You've Always Been Mine

Alone Together in the Middle of a Crowd

Hogwarts Express
1 Sep 1991

Draco stretched luxuriously. It felt good to be out of the compartment for a bit. Although it was actually quite spacious, with so many Weasleys and Potters and other members of the Potter Alliance laughing and talking a mile a minute, gradually raising their voices higher and higher to be heard over each other, it seemed far more crowded than it really was.

He stared out of the window, listening to Fred and George’s uproarious laughter as they played yet another prank on some poor—although not necessarily unsuspecting—victim.

Then the door to the compartment everyone had moved to opened, and for a moment the noise flowed over him at full volume before someone closed it again. Before Draco could turn around, a hand descended lightly onto his shoulder.

“Everything okay?” It was Ron.

Draco turned to look over his shoulder. “Oh yeah, sure. It was just kind of hot in there and I needed to move around a bit. Long ride, isn’t it?”

Ron nodded. “Too right.” He looked up and down the corridor, which for the moment at least was empty except for them. “What do you say we look around a bit, do a little exploring?”

Draco shrugged and tried not to look too eager. He was more than happy to spend time with Ron, even if they were far from alone, surrounded as they were by hundreds of their fellow students.

“Sure.” Draco pointed up the corridor to where the trolley lady had stopped outside a compartment a few doors away. “We’ll be in the way there. Let’s go this way.” He turned and started down the corridor toward the rear of the train. It was too narrow for them to walk abreast, so Ron followed behind.

The train began to make a long curve and its regular rhythm broke for a moment, throwing them off stride. Draco threw his hand out to catch himself and Ron reached to steady him. “Careful,” he said. His hand lingered at Draco’s waist for a moment, and Draco leaned into it just the slightest bit, relishing the feeling. Then the moment passed; Ron dropped his hand, and they continued down the corridor.

When they came to the door at the end, Draco looked back at Ron and raised his eyebrows. Ron shrugged and nodded, so Draco pulled the door open and they went through into the next car. It proved to be the rearmost car, and they made their way down the heavily vibrating floor until they reached the door to the fantail. To their surprise this prime spot was currently unoccupied, so they stepped out into the small, windy, railing-enclosed space and closed the door.

The novelty of watching the landscape recede behind the train was interesting for a while, but soon other, more interesting things filled their minds.

Ron offered, “Fred and George say the first years get to ride to the castle across the lake in little boats, with torches to light the way.” Draco made suitably interested noises. Ron continued, “They say there’s a giant squid in the lake and sometimes it swims among the boats.” He snorted. “Honestly. They think we’ll swallow any old story.”

Draco shivered. “A giant squid?” He looked a little worried. “I’m not much of a swimmer. It sounds a little...dangerous.”

Ron looked at him. “Really? You don’t swim?” He shrugged dismissively. “Well, I wouldn’t worry. It’s just the twins telling stories to wind up us first years, most likely. If it was really dangerous the school wouldn’t let us do it. Right?”

Draco didn’t look convinced, but he said nothing. He folded his arms in front of him and leaned on the railing.

“Hey.” Ron shoved his shoulder gently.

“Hmm?”

“Let’s make sure we get in the same boat, okay? Then if you fall out, I can jump in and save you,” Ron joked.

Draco could picture it clearly: himself falling out of a wildly rocking boat—dozens of squid tentacles waving madly all around them—Ron dragging him back into the boat and then proceeding to perform mouth-to-mouth...um, resuscitation.... His imagination stalled at that point and he drifted pleasantly for a moment.

Ron watched Draco, wondering what had put that dreamy expression on his face—an expression that seemed to find a home there more often than not lately. It suited Draco’s delicate features; he looked like some romantic elfin child out of a fairy tale, dreaming of derring-do and rescuing fair maidens.

Fair maidens? Suddenly Ron felt a little spurt of melancholy; he didn’t know why.

Just then a Prefect opened the door and looked out. “Oi, what are you two doing out here? It’s nearly time to change into your school robes. Come on now, back inside.”

Ron and Draco followed the Prefect into the car and he closed the door firmly. “Off to your compartment, now,” he said in a patronizing tone. They rolled their eyes but had no choice, because he accompanied them all the way back to their own car and even opened the compartment door for them. “In you go,” he ordered and, reluctantly, in they went.

As he closed the door behind them and officiously took himself off to ruin someone else’s fun, Ron whispered to Draco, “Too bad he’s not a first year.”

“Why?”

“We could invite him to go in our boat and see that he had a little accident, oh, about halfway across the lake. Tasty little squid snack, yeah?”

Draco grinned. He still wasn’t crazy about the idea of the boat ride, and he desperately hoped the twins were only joking about the giant squid. But knowing that Ron would be in the same boat (yes, yes, children, the pun was intended) went some way toward making Draco feel like it might not be so bad after all.