Hogsmeade to Hogwarts

10 minutes.

This was all the time Draco had until they arrived at the Hogsmeade station. He still felt his bones shaking silently from the dementor attack. He could feel the train begin to slow down, much more controlled than last time. "We need to get our robes on," spoke a quiet voice to his right. He looked at Blaise and shrugged his shoulders. He opened up the cloak closet and pulled out his robes. Draco kept the slim black shirt under his uniform and changed his pants and shoes. He checked his reflection in the window and slowly combed his white blonde hair to the side. He leaned into the window to check his eyes were not red when he saw her walk outside the train. She had on her red trimmed robe with the usual uniform. Yet she looked...different. Everything about her from the past two years was very different. Hermione looked up at the glass and her cheeks began to flush. She tucked a loose curl behind her ear and locked elbows with Ron and Harry before moving towards the castle. It took only a few moments but he instantly hated himself for it. He was becoming vulnerable and Malfoy's are not vulnerable. "She looks nice," a voice whispered in his ear again. He shot around with a horrid look on his face. "Bloody hell, Blaise! You don't know what you are talkin-" Blaise shook his head and laughed. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. Just don't let Pansy find out you are staring at her." He finished with a wink and nudged Draco to get his items together. He let out a sigh of relief and smirked at Blaise. If only he knew who he was truly watching.

As they made their way towards the carriages Draco noticed Harry stumbling around. Neville nudged through the Slytherins trying to reach his friends. "Sorry, excuse me, please move" Neville continued as he pushed his way forward. Draco looked over his shoulder and yelled back to him, "We can't go anywhere with your sad excuse of a friend up ahead!" Neville caught up to Draco and began to ramble on as he continued to push through the crowd. "You know he fainted, right? That thing tried to take his soul. I saw it rising right up out of him. I mean, someone told me that. It was cold and it felt like all happiness was gone but yeah, no wonder he's so out of it. Um, excuse me, please let me through!" Draco's mind began to race. Why was that thing on the train to begin with!? As he got lost in thought the group suddenly stopped and Draco ran into Pansy. "Could we just keep moving forward, it really is not that...hard." Everyone seemed to freeze.

The carriages were lined up waiting for students to climb in for their ride up to the castle. They mysteriously began moving once everyone was sitting and Draco assumed it was magic that made them move. He pushed Crabbe and Goyle to go around the lot standing still so Pansy and Blaise followed. They walked behind the Gryffindor Trio and he felt like he had to make up for earlier. "You fainted, Potter? Is Longbottom telling the truth? You actually fainted!" The Slytherins sneered at Harry and began to whisper among themselves. Draco felt quite pleased with the reactions from both parties and began to cackle with his classmates. He heard Ron mutter something but they were all laughing too loudly to make out what he had said. He looked towards him to see if there was steam coming from the red headed boy's ears but his eyes caught another's gaze. She looked hurt and her eyes were brimming with tears. Draco felt the blood rush away from his face making him paler than usual. The whole space went quiet and all he could hear was her voice. She turned back so she wouldn't have to look at them and gripped Harry's arm hoping the mockery would be over soon. He could hear her sobs in his head and heard her pleading for it to stop, for Draco to stop. He noticed his hand was touching the emerald stone and he jumped. His hand was no longer in contact and he could finally think clearly. This bloody trick his mother was trying to pull was not going to work! He pushed passed Hermione, harder than he had planned, to stand in front of The Gryffindors. "Did you faint as well, Weasley? Did the little Dementors scare you too?" He threw his head back laughing while trying to maintain eye contact with Ron. The freckles on his face disappeared as his face got hotter and hotter. He was ready to curse something at Draco but everything fell silent. Draco moved very close to Ron so only they could hear the next few words. "I swear on my family's name, you say a word about what happened on the train and I will make this year a living hell for you.." Draco pushed away from Ron and held his arms out as if greeting the three of them. "Come on you ole blokes. Cheer up, we haven't even entered the castle yet! This is going to be a great year, isn't it Crabbe?" Draco began smacking his housemates on their shoulders gesturing to get into one of the carriages. They closed the door and it began moving towards the castle. He fought the urge to look back at the damage he made. His smile faded and he began to stare at his hands. He didn't know why but he felt terrible for shoving Hermione. She truly has done nothing malicious towards him but he felt he had to create the boundary. He had to make sure his unwelcome feelings were kept in check.

All the students had taken their seats at their tables in the Great Hall. All Draco could think about was going to his dormitory to sleep off what happened today. He already knew how Dumbledore's remarks were going to go. Something witty, something forbidden, something directed at Potter, it was always the same. He just wanted to be back in his routine...something he could call normal. The first years were walked in through the middle tables lead by Professor McGonagall. As he watched the timid and anxious first years walk through the Hall he began scanning the different House tables. He noted how some faces have changed while others remained the same. He placed his elbow on the table and rested his head in his palm. He began rambling names down the different tables until he reached the Gryffindors. "Neville, Ginny, Seamus..." he mumbled to himself, "Ron, Harry, Lavender..." he continued down the table. He moved on to Ravenclaw hoping the sorting ceremony would end soon. He started over at Hufflepuff and continued rambling names. "Ron, Harry, Her-mione?" He was confused to see her. Did he skip over her? Pretend like she didn't exist? No one could enter the Great Hall that quietly. The doors are too heavy and they scream with a need for oil in their hinges. She was joking with her two friends when Dumbledore began to speak. She felt his gaze on her so she stared him back. Draco wanted to melt into the floor. His cheeks were flushed and he could feel his palms getting sweaty. He would do anything to become invisible right now. Then he heard her voice again.

Who does he think he is!? Just staring at me!? Hello, I'm human. You can't have it both ways. Either be nice or leave me alone!

He could heard her anger and his jaw dropped slightly. Her scowl lasted for a brief second longer and she snapped her head towards the head master. Draco let out a quiet grumble and ran his fingers through his hair. He watched Dumbledore finish his speech and the food magically appear before him. He grabbed a little bit of everything and ate what he could. There was more chocolate for the feast than what he remembered but he decided to eat it when he heard that it would help with any problems from Dementor attacks. He took a few extra pieces and shoved it in the pockets of his robes for later.

Once the feast was over he could hear the prefects trying to gain their attention. He could feel his body yearning for his bed. As they were leaving he could hear the prefects yelling to stay close. "What a bunch of babies. Why would I want to stand close to any of you?" Draco chuckled and his gang began to follow. They continued to yell to stay close but Draco continued to mock the prefects. He could barely make out what they were saying but he did hear "dementors" and pushed Crabbe and Goyle out of the way to make it towards the front. He was not ready for a second encounter.

They walked further into the castle and the lights began to dim as they continued down the corridor. Their common room was in the dungeons so it was typical for everything to appear darker as they wandered. The flames from the torches created shadow creatures that danced on the walls. This was one of Draco's favorite memories of Hogwarts. He watched them flicker and mold into one another just to part again. They also changed colors the closer to the common room. The yellow-amber flames shifted to an emerald green. They were close to the entrance now and Draco began to let his guard down. He fiddled with his pocket avoiding the stone that was weighing heavily inside. He knew she was thinking of him, it was the only time the stone gained weight. He didn't want to hear her voice anymore, he was tired of her being in his head. But just like before his curiosity got the best of him and he allowed the rock to cradle between his finger tips.

I was a fool to think he had changed over break. He's a Malfoy and always will be. He has to have good in him, right? Everyone does. He was so kind at Diagonal Alley and on the train. But he has been so cruel since we've been at Hogwarts. He won't change, he can't. But why did he give me this necklace? It is beautiful but I know he doesn't think I deserve it. Afterall, to him I'm just a mu...mudblood.

The last word caught him off guard. Hermione spoke with such defeat that it left him ashamed, confused, and angry. He couldn't tell if she was having a conversation or was talking to herself but he had heard enough.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he tensed up. "What do you want, Goyle?" He spat at his friend. "Sorry, Draco. I didn't mean to upset you. Did you hear what the password was for this year? I missed it but I figured you'd know." How could Draco expect anything less from his dense friends? "Sorry, I missed it. I was wondering about something else that I wasn't paying attention. Go ask Blaise, he'll know. Then come back and tell me. Go on and get me that password." Goyle looked as jolly as he would on Christmas. He loved doing things for Draco especially if it was only him getting to do special tasks. He rolled his eyes and looked around the common room. Emerald green, glistening silver, and serpents surrounded him as he began to feel the heat dissipate away from himself. He was still angry but he was able to hide it now. Just a few more moments before he could be alone in the dormitory. A few more moments before he could let his anger go.