As soon as Draco woke up from his sleep, he realized that he had made a grave mistake. After sending the letter yesterday, he had been too tired to do anything more than simply fall asleep on his bed.

I forgot to close the curtains. Oh no.

His hopes of being the first one to wake up were immediately shattered when he opened his eyes and looked around the dormitory. Both Ron, and the Dark Lord were already up, looking at him. Weasley snickered and Harry punched him on the shoulder, but he couldn't hide his smile either.

"Malfoy, what is that?" the red-haired boy asked, pointing at the fluffy object lying on Draco's bed. "Why are you sleeping with a lion pillow?"

Draco's face flushed with embarrassment. It was his favourite pillow since he was a kid, and hugging it always helped him fall asleep. He took it with him to Hogwarts, hoping that nobody would ever notice it.

That didn't work too well.

"Umm…" Draco started, but couldn't think of an explanation that wouldn't make him sound childish in front of the Dark Lord and his servant.

Harry chuckled. "Hey, it's okay, Draco," he said. "I also had a favourite toy. Didn't you have one, Ron?"

Ron nodded with a grimace. "Yeah, I guess. But I didn't sleep with it!" he declared and paused for a second. "Oh, I actually did a few times…" he said quietly, his face also growing red. "But it was only because I fell asleep playing with it, never on purpose!"

This time, both Harry and Draco laughed.

"See, we all did it," Harry said. "Does your lion have a name?"

Draco froze. Oh no… Oh Merlin, no… But I have to answer, Harry asked me a question! Maybe I can lie? No, he's the Dark Lord… he tricked the Sorting Hat and resurrected Weasley, surely reading minds is even easier for him!

"Umm…" Draco started. "His name is Harry," he said quietly, not meeting their eyes.

Ron choked on his saliva and Harry only raised his eyebrows, flushing red.

"Err…" Harry didn't seem to know what to say.

"Anyway, let's go get breakfast!" Draco exclaimed and stood up suddenly, practically running out of the room.

After a minute, he was back.

"Forgot to change from my pyjamas," he said, trying hard to avoid the looks of the other boys.

Ron snickered again but a sharp look from the Dark Lord silenced him.

"Let's go together," Harry said as Draco finished getting ready, and the unusual Gryffindor trio left the dormitory.

It seemed like his unexpected sorting still made him an object of heated debate among the Hogwarts' students, no matter their House and age. Draco noticed some of the Gryffindors, especially older ones, sending him angry glances. To his relief, the Slytherins just looked confused. Poor Crabbe and Goyle, they had no idea what to do now that their leader has abandoned them.

Draco smiled at a pair of older Gryffindors who were staring at him disapprovingly.

Come on, try and do something, the Dark Lord will destroy you.

"Don't worry about them," Harry said after gulping down a glass of pumpkin juice. "They're dumb, you're the most Gryffindorish Gryffindor I have ever seen."

Ron nodded. "It's weird, but it might be true," he said with his mouth full.

Draco sighed. I'm not a Gryffindor, I'm a Slytherin through and through. Just like Harry. We infiltrated the ranks of the enemy like true Slytherins!

"Oh, the mail is here!" someone shouted from a different table, and they all looked up.

Draco spotted his owl and began to sweat nervously. I hope father isn't too angry.

With a trembling hand, Draco opened the letter and started to read.

My Favourite Son,

Your mother insisted on helping me write this letter, to 'make sure I don't write anything stupid'. She is rather silly, don't you think? Of course, I wouldn't write anything stupid. I'm perfectly content with your Sorting. After all, it's your life, Draco. If you want to be in the worst House, you're free to do so. If you want to be friends with idiots and dunderheads, you're free to do so. I'm not prejudiced in any way, I'm an intelligent and open-minded man. I'm glad that you seem to be happy, in spite of your less-than-ideal circumstances. Have fun during your classes and please write to us often.

Love you, Lucius and Narcissa

"Well, it could've been worse," Draco said as he finished reading. His father might be disappointed, but he will forget about it soon enough.

"Everything alright?" Harry asked.

"Yes, father isn't happy, but it's not that bad. He will get over it soon," Draco said with a smile.

After Ron was finally done with his food, they stood up and left the Great Hall together. Classes and adventure awaited.