The huge castle was reflected in the lake they were going to cross; its high stonewalls and lit windows shimmering on the black water. Hagrid, after introducing himself, told them to get in the boats, and that could push off. Harry turned to the three boys he had sat with, they nodded back and, making sure Hagrid wouldn't notice, squeezed into the same boat, Draco complaining that Ron was stepping on his new shoes, at which Ron called him a Pansy, and a small wrestling match ensued, except, they were already in the water, in a boat made for two, there was no room for wrestling…

With a loud splash, Ron fell over the edge, Draco, looking stricken, leaned over to help him out, Hagrid still hadn't noticed, but when Ron grabbed Draco's and, he merely pulled the blonde boy into the water as well.

Draco came up spluttering,

"What the, what the hell was that for weasley?!"

Ron, laughing, splashed the indignant boy. Who put both hands on top of Ron's head and pushed down, holding Ron under water, where he struggled fruitlessly to come up for air.

"Oi, Malfoy, what do ya think yer doin'!?"

Hagrid had arrived, and just in time, Ron came up rather purple faced, and glared at Draco, who smirked back,

"Get out of the water you two, before it makes you."

Both boys' eyes widened in terror,

"What do you mean it?!"

But their question was answered sooner than they would have liked, a large, slimy tentacle wrapped around their feet under water, then, coming up out of the water, it dangled them by one foot each, and sped off for the beach, Harry, terrified for his new friends, started using his hands to paddle the boat, but it did not go any faster, so, in a desperate attempt to save his friends, he dove over the side, only then remembering, swimming had never been his forte.

"Heeelllp Me!"

Neville, hyperventilating in the boat, tried to call the tentacles back, in order to lift Harry out of the water, but when nothing showed up, and Harry kept thrashing around in the water, he took a deep breath and dove in two, striking out for the floundering boy.

Hagrid, huffing in annoyance, turned back around to see the other two boys in the water,

"What do yer think yer doing!"

Harry, about to answer, screamed

"Please tell m you have grown eight long slimy tentacles Neville and are now using them to caress my leg."

Neville turned towards Harry, slightly disturbed by the question,

"Uh, no?"

Right after he finished talking, both boys were hoisted up in the same fashion as Ron and Draco had been, and screaming and yelling, they were also deposited, rather harshly, on the sandy bank.

Ron rolled over onto his back and stared up at the star strewn sky, then let out a low whistle,

"Wicked!"

All three other boys turned to look at him with incredulous expressions.

It took Hagrid and the others mere minutes to arrive, and, once everyone was out of the boats, they flooded over to the four boys, firing questions at rapid speed, only one girl did not come flying over, her bushy hair bouncing as she set out for the castle after Hagrid.

The sorting ceremony was rather eventful, first, one boy, too scared to put the hat on, tried to just sit down at a table, then, one girl screamed when it was placed on her head, but the big thing was when Draco Malfoy was called to be sorted, all the Slytherins looked at each other knowingly, but as the hat was placed on his head, it did not immediately call out the assumed house, in fact, Draco sat on the stool for a good five minutes.

Ah, Mr. Malfoy, where to put you where to put you? A very bright mind, very clever, would do well in Ravenclaw, but no, no quite. Very devious and cunning, a slytherin almost to core, but there is fierce loyalty and bravery, a Gryffindor at heart, and a gentle touch to the needy, a hufflepuff. Hmmmm, where to put you? How about some memories? Shall we?

Scenes had flashed before Draco's minds eye before he could stop them, a baby by with blonde hair and silver eyes, giving his mother flowers he had picked, only to have her toss them out the window when he turned his back, a tall blonde man, glaring at a 5 year old boy, yelling and whacking with his cane. Memory upon memory flashed before his eyes, and he squeezed them tight, trying to stop the images.

Well now, I guess it better be…"GRYFFINDOR!"

The hall went silent, and then, Ron and Harry, who had already been sorted into Gryffindor cheered, clapping and pushing over so Draco could sit with them, the rest of Gryffindor soon followed, clapping with dazed expression, which soon turned into smirks and smiles when they noticed the outraged looks on the Slytherins' faces.

The sorting continued, and soon it was down to the last girl, the bushy haired one that they had met on the train. Walking up the McGonagall, she placed the hat gently on her head, it sat for a second then called out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Ron looked at Harry with a surprised look, as the girl, Hermione, smiled and came over to their table, where she was offered a seat in between Fred and George.

There was a clink of China, as Professor McGonagall tapped her knife against her cup,

"Your attention please."

She sat back down as Dumbledore stood up, and with a wide gesture said the words everyone had been waiting for,

"Let the feast, Begin."

Platter upon platter of food appeared, and everyone, quickly tucked in.

"So Malfoy, how the hell did you get into Gryffindor?"

Draco, about to take a bit of mash potatoes, glared at the red headed boys, he had heard about them, Fred and George Weasley, twins, oh goody.

"How did you afford to come to this school?"

Every Weasley boy whipped around to look at the blonde boy,

And then, Ron laughed, and patted Draco on the shoulder,

"Not bad, not bad, for a Malfoy that is."

Draco smirked at Ron, which soon turned into a smile. The other Weasley boys stared in surprise as the Malfoy boy started talking to their baby brother about quidditch and classes, and their mouths nearly hit the ground when Harry joined in, laughing at something Malfoy had said.

"And who are you, lovely lady?"

Fred and George had turned to the first year, bushy haired girl sitting in between them, she looked up at them with warm deep brown eyes, and smiling, shook both their hands, as we as those of the other Weasley boys,

"Hermione Granger, it's nice to meet you."

The boys all nodded and then, Percy, having seen Fred and George start their infamous, 'beginning of the year mashed potatoes sling shot' quickly threatened them with detentions, but both boys ignored him, aiming their slingshot at the back of a seventh year slytherin,

"Oh, you really shouldn't be doing that, you'll get in so much trouble!"

Both boys laughed at Hermione, did a count down and let the potatoes fly.

But before the mashed potatoes could reach their target, they froze in mid-air, and redirected themselves to Fred and George's plates, who watched the food as if it had just betrayed them. Dumbledore, having watched the whole interaction with mild amusement, was one of the only people to see the young miss Granger tuck her wand back into her robe pocket, and he was quite impressed.

"What the-?"

Fred and George looked around the table, trying to find the murderer of their every year tradition. They looked at Percy, who beamingly, nodded his head towards Hermione, who had gone back to eating her peas with a small smile on her face.

"Alright, listen hear Hermione, you do not just go and mess up our pranks, what do you think your doing?"

But as Fred and George watched, waiting for an answer, she merely pulled out a book, and started flipping through the pages, ignoring them completely. They looked over the top of her head in complete indignation, and then, loaded another scoop of mashed potatoes into the slingshot, only to have it turn and shoot the food in their own faces. They looked down at Hermione, who was still reading her book, but was now using her wand to trace the sentences.

"Women!"