Platform nine and three quarters was bustling with life as all of the new years, were gathering around, waiting to board the Hogwarts express. With the new addition of the eighth years, there was hardly any space to stand around. People were getting hot and bothered and patience was running low. Harry Potter found this all very amusing as he sat on his trunk, his back pressed against the cool stone wall. He was particularly drawn to the sight of Neville Longbottom trying to pry his wand out of the mouth of Theodore Nott's Eagle Owl. Harry couldn't help but let out a small laugh. With his left hand he was absent mindedly twirling his wand between his fingers. That was until it was snatched out of his hands, quite rudely and quite annoyingly as it taken him half an hour to successfully accomplish wand twirling.
'My wand Potter, I didn't realised you loved me enough to keep it.' Draco Malfoy ran his empty hand through his Platinum hair, handing the wand back to Harry and sitting himself on the floor. Harry rolled his eyes and pocketed the wand, purely because he had no trust in the blonde boy, and he didn't have enough faith in himself not to hex the git, however good the terms they were on.
'Good Godrick, Malfoy.' Harry drawled out. 'Can't keep your hands to your self can you. What do you need?' Malfoy smirked, rolling the sleeves of his pale blue button down, up to his elbows. Against his better judgment, Harry's eyes dropped to the scar that replaced the dark mark that formally inhabited the young Slytherins arm. Draco's mouth fell for a second as he followed Harry's line of sight, before consciously folding his arms, hiding the scar from view.
'Well Potter, what makes you think I want anything other than purely your delightful company?' Harry rolled his eyes again and glared at Malfoy lightly . 'I mean I know my mere presence makes you shake in your trainers but, come on. It's me!.' Malfoy smirked, eyebrows raised, standing himself up and holding out his hand. 'Draco Malfoy.' Harry smiled slightly at the unsaid offering of starting again. It had surprised the glasses clad boy, in the first place when the Malfoys, the good ones anyway, had risked themselves to help the good. He understood, after many years of observing, the Malfoy heir, that pride was what you needed to get anywhere. He had a new found respect that he wanted to treasure.
Smiling to himself and to the amusement of Draco, he stuck out his hand with pride
'Harry Potter.' With that they shook hands. Leaving there staring friends in shock, and delighted smirks on the boys faces.
Dean Thomas tapped his foot against the compartment floor. Unlike the others who were desperately waiting in the slightly cooler station for as long as possible, Dean was alright with heat as his mother usually took them to Spain in the Holidays anyway. He was waiting for Seamus to show up, with the war only seven months over, he hadn't had much chance to see his Irish friend. He knew he should have written, after missing the whole of what was 'seventh year anyway,' but he had catching up to do with family. He missed Seamus dearly, thought about him constantly, and pined to hear the calming laughter that floated around the boy. Then the door to the apartment opened and Dean looked up smiling when he saw the boy.
'Shea, mate I missed you so much.' Dean got up to hug the shorter boy, pausing halfway when he noticed the saddened smile, on his usually cheerful face. 'Shea, Seamus, what's wrong?' The Irish lad shook his head and sank into the seat. Following his lead Dean went to occupy the spot he just vacated.
'Seven months Dean. Do you know how hurt I was when ya din show up for seven months?' His voice was laced with confusion and pain. Something that made Deans own heart lace with guilt. Furrowing his brows and crossing his dark hands on his lap, dean leaned forward.
'Shea.' He whispered 'You know I love you right, your my best mate. I wasn't at home for a long time. I have my family.' He placed a hand carefully on Seamus' shoulder, only to feel crushed when it got shrugged off.
'I thought I was your family.' Seamus whispered back. His eyes had a thin layer of tears resting on them. With that he stood up. Leaving Dean feeling more alone than ever.
Ron Weasley dragged his trunk along the corridors of the train, almost hitting Seamus as he went stomping past. He turned to look, convinced there had been tears falling down his cheeks. He was dragged promptly out of his worries by Hermione's rant about Blaise Zambini.
'Then the nerve, when Dra-Malfoy stood up for him, I can't believe he humiliated Ginny like that, she and Harry broke up on mutual agreement, not because she didn't think his.. Harry's personal attributes, were up to standards. Then when he offered to amend that. Oh and I swear to Merlin, Harry was going to rip Dra-Malfoy's eyes out when he pointed out he didn't have anything anyway. Just when they were getting on good terms.' They had reached and empty apartment opting not to sit with Dean when Neville had run past, ducking into the carriage, an angry Theodore Nott hot on his trail.
'Well 'Mione, I mean, we are all civil. We have to be though, not always, 'cause we want to be. Everyone lost someone, I mean just because Harry and Draco are on good terms now, don't mean, they aren't gonna fight and disagree.' Hermione's eyes shone with pride. Ronald had matured a great deal, not just intellectually but emotionally. With the war, that devastated so many, the words 'interhouse unity' had sprung a meaning to all the current eight years. This change was drastic and surprising, but on someway or another, everyone silently agreed they needed each other. A whole lot better that loosing even more.
'I love you Ron.' Hermione whispered, grinning.
'Love you too' He replied. The words meaning a lot more now, then they had ever before.
Ginny Weasley was confused for many reasons. Number one, she was sitting with Padma Patil, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Anthony Goldstein, Hannah Abbot and Luna Lovegood. This was particularly baffling because apart from Luna, she wasn't remotely friends with these people. Ginny didn't get all this house unity, she wanted to try, everyone else was, but she felt she'd been hurt too much over the years by so many different people. Loosing her brother had made her change her view on being a follower. Her attraction for Harry had disappeared and she had embarked on working on her self. Working on self belief and trust.
The second reason was that she had seen Dean sitting with Neville, not Seamus. Seamus was currently locked in one of the toilets, and however hard Susan was trying to bribe him into coming out, she couldn't, however much she needed to go. One of her goals to self acceptance was to make amends with people she'd lost friendship with, Dean being high up on that list. To see them sitting separately made her confused and worried.
'Ginny, I can see your contemplating something, do you want to talk?' Luna's questioned drifted into her mind and summoned her to reality.
'Oh, just Seamus was sitting without Dean.' she furrowed her brows. 'Why aren't you sitting with Neville?' Luna's smile decreased a fraction.
'Neville, didn't realise he liked someone else, so I helped him too see. As for Seamus and Dean, well things will work themselves out, they have a special bond. I can see it around them. They just are hurting is all.' Ginny sighed at Luna's mystical wisdom.
'Luna, who does Neville like then?' Hannah spoke up, there was a tiny trace of hope in her voice which made Ginny scowl. It was common fact Hannah greatly admired Neville, and common fact he was completely oblivious.
'Oh, I can't say. I promised him. Although the Slytherins are in for a shock.'
The Slytherin compartment was fairly quiet, the compartment in question, the one inhabiting eighth years. Daphne Greengrass, Millicent Bullstrode, Theodore Nott, Tracey Davies, Blaise Zambini and Pansy Parkinson were currently eyeing Draco. Who in tern was looking anywhere but them.
'Befriending Potter is not going to sit well with Lucius.' Pansy stated again. Everyone except Theodore nodded in agreement. Blaise raised an eyebrow at him. He smirked in reply.
'Luna.' Blaise stated knowingly, hitting Theo on the back of his head when he nodded in agreement. 'That's not a good enough reason. Half the Wizarding world despises you. Draco. Your father is an ex-death eater. Just because you don't have him around anymore, does not mean he won't try something.'
'Yeah.' agreed Daphne. 'Look what he did when he new you were not going to marry Astoria.' The girls heads dropped down sadly. Theo winced a little, and Blaise just shot Draco a look that said, 'See here, that's what this does.'
There compartment door slid open and Harry Potter himself walked inside. The Slytherins shifted uncomfortably. Draco spun around to see why they had stopped nagging at him. 'Potter! Why are you here?' Draco questioned. It was different to his usual tone, something that greatly surprised Harry, there was no sarcasm lying heavily beneath the words, no threatening undertone. He was almost a little worried. Harry wondered if he was capable of being that Draco anymore.
'Um, yeah well. Seamus.. Seamus Finnegan, that is..'
'Potter, how many Seamus' are there?' Malfoy asked. Harry sighed, a little frustrated, he may have grown up but they needed to work on his social skills.
'Yes well, yeah. Anyway. He's locked him self in the toilet and is not coming out. Susan really needs to get in there, Michael tried spelling it open but it rebounded off the door and stunned him. So I was wondering, I mean you guys are powerful-strong, could you force the door open?' Theo and Millicent snorted.
'Trust Corner, to get stunned by a simple spell.' Millicent laughed out. Harry glared at her and turned back to Draco.
'Well, why not get Granger, she's the 'brightest witch of her age' after all.' Draco asked, the sarcasm finding it's way back into his voice. Harry growled in frustration.
'You don't think I didn't try already. I can't find her Ron stole her away somewhere. It's very annoying actually. The git.' Draco smiled. Harry was shocked, he'd never seen Malfoy smile, well a smile without any malice in it.
'Fine then, Blaise, Daphne go unlock the door. Pansy go and find Susan and bring her in here to use are toilets. Not that I care, the Hufflepuff, but I don't really want her to explode, I'll probably get blamed for it anyway.' Harry bit back a smile, he nodded his thanks and walked out.
'Right well I have a leprechaun to go save.' Blaise exclaimed sarcastically. 'Draco, I swear to god If I die for you because I decided to help, the chosen one, I will kill you myself.
Michael Corner sat in the corridor of the Hogwarts express. He was a soldier, he thought for the light, they one. The war was over now though. Who was he? He was just a Ravenclaw, too smart, too nervous and awkward. Who would remember him in the history books. Who would remember a small cog in the works, when the defeater of the dark lord had so much more to offer. He had dark hair like Harry, but he wasn't Harry. He was Micahel. Michael whose only good dead so far had been preventing Susan from wetting herself, and he wasn't even doing that anymore because Pansy had, for some reason unknown, to anyone taken it upon herself to be nice. Susan was even helping more than him, she never even did anything important. Yes her loyalty had meant she'd spent the last twenty minutes trying to coax a extremely miserable looking Seamus Finnegan from a toilet on a train, but she was being useful he was just standing there being observant, yes he cast a spell, but that had backfired and hit him. Probably how he would be spending the rest if his life, in some job at the ministry, observing, marking papers. He wasn't special or rememberable, he was just Michael. Good old Michael.