In Malfoy's Shoes

Hogwarts

A/N - just so you're aware, I know how crap this is. it's a work in progress.

I was lost. There was no doubt about it. I'd walked to Kings Cross all alone in the pouring rain, arrived here with a burning stitch in my side, and now there wasn't even a platform for the train I was supposed to be boarding.

"Excuse me, sir." I said, tapping a man in uniform. "Do you know where I could find platform nine and three quarters?"

"Platform nine and three quarters? You're having a laugh." said the steward, a burly man with barely any hair and very large nostrils. "Never heard of such a place in my life. Doubt it exists. Stop messing about and find your parents."

"I wish." I muttered, turning away. If my parents were still alive I wouldn't be in this mess. I'd have known all about Hogwarts and magic and all that jazz. But no, they had to go and die, didn't they? Leaving me with 'poor aunt Bellatrix'. Poor aunt Bellatrix indeed, forcing me to live in the cupboard beneath the stairs even though there were two perfectly good empty rooms upstairs. You'd think with her having no children and no other family members she'd be grateful to have such a bundle of joy in her life, but did I get a scrap of respect? If you guessed no, you're correct.

When I got my Hogwarts letter she couldn't be happier to get rid of me. She bargained with me that I could go to Hogwarts if I stayed there for every holiday, excluding the summer holidays where I'd be home for four weeks before I'd return. I thought she'd have reacted differently, hiding or even burning the letters to stop me from going to a school where "demons like her sister learned sorcery". But no, she was ecstatic to learn that I'd be leaving. However, she wasn't so happy when a very tall man called Hagrid knocked the door down.

"Oops. Dunno my own strength." he chuckled, speaking in a deep voice.

"You're paying for that!" Aunt Bellatrix screeched.

He took me to a place called Diagon Alley, where I learned about my parents and their untimely death. We went to Gringotts bank, run by goblins would you believe, and I received a small fortune my parents had left to me in their will. We bought loads of school supplies, which was easier than you'd think considering I'd never bought a non-muggle object in my whole life. I met a bespectacled boy with sleek black hair and green eyes who told me of Hogwarts and its four houses. He said he was hoping to get into Slytherin, and the very word sent a shiver down my spine. I'd never heard of Slytherin before, but I seriously hoped I wasn't chosen to be in that house. The name gave me the creeps.

"PLATFORM NINE AND THREE QUARTERS IS RIGHT THIS WAY BOYS." A loud voice tore me from my thoughts. A pleasant looking red-haired woman was guiding similar-looking children towards the wall between platforms nine and ten. I followed close behind, keeping completely out of sight. I watched with wide eyes as four ginger haired boys ran at the wall, passing right through, leaving only a small girl and the woman smiling nostalgically at the place the boys had just been. "Your turn next year, Ginny." the woman said, squeezing the little girl's shoulders.

I waited until they'd walked away to inspect the wall myself, tapping it with my knuckles. Yep, definitely solid. I took a deep breath, and walking a few steps backwards, braced myself for what was about to come. I was going to crash, I was sure of it, but with my eyes closed I ran at the wall anyway, and to my surprise I passed through what felt like a blanket. I opened my eyes to see a large red train and dozens of children saying goodbye to their family.

Having nobody to kiss and hug, I boarded the train, heading for the carriage at the very back. After what felt like hours, the train whistle sounded, and a boy entered my carriage.

"Can I join you?" It was one of the ginger boys, the youngest.

"Sure." I said, as I didn't know anybody yet and Hagrid had told me that the best place to make friends was on the train.