Eliza and Drew stood together while they waited to be told what House they'd be placed in. A sympathetic teacher had used a spell to dry Isabell off, so now she stood in the midst of other first years in the most dignified manner she could muster, but the algae on her shoulders made that difficult.

To Drew's surprise, Wilby was promptly put in Slytherin. She would have bet on Hufflepuff, but that just showed how much she didn't know him.

A few more students were Sorted. Susan Bones... Terry Boot...  Millicent Bulstrode... Drew watched with little enthusiasm. It was very quick for some people, but very long for others.

Professor McGonagall, the cat woman with lips thin enough to cut diamond, barked, "Getaway, Aurora!"

Ari trembled as she arrived at the three-legged stool and sat down. Drew knew she definitely wanted to be in Ravenclaw and hoped that she'd get it.

"RAVENCLAW!" the Hat hollered.

Drew clapped loudly for her, and Ari turned and smiled, "Thanks!"

"Getaway, Drew!"

Excitement nearly pouring out of her eyes, Drew sat down. McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on her head.

A little voice in her ears said, "Hmm.... now this is always a tough decision..."

What? Drew asked, surprised. She thought she could feel invisible fingers picking through her memories like file folders. Are you reading my mind?

"Oh yes," it chuckled. "You have great pride in yourself. Cunning, daring, determined. A little impulsive, but very brave. Brave, indeed."

I don't want Gryffindor, she thought, knowing where it was going.

"No? I do sense that. You want to join your friends?"

She gave a nod, wondering why it was second-guessing her like this.

"Slytherin's traits are the best fit for you, I admit..."

Why the hesitation, then?

The voice got lower, almost furtive. "Miss Getaway, I warn every Muggle-born before putting them in Slytherin. Many there would not take kindly to you. You see, many of the worst people ask for Slytherin to be with their own, regardless of where I think they fit."

Then I'll change Slytherin House. I don't care.

It got quiet. "Truly, you are ambitious. Better be SLYTHERIN!"

Her heart leaped as the green and silver table cheered. She excitedly walked over and sat down, then turned to look at the other first years who hadn't yet been sorted.

The blond guy she met at Diagon Alley was giving Drew a look of utter horror, identical to Isabell de Montmorency's. The Sorting Hat's warning rang in her head.

As for Eliza, her face was impassive, but she smiled when she saw Drew looking. As for those on the table, they all clapped and cheered, welcoming her.

A few minutes later, Professor McGonagall called out, "Malfoy, Draco!"

This one looked particularly nasty, judging from facial expression alone.

After many more and Pansy Parkinson, came "Potter, Harry!"

The Hall went silent when he nervously put on his hat. Drew saw Malfoy stare at Harry with a hopeful expression.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The red and gold table cheered, and prefect Percy Weasley excitedly shouted to anyone and everyone that Harry Potter had joined his House.

From Eliza and Drew's conversation on the train, she knew why this Potter guy received such a big welcome. He had defeated You-Know-Who (Eliza wouldn't reveal his real name) when he was a baby, earning him a lightning scar.

Drew's table had a lot of swearing going on. She looked at the two rows of disappointed faces as Malfoy swore and ranted about how Potter had chosen the wrong friends. A tall guy who must've been the Head Boy was especially dismayed, and he stared at Malfoy like he was a nightmare come true.

True to her hopes, Eliza Skull was put in Slytherin. She held her hair up and sat down next to Drew to the sound of energetic clapping.

Eliza smiled at her, then whispered, "Have you told anyone your blood status?"

Drew shrugged, "Not after you told me not to, but I did I already Isabell. Does it matter, really? Everyone seems nice."

Applause sounded, and they stopped talking to applaud as Duncan Torcher, a giddy guy with hair styled like a porcupine, came to sit at their table, holding a hamster in his hands.

"It matters to me," Eliza said when they were done. 

"You really don't want people to know about it. Even these people." Then she glanced at Malfoy. "He is familiar now. He's supposed to be really wealthy. There's a rumour that his parents are trying to bring You-Know-Who back."

Drew's stared at her in disbelief. "What? Are they evil?"

"Well, his father was a confirmed Death Eater, but his parents were one of the first to change sides once You-Know-Who got defeated. His father was exonerated, too. Even so...Dumbledore —he is very...kind, to let even people like him into Hogwarts."

"Hm," Drew said. "What's he like? Dumbledore, I mean."

"Oh, he's the most—"

"—idiotic person alive," Isabella Lorelei Kabrat finished. She had been sorted into Slytherin, and sat across from Drew, three seats away. "Honestly, that thing about having a good deal of wisdom when you're old is just absolute claptrap. Or possibly you just get more stupid once you hit eighty."

Drew ignored her. "So what's he like?"

Eliza glanced at Isabell's superior face glowering at her and pressed her lips together. "Oh... I don't know much about him. She's probably right."

All at once, Drew's opinion of Eliza changed. She had a bad feeling about Eliza Skull.

But she shrugged it off.

* ° * ° *

So far, life at Hogwarts ruled.

Living with roommates was fun. She shared her dorm with Eliza, and the two could talk until midnight. Unfortunately, Isabell was in their room too, but she surprisingly kept to herself. The other two girls were the grumpy Millicent Bulstrode and the jumpy...er, Drew didn't actually know the fifth girl's name yet.

The Slytherins weren't that bad. Blaise Zabini and Tracey Davis hardly talked, but they were friendly enough. Duncan Torcher was obsessed with fizz charms, insisted on being called "Torch", and had a crazy new hairstyle every week. Pansy Parkinson was courteous to her, and the older students usually helped her out when she needed it, though they often had to be bribed with candy.

The castle was like a fairy tale. With its old paintings, ghosts, old walls, and secret passageways, it could've been an ancient abandoned fortress. But while it looked dead, it was filled with life — laughter, fireworks, colour, pets...

And the classes were excellent, especially Charms. Potions was one of the best in terms of workload. The professor was a jerk, but she could arrive twenty minutes late, and he wouldn't bat an eye. 

DADA was pretty weird, Professor Quirrell just kept stuttering and could barely teach properly. It was disappointing, because Defence Against the Dark Arts was the class Drew had been looking forward to the most. She had this huge urge to slap his stupid turban off his head.

After the first day's classes, Aurora finally got to talk to her sister.

"Drew,"  the Ravenclaw panted. "Are you avoiding me?"

"Yeah," Drew said, shooting her a small smile, "I was, but now I'm not."

Her sister noticed that a roll of parchment was hanging out of her bag, and pushed it back in. She had a very full bag, and she glanced at Eliza just a tad nervously. "I just wanted to check up on you."

Drew felt weird talking to her sister in the hallways. They'd always pretended to be strangers when they were in Muggle schools, both embarrassed to be seen with the other.

"I'm fine," Drew shrugged. "You seem to be enjoying yourself."

The Ravenclaw patted her bag. "I am. Er, goodbye now."

Drew waved, and Ari scurried off.

Eliza looked at Drew with an amused expression, "I could feel the tension and awkwardness there."

Drew sighed, "Yeah, we're very close. Closed off, that is."

"I like talking to my sister," Eliza said softly, almost to herself, "but she is not very nice."

"No?" Drew was surprised.

"Oh, she's sweet like a peach, but once you get to the core, it's all poison."

Drew wasn't quite sure what to say to that, but Eliza was walking now, uncomfortably adjusting her sleeves. Drew quickly followed.

* ° * ° *

It was two weeks before Christmas break until Drew got into her first fight. Why so long, some may ask? This was a new school, a school she needed to stay in for seven years. She couldn't start beating people up that fast.

One Potions class, Draco Malfoy made it obvious that he was a bitter brat by saying: "I do feel so sorry for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."

Crabbe and Goyle laughed. Harry ignored him.

But Drew didn't. "You're going soft."

Malfoy spun, his cold grey eyes focusing on her. "Excuse me?"

Drew smiled, enjoying herself too much. "I didn't know you were one to feel sorry for orphans like him."

Eliza laughed, and Malfoy sneered, "Muggles really are stupid. Don't you know, I said that on purpose to make him feel bad. I most certainly did not mean it."

"Is that so, because it would sure be a laugh if a Malfoy turned out to have a kind heart under their nasty personality."

"That is not true," he said in a tone that implied that anyone who believed otherwise was a swamp rat.

"Right. Right," Drew nodded. She wasn't going fully ballistic on him, only annoying him to the point where he just tears his own hair out.

Malfoy shook his finger at her, "My father will hear about this!"

"Fantastic!"

He was taken aback but quickly regained his composure. "I'll have you know, my father, Lucius Malfoy, has connections —"

"Your daddy's one achievement doesn't impress me, Malfoy."

His pale cheeks now had a tinge of pink on them, "I can have you expelled. I'm not joking."

It was completely true, so she had to shut him down fast. "I'm sure, but you wouldn't."

"And why is that?"

And then Drew played the move that never failed her, "Because doing so would imply that you're scared to deal with me myself."

Eliza simpered, "Ooooh." Crabbe and Goyle made a move as if to hit both Eliza and Drew, but Malfoy hissed at them to stop.

Malfoy now slightly resembled a turnip. His cheeks were turning red, but the rest of his face remained a ghostly white. "You...you..."

"Forgot my name did you? It's —"

"Drew Getaway," he snapped. "I remember. So is it a duel you're after? Then —"

"I accept."

Eliza grabbed Drew's arm, "Hey, wait —"

"Who's your second?" Malfoy asked, his lip curling up to form his famous sneer.

Drew knew enough about duels to know what that meant. "Eliza."

"Mine's Crabbe," he said without a moment's hesitation, like he'd already said it before. Goyle looked sad.

Eliza frowned. "Are you sure about this?" she whispered to her friend.

Drew nodded, a plan already forming in her strategic mind. "When?" she asked Malfoy, not a hint of hesitation present.

"Midnight," he replied immediately. "The trophy room."

"The room that's always unlocked, eh?" Drew grinned. "And you better not be a coward and be a no-show."

His shocked face betrayed him. It confirmed that that was exactly what he had planned to do —to not show up and let Filch catch her.

Drew smiled, her eyes glowing with triumph, "I knew it. That's what you wanted to do. Honestly, I know that trick. If you don't turn up, I'll know that little Malfoy just doesn't want to hurt anyone."

Malfoy was outraged, and he displayed this by stomping his feet, scowling at everything, and letting out frustrated noises. "I am not a softie!"

"Oh yeah? Then prove it in battle. And, hm, midnight's a little late for me. How about eleven?"

He scowled. "Fine. See you at eleven."

* ° * ° *

When class ended, the students flooded out. Drew motioned for Eliza to slow down. The two of them kept ten paces behind Malfoy.

The Clock Tower struck eleven.

"Malfoy!" Drew yelled. The second he turned around, she blasted a Cracker Jinx at him.

Students dived out of the way, and the spell barely missed Malfoy's eyes as it seared a line in his hair. "What the hell!" he shouted, pulling out his wand. "We said eleven!"

"Oh, did you think I meant eleven at night?" she laughed. "Immobulus!"

Malfoy wasn't prepared enough to fight it off, and the spell froze him as his goons barreled for her.

Eliza leapt forward, "Locomotor Wibbly!" 

Crabbe and Goyle's legs began shaking uncontrollably before going lifeless, and they collapsed on the ground, yelling and crawling around.

Drew put her wand away. "I guess I win."

Malfoy had regained control over his face, and he spat, "That doesn't count! You're a sneak!"

"You were going to leave me hanging in the trophy room," she shrugged. "Don't try to outsmart another Slytherin. Like it or not, this is why I was Sorted into the same House as you."

Malfoy kept swearing, and eventually the commotion attracted a prefect. It was a new one in Slytherin named Quentin, and he looked at the scene nervously. "What happened?"

"It was Drew!" Malfoy screeched. "She attacked me out of nowhere, and it was completely unfair!"

Quentin turned to look at her, and Drew grabbed Eliza's hand and ran. They weaved through the students to their next class, laughing loudly.