All of the other 3rd years stood around patiently waiting to get onto a carriage. On the contrary, Blaise and I were cackling over the amounts of students being kicked because of our "kick-me" signs hexed on their poor backs as they trudged onto the boats, as it was the first year transportation to Hogwarts.

A long line began forming and students piled into the stopped carriages. I've always seen the scaly, boney, yet beautiful, thestrals pulling the carriages, though I've never told anyone, not even Blaise. I usually tell Blaise everything, but this seems to be worth keeping to myself. At least for now.

At the age of nine, I watched my twelve year old sister fall to her doom right in my backyard. It was certainly a traumatic event, especially to my parents.

It started with us four gathered in our large, vibrant backyard to play a mini, delightful quidditch game. We set up miniature quidditch hoops and Dad bought me a broom for the occasion which I still treasure to this very day.

It was me and my dad (D/n) against Eleanor (sister) and my mom (M/n). I passed our mini quaffle to my dad and he chucked it straight in the hoop. We cheered and taunted my mom and sister but it was all good fun, at that moment at least.

After our "skillful goal", Eleanor took the quaffle and soared through the air, wind fighting against her will, so, naturally, I took off after her. I gained speed and flew next to her. I dove for the quaffle resting in her hands but instead, hit her shoulder. She lost grip of the quaffle, her balance was thrown off, and she chaotically fell off the broom 20 feet to the ground, leaving screams of horror behind as the ground got closer and closer to her falling body. I didn't realize the damage I had done at the time.

Those screams still haunt me at night. My parents soon swooped down after her and bawled their eyes out. I sat on my broom, still in the air where she was prior the fall, sitting in sheer denial. The loud sobs from my parents broke me from my frozen state and I flew down to my sisters cold, lifeless body lying face up. Blood poured from all her crevices and cracks and seeped into the now-damp grass.

The denial stage ended at that once and skipped straight to anger. Mostly at myself; Why had I been so aggressive? How did I hurt the one person that I could talk to anything about.

My parents hardly spoke to me afterwards, meaning Blaise became the only family I had left. He has always comforted me, but I still couldn't pluck up the courage to talk about her, not even aloud to myself. I couldn't talk about it without sobbing and wondering why it had to be her, and why I made such a silly, yet life-threatening, mistake at the age of nine. I wasn't one to hold a grudge — but forgiving myself for killing my family was an exception.

I finished inspecting the thestrals and linked arms with Blaise. We walked up onto an empty carriage, sat down, and waited for others to join us, as we have to fill up most of the carriage (there were limited amounts) and there were only two of us occupying it.

Blaise and I sat across from each other and waited impatiently in silence for others to enter. Pansy Parkinson then decided to strut up to our carriage and sit 2 inches away from Blaise on his side of the small booth-like seats.

Blaise shifted awkwardly but I was aware that he enjoyed her presence very much. Pansy giggled and poked Blaise's chest playfully, causing me to subtly snort.

"Do you have a problem?" she asked, steam practically exploding out of her ears. It was quite amusing to see her grow so angry at me.

"Yes, you," I said, turning my head away from her to avoid her glare.

She scoffed but looked back towards Blaise and squeezed his arm while giving her best forced laugh at his joke. After a few more seconds of Pansy being her annoying self, Draco Malfoy walked into the carriage and sat on my side, although he scooted all the way over to avoid touching me at all costs.

"Malfoy, I don't bite."

He grinned and confidently said, "if you wanted me to sit with you so bad, you could've just asked politely."

"Oh please, you're the one walking into my compartments every year to talk to me. Did you really miss me that much over the summer, Malfoy?"

"Yeah, I missed you so much. I might even visit you in your dorm his week."

After saying this, Draco smiled so evilly and looked as if he was planning some awful prank.

"What do you mean by that, Malfoy?" Blaise questioned, engaging in our not-so-pleasant conversation.

"You'll see."

That was all he said before glancing out of the window to ignore us for the remainder of the ride. I rolled my eyes at his vagueness, but I wasn't too worried. What's the worst he could do? As long as I didn't wake up with a frog in my bed I would be alright.

The carriage suddenly took off and we all sat silently and uncomfortably, making random eye contact with one another and glancing away quickly. The ride seemed to last forever. The silence suffocated us and we could all sense the tension within the small area.

After awhile of seeing Pansy's awful attempt at flirting with Blaise, the carriage finally stopped and we had arrived outside of Hogwarts.

We all hopped off of the few stairs and Pansy let go of Blaise's arm and instead, grabbed Draco's. They walked off to hex some second years and I slightly chuckled but stopped when Blaise looked over. He slightly furrowed his brows at me and I simply told him that Pansy likes him which made him look down, smile, and ponder his unsuccessful love life so far. Not that I could say mine was successful either, but I had some options. At least that is what I told myself.

While he was distracted with the thought of Pansy, I stared up at the outline of Hogwarts from afar. The tall building twinkled and glimmered down upon the crowd of students bustling to enter the castle-like school. Blaise grabbed my arm and yanked, pulling me away from my haze. I jogged a little to catch up with him and gave him a mild glare to show my annoyance to his aggression.

As we took more steps, Hogwarts became closer. Every detail around the building got more clear: the stained glass windows, the stone walls, and the long, wooden bridge with ropes helping to stabilize it.

After walking for what felt like eternity, we stepped into the famous Great Hall. Candles were floating in the air, four long tables were placed among the large room, and the teachers and staff were proudly sat at the end of the room in their chairs.

We stood around, noticing the simple changes in the room but quickly headed to our individual house tables. I walked with Blaise to the Slytherin table and we took a seat at the very end, close to where all of the professor's sat. We sat across from one another once again so we didn't have to turn our heads when conversing. When most of the students were in the room and sitting, a booming voice rang throughout the dining hall. We all recognized it as Dumbledore and turned our heads, almost in sync.

"Welcome to Hogwarts first years, and welcome back older students!" Dumbledore bellowed, smiling a mile wide.

Fred and George (5th years) started laughing and handing out candy-like treats to the younger students. In return, the kids handed the twins galleons, sickles, and knuts, which the two boys shoved eagerly into their pockets.

Dumbledore must've seen their attempts at selling goods to children because he declared, "Filch reminds us all that silly candies, toys, and any other inappropriate devices are strictly prohibited."

Fred and George hid their box of goodies under the table and became slightly red. Many students at the Gryffindor table laughed at them but the sound was drowned out as Dumbledore spoke again.

"As older students know, the dark forest is strictly forbidden. Now all students, I advice you all to follow the rules and study hard. But enough of that, let's get to the sorting. Minerva - get the students settled."

While the 1st years were being alphabetically sorted into their houses, Blaise and I started a whispered conversation about what to expect in divination class, considering it was our first year taking it.

After the last student was sorted, our conversation halted and Dumbledore's voice boomed one final time.

"Everybody, tuck in!"

As he said that plates appeared on the long tables, silverware beside them. Goblets were being filled with drinks, an array of food was displayed among us. Students all around already began digging in, some even squealing with absolutely joyous smiles fixed on their faces.

With great pleasure, I grabbed a chicken leg, mashed potatoes (along with gravy), and a small bowl of soup. I went to reach for a green apple, but at the same time Malfoy had reached for one too causing our hands to lightly brush up against one another's.

I didn't realize he was sitting next to Blaise because I was solely focused on our divination conversation, and the food around me. Draco let out a small sound of disgust and snatched the apple out of my loose grip. I gasped at him and he grinned villainously.

"Malfoy are you serious? There are more apples why did you steal the one I was holding?" I asked, feeling extremely irritated.

"Calm down, L/n. Like you said, there are more. Just grab one."

I rolled my eyes and didn't bother grabbing an apple. Of course I was being stubborn, but weren't all Slytherins? Something about Malfoy made me want to punch a hole in a wall — or chuck an apple at his egoistic head.

As dinner was digested, dessert appeared. I was so full but I wrapped a treacle tart in a napkin and forced it into my robe pocket for a midnight snack. Blaise chuckled slightly and I realized he had been watching me the whole time.

"Why are you taking food, Y/n?" he asked.

"I'll be hungry later. Worry about yourself, Blaise."

He put his hands in the air defensively and I couldn't help but smile. It was silly, the way friends could be so daft but you love them anyway. That's exactly how one could describe Blaise and my relationship. We were the definition of platonic soulmates, something everyone should have at least once in their lifetime.

When most people finished dessert, the prefects led the way to each common room. I was exhausted after eating and felt as though I could pass out in the hall walking to the dungeons towards the Slytherin common room.

I leaned my head against Blaise's shoulder and he wrapped his arms around my waist in case I fell. I mentally thanked him for that and started drifting off to sleepwhile walking. Blaise ended up holding up most of my body weight as we trekked through the terribly large school.

Blaise kindly dropped me off outside my room and I fell into a deep sleep once my head hit the cold pillow. The first day of Hogwarts was always so exhausting. At least I stuck up for myself today against Malfoy. If anything, I was most proud of that.

I prayed that the days would continue to get better. However, I had a feeling that Malfoy wasn't going to let me get away with insulting him. That was something I had to get used to.