Silversong was nervous, while she rode a moving spiral staircase up to what was presumably Dumbledore’s office.
Sometime during the Quidditch match, though she wasn’t sure exactly when, she’d managed to start thinking of herself as a herself, while in form as Silversong, at least. Before the match, she’d figured that playing the part she’d picked for her female form became a lot easier when she became the part. After the match, she knew she had been completely correct… and had found Snape rather quickly.
So, worried that she’ll mess up in front of Dumbledore but fairly confident it won’t be because she forgot she wasn’t Draco, she followed Snape this far.
They reached the top of the stairs.
She took a deep breath as Snape reached out to open the door. This was it- where she would meet Dumbledore.
Snape opened the door… and there was no one there.
Snape paused, looking around the room for a few seconds, before he sighed. “We will wait here,” he stated, sounding tired. “The Headmaster is… on his way.”
So, she stood, in the middle of the room, and waited.
There was a large bird, sitting on a perch in the corner of the room. It had red and gold plumage.
The bird spoke. It was just an amused trill, but he understood it anyways- much like the owl at breakfast. And now we’re all waiting for him. He really does like making people wait for him, doesn’t he?
“I guess,” she muttered.
The bird tilted its head, and chirped inquisitively. You can understand me?
She nodded. “I think so. I’m pretty sure all the Equestrians can.”
Perhaps I should ask Dumbledore to go become an Equestrian. It laughed. As if.
She chuckled with it. “Actually… that is possible, with some of Lyra’s spells.”
It is? Whatever. What’re you here for?
“I- I don’t know,” she answered. “He just… summoned me.” She looked at the floor. “Two weeks ago.”
“Two weeks ago?” Snape asked suddenly, making her jump; she’d forgotten he was there.
“Uhh- yeah,” she muttered. “According to the owl, at least. It couldn’t find me until this morning, for some reason.”
Then the door opened.
Silver turned.
Dumbledore entered the office.
“Ahh, Silversong,” he began, walking around to his desk. “About time.” He sat down.
“You might like to know,” Snape muttered, noticing Silver’s wince. “The owl apparently couldn’t find her until this morning.”
Dumbledore froze. “Pardon?”
Silver nodded. “It told me,” she said. “It couldn’t find me until today.”
The bird in the corner trilled softly. Was it a he or a she?
She looked back towards it. “I didn’t ask.”
It flew over to a perch on Dumbledore’s desk. Shame.
She winced… then looked at Dumbledore, and winced again, barely stopping herself from taking a step back. He was studying her. “Um…” She felt something poking at her, from him, but she could also feel something else- she couldn’t tell where from- blocking it. “What…?”
Dumbledore blinked suddenly, and sighed. “Sorry. Now then, miss Silversong. Do you know why you’re here?”
She blinked, and decided to succumb to the urge to make a smart-alec response. Draco never would have, but she wasn’t Draco. “I climbed the stairs.” She shrugged. “You asked me to come.”
Dumbledore sighed. Silver recognized the twitch from restraining the urge to headdesk. “Do you know why I called you?” he asked, sounding distinctly irritated.
She shook her head. “I was hoping you’d tell me that.”
Dumbledore sighed. “Any reason you can think of that I might need to talk to you?”
She shook her head again. “Nope.” That my name doesn’t show up on the attendance rolls, probably.
He sighed. “You didn’t think anything was off when you never got sorted?”
She blinked. “I could swear I was sorted into Slytherin.”
Dumbledore scowled. “Really…? With the Sorting Hat and everything?”
“Yeah. I distinctly remember her saying something was unusual, when I put her on.”
Dumbledore blinked. “Her?”
She nodded. “Sounded like a ‘she’ to me.”
“Huh… whatever. Something must have… but…” He sighed. “I mean, you’ve got a class schedule, and grades- the Castle magic tells us that much. Which shouldn’t have been possible without being sorted, yet…” He took a deep breath, and let it out. “Whatever. Something or another must have caused you to become un-sorted at some point.”
She blinked. “... Okay. So, do we just say ‘Slytherin’ and be done with it?”
Dumbledore shook his head. “Unfortunately, there is only one way to get you sorted- and that’s with the Sorting Hat. Which means we’re going to have to hold a Late Sorting Ceremony at breakfast tomorrow… and your House assignment could change.”
“How would that affect my schedule?”
He shrugged. “You would have to ask Princess Twilight and her people. I heard they optimized class schedules at some point, based on individual qualities, so it might not change at all. In any case, you can be certain that we’ll make sure you’re aware of any changes before classes start on Monday.”
“And… you said at breakfast tomorrow. Wasn’t the original Sorting Ceremony at dinner?”
Dumbledore nodded. “Yes. The main Sorting Ceremony is only at dinner because that’s when the students reach the castle, and you have to be sorted to have an assigned bed.” He sighed. “Speaking of which, where have you been sleeping?”
“In the Slytherin dormitories,” she supplied. “I… wasn’t aware anything was wrong.”
Dumbledore sighed. “Very well. Go ahead and sleep there tonight, then we’ll make sure you have a permanent place to sleep tomorrow.” He waved her off. “You may go.”
She bowed, and left the room. Snape went with her, as far as the gargoyle at the bottom, where he parted ways once the door had closed.
She glanced back once she made it around the corner.
So, her name- Silversong- showed up on the attendance roll… but hadn’t been sorted?
How did that work?
She found Harry, Hermione, and Diamond in the castle courtyard. The latter two were practicing standing on their hooves, while Harry watched them amusedly.
“Hi,” she greeted, walking over.
Hermione looked up, waved- and promptly fell over.
Diamond looked up, and smiled. “There you-Aaah!” She’d tried to take a step, tripped, and fallen as well.
“S-Sorry,” Silver muttered.
“Not your fault,” Diamond grumbled, scrambling back to her hooves and carefully lifting herself back into a standing position.
Hermione grunted her agreement, also getting back up again, though not nearly as fast.
“Hello again,” Harry greeted. “How’d the visit with Dumbledore go?”
“About as well as it could have,” she grumbled, sitting down next to him. “I was apparently un-sorted at some point, so I’ll have to get re-sorted tomorrow morning.” She sighed. “It’s going to be a pain.”
Hermione nodded. “Yeah, that would be a pain.”
“Look at the bright side,” Diamond muttered. “You won’t be stuck with Slytherin anymore. You can go where you will.”
She closed her eyes, looking away. “But what would my father say?”
Diamond scoffed at that. “Really, Silver? Is that something that you would ask, or something he would ask?”
She winced. “I… He would, certainly. But, can I afford to not ask it? He’ll still be writing me letters regularly, and if he hears I got moved to another house-!”
Diamond cut her off. “Then don’t tell him. This is your life, Silver- not his, and not your father’s. Your life.”
Harry tilted his head. “Who is ‘he’?”
“Um,” Diamond muttered, looking at Silver.
Silver blinked, looking at Hermione. “Uhh…”
Harry looked at Hermione.
“Not mine to tell,” Hermione declared.
Harry scowled.
“I mean,” Silver muttered. “If he can keep the secret, I don’t see a problem.” She looked around. “Oy! Crabbe! Goyle! Where’s Draco?”
The two boys, who happened to be the only two other students in earshot, looked around, and scrambled off towards the castle.
Hermione blinked. “What…?”
“They’ll be trying to climb the stairs to the girl’s dorms,” Silver answered. “Gets them out of earshot.”
Harry blinked. “Why the girl’s dorms?”
“Because they’re too stupid to figure out which one a boy can actually enter. Anyways.”
Hermione stumbled over, and sat next to Harry. “So… you want me to tell him?” Hermione asked.
Silver shrugged. “So long as he can keep the secret, why not?”
Diamond fell down again, and sat up where she fell. “Well, he’s a student instructor as well, so I daresay he can.”
She blinked. “You are? Which subject?”
“Defense Against the Dark Arts,” Harry answered. “Anyways…?” He looked between Silver and Hermione.
“Well… She gave her permission, so…” Hermione shrugged. “Remember how I said she’s from a high-born family?”
Harry nodded.
“Well… that’s both true, and not true. Thing is, she’s actually a British student- specifically, the one Lyra tested her ‘Papa Tango’ on.”
Harry blinked. “What’s that?”
“Uh… something with which she hoped to make a British witch or wizard capable of Equestrian magic, and passing through the Gate into Equestria, if I remember right. Anyways, one of its side effects gave her the ability to transform into Silversong, the girl you see, at will.” She looked up at Silver. “Probably through your Animagus magic, I want to guess.”
She shrugged. “That’s what I think too.”
Hermione nodded. “Anyways, her original identity, the one she despises… was from a high-born family, and would be what they’re referring to as ‘him’.”
Harry’s eyebrows rose. “You mean she was originally a boy?”
Silver nodded.
“Said original identity…” Hermione looked over at Silver, who smiled, and nodded again. She took a deep breath. “Is Draco Malfoy.”
“Lucius- my father- likes to control everything I do. I think he’s trying to set me up to be a successful noble prick, but I don’t want it.”
“You know,” Hermione muttered. “Considering how thorough your transformation is, I’d wager to guess he isn’t Silversong’s parent at all.”
Silver looked at her. “Really?”
Hermione nodded. “I’d have to go through Madam Pomfrey to be sure, but…” She shrugged. “I mean, a wizard’s animagus form is almost never biologically related, in any way, to their human form.”
“So… Little problem. Technically, he is my animagus form, and this is my natural form.” She gestured down at herself.
She shrugged. “Well, you don’t look in any way related to him, so I’d wager to guess it’s something similar. Again, I’d have to ask Madam Pomfrey to be sure.”
“If…” Harry began. “If you’re worried about problems with the sorting… Try asking the Hat. She would have put me in Slytherin, had I not asked for Gryffindor.”
Hermione blinked. “Why did you ask…?”
He looked at her. “Because that’s where you were, and I valued our existing friendship way more than the possibility of more. Still do, as a matter of fact.”
Hermione blushed, and looked away. “Oh please, Harry. Don’t worry about me.”
“Why not?”
She turned to face him again. “Because…” She paused, scowling.
Silver grinned. “Because he cares about you, of course.”
“Oh come on!” Hermione complained, blushing redder than before and turning away again.
“What?” Harry asked, tapping Hermione’s shoulder with one hand. “Am I not allowed to care about my friends?”
“You know,” Diamond mused. “You three would make a great herd.”
“A what?” Silver asked.
Diamond blushed. “Er… Appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone. That usage of the word is still an Equestrian National Secret.” She took a deep breath. “It’s… an Equestrian term for a marriage involving more than two parties.”
Harry raised an eyebrow. “And did you really need to say that? We already get enough people saying we’d make a great couple.”
Diamond shrugged. “I guess. And if it’s real, Silver ought to feel it- there’s a reason divorce is almost unheard of in Equestria, and it’s because we really feel it when we encounter the one- or ones- we’re destined to marry. Given how new Silver is to her Equestrian magic, and how young that same magic is, I wouldn’t be surprised if that part isn’t active yet, or if she just hasn’t noticed it.” Then she tilted her head. “Well, and how young she is. It wakes in most Equestrians at around twelve years of age.”
“Would us not being Equestrians interfere with it?” Hermione asked.
“No idea. I want to say probably not, but it could. You almost certainly wouldn’t feel the bond the way she would, but…” She shrugged. “Who knows?”