The summer holidays were over and I stood on platform 9 3/4 with my trunk and my travel basket containing Tiffany, who hissed at all the noisy people on the platform.
I got on the train and looked for a compartment with acquaintances. Strangely enough, the train seemed to be emptier compared to previous years. Finally I found Luna, reading a Quibbler. I plumped down on the seat next to her.
"Hey Keira," Luna said sweetly.
"Hi Luna, how were your holidays?" I asked.
"They were pretty good, except for some incidents with nargles," Luna answered. Just then, Emma opened the compartment door and sat down across us, sighing with relief.
"I'm so glad I made it here," Emma panted.
"Were you late?" I asked. Emma was never late, so this came unexpectedly.
"That's not what I mean. If it wasn't for my Pure-blood grandparents, I wouldn't have been allowed to attend Hogwarts this year. Being a Half-blood and all," she explained.
"Would that be why the train is emptier this year?" I asked.
"Probably," Luna said.
The train started moving and an uncomfortable feeling crept over me. We hadn't even arrived at school yet and there already was a dark atmosphere. I took Tiffany out of her basket and patted her. Even the weather was dreary.
"You know what? I'm glad this is our final year," I said bluntly. Luna looked at me understandingly.
"And it's probably going to be the worst year as well," Emma added.
"If we would have been 1 year older, we wouldn't have to go through this," I said spitefully.
"Let's just make the most of it," Luna sighed, returning her gaze to the Quibbler.
I had almost fallen asleep when there came noise from the corridor. I opened my eyes just in time to see Draco, Crabbe and Goyle stand in front of our compartment. Draco slid the door open and said: "Hey Keira, long time no see." He winked. When he noticed Emma, he joked: "Well well, did your friend here make it through the blood test?" He pointed at Emma, who looked down at the floor, flustered.
"Was her blood pure enough?" Crabbe cried out.
"Of course, otherwise she wouldn't be here. It's a ridiculous regulation anyways," I said.
Goyle opened his mouth to say something, but Draco pushed him out of the compartment and dragged Crabbe away too, clumsily waving at me before shutting the door.
"Sorry about that," I said to Emma.
"It's okay. Maybe they'll stop calling me a mudblood now," Emma sighed.
"What's it like being Draco Malfoy's girlfriend, actually?" Luna asked shyly.
I giggled. "He's so sweet, actually. At first I thought I was just another fling to him, but he seems to really love me. It's unbelievable, isn't it? One of the most popular boys of the school likes me!" As I described my relationship with Draco, I realised how important I actually was to him: of course, he had told me I was important to him, but that was just a standard thing to say to your girlfriend. In Draco's case, it was actually true: he needed me to guide him through his gloomy life. If you had friends like Crabbe and Goyle and everyone around you expected you to become a proper Death Eater, you'd probably need an optimistic person who wouldn't judge you. And I was determined to guide him through that miserable existence as best as I could.
YOU ARE READING
A Serpent's Heart
FanfictionDraco turned to me and lifted his wand. He looked me in the eyes and yet there was no sense of recognition. In fact, I couldn't detect any emotions in Draco's expression. Professor Carrow watched the entire situation as if it was an exciting science...
