As we entered the great hall, it felt just as magical as last year. The bewitched ceiling showing a clear night sky with stars twinkling down at us. The floating candles hovered around the tables, which were piled high with all sorts of delightful treats for our first day back in a new school year. I walked arm in arm with Belinda towards the Slytherin table. I scanned it up and down for empty seats. There weren't any. The only two spare seats left were, surprise surprise, by the Prince. There was one opposite him and one beside him. I thought to myself as to how i could get out of this one. Maybe sitting opposite him would be best, that way i would be nowhere near touching him, which always seemed to send a bolt of electricity through my body. This seemed the best plan, so i decided to make things worse for him. Belinda was still chattering away about something or other, and hadn't, as of yet, noticed our situation. I elbowed her sharply in the ribs.
'Ouch, that hurt, Sian!' she complained, 'You'd better have a good reason for doing that or i shall be annoyed'. She could be incredibley dumb sometimes. I looked at her, then nodded in Malfoy's direction. She looked at me, then where i was nodding at, then back at me, then back towards the table. She looked for a while, then finally saw what i ment and squealed at the thought of sitting so close to the Prince. I rolled my eyes. And then started my plan.
'You should sit next to him, its clearly what he's hoping for.' i said, trying not to laugh as i did so. Her eyes widened at the prospect, and for a moment i thought she was going to faint. But then she practically jumped up and down, nodding her head with excitment. I wasn't enjoying leading her on like this, but she'd probably get the idea soon enough. As we approached, i saw Draco smile and watch us get closer. Then, his smile vanished, as he saw Belinda swish round to his side of the table and me carry on towards the other seat. As soon as she sat down, Belinda started gabbling away in his ear, which is exactly what i'd hoped would happen. I figured that if Draco had Belinda babbling to him, i could eat my meal in peace, whilst he delt with her. His head fell into his hands, but Belinda didn't appear to notice and continued with her mindless droning. I heard several other Slytherin boys whistling and calling out things like 'aren't you the lucky one, Draco?' and 'you're definatly in there, mate!'. Draco scowled at them, then stared down at the table in front of him. I sat down, filled my plate and began to eat, trying desparately not to laugh at this dinner entertainment. I saw Draco take a deep breath then he looked up at me. His eyes were pleading, as if somehow i could make Belinda shut up. But it was no use begging, no-one could shut Belinda up when she started talking. I simply shrugged and avoided his gaze. Then Dumbledore stood up and cleared his throat. This simple action shut the whole hall up. Even Belinda took notice, turned her head and listened to what he was saying. Draco, thankful of this sudden break, sighed and closed his eyes in relief. He sat back a bit, then looked directly at me. I could feel his eyes on the side of my face, and it was getting quite annoying, actually. So i gave in and turned to face him, ready to give him an annoyed shrug then to look away again. But i looked into his eyes and my shoulders stayed limp, the irritance left my body and i stared at his beautiful face. He smiled his angel smile and winked at me. I felt the blush enter my face, and i whipped back around to listen to what Dumbledore was saying. I turned back just in time to hear that there would be Dementors on the grounds throughout the year. I'd heard about them, and they definatley weren't something that made Hogwarts feel any safer. The Professor sat back down, and we all contined eating. Belinda started up again, and Draco's face fell once more.
After a while of watching him pick at his food whilst Belinda chatted away, i decided to take a risk.
'She's talking to you, you know,' i said, not looking up from my food, 'you should listen, it's rude to ignore people.'. I was sure this would get some form of reaction, and i was right.
'Yes, it is,isn't it? Very rude.' he replied, and there was a hint of anger in his voice. I knew he ment me, but i stayed resolutely chewing away, not looking up. He stared at me a little while longer, then suddenly stood up, thwacking Goyle round the back of the head as he did so. Goyle rose out of his seat, still chewing his monsterous mouthful of food, and punched Crab in the arm. Crab looked up, then also stood, causing the table to shake as his enormous stomach bashed into it. Draco looked at them with disgust.
'Come on guys,' he growled, 'i've lost my appetite.' He gave me one last glance, and i quickly looked away. Then he stormed out of the Great Hall, his robes billowing out behind him, and i couldn't help thinking to myself, man he's sexy when he's angry. I banished the thought from my mind, then wiped my mouth on a napkin. I got up, then looked back down at Belinda. Her face looked crest fallen, and i couldn't help feeling awful about leading her on. I sighed, and was about to turn to leave, when i spotted something on the seat Draco had just left. It was a small, silver box, barely noticeable on the wooden seat. I hurried round to the other side of the table, not wanting Belinda to see it before i got there. I sat down in the seat, in front of the tiny box, pretending i was comforting Belinda. I partly was, i mean,i had planned to do so before i saw the box.
'It's ok, Belinda, he probably just got stomach ache or something,' i said, placing my hand on her shoulder and smiling sweetly, as my other hand reached behind me and grabbed the little object, before slipping it into my pocket. Belinda was still staring after Draco, so she didn't notice. I stood up, and pulled her up with me, linking my arm in hers as we walked out of the Great Hall towards the Slytherin common room. I wanted to look at my new found treasure alone.