Selena fingered her wand, which was unusual in itself. Snape originally was going to take her to Ollivanders, but had gotten vetoed by Kiba right off the bat.
("The man uses tracers on the damn things. Besides, I wouldn't put it past the old man to find a way to manipulate the magic through her wand."
Snape looked at him, then remembered who they were dealing with. Dumbledore could very well have commissioned a wand that he could manipulate, and no one would comment on it because of who it was for.
"Right. Good thing I know another one in Knockturn then," he answered.)
She had left the rather dark shop with a wand of Moonbeam, a very rare wood in itself, with werewolf fur and the crushed petals of a flower that was so rare that any potionsmaker worth his salt would sell three of their children for it.
It was called the Lunar Flower. It was Kiba who confirmed the authenticity of the petals. He remembered the scent all too well.
Ever since she returned from what the two called shopping hell, she had felt the world around her closing in.
The only thing she had even picked out of the entire trip that even Kiba liked was the owl. It was pure white with flecks of gray, and it reminded her of Kiba.
She named it Yuki.
She spent the rest of the time she had reading her books. She didn't feel like messing with Wizard Magic (as she called it) until she was absolutely sure that she could get away with it. Even though Snape had assured her that the shop didn't add any tracers to her wand (they had paid extra to keep them from being added) she didn't want to chance it.
To her relief, Kiba had told her he would be at the castle.
He had passed it once when he was looking for her, and knew exactly where it was.
Selena read her book while the other children struggled to get their own compartment. Kiba, once he had helped her load the trunk, had gone ahead. Mostly because the racket that would come gave him such a headache that he would be unable to keep up the transformation.
Snape had assured him that no one would bother her on the train. At least not until she had been sorted.
And since she had gotten an illusion charm from the man that would cover up her scar, she was practically anonymous.
At least he had explained where she got the crescent shaped scar on her forehead. It was in the shape of a perfect crescent moon. She rather liked it, though the staring she had gotten in the alley had annoyed her to no end.
About a third of the way there, a red haired boy popped in.
"Do you mind? Everywhere else is full," he said in a rather cocky manner.
She looked at him with annoyance.
"I could care less if you sat here, but I hope you weren't expecting any conversation. I am currently in the middle of a fascinating book," she answered.
The boy actually scowled, and went to another compartment. Apparently he had been hoping for a different answer.
Ten minutes later a girl walked in, asking about a toad that had gone missing.
"Haven't seen any toads. Perhaps the older students would know a charm to summon him?"
She beamed at her, and after getting the errant toad, returned with the owner. A rather nervous boy named Neville.
The girl held out her hand in greeting.
"Hermione Granger."
"Selena. I prefer not to have my full name known, since the last thing I want is fake friends."
Hermione apparently knew exactly what she was talking about, because neither of them asked for her last name. Neville was a budding green mage, because he knew a lot about plants.
Selena found that she rather enjoyed their company, if only because of the intelligent conversation. Hermione found the fact that she was a Wiccan witch fascinating, and kept asking questions about it. Neville kept up his end by asking about her gardening experience, and ended up getting a few tips even he had never considered.
After buying several sweets, and finding that she had a definite love for chocolate (she would never dare give any to Kiba, because chocolate was highly poisonous to canines) she inadvertently learned about the myth surrounding her name.
"Who is Artemis Potter?" she asked innocently.
"Artemis Potter is the girl-who-lived. She defeated You-know-who on Halloween night, nearly ten years ago. They say she has a crescent moon scar where the curse hit," said Neville.
"Did this...You-know-who...have followers? Lackeys who would most likely be angry over his death?" she asked.
Hermione nodded.
"They called themselves Death Eaters. They used to send up a mark whenever they hit a house, a mark of a skull with a snake for a tongue."
"Then why in the name of Hecate did they announce what her scar looked like? Wouldn't that be painting a massive target over the girl?" asked Selena innocently.
Hermione and Neville gaped at her, with their mouths opening and closing. Finally, Hermione admitted that Selena had a valid point.
A half hour after the trolley came by, the door opened again. A platinum blond boy took one look at Selena and said "So my uncle was telling the truth when he said you knew the illusion charm."
She gave him a look, and he shrugged.
"My uncle Severus spoke highly of you."
"And you are?"
"Draco Malfoy."
"Selena. You aren't like that lying red head from earlier are you?"
Draco made a face.
"If you're referring to a gangly red head with too many freckles, than I can assure you I am nothing like Ronald Weasly."
"Then you can come in."
Neville, the only person who had any idea who Draco was, seemed a bit surprised to that the boy spoke civilly to them. Particularly when Hermione revealed she was a muggleborn witch.
"So was my uncle having me on when he mentioned that you have a wolf as your magical guardian?"
"Magical Guardian? Kiba is just my protector at the moment. He told me to behave while I was on the train and not cause any trouble he couldn't get me out of later."
Draco shook his head in disbelief.
For the rest of the trip the four talked civilly, never once mentioning the girl-who-lived. Selena found the atmosphere refreshing, since her companions were not only as intelligent as she was, but could care less that she was currently under an illusion.
Though only Hermione had figured out why she was under one. Draco simply could care less, since his godfather had mentioned that Selena Potter was most definitely not going to be the Gryffindor Golden girl.
Selena and Hermione changed in the bathroom and returned to their compartment...only it had one more person in it than before.
The red head (now identified as Ron Weasly, youngest son of the Weasly brood) had returned. And he was in a shouting match with Draco.
It didn't take much guessing to see what had set it off. Ron was under the mistaken impression that he was going to be Artemis Potter's best friend. Draco was actually defending the fact that no one had seen the girl-who-lived on the train all day, and that if he was so sure of himself then why wasn't he sitting with her at that moment trying to make himself look good.
Ron huffed up, saying he had looked all up and down the train had yet to catch a hint of the by now famous scar.
Then he looked at the girls, and sneered. He had already gotten on the wrong foot with the girls, because he disliked bookworms. They tended to drag you to the library and force you to read more books than just the ones needed for homework.
Selena walked right up to the annoying boy, and drew up to her full four foot three height.
"My name is Selena, and if you don't leave right now I'll hurt you, severely."
"And why should I listen to some know it all?" he asked in return.
She drew up her right fist, and broke his nose. Draco crowed in approval.
"Because I know how to throw a real right hook, and I'm not afraid to use it," she answered, smirking.
Ron ran away promptly, not wanting to get a black eye along with the broken nose.
Once they sat down, Draco made his approval known.
"I don't know where he got the idea that he could gain any friends from being a pompous arse. Pardon my language."
Selena giggled evilly, "Oh, don't worry about course language in front of me. My uncle used to use words stronger about me when he was in a drunken mood."
They all stared at her.
"Why?" Neville finally dared to ask.
"My...guardians...were forced to take me in when my parents died. They didn't want anything magical near them, so they took it out on me until Kiba showed up and got them to back off. Sometimes when my idiot uncle got drunk, he would take a swing at me or toss me into the cupboard under the stairs. I made a point to get kicked out of the house on those nights."
They looked at her in disbelief.
She shrugged.
"Kiba got them to stop, so they leave me alone. Personally, if I can find anyone that knew my parents to take me in, I would leave that house in a heartbeat. I don't care what the headmaster says about it, I would rather live with a werewolf than those...things."
When they realized she wasn't joking in the least, they quickly changed the topic to the classes.
Surprisingly enough, Draco had the most to say about them.
"Potions is widely regarded as the most unpleasant class unless you're a Slytherin. My godfather is the one who teaches it. Transfiguration has the most uptight teacher, but she can also turn into a tabby cat. Charms is the most fun, and is run by a half goblin by the name of Flitwick. Herbology is the most hands on, seconded only Care Of Magical Creatures."
Neville perked up at the mention of Herbology.
"What are the houses like?" asked Hermione.
"Gryffindor is for those who act first and think about the consequences later. Ravenclaw is for those who actually value their grade point average and they have their own personal library from what I've heard. Hufflepuff has the highest number of Muggleborns, but they also tend to make better green wizards and healers than the rest. Slytherin has the highest number of pure bloods, and has a reputation for turning out the most Dark oriented wizards."
"Why would being in a certain house make you dark?" asked Selena.
Draco shrugged.
"Personally I believe it's because of the animosity against Slytherin that causes them to go Dark. About the only people who like Slytherins are Slytherins."
Hermione seemed to take that to heart.
"So, judging by how we've talked, what house would we go into?" asked Selena out of curiosity.
Draco pointed to each of them.
To Hermione, he said "Either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. Considering your love of books, most likely Ravenclaw."
To Neville, he said "Hufflepuff. You give off more of a Healer feel than an Auror, no offense."
To Selena, he quirked an eyebrow and said "Any house but Gryffindor. You don't strike me to be that foolhardy or tactless."
"And you?" asked Hermione.
"Slytherin or Ravenclaw, but with my connections and personality it will most likely be Slytherin."
"Any idea how we'll be sorted?" asked Hermione.
Draco grinned.
"Mother and Father refused to tell me, but both of them warned me to charm my ears before being sorted. Apparently whoever does it is completely tone deaf."
"They place a hat on us which looks through our memories and puts us in whatever house suits our personality and quirks best," said Selena suddenly.
Once again, they stared at her. She held up an old book in amusement.
"This happens to have the first sorting ever done at the school, and mentioned that Godric Gryffindor left his old hat behind to do the job for them once they were gone."
"...Mind if I borrow it when you're done?" asked Hermione finally.
Selena handed it to her, and the girl was soon lost to the written word. Draco snorted.
"I stand corrected. Definitely Ravenclaw."
Selena noted they were almost there, and made a suggestion.
"How about no matter what house we end up in, we agree to meet up once a week for a study group?"
Hermione looked up from her book. It was a sound suggestion.
"I'm in."
"Sounds interesting," said Draco.
"I could probably use all the help I can get..." mumbled Neville.
Selena was decidedly not impressed by the ghosts. Neville at least, had managed to keep a hold of his toad when Selena gave him a small box for it to claim as it's own. It had fallen straight asleep.
Soon enough, they entered the great hall. She listened to the others being sorted without real interest, unless it was from her friends.
Draco had been spot on when he said what house they would end up in. Hermione got thrown into Ravenclaw, her nose in a book almost the entire time. Neville, to his shock, was sorted into Hufflepuff, and was greeted with claps on the back. Draco had been sent straight to Slytherin, not that it surprised him.
And then it was her turn. Though she wasn't too happy when McGonagall called her by her first name instead of her middle one. As much as she liked the goddess Artemis, she found the name to be a bit too boyish for her taste.
Before she sat down, she looked at everyone and announced quite clearly "My name is Selena. If you try to speak to me by my first name, I shall not answer at all."
And promptly put the hat on her head.
My, my, you're not suited to Gryffindor at all! You are as bookish as any Ravenclaw, but as loyal as Hufflepuff herself could have wanted.
Could we please get this over with?
Very well. With your pack mentality, the only place you could possibly be suited to is...
Everyone was leaning in their chair waiting for the announcement. So when the hat declared "HUFFLEPUFF!" everyone was very taken aback.
Selena beamed at the hat, and sat next to Neville. Dumbledore looked rather disappointed.
A Hufflepuff savior wasn't as impressive as a Gryffindor or even a Ravenclaw one. It was the opinion of almost everyone who wasn't a Puff that the house was full of the leftovers.
Probably why Pomona Sprout held a thinly veiled disdain for the other heads of house and the headmaster. It had been nearly two hundred years since Hufflepuff even came close to winning the house cup, and fifty since they had won the Quidditch Cup. A fact Severus was rather quick to point out whenever Sprout tried to mention one of her badgers achievements.
Which was why Sprout was the second highest in points deducted from Slytherin house. If she saw an opportunity to take them, she took it. The point deductions were solely dependent on how much Snape had angered her that week, or whether one of them had annoyed her that day.
So having the girl-who-lived in her house would improve her mood a good deal.
"How did you end up in our house? No offense, but everyone thought you would at least be a lion or a raven," asked Cedric.
She grinned at him.
"The hat dismissed my...chance for Gryffindor right off. Said I could have fit in with Ravenclaw but when he figured in my pack mentality around my friends, he put me here instead. I could care less so long as I'm no where near that bloody red haired moron."
"So which name should we call you by to avoid being hexed?" asked Susan with a grin.
"Selena. While I admire Artemis as the goddess of the moon in Greek mythology, I find that the name sounds a little too boyish for my taste."
"Welcome to the Hufflepuff house, Selena Potter," said Cedric, mock bowing.
"Just out of curiosity, does anyone in this house have a problem with wolves?" she asked out of the blue.
Every shook their head. Hufflepuffs took house loyalty far more seriously than even the Slytherins.
"Oh good. Because I happen to have a wolf guardian outside and he's not that big a fan of the cold winters here," she chirped.
"Wolf guardian?" asked Susan.
"Perhaps it would be easier to explain tomorrow, when we're allowed outside..." said Selena.
Aside from the rather asinine warnings and off key song, Selena actually enjoyed the feast.
(Kiba had already told her that Snape had brought him out a large roast turkey, so he was set for the night. Plus the man had also given him the directions to the kitchen where he could nick food from the house elves.)
Selena woke up early, as the dawn hit her right in the eyes. Hufflepuff Tower was right next to the kitchens, and had the shortest route to the outside and the great hall.
Neville was up as well, and his yawn made it clear that he only got up under protest.
"Morning Nev," she said cheerfully. It was rather...nice to have kids her own age to talk to. Everyone else was either afraid of Dudley or thought she was weird because she happened to be an actual Wiccan.
It didn't take long for the older students to wake up, and by then the two had already gone down to the great hall for breakfast. Fortunately Cedric had seen them leave and had given them directions.