𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐃 - 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯

02. | Pug-Face Pansy

King's Cross Station is always loud, far too loud. Too many people, too many things, too much going on. Carting around a bird, despite how quiet and well-behaved he is, draws looks from the grumpy businessman waiting for their train. It's humiliating.

I keep my head low, pushing through the station as quickly as possible. The world is happening around me. I am nothing but a blank slate forcing myself through the crowds, empty and drained and begging for a second's quiet. The sooner I get on the train, the sooner it'll be quiet. My brain will be able to breathe once again.

I push myself through the wall, landing on the platform of 9 ¾. The noise of witches and wizards racing around is almost as bad as the Muggle stares. I hug my cart as tight as I can to Harry, Hermione, Ron, and the others without being obviously weird.

A large, shaggy black dog runs past me and races through the station. Harry turns to me, his face lit up like a candle on Christmas. Sirius! He mouths, before pushing his cart after the dog.

"He's going to get himself caught," I mutter to myself. I glance around, checking to make sure no one is watching too carefully before running after my godfather and my brother. They both duck into an empty room. I watch Sirius's shadow appear beside Harry's. The two embrace, and speak briefly before Harry leaves. He offers me a small smile.

"Sirius, if someone sees you..." I start to say as I enter the cramped room that's little more than a broom closet. He interrupts me with a hug; holding me tighter than ever before. "I'll be fine, don't worry about me."

I sigh, letting my body sink into his arms. "The problem is, I do."

He chuckles and then leans closer into my ear. "If you choose to accept the mission I've offered you, I'll communicate with you via Floo. Every other Friday evening, at exactly midnight, I'll be waiting for you in the Slytherin common room. If I don't hear from you the first night, I'll understand you declined." He pushes back from me and takes me by the shoulders, looking at me with a smile. "It's different once you're in-person trying to do it. I wouldn't expect you to decide either way."

My head is swimming with information. I can't form words, every letter in the alphabet has dried on my tongue. I open my mouth to speak but nothing's there. He hugs me, one more time.

"I'll love you either way," Sirius whispers. And I think my heart might burst. As I think of the man, the man who helps me to feel included, who is willing to risk getting caught just to see myself and my brother off. The man holding me so tightly is the closest thing I may ever have to a parent. The thought of it makes me want to hold on to him even tighter, to skip this Hogwarts thing entirely to go get ice cream and play catch and see him sneer over the boys I like but secretly be proud of them either way. All the things I should've experienced by the age of fifteen.

Instead, I say my last good-bye, and leave my godfather behind me.

I load my things onto the back of the train, after grabbing my robes to change into later. I hop onto the train, the smell of smoke and all the noise disappearing the instant the doors close. I exhale, slowly, allowing my eyelids to drip closed as I sink against the train wall.

"Hey Jaylene."

Great.

"Hello, Pansy," I say without opening my eyes.

"How'd your summer go? I had just the most incredible time. So many shopping trips. You know how it goes, I'm sure." She shrieks with laughter. "I went to Rome, oh Jaylene, it was incredible. What did you do over the summer?"
I open my eyes, exhaling, once more, so very slowly. Pansy is watching me, her eyes wide. A girl that would be so gorgeous if she wasn't such a horrid person. Surrounding her is Crabbe, Goyle, the Slytherin King, Draco. His silver eyes are piercing, shooting right through me and hitting my heart.

I feel bare. Completely, one-hundred percent exposed. His lips quirk, ever so slightly, and I am nothing, a puddle on the ground.

"She's gone nutty like her brother," Pansy murmurs to Crabbe and Goyle, her oh-so-innocent smile becoming a wicked smirk.

I bring my eyes down from Draco immediately, my cheeks flaming hot. "My brother's not crazy," I mumble, much to her friends' amusement. I clear my throat. "But, I didn't do much over the summer. Worked some more with the Divination things Professor Trelawney taught us at the end of last year. I started working more with tarot cards and smoke. I even experimented with crystals, even though they aren't always us-"

"You really believe in that bullshit?" Pansy asks, her arms crossed. Crabbe and Goyle start laughing. My cheeks light up again, and I turn my head away from her. Of course they don't actually care. They don't even think Divination was real, and I was so stupid to think that they actually cared and that they wanted to listen, I know Pansy and I know she's a bitch and-

I glance over at Draco and he looks at me so pitifully, another wave of shame washes over me.

"Jaylene!" A warm voice giggles from behind me. Franchesca, my very best friend, wraps her arms around me tightly from behind. Her skin is still warm from the September sunshine. Her dark curls fall around my shoulders. "Come on, let's go to our compartment. Get away from these losers," she whispers the last part, shooting a cold look Draco's way. She ushers me past them and guides me into the compartment we always share with Harry and his friends. By the time we sit down, they're already all there, engrossed in conversation with each other.

"Hey Jaylene. Hey Franchesa," Ron says when we enter, smiling up at us with a chocolate frog stuck between his teeth.

"Oh, gross," Franchesca mutters, shaking her head. "Okay, but, girl. Why were you talking to them?"

"Talking to who?" Harry asks.

"She was talking to Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle!" Franchesca exclaims with a dramatic sigh. "You know how they are to people. Especially people like us. And you were telling them about Divination!" Franchesca sinks down into her seat. "The day the likes of hoity-toities like them believe in Divination is the day I become headmaster of Hogwarts."

"I was also talking to Pansy," I mutter. Franchesca's cheeks go pink and Harry rolls his eyes. Franchesca's not-so-subtle crush on Pansy is obvious to everyone- except to Franchesca herself, who is adamant that she just admires Pansy's bitchiness. Which is something very odd to admire, but I digress.

"Jay, you know those blasted Slytherins don't give a rat's ass about the rest of us," Ron says, an irritated look crossing his pale pink face.

"As one of those blasted Slytherins," I snap, my eyes narrowing, "I can promise you that all of us aren't all bad."

The car gets quiet. Hermione offers me a sympathetic look, but I can't ignore the fire in my brother's eyes. I shift away from Franchesca and lean my head against the window. My eyes focus in and out on the rolling emerald mountains. The day is a dreary one; clouds hang low to the Earth, threatening a storm with every passing moment.

I feel bad for snapping at them. I know they mean it light-heartedly. I know it's not a big deal. And I'm sure they all think I'm being overdramatic, but I know myself. I need to let my bad mood dissipate before I say something horrible that I know I'll regret.

Someone knocks on the door.

I look back over at the rest of the people in the compartment. "Were you all expecting somebody?"

They all shake their heads, clearly as confused as I am. Usually the candy trolly lady calls out about the sweets, or barges right in. This is someone different. Someone, potentially, wanting to talk to us- or hurt us.

My mind instantly goes to Pansy.

Franchesca rises to her feet, opening the door very slowly. She peeks her head out, then turns back and giggles. "It's for you, Jaylene."

Curious, I head to the door. His steely eyes are the first thing I notice, just like last time. I'm face-to-face with none other than Draco Malfoy.