Secret Light

Adhara and Philippa – her cousins' cousin – were separated from the elder girls and Evan and Malfoy – Narcissa had been absolutely delighted when Rabastan Lestrange had showed up towards the end of the trip and she'd told him there was, obviously, no place left in the compartment for anyone else – when they got off the train.

A very large man in his forties called for all first years while holding onto a duplicating lantern that created ghosts of itself to light up the area where all the younger kids would soon be gathered.

The girls exchanged a look and discreetly left the older kids to sort out their relationships alone. Only Andromeda noticed and waved at them – Evan was all too interested in whatever was now going on between Cissy and Malfoy to pay his younger sister any attention, which was, Adhara thought, generally how it went between the Rosier siblings.

Soon enough, she and Philippa were walking down a long path with a crowd of other children, all of them their age. The man was way ahead, but his lantern could be seen all along the cortege of first years, existing in several spots at once.

Adhara thought she'd glimpsed the red-haired girl from earlier ahead, and fortunately Morgan Yaxley was nowhere to be seen – probably somewhere at the end of the procession, but you never knew, maybe she'd decided she didn't want to come and had stayed on the train. She could hear the voice of the boy with glasses enthusiastically talking about quidditch to someone who spoke nasally somewhere close, too.

Philippa tugged on her sleeve. Adhara turned around and saw that her... acquaintance – she hadn't spent enough time with the girl to say if she liked her or not – looked a bit nervous.

“Say, Adhara... Do you think you'll be in Slytherin?”

She blinked – looked around, but no, it was just Philippa, and obviously that was the reason she'd asked now and not while on the train, with Andromeda and Narcissa and Evan and Lucius around.

“Maybe? Or not? I don't know. Don't really care either. I mean, being with my cousins would be fine, I guess, and the family is like ninety percent Slytherin so it wouldn't be a surprise, but it's not like I absolutely want to be Sorted there... Why?”

Philippa kept looking at the ground, carefully selecting where she set foot – to a point where it seemed obvious she just didn't want to look up.

“I... I don't like the stories I've heard from Evan. I don't want to spend my time posturing and wondering what my classmates think of me. I don't get why my brother thinks it's so great at all!”

Adhara dodged a boy who'd just tripped on the uneven path, too busy talking excitedly with his neighbor to look where he was putting his feet. She hesitated a moment, but didn't actually need to help: the boy's friend was already helping him up.

She looked back at Philippa.

“You could still be Sorted in Hufflepuff, no? I thought half your family went there.”

They turned a corner. The light from the lanterns shifted on the girl's face, making her look gloomy.

“Uncle Hymnus and Grandfather and my great-aunt Theresa and my cousin, yes. But not my parents or my brother, they were all Sorted in Slytherin... And on Mom's side, it's pretty much all Slytherins too...”

“Well, that's still more likely to happen to you than me. The closest Black who wasn't Sorted in Slytherin is a cousin twice removed. Callidora was in Ravenclaw, and I don't think I'd fancy Ravenclaw much...”

Ravenclaws, to be honest, sounded like interesting people to know – people who would actually question things and why they were the way they were, and not look at Adhara like she was wrong for wanting more explanations on things that were “widely known and accepted” – but the girl didn't think she'd want to be around them all the time. There were moments in life that weren't meant for wondering if something was right or necessary or worth it or none of those things. Not that you couldn't or shouldn't think about those things, but not right this moment, not when you ought to do something right away – or do nothing at all, because then it would be too late.

“And on your mother's side?”

Adhara gave Philippa a dry look:

“I'm a Black on both sides.”

The Rosier girl didn't have anything to say to that – after all, it wasn't unheard of for the old families to marry some second or third cousin, just, usually those didn't share the same last name.

Philippa sighed.

“It's just... I don't get it. I'd rather, I don't know. Be in a House where people just help each other and don't overly question why. I like Aunt Theresa's stories about her time in Hufflepuff.”

Adhara frowned a bit as she looked over the procession of eleven-year-olds before and behind her. They'd passed large, shadowed gates a while back, and now the path was surrounded by trees in the dark. There had still been some light behind the shapes of mountains in the distance when they'd gotten out of the train, but now the duplicating lanterns floating around the children were the only source of light.

“Eh, I don't know, it's more habit than anything else for me. I mean, doubting someone's intentions. Bellatrix is your cousin too, isn't she? And you can never take what she does at face value, especially when she's being kind.”

Not that Bella was incapable of being nice just to be nice, but half the time there was more to it.

Philippa's answer was quiet and discreetly exasperated:

“I know... But why would anyone want to be surrounded only by people like that?”

Adhara made a face and shrugged.

“Hey, I get the mindset but I don't particularly like it! It's just, as I said, habit. If I don't...”

You never knew when Adhara's mother would have a mood swing, but she wasn't going to say that out loud to Philippa. Walburga Black's mood swings could range from making your time with her mildly unpleasant to – rarely but severely enough to be noted – screams and mean comments. There was one time, even...

It was better to start a conversation with her mother with wariness and a willingness to get out before everything turned sour.

“Anyway. Maybe the Sorting will send you to Hufflepuff! I don't know how it goes, Dad wouldn't say, but it's about our personalities, right? Maybe if you go at it with hope and the certitude that Hufflepuff would be best for you...”

She trailed off.

Adhara didn't know where she wanted to be Sorted – at all. She had a feeling she didn't want to go to Ravenclaw, that was true – but that was about it. She had reservations about Slytherin, yes, but no strong feelings for either Hufflepuff or Gryffindor instead.

She had no particular wants here, and that meant...

Hmm. She didn't know what that meant.

The crowd of kids came to a stop by a barely visible lake – the Black Lake, she supposed – and Adhara tried to see more than just the illuminated tops of the others' heads or the big man, but she wasn't tall enough. What she could see, on the other hand, was the dark shadows of a castle with glinting windows above them.

The man waited a few more seconds – all the children weren't here yet, Adhara thought they were around a hundred, maybe? – before saying in a booming voice:

“We're going to cross the lake. Four of you per boat, and not one more, you hear me?”

Adhara couldn't see the boats from where she was, but she did notice when the man settled his duplicating lantern on something behind him and all the other images of lanterns moved to hang themselves at about the same height around the shoreline.

The children spread out a bit. Adhara could now distinguish docks and small boats without sails or oars but with a single pole in the middle for each lantern to hang from.

There was a bit of a shuffle until everyone was seated in the thirty or so small boats. Philippa and Adhara ended up with a nervous-looking girl and a silent boy who wouldn't look away from the castle's shadow.

The boats started moving.

Philippa bit her lower lip for a moment before asking:

“...If I get into Hufflepuff and can't make any friends, would you spend some time with me?”

Adhara blinked at the girl – they did know each other in passing, but that was about it.

“Isn't your cousin Sonata in fourth year there?”

Philippa's face fell a bit.

“Dad and Uncle Hymnus... It's complicated. I don't know why exactly, but they barely talk to each other anymore. Dad absolutely hates it, too, because our grandfather died not long after his birth and Uncle Hymnus was much older, he almost raised Dad himself, and Dad says that Uncle Hymnus deserted him...”

That wasn't very clear, Adhara thought, but it was possible Philippa didn't know a lot more herself.

Circe knew there were tensions between her own grandfathers that Adhara wouldn't know how to explain if you asked. Grandfather Arcturus and Grandfather Pollux were cousins – Blacks, both of them – and if they got along enough not to tear the family apart, it was obvious that Grandfather Arcturus only trusted the other as far as he could throw him.

Anyway, not the subject.

“In any case... If Sonata is in Hufflepuff, she probably won't hold you accountable for your fathers' dispute. I don't think those people care much about shared blame, no? Fair and hard-working and all that. It's Slytherins who have issues giving their trust, usually.”

“...You forgot loyal. If she thinks she'd be betraying her father by spending time with me...”

Adhara paused for a moment – decided not to point out that Philippa was the one questioning people's motives to the point of distrust here – and passed a hand on the back of her neck.

It was the nervous girl next to Philippa who hesitantly butted in:

“Uh, I'm sorry...”

Adhara's eyes slid onto her as she attempted a small smile.

Which was maybe not so visible considering the only sources of light were the lanterns, but hey.

The girl didn't linger on Adhara, more interested in Philippa.

“I, uh... I think you should give it a try, with your cousin. And with your housemates. Then... Then if it doesn't work, you'll see to it, but if you go in with doubts, then nothing will happen at all. If you don't try... Then no one will be your friend anyway.”

Philippa bit her lip a bit harder, then sighed.

“I guess you're right. I don't know, I just never had the chance to choose my own friends. It was always cousins and cousins of cousins and occasionally a child of Mom's colleagues... And some of them are great, of course, but... They are older, or younger, and Marden is the same age as me but he's also horrible, and I'm certain Catherine will be in Slytherin but I don't want to go there... I'd like to be as confident as you are about making friends.”

The girl laughed a bit – and it didn't sound confident at all.

“I'm Elvira. Crane. And, uh. I'm not really that confident, because I don't have any witch friends yet, I'm the oldest of my siblings and Mom is a witch too but my aunt doesn't have children so I only have muggle cousins, and we live in the countryside, we have maybe three wizarding neighbors and they are all above fifty... It's just, I know nothing will happen if I don't try, so I will. Even if I'm nervous.”

Adhara gestured towards the girl while staring at Philippa:

“See. She gets it. And if you want to be in Hufflepuff, Philippa, I hear they are generally friendly and welcoming, so even if your cousin doesn't want to spend time with you, you'll find someone. You don't have to worry that much, just to try.”

Then she looked back at Elvira Crane – a bit tempted to ask how it was to have muggle relatives, but not certain it was a good idea to point that out quite yet – and decided to get to know her better.

“And you, what House do you want? If you want one, I mean.”

The halfblooded girl shrugged.

“Gryffindor, maybe? It was Mom's. Ravenclaw was my aunt's House, though, and I don't know, I don't think I'm too much like either of them, so...”

Elvira looked a bit more sure of herself, now.

“In the end, I'm not sure it's that important, as long I can make friends there. Mom and Aunt Irma sure don't seem to think it's so different that we should get wary of the other Houses.”

“...Can I have your family, it sounds better than mine.”

Philippa made a pained grimace, just as Elvira gave her a weird look – as if she was going to ask, and honestly, Adhara didn't want to answer on such a day: this was supposed to be her first day at school, away from Mother's discourses and mood swings.

Instead, the young witch called out to the boy, who hadn't said a word or even given them a look since the boat had started moving – and they were possibly two-thirds of the way across, it was a bit difficult to judge with the surrounding darkness.

“And you, what House do you think you'll get?”

There was a moment of silence before the boy turned away from the imposing curtain of black that was the approaching cliff under the castle's silhouette.

“Sorry, were you... Did you talk to me?”

His voice, she noticed, was a bit low, as if he didn't want to make too much noise.

Elvira gave him the shadow of a smile – mostly because of how the lantern's light fell on her face – and repeated Adhara's question. The boy took a second to answer – a wide opening in the cliff appeared behind a curtain of ivy, and the children felt the plant brush against their faces and arms.

“I...didn't really think about it. I just... I didn't expect to be here one day, so...”

Adhara and Philippa shared a look as the boats formed more of a line before processing into a dark tunnel. Philippa was the one to hesitantly ask:

“Are you muggleborn, then?”

The boy blinked – the lantern moved on its pole and Adhara noticed old, faded scars on his face.

“Uh, no, it's just... I'm... Hmm, my... My mum has a chronic illness, and for a while we thought I might have inherited it, so I wouldn't have been able to come to boarding school. But it never appeared, and... and the doctors think there's a good chance I won't get it if I didn't already. My dad decided to chance it, then.”

Adhara frowned, but couldn't say what had gotten her attention.

Maybe the boy just wasn't used to telling his story to other people.

Philippa made a small noise of compassion.

“That's terrible... But at least you're good, aren't you?”

Elvira added:

“True, it's sad for your mom, but you're alright and you're going to Hogwarts, so I guess it's not so bad? You'll be able to write her and tell her everything about your new friends and the spells you'll learn! I'm sure she'll be happy to know you're enjoying school.”

Adhara made a face – she didn't think her own mother cared much about how the school year went for her daughter, only that she brought back adequate grades and behaved well.

Maybe everyone here had a better family than her.

“...Hey. Why did they think you'd gotten your mother's illness? Did you get sick or something? Or is it one of those diseases that usually gets passed down the line?”

The boy fidgeted on his seat, threw a glance ahead – but answered:

“No, I just... I didn't get that illness, but I think I get sick easily. For a while... For a while, they thought it was the first symptoms. But I was just very tired and sometimes I had a fever or a cold, things like that. It never got... worse. So...”

The boat slowed down. Soon, it moved to dock by a long rocky path full of small pebbles, which led to a small boathouse. The four children got up and clambered as they could onto the path to join the crowd of first years, and the boy and Philippa disappeared in the darkened rabble. Adhara tried to spot them for a minute or so – but once again, couldn't.

So she turned to Elvira and shrugged.

They walked up a stone passageway in idle chatter – what do you think they'll serve for dinner, what lesson are you curious about? – while making sure not to bump into anyone.

The night sky greeted them a few minutes later, just as grass sprouted back under their feet.

The large man looked their group of kids over – possibly counting them – before nodding to himself and throwing a look towards the sturdy oak doors a few feet away.

“Alright, kids. We're almost there. I'm going to call for the deputy headmistress, and she'll take care of you from then on. Good for everyone?”

The children shared a few looks and uncertainly nodded.

The large man went to knock three times on the doors, which opened by themselves.

A witch in her fifties, tall and stern-looking, thanked him before focusing on the newest students.

“Good job, Hagrid. Now, children, I am Professor McGonagall, and you will follow me inside, where I will leave you to wait for a bit to make sure everything is ready for your Sorting, and then, only then will you enter the Great Hall and wait for your name to be called. Try to be presentable and make this as efficient as possible.”

She added a bit about the different Houses as they walked into what had to be a relatively small waiting room – too small for more than a hundred children, but Hogwarts was a very old school and Adhara doubted there had been as many students back when the room was first built – and left them for a couple of minutes.

Elvira whistled, clearly impressed by Professor McGonagall's poise, and a few whispers rose in the ranks. A girl next to them was trying to brush off some spiderweb she'd probably walked in as they'd climbed through the stone passageway.

“Well, well, well...”

Adhara was slightly startled by the voice above her head – but the cold presence she felt in the next moments told her enough, and she did her best to inch away despite the crowded room.

She heard Elvira gasp, as well as some of the other nearby kids, before she could turn around...

And yes, of course, a ghost.

A tall, sinewy woman in grey tones and translucent pallor wearing old-school robes – maybe from the thirteen-hundreds? Adhara thought she'd already seen that hat in an old book back at home.

The ghost floated a bit above the ground, right behind where the girl had been standing, and was looking around and at the assembled first years with detached amusement.

Elvira tried a tentative “Hello?” that was only half-acknowledged.

“It is already the first of September, then? I must say, the seasons pass unremarked when you have no time limits to observe. I routinely miss two or three first days in a row, only to be taken by surprise when the children start running around the castle once more... Ah, but don't mind me, children, I was only on my way down to the dungeons and didn't expect you to be here quite yet.”

The ghost still took a moment to watch each of them unnervingly, and then:

“Hmm, no, I must say I do not recognize any of you. Some families may remain the same, but the passing generations alter their looks more than time does to an aging wizard... McLeods for you two, perhaps. And Gamble, maybe, with that chin, but that aside...”

She trailed off, her eyes finally wandering towards the closest children – Adhara didn't quite notice, busy throwing a glance at the girl with the unfortunate chin.

“And a Black. I didn't see you the first time, girl, but you... You, I know who you are without a single doubt.”

Adhara felt that was unwarranted: she knew everyone in her family looked like a Black in a way or another, no matter the time and the branch – the individuals branched out but the family didn't deviate – yet she didn't need it shoved down her throat every opportunity.

The girl eyed the ghost critically.

“Great. So?”

The greyed woman laughed and twirled back up into the air.

“Nothing, dear, but we might cross paths later, and I'll tell you about your likenesses of my time, if you wish.”

On these words, the ghost wandered through the wall – presumably to the dungeons, where she'd said to be headed.

The door to the waiting room opened once more for Professor McGonagall. The older witch kept squinting at the corridor for a second, an air of annoyance on her face, and Adhara wondered if she'd crossed paths with that ghost.

Professor McGonagall shook her head minutely.

“Let's go, children. The Sorting will soon begin.”

The new students calmly – or, giddily, nervously, curiously, but no one managed to make a mess of it, so “calmly” was good enough a word – followed her into the Great Hall, where five tables stood for hundreds of older students and the teachers. They stopped by the last one, too hopeful and focused on whatever the Sorting would be to truly notice the hundreds of faces staring at them from the house tables.

A very old hat sat on a stool right before the staff's table. Adhara squinted at it, waiting for...

The moment all the new students stood unmoving – ready, or not, to be Sorted – the hat croaked open for a song.

It sang of the school's creation and goals, of the Houses' qualities, of finding the one most fitting for each student. It sang, oddly, of finding similarities in opposites and of understanding, and Adhara couldn't help but wonder where that had come from.

Before she could look at Elvira and ask what she thought of it, however, Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and called for Lydia Anderson.

A small and round girl with flushed cheeks hesitantly took a step out of the crowd, stared at the Sorting Hat for half a moment, took it in her hands and sat on the stool... to finally screw it down on her head, perhaps a bit too forcefully, if the look on an old wizard with a big mustache at the staff table was anything to go by.

...As long as the Anderson girl didn't break the Hat before everyone else could have a go at it, Adhara didn't care much. The school probably had someone on call to take care of its artifacts and make sure they lasted for centuries.

After about half a minute, the Hat's mouth broke open once more:

“GRYFFINDOR!”

Lydia Anderson nodded to herself, remembered at the last minute to take the Sorting Hat off before running to her House, where she was greeted enthusiastically.

“Black, Adhara.”

Adhara made her way to the Sorting Hat – no one else with a name starting with “A”, uh – and sat only half-heartedly straight as she put on the old hat. It wasn't as if she had expectations of any kind regarding her Sorting.

“Oh, oh, look at that... You are, Adhara Black, a rather intriguing child. Hmm... What is there to see, what stands out in your personality, in which House shall I put you?”

Adhara...blinked.

Alright, talking, thinking, deciding hat. It wasn't just an object you put on your head to spout out a House name after thirty seconds, or that could sing out a song. She wasn't entirely surprised – if the Sorting Hat was meant to evaluate your major personality traits, it had to be complex in its enchantments – but she hadn't expected the opportunity to argue with the House referee.

Then again, she wasn't overly interested in arguing.

“Hmm, oh, I see, you do not feel a particular lean towards any of the four Houses, then... Not unusual, but more rare amongst families with a long history in one or the others. Let's see, in that case... You do value intelligence and critical thought, but I feel you do care more about acting on it and not letting yourself be caught unaware. You would endure Ravenclaw more than appreciate its curiosity, but you'd realized that by yourself, hadn't you?”

There was a pause in the Hat's rumbling thoughts that did make Adhara think it was waiting for an answer. The girl made a face and whispered under her breath:

“You already know the answer.”

The Hat's voice waited a few seconds before continuing – its tone in Adhara's head grew slightly thoughtful.

“...Indeed. Not Ravenclaw, then. Hufflepuff... Hmm. Working hard for its own sake isn't much your speed, is it? Mostly because you haven't needed to, not often. A good mind, a stable hand, and overall, instincts. Difficult to use in Sorting, so I shall leave this for now. Fairness, that, yes, you do care about it, but you might also be a bit jaded, you'd rather be fair but it will never be your priority, not unless something happens to change you drastically. Ah, loyalty, on the other hand... You haven't had many opportunities to demonstrate it, but there is potential. What do you think, Adhara Black?”

She shrugged.

“Hufflepuffs are nice.”

“Just like you think Ravenclaws are interesting, I see. I'll keep the possibility in mind, but I do believe we'll find a better fit.”

This Sorting business was definitely taking longer than for Lydia Anderson, Adhara realized – and she had to wonder, what did it mean about her? It was difficult to take a guess, as she was only the second student on the stool and didn't have much to compare.

The Hat chortled in her mind.

“Ah, you'll make me regret having crossed out Ravenclaw, at this rate. You do tend to question everything and search for an explanation, but that... That's your tendency to doubt. Let's talk about Slytherin, then. The Hogwarts House emblematic of the Black family. Ambition and cunning, the capacity to plan ahead. I can't say I find much of the first one, which is... unexpected, considering your family's tendencies and their upbringing. A will to be better, perhaps. Irritation at those who don't even try. It does tie in with ambition, but at the same time, it could be thought of as what most call nobility.”

“That's a Gryffindor trait, no?”

Adhara idly wondered how her parents would react if she got Sorted in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin. Not well, that much was certain, but would it actually be bad?

...It'd depend on the moment and Mother's specific mood, probably. One day she'd be grumbling about it and the next it would be the highest betrayal imaginable.

Adhara didn't particularly want to live through that, but she would if she had to.

The Sorting Hat snorted and cut off that train of thought – which it could probably see, considering.

“Not so fast, Adhara Black. It is true that you do display several Gryffindor qualities, you believe in doing what's right more than anything else, you wish to be a good person, and for most things you don't even need to try to do exactly that, and while you don't blame others for fear and a lack of courage as long as they still try even if in another way... You aren't afraid of much. However, your belief in the right thing to do will also happen in any way you see fit, even if others might argue with the means. You think and act cunning, as long as you can keep your head cool. That part of you, that's the Slytherin you've been raised to be.”

“...So? Gryffindor or Slytherin, then?”

The Hat hummed for a handful of seconds, not answering.

Adhara would have waited, but.

“I mean, it shouldn't be so difficult, no? I may not be one or the other, but I can't go in both Houses, can I?”

“Of course not! But my goal, my purpose, young girl, is to send you where you will be the most at home, where your housemates will be the easiest to relate to, where you will strive and not only endure! It is an important, and sometimes difficult, choice. You are, it seems, a balanced one, fitting as much in Slytherin as in Gryffindor, which also means that you will feel more estranged from your housemates than someone with a more obvious fit no matter where you go. And since you don't have a personal preference..”

Adhara wasn't certain what there was for her to say here. The Sorting most likely was prompting her, waiting for a hint, if only a random thought that might help it make a choice...

But she really didn't know.

Slytherin wasn't her first choice and she wouldn't mind dwelling amongst a different kind of people for once, but at the same time, Gryffindor had its lot of problems – mostly the fact that she knew no one there and her mother would definitely not like it.

In the end, she wasn't against either House, and had no particular reason to wish for one more than the other.

Adhara remained silent.

The Hat sighed.

“Ah, well. You aren't the first child with no preference, and neither are you the first to effectively balance between two choices. Usually I don't have both at the same time, but we will figure this out... Let's see. Gryffindor might broaden your horizons, as you already know the slytherin crowd well enough, but nothing stops you from befriending people outside of your House or social circle. You could...”

“I don't intend to stay confined in the dormitory, thanks!”

She'd done enough of that at home – always with people her parents approved of, even when they went out, unable to go and mingle with the muggle children amongst the neighbors, to the point that the Blacks might as well have lived in an isolated house instead of London – and didn't care about imaginary boundaries such as “House pride”. It was one thing to cheer for your Quidditch team, but a completely different one to refuse to make friends in the other Houses, she thought – on that point, Adhara really didn't get Narcissa.

The Sorting Hat, she felt, would have nodded pensively had it had a head – and not been stuck on hers.

“Yes, indeed... If we go this way, then... I do suppose you have family and more acquaintances within Slytherin, and there, at least, you will not risk your mother's wrath. Or being left amongst only strangers, for the matter. Still no objection, no sudden change of mind?”

Adhara glanced around the Great Hall – the gryffindor table, red and gold and inviting, and on the other end of the room, the slytherin table, green and silver and familiar. It was the first time she realized how many children there were in the Wizarding UK – most, if not all, went to Hogwarts, though a handful was homeschooled or went to the Stewart Institute on Lundy Island. Hundreds. Not quite a thousand, logically – if there were a bit more than a hundred first years, then... – but it felt like it anyway.

The train station had been crowded, both with children and younger and older siblings and parents, to the point it was difficult to understand how many people had been there.

This wasn't the same.

So many people she didn't know, people she hadn't met before. Not all of them would be friends – not all of them would be people Adhara could get along with, even – but it still meant...

Well. That she could make friends with people her parents hadn't even considered. Some, perhaps, they wouldn't approve of.

It didn't matter.

They weren't here, even if they might hear about it.

There was... Standing between the two middle tables – with the colors, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw? – Philippa and Elvira and the red-haired girl from the train, and the boy from the boat. Of course, the two boys from the train too, though the one with glasses looked a bit bored as the other first years had to wait. Others, of course.

Adhara, though, wouldn't know in which House each of them would end up. She was the second one to go under the Sorting Hat, so she couldn't know. That much was obvious. There was no use wondering.

A last glance at the Slytherin table, and the girl could see Andromeda and Narcissa whispering to each other. The oldest looked a bit surprised, but not overly worried by how long Adhara's Sorting was taking – Narcissa, on the other hand, was already frowning, not even paying attention to Lucius Malfoy three seats over.

Adhara still didn't know what to say to the Sorting Hat, so she kept her mouth shut and simply waited for it to decide on a House.

“Well, then... If you do not object, I suppose it shall be SLYTHERIN!”

Adhara waited for a bit, just to make sure she hadn't imagined the Hat's voice sounding outside of her head – then she stood up and carefully set the Hat back on the stool, before heading for the Slytherin table.

Narcissa gestured at her with a small sigh – and what almost looked like a smile – and Adhara reluctantly headed for her cousins. Once again, no other first years for her to go to yet, she had no excuse to sit with someone else.

Even if she'd have liked not to spend even more time with Evan Rosier and Lucius Malfoy.

Andromeda scooted over to let her sit between her and Narcissa.

“So... Do you know how long you took under the Sorting Hat, Adhara?”

The girl shrugged as she sat down and dedicated herself to staring at that very hat – Travis Blackbell had just been called to put it on.

“Longer than usual?”

Blackbell was sent to Gryffindor in about seven seconds.

“Just over three minutes. Not quite a Hatstall, that's five whole minutes, but the great majority of students get Sorted under a minute.”

The gryffindor table cheered – more than the few polite clapping and other satisfied smirks she'd seen from the slytherin table – as the boy giddily joined his House.

Narcissa's frown came back for a moment.

“...What was the hold-up, anyway? If you don't mind telling.”

Valius Bulstrode – Adhara knew that one, she didn't mind him as much as his older brother Dorian, who mercifully was much further down the slytherin table – got out of the waiting first years and went to put on the Hat.

Adhara watched idly.

“Slytherin or Gryffindor. Apparently I'm a good match for both, right in the middle. The Sorting Hat had a difficult time deciding.”

Malfoy, on the other side of the table, made a face.

“Don't go and get reckless on us, Black, if that's the case. I've yet to find a Gryffindor worth my time as it is, they are all so concerned with doing what they think is right, they just don't get that there are more important things in life...”

Adhara didn't even know what the prefect was going for, so she simply raised her eyebrows at him.

“Why don't you try and tell Bella something she doesn't agree with and see what happens next time you see her, Malfoy?”

Few people would argue that Bellatrix Black – soon to be Lestrange, though from what Adhara had seen, there wasn't a lot of romance going on there and much more ordering around – was a Slytherin through and through, but that didn't change the fact that she had important, dangerous principles.

Adhara didn't agree with a lot of those, and doubted the rest – but it didn't change her point.

Both Narcissa and Malfoy winced at that.

“...And she doesn't fear much, does she... I guess I stand corrected, there are proper Slytherins who are just as likely to get in a snit over their principles.”

Andromeda laughed just as “SLYTHERIN!” sounded loudly from the Sorting Hat.

“You weren't there yet when Bella was in fourth year, Malfoy, you have no idea how much trouble our sister can be. She lost us the House Cup and got into fights so often even Slughorn started giving her detentions.”

Adhara's attention drifted just as Malfoy, sounding horrified, started asking Andromeda for details. Valius Bulstrode nodded at her as he joined the table, but headed for his brother.

The next three Sortings all ended up in Slytherin – Catherine and Marden Burke, who were cousins and not much of a surprise, and then a Siobhan Byrne who almost went and sat close but was ultimately intimidated by the prefect and older students around Adhara.

Time, oddly, didn't seem to pass much – it was getting late, Adhara could tell, but all the same, it didn't feel like dozens of children were all taking a minute under the hat, or the Sorting would have lasted just under two hours. Maybe there was an enchantment at play here...

Elvira went to Gryffindor, and Adhara felt just a bit disappointed not to have asked the Hat for that House instead. Lily Evans, who was the redhead from the train, ended up there too, as did the boy from the boat – Remus Lupin – and the boy with glasses and wild hair – James Potter. Philippa did get Hufflepuff – her older brother seemed a bit disgruntled by that, but moved on easily enough – after a minute and a half under the Sorting Hat.

Severus Snape, who'd been so prickly on the train, was of course Sorted in Slytherin, and even better: he ended up sitting right next to Malfoy, less than three seats away from Adhara.

Morgan Yaxley was there too.

Maybe she should have asked for Gryffindor, actually.