The Slytherin Princess - Year Seven

April 1998

They didn't see Narcissa or Lucius as they gathered their things and left the manor. At least Lucy didn't see them. Draco remained quiet and unattached as they returned to Kings Cross and onto their platform.

Lucy stole a few glances in his direction as the two of them sat down on the train, but his mind was absent.

Tina, Pansy and Daphne were the first to find them in the compartment and after a few minutes Theo, Blaise, Vincent and Gregory soon joined them.

"Nice break?" Tina asked Lucy, breaking her concentration on the moving images outside their window.

"It was alright." Lucy answered quietly. The scar from Draco's punishment still sat on her skin and burned her when she moved, reminding her of what she had done. "Yours?" she quickly asked as the conversation returned to Tina and the others.

The train ride back to Hogwarts dragged as Lucy tried to distract herself with the conversation the three girls were having together.

It almost seemed like an alternative universe as she watched Pansy, Tina and Daphne all get along perfectly. She wondered what would have happened if the four of them had remained enemies. She shook the thought from her mind as Daphne dragged her into the conversation.

─

The return to Hogwarts was met with anticipation. The air felt thick and almost unable to inhale. The students who returned emitted fear and reluctance and each of them knew something was coming.

As classes resumed the tense and worried feelings continued. At first most students seemed hesitant to step even a toe out of line. 

─

"What?" Lucy heard Draco beside her. She stood against an archway which showed a view of Hogwarts and the black lake. The sky grew grey with storm clouds which was alarming in its own as April was normally known for the return of sunnier days.

"It's not budging." Lucy mumbled quietly as she watched the scene unfold before them.

Draco followed her gaze to the darkening sky, and she heard him sigh. "Are you surprised?" he quietly asked her.

"No." she answered him confidently.

The two of them stood and watched as a class walked back from the courtyard. Each student in a row of four as they formed a march.

"It makes me sick." Lucy spat through her teeth. "Watching them like that. Like they're an army of soldiers." She added quietly.

Draco remained silent as the two of them eyed the crowd. "They're just kids." Lucy sighed disappointed. She was angry but there was nothing she could do.

She turned to Draco and eyed him carefully. "What are you thinking?" He asked her with a frown after he noticed her worried expression.

"Would you fight against them?" Lucy blurted. She motioned down to the students walking as Draco followed her gaze again.

"The students?" He asked her confused.

Lucy turned her attention back to him and nodded. "I know that this-," Lucy began, as she gently grabbed Draco's left arm and traced her fingers along his skin where his mark was, "means something, but if you had to choose, which side would you be on?" She quietly asked.

He took a second to process her words and his frown burrowed further as he eyed her again.

"It's not that simple." Draco answered. His tone was confident but the glisten in his eyes told her a different story.

"If it were," Lucy began to say before she sighed and dropped her head, "if our families weren't part of the issue, would you fight for the good?" She whispered to him.