Where the Heart Lies
Author Notes: ah... another chapter lol this one is going to be a l o t longer! hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this fic at all, except for any original characters. Use them if you want, but I think then you'd be crazah! ;-)
Chapter Two
Harry, Ron, and Hermione pushed their way through the great hall amidst the swarm of younger students. As they sat down, puzzled expressions written across their faces, they silently wondered what the reason was behind the sudden banquet. Even a few of the teachers sitting at the head table looked confused. They had already had their start-of-term feast yesterday, as was traditional at the beginning of every year. Before they could think about it any longer, their attention was caught by a stream of purple and yellow sparks flowing from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand loudly and crackling throughout the hall. A hush settled and Professor Dumbledore raised himself up from his chair to speak.
"It is with great pleasure," he announced slowly, "that I introduce to you all... seven new students who come to us from Magia Academia." His voice was soothing, yet raspy and was aged well with wisdom beyond the comprehension of most. He waved his arm at the door and it opened, revealing the seven children. Only after they had reached the head table and were facing the rest of the students did Professor Dumbledore continue speaking.
"Marco Ceresio, first year." Dumbledore began to clap as a small, curly brown haired boy took a slight step towards the students. He had dark eyes to match his dark skin and looked extremely nervous to have at least 1,000 pairs of eyes upon him. "He will be staying in Hufflepuff." A small cheer rose from the third table over as the boy walked quickly towards it.
"Gianina Delgato, second year." This time, a heavy set girl stepped forward. She had paler skin than the last child and lighter hair, too. Her green eyes may have been pretty, but the scowl on her face drew away any attention that they might have received. As the Slytherin crowd clapped and whistled - "She will be staying in Slytherin" - the girl strode menacingly over and took a chair.
"Lazaro Swift, fourth year." Lazaro was a nerd. It was obvious to Harry and the others even though they were sitting a fair distance away from him. He was a thin figure, with large glasses that hung down on his nose so that he was constantly pushing them up. He took an uncertain step forward, frightened by the applause he was receiving. "He will be staying in Ravenclaw." The boy slowly, very carefully walked over to the cheering table and sat down, after wiping off the seat with a clean napkin.
"Caprice Palla, fifth year." A tall girl with straight, black hair stepped up to bat, so to speak. She had deep eyes, the color of royal purple, that held a malicious glint and her long hair was tied loosely in a black ribbon at the nape of her neck. She smiled (if that's what you would call it) after hearing that she would be staying with the Slytherins as well. She marched over and sat down right next to Gianina, flashing her a cruel grin.
"Neroli Arricia, sixth year." A bubbly, happy girl faced the group, her dark brown curls bounced and bobbed up and down above her shoulders as she took a step forward. She was a pretty little thing and looked as though she had never been through a bad ordeal in her life. She winked at Professor Dumbledore -"Hufflepuff" - before trotting off and sitting across from little Marco.
"Caldo Veleco, seventh year." All the hearts of the Hogwarts women were taken away from them as the lean, built young man took a step towards them. He was definitely a heartthrob. His messy brown hair fell lazily in his face and his half smile made the ladies swoon and sigh with pleasure. The girls almost shrieked with delight at the Gryffindor table when Dumbledore informed them all that he would be staying there. The rest of the girls, their gaze transfixed on Caldo, watch him as he took his seat at the end of the table.
Now there was but one lone young lady standing in front of them. "Marie Amora, seventh year." She graciously moved forward, her head raised high. Now, if they thought Neroli was pleasing to the eye, then Marie was absolutely stunning. She had long, wavy dark brown hair and dark brown eyes that stood out on her olive skin. She was softly smiling and gazing around, briefly glancing over all the different students. "She will be staying in Gryffindor as well." She glided over towards the Gryffindor table and gracefully took a seat across from Caldo.
Once she had taken her seat, Dumbledore found his voice again. "Let us show these fine ladies and gentlemen how wonderful Hogwarts is." And with that, he began to clap again, along with the rest of the staff and students. "And now, let's eat!" Upon his words, the food appeared and the students were only too obliged to feast their hearts out once more.
"So..." Harry was trying hard to think of something to say to Caldo and Marie, but it was more difficult than he would have thought because Dean, who Marie had happened to sit down next to, had not shut his mouth since the event occurred. The problem was - he wasn't talking. He just sat there, gaping at her, and Harry could tell that she was becoming more than just a little uncomfortable.
"I don't believe we've been properly introduced." Marie looked warmly up at Harry after hearing his voice, holding out her hand.
"Oh, yes, hello," he said quickly, shaking her hand and giving her a smile. "I'm Harry. Harry Potter." At this, Caldo, who had been sitting next to Harry, dropped the chicken drumstick he had been nibbling on.
"The Harry Potter?!" No matter how many times people addressed him as 'The Harry Potter', Harry never got used to it. He nodded uneasily. "Caldo," he said, now extending his hand. "But you can call me Cal, everyone does." He shook Harry's hand and Harry briefly noticed how forceful a grip he had.
"And this is Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger," Harry introduced after being nudged harshly in the side by Ron, who wanted a chance to talk to Marie at any means. Ron's hand immediately flew to Marie.
"How'd you do."
"Hello," Marie replied, shaking his hand and giving him a glowing smile. She also did the same to Hermione, who was summing her up in her mind. Marie sure seemed nice enough. In fact, she had been nothing but sweet and polite since she had taken her seat next to Dean. But the constant attention she was receiving from all male species within a 50 foot radius was becoming unnerving. It seems, though, that all she really wanted was a female companion after she kindly asked Dean to trade her seats, placing her across from Hermione. She gave Hermione a look as if to say "boys... pssh." After a few seconds in silence, Marie cleared her throat.
"So... what's Hogwarts like?" she asked inquisitively. Hermione almost dropped her fork, the mash potatoes that were half way to her mouth forgotten. What's Hogwarts like? What is Hogwarts like? And she was off, telling Marie every little detail about the school she could think of. The two engaged in conversation for the remainder of the banquet, laughing and carrying on through the entire banquet. By the end of the night, Hermione felt very attached to Marie. As the meal ended, Marie and Cal walked with Harry, Hermione and Ron towards the Gryffindor common room.
"Aren't you in Gryffindor, too?" Marie looked a little worried as she saw her new friend wave them goodnight and take a turn. Hermione stopped, though, just long enough to explain that she was Head girl and she'd see Marie in the morning.
"Lizard Lips." Hermione was let into the head common room. It was a very nice place, with a fireplace and numerous pillows, couches, chairs, and tables spread throughout it. There were three doors, one on either side, one for the head girl and one for the head boy, and a third on the left for the bathroom which they shared. Gryffindor to the left and Slytherin to the right. Once tucked into bed, Hermione easily fell asleep, happy images of the banquet ingraining themselves in her memory.
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"Lizard Lips." A blonde haired boy made his way into his common room. He let out a sigh as he closed the door to his room behind him. Tonight had been a long night for him and he wasn't exactly feeling his best.
He walked towards his bed, shrugging off his robes and pulling his shirt over his head in the process, tossing it to the floor. He laid on his bed, hands under his head and looked around the room. His head was spinning a little but he couldn't sleep. There was too much to think about. These new students. They were here for a reason, a reason that Dumbledore coincidentally forgot to mention. Obviously something must be happening with their academy over in the Mediterranean.
His thoughts wondered, getting away from him. What if his father had something to do with what was going on? That thought made him frown. His father meant very little to him in his life, always pushing Draco to be better than everyone else no matter what. He had a very Machiavellian attitude towards all aspects of life - "The end justifies the means".
Now his thoughts had moved past his father and onto the titanic trio: Harry, Ron, and Hermione. He used to detest them. Despise them. Loathe them. But after so many years, his hate had just sort of dissipated. In reality, the only reason he didn't like them to begin with was because of the events that had taken place when he had first met Harry.
He was a selfish, immature child then, caring only about his own needs. He had wanted to become best friends with Harry in that hopes that somehow, someway, Harry might make his life better. And at the time, it didn't seem like to much to ask. He defeated the most powerful dark wizard ever known to the magical world when he was just an infant, right? How hard could it be for him to take his father? But he had gone about it all the wrong way and things didn't go to his liking. So he decided that if Harry wouldn't be his friend, he would be his enemy.
Overtime though, he realized how stupid he was being and, although he refused to let them know it, he, in fact, did not hate them. He still treated them the same way, but mostly because he was so used to it. He longed for someone to talk to, someone who he could share his soul with. But he never tried to get that close to anybody because he knew that it would somehow get back to his father and the end result would not be good. So he kept his mouth shut and acted like the same old Draco Malfoy he had always been.
All the thinking he was doing was slowly tiring him out and before he knew it, he had fallen fast asleep in his position, his bangs cover his face, head drooped gently to one side.
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Well what do you think? Please drop me a nice review! Now that I have all this stuff out of the way, I promise there will be more interaction between draco and hermione in the next chapter (which will of course be longer). Props to PaulIsTheDevil for his nice review! You my boy, paul! You my boy!
SweetDreamsMuse
