Thirteen

The Great Hall was booming with laughter that night.

The Higurashi girl joined in with a few snorts now and then as a few of the other Gryffindor students attempted fruitlessly to use one of the new Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes in a cup of pumpkin juice that refused to take to the prank object. She was not entirely certain what the product was supposed to do, but knowing Fred and George Weasley, she should probably be grateful one of the Professors took the time to prevent anything from exploding in the Great Hall.

The commotion down the Gryffindor table was not enough to distract her entirely, though, as she found her eyes sliding across the Great Hall once more. Her mouth turned downward into a frown almost immediately when she realized that he was not sitting at the Slytherin table for the fourth night in a row. His usual spot sat empty once more, as Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe continued to stuff their faces nearby.

Her fork tapped against the plate set before her, and she finally allowed her gaze to shift downward after a moment or two. A soft sigh escaped her when she spotted her forlorn expression gazing back at her from the sparkling silver. Why did she worry so much about his health? He was an absolute git, after all!

Her vision clouding before her eyes, she gave another sigh and shut herself from the world for a moment to shake away the familiar sensation. Her grip tightened around the utensil within her hand, and she gave another quick glance toward the Slytherin table to make certain that the boy was not seated there. It was stupid, to be honest, since she had already looked a hundred times and it was not as if he was just going to show up out of—

Her eyes widened in surprise almost immediately, because there he was, seated perfectly across the Great Hall from where she sat. His gray eyes glimmered in the floating candlelight, as he seemed to stare directly into her soul across the distance. Her face colored beneath his intense gaze, wondering what was going on behind that fiery gaze. Her tongue swiped across her bottom lip, before his name tumbled softly from her mouth. "Draco."

"—ey, are you okay?"

Twisting her head sharply, Kagome snapped her eyes up to the girl standing behind her. "Oh," she said, "was there something you wanted, Hermione?"

Hermione Granger blinked curiously down at the fifth year student, before she subconsciously thrust out the prefect badge nestled neatly upon her breast. She gave a quick glance behind her, noticing that Harry was urging her forward with his eyes. "I noticed that you were a little tense, was all," Hermione replied after a moment. "Were you having another vision?"

"No," the Higurashi girl said slowly. "Thank you for being concerned, though."

Hermione frowned a bit at her answer, though she did not seem to be deterred. "I've heard that you're beginning to develop the skill to prophesize, as well, and I thought that you might want to know that I read up a bit on the subject. If there's anything that you need help finding or if you just need someone to talk to, I'd be more than happy to help you, Kagome."

"Professor Trelawney is doing everything she can to help me," Kagome frowned. Her eyes narrowed, having noticed the subtle glance down the table that Hermione had done. "So, sadly, I'm going to have to decline your offer, Hermione. Thank you for trying, but please tell Mr. Potter that whatever is going on inside his head is absolute rubbish."

Hermione sighed, saying, "I'm really sorry, Kagome. Harry's just stressed, is all."

"Yes, well, he can keep his stress to himself." The Gryffindor fifth year stabbed her fork into another chunk of meat upon her plate, and quickly shoved it into her mouth as she sent a fierce glare down the table toward Harry Potter. The Boy-Who-Lived was staring back at her with narrowed eyes, before he was pulled away by something that someone nearby said to him. She huffed, "You're a good friend, Hermione, but you shouldn't let him push you into things just because he's being paranoid."

Hermione merely nodded in response, before she said, "Have a nice night, Kagome."

A smile finally twitched upon her face, as she replied, "You, too." She watched as the other Gryffindor turned on her heel and returned to her seat next to Harry, whispering softly to him when he began to question her. Kagome's smile quickly vanished, and she gave another soft huff underneath her breath when she realized that Harry still thought she had wanted to snog with that git in the corridor.

The thought lifted her gaze toward the Slytherin table once more that night, and the Higurashi girl found herself oddly disappointed to realize that the Malfoy boy had taken to leaning his head tiredly into his hand. He looked so unlike himself, as pale and worn down as he was, without the taunting gaze and jeering sneer that he had perfected just for her. It was almost as if she was staring at an entirely different person.

The reflecting candlelight drew her gaze away from him and toward his other hand after a moment, and she found herself blinking curiously toward the bright red apple he held delicately within his grasp.