Chapter Sixteen
A/N: Thank you to toolazytologin, ClaireBear1982 and angelbear94 for reviewing the last chapter.
When she eventually returned to Hogwarts for her second term, Lily could not evade the chatter that filled the corridors, regarding a bridge between the Houses and year groups being formed. Of course, no one knew precisely what was happening, but the rumours circulated nonetheless. Some said that it was to do with the Quidditch teams, and that the current teams would be mixed together to avoid prejudices getting in the way of clean matches. Some said that it was to help improve relationships between Heads of Houses and the pupils of the three Houses that they did have affiliation with, to stop prejudices by the teachers. The ideas were endless, and became more and more outrageous by the day, and the girl could not wait until they were told the nature of this bridge, so that she could get some peace and quiet for once.
Sure enough, when they reached the Great Hall for breakfast on the morning of their fifth day back, Professor McGonagall stood up before them, holding her hands up high to silence the room, a trick her father said she had taken from old Professor Dumbledore, back when he had still been Headmaster, before the War had really begun.
"Good morning, students." the woman greeted, as she did every morning, a habit that she had acquired several years ago, according to Teddy. Every eye in the room had now turned to the woman, the response that she had wished to achieve, and so she continued to speak. "Now, it has been pointed out to me on many occasions over the years that rivalry between the Houses was going too far. It was leading to violence, prejudice and just plain cruelty. That is why I am making this decision to break down the House barriers for a short amount of time, uniting students from the Houses that have most rivalry with each other. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff have had a lot of history over the years, similarly Gryffindor and Slytherin. For this reason, from today until the end of half term... there will be no Houses at Hogwarts."
A communal gasp resounded across the open space, followed by a loud collection of whispers from all four of the House tables. No one could believe what they had heard, nor could they understand how they were meant to go about their school year without the Houses to divide them and give them a little competition to look forward to, in both the House and Quidditch Cups. For over a thousand years, Hogwarts had been divided into Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Now that they were a school as one, everything would be very different.
"Settle down!" Minerva McGonagall exclaimed, raising her hands above her head once again, and, though it took a great deal longer than it had done the first time, the Great Hall quietened once more. "There will be random selections of students names to be paired together, and tonight, the lists will go up in each House Common Room. The pairings will each be between two different yeargroups and Houses, to make sure that you will be working with someone you do not normally associate with. This is not open for discussion, so there is no point in arguing. Now, please make your way to your classes, otherwise you will be late. Thank you."
Professor McGonagall then stepped down from her podium, and made her way out of the door that led to the Trophy Room, where a shortcut to her office was concealed behind the portrait of Godric Gryffindor, while the rest of the staff began to shepherd the children out of the room and towards their first lessons of the day. The Hall, and the corridors, once they had gotten there, were filled with the buzz of the revelation, as groups of friends chattered with excitement and annoyance at the prospect.
Lily, who walked alone in the direction of the Herbology greenhouses, had similar thoughts to herself as she could hear in the conversations surrounding her. 'How in Merlin's name is this going to work?' she wondered, as she exited the castle and was exposed to the cold morning air, sending a shiver down her spine, though she was unsure whether this was merely because of the temperature or because of her fear at who she may end up paired with. 'The Houses are separate, they always have been, and they can't change that. How can they even think that they could?'
"Lily!" came a voice from behind the child, and the redhead turned to see the younger of her brothers, Albus, running towards her. She paused where she stood, waiting half a minute for him to catch up with her, as she had been walking quite quickly and was over halfway to the greenhouses by now. Once he reached her, red faced and breathing heavily, he continued to speak. "Can you believe that? They're going to merge the Houses, and each student is going to be buddied up with another students from a different House and year group. Who knows, you might even end up with me, seeing as I'm a Slytherin."
"Professor McGonagall knows that our family is split into different Houses." Lily responded. "She'll have put a charm or something in place to make sure that we don't get paired together. After all, it wouldn't be fair on everyone else if we were."
"Yeah, you're right, Lil." Albus conceded, nodding his head a little reluctantly. "Still, it might be a laugh. You never know, we might make some new friends."
"Maybe." was the only answer the younger sibling gave to that phrase, before turning sharply on the spot and continuing her journey to her next lesson. Hr brother stood in her wake for a moment, a little confused as to why she had been so reluctant to speak of the events, especially when she was usually so talkative, but he quickly shook the thoughts from his mind, turning and making his own way back up the path to the castle.
Meanwhile, as Lily took a seat on the grass beside the greenhouses, she listened vaguely to the excited conversations all around her, and attempted to prepare herself mentally for the potential living nightmare the next couple of months could be.
A/N: Please review!