Alter Forte: Chapter 7
Brian reached the Slytherin table and noticed two of his fellow first-years sitting at the very end of the table, a distinct gap between them and the rest of the seated children with the rest of the first-years seemingly welcomed into the main group of the table. He tried approaching the main section of the table only for one of the boys there to glare at him, gesturing towards the small group at the table's end with a look of disgust. Taking the hint, Brian sat at the aforementioned spot. He smiled awkwardly as the students he sat beside seemed to evaluate him for a moment before turning towards the High Table as Dumbledore began to speak
"Welcome, first-years, to Hogwarts, and to the rest of you welcome back. Now then, before we begin the start-of-term banquet, I have a few things to say. First of all, our dear Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Farley has sadly declined to return for a second year at Hogwarts. On that note I would like to welcome Professor Robins, who will be taking Professor Fawley's place," Dumbledore announced from the front of the Great Hall. Brian pulled himself from his inner turmoil, looking towards the staff table at the man who was waving acknowledgement at the announcement.
"He looks experienced at least," Brian mused to himself, looking towards the man who vaguely reminded him of how Mad-Eye Moody had been described. While the man had all his limbs still attached, he had several scars across his face. He had a rather gruff look about him, with a sharp gaze that seemed to pierce across the hall that was noticeable despite the distance. He had to hold himself back from jumping slightly as he noticed a man he recognized from the movies sitting next to the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. It was Quirrel, though without the turban he'd worn in the books.
"I'd forgotten he was the Muggle Studies Professor before things hit the fan and he got possessed by Voldemort," Brian thought to himself, looking towards the man for a moment before turning back to Dumbledore. So long as the man wasn't possessed, he was of little importance.
"Students should also be aware that the Forbidden Forest is strictly off-limits to all students, as it has always been. Lastly, Mr. Filch has asked that I remind you all that magic should not be used in halls between classes. Now! Let the banquet begin!" Dumbledore continued merrily. As he finished speaking food appeared on each of the tables, crowding them full of delicious-looking roasted chicken, steak, roast beef, boiled potatoes, and more.
"Bloody old geezer, he needs to hurry up and croak " Brian heard one of the students slightly further down the table announce as chatter erupted throughout the hall. He looked towards the source of the words, an older student had been the one to make the remark, an expression of disgust on his face as he looked towards Dumbledore. The students near enough to hear him looked at him with expressions that seemed torn between agreement and fear as they glanced toward the Headmaster at the remark.
"I honestly don't know how to feel about Dumbledore. From how he's described in the books, I don't doubt he's a good person, despite how fanon made him out to be. On the other hand though, he's not a Saint either, the man has flaws, his desire to keep his cards a little too close to his chest being a prime example. I still don't know how I'm going to deal with him going forward," Brian thought to himself, the boy's words reminding him of his own dilemma about the Headmaster once more. Throughout all his planning, Dumbledore remained somewhat of a wild card that could severely help or hinder him depending on how things panned out. If he could manage to get on the Headmaster's good side, things would go considerably more smoothly for him in the long run.
"Though being a muggleborn sorted into Slytherin isn't going to help me in that regard. I'm sure any similarities to Riddle are going to be huge red flags to him," Brian thought, glancing down at the green and silver trim that had appeared on his robes after his sorting bitterly.
"Noah! Watch, watch you say!" Brian heard a girl sitting next to the boy hiss, pulling him from his musings. The boy turned his attention from Dumbledore and towards her instead with an expression of disdain on his face but whatever he said next was lost to Brian as one of the students Brian was sitting next to finally spoke.
"So a muggleborn in Slytherin eh? Good luck," Brian heard, turning away from the discussion further up the table and towards the small group of students he'd been isolated in. He glanced over at the boy, wracking his brain as he tried to recall his name from the sorting ceremony. Brian had done his best to pay attention to the various other first-year's names but the boy's name escaped him. He was a little on the taller side for the first-years, with chestnut brown hair and a rigidly straight posture that spoke of practice.
"Henry, right? Henry Adams?" Brian replied, finally recalling the boy's name right as he started loading his plate with food, the boy stiffly nodding his head in acknowledgement at his question.
"Well to me, It doesn't seem like you're much better off than I am. You're over here too after all, you must've done something to piss them off," Brian continued, taking a bite of his food as he spoke.
"Why you little-," The boy replied, only for the other student sitting with them to cut him off.
"Oh calm down Henry, he's not entirely wrong after all. We may not be quite as hated as a muggleborn in Slytherin will be but they aren't exactly going to be welcoming us with open arms, especially me," The girl interjected, causing Henry to look slightly abashed. Brian looked over at her, recalling her name much more quickly than he had Henry's thanks to her chaotic mess of long, curly, black hair that had made her stand out to Brian during the sorting.
"You're Emily, right? Emily Nott? I'm Brian Williams, good to meet you," He said, extending a hand over the table towards the girl. The girl paused for a moment, seeming to evaluate him before taking his hand and shaking it. Brian did his best not to laugh as Henry got noticeably annoyed at the much more polite greeting Brian had given to Emily than to him.
"That's correct, I'm Emily Nott," She answered, releasing his hand and leaving the two staring at each other in awkward silence. Brian decided to voice the question he'd had on his mind.
"What exactly did you do to make them upset with you? I assume you're both half-bloods but you make it sound as if you did something else to make them hate you," Brian asked curiously. He was pretty sure they weren't the only halfbloods at the table, there must have been a reason those two in particular were isolated to the edge of the table like he was.
"You're correct that we're both half-bloods but that's not the real issue. Several others among the first-years are as well and they're sitting with the others without any problems. All they have to do is suck up to someone important to get some standing through them and they'll have no major issues integrating with the others. Henry would've already been sitting with the others except he made the choice to associate himself with me. As for me, well, they don't particularly care for my father's actions," She said, shifting uncomfortably as she finished speaking.
"So half-bloods aren't actually that badly off in Slytherin, they just sort of become underlings to purebloods. It makes sense I suppose, though I wonder where that leaves me at. I'll need to network within my house eventually but it's not necessary until I'm more established. Will they give me the space I need to do that? Will they harass me for being muggleborn or simply ignore me? I don't mind being an outcast from my house," Brian thought to himself, rapidly thinking over the implications.
"What did your father do?" Brian asked, pressing her for more details. If he was lucky it would help him understand the landscape of Slytherin house a bit more. The girl winced, looking distinctly uncomfortable at his question, causing Henry to speak up.
"Honestly! Can't you tell it's a sensitive topic?" Henry cut in angrily. Henry didn't have time to continue though, as Emily let out a sigh and replied to Brian's question.
"No, it's fine. Even if I don't tell him, someone else will," She said, stopping Henry from continuing with his rant.
"My father's mistake was me," Emily began, looking toward Brian as she spoke.
"He's the Lord of the Nott family, a traditionally anti-muggle family, and he conceived me with a muggle. To make matters worse, it was while he was married, to a woman from another respectable pureblood family, the Averys. He didn't find out he'd gotten my mother pregnant with me until a few years ago when my mother was dying and she had to contact him so he could take me in. It was a huge scandal, especially since his wife had only recently died when the news about me came out. The Averys were livid about it, they still are to this day. I've only had to attend a handful of pureblood functions with my father since the public found out about me, but pretty much anyone important knows if they associate themselves with me the Averys will make their lives hell. Which is why all the other students are doing their best to isolate me right now," She explained. Brian nodded in understanding as he listened to her explanation, offering her a look of sympathy.
"I'm sorry you shouldn't be judged for the actions of your father," He told her sincerely. The girl offered him a small smile in return.
"Perhaps not, but sadly the world is rarely a fair place," She said in return.
"Too true," Brian agreed with a smile of his own.
"Anyways, you have problems of your own to focus on," The girl told him, trying to change the topic. Brian decided not to call her on it, his own situation was the reason for his questioning in the first place after all.
"I know they hate me on principle because I'm a muggleborn, but will they actually do anything to me, or just isolate me like this?" Brian inquired. Emily bit her lip slightly, thinking over his question.
"It depends. Assuming you don't do anything else to draw their attention, they'll probably leave you alone for the most part. That said, they won't ignore you entirely. You'll get some pretty rude remarks, the occasional spell thrown at you, that kind of thing. The real issue is that you being a pariah among the purebloods is going to make almost everyone avoid you. You'll have pretty much no one to help you with anything and no one will be willing to talk with you. Fellow outcasts aside, of course," She answered after a moment of contemplation.
"Isolation? Some pretty minor bullying? I can deal with that no problem. Though I'll need to find some way to establish myself as important enough to stop being a pariah, once I'm ready to actually start growing a social network of any sort," Brian thought to himself.
"I see, thank you for letting me know," Brian replied politely, thinking over the information she'd provided. The remainder of the feast passed by relatively quickly, with the small group eating without much fanfare, with occasional comments being made by Brian while Emily and Henry chatted quietly. Eventually, desserts replaced the main course items on the table, and, just as Brian was finishing off a delicious treacle tart, Dumbledore rose to his feet once more. The hall quieted down abruptly as the Headmaster started to speak.
"Now that we are all fed and watered, it is time for the school song to be sung once more!" Dumbledore announced cheerfully. Brian looked up at the High Table and saw several teachers' smiles drop significantly at the man's words, with Snape outright scowling. Dumbledore flicked his wand, causing the song's lyrics to appear in the air in the form of a long ribbon.
"Now then, let's begin," Dumbledore said, quickly breaking into song, the rest of the school following suit. What followed was one of the worst sounds Brian had heard in either of his lives as every possible tone, pitch, and beat was sung simultaneously throughout the hall as the students 'sang' the school song. Thankfully for Brian's sanity, the song quickly ended, leaving the hall oddly silent for a moment before Dumbledore spoke once more.
"Ah, the magic that is music, a beauty far too often neglected," Dumbledore said somberly. Brian had to resist the urge to throw his plate at the man. Whatever that screeching had been, it wasn't music.
"Now then, fifth-year prefects please escort the first-years to your respective dormitories. The rest of you already know the way, so off to bed," Dumbledore declared. Over the next few minutes, the hall rapidly cleared out, with the majority of the students shuffling out as they headed to their common rooms. Brian followed the two he'd been sitting with, moving with them towards the group of his fellow first-years that slowly congregated in front of the two prefects who were waiting for them. To Brian's surprise, he recognized the girl among the two as the one who'd reprimanded the boy who'd commented on Dumbledore.
"Perfect, you're all here. For those of you who don't know I'm Grace Rosier, and he's Charles Parkinson. Follow us to the common room and make sure to remember the route, we won't be here to guide you in the future," The girl instructed, walking towards the doors of the Great Hall. The first-years followed after her, and she led them out of the hall, down several flights of stairs into the dungeons, and through a couple of corridors before finally arriving at a blank stretch of wall where she finally paused.
"This is the entrance to the common room. It'll open up if you know the password, but if you forget it you'll be locked outside," The male prefect, Charles, explained as he noticed several of the first-years growing confusion about why they'd stopped.
"The password changes biweekly, with the new password being posted in the common room, but for this week it's ambition," Grace continued, at her last word the wall rearranged itself, revealing the common room hidden behind it. It was a pretty large area, with several sofas taking up the majority of the space near the fireplace, while several arm charms resided along the walls with tables near them. Surprisingly, the room was entirely devoid of people already despite the feast ending only a short while prior. The group all piled into the common room following the two prefects, the wall rearranging itself just as the last student stepped through.
"Now then, your possessions will be waiting for you in your rooms, the elves always see to that, but before you head off to bed let's have a quick little chat shall we?" Grace said, a sharp smile appearing on her face as she spoke. The first-years, who'd been talking excitedly as they took in the common room, quickly quieted as she spoke.
"Excellent. So, first things first, I'm sure most of you are already aware of this, but Slytherin is the house of ambition and cunning. What this translates to, is that we expect nothing but the best from our members. We've won the house cup for the past two years and we're aiming for a third. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's the reward for having the most points out of any house at the end of the year. That means you all need to study and do well in your classes and actually pay attention. Secondly, unfortunately, students have a pretty bad bias towards us. Ravenclaw is tolerable but Hufflepuffs think we're dementors and Gryffindors are convinced we're all death eaters. So let me be abundantly clear, do not, under any circumstances, do anything that will further harm the reputation of our house or there will be consequences," She told them, looking at each first-year in turn for a moment to make sure the message sank in, with Charles nodding his head in agreement.
"On the same note of not harming our reputation, do your best not to go around spouting out rude remarks where other houses can hear you. I don't know any of your stances on blood purity and frankly, I don't care. I'm sure most of you know Slytherin is a house dominated by purebloods, so making comments among fellow Slytherins is fine. However, we've gotten into serious trouble more than once because some arrogant moron decided that calling every muggleborn in Hogwarts a mudblood was a good idea," Charles continued on from where Grace had left off.
"Now then, each of you has a room with your name on the door waiting for you. What you do with your room is entirely up to you, feel free to enchant it, ward it, or do anything else you like. I will warn each of you though that the rooms here don't come with any protections. When they were created it was seen as a symbol of ability by Slytherin to leave the protections of the rooms up to their owner. Your rooms are the ones on the first level of the staircase, they'll move up to a floor higher each year as Hogwarts rearranges them up until you all leave the school. Boys, your staircase is the one on the left, girls yours is the one on the right, off to bed with all of you. Tomorrow's a Friday so classes will begin, be ready for that," Grace finished, gesturing toward the two spiral staircases on the far side of the room.
"Slytherin students get private rooms? Harry shouldn't have fought the sorting hat so much when it tried to put him here," Brian thought to himself with a slight chuckle at Grace's words. Still, the speech was informative, it even told him the bias against Slytherin that the books had portrayed was very much a problem the other Slytherins were aware of. Either way though, it didn't change his plans in the slightest. He followed the three other first-year boys up the staircase and into the first hallway they came across, doing his best to keep his distance from Lucian and Derrick. The two disappeared into their respective rooms without a word though, leaving Henry and Brian alone in the hallway. With a quick nod towards Brian, Henry did the same, entering the room on the left at the end of the hall. Brian spotted the door with his name on it opposite Henry's. Swinging it open, he was greeted by a small room complete with an end table, dresser, and bed.
"It'll do. Definitely better than sharing a room with those three other boys," He thought to himself as he looked around. He shut the door beside him softly, noticing his trunk at the foot of his bed as he did so. Within moments he was climbing into bed, not even bothering to undress as he laid awake, thinking over his next step. Still, first he had classes to deal with.
AN: Alright, confession time. This chapter is a day late… again, which is my fault 100%. I ended up driving down and taking out my siblings for the day instead of writing at all on Sunday so that's why it's late this time. I apologize for not following my own self-given deadlines, it's a shitty thing to do and I'll do my best to do better in the future. Secondly, I know the pacing of this chapter was absolutely glacial, but it won't be like that going forward. I just needed to develop my characters a bit and flesh things out some more. I'd also like to say thank you to all of you who're showing me how much you like this story. In the past week Alter Forte has gained over 40 followers and 30 favorites so thank you for that. Anyways, be sure to leave a review telling me what you thought of the chapter, it means alot to me when you guys do.
Also I'm still looking for a beta, my grammar sucks. PM me if interested.