❝You are mine.
No one, except me, can have you.❞

REWRITTEN ON:
8/14/2024

»»-----　♡　-----««

I sniffle and yawn, walking out of the train as it came to a halt. I tried to squeezed through the crowd of students that were trying to get past me until I managed to step on to the cobblestone platform, my bag in hand. 

"(Y/N), hey!" I heard Alem call out from a distance, even through the chattering and noises from the students.

My 'brother' eyed me up and down before humming softly to himself in approval. I raise an eyebrow at this, feeling uncomfortable at the thought of being examined. "Can you stop that; it's creeping me out." I mumbled and pulled my bag closer to me.

"Sorry, just had to make sure you didn't look off or anything." reasoned Alem. A few seconds later, we heard a gruff and loud voice call out for the first years in the distance. Looking further into the crowd of students, a huge man with long bushy mustache waved.

I couldn't hear what he was saying apart from saying 'first years', but Alem took it as a sign that we needed to follow him. "Come on, (Y/N)." He said, dragging me through the crowd enthusiastically. His harsh dragging caused me to almost trip on multiple occasions, along with bumping into some students who told me to watch where I was going.

"S-Slow down, will you?" I tried to tell him, but he didn't listen. I panted for a few seconds when we finally reached the dock where the huge man was. He instructed us to ride on a boat to Hogwarts, to which Alem followed without any hesitation.

'Seriously? What the hell is this place?' I thought to myself with a grumble and followed my 'brother' skeptically, unsure if I should even be doing this in the first place or not. 'I don't want to ask Alem more questions than I already did. What if he thinks I'm mental or something.'

When I sat down at the rocky boat, I tried to make myself comfortable by adjusting and moving around the seat for a few seconds before placing my bag on my lap, making it act as a makeshift pillow. I blinked once the boat started to move and I tried to balance myself to make sure I wouldn't randomly fall off into the lake.

After making sure I wouldn't fall off, I glanced over to the students who were sitting across from us. The first boy I saw was a skinny-looking boy with messy raven black hair and large round glasses. He didn't seem interested in having a conversation with any of us as he kept his attention to his friend that sat next to him, who had a slightly curly red hair. His robes looked less expensive and somewhat rugged compared to the black haired boy.

I didn't want things to get awkward in the boat ride, but I also didn't want to be the one to approach them first. Overthinking, I look away for a second while trying to figure out if I should say 'hi' or anything of the sort.

I heard Alem clear his throat next to me before extending his hand out for the boys to shake. "Hello, I'm Alem Rosewood." He introduced himself, causing the boys to look at him in surprise before shaking his hand as well.

"Harry Potter." The black haired boy named Potter introduced himself. Alem gasped loudly. The boat almost seemed to tip over as soon as he heard Potter's name.

As soon as I heard his name, my mind drifted off somewhere else as I looked up to the night sky, confused. '...Where have I heard that name before...? Potter... Potter... Harry Potter...' I started to think hard.

"I...I never thought I'd be able to meet you!" said Alem with a nervous smile before nudging me and laughing in disbelief. "(Y/N), it's the Harry Potter! You said you've always wanted to meet him, right?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at Potter. "...Huh? Oh yeah, Harry Potter. Nice to meet you." I said, almost too quickly and nonchalantly before looking away again to try and think about where I've heard his name before. This earned a very confused look from Alem, who only leaned closer to talk to me in a hushed tone.

"Are you really okay? You've been raving on about meeting Harry Potter here at Hogwarts, but now that he's in front of you, you don't seem excited." He asked worriedly. I sigh, feeling annoyed.

"I don't know who he is, Alem. The name's familiar, but I don't know him." I said out loud enough for the three of them to hear. I heard Alem let out a worried noise for a bit before retracting away from me, not wanting to insist and cause a scene in front of others.

"...I apologize for that, Potter." apologized Alem after a short pause. "I believe you haven't told us your name yet?"

"Ron Weasley." I heard the boy next to Potter say. "And I believe they haven't told theirs either."

After hearing that, Alem slightly nudged my arm and gave me a look that said I need to talk at least once. I turn to look at them once more as I slightly jumped at my seat. "S-Sorry." I apologized briefly. "(Y/N)... Rosewood." I paused for a bit when I got to the surname I was supposed to have. If Alem's my brother, I should have the same surname as he does.

"...You two were in the Daily Prophet last time." commented Weasley, giving me a small look of discomfort after my introduction.

"We didn't mean to." said Alem nervously. I wasn't really paying attention to whatever they were talking about from then on. I didn't know anything that they were talking about and I'm pretty sure I already made those two uncomfortable.

After a short conversation from Alem and Weasley, nobody said a word in the boat. It went pretty awkward. I ignored the awkward tension and instead let my mouth hung agape when the trees cleared and my eyes landed on something.

The boat kept floating towards a large, towering castle in the distance that was ominously lit up by lamps. Around our boat, multitude of small boats that had other first years were also on the way to the castle. 

'Seriously, what kind of school has a castle for a building!?' I frantically thought to myself, feeling both amazed and panicked.

Glancing over at Alem, I tried to tell him how amazing the castle looked but I held back my tongue when he had his attention somewhere else in the distance, specifically another boat. He looked angry, for some reason. I looked over to where he was looking.

I squinted my eyes, trying to get a better look at what he was looking at. In another boat, a pale skinned boy with slicked back platinum blonde hair can be seen snickering and laughing with two other boys that looked almost as twice as he was.

'Geez, how much gel did he use to slick that hair back?' I thought to myself, almost chuckling and finding it ridiculous that he's essentially killing his hair by putting that much gel n it.

I look back at Alem, curious as to why he looked mad. I wanted to ask, but I'll just keep it to myself until it was just the two of us. I didn't want to make Potter and Weasley more uncomfortable than they already were.

When the boat halted to a stop, everyone started to walk towards the castle. Potter and Weasley went on ahead while Alem waited until he was sure I wouldn't fall off the boat as I left. The huge man with a big mustache told us to leave our bags on the boat as we couldn't bring them to the castle. Naturally, I complied. 

Alem and I didn't say a word as we walked to the entrance – all we could hear were the sounds and murmurs of excitement from the students around us.

When we reached the entrance, there was an old lady with a large green witch hat on her head. Just judging from her facial expression, I did not want to get on her bad side. She had a very intimidating aura around her.

She looked old, but her head was held up high as she examined every single one of us with her stern and steely eyes. 'Maybe she's a teacher.' I thought to myself. As I bated my breath, I felt Alem hold my hand.

I felt him trembling. Maybe he was just trying to look for some comfort. I didn't say anything and returned my attention to the teacher in front of us. He was trying too hard to not look nervous or scared, but it seemed to fail once the lady started to talk. He got startled just from that. "Good evening, students. I am Professor McGonagall, deputy headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

When those words left Professor McGonagall's mouth, I instinctively choked on my spit, interrupting her speech. I wheezed and coughed, trying to process the words 'witchcraft' and 'wizardry'. All the students and Professor McGonagall looked at me with their eyebrows raised.

"Sorry... Got something stuck on my throat." I quickly lied, not wanting more attention on me. A couple of students giggled and snicker, making me grip Alem's hand tighter as I looked down to the ground with a heavy blush of shame.

'Witchcraft and Wizardry!? So, like, magic!? Bro, what the fuck!?' I screamed inside my head, trying to figure out if this is just some random dream that I accidentally got myself into or maybe Alem got the wrong sibling or something to get on with him on the train.

'There's just no way. I probably hit my head and died or something.' Trying to reassure myself, I kept my breathing in check. 'Yeah, yeah. That's right. I'm pretty sure I'm dead.'

"Before you enter, I would like to address first that each and every one of you will be sorted out and divided into four houses; Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. During your time here at Hogwarts, your house will be just like your family. Any form of wrongdoings will cause you to lose points for your house, but do well on your studies and you will earn points for your house." Professor McGonagall explained. The further she went on and on about the houses, the more I started to think that this was actually real, making me frown, but I had to keep myself calm until later.

"All points that your house has earned will be tallied-"

"Trevor!" A voice interrupted Professor McGonagall's speech once more. It was a chubby student. He scampered towards the toad, kneeling in front of the professor. Once he realized that he just interrupted her speech, he tried to give her a strained smile before crawling back to the crowd of first years.

I'm surprised that he was able to hold a toad without screaming. Well, I'm not really scared of them, just mildly disgusted.

"... at the end of the school year." She continued, still glaring at the boy. "The house that earns the most points will win the House Cup, the greatest honor a house could ever receive." Professor McGonagall turned around, her robe fluttering into the air for a short while as she did so.

"Please wait here for a moment. We will call for you when we're ready." She swiftly slid back inside the castle, leaving the rest of us to start talking and chat for a bit until she comes back. I couldn't miss the exhale that the majority of students did when she was already out of our sights - it's like everyone couldn't even breathe around her.

"...I am not ready." I mumbled to myself; my face scrunched up in discomfort.

"Neither am I." agreed Alem, who must've heard me.

"So, it's true then – what they're saying on the train." A voice came from behind us. Curiously, I turned around and so did Alem. After that, I felt Alem's grip on my hand tighten. Wincing, I look down at our hands but didn't say anything as I watched the platinum blonde haired boy strut up to Potter, ignoring us.

The two boys who were in the boat with him shoved us to the side. Angrily, I stuck my foot out in time to make one of them trip and fall. One of them tripped before quickly getting up to his feet and shooting me the dirtiest look he can make. I looked away innocently, but stuck out my tongue at the boy when he had his back turned.

"The famous Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts." The gel kid smirked, stopping in front of Potter and Weasley. His attitude towards Potter made me roll my eyes and understand as to why Alem seems to dislike him – I mean, who wouldn't be?

"This is Crabbe, this is Goyle," The kid nodded his head towards the two lackeys that stood behind him. "and I'm Malfoy." The kid named Malfoy took a step closer towards Potter, keeping the same cocky smirk plastered on his face.

"Draco Malfoy." As Malfoy introduced himself fully and told Potter his full name, I saw Weasley snicker as he heard his name. Malfoy didn't seem to take his reaction well as he immediately tuned to look at him and shot Weasley a glare.

"Think my names funny, do you? I don't need to know yours; red hair and hand-me-down robes?" Malfoy scoffed while eyeing Weasley, whose face slowly started to become red in embarrassment, up and down. "You must be a Weasley."

Malfoy paused for a moment before turning on his heels to face us. "Don't think I've forgotten about you two." He shot us the same glare that he gave Weasley a few seconds earlier. "The Rosewood twins... You had the potential to be a better pureblood family but you just had to ruin it, didn't you?"

I felt my face scrunch up in confusion, an eyebrow raised up while I lightly tilted my head to the side. I genuinely did not know what he was talking about; what in the world is a pureblood family?

"We have very different ideas of what makes a 'good' pureblood family, Malfoy." spat Alem next to me. His eyes narrowed in anger while he retracted his own hand away from mine. "You're stupid to think that treating every single people with respect, regardless if they're muggles or not, is something purebloods shouldn't do. That's common human decency – which, I'm not surprised if you're unaware of it because that's something you don't have."

"Oh please, spare me the details." sighed Malfoy dramatically. "Stop trying to make excuses for your family when you could just admit that you're all a disappointment to pureblood families."

As I stood there, nonchalant, Alem was about to raise his fist and land a punch on Malfoy, but the huge threatening figures of Crabbe and Goyle stopped him from doing so. I guess he didn't want to be a punching bag on the first day of classes or something.

I glanced over at Alem for a few seconds, pondering if doing this is even worth it. Technically, I didn't really want to deal with Malfoy any longer and I don't want more attention than what we've already had these past few minutes so, I silently clear my throat and pointed at Malfoy.

"Sorry, but maybe you should let your hair breathe 'cause the amount of gel you're using is killing it." I said while keeping a straight face. It earned a few chuckles from the crowd. Malfoy's face immediately turned red as he instinctively placed his hand on his hair.

"L-Lay off of my hair, Rosewood!" exclaimed Malfoy defensively. "It's a style!"

"I didn't know that damaging your hair is a style." I put up a fake shocked face. "At this point, you're probably gonna see lots of bald patches on your head before you're seventeen."

Red-faced, Malfoy turned away and faced Potter again. "You'll find that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort, especially those two." He said, referring to us and Weasley.

"I can help you there." He confidently extends his hand out for Potter to shake. Potter, who simply stared at the hand for a few seconds, looked at Malfoy straight in the eyes.

"I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks." said Potter, uninterested at the idea of being Malfoy's friend considering that he just insulted Weasley. Malfoy's hand was left hanging and all he could do is click his tongue and walk away, his face still red from embarrassment.

"What an idiot." I heard Alem mutter next to me with a sigh. "Making a scene before we even get sorted – what was he thinking?"

"He probably likes the attention." I shrugged, not really wanting to discuss anything that has to do with Malfoy anymore. If I could avoid him for the entire school year, I'll be good.

We didn't even notice Professor McGonagall already standing by the doorway until she spoke up. "We're ready for you now – please follow me for the sorting." She said as she lightly cracked the large doors to the interior of the castle open.

While following her, my (E/C) eyes couldn't help but look at every single thing I can put my eyes on because of how surreal this experience felt. The more I walked, the more I became convinced that this school is actually magical. As in, literally magical.

I saw a few paintings in the distance and I swore I saw them moving, but I couldn't be too sure. I can hear the excited bumbles of the students around us but I couldn't understand what they're saying because I was too focused looking around the castle.

"What house do you want to be sorted in, (Y/N)?" I was too focused that I got startled by Alem. Potter and Weasley were talking behind him, probably also about the houses since I just heard a few students talking about it.

"Uh... I don't know... whichever's cool, I guess?" I replied, unsure because I don't even know anything about these houses in the first place while rubbing my forearm and casting my gaze to the side nervously.

"That's weird – you never stop talking about wanting to be sorted into Ravenclaw, like dad." He said, his eyes narrowing in skepticism. "...So, I guess you really were obliviated."

"I still don't understand what being 'obliviated' means, Alem." I deadpan, slowly becoming frustrated at the 'mystery' of my memory loss. It's not even fun anymore – it's just annoying. It's like taking an exam and the questions are the things that the teachers didn't even bother to teach your class and now, you're expected to know all of it.

"I hope it's not true though." muttered Alem.

"Well, what house do you want to be sorted in?" I asked.

Alem paused for a few seconds before looking away. "Gryffindor..." I didn't say anything else since I didn't even know why he chose that in the first place.

As we passed through another set of large doors, my breath was immediately taken away. Countless of floating candles danced in the air, their flames flickering to the side. The ceiling was foggy and greatly resembled the night sky – the bright white lights that were supposed to resemble stars twinkled brightly and the fogs were supposed to resemble the clouds.

I couldn't lie – it was beyond beautiful and mythical. I didn't even know that there's a possibility, in every single universe out there, for me to be able to see such a thing.

Four long, large tables were placed across the hall. The students in each table had specific color trimmings on their robes, which ranged from red, green, yellow, and blue. Banners of the same colors hung on top of each table from the arches. Some of the students were older while some of them looked younger like us.

Sitting at the very front of the hall were elderly people wearing witch and wizard hats, which immediately made me assume that they were the professors and the staff. The ones that caught my attention the most were these two professors.

One was wearing a purple turban. His facial expression indicates that he was meek and shy as the corners of his lips trembled and he kept fidgeting on his seat while keeping his eyes towards us, the first years.

The other one wore all black. Contrary to the other professors, it was only he who didn't wear any sort of hat. He was stone-faced and deadpan, but the thing I noticed the most about him was his large nose. Other than that, he looks extremely overworked and tired – like he's just done with whatever life threw in his way.

As soon as I was done observing the hall, I let out a soft exhale to let out the tension that I kept on my shoulders. "This is amazing." I breathed out with a bewildered smile. "I didn't know that magic can be real."

"'didn't know that magic can be real'? Are you serious?" Malfoy piped up next to me. I didn't even know he was standing next to me until he started to talk. "Are you a wizard/witch or not? Merlin's beard..." He scoffs.

"Piss off." I said, rolling my eyes at his unsolicited opinion.

Professor McGonagall retrieved a worn-down hat from the far corner of the hall. Multiple patches of different dark colors were stitched around the hat, indicating that it had been ripped once or twice in different occasions.

The first years grew silent upon seeing this, followed by the other students that sat on the table. Professor McGonagall gently placed the hat on a tall stool. Nothing happened for a few seconds until a voice came out of the hat from the wide folds that were supposed to represent its mouth.

I was taken back by this – I half-expected the hat to only float or something, not sing.

Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers back,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So, try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin,
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!

When the song finally ended, everyone clapped their hands while I just slowly clapped in amazement and shock. I still couldn't comprehend the fact that a magical hat just sung.

"So, they were just going to place the hat on our heads to sort us out!" I heard Potter chuckle and exclaim from behind me and he sounded very relieved. Not gonna lie – I would also be afraid if I had to use magic just to prove that I was actually a witch/wizard.

"I'm going to murder Fred and George for telling me that I had to fight a troll just to get sorted." said Weasley, making me silently chuckle. I wonder who those are – I'd want to be friends with them.

My mind wandered off to the traits of the houses that the hat sung. I wonder why I wanted to be sorted in Ravenclaw – I'm certainly aware that I'm not that smart or wise to be in it. I personally don't think I'm after knowledge either. I just don't see the point in it.

Maybe I could be in Gryffindor. Who knows.

Amidst the cheers and claps from the students, Professor McGonagall rolls out a long parchment. "Once I call your name, please step to the front." She says, making me gulp as I realized that the parchment contained the names of the new students, specifically us.

I started to overthink – what if my name wasn't there and this was just a huge mistake? What if I had to walk out of the castle and try to find a job to sustain myself because I don't know anything about living in a world where magic exists?

"Hannah Abott." As soon as the first name left Professor McGonagall's lips, a short girl with small pigtails walked up to the front and sat on the stool after Professor McGonagall removed the hat from the stool and placed it above Abott's head.

The first years tried to get a closer look as to how the sorting happened, including me.

The hat moved, thinking deeply for a moment while Abott looked up to the hat in amazement and wonder. It almost seemed like the hat and Abott were talking telepathically.

"Hufflepuff!" The hat roared out as the Hufflepuff table cheered loudly for their new member. Professor McGonagall removed the hat from her head as Hannah dashed towards the Hufflepuff table.

As the same procedure went on for a few minutes, I kept tapping my shoes to the floor and let my anxiety eat me alive. If my name gets called, people's attention will be on me and what I hate the most is having people's attention on me. I genuinely just hate getting the spotlight because I'd rather have people not have to look at me and possibly judge me for something I have no control over, like my appearance.

I don't know why I care so much about the opinion of other prepubescent children, but my mind keeps automatically making me worry even though I don't want to.

"Hermione Granger." I glance over at the girl who had an extremely bushy brown hair, like it was constantly frizzy. Glimpses of buckteeth from underneath her lips can be seen as she faced everyone nervously. I heard a few people chuckle and snicker as they talked about her appearance, which irritated me.

See, this is what I was afraid of.

While I genuinely don't care for what Granger looks like, that doesn't mean that others don't as well.

"Gryffindor!" It didn't really take her all that much time to get sorted. With a beaming smile, Hermione walked towards the cheering Gryffindor table.

Hufflepuff!
Ravenclaw!
Slytherin!
Slytherin!
Gryffindor!

"Neville Longbottom." I recognized the chubby boy from earlier. He almost tripped on the way to the stool, which made Malfoy chuckle out loud with his two goons. The hat thought deeply for a moment, which made it feel like an eternity has passed.

"Gryffindor!" The hat finally shouted, which made Longbottom's face pale in shock and fear. He slowly walked over to the Gryffindor table, who simply welcomed him with open arms and cheers.

"Draco Malfoy." I felt him intentionally bump into my shoulder as he walked over to the stool, shooting me a smirk from his shoulder before taking a seat. Professor McGonagall hadn't even fully placed the hat on his head when the hat immediately yelled out, "Slytherin!"

In the distance, the Slytherin table cheered loudly as Malfoy walked over to them with his head held high and a wide smirk apparent on his lips. "Of course, Malfoy's going to be in Slytherin. Why am I not surprised?" I heard Alem deadpan next to me.

"You should be surprised if he isn't." I said, to which he agreed with a hum.

"Harry Potter." As soon as Potter's name was read, the entire hall grew silent with the occasional muttered whispers about knowing who Potter was can be heard. I wasn't aware that Potter was this famous – if I'd known, I probably should've asked for an autograph and sell it in case I don't get sorted into this school and I get kicked out and I have to live my own life and- anyway.

The black haired boy slowly walked up to the front and sat on the stool, to which Professor McGonagall lightly placed the hat on his head afterwards. I can see Potter mumble something underneath his breath repeatedly while the hat shifted around his head.

"Gryffindor!" Surprisingly, it didn't take him that long to get sorted. The Gryffindor table cheered loudly, to the point that you can almost feel the hall shake from the roars of their cheers. Potter happily ran to the table with a grin, which made me feel proud of him for being in a house where he wanted to be sorted in.

"Alem Rosewood." After a while, Alem's name was called. Noticing that he was trembling, I gave him a reassuring pat on the back. He shot me a nervous look, unsure about whether or not he should be up there and get sorted. Well, it's not like he has a choice.

As Alem slowly sat on the stool, Professor McGonagall placed the hat on top of it. It squirmed and Alem looked increasingly nervous the more the hat moved on his head. After what seemed to be an eternity, the hat finally reached a decision.

"Slytherin!" The hat sorted Alem in a house where he most likely least expected to be in. With his mouth hung agape in pure shock, he slowly hopped off of the stool and slowly made his way over to the cheering Slytherin table.

Oh god, I hope he's going to be okay. His shocked expression was kind of hilarious though, not gonna lie.

"(Y/N) Rosewood." When Professor McGonagall called my name, I took a long deep breath through my nostrils and tried my hardest to not look scared and nervous. I faced the crowd when I sat on the stool while I cleared my throat and kept shifting my eyes away as to not make any eye contact with anyone.

Once I felt the hat touch my head, I slightly jumped when a voice echoed inside my mind. I did not expect it to talk just like that – I thought it'll just stay silent until it comes to a decision and sort us out.

"Gah! Another Rosewood, I see... I did not expect your father to have children, haha! But, putting that aside, I can tell that you're slightly different from your parents and your brother... You won't be able to outsmart your brother but I can tell that you're an intelligent individual however... To put you in the same house as your father... Ravenclaw? No, that's not it..." I thinned my lips, not saying anything while I let the hat psychoanalyze me in front of a crowd, even though I know that nobody can hear this.

"Hm... How interesting. Is this actually the life you lead, Rosewood?" The hat hummed curiously. "You seem to hesitate in every single thing that could endanger you in life and would rather not take the risk unless you really need to. Your life was bleak but you hope that there's something that can make it interesting... Hmm... However, you do have a soft heart and wish to help those who need it but placing you in Hufflepuff would be... No... There's this inner desire that drives you to do anything you need to do to get what you want, surpassing your hesitation in taking risks... Hm, interesting. A troublemaker and an aggressive one at times, eh?"

"If that's the case, then..."

"Slytherin!" I blinked in surprise when the hat decided to sort me in Slytherin of all places. The Slytherin table only cheered lightly – it wasn't as enthusiastic compared to how they cheered for Draco. After hopping off of the stool, I walked over to where Alem was with a small strained smile. Alem returned the smile with a small chuckle as he scooted over to the side to give me some space to sit on.

A few Slytherins nearby congratulated me and welcomed me to the house, which made me greet them briefly with a nod.

"Well, at least we're together." said Alem. "It's better than nothing, right?"

"I guess so." I shrugged and sat next to him. "I still can't believe I got sorted in Slytherin."

"I know. We're both the least Slytherin ever. Even the Sorting Hat thought I'd fit well in Ravenclaw, but for some reason, it said that I just had the drive to want to be the best, not learning things for the sake of learning it. Whatever that means." Recalled Alem with a sigh. "I still have no idea why the hat would place me in Slytherin, but maybe it's for the best."

"...Maybe." was the only thing I can reply to him as I tried to make myself comfortable in my seat. When my (E/C) eyes locked with Malfoy's, I immediately looked away to avoid him. But unfortunately, he didn't seem to move on as quickly as I did.

"I can't believe you two are in Slytherin." I heard Malfoy scoff from across the table. "If I'd known they allow blood traitors like you, I would've just gone to Durmstrang, like what my father suggested earlier."

"Nobody asked for your opinion, gel kid." I said loudly without skipping a beat and without even looking back at him since I didn't want to bother.

After a few seconds of silence from Malfoy, I heard him exclaim, "My father will hear about this!"

"I'm not as pathetic as you to immediately run towards my daddy when things don't go my way." I yawn as I kept watching the sorting of the first years with a deadpan look. I heard a few Slytherins chuckle from behind me, which made me smile a bit.

Just as I was about to fall asleep because of how long the sorting was taking, a gentle whisper almost knocked me off of my seat because of how startled I was.

'Remember...' It caught me off guard and I almost punched Alem for it since I assumed he was trying to startle me.

"At least poke me if you're going to say something." I told Alem with a huff, which earned me a very confused look from my brother.

"I didn't say anything." He spoke. "You alright?"

"Oh... Sorry." I blinked before turning my attention back to the now small crowd of first years at the front of the hall.

But something caught my eye. Something that wasn't there before when I first entered the hall. I gulp, my eyes locked on a figure that stood next to the headmaster. The child had their hands tucked inside their orange hoodie. Even though they were right next to the headmaster – the very center of the table where the professors sat – nobody seemed to notice them.

I waited until somebody pointed out that a person appeared next to the headmaster, but to my utter confusion, nobody did. Clearing my throat, I look away for a brief moment to put my attention on Alem, who was starting to look very bored.

"Alem, don't you see that person standing right next to the headmaster?" I asked.

"Huh?" His face scrunched up in confusion and he sobered up almost immediately. His reaction was a bit overexaggerating. "What are you talking about? There's no one there except the other professors. Seriously, is this a prank of yours? Trying to scare me won't work anymore, you know."

"It's not a prank!" I lightly exclaimed, annoyed by his accusation and reaction. "Look - it's over-"

I turned my head to point at the figure that was standing next to the headmaster, but it was gone. It's like they never even existed. Did I just imagine all of that? Was I hallucinating?

"...what..." I muttered to myself in disbelief and I tried to look around the hall to see if they just moved somewhere, but to my utter dismay, nobody who looked like them was around. "I could've sworn I..."

"Are you really okay? You've been out of it since we got here in Hogwarts." I felt Alem place a reassuring hand on my shoulder, but I didn't feel comforted nor reassured. I didn't want to think that I'm some sort of lunatic who hallucinates things randomly.

'Remember.' 

The same whisper echoed through my mind once more, only the tone sounded stricter and more assertive. Just as I was about to block out the noises from the hall in order to focus more on the whisper in my mind, a head splitting headache flashed through my head.

I grunt and hiss lightly in pain as I placed one of my hands on my head. I tried to breathe in and out to relieve some of the pain that I felt, but it was so painful that I couldn't tell if it was even working or not. I couldn't even hear what Alem was saying next to me – it all sounded so faded and unintelligible.

My vision felt like it was spinning around – the hall looked like it was distorting and contorting in different angles and shapes. The voices from all of the students in the hall slowly started to become faded as it echoed in my ears, leaving a high-pitched ringing that caused my headache to become worse every second.

Oh god, I feel like I'm about to vomit. I wanted it all to stop. My eyes felt like it was about to explode and burst out of my eye sockets. It got to the point where I just wanted to slice the top of my head off just so I could be relieved of all the pain from this headache.

In the midst of all this, a flashing of familiar memories surged through my mind. The laughter, the tears, the screams, the loneliness – all of it came rushing in. It was difficult to try and comprehend these familiar memories as I focused more on trying to comfort myself through the pain, but I remember a few glimpses of it.

As I tried to take in all of this information in my brain, I shuddered and almost fell to the ground, but I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of everyone in the hall. I tried to keep myself as quiet as possible, but I couldn't stop a few grunts and whimpers that escaped my mouth.

Unable to take any more of the pain, I became lightheaded – my body felt light and I instinctively let myself fall to Alem's arms, allowing myself a reprieve from the pain.

»»-----　♡　-----««

It was a chilly night. A small figure sat on top of the castle from one of the rooftops. The particular spot they chose had a perfect view of the Great Hall, allowing them to observe the events that were happening inside with a smile.

They shuddered once they felt another howl of wind pass through them. Even with their hoodie, they still felt cold. It got to the point that even they can see their own breath. Sighing, they stood up and stretched before turning their eyes over to the moon.

It was bright. It felt comforting for the small child, in contrast to the commotion that was happening inside the Great Hall. "I guess it's starting again." They muttered to themselves as they turned their attention back to the Great Hall, specifically to the Slytherin table.

Alem gently carried (Y/N) on their back as the students from all of the houses clamored together to see what was happening. Professor Snape, the head of the Slytherin house, could be seen swatting the students away and telling them to go back to their seats, parting a way for them to leave.

"I wonder how it'll end this time." With a huff, the child teasingly stuck their foot out of the rooftop for a few seconds before they tipped themselves off of the ledge and letting themselves fall down.

Their strawberry blonde hair flickered and moved in every direction as the wind hit their face. "Well, it doesn't really matter for me." They lightly giggled. Just as they were about to hit the ground, a thick gust of wind enveloped their entire body before they disappeared on sight. 

»»-----　♡　-----««

❝The truth is incontrovertible.
Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it,
But in the end, there it is.❞

A/N:
I took the liberty of rewriting this because the earlier chapters were so cringey, man. I don't know what my younger self was thinking when she wrote this lmaoooo I might rewrite the other chapters, but that depends if others want me to do that or if I have the time to do them all. If I have to rewrite it, I think I'll just rewrite it until chapter 8. Just let me know! Thanks for reading!