Steam poured from the engine of the red express train, and I smiled wickedly. I was coming back, and everything was as it should be. Cale ran through the brick wall with his trolley and pulled up to a stop on my left. I turned my head back and grinned at him. I could tell that he was feeling the same sense of pride and confidence at our return to the school.

The atmosphere was much different here. I knew what to do. At home I had to do everything their way. At Hogwarts I was free.

"Oy, Ash!" Brynn yelled and flagged me down. "Over here!"

I waved in what I thought was an elegant fashion and strode over to her with Cale by my side. During that time my already short skirt decided to ride up a fraction of an inch. I tugged it down irritably. It was ruining my moment.

I was a sixth year now and well on my way to ruling the school, which I intended to have happen even if Triss or anyone else for that matter thought differently.

"Hey, I've missed you so much!" I squealed and hugged her. "I can't believe I didn't see you all summer!"

"Me either! Hi, Cale." She beamed as we broke apart.

"Hi, Brynn."

We walked with our Gryffindor friend to find the rest of our little group. Brynn talked animatedly away about her holidays. Her curly light brown hair was much different from her grandfather's graying dreadlocks. It was hard to tell that she was African at all. Her skin tone was a gorgeous bronze that I was extremely jealous of with my pale pallor.

"So, what did you do over the holidays?" she asked, actually coming to a halt in her own fast as a bullet talk.

I blushed a little, and Cale said, "Um..."

I knew he was thinking of the same thing as I was. The incident.

"Did something happen?" She sounded worried. Then noticing our suspicious faces, she gasped dramatically. "Oh my god! It finally happened, didn't it?" She jumped up and down excitedly.

Cale and I exchanged confused looks. "What happened?" I asked.

"You. Two. Together."

I sighed. That again. When was everyone going to realize that Cale and I were just friends?

"What? Oh. No!" Cale jumped away from me quickly.

"Still just friends," I assured her.

"Oh." Her expression dropped.

"Wish your grandparents would get that," Cale muttered.

I hit him lightly on the arm. "Shut up," but there was nothing playful in my tone.

My mind flew back to the conversation we had had two weeks ago. Cale and I were sitting at a table at an ice cream parlor in the exclusive wizarding village he lived in.

"I'm so excited!" I'd been holding in this outburst since I'd appeared in his family's fireplace ten minutes ago, and since we'd sat down, I could finally make my big announcement.

"What happened?"

"I was made-" He didn't let me finish my sentence.

"Captain of the quidditch team?" he guessed enthusiastically.

"Yes!"

"Good for you." He hugged me.

We were just breaking apart when I noticed four dark shadows loom onto our table and heard the haughty tones of my great-grandfather, Lucius Malfoy, "Well, well, well. What do we have here? You didn't tell us you were in town, Ashlynn."

I turned around slowly, so I could use the time to access the situation and right it to make sure I had the upper hand.

"Cale and I were just going to stop by and say hi soon." I looked him straight in those gray eyes despite feeling completely unnerved, but I didn't let it on.

"That's lovely, dear." Nana smiled, but it didn't extend past her lips. She never showed much emotion except for the day she saw her hair graying. Through experience I had learned to be wary of all of them.

"I told you the match would be perfect," Grandmother said to the other three. "Good afternoon, Mr. Avery."

"You can call me Cale." He flashed them one of his signature dazzling smiles that won over everyone, but none of them looked too impressed by it, since they, too, were skilled at manipulation.

"What match were you talking about, Grandmother?" I asked, before she could get a word out of her already moving mouth. I knew I had to stay on the offensive. A little voice reminded me of how ignorant it made me sound, but I pushed it away quickly. It was too late to worry. What was done was done.

"Between you and Mr. Avery," Sir said.

Grandfather stayed silent. I knew there was no hope of help from him because he was scared of Sir and Nana. I'd learned it at a much younger age. He wouldn't say a word against them.

"It's the perfect match," Nana added, "and you like each other. Even better."

"Excuse me Mrs. Malfoy, but are you talking of marriage?" Cale asked for clarification.

"Of course."

"Not the brightest I see," Sir commented.

Cale shifted his weight, staring at their shoulders, but I knew eye contact was key. It proved you weren't scared.

"Cale and I are friends," I explained.

"Well, it won't be that way for long. I'll talk with his mother. We just want what's best for you." Nana patted me on the shoulder in what was evidently supposed to be a loving way, but her hand was just as cold as her eyes.

"Mother, are you sure so soon? They're sixteen," Grandfather pointed out. I was surprised he'd said anything at all, and looking at the faces of Sir and Nana, I wasn't the only one.

"Draco," they said at the same time. Cale looked back and forth from the pair of them, expecting them to continue, but I knew nothing more was coming. They were warning him. I thought for the millionth time about how he had to grow more of a backbone.

After a long and awkward silence, they left, and Cale and I were finally allowed to turn back to our melted ice creams.

"What do you mean?" Brynn asked curiously. I really didn't want everyone to know about my psycho great-grandparents, but she was my best friend.

I sighed. "I'll tell you later. It's personal."

"Oh," she said, understanding immediately.

As we made our way through the crowd of frantic parents and students, I heard a woman calling above the crowd, "Ashlynn! Ashlynn!" I pretended not to hear it. My friends were more important than the woman who was rarely in my life. She had been too busy at work and too in love to bother.

After two more voices accompanied hers, I couldn't ignore it anymore. Other people were starting to notice as well.

"I've gotta go see what they want. Sorry," I apologized to them.

"We'll come with you," Brynn offered.

I stopped walking and abruptly turned around to walk in the direction we had come from. However, the boy behind me hadn't realized my intentions, and we walked smack into each other.

He smiled. "Sorry."

"No, no. It was my fault."

"Whatever." He shrugged and walked away, but not before the image of his gorgeous blond hair and blue eyes was ingrained into my memory.

"Nice, Ashlynn." Cale laughed.

We rounded a bend past a wall of luggage and redheads. I recognized many of their faces from family reunions, but none were that important to me. I waved at Levi Lupin who was chatting with Xander Potter.

My parents and brother appeared in my line of vision. Both Mum and Dad looked annoyed. I supposed they had every right to be. I had slipped off while they were chatting with Uncle Albus and Uncle James.

"Ashlynn Bellatrix Malfoy, where have you been?" Dad demanded. Mum grimaced at the mention of my middle name. I'd heard time and time again of how Nana had switched my name at birth from Molly to Bellatrix. I found it slightly ironic because Grandma Molly has killed Bellatrix. I guess the latter won in regards to my name.

Jett grinned at me slyly, and I knew he was the one who had ratted me out. They wouldn't have noticed my disappearance if it weren't for him.

"You little prat." I glared at him, but there was no real feeling of hatred between us. It was just our typical sibling banter.

"Your brother was being responsible. Something you would do well to learn," Mum said, staring at me sternly. Despite her attempt to be intimidating, I was not impressed because it's kind of hard to be scared of someone three inches shorter than you.

"I'm a prefect," I reminded her, "and captain of the Slytherin quidditch team."

She just sighed, probably debating about giving me another lecture about how titles didn't mean much. "I'm well aware of that. Your brother tells me every time he writes a letter home."

"Yeah, because she takes points away from Ravenclaw for no reason!" he protested, but I ignored him as usual.

Cale and Brynn stood behind me awkwardly. I could tell that they didn't want to be in the middle of it.

"Well, Ash, we just want to wish you a good school year," Mum said.

"Oh, well, thanks."

"You're coming home for Christmas, correct?" Dad asked, narrowing his blue eyes.

"Um, probably. I'll write to you to let you know."

"You had better, young lady, because we are going to the Weasley family reunion this year." I groaned. I hated meeting all those people. "Bring a friend or two, but you have to come. Grandma and Grandpa send their best wishes. They hope that your year is good," Mum told me.

I was itching to get away, and I knew my friends wanted to leave too.

"Okay. Send them my regards, and I hope they have a good year too." I began to slowly inch backwards.

"Goodbye, darling." Mum hugged me, and I hugged her back, so she couldn't tell how disconnected from her I felt.

I looked nothing like her either. Her reddish brown hair had gone to neither Jett or me. We both some how ended up with Grandmother's dark hair.

"Bye, Mum. Bye, Dad. See you later, Jett," I said quickly and walked away with Brynn and Cale. "Let's go find Jaxon and Keaton."

"Sounds cool," Brynn hopped along next to me. "I think I might have seen Bekki and Rikky around somewhere, but then we had to go talk to your parents. I don't get why you're so nice to them. I mean, yeah, they're totally nice and all too, but they were never there for you when you were younger."

I shrugged. "They're my parents," was my only answer.

"Oh, look," Brynn said, pointing toward the train. "There's Jaxon and Keaton. Hmph. They're always together. It's kinda weird."

I shrugged again. They were best friends. I hung out with Brynn all the time. There was nothing wrong with that.

"They're just friends, Brynn. Jeez," Cale said, voicing my thoughts.

"What? I didn't mean it that way," she huffed. "You always think the worst of me," she muttered, continuing under her breath, but I couldn't hear what she was saying.

"Hey, guys," I said to Jaxon and Keaton, interrupting Brynn and Cale's argument.

"There's this new guy," Jaxon said.

I rolled my eyes. "Who cares about first years?"

"No, no. He's not a first year. He's in our year," Keaton assured me.

I did a double take. "Pardon?"

"Quit pulling our legs, you two. It's not funny," Brynn said. "It's not even that clever."

"No, we're serious. His name is Holden Chase, and he's a transfer student from America," Jaxon explained.

"Well, it seems that even if this is true, you've at least thought out your story well." I gave them each a congratulatory pat on the back. "Let's go find a compartment to sit in before they all fill up or we'll be stuck with a couple of creepy first years like last year."

We all piled into the train and made our way down the narrow corridor, glancing into each compartment to see if they were empty.

"It's not even eleven o'clock yet, and all the compartments are already taken," Brynn complained. "How does that happen?"

She spoke too soon. The next one I looked into was completely deserted, so I stepped inside and was soon followed by Cale, Brynn, Jaxon, and Keaton.

I took the seat nearest the door, and Brynn and Cale took the other seats nearest me, leaving those near the window for Jaxon and Keaton.

"What about Bekki and Rikky?" Keaton asked after having shoved his trunk up in the luggage rack. "I haven't seen either of them."

"Ugh, they're just way too smart. I always feel stupid when I'm around them," Brynn said.

"Why are you friends with them then?" I asked.

"Uh, because everyone else is. Anyway, they are nice. I just feel dumb next to them."

"They help me with my homework a lot though," Jaxon pointed out from his window seat opposite Keaton. "They're geniuses."

"Duh, they're in Ravenclaw, House of the smart people," Brynn said exasperatedly.

"What's wrong with being smart?" The boy I'd walked into appeared in the doorway. He leaned on it cockily and grinned at all of us. "Hey, Jaxon. Keaton." He nodded at them.

Jaxon mouthed, 'Told you he existed,' at me.

I should've noticed earlier that I'd never seen him before, but I'd been too busy worrying about my bloody parents.

"So, you guys got names?"

This guy was going to be the death of me.

Hey, everyone who bothers to read this. One: Thanks for taking the time. Hope you like Ashlynn's World. Two: Reviews are awesome, and it's nice to see that people care or are willing to critique.

I'm working on editing the rest of the chapters I already have written.