Author's Note: I have been suffering from acute review deficiency lately. (Doctor – "Give him 250 cc's of Review, stat!"). If you're reading this, I beg you, review it. The inspiration's not there without the feedback.
Anyhoo, up to this point, Draco has told us how he met the Death Eaters, and what it's been like for him so far. If he seems like he enjoys it now, well, he probably does. But we all know it can't last…
Chapter Seven Soundtrack: Lowrider (Just because it's good), Rammstein: Links 2-3-4, Queen: Killer Queen, The Soprano's Theme, Papa Roach: Last Resort, and Rammstein: Mein Herz Brennt.
Disclaimer: JKR owns it, I don't.
Born Under A Bad Sun
Chapter 7: A Stranger To The Self
By Peeler
"Who Are You?"
"What Do You Want?"
"Where Are You Going?"
-Babylon 5 (The Vorlons, Shadows, and Lorien, respectively)
Whenever I saw it, I wondered what the muggles would think if they could see us. Hundreds of figures, young and old, dressed in long black cloaks and pointed hats, milling around a magical train. There was nothing like it. But it was different this year. The good-byes were more tearful. The ranks of children seemed more orderly, and everyone seemed in a hurry. Everyone knew. The Daily Prophet which I held in my hand flashed the headline: MINISTRY OF MAGIC ATTACKED! A black and white photo showed a vicious battle raging outside. According to the paper, casualties and missing persons numbered in the hundreds; no bodies of the attackers had been recovered, though surviving Aurors estimated between 20 and 75 dead on the Death Eater's part. Given Rita Skeeter's previous articles, the cat was definitely out of the bag now: Everyone knew Lord Voldemort had returned.
A sharp whistle jolted me out of my reverie. "Five minutes until departure; last call for boarding the Hogwarts Express!"
The train was packed; enrollment had been climbing steadily for six years, and the Hogwarts Express was in need of renovations. I found Goyle in the third compartment talking to Blaise Zabini and Pansy. Crabbe's father had decided he should be home-schooled to keep him from "Getting his head polluted with a lot of sentimental nonsense." 'Sentimental' was the biggest word I'd ever heard Mr. Crabbe use. I entered the compartment, and Pansy immediately cried out "Draco! How was your summer? Do you still love me? I missed you!" With a sigh, I answered "My summer was fine, Pansy. I went to one miserable dance with you, we're not joined for life, are we?" "No, Draco, you have to love me!" "Pansy, I just went to the bloody Yule Ball with you! I'm not in love with you! We went on one date, it's not a big deal!" "Fine, Draco! I don't want to talk to you!" she replied, pouting and looking out the window away from me. "You'll be doing us all a favor shutting your mouth. I've done everyone a public service." She stormed out angrily. Zabini smirked. "I think her hate is better than her love, Draco." "That's the bloody understatement of the month, Blaise. I couldn't sleep knowing I'd have to talk to her again." The compartment door slid open. "Hi, Draco! Fancy seeing you here!" It was Jenna. "Gods, what a day. At least it can only get better," I sighed. "I didn't know you were at Hogwarts, Jenna." "Yeah, I'm in sixth year, but last year I was away during the first term on holiday in Azerbaijan. Garry Nott walked in. "Draco, look who I found!" It was Pansy, who looked like she'd been crying. "I stand corrected. My day's worse."
We talked for a while. It was getting increasingly tedious, and I was quite on edge, snapping at everyone (But mostly Pansy). Finally, Blaise asked me what I'd done over the summer. "Well, I was pretty busy. I traveled a lot, and I have a souvenir I think you'll all like." I rolled up my shirtsleeve and showed them the Dark Mark. Everyone stared. Pansy stopped sniveling. Nott looked impressed. "Whoa, Draco! It took my pa six years to get his mark! They musta been real impressed!" "Well, I do outrank your father now, Garry. Sorry to break it to you." "No, no, this is great! If I get in trouble, you can just pull rank on pa!" "Ugh, Jenna, why must my year be so incredibly dull and petty? I swear, I wasn't born at the right time at all." "Meh, most of my year's not much better. Only the smartest have joined up already, and most of them are in the rank and file. We've got four ranking officers at Hogwarts, and we're two of them." The train lurched to a stop. "Please leave the train and proceed towards the carriages in an orderly fashion. First years please wait outside the train," said the magical intercom. "Hey Draco," called Jenna as we left the train, "Wanna share a carriage?" "Uh, no, I have to…RUN! Oh, hi Pansy…" with a sigh I called back "Of course, Jenna, I'd love to."
"Come on, Draco, I can't be that irritating to be around." "Of course you can! I've met pixies armed with pepper spray that were more fun to talk to…and pixies can't talk!" "Well you're no prize yourself! Okay, maybe you are, but I just had to say that! Anyhow, would you rather be with the beautiful…ugh, I mean stunningly whiny Miss Parkinson than me?" I had a choice to make. My year had a distinct lack of good-looking girls, and Jenna may not be a beauty queen, but she was Miss Universe next to anyone in my year. "Yeah, fine. We're an item. But if anyone else comes along, you're gone, okay?" You know, Draco, you'd probably get more girls if you were slightly civil occasionally." Well, that settled my hash. I was going to be stuck with Jenna all year, the way things were going, and the thought was about as appealing as a kick to the groin. "Well, dear, if we're a couple, could you at least fix yourself up a little?" I was sinking into depression rather quickly. Finally, we reached the front gate, and crowded in to the entry hall. Professors McGonagall and Snape were standing there. Snape addressed the crowd of students, who now included the first years. "Due to the Dark Lord's return, we have implemented some new security measures. Most of these will be explained by Professor Dumbledore following the feast. However, there is one thing we must do here. Please form a line, and walk through this door with your left arm extended, sleeve rolled up. When you are through the door, you may take your seat at your house table." "Jenna, what's this?" I asked. "What do we do? They'll see our marks!" "I don't know if we can do anything," she replied. "Snape always favors us. Maybe he'll let us by." "Idiot, Malfoy!" she snapped. "Snape was a traitor against us for Dumbledore, in the first war, you know! He's protected here. But the Dark Lord's got a death sentence on his head. We can't trust him! Just let the Mark do it's thing. I'm sure it can conceal itself." I rolled up my sleeve, and sure enough, the Mark had vanished. Professor McGonagall looked rather disappointed, and I made my way towards the chattering background noises of the welcoming feast. The sorting was about to begin. I was moderately satisfied with how my day had improved, when I heard a hated voice behind me. "So, Malfoy, I see you've recovered from your wounds. Where's dear old Vince? Still got tentacles on his face?" "He's being home schooled, Potter, you incomprehensible idiot" I shot back "And yes, he still has your bloody tentacles on his face. If you weren't so damn famous you'd be charged with assault. And you still might be, considering your, well, condition." "What the hell are you talking about, Malfoy?" shouted Weasley. I grabbed a tabloid, the Capricorn, off the Ravenclaw table, next to us. On the third page was an article entitled "Harry Potter Losing Mind to Dark Lord's Psychic Attacks." "Those bastards!" exclaimed Potter. "Calm down, now. You're unstable, and shouldn't stress yourself so." "Shut up, Malfoy!" yelled Weasley. "Look, a knut!" I pointed behind him. He turned, and I cried "Vertigo!" Weasley fell down in a heap. I turned and walked away in a hurry, while Potter helped his friend up. Suddenly, something struck me in the back of the neck. I turned, clutching my neck. "Damned cowardly thing to do, Potter!" I cried "Attacking someone while their back is turned! Perhaps you should be in Slytherin with the rest of us Death Eaters," I said more quietly. "Damn you, Malfoy! I know your father's not around to back you up. You can't do anything without precious daddy around, can you?" said Weasley. "Fuck you, Weasley!" I said in a sudden outburst. "I can do more than you could even dream!" "Get him, Ron, he's mocking your dreams" said the mudblood, coming up behind them. "Shut up, Mudblood" I shot back. "My robes are worth more than Weasley's family." Jenna came down the stairs. "Hey Draco, what are you doing? The Sorting's already started." "hold on, dear," I said sarcastically "It's just a friendly feud that needs resolving." "Ooh, Malfoy, got yourself a girlfriend, huh?" said Weasley. "Yes, and I see you are both significantly lacking in that regard. Perhaps you prefer each other's company?" Potter looked like he could have killed me, but just then Professor Sinistra showed up. "Could you all get to the great hall already? You're twenty minutes late without excuse." With a pleasant smirk, I followed. Perhaps Jenna was more useful than it seemed when I had to talk to her.
Well, that was exceedingly painful. I did not enjoy writing this chapter at all. Review please, and tell me if I'm any good at writing miserable half-romances, Okay!?
Next part: Draco and Jenna catch up on Dark Business, and Draco slacks off in school.