"My father has gone off to get my books while my mum has gone off to look at wands," the boy said.
He had a bored-sounding drawling voice as he talked about his parents, as well as about maybe smuggling in a broomstick somehow. In truth, Harry found himself rather uninterested in listening to him and turned his attention to the girl instead.
"What's your name?" the girl asked politely.
"I'm Harry. Harry Potter," Harry answered.
The girl smiled. "I'm Gabrielle. Gabrielle Delacour."
While Gabrielle's reaction to meeting Harry was calm, the boy reacted differently.
"No way!" he said in shock. "You're the famous Harry Potter?"
Even the staff tending to Gabrielle and the boy were a bit shocked to see Harry Potter in the flesh, though they did their best not to show it.
"Uh..." Harry said, growing a bit uncomfortable.
"Yes, 'e is," Gabrielle said. "And if I may, I believe your reaction to zis is making 'im uncomfortable."
"Oh, sorry," the boy said, though he didn't sound it. He then continued to ramble on. "So, Harry, you play quidditch at all?"
Somehow, something that Harry couldn't describe began to happen inside him. He found himself suddenly knowing what quidditch was and answered accordingly.
"No, but I think I'd like to," he said.
"I play quidditch," the boy said. "Father said it would be a crime if I didn't get picked to play for Hogwarts. And I must say, I agree. By the way, you know which house you'd be in yet?"
Again, the same thing that had happened a moment ago to Harry occurred again and he found himself knowing what Hogwarts houses were.
"No... but I suppose Hufflepuff might be nice," he answered.
The boy looked at Harry with a look that indicated he thought Harry was stupid for wanting to be in Hufflepuff. Despite this, he continued on.
"I think I'd leave if I ended up in Hufflepuff. My entire family has been in Slytherin and in my opinion, it's clearly the best house," he said.
At this, Harry found himself not really wanting to speak to him anymore and turned back to Gabrielle. He noticed that she had a sympathetic look on her face.
"I'm really sorry about your parents," she said apologetically.
"Don't worry about it," Harry said, giving her a small smile. "What about you? Are your parents here with you?"
"My mama is back at 'one and my papa is sitting over zero," Gabrielle answered.
Where Gabrielle was pointing sat a well-dressed middle-aged man. Unknown to both Harry and Gabrielle, he had been periodically glancing up at Harry. He found himself distracted by the way Harry looked. He seemed really small and skinny for his age and his dress made him look like a street urchin. The man couldn't stand seeing people dressed like street urchins.
The sight of Harry made him concerned.
Author's note: This chapter does not confirm that Gabrielle is the girl who will end up with Harry. She is just one of the possibilities. So, those of you hoping for something else, don't unfollow just yet. You may still get the pairing you want.