Disclaimer: I do not own the world of Harry Potter.
A/N: Thanks all for your patience! Now, be prepared for this to veer a little into AU territory, especially since we have only slight knowledge of what happened in that seventh year while Harry was on the run. Thank you all for sticking with me and I hope you enjoy!
Priya folded another robe into her trunk, running her hands over it to smooth it out. This was the latest she had ever put off packing and it showed. Clothes, robes, and books were still scattered across the room and tomorrow, she would be expected to be at King's Cross to meet Guinn and Muni.
Stella and Eloise would be gone.
She, Guinn and Muni had already discussed that, if asked, they obviously had no clue where their two friends had gone and why they had not returned to Hogwarts. To be on the safe side, none of the girls should ever go too far on their own.
Which may prove difficult.
Priya reached down, picking up the badge on the floor. A silver outline, blue background, the words "Head Girl" scrawled diagonally across the front. She couldn't help but think that the badge would have gone to Hermione had the other girl still been at the school. Professor McGonagall had even included a personalized note, something along the lines of how she knew Priya was up for the task, that she was proud of her.
Priya, admittedly, had a hard time paying attention.
She placed the badge back on her bed and went back to folding.
"You don't have to go back, you know." Priya looked up. Her dad was standing in the doorway, a small smile on his face. He looked around the room, stepping over things to take a seat on her bed. "It doesn't seem like you want to."
"I don't have much of a choice," Priya responded, reaching for another shirt.
"I am very proud of you," Calloway told her, picking up the badge. "Despite what you may be thinking, you definitely earned this. You've always been such a hard worker. You get that and your brains from your mum."
Priya looked up at her father, the sad smile on his face as he held the badge in his hands. "She'd be so proud of you."
Nearly nine months later and this was the first time Priya could recall her father openly talking about Edie. It wasn't as if they ignored the fact that she wasn't there; they really couldn't. But they didn't talk about her or the Order or anything like that. Priya did her best not to mention her mother, so she was shocked.
Calloway looked up and met her gaze. "Priya, I'm sorry."
"For what dad?" Priya asked.
He patted her bed next to her and she moved to sit next to him. "I – I haven't been the best father. I know I've been distant and –"
"You lost your wife."
"And you lost your mother." Calloway reached over and took her hand. "And I left you alone. I know that's why you rushed back to Hogwarts, so soon after and I – I've felt terrible about ever since. Your mother – your mother would be awfully angry at me, wouldn't she?"
The corner of Priya's mouth lifted a bit. "She might be a little sore, yea."
"From now on, anything you need, I'm here for you. If you want to talk about that boyfriend of yours, I'll do my best not to be judgmental and I'll give you advice. If you want to talk about your mom, we can do that too."
He handed Priya her badge and she ran her thumb over the words. When she looked back at her dad, there were tears in her eyes. "I miss Mom. I miss Harry. I miss the girls. I'm going to miss you and Grandma. I'm scared to go back to school with everything changing and this is such a huge responsibility, and I don't know if I'm up for it and –"
"Breathe, Priya."
She did so, taking in a stuttering breath. She nodded. "I really, really miss mom."
"I do too," Calloway agreed. "I think, though, if she were here now, she would tell you that you have nothing to worry about. Priya, you earned that badge. I have yet to meet someone who works as hard as you do, and who is as brilliant. And if I know anything about Minerva McGonagall, she doesn't make mistakes. If she picked you, if was for a very good reason. Your mom would also tell you, that this distance between you and the rest of us is just temporary, and, before you know it, we'll all be back together again, just like before."
Priya leaned over, placing her head on her father's shoulder. "I'm sure you're right."
He wrapped an arm around her, holding her close. She decided not to tell her dad how she worried that things would never be normal.
What if Stella and Eloise were never able to come back?
What if Harry, Hermione and Ron had to stay on the run forever?
What if Harry –
Stop.
She had promised Harry that she would rely on hope and that was what she was going to do. For now, she would need to focus on her job as Head Girl.
It was her turn to take care of people.
Priya kept her face neutral, but inside she was screaming.
It figured. It really did.
Draco Malfoy stood across from her in the Prefect Cabin, a frown on his face. "Figures," he muttered, as if reading her thoughts.
Stilling herself, she moved past him, setting her notebook on the table before turning to look at him. "Let's get this out of the way, shall we?"
"What are you talking about, Tollop?" Draco muttered, closing the door. He sounded stressed, tired. Priya would be blind to not notice that Draco was an attractive boy but he didn't look right then. He had grown a bit more over the summer but he also looked thin, as if he hadn't been eating. There were bags under his eyes and his normally pale skin looked a lot paler.
Good.
That was what he deserved.
"The prefects will be here soon and I'd rather disperse with it all before they do, so you can go on. Insult me, call me names, I don't really care. I don't like you, you don't like me but this year I don't care. We have jobs to do, and we'll uphold our roles as we are supposed to."
"Tollop, I don't care what you do," Draco responded, taking a seat at one side of the table. He leaned back in his seat, kicking his feet up on the table. "I didn't want this job anyway."
"You could have turned it down."
"Who else would they have given it to?" Draco's frown deepened as he folded his hands over his stomach. "The prefects from last year were full of Mudbloods and Blood Traitors. I'm honestly surprised you are here. I was expecting they'd give it to Pansy."
Priya snorted, taking her seat at the opposite end of the table. "As if."
"Don't you know?" A bit of the old, cocky Draco appeared a bit as he smirked. "Professor Snape was made Headmaster. You and all your little goody two-shoes friends are in for one hell of a year."
Of course, she had known Snape was Headmaster but it didn't make it any easier of a pill to swallow. The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth, that he would stand were Dumbledore stood. Professor McGonagall should have taken over, but with You-Know-Who pulling the strings behind the ministry, it made sense that he would put his lackies in positions of power.
They were going to try and shape Hogwarts and its students into something monstrous.
"At least I was awarded this role on merit," she argued.
The smirk fell off Draco's face and he looked away. Priya recalled trying to be nice to him. He didn't deserve her kindness and she sure as hell wouldn't give him her petty.
"Enjoy this little bit of power you have, Tollop," he told her as the train started to move and the voices of the prefects approached their cabin. "You'll be outnumbered, and nothing more than a figurehead."
The door slid open and Priya stood, nodding as the prefects filed in.
Hannah Abbott and Ernie Macmillian appeared first, relieved smiles on their face when they saw her. Priya was equally grateful to see them, especially since Hannah had missed the majority of last year; she was glad to see she was able to keep her badge despite technically being in the class below them. Anthony Goldstein walked in with Parvati Patil, the girl nodding at Priya. No Gryffindors walked in with them, seeing as how Ron was 'sick' and Hermione hadn't returned. She had thought they might replace them but they hadn't. Instead, four Slytherins walked in.
Pansy Parkinson. The girl smirked at Priya as she went to sit next to Draco (who not so subtly shifted away from her). Daphne Greengrass came in looking cool, calm and collected. She was very pretty, long blond hair, icy blue eyes. Priya had never encountered the other girl but had heard she could be rather cold blooded herself. Theodore Nott was another person Priya had avoided, mostly because he always seemed to be up to something, plotting. The weedy, tall boy, just like Daphne, didn't seem to affiliate himself with the other Slytherins.
Last, but certainly not least, Blaise glanced in Priya's direction as he entered, looking down as he closed the door behind him. Priya tried to keep the frown off her face; this was definitely not something he had mentioned in any of his letters. Matter of fact, she hadn't received very many letters from him that summer as it were. She had been worried that she would have to add another friend to growing list of those not coming back. It would seem, however, that he was avoiding her.
The room was decidedly split, the Slytherins all sitting at one end of the table with Malfoy, while the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws sat with Priya.
She stood as Pansy loudly giggled and spoke with Draco, who kept his eyes on Priya, smirking. "Good morning everyone, we –"
Pansy continued to talk to Draco, obnoxiously. Theodore was watching her, though he didn't seem to be paying attention; Priya figured he was just doing it to ignore her. Daphne had a book in her hands. Blaise had yet to make eye contact.
"Excuse me," Priya tried again, to no avail. Her friends and housemates were glaring at the Slytherins.
"Oi!" Anthony called out, drawing the Slytherin's attention. "Our Head Girl is trying to –"
"Oh, shut up, blood-traitor," Nott responded, grinning a nasty smile. "As if she's really 'Head Girl'. We all know who really has the power here."
Pansy giggled again, batting her eyes at Draco.
"We were all chosen for a reason," Ernie spoke up. "Priya has every right to be Head Girl. You're the one –"
"I watched what you'd say next, weakling," Nott said, leaning towards Ernie. "That is, if you want don't want to leave out of here jinx to hell."
"I'll just say it," Pansy started, smiling at the rest of them. "No one's going to listen to Tollop. She's just here as a place holder, a figurehead to make bloodtraitors and mudbloods comfortable."
The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuff stood, wands at ready. Theodore and Pansy stood as well, prepared for a fight. Draco looked pleased with himself. Daphne just looked bored.
BANG!
Everyone turned to Priya who had her wand in the air, sparks floating down around her. "Sit down. Now."
While her friends sat down quickly, the Slytherins did so reluctantly, but Priya got what she wanted. Even Daphne had put down her book, looking at the Ravenclaw curiously.
"We don't like each other," Priya said, not beating around the bush. "That much is very clear. And, if we can manage it, I will not force anyone to do patrols with someone they don't like. But, no matter our personal feelings, we were given a job to do. For whatever reason, we are here, and we were chosen. We are representatives of our Houses and of our school and I will be damned if we don't do the best that we can. Draco Malfoy and I are your Head Boy and Girl and we will do our best as well to ensure your success in these positions. Isn't that right, Malfoy," she added, glaring down at the boy.
He smirked at her. "Whatever you say, Tollop."
Next to him, Pansy rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.
"That being said," she continued, glaring at the Slytherin end of the table, "I will not tolerate any slander of me, your fellow Prefects, or our peers. Am I understood?"
For a moment, no one spoke. Then Theodore Nott snickered. "You're cute when you're angry Tollop."
Her eye twitched and she sucked in a breath through her nose. "I think we all know each other well enough that there are no need for introductions. Make sure to patrol your section of the train once every hour. Do you have anything to add, Malfoy."
The Slytherin shook his head, but Priya couldn't really tell if he was paying her any attention.
She had a headache.
"You're all dismissed," Priya said.
The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs gave Priya sympathetic looks as they made their way out. Theodore and Daphne were next, followed by Pansy and Draco.
"Blaise?" Priya called out before he could escape, which he really did seem to be trying to do.
He stopped, shoving his hands in his pockets as he gave her a weak smirk. "Nice speech, Tollop. Don't know if it'll stick though."
Priya didn't respond, tapping her fingers lightly on the table. She gestured towards him, the badge on his robes. "This is a nice surprise."
"For you and me both."
"You didn't mention it. You haven't exactly said much of anything this summer."
"Yeah." Blaise took a breath, looking up at her. "Look. . . . You know I think the world of you, don't you?"
Priya stared at him, biting the inside of her lip. She smirked at him. "This feels like the same breakup speech I got earlier this summer."
Blaise didn't laugh or smile. "It's – it's nothing personal."
It took her a moment, but realization slowly settled over her. "Oh."
"It's just that –" Blaise rapped his knuckles on the table. "My mother and I have become . . . accustomed to a certain way of living and – You're great, but – you attract the wrong sort of people. I mean, just look at me," he added in an attempt at a joke. When Priya didn't respond, he cleared his throat and forged on. "I just think it be best if we – if we aren't seen together too much. I – have a reputation to uphold."
There were a thousand things that Priya wanted to say.
She wanted to call him a coward.
She wanted to hurt his feelings, like he was hurting hers.
But she didn't.
Blaise had always straddled the fence and she supposed she couldn't expect that to stop now.
"Okay," she said.
Blaise seemed to wait, as if expecting her to say something else. When she didn't, he nodded and gave a her a half-hearted smirk. "See you around, Tollop."
He hurried out of the cabin, closing the door behind him. Priya's eyes stung and she blinked a couple of times, swallowing to clear the lump in her throat.
Another friend gone.
But she had a job to do.
She straightened her badge, cleared her throat, and headed out of the cabin as well to find Guinn and Muni.
This would not be the thing that stopped her.