Author's Note: The main scene was originally a one-shot I wrote for myself almost exactly 3 years ago. The idea has since spiraled out of control into forming... *looks at 550 pages of docs* ...well, that.
It's finally happening! After over two years of anxious waiting and secret practice sessions, Melissa is finally going to Hogwarts!
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Setting of the famous Harry Potter books. It had been the best surprise of her life! Having telekinesis was one thing. Knowing you can do that, and so much more, is even better! She had some concerns, at first, after meeting Harry. This universe has a coming war, Death Eaters, and other strange horrors; and the obliviation proved that someone was keeping enough of an eye on Harry to force him to stay with the blood wards -even at the expense of his personal safety and wellbeing. The more she thought about it, though, the more those fears washed away. Every life has war and pain, and what's death but a blip from one life to the next? Melissa knew that much from experience. So, no, she didn't let those things bother her. Instead, she did as she always does, and learned to enjoy her new life. A life that now included a lonely boy living in a cupboard under the stairs at Number Four Privet Drive. Two years of regular letters, concerned parents, and enough friendly visits to fly under the radar of watchful wizards wasn't likely to change a plot (not that she cared all that much), but it was enough to brighten an abused child's solitude and bring excitement in her own life.
Now, here she is, standing between platforms 9 and 10, a stone's throw and magical barrier away from the world she's waited two years to be a part of.
"You're sure you have everything, dear?" Her mother asked.
"Course, mum. Everything I need and everything I want." she grinned. Her father huffed behind her, knowing full well what that implied.
"Good. Be careful, Melissa." her mother gave her a tight hug.
"I will, mum." She squeezed back.
"And try to wait at least a month before getting detention." Her father added, a cheeky smile on his face.
Melissa stuck her tongue out at her father. "I can't promise that."
She could feel her mother shake her head. "Jake, don't encourage her; and, please, dear, you have to be mindful of where you are going. You remember what happened to Harry and the Dursleys!"
Melissa sighed in spite of herself. "I know, mum. I won't go rushing off to get myself killed by some crazy wizard. I'm just going to school. I'll be in classes, learning. I'll be fine."
Her father ruffled the top of her head affectionately. "We know, Melly-bean. Your mother is just looking out for you."
Melissa nodded in understanding. Her eyes turned, catching a not-so-subtle wizarding family walking passed them and into the wall. Her eyes flicked up to a clock. Another fifteen minutes until departure. "I suppose I should head in. You sure you don't want to come to the platform?"
Her mother looked at the wall apprehensively. Her father, well, it was a conflict. It was still difficult imagining a world beyond a wall.
"We're sure, Melly-bean. You don't want us old 'muggle' folk holding your hand up to the train, right?" Her father japed.
The chuckle that the comment brought on was enough to excuse any concerned or guilty feelings. "I suppose you have a point. I knew I'd have to learn responsibility some time. Might as well start on my first day of school." Just like that, their little circle was all warm smiles. A few more hugs and well-wishes later, and Melissa was off passed the barrier and onto Platform 9 3⁄4.
"When I call your name," Professor McGonagall announced to the group of eager first-years, "you will take a seat and be sorted into your houses. You will then join your house for the feast."
Looking at the Sorting Hat placed innocently on the stool had Melissa shivering with anticipation. This was what every HP fan wanted to try. To sit under that hat and get a proclamation of Hogwarts House. Sure, there was some slight fear of the Hat seeing what she knows; but, still, it's the Sorting Hat! The coolest piece of magical clothing a muggleborn fan could want. Well, that, and that scarf from A Very Potter Musical. Fanon doesn't count, though. So, yes, the Sorting Hat is the coolest thing around, and the draw of Melissa's every focus.
Sorting hat, sorting hat, make me a match
Brought up mammal-born or by egg-hatch.
"Adams, Jason!" Minerva McGonagall called from behind the stool.
With a jump, a boy raced up to the stool. Once he sat down, the professor placed the hat on his head. Within a few short seconds it gave a shout. "GRYFFINDOR!" With that, the hat was removed and the now-smiling boy walked over to the Gryffindor table to a round of applause.
Lions fight recklessly, Badgers are friendship-fierce,
Snakes through subterfuge, Ravens use their minds to pierce.
"Bailey, Sierra!"
The girl, Sierra, walked up and took her turn under the hat. Half a minute later, the hat proclaimed "HUFFLEPUFF!" for the hall to hear.
Lounging in the sun, a book by the fire,
Relaxing with friends, or gossip by the ...grape... wire?
...I need better rhymes.
"Bennett, Melissa!"
At the call of her name, Melissa practically skipped up to the stool. With an almost literal hop, skip, and a jump Melissa was on the stool, with the hat placed softly onto her head.
My, what do we have here? A male voice croaked into her head.
What, indeed. She replied in thought. Also, hello! Melissa then privately thought to herself 'This is so cool! There's only one thing that could make this cooler!'
Strange, you're a clever witch for your age. Childlike, yet possessing a maturity I have not seen in- WHAT ON EARTH IS A SCARF OF SEXUAL PREFERENCE AND WHY WOULD I MARRY IT?!
The Hall, as per usual, filled with silence as the students and faculty waited to hear the next student's sorting. Silence, that is, until the child on the stool burst out into a fit of laughter. A break in expectation so loud that it echoed throughout the hall. The professors were stunned, unsure what to make of this unusual reaction.
Professor McGonagall had taken a step back, thrown by the raucous laughter from the girl sitting before her. At first, the professor thought it was a reaction of nerves. Laughter as a way to diffuse the girl's nervousness. Yet the child was laughing so hard she was practically falling off the stool. The hat, too, was tipping sideways with her. It was as if the girl was just told the greatest joke in the world. From the Sorting Hat, itself, of all bizarre possibilities. Truthfully, Professor McGonagall was somewhat concerned that the girl was having a fit. After all, the Sorting Hat isn't capable of making jokes. Is it?
Professor Snape was more annoyed than disturbed by the scene. The strange little witch was going to be an irritant, he could tell. His first-year classes with Gryffindor or Hufflepuff were guaranteed to be a new source of headaches.
Professor Sprout, who had met the young witch at the start of Summer, was the least perturbed by the strange reaction. From that meeting she had gotten the impression of a happy, carefree child. The young muggleborn likely was struck by the novelty of the Hat and simply amused by it. Professor Sprout was the only faculty member to smile at her reaction, save for Dumbledore. From what she knew of the girl, namely her cheery nature and fierce loyalty to her fellow muggleborn friend, Professor Sprout knew that Miss Bennett will make a bright addition to Hufflepuff House.
So I get the Gryffindor reasoning, but Hufflepuff?
You are quick to befriend, yes, and can be a hard worker; but your motivations are not generally pure. As fearlessness is different from bravery; so, too, is friendship for companionship and friendship for personal amusement.
Even if the reasoning isn't malicious?
Even so.
Well, shit, guess you got me there. So what's the conundrum for the other two?
Ravenclaw and Slytherin both have the possibility to foster and stifle your growth at Hogwarts. You have a natural knowledge and maturity, and an interest in creative pursuits. Well-read peers will offer you a chance at friendship with equals of the mind, both in knowledge and unique ways of thinking. However, the intensity of the pursuit of knowledge known in Ravenclaw House will leave you at a loss or, worse, in a sense of boredom. That can be a dangerous circumstance in your hands.
Heh! Only to whoever's going to alleviate my boredom.
On the other hand, your natural motivations in life are in pursuits of the individual, and driven through cunning manipulations of the long term. Strange, I sense you function as if in foreknowledge. Do you possess a seer's ability to-
-can we get back to the sorting?
-yes, of course. Slytherin House encourages those with ambition. Your cunning and drive would be welcome there. However, your ambitions are not built with strong foundation and planning, and will be open to exploitation from fellow students who may see you as an inferior. Hmm, why do you believe your fourth year is when that problem will occur? Is that a part of-
-just a side thought. I already know that purebloods and muggleborns don't always see eye to eye. Now, back to the topic at hand.
The sorting was beginning to drag on the third student. One of the professors had gone so far as to check their timepiece, verifying that the student had reached the four minute mark. The other students were starting to grow restless as well.
"SLYTHERIN!" A shout came at last from the old, black hat.
After a jolt of surprise or awakening from boredom, the students stuttered into applause as the newly-sorted student hopped off of the stool and made her way to the Slytherin table.
It was at that moment that Snape realized his headaches will be doubled for the next seven years.
"What did the hat say to you?" A Ravenclaw boy asked her mid-way into the feast. Corin Joyce, Melissa was sure his name was. "He sounded pretty serious when he talked to me."
No matter how many times she had been asked that tonight, the question still made her smile. "He asked me if I would consider running away with him and getting married."
The boy, Corin, looked like he had just been hit in the head with a seagull. "You're joking!"
"She is." Jacqueline Pierce muttered beside Melissa. "There's no point in asking her. Bennett's given a different answer every time."
The explanation had Melissa in a fit of giggles. Moreso as Garrick Orpington added onto the story. "She told me that the hat wanted her opinion on turning into a scarf, and Pierce that the hat was terrified of her."
"Terrified of my décor ideas." Melissa clarified. "He doesn't like rainbows."
"I'm terrified, too, if you think for one second you're going to turn our dorm into a hall of rainbows." Another girl, a redhead named Rusalka Ignatov, added.
"I never said I would. ...Then again, it's not a bad idea." She winked at the other girl.
"So, you're not going to tell, are you?"
"Nope!"
Corin hummed, as if trying to solve a puzzle. "How about the rest of the sorting? You were under the hat for a long time."
"Yes, your sorting was nearly long enough to qualify as a hatstill." Garrick added. "That's not common, from what I've heard."
"Would it really count as a hatstill if part of that time was spent laughing like a lunatic?" A second-year boy sneered at them.
Melissa offered the boy a droll smile. "Since the definition is based on time under the hat, and not on how that time is spent, it would have qualified on a technicality."
The older students within earshot stopped and gave her a calculating look. One of the second year girls then gave her an approving smirk. "Oh, yes, she's a Slytherin, alright."
"The other house was Ravenclaw, wasn't it?" Another of the older girls guessed.
"Mhmm. There were arguments for both sides, but we came to a reasonable conclusion, in the end." Melissa answered in a faux-posh voice to heighten a stereotypically intellectual mentality. "A shame he disagreed with the notion of adding animal pelts to the headmaster's office. Said that the fur would get stuck all over with sherbert lemon if we did."
One of the boys in her year snorted at the jape. Though the redheaded girl buried her head in her hands the more Melissa talked, and some of the older students had choked on their drinks.
Corin blinked at her. "Has anyone ever told you that you're weird?"
"Only since before I was born."
A head slammed on the table. It seemed that the redhead had given up entirely on a peaceful welcoming feast.
"...Right."
"The first years are going to be a pain." The sneering boy muttered under his breath. "Bad enough that Weasley's younger brothers are here, now we have to deal with a mad witch in our own dorm."
Oh, yes, the Weasley twins. That had been an enjoyable sorting to watch. Fred had been called up to the hat, only for the hat to complain within 5 seconds "YOU ARE NOT FRED WEASLEY!" It caused quite a bit of commotion. The students were confused, the teachers were annoyed, and Melissa applauded loudly as they each finished their sorting.
"I don't know about that. Sounds like it will be a fun year, to me." Melissa countered.
"That's because you're mad." The older boy argued.
"Only when the mood strikes me."
Jacqueline eyed her suspiciously "How often is that?"
"Hmm… more than you'd like, less than I'd prefer."
"Not particularly reassuring." The dark-haired witch commented under her breath before turning her attention back to her half-empty plate.
The rest of the evening passed by amicably. Melissa came up with more wild stories about the hat, and also made an effort to balance it with idle chatter and first-year excitement. It was nice, being able to relax and let the excitement wash over her. In a weird way, it felt like a release to talk about magic and wizards and not be concerned about meddling adults. This must have been how Harry felt when he wanted to come out about their abilities. A thought which reminded her to write a letter before going to bed tonight.
Until then, she is going to relax and savour her first night here at Hogwarts.
