Chapter 6

House of Change

"…..RAVENCLAW!"

Draco was stunned to say the least, as was everybody else in the room with him. He continued to sit, as though petrified, unmoving, not even breathing as what the hat had just said tried to sink into his befuddled mind.

After a full 30 seconds the hat said, "You can take me off now, I'm done."

As if a Wizard Cracker had gone off in the room, everybody started. The breath rushed out of Draco's lungs and others in the room let out gasps of their own.

Professor Sprout removed the hat from Draco's head and he quickly stood up, distancing himself from the bearer of, disturbing news, at the least.

"What does that mean?" Draco asked very very quietly, "Does it mean….mean…what does it mean?"

The smiling portrait with the twinkling eyes spoke up. "I think, my dear boy, that it means that you have a new house. That based on what the hat saw, you now fit Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin."

"But I've always been in Slytherin, my family has always been in Slytherin?"

"As I am sure you are aware Draco, family pre-disposition does not always determine where somebody is best suited. You are a bright, intelligent young man, why wouldn't you suit Ravenclaw? You have been, after all, first in your class. Among the male half of the population at any rate."

Draco was having a hard time processing the fact that the hat had truly seen something that caused it to change the house he belonged to. He thought it was just confused by his changed feelings, not that he was actually different.

"Ravenclaw house will never accept me!" Draco stated "Merlin! No house will accept me, not even Slytherin would want me around. I'm a traitor on all sides."

"Language Mr. Malfoy!" Professor McGonagall said.

Professor Sprout spoke up, "Draco, you told the hat that you wanted to be where you should have been, did you really think that you should have been in Slytherin? That if given the choice you would have turned out the same way? Every gardener knows that you reap what you sow, could it be that the garden you grew in was not the best soil for you?"

"I don't know, I suppose so and I know I don't want to be in ... that garden ... anymore, but it can't be that easy to just up and move to another. A plant can't just pick itself up and move where it wants, and even if it was moved to different soil, the soil it started in would always have an impact on it. The dirt of it will cling to the roots. It would still be stunted, malformed." Draco was getting worked up, his voice taking on a note of panic.

"Perhaps Mr. Malfoy but..."

"Stop calling me that!" Draco yelled, interrupting the Headmistress.

"Pardon me?!" She replied.

Draco blanched, "I'm sorry Prof…I mean, Headmistress. I didn't mean to yell at you like that." He looked bleakly around and locating a nearby chair, sank into it. "What am I going to do?"

The Headmistress spoke quickly. "Pomona, would you be so kind as to summon Professor Flitwick, I think Draco needs to visit with his new Head of House."

The Assistant Headmistress exited the room and closed the door behind her.

"Draco?" Draco looked up at the Headmistress, pulling his eyes from the rug he was letting himself get lost in. "Why don't you want me calling you by your proper name?"

"It's nothing Headmistress, I was just freaking out." Draco said, not quite meeting her eye.

"I'm afraid I must insist."

"Tell her Draco." Dumbledore said quietly.

Draco hesitated again for a few seconds, and once again looking at the patterned rug, explained his reasons.

"Because the name is a curse, everything evil and vile is attached to it. Nothing good ever came from the name Malfoy." His tone took on a prideful note "I reveled in being a Malfoy, so proud and arrogant about it. I am a Pureblood, a Malfoy, my mother is a Black, another despised and ancient name. I don't want to be defined by my name; I want to be defined by me, not who I was born. But that was the soil I was grown in wasn't it? Just how much of it can I shake off my roots, how much has it already created a malformed me?"

He looked up and met Professor McGonagall's eyes, "Can't I just be me?"

"Of course you can Draco, but the teachers can't call you by your first name in class. That would show disrespect not just for you, but for all your classmates. It would impact the balance we must maintain between student and teacher if we called you by your first name. Have you by chance considered choosing a different name for yourself, or even change your name legally?"

"Yes, I have no relatives I respect enough to use their name and I don't want to just make one up. I thought, eventually, I would find a name that suits me, that I could feel proud to have but, no, nothing yet." Draco said.

"That being the case, while we will try to respect your feelings in this matter, there will be times the Professors will have to use your surname. Please try to avoid snapping at them when they do, they are just following the precepts set by the school. I know that hearing the name in reference to yourself may cause you some distress, but that will not be how it is intended, by any of the teachers. I trust that will be acceptable?"

"Yes Ma'am." Draco answered.

"Draco, I can't make the students do the same. If you want to be known by other than your past and ascendants, you will need to prove yourself to them. You understand that don't you?"

"Yes Ma'am, I'm prepared for that." Draco sounded surer than he felt on that score. He thought the students would fall into three categories. Those who didn't care, those who cared but would not be direct about it and those who would seek to punish him for wrongs done to them and their families. He hoped if he just kept his head down and his nose clean it would eventually blow over. But those who opted for the more direct approach, well, like he told Neville, while he was not looking to make trouble, he was not going to let himself be beat up either.

"Good, ah, here is Professor Flitwick." The Headmistress changed the subject when Professor Flitwick knocked on the door. You could tell it was him because the knocking came from low on the door.

"Please come in Professor."

"You wished to see me Headmistress?" The tiny professor asked. The diminutive professor may not have looked like much and he was one of the more easy going professors in the school, but he was a master of charm work. What he had done last year in defending the school had gone a long way to giving Harry Potter the time he needed to defeat Voldemort. Draco had considerable respect for him.

"Filius, there has been something of a surprise shakeup involving Draco Malfoy. It seems that his personality no longer suits Slytherin House, according to the Sorting Hat, he is now more inclined toward Ravenclaw. Therefore he will be joining your house for his final year with us. I would like you to see to it that quarters are arranged for him. His current class schedule should still be suitable so that is already taken care of if you could pass that along to him Horrace?"

"I'm sorry…what?" Professor Flitwick stuck his fingers in his ears and wiggled them. "I thought you just said that Mr. Malfoy will be joining my house, but I must have misunderstood."

"You heard me quite correctly. When the Sorting Hat came into contact with Mr. Malfoy, it determined that he no longer belonged in Slytherin. Considering how intelligent he is, I'm not surprised he belongs in your house. When you consider, if you remove the traits that make him…I mean, made him, a rather fine Slytherin, the brains that remain are among the finest in the school." She shot a small smile at Draco who smiled back, grateful for her praise.

His father had not prized intelligence, though he could not stand the fact that a 'Mudblood' did better in school than Draco did. When it came right to it, the only benefit to being smart was it allowed you to gain more power. Draco thought that was more greed and a willingness to destroy others to get what you wanted than intelligence.

If he could get past the understandable mistrust, he thought he would enjoy Ravenclaw a lot. He enjoyed learning and he thought he would also enjoy having conversations with others that didn't include the low brow stuff he used to talk about with Crabb and Goyle.

The Professors had continued to talk while Draco sat and thought about where this change might take him. He felt a small bit of hope that things might get better. Those in Ravenclaw tended to be more philosophical about things, to weight matters before coming to judgment. If he was careful, he might actually do ok there.

"When you are finished with Draco, please come back up here Filius, we will be having a quick staff meeting before the end of the evening." McGonagall was saying when Draco tuned back in.

"Certainly Minerva, come along Mr. Malfoy, if you would send along the class schedule Horrace that would be great." The small man headed for the door, Draco following behind him.

"Draco?" Dumbledore's voiced sounded behind him, and he paused, half turning to look at the mobile portrait.

"Do make a point of visiting me if you would, I think I would like to hear about your summer and how you are getting along, there is much else we could talk about I'm sure." Dumbledore smiled "Perhaps the Headmistress could set up regular meetings for us."

"Yes Sir, I would like that."

Professor Flitwick and Draco arrived at his office only a few minutes later. The office was sized for its occupant, a smaller desk and tables in the room. Two standard sized chairs and two smaller ones filled the little space available but they appeared to be very comfortable.

The Professor moved behind his desk and sat down. "Please sit." He gestured to the chair on the opposite side of the desk.

"Give me a moment" Flitwick said, "I wish to make the arrangements for your room first and call in the Ravenclaw prefects. Could I have a house-elf attend me please?"

There was a loud crack and a house-elf appeared, "How may I help you Sir" it asked with a bow. It was a he and his tea towel bore the Hogwarts colors, clean and pressed, rather like a uniform.

"Yes, thank you for your prompt response, I need you and some of the others to prepare a room for Mr. Malfoy in the Ravenclaw tower. If you could make the room on the 4th floor 2nd door ready in the same way as those done for the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff returning students, with Ravenclaw colors of course, I would appreciate it." Flitwick said.

"Of course, Dinkle shall attend to it immediately." With another crack the elf was gone.

Flitwick then produced his wand and with a little swish an indistinguishable ghostly white object flew out of the end of his wand and bounded out of the room. Draco could swear it was some sort of fuzzy animal but he couldn't make it out. His own patronus was merely vapor and had no set form that he could tell.

"As I am sure you are aware Mr. Malfoy, there will be some obstacles you will need to overcome this year." Flitwick began and Draco nodded.

"Good, well, not good of course, but good that you understand that, it will make it easier to deal with. I expect you to come to me if anything occurs that is excessive. Everybody deserves a chance to fix past mistakes and I won't tolerate anybody in my house abusing another member. Normally I would not expect anything extreme, Ravenclaw students are known for their deep thinking and tendency not to rush to judgment without a thorough knowledge of all the facts. However, emotions are going to be involved and even the most thoughtful of us can be rash. Be patient with them, keep yourself out of trouble and they will come around."

The little professor leaned forward, his hands clasped on the table. "I am very serious, I know you will think you need to handle everything yourself, and telling the 'adults' is not the way you would prefer to go, but allowing a situation to fester can only make things worse. Ravenclaw has a history of using arbitration to settle major disagreements. Make use of this method if you are unable to work out a situation on your own in an amicable fashion, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir, it sounds like a good way to resolve disputes that could lead to future cooperation." Draco said, and he believed it. If arbitration had been used with Voldemort in the past, he wondered if the world might have been different. But when he really thought about it, he doubted it. Arbitration would only work between reasonable people and Voldemort had been power mad, not reasonable.

At that moment two people entered the room. Draco recognized Padma Patil and Anthony Goldstein both still in their school robes with their Prefect badges visible. Anthony spoke for them both, "You wished to see us Professor?"

"Yes Mr. Goldstein, Miss Patil. We have a new member of Ravenclaw. He comes to us in an unusual way but I trust you will make sure he is accepted as graciously as possible by the students. When I have finished meeting with him I will need you to show Mr. Malfoy the way to the Ravenclaw common room and help him settle in. He is going to be in the 2nd room on the 4th floor, it is being prepared for him now."

Both students started at the name and really looked at Draco. Padma was the first to speak "Malfoy! In Ravenclaw, that's impossible, he's in Slytherin house."

"Not anymore, it turns that Slytherin house is no longer a good fit for him and he has been re-sorted into Ravenclaw." The Professor said.

"How is that possible sir? I have never heard of anybody ever being re-sorted before." Said Anthony

"You are not incorrect Mr. Goldstein, however, this evening, when the hat came into contact with Mr. Malfoy it sensed that his standing had changed. I am sure you recall the incident in the Great Hall. While it has never happened before, part of that may be because the hat has never been in a position to know."

"He must have bewitched it somehow then, because this is just impossible!" said Padma.

"No Miss Patil, it isn't. If you would calm yourself and consider the situation with a clear mind you would remember that the hat cannot be fooled, tricked or bewitched; it is proof from magical interference in order to prevent just what you are describing from happening. I understand that it is hard to believe, but it is true." The Professor looked at Draco, "Whatever qualities Mr. Malfoy had that made him a good fit for Slytherin has changed. His predominate personality is now most closely aligned to Ravenclaw's beliefs." Professor Flitwick leaned forward, and Draco could almost see his Goblin heritage in his eyes.

"I wish to make this very clear, and I expect you, as the Prefects you ensure compliance. We are Ravenclaw! Our reputation is above reproach and I intend that it stay that way. He, like every human, deserves a second chance, and what the hat discovered earns him that. I expect the use of reasoned discourse and if needed, mediation to be how disputes are settled. Not wand work, do I make myself clear?"

Anthony and Padma regarded Draco for what seemed like a long time before sharing a look with each other. "We understand Professor, however, it will be very difficult to convince the rest of the school that this transfer is legitimate rather than..." Anthony started.

"It won't be anybody's job to convince the school of anything." Draco interjected.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Padma said, glaring at Draco.

"Just that, listen, I made my own mess, I will have to clean it up myself. Some people will think that I'm acting, trying to get over on everybody. I understand that, and I accept it. But I won't ask anybody to try to convince anybody for me." Draco said. "What it comes down to is that I am the only one who can change people's minds about me. I can only do that by being exactly who I want to be."

Padma and Anthony shared a look with Professor Flitwick, grinning; Anthony said "You really don't understand us do you? We'll watch you, and we'll observe you but you are Ravenclaw now and Ravenclaw's convince people with logic."

"You have, apparently, changed a lot in just a few months. How can we be sure it's going to stick?" Padma asked.

"You can't, hell, I can't. Only time will tell. If I start backsliding, I expect everybody will let me know pretty quick."

"Oh yea, we'll let you know, no worries on that mate." Anthony said with a grin that was just a little too devilish.

At that moment Professor Slughorn knocked on the open door. "Pardon me Professor, I have Mr. Malfoy's schedule here."

"Thank you Horace. Miss Patil, Mr. Goldstein, will you wait outside for a moment, you can escort Mr. Malfoy after I have gone over his schedule with him."

After handing the schedule to Professor Flitwick, Slughorn, Padma and Anthony left the room, closing the door behind them. Draco focused his attention back on the Charms Professor who was giving the schedule a quick look.

"I see you are continuing with the courses you had in your 6th year, Astronomy, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions and Transfiguration. I had a number of students return this year so I won't need any assistance with my 1st year Charms classes but Slughorn can use you I believe, so we will keep your schedule as is." The Professor slid the sheet across the desk to Draco, he gave it a quick look and found it to be much like his 6th year schedule.

"Professor, I was wondering, could I get into the Muggle Studies class as well this year? My travels over the summer showed me that they are different than I'd been indoctrinated to believe. I think they are worth learning more about." Draco asked, looking up from his schedule.

"I'm not sure, I assume you haven't taken any other years in Muggle Studies?" Flitwick inquired.

"No."

"You wouldn't be able to go for your Newt in it then."

"That's fine, maybe I could just attend without an expectation of a grade?"

"Are you sure you have time to add another class? You already have six plus your duties with Professor Slughorn."

Draco looked down at his schedule again. "My Wednesdays and Thursdays seem fairly light, maybe if there is something on one of those days I can attend and if it becomes too much I can always stop going. But I would like to at least try."

The Professor thought for a moment before advising, "Very well, I will speak with Professor Drake, he is the new Muggle Studies teacher, and I will let you know tomorrow morning at breakfast if he agrees."

This must be the unknown Professor Draco has seen at the Head Table, he nodded, "Thank you Professor, I appreciate it."

"I'm sure you remember all the standard school rules, 7th year curfew is at 11pm except on Astronomy nights and then you need to move directly between your house and the Astronomy tower." The Professor turned very serious eyes on Draco. "Be sure and keep your nose clean this year Mr. Malfoy, I will not be happy if Ravenclaw's reputation should suffer. On the other hand, remember that intelligence is the most power weapon out there, use your brains instead of your brawn or cunning and you will find that most paths become much smoother."

"Yes Sir, I will try to remember that."

"Good, now, if that is all, I have a meeting to attend, I'm sure your room is ready by now and your possessions moved. Miss Patil and Mr. Goldstein will show you the way."

Draco stood up, "Thank you Professor, I won't let you down." So saying, he turned and moved into the hallway.

"Malfoy, follow us." Anthony said and started to turn away.

"Please call me Draco, I'm not a big fan of the name Malfoy right now." Draco said as he started to follow them.

Padma made a slight sound of disbelief and Draco could just hear her say "You and everybody else." But otherwise remained silent.

And in that silence, the three students followed a path Draco had not gone before. Each house tended to keep the location of their entrance, if not a secret, at least not broadcast. While Draco knew generally where it was, he had never been there before. At the top of a tight spiral staircase they came to a door with no handle and no painting, but instead a beautifully crafted bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle hung on the wooden door.

Anthony stopped and put his hand on Padma's arm. "Let's see how he does."

Draco looked between the two of them, "What am I supposed to do?"

"Knock of course." Padma said a small smile on her mouth and a slightly devilish light in her eyes.

Draco moved up to the door, reached out and grasped the knocker. Taking a deep breath, he banged the knocker to the door.

When the eagles' beak opened Draco took a step back, letting the knocker go as he did. A voice filled the area, musical and feminine.

"I run all day and never walk, I tell you something but I do not talk; what am I?"

"Answer the riddle and the door opens for you." Anthony said, smiling like he didn't expect Draco to be able to get the answer.

"It's a clock." Draco replied, looking at the two of them. He saw their eyes widen a fraction at how quickly he got the answer. The knocker replied "Well reasoned" as the door opened.

"How often does the riddle change?" Draco asked, curious, as he moved through the door. Oddly enough as he walked into the room he was feeling more confident now than he had since he boarded the train. A smile played on his lips. Maybe the hat wasn't as crazy as he thought.

Wow, this chapter was hard, so many things I had to figure out. I truly didn't know what house I was going to put him in when I ended the last chapter. So once I knew I had to know what 7th years had returned to complete their schooling, what Draco's schedule was going to be and find a suitable riddle.

I hope everybody enjoyed it, and continue to enjoy it. I hope to have chapter 7 up tomorrow.

Remember, vote, if you like it and comment if you have something to say.

9/16: Updated to improve flow and storyline.