A/N Just a quick mention on my upload schedule. I will aim to update every couple of weeks but due to school and life in general , uploads might be inconsistent . Now I'll shut up. Enjoy!

H.J.P

As everyone began to file out, Harry gathered up his things and whispered a quiet goodbye to his friend. The plan was simple, Harry would leave first and Draco shortly after, to avoid the suspicion that they sat together. Then they would stage a rejected friendship in front of all the first years before they went through to the great hall, to make a rivalry seem plausible.

When Harry got off the train, he was soon spotted by Hagrid who was calling all the firsties to come over to him and get in a boat.

" Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here! All right there Harry?"

Harry muttered a quick greeting, then Hagrid lifted him and put him in a boat with the redhead he saw at the station, a girl with bushy hair and a boy with a toad.

"Hello, my name's Ron, this is Neville and Hermione. You are..?" The redhead asked while pointing at the corresponding person.

"Harry." He replied, hoping they wouldn't recognize him— nope, too late.

"By any chance would you be Harry Potter." The girl asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah."

"I know all about you of course-I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."

"Am I." He asked, feeling overwhelmed.

It was then when all the boats took off the bank and slowly drifted in the direction of the castle. It was quiet for a few moments before conversations continued, as well as Hermione's questioning.

" Do any of you know what house you'll be in? I asked around on the train and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best, I heard that Dumbledore himself was one, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad." Ron rolled his eyes at that last statement.

"I wouldn't mind being in Hufflepuff but my parents were both Gryffindor, so I think that would be an alright choice too," Neville said, his cheeks tinged slightly red at the end.

"I'll be in Gryffindor like the rest of my brothers I suppose," Ron said, a bit of bitterness underlying his tone. "Although if I got put in Slytherin, I'd catch the first train home. I wouldn't go anywhere near those slimy snakes."

Harry thought Ron's opinion was a bit biased considering his family, so he kept his mouth shut from remarking.

"What about you Harry?" Neville asked shyly.

"I'm not sure Neville." He lied, he liked Neville, he was quiet and seemed nice, but he thought that Ron would go mental at him wanting to be in Slytherin because of what he had said about them.

Luckily before they could continue to pester him, everyone stopped talking as the magnificent castle came into view. All the students were awed by the beauty of it, standing proud on a cliff overlooking the black lake.

As they reached dry land once more, they all climbed out of the boats and hurried after Hagrid as he started to walk up to the castle. Once they had all caught up and walked up the stone stairs, Hagrid raised his giant-sized wrist to the door and knocked three times.

As the door swung open, they were presented with a tall, grey haired witch who wore emerald green robes. She had a stern look on her face as she introduced herself as Professor McGonagall the Deputy Headmistress and led them to a small chamber across from a door where it sounded like the rest of the school was. She gave a short speech about the sorting and the different houses before she left to enter the hall.

Harry waited to the right of Ron for Professor McGonagall but also for Draco, who was a few feet away, to initiate the second part of their plan.

As if on cue, Draco began talking.

"So the rumours on the train were true, Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts." Harry literally could feel everyone's eyes turn to himself and Draco at that. "The name's Malfoy. Draco, Malfoy." Ron snickered beside Harry causing Draco to shift his attention to Ron. "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to tell me yours. Red hair and a hand me down robe, you must be a Weasley." Ron's face turned red to match his hair at that statement. Draco then turned back to Harry with the perfect mask of emptiness, apart from the concern in his eyes that only Harry saw. " You'll find that some wizarding families are better than others Potter." He offered his hand and said, "I can help you there."

Just as they planned, Harry didn't take it and replied coolly "I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks." Draco pretended to look taken aback and scowled as he walked back to his other friends. Harry would never admit it but even when he knew it was all just a rouse, it still felt like knives cutting into his heart. He too put on a mask to cover up his pain. He didn't trust easily but there was something about Draco that made Harry feel like he could trust him. He turned back to Ron to distract himself by talking more about the upcoming sorting.

When Professor McGonagall returned, she ordered everyone into a single file and led them through the huge double doors that opened to the Great Hall. They walked past the students who were spread across four long tables. As they approached the head table where the staff were seated, McGonagall placed a four-legged stool on the floor, while also placing an old looking wizard hat that had many patches and tears on it. After a moment of sitting on the stool, one of the tears turned into the shape of a mouth and burst into a song.

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

if you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folks use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

Everyone joined in to applaud the hat, who grew silent once more. McGonagall stepped forward holding a piece of parchment and began reading names to step forward and try the hat on.

"Abott, Hannah."

"HUFFLEPUFF."

"Bones, Susan."

"HUFFLEPUFF."

"Boot, Terry."

"RAVENCLAW."

These were a few of the many firsties who were sorted. Two of the people who he shared a boat with, Neville and Hermione, were both sorted into Gryffindor. Ron openly groaned at Hermione's as he found her a bit of know it all. Draco's sorting was quick and he was placed in Slytherin. While he walked to the Slytherin table, his gaze met Harry's. They both nodded and turned their attention back to the sorting.

Not long later, Harry's name was called.

"Potter, Harry."

Everyone in the room fell into utter silence at those two words.

Harry walked up to the stool and his gaze fell on the Headmaster and his red robes, who was staring intensely at him. Harry felt very uncomfortable but soon forgot about it as he sat on the stool and the hat was placed on his head, obscuring his view of the Great Hall.

"Hmm." A small voice in his ear said. "A wish to be placed where you can grow and prove yourself. Hmm, very interesting. You have faced many horrors in your past that have shaped who you are as a person. Where, where to put you."

'Slytherin, Slytherin.' He chanted in his head, hoping that the hat would take his preference into account.

"Alas, I cannot. Thanks to an old coot's meddling, I can only place you in one place, young one."

Before Harry could question what the hat meant, it shouted out "GRYFFINDOR." At those words, Harry's heart sank lower than ever before. He had learnt that hope was a vicious thing. The Dursleys taught him that but he had wished that since he got away from them, things would go his way, but now another person was controlling his life yet again or so it seemed. Now it meant that it would be even harder to see Draco, his first friend he ever made. In the muggle or wizarding world.

As the Gryffindor table erupted in the biggest cheer yet, Harry got up and walked towards their table. No one in the entire Great Hall noticed how broken their 'Golden Boy' looked as he sat down, apart from Draco and the man in black.

TBC