What If? - Drarry

Part One - Chapter One

  First Year

 Draco hadn't shown it, but the fact that he was actually going to Hogwarts had made him giddy ever since he had received his letter earlier that year. Not that it had come as a surprise, but having the letter in his hands made the future feel very real, and very close. Having been homeschooled, Draco's only interaction with other people his age had been the boring 'play dates' his parents occasionally organised, and even he knew that surely those weren't real life. Part of him was slightly apprehensive, if not scared, of the apparently cutthroat Slytherin house (for he would be in Slytherin - he had to be), but the other half couldn't wait. For the first time in his life, he would be around people his age. And while Slytherins weren't exactly the friendliest of people, at least they were like him.

  Draco took a deep breath and walked purposefully onto the Hogwarts Express after saying goodbye to his parents, pulling his trunk behind him. The train hummed with energy as hundreds of students battled their way to their respective carriages. He had only ever seen so many people at the yearly Christmas Ball at Malfoy Manor, but the feeling of this crowd was very different. Instead of the reserved - almost suspicious - way the guests carried themselves, this crowd pulsed with excitement. The friendly hopefulness of the train was tangible as magic in the air, and it filled him with a happiness he wasn't used to feeling.

  The Slytherins always sat towards the back of the train, according to Draco's father. The carriage would no doubt contain many children who had been raised similarly to him, including the closest thing Draco had to a best friend - Blaise Zabinni. However, after considering a moment, Draco decided not to visit the Slytherins just yet. He probably wouldn't have the time to be alone with his thoughts for some time (considering he would be in a dorm with lots of other people until the Christmas holidays), so instead of heading to the expected carriage, Draco found the compartment with the fewest people within to sit in, at least for a while. The best he could see was a compartment containing two boys who looked to be his age, one ginger and freckled, one with a mess of black hair and glasses. The latter had just burst out laughing at something the ginger said. Draco knocked on the door hesitantly, before pushing it open and asking quietly:

  "Uh, do you guys mind if I sit in this carriage?"

0o0oHarry0o0o

  "No, not at all," said Harry smilingly, studying the boy as he closed the door quietly and sat down lightly on Ron's side, a good distance from him. He was striking in a way, maybe because of his bright hair, and he carried himself proudly, with his chin up and his back straight. He didn't say anything as he sat down, so after a few seconds, Ron concluded his story.

  "So, anyway, to cut a long story short, the twins told Percy that they would jinx him because of it. No one took them seriously, but we should have because next day he woke up with his head swollen to at least three times its usual size! We could barely get him in the car to bring him to St Mungo's." This made Harry laugh again, before realising that, once again, he didn't understand something.

  "Wait, what's St Mungo's?"

  "Just a wizard hospital." Ron shrugged. "Sorry, I thought you would know."

  Harry was very aware of how little he knew about the Wizarding World, and felt relieved that Ron didn't make fun of him for it. There was now a break in the conversation, during which time Harry resolved to engage the blond boy in conversation. He knew how it felt to be left out, and he didn't want the other boy to feel like that.

  "So, you excited to go to Hogwarts?"

  It took a second before the boy realised that Harry was talking to him. He looked vaguely surprised, but replied steadily;