Fourth Chapter

A/N: In the discussion between the Sorting Hat and Juliana, the hat's comments are not italicised. However, they are thoughts that can not be heard by either Severus or Dumbledore. I only chose not to italicise so that it would be easier to follow.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc. are the property of J K Rowling. Juliana and her story are, however, mine.

At promptly eleven am the next morning, a rather tired looking Severus escorted an even more tired looking Juliana to Dumbledore's office. The night had taken its toll on both of them, for Juliana's nightmare and Severus' single hour of sleep had unsettled them both.

Even after the events of the previous night Juliana was wary of him, perhaps even more so than before. Her stiff posture and wary eyes showed her mistrust of everything around her, as if her nightmare had awakened in her the idea that even here, she could not trust anyone. Breakfast had been silent and uncomfortable; Severus had not had the courage to break the atmosphere by talking to her. Tonight, he resolved, I shall talk to her properly. Try to find out what the content of her nightmare was. But at the moment, Dumbledore was waiting for them.

Severus raised his hand to knock, but before his fist made contact the door swung open, and Dumbledore's silvery voice greeted them.

"Severus, Juliana. Good morning. I trust you both had a pleasant night. Especially you, Juliana?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he asked about their sleep. Juliana's face stayed resolute, and she answered him in her ever polite and yet carefully detached voice.

"I slept well, thank you Headmaster."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrow ever so slightly at Severus, but continued to smile at Juliana.

"Very good. Now, I see that we have to attend the matter of your education, Juliana. As you are already above the normal age for beginning your education, I feel it would not be the best of ideas to put you in first year, and yet placing you in fourth or fifth year would not work out at the moment either. Tell me, can you do any magic at all?"

Juliana thought carefully before answering. "A little, sir. My mother... taught me some simple magic, and I've taught myself a little bit from the books that Severus bought me in Diagon Alley."

Severus was surprised to hear that piece of information. Had she really already looked though those books? Surely she couldn't have had much time yet to actually practice any of the spells in them.

Dumbledore peered over the rim of his spectacles. "Would you be so kind as to demonstrate something you know, Juliana?" He would have felt odd calling her Miss Snape.

Juliana took her wand out from her pocket and swished and flicked it at the paperweight on the headmaster's desk. "Wingardium Leviosa," she said firmly, and the paperweight rose steadily into the air until she lowered her wand. Dumbledore applauded.

"Well done. Wingardium Leviosa is one of the first charms that students here learn, but not with an object as heavy as a paperweight. I see that you are a fast learner." He smiled at her. Juliana stole a quick glance at Severus and noticed a tiny smile playing on his lips before he spoke.

"Well... Albus, what do you think we are best to do with her?"

Dumbledore thought for a moment. "I think, Severus, that Juliana is a quick learner and can no doubt fit a few years' study into a few months private tutoring. I have spoken to the staff, and they have agreed to tutor Juliana by herself in the afternoons and evenings. She can then catch up on homework and do theoretical work by herself during normal class times. In a month we can assess her again to see if she would fit in with her peers in the fourth year. What do you think of the idea, Juliana?" He looked at her, the seriousness of his face altered only by his twinkling eyes.

"I like the sound of that, Headmaster," she answered truthfully. She didn't want to be placed in a class of eleven year olds, neither in a class of students her age who were far ahead of her in their magic skills. She didn't really like the idea of having to be among other students at all.

"Then it is settled. I shall see at today's staff meeting that we draw up a timetable for you, Juliana. In the meantime, Severus can send for textbooks and school supplies for you from Flourish and Blotts." He leaned back in his chair, satisfied.

"Albus, there was one more thing that we should discuss," Severus said. "The matter of Juliana's sorting."

"Ah." Dumbledore sighed. "Yes, you are right, Severus. We do need to sort Juliana. But should we sort her now or with the rest of the first-years as they arrive tomorrow?"

Juliana shifted in her seat. "Headmaster, I would much rather be sorted now than in front of the rest of the school tomorrow, if that's suitable," she said, feeling self-conscious.

Dumbledore nodded. "If that is what you wish, then you can be sorted now. Severus, would you like to go and get the Sorting Hat?" Severus stood silently and retrieved the hat from its place on the top of one of the shelves. He was curious now as to which house Juliana would be sorted into. He hadn't been able to place her. She was Ravenclaw for her intellect, and a part of her was Gryffindor as well, because she had courage. But her mystery characterised her as Slytherin. And yet he could not say she really was any of the three. It just didn't fit.

Dumbledore took the hat from Severus' hands.

"This hat, Juliana, was created by the founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Each imbued it with their powers and characteristics, and ever since the school's founding it has sorted the students into one of the four houses."

Juliana nodded. "I know," she stated. "Severus has told me about the school a little, and about the Sorting Hat."

Dumbledore looked as if he had expected no less. "Very well then, shall we see which house you belong to?" He gently placed the hat onto her head.

For a moment, the only thing Juliana noticed was how nervous she was as Dumbledore placed the old and worn hat on her head. There was silence and she felt ridiculous. Her fingers gripped the arms of the chair she was sitting in.

Then she heard a small voice in the back of her head, faint at first and then becoming clearer.

"Juliana Aliena... Snape, it seems. And what an interesting student for me to sort. I remember you parents, I believe."

You remember my... parents? Juliana thought, shocked.

"Of course. I remember every student that I sort. Your mother... A true Ravenclaw she was. Studious and quick to think. Quite brilliant, really. And your father...

Don't talk to me about my father! She hissed.

"And yet you are so like him."

I am nothing like my father. You don't know what my father did. You have no idea what he was.

"So defensive. A very Slytherin trait. Perhaps I should place you in that house instead of in your mother's house?"

No, Juliana thought angrily, clenching her eyes shut. You can't put me in Slytherin. He was in Slytherin.

"And so was the person who is now your father."

Severus? He isn't my father. He won't ever be. He doesn't even like me.

That hat mused for a moment. "I think you'd be surprised there. Severus just has trouble showing his feelings about people. He has been through a lot, you know."

Juliana was silent. She didn't like this hat, it was telling her things she didn't want to know. It continued.

"So, where shall I place you? You have the intellect, wit and dedication that you need to be in Ravenclaw. But you also fit the characteristics of Slytherin House, even if you don't think so yourself."

Not Slytherin. I am not Slytherin. You can't put me in Slytherin. Juliana was becoming frantic. She didn't want to be in Slytherin. The very thought that she could be like him terrified her.

"No? Well then, I can't force you. But one day you will have to face that not every Slytherin is evil. In fact, the one standing next to you would soon give his life for you. If you're sure..."

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat shouted, after what seemed like an eternity to Severus. He had never seen the hat take so long to decide on a house. Juliana was shaking as Dumbledore took the hat from her head.

"Congratulations, my dear. Ravenclaw it is. You will sit at the Ravenclaw table at mealtimes; however, I think you would be more comfortable staying in your own room instead of sleeping in the dormitory," he told her with a knowing look at Severus. Juliana silently thanked him for that insight.

She looked down at herself. Her previously plain uniform was now the bronze and blue of Ravenclaw House, and it suited her quite well, she thought. Better than green and silver would have. She glanced up at Severus. His face was impassive.

So she is a Ravenclaw, he mused. I am not surprised, and yet I am. Why? And what had the hat told her to shake her so much?

Dumbledore stood. "Now, for the rest of the day you are free to do what you please. If you get lost, any of the paintings will be able to point you to where you want to go. I'm sure there's a lot for you to explore. Severus, I need to talk to you for a moment, but Juliana, you can go. I'll see you at dinner in the Great Hall. Have a good day," he said with a smile.

Juliana excused herself, still shaken from what the hat had told her, and closed the door behind her.

* * *

The rest of the day she spent wandering the corridors of the castle. It was huge; much more intricate and mysterious that any building she had ever been in before. And yet, it felt like home: warm, welcoming and friendly, and for the first time in her life she felt safe between stone walls.

She located the library on her wanderings and promptly forgot all about her exploring as she saw the masses of tomes that filled the shelves. Walking along the shelves in wonder, she jumped as she heard a voice behind her.

"What are you doing here? School hasn't begun for the term yet, you shouldn't be here," the strict voice of Madam Pince burst through her cloud. She turned on the spot, and the librarian's stony expression changed.

"Oh, you must be the girl Severus adopted. The headmaster told us about you. Did you want to find something to read?"

Juliana nodded. "Do you have the first year textbooks? I'd like to look at them." Madam Pince bustled off, and she followed until she found herself in front of a shelf filled with first year textbooks.

"There you are. I'm sure you'll find something here." She bustled off again.

Juliana pulled one of the books off the shelf. Its worn writing read "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade One." She sat down with it at one of the tables and pulled out her wand.

The first spells were easy; she had mastered them in a few minutes. Thoughtfully, she examined the length of her wand. Eleven and a half inches, made of red cedar (very rare and hard to come by in Britain, Ollivander had told her when she had purchased it) and containing a phoenix tailfeather. A piece of wood with the feather of a highly powerful magic creature in its centre. And yet it could not do magic on its own. Was it really the complex wand movements that made a spell work? Or was the wand merely a tool for making it easier?

She decided to experiment a little. Laying her wand to one side, she focused on the book.

"Wingardium Leviosa," she intoned. Nothing happened. She tried again, this time with more intent. "Wingardium Leviosa." Still nothing. She closed her eyes and imagined a ball of magic forming in her mind, and threw it at the book with all her might, once again intoning the spell. The book levitated a few centimetres above the table before dropping.

It had worked! Juliana couldn't believe it. It had actually worked. Snatching her wand back up, she at once felt guilty. Was she meant to be able to do that? Why didn't anyone else do spells without a wand? It was the intent that made the spell. The wand only helped to channel it.

She went up to the counter with the book and borrowed it. Enough for today. Throwing her intent at that book had been draining, and she was still tired from not getting enough sleep. Clutching the book to her chest, she walked back down to her own rooms, asking one of the portraits for directions as Dumbledore had suggested.

Tomorrow the other students would be there, she thought as she walked. And she wasn't looking forward to it at all. She hadn't been able to make friends easily in the past, and she didn't think now would be any different.

But I'll wait and see, she thought. Perhaps it won't be all bad.