Damaged Goods by slytherin_after_dark

Chapter 15

- NOT MY STORY!! ALL CREDITS TO @slytherin_after_dark ON A03!!
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She felt the blood drain from her. A roar went through the room. The Slytherin table erupted. Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were visibly surprised. Gryffindors were quiet and when she looked at Harry, her heart broke. He looked devastated. His face was pale and he just stared at her. Ginny's eyes were wide in shock but she tried to give Hermione a supportive smile. Ron hadn't turned around to look at her.

All that fear and adrenaline from a minute ago had been replaced by shock. She just couldn't believe it. She had always been a Gryffindor. For a moment, the only thing she seemed to be able to hear was her own breath and heartbeat.

Then she saw Malfoy's triumphant smile. He had never looked so pleased with himself. He was still sitting down while Theo, Blaise, and even Pansy were standing up and applauding. But Malfoy basked in the glory of the moment. Turning the Gryffindor golden girl into a Slytherin was as big of a win over Harry as she could imagine. The smug smile on his face told her everything she needed to know.

"Congratulations," Snape said in his monotone voice as she got up and he shook her hand. Then he handed her new robes. She stared at the green color on it and it all felt like a dream. Any moment she would wake up.

"Take a seat at your table," McGonagall said.

Her table. She stared at the Slytherins, unable to comprehend that this was where she belonged now. Slowly, she made her way over to the Slytherin table and it almost felt like she was in a trance. It seemed not real. It seemed wrong.

"We've got the golden girl," several Slytherins chanted. "We've got the golden girl."

Malfoy's silver eyes were still trained on her with devilish delight. As if he had just won a big prize. He loved this and she wanted to murder him.

On purpose, she sat on the other end of the table from him, next to a group that didn't seem to scream quite so loudly.

"Welcome, Granger," one guy said.

"Glad to have you," the girl next to him said.

"Finally, you're on the right team," another one said.

She mustered a smile, clinging to the robe in her hands. She caught Harry's gaze and he looked still like he had seen a ghost but he had recovered enough that he smiled at her and gave her a nod as if to say: It's okay.

"Quiet everyone," McGonagall said.

Hermione didn't even hear the rest. It was weird sitting on this side of the great hall. She had always seen it from the Gryffindor table.

Suddenly everyone stood up and she realized McGonagall was done with her speech. She made her way through the crowd as fast as she could.

"Are you alright?" Ginny asked, trying to keep up with Hermione's fast steps. Harry was right next to her.

"I don't know," Hermione said truthfully. "I just didn't expect it."

"It doesn't matter," Harry said. "It's just a house."

"Just a house?" She asked. "Gryffindor is your entire identity."

Harry scratched the back of his neck. "It was a coping mechanism for me as a kid. I never had a family and Gryffindor felt like my new family. But only because of you and Ron. We're not kids anymore. House colors don't matter."

He was right but at the same time, she knew he didn't really believe that to be the case. Perhaps he wanted to convince himself of it, but she had never met anyone with so much Gryffindor pride as Harry. And perhaps quite such a disdain for Slytherin either. Aside from maybe Ron. If she had become a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw, things might have been different.