Going back to Hogwarts

Both mother and father brought me to the platform. When I arrived Pansy flung her body at me. "I missed you," she gushes. She softly hit me on the shoulder and quickly let go of me, composing herself as if it had not happened.

I felt the disapproving gaze of father at the display of affection. My mother though seemed extremely pleased.

Mother had always loved Pansy. "Pansy dear, it is so good to see you. And look at you two. You two look so pretty together." She then hugged Pansy. "It's been too long. We missed you at the Ball in August and at my Charity event for St. Mungo's." Mother smiled warmly at Pansy. "I hope you had a good time in Spain? I don't think Draco has ever had to miss you for the whole summer, he was absolutely miserable."

I felt embarrassed. What does mother think she was doing? "I was fine," I said curtly.

Pansy glared at my words. "I wish we could attend, but Spain was very nice, Narcissa," she said turning to Narcissa. Pansy smiled warmly at my mother. She then grabbed her suitcase and turned expectantly to me. "I guess we should search for a compartment."

Mum gave Pansy and me warm hugs.

I scoffed. "Mum, I'm thirteen."

She just chuckled. "My little Draco," she whispered softly, "All grown up." Then she looked at both of us. "Have a good term, both of you. Write me." She turned to me again. "I'll send sweets every day, okay? For my little sweet-toothed boy."

Father then nodded as a way of saying goodbye. "Don't coddle the boy, Narcissa." He admonishes mother, then he turned to me. I felt tiny under his gaze. "I expect you will get higher grades this year than that muggleborn. Don't embarrass me again, Draco." Father's gaze then softened. "I hope you do well on the quidditch team." Father then softly smiled at me. "I can remember when I was on the team. I had the best time of my life. We will of course attend all your quidditch games. You will do great. I am certain of it. Have a nice term, Draco."

I wanted to speak against him. I will be the worst quidditch player, you know that. Or I'm not you, why don't you see that. Or I don't even like quidditch.

Instead I said: "I can't wait. Potter won't know what hit him, when I grab the snitch right before his nose. You'll be proud, dad." Father smiled at me. I smiled back.

My father may not really understand me or try to, but he did care and spoil me. He gave me what made him happy. I just abhorred it. He cared, surely that must be more then enough.

Pansy then grabbed my hand and pulled me away. She frowned, staring confused at me. "Draco," she demanded. "What was that all about? Have you hit your head! You don't even like quidditch. Besides you will never make the team, you are not that good. Sorry." She looked completely unapologetic.

This year was going to be horrible.

"Father," I said, while gritting my teeth, "Thought it was a good idea for me to be on the team. Imagine my horror. And Snape's, of course. He's always loved that I cared more for books. Don't worry about me making the team, he bought my way in, soon the Slytherin team will have brand new brooms." I had not meant to let the last words that tumbled out my mouth sound so bitter, but I felt really upset at that moment.

Pansy gripped my hand tightly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." Now Pansy did look genuinely sorry.

I felt calmer now. "It's fine."

"You'll do fine." She smiled warmly. "I'll cheer on you. Every. Single. Match. You know? It will be fine." I relaxed. Then Vin and Greg came into our compartment. Pansy smiled proudly then, looking at me a bit teasingly. "Hey guys, guess who made the quidditch team?"

"How did you do that, Draco? Try-outs have not even been announced, hell, we're not even at Hogwarts," Greg gushed.

I felt embarrassed again. "My father bought me onto the team, Greg."

Greg smiled warmly at me. "Lucky you. You'll do great."

I sighed. "Greg, of course I will not do great. He had to buy the whole Slytherin team new brooms. It is humiliating."

Vin seemed a bit distracted, looking onto the platform and genuinely did not seem to have gotten the point. "We'll cheer on you. You will beat Potter. No worries, right? You must be elated." I looked onto the platform where Vin's gaze was fixated, but I only saw the Weasley girl surrounded by more Weasleys. As if there weren't enough of them at school before.

I then irritably clarify I don't want to be seeker. "Look I hate quidditch, you guys know that. I did not want to be seeker. I will suck, okay? And everyone will know I bought my way in."

Understanding seemed to dawn as they started to look sympathetic. "Hey, if anyone bothers you about it, we''ll beat them for you," said Greg. Then Vin added: "Yeah, and we'll cheer on you. Every game." Maybe things would not be so bad. At least I had some true friends supporting me no matter what.

The sorting hat

We had arrived at the castle and the sorting was about to begin. I looked at the first-years. I recognized the youngest Weasley, Ginny was it. I smirked, Potter seemed to have gotten himself a girlfriend. Where was that Git anyway? He was not sitting at the Gryffindor table, that was for sure. My godfather, was also absent from the teacher's tables. Maybe he got what he deserved.

The sorting had started. I leaned to Pansy. "The Git and Severus are gone, do you think he got into trouble?" She smiled at the idea, but apparently she did not know. Most of the time she knew everything before most people since she was always up-to-date on all Hogwart's rumors, having spread quite a few.

She could have quite a mean side. I did not care, her feelings were more important than others. She had made quite a few girls cry though. To make herself feel better, I guessed. Insecure about her nose, that some had called pug-nosed. Maybe it was a bit flat, I conceded, but to me it was very clear she was a very beautiful girl. She leaned over to Daphne, but she seemed to not have any idea either.

"Oh look," Pansy then whispered in my ear, "Another Weasley, covered in rags, surprised they could afford another one."

She looked quite pale, even with all her freckles. She walked to the front and McGonagall placed the hat on her.

I felt a bit surprised, shouldn't the sorting hat have shouted Gryffindor before it even touched her hairs? Like it did when the Hat put me in Slytherin and Ron in Gryffindor. She seemed to get redder and more nervous the longer it stayed silent.

Pansy gleefully smiled. "Can you imagine, Draco? What if she will be placed in Hufflepuff, think I'd rather leave, you?"

There seemed to be more and more people talking. Why didn't the girl just get sorted?

McGonagall then walked to the front. "Sometimes," she spoke, "A student will have a hatstall. This means that the sorting hat will take more than five minutes to sort a student. People have more than one defining trait and sometimes they are difficult to sort because they could fit in more than one house. I had one too."

She looked kindly at the Weasley girl. "The hat could not choose between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. It will make the right choice."

She then walked back.

After a few more seconds the hat then screamed: "Slytherin."

I felt my mouth drop open. I looked at the Gryffindor table, where the three Weasley boys look as shocked as I felt. Then one of the twins jumped on the bench of the Gryffindor table and started clapping really loudly, almost immediately he was followed by the other twin, who looked just as confused by her sorting, but they were smiling kindly at her.

It seemed to help Ginny, the girl actually smiled and started walking towards the Slytherin table. I joined the twins in clapping. I was the first of my house, but slowly the rest joined in. Pansy looked questioning at me. I lean towards Pansy. "Slytherins stick together, that's what Professor Snape always said."

She just nodded. Nobody seemed really sure of what to do, so I made room and waved her over to the open spot next to me. Ginny smiled grateful.

I did not really know what to do. Here I was sitting next to the daughter of the man that my father hated. He would not be very pleasant if he heard about it. And he always did, but I could not ignore my curiosity.

Vin then broke the tense atmosphere. "So not Gryffindor eh?"

She nodded.

I felt curiosity take over. A Weasley in Slytherin is quite unheard of, right? "So, what did the sorting hat tell you?"

She still looked a bit surprised. "It said I would make a good Slytherin."

She looked directly at me, like she was just talking to me, but I felt the whole house was listening to us. She must have felt it too, maybe that was why I felt her looking at me so intensely. "The hat said that I was one sneaky witch. I really like quidditch, you know? When I was five or six I always used to sneak out to fly at night on my brothers brooms."

Talking about her family seemed to make her feel more comfortable and she started smiling. "It said I was cunning. Always letting my brothers receive the blame, lying straight-faced to my mum."

Vin smiled kindly at her. "Well, Ginny, welcome to Slytherin."

Vin would really do well in Hufflepuff, except that his dad would probably kill him. "I'm Vincent Crabbe, next to me Gregory Goyle, that's Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson. But if you want to you can call us Vin and Greg. That's Daphne Greengrass, her sister Astoria is in your year -"