"Whoa," Chloe gasped. Her head practically spun a 360, and her already abnormally large eyes were bugging out of her head. "This place is, like, magical!"

The Great Hall was very magical, especially now, with all of the floating candles lit and the moving fresco of the sky above. All of the students were gathered at the massive house tables, a sea of black robes and pointed hats and chattering voices. Chloe went to follow Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but a pinch-faced teacher directed her towards a line of first-years.

"Hullo," Chloe said to the boy behind her. She gave him her friendliest smile and he squeaked in fright. So much for making friends, she thought bitterly. The pinch-faced teacher unfurled a scroll of parchment paper and read off a name.

"Albert, Richard!"

A small, mousy-looking boy leaped when his name was called and scurried over to a stool in the center of the room. He looked positively terrified. The professor clamped a large, ratty hat down onto his head, but it couldn't quite get past his ears.

Suddenly, the hat screamed, "RAVENCLAW!" at the top of its lungs. Did a hat have lungs, Chloe wondered, or does it just make sounds without speaking?

She was so wrapped up in pondering the anatomy of a hat that she completely missed when her name was called.

"Chloe!"

Chloe looked around nervously, making sure that no one had heard her lack of surname. She slowly walked to the stool, and when the professor placed the hat on her head, it slipped down over her eyes and everyone laughed. Chloe heard a voice whispering snidely into her ear.

I see many things in you, my dear, many great things, but many secrets as well. You'd do well to keep those secrets hidden. Power doesn't become you, and neither does pride. But yet...They could. You could achieve much, but you could also lose much. Beware.

Just when Chloe thought she couldn't take it anymore, the hat stopped whispering long enough to shout, "SLYTHERIN!" The table in the far back cheered, and the table full of red scarves and golden ties booed. Chloe kept her eyes lowered and her head down as she walked to the table in the back.

At the table, a pale, skinny blonde boy seemed to be holding court. He had an upturned nose, gray eyes, and a haughty demeanor. He was laughing meanly at something, but stopped to look at her. The boy gazed her up and down in an appraising manner, and Chloe stiffened her jaw and stepped forward.

"Hello," she said, smiling shyly. "I'm Chloe, it's nice to...meet you?"

The blonde boy laughed. "You're a Slytherin? You couldn't be more of a Hufflepuff if you tried." He and his sycophants guffawed rudely. Chloe took a deep breath.

"Takes one to know one," she spat. The whole crowd gasped, followed by a smattering of applause. The boy looked taken aback, but then grinned.

"You don't seem half bad, Chloe. I'm Draco. And if you want to have a life here at Hogwarts, you've come to the right place."