Chapter 3

"Gryfindor?" Lucius shouted. "Gryfindor?"

Mercedes shook her head as it was flooded with questions. She glanced around the room at the various faces. Professor McGonagall seemed absolutely delighted, trying to contain her wanting to fawn over the eldest Malfoy child. Professor Dumbledore grinned kindly, winking at her through his half-moon spectacles. Draco sneered vilely at her, humor filling his narrowed eyes, as if to say Now you've done it.

Her mother's face, still ghostly pale, trembled in the dim light of Professor Dumbledore's office...out of shame, disgust, or fear, was unclear. "No," she kept muttering under her breath. "It's not possible. No."

But perhaps the absolute worst was her father's gaze. His face was slowly turning scarlet, fuming with rage. His hands gripped the arms of his chair so tightly that Mercedes wondered if he would rip his seat in two. But the worst were his eyes, boring into her soul, filled with the worst hate she had ever seen. For as much as her parents seemed to loathe her, they had never looked at her like this; like she was dead to them.

Panic flooded through her under her father's gaze, bringing her questions to light. "What's going on?" she asked to no one in particular. "What does that mean?"

"It means," Professor McGonagall said, approaching to remove the hat from atop the young woman's head "you have been sorted into Gryfindor house. We shall have to relocate your things at once."

"I'll not allow it!" bellowed Lucius. Mercedes shot a fearful glance at her father, who was no longer paying her any attention. His hate had found a new target for the moment: head of Gryfindor house.

"With all do respect Headmaster," Narcissa began, placing a hand on her husband's shoulder in an effort to calm him as she approached Professor Dumbledore "there must be some mistake..."

"Madame, I'm afraid there's been no error," Professor Dumbledore replied calmly. "The tradition of the Sorting Hat has been passed down since the founding of the school. In all its time of practice, it has yet to make a single misplacement or mistake."

"But it's tradition," Narcissa continued "stretching back to the beginning of our family. Every member of the Malfoy family has been placed in Slytherin house. Every member of the Black family has..."

"Well," Professor McGonagall said, ushering Mercedes to her side. "There's a first time for everything. Come now child, we'll have to change those as well" referring to Mercedes' emerald and silver embellished school robes. She reached for her wand but before it has fully emerged from beneath her cloak, Lucius snatched his daughter by the arm, yanking her back towards him, his wand at the ready.

"I'll not allow it!" he spat. "My daughter, a Gryfindor? I'll not allow it. Not for a minute; not for one second." Mercedes flinched in pain at her father's grip on her arm. She could feel the anger radiate off of him, like hot air wafting from a hot stove through an arctic tomb. His eyes never wavering from the witch in front of him.

"Mr. Malfoy!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed. "Lower your wand at once!" "Lucius," Narcissa pleaded "Lucius please."

"No!" he exclaimed. "My bloodline can be traced back to Salazar Slytherin himself! I will not stand here and be made a fool while you allow my pathetic excuse for a daughter to spit on his grave! Now, you will place her in Slytherin with Draco or..."

"I'm afraid that's not possible," Professor McGonagall continued. "Once a student has been sorted into his or her respective house, there is no changing it. Forcing her hand and placing her in Slytherin against the Sorting Hat's order will do no good. Mercedes would not be granted entrance to the dormitory, forced or otherwise. Now, Mr. Malfoy, if you would be so kind as to lower your wand and allow Professor Snape and I to escort both Draco and Mercedes to their respective dormitories..."

"No!" Lucius bellowed. "No, I'll not allow it!"

"Lower your wand, Lucius," Snape said, pointing his own wand at Lucius from behind. His tone was monotone but dangerously serious.

Lucius seemed to sense the threat in Severus' voice, lowering his wand slowly. "Fine." He hissed, suddenly minding his temper as he straightened his robes. "If an exception will not be made, that will be the end of this." He grabbed his walking stick and yanked Mercedes towards the door. "Come along Mercedes, we're going home."

"Lucius..." Narcissa began.

"No," Mercedes said turning back. "No, I want to stay."

Lucius' head snapped around, his eyes narrowed at his disappointment of a daughter. "What?" he hissed.

Mercedes gulped, twisting her arm out of her father's grasp. " I want to stay" she repeated, her voice trembling. She felt the sting of the back of his hand across her cheek long before she heard it coming.

"How dare you defy me!" Lucius hissed.

"Lucius!" Narcissa exclaimed. He shot her a glare as if to say she was next if she even though of defending her daughter.

"Enough!" Professor Dumbledore shouted, taking control of the room for the first time since the out start of the encounter. "Lucius, I'll ask you to mind your temper while you remain within the walls of this school. We wouldn't want to draw more attention to your special situation as it is, would we?" Lucius opened his mouth to speak but found he had nothing to rebut.

"Now, Mr. Malfoy, Mrs. Malfoy," Professor Dumbledore continued, gesturing for them to sit once more in the chairs before his desk. "While I unfortunately cannot honor your request to place Mercedes in Slytherin house, perhaps there is another option."

"Go on," Lucius said, feigning interest.

"Your daughter has been placed in the precarious position of having been home schooled for the majority of her magical years, rather than honoring Hogwarts with her talents upon receipt of her first acceptance letter when she turned eleven."

Mercedes' mouth hung open. First acceptance letter? What was that supposed to mean? Since when had she been accepted to Hogwarts? Did that mean that her parents had elected to keep her from magical studies, just as she had always feared? But then why would the have let her study at home...

"As such," Professor Dumbledore continued "she has surpassed the education requirements of her first three years of study here at Hogwarts. Further, the scores she has received on her O.W.L.s more than qualify her to study at the 6th year level."

Her father opened his mouth to protest, but was silenced as Professor Dumbledore continued. "However, given the nature of her talents, Mercedes may well be on her way to harboring quite the healing ability, and as such would be a valuable asset to St. Mungos in the future. Therefore, I am prepared to offer, in exchange for her studies at Hogwarts, an apprenticeship of sorts with Madame Pomfrey, the school nurse, which places Mercedes in a position that would more than accommodate everyone's wishes."

Lucius opened his mouth to protest, but Narcissa stopped him. "Lucius, be reasonable," she said. "What would we do with her at home? We can't go on telling everyone she's a squib, she draws enough attention to herself as she is! If she's here, no one will pry. For all they know, she could be..."

"Alright!" Lucius agreed, suddenly fond of the idea that he would be rid of the embarrassment he had to claim as his daughter. "Alright, she can stay...Provided several conditions are met."