So sorry this took so long! I had MAJOR writer's block.
Disclaimer: what do you think?
Brighid sat down on a stool and the tall woman placed the old hat on her head.
"You're not who you seem to be, are you?" The hat said. It seemed to be inside her mind.
Brighid jumped. She scolded herself silently for not having foreseen this. Her cover was already being blown!
"Don't be so hard on yourself," the hat told her, "we can't all foresee everything. And I'm the only one who knows. I won't tell."
"Good," she told the hat silently.
The hat then said, "Now lets see, where should we put you? What stands out most is your kindness. You're like a lamb, aren't you? That would be Hufflepuff. But you may be better suited to Ravenclaw, you have a good mind. You're clever, but you're also brave, like a Gryffindor."
"I'm not brave," Brighid told it. "To be brave you must stand up to your fears. And there's nothing for someone like me to fear."
The hat ignored this and went on, "You're here on a mission aren't you? While I now think that you're Hufflepuff qualities stand out above your others, you're here on a mission. And to help you with that mission, I'll put you in GRYFFINDOR!"
When Brighid realized that the last word had been spoken out loud, she removed the hat and walked towards a table draped in red and gold. She sat in the first empty seat she could find and turned her attention to the front of the rooming, seemingly oblivious to the curious stares she was getting from the other students.
An old man whom she had been told was called Professor Dumbledore began to speak, "This year, Professor Woodhouse will be replacing Professor Trelawney for a bit while she, er, takes a break and visits St. Mungos. All I can say now is, welcome to another good year at Hogwarts."
Or maybe not so good, Brighid thought. But only time itself would tell.
~*~*~*~*~The Next Morning~*~*~*~*~
Brighid pushed the curtains aside and glanced at the clock on the opposite wall. It was six-thirty A.M. Classes wouldn't start for an hour- and-a-half. That meant she would have to spend time with the other girls in her dorm. The night before, she had gone to her dorm immediately. By the time the other three girls joined her, she had been asleep.
"What school did you transfer from?"
Brighid turned to look at the speaker. It was a girl with frizzy brown hair and brown eyes. What was her name? Hillary?
Brighid decided that it would be safe to follow the story she had though up in the planning of this mission. "I was home-schooled back in Ireland."
Hillary nodded, not commenting on the fact that Brighid's accent was odd.
Across the room, another girl spoke up, "Really? I'm Parvati, Lavender is over there, and you're talking to Hermione."
Oh so that was it. Hermione. Brighid decided that it would be better ask questions than answer them, in case she had to alter her story later. "What's the deal with these four houses?"
She was treated to a VERY long explanation from Hermione.
~*~*~*~*~
Brighid followed Parvati and Lavender up the ladder and into the Divination classroom. She had been trying to avoid them at all costs, but they were in all of her classes, so doing so was impossible. However, the other girl in their dorm seemed to be much easier to avoid.
Brighid immediately disliked the room. It was dark, stuffy and smelled as if over the years, many different perfumes had been sprayed there. She didn't mind the dark, but she preferred the natural smells of the woods. She took a seat near the teacher's desk-she was skilled at divination, she had no reason to hide in the back and hope not to be called on-and was immediately struck with a sense of déjà vu. Something was familiar. Something was right. Something was like it was at home.
Just then, the teacher stood up, her long red hair flowing behind her, and told the class in an accent that sounded very much like Brighid's, only more lilting, and a bit sharper, "I am Professor Dana Woodhouse, I am replacing Professor....."
Brighid blocked out the woman's voice and studied her. She was frighteningly familiar, Brighid was positive that the déjà vu was coming from her-who else could it be? The slightly over-weight boy? The red-head? The boy with the odd scar? The boy whom was indefinitely from her home country, or his friend? It certainly couldn't be coming from Parvati and Lavender!
She was jolted out of her thoughts when the professor asked, "Brighid, its your turn to introduce yourself."
Brighid bit her lip as she stood. Great. Now she would have to repeat her story. She spoke clearly, however, "My name is Brighid Danaan. I'm a transfer student from Ireland, where I was home-schooled. My favorite animal is a lamb, my favorite color is pink."
Professor Woodhouse nodded as the small girl sat down. "Thank you Brighid. Now that we've all introduced ourselves, let's get to work. In a moment, I will hand a an assessment test so that I can tell what you already know."
Brighid finished the test in a quarter of the given time. Realizing that she was the only one done, she quickly went back through the test and changed a third of her answers to make them wrong-a perfect score would attract attention. And attention was the last thing she needed.
When she and the other students were leaving the room, Brighid stumbled and dropped her books. She leaned down to pick them up, and and when she stood, Professor Woodhouse was standing in front of her.
Professor Woodhouse spoke softly, but clearly, "Brighid Imbolca, dear, you must tread carefully. And remember, even you have fears."
Brighid closed her eyes in shock, hoping that when she opened them, she would find out that what her divination professor had said was so close to the truth-more than close to it, actually. How had Professor Woodhouse known her middle name? She hadn't told anyone, had she? She then opened her eyes, prepared to demand an explanation, but the woman was gone.
Oh well. Brighid had never been very good at confrontation anyways.
Brighid sat down on a stool and the tall woman placed the old hat on her head.
"You're not who you seem to be, are you?" The hat said. It seemed to be inside her mind.
Brighid jumped. She scolded herself silently for not having foreseen this. Her cover was already being blown!
"Don't be so hard on yourself," the hat told her, "we can't all foresee everything. And I'm the only one who knows. I won't tell."
"Good," she told the hat silently.
The hat then said, "Now lets see, where should we put you? What stands out most is your kindness. You're like a lamb, aren't you? That would be Hufflepuff. But you may be better suited to Ravenclaw, you have a good mind. You're clever, but you're also brave, like a Gryffindor."
"I'm not brave," Brighid told it. "To be brave you must stand up to your fears. And there's nothing for someone like me to fear."
The hat ignored this and went on, "You're here on a mission aren't you? While I now think that you're Hufflepuff qualities stand out above your others, you're here on a mission. And to help you with that mission, I'll put you in GRYFFINDOR!"
When Brighid realized that the last word had been spoken out loud, she removed the hat and walked towards a table draped in red and gold. She sat in the first empty seat she could find and turned her attention to the front of the rooming, seemingly oblivious to the curious stares she was getting from the other students.
An old man whom she had been told was called Professor Dumbledore began to speak, "This year, Professor Woodhouse will be replacing Professor Trelawney for a bit while she, er, takes a break and visits St. Mungos. All I can say now is, welcome to another good year at Hogwarts."
Or maybe not so good, Brighid thought. But only time itself would tell.
~*~*~*~*~The Next Morning~*~*~*~*~
Brighid pushed the curtains aside and glanced at the clock on the opposite wall. It was six-thirty A.M. Classes wouldn't start for an hour- and-a-half. That meant she would have to spend time with the other girls in her dorm. The night before, she had gone to her dorm immediately. By the time the other three girls joined her, she had been asleep.
"What school did you transfer from?"
Brighid turned to look at the speaker. It was a girl with frizzy brown hair and brown eyes. What was her name? Hillary?
Brighid decided that it would be safe to follow the story she had though up in the planning of this mission. "I was home-schooled back in Ireland."
Hillary nodded, not commenting on the fact that Brighid's accent was odd.
Across the room, another girl spoke up, "Really? I'm Parvati, Lavender is over there, and you're talking to Hermione."
Oh so that was it. Hermione. Brighid decided that it would be better ask questions than answer them, in case she had to alter her story later. "What's the deal with these four houses?"
She was treated to a VERY long explanation from Hermione.
~*~*~*~*~
Brighid followed Parvati and Lavender up the ladder and into the Divination classroom. She had been trying to avoid them at all costs, but they were in all of her classes, so doing so was impossible. However, the other girl in their dorm seemed to be much easier to avoid.
Brighid immediately disliked the room. It was dark, stuffy and smelled as if over the years, many different perfumes had been sprayed there. She didn't mind the dark, but she preferred the natural smells of the woods. She took a seat near the teacher's desk-she was skilled at divination, she had no reason to hide in the back and hope not to be called on-and was immediately struck with a sense of déjà vu. Something was familiar. Something was right. Something was like it was at home.
Just then, the teacher stood up, her long red hair flowing behind her, and told the class in an accent that sounded very much like Brighid's, only more lilting, and a bit sharper, "I am Professor Dana Woodhouse, I am replacing Professor....."
Brighid blocked out the woman's voice and studied her. She was frighteningly familiar, Brighid was positive that the déjà vu was coming from her-who else could it be? The slightly over-weight boy? The red-head? The boy with the odd scar? The boy whom was indefinitely from her home country, or his friend? It certainly couldn't be coming from Parvati and Lavender!
She was jolted out of her thoughts when the professor asked, "Brighid, its your turn to introduce yourself."
Brighid bit her lip as she stood. Great. Now she would have to repeat her story. She spoke clearly, however, "My name is Brighid Danaan. I'm a transfer student from Ireland, where I was home-schooled. My favorite animal is a lamb, my favorite color is pink."
Professor Woodhouse nodded as the small girl sat down. "Thank you Brighid. Now that we've all introduced ourselves, let's get to work. In a moment, I will hand a an assessment test so that I can tell what you already know."
Brighid finished the test in a quarter of the given time. Realizing that she was the only one done, she quickly went back through the test and changed a third of her answers to make them wrong-a perfect score would attract attention. And attention was the last thing she needed.
When she and the other students were leaving the room, Brighid stumbled and dropped her books. She leaned down to pick them up, and and when she stood, Professor Woodhouse was standing in front of her.
Professor Woodhouse spoke softly, but clearly, "Brighid Imbolca, dear, you must tread carefully. And remember, even you have fears."
Brighid closed her eyes in shock, hoping that when she opened them, she would find out that what her divination professor had said was so close to the truth-more than close to it, actually. How had Professor Woodhouse known her middle name? She hadn't told anyone, had she? She then opened her eyes, prepared to demand an explanation, but the woman was gone.
Oh well. Brighid had never been very good at confrontation anyways.