Draco and Hermione, Love and Hate

Dementors and Prophecys

    The news of Potter blowing-up his aunt had reached Draco through his father Mr. Malfoy. Draco laughed at the thought of Potter getting expelled from Hogwarts, but was soon disappointed to find that he had not.
     On the train to Hogwarts, about midafternoon, just as it had started to rain, Draco decided to pay a visit to the trio whom he had become fond of making fun of.
     Harry Potter, the leader of the three, had been Draco's enemy since their first year after Potter had refused to be his friend. Ron Weasley, was the youngest boy of the Weasley family, a family who was an embarrassment to the wizarding world. And Hermione Granger, a muggle-born witch, whom was very bright and at one point was Draco's friend, but no more because of her blood and she's a braggart.
    "Well, look who it is," said Draco, pulling open the compartment door. "Potty and the Weasel."
    Crabbe and Goyle chuckled trollishly.
    "I heard your father finally got his hands on some gold this summer, Weasley," said Draco. "Did your mother die of shock?"
    Ron stood up so quickly he knocked a basket to the floor. A man in the corner of the compartment, fast asleep, gave a snort.
    "Who's that?" said Draco, taking an automatic step backwards as he spotted the man.
    "New teacher," said Potter, who had also gotten to his feet. "What were you saying, Malfoy?"
    Draco's pale eyes narrowed; he wasn't fool enough to pick a fight right under a teacher's nose.
    "C'mon," he muttered resentfully to Crabbe and Goyle, and the left the compartment and went back to their own.
    As the outside of the train got darker, the inside became more lite up with the lanterns coming to life.
    Soon the train started to slow down. The train was getting slower and slower. As the noise of the pistons fell away, the wind and rain sounded louder than ever against the windows.
     The train suddenly came to a stop and Draco, who was not prepared for the sudden stop, was thrown forward off his seat, almost into Pansy Parkinson's lap. Distant thuds and bangs told them that luggage had fallen out of the racks. Then, without warning, all of the lamps went out and they were plunged into total darkness.
     "What the- " Crabbe stared to say.
     "What in the world is going on!" Pansy squealed, cutting Crabbe off.
    "Quiet, all of you. I'm trying to listen to hear if anyone knows what's happening," Draco said, standing up and finding his way to the door.
    "Owe! You stepped on me!" Pansy squealed.
    "I said quite," Draco snapped, opening the door of the compartment. "I'm going to see what's going on."
    His eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness of the train, the moon's dimmed light providing little light from behind the clouds. Draco stepped out of his compartment and looked around. Other students where peeping their heads out of their compartments.
    "What's going on?" Draco asked a head that was poking out of the compartment next to his.
    "'Dunno."
    A dark figure came strolling down the corridor, except it wasn't strolling, more like gliding. Draco knew what it was immediately. He slowly crept backwards then ran into the nearest compartment. The Weasley twins were the occupants of the compartment.
    "What the -" one of the twins began to say.
    "Shhhh!" Draco said, cold sweat starting to come down his face. "It'll hear you!"
    "What will hear us?" the other twin asked.
    "A dem- dem -dem. A dementor!" Draco whispered.
    Just then the door opened and a cloaked figure stood in the doorway. It seemed to look around the room for a few seconds then vanished.
    "Blimey, never seen one of those so close before, 'ave we, Fred?" said one of the twins.
    "You alright?" asked the other twin, who was apparently Fred. Both the twins turned to Draco.
    "I'm fine, thank you. I was just surprised when I saw it coming down the corridor." Draco stood up and dusted himself off. "I better get back to my compartment, the others must be wondering where I went."
    Draco went back into his compartment and sat down in between Crabbe and Goyle.
    "You missed it, a dementor opened the compartment door and looked around then left. It was so frightening!" Pansy said to Draco.
    "Yes, I saw one coming down the hall. They must be the reason that the train stopped." Draco said.
    The lights suddenly turned back on, blinding Draco for a moment.
    "Ugh!" he groaned, covering his eyes.
    The train lurched forward and started to move again.
     "I guess they fixed the problem," Draco mumbled.
    A Slytherin fifth year stuck his head into their compartment.
    "Are you all okay?" he asked.
    "Yeah, do you know exactly what made the train stop?" Draco asked.
    "Yes I do," the boy said.
    Draco waited a moment for the boy to tell them. The boy, however, didn't say anything looking nervous.
    "Well are you going to tell us?" Draco asked.
    The boy looked over his shoulder and leaned into the compartment more. "They didn't want me to tell, but I suppose you'll soon hear from others. Dementors entered one of the train's cars, they're on search for Sirius Black, and that's why all the lights went out, because of them. They're gone now though, so no need to be scared."
    "Well, we're all good in here, thank you," Draco said. "No need to check on us again, I'm not scared, and they're good too," Draco motioned to the others in the compartment.
    The boy left the compartment.
    "That's a bit frightening that dementors entered our train. Don't you think, Draco?" Pansy asked.
    "Don't be silly. Dementors won't harm us. They're under the Ministry's control. Father told me that we use them when we're dealing with dangerous wizards. It's Black who you should be scared about." Draco said.
    Pansy's face turned pale.
    "You don't have to worry about him either. Father told me he's after Potter, but don't go talking about this. The ministry wants to keep this quiet," Draco looked everyone in the room in the eye.
    The compartment was quite, no one wanting to talk. Draco was still a bit shooken up by the dementor, but he didn't want the others to see him break his cool. He knew what dementors were capable of and they really did suck the happiness away from you. That was his first time actually seeing one.
    "I wonder if we're almost to Hogwarts?" Goyle asked looking out the window, trying to change the eyre subject.
    The train soon reached the platform and all the returning students went to the stagecoaches.
    When Draco got out of his coach at the castle he overheard an interesting conversation between some Gryffindors. Neville Longbottom was telling Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan that Harry Potter had fainted when a dementor entered his compartment.
    Draco couldn't hold in his laughter. He felt a lot better about his reaction to the dementors learning Potter's. Shorty after Longbottom had finished telling what happened, Potter's coach came into view and he stepped out.
    "You fainted, Potter? Is Longbottom telling the truth? You actually fainted?"
    Draco made his way in front of Potter, elbowing Hermione Granger to block Potter's way up the stone steps to the castle. Draco smiled gleefully.
    "Shove off, Malfoy," said Ron Weasley, whose jaw was clenched.
    "Did you faint as well, Weasley?" said Draco loudly. "Did the scary old dementor frighten you too, Weasley?"
    "Is there a problem?" said a mild voice. The professor that was in the same compartment as Potter had just gotten out of the next carriage.
    Draco gave the professor an insolent stare, which took in the patches on his robes and the delapidated suitcase. With a tiny hint of sarcasm in his voice, he said, "Oh, no - er - Professor," then he smirked at Crabbe and Goyle and led them up the steps into the castle.