Disclaimer: I own nothing. J.K. Rowling owns all the fictional characters and places from Harry Potter. Any original characters are a creation of my own, and any similarities to persons in real life or fiction are completely coincidental. Any similarities to other written works are also a coincidence.
Rebecca has always been a little strange, though her peculiarity has nothing to do with the fact she was a witch. What makes Rebecca strange was that she is one of the only pure-bloods in Britain that resent her family name. She was only seven years old when she found the stories about her relatives and if even half of it was true, she doesn't want to be anything like them. Both sides had committed equally terrible acts.
That was the day Rebecca had asked Elijah and Dannica Greengrass if they would officially adopt her and change her name. She already thought of them as parents and didn't want to be associated with her... relatives. Another reason she liked the idea was if they adopted her, Daphne and Astoria really would be her sisters. They already acted like it and Becky kind of liked the nickname the Greengrass family gave her. It was at least better than her full name. These people were her true family.
Unfortunately, Dannica said no before Elijah could even consider a response. Her reasoning was, though selfish, well thought out. Simply put, if Elijah and Dannica adopted Becky and changed her name, her relatives wouldn't take kindly to that. It was much safer to simply treat her like their own daughters while leaving her legal status unchanged. Becky could understand that reasoning, even if she didn't like it at all.
Safety was far better than the alternative. Especially when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was involved.
Elijah and Dannica had avoided the war by staying mostly out of the way and not taking any sides publicly. Neither were particularly skilled in a wand fight, though both had sharp minds. They could appear as political allies to both sides while still remaining neutral.
Wizards like Dumbledore and Voldemort would claim there was only light and dark, good and evil. Elijah Greengrass considered himself neither. There were certainly lighter and darker aspects of magic, though even some forms of dark magic could be used with good intentions.
Elijah Greengrass, despite not being a servant of the Dark Lord, was well respected in politics by many of those who had been. At least two generations of Becky's relatives on both sides were among those servants. Some were now dead while most were either in Azkaban or hiding somewhere in the muggle world. When Rebecca was born, Elijah had the honour of being named her Godfather. He had been raising her since her relatives were no longer able to.
Elijah and Dannica were among the minority in the belief that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had not truly died when he attacked the Potters. If the Dark Lord manages to somehow return and recover his servants from Azkaban or whatever hole they were hiding in, that would be truly disastrous.
So Becky had to call Elijah her godfather and Dannica an unofficial aunt. It was at least better than nothing.
There was one other thing that made Becky unique compared to ordinary witches. She is a metamorphmagus. She could change her looks to however she wanted without much effort. Her rare ability, as usual for metamorphmagi, was discovered the day she was born. Her hair constantly changed colour to match her mood. At some point, it stopped changing at such regular intervals as she started to become old enough to consciously control it.
By the time Becky was five, she had a strong preference for long, wavy, strawberry-blonde hair. Her eyes shone a dark amethyst purple instead of the light brown they naturally were and her facial features were much softer. Becky looked nothing like any of her relatives, and she couldn't be happier about it.
Becky's favourite reading spot was, by far, in the shade of one of the many trees in the garden. The Manor has many European mountain ash trees standing between ten and fifteen meters tall and they bear pretty pearlescent white flowers in the spring.
The red berries they produce in the summer have a slightly bitter taste when eaten raw, but could be used for homemade jams. None of her family could ever understand why Becky liked eating them raw.
Unfortunately, the trees shed their beautiful green leaflets every year late in autumn and don't regrow them until the end of winter, meaning the trees provide next to no shade during the cold season. That was something Becky would be quite upset about if it wasn't too freezing to sit outside in the shade all day.
It was a warm summer day when Becky sat under one of the shorter trees, nibbling on berries and reading from a copy of Hogwarts: A History. She wanted to learn as much about the castle as she could before she started in a little over a month.
She could always ask her older sister or even her parents, but she didn't for one particular reason. That reason was not knowing exactly what to ask. As Rowena Ravenclaw once said in her pursuit of knowledge, 'you don't know what you don't know.'
Her reading was interrupted when she heard a shout.
"Becky!" The brunette's voice could be heard all the way from the house.
Becky peeked up from her reading to see her older sister walking through the garden towards her.
"I'm here, Daph," Becky called out, pointless as it was since her sister could already see that.
She quickly marked her place with the bookmark she'd received last year. It was quite pretty, made of purple silk with an embroidered gold star on it. Dannica personally crafted the bookmark as a birthday gift using the colours of Becky's favourite quidditch team, Pride of Portree. The bookmark sat perfectly in place wherever Becky wanted it to stay, thanks to the modified sticking charm it was enchanted with.
Becky could never decide which she liked more between reading and quidditch. It depended on the day. The feeling she had when flying was indescribable. Her Nimbus Two Thousand could reach amazing speeds.
"Looks like someone is trying to follow dad into Ravenclaw," Daphne spoke soft chuckle once she was close enough to be heard without raising her voice.
Becky smirked since that was exactly what she was going for.
"It's because Ravenclaw is clearly the best house at Hogwarts, Daph," Becky shot at her sister, already knowing precisely how she will respond and having her retort prepared.
"You pronounced Slytherin wrong."
"No, I'm pretty sure I pronounced Hogwarts right. It even says it right here," Becky held up her book, showing the front cover.
Daphne mock-frowned while Becky wore a smug grin. They bantered another few lines each about which house was better before Daphne decided to share what she'd come out here for.
"Once you're ready to admit Slytherin is the best house, there's a certain letter from Hogwarts for you to read inside."
Daphne smirked as the exact reaction she was expecting occurred. An excited Becky was on her feet and running towards the manor within a second, shouting back something about Ravenclaw still being better. Daphne walked casually after her with an amused smile on her face.
The interior of Greengrass Manor had an extravagant appearance, especially the living and dining rooms. The well-polished hardwood tables and shelves remained in pristine condition despite being over a decade old. The intricate carving on top of the table featured the Greengrass family crest. It shows a large letter 'G' with a snake coiled around the curved edge and an eagle using the other side of the letter as a perch.
The design had been the family crest since the early twelfth century. The eagle represented William Greengrass, who had been in Ravenclaw at Hogwarts. His wife, Cecilia Greengrass née Dawson had been in Slytherin. The majority of their descendants usually ended up in either of those two houses.
The high-quality sofa was made of dark green leather lined with the same black velvet that made the cushions for the sofa and dining chairs. Two armchairs of similar design sat side by side, facing the sofa. They were only ever occupied by Elijah and Dannica when they were meeting with guests.
The walls and shelves held dozens of trinkets and portraits with the subjects watching over the family. Most of the portraits were of the family ancestors and among them were photographs of the family living there today.
Dannica handed Becky her letter the moment she entered the dining room. She carefully tore open the envelope then quickly scanned over the letter before taking out the included list of school supplies she would need for the year. She internally groaned as she read over the list of books she'd need for her first year. She had exactly half of them already. The half she didn't have were all written by the same wizard who, in her opinion, was quite conceited. His 'books' were probably useless.
The Greengrass family knew Lockhart was a fraud but didn't have any way to prove it. Levon Naregian, a senior Armenian warlock and friend of Elijah's father, had no recollection of his achievements. Additionally, everyone from the village he saved seemed to remember a much younger, blond wizard protecting them.
Elijah was certain Lockhart modified the memories of everyone involved, though no attempts succeeded in countering Lockhart's damned memory charms. Elijah was convinced Lockhart's other works were equally fraudulent but didn't know whose achievements were falsely credited.
"We are going to Diagon Alley on Tuesday to purchase your things, as well as a trip to Gringotts once you have your wand." Dannica's calm tone brought Becky's attention away from her letter. "You'll want to register it so you can access your vault."
The goblins wouldn't let anyone into the family vault without producing their wand as proof of identity. She still couldn't access it due to the wizarding regulations on underage magic, as she couldn't own a wand until the month before she was to start at Hogwarts.
She knew of the contents in the vault from the quarterly statements that Gringotts sent directly to her via their secure owl post. She didn't completely understand everything involved with managing her account, though Elijah and Dannica had taught her enough to know the basics. The rest would come as she got older.
Becky has over five hundred thousand Galleons sitting in Gringotts. To say she was excited to finally have full access to some of it was an understatement. Becky was an intelligent witch, however. She knew not to spend it all on luxury and non-necessities. Books were a necessity though, even if they weren't on her Hogwarts list. Right?
Tuesday couldn't come soon enough.
"Are there any rules that specify we have to get these books or are they only recommended?" Becky asked in a hopeful tone. The lack of seven useless - calling them books would be an insult to material that was actually educational - would spare room in her trunk for such educational material.
"It's probably best you do get them," Elijah spoke plainly, ignoring Becky's disappointed look with a knowing smile. "There's no need to earn the ire of whoever assigned such poor material. If you're worried about not fitting in extra books, a simple extension charm will solve that."
Becky's face lit up. Elijah knew her very well. As he should since he raised her over the last ten years.
Becky spent the time over the weekend and Monday as she usually did. When she wasn't reading, eating or sleeping, she was in the air enjoying the light summer breeze. The rare times she was able to get Astoria to throw a couple of baseballs from another broom for her to hit around as if they were bludgers were the times she enjoyed the most. It was a shame Daphne would never join them in the air.
Tuesday came all too slowly. When it finally did, the family gathered in front of the fireplace with a tin of floo powder sitting on the mantle. One after the other, they went through the green flames to the Leaky Cauldron.
The pub smelled strongly of beer and whiskey mixed with smoke that never failed to make Becky scrunch her nose. There was a much nicer smell originating from the kitchen which was likely the house special roast hog if Becky had to guess, though not enough to counter the smoke and alcohol. Thankfully, the family wasn't in the pub for long and were soon walking along Diagon Alley towards two separate destinations.
Becky was going with Elijah to Ollivander while Dannica took Daphne and Astoria to the pet store. The plan was to get Becky her wand and stock up on owl treats and then meet up at Gringotts. That way they could withdraw the money they needed for Daphne and Becky to do the rest of their Hogwarts shopping together.
There was a light tinkling sound of a bell as Becky entered Ollivanders. She looked around, impressed with the sheer quantity of boxes lining the shelves. Each box would have a wand, and one of these wands was about to choose her. There was a feeling of magical ambience in the air, almost as if the store was alive and breathing magic.
In her awestruck state, Becky hadn't even noticed Mr Ollivander had greeted them until Elijah tapped her shoulder to get her attention. She heard just enough to catch the end of a question directed at herself.
"... your wand arm?" The wandmaker looked at her expectantly.
"Right arm," Becky held out the mentioned limb for Ollivander's tape measure to start taking her measurements.
While this was happening Ollivander had left to look for the first wand to try and Elijah took a seat by the door, intending to simply watch in silence. He knew from his own experience Becky might have to try more than a few wands. The tape measure stopped when Ollivander returned and proffered the first wand.
"Try this one. Hawthorn and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Unbending."
Before she could even wave it, the wand was plucked from her hand.
"Certainly not!" Ollivander exclaimed, taking the wand back, and was soon offering another wand, "hmm, perhaps this one? Hazel and phoenix feather. Ten and a half inches. Slightly yielding."
Waving the wand didn't do much and neither did the one after it. A few wands later had Becky holding a pine and unicorn hair wand. It was twelve and a quarter inches and swishy. The wand had a warmth to it that Becky hadn't felt before, but it still didn't feel quite right.
She said as much which elicited an excited reaction from Ollivander. Perhaps it meant something to the old wandmaker, Becky mused. He rushed off before she could ask and returned with another.
"Try this one. Rowan and unicorn hair. Eleven inches. Nice and pliant." Ollivander watched with a calculating look.
The moment Becky took hold of this wand and waved it in a small arc, it emitted a vibrant purple glow, matching her eyes, and a warmth much greater than the one before. It felt perfect. There was no other word to describe it.
"Very interesting. It will be interesting to see..." Ollivander muttered before finishing the thought in.
"What will be interesting?" Becky asked, curiously. She wanted to know what caused the wandmaker's reaction, though she'd be willing to bet it had something to do with what she felt from the pine wand.
"The wand you hold right now is very unique in that it is closely connected with two others," the wandmaker explained with an emphasis on the number. He paused to gather his thoughts and right when Becky was beginning to think he would say no more, he continued.
"One of them," he held up the pine wand Becky tried just a moment before, "is this one right here. The hairs in both wands came from the same unicorn. That is what caused whatever you felt from it."
The significance of this was lost on both Becky and Elijah. Neither knew the rarity of wands having twin cores.
"And the other wand has a core from the same unicorn too?" Becky asked, now interested in where this other wand might be.
"No, two wands having a core from the same creature is quite rare," Ollivander paused for dramatic effect, which only increased Becky's curiosity. "It is the wood of your wand that has a connection to the other."
"So there's another rowan wand made from the same tree?" It was a logical assumption on Becky's behalf, despite being wrong.
"Again, no. The tree that produced the wood for your wand shares its soil with a vine growing around the trunk, which I used for another wand. It has the heartstring of a Horntail dragon for a core and was sold last year."
Ollivander wondered if the fate of the wands were as connected as the tree and vine that made them were. He never knew what caused him to create these wands the way he did since it was only through Becky's wand that the other two were connected at all. He pondered the likelihood of selling the third any time soon. These were musings he wasn't about to share.
Meanwhile, Becky was having thoughts of her own. She knew Daphne had a vine wand with a dragon heartstring core, though she didn't know what species. She wasn't one to believe in fate but if Astoria got a certain wand next year, she just might start doing so. Before she could ask further about her sister's wand, Ollivander was speaking again.
"The wand chooses the witch or wizard," he said as if that explained everything. It also sounded like something he said a lot. "If that is all, that will be seven galleons."
Becky also wanted a leather wand holster that could be strapped to her forearm, so that brought her purchase to a total of ten galleons and seven sickles. Elijah paid and then they were on their way to Gringotts.
The others were waiting for them near the entrance and they all entered together. Becky excitedly whispered to Daphne that she had something to tell her when they got home. She was going to share what Ollivander said about her wand and her theory that the other wand he mentioned is Daphne's.
When they approached the counter they were asked to state their business. Becky first had to provide a blood sample to verify her identity, given by a small prick to the thumb. After that, she was able to register her wand as proof of her identity for future visits. With that done, they were escorted by a goblin named Gornuk to a Gringotts cart.
The first stop was vault six hundred and forty-two, which required a key. The Greengrass vault had few defences compared to some of the lower vaults owned by the older and richer families. Elijah and Dannica collected what they needed and the group moved on to Becky's vault.
Vault nine hundred and thirty-eight had a lot more in terms of defences, though there was little to worry about considering they weren't intruders. Unlike the Greengrass vault, this one had no key. Gornuk placed his hand on the door and it vanished. Due to safety reasons with the defences, only Becky was allowed in.
She was excited to be seeing the inside of her vault for the first time. Even the statements she received hadn't prepared her for the sight. Chests filled to the brim with galleons, sickles and knuts lined one wall and the tables and shelves were piled with various treasures. There were various goblets of silver and gold with different designs and sizes. Armours, helmets and shields stood together, as well as skins of things Becky couldn't identify. The Jewellery in one part of the vault also varied greatly. Some of it looked hideous, though Becky would never voice that opinion. Most of it, however, looks absolutely beautiful.
There was one piece in particular that caught her eye. Both the small tiger pendant and the chain it was attached to were made of platinum, and the eye held a small purple gem. As long as it wasn't cursed, Becky wanted it. She knew many objects in the vault contained dark magic, but if this was one of them, Becky couldn't tell. She decided she could ask Elijah to check it later and placed the pendant in a small silk pouch, careful not to touch it with bare skin. She had full access to the vault and brought a couple of pouches anticipating finding something she might like.
Another pouch, made of leather and enchanted with expansion and weight charms, was filled with three times the money she'd need to buy her school supplies. She wanted to pay for her own things, just because she can now, and have enough left over for sweets and extra books.
The rest of the morning passed rather quickly. The next stop after Gringotts was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Daphne had outgrown her robes towards the end of her first year, so she was getting new robes too. A few stores later Becky had her cauldron, scales, crystal potion phials, basic potion ingredients, a telescope, a few quills, a couple of ink bottles and plenty of parchment.
Their next stop was Becky's favourite part, Flourish and Blotts. The bookstore was easily the shop she spent the most time in, including Ollivanders and Gringotts. She had most of the first year booklist already, but she wanted to browse for extra reading material. She begrudgingly bought all the Lockheart books that were supposedly required but made sure to pick up a few extra books on the subject for independent studies.
Becky already had The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, the book that had been on Daphne's list last year, but she wanted more. She found a book titled The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts, which she didn't hesitate in buying. She also bought books on magical beasts, arithmancy, runes, muggles and divination. She planned to browse them all to help decide what electives she wanted to take in two years. Talking to the professors about those subjects would also help in her decision.
Flourish and Blotts was meant to be their last stop, but with a bit of convincing from Becky and a promise she wouldn't take too long, she was able to go into a much smaller bookstore. This one was owned by a muggle-born witch in her early fifties and sold muggle literature as well as works from the wizarding world.
"Good morning. It's good to see you in my shop again. It's Becky, isn't it?" the friendly voice called from the counter.
"You remember me?" Becky blinked in surprise. She'd only been in the store twice before.
"Of course! It's always a pleasure to see someone so young passionate about reading!" The shop owner exclaimed
Becky couldn't help but wonder if the owner would be this friendly towards her if she knew just who she was related to.
"If only my daughter took more of an interest in books instead of running off chasing dragons in some reserve on the continent." Becky missed mumbled words spoken by the owner while she was browsing the muggle section of the store.
Becky picked out a book written by the same author as the last one she'd found in the store. The writing style was a little strange to her, but she enjoyed it. The book only cost fourteen sickles, which Becky happily paid. She went to thank the owner, only to pause awkwardly when she realised she didn't know her name.
"Thank you, Ms- uh."
"Mrs Heartley," the owner provided with a kind smile.
"Thank you, Mrs Heartley!" She grinned before walking out of the store.
Five minutes later they were taking the floo back home.
The first thing Becky did was store all her purchases in her room. She would organise them later when more important things had been taken care of. The second thing she did was tell Daphne all about her time getting her wand and her theory of what wand Astoria would get next year. They couldn't be certain, since Daphne didn't know what dragon breed was used for her wand, but Becky was convinced it was the one Ollivander mentioned.
After spending a long half an hour convincing Daphne she was right, she went looking for Elijah. He was able to confirm there was no dark magic in the pendant she took from her vault. There were some very minor protection charms on it, but that was all. Becky started wearing it immediately.
The last few weeks of the holidays were spent much the same as her time usually was; reading or flying. The book she bought from Mrs Heartley's store was the first one she read, then she was looking through Lockhart's - writing - for any useful information. She didn't find any and quickly moved on to real books. She smirked as she thought of Lockhart's writing not being worthy of being called books.
By the first of September, Becky had read through most of her school books at least once, as well as most of the extra books she bought. She was glad for the extension charm Elijah placed on her trunk, and even more grateful for the featherweight charm he used. She didn't even think about the weight of her books being an issue until she first tried to lift her trunk after packing. Make no mistake, there was no way she wasn't packing all of them.
Stepping onto platform nine and three-quarters for the first time was a little overwhelming. People were everywhere, and Becky couldn't help but worry what most of them would think of her. Muggle-borns would treat her like any other eleven-year-old, to start with at least, and other kids whose parents served He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named would probably respect her. She didn't want to be respected for such a horrid reason.
There was a girl with light-brown hair near the entrance looking like she was waiting for someone. She sat on her trunk reading what looked to be The Standard book of Spells, Grade 2 and looked up every time someone came through the barrier to the muggle platform. She was someone else who liked books, Becky figured, and she hoped she could talk to her in a less crowded area at school. Probably the library if she was right about the other girl liking books.
The next person who stood out was a very smug-looking young blond. He was boasting quite loudly about his new broom, a Nimbus Two Thousand and One. Becky rolled her eyes at how arrogant he sounded.
"That's Malfoy," Daphne whispered in her ear, having seen where she was looking, "as you know, he's a Slytherin in my year."
"Yet another reason that Ravenclaw is better!" Becky smirked.
Daphne shook her head with a smile. That was a point she couldn't argue against. Hearing Malfoy talk of himself so conceitedly every other day was unbearable. The complaining about Harry Potter and his friends on other days did the blond no favours. The boy had an unhealthy obsession with trying to beat Harry Potter in absolutely everything. If it wasn't for the complaining afterwards, seeing him fail was quite amusing.
"Daphne!" One of Daphne's best friends shouted out.
Lilith Moon was standing next to Daphne's other best friend and both were waving while walking in their direction.
"Lily! Tracey!" Daphne greeted them once they were much closer, "these are my sisters, Astoria and Becky, or Rebecca if you must. Don't call her anything else! She's starting this year."
Becky was grateful for the lack of her last name in that introduction. She waved a hello before Daphne said her goodbyes to the rest of the family and left to find a compartment with her friends.
"I'm going to try finding someone who will be in my year to sit with," Becky said as she hugged her parents and little sister goodbye.
"Take care," Elijah responded, returning the hug, "I look forward to an owl telling me all about how you were sorted into Ravenclaw and how your first week went!"
"Be safe," Dannica added, chuckling at Elijah's hope for at least one of their girls to follow him into the house of blue and bronze.
"I'm gonna miss you!" Astoria almost shouted, attaching herself to Becky's side.
"I will! And I'll miss you too, Tori! Love you all!" Becky had to get Elijah to help pry Astoria off her, who only clung on tighter, giggling at their attempts.
Once she'd gotten free, Becky stepped onto the scarlet steam engine. The first compartment she looked in was full of students who looked to be in their sixth or seventh year. She moved further down the train looking in compartments for anyone who could be a first-year until she found a compartment that would have been empty were it not for the small blonde girl sitting there on her own. The girl sat there gazing out the window at something Becky couldn't see.
"Hi, are you a first-year too?" Becky asked as she slid the compartment door open, causing the girl to jump, "sorry."
Now the girl was looking at her, Becky could see she had light silvery-blue eyes and wore earrings resembling dirigible plums. They were a little strange but in a good way, in Becky's opinion. She thought they were cute.
"It's okay. Yes, I am. Why do you ask?" The girl spoke in a dreamy tone. Her wide eyes gave her a surprised look as if someone talking to her was the last thing she'd expect.
"I was wondering if I could sit here," Becky's comment seemed to surprise the girl further, "I'm Becky, by the way!"
"I don't mind. And I'm Luna," the girl shared her name, now staring intently at Becky. "You're a metamorphmagus."
Now it was Becky's turn to be surprised.
"How did you know?"
"Your hair darkened a few shades just now even though the lighting remained the same," Luna stated as if it were obvious.
"You noticed that?" Becky's face reddened a little and Luna simply nodded.
Becky's hair had indeed darkened slightly when she tried to hide her excitement that she might be making a friend. She then made a decision that would have surprised her entire family if they were there - she changed her appearance to her natural looks. She had curly black hair that went to the middle of her back and light-brown eyes.
"This is what I actually look like. I might save my other appearance for if I want to hide from people."
"Who would you need to hide from?" Luna inquired.
Becky shrugged, pretending to not know why she'd need to hide. She wasn't sure Luna was convinced, but the blonde didn't say anything. After that, they spoke about random things. Luna didn't have much of an interest in quidditch but enjoyed talking about creatures Becky had only ever heard of in the Quibbler.
She quickly found out Luna's father was the editor for the magazine. Most of their conversation for the rest of the trip was about the creatures and conspiracies written about in the last few issues. Becky wasn't sure she believed all of it - some of it just sounded crazy - but some of it could be true.
It was already dark when the train reached Hogsmeade. Becky stepped out with Luna right behind her. Their trunks were to be left on the train to be taken up to the castle separately. She was starting to follow the crowd towards some carriages when a loud voice called out for the first-years to gather around him, in the opposite direction of the rest of the school. He wasn't hard to see, as he was probably twice the height of any adult Becky had ever seen.
With all the first-years gathered, they were led to the edge of a lake where about a dozen small boats were waiting. Before they reached the boats, they came to a point where they could see the magnificent castle with several turrets and towers. Torches from inside the castle lit up many of the windows, and torches outside the castle lit up the courtyard part of the grounds. The sound of a constantly clicking camera off to the side was annoying Becky, which she was doing her best to ignore.
After admiring the beauty of Hogwarts, Becky and Luna got into the same boat and were followed by two other girls who introduced themselves as Zoe and Emma. Once everyone was seated, the boats moved on their own following the lead one holding the giant man. Becky wondered if it would sink from his size if it weren't for magic. It was a very small boat, and the giant man looked like he barely fit in it.
Becky continued to take in the view of the castle until a voice broke the silence.
"Do you guys know what house you'll be in?" The question came from Zoe who was sitting across from her and beside Emma, who was the first to respond.
"No one really knows for sure, but I hope I'm in Gryffindor. My cousin is in Gryffindor."
"I'm hoping I'm in Ravenclaw like my godfather," Becky shared, opting not to mention a lot of her family, not to mention her relatives, were in Slytherin.
"I think I will be in Ravenclaw, though I suppose Hufflepuff or Gryffindor would be good as well," Luna added.
"Not Slytherin?" Zoe asked, which told Becky the girl was probably muggle-born.
"Slytherin has a bit of a reputation. Not everyone in Slytherin is bad, but the more vocal ones tend to think they're better than everyone else because of blood status and social status."
"Okay, I know what social status means, but what is blood status?" A confused Zoe looked around, seeing she was the only one who didn't understand.
"To put it simply, it's how much magical heritage you have. I think it's dumb and it would take too long to explain properly." As she said that, the boats came to a stop, having reached their destination.
Becky didn't notice that Luna had been listening intently to her opinion on Slytherin and blood purity. They were lead up to the Entrance Hall where the giant man left them in the care of Professor McGonagall. She thanked him - apparently, his name is Hagrid - and he left through the doors to what was probably the Great Hall, going by the noise from the other side.
McGonagall took them to a side chamber and gave a welcome speech that sounded rehearsed. She spoke of the houses and the points system used at Hogwarts. She then left them for a moment and swiftly returned to lead them into the Great Hall. They were up near the head table looking out over the sea of students. Becky's anxiety started picking up when she felt someone squeeze her right hand comfortingly. She looked to her side to see Luna smiling at her and wondered if the blonde had picked up on something. She gave her a grateful smile in return.
When she returned her attention to what Professor McGonagall was doing, she noticed a stool with an old, frayed hat on it. Becky was surprised when she heard it start to sing about sorting students and the good qualities of each house. She joined in the applause when it finished.
Professor McGonagall unrolled the parchment to read off the list of first-years. She explained how the sorting would work and called the first of the new students.
"Adams, Nathan!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat shouted not long after Nathan sat down.
The closest table to the right clapped the loudest, cheering on their newest member.
"Bell, Emma!" McGonagall called out, and the brunette on Becky's left side stepped forward.
The hat soon proclaimed Emma a Gryffindor, and it wasn't a surprise to Becky when she sat down next to an older girl on the far left table with a wide smile and immediately starting a conversation. That must be the cousin she mentioned.
Allison Burke was the first to be sorted into Slytherin and after Frank Campbell went to Gryffindor, Ravenclaw got their first new member. Becky hoped she'd be joining Heather Chambers there soon.
After another Hufflepuff was sorted before Colin Creevey, or 'the annoying camera boy' as Becky had dubbed him, became a Gryffindor.
"Fraiser, Zoe!" The raven-haired girl Becky already met went up and placed the hat on her head.
"RAVENCLAW!" It took the hat almost a minute to decide on Zoe's house.
Several more names were called. Some Becky thought were familiar, some she'd never heard of before. Ralph Jenkins was called and she wondered if he was any relation to the beater for the Chudley Cannons.
Becky wasn't paying too much attention to any first names right now. She was afraid of the reactions that would occur when her name was called, and keeping her mind occupied was the best way to ignore the feeling she could think of. Working out whether or not she knew the family names of the other students in her year was working as a great distraction. Unfortunately, her name was called far too soon for her liking.
"Lestrange, Rebecca!"