𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 || 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐨𝐲

2. I See Them Too

When Draco looked up from his book, the cabin was empty and Theo was walking out the door. He didn't even notice the train had come to a halt and stopped. He seriously had to get rid of that bad habit where he paid attention to nothing else when he read. It was the effect he was going for, but it seriously came unhandy most times when he wasn't home.

"Draco, you coming? They already left." Theo stuck his head back through the cabin door. Draco was always grateful for Theo because he never asked any questions. Theo seemed to always notice but never ask anything. It helped an awful ton when it came to situations like this. Draco grunts as he gets up and spells the book into an enchanted pouch- he wasn't about to go around carrying a book bag before school started.

"Right behind you," Draco says as he follows quietly behind Theo. The train was mostly empty now and Draco wondered how long he could have sat in the train reading if Theo didn't call out to him. He probably would have ended up going home.

When they got off the train, the place got a lot more crowded than it was on the empty train. Draco even spotted a few lost First Years being beckoned over by Hagrid. He was busy watching every small thing happening in the crowd. He was suddenly yanked by his sleeve and before he knew it he was being dragged through the crowd, staggering and bumping into people.

"Theo! What in Merlin's name are you dragging me around for? I can walk, you know!" Draco sighed, exasperated. He glanced around, they were on the edge of the forest and the sounds of the noisy crowd dimmed the further they got from the station.

"Where..?"

"Apparently we're taking carriages this year. It's really funny though, I heard the carriages pull themselves." Theo added with some form of a chuckle and a snort. Draco's curiosity perked up at this.

"Pull themselves?"

"Right? Totally bull. I bet they're enchanted."

"It could also be runes on the carriages, or some sort of invisible guide?" Draco suggested, actually now very interested to see these carriages. He didn't even notice they had been walking for a while, or that after that sentence, he remained silent during the whole walk.

"Well I don't know what you're up to, but I'm just going to steal the last spot in the carriage." Theo slipped away as he looked up, confused.

Ah. The carriage only fit four people in one go. There were many, but it meant Draco had to possibly sit with other people he didn't know. He stood there like a clown in front of a circus, watching almost desperately for an empty carriage. Well, a carriage that wanted him. Without his friends, he had quite the reputation for being vile and snappy. A group of three Hufflepuffs even pulled over some random Ravenclaw onto their carriage when they saw his gaze floating around. Draco sighed and watched Theo apologetically (not really, though, because Theo didn't do apologetically) smile at him as their carriage left. Draco looked back to the unmoving carriages, waiting to leave one by one and chuckled to himself. How silly were the rumors Theo heard? Clearly these carriages were being led by winged horses. Just then, a small group of Ravenclaws were discussing the same topic next to him, likely also awaiting an empty carriage.

"How ridiculous. There are clearly horses leading the carriage," Draco butted in their conversation. "Are you lot that blind?"

"Blind? There is nothing leading the carriages, Malfoy." One of them mumbled in distaste. Draco was unfazed. Clearly they needed to get their eyes checked. His confidence wavered when the whole group nodded in agreement.

"You ought to get some glasses, mate. Nothing's in front of the carriages." Another whole group of voices agreed. Draco frowned. Was he going mad? There were clearly winged horses guiding the carriages towards Hogwarts. Draco squinted his eyes. Now that he looked at them, they did look a little... abnormal. Even for the Wizarding World and magical creatures, they seriously looked a little eerie, perhaps even haunted. What he originally thought to be a skinny build was an almost skeletal figure with reptilian hide. What chilled him were their eyes.