At Their Mercy

"Harry, did you hear? There's a new girl joining our year." Neville Longbottom managed to say as he all but fell into the compartment Harry was in, waiting for Ron, Hermione and Ginny to return from their Prefects meeting.

"No, I didn't. Is she a transfer student?" Harry sat up a little straighter, interested in this development.

"I don't know. I just caught a glimpse of her sitting in a compartment with Malfoy and the other Slytherins." Neville sat down across from Harry, cradling his pet toad in his hands.

Before Harry could respond Hermione and Ron entered the compartment. They were obviously in the middle of an argument as Hermione was currently saying in a heated voice, "Ron, I know what I'm doing. I'm not just assigning people to random shifts, it's perfectly organized and logical."

"Putting me on watch with Malfoy is not logical! One of us is going to end up killing each other." Ron sat down heavily in the seat across from Harry.

"Ron, he's Head Boy. He's not going to risk getting in trouble by hexing you." Hermione turned away from Ron, making it clear that the conversation was over. "Harry, Ginny has first patrol, she should be in here any minute." Harry nodded and Hermione continued. "Did you hear that there's a new girl in our year?"

"Yeah, Neville mentioned it."

"Well, she's supposedly been at a school in America, but I don't believe it for a second. I saw her before we got on the train. She came to the station with the Malfoys." Hermione said as she pulled a book out of her bag.

"Well, I'm sure there are schools like Durmstrang in America." Harry said half to himself.

"I've heard Dad talk about the schools in America. Supposedly there are Magic schools in every state." Ron said, opening Pig's cage to let him fly around a little bit, and he promptly flew straight into the window.

Harry shook his head, laughed, and said, "Well if she's hanging out with Malfoy, you know she's got to be trouble. What's her name, anyway?"

"I don't know." Hermione said thoughtfully from behind her book, looking up for a second, and then shook her head and looked down.

"Has Hogwarts ever taken anyone at the start of seventh year before?" Harry asked.

"Only in extreme circumstances, and only when the Headmaster thinks it's absolutely necessary. There have only been two people before who have been allowed to transfer but never before in their seventh year. That's what I read in Hogwarts, A History." Hermione said, looking up from her book for a moment.

"Of course you did." Ron said quietly in a mocking tone and Hermione glared at him but then looked back down at her book.

Harry rolled his eyes at his two friends and looked out the window, thinking to himself. After Voldemort had been relatively quiet the two years following the Triwizard Tournament and his return to full power, Harry knew it couldn't possibly last much longer. He had a feeling that this year, his last year at Hogwarts, would contain much more dangerous things than he had ever faced in his life.

The compartment door opened and Ginny Weasley came bursting into the room. She looked around, and not seeing any other seats, she sat down next to Harry.

Harry leaned over to kiss her, but she quickly turned her face so all he got was her cheek. Harry suppressed his frown, and settled with putting his arm around her. Ginny stiffened but didn't move away.

Harry and Ginny had been together since the middle of Harry's sixth year. Over the summer while he had been staying at the burrow Harry and Ginny had gotten very close, but after a certain incident Ginny had become very distant towards him. Harry had at first shrugged it off, thinking it might have to do with the presence of her brothers at the Burrow. But now that they were back at Hogwarts and her behavior hadn't changed, he knew he would have to talk to her about it.

"I caught a glimpse of the new girl." Ginny said, helping herself to a chocolate frog from Ron's pile.

"Is she still with Malfoy?" Ron asked with a scowl.

"Yep. Don't know why though. She's much too good looking for the likes of him." Hermione laughed and Ginny smiled.

"Don't complain Ginny, you're not the one who has to share a common room with him."

"Wait, you have to share a common room with him Hermione?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Yes, I told you that when I found out I was Head Girl, Ron." Hermione answered sharply.

"I think you failed to mention that." Ron sank down into his seat and scowled, but Hermione ignored him.

Harry looked over at Ginny, who was looking everywhere but at him. He pulled her closer to him.

"What, Harry?" Ginny asked in an annoyed tone of voice.

"Fine. I won't touch you then." Harry retorted pulling away from her and sat against the window, refusing to look at her. He felt her move away from him and heard her start a conversation with Neville.

So far his year wasn't off to such a great start.

Draco Malfoy smiled smugly to himself. He had everything he could possibly want. He was Head Boy, his father had bought the Slytherin Quidditch team new brooms to celebrate, and his childhood best friend, Elizabeth Riddle, was going to be going to school with him.

When he had barely been one, she had come to live with him. Draco wasn't sure of the circumstances surrounding her sudden appearance in his life, all he knew was that she was to be raised by his family. They had grown up as siblings would. His parents had spoiled her just as they had spoiled him.

When his Hogwarts letter had arrived, he was surprised to see that she hadn't received one. His father has explained to him that her parents had wanted her to go to a school in America, not Hogwarts. Before and after that, his parents had never mentioned anyone in her family; whenever Draco had brought it up, they expertly changed the subject.

He looked over at her, and was once again filled with happiness, or as close as a Malfoy could possibly get. She was currently in a "deep" conversation with Pansy Parkinson, a polite smile on her face, but Draco could tell she was masking her boredom.

Even though he hadn't seen her in five years, he wasn't surprised to see that he could still read her perfectly. She used the same tricks that he used to conceal his emotions, after all they had invented the emotionless stare. She was the only person that he was ever truly himself around. She was the only one that had ever seen him cry, really the only one who had ever seen a true emotion from him.

"Take a picture, it lasts longer." Draco started, he hadn't realized he'd been staring directly at her.

"Sorry, love." Pansy gave Draco a suspicious look, and he sneered at her and looked out the window.

"Elizabeth," Pansy whispered once she was sure Draco wasn't listening.

"Yes, Pansy?" Elizabeth smiled politely at her.

"Are you and Draco… you know… together?" Elizabeth laughed and Pansy looked hurt.

"No, Pansy. He's like my brother. There's nothing else between us."

Pansy looked relieved. "Ok. Thanks for clearing that up."

Elizabeth smiled, "no problem," and moved to sit next to Draco.

Draco smiled down at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Excited?"

"Not really," Elizabeth said indifferently.

"I'm insulted." Draco feigned hurt. "I would have thought you'd be terribly excited to spend time with me, your childhood best friend."

"Oh, Draco, you know it's wonderful being with you again, it's just… I want to know why I'm back." Elizabeth looked away from him.

"My father didn't tell you?" Draco asked.

"No. He didn't. He just said that he had orders from my family that I come back and finish schooling at Hogwarts. He didn't say if this was a new development of if he'd always known it. I wish that I had known before though. It was hard leaving my friends so suddenly."

Draco didn't look at her. The truth was, he also wasn't aware of why she was back. Elizabeth had been sitting at his dinner table when he had returned from school in June. His parents had explained she'd be going to Hogwarts the next year and staying with them until then. It had been made clear that he wasn't to ask questions. And he was just happy he was finally with her again.

"I see. Well, Bess, I'm glad you're here with me, even if you aren't. I know it will be terribly hard not being with your friends, but you'll be sure to make new ones here."

Elizabeth looked up at him, a grateful look on her face. "Thanks Draco. You always know what to say."

Draco smiled and kissed her on the forehead. He didn't notice the evil look Pansy was shooting at Elizabeth.

Harry was walking back from the toilets when he ran head long into someone.

"I'm sorry!"

"Sorry!"

Harry's reflexive instinct was to reach out and catch the girl before she fell to the ground. He caught her, his face inches away from hers. He couldn't help but be drawn in by her crystal blue eyes. Her complexion was lightly bronze, and her long blonde hair was hanging free around her shoulders. He noticed that her face was rather ordinary, but those eyes…

"I'm sorry. I'm so clumsy sometimes!" She said after a second, extracting herself from his grasp and straightening up.

"No, no it was my fault. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." Harry said, snapping out of the daze.

"Well, I guess it's established we were both at fault here." She said lightly, looking up at him. He then noticed her American accent. And holding her hand out to him she said, "I'm Elizabeth."

"I'm Harry." He imitated her lack of surname use. "You must be the new student from America."

"Has it already gotten around the train that I'm here?" She said laughing slightly.

"Oh, I don't think so. I just know because my best friend is Head Girl and my other best friend is a Prefect and so is my girlfriend." Harry rambled. For some reason he was incredibly nervous around this girl.

"I see." She smiled, and her eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Yeah." An awkward silence followed and Harry broke it by stuttering, "Where did you live in America?"

"In North Carolina. I went to wizarding school there, and lived with a host family during the summers. Before that though I lived in England."

"I see. I've always lived here." Harry mentally slapped himself, annoyed at his stupid comments.

"Potter." A voice sneered form behind him and he turned to look through an open compartment door and saw Malfoy standing there.

"Malfoy." Harry said just as rudely.

"We're not even to Hogwarts yet and you're already embarrassing yourself?"

"Don't you have some sort of Head Boy duties to attend to, Malfoy?" Harry returned with just as much venom in his voice as was in Malfoy's.

"Oh, yes, so you've heard. I have finally beaten you in one thing Potter. I suppose your little mudblood friend has already told you how much power I now hold over you."

"Draco! Stop it." Elizabeth cut in, stepping between the boys and facing Malfoy. "Stop creating problems."

"What were you doing out here with him?"

"Having a conversation. Why does it matter to you?"

Malfoy scoffed and glared at Harry over her shoulder. "Potter having an intelligent conversation? I didn't know that was possible."

Before Harry could say anything, Elizabeth retorted, "Yes, it is quite possible Draco. Now stop being rude and go back into the compartment."

Draco scowled at her and glared at Harry over his shoulder, and gave him a look that clearly said this wasn't over.

Elizabeth shut the door after Draco and turned to Harry. "I see you and Draco don't get along."

"You could say that." Harry said coldly.

"Well, I'd appreciate it if you didn't group me into his category. I'm not sure why he doesn't like you, and actually, I really don't care. I am here to make friends, not enemies. I'd appreciate it if you didn't look at me the same you look at him." She held her hand out to Harry for him to shake. "Friends?"

Harry hesitated a moment, but then reached out and took it, smiling. "Friends."

She smiled back at him and turned and slid open the door to the compartment Draco had entered only a few moments before. "I'll see you later Harry."

The door closed behind her but Harry stayed where he was, staring at it. He wasn't sure why, but he knew that this girl was different than Malfoy. He wasn't exactly sure what gave him this feeling but he could tell she meant it when she had asked to be friends.

He finally turned and walked a few doors down and opened the doors to the compartment that he and the others had been sharing. He was happy to see that the only person left in the room was Ginny. She had her back turned to him, her head bent over the latest edition of "The Quibbler".

"Hey." He sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair.

She stiffened slightly. "Hi."

Harry sighed and pulled away from her. "Ginny, what's wrong?"

"I don't know what you mean Harry." She looked back down at the magazine.

"You know exactly what I mean. You've been cold and distant, and pretty much ignoring me since—"

Ginny interrupted him, "I really don't want to talk about this right now Harry."

"Well then, when the bloody hell do you want to talk about it?"

She finally turned to face him. "There is nothing to talk about, Harry. We made a mistake."

Harry felt like had been slapped across the face. "A mistake?" He whispered.

"Yes. A mistake." She said firmly. "A mistake I don't intend on making again."

"Are you breaking up with me, Ginny?" Harry asked breathlessly.

"No. I just don't think we should be all… touchy feely like we were before. That's what led us to do what we did."

"So you want us to act as friends do, then?"

"No. A hug and a kiss every once in while won't lead to anything…"

"Friends is exactly what you are implying Ginny." Harry felt a sense of anger refueling him, readying him for the argument.

"I can't have this conversation right now."

"You bloody well will have this conversation right now."

"Don't raise your voice at me." She said coldly.

"Don't treat me like one of your other boyfriends. You can't throw me aside like you did all of them!"

Before he could continue, the compartment door opened and Ron stormed in. "That Malfoy is such an arse."

Harry didn't look away from Ginny. Ginny broke the eye contact and looked at Ron. "What did he do this time?"

"He didn't do anything except be his own rude self." Ron looked between the two for a moment. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No. We were just finished." Ginny said coldly, not looking back at Harry.

"I met the new girl." Harry said after a slight pause.

Ron sat up a little straighter. "Yeah? What's she like?"

"She's pretty." Harry looked at Ginny out of the corner of his eye, gauging her reaction. Her expression didn't change. She looked down at "The Quibbler", making it clear she was not a part of this conversation.

"What's her name?" Ron asked.

"Elizabeth. She didn't give me a surname though. She said she didn't want to be grouped into the same category as Malfoy."

"Well, she already ruined any chance of that by being with him right now," Ron said, rolling his eyes. "But what do you suppose she meant by that?"

"She said she wanted to be friends." Harry said. "She's quite nice."

"If you say so, Harry." Ron said, turning and saying something to his sister.

Harry tuned out their conversation, choosing instead to look out the window. He was still upset about his argument with Ginny, and couldn't help but think that they may well be nearing the end of their relationship. He was upset, but also frustrated. If she thought what had happened was a mistake, he wasn't sure he wanted to be with her any longer.

"We're almost there. I'd consider putting your school robes on." While Harry had been brooding, Hermione had entered the compartment. Harry registered what he was seeing outside the window, and realized that night had indeed fallen and they were approaching the school.

"Elizabeth, what were you doing talking to him?" Pansy Parkinson asked as Elizabeth entered the compartment and sat down.

"I didn't know that talking to a person was a crime." Elizabeth said coldly.

"Well, talking to Potter is one." Draco said rudely from beside her.

"I don't know what you have against him, Draco. He seemed nice enough to me." Elizabeth said, turning to look at him.

"He's a stuck up arrogant fool." Draco sneered.

Elizabeth held back a laugh, "He's the arrogant fool?"

"Elizabeth, he uses his fame to get what he wants."

"His fame?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes his fame. He's Harry Potter. The 'Boy Who Lived'?" Pansy added at the blank expression on Elizabeth's face.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Do remember that I have lived in America the past six years."

"Oh, this happened sixteen years ago. Surely you know who he is." Pansy said, looking at Elizabeth as if she were an incredibly ignorant child.

"Surely I don't." Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at Pansy. "Surely you could explain to me who he is, as I obviously don't know what you're talking about. And not because of any arrogance, just that a boy called Harry Potter is not famous in America."

Draco smiled at the terrified expression on Pansy's face. She had just been made an enemy with an incredibly powerful witch. She would regret it. "He is the only person to have ever survived the Killing Curse. He also defeated the Dark Lord when he was merely an infant." Draco explained, sneering.

"I see. But why is he famous?" Elizabeth looked at Draco with an innocent look on her face.

He laughed and wrapped his arm around her, once again ignoring Pansy's scowl. "Bess, my love, your view is quite refreshing. I look forward to having you with me this year."

Elizabeth smiled up at him. "I obviously have a lot to learn."