The Prince's Secret

Fellow Slytherins

After the magnificent feast, it was time for them to head to their dormitories. The Slytherin Prefect, a tall girl with long, silky black hair and high cheekbones, gathered all first years at the table. She led them through a door on the right side of the Great Hall, where they found themselves in a quiet, empty passageway. There, the Prefect counted the heads.

'Great, we've got ten new students!' she said in a cheerful voice. Her black eyes surveyed them with a friendly gaze.

'My name's Gemma Farley,' she said, 'I'm in my sixth year at Hogwarts, and I'm delighted to welcome you to Slytherin House.'

At the sight of Gemma's kind expression, Leilla's doubts regarding Slytherin had begun to melt away.

'As you probably know already, our emblem is the serpent, and our house colours are emerald green and silver. Soon, we're going to reach our common room down in the dungeons. Don't worry,' she quickly addressed some of the worried looks, 'it's really cozy down there! You're going to love it, I promise.

'Now, there's a few things you should know about Slytherin – and a few you should forget.' Her eyes glossed over Draco and Theodore's smug expressions, and her face became more stern.

'Firstly, let's dispel a few myths. You might've heard rumours about Slytherin house – that we're all into the Dark Arts, and will only talk to you if your great-grandfather was a famous wizard, and other rubbish like that. Well, you don't want to believe everything you hear. I'm not denying that we've produced our share of Dark wizards, but so have the other three houses – they just don't like admitting it. And yes, we have traditionally tended to take students who come from long lines of witches and wizards, but nowadays you'll find plenty of people in Slytherin house who have at least one Muggle parent.'

Malfoy sniggered, and Gemma's eyes darted at him.

'Draco Malfoy, isn't it?' she asked in a cold voice. Draco's smile faded slightly. 'If I hear you making comments about other peoples' heritage, I'll send you straight to Professor Snape, no questions asked. Understood?'

Draco shrugged, but the expression of contempt disappeared from his face for the rest of the evening.

'Here, at Slytherin,' Gemma went on, 'we're not bad people. Remember that, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Plus, we're a family. We play to win, and we win together. All clear?'

For the first time that day, Leilla felt kind of OK about the Sorting Hat's decision. She looked at Daphne, the girl standing next to her, and they grinned at each other.

'Do you know what Salazar Slytherin, our founder, looked for in his chosen students?' Gemma smiled at the group. 'The seeds of greatness. If the Sorting Hat put you in here, there's something great about you, and don't you forget it.

'Anything else I should mention...?' she glanced at a sheet of parchment in her hand. 'That's right. The password to the common room changes every fortnight. Keep an eye on the noticeboard. Never bring anyone from another house into our common room or tell them our password, got it? It's very important. OK, I think we can go now.'

She gestured at them to follow her, and they walked down a set of steep steps. They turned left and found themselves in a wide corridor lit by candles and torches. Multiple staircases and arched doorways were leading sideways from the corridor.

'Oh! I would've forgotten!' Gemma slapped her forehead stopping abruptly, causing Crabbe and Goyle to bump into her. She turned around to face them again.

'I haven't told you about our head of house! His name is Professor Severus Snape. I'm sure you've all seen him at the feast. He's the one with black hair. He teaches Potions.'