Searching for the Unknown Closed

“I think that the Sacred Twenty-Eight has to do with, like, being a Pureblood,” Lara offered. “Like, being one of the most pure Purebloods, kind of?”

Nova frowned, intrigued and confused at the same time. "Hm, but then it would seem odd for him to marry my mom, since she's a muggle. Or not odd, since he did never tell me about his family, so what if they were the ones tossing him out, and he was just trying to protect me?" Nova thought aloud.

"I could ask my dad, and see if he knows anything about your family.” Lara said.

Nova beamed. What if our dads know each other? What if they were like, friends? Back in school?

"Could you? I mean, only if you want or it's okay, but that would be amazing!" Nova said, blushing a little from her excitement. "Maybe they were classmates--both Slytherins together!" Nova grinned, but then quickly bit her tongue. Lara didn't seem to like that she's a Slytherin... so her father probably wasn't a Slytherin. That, or she doesn't want to be anything like her father. But she doesn't seem like that.

"Um, I'm a half-blood, but as you can tell, my dad didn't really tell me much about Hogwarts at all. Does Slytherin have some sort of... like, reputation?" Nova offered.

"Could you? I mean, only if you want or it's okay, but that would be amazing! Maybe they were classmates--both Slytherins together!"

“My dad was a Ravenclaw,” Lara said, the apology clear in her voice. She wasn’t sure if she was apologizing to Nova, because her father hadn’t been a Slytherin, or to her father, because she herself somehow was. “But I’m sure he was still friends with some Slytherins, or at least, like, acquaintances. Either way, he probably knows more about your dad than I do.”

“Does Slytherin have some sort of... like, reputation?”

It did, Lara knew, but she didn’t want to ruin it for Nova. She wouldn’t be the one to label her own house as evil to a girl who didn’t know any better, even if she personally couldn't stand being in it.

“Kind of,” she replied carefully, tugging on a frizzy lock of her hair. “It’s like… More bad people have come out of Slytherin than out of the other houses, y’know? Like-“ She lowered her voice slightly to say the name. “-Voldemort, and other people who supported him. So some people think that all the Slytherins are bad, cause it has kind of a bad past. Stuff like that.”

God, she hoped she wasn’t offending the other girl. Nova was the first person she’d really had a conversation with since she’d gotten to Hogwarts, and she didn’t want to start off making enemies instead of friends.

“Kind of,” Lara replied carefully, tugging on a frizzy lock of her hair. “It’s like… More bad people have come out of Slytherin than out of the other houses, y’know? Like-“ She lowered her voice slightly to say the name. “-Voldemort, and other people who supported him. So some people think that all the Slytherins are bad, cause it has kind of a bad past. Stuff like that.”

Voldemort. That name sounded so familiar, it definitely had something to do with the war her father fought him. He sounds bad though. What... what if my father... what if he was on Voldemort's side? No, no... he's a Healer at St. Mungo's... he's a good father... he's not bad?

Nova furrowed her brows. She liked this girl--she felt like for the first time, she could be completely candid around Lara, not having to pretend like she knew more or less than what she actually knew. The first time she really felt comfortable truly just thinking aloud to another person--really the first person in her life, besides her parents, that she had ever spoken to so candidly.

"Wouldn't they have shut down the house if evil people kept graduating from it? It has to still be okay if they're letting us be assigned to the house?" Nova tried to reason, but didn't know who she was reasoning with, just thinking aloud, she guesses.

"I-I guess I wasn't really hoping for any particular house, but the Hat spoke to me and sounded so sure of itself I barely had time to think before it said Slytherin. Something to do with who I'm related to on my father's side--guessing Polaris is some big Slytherin family then. It even called my Polaris blood severe, whatever that means," Nova whispered, almost as if they were talking about something bad or secretive.

"What house did you want to be in, if not Slytherin?" Nova asked curiously.

Lara watched Nova carefully, trying to make sure she wasn’t offended by what Lara had said. To her relief, she didn’t seem to be at all - a bit confused, maybe, but not mad. It had never occurred to Lara that there might be somebody in Slytherin, or even in Hogwarts, who wasn’t intimately familiar with Voldemort’s atrocities, but Nova didn’t flinch upon hearing the name the way her dad and her aunts and uncles did, and her eyes didn’t glance around the room as if looking to make sure nobody had heard what Lara said the way her siblings’ or cousins’ did, so maybe she wasn’t quite up to speed. Lara wasn’t going to push it.

"Wouldn't they have shut down the house if evil people kept graduating from it? It has to still be okay if they're letting us be assigned to the house?"

Hearing it said aloud did make Lara feel a bit of relief. She’d never heard the matter phrased like that before, and it was a nice change from having her own questions on the matter answered with It’s complicated, Lara. No more questions about it. She nodded in agreement to what Nova had said.

"What house did you want to be in, if not Slytherin?"

“Ravenclaw,” Lara replied, without hesitation. “Almost my whole family is in Ravenclaw. Grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins. Three of my brothers. I was supposed to be, too.” She paused, swallowing back the sudden lump in her throat. “Youngbloods aren’t Slytherins.”

It was a phrase she’d heard every time one of her cousins had been sorted. She didn't want to know what her family would say about her when they found out.

“Ravenclaw,” Lara replied, without hesitation.

Nova looked down, not realizing what it must be like to feel like you were placed in the wrong house. She looked up at Lara who looked distressed, wondering if she had even told her family that she wasn't a Ravenclaw like they had all hoped for.

"Why do you think the Sorting Hat put you in Slytherin, then? Maybe it had trouble deciding between Ravenclaw and Slytherin?" Nova offered, trying to spin it in a positive light. She blushed a little then gave a small smile.

"I mean, you are my first friend at Hogwarts, and I'm glad that you're a Slytherin." Nova said, winking a little, trying to turn it into a joke. If we are even friends, but I hope we are, she seems to know a ton about the Wizarding World and I, well, know nothing. And I like that she is not scared of sharing her opinion, and is talkative, like I am.

Yet, Nova was still concerned about her house's evidently notorious reputation, and she wanted to see the good in Slytherin and find a past Slytherin to look up to, someone that she could respect and feel lucky to be sorted into this house for. Then she remembered, "And, Merlin was a Slytherin, wasn't he? I remember my father mentioning that when I asked him about the early, early origins of magic. I think that was actually the first time I heard about Slytherin, too."

"I mean, you are my first friend at Hogwarts, and I'm glad that you're a Slytherin."

A warm feeling lit up under Lara’s ribcage, melting the icy fear she’d come to harbour in her lungs. A friend. She’d been starting to worry she’d never make any, but here was Nova, who was smart and candid and good-natured - traits Lara hadn’t expected of a Slytherin, but was thrilled to find - and had called herself Lara’s friend. She grinned back at Nova, hoping the other girl understood that the feeling was mutual.

"And, Merlin was a Slytherin, wasn't he? I remember my father mentioning that when I asked him about the early, early origins of magic. I think that was actually the first time I heard about Slytherin, too."

Lara blinked. Honestly, she hadn’t know Merlin had been a Slytherin, and hearing it, she wasn’t sure if she felt more relieved or disappointed. Probably relieved, even though she’d had him figured for a Ravenclaw, because Nova seemed excited about it, and that made Lara want to be excited about it, too.

“Was he?” she replied. “That’s pretty cool. Nice to have a good wizard on our side, then.” She glanced around the Trophy Room, attention wandering briefly. “I don’t know much about, like, the history of magic or anything. We have to take a class on it here, I think, but history's not my favorite. I like to be actually doing stuff in class, you know? Like in Charms, or Potions. What about you?”

“Was he?” Lara replied. “That’s pretty cool. Nice to have a good wizard on our side, then.”

I need to look up other Slytherin alums after... if Lara says that it's abnormal to have a good wizard be a Slytherin, isn't that concerning? What does that mean for who I am? Nova thought, thinking back to what the Sorting Hat told her, about how her bloodline was "severe," and her father's family basically decided her house for her. She assumed that meant that they were just so Slytherin that clearly she was one too--she took after her relatives. But, if her relatives were all Slytherins, and Slytherins are usually bad, what does that say about her family? Was that why her father wanted to keep her out of it?

"I like to be actually doing stuff in class, you know? Like in Charms, or Potions. What about you?” Lara asked her.

Nova watched as her friend's eyes wandered around the room, then landing back on her. Nova hadn't actually thought about it that much--what she'd be learning at Hogwarts. She had just been overwhelmed with the idea of being surrounded by wizards, learning more about her relatives, and practicing magic. But, in her head, somehow she forgot about the homework aspect. This is a school, after all. She smiled, hearing her mother's sarcastic voice in her head, What, you think I'd send you to a camp for a year? Instead of the best school I can find for you?

She thinks of her father, who was already teaching her easy spells, laughing when she got them wrong. It's re-PAR-o, Novie, not REEP-air-oy he'd say with a laugh, fixing whatever she had broken properly. You're going to be a great witch, because I know you are a strong person, he'd remind her. Her parents wanted her to be great, that would never leave her.

Nova refocused herself on her friend's question. "Honestly, I hadn't thought much about it. I think I'm going to love Charms, because I practiced a few easy ones at home whenever I didn't want to clean my room. And flying--I really want to learn how to fly," Nova said with a big grin, eyes lighting up.

"Honestly, I hadn't thought much about it. I think I'm going to love Charms, because I practiced a few easy ones at home whenever I didn't want to clean my room. And flying--I really want to learn how to fly."

That was the magic word. Lara beamed, her dark eyes brightening. “God, yes!” she exclaimed, gesturing excitedly with her hands. “I love flying. My brother gave me his old broom when he was a kid, and me and my siblings and cousins always play Quidditch at family gatherings and stuff. We weren’t allowed to go higher than fifteen feet in the air, though, which sucked.”

She paused for a moment, remembering all the summer evenings spent at her grandparents’ estate, zooming along on hand-me-down brooms (because her brother Joshua insisted that a broom that’d been used in a winning match was luckier than a new one), taking turns reffing and making up new rules whenever it was convenient. With every Youngblood grandchild present, they had just enough people for full teams and a scorekeeper. She missed flying already.

“I’m gonna try out for the team, I think,” she said decisively. “I’d love to be a Chaser.” Suddenly, a thought struck her, and she hesitated before continuing. “Sorry, I totally forgot to ask. Do you, like… know what Quidditch is?”

Nova listened intently to her new friend discuss flying and Quidditch--a sport she had seen mentioned on the Daily Prophet quite often, but never fully understood. My father certainly never told me that he played, Nova thought, remembering the frame she was holding in this very room. She tried to recall the few articles she read about famous Quidditch teams, though recalling those details were as useless as the articles themselves; it was impossible for Nova to understand those Quidditch recaps without actually knowing Quidditch.

“Sorry, I totally forgot to ask. Do you, like… know what Quidditch is?” Lara asked.

Nova shook her head, grinning over how excited her friend got over Quidditch. Hopefully joining the Slytherin Quidditch team will make Lara happier about being in Slytherin... Nova hoped.

"I, like, know it involves flying. And a few types of balls, and a goalkeeper of some sort. But that's pretty much all I know," Nova explained. Nova could not even tell what position her father had played, based on the picture; they all looked the same. What position, if any, would Nova be good at?

As a kid, she played football with the neighbors, but being the youngest, they only let her play goalkeeper. Although, she didn't mind--she ended up getting pretty good, if she says so herself. Football was one sport her entire family loved; her mother used to play it back in Iran, and then loved to watch while in Germany. And then, when her mother met her father, she brought him to all the local games, practically forcing him to become a fan of the Manchester United team. And when Nova was born, it became a family affair. For Nova's 8th birthday, they went to a Manchester vs. Chelsea game, and it was possibly the greatest day in Nova's entire life. I wonder if Quidditch is similar to football.

"What position do you think I'd be good at? Or, why do you want to be a Chaser? What are the positions again?" Nova asked.

"What position do you think I'd be good at? Or, why do you want to be a Chaser? What are the positions again?”

Lara considered Nova. She was tall, and broad shouldered, contrasting Lara’s own narrow frame. First impression? Lara thought that Nova could be a good Keeper, or maybe a Beater. Being tall, she figured, would be an advantage for guarding, and Nova looked like she could be strong, too, if she trained, which would make her a good Beater.

“There are four positions,” she began excitedly. “Chasers try to get the Quaffle - that’s the ball - through the hoops - there’s three on each side - to score points, and the Keeper is basically a goalie, cause they just try and stop the balls. Theres’s three Chasers and one Keeper on a team. That part’s just like football, but it’s in the air, and you use your hands.

“But then there’s these other balls, called Bludgers, which fly around and try to knock down the Quidditch players, and there’s players called Beaters, whose job is is to hit the Bludgers with bats. There’s two on each team, and they try to keep the Bludgers from hitting their teammates, and they can hit them at the players on the rival team.

“There’s one more ball called the Golden Snitch. It’s super tiny, and it flies around like a little dragonfly, and its the Seeker’s job to try and catch it. So you have to be really fast, and have good eyes, if you wanna be a Seeker. Also, there’s only one of them on the team, so it’s a hard position to get.”

Lara paused to take a deep breath, having been speaking too excitedly to do so since she’d started talking. “Did you play any Muggle sports?” she asked. “Cause that might help you know what position you’d be good at. I think I’d be a good Chaser, because I’m fast and I like working with a team, and I played rugby at home.”