Where is she, Ginny thought impatiently as she scanned Kings Cross Station
in search of her best friend, Martina Davies. Until Marti gets here, I'm
stuck hanging out with the Dream Team.
Hermione Granger, Head Girl and Little Miss Perfect extraordinaire always bossing her around telling her what she should and shouldn't be doing, how she should behave. Her stupid older brother, hanging off Hermione's every word, never having an opinion of his own. He used to have a personality until he got together with her.
And Harry Potter. Don't even get me started on him. He saw her as Ron's little sister for 4 years, until she got boobs. After that, he saw her as an object, took advantage of how much she liked him and kept her away from any other guy for all of last year until he got bored and decided that what Cho Chang could offer while she was drunk was better than anything she could do.
Stupid slag. He deserves her, I couldn't really care less. Harry Potter is an arrogant bastard, just like every other guy.
"Ginny, the train's leaving any minute now. I think you should hop on", Hermione called out, snapping Ginny out of her thoughts.
"Yeah Gin, hurry up! Your other half'll find you on there!", Ron yelled.
Her other half? Hell, he could talk. You'd think that him and Hermione were surgically attached, the way they act. Ginny sighed, flipped back her long red hair and stepped on to the train. She went in search of an empty carriage, with no sign of anywhere spare or of Marti. She groaned and went to where Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting. There were two spare seats on the other side of the carriage so Ginny went and sat over there, careful not to look at Harry.
"Hey Gin. How was your summer?", Harry said, smiling at her.
"Fine", Ginny replied.
"Are you still angry at me?"
"Figure it out for yourself. You're such a brave clever boy after all."
"Look, I already said I was sorry. I never meant to hurt you, Ginny. I thought that would be enough for you!", Harry said, starting to get angry.
"Well, maybe you should've thought about me when you were in bed with Cho Chang!", Ginny retorted.
"Oh, I don't believe this! It was a mistake, I never meant.....", Harry started. Just then, Marti entered the carriage, her face flushed to a pretty pink colour and her brown hair all over her face.
"Ginny! I've been looking for you everywhere! It took me ages to find all my stuff so we were running really late and I had to sprint to the train so I couldn't meet you. I found some seats in another carriage but if you'd rather sit here..... you get eyes for your birthday or something, Potter?", Marti snarled.
"Excuse me?"
"Well, you may not have understood the first time. I figured that you may have just got some eyes recently and you're testing them out on me and Gin."
"No, I just think that you two look nice today", Harry said, obviously confused.
"Pull that line on two other girls, Potter. We don't want to hear it. Ginny, I found some seats in another carriage so we don't have to put up with him. You coming?", she asked.
"Gladly", Ginny replied. She walked out of the carriage, not looking at Harry. Marti shot a death stare at Harry before following Ginny out of the carriage.
"So, where are these seats you found?", Ginny asked.
"Just over here. I'm not sure about whether you'd like sitting there, though. It's in the same carriage as someone you hate."
"It's not possible for anyone to be as bad as Harry at the moment. I'll sit anywhere but with him."
"If you say so", Marti said, leading Ginny to the carriage. They walked in and sat down. Ginny looked up and found herself looking directly into steel- grey eyes. The eyes widened in surprise, before turning into a disdainful stare.
"What're you doing in here, Weasley? I thought you'd be sitting in Potter's carriage, hanging off every word he says", Draco Malfoy drawled.
"Please", Marti said, her voice dripping in disdain. "As far as we're concerned, he can shove his Firebolt well and truly up his ass."
"Nah, waste of a good broom", Blaise Zabini said, chuckling.
"But seriously", Draco continued. "Why would two sixth year Gryffindors such as yourselves want to share a carriage with two seventh year Slytherins anyway?"
"Because Harry's a lying cheating jerk who can't keep his equipment away and refuses to admit that he's done anything wrong. I would rather eat my head than be in the same area as him. If you have a problem with that, you're more than welcome to take the issue up with him, I'm sure he'd love to hear from you", Ginny replied.
"I'd rather not. You can sit here if you want."
"We weren't asking your permission. We were going to sit here anyway, whether you liked it or not."
"Ooh, we're feisty today, aren't we?", Draco laughed.
Malfoy isn't actually that bad, Ginny thought. True, her entire family couldn't stand him but they all thought that Harry was Mr. Wonderful so their judgment couldn't be all that good. He isn't bad looking either, Ginny thought with a smile. Only then did she notice the shiny Head Boy badge on his chest.
"You checking me out or something, Weasley?", Draco shot at her.
"No, of course not. Are you Head Boy?", Ginny asked.
"No, I like wearing a similar badge for fun. It's a great fashion statement and an excellent way to pick up chicks."
Ginny and Marti laughed. Wow, did Draco Malfoy actually tell a joke? Ginny had to admit, she rather liked this side of Malfoy.
"Ooh, Hermione won't be too happy about that. She's Head Girl", Marti pointed out.
"Thought she might be. To tell you the truth, Davies, I don't give a rat's ass what Mudblood Granger thinks of me."
"Join the club. I don't know what Gin thinks but I personally think she's an uptight bitch who loves to think she's better than everyone else."
Ginny laughed. "That's my opinion too. Try having to spend half the summer with her and Ron acting like a newlywed couple."
"Oh, god, sounds like my idea of torture", Blaise added. "Almost as bad as being locked in a room with Potter. Didn't you go out with Potter all of last year? What happened there?"
"Cho Chang opened her legs for him and he willingly obliged."
"Cho'll open her legs for anything with a penis. She tried it on me too. Doing Cho doesn't make Potter special", Blaise replied.
"No, if anything, it makes him even more of a jackass than I thought he was. Why would he trade someone like you for a slag like Chang?", Draco said, addressing Ginny.
"Someone like me? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing at all. Much as I would love to stay and chat, I have to meet with the Prefects. Goodbye all."
And with a sweep of his robes, Draco was gone. Ginny stared after him for the longest time.
"Hello? Earth to Ginny? Is anyone still around?", Marti yelled.
"Huh, what?", Ginny said, looking around.
"I'm still here. You, however, have your head in the clouds. What's with you, anyway, you got a thing for Malfoy?"
"Don't be stupid", Ginny snapped. "He's just not acting like himself today. Normally, he would've been a rude arrogant bastard and treated us like dirt but today he seemed almost human."
"Well, his dad was killed in some battle when Voldemort fell so he doesn't have to become a Death Eater anymore. That's gotta be a load off", Blaise informed them.
"So, that's why he's different today?", Marti asked.
"Yeah. We've got two new teachers coming this year. They got another Defense Against the Dark Arts one and a new flying professor because Hooch is taking a year off."
"Hooch is having a year off? Since when?"
"Since she wanted to travel. Draco told me earlier on, before you two came in."
"Right", Ginny said. "I hope it's someone good."
"It should be. Draco wouldn't tell me who, damn him, but he didn't seem too happy about the person."
The whistle rang out, signaling that the train was soon pulling to a stop. Ginny, Marti and Blaise gathered their suitcases, owls etc. and headed towards the door. The train stopped and the three stepped off.
"All right, firs' years over here!", Hagrid called. A bunch of terrified- looking first years walked over to Hagrid. They located Draco's white-blond head over the crowd of students and made their way towards him.
"Hey, Zabini, I got us a carriage! Come on over! You two coming or what?"
Ginny thought about it for a split second but when she heard Ron yell out, "Hey Gin, Marti, come with us!", she hastily made her way over to the door that Malfoy was holding open.
"Did I just see what I thought I saw? Did they just jump willingly into a carriage with Malfoy?", Ron asked, clearly confused.
"Yes, I think they did. He's Head Boy this year, can you believe it? It's going to be so foul working with him!", Hermione exclaimed.
"Malfoy's Head Boy? What crack was Dumbledore smoking when he decided that?", Harry said.
"Apparently Malfoy's a good student and we would work well together. Me and Malfoy working well together, that'll happen when Hell freezes over. But what's with Ginny? She's been acting really strange lately."
"No-one knows it better than me. She spent most of the holidays in her room, only coming out for meals and to bathe. Whenever I tried to talk to her, she always screamed at me to go away. I gave up in the end. And what was up with the way she bit your head off on the train, Harry?"
"Er..... she must just be in a bad mood and needs to take it out on someone", Harry said shortly before changing the subject. Apparently, he had not told Ron and Hermione what had happened. "So, Madam Hooch has gone for the year. Who's taking her place?"
"I'm not allowed to tell you that. The only people who know are me and Malfoy and we promised Dumbledore that we'd keep it confidential."
"Damn, can't you just tell us? We'll promise to act surprised", Ron pleaded.
"No, that would be irresponsible and breaching Dumbledore's trust", Hermione started, but then Ron started tickling her.
"Stop it!", she squealed, giggling. Ron ignored her and continued tickling her. After about 30 seconds of this, Hermione gave up. "All right, I'll tell you but you've got to promise not to tell anyone."
"We won't", they chorused.
Hermione leant over and whispered in Ron's ear first, and then Harry's.
"No way!", Harry exclaimed.
"Are you serious?", Ron asked.
"Yeah."
"Pity Katie Bell isn't at Hogwarts anymore. She certainly wouldn't have minded."
"Nah, she's with Lee Jordan now. They came to the Burrow to visit Fred and George over the summer."
"Oh, look, we're at the castle now. Isn't it great to be back at Hogwarts?", Hermione asked.
"Try spending your summer with the Dursleys and then you can tell me just how much of a relief it is to be at Hogwarts."
"Ah, it's good to be back", Ron said. "This is our last year, lets make it a good one."
The carriages drew to a stop and Harry, Ron and Hermione stepped out. Hogwarts was beautifully lit, as usual, with lights on that made the sky glow. Making their way to the castle, they spotted Ginny's bright red head gleaming like a beacon.
"Ginny!", Ron called. She ignored the call. "Damn, she's still angry."
"She should calm down soon", Hermione said, consolingly.
Ron put his arm around Hermione. "I guess you're right."
And together, the trio walked into the castle.
Hermione Granger, Head Girl and Little Miss Perfect extraordinaire always bossing her around telling her what she should and shouldn't be doing, how she should behave. Her stupid older brother, hanging off Hermione's every word, never having an opinion of his own. He used to have a personality until he got together with her.
And Harry Potter. Don't even get me started on him. He saw her as Ron's little sister for 4 years, until she got boobs. After that, he saw her as an object, took advantage of how much she liked him and kept her away from any other guy for all of last year until he got bored and decided that what Cho Chang could offer while she was drunk was better than anything she could do.
Stupid slag. He deserves her, I couldn't really care less. Harry Potter is an arrogant bastard, just like every other guy.
"Ginny, the train's leaving any minute now. I think you should hop on", Hermione called out, snapping Ginny out of her thoughts.
"Yeah Gin, hurry up! Your other half'll find you on there!", Ron yelled.
Her other half? Hell, he could talk. You'd think that him and Hermione were surgically attached, the way they act. Ginny sighed, flipped back her long red hair and stepped on to the train. She went in search of an empty carriage, with no sign of anywhere spare or of Marti. She groaned and went to where Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting. There were two spare seats on the other side of the carriage so Ginny went and sat over there, careful not to look at Harry.
"Hey Gin. How was your summer?", Harry said, smiling at her.
"Fine", Ginny replied.
"Are you still angry at me?"
"Figure it out for yourself. You're such a brave clever boy after all."
"Look, I already said I was sorry. I never meant to hurt you, Ginny. I thought that would be enough for you!", Harry said, starting to get angry.
"Well, maybe you should've thought about me when you were in bed with Cho Chang!", Ginny retorted.
"Oh, I don't believe this! It was a mistake, I never meant.....", Harry started. Just then, Marti entered the carriage, her face flushed to a pretty pink colour and her brown hair all over her face.
"Ginny! I've been looking for you everywhere! It took me ages to find all my stuff so we were running really late and I had to sprint to the train so I couldn't meet you. I found some seats in another carriage but if you'd rather sit here..... you get eyes for your birthday or something, Potter?", Marti snarled.
"Excuse me?"
"Well, you may not have understood the first time. I figured that you may have just got some eyes recently and you're testing them out on me and Gin."
"No, I just think that you two look nice today", Harry said, obviously confused.
"Pull that line on two other girls, Potter. We don't want to hear it. Ginny, I found some seats in another carriage so we don't have to put up with him. You coming?", she asked.
"Gladly", Ginny replied. She walked out of the carriage, not looking at Harry. Marti shot a death stare at Harry before following Ginny out of the carriage.
"So, where are these seats you found?", Ginny asked.
"Just over here. I'm not sure about whether you'd like sitting there, though. It's in the same carriage as someone you hate."
"It's not possible for anyone to be as bad as Harry at the moment. I'll sit anywhere but with him."
"If you say so", Marti said, leading Ginny to the carriage. They walked in and sat down. Ginny looked up and found herself looking directly into steel- grey eyes. The eyes widened in surprise, before turning into a disdainful stare.
"What're you doing in here, Weasley? I thought you'd be sitting in Potter's carriage, hanging off every word he says", Draco Malfoy drawled.
"Please", Marti said, her voice dripping in disdain. "As far as we're concerned, he can shove his Firebolt well and truly up his ass."
"Nah, waste of a good broom", Blaise Zabini said, chuckling.
"But seriously", Draco continued. "Why would two sixth year Gryffindors such as yourselves want to share a carriage with two seventh year Slytherins anyway?"
"Because Harry's a lying cheating jerk who can't keep his equipment away and refuses to admit that he's done anything wrong. I would rather eat my head than be in the same area as him. If you have a problem with that, you're more than welcome to take the issue up with him, I'm sure he'd love to hear from you", Ginny replied.
"I'd rather not. You can sit here if you want."
"We weren't asking your permission. We were going to sit here anyway, whether you liked it or not."
"Ooh, we're feisty today, aren't we?", Draco laughed.
Malfoy isn't actually that bad, Ginny thought. True, her entire family couldn't stand him but they all thought that Harry was Mr. Wonderful so their judgment couldn't be all that good. He isn't bad looking either, Ginny thought with a smile. Only then did she notice the shiny Head Boy badge on his chest.
"You checking me out or something, Weasley?", Draco shot at her.
"No, of course not. Are you Head Boy?", Ginny asked.
"No, I like wearing a similar badge for fun. It's a great fashion statement and an excellent way to pick up chicks."
Ginny and Marti laughed. Wow, did Draco Malfoy actually tell a joke? Ginny had to admit, she rather liked this side of Malfoy.
"Ooh, Hermione won't be too happy about that. She's Head Girl", Marti pointed out.
"Thought she might be. To tell you the truth, Davies, I don't give a rat's ass what Mudblood Granger thinks of me."
"Join the club. I don't know what Gin thinks but I personally think she's an uptight bitch who loves to think she's better than everyone else."
Ginny laughed. "That's my opinion too. Try having to spend half the summer with her and Ron acting like a newlywed couple."
"Oh, god, sounds like my idea of torture", Blaise added. "Almost as bad as being locked in a room with Potter. Didn't you go out with Potter all of last year? What happened there?"
"Cho Chang opened her legs for him and he willingly obliged."
"Cho'll open her legs for anything with a penis. She tried it on me too. Doing Cho doesn't make Potter special", Blaise replied.
"No, if anything, it makes him even more of a jackass than I thought he was. Why would he trade someone like you for a slag like Chang?", Draco said, addressing Ginny.
"Someone like me? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing at all. Much as I would love to stay and chat, I have to meet with the Prefects. Goodbye all."
And with a sweep of his robes, Draco was gone. Ginny stared after him for the longest time.
"Hello? Earth to Ginny? Is anyone still around?", Marti yelled.
"Huh, what?", Ginny said, looking around.
"I'm still here. You, however, have your head in the clouds. What's with you, anyway, you got a thing for Malfoy?"
"Don't be stupid", Ginny snapped. "He's just not acting like himself today. Normally, he would've been a rude arrogant bastard and treated us like dirt but today he seemed almost human."
"Well, his dad was killed in some battle when Voldemort fell so he doesn't have to become a Death Eater anymore. That's gotta be a load off", Blaise informed them.
"So, that's why he's different today?", Marti asked.
"Yeah. We've got two new teachers coming this year. They got another Defense Against the Dark Arts one and a new flying professor because Hooch is taking a year off."
"Hooch is having a year off? Since when?"
"Since she wanted to travel. Draco told me earlier on, before you two came in."
"Right", Ginny said. "I hope it's someone good."
"It should be. Draco wouldn't tell me who, damn him, but he didn't seem too happy about the person."
The whistle rang out, signaling that the train was soon pulling to a stop. Ginny, Marti and Blaise gathered their suitcases, owls etc. and headed towards the door. The train stopped and the three stepped off.
"All right, firs' years over here!", Hagrid called. A bunch of terrified- looking first years walked over to Hagrid. They located Draco's white-blond head over the crowd of students and made their way towards him.
"Hey, Zabini, I got us a carriage! Come on over! You two coming or what?"
Ginny thought about it for a split second but when she heard Ron yell out, "Hey Gin, Marti, come with us!", she hastily made her way over to the door that Malfoy was holding open.
"Did I just see what I thought I saw? Did they just jump willingly into a carriage with Malfoy?", Ron asked, clearly confused.
"Yes, I think they did. He's Head Boy this year, can you believe it? It's going to be so foul working with him!", Hermione exclaimed.
"Malfoy's Head Boy? What crack was Dumbledore smoking when he decided that?", Harry said.
"Apparently Malfoy's a good student and we would work well together. Me and Malfoy working well together, that'll happen when Hell freezes over. But what's with Ginny? She's been acting really strange lately."
"No-one knows it better than me. She spent most of the holidays in her room, only coming out for meals and to bathe. Whenever I tried to talk to her, she always screamed at me to go away. I gave up in the end. And what was up with the way she bit your head off on the train, Harry?"
"Er..... she must just be in a bad mood and needs to take it out on someone", Harry said shortly before changing the subject. Apparently, he had not told Ron and Hermione what had happened. "So, Madam Hooch has gone for the year. Who's taking her place?"
"I'm not allowed to tell you that. The only people who know are me and Malfoy and we promised Dumbledore that we'd keep it confidential."
"Damn, can't you just tell us? We'll promise to act surprised", Ron pleaded.
"No, that would be irresponsible and breaching Dumbledore's trust", Hermione started, but then Ron started tickling her.
"Stop it!", she squealed, giggling. Ron ignored her and continued tickling her. After about 30 seconds of this, Hermione gave up. "All right, I'll tell you but you've got to promise not to tell anyone."
"We won't", they chorused.
Hermione leant over and whispered in Ron's ear first, and then Harry's.
"No way!", Harry exclaimed.
"Are you serious?", Ron asked.
"Yeah."
"Pity Katie Bell isn't at Hogwarts anymore. She certainly wouldn't have minded."
"Nah, she's with Lee Jordan now. They came to the Burrow to visit Fred and George over the summer."
"Oh, look, we're at the castle now. Isn't it great to be back at Hogwarts?", Hermione asked.
"Try spending your summer with the Dursleys and then you can tell me just how much of a relief it is to be at Hogwarts."
"Ah, it's good to be back", Ron said. "This is our last year, lets make it a good one."
The carriages drew to a stop and Harry, Ron and Hermione stepped out. Hogwarts was beautifully lit, as usual, with lights on that made the sky glow. Making their way to the castle, they spotted Ginny's bright red head gleaming like a beacon.
"Ginny!", Ron called. She ignored the call. "Damn, she's still angry."
"She should calm down soon", Hermione said, consolingly.
Ron put his arm around Hermione. "I guess you're right."
And together, the trio walked into the castle.