Mischief Managed
I do admit to having tears in my eyes as I type this up. Letting go and leaving the place you called a home more than your own, is not easy. Leaving behind the friends you made, who stuck with you through and through, even though you prophesied their deaths more than once, is not easy. So, to make me even more nostalgic and teary-eyed, here are the chronicles of the life of a Slytherin girl.
Let's start with my first day. I remember climbing up the train steps, wondering if my Owl, a beautiful brown Barn Owl named Calliope, would be okay on the trip. I was wondering if I'd make any friends, or meet any cute Quidditch-playing boys (I was boy-crazy, even at eleven). I was also wondering what house I'd be Sorted in. Being raised by a Pureblood family (all of them placed in Hufflepuff, except for those few random cousins who found themselves in Gryffindor), I remember being told to expect being placed in Hufflepuff, because people tended to be Sorted by blood, too. I was expecting it, but not hoping to be Sorted in Hufflepuff, and it was for a shallow reason.
I did not like the color yellow.
Anyways, I was enchanted by everything. And I mean, everything. The lake was perfect, the forest held that mysteriously creepy tinge to it that just made me want to live there, the squid actually tried to tip over our little boat (but jokingly, I could tell) and the castle. Oh, the castle. Hogwarts had my heart from the moment I laid eyes on it. It was everything I could ever dream of, and more. My ten year old heart melted. I felt like I was finally home.
Before I knew it, Professor McGonagall was calling my name, and I remember nearly stumbling up on the way to the stool. Clumsy me. The hat fell over my eyes, (I was small as a kid) and I felt the Sorting Hat's judgement seeing through me like an x-ray machine. I don't remember what he actually said, but I remember him saying something about my entire family in Hufflepuff, but he didn't really believe that I belonged there, or something. Something about how my heart wasn't meant to be like my Hufflepuff relatives.
And suddenly, without any warning, the Hat made his decision and put me in Slytherin.
I couldn't help but feel proud (and okay, maybe a bit timid) when all of the Snakes stood up, cheered raucously, and clapped their hands as I approached their table. Suddenly, everything the Hat said made sense (even as my elder cousin stared balefully at me from his table), and I felt like I belonged at this table, with these people. I had heard from my cousins that Slytherin had a nasty reputation for being mean to other houses; that it was a jealous house, which is why green was their house color. Slytherins play dirty, the cousins would tell me. They cheat and they lie and they're cunning, they insisted.
Yet, here I found myself in Slytherin house, feeling strangely at ease. Looking back at that moment now, I recall my seven years in Slytherin House, and I couldn't have been happier. There was something about Slytherin that was just... perfect for me. I wasn't mean. I wasn't a bully. I didn't cheat... all the time. I was a simple person, who believed in simple things. But I wouldn't fit in any other house but Slytherin. Although, many others couldn't say the same for me. Erika, who was a year ahead me in Ravenclaw, would tell me I didn't belong with my house, because I was too nice. My own family wondered why I had been put in Slytherin. Even my House Head, Professor Slughorn, called me an 'unorthodox Slytherin'. Was it because I didn't conform to being the stereotypical Slytherin? I guess so. But, clearing up the air a little bit, I'd just like to say that not everyone in my house is a bad apple.
We're pretty cool people. I wouldn't say that for all of us, yeah, there are some pretty notorious bullies, but we're not all like that. Haters gonna hate. There are some of us who would actually be nice to you, if you'd just let us near, or at least let us talk to you. We find some of you cool, although we wouldn't admit it at until we were at least good friends.
Because I was insistent on bridging the gap between houses, I gained a lot of friends from other houses. A lot of my happy memories revolved around my friends from other houses, like how I'd find Erika sneaking around with her Gryffindor boyfriend and tease her endlessly about it, or how my supposedly-brave Gryffindor friend Pearl would shriek at the sight of any insect, or how me and my Hufflepuff friend, Ayin, would talk about Muggle things and fangirl over these Muggle things. There were a few Hufflepuff girls who'd help me with make-up and girly things, and Gryffindor boys who'd treat me as one of their own... and let me cheat off of them during classes in Magical History (I hated that class.)
But I had a lot of Slytherin memories too, like the happiness I felt when I aced Potions and Charms in my NEWTs, and when the girls in my dorm and I pranked the boys with the help of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes (The owner's really nice! He still seems a bit sad, though. I heard his twin brother died in the war), or the time when I introduced the girls to Taylor Swift and we danced all night to 'Shake it Off''. There was also that one time when I had a crazy notion to try out for the Quidditch team as a Chaser, and failed miserably and horribly. I'll never live that one down.
There are also those moments that I will never forget, like the first time I was on a broom, studying for hours in the library, performing my first spell (Wingardium Leviosa!), finally learning how to disapparate, transfiguring my cup into a teeny tiny hedgehog (Transfiguration was never my best subject, so finally transfiguring something made my entire life), and finally, the moment when Professor Slughorn and I decided my future profession - becoming a Healer.
"Miss Capacio, you do possess an uncanny talent at healing, plus your volunteering at the Hospital Wing with Madame Pomfrey has taught you leagues of knowledge... I believe that you should enter a career in Healing, my dear!" he told me with a proud smile on his face. Once I begin my career, I will return and visit him in Hogwarts, I solemnly swear.
Graduation was last Saturday, and my heart already aches to be back in the loving halls of Hogwarts. It seems like my Sorting was just yesterday. Nothing can ever compare to the knowledge I gained in that glorious institution. I'm currently in training to become a Healer; still in the theories and etc. stage, because I've yet to become a registered Healer. I guess you could say that I'm finally signing off, but don't worry, Hogwarts, I'll return.
Hopefully to work in your Hospital Wing. *wink*
Let's start with my first day. I remember climbing up the train steps, wondering if my Owl, a beautiful brown Barn Owl named Calliope, would be okay on the trip. I was wondering if I'd make any friends, or meet any cute Quidditch-playing boys (I was boy-crazy, even at eleven). I was also wondering what house I'd be Sorted in. Being raised by a Pureblood family (all of them placed in Hufflepuff, except for those few random cousins who found themselves in Gryffindor), I remember being told to expect being placed in Hufflepuff, because people tended to be Sorted by blood, too. I was expecting it, but not hoping to be Sorted in Hufflepuff, and it was for a shallow reason.
I did not like the color yellow.
Anyways, I was enchanted by everything. And I mean, everything. The lake was perfect, the forest held that mysteriously creepy tinge to it that just made me want to live there, the squid actually tried to tip over our little boat (but jokingly, I could tell) and the castle. Oh, the castle. Hogwarts had my heart from the moment I laid eyes on it. It was everything I could ever dream of, and more. My ten year old heart melted. I felt like I was finally home.
Before I knew it, Professor McGonagall was calling my name, and I remember nearly stumbling up on the way to the stool. Clumsy me. The hat fell over my eyes, (I was small as a kid) and I felt the Sorting Hat's judgement seeing through me like an x-ray machine. I don't remember what he actually said, but I remember him saying something about my entire family in Hufflepuff, but he didn't really believe that I belonged there, or something. Something about how my heart wasn't meant to be like my Hufflepuff relatives.
And suddenly, without any warning, the Hat made his decision and put me in Slytherin.
I couldn't help but feel proud (and okay, maybe a bit timid) when all of the Snakes stood up, cheered raucously, and clapped their hands as I approached their table. Suddenly, everything the Hat said made sense (even as my elder cousin stared balefully at me from his table), and I felt like I belonged at this table, with these people. I had heard from my cousins that Slytherin had a nasty reputation for being mean to other houses; that it was a jealous house, which is why green was their house color. Slytherins play dirty, the cousins would tell me. They cheat and they lie and they're cunning, they insisted.
Yet, here I found myself in Slytherin house, feeling strangely at ease. Looking back at that moment now, I recall my seven years in Slytherin House, and I couldn't have been happier. There was something about Slytherin that was just... perfect for me. I wasn't mean. I wasn't a bully. I didn't cheat... all the time. I was a simple person, who believed in simple things. But I wouldn't fit in any other house but Slytherin. Although, many others couldn't say the same for me. Erika, who was a year ahead me in Ravenclaw, would tell me I didn't belong with my house, because I was too nice. My own family wondered why I had been put in Slytherin. Even my House Head, Professor Slughorn, called me an 'unorthodox Slytherin'. Was it because I didn't conform to being the stereotypical Slytherin? I guess so. But, clearing up the air a little bit, I'd just like to say that not everyone in my house is a bad apple.
We're pretty cool people. I wouldn't say that for all of us, yeah, there are some pretty notorious bullies, but we're not all like that. Haters gonna hate. There are some of us who would actually be nice to you, if you'd just let us near, or at least let us talk to you. We find some of you cool, although we wouldn't admit it at until we were at least good friends.
Because I was insistent on bridging the gap between houses, I gained a lot of friends from other houses. A lot of my happy memories revolved around my friends from other houses, like how I'd find Erika sneaking around with her Gryffindor boyfriend and tease her endlessly about it, or how my supposedly-brave Gryffindor friend Pearl would shriek at the sight of any insect, or how me and my Hufflepuff friend, Ayin, would talk about Muggle things and fangirl over these Muggle things. There were a few Hufflepuff girls who'd help me with make-up and girly things, and Gryffindor boys who'd treat me as one of their own... and let me cheat off of them during classes in Magical History (I hated that class.)
But I had a lot of Slytherin memories too, like the happiness I felt when I aced Potions and Charms in my NEWTs, and when the girls in my dorm and I pranked the boys with the help of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes (The owner's really nice! He still seems a bit sad, though. I heard his twin brother died in the war), or the time when I introduced the girls to Taylor Swift and we danced all night to 'Shake it Off''. There was also that one time when I had a crazy notion to try out for the Quidditch team as a Chaser, and failed miserably and horribly. I'll never live that one down.
There are also those moments that I will never forget, like the first time I was on a broom, studying for hours in the library, performing my first spell (Wingardium Leviosa!), finally learning how to disapparate, transfiguring my cup into a teeny tiny hedgehog (Transfiguration was never my best subject, so finally transfiguring something made my entire life), and finally, the moment when Professor Slughorn and I decided my future profession - becoming a Healer.
"Miss Capacio, you do possess an uncanny talent at healing, plus your volunteering at the Hospital Wing with Madame Pomfrey has taught you leagues of knowledge... I believe that you should enter a career in Healing, my dear!" he told me with a proud smile on his face. Once I begin my career, I will return and visit him in Hogwarts, I solemnly swear.
Graduation was last Saturday, and my heart already aches to be back in the loving halls of Hogwarts. It seems like my Sorting was just yesterday. Nothing can ever compare to the knowledge I gained in that glorious institution. I'm currently in training to become a Healer; still in the theories and etc. stage, because I've yet to become a registered Healer. I guess you could say that I'm finally signing off, but don't worry, Hogwarts, I'll return.
Hopefully to work in your Hospital Wing. *wink*
I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.
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