Malfoy

Chapter 1

The rhythmic chugging of the train running along it's tracks was almost enough to send me to sleep but anxiety kept me far from sleep. This year was going to be different, I wouldn't let myself be small and easy to push around anymore. Just because I was a Hufflepuff, it didn't mean I had to be nice all the time and I sure as hell didn't plan to be this year. Malfoy had made it deafeningly clear at the end of last year just how much of a pushover he thought I was, throwing around words like weak and pathetic. Not this year. No, this year was the year I fought back. Unfortunately, that meant I was a vibrating ball of anxiety worrying about when I would have to make my first stand.

"There she is, everyone's least favourite blood traitor," sniggered a voice from the doorway to my train compartment. It seemed my first stand was going to be sooner than I had wanted it to be. I turned to face Draco Malfoy and for a moment nearly forgot to say anything, he looked annoyingly good this year.

"You mean you have a favourite?" I asked raising one eyebrow at him. For a moment he looked surprised, he hadn't expected me to reply, I wouldn't have last year, I simply would have stared at the ground and wished for him to go away.

"The mouse speaks! What will you say next, little mouse?" He mocked, laughing with his friends.

"I'm going to go with a solid piss off," I smiled sweetly, the look on Malfoy's face wasn't good, he looked angry and I had a feeling that anger was about to come my way. 

"Leave her alone, Malfoy," warned Harry as he appeared in the doorway. I gulped, instantly losing my last ounce of self confidence as I gazed at Harry. Draco might have said something else but I was too focused on Harry, he looked perfect. Messy. But perfect. Harry Potter had been my knight in shining armour against Draco since the day I had started at Hogwarts and one of my best friends too. Unfortunately for me, he was also my crush, my completely oblivious crush.

"y/n?" Harry waved a hand in front of my face, snapping me out of my day dream, Malfoy was now nowhere to be seen and in front of me stood a concerned looking Harry. I felt my cheeks turn hot, telling me they were likely a deep shade of red right now.

"Harry!" I smiled softly, standing to give him a hug. "How are you? How was your summer?" I asked, pulling away from the hug. Before Harry could answer, Ron and Hermione appeared in the doorway. 

"I told you they were in here," Ron grumbled in Hermione's direction, clearly referring to a conversation they had been having beforehand.

"Oh be quiet, Ronald!" Hermione let out an exasperated sigh before hugging me and taking a seat, Ron was about to do the same when he let out a cry.

"Bloody hell y/n, how is that thing still alive?" He cried as he jumped back, revealing my frog sat in the chair he was about to sit in. I scooped him up and held him to my chest protectively.

"George is indestructible!" I grinned proudly, putting my frog down for a moment. He proceeded to hop in a strange little circle, unable to go the direction he wanted to owing to his one smaller leg. I had found him a couple of years ago in a pet shop where I had intended to get myself a cat but he had quite literally jumped out at me. The pet shop employee couldn't work out why I wanted a frog that could only hop in a circle and had one back leg bigger than the other but he seemed happy to be rid of the ridiculous frog and so George became mine.

"Bloody weird, that thing is," Ron grumbled, taking his seat and eyeing the frog warily. Hermione rolled her eyes.

The rest of the train journey went by fairly quickly, we all chatted about our summers and the upcoming school year. Malfoy did not make another appearance for the journey, much to my relief. 

It was only when I was getting off the train that he reappeared, shoving past me, smacking his shoulder hard against mine in such a way that surely must have hurt his shoulder as much as it hurt mine.

 "Dick," I huffed.

"Say something, little mouse?" he spun back around to face me with a smile that didn't look friendly.

"Nothing," I smiled fakely. He curled his lip up in disgust at me before marching away.

This year was going to be so much fun.