Disclaimer: I do not own any of the people or place that belong to the wonderful world of Harry Potter, as they belong to J.K. Rowling. The OC, Eva, is entirely my own.
Chapter 1: Eva
September first, nineteen seventy-seven started out like every new school year for the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Students flooded into King's Cross, pushing trolleys and carrying owls in cages. Parents gathered round hugging their children goodbye before ushering them into the scarlet red Hogwarts Express.
At exactly eleven o'clock in the morning, the train pulled away from Platform 9 3/4, and began its' journey towards the school in the north. For some students, it was their first journey, as the timid first years shuffled about to find a spot to sit. For others, it would be their last trip, as seventh years bustled about to find friends and housemates.
By the time the train reached Hogsmeade, the skies had grown dark. The older students were ushered to the horseless carriages, while the first years were escorted, by Hagrid, down to the boats. From there they would make their journey across the Great Lake to the school, and then await to be sorted.
"Alright you lot. You know the drill," Mulciber said, as he plopped himself down next to his seventh year Slytherin classmates. "It's a Knute per first year. Who's in then?"
"I'm in," Avery said, pulling out a sack of coins.
"Me too," Macnair grunted, following Avery's actions.
"Regulus?"
"I guess," Regulus Black, a sixth year, said, as he reluctantly pulled out his own coin pouch. "I'll more than likely have to owl mum after this for more though."
"Snape?" Mulciber asked, throwing his own coins into the pot. "What about you?"
Severus Snape, a lanky seventh year with shoulder length black hair, sat at the end of their group with his hooked nose in his potions textbook. His coal black eyes glanced up from the old tome, at the sound of his name.
"No...I don't think so," Severus muttered, then returned to his book.
"Oh come on," Macnair whined. "We can't only play with four."
"I'd rather not waste my money on betting on something as stupid as which house a little first year will get sorted into," Severus sneered, not even bothering to look up from the text.
"It ain't stupid..." Mulciber growled, but was stopped short by Regulus.
"Leave him alone," Regulus muttered. "If he doesn't want to bet, he doesn't want to bet. Ask Crouch to join or something."
"Fine," Mulciber snorted. "Hey Crouch!" He yelled down to a gangly fifth year. Bartemius Crouch Jr., or better known at Barty, was a pale young man with straw-colored hair and freckles.
"What?" Barty hissed from his spot at the Slytherin table.
"You want in on the first years' betting?" Avery whispered to him. The others knew Barty had the money to spend, since his father, Bartemius Crouch Sr., was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry. The boy was spoiled rotten, much like others in the Slytherin House, who had pureblood lines.
"Yeah sure," Barty said, sliding over to sit closer to the older students. "Overheard dad saying that there are forty-five new first years this year."
"I like those odds," Macnair grinned, as they watched Mulciber set up a small makeshift board containing the names of the four Houses, where they could place their bets on.
"Remember," Mulciber said, beginning to announce the rules. "You've got to place your bet before the student reaches the stool, otherwise your bet will be dismissed."
Suddenly the doors to the Great Hall opened, and the older students watched at the stern looking Professor Minerva McGonagall led the timid first years into the room. She quickly lined them up along the edge of the platform, as the stool and Sorting Hat stood in place beside her.
"When I call your name," McGonagall said, picking up the Sorting Hat. "You will come up here, and I will place the Sorting Hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your house." Unrolled a long list of names, she began.
"Allington, Marcus."
"Alright place your bets," Mulciber said, as they watched a tiny first year boy, with sandy colored hair and freckles make his way to the Sorting Hat. Mulciber and Avery had chosen Ravenclaw, while Crouch and Macnair had chosen Hufflepuff. Regulus was the only one that had chosen Gryffindor.
"Alright, better be...GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting Hat announced. Regulus smirked as he collected his winnings, before the next student was called. The list went on and Regulus' pile of silver began to get taller.
"Knew we shouldn't have let him play," Macnair grumbled, as he threw another coin in the pot.
"Harrison, Eva!" McGonagall shouted. The five sat and watched a small, frail looking girl made her way up to the platform. Her long dark brown hair hung limply down to the middle of her back and her skin was almost as pale as Severus'.
"Mudblood," Barty smirked, as he threw his coin into the Hufflepuff slot.
"What was that?" Avery said, quickly pulling his hand back before he could drop his Knute on the Ravenclaw slot.
"She's a mudblood," Barty said, nodding towards the girl. "Saw her at King's Cross. Parents looked out of place on the platform. She'll be a Puff for sure."
"Hey, hey, hey," Mulciber snarled. "No discussing bets. You've got to make up your own mind about what house they'll be in."
"Just saying she's a mudblood that's all," Barty hissed. Unknown to everyone else at the table, Severus was cringing at the word from inside his book.
"Fine!" Mulciber snapped. "So she's a mudblood, but that doesn't mean that she couldn't be sorted into Ravenclaw or Gryffindor too. "
"No," Macnair chuckled as he threw his coin in. "But we definitely know she won't be a Slytherin." The group of boys laughed, causing Severus to finally raise his head to find out what was so damn important about this girl. He turned his head towards the Sorting Hat to find the small girl perching herself carefully on the stool.
She looked positively scared up there, as McGonagall lowered the hat upon her small brown haired head. The large hat slid over her ears and down her face, covering her eyes.
Green eyes.
Emerald eyes.
The students watched with rapid attention, as the hat silently whispered to the young girl. Severus wondered how long it was going to place her, as seconds turned into minutes. It had to be the longest sorting he had ever witnessed, and it was placing the students on edge.
Even the professors were on the edge of their seats, wondering what was taking so long. Headmaster Albus Dumbledore folded his hands in front of him, placing his elbows on the table and bringing his steepled fingers to his lips in thought.
"Better be..." the Hat said after the longest time. "SLYTHERIN!"
The Great Hall became silent, and a wave of shock rolled over students and professors alike. Even poor Professor Horace Slughorn stopped his hands short of clapping. McGonagall turned towards Dumbledore, as to look for what she should do, but the Headmaster only nodded for her to continue with the sorting.
McGonagall slipped the hat off of the young witch's head, and pushed her gently off in the direction of the Slytherin House table. As she sat down at the long table, the students shifted over as far as they could go, as though the young girl had some sort of contagious disease.
"THAT'S RUBBISH!"
"SHE DON'T BELONG HERE!"
"SHE'S A MUDBLOOD!"
"SILENCE!" Professor Dumbledore bellowed over the crowd. "Please continue Professor McGonagall." He gestured before sitting back down in his chair. McGonagall shook her head, clearing her thoughts about what had just occurred, before continuing on with the Sorting.
The Great Hall had quieted down once again, but for five Slytherin boys, they sat looking dumbfounded at the makeshift betting board. Three Knutes sat in the Hufflepuff square, while two sat in the Ravenclaw box.
"No one won," Regulus muttered. "What do we do?"
"Don't know," Mulciber whispered. "This had never happened before. And to think it happened over a stupid mudblood getting into Slytherin. A mudblood in a pureblood house. It's a disgrace!"
"My father won't like this when he hears about it," Macnair snarled. The other five continued on with their conversation, but Severus quickly tuned them out. Cautiously, he glanced down the table, looking at the small muggleborn witch that had found herself in a terrible spot.
Her dark brown hair obscured the view of her face, but Severus watched as a small pale hand reached up and tucked the loose strands behind her ear. That's when he got the first good look at her eyes. They were most definitely emerald, but they were shades softer than a particular red headed witch that was sitting at the Gryffindor table. Severus' eyes glanced away from the first year and paused on the red head in question.
Lily.
Lily Evans.
Hogwarts' new Head Girl. The girl with the fiery red hair and dazzling green eyes. Once his best friend, she was now hanging on the arm of Hogwarts' new Head Boy, James Potter.
'Potter," Severus hissed in his thoughts, as his fists clenched the book in front of him. James Potter sat with his arm around Lily and on his other side sat Sirius Black, Regulus' older and in Severus' opinion, stupider, brother. And to complete the little band of 'Marauders,' was Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, who sat across the table from the other three.
'Probably thinking up pranks to play,' Severus thought, as he watched Lily laugh at something Potter had just said. 'Only one more year, than I can be rid of them completely.'
As the sorting ended, Dumbledore stood and gave a small speech before the food appeared. And as the students dug into the feast, Severus' thoughts about the muggleborn Slytherin faded from his mind.
And he wouldn't give the small witch a second thought...
...until four years later.
a/n: First chapter redo and complete! We start out with Severus' final year at Hogwarts, but the next chapter will skip ahead a couple of years. I wanted to give Eva a proper introduction :) When I first wrote this chapter, a reviewer left a comment that Severus would have been out of school by this point, but if you did the calculations right, it really would be his seventh year of school.
Severus turned 11 in 1971 (he was born on January 9, 1960 according to J.K. Rowling), so that means he would have started at Hogwarts in September of 1971.
1st Year (1971-1972)
2nd Year (1972-1973)
3rd Year (1973-1974)
4th Year (1974-1975)
5th Year (1975-1976)
6th Year (1976-1977)
7th Year (1977-1978)
Thank you to Victoria Cullen33 for the fav and following; and to Adara's Blue Rose and fleuret for following this story as well!
Happy Reading :)