Sixth Year in the Life of Draco

Welcome Home, or Someplace Like It

***

Ella Stone strolled over to the stool. She looked down at the hat and wondered what to do with the dirty thing. She looked at the teacher for guidance, but she just stared at her, waiting. She did what the little boy had done ahead of her. Sitting rather awkwardly, she placed the hat on her head. To her surprise, it began to talk.

"Hmmm... you're an older student, I see. I haven't had to place one of you for a good twenty years. I can see that you are wise beyond your years in the Dark Arts, that's for sure. Not so skilled in other areas, however. You've had a troubling past, too, my dear. Very difficult... oh! I see that you are pure of blood. And a talented Quidditch player, too! Scared of heights, though. I'm not sure how that works... well, I think I have made my decision..."

Ella wasn't sure if the other students could hear what the hat was saying. She just crossed her fingers in her lap and prayed that she would be put with Draco. What house had he said he was in?

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat rang out. Ella hadn't realized that she had been holding her breath until just now. For a moment, the hall was silent. No one understood who this mysterious girl was. After an awkward silence, there was some clapping. She wasn't quite sure where the Slytherin table was. Then she saw the banner and walked over to the table that sat under it. She sat nervously at the first open spot on the bench that she came too. She tried to find Draco, but it was impossible in this crowd. She would most certainly see him later.

Next to her was a boy who appeared to be about her age. He had curly black hair and pale skin. She gave him a smile and waited for the last child to be sorted. Afterwards, the man with the long white beard stood up to make another announcement.

"Another year, another new batch of empty heads to fill! Welcome students, and let the feast begin!"

With a wave of his hands, the golden plates and goblets in front of her filled with food. Ella was astounded at the overwhelming amount of things. Instinctively, she looked for her cheese-filled peppers, which were a tradition at every meal in Bulgaria. When she didn't see them, she sighed and moved on. For love, there was sacrifices.

"So, where are you from?" asked the boy sitting next to her. She looked up at him, startled.

"Um, Bulgaria," she said.

"Really? You don't have the accent like the ones we had here a few years ago."

"Well, I was born here in Britain and moved there when I was about seven. My dad wanted me to see his side of living."

"Oh, well, welcome home! You're going to love it here. Any particular reason you came?" he asked, shoveling some pork into his mouth. Ella thought about it, and decided not to give her exact answer.

"I just felt like my life needed a change," she said after some thought. He nodded to show he understood and continued with his meal.

Ella was nervously looking over the heads of her group mates for that possible glimmer of blonde. You would think that in the sea of black, this would be an easy thing to spot, but that was not the case. She sighed weakly and looked down at her own plate. They would unite sooner or later.

Just then, a brown-haired boy across from her caught her eye. She did a double take. His hair was PERFECT! It wasn't humanly possible for hair to be like that. For a moment, she forgot that she was staring. Then he looked up and broke her trance.

"Hi!" he said. He, too, was staring at the beautiful girl in front of him.

"Uh, hi! I'm Ella Stone," she said. Maybe this kid had some answers to where Draco was.

"Hello, Ella. I'm Glen Rutherford. Welcome to Slytherin!"

"Thanks. Hey, do you know the people in the house pretty well?"

"Of course. I know everyone except the new firsties," he said, looking down the table to where the new first years were. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm looking for someone. It's really important that I find him," she said. He eyed her curiously and shrugged.

"Does this boy have a name?"

"Draco Malfoy? Do you know him?"

"You're looking for Draco? Of course I know him! Come on, I'll take you too him," he said, motioning for her to rise from the table. She hesitated for a moment. With a deep breath, she stood up. There was a knot in her stomach. She walked casually around the table to where Glen stood, waiting for her. She heard whispers from the moment she stood up. The room seemed to get silent as she strolled around the table. When she reached him, he started walking and she did her best to hold her head high.

A boy let a whistle out from a nearby table. Ella waved at all of the little girls staring at her. She rolled her eyes. Honestly, hadn't these people ever seen a new student before? She watched for Draco, and when she finally saw him, she stopped dead in her tracks.

~*~*~*~*~

From the moment her name had been called, Draco had held his breath. When she was finally sorted, he had nearly cried for joy. Part of him wanted to jump from his seat and run to find her, but it would seem to obvious. He would let her find him. For now, he picked at his food.

He felt Pansy link her arm in his. He scowled at her and shook it off. She crossed her arms in protest and went back to talking with another of the Slytherin girls. It was still relatively quiet in the room, so he could hear part of their conversation.

"Did you see that blonde girl? She looks like such a whore!"

"I know! Who does she think she is, strutting in here like she owns the place... I'm surprised they let her in," said Pansy. Draco clenched his jaw.

"I bet she's one of those girls with notches in her bed post and everything," said the other girl. Pansy laughed, accompanied by a snort.

"I can totally see it! She's probably more active than--"

"Will you two please shut up?! Nobody cares!" he said, now extremely irritated. He craned his neck to where he had seen Ella sit. She wasn't sitting there anymore, but a hush had come over the crowd. He wasn't sure why. He heard someone whistle in a provocative way and he was once again annoyed. He felt Blaise tap him on the shoulder.

"Draco! Look whose coming this way!" he heard him say. Draco turned his gray eyes in the direction that he was pointing. There she was, in all her glory, walking towards him. "Damn, she's hot!"

Ella stopped, looking at him. He stood up from his spot at the table. They smiled at each other, both not really believing their eyes.

"Draco!"

"Ella!"

Running at each other, they met in a sweet embrace. Ella breathed in his familiar smell. It was different, seeing him in a uniform. He picked her up and spun her around in a circle. All the while, they were laughing about the sheer ridiculous of this situation. They hadn't realized that the whole Great Hall was silent and watching their reunion. Draco didn't seem to care.

"Bloody hell, Ella! What are you doing here?!"

"What do you mean what am I doing here? I came to see you!"

They stopped their spinning and were breathing hard. Ella looked out over the crowd and saw the look on people's faces. There were many looks of shock. Draco coughed and straightened his tie when he realized that people were looking at him. He cleared his throat.

"Eh hem... well, why don't we go talk in a place a little more private?" he said. Ella nodded. They entwined their fingers together and walked out of the room to the stares and whispers of the group. They stood outside the entrance and hugged again. They kissed sweetly.

"Back to my question," said Draco, looking at her with some concern. "What are you doing here?"

Ella but her lip and avoided his gaze. She tried to turn around, but it was no use. He grabbed her wrist and kept her from moving away from him. "Answer me, Ella."

"Ok, ok. Right after we got back home, I got into an argument with my parents. I told them that I wanted to transfer here and they told me that it was out of the question. They said things about my Quidditch future and I told them that I really didn't care about Quidditch. And then they forbid me to even try to come here. Well, I contacted your headmaster right away. He sent me the information and I left home.

"I told my parents that I was going to a see a friend in Bulgaria and they let me go. They don't know that I'm here," she said with a sigh. Draco laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Just the fact that you went through all this just to transfer schools," he said with another chuckle. The Quidditch Captain badge on his chest caught the light and Ella squealed.

"You got it, Draco! You're the captain!" she said, throwing her arms around his neck. She almost cried for joy. He had wanted it more than anything, and he got it. Feeling proud of him was an understatement.

Just as they had met in another kiss, the Great Hall began to empty. The large doors were flung outward and there was the entire school, watching them. Some cheered, some little girls giggled, others laughed. Ella blushed and Draco dropped his arms to his side. With a giggle, she grabbed his hand and let him lead her to the dungeons.

They could tell that there was whispers behind them, but Ella didn't care. Draco on the other hand, was sweating bullets. She looked up and him and smiled a sweet smile, trying to ease the tension. He looked nervous for some reason and kept glancing over his shoulder. Ella sighed.

Draco knew he must seem odd to Ella right now. The truth was, he wasn't ready to expose his "lovey-dovey" side to the entire school on his first day back. For five long years, he had tried to appear as the biggest jerk on the planet. Now that Ella was here, he knew that it was all going to change. Crabbe and Goyle were already walking around like they didn't know what to do. He dropped her hand and pretended to run his fingers through his hair. Ella looked at him like she didn't know what to do.

She crossed her arms and walked by him. If he wasn't going to be friendly with her in public, then she wasn't going to be either. She had pretty much given up her old life for him; the least he could do was hold her hand and say an "I love you". When the reached the doorway, Draco uttered a password and stepped through the opening that was created. Ella went in after him. She looked around at the large common room and gasped.

The Slytherin common room was truly a spectacle. Dark, but a spectacle. The dark tapestries littered the stone walls of the stone room. A large fireplace was crackling with a warm fire and there were large, comfortable arm chairs that were set up to sit in. Slowly, the common room filled up and she lost track of Draco. She noticed her trunk over by one of the spiral staircases. Draco was sitting with his head in his hand for a moment by the fire. She saw him loosen his tie and breath out deeply.

Ella wasn't sure what his problem was. She had done a selfless deed by coming here, and he wasn't exactly thrilled. Well, he had been... at first. It was time for her to test his loyalties and maybe get him to appreciate this more. Bending over her trunk, she pretended to struggle to lift it. Looking around the room, she put on her one hundred watt smile and called over the heads of the crowd.

"Draco? Draco, darling? Do you mind giving me a hand with this trunk?" she said, flipping her hair. Draco seemed to be ignoring her. With a pout, she turned to a group of muscular looking men that were near by. Glen was one of them.

"Excuse me, do you mind helping me take this up to my dorm?" she said, batting hey eyelashes. The other guys in the group pushed forward, eager to help her out. Ella giggled. "Well, the more the merrier!"

"I would be happy too," Glen said in his gentlemanly voice. Ella thanked him.

Over at his chair, Draco watched this scene. He had heard Ella, but chose to ignore her for the time being. He didn't know what to do! This had all happened to fast... how was he supposed to keep his image and have a loving relationship with her at the same time? There were some things about his life that she just didn't understand right now. He saw Glen lift her trunk and help her up the stairs. He jumped from his chair and went up the other staircase to his dorm room for a night of sleep that would not come easily.