amnesia | d.m.

chapter 4

Walking in awkwardly into the Great Hall while the entire school watched me from their seats intently was probably the first embarrassing moment of my night. Receiving an applause for my introduction from Dumbledore was most likely a close second.

He had addressed my memory loss, telling the entire school exactly what he had told me he would say. My name was Terra Edwards, I was a new transfer student from America, I suffered with amnesia (so please be kind), and due to my tragic memory loss I will be "restarting" my education with the first years. Whatever that meant. Gasps and whispers erupted in the crowd until Dumbledore silenced them.

"And now we will be sorting Miss Edwards into a Hogwarts house," Dumbledore said then invited me to walk towards the chair with a pleasant, welcoming smile.

I watched him, closely and carefully wondering why he had this spark of faith in me. Was he not suspicious that I was dangerous? Why was he ignoring the red flags? Or perhaps he didn't see any red flags at all, since I didn't seem to show any? I needed to know more, I wanted to learn more. Especially about Tom Riddle and the potential yet unfortunate connection we shared.

My eyes flickered over to Harry as he watched me with a solemn expression from his seat. It was as if he was still contemplating whether to trust me or not. Even I was suspicious of my own behavior. If my father was the murderous Dark Lord, who knows what darkness lurked inside me? Who knows what horrors I've done?

An elderly woman with spectacles and a pointed hat known as Professor McGonagall, encouraged me to walk over to the chair, snapping me out of my thoughts. I proceeded hesitantly then sat down. McGonagall placed the sorting hat on my head and I flinched as it began to move and speak on its own just as it had with the First Years.

Earlier this afternoon, McGonagall had explained the history of the houses to me telling me about Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff. She told me what each house morally represented leaving me in a state of confusion as I had remembered absolutely nothing about my own personality and who I was. Did the first years experience this battle within themselves as well? All I had known, was that Tom Riddle had been placed in Slytherin, and a small part of me wondered if I would also be placed in...

"Slytherin!" The sorting hat shouted as if in triumph. My blood ran cold and I whipped my head to catch Dumbledore's expression, then Harry's, then Hermione's, and Ron's. They all held looks of utter surprise and...alarm?

McGonagall cautiously removed the hat from my head and I found myself trudging towards the table full of slytherins cheering me on and clapping with excitement. Though, the entire time I walked past, I blocked out the cheering and welcoming yells as I watched Harry Potter and the rest of his Gryffindor mates eye me a look I couldn't quite put my finger on. Harry's gaze was almost a look of suspicion, maybe even...regret?

I sat down on the Slytherin benches next to a dark haired girl who gave me a long hard look in response. I sucked in a deep breath then forced a smile on my face. I had to fit in right? Though I was already beginning to miss Ginny's reassuring smile and Hermione's random urges to guide me through uncomfortable situations.

It was only my second day, I can do this.

"Hello," I said with a shaky yet shy tone. Judging by the looks of all the Slytherins they appeared rather proud of themselves and it was giving me major anxiety. Why was I placed here? I felt nothing like them, I definitely was not arrogant, or mean for that matter. Perhaps I was goal-oriented, or maybe there were traits within me that represented why I was meant for the Slytherin house. "I'm Terra."

"We know." The dark-haired girl smirked immediately making me feel even more on edge. "Don't worry, you're in the right house now. I'm Pansy Parkinson. That's Blaise Zabini-"

"And I'm Millicent Bullstrode," another dark-haired girl interrupted. She was visibly overweight in size, taking up a large portion of the bench. I raised my eyebrows slightly, noticing Pansy's annoyance.

"Would you shut-up for just a moment, Bulstrode? I was getting to you," Pansy snapped instantly with irritation.

Yeah, that's a good sign...

"Sorry," Millicent blurted then immediately began eating as the feast began.

"That's Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass. You can room with us, we have an extra bed," Pansy said then turned away immediately and began eating. I swallowed hard unable to connect the dots. Was she being nice to me?

"Is it true you don't remember anything?" The boy who I now identified as Blaise Zabini asked me between bites of his food. This question turned a few heads at our table as some quieted down to listen.

"Well...yeah," I said. "Why would I be lying?" I mumbled then added a small smile to ease the tension in my voice. Blaise shrugged his shoulders and I looked down at my food.

"Just curious," he admitted then turned away. "Hey, how's Malfoy doing by the way?"

I glanced up at the sound of the familiar name to see Blaise staring at Pansy. And then it hit me, I was in the same house as Draco Malfoy. And it was already clear he hated my guts, or at least held joy in making fun of me. I took a scan at the Slytherin table and recognized some of the students who had been surrounding Malfoy this very morning for his pathetic injury. Including Pansy.

"I checked on him this afternoon and he was on crutches. I helped him back to the common room and he said he was going to skip the feast tonight. Must be humiliating walking in with crutches, you know? And now the Quidditch team won't have their best seeker this Saturday," Pansy said with a exasperated sigh then shrugged. And at that exact moment I noticed there was some sort of hidden glint in her eyes, almost a dreamy look.

I couldn't help myself as I curiously murmured a question. "I'm sorry but, what is Quidditch? Is this like a game with magic?"

"You could say that," said Blaise with a chuckle. "Come with us to watch the match Saturday, front row seats and you'll get a real good idea of what Quidditch is."

"Can girls play as well?" I asked a bit sheepishly. Gosh what year was it again? I really hoped women were allowed to play sports. Blaise's smile twitched.

"Of course. Though...with your head injury I wouldn't recommend you join. A concussion is very much possible to happen again while you're playing quidditch, trust me on this one." He snickered then bit into a slice of his cucumber. I nodded slowly while pressing my lips together unsure of whether he was displaying any signs of sexism.

I was quiet the rest of meal while zoning in and out of the conversations within the table. Half the time I barely understood what they spoke about as they mentioned their professors and their classes. Potions class and Charms class? Who would have thought? Towards the end of the feast and after eating my fair share of sugary delights, I stole a glance behind me towards the Gryffindor table.

I watched Harry, Ron, Hermione and a few others chat with each other and share laughs. A small smile broke out onto my face, missing the safety of their presences. Ginny caught my eye from across the table then slowly flashed me a small grin, almost as if she felt bad I was sorted into the same house as the horrible Tom Riddle...my father. Did that automatically make me an evil person as well? I didn't quite understand.

I guess I'll just have to find out.