The Carnival ⌁ Draco Malfoy [1/4] ✔

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A/N: The sequel is up! So after reading this, if you're interested, go ahead and read the first chapter :)

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The train left the platform right after breakfast. It was quiet in the compartment that contained only two girls who had been accompanied by a little Hufflepuff just minutes ago. Seth had grown over the term, Emma noticed, for she had not seen him very much. She was happy for him; he had made a lot of friends in Hufflepuff.

It seemed like hours of silence, drifting past cotton fields, until the lunch trolley had wheeled around and Daphne launched up to buy some Licorice Wands. Emma declined the offer; she was not a big fan of licorice. She smiled at Daphne returning to the compartment, the both of them were still down about Sabrina, who should have been sitting there, in that compartment, with them, laughing at each other's lame jokes and practicing magic before they had to give it up for an entire summer.

"I miss her," Daphne suddenly said, and for a fleeting moment Emma thought she had read her mind.

"You kept," Emma paused to sniff, "telling me to shut up every time I begged her to talk to me."

"I know," Daphne said regrettably. "If I'd known that she...was dep– "

"Did you know?" Emma said suddenly. Daphne gave her a questioning look. "That she was forced into becoming a Death Eater?"

"Uh...not right away..." Daphne admitted. "I kind of suspected it, though."

The pair drifted into silence after that, the only sound being the train wheels and the laughter that would often erupt from the compartment next to theirs. Emma was quite dismissive of Daphne - she was one of the few that told Emma, over and over, to stop bothering Sabrina. And she thought that maybe if she hadn't been shut down by the other girls, she might have been able to have helped Sabrina, persuade her, be there for her. But no one was there for her. She was pretty much ignored unless the other girls were telling people to bug off.

Emma wanted to see Harry, to talk to him more, to sit next to him and think 'hey, this is my brother...my brother,' but instead she let her mind drift to her blood family, to what it could have been if no prophecy was ever made.

The train pulled to a stop, and Daphne and Emma left the compartment with their trunks without a word. For the best, Emma hoped they'd be on better terms after the Summer holiday.

She was in for a big, and quite possibly, dramatic, holiday. It would be awkward after she spoke with her parents about her other parents and about Harry, and then Sabrina would be swimming in and out of her mind, and then there was Sirius Black. Lord Voldemort was back as well as more of his Death Eaters. She wasn't so sure she could even human anymore.

Daphne gave Emma a small pat on the shoulder before she left with her sister, and, before Emma followed, she caught Draco's eye, who was beckoning her over with a rather eager hand. She hesitantly obeyed and before she reached him, she noticed his mother standing there. She was a tall woman who held her posture well, a stern face with the adoration for her son which she clearly struggled, or hadn't bothered, to hide. She had long blonde hair and blue eyes, but Draco hardly looked like her.

Emma was standing there for about ten seconds before Draco finally realised that his mother was still there.

"Emma, this is my mother. Mother, this is Emma Baranov," Draco said rather awkwardly.

"Hi," Emma said brightly, forcing a smile despite her racing mind.

"Hello," Mrs Malfoy said politely, but did not say anything afterwards.

"Uh...Mother – do – do you think maybe you could...give us a minute?" Draco said quietly in the clear hopes of Emma mishearing him.

Mrs Malfoy reluctantly nodded, saying, "Don't be too long, Draco," and disappearing toward the brick wall.