A Malfoy

28

~ Chapter Twenty eight: not even a month ~

Narcissa and Lucius bid us farewell at the train station.

  There had been little damage done to the school, but some of the first years items were destroyed because of the areas they had been in, which was near the fire. They did not release the name of the intruder or say if it was the same person who started the fire in the letter.

   There was the same amount of people on the train as there was nearly a month ago, when school resumed. No one had transferred and this time, no deaths from students.

   The weather was warm for near mid-June. I had already changed into my Gryffindor uniform; Draco was currently changing into his Slytherin robe and tie.

   I found my Ravenclaw friend Charlotte sitting alone in a compartment and joined her. She looked up from the book she was reading and broke into a smile.

   "Hey, Emma! How are you? I'm so curious about dinner tonight, what Headmaster Hayes is going to say. He's awfully young, don't you think?" Charlotte chatted happily.

"Um, yeah, sure. I'm - I'm alright. How was your break?" I took the seat across from her. Usually she wasn't alone.

"It was great. I'm excited for graduation, but I don't know what I'll do next." She closed her book, placing a bookmark made of folded yellow paper on the page.

    "Well, there's many options," I say, personally having not decided between a couple options.

   Charlotte smiled slightly. "Yes, there are... Anyways, let's not focus on that now. There's not even a month until graduation."

   I agreed with a slow nod, before resting my head on the train's window. Charlotte went from her formalities to a worried friend. She sat up straighter and set her book in her bag.

     "Emma, what's wrong?"

    "Nothing, I'm fine," I said, giving a tired smile. I hadn't got much sleep and some of it wasn't due to thinking about my parents.

Her lips flattened into a line and she raised her eyebrows. I couldn't help but snap in response. "Don't you read the paper?"

Charlotte's look fell a little, but only to become more confused. "Not recently, why? I just read the articles at Hogwarts and since we haven't been there lately..."

"My mum's dead," I said flatly.

"Oh." Suddenly, she was the one who looked horrible. "Emma... I shouldn't have asked. I'm so sorry that happened."

She clasped a hand over her mouth. "I am speechless. That's absolutely awful. I probably would've just skipped the rest of school."

     I managed an awry smile and said, "Yeah, I just wanted to put on the cap first and take off the hat. It wasn't like she would have gone to the ceremony anyway."

   Charlotte didn't know how to respond, so I continued rambling. "It's alright. I've been fairly well; I think continuing school will help."

   She smiled slightly, seeming to understand. As she opened her mouth to speak, there was a knock at the door. A disheveled Hermione slid open the door, glancing between the two of us, asking for permission to enter our small seated room. We gave her encouraging smiles and nods as she came and took a seat next to me.

   "Her, Herm, what's up?" Charlotte asked friendly, casting me a glance that said we were going to continue the conversation.