//------------------------------// // Ch4 Part 2: Common Room, Separate Houses // Story: Hogwarts' Rivals // by ColtKit Productions //------------------------------// Ch4, Part 2: Common Rooms, Separate Houses A/N: I know I said there was a Gnoll girl in Hufflepuff, the one talked about in this chapter is her sister. ### Rose wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to do. She wanted to distance herself from her housemates. After all, if she didn't accept being a Slytherin then she really wasn't one. However she appeared to have already made a friend in one Diamond Tiara. That was particularly horrifying as the little filly seemed to embody everything a Slytherin should be. Watching her interact with the others in her house she seemed to be able to get anyone to do anything she wanted. In one night she successfully convinced every Slytherin first year to join her ranks. All but that Sweetie Belle girl. Slytherin was a house with a clear hierarchy. Rose had learned it within moments of joining, if not by choice. Yet the moment Diamond entered the common room she tore that system apart. Even some of the older students were bending to her will. She just had a way about her. From the poisoned silk tongue of hers to the way she carried herself. It all screamed "Obey me or suffer" with such sheer power and authority you couldn't help but believe she could make your every waking moment miserable... and yet... there was something behind all that confidence. A strange vulnerability. It was what attracted the Weasley to the filly. She missed her friend and was clearly distraught Sweetie Belle wouldn't accept her apologies, yet she refused to show it to anyone but Rose and... Fizzface... Vys Fizzface was a Gnoll. The bipedal hyena had gravitated herself to Diamond, as if smelling out the future Alpha of Slytherin. All canines instinctually had a strong appreciation of hierarchies and this one sides with the winds of change. There were other Gnolls all over the school but this one appeared... legitimately dangerous. Well as dangerous as a first year could be. "We need to win over Applebloom," Diamond explained as they sat around a table in the early morning hours, discussing strategy. Strangely they weren't the only Slytherins doing this. Many other little clicks were doing the same, whispering and conspiring so that their group would be on top. Slytherins really were every bit the social climbing masterminds they were stereotyped as... yet their reasons where less selfish then the stories said. Vsy, for example, was the heiress of a large merchant family for the Gnolls. Apparently her family had sent her out here with the specific purpose of creating new contacts to the other races... and she wasn't the only one. All these kids... they weren't evil or hell spawns. None of them wanted to rule the world or even the school. Most were just concerned with helping their families... because their families were forcing them to constantly think of the future... to excel at everything... to be perfect... Rose could relate. It disturbed her how much she could relate to these kids. All her life Rose had been told how to act and how to think... Bet dad would love to hear he acted just like an overbearing Slytherin mother... and Mum... you couldn't grow up with the activist turned Minister of Magic without constantly being told what your opinions should be. Diamond seemed to understand that... late at night they talked about their parents... Diamond's overbearing mother and inattentive doormat of a father... and Rose's own parents. So concerned with saving the world they barely even noticed they had a daughter, unless they were correcting her... Rose had become somewhat of a bad girl because it was the only time her mother made time for her. Rose had overheard other Slytherin first years, whispering to each other in the dark. They all had similar experiences. They all wanted to make their families proud, and the only way to do that was to excel at everything... and they needed to work together to do that. "The cry baby Hufflepuff?" Vsy blinked, getting Rose back on the matter at hand. Diamond smirked, a near devilish smirk that sent a chill down Rose's spine, "The CMC are basically the leaders of all the foals of Ponyville. They would have to be. Their older siblings have not only saved the planet on multiple occasions but they are advisors to the Princess of Friendship. Will probably become our town's governesses when Ponyville becomes a city state. That will make the CMC legitimate nobility, something mom has always wanted. They will have all kinds of political, social, and business connections we could use on that alone. "Let's not forget ponies’ natural charisma with the other races. With how respected they are by the ponies it is only a matter of time before the magical beings take notice and flock to them. If we incorporate ourselves to them before that we will be part of the CMC's inner circle which will open up many doors to the other races and help all our families," Rose stomach turned... had she misjudged Diamond? Was this all just cliché latter climbing for her? "There has got to be more to it than that," Rose glared at the small pony. Vsy eyed, "Isn't that enough?" "No," Rose glared, "I don't want to run around the school manipulating people. If that is what you two want I'm out," she stood up and was about to leave... when she saw a second of panic in Diamond's eyes. It was only there for a moment, then buried so quickly no one was the wiser. It caused the Weasley to pause and hear her out. Diamond looked considerate, calculating... and so so vulnerable, "I was a horse to Applebloom these last few years... I... I want her to forgive me," Rose melted with the same sympathy she felt when she met the foal at the Sorting, "But everything I said was true. It will benefit you to get on her good side as well," Diamond straightened up in her seat, looking strangely tall despite her small size, "You get them on your side then we get all the ponies. Which in turn gets the other magical creatures from all houses. The CMC don't work like a traditional hierarchy. They are each trusted to lead on matters where they are best suited to. Scootaloo is trusted with leading them through their 'adventures' given her insane plans that somehow always work, Sweetie Belle is trusted in more morally grey areas and social matters, and Applebloom? She is their heart. She handles situations of a more personal nature. The CMC all have their own strengths and they trust each other to properly lead them in those situations. If we are able to get Applebloom to... forgive me, then the others will follow, even Sweetie Belle. Then we can use their connections to strengthen our overall goals," "What do you need us for?" Vsy eyed, "If you went to the Hufflepuff alone, all lonely and pathetic like, she would be more likely to forgive you out of pity. Wizard Hufflepuffs are all bleeding heart. You should focus on exploiting that. Having us with you will actually put a handicap on your plan," Diamond shrugged, from the glint in that smug expression it was obvious she already thought of that, "Let's call it 'emotional support'," She said with a sarcastic lip but Rose could see through it. She was being entirely sincere... the filly was scared to go to Applebloom alone and beg forgiveness. "Alrigh," Rose nodded, "I'll help," ### Gryffindor There was a loud banging on their door, waking up all the girls. One of their prefects stuck her head into the room and ordered the first years up. Many a Gryffindor gave a groan of despair but unwillingly obeyed. Scoot yawned as she stretched out her front legs well fluttering her tiny wings. The other girls were climbing out of bed and grabbing some toiletries from their trunks. They hadn't really had time to chat last night. Every creature fell asleep the second their heads hit their pillows. By Celestia, most of them hadn't even brushed their teeth. Now Scoot felt gross plaque over her chompers. Half asleep Scootaloo crawled out of bed and went to her own trunk at the foot of it. She opened it up and realized it was still set to her videogame stuff. Closing the trunk she turned the dial under the lock to 4, then opened it up again. Now there were a bunch of toiletries in various compartments at the top, with towels and washcloths in the actual trunk part. Her games nowhere to be seen. This particular section had enough shampoo and toothpaste to last her the year. She picked up one of each bottle and a toothbrush. "Why didn't you just get a bottomless shampoo bottle?" A tall, bulky, green girl raised a bushy brown eyebrow at her. Her tusk making her sound like she was talking with her mouth full. Scoot blinked, staring at her, "That's a thing?" The orc girl smiled, "Never underestimate the power of Wizarding laziness. It's caused them to think up all kinds of bizarre conveniences," she rolled her eyes. She slammed her fist over her chest and introduced herself, "Ghak," Scootaloo blinked, not sure what that was about, but she did recognize it as the creature's name from the sorting. It must be how her race introduce themselves. Scoot figured she should do the same. She casually dropped her stuff and punched her own chest as hard as she could, "Scootaloo," The orc smiled, appreciating the gesture, while Scootaloo gathered her things back up. The two stepped into the bathroom at the back of the dorm and got into the communal shower. Most of the girls were already in there. Ghak wanted to keep talking as they washed, which Scoot didn't mind but all the humans seemed bashful for some reason. Scootaloo had a much easier time than usual drying herself off, thanks to her wand. Ghak raised an eyebrow as she toweled herself, "You know magic already?" Scootaloo groaned, "It was HORRIBLE!!! Applebloom made us study this stupid book called '101 Simple Spells for Beginners'. Then she made us read all our textbooks!!! I wasted my whole summer doing SCHOOL WORK!!!" Ghak nodded with sympathy, "Couldn't you just tell her to go (What's the term) 'buck' herself?" Scootaloo's snickers turned to giggles. Then quickly devolved into near hysterical laughter. "Applebloom would kick my teeth in if I told her that. Although she would probably fix them with one of her potions. She actually did that once," Scootaloo laughed, "Besides, Spike wanted to study too and Dinky is just as big of a bookworm. Sweetie kept talking about what a great idea it was to get a leg up on the other students. Button Mash just went along with whatever his mare friend said (he's kinda a push over). Rumble and I got out voted, and badgered the whole time. By Celestia, why do all my friends have to be such eggheads," Ghak smiled, "Maybe you need someone to level the playing field," Scootaloo blinked as they wandered back into the dorm, "Hey yeah!!! Want to have breakfast with us? I need more ponies on MY side," "Depends what your side is," Ghak smirked. "Copying the answers off my egghead friends after spending our school days playing hookie," Scoot grinned as she fiddled with the knob on her trunk again and opened it up to find a bunch of clothes. "Sounds reasonable," Ghak agreed. Scoot frowned as she pulled on her white dress shirt and Gryffindor vest, "You should know it probably won't actually work like that. My friends have NEVER tolerated me slacking off school work. They are tough friends to have," "All the better," Ghak punched her chest again, "I wouldn't tolerate having weak friends, either in character or physical power. You ponies are supposed to be as strong as Orcs," "Stronger," Scoot boasted, banging her own chest to empathize her point. Ghak threw her head back and laughed, "That is what I like to hear!" Scoot smiled and slipped on her Gryffindor tie. It was really weird her uniform changed colors when she got sorted, kinda cool though. Lastly she pulled on her robe. The pony robe was designed to hang loosely off them while curving to show off their cutie mark... or in Scootaloo's case, her blank flank. The back of the robe went over her tail and curved to cover her lower legs. "Don't ponies wear pants?" Ask Ghak. Scootaloo shrugged, "Sometimes but they are a real pain in the flank, literally. They are hard to get on and harder to take off. It's just not practical to wear as part of a daily uniform. So when Rarity designed them she kept it less formal and more practical," "Right," Ghak looked down at her own uniform she just finished putting on, "I heard one of the pony sages designed the uniforms for all the creatures attending," Hers took into account how tightly Orcs like to wear their clothes but was cut in such a way it allowed for nimble movement. They even had a bit of magic in them to make them fit whoever wore them. Yet they didn't suffer the clumsy cuts usually such clothes were made with. Ghak didn't know anyone outside of an orc tailor who knew how to properly make clothes, and these she wasn't even directly fitted for! "Yeah," Scoot rolled her eyes, "She was a major pain about it to, as she made us model for her," Ghak's eyes popped out of her head, "You know the Pony sage!!!" "She is Sweetie Belle's big sis, and Applejack is Applebloom's. Rainbow Dash is sorta an honorary sister for me," Scoot grinned proudly, "and Twilight is our tutor and Spike's older adoptive sister," "The Princess of magic is your TUTOR!!!" Ghak gaped, well the other girls listened. "Friendship, not magic... although she is the Avatar of Magic for the Elements of Harmony," Scoot paused to think on that. "You have connections to ALL the pony Sages!!!" Ghak yelped at just how important her new dorm mate was. "Well... EVERYPONY knows Pinkie Pie. I'm pretty sure she's got friends in other dimensions... guess I do to, now anyway. So maybe that isn't as hard as it sounds." Scoot thought, "And Fluttershy runs the local animal shelter and let's foals come in to play with the critters. I don't know a filly in Ponyville that doesn't spend at least part of their weekend at her place," Ghak shook her head good naturedly, "Talk about being born with a silver spoon," she joked. Scootaloo figured she wasn't talking about that braty pony. The young pegasus tried not to take the jest personally... but she couldn't, "Oh yeah real silver spoon. Look, I just know ponies but that is hardly a surprise with how active they are. Everypony in Ponyville knows the 'Sages' personally. They make a point of it," She wanted to scream about how unfair, and even bucking unnatural, it was to be a Pegasus that can't fly. How that was likely the reason no pony wanted to adopt her. How her parents died when she was a baby and she was raised in an orphanage. How every pony that did show interest changed their minds after talking with the 'Warden' of the orphanage... even Dash... she wanted to cry as all those old wounds were opening up. What was wrong with her? She usually had thicker skin then this. The Orc just made a teasing, off hoofed, comment. She didn't mean to upset her... it was probably just the mental injuries she got from that stupid broom which made her so raw. She pushed it all back, all those unwanted feelings and insecurities, and smiled. She forced herself to laugh off the joke and not make a scene. Shortly thereafter they went downstairs. ### "Fred," The stuffy heir of the prankster king looked up at his Uncle... as the man handed back his badge. Awed tears began filling Fred Junior's eyes, but he was too 'grown' to allow them to fall. Looks like James was right. Uncle Harry just needed time to cool off. Still, Uncle Harry had a serious look on his face, "Don't think this means you're going without punishment. You have detention cleaning bedpans in the hospital wing for the next 2 weeks," Fred deflated, but it seemed others thought he deserved worse. "OH COME ON!!!" The orange Pegasus bellowed, "You're giving him his badge back!!!" Fred glared over at her while the Malfoy spawn ran over to her. "Come on Scoot," Malfoy guided her away, "We don't want any trouble," An orc followed them away, how fitting. "Fred," The older boy paled hearing the growl in his uncle's voice. Fred Junior gulped looking back to the Sage, "This will be my first and only Warning," the man wagged a finger at the teen, "You stay away from Malfoy and his friends. We clear?" "Yes Sir," Fred nodded, already thinking of ways around that rule. Harry didn't seem to notice the plotting, he merely warned, "Behave," before going off towards Malfoy. Scoot glared up at the man who rolled his eyes at her, "I need to speak with you a moment," "Whatever you have to say in front of me you can say in front of my friends!" Scoot snapped at her head of house. Her sense of fair play badly injured by this human giving the bully back his badge. "Alright, It's about your broom," Professor Potter crossed his arms. Scootaloo tilted her head, really not expecting that, "You mean my Skybolt?" "YOU HAVE A SKYBOLT!!!" Malfoy howlered, being overheard by all in the common room. The entire student body of Gryffindor snapped at attention. They were all gaping at the words "Skybolt". Harry sighed, he was trying to be subtle but that never was one of his strengths, "Yes... your Skybolt," he confirmed, mostly for the other students. They were all completely quiet, "The owner of Quality Quidditch Supplies told me you got one from him and I just need to set up some ground rules. Given your circumstances I will allow you to keep it," as where Harry expected rejoicing, instead the filly lowered her head. Her face wore a level of shame he didn't understand. He could talk about it with her later, as to not embarrass her in front of the other students. Instead he continued with his rules, "However, you will not fly it until Madam Hooch says you’re ready. You may not let any first years borrow it," Harry spoke louder, looking around the room, "AND IF ANYONE TRIES TO BORROW IT WITHOUT PERMISSION THEY WILL BE EXPELLED. I will have elves monitoring the broom in case students get any funny ideas. Don't get caught up in it being a superior racing broom. Instead focus on the fact it cost more than a flying car and is considered an act of grand theft if handled without permission. Depending on the Headmistress' mood will determine if we call the Aurors on top of expelling you," That was more a bluff really. Knowing McGonagall the kid would probably just be suspended after a few hours’ worth of a tongue lashing. It was kinda impossible to expect all the kids to be able to resist the temptation. The were just kids after all. Although it really was worth more than a flying car... Looking back at Scootaloo Harry insisted, "If after Madam Hooch gives you the go ahead you better not fly it without supervision. You need to at least ask a house elf if you want to fly it until 5th year. And that goes for everyone you let borrow it. Understand," There was a choir of "Yes sir" from all the students... except the one he was really talking to. The little filly looked so forlorn about the whole thing and Harry got the feeling it had nothing to do with restrictions on her broom. "Alright everyone, go down to breakfast, classes start in 2 hours. It will take everyone at least that long to find them," As everyone turned to leave, Harry held his hand in front of Scootaloo, once again trying to be subtle. This time in an attempt to get her to stay behind without the other children noticing. By the looks he got from her new friends, and the firm nod towards the door from Scootaloo, it was safe to say Harry's skills at subterfuge had gotten better. Once everyone was gone the Pegasus asked, "Yes Professor," in a much meeker voice, her mind deep in thought. "I was wondering if you had anything you would want to tell me," The pony bit her lip, debating something in her head before answering, "No Sir," Harry nodded, he didn't figure she would want to talk about whatever was bothering her, especially not to a stranger. They would have to get to know each other a little better before he could dare attempt to force the issue, "Alright, just know my door is always open... and tell me if anyone is pestering you about your broom. I know you won't but I am obligated to say that as a grownup," Scootaloo blinked, then smiled at the man's humor, "Yes Sir," She saluted with her hoof, as her wings were too small, before running off to catch up to her new friends. Both of whom were waiting outside the portrait the dorm used for a door.