Ardent Adversaries

Chapter 1: King's Cross

I'm awoken by the small hand of one of our house elves, Mippy, shaking me awake gently. I groan and try to move away from her hand.

"Miss has to get up now. Miss needs to finish packing for Hogwarts!" Mippy says before pulling my many blankets down off of me. I finally sit up and try to get moving, albeit slowly. Mippy smiles at me before apparating away with a loud crack. I glance at my clock and see that it's barely 6:30 in the morning. I swear loudly. Draco pops his head into my room right as I do it too. He raises his eyebrows at me.

"Don't let Mum hear you say that, Liv," He says to me with a smirk.

"Oh piss off D, it's early," I reply glaring at him playfully. He laughs as he comes into my room. My trunk is on the ground near the foot of my bed with all my unpacked things strewn around it. He glances down at the mess of school things and scoffs.

"You know, if Mum sees that she's gonna have a fit. You know how much she hates being late to things," He raises his blonde eyebrows at me. "And messes," Draco adds before plopping down onto my bed. I yawn sleepily at him before noticing something is wrong.

"What's up, D," I ask him as I scoot closer.

"I dunno, I guess I'm just bummed it's your last year," Draco says unconvincingly.

"I mean I'm still going to be here for a while, I'm not leaving yet. Also, don't lie Draco, I know something else is wrong. Tell me," I say looking at him. He starts to say something before shaking his head and standing up. Draco leaves my room and turns to me at the doorway.

"Get packed before you get yelled at," He says to me. I flip him off and he laughs before walking away. I can't help but wonder what his actual problem is. I open the wire cage on my dresser before sighing and I slowly make my way over to my mess of a trunk. I throw on my green quidditch jumper over my tank top and squat down next to my large pile. This is gonna take a while. I start to sort my books from my robes and after what feels like an hour, I have the majority of things organized. I notice I'm missing a set of spare robes and my quidditch uniform. Mippy or Narcissa must have taken them down to be washed. I stand up and open my window before heading down the grand staircase to the main area. I walk through the small informal dining room off of the kitchen before spotting Narcissa at the breakfast nook reading the Prophet. There is a plate of toast and jam and a carafe on the table, hopefully filled with coffee.

"Good morning Olivia," She says, not looking up from the paper. "How'd you sleep, dear." I smile a little at her pet name for me.

"Pretty good, Cissa, thank you," I reply. I plop down in the chair next to her and grab a piece of toast off the table. She conjures a mug without looking and hands it to me. I pour some of the liquid into the cup and it's, thankfully, coffee. I spread some of the jam onto my toast and munch on it quietly for a moment before I hear Lucius' heavy boots nearby. I sit straight and try to make myself look presentable. Cissa looks at me with a small smirk, not too unlike what Draco was giving me earlier. Lucius enters and gives Narcissa a peck on the cheek before giving my shoulder a squeeze.

"Do make sure you are packed and ready by ten, Olivia," He says to me as he moves to sit next to Narcissa's other side.

"Of course," I reply. "I was just grabbing a quick bite before finishing up." I start to stand up as I finish the last bite when I remember what I came down here for in the first place. "Oh, have either of you seen my spare robes or my quidditch uniform? I can't seem to find either of them upstairs."

"Oh yes, dear, I was actually about to go to your room when you came downstairs. They are hanging up in the mudroom. I had Mippy wash them for you," Narcissa says with a small smile. I nod thanks and finish off my coffee before leaving. I walk down the small hallway off of the kitchen to the mudroom. Lo and behold, there they are. I grab them and hurry back upstairs to pack.