We, along with other students, walk into the Great Hall to see thousands of floating candles overhead, illuminating the entire room. There are four banners descended over each table, marking each Hogwarts House. The Slytherin banner is dark green with a serpent, the Gryffindor banner is blood red with a lion, the Hufflepuff banner is bright yellow with a badger, and the Ravenclaw banner is royal blue with an eagle. As everyone takes their seats at their designated table, teachers greet us from the High Table. Draco takes a seat next to Blaise, I then take the seat between him and some other Slytherin girl who I don't know.
"Just this way," Professor McGonagall states as she leads a sizable group of dripping wet first years through the Entrance Hall and into the Great Hall. Everyone's heads turn to stare at them, soaked from head to toe.
"Peter, what happened to you, mate?" One seventh year Ravenclaw calls out to a short scared first-year boy who is, just like his fellow first years, drenched. Peter suddenly looks up from his feet embarrassingly.
"We fell in," he says with annoyance and embarrassment before looking shyly back at the floor. This causes an uproar of laughter from the Ravenclaw and his friends. Soon every house table has joined.
"I would like silence," Dumbledore's voice echoes through the spacious room. Everyone's laughs stop instantly and their heads turn to face the Headmaster.
"Thank you. Now that I have your attention, I would like to welcome the first years." Everyone claps hesitantly at this. Dumbledore waits a second before continuing. "Well, I think it is now time for the Sorting Hats yearly song." Dumbledore backs away from the front of the High Table as the Sorting Hat takes a huge breath and sings out:
In times of old when I was new
And Hogwarts barely started
The founders of our noble school
Thought never to be parted:
United by a common goal,
They had the selfsame yearning
To make the world's best magic school
And pass along their learning.
"Together we will build and teach!"
The four good friends decided
And never did they dream that they
Might someday be divided,
For were there such friends anywhere
As for Slytherin and Gryffindor?
Unless it was the second pair
Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?
So how could it have gone so wrong?
How could such friendships fail?
Why I was there and so can tell
The whole sad, sorry tale.
Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those
Whose ancestry is purest."
Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose
Intelligence is surest."
Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those
With brave deeds to their name,"
Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot,
And treat them just the same."
These differences caused little strife
When first they came to light,
For each of the four founders had
A House in which they might
Take only those they wanted, so,
For instance, Slytherin
Took only pure-blood wizards
Of great cunning, just like him.
And only those of the sharpest mind
Were taught by Ravenclaw
While the bravest and the boldest
Went to daring Gryffindor.
Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,
And taught them all she knew,
Thus the Houses and their founders
Retained friendships firm and true.
So Hogwarts worked in harmony
For several happy years,
But then discord crept among us
Feeding on our faults and fears.
"Let's get out of here," Draco whispers seductively to me, his breath tickling my ear as he talks. I give him a side glance and a half-smile. "Let's go find a storage closet or something," he continues to persuade me.
"Okay, fine, but you leave first so it doesn't seem suspicious," I whisper back. He smirks before sneaking out of the Great Hall. I continue to listen to the Sorting Hat sing as I wait a few minutes before sneaking off as Draco did. The Sorting Hat continues to bellow its song as I escape.
The Houses that, like pillars four,
Had once held up our school,
Now turned upon each other and,
Divided sought to rule.
And for a while, it seemed the school
Must meet an early end,
What with dueling and with fighting
And the clash of friend on friend
And at last, there came a morning
When old Slytherin departed
And though the fighting then died out
He left us quite downhearted.
And never since the founders four
Were whittled down to three
Have the Houses been united
And they once were meant to be.
And now the Sorting Hat is here
And you all know the score:
I sort you into Houses
Because that is what I'm for,
But this year I'll go further,
Listen closely to my song:
Though condemned I am to split you
Still, I worry that it's wrong,
Though I must fulfill my duty
And must quarter every year
Still, I wonder whether sorting
May not bring the end, I fear.
Oh, know the perils, read the signs,
The warning history shows,
For our Hogwarts is in danger
From external, deadly foes
And we must unite inside her
Or we'll crumble from within.
I have told you; I have warned you...
Let the Sorting now begin.
The long and dark hallway gives me chills as I walk deeper and deeper, searching for Draco. I thought he would wait for me, but he must be hiding from me.
"Draco, where the bloody hell are you?" I whisper, twisting my head around the corner into the next hallway. It's long and dark, just like all the other hallways within Hogwarts. Suddenly there is a hand covering my mouth, and another wrapped around my stomach. I clash around trying to fight whoever has me clutched in their arms. The hand over my mouth moves and a deep voice speaks.
"It's alright, it's only me darling," Draco whispers softly pulling me in close. My breathing slows and so does my rapid heartbeat. I let go a sigh of relief.
"You scared me!"
"I'm sorry," he says, chuckling. He then leads me into the broom closet he was hiding in before. I close the door behind me, creating a room of black. His hands grip my waist and pull me in so close that there is no space between us. I move my hand up to his face, stroking his cheek. He moves his lips to my neck and I bring my hand up to his head to run my fingers through his soft blonde hair. He kisses me with such force, there will definitely be a hickey. This continues for a few seconds before I lift my feet to stand on my tippy toes to reach his neck with my lips. As I do this, his hands grip my waist and he moans slightly. The butterflies in my stomach flutter around while my heartbeat gains speed. Draco unhooks my lips from his neck by moving his head and planting his lips on mine. He bites my lip a little, which gets the butterflies going faster. My heart slowly beats faster and faster until it feels like it's going to jump out of my chest. Suddenly, I realize we have been gone too long.
"We should go, we're going to miss dinner," I say out of breath. Draco ignores me and continues to kiss my neck. He then goes up to my jawline and then up to my lips. I kiss back before releasing myself.
"Draco."
"Okay, fine. You're right. Let's go," He says, sighing. I feel his hand let go of my waist and find mine in the dark. I slowly open the closet door to find a tall and dark figure lurking in the shadows of the hallway. It's quite tall although I guess it could be a student. As the door squeaks fully open, it reveals that the so-called student is actually a disappointed, greasy-haired Professor Snape. A lump forms in my throat. Before Draco or I can say anything, Professor Snape hushes us harshly.
"I would have expected more from you, seeing as you're Slytherins. But, I suppose I hoped for the best. Detention. Trophy room. Every night this week," Professor Snape says coldly. With one swift motion, he is off, rushing back to the Great Hall. Draco gives a soft chuckle.
"Oh, quit your laughing, will you!" I say glaring at him. I give him a soft slap on the forearm. "You know what this means, don't you?" I look at him confused. What good could ever come of detention? "No one's going to be in the trophy room with us. Gives us more time to snog." He gives me a double eyebrow raise. I roll my eyes and scoff.
"You're so horny." I give him a slight smile and walk off towards the Great Hall.
"And what's the problem with that?" Draco questions while running to catch up with me. I slap him on the forearm once again, this time with a little more pressure.
No one sees us as we walk into the Great Hall, they are all busy stuffing their faces with the dinner prepared. Draco takes a seat at the end of the table and I squeeze into the seat next to him. Only a few people at the Slytherin table are now aware we ever left, everyone else is completely oblivious.
"Where were you two?" Blaise leans across the table to ask, a piece of turkey still in his mouth. I smile nervously down at my full plate. Draco glances at me before whispering back to Blaise. Blaise drops his fork, hitting his plate and making a clattering sound. This attracts people nearby. Blaise's eyes widen and his mouth drops slightly.
"You two were caught snogging!?" Blaise exclaims. The piece of uneaten turkey still in his mouth. Everyone suddenly stops eating to turn in our direction. "By Snape!?" Blaise continues. Draco glares at him. My cheeks turn red as everyone in the Great Hall stares at us. At once a shout of guffawing comes somewhere from the Gryffindor table. I lift my head to see Hermione and Ron roaring with laughter. Soon everyone joins in.
"That is priceless," I hear Ron say between cackles.
"Huh? What's going on?" Neville stops eating to realize everyone is laughing uncontrollably. I chuckle at this. Hermione and Ron erupt with hysterical laughter and snorts.
"Nothing Neville," I say chortling. Neville stares at me for a second with a look of utter confusement before returning to his almost empty plate.
"Eh hem," Dumbledore breaks the laughter. Everyone's attention is now on the Headmaster and not Draco and I, I am grateful for this. "I would like to say a few words. I would like to inform you all that this year Hogwarts is going to be bringing back an old tradition that we have not had for a while." He pauses. "This year we are going to have a Christmas Eve Ball. I know that normally most of you go back home to your families for the holiday, but I hoped that this will give some of you a reason to stay back." The Great Hall explodes with excited hollers, mostly from the girls. Draco glares at me as if to say that there is no way we are going to that. I give him a pleading look. "Well, that is all I wanted to say. Continue to eat and dinner will be done in twenty minutes." Everyone picks up their silverware. "But, before that, I would like to initiate a toast." He raises his glass, everyone else follows suit. "To the new school year!" Dumbledore bellows excitingly throughout the Great Hall. With that, everyone tinks their glass with their neighbors and continues to eat the delectable feast.