Flowers

~2-Draco~

I watch Harry's retreating figure. He's skinny, skinnier than when I first met him. He was a scrawny kid then, obviously malnourished. I remember wondering who would treat the Boy Who Lived so poorly.

I follow him into the castle. All of the people I used to be friends with haven't returned. Some are dead, some have been imprisoned. The rest are afraid of abuse for their and their parents' actions.

I don't know why I came back. I have enough saved that I don't need to complete school. I could disappear, live my life as a muggle. I've been considering opening a store of some sort.

I shake myself out of my thoughts as I enter the Great Hall. I move over to the nearly empty Slytherin table. The other tables have noticeable gaps but it's nothing to the amount of Slytherins missing. I know most of the missing have dead, or imprisoned parents. They've probably been sent to wizard-run orphanages around the country or, for those that are above 17, left to live on their own.

People stare at me as I walk by them. Angry mutters fill my ears. They have every right to be angry. I sit at my table. The other Slytherins avoid my gaze. Even they want nothing to do with me.

Professor McGonagall, the new headmistress, sits where Dumbledore once sat. Many new teachers occupy the front table. I look at the table, half expecting to see Snape sneering from his usual spot. Of course, he isn't there.

The Sorting is started. Thirtyish scared looking eleven-year-olds wait to be sorted. Several are sorted into Slytherin. People sneer as these first years pass them. The confusion at the hatred directed at them is written clearly on their faces. I welcome them quietly, explaining as best I can, why the other students seem to hate them.

"Shouldn't they be more welcoming?" One girl asks. "Them being mean to us is what caused those other Slytherins to go bad, right?"

I smiled down at her. "Something like that. But I don't think they want to listen to reason." She nods solemnly in response to this and turns back to the Sorting. The last kid is sorted into Hufflepuff and the Sorting is over.

Professor McGonagall stands up. She gazes out around the crowd. "Welcome to Hogwarts." She begins. "I just wanted to say a few words before we get to the feast. Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, Tweak!"

Many of the returning eighth-year laugh at this, it's a sad sort of laugh. McGonagall sits back down with a sad smile and the tables filled with food. The gasps of first years lead way to a loud chatter that fills the hall. I fill my plate with food and glance over at Harry. His friends talk and laugh around him but he stares at his empty plate. His mouth is set in a grim line and his eyes are dull.

Someone calls my name and I turn towards them but not before making a mental note to myself to talk to Harry after the banquet.

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After everyone has eaten, McGonagall stands up once more. She introduces the new Muggle Studies teacher (Molly Abbot), Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher (Regina Bennett), and the new Potions teacher (Melissa Goodwin). She also informs us that the eighth years will have their own dormitory.

The houses then file out of the hall and a teacher shows the eighth year to our new dormitory. A simple wooden door in one of the towers leads into the common room, a large, circular room with a fireplace against one wall and chairs and sofas clustered around it. Several other doors lead to the rooms. The rooms are assigned, with the residents' names engraved on brass signs on the doors.

I find my room quickly, it's the one closest to the fireplace. I don't pay attention to who will be living with me and walk into the room. It's small but cozy with two desks on opposite sides and two four-poster beds next to them. The only light comes from the lamps on the desk and a window seat fills up the other wall.

My trunk already sits at the end of one of the beds. The bed frame is mahogany and the comforter is a dark gray. The identical bed across the room has it's occupant's trunk at its foot as well. I flop down on my bed, groaning softly. The door opens and soft footsteps enter the room.

I look up blearily to see Harry gazing around the room. "You're my roommate?" I ask bluntly.

A smirk tugs at the edges of his mouth. "Didn't you look at the signs?"

"Too tired." I bury my face into the soft comforter.

"Better get dressed for bed." he reminds me, moving towards his own trunk. He grabs pajamas and disappears behind another door next to his side of the room that must lead to the bathroom. A few seconds later, he emerges and walks silently over to his bed. I get up, grabbing a pair of sweatpants from my trunk, and stumble into the bathroom.

The bathroom is spacious with a large tub on one side alongside a shower, with a toilet and sinks on the other. I change quickly and walk back out to the bedroom. Crawling into bed, I turn off my lamp, plunging us into darkness.

"Night, Harry," I mumble.

A few seconds later he responds, almost too quietly to hear. "Night Draco."