Hermione and I took our seats in the compartment Ron and Harry had taken to. I noticed two more familiar, yet not that familiar faces, sat staring straight at me as though they'd seen a ghost

"Hi, I'm Luna" said the girl, a petite angelic looking oddity. Her straggly dirty blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders, the table blocked me from seeing where it ended, I could imagine it went on forever. Her voice was enchanting, she looked and sounded as though she saw the world differently to the rest of us, I found it rather enticing

Her smiled didn't dwindle, it were just as wide as when I first walked in. "I love your glasses" I gazed at them in amazement, like nothing I'd ever seen before, with one blue lens whilst the other were a pinkish red. "That makes one of us" Ron scoffed in the middle of trying to catch a chocolate frog, it just so happened to land right on his head. Hermione tried to capture it, but somehow managed to just slap the top of Ron's head

"You did that on purpose!" He wailed. "If I'd have done it on purpose, I'd of done it much harder" she jeered in return, Harry tutted at their tiff

"Thanks Iz. They help me see the wrackspurts" her head swayed as she spoke. I opened my mouth to ask the burning question, until Harry answered for her. "Invisible creatures, invisible to the naked eye that is, they float through your ears and make your brain go fuzzy" his eyes widened, I knew he didn't believe it for one second. "I've never heard anyone but Luna mention them though" he chuckled. "Because you don't have a pair of spectrespecs Harry. I told you, you can borrow them whenever"

"Perhaps I'll take you up on that offer" I returned her warm smile, knowing I'd never be seen dead in them, but she didn't need to know that. "My last names Lovegood if you're wondering. Don't they sound similar? Mine and yours?" I stared at her blankly for a moment as she seemingly read my mind.. until I remembered what Hermione had said earlier. "Luvair.. sounds like lover don't you think. Has no one ever told you that?" she tilted her head

"I've never actually met anyone else that could tell me that.." I felt slightly embarrassed admitting my lack of social interactions. "The only other person I've spoken to really has been Severus, professor Snape"

The other new face gasped at my words, "you're not related to Snape are you?" He was almost shaking, terrified at the prospect of.. a potions professor. "No.. don't worry" he calmed down then, wiping his sleeve across his brow. "Snape doesn't like us" he admitted "he only really likes those in Slytherin"

"I'm yet to meet a nice Slytherin. The one I met was rather arrogant" I couldn't help but to smile at the memory of Draco, he intrigued me so much. "Fucking hell has Malfoy got his claws into you already" Harry grunted, clearly unimpressed. "Harry!" Hermione scowled at him

"Am I correct in thinking he's got quite the reputation with girls?" I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer, but I supposed the sooner I knew the better.. "well-" the unnamed boy began, but Harry cut him off. "Yes, he's dreadful" there was an extended silence after the abrupt comment, I couldn't deny I felt a little saddened, but it's only what I expected

"I'm Neville by the way" no-name announced, darting his hand across the table for me to shake. I took it happily, to find it rather moist, it wasn't the pleasantry I'd imagined. "Sorry" he cringed, wiping his dampened hand on his brown sweater. "Neville Longbottom's the full title" he side smiled. I loved his accent, it wasn't like anything I'd heard before. He drawled out his words and over-accentuated some of his letters

I couldn't help but to feel sorry for him with a name like that. Neville Longbottom, an unfortunate name for an unfortunate looking boy. Very nice nonetheless, he seemed overly timid and shy, but I could almost sense the courage oozing from him. I almost wanted to shake some self-confidence into him, I just hoped it came with time

"Harry, we haven't officially met yet" I turned my head to face the scrawny boy with black floppy hair, piercing emerald eyes, framed by the glasses held together by cellotape that perched on the bridge of his nose. I tried to suppress the want to study the scar that sat proudly on his forehead, unsure whether he were insecure about it or not

Not that it was anything to be ashamed of, scars were enticing.. they illustrate the stories of the times that someone was stronger than the thing that tried to harm them. It reminded me of the long scar Father had, that stretched from his ear to where his heart lay in his chest

I hadn't seen it for years as his black hair were long enough to cover it. I only happened to see it when he taught me to swim in the lake beside our house, when I was a young child. Even in the hottest of climates he'd keep it covered, not even showing it when we were abroad

"Saving the best for last I see" he crossed his arms over his chest proudly, Hermione rolled her eyes judgingly. "Perhaps you're just the one I'm least interested in" I fired back, matching his energy. "That's not true" he rolled his eyes dramatically. "What's your story?" I prompted, eager to know more about the boy I bounced off so well

Ron scoffed as he listened into the conversation "where do we begin?" Before I could ask any further questions, the door to our compartment swung open. My head shot toward the person who'd decided to rudely interrupt us, to see Draco stood in the doorway. He slammed it back shut with brute force, as though he were running away from something, or someone

No one had a chance to protest his arrival, as he slid down into the seat beside me. "Malfoy?" said Harry, visibly confused by the shock entrance. "Potter" he spat in reply, I sensed slight animosity. I felt that Draco must have been the reason for the upset, as the others had seemed so warm and welcoming

No one spoke for a moment, I gulped down hard on the piece of chocolate frog I'd been unknowingly holding in my mouth since Draco burst in. There was an array of junk food on the table between us all, that Ron had 'borrowed' from the food cart on his way onto the train

"To what do we owe this pleasure?" Hermione filled the uncomfortable silence with thick sarcasm. Still, not as thick as the tension in this tiny room. Draco grabbed a jelly snake from our pile of goods and bit down hard. He ripped off its head with such ease I felt flutters coarse through my body. What the fuck Isabelle, how did I find that even slightly appealing?

"There's no room anywhere else so I've been forced to sit with you blood traitors, lucky me" he sneered back. "Can you not sit on Goyle's knee? Have you grown too big over the summer?" Harry bantered. Draco drew in a breath, closing his eyes for a moment to regain his composure "I've exhausted all other options, I assure you"

"Well there's not actually room here either, you see" Neville spoke softly, as if he was saying something completely outrageous. He was right, it were already cramped with just the 6 of us, 7 was ridiculous. It's not as if Draco were small either, he was definitely 6 feet tall

"The capacity of these compartments is 8 I think you'll find longarse" why was he being so mean? I was starting to realise why Harry had warned me off at the first mention of his name. "Yes, 8 first years Malfoy not bloody fifth years" replied Harry sticking up for his friend

Draco simply grunted in reply, shuffling even closer to me, causing heat to start radiating from my cheeks. For fucks sake stop it Isabelle, I repeated in my head, but alas it was unavoidable. "You don't mind do you Belle?" he nudged, speaking more softly when directing it at me

"Erm" I didn't mind, but I didn't want to upset my friends I'd just made.. no longer than 20 minutes ago. "That settles it then, I'll stay" he took my hesitation as a yes, and my peers seemingly didn't care to argue their case any further

"Potter have you seen the wanted signs? I suppose Sirius is looking for you" Draco's tone held such malice. I loathed the fact I found him so attractive, when he'd made it quite obvious he was a prick. The name he mentioned sounded awfully familiar, but I suppose everything has done since I'd arrived. So I just brushed it off, not wanting to dwell on the unknown

"They're hard to miss, they're everywhere" Hermione snorted, making Draco look quite silly. "I wasn't talking to you filthy little mudblood" he spat, I'd have moved away from him if I had the space to. I now knew for a fact my Father will know full well who he is, he must be one of the amazing sacred 28 pure blood families

"Are you trying to make me loathe you within the first day of meeting you or something? Are you trying to beat a previous record? Because you're doing pretty fucking well" I growled, annoyed more so at myself for finding him alluring to begin with

He fell silent in an instant, I hope he felt utterly ashamed at his actions, although I knew he were probably silent through spite rather than guilt. Hermione wrapped her little finger around mine, as a silent thank you

"Don't worry about Sirius, you'll be safe at Hogwarts Harry" Luna sang melodically, soothing the tension of the room with her calming voice. The conversation became few and far between then, my first Hogwarts Express journey dampened by the black cloud that was Draco Malfoy

Within 2 hours almost everyone had drifted off to sleep. I felt my own eyes burning, I had to stare at the never-ending hills beyond the window to avoid them fusing shut. Every time I started to doze off, I would embarrassingly lean towards Draco. After seeing how he was with my friends, I wasn't quite sure how he would react to that.. he'd probably bang my head against the table, leaving me with a fuzzy brain that couldn't be avoided by use of Luna's spectrespecs

That was until he relaxed his arm from its position folded across his chest, they'd been that way pretty much the whole journey, and snaked an arm around my torso pulling me closer to him. So close I had no choice but to lay my head against him. I mulled over the decision of whether to fight back and push him off, but I couldn't quite bring myself to do it

My head started whirling with so many thoughts, I started over thinking every movement I made, even down to how often I would take a breath. "You can lie on me Belle" he whispered " it's ok I know you're tired, I am too" I did as I was told and rested my head on his chest, I could feel his heart racing just as mine was, making me feel a little less odd for my anxiousness

After a moment I relaxed and allowed my body to form against his, and actually be comfortable. I closed my eyes, immediately drifting off as I knew I wasn't crossing any of his boundaries

I woke up with a start as the train screeched to a stop. That was the deepest sleep I'd had in weeks, somehow feeling at peace knowing I were finally allowed to explore the realms of magic, beyond the confinement of my own bedroom

I felt completely nauseated, my stomach bubbled with a concoction of nerves and adrenaline, as we walked towards Hogwarts. Draco left us to go and find his own friends as we boarded the horseless drawn carriages

I stayed silent the majority of the journey, sandwiched between Hermione and Neville. I gasped as the object of my deepest desire materialised before my eyes. Neville helped the girls out of the carriages, I very much appreciated the chivalry, although I were more than capable of getting down myself

I felt more and more like I was about to throw up a concoction of chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott's every flavour beans, with every step towards the huge building that stood proudly before us. It never seised to amaze me, every single thing I'd stumbled upon in my short time in the magic world I felt I'd seen before somewhere, I just couldn't figure out where

I'd seen countless pictures of the exterior of Hogwarts but the strange thing was, the intoxicating smell of the trees, and the sound of the black lake crashing along its banks, felt so familiar

My eyes kept involuntarily searching amongst the crowds for Draco. I desperately wanted to see if he'd be surrounded by a fawning group of girls just as I imagined he would, but I couldn't seem to find him

My friends all gushed about a party that was happening later this evening. I hadn't a clue what they were speaking of, yet I'd gathered it was a secret party for fifth years and above, that the students organised every year, in somewhere called the room of requirement

The party took place the first night of term every year for the elder pupils, as 5th, 6th and 7th year students arrived earlier than the younger students. Allowing us to settle into our dorms and classes, before an influx of young immature witches and wizards bombarded the school

I was awfully quiet after the party got mentioned, only speaking when spoken to. My mind was filled with outfit ideas and how I was going to do my hair and makeup. This would be a good chance to get to know the other people in my school, I was sure I'd find it easier once intoxicated

I thought about Draco, and I couldn't shake the feeling of wanting to ensure I wore something he'd like, but I didn't want to get my heart set on him. I didn't want to get too ahead of myself, as I'm 90% sure he'll have a large pool of girls he speaks to. Besides he hates my friends, so it's bound to end in tears.. my priority right now was friendship, not Draco

As we walked through the entrance to Hogwarts a sudden wave of nostalgia engulfed me. My head began to throb at the thought of this being my home for the next 3 years

An older woman with kind eyes and a warm smile stood proudly at the bottom of a grand staircase. Her grey hair was pulled back into a tidy bun, her pointed hat not one degree askew. She scanned the crowd of students until her eyes locked with mine, her smile grew as she began to walk towards me

"Why hello Isabelle, what a pleasure to meet you" she offered me a feeble hand, yet her handshake was firm. She placed her free had over our already intertwined fingers, "I'm professor McGonagall, I'm the head of Gryffindor house and will be teaching your transfiguration lessons this term"

"The pleasure is all mine professor" I returned with a smile, before our hands returned to their respective position at our sides. "As I'm sure you know the first years aren't to start until next week, so you won't be sorted into your house this instant" she continued "you can stay in Miss Granger's dorm of course, as you both already seem acquainted. I suggest you do make yourself at home, as I'm quite sure that's where you'll be staying"

I was rather proud that I emanated Gryffindor energy enough for the head of house to be convinced that's where I'd be placed. My Mother was a Gryffindor and was the head master, Dumbledore's, prodigy during her time at the school. I wish I could say the same for my Father however, he was a Slytherin. Yet I wasn't a thing like him

"Run along then, dinner isn't for another hour, ensure she settles in won't you Hermione" she nodded towards Hermione, clearly very fond of her. "Of course professor" my new friend replied with a smile, before taking my pinky in hers and leading me to our common room.

She gave me a mini tour, explaining in great detail the story behind every aspect of the school we passed on our journey to the Gryffindor dormitories. I zoned out after a while as everything she told me, I pretty much knew. My Mother must have been awfully descriptive when she was telling me stories of her time in this school

I smiled to myself as I imagined my beautiful young Mother walking these very same halls before me. I spoke of my Mother being close with Dumbledore to Hermione. This really caught her interest, but I left out the part about my Father, maybe that is for another day

I didn't want to be judged for having the blood of a Slytherin. I'd noticed the word used with negative connotations a few times, in conversations I'd caught a snippet of in passing. I thought it best to withhold that information. I supposed it a positive that no one could insult me by calling me a mudblood, I definitely was not a mudblood

It took us a while to reach the portrait of the fat lady that presented as the entrance to our common room. "Caput Draconis" Hermione announced to the painting, and it began to shift. Once inside we parted ways with Harry, Ron and Neville and made our way up to the girls dormitories

Hermione led me into a room and immediately flopped onto one of the beds, I followed suit and jumped onto the other bed. It was surprisingly comfy, to my pleasant surprise. I leapt up from my starfish position and began to jump up and down on the bed, Hermione laughed at my immaturity and joined in before we both collapsed into fits of laughter

I had the most amazing time getting to know Hermione better whilst preparing ourselves for our night ahead. We decided to skip dinner and spent hours trying on outfits instead, parading around the room for each other doing our own one man cat walk shows

To supplement the food we missed out on, I pulled a bottle of whisky from my bag that my Mother had packed for me. I may have missed out on a childhood with friends, but my Mother wasn't afraid of letting me live my teenage years to the fullest, one whisky and cola at a time

She'd packed me 5 bottles of whisky in my trunk, and promised to send more once my supplies had ran out. I'm sure this would make me seem cool to the other students, or so I'd hoped. What if they thought it actually quite weird? Or assumed I were a drunk

My Mother had told me all about the fun times she'd had drinking in the common room with her friends past curfew. How she would sneak into the Slytherin common room to drink with my Father's friends once they began dating

Hermione expressed how she'd never even tasted alcohol before, unless you count a sip of eggnog or Buck's Fizz she'd had on special occasions

I poured us both a drink and laid hers down beside her whilst I curled her hair for her, I even did her makeup. I was having so much fun, the looming feeling of dread of walking into the party quickly diminished

We each sank at least 3 pints of whisky and cola, enough to loosen us up before we went to the room of requirement. As the time to leave for the party approached, I felt my nerves turn to excitement for meeting more of my peers. I looked at myself in the mirror sucking in my stomach and tugging at my skirt, I resented how much I hated the appearance of the girl staring back at me

"Are you ok Isabelle?" Hermione asked, concerned. "I don't know if I like my outfit, I wanted to feel amazing for the party but I just feel..." I ended the sentence with a sigh. My friend jumped up and joined me in the mirror, "are you not seeing what I see Isabelle?" I shook my head "you are insanely beautiful, you literally ooze sex appeal, don't be so silly"

I smiled wide, I could tell she were being genuine. "Thanks Hermione, it's getting past curfew do you think it's safe to go? I'm sure people will be arriving by now" I wanted to go as soon as possible, to try and nip my nerves in the bud. "Yes of course, we better be going really we want to be fashionably late, not arriving as people are blacking out"

I filled up a hip flask to the very top with whisky, also filling Hermione's up for her, the drink had hit her a little harder than I. Her hand wasn't steady enough to pour into the tiny opening of the metal container

Moments before we left I looked at myself in the long mirror, taking in my full appearance. I'd loosely curled my long hair allowing it to cascade over my shoulders and chest, resting at my waist. I chose to wear a red satin dress with a lace trim, it may have been slightly over the top, but I wanted to make a lasting impression on people. I wasn't planning on fading into the background

My red lipstick made my teeth look even whiter than usual in comparison, my black eyeliner remnants from earlier blended in with my smoked out lash line. I doused my lashes in multiple coats of mascara, making them long enough so they touched my eyebrows if I looked up. It made me feel like one of those dolls whose eyes move when you rock them back and forth

I took a deep breath and headed to the door behind Hermione, let's do this!