A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks so much for reviewing....for some reason, this story disappeared on this site after it was posted, so I retaliate by adding chapter two ;)
Disclaimer: I haven't/don't/won't own anything related to Harry Potter, besides this story idea, of course!
"Root beer."
The giant gargoyle jumped aside as two figures, one short and one tall, made their way up the stairway that led to Professor Dumbledore's office. The feast had ended nearly two hours ago, and most of the students had gone off to their respective common rooms.
Everyone except a certain, disgruntled new Gryffindor.
Knock. Knock.
"Enter," a serene voice wafted through the crack in the ancient-looking door. The tallest figure impatiently shoved through the doorway and into the dimly-lit room.
"Professor McGonagall, what a pleasant surprise," Dumbledore spoke softly from the shadows behind his massive desk.
McGonagall looked anything but pleasant, however. In fact, she looked downright irritated beyond words as she yanked the shorter figure by the wrists into the room with her. Dumbledore's eyebrows rose slightly at the sight of a pale, greasy-haired boy standing next to McGonagall.
"Severus Snape, am I correct?" Dumbledore spoke directly to the boy. He refused to make eye contact with the gentle headmaster, but nodded stiffly.
"I certainly hope you haven't done anything to garner you a visit with me your very first night at Hogwarts," Dumbledore continued conversationally; Severus still refusing to look at him directly.
"The boy swears he's been Missorted," McGonagall spoke for him in an exasperated tone, giving the student a sharp nudge in the ribs. He jumped a little upon initial contact, but otherwise seemed undeterred by his professor's ire towards him.
"Missorted?" Dumbledore chuckled. "What house do you believe you were supposed to be in, Severus?"
With a reluctant jerk of his head, Severus looked up into the old man's tinkling blue eyes. He hated how understanding they appeared, yet he knew that Dumbledore couldn't possibly understand the burning hatred he felt for that blasted Sorting Hat right now.
"Slytherin," he stated coldly. "Everyone in my family has always been in Slytherin. There must…have been a…mistake…" he muttered awkwardly.
Dumbledore said nothing, but instead watched Severus's distrustful black eyes for some time. Although the young first year didn't know it, Dumbledore was silently observing his innermost thoughts, trying to find a way comprehend to complicated boy in front of him. No student had ever claimed to have been Missorted; Severus must have had a good reason for wanting to be in Slytherin this badly…
And then, Dumbledore saw it: just before Severus uncomfortably looked away, Dumbledore saw a beautiful redheaded girl being Sorted into Slytherin. She smiled broadly at Severus as she bounced jubilantly over to Slytherin's table…
"Headmaster?" McGonagall inquired softly, wondering what he could possibly see in the boy that she couldn't…
"Besides family tradition, do you suppose there is another reason for you feeling as though you are in the wrong house?" Dumbledore asked Severus calmly, even though he already knew the answer.
Severus shook his head stubbornly. He didn't have to tell the old man anything…he just desperately wanted to be in Slytherin…
Dumbledore appeared to have bought this excuse, and he shook his head in defeat.
"I'm sorry Severus, but the Sorting Hat has had its say. There is nothing I can do for you except help you adjust as a new Gryffindor."
"But that's not fair!" Severus shouted, feeling his temper rise dangerously. McGonagall tightened her grip on him at once and glared at him sternly.
"You heard the headmaster, Severus," she replied icily. "You will go back to your common room and I do not want to hear anymore of this Slytherin nonsense."
"But…wait!" Severus pleaded for Dumbledore to put the dumb hat on him again, just to be sure that it hadn't messed up, but McGonagall already managed to drag him out of the office. He kicked and physically fought her the entire way to Gryffindor Tower; meanwhile, she remained unusually calm during the entire walk back. She would not look at him, however; perhaps she was saving her outburst for the end.
"You can't do this!" he yelled defiantly. "I'm not a Gryffindor! I'm not in your damn house! I won't go! I won't!"
Just before they rounded the corner to where the Fat Lady portrait was located, McGonagall suddenly spun him around and pinned him to a wall, holding him by the tips of his robes. She looked almost murderously at him; he figured he wouldn't really care if she killed him though. He'd rather face her wrath than be forced to accept that he was in Potter's house, and not in Lily's house…
"Listen to me, Snape, and listen well," she hissed with a twinge of craziness in her voice. It was clearer than day that her patience had fully worn out with him at this point. Her eyes were slits; he could almost imagine them burning a hole through his head as they glared at him. "You are a Gryffindor, like it or not. I've had enough of your antics today, and I swear, if you try anything ridiculous like that again, you'll be expelled for your noncompliance with the school's rules. Once Sorted, you are in that house for the rest of your seven years here, like it or not. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
Severus was so shocked that it took him several seconds to realize that he was many feet off the ground. The madder she got, the higher McGonagall had pulled him up on the wall. He was nearly choking by now, and only when his face turned a hint of blue did she release him. He gasped for air and massaged his sore neck; marks where McGonagall had held him by his neck were rapidly bruising. He hadn't expected this furious reaction from her, and he was definitely determined to stay away from her as long as he could.
Severus got to his feet and silently willed his knees to stop shaking. After Severus gave his new Head of House a hasty nod in submission, McGonagall escorted him up to the portrait and barked the password ("Border Rewlwood").
"Snape," she stiffly acknowledged him a goodnight as he disappeared behind the closing portrait.
xXxXxXxXx
Lily glanced nervously around the Slytherin common room as she entered for the first time. It had a dim, greenish glow about it, and it was colder down here than it had been in the Great Hall. Most of the upperclassmen looked rather glum and depressed; none of them welcomed her as she cautiously tiptoed on the silver and emerald rugs that were lying on the stony ground beneath her feet. Off in a corner, two mean-looking seventh year boys were swapping what appeared to be shrunken heads. Lily shivered at the sight.
"Oh, Lily!" a cool, whispery voice called out to her from one of the emerald sofa chairs across the room. Feeling slightly better at the sound of someone calling her name, Lily hurried over to the other side of the common room. There were two girls seated there; both first years like her.
"Narcissa Black, I'm sure you've heard the name before," the blonde girl informed her tonelessly as she gazed up at Lily's appearance. Then, she motioned to the brunette girl with hazel eyes sitting across from her. "Laika Malfoy…her older brother Lucius, he's a prefect," Lily noted Narcissa turn a slight shade of pink at this, and she turned away from Laika.
"Nice to meet you," Lily said pleasantly. Her warm smile was returned with smirks that were supposed to look like smiles. After a few moments, she finally noticed a third girl sitting behind Laika.
"Who are you?" Lily asked her, forcing Laika to move back so everyone could see her. The girl had large, dark circles under her eyes, making it seem as though she hadn't slept in weeks. Even her sandy brown hair was so thin that it looked as though she was balding prematurely.
"This is Melika Zula…Melika, say hello to your fellow Slytherin," Narcissa ordered in a cold, authoritative voice. Melika glanced up at Lily and gave her a pathetic smile. "Hi."
"So, 'Zula'…" Laika began after a few moments' silence. Her voice was low and delicate, though Lily suspected her to be much more confident than she sounded. "I haven't heard that name before…perhaps it's a German line? Or Swedish?"
Melika gripped the velvet seat tightly and turned red. "Oh, it's not…my parents are Muggles, see."
Suddenly, any noise or hurried whispers amongst the Slytherins in the common room quieted. Everyone turned their heads in her direction, wondering what person could utter such a foul phrase in their presence. Melika looked up at Lily, wondering what she had said. Lily shrugged back, and worriedly looked to Narcissa for answers.
A loud cackle came from behind Lily, making the hairs on the back of her neck rise. She cautiously turned around and saw a devilish, black-haired fifth year approaching. Her lips were formed into a deep smirk, and her blackish eyes dazzled with flickers of hatred towards Melika.
"I'm sorry Cissy, maybe I misheard your little friend," the girl shot Melika a look of pure loathing. "Did I hear we have a Mudblood in Slytherin?"
Taking after the older girl's lead, Narcissa nodded, looking down hatefully at Melika. "How in the world," she began softly, examining her black-painted fingernails. "Did a Mudblood get in to the prided House of Slytherin?"
Melika looked absolutely mortified with herself for revealing such sensitive information. It was quite obvious she hadn't done her research before coming to Hogwarts; otherwise she would have known which house despised her kind.
"What's wrong with being Muggle-born?" she asked timidly. This comment only drew more attention to herself, thanks to the creepy girl whom had addressed Narcissa as "Cissy." A murmur of despised laughter went up around the room, making Melika sink back further into her chair, wanting to disappear.
Lily was torn; part of her wanted to take Melika's side and declare herself a Muggleborn as well, but strangely…part of her held back…fearing retribution from the frightening girl next to her. She had never heard the term "Mudblood" before, but she knew it wasn't a compliment. Somehow, the air around her seemed to grow colder the longer Melika struggled against her fellow Slytherins' insults…
A chant went up around the common room, starting with inaudible whispers and steadily growing louder: "Mudblood, Mudblood…"
"Stop it!" Melika cried, looking terrified. A crowd was gathering around their little area; the upperclassmen glared down at the girl as though they were looking at a disgusting potion or pitiful house elf. It was as though telling her fellow Slytherins that she was Muggleborn had made her an instant outcast, something dirty that shouldn't be touched nor looked upon with friendliness.
Lily's heart thudded in her chest as a chilly wave of realization washed over her. What was she doing in Slytherin? She was a Muggle-born too! Oh, if her house found out the truth…! She desperately wanted to blurt out the truth about her heritage, but some unknown force held her back. Why had Sev wanted her to be in this house? She was utterly horrified at the pressure from the others around her…Sev had told her something about them once…they had this crazy, pureblood ideology…how awful of him not to mention that Slytherins weren't supposed to be Muggle-born!
Lily knew the feeling of rejection all too well: she had been rejected by her own sister ever since finding out that she was a witch. Shunned and hidden from most of the Muggle world until she came to Hogwarts, Lily had been determined to fit in at school from the very beginning…finally, it was a place where she would belong…but now…she couldn't give in to the peer pressure, yet she couldn't bring herself to tell the truth now that she knew what treatment she would receive…
Finally, at the climax of the roars of "Go back to Muggle schools, Mudblood!", Melika caved in and ran up the stairs leading to the dormitory. Lily could hear the girl wailing miserably into a pillow a few seconds later…after all, she had only wanted acceptance. She inwardly cursed herself for being such a coward. Maybe this was why the Sorting Hat had placed her in Slytherin instead of Gryffindor…she didn't even have the courage to stand up for Melika, when she, too, was a Muggleborn…
Much to her dismay, Laika and Narcissa turned on her next, now that Melika had been successfully brought down.
"So…Evans…nasty common name," Laika hissed with an undertone of malice, her hazel eyes flickered in her direction. "Am I to believe that the House of Slytherin was so cursed this year that we have two Mudbloods to disgrace our name?"
"No!" Lily blurted out at once. All eyes were on her now. The entire House of Slytherin was standing there, waiting for her moment of truth. Oh, how she wanted to simply run away…to run into Sev's caring arms…he was her only true friend, not these lunatics…but he was a Gryffindor now, and she wasn't…
"My…my father was a Muggle, see. But he died a long time ago," she fabricated quickly, praying silently that they would believe her. "My mum's a witch, though."
Silence.
"Half-blood?" The fifth year girl looked almost as disgusted as she would have been if Lily had told her the truth. Narcissa and Laika, however, simply looked unimpressed.
After several moments of tense silence, Laika shrugged uncaringly. "Better than being a Mudblood."
Lily took that as a sign of her acceptance, and the group dissipated…Melika's mournful wails from the dormitory were still echoing the common room below.
xXxXxXxXx
The brightly-lit common room was packed with people, but the noise immediately quieted as their newest member arrived. Frank Longbottom, one of the prefects, was the only one who approached Severus to greet him. They exchanged a discomfited hand-shake, before Longbottom turned around and told the rest of them to quit staring and welcome their new friend, Severus Snape.
A few people clapped monotonously, but everyone continued staring at him. Just after the feast, Severus began howling with rage how he was Sorted into the wrong house; it was impossible to miss how angry the new kid was with his placement as Gryffindor. He had been so blinded with ire that he had punched one of the prefects in the face, even though he knew deep down that they were just trying to help. Once the prefect was safely escorted to the Hospital Wing, McGonagall personally handled the delirious boy, telling everyone else to return to their common rooms at once.
Now, as he trudged up to his dormitory, Severus felt the heat rise to his cheeks in embarrassment. The only positive thing he could think of was that none of the Slytherins (mainly: Lily) had seen his outburst. However, the shame he felt as he marched through the room full of fellow Gryffindors made his flicker of optimism disappear.
He sullenly made it up to the door and closed it behind him, thankful for the darkness of the room. Just before he could sit on the bed, however, something smacked him in the face. It was soft and velvety, but completely unexpected. Another soon followed, but from a different direction. And another. And another!
He picked one of these squishy things up, and realized that he was being attacked by pillows. He launched one in the direction from where he was last hit, but he obviously missed.
"Argh!" he yelled as the pummeling grew stronger, and he fled the room for the safety of the common room. Severus raced down the stairs, but much to his dismay, the pillows continued flying at him. When he was ten or so stairs up from the bottom, a particularly heavy pillow whacked him in the back of his head, sending him flying to the ground below.
Landing with an astounding thud!, Severus blinked away the white spots in his eyes and saw a group of people towering over him, muttering if he was alright. Behind them, Severus spotted the overly-smug face of James Potter, standing with his arms crossed at the foot of the stairs.
"Get away from me," he snapped at the people next to him, most of which were more than happy to move away from the neurotic first year. He shoved the others out of the way and stomped over to Potter, who was now lazily twirling his wand.
"Welcome to Gryffindor, mate. Sirius and I thought we'd give you a proper greeting, seeing that you're in our house after all. Perhaps some tissues would have been better so you could cry over your lost girlfriend without snot running down your huge nose…"
"LANGLOCK!" Severus roared, with his wand pointed at Potter's mouth. Instantly, the boy stopped speaking and stared at Severus in horrified silence. Indeed, the boy was, literally, at a loss for words; he couldn't speak even if he had wanted to. Now it was Severus's turn to look smug as Potter grunted incoherently and gave him obscene gestures. Sirius, whom had been watching James's pillow-assault on the newcomer from the darkness in their dormitory, came out onto the balcony overlooking the common room and nearly doubled over in laughter at the sight of James being incapable of speaking.
Even quiet Lupin had looked up from his place next to the fire and muffled a snort of glee.
"What spell is that?" Sirius asked him casually, though Severus could detect that the boy was more than slightly impressed by the effects it had on James.
"Langlock," Severus stated modestly, feeling out of place now that he was suddenly in the limelight. "It uh, glues the tongue to the top of the mouth…I guess."
"James, you knew you had it coming," Lupin told his friend, only to receive a plethora of rude gestures in return. "I must say I'm impressed," he added to Severus, clapping him on the back. Severus felt his cheeks grow warm with embarrassment again, and he hastily flicked his wand at James, releasing his tongue from the curse.
"I'm gonna kill you!" he roared as he lunged at Severus, only to find himself immediately surrounded by several upperclass students with their wands held out threateningly.
"James, you are a bit annoying, mate," a redheaded third year informed him with a shrug, leaving his wand pointed at James's face. "And pillow-whomping a guy who doesn't want to be here in the first place was not the best way to welcome him."
"I have to agree with Weasley on this one," Frank Longbottom glowered at James and Sirius. "You two couldn't have held off on the pranks until at least next week?"
"It was just a laugh," James said defiantly, looking to Sirius for help.
"It won't happen again," Sirius said glumly, though he didn't look nearly as infuriated as James at this defeat. After all, it wasn't his tongue that had been glued to the top of his mouth by a freakish looking first year that didn't belong in Gryffindor in the first place!
Noticing how late it was, Longbottom ordered the first years off to bed. Sirius and Remus went up first, but as Severus went to reluctantly follow them, he felt a slight pressure on his arm. It was James.
"Nobody humiliates me like that, Snivellus," he hissed angrily. "Nobody. I know you're not as great as everyone thinks you are now…I saw you fighting McGonagall earlier. You don't deserve to be in Gryffindor with that kind of attitude."
"Yes I do," Severus stated, feeling suddenly defensive over his right to be in this house. As miserable as he was before, he figured he might as well fit in with the Gryffindors, since he didn't exactly have a choice aside from dropping out of school.
"Really?" James smirked. "I'll see about that. Perhaps we can settle this over a duel? A Wizard's duel, at that?"
Severus blinked, not quite believing that Potter was challenging him to a magic duel on their first day at Hogwarts. But he knew magic…he had been waiting to show his skill and expertise for years…
"Very well," he answered, unwilling to give Potter the notion that he was too weak to duel. "The abandoned classroom near the Defense room. Tomorrow at midnight."
James smirk grew more menacing. "Excellent," he said softly. "Sirius is my second. Who's yours?"
Severus's eyes widened; he hadn't exactly made friends here yet, and he doubted Lupin would want to duel his friends in place of some fellow Gryffindor he had barely met. Apparently James had been planning this, for he continued quietly: "What is it Snivvy? Got no friends who'd risk their neck for you?"
"Lily Evans," Severus snarled at him without realizing what he was saying. It was the only friend that came to mind, and by now, James had provoked him so far that he had blurted her name out just to shut his arrogant mouth up.
"The Slytherin girl, no doubt? Very well, I hope she knows more than just petty little insults, Snivellus…or you're in for trouble."
With that, James shoved past him, leaving Severus standing in speechless horror at the bottom of the stairs.
A/N: You may find that I'll use bits and pieces of real HP canon and place them in this story; HOWEVER: things are not always as they appear, so don't begin to think you will know what will happen...*mysterious noises*
BTW: don't get too used to these uuber-quick updates...this was just a special treat (as long as I feel there's enough interest in the story, you should see chapter three within a week).
Please review. I don't want to beg, but seeing lots of reviews is a lot more encouraging than lots of hits to the story, and nobody taking the time to tell me what they thought...they honestly don't take that long, I swear!