Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot =]
Chapter 1: Meetings
Harry Potter gazed out the window of his bedroom in Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as he pondered on the strange events of the day. The gentle snores belonging to
his roommates a soft noise in the background.
Everyone had been expecting for Voldemort and his Death Eaters to make an appearance and attempt an attack on Harry during his trip to King's Cross or during his ride in the Hogwarts Express. Members of the Order and a guard provided by the Ministry were ever present throughout the day, but there was absolutely no sign of Voldemort or his deranged, psychotic followers.
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They had reached Hogwarts unscathed, just like any other normal return trip to Harry's new home. Well, normal except for one small inconvenience...Malfoy.
When they had exited the Express, Ron, Hermione, Harry, Neville, Ginny, and Luna walked together in a small group towards the carriages that would soon lead them to the castle. Hermione was fuming because apparently she had been chosen as Head Girl. Usually this achievement would have been received with immense happiness, pride, and lots of blushing in her part. But then she'd found that the one picked to share her duties and responsibilities was none other that her archenemy. The new Head Boy of Hogwarts was none other than Draco Malfoy.
"I can't believe it! It's the most ridiculous thing anyone could have ever thought of doing! I mean, what was Professor Dumbledore thinking?" She exclaimed, not for he first time, making Harry and Ron throw her an exasperated look. Ron was about to answer with something that was bound to make Hermione's frustration grow when they all heard a voice that was all too familiar and hated to the six of them.
"I'm not thrilled about it either, Granger, but I don't think Dumbledore would appreciate you calling him stupid." he drawled.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned around to find themselves staring at the tall, pale figure of the new Head Boy. Harry, naturally, felt and urge to hex that stupid smirk of his face, but suddenly noticed it surprised them all, he was alone.
"So, Malfoy, where are your own personal bodyguards? Or have Crabbe and Goyle finally realized that you're more stupid and worthless than them?" Ron, of course, went on the offensive.
"Hardly. They're doing me a...shall we say, small favor?" He responded, a spark of annoyance lighting his eyes before they became expressionless again. "So Potter, I see you're not dead yet. Mind hurrying it up a bit so I don't have to wait until my birthday to throw a Grand Ball. It would be a sight, you in a coffin, surrounded by mudbloods and muggle lovers, weeping over your pale, lifeless body." He said, and that condescending smirk of his appeared, changing his face and making his eyes gleam like silver daggers. Harry's voice, though strained, was as emotionless as Malfoy's face had been moments ago.
"I have no control over my death, Malfoy, unless I walk up to Voldemort and give him permission to kill me, and I'm almost positive that would spoil his fun. But if you want me dead, then I suggest you kill me yourself, because otherwise your wish isn't going to be granted anytime soon. I don't plan on committing suicide just yet." He finished, and his smirk now matched Ron's and Neville's.
Malfoy dropped his smirk, but his eyes still held amusement. He walked up to Harry and stood nearly nose-to-nose with him. With surprise, Hermione noticed that they were nearly the same height. Harry must have grown over the summer. Suddenly the air turned cold, and Hermione, Ginny, and Luna couldn't stop from noticeably shivering. There was something nagging at the back of Luna's mind, but she couldn't figure out what it was. Something was very wrong.
Luna was looking right at Malfoy when a sudden gust of wind flew by them, blowing Malfoy's shoulder length hair blew around his head, revealing only to Luna a trace of swirling black marks emerging from his collar. A million thoughts raced through her mind, but one was prominent; 'Impossible!'
With no warning the wind was gone and Malfoy was stepping away from Harry, his eyes oddly glazed, his face unfathomable. When he spoke, his voice was deeper than usual, but none other than Luna seemed to noticed..
"Don't make an offer that I'll be so tempted to take Potter. Either you watch your words around me, or you'll wake up one day with your throat slit." He said simple. Hermione gasped and looked about to say something, but Ron beat her to it, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Finally following in your father's footsteps, eh, Malfoy?" He said, tempting the blond boy to lose his temper.
Before Neville and Harry could follow Ron's lead or Hermione could attempt to stop the incoming fight, a clear, high voice broke through the trees, and out of them stepped Blaise and a girl who none of them had ever seen before. She was, to say the least, captivating.
She was tall, the top of her head nearly reaching Blaise's chin, which was saying something since he was as tall as Malfoy. Her hair, jet black with something akin to mahogany highlights running through it, had a striking effect against her pale skin. Her skin was translucent, perfect, and her nose was angular and flawless. She had full, rosy lips that were placed in a thing line. Her perfect eyebrow and long, black eyelashes accentuated her pale skin as her hair did.
But none of her eye-catching features could manage to draw your attention away from her eyes. They were the color of ice, the color you could associate with snow and the icy winds of the Russian tundra. But at the same time they were gray and bottomless.
"Draco", she said, softer this time, and walked forwards, placing a hand on his upper arm. At her actions, Draco's lid shut closed and his stiff expression softened, if only infinitesimally. He opened his eyes and looked at Potter, who's grip on Ron's elbow had slackened. He moved his eyes towards Hermione, who's face was frozen in an emotionless stare, her eyes locked on him. His gaze lingered on her for a moment longer, and then he turned around, wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders and started walking away. He stopped, perhaps 5 feet away from Blaise, and said in a voice that made Ron take a step back.
"Watch your back, Potter, and watch it carefully. My patience is growing thin, and you don't want to be anywhere near me when I lose it."
They were all rather astonished at the events enfolding before their eyes. For the first time in seven years, he feared what Draco Malfoy might do. His family was, after all one of the oldest and most powerful in the wizarding world. Wiping away all trace of fear in his eyes and voice, Harry answered.
"And you watch yours, Malfoy, if you want to join your father in Azkaban, you only have to ask."
Malfoy's next words surprised even Harry, mostly because there was actually a trace of regret in his tone.
"Don't I wish that's where he was." And with that, he walked away.
The rest of the nigh was uneventful, except for when Dumbledore announced Professor Lupin would be returning to Hogwarts as a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. At that the announcement, the school went wild, and even announced that Hagrid's class had become mandatory for all years. The excited, perky mood, didn't leave the Great Hall.
But no matter what he thought about, Harry couldn't forget Malfoy's last words, or the penetrating gaze at the mysterious girl at Malfoy's side. It reminded him of someone, but he couldn't place who.