"Oh come on, really?" Tonks complained "You've won fourteen times in a row! Can't you give it a break?"
"Fifteen, actually." Lupin added "November never really loses in these kinds of mind games."
"Then let's play something that is not mind games." Tonks said.
"Afraid you're going to lose even worse." I laughed "Do I have to remind you how much of a klutz you are?"
"And while you're debating games, November Avery, you should already be on your way to the train station or you'll be late." Moody said walking into the dining room.
"Right, can't be late." I murmured.
"Come on, I'll see you off at the station." Lupin stood up.
Ever since Dumbledore returned my memories, the Order had declared that it was unsafe for me to leave the Headquarters without any form of protection, and that meant someone in the Order of Phoenix had to be with me all the time, throughout my whole summer holidays. To be plain, members of the Order now had three tasks: protecting Harry Potter, protecting me, and fighting against Voldemort and his growing army of Death Eaters. Now that we had the Ministry and Daily Prophet on our side, it was much easier.
Sirius' name had been cleared, at last. They finally concluded that the crime wasn't his to commit and the punishment wasn't his to take. But even so, he was no longer around. There wasn't a day gone by that I didn't think about him, how happy he would be now that his name was cleared and he was able to live with Harry at 12 Grimmauld Place. Considering how closed we were in the past, there was no way I could forget about him. Not that easy, anyway.
Harry and Lupin were one of the few who understood and never tried to tell me to move on soon like everyone else. Harry and I wrote to each other every week when he was in the Burrow with the Weasleys and Hermione, from the words he wrote I could tell he was still devastated about that, though he did try to conceal it. Lupin would spend nights talking to me every time I couldn't sleep, even though I knew how tired he was after a day working with the Order, and I could see how sad he was now that he had lost all of his closest friends. I was, from a girl who didn't know what fear was, afraid of almost everything now and I didn't know how to stop it.
"Good luck at Hogwarts." Lupin said as soon as we were at the platform. It was fifteen minutes before the Hogwarts Express' departure.
"That's if I had luck." I mumbled "I felt like all the luck I've ever had is washed away."
"Come here." He opened his arms and I went for a tight hug "We'll always be there for you. If you ever need help, you know where to find us."
"Of course I do." I smiled "Now I have to go before I'm officially late."
"Stay safe, okay?" He said.
"Merlin's Beard, you're one of my best friends, not my mother, Remus Lupin." I laughed "And I really have to go."
"Go." He laughed "Bye. See you at Christmas."
"See you at Christmas." I walked away "Hope that by then you've made a move with Tonks."
"I don't know what you're talking about." He called after.
"Oh you know exactly what I'm talking about."
Laughing at his confused face, I climbed on board and went searching for a suitable compartment. Since the end of last year, I knew I had no hope of being in peace around my fellow House mates, but instead, I could seek hospitality in all other houses. I walked past the compartments where Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws or Gryffindors I didn't even knew waved at me gleefully as soon as they caught the glimpse of me passing by. I guess our conflicts were over. I was just taking my eyes off a few Ravenclaws in one compartment when I bumped into someone's solid chest.
"Oh hey Nov." He smiled.
"Zabini, looking for Juliette?" I smiled back, stepping further a bit.
"Not exactly, though I can't see her around." He shrugged "Need some air. Draco's a bit cranky, and by a bit I mean a lot. Did you kick his arse before coming on the train or did he just wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?"
"Who cares about him anyway." I shook my head as a no "And is it just me or do you really think that he's still cranky because I kinda lied to him last year?"
"Don't know for sure, really." He said "I think I'll be heading back."
"Sure, go ahead."
"Oh, and if you're looking for Potter, he's over there, on the left."
"Right, thanks."
I found Harry sitting with Hermione and Ron, there were only those two in the compartment. They put their heads together, looking very serious as if they were discussing life and death matters. I pushed the door and flopped onto the seat next to Harry, startled them all.
"Bloody hell, Nov." Ron jumped "I thought you were someone else."
"What's wrong?" I asked "You look serious."
They exchanged nervous looks.
"After all this and you're still considering whether to trust me?" I raised an eyebrow "Or if you're afraid I would be shocked or something, believe me, I was informed that my mother was dead just few hours after I said goodbye to her, so nothing can really shock me, okay?"
"Tell her, Hermione." Ron said.
"Apparently Harry is under the impression that Draco Malfoy is now a Death Eater." Hermione said.
"Draco Malfoy, a Death Eater, really? They don't match." I said.
"You're barking." Ron said "What would You-Know-Who want with a sod like Malfoy?"
"So what's he doing in Borgin and Burke's? Browsing for furniture?" Harry argued.
"It's a creeping shop. He's a creepy bloke." Ron said.
"Good point." I nodded.
"Look, his father's a Death Eater, it only makes sense." Harry said "Besides, Hermione saw it, with her own two eyes."
"I told you, I don't know what I saw." Hermione said to her defense.
"I need some air."
Harry snatched the Invisibility Cloak from Ron's hands and marched out of our train compartment. He stormed off to the end of the Hogwarts Express, leaving us behind, baffled by his attitudes. I exchanged glances with Hermione and Ron, then looked outside to see if there was anyone around before turning back to the conversation.
"He still takes his anger on you, doesn't he?" I asked
"It's better than before though." Ron sighed "Last year he even took it out on Dumbledore."
"What did you see?" I asked Hermione.
"We were in Knockturn Alley and--"
"How the hell were you even in Knockturn Alley? Those witches and wizards can kill you for an eye." I exclaimed.
"Just listen. We were in Knockturn Alley when we saw the Malfoys lurking around, so we followed them. I took a different way into the dark alleys to have a better look at what they were doing inside Borgin and Burke's. I saw them surrounding a large cauldron, many of them were there, even Bellatrix Lestrange. Draco Malfoy extended his arm, then Ron and Harry came and interrupted me. When I looked back, the cauldron exploded with light and the group dispersed."
"Harry thinks it's some kind of ceremony, or an initiation." Ron added "I think he's a bit over-thinking."
"Maybe, though he can be right." I mumbled "Which arm did Draco Malfoy extend?"
"Left, I think." Hermione said.
"He's right-handed, from what I know about him." I said "Normally, when a Death Eater bears a Dark Mark, it's on the opposite arm of their wand arm so that they can call upon the Dark Lord with their wand."
"How do you know about that?" Ron asked.
"My uncle was a Death Eater, so was my grandparents." I said "My mother told me."
"So it is possible that Draco Malfoy is a Death Eater?" Hermione asked.
"Possible, yes." I nodded "That's if Voldemort have some business to be done in Hogwarts where none of his Death Eaters have access to, then the only person with enough brain he could use is indeed Draco Malfoy. But I'm just talking about possibilities."
"He can use Snape, you know." Ron said.
"Shut it, Ronald." I hissed "If it hadn't been for him, you all would already be dead in the Death Chamber."
"Fine, so it's not him." Ron said "But is it true that Malfoy is the only access to Hogwarts Voldemort's got?"
"Unless he risks trying to access Harry's mind again, but I doubt it." I said.
"So what do you say? Should we keep an eye on Malfoy?" Hermione asked.
"I think I'll do it." I volunteered "Spying is kinda my thing."
"Sure it is."
"What? Have you got a better idea, Ronald?"
"Okay, fine. Merlin's Beard why are you all looking like you want to bite my head off?"
"Shut it, Ronald."