August | Hermione Granger x OFC

Chapter Six

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Robyn stood patiently, tucked into Astoria's side, while she and the rest of the first years waited for Professor McGonagall to return. They were in a small chamber off the Entrance Hall, which was lit by torches and had an extremely high ceiling that seemed as though it would never end.

Professor McGonagall had delivered to them a speech about being sorted into their Houses, what the Houses were, and how to earn or lose House points. She knew about this stuff already, so she only half listened. Instead, she was thinking up ways in which the sorting would work; she didn't know exactly how it would be done other than that there would be a hat involved, as it was tradition to keep it a secret, which made her nervous. She didn't like not knowing things.

Up until this point she had managed to distract herself from worrying too much about which House she would be placed into, but now that the sorting was mere minutes away, she was panicking. 'I have to be in Slytherin,' she thought to herself. 'I will be in Slytherin!'

Astoria reached over to her and smoothed out her hair. She was reminded of her sister, Dylan, by the gesture. 'Yes, Dylan, who is in Slytherin. I will be in Slytherin with Dylan.'

"Thank you," she spoke softly to her friend, who replied with,

"Of course! I don't know why you're so worried. We'll be fine!" optimistic as always, Astoria was. Robyn appreciated her reassurances, but they didn't necessarily make her feel any better. The butterflies in her stomach would not go away. The anticipation of waiting for Professor McGonagall to return was awful. She almost felt sick. All of a sudden, several people let out shrieks. That didn't help her heartrate any.

She turned to look at what the fuss was about. Oh. There was a whole crew of ghosts floating around. She didn't think anything of them, they were just ghosts. Rather, she was quite annoyed at the people who had screamed, they had made her even more jumpy. Idiots.

"We are ready for you now," came a stern voice – Professor McGonagall had returned. The butterflies in her stomach increased tenfold. "Form a line and follow me."

Robyn stood behind Astoria and in front of Flora, Hestia was behind her sister. She noted the blonde girl from the train a few paces in front of her and standing behind her was the Weasley girl from the bookshop – Harry Potter's little ginger defender.

They began moving as Professor McGonagall pushed through the double doors to the Great Hall. Robyn walked very carefully and kept a blank face. She did not look around in a daze, she simply looked forward with her head held high; she was a Rosier, her name alone should command respect...is something her father might say. She was trying to emulate her poised mother at the moment though, not him.

'Prim and proper,' she repeated in her head.

'Perfect, perfect, perfect,' she shivered slightly.

Her last thought before the hat began to sing was,

'Slytherin.'

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me."

...

Robyn stared unblinking at the hat when it finished its performance then clapped lightly following the rest of the school. So, they had to try it on. Well, now she felt a bit stupid, because duh, what else would you do with a hat? At least there was no test or anything though, because she hadn't studied or prepared or...whatever. Now, she just had to be sorted into the correct House.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment and spoke loudly, "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted. Abernathy, Rachel!"

A whole list of people Robyn didn't care about were sorted. She was too busy in her own head to pay attention to anyone she didn't know personally. She did watch carefully, though, when, "Carrow, Flora," and "Carrow, Hestia," were called up individually. Both were sorted into Slytherin, as expected. Great, she was happy for them.

Not long after that, she heard, "Greengrass, Astoria." She turned to her best friend and smiled at her with a nod. Astoria returned the gesture enthusiastically and hurried to the hat.

"SLYTHERIN!" it called relatively quickly. She grinned for her friend. Good! They would be in Slytherin together. 'Bet Daphne will be displeased,' she added as an afterthought. She watched her friend walk over to the Slytherin table and be greeted by several people. That would be her in a few minutes, it had to be.

They were at 'L' now, and "Lovegood, Luna," the rather interesting blonde from the train, was sorted into Ravenclaw. 'Should've known she was a Lovegood,' she thought. The dreamy disposition and the bright blonde hair were a giveaway, but she had been a bit distracted by the flying car.

She was standing pin straight now while Rogers, Tamsin walked to the Hufflepuff table. She took a deep breath as "Rosier, Robyn," came from Professor McGonagall's mouth. She wasn't sure if her eyes were playing tricks on her, or if Dumbledore had really sat straighter in his seat. For her? She was confused but didn't have time to think on it.

'Prim, proper, perfect, Slytherin,' she chanted in her head as she moved carefully to the stool. She only had a moment to look out at the entire school watching her before her eyes were covered by the hat. She was quite small for her age, after all, and the hat was large.

"Another Rosier!" she heard a strange voice in her head. "Well, you lot have been in Slytherin for generations, haven't you? Your mother's side too; the Selwyns."

'Yes, Slytherin!' she thought eagerly. She wanted this over with quickly.

"Ah, but we are here to sort you, not for your family, but for the qualities you value most!" it said wisely.

'I thought it was the qualities you have, not the qualities you value,' she frowned.

It simply responded, "Perhaps."

'Well, can you get on with it? I value cunning, and ambition, and resourcefulness, and being a Slytherin!' if you could shout in your mind, that was what she was doing. She was very aware of the hundreds of eyes watching her.

"Yes, you do, on the surface. But I can see your true self," the hat insisted. "Intelligence, learning, wisdom, wit, creativity, yes, yes! You would do Rowena proud. There is also untapped courage deep inside you, nobility, but that will come later, I think."

She was reminded of her wand wood description at that moment; brave, bold, self-sacrificing, it had said. No way, that would never be her. She was getting angry at this hat now. And then she was getting angry at herself for getting angry at a hat.

'I don't care! Slytherin, Slytherin, Slytherin!' she thought harshly. She wouldn't embarrass herself by speaking aloud.

"You are asking me to place you in Slytherin?"

'Of course I am, you stupid hat!'

"So it shall be done." The hat was silent, then, "I'm afraid I- Outside forces...Greater good...Prophecy...So it shall be done..." the hat whispered in her mind, before crying out:

"RAVENCLAW!"

She wasn't big on foul language, one reason being that she was eleven years old, and another because she was a Lady. But at this moment, all she could think was,

Shit.

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A/N: whoops

Word count: 1258

- A