Vivian boarded the Hogwarts express. The small hallway was empty and quiet. After debating for a few moments she decided to sit in the middle most compartment. She glanced at her watch for the fifth time and sighed. There was still over half an hour until the train's departure.
Her leg bounced quickly as she fiddled with her watch's silver clasp. Taking a deep breath in she leaned up against the cool class to get a better view of the platform. The empty platform soon began to show signs of life as families trickled in. Hugs and kisses were exchanged as kids started to file onto the train. She steeled herself to keep her eyes out the window instead of anxiously staring at the door in hope that someone would join her. Chatter of voices soon filled the train. The platform started to resemble a bees nest with all the people moving here or there. She fumbled with the buckle of her satchel. Pulling out a random text book she tried to read at random to slow her beating heart. New places. New people. It all felt too much. Her eyes flicked up at the sound of her compartment door opening. A young girl around her height quickly let herself in. Her dark red hair pulled into a ponytail. Vivian quickly looked back at her book.
"Hello! I'm Lily & this is Severus." The cheery and energetic girl spoke up across from her. Lowing her book Vivian offered a hesitant smile.
"I'm Vivian." She glanced over at the boy she hadn't noticed earlier. He had black hair that stood in stark contrast to his pale skin. "Nice to meet you both."
"You're a first year too right? Severus told me there are four houses we are sorted into. Which one do you want to be in?" Lily smiled wider, leaning forward.
"Well…my parents were both in Slytherin, but I wouldn't mind any of the other houses." She glanced between them watching their reactions. Either people loved Slytherin or hated it. For some reason there never seemed to be an in-between.
"I think they all sound great! Hopefully we can all get sorted into the same house! I'm more partial to Gryfindor myself." Lily was quite talkative and animated with her hands which was a relief. All Vivian had to do was listen and nod. The Severus boy stayed quiet unless specifically asked a question or prodden on by Lily. It was surprising to learn Lily was a muggleborn. She seemed to fit in her seemingly natural confidence. Lily chatted about anything that came to mind, filling in any hint of pause in an effort to drown out her sister's words. The sting of her sister's hatred pained her greatly and if she stopped talking she knew tears would come. She had once looked up to Petunia a great deal and the two of them had been inseparable. Now all she could see was her sister's resentful eyes as she spat out the word "freak". By the time the train began to slow the pain had started to be overlapped by excitement. Lily and Vivian peered through the window to try and get a glimpse of the school. The fog was heavy leaving the school enshrouded with only small lights flickering through. Soon all the students were pushing their way off the train. Vivian lost sight of Lily and Severus in the chaos of exciting the train. A booming voice made her and a few other students.
"FIRST YEARS! FIRST YEARS LINE UP HERE!" A giant of a man bellowed. Vivian's eyes grew wide as she hesitantly made her way through the quickly dispersing crowd.
"Name's Harid. Follow me this way, first years. To the boats. Then you'll be sorted into your houses. Right this way. Mind yer step!" The man strode towards the shore line where small boats had been lined up. A small cold hand grabbed hers. She almost jerked away before seeing Lily beside her. The girl leaned over and whispered, "This way we won't get lost again." Vivian grinned and squeezed her hand in acknowledgement. Severus followed behind them until they were almost to one of the boats when a group of boys rushed in front of them nearly knocking Severus over as they shoved each other playfully before getting on board.
Lily rolled her eyes while Severus glared at them. Vivian offered Severus a hand up that he ignored. Lily led them to the last boat muttering something about how wizards weren't so different from muggles after all. Vivian frowned, giving the boat a once over. She could have sworn it was smaller than the rest. Very slowly she stepped one foot inside, pausing before getting in fully. Seeing as it was still afloat she carefully made her way to the front to make room for the others. The fog wafted off the lake swirling around each boat as they made their way across. She shivered, pulling her cloak closer. The fog grew thicker as they approached the school leaving only the sight of the lights from the boats' lanterns floating.
"Follow me! Stay close! These rocks can get slippery. Don't need any of you falling into this water." Hargid called out as the first boat reached the shore. Students huddled together in groups as they made their way up the slick winding stairwell. Vivian and Severus had started to pant by the time they reached the top.
Hagrid smiled as a witch came out to greet them.
"This'll be Professor McGonnagal. She'll take care of ya from here on out." Before much else could be said the professor started ushering them down a hallway until they reached a large door.
"It's time to get sorted into your houses. Wait until I call your name." With that she opened the door to a spacious room. Tables and students made four long lines. At the head sat the teachers with the Headmaster at the center. The professor continued to urge them forward until they lined the front of the hall. Up a few steps was a stool with an old hat upon it. Vivian's heart started to race as the Headmaster stood to welcome everyone. It all sounded muffled as her heart beat loudly in her ears. A soft squeeze from Lily gave her some reassurance. Glancing over Vivian realized Lily looked just as nervous as her, if not a little green. She gave her hand a squeeze in return mustering up a small smile. Lily smiled back, taking a deep breath. For Lily this would be her first real step into the world of magic. Not the lone freak, but welcomed with her own place. While she and Severus had often been at odds it had been reassuring to have him beside her, however while he was set on Slytherin she couldn't help, but hope for Gryfinndor. Brave and Bold. Two things she hadn't been able to do back at home, but here at Hogwarts she had a chance. One by one the students went up to a stool to have the sorting hat placed on their head. Vivian was left with only a handful of other students after Lily's name was called. Almost immediately after it was placed on her head the hat announced, "GRYFFINDOR!" Dread fell like a heavy rock in her stomach. The Selwyn family took great pride in their ability to have every child placed in the Slytherin house. For her to be placed anywhere else would be almost impossible.
"Vivian Selwyn" Professor McGonnagal called out.
She was terrified of what her parents would think if she didn't get placed in Slytherin, but even more so she was terrified to be placed there. Taking a shaky breath in as she climbed the few steps to the stool she decided it didn't matter. She'd always failed to meet her parents expectations anyways, if she could finally make a choice towards her own happiness she wanted to take it. Her happiness didn't include Slytherin.
The hat spoke to her, making her start, "Selwyn, eh? Seems like another Slytherin, except…hmm…maybe not… This one had better go to GRYFFINDOR!" It yelled out. Vivian walked down to sit next to a cheering Lily. Her hands were shaking as she smiled so wide her cheeks started to hurt. Her parents would be pissed, but she might finally be able to find her own place.
"I knew it! I knew you'd be in Gryffindor too!" Lily grinned equally as big before glancing to a few tables across the hall. "It's too bad that Severus didn't, but I'm sure he's happy. He talked about being in Slytherin since we met."
"My parents brought it up countless times too. I'm sure they'll be ecstatic to know I've broken a centuries old family tradition. Honestly I was terrified to do it, but I feel relieved more than anything. This whole disappointing my parents in person is rather refreshing really, much better than doing it by accident." Vivian laughed.