"So, where exactly do we go?" Natasha asked Harry.
"I'll show you when we get there!" Harry said for what seemed like the hundredth time.
Harry, Shannon, Natasha, Ron, and Hermione were walking down the crowded streets of London. They had been dropped off by Ron's father, before he headed to work.
"Look, there's the Leaky Cauldron," Hermione said suddenly. She was the only one that was paying attention. Harry was staring at Shannon (with whom he was holding hands with again) and Ron was staring at Natasha, who was probably daydreaming about Malfoy.
"Already?" Harry asked.
"Look for yourself!" Hermione said with a laugh, pointing at the old building.
"Oh, I guess it's been a few decades since they've done any repairs, or cleaning in general." Natasha said skeptically. She was a neat freak and hated dirty homes.
"It's not like that on the inside. It's to distract muggles from going in." Ron explained as they walked into the big old bar.
"Why are we going in here in the first place? I really don't see the point," Natasha complained. Ron just shook his head and led them between the many tables in the smoke filled room. It seemed to swell with whispers as people noticed the notorious Harry Potter holding hands with an unfamiliar, yet very beautiful girl. Harry either didn't notice or didn't care. He just kept a tight hold on Shannon and followed Ron to the back of the bar. Once there, Ron tapped the wall a few times and the bricks began to shake and move away. Shannon and Natasha gasped.
"It's alright," Harry assured them.
"Wow," Shannon whispered.
"This," said Ron smiling. "is Diagon Alley."
"It's a great place, there's tons of shops where you can buy anything you'll ever need." Hermione added, making her way closer to Ron. He edged over to Natasha.
"Yea, and since I helped dad all summer, I get to buy extra stuff too, along with my new wand." Ron exclaimed, remembering a previous year when he had broken his last one.
"I have to get a new wand, too." Hermione said. "Do you three need one?" she asked Shannon, Natasha, and Harry.
"No." they answered simultaneously.
"How about you two go and do that and we'll meet you at Madame Malkin's." Harry said casually. He had been pushing Ron into telling Hermione the truth. This seemed like the perfect time to do it.
"Alright…" Ron groaned, knowing what he had to do.
The two groups departed and walked in different directions.
"Well, I need to stop at Gringotts, and I was thinking about stopping for ice cream afterward. Sound good?" Harry asked, smiling.
"Wonderful," Shannon replied. Natasha simply nodded, too distracted by the thought of a chocolate sundae to do anything else.
Ron and Hermione made their way slowly to Ollivander's. The air was thick with tension, and Ron couldn't help but wish that someone, anyone, would show up and help thin it out. Hermione must have sensed something was wrong, because she gave Ron a questioning look, but said nothing.
"Hermione, we need to talk," Ron began. This was going to be hard, but he had to do it, and now was as good of a time as any. But before he could say anymore, someone called Hermione's name. They both turned to find Viktor Krum standing behind them.
"Viktor!" Hermione's eyes lit up. "Hi!"
"Yea, hi," Ron echoed, although much less enthusiastically.
"Hello, Hermione. See, I can say it right now!" Krum responded with a slight laugh.
"So, are you shopping for school supplies?" Hermione asked flirtatiously. She secretly still had a crush on Krum, and was delighted to see him.
"Yes, and I vos vondering, vould you like to join me?" he asked her.
It was all she could do to keep from shrieking joyfully as she answered 'yes' very casually.
"Well then I think I'll go and catch up with the others," Ron said, beaming.
"See you then," Hermione answered carelessly.
"Yea, see you." Krum echoed as they walked off.
The 'Break up'Ron was very happy that Krum had showed up because he didn't have to hurt Hermione, and because he felt that maybe now, she'd forget about him. Now he was all alone with Natasha and he could finally get to know her, without Hermione shoving in between them constantly.
"Guys, wait up!" Ron yelled as he caught a glance of Natasha's pink sweater. She instantly turned around, and gave him a puzzled look.
"What are you doing here? Where is Hermione?" Harry started. Ron interrupted him.
"She saw Krum and they went to shop together and I think she's over me. YES!" he said, almost as enthusiastically as when Hermione spotted Krum. He did a little jig that made Natasha laugh.
"Oh, well we were just walking to Gringotts." Harry said as they started walking again. Once there, Shannon clung tightly to Harry. The goblins really creeped her out. Natasha followed suite, clinging to Ron's hand. Ron grinned from ear to ear. Harry withdrew some money from his vault and they were on their way to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor.
Natasha ordered the chocolate sundae she'd been dreaming about, while Shannon and Harry ordered a banana split to share. Ron had been deciding between a scoop of mint chocolate chip and strawberry swirl when Natasha suggested they share her sundae. After all, she'd never be able to finish it. Ron quickly agreed.
It wasn't long after they got their ice cream that Shannon and Harry started a small food fight, smearing ice cream all over each other's faces. Ron couldn't stop laughing. Shannon and Harry both looked at each other and began wiping ice cream on Ron as well. Needless to say they were all quite a sight afterwards. Shannon then excused herself to go clean up, and Natasha went with her. Harry and Ron stayed at the table, wiping their faces with damp napkins.
"Ron," Harry began. "Why did you leave Hermione alone with Krum? You were supposed to break up with her!"
"That's why I left!" Ron protested. "Maybe she'll realize she still likes Krum and will break us up herself!" Harry nodded, but he had his doubts. When Shannon returned, so did Harry's smile, and Hermione was once again forgotten.
"Where to next?" Natasha inquired.
"Well, we all need books, so let's go there." Harry said pointing. They all walked a few blocks down to Flourish and Blotts and picked up a year's worth of books. Shannon couldn't resist stopping at the Magic Managerie to look at the assortment of pets. Ron had had his fill of the place when he had stopped there for Scabbers' medicine two years ago and was not in the mood to visit it again; instead he headed to Ollivander's. He still needed a wand after all. The group made plans to meet at Madame Malkin's Robes for Every Occasion in 15 minutes and then went their separate ways.
When Ron was only a few doors away from Ollivander's, he thought he heard Hermione laugh. Figuring he'd better inform her of where they were to meet in 15 minutes, he headed toward the sound of her giggles. There, in a small, dimly lit space between two buildings he could just make out the silhouettes of Krum and Hermione. Hermione's back was against the wall and Krum was in front of her. Another peel of laughter erupted from her direction before Krum bent over and kissed her quickly. Ron gasped.
"Hermione!" he yelled. She kissed him back, he thought. Great, now he could dump her for sure!
"Ron?" Hermione whispered, obviously startled. "I-I can explain!" she stammered, emerging from the shadows.
"I don't want to hear it Hermione!" He did his best to sound angry. "We're through! Understand? Through!" Then he turned and stormed off towards Ollivander's.
Hermione's mouth fell open, "Oh no. What have I done?" She shook her head sadly. Krum put his arm around her, but it only made her feel worse.
Ron gleefully skipped to Ollivander's and walked in the creaky old door.
"Hello, dear boy," Mr. Ollivander's scratchy voice was heard from behind a shelf, "What can I do for you?"
"Umm…I need a new wand." Ron stammered. Mr. Ollivander really creeped him out.
"Alright," he started, crawling carefully off the ladder and picking up a box, "Try this."
Ron gave the wand a wave and an entire shelf fell down. He blushed deeply and set the wand on the counter top.
"That's alright, try this one." Mr. Ollivander reassured, handing him a second wand.
Ron gave that a wave and all of the boxes that had fallen off were replaced instantly.
"That's the one!" Mr. Ollivander said happily as he packaged Ron's new wand.
The group reassembled at Madame Malkin's. Harry and Shannon noticed the tension between Ron and Hermione (Natasha was actually in between them), and knew something was up. Shannon, Harry, and Hermione went off in one direction, while Natasha and Ron went in the other.
"So, what's up with you and Hermione?" Natasha asked casually as she looked at the many robes hanging on hooks.
"I caught her making out with Krum and so I figured that was the perfect moment to break up with her." He said.
"Oh, so you were a couple?"
"Well, not really. Sort of."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, we kissed, and she thought it went on from there."
"So you don't really like her like that?"
"No, she's a really good friend of mine and I just don't see her in that way."
"Oh." Natasha responded faintly. She felt kind of bad for him. She had no clue why, but she did. So, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Ron's eyes grew to the size of saucers as a blush settled into his cheeks. Had that really just happened, or did I imagine it? He wondered.
"Sorry, I just thought you looked like you needed to be cheered up," Natasha explained quickly.
"It's- it's fine, really." Ron's hand covered the spot on his cheek that Natasha had kissed.
"So what do you think of this one?" Natasha asked, holding up a green and silver robe, trying desperately to change the subject.
"What's wrong? Why are you and Ron acting so weird towards each other?" Shannon asked Hermione, just as Hermione had began to wonder if the two (Harry and Shannon) had let their hands part for even a second that day.
"I," Hermione began, but seemed unable to continue.
"Does it have something to do with Krum?" Harry asked, gently pushing for an explanation. Hermione nodded, looking close to tears.
"Maybe we'd better sit down," Shannon suggested, guiding Hermione to a bench near a fitting room.
"I, we, Krum and I, we were having a good time. We were just sort of window shopping, talking about our summers," Hermione managed to squeak out between sniffs. "Then he pulled me over in a little alley. He told me he wanted to stop and talk, to be alone, just us two." Shannon nodded trying to comfort her, while urging her on at the same time.
"That's all we did, we were just talking, and then he leaned over and-and, he kissed me." She broke into sobs.
"And Ron saw him?" Shannon finished, giving Harry a worried look. She felt so bad for Hermione, who was nodding slightly.
"But I kissed him too," Hermione's wails got louder and began to draw attention.
"It's alright Hermione! Really, it is." Harry tried to quiet her.
"But he hates me now! He said we're through!" Her eyes were wide with emphasis.
"Hermione, he's your friend. He doesn't hate you! He's probably just hurt right now, but he'll get over it." Shannon told her, but secretly Harry suspected that Ron was ecstatic to find such an easy way out of the relationship.
Hermione shook her head, "He hates me."
"Why don't we find you some nice new robes?" Shannon suggested. "That'll cheer you up."
Meanwhile, Ron and Natasha were having a lot of fun getting to know each other. They got along so well, the term soul mates flew into Ron's head every so often. Sure Natasha was adorable, but once you got to know her she was absolutely gorgeous. Ron was in love.
"So, how does this look?" Natasha asked as she strolled out of the dressing room. Her ensemble consisted of a silver and dark green robe. It flattered her very well.
"That looks really great!" Ron responded.
"Alright, I'll take five-wait no seven of these." She said to the saleslady, handing her 15 gold galleons.
"Hmm…should I get one in pink?" Natasha asked, rhetorically.
"Yea, you look good in pink." Ron gushed. In his opinion, Natasha looked good in anything!
"Ok, two of them in pink," Natasha agreed. The lady went over and packaged all of the robes and then they walked over to where Harry, Shannon, and Hermione were all sitting, their bags in their hands.
"So, have fun?" Natasha asked as she walked over, looking at Hermione's tear streaked face. She patted her shoulder. It wasn't much, but to Hermione it was the best gesture anyone could give her right now.
"Well, we had better get going. Train leaves in forty-five minutes." Harry said in his take charge voice he had been using all day. All five of them stood up and were on their way to Platform 9-3/4.
The Train Ride
They were all seated on the train now. Harry, Shannon, and Hermione in one compartment, while Ron and Natasha sat in another. Shannon and Harry would have preferred a compartment to themselves, but they knew Hermione wouldn't be comfortable in one with Ron.
The entrance to platform 9-3/4 was not something visible to the naked eye. You had to actually walk through one of the many pillars in the station to get to it. Harry laughed as he remembered how long it took to coax Shannon and Natasha to go through it. They were afraid they'd simply bounce off of it.
Just then Malfoy walked by and happened to peek into Harry's compartment. He had intended to make some snide remark to Harry, but was too astounded by what he saw. Harry sat holding hands with a girl he'd never seen before. And not just any girl, but a beautiful one at that. He couldn't believe his eyes. How did a geek like Potter wind up with someone like her?
Harry noticed Malfoy's wide eyes peering in at Shannon. He narrowed his eyes at the intruder and scooted closer to her. Once Malfoy disappeared Harry relaxed and once again joined in a conversation with Hermione and Shannon. They were only talking for a few minutes when they were interrupted again. A tall, curly haired brunette suddenly burst in on them. She plopped down on the other side of Shannon and farted loudly.
"Safety!" She yelled. Harry looked absolutely terrified.
"Um Harry," Shannon laughed nervously. "This is my sister Jennifer." Harry couldn't believe his eyes. How could these two be related? Shannon was thin, with a clear complexion and straight brown hair. Jennifer on the other hand, wasn't exactly skinny, with freckles and a very loud personality.
"Hi there Harry! Nice to meet ya!" Jennifer shook his hand vigorously. "Oh my gosh Shannon, you should have smelled this guy I passed on my way to the train! I was like 'Dude, you smell really good!' but he gave me a weird look and walked faster."
Shannon looked very nervous, not to mention embarrassed. She had let go of Harry and was wringing her hands.
"Well maybe you shouldn't tell people you don't know that they smell good." Shannon suggested.
"Hey, if they have a problem with me it its not my fault." Jennifer retorted. Shannon just shook her head and shot Harry a mortified look.
"Well, there are four houses-Gryffindor, me, Harry, and Hermione are all in that one, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin." Ron explained to Natasha. They were really getting comfortable now, sitting very close and even holding hands. Ron was in heaven.
"Who's the meanest teacher?" Natasha asked quietly.
"Snape. Such a git, always taking points from Gryffindor even if we don't do anything." Ron said angrily.
"Really? He sounds like a jerk. I'll have to give him a hard time." Natasha said jokingly. She liked to make trouble for teachers, especially ones she didn't like.
"Yea, I did last year but he just takes away points." Ron said.
"Oh." Natasha didn't know what to say.
"So, are you still looking forward to meeting Malfoy?"
"Yes I am." Natasha stated simply. Ron was really annoying her about the Malfoy thing. Couldn't he just wait until she met him to start ripping on him?
"Well, I'm going to go change." Natasha said as she stood up. She grabbed her robe, and walked out, closing the door quietly behind her.
On her way to change she passed quite a few compartments filled with kids. She happened to stop by Shannon and Harry's compartment to see that Jennifer was now aboard. After a quick hello she was on her way again, but not for long. There, only a few doors down, sitting with two overweight boys, was the cutest blonde boy Natasha had ever seen. She knew it had to be Malfoy. She stood there for a few minutes longer, trying to get up the courage to say hello, but she was interrupted first. Ron was walking quickly, looking everywhere for her.
"Great," Natasha whispered sarcastically and hurried off to find a place to change.
"Where'd she go?" Ron asked, stopping in front of Malfoy's compartment. "I could have sworn I saw her here."
"What are you mumbling about Weasley?" Malfoy sneered. "Looking for your imaginary friend? After all, Potter must be too busy with his girlfriend to pay any attention to you." Ron simply glared at him. If only Natasha was here to see what a horrible person Malfoy really was.
"And by the way, how did such a gorgeous girl wind up with that geek anyway? She must be severely brain dead or something," Malfoy continued. Ron began to ball his fists, preparing to punch Malfoy square in the nose, but then Crabbe and Goyle appeared behind him. Ron decided to change strategy.
"Aw, how cute Malfoy! You're jealous. Well sorry to be the one to tell you this, but she'd sooner be interested in one of Hagrid's blast-ended skrewts than you." Malfoy's eyes were glowing with rage at Ron's words. "And you know what else? She's about a hundred times smarter than you are. Now I hate to just insult and run, but I'm afraid I have to. See you at school." Ron walked away, a wide smile on his face, knowing he was leaving Malfoy behind absolutely fuming.
"He was absolutely gorgeous!" Ron heard Natasha gushing as he entered Harry's compartment. He looked around to see Harry once again staring at Shannon, while she and a strange girl listened intently to Natasha, her mouth hanging wide open. Hermione was also there, but her eyes were full of anger at the mere mention of this so-called gorgeous guy.
"Talking about me?" Ron asked, smiling as he sat down at Natasha's side.
"Nope, I think she's talking about Malfoy," Harry replied, pulling his eyes from Shannon. Ron's smile turned to a scowl. Shannon, trying to lighten the mood, decided to introduce Jennifer.
"Ron, this is my sister Jennifer. Jennifer, this is Ron."
"Hey," Jennifer said, once again a little too loudly. Ron was amazed. The two didn't look or act alike at all! Shannon sat, legs crossed, leaning back against the seat. She spoke softly and politely. Jennifer, on the other hand, sat with her legs spread apart, slouched over and leaning on her elbows, which rested on her knees. She spoke a bit too loud and didn't seem to have a problem with farting, which she did quite often.
"You don't look a thing alike!" Ron exclaimed, disregarding Jennifer's greeting.
"Thank you," Shannon and Jennifer said at the same time. They both laughed, Jennifer a little too loudly.
Malfoy's rejection
Later Shannon excused herself to use the bathroom. On her way past Malfoy's compartment, he happened to see her, and was waiting for her on her return. Just before she walked in front of his door, Malfoy stepped out in front of her, blocking her path.
"Excuse me," Shannon asked politely, anxious to get back with Harry and Natasha.
"Well of course, but first I'll need to know your name," Malfoy smiled slyly. Nothing would give him more pleasure than to steal Harry's girl from him.
"My name is Shannon. And you are?" She inquired, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"The name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy," He replied, taking her hand and bringing it toward his lips to kiss. She realized what he was about to do and turned her hand to shake his, hitting him in the nose.
"So you're the infamous Malfoy? I've heard quite a lot about you."
"Yes, I suppose Potter has told you a few things. But I, on the other hand, have heard nothing about you," Malfoy smiled again, doing his best to charm her. "I thought perhaps we could get to know each other over a little tour of the school."
"Sorry, but Harry and Ron already offered." She replied, not looking the least bit sorry, or tempted. Actually, she seemed somewhat bored with him.
"Such a nice guy," Malfoy said under his breath.
Shannon heard the sarcasm in his voice, "Yes, he really is one of the nicest people I've ever met. Now if you don't mind, I'll have to be getting back to him."
"And what if I mind?" Malfoy gave her a half smile, trying to hide his frustration.
"Then I'll have to go anyway." She was really getting annoyed and pushed past him, purposely stepping on his foot. Malfoy glared at her as she hurried away. He did not take rejection well.
"What a grease ball," Shannon said as she told Harry about her encounter with Malfoy. Natasha and Ron were once again alone in their compartment.
Harry shook his head, "He was hoping to steal you from me."
"Ick, that slimy creep? Not a chance." Shannon reassured him, but Harry knew what Malfoy's intentions had been. He would stop at nothing to hurt Harry. "Ron on the other hand…" She joked and smiled, making him feel a little better, but making him more nervous about losing her at the same time.
"I know," Harry nodded, more to convince himself than her. "But just do me a favor and stay away from Malfoy."
"Not a problem," Shannon commented. She was thinking the same thing. She could see the worry that still hung in his eyes and hugged him.
"Whoa, am I interrupting?" Ron stood in the doorway, his eyebrows raised, but he grinned widely. Shannon and Harry just smiled and shook their heads, embarrassed about being walked in on.
"Where are Jenny and Hermione?" Natasha asked. She stood behind Ron, looking over his shoulder. They made their way to a seat and sat down next to each other. To Shannon and Harry's surprise, Ron grabbed Natasha's hand, and Natasha didn't pull away.
"They're changing right now." Shannon replied, smiling and giving Harry a look that meant 'Wow, look at them!'.
"That's good," Ron replied. "We'll be there in a few minutes."
Arrival at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and WizardryWhen the train stopped all the fifth years were seated in horse-less carriages. When everyone had been seated they started to move, taking the passengers over to the school. Feeling slightly dazed, Natasha met back up with Harry and Shannon, accompanied by Hermione and Jennifer (who looked slightly annoyed by Hermione's endless talking) and Ron who took his position next to Natasha.
They walked into a large, gray marble hallway and made their way up a staircase. They were greeted by a solemn looking witch with black hair that was pulled up in a tight bun. She introduced herself as Professor McGonagall.
"Alright now fifth year students and our new girls," Professor McGonagall said loudly so as to be heard over all the talking. Malfoy had, just as Ron predicted, spotted Natasha and was just about to introduce himself when Professor started talking.
"We are just about to begin the Sorting Ceremony. All fifth years should go in and sit down-except for Shannon, Natasha, and Jennifer. You three will come with me." Everyone scurried off into The Great Hall except for the three girls.
"As you may have heard, you need to be sorted into your houses. After we are done sorting the first years, you three will have your turn. There is Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Follow me please," McGonagall ended, and then she promptly turned around and started walking toward a small group of young looking witches and wizards-to-be.
"I'm really nervous!" Natasha said shakily.
"Me too," Shannon agreed.
"Yea, and me three!" Jenny said, a little loudly and some of the first years were staring at them. Jenny threw a dirty look their way and turned around to talk to her sister and cousin.
"I really want to be in Hufflepuff. It sounds like a fat person! Wiggly Jiggly Hufflepuff!" Jenny said and then laughed. Really loud. All the first years looked over this time.
"Do you have a problem?" she yelled. All of the kids shook their heads quickly and continued on, talking nervously.
"Oh my god Jennifer!" Shannon said, trying as hard as possible to control her laughter. She didn't succeed long, and soon erupted into fits of giggles. "You sound like a chipmunk!"
"You know what? I don't care. If you have a problem with me that's not my fault." Jenny snapped. She absolutely hated it when people picked at her.
"Anyway, did you guys see Malfoy?!" Natasha shrieked. "He's sooooo hott!!"
"Can you say bacon grease?" Jenny said blankly.
"Whatever, at least I don't like that Oliver Wood man-woman-dude! He's so ugly!" Natasha said defensively. Her and Jenny were really close, but they always seemed to get into little 'fights' over something dumb, or were competing with each other.
"Come along now students!" Professor McGonagall's booming voice was heard over the commotion. As she started walking toward the great big doors, all of the first years followed, and Shannon, Jenny, and Natasha.
The great chestnut cherry doors opened as they approached. As the three girls entered, they could feel all eyes on them. Malfoy was stretching his neck this way and that, checking out Natasha.
"She's better than a veela!" he said to Crabbe and Goyle. And better then Potter's nerdy little girlfriend he thought to himself.
"Look at Malfoy," Ron said to Harry, "Looks like a giraffe!" Harry nodded and grinned. He probably did too. Shannon was so beautiful, he just couldn't help staring at her.
"May I have your attention please?" McGonagall's voice was heard once again. All conversations were ended and every student was watching attentively(Except for Malfoy and Ron who were both staring at Natasha, but listening, too)
"The Sorting Ceremony is now starting. As some of you may know, we have three fifth year students that have transferred here, and shall be sorted as well. Now we begin. Jessica Moremeal!"
A small, mousy girl with short brown hair and big green eyes walked up and sat on the stool. Professor McGonagall placed the old, gray hat on her head and it soon yelled, "RAVENCLAW!" The girl grinned and ran down to her house table. Jeremy Klinger was sorted into Gryffindor, Sarah Prewitt was sorted into Hufflepuff, and soon all the first years were sitting at their tables.
"Jennifer Peters!" McGonagall yelled. Jenny walked up slowly and sat down. When she had the hat on, it yelled, "HUFFLEPUFF!"
Jenny grinned and walked quickly to her table.
"Shannon Peters!" As Shannon walked up, Harry could hear a lot of boys in the room oohing and ahhing.
"She's a looker!" Seamus whispered to Fred.
"That's Harry's girlfriend!" He replied.
"Shut-up Fred!" Harry said defensively. But he was thinking, Is it really that obvious?
"GRYFFINDOR!" he heard the hat yell. Harry leapt up to give Shannon a congratulatory hug. She smiled that beautiful smile that made Harry's knees turn to Jell-O.
"Natasha Herring!" The room fell silent as she walked up slowly to the stool. Every single boy in the room had their mouths hanging wide open. Malfoy's heart stopped and he hoped like heck that she would be in Slytherin.
The hat was placed atop her head and she heard it whisper in her ear, "I know where you belong, but I also know where you desire to be. If I put you there, be sure to act wisely." Natasha nodded slightly.
"SLYTHERIN!" the wise old hat yelled. Everyone was clapping and cheering as loud as they could.
Natasha casually walked to her table, glad that the hat had put her with Malfoy. She flashed her gorgeous smile to a few cute guys that she walked by, making Malfoy sting with envy. As she neared to the table where she would sit, 10 or more guys got up and offered her a seat. But she made her way over to Malfoy, and sat down gracefully beside him.
"Hi! My name's Natasha. What's yours?" she asked innocently.
"Draco Malfoy." He answered. He could hardly speak at all. The most beautiful girl in the world was sitting next to him. Even better, she was, well, flirting with him!
"So, when do we eat? I'm sooooo hungry!"
"As soon as the food appears."
"Appears?"
"You'll see." Malfoy said, flashing her his best smile. Natasha felt her heart melt. He actually seemed to like her!
"Do you want to ask Professor Dumbledoore if, after we eat, we can take a tour of the school?" Malfoy asked. He stared at Natasha, willing her to say yes.
"Sure!" she agreed excitedly. She had totally forgotten about taking the tour with Ron and Harry.
"Great, be back in a second." He answered as he got up and walked away.
Natasha sighed happily as she watched the hottest guy she had ever seen walk away.
"Hi! What's your name?" a medium sized girl said to Natasha. She had frizzy blond hair and small hazel eyes.
"Natasha. And yours?" she replied.
"Pansy Parkinson. We're in the same house. So, do you like Hogwarts so far?"
"Yea, it's pretty cool."
"Great. I love you're hair!! Did you bewitch it, or can you actually do it by hand?" Pansy exclaimed, pointing to Natasha's cornrows.
"I can do it by hand. I can do yours, if you'd like."
"That would be bloody awesome! Can you do it tonight?"
"Sure! Sounds great."
"Okay, cool. Do you want to come down and eat with me and Ana?" she asked, pointing to a petite girl with brown hair and big brown eyes. She was very cute, and this made Natasha nervous about Malfoy.
"Umm, maybe another day-I'm eating with Draco Malfoy."
"What about me?" Draco had just walked up.
"Oh, I was just telling Pansy that I couldn't eat with her because I'm eating with you." Natasha said confidently.
"Oh, I see. By the way, Dumbledoore said that we could go for a tour after we eat." Crabbe and Goyle raised their heads slightly.
"Just the two of us." He glared at them.
"Okay." Natasha answered happily.
"Students, please be seated!" Dumbledoore said loudly. All students sank into their seats and the Great Hall was silent.
"Let the feast begin!" he cried. Within a second, a few hundred dishes of food appeared on each of the four tables. Whole wheat bread and butter, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, cheesecakes, cookies, and any other food you could think of.
"Oh wow!" Natasha said, already helping herself to some potatoes and chicken. Malfoy smiled dizzily. She was just so beautiful! He helped himself to the beef stew as Natasha munched happily on the fried chicken.
Malfoy's Crush"Oh my gosh, look at that picture, it moves!" Natasha said. Sure enough a picture of a fat opera man was waving to them.
"So, having fun?" Draco asked.
"Of course!" she replied, grinning at him. They were taking the tour Malfoy had arranged and Natasha was having the time of her life.
"Well, we've almost walked through the entire school, let's stop and rest."
"Alright." They both sat down on the steps.
"So, how old are you?" she asked.
"15, you?"
"15." There was an awkward silence, and then Malfoy breathed heavily.
"So, what time do we have to get up in the morning?" Natasha asked.
"7:30, but you can get up earlier if you need to." Malfoy said, gazing in to those big, beautiful blue eyes.
"Jenny is gonna have a really hard time here! She usually gets up at like 11:30-ish!" she replied with a laugh.
"Oh, really?"
"Yea. Oh, we should probably go back to the dormitory soon," Natasha said, glancing at her watch. "I have to do Pansy's hair-it takes about an hour. Do you want to hang out there?"
"Okay." Malfoy said, disappointed. He wanted Natasha all to himself. He stood up and offered her his hand. She grabbed it and he helped her up. They made their way up the stairs, chatting freely.
Disbelief"I can't believe Natasha got sorted into Slytherin! She seemed like such a nice girl." Ron said huffily. He had really wanted Natasha to be in Gryffindor, so he could get to know her.
"I know." Harry agreed.
"What's wrong with Slytherin?" Shannon asked.
"That's the house that all the dark wizards and witches are put." Harry explained. "Well, at least they are when they get older."
"There isn't a witch or wizard that's gone bad that hasn't been in Slytherin." Ron said.
"But Natasha isn't like that," Shannon said skeptically.
"Or so we thought." Ron said. He was really upset. Natasha had seemed so nice, friendly, and all around great. She just turned out to be another Malfoy.
"Hmmm.. Well, I'll just talk to her. See what's going on." Shannon whispered to herself. This was odd, Natasha was one of the nicest people she had ever known. Something had to be up.
"Hey everyone!" Hermione had just walked into the room.
"Oh, hi." Ron said quietly. He had been avoiding Hermione ever since the 'event'.
"Where have you been?" Harry asked. He hadn't seen Hermione since dinner.
"Oh, I just went to Professor McGonagall's office to get our schedules. She gave them to me early." Hermione replied, handing each of them a piece of paper.
"Oh great, Snape first period. That's a way to start my day." Ron muttered.
"That's what I have, too. And then Madam Hooch for Quidditch practice." Harry agreed.
"Yea, me too. Well, except no Quidditch practice. I have Dark Arts with Professor Lupin second period." Shannon added.
"Let me see your schedule." Hermione said, holding out her hand. Shannon offered her paper.
"This is so great! We have all of our classes together!" she exclaimed.
"Really?" asked Shannon. Hermione nodded her head. She really liked Shannon; she could tell that they were going to be great friends.
The Hufflepuff Girl
"I'm so glad you're in our house!" Amanda James said excitedly to Jenny. They had met at dinner. Now they were sitting in the house common room. Amanda was a thin, tan, brown-eyed beauty (according to her boyfriend, Paul Frank) but Jenny found her kind of weird looking. She was just about to ask if Amanda was half lizard when she spoke.
"Yeah, this was the house I was hoping to get in." she replied.
"I think you'll like it." Paul said as he gently stroked Amanda's hand. This was really bothering Jenny. She hated it when people were all touchy-feely. It grossed her out.
"So, what's your name?" Jenny asked loudly, slapping a scrawny kid in the leg.
"Joe." The kid looked terrified. On the verge of tears, (because his leg hurt so badly) he got up and ran from the common room.
"What's his problem?" Jenny asked, confused.
"He's just a first year, shy probably." Amanda said, sad for the poor kid.
"Well, he should come out of his shell. What a dork." Jenny stated. "Hey you smell good!" she said to the sixth year on the other side of her.
"Why thank you." He said, sort of laughing.
"What's your name?"
"Matt, yours?"
"Jenny."
"Oh, cool."
"Not really, I was going to be named Michelle, but my parents just didn't name me that after all." Jenny said.
"That's great." I've got to go." Matt said as he stood up and walked out of the room. Hufflepuff had yet to get used to the loud, proud Jennifer Peters.
The Slytherin Girl
"Okay, only two more braids to go!" Natasha said excitedly. Turned out Pansy's super thick locks took her 3 and a half hours, instead of one.
"Great, my neck is getting really sore," Pansy complained.
You girls are boring me. Malfoy thought to himself. But he wanted to wait until Natasha was done so they could be alone, if Pansy would go to bed. That girl seemed to have never ending energy.
"Alright, and….done!" Natasha said happily. Her hands were almost numb!
"Oh, this looks good, thanks!" Pansy said, gazing into a small mirror on the wall.
"You're welcome." Natasha said.
"Well, I'm going to bed. Good night!" Pansy said as she skipped up the stairs. (not looking the least bit tired)
Malfoy waited until he heard the door upstairs slam to put his arm around Natasha and whisper, "Alone at last."
"I thought I would never finish!" Natasha said as she snuggled closer to Malfoy.
"So, are you glad that you were put in Slytherin?" Malfoy asked.
"Yea. I really am."
"Me too."
"So, what's your first class?" Natasha asked.
"Potions."
"Snape?"
"Yea."
"Is he nice?" she asked, getting a second opinion besides Ron's.
"He's the best teacher, all the others are crackpots. Especially Hagrid." Malfoy said snootily. Natasha laughed softly, she had met Hagrid off the train and she had thought that he was quite nice.
Natasha yawned quietly and rested her head on Malfoy's shoulder. They talked for a while about all of the teachers and classes. Soon they were just sitting there getting more tired by the second.
"Well, I am getting really tired, good night," Natasha yawned. She stood up, gave Malfoy a kiss on his lips, and walked up into the girl's dormitory, leaving Malfoy's cheeks candy apple red. She couldn't help but think how different she and Malfoy were from Harry and Shannon. Shannon would never dream of kissing a guy the first day she met him! That only made her smile wider as she made her way to her room.