Rain

By: Who Else? Me

Chapter Four

Closed Off and Unloved

She remained silent. Dorothy was sitting at the breakfast table, images from the night before flashing across her mind. Images from her premonition. The dark gloomy room full of bats and spiders. The single table with the two golden goblets. Once she drank from one she felt death pouring into her veins and picked up the other golden cup. And just as she went to drink from it, it fell through her hands and shattered on the floor. A million tiny pieces of gold seemingly laughed at her. The only antidote in the whole world was inside the cup and the cup was broken into pieces. The cup with the letter "D" engraved across it. And just as she felt her arms going numb and iciness freezing her blood she saw it a ray of hope but the ray of hope vanished, along with the table and the room as a hand waved in her face awakening her from her vision.

Everyday the same premonition, everyday the same feeling of death creeping closer, and everyday that curious "D" lettered cup. What did it mean? What did it all mean? Dorothy clutched her spoon as she sat alone at the breakfast at 5:30 in the morning, staring blankly at the bowl of now soggy cereal sitting before her. She felt a hand on her shoulder and shook herself away. She looked up and saw Hermione looking down at her.

"You're up early," she said to Dorothy, sitting beside her and scraping some eggs onto her plate.

"I-I couldn't sleep. The nerves...you know," the black-haired girl replied, setting her spoon in the bowl. "It's really always been hard for me to sleep. I am insomniac."

"That must be why you always look tired. Are you feeling alright today? Look paler than usual."

"Oh, I'm feeling fine. I'm sure I'll look much better when I get my appetite back and I'm used to being around so many boys..." Dorothy cut herself short and stirred her cereal around absent-mindedly. "Boys make me nervous. I never was very social. Not even with my parents...but that doesn't matter now. What matters is that I'm here now and I really need to get used to it."

Hermione was silent and Dorothy took a spoonful of her soggy cereal and gulped it down. Then she turned to the girl beside her and smiled. "Maybe I should've come here years ago. Maybe I would have a lot more friends...I know it's my first day here but...I still feel like I'm just going to be the odd girl who sits in the corner and never says anything. I was always like that at Madam Seremine's and I was always picked on by the other girls because of it." She stopped and frowned, looking quickly looked back down at her cereal. "I...I'm sorry. I must be pouring loads onto your shoulders! I'm so stupid! I worry a lot about what other people think of me and close myself off...that's why I've never had a boyfriend and that's why I get so nervous—there I go again!! I'm so sorry Hermione! Sometimes I just don't know when to shut up..."

"Don't apologize! You didn't do anything wrong! Sometimes people just need to get things off their chest," replied Hermione. "It's no good if you keep it all bottled up inside! You can talk to me whenever you need!"

"Thanks..." and she was about to spill her guts but she saw that other students were sitting down at their tables, including Draco Malfoy. She looked at him looking at her but he looked way. "I get the feeling he's watching me. It's very unnerving..."

"Just ignore him. If he thinks it's bothering you, he'll just keep doing it," said Harry sitting on Hermione's other side and beginning to serve himself some food. When Dorothy noticed him, her body tensed. It was painful how tight her muscles were.

"Relax," whispered Hermione, "Harry's a good person! He wouldn't do anything, on purpose mind you, to hurt you."

Dorothy wasn't reassured and she finished her cereal quickly. When she was done, she stood up and said she needed to go get her books together. She walked out of the Great Hall and sighed in relief as she felt her body beginning to relax. Maybe she was a little up tight, no body here would kill her...she hoped no body here would kill her, but all the same she avoided making eye contact with any of the boys that she past. When she had all of her book together and she had thrown her bag over her shoulder, she left for herbology. Just as she started down the stairs, she became absent-minded once more and ran into someone. She dropped her books and they began to fall don the stairs, one by one.

"Oh...I'm sorry," Dorothy said, looking up at the person. It was that Malfoy person. He looked down at her with those merciless gray eyes and she shuddered slightly. "Sorry." She pulled her wand out of her sleeve and pointed it at the book lying at the foot of the stairs. "Wingardium Leviosa!" (that's my fave charm of all) Her books flew up into her arms and she looked up at Draco whom was still gazing at her, transfixed. She wished he would say something but she began backing away, apologizing again.

Draco watched her walk down the stairs, her black hair swaying from side to side. What didn't he say something?! Why didn't he bloody say something?! She must've thought he was weird. He continued back down the stairs. Why he'd gone up to the seventh floor he had no idea...he just...did. Now he followed her back down the stairs, watching her slender figure move. He knew he shouldn't feel this way about a Gryffindor but it was an odd feeling. He stomach kept feeling like it was doing back flips and they were very, very uncomfortable back flips.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs finally, Dorothy was a little annoyed. First he stared at her without saying a word and made her feel like an idiot and now he was following her. Just as she left through the front entrance of Hogwarts she stopped and looked over her shoulder at him. Her eyes flashed with annoyance but she kept walking until she reached greenhouse 3 at which she stopped looked at him again and then entered only to be followed by him once more.

A/N: Yay!! ::squeals!!:: Some tension is developing between Dorothy and Draco and little bit of her past has been revealed!! What lies ahead for our two protagonists? Read on and find out! I wish that my writing could be better...I swear it gets better!!! Please don't leave me!!! BTW, I was sitting in my PE class today (thank god for a sprained ankle) and I drew this really awesome picture of Draco holding his broom with a snitch flying around him and fan girls in the back. Too bad I don't have a scanner huh? Or else I would send it to every Draco Malfoy Lover in the world!! Ciao

WEM