-1Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all of Harry Potter world. Only the plot of this story, and anything that you don't recognize from HP are mine.
Authors Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I'm happy you like it. Please keep reviewing, I happily accept any praise, suggestions or criticism. Sorry if it takes a bit for me to update sometimes, I do have a job and such. Also I'm sorry if it seems too Americanized, I am an American, but I try my best.
Chapter 3 : Returning to school
Draco levitated his school trunk ahead of him as he made his way towards the gates to leave Malfoy Manor. Normally his parents would go with him to see him off at the station, but it wasn't possible this year. With his father in hiding from the ministry and his mother under suspicion of not only hiding his father, but being a Death Eater as well, it was better if he went to platform 9 ¾ alone. The minister of magic had insisted that he go to the ministry to be checked over the day before he leave for school. They had checked his wand for use of unforgivable curses, and checked his arm for the dark mark. He'd also heard a rumor that they would be checking everyone getting on the train as well as entering Hogwarts with a secrecy sensor. Draco found out shortly after arriving at the ministry that he wasn't the only one asked there for investigation. He ran into both Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson while he was there, and they informed him other Slytherins had been there earlier, and they'd heard all children of known Death Eaters or supporters of the Dark Lord were required to be checked over before school started.
As soon as Draco got outside of the grounds gate he grabbed a hold of his trunk and apparated straight to platform 9 ¾. Luckily there was an area set aside in the station for apparating, or he surely would have been run over as soon as he arrived. The station seemed more crowded and busy than any other year he had been here. It could have been because it seemed that everyone thought it safer to travel in big groups, thus bringing their entire families along to send off only one or two children. Or it could be that usually the students boarded the Hogwarts Express immediately upon arriving, but this year Draco noticed that most the students still seemed to be on the platform. And if he wasn't mistaken, there were haphazard lines that lead up to the doors of the train. Upon closer examination, he discovered each student and there belongings were being checked with secrecy sensors before being allowed to board. 'I guess the rumors were true' Draco thought as he hauled his trunk over to the nearest line.
"Ginny, hey, no cutting." Draco heard the distinct sound of Rona Weasley's voice a few people ahead of him in line.
"I'm not 'cutting' Ronald." he heard a very irritated Ginny reply, "I'm joining my brother in line. Mum insists that we stick together, as if I'm going to get kidnapped or something if I stand 3 feet ahead of you where I WAS standing with Luna."
"Ron, be nice to your sister. You were getting on just fine yesterday, what's so different today. And Ginny, quit whining. You can go find Luna once your aboard the train. I feel much better knowing your all together." Mrs. Weasley said as Draco peeked around the crowd in front of him to see the family of redheads. Ginny stood with her back to Draco, her thick red hair falling gracefully just below her shoulder blades. Ron was across from her, ears red from either anger or embarrassment, Draco wasn't sure which. Mrs. Weasley stood next to Ginny, and was now talking to Harry Potter, who looked exactly the same with his messy dark hair and bright green eyes. He was maybe a little taller, closer to Ron's height now, Draco noticed. Possibly a little taller than himself. Hermione Granger walked over to join Ginny from what he could see was the rest of their escort, which included the Weasley twins, Professor Lupin, and a few Draco couldn't get a good look at. Hermione had changed quite a bit over the summer; her hair was longer, which Draco had to admit was defiantly good, it made her hair much less bushy, and she'd grown a good 4 inches as well. All in all Hermione had grown into an attractive young lady, Draco couldn't deny that much. But as Ginny turned around and started scanning the crowd, presumably for her friends, Draco noticed that Hermione didn't stand a chance in his eyes against the young Weasleys looks. She brushed her long red hair out of her face to reveal oddly familiar cinnamon eyes, surrounded by long red lashes. Her nose was lightly sprinkled with light colored freckles, and her skin was almost as pale as his own. She was defiantly the shortest of the bunch, Draco would guess maybe a little over 5 foot. Her petite body had a nice hourglass shape to it.
As Draco was pondering the beautiful little witch, and the feelings she was causing, he noticed a pale blush appear on her cheeks and looked up to realize she'd caught him staring. He smiled slightly, then turned it into his usually arrogant smirk as he realized she was a Weasley.
"Draco, hey, Draco." Draco turned to find Blaise making his way through the crowd towards him. " you parent free today too, huh?" Blaise asked as he joined Draco in line.
"Yup, mum didn't want to get harassed by aurors the moment we appeared on the platform. Which is fine with me, I'm of age, I think I can manage getting on the train alone." Draco responded.
"Yeah, my dad had to talk mum out of accompanying me here. Sometimes I think she still sees me as a little first year." Blaise whispered back, not wanting anyone to overhear him talking about the father he wasn't supposed to know where was. "So I hear you're dad took you along on a mission, how was it? Draco noticed the hint of worry in his best friends voice, Blaise had always been against becoming a Death Eater, and only now could Draco sympathize.
"I'll tell you once we're in our compartment on the train. Too many people to over hear us out here." he responded, unconsciously glancing over at the Golden Trio, or more precisely the pretty redhead standing with them. Blaise looked over to where Draco was looking.
"Whoa man, what happened to Granger?" Blaise suddenly said, a little louder than he'd meant to, as Hermione looked up at him when she heard her name. Draco noticed a slight blush cross his friends
features before recovering and smirking at the girl. Hermione just scowled and went back to talking with her friends. Draco laughed a little, causing Blaise to look over at him. "What?"
"That was priceless Zabini" Draco commented. Blaise stuck his tongue out at him.
"Seriously though, she's quite the looker this year, even you got to admit that Draco." Blaise said, refocusing his attention on the Gryffindor Know-it-all.
" I don't have to admit any such thing. Although I will say she does look better than she did before." Draco told his friend. He looked back at the group of Gryffindors just as Ginny was being checked by the ministry officials. "Yeah, like the Weaselette's really going to be trying to sneak anything onto the train." Draco scoffed.
"Well actually, I wouldn't put it past her." Blaise said looking over at Draco as his friend watched the girl they were discussing.
"What do you mean?" Draco said with out taking his eyes away from Ginny.
" Well, I've heard she's just as bad as her brothers, Fred and George. Maybe even worse, just hasn't gotten caught as often. I've also heard a rumor that she's the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets our second year." Blaise said. Trying to figure out just what the look Draco was giving the Weasel girl was. Draco snapped his head over and looked at his friend in surprise, " You serious? Hmmm….maybe the Weaselette has a streak of Slytherin in her after all." A calculating look crossed his face. Blaise looked a little worried.
"What're you thinking Draco? Why are you so interested in her anyways?" Blaise asked, but a look of revelation crossed his face before Draco had a chance to answer. " you fancy her don't you?" Draco watched as Ginny climbed aboard the train, " Nah, she just intrigues me. But you have to admit, like the mud blood, she's grown quite attractive."
Draco and Blaise boarded the train and found a compartment without any trouble, Pansy joined them in there compartment a short while after they got there.
"Okay, before Crabbe and Goyle get here, I'll tell you about the mission. I'm not too sure I trust them, so don't say anything around them. They may be dunderheads, but that doesn't keep them from repeating things to their fathers." Draco told his two closest friends. " It was, well, awful."
" Awful? What'd you have to do?" Pansy asked.
"Well, I was mostly just there as a learning experience, not really a participant." Draco responded. "But after that mission, I don't think I want to be a Death Eater anymore."
"It must've been bad, we're your closest friends and we couldn't talk you out of it after we decided that we didn't want to follow some half-blood maniac. But this one night has changed your mind?" Blaise said. "What happened Drake?"
"Well, we went to this muggle house, and proceeded to torture and kill the family. I'm not sure why, other than the fact that they're muggles. But then, I'm not so sure they were muggles. When we got there, the man answered the door, and he said he was the only one home. But not only was he lying, my father knew that the others would be hiding. If they were mere muggles, how'd they know to hide, why would they even have places like trapdoors and secret rooms? Muggles don't know about Death Eaters, but this family seemed to know who we were, and why we were there. And the girl they killed, she was so tiny, and so young. Why kill such a small harmless girl? My father had me hold her back as they tortured and killed her parents. She clung to me, when I was told to let go of her, she clung tighter, like she was trying to become a part of me. She looked in my eyes, begging me to save her when they killed her. I can't get her out of my head. Took me a week to be able to walk around my own house without seeing her in every room. I just don't think I can do it. Kill people, torture people, especially innocent children. And that was a light mission, my father would never take me on anything big or dangerous before getting my mark. If I can't handle that mission, how will I do the worst stuff?" Draco told his friends in a hushed tone. Blaise looked almost angry, while Pansy looked ill, and close to tears.
"That's horrible Drake." Pansy said, her voice cracking slightly. "How are we going to get out of it? Me and Blaise have been trying to figure out how to avoid getting the mark for almost two years now, do you have any ideas?"
"How could they do that! It's not like a little girl is any threat to the dark lord's plight." Blaise said angrily. His dark blue eyes flashing.
" I don't know Pans, but I'll defiantly be thinking about it. And we have to find a way soon, I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting marked before the school year's over." Draco responded. Just then the compartment door crashed open, and all three friends jumped.
"Crabbe, Goyle, can you possibly NOT break the door on your way in." Blaise said irritably.
"Sorry" the two mumbled as the stumbled (AN: sorry, couldn't help it) into the compartment and sat down across from each other. The rest of the train ride went uneventfully, Draco decided he was oddly not in the mood to aggravate the Trio, and none of his friends seemed to mind, except his two bodyguards. They were getting restless just sitting in the compartment, that is until the snack cart came around. Then they were perfectly content munching away on various wizarding sweets.
"Finally, we're here. I swear that train ride seems longer every year." Draco complained as the train came to a stop in the Hogsmeade station. Grabbing his trunk he made his way toward the doors to leave the train.
"Ouch, watch where your going!" he heard ahead of him, just as he looked back to see if Pansy and Blaise were following him. Turning his head back forward, he came face to face (well more like chest to face) with a very irritated looking Ginny Weasley. " You stepped on my robes, Malfoy." He stared at her for a second, before putting on his signature smirk, and responding.
"Well, if you stayed out of my way Weaselette, I wouldn't have to trip over you." Draco sneered at her. "I don't look down when I walk, so it's not like I could see you were in front of me." She huffed, turned around and continued making her way towards the exit.
"What, no witty comeback?" Draco smirked. Watching as the little redhead confidently pushed her way through the crowd.
"I don't feel like going at it with you right now Malfoy, so quit following me, and leave me alone." Ginny replied.
" Following you? Where else would you like me to go Weasley, this is the way to the doors." Draco said.
"Fine, just so long as your not still behind me once we get off the bloody train." She replied, her voice still hinting at her irritability.
"Why, do I make you nervous?" He leaned down and whispered in her ear as the stopped behind a crowd near the exit.
"No, just irritated." She replied without looking back. But he could feel her tense up in front of him as his lips brushed her ear, and a slight blush graced her pale freckled skin. Draco was tempted to try to make her more nervous, but decided against it as they left the train and Blaise and Pansy caught up to him.
"What was that, with the Weasley girl?" Pansy asked as they looked for an empty carriage to ride up to the school in.
"Nothing, I stepped on her robes, thus we threw a few insults at each other." Draco responded, his eyes still following Ginny as she made her way into a carriage behind a blonde that Draco recognized as the Ravenclaw, Luna LoveGood. Blaise and Pansy exchanged knowing looks as Draco climbed into the carriage ahead of them.
The Great Hall filled with excited students, all anxious for the sorting to begin, but more anxious for the start-of-term feast to begin. Draco didn't pay much attention as the first years were sorted into there houses, only enough to clap when someone was put in Slytherin. He was , hopefully discreetly, watching the youngest Weasley as she quietly chattered with her friends at the Gryffindor table. She seemed to be quite popular among both the boys and girls of her house, and he'd find out soon that it wasn't just in Gryffindor that she had many friends, but in the other three houses as well. Even some Slytherins had befriended the small red-haired beauty. Blaise rolled his eyes at his friend as he whispered something to Pansy, who glanced over at the Gryffindor table, curiosity in her chocolate brown eyes.
"And now, let the feast begin…" Professor Dumbledore's voice broke Draco's trance, just as the tables filled with food. Piling some of everything on his plate he tuned into his classmate's conversation.
"I wonder if the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will actually let us use our wands in his class, unlike Umbridge." Pansy said to the girl on her right, Millicent Bulstode.
"Yeah, the only good thing that came from her was us getting to be her inquisitorial squad." Millicent replied. Draco looked up to the teachers table to find a man with brown shaggy hair and dark green robes sitting next to Professor Snape.
"What's his name? I wasn't listening." Draco asked Blaise.
"Yeah, I noticed." Blaise replied with a teasing grin. "He's Professor De Voyer, doesn't LOOK like a psycho, but then, that doesn't mean he's not. There's got to be something wrong with him, there's always something wrong with our DADA teachers."
" Yeah, you're right Blaise. But maybe this one will be different." Draco shrugged, as the tables cleared themselves. "Well, time to head to the common room I suppose."
Pansy, Draco and Blaise left the Great Hall together, Crabbe and Goyle trailing behind them. The three Slytherins had decided they were going to try to drop the two goons as early in the year as possible. Draco wasn't sure he could deal with their stupidity this year, and was sure Blaise and Pansy would agree.