Gone Awry

The girl eyed him suspiciously. "Ash Weasley's the name, and now what's your problem with my cousin and his friends?"

"Weasley? Another Weasley? Oh Merlin, your family is reproducing like rabbits, Weaselbe!" Malfoy laughed looking at the red faced Ron in the back of the compartment. Ron glared in return.

"So, what's your problem this them?" Ash insisted looking at Malfoy sternly, making him shift his attention back to her.

"My problem? Nothing much really, only their existence," Malfoy sneered in answer looking down at the girl.

Her eyes formed a glare as she slapped the blond boy once again and pushed him out of the compartment while closing the door into his face. Once the door closed she let out a frustrated sigh and let herself fall back into her seat. Then she looked at the others and declared "What an ass." With that her compartment inmates were sent into fits of laughter.

For the rest of the ride they sat in their compartment, talking and laughing, with only a short break to change into their uniforms.

The great hall of Hogwarts was slowly filling up. Ash was sitting together with the Golden Trio, Ginny and Neville at the table of the Gryffindors, watching as all the students made their way into the hall, laughing, joking and telling each other about their summer holidays.

After about ten minutes the flood of students started to ebb away and all were sitting at their tables, still talking and laughing, but also eager for the ceremony to finally start.

Another ten minutes passed until the doors of the great hall opened up again and made way for the first years that where to be sorted in only a few minutes time. One after the other stumbled past them and soon they had assembled in front of the teachers table. When all stood still, a tall man with a long white beard, that was tucked into his belt stepped up to the podium and cleared his thought. The noise of the student body ebbed down instantly.

"Welcome everyone to a new year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." The students sitting at the tables either cheered or moaned at this. Chuckling the headmaster continued. "For those who are new to this school, and those who may have forgotten, I am the headmaster of this facility, Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. But now enough of my talking, let’s start of by sorting our new students into the houses. Professor McGonagall, if you may."

"Thank you Professor. Now as a first we will have to sort a new exchange student from the Wizarding School of Germany who will be attending her 7th year here, Ash Weasley if you would please come up here to be sorted now." She spoke in a matter-of-fact voice while looking around the room for Ash to stand up and come forward.

Ash swiftly looked around at her friends and family and then slowly stood up to get this torture past herself.

While she made her way across the room towards the Professors and the sorting hat she could feel all the eyes of the school on her, judging her, checking her out. When she finally reached the hat she quickly turned around and sat down on the chair, awaiting what would happen next.

While she made her way across the room towards the Professors and the sorting hat she could feel all the eyes of the school on her, judging her, checking her out. When she finally reached the hat she immediately turned around and sat down on the chair, awaiting what would happen next.

Before McGonagall sat the old ragged hat over her head and let it slide over her eyes she caught a last glance of her cousin Ron grinning up at her and giving her the thumbs up. Then everything went black...

So who have we here? Ash jumped as she heard the voice of the sorting hat inside her head. Weasley, another one? Merlin, it’s been centuries since I was on so many heads of the same family.

Ash looked around a bit, feeling uncomfortable not being able to look at the source of the voice.
Just relax, don't worry, I don't bite the voice chuckled, I'm just trying to find out where you belong.

Ash relaxed a bit, but kept ready to jump up and throw the hat across the room if she needed to.

So where to put you. All the other Weasleys I had to sort so far were always very easy, all of them being brave and extremely bold. But you are different now, aren't you? Yes, would you have come here like the others when you were 11, you'd have fit the description of a Gryffindor perfectly...

But not any more, am I correct? Sure, you have the same knack of disregarding the rules like those twins, you also stand up for your friends and family like your upbringing taught you. But you already saw too much of the world. You were brave, you were bold but during the years - especially the last one - you changed, haven't you?

You learned your lessons and your bravery turned into cunningness and self-preservation, your boldness turned into resourcefulness and then you also found out what ambition can do for you, the voice in her head seemed to be taunting her.

"How...What do you mean?" Ash asked in a soft, shaking voice.

You may have been a Gryffindor some years in the past, but now you turned into a full blooded SLYTHERIN! he yelled the last part out and McGonagall ripped the hat off Ash's head.

Ash sat there, shocked. As did the rest of the Great Hall. For a second everything was silent, letting the information of a Weasley in Slytherin sink in. Then the table on the far left of the Great Hall erupted into cheers, and two other tables in the middle clapped as well, only the Gryffindor table at far right of the Great Hall stayed silent.

Slowly Ash stood up from the chair. Glanced at the cheering table, then looked at the Gryffindor table at the other end of the hall, where she was greeted by a confused looking Golden Trio. Hermione tried to achieve a weak smile when she noticed Ash looking, but failed miserably. She could also see Ginny staring at her dumbstruck as if she were an alien. Quickly she looked away again, not wanting to see how these faces would turn into faces of disappointment or even hatred - didn't they always say how much they hated Slytherins? And now she was one of them...