Chapter Text
"To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his gods?"
- Thomas Babington Macaulay
Hermione Granger had read countless books on Hogwarts and its houses long before her arrival at the grand castle.
She had spent hours debating what house she might be sorted into. Her safe bet was on Ravenclaw, her thirst for knowledge probably guaranteeing it. But all of her research had proven that sorting wasn’t always so straight-forward.
If she was honest with herself, she didn’t particularly care which house she was sorted into... with the exception of Slytherin.
This had less to do with a prejudice against the house and more of a ... slight barrier to entry. Their apparent obsession with “blood purity” seemed to immediately strike her out as a candidate; the fact that a muggle-born hadn’t been sorted into the house for four centuries only stood to solidify her assumption.
She discovered early in her research that the nephew of the Wizarding World’s King, Draco Malfoy, would be in her year at Hogwarts. She wondered what house he would be sorted into, but after some additional research decided it was highly unlikely they’d be housemates.
In her reading she learned that, with the exception of the current heir to the throne, the entirety of the Royal Malfoy family line had been sorted into Slytherin. The current heir, Princess Matilda, was sorted into Ravenclaw during her time studying at Hogwarts before she continued her education, studying politics at Cambridge. Hermione found herself fascinated by the Princess; apparently, she was the first royal to spend any significant time in the muggle world; when she took the throne she’d be the Wizarding World’s first female monarch.
The previous King had two sons. The elder son, Armand II, reigned as the current King and was beloved by many for his progressive social beliefs. His Queen, Marie, had been killed during the wizarding war and the King refused to remarry.
The second son, Prince Lucius Malfoy, Duke of Wiltshire, just so happened to be Draco's father. His Duchess, Narcissa, was very popular with the people.
After all she had learned so far, Hermione was excited to be entering the world of magic under a good King and a promising heir.
Aside from the fact that she’d be attending school with royalty, she was excited to learn that the saviour of the Wizarding World, Harry Potter, would be in her year, too. She had spent hours reading all about the most recent wizarding war and was curious to meet the boy that had defeated the Dark Lord when he was just a baby.
But the time for research had passed as she stood huddled with the rest of the first-year students in the Great Hall, drinking in the breathtaking sight.
She found the enormous room lit by thousands of candles floating in midair over four elongated tables where the older students sat peering at the newcomers.
As the first-years walked deeper into the hall, Hermione got a better view of the only other table in the room, another long table perpendicular to the rest where the teachers sat patiently. The majority of them smiled warmly at the incoming students.
She looked upward to see a velvet black ceiling dotted with stars, Hermione was so distracted by the beauty of it she nearly missed her name being called to be sorted.
She heard a voice muttering in her ear as the ancient hat was placed upon her head.
Plenty of brains and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge ... You would certainly do well in Ravenclaw.
Hermione tried not to squirm with delight at the thought of surrounding herself with people she could count on to never call her a know-it-all.
But lots of bravery too, the hat continued. Gryffindor house would certainly make for an excellent fit.
She felt the seed of doubt embed in her heart at the words echoing in her head; yes, Gryffindors could be brave, but they were also known for being brash and unthinking. Could that really be the best house for her?
You are incredibly kind and crave the security and loyalty that friendship provides, all necessary values for a true Hufflepuff…
Hermione smiled.
...But I think you prefer a challenge.
The young girl sat at attention, her curiosity thoroughly piqued. She honestly had no clue what was about to happen. A challenge? What could the Sorting Hat mean by that?
You're ambitious, a perfectionist, and I sense a ruthlessness that will only grow as your powers do… Yes. I know just where you’ll do best.
'SLYTHERIN!' The patched hat boomed for all to hear.
To say she was shocked would have been an enormous understatement.
She stood shakily from the old wooden stool as the hat was pulled from her head. Even the teacher manning the hat ― Professor McGonagall ― looked shocked at her placement, though she was trying to school her expression.
The first muggle-born Slytherin for centuries. Fancy that.
Hands still shaking, she made her way over to the long table on the far right side of the hall. Everyone politely clapped for her, but she noticed the first-years at the other three tables turn to their neighbours to furiously whisper. It wasn’t long before most of the occupants of the other three tables stopped to stare at her with wide eyes as her tie shimmered and turned emerald green.
One red-headed boy she met on the train, whose name she remembered being Ronald Weasley, laughed loudly at her procession. She held her head high and tried not to cry and embarrass herself as she bore his cruel remarks.
Once she reached the Slytherin table, she sunk into the first open seat she could find, hardly paying attention to her neighbours. It wasn’t until they spoke that she looked up and realised she’d sat right next to one Draco Malfoy, son of the Duke of Wiltshire, nephew of the King, who’d been sorted only a few people before her.
An older girl on the other side of the table was the first to speak up.
'What a prick.' The mystery student stated, glaring at the still-sneering red-head. 'Do you know who he is, Malfoy?'
Hermione got her first real look at the royal up-close. She didn't know what she was expecting, but she was a little disappointed by how normal he appeared to be. She had only ever seen pictures of him at formal events, decked out in full regalia. It was almost funny to see him dressed down in a school uniform.
'Red hair, hand me down robes, vacant expression... Must be a Weasley,' he replied, clearly in an attempt to cheer up the curly haired witch beside him, who smiled for the first time since the hat came off her head.
Draco turned his warm gaze from her to glare at Ron; he hadn't spoken to the boy but could already tell he would hate him for upsetting the quiet girl next to him.
'Why do you look so terrified?' the older girl laughed, she flipped her brown hair over her shoulder.
Might as well get it over with. They'll all find out eventually, she thought.
'I'm a muggle-born.' She told the pair, cringingly slightly as the words left her mouth.
They both looked shocked but neither appeared repulsed.
'That's interesting!' Draco said with unmistakable awe in his voice. 'You’ve got to be the first muggle-born we've had in hundreds of years! You must be pretty special,' he told her, further lifting her spirits before the group turned to watch the rest of the first-year students get sorted.
She felt a surge of comfort, if one of the highest in the land accepted her in their house, surely the others would have her too.
To nobody’s surprise, the famed Harry Potter was sorted into Gryffindor.
A blond bombshell of pure beauty sat down opposite her and introduced herself as Daphne Greengrass. She was charming and polite and she too was deeply interested in the first muggle-born Slytherin for centuries.
As she observed their interactions, Hermione realised that Daphne and Draco seemed to know each other quite well. Taking in the other students around her, she realised that all of the Slytherins seemed to know each other, even the first-years students. She turned to ask the older girl, who she found was a seventh-year called Ismelda.
'Of course we all know each other! We grew up together. But don't worry, you'll fit right in. You'll be sharing a room with the other girls in your year, so you’ll spend loads of time together. I bet you’ll all be mates by the end of the week!' She gave Hermione a warm smile, bringing the young student an immense sense of comfort.
'That’s such a relief to hear. I still can't believe that Weasley boy laughed at me!' she said, frowning down at the table.
Ismelda joked that she’d hit the boy with a Bat-Bogey Hex the first chance she got, sending Hermione into a fit of laughter.
Draco pulled her closer to him, urging her to scoot down the bench to make room for the dark skinned boy moving to sit next to her on her other side. He was very beautiful, Hermione had never seen such good bone structure on a child her own age.
'Blaise, we got a muggle-born!' Draco Malfoy announced happily.
The table’s newest occupant smiled at her and Hermione found herself quite charmed.
'Sweet! Don't worry, tesoro, we'll look after you.’ He took her hand in his and gave it a light kiss, his lips barely grazing her knuckles. ‘I'm Zabini, Blaise Zabini.'
Hermione blushed furiously under his attention, unsure of what to say.
'Cool it, Zabini, or she'll think we're all scoundrels,' a boy, whose name was apparently Theo, joked. He was handsome too now that she thought of it. Was Slytherin just full of male models? Apparently.
Blaise threw his arm around Hermione's shoulders and pulled her in close.
'No need to be jealous, dear. She's just far more interesting than you lot,' he shot back playfully, a chorus of good-natured laughs echoing in response.
Hermione let herself relax. She realised these people wouldn't turn on her for her blood status. They had all taken their lead from Draco on the matter.
Daphne quickly chimed in, asking her to tell them all how she’d found out about Hogwarts. She explained how Professor McGonagall had appeared at her house with a letter. Much to her parents’ shock, the witch had promptly turned their couch into a tiger and back again. The whole Granger family was quite quick to believe her about a secret magic school up in Scotland after that display.
Once everyone was finally seated, the aged headmaster stood to speak.
‘Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you.’
Hermione frowned and turned to Draco.
'Is he... okay?'
The young royal smirked.
'Depends on who you ask. My uncle thinks he's the best thing since the invention of Quidditch, but my father thinks he's a blubbering lunatic.'
'And what do you think of him?' she asked, turning back to peer at the headmaster curiously.
'Somewhere in the middle I guess. My cousin is always telling me not to let others’ opinions shape my own, and I’ve only just got here. Ask me again in a few weeks once I've got the size of him,' he replied, pouring her a glass of pumpkin juice before filling his own.
He's so smart and charming, she found herself thinking as he passed her the chicken next.
'It was incredibly rude for Weasley to laugh at you,' Daphne whispered to her, an edge of annoyance still apparent in her voice. 'Don't worry, we'll get him back. Us Slytherins protect our own.'
Hermione beamed at the girl. She had a feeling the two of them would be fast friends.
'Just wait until I write home and tell my parents about everything I’ve seen so far! Floating candles, a magical feast, an ancient hat that speaks to you in your head… Hell, I’m even sitting next to royalty!' She made herself laugh as she pictured her mother's surprised face, the Slytherins around her grinned at her visible excitement. Draco winked at her playfully, finding her excitement endearing.
An unpleasant voice chimed in from Draco’s other side.
'It's so weird to think that some people wouldn't know who you are like I do, Drakey.' The girl on Draco’s left, called Pansy, smarmed the words out as she leaned heavily into where the young royal sat.
Draco’s body stiffened as he visibly tried to not look uncomfortable at the girl's flirtation. Hermione noticed Theo and Blaise sharing a look and an eye roll over the girl’s antics.
Draco turned away from Pansy, ignoring her completely as he kindly replied to Hermione.
'I'm just little-old-me, certainly nothing to write home about. I'm just another wizard who happens to be an Earl.'
Hermione didn’t have long to ponder this as they were promptly dismissed and sent to bed. While the older students walked ahead in groups, catching up with the friends they’d missed over the summer, the first-year Slytherins were escorted to the dungeons by their prefects.
The entrance to the common room was seemingly a bare stretch of stone wall, which the Prefect stepped up to without hesitation.
'Merlin,' he said simply, and suddenly the wall had opened.
The common room looked just as her books had described it, but despite its location in the dungeon she found it to be comfortable and cosy. The glowing green lamps cast a soothing light over the matching cushioned chairs.
The hall appeared to extend partly under the lake; although it was nighttime, Hermione could imagine how the water outside the windows would give the room’s light a green tinge on a sunny day.
Even in the darkness she could see beautiful fish swimming past, and could already picture herself curled up under the vast window, reading in peace for hours.
The common room was full of black and dark green leather sofas, button-tufted and appearing luxuriously comfortable. Dark wooden cupboards stood about the room, and Hermione wondered what she’d find inside.
The entire room screamed sophistication and comfort, and she already felt incredibly at home.
One of the wooden tables hosted a Wizard's Chess set. Both Draco and Blaise promised to teach her how to play later.
On the walls hung tapestries showcasing the stories of famous Medieval Slytherins. Daphne pointed out an elaborate one that proudly displayed the adventures of Merlin, one of the most famous Slytherins of all time. Draco promised to lend her a book on these adventures, and Hermione knew it would be one of the very next books she read.
The Prefect informed them the password to the common room changed every fortnight, and it would be posted on the notice board. They were warned never to bring students from other houses into the common room, or to reveal the password to a non-Slytherin. According to the Prefect, no outsider had entered the Slytherin common room for seven hundred years.
The boys were warned not to walk up the girls corridor as they would sink into the ground and require rescuing by a teacher, but there was apparently nothing to stop girls walking down the stairs to the boys room. This comment caused much blushing amongst both genders.
The girls separated from the boys and made their way to their designated room.
Hermione learned that she would be sharing a room with Daphne, Tracey, Millicent, and Pansy. She had been thrilled to learn Tracey was only a half-blood, ensuring that she wouldn't be the only non-pureblood in the room. (Even though the only "blip" in Tracey's blood was one grandparent and that was it).
Each girl had a double four poster-bed, covered in green blankets. Each bed had a nightstand next to it, the dark wood matching the furniture in the common room. Their school trunks had each been placed at the foot of a bed, leaving the girls to spend a few moments figuring which bed belonged to who.
They also found they all had a wooden chair with a green pillow and a dresser near the bed. Apparently the Slytherin bedrooms were the biggest of all four houses; Millicent cringed as she told them that in Gryffindor, they apparently all had single beds, room only for their trunks and no other furniture.
They each had a wooden board on either side of the bed to decorate. The other girls started putting up posters of wizarding bands and models, and Hermione put up her poster of the band Queen. The others were interested in the static picture while Hermione was interested the other way around.
The walls and floors of their room were stone, but surprisingly the room didn’t feel cold. The room had a sort of skylight that gave them a slightly different view of the lake as it filled the space with green light. Hermione gasped as she saw some Merpeople swim past and wave at them, apparently they were keen to see the new additions to the school.
The only other door in their room led to a bathroom with a shower, sink, large mirror, a toilet, and a ridiculously large bathtub in one corner.
As the girls all started getting ready for bed, Daphne kindly told Hermione about a spell that would turn her hair from frizzy into gorgeous curls if she performed it with wet hair after a wash.
Once all the girls were showered, Daphne performed the spell on Hermione's hair for her and told her it only needed to be done once a week. She promised to lend her a book of beauty spells and potions her mother had given her.
Once they were all settled in bed they sat and talked for what felt like hours, the girls falling asleep one by one until Hermione felt her own eyes getting tired.
Maybe Slytherin isn't so bad after all, she thought with a smile as she finally drifted off.