Chapter One: Draco
I glared at the painfully red engine of the Hogwarts Express as it pulled up to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. One more year, I kept telling myself, one more stupid year of this bloody school. And then I would be free. I had a pretty good plan after graduation. I was going to take all of my saved up money and get my mum and myself away from my bloody dad and his issues. I scowled as I lugged my trunks onto the train and thought about my worthless excuse for a father, how he was caught up in all the Voldemort rubbish, and how I didn't want to deal with it. The year couldn't end soon enough for me.
I stowed my luggage in an empty compartment as the train pulled away from the station and slumped down in a seat after slamming the door closed. I didn't have the energy to search out and deal with Crabbe and Goyle. I was sure they would come looking for me later, but I'd probably just tell them to leave me alone and make up some excuse about having to do some Head Boy business. I groaned. Head Boy. And Granger was Head Girl. Bloody--
"MALFOY!" a yell came from the other side of the compartment door. Speak of the devil. Stupid mudblood.
"What do you want, Granger?!" I yelled back and rubbed my temples. I could feel a migraine coming on. The door slid open and cold brown eyes met my own grey ones. Hermione Granger, seventh grade Head Girl, stood before me in all her uniformed, bushy-haired glory. An entire year spent sharing a dorm with her. Fantastic.
"We have a meeting with Professor McGonagall up front. Going to tell us about our duties and the password to our dorm." She actually sneered when she said 'our'. I made a face at her.
"Whatever." I stood and pushed past her, making my way to the front of the train. As I passed one of the compartment Goyle stuck his chubby head out.
"Draco!" he called after me. I stopped and hear Granger stumble to a halt behind me.
"What?" I snapped through clenched teeth.
"Come sit with us when you're done with the mudblood." I heard sniggers from the compartment. Rumors about Granger and me were the last thing I needed. But I'd deal with that later.
"We'll see." I said and started walking again, not waiting for his response.
"Gosh, Malfoy." Granger said from behind me, "That was low even for you, talking to your friends like that."
I whirled around so quickly she ran into me. She backed up quickly and looked a little frightened, "Listen, Granger." I hissed, "I don't need your attitude. I just need to get through this bloody year, and being Head Boy to your Head Girl does nothing for my mood. So let's make a deal here and now; you stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours, alright?"
She blinked at me for a few seconds before nodding vigorously, "Sure. Sounds great."
"Good." I growled and turned back around to continue stalking down the narrow corridor.
I stared aimlessly out the window as McGonagall yammered on about how we were supposed to 'set an example' and other such nonsense. After she'd told us where the dorm was and given the password, tiddly-tump, I'd completely zoned out. I didn't want to be here, and if it hadn't been on my mum's insistence, I would have dropped out. But she desperately wanted me to finish my education so I could get a good job in the future. So I had to suffer another gruesome year at bloody Hogwarts.
"Draco!" McGonnagall's voice snapped me back to reality.
"Huh?" I looked at her lazily.
"Are you paying attention, Mister Malfoy?" she asked and raised an eyebrow in my direction.
"Sorry, professor." I said with false sincerity, "I'm really tired. I've been working hard over the break." Which was a partial truth. I really had been working hard to save up money. Over the summer my whole life had changed when I decided to escape my father at the end of the school year. I'd had to work many hours over the summer.
"Well, the meeting is over and I'm sorry if you missed something vital." McGonagall said with a bit of an attitude. "Maybe if you ask Miss Granger nicely she'll fill you in on what you missed."
Yeah right, I thought as I coughed to cover a laughed and followed Granger out of the professor's compartment. I didn't bother to ask the bushy haired girl in front of me about the meeting. I didn't care. If I had to, I'd read up on Head Boy and Girl's issued duties in the library. We passed Crabbe ad Goyle's compartment and I didn't even hesitate. I really didn't feel like dealing with anyone at all, that day or the entire year really. Hermione turned, without a word, into a compartment I was sure housed Potty and the Weasel siblings. Good riddance.
When I got back to my quiet compartment I closed the door and locked it with a spell before getting my uniform out of my trunk and set it out on one of the cushioned benches. I then stretched out on the other side and, with my wand in close reach, dozed off for the rest of the ride.
The immense noise in the crowded Great Hall was bad enough to turn my headache into a screaming migraine. I mentally blocked out what Dumbledore was saying and went to lay my head down when something caught my eye. Pink hair. At the teachers' table. I blinked and looked back to the front, noticing as I did so that many of the students were staring in that direction.
A young woman sat beside the loony Professor Trelawney. From what I could tell, she was thin with a fair complexion, a very pretty face, and a bright pink streak running through the bangs of her long brown hair. I couldn't determine any other physical details because she was so far away. I started listening to Dumbledore, hoping I hadn't met the woman's introduction. Thankfully, he was just starting.
"And I'm sure you've all noticed a new face among your professors." He started with a smile. He turned, sweeping a hand out towards the young woman, who stood and gave a graceful bow, "This is Miss Reeves and she will be assisting Professor Trelawney this year in Divination." The students all clapped and some guy from the Ravenclaw table called out for a speech. Reeves shook her head with a smile and sat back down as the students laughed and cheered a bit louder.
I rolled my eyes and thumped my head on the table, forgetting about the plate and the migraine. Needless to say, that made everything worse. I was sure I had Advanced Divination this term and I didn't feel like dealing with a prissy thing like her. This year was not looking so great.
I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew someone was shaking me. I swatted their hands away and sat up slowly, blinking drearily about the emptying Great Hall. Oops. A hand gripped my shoulder and I whirled around to punch whoever it was, Goyle apparently, in the gut. He doubled over with a grunt. I got up from the bench in a slovenly way. I ignored Crabbe and Goyle's questions and stalked out of the hall and pushed through the jostling crowd. I could hear the Prefects calling out for the first years to follow them and be orderly. Everyone was heading up the main stair case, but I knew of a lesser one behind a tapestry that would lead right up to the portrait that served as the door to my new dorm. As I began to turn a corner I heard hushed voices. I stopped and hid behind a statue, casting a simple spell to help my hearing. I heard a worried Granger.
"But professor, is she going to be alright?" I heard her ask in that annoying voice of hers. She sounded worried.
"It's quite alright d-d-dear." That tittery, stuttering voice had to be Trelawney. She cleared her throat. "I've known Elise for years, and this is normal. She's just having a, um, a spontaneous vision, I guess you could call it. She'll explain more when you see her in class. She'll snap back in a second or two."
That's interesting I noted. Somebody was a clairvoyant. A student maybe? I stopped thinking to listen to what was going on. The Elise girl was waking up.
"Professor?" the new voice was soft and a bit low. Almost sexy.
"Yes, dear? Was it anything disastrous?" Trelawney sounded eager. I heard Elise laugh.
"No, no, it was just some nonsense. I get that sometimes." I shifted uncomfortably. Kneeling behind a statue was annoying.
"Hi!" Granger exclaimed happily. Bloody hell she was annoying. "I'm Hermione Granger, it's an honor to meet you…erm, Professor Reeves?"
Professor? The young woman that was helping out Trelawny? Well that made sense. I sat up a little straighter to here the response.
"Oh no, Miss Granger." Reeves laughed, "I am not a professor. You can just call me Elise. I've heard a lot about you and would actually like to get to know you. I think we might get along, after all I love to read and debate, and I believe I'm only about a year younger than you." A year younger than us? That's…interesting. I thought and stored that information away for later, wondering how other students would feel about having such a young girl for their teacher.
Fading footsteps and nervous laughter told me the odd group of mongrels were moving on. I waited a few minutes before continuing on my way to the dorm, pondering over what I had just overheard and what it would mean for the upcoming year.