Requiem for an Unpublished Novel

Relationships

So, there was no shortage of features that could distinguish the girl from others. However, the main source of her problems was not the magic. The hat did not reveal what was supposed to remain a secret (the professors were instructed afterwards to use only the first part of her surname, which belonged to the foster parents) but said enough so that her future housemates would know her opinion about their 'house'. The fact that she eventually gave up other 'houses' slightly improved her reputation in the eyes of some: '... the 'little leader' happily waved his hand at me, inviting me to sit down with his gang. ... He said that even though I was talking utter nonsense earlier, I made a smart move.' But there were others: ' "... You should ask them before it's too late, because I've heard you have a poor opinion of our house. Such people are not welcome here." His hand slid under his mantle, which unambiguously indicated where everything was going.' (Chapter 2 Sorting).

Almost all of her free time from class was spent fighting with the wand to make it work somehow, as well as learning how to do without it. For this, it was necessary to sacrifice school entertainment, primarily sports. Not that it upset her much. She loved flying - the broomstick had been perfectly obedient to her from the very first day - but group sports did not attract her at all *. And watching others play from the sidelines was considered a waste of time for her. 'And yet, the game was an important part of school life, in which I did not participate even in the role of a fan. This separated me from my housemates much more than the peculiarities of my magic. The cultural component also could not become a connecting element between me and most of them - we received too different upbringing.' (Chapter 4 First year).

In the third year, the situation worsened: ' "Never." The human figure disappeared, and then the skull with the snake darted towards me. I waved my wand, as it was shown at the beginning of the lesson, and said the required words - the snake rotated and flew headfirst into the skull's gob, it choked on this and, in an attempt to clear its throat, spun and jumped around the room. Laughter rang out, though they tried to suppress it. The entity got back into the closet. ... Few of those gathered there that day remember the circumstances of my admission to the house. I gave myself away by reminding them.' (Chapter 7 Void). ' "Who was this man?" ... "My father." "So you are one of us!" "So she is a traitor." ... "Why did you come to our house? To betray further?" I felt a pang of conscience. In essence, it was so...' 'On that day, my house declared war on me. They put unseen obstacles in my way, poured ink over my books and notebooks, blew up glasses with pumpkin juice in my hands. The inscription 'traitor' burned above my head, dissipating when one of the professors or prefects appeared nearby, only to light up again.' (Chapter 8 Traitor).

As soon as she beat off the first wave of attacks, the second one came. It was the first and last time she attended the game, and it was the final match: ' "How could you?! You went to support another team! You betrayed your house!" "Again." "I didn't support another team. Did someone see me on the opponents' stand?" "You didn't support your own team either." "Why is that?" "You aren't in our colours." ... "You were seen among the players of the opponents' team right after the game!" ... "Don't come to our matches anymore - you bring bad luck." "If you say so." ... Regardless it was utter nonsense, I didn't want to upset anyone even more, and these merry fellows would survive my absence from the stands. ... "You are a strange kind. You chose our house yourself, but look for friendship on the side." "It's good that at least someone is able to think critically and express their thoughts and feelings normally. Fair enough. I shouldn't have done that. I just couldn't imagine that I would offend someone so much with this." ' (Chapter 9 Game).

She did not go to support another team; she came in plain clothes and openly supported no one (secretly, everyone who was on the field). Nevertheless, she took her place in the stands of her 'house'. Although her views did not always coincide with those of her housemates, she always took into account the interests of the 'house' at important moments for it, considered herself a part of it and was never shy about it: ' "Do you belong to..." ... "Yes." The brevity of my reply was reinforced by the rigidity of my voice and the challenge of raised eyebrows.' (Chapter 9 Game); ' "I've heard about some Greenwoods..." His single eye stared intently into my face, as if tending to see something in it, the magic one carried on doing his job. "... outside the magical world. ... It's ironic that their ward ended up in this house, don't you think?" "Apparently, blood does rule everything." ' (Chapter 10 Tournament); 'The colour was obvious. The silver of the snake from the former mantle's emblem spread over the fabric and made it glisten with rime. The underdress coloured in pearly white, with a light tint of green. "Shoes. Crystal? It's too much." Emerald atlas, on a narrow, not high heel.' (Chapter 11 Ball). And the words "If you say so." she said because 'Whatever they thought, I did care about our defeat and empathised with the guy that day.' (Chapter 9 Game).