"There is a time for departure even when there's no certain place to go."

-Tennessee Williams

I sat atop the roof of my "home," rolling my wand between my hands. The snow was falling lightly and the streets of Godric's Hollow were bare besides a few cars that were parked in the roads. I looked down at a red one parked across the street and thought about what it would be like to drive one. Most Pure-Blood's would never even look at a Muggle object, let alone know what the car or anything else "Muggle-Created" was, but I was the exception. Growing up here, alone, I had a lot of time on my hands to study these Muggle creations, learning to accept them as normal. Blood statuses didn't really bother me. It was just the "ignorant Pure-Blood" stereotype I wasn't fond of, along with the word "Mudblood," a name no one should ever be subjected to. It was a derogatory term that had no place existing.

I heard an obnoxious "meow" sound out behind me and I turned my body, seeing a distinct black cat come trotting over to where I was from the open window. Nylah was my obnoxious, talkative female black cat and an eighth birthday present from Narcissa. I had lived with her in this quiet home for 10 years, and she was truly my best friend…who wasn't human, I guess.

"Nylah, what's the matter now?" I shoved my wand back into my boot and allowed her to jump into my lap, her head nudging at my hand when I brought it down towards her. I scratched the back of her head and smiled, looking out into the horizon over the rooftops again. In a few hours I was destined to board a train to Hogwarts for the start of the school year. My only objective was to protect Draco Malfoy, so classes weren't really necessary. Yet, I was required to take the classes that were mandatory for my year - my sixth year - even if I could recite all of the subjects word-for-word from the book with my eyes closed. This was all due to being forced to learn everything there was to know about - and I mean everything - early on.

Narcissa was supposed to meet me here at my home. We would then apparate to Platform 9 3/4 where I would board the Hogwarts Express destined for the castle. I was supposed to meet Snape outside the castle so he could guide me to where I was staying and give me all of the essentials I would need throughout the year: books, robes, potion supplies, the works.

I smirked a bit at the thought of Snape being my guide through the year and reporting back to Voldemort about what was happening with Draco and I. Snape always tried to make it seem like he was dark, but I knew deep down he didn't want to be a subject for the Dark Lord. I bet he would give anything to get out of the clan.

I heard a "pop" come from somewhere inside the house, knowing it was Narcissa. I heard her boots clack along my hardwood floor and I turned my body, a sleeping Nylah still in my lap, towards the window and waited for her to appear. I saw a shadow walk towards the window and watched as Narcissa bent down and stuck her head out, smiling at me. "I hope you're ready to go. You've had more than enough time to prepare yourself."

I laughed lightly at the stern face she gave me, watching her laugh afterwards when it faltered. I scooped Nylah into my arms and walked towards the window, Narcissa backing up and allowing me to slip into the room. I set Nylah down on the bed next to my fully packed suitcase and pulled the window shut, shaking off the snow that stuck to my hands.

"I'll be with you until you board the train. At that point you'll be on your own, but please don't feel bad contacting us if you need anything at all, dear." I nodded at Narcissa as I grabbed my suitcase and walked down the stairs behind her, Nylah trotting behind us. When we reached the living room I put Nylah in her cage and stood next to Narcissa, both my suitcase and Nylah's cage in my hands.

"Ready then?" I nodded at Narcissa with a smile, closing my eyes and hearing a "pop" as we apparated to the station. I heard the distinct noises of shuffling feet and clanging suitcases and cages before I opened my eyes and knew we had made it. I opened my eyes and looked around, staring at the enormity of the Hogwarts Express.

"Now, when you get to Hogwarts I will let Snape know that you have arrived and he should be waiting for you as soon as you get off the train." I nodded at Narcissa and placed my suitcase and cage down next to my feet, watching as her arms extended towards me. I enveloped her in a hug, silently thanking her for everything she had done for me thus far, and then expressing it verbally as she held me at arm's length. "Thank you so much, Narcissa, for everything. I'll be sure to keep in touch throughout the year."

She nodded quickly at me, laughing lightly as she held back goodbye tears. "It's not a burden at all, Audrea. I hope everything goes well with you during the school year, and I hope Draco is a gentleman to you," Her eyes cast downward and I raised an eyebrow. "This task is such a burden to a genuine individual like you. Such an innocent child forced into death so young."

She shot her eyes back up to my face and her look became serious. "Try to extend this task out as long as possible. Lucius and I will do our best later on to keep you alive-"

"Narcissa-"

"No, Audrea. You don't deserve any of this. You will live. I am sure of it." I stared at her as she stared back at me, determination dancing in her eyes. I gave her a confident look and nodded, grabbing my belongings at my feet once again. She released my shoulders and allowed me to walk towards the train. "Good luck, Audrea."

I looked back and smiled at her one last time, not sure of when I would see her again. I walked up the short set of stairs to the train car, looking down the long cabin at the bustling students chatting away about everything. I walked slowly down the aisle, looking into the cars and finding nothing but occupied ones. I sighed inwardly and continued walking, not paying attention to what was in front of me and running into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" I looked forward and then down a tad, seeing a short blonde, well, shorter than my five-foot-eight frame, beaming up at me. I raised an eyebrow at her extremely happy nature and looked around awkwardly. "Um…hi?"

"My name's Jessaiya Bolt, but you can call me Jess! I'm from Gryffindor House," She shoved a hand out towards me and I looked at my bags and then at her outstretched hand, seeing her realize what was happening and putting her arm back at her side. "What's your name, and what house are you in?"

She smiled at me and waited patiently, shifting her weight from leg to leg as she stood in front of me. "My name's Audrea Falco and I'm in Slytherin."

Her smile faltered a bit at what I'm assuming was my house, but she soon shook it off, biting her lip as she thought about something. "Hmm, that's unfortunate. I hear you shouldn't get too close to Slytherin's..."

I glared at her slightly as she shook her head again and laughed, grabbing my sleeve and pulling me with her down the length of the car. "No matter! Something drew me to you and I can tell that we're going to be best friends!"

I stared at the back of her head as we walked down the car, not knowing what to think at this point. She stopped suddenly in front of a door, causing me to slam into the back of her, and she looked through the window. "You can meet some of my other friends. They're really nice and I can tell that they'll like you, too."

She grabbed the handle on the door and hauled it open, walking inside as three sets of eyes looked up at her. "Guys, this is Audrea. She's a Slytherin, but there's something different about her and she's actually really nice."

I looked around Jess' head to see three people sitting in the car, two boys and one girl. They stared at me cautiously as Jess looked between us. She suddenly grabbed the suitcase and cage out of my grasp and hauled them up onto the storage shelves, pulling me down in the seat next to her afterwards.

The other girl in the car cleared her throat and I looked at her. Her hair was a dirty blonde shade, almost a very light brown, and she held a book in her hands. "Hello, Audrea. My name is Hermione Granger."

She stuck her hand out timidly towards me, watching as I reached up to lightly shake it. "Nice to meet you, Hermione."

I smiled at her broadly, deciding I should make some friends while I was stuck working through my task. Her face brightened and she glanced over at the red-headed boy next to her, nudging him hard in the ribs as he stuffed his face with various candies. "Ugh, what?"

Hermione glared at him and nodded her head towards me, causing the boy to look at me with wide eyes. He swallowed the contents in his mouth and then wiped his hand on his pants before sticking it out towards me. "I'm Ron Weasley."

I shook his hand and smiled at him, looking at the darker-haired boy last. He smiled widely at me and stuck his hand out, accepting my hand with a strong shake. "I'm Harry Potter. It's nice to meet you, Audrea."

Harry Potter. I stared at the boy with glasses, the so-called "Chosen One," and remembered Voldemort's warning: "And please leave one Harry Potter. I wish to personally kill him. Watch him suffer..."

I swallowed hard and slowly took my hand away, my face dropping as I sat back in my seat. He cocked an eyebrow at me and shifted in his seat. "Is something the matter?"

I looked at him and shook my head, thinking that he had no idea what was coming for him. "It's nothing..."

He nodded at me and looked over at Ron, seeing him once again shoving his face with candy. "Must you always be eating?"

Ron looked at him and shrugged, opening a chocolate frog container. "I'm a growing boy-"

The frog jumped out of the container and hopped around the cabin, causing Jess and Hermione to scream and me to laugh loudly as Ron attempted to catch it. I heard Nylah hiss and meow loudly when the frog had landed in front of her cage, and the container jumped as I imagined she hit the roof in her attempt to paw at it through the holes in the door.

"Ronald! Catch that thing!" Hermione screamed at Ron as she stood atop the seat, swatting at it with the book she had been reading.

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" Ron grunted as he reached for it quickly, missing and falling face first on the floor of the cabin and causing Harry to laugh wildly and clutch his stomach. I moved over to the opposite seat with Hermione as Ron reached in front of him and snatched up the frog, shoving it back in its container. There was a collective sigh from everyone except Harry and I; we were too busy trying to control our laughter at the chaotic scene.

"Well, I can tell this year is going to be better than I thought." I smiled at everyone as they laughed, smiling back at me.

Jess and I walked out of the cabin after hunger got the best of us. She looked back and forth down the aisle, searching for the Honeydukes Express Lady. Her face scrunched in frustration and she walked down the aisle towards the end of the train, me following behind her and looking around.

"There she is!" I looked ahead at where Jess was pointing and saw a woman standing next to a large, colorful cart holding various sweets. Jess walked towards her and fumbled with her money as I looked at the students stationed in the open car. I felt as though someone was watching me and I looked forward towards one of the last tables in the car. A pale blonde boy was staring at me curiously, the three others stationed around him in deep, loud conversation. I tore my eyes away from him and watched as Jess accepted the Pumpkin Pasties from the Trolley Witch, thanking her. I felt the same eyes on me and I looked back to the blonde boy, seeing him still staring intently at me.

"Anything for you, dear?" I snapped my attention to the Trolley Witch when she addressed me, fumbling with my own money as I stammered out a response. "Yes, one chocolate frog, please."

She nodded at me and began rummaging around the cart, grabbing one and handing it to me. She accepted my money and then bid us a thank you, pushing the cart back towards the front of the train. I turned to Jess as she began chewing on her treat, oblivious to the world. "Jess, who's that blonde boy in the back of the train?"

She looked up at me as she continued to chew on the Pasty, looking around me and squinting at the boy I was talking about. "Oh, him? That's Draco Malfoy. It's probably best that you avoid him at all costs."

I raised an eyebrow at the scowl that overtook her features and then shifted my gaze to the boy again. So, this was the guy I was supposed to protect?

"Come on, let's go back to the cabin." Jess grabbed the sleeve of my shirt and began pulling me back towards the previous car, my gaze locking with Draco's before he disappeared from sight. I chewed on my lip, thinking over the task I was supposed to complete and keeping the image of what he looked like burned into my mind. In my daydream state, I hadn't realized we had stopped walking until Jess' fingers snapped in front of my face.

"Earth to Audrey. Audrey!" I snapped my eyes up to her face and stared at her, realizing she had taken to calling me Audrey and watching her shake her head and laugh, pointing at two guys that stood in front of us. "Audrea, this is Fred and George. They're Ron's twin brothers."

Twins was right. When I looked at the two I couldn't tell which was Fred and who was George. I smiled at them both as one of them stuck their hand out towards me. "I'm Fred. Nice to meet you, Audrea."

"And I'm George. I reckon we'll be seeing a lot of you this year since we're in the same house, I presume?" George crossed his arms as Fred nodded, smiling at me. I laughed lightly and shook my head. "I don't think so."

George's face fell and he shot me a questioning look. "Why not?"

"We're not in the same house." I looked over at Jess and she shrugged, nibbling on her Pasty again.

"What house are you in then?" Fred looked at me expectantly and I shrugged. "Slytherin."

They looked at each other and made faces, slowly turning their mouths upward into smirks and then looking back at me, talking at the same time

"Wicked."