A/N;; Welcome back! A rather quick update on this, as I wanted to get the ball rolling on character and friendship introductions and such. Plus, lets be honest I'm just excited. I got to introduce a second original character that's a big part of this story in this chapter and I hope that those who read it love her as much as Talia and I both do :)
You may notice a specific ship tag to this story that is a little irrelevant in the first chapter. It's more applicable here and going forward, though if it ends up meriting a change later on down the line, I'll make sure to fix it.
I want to just say thank you so much again to any and all readers!
Leave me a comment if you'd like, I'd love to hear your thoughts and reactions!
( once again, still posting this story on my ao3 account as well )

CHAPTER 2: Made of Glass and Careless

"You're joking!" The gasped statement was immediately followed by an excited squeal coming from Daphne's mouth. "You look beautiful."

She was one to talk, really. Daphne had an easy beauty about her, perhaps that came from being a little on the taller side and having fair hair, soft features. I supposed I should take it as even more of a compliment, that my pretty friend had such glowing things to say about me.

Mira had done as excellent a job as expected in getting me ready. There were gold accents in my eye shadow and a dusting of gold glitter over my cheekbones to match further with my dress. Dangling gold chandelier earrings hung from my earlobes, made visible by the way that half my hair was pulled back. A clever, gold, coiled serpent had been fashioned for the stick barrette that held that portion of my hair back, the pin stuck through it a contrasting shiny black. She had kept with the natural wavy look my hair managed to produce all on its own, but had pulled two pieces forward on either side of my face and given them a bit more notable curl. Between the details and the dress itself, it was hard not to feel like I was showing off a bit in a way I didn't typically. I didn't hate it, though.

Daphne on the other hand, looked nearly polar opposite of me. Her dress was strappy and silver. Blonde hair was straightened and left down flat, though a headband glittering with green and black gems sat upon her head. The criss-crossing ribbon down her back was a deep emerald color that matched her pointed high heels. A slit ran from the bottom of the loose flowing skirt all the way up to just above her knee. It was curious in the way that it was almost funny, how differently our dresses had been in years passed.

"Do you remember when we weren't allowed to even look at dresses like these?" I snickered as I stood in front of the mirror, tilting my head as I took in my own reflection.

Daphne let out a laugh, too. "I suppose that's growing up, right?"

She seemed convinced, but the sentiment didn't quite resonate with me. I wasn't sure what to make of such rapid changes in my life. There had been a lot of them this summer, with the dark lord's return. I started to feel a strange sense of growing value surrounding myself.

That was where things tended to begin and end with my parents - value. I knew they had valued me in various ways throughout my life. I was their pristine, pureblood daughter. I was a gifted witch who knew what company to keep and the right way to get attention. I was going to do them proud. Not because they gave me any real motivation to do so - there was no moral support, no affectionate caring gesture, no wise guidance to steer me. No, it simply came down to expectation.

And fear. That was hard to forget, too. Sometimes it did scare me to think about what my parents were capable of, what they would do if I toed those lines drawn for me by their expectations. It was something I tried not to get lost in my head about often, if only to save my own sanity.

It was just after three, which meant the minutes were slowly but surely ticking by until all the others would begin arriving. Daphne and I finally exited my bedroom to head downstairs. It was only about halfway down the black marble steps I realized something.

"Where's Astoria?" I questioned.

Daphne let out a short laugh. "I'm betting following Malfoy around somewhere. She couldn't seem to contain herself about seeing him tonight. Never got over that crush of hers, apparently."

The younger of the Greengrass girls was going into her third year while we were going into our fifth. It felt like a much larger gap than it was. Third year felt far away at the same time that it felt like it had only just happened.

Astoria probably thought being out of her first couple years now made her more interesting. Unfortunately for her, with an older sister like Daphne that was well-liked, it had to be hard for her to carve out space where she stood out on her own. There also was, yes, that mentioned crush on Draco.

"Do you think he'll actually give her the time of day this year?" I was genuinely curious.

"He better not. Not after all that he's been doing with Pansy this summer."

It felt like a weight dropped in my stomach for a quick moment. Less because I cared about Draco spending time with Pansy, more because he had implied otherwise and nearly lied to me about it. I supposed it really did go to show just how different we were with one another.

I didn't mention to Daphne that Draco had told me that he and Pansy were done. It didn't seem important.

Not that any less than perfection could be expected given my mother's meticulous planning, still, even I was impressed by this year's ball. As was typical, each of the families arrived, mingled, danced even. Though, the dancing was often more us kids than the adults - not sure why they called it a ball, then. Everyone was dressed for show, no galleon, sickle, or gold piece a waste when it came to the affairs of formal wear. I could easily feel the shift of the atmosphere as everyone started to arrive.

I was happy to see some of my school friends again. Going the whole summer only speaking in letters truly was torture sometimes. Blaise had scooped me in a vice-grip hug that lifted me a good half a foot off the floor immediately upon getting to me, and the squeal of surprise that escaped me had turned a couple heads. It was easy to laugh off, though. Theodore was much gentler in his half-hug greeting, and being slightly breathless still after the attack of Blaise's, I was grateful.

Crabbe and Goyle had sought out Draco practically upon entering the foyer without so much as a hello. I was fine with that, I had never particularly enjoyed their company. Even Pansy, though, made short small talk with me in passing before scurrying off to who she really wanted to see. I wished that Lucy could be there, but perhaps seeing her for the first time separately from everyone else would make it all the more exciting.

A whole two hours had gone by, catching up and laughing, debating whether or not to dance with one another, before Draco came to join us. He was flanked as usual by Crabbe and Goyle, but somewhere along the way, Pansy had gotten abandoned.

"You lot sound like you're having far too much fun without me." Draco declared with a small smirk.

I fluttered my eyelids as my eyes rolled at the several seconds the boys took to greet one another with handshakes and claps on the shoulders.

"It's good to see you, Malfoy." Daphne greeted pleasantly as she was towed in for a hug.

For a second I remembered that he hadn't hugged me upon seeing me.

"Was just about to dip into the Firewhisky I nabbed off mum's most recent bloke." Blaise slid the silver flask in question out of the inside of his suit coat. "Shots for everyone then?"

Instinctively, I glanced in the direction I had last seen my father. He was busy speaking with Amycus Carrow, and it didn't look like that would be ending anytime soon. Seeking out where I had last seen my mother, I located her standing halfway across the wide event room speaking animatedly to Narcissa Malfoy. I was curious about what they could be talking about at first, but quickly returned to the question at hand. In turning to look at my friends once again, I realized Draco had been looking toward his mother, too.

"Make it quick then, come on." He muttered with a nod.

Blaise made short work of pouring a bit of the alcohol into each of our champagne glasses. Daphne and Theodore had no problem in downing theirs. Blaise tilted his toward them before taking his own shot. Something kept me from hurrying to take mine, sparing a glance out toward my mother a distance away again. I happened a look at Draco after and he surprised me by meeting my gaze.

One light brow quirked upward in wordless question before he lifted his glass to drink down the small amount of liquid in it. As if challenged by him doing so motivated me, I finally did as well. I coughed gently at the burning sensation as the alcohol went down my throat and my nose scrunched in distaste.

"There's enough in here for another round. Thing's charmed." Blaise gestured to the flask once again.

I opted out with a dismissive wave of my hand, though I wasn't surprised my friends continued. It was all in good fun, I knew. It was just more difficult for me to put myself in that sort of position while in my own home. At school was one thing, under my mother's magnifying glass was another.

I noticed, curiously, that Draco also didn't take up the invitation for a second shot. I wasn't sure if it was because he felt similarly to me in this environment or if he had only really done the first shot so to not be left out of the group. Both were plausible.

I looked over the open white marble floor, taking in the clusters of chatter, noticing the few guests who had actually taken to dancing. My eyes found my mother and Narcissa once again, but this time Narcissa looked back at me. I offered a polite smile and a lift of my hand in subtle wave.

Having been stood beside where I was sat in a chair, Draco noticed the motion and followed with his eyes. His brow furrowed at first before his expression schooled itself when his mother looked at him, too. The tilt of the woman's head summoned him over, and he excused himself to go see what it was she needed. My friends snickering over their shots and how they couldn't wait for dungeon parties again was background noise as I watched where Draco and his mother interacted.

My mother was smiling at him as he spoke with the both of them. It brought a tightness to my chest for more than one reason. I thought about getting up to go over to them, but just as I was about to dismiss that internal debate and shift my focus, the three of their attentions shifted my way. I swallowed hard and put a smile on once again.

Draco looked away first, saying something else to the two women before coming back over to me. Instead of standing beside the table we were sitting around, he stopped in front of me. He seemed tense, nervous, but it was fleeting as a perfectly placed smirk curled at his lips after a second.

"We should probably dance before the night's up, yeah?" He held a hand out to me.

I worked to keep my composure, but I could practically feel the visible confusion on my face. My eyes flicked toward my mother who was now standing alone, finishing off her glass before turning away. Narcissa had seemed to wander elsewhere.

Blaise snorted behind me. "Already tried that, mate, and she likes me better than you."

I tilted my head as a single dark brow twitched upward. He wasn't entirely wrong. Just lacking details, perhaps.

Daphne giggled into her hand for a moment before giving me a reassuring look. "Theo and I can go up there, too."

Theodore looked as if he absolutely hated that idea. However, I had never known him to argue much. He would much rather keep to himself than be involved in anything too dramatic. Why he stayed friends with the lot of us was beyond me sometimes.

"What if I don't want to dance?" I replied, both brows lifting now as I looked first at Daphne then at Draco.

"Don't be difficult about it." Draco rolled his eyes and I fixed a glare on him as he made a grab for my hand from my lap anyway. As I reluctantly stood and he pulled me nearer to him, I caught him mumbling, "Trust me."

Something about the two words put me on edge, and my gaze shot back to where I had last seen my mother again. She was no longer there, but as Draco towed me in and our hands fell into a natural position, my eyes traveled. I found my father first, he was standing with Lucius now and they were watching us. My hand at Draco's shoulder squeezed and his hand in mine squeezed back in response. Narcissa joined them first, standing between both of our fathers with a satisfied smile.

"What's happening?" I asked softly. My mother had stepped away from who she had been speaking to and was once again muttering something to Narcissa. I wasn't quite sure which was more of a spectacle, Draco and me dancing or our parents collectively observing us do so as if it were a performance of some sort.

"Relax." Draco spoke under his breath as we turned. "Don't pay attention to them."

"And what should I pay attention to instead? You?" I retorted in disbelief.

My confusion was growing by the second. I felt painfully watched, even though it was only the few people looking at us. It was who those people were that made it more intense.

Draco huffing a short laugh turned my attention to him. "You say that as if it's difficult to do."

"Sorry, Parkinson and I don't share the same sentiments about your company as of late." I snapped unintentionally. Draco seemed to find it amusing as a smirk became noticeable on his face again. "Stop looking so pleased with yourself. Can you tell me what's going on or not?" My gaze flickered toward our parents once again.

He paused as he stepped to guide me carefully passed another pair of people dancing. I hadn't done much dancing since the Yule Ball last winter, but it wasn't a difficult task. It was one of the more mundane things we were taught when we were younger, but taught we were just the same. It made it easy to interrogate him and dance at the same time.

"Mother seemed concerned about my not speaking to you tonight." He answered vaguely.

"What impression was she given that we speak to each other now, I wonder?" I challenged. I was trying very hard not to continuously look at our parents, but they were straight out over Draco's shoulder where we had danced to now.

He seemed to notice my distraction and turned once again to make my seeing them more difficult. "She's under the impression that we're friends."

"Well, that is interesting." My tone was flat - both in my lack of amusement and as an avoidance tactic. His choice of wording carried implication that stung uncomfortably deep in my chest. I knew that things between us were complicated, exceptionally different than they had been before, but I had never spoken an implied question about our relationship out loud.

We danced in silence after that. If Draco desired saying anything at any point, he didn't. By a small miracle, I managed not to stare directly at our parents for the remainder of the interaction. As the song drew to a close, I eased back from Draco tentatively. I was half expecting him to grip my hand tighter, pull me back in, and say we needed to play this charade for another minute or two. In finally glancing toward our parents, however, it seemed they had deemed our interaction satisfactory to whatever it was they had been hoping for it, because they were gone.

Noting their absence made it that much easier to give Draco a subtle shove away from me as we separated and I strode directly passed him without a word.

.

As the day to catch the Hogwarts Express finally arrived, I felt an entirely different sort of excited than I had for months. School shopping had been quickly done in the last days of the month, and I was more than ready to get on my way.

I hadn't stressed much more thought to the happenings of the ball. Each time I thought I might ask one of my parents why they were so concerned about mine and Draco's dancing together, the courage very quickly plummeted within me. At first I thought I was afraid of them snapping at me for asking, then I realized I may have actually been afraid of what their answer was going to be.

My father had to say goodbye to me early on in the morning; he had to get to the Department of Mysteries at work, important Ministry business, he claimed. He sent me off in the way that he typically did, with a reminder to 'stay focused' and a short kiss to the top of my head. Sometimes my father reminded me of smoke, the way he came and went so quickly. Perhaps that was ironic, considering.

Being seen off by my mother was an entirely different experience. She wasn't really seeing me off at all, was the thing. Arranged transportation was sent for me and she allowed them to take care of my trunk and my owl. She let me know to send an owl should anything require their attention, told me to behave - which was always strange to hear, given any misbehaving I did happen to get up to never got back to her - and waved me off.

Leaving their presence, getting away from the Xavier estate felt relieving.

Arriving at King's Cross station, I approached the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. As I neared the spot, however, I caught several flashes of orange. It was Ginny who seemed to notice me first of the bunch of Weasleys, but she didn't say anything to me.

We weren't friends. As much as on a personal level I had felt more than once I would get on with the Weasleys and the way that they chose to live their lives - purebloods without all the politics surrounding it - I had never ventured to speak with them. Maybe once or twice I had said something to Ron, but that came down more to Slytherin and Gryffindor having shared class sessions more than socializing with him.

"Oi! On your way, too, then, yeah?" It took me a moment to realize that the tall redhead was speaking to me.

I was a couple feet away from them still, maintaining a safe distance so to hopefully not attract too much attention to us all. It was one of the twins that had spoken to me. Fred, I thought, though I didn't really know them well enough to tell them apart so easily. Mrs. Weasley swiveled my direction and looked me up and down in a quick glance. She seemed to struggle with whether or not to greet me - I was willing to bet she knew exactly who I was just by looking at me, or rather who my parents were.

"You all were here first, go ahead." It was a subtle attempt at reassurance, given the way that the woman looked suddenly uncomfortable by my presence.

My father worked in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry, and I knew that Mr. Weasley worked in another department of the Ministry as well. I had heard Lucius Malfoy rattle on more than once about Arthur Weasley. Less from my own father on the subject, but it wasn't as if I didn't know his distaste for the Weasley family even without him saying so. It was a feeling he felt about all the magic folk so unkindly called blood traitors. I'd never enjoyed the term.

Ron must have already headed through the barrier, as it was just the twins and Ginny still waiting for their turn to go. Ginny took my offer for what it was and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek and a quick goodbye before running toward the brick wall to get onto the platform.

"Last one then, right, Freddie?" George nudged his twin - the one who had spoken to me in the first place - with an elbow before nodding toward the barrier. He called a goodbye to their mother before barreling toward it and disappearing.

I felt a little envious for just a moment, that not only did the Weasley kids have a mother to see them off to school, they had each other to be excited with, to go through it all with. Loneliness was something that I had grown used to feeling, but sometimes certain things made it feel all the more prominent.

"Alright then, Fred, you behave. It's your final year, make it count, alright?" Mrs. Weasley warned as she reached up to hug her son goodbye.

I smiled gently to myself watching the exchange. Fred caught my eye, quirking a brow at me that I mirrored right back at him.

"Last chance to go first." He offered with a faint grin.

Smiling, I shook my head and waved him off dismissively. He looked amused but his mother looked much less so. Her eyes were weary as they shifted to me. She was unsure how to interact with me. She had gone to school with my parents, but even beyond that she knew the sort of people that they were now. It was also uncommon for the children of parents like mine to not support the same ideals. It was in how we were raised, it was in our blood.

I disagreed with that idea.

As Fred disappeared through the barrier, Mrs. Weasley adjusted the strap of her homemade bag over her shoulder. I offered her a small smile as I approached the barrier myself and she hesitated a moment before returning it and giving me a single nod of her head. It was more than I could say for my own mother, so I took it.

Coming out onto platform 9¾ carried with it a sense of freedom I had craved for weeks. It felt like I had been holding in a breath for three months. The sigh I released upon clearing the barrier was heavy and I slumped with it. All the tension and the worries and the presentation I had been carrying on my shoulders all summer was left behind me at King's Cross station. I was free again.

Pushing my cart along the way, my eyes were alert, shooting here and there, seeing if I could find anyone I was hoping to. I was nearly three scarlet train cars down before a loud shriek of my name had me grinning widely. My eyes landed on Lucy and not a moment after seeing one another, we were bounding toward each other. Lucy's dark, naturally curly hair fanned out over her shoulders as she hurried toward me with a big smile on her face. Cart yanked to a halt, I continued at a run toward my best friend and the both of us let out a groan as we collided in a tight hug.

The smell of citrus and sandalwood that was characteristically Lucy was overwhelmingly welcome as we swayed back and forth holding onto each other. Most of our first greetings went like this, over-excited, clinging to one another. It was hard, being attached at the hip all through school and then not seeing each other at all in the summer.

"I hate the summers, I absolutely loathe them. Merlin, it's great to see you." Lucy beamed, squeezing me tightly.

It was for my sake she said it, really. Summers were Lucy's time with her parents; parents who very differently from my own were a lot more normal. Her dad was a Muggle, a defense attorney. She had explained to me once that it was a job regarded rather highly in that world. Her mum was a witch, but because of her husband she chose to live more actively in the Muggle world. She worked at a public library, and Lucy had spent a lot of her childhood learning random bits of knowledge on random subjects while going with her mother to work there. Her mother had slipped in bits of wizarding world and magical knowledge in secret even prior to her getting her Hogwarts letter. They were generally caring people; I had met Marcel and Rebecca a couple of times, typically in passing, but they usually extended that kindness to me as well.

Lucy was the first in her family line to be a Slytherin - most had been Ravenclaw - and I remembered her sitting beside me at the Slytherin table after the Sorting Hat placed her. We had chatted with one another on the train ride to the castle, but she had been sure even then she would be a Ravenclaw. She had sat down beside me so nervously, glancing at her new housemates. Draco was sitting on my other side at the time, and he didn't bother to introduce himself to her then. She had said so quietly to me 'I don't understand' and I'd offered her a smile and a loose shrug of my shoulders.

'Clearly we're not meant to be separated, after all.' I'd said, joking, trying to lighten the stress she felt. It had gotten her to laugh lightly and in that moment that was what mattered. It helped her, and it further solidified our friendship. She hadn't questioned her placement in Slytherin since, at least not as deeply. As we had gotten older, more used to our classmates, she came to realize that her devious and combative nature grew. She knew where she belonged. Even those people in our house who weren't the fondest of impure bloodlines - as ridiculous a notion it was - couldn't deny that Lucy belonged in Slytherin house.

"I've missed you." I squeezed tighter around my friend to punctuate the statement before finally easing back. Her light brown skin was just a touch darker, plainly from a remaining sun tan from her holiday. Between it and her flashing smile, the girl was glowing in the way she always seemed to after being at home for a bit. "You're going to have to tell me all about your summer to erase my lingering sense of dread." I joked.

Lucy was well aware how my summers tended to go, what my relationship with my parents was like. Not to mention that I did make it a point to write to her in the summer since we weren't seeing one another. She would know what I was referring to without me having to go into great detail.

We got to chatting as Lucy took Winston's cage for me while I took care of my trunk. She had been on the platform for a little while already, her mum staying behind at King's Cross with her dad after she had crossed the barrier so her belongings were already settled in a compartment. Evidently Blaise and Daphne had joined her already, too, but she had gone back out onto the platform to see if she could find me.

"There she is, finally!" Daphne greeted brightly upon my joining them.

Blaise took my trunk from me and settled it above the seat Lucy and I would be sitting on, and I knew that the only thing stopping him from taking a jab at my height was the knowing look I shot him as soon as he moved to lift the item for me. It was just the four of us in the compartment - poor Theo probably wanted at least his train ride to be peaceful before term began with us all. I realized, however, that it being the four of us meant that someone was missing.

"No Malfoy, then?" I asked as I sat.

Blaise and Daphne exchanged a questioning glance. I imagined it had to do with my choice of name. I was one of few people at school who actively called Draco by his first name.

"He and Parkinson are in the prefects carriage." Blaise replied.

I nodded shortly. "Good for them."

Lucy snorted out a laugh but otherwise didn't comment. As the train exited the station, it was easy to settle into chit-chat instead. She got into telling us about how her father managed to get two weeks off from work and she and her parents had gone on holiday to Australia. A beautiful place, she excitedly showed us photos to let us see as such - it was always just slightly jarring that photos Lucy brought with her didn't always move.

She was in the middle of mildly terrifying Daphne with a story about snorkeling with giant manta rays when there was a knock on our compartment door. I was surprised to see the Weasley twins through the window but I leaned forward to slide it open just the same, ignoring the displeased looks from my friends sat across from me.

"Anyone in need of some sweets in here?" George asked. There was a mischievous glint in his eye as he looked us over. Whether it came from thinking we were younger and therefore more naïve, or perhaps just his general nature was questionable. They were well known for their pranks and getting into trouble, these two.

"Funny, you don't look like the trolley lady." Lucy pointed out. She looked rather amused when I spared a glance to her.

"Right you are, there, miss." Fred pointed a finger in her direction and I suppressed a laugh. "We've got some special goods you can't get from the trolley, though."

"Puts Honeyduke's to shame." George added with a nod.

"Do you think that we were born yesterday? No one here is daft enough to fall for that." Daphne sneered.

Fred looked for just a moment like he may be about to argue her point, but my letting out a laugh seemed to halt him as he looked at me instead.

"There's a compartment of first years about four down." I pointed a finger over my shoulder in direction. "Better luck there, maybe."

"Cheers." George clapped once with a grin.

Fred looked at me for a couple seconds longer with a grin of his own before nodding at me. "Lovely lady, you are. Appreciate it."

I rolled my eyes and pressed my lips together in attempt to conceal the grin I also bordered on sporting. As the twins stepped out of our compartment doorway, my gaze followed after them for an extra moment. So much so that I leaned a couple inches forward to watch them go before slumping back again.

Looking back at my friends was a mess. Blaise looked somewhere between bewildered and questioning. Daphne was squinting at me in a way that reminded me vaguely of my mother's reprimanding looks. Lucy was stifling a giggle by looking out the window.

"Talia, please." Daphne shook her head. "You can't possibly think that's a good idea."

"I don't have any ideas, Daph. What are you implying?" I batted my eyelashes in return.

Lucy couldn't seem to stifle her laughter any more and she had to clear her throat in order to cut herself off. "They are rather fit, honestly."

Blaise scowled now. "The Weasley's, you can't be serious."

"Piss off, Zabini." Lucy laughed. "There are plenty worse boys we could enjoy simply having a look at."

"Oh yeah? Like who?" He challenged.

"Crabbe." I replied in the same instant that Lucy said "Goyle." We pointed in one another's directions in agreement.

"It's scary when you two do that." Blaise grumbled, but he was grinning. "Like you've got a shared brain."

I ignored him and looked at Daphne. "No one to contribute to the list of boys worse than Weasley's?"

The blonde took a moment to think but then wrinkled her nose. "Harry Potter?"

Blaise's scowl reappearing was enough to have all three of us girls laughing loudly. It felt more like home, our little train compartment of playful chaos, than I had felt in months. And we weren't even to school yet.

Yes. Yes, it was most definitely good to see the end of summer.