Everything was going by far too quickly. The hat had sung its song, which Dell had rather liked, but the woman at the head of the hall—Professor McGonagall, she had introduced herself as—was already at the Js.
"Johnson, Alyssa!" the Headmistress called.
"Hufflepuff!" the hat said immediately.
"Jurret, Kieran!"
A taller, confident-looking boy strode calmly up to the stool and grabbed the tattered wizard's, sitting down as he jammed it onto his head. The hat's wide, brim-like mouth opened and formed itself into a wicked smirk as it shouted out:
"Gryffindor!"
Kieran imitated the hat's expression and swaggered over to the red- and gold-clad table.
Of course he was happy, Dell reflected. Who wouldn't be? Everyone wanted to be in the same House as the famous Harry Potter. Gryffindor was the House for heroes, everyone knew that. If compared it with the Slytherin table—why, the difference was astonishing. There were no smiles at the table of the serpents. Most kids were looking at their empty plates, toying disinterestedly with their cutlery. It was the House of the villains.
Well, she would love to be in Slytherin, if only to honor her parents' memories. She tried to stop her knees from shaking. Calm down, Dell, she told herself, you still have all of the Ks—
"Lestrange, Dellia!" came the Headmistress' voice, cutting through the lively chatter like a stiletto knife through flesh.
Oh. Well. It looked like there weren't any Ks this year.
Trying to keep her fear from showing, Dell walked slowly along the aisle. Whispers filled the Hall, whispers containing words like "pure-blooded fanatics" and "Voldemort". Dell realized that the slower she walked, the more dramatic her Sorting would be, and she hurriedly sped up, practically sprinting the remainder of the way to the stool.
As she grabbed the hat, she saw the Headmistress give her a look. It was an odd look, a mostly unreadable look, but Dell felt like she was being weighed. She shivered, and sat down, jamming the hat onto her head.
Well, well, well… What do we have here? A gruff voice in her head said. Dell felt her eyes go wide. Yes, yes, I can talk. Big deal. What are we going to do with you? You want to be in Slytherin, you crave Slyltherin, and you certainly have the mentality for it—pure-blood supremacy, really, that's so out of date—but… you're not very cunning. Or sly. Dearie me. You're blunt and to the point, and you have never beaten your cousin at chess. No, I'm sorry, but you don't belong in Slytherin. Nor do you belong in Ravenclaw, which frequently goes hand-in-hand with Slytherin. Hufflepuff or Gryffindor…
Please don't put me in Gryffindor, Dell thought back.
Well, I must take your opinion into the equation, and yet… You've got guts; you're really not going to do well if you stick to that idea that muggle-borns are beneath you, and the Gryffindors will change your mind about that quite efficiently, so:
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted out.
The mutterings, which had grown in volume since her Sorting, stopped abruptly, Trying not to cry, Dell walked slowly to her new House's table. Most were glaring at her. She sat down at the very end, as far away from everyone else as she could, and tried to lose herself in the other Sortings.
"Loran, Tina!"
"Hufflepuff!"
"Malfoy, Scorpius!"
People started muttering again as Scorpius strode confidently up the aisle. He picked up the hat and plopped it onto his head, sitting down as he did so.
This one took a long time, far longer than Dell's. Hers had been around average time, she supposed. But Scorpius had been up there for two minutes and counting. At one point he glared and muttered something that could have been "That doesn't make me a bad person".
It was another three minutes before the hat reached a decision.
"For his immense understanding of how the world works," the hat said "SYTHERIN!"
A couple of people laughed derisively at that, it was what they had been expecting, and if the Malfoy heir was predictable, then he wasn't dangerous. But Dell knew better. Slytherin was, she reflected, a perfect fit for her cousin (or great cousin, or first cousin once removed, or whatever he was). Scorpius was manipulative, she knew. He was the eleven-year-old version of Machiavelli. People would underestimate him at their peril.
The rest of the Sortings zoomed by; Dell remarked only that Albus Potter was Sorted into Gryffindor (big surprise, she thought sarcastically), as was the girl from her first compartment, Catty Walker or something like that. Looking around at her Housemates, she saw that the Dirk boy was also in Gryffindor. Ha. She had been so terrified for her own Sorting she had missed his.
"Attention everyone!" Professor McGonagall clapped her hands. "I would like to welcome all of you back to Hogwarts, and welcome those new students who are coming for the first time. As I'm sure you're all eager to start dinner, I will try to make this as brief as possible. First of all, it has come to my attention that rumors have been circulating regarding Hogwarts' hidden swimming pool. I would like to inform all hopeful swimmers that although several searches have been carried out, no swimming pool has been found. Secondly, I would like to remind all that the Forbidden Forest is, as the name suggests, forbidden. As of this year, any teacher who uses trips into the Forest as detention will be breaking the rules. The only time you may go into the Forest is during Care of Magical Creatures. Lastly, on October 31st, as a Halloween treat, first and second years will go on a half-day study trip to Hogsmeade, accompanied by various chaperones. Please write to your parents or guardians if you would like to attend. Thank you all and welcome back to Hogwarts!"
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Food appeared on platters all over the Slytherin table. Scorpius sighed—Slytherin. He was not exactly surprised, in fact he had been reasonably certain, but… he had been working hard to appear as an open-minded, forward-think person, one who went against his family's stereotypes. That was the only way to progress in this new wizarding world. Pure-blood fanatics didn't last long. He had yet to form any opinions on the importance of blood, but he tried to seem as though he disagreed with his family's infamous opinion.
He looked around at his Housemates. Unlike the other Houses, there was not lively chatter here—apart from two girls half-heartedly gossiping two seats down, people just stared moodily at their plates, poking dejectedly at their food. He sighed again.
Scorpius Malfoy may have been only eleven and a half, but he was smart, and he knew that Slytherin needed something to motivate it, something to bring it back to its former glory, someone to rally it back together—and he decided he would be that person.
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Hello, everyone! Well, three of you...
I would like to thank Hayhayspen101, because they have been so encouraging and motivating! I really, really appreciate it, so this chapter is for them.