AN: NEW CHAPTER!

DISCLAIMER: DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER, JUST BORROWING HIM FOR A WHILE

Chapter Three

An Unlikely Friendship

The rain hit the station roof hard as Amanda and Draco made their way to Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Amanda shook her wet hair out of her face and pulled out a small compact mirror to check her hair and make up.

"Come on! For god's sake, you look fine!" Draco quipped at her, clearly annoyed by her continuous stopping. She snapped the mirror closed and carried on walking to the magical barrier. Draco passed through first and Amanda followed a few seconds later. She shook her head as rain suddenly began hitting her head once more before looking up at the scarlet steam engine.

"Talk about style." She muttered to herself in awe. They loaded their trunks and owls onto the train as did the few other passengers around them. Amanda and Draco got a compartment to themselves and settled down for the journey, and watched their fellow students arrive.

Amanda got up and walked to the carriage doors and leaned out of it. She began to search the growing crowd for a certain boy; she spotted him at exactly the same time he saw her. Harry, Ron and Hermione walked towards her as she lit up a cigarette.

"Whose your girlfriend Potter?" She asked nodding at Hermione blushed as red as Ron's hair as Amanda straightened up. Draco laughed as he joined her, Ron glared at Amanda like he could kill her.

"She's NOT my girlfriend! Hermione is just my friend!" He muttered then stormed off and boarded the train. The whistle blew and the train slowly began to move. Amanda watched the faces of the families on the platform and felt a weight drop in her stomach.

Amanda groaned and rubbed her eyes as she sat up, Draco smiled at her.

"Nice nap?"

"Yea..." She groaned sleepily as the compartment door slid open.

"There you are Draco! We've been looking for you everywhere!" Pansy's eyes landed on Amanda and looked her up and down. Crabbe and Goyle slid past Pansy to sit near Draco.

"You must be Pansy. Draco's been talking non stop about you! I'm Amanda Riddle."

Pansy smiled politely and sat down beside her as harry walked past with daggers in his eyes.

"What was that about?" Goyle grunted, pointing his thumb at the door.

"Well, Potter has a major problem. He's an idiot!" Amanda said, receiving laughs from the group of Slytherins. "That and the Heir of Slytherin has returned to Hogwarts." She said as she once again looked into the compact mirror.

"Really? Who is the Heir?" Pansy whispered excitedly. Amanda smiled mysteriously as Harry walked past once more. "Oh, do tell me!"

"All will be revealed in due time!" Amanda laughed.

the rain had slowed to a gentle shower as the train pulled into Hogsmead station. Amanda climbed off the train and waited for Draco. He ran over to her and led her to a carriage pulled by the invisible Thestrals and climbed inside.

"Something wrong Dragon?" Amanda asked, gazing at Draco's sour face.

"Wha? Oh, just the first years. They are an utter disgrace! One girl swears every two words!"

"She might have Tourettes." Amanda said logically, glancing at the confused faces around her, she explained "it's a medical condition. She can't control it."

"Oh, well, I didn't think of that. Still, having bright blue hair is not respectable!" He said sternly as they climbed out of the carriage. He continued to rant about how disgraceful the first years were as they sat down at the Slytherin table. Amanda raised her eyebrow at him with a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "What!?" He asked bluntly, she sighed and shook her head.

Harry looked at her with hatred in his green eyes until Ron forcibly turned him around to face anywhere but in her direction.

"Who is Potter staring at?" Pansy snarled as Professor Dumbledore stood up and silence fell throughout the hall.

"Welcome students, new and old, to another year at Hogwarts. Please help me in welcoming Professor Seth Blackhart, our new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher." He said smiling at the dark haired man a few seats along the table. "Now, enough of my ramblings. Let the feast begin!" He waved his hands and the golden platters filled with food. Harry turned and looked at Amanda, who winked at him, before turning back to his friends.

Amanda laughed as her and the rest of the Slytherins made their way to the common room in the dungeons.

"Very green in here." Amanda commented, sitting in a plush leather chair.

"It's Slytherin's common room, what did you expect? Bright pink and yellow spots?" Zabini laughed as he sat down.

"No, it's just a bit over the top." She sighed, rubbing her eyes. "I'm off to bed."

The sun poured into the room as Amanda leaned out of the window, a cigarette clamped between her teeth. Pansy sat up and rubbed her eyes as she glanced at her watch.

"Did you have to?" Another girl groaned as she, too, glanced at her watch. "It's six thirty in the bloody morning! Dammit!" She threw her pillow over her head. Pansy shook her head and began to pull on her uniform.

Amanda sat at the Slytherin table, giggling and chatting over her toast until he came into the hall, Harry Potter.

"OI! POTTER! WHAT'S WRONG? YOU LOOK REALLY ILL!" Draco yelled at him. Harry, Amanda noticed, did look unusually pale. Professor Snape moved along the table, handing out the timetables, with a snarl on his face. "Oh joy! Care of Magical Creatures!" Draco groaned, looking at his timetable. "I hate that lesson!"

"Cheer up, Dragon!" Amanda sang, glancing at her own. "You get to spend the morning with me!" She stood up and linked her arm in his, much to Pansy's displeasure, and set off through the grounds to their first lesson. Draco's eyes darkened and he nodded towards the tall, red head in Gryffindor robes in front of them.

"That's Weasley, Potter's little sidekick. He's a pure blood and he hangs around with filthy Mudbloods! Damn blood traitor! He makes me sick!" He whispered to her as they came to a halt outside Hagrid's hut.

"Y'all here?" Hagrid said while counting their heads. "Ron? Where's 'Arry?"

"Gone to see Professor Dumbledore."

Hagrid nodded and opened a large wooden crate at his feet.

"Gather round, gather round. These are Pygmy Puffs, you mighta seen them in Weasley Wizard Wheezes. They might look cute now but if ya try t' shave 'em, they get pretty peeved." He picked one of them up and handed it to a timid looking Hufflepuff. "I'm going t' pair ya up." He paired them up and handed out the multicoloured Pygmy Puffs. "They are asleep but if you stroke 'em in a circle, they will wake up." Hagrid turned away to Neville as his Pygmy Puff had settled itself on his head.

Amanda sat down on the grass as Draco stood a few feet away as Hagrid had paired him with Ron Weasley, and naturally he was not happy about it. Harry arrived a few moments later and knelt beside her.

"Cute aren't they?" He asked as the ball of fluff jumped into Amanda's arms and purred. "I need to know something. Are you, at all, like your father?" He sat down and began to copy off her parchment onto his own. She smiled and began to draw the Pygmy Puff's tiny face.

"I'm nothing like him! I don't enjoy killing people or anything like that!" She explained as she realized he was kind of cute. "I prefer to do things with cute boys, like you."

Harry smiled to himself and dropped his quill as Draco walked over holding his Pygmy Puff by the scruff of the neck; Amanda took it from him and shook her head. Draco's purple one chased Amanda's blue one and began to hum. Draco rolled his eyes and swallowed his hatred of Harry long enough to sit down beside him as Hagrid's huge form appeared behind them.

"They must like you." He said in his deep gruff voice, Draco glared up at him and tutted.

"Why on earth do you say that?" He asked as all the Pygmy Puffs began to hum.

"Do they hum when they're relaxed?" Harry asked as the Pygmy Puffs fell silent.

"Yea... well that, and when it's time t' mate, y'know what I mean." He turned away slightly. "Everyone, listen t' me a mo'. The pairs you are in, are the pairs you will be in fer the whole year." He smiled at Harry and Ron then walked away to Neville, who once again had a Pygmy Puff on top of his head.

Draco's face dropped and formed a scowl, he reached out to take hold of the Pygmy Puff but instead it squirted a strange, clear blue liquid in his face. The class burst into laughter as Draco stood up, he raised his foot to stamp near the Pygmy Puff to frighten it, however the Pygmy Puff swelled to the size of a small dog and showed several rows of sharp teeth. The Pygmy Puffs hummed lightly as Draco stared at the large one, which spat green gulp at him which splattered against his chest and floor. Draco yelped in shock, grabbed his bag and ran up to the school.

"Bye Dragon." Amanda laughed as the Pygmy Puff resumed it's normal size. "That was awesome!" She smiled at Harry and Ron as the bell for lunch echoed through the grounds.

They began to walk up the lawn slowly to avoid the drips of gulp but Ron, still managed to slip and landed on his bum, which caused another round of laughter from the whole class.

"See you later guys." Amanda laughed as they broke off into their own houses and sat for lunch. Harry held Amanda's gaze as Pansy explained Draco would be in the hospital wing all day as he was in shock but Amanda only had eyes for Harry.