Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter. But this ficcie is mine, all mine!!! My precioussssssssssss looks up Oh yeah, on to the fic...

Chapter Two: The dreaded Sorting Hat encounter.

Esmerelda Renee Amalyne Henriana Johnson was standing in line with a bunch of eleven year olds, about to be sorted. Though it was loud with the chatter of the first years, Esme could hear her heart thumping around in her chest. If that wasn't enough, the butterflies in her stomach decided to revolt, and it was all she could to keep from emptying the contents of her stomach on to the chestnut brown hair of the girl in front of her.

Esme looked up to see a tall, intimidating woman standing at the front of the line. She herded them out into a large, splendid room. The ceiling looked like the sky, or WAS the sky, thought Esme, hoping the latter not to be true, and at the far end there were four long tables. Esme thought she saw Ron waving to her at one of them, but wasn't sure, because the room got hushed and the intimidating woman announced that the sorting was to begin. She watched, as a stool was set down, and an awfully dirty hat on top of it. The silence was soon broken, as the hat began to sing. Once it had finished, everyone started clapping and the sorting began.

"Ahmet, Nefra!" Esme watched as a tiny girl with long, thick, dark brown hair walked timidly up to the stool, sat down and placed the entirely-too-old hat gingerly on her head. Esme wondered how a hat could figure out what house someone would be put in, when she was jarred out of her thoughts by the scream of "Ravenclaw!" by the hat. Esme stared in awe as the line in front of her grew smaller and smaller, until finally...

"Johnson, Esmerelda Renee Amalyne Henriana". Esme gulped. This was it. She shuffled over to the stool and glanced at the hat. 'How was that thing still in one piece?' she thought. 'Better put it on carefully.' She scooped up the hat, like one would lift a baby, and placed it on her head, careful not to mess up her hair. 'Wonder how long this'll take,' thought Esme sarcastically.

"Not long my dear," a voice answered. Esme bolted upright. 'Who said that?' she thought, looking around.

"I did, the Sorting Hat. Well, I see you are very courageous and brave when you need to be. You have a strong spirit, that of a fighter, so I'm going to place you in...Gryffindor!"

The hat must have shouted the last part, because the school burst into applause. Esmerelda carefully removed the hat from her head, set it down on the stool, and then bolted to the Gryffindor table. She spotted Ron and went to join him.

"So glad you're in Gryffindor!" said Ron, who offered Esme an empty chair.

"Yeah, always glad to have a new friend," said Ginny, smiling. Esme smiled back. Friend, she said friend. Maybe this year wouldn't be so bad after all. Esme looked at the three other tables, all chattering with excitement and occasionally cheering when someone was sorted into their house. At last, she found who she was looking for. Draco Malfoy, sitting in the center of the Slytherin table. He looked up, and when he saw that she was looking at him, he winked. Esme blushed furiously and turned back to the table.

"Something wrong Esme?" asked Hermione, "Your face is all red."

"Nothing!" Esme squeaked. "Just excited. I'm glad I'm in Gryffindor!" Just then, after the hat had placed "Zyndrid, Ken" in Hufflepuff, an utterly enormous amount of food appeared on the table before them. As they stuffed their faces, Esme still couldn't forget the look in Draco's eyes in the second before he winked. Esme ate her fill, and before she knew it, she was following her fellow Gryffindors up to the Gryffindor Tower.

"So, when we reach a portrait of a fat lady, we say a password and it'll open?" Esme asked Hermione, who had just explained how to get into the tower to her.

"Yup," replied Hermione. "Just make sure you remember the correct password. Neville's been locked out more than once," said Hermione with a laugh. They finally reached the portrait and Hermione gave Esme a nudge.

"Freckles," said Esme hesitantly. The portrait swung open and the Gryffindor's clambered inside.

Hermione showed Esme around the common room, and then to the girl's dormitory. "Wow, my stuff's already here!" exclaimed Esme, while Hermione nodded, and helped her unpack. Esme opened one of her trunks to find a note sitting on top of her school cloaks. Her name was written in dark green ink on the folded piece of parchment. Esme didn't know who it could be from, so she slipped it into her robes, she'd look at it later.

Later couldn't come soon enough for Esme. Finally, when the common room had emptied out and nearly everyone had retired to bed, Esme pulled out the mysterious note and read it by the warm fire glowing in the Gryffindor fireplace. It read:

Esme,

Please meet me in the trophy room at midnight. I've drawn a map below, so it will be easy for you to find it.

D. M.

Below the note was a simple, yet easy to read map of the way from the Great Hall to the trophy room. Esme's stomach was in knots. Should she go meet "D. M." in the trophy room? What if she got caught? She glanced at the old grandfather clock in the common room. It was a quarter to midnight. If she was going to go, she'd better go now. With a shaky resolve and only her wand to light the way, Esme tiptoed to the portrait hole and left the common room, as quietly as she could.

A/N: So, what did you think of the first two chapters? I love reviews, especially constructive criticism, so please send me some feedback!