─── WALKING THE LENGTH OF THE TRAIN, Saros and Draco abandoned the Weasley twins in order to travel to the Prefects' carriage. Draco walked with such speed that Saros felt like he was hobbling along behind him just to keep pace. However, Draco was attempting to move as quickly as possible to avoid any further interactions. He wanted to get Saros in and out of the Prefects' carriage as soon as he could and back into the comfort of being surrounded by others that were in on the plan. And yet, when Draco and his older brother arrived outside of the compartment where the other prefects were lined up and waiting, he became paler than before as he froze in place.

It was like the world was stacking everything it had against them as not only did Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley make prefect that year,  but also, Angelina Johnson was standing directly across the way.

As soon as she spotted Saros enter, her eyes trailed up from where they had been focused on her shoes, her arms that were previously crossed came to fall at her sides, and her entire demeanour seemed to slouch in defeat that he didn't come running over to greet her. Others sensed it as well, such as Hermione, who interacted with Saros as well the year prior and yet, he made no notion to acknowledge her existence either. He simply stood behind Draco quietly, as if he were waiting for permission to speak.

Before the arrival of the Malfoys, the carriage had been in full discussion of how Saros had managed to earn the spot of Head Boy as older and experienced Prefects had been clawing for the spot. If the rumours were true that were already circulating the train, was Saros even competent enough to hold such a position? He had no experience as a prefect and neither did Angelina, how did they expect them to direct and guide all the other prefects?

Angelina along with Hermione was convinced that it was no coincidence that she and Saros had been selected but whatever the plan was behind it, she wasn't sure if it was going to work. The Malfoy family had done something terrible to Saros, she knew it, it was the way he carried himself so artificially that made her sick to her stomach during their last confrontation.  But as he stood behind Draco with everyone waiting for either the Head Boy or Head Girl to say something to get the brief meeting started, she could see his gaze travel to Hermione.

A look of disgust evident on his face for a second before he looked away.

With a shake of her head, Angelina was thankful that Hermione hadn't seen his reaction, but at the same time, it gave insight that Saros was back to his old ways. All the progress he had made of thinking for himself had vanished, replaced with the old-time prejudice.  But the shake of her head brought him to bring his attention to her and while he had been readily glaring, she watched as his expression soften as their eyes met briefly.

For a moment, Angelina could have mistaken his confusion for sadness but there was such a time where he looked incredibly lost, almost as if there was someone trapped behind the gaze trying to reach out to her. He didn't sneer in her direction but he didn't reach out to her either and she couldn't figure out which was worse, as she wanted to get a reaction out of him. She wanted to talk to Saros one on one. But Angelina had to get him away from Draco and had to figure out how.

However, as one of the prefects cleared their throat to otherwise clear the tension in the carriage, it struck Angelina right away. She was Head Girl and Saros was Head Boy, she could easily come up with a plan where the two had to talk in private to go over school business or whatever she wanted to claim. No one could tell her that she was wrong or making things up, what the hell did they know?

Quickly, she straightened herself to stand tall, the plan in her mind returning the confidence that had been practically lost all summer. She took charge of the meeting, telling the prefects new and old that it was their duty to monitor the train ride, making sure that First Year students were aware of what they needed to do before arriving at Hogsmeade Station. They would also be responsible for monitoring behaviour and making sure that when they all arrived that First Years found where they needed to go.

The instructions were simple enough and with nothing more to say, Angelina quickly dismissed all of them. Several of the older prefects were left completely baffled with the meeting or rather the lack of it, but they left with their grumbles under their breath rather than protesting anything. But as Draco attempted to lead Saros out of the compartment in the company of him and Pansy Parkinson, Angelina called after Saros, asking him to remain behind.

"The meeting is over, you said it yourself!" Draco spat in her direction. "He doesn't need to stay behind with the likes of you-"

"Draco." The way Saros spoke his brother's name so coolly, it felt like a dementor had once again boarded the train. Immediately, Draco fell silent and looked up at Saros, with a face that pleaded that his brother not stay behind with the Gryffindor girl.

"I believe I can manage a few minutes by myself," Saros told him in a reassuring tone, " you and Pansy go ahead, I'll catch up in a bit. If something needs to be done in order for me to fulfil my duties then it must be done. Go on."

There was a hesitation in Draco's initial step, however, as he paused for a second too long, he was met with a stern gaze that reminded him of times before Saros lost his memory when Draco tried to openly defy his brother's demands. Quickly, he brushed past Pansy and made his way out of the carriage bitterly with the girl trailing behind him. It left Angelina and Saros alone as he turned to face her and learn what they needed to go over.

"Well," he began after Angelina had yet to say anything, " what is it that you wish to go over, Johnson?"

Saros watched as she flinched at the use of her surname, leaving him to remain silent afterwards. She had called for a meeting between Head Boy and Head Girl and yet, as he stood there, she had yet to say anything. However, even as they stood in silence, he didn't find himself nearly as irritated as he would have believed. Instead, Saros found himself all too focused on the girl before him.

She had introduced herself to the other prefects in the compartment earlier when everyone went around saying their names. He remembered her from the bookshop and something else in his mind told him that during his time in school prior to his accident that he had known of her at least. He wished something came across as familiar to him when it came to her, he recognised the Weasley twins as someone he didn't like and he recognised the muggle-born that had been among their mix earlier.

They brought about feelings of anger or something that gnawed at the inside of him,  he just wanted them out of his sights. But when it came to Angelina Johnson, the longer he stared at her, the more confused he felt. It was as if there was a barrier of sorts, preventing him from forming an opinion.

"Saros, I need to talk to you," she began, " and it's not about the Head Boy or Head Girl business. I'm just asking for a moment of your time and then you can go, alright? I just want to ask you one thing."

He blinked, but made no motion to leave, granting her permission in silence to continue on. She seemed surprised and slightly delighted that he hadn't told her to sod off.

"Have your parents told you what happened to you? Have they told you how you lost your memory?"

"That's two questions, Johnson," Saros interjected quickly, " and no they haven't, under the strict orders of the Healers I have to allow my mind to heal on its own. I don't think I need any additional interference. So if you would be so bold to mind your business, I understand as a Gryffindor, it might be a difficult task, but at least make an effort."

His heart was pounding in his chest as the words rolled off his tongue with such ease. The way he could spit back a retort left him stunned at his own tongue. All summer, he had basically been tiptoeing around, perhaps an outburst here and there when he was upset, but he had yet to speak like that to anyone. And while he had cut their conversation short and had not come across as anywhere near kind to her, there appeared to be a small smile on Angelina's face.

Her smile was beautiful, even if he wanted to hate her at that moment, it was something he couldn't deny. There was something about her eyes as well, being surrounded by eyes of blue all summer, it was almost a relief to see a pair of warm brown staring back at him. At the time, he couldn't bring himself to move to leave or even look away from her. Unlike any other confrontation, whenever he was in her presence, he just wanted to remain in place.

Reaching a hand up finally, Saros touched the middle of his forehead that started to ache, possibly from overthinking about every single detail. He looked up at Angelina once more, trying to keep a solemn expression about him.

"You obviously seem to know more about me right now than I do about you," he said, " so what is our history together, Johnson?"

"Oh, I can't tell you that, Malfoy," she stated in a soft voice before making her way to the door of the compartment to head out.

Was this not the same girl that had been questioning a few minutes prior as to whether his parents had informed about the truth behind his accident? Now she was suddenly interested in withholding information from him? What sort of game was she playing?

"Why not?" he called after her, his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion as his eyes trailed after her.

"Because if I did," she began looking over her shoulder, " you just might fall in love with me and we can't have that, sweetheart. Imagine what the people would think, a snake falling for a lioness? Blasphemy, I tell you. Absolute blasphemy."

After Angelina left, Saros wasn't sure what to make of what she had said to him during her departure. It was the last thing he had expected her to say and at the same time, he had to bite his own tongue to hide a smile that wished to form. Was she flirting with him? Was she allowed to flirt with him? So many questions were running through his mind at the same time, that it was bound to cause a collision at some point. However, Saros decided to shake off her words for the time being and find Draco and the others.

He exited the carriage, making his way through a series of compartments to find his brother when he tripped over something and nearly fell. He stumbled forward quite a bit before catching himself and turning his head to catch a girl sitting on the floor. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back, although several rebellious strands decided to frame her face as they remained loose. As he turned to look at her, she peered up from the magazine that was propped up in her lap.

"Hello, Saros. You look taller."

For several seconds, he merely stood there, his lips parted as he tried to recall who was addressing him at the time. He was just about to question what her name was and what the hell she was doing sitting on the floor of the train when something caught his eye. The lanterns of the train flickered and cast a reflection to something on her wrist that brought him to peer down. Wrapped around her wrist, was a bracelet, that he recognised right away because he had the matching one.

The Silver Hare.