Power ~ by EmBot

Chapter Three
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A sense of dread fell over me as Professor McGonagall, who was in her thirties then, led us into the Great Hall to be sorted. I had heard so many rumors about the sorting throughout my youth--it was painful, it was a test, you could fail. It was a hat. A hat that was placed on your head and yelled out your house. I almost burst out laughing, but then I decided that wouldn't appear...sane. Instead, I gazed at the surroundings. The great hall was larger than I had expected it to be. Everybody seated at the table seemed to be so much older than me.

"Severus Snape," Professor McGonagall called, apparently for the second time. I had been too caught up in my thoughts to notice the first time. I noticed two boys snickering at me. One had unruly hair and glasses. The other was tall and had jet-black hair. I glared at them, as I took my seat at the front.

"Hmm..." the hat muttered as it was placed on my head. "Power is what you seek, is it not?"

"Uh..." I said in my head. "I guess so."

"Better be SLYTHERIN!"

The Slytherin table clapped politely, and I sat next to a girl with long, dark hair. I had always known somewhere in the back of my mind that I would be placed in Slytherin. It was a family trait. A trait that had to be upheld by the generations to come. It was duty to my family to be in Slytherin, but was this really where I had wanted to end up? The house of Parselmouths and Dark Wizards? I had no choice now, but I couldn't help wondering what things would've been like if I ended up at, say, Ravenclaw, which was, coincidentally, where Natalia and Larissa were sorted.

The girl next to me tapped me on the shoulder with a talon of a nail.

"You're Severus Snape, aren't you?"

I stared at her. She had nice eyes--no, nice wasn't the word. Her eyes were intense and vaguely hypnotizing.

"Yes," I replied. "Why?"

"You're a friend of the Malfoys," she said, simply. "I've heard Lucius talk about you before."

"Really," I said, uninterested. "And, what, may I ask, is your name?"

"Bellatrix," she said, smirking. "Bellatrix Black."

The name was not unfamiliar to me. I had often heard Lucius mention a Narcissa Black, who was, supposedly, Lucius' on-and-off type girlfriend. I wondered if they were related. When I asked, Bella, as I came to know her, told me they were sisters and seemed to want to speak nothing more about it. She took to eating after that, and I did the same. Soon, after all the plates were cleared there was a call from the prefects to have us follow them to the dormitories. As I was lead up a staircase, I found that my belongings had already arrived--along with my roommates. One was tall and lanky, and had rusty brown hair. Two were quite brawny and had mops of dark black hair. Another was sitting in the corner of the room, engaged in a book. He was blond and wore glasses. He appeared bored.

"You must be Severus," said the tall one. "I'm Roldolphus Lestrange. These two are Thomas Crabbe and Wilbur Goyle. And that git in the corner likes to be called "Smokey" but his real name is Patrick Halverson."

"Pleasure to meet you all," I muttered, and sat down on my bed. I stared at Patrick for a moment, slightly bemused. "Why do you want to be called 'Smokey?'"

"I don't recall that being any of your business," he said, airily. "But, it is what you will address me as. Get used to it."

He smirked, and went back to his book.

"So," Roldolphus said. "You know anyone here, Sev?"

"It's Severus," I said coldly, and Roldolphus grinned, "And yes, I suppose so. You've probably heard of Lucius Malfoy."

"You know Lucius?" Crabbe said. "He's...like...like..."

Roldolphus glared at Crabbe. "Oh, shut up. You'll never find a fitting synonym, my friend. Lucius is...let's just say, very in control about what happens here in Slytherin house."

I snorted. "I'm not surprised."

"I, personally, think he's a genuine git," Smokey sniffed.

"No one asked your opinion, Halverson!" snapped Goyle.

He shrugged and went on to his book Later, as we were all getting into bed, I pondered the attitudes that they had had towards Lucius. I wondered if it was really true, and also about what Smokey had said until I drifted off in to a comfortable and dreamless sleep.

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