"You see, going into my eight year of Hogwarts I never could have imagined it would bring this... I mean, year eight? What a pathetic excuse of a perfectly good number. It was literally five months after the Battle of Hogwarts. If that doesn't say how shabby the grounds were, then nothing will. I mean, I had watched people die. Right there, on the grounds where I was standing. I had been hugged by a god awful human being, if you could even consider him one, right there in the courtyard. I had seen so many horrible things that I honestly hope no one ever has to see again, but maybe that was the point. To bring people who had suffered through the same things together so we could realize we weren't alone. Kind of a crap idea, probably McGonagall's, but it brought what is supposed one of the best days of my life to me. Today guys, I mean today. I just… wow I have no clue how to explain my first day of my eighth year. Why don't we just take a dip in the pensive and it'll explain it for you."

I stepped off the train with no self-confidence at all. I was a train wreck, no pun intended. Over this holiday I had 1) watched my father get kissed by dementors, 2) had not one, not two, but four ministry hearing about me being forced into death eater-hood, 3) been practically forced to have Potter and his friends testify for me, 4) watched my mother nearly get sent to Azkaban, 5) I sent dozens of people I had grown up with to Azkaban because of their correspondence with Voldemort, and 5) I was sent back here. The September air was blowing my blonde hair into what I assumed was a hideous mess, as I briskly made my way through the station. I was remaining pretty unnoticed until I ran smack dab into the one and only Harry Potter. And he was… glowing?

"Ha sorry Malfoy, looks like I wasn't watching where I was going." I looked up to see Harry fiddling with a shard of mirror and not looking up at me, obviously trying to hide the fact that he was extremely uncomfortable being back. "I do that a lot nowadays I guess. Look! My scar is fading! Isn't that awesome?" Harry was now talking at a speed I hadn't known humanly possible, and I tried my best to keep up. "Wow it's really great to be back, isn't it? I really hope we can be friends this year, because wow we were pretty sketchy prev- are you alright? Your hand is twitching a lot?"

"Potter, one, you're talking too fast for me to understand, two, it's nice to see you too? And three, you're glowing… like literally glowing. It looks like someone put a lumos charm on your face. Of course I'm going to be a little twitchy about that." I tried to play it off cool, but I quickly covered my hand, strangely self-conscious about it.

Harry finally looked away from the mirror piece and turned to look up at me. His eyes had immediately widened in shock and he nearly dropped the mirror. "Ma-Ma-Draco… you're… your face… you…"

"Spit it out, Potter. We don't have all day."

"You're… oh god, Malfoy… you're glowing too."