I was blinded by the lights
I saw the reflecting in her eyes
It blinded me from the sea
Of everybody's smiles
And I was young and best
So I'd thought I'd test the night

Hermione looked at Harry half hurt, and turned away from them all. Apparently saying that wasn't the best thing to do at the time—but honestly, it was what he had to say. Ron's face lit up, humored and almost relieved that Harry thought the same. Teetering on the edge of a fight or a bicker wasn't his best position, and it took Harry's agreement to get him calmed. Hermione let her back fall to the cushioned seat, and she sat in silence for a moment. Her eyes flicked from Harry and Ron to the first-year-or-was-it-fourth-year girl, suddenly finding a bad taste in her mouth. The sympathy for her had washed away completely, and Hermione was compelled out of nowhere to give a stern talk to this chit for—

Well, there was nothing for her to give a talk about. Harry and Ron were giggling in the way boys do, their voices lowered, eyes switching from the epicenter of their comedy to each other. Hermione tested a glare on them, but they ignored it. What was with them? Suddenly seeing someone mildly good looking, and they were boiling down to the boys they were. Hermione didn't expect any less from Ron, but it surprised her that Harry was being tugged into the pit of immaturity. Was it a faze? God help her it was a faze.

Harry broke off from laughing, suddenly finding the hunger to take another look at this girl. He hadn't seen her before…but she couldn't be a first year. No, she couldn't be a first year…she was too…mature looking? Tall? Large? There were no words to place it, and no evidence that she actually was fourth year, but it was like intuition. He knew it, and if he was wrong, then he'd eat his Monster Book of Monsters right there on the train, God help him if he severed his tongue and a few fingers in the process. He felt his eyes rest on her, her chin tilted agonizingly away. He wanted to see her face, and he willed her to turn. Did she feel his eyes dig in the nape of her neck? Could she feel those eyes bore through her hair, trying to picture what she was thinking?

And then, as if by magic, her chin trembled once, and he could feel her emotions teetering on the edge of the blade. Give away her interest, or back off from it, and ignore the threesome entirely. Was she…? It seemed to resist, as though pondering weather or not it was worth it. Harry knew by now she wanted to, so the suspense was rolling downhill. The climbing, breath-taking idea that she may not was long past, and Harry looked away, suddenly wondering what was up with Hermione. Was she—mad? She couldn't be serious. For them calling this girl they'd never met hot? Was she offended? He turned, about to say something encouraging, but found Hermione plastered to her seat, eyes staring heatedly out the window. Cringing inwardly, he decided to lay off her until she cooled down. Ron, at this point, was giving small glances at Hermione, worried, and then pitifully longing ones at the girl.

There came the hunger. It rolled and boiled in the back of his throat, and he felt so compelled to try and snag another look. Though, at the same time, he didn't want to look like Ron, who spelled it so clearly out to Hermione this girl was worth his attention—Hermione looked so hurt from it…so put down, that—

One look would do, and that'd be it. He felt a shimmering sensation dance along his spine, and he lifted his eyes to greet the dark haired girl, and—

He froze. His scar fizzed uncomfortably, his eyes burned—a searing, endless pain that dully throbbed in the back of his head—but his heart leapt in his chest. He felt the blood rush to his face as he met her misty gray-green eyes. He barely felt them widen, felt his face burn and prickle with a flush…as panic poured through his throat, he felt it all fade slowly away. Her eyes were gone in a flash of green, and his heart was still pounding rapidly. He clutched his hands together, weaving each finger through the other, trying to figure out what happened.

'Wait', he thought, breath finally slowly, 'what just…what? What happened?'