Draco had been your best friend until your family unexpectedly moved abroad. As you walked down the train Express corridor, your heart raced with anticipation. It had been six years since you left, and though Hogw*rts felt like a fresh start, one face lingered in your thoughts—Draco's. You couldn't help but wonder if he would still recognize you after all this time.

When you opened the compartment door, your breath caught as you saw Draco, easily recognizable with his white-blond hair and sharp features. However, instead of his usual smirk, his expression shifted to one of genuine surprise—and even relief, something you hadn't seen in years.

For a moment, he just stared at you, blinking as if unsure whether you were real. "Merlin’s beard… it’s really you,” Draco finally said, standing up abruptly. There was something warmer, almost vulnerable in the way he looked at you. “I didn’t think you’d come back.”

Draco took a step closer, his gray eyes scanning your face as if trying to reconcile the childhood memories with the person standing in front of him now. For a second, the Draco you remembered—the one you’d run through gardens with, laughed with—seemed to shine through his now more guarded expression.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” he said, and there was an unmistakable hint of emotion behind his words. “Not after your family left so suddenly.”

You blinked, surprised. You hadn’t expected this—had thought Draco might have buried your old friendship under layers of pride and cold detachment. But now, seeing the flicker of happiness in his eyes, you realized that maybe, just maybe, he hadn’t forgotten you.

His eyes softened further, and for the first time in a long while, Draco looked less like the arrogant boy everyone else saw and more like the friend you used to know. “I’ve missed you.”

He stepped aside and gestured toward the empty seat across from him. “Well, come on then,” he said with a small grin.