I couldn't have been more excited if I had tried. This next year was going to be great! I, Mona Fritillary, was going to Hogwarts, and I couldn't imagine going anywhere else. My father was happy for me, but my mother.. well she was hardly surprised. After all, being a pureblood got me a preorder acceptance letter... at least in her point of view. Added to my status, I was a big fan of all books, and I got top notch grades; my mother would expect nothing less. In my mind, Hogwarts was going to be a breeze. I bought my supplies from only the best stores in Diagon Alley, and was packed more than a week in advance.

On the day of departure, I arrived to the station a half hour early, yet when I made it on the train, all the compartments seemed to be full. I got on at the front of the train and made my way back— looking in every door for a space.

"Geez. Why are there so many people?"

I was seriously considering riding up with the conductor, when I found a compartment near the back with four people and several seats left. I walked in and immediately felt the tension radiating from two people sitting opposite of each other. One had cool, light brown hair with a red and gold striped scarf hanging from his neck, proudly displaying his house colors, and amber brown eyes which were piercing murderously into the other boy. This one had brilliant blonde hair and slate gray eyes that were attempting to burn holes in the first boy. The second had already donned his robes.

"Hello everyone! Is it ok if I sit in here with you all? Everywhere else seems to be full..."

I swore I could hear their necks crack as they flipped their heads to face me. Their startled looks were quickly replaced by blushes that crept around their necks and up to the forehead of the first boy, while the second boy's ears turned a light pink. I smirked and waited for the inevitable argument.

"Here, sit ne-"
"Shut it Malfoy, she doesn't want to catch anything that you have. You can sit here."

They went back to furiously staring at each other, so I, sensing a trend, looked back and forth between both boys and then proceeded to walk to the window and sit contently on the floor. I noted the twinge of disappointment both faces then had. The space was silent for a while so finally I tried small talk, using my sweetest voice.

"My name's Mona, you all are..."

The boy with blonde hair answered.

"Malfoy. Draco Malfoy, and this is Pansy. That git over there's Wood and his girlfriend's Katie Bell."
"Malfoy! Katie is not my girlfriend. We're just as in love as you and Parkinson over there."
"So you two are madly in love and past second ba-"
"Shut it, Pansy! We're not in a relationship!"
"To sum up, nobody is in a relationship in here"

Everyone nodded their head in agreement with Oliver's conclusion— Pansy a bit reluctantly. I smiled and sat there for a few more painfully silent moments before trying again,

"What houses are you all in, if any, and what year?"

Again, Draco spoke up. I admired his confidence and the diplomatic way he spoke; I began to suspect Draco was raised in a pure blood family like me.

"It's our first year," gesturing to Pansy and himself, "we're going to be in Slytherin. Wood and Katie are in Gryffindor, and I don't care how old they are."
"I'm in my fifth year, and this is Katie's second. Malfoy isn't the most polite, are you? You incorrigible little halfwit good for nothing..."
"Shove off, Wood! Wait till my father hears about you. Honestly, half-bloods don't stand a chance against the big-great smartness of pure-bloods!"
"You can't be very smart if you don't even know better words than big-great smartness! Honestly, pure-bloods couldn't generate a comeback to save their lives!"
"Excuse me Wood, but I think I can hold my ground adequately."

I had gotten up, cheeks tinged with pink, and was ready to shove the two boys apart. I continued talking with sharpness in my tone, making sure to lace my words with sugar; sugarary words make boys listen.

"Sure, we appear to think ourselves to be above all others, Draco is only supporting that stereotype, but many of us spend time trying to escape the mold that society has put on our lives. We spend our every breath defying aunts, brothers...mothers..."

Draco had sat back down and sighed defeatedly,

"...Fathers..."

He and I exchanged a look of understanding, then slight embarrassment. Before the embarrassment could be noticed, though, the diplomat wall was back in place. Pansy, Katie, and Oliver stared at one another, confused. Oliver looked back my way and blushed deeply when I shot him a practiced smile. I could tell he was caught off guard with my burst of confidence.

He retreated to his side of the compartment, and sat, thinking that he couldn't have possibly screwed that up any more. Oliver really liked Mona, from the little he had seen of her, and making her angry as part of the first impression wasn't good. He did think it made her look prettier though.

Eventually, most people left to get changed into their robes. Katie and Pansy had came back earlier and reported that the girls' lavatories were overflowing with changing people. I concluded it would be best to change in the compartment, so I voiced my thought. The girls agreed and went off to say hi to their other friends. The only ones left in the compartment were Draco and I. He had a mischievous look on his face and I liked that. I decided it would be fun to play my part and see what the boy was capable of.

"I have to change Malfoy."

I gestured for him to leave with my robes in hand.

"Excuse me?"

Draco played it like he wasn't understanding, or he as though hadn't heard me. I repeated the statement with a slight smirk, this time swinging my robes around just on the edge of being dangerous.

"Well I don't think you should change; I like you just like you are now."

"My clothes. I have to change into my robes for school."

He looked at me with a smirk plastered on his face. This boy knew what he wanted but I knew he wasn't thinking through the consequences all the way.

"Well, what's stopping you?"

I continued to play along, intending to upstage him and prove that he couldn't win against me. There was no way he would go much farther. I approached him very slowly, staring into his eyes. I placed my hands on his shoulders, and leaned forward to whisper next to his ear. I felt him tense up with our sudden closeness.

"Are you enjoying your view? I know you want more… How about a date first, and we can decide where to go from there?"

I snaked out my tongue to brush up against his earlobe, paused for a second, then turned away. I grabbed my clothes and left the compartment, shooting Draco a wink on my way. I had already decided to test my luck in the men's bathroom as soon as he started with his little game, I just wanted to have some fun first. All the boys liked peeing out the windows of the train for some reason, so their bathrooms were almost empty. I got dressed, and when I came back Draco wasn't even there. Surprising.