Chapter One
Harry Potter, saviour of the wizarding world and soon-to-be-student of Hogwarts school, fell asleep on the Hogwarts express. Upon claiming the first empty compartment he could find, he quickly got changed, before, with an exhausted sigh, he slumped in the corner, propping his feet up on his trunk, and drifted into oblivion. The past few weeks had been a whirlwind of excitement and anticipation, he had read through all of his text books and was eager to practise the magic he had read about. Even his dreams were filled with bright lights and wand-waving. He only awoke from his slumber as the train ground to a halt, as his eyes flickered open, a gangly boy with red hair, who had evidently sat in his compartment, disappeared through the door, lugging his trunk behind him. Harry stumbled to his feet, shaking off his drowsiness before following.
The train platform they got off at was loud with excited chatter as people caught sight of friends they hadn't seen on the train, the hubbub was reassuring and Harry heard a voice bellowing,
"First years, over here!" Following the voice, Harry finally glimpsed his fellow first years, who stood crowded around a man harry recognised as-
"Hagrid!" he exclaimed, grinning up at the man who had first introduced him to the wizarding world, the giant of a man smiled at him, beetle black eyes twinkling merrily,
"Alright there, Harry?" he asked, before returning to his bellowing of "First years, over here!" once he had everyone rounded up, he called, "Four to a boat, everyone, in you get." Harry glanced around, searching for an empty boat when a hand clasped his arm,
"So it's true." came a drawling voice, Harry met the cool blue eyes of a boy about his hight, with slicked back blonde hair, he was looking at him with an inquisitive gaze, "Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts." Harry felt uncomfortable as people around them began to whisper, but the blonde boy seemed unperturbed, "Come sit with us." he said, not exactly a command, but not a question either. Harry wasn't experienced with other kids, Dudley always driving any potential playmates away, but even he recognised an offer of friendship when he saw one.
"Sure," he said, "But could I ask your name?" the blonde boy smirked, casting an oddly smug look at the redheaded boy who had been in Harry's train compartment.
"Draco Malfoy." he said, before turning and gesturing for Harry to follow him onto a boat, "Oh," he said as an afterthought, "This is Crabbe, and that's Goyle." he gestured to the two boys standing slightly behind him, who nodded at the introduction. Behind them, the redheaded boy scoffed, "Find something funny?" Draco snapped, eyes looking the boy up and down as a sneer overtook his features, "No need to ask who you are, red hair… and hand-me-down robes, you must be a Weasley." the boy flushed as Malfoy turned to Harry once more, "Some wizards aren't worth your time, Harry." he smiled cheerfully, "I can show you the right sort." Harry shrugged, recalling that mere days ago, he didn't have a single friend to his name.
"Thanks, I guess…" he said, sitting down on the boat that Crabbe and Goyle had already sat aboard, Malfoy sat next to him, clearly put in a good mood by the altercation. The red haired boy glared at them, clambering into a boat beside a boy with a round face and a girl with curly hair who was talking very fast. The boy's glare made Harry vaguely uncomfortable, yet the boat ride passed without incident, the four boys falling silent as the large castle came into view. The building was magnificent, with flickering lights illuminating the twisting towers and sharp angles, making it look like something out of a storybook. As they got off the boat, Draco turned to Harry,
"I never asked," he said, as though surprised with his own forgetfulness, "What house do you want to end up in?" Harry shrugged, having not given it much thought. The boy rolled his eyes, "Well I hope I end up in Slytherin, home to the cunning and ambitious." he smiled once more, "It's where my father went." Harry nodded, he didn't know much about the other houses, finding 'Hogwarts, a History' to be too bland to bother with.
"What are the other houses known for?" he asked, Draco sneered,
"Gryffindor is the home of those who have more brains then brains, they never think situations through, Ravenclaws are pretty bookish and spend most of their time in the library, and Hufflepuff…" the boy scoffed, "I think I'd just leave if I was sorted there." Harry nodded, running a hand through his dark hair as he thought about the different houses, what if I don't belong in any of them? he wondered, heart beginning to pound, what if this all turns out to be a big mistake and I'm sent back to the Dursley's? The panic began to swell in his chest and Harry glanced at his friend, the boy was leaning against a wall, causal as could be, with his hands resting in his robe pockets, he was visibly relaxed. Harry felt a flicker of envy, how could he be so unafraid? Unless he wasn't? Harry glanced at his friend again, taking in the slight paleness of his cheeks, and the steady tapping his foot made on the floor. The boy, now he was looking, didn't seem relaxed at all, he was just composed. Harry straightened his back, forcing down his fear enough to remove it from his facial features, Draco glanced at him and smirked, "I get the feeling that I'll see you in Slytherin." Harry grinned back at the apparent compliment. He opened his mouth to respond when the clicking of heels interrupted them, they looked up to see a stern faced woman, with her hair pulled back in a tight bun. Her eyes flickered across the children before she spoke, her voice cold and uniform
"Hello everyone, My name is Professor McGonagall, *** welcome to Hogwarts," she said "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Her eyes lingered for a moment on a plump boy's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Weasley's smudged nose. Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair.
'I will return when we are ready for you,' said Professor McGonagall***
As she walked from the room Draco leaned forwards, and whispered conspiratorially,
"Father says she was a Gryffindor. Holds a strong bias towards her own house, that one. My father says it's best to steer clear of her." Harry nodded in response, before asking,
"How do they decide what house we go to anyway?" Malfoy's eyes lit up, and he once again began to whisper,
"Well, it's a secret, but I've heard they have a sorting-"
"My brother says we have to fight a troll." Weasley blurted out, voice loud as he looked around, reddening at the ears as everyone paid him their full attention, "We have to fight the troll and they decide what house we go into depending on how we deal with it." The first years began to panic, one girl, with wild curly hair and large front teeth began to furiously mutter all of the spells she could think of, which was an irritatingly high amount, Harry felt his stomach lurch.
"Bravo Weasley, you got it, we have to fight a troll." Malfoy said, voice oddly bright, before he turned to Harry and snickered,
"A troll, honestly… The Weasleys get dumber every year. It's a hat." Harry blinked at him,
"A hat?" he repeated, disbelievingly. His new friend nodded,
"You just put on a hat, and it tells you were you belong." Malfoy seemed proud of his revelation, and Harry nodded appreciatively.
"Let's not let Weasley in on that titbit of information." he said, glancing at the redhead who looked vaguely sick at the challenge ahead. Malfoy patted him on the back.
"Starting to think like a Slytherin, my friend." as the words left the boy's mouth several ghosts slid through the walls talking cheerfully as they did so, causing Harry to let out an undignified squeak, and Draco shook his head despairingly, "Never mind…" He grumbled. The clicking of heels on the cold stone floor alerted them to Professor McGonagall's return. She shoed away the ghosts with some harsh words before turning to the children.
"Follow me." she said, before turning and walking down the corridor from which she had just came, Harry and Draco exchanged grins before following. They were lead into a giant hall, the ceiling flashed with lightening above them.
"It's enchanted to look like the night sky." the bushy haired girl whispered to her companion, who nodded distractedly. The professor turned to them once more.
"I will call out your name, and you will place the hat on your head. It will inform you of where you belong, allowing you to go and sit with your housemates. Remain here until I call you." She then walked to the centre of the hall, standing beside a large old hat sitting upon a rickety wooden stall. "Abbot, Hannah" she called, and so the sorting began. Harry paid little attention to the sorting allowing his mind wander to all of the terrible scenarios that could occur. The hat could just sit on his head, not saying a word for hours, before they decided that he wasn't a wizard after all. It was only when "Malfoy, Draco" was called, that Harry tuned back into the sorting. The hat barely touched his head before it bellowed,
"Slytherin!" the boy leapt from his seat, casting a nod in Harry's direction before sliding into a reserved space next to Crabbe and Goyle on the Slytherin table. He patted the empty space to his right, silently letting Harry know he was saving him a seat, and causing him to grin happily. Harry felt his nerves fade, he had magic, he knew he did. A tap on the shoulder returned him to reality.
"I didn't want to say anything before," it was the read headed boy, Weasley, "But Malfoy is a bad sort, Slytherin is the house where dark lords come from, including," Weasley leaned forwards, "You know who…" Harry glared at him, Draco had been nothing but nice to him, and was his first friend in the wizarding world, he wasn't going to let some boy talk down about him because of some petty school rivalry.
"Get lost Weasley." he snapped, "I can make my own decisions." the boy's cheeks coloured and he stepped back,
"Suit yourself, Potter." the boy said, voice irritated, "I was just trying to warn you."
"Well I don't need your help." Harry muttered back, "I am perfectly capable-"
"Potter, Harry" came Mcgonagall's call, and Harry extracted himself from the conversation with a dark look in Weasley's direction. He strode to the stool, clenching his fists angrily. The professor lifted the hat and dropped it upon his head. Before it had even sunk over his eyes, it boomed,
"Slytherin!" and Harry Potter, saviour of the wizarding world, went to sit beside Draco Malfoy with a smirk on his face.
Dinner went without incident. It was decided within moments that Albus Dumbledore was deranged, and Snape had a frightening death glare, but besides that, nothing of value occurred. The Slytherin first years were lead to their common room by the head boy and girl, two imposing figures who seemed to tower over them, they were lead them own several spiralling staircases, all the while, keeping up a steady commentary of the different features of the castle.
"Best be careful on the stairs," commented the head girl, "They like to move around."
"Also," added the head boy, as he jumped the second last step, "some of them catch your leg, like that one, so watch out." the following first years leapt over the step, letting out appreciative 'oohs' and 'ahhs' at the sights.
"All of the portraits talk." the head girl spoke again, nodding towards several motionless portraits, that, upon being revealed, waved merrily in the student's direction, "and they like to gossip, so try not to have important discussions in front of them"
Eventually they came to a halt, after walking down what felt like hundreds of flights of stairs. Harry had to fight to remain standing, he was so tired, and beside him, Draco was swaying on his feet.
"Here we have the entrance to our common room!" said the head boy, gesturing dramatically to the large, unimpressive looking wall standing before them. "You have to know the password, which changes every two weeks." Crabbe let out a large yawn, eyes half closed, spurring the head boy into faster action, "Serpent." he spoke again, and with a loud grinding noise, the wall slid to the side, revealing a grand looking room bathed in dark greens and blacks. Large windows stretched across the walls, revealing the murky depths of what had to be the lake. Something dark drifted by one of the windows, and the first years rushed to press their hands against the glass, exhaustion momentarily forgotten. The head girl clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention back to them.
"We will show you to your dormitories, but first we need to get a few things straight with you. The rules of Slytherin house are strict, and those who do not follow them will be punished accordingly. Number One: There is no fighting between housemates, if you do have a dispute with a fellow house member, keep it within the common room, to the rest of the school we must show a unified front. Rule Number Two: stay away from blood related insults outside of these walls, whatever you believe about muggleborns," the way the head girl said it left no imagination to how she felt, "keep it to yourself, it gives us a bad name. Which brings us onto our third rule, don't fall behind, your grades must be better then the other houses, we will not accept slackers. We are not Ravenclaws, but we have a work ethic and we take pride in our results." She glared at the first years, as though daring them to do badly, and the head boy laughed at their nervous expressions before saying,
"Girls, your dormitory is the first floor on the right, boys, you're in the first floor on the left. No boys in the girls dorms and vice versa. You will meet us here at eight o'clock to be escorted to breakfast tomorrow morning, now get to bed, you all look dead on your feet.
The large four poster beds were awe inspiring, yet Harry barely had enough energy to pull off his robes before he fell asleep, unconscious before his head had even hit the pillow. It was the best nights sleep he had had in a long time.
Ok, so that's the first chapter, I know it's a little bit late, but it took ages! I started on the train ride because everything occurred according to cannon up until then. I'm in love with Draco/Harry friendship, and I hope you guys like it too. There will be more Slytherin characters coming into play in the next Chapter, and Ginny won't appear until Harry's summer holidays.
Please review, I LOVE REVIEWS
thanks for reading!
Next update: 21st-22nd of June
