Traitor: A Draco Malfoy Story

forty-one

The train was abuzz with people like last year, but an unseen cloud hung over everyone, dampening the mood. I watched from the platform, seeing the first years were still cheery and excited, their parents doing their best to put on a happy face for them, but as the students got older, the more they knew about what had happened last year and the more fear was in their eyes as they boarded the train.

I'd seen some of them in Diagon Alley but they had all seemed happier when the suggested doom of Hogwarts wasn't so near. It seemed like everyone and their great-aunt was at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, the joke shop that Fred and George started up a little over a month ago. They'd come home for weekends and their evenings were free for Quidditch practice. It was a pretty good gig, impressive, even, given that half of Diagon Alley was closed down, including Ollivanders, which made my heart ache slightly. I'd clutched my wand tighter after I'd seen his shattered windows.

Diagon Alley hadn't been what I remembered. It looked more like the dark abandoned rooms of Hogwarts Castle, rooms that students weren't allowed. There were hardly any lights on, store windows were either boarded up or shattered, and it looked like a slum. I half expected squatters to be living in the abandoned buildings. It reminded me of the places Barb and John would steer us girls clear of in New York.

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, however, shone like a shiny new coin in the desolate alley. It brought a little life and light back to the dark and depressed area, and I'd even seen a few Slytherins there looking at all the pranks. Daphne Greengrass had been looking at the Love Potions, and  Theodore Nott had been perusing the Puking Pasties. He was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, and I realized I'd never seen him in anything but his robes. My eyes roamed his body for a second, glancing away before he had the chance to catch me. He was more muscular than I'd remembered.

"Could be useful for getting out of class if we have another shitty Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," he joked as I walked up to him putting a box of Pasties in a bag, an eyebrow raised.

"So long as you don't slip them in my coffee, I'll look the other way," I'd laughed.

I had been about to wander away when he'd caught my hand and pulled me back to him, intertwining our fingers. "You owe me a 'get to know me sober' date," he smirked. "I hope you don't think I forgot."

"Of course not, Theodore," I smirked back at him. "How could I forget about you?"

"You're so cheesy," he grinned, and I gently pushed him, laughing. "Glad you're not calling me Nott, though. One step closer to Theo." He winked. "Maybe even...boyfriend?"

"Oh god," I groaned, running a hand through my hair and letting it fall back into place. "That one hurt my soul."

He chuckled. "Mine too. I'll never do that again, I swear." He'd looked at me for a second as he reached towards me, pausing before tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. I couldn't stop the blush that rose in my cheeks and he smirked when he saw it. "I'll see you later, Azalea."

I'd waved goodbye and stayed in the joke shop until Harry, Ron, and Hermione came back to get us for the train.

I saw Jenna's wild black hair from across the platform and excused myself from the trio and the Weasleys, thanking Mrs. Weasley for an amazing summer and wrapping her in a tight embrace, which she graciously returned. 

Ashton stopped talking mid-sentence when I rushed up to my friends, happy to see people I hadn't in a while. I'd gotten the occasional letter from Jenna, but none from her brother Ethan or Ashton. The siblings turned to me when Ashton stopped speaking, their expressions slipping into frowns.

I looked back and forth between the trio. "Hey," I said tentatively. "Haven't heard from you guys in a while."

Ashton's gaze dropped to her feet, and Ethan became increasingly interested in the column of bricks that Hogwarts-goers were coming out of. Jenna was the only one who made eye contact with me, and I raised my brows at her. She gently took me by the arm and led me somewhere more secluded by the luggage cage.

"What is going on with you guys?" I asked, concern lacing my voice. "Did I do something?"

"Not directly," Jenna hesitated. "The Daily Prophet published a small article about you. Not the one where Dumbledore and Harry are taking a picture, and you're back there laying on the ground with Lovegood next to you, but one about three days ago."

"Yes, we laughed about the disrespect, I remember. What article about me, though? I haven't seen one," I replied.

"It wasn't necessarily anything serious, it just kind of...exposed you." She shuffled her feet before looking at me. "Someone let it slip you're more Muggle than Wizard."

My eyes widened. "Oh. I mean, okay. Whatever, right? My magic should speak for itself while we're at Hogwarts."

"That's not all the article said." Jenna brushed her hair off her forehead before continuing. "They really opened up about who you are."

Panic bells rang in my brain and the blood drained from my face, my hands going cold. I couldn't walk around school with people knowing I was a Riddle. I would probably get jumped three times a day. I had thought the only people who knew were Voldemort himself and Harry. Harry.

"It talked about how you have a gift that must be protected at all costs. That the gift was harvesting magic. Basically, everything you tried to keep secret is now public knowledge and not just at Hogwarts. The whole Wizarding community knows." Jenna sighed. "I'm sorry."

I breathed an inward sigh of relief. This, I could deal with. I'd almost forgotten this was something I should have been worried about. I shuddered to think what the consequences would be if people found out the real secret. If the article was about me needing protection then really, what's new?

"That's okay," I let a small smile play on my lips. "That's not too bad. But what about Ethan and Ashton?"

"Well," Jenna said, taking my hands in hers. "As grateful as I am that you chose to tell me about your power, Ethan and Ashton are not as grateful that you decided not to tell them."

"Well, I..." I trailed off. I didn't have a reason for not telling them. I suddenly feel guilty. Was that why they didn't write?

"Ethan's hurt because he dueled Malfoy for you. Ashton's mad because she warned you about the rumors, and now she's convinced they're true. They want me to be mad too, for their sake, but I can't. I told them it was because we were in the same house and the same dorm and I could keep an eye on you."

I rubbed my face with my hands. We weren't even at Hogwarts yet. It was too soon for this. "Okay, well. What do they expect me to do? What's done is done."

Jenna sighed again. "Good luck getting them to see eye to eye."

"So what I'm hearing is, I now don't have a place to sit on the train," I grumbled.

Jenna smiled apologetically. "At least, not with us. Seeing you made it a little too fresh."

I nodded solemnly, not caring to return the smile. "See you at Hogwarts, then."

She opened her mouth as if to say something more, but decided against it, watching me walk away from her towards the train.