Elizabeth Kingston and Rachel Austen walked down the aisle of the Hogwarts Express, looking for seats. They stopped by a compartment, and peering in, they saw a handsome blonde boy accompanied by a bushy brown-haired girl, a black-haired boy, and a cute redhead. Rachel, being the nosy girls that she was, poked her head into the compartment and said, "hi. This is my friend Elizabeth and I'm Rachel. We're form America, so we're new here. Please tell us there are more seats on this train than the ones we've already passed."
"Sorry, this is the end of the train," the brown-haired girl said. "My name is Hermione Granger. And this is my friend Harry Potter-" she said, indicating the black-haired boy, "-and my other friend is Ron Weasley," she said, gesturing to the redhead.
"Damn," said Rachel.
The four Brits gave her strange looks.
"Oh, just ignore her," Elizabeth said, finally poking her way through into the compartment. She looked at the blonde boy. "And who might you be?" she asked politely.
"Malfoy," he replied. "Draco Malfoy." He took her hand and kissed it.
Rachel nudged Elizabeth, who only grimaced. She had particular attraction to the boy, because, frankly, he seemed arrogant and proud.
"Nice to meet you," she choked out. She glimpsed Hermione turning red from laughter behind Draco, a small grin gracing her pretty face.
"I better get going. My friends will be wondering where I am," Draco said. He left the compartment before anyone could say a word.
Draco swept down the aisle of the train and sat down in a compartment with Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy. "Well? Did Potter say anything?" Pansy asked. Malfoy only shook his head, and said nothing further on the subject. "What's wrong, Draco?"
"Nothing's wrong, per say… while I was in there, two girls came. They've transferred to Hogwarts from America," he told the other three.
"And what did you think of them?" Pansy inquired.
"The first, named Rachel was rather too nosy and flirty for my taste. In addition, the second, named Elizabeth was rather plain. Neither of them poses any romantic interest for me," Malfoy stated firmly.
He was good at bullshitting other people, sometimes even himself.
--Meanwhile—
Rachel and Elizabeth sat down with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "So what year are you two in?" Harry asked curiously.
"Seven," Rachel replied.
"So are we!" Hermione squealed excitedly, happy to finally have other girls to talk to. She did enjoy her friendships with Ron and Harry, however… there were some things a girl needed to discuss with other girls.
"We were best friends at the wizardry and witchcraft school in Washington, D.C. We were happy to be transferred here together," Rachel informed them.
"That boy who was here before… what's he really like?" Elizabeth asked, looking up at the trio.
Hermione grimaced. "He's snotty and arrogant."
"And cruel," Harry added, "don't forget cruel."
Ron felt he had to give his own input and said, "Not to mention downright disgusting."
From this, Elizabeth could grasp no good in his character. However, she loved a charity case.
--Later—
Both the new girls had a private sorting, to minimize the gossip that was sure to spread at the arrival of two transfer students. Both were sorted into Gryffindor. At the diner table, Elizabeth chatted with Harry about Quidditch. Rachel, Hermione, and Ron, meanwhile, had their own conversation concerning classes. "I hope we don't have too many classes in a day," Rachel said, "I really hate being in classrooms. They're so boring." Ron nodded in agreement.
"I must say, I'm completely different. I love class!" Hermione told her.
At this, Rachel grinned. "Then you should get along well with Elizabeth. She was the smartest student in our year in D.C.," she said.
"So what are you looking forward to the most about being here?" Harry asked Elizabeth.
"Just being whoever I want to be," she replied. A mischievous grin spread across her face as she added, "And all the cute boys."
"You should have no boy trouble here. You and Rachel are already considered extremely attractive among the male Gryffindors," Harry said, smiling.
Elizabeth, took, cracked a grin. "And how would you know that?"
"It's simple. Most of them seemed to pay more attention to you two than to the food," he said, and they both laughed.
--Meanwhile—
Malfoy, despite what he told his friends, felt a slight attraction to Elizabeth. He noticed the way her brown hair shone in the light and the way her eyes sparkled when she laughed. This is crazy, he told himself, forcing himself to turn back to his plate and stop staring at her. However, he could not ignore the small voice in his head that said, "She is beautiful." As he ate dinner and continued to glimpse at her sparingly, the feeling grew stronger and stronger. Malfoy, being as vain as he was, was angered that he might be falling for someone who was American and a Gryffindor, no less. However, he allowed the feeling to grow, despite his better judgment. Although he was attracted to her, his pride prevented him from admitting it. To him, admitting it would only make it more real, which was the last thing he wanted, at the moment. Besides, it would only be frowned upon. A Slytherin and a Gryffindor? People had always told him that he was proud. Now he realized that it might be his demise. He was too proud to admit that he liked Elizabeth and too proud to give it up just for honor and glory.
--Later—
By some unimaginable stroke of luck, Elizabeth and Rachel were assigned to Hermione's dorm. "This is… rather extravagant," Elizabeth said as they walked into the room for the first time.
"Big word person," Rachel scoffed.
"All we had in D.C. was two twin beds," Elizabeth told Hermione.
"Well, then," Hermione said, placing her hands on her hips proudly, "you've just had an upgrade. So… what did you think of Ron and Harry?"
Rachel and Elizabeth exchanged glances. "They both seem like they'll be great guys to know," Elizabeth said, stating her sentiments perfectly. Rachel, however, hesitated.
"Well, Rachel?" Hermione pressed her.
"Harry seems like a really nice guy. And Ron…" she said, her voice trailing off as she climbed into bed.
Hermione and Elizabeth followed suit, climbing into their own bed. "You like him, don't you?" Elizabeth said, grinning knowingly.
"So? What about you and Draco? He kissed your hand," Rachel retorted, sounding like an impish toddler.
"I don't like him!" Elizabeth cried, glaring at her friend.
"Fine," Rachel said. Under her breath, she added, "Do too."
"I heard that," Elizabeth said dryly, lying down and turning over on her side, shutting her eyes lazily.
"Draco and Elizabeth, sitting in a tree…" Rachel sang in a whisper.
"Shut up," Elizabeth groaned, throwing at extra pillow in the direction of her friend's bed. Ignoring Rachel's yelp, Elizabeth turned over in bed. There seemed to be something more to Draco than what Harry, Ron, and Hermione had told her. Rachel accepted their attitude of hating him without a second thought, but Elizabeth could not bring herself to do that without basis for it. She was determined to find the whole of his personality before judging him.
--Meanwhile—
"Bloody hell, they're hot!" Seamus said.
"Who, Rachel and Elizabeth?" Ron asked.
"Hell, yeah!" Seamus nodded. Dean heartily agreed with Seamus, and even Neville seemed to like them a lot.
"Could you please stop talking about them like they're objects?" Harry finally asked.
"Why, what's wrong mate?" Seamus asked.
"It's just that they're my friend and hearing them viewed like that is sickening. It's more lust than admiration," he sighed.
Ron nodded. "Honestly. It's disgusting to talk about girls like that, especially ones you know well," Ron said.
"You've known them for five hours! How can you possibly know them that well?" Dean cried.
Blushing, Ron muttered, "Well, I feel like I've known Rachel my whole life."
"You hypocrite! You're criticizing us for talking about her when you're obviously attracted to her yourself!" Seamus said, pointing an accusatory finger at Ron.
Harry readily came to Ron's defense. "It's not the same. He likes her for her personality, not just for her body," he said. Ron nodded in agreement.
"That," Seamus said smugly, "is what they all say."