Draco Malfoy slowly walked down the vastly empty carriage of the Hogwarts Express, hopefully if this year went according to plan this would be his last ever year at Hogwarts. The school's standards had significantly dropped in the last few years to a disgustingly low point in Draco's opinion due to the fumbling old coot Dumbledore and his bloody pet Saint Potter. The two of them were insufferable morons but if he succeeded with the mission the Dark Lord gave them then Dumbledore would be out of the way and pretty soon Potter too. With the two of them gone the wizarding world would be a much better place and then it would only be a matter of time before the filthy mudbloods were gone. Something that Draco was very much looking forward too although he had to focus on the task at hand, his Aunt Bellatrix had repeatedly stressed the importance of the task given to him and how it was such a high honour to receive from the Dark Lord. Draco knew that it was, he also knew that this particular task had been given to him because of his father's recent failings in regards to the prophecy that was in the Department of Mysteries, which made Draco more determined then ever to succeed in order to restore his family's reputation.
Coming to a stop in one of the carriages Draco decided that it was best he probably rejoined the rest of his fellow Slytherins, he had been wondering around for far too long and knowing his luck he'd probably run into either Potter, Granger, Weaselbee or worse all three of them. After what happened with them and his father a few months ago, he wanted as little to do with as possible, although the likeliness of that happening was next to nothing as all three of them were irritatingly annoying and tended to stick their noses in where they didn't belong. Standing in the carriage Draco was annoyed when some girl clearly not looking where she was going walked into him. "Watch where you're going you idiot!"
"I wouldn't have to watch where I was going if you weren't aimlessly standing in the middle of the carriage looking completely clueless as to where you were Draco Malfoy." The girl quipped as she bent down to pick up her book that Draco didn't recognize in the slightest, both her and the book. "I'll give you a clue though we're on the Hogwarts Express heading to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, which is located in Scotland."
Draco allowed himself to frown, firstly he didn't except her to be so condescending with him given who he was and second she clearly knew who he was but he was having the hardest time placing her. She seem vaguely familiar with her dark hair, pale complication, blue eyes and pink lips that were curved into a small smirk. It actually irritated Draco that he couldn't place her, it was obvious that she was a student given that she was on the train. He had a feeling he knew her but he knew a lot of people and even then he only took a particular intrest in a certain few and they were mainly Slytherins and he could just tell that this girl was not from his house otherwise he would have remembered. "And just who are you?"
"You don't know me by my first name Draco, you know me by another name." The girl replied which just caused Draco to become further intrigued yet annoyed, primarily he was addressed by his last name and not many people addressed him by his first name here and yet this girl seemed at ease calling him Draco and showing an utter lack of respect towards him. Just who the hell was she? But he never got a chance to ask as without saying another word she walked off to talk to a passing Ravenclaw leaving Draco standing in the same place he had been standing when she bumped into him.
"There you are Malfoy, Pansy sent me to find you as she's convinced that you can't be left alone at the moment because of your important mission." Zabini said as he walked up the carriage towards Draco who couldn't help but frown at the mention of Pansy's name. Pansy. Draco resisted the urge to throw up, over the years Pansy had become increasingly clingy and more annoying even more so when she learned of the new position he had taken up over summer.
"Zabini, whose that girl talking to that unfortunate looking Ravenclaw prefect." Draco asked in a nonchalant manner, he didn't want to seem like he was interested in her because he wasn't. He just wanted to know who she was and how she could possible know him.
"That's Odette Huntington."
"Who?" Draco questioned as the name didn't ring a bell in the slightest before thinking what kind of a name was Odette Huntington. But the way that Zabini had said her name it sounded like he was supposed to know that name, as if held some kind of significant meaning.
Zabini rolled his eyes in amusement much to Draco's surprise as he was one for showing little emotion, especially humour. "Ravenclaw, she's been in most of our classes for the last five years and you've been calling her 'The Ugly Duckling' ever since the first time you laid eyes on her back in first year. I'm surprised you'd forget that so easily as you too particular pride in that particular name.
"That's the ugly duckling? Never crossed my mind that she had an actual name…" Draco said as recognition finally hit, he knew that he knew her but never would he have realized that the girl he had been talking to was the ugly duckling. The average sized, shy and retiring Ravenclaw who was even more awkward then that idiot Neville Longbottom, if that was even possible. Apart from the occasional name calling Draco hadn't found any reason to pay much attention to her as she had been a rather plain girl although he was surprised at the noticeable changes that had happened over the summer. She was a far cry from an ugly duckling.
"Certainly not an ugly duckling anymore, even for a Ravenclaw." Zabini noted and Draco couldn't help but agree. The ugly duckling was no longer the ugly duck, she was in fact the far opposite of that and dare Draco admit, rather interesting in more ways than one.