The Hufflepuff (Draco Malfoy)

1

"Hufflepuff!" The small girl smiled brightly as the hat was taken off of her head and she bounced toward the table filled with cheering children in yellow ties. Her parents had raised her to be kind and true, so it was no surprise Sophia Abbott would be sporting yellow for the next seven years of her life. Her heart had been deemed gold since before she could talk and everyone she has ever met has praised her parents for her kind spirit and grace.

Sophie's brown braids swung behind her as she approached an empty seat and sat down on one of the long benches. She was immediately greeted by the boy next to her.

"Sophia, right? I'm Cedric Diggory, a third year."

"I go by Sophie, actually. It is very nice to meet you, Cedric." She smiled at the charming boy. Cedric had chestnut hair and eyes that, despite their steely color, held all of the warmth of a summer afternoon spent sitting in the sun.

"Excellent to meet you, Sophie. You're an Abbott, right? I think my father works with your mother at the Ministry. Her name is Clara, right?" The wide-eyed girl nodded her head proudly at the mention of her mother. After that, both Sophie and Cedric turned their heads towards the front of the Great Hall to watch the sorting of the other first years. Susan Bones was sorted into Hufflepuff not long after Sophie, and Sophie smiled as the Sorting Hat called out her new house. She felt a nudge on her side and a whisper in her ear over the howling of her housemates. "You know it's okay to cheer, Soph." She blushed and playfully rolled her eyes at the nickname Cedric had already given her. She shoved his arm and jokingly stuck her tongue out at him before they both broke out into laughter. The ceremony continued with Cedric making little comments about the other children being sorted, making Sophie burst out in laughter.

"Draco Malfoy!" Professor McGonagall announced, interrupting Sophie's reunion with a boy named Ernie whose parents are good friends with her own. As she turned her attention back to the front, Cedric leaned over once more.

"Pompous git, that one. Has your mother ever told you about the Malfoy family? His father works at the Ministry and is apparently the biggest blood purist you'll ever meet. His relatives have married each other too many times to count. That's probably why his son looks like that." Cedric sniggered. Sophie's jaw dropped and she turned and hit Cedric in the arm.

"No, my mother has never mentioned them," she muttered. Sophie wanted to call him out. To tell him that it's rude to judge people based on their family members and that everyone deserves a fair chance at friendship. And that she thought Draco Malfoy was one of the more attractive boys she'd seen get sorted. But Sophie wasn't that bold. So she held her head high and directed her head once more toward the front of the Great Hall. Draco had barely been under the hat a second before it was deeming him a Slytherin. He smirked rather arrogantly and almost strutted towards the table at the far end of the Hall.

"Look, Soph. I'd never say that about someone I don't know. That's not me. But, ask anyone who knows anything about the world we live in and they'll tell you nothing other than what an arrogant twat Lucius Malfoy is. And apparently, his son is following right in his footsteps." Cedric defended himself and Sophie let out a sigh.

Sophie felt her throat well up with all the words she wanted to say to Cedric. To dismiss his assuming nature by telling him that, while he was free to judge people, she wouldn't be doing so in her time at Hogwarts or in life. But instead of speaking up, she nodded her head gently at the older boy.

The Sorting ended and many of the Hufflepuffs were upset, though not surprised, when Harry Potter had been sorted into Gryffindor and not their house. But, all of their lament was forgotten once Dumbledore's speech ended and the feast began. The chatter around Sophie began to pick up, but instead of joining in on the conversations, she sat back and observed the people around her and how the surrounding tables acted. She was instantly aware of how her table was not producing the most noise, despite all of the people of friendly nature at her table. She peeked behind her childhood friend, Ernie, to see the Gryffindors yelling across the table at one another and thought the shouting and cackling laughter was endearing. It was nice to know they were comfortable here and it brought some comfort to herself.

"Hey! Sophie!" She was snapped out of her thoughts as she smiled at Ernie who was trying to grab her attention. "Have you thought about what class you're most excited for?"

"Well, I think Charms will be fun because it seems the most practical, but Potions seems like it will be my favorite. I love the idea of mixing little things together to get one completely different result." Sophie exclaimed, eyes lightening up at the thought of concocting powerful potions. At this point, Cedric was listening in and began to chuckle.

"I really do hope you'll keep that positive attitude about potions after your first day. Snape teaches that class and the old brute has a permanent stick up his arse."

"Oh, please, he can't be that bad." At least that's what Sophie tried convinced herself.

"He is. He always favors the Slytherins and is extremely strict on following the rules and directions. He takes house points and gives detentions for the most minor slip-ups." Favoring a house just because it's his own did seem like a reason Sophie wouldn't like the man, but all favoritism aside, she understood why he had to be strict.

"If he's not strict, we could easily burn the roof off of this place, Cedric. The rules are meant to keep us safe." She turned her attention back to Ernie. "What about you, Ernie? Any class really jumping out at you?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts." Ernie gave a mischievous smile. "It'll definitely be the most interesting, especially because we have it with the Gryfinndors. The Boy Who Lived himself, in our Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Wicked." Sophie had to giggle. There was zero desire in her heart to learn anything more than a simple disarming and stunning spell. She didn't feel much need to learn how to defend herself against infamous Death Eaters, simply because there are none anymore. And frankly, she was scared to.

"I get why you're excited, but I don't think I'll like that class much." She shifted in her seat as Cedric and Ernie gave her a sideways look. "I just don't enjoy the thought of hurting others."

"What if they're about to hurt you?" Ernie countered.

"They're not going to be. There are no more Death Eaters, and if you're kind enough to others, you won't need to defend yourself against them. No one who thinks you are kind is going to hurt you."

"Soph, I get you're a Hufflepuff, but you can't be that naive. Of course, you'll need to defend yourself whether it be against a dark wizard or someone who threw a bat bogey hex your way. There are some people out there who don't care if you're nice or not." Cedric has said some questionable stuff for a Hufflepuff, but Sophie knew it was all of good intent and he's just trying to advise her for years to come, and for that, she appreciated his honesty.

She began chatting with Susan and her cousin, Hannah; both of whom were to be her dorm mates for the next seven years. As she laughed and talked with the two of them, Sophie began to grow more excited for the school year; if that were even possible.