Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. That belongs to J.K. Rowling. The character of Avery however does belong to me. This story is a part of a story that a friend of mine and I wrote together, and she is currently publishing the story from the Gryffindor point of view. To read that, please look at Sgt Ducky's page. The characters of Ella, Gina, Sage, and Celine belong to her. Kristy, Blake, and Chloe are also mine. This is my first story so please all input you have to offer is welcome!

Chapter Two – Broken Promises

She was different. Yes, she was different. She wasn't like anyone else in Slytherin…except Ella, but no one really counted her as a Slytherin then. That got her into a lot of trouble in the end. At first I didn't want to deal with it, didn't want to face it. I had too much ego. But I should have known it couldn't last forever. There was something about her honesty, her kindness, that always drew me to her. It was inevitable. We were inevitable.

Three years at Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry, had already sped by. It defined the students there, and unspoken rules were laid out. Draco was destined to be the head of Slytherin. He already was for anyone 4th year or younger, and even the older students respected him. And his enemy was Harry Potter, the gem in the crown of Gryffindor. Anyone who associated with Harry did not associate with Draco, and vice versa. Those were the unspoken rules of hatred between the two. It seemed at first that the general animosity between Slytherin and Gryffindor would be kept. But then Ella Gaunt arrived and threw everything into a loop. She befriended Harry and his friends. She spent time with them, hung out with them, and that couldn't be forgiven. Not when she was a student of Slytherin. When she "joined the enemy" third year, it became another unspoken rule that Ella was to be ignored and ostracized by the other students. She wasn't considered to be a real Slytherin, just some weirdo who got put in the house on accident. And that was how things were.

Three years of adventures and mishaps had come and gone, and with the start of the fourth year, all the students were excited. After all, everyone had heard that there was something special happening at Hogwarts this year. Only few knew what that actually was. For Draco, however, another surprise was in store. When the first years had been shepherded in to the Great Hall to be sorted, there was one girl who stood taller than the rest, and was clearly older. A sense of familiarity washed over Draco as he watched the girl with white blonde hair to match his own stand among the fearful first years. Surely, it couldn't be possible. When all the first years were sorted, Professor McGonagall looked at the girl.

"Transferring to Hogwarts into her fourth year is Miss Avery Emendatio." she announced as she gestured for Avery to come forward to be sorted. Avery walked up to the stool and sat down, a hopeful look on her face. All the tables watched curiously, wondering where the new girl would go. The hat shifted as he peered into her mind.

"It would seem you already know where you want to be." the hat muttered thoughtfully. Avery gave a little nod.

"Are you sure that is what you want? You could do well there, as well as Gryffindor." the hat asked in his own knowing way.

"It's where I've been raised to go. It's where I want to be." Avery replied and felt a tiny blush touch her cheeks. It was where she was told he was. The hat gave a small nod.

"Very well." he replied.

"SLYTHERIN." the hat announced loudly. The Slytherin table gave a small, if not slightly bored, applause. Avery jumped up happily when the hat was removed and went over to the Slytherin table. Her eyes found him out easily and she made her way over with both excitement and trepidation. Draco looked up to see her coming and felt his stomach twist. He looked back at the group, attempting to just ignore her.

"Another transfer student huh? How annoying. I hope she doesn't think that she can just automatically hang out with us." Pansy said snidely, looking at her nails. Blaise chuckled.

"We have a waiting list for that." he joked. Draco smirked lightly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Avery draw closer. It seemed she didn't realize they were trying to ignore her.

"Um…excuse me." Avery said shyly, stopping beside Draco. He slowly looked up at her. Yes, it must be her, even if the name hadn't told him, or the familiar hair, the eyes did. Eyes the same soft shade of blue as a clear sky on a warm summer's day. Those eyes that had looked so sad the last time he saw her, those eyes that had sparkled so brightly when he made his promise. Those were the same eyes that looked at him now, with a shy look, and yet still holding that same hopeful sparkle in them as once before. Pansy cleared her throat to break the moment that had formed between Draco and Avery.

"Can we help you?" she asked, her tone clearly condescending. Avery looked over at her surprised.

"Oh well um…it's just…" she fumbled and looked back at Draco.

"Are you Draco Malfoy?" she asked.

"I am." Draco replies, "what's it to you?" He knew he couldn't openly embrace her. Not after what everyone had just said. And really, what did he know about this girl now? They were friends when they were little. Her parents shortly after they left also abandoned the Dark Lord and turned to the other side. They were betrayers, what if she had the same qualities. They weren't a part of his world or his society any more. He had an image to keep, and this girl clearly did not belong in it. Avery didn't seem fazed though.

"It's me, Avery Emendatio. We were friends when we were little. Don't you remember me?" she asked, both confused and hopeful. Draco knew how to snip this in the bud.

"Sorry, no. You must have me confused with someone else." he said. Avery looked hurt.

"But…it must be you…" she fumbled, still confused as to why the boy who she so clearly remembered couldn't remember her. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small photo.

"Isn't this you?" she asked, holding it out to him. It was indeed, of Draco and Avery, as little children, hugging each other and smiling out at him. Draco turned and glared at her.

"Put that away." he snapped. Avery flinched as if his words had physically hurt her. Pansy and the others around looked dubious.

"Is this girl bothering you Draco?" Blaise asked, eyeing Avery.

"She doesn't really think she can join in with us does she? Who does she think she is, some new girl trying to latch on to the cool kids?" Pansy sneered. Avery looked hurt and then back at Draco, the confusion and pain clear in her eyes. Those soft blue eyes began to water.

"You must be mistaken." was Draco's only response. Avery took a step back and with one more longing, hurt look at Draco, she headed towards the empty end of the table with an air of rejection. There was only one other girl sitting at the far end of the table, and Avery kept her eyes down as she sat across from her, hoping to avoid more ridicule.

"Are you alright?" the girl asked, her voice laced with sincere concern. Avery looked up. She nodded.

"Yes…I just…I'm a little confused." she said. The girl gave her a supportive smile.

"Malfoy is just a jerk. Don't let him get to you." she explained. Avery shook her head.

"That can't be right. The Draco I knew was sweet and kind." Avery replied. The girl looked confused.

"Do you know Malfoy?" she asked. Avery nodded.

"We used to play together when we were children. He was my best friend. I had to move away because of my health but we promised to always be friends. I thought that since I was coming here now…" she trailed off and looked down sadly. The girl gave her a sad and sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry…maybe he'll come around." the girl offered, although she knew perfectly well that there was very little chance of that.

"I'm Ella by the way." the girl said. Avery looked up again and smiled.

"I'm Avery, it's nice to meet you." she said. Ella smiled.

"You too. If you want, you're welcome to come hang out with my friends and I. They're all in Gryffindor and they're really nice." she offered. Avery smiled.

"I'd love to, thank you." she said, entirely unaware of the animosity between houses. Ella smiled brightly.

"Great. We can go talk to them after the meal is over." she said, before turning to listen to Dumbledore as he stepped up in front of the crowd. Avery studied the girl sitting across from her, with straight brown hair, and soft brown eyes to match, and smiled softly. She'd never had a female friend before, and it looked like she might have just made one.