Chapter Text
Draco was sure his life was over. After ages of his family, both his mother and father’s lineages, being sorted almost exclusively into Slytherin, he had just been sorted into Ravenclaw. His placement was met with a mix of applause, shocked faces, and noises of confusion and protest. Most of the older students and Slytherin house were aware of the Malfoy family and their reputation, but the majority of the undeterred applause came from younger or muggleborn students.
As Draco sat at the back of the table of his new house, he avoided to the best of his ability the stares and whispers he attracted. Surely more than one letter detailing his failure would be written home by the students throwing him knowing glances. His father would know by morning, and Draco was completely unprepared on handling this situation. His father always had high standards and an unforgiving demeanor, but Draco never had messed up this bad. Maybe he could try to break the news first? Argue with the sorting hat to be reassigned? Ask Snape to help him transfer houses?
This clearly was a mistake. Magic hats cannot be trusted to understand the responsibility of the Black and Malfoy legacies.
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Draco and the rest of the first year Ravenclaw’s were lead to Ravenclaw tower and then divided into their new rooms. He found his stuff next to a bed but didn’t bother to unpack. After bothering Snape during dinner in the Great Hall he was informed that there was no hope for a resorting, but he still was not interested in getting comfortable. He did, however, remove his white pet corn snake out of his trunk and allow it to slither around his wrist. This immediately caught the attention of a tall boy with light brown hair.
“Woah! You have a pet snake?”
Draco, who was admittedly surprised that any of the other boys dared to talk to him, just started at him in return. However the boy was undeterred and motioned two other boys in the room over.
“I’m Anthony Goldstein, and this is Terry Boot and Micheal Corner. You’re Draco Malfoy right? At dinner people were talking about you almost as much as Harry Potter! I hear it’s some big deal you’re a Ravenclaw. Your parents were both Slytherin right?”
“Anthony…” Corner and Boot at least looked embarrassed for their friends invasion of Draco’s privacy.
“Not just my parents,” Draco scoffed “my family is not only part of the sacred 28, but for centuries have been sorted into Slytherin. Now I’m stuck being one of the few to be sorted into a lesser house. I’m not interested in making friends, Goldstein.”
“Hey! Ravenclaw’s not a lesser-“, Terry Boot began.
“Why not?” Goldstein interrupted.
“Why not? Did you not understand what I just said? I’m not interested in ruining my family’s reputation.” Draco rolled his eyes. He thought this was supposed to be the intelligent house.
“Slytherin’s all about being ambitious right? Well in Ravenclaw you can direct those ambitions to exceeding in your classes! I’m sure your family would be proud if you became a great wizard. And you got sorted here, that must mean something. A lot of talented wizards were Ravenclaws!”
Draco actually paused and considered Goldstein’s words. His father most definitely would be disappointed, but if what Snape said about not being able to be resorted is true, than Ravenclaw was much more ideal a house than the alternative. At least he wasn’t stuck a Hufflepuff. Maybe he could convince his father that Ravenclaw was still a worthy house if he was the top of his classes!
He would write a letter immediately telling them of his plans. He was raised in a wizard household and was always naturally intelligent, it shouldn’t be too difficult. Maybe Goldstein was right, being sorted into Ravenclaw meant something.