I stood anxiously on the platform, holding my special plant in my hand.

It had been a good summer. I'd learnt a lot about plants and I was keen to share my experiences.

However, when I got on the train, I was unable to find a compartment. They were either full or contained scary looking people.

"Don't worry, Trevor," I said to my toad who was sitting on my head. "We'll just hang out in the corridor."

But then I saw Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley approaching, pulling along their trunks and seemingly looking for a place to sit too.

"Hi, Harry," I said cheerily. "Hi, Ginny... everywhere's full... I can't find a seat..."

"What are you talking about?" Ginny said, who was peering into the compartment next to me. "There's room in this one, there's only Loony Lovegood in here."

I felt my cheeks flame. I didn't want to admit I was too terrified to sit with her.

"Don't be silly," Ginny laughed, correctly reading my expression, "she's all right."

She led the way inside, greeting the dotty looking witch warmly. I couldn't help but notice she was reading an upside down magazine and wearing a ring of Butterbeer corks around her neck.

"Had a good summer, Luna?" Ginny asked as the girl stared unblinkingly at Harry.

"Yes," she said dreamily, not taking her eyes off Harry. "Yes, it was quite enjoyable, you know. You're Harry Potter," she added.

"I know I am," Harry said in such a way that I couldn't help but let out a nervous giggle.

"And I don't know who you are." Luna said, turning her pale eyes on me.

"I'm nobody," I said hurriedly.

"No you're not," Ginny said sharply. "Neve Longbottom - Luna Lovegood. Luna's in my year, but in Ravenclaw."

"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure," Luna sing-songed, before immediately lifting her upside down magazine and hiding back behind it.

Harry, Ginny and I all exchanged perplexed looks.

"What's that?" Harry asked beckoning towards the plant in my lap.

"Mimbulus mimbletonia," I said proudly, lifting up the small grey, boil covered, pulsating cactus.

Harry's face filled with a look of revulsion.

"It's really, really rare," I said beaming. "I don't know if there's one in the greenhouse at Hogwarts, even. I can't wait to show it to Professor Sprout. My Great Uncle Algie got it for me in Assyria. I'm going to see if I can breed from it."

"Does it - er - do anything?" Harry asked.

"Loads of stuff!" I said proudly. "It's got an amazing defensive mechanism. Here, look..."

I held the Mimbulus mimbletonia up to my eyes, my tongue between my teeth in concentration as I chose a spot and then jabbed it hard with the tip of my quill.

Liquid squirted from every boil in the plant; thick, stinking, dark green jets of it. The whole compartment was covered in the stuff. Including its occupants.

I shook my head to get the worst out of my eyes.

"S-sorry," I gasped, looking into Harry's furious expression, who also managed to cop a faceful of the rancid manure smelling slime. "I haven't tried that before... didn't realise it would be quite so... don't worry, though, Stinksap's not poisonous," I added nervously, as he spat a mouthful of it on to the floor.

At that precise moment the door of our compartment slid open.

Cho Chang stood, looking horrified at the state of us.

"Oh... hello, Harry," she said in a nervous voice. "Um... bad time?"

Harry wiped the lenses of his glasses. "Oh... hi," he said stupidly when he saw who it was.

"Um..." Cho said. "Well... just thought I'd say hello... bye then."

And with that, she quickly scurried away again.

"Well cheers for that, Neve!" Harry bellowed angrily at me. "I've been looking forward to impressing her with my new haircut all summer long and now I doubt she'll even touch me with a ten foot barge pole after this!"

"Um... didn't her boyfriend just die?" I asked, wondering why Harry was so keen to impress the girlfriend of the boy who's brutal murder he had recently witnessed.

"That was over two months ago!" Harry spluttered. "She's probably even forgotten about it by now."

"I seriously doubt that, Harry," Ginny frowned as she started clearing up all the Stinksap with her wand.

"Anyway, how was your summer?" I asked Harry, "and how come you're not sat with Ron and Hermione? I thought you three were inseparable?"

"Bit difficult when Dumbledore made them prefects and not me," Harry pouted moodily.

"Wait- Dumbledore made Ron a prefect?" I blinked, feeling utterly shocked.

"I know, right?" Ginny sighed, rolling her eyes. "Even Seamus would have been a better option."

"Hey, that's harsh," I frowned. I still felt an uncomfortable guilt when I thought about Seamus. He hadn't sent me a birthday card so I was guessing he was upset with me for dumping him. "Seamus would make a lovely prefect."

"You went to the Yule Ball with Seamus Finnigan," said a vague voice.

I looked up in surprise, Luna had re-emerged from behind her magazine.

"Yeah," I said in a small, fearful voice.

"Seamus is dating Parvati Patil now." Luna informed us. "She went for tea to meet his mother over the summer."

"THAT WAS MY DATE!" Harry bellowed furiously. "Little Irish sod!"

"Harry shut up," Ginny frowned. "You don't own people just because you dated them once."

"Who's Harry dating now?" Ron asked as he slid the compartment door open, closely followed by Hermione.

"No one," Harry muttered, sulkily looking out the window.

"Guess who's Slytherin prefect?" Hermione gushed, as she sat down on the seat next to me. "Nice plant, Neve."

"Thanks," I beamed proudly, "would you like to see what it-"

"Don't you fucking dare!" Harry snarled. "You leave that thing well alone when you're around me in future!"

"Anyway, it's Malfoy," Hermione continued. "And that complete cow Pansy Parkinson. How she got to be prefect when she's thicker than a concussed troll..."

I fell silent as the others got into an animated discussion about prefects. The unexpected mention of the white-blond haired Slytherin had made my heart race at an odd pace.

I hadn't seen him since I had knocked him out with a hex. I was a bit apprehensive about how he was going to be. And now he was a prefect, I was terrified he might use his new power to punish me.

"Are you okay, Neve?" Ron asked me, frowning as he stuffed an entire Chocolate Frog in his mouth. "You look kind of flustered."

"Just the idea of Malfoy being a prefect," I gulped. "It makes me nervous."

"Us too," Hermione sighed. "He's already reduced a second year Hufflepuff to tears after yelling at the poor boy for not having his shoelace tied in a 'regulation' bow. There is no 'regulation' bow!"

Yikes. I'd definitely be making an effort to avoid him at all costs this year.

Except, the exact moment I thought that, the compartment door slid open once again.

And there he was, Draco Malfoy smirking at the room's occupants from between his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.

My heart gave a sudden flutter, and I found myself sinking as far back into my seat as possible, almost as if this could make me invisible to him.

"What?" Harry spat aggressively, before Draco could even open his mouth.

"Manners, Potter, or I'll have to give you a detention," Draco drawled in a voice that sent a shiver down my spine. "You see, I, unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means that I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments."

"Yeah," Harry scoffed, "but you, unlike me, are a git, so get the fuck out and leave us alone before I set Neve on you again!"

I closed my eyes in horror. Thanks an absolute bundle, Harry Potter.

"What in merlin's name is that?!"

I didn't have to open my eyes to know what Draco was referring to. I cradled the Mimbulus mimbletonia protectively on my lap.

"It looks like a rotten dick!" he continued to splutter.

"Oh yeah?" Harry said mockingly, "and how would you know what a rotten dick looks like?"

An angry pink tinge rose in Draco's pale cheeks. "I don't know, Potter, let's pull down your pants and find out, shall we?"

"Just get out, Malfoy," Ron sighed irritable, "and take those ugly boils with you. They're putting me off my pumpkin pasty."

Goyle gave an angry grunt at Ron's dig, and retaliated by pushing Draco aside to step fully into the compartment.

But rather than punch Ron, like we all assumed he would, he instead snatched my precious cactus up from my lap, laughing gleeful at my pitiful attempts to grab it back.

"Hey, that's mine!" I said in a voice that was supposed to sound fierce but came out in a tremble.

"Aw, does ickle Longbottom want her ickle plant back?" Goyle said, sounding remarkably troll like as he held my cactus high up out of my reach.

"Come on," Draco muttered by the door, "just give it back to her, Goyle. I'm bored now."

"Well, let's make it fun then," Goyle grunted, snorting amusedly as I started to jump up to try and reach it. He turned to Crabbe who was stood just behind Draco. "Here, catch!"

"NO!" Harry, Ginny and I all cried at once.

But it was too late. And the last thing I saw just before my vision was once again obscured by stinking green slime, was Draco's horrified face as the Mimbulus mimbletonia hurtled clumsily through the air towards his head.

*****