11; Sorted

You were a kid the first time you saw her… and so was she, only two years your junior. She was about to be sorted. You had been sitting on your table when she walked in with the rest of the first years. She stood out immediately: she and her cousins have the kind of hair that looks like it is made of liquid fire. But that's not why you noticed them. The two girls had been talking lively with the boy – who you know is named Hugo, Rose's brother and who didn't look intimidated like the rest of the kids but quite at his ease, with a grin plastered on his face to rival that of a Cheshire cat - when he disengaged himself from the row of first years and ran to the Gryffindor table to make high-fives with James and Albus Potter, while the rest of the Potters and Weasleys greeted him. Hugo was like that, still hotheaded with a big mouth and an easy joke always on the tip of his tongue.

When Professor Longbottom called her name, the entire Hall fell into silence. The sorting of a Potter was always an occasion that called for attention. You weren't that curious - there was nowhere for her to go but Gryffindor. Still, everyone had held their breath as she stepped to the stool and put the hat on her head. The hall had waited in silence for a few moments and when the Hat still wouldn't say anything, then chattering started to break out here and there. You remember that you were very much amused by the Hat's reticence and even more so as you looked over at the Weasley-Potter group scattered here and there around the other three tables. Their faces had been trapped into a collective frown and they all seemed confused.

Albus though had been very much relaxed, and had even waved at you when your eyes locked. He'd shrugged when he'd seen the question in your eyes. You'd smiled at him trying to get your amusement through and you think you manage alright because Albus smiles back with his usual calmness. He glanced at Rose too, but she wasn't looking at him at all, because she was so engrossed with her cousin's sorting, her usual "I'm concentrated" frown on. Because if Albus never let mundane things rattle him and always had a cool smile for any occasion, rose always took everything seriously.

When your father had found out, during the summer after your first year, exactly to what extent you were friends with Albus Potter and Rose Weasley, he didn't anything for a long moment. First you'd thought he was upset because of the week long detention that you got – that was a long story you never care to repeat again – but then your father started asking about them, Rose especially, and the more you told him the more he frowned. You didn't understand why he was so shocked - you've been friends with Albus ever since you two met at Teddy's house. Your grandmother had wanted to take you there so that you could meet your metamorphous cousin and Albus had been there for the same reason. You were about eight or nine years old back then and it had been so very easy to fall into step with one another. You asked your grandmother to bring you around more often and Albus asked his parents the same. You've always thought that they all knew you and Albus were friends…

But then just as you start to get really confused, your father turns to you and, in all seriousness, demands that you promise him you would never, under any circumstance, date or marry Rose Weasley. You were 12 and at the mere thought, winced inwardly and almost made a "yuck" face. You like Rose just fine, even thought she was irritating and uptight and bossy sometimes when she got anxious. Most of the time though, he was just as fun to be around as Al was. But still, dating… ewww!

"Draco!" Your mother had been aghast at what your father said and you had to admit – even thought now you laugh at the memory – so were you.

"I don't mind your friendship." Your father had quickly explained, looking more at your mother than you. "I want you to you make your own choices." He'd spoken so seriously then, that for a moment you were worried you'd really upset him. "And it's not about her blood either." he'd added, knowing that all that kind of talk annoyed you. The he told you how he'd tried to raise you so that you could have something that he never really had: a choice. A strange breed of freedom that he himself had learned to fight for almost too late in his life. Of course, by the time your father had reached this point in his speech, you had no idea what he'd was talking about anymore.

But you didn't forget what he'd said. And you promised him, rather easily even though it was so weird, that you would always be just friends with Rose Weasley, just so that you could do something he wanted because you feared for quite a while that he really was upset with you for your choice in friends.

But back to the Potter girl, because it had been almost a full three minutes and a half and the Hat still hadn't spoken. You remember your own sorting, how the Hat had hummed and said "Interesting… let's have a closer look shall we, we might be here a while."

As the entire Hall waited for the Potter girl to be assigned into a house, you remember that there had been speculation on your table if the she would join the house of the serpent, and you remember thinking it would be a cold day in hell when a Potter – or Weasley for that matter – joined Slytherin. Al and James were both in Gryffindow, most of the Weasleys too, those with the French names were in Ravenclaw and a couple in Hufflepuff (you never really could remember all their names, it was just too many of them)

You never really did understand the whole sorting thing however, but it seemed to be important to a lot of people. Your mother always used to say to you that a name doesn't make you who you are and you believed that. But still, when you had been sitting on that stool yourself and the Hat had been wondering where to put you, you'd thought that getting into Slytherin would make your father happy, seeing that he had been in the same house and his father before him. Family tradition is never to be underestimated you suppose.

But the Potter girl was another matter apparently. From your table you could see little of her face up there on that stool, but she was chewing her lips frantically. You have very little recollection of her before this moment. She had always been the little squirt that kinda got in your way whenever you were over at the Potter's. She was always running around or on top of a broom, chasing after James - you have a sneaky suspicion that the only reason she didn't chase after Albus as well was because he had told her not to while you were there - and how she was always dangling off her father's arms.

You remember how the Great Hall collectively sucked in a harsh breath - remember your own surprise - when the hat exploded in a booming and cheerful laughter, for a second stunning everyone into silence. You remember how the Headmistress had looked at the old rag like it was a mad person and not just a magical Hat.

"Very well then, as you wish it, so it shall be." The Hat had said loudly. Then it had pronounced her house and the surprise froze you, along with the rest of the Great Hall. Albus had laughed so loudly that it had bounced around the walls of the silent Hall and he'd been the first one to get up and start to clap and cheer enthusiastically for his little sister's sorting. She had given him widest grin possible as her house loudly exploded in applause and cheers to greet her and they had been so loud that if someone had been standing outside the doors of the Great Hall, they would have thought an explosion had just taken place inside. Then even the rest of her cousins started clapping and the Hall regained their senses and slowly started to applaud as well.

You remember her exited face as she sat three seats down from yours and shook the hands of those within range with a smile so big on her face that you could see all her perfect little teeth. That's when you knew that she was going to be the princess of her house - already everyone wanted to be her friend.

You thought back then that her being in Slytherin would redeem the house's reputation. Or maybe sully the Potter's reputation. Who knew…