Chapter 15

Draco had just boarded the Hogwarts' Express when he suddenly felt something latch onto his arm, accompanied by a horrible whining voice. "Draco, I thought you were going to wait for me." His face contorted into a slight grimace, but he didn't try to fight against Pansy's iron grip.

"I figured it'd be easier for you to find me on the train," he explained. He was actually hoping it would be the opposite, but clearly that wasn't the case.

"I suppose so... Anyway," she simpered, "I haven't told you about my plans yet, have I?" An airy giggle escaped her lips. "Of course, I'll have plenty of time to tell you all about it once we're settled in our compartment."

He was about to respond, but was prevented from doing so when someone came up behind them with a snicker. "I'm sure it'll be absolutely fascinating." Draco shot a glare over his shoulder at his best friend, who was lugging his trunk onto the train with a smirk on his face. "Shall we take our usual compartment?"
Pansy sighed as if the question required rather laborious thinking. "I was actually hoping we could move farther to the back of the train." She smiled at Draco in a sickeningly sweet manner, giving him the impression that her request was not as innocent as she wanted it to seem. "That would be all right, wouldn't it?

"I would prefer to stay in the middle of the train," he stated emotionlessly.

"I second that."

The girl huffed, releasing Draco's arm. "Fine," she replied in a miffed tone "I'll meet you there. I told Tracey she could sit with us," she quirked a brow, "unless that's a problem?" Judging from her expression, it didn't look like she particularly cared if they liked it or not. Draco must've sensed this, as he simply looked away without answering her query while Blaise, who felt the need to draw attention away from his friend's odd behavior, hastily spoke up.

"Of course not." After Pansy turned up her nose and left, the two Slytherin boys continued down the train.

"You'd better start acting like the arrogant git she knows and loves, mate, or she's gonna get suspicious," Blaise advised him in a hushed tone, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. "You heard her ask to move farther to the back of the train. Isn't that where you're planning on meeting Ginny?"

He had noticed that as well, but brushed it off as mere coincidence. "If it makes her leave, I don't care what she thinks of me."

"It's not that bad; I just tune her out after a while." Draco rolled his eyes, finding that task to be near impossible, but didn't say anything. "Besides, she'll have Tracey with her. After a while she'll probably just start to ignore you all together."

Unfortunately, Blaise's assumption proved to be incorrect, for she continuously felt the need to drag him into her conversation. It was almost as if she knew he had plans and was playing some twisted mind game to see how long he could take the torture of her squeaky voice before cracking. After nearly an hour, a moment of blissful silence came when she abruptly rose from her seat.

"I'll be back shortly," she announced as if anyone actually cared why her ranting had come to a stop. Tracey Davis, a slender brunette girl with a haughty expression, also stood.

"I'll come with you. It'll be nice to stretch my legs after sitting in such an uncomfortable space for so long." Pansy made no sound of disagreement, so the two girls departed without further conversation.

Not even a second after the door had closed, Draco whipped his head around to face his friend with gritted teeth. "Blaise, for Merlin's sake, get her off my back."

The boy drew his gaze away from where he was idly watching the scenery pass by to focus on Draco, offering him a slightly smug grin. "Hey, I have my own girlfriend to go visit," he reminded him as he got up. "I was just waiting for a chance to leave without getting interrogated."

"Oh, so you're dating her now?" he wondered, Blaise easily catching the hint of amusement in his voice.

"Yes," he replied matter-of-factly. "I don't know where you got such a skewed impression of me... To think I'd just go about snogging random girls."

"Oh, I apologize," Draco drawled sarcastically. "I just happen to remember a particular occurrence where you decided to snog Ginny in the Entrance Hall. Does that ring a bell?"

"That was more of an innocent peck though." He smirked. "Now, the other time-"

"What 'other time?'" Draco scowled, causing Blaise to realize this probably wasn't the best time to tease him.

Holding his hands up defensively, he chuckled, "Geez, calm down. I'm just kidding."

"You'd better be..."

Blaise sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly. "Listen, when she gets back, just tell her that I went to find the trolley and you forgot to tell me to buy you Liquorice Wands."

"But I don't like Liquori-"

"Or whatever candy you have a preference for, since I'm sure she knows for some creepy reason," he trailed off before shrugging. "And then you leave."

Draco frowned, finding it hard to believe that such a simple plan would fool the girl. "I doubt that'll work."

"And I think you're giving her too much credit," he countered. "In case you haven't noticed, she's not that bright..."

Realizing that the boy had a point, he relented. "Fine, but you'll have to make up another excuse about where I am when you come back."

With a laugh, Blaise said, "What makes you think I'll be back before you? I'm not the one Pansy has an unnatural fascination with. I can stay away as long as I want to." Not that he'd really abandon him — it was just that the thought of having to deal with the girl's pestering and accusations wasn't all that appealing.

"I guess I'll just have to cut my time with Ginny short..." Draco grumbled as his friend's shoulders slumped.

"Nah, I'll cover for you," he offered, though he seemed to still be a bit reluctant. "Just keep it under an hour, okay?"

The corners of the blonde's mouth lifted at this. "Yeah, thanks."

Blaise shook his head as he exhaled tiredly, though his exasperated behavior was somewhat subdued by the smile on his face. "The stuff I do for you..." he mumbled as he shoved his hands in his pockets and exited the room. The remaining occupant of the room leaned back in his seat, waiting for his two House-mates to return from wherever they'd gone. He didn't have to wait long; the door slid open again just a few minutes later.

Tracey was the first to notice the other boy's absence when she quickly glanced around the room with a mildly confused expression. "Where did Blaise go?"

"He went to go find the snack trolley," Draco replied smoothly. She accepted the bluff and returned to where she'd been sitting, but Pansy still seemed a bit skeptical as she plopped down beside him.

"But we just passed the snack trolley and he wasn't there."

"He must've gone the wrong way." Draco assumed she bought it, since she didn't say anything else about the matter and continued her earlier task of ridiculing other students. After a moment, he stood up, causing her to halt her ranting mid-sentence.

"And where are you going?" she demanded, also bolting up from her seat.

Continuing out the door, he remarked, "I forgot to tell Blaise to buy me some Droobles." Before she could object, he shut the door behind him and started towards the back of the train, which is where Ginny said she would be sitting. When he came to compartment W, he could hear muffled whispering coming from inside and opened the door. Almost immediately, the talking stopped as everyone in the small room snapped their attention to him. "Well, what do we have here?" Draco sneered. He could've sworn he saw Ginny roll her eyes, but she said nothing. "Dumbledore's pathetic Army plotting something else behind our backs? I don't think certain professors would be very happy to hear that."

While he knew it was pretty bad as insults go, it made sense. There just so happened to be an unusual number of former DA members squeezed into one compartment, with four Gryffindors and a pair of Hufflepuffs squished into the four seats and two Ravenclaws standing opposite the door — a passing bystander probably would've made the same conclusion.

After a few seconds, Liete Katrae finally broke the silence, though it was with an air of carelessness rather than disdain. "If you're looking for someone, Malfoy, I can assure you they're not in here."

"I don't believe I was talking to you, Katrae," he replied in the same lofty tone. "You should learn to keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you."

He expected Ginny to be the one to fire back with a sharp retort, but it was Neville who answered with a sour, "Shove off, Malfoy."

"What? Finally grown a back-bone, Longbottom?" he taunted, and judging by the furious look that passed over the boy's round face, he was suddenly a bit fearful that both Longbottom and the Irish boy who was sitting next to Katrae would start throwing punches. Before it could come to that though, Terry Boot had slipped his wand from his pocket and had it steadily trained on Malfoy's chest, a deadly serious expression on his face.

"If you fancy being able to walk, I suggest you leave," the usually mellow Ravenclaw gritted out, to which Draco smirked.

"No magic allowed on the train, Boot." He paused, shifting his weight thoughtfully. "That is... Unless you want to end up on the run like your little girlfriend. I heard she had a close run-in with some Snatchers just a few days ago..."

The boy lowered his wand slightly in shock while Katrae blanched in horror. "You're lying," she breathed, her eyes wide with fright.

"Am I?"

Boot's empty hand curled into a fist as his side as he returned his wand to his pocket before leaving the room, shoving past Malfoy in the process. "You'd better be," he muttered, his voice shaking slightly. Michael Corner followed after his friend but not before sending a heated glare in Draco's direction. The air was thick with tension as he met Ginny's narrowed eyes, which were obviously warning him to leave if he didn't want to get hurt. Figuring no one was going to say anything, he offered them one final smirk before turning on his heel and walking away.

Seamus turned to the clearly distressed girl beside him. "I'm sure Ris is alright. They aren't gonna get 'er without a fight," he told her with a small smile, but Liete just responded with a feeble, detached laugh.

It was at this point that Ernie Macmillan rose from his seat, as did Hannah Abbott. "We'd best be leaving as well," he announced. "Malfoy's right, we wouldn't want anyone to think we're planning something." And with that, the pair left.

Ginny waited for a few minutes, the uncomfortable silence slightly unnerving, before standing up as well and leaving without anyone posing a question. She found Draco in the very last compartment of the car and slammed the door behind her before locking eyes with him. "That was really uncalled for," she chided frigidly.

"It's not like I can go in there and act any different. It's what they expect."

"But you didn't have to say what you did," Ginny snapped, her jaw set angrily.

He looked away. "I'm sure Esteed is fine, and it's not like I haven't said that to Longbottom before," he argued tersely.

"But still-"

"Gin, that's the first time I've insulted any of them in months," he noted with slight frustration, "and it was purely for show." She huffed as she plopped down beside him.

"You're such a prat. Terry should've hexed you."

"Can we just forget about it for now? I told Blaise I'd be back in an hour and I'd rather not spend it bickering with you." If it'd be any other time, she wouldn't have let him get off that easily (after all, she didn't want to see him relapse into his old, spiteful self), but since it was their last time together for the next month, she was willing to let it drop for now.

"...You left Blaise alone with Parkinson?" she inquired, her temper fading slightly.

With a small grin, Draco said, "No, he ditched her too." She couldn't fight back a hearty laugh, and once again, he found himself thankful for the fact that she was so forgiving.

"As long as that cow doesn't come looking for you..."

It was nearly dusk by the time the Hogwarts Express pulled into Platform 9 ¾ and the students started unloading their trunks. Due to her impatience, Ginny made sure she was ready go when the train came to a halt, having already said her good-bye minutes before-hand so she could beat the rush. So when she got off, it wasn't hard to find a set of red-headed twins waiting for her. With a brilliant smile she rushed over to them, releasing her grip on the handle of her trunk so she could throw her arms around the closer of the two.

"What are you two doing here?" she exclaimed, the happiness on her face spilling into her words.

"Oi, don't I get a hug?" the other boy wondered, causing her to chortle before releasing George to embrace his twin.

"Did Mum really let you come by yourselves?"

"Nah," Fred replied, pulling away, "she'd have a heart attack at the thought. Lupin and Tonks are over there." Ginny turned her head to see a very pregnant Tonks (sporting a long auburn do and altered, but still recognizable, features) standing a little ways away, seemingly arguing with her frowning former-professor, who had a hat pulled down to hide part of his face.

"So, we've heard you've been up to a few things-"

"Or rather, tried to steal a few things-" Fred corrected as George wrapped an arm around her shoulders and continued.

"But either way, we're proud of you, little sis," he finished with a grin.

Fred let out a comically forlorn sigh as he took her trunk for her and started walking. "If only we were still there. I'm sure our dear old Potions' professor could use a little more mayhem in his life." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a call sounded from behind them.

"Hey, wait a second!" The trio turned around to see Liete Katrae pushing her way through the now bustling crowd before sliding to stop in front of them. "Have you heard anything about Ris?" she blurted out almost desperately as Ginny remembered how both Sarisa Esteed and the girl before her were quite good friends with the twins.

It was Fred who answered her question. "She's been in hiding-"

"We can't say where but-"

"We saw her just the other day," they chimed together, matching smiles on their faces.

With a heavy sigh of release, she returned their expression before her eyes lit up as an idea came to her. "Could you two deliver something to her?"

"Of course," George answered brightly.

Her grin widened. "I'll be back in a minute, okay?" When they nodded, she hurried off, no doubt to find the other person who was equally worried about the girl.

"You go on ahead, Gin."

"We'll wait for Liete to come back."

"Alright," she agreed and began walking over to the married couple, who quickly ended their tiny row at her arrival. "Hello! I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Tonks smiled. "Wotcher, Ginny."

"No offense, but I'm a little surprised to see you here in your condition."

Before the older woman could respond, her husband cut her off. "I told her she should stay home, but-"

She pursed her lips, retaliating with, "I will not stay home just because I'm pregnant, Remus. I'm not ill, or injured, or-"

"I think he gets it," Ginny interrupted with a light-hearted laugh, which Tonks responded to with a sheepish grin.

Hoping to change the subject (and there by keep himself out of trouble), Lupin asked, "What are Fred and George waiting for?"

"A friend to bring them something. They shouldn't be much longer." As she said this, she saw Liete reappear and hand the twins some parchment, which George took, tucking it safely away in his pocket before bidding farewell to their friend and coming over to meet them.

"We should probably get back," Fred suggested with a grin. "Mum'll think we lost you."

Ginny nodded and they started walking to that portal that'd lead them to the Muggle part of King's Cross. As the rest of the group made their way through the entrance, she glanced over her shoulder in order to search for any sign of Malfoy's strikingly blonde hair, but to her dismay, he was no where to be seen.

Many, many miles away, Draco was trekking along the path that led to the grand entrance of Malfoy Manor, the drizzling rain taunting him as it dripped down his pointed face. Once he reached the doors, he rapped on it curtly and hardly a minute later, his mother appeared in the doorway with relief written all over her features. After closing the door, she pulled him into a hug. "I was beginning to worry about you, Draco. Was the train running a bit late?"

"Not that I know of, mother." He paused, mildly uncomfortable because of the unusual attention he was receiving. "If you don't mind, could you let go?"

"Yes, Cissy," a cold voice mocked from the staircase, causing Narcissa to release her son from her hold. Over his mother's shoulder, Draco could see Bellatrix leaning against the banister, gazing at him scornfully. "He's a big boy now, it's about time you started treating him like one."

Mrs. Malfoy glanced away before returning her attention to her son. "Perhaps you should go warm up, Draco. We wouldn't want you to catch a cold."

"No wonder he failed his task, with you spending all your time babying him like this," Bellatrix spat icily. Unwilling to be the target of anymore derision, he pulled away from his doting mother and began moving towards the stairs, leaving his stuff for the house elves to take care of. As he walked past her, she scowled. "Where do you think you're going?"

"My room." Knowing he was leaving his aunt fuming behind him, Draco kept walking until his was completely out of sight, already counting the days till he could return to Hogwarts.