New Students Welcomed
I was back at the Malfoys rather quickly, but I didn't go in right away, instead I stood outside, looking at the family through the window. Mrs. Malfoy was having her tea and reading a book, Mr. Malfoy was reading the paper. I assumed Draco to be upstairs. It looked perfectly normal and if any muggle were to walk by they wouldn't see anything more. Watching them made me wonder what really made it so difficult for my dad to stay here. I understand that it was a different time, that they were followers of Lord Voldemort. There was a possibility of challenging them. But at the same time, there were so many nights Draco and I stayed up talking, gossiping and sometimes laughing. Such innocent fun. It was hard to believe my father didn't have any of those times here. Mr. Malfoy didn't talk much about my father so I didn't quite know their relationship.
I looked up upon hearing a tapping on the window, as Draco opened his window. "What are you doing?" He whispered as I took a step back to get a better look at him.
"Taking in the sights" I teased.
"Are you coming in?"
"Well I have no place else to go" I reminded him as he waved me up. I sighed and walked up to the door. I stood there for a second, feeling something I couldn't place, but it felt familiar. I slowly turned around, seeing the great hall all around me. All the tables were full, even the professor's table. It must have been the welcome feast. I looked around for anyone familiar but all the faces were just blurs. I rubbed my eyes and refocused, catching someone further down the table. I felt my words catch in my throat, a boy with medium length raven wavy hair was staring back at me. It wasn't just that he was absolutely gorgeous but that he had those eyes. The eyes I had seen so many times in my dreams or while deep in thought. Those bright blue eyes. His lips parted, a small smile reaching his eyes as he nodded at me, mouthing 'hi.' I started to say hi but felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I slowly moved my eyes to the right, and there was that girl again. The one I saw in the store with Fred. She looked even prettier than I remembered. She looked over me and then at the boy, her eyes saying something that only he must have understood because he gave her a look in return. He turned to look back at me but I felt myself violently being pulled back.
"What are you doing?" I jumped as Draco grasped my shoulder. "You okay?" I nodded, doing a quick glance behind me, as expected everything was gone.
"I thought my visions were gone, but I'm pretty sure I just had one" I told him, as he closed the door behind him and moved closer.
"What? Really?" He asked in a hushed voice.
"Yeah, it was the welcome feast" I told him.
"At Hogwarts?"
"No, Three Broomsticks" I replied sarcastically.
"Okay, well, what happened?"
"I don't know, only two kids stood out." I told him as he nodded, waiting for more information. "That's all I know, I don't know who they were. I actually saw one of them the other day while shopping, but I didn't catch her name or anything. I assume she's a first year" I told him as he nodded. "The other one, I don't know, but, Draco..." I told him as he looked concerned. "The other one had those eyes, the ones I keep talking about it."
"The blue eyes?" He asked as I nodded. "I thought you said you couldn't place the face?"
"Yeah, but, I'd recognize those eyes anywhere" I told him.
"Okay, what do wanna do about it?" He asked as I shook my head.
"Nothing, I mean, what do you wanna do about something we don't understand and hasn't happened?" I asked as he looked at me with sympathy.
"Go on upstairs, I'll keep my parents distracted while you write Fred and Melinda," he insisted, and I nodded, thanked him, and went upstairs.
My alarm went off at nine in the morning, my papers scattered over the bed, my quill and a bottle of ink nearby. I must have fallen asleep just after writing the letters. It felt like the first time I slept well, a nice deep sleep. I hadn't heard back from Fred, but Melinda had sent a letter, it must have arrived just before I woke up. It said we'd talk more on the train tomorrow.
The remainder of the day I spent packing, repacking, writing letters and reading. There was nothing interesting happening at home and I didn't want to bother the Weasleys. I spent time helping Draco pack, he mentioned that he sent Melinda a letter and got one back, but didn't want to talk about it. We played a few rounds of exploding snap and chess, we talked about Quidditch, making bets with candy about the upcoming teams. Obviously, I was rooting for Puddlemere United. This would be our year, no doubt about it! We made short conversation and ate leftovers throughout the day, and before I knew it, it was time for bed.
As the train pulled out of the station the next morning I waited until we were a safe distance away before going off to find Fred. I found George, Lee Jordan and two other boys first. Everyone was kind except George, but I didn't expect him to change overnight. The next compartment was a handful of kids I didn't know. I kept checking compartments, subconsciously probably looking for the kid, or kids. If the girl was a first year she'd have to be on the train.
I stopped, hearing humming coming from a nearby compartment, I followed the tune, opening a compartment door to see Fred sitting by himself, legs propped up on the other seat. "Took you longer than I thought" he said looking at a pretend watch.
"Maybe if I knew we were playing I would've been quicker" I told him as he smiled, stood up and moved over to me.
"We can play a new game" he said wrapping his arms around me. "It involves being very quiet" he teased as he closed the doors behind me.
There was a knock on the door about ten minutes later, thankfully I didn't feel like it was a complete interruption nor did I feel embarrassed. I got up and went over, sliding the door open to see Melinda. "Hey" I told her as she nodded at me and then Fred.
"We should talk," she answered, pushing past me and sitting across from Fred.
"Please, come right in..." Fred muttered.
"You got Tammie's letter this morning, right?"
"No" Fred said as Melinda rolled her eyes.
"She had a vision," Melinda said hurriedly.
"Wait, for real?" He answered as he straightened up. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked as I gave him that look.
"You didn't really give me much time to talk when I saw you." He gave me a knowing smile but then shook his head.
"Okay, so what happened?" He asked. I took a deep breath and told them in detail, Melinda making me tell her two more times and interrupting to ask questions. I wished I had waited to tell Hermione and the others because they would be asking all the same questions. But Fred suggested waiting a bit longer, just giving them a chance to enjoy the last minutes of freedom before pulling them into everything again.
When I finished Melinda took note, said she'd keep an eye on the table during the feast since I couldn't remember what houses the kids were in. Fred said he'd keep me occupied so I wouldn't be thinking about it for hours. But that only last another twenty minutes, George came in, insisted Fred needed to go back to their compartment to work on some product stuff. He made a point of saying it, knowing I couldn't get involved, it seemed almost like he relished in the thought that I wouldn't be part of it. I did walk with him back to the compartment, grateful not to see Charity anywhere around.
I waited til we were all changed to tell the others, as expected, Hermione asked all the questions, when I finished it seemed like we were all going to be staring down everyone new during the welcome feast. "C'mere" Melinda said grabbing my arm when the train came to a stop. I wasn't sure why she was rushing me but I didn't stop her. We ran up past most of the students who were slowly walking up toward the pick up and squeezed in behind a group of kids I didn't recognize.
"And we're in a hurry to get to school because, why?" I asked as Melinda pointed ahead, I stood on my tiptoes, not finding what she was trying to point out.
"There, do you see them?" She asked out of breath as I looked again.
"See what?" I asked as Melinda turned back to look at me in disbelief.
"Tammie, you don't see them?" she asked as I slowly shook my head.
"What am I supposed to be looking for?"
"The things pulling the carriage" Melinda said as I squinted.
"I don't see anything pulling the carriage" I told her she blinked at me.
"You don't see them?" She asked as I shook my head again. She didn't elaborate, just helped me get into one of the carriages, a few other students already inside.
"Are you going to tell me?" I asked her but she hushed me up and turned her attention to the kid next to her. I knew better than to ask her again, but it always annoyed me when she ignored a question, but to be fair, usually she was thinking, she liked to be right before she said anything. And maybe she just thought she was crazy and wasn't actually seeing anything.
I stayed silent the rest of the way, eager to corner Melinda but once we got out of the carriage Melinda was already gone. I sighed and walked up the rest of the path, other students quickly gathering around and doing the same.
"Malfoy" I glanced ahead of me, seeing Charity snickering as she walked past. I sucked in air, I forgot about her way longer than I should've.
"Hi to you too..." I mumbled as I entered the castle. I still felt in awe as I walked in, it never ceased to amaze me how gorgeous and somewhat deadly this castle was. Looking around I could see so many of the portraits, the fact that they moved made me feel just a little more at home than I normally would've felt, though I didn't know why. I hung back, watching others catch up with their friends, say quick hellos to relatives or immediately start forming a line for their house. I shyly waved at a few people I knew, nodding at others who passed me, knowing me either because I was Draco's cousin or "that one student who was kidnapped and almost murdered." I watched as Harry, Ron and Hermione lined up, a few others behind them, but I didn't see Fred or George with their group. I started to move forward, but stopped as I caught the sound of an obnoxious laugh.
I glanced around til I found the source, Charity was locked arms with George, Fred on his other side and Lee trailing behind him. Of course I wanted to go over and see what was going on... but at the same time didn't want to make a big deal about it. Or let anyone think I was making a big deal about it. It didn't help that Charity laughed again, this time smiling widely at Fred. I had to keep my nerves, knowing it wasn't anything to worry about. Thankfully on her fourth laugh Fred happened to see me, looking relieved as he said something to his brother and then walked over. He pinched me as a way to say hello and then stood uncomfortably close.
"Hi to you too" I teased as we were ushered in. I looked around, my mind trying to find the two mysterious students. I ended up walking into someone twice, only the first time they were nice about it, the second time Fred jumped in to make an excuse for me.
"Let's sit here" I suggested as we took our seats next to two kids I didn't know, I mostly wanted to sit here because I had a better view and because George and Charity were sitting with Harry and the others, and I didn't want to hear her at all.
"Okay" Fred said slowly as his twin glanced down at us, making a face, but I couldn't tell what it read. "Everything alright?" He asked as I nodded, started to tell him, but Professor Dumbledore was suddenly talking. Once he finished, the sorting process began. I tried my best to listen but my mind trailed off as I looked up at the staff table. The usual professors sat up there, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, all of them I recognized except one. I squinted, an older woman with hair to her chin sat perfectly straight next to Professor Binns. I assumed her to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. There was a certain regal look to her and she looked older. I didn't get any particular vibes or feelings about her, and she looked like she belonged up there with the rest of the professors. At least that would be normal this year, I told myself as I looked up in time to see a girl bouncing over to the Gryffindor table. I titled my head, that was the girl from the robes shop, the one Draco and I saw with her family. I missed her name, I'd have to introduce myself later.
"How much did you miss?" I asked Fred as he smiled.
"Same as you" he answered as I turned my attention to back to Professor Dumbledore who was just finishing up welcoming the new students.
"I also would like a warm welcome to two additional students, Matthew and Courtney Knacks. This will be their first year at Hogwarts though they are not first years. Please be kind and respectful. We must show the same treatment we'd like to see if we were in their situation." He nodded, probably signaling for the two to stand up. I watched two students stand up, one from the Slytherin table. "Oh" I whispered, turning to Fred, "that's the girl from the store..." I told him as he nodded, his eyes on someone else. I followed his gaze, seeing a boy from our table standing up. Whatever Fred was saying got drowned in applause, as the two students sat back down and Professor Dumbledore continued what he was saying.
"Wait" I hissed suddenly and then the boy turned around. It was like my heart stopped and my breathing slowed. Everything around me seemed to go still and I couldn't tell if a sudden build up of anxiety or overwhelming sense of unknown but once I saw those eyes I knew there was something undeniable about this boy. And as he mouthed hi and I felt myself mouth it back I didn't know what to make of him. If he was bad or good, if I should stay away or ask questions. I didn't know what I felt; all I knew was that he knew. It felt like he was looking into my soul, but deeper. Like there were these chains coming at me and latching into my body so quick and deep I had to jump away.
"You okay?" Fred asked as I tried to subtly glance over at the Matthew kid. He was no longer looking at me, which was a relief but found his presence almost unbearable.
"I think so" I sucked in air, maybe I had imagined it. Nothing could feel that strong and be normal, I told myself as I turned to face Fred. "I saw those eyes" I started as Fred looked around.
"Who?" He asked with a hard voice.
"The new kid" I whispered. At first he looked over at the Slytherin table, where Courtney sat. "No, our table" I corrected.
"Matthew?" he asked as I nodded. "Okay, well, do you want to talk to him after the feast?" I quickly shook my head, wanting to tell him how it felt when I looked at him, but I couldn't — not necessarily out of fear — but just because it seemed so irrational.
"Forget it, I'm fine" I told him as he looked at me for a few seconds longer. He slowly nodded, but thankfully the food appeared so there was no need to continue talking.