Draco Malfoy and the Sorcerer's Stone - Chapter One (Mars Mallory)
Draco Malfoy smirked. He was small for an eleven-year-old, with fine silver hair and long silver eyes. He stowed his luggage into a corner and sank down into a seat on the Hogwarts Express. He was flanked on either side by two trollish boys, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. For as long as he had known the two, Draco had hated them. They were dim-witted and codependent. Draco's Father, Lucius, had conveniently assembled the trio when Draco was four years old.
Draco had never had a friend he'd liked. Blaise Zabini, Nate Nott, Ian Rosier - he hated them all because they were the same. Aristocratic and scathing. Not that Draco wasn't these things - but he had a personality, as well.
The compartment door slid open, revealing a girl heaving a huge trunk. "D'you mind if I sit here?" Without waiting for a reply, she strode in.
"Who're you?" Draco sneered at her.
She gave him an appraising sort of look before snorting derisively. "Mars Mallory. And there's no need to tell me your name. Silver hair and a face like a rat...You're a Malfoy, aren't you?"
Draco's cheeks went pink, but his mouth was still smirking. "Mars? What kind of name is that?"
"It's a symbolistic one," she shot back hotly. "I'm an Aries - Mars is my planet, for your information. My mother's really into Divination."
Draco snorted. "Oh."
"What's your first name, anyway?"
He hesitated for a moment. "Draco."
Mars went bright red and convulsed with laughter. "And you thought *my* name was funny?" she managed to gasp.
"Stuff it," he said sulkily.
She arched an eyebrow. "Anyway - Your dad's Lucius Malfoy, isn't he? My father talks of him often."
"Who's your father?"
"Jacob Mallory," Mars replied.
"Yes, Father's talked of him, as well." Draco did remember Mallory - Lucius spoke highly of him.
"D'you know much about Hogwarts? What house d'you think you'll be in?"
Draco didn't hesitate before replying, "Slytherin."
Mars sized him up. "You probably will be. I might be a Slytherin. Or a Ravenclaw. Possibly Gryffindork. But I'd die if they put me in Hufflepuff." She paused. "Did you know Harry Potter's on this train?"
"Harry Potter? Really?"
"Yep. I was in his compartment a few minutes ago. Him and a Weasley of some nature." She shrugged, but Draco thought he saw a blush creep into Mars' cheeks.
"I bet he's a jerk - a jerky Gryffindork." Lucius was always insulting the Boy Who Lived back home, at the Manor. A lasting impression was ground deep in Draco's mind.
Mars shrugged again. "He seemed pretty nice to me. Almost - average, you know?"
Draco made a slight face. "Whatever."
At that moment, a dumpy witch pushing a food cart popped her head in. "Sweets, anyone?" Mars quickly drew several gold coins from her pocket and rushed out into the aisle. Draco fished around in his suitcase and produced a handful of Sickles. Mars was quickly buying up one of everything, a manic glint in her eyes. She dumped it all over her empty seat, licking her lips. Draco bought a box of Every Flavored Beans and joined her. "Hungry, are you?" he smirked.
"Oh, yeah. I could eat junk food all day," she said through a mouthful of Pumpkin Pasty. She wiped her mouth and grinned. "Choc'late Frog, Malfoy?"
"No, thanks." Mars shrugged and crammed one in her mouth.
She picked up the discarded card. "I got Circe," she said thoughtfully. "She was rather pretty, wasn't she?" Mars tossed it to Malfoy.
A willowy woman with eyes like a cat gave him a seductive smile. "She's creepy looking." He handed Mars the card and dug into his jelly beans.
Mars opened up her own package. "Look at this one," she said, holding up a pale, suspicious green one. "It's probably bogie-flavored, huh?"
"Looks like it," he said disinterestedly.
Giving him a cunning smile, Mars popped it in her mouth. "Nope. Pistachio."
"Gutsy." Draco got an awful box: toejam, blood, sweat, halibut and mustard. Mars, however, had a box full of good ones: grape, cherry, sugar, cotton candy, and salt. She smirked triumphantly at him.
"Who are they?" she gestured at Crabbe and Goyle. They were both snoring.
"This is Crabbe. And this is Goyle. They're peabrains." Draco shrugged. "Are you going to change into your robes?" He glanced out the window at the rapidly darkening countryside. "We'll probably be there soon."
Mars gave him a deeply disgusted look. "Not in here with you."
"You just slip them over your clothes, prat."
"Oh, fine." She rummaged around in her trunk, pulled out a length of black, billowy robe. She tugged it over her t-shirt and shorts. Draco did the same. "You nervous?" she asked him after a moment, chewing on a slightly stale Cauldron Cake.
A Malfoy-sneer flew onto his face. "Nervous? Of course not. Are you?"
"A little bit," she said earnestly. "What if I am in Hufflepuff? I'd die, chu know? I really hope I'm in Gryffindor or Slytherin."
"I'd just better be in Slytherin," Draco said edgily.
Mars gave him a curious look. Before she could speak, the train lurched to a sudden stop, and her stomach lurched to her feet. "Bloody 'ell," she whispered. "I was lying to you, Malfoy. I'm terrified."
Draco gave her a cheeky smile. "Come on then." He slapped Crabbe and Goyle upside the head in turn. "Wake up, dolts!" They shot awake, grunting. "Come on, Mallory." Mars followed him off the train, not even listening to the words coming over a loudspeaker.
Little hisses of conversation reached her ears. "It's Harry Potter!" "Parvati, I'm serious. Him! The one with the glasses." Mars wrapped her arms around herself, staring up at the star-dotted sky.
Suddenly, a huge figure loomed forward. "Firs' Years! O'er here!" Mars reluctantly followed Draco, who was walking towards the gigantic, hairy man. His hulking shadow led them to the edge of a great lake fringed with a bunch of boats. "No more'n four ter a boat!" Draco, Crabbe and Goyle clambered quickly into one. Draco looked up at Mars expectantly. Before she could act, a girl jumped into the boat so fast she seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Draco scowled. It was Pansy Parkinson, someone he knew and hated. Lucius had conveniently arranged their friendship around the same time Draco was introduced to Crabbe and Goyle. Pansy would make a suitable wife to a Death Eater, Lucius had reasoned. Like Narcissa.
"Hi, Draco," Pansy said in a foul, simpering voice.
Draco grimaced and waved Mars on. Pansy smirked at her with something like triumph.
Mars suppressed her annoyance, bit her lip, and began searching for a new boat. Fortunately, she was able to climb into one with Harry Potter, the Weasley, and some bushy-haired girl. A boy with a round, lost face was the only person without a place. The giant of a man ushered him into boat before climbing clumsily into his own. "I'm Rubeus Hagrid!" he announced. "Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts and..." Mars wasn't listening as he continued. She couldn't. Blood thudding in her ears blocked out all other noise. "Row!" Hagrid suddenly cried. The fleet of boats began to glide as one along the smooth, glassy lake.
"I'm Harry Potter," The Boy Who Lived said, smiling.
"Hermione Granger," said the bushy-haired girl. She was noticably buck- toothed.
"Name's Ron Weasley." The Weasley gave her a grin.
"I'm Mars Mallory, then. Pleased to meet you all." She cast a chance glance over at Draco's boat. He was staring moodily into the water, looking bored and sulky. Mars giggled nervously. "I'm scared out of my wits."
"So'm I," Harry said. He looked very pale and very nauseous.
"I'm not nervous," Hermione said. "I'm prepered for anything, just about. I've already learned all sorts of spells and enchant -" she broke off suddenly. The fleet had just rowed around a bend, and Hogwarts Castle slid into view.
Awed gasps sprang from each little boat. A thousand lights glittered and twinkled from a thousand turrets and towers. "Wow..." the Weasley murmured.
Mars stared raptly in appreciation. "Yeah..." Hagrid was saying something, but Mars was only half-listening.
They bumped into the little harbor and scrambled onto shore. Hagrid led the shivering flock up the enormous front steps. "You! Is this your toad?" The round-faced boy leaped up with a joyous cry of "Trevor!" He pocketed his toad and filed back into line. "All right, then. You all ready?" Hagrid raised a massive fist and knocked three times on the castle doors.
*MARS*
Draco Malfoy smirked. He was small for an eleven-year-old, with fine silver hair and long silver eyes. He stowed his luggage into a corner and sank down into a seat on the Hogwarts Express. He was flanked on either side by two trollish boys, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. For as long as he had known the two, Draco had hated them. They were dim-witted and codependent. Draco's Father, Lucius, had conveniently assembled the trio when Draco was four years old.
Draco had never had a friend he'd liked. Blaise Zabini, Nate Nott, Ian Rosier - he hated them all because they were the same. Aristocratic and scathing. Not that Draco wasn't these things - but he had a personality, as well.
The compartment door slid open, revealing a girl heaving a huge trunk. "D'you mind if I sit here?" Without waiting for a reply, she strode in.
"Who're you?" Draco sneered at her.
She gave him an appraising sort of look before snorting derisively. "Mars Mallory. And there's no need to tell me your name. Silver hair and a face like a rat...You're a Malfoy, aren't you?"
Draco's cheeks went pink, but his mouth was still smirking. "Mars? What kind of name is that?"
"It's a symbolistic one," she shot back hotly. "I'm an Aries - Mars is my planet, for your information. My mother's really into Divination."
Draco snorted. "Oh."
"What's your first name, anyway?"
He hesitated for a moment. "Draco."
Mars went bright red and convulsed with laughter. "And you thought *my* name was funny?" she managed to gasp.
"Stuff it," he said sulkily.
She arched an eyebrow. "Anyway - Your dad's Lucius Malfoy, isn't he? My father talks of him often."
"Who's your father?"
"Jacob Mallory," Mars replied.
"Yes, Father's talked of him, as well." Draco did remember Mallory - Lucius spoke highly of him.
"D'you know much about Hogwarts? What house d'you think you'll be in?"
Draco didn't hesitate before replying, "Slytherin."
Mars sized him up. "You probably will be. I might be a Slytherin. Or a Ravenclaw. Possibly Gryffindork. But I'd die if they put me in Hufflepuff." She paused. "Did you know Harry Potter's on this train?"
"Harry Potter? Really?"
"Yep. I was in his compartment a few minutes ago. Him and a Weasley of some nature." She shrugged, but Draco thought he saw a blush creep into Mars' cheeks.
"I bet he's a jerk - a jerky Gryffindork." Lucius was always insulting the Boy Who Lived back home, at the Manor. A lasting impression was ground deep in Draco's mind.
Mars shrugged again. "He seemed pretty nice to me. Almost - average, you know?"
Draco made a slight face. "Whatever."
At that moment, a dumpy witch pushing a food cart popped her head in. "Sweets, anyone?" Mars quickly drew several gold coins from her pocket and rushed out into the aisle. Draco fished around in his suitcase and produced a handful of Sickles. Mars was quickly buying up one of everything, a manic glint in her eyes. She dumped it all over her empty seat, licking her lips. Draco bought a box of Every Flavored Beans and joined her. "Hungry, are you?" he smirked.
"Oh, yeah. I could eat junk food all day," she said through a mouthful of Pumpkin Pasty. She wiped her mouth and grinned. "Choc'late Frog, Malfoy?"
"No, thanks." Mars shrugged and crammed one in her mouth.
She picked up the discarded card. "I got Circe," she said thoughtfully. "She was rather pretty, wasn't she?" Mars tossed it to Malfoy.
A willowy woman with eyes like a cat gave him a seductive smile. "She's creepy looking." He handed Mars the card and dug into his jelly beans.
Mars opened up her own package. "Look at this one," she said, holding up a pale, suspicious green one. "It's probably bogie-flavored, huh?"
"Looks like it," he said disinterestedly.
Giving him a cunning smile, Mars popped it in her mouth. "Nope. Pistachio."
"Gutsy." Draco got an awful box: toejam, blood, sweat, halibut and mustard. Mars, however, had a box full of good ones: grape, cherry, sugar, cotton candy, and salt. She smirked triumphantly at him.
"Who are they?" she gestured at Crabbe and Goyle. They were both snoring.
"This is Crabbe. And this is Goyle. They're peabrains." Draco shrugged. "Are you going to change into your robes?" He glanced out the window at the rapidly darkening countryside. "We'll probably be there soon."
Mars gave him a deeply disgusted look. "Not in here with you."
"You just slip them over your clothes, prat."
"Oh, fine." She rummaged around in her trunk, pulled out a length of black, billowy robe. She tugged it over her t-shirt and shorts. Draco did the same. "You nervous?" she asked him after a moment, chewing on a slightly stale Cauldron Cake.
A Malfoy-sneer flew onto his face. "Nervous? Of course not. Are you?"
"A little bit," she said earnestly. "What if I am in Hufflepuff? I'd die, chu know? I really hope I'm in Gryffindor or Slytherin."
"I'd just better be in Slytherin," Draco said edgily.
Mars gave him a curious look. Before she could speak, the train lurched to a sudden stop, and her stomach lurched to her feet. "Bloody 'ell," she whispered. "I was lying to you, Malfoy. I'm terrified."
Draco gave her a cheeky smile. "Come on then." He slapped Crabbe and Goyle upside the head in turn. "Wake up, dolts!" They shot awake, grunting. "Come on, Mallory." Mars followed him off the train, not even listening to the words coming over a loudspeaker.
Little hisses of conversation reached her ears. "It's Harry Potter!" "Parvati, I'm serious. Him! The one with the glasses." Mars wrapped her arms around herself, staring up at the star-dotted sky.
Suddenly, a huge figure loomed forward. "Firs' Years! O'er here!" Mars reluctantly followed Draco, who was walking towards the gigantic, hairy man. His hulking shadow led them to the edge of a great lake fringed with a bunch of boats. "No more'n four ter a boat!" Draco, Crabbe and Goyle clambered quickly into one. Draco looked up at Mars expectantly. Before she could act, a girl jumped into the boat so fast she seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Draco scowled. It was Pansy Parkinson, someone he knew and hated. Lucius had conveniently arranged their friendship around the same time Draco was introduced to Crabbe and Goyle. Pansy would make a suitable wife to a Death Eater, Lucius had reasoned. Like Narcissa.
"Hi, Draco," Pansy said in a foul, simpering voice.
Draco grimaced and waved Mars on. Pansy smirked at her with something like triumph.
Mars suppressed her annoyance, bit her lip, and began searching for a new boat. Fortunately, she was able to climb into one with Harry Potter, the Weasley, and some bushy-haired girl. A boy with a round, lost face was the only person without a place. The giant of a man ushered him into boat before climbing clumsily into his own. "I'm Rubeus Hagrid!" he announced. "Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts and..." Mars wasn't listening as he continued. She couldn't. Blood thudding in her ears blocked out all other noise. "Row!" Hagrid suddenly cried. The fleet of boats began to glide as one along the smooth, glassy lake.
"I'm Harry Potter," The Boy Who Lived said, smiling.
"Hermione Granger," said the bushy-haired girl. She was noticably buck- toothed.
"Name's Ron Weasley." The Weasley gave her a grin.
"I'm Mars Mallory, then. Pleased to meet you all." She cast a chance glance over at Draco's boat. He was staring moodily into the water, looking bored and sulky. Mars giggled nervously. "I'm scared out of my wits."
"So'm I," Harry said. He looked very pale and very nauseous.
"I'm not nervous," Hermione said. "I'm prepered for anything, just about. I've already learned all sorts of spells and enchant -" she broke off suddenly. The fleet had just rowed around a bend, and Hogwarts Castle slid into view.
Awed gasps sprang from each little boat. A thousand lights glittered and twinkled from a thousand turrets and towers. "Wow..." the Weasley murmured.
Mars stared raptly in appreciation. "Yeah..." Hagrid was saying something, but Mars was only half-listening.
They bumped into the little harbor and scrambled onto shore. Hagrid led the shivering flock up the enormous front steps. "You! Is this your toad?" The round-faced boy leaped up with a joyous cry of "Trevor!" He pocketed his toad and filed back into line. "All right, then. You all ready?" Hagrid raised a massive fist and knocked three times on the castle doors.
*MARS*