Broken Scales

The Hogwarts’ Express was churning away steam as it idled on platform nine and three quarters. Students were kissing their mothers goodbye and greeting old friends, getting ready to start a new year of school. One boy was lingering away from the crowd, standing alone, watching the others. His platinum hair was gleaming in the sunlight, his tawny owl hooting demurely in his cage.

Draco blew out a sigh of resolve. His mother was not coming; the bastard was not going to let her see him off. As he turned, heading for the train, a squeal sounded and he braced himself for impact. Pansy Parkinson, the pug faced girl his father had been shoving down his throat for the past five years, pounced on his back.

“Dracy-Poo! I missed you!” The sound of her fake soprano voice sounded like a cheese grater on his eardrums.

“Yes, Pansy, the past two days have been almost unbearable without you.” His voice dripped with venomous sarcasm. Draco knew she wouldn’t catch the inflection of tone in his voice. He pried her fingers from around his neck, her long legs wrapped around his waist. Loosing patience he shook her off, dropping her unceremoniously to the floor.

She pouted at him, severely put out by his careless treatment of her. Draco shivered at the pout. He knew he would be forced to pay for his lack of patience later tonight.

Pansy slid back into his arms like the serpent she truly was, nuzzling his neck and whispering dirty suggestions into his ear. Draco repressed the urge to vomit and shove this disgusting creature away from him.

A slow guffaw drifted past him at that second, distracting him from Pansy only to be irritated to an even greater level.

Potter and the Weasel were flouncing past, snickering at him in carrying voices, “Guess money doesn’t buy pretty girls,” the weasel said in his slow speech.

While the golden boys passed onto the train, deep-set lines appeared between the pale brows and perfect skin of Malfoy’s face as he glared after them.

Pansy was yammering in a fast stream of chaotic noises that would have been words if Draco were listening. However, he was dumping his frustration into Potty and the Weasel, plotting ways to destroy their casual strut.

Turning to gather his owl and moving toward the train, the babble of noise and gossip never seeming to cease from Pansy’s lips, he wondered idly if she would pass out from lack of air.

Something barreled into him, his owl screeched in terror as books and papers were scattered everywhere. Draco’s head bounced off the concrete floor, Pansy screamed and there was a body lying on top of his.

They blathered apologies as the girl tried to disentangle herself from him. The voice seemed vaguely familiar but he hadn’t seen the person’s face.

Draco was so shocked he was responding with muttered understanding and trying to help the person on top of him. Then the girl sat up and got a look at him for the first time.

It was Hermione Granger. Panic flooded her face as she turned an even deeper shade of scarlet, realizing her legs were straddling his waist. For a second, that seemed to last for days, they just stared at each other, mirrored horror in their faces, until an enraged Pansy cleared her throat: “Ahem, mud blood, get your filthy body away from MY boyfriend before I curse you into…um well curse you really bad”

Pansy’s threat was pathetic enough to snap Hermione out of her own shock. She stood immediately, accidentally flashing Draco a view up her skirt. Her face was mortified, glancing down at the shaken owl still screeching and making a scene, she bent down to right his cage and ran away, leaving the papers and assorted other items she had dropped in the collision.

Draco began to stammer, still lost in the fog of what just happened as something sharp jabbed him in the leg as he sat up to comfort his owl. Something incredibly sharp had jabbed into his thigh. A shiny prefect badge shone back at him.

He silently mouthed the word Hermione. He stood, automatically gathering the random papers and quills scattered around him. It took a minute for him to realize the shrill grating sound of Pansy’s voice had stopped. He froze and looked at her, her squished mouth hanging open, staring at him incredulously.

“What?” he asked slowly looking into her eyes. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head. She continued to stare at him. “What the hell are you doing, Draco? Have you lost your mind? What are you going to do with all the mudblood’s things after she just barreled into you like that? Give them back? She felt you up, Draco! Jesus!”

The sound of her words were harsh. The curses sent shivers down his spine. Women who spoke with such language were so unattractive, but he knew he had to uphold the image.

He walked to the nearest bin and dumped the papers in it, mentally checking for anything that could not be replaced. He stared at Pansy in his best condescending glare, subtly slipping the badge into the pocket oh his cloak.

She shrank away from his glare, looking sheepishly at him. He let out a growl in his chest, “Get on the train, Pan.” She clung possessively to his arm as they walked onto the train.

Hermione ran into the train car where Ron and Harry were chatting animatedly with Nevel and slammed the door shut with enough force to make all of them jump. She sank to the floor of the car, still a violent shade of purple. Hiding her head in her hands, the boys looked confused and worried.

Ron awkwardly fumbled to her side, “Mione? What happened? Are you alright?”
She looked at Ron with fire in her eyes. “Look at me, Ronald! Do I look alright?”

She was panting hard, no patience for Ron’s slow wit and try hard attitude now. “Well… Um… You well I guess not,” Ron stammered in a panic, tripping over even the smallest of speech.

Hermione let out a breath of air as if she was pushing all the tension from her body. She looked at the wounded expression on Ron’s face and watched as Harry kept a watchful eye on her. “It was nothing, really. I was running to catch the train and I ran into Malfoy. We tripped over each other,” She skated over the part where he got a full view of her panties, “I guess I am just mortified is all. I’ll be alright.”

The boys jumped to their feet, “Malfoy!” they shouted in unison. There it was, the trigger word: Malfoy, “What did he say to you Mione?” Ron demanded.“

“Nothing, actually,” she replied. Hermione paused, and mulled this over in her head thinking, how strange he didn’t say anything at all, how odd. Hermione jumped to her feet and gasped loudly. “Ron, we have to go to the prefect car! We have to get our duties for the year.”

She dug in her pockets for her badge, eyes widening when she found it missing. “Merlin’s pants!” she exclaimed, her eyes flew open, and she groaned to herself thinking Draco…

“Now what!?” Ron jumped at the opportunity to show Hermione again how much he cared by his willingness to leap to her protection.

She forced a smile, “Oh nothing Ron I must have packed my badge in my trunk,” She paused, “it will be fine.” She forced another smile and pretended not to notice his put out expression; that he was not able to boast how he would smash Malfoy into a slimy mess on the floor.

They silently walked to the front of the train, Hermione running over plans of action to get her badge back from Draco. Ron lumbered along next to her, the expression on his face was vacant as always.
She chuckled. He was probably thinking about pie.

Then she heard the malicious drawl of Draco Malfoy behind them, “Well if it isn’t the Weasel and The-know-it-all. Good to see your hut made it through another summer, Weazly.” The sneer across Malfoy’s face was intense as he glared into Ron’s now scarlet face.

Ron instantly pushed himself into Malfoy’s personal space and growled in his deep, low, voice. “Back up, Malfoy. I’m sure you have already caused enough trouble for one day, don’t want daddy getting involved do we?” Ron’s words were slow, but did the trick.

Malfoy, standing almost a head shorter than Ron, moved swiftly to his cloak pocket for his wand, but Hermione beat him to it, screaming “Impedimenta!” A shield charm knocked both boys on their backs just as McGonagall pushed her way through the crowd to investigate all the commotion.

“Mr. Malfoy! Ms. Granger! We haven’t even gotten to Hogwarts yet and you are already dueling?! Detention! A month! You’re lucky I don’t take away your badges.”She shoved paperwork into their arms. “Go back to your car and stay there. I don’t want to see either of you till we get to school!” She stalked off, her lips pressed into an impossibly thin line.

Draco stood glaring at Hermione. His eyes were dangerous slits in his face. He moved with the fluidity of a predator to stare down at her. He towered over her small frame and he sneered at her bushy hair, breathing quiet enough for only Hermione to hear, despite the crush of people in the small space spreading the news.

“Next time you wont be around to save him, Granger, I will gift wrap the pieces I leave of him for you.” Malfoy turned and disappeared into the crowd. His silver eyes seemed to have frozen her in place. His anger had radiated off of him in heat waves so intensely that Hermione had to restrain the urge to touch her own face.