Author's Note/What you need to know: Hello all! I welcome my new, lovely readers, and I say apologies and hello to any possible old readers of mine. Something you should know about this fanfic, it's a sister fic to another story. No, you don't have to read that story at ALL to get this, because it's about two different people! The fic I'm referring to is an OC/George fic. The OC for that story is the big sister of the OC for this story. :) That's all! Now, what you need to know about this story: Everyone is in their seventh year, the year that DM, HP, RW, and HG skipped, gets to come back to redo it. Everyone could redo that year actually, but it was also optional to take a competency test, and continue on to the year after that. Ginny has done this, and Luna is up a year as well; so is my OC. So, everyone is in their seventh year this year, and this also means a double group of first years! This story is going to focus on EVERYONE, please know that. This is about how no one can walk away unchanged after the war, and how they heal, and deal with the scars that have been left to them. Hence the name! Here we go!
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Chapter One: Just Getting Started
Draco's First Year. On The Hogwarts Express.
It was going to be his very first day at Hogwarts, and Draco Malfoy just wanted peace and quiet. He'd managed to escape the dunces that followed him around because their parents were friends with his, and was currently relaxing in an empty compartment. The door slid open with a bang.
"Oi!" Draco growled, "Get out of here, girl! This compartment's mine!"
She was a thin, tiny thing. She had light blond hair, and big blue eyes. She looked like the innocent type, but the girl only snorted before rolling her eyes.
"Unless you have six arses, this entire compartment is not for you." The girl retorted, sliding the door shut loudly before plopping herself down across from him. Draco rose a thin, white blond eyebrow at her. Just who was this girl?
"Who are you anyway?"
"Last name's Knightley." She said on a yawn, reaching behind her to tighten her pony tail.
"Knightley?" Draco frowned, "That doesn't sound familiar at all." Obviously, Draco was wondering if he was in the presence of a mudblood. Would certainly explain the lack of propriety, at least.
"It's American." She stated boredly, rolling her eyes at him again.
"...but you're not American-sounding..."
"Well, I can see who'll be getting A's in class, can't I?" She rolled her eyes again and Draco puffed up in annoyance.
"Well I am Draco Malfoy. Surely you've heard of me."
"No." Cam sniggered, "And with a name like that I'm sure I would have remembered!"
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Nothing, nothing! Honestly! You're so boring." Cam stated bluntly, frowning at the boy. Draco was taken off guard because he was positive no one had ever spoken to him in such a way before.
"Well..." He fumbled for a moment before regaining character, "What house do you want to be in then?" Draco smirked when the girl's eyes light up with excitement. He wasn't so boring after all!
"I want to be in Gryffindor!" She exclaimed, scowling when Draco scoffed. "What house do you want, then?"
"Slytherin." Draco revealed proudly, even sitting up a little straighter. When Cam scowled even deeper, Draco scowled back, ready to defend his house. "My entire family has been in Slytherin!"
"That so?" Cam challenged back, looking at her nails casually.
"Anyone that matters, anyway." Draco admitted, knowing there were a few unmentionables in his family tree...not that she needed to know, anyway.
"So you want to be in Slytherin because of your family... Hmmm, that's very loyal."
"Yes, it is!" Draco smirked, crossing his arms. He was pleased the girl was finally seeing reason.
"Very loyal to your family, then?"
"Yes!"
"EXTREMELY loyal...?"
"Extremely so!" Draco sniffed, starting to become irked. His hands clenched into fists when the girl began to laugh.
"Loyalty! Doesn't that make you a Hufflepuff?! Ha ha!" Cam literally doubled over onto her side when she heard Draco gasp.
"It does not!" Draco gasped loudly, completely horrified that she'd gotten the better of him, "Shut it!"
Cam finally calmed down, and stood up. Giving a happy sigh, she wiped away the tears that had come from laughing so hard.
"Listen, this was somewhat fun, but I'm going to go find something interesting to do now." Opening the compartment door, Draco stood up immediately.
"You don't get away with that so easily!" He gripped onto her wrist childishly, giving it a good hard tug. He had only meant to stop her, but the outcome was much worse.
Cam grabbed onto his wrist, squeezing it so hard Draco let out a gasp before finally relinquishing his hold on her. Cam then twisted his arm painfully. Crying out, Draco turned away from her in an attempt to untwist the arm himself. That gave Cam the advantage. Pulling his arm up behind his back hard, she shoved Draco against the compartment window.
"When my father hear's of this ommphhh!" Draco's words were muffled and smushed against the glass.
Cam fisted her hands into his blond hair, leaving Draco even more horrified because it was going to be messed up now. With the leverage of his hair, Cam moved Draco's face back and forth across the glass against his will. Effectively causing smears and fog to show up on the window.
"Tsk! You're not so boring after all, Princess!"
"Prin-shessh?" Draco tried to ask, still pressed against the glass. Cam only chuckled before releasing him.
"Don't touch me again." She said flatly, sounding much more serious than the average eleven year old.
With that, the strange girl left the compartment. Draco rubbed at his nose, staring at the open door as if expecting her to come back. His hair was a mess, his arm hurt, his face was wet, and he was incredibly pissed, yet...intrigued?
"Certainly not." Draco corrected himself out loud, straightening up his robes, "I'm just pissed off. That crazy broad... Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll never see her again."
Draco didn't know it at the time, but he was destined to be very unlucky.
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Present Time. Hogwarts Express.
The Trio could no longer officially be seen as a Trio. At least for the moment, anyway. They had managed to fit seven people into one compartment, and for that, they were still extraordinary. Just don't say that to their faces.
On the left side, Ron sat in the middle between Hermione and Harry. Ginny sat comfortably on Harry's lap, and much to everyone's surprise, Ron seemed to not give a Merlin's saggy left butt cheek about it. Hermione, the poor thing, used her time by dividing it between glancing at Harry and Ginny wishfully, before stealing glances at Ron. Ron stared indifferently out the window, seeming as if he had better places to be than sitting with his best mates.
On the right side of the compartment was definitely a sight to see. Neville Longbottom was most certainly no longer the little "Why is it always me?" boy of his childhood. Neville Longbottom had lost all baby fat, and possibly even gained some muscle. He'd lost his buckteeth, thanks to having them knocked out by a Death Eater. Magical replacement teeth always had a knack for looking so much better than the original. There was something else lost in Neville, or rather, something gained. Neville had found confidence, and it worked wonders for him.
Luna Lovegood was a bit of a different tale, a tale that everyone was noticing, but no one was asking about. Something about Luna was different. Her eyes still held that far-off look, but the dotty atmosphere around her was gone. There was something there, but it was so faint no one could place a finger on it.
Cam Knightley is about as close to being normal as you'll get. Never really normal to begin with, she has remained relatively unchanged by the war. At least she doesn't seem to be any different, though she isn't really sure how she feels about that. The students still feared her, and some still hated her. She was still doomed to get at least one hundred detentions, if not more. Same old Cam... Including the black, cloth, fingerless glove she wore on her right hand that stretched all the way to her elbow. Yes, she did seem completely the same, which was something she couldn't really figure out.
Her blond hair was still up in the usual pony tail, her yellow converse as dirty as ever. Poor posture, generally disinterested attitude. The only thing that told her she'd even experienced a war was the fact that she always found herself thinking about it—she wasn't sure why, and that was the most annoying part.
Everyone was already in their robes, and the conversation in the compartment was idle. In fact, their entire summer had been idle. Some adored it, some loathed it.
"Whose going to be the Potions master this year?" Inquired Hermione, grateful to finally change the subject away from Quidditch.
"Professor Slughorn, why wouldn't he be?" Cam asked, tucking her wand back up into her sleeve after growing bored with twirling it. Hermione remained quiet, and pretended Cam hadn't answered. A tradition between the two since the day they had met.
"Well, what about the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" Neville inquired, running a hand through his shaggy black hair. This did gain everyone's attention. A Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had never lasted more than a year, and this was finally the chance to see if one would stick.
"Dad said the school couldn't find one," Ron said, "Even the Ministry couldn't find someone interested. They're sending over an Auror every few classes to teach us spells, and such. For as long as they can, what with so many Death Eaters still on the run."
"Didn't he also say there isn't a Flying teacher, either?" Ginny question, wrapping an arm around Harry's shoulders. Harry responded by wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Seriously?" Cam asked, shocked, "So the first years are going to have wait to learn, and all of the other year's flying classes are canceled then?"
"Yeah, until someone willing steps up." Ron said grimly, scooting away from Hermione about half an inch when she leaned closer to him.
"Doesn't Headmistress McGonagall have an idea of who she can get? It's only flying." Hermione said, resting an arm on Ron's shoulder.
"How'm I supposed to know, Mione?" Ron shrugged her hand off before standing up completely, "I'm off to find the trolly."
With that, Ron left the compartment without a goodbye, leaving the door wide open.
"Has anyone noticed Ron's turned into an even bigger prat lately?" Cam asked without feeling, resting her hands behind her head.
Despite the fact it was her brother, Ginny giggled. She never coddled Ron, and would always tell him when he was out of line. She agreed with Cam. Hermione turned her nose up however, obliged to defend her newly appointed boyfriend.
"He's not a prat. He was probably just hungry." She crossed her arms, looking out the window. Even she couldn't deny Ron was being a bit off...at least she could deny it out loud. Or rather, in front of Cam.
"Come on, guys." Harry intervened with a strained, happy smile, "Let's not fight, yeah? This is going to be a nice, quiet year. Let's enjoy it." Harry smiled at them all, and they nodded. The gang truly did feel that Harry was right. Even Cam relished the thought of a school year where the only trouble caused was from harmless fights, and the younger student's pranks.
As if on cue to ruin Harry's good mood, the sound of someone running out in the hallway could be heard in the compartment. Heavy panting, and then he was standing there in front of the open door. Hands on his knees, body slumped over– Draco Malfoy.
He glanced into the compartment and did a double-take. Surprise at first, and then his face took on a sober look. His eyes met Harry but the familiar flame of rivalry had gone dim, surprising the both of them. His eyes wondered to Hermione, and when Hermione instantly returned it with an angry glare, Draco immediately looked away. He and Luna shared an uncomfortable glance at each other, something secret laying between them. Then his eyes skipped over Neville, landing on Cam.
She couldn't describe what was there when she looked at him. His eyes had changed somehow and they had become unreadable. There was something new there, something surprising that she couldn't quite grasp. And something was gone. It was like looking into the eyes of a stranger, even when they still held the same stormy gray.
And then he started running again, and he was gone.
"What was that all about do you suppose?" Ginny asked, just as stumped as everyone else on what had just happened.
"Who cares?" Hermione spat viciously, looking, in Cam's opinion, as if someone had just whopped the hell out of a house elf.
"I do." Cam challenged immediately, mainly because it was Hermione. Mainly.
"It was a little odd..." Neville admitted, trailing off as if he were calculating something, "As a matter of fact, I heard a lot of strange things about Malfoy over the summer."
"Really?" Everyone else asked, looking at Neville curiously. Harry, Hermione, Cam, and Luna had spent the entire summer at the Burrow. It had been renovated after the war, and was even taller than before so it accommodated everyone. Neville was the only one that had gotten around much the past few months.
"Yeah, I heard loads of stuff," Neville nodded, sitting up straighter to recount everything he'd heard. "You know how there was the huge clean up? Not just on Hogwarts, but basically everywhere? People volunteering and using the wands to repair buildings and homes, and things? It was rumored that Malfoy was there. He wasn't in my volunteer group, but Seamus swears he saw him. Helping and everything."
"Really?" Harry asked, sounding astonished. "Well... I suppose that's good...but..."
"Good?" Scoffed Hermione uncharacteristically, "It sounds suspicious to me. We all know his father's in Askaban. He was probably just trying to keep himself out of Askaban." Hermione crossed her legs, suddenly looking extremely put off. Harry eyed her for a moment before giving up, deciding he didn't want to tread whatever storm Hermione had brewing at the moment.
"That can't be right though," Ginny reasoned, "His mother was excused for lying to Voldemort about Harry. And Draco was excused because he was under age when he received the dark mark, and because he was given it practically against his will to replace his father who was in Askaban at the time."
"It's all rubbish if you ask me," Snapped Hermione, looking as if she were talking to Cam, not about Malfoy.
"Careful Hermione," Cam rolled her eyes before popping a piece of Extra Bubble Pumpkin Bubble Gum into her mouth. She'd thought ahead, unlike Ron, and went to the trolly before sitting, "If you keep up that sunshine attitude you've got going there, we might all go blind from the sheer luminosity of it." She popped a bubble of gum before adding, "Or deaf. Hopefully."
"Oh, defending Malfoy then?" Hermione challenged, her anger only looking normal now that it was directed at Cam.
"Let me tell you–"
"I don't want to talk about Malfoy anymore." Luna interrupted Cam, causing a moment of silence. The silence was filled by the sound of the Express' breaks. "We're here anyway. Let's go on and start a new year. A good year." Luna suggested, offering everyone in the compartment a small smile.
"Luna's right everyone," Harry stood up with Ginny, holding her hand, "We're finally going to have a nice, quiet year. Let's enjoy."
Cam didn't stand up until most of the compartment had emptied. Neville stood at the doorway, waiting for her.
"Hey, Cam, how's your sister doing?" Neville inquired, offering the school's most-feared girl a kind smile.
"Oh, she's still in America." Cam said casually, "Working at a muggle newspaper..." Her sister had took off a few hours after Voldemort's death. She'd said goodbye to Cam, and hadn't been seen since. It had been really out of the blue, and honestly, she been upset at her sister a bit...or a lot. Still, the whole world didn't need to know that.
"Do...you know why she left? If you don't mind my asking, that is."
"I honestly don't." Cam shook her head, reaching behind her to tighten her pony tail. Cam did suspect it had to do with George Weasley, however. The two had been completely head over hills for each other, and were both too dimwitted to realize it. George hadn't been doing well ever since Fred's death...
"Save you a seat at the feast, yeah?" Neville offered brightly, knowing Cam was beginning to let the sadness creep up on her.
"Yeah, sure. Just stay away from the end. First years always cower in fear of me, or gossip about me and I'm not in the mood to worry about that load today." Neville chuckled at that, finally moving from the doorway.
They both entered the hallway to find a massive traffic jam of students. They shared a curious look before Neville let Cam in front of him, being smart.
"Outta the way! Move yer arses!" Cam shouted as some recognized her, and did move, Neville trailed behind her.
Astoria Greengrass glanced behind herself to spot Cam, roll her eyes, and not budge.
"Oh look, Astoria! You've got something on the back of your robes, just here!" Cam exclaimed, touching the center of Astoria's back. Astoria turned, as if it were possible to even see the spot Cam was pointing out. Cam clutched on Astoria's shoulder, spun her around completely before tossing her off to the side into a group of students.
"Arses! Move'em!" Cam shouted again, finally making it to the front, Neville beside her. She spotted Draco Malfoy on the floor, and furrowed her brows in confusion.
"No need to worry!" Shouted a man Cam immediately recognized. Her stance stiffened and she glared at Blaise, watching as he pulled Draco to his feet. He let a hand rest on his shoulder, and Draco tensed. "Bloke just fell is all!" He smiled brightly, helping Draco off the train with a less-than-light shove.
People started to shuffle again, and Blaise glanced up at Cam as if he'd been waiting for her the whole time. He smirked, and goosebumps rose on her arms.
Cam had a horrible feeling that even with Voldemort gone, this was not going to be a quiet, good year.
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Author's Note: Finally the first chapter is up! This COULD be seen as a slow chapter, but I really wanted to write it this way so you'd get a chance to have a first impression of Cam, and all of the other characters. Or rather, how I'm portraying the characters changed after the war. Some of the changes will not be obvious for now. This is going to be an intricate, and complicated story. (Or at least I think so!) Trust me all, I have so much crap planned for these people I almost feel bad! It's gonna get crrrrazy at Hogwarts!...Again! I also did a bit of hinting at some of the changes/problems. Also a foreshadow, just a little one. Or two? Either way! Please tell me what you think! :) I'm finally feeling well enough in a recent string of health problems to finally get back into my writing! I can only hope that some people are intrigued, and will be interested in what I have in store!