Purple Hair Ties ♔ Draco Malfoy ♔

| fifteen |

" life's too short to be sitting around miserable "

Summer was extremely uneventful for Romy Honey. Once she had returned to Camp Jupiter, she had to train twenty-four-seven to make up for lost time, and spent every free moment dealing with her aching muscles in her bunk. The only good thing? A few times a week, she would receive a letter from her friends, detailing their amazing summers. And, after tending to their owls (flying across an ocean is no easy task), she would write back to them, ranting about the idiot campers and insensitive centurions. But the letter she most looked forward to? One from a certain blond that always seemed to push her buttons. At first, she had been pleasantly surprised to see he had kept his promise, writing far more frequently than Blaise or Millicent. Then she began to look forward to his letters, quickly becoming friends with Draco Malfoy. But something perplexed her about the letters. She could have sworn that she had seen his small, loopy handwriting before...

She didn't spend much time worrying about it, though. She had to worry about Parseltongue lesson plans and how she would juggle her-but-not-hers elective classes and if Hogwarts could be infiltrated by monsters. Oh, and there was also the crazy Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who was making them buy all of Gilderoy Lockhart's books. Out of curiosity, she ordered them all from Flourish and Blotts. And Romy had read all of them, quickly deducing that Lockhart was singlehandedly the stupidest person to ever grace the Earth. However, despite the new professor's horrid taste in books and the mounting stress, Romy couldn't wait to return to Hogwarts. She counted down the days until September first, wrote to her friends about her excitement. Finally, the day came that she would return to the United Kingdom and study at the glorious school. And so, she packed her trunk and took the Grey Sister's Taxi to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

So now stood at King's Cross Station, loading her luggage on the scarlet train. After she got the heavy trunk aboard the Hogwarts Express, she began looking around her friends. She pushed her way down the corridor, forcing the straggling students to part, looking into the compartments in hopes of seeing familiar faces. And eventually, she saw the luminescent blond hair, flanked by five brunettes. A smile stretching across her lips, she opened the compartment door and greeted the six of them with a joyous "hello!". They all said some greeting in return, Draco scooting over to make room for her.

As conversation resumed, the train began chugging out of the station, reminding Romy of the first time she ever rode the train. So much had changed since that day, yet so little had happened in the year that passed. She made the most amazing friends, aided three of her friends in the retrieval of the Sorcerer's Stone (and was still pissed about receiving no credit for it), was outed as a demigod, began a Parseltongue language class, and even managed to sneak into third year classes. It only made her wonder what was in store for her this year. But she was pulled from her thoughts as the door slid open, revealing a young Hermione Granger. Immediately seeing her friends' look of disgust and apprehension (at Hermione's blood purity or House, she wasn't quite sure), Romy rose to her feet, pulling her friend into the corridor before harsh blows could be exchanged.

"What is it, 'mione?" Romy asked, her voice full of concern. Whatever Hermione had to say had to be serious, for she'd have to be fool to willingly enter Slytherin territory. Especially one with a compartment full of Muggleborn-Haters.

Her eyes were full of sadness, making Romy's heart drop, and the Gryffindor said, "I can't find Ron and Harry...Anywhere. I've literally searched everywhere on the train and they're nowhere to be found. Do you think they don't like me anymore? Do they not want to be my friend? Oh god, Romy, are they hiding from me?"

Romy scoffed. "Merlin's beard, calm down! I'm sure you're overthinking this. Honestly, I can't see why they wouldn't want to be friends with you! You are the brightest witch in the school, you've helped them countless times in the year we've known them, and it's pointless to think that they hate you!"

"But I'm just some Mudblood," Hermione muttered in a voice so low that Romy almost didn't hear what she said. Almost.

Blood boiling, her actions were so quick that she nearly thought they weren't her own. A slap! echoed quietly in the empty corridor, Hermione staring at the demigod with wide eyes, mouth agape. "Now, you listen here, Hermione Granger," Romy said in a dangerously low voice. "Don't you dare say that about yourself ever again. Do you understand me? You are not just some Mudblood! You are so intelligent there isn't even a word to describe you accurately! And you're kind and hard-working and so, so brave. How many witches would willingly go through all those trials at the end of last year? How many would lie straight to McGonagall's face to protect someone who just insulted her and made her cry all day? And, even though you're a bit of a bossy know-it-all, I can't imagine you being any other person. You are Hermione Granger, a gorgeous girl inside and out, and I wouldn't want anyone else to be my friend."

Giving her a weak smile, Hermione nodded slowly. "Y-Yeah, you're right...I'm overthinking it...Um, I'll just sit with Neville. See you later, Romy?"

"See you later, 'mione."