Into the Snakes Pit

Ch. 4

“Prewett, Astraea,” McGonagall called out. 

The girl in question took a deep breath before striding forward through the crowd of eleven-year-olds with feigned confidence. She made sure to keep her posture straight and her head up, the picture-perfect heir to one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight families. 

Making her way up to the platform, the young witch saw a meaningful look pass between McGonagall and Flitwick. Each was probably hoping to have her in their house considering her family. If everything went according to plan, however, they would both be disappointed.

Astraea sat on the stool with a grace only learned from years of etiquette and posture training with her mum and grandmother. Eyes sliding closed, the hat was placed upon her head and she felt more than heard a voice inside her skull. It was an old yet strong voice that resounded within her mind.

‘Ah, what do we have here? You are an interesting one aren’t you?’ the presence echoed.

‘So many choices, so many thoughts. Loyalty to those you consider your own, bravery to do what you deem necessary, knowledge beyond your years, and ambition to see through what you have decided must be done are what fills your mind the most by far. But where to put you?’

‘Perhaps Gryffindor, where your courage will flourish? Or Hufflepuff where you will gain friends who will stand with you to the end? Ravenclaw where your knowledge will be prized and built up by those around you? Ah, but in Slytherin, you may begin to change the system from within. In Slytherin, you may become legendary.’

Astraea, eyes closed, willed the hat to choose Slytherin.

‘Are you sure? The path you choose will be difficult, it may very well be impossible… and yet you may be the one to succeed where others have failed...ah I can sense your determination. Very well then, I believe we shall see great things from you, Miss Prewett. I shall keep my ears open for how your tale proceeds.’

“SLYTHERIN!” the hat called out once again stunning those at the head table as the hat was removed from the Prewett Heir’s head. Astraea kept a neutral face as she made her way to the opposite side of the hall from the Gryffindor table among the scattered cheers and applause. 

She settled in near the first girl to be sorted with a nod and slight smile of greeting. She felt the eyes of several of the professors flicking between her and Sirius trying to figure out what the hell just happened. A Black in Gryffindor and a Prewett in Slytherin, it was near unthinkable to those who knew the two ancient families.  

Astraea looked over to see the disappointment painted across Remus’s face watching her settle into the rival house of his own. She gave him an apologetic look and waved nonetheless which seemed to brighten his mood as the sorting continued. The witch zoned out once more until the last name she was waiting for was called.

“Snape, Severus.”

Astraea sat up and watched the rather small and scrawny boy shuffle forward up to the stool with his hair a dark curtain that hid most of his face from the crowd. As the hat was lowered on his head, she could just make out Severus’s thin lips moving rapidly as if whispering something to himself.

Several minutes passed before the hat called out once more.

“SLYTHERIN!” When the Sorting Hat was removed from the boy’s head, the girl caught a glimpse of desperate sorrow flash across his face before falling into a neutral mask. That’s when a thought struck the girl, he must have been trying to get the hat to sort him into Gryffindor to be with Lily. 

She pushed down the pang of sadness for the boy who just wanted to find joy in this new place away from his rough home life, wanted to simply be with his only friend, and yet was denied any of that. She promised herself that even if she couldn’t keep the two as friends, at least she would make sure that Severus wouldn’t end up alone like before.

Astraea made room for the newly sorted first year and waved him over. Severus eyed her warily at first, as if not believing that anyone other than Lily would want to be around him. She smiled brightly at him before waving him over once more. The boy rolled his eyes and sighed before sitting down next to the young witch. The tips of his ears that poked through the curtain of black flushed pink as she smiled warmly at him.

The sorting soon finished and Dumbledore stood once more. He cleared his throat once to gain the attention of the students and spoke when they quieted down.

“Now that we are all in our rightful places, I would like to say welcome! Welcome to the new school year! Before we begin the feast, I would like to say a few words. They are; Flam! Fribble! Quatsh! Tosh! Thank you!” he said before sitting down once more. 

Cheers and applause filled the room from the students, the Slytherin students, less enthusiastically so at the inane babble that spilled from the old man’s mouth. Once the Headmaster had been seated again, the Opening Feast truly began.

Dishes piled high with every food imaginable filled the tables. The students began to fill their plates happily chatting and catching up with each other. The Great Hall was filled with the laughter and joy of students seeing their friends once more. 

Astraea also began to fill her plate with roast chicken, potatoes, and carrots before adding a good amount of gravy to her meal. Once she deemed it fit for consumption, she placed a bite in her mouth savoring the flavors before turning to speak to two of her fellow first years. First, she addressed the young witch across from her who was the first of their age group to be sorted. 

“Hello, my name is Astraea Prewett.” The dark-haired witch looked up showing her pale blue eyes. She smiled at the other girl.

“I’m Róisín Ahearn. Nice to meet you,” the girl spoke with a noticeable Irish lilt. The two girls conversed for a bit before Astraea noticed that Severus was doing his best to keep his head down and not interact with anyone. The young witch rolled her eyes before taking it upon herself to make introductions.

“Ahearn, this is Severus Snape. Snape, Róisín Ahearn.” She introduced the two with a smile. Ahearn smiled politely at the rather unkempt boy who looked up from his plate as if surprised that someone was addressing him. He nodded his head in greeting and before he could go back to staring into his plate, Astraea continued. 

“We were just talking about our classes for this year. I for one am really excited about Potions. What are you most looking forward to?” she led the conversation into an easy place for Snape to join in. Severus scrunched his nose as he thought for a moment before responding.

“I think either Potions or Defense Against the Dark Arts is gonna be the most interesting.” He spoke, which brought a bright smile to Astraea’s face.

“I think either Charms or Defense will be the most useful honestly,” Ahearn continued.

For the rest of the meal, Astraea chatted with the two first-years and a few of the older students who chimed in every once in a while to offer them advice. It ranged from where the first-year classrooms would be, to more concerning things such as advising them not to wander the halls alone lest an older Gryffindor decide that they would be easy prey. 

The girl was concerned that tensions between the two houses were already to the point of first-year Slytherin students being accosted regularly in the halls. She kept her thoughts to herself and simply nodded solemnly at the advice. 

Soon the desserts were magicked away and the Headmaster sent them off to bed. Astraea stayed close to Snape and Ahearn while following the rest of their house down into the dungeons. 

The cool dark stone surrounding them on all sides may have made others uncomfortable but for Astraea, it was soothing in a way she hadn’t thought it would be. They passed by many classrooms, some whose doors were closed and others that were clearly unoccupied going by the desks stacked up and pushed to the side. She made a note to explore more of the dungeons when she had a chance. 

As for now, she noticed that the group of first-year Slytherins was stopped before an unassuming stretch of the stone wall. A taller blond-haired student moved forward their voice ringing out through the dark hallway.

“Legatum. ”

A portion of the wall pressed in and almost silently slid to the side creating a doorway.  The older student waved the new students forward. Passing them, Astraea caught her first glimpse of their face and had to clamp down on her instinct to shift her features in the revelation that the person who had just led them to their common room was none other than a young Lucius Malfoy. 

He stood there with a charming smile on his face as he led the first-years into the common room. Long silvery blonde hair was loosely tied back near the nape of his neck with a length of black silk ribbon and while the smile on his face seemed warm enough, the calculating gleam in his grey eyes as he took in each of the first years worried Astraea. His eyes met her own for and a brief moment something akin to curiosity flashed across his face before it was reined in once more. 

As they were all huddled within the common room, Astraea was able to take in the beautiful, if a bit cold, aesthetic. There were dark brown leather sofas arranged in front of the large stone fireplace decorated with the Slytherin crest, wenge wood tables surrounded by high backed green suede chairs, and best of all, the far side of the room was a glass wall that looked out into the depths of the Black Lake. There was a ledge just underneath it lined with cushions where several older Slytherin students were lounging with books in hand. They looked up as the rest of her agemates also took in the sight before them.

“Welcome to the Slytherin Common Room. I am one of your sixth-year prefects, Lucius Malfoy.” Malfoy spoke bringing their attention back to him. He was now joined by Narcissa who also introduced herself.

“I am Narcissa Black, your other sixth-year prefect. Welcome to Slytherin House.” She spoke with a soft smile on her face but just as Malfoy, her eyes betrayed her. They were every bit as cold as a snake ready to strike its prey.

“Professor Slughorn, the Potions Professor, is our Head of House. If you have any concerns, you may speak to him or any of us wearing a prefect badge.” She motioned to the green and silver badge pinned to both of their school robes. Malfoy continued.

“The password for the common room this week is ‘Legatum.’ It will be changed every fortnight so don’t forget to check the noticeboard. It is under no circumstances to be shared with anyone outside of our House.” The cheerful demeanor that Malfoy portrayed did not diminish the threat that was held in those words. After receiving a chorus of acknowledgment, Narcissa pointed to a stairwell off to the left-hand side of the common room. 

“First-year dormitories are located on the ground floor, boys to your left, and girls to your right. Once you have chosen your bed, your belongings will appear.” Pale blue eyes scanned their faces once more. The youngest of the Black sisters continued in what might have been a comforting tone if Astraea didn’t notice the subtle focus on her.

“As Slytherins, we pride ourselves on our ambition, resourcefulness, and cunning. These values are not seen as such by those of the other House. They will see you as an enemy, someone to be defeated and triumphed over.” A true sign of sorrow at the way things were showed in the tired look that glazed over the older girl’s eyes while Malfoy continued.

“As such, we Slytherins must provide a unified front outside these walls. We always protect our own. Within these walls, you will be left to your own devices, however, you are each expected to become assets to Slytherin. It would do you well not to disappoint.” His words caused most of the boys to puff up their chests as if that would somehow help their standing with the young man. Next to her, Snape seemed to curl further into himself as if trying to hide from Malfoy’s assessing gaze.

“Breakfast begins at seven every morning in the Great Hall, classes at nine. Tomorrow, you must be present by eight-thirty to receive your timetables from Professor Slughorn. With that, we will let you settle in. Good night.” Black smiled softly at them and there was a genuine warmth to this smile that had not been present before as she motioned toward the dorms. 

With a chorus of thanks, the group of ten first years made their way to their assigned space. Just as they were about to go their separate ways, Astraea grabbed Snape’s hand gently. The boy flinched hard at the contact and she had to curb her instinct to draw away immediately a knot growing in her stomach.

“Can we go up to breakfast together? I’m not totally sure I remember the way back.” the young witch spoke honestly having not paid attention to the specifics of their trek through the dungeons. Snape looked at her for a moment before rolling his eyes and sighing.

“Fine. But if you’re not in the Common Room by seven-thirty, I’m heading up without you.” He acquiesced pulling his hand away. 

“Great! I’ll see you in the morning, good night!” Astraea smiled brightly at him again before turning away. She entering her room not noticing the confused and searching black gaze that followed her. 

She took in the dark wood four-poster beds with green and slived trimmed curtains hanging down. In the center of the room, there was a stove for cold nights. To one side of each bed, there were areas for personal belongings such as books and on the other side were carved alcoves with skylights that once again gave a view of the Black Lake. There was another doorway off to the side which she decided must lead to the bathroom. All of the beds had trunks at the foot of them except one. She caught the eye of the only person visible in the room.

Ahearn motioned to empty the bed next to hers, which surprised Astraea. The bed in question would have normally been the first choice for someone in Slytherin as it was against the back wall and from it, you could see all in the room as well as those who entered or exited.

A quick look around told her that it was just the two of them in the room at the moment, the other girls must have gone into the bathroom to get ready for bed. She lifted a questioning eyebrow to the other girl across from her as she sat down on the now claimed bed. Her trunk appearing near the foot of the bed caught her attention for a moment before she looked back to her new roommate.

“It seems that even if your Sorting was unprecedented, our classmates recognize a powerful future ally when they see one or hear their name rather. As such this,” the dark-haired girl motioned to the personal area now claimed by Astraea, “is their first of most likely many attempts to get on your good side.”

Astraea sighed before flopping back onto the bed. 

“Well, I guess my name is good for something, even in Slytherin,” she muttered staring up at the canopy. Her thoughts running wild at what her next steps to make a better future would be. 

The door to the bathroom opened pulling her out of her thought. Astraea sat up to meet her dormmates for the next seven years. The three girls who came out were dressed in nightgowns. She watched as they set down their things before standing up and introducing herself.

“Well met. My name is Astraea Prewett, heir to House Prewett,” she spoke giving a respectful nod of greeting. As far as she was aware, she was the person with the highest status in the room therefore she made no move to bow or curtsy but simply kept a relaxed yet poised stance. One by one the other girls introduced themselves.

“Well met Heir Prewett, I am Elise Tuft. I look forward to our time together.” A girl with light brown hair and green eyes said with a curtsy. Another girl with ash blonde hair and dark blue eyes was the next to step forward.

“Well met Heir Prewett. My name is Piper Grey. I hope we will become friends in our time here at Hogwarts.” She curtsied as the last girl with black hair and brown eyes stepped forward.

“And I am Josephine Rivers, well met Heir Prewett.” She curtsied as well. Astraea once again cursed the stupid formalities and etiquette that must be followed in the pure-blood circles, it always made things so awkward.

“It nice to meet you all. I hope these next seven years will see all of us grow closer.” She spoke politely before gathering her nightclothes, toiletries, and following Ahearn into the bathroom. She quickly changed and got ready for bed as the exhaustion of the day hit her like a train.

Slipping back into the dorm, Astraea hung her newly crested Slytherin robes on the back of her chair while placing the rest of her dirty clothes in the hamper under her bed to be washed. Before anyone could pull her into a conversation, she quickly said good night and closed her curtains around her.

She slipped her wand under her pillow and laid down. She listened to the mundane chatter from the other girls as the welcoming arms of sleep brought her into their embrace. Her dreams that night were filled with hopeful images of a happy Harry growing up surrounded by those who loved him.