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Chapter 1 – Slytherin's Own Trio

A young man was comfortably settled on the backseat of an expensive-looking black car, alone. With a seemingly bored expression, he observed people wandering on the London's sidewalks. In truth, he liked to scrutinize people. It was fascinating, but above all it was useful, for to know about one's behaviour is to have power over one. Obviously, he would never do so in the open. Such thing would not be proper. Thus he waited occasions such as the current one: being conveniently hidden behind the car's blackened glass. All the family's cars had tinted glasses and for a very good reason: the Malfoys never put on a show. Well, except of course when it served a purpose…

"We are almost arrived, Mister Malfoy" came their old chauffeur's voice from the driver seat.

Draco acknowledged the old man with a brief nod. A moment later, the car was parked before King's Cross' front door, and the chauffeur walked around to open the door for his young master. Draco exited the dark vehicle, straightening his clothes while his employee took care of his luggage. When every thing was settled on a trolley, they entered the station.

Naturally, a 17 years old, richly clothed young man with a servant following him around could hardly go unnoticed, so people were staring. However, Draco had gotten used to the reaction long ago. It was not like he was about to change is way of life to fit in with a bunch of Muggles, now was it?

They are so... helpless. How they manage to survive and multiply so effectively is above my comprehension! he thought, observing them discreetly.

Then his eyes fell upon a tiny shrivelled woman battling, and failing, to keep all her luggage on her trolley. The most logic-defying thing resulted from this observation: Draco Malfoy felt slightly ashamed. Somewhat startled by this unexpected sentiment, the young Malfoy turned around to face the man who was currently driving his own luggage.

"That will be all, Lenus. I will take care of the trolley from here", he stated.

The old wizard looked shocked.

"I-I beg your pardon, Sir?"

"Lenus, I know for a fact that you are not deaf yet. You heard me perfectly well. Unless you think I am not skilled enough to push a stupid trolley. Do you think I am unable to manage a trolley, Lenus?" He asked, with obvious irony.

Quite taken aback by his young master's strange behaviour, the old chauffeur stuttered.

"O-of course not, Sir! I would never think such extravagant nonsense. B-but are you sure you don't want me to handle such trivial matter, Sir?" Lenus seemed utterly perplex.

Draco sighed loudly.

"I fail to see why I should feel compelled to give you any justification for my decisions."

"Oh, you should not, Sir! I didn't mean to discuss your decision. Here is your luggage. We will be seeing you on Christmas' holydays. I wish you a nice trip, Mr Malfoy." And he was gone

The young Malfoy took hold of his trolley and drove it toward the pedestrian bridge across the tracks before heading between the platforms 9 and 10. Once he was assured no one was looking, he nonchalantly leaned on the wall, instantly finding himself on the platform 9¾. He looked at the platform and groaned. It was crowded.

We should have left sooner. I hate it when it is so packed, he whined inwardly.

Sighing heavily, he entered that maze of excited teenagers, impatient young siblings and anxious parents. Still, he managed to open himself a path through the crowd. It took him 15 minutes and some colourful curses to reach the train and hoist his trunk in. Now, all that was left to do was to find his accomplices and friends, Blaise Zambini and Pansy Parkinson. He had no doubt they had arrived on time to avoid the annual King's Cross' riot. As he would probably have to open half of the train's compartments to find them, so he started right away.

The first box he peeked in was filled with a group of small 2nd or 3rd year, Hufflepuffs from the colour of their uniform. The kids looked up to see who had just interrupted their conversation. Their faces changed when they recognized the intruder. They suddenly wore more than a hint of nervousness. In fact, their fear was almost palpable. Draco new that very few people knew what really transpired on the night of Dumbledore's death. To be allowed back at Hogwarts, Draco had had to go through an extensive Auror interrogation, but the result of this interrogation had been kept from the public. He had no doubt their imagination was going wild. Draco could almost hear them think. They were wondering what the Malfoy heir was up to, and if they were going to be on the wrong end of it. The tall Slytherin fought a grin. He did love to make an impression when he entered a room, he could at least admit that to himself. Playing the part, he raised an eyebrow and threw them a last piercing gaze before letting the youngsters to their speculations about his demeanour.

It was invariable. Draco inspired three distinct reactions from people he met. They either felt fear, anger or envy, although a mix of two or even the three of them was not unheard of. The only exception was his family, in which he included Blaise and Pancy. To be honest, he should add desire to the list, even if it was mostly mixed with fear. His "dark wizard" aura seemed to attract a respectable number of the fair sex, all of them Slytherins. He had no illusions, though. He knew many were after his money, some of them were pushed by their parents to seek his attention despite last year debacle. Money talks, Draco thought. And a lot of money sings and dances!

That being said, his reasonable success with girls was nothing compared to Blaise. He was quite the playboy epitome and the biggest flirt he'd ever seen. Thanks to his muscular beater's physique, raven hair and baby blue eyes, that guy had the entire Hogwarts' female population batting their eyelashes at him in the corridors. He dated every Houses' girls alike. Had he still been alive, Dumbledore would have been proud. And Zambini loved every minute of it. The competition didn't bother Draco. He didn't enjoy the attention as much as his friend anyway.

Draco's friendship with the black haired Slytherin didn't go that far back. They had started to seriously hang out together back in 4th grade. Of course, as two heirs of wealthy pure-blooded families, their parents had made sure they met at an early age, so they had shared a fair amount of birthday parties before entering Hogwarts. However, in Draco's case, the "best friend" position was already filled.

Pansy and he had known each other for as far as Draco's memories went. It had been a natural friendship, so to speak, for their mothers were childhood friends. Up to the age of 11, they had shared games, toys, wounds, laughs, tears… everything. Narcissa couldn't give birth anymore. Her son had been long to come. After his birth, the medwizards had announced his parents they could not conceive again. Consequently, the both of them had become exceptionally protective and just as exceptionally demanding of their only child.

With no sibling to hang out with, the little girl who was running around at Malfoy Manor so often became a sister to him. Things had slightly changed when they both entered Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Pansy had found herself at the head of a gang of Slytherin girls, and Draco who was rather small for his age at the time did as any smart 11 boy would do: he framed himself with goons. So it was not just the two of them anymore. At least until they finally grew out of their respective "phase" or, in Draco's case, simply grew some height eliminating the necessity of bodyguards. Pansy was becoming an outstanding young woman, but then again nothing less was expected from her. If you asked Draco, he would say she was beautiful. And if you asked why he had never been tempted, he would stare you down until you looked away in shame. They had been friends for so long that it would feel like incest. Pansy was exceptionally smart, but also vindictive and short-tempered, especially when it came to Blaise. The boy seemed to think it was highly amusing to make her lose her nerves. And to think those two had been going out. Alright, it had only last a week before she tried to kill him but still… that had been one hell of a week!

Draco kept searching for his friends and, on his way, encountered the one and only Rachel Lindley, 6th year and Slytherin to booth. Now, that was a body. Tall and willowy frame, perfect pale skin and dark hair, and, not to forget, legs that went forever. They had shared a brief affair the preceding year. At the time, he was trying his best to keep up appearances while struggling to carry on with Voldemort orders. Rachel was the worst kind of opportunist but the best kind of distraction. He served her his best charmingly-wicked side smile. She didn't fail to answer with a suggestive wave of eyebrow. Draco couldn't help but smile to himself while he kept walking. It looked like he wouldn't have to worry about lonely nights this year.

His good mood decreased a bit after the train went in motion and he opened an nth compartment. However, passing the door, his eyes fell upon an exquisite vision. On the floor of the box, her back to him, a girl was on all four, giving the young man a nice perspective on one of the cutest little butt he had seem in a long time. She was currently digging frenetically in a trunk, oblivious to his presence. He tilted his head on a side as if searching a better angle. Why not have a little fun he thought, closing the door behind him.

"What a nice view!" he finally declared.

He leaned on the door frame, in his typical nonchalant pose, his arms crossed on his chest. He waited for the girl to jump up, embarrassed, blushing… vulnerable. But the mysterious girl did no such thing. She did jump a little at the sound of his voice, finally aware she was not alone anymore, but after a two-second pause and a "Not in the mood, Malfoy!" she went back to her search. She was ignoring him! That was unacceptable.

She suddenly stood up with a small triumphant sound, the object of her search in hand. The girl turned around and finally faced him. She looked a bit startled and embarrassed. But not a "Draco, you scared me and now I'm all bothered" kind of embarrassment. It was more in the line of "Why are you still there?". That's when Draco finally took in her feature and recognized her. Long red hair, freckled nose, worn out clothes…

"Weasley!"

His exclamation seemed to amuse her! Draco couldn't help but think there was something changed about the youngest Weasley. Not physically. She was still the same small redhead he remembered. Small! That was an understatement. He doubted she even reach his shoulder. Her attitude was what confused him. The girl was known to be just as short-tempered as her brother. In fact, she was also known not to spare her hexes when anybody got in her way. He had his own vivid memory of being on the wrong end of her Bat-Bogey Hex. Nevertheless, she was now calmly settled against the compartment window, looking at the one who had worked for years at making her brother and friends' life miserable, the one who was generally thought to be responsible for Dumbledore's death. And what was she doing? She was looking amused… and slightly bored! Actually, her small, red, heart-shaped mouth wore a side smile that was usually his trademark. It was almost surreal. Moreover, she even mirrored his pose by crossing her arms under her breasts. I didn't remember her being so well endowed, he couldn't stop himself from noticing. He slapped himself mentally. He had to think of something. Fast.

"So… Ginny… the famous trio has abandoned you? The boy-who-refuses-to-shut-up-and-die got tired of hearing you sing his praises again and again? Sad, really." He sarcastically sympathized.

Raising a dark eyebrow, she rolled her eyes.

"If you really want to know… Draco… they didn't abandoned me. It's my guzzler of a brother who couldn't wait for the tea trolley to pass by. And as the three of them hardly go to the loo without one another, they all went after the trolley, so the poor Ron wouldn't die of starvation." That last bit was said with a humourless laugh. But a wicked smile soon crossed her face. "As for the part about my singing of Harry's praises… well… if I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous."

"What?!" the young man yelled.

At that moment, the door opened, revealing an impatient Blaise Zambini.

"Ah! Here you are, Dray! Pansy was starting to worry, so I went to search for you. You know how she can get, saying nonsense like that she will go crazy if she pass any more time alone with me. Hey! You won't guest who I saw on…" And then he took in the presence of a third person. The dark-haired Slytherin's sixth sense, the flirt, went on automatic mode. "Well, well, well… Hello there, beautiful."

"Just a minute, Blaise." Draco cut in and turned to face the small redhead again. "I want it to be clear. I am not, nor will I ever be, jealous of Harry bloody Potter! Understood, you twat?"

The little bugger's grin widened.

"Now, Draco dear, keep talking to me in such a sweet way and I'll start to think you're flirting with me. We wouldn't want that now, would we?"

"I am most certainly not flirting with the likes of you!" He spat, grabbing his smiling friend's arm on is way out.

Blaise was dragged through the door, but not before he could add "But I am!"

And they heard her laughter until they left the wagon.

They both made their way through the train corridor in silence. Draco was in a very foul mood. He had totally lost his nerve back there, something highly uncommon coming from the Malfoy heir. There was something about the little vixen that was changed. She was more… something. Something that got under his skin for some reason. She was troubling him, and he didn't understand why. And what he didn't understand, he didn't like.

Blaise finally motioned Draco to a compartment. Draco slammed the door close, making Pansy jump by doing so, before slumping in a seat. The brunette shot Blaise an inquisitive look but her housemate simply humph-ed and raised his shoulders in response. She rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Is one of you going to explain what just happened?" She asked when she realized they were not going to talk.

"What happened? A petite redhead, that's what happened to our poor lord Malfoy here. He doesn't seem to be able to deal with his attraction to the youngest Weasley."

"You went completely nutter Blaise if you think I would be attracted to a Weasley. I could never be attracted to… to that! She is a Goody Two-Shoes Gryffindor for Merlin's sake!"

Pansy studied her childhood friend attentively, and then shared a conniving look with Blaise. Slowly, she shook her head, sighing.

"I see what you mean, Blaise. She got him deep, that's for sure."

Draco couldn't believe his ears. Those two hardly leagued together about anything, and they chose to start now. The day was just getting better and better…

"That's it", he stated "you two are good for a one-way ticket to St. Mungo's. Can you tell me what could possibly be attractive in any Weasley?"

To the blond Slytherin's surprise, it was Pansy who responded.

"I remember Charlie Weasley from the Triwizard Tournament. You know, he had come as a dragon keeper for the first task?" She took a pause, apparently lost in the memory. "Hmmm… those large shoulders, bulky arms and that nice tight little ass…" She sighed exaggeratedly. "And, you know, a man who works with dragons is so sexy."

Draco and Blaise looked at her with equal disbelief.

"What?" She asked defensively. "I am a normal healthy woman with normal healthy needs for fantasies during my lonely nights."

Both boys made a face which made her laugh.

"Come on, Pansy!" Blaise argued. "You could have done better than Charlie Weasley. You just had to look at what was in front you." He added with a smile.

She faked to consider it but then said "Sorry Blaise, but Charlie Weasley beats you good on this one. I mean: he is a man and a dragon keeper… You two boys are out of his league." She kept teasing them.

Blaise dismissed her comment with a roll of eyes.

"Anyway, with all that we forgot the issue at hand here." He started. "Our dear Draco who's heart has been taken away by a small redheaded goddess, namely Ginny Weasley." At this, Draco groaned, for he would have preferred they forget about the subject. "You asked us what could possibly be attractive about the little Weasley, right? Well, if you ask me, I'd say you actually found out all by yourself. When I've find you in her compartment, your eyes were virtually scotched to certain of her body parts localized between the shoulders and the waist." The blackhaired wizard gave him a devious smile. Draco could help but responded with one of his own.

Pansy sighed, mumbling "Really!"

"You're one to talk, Miss I-fantasize-about-redheaded-dragon-keepers'-ass!" Draco retorted to his female friend. "Alright, I admit it. I admit I kind of checked her out, but I still state she's absolutely not my type. I prefer my girls more... classy. I like my women tall, slim, leggy, distinguished"

"I hear you, mate, but the portrait you make… it all sounds so boring. I dare say I never understood what you liked about those icicles you go out with. Now, let me explain something to you, my dear friend" started Blaise.

The Slytherin beater got closer to his friend and put an arm around his shoulders, a lot like a father who is about to explain the mysteries of life to his son.

"Dear lords! He's going at it again", groaned Pansy.

Blaise ignored her comment. He took his best teacher's tone.

"You see, Dray, women, in all their diversity, are nature's masterpieces! And, in my opinion, by restraining yourself to a single landscape, you deprive yourself of a lot of beauty. For example, you seem to have a thing for arctic desert, which, I'm sure, must have some kind of charm. However, if I were you, I'd start to consider what… hum… the grandiose mountainous regions and vast green hills could do for me". Saying that last part, he traced feminine curves in the air.

Draco didn't find anything to respond for a moment. Then he let out a frustration growl.

"You know what? I clearly said she was not my type. So I can't see why we're still having this conversation."

Blaise stayed silent a second.

"Good…" he finally said, cracking a broad smile. "That means she's all mine to keep!"

"No!" shouted Draco before even thinking.

"No?" questioned two very amused Slytherins.

Draco had to think fast.

"I mean, you forget about Master Weasel. He'll never let any Slytherin playboy near his precious little sister without severe consequences. He is not all that strong, but with his height, he got some leverage."

There, Draco thought, that out to close the issue.

"I see… well… To tell you the truth, I think it's worth some bruises. Especially if she is up to play nurse afterward, and she is bonded to, right? You said it yourself: she is a Goodie Two-Shoes Gryffindor!" He paused a second, seemingly lost in his thought, "Yes, I think Miss Weasley is going to be the lucky girl who will be the first to have a taste of the well wanted Blaise Zambini this year. She is definitely my type, that's for sure!"

Pansy sneered. "Wouldn't want to contradict you, Blaise, but aren't all the girls your type?"

The boy seemed to think about it before he responded with a smile. "That's very close to the truth, Pansy dearest. But there is something about the Weasley girl. Can't figure what yet, but it's there…"

Draco wanted that conversation to end. "Whatever you say, Zambini." He cut in with a bored tone. "Why don't we just drop the subject in favour of an interesting one?"

Pansy suddenly threw him a piercing gaze, like only she could. When she did that, he felt like she could read right through his mind. "Sure, Dray" her eyes still fixed on his, "Why don't you tell us how the little discussion with your father went?"

Draco looked back at her a moment. "I think I'll take a nap."