Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters/locations apart from those created by myself.
Chapter Two: An Interesting Train Ride
"Has everyone got everything?"
"Mum… MUM! I can't find my scales have you seen them?"
"They're wrapped up in that purple silk bag Ron, and do try NOT to holler, we don't want Mrs Black screaming the place down."
Ginny listened to the shouting as she sat waiting in the parlour of the house, feeling rather proud of herself for packing everything efficiently and swiftly… as well as fitting in a quick sock war to boot. At least next year there would be no mindless rushing about as she would be the only one attending Hogwarts out of the Weasley Clan until one of her many future nieces or nephews became old enough… and dare she think it, her own children.
"Ginny dear, have you packed everything? We'll be leaving soon," Mr Weasley asked as he walked into the parlour, looking somewhat forlorn due to the previous hours conversation. Ginny placed her book gently in her satchel and nodded to her father, giving him a reassuring smile as she did so.
"Right, everyone come on we're leaving RIGHT NOW!" Mrs Weasley bellowed into the hallway just as Harry and Ron came thudding down the stairs, trunks banging along behind them. "Honestly boys, do keep it down…" she said again, tsking and giving them disapproving looks; Ginny sniggered quietly behind her hands at the irony. Oh to get out of this place and into some fresh air!
Mr Weasley strode out into the hallway with Ginny following behind and unlocked the door to Grimmauld place. Outside in drizzly rain stood 2 elegant looking ministry cars, chauffeurs holding the trunks open, umbrellas in hand. "Come on everybody, into the cars," he said gently, holding his arm out to the 3 ladies, indicating that they enter first.
Ginny climbed into the car and admired the plush leather seats and how easily everyone fit in despite the normal car appearance. Within minutes they were speeding down the road, heading out of the gloomy street whilst dodging the traffic and 10 minutes later the looming form of Kings Cross station came into view.
"Come on everybody, out we get, quickly though! The sooner you're on the platform the better…" Mrs Weasley urged whilst grasping tightly onto the elbows of her daughter and Hermione, steering them through the busy black and grey crowd of commuters. Ginny shot Hermione a concerned look whilst they hurried along. She chanced a look behind her where she saw that they were being escorted by at least 6 members of the order.
As they approached the barrier, Mrs Weasley stood guard whilst the girls melted through to the other side where the humongous train was waiting, steam billowing out of the funnel. Ginny took in the scene before her. There were people milling around on the platform, some hugging friends they hadn't seen for the last 6 weeks, some eyeing up others they liked the look of, and if Ginny wasn't mistaken, an increased order presence. Scanning her eyes over the vast crowd, Ginny soon spotted Luna Lovegood talking with Neville Longbottom and started to make her way over to them both when her mother grabbed her softly on the shoulder.
"Ginny dear, please promise me you'll be careful this year wont you, don't go putting your self in danger… just keep your head down, concentrate on your studies and have a good year my love," She whispered, enveloping Ginny in a tight, maternal hug. Ginny squeezed her mother back and peeped over her shoulder where she saw Harry engaged in a similar hug with Tonks, who had charmed her hair to be a vibrant shade of Emerald green. Ginny looked into her mother's eyes and felt sad at the tears that threatened to spill out from her tired blue eyes.
"Ok mum, I promise," she whispered back, giving Molly a reassuring smile before pecking her gently on the cheek and doing the same to her father, who hugged her softly, stroking her soft brazen tendrils. She picked up the handle of her trunk and followed her brother and the rest of the trio onto the train. As they walked along the corridor Ginny glanced into various compartments, looking at who was in each one. The feeling of loneliness returned to her as she surveyed many a couple snuggled up together, hands held, heads touching. Everyone had someone from the looks of things, couples were snuggled up or holding hands and she felt the lonely increase tenfold.
Sighing, she turned to face the hallway again and unexpectedly collided with her brother's back, causing her to lose balance and crash backwards onto her arse, dazed. "Watch where you're going Granger… you filthy mudblood…" further up the corridor came the drawling voice of the infamous blonde haired Prince of Slytherin himself, Draco Malfoy.
Noticing one of the group missing Harry peeked behind Ron and noticed Ginny sat in the middle of the corridor. "Ginny are you alright?" he asked as he dutifully stepped aside to let Ron rush past him and grab the front of Malfoy's robes. Frowning at the pain in her bottom, Ginny looked up at the people in the corridor before her and saw that Draco Malfoy was looking right at her, and stood towering beside him was Blaise Zabini, who was giving her a look she couldn't quite decipher. Suddenly and rather surprisingly to both herself an Harry he walked towards Ginny and took her softly by the hand, helping her to her feet whilst the others watched in complete shock as he did so. Ginny quickly looked up into his chocolate brown eyes, and then down to her hand that he still held ever so gently, yet firmly.
Ginny granted him a small smile before in a flash of red hair and black robes Ron grabbed the front of Blaises robes and slammed him against the corridor wall, ripping her hand, and her gaze, from his.
"RON!" Ginny shouted angrily, watching in shock as her brother whipped out his wand and waved it threateningly in the Zabini's face. She looked pleadingly at Hermione to intervene, who looked just as horrified as she did.
Although Ron was a good couple of inches smaller then the Zabini it did nothing to change his resolve. "Don't you ever touch my sister again you Slytherin scum…" he hissed angrily, his face glowing in anger as he brought the wand closer and closer to Blaises face, who actually looked rather calm at being thrown around, as if this was simply a daily occurrence. Ginny glanced quickly over at Draco to watch his reaction at his friends distress, and was stunned to find him looking at her an undeniably appreciative way, his silver eyes wandering over every curve on her body, drinking in her newly matured appearance.
"RON! LET HIM GO NOW! As Head Girl I can put you in detention for a month if you don't drop him right NOW!" Hermione bellowed, finally coming to her senses and walking up to the two men, standing arms and legs akimbo and as a result looking alarmingly like a much younger Mrs Weasley. Ron looked from the cool face of Blaise to that of his enraged girlfriend and with a grunt he dropped his hands from the expensive robes and stormed off down the corridor, tugging his trunk roughly behind him in agitation. Hermione gave a unfathomable sigh and looked jadedly from Harry to Ginny before running after him, her long brown hair swinging lazily as she did so.
Blaise watched her go too with slited eyes before turning to the remaining Gryffindors. "You better tell your Weasel to watch himself Potter, otherwise I wont let him get away with it next time…" Blaise hissed to Harry, scowling darkly at him. Ginny watched as he skulked into the empty compartment next to them and slumped down into an empty seat, watching the countryside whiz silently by through dark eyes. Ginny, whose eyes had never left Draco suddenly noticed that he was glaring menacingly at Harry, who seemed to have noticed his line of sight.
"Come on Gin…" he grumbled, taking her forcibly by the hand and pulling her down the corridor after her brother and Hermione. Ginny chanced a swift look over her shoulder and saw Draco and Blaise watching her ever so raptly before they disappeared finally into the compartment.
Draco closed the door as he watched Potter drag the youngest of the Weasley's after her hotheaded brother and his girlfriend. What had just happened there? He couldn't believe that he'd been oggiling a Weasley very openly in front of his worst enemy and that he had been caught. Well, it wasn't oggiling if someone was on the floor when they shouldn't be… right? Then why hadn't he been able to tear his eyes away?
'She's a blood traitor Draco' he warned himself. 'Then again' he throught, 'she does look very appealing indeed… even for a Weasley…'.
Shaking his head at his very disturbing thoughts Draco threw himself in the seat opposite Blaise, smirking at the other boys indignation.
"What a fucking wanker!" Blaise shouted angrily, his chocolate brown eyes scowling in pure anger at the window. Draco scowled too, sweeping his slender hand back through his blonde hair that had flopped over his silver eyes.
"I know Blaise… I know. Then again what would you expect from a family that lives in a barnyard, a bunch of fucking savages." Draco drawled, smirking in amusement as Blaise looked down at the front of his robes and dusted them off in disgust. "I am shocked though Blaise that you were brave enough to actually touch one…" he added, examining his cuticles with a smug look on his face.
'Not that I'd mind being the one to have touched that vixen' he thought suddenly. Bloody hell! Where had that one come from?
"Draco you know full well that I was being a gentleman, after all I have been brought up with 'the most impeccable breeding'" he drawled lazily, rolling his eyes in sarcasm at his blue-blooded ways.
"Whatever…" Draco replied, stretching his legs out on to the seat in front of him. Blaise regarded him quickly out of the corner of his eye, shrugging his shoulders uncomfortably.
"Well… you have to admit mate," he started slowly "she has grown up a lot over the summer, hell even I would dare to venture there…" said Blaise as he smiled darkly to himself, imagining the orgasmic delight of having Ginny pinned beneath him. Draco snorted under his breath at his tone but said nothing more on the matter; he was finished with thinking about the youngest Weasley… for now. He looked into his satchel, found the daily prophet there, and read the article about the Parkinson's. Blaise looked up from his lap and frowned down at the family portrait on the front page as Draco read.
"Blimey, has the prophet only found out about it now?" he asked his friend, who peered lazily over the top of the paper, "it happened over two weeks ago… and bloody good riddance if you ask me. That stupid bitch was always running around trying to shag everything under the sun, and not to mention, win your wintery heart Draco" Blaise said with a laugh, shaking his head at the numerous attempts the pug faced girl had tried to lure Draco into her room with lurid outfits and sickly sweet love notes, and not to mention the stalking.
Draco scowled at the Zabini before closing the paper and placing it beside him. "She was a grade A slag that was for sure, the biggest I ever knew." He conceded, flexing his muscular arms absently. "Merlin knows what the idiots were thinking killing themselves over a random raid… just because the aurors had searched their bloody house for dark artefacts it doesn't mean they'll actually find any – that is if they managed to hide them away. Probably didn't though. Stupidity at its best… idiots…" he drawled, shaking his head in sheer disgust. At these words Blaise shot Draco a fleeting glare before picking the paper up and hiding his head behind it. Draco missed the look; someone was outside the door.
"Alright Draco, Blaise?" asked a voice from the doorway. Draco glanced up and saw two boys standing there looking as chiselled and handsome as ever, one with deep black hair, eyes and skin, and the other with dirty blonde hair, creamy white skin and hazel eyes. The Malfoy inclined his head to them both as they stuffed their trunks roughly into the storage bins and sat down beside the two friends.
"Alright Jacob, Matt?" Blaise nodded, returning to his paper.
"What mischief have you two been up to already? We were originally settling into a compartment further up and heard Weasley and the Mudblood having a right row about how you touched his sister Blaise." Matt gabbled with a smile, leaning forwards listening intently, hazel eyes shining with mirth. Blaise, his cool demeandor abandoned, threw the paper on the floor, his face red in anger.
"I didn't do anything for FUCK sake I just helped his Weasel sister up from the floor when he put there in the first place!" he shouted, ignoring the laughs from the other lads.
"oooooooooooohhh calm down woman… still, I don't blame you mate, she is hot…I've heard others say it too, I'd have my hands all over her" Jacob breathed in his deep voice, nodding his head in agreement to his own statement. Draco found himself scowling this comment angrily before recovering himself and looking out of the window. Matt nodded his head in concurrence before letting out a cheeky laugh before roughly pinching Blaises arm under the armpit.
"Ouch you fucking prick GET OFF!" he bellowed, furiously punching the other boy's arm with his good arm.
"So Draco… how many hearts do you think you'll end up breaking this year?" Jacob asked, watching Blaise and Matt punch each other in the arm aimlessly. Draco smirked at his slight reflection in the glass before turning back to the others.
"Well I'm not quite sure yet, I was thinking about starting with your girlfriend…" he drawled mockingly, blocking the playful punch coming his way. Draco laughed as he watched the other boy scowl darkly at him. "Where is Gabriel anyway? I would have thought you two would have been shagging the whole way here?" he asked, watching as Blaise gave Matt a dead arm.
Jacob rolled his eyes in aggravation. "She's with Lindsay and Eloise, they're still really upset about Parkinson." He replied, scratching his black Mamba tattoo on the back of his hand. Draco rolled his eyes too, wasn't anyone else glad that the stupid bitch was gone?
"Hey Draco, bet you 50 galleons I can beat you in 10 moves…" Matt said in a singsong voiced as he pulled out his wizard's chessboard.
Draco smirked smugly at the challenge before uncrossing his arms and legs and settling down to play his friend, trying his very hardest to ignore the unforgettably gorgeous body of a certain redhead who refused to leave his mind.