"Gryffindor!" the Sorting Hat announced loudly, declaring the Boy Who Lived's house placement.
The Gryffindor table exploded into chaos... students cheering at the top of their lungs. The Weasley twins shouted "We've got Potter! We've got Potter!" while pounding their hands together in wild applause.
"See? What did I tell you?" Sorimus said with a grin, turning to Draco. "I really should have placed a bet with you."
Draco's small face went deathly pale with rage... though there had never been much color in it to begin with.
"Draco, listen to me. Don't pick a fight with Potter." Sorimus tapped the table to pull Draco's gaze away from Harry. "The headmaster himself is watching over him. Don't waste your energy on something that won't pay off."
"Mind your own business!" Draco snapped, whipping his head around to glare at Sorimus.
"Whatever you say. I'm only reminding you... after all, your family... heh. Don't make extra trouble for your father."
At that moment a newly sorted Slytherin boy slid into the seat across from Sorimus. "Blaise Zabini."
"Hello, Sorimus Selwyn." Sorimus shook hands with the famous "son of the widows."
"Ah, finally time to eat. I'm starving." The prefect beside Draco perked up as the headmaster rose to his feet.
Dumbledore beamed at the students, arms spread wide as if nothing pleased him more than seeing them all gathered together. "Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to Hogwarts for another year! Before the feast begins, I have a few words to say. And they are these: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"
He sat back down. Everyone clapped and cheered.
"Is he a bit mad?" Draco asked Sorimus.
Sorimus only shrugged... he was too busy tearing into a chicken leg. The entire hall had grown noisy, students swapping summer stories while the new first-years attacked their plates and listened to the older students describe the wonders of the school.
Once he had finished the chicken leg and given his stomach something to work on, Sorimus turned to Draco, who was busy demolishing a slice of cake. "You know about Slytherin's old tradition, right? The one the other three houses dropped long ago."
"You mean the prefect selection? What about it? You want to be Slytherin's first-year prefect?" Draco kept eating while shooting Sorimus a sideways look.
"No, I couldn't care less about being prefect. What I want is the prefect's perk... a single room." Sorimus smeared a dab of ketchup across the potato on his plate. "You become prefect, but the room belongs to me."
In Sorimus's eyes the only worthwhile part of being prefect was that single room; everything else was worthless. What was the point of a prefect-only bathroom when a single room already came with its own? Besides, prefects had to pass on new passwords and handle a dozen other annoyances. Sorimus hated trouble. Back in his old days he had been class representative for a while, collecting homework every day. Fail to get it in and the teacher got angry; chase down the late ones and you made enemies among your classmates. Both sides lost. Ever since then Sorimus had zero interest in jobs where the effort far outweighed the reward.
"What do you mean?" Draco still did not understand.
"It means I'll concede right here in front of everyone... you become prefect. But the room's use belongs to me. Simple as that." Sorimus took a savage bite of the ketchup-covered potato.
"That works?" Draco showed no real objection. His father had already told him certain things about Sorimus before Hogwarts began and had warned him not to clash with the boy. After all, if you traced the family tree, the two of them were still distant relatives.
"Why wouldn't it? The prefect title can't be transferred unless you lose a challenge, but the room assignment is flexible. Just say you don't like living alone and it's done." Sorimus winked. "And if you agree, I can give you some tips on how to deal with that Weasley redhead." Sorimus had already figured it out: anything that made a Weasley miserable made Draco happy.
"Deal."
Professor Dumbledore stood up again. The hall fell quiet once more. "Now that everyone is full and satisfied, I have a few more words. At the start of every term I must remind you of certain rules."
"First-years should note that the forest on the school grounds is strictly forbidden to all students. Some of our older pupils would do well to remember this too."
Dumbledore's twinkling eyes swept pointedly toward the Weasley twins.
"Also, Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to remind you that magic is not permitted in the corridors between classes."
"Quidditch tryouts will be held in the second week of term. Anyone wishing to join their house team should contact Madam Hooch."
"Finally, I must warn you that anyone who does not wish to suffer a most painful and unpleasant death should avoid the corridor on the right-hand side of the fourth floor."
"And now, before we all head off to bed, let us sing the school song together!" Dumbledore called out.
The moment he heard those words, Sorimus's left hand whipped out his wand beneath the table and cast a quick charm to seal his ears shut. He watched everyone around him open and close their mouths like fish while Draco clamped both hands over his own ears and muttered something under his breath.
As if he did not already know exactly how awful the Hogwarts school song was... pure noise. When the rest of the hall finally stood up, Sorimus quietly ended the charm on himself.
"You should have done that for me too, Sorimus," Draco grumbled.
"There wasn't time," Sorimus replied with a laugh. He fell into step beside Draco, following the Slytherin prefect out of the Great Hall.
Of the four houses, Slytherin and Hufflepuff both had common rooms underground, though Slytherin's was farther away. The kitchens lay directly beneath the Great Hall, with Hufflepuff's common room right beside them, so the little badgers were always the first to reach their dormitories.
The first-years trailed the prefect down a dim staircase and through a shadowy corridor until they reached a blank, damp stone wall. Behind it lay the Slytherin common room.
"Glory," the prefect said. The wall slid open and the new students stepped inside: a long, low underground chamber with rough stone walls and ceiling. Round lamps glowing with greenish light hung from chains, and an elegantly carved fireplace stood surrounded by carved chairs.
"Welcome to noble Slytherin. Before you settle in for the night, Slytherin has one tradition that must be observed... a tradition Hogwarts has kept since its founding. The other three houses abandoned it long ago, but we... only we Slytherins still honor it. Next you will..."
The prefect's speech was cut short.
"All new students, step into the center and stand," Professor Snape drifted out of nowhere, wand in hand, his face showing clear impatience. "The last one of you still standing will be the first-year prefect and enjoy all the privileges that come with it. Hurry up. My time is valuable!"
Sorimus and Draco stood side by side.
"Remember what you promised, Draco." Sorimus gave a small flick of his left wrist and his wand appeared in his hand.