Summary: Molly Prewett is on her way to Hogwarts as a first year student. Which house does she get Sorted in?
This story won second place in the In-House Back to Hogwarts Challenge.
Categories: General Fics Characters: None
Warnings: Alternate Universe
Challenges: Series: None
Chapters: 1
Completed: Yes
Word count: 3047
Read: 2112
Published: 09/29/09
Updated: 09/29/09
Story Notes:
Molly is generally shown as someone who follows rules strictly and only loves academic excellence over everything else. I just wanted to show that, well, she had her share of fun too.
This is hestiajones of Hufflepuff writing for the In-House Back to Hogwarts Challenge.
Thanks to Apurva (DracoGurlFurever) for being such a great beta.
Disclaimer: All characters and premises belong to J.K.Rowling.
Note: The Prewett Family Tree shows Fabian and Gideon as younger than Molly; in my fic, it is the other way round. The AU warning is for this.
1. Knowing Who She Was by hestiajones
Knowing Who She Was by hestiajones
Knowing Who She Was
A group of three young children were standing at the platform. Two of them were twins; the other was a girl who looked younger than them.
The two boys were deep in conversation. “The first person to get to the entrance gets all the Chocolate Frogs, obviously.”
“You are on, Fab,” replied the other. “What do you say, Molls?”
“C’mon, Gid! Molls can’t join. She’s a girl.”
“Fab, I think you forgot something. It’s her Chocolate Frogs we are betting.”
Gideon slapped his forehead. “Right! I forgot.”
“Molls?” asked Fabian.
The girl did not reply. She was sniffling to herself, and did not seem to be paying attention.
“Molls!” he called again, irritated at the lack of response. “Molls, you have us at school. What are you so worried about?”
The girl still did not reply. The other twin rolled his eyes, but put an arm around her anyway. “Look, it’s going to be fine, Molls. You’ll be a Gryffindor, like us, and then we’re going to have the time of our lives.”
“Don’t lie to me, Giddy!” cried the girl, shaking off her brother’s arm. “I know what you’re going to do. You two will leave me as soon as we reach school, and then…” She stopped speaking, unable to continue due to a new outbreak of tears.
The two boys looked at each other and shrugged helplessly. Fortunately, their mother came to their side almost immediately. “Your father is speaking to Mr. Doge, and - Molly! Darling, why are you crying? What’s wrong?”
She glared at her sons. “If you two did anything-”
“What?” roared the twins in unison. “We’re the ones who have been trying to get her to shut up while you were nicely chatting away with Mrs. Longbottom-”
“What’s wrong?” asked a man, entering the scene. “Molly, what’s happened?”
The girl wiped away her tears. “It’s just that…I am going to miss the two of you,” she said sadly.
The two boys gagged and took several steps backwards.
The man kneeled and took his daughter’s hands in his. “Listen…we are always there with you; you know that. You’ll have plenty of friends there, and your two brothers will keep you laughing and make sure that no harm comes your way.”
“Yeah, we will!” cried the twins, although they were still trying to pretend that they did not belong to this sentimental group. “No one messes with the Prewetts’ sister.”
The girl nodded, breaking into a hesitant grin. “I know.”
The woman patted her head tenderly and said, “We will write to you every week, darling.”
“That sounds good,” replied the girl. She hugged both parents tightly. Then, she abruptly turned towards her brothers. “I am ready, you two.”
“What?” asked Fabian, puzzled.
“Well, we are racing to the entrance, aren’t we?’ asked the girl, smirking back.
Comprehension dawned on the twins’ faces, but the girl had already raced ahead. They rushed after her, running straight into the wall. When they reached the other side, she was waiting for them.
“And that,” said Molly, grinning, “felt great! I win!”
The two boys looked stumped. “You cheated!” they cried together.
“No, I didn’t,” said Molly. “I warned you. Look! There’s Mummy and Daddy.”
“Oh! Are they now?” said Fabian, in mock surprise. “Gosh, I didn’t know.”
“Ready, then?” asked Mr. Prewett, directing his question towards all three of his kids.
“Yes,” answered Gideon, taking their trunks from his father.
.
“Listen, you two,” began Mrs. Prewett sternly, “I want you both to look after Molly and make sure she gets there safe and sound.”
The two boys nodded obediently, not uttering a word.
“I am sure Molly can look after herself,” said Mr. Prewett, ruffling his daughter’s hair.
The three children were then hugged “ once again “ by their parents. Ten minutes later, they were inside the train, looking for a place to seat. They found a large one right at the end, and the two boys hauled their trunks into the compartment.
“Right,” said Fabian. “Gid, I’ll take care of our stuff. Help Molls here find a compartment, won’t you?”
“No can do,” replied Gideon seriously. “You aren’t too careful with stuff, and we’ve got those glass scales there. I will look after our stuff, and you can go with Molls.”
“Can’t I sit with you…here?” asked Molly anxiously.
The two boys looked at her incredulously. “You, Molls,” said Fabian, “are a girl.”
“And, you, Fab,” said Molly angrily, “are my brother. So, I suppose, you two will just have to suffer me.”
Without another word, she pushed her trunk inside and took one of the window seats.
“Molls!” cried Gideon irritably. “You’ve got to go. You’ll only bore our mates “ I know you will.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” replied Molly. “I’m sure I can keep them entertained “ especially if I tell them how I beat you in that race to the entrance.”
“What?” shouted both boys. “You can’t do that!”
“Don’t you dare tell me what to do and what not to do - I’m your sister, and you’re supposed to take care of me.”
The two boys looked at her helplessly. Just then, a group of three boys barged into the compartment. “Gid! Fab!”
They all slapped each other on the back, unaware of the fact that they were not alone. Then, one of them finally noticed Molly. “Er…” he said, clearly unsure why she was there.
“Oh!” said Gideon. “That’s “ that’s Molly, our sister.” He turned towards her and said dismissively, “Molly, your brothers’ mates.”
“Hello, my brothers’ mates!” said Molly sarcastically, looking around at them.
The boys looked affronted by her cheek. However, one of them chuckled. “Hello, I’m Arthur Weasley.” Molly blushed slightly, but she managed to give him a nod.
Arthur Weasley introduced the rest of the boys to Molly. “That’s Caradoc Dearborn, and this is Benjy Fenwick.”
They all smiled at her uncertainly. Gideon and Fabian looked a little embarrassed; however, they did not tell their sister to leave. Instead, they helped the rest of the boys to bring in their baggage.
Molly suddenly felt a little awkward. “Um…I think I’ll go find another compartment-”
“Yeah,” began Fabian, visibly relieved. “We could-”
“No need,” cut in Arthur pleasantly. “Everywhere else is full, actually.”
“Oh!” said Molly, blushing again. She was so used to fighting with her brothers that she wasn’t sure how to behave with a boy who was actually nice to her. Unable to think of a way to return Arthur’s kindness, she took out her Chocolate Frogs and offered them to the boys.
The Chocolate Frogs instantly cleared the atmosphere, and all awkwardness went away after a while. Even Fabian and Gideon seemed to accept their sister’s presence. In fact, they had begun boasting about how their little sister had beaten them in a race to the entrance.
“Really?” asked Arthur, turning to Molly.
“Er…yes,” replied Molly. “It made me feel better “ the running, I mean.”
“Well,” said Arthur, smiling. “A bit of a run always helps calm the nerves.”
“Hey, Art,” called Caradoc. “Did you bring the “ ahem “ thing?”
Fabian and Gideon glared at him. Arthur looked shiftily at Molly first, then spoke cautiously. “Er…yes…it’s in my trunk. I “ er “ will show you when we get back to our dorms.”
Something in Arthur’s nervousness made Molly suspicious “ they were definitely up to no good. “What ‘thing’?” she asked, looking at Arthur directly.
“Nothing, Molls,” replied Gideon. “Keep your nose out of this.”
Molly glared at him. It hurt her to hear her brothers talk to her in that tone while she was with his friends. “Since you are getting so defensive, I’m sure this is something you’re not allowed to bring to school. Is that it, Arthur?”
“Erm…” said Arthur, not looking at her. “Nothing like that, Molly. Just a -”
“Aw, git over it,” said Benjy thickly. “Artie, ‘ere, has brought a radio transitter, Miss Molly.”
“A what?” asked Molly in confusion, not even noticing Benjy’s mocking ‘Miss Molly.’
“It’s a Muggle invention,” said Arthur eagerly, “and a brilliant one at that. A radio transitter will play music and news and…stuff.”
“Muggle invention?” asked Molly. “But Muggle inventions won’t work at Hogwarts!”
“That’s where Art’s father came in,” replied Caradoc. “He’s disabled all the…Muggle things, and enchanted it so that it can now play whatever we record on it.”
Arthur looked proud. “Yes, and I’ve already recorded some wizarding music on it. We’ll have fun at the common room this year!”
“But “ but,” spluttered Molly, “I’m sure it won’t be allowed at school. It’s still a Muggle artifact.”
Arthur colored a little.
“That’s our little sister,” said Gideon irritably. “She plans to become a Prefect.”
Molly began to retort “ and then stopped speaking, because it was true. She did want to become a Prefect. Her parents had been Prefects, after all.
“In any case,” cut in Caradoc. “My pa says the Ministry is thinking of using this invention. So, we’ll have a wizarding network and all.”
“Which means we will be pioneers at Hogwarts,” added Fabian, clearly in awe.
“You will still be breaking rules!!” cried Molly.
“Molly, the First Year Prefect,” said Gideon. The boys all laughed at this. The only one who did not join in was Arthur, who looked a little embarrassed. “Going straight to Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw or Slytherin…definitely not brave enough to be a Gryffindor…”
Molly looked out the window, sulking, and did not talk for the rest of the afternoon.
***
“First years, over ‘ere!” cried a huge man. Molly looked up at him wonderingly. Her brothers kept talking about how huge Hagrid was, but she had never imagined he would be this gigantic.
“’Lo, Hagrid!” cried the five boys, all at once.
“Yeh little devils!” said Hagrid, chortling. “This yer sister, Gid, Fab?”
“The very same,” said Gideon. “First year, so we’re here to help her find a boat.”
“I’ll be fine by myself, thank you very much,” said Molly tartly. She was still angry with her brothers.
“No, you won’t be,” said Fabian firmly. He did look somewhat apologetic. “Here! You two,” he called out, looking at two other first years “ both girls “ who were getting into a boat. He took Molly’s hand and led her over to them. “Mind if our sister joins you?” he asked, rather forcefully.
“No,” said one of the girls, smiling. “Come on in.”
Fabian helped Molly get into the boat, in spite of her many protests, and finally went back to his friends. A flustered Molly apologized to the two girls for her brother’s behavior.
“It’s okay,” said the girl who had spoken before. “I’m Marlene Peterson. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Molly Prewett,” said Molly brightly.
“Amelia Bones,” said the other girl; she was wearing rather heavy spectacles. “Was that Fabian or Gideon?”
Molly was surprised. “You know my brothers’ names?”
“Yes,” said Amelia, smiling. “My brother, Edgar, is in Ravenclaw; same year as them. He says your brothers are very funny. He tells us their jokes every now and then.”
Molly knew about Edgar. He was top of the class class, and her brothers actually made fun of him often because he was always studying. She felt a little bad for having laughed at those jokes now, and decided to lie a bit. “Oh! So you’re Edgar’s sister? Gid and Fab also talk about him “ they say he’s a decent chap. He’s the best student of his year, isn’t he?”
Amelia nodded happily.
“What about you, Marlene?” asked Molly. “Do you have any family here?”
“No one,” replied Marlene. “I was raised by Muggle parents. I don’t know if I have any wizard relatives.”
“Oh...” Molly trailed off, not quite knowing what to say.
“Hello? Is the boat full? Can I sit here with you?” asked the frantic voice of a girl. She had raven black hair which gleamed in the moonlight. “I “ I am a Muggleborn, though…”
“Yes, of course,” said Molly, wondering why she had added the last sentence.
The girl jumped in.
“Is something wrong?” asked Marlene.
“Er…I just tried to sit with this brother and sister, and they asked me if I was a pure-blood. What’s a pure-blood?”
“A pure-blood is someone-” began Amelia.
“Who were they?” cut in Molly.
“The siblings?” asked the new girl. “Amecto, and Alycus, or something like that, anyway. First, they asked me if my parents were wizards, and I told them no. And they said I was a Mudblood and I was not to sit with them.”
Both Amelia and Molly looked shocked to hear this. “Utter rubbish!” said Amelia.
“What’s all this about blood?” asked Marlene, who looked just as confused as the new girl.
“It’s very stupid,” said Molly. “Pure-bloods are those who have wizards and witches for parents. Or rather, someone whose ancestors are all magic. ‘Mudblood’ - I hate that word, and we do not even say it in decent company “ is used for someone who was born of Muggle parents.”
“What’s so bad about that?” asked the new girl. “Oh! I am Hestia Jones, by the way.”
“There’s nothing bad about it, Hestia,” said Amelia. “Some of the pure-bloods prefer to think they are nobler than the others, that’s all.”
“Are they more talented than the Muggleborns?” asked Hestia.
“No,” answered Molly firmly. “It has nothing to do with talent. They’re only being twits; that’s all.”
“But where does this leave me?” asked Marlene thoughtfully.
“Same place as everyone,” said Molly. “And, Hestia, if you see those two idiots again, please point them out to me.”
***
The first years were led into a chamber by a strict-looking witch.
“Welcome to Hogwarts,” she began. “As students of this school, you will be Sorted into four houses “ Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw. Each house has a noble-”
“There they are!” whispered Hestia to Molly. Molly looked around and saw a pair of first years; they were looking smug in spite of their uncombed hair and generally unkempt look.
Molly snorted. “Just wait till the Professor leaves.”
Hestia giggled.
The Professor was now leading them out of the hall. Molly took out her wand and sent a jinx towards the siblings “ it was one her brothers had often practiced with their fake wands at home. She did not know whether her brothers’ demonstrations were correct or not, but she had decided to try it anyway.
They were. The Tripping Jinx made the girl trip on the boy’s robes, and they fell on to the floor together, in a heap.
The first years roared with laughter.
“Silence!” cried the Professor. “Get up, you two. And do clean up, won’t you?” She pointed her wand at the now-flushing pair. Their hair magically was now plastered on to their scalp. The other first years tried not to laugh as the witch marched on without another word.
***
“Bones, Amelia!”
Amelia Bones walked towards the Sorting Hat.
“Ravenclaw!”
Molly sucked in a breath. At least she would have a friend if she got into Ravenclaw.
A few minutes passed.
“Jones, Hestia!”
Molly saw Hestia putting on the Hat.
“Hufflepuff!”
At least she would have a friend if she got into Hufflepuff.
A few more minutes passed.
“Peterson, Marlene!”
One minutes later, the Hat shouted. “Gryffindor!”
At least she would have a friend if she got into Gryffindor.
“Prewett, Molly!”
Molly walked towards the Hat with heavy feet. The last things she saw before the strict- looking witch put the Hat on her head were her brothers, who had stood up in anxiety…and Arthur Weasley, who had two thumbs up and was smiling at her.
“A Prewett, I see…” said the Hat.
Molly did not give any reaction.
“Your mother was a Gryffindor…brave and bold…”
Molly smiled.
“Your father, on the other hand…was extremely intelligent and favored Ravenclaw…”
Molly nodded vigorously.
“Your brothers…mischief was all I saw in their heads at first...”
Molly actually giggled this time.
“But they possessed your mother’s braveness and boldness to a great degree…You , however…”
Molly froze. “I can be brave, too,” she blurted out.
“Oh, you are courageous…but your cleverness outweighs anything else…”
“I beat my brothers in a race to the entrance of the station!” began Molly hotly. “I can be as bold as them.”
The Hat chuckled softly. “Ms. Prewett, I am afraid you rather prefer to play by the rules...and your dream is to study and perform well as a student…”
“Yes,” argued Molly. “But, if I have to break rules for the right reasons, I will.”
“Indeed…” said the Hat thoughtfully. “Indeed…”
Molly really did not know why she was arguing with the Hat. She did not mind being in Gryffindor, or Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff. Slytherin “ well “ she had never given it a thought, seeing as no one she had known had ever gone to that house. All she knew was “ she did not like it when the Hat had implied she could not be as bold and as brave as her brothers. She perfectly held her own against them, thank you very much. And she valued courage above others…or did she? Didn’t her brother always say she would make the kind of student who would rather be a Prefect than a fun person?
“A person can be a Prefect and a fun person at the same time!” she told the Hat irritably.
“Of course,” said the Hat, chuckling again. “Of course. GRYFFINDOR!”
Molly took off the Hat to tumultuous applause. The first thing she saw was her brothers, who were jumping madly. Smiling, she made her way towards them, readying herself for the many adventures that Hogwarts offered its students.
End Notes:
Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.