Ch 10.- Sorting Things Out
Priscilla rolled her neck and shot daggers across the stool at Daniel, the Gryffindor Representative. If McGonagall hadn't told them precisely where they had to stand, she would have chosen not to stare at his chiseled face. Then again, that would have meant standing next to him instead. Oh how she hated paradoxes.
Emmaline 'Emma' Wilks was on her right, the bookworm holding her head high, for once, to represent Ravenclaw. Rupert took the last corner of the square and kept his gaze firmly back on his Hufflepuff table.
Priscilla watched as the little albino chick came up to the stool, shifting her weight a little and nodding to each of them in turn. The girl did not look fourteen to the fifteen-year-old Slytherin. Maybe she had placed ahead in some classes?
The Headmistress announced the kids name as "Malam, Zoetia" and Professor Longbottom lowered the Hat, which went down to her nose like it was trying to swallow her head.
Priscilla held her breath so she wouldn't have to breath in Daniel's cologne as the Representatives took a step forward and, like they'd been told, extended their wands to touch the rim of the Sorting Hat. Immediately the dingy old thing responded, its seams ripping open to unfurl like a twisted black flower as smoke poured out.
A shot of silver mist shot up her arm and into her face, and the Slytherin had no choice but to breathe it in, her eyes closing as she was overwhelmed with a dozen impressions and emotions before her mind settled once more.
She felt… confident. Empowered. Nothing would dare look at her and think she was anything less than she was. As Priscilla opened her eyes she wasn't surprised to see the world tinged with green, because what could be more fitting than the world depicted in the color of Slytherin House?
Looking down at the Sorting Hat, she saw that the swirling mist had contracted into something similar to a whirlpool, Runes floating around the edges and small tendrils of memories swimming through the head of the girl she would judge in Salazar Slytherin's place.
The Hat picked the first memory, throwing it up for the Representatives to see. A child formed in the mist, running up to a woman to show her something caught in her hands. They all felt her pride and sense of accomplishment, and the girl's desire to share it with the woman who was obviously her mother.
Priscilla winced as she felt hurt and jealousy because of the emotion, even as the smoke of the vision turned green.
Another vision- the same girl, older, staying with a boy and his family. She was obviously a bit sad, but hid it well as she played with the boy until she was picked up. Beaming as she left with her mother, the child eagerly joined in magical exercises to teach her control even at such an early age.
Emma smiled as a bit of blue seeped into the image.
The next vision was directed by Daniel and Rubert's curiosity, pulling them down to the lake with the girl. They watched her briefly meet the boy and his family, feeling those emotions lead her to jump after the creature that threatened him. Priscilla watched as she first looked for aid before sensibly preparing herself for the fight with the kelpie, and admitted Malfoy had been right. The girl had been brave, but she had been carefully planning even as she considered her own actions stupid.
A bit of each House color joined the smoke this time.
The Sorting Hat seemed displeased at their intervention and threw out a memory almost before the last had finished. The girl was sitting before a hospital bed, where her mother lay unmoving. It blurred until she was with the same family and older boy from earlier, who gave her condolences and welcomed her into their home. They felt the girl hold back her tears for many years, protecting herself as she continued throughout her days without her parents at her side.
Priscila felt a surge of empathy as the smoke turned greener than it had before, with a tinge of yellow and red.
The girl was studying, lounging among a pile of books as she leaned against her childhood friend, who had grown into a man. It was obviously the most recent memory they had seen yet and Priscilla recognized the man with a start as the new History of Magic Assistant. The girl had used his job position to get into the school.
The smoke banished the red and yellow, swirling green and blue evenly. It was almost decided.
The Representatives felt the Hat shudder, as though surprised, and quickly showed them what it had found.
The girl was younger again, alone in a forest. Someplace new and unknown and utterly terrifying to her as she stumbled forward, pain lancing through her leg with every step. Pouring rain and slippery mud tried to deter her as well, but her determination never waned as she refused to even limp. The Representatives finally felt her relief as she made it to the crude shelter she'd made, crawling under the dead branches leaned against eachother and felt their horror mix with her rising guilt at the sight of her mauled, bleeding, and obviously dying friend.
With deft hands she cleaned his wounds with the fresh water she had gathered and forced a disgusting looking poultice of watery berries down his throat, rubbing a similar mixture on his wounds. She ate the dregs he'd been unable to swallow and re-tied the crude splint supporting her leg, curling next to him for warmth as she tried to rest on the soaked floor all while worrying about the creatures that lurked outside…
The vision dispersed with a surge of anger and the Hat shuddered again below their wands. Out of the Sorting Hat's smoke the girl's face appeared, though not as it truly was. Her cheekbones were more square and the entire face was more angled, her eyes slitted like a cat's as they looked each of the Representatives down. Yet the four recognized her emotions as it nodded in the same curt motion the girl had displayed and spoke, the voice soft and whispering in each of their minds.
"I thank you all for your considerations, but if you please, make your decision. And get the hell out of my head."
Rose held Albus and Roxanne's hands eagerly as she watched the girl who saved her little brother get sorted. Nonetheless part of her was fascinated by the process, watching as the Sorting Hat unfurled and billowing smoke poured out. Four colors- silver, bronze, gold, and black- swirled up the wand arms of the Representatives and they inhaled it, all four heads tilting back as they took in a surge of magic that echoed through Great Hall.
When they lowered their gaze back to the opened Hat, smoke gathered like masks of flames seeping from each Representative's eyes. Priscilla's was Slytherin green, Emma had Ravenclaw blue, Rupert's was Hufflepuff yellow and though she couldn't see his face, Rose was certain Daniel's was their very own Gryffindor red.
"Merlin's beard." she heard James swear softly, watching as the Representative's looked through the thick cauldron-like smoke as though seeing a Prophecy unfold.
Not a sound was heard as the smoke changed colors, a cry going up from the farthest table as the smoke turned green.
Albus turned to Rose in utter shock. "Does that mean she's in Slytherin?"
She shook her head in disbelief. The girl had been strange and a bit uncomfortable to be around at first, but surely she wouldn't be a Slytherin?
Rose released the breath she'd been holding when Ravenclaw cheered as blue joined the smoke, and the entire hall entered a shouting fest as the student's screamed for their houses as their colors appeared, strengthened, then left. The only two that stayed consistent were blue and green, and soon Rose felt herself praying Ravenclaw, RavenclawRavenclaw as she refused to believe the girl could be Slytherin.
The Representatives gave a gasp of shock in unison, quieting the Hall as everyone held their breath for the final decision. Rose bit her lip at the look of utter disbelief on Priscilla Parkinson's face, hoping that it meant the girl wouldn't go to Slytherin with that hexing witch.
Then the Sorting Hat sealed itself back together quickly and the four students staggered backwards, clutching their heads as the smoke left their eyes. They were all pale and shaky as they looked each other over, then down to the girl as the Hall held its breath for the Sorting's decision.
Its ripped mouth opened as it bellowed "RAVENCLAW!"
Three tables burst into cheers, throwing hats into the air and chanting "Ra-ven Claw, Ra-ven Claw, Ra-ven Claw" over and over as the girl jerked the Hat off her head to follow Emma toward the table of her peers. Rose watched Lysander jump up to reintroduce himself to her before seating her next to him with a grin. She was still shocked Zoey wasn't in Gryffindor, but figured it didn't really matter all that much if the girl was in Ravenclaw instead.
It took a while for the student's enthusiasm to quiet down a bit, and when it did they turned to find that not one faculty member had moved. They were all staring at the Sorting Hat that still sat on the chair where Zoey had left it, their expressions a mixture of surprise and… hope?
The Hat slowly opened its mouth, almost hesitantly, as it started to sing "You may not think I'm pretty…" in a smooth voice. Rose Weasley would swear the thing was smiling as it started to go with a faster, bouncing tune.
"Don't judge by what you see.
I'll eat myself the day you find
A smarter hat than me."
Rose noticed that tears had started to form in McGonagall and Longbottom's eyes, and many eyes in the room were wide as saucers as the melodic voice easily carried across the Great Hall and grew louder with every verse.
"There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So put me on and I will know
Where you ought to be.
Now put me on, don't be afraid,
And don't get in a flap!
You'll find yourself in safe hands
I am a Thinking cap!
So keep your fancy bowlers black,
New top hats sleek and tall.
I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat.
I CAN CAP THEM ALL!"
The last two lines echoed triumphantly through the Hall with pride. Shocked silence continued for a moment longer, then someone slowly started to clap. Someone else joined in, and then the Great Hall was ringing with hoots and catcalls that continued through the Start-Of-Term Feast. The Sorting Hat kept dipping its tip in bow after bow for the rest of the night, and nobody moved to put it away.
That night provided a great many things for students new and old alike to chatter about as they started the new year. The newest Weasley for one, who had been placed in Hufflepuff and not Gryffindor as was his family's tradition. How the kelpie had gotten into the lake, and what Snottgrout had done to it in order to save the first years (speculation on this went far and wide, from chasing the thing away to capturing it in a complicated plot against Peeves). The song the Sorting Hat sung, which was apparently very similar to what some parents had quoted though no-one was disappointed.
And of course, what had happened to the fourth-year transfer student Zoethia Malam and the Four House Representatives during her Sorting was a big point of speculation. None of them spoke about it again. The only one of them that said anything about it was the Gryffindor Daniel, Head Boy of the school, who supposedly said only one time "Felt like I was stepping up for Godric Gryffindor, and let me say- that Hat is scarier than I thought it was. First thing I'm doing this year is learning Occlumency." Other than repeating that decision, he spoke nothing else about it.
When the Minister of Magic took a stroll through the British Ministry that day, he came across a rare meeting between the Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures, and Harry Potter himself.
The aging Head of the Auror Office ran a hand through his messy hair, obviously upset about what the Magizooligists were reporting to him. Kingsley watched them as he signed for the papers a runner handed him, and as he stepped onto the elevator Harry Potter joined him.
The Minister cleared his throat meaningfully. "Something I should know about?"
"You'll hear about it soon enough." The Auror sighed. "There was a breakout from Azkaban."
That was not a good way to end a day, Kingsley decided. "How many this time?"
"Another thirty dementors escaped. Magizooligists wanted to get a list of people in every office that can cast a full fledged patronus." He cleaned his glasses on his sleeve, the disgust in his voice evident. "Damn things have never been happy since we moved the Wizarding Prison to Nabakza instead."
"We took away their food source." The older man reminded him. "And refused to provide them with any more souls to torture. We should be happy we've kept as many locked in Azkaban as we have."
Harry nodded mournfully. "Still, I don't like that there are even more of them out now. Makes it harder to sleep at night, and I can't tell you how many times I've sent Patronuses at Boggarts on accident."
"Don't stop," He said with alarm, "better to be safe than kissed by a dementor."
"True," Harry grunted his agreement, then cleared his throat and asked "Any progress in the, er, you know… the thing downstairs?"
Kingsley Shacklebolt once again, with amused affection, pondered the mystery how someone so inept at subtlety had managed to outwit the Voldemort himself. "The Department of Mysteries hasn't found anything more in the last two weeks in the fours years before then. And no," he added before the Auror could ask the next obvious question, "Neither has St. Mungo's, and may I remind you they've had five years longer than we have."
It was not something that he liked admitting, at any time of the day.
They shared a longstanding sigh, then the doors opened and their conversation ended when more people entered in the end-of-the-day rush. Everyone gave the Minister a brief greeting and an even briefer goodbye, until he was alone in elevator.
A terrible day, he decided as he set the files he held on his desk and skimmed through them. He groaned aloud when he saw a letter from Hogwarts, wondering how Jonovan Orion could have something to complain about already. He looked at the wax seal on it for a long moment, then sighed as he opened it and reasoned that the day couldn't get any worse.
Ten minutes later he was holding his head in disbelief. A kelpie, a charm lost to the bottom of the lake, the Sorting Hat of Hogwarts repairing itself, and the attention of the entire school focused on Zoethia Malam. Oh, how the British Minister hated being wrong.
Rose Weasley walked out of her first Charms class with a full list of the spells she'd need to perform for the final and an essay due next week she was eager to get started on. As usual her fellow Gryffindor's thought she was crazy, but she didn't care. She was her mother's daughter, and if she wanted to be happy about studying then she certainly would be.
Since it was the last class of the day, she decided to escort Hugo from his Transfiguration class to the Great Hall. Her brother hadn't had time to memorize Hogwarts' halls yet, and she'd already had to rescue him from some trick steps.
Slipping behind a tapestry, Rose took the shortcut James had shown her to reach the Transfiguration classroom. The first year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws were already leaving when she arrived, and she was surprised Hugo wasn't the first to rush out the door. She leaned by a suit of armor while she waited.
When the crowd dispersed without a sign of her brother, Rose figured she must have missed him. She was about to head down to dinner alone when she heard his voice cry from the classroom "No way! You cheated."
Shocked at the idea of Hugo voluntarily staying behind in class, Rose spun around the doorway to find her brother crouched over one of the tiny first-year desks, sputtering as he looked at something. "But… but that's not fair."
"Pay up." Said the onyx-haired girl next to him, holding her hand out as she raised a brown eyebrow with a smirk.
"But…" Hugo looked at her moment then sighed as he reached into his pockets and pulled out a few Sickles. "You're terrible. You knew you'd win."
"Yup." She grinned as she took her earnings, then perked up as she caught sight of the figure staring in the doorway. "Hey Rose!"
It took another moment to recognize who she was with the new haircolor. "Zoey?" Rose gaped as she walked in. "What happened to your hair?"
The girl in question sniggered while Hugo quoted "It likes to change."
"What're you doing here, Rose?"
"What am I doing here?" The Weasley looked the girl up and down as her mind caught up to the situation. "I have a brother taking this class. What are you doing here?"
The brown eyebrow went up again. "I'm taking this class." Something about Rose's expression was apparently entertaining to the other fourth year, because Zoey laughed. Not in a taunting, look-who's-so-ignorant kind of way, but an enjoyed, isn't-this-fun-to-everyone kind of manner. Still smiling, she explained "I took a lot of tests before transferring. Even though I'm technically a fourth-year, I'm taking a lot of classes at lower levels."
Rose, who had spent the last three years absorbing information like a sponge, couldn't believe it. "You- you're my age, and you're taking a class with first years?"
"Two classes." She held her fingers up as if the number needed exaggeration. "Apparently, my Knockback Jinx was so atrocious that Professor Sybble refused to consider teaching me Defense Against the Dark Arts at any other level."
It shouldn't have been possible, but Rose felt herself pale even further as she whispered in shock "You can't cast a Knockback Jinx?"
Hugo found an opportunity to jump in on the conversation and took it. "You can see why I doubted whether she could transfigure a box of matches into needles?"
"Your brother here, once he heard my situation, decided to tease me about it. And I," She declared as her grin grew even wider, "decided it would be a lovely opportunity to teach him a good lesson about jumping to conclusions."
He glared down at the shorter girl. "You mean you decided it would be a good chance to line your pockets."
"That too." She tauntingly twirled one of the Sickles he'd lost around her left fingers, without having to look at the coin.
Rose looked at the desk full of needles in front of them and shook her head, amazed that a Ravenclaw was being so nonchalant about her horrid lack of understanding. "We're going to be late to dinner." She finally declared, not trusting herself to comment on what she'd learned without insulting her brother's savior.
Hugo's stomach growled to emphasize her point, and he bent to pack his stuff. Zoey started gathering the needles, careful of their points, nearly giving Rose a heart attack when she put them straight into the matchbox. "Zoey!" She scolded. "You can't put those back without reverting them; otherwise Professor Patil will need to do a counter-charm on every one of them."
"Obviously." The girl agreed, casually holding the box out for inspection.
Rose looked inside and was shocked to see a dozen matches. "But… but all you did was pick them up!"
"Yup." Hugo agreed.
"She didn't even use her wand! Or say a word!" Rose looked at her brother, wanting confirmation that this was actually what happened.
"That's what I said. Apparently, it's not cheating."
"Not-?" Rose looked between the two of them in shock. "Wandless and wordless transfiguration is advanced on any level! I won't start that till next year! Why are you in class with him?"
Hugo looked insulted, while Zoey just shrugged again. "Some spell named 'afipours'."
"Avifors." Rose corrected. "You can't cast that either?"
Zoey shook her head, her newly-black hair reflecting the light. She casually reached out to reclaim the matchbox from Rose's limp fingers and put it back with the other supplies. "Miss Patil gave me a choice though, but I figured it would be best for me to start with the basics after all." She caught Rose's green eyes from the corner of her own. "I waited a long time to come here. I don't want to miss anything."
Now that was something a Ravenclaw would say. Rose sighed as she nodded her understanding, even though it was only a very little bit of the thousand questions that now flew around her head. Zoey's magic was obviously strong and under her control; how could she fail to perform two of the most basic spells at even a satisfactory level? The Weasley decided she would investigate this as soon as possible. Her stomach growled louder Hugo's. She glanced down, too used to it to be embarrassed as she amended her plan.
Rose Weasley decided she would have to investigate this further- after dinner.
Scorpius checked around the corner to make sure the coast was clear, then strode confidently down the hall. Malfoys never skulked or snuck around- unless there was a certain James Potter around to sic Peeves on- so that is most certainly not what Scorpius was doing. He was just not in the mood to be around other people, who would question what he was doing and why.
What he was doing was making painfully slow process, he griped as he looked around another corner. He again picked up his pace and knew most people will still be pigging out at dinner. For some mysterious reason, Hogwarts students always seemed the hungriest on Wednesdays and Fridays. But on Fridays everybody was too eager to enjoy the evening to stick around the Great Hall.
He checked the next hallways and eventually his luck ran out; there were voices coming from an open door, some unused classroom.
"Jon, if you keep this up, I'm gonna be feeding a skeleton." A girl sighed, and was answered with mumbles. Scorpius assumed whoever she was talking to was eating. "No, that would not be 'cool'! It's the first week and you're already starving yourself to work."
Scorpius looked down the hallway. It was the fastest way down to the Grounds. Glancing at the door, he decided to risk them stepping out in favor of the time he'd gain.
"That's because it's the first week." Someone answered. "Look, Zoey, I want to make a good impression on my first day. Tomorrow's my first fourth-year-lesson, and I need to make sure I match up with Binns."
"Which you've done for a month! You should- oww," the girl cut herself off with a long hiss of pain that would have made a Parseltongue proud.
There was a long moment of silence, and Scorpius found himself tempted to look inside the door as he walked past.
"Fine. I'll take a thirty-minute break, if you go get something from Prin for that. Right now."
"...Fine."
If Scorpius Hyperion were not a Malfoy and notably above such immature displays, he would have been tempted to bang his head against the broomstick handle he was holding. Since he was a Malfoy, he straightened his spine with the knowledge he would soon have an observer and picked up his pace. With any luck she'd let him walk off and go the other way.
It was the first week of school. One should never count on luck in the first week of school.
"Um, excuse me!" She was obviously talking to him.
Scorpius paused, looked up to the ceiling as he set a scowl of annoyance on his face, and turned around to find a walking pumpkin. He had to blink a few times to realize it wasn't a pumpkin but hair, vibrantly orange and attached to the head of a very small person.
The girl looked up at him and grinned with sparkling emerald eyes. "Oh hey!"
"Hey." He found himself repeating her statement, suddenly curious. Would Malam remember him? They had spent barely an hour together overall and it had been a whole summer ago. The only reason Scorpius had even thought of her before her grand entrance into the Sorting Ceremony had been an old note she'd left him. She had no reason to remember him at all.
Except for his family fame, of course. Suddenly Scorpius regretted the fact that he hadn't told her his first name. Even if she called him 'Malfoy' again it could be that she'd finally heard about his death-eater past. If she called him Scorpius instead of his family title, he could have been sure she remembered him.
"Do you mind if I walk with you?" Malam gestured down the hall with her wrist, undeterred by his silence or, he realized, the scowl that was still on his face. "I know the Hospital Wing is somewhere down that way, on the way to the quidditch pitch, at least. But the last time I took this hallway it did something weird."
He knew exactly what she was talking about. If someone walked on the left side of this hall between two of the torches it would split into two and dump the walker into the parallel hallway that turned away from the school grounds. One of Hogwarts' many tricks that took years of experience to figure out. Scorpius nodded an okay and as he turned to walk away, he realized what she'd said. "I'm not going to the quidditch pitch."
She look down at his broom and casually rapped it with her knuckles. "What's this for, then? You planning to sweep a classroom? Is it even any good for sweeping- those bristles are really thick, may as well use a club. Can you use a sweeping broom to fly? Is it still possible or do people just consider it taboo?"
Scorpius started to remember the intense irritation her ignorance could cause. "You do not 'sweep a classroom' with a Nimbus-2022." He sneered at the notion and didn't bother to address the ridiculousness of the second half of her query.
Malam nodded, starting to bring her curved finger up to her lips the way she had last year but flinching partway through. She lowered the arm tenderly and Scorpius followed the motion with his eyes.
"That why you're going to the Hospital Wing?" He noticed her striped stockings poking out from beneath her robes with her every step and had to hold back a grin.
"Kelpie bite." She nodded and pushed up her robe sleeve to show him the bloodied bandages. "Nasty thing gave itself rows of shark teeth."
He looked at the freshly-soaked wrappings in horror. "Why haven't you healed it yet?"
"He did. See, full range of motion." She wiggled her fingers to demonstrate. "Muscles and tendons and ligaments are all back in place, but he stopped at the skin layer. I just keep pulling the scabs on accident."
"Why stop at the skin?" Malfoy asked, marveling at how casual she was being about the fact something had tried to eat her.
"Less scarring. I've had enough of those." Her eyes darkened, then she blinked and turned them away as her cheeks turned pink. "Sorry, didn't mean to be a downer. Thanks for walking me here."
Malfoy looked up and realized that he had indeed walked her all the way to the doors of the Hospital Wing. "Sure." He told her blandly, not wanting to say 'anytime' or 'your welcome' because then she may start to think this was something he usually did.
"Um… can I ask a question?" She made no move to walk away, shifting her weight from foot to foot instead. She must have taken his silence as permission because she blurbed "Okay, I know you said you weren't going to the pitch but you're obviously aiming to go somewhere outside with that broom so why don't you just, I dunno, fly out a window, instead of walking the hallways?"
Scorpius felt his mind short circuit in an uncomfortably familiar manner and his left eye twitch. He casually said "We're not allowed to ride brooms between classes." Thankfully she didn't point out that classes were done for the day.
"Ah." She said with a nod, then stepped forward. "One more thing…"
He had barely raised an eyebrow when her uninjured arm shot out and punched his bicep. The Malfoy grunted a bit and kneaded it, knowing it would easily bruise on his pale complexion. "That's how you thank someone, Malam?"
Her eyes finally shone again as she flicked her ponytail back over her shoulder. "I told you it would happen eventually, Malfoy."
Scorpius turned after she went to search for Mister Prin, striding toward the closest open window. As he mounted his broom to fly straight outside, he was smiling.
It seemed Wainbata Malam could keep a promise after all.