Ferret!

~1~

Y/N's POV:

When my sister Hermione, who's a mere nine and a half months older than me, started showing signs of her magical abilities, she was only six years old. I didn't start until I was ten. She always was the overachiever.

Our parents weren't concerned with Hermione's acceptance to Hogwarts, and threw the letter away without a second thought. That is, until some strange man showed up on our doorstep claiming my sister was a witch.

When he showed us his magic, my father still didn't believe, but my mother had slowly come to terms with it. "I suspected you were special for a while now. I never thought quite this special, but would anyone, really?" She had said.

The next year, a letter came for me, and I was more shocked than anyone to be joining my older sister at Hogwarts.

This summer, we bought everything we needed for Hogwarts. I remember walking into Eeylops Owl Emporium that day holding Hermione's hand, though she soon let me go to examine the many different owls on display.

It was a difficult decision for me, though ultimately I decided on a small white ferret. It just felt right. He sat in my lap now on the train to Hogwarts while Hermione slept with her head resting on my shoulder. I haven't decided on a name yet, though Hermione thinks I should name him after the founder of our house.

When I went to Ollivander's, my wand found me quickly, almost as if it had been waiting a very long time for me. It's made of hawthorn wood, and it's core is dragon heartstring. I'm told that dragon heartstring is quite powerful, and that hawthorn wood is best suited for wizards with conflicted natures. Hermione also has a wand with a dragon heartstring core, though her wand is made of vine wood as opposed to my hawthorn.

Despite my sister's assurances that it was safe, the scariest part of preparing for Hogwarts was when she and I held hands for dear life while running full speed at a solid wall. Even more startling was when we ran right through unscathed.

My thoughts were quickly interrupted by the train coming to a stop, and I nudged Hermione off my shoulder as gently as I possibly could while still pulling her out of her slumber. "We're here," I hummed to her.

She popped out of her seat and began collecting her things, so I quickly followed suit.

Though I've probably read half of the first years' curriculum through Hermione's many books, I never expected Hogwarts to be like this. It was grand and strange, though it somehow gave me a sense of home. As if I truly belonged here.

Right as I thought that, though, I heard a quite annoying voice speaking to my sister. "Merlin, Granger. You've brought another filthy mudblood with you this year?" The voice demanded.

My sister turned on her heels, a scowl on her face. Whoever this blonde boy was, she did not like him. So, I decided, neither did I. "Oh, grow up, Malfoy!" She exclaimed with a roll of her eyes.

He scoffed at her, and she turned back towards me. "Don't worry about that awful Slytherin," she whispered. "When you join me in Gryffindor, we'll have your back."

She then winked at me and motioned for me to follow her as she walked toward the large crowd of students heading into the school.

I smiled and started after her.

☆☆☆☆☆

In the Great Hall, I patiently waited for my name to be called while I watched all my peers' names being called and them rushing up to put the hat on before skipping off to their respective houses, said houses' table exploding with cheers and encouragement each time.

The wait was painful, though it wasn't long. It had probably only been ten minutes when my name was called. I quickly hurried up to the stool and took my seat.

I sat there, holding my breath while the hat thought it over for what felt like forever but must've only been part of a second before announcing clearly for all to hear, "Slytherin!"

It felt like the whole room froze as I glanced nervously towards my sister. She didn't look angry at me, but shot me an apologetic glance as I stalked toward the group of students clad in green and black, who were bursting with enthusiasm as I joined them.

I saw a nice-looking girl who scooched over a bit for me and patted the seat next to her. I sat down without hesitation, though I instantly regretted it as I heard that insufferable blonde's voice much too close to my ear.

"Ah, looks like the mudblood's joining us this year, eh? Good for you."

I grit my teeth at his words, but only stared absently forward, waiting for this to be over so I could lay down and rest.

It took quite a long time for me to be able to do just that, between the giant feast we had and Dumbledore's lengthy speeches, and I was instantly grateful for the beds the school provided, though I had been hoping to share my first night at wizard school with my sister.

I would just have to get over it. I was a Slytherin now, and there was no turning back.