The Platform

The falling of his father.

The screaming of his mother.

The blame, he thought, was completely his.

The man laughing.

The Dementors.

Why were there Dementors?

Thomas tossed and turned in his sleep, reenacting the night his father was murdered, in his sleep.

"Thomas…Thomas…" a small voice called. Thomas stopped tossing and slowly opened his eyes. Chrysler was standing there, her eyes wide with fear. "Master Thomas…" she whispered. Thomas sat up, rubbing his eyes. The past few months were full of these dreams. Chrysler put a hand to his forehead. "Warm…" she said Thomas gently pushed her hand away. His top was clinging to his chest, and his face was flushed. He got out of bed and looked at her.

"You're going to the platform today." She told him. Thomas took off his top, revealing cuts on his upper arms. Chrysler stared at them. "Master Thomas?" she said in a worried tone. Thomas pulled on a white shirt. He looked back at her. "I wont tell…" she said stepping out of the room. Thomas nodded.

'School…' he thought, pulling on a pair of faded jeans. Yawning he opened the door, stepping out. His mother was in the lounge, staring at the massive green trunk in the middle of the room. Thomas leant against the doorframe. She turned her head and looked at him, smiling.

"My little boy is finally going to Hogwarts." She said. "I can't believe it's finally happening." Thomas smiled and walking into the room. She began to sob. "Oh I swore I wouldn't cry!" she said. "I wanted for you to see me the last time not crying. But don't worry, when you come back for the Christmas holidays you can bring s few of your friends with you, as long as it's okay with their parents."

Thomas grinned. Friends. He wondered if he could achieve that. "Right!" she said moving his trunk beside him. "You should get going. Don't want to be late. The train leaves at exactly Eleven O'clock. Oh and here."

She passed him the ticket. Taking the ticket he put it into his pocket. He tugged at his trunk and made his way out of the lounge. "Goodbye Darling, I will see you at Christmas!" she sobbed. Thomas smiled and waved goodbye, tugging his trunk to the front door.

After finally getting to King's cross-station, Thomas wondered where the hell Platform Nine and three quarters actually was. He pushed his trolley towards platform Nine and Ten and waited there, to see if anyone else knew where it was. He had an urge to ask a muggle but when a small boy walked past him and began to laugh, that idea was completely out of the question. A family of girls walked towards him. The girl he rescued among them. He blushed faintly as they came closer. Grabbing his trolley's handle bar, he wheeled it beside the barrier, where he couldn't be seen. One of the older girls had seen him anyway and looked at the rest.

"I do believe this one doesn't know how to use the barrier…" she told the rest. She walked up to Thomas and put her hands on her hips, grinning. "Well… Hello there. Going to Hogwarts I expect?" she asked. Thomas nodded.

"I see… First year?"

He nodded again.

"Ness is a firsty too! Aren't you Nessie?"

The girl called Ness was in the middle of being hugged by her parents. Thomas looked at her and she looked back, a look of surprise on her face.

"Oh! Wait a minute." The Older girl said. "You must be that boy Nessa was talking about. The one that rescued her in Diagon Alley…Thomas right?" she said. "All the features are there. Silky blonde hair, pretty tall, looking heroic, Man of Nessa's dreams." She added. "If I'm not mistaken, you are the boy Nessa has been speaking about non stop."

Thomas looked back at Nessa. She was making her way over.

"Nessie! It's that Thomas boy, you know the one you really like?" she told her. Thomas stepped out from where he was and smiled at Nessa. She blushed but smiled back. "Umm, Hullo…" she said looking down at her shoes. Thomas felt a grin come onto his face. "You do know my face is up here Ness Love…" he told her.

'I just spoke! I don't believe it! …I said Love… that can't be right…' he thought.

Nessa looked at her sister. "Umm, Mere, you can go now." She told her. Mere grinned. "Alright, I'll see you at Hogwarts Nessa. Have fun with your boyfriend" she told her before going through the barrier.

"Ah, so that's how you get in." Thomas said.

"Yeah. So it's your first year too?" Nessa asked.

"Yeah, I was so excited this morning, but my Mother made a huge deal about it and cried before I left." He said grabbing the handle bar of his trolley. "Oh? What about your dad? Did he drop you off?" Nessa asked. Thomas looked at her. "No… He couldn't." he told her truthfully. "Oh…Okay." she said taking her trolley too.

"Right, we should get going, the train leaves in ten minutes." He told her. They took a few steps back and both ran through the barrier. They emerged on the other side. A scarlet train was waiting in the station. Heaps of witches, wizards and students were waiting to get aboard.

"Flippin' Heck.." Thomas said aloud.

"I agree…" said Nessa.

"Thomas looked at Nessa. "This is what I thought it would look like. Talk about a premonition."

They both moved their trolleys down the platform, looking in the windows for a cabin that hadn't been taken yet. Thomas pulled up his trunk off the trolley, up the steps. "Need some help?" Nessa asked, grabbing the bottom of the trunk and pushing it upwards.

"Thanks." He said heaving it up. He helped with her trunk too and put his hand out for her to take. She took it graciously and he pulled her up – A little to fast. She bumped into him. He looked down at her, feeling a knot in his stomach grow. She looked up at him and automatically moved some strands of his hair out of his eyes, like she'd been doing it for years. The both smiled at each other and bent down to drag their trunks to the empty cabin.

"Here's the one we saw Thom." Nessa said, dropping her trunk on the floor and sliding the door open. "Amazing. This cabin is huge! You could possibly fit ten people in!" she said dragging her trunk in. Thomas followed. Nessa was right. There were two long benches one either side, covered in dark, blood red leather. A huge window was set, right in the middle, the scenery around them all in one place. Nessa pushed her trunk up into the carrying compartment above their seats, on the right, as did Thomas, on the left. The both sat down, opposite each other. The train began to move.

"So Thom, if you don't mind being called that."

"By all means, go ahead."

"Where do you live?" she asked.

"Wiltfershire." He told her

"Oh really?"

"MmmHmm. In a Castle."

"A Castle! I'm jealous Thom!" she teased.

"Maybe you could come see it sometime."

"Yeah? Really?"

"Yeah, you doing anything at Christmas?"

"I'm jus—" she stopped in mid sentence. The door had opened again. Two girls who were laughing and dragged their trunks in. "Finally! A cabin not overrun with dumbasses!" the taller girl exclaimed. "I know! These two look fine!" the shorter one said with a grin and putting her trunk in the compartment. The taller one gasped as she sat beside Thomas.

"How RUDE are WE?!" she said.

"Where in the hell ARE our manners!" the shorter one said, sitting beside Nessa.

"Let myself, introduce…myself…" The taller one said, putting a hand on her chest. "I am Jhordan Orlin." Jhordan said with a grin.

"And I! Am Serpentine Lavrovite. But you guys can call me Serp." She told them with a smirk.

"I say, what is your name?" Jhordan asked Thomas.

"Uh… Thomas Malfoy." He said. They both gasped.

"I should have known!" Serp said.

"Indeed." Jhordan agreed.

"This other chap is in another cabin, not too far from here, said he was a Malfoy too… Are you brothers by chance?" Serp asked.

Thomas shook his head. "Cousins…" he told them.

"Awww! How adorable! Cousins that look like brothers going to school together!" she chimed.

"Well, we better go talk to him now. So LOVELY to meet you both." Jhordan said, standing up and dragging Serp out the door. "Later El Taters!" she said running down the corridor. Thomas and Nessa looked at each other.

"Later El Tater?" Nessa asked.

"Sommat about potatoes I suppose…" Thomas said, a smirk creeping onto his face. They both started laughing. Thomas listened to her laughter. It made his stomach tingle. He then stopped laughing. His parents were right.

'Dammit! Why are they always right?!' he thought to himself.

"You okay?" Nessa asked, as she noticed he had stopped laughing. Thomas nodded. "I'm fine." He replied. Nessa leant forward and brushed some hair out of his eyes. "Your hair is always in your eyes… Doesn't it get annoying?" she asked. "Sometimes." He said. "Yeah well, every time we meet, I feel, I will have to groom you." She said with a smile. Without thinking, Thomas shifted seats and sat beside her, to get a better look out the window. "Well, we're going to have to meet up a lot." He whispered. "You aren't really Slytherin material." Nessa looked at him. "Slytherin? Why would you even think of going in there?" she asked. "It's a known fact, all Malfoys go into Slytherin, without a doubt."

"But, you seem so unlike a Slytherin." She said.

"Yes well, I'm going to change. For the worst, I feel."

"Fine, you can say that, but I am still going to be friends with you. Even if you are a Slytherin and I'm in a totally different house." She told him. Thomas smiled and she slipped her hand into his. Thomas could feel his face getting hot.

Dead silence is the only two words that could describe the noise on the train ride. The clicking of the train tracks, and Nessa's steady breathing were the only things heard. She had fallen asleep on his chest after a whole day of talking to him. He found out all about her family and how one of her sisters had gone missing one night and her parents thought she was lying, saying she went mad. Thomas reassured her she wasn't mad. He shared things about himself too. How his dad was a Death Eater, how his mother was a Veela.

"So that makes you Half Veela?" she had asked.

He told her about Draco and how they got in trouble one time for grabbing gnomes, lighting them on fire and tossing them into the neighbor's garden, setting it on fire. He felt Nessa shiver a little as she slept. She he put an arm around her, to keep her warm. A knock on the door made him jump a little. The door slid open and Draco stepped in. He smirked and seeing Nessa, raised an eyebrow. He shut the door and sat opposite them.

"Hello, Whose this?" he asked.

"Her name is Nessa." Thomas replied.

"Oh… Hey, you can talk now."

"Sure can, haven't been able to stop all afternoon." Thomas said with a smile.

"Sorry we didn't come to the funeral. My father wasn't up for it. My mother really wanted to come but he made sure she didn't leave."

"It's okay, it didn't go so well anyway." He said.

"Oh?"

"I kind of… messed it up."

"I see…" Draco replied, looking at Nessa. "She's pretty." He said.

"Yeah she is. That's why I feel she's not Slytherin material. She's more Gryffindor." Thomas said. Draco laughed lightly. "You wouldn't be friends with a Gryffindor now, would you?"

"It depends if she's actually put in there Draco."

"It's pretty likely."

"Yeah well, just so she isn't hassled, I hope she's put in Hufflepuff." Thomas said, looking down at her.

"Hufflepuff are lucky, they don't get hassled at all."

Nessa was listening, careful not to open her eyes.

"I'd still be a friend with her either way."

Nessa then snuggled closer and put her arms around Thomas' waist. Thomas looked at Draco, eyes widened. Draco grinned.

"Thomas has a girlfriend…" he whispered to him, in a tune.

"Yeah… she's a girl, and my friend." Thomas comebacked.

"Put them together… Girlfriend." He stated. "Anyway, I'm off, you two should get changed, we'll be there soon." Draco advised, opening the compartment door. He looked back at Thomas.

"Girlfriennnnnnnnnnd…." He said before he stepped out.

Thomas sighed and leant back on the bench, resting the back of his head on it and closing his eyes. He listened to the sounds of the wheels on the tracks and Nessa's steady breathing. Having Nessa so close to him felt nice. Opening his eyes he shifted his hand and gently twisted her hair around his index finger, playing with it. He looked out the window at the darkened sky, blotted with tiny stars. Maybe Draco was right. Maybe one day Nessa would be his girlfriend. He smirked a little at the thought and continued to look out the window.

"What are you thinking about Thomas?" Nessa whispered. Thomas looked down at her. "Sleeping beauty woke up eh?" he said with a smile and letting go of her hair. "I wasn't thinking about anything…" he lied. Nessa pulled her arms out from around him and sat up, stretching. "We should probably get changed." Thomas said, yawning and stretching himself. He stood up and reached for his trunk, pulling it down and resting it on the ground. He opened it and pulled out his new robes. He looked over at Nessa. She seemed oddly quiet.

"Aiight… what's wrong Love?" Thomas said, unloading the rest of his uniform and hauling his trunk back up.

"I uh… it's nothing. Nothing at all." She lied. She was in fact thinking of what Thomas had discussed with Draco beforehand.

"Aiight then. If it's about you getting changed I can step out if you'd like." Thomas insisted. Nessa nodded a bit and reached up for her trunk. "Let me help you with that…" Thomas said reaching up towards the trunk. He helped her pull it down and smiled. "I'll be back soon…" he said sliding the door open and stepping out. He shut the door behind him.

"Malfoy…" a female voice drawled. Thomas looked down the corridor. A girl with dark hair was walking towards him. Her face was rather ugly. "What do you think you're doing Draco, you are supposed to be sitting in out compartment." She said, putting her hands on her hips.

"What are you talking about? I'm not Draco." Thomas said raising an eyebrow.

"Don't lie to me Draco Malfoy!" she said grabbing Thomas' arm.

"Hey! Get off!" Thomas said pulling back and getting out of her grip. "I said I am not Draco!" he told her again. The girl laughed. "Did you bump your head or something Draco? Because you are not good at lying to me."

"Damn it! I said – Look, My name is Thomas Malfoy… I'm a relative of his." He explained. The girl raised an eyebrow. "Draco, you are scaring me. What the hell are you talking about?" she said, getting closer to him. Thomas stepped back, pinned against the wall.

"I said I'm not Draco – Ness? Are you done in there?" he asked.

"Not quite!" she called.

"Ness? Who is that…Draco don't tell me you are with another girl!?" she screamed.

"I-I … Who are you?!" he asked.

"This is horrible! You don't even remember your girlfriend!" she said, eyes brimming with tears.

"Girlfriend? Obviously Draco's Girlfriend can't tell the difference between him and his cousin…" he drawled.

"Stop saying that!" she yelled.

By now some heads were sticking out of compartment doors and looking down the corridor. Thomas looked up and down the corridor.

"Look girl. Go and find Draco, he's probably hassling someone." Thomas said, edging towards the door. "Ness Love, I'm coming in." he said not taking his eyes off the girl.

"Get back here!" she demanded. Thomas quickly jumped into the compartment and locked the door behind him. The girl walked up to the door and began banging on the window. Thomas looked at Nessa.

"I think you should stay in here for your own safety…" Thomas told her. "I'll get changed properly at school." He said looking back out the window. He smirked.

As the train slowed to a stop, Thomas could see the nervousness radiating off Nessa. She was tightening her grip on the hem of her robes – almost able to strangle it if it was alive. He couldn't think much either; he looked as pale as his hair, which was not a really good look.

"Nervous?" she asked him, looking at the floor.

"Mmm, just a tad…" he admitted.

"Yeah, me too." She said back.

The train stopped completely and hissed loudly. Everyone aboard scrambled to the doors in a frenzy like ants to sugar. Thomas held Nessa's hand tightly, hoping not to lose her in the sea of students. One could very easily get lost. As they finally got into a clearing he heard a loud voice shouting out to the first years.

"That'll be us Ness." He said walking up to the huge man with the lantern. "Hey… I saw that chap on the train to London and in Diagon alley." Thomas told Nessa.

"Well, how could you not? He's pretty hard to miss." She said with a cheeky grin on her face.

"Righ'! Follow Me!" he boomed.

"You know Ness…" Thomas began as they started following Hagrid. "If he shouted any louder, I expect the students in the first row would die of inner ear cannel bleeding. Then he'd be in trouble." He whispered. Nessa giggled and slapped his arm playfully. Looking ahead, he saw the boy that he saw in Diagon Alley stop and walk down to them.

"I heard that Malfoy…" he growled. Thomas raised an eyebrow and stopped walking.

"Do you have bionic hearing or something because I swore I whispered that." Thomas said, a hint of laughter in his voice. Two of the boy's friends stepped up behind him. One; a girl with rather messy hair, the other, a boy with bright red hair and a big nose.

"How did you know I was a Malfoy anyway." He drawled. Harry looked at the other two. "You introduced yourself on the train." Said the red haired boy.

"Not very nicely either…" the girl said, frowning slightly and having annoyance in her tone.

"No, I don't recall Thomas introducing himself to you three. He's been with me the whole time." Nessa informed them.

"Thomas?" Harry said a bit surprised.

"There is two Malfoys?" the red haired boy exclaimed, paling a bit.

"Mmm, I guess there is…" Thomas said coolly.

The trio stayed silent and pale.

"What's the matter? Malfoy got your tounge?" Draco said walking up to the group, standing beside Thomas. "Hey Nessa." Draco said with a smirk. "Well, I see you both met the famous Harry Potter eh?" he said looking at the trio. Thomas felt a small tug on his sleeve and Nessa jumped a little at the name.

"Harry Potter…" Thomas said. "I visioned you more… buff, more, powerful. Not weak. Funny isn't it. How one paper-thin boy could defeat Voldemort…" he drawled. Draco looked at Thomas and was surprised that he mentioned the name. All of them stared at him.

"What… did I say something bad?" he asked. The red haired boy seemed to growl and lurched out at Thomas. Harry and the girl held him back.

"Oh cut the hero act Weasley…My cousin, his girlfriend and I have a boat to catch." Draco growled walking past them.

"That was Harry Potter you know. You could have been a little nicer." Nessa whispered as they walked past him. "Sorry, no can do. Us Malfoys and the Potters have been fighting for a while now." Draco replied, following the rest of the first years to the boats.

"Oh I see, and let me guess, you don't want to ruin it all by becoming friends or being nice to Harry?" Nessa said. Thomas gave a small shrug. "Dunno Love, I'd say it's up to him if he wants to be nicer to us." He said regarding to Harry.

Draco, Nessa and Thomas all got into the same boat. Hagrid told the boats to move forwards and they began to move.

"Would you look at that." Draco said pointing at the castle on the cliff. Thomas looked up. "It's just about as big as your house Draco, if not, a bit bigger." Nessa looked up as well, a bit overwhelmed. "It's huge…"

"Yeah, you'd probably get lost in there. God knows how many times I got lost at Draco's house, there are still parts we haven't discovered." Thomas said with a smirk.

"I heard ghosts and stuff are in there." Draco said.

"Oooh… I quiver with fear." Thomas said laughing a little.

As they finally made their way to school all Thomas, Draco and Nessa couldn't stop talking about the year to come. They walked onto shore and up to the castle. Silence enveloped the first years, while nervousness was standing out like a glow in the dark stick.