The Order of phoenix

Kiss

As the train gathered speed, Harry looked through the open window. The black dog was bounding alongside the window, wagging its tail; blurred people on the platform were laughing to see it chasing the train, then they rounded a bend, and Sirius was gone.

Harry settled down with Luna, Neville and Ginny in the train compartment. Just as Neville splashed the Stinksap from the Mimbulus mimbletonia plant on Harry, Cho Chang had come into the compartment to greet Harry. Harry slumped back in his seat and groaned. He would have liked Cho to discover him sitting with a group of very cool people laughing their heads off at a joke he had just told rather than what she saw.

As the time passed, silence fell into the compartment. Ron and Hermione did not turn up for nearly an hour, by which time the food trolley had already gone by. They informed him that Draco Malfoy was the slytherin prefect. Obviously Dumbledore thought even Malfoy was better than Harry for the prefect position. Harry tried hard to hide his bitterness from his friends

Harry closed his eyes and images of Dudley being attacked and his trial at the ministry came to his mind. It was unfair on him, thought Harry. He had almost been expelled from Hogwarts if not for Dumbledore's timely intervention. The thought of Dumbledore made Harry angrier. He was having trouble controlling his emotions as he thought of the headmaster. Dumbledore had not even looked at Harry in the trial. He was giving instructions to the Order to fight Voldemort but the Order had not seen Voldemort rise. They had not fought with thirty odd death eaters and their master. It was Harry who did that. It was Harry whom Voldemort wanted. He was tired of people treating him as a child, not knowing their plan against Voldemort. Only Sirius seemed to understand. As Harry thought more on the topic, he was feeling anger coursing through him.

Suddenly the compartment door opened and he could see Malfoy and his cronies smirking at him.

ʹWhat?ʹ he said aggressively, before Malfoy could open his mouth.

ʹManners, Potter, or Iʹll have to give you a detention,ʹ drawled Malfoy, whose sleek blond hair and pointed chin were just like his fathers. ʹYou see, I, unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means that I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments.ʹ

Yeah,ʹ said Harry, ʹbut you, unlike me,‐are a git, so get out and leave us alone.ʹ

Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville laughed. Malfoyʹs lip curled.

ʹTell me, how does it feel being second‐best to Weasley, Potter?ʹ he asked.

ʹShut up, Malfoy,ʹ said Hermione sharply.

ʹI seem to have touched a nerve,ʹ said Malfoy, smirking. ʹWell, just watch yourself, Potter, because Iʹll be dogging your footsteps in case you step out of line.ʹ

ʹGet out!ʹ said Hermione, standing up.

Sniggering, Malfoy gave Harry a last malicious look and departed, with Crabbe and Goyle lumbering along in his wake. Hermione slammed the compartment door behind them and turned to look at Harry, who knew at once that she, like him, had registered what Malfoy had said and been just as unnerved by it.

Harry felt uneasy as he pondered over Draco's words. Sirius should not have come. What if Mr Malfoy had noticed the black dog and told Draco? What if he had deduced that the Weasleys, Lupin, Tonks and Moody knew where Sirius was hiding? Or had Malfoyʹs use of the word ʹdoggingʹ been a coincidence?

Harry and his friends changed into their school robes as the train neared its destination. Still more than half an hour to go, Harry's thoughts went back to Malfoy. He needed to find out whether Malfoy knew. Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak from the trunk.

"Where are you going Harry?" asked Hermione

"I am just gonna head out…you know get some air.." Harry replied uncertainly. He could see that Ron and Hermione were not convinced. But with Ginny and Neville nearby, he couldn't risk telling the truth.

"Air?..whats wrong with the air here?" asked Ron

"Er….I thought I will go and meet Cho…She came earlier but I was too busy removing stinksap from my face. So…" Harry told with a look on Neville who became red.

"Don't wait for me though. I will come"

"Okay mate" said Ron who was trying hard not to laugh. Hermione and Neville were giving him strange looks while ginny looked miserable. Just as he closed the compartment door behind him, he heard a roar of laughter from his friends. Harry cringed at the idea of telling them that he was going to meet Cho. But he also knew that it was the only way they would not ask questions.

Harry put the invisibility cloak around him and started searching for Malfoy. He hoped Malfoy will be boasting about Voldemort and his plans to his friends. Harry might just be able to hear some of it. More importantly, he might hear something about Sirius. Harry was sure Malfoy wouldn't miss a chance to put Sirius in Azkaban. Suddenly Harry saw a whirlwind of dirty blonde hair in front of him.

Estella Malfoy.

His heart skipped a beat as he noticed her coming out of the compartment. Her silver grey eyes seemed to focus on him for a second as though she could see him. But then she walked past him. Harry got a scent of her perfume which he guessed smelled like lotus. Snapping away from his thoughts Harry entered the compartment she exited.

He saw Malfoy with Crabbe and Goyle sitting there.

"Of course father expects me to get atleast 10 OWLs. With his connections, I would its quite an easy task" Said Malfoy. Crabbe and Goyle seemed to agree

"Father is more worried about Estella. I don't know how she beats Longbottom in the race to the bottom of the class. He didn't want her to continue in Hogwarts. Imagine the disgrace on our family if she fails in all the OWLS. Father is almost convinced she is a squib but mother convinced him to send her to school. Apparently she too was not much interested in school work but later she scored high marks in exams. Anyway I am not worried. Its about who you know rather than what you know" Malfoy winked at Goyle.

"Estella is certainly better than that Mudblood Granger who eats all the textbooks. She is just a bookworm with no talent. Even the professors like her only because she is pothead's friend."

Malfoy went into a tirade of insults about Harry , Ron and Hermione as time passed. Harry could feel his anger rising but willed himself to be silent. It seemed that Malfoy didn't have any interest in Sirius or Voldemort. Just as he turned to leave Estella Malfoy entered the compartment and shut the door. Harry thought about opening the door but decided against it as it was too much of a risk.

"Draco the train will be halting in 15 minutes. Shouldn't you go and give instructions to the first years?" Asked Estella. She seemed to be very proud of the fact that Malfoy was the prefect.

"Oh I think the Mudblood and weasel will take care of it" replied Draco

"They can hardly handle Potter . I doubt they will be able to handle first years" said Estella with a smirk.

Harry badly wanted to wipe off the smirk from her face. He had reached his boiling point after hearing all the insults.

"You do have a point sister. Maybe I should go and make their life hell." Malfoy stood up. Crabbe and Goyle followed him out of the door as Estella beamed at him.

Just as the compartment door closed , Harry had his wand out

"Silencio"

Estella looked fearfully around as Harry locked the door and pulled out the invisibility cloak.

"You.." Estella inhaled sharply. Harry pointed his wand at Estella.

She pulled her wand out and pointed it at Harry. "Leave now before I hurt you" her voice was shaking just like her hand.

"oh come on Malfoy, We both know you won't be able to cast a spell even if your life depend upon it. I won't even bother disarming you" Said Harry. He saw her eyes widen as she realized the truth in his words. The girl was pathetic in spells. She usually managed to blast off the classrooms even for basic spells. Harry enjoyed seeing fear in her eyes. He was feeling irrational anger towards her. Her mere existence seemed to annoy him.

"So tell me furball how is your daddy death eater doing? How many has he killed till now?" Harry menacingly advanced towards her .

"I have no idea on what you are talking about. You have gone crazy Potter. The daily prophet is right. You should go to St. Mungo. You have become barmy" replied Estelle coolly. Even with Harry towering over her, she seemed to show no fear.

"Oh and I think you should go to Azkaban. You filthy little death eater. You should be tortured to death " Shouted Harry. Harry saw Estelle recoil in shock as she heard his words. A small voice in the back of his mind reminded him that Estella couldn't be a death eater. He had not meant it. She was almost a friend to him… Almost. But then the face of Cedric flashed in his mind. Her father had watched Cedric die. He was a death eater. They were all the same. They had no right to live. She too should suffer just like cedric. She would be in the side of Voldemort. His parents' killer . Harry could feel his temper rising. He had pointed his wand to her neck.

"I am no death eater Potter. I though you knew better than that. But how can I forget? Your pea-sized brain won't be able to think logically" growled Estella. She looked at him defiantly.

Harry felt like he would explode. Anger was coursing through his veins with no apparent reason. Harry moved closer with his wand touching the hollow of her neck. He lowered his head to look directly into her eyes.

"Don't you dare insult me Malfoy. You will not live to tell the tale" He whispered to her. His eyes flashed.

"Harry.." Estella squeaked . Harry noticed that this was the first time Estella had used his first name since he had known her. He could see his shock mirrored in her face. As he looked down Harry could see her lips quivering. She had full red lips . Looked very soft. Harry could feel his anger ebbing away as he pulled back his wand. He was shocked at what he had felt. He had wanted her to scream in pain. He had wanted to kill her. Harry couldn't believe he felt those emotions.

"Sorry Stella" the words had escaped his mouth even without thinking. Harry mentally slapped himself. He had not only used her first name but also gone ahead to make it shorter. Harry looked at her. He found her eyes widen more in shock. They were silver and quite beautiful. Disgusted by his line of thoughts, Harry tried to distract himself by not looking at her eyes. He looked at her lips that just looked inviting. He had never been this close to her. Her lips were trembling and suddenly Harry realized they were too close. Just as Harry was about to pull away from her ,he saw Estella's expression changing from a fearful one to something he had never seen on her.

She had grabbed his collar with her left hand and pulled him towards her. Harry was taken by surprise as he felt her soft lips against his. He couldn't think anything except the feel of lips on him. Suddenly she withdrew her lips and blushed crimson. Harry thought he was imagining things. Maybe daily prophet was right. He was barmy. Estella looked at him with a hopeful expression.

For years to come, Harry Potter would always blame this moment for all miseries in his life. He should have shouted at her for harassing him. He should have hexed her or ran away or both. There were a million things he could have done. But he chose to do the one thing he never should have done.

Harry kissed her back. One of his hands was on her hair ruffling the curls while the other around her waist. Harry could feel her hands around his neck urging him closer to her. Harry knew they could be caught any moment. But he was unable to stop. He was feeling excitement course through his veins egging him on. After several moments or hours (Harry had no idea) they broke apart.

"You should go" Said Estella as she took deep breaths. Her eyes had a fire in them as she looked at him. Harry threw the invisibility cloak around him and bolted out of the compartment. He feared he will kiss her again if he stayed. As Harry rushed out on his way to his compartment, an odd thought came to him. His boggart had probably shifted from a dementer to Estella Malfoy.