The Malfoy Heir

Chapter One

The Scarlet Train to Hogwarts

Before Rose lay a scene that made her smile but saddened her as well. Students bound for the school were boarding a scarlet train that gently puffed black smoke. There was laughter but there were also the tearful good-byes that she had expected. Not that her mother would ever indulge in tears over seeing the last of her eldest for a while. Augusta Kingston was far above that.

"Don't do anything stupid. Meet the right friends and make the right enemies no matter what house you're in."

Rose simply nodded when her mother said this. It was something that Augusta had been repeating ever since Rose had received her Hogwarts letter.

Right then another Pureblood family walked through the barrier one by one. Of course, most wouldn't claim ties with the Weasley clan, and a clan it was, but Augusta would use whatever connections she had whenever she needed them. After their initial usefulness, the ties were cut.

Augusta plastered on a friendly smile and turned to the woman herding the children around. "Hello Molly. How are you and your husband?"

"Oh it's you Augusta. We're doing fine." The kind looking woman with the copper hair smiled at Rose. "You must be Augusta's oldest child. Starting Hogwarts dear?" Rose nodded and the lady smiled again.

"Don't you worry about anything. My boys will help you get your trunk onto the train. It's my own daughter's second year."

Augusta nodded, smiling politely. Before Rose could turn and leave, her mother pulled her to the side where the other family couldn't hear what was being said. Augusta made it look like she wanted to wish her daughter a safe trip but Rose knew that was hardly the case.

"Cut ties with them as soon as you can. Don't make it too obvious and be polite about the whole thing. Just start ignoring them one day."

Rose simply nodded and watched her mother stop at the edge of the barrier. Then with a hug, a kiss on the cheek, and the promise to write every other day, Alex was gone too, slipping into Muggle London with their mother.

When she turned back to her trunk, two copper-haired boys stood there. Both looked exactly the same with the same daring smiles and the same devilish glint in their eyes.

"Hello. I'm Fred and-"

"This is George. We're twins."

"We're Weasley's but-"

"Mum prefers not to claim us."

"I don't know why."

"We're perfect-"

"Little angels," they chorused together.

Rose who had heard of the infamous Weasley twins only snorted. They grinned charmingly and each picked up an end of the trunk. She watched them walk to a compartment and slide it inside. When she turned to pick up her owl's cage she found Matholde being held by a pale-faced stranger.

"Lovely owl Kingston. Don't lose her." The boy handed her the cage, smirked, and walked off. His two huge cronies followed him.

"That bloody Draco Malfoy thinks that he's everything to everyone. He thinks that he's all important."

Rose turned to find herself face to face with a frizzy haired witch not too much older than herself. The other girl smiled at her.

"We'd better get on the train before it leaves without us."

Once on the train, the two girls split up to go wherever they needed to. The older girl disappeared into the crowd of students while Rose settled herself into the last empty compartment. The train left the station puffing black smoke into the already smoggy air of London.

"Hello dear." Rose turned to the little lady at the door and smiled. Five minutes later she was a little poorer and loaded with candy. After wolfing about half of the chocolate frogs down she was finally content enough to relax. Her thoughts turned to the school year ahead and the people she would meet and had already met. Like Malfoy...

Malfoy used to be slightly nice. He was always arrogant but he was nicer to me that one time than anyone else. Oh well, I suppose that people change. I just hope that I don't see him this year. I'm not sure that I like him and I know that he's a snob.

It was on that train of thought that Rose drifted off into a world far kinder than ours, a world that can only be found in our dreams.

It would be nice to say that Draco was thinking of Rose at that exact same moment, but in truth, he wasn't. He was thinking of Quidditch. Or to be more exact how hot one of the Chasers on the Holyhead Harpies team was.

"Draco?" A female voice interrupted his fantasy of flying off with her to the moon. Or maybe just to Fiji...

"What do you want Pansy?" he snapped. Her blue eyes showed no sign that she cared about what he wanted. She was conniving in every sense of the word and controlling as her behavior with her own family proved.

"Nothing much Draco. I was just wondering if there was anything that you needed." The tone of her voice hinted at what her real meaning was. Slut.

"I don't need anything from you Pansy. At least not yet and probably not anytime soon." He smirked faintly at the look of panic in her eyes. "You can stay here though. Dumb and Dumber are drooling in their sleep so don't worry about being bothered." Not that I would care.

"Okay Draco. I'll stay." She docilely stepped into the compartment and settled herself onto the bench, glaring at the two sleeping hunks of lard across from her all the while.

"I'll be back soon." Without saying where exactly he was going or giving any explanation that might have soothed her ruffled feathers, Draco left to find a quieter place to think, a place where he could forget Pansy and everybody else.

The next compartment that he walked in to already had an occupant but she was a first-year, no one that he knew and asleep. Dark brown hair fell across her face in a way that was familiar to him. For a moment he wondered who she was. Then, he remembered. He had met her about a year before in Flourish and Blotts and then again on the platform. A name floated to him. Kingston...Rose Kingston, Pansy's little runt cousin. Before the girl awoke to a scowling Slytherin he slipped out the door. His mood hadn't improved; in fact it had grown fouler. He slipped out the door in search of Potter. A good fight would be just the thing.