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Chapter 14On the way out of the Great Hall Ashley Ann began pointing out objects around the castle. The Hufflepuff Common Room wasn't very far from the Great Hall. Outside the Common Room entrance Chloe saw Draco peering out of a doorway a short way down the hall.
"You know what. Now that I know where I'm at and the password, I think I'm going to take a short walk and look around a bit." Chloe said motioning for Ashley Ann to go ahead into the Common Room.
"Oh okay. See you later." Ashley Ann said whispering the password and disappearing into the brightly lit Common Room.
The closer Chloe got to the doorway where she had seen Draco the more she began to think about the eerie look on his face a few seconds ago, and the glares at dinnertime. The more Chloe thought about it the more frightened she became. 'I might as well just get this over with' she thought to herself and quickened her pace.
"Hello!" Chloe said once she reached the room. "Draco?"
"How exactly did you get yourself placed in Hufflepuff? Are you trying to ruin you uncles and my reputation. We worked hard for those you know and now you can't be seen around me. That kind of stuff just doesn't happen here." Draco growled from a near by table.
"Oh so its my fault that the hat placed me there."
"Yes you're the one who's head it was on!"
"Like I told it to put me in Hufflepuff. You should have known something like this would happen. I've got muggle blood in me, but that didn't seem to bother you before I was sorted." Chloe said starting to raise her voice.
"This just changes it all."
"How so?"
"Our houses don't interact. If I start now they'll know something is up."
"So we keep it secretive."
"Right like that will work with all the nosey people in this bloody school. Potter, Weasley, and the mudblood Granger will have it figured out in days." Draco said now starting to get slightly red in the face.
"I hate to be the one to tell you but they already know." Chloe said sitting down on a tabletop.
"WHAT? You told them!"
"No, I think you little 'we need to talk' growl on the train gave it all away, oh the choking in the Great Hall, and the glares yeah that helped too."
"Oh." Draco said growing silent.
"It didn't seem to bother them. They were quite fascinated."
"Yeah they probably want to hold it against me."
"What is that suppose to mean?"
"They'll keep it quiet until the time is right and use it against me in some way that's just how the rivalry between our houses goes. It's just one of those things in life that just happens."
With one swift movement Chloe slapped Draco across the face and started to walk towards the door. Draco sat there shocked for a moment before rushing after Chloe.
"What the hell was that for?"
"You're so pessimistic. Have you even tried to break rivalries or rituals? No because you're to worried about what other people think. Well I'll let you know what I think, I think its all stupid. You all need to grow up and get over it. You're not all the different." Chloe said worming her way out of Draco's grip and through the portal into the Common Room. Once inside the dormitory Chloe found Ashley Ann.
"Hey you okay?" Ashley Ann asked as Chloe sat down beside her in a chair near the back of the Common Room.
"Yeah. I had a nasty run-in with peeves." Chloe lied after remembering Draco talking about the poltergeist.
"He's a nasty one. He tends to taunt new people. You're not hurt are you?"
"No, no I'm fine. I do think I'm going to retire for the night could you show me which room is mine." Chloe asked handing Ashley Ann the paper with her school schedule and dormitory number.
"Sure it's the same one I'm in. We've only had two girls in that dorm room from the very beginning it'll be nice to have somebody else in there." After a short walk Ashley Ann pointed to a room on the left. "Here it is. This is my bed over there and that one is Susan's. You can have your pick of the other three beds."
"Okay, thanks. Um . . . where are we supposed to put our clothes?" Chloe asked looking at her trunk at the end of her bed.
"They should be in a wardrobe. Once you pick a bed they should be in the wardrobe net to it." Ashley Ann said pointing to her own wardrobe.
"Ah. Okay well I pick this bed, so my clothes should be in here?" Chloe said while walking towards the wardrobe next to the bed in the center of the three empty beds.
"Yep. They're there right?"
"Yeah. I'm slightly confused. How did . . . ?"
"House Elves."
The rest of the night passed quickly. Chloe decided she better double check her clothes, just in case to make sure they all made it to the wardrobe. After a quick shower she headed back to the room for a good night sleep before her first full day at Hogwarts.