penelope | d.m.

i

PENELOPE Weasley had a happy childhood. She had many brothers, and a sister who came along just a few years after, to play with. They would go to their backyard and play Quidditch. They would pretend like they were flying up and up the sky while trying to catch the Golden Snitch. The twins would make her prank their parents—which definitely put them in a lot of trouble. Her mother would read her books where the princess meets the king and they would live happily ever after, and her father would hug her like there was no tomorrow.

That all changed when she went to Hogwarts. Hogwarts was a school for wizards and wizardry. They would learn different kinds of spells, potions, and learn how to become a better witch, or wizard.

Ronald, who was her twin brother, and her came together at Hogwarts. The Weasley family has always been sorted in Gryffindor. So it will be no surprise if Ronald and her was sorted in the same house as well.

Ronald was sorted first between the two. Just as when the hat fell on his head, the hat immediately said, "Gryffindor!" The Gryffindor table clapped and congratulated Ronald for being put in the best house ever.

Penelope was called in next. She was excited to be put in the same house as her brothers. She sat down and counted to three—and when it reaches the number three, the hat would say Gryffindor. She would sit down at the long Gryffindor table beside her twin, smiling widely for she was put where she belonged. However, that was not the case. After she counted to three, all she heared was, "Hmm, interesting. You are a very different Weasley,"

Different? Different how? This scared Penelope. Because she did not want to be different. She wanted to be the same as her family. Being different meant you were a freak, that you did not belong. Being different meant nobody would like you and you will be lonely. She cannot stand the feeling of being alone. The void of loneliness wanted her to dig herself down a hole, hoping to be never seen again.

"You have a different aura around you. You don't seem as brave for a Gryffindor. Hmm not smart to belong in Ravenclaw, too. Hufflepuff? Mhmm, probably not. Ahh," The hat's statement was scaring Penelope. They had said so themselves—she did not belong in Gryffindor. Why? She had asked herself. I am a Weasley. I belong in Gryffindor; it is my home! The sorting hat had mentioned the three houses—Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw—and the sorting had said she does not belong in any of them. All that was not yet mentioned was Slytherin, but she knew that was completely unfortunate. She will not be in Slytherin, she was sure of it. Slytherin was not her home. She would be rather in a nasty basement than sleep where all the cruel people are. The Weasley family had always despised the Slytherins—that was where all their enemy's were. It would make sense as to why Slytherin was what they hates the most, the Weasley's. The Gryffindor and the Slytherin's had always been enemies.. So if she was sorted in Slytherin, which will not happen, it would be the end of everything.

"... Slytherin. You are ambitious, cunning. I can see you do well in Slytherin,"

Penelope realised she was closing her eyes because how uneasy she was feeling. She opened it and saw Fred, George, and her twin, Ronald, looked at each other, in confusion. Not just confused, they also looked scared when the sorting hat mentioned she belonged in Slytherin.

"No not Slytherin please," She mumbled.

"Not Slytherin? Well dear, where else would I put you?" This statement was embarrassing for Penelope. She hated how he talked outloud that all the students could hear everything. Nothing was a secret when you talk to the sorting hat. The hat pauses for a second, like he was thinking until it said, "I think that's where you belong, Weasley, Slytherin!"

Her brothers looked intimitated, and Penelope looked like she was ready to bury herself after the ceremony. The Slytherin table clapped, but she did not want it. She wanted to be with her brothers, with her twin. She wanted to be where she belonged. She did not belong here. This was not where her family grew. This was not where she was going to grow a better person. In this house, she was alone. She was an outcast. She will not make friends. She was now filthy, a disgrace. She had failed her family, her mom, her dad.

Her stomach dropped, tears were forming in her eyes, but she did not let them fall. Not in front of this whole crowd.

She and her brothers were not the only one surprised by this information. So was the Professors and other students who had known the Weasley's. The Weasley's were known to be always sorted in Gryffindor—it was surprising, really surprising, to see this shocking change.

She sat at the left side of the table, where it was facing the wall. She did not want to see her sibling's faces because she knew she was going to break down if she did. She was jealous, and angry by this. After everything she prepared for, this was where she was sorted? She wanted to blame the hat; for putting her on the wrong spot but she knows that was not the case. But how could this be her fault, too? It was not. She was not evil, or cruel. She was kind, she cared for other people. How come she was sorted here?

"Hey," A voice called out. It turnes out to be a guy, who looked like it was the same age as her, "My name's Christopher, Chris for short. I'm just a year ahead of you. Anyways, it's a surprise you're here. It's because you're a Weasley and all."

All Penelope did was stare at the boy who just talked to her. She did not want to talk to him. She could feel her brother's looking at her right now, probably saying bad things about her the second after she was sorted. She wanted to prove that she was still a Weasley. She will not talk to anyone in this house, ever. She will not make acquaintance with anyone here either, whatever the cause. Just because she was sorted her, it will not change anything; she will make sure of this.

"I know what you're doing, why you're not talking to me right now," Chris said, "But if you ever need someone to talk to..."

"I don't need your pity," Was all Penelope said before rolling her eyes and resting her head down the table, waiting for the sorting to finish.

She cannot believe she was here. In this filthy table where all of her so-called-enemies sat. She never expected this to happened, never. All she thought about was Gryffindor, and not other houses. Gryffindor was suppose to be her home, yet here she was.

After the ceremony, they were now assigned to go to their houses and sleep in for tomorrow's actual first day of class. Before they seperated their ways, Penelope tried talking to her brothers, all they did was give her a sad look and walked away without saying a word. Tears was starting to fall, but she quickly wiped them for she did not to embarrass herself.

"If they're going to continue acting like that towards you, might as well stand up for youself instead of relying on them all the time," She recognized the voice right away, it was easy to tell. It was Christopher.

"I just came here and now you have a crush on me?" Penelope said as she pushed him out of the way and started to run with her fellow housemates. She just wanted this day to end. She wanted to lay down and close her eyes. And when she wakes up, all of this was going to be a dream. None of this happened. Instead, she will be in her room. When she wakes up, her mom will be downstairs, screaming they were going to be late for the train. But obviously, all of that is not going to happen. Probably never again.

Penelope was roommates with three other girls. All of them, including Penelope, did not know each other, which made it more awkward. Penelope wanted to start a conversation, but stopped when she saw most of them were just minding their own business. Who would want to talk to her anyway? She was a Weasley who, unfortunately, was sorted into Slytherin. She did not belong here, and everyone knew that.

After fixing her things, she layed down on her bed. She was surpised on how comfortable it was. This was the most comfortable bed she had ever layed down on. It felt like she was on a cloud. She could almost fall asleep here in seconds, and she did.