Slytherin, where House unity goes to die
Among the students expected to be sorted into Slytherin it is not rare to find muggle borns and half-bloods. Despite their reputation for being draped in green and silver, purebloods were not the only witches and wizards that were permitted refuge and sanctuary under the rule of the serpent.
That said, this inclusive sorting habit did not mean that the students themselves freely mingled and coexisted peacefully and in a manner unlike their ideals. No. The word of a hat could not change learned behaviors and the ideas of entirely separate types of people.
So, in accordance with some students wishes and in order to protect the students from each other, Slytherin existed as a House divided. A House of factions and strongly divided people.
Which is exactly what Percy Weasley told the first years as he helped to lead them back to their common room.
"It's generally accepted, within the confines of our quarters at least, that not all purebloods and half-bloods can be placed with muggle borns. If you wish to you may room with older students whose ideals fit yours better," Percy explains, "You may, of course, choose to live with your initially assigned roommates, but any fighting will result in being moved. No questions asked, no discussions had. You fight each other and you get relocated. It's a safety thing, better for everyone this way."
Percy shrugs and continues babbling on. Most of the first years have tuned him out by now except for one dark haired girl.
Hermione Granger, who had spent quite a lot of time under the Sorting Hat's scrutiny, hangs onto every word that falls from Percy Weasley's mouth. She looks as if she'd take notes if she were able to, and Percy smiles briefly when he notices this. As a muggle born this whole thing is clearly very new to her, but she's taking it in stride and Percy can appreciate that. That kind of adaptability will serve her well at Hogwarts and in her future endeavors.
"You're all going to do great," Percy concludes, "Just remember, the most important thing is to not cause trouble. We'd like to win the House Cup this year," this comment is paired with an eye roll and is clearly aimed at his fellow Slytherins.
The Slytherin quarters aren't bad, at least Hermione can tolerate the strange aesthetic. Clearly Salazar had considered himself some variety of edgelord, no one else would decorate a common room in such a clear attempt to seem dark and mysterious.
Hermione said as much out loud, mostly to herself. The comment was clearly a bit louder than she intended because one of the girls, a slight blonde, giggled and shot her a look.
"Hermione, Hermione Granger," She says, sticking her hand out for a handshake and hoping that that's not a strictly muggle thing.
"I'm Daphne Greengrass," the girl says with a small smile, her eyes are not unkind and her pale skin makes her seem delicate but Hermione senses a subtle strength about her as they shake hands, "You're funny, Granger. I saw you on the train. Gave Malfoy a run for his money, eh?"
Hermione blushes at the reminder of her... altercation on the train. The boy in question had run into her, too busy gloating about something or another to pay attention to where he was going. He had been surrounded by a group of first years that Hermione finds now present around her. Which is odd, seeing as he's not here, and unfortunate, given that they'd all seen her tell him off and brandish her wand at him despite not really knowing how to use it.
"He's not here. Which I find strange, he was with the whole lot of you before," Hermione says in hopes of changing the topic off of her outburst.
Daphne giggles and says, "Perhaps he's so afraid of you he begged the Sorting Hat to send him to Hufflepuff where they'd coddle him."
Hermione laughs hesitantly, "So am I the only one here who doesn't know everyone else? You all seem very... familiar with each other."
"Well," Daphne pauses to think, "We don't all know each other, but this year many of us are familiar with each other's names at least. That's not always the case, I've had cousins come here in the past where the House was more evenly split, but this year it seems we're in the majority which is why it seems like we all know each other. Pureblood circles are... complex. You'll figure that out soon enough."
Hermione nods, and again gains a countenance that paints a picture of a student longing to take notes on everything around her.
"I'll give you a run down of everyone later," Daphne offers, her pale eyes examining Hermione in a way reminiscent of a muggle biologist studying a petri dish.
Hermione smiles gratefully, "I've researched a lot, but it seems I'm still out of my element."
Daphne shrugs and returns her smile, "Muggle borns usually are a bit... out of the loop. You're a smart girl and everyone currently knows you as 'the scary one who told off Malfoy' so you'll be just fine."
Hermione sticks close to Daphne and is happy to find that for the time being they'll be rooming together, alongside three other girls. Hermione is, as expected, outnumbered by the other girls. There's Millicent Bulstrode and Tracey Davis, who Daphne informs her are half-bloods, and then Daphne herself and Pansy Parkinson are purebloods. Hermione valiantly resists the urge to jot all of this down for later, already bemoaning the absence of her usual pens, pencils, and small notebooks. Parchment and quills seemed fun at first, but now they are seriously hindering her ability to keep track of important information and she can't help but begrudge Wizarding Society for that.
Tracey is quiet and keeps to herself, so Hermione really doesn't mind her, but Millicent just looks dull and mean, and Pansy makes it no secret that she doesn't appreciate being stuck with a 'mudblood' (a term with which Hermione is only vaguely familiar from her reading, but which Daphne quickly and coldly denounces the use of).
"We're more civilized than that," Daphne says with a shrug as her cold, pale eyes glare at Pansy, "such crude language should be left for lesser species. Such as men."
"My mum says it's a stupid word anyways," Tracey pipes up, and Hermione is almost certain it's the first time the other girl has spoken in her presence, unlike the other three who had made idle conversation as they prepared for bed, "She thinks it's a bit... elementary. Uninspired even. It's just childish name calling really..." She trails off when Pansy levels a glare at her.
Daphne rolls her eyes, "In any case, I'd rather room with a smart muggle born than a stupid pureblood. It's lucky they don't require an aptitude test to get in, else your parents might have to find other schooling for you, Pansy."
Pansy scowls at Daphne and spits out, "I'm just as smart as she is!"
Millicent, proving to be about as eloquent as Hermione had expected just grunts and calls out, "Shut it! Sleep for Merlin's sake!" From where she's already flopped over onto her bed.
Hermione stifles a laugh from where she's sitting on her bed across the room and Daphne shoots her a smile before they all silently agree to go to sleep and avoid the wrath of Millicent Bulstrode.
The morning passes in a slightly more hostile manner. Already factions have popped up in their room. Millicent and Pansy are decidedly against Hermione (despite Pansy seeming perturbed that this allied her with Millicent). Tracey, whose bed is unfortunately in the middle of the two pairs, seems content to quietly ignore that there's any sort of conflict brewing. Daphne, whom Pansy has now taken to calling a blood traitor, has made it abundantly clear that she is on Hermione's side.
Hermione just wants to go to breakfast.
In the end Daphne grabs Hermione by the elbow and drags her along to where some of the older students are waiting, and together with this group of strangers Hermione walks to breakfast with her new... ally? Friend? Roommate?
The whole morning is a bit of a blur. Everything is new and different and strange, and Hermione wants to take it all in. From the strangely volatile letter delivered to the Hufflepuff table which seems both angry and excited to the rest of the owls flying in and out of the Great Hall, Hermione hardly pays attention to the actual breakfast enough to eat.
Noticing her new friend's inattentive behavior, Daphne dutifully begins piling a plate with breakfast food for her, just like she does for her younger sister at home. Hermione hardly notices except when Daphne presses a fork into her hand and mutters about eating, at which point she does, never even questioning where the food came from.
While they eat, Daphne glances over at the Hufflepuff table and notices a redheaded boy (a Weasley if she can remember correctly) try and push food towards Draco in the same way she's been doing for Hermione. Draco, of course, is not as distracted by their surroundings as Hermione and merely seems distracted by his current predicament. While Daphne has never been fond of Draco and the ego his parents allowed him to overfeed, they had grown up around each other and a part of her was soothed knowing that her childhood not-quite-friend was being looked after.
Daphne returns her gaze to her own table and smiles at Hermione whose eyes are trained on all of the owls flying above them.
"Terribly slow birds, owls. You'd think you'd want something faster. Or at least more reliable," Hermione mutters, almost to herself.
Daphne chuckles, of course a muggle born would say such a thing, "They're for the aesthetic really. Although I've heard of people using charms and such to make them faster. They work just fine though."
Hermione nods, seeming to be genuinely thinking this over, and Daphne can't help but smile. It could be good, being around someone like Hermione. Someone intelligent and cunning, but altogether unlike her usual pureblood company. Yes. It could be very good indeed.