Thank you for all the reviews I've gotten. I never expected as much as I have to all of you, you know who you are, thank you. I'm so thankful. This chapter's to all of you.
I have an idea for another Harry Potter fanfic where James Potter and the other Marauders are secret friends of Severus'. When they are 'enemies', Sev is Severus Snape. When they're friendly with one another, he's Severus Prince. I will be writing it but I want opinions on whether or not to make it a Vampire!Snape fic or not.
Please give me advice.
Love, Keta.
Chapter 3: The Train
Draco's POV
"Come on, Harry!"
"I am! I am!" My cousin growls at me and hugs my parents goodbye before grasping my wrist with the hand not holding Kali. He drags me into the corridor and opens up a random compartment. A pair of red heads looks up at us with surprise. "Hello."
"Hey," the twin on the right answers, "I'm George."
"And I'm the better looking twin, Fred."
Harry giggles holding out a hand to shake theirs. "I'm Harry Lestrange."
"Nice to meet…"
"-you, Harry Lestrange. And your…"
"-friend would be?"
"I'm his cousin, Draco Malfoy."
"Hello, Draco," they respond at the exact same time, "come in. There's plenty of room."
"Harry! Draco!"
We turn to see the muggleborn girl from Diagon Alley run up to us; a smile on her face. "Hi, Hermione." With just a bit of wide eyes, she accepts the hug my cousin gives her. Most people, well sane and knowing people would run away from the psycho my cousin is. Just don't tell him, I really don't want to be hunted down and killed by him. He looks at the Weasleys, giving a fake innocent expression. "Can Hermione come into this compartment?"
Seemingly unfazed by the strangeness of his actions, they say, "Sure." They may just live to see the light of day.
"Thanks!" he exclaims cheerfully, as per usual and drags the bushy haired girl inside with us. "Now you just sit here, and I'll get out a book you should read." He jumps up onto the seat and, still clutching Kali, grabs a tome from the top shelf; when did he put that up there? He drops back down to the floor with a soft thud, handing the book to our friend and sits down next to her. He pulls out a small hairbrush from the pocket in his grey skirt and proceeds to brush her black hair till it's tangle free.
He wants to keep her as perfect as the day his mother gave it to him. It's been so long since he seen her. Even I miss Aunt Bella, and if I miss her then I don't know how bad he must feel. He's still got his real father but still…
"Draco, what's wrong?"
I look up at my cousin who's eyeing me with distinctive curiosity. His luminous green eyes glow with a long hidden fear. He doesn't want to lose anyone in any form, neither in reality nor into their thoughts. "Nothing, dear cousin." I sit down next to him, smiling when he lays his head upon my shoulder. "I'm never leaving you, Harry," I whisper in his ear.
He smiles back, weakly and whispers back with a slight amount of the venom he usually speaks with, "You better not."
About thirty minutes into our train ride with the twins playing a game of exploding snap, a commotion outside draws our attention. Exchanging a look with the others, we peak out of the doors to find Crabbe and Goyle fighting with another redheaded boy, must be the twins' younger brother and a timid, chubby, brown headed boy.
"Crabbe, Goyle," Harry shouts, "what are you doing?"
They turn, a look of terror appearing on their faces. "M-mr. Le-lestrange." My cousin smirks and repeats his question. "We-we were j-just asking this W-weasley what he's d-doing down h-here."
Harry just smiles wider, gripping Kali tightly in his pale hands. "I sincerely hope you weren't being a bother to these two poor children. I don't want to have to teach you another lesson. I don't think my special toys can take much more abuse."
"Y-you w-won't have t-to!" they shriek and run inside a compartment.
We start to go back inside our own compartment when the timid boy calls out, "Hey! Um, thank you. I'm Neville Longbottom."
Harry smiles again, but a sweeter one this time. "It's no problem. They annoy me. I'm Harry. Nice to meet you, Neville." The boy blushes to the tips of his ears then disappears.
"Did you have to embarrass him?" I ask.
"Of course!" Harry exclaims, "I like embarrassing people. Like you, Little Dragon."
"Shut up!" I snarl as my face burns hotly.
"Aw," the twins say, "little Drakey's embawised."
"I hate you."
"We love you, too." Hermione just giggles at the other three.
Harry's POV
The train rattles along; wheels grinding and screeching on the tracks below. My robes are parted to allow my crossed, long legs; only just covered, decently, by my uniform, female of course. The skirt comes to mid thigh, the rest covered by my emerald tights. Four minutes ago the conductor called for us to get our robes on as we're approaching the school. The train rolls into the station rattling even louder as it screeches to a stop. I smirk at my other companions, slamming the door open and skipping down the corridor.
Outside the gigantic Gryffindor colored nightmare (why Gryffindor colored? Eww!), a giant man with a bushy, black beard's calling for all first years to go to the boats. I like boats. Boats are fun: fun to tip over, burn and throw people off of them. I like boats.
"Harry, wait up!"
"No, no, no, Draco. You must catch up to me!" I shout and run as fast as I can with my high-heeled boots on. Smirking at my cousin's curses, I jump into one of the rowboats, giggling when the murky water splashes my face.
"Harry! Be careful!" he calls, stepping carefully into the boat with me. A warming charm tickles my skin, Draco must've cast it.
"Thanks."
"You're father told me to take care of you. Not that I wouldn't anyways." His hand cups my cheek, and I lean into his caress, locking gazes with him.
"I know but still. If it wasn't for you, I'd be alone. I don't think anyone would look at me twice. Even if they knew who I am."
"That's not true!"
"Yes it is. You know I'm not like others. Kali thinks so too."
"Your doll?" I don't get a chance to respond since Hermione's climbing in the boat. The ride to the castle is silent, just what I need to think about what my father told me on my birthday about this castle and the headmaster.
"Promise me you'll stay out of trouble, Harry."
I sneer and answer with a haughty tone. "That would be a lie. And you told me never to lie, father."
"You've been hanging around Severus too much."
"Well, I'll be hanging out with him more often shortly."
"Yes, your schooling. I need to talk to you about that school."
"So speak."
"Do not trust Dumbledore. If he finds out, and has proof of who you are, it could be the end of you. He will not stop himself from killing you if it means defeating me. For the greater good, he says. Do not trust him, okay?" I nod. "If you should ever find yourself in a place where you have no friends in the castle, she will protect you."
"I know, I know. I'm the heir to Slytherin…"
He ruffles my hair, and I laugh. "Brat."
"You know it."
"Harry, we're almost beached."
"Huh?" My cousin's voice knocks me from my thoughts. "Oh, alright, Draco."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. 'M just thinking."
"About?"
"School."
"Already?"
"Yes." He opens his mouth to make a smart comment but the jarring motion of the boat beaching stops him. I hop out and in the process get lost in the crowd of fellow first years. Together, our group walks into the great Entrance Hall, a mass of hyperactive children.
After a time an aged, stern witch, must be Minerva McGonagall, walks in commanding attention almost immediately. "Welcome to Hogwarts," she says. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.
'The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarted yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting.' Her eyes linger on my uniform and a small smile works itself up on her face. "I will return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly."
She walks into the Great Hall, leaving us all alone. Draco by now has found his way next to me, a look of pure annoyance on his face. "I hate when you take off, Harry."
"I like taking off."
"Brat."
"Prick."
"Dunce."
"Drakey."
"I hate you."
"No you don't."
"Yes, I do."
"Lie."
"Move along now," says a sharp voice, and I look up to see the professor's back. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." The surge of children cuts our banter short and within moments our groups inside the hall waiting to be sorted. The chatter in the hall slowly dies down as Professor McGonagall steps forward holding a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she says, "Abbott, Hannah!"
A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause then…
"Hufflepuff!"
The table on the right cheers and claps as the newly named Hufflepuff went to sit down at her table. "Bones, Susan!"
"Hufflepuff!" Susan scurries off to sit next to Hannah.
"Boot, Terry!"
"Ravenclaw!"'The table second from the left claps this time; several of the blue clothed students stand up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.
"Brocklehurst, Mandy" goes to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" is the first to become Gryffindor, and the table on the far left explodes with cheers; of course I can see Ron's twin brothers catcalling. They amuse me.
"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. 'Good, Slytherin's too good for most students.'
"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"
"Hufflepuff!"
"Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to me in the line, sits on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declares him a Gryffindor. 'It must be a hard decision for some people.'
"Granger, Hermione!" My friend almost runs to the stool in her excitement and jams the hat eagerly on her head.
"Ravenclaw!" shouts the hat without pause.
"Lestrange, Harry!" Gasps erupt in the hall at my last name. 'God, I love that.' I giggle and skip up to the at hat, placing it on my head with grace. The Sorting Hat gives an inhuman screech before shouting my house.
"Please just stick him in Slytherin!"