After a relatively uneventful rest of the train ride, and a beautiful, if freezing, ride across the lake, the first years were handed over to Professor McGonagall for the sorting.
While the redheaded boy from the train, Ronald Weasley, was boasting to everyone in hearing range (many people) who wanted to listen (very few), that his older twin brothers, Fred and George Weasley had said they would need to fight a Troll to get sorted, Ray had only one comment. "When you get sorted, remember to make it promise not to reveal what is inside your head without your permission, and to make that magical vow silently.
The Professor returned to collect them just on time to stop a fight from breaking out between Ronald Weasley and Draco Malfoy, who had yet to remember that they were third cousins.
As they were walking up the Great Hall, Ray gave Hermione, who was using her new magic sight to look at all the magic around her, once more piece of advice. "If you get into Slytherin, nod at everyone, and don't get involved in any politicking until you get some professional advice from someone you really trust. But you can glare at anyone who says the m-word."
The sorting ceremony started, with Hannah Abbot joining the ranks of Hufflepuff, and being joined by Susan Bones. Harry spaced out for a bit until he heard, "Granger, Hermione"
A minute and a half later, the Sorting hat shouted out, "SLYTHERIN!" Hermione, ,making use of Ray's advice, did nothing but nod until she would get better advice.
After Hemione, McGonagall called, "Grey, Regina"
Regina walked up to the stool, her head held high. Dumbledore was twinkling his eyes at her, though the twinkling was much less pronounced considering his rivalry for popularity with her father. Quirrell was looking on in scared interest, as he did with the rest of the students. Snape, on the other hand, was giving Ray a glare worse than the one he had reserved for Harry Potter. The other teachers were just looking on in mild curiosity.
Fifteen minutes later, Regina was officially declared the longest hatstall ever. Seventeen minutes after the hat was put on her head, Ronald Weasley complained about the wait before being shushed by the absolutely silent hall. Eighteen minutes in, Dumbledore tried to head either her mind or to find out the discussion between the hat and the girl, but was violently rebuffed. After twenty one agonizingly long minutes, the hat finally called out "H-" only to have Ray's hand clamped over it's mouth so nobody could hear the rest. Another tense three minutes later, Ray made it into Hogwarts: A History (which seemed to write itself, noa author was ever discovered to the self-updating book), and another four minutes of silence later, the hat seemed to sigh, and called out ""SLYTHERIN!" Regina glided over to the Slytherin table, looking every inch the queen her name said she would be.
After some more, normal sortings, the shortest of which was Malfoy, Draco, who didn't even have the hat touch his head before he got a decidedly unenthusiastic, "Slytherin!"
Another few people later, the whispers started again when "Potter, Harry" was called up. A short 3 minute hatstall later, Harry Potter was well on his way to greatness with an expectation defying and very enthusiastic exclamation of, "SLYTHERIN!" The Slytherin table, in a move very unlike them, chanted, "Get that Gryffindor? We got Potter!"
Ending with Weasley, Ronald going to Hufflepuff and Zabini, Blaise to Slytherin, the Headmaster got to his feet. After a short speech heavily featuring nonsense such as Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, and Tweak, a marvelous feast began. At the far left of the hall, the Hufflepuff table featured heavily with breads and meats. Next to it, the gryffindor table had various foods more suited to the taste buds than the healthy body, such as potatoes, pastas, pork, bacon, and steak, fries and puddings. The Ravenclaw table had more different food, featuring more dishes with vegetables and light meat dishes with many different, delicious looking sauces. At the other far end, Slytherin had an elegant feats with more delicacies than the rest of the houses put together, from little sandwiches with caviar, to tenderloin steak, to teas from all over the world on top of pumpkin juice like the other tables, as well as traditional English foods like shepherd's pie and meat pastries.
However, unlike Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Ravenclaw had hierarchies and politics in-house. And though Ravenclaw's politics only really started when the first grades came in, or when the people started making enemies, Slytherin was mostly silent during the feast. The older students, those not whispering amongst each other, were sizing up the first-years, and the first years were sizing up the rest of the house. They were not Slytherin for lack of subtlety and masks.
After the feast finished, Dumbledore gave his speech about the Forbidden Forest living up to its name, and a third floor corridor needing a certain excuse to be permitted into. When it was time for the school song, the Slytherin and Ravenclaw Prefects tapped runes on the house tables to muffle the headache inducing noise Dumbledore was encouraging amongst the more boisterous . When that was done with, the prefects lead the students to their dormitories. Gryffindor Tower had a swinging portrait and a changing password. Hufflepuff's den on the ground floor had a painting of barrels to be tapped in the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff or get doused in vinegar and a photo snapped. Ravenclaw tower had a knocker that asked a riddle and would not let one in without. Slytherin had a slightly more complicated system. There was a public entrance that was a stretch of wall with a snake on it, and a password. Entirely too unsubtle for Slytherin. BUt that stretch of wall had an alert ward that told all Slytherins when it was used, and was the one told to any non-slytherins who needed to get in, such as Professors McGonagall, Dumbledore, or the Head Boy and Girl when they were not Slytherins. The entrance for everyday use, on the other hand, was more subtle. There was a corridor with a blank stretch of wall that one could pass through when opened. At the beginning the prefects had to open it, because the password was a single word, open, in Parseltongue that had been passed down from prefects to first years since the founding of Hogwarts itself. This secret was also so secretly guarded by all, past and present Slytherins that as far as the non-slytherin 75% of wizarding society cared to know, the Slytherin entrance was a snake carving in the wall that opened with a password that changed bi-weekly. The only Slytherin secret guarded more was the fact that the common room was connected to the Chamber of Secrets, and that all Slytherins knew how to access it. Not that doing so was allowed, it held the same punishment to access it more than once (the first night), as telling these secrets to a non-slytherin, complete and total expulsion from the House and disownment and cut off communication from all current and former Slytherins. Founder's heirs of other houses sometimes found out, but they are held by the same rules, tell and disowned from communications with Slytherins, as well as the Founder's family. Although they deeply regretted that after a few generations, as Heirs of Gryffindor had an beloved tradition of turning the Slytherin's hair Weasley red with flashing gold freckles on April 1st, not that the Slytherins ever found out which family was the Heirs of Gryffindor, as it happened every year, no matter what, with no residual curses found. (In fact, the Hufflepuffs had a tile that they pressed every year on April 1st while saying April Fool's day, and feeding some of their magic into it. That House Secret gave them a laugh every year for the last nine hundred or so when it was first created)
Meanwhile, as they showed the two entries to their common room to the first years, the Slytherin prefects also watched carefully, upholding the tradition of watching whether or not there were Parselmouths in that year. When the password was given, Harry Potter whispered something to Hermione Granger and Regina Grey, the latter of which whispered back, the tension melting off both their shoulders. When they were all inside the common room the Head Prefect, a Slytherin tradition, started the explanations for the first years.
"Welcome to Slytherin House. We are the house of the cunning and ambitious. If I see a single one of you behave like reclusive Ravenclaws, plush toy Puffs, or Merlin save us, Gryffindorks, a nickname that has existed since the time of the Founders, you will be held on House Trial. This is Slytherin, and this is the only time I will ever be blunt. This is the house of politics, of cunning. The only unfair advantage is the one your adversary has. And whatever you do, don't get caught. A few warnings as well, Dumbledore has his own prejudices and you never know whether he will be for or against you until you get the short end of the stick. Be careful. McGonagall is smarter than she looks. Professors Sinistra and Vector are always underestimated. Sinistra was a Princess of Slytherin in her time, you can trust her. Vector was Head Prefect and has some astounding academic records, so if you need anything to do with schoolwork, go to her. I will warn you right now. I know I will get detentions for this, but this is a tradition. Snape is a bastard, in both senses of the word. I have no clue why he is here, neither does anybody except Snape and Dumbledore. Snape shows so much blatant favoritism, I am surprised Slytherin House has not been banned from Hogwarts with the reputation he gives us. If you model yourself after Snape, get ready to be hated throughout the school. That includes you Malfoy, even though he is your Godfather, daddy's wallet won't buy you out of this one. As for electives, no Slytherin will be caught taking Muggle studies, dead or alive. The course is useless and has not been updated for two centuries. If you want to learn about muggles, talk to someone who grew up in the muggle world. Also note there is a vacancy for Slytherin King or Queen and has been for a year. The one thing you must remember, ambition and cunning need a foundation. They cannot rely solely on your name and inheritance. Scientia est potentia. Knowledge is power. And another unofficial house rule of Slytherin, learn latin at the earliest convenience. Now, for the Slytherin House Introduction Ritual. Salazar Slytherin was a genius, and he made an enchanted snake that evaluates you. What happens to you when it does so is different. Now, let's start with Zabini."
Blaise Zabini was an italian kid who could very easily grow into Casanova style looks, and seemed to have already developed a reputation as a flirt, not even a day in. He probably also inherited other skills from his mother, Elora Zabini, known as the Black Widow, for her uncanny knack of getting rich or influential husbands, who would then die at most a year into the marriage, leaving her everything, though at times with a child as well. Blaise stepped up to the eight foot high coiled snake, his obsidian eyes meeting it's diamond ones. A tense minute later, it gave a hiss, it's tail extending from the wall to poke him in the small of his back. Another approximately twenty seconds later, the snake coiled back in on itself and Blaise stepped away. He told the common room, "It gave me unbreakable occlumency shields,"
Much the same happened to Millicent Clytemnestra Bulstrode, who instead received the natural knack for healing magic from the Slytherin Mascot.
Vincent Crabbe received a permanent mental boost in the shape of a knack for languages.
Gregory Goyle received a knack for magical destruction.
Theresa Eileen Davis received the gift of Truth, the ability to tell truth from lies, and a person's intentions.
Pansy Persephone Parkinson received blackmail on everyone in the school at that moment. That caused gasps to ring out through the common room.
Theodore Nott received BeastSpeaking, the ability to understand all animals.
Lilith Ariana Moon received the ability to utter one real prophecy sometime in her life.
Daphne Greengrass received beginner's level occlumency shields.
Draco Lucius Malfoy received the animagus ability.
When Hermione Jean Granger was called up, whispers started. Granger was not a wizarding name, but they nevertheless observed in relative silence and curiosity. Hermione and the serpent started at each other, unmovingly for a full five minutes, before the servant extended its tail to her head. It touched her forehead, and a bright light emanated from there, before Hermione spoke, the snake's tail still in the center of her forehead. "Salazar Junior, or Sally, as Slytherin's younger sister nicknamed him, told me to say,
The chosen pair have been chosen,
The two houses bound into one
Choose your sides very wisely,
The battle of Dark Lords has begun.
While the two Machiavelli's battle
The fight of Goat versus Mystery
Make sure to choose where lines are blurred
Lest your name be ignored by History
The mark where feather, gem, and wand meet
Will be where the true heirs accomplish feats
For only when the mist has cleared
Can the true Queen rise and be revealed."
Sally's tail then wound back in on itself, letting Hermione walk over to the rest of the officially accepted first years.
Next was Hadrian James Potter, still believed to be Dumbledore's Golden boy-hero. As he locked eyes with the snake, he instinctively raised his wand and pointed it to the snake's right eye. The thunderbird in the feather hummed, but not like it's cousin the phoenix's song of joy, but of clarity. The jewel at the base of the wand glowed. And then the snake hissed, unsurprisingly. Harry hissed back, very surprisingly. The right eye glowed AK Green to mirror Harry's own irises. A green glow of the same color encompassed them, and the snake reached out and touched it's tail to Harry's scar, while Harry's wand touched a scale on the snake's back, and it turned that same vivid green color, becoming one of the many tiles in varying shades of Green along the snake's body, with the name of it's creator getting added on. Another few moments later, the left eye of the snake stopped glowing, and was left with a permanent swirl of AK green in its eye. "Sally got rid of Voldemort's sixth horcrux that he left in me the day he killed my parents, but left me to keep all it's knowledge, alongside a perfect memory. So if anyone needs significant blackmail on Albus Dumbledore, I'm selling. Oh and I know where the rest are, talk to me if you're willing to collect them, because if you do, I'll give you just about anything."
After leaving even the seventh years from the darkest of families gobsmacked and horrified that anyone would go to such lengths, and many of the poorer ones with a guaranteed method of recreating their family fortunes.
When the prefect announcing the names recovered, he called up the last new First Year left. "Regina Morrigan Grey"
Ray stepped up to the snake, knowing this was her one chance to make a flawless first impression to Slytherin House. After all, when in Rome⦠She seemed to float up to the snake, the way her robes moved. Standing in front of the snake, her lips let out some hissing, sounding alluring and heavily saturated with magic. Harry's eyes widened, as the only other Parselmouth there, everyone took this to mean he knew exactly what she was doing but did not expect her to. She keep hissing, and it started to sound less like speech and more like music, with a clearly audible rhythm, and the the Slytherin started feeling the heaviness of the magic surrounding them, all of it originating with Regina Grey. One of the seventh years whispered something to his friend, and a message passed around the room. She's unleashing her aura, they said. Not even the Dark Lord or Dumbledore has that much magic, such powerful magic. After a few minutes of that alluring sound, the snake's head extended, and it bowed down in front of Regina. It's left eye gained Regina's eye coloring of a vivid bluish green. The jewel in it's forehead vibrated, and glowed an almost blinding bright light, soon being joined by the jewel at the base of Regina's wand. The glow then ebbed, Regina still standing strong, looking every inch a queen, even in a school uniform at eleven years old. As she still continued hissing, growing louder with each segment, or what may have been words, all the snakes, snake motifs, and snakes carved all over the common rooms curled out of their positions where they have been sleeping since Salazar Slytherin himself was in the school, they bowed their heads to the new Queen of Snakes. After all, the snake that chose gifts to give to all the students every year contained a part of Salazar. Not an abomination of nature like a Horcrux, but an imprint of Salazar's soul after he died, like a portrait but stronger, more magical, conscious, and alive. All the founders had artifacts like that in the school. Hufflepuff's imprint was in the sorting hat, Ravenclaw's in the silver raven statue in the common room dotted with sapphires that performed a similar function for the Eagle students. And Gryffindor's was in the guardian to the Headmaster's office, a literal Griffin statue, for though Godric had a sickening love for puns and irony, nobody except his heirs knew of that part of the guardian, as he did know how to be subtle. But Salazar (or salad bar as one of his sister's heirs once called him) was the one to create the soul imprint method, so he could not only give magical gifts and recognize heirs by blood, it could also choose his full heir.
For a millennium Salazar Slytherin had been waiting for an heir to come along and be worthy of his true legacy. After a few centuries when the witch burnings stopped, and the real mudbloods as well, for a mudblood was not one with muggle blood, but one who gave away witches and wizards to the mobs of muggle witch hunters. Salazar then decided that he should look for power, and not blood. Three centuries after Salazar, he had a very promising descendant, one Myrrdin Emrys, descendant of the one who helped to lead King Arthur and Camelot. But when Salazar looked into his soul, he saw morals too rigid to be practical, magic too light to have any true power. So he gave the boy a gift of wielding Staff Magic of old, instead of the commonly used wand-based magics. The boy became great, and centuries later was indistinguishable in the pages of history from one of his ancestors, the original Merlin. And then there were the gaunt family. They, on the other hand, were even worse than the blacks. They were too dark, performing magic that was abominations against nature every generation. Their last descendant killed a girl, and if the headmaster at the time had been Slytherin, Salazar would have told him to kick the boy out. But alas, Dippet was a Hufflepuff, Slytherin house all either owed Tom something, or he had significant blackmail over their heads. And there was not enough proof for Professor Dumbledore, who had switched from DADA to transfiguration, to expel him without the permission of the Headmaster. And his basilisk was a good snake, meant to be a last resort to protect the castle from Muggles, and as wizards would be revived from petrification and protected from the deadly part of the gaze with a spell. It was better to spend a week or so under a healer's care getting revived than to be burned at the stake. Especially for students who hadn't the knowledge to freeze the flames around them, or cut the ropes without their wand. And it had been centuries since he had hope that he could find his one true heir, the one he could give his mind, his memories, his story, his magic. But when he had seen the boy, he had known what to give him. He would be an important partner for his Queen. And the girl. She was pure of bad intentions, but not too naive to believe a single disarmer or stunner could feel a dark lord. She was in balance, able to use powerful magic often labeled dark if need be, but also able to determine that no magic is not inherently evil, but the application and usage of it. After all, the killing curse was invented by Godric for slaughtering of animals for meat cleanly (and occasionally an acromantula or two, they had been bugging Hogwarts since its founding), the imperius was used by Helga to stop a dark wizard who was trying to become a dark lord. And the cruciatus, well it was never meant to be used on living, breathing creatures or people. Not even murderous muggles. It was a pure expression of magic. When used with malintent, it resulted in torture. When used with love in mind, it could do miracles for healing. And the incantation was only invented in later years, the spell was meant to be silent. And the most important part is, when used with single-minded determination in mind, whether accompanied by joy or hope, it could destroy dementors permanently. And Salazar had finally found a true heiress, the last of the founders to do so. Godric had chosen his nephew, the first to do so. Helga had chosen a young boy named Mungo who went on to establish the hospital and revolutionize magical medicine. Rowena had chosen a seer, Cassandra Trelawney, who went on to become a prophetess for the history books. And Salazar had chosen Regina Morrigan Grey, the most sly, ambitious, determined, cunning, and powerful descendant of his to ever live.
And when all the snakes were bowing to Regina, the main snake unfurled, all but the tip of it's tail extending from it's wall. And for the first time ever, it spoke in a human voice, a deep, smooth voice that had wisdom and clarity.
"I Salazar of Slytherin, Son of Magic, Lord of Serpents, Blood Heir of House Avalon, do leave all my magic, knowledge, and worldly possessions to my one true Heiress by Magic, Regina Morrigan of House Grey, to continue my work in safeguarding the world, as the Queen of Avalon, my one and only Heiress and Daughter in all but name. May Magic guide you on your path, and aid you on your way to Greatness for all of Magic." A blinding flash of magic erupted at Salazar's last words, sealing his statement as irreversible in the eyes of all Magic. Regina was glowing with a halo golden light surrounding her, floating a few feet off the ground.
A fifth year whispered, awed, "Great-Great-Great-Great Grandmother Cassandra's journal said the same thing happened when Rowena chose her."
The Slytherin Prefect, however, recognized it for what it really was. No matter who Regina would go on to become, she would be the Slytherin Queen. And once chosen as a King or Queen of Slytherin, always a King or Queen of Slytherin. "All hail the Queen of Slytherin, Regina Morrigan Grey!" declare the Head Prefect.
"All hail the Queen off Slytherin Regina Morrigan Grey" Repeated the second years and above, the slightly confused first years following a beat behind, ready to demand an explanation of the archaic sounding ritual from the upper years as soon as everything was finished. The magic slowly ebbed away, leaving behind a note of Thunderbird song of clarity in everyone's minds, alongside the humming of the Horned Serpent jewel. After Regina was back to normal, the head prefect showed the first years their rooms, every person getting a luxurious bedroom they were too tired to appreciate. Before they went to bed, however, Regina had one thing to say to the common room.
"I am calling in House Secret for what happened here tonight. The only exception is if those of you with death eater parents want to warn them. I. Will. Not. Tolerate. Blood. Prejudice. Of and Malfoy, Send a copy of your memories to your father, make sure the minister gets them. As both are former Slytherins, they and two others are the only adults currently exempt from the House Secrecy. Anyone not in this common room should not find out until the time is right. Not even Severus Snape or Albus Dumbledore. Dalina Croaker, send a copy to your uncle as well, and I will send a copy to my Father. Good night."
While the younger years went to bed, with a basic explanation of what a Slytherin Queen was (A literal queen of all past and present Slytherins as long as the Royal lived, there were never more than one Slytherin King or Queen alive at once. And magic would enforce the Queen's reign until the day she died, with a new King or Queen being chosen as soon as Sally the Serpent found a worthy one.)The older years discussed what the meaning of this was, and how they should treat their new monarch.
Dalina Croaker was surprised Regina knew that her uncle was the figurehead for the Unspeakables, but even more surprised she knew that he was the actual leader, ruling with an iron fist. Everyone thought the leader was just another figure in a grey cloak, but the best secret was the one hidden in plain sight, as the former Slytherin said.
Draco Malfoy was awed. At first he had thought this girl would be like Davis or Parkinson. Pure Blooded and a good witch, but nothing exceptional. Now he was proven wrong, and he made sure to use his emergency material portkey to his father's office to send the memory of the event to his father, including the declaration at the end. He would be very interested.
A/N so that's it. Chapter 3. For anyone who can recognize the non-hp reference in this chapter, i will give you an excerpt of the next one, and I promise you that a few canon/fanon characterizations of characters will be broken. So this one was very dramatic, but if you noticed there was a legitimate explanation for Salazar not liking muggleborns. How many do you think there were, especially pre-teens who wanted their parent's approval so much they were willing to show them the locations of other witches and wizards, not realizing the results of their actions? I guarantee you there were plenty. I've always felt like any over the top and insane political ideology has a perfectly sane beginning, but gradually becomes insane until it becomes so insane people do away with it. So blood prejudice probably started as "if you have a muggle parents or two we are keeping our eyes on you because you are more likely to turn traitor for the witch-hunting muggles than people with two magical parents". Just like witch hunting started with legitimate fear of people's survival instincts telling them to stay away from this unknown, and then they went over the top and instead of staying away decided to eliminate it. I mean, Rowling gives us enough proof of anti-muggle sentiments in canon. Anti-muggleborn, over the top. Anti-muggle, plenty. Tom Riddle was abused by muggle because they though he was 'freakish', not even knowing about magic. Severus Snape was probably abused by his father, who knew about magic, but the laws under Dumbledore's rule were made in such a way that Eileen Prince/Snape could not defend herself and her son against her husband unless she wanted to be thrown into Azkaban for muggle baiting. Harry Potter was abused by the Dursleys who most definently knew all about magic and abused Harry because of it. Rowling needs to get a bit educated because in her stories, abuse is, well, acceptable. The Dursleys get away with it for 16 years. Not once has anyone stopped them. Not figg, Dumbledore, the neighbors, Harry's teachers in muggle school, the cops, or the aurors. And we saw the way the laws are structured. The ability to use magic to defend against wizards is just there for show, for the dark families who understand it's necessary but never experience being on the wrong side of the law. Because face it, of all the crimes we have seen in the canon Hp world, child abuse isn't one of them (except by muggles). Because when billionaires only have one child and heir, do you really think they're going to abuse that child? With all that inbreeding, it's got to be very had to concieve. So yeah, sorry for the rant, but the pro-muggle legislation under Dumbledore's watch is going to pop up again.
Also, on another note, I've decided that it's very satisfying to write a Dark MC story, so that's what I'm going to do. And I may or may not be able to update this one as often, so every Saturday i will update one of my stories, I just don't know which one.
Ant that's it! Adios! (I'm learning Spanish in school, why not?)
