Wednesday, September 1st 1993

HOGWARTS EXPRESS:

Over the last two weeks, Artemis started to see the differences in her appearance, especially in her group of friends.

Other than the fact they all grew taller and their voices grew deeper.

She felt that they were all growing into their looks, Draco especially.

She liked how he was going to be wearing his hair naturally this year and not pouring buckets of gel over it as he did in his previous years.

She might have convinced her godfather to go easier on his son.

Today was the first day of their third year at Hogwarts and Artemis was genuinely looking forward to it.

She had written to the Dons of Hogwarts over the summer, but the three witches had to keep their letters brief and blunt so if they had ever got intercepted no one could interpret what they were discussing.

They agreed to watch over most of the girls in the school since they had found out about Sirius Black escaping Azkaban, they already knew how unsafe the world was for girls and women so they decided to keep an extra eye out this year.

After all, when was Hogwarts ever safe?

Artemis sat in a compartment next to Draco, who had his arm around her shoulder, whispering jokes into her ear.

Since they arrived at platform 9 and ¾,  people had been gawking at the two, whispering not so subtly about how they thought they were dating.

Cassius Warrington returned this year after spending a year abroad with his parents. The Seramore witch didn't miss his leering and the moment he spotted her, he winked at her but grew angry when he noticed the Malfoy wizard's arm placement on her body.

He immediately asked her best friend Graham about their relationship, which only made him more frustrated because he found out that no one really knew what was going on between the two pureblood but they all accepted that they were inseparable.

Cassius decided to set his gaze on the eldest Greengrass witch, attempting to talk to her but stopped trying when he caught Blaise's menacing glare.

Everyone knew not to piss off Blaise, this was because of 3 reasons.

1) His family's history of killing people (even though no one can prove it).

2)  His calm persona was clearly overcompensating for his anger.

3) He's Blaise Hunter Zabini.

Even though no one would say it, it was clear that out of the 3 Slytherin pureblood wizard's Blaise was the one who you didn't want to mess with.

So Cassius decided to stop looking at Daphne and went back to trying to court the Seramore witch, not caring that she was Blaise's cousin.

Daphne sat opposite them  shaking her head in disgust, "I suddenly hate this now." She pointed at the two almost gagging.

Artemis stuck her tongue out at the witch, "Shut up Daph, Blaise will be here soon, so you two can continue flirting with each other." She missed the guilty look on her friend's face but Draco didn't.

Blaise accidentally told Draco that he was dating the Greengrass witch, it didn't surprise him at all. He noticed all the looks they shared and the gifts Blaise bought her because he was doing the same with Artemis.

Speaking of the witch, he was shocked that she didn't pick up on it, but all 4 of them were glad she didn't because they were scared of her reaction.

The blonde witch cleared her throat, trying to calm her nerves, "Where is he by the way?"

She hadn't seen him since they boarded the train.

"Talking to Lee Jordan apparently," Artemis answered, still playing with Draco's family ring. He took it off and placed it on her finger, chuckling as it almost slipped off but she put on her thumb instead and showed it off to him.

Daphne adored the scene even though she thought she was about to throw up at their cuteness, "With Theo?" She knew that he hated talking to people, especially if they were in a different house.

Artemis nodded, "I'm surprised too, but I saw him covering his mouth trying not to throw up at the sight of the Gryffindorks, it was hilarious."

"I kind of wished he did," Draco mumbled, earning a kick on his shins from both of the witches.

What was even worse was that they were wearing block-heeled ankle boots to compensate for their height.

The shoes hurt more if you were at the receiving end of them, which all the boys were many times since they had bought them.

"Oww." he hissed, he bent down to rub the pain.

"It's what he deserves," Daphne spoke to her best friend, she laughed.

Artemis waved him off, "You'll live D."

He scoffed, "Not if you guys keep kicking me, I have Quidditch to play this year you know."

"So do I," she pointed out. He had enough of her teasing and brought her closer, tickling her sides.

She squealed and giggled, "get off me." she tried pushing him away but his grip was too strong.

Daphne laughed loudly, wishing she had Theo's polaroid camera.

"Not until you drop the attitude." he teased and continued with his light torture.

"Daph," she squealed, "pass me my wand," the object was in her sock but she couldn't reach it since Draco was practically on top of her.

"Okay okay I'll stop." he raised his hands, retracting them from her body, smiling widely at her. She shook her head but a small smile made its way onto her face.

"Arsehole." she flicked his forehead, he only smiled more, he swung his arm over her shoulder again, bringing her close to her, 

"You guys should just get married." Daphne grinned and looked at them in awe, wishing that she could do the same with her boyfriend.

They both groaned, "Not this again." Artemis shook her head.

The blonde shrugged, "All I'm saying is I better be the Maid of Honour."

Artemis scrunched up her face in confusion, "Who else would be it?"

"Theo." Daphne and Draco said in unison.

They all laughed but stopped when the door slid open.

The three calmly breathed out in relief when they saw the two familiar faces.

"Did we all get fitter?" Theo asked as he walked up, hugging all his friends, kissing the two witches on their foreheads.

Blaise winked at the blonde secretly, hugging her quickly, "I've missed you," he whispered.

"I've missed you too," she replied quietly, he sat next to her and Theo gestured for her to move to the side. "No."

"You're in my spot Daph," he groaned.

For some reason, Theo could only sit near the window, just like Draco. Since the first year everyone had designated seats, even though Daphne wasn't sitting with them on the train, she still knew this.

"I've made myself comfortable." she threw her head back in annoyance.

"Well thank you for keeping my seat warm." Draco and Artemis laughed at the scene.

Blaise rolled his eyes, lifted the girl and set her on his lap, alarming everyone. Theo and Draco shared a knowing look as Daphne gulped down her fear, scared of what her best friend might say.

Artemis narrowed her eyes at the two, "Ummm, B stops harassing Daph."

He let out a sigh, "What? I'm helping them compromise." he subtly traced his hand up and down her arm, and a shiver ran through her spine.

"Creep."

"Idiot."

"Cazzo."

"Cagna."

"spreco di spazio."

"spreco di tempo," The other three were prepared to break up the fight but Blaise turned to his oldest friend, "D, mate help me out,"

The grey-eyed boy just shrugged, he didn't end fights he usually started them, "B, I think she's on her period, so I'm keeping my mouth shut for the rest of the week."

The boys laughed and the girls kicked their shins, "owww."

Artemis looked at Daphne and her cousin warily, confused about their closeness, but she didn't look into it, knowing they both usually flirted with each other.

The blonde felt eyes on her, "It's fine Missy, I'm surprisingly comfortable." she gave her friend a reassuring smile and slid her arm around his neck.

"No surprise there," Theo coughed over his words, Draco laughed but stopped when he felt glares from the others. "Anyways I need food and I don't want want to risk your goons eating through the trolleys," he nodded his head at the Malfoy wizard.

"I don't even know where they are."

"Check your arse they might be there." Artemis quipped, he shot her a playful glare, ignoring the snickering from their friends.

"She's not wrong," Blaise smirked, then acted like he was searching for something, "lift your leg maybe I can see."

"Sod off."

They all sat comfortably, arguing about the horror film they wanted to watch, 'nightmare on elm street.' even though it had come out 9 years prior they still wanted to see it.

The group simultaneously stopped talking when the door slid open, "Hi Dray." they all groaned at the sight of the bob-wearing girl.

She starts to giggle and walk toward the boy who doesn't even look towards her, he pulled Artemis closer to him and pressed a kiss on her cheek, Pansy frowned and ignored the jealousy that flowed through her veins.

Daphne held her hand up and got off Blaise, who was grinning at his girl. The blonde was not about to let her ruin their fun, "Can't you see that they're together?" she nodded at her friends, who looked like they were in the middle of an intimate moment.

The pureblood 5 knew that they weren't dating yet, but other people didn't need to know that.

"Wh-"

"Can't you see that no one wants you here?" Daphne sassed, she was glad that her hair was already in a ponytail.

"Pans," Artemis grinned at the embarrassed girl, "I see your hair grew back," she winked at her, causing Pansy's hands to clench into a fist, which made the wizards laugh, "must say it's an improvement."

The wizards knew something bad was about to happen, so they all nodded at one another and let their girls do their thing, so they sat back in amusement, although Theo wished he had some snacks.

Daphne and Artemis shared a look and the latter got up and joined the blonde, "Parkinson, leave." due to their heels they appeared taller which fuelled their confidence.

"Do you want me to ruin your face again, I'll be happy to do so, even get your friends in here and we'll make a spectacle of it." The Seramore witch added on. Draco smirked at her malicious tone, whilst Blaise looked at his girlfriend in awe.

Theo was trying not to laugh at the confrontation, because he wanted to hear what was being said.

Pansy grew scared, remembering how bad she had been beaten that day and she had no one to help her, she knew she shouldn't have underestimated Artemis, but she wanted to prove a point.

She hated how she missed a month of school and how she had been bullied since then due to the shirts that Daphne had made.

She was very scared of both of them, but her crush on a certain wizard made her

"We can bring everyone to see the fight if that's what you want sweetheart," she tucked Pansy's hair behind her ear, the action made the girl flinch and whimper, "don't be scared Pans, if you're lucky, you'll only be in the infirmary for a couple of weeks instead of a month this time." she cooed at the girl.

Daphne hummed, "That's if I don't join in, but I don't like jumping." She shook her head disapprovingly.

"Yeah, jumping is a bitch move, something that you do right?" Artemis pouted and tilted her head, looking Pansy up and down, the girl cowered under her gaze.

Pansy's lip quivered, her sullen and scared mood only fed the best friend's joy. She stepped away timidly, almost tripping as she turned around.

"Bring Millicent next time Parkinson, I would love to have a 2 on 2 fight," Daphne shouted as the girl ran away.

The two witches laughed loudly and hugged each other after they shut the door.

They turned back to the wizards, two of them wore smirks but for some reason shifted in their seats uncomfortably, while the other one continued to laugh loudly.

Draco looked at Artemis and gestured for her to sit down, he pulled her down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "I'm proud of you."

Daphne sat back on Blaise's lap, "just wait until later," he whispered in her ear, she blushed instantly and looked away from him not wanting to smile.

"I'm surprised you didn't kill her," Theo said once he composed himself.

Artemis shrugged "I have time, we have the whole year." she went back to playing with Draco's rings, she gave back the one that was resting on her thumb, not wanting to lose it.

"Let me know when you do."

"Me too," Blaise smirked and squeezed his girlfriend's side. She elbowed his stomach, causing him to groan lowly.

"S-stop," she spoke quietly, trying not to show how much he was affecting him.

He locked eyes with her and cocked his head to the side, "Do you really want me to?" he teased and was met with silence.

They both looked away from each other after a while, not noticing the look of disgust on Theo's face.

After the next hour, the train's atmosphere darkened and felt more dangerous.

The temperature dropped to below zero and ghost-like silhouettes passed the compartments, the boys made sure that they were sat closer to the doors so the girls weren't in harm's way.

Despite Daphne and Artemis' objections, they shut up because they didn't want to cause an argument or stress the boys out even more.

They heard a piercing scream causing them all to embrace each other, scared for their lives.

After what seemed like a lifetime they all calmed down, but still remained close to each other.

Artemis had to pull Draco's hands away from his mouth, stopping him from biting his nails out of stress.

"T it's time." Daphne looked at the boy expectedly. It was time to do their annual toast and they all knew that they were going to go straight to the boy's room, not wanting to spend time around other people.

Despite their growling stomach, they didn't get food from the trolleys, as they thought it was safer to not open the doors until they arrived at Hogwarts.

Theo cleared his throat dramatically, "To getting up to no good."

"To getting up to no good." they all repeated.

"And making money," Theo muttered even though they all heard.

Daphne shot him a questioning look, "What?"

"Nothing, nothing." he laughed it off and locked eyes with Blaise, who winked at him, "nothing at all." he smiled to himself before continuing, "Did you guys hear that Potter kissed Longbottom?"

All eyes were on Theo, Artemis decided to speak up first, "Where did you hear that from?"

"Who do you think?"

"Blaise." they all pointed at the boy who avoided eye contact with them.

"What it's true."

"Liar." they all shouted through their laughs.

***

a/n:

hope you enjoyed this chapter.

next chapter will be longer and contain a lot of foreshadowing.

i don't like bullying, okay? the pureblood 5 do lean into their stereotypes a lot, so they might come across as bullies.

many ppl this year will get between the group but for different reasons.