The Sorting Hat
Arc one: "The Start"
The Great Hall was swarming with students and professors. The first-year children were all waiting to be sorted into the four Hogwarts houses (Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Slytherin) as Professor Dumbledore, the Deputy Headmaster, unrolled his parchment with all the names inside. After a Hufflepuff and a Gryffindor, the first Slytherin was Alphard Black, followed by his older sister Walburga. After a Ravenclaw with the last name Evans and a Slytherin, Anton Dolohov another name was called.
"Mathilde Grindelwald." Dumbledore called.
The Great Hall became even quieter. Everyone was looking for the one who had one of the most dangerous surnames, or maybe, the worst. A little girl with dark red hair began to start walking toward the stool. Dumbledore placed the Hat on her head.
“Um… ambition… a lot of it, too. And fear of your own last name… fear of being excluded… but also a lot of ingenuity and cunning… I'd say… SLYTHERIN!” Announced the Hair to the Hall.
No one applauded but the Slytherins. Mathilde removed her hat and handed it to Dumbledore, who avoided looking into her eyes, as blue as her father's right one, and then went to sit next to Anton Dolohov.
“Welcome.” said the black-haired child kindly, with a thick Russian accent.
“Thank you.”
Several Hufflepuff boys, the table next to theirs, looked at her fearfully.
“Your last name is scary.” commented Alphard, his curly hair slightly bouncing while his hand moved to shake Mathilde's, since the body moved forwards.
“Egal.” she said.
“What?” asked Walburga.
“I don't care. It's German.”
“You speak German?”
“I live in Austria.”
“Oh, right.”
Soon the Slytherins were joined by twins, Icarus and Diana Lestrange. Mathilde immediately noticed how similar they were, but different in other respects, like the hair: Icarus had dark raven hair, Diana’s hair were nearly silver.
Diana sat down next to her.
“Pleasure.” she greeted, shaking everyone's hand a little, lingering on Mathilde as well.
“I love your eyes and your hair,” she told her.
“Thank you.” she replied, also quite proud. Her hair was the last thing she had of her mother.
Then she sat there next to Abraxas Malfoy, blatantly a pureblood who fancied himself as an aristocrat, who from his manner reminded her of her father.
“Grindelwald huh? How does it feel with that last name?” he asked, immediately haughty except when talking to the Blacks.
“Superior.” she replied in rhyme.
Abraxas looked away.
Isolde Parkinson and Tom Riddle joined the table in the process. Soon afterward a certain Evan Rosier joined them. Rosier, like Vinda. He observed Evan without being too noticeable, but Diana noticed.
“Cute, isn't he?”
“He is a Rosier. Royauté magique française.”
“Oui. In France. Except for the last-born...they say she escaped.”
“A real mystery...” she said, although she knew who the last-born was.
“Are you a native French speaker?” asked Walburga.
“No, no. I know three French people, who always speak to me in French.”
“There's more. Definitely. You speak it without an English or German accent.”
“Austrian mysteries.”
Soon the whole sorting ended, when Myrtle Warren became a Ravenclaw.
Within five minutes of Rosier joining Mathilde had realized that everyone but her, Dolohov, and Riddle knew each other. So she began talking to Anton and Tom as the banquet began.
“Where are you from Tom?”
“London.”
“Magnificent city.” said Anton
“Horrible.”
“Uhm.”
“Mathilde, - Evan asked, - how is England, as an Austrian?”
“Warm. Also because I live in the Alps.”
“I guess then you can ski.”
“Yes and also snowboard. And swim.”
“You keep yourself pretty busy.”
“Or simply in my castle there are 4 things to do: read in the library, swim in the pool, stay in the room or in the living room when adults are not working.”
“Castle?” asked Anton.
“Nurmengard.”
“But that's the jail Grindelwald uses,” noted Alphard.
“Yes, the dungeon. You can live above it.”
“Don't you feel a little silly living like that? - Diana asked - in the sense ... you live your good life and the prisoners live a few feet below you.”
“Do you happen to have house elves Diana?”
All the first graders listened to her.
“Y-yes, why?”
“Don't you feel silly treating them like this?”
“Well… That's… I…”
“Do you have house elves Mathilde?” asked Walburga.
“No.”
“And for cooking, washing...?”
“For cooking there is Vinda… she is the best. While for-”
“Vinda Rosier?” interrupted Evan scornfully.
“Well?”
“That family traitor?”
“Vinda has chosen her life. She is not in line perhaps with the Rosiers, but she seems to me happy with her life. Evan, you don't know her, I kindly ask you not to judge her.”
“Evan...” said Walburga.
“Mathilde. - Alphard intervened, dampening the tension - Are you then Austrian completely?”
“No, I am half Austrian, on Father's side, and half English, on Mother's side.”
“How then did you come to Hogwarts and not Durmstrang?”
“Well, the option was the three top schools in Europe. Only ... Dad didn't like Durmstrang, he didn't want me there, Beauxbaton ... the French people I know say I speak it well, but it would be hard for me to take classes in French ... and then at Hogwarts my mom studied there.”
“Which house was she in?”
“Ravenclaw.”
“So you are the first Slytherin?”
“I don't know, my grandparents... I don't know what houses they were. How about you guys? All Slytherins in the family?”
“Well - Anton spoke up - I’m Russian, and my family attends Durmstrang. So… yeah, but Father wanted to send me here… and here I am.”
“While for me and Alphard, - Walburga said - our mother was from Ravenclaw, for example. But most of us are Slytherins.”
“So you had expectations as a house, I guess?”
“Ravenclaw was fine too, but not as good as Slytherin. - Abraxas explained - Still better, of course, than Hufflepuff and Gryffindor.”
“Gryffindors are the impulsive and brave ones, right?”
“We could call them that. - Walburga explained - Anyone who enters Gryffindor almost automatically becomes a blood traitor and friends of those ... Muggles.”
Mathilde sensed that they held the same beliefs as her father and the Alliance: muggles did not deserve wizards.
“But of course, this is the best house,” Alphard said, then grabbing some potatoes.
“I guess.”
Once the banquet was over the fifth-year Slytherin prefect, a relative of the Blacks, probably some aunt of them, accompanied them up to the dormitory. The 4 girls found themselves in front of a room with four beds, one on each side of the room, with their luggage already arranged and their uniforms on the bed. Walburga took the bed next to the door, Isolde the one on her right, Diana on her left, and Mathilde in front. As soon as Mathilde sat on the bed she opened the trunk. She made a mental note to thank Vinda for telling her to put on top of her trunk her summer pajamas immediately.