A Forgotten Queen
Chapter Five
By Chang Liko
Disclaimer: See Chapter One
By the time that dinner had rolled around, Fred and George had worked themselves into quite an excited state and couldn't sit still for more than two seconds. Also, Ron had gotten several letters within the space of three hours, demanding to know if someone called Serenity was actually back. All in all, Ron Weasley was rather confused and really annoyed about it.
"I don't know who this girl is, but I'd love to know why my family has their knickers in a twist about her! I mean, how special can she really be!?" Ron exclaimed, securing the seventh letter he'd gotten to the owl waiting for his response.
Shrugging, Hermoine replied thoughtfully, "Maybe she's someone famous. That would explain why everyone seems to know her. Although, if she was famous, I'm sure that one of us would have heard of her by now."
Shaking his head, Harry pushed himself up from the plush chair he'd been sitting in, stating, "Well, I for one am hungry. If we don't leave, we'll be late for dinner."
"Yeah. We should go down to dinner. That girl did say that she was going to be there. Or at least, that's what she's leading Fred and George to believe. Maybe we'll be able to find out who she is and why she's here," Ron exclaimed, already heading to the portrait hole.
Shrugging, Hermoine followed Ron and Harry out of the common room, mentally going over the famous people that she knew of related to the wizarding world. She still couldn't come up with anyone with the name Serenity that looked like the girl that they'd run into earlier that day.
They made their way through the halls and down to the Great Hall. Upon entering the hall, they found that everyone was whispering to each other and that the mysterious girl was standing up near the staff table, grinning up at Snape who was glaring down at her, apparently unamused by whatever the girl had said.
"She's gonna get hurt if she keeps looking at Snape like that," Ron muttered to his friends as he dropped into his place at the Gryffindor table.
Shaking his head slightly, Harry stated, frowning, "No. For some reason, I think that this might be a common occurrence between these two. I believe, if he was presented with the situation, Snape would lay down his life in a second for her."
Staring at Harry, Ron shook his head, replying, "I don't know, mate. I mean, look at them. He's glaring at her like she just blew up his dungeons."
"Maybe so. But for some reason, it just doesn't ring true. She seems like she knows what she's doing too. She wouldn't actually make him mad," Harry stated, his voice sounding slightly dazed, his eyes glazing over slightly.
"Mate? Harry? You alright man?" Ron questioned, waving his hand in front of Harry's face.
"Huh? What?" Harry questioned, turning his gaze to Ron.
Frowning slightly, Ron just stared at him, shaking his head.
"Look. They're going to sort her," Hermoine stated excitedly, pointing to the front of the room where Serenity was taking a seat on the small stool.
Sitting gently on the stool, Serenity smiled at Professor McGonagall and nodded, indicating that she was ready to have the hat placed on her head.
"Hello my child," the Sorting hat greeted kindly.
"Hello, old friend. How have you been?" Serenity questioned telepathically.
"It's been boring without you here. Now, to business," the Sorting hat stated.
"Yes. I suppose that we must find a house to place me in," Serenity stated, sighing slightly.
"But where to put you. You've already been in them all, even Slytherin. You fit the personality of them all," the Sorting hat stated, his tone musing.
"True. Although, Slytherin didn't seem to get along with me well after Voldermort started his reign," Serenity replied.
"I remember that. Hmm...decisions, decisions," the Sorting hat mumbled.
Giggling, Serenity projected her spirit out of her body to watch the student body, watching them watch her sorting. "I think the kiddies are getting anxious. You had better hurry and make a decision," she stated.
"Get back in your body Serenity. There are a few here who may notice you if you astral project long enough," the Sorting hat admonished.
Pulling her spirit back into her body, Serenity questioned, "Who would be able to see me astral project, other than the teachers?"
"Well, for one, Harry Potter," the Sorting hat replied.
"The young man who defeated Voldermort? Well that's to be expected. Who else though?" Serenity questioned.
"The Weasley family. You are bonded to the lot of them, you know," the Sorting hat replied.
"Yes, and don't you dare tell Daddy either," Serenity ordered.
"I'd be surprised to find out he didn't already know, but I won't tell him. Unless of course he asks. Then I'd have to tell him," the Sorting hat replied.
"I know. But you're not to offer information," Serenity stated.
"Well, I really can't decided about where to put you, you know," the Sorting hat muttered.
Serenity laughed out loud, startling the students and the staff. "If you can't decide about where to put me, just place me in each of the houses and give me a room totally separate," she stated, still giggling.
"Hmm...I could do that. I don't think that Dumbledore would approve though," the Sorting hat replied.
Laughing again, Serenity nodded, replying, "I agree. Well, I'm out of ideas."
"I suppose that I could assign you a separate room, yet let you choose where you wanted to be placed," the Sorting hat stated.
"I'll agree to that. Hmm...I think that I might like to be put in Slytherin. I haven't been assigned that house for a few decades. Also, it'll give me better chances to annoy Severus without losing house points," Serenity stated.
"Very well," the Sorting hat stated. Speaking now to the gathered assembly, the Sorting hat stated, "This young lady will be assigned her own room, separate from all houses, but she will be placed in Slytherin."
Loud cheering could be heard from the Slytherin table while disagreeing noises came from the other three tables. Meanwhile, the staff table could only frown in confusion. Why would she be placed in Slytherin but not stay in the house dorms? The only staff member that wasn't questioning this, was Snape, who was currently bemoaning the fact that he was going to have to put up with the girl for the rest of the year and Melin knew how much longer.
To Be Continued...
A/N: Hope you liked. Sorry it wasn't up sooner. I've had to study for school a lot. I can't afford to let my marks drop even a few points. I'll try and get another chapter up soon. Please Review!