My Father Can't Hear About This | Draco Malfoy

The Sorting Hat

Now, before ANYONE ELSE tries to ask me the reason why I was placed in a house so different from my sister - or half sister if you'd rather me be technical with it - let me take this back to 1st year.

An owl flew through my window. Thank god I had already had my bedroom window open. Our air conditioning had not been running that night, so keeping my window open at least gave me a little circulating air to breathe. I heard some squawking outside, nothing that was distracting me too much from playing my keyboards on my bed. I loved music, and wished that I could play it professionally one day.

An owl bursts through my open window and almost hits the wall across the room. I noticed a letter in its talons as it flew over to me a placed it on my keyboard. It must be a very important letter if it was delivered directly to me and not through the mail. It had my name and my address on it. When I flipped it over, I saw the Hogwarts stamp

"Mom!" I called. "Dad!" As I hurried down the stairs to open my Hogwarts invite in front of them. I knew Hermione had been chosen to go the school of magic and I thought it awesome that she was a witch born from muggle parents! Muggles is what they called non-magic folk. I never thought in a million years that I would too be a witch born from muggle parents too. I thought it was more of a rare occurrence that a wizard or witch was born into a muggle family, so I was always secretly hoping I would be one of them, but did not expect it. I did not want to get my hopes up. Or at least my mother told me not to get my hopes up.

So there I was a few weeks later. Hermione was showing me how to walk through platform 9 3/4. I thought that was the coolest thing ever! Our train ride was splendid. I sat with my sis and while I didn't get to meet Ron Weasley or Harry Potter, Ron's sister, Ginny, was somewhere wandering the train. She was also a 1st year with me, and since Ron is close with Hermione, I figured her and I would get along great!

Once at Hogwarts, all the kids were being shown into the Great Hall. And boy, was it a great hall. Candles were floating from the ceiling. Four long tables were placed alongside each other and extended from the entrance all the way up to the front, where quite a few of the professors seemed to be sitting. All the other students that had been through the sorting ceremony were slowly but surely making their way to their assigned table, which I assumed was sorted by house.

The 1st years made their way up to the front of the great hall as everyone took their seats and a very old man with the longest beard I had ever seen stood behind the podium. He introduced himself and so the ceremony began.

One-by-one each new student walked up to the front, sat facing the crowd, and Professor Mcgonagall would place the hat on the students' head. "Hufflepuff!" it would shout. "Ravenclaw! Gryffindor! Slytherin!" Every time someone's name was called, I would turn to look at the Gryffindor table. Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Ginny, who was quite literally just placed in Gryffindor, would look at me and wave or give me a thumbs up.

I always looked up to Hermione, whether she knew it or not. If she got placed in Gryffindor, then I wanted to be in Gryffindor with her. Heck, we were already so similar as it is, I may as well go and sit down at the table now and not worry about the stupid hat. But I knew I had to go through with it. Worst case scenario, I get placed in Ravenclaw, which I could still see myself in, even though it wouldn't be the same house as Hermione.

It was my turn. With most people knowing I am a Granger, I knew they were already expecting me in Gryffindor with my sibling. I stepped up to the podium, turned around, and sat down in the chair that was in front of me, well, it was now behind me since I had turned around. Professor Mcgonagall slowly sat the sorting hat down on my head. I could feel him perk up a little bit. Was his little face making a face of shock? Or excitement? Or was he just straightening up to think? He was taking a little more time on my head than most of the other kids. I'd hear a little "Mmm..." from above me every few seconds or a "Yes, Indeed" and I felt the hat nod, as if he were speaking to someone.

"Slytherin!" He shouted. Everyone had stopped moving. You could hear a pin drop if you really listened. The look on Hermione's face was a look of shock that I will never forget.