Alphonse and Emilie Lavallée are fraternal twins. Born in France, they enrolled at BeauxBatons, the French school for witches and wizards, when they were 11.
However, school life hasn't been all great for Emilie. Shy and awkward, she was quickly ta...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
---
Chapter 4:
The Common Room / La Salle Commune
We follow Imelda throughout the winding corridors of Hogwarts among the 11-year-olds, the excited chatter of the first-year students echoes around us. Right after the Great Hall, Imelda leads us to the House Points Hourglasses. Because apparently having four different houses to sort the students is not game enough, they literally have us compete against each other in this school.
"It's healthy competition," Imelda says, her voice echoing off the stone walls as she explains the ins and outs of the Hogwarts point system.
Every triumph and failure can earn or lose points for our respective houses, and the competition is fierce. The house with the most points at the end of the year gets to hoist the House Cup, a coveted trophy that has eluded Slytherin for far too long according to her.
Imelda points out the four hourglasses standing at the back of the room, each filled with shimmering gems that represent the different houses. Gryffindor's hourglass contains fiery rubies, Hufflepuff's glistens with sparkling diamonds, Ravenclaw's is studded with gleaming sapphires, and Slytherin's glows with radiant emeralds.
We learn that Ravenclaw and Slytherin have been the top contenders in recent years, thanks to their reputation for academic excellence and cunning strategy, respectively. And she assures Al and I that our arrival in Slytherin will only strengthen our house chances of winning. The more students in a house, the more opportunities to earn points, she says. I try not to let my nerves show as I wonder if my mediocre grades will be a liability rather than an asset. Or else the Slytherins will soon regret my coming.
As we leave the House Hourglasses Points room, Imelda leads us down a wide corridor that eventually leads to the Great Staircase. The sight of the winding structure that goes from the bottom of the tower to the top is breathtaking. The massive staircase seems to have a mind of its own, changing directions and disappearing steps, making it a wonder how Hogwarts has managed to keep it functional. Alphonse and I can't help but wonder how anyone can be so nonchalant about its cranky attitude. We gingerly step down the staircase, hoping that we won't fall through any of the missing steps. Finally, we reach the bottom of the steps, relieved that the Slytherin common room is located in the dungeons. It might not be the most welcoming place, but at least we don't have to deal with the dizzying heights of the tower. Plus, as Imelda mentioned earlier, Slytherin has the least amount of stairs to climb, I suppose that's a small victory.
As we descend down even more stairs, the group of first-years huddle together in front of an unremarkable, empty wall. Imelda stands before us, her voice low as she whispers the words "death seals the deal." Suddenly, the wall comes to life as a massive silvery snake slither its way up the surface, leaving behind a set of ornate wooden doors. It is a remarkable sight to see such magic at work, and even more so as Imelda confidently pushes the doors open to reveal the entrance to the Slytherin common room.
