Chapter 1:
Draco:
The platform was teeming with people, left right and centre as parents gave teary goodbyes to their kids and kids jumped from one leg to another waiting to board the train and start another year.
I sighed, as I followed my father through the crowd, absentmindedly wiping my new Prefect badge, God I hope Potter isn't the Gryffindor prefect. But the newfound happiness inside me on deciding what exactly I was going to make Potter do vanished as I realized that Pansy was the other Slytherin Prefect.
Great, maybe she'll break her own record of calling me 'Drakie Pooh' this year.
"Have you got everything Draco?" my mother's voice called, as we stood a bit away from the commotion of the platform having found a quiet corner for ourselves finally.
"Yes, Mother." I replied, running a hand through my hair, it was just 10:35AM why are we here so soon?
Just as I was about to voice my dismay a laugh made my words die in my throat, and we turned to see two people laughing as they came to stand a bit away from us, looking relieved at being away from the commotion.
Irritation instantly swept through me as my eyes landed on Carina Hadley, looking chirpy, standing next to the buffed up, Archer Medallion. He had her trunk held in one of his hands and had his other carelessly draped over her almost bare shoulders as they stood, laughing about something.
"C'mon it wasn't that bad!" her voice carried over to us just as clear and whiny as I remembered, I barely controlled the grimace that made its way to my face.
"You bit him!" Archer's deep voice countered, "You bloody animal!"
"Well!" Carina said, trying and failing to keep her voice down, "Did you want him to kiss me without my permission?!"
"You had braces," he contradicted, "He had to get tetanus shots, Care."
Braces?
"Yes I'll go for the family jewels next time" Carina sagely said, her shoulders carelessly shrugging.
"I've taught you well." Archer agreed, making me look over. They stood looking at each other with faint smiles upon their faces.
"Draco?" my mother said, diverting my attention back to her direction, "Do you know them?"
I opened my mouth to say yes, but faltered, remembering the last encounter I had had with Carina. She had helped revive me on the train-ride back home last year, after Potter had jabbed a hex at me. Then she'd turned around and strutted off calling, "I think we're even now, Malfoy" behind her shoulder.
"No." I said, shaking my head to get rid of the memory. My mother opened her mouth to presumably ask another question when Archer beat her to it
"Take care of yourself this year, yeah?" Archer said and I looked back at them, noticing how my father never took his eyes off them. He just glared at them with narrowed eyes, trying to figure something out. But my mother's eyes were scanning over Carina's outfit almost pityingly.
The red top she wore, hung off her thin frame, flaring out in an asymmetric curve as it was met by her ripped jeans.
What made my eyes narrow was the way the thin lacy straps that held the top up outlined how her collarbones jutted out against her skin. She looked thinner than she had the last time I saw her. Thinner, taller and tired.
"You take care of yourself too." She replied so quietly I had to strain my ears to hear it. Sighing I looked away from them again, facing the tottering children littering about.
"Is there a group-hug in progression that I wasn't invited to?" a third voice boomed around us, and I looked to my other side to see a dark haired guy strutting towards us with a smug expression on his highly chiselled face, one of his arms wrapped around Daphne Greengrass's waist and the other pulled what I assumed to be her trunk behind them as they slowly crossed us without as much as a glance. Their eyes fixated on Hadley and Archer.
"Shame on your guys!" Daphne's bubbly voice came up and my family and I inclined our heads slightly towards them again, "Couldn't you guys wait for 5 more minutes until we got here to initiate a group hug?"
"Just get in here you crazy buffoons." Carina laughingly replied and Daphne and the new guy wrapped themselves around the two, laughing as they heard Archer complaining about being squished.
"Stop harassing my boyfriend!" another new voice shouted from behind them and they broke apart again to reveal a pretty brunette dressed in a prim and proper dress make their way towards them.
"Blair!" Archer moaned, throwing his arms around the brunette and I realised I had seen her before, she was the Beauxbatons girl who was seen hanging around Carina last year, "Remember I told you if I ever end up dead, look for these people first?"
Blair laughed, as she pulled away from Archer a bit, but stood close to him, his arm curled around her waist and he planted a kiss on her cheek.
"Oi you two!" Carina called, flicking her index finger between both of them, "Don't break up okay? It's just one year."
"I second that." Daphne said sternly, then turned to the dark haired new guy, "And you better take care of yourself Mister."
"Yes ma'am" he saluted, laughing at her expression.
Archer coughed out a low "Whipped." before coughing again and I stopped myself from laughing out loud at that. It was then that I realised that we were still standing on the station, but as much as I willed my body to look away I stood there transfixed, ignoring my parents as I watched the group of 5, shooting each other mischievous glances.
"I almost miss Hogwarts." Blair declared, looking wistfully at the red train, and all of them automatically turned to it.
"I kept telling you guys to transfer to Hogwarts!" Carina whined, "We could've had so much fun!"
"You could've transferred to Beauxbatons too Care!" Blair replied sternly, looking at Carina's pouty face, which quickly changed to an annoyed one.
"Blair" she said, "You know I love most things French, from fries to kisses, but there are only so many frog legs I can eat."
"You've never eaten frog legs." The new guy said.
"Exactly, Milo." Carina called, flashing him a smirk.
My father's hand then gripped my shoulder, causing me to look away from them again, "Who is he?" he whispered lowly, his eye darting to Archer standing in the middle of the group.
I cleared my throat, "That's Archer Medallion, Durmstrang student."
He nodded, "How do you know him?"
"He was at Hogwarts last year, for the Triwizard tournament." I answered, looking at my mother who still glanced at them form the corner of her eye, looking far more subtle than I ever did.
Father nodded again, then looked at me and said, "Have a good year, son." Turning to my mother he said, "I have to go see Notts."
I nodded, "Thank you, Father." I replied just as my mother assured him that she'll join him after I board.
"Dude Potter's got a dog." Carina's voice rang through the air again and I sharply looked around the station to spot Potter.
Sure enough, a shaggy black dog stood on his hind-legs trying to hug Potter, but was quickly shoved off by the plump Weasley woman, the mother I realised.
"Is that a Great Dane?" Daphne asked uncertainly.
"I think yeah..."The new guy, Milo faintly replied, before Archer cursed out loud.
"You guys need to board now!" he shouted, looking up at the huge clock above the platform, the minute hand inching to 10:55.
"Shit." Carina replied, grabbing her trunk form Archer, who refused to let go, but instead pulled her in his arms and reassuringly rubbed his hand over her back.
Daphne was pulled into a kiss by Milo by then and my mother had pulled me into a hug.
I was just reassuring her back that I will be okay and was trying my best to step away from her when I heard Blair say, "No skipping meals this year."
Carina rolled her eyes, but Daphne came up to stand beside her and said, "I'll make sure she doesn't."
Blair nodded, satisfied but Archer narrowed his eyes at Carina, "No vomiting the food out after eating either, Carina." He said, lowly, but it was useless. My mother had already gasped and all five of them turned to look at us staring at them abashedly.
Carina's soft voice broke the silence first, "Geez, Arch, Thank you so much for keeping that a secret!"
My eyes flicked to hers once making my mind shoot back to all the times I had seen Carina in the great hall, surrounded by food and I connected the dots to the numerous times I had seen nothing more than one toast in plate, or maybe one piece of pie in the other.
"Bulimia is not a joke, Care." Archer said sternly and I looked up to see him staring daggers at me, in fact all five of them stared at us, looking like they would jump into a fight if I even opened my mouth. So I just mutely nodded a little at the silent threat in Archer's eyes and turned to my mother.
"I'm boarding now, mother." I declared, turning around to pick up my trunk.
"Oh Draco!" my mother said, pulling me into another hug, as she reminded me to owl her often and to let them know if I had forgotten anything.
I pulled back and smiled up at her as I saw the group take chances hugging Carina and Daphne, reminding each other to take care of themselves and promising to owl as much as possible.
"Draco." My father called from behind just as I was about to step away from my mother and I saw Carina and Daphne walked off to get to the train, out of the corner of my eye.
"Keep up your marks this year." He said, his tall frame looking down at me.
I turned to leave then, seeing as my father had started walking away when Blair's soft voice stilled me, "You worry about her too much, Arch." She said, her palm cupping Archer's cheek as he gazed ahead at the train, "She'll be okay."
He shook his head, tearing his gaze away from the train as Milo excused himself to go say goodbye to Daphne one last time, "She's hurt already, Blair and I couldn't stop that." He said, "I almost let her get-"
"But it didn't happen!" Blair cut him off fiercely, "You and Will got there in time!"
Archer just looked away, but Blair sighed, "There's nothing you could do about Ed either, Archer."
He nodded mutely, "If we had gotten to him in time-"
"He would've still died." She reminded him, her voice soft, "Carina has already moved on, don't you see? And we're going to check up on her mother to keep the promise we made to her. Carina is okay, Rachel is okay. Will made sure of that."
Archer exhaled, then looped his arm around Blair's shoulder and started tugging her away, getting lost in the sea of people the platform was drowning in.
Leaving my mind reeling with everything that I had just heard. I silently made my way to the train, shrugging my mother off with a hasty goodbye, as I scolded myself for even thinking about talking to Carina.
She's a blood traitor, I cannot be friends with a blood traitor.
But wasn't Ed the muggle her mother as supposed to marry?
Shaking my head as if to will away my thoughts, I boarded the train just as the warning whistle sounded.
**