Love is in the Shadows

Love is in the Shadows

King's Cross train station was especially busy today. It was the middle of August with a windy and warm atmosphere. Rayne Madison stepped onto Platform 9 and ¾. Her stomach was wiggling around with nervousness and excitement. Today was her first day at Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was going to be placed with the 6^th years among the school because her parents had managed teaching her for the past 5 years of her schooling, but they had to put her into Hogwarts because they had been transferred to Romania and wanted Rayne to finish her schooling. There are two other schools, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, but her parents found Hogwarts to be the best.

Rayne started looking at the other students around her. She noticed a group of about five children, all of them with red hair, but in the middle of them there was one boy who looked about her age with jet, black hair. "How odd." She told herself as she pulled her green trunk behind her with her black cat in her arms.

After she gave one of the car drivers her bags, she got onto to the train to find a set in the back of the train. Rayne opened up one compartment and found it to be completely empty. "What are the odds of me finding this compartment completely empty in a place as busy as this? Oh well." She laughed quietly to herself as she sat down in the window seat. Outside of the window she could see that a brown haired girl with lots of books had joined that large group of people. As soon as she started to look at the scarlet train itself she heard some voices coming into the compartment.

She sat up straight and tried to look as innocent as possible. "I was telling father how easy it would be to-" A platinum haired boy stopped abruptly as soon as soon as he saw her in the compartment. His eyes grew wide and bright.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

He was now looking at Rayne with a smirk while he scanned her tiny figure. Her collared shirt was not buttoned and he noticed that she was not worried about showing herself off to the right people.

Before Rayne could answer he started to speak again. " What are you exactly doing in here? Don't you know that this compartment is for my friends and I only?"

He was now looking a little uptight.

"I did not know that because this is my first year here, but most of all I don't see why I can't sit where I want. Now that I know how you act to complete strangers I don't think I want to sit with you at all."

She grabbed her bag and stood up quickly and tried to make it out the door, but the boy would not move and he looked quite happy with himself.

"Why won't you let me through?" Rayne was beginning to get angry with the three people in front of her and she couldn't take it anymore. She pulled out her wand and pointed it in the platinum haired boy's face.

"Now will you please move or will I have to make you? I am not scared to do it. I am very skilled in the Dark Arts. I am only hoping that you will be smart enough not to find out on your own."

He smiled back at her like he found her attractive or something of the sort.

"I'll let you move, but I am going to tell you that the only compartment that your going to find room with will be with the worst people in the school."

"Oh really? Who would they be?" He pushed her back into the compartment just enough to let her get an idea of what kind of guy he was. He was determined, a born leader, bossy, and very, very muscular.

"They were that group of people in front of the train with red hair. Among them was a bratty little bookworm and a stupid ass called Potter. The other red head that looked like their age was Ron Weasley; he is a stupid jerk who thinks he can beat me up any chance he gets. I hate people like him."

Rayne realized how much rivalry that there must be in the school. "Let me guess. He is Harry Potter; your worst enemy only because he gets all the attention that should be focused on you. I am not sure why it should be on you all the time, but I am sure that I will eventually find out."

The boy sat down in the window seat across from where she was sitting before. "Why don't you sit down and I tell you who I am and why I should get the attention."

Rayne put down her bag and sat across from the boy. Before he started to speak he told his two friends who were extremely large something in a whisper. She noticed that he was breathtakingly handsome and had deep and mysterious grayish-blue eyes. He was also very muscular and had a lot of height to him.

"He must play Quidditch or something. I wonder if he is single?"

He turned to her and started speaking clearly and firmly. She figured he was doing that so there was no possible way of her missing something important. "Maybe everything he has to say is important."

"I am Draco Malfoy. My father is one of the richest and most respected wizards in all the world. My family is pureblood and we are among the last of them. These two sitting next to us are my only trusted friends, Crabbe and Goyle. The three of us are in Slytherin, the most powerful and dominant of the Houses. Unfortunately, Harry Potter and his gang of do- gooders are trying to prove me wrong.

Our whole time at Hogwarts, we have tried to out do each other and almost to the point of death sometimes. I am also very skilled in the Dark Arts. I do not want you to take that lightly and if you think that you could beat me in a Wizard's Duel than I want to see you try. No one, I mean no one, will threaten my family or me and if they do I will make sure that they have a long, miserable life.

You I can tell will most likely be in Slytherin because of what you threatened to do to me. I can see that we have a lot in common, but until you find out what House that you are in then we are only enemies."

Rayne shifted in her seat slightly and relaxed knowing that she could get along with these people. She told him something about her in response.

"Let me tell you something Draco. My name is Rayne Madison, and I am skilled in the Dark Arts very well because that is the area my parents taught me the most of. Let me also tell you that I am not scared of anyone or anything and if you try to prove me wrong then I can promise you that you will have a long, miserable life. Mr.Malfoy, that is a promise that I can keep."

The four of them sat in silence for a couple of minutes while Draco sat in awe over the wonderful girl that he had found. Rayne sat quietly and looked out the window at the wet countryside while it rained on the windowpane.

Crabbe and Goyle played Bloody Knuckles and ended up punching a small hole in the cabin wall. "I'll fix that. No problem."

She pulled out her wand, pointed at the wall and said, "Insto Raparo." The hole in the wall was fixed and Crabbe and Goyle went back to their little games.

"Draco. Why are you staring at me?"

His gaze quickly pulled away from the girl and back to the magazine of Quidditch supplies that lay in his lap.

"I wasn't looking at you. I was thinking about what broom I should buy for practice this year so I don't ruin the one I have now."

Rayne saw that his cheeks were a little pink and that he had lied to her. He had been looking at her wondering why she had sat with him of all people. But what he marveled the most about her was that she wasn't scared to say or do anything. She was just the girl that he had been looking for. He knew that his father would be glad.

The train pulled up to the platform at the Hogwarts station and all of the students piled off the train in a hurried rush.

When Rayne finally got off of the train and got her bags Draco rushed up to her with a boyish grin.

She felt herself blush with him around because she knew that he had been close behind her ever since she got off the train. "Let me carry those for you." He asked her in a gentlemanly tone. "Ok, but before you do, do you remember what you said on the train? We're enemies remember? Enemies don't help each other with their luggage."

He put down her bags and got up close to her and looked her in the eyes. "I don't even know you, but I know that you can not possibly be my enemy. That just wouldn't be right after what I've told you. I also know that I couldn't be your enemy because I think I-"

He was pushed in the back and he bumped into Rayne.

"What was that for?" She was real pissed off at the person who did that to him so she moved Draco aside and found herself face-to-face with none other than Harry Potter and his red-haired friend and so-called bookworm brat.

"You need to apologize. There was no reason for you to do that, especially now that you're in your 6^th year. How childish was that? If you want to mess with somebody than do it the right way."

She whipped her wand out of her robe and pointed it at Harry straight in the face. Pleasantly enough the three of them looked shocked.

"Oh Malfoy, so you have a girl standing up for you now?"

They all started laughing, but it was no laughing matter to Rayne.

"He doesn't have me sticking up for him. He can very well stand up for himself, but the fact that you were going to fight him with his back turned is what really pissed me off. Either you leave us alone now, or all of your asses are going to be on the ground with your heads bashed open. Got it?"

The red-haired boy looked a little nervous, but the girl just stared at Rayne with envy. Rayne figured it was because she had the nerve to take someone on without having to have two boys at her side to defend her. Oh and the fact that her looks were ten times better than hers. That made Rayne seems happier in an instant.

"Come on Harry let's go. We don't have time for this."

That's what Ron said to Harry as soon as Draco came back over with Professor Snape.

"Well they're gone Professor, but they were causing quite a disturbance over here with the new student."

Professor Snape was a tall man with a ghostly white face and shoulder length black hair.

"I assume that you are Rayne Madison."

He looked at her with piercingly cold eyes. She felt a little scared of him, but replied with some ease.

"Yes sir I am. I am hoping to be in Slytherin. I have heard many good things from Draco sir. He has also told me that you are the Head Master of Slytherin. If I make Slytherin, I will be most glad to have you as my leader."

Snape eyed her with a strange curiosity.

"I believe Ms. Madison, that if you do indeed make Slytherin, then you will fit in very well. On the other hand, if you make it into Gryffindor, oh dear, than I can tell you that you will feel much out of place."

She shook his hand and thanked him for his advice. He left Draco and Rayne alone again once more, but Hagrid the grounds keeper had already come by and retrieved her bags.

Draco took Rayne over to the carriage where Crabbe and Goyle were waiting. The three of them let Rayne in first, and then came Draco. But to her surprise the door was shut in Crabbe and Goyle's faces.

The two of them were beating on the carriage door to let them in, but Draco and Rayne laughed when the carriage started to move and the two of them tried to catch up to it.

After a few moments in the carriage alone, Draco took Rayne's hand and held it.

Rayne didn't mind at all because she felt an attraction to him too. So she moved over and lay her head on his shoulder and fell asleep.