Chapter One
"Bye papa!" I called. I kissed him and mother and the cheek before pushing my trolley at the brick wall and disappearing through it. A beautiful, shiny scarlet train sat chugging away, thick steam, pummelling into the sky. I gasped and smiled. There were hundreds of children with their parents. Trollies were bashing around everywhere. I dodged through and parked the trolley. Grabbing the handle of my trunk, I tugged at the handle, but there was no budging it. Sighing, I had another go, but it still wouldn't move.
"Well, hi there!" A chirpy voice came from behind me. I turned round to see two twins with heads of flaming red.
"Can we help you with your trunk?" The other asked. I smiled.
"Oh can you? That would be incredible!" They grabbed both ends of the trunk and hoisted it up. They held it high above their heads as not to knock anyone out. I followed them onto the train and down through the carriages.
"Do you want in here?" One asked.
"That would be wonderful." I replied. They slid the trunk into the overhead locker and turned to face me, grins plastered to their faces. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome, miss…" He trailed off and they both looked at me expectantly.
"Joëlle." I said, shaking both their hands. "You are?"
"Fred Weasley."
"And I'm George." I smiled and waved at them as they left.
"Thank you for my trunk!" I sat down on the red, poorly cushioned seat and relaxed. The train whistle sounded and I glanced at my watch. Eleven o'clock. The train jerked forward and started to move. There were voices from outside the compartment and two large boys came into view.
"Come on, every carriage is full." The short one said. I stood up and slid open the glass door and smiled.
"You can sit in here if you want?" I suggested. A white blonde haired boy pushed through the two. He had a black suit on and was a lot thinner than the other two. His face was dark. Until he saw me. His eyebrows raised and his lips parted slightly.
"Crabbe, Goyle, find another carriage." He spat coldly. The two muddled around, but didn't leave.
"Why?" The taller of the two questioned. Drawing his wand, the blonde pointed it threateningly at them. They stumbled backwards and hurried away as quickly as they could. He replaced the wand in his pocket and turned to face me.
"Come in." I moved backwards and he stepped sideways into the compartment. "You are?" I asked as I sat down opposite him.
"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." His lips tugged at the corners, but the gesture was so tiny, I barely noticed it.
"Joëlle Maide." I replied. His glabella creased slightly.
"What kind of name is that?" He muttered.
"French. I've lived in France for most of my life." I cocked a curve of my lips.
"Then why no accent?" It was like he was trying to pick me apart, pulling at my flaws.
"I'm English. Born in central London, but moved." He didn't seem the kind to be interested.
"If you're English, why the name?" He asked. His face was thin, his pale skin stretching over his sharp cheekbones and jaw.
"Beautiful place. It was Joëlle or Ariel." It was like a game of tennis, questions and answers flying back and forth at tremendous speed.
"In what way is it French? How is it spelt?"
"J-O-E with diaeresis-L-L-E" I spelt.
"Wait, an e with what?" His frown deepened and the cold tone disappeared in a flash. I let out a light laugh.
"An e with two dots above it."
"That makes more sense." He let out a quick breath of air which I presumed was a small laugh.. It looked like he didn't smile much. "Your answering is very well thought out. It is very quick…" He said thoughtfully.
"All due to Sherlock Holmes of course." I laughed.
"Who?" He sat up straighter with confusion.
"Don't worry." I shook my head and pushed the question away.
"How come I've never seen you around before?" He asked. "I mean, you must be mid-way through your school years, mustn't you?" I nodded.
"I've just moved from France. I went to a school of magic there. This is my fourth year, but there are things that I missed while I was moving." I explained.
"Why did you move?" He asked.
"Death Eaters." I said simply. There was another tiny facial movement. "They destroyed the entire town and we had to leave." It took a second or two before he asked the next question.
"Were they coming for you?" His voice was slightly breathy. Now it was my turn to be confused.
"No, they were just having fun destroying things." I said slowly.
"Did anyone get hurt?" His voice was slightly quieter.
"A few. One ended up in a mental hospital because of excessive torture." Draco swallowed.
"Ah, well, ok then…" He mumbled. Swiftly, he changed the topic. "Well, what house do you want to be in?"
"House?" I asked.
"There are four houses in Hogwarts. Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. When you arrive, you get sorted into a house which you stay in for the rest of school. But you missed the Sorting, you're in the same year as me." He explained. His hands were loosely intertwined on his lap.
"What house are you in?" I asked. Draco stared at my smile a lot. When I smiled, he smiled; slightly.
"Slytherin. Best house there is. If I were in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, I think I would leave." He drawled. He seemed determined to put that out as the truth. I cocked my eyebrow up, waiting to continue. "Let's just say Hufflepuff is full of pathetic idiots and Gryffindor, well, it is possibly the worst house ever."
The rest of the train journey flew past. Draco and I shared some Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans, Cauldron Cakes and Pumpkin Pasties. Draco was nice. He laughed a lot and the dark expression I saw before he came in never made an appearance. Suddenly, a loud voice echoed throughout the trains.
"We will be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes time." I listened to it rumble down the entire train and bounce back at the end carriage.
"I need to get changed into my robes." I said. He stood up and nodded.
"Crabbe and Goyle have my trunk." He said carelessly. I gave a hesitant smile, which he didn't return and stood up with him. As he swiftly left, his expression changed back to the dark, cold, evil face from the beginning.