Aurora was one of the first students in the Great Hall the next morning.
Usually, she didn't wake up early. In fact, once she was asleep, it was near impossible to wake her before she was ready - at least, that was what Cedric had always told her when they were younger. But today she was on a mission, so she set herself an early alarm and was awake at its first beep.
She was exhausted, of course. Having an unexpected, late-night adventure, paired with staying up even later to research all she could about three-headed dogs didn't allow for much sleep, but she found she was too wound up to stay in bed another minute. She was up and dressed before the sun had managed to filter fully through the murky lake windows, casting a faint gray tinge across the room.
"Roraaaa," Pansy whined from her bed. She pulled her blanket up above her nose, her eyes barely open enough to give Aurora a proper glare. "'Snot even six yet."
"Go back to sleep, then," Aurora whispered back, pulling on her shoes. She grabbed her copy of Fantastic Beasts and tucked it into her school bag. "I have to go now though, it's too important to wait." She walked over and fully shut the curtains around Pansy's bed. "See you later, Pans."
Pansy just let out another sleepy groan in reply.
Aurora shouldered her school bag and set out for her trek through the castle. She planned to venture up to the third floor before too many others were awake, hoping to avoid any questions from her fellow Slytherins about what she was up to. She didn't plan to open the door again, and was terrified of the idea of coming face-to-face with the dog again before she was prepared, but she did just want to see the door again, even if it was more or less to remind herself that last night hadn't been an extremely vivid dream.
She emerged from the dungeons and, with a quick, hopefully not-too-obvious glance around, made her way up the stairs, tracing her fleeing path from the night before as best she could remember. The only students milling around were heading to the Great Hall, either too sleepy themselves, or too focused on getting to breakfast to give Aurora a second look. Even the two Prefects standing by the stairs - a Hufflepuff and a Gryffindor, probably stationed there to help guide any first-year students still baffled by the castle's massive size - were too engulfed in their own conversation to notice her.
Aurora felt like she was in one of those Muggle action comics Cedric had always been begging Amos for. Sometimes he would let her borrow a few, usually after he had read them until the covers were beginning to tear off, and she had always loved the hair-raising adventures the heroes found themselves in. It wasn't necessarily an adventure to be exploring the castle - after all, curfew ended at five in the morning, and it wasn't against any rules for students to wander in their free time - but exploring explicitly to find the forbidden corridor was still exhilarating to her.
As she made her way up the flights of stairs, Aurora began humming her own theme song.
And when she got to the third floor, she was so invested in her song, she almost missed it.
The door was gone.
For a minute, Aurora just stood still in front of where the door had been the night before, her mouth agape. She knew she was in the right place (it was hard to forget where you had nearly been mauled by a three-headed dog), but where there had been a heavy wooden door just a few hours before was now a smooth expanse of wall, partially covered by a tapestry so dusty, it seemed it hadn't been cleaned in years.
Slowly she walked down one length of the corridor, then down the other, just in case she had somehow missed it, but… No, this is certainly where it was.
She took a tentative step forward and put her hand on the wall. It was rough under her fingers; the wall was actual stone, not a door transfigured to look like stone. And when she pressed her ear against it, she didn't hear anything. No growling, no barking - just silence as the cool feel of stone pressed against her cheek.
"Miss Rosier."
A voice as cold as ice made Aurora nearly jump. She pushed herself away from the wall, scrambling to twist herself into a position that was less compromising to what she was actually doing, but it was too late. Snape had already seen her.
He stood in the middle of the hall, his arms folded tightly over his black robes. Aurora hadn't heard any approaching footsteps, he seemed instead to appear out of thin air. He was glaring down his hooked nose at her, his mouth set in a tight grimace.
At least he doesn't look furious, Aurora thought to herself, straightening out her robes under Snape's unwavering gaze, trying to gather even a smidge of dignity.
The Slytherins, especially the first years, knew how Snape looked when he was furious: his lips got very thin and his nostrils flared. But the biggest sign was his eyes. They would get a certain look in them that told you just how much trouble you were about to get into. Anyone who said he was impossible to read just hadn't been paying enough attention - it was all in his eyes. And right now, the glint of rage was missing. Instead, there was something there Aurora had only seen maybe once since she arrived at Hogwarts. Was Snape…amused?
"Miss Rosier," he repeated, his voice less icy than before. "It is Hogwarts tradition that breakfast be served in the Great Hall, is it not?"
"Yes, Professor. I -" Aurora bit the inside of her cheek, trying to think up an excuse that didn't make her sound like the dunderhead Snape thought all first-year students were. "I had hoped to speak with Professor…Flitwick! About…Charms coursework. But it seems I'm too early."
She exhaled sharply through her nose and shrugged up at Snape. She knew it was a terrible excuse, but it was all she could think of at the moment. She had never been very good at lying.
"Much." Snape replied after a moment of silence. His eyes flickered from Aurora, to the wall, and back again. "And you seem to have also forgotten where the Charms classroom is located?"
"...Yes."
Aurora held Snape's gaze in the silence that followed. His dark eyes bore into her own, but she could still tell from their glint, he wasn't angry with her. And besides, Snape didn't linger. If you were in trouble, he made sure you knew.
After what felt like a millennium, Snape let out an exasperated sigh. "Allow me to escort you to the Great Hall."
Aurora didn't argue and gave Snape a nod. He gestured for her to lead the way and she moved quietly, knowing how lucky she was to not be heading to Snape's office for detention. While she had seen Snape angry before, she had yet to see him dole out any major punishments to the Slytherins, outside of taking away a few House points. But she knew it could still happen, and Aurora wasn't certain Snape favored her enough for her not to be the first.
At first, they walked in silence, with only the sounds of their steps on the stone and the swoosh of Snape's robes. But as they left the corridor and emerged into the Grand Stairwell, with Snape at her right shoulder, he began to speak in a hushed tone, so low that Aurora had to strain to catch every word.
"If you are to sneak around, Miss Rosier, might I suggest you do it away from any corridors that have been deemed forbidden and are currently heavily monitored."
Aurora had to catch herself from stumbling in surprise. Was Snape…encouraging her? She tried to glance back, but Snape's face remained as still as stone, remaining fixed forward as they walked.
"You are quite lucky I was the one to find you. Other Heads of Houses may not have been so…forgiving." He went quiet again as they descended the stairs, as if carefully weighing out whatever he was about to say. "I would detest receiving word that a member of my house had been caught out of their dorms after hours."
This time, Aurora did stumble, but she caught herself quickly enough to not draw out another complaint from Snape. Was he talking about last night? Aurora thought back, trying to remember if she had seen anyone in the halls, but if she had, they would have just been shadows melted into the darkness. Did he know?
"Professor -?"
"The Great Hall, Miss Rosier."
They had reached the flung-open doors of the Great Hall, sunlight casting the still mostly empty room in a soft glow as it streamed through the wide, arched windows along the far wall. Aurora didn't get a chance to finish her question, or even thank Snape for…whatever he had just done for her. He just swept away to the Head Table without a second glance.
And so, she found herself sitting at her usual place at the Slytherin table, hands folded and eyes fixated towards the Gryffindors.
She kept replaying what Snape had said to her. I would detest receiving word that a member of my house had been caught out of their dorms after hours. The way he said it, he could have meant two things, each as equally puzzling as the other. Either he knew that she had been out of the dorm last night, and wasn't going to do anything about it. Or, he was encouraging her to continue exploring, and to remain cautiously aware of not being caught, especially by the wrong people.
She couldn't wrap her head around it, and the Great Hall was growing too crowded to properly think about it. Students had begun to trickle in around her, the crowds growing steadily thicker as the Great Hall's transfigured ceiling grew bluer and bluer. Within the rush came the rest of the Slytherin first years, and they filled in their usual spots around Aurora at the table.
A few quiet minutes passed as everyone dove into the breakfast spread, but the silence couldn't hide how Daphne, Pansy, and Tracey had been pointedly looking at her, nudging each other to try and get someone to speak up.
Aurora sighed. She had hoped nobody would say anything to call her out and they could all continue breakfast in blissful ignorance, but of course…
"You were up early, Aurora." Tracey eyed her over a spoonful of cereal, batting her eyelashes innocently.
"I didn't sleep well," Aurora lied, blowing a hair out of her eyes irritatedly. She quietly spooned a hunk of grapefruit into her mouth, propped her head on her hand, and muttered, "I figured they'd be here by now."
"Who?" Pansy leaned in across the table, as if trying to study Aurora for even the smallest hint of a clue. At her question, Aurora's eyes flickered to the Gryffindor table for the briefest of seconds, but it was enough for Detective Pansy, who nearly squawked in realization. She made a revolted face, like she had bitten into a lemon. "What could you possibly have to talk to the ghastly Gryffindors about?"
"Curious about Potty Potter and the Weasel too, eh Aurora?" Draco smirked. He looked pleased with himself, sitting smugly between Crabbe and Goyle. "I reckon they got caught in minutes. Wouldn't be surprised if they're on their way back to London by now."
"Rora, why were you gone last night?" Daphne piped up. Aurora turned to her, eyes widened. She was still half-asleep (Daphne hated waking up almost as much as Aurora did, probably more) and was too focused on cutting her French toast into bite-sized pieces to notice Aurora subtly shaking her head. "I woke up and saw your bed was empty. It was late, but you weren't anywhere in the common room like last time."
Aurora cursed herself for forgetting Daphne was such a light sleeper. Everyone had seemed fast asleep when Aurora had left and gotten back to the dormitory, but Daphne did tend to wake in the middle of the night for water, and often ventured into the common room when she couldn't fall back asleep.
Theo cocked is head to Aurora, suddenly much more interested in the conversation than the book he was reading. "You were gone last night?"
"Where'd you go?" Blaise leaned in to shadow Pansy, followed quickly by Tracey and Millicent. From his place near Blaise, Draco just stared at her, looking confused.
"Aurora, did you try to go to the trophy room?" Draco's voice was low, as if he didn't believe it himself.
Just as Aurora was about to make up an uninteresting story about getting lost on her way back from the washroom, a familiar flash of hair joined the Gryffindor table.
"See you in class!"
Aurora didn't wait to explain herself, she just stood and bolted to the Gryffindor table. She heard a sputtering cough from behind her and glanced back to see Draco nearly joking on his drink, eyes wide as he spotted Harry and Ron for himself - not in any trouble and still very much enrolled at Hogwarts. In fact, she imagined much to Draco's dismay, they looked particularly chipper that morning.
Aurora sighed, knowing that their lack of expulsion would be the only thing Draco would talk about for the rest of the day, but she shook that out of her head. Right now, she was too focused on trying to talk to them to care.
She paused for a moment near the edge of the table, trying to decide the best approach. She had been so determined all morning to see them, she hadn't focused on exactly how they would react to her.
Aurora eyed the table. She had hoped Hermione or Neville would be nearby too, but it seemed it would just be Harry and Ron. They looked tired, but cheerful, despite the fact that they had definitely gotten just as little, or maybe less, sleep than Aurora had. They sat with their heads close together, whispering as they filed their plates with food. They were so wrapped up in their own conversation, Aurora was certain there could be a three-headed dog in the Great Hall with them, and they wouldn't even realize.
She took a seat on the open bench across from them and, when they didn't look up, slammed her copy of Fantastic Beasts down on the table. It startled them so badly, Ron flicked the spoonful of eggs he had been scooping into the air.
"Bloody hell!" he yelped. Bits of egg had landed in his hair, and a few chunks had splattered across Harry's glasses. It took them a moment to register who sat across from them, but when it did, they certainly didn't look happy. "What do you want?"
"It's a Cerberus."
"Wh…a what?"
Aurora sighed, wiping the egg flecks off the front of her book. "That three-headed dog? Well, according to mythology, it's a -"
"Alright, alright! Keep your voice down!" Harry leaned forward and covered Aurora's mouth with his hands. "No need to shout it for everyone to hear, we're listening."
Aurora licked his hand - the same trick she would use at home to get Cedric off of her.
"Blech," Harry groaned, wiping his now damp palm on his robes.
Aurora waited. She had been waiting all morning, she could wait a few more seconds. And once she had their undivided attention, Aurora opened her book to the page she had dog-eared. She leaned in and the boys followed her lead.
"This three-headed dog?" She tapped the page with her finger, the image Newt Scamander had magically sketched into the textbook shaking the slobber from its three snarling mouths. "In mythology, they call it Cerberus. They're very rare, I don't even think there's been one spotted anywhere in decades."
There was a moment of silence between the three of them - Aurora staring at the boys expectantly as the two stared at the book, then shared an unreadable glance. Finally, Ron broke the silence.
"Congratulations, do you want a medal?" Ron fixed Aurora with a cool stare while Harry adjusted his glasses, awkwardly looking away. "Maybe you can find a space for it in the trophy room. Where you nearly got us caught by Filch."
Aurora bristled. She was getting sick of having this argument over and over again.
"I have been saying from the very beginning, Ronald, I was there to warn you about Filch. Without me, you would've been expelled, and you know it." She crossed her arms as Ron scrunched his nose. "And the fact that you two weren't expelled in enough payback for Draco, trust me. So why can't you just drop it and move on?"
Ron shook his head as if he hadn't heard what she said, and chided, "Always defending him, Rosier."
Aurora groaned and tapped the page in the book again. "Look, what do we plan to do about the dog?"
Harry's eyebrows shot up into his bangs and he glanced at Ron, who had his arms crossed. "Why should we tell you?"
"I was there too." Aurora barely caught her scoff, knowing it wouldn't help her case to be rude. "And Hermione and Neville, too. Plus, I identified the dog for you, thank you very much. I think I deserve to know what our plan is."
"Our plan? Seriously?" Ron repeated. "We're not a team, Rosier. You're a Slytherin! And we don't owe you anything. You're the reason we almost got caught!"
Aurora gritted her teeth. "For the last time, Weasley, I was trying to warn you."
He huffed. "Fat lot of good that did us."
"Weasley, you are the most insufferable swot. Merlin, if it weren't for me, you know you would've been caught and you both would've -"
She was going to continue, ready to rat out the boys until her face was blue, when a loud hooting filled the room. Owls swooped in through the windows and glided down to the tables. Aurora tried to keep her eyes peeled for Oxnard with any word from Marius, but she couldn't spot his gray wings anywhere.
Aurora glanced back at the boys and managed to duck out of the way just as six large screech owls swooped in, dropping a long, thin package onto Harry's plate. His bacon slid to the floor as the package clattered over the plates, and Aurora barely managed to dodge the splash of pumpkin juice that spilled from his goblet.
A seventh, smaller owl fluttered in their wake, dropping a letter on the parcel. Harry scooped it up to read first and Ron leaned in closer. When Aurora tried to lean in too, the boys shot her a dirty look and scooted farther away. She sighed, resting her chin on her first, and waited. From where she was sitting, they looked like a two-headed beast curled over a treasure, and her mind drifted again to what the three-headed dog could be guarding, only a few floors above them.
And since the boys had barred her from reading the letter, Aurora instead examined the parcel.
Is that a broom?
The parcel was thin and narrow and, upon closer inspection, definitely bulged out at one end. There was almost no denying - it was a broomstick, and whoever had wrapped it had not been too concerned about the rest of the school figuring that out.
"Bloody hell!" Ron's excitement brought Aurora out of her thoughts. When she looked up, his eyes were wide and he was staring at Harry with amazement. "A Nimb -"
Harry faked a cough, shaking his head aggressively and tilting it in Aurora's direction. Ron looked at her as if he had forgotten she was there, his mouth tightening into a thin line. Harry tucked the letter into the pocket of his robes and stood.
"Let's take this up to the common room."
Ron nodded and stood too, never taking his narrowed eyes off of Aurora, as if she might reach out to snatch the parcel for herself. Instead, she sat with her book in her lap, anxiously fingering the torn cover.
"You're right, Harry. Don't need any snakes hanging around us when we open it."
And with a final glare from Ron, the boys got up quickly and left, the parcel gripped tightly in Harry's hands. Aurora watched as they left, weaving as quickly as they could through the remaining students to the main staircase. Out of the corner of her eye, Aurora saw Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle stalking after them.
Bet they saw the owls too, she thought to herself. Draco won't let Harry get too far without cornering him.
All at once, the weariness from her late night and early morning adventure hit her. She felt as if she could easily curl back into bed and sleep for the rest of the day. Instead, Aurora made her way back to the Slytherin table, dragging her feet a bit in disappointment. She knew it wouldn't be easy, but she had truly hoped that if her warning the night before wasn't enough to save her meager friendship with the Gryffindors, then maybe her discovery and research of the dog would have been.
She took a deep breath - maybe friendship with the Gryffindors just wasn't meant to be.
Shaking her head, she sat at the Slytherin table and grabbed a remaining piece of toast from the center. She spread a larger than necessary amount of clotted cream on it, and took a big bite.
"What was that all about?" A voice made her jump. "It looked brutal."
Aurora glanced up from her toast. She had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts, she hadn't even noticed that Theo, Pansy, Daphne, Blaise, and Tracey were still at the table, all of them giving her concerned looks. If she were being honest, she would have expected them to all have followed Draco out, or at least have headed off to class themselves - instead, they had waited. For her.
She swallowed her bite of toast and shrugged.
"Oh, come off it, Aurora. You were sniffing around the Gryffindor table last night and I saw you talking to that Granger girl. What, is Slytherin not good enough for you?" Pansy sniffed and Daphne elbowed her. Pansy gave the blonde an annoyed look before turning back to Aurora, voice softer "I'm just saying, Rora. You can't change your house, and it's not worth it to seem like a house traitor."
"I don't want to change houses, Pansy, I just - we were -" Aurora took a steadying breath before continuing. Pansy may have been harsh, but she was right. "Okay. I met them on the train and I thought we were friends, but…I just wanted to be friendly. Especially after all the fighting during flying practice yesterday. That's it."
Daphne nodded sympathetically and rested her head on Aurora's shoulder.
"It doesn't seem in Gryffindor nature to be nice." Blaise shrugged.
"They'd say the same about us," Aurora replied with a smile.
Her fellow first-years had waited for her, and they actually seemed to want her around, no matter what. Aurora suddenly felt ridiculous - she had been waiting so long for Harry and Ron to like her, she hadn't even considered what she already had. She had a Slytherin family now, and it was wonderful.
You know what, she thought to herself, looking around at the friends gathered around her. Who needs the Gryffindors?
But even so…
Aurora looked down at her piece of toast with the bite taken out of it and her stomach did a flip.
"I - think I need to get something from the common room. But I'll see you guys in History of Magic, yeah?"
Pansy smiled. "We'll save you a seat."
Aurora had planned to have a moment alone in the privacy of her dormitory before heading to class. She figured she could sneak into History of Magic late - Professor Binns hardly noticed if students showed up at all, he just droned on and on whether they listened or not.
She had barely made it out of the Great Hall when Hermione appeared in her path, arms crossed and scowling. She looked frazzled.
"I wouldn't get yourself involved with them."
Aurora blinked. "With who exactly?"
"With Ronald. And Harry."
Aurora instinctively looked around to see if they were nearby before she remembered that she wasn't in the mood to see them again. She turned back to Hermione, who had pursed her lips, looking even more self-assured then she had a moment ago. Aurora sighed.
"You were the one who encouraged me to talk to them yesterday." Hermione's face flushed pink and she opened her mouth to argue, but Aurora cut her off. "But I think you're right."
Hermione blinked. "I - I am?"
"They're not worth the trouble." Aurora shrugged. "And they're not interested in being friends with a Slytherin, so…"
She started again for the entrance to the dungeons; Hermione had to jump out of her way to avoid being barrelled over. Aurora let out a breath - it was hard to admit, but it also felt like the right thing. She wouldn't waste anymore energy being friends with people who didn't like her for her, not when she was at the most renowned wizarding school and already had an entire House filled with people she had befriended.
Aurora had just made it to the steps when Hermione piped up.
"I am."
Aurora froze, swearing she had misheard her. She turned around, eyes narrowed at Hermione. The Gryffindor shrunk back, but held Aurora's gaze.
There was a moment of silence as the two girls stood there in silence. Aurora studied the bushy-haired girl; Hermione looked almost ready to burst out of her skin, but if it was in fear or excitement, Aurora couldn't tell.
"...you are?"
"Aurora! Yes, of course!" Hermione rushed forward and engulfed Aurora in a hug the moment she felt the Slytherin wouldn't snap at her. When she let her go she held her at arm's length, beaming. "You were so kind to me on the train, I don't care what House you were sorted into! I'm just happy to have you as my friend!"
"Well, if you're absolutely sure…" Aurora grinned at her before pulling her in for another bone-crushing hug.
"Oh, knock it off, of course I am." Hermione swatted at Aurora's shoulder before stepping back to smooth out her uniform. She paused for a moment, a hint of uncertainty in her expression. "Well, with you at least. The other Slytherin…Pansy kinda scares me."
Aurora laughed. "Me too sometimes."
There was another pause as the two girls smiled at each other, reminiscent of when they had first met on the Hogwarts Express. It felt like it had been years ago, when really it had barely been a few weeks.
The bell rang, and a flurry of students swarming the hall brought them back to the present.
"I have Herbology now, but…" Hermione paused, as if she were suddenly too nervous to ask. "Would you like to come to the library with me? Tonight. I know we both have that potions essay due soon, and I figured if we worked on it together, we could -"
"I'd love to."
Hermione beamed
"I would love to."
Hermione beamed and it was infectious to Aurora, who felt so much giddier than she had that day. With a wave, Hermione bolted away and Aurora turned towards the History of Magic classroom, realizing she no longer felt like she needed to hide in the common room.
Aurora claims to have given up on being friends with the Gryffindor boys, but will she give up on the hunt for the three-headed dog?
I hope you're enjoying these deep-dive, deviating from canon chapters I wanted to focus on the Gryffindor / Slytherin relationships and how Aurora is handling being deemed a Slytherin, with all that implied negative connotation.
And apologies for the late chapter posting! For a while I had a chunk of them written in advance, but now that I've caught up on posting those, updates may be a touch sporadic!