AN/: Hi again, thankyou to Cinnamon and the others replying, its much
appreciated :) The story has its slow bits, like the last chapter, but I
try to make up for it. Hope you enjoy it, please read and review to tell me
all about it.
Luv Courtney
Chapter 5: Close Encounters.
'Vienna, are you okay? You look very pale...'
Hermione put a gentle hand against Vienna's forehead. She had finally joined the Gryffindor table for dinner, having decided that she wanted to see some friendly faces after her horrible encounter in Dumbledore's office.
'Hmmm, oh I'm fine...' Vienna tried not to look up from her plate. She desperately wanted to say something, but had the feeling it wasn't the right time.
Harry and Ron exchanged concerned glances. Something was definitely wrong with Vienna, as they watched her toy with her food, which had not been eaten.
Finally they were dismissed from the Great Hall, and Vienna immediately retreated to the Gryffindor common room, then straight up to her dormitory. Flopping down on her bed, she was finally able to release the flood of tears that had been welling up inside her. Vienna buried her head in her soft pillow and cried silently to herself, wishing that none of what she had heard were true.
Meanwhile Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting in the corner of the common room, discussing Vienna's strange behaviour at dinner.
'Perhaps it was Draco...' Ron said cautiously.
'No, I don't think so. He couldn't have been that mean to her, she is his sister after all...' Hermione replied quietly.
'I'm going to try and talk to her okay,' Harry said, making up his mind. He didn't like seeing her so unhappy.
'Alright, we'll stay here then...' said Ron, smiling to Hermione.
Harry walked quietly up the stairs, and knocked gently on the door. Hearing the noise, Vienna sat upright, hastily wiping the tears from her pale face.
'Come in...' she said, expecting it to be Hermione or one of the other girls.
'Oh, sorry to bother you...' Harry said hesitantly as he entered. 'You just looked a bit upset at dinner, and I thought maybe I could help...'
Vienna gave a faint smile. It was sweet of him to notice, and Dumbledore did say that talking to him might help. She beckoned for him to come and sit on her bed next to her.
'No it's fine... I do need to talk to someone I suppose...' Vienna could tell Harry was looking at her puffy eyes as he sat down clumsily on the foot of the bed.
'You went and saw Dumbledore with Draco, didn't you? I overheard you before you left, after Potions...' Harry spoke carefully, looking at his feet.
'Yeah... I don't know what's going on...' Vienna's voice began to tremble, 'he said, he said that Voldemort is after me... because of my father... that, that I'm in great danger...' A solitary tear navigated its way down her fair cheek.
Not knowing what else to do, Harry shuffled over to her end of the bed and hugged her shivering body tightly. Feeling slightly brighter, Vienna went over the conversation that had taken place in Dumbledore's office.
When she had finally finished talking, Vienna breathed a sigh of relief. Dumbledore was right; Harry was good to talk to.
'I'm sorry you had to hear all that... I mean compared to what has happened to you, this is nothing...' Vienna felt weirdly selfish.
'No it's not. If anything, this is exactly the same,' Harry said reassuringly. 'I got through it, I survived, and you will too. We can stick together and nothing will happen... You're safe here, and I'm not going to let this stop you from having a good time here okay?'
'Sure,' Vienna said feeling much brighter. 'Can you remind me to thank Dumbledore as well?'
'Why?'
'Because he told me to speak to you, and it's really helped.' She was truly grateful.
'It's nothing...' Harry was blushing tremendously. He lowered his head trying to hide his rosy cheeks, and his glasses slid disobediently off his nose, clattering noisily onto the floor.
'No. I think it's something...' Vienna said, as she bent down and picked up his glasses. Hesitating at first, she leaned close to Harry, and gently placed the glasses back on his face, 'I really do...'
Before he knew what was happening, Harry was leaning impossibly close to Vienna, staring into her absorbing blue-grey eyes, feeling her warm breath as she too leaned in.
At that moment the door swung open once more, as Hermione entered the room, coming to check up on them.
Seeing Harry and Vienna in their intimate moment, she gasped, raising her eyebrows in surprise.
'So, so sorry! Err, didn't mean to disturb.' She looked very, very curious standing there wide-eyed in the doorway, and went to turn away.
'No, that's okay. We were just talking...' Vienna answered, staying composed, although she was slightly embarrassed.
Harry stood up abruptly, obviously uncomfortable as well. 'I better go, glad I helped.'
'See you in the morning...' Vienna replied warmly.
As Harry entered his dormitory room where Ron was waiting, and as Hermione sat down on Vienna's bed, both were asked about what had just happened.
'Nothing. We just talked,' both Vienna and Harry replied, though in rooms far apart. Ron and Hermione remained suspicious, unconvinced that nothing more was going on behind those innocent expressions.
*********
'Are you serious?' Ron asked, after being told about Vienna' s danger. The four sat huddled in the armchairs next to the fire in the Gryffindor common room, the following morning.
'What are you going to do?'
Vienna shrugged, twirling her long hair between her fingers. 'I can't really do anything can I? As long as I'm here, there's nothing to worry about right?' After her conversation with Harry, she felt much better. Good enough to tell the other two about her problem as well.
'Definitely... You-Know-Who would never try and come to Hogwarts. Not while Dumbledore is here,' Hermione said, already arranging her bag for their first class.
'What are you doing?' Harry asked, watching her trying unsuccessfully to cram a huge book, among others, into her shoulder bag.
'Well if you had read your timetable, you would know that we have our first Defence Against The Dark Arts class with Proffessor Argyle...'
'And I suppose you want to make a good impression, don't you Hermione?' Ron said cheekily.
'No,' Hermione snapped, 'I just want to be organised, that's all...'
'Guys, I think we better go now... I want you to show me how to get to this classroom okay? That way we'll be early and Hermione can get ready there...' Vienna solved the problem as the four began the trip to their DATDA class.
As they walked, Ron and Hermione were locked in conversation about what the new teacher would be like.
'I've heard she is a very good teacher... came from another Wizarding school'
'Whatever Hermione, I bet she'll be another dragon, just like McGonagall.'
'McGonagall's not a dragon!'
'Yes she is...'
While those two were preoccupied, Harry took the opportunity to speak to Vienna. 'It was good talking to you last night, for me as well...'
'Really? That's really good to hear,' Vienna wondered whether he was going to bring up their almost-kiss from the night before.
'I'm so happy you're not in Slytherin,' Harry said, smiling at her.
'Me too, but I still miss...' Vienna's voice trailed off, as they came to the line of students waiting for their class. The Gryffindors were obviously with the Slytherins again, but something else was going on. Pansy Parkinson and her gang of girls, as well as Draco, Crabbe and Goyle were standing around something. Or someone.
Harry and Vienna approached the group warily. Draco stopped his conversation and turned to face Vienna. The person he had been talking to became visible.
It was a boy. He was as tall as Goyle, but not bulky, with vivid aquamarine eyes and a tanned face. Definite model material, no doubting it. As he talked to the girls, the boy ran his fingers through his light brown, wavy fringe, and flashed an irresistible pearly white smile.
Vienna could tell why he was getting so much attention now; he was absolutely gorgeous. She glanced at Hermione, who had walked up beside her. Her eyes were glazed over, and she was smiling dumbly.
'Vee, this is Jay,' Draco introduced them, ignoring the others. 'He is new as well. Jay this is my sister Vienna...'
'Hi, nice to meet you Vienna. It's good to know I'm not the only new one here,' he said pleasantly, holding out a hand. She shook it politely, and an excited shiver went down her spine.
'Hello, nice to meet you as well. Have you been sorted?' Vienna didn't really know what she was saying; too busy staring into his bright eyes.
'Yes. I'm in Slytherin, with your brother.' He said, lifting his robe to show the Slytherin logo.
Pansy and her clique looked menacingly at Vienna. Jay looked at Hermione, Ron and Harry, who were still standing beside her. His eyes flickered as per usual over Harry's scar, and he smiled even wider.
'Harry Potter! Nice to meet you!' he said excitedly, going to shake his hand.
'Yes, that's me.' Harry said in a subdued manner, shaking his hand reluctantly.
'I'm Hermione Granger' Hermione said, grabbing his hand eagerly and smiling. Ron didn't say anything.
'That's Ron Weasley.' Vienna said, trying to hide Ron's new found dislike for Jay. Ron just nodded.
'Well it's nice to meet you all. Hopefully I will be seeing more of you all soon,' Jay said, focussing his magnetic gaze mainly at Vienna.
'That would be great...' she said quietly, as a teacher approached in the background.
Chapter 5: Close Encounters.
'Vienna, are you okay? You look very pale...'
Hermione put a gentle hand against Vienna's forehead. She had finally joined the Gryffindor table for dinner, having decided that she wanted to see some friendly faces after her horrible encounter in Dumbledore's office.
'Hmmm, oh I'm fine...' Vienna tried not to look up from her plate. She desperately wanted to say something, but had the feeling it wasn't the right time.
Harry and Ron exchanged concerned glances. Something was definitely wrong with Vienna, as they watched her toy with her food, which had not been eaten.
Finally they were dismissed from the Great Hall, and Vienna immediately retreated to the Gryffindor common room, then straight up to her dormitory. Flopping down on her bed, she was finally able to release the flood of tears that had been welling up inside her. Vienna buried her head in her soft pillow and cried silently to herself, wishing that none of what she had heard were true.
Meanwhile Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting in the corner of the common room, discussing Vienna's strange behaviour at dinner.
'Perhaps it was Draco...' Ron said cautiously.
'No, I don't think so. He couldn't have been that mean to her, she is his sister after all...' Hermione replied quietly.
'I'm going to try and talk to her okay,' Harry said, making up his mind. He didn't like seeing her so unhappy.
'Alright, we'll stay here then...' said Ron, smiling to Hermione.
Harry walked quietly up the stairs, and knocked gently on the door. Hearing the noise, Vienna sat upright, hastily wiping the tears from her pale face.
'Come in...' she said, expecting it to be Hermione or one of the other girls.
'Oh, sorry to bother you...' Harry said hesitantly as he entered. 'You just looked a bit upset at dinner, and I thought maybe I could help...'
Vienna gave a faint smile. It was sweet of him to notice, and Dumbledore did say that talking to him might help. She beckoned for him to come and sit on her bed next to her.
'No it's fine... I do need to talk to someone I suppose...' Vienna could tell Harry was looking at her puffy eyes as he sat down clumsily on the foot of the bed.
'You went and saw Dumbledore with Draco, didn't you? I overheard you before you left, after Potions...' Harry spoke carefully, looking at his feet.
'Yeah... I don't know what's going on...' Vienna's voice began to tremble, 'he said, he said that Voldemort is after me... because of my father... that, that I'm in great danger...' A solitary tear navigated its way down her fair cheek.
Not knowing what else to do, Harry shuffled over to her end of the bed and hugged her shivering body tightly. Feeling slightly brighter, Vienna went over the conversation that had taken place in Dumbledore's office.
When she had finally finished talking, Vienna breathed a sigh of relief. Dumbledore was right; Harry was good to talk to.
'I'm sorry you had to hear all that... I mean compared to what has happened to you, this is nothing...' Vienna felt weirdly selfish.
'No it's not. If anything, this is exactly the same,' Harry said reassuringly. 'I got through it, I survived, and you will too. We can stick together and nothing will happen... You're safe here, and I'm not going to let this stop you from having a good time here okay?'
'Sure,' Vienna said feeling much brighter. 'Can you remind me to thank Dumbledore as well?'
'Why?'
'Because he told me to speak to you, and it's really helped.' She was truly grateful.
'It's nothing...' Harry was blushing tremendously. He lowered his head trying to hide his rosy cheeks, and his glasses slid disobediently off his nose, clattering noisily onto the floor.
'No. I think it's something...' Vienna said, as she bent down and picked up his glasses. Hesitating at first, she leaned close to Harry, and gently placed the glasses back on his face, 'I really do...'
Before he knew what was happening, Harry was leaning impossibly close to Vienna, staring into her absorbing blue-grey eyes, feeling her warm breath as she too leaned in.
At that moment the door swung open once more, as Hermione entered the room, coming to check up on them.
Seeing Harry and Vienna in their intimate moment, she gasped, raising her eyebrows in surprise.
'So, so sorry! Err, didn't mean to disturb.' She looked very, very curious standing there wide-eyed in the doorway, and went to turn away.
'No, that's okay. We were just talking...' Vienna answered, staying composed, although she was slightly embarrassed.
Harry stood up abruptly, obviously uncomfortable as well. 'I better go, glad I helped.'
'See you in the morning...' Vienna replied warmly.
As Harry entered his dormitory room where Ron was waiting, and as Hermione sat down on Vienna's bed, both were asked about what had just happened.
'Nothing. We just talked,' both Vienna and Harry replied, though in rooms far apart. Ron and Hermione remained suspicious, unconvinced that nothing more was going on behind those innocent expressions.
*********
'Are you serious?' Ron asked, after being told about Vienna' s danger. The four sat huddled in the armchairs next to the fire in the Gryffindor common room, the following morning.
'What are you going to do?'
Vienna shrugged, twirling her long hair between her fingers. 'I can't really do anything can I? As long as I'm here, there's nothing to worry about right?' After her conversation with Harry, she felt much better. Good enough to tell the other two about her problem as well.
'Definitely... You-Know-Who would never try and come to Hogwarts. Not while Dumbledore is here,' Hermione said, already arranging her bag for their first class.
'What are you doing?' Harry asked, watching her trying unsuccessfully to cram a huge book, among others, into her shoulder bag.
'Well if you had read your timetable, you would know that we have our first Defence Against The Dark Arts class with Proffessor Argyle...'
'And I suppose you want to make a good impression, don't you Hermione?' Ron said cheekily.
'No,' Hermione snapped, 'I just want to be organised, that's all...'
'Guys, I think we better go now... I want you to show me how to get to this classroom okay? That way we'll be early and Hermione can get ready there...' Vienna solved the problem as the four began the trip to their DATDA class.
As they walked, Ron and Hermione were locked in conversation about what the new teacher would be like.
'I've heard she is a very good teacher... came from another Wizarding school'
'Whatever Hermione, I bet she'll be another dragon, just like McGonagall.'
'McGonagall's not a dragon!'
'Yes she is...'
While those two were preoccupied, Harry took the opportunity to speak to Vienna. 'It was good talking to you last night, for me as well...'
'Really? That's really good to hear,' Vienna wondered whether he was going to bring up their almost-kiss from the night before.
'I'm so happy you're not in Slytherin,' Harry said, smiling at her.
'Me too, but I still miss...' Vienna's voice trailed off, as they came to the line of students waiting for their class. The Gryffindors were obviously with the Slytherins again, but something else was going on. Pansy Parkinson and her gang of girls, as well as Draco, Crabbe and Goyle were standing around something. Or someone.
Harry and Vienna approached the group warily. Draco stopped his conversation and turned to face Vienna. The person he had been talking to became visible.
It was a boy. He was as tall as Goyle, but not bulky, with vivid aquamarine eyes and a tanned face. Definite model material, no doubting it. As he talked to the girls, the boy ran his fingers through his light brown, wavy fringe, and flashed an irresistible pearly white smile.
Vienna could tell why he was getting so much attention now; he was absolutely gorgeous. She glanced at Hermione, who had walked up beside her. Her eyes were glazed over, and she was smiling dumbly.
'Vee, this is Jay,' Draco introduced them, ignoring the others. 'He is new as well. Jay this is my sister Vienna...'
'Hi, nice to meet you Vienna. It's good to know I'm not the only new one here,' he said pleasantly, holding out a hand. She shook it politely, and an excited shiver went down her spine.
'Hello, nice to meet you as well. Have you been sorted?' Vienna didn't really know what she was saying; too busy staring into his bright eyes.
'Yes. I'm in Slytherin, with your brother.' He said, lifting his robe to show the Slytherin logo.
Pansy and her clique looked menacingly at Vienna. Jay looked at Hermione, Ron and Harry, who were still standing beside her. His eyes flickered as per usual over Harry's scar, and he smiled even wider.
'Harry Potter! Nice to meet you!' he said excitedly, going to shake his hand.
'Yes, that's me.' Harry said in a subdued manner, shaking his hand reluctantly.
'I'm Hermione Granger' Hermione said, grabbing his hand eagerly and smiling. Ron didn't say anything.
'That's Ron Weasley.' Vienna said, trying to hide Ron's new found dislike for Jay. Ron just nodded.
'Well it's nice to meet you all. Hopefully I will be seeing more of you all soon,' Jay said, focussing his magnetic gaze mainly at Vienna.
'That would be great...' she said quietly, as a teacher approached in the background.