Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of its' characters, names, or settings.
Chapter 8- Oddities
It was now dusk, and the bright orange sun was slowly beginning to set against the light purple sky. A soft breeze blew gently against the blades of grass that grew on the many fields. However, the silence all around was broken with the chugging of the scarlet Hogwarts Express traveling northward through the land.
Inside the train, in the prefects' compartment, the meeting still continued. It was a very important meeting, but the two Heads were not paying any attention. The Head Boy and Head Girl were the most important people in the compartment, but yet, they were both too absorbed in their own thoughts to participate in the meeting that was now being held. And, no one really took any notice of their odd behavior either. Everyone was seated together on the seats, except for the Slytherins, who sat a little farther away from the group. A pug-faced looking girl by the name of Pansy Parkinson was seated beside the handsome blonde haired boy.
Draco Malfoy was the only one in the compartment who didn't show any signs of surprise as he watched the harsh exchange that had occurred earlier between Ron and Hermione. He did feel astonished however, but it was his nature to not let any of his feelings from ever surfacing.
'What's going on?' he asked himself as he watched Hermione with his eyebrows raised. 'I see the Golden Trio now has their own issues. I wonder what it could be about.'
He continued to watch Hermione as she drifted off into her own thoughts. He watched her lean her head back against the window behind her. Her straight light hair framed her face perfectly, but she had a sad, yet thoughtful look on her face. The sky outside was now dark, and the stream of silver light coming from the moon lit up her hair. The golden flecks in her honey colored eyes gave them a bright look. Draco suddenly felt a light flutter in his stomach; he felt weightless.
'Snap out of it!' he told himself. But he continued to stare at her. 'She's changed so much, and in more ways than one. She looks a lot more independent.'
"The meeting is now adjourned," said a voice, taking both him and Hermione by surprise as they both jerked back to reality.
As everyone stood up and made their way to the door, Draco remained still. He continued to watch Hermione as she finally began taking notice of everyone around her. He watched her look around the room when suddenly, her eyes landed on him. Her face brightened with surprise at the sight of him, as if she had suddenly recognized him from somewhere. To Draco's surprise, a soft blush had crept up on her cheeks as she remaining staring at him. He raised an eyebrow at her.
'Um, why is she staring at me like that?' Draco asked himself, feeling very confused. 'What's wrong with her?'
He continued to stare back until she took control of herself and stopped blushing. Then, he was surprised once more when she gave him a small smile before she turned around and walked out of the compartment door.
"Draco, are you alright?" asked Pansy, coming up from behind him. "You didn't say a thing throughout the entire meeting."
"I'm alright," Draco replied, as he looked into her dark blue eyes. "Let's go back to our compartment. I think Crabbe and Goyle will be there by now, and I haven't seen them in a while."
Pansy nodded, and Draco wrapping his right arm around her shoulders, walked out with her into the train corridor. When Pansy rested her head against his arm, Draco suddenly felt a lot better then he did all summer. He really liked Pansy, and he felt nice having his arms around her, but he couldn't stop thinking about a certain muggle-born, and how much she had changed over the summer.
