Flora And Fawna [HARRY POTTER]

4

"Ah. You have a strong mind on you. Very intelligent," Rosie jumped as a singular voice interrupted her silence. "Your sister believes you would do well in Slytherin, cookie thief that you are. I am inclined to agree."

The hat was amused.

"But you would also do good in Ravenclaw, or even Hufflepuff. The loyalty you showed your sister, staying with her when you had no need to, was truly admirable. But there can only be one house, so we must choose wisely because there will be no resorting." The hat was silent for a long moment. "Though you have many values, while you are here you have decided to value knowledge above all. Camaraderie would seem a betrayal after your sister was not accepted into the fold, yes?"

Rosie didn't have to nod. The hat could hear her every thought. Her every whim.

"You are cunning, there is no denying that. You and your sister managed to teach you wandless magic before you were even a blip on the Ministry's map. Because of necessity, you are probably the best practitioner of wandless magic alive. Wordless wandless magic. But you are a muggleborn witch, and as you imagined on the train you would not fit in there. It is true, insults are not the scariest words that can be said to you. But I fear if you go into Slytherin and make your place among them they are exactly the words you will be hoping for. We are at war. But your brain, your knowledge cannot go to waste. There is only one other class known for their brains and it is Ravenclaw, so I am inclined to sort you as RAVENCLAW!"

The hat shouted the last word out into the great hall and off somewhere in the distance Rosie could hear clapping. Just moments before the hat was pulled from Rosie's blonde head, it spoke one last time.

"Beware, little Rosie. There will be hardships ahead for you. You have abilities most witches and wizards can only dream about. Don't let yourself fall into the wrong hands!"

Then the hat was gone and the sounds were back. Rosie looked down at her robes and saw they were now sporting a bright blue patch with a eagle on it. Rosie hopped off the stool without prompting from Professor McGonagall and make her way down to the similarly dressed table, which was clapping for her. Rosie took a spot that had plenty of empty room on either side and relaxed, ready to watch the rest of the sorting.

*******

When Rosie woke up the next morning it was to a pudgy pink face hovering inches over hers.

'Pig.' Rosie caught herself thinking offhandedly as she jerked up, shoving the intruding girl off her bed and gasping. There was an attractive squeal from the floor, where the girl had fallen before she righted herself and turned to face Rosie again.

Rosie blanched. Over the years of she and Petunia casually practicing and maintaining Rosie's skills of magic, Rosie's magic had only acted out in the extreme case where she was truly startled. It didn't happen often, as Rosie wasn't normally the startling type, but apparently, when she had woken up in a strange bed with a strange girl inches from her face she had been well and truly startled. Because the girl now had a pig's snout and ears.

They looked good on her.

"You look like an angel!" The stranger gasped from her place, still sitting on the floor. "You've got pretty hair, and freckles, and your eyes!"

The girl hopped to her feet and Rosie was mortified to see there was a curly tail sticking out of her trousers, complementing the ears and snout. It was a wonder something in Rosie's face didn't show how horrible she felt for hexing the poor thing, intentionally or not, but the girl showed no signs of noticing.

"I was looking for wings when you woke up. Sorry, I startled you," the girl went to itch her left ear and Rosie paled.

"Sorry for hexing you," Rosie said quickly. "It still happens sometimes when I startle. I appear to have given you pig ears, nose, and tail."

The girl froze, her hands halfway to her ear before she turned on her heel and darted into the bathroom that was attached to the ravenclaw rooms. There was a loud squeal and Rosie buried her face in her pillow. What a wonderful way to begin the school year. She could imagine the letter home already.

'Dear Mrs. Dursley,' it would say. 'Due to an unfortunate incident on the first day of school, your sister will be hereby expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed are the time and date you will need to pick your sister up from platform nine and three quarters. Signed Minerva McGonagall, deputy headmistress and Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, headmaster.'

Rosie could imagine Petunia's expression already. Pinched lips, squinted eyes, angry flush to her sharp cheeks. She would be furious.

The girl appeared back into the bedroom and Rosie was shocked to see a large gap-toothed smile on her face, not the tears that Rosie had imagined. The girl was beaming as if someone had just told her she was meeting the queen.

"That's so cool!" the girl exclaimed loudly, leaping back onto Rosie's bed and jostling the poor girl nearly off the side. The girl army crawled over to where Rosie was laying, clinging to her covers so she didn't fall overboard and latched on to her like the girl had no intention of ever letting go. "I always wondered what it was like to be a piggy because that's what my brother always called me. Now I can take a moving picture and send it home for him so the git can hang it on his fridge!"

Rosie wasn't quite sure what was happening, and she didn't have a better understanding as she was being tugged towards the hospital wing three minutes later. The girl, who called herself Penny Jefferson, hadn't even given Rosie time to dress herself properly before she had pulled the two of them out of Rosie's bed and down the stairs so they could go eat breakfast. It had been a Prefect, one of the two that had shown the first year Ravenclaws to the dorms last night, that had seen Penny's new face and decided a trip to the infirmary was due. Penny seemed crestfallen.

"But I want to get a picture," Penny groaned out, absentmindedly patting her stomach as it stuck out from the bottom of her shirt. Really, Rosie couldn't help but think it was no wonder why Penny's brother called her Piggy. She was quite large for a child their age, only making the weight that might more noticeable as she was walking next to Rosie, who was probably less than half of Penny's weight. "And breakfast."

The ravenclaw boy prefect looked at Penny in obvious distaste, before his eyes roamed over to Rosie and softened a little. Rosie was looking at Penny like she was from another planet, and had just grown three new heads and an arm.

"Why on earth would you want this moment immortalized. It was an accident, I told you I was sorry, please don't get me sent home."

Penny frowned at Rosie's pleas.

"Why would I have you sent home?" Penny asked curiously, stopping suddenly and pulling Rosie to a halt with her. "This is the best thing that happened to me all year."

"But I gave you a-"

"A nose and a tail and some ears. They're so cool, right?" Penny didn't seem to get what Rosie was saying, so instead of taking the matter further, Rosie slumped in on herself, her shoulders hunching.

"Right," Rosie said weakly, wondering if that was what the rest of the year was going to be like. "Wicked cool."