549Chapter Two: Strangers on a Train
Draco stood in the hall of the middle cab of the train, carry bag in hand, trying to figure out what to do. The Gryffindor cars were near the front, Slytherin near the back, and the remaining two houses in the middle. Normally he would have gone straight to the back, as far away from the "fun-loving" trio as possible. The thought of Pansy Parkinson, however, made him shudder.
He slumped down against the wall of the car, a small way across from the door of one of the many compartments in the car. He leaned his head back against the wall, the vibrations matching his heartbeats, gently thumping in his chest, almost lulling him into sleep. He knew he would have to come face to face with his responsibilities eventually, coming to truth with where his loyalties lie. For now however, he would sit and think.
He closed his eyes and rested, the motion of the car massaging the tight muscles in his back. He had almost fallen asleep when a small voice gently brought him back to reality.
"That doesn't look very comfortable."
Draco opened his eyes to find a teenager around the same age as him standing in the doorway of the compartment across from him, her figure seeming to be almost swallowed by the wideness of the door in comparison to her body. He brought his head down, allowing his eyes access to the sight in front of him. The lights shone bright from inside the compartment, casting shadow across her face and the front of her, but showing her body and its curves quite nicely. He tilted his head up to her face.
"I'm sorry?" he said, slightly surprised.
She laughed, and Draco was surprised as his heartbeat sped up for a second. She had a pretty laugh. "So what if she laughed? Get ahold of yourself D!"Draco scolded himself "You don't even know her!"
He could feel her smile. "I said that it doesn't look very comfortable where you're sitting."
Draco shrugged. "It's not the Hilton, but it'll do."
"How do you know what the Hilton is?" she said, tilting her head. For a second, Draco thought he sensed suspicion in her voice, and it seemed like her whole body tensed up, silently waiting for a response.
Draco shrugged. "Read it in a book once, I guess."
He felt her relax in front of him. She dropped her head, suddenly fascinated with the floor, the light highlighting her golden hair at the top of her head. "Well, there's plenty of room for you to sit in here," she said, lifting her head again, "that is, if you want to." She shrugged. "I'd just hate for you to be numb from the uncomfortable ride on the train."
For an instant, Draco was caught off guard. A girl was voluntarily allowing him to share her compartment? Usually students tried to keep private compartments for themselves. Who was this girl? She didn't seem to be setting him up for anything.
Draco smiled up at her. "Well, if you wouldn't mind..."
It was at that moment as Draco was trying to stand up that the car decided to lurch, causing Draco to fall back, smacking his head on the car wall, and the girl stumbling forward and falling down next to him.
*****
Author's Note: I know it's short, but I'm going to make them longer, I promise. I'm going to try and post at least once every day, so look out for one or two more chapters tomorrow. Please review. It only takes a second!
To My Reviewers:
Rebeltawn: I know Draco doesn't seem completely like himself, but I've decided to have one scene where he really... well, he'll be very "Draco"-like, so rest assurred!
AlexaDonaghy:Thanks a lot kiddo! I wasn't sure if he seemed too... you know...nice. Lucius is going to unconsciously have an effect on him for later on in the piece though, so you'll have to keep reviewing to let me know if it still seems "Draco" enough!