Chapter Three:
Sam was eating his dinner in peace, slightly amused at the way things looked, but he wasn't going to let that be obvious around such a strange group of people. He knew that he shouldn't be calling them strange because he was just like them so he dismissed all thoughts about it and went back to eating his sliced turkey.
When he decided he was finished he looked up to find a curly haired girl staring at him. She wasn't ashamed of it, by the looks of it, because she didn't look away when she noticed he was staring back at her. In fact she just stood up and walked over to the end of the table. She smiled at him then sat down. She was now sitting next to him staring him in the face.
"I'm Hermione Granger." She said politely, extending her hand. Sam, being taught to be a gentleman, took her hand in his and shook it.
"I'm Sam Hastings, but you probably already know that." Sam looked down at the table. He didn't understand why it was so hard to talk to people now. He also didn't understand why it was so hard to stare them in the face.
"Why have you never been at Hogwarts before? I mean you are obviously a sixteen year old from England." Sam watched her. He noticed her eyes widen after she finished her question. It was obvious that she hadn't meant for that to come out, but he was never one to leave a question unanswered.
"You sure are a curious little thing aren't you" Sam chuckled, okay so that wasn't really answering it.
"I'm not littl.. Oh, you were joking." Hermione laughed. "I was just wondering. We don't get new students above the age of eleven here very often. In fact we never do."
"Miss Hermione, there is going to be a lot about me you will want to know and half of it you will never find out. Your question, I know what it is. Maybe you should try getting to know me before you come over here snooping into my life." He didn't sound mad, and he wasn't. What he said, though, made a lot of sense and he could see Hermione knew that too.
"It's just Hermione and I'm sorry."
"It's all right, but by the looks of the hall around us, it is late and your friends aren't going to wait much longer." It was true, everyone had cleared out of the Hall except Ron and Harry who were standing at the doorway waiting for her. "It was nice talking to you." He smiled and then nodded, getting up from his seat and walking down to the other end of the hall and out of the door.
Sam laughed to himself. The first person to talk to him while he was here was a pretty girl and the only reason why she did was to find out a mystery about him. He could tell it was killing her to know that someone else had one up on her. He knew then that she must have been the smart one of the year. No one acted that way because they didn't get their way if they weren't smart. Sam walked among the youngens of Gryffindor to the portrait of the Fat Lady. She was staring at something that was obviously past the frame of her painting so none of the kids could tell what it was.
"Siren Tails." One of the little blonde first year girls said. Sam questioned the password greatly because sirens didn't have tails, but he figured that since it was a password and it was Hogwarts, it didn't have to completely make sense.
"Hold on a moment darling." The Fat Lady went back to watching something from beyond the frame.
"Excuse me miss, I do not mean to interrupt your gazing, but these first years have a big day tomorrow and I know they would appreciate some sleep before they are expected to start something completely new to them." Sam said from behind the first years. He stood out because he was much taller than them. The fat lady looked at Sam, amused.
"What would your name be"
"Sam."
"I expect you are not a first year"
"No ma'am." The lady nodded and then swung open to allow them to enter. Sam ushered them in from behind and once they had been allowed in he found a nice plush armchair and sat down. He was slouched with his head back and eyes closed.
"Sleeping in a chair, I figure, mustn't be too comfortable." Sam jumped out of the chair as the voice lingered in his head. He looked around and there she was, the pretty girl he had been talking to at dinner.
"I can't complain." Hermione just shook her head. She turned around and motioned for Harry and Ron to join her.
"This is Harry." She said, poking Harry in the chest. "And this is Ron." She added, turning the other direction and patting Ron's shoulder.
"Harry Potter and Ron Weasley." Sam said. "It's nice to meet you both." Ron frowned. Sam could only imagine what he was thinking but he figured it was on the lines of "That boy is way to polite." or "I'm still hungry." Sam chuckled. He didn't know either of them, but he had heard enough about the Weasley's to take a few good guesses. The other boy, however, Sam only knew one thing about, and that was that he was the boy who lived. He knew better than to mention it though. Sam hated it when people mentioned that he couldn't see so he figured that Potter must feel the same way about being told he was the boy who lived. If he so happened to be wrong then no harm done, better safe then sorry right?
"Sam they will show you where your bed is." Hermione touched his arm and he couldn't help but feel a little weird. He didn't even know these people, but there was no time like the present to learn about them.
"Thank you Hermione." He smiled at her before the boys led him up the spiral staircase to the boys dormitory. Sam didn't say a word to the others while he undressed himself and got ready for bed. He heard one of them whisper that he must be stuck up if he didn't even attempt to talk. It was all opinions and Sam didn't care much for them. They were all wrong and they always would be. He hopped into his four poster bed without another thought about them, only thinking about how he was in for a lonely year. He soon fell asleep dreaming of home.
The next morning Sam got up to find everyone gone. He didn't mind, however, because he enjoyed the peacefulness of being alone. Being by himself meant there was no one around to be mean.
He rummaged through his trunk for his uniform and dressed in no time. He left Gryffindor and walked cautiously down the stairs. He knew that sometimes they switched without warning. Luckily for him he didn't have to worry about that because they were being nice to him that morning. He made it to the Great Hall and slowly walked to the very end of his house table. He heard whispers, like the ones from the night before, but this time they were a bit different.
"He's so cute." He'd hear a girl, his age, say to one of her friends.
"His eyes, they are enchanting." He would hear another say. Sam smiled, maybe this year wasn't going to be so bad. When he reached the end of the table Hermione jumped up and walked over to him. She had something in hand, but she wouldn't let him see.
She laughed and then pulled it up"Here's your schedule."
"Why do you have it" He asked, taking it from her hand and looking at the classes he had.
"I volunteered to give to you when Professor McGonagall came round with the stack of them. You weren't here yet and she had to get going." She explained, taking a deep breathe afterward.
"Well then I guess I should be thanking you for saving it for me."
"Well you don't have to."
"All right then I wont." He joked. He couldn't explain why he felt so comfortable around her, but he did.
"Hey, that's not nice." She smiled.
"You said I didn't have to and if it wasn't nice why are you smiling." Sam laughed. "Thank you Hermione." He patted her shoulder as he passed and then sat down.
Though he chose to ignore it, he could feel Ron's glare from the left of him. He took that as a sign that Hermione was off limits.
"Hey Sam" Lavender said from the seat next to him.
"Hey." He said simply. "How are you"
"Good, so Sam what do you like" Lavender smiled at him and leaned forward. Sam smiled back and shrugged. "Like what girls do you like" Sam laughed nervously. 'What are with these people? Why are they all of a sudden around me like I'm some new food item they like?'
"Er.. I... I don't know."
"Oh come on, you must have things you are interested in." Parvati had now joined her friend in asking him about what girls he liked.
"Well I figure that if I ever dated a girl again she would have to be smart and friendly. Maybe strong willed and had a great deal of determination. All I know is, to me, the mind is a bigger turn on then looks and thats what I look for first. Does that answer your question" Sam answered, not realizing that he probably made a huge mistake. Only seconds after he finished he heard them whisper and then run off.
"What was that" He asked Harry, who was sitting next to him.
"Oh nothing, other then they are going to go tell that you like Hermione." He said plainly.
"What? How did they get that" Sam's look of confusion was extreme, but what would anyone expect when you weren't used to the surroundings or the people?
"Don't pay much attention to them. They are just having a little fun, no one will believe what they have to say because you are still new here."
"Well then I figure that's a good thing" Harry only nodded and Sam then decided he wasn't going to stick around in there anymore so he got up, taking a piece of toast a long with him, and went outside to sit. He had a free period to begin with so he honestly didn't have anything else to do. He pulled out one of his books, he read the cover carefully, 'Ancient Runes.' He opened the book and started to read.
"You must have Arithmacy." Sam only looked up, knowing exactly who was standing behind him, looking at the words in his book.
"Yes I do."
"I thought so because thats the only class that has a free period this early in the morning. I see you have Ancient Runes as well. Smart boy you are." She laughed lightly and brushed her robed underneath her legs and sat down beside him. "So how's Hogwarts so far"
"Well I don't really have a good idea since I haven't been at here even a day yet."
"Right, I knew that. Anyway, what's your home like" He seemed shocked at her question.
"What"
"It was you who said I should get to know you right" Sam nodded. "Well then answer the question and feel free to ask me what you like."
"All right, my home is like any other. I have a loving mother who gave me the chance to come here. My home isn't too shabby, but nothing too superior. I live in Surrey so it's nothing too special there."
"What about your dad"
"He died." After the words left his lips they almost seemed to linger in the air around them. Hermione felt bad now for asking him to share, but she couldn't take it back now.
:Hermione's POV:
Hermione looked at his face, the smile that had once shown there was now gone. There was no trace of his dimples showing or the wrinkles around his eyes when he laughed so hard it was difficult to breathe. He was now staring at his knees curiously.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know."
"Then you shouldn't be sorry." He answered as he brought his hand up to his head and ran it through his already messy sandy brown hair, tousling it even more.
"What's that supposed to mean"
"You didn't know about it so there is no reason for feeling sorry about asking about it. It's not fault god cursed you with curiosity." Hermione was about to yell at him for saying it was a curse when she realized he was only playing. He now was smiling again as usual and it made her feel better, not to mention his smile was definitely cute. "What about you Hermione? You ask me all these questions and I know nothing about you or your friends."
"Well my best friends are guys and my parents are both dentists."
"No sweets? That's bloody crazy."
"I get sweets, when I am here. By the way, are you Scottish?' She watched as Sam hung his and then looked back up.
"That was random."
"Well I was listen to you talk and..."
"Half."
"Pardon"
"I'm half. My dad was from here, but my mum wasn't. It's why I live in Surrey now. I love my mum dearly." He added sadly.
"You sound like you do."
"She's done a lot for me and I don't nearly do enough for her as she does for me." Hermione shook her head. "You shouldn't think that Sam, I am sure you are important to your mum, more than you will ever know."
"All right enough of this sappiness. It doesn't suit me." 'Mione laughed. "Look there" She followed the direction that Sam was pointing in and found two little fuzzy creatures at the edge of the forest playing with each other. One bouncing of the tress and tackling the others and then the game would begin again. As much as Hermione read, however, she could not place the creature in the many books she had read. She knew it was not a normal creature because it had scaly parts and little ridges on it's back, but it was cute nonetheless.
"Are you ready for your classes" Hermione twisted her gaze back to the young boy siting next to her.
"I believe so, but you are in my classes aren't you"
"Yes I am. I will warn you to watch out for Snape and the Slytherins, nothing good can come from them." Sam had no idea however what he would be getting himself into later.
:Later:
"Well that wasn't too hard. I understand that the numbers right there are completely important to what the guy ended up doing." Sam said excitedly to Hermione after the left Arithmacy which was there second to last period of the day.
"Yes, but keep in mind that his heart number is not the same as his character number. That will be important on the next quiz."
"I thought that the heart, character, and social numbers were never the same."
"They can be, but if you look here his heart number and social number are both divisible the same number and that equals his character number. When that happens it supposed to mean something. If you look in the book and see what the man did you will see that the numbers you get are the same if you did for his title. He's an interesting chap that man his."
"I agree, but when do we start with each others names, titles, and dreams"
"That's next week. You are doing really well in your classes, I'm proud."
"Thanks." His brushed against hers and he smiled, he really did like Hermione. She was a wonderful friend and he was too used to having friends like that.
"HERMIONE" Just then she came to a halt and turned around.
"Ron you do not have to scream so loudly just to get my attention. A simple "Hey Hermione" will suffice."
"Yeah okay, so what are you doing" He walked up between her and Sam and quickly glared at the boy. This confused Sam greatly, he didn't understand why he just got glared at.
"We have potions next Ron, what do you think I am doing"
"Oh, well lets go." He grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hall. Sam only watched for he didn't really feel like hurrying. He figured he had enough time to make it to the dungeons before the class started. But he soon realized that he wasn't too good at figuring because by the time he made it to the right dungeon he was two minutes late.
"Mr. Hastings care to tell us why you decided to be so late" Snape scowled at the young boy as he took the last seat in the front.
"First off I didn't decide to be late it just happened and second, I got wee bit lost." Mistake number one.
"A sixth year student getting lost at Hogwarts" He asked again, this time almost mocking Sam.
"Mind you I am a sixth year student who just arrived not all too long ago and I am sure that when you went to school here, however long ago that was, you got a wee bit lost your first day as well." Mistake number two.
"Mr. Hastings you have detention with me tonight."
"For what? Telling you the truth? That seems hardly accountable for detention."
"Do you question the way I run my class boy"
"Well I have respect that you teach at this school with so many students, but you do come down a bit hard and that's not even the homework."
"Out Mr. Hastings."
"And where shall I go" Sam asked.
"OUT" Sam shrugged his shoulders and gathered his things. He turned and gave Hermione with a sorry look and then left. For being a new kid he was surely getting into trouble a lot.
He would write his mother about it and ask for some advice. If it wasn't tough enough as it was with just being somewhere completely new, he had to deal with people being arses on a daily bases. He now understood, though, what Hermione meant about 'watch out for those slytherins', they weren't too pleasant to be around.