Here's the next chapter! I tend to update pretty randomly hence why you'll be getting several chapters all at once and then nothing for awhile probably. *insert shrug here* It's just how I roll.
ooOoo
The night had been relaxing for the sisters. After snagging a bunch of snacks and butterbeer's, they had made their way to the Divinations classroom and made a pile of pillows in the middle of the room. They'd spent the better part of the night, eat and drinking. Talking about their old home and what their futures would hold now that they had no say in a huge part of it. They'd finally went back to their dorms to catch a few hours of sleep and now they found themselves sitting at their house tables as the last of the men got evaluated by the Sorting Hat.
Once the last one hopped off the stool and climbed down the steps the Headmistress turned to the rest of the room.
"We will now begin the pairings. Once paired you may stay to watch the rest or leave with your new mate to visit in private. Ladies, we will go by volunteers. Who would like to go first?"
No one moved and a tense silence fell. Sammy turned to meet Emma's gaze. She nodded at them and Kailey at the Ravenclaw table, before turning to stand and walk to the stool. McGonagall smiled warmly at her.
"Good for your Miss Henderson."
Emma chuckled and shrugged, "Someone has to show you Brits how it's done."
Quiet laughter rippled through the room as Emma took a seat on the stool. There was a minute of silence before a look of surprise flashed across her face. Sammy watched as the surprise melted into thoughtfulness, then sheepishness before she finally shrugged and nodded. The Hat called out, "FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY."
Dead silence followed the declaration before two voices shouted in unison, "BLOODY HELL!"
Emma stood and handed the hat to the Headmistress before turning to the Gryffindor table. Two red headed boys had jumped up and were staring at Emma in utter shock. Sammy, eager to see who her sister had been paired with, climbed up on the bench to get a better look. They were twins! Brittany scrambled up beside her and exclaimed her thought out loud, "Twins?"
They looked at each other before bursting into hysterical laughter. They could hear Kailey laughing from the Ravenclaw table which only spurred them to laugh harder. Twins! Fucking twins. Emma spun around to glare at them.
"Hey! Shut up you guys!"
Sammy only giggled harder, leaning heavily on Brittany as they tried not to fall off the bench in their mirth. It was only a couple of years ago when, heavily under the influence of tequila, Emma had admitted to having a thing for twins. And quote, 'The thought of being smashed in a twinswich (a twin sandwich she had elaborated) made her hotter than the Sahara desert'. They had teased her mercilessly for it, especially considering Sammy and Kailey were fraternal twins. She had always glared at them and snapped, 'I'm not into incest thank you very much. Besides, I'm into the identical twins stuff.' Now she had been paired with twins. Her deepest fantasy coming true right before their eyes. It was too much.
Brittany clambered off the bench and walked to the stool, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Well I feel better about this whole thing! Heck, if the Hat is taking our deepest fantasies into account, sigh me up!"
The whole hall burst into laughter as Emma scowled, a bright red blush fusing her cheeks, "SHUT UP!"
Sammy watched the twins' look of shock morph into sly grins as they slid up to either side of Emma. One wrapped his arm around her shoulder while the other slid his around her waist. They bent down to whisper something in her ears and she blushed even redder before slapping both their chests. They laughed and began steering her back to the Gryffindor table.
Brittany sat on the stool and placed the hat on her head. Silence fell on the hall for only a minute and then the Hat shouted, "CHARLIE WEASLEY."
Brittany stood and handed the Hat back to the Headmistress as her eyes began scanning the room.
"Sorry, but I'm not sure who that is."
"Here love."
Sammy looked over at the Gryffindor table again to see another red head (how many dang red heads were there in this school!?) move to hold a hand up to help her sister down the stairs. Dang! He was a tall glass of fit, muscled water. Sammy looked over to Kailey and fanned herself while mouthing, 'Wow!'. Kailey giggled and nodded as she climbed over the bench and made her way to the front as the muscular wizard escorted their blushing, but smiling sister to the Gryffindor table.
The Headmistress smiled and held the Hat out to her, "Miss Henderson again."
Kailey shrugged, "Might as well get us all out of the way."
She placed the hat on her head and Sammy watched her twin carefully. She seemed fine for a second but then she suddenly paled. She began shaking her head viciously and snapped, "No! Pick someone else!"
There was a moment of silence as she must have been listening to the Hat's response.
"No!"
Silence.
"I said no! Pick. Someone. Else!"
Silence.
"There are plenty of other guys who will be just as fine!"
More silence. Sammy quickly climbed down from her bench and began making her way towards her twin who was clearly becoming frantic. She'd just gotten to the bottom of the stairs when her sister leapt from the stool, snatched the Hat off her head and shrieked at it, "BECAUSE HE'S IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE ELSE!"
Sammy froze and looked up at Kailey in confusion. The Hat made no other comment than to shout, "HARRY POTTER."
You could have heard a pin drop. Sammy watched as her sister lowered the Hat, tears slipping down her cheeks, and whispered, "Oh no."
The Headmistress gently removed the Hat from her sisters trembling hands. Kailey looked up and found the messy haired wizard with his famous scar at the Gryffindor table and choked out, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
The short red haired girl from the night before leapt to her feet and started shrieking, "I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HIM FROM ME YOU YANKEE WHORE!"
She was storming her way towards Kailey, wand in hand as she shot a spell at her. Fury racing through her veins, Sammy leapt in front of her twin and easily deflected the spell. Standing tall and glaring daggers she pointed her wand at the girl and hissed, "I will rip you to pieces if you touch her you little piece of shit."
The red head raised her wand again and Sammy readied herself to block when a male voice cut through the air.
"ENOUGH!"
Harry was suddenly at the red heads side, pulling her around to face him.
"Ginny stop! It's not her fault. Weren't you listening to her argue with the Hat? She's not doing it on purpose."
The girl broke down into loud wailing sobs as Sammy turned to her sister. She had covered her face with her hands and was trembling. Wrapping her up in her arms she whispered, "It's going to be ok sweetheart."
"But he loves her. He's in love with someone else!" Kailey looked up and whispered brokenly, "How can I possibly marry a man whose heart belongs to another woman?"
Sammy didn't answer because she didn't know what to say. It was a shit situation all around. She didn't know how long she held her crying sister before a soft voice beside her said, "Sorry about that. She won't cause any more trouble."
Looking up, Sammy found Harry rubbing the back of his neck with a guilty look on his face. To her surprise, he didn't look all that upset.
"Sorry but I don't think I know your names."
"I'm Sammy and this is Kailey."
Kailey peeked out from where she had buried her face in her shoulder to murmur, "I'm so sorry. I tried to convince it to pair me with someone else, I promise!"
"Hey love, it's alright."
Sammy was surprised at the gentleness in his face and voice as he reached out to brush a tear from Kailey's cheek.
"Come on." He held his hand out to her and murmured, "Let's get out of here yeah? We can go talk without everyone staring at us."
Sammy kissed her sisters forehead and gently nudged her towards her future husband, watching as he led her out of the hall. She glanced over and found the girl, Ginny, sobbing quietly in Hermione's arms. Well that went to shit pretty quickly. She rubbed her forehead and took a breath to steady herself before turning to the Hat. Giving the Headmistress a worried smile she tried to joke, "I'm the last one I promise."
The woman only smiled gently and handed her the Hat. Sammy took it and gingerly sat on the stool before placing the musty smelling hat on her head.
Hello Samantha Henderson. I remember you. You have a heart of gold little Hufflepuff. Even tempered, yet fiercely loyal. Brave when you need to be yet an excellent peace maker. How interesting. It would seem that you will be taking after your twin even in the matters of a soulmate. Tell me young one, I have the perfect pair for you but I must ask your thoughts on the matter first.
Sammy glared up at the Hat through her lashes, Why didn't you take my sisters thoughts on her pairing?
Because dear girl, I also take the boys thoughts into consideration too.
Wait. You mean Harry Potter didn't want to be paired with Ginny Weasley?
The young Harry Potter was doing his best to not let anyone down. He was worried about upsetting a lot of people he loves dearly and was grateful that this choice had been taken out of his hands. Your sister is his soulmate; they will make each other very happy.
Sammy slumped in relief. Harry wasn't in love with Ginny. Kailey had a chance at stealing his heart and being loved back. Thank Merlin. And then the Hat's sentence clicked and she nearly shrieked in excitement for her sister. Harry fucking Potter was Kailey's soulmate!?
Now little one, your soulmate is in this room too.
"What?!" Sammy slapped a hand over her mouth when she realized she had said that out loud.
The Hat chuckled, Yes. A soulmate is very rare. Very special. Very few wizards find their soulmates. Lucky for you and your twin, because of this law you both have a chance at pairing with them.
Ok… why do you need my thoughts about it?
Because young one, he is an ex-death eater.
Sammy's mind blanked for a minute while she tried to process that information.
Finally she managed to tentatively ask, Who?
Draco Malfoy.
Sammy had to stop herself from looking over at the silver haired Slytherin. She didn't want to give anything away until she'd made up her mind.
Why ask my opinion in the first place? Aren't you just supposed to pair us with the people who are the closest matches regardless?
I will not be responsible for sending young women into situations with people that have a history that's rather unsavory. Young Malfoy was forced to do a lot of bad things and took the mark unwillingly to protect his mother from a mad man. He is broken. He is lonely and hurting and it will take persistence to bring down the thick walls he's put up around himself for protection. He is also rather hated among society and I will not send an unsuspecting woman into that situation unless she is aware and willing.
Sammy thought really hard about what the Hat was saying. She wasn't immediately opposed to the idea. After all, she hadn't been here during the war, she held no previous grudges. Especially against a boy who had only been doing what he'd been doing to protect his family. She could understand that as there wasn't much she wouldn't do for her own sisters.
Would he hurt me?
He would never lay a hand on you in anger. I cannot promise that he won't hurt you with his sharp tongue as he has a history of using his quick wit as a weapon. But you are his soulmate, the minute he touches your hand he will understand. That will help soften his heart towards you. Your journey with him will most likely not be easy but you could free him from the prison he currently lives in. You could make him truly happy, for the first time in his life, I might add.
Sammy took a breath and made up her mind.
Alright. I'm not going to pass by my soulmate just because the situation is less than ideal. Besides, Draco is hot.
The Hat chuckled in her head before shouting, "DRACO MALFOY."
Good luck young one.
Sammy calmly took the Hat off her head and handed it to the Headmistress who was eyeing her with concern. She was aware that the hall was deathly quiet as she turned to face the Slytherin table. Meeting the silver haired boy's eyes, she never looked away as he calmly stood and made his way to the front. She gave him a small smile when he held a hand up to help her down the stairs. She reached for him but paused and her eyes zeroed in on the boy from the Gryffindor table who growled, "Bloody ferret."
She sent him a withering glare that he visibly shrunk under and said, "You can keep your fucking opinions to yourself or I will permanently seal your mouth shut," She paused for effect before adding, "Ronald Weasley."
Emma, Brittany and their new husbands-to-be who were sitting around him, laughed as the boy turned a bright shade of red that almost matched his hair. Sammy ignored them and turned back to Draco. Smiling again she slipped her hand into his and couldn't help the soft gasp as a warm tingle shot up her arm. Draco's indifferent mask slipped at the contact as he stared down at their joined hands and she knew he'd felt it too. His eyes shot back up to her own and a look of awe crossed his face before he quickly schooled his expression again and gently led her down the stairs and over to the Slytherin table.
Sammy didn't even hear the whispers around her as she focused solely on the boy in front of her, still holding her hand. She could feel it, the connection that her magic ached to make with him. It was leaving her a bit breathless as so many different emotions and feelings raced through her from where their hands touched. Merlin, if this was what holding hands felt like, she had no idea what she was gonna do when they actually kissed or heaven help her, had sex.
He gently helped her to sit beside a dark skinned boy with crystal blue eyes before climbing over the bench to sit beside her. The dark skinned boy and a lanky boy with shaggy brown hair across the table eyed her with barely concealed interest. She gave them both a smile as Draco introduced them.
Gesturing to the boy across the table he said, "Theodor Nott. And the guy next to you is Blaise Zabini."
"It's nice to meet you both. I'm Samantha but you can call me Sammy."
"American then yeah?"
She nodded at Blaise, "Yep. Though technically only half American. My mother was British."
"Was?"
Sammy felt her chest tighten in the way it always did when faced with having to explain her parents were dead. Draco must have felt something through their bond, as they were still holding hands, and wrapped an arm around her.
Without thinking, she leaned into his body and replied softly, "We lost our parents last year in an accident. We're living with my mother's father now, which is how we came to be here."
Theodor winced, "Merlin, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so crass with that last question."
Sammy gave him a sad smile, "It's ok. You didn't know."
Clearly trying to change the subject into safer territory he went on to ask, "So, you have three sisters?"
She nodded, "Emma, who's with the twins," she couldn't help but chuckle again and Theodor gave her a quizzical look. "Sorry, sorry. It's just," Sammy leaned over the table to whisper, "She has a thing for twins, you know, like a fantasy kind of thing, so the fact that she got pair with a set is just hysterical."
Her statement earned a chuckle from all three boys and Sammy leaned back to settle herself against Draco's side again. It felt so natural, she didn't even think about it and apparently neither did he, because his arm settled around her waist as if that's where it belonged; both of them ignoring the way the two boys were eyeing their interaction with interest.
"Emma is the oldest. Then there's Brittany who got paired with the muscular red head."
Blaise nodded, "Charlie Weasley."
"And then my twin, Kailey, who's with Harry."
All three boys winced and she felt Draco's chest vibrate as he grumbled, "Bloody pothead."
She poked him, "Hey now. You better get used to seeing him because my sisters are all I have left and I'm not about to let anything get between us." Looking up to meet his silver eyes she added, "Not even a good looking boy."
He grinned and leaned closer, "So you're saying I'm good looking?"
Sammy snorted, "You know you're good looking." Seeing his smirk widen she rolled her eyes but couldn't help the smile that slipped on her lips, "But yes, I do think you're hot."
He leaned down further until his mouth was brushing her ear and whispered, "It's ok little witch, I think you're hot too."
Sammy felt the blush rise to her cheeks and couldn't help how her heart sped up. Damn it! She wanted to kiss him so bad. The soul bond was singing in her veins and she found it to be intoxicating. She was pulled from her thoughts by Theodor.
"So Malfoy. You're gonna be related to both the Weasley's and Potter through marriage."
Draco tensed and broke eye contact to shoot a glare at his friend.
"I'll thank you to not remind me of that right now."
Sammy looked between the smirking boy and her now very tense fiancé. Clearly the bad feelings went both ways and she wondered how the hell her and her sisters were going to navigate these new waters.
"At least it's only Potter you'll have to have direct contact with. Charlie is a decent bloke from what I've heard and the twins are obnoxious but they're smart and don't seem the kind to hold a grudge." Blaise shrugged and finished, "She could have had a sister marrying Ronald, is all I'm saying."
Draco shifted in his seat and scowled but whatever he'd been about to say was cut off when a silence fell on the room. They all turned to see Ginny methodically walking to the stool before stiffly sitting and placing the Hat on her head. There was a moment of silence in which her face never changed before the Hat shouted, "OLIVER WOOD."
They watched as she stiffly stood and handed the Hat back to the Headmistress as a guy from the Gryffindor table came forward and offered a hand. She ignored it, pushing past him and went to sit back down at her house table. The boy rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans and followed after her.
"I would hate to be Wood right about now. Everyone know's the Weaslette only has eyes for Potter."
Sammy nodded in agreement and murmured, "Poor guy. That's what Kailey was so worried about. That she was marrying someone who wouldn't be able to love her back because they were already in love with someone else." She laid her head back on Draco's shoulder and murmured, "Thank goodness Ginny's undying love seems to have been one sided."
She felt Draco shift, "You mean Potter isn't in love with Weaslette?"
"No. The Hat said that he was only still with her because he was worried about hurting his friends if he broke up with her. Apparently he was relieved that this whole situation came up and the decision was out of his hands."
Draco hummed thoughtfully and squeezed the arm that was around her waist. "I'm glad, for your sister's sake."
"Me too. Kailey deserves a chance to be happy and in love in a marriage."
She shivered as she felt his nose brush against her ear. His voice rumbled softly in his chest as he asked, "And what about you, little one? Do you deserve a chance at being happy and in love?"
Biting her bottom lip she turned to whisper in his ear, "I think everyone deserves to have someone love them."
He pulled back to search her eyes with a guarded expression. Sammy took the opportunity to reach up and kiss his cheek, "Even you Draco."
His eyes hardened slightly, "Must be why the Hat paired you with me, you're a gullible Hufflepuff."
Sammy ignored the attempt at a jab and reached to cup his cheek. Pulling his face down she whispered in his ear, "Don't be stupid Draco. The Hat asked if I wanted to be paired with you and I said yes." Nuzzling his cheek with her nose she added, "I know you feel it too. There aren't very many types of connections that are as strong as ours from just holding hands. I know you're smart. Figure it out."
His eyes widened slightly and he stared at her. She just smirked at him and turned back to watch a lovely blond girl from Gryffindor make her way to the stool. She was a beautiful, curvaceous girl with long glossy hair. But Sammy's eyes were drawn to the long, angry red scars across the left side of her face. They looked fresh and she could tell the girl was self-conscious about them. Theodor saw her look and said softly, "That's Lavender Brown. She got the scars from a werewolf in the last battle."
"She's beautiful."
He gave her a small smile and nodded before turning back just as the Hat shouted, "RONALD WEASLEY."
Sammy, despite not having a good first impression of the boy, was glad to see him leap to his feet and rush around to hold his arms out to the girl with a huge grin on his face. The girl smiled gratefully and slid into his embrace; allowing him to led her back to the table. Sammy then felt Blaise tense beside her and followed his eyes to see her fellow Hufflepuff, Hannah Abbott, walking to the stool. She looked very pale and like she hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. She sat, placed the Hat on her head and seemed to hold her breath. There was a second of silence before her face broke into a smile even as she choked out a sob. Pressing her hand to her mouth she leapt to her feet and turned to look at the Slytherin table. Blaise was on his feet even before the Hat shouted, "BLAISE ZABINI."
He whooped and shot around the table to catch the girl as she flung herself off the stairs and into his arms. Sammy giggled as Draco coughed out a surprised noise as the two began to kiss quite fervently right in front of the whole hall, completely ignoring the people talking around them.
"Well, I'm glad someone is getting paired with the person they most wanted to be with…" Theodor cocked his head, "Even though we had no idea they were together." He looked over at Draco and asked, "Did you know about that?"
"No. He must have kept it quiet to protect her from everything that was going on last year."
Theodor nodded and turned back to chuckle. The couple was still going at it and the Headmistress was clearing her throat loudly to try and gain their attention. The girl finally pulled away to giggle and blush at the Headmistress even as Blaise continued to kiss down her neck.
"Sorry sorry."
The Headmistress just shook her head with a grin and said, "Well go on now; we need to move on to the others."
Without another word, Blaise reached down and lifted the girl into his arms as she wrapped her legs about his waist. Without breaking his kisses from her neck, he carried her out of the hall, slamming the door closed without looking back.
A general chuckle ran through the room before everyone turned to see who would go next. Suddenly, Hermione stood and marched her way to the stool. Accepting the Hat she sat and placed it on her head. She had a neutral expression on her face for a moment before it turned to surprise. She nodded silently to herself and the Hat shouted, "THEODOR NOTT."
She stood calmly, and handed the Hat back to the Headmistress before turning to the Slytherin table. Theodor was staring at the witch in shock. She crossed her arms and raised an eye brow at him. It seemed to break him from his stupor and he stood to go and hold a hand out to her. She took it calmly and allowed him to lead her back to the table where she primly sat and folded her hands in her lap.
Sammy smiled when their eyes met and the girl returned it hesitantly.
"I'm Sammy."
"Hermione. You're Emma's sister right?"
"Yeah, that's me. It's nice to meet you."
They reached across the table and shook hands.
"I love your hair by the way. It's gorgeous."
Hermione stared at her in utter disbelief before managing to sputter, "Wh-what?"
Sammy nodded, "Yeah. I would kill to have hair like yours. All I can manage with mine is a loose beach wave. Nothing like your beautiful ringlets."
Hermione snorted, "What ringlets? It's a frizzy mess!"
"Well that's just cause you're brushing it."
She crossed her arm in a huff, "Well of course I brush it."
Sammy shrugged, "It's why your hair frizzes. Curls don't like to be brushed."
The other witch was staring at her like she'd grown two heads and Sammy giggled.
"I have a really good friend back in America. She has hair like yours and she says Golden Rule #1 for curly hair is never use a brush."
"Really?"
"Yeah. We could chat later about it some more if you'd like? I know what products she uses and all the stuff she does to keep her hair manageable."
"That would be really great. Thank you."
Sammy smiled, "You're welcome."
An awkward silence fell on the table and Theodor cleared his throat and shifted on the bench, clearly uncomfortable. Hermione took a deep breath before suddenly turning to the tall boy. He froze and held his hands up in a 'I surrender' motion.
"Look Nott," she sighed and softened her voice, "Theo. I'm sure you're just as surprised as I am at this pairing. But I want you to know that I'd like it if we could try to put the past behind us and start fresh. I'd really like it for our children to grow up in a home where the parents at least respect each other. I don't want to live the rest of my life arguing and hating the man I'm married to. I'm assuming you feel the same?"
Theo slowly lowered his hands and nodded, "I'd like that… Hermione."
She smiled at him and held her hand out. They shook hands and the tension around the table slowly ebbed away. Hermione glance at Draco. They stared at each other for a long moment, both seeming to be too stubborn to make the first move. Sammy reached under the table and gently placed her hand on his thigh. He sighed softly before dipping his head, "Granger."
She returned the dip, "Malfoy." And then turned back to Theo to engage him in a conversation about his family.
Sammy felt Draco's nose brush her ear again, "Happy?"
She chuckled softly and turned her head so that they were brushing noses. He was looking at her, his silver-grey eyes filled with amusement.
"Theo is your friend isn't he? We'll be spending a lot of time with him and his wife?"
Draco nodded, brushing their noses together and sending a shiver down her spine.
"Then don't you think we should at least be civil with her?"
He grumbled a bit before sighing, "I suppose you're right." He tightened his arm around her and pulled her fully into his lap. "You're not going to be using this whole 'soulmate' thing against me all the time are you?"
Sammy giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck to whisper teasingly, "I knew you were smart enough to figure it out. And only to get my way."
He pinched her side and growled, "Little minx."
His face grew serious and he pressed their foreheads together, "You're going to get a lot of hate being with me."
"I know."
"People will say things about you because you're marrying me. And when people find out that we're soulmates, they'll assume your evil too."
Sammy shrugged, "Let them say whatever they want to say. I know who I am and the people I care about know who I am. I've never been too concerned with what people thought of me. I told you Draco, the Hat gave me a choice. It explained to me what I'd be facing and I chose you. You're my soulmate. I want to make this work with you. I think we both deserve a chance to be happy, don't you?"
She watched as several emotions flitted through his eyes; pain, guilt but most of all worry. Shaking her head she reached up to cup his cheeks.
"Draco, stop baby. It'll be fine. I can hold my own."
He smirked, "You're a little Flufflpoof."
She glared playfully at him, "You're forgetting that Hufflepuffs are badgers." She poked his chest, "Badgers are vicious creatures, especially when cornered." Leaning closer she grinned, "And I'm an American badger. We're the most dangerous of all."
Draco threw his head back and laughed, earning quite a few shocked looks from around the table.
"Merlin help me. Why do I get the feeling that you're going to keep me on my toes?"
Sammy chuckled and poked his chest again, "Only if you annoy me. I'll be sweet as pie if you're nice."
He growled and squeezed her closer, and Sammy's heart skipped a beat when it looked like he might lean in to kiss her. The Headmistress's voice jerked them both out of their moment. Sammy made to move and look at the Headmistress but Draco's arms tightened as he whispered, "You'll stay right here."
She giggled, rolled her eyes and relaxed back in his lap, settling to simply crane her neck around to see.
"Good girl."
The whispered words in her ear sent a shiver down her spine and a heat to pool low in her stomach. He chuckled quietly at her response but said nothing else as the words of the Headmistress filled the room.
"That was the last pairing. Thank you all for helping this run smoothly. I know that this isn't the happiest day for some of you but I want you to know that I'm proud of each and every one of you. Dinner will now be served and those of you who are not students are more than welcome to stay. Next weekend you all have been allowed to take the Saturday and Sunday to schedule meetings with your families to introduce your pairings. Please let your head of house know when you will be leaving and returning from the school. Thank you all. Let us now eat."
Food suddenly filled the length of the table and the doors to the hall opened to allow the younger students to enter. Talk resumed and Sammy turned her attention back to the boy whose lap she was occupying.
"Are you gonna let me down so I can eat?"
"I suppose I must."
She grinned and slid back onto the bench beside him, reaching for a plate and began filling it with food. Glancing around she noticed that Blaise and Hannah had returned, hand in hand, and looking so happy it almost hurt to look at them. Craning her neck, she tried to catch a glimpse of her sisters to see how they were doing but couldn't really see them over the crowd.
"We can go check on them after we're done eating. You'll need to introduce me after all."
Sammy smiled gratefully and reached over to squeeze his hand. "I'd like that. Thank you."