dislike ↠ draco malfoy

thirty-one

"They've gone on some sort of mission," Ginny explained as the train began to move forward. "They didn't say any details."

"A mission?" I repeated.

"Yes, it's got something to do with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," Ginny said.

I gaped at her. "They're going after Voldemort?"

"Don't say his name!" Ginny shrieked. Across from me, I saw Neville flinch slightly. "And be quiet."

"Sorry, sorry," I said. "That's insane... so they're not coming to school this year?"

Ginny shook her head. "They can't."

"The Death Eaters have overtaken the Ministry," Neville said. "They're trying to capture Harry."

"Merlin," I muttered, clutching the seat. My breakfast churned in my stomach. I suddenly felt like I was going to vomit.

Suddenly, the train's brakes squeaked loudly as the train came to a halt. Murmurs broke out throughout the train.

"What's going on?" Luna said, her usually dreamy voice sounding scared. She dropped the Quibbler onto her lap.

"I don't know... It's going to be okay, Luna. Everything's going to be fine," Neville said, trying to comfort her.

The train doors opened. Three men in black cloaks stepped in. They were all burly, with squared jawlines and determined looks on their faces. I heard someone cry out in fright.

These were Death Eaters.

I swallowed and dug my fingers into my palms so hard that I could feel them start to bleed.

"Where is he?" the first man demanded. "Where is Harry Potter?"

More whispering filled the train.

"My father will hear about this!" Cormac McLaggen exclaimed, standing up.

"Shut it, boy!" the second Death Eater snapped. "Or we'll do it for you!"

Cormac whimpered and sat back down in his seat.

"Where is Harry Potter?" the first man said again. "We know he's here."

Suddenly, Neville stood up. He faced them and said confidently. "Hey, losers, he isn't here."

The Death Eater stared at him, clearly think of whether or not he should kill Neville. Neville continued to stare at him, as though challenging him to a duel.

The Death Eater eventually snapped his eyes away from Neville's and turned around. "Let's go."

The Death Eaters stormed out, and I let out a breath that I hadn't realized I had been holding. Many others did the same.

The train started to move forward again, as though none of that had just happened.

Luna stared at Neville, her clear blue eyes wide. "I can't believe you did that, Neville. They could have killed you."

"Someone had to tell them the truth, didn't they?" Neville said. "Why the hell would Harry go back to Hogwarts?"

"Why were they just looking for Harry, though?" I asked in a quiet voice. "Aren't Ron and Hermione with him, too?"

"Well, Hermione's a Muggleborn, and almost all of them are on the run right now," Ginny explained. "So they probably just think she's in hiding." She glanced around to make sure no one was listening. "And Ron is pretending to be sick with spattergroit."

I raised my eyebrow. "How is he pretending to have spattergroit?"

She lowered her voice even more. "We've got this ghoul in the attic at our house. Ron transfigured it to look like him, and gave it boils. If anyone asks why he's not at school, we just say that he's sick with spattergroit."

"That's awfully smart," I said.

"I know," Ginny said, looking down. "I'm just... I'm really worried about him."

"Hey, I'm sure he's fine," I said reassuringly. "And Harry and Hermione. They're all going to be fine."

She smiled slightly. "Thanks, Evangeline."

* * *

When we arrived at Hogwarts, we departed the train and went over toward the carriages.

But something was different.

Last year, the carriages had pulled themselves. But how there was a large winged creature in front of it. My mouth hung open. "What's that?" I asked in amazement.

"What?" Ginny said. "What are you looking at?"

"The thestrals," Luna said dreamily. "You can see them now."

"Thestrals? What are thestrals? Why can I see them now?" I asked.

"They pull the carriages," Neville explained. "You can only see them if you've seen death. You witnessed Dumbledore dying last year, so you can see them now."

"Can you see them?"

"Yes, Luna and I can," Neville replied.

"I can't," Ginny said, getting onto the carriage. The rest of us followed her.

I watched as the creature moved forward and the carriage began to move along with it.

I silently hoped that once we got there, Draco would be there, sitting at his place at the Slytherin table.