Searching for the Unknown Closed

Nova thought for a second about her letter home, wondering then if her friend had even written home, or at least talked to her brothers. She looked so disappointed to be in Slytherin, she wondered if her family knew, and what they would say.

“You go ahead,” Lara said, turning to the trophy display. “I’m going to stay here for a little bit longer, I think. Get a good look around.”

Nova nodded, understanding that her friend probably wanted to be left alone, but before Nova was about to leave, she turned back to her friend to ask. She had to at least try and help her friend, in case she was avoiding everyone because of the embarrassment of being sorted into Slytherin.

"Have you written to your family yet? Or, or talked to your siblings?" Nova offered carefully, not wanting to upset her friend. She wondered what it would be like, to not be in the same house as the rest of your family. Devastating, probably. She felt bad for her friend, hoping that her family would take it well, and know that she was not different just because she was placed in a different house. Nova wondered what Lara's brothers were like.

"Because we can write together, if you haven't written to your family," Nova gently smiled.

"Have you written to your family yet? Or, or talked to your siblings? Because we can write together, if you haven’t written to your family.“

Lara didn’t turn back to Nova, keeping her eyes trained, unfocussed, on the trophies. She took a deep, steady breath before replying.

“Uh, no. I haven’t written. Or talked. I don’t… I don’t really know what to say, and I don’t really want to know what they’re going to say, so…” She trailed off, shrugging as if it didn’t really matter, even though it did matter. It mattered more than anything to her.

What she’d said wasn’t exactly true, but it was certainly easier to say than the truth. She did have an idea as to how some members of her family would respond. Her grandparents would be appalled. Her father would be disappointed, at best. Her siblings… She didn’t know, for sure, what they’d think. Madeleine would be furious with her, probably. Their houses were rivals, after all. Hugo might have some sympathy, but he’d already graduated, so she couldn’t exactly turn to him for comfort. He’d been the first of the family to be unexpectedly sorted into a house other than Ravenclaw, so he’d know how it felt. Out of all of her siblings, her eldest brother, Joshua, would likely be the most understanding. She missed him the most. Was family allowed to visit at Hogwarts? She didn’t think so, but Joshua’s was a special circumstance. Maybe they’d make an exception.

“Anyways,” Lara said, a bit quieter now. “I don’t plan on writing, yet. Maybe ever.” She laughed a little, as if the last part was a joke, but she was half-serious. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it."

Nova looked at her friend a little worriedly. She leaned against a few large trophies--trophies more than half her size. She looked down, not wanting to leave, clearly sensing her friend was not that fine. Does she want to talk about it? Nova thought.

"I mean, you don't have to write them. But... they're going to find out... eventually," Nova mentioned, but then shook her head, thinking it was probably the wrong thing to say. Nova quickly tried to move past it, saying, "What about your siblings? The ones at Hogwarts? Have you seen them, since, you know, the Sorting Ceremony?" Nova asked, gentler this time.

Nova looked down now at the trophies she was leaning against, beginning to fiddle with some of the ribbons attached. Directly next to her shoes, she saw a shiny trophy resembling a cup. She kneeled down to get a better look at it. Slytherin House Cup Champions, 1988-1989. She then looked directly next to it and saw another. And another. She quickly saw six cups in succession, realizing that Slytherin must've won 6 times in a row. She picked one up and ran her hands over the plaque. She then took a look inside the cup itself, and saw a small, ripped piece of parchment folded up. She took it out and examined it.

"To future Slytherins," the note began. "Hey Lara, look, I found a note a previous Slytherin wrote to future Slytherins." Nova then began reading aloud.

"If you are looking so intently at this House Cup trophy to notice this note I have carefully hidden, you are probably curious about what the secret is to winning. And no one said it better than my very own prefect when I was a first year: we are Slytherins not because we are the best or better than other houses. No, we are Slytherins because we are adept at learning from others' successes and translating that into our own. We take Gryffindor's nerve and turn it into brilliant, far-fetched ideas. We take Ravenclaw's wit and use it to find the path to success with the least resistance or hardship. We take Hufflepuff's work ethic and translate it into our own, targeted perseverance towards what we strive for. We are Slytherins because we have everything all the other houses have, and something none of the others do: cunning. Don't forget, or else the House Cup will never be ours again. Yours truly, Felix Rosier, Slytherin Prefect, 1986."

"I mean, you don't have to write them. But... they're going to find out... eventually. What about your siblings? The ones at Hogwarts? Have you seen them, since, you know, the Sorting Ceremony?”

“I’ve caught glimpses of them. In the corridors, in the courtyard, passing by the library. Haven’t talked to them, but I’m sure they’ve already told our father. My cousins probably wrote home to tell their parents, too. Really,” she said, loosening a wave of hair from behind her ear, letting it fall to hide her face, “I won’t have to break the news to anyone.”

Considering it, she knew it was true. The twins were a year above her, and even though they’d been split into separate houses, they’d likely written a letter together, telling their parents in great detail what had happened. Kennedy had probably been sitting with her brothers when Lara’d been sorted, so her moms and her brother would know, too. The only one who might not have felt the need to disclose Lara’s issue was Molly, because Molly was a sweet girl, and she had common sense. If Lara was going to talk to anybody in her family, she decided, it would be Molly.

Though Lara didn’t turn around when Nova began reading the note she’d discovered, she did tilt her head, stilling, making it clear she was listening.

“1986,” she said softly. “That’s… old. What do you think happened to Felix Rosier?”