Eventually on the train ride, Astoria felt herself slipping back into sleep. For she had barely gotten any the previous night, excited for the day ahead.

"How much longer?" Astoria asked Malfoy.

The boy shrugged, "how should I know? The train doesn't seem to be going any slower. So not for a while I suppose."

"Tell me a story," Astoria whispered out of the blue.

"What?" The boy raised one blonde eyebrow.

"Tell me a story," Astoria repeated. Malfoy gave her a strange look. It didn't seem he was in a story telling mood.

"What kind of story?" Malfoy asked.

"A good one," Astoria confirmed, in her light Slytherin tone.

Malfoy still didn't look as if a story would be the proper solution to on train boredom.

"How about one about that Harry Potter fellow?" She suggested, sitting up to look Malfoy square in the face, but she was immediately taken back when at the mention of Potter's name, the boy's face dripped into a scowl. The emotion of hate flashed through his eyes and he let out a low throaty growl.

"You want to hear about that traitor Half-Blood Potter with his filthy Mudblood girlfriend and his creepy ginger pet?" Malfoy sounded as if he was daring Astoria to reply.

"I thought he was a good guy," Astoria answered, "I've heard a lot of things about him. And not one was a bad thing."

Malfoy let out a snort and glanced out the window momentarily before fixing his gaze back onto the girl.

"He's all everyone ever talks about these days. Potter this, Chosen One that. It disgusts me."

"He is the chosen one though," Astoria put in, silently taking it back as Malfoy quickly stood up and closed in the distance between the two. The boy slammed his hands onto either side of Astoria's head.

"Want to hear a story about the 'Boy Who Lived'? Who disgraces the name of Salazar Slytherin and his 'gift' of parcel tongue? Mister Goody Two Shoes Potter, that old oaf Dumbledore's favorite little student who could get away with whatever he very well pleases, and gives him what his precious little heart desires?"

Malfoy's voice was low and deadly, his gray orbs of eyes bore into hers as he spoke to her, "Potter is pathetic. Just like the rest of this goddamned school."

Astoria closed her eyes for a brief moment, and as soon as she had opened them back up, the door had slammed shut, the enormous bang that made Astoria jump had the door slide back open. The girl sighed and stood to slide it back shut, but when her hand touched the brass handle, a shiver ran through up her arm and down her spine. Astoria slid open the door all the way and glanced down the train's hallway, watching Malfoy walk down the train, shoving a few people out of the way as he turned into a compartment down at the very end.

Astoria sighed as she watched him walk away. She had thought that maybe they could be friends. After all, they were both pure-bloods, and as a first year then she would need someone to talk to. Letting out a sigh, and taking one more glance down the hallway, she turned back into her compartment and slid the door back shut.

Astoria walked over back to her seat, scooting down all the way to the window, placing her forehead against the glass and watching the rolling meadows. Her tiredness had seemed to wash back over her after Malfoy's departure, and she decided it was time to go back to sleep, and if on command, her eyes fluttered shut and she felt herself slip back into the land of nod.

XXXXXXX

"Get up, Astoria!"

A familiar voice awoke the black haired girl from her sleep. She had noticed that she no longer heard the gentle click-clack of the train, and that it had stopped moving.

Lifting up her head and blinking her eyes in focus, she recognized the face of Daphne.

"We're here, love," Daphne said smiling, ruffling her sister's hair as she had the last time they had talked.

"Already?" Astoria asked, rubbing her eyes and smoothing down her hair, raising her eyebrows as she found no tangles or rats when she ran her fingers through the black silk.

"Yes, already. The Sorting should be happening soon as well, so if you want to miss only the most important event of your life, I suggest you go back to sleep. But if not, get your arse up and get follow me."

Astoria's eyes widened, the Slytherin must've really been kicking in. Daphne never acted that way around Astoria before. But, the younger sister nodded and stood up, bending her back out to stretch, letting out a little 'oof' as she heard her back crack.

Daphne huffed and whipped around, Astoria immediately followed her down the hallway to the exit of the Hogwarts Express. As the door opened up for them, the feel of fresh, crisp air hit her in the face and she smiled. It was obvious that fall was approaching, even in in the dark lit up only by lanterns that led down a path towards a lake. Astoria followed her sister towards a group of a some girls dressed in green robes, obvious they were Slytherin. Not only by the color of their robes, but also by the looks on their faces and the glints in their eyes that screamed 'pureblood'.

A girl with dark hair and a pale complexion, similar to Malfoys, greeted them, giving Astoria a look that she couldn't recognize.

"Is this your sister?" The girl asked and Daphne nodded.

"Astoria this is Pansy Parkinson. I've known her my entire life at Hogwarts." At the mention of her name, Pansy blushed and nodded.

"Me and Daphne share a dorm in the dungeon," Pansy put in. Astoria smiled and nodded at her, turning her attention away when she caught sight of Malfoy surrounded by a few Slytherin boys who were waiting for a boat.

"Do you girls know Malfoy?" Astoria asked, turning her gaze back to her sister and Parkinson.

"OF COURSE!" Pansy sang a little to enthusiastically, "Him and I are together." The girl added proudly, glancing over at the fellow and then quietly giggling to herself. Astoria silently chuckled to herself as she saw Malfoy and Daphne shoot her a dirty look at the same time without either of them realizing it.

Daphne opened her mouth as if to say something, but quickly closed it as she noticed that their boat was ready to take them to the castle. Astoria watched as Malfoy and his group of guys piled into the same boat as the girls had already did. Astoria sat between Pansy and one of Malfoy's friends, feeling quite squashed and uncomfortable, wishing that she was sitting next to Daphne. Pansy turned to look down at Astoria and smiled what looked like a fake smile.

"What house do you want to be sorted into?" She asked.

"Slytherin of course!" Astoria answered, "all the other houses can suck it."

"That's my girl!" Pansy laughed.

Astoria smiled at Parkinson, maybe she wasn't so bad. What Daphne had said about Pug-Faced Pansy in her diary didn't seem as true anymore. When she thought about it, she had only met people older than her, and not anyone her age. But she didn't really mind. She liked the older guys anyway, they were all so nice. She felt happy and welcomed when she was with them.

The boat rocked back and forth and Pansy had turned her back to Astoria, talking to Daphne and a few other girls from Slytherin house. Astoria crossed her arms and crossed her legs, shifting her weight to lean against the guy sitting next to her. He didn't seem to mind and she rather enjoyed the heat he provided for her, it was getting pretty chilly as they approached Hogwarts. They weren't very far from it, for the shadow of it loomed over their heads, and Astoria assumed it was the reason why the temperature was so low.

The girl let out a little sigh and raised her head up, putting her chin onto the boy's back, watching as the Hogwarts castle became larger and larger. Astoria stared and stared until she felt herself slipping into a day dream that was suddenly and rudely interrupted by the boat hitting the island that beheld the school of Hogwarts.

The warmth of the Slytherin boy disappeared as he stood up and Astoria felt extremely cold, her thin robes barely holding in her body heat. Pansy nudged Astoria to stand up, and the first year obeyed quickly, although she reclined Pansy's offer to help her over the boat and onto the ground. Astoria waited until all the rest were out of the boat before she tried to help herself out. She put her hands onto the edge of the boat, watching the ground carefully. She lifted out one foot to try and reach the ground, she was entirely focused on her red shoe, she didn't notice the blonde standing nearby and watching her in amusement.

"Aha!" She whispered to herself as her right foot touched the cool grass, but the grin was quickly replaced by a hiss when the boat began to gently float away. Bending her knee as she drew the boat closer to the shore, sticking out her tongue in victory as the boat hit the island once more. She gently rose up, shaking, about to take the final step onto land.

"Having fun there?"

"Oh! Dammit!" Astoria growled, surprised, instantly loosing her right foot into the water. "Malfoy!" She grumped, glaring up at him, her hair all fussed up from concentration, she glowered at him. She hopped out of the boat, both her feet in the water, but she quickly walked up the shore and towards Malfoy, a glare on her face. He watched her, still amused and not the slightest bit scared.

She stormed straight up to him, her robes wet from mid calf down, her shoes squishing as she walked. She stood up on her toes until she was nose to nose with him. But all Astoria could muster out was "bitch" before walking past him and towards the castle entrance.

He laughed with a smirk on his face and followed her.

"Aren't you going to thank me?" He asked her casually, catching up to her, walking beside her. Astoria stopped and stared at him, her mouth agape.

"What would I thank you for?" She demanded, scrunching her nose up, trying to show him she meant business.

"For getting you out of the boat," he replied, putting his hands behind his head and smirking at her.

"You didn't get me out of the boat! You got my feet wet and I really hope that my Converses aren't toast, because I swear to you Malfoy, I will kick you in the balls again wearing my military boots." Astoria attempted to make her voice low and threatening, but all he did was chuckle lightly.

"Bitch," She muttered again, turning away and continuing to walk into the castle. When she arrived she was in a grand room with an enormous chandelier overhead, bathing the room, a grand staircase and two enormous chestnut doors in a warm glowing light.

"Its so amazing," Astoria murmured, the room taking her breath away. She walked underneath the chandelier and spun around slowly underneath it, spreading out her arms.

"What are you doing?" Malfoy asked, choking back an enormous snort of amusement.

"Shut up, I'm having a moment," Astoria growled at him.

When she had finished her spinning, then she turned back to the blonde.

"Its so beautiful here! I feel right at home!" Astoria squealed, grinning. She ran up the grand stair case and peered up to see what awaited her on the second floor.

"I would suggest going up there," Draco suggested casually, "Its where you should be anyway. The Sorting should be happening in about 30 seconds."

The reality of that crashed upon Astoria and her eyes widened on him.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?" She shrieked, turning to run up the staircase, only glancing back to throw Malfoy a sneer when he answered her question with a, "you didn't ask!"

As soon as she had turned the corner, she ran straight into the face of a not-so-pleased Professor McGonagall.

"Where have you been Miss Greengrass?" The Professor demanded, and Astoria assumed she knew it was her from her sister's resemblance. When the girl opened up her mouth to explain that it was that dick Malfoy, McGonagall shoved her into line in front of a girl with wavy light brown hair and behind a boy with dark hair, similar to Astoria's.

"What house do you want to be in?" The girl behind her asked, prodding her in the back with her finger.

"Slytherin," Astoria answered proudly.

The girl gave her a strange look.

"Who would want to be in that house? I want to be in Hufflepuff," the girl informed Astoria.

Astoria rolled her eyes at her and then turned to look straightforward. She was going to be in Slytherin if she had to beat that stupid hat to pieces!