Justin approached Jane, in the Hufflepuff common room, the next morning. "I'm sorry, Jane," he said. "Thanks for helping me. I should have realized."
"I forgive you," Jane said.
Jane was walking to the great hall, the next morning, when she was approached by Harry. "Jane, could I see you in private for a bit," he asked?
"Yeah," Jane said.
They went into an empty classroom and closed the door.
"Justin said he was sorry," Jane said.
Harry looked surprised. "Oh. Well, that's a relief. So, when I was sorted, the sorted hat had considered putting me in Slytherin, but I said I wanted to be a Gryffindor. Did the sorting hat consider putting you in Slytherin?"
"The sorting hat told me; You love snakes, but you don't want to be a Slytherin. You could be great in Slytherin, but you don't care about that, do you? The last house you should be in is Slytherin. I know you want to be in the same house as Neville, and you're pretty chivalrous, but I don't think that's where you most belong. Better be, Hufflepuff!"
"Wow! You remembered that, word for word?"
"Yeah. My memory can sometimes do that."
"Well, it did mention Slytherin to you."
"Would the sorting hat even know a kid's ancestry? I thought it just read minds."
"Good question."
"Even if it did now, and I was a descendent of Salazar Slytherin, then I still wouldn't be a Slytherin. I'm not a pureblood. I'm not even half-blood. Are you pure-blood?"
"No. My father was pure-blood, but my mother was a muggle-born."
"Then you shouldn't be in Slytherin either. Was your father even a Slytherin?"
"No. He was a Gryffindor."
"See."
Neville was waiting for her, in the great hall. "Would you like me to sit with you," he asked?
Jane nodded.
Jane and Neville sat down, beside each other, at the Hufflepuff table. The other Hufflepuffs pretty much ignored them, although some of them even looked at them awkwardly.
Jane was in class when Peeves started screaming about an attack. Jane, along with the rest of the class, went out into the hall to see what was going on. Jane was shocked to see Justin, and Nearly Headless Nick, both petrified.
When Professor McGonagall sent off a bang, with her wand, Jane flinched at the pain in her ears. She put her earplugs in, although it was probably too late to bother. She then realized that everyone was headed back to class, so she turned and did the same.
When Jane got free time that day, she hoped she could do something calming, but it was too cold to go outside. She paced back and forth, for a while, and then she grabbed her swing and found a place where she could hang it from the rafters on the ceiling. She wasn't sure if that was allowed, but she managed to swing for a while, and nobody told her not to.