August | Hermione Granger x OFC

Chapter Seven

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In the back of her mind she commended herself for her ability to seem unbothered, at least to outsiders. People who knew her well, though, would be able to see that she was...well, she wasn't sure exactly. There was a mix of emotions swirling in her; bewilderment, indignance, agitation...

Fear.

She heard applause as the hat was lifted off her head. If she had turned to the side, she would have seen Professor McGonagall giving her a small smile. If she had turned to the staff table, she would have seen Dumbledore nod in satisfaction. But she didn't. She kept her gaze firmly on the Ravenclaw table, she couldn't risk making eye contact with Dylan, or Lloyd, or Astoria. Oh no, she would be so disappointed that they would be separated...

Rather abruptly, Robyn stood from the stool and hurried to the blue and bronze House, still with a blank face. She did not smile as she sat next to a dark-skinned girl with curly brown hair, and across from Luna Lovegood. She heard them greeting her, and she knew she was being rude by ignoring them, but she was far too overwhelmed to make small talk at the moment.

The gaze of what felt like the entire Slytherin table was burning her skin. She felt as though she had suddenly caught a disease; maybe that Mudblood Granger had infected her with something, as her cheeks were pink; her tummy hurt; her ears were ringing; she was incredibly warm; felt an ache at the back of her eyes; and there was a lump in her throat. She was about to cry; she realised a bit too late as a single tear trailed down her cheek. She couldn't, not in the middle of the Great Hall, not while she was acutely aware of several pairs of eyes on her. So, she subtly wiped her cheek, shook her head a little, then began taking deep breaths, all the while keeping her gaze stubbornly to the front of the hall.

Finally, "Weasley, Ginevra" was sent to Gryffindor, being met with boisterous applause, and the sorting was over. Robyn noted that Professor Snape had left the room at some point, which she thought a bit peculiar, but also didn't really care. She had bigger problems.

Dumbledore was standing now behind a podium, and he was saying...words. In one ear and out the other. Everyone was clapping all of a sudden, then food appeared on the tables. Robyn watched Dumbledore as he walked slyly out the back door of the hall with Professor McGonagall hot on his tail. Again, strange. Again, she didn't care. She turned, now, to look at the plates of food. It looked nice and all, but she wouldn't eat any for fear that she'd vomit it straight back up. She was silent as the people around her talked and laughed.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" came a Geordie accent from her right. She barely turned to the girl, instead looking at her out of her peripheral vision. She thought she might recognise her but wasn't sure. Turning her eyes to the front again, she gave no indication that she had even heard anyone speak.

"All right then..." the girl trailed off. "I'm Willow, by the way, Willow Banks. This is Olivia Flores," she gestured to a pretty girl with long brown hair and tanned skin in front of her. "Lana Hoang," sat next to Olivia. She was smiling nervously and of Asian descent. "And Luna Lovegood. Oh, Luna and Lana, I just noticed!" the girls giggled.

This Willow girl was either naturally a leader or trying very hard to be. Not that Robyn minded, no, but she really didn't care to listen to her right now. Robyn had been right earlier when she thought she recognised the girl; her mothers were Magnolia and Genevieve Banks, the former an auror, the latter a Magizoologist. She had never personally met either of them but had passed the auror once or twice while visiting the Ministry with her father. Her father, who did not like the aurors very much. Her father, who was going to kill her for not being a Slytherin...