Belonging in Slytherin

Trick or Treat

Halloween was a tricky time to be a Slytherin, Ethelina reflected. Some of the older pupils, in particular, seemed to regard it as a significant time, even though the only thing that would be happening at Hogwarts was the traditional feast. Crispin and Cassius spent long sessions speaking softly to one another in corners. Severus Snape and Barty Crouch seemed to have something of their own going on. Bellatrix sneered gently at the boys, and left them to their own devices, althoughVelda Mariner tried desperately to keep up with whatever was happening.

Bert had written Ethelina a long letter all about muggle customs and escapades at this time. He was also going to be celebrating Guy Fawke's Day in the muggle way, with muggle fireworks (vastly inferior to wizard ones, apparently), and jacket potatoes and sausages. The pupils at St Jude's would be learning to cook the food for themselves before their bonfire party.

I'd rather be there than here at the feast, Ethelina thought. I'd rather have a few burned bangers with Bert and his friends than a massive spread with my housemates. So far, only Viola Beanacre had been really kind to Ethelina. Bert already had lots of friends, it seemed. St Jude's was a very small school, and everyone mingled. Of course, had he been able to come to Hogwarts, he would have had lots of friends here too, she reflected. He'd probably be the gobstones star of Hufflepuff or something. No doubt about it, she'd wanted to be in Hufflepuff, but Bert was a natural for either that house or Gryffindor.

She lay disconsolately on her bed, her History of Magic textbook in front of her but unread. Only Kelly O'Donnell was also in the room, supposedly reading, although she hadn't turned a page either as far as Ethelina could tell. Not much homework was being done in the dorm at all. Like Ethelina, Kelly wasn't really friends with anyone, but Ethelina had managed to make allies. Ethelina tried to look out for Kelly, but the other girl really wasn't helping herself...

"Kelly..."

The redhead looked up, eyes wary. "What?"

"Why are you here? In Slytherin?" Kelly's eyes started to fill up with tears, as though expecting another barrage of jibes, and Ethelina hastily added, "It's just that you do seem more like a Ravenclaw. Which is where you wanted to be."

"Like you fit in so well here," Kelly exclaimed.

Ethelina shrugged. "I don't fit in. But I belong here."

"You're not even a pureblood," Kelly pointed out.

Ah, thought Ethelina, that's why she's in Slytherin. "Forget I asked," she said.

It was too late, though. Weeks of being ignored, taunted and teased had taken their toll, and Kelly couldn't, it seemed, stop talking. "I mean, here am I, and as long as we've got family records we've been wizards, and you've got a muggle in your blood in this century and still people like you in this house, and all they do is get onto me. It's not fair!"

Ethelina kept quiet. What could she say? Kelly's barrage continued, "...and Jess is mad as a sack of badgers over that quill Bellatrix Black gave you. Bellatrix hasn't got time for anyone, but she makes time for you. What's all that about?"

Ethelina shrugged. Bellatrix's whims were beyond anyone's understanding. She suspected that Bellatrix's tolerance only extended so far - were Ethelina, for example, to spend too much time with pureblood boys, Miss Black would come down like a ton of lead. Ethelina was one of Slytherin house's poor relations; talented, entertaining, pretty and never to marry above her (ancestry-defined) station.

"And Crispin... he's really taken to you, and he's a fifth-year. What, does he like little girls?"

"I'm as big as you, Kelly," Ethelina said. "Like I said, I belong here."

"It's like some sick game. I've been given all the pieces, and you're missing some, but you'll always beat me."

"I'm not playing against anyone," Ethelina insisted.

"Oh, you are. You think you aren't, but you're playing to win, Ethelina Hawley. You'd like to win with everyone else's pieces still on the board, but you'll take every single opposing one if you have to, and you'll tell yourself you're doing them a favour."With that, Kelly put her book in front of her face and went silent again.

That's what happens when you try to be kind in Slytherin, Ethelina told herself. She couldn't stay in the dormitory now.

Viola was hanging around in the common room. "Go for a walk before dinner?" she asked. The pair of them had been spending a lot of time together, although Ethelina was convinced Viola's impish nature was going to get them both into a scrape sooner or later. Viola had a nose for trouble, and followed it like a bloodhound.

"Sure, it'll be good to get away from my dorm-mates," Ethelina said. They wandered down the corridors. "How come the place is so quiet?"

"Death Eater attack on a Gryffindor kid's family. His mum's okay, Dad treated her at St Mungo's, but his dad's being buried in a bucket. The Gryffindors are being all comradely, as ever, and the Hufflepuffs are probably weeping over the tragedy of it all in their common room."

"Those attacks have been getting more frequent, haven't they?"

"Mmhmm. Still, not to worry, we're in the right place."

"Hogwarts?"

"Slytherin." Viola was blunt. "There are families with much more muggle in them than yours, you should be fine. Plus, you've got connections."

Ethelina got angry at this. "Why do people keep saying that? Kelly's just had a massive go at me for it. Everyone keeps on about how I have certain friends. I don't."

"I didn't say 'friends'. I said 'connections'." Viola shrugged. "We're friends, or whatever passes for it hereabouts. But your stuff didn't stop getting broken because we eat dinner together, did it."

"S'pose not..." It stopped after Crispin de Lacey, bored of having to Reparo half Ethelina's belongings on a weekly basis, all but pushed his wand up Jessica's nose and informed her that if she and her cronies didn't stop breaking other people's possessions, he would start making life unpleasant for them.

"And those niffler-skin gloves with the embroidered cuffs - you have no idea how many people are jealous of those," Viola pointed out.

"I didn't ask for them! They had a hole in one finger, and Bellatrix had a new pair, and she decided to give me the old ones. Because she got a good laugh out of undoing the hex her stupid cousin put on me, and teaching me how to get him back."Bellatrix's whims confused Ethelina. There was something dangerously unfinished about the older girl, as though she was a weathervane being sent in all directions by a storm. One minute, she could be losing her temper, another handing out her lovely belongings as though they meant nothing, simply because it pleased her to give gifts. She would make one person cry, then spend hours helping someone else with a potion or charm.

Viola dismissed Ethelina's objection. "No-one else makes her laugh the way you do. Well, apart from some bloke she's been getting letters from. It's got to be romance, she won't let the notes out of her sight."

Like girls everywhere, even Slytherin girls loved a good gossip. "Who? Who?" Ethelina was keen to know.

"She keeps it VERY secret. She hasn't even told Lucy, not that it means Lucy hasn't found out for herself. But we can narrow it down a bit. Her sister's been dating Lucius Malfoy, he's a stuffed shirt who finished school a few years back. You haven't met Narcissa, she left last year after her OWLs, said there was no point staying when she was planning to get married, not work. Anyway, the Blacks don't make anything but pureblood marriages - there are some rumours about Andromeda having unsuitable boyfriends, but I shouldn't mention to Bellatrix it if you like breathing - so it's got to be an old family, and eligible."

"Oooh, I wonder who..."

Viola tipped her head on one side. "You could find out."

"What, me? Don't be daft."

Viola dropped her eyelids, draped herself dramatically against the wall and said in husky tones "Little bug, only to you will I declare my undying love for Peter Pettigrew!" Both girls collapsed in a fit of hysterics, and nearly choked when someone cleared their throat behind them.

"You should be careful where and when you do that," Severus Snape muttered, emerging from behind a tapestry.

"You should be careful you don't get hexed, sneaking around corridors!" Viola shouted.

Snape frowned. "When I want to get hexed, I'll ask someone more talented to do it properly." He oozed off down towards the entrance hall.

"He's such a git," Viola said. "When he wants to get hexed, he just has to walk past the Gryffindors. I don't know why he always ends up where they are."

Ethelina laughed. "Maybe he's in love with Peter Pettigrew!"

"I'm sure they'll have a long and happy life together," Viola said sagely. "Which brings us back to Bellatrix Black's long and happy life."

"Oh... I don't know if I care that much, to be honest," Ethelina said.

"Sure you do. What sort of man has the breeding, the looks and the downright forcefulness to appeal to the mistress of Slytherin? You've got to be curious about this."

"Yeah but... oh, hell, I'll see what she has to say. But I'm not pushing my luck, no way. She might like me, but it wouldn't stop her killing me. Now let's go and get ready for the feast."

****

Jessica, Morgan and Persephone were giggling madly as they got ready for the Halloween feast, crowding round the ornate mirror dangling between the manacles. "You're far too young for makeup," it scolded. "Harlots, the lot of you!" Kelly was sitting by her bed, putting her shoes on and obstinately silent. When Ethelina returned to the dorm from her shower, Kelly had gone.

"Kelly gone up already?" Ethelina asked Persephone.

"Who cares?" Persephone replied. "It's not like she's very good company... can I borrow some of that perfume you've got?"

Ethelina was surprised. "Sure - but it's a muggle one."Bert had bought it on a field trip to a muggle department store, not realising it was for girls. Too embarrassed to tell their mum about his mistake and give it to her, he sent it to his twin instead. However, he'd got good marks for his ability to use muggle money, he proudly informed her, whereas his classmates were still coming to terms with the fact that muggles thought bits of paper were worth enough to swap for items.

Persephone dabbed Chanel no 5 behind her ears. "Muggles could never make anything this good."Jessica reached eagerly for the bottle next. She didn't bother to ask Eth; Ethelina didn't bother to comment. She and Jessica had reached an uneasy truce based on not talking to one another. Jessica's bad behaviour had been initially targeted on the one dormitory inhabitant with any muggle blood. Foolish. Ethelina had made strong allies, Kelly had remained isolated, and while Jessica had since turned her attention to tormenting Kelly, she realised she'd made a mistake in picking on Ethelina before learning what she was capable of.

Bellatrix, Ethelina thought, would never make that mistake. So, her mystery man has to be very powerful. Bellatrix would see no point in tying herself to someone weaker than herself, who needed protection... drat Viola and her curiosity! She smiled wryly. Viola's nosiness was infectious. She followed her dormitory mates downstairs

In the Great Hall, Ethelina had a choice to make. Sit with Viola, sit by Kelly who probably wouldn't be grateful but could do with someone sticking up for her, or sit somewhere near Bellatrix and try to get her talking. As she was trying to make up her mind, a gang of large Gryffindors came through. One, a handsome boy, stopped and looked at her.

"Oh, it's you. Listen, that hex..."

Sirius Black, school heartthrob, was talking to her. Ethelina supposed you had to be older to see the attraction; most boys were just annoying to her. Still, it was nice of him to apologise.

"...and so it was all a mistake, I really did think you were someone else."

His friend with the untidy black hair was chuckling. "You thought she was Snivellus?" He turned to the Slytherin table and shouted. "Hey! Snivellus! Did you know Sirius has been hexing girls thinking they were you?"

Everyone at the Sytherin table turned to see what was going on, Snape looking thunderous but not retaliating. Hell, thought Ethelina, I can't be caught getting along with this lot. Reluctantly she gripped her wand within her pocket and, through the fabric aimed a curse at Sirius. Her housemates collapsed with laughter as boils erupted all over his acne-free skin and she pushed past him.

The black-haired boy grabbed her shoulder. "That wasn't very nice," he told her.

She shrugged his hand away. Back straight, trying desperately not to tremble, she walked back to the table to find the only seat left was between Severus and Kelly. Great, my evening is all but complete, she thought. All that's missing is liver and sprouts.

There was some faffing around at the other end of the table. "Move along, move along," Bellatrix was yelling.

"There isn't room," said Velda Mariner.

"We can make room this way, or we can make it the hard way," Bella told her. Velda got up and went over to Ethelina.

"Might as well make this easy," she said. "Go and talk to Bella, will you."

Freed from the miserable company of Kelly and what little unpleasant conversation Severus was capable of making, Ethelina all but skipped to the other end of the table and sat with the older students.

"Nice curse," Andreas Grimthorpe remarked.

"It burned a hole in my robes," Ethelina muttered.

"A badge of honour!" Crispin de Lacey laughed.

Bella patted her arm. "You learned that one quickly. But why do it there? You'd have had a year of detentions if a teacher had seen it."

"Everyone had to see," Ethelina explained, thinking, I'd never have done it otherwise. I don't hate Sirius, and he was big enough to apologise. "The best time to give him spots is when most girls are going to notice."Bella laughed and clapped her hands.

As soon as the food appeared she tried to keep her mouth full at all times. Table manners were considered important in Slytherin, and most of her housemates wouldn't try to talk to her while she was eating. Bellatrix was merely picking at her food.

"Oh, stop pushing it around your plate and eat something," Lucy Whitby snapped at Bellatrix. Ethelina stared intently at her dinner but kept her ears open. "Honestly, you've been acting like a complete drip for weeks. It's not like you."

"Bella's got a boy-friend," Andreas sang quietly. It was common knowledge among the girls in Slytherin's lower years that he was 'wild with jealousy' over this; Bellatrix smiled sweetly.

"He's not a boy, he's a man. Boys don't interest me."

Andreas' expression soured.

"Well?" Lucy said. "Don't leave it there. What's he like?"

"He's... perfect," Bellatrix said. "Strong, and well-connected, and he has such a brilliant mind... As soon as I met him, I knew he was the one for me."

"Sounds lovely," Lucy said sarcastically. "And are we to learn this god's name, or are you keeping it secret?"

Bellatrix's face went blank. "I'm not discussing it. Some things are too pure to be shared." And with that, she returned to dreamily poking a slice of very rare beef with her fork. "Little bug, when you are big, you should come to your Auntie Bella and she'll find you the very best man..."

Ethelina swallowed hastily. A boyfriend chosen by Bellatrix Black? Not in her lifetime. "I'm not pureblood," she pointed out.

Bella frowned. "Well, you're not the only one, and it's too far back for you to be called a halfblood. I'm sure we can find you a decent enough wizard with unfortunate ancestry. Or you could just find some nice pureblood and be his mistress..."

Ethelina wasn't sure what a mistress was, but she was pretty sure she didn't want to be one.

"What's worse," Lucy mused, "To be part-muggle, or to be a blood traitor?"

"Part muggle," Crispin said. "A blood traitor can mend their ways."

Lucy shook her head. "Worse to be a blood traitor, surely. Someone part-muggle can rise above that part of themselves, which they never chose. A blood traitor has been given a great gift and thrown it away."

"I bet You-Know-Who wouldn't see it that way," Andreas said, trying to look important. "In fact, I'm sure he wouldn't."

Bellatrix smiled. "You're wrong. If I said to you, my little bug or my cousin Sirius, who is the more detestable, what would you say?"

"Well, that's a no-brainer!" Andreas exclaimed. "But..."

"No buts. Being part-muggle is unfortunate. Embracing muggles is unforgivable." She shuddered. "Imagine immersing yourself in their coarse culture, their petty quarrels, their short lives... you might as well live in a henhouse with the chickens. Squalid creatures, stupid things."

"I still think you-know-who would spurn mudbloods," Andreas grumbled. Ethelina deliberated hexing him under the table for using the word; she was on a roll tonight.

"Well, of course," Bellatrix said, as though talking to a five year old. "You only asked what was worse. Neither is good, and you could not expect himself to sully himself with either. Now, if you'll excuse me, I am VERY tired and going to bed."

As Bellatrix left, Lucy looked at Andreas and said, "Looks like you've been well and truly dropped there."

He pulled a sour face. "Next year I'll have left, and I'll be able to... achieve more. She'll come running back then. When she sees what I really am."

"Chick, if she's dropped you, it's for good. Bellatrix never repeates a mistake - and that's what you'll be to her now."

For the Slytherins at Ethelina's end of the table, the feast ended in bad-tempered silence.