Whisper → Draco Malfoy

CHAPTER TWO

Kings Cross Station was bustling with commuters by the time the Elise arrived. Her mother left her at the gates with nothing more than a weak smile, but Elise wasn't bothered, Hogwarts was just a short train ride away and she couldn't wait to be there. In only a few hours she would be back where she truly felt she belonged.

Despite her trunk being significantly smaller than it was in previous years, lugging it around behind her was far more of a challenge than she had imagined. Elise could feel the muscles in her back beginning to ache, she longed to take the pain away, to levitate her trunk beside her with a simple flick of her wand but she knew there would be consequences; she hadn't yet made it to Platform 9¾. Magic in front of muggles was forbidden and as much as Elise enjoyed bending the rules, this was one she wouldn't bend.

As much as Elise adored returning to Hogwarts, running headfirst into the platform wall still made her uncomfortable. Although she knew that magic could do wonderful things, she still felt a glimmer of doubt when she looked at the platform wall. During her second year at Hogwarts, she had even heard stories of the platform wall remaining hard, causing two students to run straight into it rather than through it. After she heard that story, the seed of doubt in her head began to grow.

Elise knew it was best to tackle the wall at a run so with all the courage she could muster, she ran directly at the wall between platforms 9 and 10. She felt a rush of joy as she passed through the wall, the distinct smell of the platform rushing through the air and entering her system as she took her first look around the platform at all the new students. Hundreds of young witches and wizards rushed around the platform in a hurry, pulling their trunks and cages behind them as they made their way onto the Hogwarts Express.

Elise quickly rushed into the crowd, darting between each student as she made her way towards the front of the train. Once she found where to drop her trunk, she let go of the handle and quickly removed herself from the crowd, making her way towards one of the back entrances to the train. She knew there was no use hunting for her friends on the station, she would likely miss the train in the time it took to find them instead, she was certain they would find each other on the train as they usually did.

As soon as she was on the train, Elise sat herself down in the first set of empty seats she could find, sliding her bag onto the seat opposite her to ensure her friend had somewhere to sit. She had failed to do so on the way her previous term of school which had resulted in some revenge jinxes from her best friend, something which she did not dispute that she deserved.

It wasn't long before Daphne burst into the carriage and sat herself down on the seat opposite Elise. "Elise tell me your OWL results!" Daphne threw her belongings onto the floor without a care in the world. Elise knew Daphne wasn't interested; she was simply curious.

"Three Exceeds Expectations and six Outstanding's. What did you get?" Elise felt herself beaming, a smile plastering itself from eye to eye.

"Blimey Elise. No need to show off, we already know you're smart." She turned to see Draco Malfoy sat on one of the seats on the other side of the carriage, Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson sat close beside him.

"Draco is it hard seeing someone doing so well in their exams when you know you'll never be as talented as me?" Elise found her smile growing stronger.

"I'll have you know I got four Outstanding's," Draco exclaimed with a smirk.

"Only four? That's disappointing."

"Not all of us are perfect Elise." His eyes glanced over towards Daphne. "Some of us lack even the ability to function correctly."

"Well, some of us don't fail any of our OWLs." Daphne chimed in, glancing up momentarily before continuing to file her nails with a sigh.

"You failed something?" Elise was almost laughing at this point. Draco Malfoy has failed one of his OWLs: the boy who was adamant to humiliate anyone who got below an Exceeds Expectations had failed.