Disclaimer: Again, I own nothing HP. I wish I owned a Christian Coulson. Somebody get me a Christian Coulson. ACCIO CHRISTIAN COULSON!
She
The soft glow of the moon illuminated the Gryffindor common room, allowing Hermione to realize she was not alone anymore. A blonde-haired girl of about 16 sat by the window, gazing out at the night sky. Sensing another's presence, the girl turned to face Hermione.
"Happy New Year," the blonde spoke, her dark eyes watching Hermione intently.
"Happy New Year," Hermione responded, a bit startled. She walked over and extended her hand. "I'm Hermione."
"Hello, Hermione, I'm Lisa." The two shook hands. "Are you new here?"
"Well… sort of…" Hermione stammered, silently criticizing herself for not thinking of an answer to that question before now.
"You can't be 'sort of' new… not unless you left and then came back."
"That's exactly what happened," Hermione quickly amended.
"Hmm… okay then, let me know if you need any help finding anything." Lisa swept a load of books into her arms and started up the stairs.
"Wait!" Hermione called, remembering what McGonagall had told her to do once she arrived:
"Once you arrive, have someone accompany you to the Slytherin common room."
"Why, Professor?"
"I can tell you no more. All will be revealed in time."
"Can you… show me where the Slytherin common room is?" She asked hesitantly.
Lisa nearly dropped her books. Quickly recovering, she descended the stairs and placed her books on a nearby table. "Yeah, okay…"
"You don't have to if you don't want…" Hermione started, but Lisa cut her off.
"No, no, it's fine. Tom will probably be there, though." A small smile played on her face as the blonde climbed through the portrait hole. Hermione thought she seemed uncommonly eager to enter the Slytherin's lair.
The two walked in silence for a few minutes before Hermione spoke up. "Were all those books for school?"
"Oh, no. Just a bit of light holiday reading," Lisa replied. "I'm a bit of a bookworm, you see."
Oh, we're going to get along wonderfully, Hermione thought to herself.
"Venomous," Lisa spoke to the blank stone wall in front of them, which then opened to reveal a low ceilinged room lit by green light from the chandeliers and the moonlight filtering through the lake outside.
"How did you…" Hermione started, but Lisa just flashed her a grin before entering.
The room was empty all except for a lone student sitting near the elaborate fireplace with his nose stuck in a book. Without looking up, he spoke: "Happy New Year, Lisa."
Even through the green torchlight, Hermione could see a faint hint of a blush creep up into Lisa's cheeks. "Happy birthday, Tom."
The boy looked up. Hermione noticed he had black, somewhat wavy hair, and green eyes that seemed to glisten with an emotion she could not quite place. "Thank you," he said softly.
Hermione thought she saw a trace of a smile begin to form on his handsome face. If it was there or not, she could not be certain; whatever was there vanished as he turned to look at her.
"Who's this?" he nodded at Hermione, snapping his book shut and standing up.
"Tom, this is Hermione. She's new to Hogwarts this year." Lisa explained, catching the young man's eyes for a moment.
"Hello, Hermione…" Tom was cut off as a rowdy group of Slytherins entered the common room and crowded around him with birthday wishes and glasses of butterbeer.
Lisa started towards the door, dragging Hermione with her. "We'll…um… see you later, Tom." As they exited the room, Hermione glanced back over her shoulder, her eyes meeting with Tom's for a split-second before the door slid shut.