The Half-Blood Princess

Chapter 5- Fresh Start

The rest of Sabrina's year was miserable, and every time Severus went away to Hogwarts she felt like a part of her was missing. And she didn't feel whole again until he came home.
But eventually her time came, and as she sat on the Hogwarts Express for the first time, she was filled with excitement.
Although she had not been bought new robes, like her brother had, and had been forced to wear her mothers old ones. Sabrina had been allowed to choose any pet she wanted.
So Sabrina had bought herself a kitten, whom she christened Ebony, because of her dark fur. Because she didn't see the point in getting herself an owl, as there was no one she would want to send regular letters to.

Since Severus and Lily had friends their own, Sabrina opted not to sit with them on the train ride, as she didn't want to intrude.
Instead she sat with a group of first year girls, including one set of twins named Apollina and Artemis Lannister.
But none of the girls in Sabrina's carriage were particularly chatty, so most of the journey was done in silence.
Eventually the train arrived in Hogsmeade, and the students travelled to the school in a bunch of little boats.
And after being greeted by the deputy head, Professor McGonagall, the first years were taken into the hall, for the sorting ceremony.

All the students were extremely nervous as they anxiously awaited their turn.
Sabrina wasn't too fussed about where she was placed. But if she had the choice, she would choose Slytherin, so that she could be in the same house as her brother.
She knew that was also their mothers house, but since Hogwarts couldn't be discussed at home, Eileen hadn't spoken too much about Slytherin house.
Since Snape was quite far down the list of names, Sabrina had to wait a while until her name was called.
When it was her turn, Sabrina made her way up to the stool, feeling nervous because of the amount of people now staring at her.

The second she sat down, the sorting hat began whispering in her ear, as it read all her deepest and darkest thoughts.
"Hmm. Interesting... Almost all the houses would suit you, and I feel like you would thrive in any of them... But there's one that I think will influence your life the most... SLYTHERIN!" announced the hat.
Sabrina sighed in relief and went to join those in Slytherin.
She sat beside the twins she had met on the train, both of which had been placed in Slytherin. Unlike the other 2 girls who they had sat with, who'd been placed in Ravenclaw.

But Sabrina wasn't looking at the twins, or her brother who was smiling at her.
Her eyes were drawn to the boy sitting opposite her. She thought back to his sorting, to try and remember his name, and then it came to her, Regulus Black.
Regulus seemed like a quiet, nervous boy, as he didn't seem all that confident, and kept glancing over to someone on the Gryffindor table.

Before Sabrina had time to think too much about it, the sorting was over, and the feast had started.
There was more food on the table in front of her, than she had ever seen before.
But most of the people around her didn't seem too shocked by the meal, so Sabrina tried to look equally as unimpressed, to fit in with her new peers.
So instead of filling her plate up to the brim, she took modest amounts of food, so as not to appear greedy or underfed.

When the feast was over, the students were escourted to their dormitories by the Prefects.
The Slytherin common room was by the dungeons under the lake, which Sabrina wasn't overally thrilled about.
But when she stepped inside, she saw how magnificent the place really was.
As a house that typically only contained pure-bloods, the common room was a very grand place, to accommodate this.

Sabrina was aware of the reputation that Slytherin house had, and she was careful not to mention that her father was a Muggle, even though she wasn't sure how long she could hide that secret.
Almost all of the students around her were pure-bloods, and Sabrina wanted them to think that she was one too.
This was made easier by the fact that she had an older brother, who had already been pretending to be pure-blood.

Sabrina found it hard not to be impressed by everything she saw, especially the girls dormitory, as it was way larger than she had been expecting.
The beds were all four poster, and looked a lot more comfy than the old one she was used to sleeping on.
Sabrina's new classmates didn't seem too disappointed by the room, so she assumed that this meant it had exceeded their expectations.

"Not too shabby" commented Appolina as she made her way over to her bed.
"No, I was expecting worse when you consider how old this place is" replied her sister Artemis.
"I still think sharing a room is a little barbaric" admitted one of the other girls named Elena Nightshade.
"I don't think it will be that bad, since we probably won't be spending that much time in here" said Sabrina's other roommate Mara Kellia.
The girls then all looked to Sabrina, to see what she thought about the room.
Knowing that this was the moment that would decide how they all felr about her, Sabrina knew she would have to answer carefully.

"I think it could be bigger. But Mara's right, I'm sure it will be fine, since we'll only be sleeping in this room, and not doing anything else" admitted Sabrina.
The girls nodded their heads in agreement, and Sabrina exhiled in relief, as this meant she hadn't ruined anything yet.
The group spent most of the night getting to know each other, before getting into bed just after midnight.
Sabrina realised that she had almost nothing in common with the girls, who all came from rich families. But she knew that in order to fit in and not be so alone, she would have to behave like she was one of them.