Looking back, the rest of that night was kind of a blur in Aludra's mind, but several things still stand out contrast. Cedric's silvery gray eyes made her heart quicken every time she remembered them from that day. If she took the time to think about them, she could actually get lost in those eyes. They were some of the most gorgeous eyes she had ever seen in a man.
The carriages that took them from the Hogsmeade train station up to the castle were drawn by some kind of magic, because there were no horses to pull them. It was a little eery, but the girls and Tony didn't' give her a chance to do anything but notice vaguely.
The sorting was the worst, and the most prominent in her mind. A short little wizard dragged her to the front of the great hall and had her stand there for at least ten minutes while all the professors stared and whispered about the goofy-looking 14 year old waiting to be sorted. One middle-aged man with long greasy black hair kept favoring her with this look, almost like he recognized her, but couldn't quite place her. A professor who was probably around the same aged was horribly scarred and looked weary beyond his years. Like the man with the long, crooked nose had looked at her, so she looked at this man. There was something all too familiar about him, but trying to place him was like fishing through molasses for some hidden memory just beyond her reach. His face, however, was expressionless as he glanced in her direction, not offering any hint towards what his thoughts were, so she pushed it aside for the time being; something to look into at a later time. She found out during dinner, from a girl in her house and year, that the professor with greasy hair and a crooked nose was their Potions teacher, Severus Snape, and the pale man with the scars was their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Remus Lupin (apparently Dumbledore had announced this before the start of the meal after Aludra had taken her seat, but there had been too much adrenaline in her system at the time to catch anything in particular that he had said).
The students were mostly self-involved at that point, but as soon as the first years filed in through the side door and hopped in line to be sorted, every eye was on her. Last to be called, she visibly shook as the last of the first years skipped happily to her seat and the room hushed in anticipation. The only other person who had caused this much excitement at sorting was Harry Potter; she knew that, but at the same time, she knew the fame and pressure in her respect wouldn't last more than a month. She had it lucky, unlike poor Harry. She couldn't even begin to imagine the pressure he was under, being the only one to ever survive the killing curse, not to mention one cast by Lord Voldemort himself. Despite all this, however, it took all her strength to keep from shaking as she perched on the edge of the three-legged stool and had the tattered old hat placed upon her head. As she gazed out at her fellow students, she noticed Rica at the Hufflepuff table and Tony, Mandy, and Lisa at the Ravenclaw with their backs to Rica's all offering her smiles of encouragement. It was reassuring to know that not everyone was surreptitiously passing judgement on her that night. Like Cedric's eyes that first night she met him, the words of the hat would follow her every day of her life, taunting her with their hidden meanings. The sorting hat settled down upon her brow and she could hear it processing her, as though his voice was in her very mind, though it was only the effect of having a hat talk while practically swallowing her head inside it.
"Oh my, very interesting. Hmm…yes…strong-willed, intelligent, courageous, just like your father, yet reserved, but kind like your mother…" These words had caught her off guard and if she hadn't been holding her breath at this point, she would've gasped from the pure shock of it: the hat had known her parents. Had probably, in fact, sat upon their heads and sorted them into the houses of their destiny as it was doing for her now. "But I sense the cunning, the strength, and the pull of destiny from the long line of Slytherin wizards and witches who have come before you, as well." Did that mean those who predeceased her had been evil? Possibly those who had paved the way for the arrival and rise to power of the Dark Lord? And then, when he took on that leadership role, been his followers, the Death Eaters? What about this destiny he spoke of. Was it to carry on in that manner? To continue the struggle to overthrow all that is good in the world? This was too much for her to deal with all at once. For the first time, she hoped desperately that she would be sorted into any of the other three houses, even Hufflepuff, in order to escape that uncertain and volatile destiny. She had thought coming to Hogwarts would give her a simpler life, allow her to be just another kid whose greatest worry was getting the high enough marks on her owls and newts. "Hmm, very difficult, indeed. Your very blood is pulling in different directions, trying to influence you towards each of the houses." Just choose already and end this horrible limbo! her entire brain screamed. The hat chuckled. "Well, you certainly don't have your mother's patience. Well, there's only one direction to send you in…" Then, with a powerful bellow, he announced, "Slytherin!" Her heart had sunk and she thought she'd be sick right there in front of everyone.
The next thing she could remember, as she lay in bed processing all of this that night in before drifting off to sleep, was blinking away her stupor in time to realize that she was sitting amongst her fellow Slytherins and Professor Dumbledore was giving the signal for the feast to begin. Food appeared on the platters up and down the table with the assistance of a little magic. A tiny first year boy across from her smiled sheepishly, obviously noticing the cloudiness disappearing from her eyes. He was a shrimp of a boy; pale with a shock of auburn hair on his head. He looked as out of place at this table as she felt. She smiled back at him, which made his icy blue eyes dart back down to his empty plate. She recalled thinking that she had never eaten so much in one sitting before in her entire life. There was such an abundance of delicacies, many of which she'd never even heard of before, and everything was incredibly delicious…except the blood pudding; she didn't care much for that and bypassed it altogether.
Somehow she managed to avoid contact with her housemates that evening and now found herself laying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, and trying to find answers to all the questions pressing in on her from all directions. Her ancestors on at least one side of her family were, for the most part at least, Slytherins; that much she knew. She also knew that her parents hadn't been. 'Strong-willed, intelligent, courageous', that sounded like her father could be either a Gryffindor or a Ravenclaw. And reserved, but kind seemed very likely to be Hufflepuff. She wondered if anyone good had ever come out of Slytherin. Reason said that a child's most influential years were before they turned eleven, for sure, but probably also the first few years at this school. Aludra had bypassed those first, vulnerable years, and had therefore, possibly, bypassed the rule that all those from Slytherin had a sinister core. She was trying to give herself hope. But then again, what was so wrong with leaning towards the darker side of magic? There was more power there, for sure, and a higher tendency for greatness. She could famous one day if she honed her skills and stayed focused. People would bow at her feet instead of forcing her to do disgusting things in dark alleyways late at night or paying her practically nothing to run errands and do chores for them around the city in the worst weather imaginable. She could be respected for the first time in her life, and that wasn't so bad, was it? Her hand wandered, once again, to the locket that lay cold against the breastbone beneath her nightgown. Pulling the locket out, she pried it open to see the pictures of her parents that she had memorized when she was barely 6, but the Slytherin common rooms and dorms were situated deep beneath the Black Lake, as one of their prefects had told them, and there were no windows to get moonlight through. She needed to have her parents with her tonight, of all nights, and the memory of the pictures in her head just wasn't going to suffice.
Slipping out from under the sheets, she quietly opened the trunk, feeling around for the pair of muggle jeans and t-shirt she had snuck into her trunk under Mrs. Weasley's nose. She dressed quickly, not even taking time to put on a bra or socks. It was warm enough yet that she wouldn't need her school robe to keep her warm. Now, she did, however, remember someone during the blurred evening mentioning that the teachers and sometimes the prefects would patrol the halls at night on occasion. Carefully, in her very worn in sneakers, she made her way down the stairs of the dormitory, but it didn't matter. As soon as she hit the common room, a boy in a dark green armchair by the fire looked up from his book to see who was trying to sneak out this late at night. It must've been almost one in the morning at this point. Disappointed, but trying not to show it, Aludra nodded her head in greeting to the boy. He looked to be around seventeen, a seventh year. He was tall and well built, with muscular arms that she could see some of the definition of even through his t-shirt. He had a hard jaw line which could actually be handsome if not for the fact that he was wearing his hair long and shaggy. He had a few days' worth of growth on his chin and neck. She glanced towards the door, wanting to be out of there as soon as possible without causing suspicion. He nodded in return and she hastily walked towards the exit from the common room into the dungeon-like basement of the castle. When she had almost reached the door, he spoke up.
"I hear the owlry is a decent spot to go to think at night, when all the owls are out hunting. You can reach it from a stairway from the lawn to the right of the front entrance of the school." Pausing she turned to see that he hadn't even looked up from his book.
"Thanks," she offered softly and hurried out the door. She didn't encounter anyone on her way to the owlry, not a single teacher or prefect or lingering ghost. Despite her quick pace and the flight of steps leading up to the owlry, she wasn't out of breath in the least when she reached the top. Through the open doorway, the communal roosts were practically empty, the owls being nocturnal and out catching their nightly prey. One of the windows looked out on the Forbidden Forest where the moon was sitting perfectly in the sky. It was only a half moon, but its beauty still triggered something in her brain that made her yearn to be running, carefree in its soft glow. Part of her loved the nocturnal life, but she had tried that once and it hadn't really worked with the whole being human and having responsibilities in the daytime more so than the night. It had been liberating though, and she smiled, remembering how it had felt. Ignoring the droppings that covered the stone floor, she crossed to the window and leaned against the frame as she pulled the locket out from beneath her robe. Slipping it over her head, she held it in front of herself, tracing the crest engraved on the front with the pad of her finger. She was surprised the crest hadn't been worn away from years of doing that, but then again, magic could be unpredictable. In the moonlight, the gold of the chain and locket softened to a pale, almost glowing color. Pressing her fingernail into the crease between the two pieces, it popped open, showing her what she had been needing all night; her parents.
The first picture was her father and mother from the chest up, facing one another and holding hands. Her mother wore a delicate white veil that seemed to float over her long, amber tinted blonde hair that flowed down her back. She had just the right amount of makeup to cover up any blemishes that all humans inevitably had, but not to hide her natural beauty which had undoubtedly been what stole her father's heart at first glance. Her small smile seemed so delicate, so fragile, as if one little word could cause it to vanish forever. Her father stood half a head taller, with hair the color of a starless night. His shoulders were squared back in a very proud way that complimented his round face and high, stately cheekbones. He looked as if he could've passed for royalty, had royalty still existed in his day and age. The smile on his lips perfectly mirrored that of his new wife's, delicacy and all. She figured they must've married during all the troubles with Voldemort, which would give any newly wed couple misgivings about the future they were entering into together. Her eyes were the brightest, purest blue Aludra had ever seen, while her father's were a stormy gray. The intelligence behind both those eyes was evident, even in a photo such as this. Sometimes the figures in the pictures would even turn to reenact a kiss or two from that eventful day. It wasn't the same as having them there with her, but it was as close as she could get.
In the other picture were four boys, one being her father, and two girls, one of which was her mother. In the center stood her father with his arm around her mother's waist as she stood to his right. Beside him stood another man with black hair and spectacles, his arm around a gorgeous red-head with green eyes as bright as her mother's blue ones. Flanking these four, on either end, were a short, timid kind of guy who didn't have even a hint of the good looks of his three male friends, and a rather tall, handsome boy. Having all six of them crammed into one picture, it was difficult to make out specific details about any of the figures. They were all dressed in their school robes, all of them, she now knew, being Gryffindor, except for her mother who was a Ravenclaw. She hadn't known the house colors until tonight, so now she knew that her suspicions of the hat's words were correct. Behind them stood the main entrance of the castle. She assumed they took the photo on their last day at that school, because a banner kept falling from above the picture frame behind them to the ground as it tore loose from its ties, and it read 'Farewell, Hogwarts!!!'. The figures all waved and squeezed one another in side hugs. They were all so happy, a single moment of joy in what must've been a hard time, what with Voldemort running around killing any good wizard or witch that crossed his path and scheming about who knew what.
She could almost picture students taking exams or listening intently to lectures when someone would come and ask to speak with them in the hall and then tell them of the death of some loved one that had been caught up in the war raging in other parts of the country and world. The other students would all hold their breath when that professor would open the door to call out the name of one of their classmates, praying to anyone listening above that it wouldn't be their name called, not today, not this time. It must've been terrible having to sit in a classroom, dealing with the everyday monotony while knowing at the same time there was a war going on outside the boundaries of the school, feeling helpless not being able to fight alongside older friends or relatives. It must have been a bittersweet graduation celebration, knowing they were moving from the nerve-wracking safety of the school to go out into the world, wondering who would betray who and who would be killed in the process. Somehow, she couldn't put her finger on it, but she had this strong feeling that she would experience that herself while at this school. They all would. But she couldn't deal with that until it happened.
Closing the locket, she held it to her chest and closed her eyes. Please, give me the strength to get through whatever is coming, she prayed to the God Kristin had always spoken of in their younger years. She knew she wasn't meant to be evil; it just wasn't a part of who she was. Whenever she thought of Voldemort, her very instincts told her he was evil and she hated him for all he had done to all the good wizards and witches that had come before her. At least half of the students in this school, she guessed, were still feeling the effect of that war with Voldemort. It had torn apart her family before she even had the chance to know them. It had taken parents from children and lain blame and suspicion where it was not warranted. I want to be good, not evil. Not evil… Giving her locket one last kiss as she closed it and returned it to its place around her neck beneath her shirt, she glanced back up at the moon, wondering if somewhere her parents were looking at the same moon, thinking about her the way she was of them. She wiped away the single tear that stood on her cheek, and returned to her dorm and bed to get some sleep before having to start classes the following morning.