Chapter 4: So They Meet Again
Disclaimer: ANALOGIES! JK : Characters as Rayvenne : Plot! YAAY!
Setting: Great Hall, Sorting Feast.
Thanks to my Beta, Kiara Jordan, and my Gamma, Shmeg Dermody! Luv u guys, thx for the help with chaps 3 and 4!
"Mollina Grace Nagini!"
"SLYTHERIN!" shouted the sorting hat, and a black haired girl with green eyes trotted toward the Slytherin table. Ron was staring at the gold plates and goblets with a tint in his eyes. He had so waited for a decent meal that he wouldn't have to struggle for. As the names droned on, (with an occasional startling shout from the hat , waking any dozing students) Harry and Hermione traded flirting glances at each other. Ron felt he was going to be ill. Finally, all the students took their seats, the old and the new, and Dumbledore rose to his feet. Ron looked at him with near rage, though it was mostly the hunger overpowering him.
"Welcome students to another brilliant year at Hogwarts School! I want you to understand that all respect is to be paid to your head boy ,Alberic Cauldwell and head girl, Anya Delancey," at this they both stood and were applauded by their houses, Slytherin for Alberic, Gryffindor for Anya, an exchange student from Beauxbatons new as of 3 years ago. "Furthermore," he continued, "the house prefects will now be recognized. Seamus Finnigan and Hermione Granger from Gryffindor," (they rose) "Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson from Slytherin, Galen Finlay and Calandra Fane from Ravenclaw, and Bay Baldwin and Connor Knight from Hufflepuff." All rose at their names and at the end were applauded by their houses. "Obey them as you would me, for they are here to protect you, and keep you out of trouble," stated Dumbledore. "And, now, you students must be starving. Let the feast begin!" Ron cheered with the students, rather loudly and savagely, and was the first to dig into the massive platefuls of food. Harry and Hermione looked at him, rather frightened.
"Ron, slow down, you act like you haven't eaten in years, you are going to make yourself sick," stated Harry; trying to avoid the flying mashed potatoes attempting to make their way from the bowl to Ron's plate via air-spoon.
"I'm astonished that the school hasn't run out of food trying to meet your hungry demands, Ron!" teased Hermione, who didn't have quite such a large appetite. She pushed the food around her plate. She looked up, startled to see Harry looking worriedly at her, she quickly put a tiny bite of food in her mouth as to keep him from worrying. Not good enough. "What?" she asked meekly.
"Hermione, why aren't you eating?" he asked, looking into her eyes.
"Just thinking, the usual you know? About my classes and professors, I hear some of them are rather difficult this year," she chuckled at her little white-lie. Harry only stared deeper into her eyes.
"You think too much," he choked out. He hadn't meant to say that, but his heart told him otherwise. He also didn't realize that his hand was covering hers and beginning to hold it, but there was no turning back now. Ron nearly choked on a drumstick.
"Excuse me you two! I don't know what happened on the train but if you don't bloody mind, some of us are trying to eat," he tried his best not to laugh, or spit food at them for that matter. Hermione's cheeks tinted at the sound of Ron's voice, and kind of thanked the Gods for it. She took this as an opportunity to swiftly take her hand from Harry and take a sip of pumpkin juice. She addressed Harry's statement before drinking.
"There is no such thing as thinking too much, you two should really try it sometime though," they protested as she sipped lightly, and set the goblet down, chuckling. "I was just joking you two. I think you both are quite intelligent really, given your talents," she smiled. "Well, when you use your minds," she couldn't help herself again. Ron looked up from his scarfing only to mutter a garbled 'whutt?' and continue stuffing his face.
"Ron, manners, do you mind?" He'd had enough food-spray-gunk for one evening, thank you very much. Ron didn't want any complaints.
"Yeah, get over it I'm hungry!" he retorted. Hermione laughed, and began eating her dinner at a much slower pace than Ron.
"So, Harry," she began, "I haven't heard much from you this summer, how was it?" Harry cursed Uncle Vernon and the rest of his remaining family under his breath. They had been malicious since the demise of his closest family member.
"Dudley has been getting away with murder since I got home" he grumbled. "He can do anything he wants, and I mean anything. I'm sick of it!" he pounded his fist on the table, and his peers looked around to see what the commotion was, Hermione looked at him as if to beg him to compose himself. She then gave him a reassuring smile.
"If you ever need a place to stay, you can always owl me, you can come stay with me and I know you will be out of the way of all the attention at my house, no one would know,"she whispered. "And anyway, I don't think either of you have ever been to my house."
"Hey, yeah whereisit?" said Ron, mouth full.
"It's this cute little town about half an hour from London" she pictured her hometown in her mind, closing her eyes. "You really should drop by sometime, I think you'd like it, mind you it's all muggle," she warned.
"That would be nice," stated Harry. "It would be a relief to get away from the Dur-" he was stopped mid-sentence by a pair of grey eyes staring down at him from behind platinum blonde hair.
"Away from what Potter? I am so very intrigued," growled Draco Malfoy. Harry stood up, once again enraged and wild.
"GO AWAY."
"Make me" drawled the blonde in response to Harry's warning. He grinned at Harry's lack of ability. He seized the occaision to bend down next to the ear of a very tense, sitting, and rather frightened Hermione. "You won't make me go, will you Hermione?" he whispered with his eyes closed, and made sure that his voice just loud enough for Harry to hear. He then suddenly forced her to look into his eyes by placing his hand on her opposite shoulder, and yet, dangerously low. She gasped.
"Leave, Malfoy," she choked. She was surprised how difficult this was.
"Malfoy, if you don't leave, I'm warning you, I'll-" he couldn't finish, for he was so angry he couldn't form sentences anymore.
"Harry, don't!" Hermione exclaimed as she saw Harry's fists clench. She grabbed his hands as quickly as possible. "It's alright, really. Please don't let him get to you."
"Too late," said Harry, looking down. Draco had to take advantage.
"What seems to be the matter Saint Potter? Do I make you speechless? Hear that Miss Granger? I make him speechless! You find that funny, don't you?" he made her look him in the eye again. "You think its amazing that I make EVERYONE wild about me," Hermione felt overwhelmed with emotion, as if he was slowly working some kind of dark magic on her. She wanted to throw back her head and laugh, sob, kiss, jump, hate, hurt, and die, all at once. However, she snapped out of it. She stood up and attempted to tower over him, to no avail. Still she pertained.
"Go away you sick-minded brat and leave us alone, fowl mouthed ferret!" she blushed slightly, wondering if she couldn't come up with anything better to hold to him than the 4th year incident.
"Oh ouch," said Draco sarcastically, getting a mere inch from her face. "I hate having that held over me," he commented, keeping his eye contact. Harry couldn't take it anymore, he was sick of watching Malfoy annoy Hermione relentlessly.
"Leave her alone! I don't have to deal with you like I did on the train do I?!" stated Harry. Draco flashed his eyes in hers, (if you can imagine how one does this) and she quickly averted her eyes to the ground, as though she had been stricken across the face. Her head was mere inches from Draco's shoulder.
"Harry, leave it alone, he isn't worth it," she muttered. Draco looked at Harry triumphantly .
"Yes Potter, I'm not worth it, besides, I got what I came for," he stated, looking at Hermione. She shuddered, feeling his eyes on her. She gulped at the tone in his voice.
"Just go," she said, turning and sitting back down. She now felt very uncomfortable with herself, and around Harry. Draco left, with a very conceited air about him. Harry looked at Hermione suspiciously.
"Hermione, what was he talking about?" he sounded worried.
"I-I don't know," she whispered, looking down. She took a collective breath. " I think I am going to turn in early or something you guys, I don't feel so well," she said, rising to her feet.
"Okay, but call if you need something, really," said Harry. He glared daggers at a chuckling Malfoy across the great hall. She agreed and thanked them both for their concern. As she left, she felt Malfoy's eyes on her once again. She trembled, and then ran her fingers through her hair. On her way up to her dormitory, thoughts rushed through her head.
"Why is it that he can affect me like this? What's wrong with me? I've never let him get to me before..why now? God..it's just those eyes of his…"
A/N, special thanks go out to Raven Moonshadow (for the constant encouragement and even torture…) Charlotte Winters for her support with coming up with names, Kiara Jordan for helping me write the chapter, and Shmeg Dermody for helping me write the last one, which I will get up soon as possible! Thanks to all who review!