their_own_battles_2

The fourth year at Hogwarts. A difficult time for Harry Potter.
But then,this story is not about Harry Potter. There are others at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - others whose stories are not told.
For everyone fights their own battles, and bravery can be found in the most unlikely people, sometimes.

Draco Malfoy sighed heavily as the mountains drew nearer, and the Hogwarts Express sped towards it's destination.

He had pleaded, begged his mother to let him be taken there by private car, or by anything else, except the Hogwarts Express.

Crabbe and Goyle sat opposite him, squabbling over the last pumpkin cake. Draco looked at them with disgust. he sighed it's like having two fat, disgusting and stupid shadows. Crabbe and Goyle didn't hear him - they had just found some Every Flavoured beans down the back of the seat.

Harry Potter was on the train somewhere. That was one of the reasons that Draco hated travelling this way to Hogwarts. He would likely run into Potter, and somehow, he just didn't seem to be able to control it, he would make some snide remark.

Sometimes it seemed to Draco as though it wasn't him saying the words that came out of his mouth, they sounded so much like his father.

But then, he was Draco Malfoy - he had a part to play. So he struck up a conversation with Crabbe and Goyle, who were growing bored now that they had polished off all the food in their compartment. It could hardly be called a conversation. Draco did most of the talking, and Crabbe an Goyle just listened, guffawing in all the right places.

After a while though, he grew bored. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw
Seamus and Dean enter the compartment beside him. They left the door ajar, and Draco's was open as he couldn't stand the smell of Crabbe and Goyle in an enclosed space for long. Sound drifted into the compartment. They were talking about the Quidditch World Cup.

Draco rose and strode over to the open door, Crabbe and Goyle following behind him.

We saw him right up close, as well, Ron was saying about the bulgarian Quidditch Player Viktor Krum. we were in the Top Box -'

For the first and last time in your life, Weasley.' Draco drawled.
Don't remember asking you to join us, Malfoy, said Harry cooly.

Draco could easily have retaliated with some comment, his mouth was fast, and he knew he would always have the last word in an argument. He also always knew what comment would hurt certain people the most.

But right now, he held his tongue, and ignored Harry, Turning to Ron instead.

Ron was much easier to anger than Harry. And there was a wide range of insults and comments available, because everyone knew the Weasley's were short on cash. Insulting Ron was more fun.

Draco didn't always like to be the bad guy. He knew he acted the part, maybe he was just mean to the bone, but sometimes, just sometimes, he hated the way people saw him. Even some of the Slythreins disliked him. Draco wasn't blind, and he wasn't a fool. He knew what the rest of the school thought of him. Whereas everyone seemed to love famous Harry Potter.
And that's why Draco hated him so.

Sometimes he just couldn't control what he said - he didn't always think things through before he said them.