James Sirius Potter absolutely hated Antheia Daphne Malfoy.
Loathed, despised, detested, just hated the girl.
And he's never once met her in his young life.
His father, the famous Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter, had told him stories of the Malfoys. How Draco, a boy in the same year, had basically bullied him throughout his years at Hogwarts. How both Draco and his mother had aided him in the war. And how James' father would always be grateful to Draco and his family.
But James just couldn't see it that way. The way he saw it, Draco had tortured his father throughout school. He had been a Death Eater. He helped The Dark Lord! It wasn't just him who thought this way. From what he's heard, the Malfoys had a hard time getting back on their feet after the war. People just flat out didn't like them. Of course, they were still ridiculously rich and most likely bought people's kindness.
James couldn't stand the Malfoys. And he definitely couldn't stand the Malfoy's daughter, yes, the one he's never even seen. Just thinking about her name made him flush with rage.
Both his father and mother (more his father really) told him not to let the past mess with the future. That he shouldn't judge a person unfairly like that. But he couldn't help it. He hated Antheia Malfoy.
The girl he would have to face tomorrow morning.
He just had his 11th birthday two months ago. And tomorrow he would be going to Hogwarts for the first time. There was no doubt in his mind that he would be sorted into Gryffindor. He had all the attributes of the house, and there was no way he would choose to be in Slytherin or Hufflepuff. Ravenclaw was definitely out of the question. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't the brightest tool in the shed, just like his father when he was a student.
Plus his friend Louis Weasley, Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur's son, would be experiencing his first year, too. Well, Rose would be going also, but they didn't really hang out. She was a bookworm, he was a jock. Nothing in common at all, and all they did was fight about the simplest things. So he was counting on Louis to be beside him.
Honestly, he shouldn't have been apprehensive about anything at all. But then again, there was her. Malfoy. Why was he cursed to be the same age as her!? His father already warned him that if he didn't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all.
James already knew that he would forget that piece of advice during the first week.
"James! Whatcha thinkin about?" James' thought process suddenly derailed at the sound of Albus' voice.
"About how you're such a nosy little snot," James huffed and pulled the blanket over his head.
"Are you nervous?" Albus ignored him, "About going to Hogwarts tomorrow?"
James was quiet for a second. "Why would I be? Harry Potter is my dad. People will love me!" he said haughtily. "Now go to sleep, idiot."
"You're right! Night James!" James could practically hear the smile on his brother's face. Rolling his eyes, he tried to fall asleep.
The train station was loud, busy and overly crowded.
James didn't think he could get any more nauseous than he was right now. Teddy took one look at his face and laughed, smacking him on the back.
"Don't worry, Jamie, you'll be fine!" he smiled toothily and I nodded shakily.
James watched as he ran up to a group of people his age and hopped on to the train without a second thought.
He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. He turned his head to see his dad smiling at him amusedly.
"You alright?" he asked, humor in his voice.
James scoffed and tried to push away his fears. "'Course I'm alright."
Harry laughed and just shook his head as Ginny walked over with slightly watery eyes. James rolled his eyes as she fixed his clothes for the hundredth time that day.
"Remember to owl us at least once a week and that during holidays, you can visit. You will visit, right?" Ginny gave him The Look.
James sighed. "Yeah, yeah, mom, don't worry. I will," he smiled slightly and gave her a hug. He would miss his family. Not that he would ever admit it.
"Hey, Jamie!" James turned and smiled as he saw Louis approach him.
"Hey, Lou," James waved.
"Can-" Louis tried to say, cut off by the loud train whistle.
"You better get going. Won't want to miss it," his dad said reluctantly and James nodded. Before he knew it, he was engulfed in a huge Potter family hug.
"Make sure to tell me all about Hogwarts," he heard Albus say as he hugged his older brother tightly.
"I will," James chuckled, ruffling his brother's hair.
"Come on! We're gonna miss the train!" Louis said from behind him, before pulling on his arm. James waved one last time at his family before stepping on the train.
"Can you believe we're finally going to Hogwarts?!" Louis gushed. "It's amazing!"
"Nerd," James laughed, earning his a slight shove to the arm. Louis has been his friend for as long as he could remember. His parents hadn't initially planned on visiting Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur, but when Louis and James became quick friends, they had no choice but to visit them almost every other day.
Louis Weasley and James Potter were exact opposites when it came to appearance. James was considered your average boy-like kid. He had a mess of black curls that he could never get under control and bright green eyes. His cheeks had tiny freckles scattered all over the place. He was pretty tall for his age, but compared to Louis, he was tiny. Louis, on the other hand, was actually very beautiful for a boy. From what James has heard, he inherited 1/8 Veela genes from his mother's side. He's slender and tall with straight red hair that reaches his shoulders. His eyes are a light blue that could make any girl drool over him. Despite his outward appearance, Louis also had a certain air about him that just.. made you like him. James had to admit that he was a little jealous of his best friend.
Suddenly, a pair of fingers snapped in front of his face, pulling him from his daydream. "You okay, Jamie? You kinda spaced out a bit for a second there."
"Yeah, I'm just kind of overwhelmed is all." Which wasn't a lie.
"Anyways, I was asking you, which compartment should we sit in?" Louis asked excitedly and James only shrugged in response.
"One that doesn't have tons of kids in it already, I guess."
"How about that one?" he asked, pointing to an empty compartment in the back. James nodded his confirmation, and they made their way to their seats.
"Let's go get dressed in our robes," James suggested and Louis nodded.
It didn't take long for James to slip on his robes. His dad told him how to correctly put them on quickly quite a few times before James would have to put on the real thing.
When James got back to the compartment, he noticed that Louis wasn't there. Probably still trying to get his robes on. He gave a small sigh at the thought of being alone for a few minutes. Just as he sat down, the compartment door opened again. Expecting to see Louis he looked up with a grin.
It was definitely not Louis.
It wasn't even a boy.
There in front of him stood probably the most beautiful 11 or 12 year old girl he had ever seen. She had long, straight as a board platinum blonde hair matched perfectly with steely grey eyes. She was rather short, but not chubby, not too thin either. Her facial features were soft and looked as if they were crafted by the gods. Her lips pulled back to reveal straight white teeth that made James self-conscious of his own not-so-perfect set of chewers.
"Your James Potter, am I right?" Her voice came out silky smooth, just like her hair looked.
"Y-yeah," he managed to stutter.
Her smiled widened. James would have smiled too if it weren't for the next words out of her mouth.
"It's so nice to meet you. My name is Antheia Malfoy."
All James could do was stare in shock as she sat down across from him, grinning the whole time.
"Listen, this may sound a little forward, but I wanted to ask you something. Can we please be friends, James? I know all about the war and-"
"No." James' expression turned cold and Antheia looked taken aback.
"W-what?"
James stood up, glaring at the girl sitting in front of him. "I don't want to be your friend, and I never will, so sod off!" he exclaimed.
Antheia had never felt so many emotions in a span of 5 seconds. At first, she was mad. How dare he reject her friendship? Then she felt worried. What if she said something wrong or was rude? Next she felt disappointed. She really wanted to be his friend. And last, she felt sad. What did she do wrong?
"If that's how you feel," she stated standing up, "I'll take my leave now." With that, she opened the compartment door and ran out, almost colliding with a returned Louis.
He looked at James then down the hall towards Antheia then back to James.
"What just happened?"
Antheia slowly walked back to her compartment where Brian and Mallory were.
What did she do wrong? She made sure not to say anything remotely insulting. She called him by his first name. She kept a smile on her face. She.. she was so confused.
She opened the compartment door in a daze and sat down silently.
"So how did it go?" Brian asked and Mallory leaned forward in her seat.
"He... said he would never want to be my friend..." Antheia frowned.
"Aww, Theya, sweetie, don't worry, Brian will beat him up for you," Mallory hugged her comfortingly and Brian was already standing up, popping his knuckles.
Antheia giggled and shook her head. "Please don't. Thank you guys for looking out for me, but I can take care of myself."
Brian sat back down and crossed him arms. "You sure? You know I wouldn't mind," he smirked and Antheia shook her head again.
"Don't worry, I got this! James Potter will be my friend by the end of the year, I swear!" she smiled enthusiastically.
Mallory and Brian shared a look. "We still don't understand why you want to be his friend so much."
Antheia sighed exasperatedly. "Because... I want to make a difference! I don't want the Malfoys and the Potters to be rivals yet again. And besides you two, I don't have any friends. If I were to friends with James Potter, maybe people would like me more," Antheia stated hopefully.
While it sounded selfish, Brian and Mallory knew that she didn't intend it to be. Ever since she knew how to process thoughts, she wanted to be James Potter's best friend.
"I wish you both weren't two years older than I am," Antheia said miserably. "I'm going to miss you."
Mallory smiled and promised, "Hey, you'll always be able to sit with us at meal times. It's not like we won't be there!" Brian nodded in reassurance.
Antheia smiled again and nodded. "Thanks, guys," she said in all seriousness. "I'm going to go change now," she changed the subject and stepped out of the compartment.
She couldn't be more grateful to have friends like them. She wouldn't know what to do if she lost Mallory and Brian. Thinking of friends, her thoughts strayed back to James once again. Sighing, she bent her head low. How could she convince him that she was a good friend?
Lost in her thoughts, she didn't even see the older student in front of her. All she could do was stare up in shock as the boy glared down at her when she bumped into him.
His glare suddenly turned into a smirk and laughed coldly. "Guys, look at this! It's Malfoy's little spawn!" The group of guys behind him laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world. Antheia's cheeks glowed red in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, please excuse me," she tried to step past him, but he grabbed her arm and slammed her against one of the compartment doors.
"No, I'm sorry. Excuse me," he said mockingly before walking off, laughing.
The guys behind him followed and when Antheia thought they were finally finished, the last guy poured his pudding over the top of her head with a loud guffaw.
"Loser!" he exclaimed before following behind the group.
Antheia felt tears well in her eyes and blinked them away quickly. No, she wouldn't cry. Malfoys don't cry.
Holding her head high and straightening her shoulders she tried to walk down the halls as confidently as she cold with tapioca pudding dripping in her hair.
This year already sucks, she thought pitifully.
A/N: Hey guys! So I really don't know how this is going to turn out. But I couldn't get the idea of Draco having a daughter and her and James developing a friendship. ( maybe even more ;) ) I would really appreciate what you thought of the first chapter if you have the time! Thanks for checking it out!