Irya Aillie Stark - D. M. (Harry Potter x Marvel)

BACK AT HOGWARTS

The train station was crowded, people walking hurriedly and families hugging each other goodbye. Draco and I walked calmly towards the train, each of us pushing our trolleys, while Narcissa and Bellatrix walked behind us, talking quietly about Merlin knows what. After getting our luggage on the train, we walked back to them to say goodbye.

"Take care, both of you. If you need anything be sure to owl us, I'll miss you so much." Said Narcissa, going to give Draco a hug. Even though she didn't have tears in her eyes, I could see the sadness in them of having to say goodbye to her son, knowing that she's sending him to a mission that will, most likely than not, break him even more. She then did something that caught me a little bit off guard, she hugged me too. "I will be proud of you, no matter what happens." She whispered quietly in my ear, so that only I would hear. She then let go, giving us a reassuring smile, as if to tell us not to worry, even though we all knew it impossible not to.

"Yes, well, enough with the sentimental goodbyes" Said Bellatrix, being sentimental is something she just wasn't, almost like she had no capability of feeling things. I don't think I can remember a single time she's given me a hug. "Just remember, your mission is the most important thing, everything else is secondary and doesn't matter. You'll do it and you'll do it right. We will not tolerate failure from you, do you understand, Irya?" That wasn't even a question, it was more like a threat. She looked at me, with eyes that reflected just how serious she was, and there was a little hint of crazy there too, but that's not the point.

"Of course, ma'am. I won't fail." I quickly answer, as if I had studied that phrase over and over again a thousand times. I stand tall, my chin high and eyes determined, like a soldier.

"You better not." A shiver ran down my spine, and I'm pretty sure my heart stopped beating for a second. The look she gave me told me what I already knew, there's no room for mistakes, there's no room for failure.

"Well, children" Said Narcissa, breaking the tension that'd built up "you better get on the train if you want to get a good spot, so off you go! We'll see you soon." And so giving one last nod to both of them, Draco took my hand in his as we walked to the train.

Getting a compartment for ourselves actually wasn't hard at all, since there was still a bit of time before the train took off, and most students were still outside on the platform, saying goodbye to their loved ones.

I sat by the window, Draco sitting next to me. He started rubbing circles on my hand with his thumb, trying to calm me down as well as himself. I turned to look at him and gave him a small smile, getting another in return.

"Why don't you try and sleep a little? I know you're tired, I can see it in your eyes." He said as he pulled a lock of my hair behind my ear with his free hand.

"If I do that my neck will probably kill me when I wake up, dummy." I laughed a little. He laughed too, but opened his arms, like wanting to give me a hug.

"Come on, come here." He was still smiling, his grey eyes shining with the light coming through the window. I rolled my eyes playfully, but sat on top of him, my legs on each side of him. I threw my arms around his neck, resting my head on his shoulder, as he hugged me, now with one hand rubbing circles on my back, while the other was holding tightly around my waist.

I closed my eyes, and focused on calming my breath, slowly but surely falling asleep.

~

"Come on, girls, they must be waiting for us already." I said, while Pansy and Daphne were still doing my hair, braiding and fixing strands of brown hair that seemed to rebel against them.

"We're almost done, you're gonna look like a princess!" Said Daphne, she and Pansy were two of my closest friends, and have been since our first year at Hogwarts. Now, we were in our fourth year, getting ready for the Yule Ball.