Amortentia

As you step into the Great Hall, you feel your heart beating faster with excitement; instead of being able to bask in the feeling, you notice that your hand is being grabbed, and then suddenly, your body is being pulled backward. When you turn to see who’s on the other end of your arm, you find yourself making contact with Sage’s sparkling blue eyes and smiling face.

As she catches up to your side, she attempts to scold you for wandering too far ahead of your friends.

“I can’t believe you were about to sit down without me,” she says through laughter.

You respond with an eye-roll and a giggle and proceed to pull her to the front of the Slytherin table so you could have the best view of the sorting ceremony.

Normally, you didn’t care about the frivolous aspects of the start of term feast, just the piles and piles of your favorite foods at your disposal for the majority of the night. However, this year, Oliver’s younger brother Jack was beginning his first year at Hogwarts and your entire friend group was abuzz with the prospect of what house he could potentially end up in.

“I bet 10 galleons on Jack being sorted into Hufflepuff,” Leo exclaimed through barking laughter.

“Leo!” Sage exclaimed with a feigned gasp in her voice, “I can’t believe you would value Jack so low. 15 galleons on Hufflepuff!”

Oliver interrupted the conversation with a very matter-of-factly stated statement of “Jack will not be in Hufflepuff, I’m sure of it.”

Leo raised an eyebrow, “How sure are you mate? Would you like to add a monetary value to that confidence?”

The expression on Leo’s face caused you to giggle, which then in turn prompted your entire friend group to turn and face you.

“You’ve been rather silent this entire time. What are your thoughts on this?” Sage questioned as she leaned in towards you.

Before you could process the words to form a retaliatory statement to Sage’s inquiry, silence befell the Great Hall as Professor McGonagall announced the proceeding of the sorting ceremony.
Normally, the Sorting Hat tells some sort of speech in order to be nostalgic with students about his years at Hogwarts, but this year, he decided to grace the Great Hall with the presence of a song.

In times of old, when I was new,
And Hogwarts barely started,
The founders of our noble school
Thought never to be parted.
United by a common goal,
They had the selfsame yearning
To make the world’s best magic school
And pass along their learning.
‘Together we will build and teach’
The four good friends decided.
And never did they dream that they
Might someday be divided.
For were there such friends anywhere
As Slytherin and Gryffindor?
Unless it was the second pair
Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw,
So how could it have gone so wrong?
How could such friendships fail?
Why, I was there, so I can tell
The whole sad, sorry tale.
Said Slytherin, ‘We’ll teach just those
Whose ancestry’s purest.’
Said Ravenclaw, ‘We’ll teach those whose
Intelligence is surest.”
Said Gryffindor, ‘We’ll teach all those
With brave deeds to their name.’
Said Hufflepuff, ‘I’ll teach the lot
And treat them all the same.’
These differences caused little strife
When they first came to light.
For each of the four founders had
A house in which they might
Take only those they wanted, so,
For instance, Slytherin
Took only pure-blood wizards
Of great cunning just like him.
And those of sharpest mind
Were taught by Ravenclaw
While the bravest and the boldest
Went to daring Gryffindor.
Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest
And taught them all she knew,
Thus, the houses and their founders
Maintained friendships firm and true
So Hogwarts worked in harmony
For several happy years,
But then discord crept among us
Feeding on our faults and fears.
The Houses that, like pillars four,
Had once held up our school
Now turned upon each other and
Divided, sought to rule.
And for a while it seemed the school
Must meet an early end.
What with dueling and with fighting
And the clash of friend on friend,
And at last there came a morning
When old Slytherin departed
And though the fighting then died out
He left us quite downhearted.
And never since the founders four
Were whittled down to three
Have the houses been united
As they once were meant to be.
And now the Sorting Hat is here
And you all know the score:
I sort you into houses
Because that is what I’m for.
But this year I’ll go further,
Listen closely to my song:
Though condemned I am to split you
Still I worry that it’s wrong
Though I must fulfill my duty
And must quarter every year
Still I wonder whether sorting
May not bring the end I fear
Oh, know the perils, read the signs,
The warning history shows,
For our Hogwarts is in danger
From external, deadly foes
And we must unite inside her
Or we’ll crumble from within
I have told you, I have warned you
Let the sorting now begin!

As the Sorting Hat finished his song, you could see jaws dropping from around the Slytherin table, and you could feel a frown beginning to show on yours.

“What in the name of Merlin was that?” Leo boomed from across the table, anger radiating from his person.

This prompted other Slytherins to begin whispering and exclaiming random cries of upset to the professors about the hat’s warning.

“What was that bit about ‘only those of purest blood’ are sorted into Slytherin?” Sage asked you in a hushed whisper from across the table.

To every witch and wizard in the Wizarding World it was commonly known that in his time at Hogwarts, Salazar Slytherin only let witches and wizards of pureblood descent be sorted into Slytherin. However, Sage, being muggle-born, wasn’t told the legends and the warnings about Slytherin when she was a child, and thus, didn’t know the house’s dark history. Your family, along with Leo’s and Oliver’s, were in the Sacred Twenty-Eight and had no issues with being taunted about blood status. Occasionally, the insult of ‘blood-traitor’ would be thrown in your direction for even treating muggle-born witches and wizards with respect. Sage, on the other hand, was ostracized by many members of her house, and usually couldn’t even walk to her room without being called ‘mudblood,’ particularly by Draco Malfoy or Pansy Parkinson. The first time it happened, Oliver explained to her that it was just a phrase used to bully people, but it had no real significance or meaning. Since then, you figured she had caught on to its meaning, but neither you nor any of your other friends had the heart to tell her what her presence of Slytherin meant to other members of your house.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s just a legend.” You whispered back to her.

Thankfully, the gloomy conversation was silenced by Professor McGonagall announcing the first name in the Sorting ceremony.

“Abercrombie, Euan!”

McGonagall’s yell brings about the memory of your own sorting ceremony and chills dance across your back at the recollection.

Walking into the dimly lit Great Hall with what felt like thousands of eyes following your every step as you trekked down the long aisle closer and closer to the Sorting Hat. By the time it was your turn to sit on the stool in front of all of Hogwarts and await your fate, your heart had begun to beat so loudly you could feel it in your eardrums. To this day, you still remember the exact words the hat uttered to you when it was placed upon your head.

“In all my years I’ve never been as sure about someone’s house placement as this one. Ambition and talent dripping from her fingernails. We may have to watch out for her. Slytherin!”

Cheers from the Gryffindor table cease your reminiscing, as Kenna Allen runs to her house, and the next moments of the ceremony are spent with small whispers, polite claps, periodic cheers, and the occasional laughter at the hat’s jokes.

“Kevers, Nina!”

“It could only be Slytherin!”

“Landon, Gregory!”

“Hufflepuff!”

“Longley, Hannah!”

“A bright young witch who possesses great intellectual ability - Ravenclaw!”

“Mabbrow, Logan!”

“Slytherin!”

“Macmillan, Jack!”

Silence befell you and your friends as everyone held their breaths. Jack’s small eyes widened to twice their size out of fear as he stumbled forward onto the stool. His little legs were too short to reach the floor and so they swung back and forth out of anticipation.

You glanced over to Oliver who appeared as though he was on the verge of either fainting or being sick. His leg was nervously bouncing up and down, causing the entire bench to shake furiously. You placed your hand on his knee in an attempt to stop him, causing Oliver to dart his eyes to you. Accepting the friendly gesture, he placed his hand on top of yours. You softly smiled at him reassuringly, as Professor McGonagall began to move.

McGonagall placed the sorting hat on Jack’s head.

The hat made a face.

Your heart stopped.

Oliver grasped your hand.

“Hmmm, this is very interesting. You possess traits that could work with two very different houses. Oh? You don’t want that house. What an interesting choice, I think you could have done well there. For you, it will be Ravenclaw!”

You felt your legs pushing you out of your seat, as you joined the rest of your friends in standing. Cheers echoed through the hall, but you couldn’t tell who was louder between the Ravenclaw table and your friends.

After Jack ran to the Ravenclaw table, your side of the Slytherin table became enraptured in the gossip surrounding the Sorting Hat’s warning song for the duration of the sorting ceremony, stopping only when Professor Dumbledore began his annual welcome speech.

Only needing to stand in order to command the attention of the entire hall, Dumbledore began his speech; “To our newcomers, welcome! To our old hands - welcome back! There is a time for speech-making, but this is not it. Tuck in!”

And with that, food magically appeared on the tables, and a smile appeared on your face at the thought of eating for the first time in hours.

“Bless that man, I’m so hungry I could eat a hippogriff,” Leo stated as he scooped a large spoon of buttered mashed potatoes onto his plate.

“I’ve never heard of a time when you weren’t starving Leo,” you joked back to him as you picked up a piece of sausage with your fork.

Sage and Oliver erupted in a fit of laughter at your comment.

“Oi…mate…you’re going to let a girl talk to you like that?” Oliver wheezed out in between laughs.

Instead of using his words, Leo responded by throwing the strip of bacon he was munching on, directly at your face, where it landed in the middle of your forehead.

“Bloody hell Leo! Watch yourself tonight, I’m going to set Nyx loose in your dormitory.”

Between all the different types of meats, potatoes, and puddings, your mouths were far too preoccupied with eating to talk.

“I can’t believe what that bloody hat said!” yelled out a voice from further down the table.

You turn your head to find the origin and find a blonde head furiously discussing the events from the Sorting Ceremony.

“Just wait until my father hears about this! There is no way the Ministry condones these actions or words.”

The easiest thing to do in a situation like this is to ignore Malfoy, however, you never liked doing things the easy way.

“It’s a hat, Malfoy. What is your father going to do? Incendio it into the dust? Or better yet, put it under the Imperius Curse and force it to be silent for the rest of time? I don’t like what the Sorting Hat said either, but there’s not really much you can do about it.” You curtly stated, challenging him to an argument.

Part of the Slytherin table laughed, causing Malfoy to snap his head in your direction and angrily squint his gray eyes at you.

Falling under his gaze caused the hairs on the back of your neck to make their presence known. Although you felt nothing but indifference towards him, caring too little to even hate him, there was no denying that feeling his stoney glare fixated upon you, startled you. You felt as though he was undressing you with his eyes, not in a sexual manner, but in an attempt to find out what secrets lay beneath your skin.

“I wouldn’t expect a blood-traitor to understand the gravity of the hat’s words. After all, you and your kind are exactly who Salazar Slytherin was trying to keep out of Slytherin,” he retaliated, in an attempt to egg you on.

Malfoy’s accusation resulted in silence covering the table and created a tension so thick it could be cut with a knife. Suddenly, hundreds of Slytherin eyes were upon you, and a blush spread across your cheeks in accompaniment.

You opened your mouth to respond, but no words came to mind, so instead, you sat there with a stunned look on your face. Your eyes wildly darted around the room, looking for anyone to come to your rescue. Thankfully, Dumbledore decided he had finished eating, and stood up to begin his start of term announcements, saving you from sitting there like a gaping idiot.

“Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices. First years ought to know that the forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students- and a few of our older students ought to know by now too. Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four hundred and sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on an extensive list now fastened to Mr. Filch’s office door.”

Groans echoed throughout the Great Hall. Most of the professors and staff at Hogwarts left the students alone, and for the most part, let them do whatever they wanted, except for Mr. Filch. Out of all of the staff, he was the most avoided, entirely due to the fact that he gives everyone detentions. In fact, you had received well over 15 detentions in the last four years from just Mr. Filch.

“We have had two changes in staffing this year, “ Dumbledore continued, “We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.”

This statement drew polite claps, as well as scattered small cheers from the students and some of the other professors, as Dumbledore attempted to proceed with the rest of his announcements.

“Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will take place on the-”

Hem Hem

The entire hall became enveloped in a blanket of pure shock as a petite woman, dressed head to toe in bubblegum pink garments, stood and began approaching Dumbledore, who had already made his way back to his seat.

With another clearing of her throat, she addressed the entirety of the Great Hall.

“Thank you, Headmaster, for those kind words of welcome.”

Silence echoed throughout the Great Hall as Professor Umbridge began to speak in a shrill and high-pitched voice that was almost unbearable to hear.

“Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy little faces looking back at me!”

Your focus on Professor Umbridge’s speech was broken by a cough coming from Leo, who had apparently choked on his water. You pursed your eyebrows and glared at him as he attempted to muffle his coughing.

Next to you, Oliver had leaned in; separated by only a couple of inches, from your ear.

“In his defense, no one looks that happy in this hall,” he whispered in a hushed tone.

A glance around the hall told you that he was right. No one looked particularly thrilled by the events that were unfolding, they primarily looked confused and taken aback.
Umbridge continued.

“I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all, and I’m sure we’ll be very good friends!”

Giggles erupted at this statement, and you could feel a grin beginning to form on your face.

Hem Hem

Umbridge’s throat-clearing silenced the students once more, and she continued with her speech.

“The Ministry of Magic has always been considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The ancient skills unique to the Wizarding community must be passed down through the generations lest we lose them forever.”

You let your mind wander throughout the majority of Umbridge’s speech. Attempting to think of what you’re going to do after the feast, you picture a nice flask of firewhiskey waiting for you in Leo’s room. Your wishful thinking is subconsciously cut short by the image of Malfoy’s face echoing through your brain.

No.

Not his face.

His words.

I wouldn’t expect a blood-traitor to understand the gravity of the hat’s words. After all, you and your kind are exactly who Salazar Slytherin was trying to keep out of Slytherin.

Deep down you knew that you belonged in Slytherin just as much, if not more than other people in your house. However, his words still stung.

Your session of over-thinking is ended by a kick from under the table, courtesy of Leo, and you shift your attention to Umbridge, who is somehow still speaking.

“...because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting, what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited.”

Dumbledore stood to clap, and scattered applause rippled through the rest of the professors and students who were equally as confused as to what had just transpired.

“Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, for your kind words of wisdom. Now…where was I?”

Sage, Leo, and Oliver were far too preoccupied with gossiping to listen to the remainder of Dumbledore’s speech.

“That was genuinely the strangest thing I think I have ever seen,” Sage declared.

“I don’t know who this professor thinks she is, but absolutely no one interrupts Dumbledore,” Leo chimed in.

You attempt to add to the conversation, but your train of thought was cut short by goosebumps trickling down your arms. Suddenly, the sensation of being watched became an all too present reality.

Curiosity, begging for you to give in, got the better of your common sense. You slowly looked around the room, trying to find the eyes causing your heart to beat faster and faster and faster and faster and

You fall right into the trap of those gray eyes.

Those damn gray eyes that are now daring you to break eye contact first.

Heat rose up your cheeks, surely giving you a blush that is noticeable from across the table.

Seconds pass by so slowly that they feel like minutes before Oliver puts his hand on your shoulder, giving you an excuse to look away.

“Bloody hell, you look like you’ve seen a dementor! I have no idea what you’re staring at, but the feast is about to be over. We should probably leave, unless you want to be caught in the onslaught that’s about to happen,” Oliver gently urged.

Without a word, you stand up and proceed to leave the Great Hall with Oliver, trailing after your two other best friends.

Making your way into the corridor and onto one of the staircases with your friends, Olivier recaps the night’s events, forcing every thought of Malfoy to leave your mind.

“My father used to work with Umbridge at the Ministry, and he told me he couldn’t stand her. I’m pretty sure he called her umbitch.”

The nickname caused you to laugh, especially because your father called her the same thing the week before you left for Hogwarts…which couldn’t be possible because…

“When did she leave the ministry? I could’ve sworn my father called her the same thing just last week,” you questioned.

“She probably still works at the ministry,” Sage offered.

“But how can she do both-” you trailed off, realizing finishing your question was pointless because everyone had come to the same startling conclusion.

The ministry was interfering at Hogwarts.