In My Dreams [Draco Malfoy]

chapter three: hogwarts

INDIGO

After the riot, there hadn't been much for the Costas and Zabinis to say to one another. Aside from the obligatory "goodnight," neither of us knew what to say, and by eight o'clock the following morning, Mum and I were in the car and on our way back to Bristol.

It was already August 26th, and Mum and I knew we would have to be in London in only five days from now. The Zabinis had kindly offered to host us in the meantime but, at that moment, home could not have been a more comforting thought. We had to get back to work and had only packed three days' worth of clothes anyway, so we couldn't have stayed if we wanted to (which we didn't).

Over the next five days, Mum and I returned to our usual routines. She went back to work, working anywhere between eight and twelve hours a day. She would have to come to London with me on September 1st, so she was being extremely diligent getting extra hours in before then. I, meanwhile, went back to the boutique. For five hours a day, I was in charge of keeping the displays looking neat, unlocking fitting room doors and helping clients find the particular style or color that best suited them. Around two o'clock, my shift ended, and I rode my bike home. From then until bedtime, I would be in my room, reading over all of my dream logs or listening to the radio.

Occasionally, Mum would be just about to leave for work or just coming home and she would stop past my bedroom door, come and kiss me on the head, then leave. She was worried about me. She hadn't said so. She didn't have to. But, like I knew Mum was worried, she knew nothing would help. What could she do? Tell me it wasn't my fault? Tell me I didn't kill them? Both were true but doing nothing was just as bad. Wasn't it?

When September 1st finally came, I couldn't have been more relieved to be leaving home with my trunk in tow. It would be a two-hour drive but I didn't care. I was just happy to be leaving this horrible summer behind me. Well, horrible was a little dramatic. But it certainly hadn't been pleasant...

The familiar ploom of train engine exhaust hit me in the face just as I was making my way onto Platform 9 ¾. I took in the familiar aroma, a combination of freshly applied deodorant, cologne, perfume, and overly sugary sweets. There was the commotion of young mothers sobbing and kids running to find their friends. My best friend, , and I walked side by side, our parents trailing not far behind us.

Usually, Mum and I would arrive a day early and peruse the city. But this year I hadn't felt up to it. Instead, Aria and her parents had met us at a restaurant, we'd had breakfast together and left for King's Cross Station with the Gwin car trailing close behind. Mum hadn't mentioned how quiet I had been for the past couple days, though I suspected she was happy to see me come out of my shell with Aria.

Aria was very... eccentric. She was a Ravenclaw like myself, but we couldn't have been more different. Where I gravitated toward a chic and, oftentimes, vintage or retro style like , she tended to look as though she had just stepped out of an episode of The Addams Family. For as long as I'd known her, she had been dying her naturally brown hair black and this, against her alabaster white skin and dark eyebrows, which had been penciled in with black makeup, made her look as though she might get tired one day and kill us all. She had also been building a steadily increasing collection of piercings and, at fourteen years old, she was proudly sporting a nose ring, three piercings on each ear and a rather risque piercing which, as far as I knew, her mother did not know about...

Aria and I dropped our luggage off at the luggage cart and turned to our parents. Mum was the first one to initiate a hug, wrapping one arm around my shoulder and bringing my forehead to her lips with the other. "Be safe," she said. "Be careful, and stay out of trouble."

"I always do, Mum," I said, hugging her back.

"We'll see you in December," said Mrs. Gwin, coming over to hug me once she had hugged her daughter. "I'm sure both of you will have the time of your life this year."