"Pass me another cauldron cake, will you?" I asked one of my best friends, Fred Weaskey. I was leaning against the window of the train, feet propped up on his lap.
"I swear Natakie, one day you'll be the size of a beached whale if you keep this up," my other best friend and Fred's twin George said, tossing me the cake.
"I'm not fat!" I cried, throwing a toffee at him. He ducked as it narrowly missed his left ear, then watched it fly out of the compartment.
"Pity the poor soul who eats that." Lee Jordan said with a laugh. Thirty seconds later a first year picked it up and popped it in his mouth. No sooner was he halfway down the did the screaming begin.
"Ton-tongue Toffee" George singsonged. All four of us burst out laughing.
"No need to find a tester for those anymore," I commented, "save us a few Galleons."
"Very true, little sis," Fred replied, wiggling his flaming red eyebrows.
Fred, George and Lee were more than best friends; they were brothers to me. They were already third-years when I arrived, but I liked to think that they took me under their wing to help mentor me in mischief so that after they left Hogwarts, someone else could continue for them. The three of them were probably, no, most definitely, the most brilliant minds of the 21st century.
"Guys, do you think we should help him?" I asked, trying to look serious, but my mouth kept twitching. We all began to laugh uncontrollably again. Suddenly a bushy head appeared in the doorway. Hermione.
"Could you keep it down in here?" she asked. I noticed her shiny new prefect's badge and nearly retched.
"Just trying to have a good time" I replied breezily, biting into my Cauldron Cake. Hermione narrowed her eyes.
"Well you could do that evern if you shut up a bit," she spat. I swung my legs off of Fred's lap and stood up, squaring my shoulders.
"Just because you're a prefect now..." I began, but a new voice cut me off.
"Problem Mudblood?" Draco Malfoy asked, leering at Hermione. He leaned against the compartment doorway, and his look of hate changed when he saw me.
"Alright, Boyd?" he asked. I ignored him and sat down.
"You know I don't like Granger any more than you do," he said, casting a look of death at Hermione.
"Good for you, Malfoy." I replied, curling up in my seat. He looked me up and down.
"You know, if you weren't a Gryffindor-" he began, smiling. Fred, George and Lee all shot out their wands as he said it, staring hard at him.
"Out, Malfoy," Lee said, his voice surprisingly threatening. Malfoy rolled his beady little eyes and stalked down the corridor. I looked up at Hermione, who looked extremely uncomfortable.
"Hey,um, sorry Hermione," I tried to say, but she had already turned away. So much for trying to be nice. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the negative thoughts. Malfoy was a sleazy douchebag, that was all.
"You okay?" Fred asked in concern. I was grateful to the three for standin up for me;they wre the best people in the world.
"Oh yeah, I'm fine. It's Malfoy." I replied, stretching my feet onto the nearest lape and falling asleep. Not exactly the way I wanted to start off year five at Hogwarts.
