A/N: Written for The Houses Competition. Hope you enjoy reading!
House: Hufflepuff
Year: 3
Category: Standard
Prompt: [Event] Being re-sorted / Requesting a re-sorting
Word count: 1294
Fair judging is always appreciated! :)
Harry Potter was walking from his second charms class. They were continuing to learn the levitation charm. In their last class only a few people managed it but most of the class could do it now.
Right after stepping over the threshold, Ron had been whisked away by the two redheads who were his brothers. He honestly felt that the ginger boy only was friends with him because of his celebrity status. A lonely feeling washed over him.
Now he was looking for the potions classroom, which was in the dungeons. His first potion class had come and gone, and Harry had disliked it just by the mere fact that his professor seemed to hate him. The hateful glaring onyx eyes was stuck in his mind.
The current problem was, however, that he had no idea where he was right now. Looking down at the map all the first years had received, Harry furrowed his brows in confusion.
The potions classroom... was supposed to be here? Or here maybe? Harry pondered as he stared intently down at the map. Sighing, he walked a bit further and looked for something he had seen before.
"Stupid! I can't believe this... it wasn't supposed to end up like this!"
Harry heard a voice mumbling around the corner. He was about to take another step and ask for the directions for the potions classroom as he heard his own surname.
"Potter."
Harry heard the voice spit out his surname and it felt oddly familiar somehow. Frowning, he stared into the air, thinking about what it could be. Suddenly, the Gryffindor's eyes flew up in comprehension: the voice was Malfoys!
Malfoy continued to mutter to himself. "It all begun with him. He wasn't supposed to reject me on the train... he wasn't supposed to stand against me in the flying lessons." The sounds of footsteps walking back and forth echoed slightly through the corridors.
Harry stared out in the air, feeling rather confused and conflicted of Malfoys words. What was he saying? I wasn't supposed to stand against him? he asked himself. He didn't answer. Suddenly, Harry heard the steps get closer to the corner he was standing behind. With wide and slightly guilty eyes, he stared straight into the grey and shocked eyes of Draco Malfoy.
"Potter," he spat out and narrowed his eyes, "are you spying on me?" The manner of his speaking was almost hissing as he glared at the other boy. His grey eyes were now dangerously narrowed and fixed on Harry.
"No, no, of course not!" Harry stepped backwards and threw his hands up in the air in a defensive position, "I was..." The Gryffindor trailed off, frowning. His arms fell to his sides as he glanced at the curled map in his right hand.
"No?" Malfoy straightened his back and curled his lip, sneering at him. The boy's demeanour changed from the initial surprise to a cold and guarded. His upbringing as an upstanding pureblood was obvious now. The slight height differences also helped. "And what are you doing here, in the dungeons, where you have nothing to do? The potions classroom is far away." he pointed out, his voice icy.
Harry shook his head nervously, he stared down at the map in his hand. Finding it rather embarrassing to admit that he got lost, but knowing it would look suspicious if he didn't offer an explanation. He chose the first. "I got lost." he admitted weakly, and tried to not look at Malfoy.
"Lost?" Malfoy sneered at him. "How do you get lost when you have a map?" he made a pointed look at the map in Harry's hands. The pureblood raised his eyebrows in an unimpressed expression, although it looked slightly ungenuine.
Harry frowned. "Yes, lost." he shrugged. Thinking that he would probably be late for potions, he looked around, hoping to spot anything that would help him get on familiar ground. As his eyes passed Malfoy, he noticed the blond's conflicted face. Harry wondered what it was. Probably nothing. And it's not like he would tell me, anyways.
As Harry decided to keep going in the hope that he'd find someone who could give him the directions, he heard Malfoy speak up behind him.
"I can show you the way back, if you want."
With surprise etched into his face, Harry turned around. As he completed his 180 degrees turn, he saw the Slytherin standing slightly awkward, looking at him. "What?" said Harry with a hint of confusion in his voice. Why would Malfoy offer me help? Did he plan to lead me even more astray and abandon me or something?
Malfoy frowned, and attempted to straighten his back. His nervousness was still shining right through the confident facade. "I said that I can show you the way," he repeated with a slight aggressive tone, wondering if the other boy would make fun of his attempt to help. "As you seem to be lost and unable to understand maps." His voice was mocking, but his face betrayed a slight hopeful expression. He quickly covered it.
What did Malfoy want? thought Harry. He looked at the blond boy in of him, with green robes and gelled hair. The Gryffindor pursed his lips, before narrowing his eyes at the expression which had vanished under the cold mask of indifference. "Ok," he said with a slight smile, "show me the way, please."
A hint of surprision passed over Malfoy's face, before it melted into satisfaction. "Well, then," he said and gestured to where Harry had initially come from, "this way, Potter."
Harry nodded and followed the boy. He hoped that his assessment hadn't been wrong.
It was after a couple minutes of walking that Malfoy spoke. "So…" he looked uncertain for a split second before continuing, "... how much did you hear?" He looked the other way, facing the wall.
Harry pondered on his answer for a moment. "Well," he said, "only something about me, and that 'it wasn't supposed to be that way' or something like that." Answering truthfully, he wondered if Malfoy would tell him what it was about.
"Hm." Malfoy turned around to him, his grey eyes piercing into his. "And you didn't understand it?"
"Well," admitted Harry, "I guess it's something about that you apparently don't like how things have turned out."
Malfoy nodded, an almost friendly expression on his face. "Yes. I'd like… ." he hesitated, "I'd like to offer you my friendship again." He managed to sound somewhat confident.
Harry stopped and stared with a curious gaze at the blond. "Well," he prayed that his skills at understanding people were right, and answered, "why not?"
They shook hands.
It was two months after Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy had struck up a friendship.
People had first been surprised, and then accepted it. Well. Most people.
Gryffindor house had reacted with surprise, as everyone else had, but then many of them had moved on to anger and hate. They didn't like that one of their own lions had befriended a Death Eater's son. Well, someone who was wildly speculated to be a Death Eater. Harry had been having a hard two months, coming back to his dorm to a vandalised bed or receiving the cold shoulder from his house-mates was not an uncommon occurrence.
He was now standing right outside the Headmaster's office. Taking a deep breath, he looked up as he heard the jovial voice telling him to come in. Opening the door, he tried to stop his hands from trembling. Re-sorting. He was going to request a re-sorting. And he was going to get one. He needed to get one. Harry entered the office, prepared to make the firm demand for one so the bullying would finally stop.