Chapter Three

*Platform 9 ¾, September 1st*

I was scrambling to get my things in order before boarding the train and had bent to pick up a book that had fallen off the large stack I was carrying when someone rammed straight into me from behind. I fell forward onto my face and the spine to my potions book struck my right cheek bone. I knew it was going to leave a bruise.

I started mumbling my apologies as I scurried to stand. I looked up and found myself face to face with Adam Rose. He was a 7th year like me, but he was in Slytherin. "I am very sorry about that." I said, "It was my fault." I had to be careful around him he was the best friend to Gaston, the idiot Slytherin who could not seem to take no for an answer.

"You should really watch where you are going." He said angrily.

"Yes, I will." I bent and started scooping up my books.

"For god's sake, use magic. You have a wand. Use it." He said pulling out his own wand and with a quick wave of it all of my books were stacked neatly back in my arms.

"Thank you." I said starting to turn away.

"Wait." He said placing a hand gently on my shoulder. "Your face…"

"I know, I will fix it on the train."

Before I realized it, he was holding my chin and forcing me to look up at him.

"Not broken." He said, "But it's bleeding and turning purple. I can fix it."

"Thank you for the offer, but I can do it myself." I had barely finished my sentence before he had done the spell and my cheek was healed.

"Um, thank you again." I said slightly uncomfortable.

He seemed too have just realized that he was still holding onto my face because he dropped his hand suddenly. "Be careful where you walk." He said as he turned quickly and started walking in the opposite way than he was headed earlier.

"That was weird." I thought. I turned to continue walking only to collide with someone else. I groaned at least I didn't drop my books this time. I looked up to apologize to the person and just ended up groaning again.

"Hello, Belle." He greeted.

"Bonjour, Gaston." I rolled my eyes and stepped around him, but he wrapped his arms around me and buried his face into my hair, "Let me go, Gaston."

"I have missed you, darling. You never wrote me back." He said as if he didn't hear me. I had not written back on purpose. There was big stack of unread letters sitting in my desk. I had burned the howlers.

"Let me go, Gaston. I need to get on the train."

He just laughed at me and pulled my tighter against him. "Sit with me." He whispered in my ear.

"No, thank you." I said trying to wiggle my hand into my pocket, where my wand was concealed.

He turned me around and lifted my chin and leaned down to kiss me. I tried to turn away, but he grabbed my face more forcefully. I couldn't reach my wand. My books luckily kept him from completely bowing me up to him. I moved my arm a little tensing to swing at him with my fist, but before he could touch his lips to mine a snowball hit him in the back of the head.

He dropped me and whipped around to see who the culprit was. I took the chance to escape and whispered a silent thank you to the one who had rescued me.