The Great Hall was a festival of sights, sounds and smells as they entered. The ceiling was bewitched to look like the night sky. Old wood and dust could be smelled and the older children were already at their assigned house tables waiting for the sorting to begin.

Draven couldn't help but overhear Hermione talking to another girl about the ceiling. His ears perked up when he heard her say that she read it in Hogwarts: A History, which was a favorite book of his. His father had somehow managed to get an original copy with the authors signature and everything. It was one of Draven's prized possession even though he had many rare things. He pulled himself away from Hermione's conversation just in time to avoid colliding with the back of the person in front of him. They were being lined up in front of the head table. A lone stool sat in front of them with a ragged old hat resting upon it.

The elderly witch wearing the green robes unrolled the piece of parchment now in her hands and picked the hat up by it's very top. "When I read your names off the list please come up to the stool to be sorted." She cleared her throat and began:

"Justin Finch-Fletchley!" Professor McGonagall called out. The boy with an overly large chin stepped up to the stool and sat down. The hat is placed on his head. Within a few moments "HUFFLEPUFF!" is heard. The hat is removed and the boy joined his cheering table.

"Seamus Finnigan!" She called out. The boy made his way up to the stool and within moments the hat bellowed out "GRYFFINDOR!" The hat was removed and the boy took his place at the cheering Gryffindor table.

"Hermione Granger!" The old woman again called out the name. The girl slowly approached the stool. She was mattering "Stay Calm" and "Relax" under her breath as she sat down. The hat took longer this time but after considerable deliberation it called out "GRYFFINDOR!" She was all smiles as she sat down beside her previously sorted house mate.

The list wore on and on. Crabbe and Goyle were sorted into Slytherin after the headmaster had encouraged the hat to stop laughing and sort them into a house.

"Neville Longbottom!" The nicely dressed witched called out. The boy was quaking in his shoes as he sat down. The hat was placed on his head and soon "GRYFFINDOR!" was announced. The boy almost fainted in relief but managed to plop down at the Gryffindor table without incident.

"Draco Malfoy!" The elder witch called out with a hint of distaste in her voice. Before the small blonde could even sit down the hat had bellowed out "SLYTHERIN!" which made that whole table go wild. He smirked as he calmly joined the cheering table but he turned his eyes back to the sorting.

A set of twins were called next. Parvati and Padma Patil. They were separated into two different houses. Parvati joined the ranks of Gryffindor while her sister sulked at the Ravenclaw table.

The women seemed to stumble over the next name and couldn't hide the shock in her voice. "Draven Ri...Riddle-Malfoy!" She called out after gathering her courage. She couldn't believe it. Draven smirked as he made his way to the stool. He sat down and the hat was placed on his head. It sunk down and covered his ears and he heard a faint whisper in his ear. "Well now. I didn't think I would ever see the day. You have the markings of greatness and you would do well in Slytherin. But you also have courage and bravery. But where to put you?" The hat mused. Draven frowned. "Anywhere but Slytherin." He hissed out in hopes that no one could hear him. He couldn't ruin his fathers plans. Not now. The hat seemed to think for a moment before continuing. "You would have done well in Slytherin but...it better be GRYFFINDOR!" It bellowed out and fell silent. Draven let out a sigh of relief and after the hat was removed he joined the cheering table. He met Draco's amused look with one of his own then turned his attention back to his house mates.

"Dean Thomas!" She called out still in shock over Draven. The hat thought for a moment before placing the boy in "GRYFFINDOR!"

After regaining her composure, Minerva continued with the list. Several more names were called after Draven's but Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff received most of them. Slytherin only got two more.

"Ronald Weasley!" She called out. The red haired boy made his way nervously to the stool and sat down. The hat is placed on his head and after a few seconds it kindly placed him in "GRYFFINDOR!" with his brothers.

After the list ended the witch took a seat at the head table beside an elderly man with a long white beard. The man was watching Draven intently and his blue eyes were sparkling like a kid at Christmas. A clinking is heard as McGonagall got everyone's attention by tapping on her glass with a knife. The old man stood. "Today begins a new year and I suspect that it will be grand. I have some start of the term rules to announce. The third floor corridor is off limits to everyone who doesn't wish to die a most horrible death and the forbidden forest is, of course, still forbidden. Now since that's out of the way, dig in." He clapped his hands and food suddenly appeared on all four tables. He sat back down but kept his gaze on the small pale, black haired boy at the Gryffindor table.

Draven eyed the head table after feeling eyes upon him. He frowned seeing that it was the old man staring at him. He looked familiar but he couldn't place him. He elbowed Ron in the side to get his attention. "Who's the old man sitting beside McGonagall?" He had learned her name after over hearing Percy, Ron's older brother, talk about her being their head of house.

Ron blinked and looked away from his brothers and to the head table. "That's Professor Dumbledore. My father says that he is the most powerful wizard in the world!"

Draven frowned. So that was the man that got his parents killed? That was the man that made him live with his horrible muggle relatives for six years of his life? He couldn't help but smirk. "He is not the most powerful wizard in the world. He is a bloody coward!" He muttered to himself, quietly. His eyes blazed with hatred but he forces himself to look away. Instead he focuses on Snape. Who was watching the Slytherin table like a hawk. His smirk turned into a smile as he thinks back to the incident with the man named Watson, who was still living in the dungeons, and how Snape had confronted him. He again looked away and focused on his table mates. They didn't seem like that bad of a bunch but he was careful to filter his conversations. Most of the feast was spent talking to Hermione and Ron who Draven had automatically befriended. They seemed nice enough but they also had a need to prove themselves. They were his best options when it came to getting someone to join Lord Voldemort's cause. He also kept a side conversation going with Neville. He remembered his father speaking about a couple named Longbottom. They were also victims of Dumbledore's. He made a mental note to himself to watch out for the round faced boy since their situations were similar.

The food soon began to disappear and only conversation remained. The headmaster again stood and clapped his hands. "It's time to tuck in. Classes start bright and early tomorrow morning and we don't want anyone lollygagging around. So would the school prefects please lead their houses to their dormitories. Nook, Blubber and Snork!" He sat back down and watched as the older children began to herd the younger ones out of the great hall and towards the stairs.

Draven frowned and looked through the crowd, trying to spot Draco. He slid off the bench and made his way over to the small blonde. "Well that wasn't so bad, I guess."

Draco blinked at Draven and smirked. "Wait until tomorrows classes. Professor Snape favors his own house but he also has a soft spot for you. You're his favorite potions student." He said slyly."Let's see how he handles you being in Gryffindor, I'm sure he thought that you'd be in Slytherin."

Draven slapped Draco on the arm. "You could be good in potions if you would just apply yourself. It's really not that hard."

Draco shook his head and watched as his house began to leave. "I gotta get going, Drave. I'll speak to you tomorrow." He quickly caught up with his retreating house and disappeared out the door.

Draven sighed but returned to his own house which was the last to leave. They stopped in front of a portrait of a fat lady. He heard Percy give her the password, courage, and watched as the portrait swung open to reveal the common room. Harry stepped in behind Percy who was practically screaming "Hurry up! Come on!" He looked around the room. It was cozy, he could say that much. But he preferred green to red and there was a whole lot of red in this room. He shrugged it off and followed the other first year boys to their dormitory. He managed to climb into a pair of already laid out pajamas before drifting off to sleep. He never saw the house elves bring in his new cloak and matching Gryffindor accessories. (But in the morning he knew it was them. The house elves at the Malfoy's would lay their clothing out for morning and night) His sleep was interrupted by nightmares which were normal. He woke up screaming several times but managed not to wake the whole tower. "I need to talk to Professor Snape about a dreamless sleep potion." He mumbled as he tried to get to sleep once again. He succeeded and didn't wake until morning call.

Authors Note

There this was a little better, lengthwise. So keep up the reviews and the chapters will stay, at least, this length. And for those of you that have been living under a rock and don't know what review means...Just follow the arrows.

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