I bounced up and down excitedly in my seat, staring out the window at the foggy green fields racing past us. The rolling hills seemed endless as we snaked through the countryside, speeding along towards Hogwarts. "Isabelle, calm down, you're going to go through the roof," Harry said for probably the fifth time. "Oh come on, let me be excited about all of this. It's my first time on the train!" I said defensively and Harry chuckled, shaking his head in surrender.
It really was - I'd never ridden The Hogwarts Express before. I had always floo'd back and forth between home and school with Dad, so I'd never gotten to see the legendary scarlet steam engine. "You sound just like the first years," Ginny said teasingly, poking me in the side before getting up and leaving the compartment to find her friends. I glanced over at the door and the blonde girl sitting beside it - Luna Lovegood. I didn't know much about her, but she seemed nice. Odd, but nice. I glanced at the door, hoping Draco might walk by. It was too risky to try and find him on the train, but I was dying to see him. A whole month apart had felt like torture after being so close.
"Isa?"
I snapped out of my thoughts quickly, seeing Harry looking at me strangely. "Are you alright? You're on another planet." He joked, and I laughed half-heartedly. "Isn't it obvious? She's in love." Luna piped up without looking away from her barmy magazine. I whipped around to look at her, panic rising in me.
"In love? What?" Harry said in confusion, looking back and forth at me and Luna. "Luna, you really are a bit loony." I joked, sitting back against the seat in what I hoped was a casual pose. "There's no one at this school that I'm even the least bit attracted to," I said, and Luna's round, curious eyes stared at me over the top of her large, colorful glasses. "When people lie, nargles come and take root in their brains." She said in a very plain voice before turning back to her magazine.
I stared at Harry, who opened his mouth to speak but thankfully was interrupted by Ron and Hermione coming back in from their prefect rounds. "Ron, you can't be so lenient! You're a prefect, we have a certain level of authority to uphold!" Hermione said, her arms crossed in front of her. "Hermione, lay off, they were second years playing Exploding Snap. Lighten up, will you?" Ron grumbled, sitting down next to Harry. He and Harry started up a conversation before Hermione could reply, which made her look absolutely furious. Hermione sat down next to me, fishing a book out of her bag and hurriedly burying her nose in it, making me sigh - the year was off to a great start.
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Our fifth year was an absolute disaster. Not only were we not learning any real defense methods in our DADA class, but we were also barely learning at all. The new DADA professor, that horrible Umbridge woman, used class time to feed us Ministry-manufactured rubbish and it made my blood boil. Harry, though, had reached his breaking point faster than I. And that's why I was still waiting up with Ron and Hermione after everyone else had gone to bed. Harry still wasn't back from his detention with Umbridge and we were all worried.
It was nearly eleven when the door to the portrait hole swung open, and our heads snapped up to see Harry walking into the common room. "Harry!" I said, getting up and hurrying over. "Are you okay? Why were you there so long?" Harry shrugged, shaking his head. "Umbridge wanted me to clean her teacup collection. She has nearly a hundred, it's mad. I'm off to bed." He said, walking past us. "Harry, I know when you're lying to me," I said, grabbing Harry's hand but releasing it quickly when he let out a yell of pain. I stared at him for a second before taking his hand gently, turning it over and gasping. "I MUST NOT TELL LIES" looked like it had been carved into the back of his hand, still angry red and bleeding.
"Harry..." I said in a shaky voice, prompting Hermione and Ron to come over. "Did that old bat do this?" Ron said, a little horrified. "She's torturing students for speaking up about Voldemort!" Hermione said in a shrill voice, and I looked at her, a little shocked. She had never said Voldemort's name out loud before, so I knew that she had finally had it. "Umbridge is going to try to terrify us into silence, and if something really does happen, there's nothing we can do to protect ourselves," I said quietly, looking around at my friends. The reality seemed to sink in, as did the feeling of hopelessness.
"Then we fight back." We all looked at Hermione, a little taken aback at her declaration. "We've got to learn to defend ourselves. And if Umbridge won't do it, someone else will." Slowly, we all looked at Harry, and even though he looked just as unsure as we did, I knew he was in.
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That rainy night, Dumbledore's Army came into existence. But with the creation of Dumbledore's Army came new dangers. Umbridge knew that a secret group was meeting in the school, and had implemented her own twisted response - The Inquisitorial Squad. A roving band of bullies whose sole purpose was to root out people who tried to defy Umbridge and her Ministry policies - and, to top it all off, Draco was the head of the squad.
"That is without a doubt the ugliest thing you've ever worn in your life." I said without turning around, placing the large book back on the shelf, trying to keep my voice down in the hushed library space. "Beg your pardon?" I heard Draco say in confusion. I sighed and turned to face him, pointing to the shiny badge that graced his broad chest. "That. The Goon Squad badge." Draco sighed, looking down at me. He had gotten taller over the summer, and now the height difference between us was almost laughable. He was at least five inches taller than me now, with room to grow still.
"There is an upside to it, you know. I can protect you now." Draco said, and his words pulled on my heart. I looked up at him, placing my hands on his sides. "You've always been able to do that, Draco," I said softly.
"You need to be careful. Umbridge is making us take in anyone she believes is part of Dumbledore's Army, and submit them to her for questioning. I don't trust her." He whispered, holding my face in his hands gently. I leaned into his touch, smiling. "She doesn't scare me," I said, smirking up at him. Draco let out a quiet laugh, his smile sending butterflies floating through my stomach. "My little fighter. I know she doesn't scare you. She doesn't scare me either, but the idea of her doing something to you does."
I shook my head, fisting my hands in his shirt sides and pulling him closer to me. "She can't hurt me. She can't hurt us. We're invincible, remember?" Draco grinned and pulled my face to his, kissing me soundly. Voices floated towards us from a nearby aisle, making us jump apart and become immersed in whatever book was closest.
As soon as the students passed, I dropped the book on the small counter, sighing. "Why is having two minutes alone with you so hard?" I asked sadly. Draco grinned and pulled me into him, his hands resting low on my back. "Another upside to being on Umbridge's Goon Squad - I do my own nightly patrols, and we can have much more than two minutes alone then." He said as he reached into his pants pocket and began fastening something around my neck.
I looked down to see a small star resting on my chest, hanging on a delicate chain. Unlike the small metal ones I saw muggle girls in town wearing, this one glowed and sparkled like an actual star, as if Draco had plucked it from the sky for me. "Is..is this my star?" I said, a little shocked. Draco shook his head, chuckling. "No, I wish I was that good. It's just a replica." He said, and I grinned.
"Draco, it's beautiful! I love it! But why are you giving me this?" I said, beaming up at him. "So we can have more than two minutes alone. It's enchanted. When I say a certain phrase, the star will become warm. That way, you'll know that it's safe to come and meet me." I raised my eyebrows, a small smirk on my face. "Taking a page from Hermione's book, I see?" Draco frowned and smacked my arse lightly, making me jump. "Don't start something we can't finish," I warned, pressing myself against him. Draco smirked and kissed me, ignoring my comments.
"Just out of curiosity, what is the phrase?" I asked, looking down at the star. "Find my love." I heard Draco say, and at his words, the star began to heat up, spreading a pleasant warmth through me. I looked up at his face and was suddenly drawn to him, the inexplicable urge to be close to him overwhelming me. "It's a summoning charm," I said simply. Draco grinned, shrugging. "A mild one, yeah." I laughed and kissed him hard, smiling. "It's perfect," I mumbled, shivering when I felt Draco's hands begin to wander. "Draco, we're in the library..." I whispered, biting my lip when I felt his hands tighten on my hips. "Then I guess we'll have to be extra quiet." He said, and the slight rasp in his voice made my knees weak.
I felt the Galleon in my pocket grow hot and I groaned, cursing Hermione's timing. "You have a Goon Squad to attend to, and I have an army to train. You can investigate the color of my knickers later." I teased, giggling at Draco's groan. "I'll see you later. Love you." I said, kissing him one last time before hurrying out of the library towards the seventh floor, prepping myself for another DA meeting.
(A/n: Rebellion, gotta love it. Sorry about the late update, work is absolutely EVIL. Thank you so much for reading, my lovelies! I hope you loved this chapter - if you did, make sure you add OLS to your reading list/library so you can get updated every time I post a new chapter - Mondays and Wednesdays! Feel free to check out my other works, all of which are on my profile! Love y'all! H x )