This is the second part of Draco's first year--it used to be one chapter, but then I split it up.
Ginny lay on her bed at the Burrow, staring boredly at the ceiling. Her brothers had only left that morning, and already she had ran out of things to do. After her parents had taken her home, she stole Ron’s training broom and rode it around in the backyard, snuck candies out of Fred and George’s secret hiding spots, and leafed through all of Percy’s books and papers to find an empty notebook that she could use as a journal. Her mother had made dinner, and now there was nothing for Ginny to do. She figured her mother and father were downstairs, spending some much needed ‘alone’ time that they never got when her entire family was home.
Suddenly, Ginny heard the tapping of an owl at her window. Pulling open her curtains, she was ecstatic to see Draco’s glorious eagle owl waiting patiently for her to open the window and receive the letter tied to his leg. She quickly unfastened the letter from his leg, and allowed him into the room. She opened the letter and read it happily.
Ginny,
How are you? I am at Hogwarts now in my dorm room. We just finished dinner, and as soon as I finish this letter and send it I shall go into the common room to meet my many dorm mates. The train ride was long, but it was okay. I met several new people there, and many people that my father had already introduced me to. The sorting ceremony was very tedious, and I was sorted into Slytherin—the same house my father was in. Perhaps next year you’ll be in Slytherin too. I hope you are having a good time at home, enjoying your last year before school. Hopefully I’ll see you sometime before the end of term, if not, I’ll see you next summer. I miss you.
-Draco
She quickly scampered into Percy’s room and stole a piece of parchment and a quill from his desk so she could respond to Draco. She penned him a letter describing the utter boredom of her day alone, and how she wished she could be there with him. She signed her name with a flourish (she had been practicing her signature) and she tied the letter onto Draco’s owl before sending him on his way.
She sat down on her bed, contemplating the next year. It would not be so bad if Draco continued to correspond by mail—she usually wrote to her brothers several times a term, and they would send letters and strange objects they stole from around Hogwarts. She smiled as she reached her arms over her head and stretched, before collapsing back onto her bed and falling into a deep sleep.
~*~
During the next few weeks, Draco settled into his classes. Crabbe and Goyle tended to follow him wherever he went, but he did not mind. They were not very intelligent, but they were intimidating. He met many Slytherins, most of whom looked up to him—just has his father had said they would. There was just something about the name ‘Malfoy’ which struck a certain fear in many people. The Slytherins knew that he was not one to be bothered, but rather they treated him as though he were a god. The rest of the school avoided him—not wanting to get in the way of him and his cronies. Draco certainly did not mind—they were probably not worth his time anyway.
The one student who Draco was trying to befriend was Harry Potter—but after their unfortunate meeting, Harry had taken to associating himself with not only the Weasley, but a Mudblood named Granger as well. Draco figured he still had a chance with Harry, but after he spent his first Potions class laughing at Harry’s lack of knowledge, he soon after realized that Harry Potter hated him.
At their first flying class—the only other class the Slytherins shared with the Gryffindors, Draco had tried to show off his flying skills, amazing his classmates with his smoothness. However, Harry had one upped him by not only joining him in the air, but pulling off a magnificent dive. Draco had been gleeful when Professor McGonagall had caught Harry in his dive—but he had been very unpleased (and bitter) when Harry managed to weasel his way onto the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
Draco wondered how Harry could have pulled that off—probably because he was a celebrity, the Boy Who Lived, the one who defeated Voldemort. Draco certainly was jealous of his success, not that he could ever admit it. It seemed like there was no way to bring Harry Potter down—not even when Draco tried to set him up for a Wizard’s Duel at midnight and then tip Fitch off. Harry Potter managed to escape from that one unscathed as well. Draco did not hate Harry Potter, but it seemed as though Harry was better than him at everything—except Potions of course. Well, Draco was better academically than Harry in many classes, but Harry’s Mudblood friend was the top of everything academic, and Harry was able to weasel his way out of any situation.
Draco envied Harry’s many successes as the year progressed. Every once in a while, Draco would try something, just to prove that Harry was human—but Harry seemed to evade punishment from everything. Harry had even won the Slytherin-Gryffindor match (60-170) after almost falling off his broom. Draco was almost afraid of going home for Christmas, because his father was sure to be furious that Draco was not on the house Quidditch team, and he was not at the top of his class.
Soon enough, the Christmas holidays arrived and he reluctantly returned home to his father. When he arrived at the Manor, his mother was out getting a facial, and his father stalked off to his study, where he engaged himself in something hushed and secret. Draco bitterly walked up to his room, where he laid down on his bed and pulled out his many letters from Ginny. All through the year they had been writing back and forth about life. Ginny claimed that she had been horribly bored for the entire time, not having much to do other than visit the Ministry with her father or home schooling with her mother. Draco, on the other hand, had complained of the coursework and all the unfairness of treatment of people. He never used names, because he did not want to confuse Ginny, but he always wrote her precisely what was on his mind, because she was the only person that would listen. He had never tried telling anyone else, but he was fairly certain that anyone in Slytherin that heard his true feelings about Harry Potter or Hogwarts in general would use it as blackmail somehow, rather than try to help him. Ginny, however, was always supportive.
Draco read Ginny’s most recent letter, in which wished him a Merry Christmas and told him that she would be spending the holidays in Romania with her mother, father and brother. She also wrote that she missed him very much, and that she would send him something from Romania. He sighed disappointedly—he had hoped he would be able to see her at the Ministry sometime during the holidays. Perhaps he would go there tomorrow just to check—his father was planning to speak to Cornelius Fudge about something important, and Ginny had wrote that she would not be leaving for several more days. Maybe she would be there…
The next day Draco arose bright and early to make sure his father would not leave without him. Soon after Draco was ready, his father emerged from his study, and the two of them left for the Ministry.
After receiving his visitors badge and registering his wand, Draco headed to the waiting room where he had always met Ginny during the past years. He sat down on the couch and picked up the latest Quibbler from the table and flipped through it aimlessly.
He read for several hours, bored out of his mind. He had all but given up hope that Ginny might show up when he heard a cheerful laughter in the hallway. He looked up quickly and saw a ginger haired girl waving good-bye to a dark haired girl down the hall before turning into the waiting room.
Ginny looked into the room and saw Draco waiting for her on the couch. Draco smirked as she stood there for a moment in complete shock and disbelief. Then she dropped the book she was carrying and she ran across the room and gave him a huge hug, practically squeezing all the air out of him. Draco smiled smugly and hugged her back—he had missed this during his months at Hogwarts.
Breaking away, Ginny grinned at him before breaking out into a rapid ramble about Romania and Christmas. Then she started asking him countless questions about Hogwarts, which he struggled to answer whenever she paused to take a breath from her ridiculously long one-sided conversation. When she finally finished saying everything that she could have possibly thought of, she suddenly reached forward and pulled him into another hug. Draco could only assume that she had spent the entire time he had been at Hogwarts by herself and her parents, who must not be very interesting for her to talk to.
They sat and talked for several hours, enjoying each others company and discussing Christmas, school, and Ginny’s loneliness.
“You know,” started Draco, “You could probably find someone else to talk to while I’m at school…” He smiled as she blushed about her long rambling conversation.
She smiled and responded, “I would, except you’re the only person I know who will talk about anything with me without hiding things.” She had a fleeting thought of her brothers, who all hid details from her in order to protect her. They would never let her grow up.
“Why would I hide anything from you?” Draco asked curiously. He was always bluntly honest whenever possible, except perhaps with his father, who would probably wring Draco if he said anything in opposition.
Ginny smiled weakly, “I know you won’t,” she started, “but my family never tells me anything because they all want to protect me… But it’s okay, because I know I can tell you anything!” She added excitedly, before breaking into another long, complicated story about a strange girl she had met at the Ministry a few weeks ago. Draco could feel a smile fighting to emerge on his face as he stared at the girl he had known for so many years. She was always easygoing and free—so unlike anyone in Slytherin. Draco did not understand how his father would not enjoy someone like Ginny—there was nothing not to like about her. He had a brief inclination that he should just ignore his father’s wishes and befriend everyone at Hogwarts—there had to be someone else with Ginny’s spirit that he could spent time with… Abruptly, he snapped back to reality as he noticed a dark figure looming in the doorway to the waiting room. He felt his heart jump and start thumping heavily in his chest.
Lucius Malfoy walked up to Draco and grasped him severely by the shoulder and whisked him out of the room, shooting Ginny a disgusted glare in the process. Ginny gasped and stopped talking and stared at Lucius in shock for a moment before transferring her wide-eyed gaze to Draco. All Draco had time to do was offer Ginny a sympathetic expression and mouth out ‘I’ll write you later,’ before his father dragged him out of sight.
With Lucius still clasping Draco’s shoulder, Draco trailed awkwardly down the hallway, afraid to look up at his father. “How dare you associate with that Muggle-loving piece of filth?” Lucius asked his son angrily, glaring fiercely into his eyes. Draco could feel his pounding in his ears—he felt like he was going to explode. Lucius dropped his voice to a low, threatening tone and continued, “I’m very disappointed. I thought I taught you better than that.” Lucius turned and walked briskly towards the Floo fireplaces, Draco in tow.
Draco could still feel his heart beating rapidly. He had never expected his father to find him talking to Ginny. At least they had not been hugging or playing games—she had only been telling a story. Perhaps Draco would be able to tell his father that she was just talking to herself, and he was mocking her. However, as he was contemplating his situation, his father Floo-ed back to the Manor, leaving Draco standing alone next to the fireplace. He briefly considered running back to Ginny to apologize, but decided against it. His father would never forgive him if he did that; he would just have to explain his father’s behavior in a letter. Defeatedly, Draco stepped into the Floo fireplace and transported back to the Manor.
~*~
Ginny stared at the door where a man had just come and taken Draco out of the room. He was that pale, pointy man—the one her father was always yelling at about Muggles, blood purity and raids. Was that Draco’s father? She could not quite remember what the man’s name was—only that he was very well known, and usually up to no good, or so her father said. Ginny sighed. It was very nice to be able to see Draco again, but she did not understand why his father had taken him away so abruptly—or why he seemed to dislike her so much. However, if that was Draco’s father, it would explain Draco’s haughty attitude. Draco was never conceited with her, but she could see it in the way he acted sometimes, as though he was brought up to be arrogant and self-important. He tended to lighten up whenever he was with her though, it sometimes took her a few minutes, but underneath his smug expressions was the friendly Draco she loved to spend time with.
Ginny sat down on the sofa and pulled out her Visitor’s Guide to Romania and tried to read; however, she was distracted by thoughts of Draco. He had seemed very distant today, as though he was afraid to show emotion with her. She remembered him being very difficult before, but he had never taken so long to warm up before. Absentmindedly twirling her hair around her finger, she wondered if Hogwarts had changed Draco. She shrugged and turned her attention back to the book—there was nothing she could do about Draco’s smugness, not now anyway. Perhaps next time she saw him she would break his shields, and then they would laugh like they always used to.
~*~
Draco could not remember a time that his father had been more upset. Probably because Draco had not had many opportunities to do anything wrong. Regardless, Draco was scared beyond all belief. His father had immediately stalked off to his study, leaving Draco alone to think about his wrongdoings. Draco knew he should have never talked to Ginny, she was too different. She was everything he had been missing during his empty childhood—but it seemed as though his father believed that joy and carefree fun something that should forever remain absent.
Slowly trudging upstairs to his bedroom, Draco continued to wonder about what the consequences of his actions would be. His father clearly knew something about Ginny and her family that Draco was not aware of—either that or his father was prejudiced against everyone he did not know. Draco was not sure that he wanted to know what was so wrong with Ginny—she was too good a friend to lose. Perhaps he could correspond with her in secrecy, and he could avoid meeting her at the Ministry. It would not be too hard, seeing as he spent most of his time at Hogwarts.
Draco climbed into his bed and curled into a ball under the warm covers. He had no intention of facing his father tonight if he could avoid it. He grabbed one of his pillows and hugged it under the sheet, trying to squeeze his anxiety out. He tried to punch the pillow, but his arm got tangled in his sheets and he gave up. He lay flat on his back, intently staring at the ceiling, waiting to see if an answer suddenly came to him.
As he began drifting off to sleep, he was startled back to consciousness as his father slowly opened the door and curtly said his name before retreated downstairs. Draco knew it was his father’s way of saying that Draco was to follow him downstairs so they could talk. Or rather, Lucius would tell Draco exactly what he thought, and Draco would blindly agree—not that he was ever able to disagree. He had tried once, and he had gotten punished severely for being ‘disrespectful’ and ‘disregarding his father’s advice’—his father had hit him with the Cruciatus Curse only for a split second, but the pain was enough to teach him a lifelong lesson—never to disagree with his father, period.
Draco hesitantly went downstairs to meet his father, trying to find ways to stall and prevent the inevitable. After stalling for several moments to no avail, Draco met his father in his study. Lucius was sitting regally in his chair, regarding Draco with extreme distaste. “You are not to consort with that girl ever again,” Lucius said maliciously. “You are wasting your time with Muggle-loving pieces of rubbish, and you are disregarding your priorities. What is this I hear about Harry Potter on the house Quidditch team as a first year? And you are letting a Mudblood best you in every academic class?” He asked rhetorically. Draco could feel his face heat up as he lowered his head—he might as well admit defeat to his father; after all, his father was entirely correct. Harry Potter was the Quidditch champion and he could weasel his way out of all sorts of trouble. Potter’s Mudblood friend was better than Draco in every class except for Potions, which was probably because Snape was severely biased against Gryffindors.
Draco had a slight inclination to try to defend himself—to tell his father that it was not his fault. Draco could not help it if the world loved Harry Potter. However, he decided against it—he was better than Harry Potter, and he would prove it to his father somehow. He looked up and met his father’s eyes, “I’m sorry,” he said curtly in submission.
Lucius glared at his son for a moment longer before replying, “I expect that you will ameliorate the situation. And avoid the Muggle-lovers and Mudbloods.” He glowered at Draco until he seemed satisfied that Draco had understood his message, and then he turned back to his desk and proceeded to leaf through a pile of important looking documents. Draco took this as his cue to leave, and he retreated back to his room so he could think. He pulled out a quill and pen and started writing a letter to Ginny.
Ginny,
I’m so sorry about today at the Ministry. My father was upset with me; it was not your fault. I hope you enjoy your time in Romania. I enjoyed talking to you today, and I’ll miss you when I return to school.
-Draco
He stared at the letter for a moment—it was very short, uninteresting, and a huge lie. Ginny had been the reason his father was so upset, and Draco still did not know why. Draco crumpled up the letter and shredded it into pieces before cautiously sneaking downstairs and burning them in the fireplace. He would write her once he returned to Hogwarts, when it was safer. As much as he wanted to please his father, he could not help feeling that Ginny deserved some sort of explanation as to what happened at the Ministry.
He pulled out another piece of parchment and stared at it, wondering what she was doing right now. She was probably at home having fun with her family and packing for Romania. He doubted that she had to deal with a harsh father like he did. Sucking on the end of his quill, he thought a moment longer before writing the exact same words he had written to her an hour ago. Then, before he could change his mind, he sealed the letter and gave it to his owl.
~*~
Ginny was tearing apart her room looking for her favorite jumper, when she suddenly heard a sharp rapping on her window. She glanced over distracted from ravaging under her bed to see Draco’s owl tapping haughtily on the window. She felt her heart leap as she quickly jumped up and opened the window. She untied the letter with trembling fingers and opened it. Much to her dismay, the letter told her nothing about his father’s motives for his actions at the Ministry. In fact, Draco’s letter was very vague and essentially pointless.
She sat down on her bed holding his letter in her left hand while scratching her head with her right hand, wondering what was going on with him. He could not have suddenly decided not to talk to her—something must be wrong. Biting her tongue in concentration, Ginny tried to determine what could be bothering Draco, but she was at a loss. Dejectedly, she stole a fresh piece of parchment from Percy’s room and wrote him a letter asking what was really wrong, and wishing him a Merry Christmas. Unable to think of anything else substantive to say, she tied the letter onto Draco’s owl and sent him home.
Ginny watched his owl fly swiftly out into the distance and out of sight. She carefully picked up the letter she had just received and folded it neatly and placed it in her secret spot where the rest of his letters were concealed. Then she turned back to her bed and resumed her packing for Romania.
~*~
Returning to the Slytherin common room after the Christmas holidays, Draco was not sure whether to feel happy because he was away from his father, or upset that he had to deal with Harry Potter again. He had been back barely ten minutes, and already he had heard half a dozen people talking about the upcoming Quidditch match, Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff. Apparently, if Gryffindor overtook Hufflepuff, they would be in the lead for the Quidditch Cup, giving the chance to beat Slytherin for the first time in seven years. Draco was less than pleased at this tidbit of information, and he was increasingly unhappy at the thought of Gryffindor winning, because it would just be another victory of Harry Potter.
Angrily, he stalked out of the common room, looking for something to punch. It was just too much—his father was taking away his friends, the Mudblood beating him academically, and Harry Potter beating him at everything else. His father expected so much from him, and he did nothing. All he managed to do was upset his father further—if only he could do something to win over his father. Elated for a moment, dreaming of making his father proud, Draco felt a smug smile rise to his face.
Suddenly, he ran into someone and almost fell over. Looking down at the ground, he saw Neville Longbottom sitting on the ground looking up at him fearfully. Angry that anyone had dared to cross his path, he performed a leg locker curse on Neville and contributed some snide comments before continuing on his evening walk.
Running into Neville had knocked some sense into him—he realized that no matter how hard he tried, his father would never be pleased. Draco would never be good enough, and even if he was, his father would never tell him. It just was not in his nature. Draco sighed miserably and returned to his common room.
School started again, and Draco was torn between following his father’s orders, and wanting to experience his life for himself. He wrote Ginny a real letter, leaving out what his father thought of her, but she seemed to accept his story, and in return she wrote back support for whatever he chose to do. He wished Ginny could be with him so he would not have to deal with all the insufferable gits at Hogwarts. It was nearly time for the next Quidditch match, and he could not bear to watch Harry Potter take away Slytherin’s Quidditch title. He tried to avoid anyone who obsessed about the match outcome—he had taken to avoiding Potter as much as possible as well, not that it was very possible, because talk of the magnificent Harry Potter was everywhere.
The day of the match rolled around, and he managed to get into a fight with Weasley and Longbottom after accidentally bumping Weasley in the back with his wand. The only good that came from the fight was that he did not have to watch Potter catch the Snitch, and Longbottom injured Crabbe and Goyle enough that Draco did not have to deal with them for the remainder of the day.
Several weeks later, Draco was wandering the hallways just after breakfast when he overheard Weasley talking to Granger—something about a dragon hatching. Draco frowned—dragon eggs were banned, why would they be talking about that? Then he realized—the giant oaf Hagrid had procured an illegal dragon egg and it was about to hatch. He felt an evil smile curl onto his face—he finally had a way to get Potter and his friends in trouble… And that fool Hagrid. There was no way they could fight the law. He felt his spirits lifting; finally he could do something to make his father proud. He knew his father hated Hagrid, Draco was not sure why, but he knew that if he got rid of him, his father would be pleased. He paused for a moment, wondering what Ginny would think if she knew what he was planning to do, but he tried to push it to the back of his mind as he happily continued plotting.
Later that day, Draco snuck down to Hagrid’s miserable little hut and peeked through the window. Sure enough, the Golden Trio was sitting there, entranced by a large cracked egg on the table. He cocked his head to the side as he stared at the hatching—it really was very interesting. He had always had an interest in dragons, and to see a dragon hatch was probably a once in a lifetime experience. He watched as the egg split open and a small black dragon with spiny wings popped out. Fascinated, he watched as the dragon sneezed and Hagrid reached to stroke the dragon, as though it were a cat. Suddenly, Hagrid turned towards the window. The color drained from his face—Draco knew he had been spotted. Draco turned quickly and ran as fast as he could back to the school—he knew he had been seen, but he did not wish to cause any trouble at the current moment. He had plenty of blackmail to save for a later time.
The next week, Draco had gotten word through rumors (the one thing Pansy was good for) that Weasley had gone to the hospital wing with a swollen hand. Knowing the true cause of Weasley’s injury, Draco went to the Hospital Wing, claiming to want to borrow one of his books. Draco was still a little bitter about the black eye he had received from fighting Weasley at the Quidditch match, so he just wanted to have a laugh at him on his way to his next class. Once he arrived, he saw the Weasel sitting on the hospital bed, glaring at him. Draco smiled wickedly and grabbed one of Weasley’s books, flipping it open. “Nasty bite you got there,” he said, laughing evilly. “Don’t mind if I borrow this, do you?” he asked before turning on his heel and walking out of the hospital wing.
He laughed to himself as he reentered the hallway, leafing through Weasley’s battered textbook. Just then, a piece of parchment fluttered out of the book and fell on the ground. Curious, Draco picked it up and read it—it was a letter from Weasley’s brother, arranging a pick-up time for the dragon. Draco stared at it for a moment—there were so many things he could do with this. For starters, he could turn in Harry Potter and his friends, and they would finally get what they deserved. Either that or he could sneak up to the tower to see the dragon again—although he hated Harry Potter, they were pretty lucky to be able to see the baby dragon up close.
Saturday night, Draco snuck towards the tower to see the dragon one final time. Standing behind a large pillar, he watched Harry Potter, Hagrid and Granger struggle to drag the crate with the dragon up to the tallest tower. He stood for a moment, wondering whether to alert someone as to what they were doing, or just watch them struggle. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain on his ear—he struggled to look up, and much to his dismay, Professor McGonagall was glaring at him in her tartan bathrobe and a hairnet.
“Detention!” she yelled while tugging on his ear. Draco winced as she continued, “And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you—”
Draco did not want to cause trouble, but if he was going to get caught, then Harry Potter had to come down with him, “You don’t understand, Professor.” He started, trying to twist out of her grip on his ear, “Harry Potter’s coming—he’s got a dragon!”
“What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on—I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!” Draco cringed as she dragged him towards the dungeons by his ear. He was not concerned about Snape—he was, however, upset that he was getting detention while Potter and his gang were getting off scot-free. It just was not fair. McGonagall left him with Snape, who just gave him a strange look, as if asking him why he was bothering to chase after Harry Potter in the middle of the night. Draco shrugged at him. Snape then went back to his storage area, clearly signaling that Draco should leave. Rolling his eyes at the waste of time, Draco trudged back to the Slytherin common room.
The next morning, Draco heard rumors the moment he stepped into the common room to head upstairs for breakfast. Harry Potter, the great Harry Potter of Gryffindor, had managed to lose 150 points in one night, along with some other Gryffindor first years. Draco smiled smugly—finally, Harry Potter had gotten in trouble for something. Maybe things were finally turning around…
The rest of the school year went by in a blur—he served his detention with Potter, Longbottom, and Granger in the Forbidden Forest. He had a huge fright when he saw a creepy cloaked figure drinking blood from the unicorn they found, and he had bolted, leaving Harry behind. He had felt bad for Potter for a moment, but Harry had escaped unscathed, as did his Gryffindor friends, so it did not matter. Then after that, there was a huge incident involving Quirrell, Voldemort, the Sorcerer’s Stone, and Harry Potter, which Harry had escaped from as the school’s hero… Again… The only good thing that happened in the last few weeks of school was while Potter was knocked out, the last Quidditch match was played, and due to the fact Gryffindor had no Seeker, they lost the match and Slytherin retained their title as Quidditch champions.
Draco could not wait to go home for the summer—as much as he hated his father, listening to everyone rave about how great Harry Potter was really irritated Draco. He did not hear much from the Slytherins about Potter, but the rest of the school was always buzzing about Potter’s latest antics.
Finally the banquet rolled around—Slytherin won the House Cup, until that old bat Dumbledore awarded Harry Potter and his friends several hundred points for no reason, giving them the House Cup. Once again, the Gryffindors had bested him, Draco thought furiously. There really was nothing worse than this school. Next year better not be like this, he thought. Maybe it would be better because Ginny would be here next year. Draco sighed and put his head down on the table—it was useless trying to conquer those Gryffindors.
Draco could not have been happier to get on the train to go to King’s Cross Station—finally he could relax and not hear ‘Harry Potter’ every third word. He spent the entire train ride in a compartment with Crabbe and Goyle, trying to ignore them stuffing themselves with as much food as they could find. When the train finally arrived at the station, Draco made sure he was the first off, so he could get his stuff and depart as quickly as possible.
As he was walking out of the station, he caught a glimpse of Ginny standing idly behind a large pillar. He smiled wearily at her, inviting her to come hug him. She seemed cautious, afraid that his father might pop out of nowhere and scare her away again. Draco knew his father would not be here though—they never did anything concerning him unless they had to. There was probably a Ministry Official somewhere to escort him home. Draco walked over and gave Ginny a quick hug, promising to write over the summer.
“I’ll see you in September,” he promised, doing his best to smile but failing miserably. She seemed to understand that he was reluctant to return to his father, but she also knew that he was not fond of Hogwarts, and she accepted his half-smile.
“I have to go,” she said, gesturing towards the crowds of people in the station, “I need to meet my family—it was nice to see you though,” she waved good-bye and disappeared into the crowd.
Draco stared after her, wondering what it would be like with her at Hogwarts next year. Would she be a Slytherin? He doubted it. Hopefully she would not be a Gryffindor—he was not sure he could explain a friendship with one of them. Leaving the station to go home, Draco continued to muse about his second year at Hogwarts. Maybe he needed someone like Ginny to befriend him, to keep him sane…
Maybe they could be secret friends—like they were now. Draco sighed. He would just have to wait and see; only time would tell…
A/N: I know this part was heavily from Draco’s POV, but the next couple chapters should be more mixed, because both Ginny and Draco will be at Hogwarts. I self-beta my work a billion times, but you can tell me if you see typos. Also, tell me if stuff doesn’t make sense (or if it doesn’t fit the canon), and I’ll fix it. Thankies!! Review!! It makes me happy… Motivates me to write more…
Ginny lay on her bed at the Burrow, staring boredly at the ceiling. Her brothers had only left that morning, and already she had ran out of things to do. After her parents had taken her home, she stole Ron’s training broom and rode it around in the backyard, snuck candies out of Fred and George’s secret hiding spots, and leafed through all of Percy’s books and papers to find an empty notebook that she could use as a journal. Her mother had made dinner, and now there was nothing for Ginny to do. She figured her mother and father were downstairs, spending some much needed ‘alone’ time that they never got when her entire family was home.
Suddenly, Ginny heard the tapping of an owl at her window. Pulling open her curtains, she was ecstatic to see Draco’s glorious eagle owl waiting patiently for her to open the window and receive the letter tied to his leg. She quickly unfastened the letter from his leg, and allowed him into the room. She opened the letter and read it happily.
Ginny,
How are you? I am at Hogwarts now in my dorm room. We just finished dinner, and as soon as I finish this letter and send it I shall go into the common room to meet my many dorm mates. The train ride was long, but it was okay. I met several new people there, and many people that my father had already introduced me to. The sorting ceremony was very tedious, and I was sorted into Slytherin—the same house my father was in. Perhaps next year you’ll be in Slytherin too. I hope you are having a good time at home, enjoying your last year before school. Hopefully I’ll see you sometime before the end of term, if not, I’ll see you next summer. I miss you.
-Draco
She quickly scampered into Percy’s room and stole a piece of parchment and a quill from his desk so she could respond to Draco. She penned him a letter describing the utter boredom of her day alone, and how she wished she could be there with him. She signed her name with a flourish (she had been practicing her signature) and she tied the letter onto Draco’s owl before sending him on his way.
She sat down on her bed, contemplating the next year. It would not be so bad if Draco continued to correspond by mail—she usually wrote to her brothers several times a term, and they would send letters and strange objects they stole from around Hogwarts. She smiled as she reached her arms over her head and stretched, before collapsing back onto her bed and falling into a deep sleep.
~*~
During the next few weeks, Draco settled into his classes. Crabbe and Goyle tended to follow him wherever he went, but he did not mind. They were not very intelligent, but they were intimidating. He met many Slytherins, most of whom looked up to him—just has his father had said they would. There was just something about the name ‘Malfoy’ which struck a certain fear in many people. The Slytherins knew that he was not one to be bothered, but rather they treated him as though he were a god. The rest of the school avoided him—not wanting to get in the way of him and his cronies. Draco certainly did not mind—they were probably not worth his time anyway.
The one student who Draco was trying to befriend was Harry Potter—but after their unfortunate meeting, Harry had taken to associating himself with not only the Weasley, but a Mudblood named Granger as well. Draco figured he still had a chance with Harry, but after he spent his first Potions class laughing at Harry’s lack of knowledge, he soon after realized that Harry Potter hated him.
At their first flying class—the only other class the Slytherins shared with the Gryffindors, Draco had tried to show off his flying skills, amazing his classmates with his smoothness. However, Harry had one upped him by not only joining him in the air, but pulling off a magnificent dive. Draco had been gleeful when Professor McGonagall had caught Harry in his dive—but he had been very unpleased (and bitter) when Harry managed to weasel his way onto the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
Draco wondered how Harry could have pulled that off—probably because he was a celebrity, the Boy Who Lived, the one who defeated Voldemort. Draco certainly was jealous of his success, not that he could ever admit it. It seemed like there was no way to bring Harry Potter down—not even when Draco tried to set him up for a Wizard’s Duel at midnight and then tip Fitch off. Harry Potter managed to escape from that one unscathed as well. Draco did not hate Harry Potter, but it seemed as though Harry was better than him at everything—except Potions of course. Well, Draco was better academically than Harry in many classes, but Harry’s Mudblood friend was the top of everything academic, and Harry was able to weasel his way out of any situation.
Draco envied Harry’s many successes as the year progressed. Every once in a while, Draco would try something, just to prove that Harry was human—but Harry seemed to evade punishment from everything. Harry had even won the Slytherin-Gryffindor match (60-170) after almost falling off his broom. Draco was almost afraid of going home for Christmas, because his father was sure to be furious that Draco was not on the house Quidditch team, and he was not at the top of his class.
Soon enough, the Christmas holidays arrived and he reluctantly returned home to his father. When he arrived at the Manor, his mother was out getting a facial, and his father stalked off to his study, where he engaged himself in something hushed and secret. Draco bitterly walked up to his room, where he laid down on his bed and pulled out his many letters from Ginny. All through the year they had been writing back and forth about life. Ginny claimed that she had been horribly bored for the entire time, not having much to do other than visit the Ministry with her father or home schooling with her mother. Draco, on the other hand, had complained of the coursework and all the unfairness of treatment of people. He never used names, because he did not want to confuse Ginny, but he always wrote her precisely what was on his mind, because she was the only person that would listen. He had never tried telling anyone else, but he was fairly certain that anyone in Slytherin that heard his true feelings about Harry Potter or Hogwarts in general would use it as blackmail somehow, rather than try to help him. Ginny, however, was always supportive.
Draco read Ginny’s most recent letter, in which wished him a Merry Christmas and told him that she would be spending the holidays in Romania with her mother, father and brother. She also wrote that she missed him very much, and that she would send him something from Romania. He sighed disappointedly—he had hoped he would be able to see her at the Ministry sometime during the holidays. Perhaps he would go there tomorrow just to check—his father was planning to speak to Cornelius Fudge about something important, and Ginny had wrote that she would not be leaving for several more days. Maybe she would be there…
The next day Draco arose bright and early to make sure his father would not leave without him. Soon after Draco was ready, his father emerged from his study, and the two of them left for the Ministry.
After receiving his visitors badge and registering his wand, Draco headed to the waiting room where he had always met Ginny during the past years. He sat down on the couch and picked up the latest Quibbler from the table and flipped through it aimlessly.
He read for several hours, bored out of his mind. He had all but given up hope that Ginny might show up when he heard a cheerful laughter in the hallway. He looked up quickly and saw a ginger haired girl waving good-bye to a dark haired girl down the hall before turning into the waiting room.
Ginny looked into the room and saw Draco waiting for her on the couch. Draco smirked as she stood there for a moment in complete shock and disbelief. Then she dropped the book she was carrying and she ran across the room and gave him a huge hug, practically squeezing all the air out of him. Draco smiled smugly and hugged her back—he had missed this during his months at Hogwarts.
Breaking away, Ginny grinned at him before breaking out into a rapid ramble about Romania and Christmas. Then she started asking him countless questions about Hogwarts, which he struggled to answer whenever she paused to take a breath from her ridiculously long one-sided conversation. When she finally finished saying everything that she could have possibly thought of, she suddenly reached forward and pulled him into another hug. Draco could only assume that she had spent the entire time he had been at Hogwarts by herself and her parents, who must not be very interesting for her to talk to.
They sat and talked for several hours, enjoying each others company and discussing Christmas, school, and Ginny’s loneliness.
“You know,” started Draco, “You could probably find someone else to talk to while I’m at school…” He smiled as she blushed about her long rambling conversation.
She smiled and responded, “I would, except you’re the only person I know who will talk about anything with me without hiding things.” She had a fleeting thought of her brothers, who all hid details from her in order to protect her. They would never let her grow up.
“Why would I hide anything from you?” Draco asked curiously. He was always bluntly honest whenever possible, except perhaps with his father, who would probably wring Draco if he said anything in opposition.
Ginny smiled weakly, “I know you won’t,” she started, “but my family never tells me anything because they all want to protect me… But it’s okay, because I know I can tell you anything!” She added excitedly, before breaking into another long, complicated story about a strange girl she had met at the Ministry a few weeks ago. Draco could feel a smile fighting to emerge on his face as he stared at the girl he had known for so many years. She was always easygoing and free—so unlike anyone in Slytherin. Draco did not understand how his father would not enjoy someone like Ginny—there was nothing not to like about her. He had a brief inclination that he should just ignore his father’s wishes and befriend everyone at Hogwarts—there had to be someone else with Ginny’s spirit that he could spent time with… Abruptly, he snapped back to reality as he noticed a dark figure looming in the doorway to the waiting room. He felt his heart jump and start thumping heavily in his chest.
Lucius Malfoy walked up to Draco and grasped him severely by the shoulder and whisked him out of the room, shooting Ginny a disgusted glare in the process. Ginny gasped and stopped talking and stared at Lucius in shock for a moment before transferring her wide-eyed gaze to Draco. All Draco had time to do was offer Ginny a sympathetic expression and mouth out ‘I’ll write you later,’ before his father dragged him out of sight.
With Lucius still clasping Draco’s shoulder, Draco trailed awkwardly down the hallway, afraid to look up at his father. “How dare you associate with that Muggle-loving piece of filth?” Lucius asked his son angrily, glaring fiercely into his eyes. Draco could feel his pounding in his ears—he felt like he was going to explode. Lucius dropped his voice to a low, threatening tone and continued, “I’m very disappointed. I thought I taught you better than that.” Lucius turned and walked briskly towards the Floo fireplaces, Draco in tow.
Draco could still feel his heart beating rapidly. He had never expected his father to find him talking to Ginny. At least they had not been hugging or playing games—she had only been telling a story. Perhaps Draco would be able to tell his father that she was just talking to herself, and he was mocking her. However, as he was contemplating his situation, his father Floo-ed back to the Manor, leaving Draco standing alone next to the fireplace. He briefly considered running back to Ginny to apologize, but decided against it. His father would never forgive him if he did that; he would just have to explain his father’s behavior in a letter. Defeatedly, Draco stepped into the Floo fireplace and transported back to the Manor.
~*~
Ginny stared at the door where a man had just come and taken Draco out of the room. He was that pale, pointy man—the one her father was always yelling at about Muggles, blood purity and raids. Was that Draco’s father? She could not quite remember what the man’s name was—only that he was very well known, and usually up to no good, or so her father said. Ginny sighed. It was very nice to be able to see Draco again, but she did not understand why his father had taken him away so abruptly—or why he seemed to dislike her so much. However, if that was Draco’s father, it would explain Draco’s haughty attitude. Draco was never conceited with her, but she could see it in the way he acted sometimes, as though he was brought up to be arrogant and self-important. He tended to lighten up whenever he was with her though, it sometimes took her a few minutes, but underneath his smug expressions was the friendly Draco she loved to spend time with.
Ginny sat down on the sofa and pulled out her Visitor’s Guide to Romania and tried to read; however, she was distracted by thoughts of Draco. He had seemed very distant today, as though he was afraid to show emotion with her. She remembered him being very difficult before, but he had never taken so long to warm up before. Absentmindedly twirling her hair around her finger, she wondered if Hogwarts had changed Draco. She shrugged and turned her attention back to the book—there was nothing she could do about Draco’s smugness, not now anyway. Perhaps next time she saw him she would break his shields, and then they would laugh like they always used to.
~*~
Draco could not remember a time that his father had been more upset. Probably because Draco had not had many opportunities to do anything wrong. Regardless, Draco was scared beyond all belief. His father had immediately stalked off to his study, leaving Draco alone to think about his wrongdoings. Draco knew he should have never talked to Ginny, she was too different. She was everything he had been missing during his empty childhood—but it seemed as though his father believed that joy and carefree fun something that should forever remain absent.
Slowly trudging upstairs to his bedroom, Draco continued to wonder about what the consequences of his actions would be. His father clearly knew something about Ginny and her family that Draco was not aware of—either that or his father was prejudiced against everyone he did not know. Draco was not sure that he wanted to know what was so wrong with Ginny—she was too good a friend to lose. Perhaps he could correspond with her in secrecy, and he could avoid meeting her at the Ministry. It would not be too hard, seeing as he spent most of his time at Hogwarts.
Draco climbed into his bed and curled into a ball under the warm covers. He had no intention of facing his father tonight if he could avoid it. He grabbed one of his pillows and hugged it under the sheet, trying to squeeze his anxiety out. He tried to punch the pillow, but his arm got tangled in his sheets and he gave up. He lay flat on his back, intently staring at the ceiling, waiting to see if an answer suddenly came to him.
As he began drifting off to sleep, he was startled back to consciousness as his father slowly opened the door and curtly said his name before retreated downstairs. Draco knew it was his father’s way of saying that Draco was to follow him downstairs so they could talk. Or rather, Lucius would tell Draco exactly what he thought, and Draco would blindly agree—not that he was ever able to disagree. He had tried once, and he had gotten punished severely for being ‘disrespectful’ and ‘disregarding his father’s advice’—his father had hit him with the Cruciatus Curse only for a split second, but the pain was enough to teach him a lifelong lesson—never to disagree with his father, period.
Draco hesitantly went downstairs to meet his father, trying to find ways to stall and prevent the inevitable. After stalling for several moments to no avail, Draco met his father in his study. Lucius was sitting regally in his chair, regarding Draco with extreme distaste. “You are not to consort with that girl ever again,” Lucius said maliciously. “You are wasting your time with Muggle-loving pieces of rubbish, and you are disregarding your priorities. What is this I hear about Harry Potter on the house Quidditch team as a first year? And you are letting a Mudblood best you in every academic class?” He asked rhetorically. Draco could feel his face heat up as he lowered his head—he might as well admit defeat to his father; after all, his father was entirely correct. Harry Potter was the Quidditch champion and he could weasel his way out of all sorts of trouble. Potter’s Mudblood friend was better than Draco in every class except for Potions, which was probably because Snape was severely biased against Gryffindors.
Draco had a slight inclination to try to defend himself—to tell his father that it was not his fault. Draco could not help it if the world loved Harry Potter. However, he decided against it—he was better than Harry Potter, and he would prove it to his father somehow. He looked up and met his father’s eyes, “I’m sorry,” he said curtly in submission.
Lucius glared at his son for a moment longer before replying, “I expect that you will ameliorate the situation. And avoid the Muggle-lovers and Mudbloods.” He glowered at Draco until he seemed satisfied that Draco had understood his message, and then he turned back to his desk and proceeded to leaf through a pile of important looking documents. Draco took this as his cue to leave, and he retreated back to his room so he could think. He pulled out a quill and pen and started writing a letter to Ginny.
Ginny,
I’m so sorry about today at the Ministry. My father was upset with me; it was not your fault. I hope you enjoy your time in Romania. I enjoyed talking to you today, and I’ll miss you when I return to school.
-Draco
He stared at the letter for a moment—it was very short, uninteresting, and a huge lie. Ginny had been the reason his father was so upset, and Draco still did not know why. Draco crumpled up the letter and shredded it into pieces before cautiously sneaking downstairs and burning them in the fireplace. He would write her once he returned to Hogwarts, when it was safer. As much as he wanted to please his father, he could not help feeling that Ginny deserved some sort of explanation as to what happened at the Ministry.
He pulled out another piece of parchment and stared at it, wondering what she was doing right now. She was probably at home having fun with her family and packing for Romania. He doubted that she had to deal with a harsh father like he did. Sucking on the end of his quill, he thought a moment longer before writing the exact same words he had written to her an hour ago. Then, before he could change his mind, he sealed the letter and gave it to his owl.
~*~
Ginny was tearing apart her room looking for her favorite jumper, when she suddenly heard a sharp rapping on her window. She glanced over distracted from ravaging under her bed to see Draco’s owl tapping haughtily on the window. She felt her heart leap as she quickly jumped up and opened the window. She untied the letter with trembling fingers and opened it. Much to her dismay, the letter told her nothing about his father’s motives for his actions at the Ministry. In fact, Draco’s letter was very vague and essentially pointless.
She sat down on her bed holding his letter in her left hand while scratching her head with her right hand, wondering what was going on with him. He could not have suddenly decided not to talk to her—something must be wrong. Biting her tongue in concentration, Ginny tried to determine what could be bothering Draco, but she was at a loss. Dejectedly, she stole a fresh piece of parchment from Percy’s room and wrote him a letter asking what was really wrong, and wishing him a Merry Christmas. Unable to think of anything else substantive to say, she tied the letter onto Draco’s owl and sent him home.
Ginny watched his owl fly swiftly out into the distance and out of sight. She carefully picked up the letter she had just received and folded it neatly and placed it in her secret spot where the rest of his letters were concealed. Then she turned back to her bed and resumed her packing for Romania.
~*~
Returning to the Slytherin common room after the Christmas holidays, Draco was not sure whether to feel happy because he was away from his father, or upset that he had to deal with Harry Potter again. He had been back barely ten minutes, and already he had heard half a dozen people talking about the upcoming Quidditch match, Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff. Apparently, if Gryffindor overtook Hufflepuff, they would be in the lead for the Quidditch Cup, giving the chance to beat Slytherin for the first time in seven years. Draco was less than pleased at this tidbit of information, and he was increasingly unhappy at the thought of Gryffindor winning, because it would just be another victory of Harry Potter.
Angrily, he stalked out of the common room, looking for something to punch. It was just too much—his father was taking away his friends, the Mudblood beating him academically, and Harry Potter beating him at everything else. His father expected so much from him, and he did nothing. All he managed to do was upset his father further—if only he could do something to win over his father. Elated for a moment, dreaming of making his father proud, Draco felt a smug smile rise to his face.
Suddenly, he ran into someone and almost fell over. Looking down at the ground, he saw Neville Longbottom sitting on the ground looking up at him fearfully. Angry that anyone had dared to cross his path, he performed a leg locker curse on Neville and contributed some snide comments before continuing on his evening walk.
Running into Neville had knocked some sense into him—he realized that no matter how hard he tried, his father would never be pleased. Draco would never be good enough, and even if he was, his father would never tell him. It just was not in his nature. Draco sighed miserably and returned to his common room.
School started again, and Draco was torn between following his father’s orders, and wanting to experience his life for himself. He wrote Ginny a real letter, leaving out what his father thought of her, but she seemed to accept his story, and in return she wrote back support for whatever he chose to do. He wished Ginny could be with him so he would not have to deal with all the insufferable gits at Hogwarts. It was nearly time for the next Quidditch match, and he could not bear to watch Harry Potter take away Slytherin’s Quidditch title. He tried to avoid anyone who obsessed about the match outcome—he had taken to avoiding Potter as much as possible as well, not that it was very possible, because talk of the magnificent Harry Potter was everywhere.
The day of the match rolled around, and he managed to get into a fight with Weasley and Longbottom after accidentally bumping Weasley in the back with his wand. The only good that came from the fight was that he did not have to watch Potter catch the Snitch, and Longbottom injured Crabbe and Goyle enough that Draco did not have to deal with them for the remainder of the day.
Several weeks later, Draco was wandering the hallways just after breakfast when he overheard Weasley talking to Granger—something about a dragon hatching. Draco frowned—dragon eggs were banned, why would they be talking about that? Then he realized—the giant oaf Hagrid had procured an illegal dragon egg and it was about to hatch. He felt an evil smile curl onto his face—he finally had a way to get Potter and his friends in trouble… And that fool Hagrid. There was no way they could fight the law. He felt his spirits lifting; finally he could do something to make his father proud. He knew his father hated Hagrid, Draco was not sure why, but he knew that if he got rid of him, his father would be pleased. He paused for a moment, wondering what Ginny would think if she knew what he was planning to do, but he tried to push it to the back of his mind as he happily continued plotting.
Later that day, Draco snuck down to Hagrid’s miserable little hut and peeked through the window. Sure enough, the Golden Trio was sitting there, entranced by a large cracked egg on the table. He cocked his head to the side as he stared at the hatching—it really was very interesting. He had always had an interest in dragons, and to see a dragon hatch was probably a once in a lifetime experience. He watched as the egg split open and a small black dragon with spiny wings popped out. Fascinated, he watched as the dragon sneezed and Hagrid reached to stroke the dragon, as though it were a cat. Suddenly, Hagrid turned towards the window. The color drained from his face—Draco knew he had been spotted. Draco turned quickly and ran as fast as he could back to the school—he knew he had been seen, but he did not wish to cause any trouble at the current moment. He had plenty of blackmail to save for a later time.
The next week, Draco had gotten word through rumors (the one thing Pansy was good for) that Weasley had gone to the hospital wing with a swollen hand. Knowing the true cause of Weasley’s injury, Draco went to the Hospital Wing, claiming to want to borrow one of his books. Draco was still a little bitter about the black eye he had received from fighting Weasley at the Quidditch match, so he just wanted to have a laugh at him on his way to his next class. Once he arrived, he saw the Weasel sitting on the hospital bed, glaring at him. Draco smiled wickedly and grabbed one of Weasley’s books, flipping it open. “Nasty bite you got there,” he said, laughing evilly. “Don’t mind if I borrow this, do you?” he asked before turning on his heel and walking out of the hospital wing.
He laughed to himself as he reentered the hallway, leafing through Weasley’s battered textbook. Just then, a piece of parchment fluttered out of the book and fell on the ground. Curious, Draco picked it up and read it—it was a letter from Weasley’s brother, arranging a pick-up time for the dragon. Draco stared at it for a moment—there were so many things he could do with this. For starters, he could turn in Harry Potter and his friends, and they would finally get what they deserved. Either that or he could sneak up to the tower to see the dragon again—although he hated Harry Potter, they were pretty lucky to be able to see the baby dragon up close.
Saturday night, Draco snuck towards the tower to see the dragon one final time. Standing behind a large pillar, he watched Harry Potter, Hagrid and Granger struggle to drag the crate with the dragon up to the tallest tower. He stood for a moment, wondering whether to alert someone as to what they were doing, or just watch them struggle. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain on his ear—he struggled to look up, and much to his dismay, Professor McGonagall was glaring at him in her tartan bathrobe and a hairnet.
“Detention!” she yelled while tugging on his ear. Draco winced as she continued, “And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you—”
Draco did not want to cause trouble, but if he was going to get caught, then Harry Potter had to come down with him, “You don’t understand, Professor.” He started, trying to twist out of her grip on his ear, “Harry Potter’s coming—he’s got a dragon!”
“What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on—I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!” Draco cringed as she dragged him towards the dungeons by his ear. He was not concerned about Snape—he was, however, upset that he was getting detention while Potter and his gang were getting off scot-free. It just was not fair. McGonagall left him with Snape, who just gave him a strange look, as if asking him why he was bothering to chase after Harry Potter in the middle of the night. Draco shrugged at him. Snape then went back to his storage area, clearly signaling that Draco should leave. Rolling his eyes at the waste of time, Draco trudged back to the Slytherin common room.
The next morning, Draco heard rumors the moment he stepped into the common room to head upstairs for breakfast. Harry Potter, the great Harry Potter of Gryffindor, had managed to lose 150 points in one night, along with some other Gryffindor first years. Draco smiled smugly—finally, Harry Potter had gotten in trouble for something. Maybe things were finally turning around…
The rest of the school year went by in a blur—he served his detention with Potter, Longbottom, and Granger in the Forbidden Forest. He had a huge fright when he saw a creepy cloaked figure drinking blood from the unicorn they found, and he had bolted, leaving Harry behind. He had felt bad for Potter for a moment, but Harry had escaped unscathed, as did his Gryffindor friends, so it did not matter. Then after that, there was a huge incident involving Quirrell, Voldemort, the Sorcerer’s Stone, and Harry Potter, which Harry had escaped from as the school’s hero… Again… The only good thing that happened in the last few weeks of school was while Potter was knocked out, the last Quidditch match was played, and due to the fact Gryffindor had no Seeker, they lost the match and Slytherin retained their title as Quidditch champions.
Draco could not wait to go home for the summer—as much as he hated his father, listening to everyone rave about how great Harry Potter was really irritated Draco. He did not hear much from the Slytherins about Potter, but the rest of the school was always buzzing about Potter’s latest antics.
Finally the banquet rolled around—Slytherin won the House Cup, until that old bat Dumbledore awarded Harry Potter and his friends several hundred points for no reason, giving them the House Cup. Once again, the Gryffindors had bested him, Draco thought furiously. There really was nothing worse than this school. Next year better not be like this, he thought. Maybe it would be better because Ginny would be here next year. Draco sighed and put his head down on the table—it was useless trying to conquer those Gryffindors.
Draco could not have been happier to get on the train to go to King’s Cross Station—finally he could relax and not hear ‘Harry Potter’ every third word. He spent the entire train ride in a compartment with Crabbe and Goyle, trying to ignore them stuffing themselves with as much food as they could find. When the train finally arrived at the station, Draco made sure he was the first off, so he could get his stuff and depart as quickly as possible.
As he was walking out of the station, he caught a glimpse of Ginny standing idly behind a large pillar. He smiled wearily at her, inviting her to come hug him. She seemed cautious, afraid that his father might pop out of nowhere and scare her away again. Draco knew his father would not be here though—they never did anything concerning him unless they had to. There was probably a Ministry Official somewhere to escort him home. Draco walked over and gave Ginny a quick hug, promising to write over the summer.
“I’ll see you in September,” he promised, doing his best to smile but failing miserably. She seemed to understand that he was reluctant to return to his father, but she also knew that he was not fond of Hogwarts, and she accepted his half-smile.
“I have to go,” she said, gesturing towards the crowds of people in the station, “I need to meet my family—it was nice to see you though,” she waved good-bye and disappeared into the crowd.
Draco stared after her, wondering what it would be like with her at Hogwarts next year. Would she be a Slytherin? He doubted it. Hopefully she would not be a Gryffindor—he was not sure he could explain a friendship with one of them. Leaving the station to go home, Draco continued to muse about his second year at Hogwarts. Maybe he needed someone like Ginny to befriend him, to keep him sane…
Maybe they could be secret friends—like they were now. Draco sighed. He would just have to wait and see; only time would tell…
A/N: I know this part was heavily from Draco’s POV, but the next couple chapters should be more mixed, because both Ginny and Draco will be at Hogwarts. I self-beta my work a billion times, but you can tell me if you see typos. Also, tell me if stuff doesn’t make sense (or if it doesn’t fit the canon), and I’ll fix it. Thankies!! Review!! It makes me happy… Motivates me to write more…
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