Thank you all SO SO SO much for the reviews! You guys have NO idea how much it meant to me! Reviews are ALWAYS appreciated (except for the flames). I don't own Harry Potter or any characters related to it. JK Rowling does. Rated PG 13 for occasional cussing.

Chapter 2- THE SORTING

Draco waited with Crabbe and Goyle at the Hogsmeade station for the horseless carriages that always came to pick up the Hogwarts students and take them to the school. He had glimpsed Millia following Hagrid, the game keeper of Hogwarts, with the rest of the first years for the traditional ride across the lake. He hoped that she would be OK because the storm was still going on and it was raining. He had finally admitted to himself that he liked her. Not just as a friend, but more than a friend. Still, he kept denying to himself that he liked her as a girlfriend, but deep down inside, he knew that he loved her.

He boarded the carriage with Crabbe and Goyle. The carriage started its way towards Hogwarts, a huge castle. He looked out the window and saw dementors guarding the gates. He frowned inwardly. He hoped they would stay away from the castle. He didn't want them scaring Millia, she was sensitive. He sighed.

"You all right Draco?" Crabbe asked.

Draco looked at them in surprise. Usually Crabbe and Goyle were really stupid and dense. But he supposed that they could sense something was wrong with him since they had been hanging out together since they started at Hogwarts.
He nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just depressed that these dementors won't suck the soul out of Potter."
Crabbe and Goyle both sniggered. Draco went back to staring out the window. They neared the great double doors that lead into the castle and the carriage stopped. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle quickly rushed to the double doors. As they stood there waiting for Harry so Draco could make some snide remark, Neville Longbottom walked past them, talking to Dean Thomas. "Yeah," Neville was saying. "Harry fainted when the dementors came." Draco smiled triumphantly. He wouldn't let Harry live this down.

"You FAINTED, Potter? Is Longbottom telling the truth? You actually FAINTED?" Draco asked gleefully when Harry got out of the next carriage.

Ron sighed. "Malfoy, Malfoy, Malfoy. Why won't you follow my advice and go to hell?"

"Did you faint also, Weasel?" Draco asked turning to Ron. "Did the scary dementors frighten you?"

"Is there a problem?" a voice asked behind Harry. Draco looked over Harry's shoulder and saw the same teacher who had given him, Millia, and Jason some chocolate.

Draco looked him up and down and saw patches on his frayed robes. "Of course not-um-Professor," Draco said, giving off just a hint of sarcasm. He lead Crabbe and Goyle into the Great Hall and went to sit at the Slytherin table. Golden goblets and plates laid in front of them, spotless and reflecting the candles that floated above the four tables. The Great Hall's enchanted ceiling, which was made to look like the sky outside, was black and cloudy.

The first years walked in with Professor McGonagall, the Head of Gryffindor House, in the lead. She lead them up to the teachers' table and put them in a line so the first years faced the other students. Professor Flitwick, the tiny Charms teacher, placed an old patched wizard's hat on top of a three legged stool. A tear near the brim opened and the hat began singing. (AN: sorry, I'm not good with rhymes so I'll skip that part).

Professor McGonagall unrolled a long piece of parchment. "When I call your name, you'll come and put the hat on," she looked down at the parchment and called out, "Avery, Sarah."

A black haired girl came and jammed the hat on over her head and the hat shouted, "Ravenclaw!" The second table from the far left cheered loudly. The sorting continued and Draco was impatient for the hat to sort Millia. He knew that there was no way she was going to be in Slytherin since she was too sweet to be. Then finally, Professor McGonagall called out, "Jeice, Millia."

Millia walked to the hat and sat down and put it nervously on her head. It took only a few moments before the hat called out, "Gryffindor!" The table on the far left cheered even louder than the rest of the tables. Millia took the hat off and set it on the stool and ran to the Gryffindor table where she sat next to Ron. Slytherin and Gryffindor were the two houses that never EVER got along. They hated each other and that hate was built up only by Draco's and Professor Snape's hate for Harry. Professor Snape was head of Slytherin House and taught Potions.
It seemed to Draco that the sorting took forever until finally the last person was sorted into Slytherin. Draco didn't clap, as he wasn't in the mood to do it. Just when the sorting was over and Professor Flitwick took the hat and stool away, Harry and Hermione came through the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table. Draco was annoyed when Harry sat next to Millia who was smiling at Harry.

Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, stood up and the whole hall quieted down. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few announcements and one of them happens to be very serious. We will be playing host to some of the dementors from Azkaban. The Ministry of Magic insisted that we have them stationed here," Dumbledore paused, not sounding too pleased with the arrangement. "They are guarding every entrance to the grounds. You must ask permission before you can leave school. They can not be fooled by tricks or anything else, nor Invisibility Cloaks. I look to the prefects and the Head Boy and Girl to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors," he said.

"Also," Professor Dumbledore continued. "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers this year. "Professor Lupin," he indicated the shabby looking teacher, "will be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
There were some rather unenthusiastic applause and some rather hard ones from the Gryffindor table. "As to the other announcement," Dumbledore went on, the hall going quiet again. "I am most upset to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired last year, telling me that he would like to live and enjoy his remaining limbs. But I am happy to inform you that Rubeus Hagrid, has agreed to take on the job, along with his game keeping duties."
Draco looked at Hagrid in disgust. Hagrid was wiping his eyes on the tablecloth and grinning stupidly. The cheers from the Gryffindor table were noisy.

"Before we start the feast, I would like to tell the first years that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all students. Well, I won't delay the feast any longer. Let the feast begin!" Dumbledore said, sitting down.

The plates in front of them suddenly filled with all different kinds of food and drink. Draco helped himself to the food and ate until he was full. All through their feast, he kept sneaking glances at Millia who was talking animatedly to Harry, who was paying rapt attention. Draco had a strange urge to go over there and throttle him.

As soon as the feast ended, Professor Dumbledore told them that it was time to go to bed. Draco, Crabbe and Goyle made their way towards the dungeons where their common room was. Draco caught sight of Millia who was going up the magnificent marble staircase with the rest of the Gryffindors. She met his eyes and turned her head away. Probably still mad at the way I treated her on the train, Draco thought. He wanted to take her aside and apologize for the way he had acted on the train, but he didn't want to do it in front of all these people. I'll do it tomorrow, he promised. They swept their way through the dark corridors and paused in front of a stretch of bare, damp stone wall.
"The password's 'Black Magic'!" a prefect yelled from the back. The wall opened to reveal a common room with a roaring fire, but no windows. On the ceiling were green lamps dangling from it. High backed chairs dotted the room here and there. Draco headed up the stairs to the room where the third years stayed. He saw his trunk at the foot of his bed. He changed into his pajamas and laid down on his bed, closing his eyes and thinking of Millia.

* * *

Draco peeked into the Great Hall, which was filled with students, eager to begin the first day of school. He scanned the Gryffindor table. He was waiting for Millia. She hadn't come in so he thought he could just wait by the marble staircase for her to come and to take her aside and apologize to her. My first apology to anyone, he thought rolling his eyes. This should go down in the Once-In-A-Lifetime-Deeds-Of-Draco-Malfoy. He looked up again at the marble staircase and saw Millia coming down, holding books in her hand. She spotted him and frowned. She reached the bottom step where Draco was and was about to walk past him when he grabbed her wrist. She looked at him, her mouth in a thin line.

"If you've come to be mean to me," she began, "Please let it be some other time. I'm meeting Harry in the Great Hall."

Draco's already pale face turned even paler. "You're meeting Potter?"

Millia looked at him. "Of course I am. I just said that, didn't I?"

"Look," Draco said. "I'm really sorry for the way I acted in the train when you asked me to stay. I just wanted to apologize to you."
Millia looked deep in his eyes. "I wish you would stop blocking your feelings, Draco," she said softly. "Especially for me. I can see it in your eyes. Just let it out."

Draco stepped back in surprise. "How did you know?"

"Your eyes, they're so expressive," she said, still staring deeply.

He blinked, wanting her to stop looking at him that way. She might uncover secrets of how much he loved her. He was afraid if she found out, it might scare her away. He was glad when she stopped looking in his eyes.

She laughed suddenly. "I know how you feel. My mother always used to stare into my eyes too. It always made me feel uncomfortable. I'll try not to do it anymore." She backed against the wall and put her right foot up. Draco came up to her and put both hands on the wall on either side of her, trapping her.

She giggled. "What are you doing?"

"Keeping you with me," he murmured, suddenly not himself. He lowered his head, closing his eyes, waiting to meet her lips.

Millia giggled again, making Draco open his eyes. She dodged under his arm, no longer trapped. "We can't do that out here," she said still giggling. "We'll get in trouble."

Draco walked away from the wall and over to her, taking her free hand from her side and holding it in both of his hands. "Meet me after your last class by the lake," he pleaded. He kissed her hand.

She was mesmerized by his lips and the spot where he had kissed on her hand. "All right."

He let go of her hand and walked into the Great Hall and to the Slytherin table, where he watched as Millia sat at the end of Gryffindor table. He was glad that Harry wasn't there, yet. He looked towards the door of the Great Hall and saw Harry coming through. He got an inspiration and pretended that he fainted, much to the gleeful laughter of the Slytherin table.

"Hey, Potter!" yelled Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin third year. "The dementors are coming! Woooooooo!"

Harry walked past them, not paying them the slightest attention. Draco scowled as Harry went and sat next to Millia. Millia was looking at Draco with a stern look on her face. She ignored Draco for the rest of breakfast and didn't even look at him when she left the Great Hall to go find her class. Oh great! he thought. She's mad at me again. Draco's hate towards Harry increased.

At their first Care of Magical Creatures with Gryffindor, Hagrid showed them hippogriffs. What a showoff, Draco thought as he watched Harry fly on a hippogriff through the air. When Harry landed, Draco came over and examined the hippogriff that he had flown.

"You're not so bad," he said to the hippogriff. "Are you, you great ugly brute."

Suddenly, the hippogriff came up and smashed Draco down, slashing him across the arm with one of its sharp talons. Draco let out a scream.

"I'm dying!" Draco yelled, horror struck at the blood on his robes. "It killed me!"

"Yer not dyin'!" Hagrid said. He picked up Draco and carried him to the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey, the school nurse, cleaned his cut and mended it magically with her wand, putting some bandages on it.

"You'll be all right," she said, putting away the bandages.

Draco nodded with a fake grimace and went out of the hospital wing, grinning wickedly. He would have to put on a show for the Gryffindors and Slytherins, show them how much it "hurt". Draco had to admit that Madame Pomfrey had done a good job. His cut wasn't even there and he couldn't feel any pain. He immediately went to the owlery, where he told his father what happened and borrowed one of the school owls and sent it soaring out the window. He looked down at the lake and suddenly remembered the meeting with Millia. He quickly went down the stairs and through the double doors that lead outside. He walked quickly to the lake, hoping Millia hadn't left yet. He arrived at the lake, panting. He watched as the huge squid stretched out its tentacles (AN: it's a giant squid right? or was it something else?). He sat under a tree, looking at the castle, looking for Millia. Finally he saw her running towards him, her long black hair flying.

"Draco!" she panted. Then she spotted his bandaged arm. "What happened?" she asked, suddenly concerned.

He would've told her that a huge hippogriff attacked him for no reason, but he couldn't bring himself to lie to her. "I-I got attacked by a hippogriff," Draco stammered, wanting to lie to her.

"Why?"

"Uh. . .Because it. . ." he didn't know what to say.

Millia looked deep in his eyes again. "You're lying to me, Draco. Tell me the truth."

"Fine! Because I insulted it," he said quickly.

She frowned, not really understanding. "Insulted it?"

"Yeah, Hagrid said they're easily insulted," Draco said, not daring to tell a lie to her.

She looked at him disapprovingly. "Then why did you insult it then?" she sighed. "Draco, I wish you would stop making trouble."

"I try not to," Draco told her. "But I can't help it."

She put her arms around his neck. "Yes you can." He didn't know what to say. He couldn't think when she touched him. "Where's that kiss you promised me this morning?" she said quietly, closing her eyes. He bent down and closed his eyes too, meeting her lips halfway. As soon as he touched her lips, he felt like he was going to explode. Liquid fire raced through his body, going everywhere. His brain seemed clear of every thought that he had had. He kissed her inexperienced lips with his own. This was his first time kissing anybody, and he liked it. She suddenly pulled away, surprise in her eyes.

"What?" Draco asked, his eyes glazed.

"That was my first kiss," she said. "I feel. . .funny."

Draco raised his eyebrows slightly. "Like you're going to explode?"

She nodded. "Yeah, like that."

"Don't worry, I feel the same way," he said kissing her again. He wrapped his arms around her waist, thinking that he was in heaven. (AN: no tongue in these kisses! come on people! they both are new to this!) They kissed for long minutes, not realizing that the sun had begun to set.
Millia pulled away again. She looked at the setting sun in surprise. "I never thought that it was getting this late!" she exclaimed, extracting her arms from Draco's neck.

Draco looked at her, marveling for the millionth time at how beautiful she was. "Who cares how late it is?" said Draco as he took her hands in his.

Millia looked at him, smiling. "I do. I have to get back to the castle and do some homework. They sure do give you a lot of homework for the first day of school," she said tracing his lower lip with her thumb.

Draco snatched her playful hands. "Don't do that or we'll be out here till night time."

She laughed. "All right. We better get back to the castle." She held onto his hand, pulling him towards the castle door.

* * *
OK! How was it? I know it was a crummy ending but it was getting long. Please review! I need at least one or two reviews before I'll write the next chapter. I have lots of ideas of where this story will go. Heh heh. super-sailor-saturn39