Harry Potter: Instant Kill

POV Grace Potter: During the boat ride.

"The Castle looks so breath-taking, so magical. I cannot wait to start the year and make friends," I say to my brother while my eyes remain on the castle. It certainly is beautiful," my brother replies, similarly enthralled by it. A hint of trepidation passes through my chest as the castle looms over us and we approach a cliff cave just below it, I am nervous because I am not sure I am good enough to be here.

Looking back over the last few years of lessons Mom gave us, I always seemed to underperform compared to Harry, and now I have doubts in my heart about whether or not I will make Mom proud. It is with these wayward thoughts running through my head that we are guided into an entrance hall by Hagrid.

As I am standing there with my head clouded by self-doubt I overhear the prat who cannot think for himself, he appears to be trying to mock a person who I have never met before, "I wonder if your fiancé will even be sorted into a house Daphne since I doubt he even has any magical aptitude."

I was surprised that Draco openly insulted someone in front of so many people, he truly didn't think about what he said before he opened his mouth did he since he was too busy remembering what his father had said before. While I was still surprised I heard the calm voice of who I assumed to be Daphne reply to the stuck-up idiot with one of the best responses, I knew that I wanted to get along with her no matter what.

Professor McGonagall returned shortly after Daphne's shutdown of Draco and led us into the great hall. "It's not actually the open sky, it is just charmed to look like it. I read that in a Hogwarts history," came a voice from in front of me from a bushy-haired girl. This small fact made me look at the ceiling with even more awe since charms were what I liked but I could never imagine myself doing something like this.

It was at that moment that a stray thought passed through my head, a thought that asked, "Why would I not be able to do it?" It was my mother's voice and it was something she asked a few years ago when I said that charms were something I was bad at since I had a little amount of magic. Then the thought progressed turning into an ambition, I decided right then and there that I would make my mother proud by being the best charms mistress in the world.

I tuned back into the sorting in time to find out the name of the boy Draco insulted earlier, it was Erik. The hat had barely touched his head before it shouted "Slytherin," I was not surprised since he seemed to move and act like we were taught during etiquette class so he was most likely raised in a pure-blooded household. The sorting continued with me paying attention to a few friend's names and clapping along with the tables they were sorted into eventually it was my name that was called, "Potter Grace."

As my name was called all of the eyes in the hall fixed on me, it was like I was trapped in a box and their eyes were the walls closing in on me. I felt my breathing speed up unconsciously as I started to walk towards the hat that would decide my fate. The walk felt like years as the whispers and pointing spread over 3/4 of the hall, the Slytherins being taught that pointing was impolite simply whispered as if a group of snakes hissing together.

I made it to the stool and my view was blocked by the hat as it was lowered over my eyes. "I would tell you not to be nervous but that would do nothing, so let us just try to get you sorted quickly." The hat spoke to me in a polite tone that showed it knew what I was thinking and feeling. "Hmmm, plenty of courage in your blood but also a good head on your shoulders, your mother saw to that. Ah, plenty of loyalty and a love for friendship, meaning you would do well with the Puff's but what is this?" The hat continued speaking after trying to calm me, as he mentioned these things memories swam in my mind.

This is fresh, a new ambition born in this very hall." The hat said as my recent words surfaced, "Oh and such a grand one at that too but that makes this difficult. You have now made yourself suited to all houses my dear and preference to which you go to?" That last sentence left me stumped as I had never thought of which house I would want to go into, but as I thought of it I also thought about how Harry. The new ambition sprung to my head as I thought about how hard it was for me to concentrate on his pranks and his shadow hanging over me. This thought caused the hat to chuckle before it said, "Well then that decides that."

The hat's voice rang through the hall, "Tricky one but I think you should be in Slytherin." I did not pay too much attention to the reaction of the hall since I had set my heart on the path of my new ambition, if I wanted to achieve it I would have to get out from under my brother's shadow. I looked towards the table which would become "my new family" as McGonagall put it and saw Erik stand up to clap for me, causing the hall to snap out of shock and start clapping as well.

I walked towards the table and saw that when Erik sat down he left some space for me to join him if I wanted. I gladly took the seat before thanking him, Daphne told me soon after that everyone staring would get over it when the food arrived which made me smile as the eyes on me were making me nervous. I then looked at my brother who smiled at me showing that he had no hard feelings about my sorting and that he would not avoid me which finally calmed my beating heart.