Unlikely (8th year Drarry)

Prologue

Draco knew that going back to Hogwarts was, objectively, not a very good idea. But he didn't know what else he was supposed to do with himself and he wanted to think about that as little as possible, so there he was, standing at platform 9¾, staring at the Hogwarts Express. He'd done stupider things.

Pansy was likely already inside, but he doubted many people would want to share a compartment with her, so there was no hurry. He couldn't stand there forever, but a minute or two wouldn't hurt. The station was busy, crowded, loud, and while he knew it was like that every year, this time it felt different. He wondered if anyone else felt that way.

A voice behind him ripped him out of his thoughts. His name, he realized. Pansy Parkinson was standing next to him, with her chin length hair and her black skirt and her sharp eyes. It was, as always, a relief to see her. She threw her arms around him in a hug.

"Don't just stand there, let's find a compartment or they'll all be taken.", she told him once she released him. Pansy had never bothered with being nice.

"Good to see you too.", he said, and they went inside the train. Towards their eighth year. An uneventful one, hopefully. If that was even possible.

~

Harry was staring. He knew that, but he couldn't help it, he just stood there, gaping like a goldfish. Malfoy was at the station. Malfoy was standing in front of the train. Malfoy was taking an eighth year.

"Harry? Harry, what are you looking at?"

He turned to find Hermione's confused face, demanding an answer.

"It's just.. Look. He's back. Why is he back?", he asked, not to anyone in particular, but just to get the question out of his mind. Hermione turned to Malfoy for a second, who was joined by Parkinson. She looked back at him, brows furrowed.

"I assume for the same reason we are. To retake seventh year." She didn't get it, clearly. How couldn't she see that this was weird? That this was stare-worthy?

"Yes, but why? Why would he want to come back? It's.. It doesn't make sense."

"Does it matter?"

Harry didn't know what to say to that. He mumbled something back and Hermione gave up on the conversation, and Harry was both relieved and annoyed. Malfoy was up to something. He just knew it. How, he couldn't have said. A sixth sense, maybe. What he did know was that he would find out what Malfoy was doing, just like always.

~

The inside of the train was restless and awake and endlessly tired. There was talking and whispering and even yelling, the usual excitement and anticipation on every face, but there was an almost palpable exhaustion everywhere. Draco knew then that he wasn't the only person who felt that this year was somehow different.

As predicted, no one wanted to be in the same compartment as the two of them, meaning they got one all to themselves. It turned out that being hated by the entire student body had it's benefits.

"Do you think Potter's back too?", Draco asked into the silence between them.

"Merlin's balls, Draco, it's been, what, five minutes?"

"Twelve, actually."

"And you're already talking about goddamned Potter. Can't this year be different for once? You have a problem.", she continued, ignoring him. She was right, of course, but Draco was proud and petty and wasn't going to admit that.

"I'm just wondering! He's probably not coming though, I bet the Ministry is practically begging him to become an Auror, doesn't matter if he hasn't actually graduated. Pathetic." He spat the words out in that typical way of his, but his heart wasn't in it, not really. He couldn't even complain about Potter normally.

"Who cares? Please, Draco, I'm begging you to shut up about your golden boy for just five minutes.", she groaned with a very dramatic sigh, but everything she did was dramatic, so maybe it was just a normal sigh. "I swear, I'll turn all your robes red and gold if you don't stop it, and you know my charms are a bitch to undo. Now, let's talk about something else. I heard Slughorn's teaching Potions again. Can you believe it? He's absolutely useless, no way that man's a Slytherin."

Draco just sat back and listened to her rant. He was glad that she was still so clearly the same as before. He didn't know what he'd do without her.

~

Their compartment was full, more so than usual. It was him, Ron, Hermione and Neville, which wasn't bad at all, but the doors of their compartment and that across the hall were open, so Dean, Seamus, Luna, Parvati and Ginny were also there, which made everything feel loud and crowded. They were all talking to, while Harry was just sitting there, unable to get a word in, unsure whether he even wanted to say anything in the first place. So he just looked out the window, waiting.

"Harry? You alright mate?", Ron's voice addressed him. Harry looked at him. He was smiling, really smiling. Ron couldn't fake a smile to save his life. But Harry could.

"Don't worry about it. Didn't sleep well, that's all. I'm fine, really." He was glad it was Ron who asked, Hermione was much harder to fool.

"Who do you think is gonna teach DADA? And is the curse gone? Feels like it should be. Hey, Hermione?"

Harry wasn't listening, but Ron was as oblivious as ever. Harry smiled, a real smile this time, because even after everything, he still had his friends and they were still the people Harry knew them to be, even if the world didn't feel like the one he was used to. Even if everything else was all wrong, at least this still felt right.

When Harry looked back out the window, he realized they had almost arrived. He wasn't sure what would be worse: Hogwarts being changed too or Hogwarts being exactly the same.

-----

If you know me, no you don't.