It was quite crowded on the platform. But the atmosphere had been different this year. There was a lot of uncertainty, and I couldn't blame parents for worrying about the safety of their children.
I was glad that my father decided to stay home this year, instead of waving my goodbye like the other parents did. I felt more at ease this way.
Going back to school always gave me mixed feelings. I loved Hogwarts, it was the one place where I was completely free from my father. But I also felt guilty for leaving my mother behind. I couldn't even bring myself to imagine all the things he would do to her when I am not around.
"Be careful, Zara. This year will be very different from your other school years. There will be things expected of you," mother began. She grabbed my shoulders and looked at me with a serious expression on her face. "Promise me you'll be careful," she then says. "I will be careful mother. But what do you mean? What is expected of me?"
She gulps and lets go of my shoulders. She doesn't answer me, instead she offers me my wand out of the pocket of her black and white tweed jacket. I take my wand, feeling the energy it brings my going throughout my entire body. The moment I got home I had to hand over my wand. My mother and I both weren't allowed to use magic at home. We didn't need magic, woman were meant to be housewives. At least, that's what my father believes.
I close my eyes for a second, capturing the powerful feeling flowing through my veins. The whistle from the train makes me open my eyes and hug my mother tightly. "Just be careful, my darling girl," she says once more. She presses a light kiss on my forehead, gives me a small smile and waves me goodbye until I set foot on the train. As the door closes behind me I make my way through the compact corridors of the train to the front where most Slytherin students take place.
I greet some familiar faces, before I see one of my favourite ones: Pansy Parkinson's. "Zara!" She screams. She pushes her bag onto Blaise's lap and runs towards me, her arms instantly around my neck. I wrap my arms around her waist and hug her tightly. "God, I missed you," I whisper in her ear. When we release each other she takes my hand and pulls me behind her to the booth she was sitting in before I arrived. Blaise gives me a small nod, his hands still around the luxury handbag from Pansy. I wanted to say something to him, when my eyes notice the white blonde hair of Draco. He stands up immediately, taking me in his arms. I can smell his cologne, a scent I know all to well. It felt so familiar, so safe.
We slowly let go when we hear a: "Look at our engaged couple being all lovey-dovey," being shouted throughout train carriage. "Shut your mouth Vincent," Pansy screamed back. I gave her a thankful smile before taking place next to Draco, placing me across from Pansy who sits next to Blaise. "While we are on the subjects of engagement though," she then begins, her voice as soft as possible. "Show me the ring," she continues. I roll my eyes, but still hold up my hand. The ring was very old. It had been in the possession of the Malfoy family for centuries. The stone of the ring took the colour of the one you were engaged to. The moment I put it on my finger, the stone hard changed to the icy grey colour of Draco's eyes, it had brought me comfort in a way.
The whole engagement in itself wasn't very romantic, or a story worth bragging about. I remember my father just placing a little box in front of me before dinner was served. I had frowned, not expecting to receive a birthday present from my parents. I had opened to black suede box with trembling hands. "I expect you to wear this from now on, it symbolises the union of our and the Malfoy's family." I had looked up at my father with confusion. "Union?" I had asked him, not understanding what was going on. "Yes, you are from now on betrothed to Draco Malfoy." I looked at Draco, who didn't dare look back at me. There wasn't a drop of blood left on his face. He had known. "You aren't one for romance, are you Adrian," Narcissa had laughed. The rest of the evening all I could do was stare at the new piece of jewellery on my finger.
"When are you expected to marry?" Blaise asks. "Next summer," I answered with a loud sigh. "That's very soon. Why not wait until you are graduated?" Pansy wonders. I shrug, but I notice Draco tensing up. I had asked my parents the same question when they told me about our summer wedding, but never got an answer. Seeing how tense Draco just got I knew he did know. However this wasn't the place to ask him for more information. I would have to wait until we arrived at Hogwarts.
The rest of the train ride went by quite fast. I loved to listen to all Pansy her travel stories, even though they made me slightly jealous. She mentioned that she also bought me a belated birthday present in Paris, which I would receive later tonight. When I saw the castle in the distance, Pansy and I decided it was time for us to get dressed. As we get up all of a sudden the entire carriage turns black, causing people to scream. Luckily the darkness quickly fades and the space is back to normal again. "What was that?" Draco asks, a light panicked tone to his voice. "Don't know," Blaise answers. "It's probably just a first year messing around. Now let's go Zara, or we'll be late," Pansy says giving me a small push in the back to move me forward.
I was siting between Pansy and Daphne in the great hall, Blaise across us with Theodore. After Draco had told us to go along without him we met up with Theodore and Daphne who had been sitting somewhere else during the train ride. Right before dinner started Draco entered the great hall, looking rather pale. He sat down next to Blaise and without saying a word about what happened, he grabbed a piece of chicken leg and started eating. Everyone knew better than to ask Draco questions he clearly didn't want to answer. Me on the other hand, couldn't let it go and I made a mental note to add this to my list of questions I had for him later in the evening when we were alone.
It felt great being back. Eating my dinner surrounded by my friends, laughing about Theodore's jokes and gossiping with the girls. I felt my body, which had felt stressed all summer, finally relax. It was like breathing in fresh, outdoor air again after being locked up in a stuffy classroom all day. It was these small moments that made all the suffering during summer worth it.
I was looking at Blaise and Daphne, who were having a very heated discussion about an article published in the Daily Prophet, with a big smile on my face. "Just admit that you are wrong Daphne," Blaise shouted, slapping his hands on the table and pushing himself up to look more intimidating. Daphne opened her mouth to reply, but shut it again, distracted by something. I follow the way he is looking at and see Harry Potter walking towards the Gryffindor table. In his hand he has a white cloth with blood stains on it, pressed against his nose. As he takes place next to his friends at the Gryffindor table, my eyes meet Draco's. "You didn't," I hiss, knowing damn well he did. He breaks eye contact, focusing his attention to his empty dessert plate.
I look back at Potter who was starring daggers at the back of Draco's head. He then notices me looking at him. He tilts his head slightly, curious as to why I was paying any attention to him. He seemed different this year, more mature. I had never thought of Potter as an ugly guy, I had always found him quite cute. He reminded me of a puppy, sweet and innocent. But now, I would even say he was pretty handsome, not that I would ever say that out loud.
When Weasley takes the cloth out of his hands and softly presses a new, clean one against his nose, he looks away from me, his attention now on the red-headed girl next to him. "Isn't she dating that Thomas guy?" Daphne asks. I shrug. "You are the one who knows all the gossip around here," I sigh. "It was only about time though, she's been after him since he saved her second year," Pansy says. "I always thought he was with Granger though," Theodore says, bringing himself into to conversation. "Why are we even discussing Potter's dating life?" Blaise asks. "Right, we have our very own house couple," Daphne chimed, looking at me and then Draco with a big smile on her face. I groan loudly, voicing my discontent with the subject, which she luckily dropped.