Chapter 24: New Kid In School
"Don't worry Miss Nina," Dumbledore said, patting her hand softly. "No more questions or discussions of what occurred in the past for today. How about we look at the menu. This place makes a delicious calzone."
A/N That's what I meant to write in the last chapter, but accidentally said draco instead of Dumbledore. My apologies. Now along with the story.
Hermione kept her eyes peeled for the rest of the day. Dumbledore seemed relaxed and fell asleep soon after their train left for the school. He kept to one side of the train car in order to give the teenagers space.
Draco asked Eddie many questions as the nineteen-year-old ministry official changed the color of his hair and eyes, which were now bright blue and black spiked, and shrunk down so that he was 5'11", an inch or two taller than Draco. If Hermione had first seen him like this then she would never have assumed him to be a Weasley, or even a distant relative of her redheaded friends.
Nina and Hermione were in the middle of the car between Dumbledore and Eddie and Draco. Nina was trying to think of something to talk about it, but it was obvious that Hermione was taking the whole situation much more seriously. There was a ministry official tailing her friend's every move for who knew how long posing as a new student in the school.
"I can't believe you ran into Dudley while you were looking for me," Nina said.
"I know," Hermione agreed. "This has been a pretty hectic day."
"Yeah, but you're used to these kinds of things happening," Nina put in. "Like I said, I read the Prophet."
"Well unfortunately not everything Harry, Ron and I do includes a day in courts after a friend goes missing," Hermione said with a laugh.
The girls continued to talk until Draco came over and sat closely to Hermione. "Eddie needs to speak with you," he said to Nina.
Nina nodded and stood up and walked over to where Eddie was sitting, taking Draco's once-occupied seat.
Draco put his arm around Hermione and kissed her forehead. The two watched Nina and Eddie, wondering what they were talking about.
"Y'know," Hermione said, "if Eddie's going to be posing as a Ravenclaw then he won't be staying with you and Ron."
"That's why we just worked on our story." Hermione and Draco looked up at Eddie and Nina, who was talking. They took a seat and Nina continued, "Eddie is going to be an exchange student from his sister's school in California."
"Aren't you from New York?" Draco asked.
"Yes, but my family moved during my third year, so I continued at that school and my sister, who is twelve, attends a school in California," Eddie explained.
"Continue Nina," Hermione said.
"Well, he's going to use the name Jack Thompson and say that he's our age," Nina continued. "We're going to 'instantly click' and become friends, so I'm going to be sitting with or near him in all of our classes with two-person tables, sorry Hermione. He's going to be sorted into Ravenclaw, but all of the Prefect rooms are now going to be singles with his next door to mine with a connecting door."
"So I can check up on the criminal."
"If you're going to call me that then we might want to change your story a little smart one," Nina said. "Should you be the cousin of one of mine and Hermione's friends who we met over the summer so people don't get suspicious about us?"
"If you want to," Eddie told her. "Just make sure that this is all simple enough to remember."
"Okay," Nina said. "So then here it is now. You're Jack Thompson from California and mine and Hermione's friend, Julie's, cousin who we met this summer. You and Draco, though, begin to hang out. This way he'll be around when you're around and, coincidentally, so will Hermione. Maybe for one of the classes we can come a little late and the only available seats will be one beside Hermione and one beside you so you guys have to talk. Now are we going to tell Harry, Ron and Ginny?"
"If you think that they can follow all of this," Eddie said, "because one slip and you and I will be sent to a ministry house where you'll learn and live."
"Let's not include them," Hermione said. "The Draco part would be suspicious if they randomly began hanging out with him. We need to get them to warm up and let people know it. How about people see the two of you in the halls and class, when Nina and I are around, and first we'll warm up to him, then we'll slowly introduce Harry and Ron. As soon as possible, we'll let them in. Until then, we were all out picking up 'Jack' because we were friends of his and doing a project for the grey group."
Everyone spent the rest of the train ride thinking of background information and making up wild stories. When they arrived in Hogsmead, there were students wherever they looked. Apparently there was a last-minute Hogsmead trip.
"Blend in until dinner in three hours when I will announce young 'Jack's' arrival," Dumbledore said from behind them. None of them even knew that he was awake. "Until then he is the student from California you know from the summer." He then walked away.
While there was no one around, Draco and Hermione went off behind the station and bid each other a farewell with a soft kiss before walking off in different directions.
"Where to first ladies?" Eddie asked.
"Let's go to the pub," Hermione suggested. "Harry and Ron are probably there."
Indeed they were there and awaiting Hermione and Nina's arrival.
"Where have you two been all day?" Ron demanded. "This is too much excitement, even for us."
Hermione giggled and slid into the booth beside Harry. "We were picking up our friend with Dumbledore and doing an assignment for our group with Ferret Boy," she told them. "Don't worry."
It wasn't until then that Harry or Ron noticed the boy sitting between the two girls.
"Hello," Harry said, holding out his hand. "I'm Harry Potter, sixth year."
Eddie clapped his hand into Harry's and shook it. "Jake Thompson. Same, I guess."
"Ron Weasley." Eddie shook his cousin's hand like a stranger.
"You guess?" Harry asked.
"I just moved here from America," Eddie said. "California to be exact. We go by different years there, like freshman, sophmore, and such."
"Well welcome to England," Ron said. "Butterbeer?"
By the end of the trip Harry and Ron had warmed up to Eddie, but now had to think of a different way to approach the girls about Hermione and Draco. They tried to distract him, taking turns, but failed to pry him away from Nina or Nina away from Hermione. They decided to wait until curfew when Eddie would have to go to his own dorms, but when they heard that he was a new Ravenclaw prefect, they began to grow impatient.
Luckily, the next day Hermione, Nina and Eddie were late to first period, Ron ended up leaving without them, and Eddie had to sit with Draco Malfoy. Harry used this as a way to walk to the girls without introducing another party to the conversation.
"There's nothing going on between me and that arse of a snake," Hermione said. "We just had to talk," she continued to insist, finally needing Professor Flitwick to sepparate them.
At the end of the period it looked like Eddie and Draco were best friends, at least to the rest of the student body. They walked together right behind Hermione and Nina to their next class where they sat at a table for four together, despite the irritated Draco, annoyed Hermione and fuming Nina. They had to work together on a project for professor Binns in a study group. Whenever anyone was looking or paying attention, Eddie would comment on how they should all put the past behind them and convince them to have lunch together in the Quidditch stands. No one seemed to notice Hermione and Draco's writing notes to each other in the corners of their papers.
Within a week it was common knowledge that Jake Thompson and Draco Malfoy were best friends and that Nina and Hermione were best friends with Jake Thompson and were always together and the group soon became a foursome, sometimes including Harry and Ron when Draco wasn't around, which was almost half the time. The one thing that was for sure, though, was that Jake Thompson was always, if not with, then near Nina and rumors began to fly.
Harry, Ron and Hermione were still tight as ever, but tensions between them and Draco were even higher. Everyone in the prefect tower was constantly on edge when the three were together, but Eddie always managed to keep everything under control. Harry and Ron liked Eddie and knew that if anything happened between them that it would risk losing Hermione and Nina.
One day, during Eddie's second week of attending Hogwarts, Hermione and Nina were walking into the crowded library with Eddie when Hermione called out to Draco, "Oy, Malfoy. Are you going to sit in the corner all on your own or would you care to join us where there's light?"
Everyone in the library watched as Draco Malfoy stood up and walked over to the seat beside Hermione Granger where he sat down and began to talk to her. They knew that the two had been on better terms lately, but never knew that they were actually civil to each other. At least not on their own.
"I still can't belive what Hermione did today," Eddie said to Nina as he changed into pajamas.
Nina was on his bed facing away from Eddie. The two had really grown close over the past few weeks and Nina had to admit that she was developing a crush.
"She's in love," Nina said with a smile. "Don't tell me that you've never felt strongly about a girl like that."
"I have." Eddie said, tying his pants and walking over to his nightstand. "My girlfriend." Nina felt a pang in her heart and tried to fight back the tears that were filling up her eyes.
"Oh no, is that the time?" She said, looking at her watch. "I have to get to my room and finish an essay for McGonagall."
Eddie tried to tell her that she finished her essay that afternoon, but she was through the door before he could get a word out.
"I'm on to you, Malfoy," Ron said from Draco's doorway.
Draco looked up at Ron in confusion. "What?"
Ron took a few steps into Draco's room. "I know that you have plans on her. Plans that were probably made to benefit your Lord Voldemort. Well let me tell you something; Hermione is a smart girl and she'll figure you out. You lay a hand on her and I swear that you'll live to regret it. Stay away from her."