A Slytherin Black Sheep

The time seemed to crawl by. Edana poured over her school books and tried to imagine what it would be like to be in a place with hundreds of others her own age. In a rare moment of openness, her mother regaled her with stories from her own schooling, including telling her daughter about how she had accidentally knocked her future husband off his broom during their very first flying lesson.

At last the first of September finally arrived. Evan came by to wish Edana well and offer a few pointers before apparating to work. Then Mrs. Rosier and Edana wrestled Edana’s heavy black trunk into the kitchen fireplace and flooed to King’s Cross Station.

Edana had often accompanied her mother in sending Evan off to school or in picking him up for holidays. She had no difficulty finding and getting onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Once on the platform, Mrs. Rosier hugged her daughter and fought back tears.

“I cannot believe you are old enough to go.” Mrs. Rosier said in explanation as she dabbed at her eyes.

Edana shifted her weight from one foot to the other feeling awkward. Her mother was not a very emotionally expressive woman and when she did show her feelings to her daughter in public, Edana was never quite sure how to react. She settled for hugging her mother and murmuring something she thought sounded reassuring about how she still had years to go before she was all grown up.

“You should go.” Mrs. Rosier said suddenly. She was making an effort to recover her control. “All the good seats will be taken unless you hurry.”

With her mother’s assistance and a quick spell or two, Edana heaved her trunk onto the train and said her good-byes. Before she knew it, her mother had gone home and she was utterly alone on the train. Edana swallowed hard as she fought to suppress the panic that covered her like a wet sheet. She had seldom been far from home or family members and had limited experience with others her own age. How would she manage?

“If Evan can do it, so can I.” She told herself firmly. She claimed an unoccupied seat and pulled out a book on the lives of the four founders of Hogwarts to pass the time with.

“Excuse me?” A soft voice asked. Edana looked up to see a tallish girl with lots of curly dark brown hair and thick glasses standing a few feet away. She was already wearing her Hogwarts robes with the black tie and lack of house emblem that identified her as a first year. “Are you are a first year?”

Edana said she was. The girl smiled nervously.

“I haven’t met any other first years on the train. Do you mind if I sit here next to you?”

“Please.” Edana said gesturing at the empty seat. The girl sank gratefully into it.

“There doesn’t seem to be very many of us this year.” The girl said sadly, shaking her head until her dark hair flopped into her face and covered her eyes. “My sister told me there were loads of people in her year. The Sorting took ages, bet they are through with us in a snap. My name is Celinda, Celinda Green.”

“Edana Rosier. It is nice to meet you. I haven‘t seen any other first years either. You‘re the first.”

Edana was about to reply when the door to their compartment was flung open by a boy with brilliant green hair that was obviously charmed.

“You bastards!” The boy snarled only to be answered with gales of laughter from another compartment before he slammed the door shut.

“Do you need any help?” Edana asked politely. The boy blushed hard when he noticed the two girls, making him look like a bizarre Christmas ornament.

“Could please you fix my hair?” He asked hopefully.

Edana fished around in her pocket for her wand. “Finite Incantantum!”

The boy’s hair changed to a sandy blond.

“Thanks.” He said, relieved. “Some older kids did this as a joke. I didn‘t think it was very funny.”

“You are lucky. That is practically the only bit of magic I know.” Edana told him with a wry grin as she shoved her wand back into her pocket.

“You know,” Celinda observed the boy, craning her neck like a bird. “You are holding your wand upside down.”

“Oh, thanks.” The boy blushed and flipped his wand over. “My name is Patrick Rollins, by the way. You know this is the first time I’ve been around magic people, other than when I went to Diagon Alley, anyway. I didn’t even know about any of this until I got my letter.” 

“Oh,” Edana said offhandedly. “You’re a Mudblood.”

Celinda jerked upright and whipped out her wand, glaring daggers at Edana while Patrick stared at the two girls, clearly baffled.

“What did you call him?” Celinda demanded, a dangerous look in her eyes and strong enough to be visible in spite of her thick glasses.

Edana did not like to be threatened or told what to do by a virtual stranger. She pulled her own wand out of her pocket for the second time in less than five minutes. “You heard what I said.”

“Apologize. Now.” Celinda ordered.

Edana shook her head Apologize, to a Mudblood? “No.”

“Loco-”

“Expelliarmus!” Another voice interrupted. All three first years turned to face a pair of sixth year girls standing in the compartment door with their wands drawn. Both wore silver prefect badges. One was scowling while the other was toying with their wands and fighting to conceal her amusement.

The disapproving prefect was a Hufflepuff. She was tall, with very long black hair, brown eyes, and a face that made people wonder if perhaps there was some veela in her ancestry. Edana wished that she could wear her hair loose like that, but it always became tangled or get in her eyes when she did.

The second prefect, who held their wands, was pretty in an ordinary way. Her hair was golden brown and pulled back into a braid. Freckles were scattered across her ski-jumped nose, one of her eyes was pale blue while the other was green. When she stepped forward to return the wands, Edana saw the house crest on her robes and the silver and green stripes on her tie. She was a Slytherin.

“You should know better than to fight on the train.” The Hufflepuff said sternly, looking each one of them in the eye.

“She,” Celinda scrambled to assign guilt away from herself, and pointed at Edana. “Called him a Mudblood.”

Both prefects stared at Edana. “Is that true?”

Edana refused to answer, instead she looked down her shoes.

“If you have any sense at all, you’ll never use that term again. Since you haven’t been sorted, I can’t recommend that points be taken from your house, but if another incident like this occurs I will see to it that your punishment is harsh.” The Hufflepuff said crisply, then turned to leave but was stopped by her Slytherin companion.

“Melissa, I don’t think we should leave these three here by themselves. It would only bring another round of trouble.” The Slytherin Prefect pointed out.

“Good idea, Aileen.” Melissa the Hufflepuff agreed. She had Celinda and Patrick follow her to another carriage.

“You, come with me.” Aileen gestured for Edana to come forward and shepherded her through the train in the opposite direction as Melissa and the other two first years. “I’m Aileen Travers, one of the Slytherin prefects. You seem familiar. What’s your name?”

“Edana Rosier.”

“Any relation to Evan Rosier?” Aileen asked in a cool but curious manner.

“He’s my older brother.”

The older girl nodded. “I thought you seemed familiar. Look, Rosier, remember what Melissa said. It’s not smart to go around insulting Muggle-borns. Especially in times like these, triply so if you are sorted into Slytherin. There are still people who remember your brother, and not all of them with fondness.”

“Why?”

Aileen paused. “Most Death Eaters, but by no means all, are from old Slytherin families. Start insulting Muggle-borns and the other students will think you are one of them. Almost everyone has lost someone they care about to You-Know-Who and his followers and they are perfectly willing to take what revenge they can on anyone they believe is connected to them, even if the connection only exists in their minds. Defend yourself and you only solidify the connection in their minds. Its a no-win situation for Slytherins. I’ve seen it happen many times before and the results are not pretty.” The prefect shuddered, then hustled Edana into an empty compartment before departing without a backwards glance.

* * * * *

Dusk had long sense given way to night by the time the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade station. An enormous bearded man who introduced himself as Hagrid called all thirty-three first years over to him before leading them down a darkened path to the lake. Edana was not pleased at all to see that part of her journey to Hogwarts would be over water. Boats had the effect of making her turn as green as Patrick’s hair.

Edana ended up in a boat with two other girls. As they chatted about the likelihood that they would be placed in the same house, Edana gripped the sides of the boat until her fingers ached. She tried to focus on the others in her boat as a way of distracting herself.

Though it was difficult to discern much about appearances in the dark, one girl was a lanky brunette with a turned up nose. The other was an elegant young witch with black hair.

Edana clenched her jaw and closed her eyes. She hoped this ride would not be long.

The brunette regarded her with concern. “Are you all right?”

Edana shook her head in the negative.

“Hold on, we’re almost there.” The girl said.

The second girl pulled out her wand and pointed it at Edana. “Tranquillitas alvus.”

Immediately Edana felt better. “Thank you.”

“No problem at all.” Said the girl, pocketing her wand. “I’m Thalia Blakely.”

“Edana Rosier.”

“Tabitha Stebbins.” The other girl supplied. “Thalia and I met on the train.”

Tabitha shrugged. “I’m not very choosy. I just want to be put in a good house, though to be honest I think I’ll either be in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. I’m not very brave or cunning.”

“I’m certain I’ll be a Ravenclaw.” Thalia annouced. “Done of the others really sound as though they suit me. You?”

“Most of my family have been in Slytherin, but that is not guarantee that I will be as well.”

“Slytherin?” Tabitha asked, shooting a look at Thalia. She scooted away from Edana.

“They’re not all Death Eaters.” Thalia said logically. “If all Slytherins were Death Eaters, they’d have shut the house down ages ago.”

“I guess so.” Tabitha did not sound very convinced and regarded Edana with suspicion.

The remainder of the ride passed without further exchange, though whether the silence was due to the turn the conversation had taken or a sudden interest in the spectacular view of the castle was uncertain. Finally they reached the shore and the first years were able to climb out of the boats and followed the giant up to the castle. He knocked thrice at the door and a dark haired witch in scarlet robes opened the door to allowed them inside.

“Welcome to Hogwarts School. I am Professor McGongall.” In a few moments you will join the rest of the school and be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is among the more important steps in you magical education because will you attend Hogwarts, you will end with your house, sleep in your house dormitory, spend your free time in your house common room, and take classes with your house. You may even play on your house Quidditch team. There are four school houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin, each named for the four founders of Hogwarts. Older students will educate you in the history of whatever house you are sorted into.”

“Your achievements will earn points for your house, trouble making will cause them to be taken away. The house with the most points at the end of the year receives the House Cup, a very high honor indeed. Let us hope that you will prove an asset to whatever house you are placed into today.”

Edana allowed her speech about the school house to pass over her. It was mostly for Muggle-borns anyway. She straightened her robes and tried to tidy her hair. It was always good to make the best first impression possible.

McGongall led the first years into the Great Hall and Edana openly gawked. She was so entranced by the multitudes of floating candles and the bewitched ceiling that she completely missed the Sorting Hat’s song, only returning her focus to the present when she heard clapping.

“When I call your name, you will come forward, sit on the stool, and place the hat on your head.” Professor McGonagall said. She had a roll of parchment in her hands and stared at it a moment before calling out for Amiti, Alexander.

“SLYTHERIN!”

“Arlington, Druscilla!”

The blond girl swept forward and place the hat on her head. A minute later it cried out “SLYTHERIN!” and Arlington, Druscilla strolled over to the Slytherin table with a very self-satisfied expression on her face.

Edana watched as Blakely, Thalia was made a Ravenclaw as she had predicted while in the boat, and Cross, Malina was declared a Slytherin. The second new Slytherin of the year was not a very pleasant looking girl. For a moment Edana found herself hoping she would not have to share a dormitory with her. Then she chided herself for what her Uncle Brian referred to as “judging a book by its cover.” It was not wise to label someone, particularly a Slytherin, without the benefit of any real knowledge about them. People often had unexpected resources.

“Edwards, Malcolm!”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

“Flannery, Rose!”

“RAVENCLAW!”

“Green, Celinda!”

Celinda appeared very nervous and approached the Sorting Hat like a condemned prisoner approaching the place of execution. With a burst of courage she jammed that hat onto her head. It was not there very long before calling out a house.

“HUFFLEPUFF”

The names went on until Patrick Rollins, the Muggle-born boy from the train, was called. Edana knew her turn would be soon. She watched him being welcomed over at the Gryffindor table and readied herself.

“Rosier, Edana!”

Edana walked over to the stool and placed the hat on her head, all the while trying not to think about the hundreds of eyes upon her. The Sorting Hat was far too big for her and came down almost to the tip of her nose. It did not have the most appealing smell about it.

“What have we here? Intelligence, charm, and power. Now, where shall I put you?”

“Slytherin,” Edana whispered.

“Slytherin, eh? You’d do well there, but you’d also do well in Ravenclaw. Still, if you are certain, then it must be SLYTHERIN!”

Edana whipped off the hat, grateful her Sorting was over and that she had the house she wanted, and walked over to the Slytherin house table. The applause and congratulations were very sweet indeed to her ears.