PART 1

A BOY  with burning , bright mercury irises , and ivory hair that seemed to have been spun from the stars that lit the heavens above , walked down the corridor of the crowded scarlet train – trying to find a compartment for himself. For the first time , in a span of almost four years , Draco Malfoy had arrived late at Platform 9 3/4. He could easily find himself a seat at the compartment reserved for himself , and his friends , but he felt like sitting alone instead – and it most certainly was not appearing to be a feasible task. The crowd in front parted like the Red Sea , trying to steer clear of the infamous boy who would sneer at anyone who stared too long at him , or dared to block his path. He rounded upon an isolated compartment , almost at the end of the long corridor. With a sigh , he slid open the door , with the hopes of having a compartment to himself , when his silver gaze fell upon a mysterious girl occupying the seat by the window , her eyes and face submerged onto the ink of the words embedded into the crinkling pages of a leather-bound book , her beautiful caramel hair cascading down to her shoulders in an elaborate braid.

Wordlessly , Draco lifted his trunk to occupy the racks above , slipping into a seat right opposite the girl – who was yet to acknowledge him.

Draco swore he had never seen her around before , and yet her appearance held an odd sort of familiarity to it. For a short moment , he assumed she was a new student , but then thought that the possibility was quite non-existent. Deciding to break the uncomfortable silence , as she appeared too immersed to do so , he cleared his throat. Just as he was about to speak , the girl in front shut her book softly , looking up to meet his eyes as she said ,"I know who you are , so no need to take the trouble of introducing yourself."

As he registered her voice inside his head , he felt a rush of memories come back. She was Evanna Frey. And no , he did not know her because the teachers spoke highly of her , nor because she was said to be even more intelligent than Granger , or because she was rumoured to blind the castle with her beauty that rivaled that of a Veela. No , he knew her because of the same family circle they belonged to. The Freys and Malfoys had been friends for as long as time itself. Not very close , but friends nevertheless. He remembered her from the times she would come over to play at the manor , or he would go over to hers , or the times she attended the same events and galas as his family. They would sneak away to talk to each other , play quidditch and discuss the most random things ( "Ana , why is the sky so blue today ?")

And he remembered all that just by looking into her deep cerulean eyes after almost four years of no contact. After she was sorted into Ravenclaw , and Draco found himself high society Slytherin friends , he lost his regard for the sweet friendship he once had with Evanna. It was not the fact that she was a blood traitor , just his sick pride and his drive to please his parents. She still went about the pureblood society with her mother a great deal , the Freys were , after all , a respected and ancient French pureblood line. But Draco didn't bother to apologize or befriend her again. And apparently , she didn't care either. But he would admit , he did miss her and think about her numerous times over the passing years.

But one thing he couldn't disagree with , was that she looked just as lovely as she had when they used to be friends - perhaps , even more gorgeous.

And suddenly, he found himself at a loss for words. Should he apologize for his ignorance towards her? Should he shrug it off and pretend nothing happened? Or should he pretend to not recognize her altogether ? He chose neither of the options, remaining silent as ever as he observed the girl in front.

Evanna sighed softly before returning to her book, murmuring the sentence, "Don't even have the decency to acknowledge someone you know."

Draco found the silence unceasingly agonising, and so he himself took out a book on alchemy – his nimble fingers flipping to the page where he had previously been reading. He enjoyed reading, and often found an escape through it. And alchemy, being a subject he was passionate about, would always pique his interest. A few minutes of silence passed, both teenagers engrossed within their own separate worlds, as the train moved on – the platform in the distance and the people on it appearing nothing more than a blurry image. Green grasslands and rolling hills moved past them, the train swiftly moving along the tracks to the soft hum of the engine.

Draco suddenly felt a finger softly tap his knee. He looked up from the pages to see Evanna staring intently at the title of his book. Raising a perfect brow, she asked ,"Do you hold interest towards Alchemy?"

"I do. I enjoy it a lot", He replied with a slight smile. Evanna's azure gaze lifted back to him , and she smiled before answering ,"I really enjoy Alchemy too. Which branch do you enjoy most ?"

"Transmutation of elements. What do you like ?", He answered without hesitation , as he felt himself smile at the sight of her twinkling irises.

"I like transmutation of metals to gold", Evanna said. "Can I take a look at your book? I haven't seen it around before."

The reason she hadn't seen it before was because Draco had found it rotting in one of the dusty corners of Borgin and Burke's. But he needn't mention that.

"Of course", He said , passing the book over to her , as she examined the title with curiousity. Her eyes dawned with realisation , and she spoke ,"Oh , I've seen this book before. I just never assumed it was related to alchemy."

"Why so?", He asked. He was slightly confused as to why she would assume the book was not related to alchemy , and how she had come across it when he had thought that the only copy was at the dusty antique shop in Knockturn Alley.

"Well , the description said it was a wizarding fantasy novel", Evanna answered with a slight chuckle , returning his book.

"It is , but it has a lot about the use of alchemy in it as well. I can lend it to you , if you want", Draco offered. He didn't know why , he felt like he should do something for her in return of ignoring her for as long as they had begun school. Evanna smiled , and thanked him , as Draco leant back in his seat – satisfied with how the conversation was not awkward. The duo began with an animated discussion on Alchemy , which soon turned into a discussion regarding their favourite subjects , and then morphed into a heated debate regarding whether or not Ollivander was immortal. The Trolley Witch passed by them , but neither payed attention to their hunger or to the witch.

"I don't believe anyone can be immortal. Immortality is a nonsensical belief. Only Nicholas Flamel was able to make the Elixir of Life , the only liquid that can grant immortality. And yet , he died when the Philosopher's Stone was destroyed. So what was the use ? Besides , he was older than Hogwarts when he died. So being immortal doesn't mean you are young forever", Draco stated.

Evanna snorted before answering ,"As old as Hogwarts ? Merlin , Malfoy , he was six hundred and sixty five , and Hogwarts is probably two millennia old." Draco shrugged as a response.

"Besides , yes immortality doesn't grant one youth as well. But look at Ollivander , he made You-Know-Who's wand. And You-Know-Who is over sixty years old. Ollivander is aging , but he isn't dying", Evanna said pointedly.

"He will die soon. He's what – a hundred years old ? Wizards and witches live to be a hundred and twenty. But that doesn't make Ollivander immortal. Besides , who would even want to be immortal ? Immortality is a curse", Draco replied.

"It is a curse. Immortality , means leaving others behind as you continue to live on without your loved ones , a life in which you are not exactly living to your heart's joy", Evanna said , as Draco nodded – both finally agreeing on something.

As she looked out , Evanna saw a thousand colours splayed across the sky – like the paints of a canvas meeting each other. Shining white stars peeped from behind the whisps of clouds , indicating that it might rain later. The burnt orange sun dipped lower with every passing minute , bathing the landscape a deep red as it disappeared behind the pines dotting the horizon.

Draco observed Evanna , as she looked out of the window – the flaming light of the setting sun tinting her face a light shade of orange. In the light , a few of her light freckles were visible , dotting her button nose like stars in a galaxy. Her crystal blue eyes shone like diamonds , and her hair appeared to be the colour of bronze , when the first ray of sunlight fell upon it. Her cheeks were dusted in a ruby powder , a possible trick of the light , but her ivory skin remained mostly unchanged.

Silence fell upon them , as they returned for a short while to their books - both leaving once to change into their school robes. The sky grew from a burning orange to a deep shade of pink , the blue of the sky darkening and dark clouds covering the pale moon. The train pulled into the station at Hogsmeade , a loud voice asking all students to depart from the compartments.  Evanna stood up , smoothening out her robes as she gently put the book inside her trunk. Draco did the same , and watched as Evanna smiled once at him , before exiting. Draco followed after her , not really sure what to do. Sitting with her was refreshing. It was nice to be away for once from people who only cared about blood purity , and he wished to sit with her on the carriage ride to the castle as well.

Both stepped down from the train , Evanna turning to the left. However , before she could walk too further away , Draco said ,"Do you want to sit with me ?"

Evanna swivelled around to face him , a lazy feline smirk upon her lips as she put her hands inside her robe pockets.

"You are being obnoxiously nice Malfoy , for someone who didn't even acknowledge my existence for four years. What's your reason ? And I am not doing your homework for you."

"I am just trying to act better towards you , Frey. I quite miss our old friendship", Draco replied as earnestly as possible. Evanna shrugged.

"You have to do better than this to make me want to be your friend again."

And with that , Evanna Frey turned around on her heels , swiftly walking down towards the carriages with no care in the world.

Atleast , she had given him a chance.