A.N. Probably the last lighthearted chapter for a while. After this one, the action will begin.

Read, enjoy and review :)

Time passed quickly. Draco spent a lot of time studying and researching with Neville. Or practicing Quidditch, which was one thing he had missed about school. As a grown up you just didn't get to play much Quidditch anymore. It was nearing the end of October and their first match was approaching quickly. Flint was making them practice extra hard, no matter the weather. And the weather was pretty bad. When he wasn't practicing or studying, he spent time with his housemates.

"And you are sure you don't mind if she joins us?" Daphne asked.

"Not a bit," Pansy chirped.

Crabbe and Goyle just shrugged their shoulders.

"I don't mind, either," Draco said. He had been hoping to get a chance to get closer to his future wife, get to know a different side of her. Maybe they could be friends until they were old enough to be dating.

"Uh- be quiet, there she comes!"

Light brown curls, freckles and hazel eyes greeted them. "H-Hello."

Draco's heart skipped a beat and he felt like the teenager he was.

"Hi, Tory! These are my friends, you know some of them already, but this is Pansy, those are Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, this is Blaise Zabini and he over there is Draco Malfoy," introduced Daphne. "Guys, this is my sister Astoria."

A lot of hand shaking, and small talk followed.

They had decided to meet outside their dorm once a week so their non-Slytherin friends – which really only was Daphne's Ravenclaw sister Astoria – could join them. They had wanted to meet outside but the weather just wouldn't allow it. So now they were in the library. The others hadn't noticed, but Draco had cast a silent Muffliato so they wouldn't get kicked out immediately.

"Hi Astoria. We already met at the train station but it's nice to officially meet you," Draco said as soon as he got the chance to talk to Astoria without the others listening. As far as he remembered, he had never met the Greengrass sisters before Hogwarts. They might have been at some of the same dinner parties, but back then Draco had mostly played with Crabbe and Goyle, and not so much with the girls present at such parties.

"Thanks. It's nice to meet you, too."

"How do you like Hogwarts so far?"

"I love it! The classes are fascinating. I like Charms, Defense and Potions. Say- is Professor Snape always this… grumpy?"

Draco chuckled. "I wouldn't call his personality overly friendly on the best of days, but he has been in a foul mood lately." He shrugged. "I'm sure he'll calm down. How do you like to be in Ravenclaw?"

He could see her face fall.

"No one there seems to like me much. I asked the hat to put me into Slytherin so I could be with Daphne but it said I wouldn't be happy there… The only one who talks to me is this weird girl, Lena or something…"

"Luna?"

"Yeah, that's the one. But my sister said I shouldn't talk to her. Her family is full of blood traitors and she is really weird, she says. And no one else seems to be talking to her, either."

"Do you like her?"

"She seems nice," Astoria answered.

"Then don't listen to what others tell you. Try to judge people on their personalities. Befriend who you want to befriend. Your sister loves you, that's not going to change. And as soon as the other Ravenclaws see that you are not an evil spy for Slytherin they will come around. You are smart – they like that. And if they don't you are always welcome to hang out with us."

Astoria gave this some thought, then she started to smile. "Thank you, Draco."

"You're welcome."

That Sunday marked their first visit to Hogsmeade. Even though the weather was bad, Draco enjoyed the trip with his housemates immensely. It felt like visiting Diagon Alley with his son for the first time. Everyone was excited like if it had been Christmas. The air of excitement was contagious. He bought a year's supply of candy at Honeydukes. Only Crabbe and Goyle bought more. He bought a new quill at Scrivenshaft's and books Snape had recommended but which weren't in the library at Tomes and Scrolls. They visited Zonko's – but he left when he saw the Weasleys arrive with an evil glint in their eyes directed towards him. Then he went to Spinwitches Sporting Needs for some new Quidditch equipment.

When they entered the Great Hall later that day, it was decorated with hundreds and hundreds of candle-filled pumpkins, a cloud of fluttering live bats, and many flaming orange streamers, which were swimming lazily across the stormy ceiling like brilliant water snakes.

The food was delicious. But Draco could not shake the feeling that the Weasley twins were watching him while he was drinking his pumpkin juice. But he was probably just imagining things.

The feast finished with an entertainment provided by the Hogwarts ghosts. The popped out of walls and did some formation gliding. The Gryffindor ghost reenacted his own beheading.

Suddenly, Draco felt dizzy. His vision blurred and when everything came back into focus, everyone at the Slytherin table was dead quiet and staring at him.

Draco gulped. Glancing over at the Gryffindor table he saw the twins faces growing red from the effort it took them not to laugh.

"Your hair," whispered Daphne.

Draco had a bad feeling about this. He grabbed a spoon and looked at his own reflection.

"Oh no," he groaned.

The first thing he noticed was his nose, because it was so much bigger than anything else in the spoon's reflection. It was freckled! Malfoys did not have freckles!

He moved the spoon further away to see more of his face.

His hair! It was red.

Draco felt his cheeks burning with embarrassment and the anger bubbling inside him.

He could hear the other houses noticing his problem – they started laughing.

Draco took a deep breath. His younger self would have flipped out and threatened people with his father. And his teenage hormones and temper were in favor of this solution. But his grown-up self knew better. He knew making a fuss would only make the situation worse than it already was and he knew exactly that that was what the twins wanted.

"Oh, we are going to kill them," Goyle said, jumping up, followed by Crabbe.

Draco took another calming breath. "No," he said very calmly. Then he stood up and walked over to the Gryffindor table.

The laughing table quieted down. The twins had tears in their eyes. "May we help you, Malfoy?" one of them asked.

"Well," Draco said, loud enough so everyone could hear because he knew everyone was listening and watching, "I was looking at my reflection and thought, red hair and freckles – I must be a Weasley."

It seemed like the students did not know how to handle a Slytherin making a joke. It surprised Draco that the first ones to laugh were the perpetrators themselves. Fred and George started laughing like maniacs and the other students started to laugh as well.

"And suddenly," Draco continued, "I felt the urge to do something reckless like go for a midnight stroll in the Forbidden Forest or drive a flying car to school."

Again, everyone chuckled. Draco risked a glance at Potter and Weasley. Potter seemed amused while Weasley was looking furious.

"Long lost brother," one of the twins cried. "We missed you so much," the other added.

"What is this commotion?" drawled a voice from behind them.

It was Snape, followed by McGonagall.

"Nothing, nothing," one of the Weasleys said, now standing beside Draco.

The other put an arm around Draco. "Just helping our brother here celebrate his inner Weasley."

Draco could tell on them, but he decided it would probably be better if they owed him a favor. He would get back at them later.

"That's right, professor. Apparently, I've been in the wrong house my entire life."

"We demand a resorting," the Weasleys said in unison.

The pair of professors was just staring at them blankly.

"The feast is over," McGonagall finally announced,"prefects, lead the students back to their houses."

Draco walked back to his dorm.

"Wow Draco, that was really amazing," was the first thing Pansy said.

"Yeah," Nott agreed, "how you made everyone laugh at the Weasleys instead of at you was really awesome."

"But Draco," Zabini said, "you look really stupid with red hair."

Let me know what you think :) and have a great weekend :)