+TWO+

Meeting of Three

"Well, well, hello there, Weasley," came a displeasingly familiar drawl from behind her. Though she rolled her eyes, Ginny otherwise gave no sign of hearing the voice and proceeded to ignore it's owner's presense behind her. "I know this compartment might seem awfully nice compared to your hovel of a house, but only prefects and Heads are allowed in here.

She fumed, her back going slightly rigid as her nerves sharpened her posture. Ginny knew her family was poor, but anger washed over her and defense for her her parents came rushing up her throat like bile.

"My house is not a hovel, Malfoy. And I am allowed in here." She turned to face him, excepting to see him flanked by Crabbe, or Goyle, or some other Slytherin goon, but he was alone with her in the large compartment, lightly decorated with colors and symbols from each House.

"Oh, my apologies Weasley, a Prefect now, are we, following in Ickle Ronnikins footsteps, huh? Been kissing up to Dumbledore's pet lately?" It seemed like not only her cheeks burned, but all of her flesh, just slightly tanned from a summer on her broom, brightened a bloody, crimson red. Before Ginny could so much as open her mouth or move her hand to slap him, the compartment door slid open.

There were four Prefects from each House, too in the fifth year, two in their sixth, and most of them were coming into the compartment now, though only half were to arrive, the fifth year prefects, for this was a meeting for the students new to a fresh badge pinned to their robes, except for the Heads, and except for Malfoy. He was there because each year Dumbledore would select a sixth year prefect to also attend the meeting, another source of experience to the new prefects. By the time all of the others had slowly trickled in, Ginny had set her face and sat down. Suddenly remembering something, and as the last two came in and slammed the door shut (the Head Boy and Girl), Ginny leaped from her seat and knelt palms and knees on the floor.

"I know how great I am compared to you and the company you hold yourself in, Weasley, but must you really bow in public?" Ignoring Malfoy's taunt and the guffaws from the Slytherin's, she crawled forward slightly, peering under the cushioned bench-like seats and quite suddenly reached underneath one with both hands and gently tugged out a raven-black kitten with her.

For once, Malfoy said nothing, looking in the slightest surprise, which he masked, at the small cat. For whatever reason he had assumed Ginny Weasley to be down on the floor looking under the seats, it apparently hadn't been to find a cat.

A few girls cooed and reached out to pet Serena, but the Head Girl scolded them lightly, and the meeting began. While Ginny held her cat close, stroking it's back or scratching lightly at the base of her ears, the meeting progressed and ended, the Heads' having layed down the rules and given some advice to the new Prefects.

When it was over, Ginny sat back and sighed, closing her eyes, Serena leaning comfortably against her chest, purring softly. The girl heard the others filing out of the room, a momentary silence, and then the soft sliding and thudding of the door closing. She opened her eyes and was startled, then suspicious, to see Draco Malfoy standing in the middle of the compartment, wearing a familiar sneer.

"Weasley," he said maliciously, "I have a message for Potty, for next time you're fawning over him-" But quite abruptly Serena stretched luxoriously and tumbled almost gracefully from Ginny's lap, leaped towards Malfoy, and cautiously sniffed the hem of his black school cloak, stepping her front paws onto the toe of one of his shoes curiously. He pulled the foot back that the kitten was exploring, looking like he was about to kick. Ginny yelled and lunged, knocking him onto a seat and landing practically ontop of him.

"How loathe! How loathsome and cowardly! To try and strike a creature that did nothing to you! A poor, defenseless creature!"

"I wasn't!" He yelled, pushing her away and standing up, yanking his robes back into more precise order. "I was moving my away, I was taking a step back from that stupid cat! I didn't want it to scratch me, Weasley, cats' hate me. Don't get your hair in curls." He sneered, and then looked suspiciously around for the cat, which was no where to be seen, until he turned about slightly, and saw the little kitten sitting calmly on a seat cushion behind him, and shook his head. "Any magical abilities?" he asked, and actually seemed, if scornfully, faintly interested.

"I don't know," Ginny said, wondering why it mattered so much, him not being the first to ask her that question.

"Right," Malfoy said, sneer back in place, "I don't know why I asked, I mean, it's not like the savings of you and all your family combined could get anything worth more than an old stack of used books."

"Malfoy," she snapped, "get out," he was starting to get on a sensitive part of her nerves, and she couldn't stand his arrgant sneers a moment longer.

"It's Prefect's compartment," he drawled, sounding bored, "I'm a Prefect aren't I?" She frowned, and scooped Serena into her arms, pushing the compartment door and pausing in it's threshold, looking almost quizically back at him for a moment before closing it behind her.

"Hey, guys," Ginny said, closing another compartment door, this time after stepping into it. Four were seated there, rather than the three she expected. Hermione looked up from her book and greeted Ginny with a smile and an invitation to sit down beside her by patting the cushion next to her (when Ginny sat down, Crookshanks sniffed Serena cautiously, then yawned, which made Ginny smile, knowing Crookshanks must have been inspecting this newcomer and accepting it like Ron's owl, Pig). Harry and Ron murmured hello, trying not to get distracted from a game of Wizard's Chess set between them. And there was also another, with thin blonde hair and big eyes that were gazing faraway through the window...

"Hello Hermione, Ron, Harry, hi Luna." Ginny said, after seating herself.

"How was your meeting, Ginny?" Hermione asked, smiling.

"Oh, alright." Ginny said, uncertain about mentioning Malfoy's taunts, not feeling like getting Ron all worked up. "They just told us some rules and about how we shouldn't neglect our duty as new, young supervisers, and to remember prefect means privilege..." She said, sounding bored, and Ron grunted, as if in agreeance, contemplating the chess board before him.

"We should probably change into our school robes now, guys," Hermione said, checking her watch, like every train ride to Hogwarts (she also alerted them when to change into "normal clothes" on the trips back from the school). The two boys seemed to try and ignore her, but she glared at them until they looked up and Harry grinned sheepishly.

"Alright, alright," Ron said, smugly taking Harry's king in one smooth movement.

After Ginny had left the compartment, Draco Malfoy had stood in the same spot, staring out the window at the scenary flashing by, for what felt like forever, wild woods, dark greens rushing by, scratches of pale blue sky, but only tangled snares of thoughts in his vision. He turned his head, looking out the small window in the sliding door, and then slumped into a seat, his head in his hands, a sudden headache throbbing at his temples, when sleep snuck up on him. He was alone, in what seemed to be Hogwart's very own Forbidden Forest. It was night, and a quarter moon shone high above him through the treetops. All he knew was the feeling of cold and pain and loss, of being completely alone amongst the twisted, baren trees, in the darkness, but for the cold sliver of the moon. The shadows shifted and a piece of them took form, moving forward, telling him he had failed...

He awoke with a start, the engines screaming as the train began to slowly come to a shuddering halt. Having no memory of the dream, for some reason feeling fearful, he leaped from the compartment and peered both ways down the hall, seeing a couple doors slide open. One of them belonged to a group of Slytherin's, including Pansy. She too peered down the hall and spotted him.

"Draco!" she called, "where have you been?"

"Pansy, if you needed to know, I would tell you," Draco drawled, masking himself in a familiar suit of easy Slytherin arrogance.

"Oh, I know," she said, meeting him halfway down the train aisle and sliding her hands over his chest and up to his shoulders, smiling seductively. He gave her a little smile, slipping his arms around her waist and feeling her against his body. "Draco, I wish I could've spent time with you today on the ride up to school..."

"I know," he said, a small smirk playing across his lips. She turned her face up for his kiss as she clung to him. His lips met hers and she pressed closer against him but he pulled away.

"Draco," she whined, but he shook his head.

"Parkinson, control yourself. Are you a Slytherin or a stupid Hufferduffer?"

"I'm a Slytherin!" she said indignantly, pouting her lips slightly and keeping her arms around his neck.

"Slytherin's are cool and controlled," he drawled, peeling out of her grasp and striding to a train exit as others filed out of their compartments, the train having fully stopped. Pansy sighed and twirled a lock of hair around her finger for a moment until others began passing her to leave to train. She sneered at them and began strutting after Draco.

Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Luna struggled out of their compartment and managed their way off the train, waiting for an empty thestral-drawn carriage to come rolling up on it's rackety wheels. Finally, one came, but Harry was pushed past by Draco, followed by a struggling Pansy, who brushed roughly passed Ginny, and the carrige was stolen.

"Hey!" Ron shouted, scrambling for his wand.

"Ron," Ginny said, putting her hand on his arm.

"He stole our-"

"Ron, it's Draco-"

"He stole our carri-"

"Ron," Ginny snapped. "It's Malfoy, what do you expect? Besides, it's just a carriage, look, here's another one right now..." Sullenly, Ron ignored Ginny but stuck his wand back in his robes pocket, and climbed into the empty carriage that had pulled up, followed by the others, Ginny and Hermione rolling their eyes as Ron and Harry made fresh, grumbling threats about Malfoy.

"Where'd Luna go?" Hermione wondered aloud, but Ron ignored her and Harry only shrugged. After a slightly long, bumpy ride to the castle, Ron's temper had cooled and he hopped from the carriage, him and Harry now talking about the feast- and like every year, Ron was complaining about how hungry he was, and that the sorting had better go by fast, and how long do you think Dumbledore will talk for?

Ginny shook her head again, and shifted Serena more comfortabley in her arms, stepping up to the large, open doors to the castle, and after skirting the large group of confused, scared, small, and excited looking first years, they made their way into the Great Hall to the Gryffindor table, Ginny ending up inbetween Harry and Hermione. Much to Ron's pleasure, the Sorting Hat did not drone on too long, and Dumbledore's only words were reminders of the Forbidden Forest, Filch's list of banned items, and a welcome to a new school year and a good feast.