Warning: Text from "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" is included
AN: Clarification: When I mentioned chronically low arousal, I meant that she will seek out dangerous situations in order to satisfy her need for excitement, not sexually (though that may be a factor in some cases later in life). Fun fact: I almost portrayed Kali as asexual. She wouldn't have been totally sex-repulsed, merely indifferent to sex outside of its benefits in manipulation.
Neville stepped off the train and observed the girls, his new…friends. His first friends really, a fact he still couldn't believe.
The dark-haired and brunette girls he had befriended on the train were milling around in front of him with Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones. Both, though half-bloods, were from prominent families like his own so although he was familiar with them, he wouldn't call them more than acquaintances.
This was probably the longest he had ever interacted with them outside of obligatory pureblood events and it was interesting. Kali and Hermione were serious about introducing themselves to others and dragged him along. He didn't complain; it was nice for someone to actually desire his presence. Susan and Hannah were the last people they had encountered.
The girls hit it off so they stayed in that compartment until the train arrived at their final location.
"Neville!" His head snapped up. At some point he had stopped paying attention and the group was ahead of him now. Kali was staring at him, the other girls at her back and the crown moving around them. A warm smile decorated her face and her hand was gesturing for him to come forward and join them.
For a second, he was stunned into further silence. She was already a pretty girl but the smile on her face made her simply radiant and the people on the dark platform certainly noticed. Kali, however, paid them no mind and focused her concern onto Neville.
It was then that his insecurities struck. She was famous, and friendly, she would have no shortage of friends when they started Hogwarts and what would happen to their friendship then? He wasn't special, or strong, or handsome or any of those things. He was nothing like his heroic parents, his grandmother made sure that he knew that. So why would the girl-who-lived hang around poor blundering Neville?
"Neville, are you okay?" Concern was plain on her features.
Realizing that he was delaying their journey on the small dirty platform, he shook his thoughts away and walked quickly to catch up with the group. He didn't care. This was the first time in his life that he had real friends and he didn't plan on letting go of them until they told him to leave.
"I-I'm s-sorry." Hermione gave him a warm smile from Kali's right. "It's completely fine Neville. There's no need to apologize."
A lamp appeared and floated over the heads of the students and a massive voice rang out: "Firs' years. Firs' years over here. All right there, 'ermione?"
From the dark appeared a giant of a man, beaming down at the tiny bushy-haired brunette.
"C'mon, follow me – any more firs' years. Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"
The group followed the man down a steep, narrow path in silence. The darkness crushed the group on all sides. It was a little frightening.
The giant man called over his shoulder. "Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec, jus' round this bend here."
The first year students let out a loud sound of appreciation at the sight that greeted them. The narrow path had opened to a beautiful image, like a scene out of a painting. An inky black lake stretched before them. In the distance, nestled on the top of a high mountain on the other side, was a magnificent castle with many steeples and towers. Its windows sparkled invitingly to the eyes of the excited first year students.
Beside him, Neville heard someone make a little pained noise. He was startled by the feeling of a body swaying closer to him and a hand gripping his shoulder. He turned his head to see Kali with her eyes closed and a pained look on her face.
Concern immediately washed over him. He hesitated but called her name out quietly. Her response was not immediate, perhaps only a second or two delayed, but that second somehow felt like an eternity.
"…I'm fine." She opened her eyes and turned slightly, peeking at him through her eyelashes, "I apologize if I worried you."
Neville blushed violently, he hadn't noticed how close their faces were until then, but nodded. She didn't seem like she wanted to share why she had reacted that way so he would leave the subject.
"No more'n four to a boat," Hagrid calling, directing the children's attention to a fleet of little boats that lined the shore. They all moved quickly towards the boats. Neville frowned and prepared to offer that he find another boat so that girls would be able to ride together but before he could, Susan gave a suggestion.
"There's not enough room for everyone in one boat so you guys can take one and I'll ride with Hannah. We'll meet up at the castle."
It was a plan that was agreeable to all of them so they parted ways there, with Hermione, Kali, and Neville getting into one boat and the other two girls finding another. The trio was joined by a petite blond that the boy didn't recognize.
A loud bellow of "FORWARD" sent the entire fleet of ships into motion, toward their home for the next seven years.
*****Femme Fatale*****
The giant man, Hagrid Hermione said he was called, knocked on the heavy door in front of them three times. It swung open to reveal a familiar stern faced witch, Professor McGonagall. A smiled threatened to tug at Kali's lips.
She liked her quite a bit. The professor was a strong, no nonsense type of woman and Kali could appreciate those type of people. It helped that the professor had handled her well enough the first time they met and Kali had been somewhat aggressive in her mannerisms. She wasn't nearly as unnerved as some people were when the preteen baited them.
By this point, the group had followed the woman into a small, empty chamber off the hall. Kali listened quietly as McGonagall gave her small spiel. Her head was still bothering her, perhaps a punishment for her earlier stupidity.
She has no idea what possessed her to turn on her second sight in front of the castle. She should have guessed that it would be soaked in energy. Looking at the castle felt like someone was shoving two hot pokers in and out of her eyes. She would have fallen over if Neville hadn't been there for her to grab ahold of.
Idly, she watched McGonagall leave and turned her attentions to the crowd around her. The children around her looked terrified. Everyone was silent except for Hermione, who was quietly whispering spells they had learned. Kali reached out a hand and touched her in hopes of both getting her to stop and calming her.
The dark haired girl jerked when several people behind her screamed. She turned around to glare but stopped, fighting the urge to drop her jaw in disbelief, when she noticed the incorporeal beings that had floated into the room.
She didn't know why she was so surprised. She had read that ghosts existed. But it was one thing to read about them, and another to actually see them. Now, with the shock passing, she fought the urge to reach out and touch them. She ignored them speaking to the other students. Pearly white and slightly transparent, she wondered if her hand would pass right through them or if she would feel some measure of resistance.
Still fighting the last of her headache, she easily went along with the crowd when Professor McGonagall returned to round them all up for the Sorting Ceremony and led them to the Great Hall.
It was certainly a sight to behold.
It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them .
The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. No longer bothered by stares, she calmly dragged her eyes over the masses. Quickly boring of that, she chanced a look upward and was graced with the image of a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. It was beautiful.
She couldn't stop her smile when she heard Hermione whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History" .
Kali looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool, she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Her small smile widened. Sarah probably wouldn't have let it in the house.
She couldn't stop the small startle she gave when the hat began to sing. She watched on with a fascinated gaze as the wizard's hat sang about the four houses. Everyone began to applaud with the end of the hat's song and Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.
Kali was not nervous. She belonged in this fantastical world and though she knew where she wanted to go, she would make wherever she was placed her home and alter her plans to fit it.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!".
Hannah went to Hufflepuff and was quickly joined by Susan. The sortings that followed were of no real interest to Kali as she bided her time until Hermione and Neville would be called.
"Granger, Hermione!"
Kali laughed quietly as Hermione walked quickly to the stool, not quite managing to hide how eager she was.
"RAVENCLAW" shouted the hat. Kali cheered as loud as she could. Shooting her friend a warm smile when the girl looked over to her.
When Neville was called, the poor boy fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."
Kali winked and blew the boy a kiss when his eyes met hers just for a chance to deepen his already present blush. And blush beautifully he did.
Kali continued to watch the rest of the sorting with mild interest, noting the placements of several students. Malfoy, Nott, and Parkinson went to Slytherin unsurprisingly. Their presence could make gathering contacts within the Slytherin house either easy or extremely hard.
Then, at last, she was called. "Potter, Kali!"
The hall imploded with the sound of whispering.
"Potter, did she say?"
"Kali Potter? I didn't she was magical! My little sister loves her!"
"She's so pretty! I'm jealous. "
More than used to being the center of attention, the preteen walked gracefully to the stool. The last thing Kali saw before the hat dropped over her eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at her. Next second she was looking at the black inside of the hat. She waited.
Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult."
Kali cocked a brow. "Am I now? How so?"
"Courage you have aplenty, perhaps to the point of recklessness. But as you have no use for the traditional concept of honor and only utilize chivalry when it will benefit you, Gryffindor is not the choice for you."
"Hufflepuff would also be a bad choice. You are fiercely loyal, but to a twisted degree, and slow to trust as well as vicious. The Hufflepuffs would push you and when you decline to give them the answers they seek, they would isolate you and you would, in turn, tear them apart."
"Talent, oh my goodness yes, the likes of which I've rarely seen, and a strong thirst to prove yourself but Slytherin is not the house for you. Cunning, manipulative, and arrogant, Slytherin would hand you a form of the greatness you seek, but it would also lead to a path of irrevocable darkness and loneliness. Despite what you would like, you crave connection with others. The Slytherins would isolate and strike against you and you would strike back twice as hard. It would be a bloodbath. "
"I see you have a fine mind. Very intelligent with an insatiable curiosity. You value knowledge for the power it gives but more so for the sake of knowledge itself. Ravenclaw also offers the neutrality and freedom of movement that you wish to have to set your plans into motion. Perhaps it will also lead you to learn how to interact more honestly with others. As useful as your masks may be, it will also hinder your ability to truly grow and connect with others."
Kali's hackles were raised throughout the entire speech. She hated being analyzed. She felt gutted, exposed, and vulnerable. She wanted to rip and tear and destroy the thing that made her feel this way. Her magic boiled dangerously inside of her in response to her feelings. It was with supreme effort that she managed to gain some control, slowly clearing the red haze that had settled over her mind.
Though perhaps regaining control took only a few seconds, it felt like forever.
The hat gave a hum of approval. "Quite an explosive temper you possess. A dangerous trait with the amount of magic contained within you but you possess an enormous amount of control for one your age."
Despite her initial feelings, Kali could only acknowledge that the hat was merely doing the job it was created to do. It was not her place to get angry.
Regaining her calm, she asked, "What have you decided?"
"No matter the house, you will no doubt go on to do many great things, Ms. Potter. However, the house that fits you best would be RAVENCLAW!"
The last word was shouted to the hall. Kali took off the hat and walked towards the table of bronze and blue that cheered loudly for her, settling beside Hermione who quickly gripped her in an enthusiastic hug.
The sorting seemed to pass quickly then. The red haired boy, Ron, went to Gryffindor and Zabini went to Slytherin. As this went on, Kali watched the High Table.
In the center, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. Her eyes narrowed imperceptibly. She would not forget how his foolish actions had guided her life and it was doubtful that she would ever forgive him for it. A peculiar man in a large purple turban glanced at her, met her eyes for a brief second, and then looked away. An odd little man and the giant, Hagrid, were also amongst those seated at the table.
Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.
Kali wanted to grimace but pasted a polite smile on her face as he spoke.
"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"
Everyone clapped and cheered as he sat down. Kali fought the disbelief rising in her. This was the man who was supposed to be Headmaster and one of the most powerful wizards in Europe?
She was distracted from her thoughts by the feast that appeared in front of her. It was impressive. She had been to many events and had never seen a spread quite like this one. She would allow herself to indulge this once but tomorrow it would be back to her strict diet.
She was distracted from her pickings by the feeling of eyes burning into her skull. Glancing up, she met the fierce glare of one Severus Snape and a slow smile spread over her face. Professor Snape really had no idea what he was provoking but she would be more than happy to show him if he pushed far enough.
*****Femme Fatale*****
Severus breathed a sigh of relief as the hat sorted Potter into Ravenclaw. It had been a fear of his that he would be forced to deal with the brat as she was a Slytherin if he's ever seen one. He had no idea how she tricked the hat into Ravenclaw but he supposed her should be grateful.
She walked confidently to her table, graceful stride speaking to the massive amounts of arrogance that she had inherited from the bully that spawned her.
He glared at her darkly throughout Dumbledore's rambling, his eyes promising punishment merely for daring to exist. Potter was undeterred. She caught his eye and had the audacity to wink at him, eyes glittering like absinthe in the candlelight, promising a dark future for them all.
He fumed as she turned her head and dismissed him from her attentions. He buried the grin that wanted to cross his face. He would teach the girl some manners. He was looking forward to her first potions class.
Here's a new chapter as proof that I'm still around and continuing this story