Draco closed his eyes as he inhaled the familiar scent of the Hogwarts start-of-term feast – the fragrance triggered a variety of emotions; belonging, dread, excitement, nostalgia, but the most prominent of them all: a sense of safety. Yes, as long as Draco remained inside the gates of Hogwarts, he was safe.
He opened his eyes and surveyed the great hall. What struck him first was how empty the castle looked without the usual number of students there. After the defeat of Voldemort, only those who weren't dead or missing were able to return to Hogwarts. Draco was lucky enough to have the option to repeat his 7th year along with about a dozen others from his class. Merlin knows how many times he had to attend court hearings about his future – in the end, the Ministry of Magic agreed to let Draco finish his schooling, but his parents were not so lucky. His mother was currently under house arrest and his father was somewhere out at sea locked up in Azkaban.
An unfamiliar object at the far end of the room caught his attention – a small round table with a dozen chairs was set up in front of the teacher's table in the corner of the Great Hall. Assuming this was meant for him and his classmates, Draco made his way over. As he neared the table he recognised his fellow Slytherin, Blaise Zabini, and a Hufflepuff - Hannah Abbott. The two were currently in, what seemed, a glaring contest, but Blaise looked up as Draco reached him.
'Draco, thank Merlin.' Blaise exclaimed, looking thoroughly relieved.
'Blaise.' Draco nodded at his friend, and turned to the Hufflepuff. Unsure of what exactly he was meant to do, he nodded at her as well. Hannah narrowed her eyes and then looked away.
Taking a seat next to Blaise, Draco relaxed for the first time since he arrived at Hogwarts. He was anxious to see whether any other Slytherins from his year would return to complete their final year, and was thankful that he wasn't the only one. Besides, he and Blaise had been mates for years, and Draco was sure that he was the only friend he had left at Hogwarts.
The sound of a laugh brought Draco back to reality, and he looked up to see the Golden trio walking towards the table, Granger in hysterics at something that Weasley had said. Draco glanced at Potter and was surprised to see him staring intensely back at him. Draco refrained himself from sneering out of habit – after all, it was Potter who spoke on behalf of his mother at her court case, and it was he who insisted that she did not deserve to go to Azkaban. Although he hated to admit it, Draco did have some respect for the Gryffindor, and he really was tired of the childish feud between them.
Draco tightened his jaw and nodded at Potter, and after what seemed like an eternity, Harry nodded back. And in that moment, Draco knew that there was at least some respect between the two former-enemies, but the cold look in Harry's eyes told him that he was still not forgiven nor was he trusted. Draco didn't care, he wasn't looking to make friendships, he just wanted to move on.
'What the bloody hell is he doing here?'
Draco turned to the redheaded Gryffindor and smirked. 'Good to see you too Weasley.'
'Get out, Malfoy. You don't belong here' Ron seethed.
'Come now Weasley, where are your manners? Besides, we're all supposed to be friends now, aren't we?' Blaise said.
Ron made a movement towards the two Slytherins, but Harry held out an arm, blocking his way. A single look shared between the two made Ron's shoulders sagged in defeat. Ron shot a particularly nasty glare at Draco, then proceeded to sit on the chair furthest away from Draco, Harry and Hermione sitting either side of him. An uncomfortably long silence settled at the table, as everyone avoided making eye contact.
'This is really awkward' Hannah finally said.
'You're right' Blaise agreed. 'We should try to get a conversation going. How was your summer Abbott?'
Hannah scoffed and narrowed her eyes at Blaise. 'I'd rather sit in silence that talk to you, Zabini.'
Blaise made a mock-hurt expression. 'Merlin! And to think, you were once such a lovely girl. When was it – third year I believe? When we were herbology partners?'
'That was before I found out you were a follower to You-Know-Who.' Hannah sneered.
Draco saw a shadow pass across Blaise' face, and knew from the muscle twitching in his temple that Hannah had struck a nerve. Deciding it was best to steer the conversation in a different direction, Draco looked around the table for a distraction.
'What about you Weasley? Did your family finally scrape up enough money to afford a holiday?' Draco jeered.
Draco couldn't help but smirk as the tips of Ron's ears turned a deep crimson. Ron opened his mouth to protest but Hermione placed a hand on his arm.
'It's not worth it Ron, just ignore him' she said quietly.
Draco raised his eyebrows. 'What about you Granger?'
Hermione's eyes narrowed as she surveyed Draco's face, looking for any signs of maliciousness. After deciding that the question was genuine, she frowned.
'I went skiing with my parents' Hermione said flatly.
Draco had no idea what 'skiing' was, but he wasn't about to admit that to her, so he just nodded. Blaise, on the other hand, seemed to have forgotten all about the previous conversation.
'Skiing? What the bloody hell is that?' Blaise laughed.
Draco saw Hermione's eyes widen in surprise, and then comprehension crossed her features.
'Uh, it's a muggle… sport. It involves snow and mountains and these boards that go on your feet…' she trailed off, unsure, and looked to Harry for help.
'Don't ask me, Hermione. Do you really think the Dursleys would have taken me skiing?' Harry laughed.
Draco was completely lost, he still had no idea what skiing was, and who were the Dursleys? His troubles were interrupted when Zacharias Smith, Lavander Brown, Susan Bones and Padma Patil arrived at the table. While greetings and hugs were exchanged, Blaise leaned over to Draco.
'I don't know how I'm going to last this year, mate. Especially with this lot' Blaise whispered, eyeing Hannah suspiciously. 'By the way, did you hear about the dormitories?'
'No, what?'
'Mate, there are only ten of us this year. Five boys, five girls. Do you really think we're going to be given separate house dormitories? We have to share it with them.' Blaise jabbed a thumb towards Harry and Ron who were talking to Zacharias about the latest Quidditch broom.
'Oh God' Draco breathed. This was not good. Draco wanted to avoid Potter as much as possible this year, and there was no way he'd have a peaceful year with Weasley in his sleeping quarters.
Okay, so I'm not going to make these Authors notes too long, but I thought I should tell you that I would love to hear feedback, whether it be positive or negative, and would greatly appreciate reviews. Thanks :)