very long time to answer his question. She was staring at him – or rather, something over his shoulder – with her eyes slightly glazed and her mouth still hanging open. He looked uncertainly behind him, trying to follow her gaze.
Sandry noticed, and quickly closed her mouth. She smiled warmly at him.
"Sorry," she said. "The castle is incredible. It's a lot to take in."
Should I say something to him about it? she asked the others.
Let's wait, said Tris. We don't really know anything about it besides that it's there and it's not good. He probably knows about it. There must be some signs for something like that.
Sandry suddenly remembered the look on Harry's face when she had mentioned mage bonds.
See? Let's just watch it for now.
"I know what you mean," said Harry. "I'm still trying to get used to all of this myself."
...
Sandry was walking next to Harry as they left the Great Hall, but somewhere along the way she got swept up in the group of nervous first years who were following after Ron and Hermione. She looked a bit calmer than the others and had started talking to a black-haired girl. Seeing the way that they all grouped together made Harry wonder if he had looked like that on his first day.
After they had all made it through the portrait and the first-years were directed to their new rooms, Harry, Ron, and Hermione took the chairs by the fireplace.
"Did either of you know that they were coming to the school?" Harry asked.
"No," Ron said, sounding a bit grumpy. I'm writing home first thing tomorrow to find out why no one told us."
"I can't believe they're all in different Houses," said Harry. "They seem so close, you'd think they'd have more in common."
For a few seconds, Hermione looked troubled. Then her face brightened and she said "At least we got Sandry."
"Too bad we lost Briar though," said Ron. "I mean, Daja and Tris did alright, but Slytherin…"
Hermione opened her mouth, likely planning to scold Ron, but she didn't get the chance. Before she could speak, another voice cut in.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
For an instant, all three of them froze as Sandry made her presence known. Then they turned as one to look at her.
She was standing several feet behind Hermione's chair. Her bright blue eyes were narrowed slightly, and her mouth had tightened. Despite the level tone she had used, her body was tense and trembling slightly.
"'Lost Briar'," she repeated, her gaze fixed on Ron. "What's that supposed to mean?"
With his ears going red both at being overheard and at her intensity, Ron scrambled to justify what he had said.
"W-well," he stammered, "I just…you can't trust Slytherins. They fight dirty. Most of them are spoiled gits from rich pureblood families who think that kids whose parents aren't wizards shouldn't be allowed into Hogwarts. And," he lowered his voice, "most of the Death Eaters were in Slytherin, and a lot of them have kids there now. You shouldn't hang out with someone like–"
While he had been talking, Ron had failed to notice that Hermione was frantically gesturing for him to stop talking or that he was just making Sandry angrier. He had finally shut up when Harry had kicked him, but by then the damage was already done.
"If you understood anything about where Briar comes from or what he's go through, you wouldn't even have thought of half of what you just said," she said coldly. "You've barely even talked to him, and you think that just because you have problems with some of the people in his house you know all that you need to? We know him better than you or that hat ever could, and he's not leaving us!"
Something about the way that Sandry was using "we" and "us" seemed strange to Harry. She was obviously referring to herself and her friends, but it somehow the two words held a much greater weight when she spoke them. As if to her, "us" was a fact of life.
"And if Briar has taught me anything," she added haughtily, "it's that just because a person can fight dirty, it doesn't mean that they can't be trusted!"
She spun around and marched out of the now silent common room.
...
We need to talk, she snapped at the others. And I don't care what it's interrupting.
Like her, Briar and Tris were sitting on their beds in their bedclothes with the curtains pulled closed around them. Tris had retreated due to the combination of not knowing how to socialize with the groups gathering in the common room and a reluctance that came from past experiences to attempt it. The people that Briar had noticed glancing at him in the Great Hall had looked to be on the verge of approaching him once they reached their common room, so Briar had decided to make himself scarce until he had a better idea of what they wanted. Daja was the only one actually talking to someone: a blond haired first year girl who had introduced herself as 'Sarah' and started nervously chattering to her. At Sandry's tone, Daja excused herself and drew her own curtains, claiming that she needed to get to sleep.
What's wrong? she asked, and Sandry told them what had happened with Ron.
We knew that we wouldn't be staying in the same room or eating together if we were sorted into different houses, she said once she had gone over what she had been told, and we read that Gryffindor and Slytherin were rivals, but I never thought that it would be like this. I never thought that anyone would think that I shouldn't be friends with Briar just because of what some hat said.
They stayed silent for a little while after she stopped talking. She thought at they were thinking, but she quickly became aware that the silence was expectant.
...And? said Daja. Are you going to listen to them?
Of course I'm not!
Then what's the problem? We already know all of Briar's bad points, and he balances them out.
At least I know what they want to talk to me about now, said Briar thoughtfully.
Since when does it matter to you what other people think, anyway? Tris said. It's not the first time that someone has thought you shouldn't be friends with us, what with you being a noble and us being common folk. You always go out of your way to make a point of not caring when that happens, so why should this be any different?
You were right, Briar added. I'm not going anywhere as long as you aren't. Their Houses don't have anything on our Circle. And if they try to split us up, we'll just leave.
Briar's last statement made her smile. Even though they both knew that they didn't really have anywhere better to go, it was still good to hear him say it.
Come to think of it, Daja said slowly, why did this bother you so much?
Sandry started to explain herself…before she realized that she had no explanation to give. Why was it bothering her so much? It was only natural that she would get angry if someone insulted Briar, but why had she felt so worried?
She thought about it for a minute while the others waited patiently. Finally, the answer drifted up from the depths of her mind.
I just got you three back, she told them. I don't want to lose you again.
The comfortable silence that followed lasted until they all processed what she had said.
Wait, what? asked Daja.
The only time any of us have been really apart was when Briar was under quarantine, said Tris, and even then we could still talk to him.
Sandry frowned, suddenly feeling like she had just missed something huge. Sorry, she said. I don't know where that just came from...
Daja let it go, but Briar and Tris started chasing the origin of her words in her thoughts with sudden focus that startled her.
It's happening to you to, isn't it! Briar exclaimed
What's happening? asked Daja.
She's seeing things too!
He and Tris quickly filled them in on all of the things that they had seen and heard, but weren't real.
I'm not – Sandry started, but then she remembered hearing Lark's voice the other night. She had brushed it off as a daydream, but was it really?
See? said Tris. Then she flopped back on the bed.
Why is this happening to us? the redhead groaned.
We don't even know if this means anything yet–
Not just... whatever it is we're seeing. I mean all of it! Why are we here? Why are we getting stuck in the middle of their war?
I don't know, said Daja. I don't know I don't know why we're here, but it looks like we're stuck for now, so we should just try to make the best of it.
Easy for you to say, retorted Briar. You haven't seen anything.
She will, said Tris, who had pulled her pillow over her face. If anything strange happens to one of us, then it affects all of us. It's only a matter of time before she starts hallucinating too.
So, then what do you suggest we do? Daja snapped.
Sandry closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them to stare at the glowing stone lying on the bed in front of her.
We stick together and try to figure it out as we go, she said. Just like we always do.
...
On their first morning in Hogwarts, most of the new students left for breakfast early, trying to give themselves as much time as possible to find their way back to the Great Hall in the massive, confusing castle. However, unlike the other girls in Sandry's room, she had not only been aware of this problem, but had also prepared for it. While she and Daja had asked Tris about the castle's design, she had come up with an idea. As Sandry had walked to the dorms with the other Gryffindors the night before, she had started to trail a thread of her power behind her. It was still there now, glowing brightly in her mind's eye.
So when the other girls left, Sandry knew that she would be able to get to the Great Hall on her own with plenty of time to spare. She had considered going with them when they had invited her, but she didn't feel quite ready to socialize after her conversation with her friends last night.
She waited for about fifteen minutes after the others had left before deciding that she shouldn't push her luck and gathering up her books for the morning. At the bottom of the staircase, she halted in surprise.
Ron, Harry, and Hermione were standing in the common room. They looked up when they heard the noise on the stairs, and once they saw that it was Sandry they walked over and stopped in front of her. They all looked a bit awkward, and Ron's ears were turning red again.
"Er, about last night," he began. "What we said – what I said," he corrected hurriedly as Hermione glared at him, "was out of line, and I wanted to say sorry. If Briar's that important to you, then I'm sure he's alright, Slytherin or not."
They – and a few others standing nearby – were looking at her as if they were waiting for her to explode, which didn't really help the mounting embarrassment that she had been feeling over her outburst that she had been feeling since she got up. Since they had decided to apologize first (and also to give Briar a chance), she decided to take the gracious way out.
"It's, alright," she told them, and saw their surprise at the small smile she gave them. "I overreacted. I don't really know much about Slytherins, but I know that you'll like Briar once you get to know him."
That wasn't just being polite. Now that she'd calmed down and understood that there had been something else making her upset, she realized that she had overreacted.
Even though they had realized that they had yet another problem to deal with, talking things out with her friends last night had eased some of the stress that they had all been feeling since they got there. She felt more relaxed now, and ready to deal with whatever would come next.
"You already know what classes you have this morning?" asked Harry, who had been looking for a change of topic. He gestured at the bulging book bag Sandry had slung over her shoulder. "We usually don't get our schedules 'till our first morning here."
"I wasn't sure what to bring, so I just took what I could carry," she explained, setting the bag that had started cutting into her shoulder on the floor.
"You can come back up for what you need once you find out," said Hermione. She looked thoughtful for a moment, and then asked, "Speaking of classes, what are you going to be studying? Can you use our magic?" When she saw Sandry glance uncertainly at the door, she added, "Don't worry, we still have plenty of time to get to the Great Hall. The castle is really confusing at first, but we can show you how to get there."
"I don't think that we can use your magic, so we're mostly going to be looking at theory..."
...
Like Sandry, Daja had decided to wait until the other girls in her room had left before leaving herself. She was trying to pass a bit of time sorting some of her things that had been haphazardly tossed into the trunk the morning before. While hunting through, she found one of Tris's books, a single shoe of Sandry's, and a small, decorative silver snake with emerald eyes that she thought had been sitting on a shelf in their room. She felt fairly certain that they weren't supposed to take it. At least it had ended up in her trunk instead of Briar's; she would give it back, but Briar would have probably tried to sell it off to the highest bidder once they got home.
Daja set the snake on the bed and picked up the robe she had worn the day before. As she folded it, something slipped out of the pocket and clunked as it landed on the ground. Startled, she bent to pick it up. It was the locket that Tris had given her just before they had been whisked off to Hogwarts. The sorting had made her forget about it.
Tris had been right about her power being in it. It was copper, and larger than most lockets, and part of her knew that she had made it this way to hold something. She turned it around looked at the clasp.
There was some kind of charm on it, but the clasp fell open at a simple prod from her power. She once again felt that inexplicable knowledge, this time telling her that the clasp wouldn't have opened that easily for anyone but her.
For a long moment, Daja simply stared at it. There were two warring voices inside her. One was telling her that she was better off not knowing what was inside, that to see it would only bring her pain. But another voice told her that she needed it. That part of her wanted to remember.
She took a deep breath and opened the locket.
For a moment, it was just a portrait; a portrait of the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. Her lips were full, her eyes were big and dark, and her hair fell in brown curls around her shoulders. Then something in Daja shifted, and she realized that she knew that woman.
(When she saw that Daja was looking at her, she smiled. Her eyes were filled with so much merriment that Daja simply had to smile back. Who is she? the girl wondered. She has to be the most beautiful woman of the empress's court.)
The locket slipped from Daja's hand and snapped closed as it hit the ground, but it was like a dam had burst in her mind. Her vision was taken over by things she had never seen, and as the sounds and images poured through her she unconsciously sank to her knees. Was this what her friends had been talking about last night? If they had all felt it too, then how were they still acting normally? It felt like her whole world was rearranging itself.
("My goodness..." She looked at Daja's brass-wrapped hand. "Is that jewelery?"
"Not exactly," Daja replied. She offered the hand for Rizu's inspection and turned it over so the other woman could see the brass on her palm. As Rizu inspected her hand, Daja felt warmth start under her skin where Rizu touched her. It fizzed up into her arm, making Daja feel both odd and pleased at the same time.)
Daja could feel that warmth was spreading up her real arm and into her chest along the same path it followed on her phantom body. Dimly, she realized that there was something wrong with the image of her hand next to the woman's, but then the pounding of her heart seemed to drive all other thought away.
("Oh," said Daja when she remembered how to talk. She felt as if the sun had just been catapulted into her mind. Dazzled with what it showed her, she realized also, Rizu's afraid. She's had enough people tell her no that she's not sure...
Strictly to make Rizu feel better, certainly not because she wanted more of that sunlight spilling into her heart and mind, Daja leaned over and kissed Rizu's mouth all on her own)
The sudden surge of emotion that tore through her then was strong enough for even her friends to feel. She was abruptly aware of them. Briar dropped his fork with a clatter in the Great Hall. Tris stopped dead in her tracks in the middle of the hallway. Sandry cut off mid-sentence and almost fell off her chair in the Gryffindor common room. For a moment they were an anchor, and she tried to hold on to them with all of her strength. But a surge of flashes that made her gasp and her friends watch dumfounded swept her away again. After what felt like an eternity, she settled again, this time on the woman's concerned face.
("It's Her Imperial Majesty," Rizu explained softly. "Something's happened, something that's made her angry. She treated me alright, so it wasn't anything to do with me, but when I asked her what was going on, she said that I ought to ask your friends.")
What was wrong? she wondered. She didn't like seeing the woman look so upset.
(Daja looked into the bedroom. It was neatly made up. There were no signs of packing. She went in and sat on the bed, smoothing wrinkles out of the airy coverlet with fingers that shook as much as Rizu's mouth had.
"You could stay." Rizu had come to stand in the doorway. "Stay here, with me. Be a jewel in the imperial crown. All your work with living metal would earn you a place among the great mages. I want you to stay. I need you to stay")
Why did they even need to talk about it? How could she ever walk away from something, someone like that? But something was wrong. Somehow, that perfect answer just wasn't there.
("Why won't you come with me?" Daja asked, her voice cracking.)
And as she heard her own words echoing in her mind, she suddenly understood why she couldn't give the woman what she had wanted. She knew then that it was hopeless.
Whatever it was that had possessed her was gone. She was left kneeling on the floor, frozen and stunned.
The others were still there, unsure of what to do.
Daja? Sandry called uncertainly.
Sandry's voice got her mind moving again, and she started to tremble as she tried to process what had just happened to her.
She buried her face in her hands and screamed.
TBC
...
Okay, I know that some people might not be happy with where I put Briar (and maybe Daja, if you don't think Hufflepuffs are good for much), so I want to explain my choices.
Briar: The main characteristics of Slytherins are that they are ambitious, cunning, and have a strong sense of self-preservation. Also, Harry was considered for Slytherin because he had cleverness, resourcefulness, determination, and a willingness to bend the rules. While growing up in the middle of gang warfare, Briar developed all of these traits and demonstrates them throughout the series. In the first book, he decides to run rather than stand up for himself when Crane decides that he is spying for Rosethorn and pulls a knife on the boys in his dorm when they go after him. In the second, he is the only person to suspect Ammery, goes through his things to confirm his suspicions, and then tries to kill him before he can open the gate. In the third, he disagrees with Sandry when she says that she doesn't see the point to having magic if she can't help others with it (showing that he isn't that big on self-sacrifice). Even in "Street Magic" Briar doesn't seem to mind scaring people a bit (or killing them) if they come after him or someone he cares about. However, I think that Briar's desire for power is different than Malfoy's or Voldemort's. He doesn't target people that are weaker than him without an actual reason, but he always makes sure that he has as many weapons as possible and will at least threaten someone with them if they bother him. To me, this shows that for him it's not about feeling powerful, but about making sure that he is never powerless again (especially after having to fight to survive as a child and failing to save Flick). He is also in a transition at his current age; if I had been sorting Roach I would have put him into Slytherin right away, but I'm not sure where I would have put the adult Briar. The hat took a while sorting him because other characteristics developed in him after going to Winding Circle. (And don't worry Avatar of Wurms, just because he's Slytherin doesn't mean that he's going to like Malfoy)
Sandry: Umm... if you didn't get this one, you may need to re-read the first quartet...
Tris: Considering the fact that she almost constantly has a book on the go throughout the series, I don't think there is really much more explanation needed than there was for Sandry
Daja: Daja is the most stable person in the group. I think that her most important qualities are her practicality and her strength. Hufflepuffs are supposed to be hard-working, friendly, loyal, and non-judgmental. In addition, she doesn't embody the qualities of the other houses like the others do. She's not an idiot, but she isn't as into book learning as Tris. She's not a coward, but she isn't recklessly brave like Sandry. And unlike Briar, Daja is more likely to confront a problem head on than use cunning.
And yes. Umbridge isn't at Hogwarts. I figured that if she was, one of the Circle (probably Sandry) would quickly get detention, then the other three would want revenge after Sandry's hand got carved up by that quill thing that Umbridge uses. Umbridge would respond to whatever they did, a cycle would be created and the castle would be reduced to rubble in days. I'm sorry to say that she will still be playing a role in the story though; she's just too nasty to go to waste.
I'm considering doing the Circle's first impressions of Hogwarts as a bonus chapter sometime...
...
...Did you know that if Voldemort had been really determined about using the anagram thing for his name, he could have also been Mermaid Drool Volt, Earldom Lord Vomit, Tidal Overlord Mom, Doormat Mild Lover, Immoral Roved Dolt, Immortal Dove Lord and Moral Vomited Lord? (generated with internet anagram thingy)