Annabeth's P.O.V.
I ran blindly down the train corridor, salty tears running down my cheeks and onto my t-shirt. Why would Percy say that? Was I really that adverage? I was always told that I was pretty, some people had even called me beautiful. But to hear Percy say that, made me doubt everything.
Eventually, I came to the end, and realized that I would have to go back to get my uniform. Merlin, Why? Why was this happening? I got strange looks from all the people that I passed on the way back. Fair enough, I must have looked a right sight. I swipped my sleeve under my eyes angrily, and pushed my hair back behind my ears.
Peering into the window of our carriage, I saw that Percy was gone. I sighed with relief, he must have already left on his rounds. I never thought that having a Prefect as a brother would ever come in handy. Fred and George were talking together quietly and George stopped midsentence when he saw me.
"um... Hey Anna!" George tried to sound cheerful, but sounded more like he was constipated. I gave a meek wave, reaching up to grab my trunk on the luggage racks above the seats. I could feel the Twin's eyes burning into the back of my head, but I tried my best to ignore them and focus on getting my shaking fingers to cooperate and open my trunk.
I gave no farewell when I left the carriage, simply leaving and stalking back down the corridor I had just come up. I could hear the people I had passed before snickering and whispering. I gave a 2nd year a withering glare and she visibly flinched.
A sense of slight satisfaction and guilt pulsed in my chest as I locked the door to the bathroom to get changed.
When I got back to our compartment, Fred and George were laughing away with Lee Jordan, the completion of our little group. He high five me as I sat down, pulling me into a quick side hug.
"Wotcha, Anna!" He grinned. Lee's smile was infectious and I couldn't help but grin back. Lee Jordan had been best friends with Fred, George and I since our first day at Hogwarts six years ago.
"What's up, Lee?" I asked, trying to discretely wipe the remaining tearstains from my cheeks. His brows furrowed slightly and I knew he had noticed, but he ignored it. Lee wasn't very good with emotions. I pulled my legs up underneath me and listened to them laugh about all the pranks they had pulled last year and their plans for Snape and Filch.
I zoned out, staring through the window at the landscape flying past us as we sped through the countryside. It was just starting to get dark, the valleys and hills bathed in a deep orange glow as the sun disappeared over the horizon. It was a calming sight, and I felt my heartbeat start to even out.
As I sat there, content for the most part, an angry Draco Malfoy burst through the compartment door, flanked by the ever- stupid Crabb and Goyle. I guess I spoke too soon about the heartbeat. In an instant all four of us were standing, glaring at Malfoy hard enough that I was surprised we didn't burn holes through his pale blonde head.
"Where is it?" He spat furiously, his eyes wide with anger.
"Where's what, Malfoy?" Fred asked innocently. "There are lots of things you could've lost. Your wand, your ring-" "Your Sanity," I chipped in. George and Lee shook their heads.
"No, he's already lost that!" They said together. I snorted with laughter, watching Draco's face turn an array of different colours as he hit all the levels on the anger spectrum. Crabb and Goyle stood a little way behind him, uncertain of what to do when there was no physical threat. They were about as useful as a sack of potatoes and pretended they hadn't heard anything we'd said.
"Where... Is... My charms book?" Malfoy seethed. I couldn't help it, I burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter, bent over and desperately trying to retain oxygen. I wiped tears from my eyes and took a couple of deep, gasping breaths. Fred and George had gone red with suppressed laughter, while Lee had followed my example and was now slumped in his seat still chuckling to himself.
"Merlin's beard, who'd have thought you could read, Dracie?" I teased.
Malfoy swept his fingers through his greasy blonde mane and leaned against the door of the compartment for support.
"Your idiot brothers have got my book, I know they have! I saw them in our compartment and next thing I know, no more book." Fred and George wore thoughtful expressions and were stroking imaginary beards.
"You know, now that you mention it-" George started, "I do remember finding a charms book. But if you want it-" continued Fred, "you'd better find your trunk first!" They chorused.
As soon as the words had left their ginger heads Malfoy was gone, cursing like a snatcher on firewhiskey as he stormed back down the corridor with the goonies on his heel. I collapsed back into my seat and nudged Lee, who was leaning over something on the seat next to him.
"What's that, Lee?" I questioned. He lifted his hand and gesture dramatically to the object in front of him. I recognised the cover of the spell book that I got from Bill for charms, but the book wasn't mine. Lee had It opened to the first page, where I could just make out 'D. Malfoy' written in loopy cursive. Underneath the name Lee had drawn a rather tasteful picture of himself pelting the back of Malfoy's head with Bertie Botts Every Flavor beans and was proceeding to enchant it to move so that his head exploded with a 'pop' each time a bean made contact.
I looked up to Fred and George, who both looked rather smug and grinned. "What a pleasant start to the year!" I sighed cheerfully. But however much the ordeal with Malfoy had improved my mood, I still couldn't get Percy's words out of my head.
