Mallory Deirdre Lestrange. The illicit daughter of none other than Bellatrix Lestrange, infamous Death Eater. She had had the whole world whispering horrible things about her ever since she was born. No one loved her. All her life, she had been shunned by everyone she had met. Imaginary friends were the only people she could talk to without being scoffed at or threatened to death.

And as she watched Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, have the Sorting Hat lowered onto his head, she thought how alike, but how very different they were. After all, they had both been unloved and grown up without friends, but he had come to Hogwarts to find out everyone loved him, and Mallory had come to Hogwarts to find that it was the same as at home. Everyone, even the Hufflepuff table, had looked at her disgustedly as she had walked into the Great Hall.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the Sorting Hat, and happily, Harry Potter skipped off to sit next to a redheaded boy with a smudge of dirt on his nose (a Weasley, no doubt, thought Mallory, remembering how Lucius Malfoy had come home from work one day in a particularly bad mood because of how 'Arthur Weasley' was a 'disgrace to the wizarding community').

"Mallory Lestrange," Professor McGonagall called out, and for a second, a dark look passed across her face. Behind her, the staff table started murmuring amongst themselves. Only two acted as though nothing had happened - Dumbledore, and a very tall man who looked as though he were a giant.

Mallory came up and sat on the stool. Professor McGonagall placed the Hat on Mallory's head, and it sunk over her eyes, blocking her view.

"Ah, I see. I see. A Lestrange? Usually I would put you in Slytherin, but you're different. A desperate thirst to prove yourself to others, but also to be liked and accepted. Quite clever, too, not to mention ambitious. Brave, as well, and plenty of courage. Where should I place you? Hmmmm. Best put you in... GRYFFINDOR!"

Mallory's eyes widened underneath the Hat. Gryffindor?

The whole school sat in shock for a few seconds. No clapping, no cheering. Not for Mallory.

Professor McGonagall must have had a moment of shock as well, because it took her a few seconds longer to take the Hat off Mallory's head.

Slowly, Mallory got up, feeling quite strange and confused. She was certain any moment now, the Sorting Hat would yell out that there was a mistake, that no, it had made a mistake, that Mallory was supposed to be Slytherin, because surely it was a mistake.

"Go on," said Professor Dumbledore from his seat. Although his tone was not unkind, Mallory flinched. Perhaps this was all a dream? She did feel rather faint as she slowly made her way to the Gryffindor table. Unsure of where to sit with all the spare seats, she slid onto the end of the table as 'Mandy Brocklehurst' was sorted into Ravenclaw. She glanced down the table once as 'Susan Bones' was sorted into Hufflepuff and saw everyone's heads turning away very fast, as though they had all been staring at her. She heard Harry Potter ask the Weasley boy what was the matter with her. Mallory's eyes began to well up and she swallowed, hard, until the tears went away. She would not cry and give them the satisfaction. Yet it still stung, and she still wanted to cry.

She was glad that the attention came off her when Dumbledore announced for the feast to begin, for everyone was focused on the delicious food that had suddenly filled the platters in front of them. Mallory had grown up half-starved by her mother and the Malfoys, and should have been tucking in enthusiastically, but the lump in her throat forbade her to eat. She spent most of dinner staring at the plate with bright eyes in an attempt to shut out the world.

If she had been paying attention, she would've noticed that Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall had exchanged worried looks over her, and that the latter was feeling rather guilty for allowing a dark look to flitter even for a second over her face. She would've also noticed that Harry Potter was trying to catch her eye and and smile at her, for he felt rather sorry for her and, from what Ron Weasley had told him, he had deciphered that the two of them had lived a similar life before coming to Hogwarts.

But Mallory had not been paying attention. It was only when dinner was over and Dumbledore was speaking that she forced herself to come back to reality and listen.

"Now that we have filled ourselves up with all this delicious food, it is time to sleep. Prefects, please show the first years in your house to their dormitories. Have a restful night and be ready for classes in the morning. But before - let us sing the school song. Choose your own melody and ready - set - go!"

Everyone started at different times and sang to a different tune. Mallory, not quite knowing the lyrics, guessed at it a little, trying to smile like everyone else. In the end, a pair of twins (also Weasleys, Mallory guessed by their red hair) were left singing to a slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted the last notes.

"Goodnight!" he called, his voice drowned by the excited chatter that had suddenly filled the air as prefects shepherded first years out of the Great Hall. Mallory found herself swept up with the rest of the Gryffindors, and tried to make herself invisible. No one endeavoured to talk to her, and she was glad. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the night's events, and needed time to think.

Mallory was so deep in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed when they had reached the Gryffindor common room. She shook awake when the prefect that had lead them there began to tell them about the dormitories.

"This is the Gryffindor common room, where you'll spend a lot of your time. The boys' dormitories are on down to your left, the girls, that's the same on your right. On the door of each dormitory is where you'll find your names and which dorm you'll be in. Your things have already been brought up."

Mallory followed the rest of the girls down to the right. An excited, nervous feeling came over her, before it dimmed. The girls in her room would most likely hate her, just as the rest of the school. Nevertheless, Mallory searched for her name on the doors.

She soon found it on a door with 'Hermione Granger, Parvati Patil, Lavendar Brown and Colleen White'. Inside were five poster beds, and Mallory quickly took the end one, closest to the door. She hoped the other girls would ignore her and go to sleep, but they seemed to just want to talk all night. Well - apart from a girl with two slightly crooked teeth and bushy brown hair, who simply introduced herself as Hermione and took the bed at the other end of the room, before opening a textbook to read. Eventually, she drifted off.

The other girls seemed to giggle and chat endlessly, even after the lights were turned off at nine.

Mallory made a Herculean effort to ignore them as she dove under the covers, but it was impossible. Around 11 o'clock, the chatter died down and they went to sleep. Peace at last, she thought.

It took her about two seconds to realise she would never fall asleep. She got out of bed and crept out of the dormitories, into the common room.

Sitting on one of the fat, red sofas was none other than Harry Potter.

He looked up, and Mallory's eyes widened.

"I-I'm sorry. I'll go," she stammered.

"No, no. Stay." He waved his arm at the sofas around him. "There's plenty of space."

Mallory had never known such kindness; she wasn't sure what to do. She glanced at him unsurely, then lowered herself onto an armchair.

"What brings you here?" Harry asked.

Mallory shrugged. "I couldn't sleep."

"Neither," said Harry.

The two of them sat there, staring at the fire.

Harry started to say something.

"I know what you're going to ask, Harry," Mallory interrupted, looking at him. "Didn't that Weasley boy tell you?"

Harry looked at her awkwardly. "Only that you were the illicit daughter of Bellatrix Lestrange."

"And that the whole world hates me?" She couldn't help but laugh a little. Harry looked even more awkward at this.

"Well - yes. I'm sorry."

"It's not new news to me. I don't need anyone's pity. I've gotten used to it," said Mallory, looking away. She knew he didn't mean to look so sorry for her, but she had learned to be independent over the years.

"I think we're similar, you and I," Harry started, but Mallory cut him off.

"I was thinking that at the start, too, but we're really not. Everyone loves you, and everyone hates me. You'll have an easy life after Hogwarts, because everyone will want you. You'll probably become some important Ministry man and with a steady income, you'll marry some girl you like and have kids and live in a big house. I will not. No one will want to hire me, because of who my mother is, and I'll probably die lonely and on the streets. Our past may have started off the same, with families that hated us, but our future will not be. Do you understand?"

Harry did not have anything to say to this. Mallory took a deep breath.

"Anyway, I should probably go to bed. Goodnight," she said, and walked upstairs. Harry did not call her back.