Here's the next chapter! I decided that the first four or five chapters will be about Molly's first year, since she's getting to know a different world that's shocking for the way she was brought up, and helps to change her views about some things. Then I'll skip to third year, because that's when stuff like romance starts happening. I hope you like it! Review! Please no flames, only constructive criticism!
P.D. Sorry about the grammar mistakes I may have, English is not my first language.
Disclaimer: though the plot and various characters are mine, some of them and the setting was invented by J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 2: Red blood
The whole hall went quiet, but I was too shocked to care. Did I just get sorted in Gryffindor because I avoided Hufflepuff? Doesn't family count at all? After a couple of seconds the Gryffindor table started clapping, and I walked towards it, still in shock. This couldn't have happened! I don't think any Greengrass had ever been in Gryffindor. Holy Merlin, what will my parents think? I knew my mom wouldn't really mind, in fact, she would think it great that I could be my own person, and would only be worried if things got hard for me. My dad on the other hand…I didn't even want to imagine it. I hope my mom would be able to calm him down and make him see that it wasn`t my fault. It's not like I asked to be here!
At least it's better than Hufflepuff I consoled myself as I looked for a seat. I couldn´t spot one familiar face in the whole table, or even recognize who were first years, so I settled for sitting beside a group of girls, keeping a bunch of empty seats on my other side. I really hope Alice gets sorted here I thought desperately. Even if she was mad at me right now, it cheered me up to think I'd be in her same house, which was an idea I had never considered.
I returned the attention to the sorting, hoping to meet some new Gryffindors and see my friends get sorted, just catching a black boy making his way to our table. He didn't sit by me though; it looked like he knew more people. What if everyone knew someone else? Would I end up eating alone?
I watched as Rabastan Lenstrange, who I knew, was sorted into Slytherin, and then the brown haired guy Alice had left with, apparently named Frank, was sorted into Gryffindor. He shot me a look of recognition and sat somewhere else as well, leaving me feeling even lonelier than before. Next Xenophilius Lovegood, who, as eccentric as he was, I liked a lot, was sorted into Ravenclaw. Why does everyone I know get sorted into different houses? This sucks I thought I'll never make friends here.
"Hey don't worry! You'll make friends pretty soon!" said a voice beside me. I was surprised and ashamed. I shouldn`t have been showing the fact that I felt lonely or scared, that was a sign of weakness. Why was I forgetting to act like a pureblood so much lately? She had obviously talked to me because she felt sorry for me, and I was having none of that. "A Greengrass is not to be pitied, she is to be bowed for" were my dad's words constantly.
"I'm not worrying, thank you" I said curtly, in what I hoped was a confident tone.
"Sure" she shrugged "Miriah Jenkins. I'm in third year" she said grinning. I guess she was nice enough, though she had annoyed me at the beginning. Plus she was the first person who talked to me, so I was secretly grateful because it made me feel less lonely.
"Molly Greengrass, nice to meet you" I smiled confidently. Then I realized Tessa was walking to the stool. "Excuse me, my friend's about to get sorted" I told her. She seemed even more nervous than I had been, and almost dropped the hat because her hands were trembling so much. When she finally put it on, it seemed to take it's time, and I held my breath. Did that mean she wouldn't get sorted into Slytherin? Could it possibly be that she would be in Gryffindor with me?
"Ravenclaw!" the hat finally said.I was surprised, and a bit disappointed. I couldn't help having hoped for a second that she would get sorted into my house. I saw her walk to the table and sit next to Damian, who immediately started talking to her. I felt a little jealous, but pushed it to the back of my mind. I was just jealous she had someone to talk to in her house and I didn`t…right?
I tuned the sorting on again when Alice was being sorted. She seemed pretty relaxed, when the hat started to take its time, she started crossing and de-crossing her legs, which I knew to be a nervous habit of hers. What if she wasn't sorted in this house? I crossed my fingers. Please let her be with me I wished to no one.
"Gryffindor!" the hat shouted finally. I whooped inside my head, suppressing doing it for real. That would definitely be showing an emotion I shouldn't.
"Alice, over here!" I called instead, hoping she wouldn't be too mad at me. To my relief, she came over and sat next to me.
"We're together!" she said smiling so hard I was afraid her face would explode "I can't believe it!"
"I can't either" I said, not knowing what to think about that "Listen Alice, I'm sorry about the train, I just really hadn't talked to them in a while and…"
"Don't worry about it" Alice cut me off "I know you felt more comfortable with your friends than with two boys you didn't know. I just got mad because that girl insulted my…our house. It's not your fault". She was always so understanding! That's why she was my best friend.
"Thanks" I said smiling "I'm glad we're together! I was afraid I wouldn't have any friends here" I admitted.
Alice laughed merrily. "Don't worry, we will make friends. The boys, Frank and Arthur, were really nice! And Frank was already sorted into Gryffindor! I hope Artie is too, that's what he wanted" she said dreamily. I guessed Artie was the red haired one, who hadn`t been sorted yet.
"Looks like you have a tiny crush on him" I said grinning.
Alice blushed. "Well, he is pretty cute, Frank too. But I don't have a crush on anyone; I don't even know them yet!"
"I don't think that's totally necessary to have a crush" I teased thinking about Damian.
"Oh, sounds like you have a crush too!" she teased back. We kept talking throughout the sorting till there were three people left. Mia, "Artie" as Alice called him, and a pretty girl with long brown hair in pigtails.
"Arthur Weasley" called Professor McGonagall. He was sorted into Gryffindor instantly, which I could tell Alice was really happy about.
"Artie, sit with us!" she called. He looked at where we were sitting, and his eyes met mine for a second. Then he turned abruptly and went to sit somewhere else.
"Well, that was rude" I commented. Not that I cared if he sat with us, of course.
"Nah, I bet he just wanted to sit with Frank" Alice waved it off. But I couldn't help thinking that he went away because he saw me sitting here, and that hurt a little, though I didn`t want to admit it. Would it be too hard to make friends here?
"Kelly White" the professor called next. The pretty girl went up to the stool and was also sorted into Gryffindor. She walked straight to us as we clapped.
"Hey, I noticed that you two are first years" she smiled "mind if I sit here?" She had a very nice smile, pale, freckled skin, and beautiful green eyes, which reminded me a bit of Tessa's. I decided I liked her. She was very polite.
"Please do" Alice replied "It's Kelly, right?"
I turned to watch Mia's sorting. She seemed a bit frustrated and I knew why. She was hoping she'd be in Slytherin with Tessa and me. Now she would be either alone in Slytherin, or with Tessa or me in another house, neither of which options were too appealing to her.
"Slytherin!" the hat shouted, as I had expected. I hoped I would keep my two friends, even when we were all in different houses. I didn't see why we should stop talking.
As soon as Mia sat down, Dumbledore started talking, but I tuned him out. Father had always said he was a fool after all. I started wondering how I was going to tell my parents about the sorting. They had asked me to write telling them everything, but something told me they wouldn't be exactly thrilled to receive this one.
"Awesome!" exclaimed Kelly, and I realized Dumbledore had stopped talking and a ridiculous amount of food had appeared. It all looked so delicious it took everything I had not to put a bit of everything in my plate. Instead, I picked a balanced diet that still looked delicious, like my parents had taught me at home. "A lady must always watch her figure" I remembered.
"Is that really all you're going to eat?" asked Alice, amazed. I noticed she had twice as food as me on her plate. So did Kelly and everyone else around me, and it made me feel a little out of place. In Slytherin most girls had about the same amount as I did. I hope I fit in! Not because I particularly like any Gryffindor (except Alice), but because I didn't want to spend the next seven years alone in the common room.
"The hat was deciding between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff for me" Alice told me "I got lucky!" I was surprised sometimes about how similar we were.
"It wanted to sort me in Hufflepuff too! It only sorted me in Gryffindor because I begged it not to go into Hufflepuff." I said "what about you, Kelly?"
"It was between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw for me" she said shyly.
"Ah, you must be really brainy then" giggled Alice. Kelly looked flattered and I laughed. I was having a good time so far. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.
After we ate, the prefects took us to the Common Room and Alice and Kelly kept ooh-ing and aah-ing about the suits of armor and everything else we saw. Especially Kelly, who for some reason kept looking incredulously at the moving pictures. I didn't see what was so awesome about it. I mean, I was awed too, by the whole castle; it was my dream come true, but I kept a cool and collected facade, like I should. No one in Gryffindor seemed to care about that though, they just ran, played and shouted like little kids. The black boy I had seen before was particularly loud, and kept making jokes. So immature I thought annoyed I hope there are more grown-up people here.
The prefect stopped before a portrait with a fat lady wearing a pink dressed and lots of jewelry, said a password (striped pumpkin) and let us go in. The common room was absolutely amazing. It was big but inviting at the same time. Nothing like our sitting room, but I loved it! It had a homey look to it, and I felt comfortable instantly. I could tell everyone did too. The prefect showed us the way to our room and Kelly, Alice and I went up the stairs and went into our room with two other girls. They looked exactly alike, both extremely beautiful, with waist-length blond curls that cascaded down their backs and big blue eyes.
"Hi! I'm Alice, and these are Molly and Kelly!" said Alice, friendly as ever.
"I'm Isabelle, and this my sister Annabelle" said the one on the left.
"But you can call us both Belle" said the other one.
"You want us to call you exactly the same way?" asked Kelly incredulously "Wouldn't it be easier to go by Issie and Annie or whatever?"
"Why? After all we are exactly the same" replied Annabelle, looking confused "that way you avoid mixing us up, it's easier for everyone". Well, she definitely had a point there. It would be as lot less embarrassing.
"Plus it fits" said Isabelle quickly "after all, Belle means beautiful in French, and we are beautiful." While that was true, I thought they needed to be a bit more modest.
"Uh, sure" I told them, and put my things on the bed in the middle. Alice and Kelly took the beds on one side of me, and the twins on the others. They went to the bathroom giggling about their hair or something, and I started to change. We had done a lot of things today, and I suddenly realized how tired I was.
"Their ego is a bit high-up, isn't it?" whispered Alice quietly. Kelly and I giggled.
"Oh, who knows, they might be nice anyways. Maybe we just have to get to know them" replied Kelly optimistically.
"Let's hope you're right. Good night girls" I told them, and with that I drifted off to sleep.
OoOoOoOoOo
I woke up very early the next day, excited to go to classes and start learning magic. Even though I didn't really like reading (I hadn't read any of my textbooks), I was eager to learn. I was just better at learning from watching and practicing than from reading. I had watched my mom do some spells and, though I'd never tried them, I remembered perfectly well how to do most of them.
Alice and Kelly weren't up yet. One of the twins was combing the other's hair, and they said "good morning" in unison, but I didn't really feel like talking to them, so I replied and went to the bathroom to get ready. I marveled at how good the Gryffindor colors looked on me. I had never thought about wearing them before last night, so I'd never noticed they didn't clash with my hair. Thank Merlin I thought relieved.
I knew Mia and Tessa had always been early risers too, so I decided to go to breakfast and catch up with them. There was a tiny little problem: the school was gigantic! And I didn't remember the exact way to the Great Hall.
"Molly, isn't it?" I turned around to find the third year that had talked to me the previous day "We're just going to the Great Hall; you want to come with us? I figured you might not know the way yet" she said kindly. I hesitated. Would asking for help be showing weakness? I decided it wasn't. It was perfectly normal for a first year to not know the way to the Great Hall on the first day; it wouldn't mean I was weak.
"Okay, thank you" I smiled politely.
"Don't worry about it! I dunno if you remember, but I'm Myriah, and this is my friend Kendra" she informed me, gesturing to the black girl walking with her.
"It's nice to meet you" I told her.
"Same here kiddo! Are you always so polite?" she asked. I thought it was a bit rude of her to question that, as she didn't even know me. Of course I would treat strangers (and probably everyone) politely! That was what my parents had always taught me, and it was the nice thing to do.
"Yes, of course. It's the way I was raised" I said haughtily. She looked a bit uneasy, and didn't question me any further. Instead, she struck a conversation with Myriah and we made it to the Great Hall.
"Molly, sit with us!" called Tessa. She was sitting with Mia at the Slytherin table. I made my way over to them smiling. I was glad we'd have time to talk to each other before classes.
"Hi!" I said "Did you like your housemates?" I asked interestedly.
"Damian is great, I didn't know him too well, and Xenophilius is strange, I don't think I want to be around him too much" she said, referring to the people we knew from social gatherings, "The girls are all pretty nice, I made good friends with one named Serenity Kent, she's a lot of fun"
"Well, you know everyone that got sorted with me already. Unfortunately, I got stuck with Bellatrix and Vanessa in the same dorm, Moira is nice, but a bit dense, but Alyssa is pretty great. I hadn't talked to much to her before now" put in Mia, looking annoyed. I could sympathize with her! To live seven years with Bellatrix Black and Vanessa Rosier was one of the worst things that could ever happen to you! I'm glad she liked the others.
"I'm really happy I'm with Alice!" I gushed "I didn't expect it at all, but it's not too bad, though everyone's a bit too loud for my taste. We are with two twins who I don't really know, but seem a bit conceited though. The other girl, Kelly, is really nice and funny" I told them.
"Oh yeah, we saw you talking with the mudblood. I'd be careful if I were you, who knows what diseases she might have. Plus your parents would kill you if they find out!" said Mia. I sensed a feeling of dread surrounding me. When had I talked to a mudblood? I'd only spent half a day in here and had already done things to be ashamed of! I should have been more careful.
"Who's a mudblood?" I asked.
"The White girl, of course, have you ever heard that last name in the wizarding world before? You were laughing with her all through dinner" Mia replied, examining her black, wavy hair "Didn't you know?"
I was horrified. I'd joked with her, and found her nice and pretty. How could I have been so blind? I should have realized it when she looked awed at the moving pictures. This was really bad. I was pretty sure that everyone had been watching me, since I'd been sorted into Gryffindor and that was unusual. Every pureblood now knew I'd talked to a mudblood on the first day!
"Are you sure?" I asked, not wanting to believe it. She was really nice after all; it would be a shame to stop talking to her. Not to mention Alice already liked her.
"No we're not, maybe you should ask her" Tessa said quietly. I noticed she didn't look too fazed by it, though she should be. I wondered why that could be.
We chatted about trivial things till I saw Alice and Kelly walk in, and I made my way over to them. It was better to find out right now when (I think) it was not too late yet. I planned a polite way to ask while I greeted them, and sat down, listening to their conversation. They were talking about school subjects when the idea came to me.
"My mom loved transfiguration when she was here; she was very good at it!" I said "I hope I don't do too badly, or I'll disappoint her".
"Yeah, I know what you mean!" said Alice "I would hate not reaching their expectations!"
"What about you, Kelly?" I asked innocently.
"I wouldn't know" she said, to my horror "my parents are muggles". I almost choked. This meant I couldn't talk to her anymore. If I did, it would be a big source of gossip, and my parents would find out and be furious. My mom had warned me about gossip before, the way it could destroy a person's social position in society. I didn't want that for myself! I better cut off all ties with the mudblood, before people realized what she was. I felt a bit sad, since I thought her nice, but that was probably because I didn't know her. But I did feel sad because Alice was her friend already. I was ashamed I had talked to her and not thought to ask before. I shouldn't degrade myself like that!
"Oh, ok" I said hurriedly, so she wouldn't see my expression "I have to go get my books, excuse me". I was just running out of the hall, leaving behind Kelly's bewildered face and Alice's knowing one, when Professor McGonagall intercepted me and gave me my timetable. I had charms first with the Ravenclaws. Good. Something to look forward to.
I got to the classroom just in time and took a seat beside Tessa.
"Mia was right, she's a mudblood!" I told Tessa urgently "I feel really ashamed, now everyone's going to be talking about it!"
"Don't worry, I'm sure not a lot of people noticed" she said calmly "I would hope they have better things to do than finding out who talks to whom". I shook my head. How could she be so calm about this? I had broken one of the most basic rules of my home!
"Okay everyone, we're going to practice the lifting spell in pairs, and we'll start with this feather" said Professor Flitwick "whoever gets it to lift first wins points for their house". He made us repeat the words (Wingardium Leviosa) and showed us the wand movement. I was pretty sure I could do it, I'd seen and memorized my mom do it hundreds of times.
"Wingardium Leviosa" I swished and flicked my wand and the feather started lifting till it was just over my head.
"Congratulations, Miss Greengrass!" exclaimed Professor Flitwick "five points to Gryffindor!" I was thrilled. After the breakfast fiasco, I'd finally done something right. Plus, I was the first in my year to get points for Gryffindor.
At the end of the class, only Arthur Weasley, Tessa's friend Serenity and I had done it correctly, and won points for our houses. For once today, I felt proud of myself. If that could only last…
"Congrats, Molly, you did great in charms!" Kelly told me after she and Alice caught up with me. I hesitated. If I left them now, Alice would probably get mad at me, but if I didn't, I'd have to associate with the mudblood again, which was something I didn't want to repeat. Which was worse? Definitely the second I answered my own question immediately.
"Thanks" I said politely to Kelly and left the room with Tessa. "I don't know how to avoid her!" I told Tessa quietly. Tessa didn't reply, just gave me an understanding look.
OoOoOoOoOo
A week had passed since I'd first found out Kelly was a mudblood and I'd been avoiding her since then. It wasn't easy, and I wasn't enjoying it, since that meant I had to avoid Alice too. Instead, I'd talked more to the twins, once finding out they were halfblood. This wasn't too much fun either. They weren't mean, but they were too stuck-up and air-headed for their own good. That was the reason I stayed with Mia and Tessa as much time as I could. I'd found I rather liked Alyssa Pucey, Mia's friend, and of course, spending time with Damian, Tessa, and Serenity, who was crazy, but nice, was great.
I was also enjoying all my classes, I'd found out charms and potions came very easy to me, and I enjoyed them a lot, especially potions. I also really liked defense, though I wasn't very good at it. I didn't like transfiguration or history of magic though; it was too much reading and writing for my taste.
I'd got a letter from my parents, saying that though Gryffindor wasn't their best choice and that they were a little disappointed, they still hoped I did well there and loved me anyways. I suspected they had compromised on it. My dad probably wanted to send a Howler, while I guessed my mom was really proud of me.
All in all, everything was going quite well, and I was having a really good time. There was only one problem:
I missed Alice. I'd seen her and Kelly hanging out a lot with Frank Longbottom and Arthur Weasley, acting like everything was all right, but every once in a while I'd catch her looking at me, like accusing me of something. I was getting tired of it all. It was so unfair! Just because that stupid mudblood had to go and make friends with her, now I couldn't spend time with my best friend! It made me hate Kelly just a little more.
Instead, I spent the hours after curfew studying (which I didn't like) and practicing what I'd learned (which I loved). For example, right now. I was sitting in the Common Room, finishing a History of Magic essay, when Alice walked in. I was surprised. It was the first time I'd seen her without Kelly all week.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked, getting right to the point, as always. I decided to play dumb, since I wasn't ready for this conversation yet.
"Why am I doing what?" I asked, trying to sound confused. It clearly wasn't working.
"Avoiding me and Kelly" she replied, sounding hurt.
"You know I can't talk to her Alice!" I said, annoyed. She should know that. She knows what my father is like. "Never associate with mudbloods, unless you have an ulterior motive. A Greengrass doesn't lower herself like that." he constantly repeated. It was one of the most basic rules at home, and I wasn't about to break it.
"But I thought you liked her" she said plainly. She was right. I had to admit, I had liked her when I didn't know about her blood status. What did that mean? I didn't know, and I'm not sure I wanted to find out. All I knew was it meant I shouldn't like her, or it wouldn't look good to my parents and the rest of the high society.
"I could never like her!" I said loudly "she's just a lowly mudblood!"
At that moment I heard a gasp and an angry hiss behind me, and I turned. The angry hiss had come from Arthur Weasley, and the gasp from Kelly herself. I felt bad at hurting her, but I suppressed it. I shouldn't care about her feelings! Plus, it was probably better. That way she wouldn't try to spend time with me. She ran back out of the Common Room, and Arthur, who looked incredibly angry, just shook his head and ran behind her. Alice just kept looking at me, her face a mixture of disbelief and anger.
"You know, I was sure you could change" she said slowly "but you're just too big headed to see outside your dad's head! Why do you keep judging people on who their parents are? It doesn't mean anything!" she was shouting now "she can do magic just as well as you and I can, and she's definitely nicer than you! You're a real hypocrite, saying the twins are stuck-up! You're just as bad as them, only about stupider things!" she calmed down "I'm sorry, but I just can't be your friend like that, and I doubt anyone in Gryffindor who finds out about this will want to be your friend either! Not till you realize that your blood and hers are exactly the same, they are both just red! You have to change the way you think, or you won't fit in here. If you don't, good luck being alone." With that, she left me alone in the Common Room.
I sat back on the chair slowly, my head swirling. Did she really think I was stuck up? Would no one want to be my friend anymore, just because I didn't like mudbloods? It wasn't something I could just change, I mean, it was a fact that they were inferior; my parents said so all the time. Who cares if I have no friends in Gryffindor? I've done fine by myself all week. Plus, who needs a bunch of friends who love mudbloods? I thought. I was sad Alice didn't want to talk to me anymore, but if this happened, I guess it was the way it had to be. It was all the stupid mudblood's fault.
But something Alice said kept nagging in my mind. "She can do magic just as well as you can. Your blood and hers are the same, they are both just red!" They were both truths. Kelly performed just as well as I did, even better in some classes, and I was sure her blood was red too. I mean, what other color would it be? Purple?
So if she was just as talented, nice and pretty as me, what made her inferior? If both our bloods were red, what made hers different from me? Could my parents be wrong? Of course they aren't, how could you think that! I told myself there must be something else…something I don't understand yet.