Spending the day in Diagon Alley with her friends had been the best day of the summer for Bella. For the remainder of the day she put all thoughts of Draco Malfoy and his strange behaviours out of her head but they returned every time she was alone.
Bella was annoyed to find out that Gilderoy Lockhart would be the new defense against the dark arts teacher this year at Hogwarts; Ginny, Hermione, Freya and Emily were thrilled. Bella, along with Ron and Harry, found him to be a very irritating man and they were beginning to dread the coming school year.
As usual, the morning they would all return to Hogwarts was hectic. Bella was ready and sat eating breakfast while her brothers all rushed around like headless chickens, much to the annoyance of their mother. By five minutes until eleven the red-headed family were rushing through King's Cross Station, Harry and Ron bringing up the rear. Percy went first, followed by Fred and George. Bella followed quickly after them with only two minutes to spare. She bid a hasty goodbye to her mother and father as they arrived at her back with Ginny between them and rushed onto the train. She looked in the compartments for her friends and was happy to see them all sat together.
"Hey Bella." Freya smiled as she noticed her in the doorway.
"Hey guys." She smiled back, closing the compartment door behind her and taking the empty seat beside Seamus.
"Where's Ron and Harry?" He asked, slinging his arm around her shoulders.
"They should've been right behind me. They'll probably appear at some point." She replied.
The train juddered and rolled slowly out of the station, the packed city disappearing into green fields and high mountains the further they travelled. The atmosphere in the compartment was light as they all shared stories of their summers. Bella smiled while they spoke but she couldn't help but worry about Harry and Ron. Why hadn't they appeared in the compartment yet?
"I'm going to go and look for Harry and Ron." Bella stated as she stood from her seat.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Seamus asked.
"It's okay, I'm sure they'll be here somewhere." She smiled before closing the compartment door and setting off down the corridor.
She searched every compartment she walked past, she was beginning to give up hope when she ran into Ginny and her friends.
"Oh Ginny, have you seen Harry and Ron?"
"Are they not with you?" The younger girl asked.
"No. They haven't been since we left." Bella replied. "Can you come and let me know if you see them? I'm just a little further down the carriage."
"Of course." Ginny replied.
Bella set off back up the corridor to check the rest of the train but was stopped in her tracks when she bumped into something solid.
"We've got to stop meeting like this." Draco laughed.
She didn't respond with a cheeky retort as usual and this set Draco on edge.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Have you seen Harry and Ron?" She asked, ignoring his question.
"No. Aren't they here?"
"No." Bella replied, running a hand through her hair.
"I hope they're not coming back this year." Draco commented.
Bella slapped his chest hard and he gasped in surprise. Rubbing the sore spot he chuckled.
"I was joking, god."
"It's not funny." She retorted. "They could be anywhere!"
"I'm sure they're fine." He replied.
Before Bella could respond a high-pitched whine echoed down the corridor.
"Drakey!" Pansy's shrill voice got higher the closer she got.
"What?" He snapped as he turned over his shoulder.
"You didn't come back to the compartment, I got worried." She crooned.
"I'm fine." He responded, turning back to look at Bella.
"Ew, what are you doing talking to that blood traitor?" Pansy asked as she set eyes on Bella.
"I wasn't." He answered, turning away from Bella.
She rolled her eyes and pushed through the pair, tuning out Pansy's rambling as she stomped back to her compartment, thoughts of Harry and Ron momentarily forgotten. She slammed the compartment door open and the inhabitants jumped in surprise.
"What's wrong?" Seamus asked.
"Malfoy's a cheeky git, what's new?" She replied, closing the door more gently this time.
"Did you find Harry and Ron?" Hermione asked.
"No, I'm sure they'll be fine though, mum and dad will have made sure they were okay." Bella responded.
For the remainder of the journey Bella didn't say much. She sat snuggled into Seamus with his arm around her, her mind in a different place. She couldn't seem to get her meeting with Draco from her mind. He had spoken so friendly to her when he was alone but when Pansy arrived he pretended he hadn't ever spoken to her at all; she didn't know why but it bothered her immensely that he blew her off so easily. Here she was sat in the arms of her boyfriend while thinking about another boy, the boy she was supposed to hate, it made her feel like a horrible person. Why couldn't she get him off her mind? And since when had he meant anything more to her than just the arrogant, self-obsessed Malfoy?
