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Author: Windsong Story: The Thorn in the Sand Rating: Teens Setting: AU Status: WIP Reviews: 6 Words: 21,485
Grimacing with pain, Holly tried to wring some of the water out of her sodden robes. An elderly, authoritative voice calling out, “Miss Potter?” registered as nothing more than a minor irritant to Holly. “What?” she snapped back angrily, not even looking up, before it dawned on her that that voice was horribly familiar. Professor McGonagall was a regular visitor to the Potter household, and Holly had been well warned that she could expect no favouritism from the stern Head of Gryffindor House! Holly looked up, swallowing nervously. “I’m sorry, P…Professor. I was just trying to…” She trailed off, too embarrassed to continue. “You are hurt.” It wasn’t a question. Holly nodded dumbly, and lifted her wet robes to peer at the injury to her leg. In the light of the torches around the entrance hall she could see it was a deep cut, running diagonally from her shin to her calf muscle. She had been trying her hardest to ignore it, but the sight of the blood welling from the angry looking cut made her feel sick. “That needs treatment, Miss Potter.” Professor McGonagall’s voice betrayed no concern. She was simply stating a fact. “Report to the hospital wing immediately. You should be back in time for the Sorting, if you hurry.” “Yes, Professor,” Holly whispered meekly. She turned towards the Castle doors before stopping with a frown. “I… I don’t know the way, Professor.” Professor McGonagall had been watching her closely, and now nodded, apparently satisfied with something. “Take the stairs to the first floor, and turn right. Madam Pomfrey should be in her office at the end of the corridor. The door will be facing you. Do you require any assistance?” Holly had no intention of asking for help. Her arrival at Hogwarts was going badly enough already without having to be helped into the castle. She shook her head. “I’ll be all right on my own, thank you, Professor.” As she started to make her way through the crowd of children to the door, Holly felt a hand on her arm. Chelsea was watching her with concern on her face, whispering, “I’ll come with you”. Holly whispered back, “No, stay with Simon and Brian. I’ll be fine. The nurse will fix this up in no time!” as she hobbled slowly on. Iris Parkinson was standing nearby, a gloating smile on her face. “Ooh, such bravery. Princess Potter’s going to be a hero like her parents. It’s a shame the only thing she’s good at is falling flat on her face!” * * * Holly managed a wry smile as she knocked on the nurse’s door. She remembered her joking with Matthew about the ‘Potter Memorial Hospital Bed’, and here she was, having to go to the hospital wing before even being Sorted. She suspected that would be a record, even for her family! Madame Pomfrey recognised her immediately. “It’s Holly Potter, isn’t it? What have you done to yourself?” Holly lifted her robes to show her injury. “Cut my leg, and then fell into the lake, Madame Pomfrey.” The nurse sucked in a breath. “Nasty. We’ll need to make sure there’s no infection. Just sit on that bed there while I get some ointment.” While the nurse was rummaging around her store cupboards, Holly limped over to the bed she had indicated. As she was about to swing herself up, she noticed some writing etched into the Headboard. ‘Hope was here, bored to tears’. Holly’s groan brought the Nurse bustling back. She chuckled when she saw what Holly was looking at. “Yes, you are following in your sister’s footsteps! I wouldn’t expect a Potter to stay out of here for too long, but do try not to give me as much trouble as your sister did, or your mother for that matter. I’m getting too old to keep chasing after rebellious Potter girls!” She leaned forward to apply some green ointment to Holly’s wound. “Now, this will sting a bit.” * * * As Holly hurried back to the entrance hall, she offered up a fervent wish that she never had to find out what the nurse considered would sting a lot! She was glad there had not been anyone else in the Hospital to hear her yelp of pain when the ointment was dabbed onto her cut. She stopped at the doors of the Great Hall to catch her breath, and flex her leg experimentally. It still ached, but she was confident she would be able to walk properly now, rather than limping slowly. Opening the doors just enough for her slim body to slip through, Holly took her place amongst the other first years waiting to be Sorted. The Hat must have just finished its song, because there was Professor McGonagall walking forward, unrolling a parchment. “Adambra, Kayleigh!” she called out, and a nervous looking girl started the long walk forward to be sorted. Holly heard the hat shout out “Hufflepuff!” to a round of polite applause. Simon appeared at her side, mouthing, “Are you all right?” She nodded with a smile. “Fine,” she mouthed back. As the Sorting slowly progressed, Holly took the time to take a good look around the Great Hall, finally resting her gaze on the staff tables. There were Hagrid and Remus Lupin, applauding as “Lampblack, Wishaw” was welcomed to the Slytherin tables. There too was Severus Snape, applauding his latest recruit rather more enthusiastically. The nurse’s words about ‘following her sister’s footsteps’ came back to Holly. Was she going to follow Hope’s footsteps into Slytherin? She snapped her attention back to the sorting when McGonagall called for “Mayer, Chelsea.” Holly aimed a smile and a nod of encouragement at her friend as Chelsea made her way forward. The Hat barely touched Chelsea’s head before deciding, “Gryffindor!” It was a different story for Simon though. The Hat seemed to take ages before deciding to place him into Gryffindor with his sister. Even down the length of the Great Hall, Holly could see a puzzled frown on Simon’s face as he slowly walked to the Gryffindor Tables. She would have to ask him about that later, now she had to watch Iris Parkinson get Sorted. The Hat didn’t take long over her either. With a complete lack of surprise, Holly heard it shout out, “Slytherin!” “Well,” she thought, if I’m really following Hope’s footsteps, I’ll be sharing a dormitory with you for the next seven years.” She mentally reviewed the contents of Uncle Fred’s parcel, wondering whether to use the Biting Bedsheets or Shoe Shrinkers first. Momentarily lost in this happy daydream, Holly hardly noticed Professor McGonagall call out her name. A nudge from Brian set her off on her walk to the front of the Hall. A hush came over the Hall, and the staff all seemed to be taking a keen interest in her, none more so than Professor Snape, who had leaned forward onto steepled fingertips to watch her closely. “Oh well, might as well give them a show!” Holly thought, tossing her hair back defiantly, and taking her place on the stool with a dramatic swirl of her robes. * * * Darkness engulfed Holly as the Hat was lowered over her head, seeming to cut off all trace of the outside world. The voice of the Hat entered Holly’s thoughts. “Oh ho! Another Potter girl.” It chuckled. “I surprised your sister, will I surprise you?” “No,” Holly thought back, “I know you will try to choose what’s right for me, and if that is Slytherin, then so be it.” “Hmm. Plenty of courage here, and determination too.” The Hat paused for a second. “No shortage of ambition either, I see. Yes, you are more like your sister than you realise.” Holly thought resignedly, “So, Slytherin for me as well, then?” “You would do well in Slytherin, of that there is no doubt,” the Hat’s voice took on a more serious note, “but I sense the mark of destiny on you. You and Mr Mayer both. He will need Gryffindor bravery, but you… you will need true understanding to face your destiny, and the best place to learn that is… Ravenclaw!” Holly realised that final word had been shouted out loud. As she made her way through loud applause to the Ravenclaw tables she reflected that the Hat had managed to surprise her after all. Ravenclaw was the last place she had expected to be, and what on earth was all that stuff about ‘the mark of destiny’? * * * The Sorting ended with Brian Weasley being sorted into Ravenclaw as well. He joined Holly with a grin on his face. “Ravenclaw! Who would have thought it? Dad’s going to be furious I’m not in Gryffindor!” His grin spread even wider. “Mum’s going to tease him to death about this.” They didn’t know anyone else in Ravenclaw, but there was a steady trickle of people coming up to introduce themselves. Everyone seemed nice and welcoming, and Holly thought she would probably enjoy herself in Ravenclaw. Finally a tall sixth-year boy came over, followed by Professor Flitwick himself. “Hi, I’m Marcus Capstock, Captain of the Quidditch team. Do you play Quidditch at all?” Brian snorted at this. “She’s a Potter. Of course she plays Quidditch!” Marcus Capstock looked pleased. “If you’re anything like as good as your sister, I’d like you to try out for the team. Professor Flitwick has already arranged for us to waive the ‘no first-years’ rule, because we’ll struggle to put a decent team out otherwise.” Holly looked down at the floor. “I’m not as good as Hope.” She heard Capstock’s tiny sigh of disappointment and waited half a second before looking up to fix him with blazing eyes. “I’m better!” Brian was chuckling again. “She’s so modest, too!” He looked at Marcus Capstock. “Seriously – she’s good. Hope came over last month to try out a new prototype racing broom and Holly beat her 7 – 3, and Holly was only using her mum’s old Hummingbird.” Professor Flitwick was looking as delighted as Marcus Browning. “What do you normally fly, Miss Potter?” “A Firefly, Professor.” He looked surprised. “Isn’t that a child’s broom?” Holly nodded. “Normally, yes, but mine’s been tuned up to near racing specification, without losing any manoeuvrability. I’m too light to handle a full-powered racing broom, but I can out-turn anything in the sky!” “Did I mention how modest she was?” murmured Brian. Holly hit him on the arm. “And Brian here is an excellent Beater.” Capstock looked like someone for whom Christmas had come early. “Trials are in three weeks. Make sure you’re both there.” He walked away rubbing his hands together gleefully. * * * Professor Flitwick lingered for a while by the benches, having a brief word of welcome with all his new House members. He didn’t speak to Holly again, but he glanced back at her, a happy smile on his wizened old face, before going back to the front table to take his place among the other teachers. When he took his seat, Holly was sure she saw Professors Snape and McGonagall each pass something to him. An ethereal voice next to her ear made Holly jump. “I see Snape and McGonagall have paid up on their wager, then.” The Grey Lady was only rarely seen outside of Ravenclaw Tower, but today she had joined the other House Ghosts at the welcoming feast. Holly was scandalised. “Wager? Have they been betting on where I would be sorted?” The Grey Lady gave a rich chuckle. “Well, Snape and McGonagall started it. They were both so sure you would be joining their Houses that they had a bet on it. I persuaded Professor Flitwick to join in their wager once I learned you had been paired with the wand called ‘Ra’. I knew that the owner of that wand had to come to Ravenclaw.” Now Holly was really confused. “My wand has a name? Why did nobody tell me that? And why does it mean I had to come to Ravenclaw?” “As to why you have not been told this, I cannot say. However, the reason you had to come to Ravenclaw is simple. Your wand was originally made for the last direct descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw. The evil wizard Grindelwald killed her when she was a child, to prevent her coming into her powers.” The Grey Lady looked at Holly speculatively. “Only someone who truly belongs in Ravenclaw could possibly use that wand.”
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