Draco leaned against the wrought iron railing that lined the balcony upon which he stood, shivering as a breeze flitted through the otherwise empty night. It was too cold out, and too dark, but at the moment, he didn't really care. In fact, dark and cold suited his mood perfectly. He reached into the pockets of his jeans, searching furiously for a cigarette. He had been trying to quit for the past week or so, but before he allowed his mind to roam and focus on what he had shut out of his mind all day, he needed a cigarette, and everything else could be damned.
Finally discovering a slightly flattened pack of cigarettes in his back pocket, he used his wand to produce a flame small enough to light it. He took a long draught, the tip flaring red in the black of the night. He sighed in contentment as the smoke burned in the back of his throat, before nearly falling over from the resulting buzz of not having had any nicotine in over a week.
"Fuck," Draco muttered to himself, sliding down the outside wall of the manor until he was sitting, rubbing his head. "Bad idea."
After a few minutes, in which he waited for his head to clear, he finally permitted his mind to contemplate what he had had no choice but to avoid all day, due to today being his seventeenth birthday: a birthday always meant relatives that he couldn't even remember ever knowing before converging upon the manor to pinch his cheeks and tell him how grown up he looked, and assure his father that he would be a perfectly suitable heir to both the Malfoy name and the legacy of serving the Dark Lord.
As his mind touched upon this thought, Draco shuddered. This was what had been bothering him all day today. Indeed, he had dreaded this particular birthday for the last four years. He was seventeen now; in other words, he was now a man, even though he still had one more year of school to finish. Being a Malfoy man now meant that the time had come for him to become initiated as a Death Eater. To become a torturer, a murderer. To become, in other words, like his father – something he had sworn to himself years ago that he would never become.
Draco gazed up at the stars and sighed. It was a remarkably clear night – he could see the constellation Draco, for which he had been named, dotting the sky ahead. He sat on the balcony, reclining against the wall of the manor, letting his thoughts run circles through his head, waiting for his consciousness to admit defeat and allow him to sleep. He put out his cigarette, wearily running a pale hand through his shoulder length silvery-blonde hair. After few minutes of simply staring into the night, he stood up and stretched his limbs, sore from sitting too long. He headed through the French doors into his bedroom, sighing in relief as he undressed and lay between the silken sheets of his large mahogany bed and allowed sleep to claim him at last.
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He was late. The train would be leaving in a half hour, and he still wasn't ready. "Shit, shit, shit," Draco muttered to himself as he frantically pulled his robes out of his armoire, shoving them at random into his trunk. It was now September 30th; the Hogwarts Express would be leaving at 11:00, and it was now nearly 10:30 and he had not yet finished packing. He finally finished packing his clothes: now for his schoolbooks. He pulled out his wand with the hope of saving the time of looking for them all, and murmured "Accio books!" under his breath, only to have the heavy tomes all fly toward him at once, striking him in various body parts with their unforgiving corners that were sure to leave bruises.
"Draco!" called a melodic yet harried voice from down the grand staircase. "You have to go now, darling, before you miss the train!" "Coming, mother, I'm nearly finished," Draco replied through gritted teeth as he rubbed his sore arm where a nasty-looking welt was already forming. He threw the books none-too-gently (the bastards deserved it!) into his trunk along with his Nimbus 2001 and various other items he would need. He took a few seconds before leaving his room to check that his appearance in the mirror was as pristine as usual; he was the Slytherin Prince, after all.
His silvery hair hung smoothly past his shoulders, framing his pale face. His features had filled out over the years, and the almost feminine features had been replaced with an unmistakable masculinity. His eyes were a cool, deep, fathomless blue-grey, like ice. His shoulders were had broadened, and the compact muscles of his chest were just visible beneath the white t-shirt he was wearing to Platform 9 ¾ before he had to change into his school robes. He wasn't big and bulky or anything, just solid. He had changed a lot from the small, wiry boy that he had once been. The only physical aspects that had gone unchanged were the grey eyes, pale hair, flawless skin, and of course, the trademark Malfoy smirk he always beheld.
Pleased with what he saw, he stepped away from the mirror and levitated his trunk so that it floated in front of him as he headed out of his room and down the marble staircase to say goodbye to his mother before apparating to Platform 9 ¾.
Narcissa was standing at the bottom of the grand staircase, staring anxiously at a silver pocket-watch in her hand. Upon hearing Draco's approaching footsteps, she snapped the watch shut and turned to greet her son with a kiss to the cheek. "It's about time, Draco. What took you so long - standing in front of the mirror again all morning, I dare say," Narcissa said, a wry smile adorning her pale face. Draco blushed and muttered some incoherent excuse under his breath, although he knew that his mother was only joking. "Well, I'm ready, aren't I?" Draco said, the defensive tone he had attempted to adopt failing completely due to his own smile; he only ever saw his mother happy when his father was gone, and he relished the little time he had with her. "Well then, you must be going. This is your last year of school, you don't want to start it off by being late," Narcissa said, her mood seeming to dim a little. Draco, not missing the sadness in his mother's voice, set down his trunk and pulled her into a hug. "Don't worry, mother," he said. "I'll write you every night, so we'll still be in touch. And it's not like you'll be all alone here, you have Isabelle to keep you company, after all." Isabelle was his mother's maid, and the two women had always been close; Isabelle was the only one Narcissa had to talk to about the fear she held for both herself and Draco that Lucius had constantly filled her with. "Yes, I know," Narcissa replied. "But it's a mother's job to worry about her son while he's away." They pulled away from each other's embrace. "I'll be fine mother, it's only school. But I really must be going now, or I will be late." Narcissa gave Draco another peck on the cheek, replying, "Yes, get going then. But don't forget to write to me at least every now and then, or you will find a very angry mother waiting for you when the holidays come around."
Draco laughed, before picking up his trunk and stepping out of the entranceway unto the threshold so that he could apparate. The last thing he saw was his mother standing in the doorway waving goodbye, before he turned into the suffocating blackness of apparating and disappeared.
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Ginny waved goodbye to her rather tearful mother as she lugged her heavy trunk aboard the Hogwarts Express. She really wasn't looking forward to having to drag it all the way to the back of the train; the train was due to leave in less than a minute, and nearly all of the compartments were sure to be full. Groaning inwardly, she grabbed her trunk with both hands and began searching for a compartment.
Fifteen minutes and two extremely arms later, Ginny was nearing the back of the train. She only had two comparments left to check. A glance in the window of the first one provided her with an unwelcome sight of a couple thrashing about wildly upon the seats, snogging ferociously. Crinkling her nose in disgust, she moved on to the second one. She slid open the door, and sighed with relief as she found it to be empty. She pulled her trunk inside, stowing it clumsily onto the luggage rack above her head before sinking gratefully into the seat and rubbing her stiff arms, glad for the fact that there was no one in here to bother her. It wasn't like she didn't enjoy the company of others, because she did, and had quite a few friends to show for it. But when one has lived in a house with 6 brothers for a full 16 years, one is always glad to receive a little peace and quiet.
She gazed out the window at the passing scenery, twirling a long strand of her fiery red hair around her finger. She was happy that she was finally going back to Hogwarts, and couldn't wait to get there. She had missed her friends, the dormitory where she slept, and even the classes. At least they gave her somewhat of a challenge, something to set her mind to. None of the teachers, not even Snape, ever gave her much trouble, for she always had done well in all of her classes.
Yawning widely, she lay her head against the cool glass. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night, due to the fact that Fred and George had come to see her and Ron before they had to go back to Hogwarts. After a few minutes of staring at the empty seat opposite her, her emerald green eyes slowly closed as she slid into her dreams.
She was walking through the corridors of Hogwarts, somewhere near the dungeons, judging by the thin layer of slime upon the walls. It was dark and cold, and she shivered when suddenly a figure grabbed her from behind, wrapping her in strong arms that she could not escape from. But in the dream, she found she didn't want to. Instead she giggled as a man's mouth kissed the side of her neck. "You scared me," she whined playfully, turning so that she could return the man's embrace. "God I missed you," she said, her voice sincere as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I know. I've missed you too, Gin." replied a voice that soothed her. She leaned up to look at him, but only his fathomless grey eyes were visible in the dark.
Ginny awoke with a start just as the many towers and turrets of Hogwarts were sliding into view. She yawned yet again, shaking the last cobwebs of sleep from her mind so that she could put on her school robes. She was confused, and yet curious about the dream. She had a track record of dreaming things that came true later; her brothers often teased her for it, telling her that if she wasn't careful she'd turn out like Professor Trelawney.
She finished putting on her school clothes, and filed the dream away in her mind to contemplate later. Right now all she was interested in was seeing her friends, the feast, and then being able to fall asleep in her dormitory; she would worry about the strange dream later, or perhaps not at all. It was probably nothing, she told herself. Just a dream.
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A/N: This is my first fanfic, so review! Even if you tell me it sucks, I don't mind. I know there's not much in it now, but there will be more, I promise.