I am glad that you guys are liking it! Here is the next chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. But a girl can dream...
The days after the trip to Diagon flew by until suddenly September the first was upon them. Darcy was hard pressed not to jump up and down and fidget as she stood with her parents on the platform nine and three-quarters.
"You will be good, won't you?" her mother asked her.
"Of course, mother." Darcy nodded, anxious to get on the train.
"Make me proud, darling." her father said, leaning down so that Darcy could kiss his cheek.
"Love you, Daddy." She whispered in his ear.
"I love you too, my princess." He said back, just as softly. Then he let go so Darcy could hug her mother and then run onto the train and into a compartment already inhabited by Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass. The three of them leaned out of the window to wave at their parents as the scarlet train pulled out of the station at exactly eleven o'clock. Once out of sight of King's Cross the girls finally turned their attention to each other.
"Can you believe it! We are actually going to Hogwarts!" Pansy squealed.
"It is about time. I didn't think I could wait another minute." Daphne agreed.
"Oh, I hope we all get into Slytherin together!" Darcy said, smiling at the other two. They were good friends of hers, even if they were polar opposites. Daphne and Pansy had no problem acting like the young ladies they were, and could not understand what Darcy saw in flying. Darcy could not understand what they saw in doing nails and gabbing about The Weird Sisters. But they were friends none the less, and Darcy learned quite a bit about fashion and beauty tips by listening to them. Catching up with one other did not take long since they had kept in touch the entire summer, and soon Darcy bid the two farewell.
"Where are you going?" Daphne asked.
"I want to look around and see if I can meet some people." She shrugged, straightening the tie on her school uniform. It was rather bothersome to say the least, and she was glad that she had donned the uniform before they apparated to the station. Darcy doubted she would have figured out how to put on the noose without her father's instruction.
"Okay." Pansy shrugged. "Have fun. We will be here."
Darcy nodded and gave a slight wave goodbye. As she headed out of the compartment and down the hall, she noticed that she was being followed. Two large figures came out of the compartment next to hers and trailed along behind her less than subtly.
"Can I help you?" Darcy asked, stopping so that they almost ran into her. They were both a head taller than her and twice as wide with large arms and big heads. She recognized both of them, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. They were purebloods, and she had been introduced to them before, but they had never become more than acquaintances. They did not say much, so she had never been able to discover if they were just the quiet type or did not have opinions of their own. The two of them shared a quick glance out of the side of their eyes, and it was all Darcy needed to understand what was going on.
"My father told you to look out for me, didn't he?" She sighed. Vincent nodded once.
"I knew it. He doesn't think I can take care of myself." Darcy huffed. "Well I will show him. I don't need you following me, so you can clear off."
Neither moved.
"He is paying you, isn't he?" Darcy growled. Once again neither spoke, but they did shift guiltily a bit, which Darcy took as a yes.
"Don't fret, little Darcy." Said a voice from behind her. She turned to see Adrian Pucey, a Slytherin prefect that was the son of one of her mother's friends. "It may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. A Slytherin always takes advantage of what they can. I don't know of anybody in Hogwarts with their own guards."
"I planned to use it to my advantage. I'm not that stupid." Darcy said, crossing her arms. "I just wish my father would back off for once. I am not one of mother's porcelain dolls. And how am I supposed to make friends with these two intimidators following me around?"
"I'm sure a lot of people will want to know you if they see you are important enough to have your own set of bodyguards." Pucey shrugged.
Darcy just frowned. Was it too Hufflepuff of her to ask for a friend who liked her for herself and not for her parents or her importance?
"I suppose so." She sighed. "See you later, Adrian."
She was about to go off when he stopped her again.
"Did you hear that Harry Potter is in the next car over?"
Darcy froze and turned to look at him. She had forgotten that Harry Potter was her age, and bound to be set off to Hogwarts.
"Harry Potter?" She repeated.
"Yeah. I overheard some firsties talking about it as they looked for a toad. He's in the third compartment down, I think."
"I'll have to check it out." She said, her curiosity growing. "Bye Adrian."
"You owe me, Darcy." He grinned as he went on his patrols in the opposite direction.
Darcy followed his directions to a partially open door, which she pushed on to reveal two boys her age inside. One was a speckled red-head, and the other, to Darcy's surprise, was the boy she had met in Madame Malkins. Suddenly she felt awkward and self conscious, and it took all of her control not to show it.
"Is it true? I heard Harry Potter was in here." She said by way of explanation, turning to the dark haired boy. "Is that you?"
"Yes." He said simply.
Darcy did not know how things could get any worse. She had managed to offend and give a bad impression to Harry Potter! She saw him looking over her shoulders and saw that Vincent and Gregory were still there.
"Oh, this is Crabbe and Goyle." Darcy sighed, wishing that they would go away. "And my name is Malfoy. Darcy Malfoy."
The red-head gave a snigger and Darcy felt the blood rise to her cheeks in both anger and humiliation.
"Think my name is funny do you?" She asked, not willing to take the rudeness lying down. "No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."
Darcy turned back to Harry. He deserved better friends than this rude boy.
"You will soon find out that some of us are better than others. You don't want to make friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."
She tentatively held out a hand for him to shake, which he eyed warily.
"I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks." He said in a cool voice. Darcy found herself going pink in humiliation. She knew that she had not put her best foot forward in Diagon Alley, but surely he realized that she was only trying to help him! She let her hand drop to her side and took a step back, ready to flee. Vincent gave a growling sound and spoke up for the first time.
"I would be careful, Potter. Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn' know what was good for them either. Hang out with riffraff like the Weasley's an' it'll rub off on ya."
"Vincent!" Darcy hissed at him, too low for the others to hear.
Both of the compartment's occupants got to their feet.
"Say that again!" the Weasley said, his face as red as his hair. Crabbe just gave an amused snort. Both of them were not much taller than Darcy, and therefore dwarfed by her two bodyguards.
"You should get out now." Harry said firmly.
"Come on." Darcy ordered the other two. They looked itching to have a fight, which she did not want. They followed reluctantly, and Darcy just went on back to her compartment with Pansy and Daphne. She would never make any friends at this rate.
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