It felt like everything was happening in slow motion.

Aurora made her way to the cheering Slytherin table. She glanced around the Great Hall before she lost her vantage point, trying to spot the reactions of her friends. Cedric was applauding with the rest of the school - ever the true Hufflepuff -, but the slack-jawed shock on his face told her exactly how he felt about her sorting. Hermione looked as if she were about to cry. Even Harry, with his minimal knowledge of the wizarding world, seemed confused.

But Aurora felt strangely calm.

A part of her wanted to cause a scene. A large part of her. She wanted to shriek and demand that the hat sort her again and again until it finally sorted her - correctly - into Hufflepuff. She wanted the easy path. She knew that Marius would want to raise all hell the moment he found out that she had failed him and hadn't been good enough to even be recognized as a member of the Fawley legacy. It was to the extreme that Aurora, in the back of her mind, wondered if she would be welcomed home at all that summer.

There was another part of her, however, that was experiencing a moment of clarity. She knew, deep down, that even if she did try to make a scene and be resorted, nothing would change. She heard the hat's laughter echoing in her ears. Although it went against everything she had ever been told since birth, she knew that the Sorting Hat was right. The family legacy she had been molded for had never been her own. She was a Rosier, not a Fawley.

And Aurora Rosier was destined to be brilliant.

So instead, she focused all her energy on getting from the front of the Great Hall to the Slytherin table without tripping. She could come more to terms with being sorted once she was safely sitting down again.

As she approached the table, the eight out Slytherin first-years stared up at her. Draco grinned, motioning for her to sit beside him.

"Scooch, Parkinson," he said, elbowing the girl beside him. It was the other girl Aurora had overheard in the chamber, the one with a black bob. She didn't seem happy about it, but she moved over anyway, giving Aurora a space to squeeze in. "Welcome to Slytherin, Rosier."

Aurora nodded her thanks before turning to face the rest of the sorting. She took a few deep breaths, trying to subdue the pounding that had settled between her eyes after the hat had been lifted.

As "Zabini, Blaise" joined the Slytherins, Professor McGonagall rolled up the parchment and whisked the Sorting Hat away.

Aurora looked around, unsure of what might happen next; the day had already been so full of surprises. Other students had the same idea, casually continuing conversations they had started before the first years had entered. The golden plates were still empty in front of them, much to Aurora's growling stomach's dismay. The cauldron cake she had eaten on the train seemed like ages ago.

After a few moments, Albus Dumbledore rose to his feet and the hall fell silent at once. He beamed down, his arms opened wide as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all gathered before him.

"Welcome!" he boomed. "Welcome, welcome, to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

"Thank you!"

Before anyone could blink, the dishes littering each table were instantly covered in food - eliciting a muttered "Finally." from Pansy Parkinson. Aurora's mouth watered as she examined the selection: roast beef, roast chicken, roast duck, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.

Aurora pondered where to begin - it felt like each food was personally calling her name. Marius and the Diggorys had ensured that neither Aurora nor Cedric went hungry a day in their lives, but she had never seen such a rich selection. She took a hearty serving of the roast duck and mashed potatoes while Draco helped himself to a choice cut of bloody steak.

"Try and imagine seven years with him," the handsome dark-skinned boy whispered from across the table. He leaned closer to Draco and jerked his thumb to where Dumbledore was laughing merrily at the head of the teacher's table, his plate artfully stacked with only peppermint humbugs. "I think I'd go absolutely mental."

"My father always said Dumbledore was the worst thing to happen to Hogwarts," Draco sniffed. "I bet he gets two years before he's replaced. Tops."

The first boy eyed Draco, seeming to size him up. After a moment he smiled and held out his hand, careful to keep the sleeves of his robe out of the gravy. "I'll take you up on that. I'm Blaise Zabini."

"Draco Malfoy. And this is Aurora Rosier."

Aurora quickly covered her mouth with her napkin, caught off-guard by Draco's introduction. She swallowed her mouthful of potatoes before shaking Blaise's hand over a pyramid of peas. "Pleasure to meet you, Blaise."

"Likewise," he said, studying her now.

"You were up there for a long time, Aurora," cut in Daphne Greengrass from next to Blaise. Her blonde hair was still neatly bunned and a black lacey headband kept any stray hairs out of her wide, blue eyes. "Nearly thought you'd be a Hatstall!"

"Yeah, what gives? The Sorting Hat's never wrong." Pansy eyed Aurora suspiciously. "Bet you tried arguing with it. Or you tried to get a compliment, the Sorting Hat never just gives out compliments."

"Oh, come off it, Pans," Daphne laughed, flinging a small piece of roll across the table.

"Stop it, Pheenie!" Pansy flushed. She flicked a few peas back at Daphne, swiping at the crumbs that had sprayed across her cheek.

"It talked a lot about my family, I guess." And my destiny, she thought, but she didn't feel like it was the time to mention everything the Sorting Hat had said. She took a sip of pumpkin juice from her goblet. "It did a lot of thinking. Which, I guess is what you get when a talking hat reads your mind."

Blaise chuckled, which Aurora appreciated. She was trying to not let it show, but she was still rattled from her conversation with the Sorting Hat, beyond the 'sorted into Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin' debacle. All the hat's talk about her father had made her morbidly more curious than before and had unearthed way more questions that she still didn't have answers to.

All conversation around the table lulled as the feast carried on, all worries temporarily pushed from Aurora's mind with a particularly delicious bite of lamb. She took the pause in conversation to finally look around at all the newly sorted Slytherins. Crabbe and Goyle, who had been seated on either side of a displeased Slytherin prefect for their apparent 'crude behavior' upon arrival, were stuffing their faces with a gravy-soaked meal. There was a gangly brunette on the other side of Blaise slowly picking at the bits of food on his plate - Aurora remembered him vaguely as Theodore Nott. Draco had pushed his plate away, seeming to have lost his appetite altogether thanks to the ghost of Slytherin (nicknamed 'the Bloody Baron'), who had decided to take a seat between the blonde and an unbothered third year. Aurora listened as Daphne and Pansy bickered across the table. They had grown up together, much like Aurora and Cedric had.

When everyone had eaten as much of the feast as they possibly could, the remains faded from the plates, eliciting two groans of disappointment from Crabbe and Goyle, who had been reaching for fourths. However, dessert appeared seconds later. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor imaginable, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate eclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding…

As Aurora grabbed a still-warm slice of apple pie, conversation resumed…

"M-My mum was a Ravencl-claw. My dad t-told me I was going t-to be j-just l-like her, so I-I only th-th-thought -" sputtered out a teary-eyed girl beside Daphne. The blonde was rubbing her shoulder soothingly, nodding.

"Isn't your father a Muggle, Davis? What would he know?" Pansy spat, ignoring Daphne's warning glare. "Be he didn't even know what a Ravenclaw was." She rolled her eyes as the girl, Tracey, crumbled into a fresh wave of sniffly sobs.

"Pansy!" Daphne chided, pulling the weeping girl into a side hug.

"Honestly," Pansy continued, brushing off the hysterics. "Bloody miracle you got into Slytherin anyhow. The Minister of Magic himself couldn't have paid me to become a Gryffindor." Disdain dripped from her voice.

"What's wrong with Gryffindor?" Aurora asked as nonchalantly as possible, pretending to busy herself by picking at the crust of her pie. Her mind had started racing, thinking about her new friends sitting at the Gryffindor table. She wondered if their stereotypes would be as cruel as the Slytherin's had been.

"Why?" Pansy raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "You don't know what a downright rotten house they are? What, were you raised in a cupboard?"

"We just didn't talk about Hogwarts much, that's all," Aurora replied defensively.

Pansy kept Aurora's gaze for a moment before she smiled, her eyes glittering with an opportunity to gossip. "Gryffindors are notoriously arrogant, stubborn, and above all, stupid," Pansy smirked, glancing over her shoulder to the sea of red and gold two tables away. "My brother told me that the feud between our two houses is like a tradition at Hogwarts."

"Downright pack of gits," Draco interjected. "They'll take anyone."

"Oh. Okay." Aurora dropped her attention back to her plate, the conversation continuing without her.

Would Hermione still want to be friends with someone in the rival house? There are no rules against us still being friends…unless, wait, is there?

She must have spaced out for longer than she realized, too focused on debating if Hogwarts enforced rules about inner-house mingling and how to casually ask a Prefect when a sharp jab from Pansy's elbow brought her back to the present.

"Aurora." Pansy overemphasized every syllable of her name, so it sounded like 'Ah-roar-ahh'. She was staring at her expectantly. "What about you?"

"Sorry. What?"

Pansy rolled her eyes (something Aurora was noticing she was very good at) and repeated the question.

"We wanted to know your status. You're a pureblood, aren't you?"

"Oh, yeah, I am. My mom and dad both were." Aurora could feel the girl challenging her. She cleared her throat nervously before continuing. "Plus, my Uncle Marius. He raised me, we come from two long lines of pureblooded families. My parents are, uh - they're dead."

"Oh, Merlin! Aurora, that's so sad!" Daphne cried, grabbing Aurora's hands from across the table. "I'm sorry, there was no need for us to pry like that. Pansy." Her voice was sharp, and Pansy glanced away. "Honestly, you never know when to stop! I don't know what I'd do if I lost either of my parents."

The blonde sat back, releasing Aurora's hands to wipe away a tear. Her eyes had welled at just the thought of being orphaned. Aurora was almost impressed.

Aurora shrugged, hoping that if she looked downright sorry for herself, the conversation would move on. She could tell it wasn't the right moment to delve into how little she actually knew about her pureblooded parents, or how she had also essentially been raised by the half-blooded Diggory family. While blood status didn't matter a smidge to her, she knew that most of the company she was keeping - or at least the families they came from - may have cared a little too much.

"Rosier's a Sacred Twenty-Eight name," Draco informed the group, looking smug as he disclosed the information he had gathered from their literal run-in on the train. "Aurora is right where she belongs."

Pansy gave Aurora a half-smile at Draco's confirmation, her demeanor shifting almost instantly to one that was much more pleasant. She turned to her right now to interrogate the heavy-set Millicent Bulstrode, who didn't look at all like she wanted to be bothered.

"Thanks," Aurora whispered to Draco once Pansy was distracted. The blonde boy barely knew her, and yet he seemed keen on befriending her. A small, nagging voice in the back of her head reminded her that if she were anything else but a pureblood, her welcome wouldn't have been as warm. But she shook the thought away, deciding she would much rather reveal in the blossoming friendship.

"Treacle tart?" Draco offered. He slid one onto her plate, grabbing one for himself. He bit into it, wrinkling his nose. "Blech. Too sweet. My mum used to make the best tarts every year on my birthday."

"Used to?" Aurora looked at Draco, who kept his eyes on his plate. "Why'd she stop?"

"Father decided I was too old for treats." Draco stabbed into the tart with his fork, tearing it apart almost methodically.

Aurora hummed, not sure how to reply. She took a bite of the tart. He was right, it was much too sweet. She reached for her goblet in hopes of washing down the sickly sweetness that she could already feel coating the roof of her mouth.

Without warning the Bloody Baron decided to sweep across the table, startling her so badly that she almost spilled her goblet all over her robes. Draco laughed at her yelp, spewing tart crumbs from his mouth, which made Aurora start giggling too. Soon the two were doubled over in laughter. Aurora leaned on Draco to keep herself steady. All thoughts of their friendship being formed only for her blood status faded, replaced with the genuine joy of finding someone to be herself with.

Soon after, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet once more.

"Let's see what the old prat has to say now," Draco mumbled.

"Ahem - just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you."

"First-year students should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors."

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone second year or above who is interested in playing for their house team should contact Madam Hooch."

"Second years only?" Draco groaned, resting his head in his hand and rolling his eyes. "What a waste."

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to anyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

The Great Hall became uncomfortably tense, a few bursts of unbelieving laughter hanging stale in the air.

"He must be joking," Draco sputtered.

"Why would anything so deadly be kept in a school?" Daphne glanced around, her brow furrowed.

"And he spoke too fast, I don't even know which room to avoid." Pansy overdramatically leaned against Aurora. "Now I'm a goner before the year has even started."

"Maybe they're just trying to scare us?" Aurora offered. "A new school year prank? Do they do those?"

"Well, it's not funny!" Daphne sighed.

Blaise snorted. "Or maybe old Dumbledore has finally lost it."

"And now," cried Dumbledore over the low grumble of students, silencing them once again. "Before we head off to bed, let us sing the school song!"

He gave his wand a little flick as if he were trying to get a fly off the tip, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.

"A guide for our new friends. Everyone, pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"

And so the school bellowed:

Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling

With some interesting stuff.

For now they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff,

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot,

Just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot."

Everyone finished the song at different times. Aurora, along with Daphne and a now less-sniffly Tracey, had clumsily followed a third year's 'Happy Birthday' tune. At last, only the Weasley twins were left, both singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and, when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped for them the loudest.

"This is ludicrous," Draco, who hadn't sung a word, mumbled to Aurora.

"I think this is Hogwarts," Aurora nudged him.

"Ah, music!" Dumbledore crowed, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now bedtime, I insist. Off you trot!"

The Slytherin first years were gathered together and instructed to stay put by a less-than-pleased prefect, her dark grey eyes flashing meticulously to ensure nobody had slipped away.

The Great Hall had become a whirl of students in an instant. They were jostling about to catch up with friends and finally get to their dorms. Aurora glanced around, trying to spot any of the friends she had made on the train. She finally caught a glimpse of Hermione's bushy brown hair as she exited the Great Hall beside Percy, Harry and Ron following behind with the rest of the Gryffindor first-years.

Even with his height, Aurora couldn't spot Cedric in all the madness. When he had promised to find her after the sorting, they had both figured it would have been as easy as meeting near the end of the Hufflepuff table, or in their common room. Now, she didn't even know the next time she would properly get to talk to him. She could only wait and hope that he wasn't planning on writing to Amos or Marius before she could.

After a few more minutes of waiting for the hall to clear out, the first years set off to their dorms. Aurora was surprised that, unlike the other houses that had dispersed up into the complex marble stairway, the Slytherins were guided down, taking a steep staircase that led deeper into the castle. The prefect led them down a winding corridor, another set of stairs, and into the dark dungeons of Hogwarts, winding through a few more halls before coming to a stop at a dead-end.

Pansy scoffed and folded her arms in annoyance. But even she was left speechless when the prefect hissed 'Melior' and a stone snake slithered up from the floor and along the wall, leaving an archway in its place. Aurora gasped in awe as she entered, her eyes wide.

The Slytherin common room was a long room built of rough stone, with three massive windows that spanned floor-to-ceiling along the farthest wall. Round, green-tinted lamps hung from the ceiling, casting a glow across the room. The common room was chilled, yet unmistakably cozy. A black marble fireplace roared at one end, with plush chairs and low couches gathered nearby where upper-level students were already draped, catching up from the summer. Wood chairs and tables for studying were scattered around the room. Tapestries depicting medieval scenes were hung along the walls, and a skull was perched on the mantle, seeming to stare down at the students below.

"Father told me that's Salazar Slytherin's skull," Draco whispered.

Once everyone was through the archway, the wall solidified again. The prefect stood on one of the heavy wooden chairs, waiting for the first years to gather around.

"Alright, everyone, listen up. I've got a lot to say and I do not like to repeat myself." The prefect clapped her hands. "My name is Gemma Farley and I am a Prefect." She tugged at the front of her robes, where a silver P was pinned, much like Percy had on display at the train station. "There are more of us, so feel free to seek one of us out if you need anything. Not just me, I swear to Merlin, I just happened to be assigned to first-year herding this year."

"You are all now Slytherin. Meaning, you all now belong to the best house at Hogwarts." A student from the couches let out a whoop and Gemma shot them a silencing glare. "And what I mean is that it is an honor to be a Slytherin. We are a house of great strength and tradition. A house of ambition, of cunning, and of determination. We are clever and we are bold. But above all, we persevere. A Slytherin protects their own."

Aurora mouthed the words back silently. A Slytherin protects their own.

"Right, well. Now that that's out of the way, let's get down to the basics." Gemma continued. "The common room's password changes every fortnight and will be posted on the notice board in advance, so don't forget to check it. No student from any other house is allowed to step foot in our common room. We've kept this place pure for seven centuries, I'm sure everyone would like to keep it that way. Girls, your dorms are on the right, and boys, to the left. Your belongings have already been brought up, so feel free to take the rest of tonight to start settling in. No curfew for the common room, but do try to get some sleep. First years who are late to breakfast shall be fed to the trolls."

And with that, Gemma dismissed the group with a wave of her hands, and they all raced off to explore their new home.

Five four-poster beds hung with emerald green privacy curtains were spread around the girls' dormitory in a horseshoe. Next to the beds were hooks for their robes and a small bedside table for any books or trinkets they may have brought along. Aurora quickly found her trunk by the foot of the second bed, with Tracey on one side of her and Daphne on the other. A wall pillar separated each bed, a serpent made of glistening silver and green scales wrapped around. Its head jutted out from the wall, with emerald green eyes that glinted as if the serpents had been tasked with guarding each new batch of first years.

What intrigued Aurora the most about the room was the large, dark window that stood between her bed and Daphne's. They were in the dungeons, which rendered having a window useless, and instead of looking out at the night sky, it was just a green-tinged nothingness. She tilted her head as she gazed out, only to jump back in surprise when a school of fish darted by. Aurora couldn't hold back her grin, pushing herself closer to the cool glass, which she realized looked directly into the depths of the lake. She thought of the three windows in the common room, realizing that those too had the same unique view.

Wicked, she thought.

Folded neatly on each pillow were green striped ties. And, upon closer inspection of her unpacked trunk, the lining of her school robes had been bewitched Slytherin green. Aurora hugged them, giddy once again with the prospects of her next seven years at Hogwarts,

The other girls, now that they had found their beds, were much too excited to sleep. Pansy, whose bed was on the other side of Daphne's, took a look around before sighing contentedly and throwing herself down onto Daphne's bed. Daphne, who had been busy arranging the multitude of pillows she had brought from home, swatted at her, but she only rolled out of reach.

"I declare us Slytherin sisters!"

Despite her announcement being out loud, Pansy was speaking only to Daphne and Aurora. Tracey had disappeared into her bed, her curtains drawn tightly as she mourned her Ravenclaw-less future. And Millicent had made it perfectly clear during the feast that she wasn't Pansy's cup of tea after Pansy's interrogation made her threaten to, quote "smack the bangs off her".

Aurora, who had been stacking her first-year textbooks beside her bed, turned to the girl, surprised. Pansy was still lying on her stomach on Daphne's bed, kicking her feet in the air. In the privacy of their dorm, she seemed softer, more like the eleven-year-old she was instead of the mature teen she pretended to be.

"Oh, wipe that silly look off your face, Aurora, of course, I'm talking to you too! We're going to be the best witches Slytherin has ever seen!" Pansy cheered, sitting up to her knees. She flung one of Daphne's squishier pillows at Aurora, laughing as the unexpecting girl took it straight to the face.

Aurora grinned in agreement. She bounded to Daphne's bed, the offending pillow in hand, and joined the girls, sitting cross-legged at the foot. "That Hogwarts has ever seen!"

"No!" Daphne finished, a finger pointed dramatically to the sky. "The world!"

She threw herself down onto the bed between Pansy and Aurora, the three of them becoming a dogpile of giggles.

"Would you three please hut it?" Millicent barked from her bed.

"Oh, come off it, Millie," Pansy huffed, rolling her eyes.

"It's Millicent."

With a final eye roll in the girl's direction, the three dispersed back to their own beds. Pansy busied herself with unpacking her trunk while Daphne climbed into bed, snuggling into her oversized mountain of pillows.

Aurora yawned as exhaustion hit her suddenly. It had been a very long and very eventful day; it felt like she had last seen Marius and Amos at the train station weeks ago. She had planned on writing a letter immediately to Marius, but she figured it could wait until morning.

She climbed into bed, keeping the curtains cracked open just enough to let in the soft green glow from the window. Staring at the canopy above her, she thought back to what Gemma Farley had said.

"Ambitions - Cunning - Determination -"

The words echoed in her head, a mantra that lulled her into a dreamless sleep.


Aurora is a Slytherin! Officially!

Now it's time to make friends & for classes to start! & to worry what her family will think...

Thank you all for reading! As always, let me know what you think!