"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Aries Black opened her eyes.
This can't be happening. It can't be.
"Miss Black? Please make your way to your house table." Professor McGonagall said, waiting to call out the next student.
Aries shook her head. "Miss, there must be a mistake. I can't- there's no way."
"The hat sorted correctly, please make your way to your table."
Aries looked at her twin brother Regulus who stared at her wide eyed, he'd not been sorted yet.
She made eye contact with Sirius sitting at the Gryffindor table with his friends, he gave a nod and smile, a way to comfort her as she walked down the steps.
"I heard her brother was sorted into Gryffindor last year." a student whispered.
"The whole family is supposed to be in Slytherin." her friend nodded.
Aries stumbled towards the Hufflepuff table, she felt hot under her robes, she wanted to floor to cave in and swallow her up. Her parents would be mad.
"Remember Aries, Slytherin. The noble house of Black are all Slytherins." her father's voice rang through her head.
"SLYTHERIN!"
The sorting hat shouted, Aries looked up as her brother walked towards the emerald green table. He took a seat next to their cousin Narcissa, Regulus glanced at Aries for a split second then turned away.
"Oi, Air?" Sirius whispered, he leaned over from the Gryffindor table, his face filled with concern. "You okay?"
She swallowed hard.
What will they think? Mother is going to kill me.
"Aries?"
"I'm fine, Sirius." She lied.
"Don't overthink it. I was in your position last year."
Aries remembered the year before, when her Mother found out about him.
"GRYFFINDOR!" Walburga's screech echoed through the house, Aries and Regulus sat on the stairs overhearing their parents. "No child of mine is in Gryffindor!"
"It must be a mistake. I will send an owl to the school tomorrow, they'll put this right." Orion said.
But they didn't. Sirius belonged in Gryffindor. Which meant Aries belonged in Hufflepuff.
A young girl sat opposite Aries, her hair was in several braids, her dark brown eyes studied Aries then she smiled. "Hi, I'm Dorcas Meadowes."
Aries gave her a small smile. "Aries Black."
"Nice to meet you, I'm so excited to be here." Dorcas said, excitedly. "My dad told me all about Hogwarts, he was in Ravenclaw."
Aries stayed silent.
"I saw you get sorted, you looked petrified."
"That's because she's not supposed to be here." a boy next to Dorcas said. "She's supposed to be in that house over there."
Dorcas turned to look at the Slytherin table. "I mean the green is nice, but Hufflepuff is way better."
"Oh definitely," he nodded. "I'm Benjy Fenwick."
Aries didn't listen to the two talk, she didn't realise that the sorting had finished and Professor Dumbledore had made the food appear until Dorcas offered her some mash.
"You not eating?"
"Not hungry."
It was a slight lie, she had been excited for the feast all day. She didn't even buy anything off the trolley lady in case she filled herself up. But now the food was in front of her and she couldn't help feeling sick.
"Air, you need to eat." Sirius said, he sat down next to her with his back against the table.
"I had some potatoes."
"No she didn't." Benjy said, as he shuffled peas into his mouth, Aries gave him a glare before looking down at her empty plate.
Sirius raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms. "Well I'm not leaving until you eat. Because last year I went through the same thing as you. James wouldn't leave me alone until I ate... at least something. Look, they've got chicken pie, you love chicken pie."
Aries looked at the pastry but she couldn't stomach it.
"They're going to kill me." she whispered so only her brother could hear.
He shook his head. "No they won't. I'll admit it they will be angry, but they won't hurt you. I promise."
Aries didn't answer him.
"Air, listen to me. I won't let them hurt you okay. I'll make sure to mess around this year, I'll get as many detentions as I can, that way when we go back next year they will have completely forgotten about your sorting."
She shook her head. "They'll never forget."
"Oh come on, you make Hufflepuff sound terrible." Dorcas said.
"Hufflepuff is amazing, we're trustworthy and loyal and we have badgers! Badgers are so cool." Benjy said.
"See, you're going to be fine, Air." Sirius said, patting her shoulder. "Now eat, you'll feel better."
Aries sighed as she put some pie on her plate and picked at it slowly. Sirius smiled as he left to go back to his friends. She only recognised James, she had met him in Diagon Alley during the summer with Sirius but she didn't know the other two boys.
One of them smiled at her, he had a kind smile, his eyes were a light blue like the sky in summer. She smiled back then ate the rest of her food, she got to know Dorcas and Benjy better.
Dorcas was halfblood, her father was a pureblood and her mother was a muggle, she said they had met after her mother's tea set she bought from a charity shop had been cursed and tried to bite her arm off. "Been in love ever since." she told them.
Benjy was also halfblood, but his parents had divorced when he was five, he lived with his father in Swansea.
"Okay, Hufflepuff first years!" a seventh year girl stood up.
"I'm Alice Fortescue, your head girl. Follow me to the common room."
Aries, Dorcas and Benjy followed the other first years down to the basement, the Slytherins walked past them walking towards the dungeons.
Aries caught sight of Regulus but he didn't look at her, he was talking to Amycus Carrow, they laughed as they followed the pathway.
"Okay Hufflepuff's, this is the entrance for the common room." Alice said, stopping in front of the door. "Now, you have to be careful when you're entering, if you tap the wrong rhythm you will get drenched in vinegar, and I won't lie. It isn't nice." she tapped on the door and it opened swiftly.
As Aries walked in she gasped in amazement, she had never seen a room so bright with colours. Grimmauld place was always dim, they barely ever opened the curtains to let the sun in. Vines cascaded out of the windows, the sofa in front of the fireplace looked like a giant cloud that you could fall into.
She felt as though a weight had lifted off her shoulders. She felt safe, although she still didn't feel as though she belonged.
"See, it's not too bad." Dorcas said, admiring the honey coloured room.
"This is our home for the next seven years." Benjy said.
Home.
It felt strange hearing that word.
At her home she would be branded a traitor.
___________________________
Hello!!!!!
I'm back again after a while, how's you?
Welcome to Traitor a little side project fic I'm writing, I hope you enjoy it please no Peter slander (until I tell you too)
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Bye ♈️