Tag, You're It

Well ain’t I a doin’ fine

I’m gainin’ all the time

I like to hang around

After the sun goes down

Hours later Walburga was seated on a chair in front of the Great Hall, which was filled with countless students. A teacher next to her placed an old hat on her head. She knew the next few seconds would decide her whole future in her family. If she got into anything else than Slytherin then she would probably be homeless. So, with everything she had, she focused on the house Slytherin, squeezing her eyes shut.

“Ah, another Black”, Walburga flinched slightly as the hat started to talk.

“I see, you are very brave. Gryffindor could be a good choice”, the hat spoke in a low voice.

Walburga shifted in the seat, anxiety clearly building up in her body.

“Would be the first Black not in Slytherin if I remember right”, he continued to speak and Walburga thought she heard a mocking tone. She wiped her sweaty hands on her robes and took a deep breath, preparing for his final decision.

“But I can also see a lot of ambition”, Walburga felt like she would faint any second now.

“Please, Slytherin. Please, Slytherin”, she whispered, more to ground herself.

“Slytherin? Well, I guess you’re not the right Black to break the cycle”, there was a long moment of silence in which Walburga didn’t even dare to breath “SLYTHERIN!”

Her face immediately turned into a smile; relief written all over it. Her heartbeat steadied and she confidently sat down at the Slytherin table next to a boy which she remembered as Falco Lestrange.

“You must be glad”, the black-haired boy said with a grin on his face.

She nodded, still a bit in shock. For a moment she had thought she would get into Gryffindor.

It didn’t take too long and the teacher in the front called out for Euphemia Braithewaite. Walburga’s head turned back to the chair. The hat had barely touched Euphemia’s head as he shouted: GRYFFINDOR!

Secretly Walburga had hoped that she would get into Slytherin too. She knew that it was practically impossible but there still had been a flicker of hope. Even though her parents wouldn’t ever allow a friendship like that she grew to have sympathy for Euphemia in the train.

After the sorting all the first years got brought into their common rooms with the prefects.

Walburga’s eyes scanned the room. It seemed cold but noble. As she looked out of the window her heart stopped for a moment. There was water.

“Where exactly are we?”, she asked Falco who had been by her side along with his twin brother Roderick.

“Under the sea”, he replied as he followed her gaze to the window.

The thought of being under sea made her slightly uneasy. She didn’t like water all too much after her mother had pushed her down in the bathtub after she had done something wrong. This was the first moment she ever truly feared for her life but Alphard had stepped in and stopped her mother.

“Some say a giant squid is in there”, Roderick said “And some even say that this squid is supposed to be Godric Gryffindor”

“That would make him the biggest Animagus ever known”, Falco added.

“Has anyone ever seen it?”, Walburga asked.

“A few people claim to have seen it but I think it’s all just bollocks”, Roderick answered “And if it’s real then I highly doubt that it’s Godric. Why would he choose a life like this?”

“Maybe he wants a quiet life”, Walburga shrugged “He for sure wouldn’t have that as Godric Gryffindor”

“Who wouldn’t want to be as famous as he is?”, Falco looked at both of them “I’ll do anything to be a famous Quidditch player one day”

“Falco, you cannot compare being a Hogwarts fonder and being a Quidditch player”, Roderick said, amused by his brother’s enthusiasm.

“Yeah, you’ll all see”, was Falco’s reply.

“Quiet down!” the prefect shouted so that everyone could hear him. In the next few minutes he explained a few rules about Hogwarts, just like curfew or the regular eating times.

Walburga only listened half heartly. She observed every student in the room. A few of them seemed familiar. She probably knew them from the pureblood balls that sometimes occurred in their home.

After the prefect had finished, they were finally allowed to get into their rooms. Walburga walked up the stairs and opened the door to her new room. Two girls which had been going around in the room, stopped in their tracks and looked at her.

“Hi”, she awkwardly moved her hand and waved.

“Walburga Black, right?” one of the girls asked.

She nodded “How did you know?”

“I went to a ball with my family in the Black manor two years ago. I’m Stella Rosier”, she offered a kind smile.

“I think I remember”, Walburga said out of being nice. She most definitely couldn’t remember.

“Oh and I’m Elspeth McKinnon”, the other girl said.

Walburga nodded and gave her a slight smile. She didn’t know much about the McKinnon’s. Only that they were half-bloods but her parents had never really complained about them. 

“We’ve but your stuff over there”, Stella pointed to the bed right next to the door that was probably leading to a bathroom. Walburga moved to her place where she started to check her stuff, most importantly her small bag.

“Well, this place certainly has a… mood”, Elspeth spoke up as she looked around the room. Floating candles on the ceiling, old wood and everything held in their house colours.

“It’s not that bad. Far from what I’m used to but I guess Hogwarts doesn’t cater to luxury, does it?” Stella replied.

“Are you kidding me? This is probably the most luxurious I’ll get in my life”, Elspeth threw herself on the bed with a satisfied expression on her face which made Walburga move on her bed too. It was indeed comfortable, not as good as her own but she definitely could get used to it.

“Halfbloods”, Stella rolled her eyes but cracked a smile, obviously not meaning it in a rude way.

“At least she doesn’t have to attend any of these boring pureblood balls”, Walburga decided to join in on the conversation.

“I would actually murder someone to go to one of them. All that fancy stuff, right for me”, Elspeth closed her eyes and looked like she was floating in heaven.

“Trust me, you imagine them way better than they actually are”, Walburga replied.

“Yes, I have been trying my best for years to skip them but my mom always drags me there even when I’m sick. She says it’s all good for getting connections”, Stella added while she was unpacking her bags.

“Connections are exactly what I need”, Elspeth turned to her side to look at them “So I can marry a rich heir and then the whole fancy thing will be standard”

“You have us now. We are your connections”, Stella had a slight smirk on her face.