Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Harry Potter. I wish I did, but I don't.
Alone in a compartment on a scarlet train, a sixteen-year-old boy could be found examining a cut on his cheek in a small, round mirror. His white-blonde hair kept falling in his pale gray eyes. The cut, despite the length of his hair, was very visible, especially with the large, purple bruise that surrounded it. This would bring about a lot of unwanted attention, something Malfoys weren't supposed to attract.
"Damn Lucius, why did you do this?"
Of all the summers of torture, he had chosen this one, the one before Draco's last year of school, to leave a mark. He couldn't hide this any longer. Soon he would be summoned by one or more of his followers. In fact, he could hear Pansy now, shrieking his name down the corridor. He opened the door to his compartment and started off in the general direction of the noise. Before he got too far, he felt himself falling to the floor.
A girl was on hands and knees looking for something. She had very short blue hair.
"Oh . . . oww. I'm so very sorry." she said after looking up. She had on odd squint to her eye, which had to mean . . .
"I've been looking for my contact lens." she said as she plucked something invisible and put it in a small container.
"I'm still a little new with these things."
She laughed as she picked the lens out of the solution and placed it in her eye. Smiling, she looked down at whom she had tripped.
"Oh gosh!" Fear flashed into her light blue eyes, eyes that could be as warm as the summer sun, calm as the sea, or cold as ice. The fear lasted only a nanosecond and was soon replaced by a calm stare, though the smile remained.
"Need a hand?" she asked.
Draco looked at her extended hand a minute before taking it. With one hand, she lifted him up.
"You're strong," he commented with a surprised tone.
"You have to be, if you're a waitress."
She turned her head to the floor. Feeling her embarrassment, he searched for another subject.
"Your nails are green. You're not in Slytherin are you? I've never seen you before."
A sudden look of disgust alighted on her face.
"You don't remember me, do you? Unbelievable!" She looked hard at him.
"Well, my hair was brown, and much longer. I also wore glasses and braces, which I am glad to be rid of. But you don't even recognize me? I didn't think you would ever forget me. The last time I saw you, I was laying at the bottom of the stairs."
It suddenly came to him: a scared-looking sixth year with dark brown hair in braids that reached past the small of her back. When she talked, you could see the braces across her teeth and large frames covered her ice-blue eyes.
It was at the end of sixth year and the Slytherins had claimed the grand staircase in an effort to blow off steam. It was a celebration between their O. W. L. S. and their N. E. W. Ts. After shouting and jeering at all mud-bloods, mud-blood lovers, and half breeds, no one had expected what had come next.
You couldn't see her face at first, she was deeply involved in her book.
"Oh look," yelled Malfoy, "fresh meat. Mud-blood, do you know where you are?"
The girl looked up from her book.
"Yes, why?"
"Well you seem to be fond of reading, tell me, what does that sign say?"
In bright green letters shone these words: "Slytherin hallway. Others punished here."
"You can't be serious. You've taken over the hallway? Well, whatever. I have to get to class so let me through."
"First, you have to get through me. " he smiled slyly.
"Very well," she sighed.
In one swift movement she placed her book and book bag on the floor and took a martial arts fighting stance. She smiled at the surprised faces around her. She edged closer to Malfoy as though she were a cat stalking her prey. She stopped about a centimeter in front of him.
"I'm not going to fight you." she said after a while, putting her hands down.
"Wise decision. But you have already angered me."
As he was talking, he was moving in a way as to make her back up towards the stairs.
"So now, you must go."
With that, he pushed her. Time seemed to slow and for a split second she teetered on the top stair. Their eyes locked and for the first time, fear crossed her eyes. He felt a sudden urge to catch her hand, to stop her from falling. But he checked himself and she fell the length of two stories to the ground. Such pain she had never felt. She lifted her head to look up the stairs, leaning on the arm that hurt less. She saw his face, as clear as if she was there, before she blacked out. It was probably a hallucination, but she thought she saw regret.
Author's Note: This is my second story and I wrote it years ago. It's kind of sappy and my work has a habit of going too fast. Please review and tell me what you think.