A loose shoelace and an armful of school trunk. Astoria looked down in disgust at her black boots. She dumped the trunk unceremoniously on the ground and swooped down to tie her lace, already regretting the absence of their house elf, Ribbie. The term had barely even begun.
Hogwarts students were not permitted to have their own house elves with them to Hogwarts. It was regarded as 'an unecessary encouragement in increasing an already prevalent class distinction, as well as providing an unwise distraction from studential life."
Astoria snorted. Whatever that meant.
Under the dark lord's regime the no-personal-house-elves rule only prevailed on grounds of the second reason. She still considered it ridiculous.
She shoved her trunk up into the baggage compartment and sat down by the window.
The carriage smelt of worn leather and newspapers. Muffled noise from the platform filtered through.
Astoria peered out the window. A red head of bushy hair was bobbing through the crowds. The Weasel mother and her rag tag flock, no doubt. But she only spotted one offspring for a change.
Ginny looked unusually sombre- a fact which automatically boosted Astoria's mood. She'd never liked the messy, boisterous girl.
After a moment, she realised with a sudden pang that Ginny was the last and only Weasley child left. It made her oddly regretful. She had never liked the Weasley's, but their absence seemed almost a symbol of the changing times. Life was going by too quickly. Astoria hated change.
Draco Malfoy appeared, alone, on the platform. Astoria's jaw dropped. The suit he was wearing blew all his previous clothes completely out the window. It was all black, neatly tailored, with a well fitted, modern cut.
She sat back abruptly with a rueful shake of her head. She almost would have envied him, if her pureblood pride would have permitted her to envy anybody.
As it were, Malfoy was not really an enviable person. He was a prig. Perpetually in a bad mood, and it seemed he had all the bad luck in the world (or the good luck, depending on the perspective you were coming from). Besides, he looked depressed, and exhausted.
Astoria was glad she had so far escaped the notice of the dark lord and his followers. She intended to keep it that way, and strove to keep a low profile.
...
The platform was empty of students, and the train was pulling out before anybody appeared at the carriage she was sitting in.
In the end, it was a tall dark boy with sharp eyes and a green Slytherin blazer who opened the door. Blaise Zabini; 6th year, Astoria's memory informed her. He was one of Malfoy's friends.
He looked in at her for half a second before slipping in. "All the other carriages are full." he stated, helping himself to the seat opposite her.
Astoria lifted her eyebrows, shrugged, and looked back out the window.
The boys smooth voice interrupted her thoughts after a moment. "I'm Blaise Zabini."
She looked at him. "I know."
He was momentarily surprised, but his buttery, smooth arrogance chipped in and he laughed. "Of course. I'd forgotten my fame for a minute. And you are?"
Astoria scoffed at him. "Your excessive arrogance is renowned, Zabini. I'm Astoria Greengrass."
Zabini's black eyebrows rose. A second surprise. She was rude, and confident, and a Greengrass.
"Greengrass?"
"Daphne's my sister."
"Daphne has a sister!" His face displayed his surprise and confusion.
Astoria looked at him dryly. Of course he hadn't heard of her. Nobody had.
She rolled her eyes. "Seriously? I thought the two of you have been friends since first year."
He nodded, slowly, his eyes narrowed. "We are. Why have I never heard of you?"
Astoria shrugged, losing interest in the ridiculous discussion and looking out the window at the countryside.
The door thudded open. It was Malfoy, in all his black suited glory- and he looked like he was mad. Really mad.
He closed the door behind him and sat down, arms crossed.
Zabini raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Parkinson." was the word spat from Malfoy's lips.
Zabini accepted this without further enquiry and introduced Astoria. "This is Daphne's sister. Did you know she had a sister?!"
Malfoy glanced at her with indifference. "Yeah. Astoria. Hi."
"Malfoy." she acknowledged, and fell silent.
Zabini, however, would not let it slide. "You know Draco?"
She rolled her eyes. "Really, Zabini, I thought you were supposed to be smart. Everybody knows him." she said sarcastically. Malfoy's mouth twitched reluctantly.
"How do you know each other?" Zabini pressed.
Astoria sighed, and Malfoy said dryly, "You're making a fool of yourself, Blaise. She's Daphne's sister. Same social functions."
...
The rest of the trip was spent in relative silence, save by a nondescript remark or two passed between Zabini and Malfoy. Astoria stared out at the bleak countryside, a strangely heavy feeling filling her heart at the thought of the coming term.
The boys left the cabin minutes earlier.
Astoria stood on her toes and stretched up to reach her trunk. She grabbed the handle and tried to pull it out, but it was stuck.
The door slid back open.
"Here." a set strong arms took hold of the trunk and lifted it down for her.
She looked at him. "Nice suit, Malfoy."
He smirked. "I know." And he left.