(A/N: Thank you all so much for the positivity toward this book! It really means a lot to me!)
They reached the class, and sat down in their usual seats, and Brie sat between Lavender and Hermione.
"Welcome to Gryffindor!" Lavender greeted Brie.
"Um, thanks?"
"Aw, c'mon, Gryffindor's the best hat ever! Reverend Dumbledore gives us tons of special privileges the other hats don't have!"
"I'm listening..."
"Well, Reverend Dumbledore leads the prayer sessions," Lavender began. "And since he's a Reverend, God blesses us more than the other hats, which means we get more stuff in heaven after we die."
"Oh, when you said special privileges, I thought-"
"You thought I meant earthly privileges, didn't you? We don't have an awful lot of those... except of course for the lavish furniture, the softest beds in the whole school, vanities for all the girls-"
Lavender was cut off when Mr. Moody walked into the classroom. "Good morning, class!"
"Good morning, Mr. Moody!"
"So, for those of you who were chosen to be in Gryffindor during the annual conversion, welcome to Miracles of God. Today, we will look at the debate between the evolutionist Bill Nye and the wise soul Ken Hamm."
Hermione noticed Brie chanting something under her breath.
Mr. Moody turned on the projector, and showed them Bill Nye's opening statement.
"Now, as you can tell, this is completely preposterous. We all know that Noah's ark did indeed happen, and we don't need this so-called 'evidence' to support it."
Brie raised her hand.
"Yes Miss Hopkins?"
"Well, how do you know you're right without evidence?"
"Because the Bible says so, of course."
"But you could apply that to any book at all. You could say 'I believe that there's a magical world in my closet because Narnia told me so,' and it would mean the same thing," Brie said.
The Gryffindors were speechless. No one ever questioned the Bible, yet here this girl was, talking about the Great Flood, as if it was a fairytale.
"The Bible is the word of God, Miss Hopkins. What other 'evidence' do you need?" Mr. Moody said.
"How about geological evidence?-"
"She said the L-word again!"
Brie glared back at Harry, then turned back to Mr. Moody. "There isn't any evidence that would suggest such a large flood."
"Miss Hopkins, I understand you're used to being a Hufflepuff," Mr. Moody said. "But as a Gryffindor hat, you need to remember your new beliefs."
"But I can't conform to those beliefs, because there's no reason for me to do so."
"Well, you can't convert back to Hufflepuff or God will smite us all with His fiery wrath, unless another Hufflepuff takes your place, which is very unlikely. At least try to fit in with the rest."
Brie sighed. "Yes, sir."
"Alright, on with the lesson..."
About an hour later, they were dismissed to their next class, How to Live a Godly Life.
"So, what exactly are you learning in this class?" Brie asked.
"Well, we're learning what exactly happens in the everyday life of a godly family," explained Hermione.
"Which is...?"
"The mother takes care of the kids and the home, while the father goes to work and provides for the family."
Brie sighed. "Of course it's that."
"It's actually kind of fun," Ron said. "We even get to name our flour bag babies!"
"You'll probably be paired with one of the other converts," Hermione guessed. "Seamus or Blaise."
They reached the class, and sat down in their seats, except for the new converts, who were told by Mr. Flitwick where to go, and who they were paired with.
Brie was paired with Seamus, while Blaise was allowed to go without a pretend wife until a partner was available for him.
Mr. Flitwick handed a flour bag to Brie. "Name it whatever you want."
"Okay." Brie started thinking about a name.
Seamus went with the other boys to the other side of the room.
Brie went over to where the other girls were.
"This is ridiculous," she muttered.
"What was that?" Said Hermione.
"Nothing," Brie said.
"So, did you pick a name for your flour baby?"
Brie shook her head. "Still thinking of one."
"There's a list of suggestions," Hermione said, handing her the list.
"Thanks."
Brie looked it over. She eventually put it down and shook her head.
"There's nothing good on here," she sighed. "Wait... I got it. Atalanta."
"...Huh?"
"Ya know, that ancient Greek girl who slayed a huge boar that was terrorizing some ancient Greek city."
"No, I don't know about her."
"Of course you don't."
"Did you learn about her in your Hufflepuff classes?"
"As a matter of fact, I did, in World History."
"Oh. We don't have World History, of course," Hermione laughed. "We get all our history from the Bible."
"Don't you ever wonder what was going on in places besides America or Israel?"
"Well, not really, but now that you mention it, yes."
"It's actually quite fascinating, the Greeks and Romans especially."
"Really? What were they like?" Hermione already knew a little about Rome from the Bible.
"Well, where would you like me to start?" Brie asked. "I could talk about their mythology, their architecture and technology, their art... anything, really."
"Their mythology sounds interesting..."
Brie spent the rest of class talking to Hermione about Greco-Roman religion and mythology, and Hermione listened intently.
"...So, the moral of the story is friends don't let friends kidnap goddesses," Brie said after she finished telling the story of Theseus and Pirithous.
Hermione giggled, "That was an interesting story."
"I know! I love reading mythology, it's so fascinating."
"What do you know about other cultures and their mythology?"
"Well, I know some Egyptian myths-"
"Goodbye, class! Have a blessed day!" Mr. Flitwick said.
"You too, Mr. Flitwick!" The class responded.
The students left the classroom.
"Where are we going next?" Brie asked. "Sexism 101?"
"No silly, we have that after lunch," Ron joked.
"We're going to Godly Morality," Harry said. "Maybe Mr. Snape can straighten you out."
"I highly doubt that," Brie responded.
"Give her some time to adjust, Harry," Ron muttered.
"Yeah, she didn't ask for this," Hermione added.
"She's a Gryffindor hat now, and she's got to learn how to fit in!" Harry insisted.
"These things take some time, Harry."
"It took me no time at all to get adjusted to Gryffindor, and I was an atheist at first!"
"Still, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are drastically different. She just needs some time to adjust."
"Hey, Brie!" A Hufflepuff, named Zacharias Smith (yeah, he wasn't that great of a guy, but no one is the same here) greeted.
"Zach!" She hugged her friend. "Long time, no see! How's everything in the Hufflepuff hat?"
"Well, we're planning a goodbye ceremony for you..."
"That's oddly sweet, if not, a bit depressing-" Brie was cut off by Harry.
"C'mon! We don't want to be late for class!"
"See you at theatre club."
"Will do," Zach responded.
The Gryffindors walked into the Godly Morality classroom. Brie sat next to Parvati and Lavender.
"Good morning, class," Mr. Snape said. "And welcome to our three new converts."
Neither Seamus, Blaise, nor Brie looked very happy to be welcomed.
"Today, we will talk about the dangers of atheism," Mr. Snape continued. "Who knows what an atheist is?"
Almost all the students in the class raised their hands.
"Yes, Mr. Weasley?"
"An atheist is someone who doesn't believe in God."
Several people, including Harry, shuddered at the thought.
"Correct, Mr. Weasley. Some of the most well known atheists are Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Bill Nye, and Stephen Hawking. They seek to destroy our faith and lead us away from God."
Hermione raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss Dumbledore?"
"Why would they do that?"
"I'm afraid I can't properly answer your question, for I don't know myself."
Brie raised her hand. "Mr. Snape?"
"Yes, Miss Hopkins?"
"I think I can answer Hermione's question," she said.
"Proceed, then," Mr. Snape said.
"Atheists don't believe in God because they don't see the point. They just don't see any evidence that there is a god out there, and so they choose not to believe," explained Brie.
The class was speechless, then small whispers filled the classroom.
"Why would anyone do that?" Parvati whispered to Brie.
"One key word: evidence."
"What evidence?" Lavender asked. "We pray to the Lord all the time, and He always answers our prayers. We know for a fact that He is real."
"Not everyone experiences that, you know. And as for the Cult of Silence, I don't know why they left the faith."
"Pay attention, girls," Mr. Snape said sternly.
"Yes, Mr. Snape." The girls chorused.
"Who can explain why this is a dangerous thing to believe?"
A bunch of students raised their hands.
"Yes, Mr. Potter?"
"Atheists go to Hell when they die."
"Correct. Atheists, as well as other heretics, will go to Hell after they die."
Brie raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss Hopkins?"
"How can they go to Hell if they don't believe it exists?"
"Well, if one didn't believe in the ground, would they still fall on it if they skydived without a parachute?"
"But that's different," Brie said. "The ground is a physical part of the Earth. But God is more of a spiritual thing. He exists only because we all believe He exists."
The room was filled with gasps and whispers.
"Miss Hopkins, you do realize that is an incredibly heretical thing to say," Mr. Snape said. Even he sounded surprised.
"I'm not a heretic. I'm just speaking my mind," Brie shrugged.
"Please go to Reverend Dumbledore's office."
Brie stood up, took her things, and went out of the room.
Hermione watched her walk by nervously. She hoped nothing bad would happen to her friend. It wasn't her fault that the move from Hufflepuff to Gryffindor was difficult.