The Rest of the Prophecy | Harry Potter

The Train

Victoria hurried on board the train, excited to finally be away from her uncle. But now a feeling of uncertainty sank into the pit of her stomach, what was she supposed to do? She wandered around aimlessly, not knowing if she should search for Draco, try and find a compartment that was empty, or bolster up the courage to sit with complete strangers. It was quickly becoming evident, by the very full train, that she would have to make new friends. Whether she was ready or not. Growing up away from people her age, had made her somewhat shy in these types of situations.

Victoria finally came to a cart that had one open seat left. Just as she was about to ask the very young-looking group, no doubt first years, if she could sit in the empty seat next to them, someone slammed into the the back of her. The sudden jolt caused her to stumble forward.

"Ow," Victoria said quietly before looking around to see what had caused her to already look like a fool.

A boy, who looked to be her age said sorry. He actually said sorry more times than she could count before asking, "Have you seen a toad anywhere? His name is Trevor and I just had him, but he really likes to escape." The boy spoke in a frantic and hurried tone.

Victoria said, "No, I'm sorry I haven't seen a toad." She paused and thought for a moment before saying, "I can help you look though. What did you say his name was again?"

"Trevor and he is pretty big for his age," said the boy. Victoria just nodded and began helping the still nameless boy search for his toad.

After a few minutes of searching, Victoria finally spotted what looked to be the big green toad. It was hopping form one compartment to the next. Victoria quickly followed it and grabbed it while saying, "Ah!" She did not realize yet whose compartment she had ended up in.

"What in the bloody hell are you doing?" asked a voice she was all too familiar with. She looked up from where she was kneeling to see Draco sitting. Sadly, it wasn't just Draco, it was a compartment full of people, all staring at her.

Victoria quickly stood and said, "Oh, hello. So sorry for intruding, but I was helping this — " But before Victoria could finish, an elated voice cut her off.

"You found him! Thank you so much!" the boy with the lost toad beamed at Victoria. Before she could say it was no trouble, however, Draco's harsh voice cut her off.

"Oh, come on Tori, don't tell me you have gone off making friends with Neville Longbottom?" Draco snorted. The boy who had lost his toad, who apparently is named Neville, began to look sheepish. "I mean really Tori; I leave you alone for thirty minutes and this is where you run off to?" The other passengers in the compartment began to snicker.

"I was just helping, uh - Neville, is it? Find his toad," Victoria said turning toward Neville. "Last I checked, that wasn't a crime," Victoria said defensively now looking back at Draco.

"It should be," a girl sitting to Draco's left said coldly. Draco shot her a warning look. While Draco could reprimand his cousin, it was clear others could not.

"She wasn't talking to you Pansy," Draco said flatly, his eyes still fixed on Victoria. "Listen, I should've waited for you before finding a seat. Clearly." He eyed Neville again. "For your sake and Longbottom's, come sit with us. Now." His said the last words in a harsh tone. Victoria wasn't about to let him win this one though.  She looked from Draco and back to Neville. He looked utterly embarrassed, and her heart began to ache for the boy with the toad. She wasn't going to let Draco bully people in front of her. She refused to let him act like his father.

"No, I don't think I will," Victoria said flatly, still not breaking eye contact with her cousin.

"Excuse me? Did you just tell me no?" asked Draco. The air in the compartment seemed to grow thicker. Everyone was holding their breath, as if waiting for an explosion of some sort.