On platform nine and three-quarters, where the bright scarlet Hogwarts Express was already steaming, excited parents bustled about sending their children off to their new school year. The sounds that reigned there merged into a whole cacophony. Carts rumbled with heavy suitcases and cages with a variety of animals, children shouted over their parents, saying goodbye to each other before the winter holidays, and some for the whole school year. A similar picture flashed here from time to time. The only thing that distinguished her now was the rather impressive gathering of Aurors around. They patrolled the area and waited for the appearance of their main target, which they were tasked with guarding at all costs.

Narcissa and Sirius accompanied the children, the only ones who could still safely appear in society. It is unlikely that Bellatrix or her husband Rodolphus could show up at the station to see their niece Aurora off.

"Dad, we'll go already. See you on the Christmas holidays!" Annabelle smiled at her father cheerfully.

"Make sure you don't get kicked out earlier! I won't let you go home!" Sirius chuckled and pulled his daughter into a hug, "I love you, my dear."

"And I love you too! All right, bye!" she escaped from father's arms and, together with her friend, went to the railway carriages.

Sirius looked after her with concern. He was worried about his daughter, as always. A man raising a girl on his own is really hard. He was worried about whether he paid enough attention to her, whether his daughter had enough parental love, and when she grew up, Black was tormented by the question of whether he was coping with his father's duties at all and whether he was raising her correctly. After all, girls need a mother. And Annabelle's mother died in childbirth and left them alone. Sirius was worried that, perhaps, he allowed his daughter a lot, that he raised her, rather, as a mischievous boy, he also teaching her all sorts of pranks and jokes. For which, later, both of them were scolded by his mother, a very strict and conservative woman. But Sirius wanted to provide his daughter with the best and most joyful childhood, and he constantly felt guilty for allowing his mother to cast an ancient betrothal spell on the child.

At first, Sirius hoped that the son of the Malfoys would indeed be a good match for his daughter. But when he saw that Draco had grown up as a selfish and capricious boy, and even a coward, like his father, he did not like it. But what could he have done already? He was tormented by the thought that he was powerless, and could not protect and save his only daughter.

"Draco, we need to talk," Sirius called out to him.

They moved around the corner, away from the crowd, and Sirius grabbed the kid by the collar of his shirt, pinning him against the wall.

"Listen here, if you hurt my daughter one more time, I can't vouch for myself!" he threatened, lowering his voice.

"Far be it from me," Draco squeaked, trying to wriggle out of his grip.

"You misunderstood me," Sirius pulled out his wand and put it to the boy's throat. He immediately froze and bulged his eyes in fear.

"If even one hair falls off her head, or if I find out that she is crying because of you, there will not even be a wet spot left of you. It's clear?"

"Yes, sir..."

"And just try complaining to your mother or aunt. I'll get you out of the ground!"

Sirius let go of the boy and put away his wand. Draco immediately ran away without looking back.

*

Aurora

As I packed my suitcase the morning before leaving for Hogwarts, I wished I could use the enlargement spell on it — too many mantels and other items of clothing had been thrown over assorted books, scrolls of parchment, colorful feathers, cosmetics, jewelry boxes, and potion ingredients. Each time I was going to the castle with quivering impatience, looking forward to returning to school.

There was nothing surprising about this — I was an orphan and did not know my parents at all. My mother was from the ancient family of Rosier, and my great-grandmother Vinda has always been a special celebrity in the family, because back in the old days, when I was not in the world, she was the closest adherent of one of the greatest dark wizards of our time — Grindelwald himself. I looked fondly at the old portrait of my mother, a beautiful dark-haired woman with slanting green eyes and jet-black eyebrows, which stood on my dressing table next to the portrait of Vinda and my own. My heart felt like it was being squeezed with pincers, and I quickly wiped a tear from my eye. I was proud of my ancestors — in my time I was told many fascinating stories about both the exploits of Grindelwald and the Dark Lord, even before his disappearance. My father, Rabastan Lestrange, was one of his supporters. I didn't know for what reasons my father decided to join the Lord — out of pureblood or hatred of muggleborns, or simply out of a sense of solidarity with friends from other pureblood families - no one had ever told me this. From childhood, I was instilled with my superiority over other wizards, not to mention muggles. So my choice was made long before I could speak. I did not manage to see the events of the First Magical War with my own eyes — I was too small. My parents died when I was still a child — under mysterious circumstances, the secret of which no one wanted to dedicate to me. It was enough that I spent my entire childhood in Malfoy Manor, surrounded by the sincere care of Narcissa, finding in her person a second mother, and in the person of Draco almost a brother, for which I was very grateful to both of them. When my Aunt Bellatrix, along with Uncle Rodolphus and the other Death Eaters, returned from Azkaban, I began to live with them as a niece. However, Bellatrix's eccentric disposition and sometimes not always adequate behavior, as well as painful obsession with the Dark Lord, aroused in me rejection and sometimes even fear.

So frozen with a richly embroidered mantel in my hands, I sighed heavily and sat down on the ottoman. If I don't hurry now, the train will leave without us.

When we finally got on the train and began to look for empty seats, cramming freshmen, who, as always, were spinning under my feet and causing me extreme annoyance, I saw Draco and company at the end of the car. I wanted to go and sit with our friends, but, to my real surprise, Anna stopped me, and we squeezed into the only free compartment nearby.

"Why can't we sit down with Draco?"

"That slimy worm doesn't deserve our presence around."

"You just speak more quietly. What happened?"

Slightly lowering her voice, Anna told me what had happened the day before. Her eyes glistened with tears, and I leaned over to hug her and comfort her.

"It's okay, we won't leave it like that. Don't think he can get away with anything."

"Maybe we should put poison in his morning pumpkin juice?" Anna suggested with a smirk.

"The idea, of course, is really tempting, but let it be something else. And I know what."

Leaning closer to Anna, I whispered to her about the plan that had just matured in my head, which made her face change noticeably, and a smile played on her lips.

"It's a great idea, but I don't want him running after me. He annoys me," said my friend, "we need to choose another person."

"But whom? Goyle? Harry Potter?" My face broke into a smile. Anna laughed.

"Yes, let it be someone from Gryffindor."

"Maybe Hermione Granger?"

"It is possible. But, she can quickly figure out why he behaves this way, and then give him the antidote."

"Lavender Brown will definitely not figure it out, but she will not be able to give him the necessary rebuff either. We need a girl with character!"

The answer came to me by itself.

*

Satisfied with ourselves, we stood in line at the train buffet, talking loudly. On the way there, we ran into Harry Potter, who quickly rushed in the opposite direction without even apologizing.

"What's that boorish Potter doing in our wing? The Gryffindors are sitting at the other end of the train."

"By the way, he's going straight to our compartment!"

I thought I saw the dark-haired back of Potter's head at the end of the railway carriage, directly opposite the door that separated our compartment from the compartment where Draco and company were sitting. But a second later, neither the top of Potter's head nor himself was in sight.

I blinked distractedly. Perhaps it seemed? But, he couldn't have fallen through the ground!

"Strange," I said, and politely thanked the trolley witch, taking from her hand a glass of aromatic creamy coffee that smelled of vanilla and salted caramel.

"You have a white mustache, wipe your face," Anna laughed.

Laughing out loud, we returned to our compartment and closed the door behind us.

Potter didn't bother us anymore. I was looking forward to how my plan would play out.

It was a big risk, and I wasn't even sure if it was worth it — but I had to try. After all, books on love potions could always be stolen from the Restricted Section, or one could try breaking into Professor Snape's personal stash. The prospect of being caught by Snape in the middle of the night in his private office gave me a vague feeling of unease, but I quickly dismissed the possibility that he would catch me in the act. I have experienced similar stress in the past, and now I will be more careful. And even so, it's okay, he's our Head of Slytherin House. Well, he'll take off fifty points. Maybe he will leave us after school. He will force the lines to write or scrub boilers. Nothing else.

The thought of roaming the Forbidden Forest in search of the right herbs on a full moon made me very excited — I felt my stomach twist with fear. No big deal, it's not the first time I've broken the rules.

It was also quite easy to find a place to complete our secret mission.

"Moaning Myrtle's toilet! No one will catch us there."

"Snape won't get in there, for sure," Anna laughed, and we clinked our coffee glasses.

"To our cause and its success!" Anna said solemnly.

"To the right thing!" I proclaimed.

"Just offer to drink to the house elves, and I'll ask you to be transferred to Gryffindor by Granger's assistants," Anna laughed.

We were shaking with laughter.

Suddenly the door to our compartment swung open, and before us appeared the powerful figure of Millicent Bullstrode.

"If I were you, Annabelle, I wouldn't have fun."

"Hello to you too, Millicent," I greeted.

Anna looked defiantly at Millicent, who continued as if nothing had happened:

"I just went to Draco's to say hello. So, Black, in my opinion, you have a competitor. If I were you, I'd go right there and smash her face against the wall!"

"You better be careful with such statements," I warned her.

"I just wanted the best, girls. Forewarned is forearmed."

Millicent grinned wickedly and disappeared through the compartment door.

"How dare she!"

"Go check what's going on there. Don't worry, she might have made it all up."

"If it isn't, I swear Pansy will be in trouble."

In an instant, I was left alone in the compartment. Anna left, slamming the door behind her.

*

Annabelle

Approaching the next compartment, I managed to put on a smile on duty, and I abruptly opened the door to catch the whole company by surprise. Crabbe and Goyle were seated around the table, along with Zabini and that brainless Pansy Parkinson. Malfoy was lounging on the couch with his head resting on the back, and Pansy sat next to him, her hand going through his hair.

A couple of years ago, I already got into a fight with her in the girls' bedroom. I then told her so directly not to spin around Draco, and she only snapped in response. But I'm not Black if I let her get away with it. Senior students ran to separate us, but I managed to pull out a few pieces of her hair.

And now she is back in his company. No, it's not jealousy at all. This is just a sense of ownership and unwillingness to become a laughingstock. I didn't want to be poked with a finger, they say, look at her, unfortunate, her fiancé is cheating on her! No, I will not allow this to be done to me.

Or what, this is his revenge on me? Oh no, Draco, I'll be the one to avenge.

Pansy, seeing me, immediately withdrew her hand and pulled away from my fiancé, moving to the next sofa. Yes, it looks like she still needs hair on her head. Malfoy noticed me, was clearly not happy and sat up straighter.

"Hello, my love!" I turned to Draco deliberately cheerfully and cheerfully, which made him slightly taken aback and looked at me with a puzzled look.

I immediately decided to add fuel to the fire and sat down on his lap, hugging his shoulders. He tensed, but did not push me away in front of everyone, did not dare. It's already good. Apparently, the conversation with my father influenced him that way. Going into the train, I noticed how my father took him aside to talk.

"How are you guys?" As if nothing had happened, I asked the others, exulting at their reaction. The company was in deep shock, silently looking from me to Draco. Usually, I've never acted like this. I think the whole Hogwarts knew that we were engaged from the cradle and, of course, that this marriage is not for love. But I decided to change the rules of the game.

"Oh Pansy! Are you here too? How are you doing?" I drawled, as if casually. "So sorry you weren't able to attend our engagement to Draco over the summer! The celebration was very luxurious, our relatives did their best. And everyone is so happy for us!" I noticed Pansy's face turn purple.

"Really, honey?" I turned to Malfoy and, without giving him the opportunity to answer, kissed him on the lips.

After our last meeting with him, he definitely did not expect that I would ever want to kiss him again. Yes, I myself did not expect, but this farce was necessary for me only for appearances. In the couple of days that I sobbed after that night, I decided that I would bring him to a white heat. Although this wedding will not be canceled - or rather, nothing will cancel it — but it will be more fun for me this way. I moved away from his face and, pretending to remember something, turned to Pansy again:

"Although... wait! Oh yes! We didn't invite you! How could I forget?" I chuckled as I watched Parkinson's growing anger. She pursed her lips, jumped up from the couch, and, pushing the other guys aside, flew out of the compartment, as if scalded.

Draco stared at me with such a sizzling look, which only made me laugh even more. I playfully rolled my eyes and, raising my head, noticed how flashed white sneakers, as if from nowhere, right on the luggage rack. It wasn't that hard to guess which one.

"Okay, you are boring. I'll go too," I drawled and leaned over to Malfoy's ear, whispering to him.

"But Potter is smarter than you. Climbed up on a shelf and you didn't notice."

Draco's face went pale, his eyebrows furrowed. And I, only smiling at the guys, got up and went back to Aurora.

"So you're actually dating?" I heard Crabbe asking Draco as I stepped out of the compartment. I burst out laughing and closed the door.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed how the girls ran away from my appearance in different directions. Well, Millicent, with her constant company of the main Slytherin gossips, will now definitely report this to the entire house. To which I just grinned and went into our compartment; Hogwarts was already visible in the window, it was time to put on the robes.