Fallen Roses
Disclaimer: Characters, settings, and situations that you recognize from Harry Potter are owned by JK Rowling. Everything that you do not recognize from any book, movie, cartoon, anime, or TV series is a product of my rather warped imagination and therefore belongs to me. And, as much as I would like to, I am not making any money off this.
Author's Note: Thank you, Elektra (http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=194757), for the praise and the honest criticism, as well as for helping me out with my French. Actually, you're right, it hadn't even occurred to me that the girls should be speaking French when they are alone, but let's pretend they're trying to learn English, okay? Besides, I just love writing French accents :-)
For all my fellow Mary Sue haters, there is a site that, in the words of the esteemed Ficbitches, finds and dismantles Mary Sues for your enjoyment--- http://www.livejournal.com/users/marysues. Don't miss out on this one. Trust me.
And now, on with the story! ^_^
Chapter Two
The transferees from Beauxbatons stood in the Great Hall, most of them shifting awkwardly under hundreds of curious, questioning gazes, their ears ringing with the whispers and murmurs spreading through the crowd like wildfire.
"Merde!" Janae exclaimed, taking a step back to hide behind Therese. "But I am not used to zis sort of attention."
"Zey are not looking at you," Therese told her laughingly, "but at Kaylee!"
"Zat is not true," said Kaylee, but it was. The willowy girl with long white gold hair and dark amethyst eyes was attracting more than her fair share of open-mouthed stares and admiring glances, as well as jealous scowls.
"It is difficult to ave a Veela for a grandmuzzer, is it not?" Michelle observed, grinning. Kaylee had never gotten used to being the center of attention, even though she had grown up with males fawning over her. She knew she was beautiful in an almost unearthly way--- she just didn't like it.
Therese looked up at the velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. It looked just like the night sky or maybe it was? Maybe there was no roof, but that was silly, who'd ever heard of a hall without roofs?
Then again, the British are peculiar folk, she thought to herself, looking down again. This belief was reinforced when Professor McGonagall, a staid woman whose mouth was set in a grim line, placed a four-legged stool in front of everyone. On top was a patched and frayed, and extremely dirty, pointed wizard's hat.
"What," said the brown-haired boy behind them, "is zat, exactly?"
"Ze Sorting At," Janae informed him in a hushed whisper, because a silence had fallen over the hall. "Maman told me about it. It will decide which ouse we belong to."
The boy was incredulous. "It can do zat? But how?"
"Wait and see"
All eyes turned to the hat, except for most of the boys, whose gazes remained riveted on Kaylee. She gallantly pretended not to notice.
Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide, like a mouth, and in a matter of seconds, it burst into song.
"Mon Dieu," whispered Michelle. "A singing "
"God ave mercy on us all," Therese added, although she was obviously amused, and clapped along with everyone else when the hat finished its song, bowed to the four long tables where the rest of the students were sitting, then became quite still again.
"So we ave to try on ze hat?" the brown-haired boy asked, shaking his head. "Crazy Eenglish wizards."
"Let's see" said Kaylee thoughtfully, putting one hand on her hip. "Slyzerin is for zose oo ave cunning and ambition Gryffindors are brave Ze patient and ardworking belong in and Ravenclaw is for ze smart ones. Ave I got zat right?"
Janae nodded.
Michelle looked troubled. "Zey are sorting on personalities, not deeds. What if---" She paused, hardly daring to voice the fear out loud--- "we are not in ze same ouse?"
It was a possibility they had not considered, and now it made chills run down their spines. Their friendship had been formed because they had shared the same dormitory for almost six years--- they were the girls of Maison des Roses. How would they survive without each other?
McGonagall unrolled a long scroll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Aveyron, Michelle!"
Michelle stepped forward, feeling as if everyone in the room was staring at her. Which they probably were. She put on the hat, squeezed her eyes shut, thinking how she would very much like to strangle someone if she was placed in a house she didn't like.
"Ooh, a feisty one, eh?" said a startling small voice in her ear, making her jump. "A craving for adventure Lots of spunk and, dear me, a mischievous streak Willing to try anything, are you? Ah, well, bravery and daring are fine virtues, and because of that, you belong in GRYFFINDOR!"
The hat shouted the last word to the whole hall. A tremendous burst of applause followed, and Michelle took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table.
A girl with bushy brown hair smiled at her. "Hi, I'm Hermione Granger. Have a seat."
"Merci," said Michelle, sitting down. She looked at her three best friends, who grinned and waved at her, albeit apprehensively. She managed a small smile for them.
Emilie Bayonne, a stout, pimply girl who had amazed everyone in Beauxbatons with her loyalty to her friends and her diligence, was decreed a Hufflepuff. Yves Calais was made a Gryffindor, which was hardly shocking since he was the boy who had tried to singlehandedly take on a manticore that had forced its way into the palace back in third year.
He strolled over to the Gryffindor table, grinning, and sat next to Michelle. "I could not ave asked for a better ouse," he declared sincerely. The other Gryffindors beamed at him.
What surprised Michelle and--- she suspected--- the rest of the transferees was when the Sorting Hat placed Rohan Casteljaloux in Ravenclaw. Rohan had been the most popular guy in Beauxbatons, he was Quidditch captain and a total heartthrob, but he had not shown any sign of exceptional intelligence whatsoever.
And then it was Kaylee's turn.
Heads turned as Kaylee made her way to the front of the room, chin held high. A redheaded boy sitting near Michelle groaned out loud. "Oh, no, not another bloody Veela!"
Now what's that supposed to mean? wondered Michelle, but then her friend gracefully sat on the stool, and she stopped wondering and started praying. Kaylee managed to look dignified as always, even with a tattered old hat falling right down over her eyes. However, the way she clenched her fists tightly together showed how tense she truly was.
Please, put her in Gryffindor Gryffindor Gryffindor Michelle fervently chanted over and over again, in her mind. Gryffindor Gryffindor
"SLYTHERIN!" screamed the hat.
"WHAT?!!!" Michelle was tempted to scream out loud, but fortunately stopped herself just in time. Kaylee took off the hat and went to the Slytherin table. Most of the boys there cheered loudly, almost all of them standing up to shake her hand or offering her a seat, but she ignored them and looked at Michelle instead, deathly pale.
After several more names were called, it was Janae's turn. The hat declared her a Ravenclaw. She looked nauseated, even more so when Rohan smirked at her. They had always disliked each other, and now they were going to be in the same house!
Michelle had all but given up believing in the power of prayer when Therese's turn came. She crossed her fingers and decided to give faith one more chance.
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
No, it can't be, Michelle thought numbly as the tall girl with wavy brown hair sat down at the Hufflepuff table, so far away from Michelle. This can't be happening. Not to us
But it had. Michelle Aveyron, Kaylee Chantal, Janae Du Bois, and Therese Riviere, the four Roses of Beauxbatons, were in different houses. For the first time in almost six years, they would be sleeping in the same building, but in different dormitories. They would be sharing the same classes, but not doing their homework together in front of the common room fire. Their houses would compete against each other in Quidditch and for the House cup. They would be almost like rivals.
It was unthinkable. Unbearable.
"Michelle," said Yves softly, knowing how close the four girls had been to one another, "I am very sorry."
The rest of the evening was a blur. Albus Dumbledore welcomed the transferees to Hogwarts, then food magically appeared on previously empty dinner plates. Michelle, Kaylee, Therese, and Janae ate listlessly, barely even tasting the delicious cuisine prepared by the house elves. They made no attempt to join in merry conversation and glanced bleakly at each other once in a while. Not even the arrival of the ghosts brought them out of their trance-like state.
It was already starting out to be a horrible school year.