::Diclaimer:: I don't own Harry Potter. Sorry, folks. Really, I wish it was mine! But, um, it's not, so... Moving on, shall we? lol

::AN:: So... chapter seven rolls around... YAY!! Sorry for the delay and all... And thanks for all the reviews, I luff you guys! The next chappie should be posted soon as well, but I'm also working on my new fic (which, erm, isn't posted quite yet - but it will be soon, I swear!!) Anyways, hope you like!!

Chapter Seven

"You've not gone mad." The voice said. "I'm here to sort you. Did no one tell you?"

Um. Yeah. What is it with this school and segregation, though? Seriously!

"You seem to have a will of your own…"

So you agree? About this segregation nonsense, I mean. Really, it's a bit weird. I mean, you've got your griffins and your snakes –

"That's Gryffindor and Slytherin. You have a high intelligence. Higher than any other first year I have ever seen before…"

Um, maybe that's because I'm a fifth year.

"Yes, I see that now… Hmm… Interesting…"

Dear Merlin. Imagine if the fate of the world rested in your hands. Or, lack of hands, whatever. We'd all be dead. How hard is it to realize that I'm not a first year? Honestly!

"Very interesting…"

Are you going to segregate me or not?!

"I can see that you're loyal… But I see a desire to prove yourself…"

I desire sex sometimes, too. Did you want to know that as well? I have dreams about sex, you know. Or, well, what I think sex would be like. It looks like fun.

"Honestly, child, I'm trying to sort you."

Correction: You're trying to segregate me. I can see through you're little masquerade-thingy. You remind me of an old, ugly hat I knew once. Oh, wait, that's you.

"I can sense a portion of great bravery…"

Blah dee blah dee blah.

"You're fit for Slytherin, you are."

Yeah, I know. It runs in the family, or so I hear. Can't let the Mom and Pops down, you know. It would be disgraceful. I'd have to run away and join the circus or something. Or, well, whatever it is that the black sheep of the family do.

"But… You're so very loyal…"

We've been over this. I'm loyal. Like a dog, right? No, don't answer that. I don't think I'd take kindly to being compared to a dog. I mean, I'm not dog-like, am I? Can you see me? Do you have eyes? I'm not that ugly, am I?

"I see great things ahead of you."

Ooh, let me guess, I'm going to get a proper pedicure sooner than the Winter Holidays. Please let that be it. Please, please, please.

"It's a tough choice… But I've seen enough… Better be…"

Have you? You sure you don't want to stick around a bit? I've got some valuable info in here, you know. Hey, did you hear the one about the porcupine and the wildebeest? No? I'll tell you, then.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

McGonagall pulled the hat off of my head and I blinked up at her from the chair. "Aw, come on, I was getting to the really good part." I half-whined.

See, I don't whine anymore. I fully put the whining behind me back when I put diapers and breast milk behind me. And I am never going back to either of those. Trust me.

McGonagall stared at me for a few moments before turning to Dumbledore. "The first years will be arriving soon, Albus." She said in her stiff-like manner.

I was sitting there, gazing longingly at the lemon drop that Professor Dumbledore had put in front of me when it suddenly dawned on me. I looked up at Dumbledore. "Ohnonononono." I said all in one breath.

The 'old hag' simply raised an eyebrow at me and twinkled again behind his half-moon spectacles. (By the way, where are my spectacles? Where did I put them?) "I'm in a huffy puff." I said, not even remembering my own sorted name-thing.

Professor McGonagall didn't seem to mind that I had gone full black sheep in just a few moments time. She held the sorting hat in her arms and said to me, "Follow me, Miss Malfoy."

"No!" I cried, turning to Dumbledore, since he seemed to be the only one paying attention to my well-being. "What about the snake place?!" I exclaimed. "I can't go into a huff and puff! You don't understand! Draco –"

"I'm sure you're brother Draco is very happy that his younger sister is now attending the same school as him." Dumbledore said gleefully.

"What are you talking about?" I asked dryly, totally trying to ignore McGonagall's impatient glances from me to the door. "I'm not in Slytherin. He's going to kill me. He's going to filet me alive. He's going to go on a horrible rampage. It'll be total chaos! He'll back up the floo network! He'll maim the first born of every muggleborn family! He'll eat nothing but spinach and steal everyone's left shoe!" [A/N: South Park tribute right there.]

"Miss Malfoy," McGonagall said in a tight-lipped way. "If you would please follow me."

I gaped at Dumbledore as he smiled at me. He pushed his half-moon glasses up his nose and said, "I am to believe that your brother is allergic to spinach."

I nodded. He was totally getting it! "Like I said! Total chaos!"

"The feast begins soon." Dumbledore said, walking around his desk. "Miss Malfoy, if you would follow Professor McGonagall and myself to the Great Hall, we could get on with the sorting ceremony."

I blinked at him, but shook my head, trying to clear it of I'm-going-to-be-massacred thoughts (didn't work, by the way), and followed the two geezers.

Well, what else was I supposed to do?

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

I was totally not in the mood to talk to anyone. Why was everyone so keen on talking to me? What's so special about me? Um, sure, I'm the new girl, but really. There were, like, tons of other new kids that showed up the same day as me. Granted, they were, like, two feet shorter (well, practically), but they were still new.

"We don't get too many transfer students." One boy was saying to me. "Most people prefer to stay at whatever school they started out in."

Well, if it's any constellation, slightly-big-nosed-boy, I didn't want to come here. Honestly.

I meant 'consolation' didn't I? I'm sure I did. Whatever, I was never one to master the English language. Even though it's, well, the only language I know.

"Where did you transfer from again?" A girl was asking me.

"Durmstrang." I said mostly to the spinach on my plate.

Spinach. I peeked over at the Slytherin table, but it seemed that Mr. I-can't-think-on-my-own numbers One and Two were blocking my view of Draco with their massive bodies. Honestly, how did they ever become so large? I overheard someone calling them "Crabbe and Goyle" (actually, that someone might have been Draco but I'm not entirely sure), and I just can't understand that because I remember them, then. I remember Christmas parties and high-speed broom races.

They weren't so huge then, let me tell you. Then again, that was, like, fifteen years ago. Or, well, you know what I mean. It was a long time ago.

"So, what year are you in again?" Someone asked me. Male or female, male or female? I was too confused to take notice.

"Fifth?" I said, becoming unsure of it myself.

"So why did you transfer here?" The girl next to me asked.

I blinked at her. "Because my Mom told me to." I said as she gave me an odd look.

"You look like someone I know." The 'we-don't-get-too-many-transfer-students' boy said, pointing his fork at me while he chewed with his mouth full.

I stared at him. "Um. Sorry?" Well, it seemed worthy of an apology… I mean, he didn't know it yet, but that person he knew? Yeah, Draco. And judging by what I overheard some boy 'warning' a first year about, Draco wasn't exactly well liked among the Hufflepuffs. (Look, see? I remembered: Hufflepuff.)

I stole a glance over at the teacher's table-thing. Dumbledore seemed to catch my eye and he twinkled at me.

Honestly, he needs to stop that. Thank Merlin I toned out his long speech once we arrived in the Great Hall. Like I assumed, he didn't introduce me or anything. And, really, why should he? I'm only a transfer student. I'm sure I'm not the only transfer student to ever waltz these halls. (Although, now that I'm on the subject: What is up with waltzing? It's kind of weird, if you ask me.)

"What did you say your name was again?" The boy asked. I swear, he asks a lot of questions. It's like he can't shut up for two seconds.

"Lucy." I said with a mouthful of spinach, although I think he got the message. That my name is Lucy, I mean. Not that I had a mouthful of spinach. Even though I did. Have a mouthful of spinach, I mean.

"Lucy…?" The girl next to me asked, trailing off at just the right point to indicate that I should tell my last name.

In a quick save, I tried to smile (not easy to do with spinach-mouth, let me tell you) without opening my mouth as I pointed to my lips and looked at her apologetically as if to say, "Talk with food in my mouth? Now why would I do that?"

Even though I so had just seconds before. But, really, she didn't seem as annoying as the dude with all the questions.

"Malfoy." I said finally when I finished swallowing my spinach.

It was then that all of the people within hearing range of me turned to gape at me. And the ones who were aware that a few people around them hadn't heard, quickly elbowed the people seated near them and so on and so forth until pretty much the whole of the Hufflepuff was gaping at me.

Question Boy decided to take matters into his own hands, however, as his jaw practically met with the table in front of me. "You're a MALFOY?!" He exclaimed loud enough for the entire Hall to hear.

Why, yes, you silly thing. Now could I eat? Oh, what's that? No? Well, why not? Because now EVERYONE'S staring at me? Oh, I see.

I tried not to look around, I really did. But I couldn't help it. I looked. And, sure enough, everyone was staring at me. Gawking, really. Not appealing, I must say, as quite a few of my "onlookers" hadn't exactly bothered to swallow their food first. Very sexy, I must say. Not.

My eyes finally met with my brother's across the room. "It's a – It's a –" I stuttered, unable to look away as he stared back at me, just like everyone else in the room. In a moment of sheer insanity, I turned to Question Boy and furrowed my brow at him. "What's with the stare-age?" I asked him.

He blinked at me. "You're a… Malfoy." He whispered, although, really, what was the point, when everyone could hear him anyway, it had gotten that quiet.

My gaze flittered back to Draco's for a strategically brief moment. "So?" I asked a little louder than I had intended to.

It was then that my "genius" brother decided to develop a brain as he nudged his fellow Slytherins and started up a conversation. To my great relief, the rest of the Hall followed suit and slowly the small chatter coming from the Slytherin spread across the room until it regained the same gentle hum of voices s it had before.

I wasn't quite finished with Question Boy, though. I stabbed the spinach on my plate violently, in an angry gesture to tell him that I meant business, but which sort of backfired – sending spinach at my eye. "Ow." I muttered angrily, not bothering to wipe it away as I kept my good eye on him (I had to close the 'spinached' one, you see.). "What," I asked as he ad a few other Hufflepuffs watched on, "is so wrong with being a Malfoy?"

"You have spinach in your eye." The girl next to me whispered.

I did the only thing I could think of. I laughed. I wiped the spinach off of my eye with a napkin and looked over at the girl next to me, still laughing. In a moment of pure hopelessness, she seemed to share my craziness as the corners of her mouth twitched and within moments, we were bursting into fits of giggles and holding our hands over our mouths so as not to make a (I mean, another) scene.

"What's so funny? Did I miss something?" Question Boy asked.

I blinked my bad eye a few times as my laughter died down. "What?" I asked him.

"What's so funny?" He repeated.

I stared blankly at him. "I had spinach in my eye." I told him, even though, clearly, he had seen that part. Hadn't he?

"Wow, Justin." The girl next to me said. "Way to ruin a bit of fun. We were just having a laugh." She said, rolling her eyes.

I nodded. "Right, Justin." I said, adding his name for good measure.

The girl grinned and put her hand in front of my face. "By the way," she said. "I'm Margaret Clearwater."

I stared at her hand and slowly shook it, but let go quickly. Whoa, man, what's with the friendliness? Really, now. Just because we laughed together doesn't automatically make us friends.

I learned this quickly once supper was over and we headed to the dorms. Where Margaret abandoned me to "go talk to some people in the common room." I sat at the foot of my bed, looking around the room – I was the only one who didn't want to be in the common room, it appeared.

I was also the only one who seemed to want to have a good cry.