Little Bird

Prologue

"Not all good people are innocent."

- B. Damani

~*~

Eve

            The first time I met the notorious Draco Malfoy, he made me cry.

            I waited until he was long gone, of course, but I did cry.

            It was the summer before my fifth year of school, and I was in Diagon Alley two days before the first day, getting all the supplies I would need. This would be my first year going to Hogwarts; I had attended Beaubaxtons all my life, but now that You-Know-Who had returned, my aunt decided I would blend in better at a different school. I tried to tell her no, tried to convince her to let me stay at Beaubaxtons—but she wasn't having it. And as much as I hated to admit it, she was right. Hogwarts was my best shot at staying hidden from You-Know-Who.

            Looking back, I see how naïve I was.

            Everything was going fine; my aunt had just left me at Tomes and Scrolls to get my books, and she had gone off to find me to right size cauldron at Portage's Cauldron Shop.

            The book store was crowded with students, all trying to get their supplies at the last minute. I held the list tightly in my hand, determined not to let it go. Forcing my way to the back, I started the lengthy search for the first book on the list of required items.

            It took me a full half-hour to do it, but eventually I was pretty sure I had everything I needed. I was waiting in line, my arms full of thick hard-covers, when it happened.

            Someone knocked into me from behind, hard.

            The books tumbled from my arms to the floor, landing awkwardly in a pile with some opened, their pages crumpling against each other. My temper getting the better of me, I forgot the books and turned angrily to see who it was.

            And there he was, waiting in line behind me—Draco Malfoy.

            I recognized him from the papers, remembering all the articles I'd read about his family being unreasonably rich and unconditionally devoted to You-Know-Who. And here he was, with his bleach blonde hair, dark suit, impossibly pale skin, and cold blue eyes...glaring down at me with an annoying smirk.

            "What the hell are you looking at?" he said, a hard edge to his voice that honestly sent shivers down my spine. He had two friends behind him, even bigger than he was, but I didn't recognize them.

            Normally if something like this happened, I would keep my head down, pick up the books and keep my mouth shut. But it had been a long day, I was tired of looking for the supplies and I was incredibly nervous about the first of September. So instead of keeping quiet, I snapped, "Watch where you're going."

            "Excuse me?"

            He had taken a step forward, and I was doing everything I could not to back away. His friends behind him were laughing now, laughing at me. Draco smirked down at me and asked, "Who the hell are you?"

            "I'm—I'm Eve Hawkings," I replied, my voice getting smaller and shakier by the second. Inside, I was cursing myself for not turning around when I had the chance. "Who—"

            "I think you know who I am," he interrupted coolly, and I could feel my cheeks burning as the two guys laughed harder. "Turn around, pick up your damn books and mind your own business."

            I felt the familiar prick of tears at the backs of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Burning with embarrassment and absolutely hating myself, I turned around without another word and reached down for the books. When I bent over in front of them, I could hear the three of them laughing and making retching noises.

            Straightening up as fast as I could, I tried to ignore them. I told myself over and over to just block it out and not get angry, but most importantly, not cry in front of them.

            The line moved at an impossible slow pace, and the entire time I could still hear Malfoy and his friends talking. By the time I paid for the stupid books and headed for the door, my eyes were starting to water. I didn't know if the three of them looked at me again as I rushed past them, but it didn't seem to matter.

            I burst out of the crowded book shop and into the cool evening air, breathing heavily and the tears just starting to spill over. I stumbled into the nearest alleyway with blurry vision, needing to be out of sight before I could actually let myself cry.

            It was dark in the alley, and the tears slipped down my face as I slid down the brick wall, sitting with my back against it and the books beside me. I buried my face in my arms and cried as quietly as I could.

            Everyone involved with You-Know-Who was bad news, even my dead parents. That was why my aunt was trying so hard to keep me hidden from the Death Eaters, so I would never have to become one of them.

            I told myself to just forget about the stupid blonde boy who made me drop the books. I was never going to see him or his friends ever again, so I knew what happened just then didn't matter. I would go to Hogwarts in two days, and by then I would have forgotten all about Draco Malfoy.

            Like I said before, I was naïve.