Chapter 9 (Raine)
No words could explain how much the new teacher felt after hearing those words, which sounded strangely familiar…
'I never was sorry for your eyes…'
'Just what did she mean by that?' he thought. All this thinking was giving him a headache. He reached out a hand to massage his temple. Suddenly, he stood up and yanked open a drawer in his desk. There he found a mirror, which he used to look at his face, giving particular attention his eyes. Predominant gray eyes stared back at him. The same pair, which became the source of his pain, a brutal reminder of the past.
'What does she know? Or rather what else does she know? This girl… She's giving me the creeps.'
Flashback
"Mort! Watch out!" one of his friends warned. He was running, with arms stretched out above him, his back turned towards the direction he was going and so he did not see the person who was sitting on the lawn, leaning on a tree, dainty hands holding a small black book.
She was the same age as he, also in her final year at Hogwarts, only that she was from Ravenclaw and he from Slytherin. People called her a freak since she always covered part of her face with her long black hair and she liked divination so much and was extremely good at it. As far as divination was concerned, no one gave particular attention to it. But she was different. People thought she was weird. She rarely talked to anyone, a loner, probably because people isolated themselves from her.
Too late…
"Aaargh!" he fell, stumbled over the girl's legs. He was playing catch with his friends, throwing the quaffle here and there, back and forth. They were not riding a broom though. He together with some friends formed part of the Slytherin Quidditch team. He was captain and chaser.
"Oh! Um… Erm… Sorry about that. I wasn't looking…" He quickly stood up, dusted himself off and turned around to face the odd-looking girl. She stared back at him quietly, not moving.
His friends were running towards them, "You alright man?" Craig said hurriedly while Derek, his other friend, looked at the girl from head-to-toe. He smirked and said, "If it isn't the long-haired freak… You here to give us a free freak show? Well thanks but no thanks."
Mort stepped in front of the girl. "Hey, that's enough. Leave her alone." He said firmly as he gave Derek a contemptuous look in the eye.
"Whoa.. Easy man.. I was just having a little fun. You don't need to get all hot about it." Derek said with his hands in front of him, slightly backing away from Mort. He had though a sneering look on his face.
"So, what's your name, miss?" Mort turned to look at the girl, not minding his friends. He reached out a hand. She looked at the hand suspiciously. Then looked at the boy who offered it to her, thinking if it was ok to trust the guy. Finally, she took his hand and said, "Raine… You can call me Raine…"
End of Flashback
Hermione had gone out the door quickly, a triumphant look on her face.
"Hey, what took you so long?" Harry asked warily. He and Ron were waiting in the corridor for Hermione. They noticed that she spent a fairly long amount of time inside the classroom alone with their new teacher. Disturbing thoughts crossed their minds.
"Yeah. Had a nice chat with our new professor?" Ron said sarcastically, his eyebrows knitted along his forehead. He was no fool. Both he and Harry noticed how Hermione acted around the new teacher. Who wouldn't? It was so obvious. She had this lovesick look on her face the whole time and was raising her hand more than usual. It was… upsetting.
Hermione turned around to face them, an eyebrow raised, "What the hell is that suppose to mean?" She slowly walked towards them, eyeing the two with resentment.
"You heard me! Bet you like Professor Mort don't you? And what's up with that obsessed look on your face?" Ron was practically fuming. He was jealous. But that wasn't the only case; the new professor did play a prank on them.
"Ron… Maybe you should calm down a little." Harry said quietly, putting one hand on Ron's shoulder. His gaze shifted from Ron to Hermione.
Hermione gave Ron a look of disgust. "So what if I do! Why would you care anyway!" This was not the time to be in their company right now. She pushed past them and started to walk away. Suddenly, she faced them and shrieked, "Mind your own freaking business!"
"Well3x… Having a lover's spat, aren't they?" Draco snickered. He happened to pass through and heard the conversation that the three Gryffindors had. He had hidden himself behind a wall, careful not to let anyone see him. "So… little miss-perfect has a crush on the new professor, huh? I'll fix that..." He sneered. "It's a good thing I'm on the right place, at the right time…"
He watched as Hermione stormed off to another direction, leaving Harry and Ron contemplating on what she just told them.
Ron shook his head in guilt, "Was I wrong?" He said reproachfully to Harry, looking at him with a pained look on his face.
Harry bowed down his head, "I don't know Ron… I don't know…"
At this, Draco was laughing uncontrollably from his hiding place. "This is just too much… Getting too mushy now, aren't they?" He said, leering. "I could definitely use this against them. Mwahaha!"
Suddenly, a high-pitched voice interrupted behind him. A voice he knew too well and had tried to avoid for years. "P-pansy?" He gulped. He turned around and prepared for the worst. Normally, he would have put on his mean demeanor when it's Pansy he's dealing with. This time however, she caught him by surprise.
"Oh Draco dearest! What are you doing here all by yourself? Came looking for me, weren't you?" Pansy flung her arms around Draco. She hugged him so tight that it was hard for him to breathe. "Everything's all right now Draco, Pansy's here to take care of you!"
"Ge-roff m-me!" He said, panting. He took hold of Pansy's arms and put them down at her sides. He clutched his stomach, gasping for breath. He regained his composure and hissed menacingly, "One more outburst like that and you're dead Pansy!" He can feel a headache coming and being in the company of an obsessed stalker was not making him feel better. "Don't ever come near me again… or else," he warned, causing the girl to flinch. Pansy drew back and ran away from Draco as fast as she could, tears streaming down her face.
All that noise didn't help Draco.
"Hey! Who's there?" Harry said suspiciously. He looked around him, eyes darting here and there. It's a good thing it was their break time, for him and Ron have been standing there for a couple of minutes now and anymore standing would make them late for their next class.
Ron started to approach the wall Draco was hiding in. "You! I should have known! You of all people would eavesdrop on us!" All Ron's frustration was filling in on his words.
"Eavesdrop? Don't you think that's a bit too harsh, freckled face?" Draco smirked. "Well if you call merely dropping by and having the capability to hear eavesdropping, then that's your opinion. Although I don't think that having ears, which allow me to hear is much of a crime, isn't it?" He said, taunting Ron, an irritating look on his face.
"I must be off. Don't want to be late again, won't I?" Draco said, mocking the two.
The last Harry and Ron saw of Draco before he went past them was the proud look on his face.
