Chapter Two
A shock across the Great Hall
Reid listened silently as the other occupants of the carriage she shared talked about their break. Reid had been silent the whole trip, and Harry and his friends made no effort to talk to her.
"Harry proberly told his friends about our brief encounter. Good. I don't need anyone to have an excuse to touch me. That could be dangerous." Ried thought.
She was lucky she let go of Harry when she did. If she didn't she could have knocked both of them unconscious. She had finished her letter to her mother and decided she could risk giving the letter to Irvine to take the letter to her. She stood up and went to the aging owl's cage. Harry and his friends looked up from the game of chess they were playing, watching Reid tie her letter to her owl.
"Give this to mum. Take care, and be careful. See you in a few weeks." Irvine hooted at Reid. She smiled at Irvine and went to the window, opened it and watched as he flew out of the moving train. She turned around and noticed Harry and the others staring at her.
"What?" She snapped. She didn't like them staring at her. It made her uncomfortable. "Nothing." Harry said as he shook his head.
Listening to them talk to each other Reid had found out the names of the other three. The red heads where Ron and Ginny, and the bushy haired girl was Hermione.
"Never seen anyone send their owl to forward a letter?" Reid said as she sat down. She picked up a muggle book called Fetish, by the model-turned- author Tara Moss.
"Of course we have." The red haired girl, Ginny said irritably. She went back to fixing up her make-up.
"Then why stare?"
"Who sends there owl away, and says see you in a few weeks?" Ginny scoffed, as if Reid was the idiot in the carriage.
"Me, because I know he has to fly really, really far away. Where you born without a brain, or did you lose it somewhere along the way while you were growing up?" Reid said looking up from her book.
Hermione laughed and tried to cover it up with a cough. Harry smiled briefly, but Ron openly laughed at Ginny.
"Oops did I say growing up? You're not grown up." Reid glared and the blushing Ginny. Satisfied she put the girl in her place, Reid went back to her muggle book.
Ginny sulked the rest of the train trip. Harry was intrigued with Reid. She wasn't like other girls. She was distant, cold but something in eyes gave away that deep down, deep, deep down she was a scared and lonely person. Harry rubbed his wrist, unaware he was doing so. When Reid had grabbed his wrist he felt a cold stinging sensation. He wondered why he felt that.
"At least it wasn't my scar prickling" Harry thought.
The train arrived at Hogsmede, and all the students pilled out of the train towards the carriages that took them to Hogwarts. Harry lost Reid in the crowd. The last he saw of her was when she left the train compartment, before Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny had even risen from their seats.
Harry got out of the carriage and look up at his, one true home; Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He ignored the fact that Ginny was still whinging about how Reid treated her. Harry thought Ginny needed to be put in her place. Over the years Ginny had become quiet snobby and bitchy. Hermione left the group to see if she could find her boyfriend, Nick Sherper from Hufflepuff. Hermione was Head girl and Nick was Head boy. Harry thought they made a nice couple. Ron, on the other hand was still a bit caught up in Hermione, and thought Nick was just out to hurt her. Ginny was dragged off by a group of her snobby friends, so Harry and Ron entered the Great Hall alone. Harry sat through the sorting impatiently waiting for the feast to start.
He was starving. He scanned the great hall for any sign of Reid, but couldn't see her anywhere. Once all the first years where sorted, Professor Dumbledore addressed the whole school. Harry noticed Professor McGonagall hadn't put the sorting hat away.
"Welcome back to Hogwarts." Professor Dumbledore said, smiling. "Before we start the feast we have one more sorting to go through." As he spoke Reid enter the great hall through a side door. "Reid Treppelt is a new student to Hogwarts. She is entering her 7th year. She is from the wizarding school Elu in Australia." With that the Professor sat down. Reid went over to Professor McGonagall and sat down on the stool. McGonagall placed the hat on Reid's head. After a few moments the hat yelled;
"GRYFFINDOR!!"
Harry along with the other Gryffindor's applauded Reid as she sat down opposite Harry. Harry beamed at her, and Reid gave him a faint smile in return.
Throughout dinner, Harry couldn't help but stare at Reid. She took no notice and just ate her food preoccupied. When the feast had ended Reid didn't move. She seamed to not have noticed the feast was over. Harry reached across the table and touched Reid's arm to get her attention. She yelped and flew across the hall, banging into the Hufflepuff table. Harry also flew across the hall and crashed into a group of passing 1st years.
Students screamed.
"Harry! Harry are you alright?" Hermione said worriedly crouching down next to Harry. Ron pulled Harry to his feet.
Teachers came rushing over, but when Professor McGonagall went to touch Reid, Professor Dumbledore cried out.
"No Minerva don't touch her." Professor McGonagall stepped away from Reid. Harry limped over to them. The other teachers were ushering students out of the great hall. Reid's black hair was matted with blood from a gash below her hairline.
"Mr Potter are you okay?" Professor Dumbledore asked Harry. Harry nodded. Dumbledore conjured a stretcher and took Reid, personally, to the hospital wing.
Harry was also sent to the hospital wing where Madam Pomfrey fussed over him, until he went back to the common room.
"I wonder what happened?" Ron said, as he walked Harry back to the common room with Hermione.
"I don't know. I touched her, and the next thing I knew I received this huge shock that blew me off my feet." Harry said.
He was concerned for Reid. She was still unconscious.
"I hope she's okay." Hermione said. Harry and Ron nodded.