Chapter 6: A Resort is Demanded
Shyla followed the other Slytherins to their common room. The dungeons were dark and musty, but inside the common room, it was warm and welcoming. Tapestries hung on the walls, bearing the crest of Slytherin. To the left and even further down was the 1st year girls dormitory. Shyla, Eva, Keelee, a girl named Savannah, and a small Asian girl, Lydia, filed into the bedroom.
Shyla saw her trunk resting at the end of a bed. She sat on the bed gently, taking in its comfort. "Wiskers!" she cried out excitedly. She held the large black cat in her arms. The cat purred softly.
Eva sat next to Shyla, and pointed at the cat, "Is he yours?"
Shyla nodded and hugged Wiskers. "I had almost forgotten that my mum let him come with me. He has been with me for years."
Eva pet Wiskers on the back. "My mum hates cats. So I was never allowed to have one. And I must share my father's owl, so I don't have a pet here."
The other girls came over as well. Savannah had wavy shoulder length black hair. Her eyes were a soft brown. Slytherin girls were generally very pretty. Mostly because of the amount of time they put in to look that way. Lydia's hair was long and perfectly straight. Her eyes were dark, and her skin was silky smooth. The girls cooed over Wiskers. He was loving the attention.
As Shyla was getting ready for bed, a knock sounded at the door. An older girl, whom Shyla recognized as a 5th year prefect, appeared. "I'm looking for Shyla Granger," she said, sharply.
Shyla looked at her cautiously. "I'm Shyla..."
"You need to come with me to the Headmistress' office," the prefect replied. The girl had soft brown hair cut in a pixie style. She was one of the few girls that could successfully pull it off at Hogwarts. As Shyla left with her, the other girls stared and giggled.
Once they were in the corridors of the dungeons Shyla spoke again. "Am I really in trouble already?"
The girl laughed. "Heavens, no. I feel sorry for you, really. I hear your entire family has shown up demanding a resort. Slytherins aren't all bad, you know. We just like appearing as if we're better than everyone else. It's more of a reputation to uphold." She smiled at Shyla, "I'm Crystal, by the way."
Shyla's face flushed upon hearing that her family was waiting for her. "My family is so embarrassing," she muttered under her breath.
Crystal laughed, her green eyes fixing upon Shyla's cold blue eyes. "My mother cried for weeks when I became a Slytherin. She was a Hufflepuff. Fragile little thing. She can't comprehend the idea of challenging authority. This summer, I cut my long hair all off, just because she insisted that I never cut it. But frankly, I like it short." Crystal rambled on until they got to a statue of a very large bird. "Well, here we are. Sorry I talked so much, I just get carried away."
Shyla smirked. "Oh, don't worry. I stopped listening a while ago."
Crystal chuckled. "Miss Granger, I don't care what they say, you are a Slytherin."
Shyla smiled as Crystal muttered the password to enter the stairway. They walked to the top together, and once they were invited in, Professor McGonagall thanked Crystal and sent her on her way. Shyla swallowed hard as she looked around the room. Justin was there, obviously for the same reason. Uncle Charlie had his hand on Justin in a protective fashion. Her Grandma and Grandpa Weasley sat on an overstuffed couch. Her mother was being consoled by Tonks. "Tonks? What are Tonks and Lupin doing here?" Shyla shouted silently. Shyla was actually relieved to see her head of house, Professor Malfoy, standing darkly in the corner.
"Shyla!" Hermione cried out as she raced to her daughter, and hugged her. "I promise you, this was not my idea. I was willing to just accept the sorting, and move on. I'm sorry I couldn't stop them."
"This is about Shyla and Justin ruining our bloodline. They are Weasleys and are supposed to be in Gryffindor!" Molly Weasley shouted.
Shyla pulled away from her mother and stormed to Molly Weasley. "This is stupid! Justin and I did not ruin your bloodline! Just because we have minds of our own, and aren't perfect little Gryffindors like the rest of your insolent offspring, doesn't mean that we're not Weasleys too!"
The room got was the first to speak. "I think that settles it. Miss Granger belongs in Slytherin."
As the uproar began again, Professor McGonagall demanded full attention. "This is an outrage! In all of my years at Hogwarts, I have never seen such disrespect for the decision made by the sorting hat! All of you attended Hogwarts, and should know that once the sorting hat makes a decision, that is it. The house that the student is placed in is set. There are no re-dos."
Of course, as everyone expected, Molly protested. "You, Professor McGonagall, seeing as you have been with Hogwarts for such a long time, should know that Weasleys are ALWAYS placed in Gryffindor. I demand to see the hats decision for myself. Justin, I can almostunderstand, seeing as his mother was a Ravenclaw. But Shyla's mother and father were both in Gryffindor." She turned her accusation to Hermione. "Honestly, you failed at raising your daughter."
Hermione's eyes filled with tears as Tonks came to her defense, her hair turning a dark shade of red, out of the instinctive angry she was preparing to release. "Molly! You have seen Shyla grow up, she has never been one to go with the flow and just do whatever everyone else expects of her. Hermione has raised her daughter to be herself, and I think Shyla has turned out marvelously! What happened to the Molly Weasley that loves her grandchildren?"
Hermione whispered a "thank you" to Tonks.
Molly only stared at Tonks in disbelief. All of this had gone beyond too far.
Professor McGonagall sighed, seeing the severity of the situation. "Shyla, Justin, would you two be willing to put on the hat, to please your grandmother. You won't be resorted, but it will allow everyone to hear the sorting for themselves."
Justin nodded. "Sure. It won't hurt." He was always the rational, calm one. He didn't have the temper that the other Weasleys often carried.
Shyla rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "If it means that I can just go back to bed afterwords, fine." After a long day, Shyla was ready to just forget what had happened, and accepted the consequences.
Justin went first. He sat calmly as the sorting hat was placed on his head, yet again. "I remember you!" The hat announced. "You were hard to sort. Strong blood from the father, and the mother. You would do well anywhere, but your knowledge outweighs any other trait. Ravenclaw is a good choice."
Justin smiled at his father, and Charlie smiled back. He was proud of his son, no matter the house he was in. Molly sighed and stubbornly accepted Justin as a Ravenclaw. Justin was smart, and always dedicated to his studies. There was no denying that. He loved when his brother would come home on holiday, so he could teach Justin what he had learned.
It was Shyla's turn next. Professor McGonagall eyed Shyla carefully. "You don't have to do this, Miss Granger."
Shyla scoffed. "Just get it over with." She replaced Justin's position, and folded her arms, slumping slightly in the chair.
"Very well," Professor McGonagall said, placing the sorting hat on Shyla.
Everyone became attentive, including Draco Malfoy. After all, Hermione Granger's daughter being placed into Slytherin was rather shocking.
The sorting hat let out a short laugh. "This one is a Slytherin, there is no doubting that. Sly, cunning, and smart. Any other house would have been a complete mistake. At first, I sensed a longing for Gryffindor. But it was not the qualities of Gryffindor she possessed. There is no changing my mind. This girl will make an amazing Slytherin. She will succeed in this house."
Shyla smirked at her grandmother as the hat was lifted off her head. "I'm glad I ruined your family's name." She snapped, unsure of where the words came from. She always loved her Grandma Weasley. But she was hurt, tired, and fed up.
"Shy!" Hermione scolded in disbelief.
Molly Weasley was in tears. "How could the offspring of my Ronald be a Slytherin? It is everything he stood against! He died fighting against the values that Slytherins hold dear."
It was Malfoy's turn to speak up next. "You will not speak against my house and my students. The war ended nearly twelve years ago. It's about time you got over it, and stopped carrying the prejudice that you so desperately fought against." He nearly spat the final words at her.
Molly's face was cold, and hard. She opened her mouth to reply, but was quickly cut off.
McGonagall frowned at the scene. "Now that any doubt has been cleared, I think it is time for Justin and Shyla to go back to their houses and into bed.
"Professor Ralonius placed a hand on Justin's shoulder. Shyla hadn't noticed the small lady standing out of the way. She turned to introduce herself to Charlie. "I'm Professor Ralonius, I'm the Ravenclaw head of house. Justin will be a fine student. You should be proud, Mr. Weasley."
Hermione hugged Shyla. "Please, please, please, behave yourself."
"Yeah. Okay, Mum," Shyla responded hugs were given by Tonks and Lupin. Lupin smiled at Shyla, "Hang in there. You can always write Tonks, or myself if you ever need anyone to talk to."
Shyla nodded and turned away, refusing a hug from her Grandpa Weasley. Molly was still crying too hard to acknowledge Shyla, and the young girl didn't care.
Malfoy appeared at Shyla's side and said casually, "it's time to get you back."Shyla nodded and hugged Hermione once more."Malfoy..." Hermione said softly. He turned towards her. "Please take care of my daughter."
Draco smirked. "She's a Slytherin. Of course I will." He paused and looked around. "Get some rest. She'll be fine."
Malfoy escorted Shyla from the Headmistress' office, and towards the Slytherin common room.
"Professor... What would you have done if your daughter didn't get into Slytherin?" Shyla asked once she got up enough courage.
Malfoy sighed, "it's crossed my mind more than once, to be honest. Evangeline's mother was a Hufflepuff. You know, my father was even more on blood purity than your grandparents. If I hadn't been a Slytherin, he would have completely disowned me. But, I was more Slytherin than anything else, so I never worried. As for Evangeline, if she had been placed into Hufflepuff, of course I would have been disappointed, but glad either way that she was my daughter."
Shyla looked at the ground and fiddled with her robe. "I overheard how you and my mum know each other... She said you fought with Harry Potter... Against the Dark Lord. Were you and my mum ever friends?"
He didn't respond for a few minutes. "For a very short time, we were friends, yes."
"Oh," Shyla responded, with a shrug.
Once they reached the entrance to the common room, Malfoy took his leave. "Miss Granger, don't pay any attention to your grandmother. She has no right to act that way."
Shyla nodded and entered the portrait. It was already after 10 pm, and most of of the students were already in bed. A few 5th years hung out in the common room, telling stories about their summers. Shyla looked at them as she walked to her dorm room. They were enjoying themselves. Shyla was jealous.
The other first year girls were all fast asleep when Shyla entered the room quietly. Wiskers was curled up, sleeping at the foot of her bed. "At least I have you, Wiskers," she whispered into her cat's fur as she allowed sleep to overcome her senses.
A/N: Soooo, I completely forgot about a picnic today for the Museum I am doing an internship for, so I got this posted a lot later than I anticipated. I also haven't had a chance to get the Weasley family tree posted. Look for that this weekend! :D It will just be text based on my profile. As another note, I know that Wiskers is spelled wrong, but that was how I spelled my cat's name growing up, and I based Shyla's cat on mine. Hope you enjoyed!
~PurplePygmypuff