 Rhibear ~ Madam Solo ~ Dark Brooding Girl ~ Accio Jedi ~ Gryffinclaw ~ Just a doll
Tina filed into the Great Hall with the first years and the other transfer students, trying to scrunch down and make herself as small as possible so she wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb. How embarrassing, being lumped in with all the little kids! Not that she had anything against little kids. She just... wasn't supposed to be here. By rights, she should still be at Beauxbatons where people sort of knew and respected her, not starting her fifth year as a complete nobody!
Her dark eyes scanned the hall while she waited in line. So this was Hogwarts?Wow, it was quite a sharp contrast from Beauxbatons! Everything was so drab! Well, except for the ceiling bewitch to look like the sky. Tina had to admit that was pretty nice to look at!She was admiring the ceiling when she heard her name called, "Dantes, Fantine!"
Tina sighed quietly as she made her way to the stool. Apparently the hat didn't get the memo that she went by Tina! It was only then that the reality of what was about to happen set in, and the dark-haired French girl was internally panicking. What if it put her in a house she didn't want to be? What if she didn't like her housemates? Or her Head of House? She kept her eyes down as she sat on the stool, both to avoid locking eyes with the people staring at her and to mask her nervousness.
"Ah, Tina Dantes, our reluctant transfer student..." the hat whispered in her ear. Of course, Tina knew about the hat from her friend and from the books she'd read, but Merlin, this was weird! "Let's see... a sharp mind, curious, creative. You've been hurt a lot in your past, and you use your books and art to distract yourself..."
What does my past have to do with putting me in a house?! Tina thought angrily. The hat's words were crossing a line!
"Temper, temper," the hat said. "I can see you're stubborn and fiercely determined, but there are some lines you won't cross to get what you want. You despise power and popularity and those who seek them, so I feel not a Slytherin..."
Tina shrunk in the seat, keenly aware of the eyes on her. It felt like she'd been waiting forever! Would this hat just put her in a house already?!
The hat laughed in her ear. "You're quite the conundrum, Tina Dantes. Now where to put you? Hmm... you're practical, hard-working, honest, standoffish but not unkind. I see you have a soft spot for young children and animals, and you're loyal to those who earn your trust. But you lack the patience of a Hufflepuff..."
And then there were two.
"You aren't impulsive, but you're not afraid to stand up for what you believe in. There's a quiet strength to you..."
Tina saw where this was going. No! Please don't put me in Gryffindor! she thought. My friend used to be head of Gryffindor, and it would be such a slap in the face to him...
"Calm down," the hat said. "So you're sure you don't want to be in Gryffindor? You have all the courage of a true Lioness. Well in that case, it better be...
RAVENCLAW!"
Finally it was over! Tina slid off the stool in a daze. She was officially no longer a Bellefeuille; she was a Ravenclaw now, and she wasn't sure how to feel about it. Not that her feelings mattered; it was what it was. So she left to join her new house table.
__________________ Old voices I had thought long since dead whisper of another life I might have led
If I could take that second chance, If I could make my life anew, If only dreams came true... |