Every Way A Person Can Be Saved

The Sorting

"Yes, but my parents aren't magical," Alaris said as she played with the hem of her skirt. "I'm the first witch in the family. It was a bit of a shock for my parents," she laughed, completely missing the change in Regulus' expression. "When I began making oranges explode by looking at them – or the time that I managed to turn the cat into a teacup, and just by petting it! I suppose –"

"You're a mudblood?" Regulus spat nastily.

Both Lily and Severus gasped, while Alaris stared at Regulus in confusion. It was clear that "mudblood" was not a conversational term.

Severus stood up after hesitating for a moment. He moved across the cabin and held the door open. "I think you'd better find somewhere else to sit."

Regulus stared blankly at Severus before standing. "And I assume you and your friend are also of questionable lineage?" He nodded toward Lily.

"I'm a half-blood, not that it's any of your business, first year." However demeaning his words might've been, their power was snatched away by Severus' hunched shoulders and quivering hands.

Regulus turned his nose up and strode out of the compartment. Lily put down the cauldron cake she had been about to eat, her appetite diminished. Severus quietly returned to his seat and resumed his staring out of the window. The sound of the train's chugging filled the compartment entirely.

Alaris opened her mouth tentatively, "Er, what did he mean?"

Lily looked up, her expression soft. "You mean, what did he mean by 'mudblood'?" Alaris nodded. "Some people –," Lily paused to correct herself, "some wizards hold the ridiculously outdated belief that wizards with muggle parents are somehow dirty, or less pure than they are. But you must pay them no mind. They're just going along with whatever nastiness their parents spew at them. There is no merit to the idea of "impure" magical blood. Trust me, I spent many nights in the library researching the subject myself."

Severus remained silent, though he was looking at Lily out the corner of his eyes. His posture had become quite stiff at the mention of blood purity, which did not go unnoticed by Alaris. Lily continued talking, her arms now crossed defensively over her chest.

"Besides, the entire concept of blood purity is unsustainable – they're probably planning on marrying their cousins rather than "tainting their magical blood," she spoke in an obviously mocking tone. "Don't let them get to you. Just surround yourself with the right kind of people and it won't be a problem."

Alaris did want to befriend the "right kind of people," though after her encounter with that seemingly normal and nice boy, she wasn't sure who she would be able to trust in this new world that she'd stumbled upon. Before she could consider the ramifications of this new information, a voice filled the cabin. "First years – we will arrive at Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." Alaris suddenly felt a pit of nervousness in her stomach.

Lily leaned forward, setting a hand on Alaris' knee. "Better get your robes on, you won't want your clothes to get all dirty in the boats."

"Boats?" Alaris exclaimed, wide-eyed.

Lily gave her a knowing smile. "Don't worry about it, Hagrid will take good care of you." She stood up and reached for the bag above Alaris, from which she pulled the robes that the Hewett's had bought in Diagon Alley. Lily helped Alaris pull them onto her shoulders as the train came to a stop. Severus stood again to open the compartment door while Lily pulled her own bag down onto the seat.

Alaris gave Severus a halfhearted smile before slipping into the crowded corridor. "Say, Hewett!" Alaris turned to face the boy. "Did you really turn your cat into cup?"