Inell's Fanfiction Archive

Even after four years, Mandy still can’t figure out why she was sorted into Ravenclaw. She lacks the focus on her studies that many of her housemates possess and isn’t very fond of spending her free time reading. In fact, she rarely reads unless it’s necessary for an assignment, an action that causes many of her fellow Ravenclaws to treat her as if she’s infectious.

When she was first placed into Ravenclaw, she thought maybe it was where Muggleborn students were placed. She had bought a copy of Hogwarts: A History as instructed but hadn’t actually read it, just flipped the pages and looked at the illustrations. After learning that it was the House known for intelligence and excellent students, she’d known the hat had made a mistake.

In the years since, she’d proven that she didn’t belong in Ravenclaw. She wanted to be in Hufflepuff where the students were loyal to one another and they always seemed to be happy and friendly. They didn’t whisper about each other and make rude comments about marks and study habits. To be considered such a prestigious House, the members are rude, spiteful, jealous, and competitive. Unlike Slytherin and Gryffindor, where the negative traits are pretty well-known, people never seem to notice how aggressive Ravenclaws can be.

Mandy hates being a Ravenclaw. Over the last few years, she’s decided that the hat was just tired when it sorted her. It was probably still half-asleep since her name begins with a ‘B’, and that would explain why it missorted her. It doesn’t make anything better, really, but it gives her something to cling to when the rude whispers follow her. Just because she’s not in the top half of her classes and has no interest in taking subjects like Arithmancy or Ancient Runes doesn’t mean she deserves their scorn.

A House is supposed to stand together, according to those silly songs the sorting hat sings, and she doesn’t see how her House will ever work with any other when they don’t even trust their own members. She’s friendly with several Hufflepuffs, a few Gryffindors, and even a Slytherin or two. It’s easy to accept them without caring about their Houses since she knows how poorly she fits in within her own.

When she hears them attacking someone else with their sharp words and sneers, she looks up from her quiet corner and sees a third year girl studying them all. Their words have no affect on her as she twirls a radish that is hanging from her ear and muses on how tasty a Hook-Horned Horfilux, whatever that is, would find them all. Luna Lovegood is someone else that doesn’t really belong here, though she’s definitely one of the more brilliant people Mandy’s ever met. She doesn’t conform the way the other ‘Claws want, so that means she’s treated just as poorly, if not more so, than Mandy.

Their gazes meet and Luna smiles, a real smile that lights up her face and causes Mandy to smile in return. When Luna joins her in the quiet corner that she’s adopted as her own during the last four years, Mandy reaches over to inspect the radishes and ignores their housemates mutterings.

It’s much easier to be strong when you’re no longer alone.

End