[4] UNREQUITED ENEMIES ━ Draco Malfoy

10. Welcome Home

TEN WELCOME HOME

     "Welcome home, Xander," Alecks greeted him with a warm hug on the train platform while Jo helped him with his things. Salem was hanging off of Xander's shoulder, jumping to loosely wrap around Alecks' neck as they hugged.

The woman laughed and pet the cat softly, "Hey, buddy. You taking good care of Xander while he's at school?"

The cat purred and rubbed against the woman's cheek as Xander turned and gave Jo a hug as well, "Hey, guys. How's it been without me? Nothing too bad, right?"

Alecks shook her head, but she bit her lip and shared a glance with Jo as though they were hiding something. The girl sighed as they loaded up the car, turning to her brother as she slammed the trunk shut. "It's not the worst, but uh, mum has had to take medical leave from the ministry. She's been in and out of the muggle hospital since they're better equipped to deal with this than St. Mungos. Still, at least she'll be home for Christmas. Come on, let's get home."

He sat in the back of their family car since it was tough to apparate with a muggle, an underage wizard, and a trunkload of things, but he didn't mind as he just gazed out the window. He missed Diana already and he knew he was going to have to wait for her to send a letter first since they didn't have an owl of their own. Still, he knew she'd write. She always did.

"So, Xander," Jo turned around to face him, a bright smile on her face as she was clearly trying to divert away from what she had heard the siblings talking about, "How's school going? Tell me all about it please, I wanna know what it's like to go to school as a wizard!"

Xander laughed at this, "Nothing fantastic, really. Nothing super magical really goes on as you would think. I almost got into a duel with someone --"

"A duel?" Alecks exclaimed from the drivers' seat, "You? Of all people? What did someone say that could possibly make you so angry you pulled out your wand?"

"He insulted Diana!" the boy exclaimed, "Said I was better off not being friends with muggle-borns and that was bullshit so I disarmed him and then he almost punched me in my face! Ridiculous really, the ego on that one. I think he really can be sweet, though, I just don't think he knows that."

Alecks laughed at this, shaking her head as she asked, "Is this the Malfoy git? I'm telling you, he's a dickhead, stop trying to befriend him! You're better than that!"

"I'm sixteen, I can make my own decisions," Xander argued with a smile on his face as he turned back to Jo, "He's not as mean as he sounds, I promise. Well, he kind of is, but I really think there's more to him. Anyway, are we almost home? I wanna say hi to mum."