Raegan sat at the foot of their bed. Green surrounded them all around. They closed their eyes momentarily, recalling the time the sorting hat had sorted them.
“Hm… oh my… Complicated,” it said in a hushed mutter, prompting the room to silence and strain their ears. “...I haven’t seen this in a while… very difficult…”
Raegan was thinking that very moment, “What did that mean? Was I in Gryffindor? Ravenclaw? I am bright, but I wouldn’t always follow rules…”
“...Hm, yes… Ravenclaw sounds just the type of house that may suit you…” The sorting hat suddenly said. Raegan was startled. Could the hat read minds? Oh, bother… it was an omniscient hat.
“But, no,” the hat continued. “I sense a longing in you… something that goes beyond those houses… you have a strong desire, a burning passion, though, stopping at nothing… The fate of another universe rests on your shoulder… I know now: Slytherin.”
A quiet gasp filled the room, but the clapping ensued, mostly from the Slytherin side. Raegan heard someone say, “Bit odd, innit?”
“Yeah, reckon he’s part of a prophecy or sumthin’...” 203Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv6ic8xFowl
“That was a lengthy speech from the hat…” 203Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrYZzhpCum
“Usually it’d say a few 'uhms' and 'ahhs' and just sort you.”
Raegan couldn’t comprehend what was happening at first. They were excited, but when they lay on their green and silver bed that night, their heart fell to the bottom of their stomach.
Their friends. The rest of them had been sorted into Gryffindor and the other houses… Except for that Snape guy. He was alright… but not very social so Raegan wasn’t going to pry into that. They weren’t desperate.
Raegan opened their eyes, a small tear falling down the side of their face. “Don’t cry, don’t cry…” They repeated quietly, wiping them away. The moment was still hard to understand. They found everything the hat said… It was disagreeable.
Still, their closest friends swore it was not a bother to them, despite their prejudice to the other Slytherins. But why did they have to make it seem that Slytherin was so bad? It’s as if they were just tolerating Raegan… Like they were just pretending… But Slytherin wasn’t bad! It was a stupid stereotype– a bad reputation. It wasn’t their fault! Villains aren’t born, they’re made!
Raegan found themself turning over in bed, effectively smothering themself in their pillow, tears in a steady flow. Of course, things were different now. They had new friends and Snape was out of the question. They heaved a groan, trying to shake the thoughts away, but they always came back.
Who were they? What were they? What house did they really deserve to be in? What the hell did the sorting hat even mean by “strong desire, a burning passion, stopping at nothing, and the fate of another universe-whatsit”?
At that moment, they decided they gave up. Maybe if they stopped acting like a Slytherin, the hat might change its mind and tell Dumbledore to do a little switch… maybe people wouldn’t be scared of them anymore…They always acted like they didn’t care. All those hopes in life… they would give it up… if maybe it was possible to be in any other house than Slytherin…
Their parents were right. They would never succeed, or die trying. 203Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyimzidX3n
They felt like they just died– rather, died a thousand times trying to find someone who didn’t judge them based on their house or what they were going to be… It’s what they were. A person. Someone who values others before themself, but also has big dreams. Someone who didn’t mind breaking the rules if it was for a good reason… If they could even define a moment where the good reason was good.
“Defending Lily,” they thought. “I defended Lily.”
But they also defended Snape, trying to see past his exterior to find someone who wasn’t really rotten… But they recalled what he said. “Playing the hero, you won’t get anywhere.”
“I’m not trying to…” Raegan said through the pillow in a muffled sob. “I just wanted to… I wanted to be someone who wasn’t as bad as everyone thought… I– I can be good… I am… but nobody else wants to look past what they see… They only see…”
Before they knew it, their quiet ramblings dissolved into a dreamless sleep. Their dorm mates were at a party downstairs, so the room was empty, save for their owl who sat perched on the bed frame with a judgemental gaze.
“Ugh… get yourself together…” it thought. “Stop giving a shit about what people think. You’re better than that.”
“Whuh?” Raegan suddenly lifted their head, drowsy and half asleep. “Who’s there?”
“It’s me, you dumb– oh, never mind. You heard what I said,” the owl gave an indignant hoot.
“Yeah… stop giving…shit…” And Raegan fell back to sleep.
“You became an animagus for your friends…” the owl ruffled its feathers. “Do you really think that’s nothing to them?”203Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDetRNWPSRW
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[A/N]: Raegan is conflicted like most teens in the world lmfao. If you're wondering why they can "talk" to the owl, they aren't. They're just seeing the owl's thoughts. Wanna name the owl? Go ahead and imagine. I'm not disclosing it though lol.203Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl4uSOeTg2e
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The explanation for all this confusion Raegan is having: They aren't from this world, so they're still adjusting to it. You're even more confused, yes, so keep reading because I don't wanna spoil the ending! D';203Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIRynIG6w7X
