Chapter Eight: On the Hogwarts Express
A/N: Yes, I know . . . you all think this is a Harry/Hermione fic, don't you? Well, it MIGHT be (BIG might there). Or, it could be something else (not slash though). You'll just have to find out, won't you? Thanks again for the reviews! By this point, I hope to have at least 100 reviews by chapter twenty or hopefully before! Thanks reviewers . . . go ME! He he. ^_^
Oh my god, Draco is SO out of character in parts of this chapter. Sorry! He'll get more Draco-ish on the train and stuff.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Rub it in, why don't ya?
I don't own 'I'm Too Sexy' by Right-Said Fred either.
* * *
"Harry . . ." He was standing in the middle of a meadow with a really beautiful woman. Well, at least he THOUGHT she was beautiful. He couldn't see her face. All he could see were her thoughts. She was thinking about a poem that she could start writing and a book that she was reading. She seemed so smart, so intellectual.
And then another woman came. He knew for a fact that she WAS hot. He could see her thoughts though. She was wondering if she should've gotten the shimmery pink lip-gloss instead of the sheer red lipstick. Her mind was rather boring, Harry thought.
Then music started playing . . . 'I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt. So sexy it hurts . . . I'm too sexy for Milan, too sexy for Milan . . . New York and Japan. . . I'm too sexy for your body. Too sexy for your body . . . No way I'm disco dancing!'
Harry was utterly confused. What he really wanted to know was what the HELL that song was. He also wanted to know if he could listen to it again after it was over. The song was really catchy.
"Harry . . ." Who was calling him? It was most definitely a female voice. Then it turned deeper, and deeper, and deeper . . .
"HARRY!" Harry's eyes opened. It was Draco. Harry groaned and covered his face with his pillow. The sun was shining brightly into the room. Draco pulled the pillow off of Harry's face.
"What . . . what TIME is it?" Harry growled, his eyes slowly opening. He looked over at his clock. It read 8:00 A.M. Harry groaned again. Today would be the day when he would be going onto the Hogwarts Express. Harry felt his glasses still on his face. He took them off and polished the lenses on his blanket.
"People are so . . . sensitive in the morning, aren't they?" Draco said, a smirk on his face.
"Leave me the . . ." Harry didn't even have the energy to swear, which was really rather odd. He slowly got out of his bed. "Er, you can leave now." Draco noticed that he was still in Harry's room and got the hint. He left the room, shutting the door with a loud bang. Now, that certainly woke Harry up . . . well, not really.
Harry yawned and looked into his mirror. There were large bags under his eyes. His body was sort of slumped, making him appear short and stumpy. His raven hair was extremely wild and messy. Then, he went to his bathroom, brushed his teeth, and splashed cold water onto his face. Harry walked out of his bathroom and over to his dresser. He took out a pair of slightly baggy jeans and a dark green shirt with the Slytherin crest on it. He dressed himself and picked up his suitcases and bags. He couldn't believe that it was already September 1st. Another year at Hogwarts. Just what he needed, really.
Harry then made sure he had packed everything up. When he was finished checking, he looked at his room once again and opened the door. With one last look, Harry walked out and shut the door.
* * *
When Harry arrived in the bar of the Leaky Cauldron, he set down his bags and sat down at a table with Draco and Lillie. Harry noticed that Lillie looked extremely tired, even more than he was. It wasn't hard to understand. She was, after all, only 14 years old.
"Hi . . . Harry," Lillie yawned, managing a weak smile. On the other hand, Draco looked positively bright and cheery. It scared Harry. A lot. Malfoy seemed to be happy about something. Maybe he had found the perfect lipstick to complement his features. Or, maybe, just maybe, he had found out the secret of why boys grow up. Go figure.
"Why are you so fucking happy this morning? I'm feeling like sh-" Lillie shot Harry an icy glare. She disapproved of using swear words, even though must've used them at least 20 times or more a day . . . or all would be lost.
"I just feel . . . perky. This is an invigorating morning. Don't you agree, Lillie?" Draco said innocently, in a breathy voice. Lillie shot him her death glare.
"You . . . are . . . pure . . . evil," Lillie said slowly, making sure Draco caught every word.
"Really? Thanks," Draco said sarcastically, a smirk on his handsome, pale face.
"You're welcome," Lillie replied, not even bothering to smirk.
"So, is everyone packed?" Draco asked the both of them. Lillie and Harry both groaned. "I guess that's a yes."
"Why couldn't school start later? Like in January?" Lillie said, closing her eyes and yawning.
"Yeah, I know," Harry said, his eyes starting to droop.
"I thought you guys would be excited for school to start. Lillie, you love going to class. And Harry . . . er, well, I think we both know why you like school," Draco said, thinking about it himself. Just then, Harry's morning brightened. Now he was kind of happy (if you can imagine). Harry ran a hand through his hair, a smile on his face.
"Oh god . . . now YOU'RE all happy and perky. Guys are so weird sometimes," Lillie said, closing her eyes for a few moments and opening them wide.
Over the next hour, Harry and Draco both ate breakfast and talked about their next victims at Hogwarts. Lillie sat in a chair, snoring her head off. When it was 9:30, Harry, Draco, and the now-awake Lillie took all of their suitcases and bags and left the Leaky Cauldron. They took a quick stop at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor because Lillie absolutely had to have a cup of cookie dough ice cream with extra cookie crumbs. She was much more awake, and much more content, after that.
"Well, we still have some time to kill," Draco said, looking at his watch. "We have to leave at 10:00 for King's Cross and the Hogwarts Express always leaves at 11:00 a.m. sharp."
"What could we do in 20 minutes?" Harry said, thinking.
**HARRY'S DAYDREAM**
"Ohhh, Harry! You're such a naughty boy!" exclaimed a hot brunette. Harry was surrounded by many girls, must've been at least a dozen or more. They were all touching him in one way or another (A/N: Not in that way, you sick minded person! ^_~).
"Harry! You're so hot!" exclaimed a blonde who was rubbing his stomach.
"Yeah, I know," Harry said in his confident voice, smiling his dreamy smile. Just then, two of the girls fainted. He just smiled at the rest of the gorgeous girls.
"Harry, snap out of it! You're not having that daydream again, are you?" said a really hot blond . . . with Lillie's voice.
**END OF HARRY'S DAYDREAM**
Harry opened his eyes. Lillie and Draco were looking at him weirdly. His eyes darted around.
"Er, what daydream are you talking about?" Harry said, looking at Lillie. Then he turned to Draco. "You told her about it!"
"Well, she asked, so . . ." Draco said, quite sheepishly. Harry rolled his eyes and muttered curse words.
"So . . . how are we getting to King's Cross, exactly?" Lillie asked Draco, looking at her watch.
"We're going to be Flooing to a restaurant called Ranalda's near the King's Cross. It's actually right next to it," Draco said, looking to Lillie. Lillie nodded her head and tilted it slightly.
"Uh, why don't we just leave now?" Harry said to the two of them, obviously very bored.
"OK," Draco said. They all walked to The Chamber, which was the only other place in Diagon Alley that you could Floo from. They didn't bother going to Knockturn Alley for obvious reasons. They went inside and Harry walked over to the bar.
"Hey Adam," Harry said, a smile on his face.
"Ah, see? I knew you would be back here before next year," Adam replied, pouring a drink for a customer.
"Yeah, I guess so . . . Well, anyway, we're going to be Flooing over to Kings' Cross and then we'll be leaving for Hogwarts," Harry said. Adam nodded and pointed to the fireplace. Harry walked back to Lillie and Draco and they all walked over to the fireplace. There was a vase filled with Floo power on a small table next to it.
Harry was the first to go into the fireplace. He took a handful of the Floo powder, threw it into the fireplace, and called out "Ranalda's Restaurant!" and off he went . . .
* * *
Harry was taken by the emerald green flames and was transported almost immediately to Ranalda's Restaurant. It was a rather large restaurant . . . it seemed to be like a diner, even. Harry walked out of the fireplace and brushed the dust and soot off of his clothing. He looked around, took out his wand, muttered, "Cleansio!" and was immediately cleaned up.
Just then, the emerald flames came back into the fireplace and Lillie stood inside, her clothes covered with dust. She shook herself off, glaring at her clothing. She muttered something about wanting to look good for Phoenix . . . but that obviously wasn't happening.
"Just what I needed to," Lillie said, a grim smile on her face. She finished brushing herself off when Draco appeared in the fireplace.
"Sorry I took so long," Draco said, looking quite clean. Harry glared daggers at him. "Was talking to this girl at The Chamber."
"Right, sure you were," Harry said, tightening his grip on his suitcases. "Well, let's go then."
"Oh yeah . . ." Lillie said, remembering why they were there.
And, so, they all grabbed hold of their suitcases and bags, walked through the restaurant and walked toward the King's Cross, which looked rather far away from Ranalda's. Harry glared at Draco once they arrived at the King's Cross . . . in reality, the walk had taken no less than fifteen minutes.
"Well, sor-ry . . ." Draco said, taking a deep breath. They all walked into the King's Cross, heading for the platforms 9 and 10. It took them a minute or two to get to the platforms. And, to their disgust, the Weasels and Mudblood were both standing in front of the wall that would take them to Platform 9 ¾. Harry watched as Mrs. Weasley walked with the youngest Weasley, Ginny, through the wall to Platform 9 ¾. Before Ron Weasel and Mudblood Granger could walk through the wall, after Gred and Forge, Harry and Draco stopped them, evil smirks on both of their faces.
"Well, look what we have here . . ." Harry said, his eyes narrowed at Weasel with a softer, less harsh glare at Granger.
"Weasel and the Mudblood. How pleasant, really," Draco said nastily, his smirk becoming even nastier.
"Bug off Malfoy, Potter," Weasley said, glaring at the two of them.
"Just leave us alone," Granger said, looking at the both of them. Harry rolled his eyes.
Just then, Saffron appeared out of nowhere, a small smile on her face. Draco noticed that Ron took a small stumble when he saw her. He rolled his eyes. Weasley obviously had a crush on Miss Radan. Too bad for him that she didn't return those feelings.
"Hey Harry, Draco, Lils," Saffron said, her smile widening slightly. Then, she turned to Ron and Hermione with a forced smile.
"Hullo," she said nonchalantly, obviously not caring if they were there or not.
"Oh, h-hey Saffron," Ron said, a wide grin spreading on his face. Then, he tried to conceal it but it was so obvious. Hermione turned to Ron, her eyebrows raised. Hermione muttered something that sounded oddly like, "Boys."
"Honestly, I'm disappointed in the both of you. Shouldn't you be begging to snog me, Granger? And, well, Weasel, sorry . . . I'm just not like THAT. I prefer girls, meself. Sorry you can't say the same for yourself," Harry said, his eyes darting between Weasel and Granger.
Ron looked like he was going to strangle Harry or something but Hermione pulled him back.
"Let's go, Ron," Hermione muttered, not keeping her eyes off of Harry. He looked back to her, an evil grin on his face. Ron murmured something back, glanced at Saffron, and they both walked through the wall. Harry turned to Saffron with a small smile.
"Looks like Weasley's got a crush on you, Saf," Harry said, letting out a laugh. Draco laughed too, though his laugh sounded very odd, and forced.
"You're out of his league, Saffron," Draco said, a warm smile on his face. It was weird . . . Draco seemed to only truly smile when Saffron was around.
"Yeah, I know," Saffron said, quite confidently, with a touch of sarcasm. She smiled, mainly at Draco though.
"Um, so . . . ready to get onto Platform 9 ¾?" Lillie said, smiling at all of them. They all nodded and walked onto Platform 9 ¾ in pairs, Harry with Lillie and Draco with Saffron.
"Let's get a compartment in the back," Saffron said. The back part of the Hogwarts Express was the least crowded and you were always guaranteed at least some privacy. They all walked, holding their suitcases and other luggage and went aboard the back part of the train. They walked past a few occupied compartments when they finally found an empty one. They each put their luggage on the shelves above and sat down on the comfy cushions.
"So . . . have you heard from Sirius lately?" Draco asked Harry, letting out a small yawn.
"Yeah, he wrote me just last week. He said he could come visit me at Hogsmeade or something at the end of the month," Harry said. Draco, Saffron, and Lillie all knew about Sirius and everything, having helped Harry help Sirius escape back in their 3rd year.
"Oh, that's cool," Lillie said, waiting for the lady with the sweets to come by their compartment. They talked for a few minutes when the gray- haired lady pushing the food trolley interrupted them.
"Any food, dears?" she asked, a warm smile on her face. All four of them took out a handful of galleons, sickles, and knuts.
"I'll have a bottle of pumpkin juice, Cauldron Cakes, three chocolate frogs, and a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, please," Lillie said.
"Er, I'll take pumpkin juice and a stack of Cauldron Cakes," Saffron said, money in hand.
"Cauldron Cakes and four Chocolate Frogs," Draco said, his voice drawling.
"Um . . . pumpkin juice, cauldron cakes, Pumpkin Pasties, and two Chocolate Frogs," Harry said, thinking carefully. They each gave the lady their money and she gave them their food and drinks.
Harry looked out the window, gulping down his ice cold pumpkin juice. He then turned back to the three others. He was about to say something when the door slammed open. In the doorway were Crabbe and Goyle, Harry and Draco's 'bodyguards' . . . although the two boys didn't need them.
"Hullo," Goyle said, sounding quite stupid. Crabbe merely grunted. It might've meant something along the lines of, 'How are you?' or 'Have a nice summer?' but no one really understood Crabbe anyway.
"What do you two think you're doing here, you big tubs of lard?" Draco said furiously, standing up. Harry stood up after him.
"Sorry, Draco," Goyle grunted, smiling apologetically. Crabbe muttered, "Yeah, sorry." Harry rolled his eyes.
"Honestly, you two can't take a hint, can you? We told you back in first year to stop following us. You guys are like stalkers or something," Harry said, his eyes piercing the two of them. Although Draco and Harry were both shorter than Crabbe and Goyle, they always had a power over them. They were smart.
Crabbe and Goyle took a few moments to process what Harry had just told them. They both looked at each other, very confused looks on their faces. They shrugged and left the compartment.
"You guys are so mean to them," Saffron said, a slightly disappointed look on her face.
"Yeah, I know," Lillie said, biting her lip.
"How would you two feel if you had two guys following you around all day?" Harry asked them. Saffron and Lillie thought for a moment and grinned at each other.
"I'd like it," Saffron said simply, a wicked smile on her face.
"Yeah, me too," Lillie said, grinning. Harry and Draco both raised an eyebrow, feeling quite awkward.
"Well, OK then . . ." Draco said, an uncomfortable look on his face. He shut his piercing, captivating silver eyes and opened them to see Saffron looking at him. She turned away, her cheeks pink. He smiled slightly. Lillie looked between them, slightly confused.
"Um, well, over the summer I did loads of things. I went to France, Italy, Belgium-great chocolate there-and Sweden," Lillie said.
"Er, I went to Australia and the States," Saffron said. The two girls turned to Draco and Harry.
"I went across Europe," Draco said, biting the head of one of his Chocolate Frogs.
"I went to France, Germany, Australia, the States, Mexico, Canada, Greenland, Fiji, Majorca, Sweden, Norway, Italy, the Caribbean Islands, Argentina, China, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Soloman Islands, Brazil, Ireland, Scotland, and . . . oh yeah! I also went to Seychelles," Harry said, quite fast.
"Wow, you went everywhere . . ." Lillie said, quite amazed.
"No, not necessarily. I didn't go to Chile, Malaysia, Thailand-"
"Harry?" Saffron interrupted. Harry stopped and turned to her.
"Shut the fuck up."
"OK, point taken," Harry said, a small smile on his face. He drank the rest of his pumpkin juice.
(A/N: Big Draco moment now!! He he, Saffron)
Draco had been listening to all of them speaking, a smile on his face. He had been thinking about Sarah, beautiful, gorgeous, smart, kind Sarah. She was perfect for him. He had liked for quite awhile. He had never done anything about it though. Everything was different with her . . . much different.
Then his mind landed on Saffron. There was something about her . . . something special. She wasn't like the other girls. She seemed to be quite the opposite of Sarah the Gryffindor. They were both good-looking, he couldn't deny that . . . but Draco could never like Saffron like that, could he? He had known her for so long, even before they had started Hogwarts. She was his best friend after Harry.
But, she had that certain glow to her, a certain air. They had so many things in common and she was extremely attractive. Draco had a feeling that they would've been together a long time ago if they hadn't had such a strong history together.
"I'll be back in a few minutes or so," Draco said, standing up from his seat. He opened the door to the compartment and shut it. He decided that he would go talk-or at least see-Sarah. He hadn't seen her since that dreadful day in Diagon Alley.
Saffron looked up as Draco left the compartment. She thought for a moment before turning to the others.
"I'll be right back, too," Saffron said, standing up and leaving the compartment.
"So . . ." said Harry.
"Um, yeah," Lillie said, slightly confused.
* * *
Draco walked through the narrow hallway, past several compartments. He walked past a certain compartment and heard a familiar voice. It was Sarah's. He smiled to himself and walked back a few steps. The door to her compartment was slightly open and he peaked inside. His mouth gaped open when he saw her.
S-she was making out with some other guy! Draco had the urge to burst into the compartment but refrained himself. He bit his lip, a surge of emotions going through of him. Jealous, anger, but most of all, sadness. He looked downward as he started walking back to his compartment. He accidently bumped into someone in front of him.
"Sorry," Draco mumbled, still looking downward.
"Draco! Are you okay?" Draco looked up. It was Saffron. No, he wouldn't let her see him like this. Draco slowly nodded his head.
"Do you want to talk or something?"
Draco thought for a moment and nodded his head. His heart was crushed. You never COULD trust those fucking Gryffindorks. Draco and Saffron walked over to an empty compartment. Saffron locked the door and they both sat down on two seats, across from each other.
"What happened, Draco?" Saffron asked in a concerned tone. Draco looked up but avoided her eyes.
"It's nothing," Draco said, looking out the window.
"It is NOT nothing. I've known you for nearly seven years, Draco. I think I know when it's something," Saffron said. Though it sounded sort of odd, it was true.
Damn it, Malfoy . . . she can see right through you, Draco told himself.
"I saw Sarah making out with another guy," Draco mumbled, continuing to ignore her rather beautiful eyes.
"Sorry?"
"I saw Sarah making out with ANOTHER guy," Draco said, very loudly.
"Oh, I'm sorry Draco," Saffron said truthfully. But there was a voice in the back of her head saying that she was HAPPY that Draco had seen Sarah kissing another guy.
"Thanks, Saffron," Draco said, smiling at Saffron. A true, genuine smile was on his face. Nothing forced . . . it was genuine.
"You're welcome," Saffron said, smiling cheerfully. "You're a wonderful guy, Draco. You're smart, nice, confident, funny, and not to mention attractive." Draco started blushing furiously, causing Saffron to let out a giggle, something she didn't do often.
Before he could do anything, Draco did the unexpected. He leaned in and pressed his lips against Saffron's. And what did she do?
She pressed back.
* * *
"Hmm . . . what d'you think Saffron and Draco are doing right now?" Lillie asked boringly.
"Hmm . . . I don't know. Making out?" Harry said, bursting out laughing. Lillie joined him in laughing.
"Y-y-you've got to be k-k-kidding me!" Lillie said through her laughs. Then one thought came over Lillie and her laughs started becoming quieter. What if they were?
The same exact thought came over Harry. His laughs started getting weaker. What if they were doing what he thought they were doing?
Oh shit.
* * *
A/N: So . . . how was the chapter? It was even longer than the last one! Yay! Umm . . . yeah. So, please review! All reviews are greatly appreciated! Constructive criticism is always good! No flames please!
A/N: Yes, I know . . . you all think this is a Harry/Hermione fic, don't you? Well, it MIGHT be (BIG might there). Or, it could be something else (not slash though). You'll just have to find out, won't you? Thanks again for the reviews! By this point, I hope to have at least 100 reviews by chapter twenty or hopefully before! Thanks reviewers . . . go ME! He he. ^_^
Oh my god, Draco is SO out of character in parts of this chapter. Sorry! He'll get more Draco-ish on the train and stuff.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Rub it in, why don't ya?
I don't own 'I'm Too Sexy' by Right-Said Fred either.
* * *
"Harry . . ." He was standing in the middle of a meadow with a really beautiful woman. Well, at least he THOUGHT she was beautiful. He couldn't see her face. All he could see were her thoughts. She was thinking about a poem that she could start writing and a book that she was reading. She seemed so smart, so intellectual.
And then another woman came. He knew for a fact that she WAS hot. He could see her thoughts though. She was wondering if she should've gotten the shimmery pink lip-gloss instead of the sheer red lipstick. Her mind was rather boring, Harry thought.
Then music started playing . . . 'I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt. So sexy it hurts . . . I'm too sexy for Milan, too sexy for Milan . . . New York and Japan. . . I'm too sexy for your body. Too sexy for your body . . . No way I'm disco dancing!'
Harry was utterly confused. What he really wanted to know was what the HELL that song was. He also wanted to know if he could listen to it again after it was over. The song was really catchy.
"Harry . . ." Who was calling him? It was most definitely a female voice. Then it turned deeper, and deeper, and deeper . . .
"HARRY!" Harry's eyes opened. It was Draco. Harry groaned and covered his face with his pillow. The sun was shining brightly into the room. Draco pulled the pillow off of Harry's face.
"What . . . what TIME is it?" Harry growled, his eyes slowly opening. He looked over at his clock. It read 8:00 A.M. Harry groaned again. Today would be the day when he would be going onto the Hogwarts Express. Harry felt his glasses still on his face. He took them off and polished the lenses on his blanket.
"People are so . . . sensitive in the morning, aren't they?" Draco said, a smirk on his face.
"Leave me the . . ." Harry didn't even have the energy to swear, which was really rather odd. He slowly got out of his bed. "Er, you can leave now." Draco noticed that he was still in Harry's room and got the hint. He left the room, shutting the door with a loud bang. Now, that certainly woke Harry up . . . well, not really.
Harry yawned and looked into his mirror. There were large bags under his eyes. His body was sort of slumped, making him appear short and stumpy. His raven hair was extremely wild and messy. Then, he went to his bathroom, brushed his teeth, and splashed cold water onto his face. Harry walked out of his bathroom and over to his dresser. He took out a pair of slightly baggy jeans and a dark green shirt with the Slytherin crest on it. He dressed himself and picked up his suitcases and bags. He couldn't believe that it was already September 1st. Another year at Hogwarts. Just what he needed, really.
Harry then made sure he had packed everything up. When he was finished checking, he looked at his room once again and opened the door. With one last look, Harry walked out and shut the door.
* * *
When Harry arrived in the bar of the Leaky Cauldron, he set down his bags and sat down at a table with Draco and Lillie. Harry noticed that Lillie looked extremely tired, even more than he was. It wasn't hard to understand. She was, after all, only 14 years old.
"Hi . . . Harry," Lillie yawned, managing a weak smile. On the other hand, Draco looked positively bright and cheery. It scared Harry. A lot. Malfoy seemed to be happy about something. Maybe he had found the perfect lipstick to complement his features. Or, maybe, just maybe, he had found out the secret of why boys grow up. Go figure.
"Why are you so fucking happy this morning? I'm feeling like sh-" Lillie shot Harry an icy glare. She disapproved of using swear words, even though must've used them at least 20 times or more a day . . . or all would be lost.
"I just feel . . . perky. This is an invigorating morning. Don't you agree, Lillie?" Draco said innocently, in a breathy voice. Lillie shot him her death glare.
"You . . . are . . . pure . . . evil," Lillie said slowly, making sure Draco caught every word.
"Really? Thanks," Draco said sarcastically, a smirk on his handsome, pale face.
"You're welcome," Lillie replied, not even bothering to smirk.
"So, is everyone packed?" Draco asked the both of them. Lillie and Harry both groaned. "I guess that's a yes."
"Why couldn't school start later? Like in January?" Lillie said, closing her eyes and yawning.
"Yeah, I know," Harry said, his eyes starting to droop.
"I thought you guys would be excited for school to start. Lillie, you love going to class. And Harry . . . er, well, I think we both know why you like school," Draco said, thinking about it himself. Just then, Harry's morning brightened. Now he was kind of happy (if you can imagine). Harry ran a hand through his hair, a smile on his face.
"Oh god . . . now YOU'RE all happy and perky. Guys are so weird sometimes," Lillie said, closing her eyes for a few moments and opening them wide.
Over the next hour, Harry and Draco both ate breakfast and talked about their next victims at Hogwarts. Lillie sat in a chair, snoring her head off. When it was 9:30, Harry, Draco, and the now-awake Lillie took all of their suitcases and bags and left the Leaky Cauldron. They took a quick stop at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor because Lillie absolutely had to have a cup of cookie dough ice cream with extra cookie crumbs. She was much more awake, and much more content, after that.
"Well, we still have some time to kill," Draco said, looking at his watch. "We have to leave at 10:00 for King's Cross and the Hogwarts Express always leaves at 11:00 a.m. sharp."
"What could we do in 20 minutes?" Harry said, thinking.
**HARRY'S DAYDREAM**
"Ohhh, Harry! You're such a naughty boy!" exclaimed a hot brunette. Harry was surrounded by many girls, must've been at least a dozen or more. They were all touching him in one way or another (A/N: Not in that way, you sick minded person! ^_~).
"Harry! You're so hot!" exclaimed a blonde who was rubbing his stomach.
"Yeah, I know," Harry said in his confident voice, smiling his dreamy smile. Just then, two of the girls fainted. He just smiled at the rest of the gorgeous girls.
"Harry, snap out of it! You're not having that daydream again, are you?" said a really hot blond . . . with Lillie's voice.
**END OF HARRY'S DAYDREAM**
Harry opened his eyes. Lillie and Draco were looking at him weirdly. His eyes darted around.
"Er, what daydream are you talking about?" Harry said, looking at Lillie. Then he turned to Draco. "You told her about it!"
"Well, she asked, so . . ." Draco said, quite sheepishly. Harry rolled his eyes and muttered curse words.
"So . . . how are we getting to King's Cross, exactly?" Lillie asked Draco, looking at her watch.
"We're going to be Flooing to a restaurant called Ranalda's near the King's Cross. It's actually right next to it," Draco said, looking to Lillie. Lillie nodded her head and tilted it slightly.
"Uh, why don't we just leave now?" Harry said to the two of them, obviously very bored.
"OK," Draco said. They all walked to The Chamber, which was the only other place in Diagon Alley that you could Floo from. They didn't bother going to Knockturn Alley for obvious reasons. They went inside and Harry walked over to the bar.
"Hey Adam," Harry said, a smile on his face.
"Ah, see? I knew you would be back here before next year," Adam replied, pouring a drink for a customer.
"Yeah, I guess so . . . Well, anyway, we're going to be Flooing over to Kings' Cross and then we'll be leaving for Hogwarts," Harry said. Adam nodded and pointed to the fireplace. Harry walked back to Lillie and Draco and they all walked over to the fireplace. There was a vase filled with Floo power on a small table next to it.
Harry was the first to go into the fireplace. He took a handful of the Floo powder, threw it into the fireplace, and called out "Ranalda's Restaurant!" and off he went . . .
* * *
Harry was taken by the emerald green flames and was transported almost immediately to Ranalda's Restaurant. It was a rather large restaurant . . . it seemed to be like a diner, even. Harry walked out of the fireplace and brushed the dust and soot off of his clothing. He looked around, took out his wand, muttered, "Cleansio!" and was immediately cleaned up.
Just then, the emerald flames came back into the fireplace and Lillie stood inside, her clothes covered with dust. She shook herself off, glaring at her clothing. She muttered something about wanting to look good for Phoenix . . . but that obviously wasn't happening.
"Just what I needed to," Lillie said, a grim smile on her face. She finished brushing herself off when Draco appeared in the fireplace.
"Sorry I took so long," Draco said, looking quite clean. Harry glared daggers at him. "Was talking to this girl at The Chamber."
"Right, sure you were," Harry said, tightening his grip on his suitcases. "Well, let's go then."
"Oh yeah . . ." Lillie said, remembering why they were there.
And, so, they all grabbed hold of their suitcases and bags, walked through the restaurant and walked toward the King's Cross, which looked rather far away from Ranalda's. Harry glared at Draco once they arrived at the King's Cross . . . in reality, the walk had taken no less than fifteen minutes.
"Well, sor-ry . . ." Draco said, taking a deep breath. They all walked into the King's Cross, heading for the platforms 9 and 10. It took them a minute or two to get to the platforms. And, to their disgust, the Weasels and Mudblood were both standing in front of the wall that would take them to Platform 9 ¾. Harry watched as Mrs. Weasley walked with the youngest Weasley, Ginny, through the wall to Platform 9 ¾. Before Ron Weasel and Mudblood Granger could walk through the wall, after Gred and Forge, Harry and Draco stopped them, evil smirks on both of their faces.
"Well, look what we have here . . ." Harry said, his eyes narrowed at Weasel with a softer, less harsh glare at Granger.
"Weasel and the Mudblood. How pleasant, really," Draco said nastily, his smirk becoming even nastier.
"Bug off Malfoy, Potter," Weasley said, glaring at the two of them.
"Just leave us alone," Granger said, looking at the both of them. Harry rolled his eyes.
Just then, Saffron appeared out of nowhere, a small smile on her face. Draco noticed that Ron took a small stumble when he saw her. He rolled his eyes. Weasley obviously had a crush on Miss Radan. Too bad for him that she didn't return those feelings.
"Hey Harry, Draco, Lils," Saffron said, her smile widening slightly. Then, she turned to Ron and Hermione with a forced smile.
"Hullo," she said nonchalantly, obviously not caring if they were there or not.
"Oh, h-hey Saffron," Ron said, a wide grin spreading on his face. Then, he tried to conceal it but it was so obvious. Hermione turned to Ron, her eyebrows raised. Hermione muttered something that sounded oddly like, "Boys."
"Honestly, I'm disappointed in the both of you. Shouldn't you be begging to snog me, Granger? And, well, Weasel, sorry . . . I'm just not like THAT. I prefer girls, meself. Sorry you can't say the same for yourself," Harry said, his eyes darting between Weasel and Granger.
Ron looked like he was going to strangle Harry or something but Hermione pulled him back.
"Let's go, Ron," Hermione muttered, not keeping her eyes off of Harry. He looked back to her, an evil grin on his face. Ron murmured something back, glanced at Saffron, and they both walked through the wall. Harry turned to Saffron with a small smile.
"Looks like Weasley's got a crush on you, Saf," Harry said, letting out a laugh. Draco laughed too, though his laugh sounded very odd, and forced.
"You're out of his league, Saffron," Draco said, a warm smile on his face. It was weird . . . Draco seemed to only truly smile when Saffron was around.
"Yeah, I know," Saffron said, quite confidently, with a touch of sarcasm. She smiled, mainly at Draco though.
"Um, so . . . ready to get onto Platform 9 ¾?" Lillie said, smiling at all of them. They all nodded and walked onto Platform 9 ¾ in pairs, Harry with Lillie and Draco with Saffron.
"Let's get a compartment in the back," Saffron said. The back part of the Hogwarts Express was the least crowded and you were always guaranteed at least some privacy. They all walked, holding their suitcases and other luggage and went aboard the back part of the train. They walked past a few occupied compartments when they finally found an empty one. They each put their luggage on the shelves above and sat down on the comfy cushions.
"So . . . have you heard from Sirius lately?" Draco asked Harry, letting out a small yawn.
"Yeah, he wrote me just last week. He said he could come visit me at Hogsmeade or something at the end of the month," Harry said. Draco, Saffron, and Lillie all knew about Sirius and everything, having helped Harry help Sirius escape back in their 3rd year.
"Oh, that's cool," Lillie said, waiting for the lady with the sweets to come by their compartment. They talked for a few minutes when the gray- haired lady pushing the food trolley interrupted them.
"Any food, dears?" she asked, a warm smile on her face. All four of them took out a handful of galleons, sickles, and knuts.
"I'll have a bottle of pumpkin juice, Cauldron Cakes, three chocolate frogs, and a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, please," Lillie said.
"Er, I'll take pumpkin juice and a stack of Cauldron Cakes," Saffron said, money in hand.
"Cauldron Cakes and four Chocolate Frogs," Draco said, his voice drawling.
"Um . . . pumpkin juice, cauldron cakes, Pumpkin Pasties, and two Chocolate Frogs," Harry said, thinking carefully. They each gave the lady their money and she gave them their food and drinks.
Harry looked out the window, gulping down his ice cold pumpkin juice. He then turned back to the three others. He was about to say something when the door slammed open. In the doorway were Crabbe and Goyle, Harry and Draco's 'bodyguards' . . . although the two boys didn't need them.
"Hullo," Goyle said, sounding quite stupid. Crabbe merely grunted. It might've meant something along the lines of, 'How are you?' or 'Have a nice summer?' but no one really understood Crabbe anyway.
"What do you two think you're doing here, you big tubs of lard?" Draco said furiously, standing up. Harry stood up after him.
"Sorry, Draco," Goyle grunted, smiling apologetically. Crabbe muttered, "Yeah, sorry." Harry rolled his eyes.
"Honestly, you two can't take a hint, can you? We told you back in first year to stop following us. You guys are like stalkers or something," Harry said, his eyes piercing the two of them. Although Draco and Harry were both shorter than Crabbe and Goyle, they always had a power over them. They were smart.
Crabbe and Goyle took a few moments to process what Harry had just told them. They both looked at each other, very confused looks on their faces. They shrugged and left the compartment.
"You guys are so mean to them," Saffron said, a slightly disappointed look on her face.
"Yeah, I know," Lillie said, biting her lip.
"How would you two feel if you had two guys following you around all day?" Harry asked them. Saffron and Lillie thought for a moment and grinned at each other.
"I'd like it," Saffron said simply, a wicked smile on her face.
"Yeah, me too," Lillie said, grinning. Harry and Draco both raised an eyebrow, feeling quite awkward.
"Well, OK then . . ." Draco said, an uncomfortable look on his face. He shut his piercing, captivating silver eyes and opened them to see Saffron looking at him. She turned away, her cheeks pink. He smiled slightly. Lillie looked between them, slightly confused.
"Um, well, over the summer I did loads of things. I went to France, Italy, Belgium-great chocolate there-and Sweden," Lillie said.
"Er, I went to Australia and the States," Saffron said. The two girls turned to Draco and Harry.
"I went across Europe," Draco said, biting the head of one of his Chocolate Frogs.
"I went to France, Germany, Australia, the States, Mexico, Canada, Greenland, Fiji, Majorca, Sweden, Norway, Italy, the Caribbean Islands, Argentina, China, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Soloman Islands, Brazil, Ireland, Scotland, and . . . oh yeah! I also went to Seychelles," Harry said, quite fast.
"Wow, you went everywhere . . ." Lillie said, quite amazed.
"No, not necessarily. I didn't go to Chile, Malaysia, Thailand-"
"Harry?" Saffron interrupted. Harry stopped and turned to her.
"Shut the fuck up."
"OK, point taken," Harry said, a small smile on his face. He drank the rest of his pumpkin juice.
(A/N: Big Draco moment now!! He he, Saffron)
Draco had been listening to all of them speaking, a smile on his face. He had been thinking about Sarah, beautiful, gorgeous, smart, kind Sarah. She was perfect for him. He had liked for quite awhile. He had never done anything about it though. Everything was different with her . . . much different.
Then his mind landed on Saffron. There was something about her . . . something special. She wasn't like the other girls. She seemed to be quite the opposite of Sarah the Gryffindor. They were both good-looking, he couldn't deny that . . . but Draco could never like Saffron like that, could he? He had known her for so long, even before they had started Hogwarts. She was his best friend after Harry.
But, she had that certain glow to her, a certain air. They had so many things in common and she was extremely attractive. Draco had a feeling that they would've been together a long time ago if they hadn't had such a strong history together.
"I'll be back in a few minutes or so," Draco said, standing up from his seat. He opened the door to the compartment and shut it. He decided that he would go talk-or at least see-Sarah. He hadn't seen her since that dreadful day in Diagon Alley.
Saffron looked up as Draco left the compartment. She thought for a moment before turning to the others.
"I'll be right back, too," Saffron said, standing up and leaving the compartment.
"So . . ." said Harry.
"Um, yeah," Lillie said, slightly confused.
* * *
Draco walked through the narrow hallway, past several compartments. He walked past a certain compartment and heard a familiar voice. It was Sarah's. He smiled to himself and walked back a few steps. The door to her compartment was slightly open and he peaked inside. His mouth gaped open when he saw her.
S-she was making out with some other guy! Draco had the urge to burst into the compartment but refrained himself. He bit his lip, a surge of emotions going through of him. Jealous, anger, but most of all, sadness. He looked downward as he started walking back to his compartment. He accidently bumped into someone in front of him.
"Sorry," Draco mumbled, still looking downward.
"Draco! Are you okay?" Draco looked up. It was Saffron. No, he wouldn't let her see him like this. Draco slowly nodded his head.
"Do you want to talk or something?"
Draco thought for a moment and nodded his head. His heart was crushed. You never COULD trust those fucking Gryffindorks. Draco and Saffron walked over to an empty compartment. Saffron locked the door and they both sat down on two seats, across from each other.
"What happened, Draco?" Saffron asked in a concerned tone. Draco looked up but avoided her eyes.
"It's nothing," Draco said, looking out the window.
"It is NOT nothing. I've known you for nearly seven years, Draco. I think I know when it's something," Saffron said. Though it sounded sort of odd, it was true.
Damn it, Malfoy . . . she can see right through you, Draco told himself.
"I saw Sarah making out with another guy," Draco mumbled, continuing to ignore her rather beautiful eyes.
"Sorry?"
"I saw Sarah making out with ANOTHER guy," Draco said, very loudly.
"Oh, I'm sorry Draco," Saffron said truthfully. But there was a voice in the back of her head saying that she was HAPPY that Draco had seen Sarah kissing another guy.
"Thanks, Saffron," Draco said, smiling at Saffron. A true, genuine smile was on his face. Nothing forced . . . it was genuine.
"You're welcome," Saffron said, smiling cheerfully. "You're a wonderful guy, Draco. You're smart, nice, confident, funny, and not to mention attractive." Draco started blushing furiously, causing Saffron to let out a giggle, something she didn't do often.
Before he could do anything, Draco did the unexpected. He leaned in and pressed his lips against Saffron's. And what did she do?
She pressed back.
* * *
"Hmm . . . what d'you think Saffron and Draco are doing right now?" Lillie asked boringly.
"Hmm . . . I don't know. Making out?" Harry said, bursting out laughing. Lillie joined him in laughing.
"Y-y-you've got to be k-k-kidding me!" Lillie said through her laughs. Then one thought came over Lillie and her laughs started becoming quieter. What if they were?
The same exact thought came over Harry. His laughs started getting weaker. What if they were doing what he thought they were doing?
Oh shit.
* * *
A/N: So . . . how was the chapter? It was even longer than the last one! Yay! Umm . . . yeah. So, please review! All reviews are greatly appreciated! Constructive criticism is always good! No flames please!