Chapter 2 ~ The Sorting
They sat in the same boat on the way to the castle. It was dark, but at least it wasn't raining. Severus watched Muriel shake hands with the boy behind him.
"Lupin, Remus Lupin," the boy said nervously.
"Muriel Deesia, but you can call me Mur," she answered, remembering his name from Severus' list.
Sev turned as well. "Snape," he said formally, offering his hand as well. He thought the boy looked awfully nervous and turned back around, feeling superior. Maybe he thought we'd have to wrestle a mountain troll as well. Severus ignored the boy until he caught an odd look from Muriel, who had turned back to the boy and had a hand on his shoulder.
"It'll be alright," she whispered to the shaking blond, who was biting his lip. She kept her voice low, so Severus wouldn't hear her. The boy pulled his eyes away from the approaching castle to fix her with an unnerving stare.
"Hope you're right," he answered finally, forcing a grin onto his face.
Severus couldn't wipe the scowl from his face until they were standing in the Great Hall in front of the Sorting hat.
Muriel was among the first to wear the hat. She sat perfectly still, a slight smile on her face. The hat was mumbling at her, but she hardly listened. She was a Slytherin, born and bred. So why did the hat just shout, "RAVENCLAW!"
The cold witch beside her lifted the hat off her head, but Muriel didn't move from the stool. She sat briefly, her eyes finding Severus' in the crowd of her classmates. He looked horrified. She looked up at the hat, but decided not to make a scene. She would come back up to the head table and speak to the Headmaster when the food arrived. She slid off the stool precariously, her feet hitting the ground with a light tap.
By this time the Ravenclaw table had stopped applauding and were looking at her strangely. She went to sit with them, as far from the older students as she could get, not meeting Severus' eyes on the way.
She stared down at her plate until Sev's name was called, then looked up. Maybe he would be in Ravenclaw with her. They had so much in common, surely they would be in the same house? But no. The hat had barely touched his head when it hollered, "SLYTHERIN!"
She felt the tears burning her eyes. This could not be happening. When the food arrived, and the Headmaster sat back down, she got up from the Ravenclaw table.
"Professor, do you have a moment to speak with me?" She was acutely aware of the rest of the students, all of whom were concentrating on her. She felt Severus' presence by her side before the old man answered. She supposed it wasn't usual for a first year student to address the Headmaster after the ceremony.
"Of course, Miss Deesia, Mr. Snape. Come to my office after the feast. The password is fizzing whizbees." The students nodded and exchanged a glance before heading back to their tables. Muriel felt better, and this time sat closer to her house mates. She wouldn't have to stay here too long.
"Hi! I'm Marisa Ahles." A gangly, thin girl was holding out her hand. Muriel shook it. "Deesia," she replied, a little coldly. She'd never heard the last name, and was sure the girl must be a mudblood. Still, it wouldn't do to be rude, no matter who the girl's parents were. You never knew who you might have to rely on later in life, so it was best to be nice to everyone. Or at least everyone who'd never turned your head into a pumpkin.
She shot a look toward the Slytherin table, thinking that at least if Sev was in the same house with Black that he could help her get back at him. But the scrawny, stuck-up boy wasn't there. Severus was sitting with a crowd of boys she recognized pretty well, Crabbe, Goyle, Macnair, and Avery. She shuddered. She REALLY didn't like Avery. She noticed Severus wasn't speaking to him, and wondered if he'd found out about last year's Christmas party, when Avery had tried a vanishing charm on her velvet skirt. It hadn't worked, but she'd still slapped him hard enough to turn his face red for a few hours. She hadn't told Severus. That was the sort of thing that would cause him to get himself in trouble.
She looked around at the other tables and was surprised to see Potter and Black at the Gryffindor table. It figured. They would be very well protected in that house. 'Still,' she thought, smiling wickedly to herself. 'Sev and I should be able to get passed that great bunch of prats any day.'
She listened half-heartedly to the chattering girls at her table, ignoring the boys entirely. One look at them told her that there wasn't a soul among them from her parent's group of friends. Soon enough the feast was over and she got up to go find Severus. In spite of herself, she didn't want to go to Dumbledore's office alone.
"HISST!" Someone whispered as she passed. "It's the blood traitor." Muriel whipped around to face the older boy, her face flushed, and her hand already on her wand. Her father and Mr. Snape had enchanted the woods behind their houses to be safe from the Ministry of Magic's detection charms, so she was very experienced in dueling. She wasn't afraid of the 4th year boy who was standing to face her.
"Minchew, I hope you weren't referring to me. At least MY favorite uncle isn't a squib." Her voice was hard, and the boy turned quickly around and sat down again, his face red. But he'd backed down a moment too late. Severus had already heard the comment, and as Muriel turned back to her friend, she saw him cast a hex in Minchew's direction.
The table erupted in laughter as Minchew's nose grew two extra inches and turned orange. Severus got up from the table, catching his foot for a moment on the bench. Mur quickly took his arm to hide his stumble, and he winked his thanks.
No one said a word as they left the hall and headed away from the dormitories toward the Headmaster's office, though Muriel was sure that they were talking about her again as soon as her back was turned.
By the time they stepped onto the stone stairway, Muriel was irate. "How could he SAY that? Just this summer he was offering to tutor me in Divination!" she fumed.
"He what?" Severus asked. Muriel didn't answer, choosing instead to walk quickly up the remaining stairs.
"Professor, I simply can't be in Ravenclaw," Muriel said quickly as she approached the desk. Her mother had always told her that if she wanted the upper hand in an argument, the best way to get it was to get the first and last word. And she intended to do just that.
The old man looked at her with an amused expression that he didn't even try to hide. He took off his glasses, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and put them back on again. "And why is that, Miss Deesia?"
Muriel was suddenly uncomfortable. Like her father, this man knew Occlumency. She didn't know what he was thinking at all.
"Severus is my best friend, and we should be in the same house. And.." she stopped abruptly, then lowered her voice. "And my mother will be furious." The thought had just come to her. She realized with surprise that Severus had been thinking it all this time.
When her mother found out she hadn't made Slytherin there was going to be hell to pay. She watched Dumbledore remove his glasses again and set them down on the desk. "Would you like to wear the Sorting hat again?" he asked kindly.
Muriel was startled. She hadn't expected it to be so easy. But then Mr. Snape had always said the man was a bit soft. "Yes, I am sure it will get it right this time." She said confidently.
Professor Dumbledore reached up to the top of a book case and took down the dusty old hat. Muriel grimaced. 'It really is filthy,' she thought as Dumbledore placed the hat on her head.
"You would be too, if you were a thousand years old and no one cleaned you," a voice said in her ear. She started. "Now, what are you doing wearing me again tonight, I already told you, you are a.."
"But I don't BELONG in Ravenclaw," she said shrilly, cutting the voice off. "I am a Slytherin, and I demand you place me in the correct house." She knew she sounded prissy, but this was definitely NOT how she'd expected to spend her first night at school.
"You are witty and cunning, but hardly self-serving enough to be in Slytherin," the voice said knowingly. "Certainly you have the intelligence for Ravenclaw, but I see a bit of courage as well. Perhaps you would prefer Gryffindor?" The voice whispered sinisterly.
"WHAT? NO! Even Ravenclaw is better than THAT!" she exclaimed. Severus looked worriedly at the Headmaster. What was the hat telling her?
"Well, if you won't put me in Slytherin, then Sort Severus again, so we can be in the same house." But Severus was shaking his head.
"Do you know what my father would do to me?" he asked incredulously.
"Ah, well, my dear, I'm afraid you'll have to stick with RAVENCLAW!" The hat hollered the house name again, and for the second time that night, Muriel sat like stone, hardly able to believe it. She thought for a moment that she might just burst into tears, but the Headmaster caught her eye.
She saw a flicker of pity in his gaze, and an angry lump appeared in her throat. She whipped the hat off her head and held it out to Professor Dumbledore, who took it gingerly. She was furious, but she calmed herself enough to say, "Thank you for your time. I'll be going now."
Without a backwards glance, she bound down the moving staircase, immediately lost. She hadn't followed the Ravenclaw prefect back to the tower, and she didn't know where it was. Severus had gotten directions back to his own common room during dinner, but he wasn't about to leave her wandering the corridors alone. He walked fast to keep up with her, but tried to stay far enough behind that he wouldn't see her crying. He knew she hated to be seen crying.
"Deesia?" A Ravenclaw prefect found them on entirely the wrong side of the castle. Apparently half her house had been out looking for her, realizing that she wouldn't know where to go. Muriel cast one last miserable glance at Severus before following the older girl upstairs.
She unpacked her trunk slowly, the other girls were already in bed, and she tried not to make any noise. When she thought she was ready for classes the next day, she pulled the bed curtains closed and wrapped her arms around her knees.
In the next bed over, Marisa heard her crying softly, but decided to leave the proud girl alone. People that stuck-up didn't want comfort. Besides, her mother had warned her about Slytherins, and anyone who wanted to be a Slytherin probably wouldn't make a very good friend.
Muriel could hear the thoughts of the girl in the next bed as clearly as if she'd spoken them. Her tears stopped instantly, to be replaced by anger. She didn't want the girl's pity and she certainly didn't want her friendship.
They sat in the same boat on the way to the castle. It was dark, but at least it wasn't raining. Severus watched Muriel shake hands with the boy behind him.
"Lupin, Remus Lupin," the boy said nervously.
"Muriel Deesia, but you can call me Mur," she answered, remembering his name from Severus' list.
Sev turned as well. "Snape," he said formally, offering his hand as well. He thought the boy looked awfully nervous and turned back around, feeling superior. Maybe he thought we'd have to wrestle a mountain troll as well. Severus ignored the boy until he caught an odd look from Muriel, who had turned back to the boy and had a hand on his shoulder.
"It'll be alright," she whispered to the shaking blond, who was biting his lip. She kept her voice low, so Severus wouldn't hear her. The boy pulled his eyes away from the approaching castle to fix her with an unnerving stare.
"Hope you're right," he answered finally, forcing a grin onto his face.
Severus couldn't wipe the scowl from his face until they were standing in the Great Hall in front of the Sorting hat.
Muriel was among the first to wear the hat. She sat perfectly still, a slight smile on her face. The hat was mumbling at her, but she hardly listened. She was a Slytherin, born and bred. So why did the hat just shout, "RAVENCLAW!"
The cold witch beside her lifted the hat off her head, but Muriel didn't move from the stool. She sat briefly, her eyes finding Severus' in the crowd of her classmates. He looked horrified. She looked up at the hat, but decided not to make a scene. She would come back up to the head table and speak to the Headmaster when the food arrived. She slid off the stool precariously, her feet hitting the ground with a light tap.
By this time the Ravenclaw table had stopped applauding and were looking at her strangely. She went to sit with them, as far from the older students as she could get, not meeting Severus' eyes on the way.
She stared down at her plate until Sev's name was called, then looked up. Maybe he would be in Ravenclaw with her. They had so much in common, surely they would be in the same house? But no. The hat had barely touched his head when it hollered, "SLYTHERIN!"
She felt the tears burning her eyes. This could not be happening. When the food arrived, and the Headmaster sat back down, she got up from the Ravenclaw table.
"Professor, do you have a moment to speak with me?" She was acutely aware of the rest of the students, all of whom were concentrating on her. She felt Severus' presence by her side before the old man answered. She supposed it wasn't usual for a first year student to address the Headmaster after the ceremony.
"Of course, Miss Deesia, Mr. Snape. Come to my office after the feast. The password is fizzing whizbees." The students nodded and exchanged a glance before heading back to their tables. Muriel felt better, and this time sat closer to her house mates. She wouldn't have to stay here too long.
"Hi! I'm Marisa Ahles." A gangly, thin girl was holding out her hand. Muriel shook it. "Deesia," she replied, a little coldly. She'd never heard the last name, and was sure the girl must be a mudblood. Still, it wouldn't do to be rude, no matter who the girl's parents were. You never knew who you might have to rely on later in life, so it was best to be nice to everyone. Or at least everyone who'd never turned your head into a pumpkin.
She shot a look toward the Slytherin table, thinking that at least if Sev was in the same house with Black that he could help her get back at him. But the scrawny, stuck-up boy wasn't there. Severus was sitting with a crowd of boys she recognized pretty well, Crabbe, Goyle, Macnair, and Avery. She shuddered. She REALLY didn't like Avery. She noticed Severus wasn't speaking to him, and wondered if he'd found out about last year's Christmas party, when Avery had tried a vanishing charm on her velvet skirt. It hadn't worked, but she'd still slapped him hard enough to turn his face red for a few hours. She hadn't told Severus. That was the sort of thing that would cause him to get himself in trouble.
She looked around at the other tables and was surprised to see Potter and Black at the Gryffindor table. It figured. They would be very well protected in that house. 'Still,' she thought, smiling wickedly to herself. 'Sev and I should be able to get passed that great bunch of prats any day.'
She listened half-heartedly to the chattering girls at her table, ignoring the boys entirely. One look at them told her that there wasn't a soul among them from her parent's group of friends. Soon enough the feast was over and she got up to go find Severus. In spite of herself, she didn't want to go to Dumbledore's office alone.
"HISST!" Someone whispered as she passed. "It's the blood traitor." Muriel whipped around to face the older boy, her face flushed, and her hand already on her wand. Her father and Mr. Snape had enchanted the woods behind their houses to be safe from the Ministry of Magic's detection charms, so she was very experienced in dueling. She wasn't afraid of the 4th year boy who was standing to face her.
"Minchew, I hope you weren't referring to me. At least MY favorite uncle isn't a squib." Her voice was hard, and the boy turned quickly around and sat down again, his face red. But he'd backed down a moment too late. Severus had already heard the comment, and as Muriel turned back to her friend, she saw him cast a hex in Minchew's direction.
The table erupted in laughter as Minchew's nose grew two extra inches and turned orange. Severus got up from the table, catching his foot for a moment on the bench. Mur quickly took his arm to hide his stumble, and he winked his thanks.
No one said a word as they left the hall and headed away from the dormitories toward the Headmaster's office, though Muriel was sure that they were talking about her again as soon as her back was turned.
By the time they stepped onto the stone stairway, Muriel was irate. "How could he SAY that? Just this summer he was offering to tutor me in Divination!" she fumed.
"He what?" Severus asked. Muriel didn't answer, choosing instead to walk quickly up the remaining stairs.
"Professor, I simply can't be in Ravenclaw," Muriel said quickly as she approached the desk. Her mother had always told her that if she wanted the upper hand in an argument, the best way to get it was to get the first and last word. And she intended to do just that.
The old man looked at her with an amused expression that he didn't even try to hide. He took off his glasses, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and put them back on again. "And why is that, Miss Deesia?"
Muriel was suddenly uncomfortable. Like her father, this man knew Occlumency. She didn't know what he was thinking at all.
"Severus is my best friend, and we should be in the same house. And.." she stopped abruptly, then lowered her voice. "And my mother will be furious." The thought had just come to her. She realized with surprise that Severus had been thinking it all this time.
When her mother found out she hadn't made Slytherin there was going to be hell to pay. She watched Dumbledore remove his glasses again and set them down on the desk. "Would you like to wear the Sorting hat again?" he asked kindly.
Muriel was startled. She hadn't expected it to be so easy. But then Mr. Snape had always said the man was a bit soft. "Yes, I am sure it will get it right this time." She said confidently.
Professor Dumbledore reached up to the top of a book case and took down the dusty old hat. Muriel grimaced. 'It really is filthy,' she thought as Dumbledore placed the hat on her head.
"You would be too, if you were a thousand years old and no one cleaned you," a voice said in her ear. She started. "Now, what are you doing wearing me again tonight, I already told you, you are a.."
"But I don't BELONG in Ravenclaw," she said shrilly, cutting the voice off. "I am a Slytherin, and I demand you place me in the correct house." She knew she sounded prissy, but this was definitely NOT how she'd expected to spend her first night at school.
"You are witty and cunning, but hardly self-serving enough to be in Slytherin," the voice said knowingly. "Certainly you have the intelligence for Ravenclaw, but I see a bit of courage as well. Perhaps you would prefer Gryffindor?" The voice whispered sinisterly.
"WHAT? NO! Even Ravenclaw is better than THAT!" she exclaimed. Severus looked worriedly at the Headmaster. What was the hat telling her?
"Well, if you won't put me in Slytherin, then Sort Severus again, so we can be in the same house." But Severus was shaking his head.
"Do you know what my father would do to me?" he asked incredulously.
"Ah, well, my dear, I'm afraid you'll have to stick with RAVENCLAW!" The hat hollered the house name again, and for the second time that night, Muriel sat like stone, hardly able to believe it. She thought for a moment that she might just burst into tears, but the Headmaster caught her eye.
She saw a flicker of pity in his gaze, and an angry lump appeared in her throat. She whipped the hat off her head and held it out to Professor Dumbledore, who took it gingerly. She was furious, but she calmed herself enough to say, "Thank you for your time. I'll be going now."
Without a backwards glance, she bound down the moving staircase, immediately lost. She hadn't followed the Ravenclaw prefect back to the tower, and she didn't know where it was. Severus had gotten directions back to his own common room during dinner, but he wasn't about to leave her wandering the corridors alone. He walked fast to keep up with her, but tried to stay far enough behind that he wouldn't see her crying. He knew she hated to be seen crying.
"Deesia?" A Ravenclaw prefect found them on entirely the wrong side of the castle. Apparently half her house had been out looking for her, realizing that she wouldn't know where to go. Muriel cast one last miserable glance at Severus before following the older girl upstairs.
She unpacked her trunk slowly, the other girls were already in bed, and she tried not to make any noise. When she thought she was ready for classes the next day, she pulled the bed curtains closed and wrapped her arms around her knees.
In the next bed over, Marisa heard her crying softly, but decided to leave the proud girl alone. People that stuck-up didn't want comfort. Besides, her mother had warned her about Slytherins, and anyone who wanted to be a Slytherin probably wouldn't make a very good friend.
Muriel could hear the thoughts of the girl in the next bed as clearly as if she'd spoken them. Her tears stopped instantly, to be replaced by anger. She didn't want the girl's pity and she certainly didn't want her friendship.