The Slytherin Prince [Draco Malfoy]

Year 1 - End of school term

"Harry..."
"Harry!" Hermione and Eleanor called his name when they noticed Harry was starting to open his eyes. He was currently in the hospital wing, after being knocked unconscious by Voldemort's spirit. Harry vaguely remembered Hermione, Ron and him was looking for the philosopher stone and they won the life-sized wizard chess. Then he went into the room and saw that Professor Quirrell was the real perpetrator instead of Snape.

"Where am I?" Harry asked, his mind still in a daze. "The hospital, Harry. Mdm pomfret said you'll be fine after a few day's rest. So don't worry." Hermione smiled. "Where's Ron? Is he alright?" Eleanor replied for her, "Yes he is. In fact he's having a great time." She gestured to the other bed. Fred and George was leaning against the table, teasing Ron and some of the Gryffindor guys like Seamus and Dean was also crowding around him. Their smiles and laughter filled the hospital with a bit more liveliness.

Harry smiled at the sight and struggled to sit up. Eleanor kindly helped him up and he thanked her bashfully. Since mdm pomfret was currently busy with other students, Eleanor followed her instructions and changed the bandage for Harry. She wrapped the new bandage around his head and the closeness between them made Harry's heart throb a little faster. A pinkish taint evident on his cheeks when he realized she smells really good.

"Look at all these gifts. They're for you Harry." Eleanor pointed to the candies and chocolates in front of him. She smiled sweetly at him and noticed the scars on his arms. Hermione had recounted what happened to them when they sought after the stone and Eleanor was both proud and angry at their bravery. Who knows what might happen to them if they weren't careful.

She saw Professor Dumbledore walking towards Harry's bed and took it as her cue to leave them to talk. She stood up and nodded politely to the Headmaster and he nodded back with a kind smile.

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Very quickly, the students were all seated in the Great Hall for their end-of-term feast. Students teachers alike were happy for a smooth-sailing year for Hogwarts this year. At times like this, Eleanor felt that Hogwarts was indeed more than a school, more like a big family unit. The usual tension were all gone, houses blend together harmoniously, competition between them long forgotten. The irony was that Dumbledore was going to announce the winner for the house cup later on.

Leah scooped some of Eleanor's favorites onto her plate and she smiled at her thankfully. Eleanor looked over at the Gryffindor table and was glad to see Harry and Ron had made their full recovery.

Professor McGonagall stood up and clinged on her goblet to gather the attention of the students.

"Another year gone for Hogwarts. I must say you have all done excellent, especially the first years." Professor Dumbledore started, and looked intently at Harry. "As we all know, the house cup will be awarded to the house with most points." He continued by stating out the points each house managed to accumulate, Gryffindor was last and Slytherin was first. Slytherin cheered loudly, happy to win yet another house cup.

"Yes yes well done Slytherin. However, recent events must be taken into consideration, so I have a few last minute points to award." As a reward for protecting the philosopher's stone and their acts of bravery, Dumbledore awarded Harry with 60 points, Ron with 50 points, Hermione with 50 points and Neville with 10 points.

"Assuming my calculations are correct, a change of decoration is in order." He clapped his hands once and the green flags of Slytherin turned to red with a gust of wind.
"Gryffindor wins the house cup!"

Every Gryffindor jumped out of their benches, cheering and clapping excitedly, their applauds deafening to the ears. Eleanor and Leah clapped for them too, because they deserved it as much as Slytherin did. Though Eleanor couldn't fight the slight pinch of disappointment for not winning. Draco slammed his hat on the table bitterly, wishing it was potter's face instead.

After the feast, Eleanor went back up with Leah to pack their luggages. She thought over her first school year in Hogwarts, learning magic, making friends and enemies for the first time. And Draco.. She had a bugging feeling about him and couldn't shake it off. She wished he didn't treat her as nice as he did, so she can despise him with all her heart, instead of feeling this ambiguity about him.

She looked at her report card and smiled brightly to herself. At least this would be something she could proudly bring back to Severus. Outstanding for Potions and Charms, and Exceeding Expectations for Transfiguration, Herbology and DADA.

She placed them carefully back to her luggage and finishes up with Leah. The next early morning, everyone cleared out their dormitories and left the common room. After crossing the lake, the students reached Hogsmeade train station and began filling in the Hogwarts Express.

"Goodbye Hagrid. See you next year!" Eleanor hugged Hagrid's big fat tummy and could hardly get her hands on both side of his waist. The half-giant chuckled happily and told her to take care of herself. "I will. You too Hagrid." She smiled. "And stay off the brownies!" She teased.

It was a fulfilling year for Eleanor, and now she's looking forward to summer with Baxter and Severus.