The Raven and the Snake

Extra - Willa

Special love and thanks to the LGBTQIA+ community. Hate has no home in this world or the wizarding!

Willa had not known what to expect upon finding herself a member of the Wizarding World. When the letter first arrived at the crowded little London flat, it had been addressed to William Addams. When the representative of the school came to introduce themselves, Willa had been anxious for their reactions.

Muggle society had not always treated Willa kindly. Though born as William, she had known at once that she was not a 'boy'.

Willa's father was not a tolerant man. He had blamed this 'unnatural behavior' on her sisters. While indeed, it was Willa's sisters that had done most of the job of raising Willa, it wasn't their girlishness that been a deciding factor.

Regardless of how short her father cut her hair or attempted to throw her together with boys, Willa knew for certain that she was 'she'. Willa's father might have blamed Willa's mother also. Though the woman had simply left the baby with its father with no further mode of contact, it had been known that she was a witch. Perhaps it had been her freak genes that caused this.

Willa had spent a childhood with muggles feeling isolated, degraded, and occasionally harassed. When the representative arrived from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she had no reason to expect any different.

There was a clear difference though. When they arrived looking for a boy, it had only been mild surprise when they found Willa. The professor had simply made a little on a conjured clipboard and continued on without further comment.

Upon going to Diagon Alley for school supplies, Willa had found that the school dress code was unisex black robes. They could wear whatever they wanted underneath and nothing was said in regards to dying hair, makeup, piercings, or nail polish.

Willa had been tense on the train ride. She was uncomfortably aware of the fact that she was taller than most of the other children in her year, making her stand out when she'd really have liked to blend in. Even more mortifying, she'd felt her voice beginning to change slightly.

It was a scary moment when she had realized that they were to be sorted.

"Addams, Willa." The professor had called her name as though it were the most natural thing.

It shocked her. No teacher had ever called Willa by her actual name before. She half expected someone to point and yell 'fake'.

Instead, Willa had been placed in Slytherin and given a bed in the girl's dormitory.

The entire experience felt surreal. There were no restrictions when entering bathrooms. No teachers approached to lay down specific rules for only Willa.

It was the first boarding school Willa had ever attended and everything felt so prim and proper. She waited for someone to call her out on not only the subject of her gender, but her other oddities. The way she painted her nails or perhaps the London slang she used.

Then she met Ariadne. Ariadne Black was exactly what Willa expected from a Head Girl. Her manners were impeccable, she conversed easily with anyone that spoke to her, she made steady eye contact without fear, and her magic...

Many jealous eyes followed Ariadne around the school, but it didn't bother in the slightest. She was perfectly confident as she moved about the school like a princess that seemed perfectly well earned as she didn't stop working even during meals.

Willa couldn't easily speak up in crowds. When she did, she was painfully aware of the sound of her own voice. It was hard to raise it above a whisper, but whatever questions she may have had, Ariadne was first to notice.