Stars and Mist | Regulus Black

c h a p t e r. t w o

Boats. 
Liora sat alone on one of them, glancing around. Soon enough, her train-mate and two other boys joined her boat as it started to move, each of them sitting primly. 
"What house do you want to be in? I want to be in Slytherin," one of the boys commented. He had dirty blond hair and blue eyes, as well as a snarky grin on his face. The other boy had grey eyes and dark hair with an emotionless expression on his face similar to Melynne. 

"Slytherin. Rosier, what else do you think? I'm a pureblood," The guy said pointedly as he looked towards Liora and the other girl. 
"So am I, but no-one asked," The girl retorted. "Which one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight?" 
"Black."
"Greengrass," She returned, then turned to Liora. "You?" 
"I'm not sure about me, but my mother is a... Gaunt?" she replied. Luckily, this answer was satisfactory to the others, as they nodded. 
"Why don't you know about you?" 
"My father is dead." She said that part flatly. The others nodded again as if they understood. The boat was nearing the castle, and the four stared in awe of the majestic castle. 
"First years!" A prim woman stood at the top of a staircase, and the students waited in line as she walked them through the castle for their sorting. Finally, they were led into the Great Hall. 

***

"Regulus Black."

Liora watched the boy on the boat step up towards the sorting house, waiting to be sorted. After a moment, the hat seemed to come to a decision. 
"SLYTHERIN!"

The boy looked relieved, almost, as he made his way towards the table on the far left and sat down. The sorting continued, students going up one by one to find out which house they would get into. 
"Amaranth Clarke!" 
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Libidine Dana!"
"RAVENCLAW!"

"Liora Gaunt." 

Making her way up the platform, Liora twisted a piece of ebony hair around her finger. Her eyes darted across the room as the hat was placed on her head. She closed them, expecting the worst. 

What do you think of me? 

"You're fair. You think good people should be rewarded and bad people should be punished, but you also think that if good is white and bad is black, there are only shades of grey," The hat spoke in her head. To her relief, Liora was able to maintain a stoic expression. 

Is that bad?

"No, it's not, but if a hardworking individual dabbles into something bad, like questionable magic, what would you do?"

Liora thought about it for a moment. 
If the magic doesn't harm anyone innocent, why would it matter to me? I shouldn't be the one to judge other's lives.
"If your friend betrays you by spilling all of your secrets, what would you do?"
I would reveal their secrets in a way so that it couldn't be traced back to me.

"Clever, clever... A bit of Ravenclaw, A bit of Slytherin..." The hat trailed off as it 'thought', leaving Liora to wait patiently. 
"SLYTHERIN!"

Liora hopped off the stool and made her way towards the table, sitting at the edge of a bench as she continued to watch. The people around her watched, poised perfectly like her mother. They all seemed to have judging stares and calculating looks. 

"Mirabel Greengrass!" 

The hat seemed to have trouble with the girl, leaving some students to shift uncomfortably. 
"RAVEN-"

The hat cut itself off as it continued to mentally converse with Mirabel, it's eyes seeming to come to a conclusion. 
"SLYTHERIN!"

The students were puzzled, staring at each other confusedly as Mirabel made her way towards the Slytherin table. She waved at them jokingly, bringing on a loud round of applause from the Slytherin table. Soon, the sorting was finished and food appeared. 
Unlike any of the other tables, most of the first-years stayed still as they looked at the food. Liora did too, only reaching out to get some sips of ice water. She wasn't ready to eat. 

The feast went on, with Liora only crunching on a couple of ice cubes as she watched the others eat. She was also able to make a sort-of ice slushie, which she drank as the others ate. If she was going to eat something, she might've hurled. 

"Alright, first-years, time to go to the dorms."

***

As it turned out, Liora and Mirabel shared a room. 

According to the prefect 'Narcissa Black', who'd proudly bragged on her engagement with Lucius Malfoy, having rooms with fewer people was a blessing, and at that moment Liora agreed. The room was quiet, with Mirabel already unpacked and asleep. Liora lay there, staring at the canopy and at the view of the Black Lake -Narcissa had told her that- as she thought. 

Why did everyone else know so much? Liora had been able to bluff, but she felt like everyone was leaving her behind. The words 'Melynne Gaunt' seemed to have influence- proof that her mother had remained in this world. Why was she so ignorant? 
Liora rolled her eyes at herself and proceeded to fall asleep.