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THE GREAT HALL WAS SO LARGE THAT ELOISE SWORE HALF OF MALFOY MANOR COULD HAVE FIT INSIDE. Like the rest of the first years, she gawked in awe while following after Professor McGonagall in a line. Draco walked ahead of her while Crabbe and Goyle followed a step behind. The feeling of being sandwiched between her cousin and his goons was uncomfortable, but understandable as he cast a glance over his shoulder as if eyeing her with distrust.

"When were you going to tell me about Potter?" Draco hissed over his shoulder.

Eloise rolled her eyes. "You're just jealous that I found him first."

"Obviously," Draco agreed. "But if I'd been the one to find him first, he wouldn't be associating with the rabble."

"Do you even know what that word means?" Eloise questioned. "Or do you mindlessly repeat everything you hear your father say?"

Draco huffed, crossing his arms as the conversation between them ended on that note. Fine by her, she was hardly in the mood to speak with anyone at the moment. She was nervous enough as it was to be sorted, and the way the conversation aboard the train had digressed certainly hadn't helped matters. To distract herself, she focused on absorbing the scenery of the Great Hall.

It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers sat. Professor McGonagall led the first years in that direction, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Glancing upward, Eloise noticed the velvety black ceiling dotted with stars.

"It's not real, the ceiling," Hermione whispered to her twin. "It's just bewitched to look like the night sky. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History."

"Of course you did," Nicodemus muttered, playfully rolling his eyes. "You know there wasn't a summer reading list, right?"

"It doesn't hurt to be prepared," Hermione countered.

"Alright, will you wait along here, please?" Professor McGonagall requested of the first years before facing the rest of the student body. "Now, before we begin, Professor Dumbldedore would like to say a few words."

Dumbledore rose from the main table. "I have a few start of term notices I wish to announce. The first years please note that the dark forest is strictly forbidden to all students. Also, our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind you that the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death. Thank you."

Professor McGonagall silently placed a four legged stool in front of the first years, then placed a pointed wizard's hat on top of the stool. The hat was patched and frayed and filthy, Eloise was surprised that Draco hadn't thrown a fit the second he realized he'd have to wear it.

The hat twitched and a rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth—and then it began to 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 black,
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 of 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 folk 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!"

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables then became quite still again.

"So we've just got to try on the hat?" Ron asked. His face looked incredulous as he whispered quite loudly to Harry. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."

Harry smiled weakly. But if he said anything, it was overshadowed by the sound of Professor McGonagall's voice as she stepped forward with another set of instructions. "When I call your name, you will come forth, I shall place the sorting hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses."

"Here we go," Draco whispered, leaning closer to his cousin as if they hadn't just had an argument less than five minutes prior. "The first step toward our destinies of greatness."

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and announced the first name on the long scroll of parchments unrolled in her hands. "Abbot, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. There was a moment's pause then the hat proclaimed, "Hufflepuff!"

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. McGonagall proceeded down the list with the next name. "Black, Corvus!"

A lanky boy with dark hair—just long enough so that it fell down in front of his eyes—proudly strutted toward the stool with his head held high. He was seated for less than a minute, but slightly longer than Hannah before the hat declared, "Slytherin!"

"Black, Salacia!" McGonagall called out.

A small, meek appearing girl took a seat on the stool. Her dark brunette hair fell down in front of her eyes. She shared a vague resemblance to the boy who'd been sorted previously, but nowhere near as close as Hermione and Nicodemus. If they were twins in the same year, they were likely fraternal. Although it wasn't out of the question for cousins to be the same age either, she and Draco were proof enough of that. The hat took even longer than before, finally coming to a decision that Eloise found surprising, "Slytherin."

"Bones, Susan. Hufflepuff. Boot, Terry. Ravenclaw. Brocklehurst, Mandy. Ravenclaw. Brown, Lavender. Gryffindor." McGonagall and the hat went back and forth, apparently finishing the other's sentence.

"Bulstrode, Millicent! Slytherin." This result hardly phased Eloise. She'd already been expecting it, and so had majority of the Slytherins as they welcomed the girl with wide arms.

"Castillon, Leti! Ravenclaw. Crabbe, Vincent. Slytherin. Finch-Feltchley, Justin. Hufflepuff. Finnigan, Seamus. Gryffindor. Graves, Adoracíon. Slytherin. Goyle, Gregory. Slytherin."

"Granger, Hermione!" Professor McGonagall called out.

Hermione took several deep breaths as if trying to keep from panicking before stepping up to the stool where the hat was waiting. "Oh, no. Okay, relax."

Ron shook his head. "Mental that one, I'm telling you."

Harry nodded in agreement just as the Sorting Hat came to a conclusion. "Ah, right then... hmm... right. Okay... Gryffindor!"

The Gryffindor table cheered, welcoming Hermione to their side as she jumped down from the stool with a large smile. Her twin joined her seconds later. "Granger, Nicodemus. Gryffindor. Longbottom, Neville. Gryffindor. MacDougal, Morag. Ravenclaw."

"Malfoy, Draco!" McGonagall called out. Her cousin swaggered forward and immediately received his wish. The hat had barely touched a single hair on his head before screaming, "Slytherin!"

Draco grinned and winked at Eloise as if trying to instill her with confidence before joining his minions, Crabbe and Goyle, while looking all too pleased with himself.

"There isn't a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin," Ron whispered to Harry, glaring at Draco as he took a seat amidst the other Slytherins.

"Malfoy, Eloise!" She shuddered as Professor McGonagall called her name. Slowly, she made her way to the stool and took a seat, anticipating the moment the hat would be placed on her head.

"Hmmm..." was the hat's initial comment as it rested on her head.

"Hmmm?" Eloise questioned, allowing her brow to furrow with concern.

"I find it difficult to place you, my dear."

"Difficult?" she again questioned the hat. "I come from a long line of Slytherins if you find that helpful. Just place me with them."

"Slytherin's not all you come from though, is it?" The hat's question was rhetorical and went unanswered. "And just because a family mostly fits into one house that doesn't mean a black sheep won't rise from the fold."

"But I don't want to be a black sheep," Eloise insisted. "I want to meet the expectations set before me."

"One does not need to be Slytherin to be great," the hat countered, seeing through the claim of her heart's desire. "You have a great mind that could be sharpened without all those external pressures if you were to be sorted into Ravenclaw. I see within you a strong will seeking knowledge and answers. Or perhaps in Hufflepuff you could rise to greatness, you've proven you possess a heart propelled by loyalty, and it's said that Hufflepuffs are particularly good finders... Or perhaps it's Gryffindor that holds the key which might unlock the door to all your unanswered questions. It takes a brave soul to push forward into the unknown."

"And why not Slytherin?" Eloise asked. "I want the house that will take me the furthest and benefit me the most, wouldn't you say that's a defining trait of Slytherin?"

"But is that truly who you are child?" the hat questioned. "Or is it the mask you feel the need to wear?"

"Everyone wears a mask," Eloise countered. "And some people wear more than one, it's a matter of perspective and who I need to be in each moment. You said my mind was sharp, but is that not a result of working all the angles before me? Do I possess wit or cunning? Knowledge or stubborn determination?"

The hat sighed. She could feel the seams wrinkle along the brim as if the object were frustrated. "Children these days believe they sort themselves. Decades ago they could not define the houses by such quaint traits, but if this is the path you have chosen... Slytherin!"

Eloise sighed with relief, making her way over to the Slytherin table where she took a seat beside Draco. She placed her head down on the table, recovering from the conversation that had been quite exhausting. The stress of being sorted into the wrong house had certainly done a number on her.

Ron and Harry were staring in her direction, looks of uncertainty as they whispered between themselves—likely comparing her to the very cousin she sat beside. Blood above all else, she reminded herself. And Slytherin was coursing through her veins, true... the other houses had piqued her interest, but this was where she belonged.

"What took you so long?" Draco asked.

"Not all of us like to rush bloody everything," Eloise remarked, crossing her arms as she lifted her head from the table. "I was considering my options."

"What options?" Draco scoffed. "We'd already planned out our days here at Hogwarts and every single path started with being sorted into Slytherin. There are no other options."

"Doesn't mean I couldn't look," Eloise protested, refusing to admit that the hat almost hadn't sorted her into the same house.

"Moon, Elizabeth ... Nott, Theodore ... Parkinson, Pansy ... Patil, Padma ... Patil, Parvati ... Perks, Sally-Anne." The names rattled off one by one until the name the entire Hall had been waiting for was finally called. "Potter, Harry!"

The entire room fell silent, not a single student dared squeak as the small boy made his way to the center of the room. It was obvious he was nervous as he fidgeted with his robes and glasses, which had a habit of sliding down the bridge of his nose. He took a seat on the stool and the hat was lowered onto his head.

Five minutes passed, then ten. And before anyone realized it, half an hour had gone by. Draco frowned as he glanced over at his cousin, hissing to keep their conversation quiet. "And I thought you had taken ages."

"Or perhaps the longer it takes, the greater your destiny," Eloise countered. There was an edge of hostility to her tone as she'd had quite enough of her cousin's remarks. It wasn't entirely his fault, but it was enough that he'd receive the backlash of her stress and fatigue. "After all, he's said to be the Chosen One."

"Gryffindor!" the hat finally proclaimed and Harry slumped on the stool with relief.

Draco snickered and scoffed. "You were saying?"

The entire Gryffindor table stood and cheered as Potter joined them at their table. A pair of ginger twins, Weasleys—Eloise assumed based on their likeness to Ron—cheered louder than the rest, "We got Potter! We got Potter!"

"Weasley, Ronald!" Professor McGonagall continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. The ginger boy gulped and walked up slower to the stool than Potter had.

However, it didn't take nearly as long for him to be sorted. "Gryffindor!"

The boy also sighed with relief as he was welcomed with open arms by those around the Gryffindor tables. As Blaise Zabini was named Slytherin and with no more students to sort, it was time for the evening to progress forward.

Professor McGonagall tapped her knife against her goblet. "Your attention, please."

"Let the feast...begin," Dumbledore announced, slightly interrupting the other Professor.

Food magically appeared on the tables and the hall was filled with awe and chatter. Eloise found it all to be a tad bit overwhelming, but Draco was thoroughly enjoying the attention he'd acquired from some of the higher years.

Eloise began rubbing her temples to a bait the oncoming migraine when a startling sigh of agreement hissed from beside her. Eloise nearly jumped out of her seat, but she remained calm with the reminder that exhibiting fear would only grant other power over her.

"Híjole," the girl muttered under her breath. She had a distinctly American accent as she spoke with a Hispanic lisp that occasionally accented some of her syllables. "The glitter and sparkles is a bit much."

"As opposed to the ceiling painted with literal constellations and cosmos," Eloise quietly snickered. "I think flashy might be the school motto."

The girl snickered, only briefly allowing a smile to twist her features before falling back on what appeared to be a comfortable neutral expression which could be confused for a frown. Her dark braids seemed to follow her attitude, bouncing and swaying during a brief lighthearted moment before returning to their prior rigid pose.

"I'm Eloise Malfoy," she introduced herself.

"Adoracíon Graves," the girl curtly replied. "My friends call me Adora though... or they would if I had any friends."

"Well isn't that depressing," the boy seated across from them commented on the conversation he hadn't been invited to join.

Eloise frowned. "And you are?"

"Corvus Black," he introduced himself, attempting to bow while seated—which was simply a nod of his head while rolling his wrist in a few small circles. "A distinguished name in the upper pureblood societies."

Adoracíon looked unamused. "You're eleven."

"Almost twelve," Corvus corrected then shrugged. "Never too young to start."

"Start what?" the brunette girl seated beside him asked. "Lying to impress any witch that glances in your direction?"

"It's not lying," Corvus huffed. "It's embellishments, Sal."

The girl rolled her eyes and scoffed before introducing herself. "I'm Salacia, Mr. Embellishment's sister."

"Are you twins?" Adoracíon asked, tilting her head with curiosity while her expression remained void of almost all emotion.

Salacia shook her head. "No, Corvus simply didn't meet the age requirement in time to start at Hogwarts last year."

"So you're a Malfoy?" Corvus asked, jumping onto a separate topic. "That's a pretty powerful pure-blood family."

"It is," Eloise agreed, "But so's the House of Black. I wasn't aware any of them had kids aside from those on my aunt's side."

Corvus gasped with delight before laughing under his breath. "So you really are the secret love child of Cordelia Malfoy? Is your dad really not in the picture?"

Salacia punched her brother in the arm with a strong look of disapproval. "You can't just go asking things like that! It's insensitive. You wouldn't want her questioning us about our dad."

Corvus scoffed and rolled his eyes. "He's dead and he left us a fortune. Mum has little to say about him, so clearly he can't be all that great."

"Maybe she finds it too painful to talk about," Salacia suggested with strong hostility.

"If my dad wanted to be involved in my life, he would've introduced himself eleven years ago," Eloise interrupted before their argument could continue. "I'be said it before and I'll say it again, I've got my aunt, my uncle, and my cousin. That's more than enough family for me."

"Alright," Corvus looked unconvinced, lifting his hands defensively as his sister threatened to hit him again. "I'm just saying that it can't be easy knowing nothing of where you come from. At least we have mum."

"Father's are predictable tools of disappointment," Adoracíon inputted with her own opinion.

Corvus brightened. "See, Sal. I'm creating a topic which we can all bond with: absent fathers."

"He's not absent, he's dead," Salacia contradicted, crossing her arms. "Mum says he died a hero."

"Isn't death the ultimate form of absence?" Adoracíon questioned, almost rhetorically as her gaze drifted off into the distance.

"Edgar Allan Poe is right," Corvus nodded. "And the fact that there's no portraits of him around the house doesn't instill the greatest confidence that she was telling the truth."

"Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore'," Eloise added on with a coy smirk. Said smirk grew into a wide grin at Corvus's displeased look.

However, the conversation was interrupted by a shout from the Gryffindor table. Ron nearly fell from his seat as several ghosts invaded the great hall with unmatched speed. Adoracíon's eyes lit up with glee, the most emotion anyone had seen on the girl's face prior to the moment she introduced herself.

"It's the Bloody Baron," Adoracíon sounded pleased as her eyes followed the ghost which Eloise could only describe as horrible. He had blank eyes that stared straight through one's soul, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. Said ghost took a seat on the other side of Draco, and her cousin looked none too pleased by the interruption as his face paled.

As more ghosts arrived, the hall gradually quieted since students had eaten their fill. A thick tension of exhaustion hung over the room as many of the first year's eyes drooped drowsily.

Dumbledore stood from his table and gave his wand a little flick. The man was eccentric, but usually his actions were swiftly followed by an explanation. From the tip of his wand, a golden ribbon flew forward, rising high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried the headmaster. "Everyone pick their favorite tune and off we go!"

And the school bellowed:

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty, Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald,
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot."

Everyone finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.

"Ah, music," he said wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

The Slytherin first years followed the prefect who had refused to introduce himself—insisting that anyone of importance would already know it or learn how to figure it out for themselves—through the chattering crowd, out of the Great Hall, and down the stone stairwell toward the dungeons. Many first years wrinkled their nose, but the prefect only smirked and snickered.

He paused in front of a large set of intimidating doors. "This is our common room. Each house's common room is protected by a password so that it remains a 'safe space'."

"And what's our password?" Draco asked, nose lifted haughtily as if trying to intimidate or impress the Slytherin prefect.

"Your blood status," the prefect answered without hesitation, turning back toward the door. "Pure-blood."

The doors swung open, revealing the dimly lit common room lavishly decorated in deep hues of green and reflective silver. Portraits of important Slytherin witches and wizards lined the walls—constantly casting looks of judgement. Eloise shied beneath their glares, taking a step closer to Draco to regain whatever confidence she'd lost. They were stronger together—destined for greatness together—so no matter how often they fought or severely they disagreed, they were also the other's greatest ally and the only person they could truly trust in this den filled with snakes.

"Boys's dormitories to your left. Girls on the right," the prefect explained. "You'll find that your belongings have already been brought up."

And then he left them to their own devices. The first years lingered in the common room for another five minutes before dragging their feet toward their rooms, rubbing their eyes while trying to conceal the yawns which would emphasize their weakness of being tired.

Eloise found her belongings in the corner of her room—set beside a bed which she presumed had been assigned to her. She was secretly pleased to see that Salacia and Adoracíon had also been assigned to the room—and discouraged to see that Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode would also be accompanying them. And while that thought was unanimously shared by the other girls in the room, they kept things amicable for the time being. After all, classes started in the morning and it was only for their own benefit that they acquire the necessary amount of rest before attempting to conquer the school with whatever serpentine schemes they could surmise.

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𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 | And I've finally updated this book with another chapter! We finally get to meet the other main characters of this book's cast while focusing on the Slytherin priorities that aren't fully analyzed in the books or films! Very excited about all that's to come! Although this chapter won't exactly align with either the book or movie precisely, I tried to incorporate elements from both while making it my own.

I'd love to hear your thoughts about what you think. As always, don't be shy to leave a comment and don't forget to vote!