The Sorting

Chapter 12

Out of bed well before anyone had woken, Hermione snuck out of the boys dormitory and back to the girls. Parvati had stayed the night with her, the two girls curled into a safe embrace in Harry’s bed. Clearly, Nevile had laid her down to sleep there after she’d cried herself unconscious in his arms, Dean and Parvati watching over her. She grabbed a change of clothes and quickly cleaned herself up in the showers before leaving the common room.

Pausing at the portrait door, her eyes lingered on the still sleeping figure of Ron who lay asleep on the couch. She winced and dropped her hand, not sure of when she’d lifted it to her cheek, but she’d felt it as soon as her fingers grazed the mark.

Closing her eyes, she walked away from the portrait and started towards the library where silence and solitude would hopefully greet her in kind.

-x-x-x-

Harry had woken early that morning, sitting in front of McGonagall, he was bulldozing her with house qualms and petty arguments that were resulting in a very negative change in the Gryffindors. How she could appear surprised by this, he was unsure, but the woman clearly hadn’t noticed the change. “Headmistress, I want to make a suggestion.”

“What’s that, Potter?”

“...seperate the Gryffindors from one another before they completely lose themselves.”

“Seperate? How would you have me do this?”

“Peeves.” He lifted his hands with a shrug of non-concern.
“Not like he isn’t capable; put him to work. Have him haunt the Gryffindor Tower, make it uninhabitable for some time. Flood it, I don’t care!”

“Mr. Potter, while I commend you on your vigilance, I couldn’t possibly agree to such-”

“Headmistress! This can’t go on!”

McGonagall laced her fingers together and sighed, “perhaps I should assign you as Hogwarts House Ambassador, Mr. Potter.”

He shook his head, “can you really just ignore this? They are overcome with an ego that’s made them horribly unbearable. Future Gryfindors will learn from their discrimination and cruelty. Hunting Kagome down like she’s a murderer...and with Ron striking Hermione, accident or not...if we do nothing now, we’ll lose the chance to intervene later. Animosity between houses will only grow stronger. Hatred breeds more hatred! You know that to be true enough. Think about Slytherins and Gryffindors before us.”

She sighed, “yes, well. Peeves could certainly wreck the tower. Say that I do this, where will the students stay?”

“Spread them out in the other houses...but, these...” he slid a piece of folded parchment towards McGonagall, “select few, must be in Slytherin House.”

McGonagall lifted the paper with a curiously raised brow before unfolding it and reading the names aloud. “Lavender Brown, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom? You are sure? Who’s room would they stay in?”

He thought about it carefully, “Hermione needs to be in Kagome’s room. Ginny and Lavender must be separated from one another, you can put them with either of the Greengrass sisters, they’re emotionally strong and defiant to the more outlandish verbal attacks thrown their way. Neville, Draco and myself in a room...and then Ron needs to be with someone who's not easily angered and not quick to throw a punch.”

“...someone at ease with charm? Blaise Zabini then?”

He shrugged, having never met the student she was speaking of.

“Potter, I’m not going to deny this request for only one reason. I trust that after seven years, you know what it means to be a Gryffindor. That this worry’s you, I believe there is a reason to act.”

He nodded, “it’ll be healthy for them.”

“I dare say you and I have different definitions for the word healthy. If there’s something you wish not to be damaged in the chaos to come...”

“I’ll grab my dad’s cloak and family album now,” he said while turning away from her in a hurry.

She nodded and watched him leave her office. Glancing up at the portrait of Dumbledore, she noticed the amused look in his eyes that peered over his half moon lenses. “Of course you’d think this funny,”

“Alas, the changes that come from war are rarely ever easy to accept, Minerva. You must guide the students, and ease them into this change. Harry is right to be concerned, and perhaps he’s correct, that this will be...healthy.”

‘I guess we’ll find out soon enough,’ she left her office to find the Bloody Baron and Peeves.

-x-x-x-

Kagome glanced around her, her eyes leaving from the book she had in her lap in the corner of the common room. She could feel the eyes of the others on her. She didn’t bother answering questions on what Potter wanted. She just wanted to be left alone. 

She was tired. 

She hadn’t come back to Hogwarts to be treated this way. She hadn’t fought in a war and lost so much to be considered a whore and scum by a lot of the school. 

Kagome Higurashi was second guessing why she even came back. She had hoped the year here would help her heal and figure out what she wanted to do with the future...as well as try to figure out her living situation. 

“Higurashi.” Kagome snapped her head to the sound of her name to see Daphne looking at her. 

“Are you going to tell us what happened with Potter?” The older Greengrass was curious about what Potter would want. He wasn’t hostile either, which was something she was interested in.  

It seemed like Potter wasn’t acting like his mindless friend. Then again, he had done a lot of growing up since she had last seen him. War would do that to anyone. 

Kagome sat there looking Daphne in the eyes for a few seconds. She didn’t see anything in her eyes that was anything but curiosity. 

Taking a deep breath in she closed the book that rested in her lap, “He wanted to know how I was holding up...” Those words sounded odd even as she spoke them out loud. 

The room was silent. 

“He said if I needed someone to talk to....” Kagome trailed off letting the words hang in the air. She would never take Potter up on that offer but she did appreciate that he had offered. She didn’t have much love for the boy who lived, but she didn’t hate him. 

“I won’t take him up on his offer, but at least I know I don’t have the whole house of Gryffindor after my head.” Kagome stood up book in hand. She was so tired. She knew she had homework to do, but she had enough for the day. She hoped sleep would be kind to her tonight. 

But...there was a nagging feeling that something was going to happen and she wasn’t going to like it. Just as this though had passed her mind, Snape billowed into the room a look of pure loathing on his face. 

“Gather everyone. I have...unfortunate news...” Snapes lips curled into a sneer as he looked around the common room. He saw a couple people scurry away to gather people. 

Kagome sighed and sat back down and should have known better than to think such things. She just jinxed everything.