Freefalling
By dazed*kitten
Part 4: Friendships
Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Had-So-Far-Lived-To-Defeat-Voldemort-Six-Times, was munching on his breakfast quite happily. His face was one of the contentment of having his favourite food to eat. However, when the girl walked in, he soon became The-Boy-Who-Had-So-Far-Lived-To-Defeat-Voldemort-Six-Times-Just-To-Choke-To-Death-On-His-Breakfast-At-The-Sight-Of-A-Pretty-Girl. Ahem. So it was with weeping eyes, red-blotched face and an inability to do anything except choke as silently as possible, that Harry Potter was introduced to Dianella.
Dianella laughed out loud at the sight of Harry choking on his breakfast. This was her Nana's best friend from school that had gone on to become the world's most feared Auror, and the man of whom legends (that were still told, although Nana seemed to think they were all very overdone) were made. A quick glance at Hermione to her left assured her that the laughter was easing the situation- Hermione seemed very embarrassed at Harry's reaction.
A quick smile was all that was needed, however, to provoke Hermione to laughter as well. The eyes of all the Great Hall were on the girls, and the whispers were almost audible- "Who is the girl?" None were answered, so rumours were made. Nell seemed oblivious to the attention she commanded. Soon both of them had seated themselves near Harry with gales of laughter, only prolonging his choking fit. After quite some time, he recovered.
"So this is the fearsome Harry Potter, saviour of the world?" Dianella smiled winsomely at Harry, catching his breath once again. Harry could only nod. Dianella smiled at Hermione and shook her head. Hermione grinned at the pretty girl who had reduced Harry to a bumbling mess, before digging into her own breakfast.
Every person on the Gryffindor table made a point of introducing themselves to the enigmatic girl, but she just smiled and introduced herself as Dianella, not answering anyone's questions. She stayed near Hermione during all hours of the day, and most people avoided them because of that. Hermione was still not the most popular girl in school. The rumours died down, when a more pressing topic arrived ("Where is Draco Malfoy this year? He seems to have disappeared⦠Maybe his father has kept him homeā¦"), and Nell slid into the background.
Severus glared down at the Gryffindor table, and although the coughing fit that Potter entered into was enough to make his morning (it lasted a full fifteen minutes!!), the reason for it was quite beyond him. A very pretty seventh year with cascading blonde curls had caused the fit, and it didn't take much figuring to realise that this was the girl claiming to be from the future. He sneered in the girl's direction, but she didn't look towards him. He contented himself with crunching his toast angrily and glaring at other teachers in silence.
The other teachers all seemed delighted with the girl, her pretty face and pleasant manner making them all smile when they talked of her. Dumbledore would answer no questions about her ancestry, though, and most of the teachers just accepted this. Severus, however, felt some small trepidation whenever he was near the girl- and he had her twice a week, for Potions and Advanced Potions- and could never seem to figure out why. He put it down to the fact that she was obviously a spy, sent to figure out their weaknesses. Even so, he felt hard-pressed to scowl at her, and his glares just seemed to slide off. It annoyed him no end.
