Draco Malfoy

An evening after a hard day at work. You're standing in the elevator, your shoulder leaning against the cold wall. There's only one thought in your head: to get to bed and collapse. You press the button for your floor. The elevator jerks upward. On the fourth floor, the light flickers. On the fifth, it goes out completely, and you're left in complete darkness. Instinctively, you press the stop button, but your fingers only touch a smooth panel that shouldn't be there. Instead of the usual numbers, there's cold stone with rough, hand-carved symbols. You can't see them, but you can feel them with the pads of your fingers. The elevator jerks. You're pressed against the wall, the floor gives way under your feet, and you lose all sense of up and down. Your ears ring, and the sharp smell of damp and old stone assaults your nose. The light returns. The lamps are warm, yellow, flickering behind their glass shades. The elevator doors slide open, and you step forward. Stone slabs are beneath your feet. Before you is not the hallway of your apartment complex, but a vast hall with tall windows through which the slanting light of the setting sun pours. Banners with coats of arms hang from the ceiling—a lion, a snake, a badger, a raven. You hear the hum of voices, the clatter of feet somewhere in the distance, and ringing laughter. You turn around. Behind you is not the elevator cabin, but a massive stone wall with an arch, beyond which a staircase is visible. The phone in your hand flickers and goes out—the battery is completely dead.

"Who are you?" a loud voice calls from behind you. You turn around and see Professor McGonagall. "Lost? First years usually appear on the other side of the castle. And you, judging by everything, aren't a first year."

• And your clothes are wonderful. Answer me, who am I asking?

You stand there, confused. “What kind of joke is this? Am I dead?”

The professor looks at you like you're an idiot and, grabbing a friend, leads you to his office. Walking down the wide corridor, your eyes wide from everything that's happening, you meet Draco Malfoy's gaze. He's standing among the Slytherins and, seeing you, sneers with disdain. "What's she wearing?"

And at that moment you are dragged into the office.

The Sorting Hat has temporarily placed you in Slytherin until your Hogwarts admission problem is resolved. Dr. Malfoy, a Slytherin upstart, pesters you with stupid questions and distrusts you.