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"Packed with muggles, of course."

Draco rolled his eyes at his father's comment. His mother simply rolled her eyes along with him, gave Draco a small smile, and clutched his hand.

"Relax, Lucius. How can you be so cynical on a day like today? Our boy, our baby boy, is finally off to Hogwarts. Oh, I am just so proud." His mother's comment warmed his heart, as he had been nervous about this moment for the past year. Hogwarts.

"Hi, uh, excuse me?" The three of them turned their heads at a small voice speaking behind them. "I'm so sorry, 'mam. I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, could you help me get onto platform nine and three-quarters?"

Draco almost burst out laughing. It was the scrawny boy from the robe shop last week, the same one who was hanging around that big oaf. Of course he didn't know how to get to the platform, the boy was probably a mudblood. Honestly, he thought, maybe it was a good thing he didn't know how to get onto the platform. They should do that to all mudbloods, it'd be a great way to keep Hogwarts pure. Give them a taste of what our world is like without letting them in. Everyone will be happy.

But his thoughts stopped when his eyes rested upon the scrawny boy's forehead. Harry Potter. He stood up straight, as did his father, realising who the boy was.

Draco's father cleared his throat and gave a cold, sickly smile. "Of course, my boy. First year at Hogwarts?" Potter simply nodded his head in response, wide-eyed. "The same is true for our boy, Draco. I'm sure the two of you will just be the best of friends." Potter's eyes met Draco's, and he instantly remembered him from the shop as well, though Draco didn't think he enjoyed their meeting.

His mother rested a hand on Potter's shoulder. In a hushed whisper, she said, "now, dear. Do you see that brick wall between platforms nine and ten? Yes, well, you simply will just walk through that very wall. Do not be afraid now, it will not hurt one bit. Draco will go first, and you'll follow behind. Ready?"

Draco sneered at the frightened look on his face. What a coward. Seriously, the boy who lived, the only one to defeat Lord Voldemort, and he was scared to run at a brick wall?

"Go along now, Draco."

He didn't need to be told twice. He breathed a sigh of relief on the other side of the barrier, finally alone. He didn't want anyone to see him with a mudblood moron like- like Harry Potter.

Suddenly, Draco's mentality snapped. That's exactly what he wanted, for everyone to see him hanging around with Harry Potter. The boy was famous, powerful. Everyone knew his name, and if Draco spent all his time side by side with him, soon everyone would know the name Draco Malfoy just as well.

Before long, the other three were through the wall, his mother brushing his hair with her fingers one more time. "Oh, stop moving Draco. I do not want you to look anything but your best for the sorting ceremony."

Once she turned to talk to his father, Draco turned to Harry, sticking out his hand. "Look, I know you remember me from the robe shop. I was a brat, and I apologize for that. I hope we can make things right between us, sit with me on the train?"

Harry took his hand, seeming almost afraid to take his hand. As he did so, he could hear his parents muttering about them behind his back.

"Making friends with the Potter boy, excellent-"

"-oh, I just hope they are sorted into Slytherin together-"

After saying his final, formal goodbyes to his parents, it was just him and Potter. "Alright then, shall we find a spot?"

He just nodded in response, which just annoyed Draco. Honestly, could the boy even speak?

Harry and Draco made their way through the aisle, finally settling on one of the last empty compartments. Draco waved goodbye to his parents as the train started moving, going faster and faster, leaving King's Cross far behind them.

The houses flashed past the windows, the countryside soon coming into view. Draco couldn't help but let a grin spread across his face. Honestly, it was a relief to be on his own. Outside the walls of The Manor. Without his father breathing down his neck every two seconds, watching his every move, he could finally be himself.

"Did you mean what you said?" Potter blurted out after what seemed like an eternity of silence. "I-in the robe shop, about muggles?"

Draco sighed. "I mean, kind of. It's different from the other side, you know? I knew you grew up with muggles, and you must have really loved your family, but they're sort of a threat to us. You ever learn about witch trials?"

Realization crossed Potter's face. "Oh, I guess when you put it like that,"

"Oh, no," Draco said. He had to get Potter's trust, he had to make him like him. "They're not all bad, just a few, you know? I didn't really mean what I said in the shop. I was just, off that day. After traveling all the way to London, avoiding being spotted by muggles all day. It was just tiring, you know?"

The boy seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "Do you think you could tell me about Hogwarts?"

"Well," Draco began, "there are four houses. My parents described them as families within Hogwarts. You take classes with them, eat with them, sleep with them, everything. There is Slytherin, who are cunning and ambitious. Ravenclaw, which has all the smart people. Gryffindor, where the brave go. They are all pretty cocky and annoying, though, if you ask me. And then there's Hufflepuff. They're just kind of the leftovers. They are potatoes, really."

Potter giggled in response, and a small smile crept onto Draco's face. I think this is the first time I have made a person- laugh? He felt a warmth creep into his heart and spread through his veins at the sound of the boy's chuckles.

Draco spent the remainder of the train ride telling him all about the wizarding world and Hogwarts. From quidditch to classes to Aurors and Ministers, he explained it all. The silent wall that surrounded the boy had begun to fall and was replaced with a bond between the two boys. A bond of friendship.

The second they stepped off the train, the silence was back. Draco, along with all other first years, were in a trance. He had heard many stories and seen many pictures of Hogwarts, but nothing prepared him for the enchanting castle looming over him, reflecting off the glass-like waters of the Black Lake as he glided towards his home for the next seven years.

Everything went by so fast, and before he knew it, Draco was standing in the Great Hall, in front of the entire school, in the middle of the sorting ceremony.

"Malfoy, Draco."

He wasn't worried in the slightest. He would be sorted into Slytherin, the same as his entire family preceding him. With a smirk on his face, he felt the weight of the hat placed on his head. His smirk fell, however, when the hat remained silent.

What is going on? He thought.

"Hmm, another Malfoy." Draco heard a voice boom through his head. He couldn't tell if he was the only one who could hear the hat, but he hoped that he was. "A long line of Slytherins come before you."

Yes, I know. He scolded the hat. It is where I belong, I know I belong there. Slytherin will lead me to greatness.

"Ah, yes, yes. Slytherin does produce many successful wizards, but as you know, Slytherin does produce many dark wizards, as well."

He couldn't tell from the looks on his peer's faces, but if everyone could hear the hat, Draco would be absolutely mortified. Are you suggesting I am a dark wizard?

"Oh, no, of course not! But Slytherin can shape people, especially those who come from the same background as you. I think you need something new, something different. Something that will give you a fresh perspective on the world. Simply think of this as a change of scenery, perhaps. I can assure you this path will lead you to greatness, just as Slytherin would."

Draco panicked. No, what are you-

"GRYFFINDOR!"

A round of applause ensued, and Professor McGonagall gave him a smile as she removed the hat from his head. He looked over to the Slytherin table, a scowl on almost every face. Blaise Zabini, whom he learned to play quidditch with, refused to look at him. Pansy Parkinson, whose mother had many dinner parties with his mother, was giving him a look that he was sure would kill him.

His parents were going to kill him.

Potter sat next to him. "Draco, I'm so-"

"Do not speak to me!" Draco yelled. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, his heart pounding. "This is your fault! You are the one who sat with me on the train, and infected me with, with whatever muggle curse that you picked up that landed me in this house!"

Percy Weasley, one of the Gryffindor prefects, came up behind Draco. "Malfoy, I think you need to calm-"

"No!" He stood up. "You cannot tell me what to do! I will not listen to you! I do not belong in this house, I belong over there," He pointed at the Slytherin table, "and I do not care what some stupid hat says! I am Draco Malfoy, I am a Slytherin, and I will never, never, be a Gryffindor."

He ran from the room, never looking back at the Great Hall shocked in silence behind him.

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Hey everyone! Thanks so much for checking this out, I'm super excited to write this story! It will be my first Harry Potter fic, I've been wanting to delve into one for years now, so I'm finally here!

PLEASE don't be afraid to tell me what you think! If you love it, if you hate it, if you're just 'meh', I would love your criticism!

Updates will be twice a week, every Sunday and Thursday!

Thanks for reading!