Chapter 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, it all belongs to JK Rowling…I'm merely an obsessed fan with ideas stuck in my head.
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September 1st rolled around all too quickly and with that, it was time for Leila, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny to head back to Hogwarts. Leila was impartial to heading back to school. She would get to see more of Daphne and less of Granger, but that also meant seeing less of Ron, Ginny, and even Harry. That morning Leila woke up to the sound of Harry packing his trunk. She slowly opened her eyes and peeked over the covers to find Harry cramming the last of his clothes into his trunk.
"You never learn, do you Harry?" Leila sighed.
"I suppose not, but we're leaving in a half hour," Harry said.
"Merlin, I overslept!" Leila cried.
"You could say that," Harry grinned.
"Why didn't you wake me?" Leila shouted.
Harry shrugged and Leila rolled her eyes at him. She quickly kicked her covers off and onto the floor, and then ran for the bathroom. Leila slammed hard into the door. It was shut. She tried jiggling the handle hoping that it would give, but it didn't. Why was it that every time she needed the bathroom someone was in there? Leila pounded hard on the bathroom door. Please don't let it be Granger.
"Who is it?" Hermione asked.
Leila groaned. Hermione probably took the longest in the bathroom out of all of them. All the primping and prodding, as if it did Granger any good…Leila thought. Leila had almost no hope of getting in the bathroom now. Unless, she gave in to whatever Granger demanded. She hated being in this situation, especially with Granger; but she didn't really have a choice in the matter. Leila exhaled deeply and rapped on the door again.
"I said, who is it?" Hermione asked.
"Who do you think it is? It's Leila. I overslept and I need to go to the bathroom," Leila said.
Hermione opened the door, she was in her bathrobe and her hair was wrapped in a towel. Leila tried to push past her, but Hermione held her ground, causing Leila just to walk straight into Hermione. Leila's eyes flashed with anger, while Hermione kept her cool stature. The girls eyed each other, neither speaking for what seemed like an eternity; which in reality was probably 30 seconds.
"You need to go or were you planning on stealing it?" Hermione asked.
"Both," Leila muttered.
"I'm not done yet," Hermione said.
"Well, I really have to go," Leila whined.
"When you're done, can we please share the mirror?" Hermione asked kindly.
"Whatever," Leila said.
Leila quickly used the bathroom and reluctantly let Hermione back in. Soon Ginny joined them, and the three girls were sharing the one mirror. Leila softly curled her hair and put it half-back. Hopefully, this way no one could tell she missed her morning shower because she had overslept. She then ran back to the room she shared with Harry to throw on some clothes. She grabbed a dark green sweater and a pair of jeans. A knock came at the door once she was finished changing. Leila opened the door to find Ginny waiting outside with her arms folded across her chest.
"Ready?" Ginny asked.
"Just about, do you think you can help me haul this stuff downstairs?" Leila asked.
"We'll make Mum come get the trunk seeing as we'd probably get yelled at for using magic. Her nerves aren't what they used to be," Ginny said.
"You think they'd be better with Fred and George gone," Leila said.
"You'd think so; but she worries about them all the time. Besides, my nerves aren't what they used to be with Phlegm here," Ginny said finishing in a whisper.
Mrs. Weasley yelled for Ginny and Leila, so both girls went downstairs. The girls walked outside as Mrs. Weasley went back upstairs to get Leila's trunk. The charm was quite a simple one, but Ginny was right: Mrs. Weasley's nerves couldn't handle underage magic at the moment. Outside waiting were two cars loaned to them by the Ministry. Ginny crawled into the car where Hermione was already seated; but Leila didn't want to spend a car ride with Granger, so she opted for the other car. Leila partially wondered if Granger had done this by design to give her time with Harry and Ron, but quickly let the thought pass her. She climbed into the other car, followed by Harry and Ron. They were then off to King's Cross Station. When they arrived at Kings Cross Station, they were met by four cross-looking Aurors. Leila had secretly hoped that Hagrid would be able to escort them again, but no such luck. But Leila understood that Hagrid was probably busy preparing for his classes. Classes in which neither she, Harry, Ron, nor Hermione would be attending.
They entered King's Cross station in a train of people, with Aurors in front of and behind both Harry and Leila. Harry and his Aurors led the way, while Leila and her Aurors brought up the caboose of group. Leila discreetly passed through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾ finding herself in a sea of Hogwarts students and parents. White whisps of smoke billowed from the engine of the train. She looked around the crowd and spotted many of her classmates; but one classmate stuck out in particularly, Draco Malfoy. Malfoy's mother was clutching her son in a fierce embrace. The emotions Leila read from Malfoy's face were not his usual. He almost seemed void of emotion, but only for a second. He then forced his mother off him as Pansy Parkinson and her family strolled up to the two Malfoys. Leila snickered at the sight of Pansy. The two girls had never gotten along; but that was probably because Pansy always considered them rivals for Malfoy's attention. Leila had never wanted that attention. Suddenly, Leila realized that Mrs. Malfoy was watching her with a stern gaze. She remembered their encounter in Diagon Alley and quickly turned away to look for the group she had arrived with.
Leila found the Weasleys, Harry, and Granger gathered in a small group. Just when Leila caught up to them, Harry, Ron, and Granger began to walk away. Harry motioned for them to find a carriage with him; but Leila, Ron, and Granger all had to start the train ride in the prefect's carriage.
"We can't Harry. Ron, Leila, and I have to go to the prefect's carriage first." Hermione said.
"Oh yeah, I forgot." Harry said.
"Don't worry; when the meeting's done I'll come find you." Leila said.
"Me too." Ron said.
"You can't Ronald. We have the first patrol." Hermione said.
"Hermione, did you sign up for this without telling me?" Ron whined.
"Honestly Ronald, we were going to have to do it some time or another. Why not do it right away?" Hermione said.
"Hmm…because now Harry's going to be all alone." Ron said.
"Excuse me, but what am I? Chopped liver?" Leila asked.
"You know what I meant. I'm just trying to get out of this prefect thing." Ron whispered to Leila.
"I heard that." Hermione snapped.
Ron rolled his eyes, while Leila tried to suppress a giggle. Just as she was about to board the train, she took one last look back for Harry. Harry had pulled Mr. Weasley away from Mrs. Weasley to chat about something in private. No doubt about Draco Malfoy. Leila wished that Harry would just drop this thing about Malfoy. Something like this could only lead to trouble, and Leila had had enough of getting into trouble for the last five years. Well, at least the bad kind of trouble. A detention or two now and then never hurt anyone.
When Leila arrived at the prefects' carriage, there was no sign of her sixth year Slytherin counterpart. Leila took the empty seat next to Ron. They took bets on how long this meeting would go and Granger of course, told them that they were acting immature. Just as Granger was about to get her second wind, the Headboy, Jason Swann (Gryffindor) and Headgirl, Felicity Eastchurch (Ravenclaw) walked into the compartment. Felicity immediately scanned the room and then narrowed her eyes at Leila.
"Potter, where's Malfoy?" Felicity Eastchurch asked.
"Like I would know." Leila said.
"He's your partner." Felicity said.
"Maybe he quit?" Leila said hopefully.
"Well, if he has; he hasn't owled Hogwarts telling them so. So as of right now, he's still your partner and when you do your rounds I expect you to find him and fill him in." Felicity said.
"Do I have to?" Leila whined.
Felicity ignored her whining and moved on to give the fifth year prefects their duties. Leila sighed and waited for the boring meeting to begin. The meeting was boring, as usual. Only this year, it was even more boring because prefects were now to help with the responsibilities to protect the castle. When she found Malfoy, she was definitely giving him a piece of her mind. Well, she'd do that after she found Harry. The only thing that kept the meeting interesting was watching how many times Ron would fall asleep and wake up. After about the twelfth time Ron woke up, the meeting was finally over. Leila followed Ron and Granger out of the compartment.
"That was worse than last year's meeting." Leila complained.
"I agree, I don't remember the last time I was that bored." Ron said.
"Or that tired?" Leila giggled.
"It's for our own protection. The Ministry just wants to keep Hogwarts students safe." Hermione said.
"But is it really that necessary to push it all onto the prefects?" Leila complained.
"We're supposed to be an example." Hermione said.
"Well Malfoy's doing a great job of being an example by not showing up. I can't wait to go yell at him." Leila said.
Ron laughed and Hermione actually broke into a smile. Leila winked at Ron and patted him on the arm.
"Have fun patrolling." Leila teased.
Ron rolled his eyes and Leila laughed at his misfortune of first patrol. She then went on a mad hunt to find Harry. She checked every compartment as she walked down the train. She directed several first years to the bathroom, briskly ran into Cho Chang, but still had no luck at finding her brother. Leila should have known right away that Harry would have taken the last available compartment on the train. So she was slightly disheveled when she found him; only her brother wasn't alone. Harry occupied the last compartment with Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood.
"Well well, if it isn't Neville Longbottom." Leila grinned.
Neville quickly looked up from his Herbology book and grinned. He stood up and awkwardly hugged Leila, which caused to her chuckle. After a moment, Neville released Leila, his face bright red, and quickly sat down beside Luna. Leila looked curiously over to Luna who had a stack of Quibbler's in hands. Luna must have planned to pass some of them out on the train. Last year had seen the Quibbler's best sellers because of the interview she and Harry had given to Rita Skeeter that was published in the Quibbler. Leila always thought Luna to be a bit odd; but she liked that Luna was always honest.
"Er…Hi Luna." Leila said.
"Did the Wrackspurts get you too?" Luna asked.
"What's a Wrackspurt?" Leila whispered.
Leila looked to Neville who simply shrugged his shoulders; so she plopped down on the seat next to Harry. He looked like he had been deep in thought as he stared out the window. Leila absently waved at him; but she still didn't catch his attention. She cleared her throat before calling him.
"Harry?"
"Hmm…what?" Harry asked.
"Are you all right?" Leila asked.
"Yeah, of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" Harry shot back defensively.
"Nevermind. So Neville how was your summer." Leila said.
"Er…Gran kept going on and on about what we did in the Department of Mysteries. It was getting a bit annoying." Neville said.
"She's only proud of you Neville." Leila commented.
"I suppose." Neville blushed.
Neville and Leila had become good friends with the D.A. last year. She had been the only Slytherin in Dumbledore's Army, which Neville had originally been wary of her. For their first for years of Hogwarts he had assumed that she was like the rest of the Slytherins despite how many times she tried to prove otherwise to him. But Leila hung out with Daphne, who hung out with Pansy and Malfoy, who relentlessly tormented Neville. Leila was glad for his friendship, it somewhat filled the void she had in her heart from her friendship with Cedric. Leila and Neville didn't continue with their conversation because Hermione and Ron entered the compartment just as Luna was leaving to sell Quibblers.
"Move over, Leila." Ron commanded.
Leila slightly moved over closer to Harry only to have Ron almost sit right on top of her. Leila scowled in disgust before playfully pushing him further away from her. Ron didn't budge instead he looked to her.
"So Leila, what's up with Malfoy?" Ron asked.
Harry looked at her oddly causing her face to blush furiously.
"Why are you asking me? I haven't seen him." Leila said slowly.
"Why wasn't he at the meeting? Is he not doing his prefect duties this year?" Hermione asked.
"I have no clue. If he's not being a prefect this year, he hasn't told anyone," Leila said.
"Well, we passed him on our way down here. He was in a compartment full of Slytherins," Ron said.
"Where else would you expect the prat to be?" Leila said rolling her eyes.
"That's not the point," Ron hissed.
"What did he do when he saw you?" Harry asked interestedly.
"The usual. But it's odd though, don't you think? Why isn't he out there bullying first years?" Ron asked.
"Dunno." Harry said.
"Perhaps he preferred the Inquisitorial Squad? He probably considers being prefect a few steps down from that," Hermione said.
"I don't think so. I think he's…" Harry began.
"Can we please talk about something else other than Malfoy?" Leila whined.
"Just let me finish…" Harry groaned.
Harry cleared his throat to continue speaking, but he never finished his Malfoy rant. A timid-looking third year stepped into the compartment. She was shaking very badly, which caused Ron to snicker; but Leila elbowed him causing him to gasp. Hermione looked sternly over to Ron and Leila, which Leila simply rolled her eyes at Hermione. Hermione scoffed before turning her attention to the third year girl.
"How can we help you?" Hermione asked.
"I'm supposed to deliver these to Neville Longbottom, Harry P-Potter, and Leila P-Potter." The girl faltered.
The girl held three pieces of parchment in her hand. Leila grabbed them from the girl who quickly scurried away as soon as they were in Leila's hand. She passed one to each Neville and Harry, keeping one for herself. She opened it and watched for Neville and Harry's reaction, while Ron and Hermione watched them curiously.
"What is it?" Ron demanded.
"It's an invitation." Harry said.
"For what?" Ron asked.
Leila carefully read over the invitation given to her by the shaking third year. The invitation invited Harry, Leila, and Neville to join Professor Slughorn "for a bit of lunch in compartment C." Leila wondered what caused Professor Slughorn to invite her, Harry, and Neville. Well, she knew the reason for her and Harry; but why include Neville? As much as she hated to admit it, Granger was worth more than Neville was.
"Are you going?" Ron asked.
"New teacher, I suppose we should go." Harry said.
"But Harry, we've already met Slughorn." Leila whined.
"It can't hurt anything to go." Harry said.
"But what does he want with me?" Neville asked.
"No idea. Why don't we go under the Invisibility cloak, so we can see what Malfoy's up to?" Harry suggested.
"You've got to be kidding me." Leila groaned.
"This way…" Harry began.
"Oh no. I'm not doing it." Leila protested.
"Suit yourself then." Harry said.
Leila rolled her eyes as she exited the compartment with Neville and Harry. Leila refused to have anything to do with Harry's plan of stalking Malfoy. Luckily for her, Harry's plan didn't work out because there were too many people in the corridor. He couldn't find an opportune moment to swing his Invisibility Cloak over himself and sneak off to find Malfoy. Instead, Harry grumbled and complained the whole walk to Slughorn's compartment. When they got to compartment C, she and Harry were greeted enthusiastically by Professor Slughorn as Neville shyly slipped inside. Leila looked around for anyone else she knew. She recognized her fellow Slytherin Blaise Zabini. She nodded to him and he returned a nod. From Gryffindor was Cormac McLaggen and from Ravenclaw Marcus Belby. But what surprised Leila the most was Ginny Weasley smiling at her. Leila grinned back at her and instantly walked over to where Ginny was standing while Slughorn went on with introductions.
"What are you doing in here?" Leila asked Ginny.
"He saw me hex Zacharias Smith." Ginny whispered.
"What?" Leila whispered.
"I hexed Zacharias Smith. He was being rather rude and annoying. Slughorn saw, said I had a mean Bat-Bogey hex, and invited me here." Ginny said.
"Lovely; but I too enjoy using that spell, especially on Draco Malfoy," Leila whispered.
"Remember the one you did to him last year?" Ginny giggled.
"That mental image is priceless," Leila laughed.
"Do you lovely ladies care to share your conversation with the rest of us?" Professor Slughorn asked.
Leila and Ginny instantly stifled their laughter. Slughorn chuckled at their reaction and motioned for his guests to sit down. Leila sat in between Ginny and Blaise. Harry gave her a pointed look about her position beside Blaise, but Leila simply rolled her eyes at her brother. After a few moments of small-talk, Professor Slughorn then began the grueling interrogation process to figure out what each of them was worth to him. Everyone present was connected to or actually was well-known in the Wizarding world, except for Ginny. Professor Slughorn first talked about Marcus Belby and his uncle. Then Cormac McLaggen and his uncle. Blaise Zabini and his mother. Finally he came to Neville. Leila hoped that Slughorn would take it easy on him. She and Harry had accidentally stumbled across Neville's parents once at St. Mungo's. That's probably why Neville trusted her. She had never told anyone about his parents. Granted, most people knew what happened to them, but Leila never said a word. Professor Slughorn rambled about Neville's parents before moving-on to her and Harry.
"Harry and Leila Potter! Where to begin?" Slughorn said happily.
"Nowhere." Leila whispered.
"And Harry, they're calling you "the Chosen One" these days." Slughorn said.
Harry remained silent.
"Of course there have been rumors for years…I remember when – well – after that terrible night – Lily – James – and then you both survived – and word was that you both must have extraordinary powers." Slughorn reveled.
Blaise coughed so Leila elbowed him. Blaise narrowed his eyes at Leila so she narrowed hers back. All the while, Slughorn kept on talking about her and Harry. Leila wondered what was worse: the prefect's meeting or this. She was the only one who could make any judgment on the matter because she was the only one who attended both. It was a hard call to make; but Leila never made it, because Blaise hissed in her ear.
"What was that for?" Blaise hissed at her.
"My elbow must have slipped. Maybe next time you should think twice before you try to insult someone." Leila whispered.
"You better be careful Potter; Malfoy's not looking out for you this year." Blaise said lowly.
"Good for him; only took how many years to finally listen to me?" Leila whispered back.
Blaise rolled his eyes and Leila folded her arms across her chest. She wished this painful gathering would end; but no such luck. Slughorn continued to talk; but she didn't listen. She didn't really care what the man had to say, especially concerning her and her brother. Just when Leila thought that she could take it no more, she casually looked at the watch Zabini was wearing on his wrist. Could it possibly be? It was time for her to patrol the train! She had never been so happy in her life to patrol, even if it meant the sight of Malfoy.
"Excuse me sir." Leila said.
"Yes Miss Potter?" Professor Slughorn asked.
"I'm going to have to excuse myself." Leila said as politely as she could.
"May I inquire as to why?" Professor Slughorn asked.
"I'm a prefect and this is my scheduled time to patrol the corridors." Leila smiled.
"A prefect? Well, I don't want to keep you from your duties Miss Potter. Please, if you ever have a spare moment at school come and see me." Professor Slughorn smiled.
"Yes, sir." Leila said.
If looks could kill, then Ginny and Harry were about ready to kill her. Leila mouthed "sorry" to her friend and brother before escaping from compartment C. She breathed a sigh of relief once she was away from the compartment.
"For once I'm glad I'm a prefect." Leila muttered.
Leila quickly wandered the corridors without Malfoy. Leila was glad for the moments to herself. For the most part, nothing suspicious was going on; but she did have to break up two heavy snogging sessions. She remembered last year when she and Malfoy had to patrol the castle and they caught couples out of bed. Malfoy seemed natural at breaking up the couples and sending them straight to their common rooms. Leila on the other hand, didn't hold as much power of sneaking couples. One couple, which she and Malfoy had broken up on several occasions last year, was giving her a very hard time so she resorted to her last option.
"Don't make me go get Malfoy." Leila sneered.
The couple instantly broke apart and headed back into their compartments. Leila rolled her eyes in disgust. She made a mental note that if she was to find a boyfriend this year, there would be no public displaying of affection. The rest of her patrol went by smoothly. She even had time to chat with a few of her friends as she passed by them. But she was thankful when her patrol was finally over. Leila made her way back to her belongings, grabbed her Slytherin robes, and changed in the bathroom. She literally had just exited the bathroom when she was cornered by her brother.
"Harry!" Leila hissed.
"I need your help." Harry said.
"What do you want?" Leila asked.
"I need you to go to the Slytherin compartment." Harry said.
"For what?" Leila said.
"I need you to sneak me in there." Harry said holding up his Invisibility Cloak.
"And what exactly do you plan on doing?" Leila asked knowing full-well what Harry planned on doing in the Slytherin compartment.
"I just want to see what Malfoy's up to." Harry said.
"And what if I don't want to sneak you in? Leila asked.
"Leila, please?" Harry asked.
"Will you leave me alone about him then?" Leila asked.
"For now," Harry answered.
"Fine, just let me set my things with my trunk first," Leila sighed.
"Thanks, I owe you." Harry said.
"You bet you owe me! You're going to be indebted to me for the rest of your life after all the things I've done for you." Leila said.
"Name something else besides, right now." Harry argued.
"Really, only one?" Leila said cocking one eyebrow.
Flashback to 2nd year
Leila was in the library reading to avoid Malfoy. She sat at a table with Cedric Diggory, while he worked on his Transfiguration homework. Leila looked up once from her book to find Harry and Ron running toward her. She quickly walked toward them, so that they wouldn't interrupt Cedric. Leila met the boys with her hands up to stop them. They were panting for breath as they talked to her.
"Leila, we need your help!" Harry said.
"With what exactly?" Leila asked.
"You promise you won't tell anyone?" Ron asked.
"I suppose." Leila answered.
"We need you to sneak us into the Slytherin common room." Harry said.
"What? Why?" Leila asked.
"Malfoy could be the Heir of Slytherin." Ron stated.
At first Leila thought the idea preposterous. She would have seen something in her own common room? But the more Harry and Ron explained, the slightly more suspicious she became of Malfoy. After a little thought and coaxing, Leila agreed to help sneak them into the Slytherin common room.
"You do realize that you're helping Hermione too?" Harry asked.
"The things I do for you." Leila groaned.
Leila became an intricate part of the plan. She reluctantly helped Hermione brew the Polyjuice Potion in the bathroom on the second floor; constantly reminding herself that she didn't want to be with Granger. Finally, after a month of brewing a potion too complex for most second years, they were ready to continue with their plan. Leila waited patiently in the bathroom for them to show up.
"All right, so who's changing into whom?" Leila asked.
"Ron and Harry will be Crabbe and Goyle and I have a hair from Millicent Bullstrode's robes." Hermione said.
"And the real people are taken care of?" Leila asked.
"Oh yeah." Ron smiled.
"All right, drink up." Leila said.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron each drank their disgusting potion before running into a bathroom stall. Soon enough, Ron and Harry came out looking like Crabbe and Goyle respectively; but Hermione decided to stay put. Leila was rather glad that she didn't have to bring Granger into her common room. So she led Harry and Ron down to the dungeons. They were about to round the last corner when Percy Weasley caught them. He interrogated Crabbe and Goyle for their reasons they were with Leila Potter. Leila slightly groaned because even Percy realized that she didn't like Malfoy and his cronies; but speaking of Malfoy, he came to the trio's rescue.
"Crabbe! Goyle! Where have you two been? Pigging out in the Great Hall this whole time?" Malfoy asked Harry and Ron.
Harry and Ron looked to each other then nodded their heads in unison.
"And Potter, what a pleasant surprise to see you." Malfoy smiled.
"Shove off, Malfoy." Leila said.
Leila could see Harry or rather Goyle's hands clench into fists. Malfoy got them away from Percy and they walked into the common room. Leila plopped down onto the couch, knowing that Malfoy would stay if she was there. Crabbe and Goyle, asking questions that sounded more like Harry and Ron interrogated Malfoy. Malfoy didn't seem to pay his cronies enough attention to figure out they were fakes. Leila thought that they would be goners for sure! But Malfoy answered their questions, giving their studpity the credit. Malfoy admitted to them that he had no idea who the Heir of Slytherin was; but he relished the idea of the Heir continuing their noble work. Harry and Leila became uneasy at Malfoy's comments; but that wasn't the worst of the problem. Harry and Ron were turning back to normal, the Polyjuice Potion was wearing off! Soon Harry's features began to replace Goyle's and Ron's features Crabbe's. They motioned for Leila to distract Malfoy before he found out. She had no idea what to do!
"Malfoy." Leila rushed.
"What?" Draco said looking at her.
She had to think quickly, it was only a matter of seconds before she would lose his attention. An idea came into her head, but she didn't like it. But she had to. She tightly closed her eyes and brushed her lips on Malfoy's cheek. His eyes went wide with shock. Leila made a gagging sound as she quickly ran from the room with Harry and Ron.
End Flashback
"I kissed that prat for you." Leila said.
"It's your own fault that's all you could come up with." Harry smirked.
"Parkinson was furious with me! For all I know, she still is. She claims that I made a move on her man. As if I would ever do that." Leila groaned.
"Ok, I just want to get the image of you kissing Malfoy out of my head. Let's go." Harry said.
"Harry, please be careful." Leila whispered.
Harry didn't respond. Instead, he quickly ushered Leila down to the Slytherin compartment. Her heart began to beat rapidly. If Malfoy caught Harry, who knew what terrible things he was capable of? Leila tried to remain hopefully about the situation, but the outlook looked rather grim. They were almost to the prefects' compartment, when Leila stopped suddenly.
"Put your cloak on now, less suspicious." Leila said.
Harry did as he was told. Leila threw her clothes in the prefect's compartment before heading further down the train to the compartment which Malfoy and the Slytherins occupied. She mentally went over how the plan was going to work before double-checking everything with Harry.
"Now you're not going to have much time to get in. Where are you going to hide?' Leila said.
"The overhead luggage compartment." Harry whispered.
"I suppose I can argue Malfoy to buy you some time." Leila said.
Harry didn't say anything, but Leila knew he was still following. He wouldn't give up an opportunity to spy on Malfoy with the given circumstances. She took a deep breath and flung the compartment door open. The Slytherins' turned their attention to her; but Leila only glared at Malfoy.
"Malfoy!" Leila hissed.
"Potter." Draco sneered.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Leila yelled.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Malfoy drawled.
"Why weren't you on our rounds?" Leila asked.
"If you insist on throwing a fit at least shut the door." Draco drawled.
"Shut the door? What am I, you're servant? If it means so much to you, you shut the damn door!" Leila hissed.
Leila folded her arms across her chest and continued to glare at Malfoy. Draco sneered at her and got up to shut the door, pushing her out of the way and into the compartment. Leila hoped Harry was taking advantage of this time to get into his hiding spot. For a split-second Leila thought she saw Harry's shoes; she only hoped that Draco didn't notice. With a scowl still attached to his face, Draco resumed his position on Pansy's lap. Leila wanted to gag at the sight of the pair. The pair had made her sick since they had gotten together. She didn't like Malfoy; but she knew that he could do a lot better than some piece of scum like Parkinson. Leila realized that she was staring at Draco, so she quickly shook her head.
"What do you want, Potter?" Draco drawled.
"First off, why didn't you help me with rounds?" Leila asked.
"He was with me." Pansy said playing with Draco's hair.
"Doing Parkinson doesn't count as an excuse from prefect duties." Leila spat.
Blaise chuckled as he walked back into the compartment, causing Malfoy to sit back up. Leila rolled her eyes at him.
"Someone's as feisty as ever this year, even with my warning." Blaise smirked.
"Shut up, Zabini. This is between me and Malfoy." Leila hissed.
"Just stay away from him you filthy half-blood." Pansy sneered.
"You're just jealous that I'm stuck with your precious Drakie-poo for prefect duties. It's not like I'd willingly ever do anything with the ferret. As for you Malfoy, you're still a prefect and you're expected to do your share of the work. I…" Leila said.
"Shut up, Potter." Draco hissed.
"I'm not done yelling at you yet." Leila said.
"Then have a seat next to me." Blaise smiled.
Leila hesitantly sat next to Zabini, in the seat across from Malfoy. Draco narrowed his eyes once more at Leila before leaning himself back onto Pansy's lap. Pansy them toyed with his blonde hair. She had to remind herself that she was doing this for Harry and not because she loved being subject to Malfoy's company.
"That's disgusting. Can you not do that while I'm trying to yell at Mafloy?" Leila groaned.
"Jealous?" Pansy smirked.
"You obviously know me so well, Parkinson." Leila said sarcastically.
"So Zabini, what did Slughorn want?" Draco asked.
"Just trying to make up to well-connected people. Not that he managed to find many." Blaise said.
"Who else did he invite?" Draco asked.
"Why does it matter Malfoy? You obviously weren't invited." Leila said.
"And you were?" Malfoy asked.
"Of course. I'm Leila Potter. Why wouldn't I be invited? But it looks like the Malfoy name means almost nothing to the Wizarding society anymore." Leila smirked.
"Who else was there?" Malfoy growled attempting to ignore Leila.
"McLaggen, Belby, Longbottom, both Potters, and that Weasley girl." Blaise finished.
"He invited Longbottom?" Draco said bolting straight up.
"Now who's jealous," Leila muttered.
"You need to learn your place, Potter." Draco yelled.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Leila asked.
"I've overlooked your loyalties in the past simply because I know he's your brother. But it's about time you chose the right side here, instead of playing middle ground." Draco fumed.
"Don't go there with me, Malfoy." Leila hissed.
"Both of you settle down." Daphne said from a few tables away.
Draco and Leila continued to glare at each other, never breaking eye contact. Daphne reluctantly stood up and walked over to join the pleasant conversation. She stood beside Leila and looked between the arguing pair.
"If Snape hears of you two fighting there will be hell to pay, especially since you two are his prefects." Daphne said.
"I could care less about what Snape thinks," Draco hissed.
"Sadly, I agree with him," Leila muttered.
"We'll be at Hogwarts soon." Pansy said changing the subject.
"Hogwarts, what a pathetic excuse for a school. I'd much rather pitch myself of the Astronomy Tower than have to be there for another two years." Draco said.
"Draco, what's that supposed to mean?" Pansy asked.
"I might have moved on to bigger and better things." Draco said.
"You've finally moved on from me? Let me guess to Pansy? Bigger, check; but better…hmm…" Leila said.
Blaise and Daphne sniggered, but Pansy screamed. Draco covered his ears with his hands at Pansy's shrieks. Leila smirked contentedly. It was only the beginning of the school year; but she already was out-witting Parkinson.
"Are you just going to let her talk about me like that?" Pansy whined.
Draco narrowed his eyes at Leila. Daphne grabbed Leila's arm and pulled her away to a different table.
"Why don't we sit over here?" Daphne said
"If we must." Leila said.
Leila and Daphne moved to the table behind Malfoy's. The train jerked and Leila could have sworn that she heard Harry groan. She closed her eyes and held her breath for a moment. When she opened her eyes, Malfoy was leaning into the aisle looking at her. The expression on his face was easily read. He quickly glanced up at the luggage compartment and back to Leila, shaking his head. They were caught. If Malfoy were to question her about it, she would deny it. She already had enough of him, she didn't want to play middle ground with him and Harry.
"What has gotten into you and Malfoy?" Daphne asked.
"It's him, not me." Leila said.
"You both looked ready to kill each other there. Normally, it's just you ready to kill him." Daphne said.
"I told you in Diagon Alley that he changed over summer." Leila said.
"I knew he was upset over his father's incarceration; but I didn't think it would last this long." Daphne commented.
Leila could still barely hear Draco talking. He was talking something about Voldemort. She hoped Harry wouldn't read too much into what Draco was saying, but knowing her brother she knew he would. Leila sat quietly for most of the journey, too frozen in worry over her brother. The train finally stopped at Hogsmeade station and everyone was ready to get off the train. Leila stopped for a moment to talk to Malfoy who stroking Pansy's cheek.
"Malfoy." Leila growled.
"What." Draco sneered.
"We have patrol after dinner, and you'd better be there this time." Leila narrowed her eyes.
"I have something I need to take care of first." Draco said narrowing his eyes.
Leila hoped that Harry had made it out of the compartment, but she didn't have time to check. If she stayed, Malfoy would know for sure that she was in on the plan. Leila took one last glance back, to find that Pansy had left the compartment and Draco was shutting the door, glaring at her. Leila desperately wanted to go back and make sure that Harry wasn't in there; but she had to still get her belongings from the prefects' compartment and find a carriage. Leila grabbed her things and ran to back to check the compartment. She found it empty, so she headed off to find a carriage to take her to Hogwarts.