Hateful Love

Chapter Two

NOTE: I do not own any of the ideas or characters expressed in this story (except Cassie Jackson). All of these belong to J.K. Rowling.

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I’m staring into the silver eyes of Draco Malfoy. All I can think is why, why did it have to be him?

          At first, all we can do is stare at each other as the air around us returns to normal, Slytherins yelling and cursing everywhere.

          Then his face twists into one of annoyance and pushes me off him. I barely save myself from falling completely on the floor, standing upright and straightening my top nervously.

          “Who the hell are you?” he snaps at me, getting up from his chair quickly. I blush, so, so embarrassed.

          “Um, I’m Cassie,” I say, fighting to keep what’s left of my dignity together. “I’m a—“

          He glances down at my robes and interrupts, “A Ravenclaw. What the fuck are you doing here?”

          I try to come up with a witty response, but Malfoy doesn’t give me the chance. He shoves past me to get back to his seat, saying bitterly, “Never mind, I don’t care. Just get out.”

          Malfoy sits stiffly back down with the rest of the Slytherin jerks, and I suddenly feel like everyone in the compartment is staring at me.

          I feel like vomiting as I leave this area of the train, trying so hard not to sprint out the door. Oh my god.

          It’s so much easier to breathe once I shut the door behind me. I take deep breaths to calm myself, and my heart slowly stops racing and my cheeks lose their redness.

          Well, now I don’t have a choice. I make my way back to the compartment with Cho and everyone else.

          Before I open the door, I brush at my hair with shaking fingers. I’m okay.

          Matt looks up as I slide the door open, and his face brightens noticeably. I smile back and squish down beside Jason, one of Danny’s dumb friends. I should have just done this when I first boarded the train.

          “Ugh, Cassie,” Jason moans, trying to scoot over but finding there’s no more room. “There’s no space for you here.”

          I smirk over at his expression and reply, “I thought you’d want to sit this close to me.”

          “Well…yeah.” He raises an eyebrow cheekily and I smack his arm.

          Cho, who was too engaged in a game of Exploding Snaps to notice my arrival, looks over at me with surprise. “Where’s Katherine?”

          “With some lame Hufflepuffs. I’d rather squeeze in with you guys,” I laugh. I’ll tell Cho the real story later, when I can cry without being embarrassed in front of all the guys.

          After that, the train ride passes by pretty uneventfully. I get caught up in the game of Exploding Snaps, but Matt and Danny start cheating so I quit. Me and Cho braid each others hair and gossip quietly the rest of the ride.

          Finally, the train pulls into Hogwarts. I see Hagrid waiting to take the first years across the lake, and I remember my first day. It had been raining, so I mostly just remember being wet and cold.

          Since we’re all older, I walk over to the carriages with everyone else from our compartment.  I know that the carriages are pulled by thestrals, but I can’t see them.

          Thestrals are only visible to people who have witnessed a death. Matt’s the only one that I know of who can see the creatures. Last year, he’d told me he watched his mother die at St. Mungos of some sort of lung disease. Matt had pulled me to the side and whispered that he could see the thestrals that time. Silently, I hope I never get to see what thestrals look like.

          Cho spots Katherine standing awkwardly by herself, and waves her over. She shivers from the late autumn air as she comes over to us, but she grins at me.

          “How was sitting with the Slytherins?” Katherine giggles, all sympathies from before completely gone.

          I glare at her and respond with a snappy, “Tell you later.”

          Thankfully, the guys don’t overhear our conversation. I don’t want them to find out I’d run away after only five minutes in the Slytherin end of the train.

          We pile into a carriage and we actually fit, but only because Jason runs off to talk with Dean Thomas. Matt squishes next to me, and I feel butterflies in my tummy. And I know how cliché that sounds, but it’s true. I’ve liked Matt for a while, but I don’t think he feels the same way back.

          I push my thoughts away and ignore the sensation in my stomach as we ride up the long hill to Hogwarts.