The boat ride had been nearly silent albeit the small mumbles of reassurance that the two cousins would mumble towards a silent Blue. It worried them beyond belief, how silent he was, how his shoulders were slumped and the light in his eyes seemed to have vanished. It was almost as if he was dead. Draco breathed in through his nose, eyebrows creasing together as his hands gripped the edges of the wooden boat hard enough to turn his already pale knuckles into a uncanny white color. Finley was worse off at controlling his worry, he fidgeted upon the boat heavily causing it to rock to and fro yet never capsize unless he moved too quickly or fast.

"Can you at least call me a weasel so I know that you aren't dead?! You're scaring me half to death!" To others, Draco seemed to have lost it, screaming bloody murder at a boy who wanted nothing to do with him but to Draco, he was trying whatever he could to at least get something out of the small boy wether it be anger or happiness, he didn't care as long as Blue wasn't looking like some sort of zombie.

Of course, Draco's outburst had severe consequences as the boat rocked heavily to the side causing the three boys inside to topple slightly into the water with Finley and Draco shrieking like a bunch of banshees who found out that the beloved person they were trying to scare to death was deaf or blind. Finley dumped his weight towards the left side, sighing heavily as the boat went back to normal. He shook his head for a bit just as the sound of laughter filled his ears.

Blue had his hand clasped against his mouth, shoulders shaking as his eyes stared at the two with a mixture of surprise and amusement. The wind blew his hair awry yet the amusement in his eyes never dulled as Draco felt his cheeks burn and as a retort, puffed out his chest and sneered.

"What are you laughing at? You were like some stupid statue! Do you know how hard it would be for us to carry a statue like you?"

Blue's eyebrows rose heavily as the boat hit the island of Hogwarts with a thud. Finley was the first to get off, giving a hand out to Draco who sneered at the outstretched limb and turned his head to the side as he stood up. Blue was the first to notice that the boat wasn't exactly on shore yet and with a grin that could rival James's potter himself, the boy's eyes became aflame with mischief as he leaned forward and dumped his weight on the side of the boat.

Draco was standing in the middle and as the boat lurched to the side, he gave another one of his horrified banshee shrieks just as he toppled into the water. Of course, only his hair and sleeves got wet as the rest of his body was on the shore, somewhat. Draco spluttered and shrieked as he leaped to his feet, water dripping down his hair and unto his face. He swiveled his head to and fro, Grey eyes zoning on the shoulder shaking culprit who had his hands clasped against his mouth again, glasses slipping off his face as he tried to muffle his laughter.

"You... you insolent Bird!" Draco once again emitted one of his small shrieks, leaning forward with his eyes glinting. Finley squeaked before leaning forward, grasping his cousin by his wet sleeve and tugging it as hard as he could.

"Let me-"

"The sorting?"

Finley tried weakly to calm the other boy down as his best friend climbed unto shore with a face splitting grin. Sauntering over, Blue could only pat the Malfoy's arm, his grin never fading as his lips parted open to speak.

"Thanks."

Before Draco could even strangle the young Potter, Blue had already joined the herd of other first years, shoulders suddenly stiff and eyes becoming guarded as he stared out into the distance with a frown. Once again, the two cousins surged forward, each one standing on either side of him. Draco acted more as a terrifying chihuahua with his yapping of threats while Blue was certain that Finley had swallowed a dictionary before coming to Hogwarts considering that the boy was dumping information on him like it was necessary for him to know why Hogwarts got his name or why witches and wizards are called witches and wizards, or even why people used wands.

"And did you know that the first ever wand maker was-"

Blue clasped one hand against the boy's mouth, effectively stopping his effusive rambles. He gave a lopsided smile towards the boy before letting go and looking around as the herd was led into the castle. All the moving paintings and extravagant designs had Finley intrigued as he decided to start mumbling quietly about how and where they were made after Remus had given him a book about it and he had been entranced ever since.

"I can hear you mumbling about the dates of paintings. Finny, as much as I would love to hear you talk about things like a dictionary, I'm afraid that I can't as we've reached the great hall doors and I'm fairly certain that you cannot walk in there rambling about how the first Hungarian Dragon was found because if you do, I will not hesitate to smack you upside the head. Oh, one more thing-" Blue paused as he leaned forward grasping Finley's right hand within his own as he pulled him over and into the crowd.

"Stay close to me and Draco."

As the doors opened up and the first years were all assembled into a neat line, Blue could only bring his lips into a scowl as his green eyes glared down at the ground. He shifted a bit, noticing how Finley who was in front of a few people and his brother was fidgeting to and fro and how Draco kept that persistent smirk upon his face despite his eyes contradicting how he presented himself.

"Draco Malfoy!"

Draco sauntered up to the stool and sat down, Grey eyes boring into Pale green ones with a satisfied smirk as the hat soon bellowed out, not even touching a inch of his head. The boy jumped down, making his way towards his designated house as his fingers crossed once Finley glanced at him.

"Finley Lestrange!"

The brownish black haired boy stepped up to the stool and just as Draco had done previously, the hat not even touching a portion of his head, it already bellowed out as loud as can hear.

"Hufflepuff!"

Cheers erupted from the yellow and black table of badgers and Draco felt his shoulders stiffen, heart dropping to the pits of his stomach as the automatic reflex to disown his own cousin came into play. His eyes narrowed as they stared at the smiling boy and his lips curled into a wicked sneer yet as pale green eyes met with his, Draco felt his stiff shoulders relax if only slightly.

The name that was soon called out however had Blue's tension rise as his shoulders stiffened and his eyes went as wide as saucers. The young boy hesitantly went up and sat down, the hat covering his eyes as it mumbled and argued before bellowing out once again.

"Gryffindor!"

••••

The great hall froze, people's eyes almost bugging out from their sockets as they struggled to comprehend what was being discussed. The young boy was still on the stool, the hat still mumbling and arguing as the teachers glanced at each other, each filled with confusion and dread.

you can't decide young one? You have ambition yet you also have brains. You have loyalty with a kind heart yet you aren't afraid to do what you think is right.

Blue brought his lips into a thin line, fingers curling around the edges of the stool as he mulled over his increasing thoughts. He would often move the hat upwards to roam his gaze across the houses. One was where his best friend sat, the other was where his rival sat, the third was where he noticed a peculiar girl with a nickname that suited her well and then the last one where his older brother sat, ignoring his entire presence.

The boy breathed in deeply, eyes settled upon the house where his rival sat. He could agree that he had ambition, that he had power that wasn't up to its full potential. He wondered which house would help him better. Ravenclaw, the creative and intelligent? Gryffindor, the brave and selfless? Hufflepuff, the loyal and kind hearted? Or perhaps Slytherin, where Ambition and loyalty seemed to be their main traits.

As he mulled over these thoughts, a simple memory slithered into his mind. It wasn't very detailed, not at all, yet he could still remember and fill in the missing pieces. The blonde haired woman who was reading to him, the way he seemed so adamant on getting green and silver instead of gold and red, how he had been so elated to get a stuffed toy of an owl and another of a snake. He remembered Nacrissa talking about how Slytherins actually were, how Draco showed it from an early age, how they were ambitious not power hungry, how they were loyal to the end, sticking up for their friends if they had to yet staying on the sidelines while using their persuasion and cunningness to try and win their own battles.

He remembered how the woman had emphasized the fact that Slytherins didn't fight with their fists but with their words, how they knew exactly how to rile someone up, how to talk in such a way that caused the other opponent to hesitate, to rethink on if they should even be facing them. Slytherins had Intelligence and power, they had ambition and loyalty and Blue would be lying if he didn't say that their motto was possibly 'No body gets left behind', considering that the 'bastard' snakes were more of a family than any of the real houses.

So, Blue let out a soft breathe that he had been holding for the duration of his thought process. Pale green eyes becoming aflame with a emotion that couldn't be extinguished. The boy's lips twitched upwards as if he was forming a lop sided and as Harry's own green eyes met with his, he delivered a wicked smirk just as the hat bellowed out.

"Slytherin!"

•••••••