Here is the second chapter!
Thank you Ludrucous and Simone-Sparrow-Turner for your reviews! I like getting feedback on what I do.
I hope you will enjoy this chapter as well.
XxX Lucy
Chapter two: Old habits die hard.
As Draco went through the barrier that led onto platform 9 ¾ he felt the looks starting already. He was so sick of this! Could they not look at anyone else then him? Yes he was the son of one of the caught death eaters but he was not the only one. Plus he was with Sirius Black, could they not ogle him? He had been enemy number one for all those years? But people only looked at what was in the news, luckily not many people knew about his mother disappearing. So the rest of the world did not know he was now living with Black and Potter.
"Come along dear." Mrs. Weasely said placing a hand on his shoulder. The woman had tried to be as nice as possible to him and frankly he didn't know what to think of it.
It was the same with Ginny, since the diary / spider incident´ she had been very friendly to him. Trying to start conversations and throwing him supporting smiles during dinner. He knew why; they were feeling sorry for him! Well he did not need anybody's pity!
Besides who knew she wasn't laughing at him? She had read his diary, he was sure of that!
When all of them got on the train, Sirius looked at both Harry and Draco. "Well have a good time and I will see the both of you for Christmas." Harry hugged Sirius, where as Draco just mumbled soft and short; Bye and turned away from them.
The rest of the group said their goodbye's and they went in search of an empty compartment to sit in.
Draco did not follow the rest and went in search of his own place to sit.
"Here is an empty compartment." Ginny said pointing to the side. The rest of the group followed and put their things away.
"Well Ron and I have to go to the prefect's compartment for a while; I need to instruct all the new prefects." Hermione said proudly looking at the badge on her chest again; she had been made Head Girl.
Both she and Ron left and now it was just Harry and Ginny in the compartment, they talked a bit until Neville entered. "Hi." He said plunging into a seat next to Harry and looking at Ginny with a certain kind of small smile on his face.
Ginny diverted her eyes, ever since last year he had kept looking at her like that. She knew he liked her but she did not like him back that way. He was a friend nothing more nothing less. Ok she had gone to the ball with him in her 3rd year, but that was because she had really wanted to go to the ball and there had been no other way, she had made that very clear to him.
Before anyone could speak the door to the compartment opened and Draco stood there wearing his robes, the silver prefect badge gleaming on his chest.
He looked through the compartment and when he saw Ginny his eyes lingered for a moment. Ginny said nothing but smiled a bit as he stood there; it was Harry who broke the silence.
"Yes? What is it?" He asked a bit harshly.
Ginny diverted her eyes and looked at Harry trying to reprimand him with her look for being rude.
Draco scowled at Harry; on the one hand he was glad he had said something before his staring at Ginny would have turned into something embarrassing. On the other he was sorry he had to stop.
"Listen Potter, what happened this summer, happened. But I do not think that the whole school needs to know." He had been plain enough without Longbottom being in on their little secret.
Harry looked at Neville for a second who had a surprised look in his face and then too Ginny who raised her shoulders.
"Fine, if you want it that way." Harry said plainly.
Ginny looked from Harry to Draco who still lingered at the door for a second, then he turned and walked away.
"What was that all about?" Neville looked from Ginny to Harry. Ginny shrugged not wanting to break the agreement Draco and Harry had just made.
Harry diverted from the subject by asking Neville what he had done over the summer.
For the rest of the train ride Ginny switched from listening to Neville about his summer job working in a magical Herboligy centre to staring out the window thinking of all the things to come this year.
This year would be filled with preparation for her 7th and final year, the year she would do her NEWT´s.
As they got closer to school the clouds started to turn darker and packed closer together, by the time they got to the station and the train stopped rain was pouring down.
Ginny, now dressed in her robes, ran towards the carriages to avoid getting soaked and quickly sat in the closets one which appeared free.
As soon as the door closed it started to move, she looked out the open window to the back where she could see Harry and Neville getting in to the one behind her.
Why would the carriage move with only her in it? She heard someone clear their throat and turned to say hello. She looked straight into Draco´s eyes.
"Hi." Was all she said looking out the window again.
"What are you doing in here?" Draco asked scowling at her.
"Well......... sitting would be what im doing right now." Ginny said still looking straight at him.
"I mean in the carriage, off course you are sitting! Any fool could see that!" Draco crossed his arms waiting for an answer.
Ginny felt the anger rising up in her and had a good mind to snap at him, who was he to start talking to her like that? She had tried to be nice to him over the weekend, but it seemed like the closer they got to school the more he became a Pratt again.
"Well Weasel? Im waiting for an answer." Draco said with sparkles in his eyes. "Or does the ability to talk disappear at the same time as the ability to earn money in your family?"
Ginny was now fuming, how dare he! She looked at him and her eyes were shooting fire. If she had been within the gates she would have done a Bogey Bat hex on him.
"You foul evil little cockroach! How dare you say that about my family! You should talk! Your family has done nothing good in their lives! You father is a power obsessed idiot who has no regards for others and your mother loved you SO much, she skipped out on you the first chance she got!"
She was breathing heavily as she still glared at him, he looked at her and for a spilt second she could have sworn she had saw pain in his eyes.
Draco swallowed the lump in his throat; she had delivered him a direct hit. But he would not let her know that! He gave her one last look and then stared straight out of the window.
The rest of the ride was spent in silence; Ginny looked out of the window on the right while Draco´s eyes were fixed on the view on the left of the carriage.
When they reached the castle Ginny jumped out of the carriage without giving Draco another look.
She rejoined with Neville and Harry and the three of them made their way to the great hall.
The sorting hat had thought of yet another song and the first years were sorted into their houses. Ginny clapped with the rest of them and faked paying attention until Hermione nudged her. "Are you ok?" Ginny woke from her thoughts and looked at Hermione; she had a semi worried face.
"Yes I am fine; I just had a little run in with Draco Malfoy." Ginny never intended for Ron to hear, but as he had just leant forward to ask Dean a question he caught her answer.
"What did he do?!" Ron demanded to know already half standing up. Hermione pulled him down by his arm. "Calm down Ron, you are not setting a good example for the first years."
Ron sat down but glared at her. "I don't care! If ferret boy did something to Ginny then they will see some bad examples!"
Ginny sighed, although she was much older now Ron still had the stupid need to play the big brother every chance he got. "It is ok Ron; he did not do anything I could not handle."
Ron looked at her to try and see if she was not lying. "If he does; tell me and I will have a talk with him.
Ginny half smiled, the way he had just said talk told her that there was not going to be a big amount of words in that talk. "Im telling you the truth Ron, I am fine."
Draco watched the Gryffindor table as he scooped some more treacle tart on his plate. Crabbe and Goyle had been asking him allsorts of questions all through dinner. Had he spoken to his father? Were there as many people round his house as theirs? What did his mother think of this all? He had diverted all of their questions, but that had not been a hard task as the both of them had very short attention spans.
Pansy Parkinson on the other hand was a different story; ever since she had laid eyes on him in the entrance hall she hand not left him alone.
"So Draco, what have you been doing all summer?" Pansy asked drawlingly.
Draco looked at her with his spoon half way up to his mouth, he was about to answer her when he caught a glimpse of Ginny who was giving him a dirty look.
"Uhm sorry what did you say?" He asked Pansy who was still looking at him waiting for an answer.
"I asked you if you did something over the summer, or did you not get out of the house much? You know with your father being in Azkaban and all." Pansy asked again sweetly.
There had been a time where she had hung on his every word and he had enjoyed the attention. But now he just found her annoying. "The summer was ok." He snapped as he threw another look at the Gryffindor table, but his view of Ginny was now blocked by Potter. She looked like she was very angry with me. He thought. What do you care? She is the Weasel girl! Draco shook his head and tried to concentrate on his dessert again.
At the end of the feast, Professor Dumbledore stood up at the main table and received the applause he got with a small smile. Although he had killed the dark lord he still remained very modest about it.
"Welcome to yet another year at Hogwarts. I hope that in this renewed time of piece we will al enjoy ourselves and expand our minds even further then we already have over the past years." He threw a look over to Harry sitting at the table and smiled. "For those of you in your final year, you will take your NEWT´s and leave us to join the ranks of those in the working class. And believe me working is not all it is cracked up to be." He paused and chuckled at his own joke for a moment. "Now for those of you who are joining us for the first time I urge you to look at your prefects and Head Boy and Girl to guide you in the right direction."
At the Slytherin table eyes were being fixed to Draco and Ginny caught a glimpse of it.
"Fine example he will be." She mumbled as she took another drink of her pumpkin juice.
"At the request of Mr. Filch I instruct you all to look at the notice boards in your commen rooms to find that the list of forbidden articles now includes anything made by the Weasely brothers." Again Dumbledore smiled at all of them, while Mr. Filch was scowling in the back of the hall, Mrs. Norris standing at his feet, her eyes surveying the hall.
"Now that we got that out of the way, if the prefects would please lead the 1st years to their new homes for the year."
Professor Dumbledore raised his hands and the whole hall got to their feet.
Ginny stumbled up to the front of the table to get the password for the portrait; she got it of Hermione and walked out of the hall.
Just as she walked towards the stairs she heard Draco´s voice.
"That is the main staircase; it leads to the towers as well. Somewhere you don't need to be besides for your lessons, the Gryffindor common room is somewhere up there as well. Let me make this very clear! As far as the houses go there is NO I repeat NO interaction between a Slytherin and a Gryffindor. Unless off course you are taunting one." He ended with a small smile.
Ginny was amazed, he had just instructed the 1st years to harass any Gryffindor! She wanted to walk further when she heard Harry's voice.
"Malfoy! We need to talk!" She whipped round and lowered herself past the banister of the stairs.
"What do you want scar head?" Malfoy said looking straight at him, some of the first years gasped at the name he had just called Harry Potter.
"Listen Malfoy, if you come near Ginny again or if you trouble her in any way you will be eating the rest of your meals through a straw the rest of the year. You got that?" Harry pointed at him with his index finger.
After his forth year Harry had gone through a physical change, he was now not only tall but more muscular as well. She could understand why girls turned their heads when he walked by these days.
She turned her look to Draco who seemed less then impressed.
"What the matter Potty? Afraid I might hurt your girlfriend? Don't worry she's not worth it, it's much more fun to mess with the Mud blood than with weasel girl." Draco smirked.
"She is not my girlfriend and I told you what would happen if you called Hermione that again!" Harry raised his hand and made to punch Draco but then a harsh voice came from the left of the hall.
"Mr. Potter I do hope you were not attempting to hit Mr. Malfoy?" Professor Snape came round the corner, his pitch black robes sweeping round his legs.
"For someone who is supposed to be the new symbol of peace you have a nasty little temper. I think a spell in detention should be able to cure you of that."
Harry bit his lip and was probably trying to swallow a remark which would get him in even more trouble, while Draco stood facing him with a smirk. Ginny was positively fuming but instead of walking down the stairs she turned and walked to the common room.
"Password?" The fat lady demanded to know, it looked like she was in a bad mood as well.
"Hinkypuff." Ginny said shortly as the portrait swing open.
"You might want to work on your manners dear." The fat lady said as Ginny clambered through the hole in the wall.
The common room was filled with people talking about their summer holidays and what they had done. She found Ron and Hermione in their favourite chairs by the fire place.
"I don not care how small the first years are compared to you, calling them midgets is not nice!" Hermione said reprimanding. "I thought we had covered that in the first year we were prefects?"
"Well I can not help the fact that they keep getting smaller which each year that goes by." Ron said looking straight at her.
Ginny smiled as she sat down. "Ever stop to think that you might be getting taller?"
Ron scowled at her and turned his attention to the flames in the fire place.
"What took you so long to get back here?" Hermione asked looking at Ginny curiously.
"Oh I ran into some people and talked to them for a while." Ginny said not sure if she should tell her about what she had seen and heard.
At that moment Harry came into the common room, after the events of last year his popularity had grown again. Ginny did not understand the thoughts of the masses. 2 years ago the most of the magical community was convinced that Harry was a head case looking for attention. Now they were once again raving over the boy with the scar who had fought he-who-must-not-be-named a number of times and lived. Harry had fought next to Dumbledore in the final battle and had actually watched him die.
Harry flopped into a chair next to Ron and looked at them all.
"What kept you? Been chatting up girls?" Ron asked with a smile and one eyebrow raised.
Harry smiled back but then turned serious again. "No I was getting a detention off Snape."
Hermione and Ron were truly surprised and Ginny faked surprise as well when Harry told them the whole story.
"That pratt! I will get him for that." Ron said turning slightly red with anger.
"Ron there is no point, it happened already and there is no turning back time. Just let it rest, you know Malfoy would do or say anything to get a rise out of you and Harry." Hermione said to try and calm Ron down.
"Calling you a mud blood is not just anything!" Ron protested.
"Ronald, your mother will kill you if you get into trouble this year! She might fake it well but still is not over the fact that Fred and George did not finish their final year." Hermione was now looking at him with her most stern looking face, and Ginny thought she might as well back her up.
"She is right Ron, Harry warned him so just let it rest. There is no use starting fights over name calling." Hermione gave her a smile for her support and then continued her glare at Ron.
Ron muttered a bit in protest but eventually dropped the subject. Not long after that Ginny went to bed, she was very tired and fell a sleep almost instantly not noticing the happy chatter of the girls who she shared her dormitory with.
Draco was lying in his bed, he heard the heavy breathing of the others around him but he couldn't sleep. His mind was fixed on the look Ginny had given him in the carriage and the great hall. She had been really upset with him, again he shook his head. So what if Weasel girl is angry with you! Who cares what she thinks! He smiled at the face that Potter had pulled when he had insulted his friends, as far as he was concerned things between him and Potter hand not changed with him moving into Sirius´house. The hatred he felt had now only shifted, in stead of hating potter for who he was he was now filled with anger over what Potter had and he himself did not.
He sighed and rolled on his side again, he should try and get some sleep.
The next morning Ginny went down for breakfast with the others, as she walked into the great hall the first thing her eyes did was glance over to the Slytherin table.
Draco was sitting at it quietly eating his breakfast with Pansy Parkinson next to him, practically hanging over him.
She shook her head, who cares what Pansy is doing with Draco...with Malfoy! She corrected her thoughts. She diverted her eyes and sat down she started to talk to Hermione about their upcoming lessons.
Draco had seen her enter the hall and for some reason his heart had jumped, it might have just been because Pansy had put her hand on his arm. Yes that had to have been it!
As much as he tried his eyes kept going towards the place where Ginny Weasely was sitting and talking to Granger. Did she not notice the guys around her acting like fools trying to get her attention? For a small part he could understand why, she was sort of pretty and she had great eyes. He shook his head furiously, he did not just admit to finding Ginny Weasely pretty!
When breakfast was almost over professor Dumbledore stood up to address them all, a murmur was heard through out the students as this was not a thing that happened often.
"I would like to make one more announcement, as of today the 7th year students will be helping out the professors with their lessons. They will be known as the TA of that class, in other words a Teachers Assistant. I hope you will treat them with the same respect as your professors. The list of assigned TA´s will be in the entrance hall."
After Dumbledore sat down again the murmur grew, everyone was trying to determine who had been assigned to what class.
The 7th years finished their breakfasts in a hurry and made their way to the entrance hall.
Ginny remained in her seat as she saw Ron, Harry, Hermione and Draco leave. Why did she also notice Draco leaving? She shook her head again; he was Malfoy the ferret boy! The only thing she should be thinking about was what he would do next to annoy or irritate her.