𝐀 𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐋𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍 ↬ 𝔡.𝔪𝔞𝔩𝔣𝔬𝔶

09 | o m f g

{H} is mouth dropped, and I could see that he was tearing up as well.

"Harry." I whispered again, covering my mouth in an attempt to silence a sob. "Can I- can I sit?"

He nodded, in a daze. "Why?" he asked. His mouth opened once more, to try and form other words. "Just, why?"

"I don't know." I said, "I tried. I really tried to see you. You have to believe me."

"You were here? This whole time... I didn't even know..."

"Where were you?" I asked, "Nobody would tell me."

"I-I was with the Dursleys." Harry muttered.

"Who are they?" I sniffled.

"Mother's side of the family. Terrible people, that's what they are."

My heart broke. "Did they say anything..."

"No." he shook his head, bitterly. "They said our parents died in a car crash. Who did you stay with?"

"With Remus." I said, "He was one of Mum and Dad's best friends."

"Is he...?"

"One of the sweetest people I know."

"You must know a lot about them. Mum and Dad." he muttered.

"Do you want to ask me anything?"

Harry was about to answer when there was a loud crunch. I turned to see a red-headed boy sitting far next to me, who I didn't even notice.

I wiped away my tears quickly, "Were you here...?

"Yeah, sorry about that." he said awkwardly.

"Oh, we have to change into our robes." I said, "Harry, let's talk some more later, and I'll introduce you to my friend as well. I'll tell you everything I know."

He stood up awkwardly, "Yeah, that'd be great."

I lunged forward, hugging him fiercely. "You have no idea how much I've waited for this." I said, squeezing him tighter.

I stepped back, trying to memorize his face. I raised a hand and he flinched backwards. Hesitating, I panicked. Was I acting too comfortable in our first meeting? But, Harry stood still for me, a sign that he was okay. Moving back his hair, I saw the lightning bolt scar— identical to mine.

"See you, big brother." The words rolled off my tongue, foreign to my mouth. Brother. What a nice word.

I ran back to my compartment and threw open the door. "Draco!"

He stood up immediately. "How was it?" He threw me a box of tissues.

"How did you know?" I chuckled, snot clogging my nose.

"I know how much of a crybaby you are, Potter." Draco said, exasperated. "So tell me, good news?"

"Yeah," I said, laughing. "It went pretty well."

Draco handed me my robe. "Get changed, Potter. We're almost here."

He closed the door behind him, and I changed swiftly. "Ow." I muttered. My stomach was hurting again.

"Done." I opened the door to see Draco chatting with Blaise Zabini, another one of his friends. And a girl I didn't know.

"Hey, Lexi."

"Hi, Blaise." I said, giving him a hug. What can I say? I'm a hugger. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"Missed me, haven't you?"

"Not really, no." I laughed. "Hi, I'm Lexi." I introduced myself to the girl.

"Pansy Parkinson." she grabbed Draco's arm and went into our compartment. Okay.

She and Draco sat on one side while Blaise and I sat on the other. I shot Draco a questioning look, Who tf is she?

He shrugged, shooting back a, I have no clue.

The three of us started talking about random things. Mostly quidditch, but also about our teachers, the dorms, and how we would sneak out.

Until Pansy started to lean her head on Draco's shoulder.

My upset stomach got worse. I saw Draco try to move away, but her grip on his arm was like steel. Was I jealous?

A little. To be honest, it felt weird to see someone else be so affectionate to Draco, but at least he was opening up to more people?

I shoved the feeling away. The pains in my stomach grew sharper. "Owww." I groaned as I doubled over.

"You okay, Potter?" Draco asked.

"Fine." I replied. "It'll go away in a while." Probably.

The train slowed down to a stop. "We're here!" I jumped to my feet, pulling everyone up. "Come on, let's go!"

Blaise swung an arm around my shoulder and pulled me into a chokehold. "Admit it, Lexi. Ya missed me."

Giggling nonstop, I managed out, "Fine, fine. I missed you, Blaise."

When we got off the train, a huge man directed us to the boats. That was the man who was with Harry, I noted. Sure enough, I saw Harry make his way to him.

All four of us entered the boat, and I grabbed onto Draco's shoulder when the boat started rocking. After sitting down, the boats started to move.

All around us were other first years, enjoying the view. The lake was murky, the boats making it look like we were making ripples in ink.

As we neared Hogwarts, the castle slowly came into view. I realized why the first years took the boats. This sight, it would stay with us forever. Our first glimpse at Hogwarts, a breathtaking one, at that.

I glanced sideways at Draco's face, filled with awe. Nearby, I caught sight of Harry with the same expression. It was as if my heart was full.

May our first year begin.