Pure Toxicity [A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction]

1. Year 3

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The fact she was allowed to call herself a Slytherin was blasphemy of the highest order, and Draco was going to make sure she knew how worthless she was.

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The train to Hogwarts was always the most fun, yet the absolute most miserable for Slytherin muggle-born Juniper Howards.

Juniper sat opposite her friends Clara and Theodore Protts in a Slytherin carriage on the train ride back to Hogwarts. They had been friends since their first year, no matter how long it took Juniper to convince Clara that she was someone worth being friends with. She took notice of them and the changes they had undergone during the summer, such as shedding the baby weight and thinning out as she had done as well.

Clara was babbling on to her twin brother about the way their mother had treated Theodore before they departed onto the train. "You heard the way she said it," Clara continued. "I know she still despises that you got sorted into Gryffindor." To this, Theodore rolled his dark eyes.

"Way to bring that up Clara, I don't know why I chose to sit and deal with such salty Slytherins on the way to school before third year has even started yet."

Juniper, who had been simply observing the interaction between her two friends caught Theodore's eyes and gave him a playfully hurt look. "Ouch Theo, calling me a salty Slytherin already? I haven't even said anything to deserve that yet."

The friends all laughed, and Juniper started to settle back into the routine of trying her best to keep them as her friends. It had been difficult for her to make friends at the beginning of her time at Hogwarts because it was very rare for a muggle-born to be sorted into Slytherin, and it was exceptionally rare for a student at Hogwarts to originally be from America.

Juniper had been going to Hogwarts for three years now, and has lived in London for four. At the age of ten, her father received a promotion that entailed them all leaving their home in Seattle, Washington and moving to the United Kingdom. Neither parent, while wildly successful in the muggle world, were of wizard or witch descent and it came as quite some news when they received Juniper's letter of acceptance to Hogwarts. In fact, it was absolutely groundbreaking for them.

An American, muggle born, SLYTHERIN? I'm sure you can imagine how difficult those earlier years must have been.

"I'm going to go and find the snack cart, do you guys want anything?" Juniper asked, rising from her seat and making her way towards the sliding carriage door. Clara's voice from behind her called out distractedly as she slid open the door, "It's a trolley, love, and not really but if you get positive feelings from any of the chocolate frogs you see, grab me one."

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The young witch made her way through the narrow corridor of the train and the train cars trying to track down the snack trolley. Outside, the weather was poor and it was raining quite hard, making even her dark wavy hair frizz up. Her large brown eyes peered ahead as she came upon the snack trolley, mouth watering from having to skip out of breakfast this morning because of almost missing the train. She couldn't wait to get her hands one some cho-

Suddenly, the large train started shaking, as if it were breaking down. Juniper braced herself where she stood by holding onto the wall closest to her, and when she felt the worst was over, the lights went out. At this moment finding the snack trolley wasn't at the top of her list of things to do because something was very, very wrong. She slid open the door to the carriage she was closest to, and snaked inside of it hoping to find some refuge until the overhead lights returned.

"Who could possibly think they are allowed in these quarters?" Juniper froze, back against the door, cursing herself in her head for having the absolute worst luck you could ever possibly have. That voice called out to her again, getting closer this time, and before she could open the door and leave, darkness be damned, her eyes tentatively peered up and were met with a grey icy glare, and she knew she had to stay and take what was coming. "Look lads! Look at this nasty little mudblood who thought she could sneak herself into our carriage. I wouldn't be surprised at all if you are the reason the train has gone dark, have you plotted this just to be able to be around true slytherins?" Behind him in their seats, Crabbe and Goyle erupted into disgusting sounds of laughter which made Draco Malfoy's lips twitch up into a threatening sneer.

He brought his face closer to hers, no ounce of sympathy or forgiveness anywhere to be found in his malevolent expressions. Enough light was coming through the windows for him to have seen her face fall, and a pathetic look of desperation and sadness wash over her features. Her face was a bright shade of red, her deep brown eyes now looking everywhere but at him, which made Draco pleased. How dare she be in his compartment? On this train even? She was a disgrace, his father and mother have said so when they received word of a mudblood American being sorted into their beloved house three years ago. The fact she was allowed to call herself a Slytherin was blasphemy of the highest order, and Draco was going to make sure she knew how worthless she was.

The lights flicked on for a moment, and the witch took the opportunity to turn towards the door, but when she looked up she noticed the window peering inside the car become consumed by ice. The lights shut off again, and though she would rather be anywhere else but in this room, there was no way she was going to be going into the hallway.

She then turned back to face her bully, back once again clinging to the door behind her. "I,I didn't, I'm sorry, I-"As soon as Juniper could manage those words out of her mouth, the windows on the outside of the carriage started to also freeze up, and Juniper considered the irony of the situation; the environment was imitating Malfoy's frozen heart. The hair on her arms, her neck, everywhere stood up because while it was freezing, something was on the train that had no place being there.

Malfoy saw the fear on her face and took the opportunity to crucify her for it.. "Are you afraid of the cold, mudblood? Is it the dark you don't like? Maybe you should go home to your filthy mummy and daddy and have them protect you from it." Tears started to burn in Juniper's eyes but she wasn't going to let Malfoy, the boy who had been torturing her for years, see it. This was beginning to just be too much; her stomach was flipping like mad and the overwhelming sense of dread was unbearable to handle, let alone handling it while the cruelest person you know stands in front of you degrading you.

"Oh, no please.." A wave of dizziness started to overcome her while she was fighting back tears, and the lights flicked back on for good when she felt her knees buckle and her body fall to the ground. 

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Thank you for reading so far!! It was a long intro but things will speed up!

-Cherry xx