And so, this chapter is finally up! Sorry for the wait and thanks for your support so far!
I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter as much as you've enjoyed the previous ones!
Pairings: Potential Hadria (FemHarry) x Tom Riddle, but more platonic than romantic, other pairings undecided. See A/N at the end of the chapter.
Beta: (The One and Only Awesome) Happyfish
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
Chapter Ten: Hogwarts
"Aut viam inveniam aut faciam." I will either find a way, or make one. — (Uncertain Origins)
It turned out that befriending Draco Malfoy ruined all chances of becoming friends with Ron.
Of course, this wasn't entirely unexpected, but Hadria reckoned that if a timid Light wizard, the Girl-Who-Lived, a Muggleborn and the scion of a Death Eater could get along (and by 'get along, she meant 'without wands being drawn in the middle of a heated argument about bloodlines'), she thought she had a pretty good chance of convincing Draco and Ron to at least stay in the same compartment without, well… Ron failing to cast a spell, Draco outright laughing and mocking him, Ron abandoning his wand to punch Draco and Draco threatening to tell his father and get the Weasley family accused of assaulting a Malfoy heir with no prior provocation.
And of course, Hadria had to step in, because if Draco went through with his threat, it would have worked since even the insulting that had occurred before Ron drew his wand (and it should also be noted that Draco didn't draw his, because he couldn't—his wand had been stolen by Hadria the moment Ron stepped into the compartment) was started by Ron himself who first scoffed at Draco's name, and went right on to badmouthing him when Draco tried to ignore him (courtesy of Hadria and Neville elbowing his sides at the same time). It wasn't how Hadria wanted to start her new school year, so she reluctantly said goodbye to her friendship with Ron and discretely conjured a spider which appeared in all its eight-legged glory on Ron's shoes. The Weasley promptly high-tailed out of there while trying to kick the spider off.
But aside from the Ron-Weasley-Incident, the rest of the train ride was relatively uneventful. All in all, by the time they'd all changed into their uniform and got off the train, Hadria had become a Dark Witch in the eyes of one Ron Weasley (who was convinced that the spider had been her fault—which was true, but of course she denied it), while Hermione had decided that, one, said Weasley was the biggest prat she'd seen and two, that her new goal would be to somehow convince Draco Malfoy to let her read some books from the Malfoy library. And Draco and Neville were both wondering just what they'd gotten themselves into.
"I read that there's a giant squid in this lake," said Hermione, careful not to sit too close to the sides of the boat that the four of them were sharing. Hadria, on the other hand, was the exact opposite—leaning so far over the side that the boys had to keep a hold of her robes to make sure she wouldn't fall out.
"I wonder where it came from," Hadria commented, peering into the dark waters of the Great Lake. All she could see was the reflection of hazy purple-grey clouds, a round silvery moon and the warm sparkling lights of the castle they were approaching.
"What do you mean?" Neville asked.
"Giant Squids do exist in the Muggle world as a non-magical creature, much like owls," Hermione was ever so quick to explain.
"They do?" Draco interrupted.
"Yes, but squids aren't freshwater creatures. There shouldn't be one in a lake like this. Which means this one has got to be a magical variant."
"Maybe Hagrid bred it," Hadria suggested, thinking of the dear half-giant she hadn't gotten to know very well this time around. It was a pity, but as fond as she was of him, she didn't think she'd ever trade shopping with Gellert for the nostalgia, which probably said something.
Hermione glanced at said half-giant in another boat. "I doubt it. I don't know how old he is, but according to Hogwarts: a History, the squid's been around since the founding of Hogwa—Hadria, what are you doing?"
"Uh…" Hadria froze in the act of rolling up the sleeves of her uniform as three pairs of eyes turned to her, her outer robe already shrugged off and hanging limp from her friends' hands. "I… I was just going to uh… test the waters?"
This was followed by some shrieking and dangerous rocking of the boat as they tried to force her to put her outer robe back on and not put any part of her body into the water.
"That Jarvey… Where is it?" Draco demanded when they'd finally settled down once more.
Hadria blinked. "Snag? I left him with Holly and our trunks. Why?"
"Because the deal was for me to cover for you if you join me in Slytherin," Draco groaned. "At this rate, you're heading for Gryffindor."
Hadria pouted and declared, "Ye of little faith!"
This earned her a perfectly raised blonde eyebrow and weird looks from the other two.
"Oh look! It's Hogwarts!" Hermione suddenly yelled, pointing to the dark glittering castle that had gotten nearer and a lot bigger since they last looked at it, preventing Hadria from doing or saying anything else questionable.
The castle was so old and beautiful, that it commanded the attention of everyone, including Hadria, and the nearer they got to it, the more Hadria could feel the warmth of the castle magic welcoming her home. Even Draco was staring star-struck at the castle, though he quickly composed his expression afterwards.
They got off the boats at some underground harbour, and Hagrid led them above ground with a lamp in his hand. There was a flight of stone stairs, which they trotted up, and a pair of huge looming oaken double-doors greeted them.
Hagrid knocked on those doors a couple of times, loud and heavy knocks that only a half-giant could manage, and the doors opened to reveal a tall stern-faced witch, dressed in emerald-green robes and dark hair tied up into a bun. Hadria noted the rectangular spectacles that would leave a marking on the tabby cat she knew the Professor could turn into. Which reminded her of something she couldn't believe she'd forgotten—Animagi. So she promptly made it a goal to learn how to become an Animagus again as soon as possible.
Professor McGonagall led the first years through the torch-lit entrance hall and brought them to an empty room where they were briefed on what was to happen for the Sorting, conveniently excluding the actual Sorting process.
Hadria was half-convinced that she might end up admiring every Professor she met while reminiscing good old times. For example, she knew the current Gryffindor Head-of-House was, for the most part, a just and fair Professor who showed little favouritism, but cared enough for her Lions, and would make an excellent Headmistress in the future. She still remembered how angry she'd been when that Death Eater had the nerve to spit at the Professor. She'd cursed him good, and would happily do so again should history ever repeat itself.
"Father said they'd Sort us with a talking Hat," Draco said in a low voice, when Professor McGonagall had left. This was quite likely in response to Ron's comment to Seamus about the Sorting process.
"Well I can't imagine the Twins being very reliable sources of information, especially if you're their younger brother," Hadria chuckled quietly.
"Weasleys," Draco scoffed, and Hermione whispered loudly, "They don't sound very nice!"
"Really?" The Malfoy scion grinned. "I'm starting to like them already." Which was amusing statement all on its own.
Hermione gave him a patronising look. "They may be brothers but they seem to act more like bullies."
"Granger, I don't think it counts as bullying if the victim is that Weasel," Draco said, rolling his eyes and gestured vaguely in the direction of Ron.
"Malfoy!" Hermione hissed. Hadria exchanged a look with Neville, who merely shrugged, eyes still wide from watching what seemed like a rolling snowball turning into an avalanche.
But Hadria didn't need to do anything to diffuse the situation.
"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves?" said someone. That someone was one of many beings that looked like they were made of moonlight and pale mist. The ghosts of Hogwarts had made their entrance, and were discussing about the resident Poltergeist. At least, until Nearly Headless Nick noticed the first-years staring wide-eyed and slack-jawed at the translucent spectres.
"What's this?"
"New students!" The Fat Friar exclaimed. "It must be time for a Sorting again."
Some braver students nodded. It seemed like no one, not even the Purebloods, had seen a ghost before, and Hadria recalled that she'd never seen a ghost outside Hogwarts before, even though the reception at Nick's Deathday Party implied that there existed ghosts elsewhere.
"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff. It was my old House," said the Friar as Professor McGonagall re-entered the room. The ghosts then floated through a wall and out of the room, while the Professor ushered the students out, though many of them were still glancing backwards at where the ghosts had disappeared.
"Are there animal ghosts?" Hadria could not help but wonder aloud. As she had expected, Hermione was quick with an answer.
"Of course there are! Ghost horses are common enough, usually seen carrying ghost riders, and according to Hogwarts: A History, there's a ghost of a highwayman that lives here and he's always seen riding his ghost horse," she said. "In addition, there is a book by Mopsy Fleabert about animal ghosts in Britain."
Hadria's eyes lit up. "Do you have the book? The one about animal ghosts?"
"Well, yes. I could lend it to you, but why do you look so eager?" Hermione said uncertainly. The expression on Hadria's face made her slightly nervous, though she couldn't understand why.
"Nothing," replied Hadria, too-innocently. Hermione pursed her lips, but did not press as they were led into the Great Hall.
As the students were lined up at the front of the Hall, Hadria took the opportunity to admire the cavernous room in all its glimmering splendour. Everything seemed alight, from the floating candles, to the glinting golden plates and goblets, the sparkling eyes of many students, the shimmer of moonlight-mist that the ghosts had, and the glittering star-spangled ceiling.
"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside, I read about it in—"
"Hogwarts: A History, yes we know, Granger," Draco interrupted with a sigh. Hermione huffed and opened her mouth, a retort on the tip of her tongue when this time, they were silenced by a very loud and sudden singing.
"It's like Hogwarts is trying to help us prevent a quarrel," Hadria whispered to Neville, who smiled nervously.
"Do you really think I'll be okay in Hufflepuff?"
"You won't be okay, Neville," the raven-haired girl chuckled. "You'll be smashing! But I don't think you should force yourself into any house. Just let the Hat do its job and everything will fall into place."
The Sorting Hat's song ended just then, which made for a very timely applause to the end of Hadria's announcement. Of course, the applause was for the Hat, but Hadria clapped Neville on the back and joked, "See? The entire school agrees with me."
Neville chuckled, his trepidation alleviating slightly.
And the Sorting began.
Hermione was the first to get Sorted, because it was according to their last names, in alphabetical order.
She took a while on the stool, before the Hat announced, "RAVENCLAW!" And her plain black robes were magically adorned with sapphire blue and pale bronze as she held her head high with a bright smile (that did not show any teeth), and swept to the cheering Ravenclaw table, bushy hair trailing behind her like a hazel cloud.
Neville was second in their group, and he only took slightly less time than Hermione, but in the end, the Hat belted out a "HUFFLEPUFF!" His tie was now striped coal-black and sunflower-yellow, and the lining of his robes also changed from a plain dark grey to a warm golden colour.
Hadria watched proudly as the boy joined the Badgers who welcomed him warmly to their House. It was a good House, with Cedric as a fine example, and Tonks was another, and she'd told Hermione the truth when she said she found their House traits something to be wary about if one was on the wrong end of it.
"Malfoy, Draco," was next, but there wasn't much to say about it, as the blonde boy wasn't given the chance to even wear the Hat properly before it yelled out, "SLYTHERIN!"
The Malfoy scion looked very smug as he left to join the Slytherin table, but when he sat down, he caught Hadria's eye and gave her a Look, which she returned with a cheeky grin.
There were six people between Malfoy and Potter, and it was finally Hadria's turn.
Almost predictably, the Hall quickly burst into hushed whispers and mutterings, though some students weren't quite as quiet as they'd intended to be.
"The Harriet Potter?"
"But she said… Potter, Hadria…" People were craning their necks in their seats now.
"Perhaps she's Harriet Potter's twin?" Hadria felt like giggling at that one.
Then the Hat fell over her head and all was quiet. At least, it was, until she heard the Hat's very exasperated voice in her mind.
"It seems like I had a hard time Sorting you before," it observed. "But you just had to make it even more difficult by repeating history."
Not really. There are a lot of things that are different this time around, Hadria replied.
"Ah, Miss Granger's and Mister Longbottom's Sorting," the Hat noted, plucking the thoughts from her mind. "And of course, your background… Still, this makes things difficult. Very difficult, indeed. You've got plenty of courage, and quite a fair amount of wit and intelligence. And a… 'Saving people thing', was it?"
Eh? Hadria had almost forgotten about that. Between having a brief visit to the Afterlife and being the Master of Death, she'd grown less concern about people dying. But now that she thought about it, between the fun and chaos she intended to have, she did have a number of people she didn't want to die too soon. Sirius was one. Remus and Tonks were others. Not to mention Fred. George had never been the same without him.
Then…
Sirius! He was still in Azkaban, and Hadria had almost forgotten. Which meant that she'd need to make plans to clear his name. Which also meant that she would need Peter Pettigrew aka Wormtail aka Scabbers, Ron Weasley's—the boy who probably now hated her as much as he hated Draco—rat. This would require her stealing the rat from him, but she couldn't just Accio the rat out, because she wasn't sure if the Summoning Charm would work on Animagi, and it was going to be suspicious if a rat came flying out from the Gryffindor Tower anyway. But she didn't have any Gryffindor friends, except the Weasley twins, who could probably sneak her in if she claimed it was for a prank, or she could... When did the twins get that Map from Filch anyway?
And of course, there was Gellert to deal with, because she had no idea how to introduce her guardian and her godfather to each other... It could turn out utterly terrible, or utterly hilarious.
"I once wanted to put you in Slytherin, did I not?" The Sorting Hat said, interrupting her musings. "Well, I've changed my mind."
Hadria froze. Wait… What?
The Hat ignored her, and went on conversationally, "So, how has living with former Dark Lord Grindelwald been?"
No, wait! What do you mean you 'changed your mind'?
"Answer my question and I'll answer yours," the Hat laughed. Hadria raised an eyebrow at the sheer Slytherin-ness of that statement.
Well, it's been really fun. Gellert has been wonderful, she admitted.
The Sorting Hat snorted. "And there you have it. You could be great, in Slytherin, like before, and I do not deny that. But this time, I fear what might happen if I were to Sort you there. It appears that your other traits, such as your guts, your desire for prejudice to end, your unconventional thinking, amongst others, outweigh your shrewdness, ambition and… disregard for rules when it suits you."
Look, Mister Hat, I've got this Jarvey, and I can't leave him at home, so I've got to find a way to keep him here with me, and the only way is to—
"Miss Potter, we both know that good ol' Albus will let you keep a second pet if you wanted to."
… Fine, but, I really really want to see Draco keep a Jarvey.
The Hat shook as it appeared to be chortling silently. Then it said, laughter still evident in its mind-voice, "Slytherin will help you on your way to greatness, no doubt about that."
Aloud, it roared, "SLYTHERIN!"
And Hadria lifted the Hat off her head and was greeted by thunderous silence. Then… There was a loud sigh from the Slytherin table, while two pairs of hands began clapping at the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. This was followed by loud synchronised cry of outrage from the Gryffindor table.
"They got Potter? Why didn't we get Potter?!"
And while the twins were dramatically waving their fists and falling over themselves in fake hysterical crying, the Slytherin table finally erupted into stunned applause.
Hadria looked down at her robes—raven black, emerald green and light silver, so different from the royal red and gold she was used to, and smiled. The colours suited her, and she could hardly wait to pen a letter to Gellert.
The Slytherin table welcomed her politely as she joined them. Only Draco looked less than apprehensive at her arrival.
"A deal's a deal," he said, twitching slightly at the thought of taking care of the Jarvey. "But you know, I think it just might be worth it."
Hadria looked in the direction he gestured towards, which was basically everyone else. Most of the Slytherins looked torn between curiosity and wariness, while the Ravenclaws seemed delighted at having a new mystery to puzzle over, and the Hufflepuffs were exchanging uncertain glances. The Gryffindors were the most vocal, even if one were to ignore the ever- theatrical Weasley twins, with exclamations of disbelief, shock and betrayal.
Only when Professor McGonagall cleared her throat did everyone sit up and settle down. Hadria thought it was very impressive, though she noted with equal parts glee and regret, that her former Head of House seemed upset at Hadria's Sorting. It wasn't very obvious, but she could tell from the tightness around her eyes and the thin line her lips formed.
And when she turned to look at the other teachers at the High Table, she could see Snape looking like he was trying his very best to ignore her existence by furiously scowling at the goblet in his hand. Grinning to herself, she glanced at Quirrell, who was seated beside him, but he merely had his usual perpetually nervous expression on his face (he wore a turban, which Hadria took as a good sign to mean that if she messed with him, she could mess with Voldemort too). Meanwhile, Dumbledore, seated right in the middle, looked unnaturally pale… In fact, he was so pale that Hadria would wager that if he found out who her guardian was now, he might just become a ghost.
But the Sorting was soon over, with Blaise Zabini joining them in Slytherin, and Dumbledore composed himself enough to greet the school.
"Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin the feast, I'd like to say a few words: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"
Hadria shook her head slightly, grinning as it occurred to her that this was the sort of thing she might say if she were the Headmistress of the school.
"Father was right," Draco from said his seat across her, sounding a little dazed. "Dumbledore doesn't sound right in the head."
"Oh, he may sound mad, but you'd want to watch out for him, Malfoy. He doesn't care much for Slytherins," an older student commented. Here, he looked over at Hadria. "And I'm sure we're all wondering, how the Girl-Who-Lived ended up in Slytherin?" All theories of Hadria being Harriet's twin had vanished after Professor McGonagall had called Dean Thomas's name after Hadria.
"Well, I told the Hat there was a deal I wanted to see through, and the Hat said that Slytherin would help me to greatness, and that was that," Hadria said casually, watching as the other Slytherins tried not to stare too wide-eyed at her answer.
"Four-and-a-half minutes and that was what it was all about?" One of them didn't sound convinced. "You were nearly a Hatstall."
"Oh, no," Hadria laughed. "That was how we ended the debate of which of the four Houses to put me in."
"Four?" Draco repeated incredulously. "I got Slytherin even before I felt the Hat on my head."
"I suppose the Chosen One would have the traits of all four Houses of Hogwarts," Blaise Zabini mused. He was seated on the right of Goyle (the two goons flanked Draco, as usual) while an older student sat on Crabbe's left. A quiet Theodore Nott sat one seat away from Hadria, with another older student in between them. The other girls—Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis, Millicent Bulstrode—sat together, a few seats away, and Hadria wondered at what point would Parkinson leave them to latch onto Draco.
"Or perhaps the Hat was feeling extra talkative," Hadria suggested, and was given odd looks.
"That would imply the Hat is sentient, Hadria."
"The Hat sang, Draco. And it asked me how was I."
"That just gives it a little more intelligence than your average talking mirror."
"I'd like to see your talking mirror last ten centuries."
"You can't possibly be saying the Hat is alive."
"Maybe not alive like you and me, but I wouldn't be surprised, with the Founders' magic and intelligence imbued into it, reinforced with the castle's magic over the years, that it'd be sentient."
"The food is here," Zabini pointed out, interrupting the squabble. Hadria's attention was automatically diverted to the feast that had magically appeared in front of them, courtesy of the House Elves.
There was roast meat and chops—beef, pork, chicken and lamb—and sausages, bacon and steak, potatoes and vegetables cooked in various ways—boiled, roast, fried and steamed with gravy—and even Yorkshire pudding. The feast looked heavenly, even though it wasn't too long ago when Hadria had an equally rich meal with Gellert back in their Cornwall home, not to mention the assorted exotic food she'd had in Mongolia, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia,and the Americas, not to mention the Middle East, Greece and various other countries in Europe.
But still, it was wonderful to be having a Welcoming Feast in Hogwarts again, even though the people surrounding her were different.
Hadria readily helped herself to the steak, roast potatoes and pudding…
"But, is the Hat really alive?" While Draco didn't seem quite as ready to drop the subject in favour of food.
"Miss Potter is quite right, and you'll find it in your history books," a deep voice said before an older student could say anything.
Floating behind Draco was the Bloody Baron, though Hadria supposed it wasn't quite as gory as it might have been if the blood he was covered in weren't a ghostly silver.
"The Hat does sing a different song each year," commented a prefect with a half-shrug.
"It must be terribly boring, having to wait a year before it gets to do anything again. I might compose a song too, if I were the Hat," Hadria piped up after she'd swallowed a particularly juicy cut of steak with mushroom sauce.
"I'm sure you would," Draco said drily, as he finally began scooping food onto his plate. It seemed like after spending several hours with the raven-haired girl gave him a good idea of what to expect of her.
The good thing was, after seeing the Malfoy scion so familiar with the Girl-Who-Lived, the other Slytherins quickly warmed up (or as warm as Slytherins could get) enough to ask more questions of her—like where she'd been staying, because Dumbledore had assured the Wizarding world that she was living in a safe place, but had never specified where or with whom.
"I was adopted by Gerwald when I was five. We live together in Cornwall," Hadria happily told them, figuring that it was fine to let them know the county, since the Hogwarts letter had mentioned it anyway.
"Who's Gerwald? Was he our kind?" Someone (Pucey aka Non-Cheating-Slytherin No. 1) asked, and was automatically answered by someone else (Bletchley) who said, "Of course. He has to be. Why would Dumbledore send the Chosen One to live with Muggles?"
"He's Dumbledore," was the derisive reply of another (but aside from Quidditch players, Hadria couldn't really identify the older Slytherin students).
Hadria looked from one curious face to another, then an idea sparked. From there, she spun them a dramatic story of living with Muggles for the first five years of her life.
She told them about her nice but distant neighbours, and the batty lady with many cats, and her poor cousin who was growing up unhealthy because of her horrid uncle, and her no-nonsense aunt. Then she told them about the epic tale of how Gerwald Grinsen—who was probably half-blood because his last name wasn't a recognised one—had rescued her one night, whisking her away from her ordinary Muggle life, and introduced her to the Wizarding world.
"Basically, your guardian kidnapped you," one student observed. (Higgs, was it? The Slytherin Seeker before Draco, aka Non-Cheating-Slytherin No. 2). To which Hadria replied, "It's not kidnapping if I went with him willingly. And it was legal. My aunt signed the paperwork."
She neglected to tell them the specifics of how she ended up meeting him and got taken away. Instead, she embellished upon his knight-in-shining-armour entrance, and told of how he'd realised a girl like her shouldn't spend her whole life with boring Muggles, so he'd adopted her from her relatives, with Petunia playing an exaggerated part of concerned and reluctant aunt in the story, while omitting Dumbledore's less-than-savoury role.
After all, Hadria didn't want to build upon the prejudice against Muggles that was already widespread amongst the purist Slytherins.
"So, what kind of person is this Gerwald?" This was another popular question, it seemed, after she was finished with her narration. It was obvious that her story had been dramatize and exaggerated like all good tales were, but no one called her out on it. Except for the occasional scoffs at some parts, like her portrayal of Muggles as boring but average human beings.
Hadria would have been slightly miffed anyhow, if she didn't know that information was power, particularly to both Slytherins and Ravenclaws, and most of the Slytherins probably already knew quite a bit about one another, while she was a bit of a wild card, and now, they were all thrown off-balance. She took great pride in that, and took some time to hum and ponder on how she was going to portray Gellert other than a Wizarding rescuer.
In the end, she merely gave them a vicious grin, razor sharp and full of teeth, killing-curse-eyes glinting madly. (She had learned it from Scáth, Master of Looks-So-Terrifying-That-Even-A-Basilisk-Would-Keel-Over).
"Let's just say that if you're the type that twitches at You-Know-Who's name, then you're gonna completely lose your wits if you ever see Gerwald remotely vexed, even if you have no idea who he is, even if he's not vexed at you."
Hadria could be very convincing when she wanted to be, and some of their fellow year mates visibly swallowed. Zabini pretended to shudder good-naturedly, while Draco paled (which was quite a feat considering how fair his skin was already). Most of the older years didn't seem to believe her, however, but they did eye her too-wide grin warily.
"If he's that fearsome, why haven't we heard of him?" Someone demanded. This was someone she recognised—Marcus Flint, Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team.
She didn't like him much.
So she smiled guilelessly and said, "Well, Gerwald says that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar." As if she weren't questioning his intelligence as a Slytherin. Because which snake would not choose to hide in the grass if it could? Even lionesses—because lions were stay-at-home dads in the animal kingdom—prefer to stalk their prey, sneaking up on them in the cover of night before delivering a quick and powerful attack.
Judging from the expression on some faces, including Flint's, the Slytherins had caught the implication anyway. Which was good. They should think more, and embarrass their House less. Because she was sure Crabbe and Goyle were already going to do that brilliantly.
Then the desserts arrived, and the questions were put on hold. Or at least, some of them were.
"You're fitting in unexpectedly well," Higgs commented.
Hadria was eating a huge slice of ice-cream-topped treacle tart with as much grace and dignity as possible. Gellert had taught her all the right ways to eat food—which had been very tedious (unnecessarily so, in Hadria's opinion)—though the only reason why she was applying what she'd learnt now was because while she desperately wanted to wolf down her the scrumptious fusion of breadcrumb pastry, light treacle syrup, lemon zest and cream, Crabbe and Goyle were eating so horrifyingly that she had to distinguish herself from them.
She still wasn't eating her tart the way Draco was delicately having his slice of cheesecake though. It was delicious, and she wasn't going to waste so much time just cutting the treat and lifting it to her mouth. So she did everything with a precise and skillful efficiency that was more to her style. The tart disappeared within the minute—half the time it was taking Draco to finish his cheesecake.
"The Hat did Sort me into Slytherin," she said, even as she went on to help herself to a few éclairs and more servings of cream and treacle tart almost automatically. Then she poured vanilla and chocolate sauce over everything.
"You're a Potter," Higgs protested. He was no longer looking at her though. And he wasn't the only one staring at her food.
"I'm also related to the Blacks," Hadria pointed out. She found raspberry sauce and drizzled that too.
"You are?" That was Draco, surprised. Then he stared off into space, looking rather horrified. "Dear Merlin, I'm related to her!"
Hadria blinked, and pretended to be affronted. "I thought you would be honoured!"
"Honoured?" Draco echoed.
"I'm the Girl-Who-Lived," Hadria shrugged, as if that explained everything. And in a way, it did.
"Your narcissism is unbecoming," the blonde boy scowled, and briefly—just briefly—Hadria thought it was a wonderful impression of Snape.
"Hey, I'm honoured to be your relative. The least you could do is—"
She hadn't even finished when she saw him visibly straightened, pointed chin held higher than usual.
"Oh, you are?" He said. "That's to be expected, I suppose. After all—"
Hadria giggled and said triumphantly, "Draco, your narcissism is unbecoming."
"The Hat did sort her into Slytherin," Pucey muttered over Hadria's head to Higgs, who had taken to staring at the girl like she was an alien specimen.
It felt almost surreal, walking down to the Slytherin dorms, with a Slytherin prefect leading the way, surrounded by Slytherins who were actually capable of bantering with her without wands being drawn. Most of the Slytherins were content to ignore her, the misplaced Potter-Who-Lived, but this very fact, that caused some to regard her with wariness and distrust, caused others to draw near to her and engage her in conversation.
They were like Ravenclaws, Hadria realised, and she was a particularly strange book. The questions never ended, because after she answered one, another would arise from it. And they didn't seem to be satisfied with the big picture, but had to know every detail, from Gerwald's typical attire to her favourite food.
"What does it matter what colour I like for ribbons?" Hadria asked when they were led into the common room, and the older years finally left to unpack in their separate dorms. If she hadn't seen the Slytherin Common Room before, she'd probably have been admiring it, but as it was, she was more bemused by all the questions that she didn't really mind asking, because none of them were particularly personal. But it still was a little odd to Hadria.
She supposed she should have expected the Slytherins to interrogate her… Though, Hadria noted with some satisfaction, they were all very careful not to broach sensitive topics like what were her views on Muggles, or whether she remembered the night her parents died.
"So that if the event arise that we should need to return a favour, or send you a gift, we'd know what to look out for," Draco replied as he examined the insides of a dark wooden cupboard. There were several dusty books, a few candles, and a skull. Nott and Zabini were at different corners of the room looking at the tapestries under the greenish light of several orb-shaped lamps. Meanwhile, Parkinson and the other girls were testing out the leather of the sofa chairs, which were back with black wood and tastefully decorated with subtle dark green serpents.
It did not escape Hadria's notice that she wasn't with the girls, when even Millicent Bulstrode was included. Perhaps she would, another time, because she was sure that even though she remembered Pansy Parkinson to be a generally unpleasant character, she would certainly be a good source of gossip.
Instead, she stroked a serpent carved into the mantelpiece over the fireplace, and gave Draco a look out of the corner of her eyes, which were now greener than ever, here in the Slytherin Dungeons, where everything was illuminated with by glimmering moonlight filtered through algae-infested lake-water.
Then, just as he—and everyone else who were still there—thought she was going to declare something serious and profound, she said, "Should I pin up a notice that says everyone should just give me anything chocolate if they need to give me anything?"
Draco just sighed. "I'm going to bed," he muttered to no one in particular.
And left Hadria blinking at his escaping back.
"Do you collect Chocolate Frog Cards?" Nott asked when the shadows of the corridor leading to their dormitories swallowed Draco.
Hadria whirled around, bright emerald eyes glinting almost eerily.
"Yes," she breathed, and Nott gave her an amused look.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Then Hadria heard a very Draco-like yelp, remembered Snag, and laughed.
"Goodnight everyone, there's something I may have forgotten to attend to," she said and left to find the boy's dormitories.
Behind her, as she was leaving, she heard a certain girl sneer, "Who does that half-blood think she is, leeching to us like that? Poor Draco deserves so much better."
"That's a girl the Dark Lord could not kill, Parkinson," Zabini pointed out drily.
Hadria giggled to herself—who knew Slytherins could be so amusing?—and hurried along the green-lit corridor. She had a Malfoy to rescue from a disorientated (read: half-mad from House-Elf-popping) Jarvey.
That night, Hadria dreamt of throwing snowballs at the back of Quirrell's turban with two redheads, while a bushy-haired girl chased her with a history book, and two other boys, one of them a paler blonde than the other, competed to see who had more etiquette lessons drilled into them by their guardians.
That's all for now, next chapter progress will be on my profile, but you can expect it to be quite a while later, because I'll be starting uni again on 13th Sep, and I hear from seniors that it's gonna be hell. Sorry about that.
Feel free to review any questions, comments or criticisms (uh, but if you don't like something, please tell me why or I can't correct it). Thanks to those who have reviewed so far, including Gal, AnnieAnonym, themaltesefalcon, Madness and other Guests!
Warning: Super-long but semi-important notes below...
ABOUT CHARACTERS:
Now, in case some of you are wondering about Ron, I'd originally planned for them to be friends, but as I wrote, I realised that wasn't quite possible anymore. Not only do we have Draco in the picture, and Hadria going to Slytherin, there's also Gellert to consider, and when I imagine Gellert's reveal as a 'relation' of Grindelwald... I don't think Ron will take it very well. He wasn't very understanding in canon, and here, well, we'll see, but don't expect too much. I'll try not to bash him, because I don't particularly mind him, and he does have his good traits, but I think his flaws are going to show up more in this fic because of the way things are progressing. Sorry about that, to those who like him and wanted him to be friends with Hadria.
(I also hope that I didn't make the Slytherins too OOC, but we didn't have much chance in canon to explore their interactions with one another—yes, some of them were nasty folk, but I'm pretty sure there were quite a few decent ones as well—so I hope that gives me a little leeway, and well, Hadria is Hadria).
ABOUT NON-INCLUDED CONTENT:
There's a scene between Chapter Eight and Chapter Nine, that I have not included into this fic. The reason for this is that I didn't think of writing it, until it came to me as a prompt by SkyFire86, the 100th reviewer (and yeah, I'll probably be letting the 200th reviewer send me a prompt as well, when we finally get there).
When I first received the prompt, I hadn't intended to make it canon to this fic, but while I was writing it, I realised I wanted it to be canon, and so, now it is. The prompt has been turned into a side-fic called Schicksalsschlag, and has been posted up as a separate story, so go check it out if you'd like.
However, you do not need to read it to read the rest of Danse Macabre. Yes, the side-fic will be canon, but I'll be including enough context and mini-flashbacks in this fic itself for the fic to progress on without requiring readers to read the side-fic. So, it's really up to you guys if you wanna read it or not.
ABOUT GELLERT-PAIRINGS: (Based on reviewers' input)
Current popular choices: (female) Lady Zabini, (male) Sirius Black
Other suggestions:
(female) Amelia Bones, Tonks (?), Rosmerta, Ollivander's daughter/apprentice
(male) Severus Snape, Remus Lupin (?), Mad-Eye Moody
No longer considering: Bellatrix (because of Neville), Luna (she's younger than Hadria)
Did I miss out anyone? Well, do continue to provide your ideas and comments on this topic, and these results may change!
Thanks for reading the fic and this super-long A/N, and I hope you have a great day!
Cheers,
RareAvian