After the ceremony Lenore left as soon as the she could. She had eaten nothing during the feast; the food consisted mostly of meat, something she could not tolerate if she wanted to keep her animal cravings at bay. The taste of the blood, the feel of the cooked flesh as is crossed her lips, it was all too much to resist, and it was all she could do to stop herself from ceasing a chicken leg and swallowing it in one gulp. Least she gives everyone anymore reasons to outcast her.
As she lingered in the hallway, considering who to follow and where to go, a silver blonde haired boy caught her elbow. Lenore sharply turned and stared into his eyes. His features were sharp and pointed and his irises were stone grey. He smiled, his lips curled up handsomely.
"Do you need any help?" He asked coolly.
"Um…" Lenore stammered, "I…I just don't know quite where I am going."
"No problem. Why don't you just follow me?"
Without waiting for a reply, he gently pulled her in the direction of the general flow of students. Lenore noticed that most people tended to avoid him, they whispered things to each other while staring at them both. But the boy kept on smiling confidently.
"I'm Draco Malfoy, by the way."
"I'm Lenore Requiem."
"Ignore everyone who is staring," He said, as if reading her mind, "They are just confused as to why I am being so kind and helping you."
"Why? Are you usually an ass?"
Draco chuckled, "Used to be. Until my fourth year. That's when I realized, I'm not like my father, I thought I was, but I'm not. Since then, I have ditched the ones that made me the way I was and have made peace with most of my fellow students. "
"Then why would they still be staring?"
"Some people just refuse to forget."
They joined a group of students heading to the dungeons, all wearing green, silver and black streaked ties. Lenore looked down at her own for the first time since she had put it on and realised it was also striped with the house colours. She shook her head in disbelief. Magical things had always gone on in the house when her brother was a live and when she turned eight. Things would explode, levitate, appear and disappear and countless other strange things, so she was well used to funny goings on. But actually being in Hogwarts, an environment where everything was magical all the time, was far more confusing than she could ever have imagined.
"Do you know many people who attend Hogwarts?" Draco asked.
His question took her by surprise, "What?" she hesitated, "Oh. No. I only know Emily Constantine. She's one of the nurses here."
"The cute, tall, blonde one? She should be modelling for page three of the Daily Prophet, not working in a school." He chuckled, "How do you know her?"
"Family friend." She smiled.
The interior of the hallway had changed from elegant white washed stone, to small black flag stones; it was only lit with numerous candles in holders nailed evenly apart on each side. The floor was bone dry and also dark flag stone. It was frightfully cold, and the atmosphere of the passageway only added to the chill. Students started to climb through a hole in the wall a short distance from where Lenore and Draco where, a greenish glow radiated through the opening and the warmth emitting from the room beyond was extremely inviting.
"Oh wow." Lenore gasped as she stepped through the passage, "This is just too cool."
The room was large and circular. Green lights glowed from the ceiling and walls, the sofas were green and black and even the fire was an emerald coven of flames. Two large, ceiling high windows stood between two stair cases and reflected the eerie jade of the lake onto the floor. Sea creatures swam by, the more human of the species peered through the glass and waved at the students, most of who waved back.
Draco chuckled at Lenore's astonishment and gently squeezed her elbow.
"You can close your mouth now." He laughed.
"Sorry," she whispered, blushing with embarrassment, "This is just too amazing. Are all the common rooms like this?"
"Don't know. We are only allowed in our own. Or at least we only know the password for our own. "
"Oh. There's a password? No one told me?"
"They probably assumed you would tag along with someone. " Draco steered them to an empty sofa and they sat down in front of the fire, "Every time you want to get into the common room, you say very clearly to the entrance 'Pure- Blood'."
Lenore slumped into the back of the dark fabric, exhausted with the over load of information, she sighed, "For fucks sake. I'm only here a few hours and already I am completely lost."
"Don't worry. We'll be getting our timetables in the morning, so hopefully we'll be in most of the same classes. And if not, then I know some people you'll like. Did you do your OWL's?"
"Yeah. I did them in the summer supervised by Emily at the Ministry place."
"Oh. How did you do?"
"I got O in Potions, Astronomy, Transfiguration and Study of ancient runes. E in History of magic and Divination and some other ones. I think I got one P at some point."
"Oh good. It sounds like we will be in some decent classes together. " He smiled.
"Why are you so keen to help me? I'm all for starting over and everything but this is a little desperate."
"You seem like a cool girl. You're pleasant, not at all shy and you don't know who I used to be. I just want a new friend, without being judged on my past mistakes. And from what I can tell, you need a friend too."
Lenore fiddled with her sleeves, her head down.
"Lenore?" Draco asked, he placed a hand on her shoulder, "Did I say something inappropriate?"
She sniffed and whipped a tear from her cheek, "You think I'm cool. That's so fucking sweet."
"What can I say, I'm a charmer." Draco grinned, "Is that why you are crying?"
"I'm not crying……an eyelash is in my eye." She protested, "Dumbass."
Jokingly, he punched her on the shoulder. She kicked his shin.
"I have to go now. It's getting late. You should go to your dorm too and get some sleep. See you in the morning." He stood up, all the while smiling cheerfully, "Meet me here and don't be late. Least we start the year off with no breakfast and a bollocking from the teachers."
She watched him as he followed a group of other boys up their dormitory staircase.
Draco was so much like her elder brother, Jolon. His humorous yet sophisticated responses, his struggle to make things right after so many wrongs and even the hidden sorrow behind his eyes. So many traits pointed to her brother, yet, Draco and Jolon looked nothing alike.
Lenore sighed. Since that tragic day five years ago, there had been a hole left in her heart. When she closed her eyes at night, all she could ever hear was her brothers muffled screams, behind her eyelids Jolon's pale, panic stricken haunted her and the smell of his blood lingered in her nostrils.
She immediately chased the memories away, took a deep breath and went up to bed.