He smiled when the train started moving, though his stomach was turning at the motion, and probably the stress. He stared out the window, hoping that it would go away.
                              
He barely heard the door open and turned to see Longbottom entering. "Oh, hey... Malfoy. You sitting alone?"
                              
Normally, he would have offered a scathing remark, but he didn't have it in him. "Yeah."
                              
"Mind if I join you? It's rather full everywhere."
                              
Draco gave him an incredulous look. "You want to sit with me?"
                              
"Why not?" Longbottom smirked. "I'm not that much of a social pariah anymore. I think you will survive."
                              
Draco's mouth almost popped open. "No, I meant... nevermind." He looked back out the window, self-hatred pumping through him. "Don't you have friends to sit with?"
                              
"Yeah, but I noticed that you were by yourself. I wanted to make sure that you were okay."
                              
His mouth did drop this time. "You... are checking on me?"
                              
"We all went through alota crap, Draco. You hated last year just as much as I did, and you didn't cross lines to go back to Voldemort."
                              
Draco flinched and grabbed his forearm. "Please don't say his name."
                              
Neville frowned. "It's just a name, Draco."
                              
"The name of the person who tortured me every time he was feeling moody," he hissed back and looked outside.
                              
"Oh, I'm sorry," Neville said sincerely, sitting across from him. "Harry said that you didn't give him up during the war."
                              
"I wasn't sure it was him."
                              
"Really? Cause he says otherwise."
                              
"What do you want, Longbottom?" he grunted, wanting so much to be alone.
                              
"It's Neville. I want you to know that you did the right thing, and you have a friend, if you want one."
                              
His eyes went wide, again, as he turned to the dopey Gryffindor. "Me? I've been an utter prat to you for years!"
                              
"Bygones, Draco."
                              
Longbottom kept saying his name... but he was a good guy, and Draco was a marked Death Eater. He turned and threw up his defences. "You should go."
                              
"I think-" he started, but the door opened. The eighth-year Slytherins had finally sought him out.
                              
"Longbottom? Get the hell out of here, fucking idiot," Pansy hissed.
                              
Neville-no-Longbottom, wasn't fazed and stood up as Pansy, Greg, Theo and Blaise filled in. "Maybe I will, maybe I won't. What are you going to do?"
                              
Greg shoved the Gryffindor, so he was forced back into his seat. "How about a repeat of last year? I did enjoy hearing you scream, bitch."
                              
He stood back up, almost angry, but Draco said, "Just go, Longbottom."
                              
"I'll be back. See you, Draco."
                              
He felt relieved when Nev-Longbottom left, for his sake. But now, he was very much alone, with four compassionless Slytherins. He couldn't meet their eyes as they sat down. Pansy was across from him.
                              
"What the hell was Longbottom doing in here?" Pansy growled.
                              
"He just came in."
                              
"And the reason you didn't hex him or throw him out?" Greg spat.
                              
"I can't get into trouble. I'm on probation."
                              
"There was no one here. You could have gotten away with it," Theo muttered.