It was the night of 31 august, Diagon Alley was still and quiet, witch was a change from the atmosphere of excitement that the day had brought. With all the last minute shopping to get ready for the start of the school year the streets had been filled from crowds of hyped up first years and nervous jumpy parents to blasé seventh years who had done this to many times to get excited about it anymore.
But now, when it was nearly midnight, the streets where completely empty with not even a stray cat to disturb the peacefulness.
But aloney in a room on the second floor of the leaky cauldron, Effie Tyaln, a first year due at Hogwarts the next day, wasn't sleeping. She was on her bed, legs folded against her, her chin on her knees. Her fingers where griping the sheets as she rocked back and froth.
"It's going to be fine Eff, she muttered under her breath, you're going to be fine. This is Hogwarts, Hogwarts! You've been looking forward to Hogwarts since forever! And you won't be alone: Drac will be there!"
Just thinking about Draco made her feel better. She and him had been friends ever since she had moved from France when she was eight. Best friends, the ones that had their backs forever. They had been neighbors before she moved again, before everything had changed. That tough made her breath hitch in her throat again and her fingers griped the sheets tighter.
To distract herself, she pictured the first time she had seen him, Draco: at the small lake (more of a pond really) that separated her house and his. Effie had found it a few days after having arrived, when she had been exploring.
The lake was round and surrounded by tall oak tree who's branches hanged over the water and reeds grew in patches in it. There was also a small wooden doc that really did not look solid at all. Effie, being the reckless person she was, advanced on the wooden plank, testing to see if it held.
"You're going to fall."
A voice marked with a light English accent sneered. Effie spun around, nearly losing her balance. In front of her, a boy of about her age, with the blondes hair she had ever seen and cold ice grey eyes was staring at her.
"Who are you!? Effie asked in an angry tone, You nearly made me fall!
The boy raised one eyebrow, looking half surprised, half bemused.
"I'm Draco, Draco Malfoy."
He looked at her, obviously waiting for some kind of reaction. She just stared at him blankly.
"Pureblood family for generations, my father has a very important place at the ministry. I'm your neighbor. I live in Malfoy manor."
It was Effie's turn to raise an eyebrow.
"Am I supposed to bow down or something?" She asked him sarcastically.
Draco didn't seem to know quite what to say. All his life telling people who he was had succeed some kind of reaction, some kind of fear and therefor, respect. And now here was this girl with the long brown hair and big blue eyes, who clearly didn't give half a damn about his name and the power attached to it.
"Well, who are you?!" He asked seemingly flustered.
"Effie Tyaln, she looked at him straight in the eye and Draco felt something move in his stomach, I just moved here from France."
She turned away from him and moved forward on the doc once more. After a few steps she turned back and tossed him a smile.
"Coming?"
In that moment Draco knew he was a goner. It was like something had moved into place inside him. He followed her on the small doc, and he knew that in that moment he would have followed her anywhere. He stopped, though, when the board creaked menacingly.
"Uh, I don't think this is a good idea, Effie." He said, fear evident in his voice.
Effie sighed. "Okay, fine, lets go back… She said turning around, then stopped. Wait Drac, come help me, I'm stuck!
Draco's stomach twisted. He didn't know if it was from fear that the doc would crack or the way her voice had sounded when she called him Drac. No one had ever called him that. He sighed and quickly took a few steps closing the distance between them. But before he could grab her arm and pull her out, she had grabbed his and pushed him in the lake.
The cold water hit him like a bullet. It iced him gown to the bone. He moved his frozen arms, pushing against the water, and his head broke the surface of the lake. He kicked his legs furiously to stay at the surface as he gasped for breath.
The first sound that registered was Effie's laughter. He turned to the doc and saw Effie doubled over holding her sides. She tried to calm down but when she saw his face she lost it all over again.
"I'm so sorry….Your face…I'm sorry, is it cold?"
"Yes" Was all Draco answered. Effie straightened up, her laughter stopping when she saw he wasn't laughing with her. She held out her hand to him.
"Here, I'll help you up."
Draco smirked inwardly. He grabbed her hand and felt a shiver go up his spine that had nothing to do with the cold. Before she could react he yanked on her hand, pulling her into the lac with him.
"What the?" Effie started before hitting the water hard, sending Draco in a fit of laughter himself. Effie surfaced a few seconds latter.
"Malfoy!" She cried, grabbing him by the shoulders and pushing him back in the water, but she was laughing.
Draco decided that her laugh was the prettiest sound in the world.
"You started it! He laughed with her, What was I supposed to do, you where asking for it after all!"
She just smiled. And that's how it had all begun.
Effie opened her eyes , a small smile played on her lips. She relaxed her grip on the sheets and stopped rocking back and troth. She laid back down on her bed and stared at the celling. She was going to Hogwarts with Draco. Everyone and everything else didn't. Her mother, her past they could all be dammed!
I wonder what house I'll be in was her last tough before she finally drifted of to sleep.