 caffeine princess ♬ lunchbox adventurer ❀ little rose
Hogwarts: September 1, 1995
One word echoed through the mind of Ava Pierce as the hall erupted in noise. No. This wasn't happening. She couldn't be a... no. She couldn't even think the word. From the Slytherin table, disgruntled shouts and echoing protest came from all directions. From the opposite table- her table- came shouts of joy. The other two house tables seemed at a loss for words. What the heck was going on?
Obviously, word had gotten around that she was affiliated closely with Malfoy. It was no wonder they were confused, seeing as it had been almost guaranteed that Miss Pierce was a snake. But they had been wrong. As the girl clambered from the stool, head down in shame, she had no idea where to turn. Obviously she was intended to sit with the Gryffindors. But there was no way she could bring herself to do it. A shout of protest came from the left-most table. "Professor Dumbledore! There's been a mistake!" The girl whirled around.
"Sit down Malfoy," a man hissed. He had been sitting up at the staff table with the other professors at the beginning of the sorting, but was now on his feet, trying to calm the mass uproar. He must have been the head of house.
Blinking back tears, Ava pushed her way through the crowd, taking a seat at the farthest chair from the front- all the way at the table's end. There had indeed been a mistake.
★ ★ ★ ★
That night, she snuck out of the dorm. Quiet as a mouse, she crept down the staircase- careful not to disturb the portraits. It took some time to find, but finally, after what must have been over half an hour, she arrived at the headmaster's study, the staircase already available and the office door ajar.
Carefully, Ava slipped up the stairs. Peering in through a slight crack between the door and the wall, she spotted the Headmaster and the same dark haired man from before. "I don't know what to say Severus," Professor Dumbledore whispered, "I have no explanation other than it was not meant to be." he paused, eyes flickering over to her hiding spot, then back at the man.
"It doesn't make sense. You don't think-" the man stopped. He glanced over at something beyond her view of the room before looking back at Dumbledore. "-I believe we have a visitor." The girl saw a smile play on the headmaster's lips.
"Indeed we do." |