Hey guys :') This is the first chapter of my first fic on this website! Give me some comments/reviews and if you like it I'll put another chapter up :3
I really hope you like it, if you do, please review- it makes it so much more worthwhile to know people are reading. Thanks! Have a great day :)
Chapter 1- The Hogwarts Express
Harry's decision to return to Hogwarts for eighth year had been one of the hardest he'd made all summer. Laying low had been his main priority- the tragedies of the Battle were still fresh in people's minds and he hadn't particularly wanted to add to that by recounting the events to the press. Everyone knew what had happened, who had fought, who had died, so the Daily Prophet could bloody well wait until Harry was ready.
All in all, his main problem with returning had been whether he could face the constant physical reminder of the Battle, every day having to walk down a corridor where a friend had died, or eat in the Great Hall where so much blood had been shed. But he also hadn't been able to face the thought of leaving Hogwarts, his first true home with the last remaining memory of it being a scene of utter devastation.
And so, as he dragged his trunk along behind him and backed into his usual compartment on the Hogwarts Express, he tried to think of nothing but the happy memories he had shared with Ron and Hermione, nothing that would bring him pain to remember.
"Potter." Harry closed his eyes. Though the voice sounded disbelieving rather than malicious, it could only belong to one person.
"Malfoy" he said, turning on his heel, then standing stock still as he took in the other boy's appearance. He was so thin. And there were heavy bags under his eyes as though he hadn't slept since the Battle. As he met Malfoy's incredulous gaze, his slate-grey eyes somehow appeared darker as well.
"Malfoy…you look-"
"Like shit, I know" he said, turning away from Harry's stare and looking out at the platform, and Harry sat down hastily across from him. "I hadn't expected you to be returning" he said, so quietly Harry wondered whether he had been meant to hear.
Harry bristled at this. "My return's nothing next to yours, Malfoy; I'm surprised you even thought of coming back." Even though Harry knew he was right to say it, the heavy silence that followed made him shift uncomfortably in his seat, and Malfoy sighed.
"I know" he said, picking at a loose thread on the seat beside him. "I hadn't thought it would go without argument, from yourself and many others, but I need my N.E.W.T's and there doesn't seem to be much of another option." Harry continued to stare at Malfoy. He didn't know what he meant by being here, not just Hogwarts (though surely there were other options available), but on this end of the train. Maybe he was being stupid, but he and his friends had always seemed to share the same compartment, Malfoy only encroaching to taunt and throw hexes. Perhaps he had forgotten. Harry wouldn't usually have taken this long to remind him, but he didn't know what had happened to anyone after the Battle, least of all Malfoy. He wanted to find out what he was really up to. Not knowing what to say, Harry cleared his throat and sat forward.
"Wondering why I'm in your cosy corner of the train, I suppose?" Malfoy drawled, reading Harry's silence perfectly. If Harry hadn't known him better, he would have thought Malfoy was trying to make conversation. His eyes narrowed at the thought, and when Malfoy looked up and saw his expression, he sighed and moved to stand. "Guess I'll be leaving then."
Rising quickly and sliding open the door of the compartment, Malfoy took one step outside before turning slowly and meeting Harry's eyes. When Harry didn't look away, Malfoy lowered his gaze to the floor of the compartment. His hands were clasping and unclasping in mid-air, this coupled with his obvious lack of sleep and food made him appear almost vulnerable.
"Please don't make the mistake of thinking people can't change, Harry, because they can and they will if they set their minds to it." With that, he turned away quickly, sliding the door shut behind him before making his way back down the corridor. Blinking slowly, Harry sat back and rubbed his scar absent-mindedly, trying to register what Malfoy had said. If he and Malfoy were now on first name basis, things had indeed changed a lot, and it might take him a while to get used to it. Somehow, though, the use of the name "Harry" rather than "Potter" probably shouldn't have been all he'd taken from Malfoy's speech, and Harry frowned to himself.
At that moment, Ron pushed his way through the compartment door, a flustered looking Hermione behind him. 'Sorry about leaving you mate' Ron said as he heaved his trunk up onto the luggage rack. 'Hermione forgot something from Flourish and Blotts, y'know, extra revision and all'. Harry shrugged his shoulders, not really caring but wanting to tell them about his meeting with Malfoy. Fortunately, Hermione provided the perfect opportunity.
'Did you see Malfoy when you got on the train, Harry? He looked…really bad' Harry nodded enthusiastically and dived headfirst into the story while Ron sat down across from him.
'And then he told me that people can change, and he, erm… he called me Harry. Like that's what he does all the time' Hermione and Ron looked at each other at this, Hermione raising her eyebrows slightly while Ron looked verging on furious.
'And he was just sat here waiting for you in our compartment? Like last year never bloody happened? He's got some nerve' Ron said, clenching his fists together in his lap.
'Maybe he'd forgotten?' Hermione suggested. 'He did look very tired…'
'But Hermione, you're forgetting, he mentioned it himself. He said he bet I was wondering why he was down here before he left.'
'He didn't tell you why?' Hermione asked, brows furrowing as they usually did when she was confused or thinking.
'Bloody waste of time if you ask me. If he thinks everything's just forgiven and forgotten after what he did, he's got a reality check coming in the form of my fist, that's all I can say' Ron said, breathing heavily in his obvious hatred for Malfoy.
Harry couldn't help but agree. As the train set off for their last journey to Hogwarts, Harry wondered what Malfoy could have meant by being there, and once again he was struck by how easy it was to get latched on to the other boy's words, to think through what they meant and how he could use them against him. Sighing, Harry tried to focus on his friend's conversation. He had hoped it would be different this year.