Matchmaker Malfoy

Matchmaker Malfoy--Chapter 2

"GRYFFINDOR!" yelled the Hat. Serena sat there, shocked. What the fuck!? She screamed in her mind. This has to be one really sick, fucked up joke. Draco wouldn't do this to me. Would he? Professor McGonagall, along with the rest of the school, was looking at her funny.

"You have to take your seat, Miss Malfoy," the stern-looking professor said. Serena blinked once, twice.

"Oh, right," Serena said. She handed the hat to McGonagall and rushed to a sparsely populated area of the Gryffindor table. At this time, Serena didn't want to deal with her house mates. She saw Draco staring at her from the Slytherin table.

'What the fuck happened?' Serena mouthed to him.

'I don't know,' Draco mouthed back. 'This has to be some mistake.'

'No shit, Sherlock,' was the mouthed reply. They paid attention to the sorting for the rest of the time, but Serena noticed that her blond cousin was looking over to the Gryffindor table more often than necessary. She also noticed there was no malicious glint in his eyes. Serena followed Draco's gaze and was surprised when it fell on the Golden Gryffindor Trio.

That's odd, Serena thought as she contemplated who of the three he could possibly fancy. Weasley was out, as was Granger. Serena knew from Draco's letters that he totally despised the youngest Weasley boy. His sexual preference left out Granger. That left Potter.

Serena could see why Draco liked him, even though she herself preferred others. Potter rivaled Draco in popularity, looks and charm. Other than that, they were as different as night and day. Serena noticed that when he thought no one was looking, Potter was shooting little glances that would have escaped the untrained eye in Draco's direction.

When the feast was finally over, Serena got lost in the crowd of Gryffindors going up to the tower. Many of her house mates gave her funny looks as they went through the castle on their way to the tower. When they got there, Serena found an obscure corner to curl up in. Even then, the Gryffindors wouldn't stop glaring at her, and she had to get out. Confident that no one would miss her, Serena left the common room to explore the castle.

Serena didn't know where she was going, but she soon found herself up in the Astronomy Tower. She sat on the window sill and looked out onto the sprawling Hogwarts grounds.

Why the fuck was I put in Gryffindor? My father's going to kill me! Not to mention all of my other family members. I'm so fucking screwed! These thoughts and more were running through her head. She didn't even want to fathom what her uncle would say to her when she attended his first class. Malfoys aren't meant to be in Gryffindor!

Without thinking, Serena began to sing. It always had a calming effect on her.

"I'm just a kid

And life is a nightmare

I'm just a kid

And I know that it's not fair

Nobody cares cuz everyone in the world

Is having more fun than me

Tonight"

Serena was so caught up in her singing that she didn't hear anyone come into the tower. That is, until she was spoken to.

"You shouldn't be up here, you know. You don't want to be caught out after curfew," said an authorative voice from the doorway. It was a relatively young voice, and Serena had a pretty good idea who it was.

"Sod off, Granger. I'm not in the mood," Serena said moodily, still staring out the window.

"I'm not doing this because I care or anything," said Granger. "But what's the matter?"

Serena gave a hollow laugh. "I could answer that question on so many levels."

"Care to venture a few?" Granger asked.

"Why should I tell you?" Serena asked, turning to Granger. "Like you said, you don't care."

"Maybe I don't, but I could still help," said Granger, trying to pry some information from Serena.

"Were you sorted into a house you felt was the wrong one for you?" Serena asked. Granger shook her head. "Then there's no way you could help."

"Whatever you say, Malfoy. But don't underestimate Gryffindors. We might end up being the only friends you have," the Head Girl said. With that, she left the Astronomy Tower, leaving Serena alone. With a sigh, she stared out the window until she couldn't keep her eyes open. She crept back to Gryffindor Tower quietly and went straight to bed.

*****

The next morning, Serena went down to breakfast, alone. She had resolved to go to Headmaster Dumbledore afterwards to see about a re-sorting. There was no way in hell she was staying with a bunch of Gryffindor do-gooders. All during breakfast Serena had a mouthed with her cousin conversation over the din.

'I hate it here,' she mouthed to Draco.

'Really? I wonder why?' Draco mouthed back with a smirk. Serena could just sense the sarcasm. Serena stuck her tongue out at him, and ate her breakfast.

When breakfast was over and she had gotten her timetable, Serena crept away from the rest of the crowd and made her way to Dumbledore's office. Since she had gone to the school over the summer to be registered, she knew where the entrance and what the password was. Serena hoped the barmy old coot hadn't changed it since she had registered.

She approached the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office. "Mars Bars," she said. Thankfully the password hadn't changed and the gargoyle sprung out of the way. Serena rode the revolving staircase to the top. She was about to knock on the door when it was flung open by a smiling Dumbledore.

"Hello, Miss Malfoy. Please, come in," he said, stepping out of the way.

"Thank you, sir," Serena replied as she entered the office. "You're probably wondering--"

"I know why you're here, Miss Malfoy," said Dumbledore. He saw Serena's surprised expression. "Don't look so shocked, Miss Malfoy. It's not that hard to lip read. Tea?"

"No thank you, sir," Serena declined politely.

"Now, you seem to think that the House you were sorted into is not the best one," said Dumbledore, pacing around in his office.

"That's right, sir. Both sides of my family have been in Slytherin for centuries," said Serena.

"Ah, yes, the Malfoys and the Snapes. Very prominent wizarding families," said Dumbledore. He fixed Serena with a blue eyed gaze. "In about a thousand years the sorting hat has never been wrong. It saw something in you that you predecessors lacked. As much as you dislike it, you're stuck in Gryffindor."

"Oh, well, at least I tried," said Serena. "Thank you for your time, Headmaster."

"Think nothing of it," replied Dumbledore with a smile. He scratched something with his quill on a piece of parchment. "I think you'll need this. Professor Snape doesn't take kindly to late Gryffindors, if I'm not mistaken."

Serena took the note and left the Headmaster's office. She sprinted down to the dungeons because she didn't want to be later than she already was. She knocked lightly on the door and was met with a cold command to enter.

"Why are you late, Miss Malfoy?" Professor Snape asked coldly.

"I had to see the Headmaster, sir. Here's my excuse," replied Serena. She wasn't expecting any warmth from the potions professor because he was routinely cold towards her anyway. Snape read over the note.

"Very well, take your seat," he said. Serena hauled her bag to the desk at the front of the classroom. All through the lesson she was glared at by both the Gryffindors and the Slytherins, the latter because she had betrayed her family by being a Gryffindor and the former because she wasn't supposed to be there. Serena was glad when the lesson was over. Since she had a free class after Potions, Serena made her way to the lake.

"It's nice out here, isn't it?" asked a voice behind Serena. She turned around to see Hermione Granger standing a few feet away.

"Don't you have anything else better to do?" Serena asked sourly.

"I have every right to be here as you do," said Granger placidly, looking out over the lake.

"Fine. Just don't speak to me," said Serena. However, it appeared to Serena that Granger couldn't shut up.

"Why did you see Dumbledore this morning?" she asked.

"It's none of your damn business," replied Serena. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm just curious. I've never seen a Malfoy so worked up over something," Granger said simply.

"So I'm a freak that people stare at," Serena said, glaring at the brunette.

"No. You're just not what I expected, that's all," said Granger.

"You're not what I expected either," said Serena. "I expected you to be a stuffy bookworm that would treat me like crap."

"Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I am a bookworm. However, unlike my friends, I believe in giving everyone a chance before judging them," Granger replied.

"Y'know Granger, you're all right," Serena said, smiling slightly.

"You're not too bad yourself, Serena. And its Hermione," said Granger.

"Hermione," repeated Serena. At that moment the bell rang and the two Gryffindors made their way to the castle so ad not to be late for class.

*****