Chapter 4
"No," I forcefully said.
"No?" The hat chuckled. "Miss Riddle-Black, it is not your place to tell me what to do. If the Headmaster has ordered a placement, I have to--"
"Listen to me instead of him. I am an Heir of Slytherin and, therefore, an Heir of Hogwarts. Headmasters can be replaced. The blood of a Founder cannot. You will do as you are commanded or I will make sure you regret it. You were made to Sort the students based on them and not the Headmaster's wishes. Never do his bidding again."
"You make a good point, Miss Riddle-Black. I apologise. However, keep in mind that the Headmaster will not be happy about this."
"I have no doubt... Is there anyone else he has forced you to incorrectly Sort?"
"Yes. He has ordered me before to Sort all of certain families in specific Houses. Most of those did fit in the House he wanted but not all. The only other time I didn't do what he wanted was when I Sorted Sirius Black, Lily Evans and James Potter into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin as Dumbledore wanted. He never trusted the Blacks, Lestranges or Rosiers. The fact that he wants you and Potter, despite having Black blood, in Gryffindor is clear he has a plan you three should be very concerned about."
"Who is Sorted incorrectly in Hogwarts right now?"
"The Weasleys. The eldest one, the Prefect, should be a Ravenclaw. The twins should be Slytherins. They do agree with your views, Miss Riddle-Black. The Bones girl and the Abbott girl should both be Gryffindors just as the Bones girl's Aunt should've been. All others have been Sorted right."
"And the other Weasley boys? Charlie and Bill?"
"Both were Sorted right."
"Got it. You should probably place me in Slytherin now."
"Yes, Miss Riddle-Black. SLYTHERIN!" Almost everyone gasped, for not only was I a Muggle-Raised who'd been Sorted into Slytherin but I was also a hatstall. I walked over to the Slytherin table, my head held high, a small smirk on my face. When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, “HUFFLEPUFF,” Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to “MacDougal, Morag.” I noticed that Dumbledore now seemed quite angry. Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: The hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, “SLYTHERIN!” Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself. There weren’t many people left now.
“Moon", “Nott", “Parkinson", then a pair of twin girls, “Patil, Padma” and “Patil, Parvarti”, then “Perks, Sally-Anne", and then, at last, “Potter, Harry”. As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.
“Potter, did she say?”
“The Harry Potter?”
Harry's POV
The last thing I saw before the hat dropped over my eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at me and then I was looking at the black inside of the hat. I waited. “Hmm,” said a small voice in my head. "Miss Riddle-Black and I were right. You are without a doubt a Slytherin."
"What were you and Hermione talking about?" I asked, casually.
"Ah, yes. Miss Riddle-Black and I were discussing the fact that Headmaster Dumbledore ordered me to place you, Mr Weasley and her in Gryffindor." I felt a surge of anger at him trying to manipulate my life.
"He did what?"
"Yes. He has forced me to place many in the wrong House, Mr Potter. Including your friend's Brothers. You should ask Miss Riddle-Black about this. I'm sure she can explain further. SLYTHERIN!" Again the hall gaped and fell silent just as they had for Hermione, for not only had their 'Golden Boy' become a snake, but I was another hatstall. I nonchalantly walked over to the Slytherin table and sat next to Hermione, who gave me a small smile. We waited patiently for Ron's turn. I could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest to me sat Hagrid, who caught my eye and gave me a thumbs up. I grinned back. And there, in the centre of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. I recognized him at once from the card I’d gotten out of the Chocolate Frog on the train. Dumbledore’s silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts. I spotted Professor Quirrell too, the nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very peculiar in a large purple turban. And now there were only five people left to be Sorted.
“Thomas, Dean,” a black boy even taller than Ron, joined Ron's Brothers at the Gryffindor table.
Ron's POV
“Turpin, Lisa,” became a Ravenclaw and then it was my turn. I nervously sat on the stool and everything went black as the hat covered my eyes.
"Ah, Mr Weasley. I owe three of your Brothers an apology. The Prefect was supposed to be a Ravenclaw and the twins were supposed to be Slytherins like you. They will all be accepting of this soon enough but I wouldn't expect your Mother to come around any time soon. Now, I'm sure Miss Riddle-Black and Mr Potter can explain everything to you once you sit down. For now, however, know that I will not do Dumbledore's bidding anymore. I will Sort everyone where they belong, so do ensure your Sister is prepared to possibly not be a Gryffindor. I sincerely apologise for Sorting your family wrongly. Dumbledore wished for me to Sort the three of you in Gryffindor. However, Miss Riddle-Black convinced me to Sort everyone correctly from her Sorting onwards. Hence the Longbottom boy being a Hufflepuff instead of the Gryffindor Dumbledore and his Grandmother and even Neville himself wanted. Honestly, his Mother was supposed to be a Hufflepuff too instead of a Gryffindor. That boy needs help. Keep an eye on him. He may prove useful since it was actually Dumbledore and not the Lestranges or Crouch Junior who harmed his Parents. They were spies just like Potter's Parents."
"I'll make sure we watch out for him," I thought.
"Good. SLYTHERIN!" The hat yelled. The hall fell silent again, for a Weasley being both a Slytherin and a hatstall was unheard of. I joined Harry and Hermione at the Slytherin table, my eyes gleaming. I will never be overshadowed by my Brothers ever again, for I have carved a different path for myself, one my friends and I will proudly walk on. We are people, not pawns. We are players, not pieces. We may not be what everyone expected us to be but we will prove to everyone out there that everyone has both light and dark in them and that everyone has a choice between the two.
Hermione's POV
After the majority of the people in the Great Hall were gone, the prefects, Gemma Farley and Marcus Flint, led us first years to a door on the right side of the Entrance Hall. They further led us down the stone steps behind the door, which ended in front of a bare stretch of stone wall in the dungeons. "Salazar," Flint firmly stated, causing the stone wall to give way to a passageway. Harry, Ron and I tentatively walked through the passage, along with the other first years, being chaperoned by the two prefects, till they finally entered the Common Room. The Common Room was a dungeon-like room with greenish lamps and chairs. I think this dungeon has to be extended partway under the lake, due to the green tinge of the light in the room. The Common Room had lots of low-backed black and dark green button-tufted, leather sofas, skulls and dark wood cupboards. It was decorated with tapestries featuring the adventures of famous Medieval Slytherins. It has quite a grand atmosphere but also quite a cold one. Farley cleared her throat to gather our attention.
"All ears here? Good. You are Slytherins now. We expect you to behave like one," she said, her eyes lingering slightly longer on me, Harry and Ron. "To be one of us, there are some things you need to know and a few rules you'll need to follow. Other than your housemates, Professor Snape and a handful of people here and there, people are going to be biased against you and think of you as evil. Therefore, it'll be for your own safety to only wander around in pairs or groups, though it's not mandatory. You are never to bring another person from a different House inside the Common Room unless it's for special circumstances or on the instructions of the Headmaster or the Head of the House, which is currently Professors Dumbledore and Snape respectively. Don't bring up any of our House matters outside the Common Room. You are to not reveal the password to a student from another House or even say it out loud while within their earshot. The password changes every fortnight and the new password will be posted on the noticeboard. Since no other House wants to reside in the dungeons and the only other places down here are Professor Snape's office and his potions lab, we have a lot of room so you can choose which room you want to reside in, though you'll have to share. There are both boy's and girl's washrooms in every room. That's it for now." Farley and Flint left us alone. Harry, Ron and I took in the Common Room, getting a good look around before Ron pointed out a staircase leading up to one of the rooms.
"Come on," I said and the boys followed me. The room was at the top of the stairs. The door's carvings were creepy and had dangerous and intimidating vibes ensuring we got plenty of privacy. I made my way into the room first, opening the door to allow Ron and Harry to get our luggage, which had been placed in the Common Room, to our new residence. The room was surprisingly luxurious yet homely. It had four queen-sized beds, all with emerald blankets and pillows. There was a large empty cupboard that could easily carry clothes and other things for four people. The cupboard had different compartments and sections, a few of them obviously meant for clothes while others seemed to be there to contain other things, a few hidden ones to hide things as well. There was a portrait of a giant serpent with seven heads hung up on the wall. There were two bathrooms there, one for boys and the other for girls, both huge and sparkling clean. There was a knock on the door.
"I'll get it," Harry said and he opened the door to a tall, black boy with high cheekbones and long, slanting eyes.
"Er, hi," the boy said. "I'm Blaise. Blaise Zabini. Each of the rooms seems to only fit four and the others don't want to share with me so you're, er, kinda stuck with me. Sorry." He looked sheepishly at the floor with his trunk in his hands. He seemed worried we'd make him sleep somewhere else. Harry and Ron looked at me and, noticing this, so did Blaise. His eyes were both nervous, worried and calculating.
"Let him in, Harry," I said and Harry did so. Blaise let out a sigh of relief as he came in and Harry shut the door behind him. "Who's with who then? If there are four to a room? As I'm sure you know, we're Hermione, Harry and Ron."
"Malfoy, Nott, Crabbe and Goyle are sharing and Greengrass, Parkinson, Davis and Bulstrode are sharing."
"Why didn't they want to share with you?" Ron asked and Blaise scoffed.