Disclaimer: I don't own HP.

Draco helps me down from the train.

'I wonder where that oaf, Hagrid is?' says Draco looking around, 'He's usually here for the first years.'

'There's an empty coach right here,' says Pansy pointing to a carriage standing some distance away.

'You lot!' shouts Draco at a couple of timid looking second years,' Out of the way!'

The second years dart aside immediately.

We climb into the coach, and the coach starts moving. Though the coach seems to be pulling itself, somehow I don't think so.

'Its probably a spell,' says Draco reading my mind.

After about fifteen minutes, the carriage jingles to a halt in front of some stone steps leading to the oaken doors of the castle. As we enter the front doors, a stern looking woman, whom I guess is Professor McGonagall stops me.

'Are you Miss. Malfoy?' she asks.

'Yes,' says Draco before I can respond.

'You need to come with me, Miss Malfoy,' she says.

'What for?' says Draco at once, 'Professor,' he adds as McGonagall gives him a deathly stare.

'She has to be sorted after we're done with the first years,' says McGonagall.

'Oh alright,' says Draco, 'You'll join us soon,' he says to me.

I follow McGonagall into the Entrance Hall where a large group of scared looking first years stand huddled together. They stare at me as I join them. Professor McGonagall leads us into the Great Hall.

The students seated at the four House Tables stare at us as we walk past them to the front. I notice that I am attracting a lot of attention, probably because I don't look young enough to be a first year. I catch Blaise's eye, and he gives me an encouraging smile.

I wonder what will happen if I am not sorted into Slytherin. Would father throw me out of the house? Surely not. Would Draco be mad at me? But, more importantly, would Blaise still talk to me?

I push these thoughts to the back of my mind as I walk up to the front, where Professor McGonagall has placed an extremely old, frayed wizard's hat upon a stool. After the Sorting Hat finishes its song, Professor Mcgonagall starts calling out the names of the first years who are to be sorted.

'Abercrombie, Euan!'

One of the boys from the group steps forward and sits upon the stool with the hat on his head.

'Gryffindor!' calls the hat loudly and the table on the right breaks into applause.

After the first years have been sorted, Professor Dumbledore gets to his feet and addresses the students.

'This year we have a new student joining us in the fourth year,' he says, 'Ebony Malfoy. I request the fourth years to be as welcoming as friendly towards her as they possibly can.'

Professor Dumbledore sits down and I step forward. I put the Sorting Hat on my head, and sit down on the stool. I can hear the Hat murmuring to itself. After a few seconds, it says in a loud voice, 'GRYFFINDOR!'

There is a shocked silence in the entire hall. Not a single student is clapping. I catch Draco's face in the crowd. The disappointment on his face nearly kills me. Professor Dumbledore begins clapping, followed by the teachers and the rest of the students.

I take off the hat and walk towards the Gryffindor table, my knees shaking. The other Gryffindors glare at me as I join them.

Dumbledore gets to his feet again and addresses the students once more.

'To our newcomers,' says Dumbledore in a ringing voice, his arms stretched wide and a beaming smile on his lips, 'welcome! To our old hands - welcome back! There is a time for speech-making, but this is not it. Tuck in!'

An assortment of the most delicious food appears out of nowhwere on the tables, and the students begin eating. I don't feel hungry at all. I wish I could talk with Draco and tell him that I'm sorry for getting sorted into Gryffindor.

Potter and Weasley are murmuring to themselves. They don't even bother to keep their voices down.

'Don't see how we got landed with her,' says Weasley.

'The Sorting Hat's gone round the bend,' one of the Weasley twins says, 'I mean, a Malfoy in Gryffindor!'

'This is not acceptable, Dumbledore should do something about it,' the other Weasley twin says, 'I would if I were him.'

'I wish I knew what she said to the Sorting Hat to convince it to sort her into Gryffindor,' says Potter darkly.

'Hoodwinked it by Dark magic, probably,' replies Weasley's sister grimly.

'That's not true,' I say at once.

They turn to look at me.

'Don't lie!' says Potter, 'Everyone knows that Malfoys are taught Dark Magic from the moment they are born.'

'I don't know any,' I say.

'Like hell, you don't,' says Weasley, 'Next you'll be saying that git of a brother you have doesn't know any either.'

'Don't call him a git,' I say indignantly.

'Tell him not to be one,' says one of the Weasley twins.

'I did try to,' I say without thinking.

'Huh?' says Granger.

'I'm sorry for how he behaved with you all on the train,' I say.

'Don't even try to suck up to us,' says Potter, 'You won't fool any of us.'

I don't answer.

'You should have been in Slytherin where you belong,' says Weasley's sister, 'Evil and stuck up.'

'You're calling me stuck up when that's all you all have been around me?' I say, 'Now I know why Draco hates Gryffindors.'

'Don't you dare...' begins Potter angrily.

'She's got a point you know,' says Granger.

'What!' says Weasley incredulously.

'Ron, think about it, she's only met us and all she must be thinking of is how awful Gryffindors are,' says Granger.

'We're awful?' says Weasley, 'What about her kind? The Slytherins?'

'Oh come on, Ron,' says Granger, 'She's a Gryffindor like us. And like it or not, the Sorting Hat chose her for Gryffindor, which means that we have something in common.'

'I have nothing in common with a Malfoy,' says Potter.

'You're judging her because of her family and her brother,' says Granger, 'She could be nice, for all we know. For starters, I haven't heard her call me a mudblood like the rest of the Slytherins. I'm just saying she doesn't seem as bad as Malfoy.'

'Fine then lets just give her an award,' says Weasley's sister sarcastically, ' The Not as Much of a Jerk As She Could Have Been Award.'

'I say we give her a chance,' says Granger.

'No!' say Potter and Weasley together.

'What about the rest of you?' says Granger turning to Weasley's sister and the twins.

'I dunno,' says one of the twins doubtfully.

'I think Hermione's right, George,' says the other twin.

'You can't be serious!' says Weasley's sister.

'Ginny, she's in your year, why don't you make friends with her?' says Granger as Potter sniggers.

'No way!' says Weasley's sister furiously.

'Ginny...'

'Let it be, Granger,' I say stiffly.

Granger and Weasley's sister look uncomfortably at me.

I turn my face away to look towards the Slytherin Table.

I see Blaise, but he's not looking at me. He's deeply involved in a conversation with Pansy. Draco is looking stonily at me. I smile weakly in the hope that he would return it. He doesn't smile back, but he doesn't frown either.