I walked up the long driveway, my emerald-green robes billowing slightly in the late July breeze. It was cold and cloudy, and nothing like it had been back at home. I dragged my trunk behind me and hitched my bags up farther on my shoulders. I approached the door, and held the snake-shaped knocker in my hands. I gave the door 4 sharp raps with it, and stepped back. A man with platinum-blonde hair answered the door, and smiled when he saw it was me. He ushered me in, and motioned for me to put my bags by the door.
"Rose Riddle, it is marvelous to see you! I haven't since… well; you were only about 7 months old!"
"It's nice to see you too, Mr. Malfoy."
"Please, Rose, call me Lucius. Here, please, put your bags down, my son Draco will take them upstairs to your new room." I nodded, and set them down. A pale boy about my age came down the stairs, smiled at me, and motioned for me to follow him. I waved at Lucius, and walked up the stairs, clutching my locket. The staircase was long and spiraling. I didn't think it would ever end, until we finally reached the long corridor. He turned right, and I followed behind him. He stopped at the very last door at the end of the hall. He opened the door to reveal soft, shining, mint colored walls, and two beds on opposite sides of the room, both with matching green and silver bedding. The chandelier in the middle of the room was hanging lazily from the high ceilings, casting tiny rainbows across the room. He set my bags down next to the bed on the far side of the room, and smiled at me. He walked back over to me, and held out a hand, I shook it, and he said, "I'm Draco Malfoy, and I'm guessing you're Rose Riddle?" I nodded and grinned at him. "What kind of wand do you have? I like to compare…" I held mine out, and he held his out to me.
"It's black oak and emerald, with basilisk fang center. It was the mother of the Dark Lord's basilisk. You know, the one that Harry Potter killed two years ago?"
"I hate Harry Potter…" he said, tensing up. I glanced at his wand, and saw it was very pretty. I walked over to my bed, and opened up the first bag I found. I was soon greeted by the smiling, waving picture of my best friend, Sandy, and her boyfriend, Chris. I sighed, and put it on the bedside table. I pulled out some silvery-gray robes, the precise color of Draco's eyes, walked over to the full-length mirror between the two beds, and held them up to myself.
"What do you think of this color?" I asked.
"It's very nice." he said and smiled. "I'll let you put them on and I'll meet you in a few minutes. Third door on the left hall." He walked out of the room, and out of sight. I took off my green traveling robes and pulled on the silvery ones. I found an emerald necklace and slipped it over my head. The locket trilled with life, holding part of my Uncle Tom inside of it.
"Stupid Horcrux…" I whispered to myself. I pulled it off, and put it into my bag, in a secret compartment that would stun anyone else who tried to open it. I looked at myself in the mirror. Just not right… I thought to myself. His parents weren't even in robes… I pulled them off, and took out a black cotton dress and put it on. Much better, I thought. I left the emerald and silver necklace on. I tucked my wand into one of my knee-high converse, and walked out of the room.
The third room in the left corridor was incredible. In the middle of the back wall was a king-sized bed with glowing, silver sheets. The walls were painted an incredible dark green color. Draco was sitting on the window seat, drawing on a piece of light blue parchment with a brilliant red quill. He looked up for a second, and did a double take.
"What happened to the silver robes?"
"Well, you're not wearing robes, and neither are your parents… I felt out of place."
"Well, none the less, you look just as great." I smiled and blushed. I mumbled a thank you.
"So… What are you drawing?" I asked, looking at the piece of parchment curiously.
"Oh, it's just… I'll show you later, okay?" he said, and stashed it under a pillow. I nodded, and sat down next to him. I stared out the rain-streaked window, wishing it were sunny and warm out. "Wishing it was sunny and warm out?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah… it would be nice, considering it's July." he nodded. He put a hand on my shoulder reassuringly. I felt myself blush. "Funny, I put on a dress, and yet I could use a sweater." I laughed. "Here," he said, striding across the room to a dresser, "you can wear this one." He pulled out a gray and green sweater and handed it to me. "Part of the Hogwarts uniform, I really hope you don't mind…" I smiled, shook my head, and put on the sweater. It was warm, and made me feel home-y. "We should be getting our letters today, and I had Dad ask Dumbledore to send along the sorting hat too. I think I see the owls now!" he said, pointing out the window. He opened it, spraying us both with cold water. The two owls swooped in, and dropped the letters and hat on the seat before setting off again. I took a deep breath and picked up the hat. "No matter what house you're in, I'll still be your friend at Hogwarts if you want me to be." Draco said. I breathed in, and put the hat on my head. It fell over my eyes, and started to speak to me.
"Well, this is obvious. SLYTHERIN!" I took off the hat, and looked at Draco. He was smiling hugely, and stood me to my feet. He hugged me tightly, and we both smiled greatly. Another owl swooped in and took away the hat.
"Let's go tell my dad and mum. Slytherin!" he said, holding my hand, and leading me down the stairs. Half way down, I felt a buzzing against my thigh. I stopped in my tracks. I pulled my phone out of my shorts pocket and pressed the green "talk" button.
"Hello?"
"Rose? Rose! How's England?"
"Sandy? It's great… Hey guess what, I'm in Slytherin! Big shock there, though…"
"Yeah… I might come visit you soon, Rose. I have a… special surprise for you. Chris will, of course, be with me."
"Hehe, good to hear… Glad you have a boyfriend Sandy… Unlike me." Draco looked at me curiously. "But there is this guy… I dunno though, Sandy… I have to go, can I call you later?"
"Dang it Rose, when isn't there a boy… Well, I'll talk to you later." and with that, I hung up.
We continued walking down the stairs, not talking, but still hand in hand.
"So there's a boy?" Draco said with a sneer.
"Yeah, I'm talking to him right now."
"Who is it?"
"You obviously don't take hints very well."
"Is it me?"
"Duh." He looked at me, baffled.
"But we've only known each other for 15 minutes!"
"I just meant that there was a cute guy. Nothing else."
We continued walking down the seemingly never ending stairs and into the kitchen.
He stopped me at the last step. "Do you really think I'm cute?" he said, smiling. I nodded and he gave me hug. "Good to know."
