Chapter Text
You could belong to Gryffindor,
where the brave of heart dwell.
His boldness, courage and chivalry
distinguish Gryffindors...
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The applause from the Gryffindor table was soon blaring as he felt his stomach sink deeper and deeper into his intestines like rocks. He couldn't move an inch from the shock of being sorted into Gryffindor, looking over at the other children waiting their turn to put on the Sorting Hat, he could make out the look of horror in Weasley's eyes and surprise in Potter's. Instinctively feeling vulnerable, he looked around for his friends at the Slytherin table who were gaping at him, just as surprised as he was.
"Mr. Malfoy, please get up and go to his table." McGonagall scolded impatiently, seeing him still sitting there.
The young man staggered to his feet and still quite bewildered, he made his way unsteadily to the Gryffindor table. The ghost with the ruff smiled kindly at him and pointed to an empty spot, where he obeyed and dropped into the seat still quite shocked.
This must be a mistake.
And that was the only explanation for what was happening. He? A Gryffindor? He was supposed to be in Slytherin, he was always told that he was going to be in Slytherin, his whole family was Slytherin, and it was obvious that he should have stayed in Slytherin. He swallowed hard in fear of what his parents would say, of what his friends would say. Would they even still want to be friends with him when they were in different houses?
He remained silently caught up in his own thoughts, ignoring the rest of the classification until he heard ’Potter, Harry’ and then he was just curious enough to look up and watch as an eager Potter sat down on the stool to put on the Sorting Hat. There was a moment of silence before a loud ‘GRYFFINDOR!’ was heard, before the table jumped in a mighty roar of joy as loud as a Quidditch stadium to the point that he had to cover his ears so they wouldn't get hurt.
I'll drown in the stupid lake tonight if I have to go through this every day.
Potter sat a safe distance from him with a sheepish smile of relief as he was congratulated and cheered by the other Gryffindors. Then his eyes met hers and his smile faded a little to give her a look of dissatisfaction. He could hear perfectly well how he was saying to himself ‘Well, you can't get everything in life’, the idiot. Then he turned his head away from him ignoring him to keep looking at the ranking, he also looked away quite embarrassed and annoyed. If he had known this would happen, he would have refrained from bothering the great Harry Potter on the Hogwarts Express.
The sorting continued and as he expected, the blessed Weasley stayed in Gryffindor and sat happily next to Potter who also seemed very happy. The sorting ended with Blaise staying in Slytherin much to his dismay. He felt very depressed; he didn't stay with any of his friends or acquaintances. He was going to be alone with a bunch of mindless Gryffindors.
You are also a Gryffindor. He reminded him of an internal voice that made him feel more self-conscious. Over his dead body he would accept that he is a Gryffindor.
After that he started the banquet where he could barely eat a few bites because of the knot in his stomach that prevented him from savoring the abundant food despite being hungry. Some kids his age tried to start conversations with him, but he didn't have enough enthusiasm to continue them.
"I'm half wizard, my father is Muggle" he then heard a certain Finnigan speak.
"All my family are witches and wizards but they all thought he was muggle because I had very little magic, they were all surprised when my letter arrived" Longbottom also spoke.
Fantastic. He told himself with disgust as he listened to his families' conversation, he had forgotten that the breeding place for muggle lovers was mainly Gryffindor, not to mention Hufflepuff. At least he was a little graceful not to have been in the latter.
"And you Draco?" He could not help but frown when Dean Thomas addressed him by his name. What a bloody audacity, he did not even address his friends by his name, most of the time.
"I'm a pureblood," he claimed, looking up superiorly. "My family has always been perfectly pure, no squibs, we never had a muggle. Always-.”
"Your family was always in Slytherin, right? Until now" Ronald sneered superiorly. "That had to be quite a blow to you, right Malfoy?”
"And what did you say in Diagon Alley, Malfoy? ‘I know that I will be from Slytherin, because all my family was from there’?” Harry also joined in as they both laughed, returning the trick he did on the Hogwarts express.
He felt her face burn hard and looked back down at her plate. The other children looked at them in confusion, but he couldn't miss the annoyance on their faces when he sneered about Squibs and Muggles, even some of the older Gryffindors who caught up to overhear gave him scornful looks.
From now on, he will have to think carefully before opening his mouth.
After the banquet, another speech and warning from Headmaster Dumbledore followed that did not catch much attention. Then the Hogwarts hymn followed and they were finally able to get up to go to their beds. Before following Percy Weasley, he turned to see his friends who were not looking at him because they were engaged in a conversation as they followed his prefect. With great regret, he had to turn around and follow the Gryffindors with his head down until he reached the painting of the Fat Lady, entered Gryffindor tower and went up to the dormitories where he hastily put on his pajamas, jumped into his bed and closed the curtains tightly.
"Good night to you too, Malfoy," he heard Weasley's wry voice which he ignored to pull the covers up over his head, hoping to hide from the rest of the world forever.
That day, which is supposed to have been the best day of his life, was actually the worst of all.