Piper sat staring at the rattling window, its trim a ghostly white against the clear night sky. What if it's me next? Her heart was racing and her teeth were chattering. What if I'm the 4th child? No, it's impossible.
They would never take a Malfoy.
Piper spent what seemed like hours just gazing at the window, the swinging white frame, the few stars looming in the sky. Eventually exhaustion swept over her and she sank into a deep sleep aboard the speeding Hogwarts Express.
*****
Piper stood in the great hall, her eyes darting around nervously. Her eyes slid to the 4 long tables, one for each house, and noticed something peculiar. There were absolutely no students. Why were there no other students? Why was she the only one there?
"PIPER DEANNE MALFOY" boomed Professor McGonagall, "It is time for your judgment." She moved away so Piper could see a lone stool sitting in front of the long tables. It had the fabled Sorting Hat on top of it.
Piper walked up to the stool and sat down, her eyes resting intently on the sorting hat as it was lowered onto her head.
"Hmm... there's no doubt where you belong..." The sorting hat practically whispered. "You shall be in GRYFFINDOR."
A gasp escaped Piper's mouth and she fell off the stool in a dead faint. The sorting hat laid askew by her side.
*****
"Miss Malfoy?" A concerned voice said softly.
Piper Malfoy's eyes fluttered open for a moment, then closed. "But mommy... I want to stay home and bake cookies with you!" Piper groaned. She mumbled something else incoherently and rolled over and off the side of the train booth she was stretched out on.
She opened her eyes and let out a yelp of surprise. Staring down at her was a tall man with a very long nose and bespectacled blue eyes. Piper groaned again. The man was none other than the famous Albus Dumbledore.
"I'm sorry Miss Malfoy, but you happened to fall asleep on the train and you're late to the sorting," Dumbledore said politely, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He extended an arm towards her. "Would you please accompany me to the Great Hall?"
Piper sat there speechless for a moment but finally gathered her wits and hurried to the castle alongside Dumbledore, rubbing her aching side and hardly noticing just how grand Hogwarts castle really was.
She rushed into the Great Hall and straight into a tightly knit pack of first years. They were all showing some signs of anxiety. Some were biting their nails, some were twirling their hair. Tapping shoes could be heard and the sound of grinding teeth was consistent. Piper was standing behind a short girl with flaming red hair; she knew enough about other wizarding families to see that this girl was definitely a Weasley. She sneered and looked around for her cousin Draco.
"Ah, now that we're all here, will the first years please come to the front. The sorting is ready to begin!" Professor McGonagall said.
"Edward LeStrange," Professor McGonagall called first and laid the hat gently onto his head.
"RAVENCLAW!" the sorting hat said almost at once.
Professor McGonagall lifted the hat off of his head and placed it onto the next first year, Virginia Weasley.
Piper found it strange that it took so long for the sorting hat to decide. After all, she was a Weasley, EVERYONE knows where all the Weasleys go. Finally the hat took a breath (if hats can take breaths) through the large tear that served as its mouth.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Keeghan O'Reilley was the next victim to McGonagall's call. His mouth twitched and he looked like he was going to be sick. Professor Mcgonagall lowered the hat and it nearly covered his entire head.
The hat took a while to decide, but no extraordinary amount of time. Soon the sorting hat's conclusion rang through the Great Hall.
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Piper Malfoy," Professor McGonagall called, her voice clear as a bell.
Piper strode confidently towards the stool. After all, there was no doubt were she would go. The professor checked her name off of a parchment and then placed the sorting hat onto Piper's head.
"Hmm... I see a good deal of courage and you're quite intellectual too." the sorting hat purred into her ear, much like it had in her dream. "There is also a nice bit of trickery in you; a taste for revenge. Now, where should I put you? I know! GRYFFINDOR!"
Piper's eyes widened with astonishment. How could this be? No, no, no! This isn't happening!!
She walked back toward the other first years on unsteady legs. She glanced at the Slytherin table where each and every eye was fixated on her. Piper avoided making eye contact with Draco, knowing what she'd see. Utter hatred.
*****
Piper found herself in the Gryffindor common room, although she didn't remember getting there. Her body and mind were numbed with shock and the world seemed to spin around her. Why me? she thought, Why me? What should I do? I'll never be able to face anyone again, never be able to look Draco in the eye. The pure shame of being a Gryffindor was too much to bear, too much to think about. She closed her eyes for a moment and opened them again, the image before her clearing a bit. Piper could see students milling around, all seeming perky and cheerful. It's disgusting. Who could ever be that happy?
"So," a voice spoke up behind Piper, "A Malfoy in Gryffindor. Well, i guess there are freaks in every family."
Piper turned her head to see a full head of bright orange hair and a face speckled with freckles. "A Weasley," She groaned, "What did I to deserve this?"
"Hey! You're not the one who has to share a dormitory with you! No, wait, you have to put up with yourself every second of the day. My bad!"
The girls exchanged menacing glares, each daring the other to make the first move. Suddenly they both pulled out their wands.
"ENGORGIO!"
"FURNUNCULUS!"
"Nice hex..." Ginny said, struggling to hold up her newly enlarged nose.
"You too," said Piper wincing in pain from her rapidly growing boils, "Madam Pomfrey?"
"Lets go."
*****
She's not all that bad Ginny thought as she glanced at the exhausted girl laying on the cot beside her. Her jet black hair was streaked with blue and her eyes were a dazzling yellow. Eyes that, when you look into them, make you wonder what she was really thinking, what's really going on inside her head. There's got to be something amazing about her. Not many people can break the infamous Malfoy chain. After all, how often do you see good emerge from evil? Ginny sighed and pulled herself off of the cot, not wanting to be late for double potions. God knows what Snape would do.
*****
"It is important for young wizards to know the value of simple potion ingredients," Professor Snape lectured as he strode up and down the classroom, "One tiny mistake and a simple acne-curing potion can be turned into a deadly weapon. This is why, students, that we are conducting this activity today. Pair up and you shall each brew your own potions. A list of the ingredients you will be using and their reactivity can be found in your book. You may also want to use one of the suggested potions. Begin!"
"I hope you know what you're doing," Piper whispered to Ginny, "Because I haven't looked in the book and I never intend to."
Piper watched Ginny giggle for a moment and then began to measure out random ingredients, not bothering to check the labels. The cauldron glowed blue as she poured in a fine brown power and as she poured in a drop of a clear green liquid it cooled to a reflective silver.
"What are we making, Ginny? Possibly a mouth freshening potion? Or maybe Ode de Stinky Sweaty Classroom? The potion surely smells bad enough, but it's missing something..." Piper remarked as she dropped in a handful of translucent chips.
The potion let out a large bang and the now purple mixture spilled over the cauldron edge, seeking out unwary students' feet. Everyone ran from the acidic liquid in a mad panic.
"IMBECILES! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Snape screeched as the potion spread to cover the entire dungeon floor. He uttered a spell and a moment later the potion was confined to a small glass jar. "You'd better hope that potion didn't harm anyone or you'll be expelled before you can say 'I hate Snape.' Get it?"
Piper and Ginny nodded meekly, each wondering what would happen next.
"Everyone out! Potions class is over for today," Snape said, massaging his temples.
The class climbed down from their perches atop chars and tables and drifted out the door. In the rush to get out, nobody noticed a small scruffy rat completely drenched in the vile potion.
*****