"Is she the one?"
Albus Dumbledore sat calmly behind his table, speaking to no one in particular in his office. Yet from nowhere, a deep voice replied his question.
"I believe so."
Clear blue eyes moved up to look at one of the many shelves, where an old tattered wizard's hat was placed amongst many trinkets and objects. It stood out starkly from its neighbours for the rest of Dumbledore's collections were clean and peculiar- looking, whilst its own appearance was dirty and ordinary. Upon closer look though, it did have a strange quality about it. The crumples on the hat resembled a face, an old and wrinkled face complete with eyes, nose and even a mouth which suddenly split open to talk.
"She is a death eater, Dumbledore. I think you should know." The Sorting Hat said from where it was.
"If she is who we think she is, I'm not at all surprised." Dumbledore put his hands together, his blue eyes twinkling behind half-moon spectacles.
"She has finally appeared." He smiled to himself.
"She was sent here on a mission, Dumbledore," The Sorting Hat said seriously. "By the Dark Lord."
"To get close to Harry?" Dumbledore asked calmly, leaning forward in interest as though he was commenting on the weather. "Or to kill me?"
"You expected this?" The Sorting Hat asked incredulously
"It was a possibility that crossed my mind." Dumbledore admitted, standing up to look out of the window. "But I don't think I will need to feel threatened by this, do I?" A knowing smile appeared on his face.
"Have you not thought of anything, Dumbledore?"
Dumbledore chuckled as he continued looking out at the night view of Hogwarts Grounds from his window. "You wouldn't have put her in Gryffindor if she did not have the characteristics of one."
"I did put her in Slytherin at first." The Sorting Hat reminded the Headmaster. When he said nothing in reply, the Hat sighed.
"She is very strong in her Slytherin characteristics, almost exactly like the Malfoys." It admitted, "But there is that one difference that I cannot overlook..."
"The Gryffindor in her." Dumbledore offered, not turning around from his position next to the window.
"Yes... I suppose you can call it that." The Sorting Hat agreed, albeit grudgingly.
Dumbledore turned to look back at the wrinkled old hat up on his shelf. His white hair shined in the moonlight that shone in from outside as it illuminated his entire figure. The pleased look on his face was unmistakable at what the Sorting Hat said next.
"I sense it deep within her. Almost buried, but nonetheless... there."
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Harry sat at the window seat, a leg bent up against the opposite wall. In the midst of the dark dorm that he was in, he was the only one still awake. It wasn't the snoring that sounded throughout the room that was keeping him from his sleep though. It was everything that had happened that day. Ron, Cho, Malfoy... and that new girl, she was the main culprit. She was the one who was keeping him awake. Everything about her... she was just. So mysterious. And her re-sorting! Just something else to make her even more unfathomable to him.
He leaned his head backwards, resting it against the wall behind him. He could still see her face clearly in his mind when she looked up from the Gryffindor table. She was still wearing that same expressionless look he saw on the train, but he could swear that he saw a flicker of surprise in her eyes. Was it that surprising to see him? He didn't know. For the whole time of the dinner, they did not speak a single word to each other. He did not what he could say... welcome her to Gryffindor? She did not exactly look ecstatic to be sorted into Gryffindor, not with Malfoy in Slytherin. Introduce himself? Chances are that she already knew everything from Malfoy. Apologise for fighting with her earlier? She was the one who tried to kill Cho, he did nothing wrong. There was nothing. He kept silent and so did she.
The entire time, she pretended that he did not even exist. Never once did she look at him, except for that single glance that she had given him after she sat down. He could not really name the emotion that he was feeling from the treatment he was getting from her or why he was feeling it. He only knew that he did not like it.
He turned his head slightly to look at the moon out in the cloudless night sky. He should not be bothered with such things now, not at this point of time! What was a girl compared to the approaching war? He thumped his head back once against the wall softly, as though reprimanding himself. Just the first day, and he had already lost his control over things, numerous times. How was he going to last the whole year?
He hopped off the window seat quietly and walked over to his four-poster bed. Brushing his fingers on his comforter, he wondered how he was going to live through the year avoiding every one? Where was he going to get that strength from?
He looked back out of the window in front of him, staring up at the moon for a long time, before closing his eyes in defeat and pulling the blinds around his bed.
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Hermione turned over in her bed to face the window, gazing up at the moon silently. How could she have been sorted into Gryffindor? When was a Malfoy ever sorted into Gryffindor? Granted, she was adopted, but she was nevertheless a Malfoy. She had never felt so distant, so foreign from her family before. She just realised that she had never been bothered by the fact that she was not of Malfoy's blood. She had just accepted the fact and went on with training. But now, all she could think about was how she did not... truly belong in the family, how she was never truly accepted by her parents.
Now she was in Hogwarts yet so distant from Draco. What was the point? She was even further away from him than being back in the Malfoy Mansion. What was the point?
The mission. He couldn't help at all. They couldn't even be seen together. How was he going to assist her at all? The weight of the situation suddenly dawned onto her. She was all alone in this mission. This mission that the Dark Lord gave her, because he thought she was ready. She couldn't let him down. Everything depended on it. No, she was ready. Despite the odds, she would complete the mission because it was all she got. The Dark Lord's faith was all she that she had got. It was that which made her feel that she belonged somewhere, that she belonged to the Dark Side, by his side. It was what she needed to prove that she was a true Malfoy.
Hermione sat up in her bed, resting her back gently against the bed rest. She analysed her situation. The odds were large, huge against her. Draco and her had already recognised that. Without his help and the obvious lack of welcome from her new housemates, the situation looked hopeless. Biting her lower lip, her brow furrowed as she considered the circumstances more carefully. Potter was alienating himself from everyone, including the weird, new student who fought with him the moment they met. He was going to be alone in the school... and judging by things, so was she! It would be easier to observe him, for them to be together, for her to catch him off-guard. If she worked it out carefully, it could be turned into her advantage. From this angle, being in Slytherin would have made everything more difficult a thousand-fold!
She smiled, pivoting her head slightly on the headboard to look back out at the moon. She would prove that she was a true Malfoy, prove to everyone that the Dark Lord's faith in her was not misplaced.
Thinking this, she shifted back into a lying position and shut her eyes... there was a long way ahead of her.
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Harry padded down the spiral staircase that led to the Gryffindor Common Room. He had woken up early mainly to avoid his roommates and basically everyone. He did not want to face the whole awkward and ugly situation anymore. Besides, he had been waking up early over the summer for his training, he was quite used to it. Snape had wanted to make sure that he was as miserable as he with the whole arrangement.
He stepped into the Common Room, which was empty as expected. The fireplace was cackling slightly. The house elfs must have came to extinguish it not too long ago. Walking across the room, he vaguely remembered how he and Ron had stayed up past midnight at the study tables just to invent different ways of how Harry could die. He let out a small chuckle. Those were times that he would treasure because it was times when he felt like a normal teenager, joking about homework with friends and not The-Boy-Who-Lived who had to worry about a psychotic Dark Lord after his life. Walking up to the Common Room exit, the portrait swung open before he could say the password. He looked up in surprise... to see her.
She froze mid-step, just before they would collide into each other. She glanced up at him, her hands pulling the ends of the towel at her neck. That expressionless face again. The face that bothered him so much last night. Remembering the sleeplessness that mainly she had caused him, he felt a prick of indignation. What was she doing up so early anyway?
An awkward silence hung in the air between them. Harry tried to find something to say, clearing his throat louder than usual...
"Sorry."
Harry blurted out and side-stepped to allow her to pass but his eyes never left her. He watched her step into the common room and as she walked past him... turned her head slightly towards him. He saw that small smile that appeared and the slight nod that she gave him just before she turned her head back and continued walking up to the girls' dormitory, leaving him standing there by the portrait.
Harry stood unmoving, staring after her with a sensation of being swept away. He blinked once, letting out a breath he did not realise he was holding. Again, she had left him completely mystified and star-struck! With a simple small and a nod from her and he was caught. What was with him? He let a small laugh of disbelief, running a hand through his messy hair. She had her charm, Harry had to admit. And he could not deny that he did not notice it... but ultimately, she was off-limits. The image of her climbing into Malfoy's carriage flashed in his mind. Harry blinked hard. No, not that. The situation! And he had to remember Cho and Ginny! He pushed them away to keep them safe, not to date another girl.
Especially not that girl.
Turning back to walk out of the portrait hole, he couldn't stop the quirk at the side of his lips as he remembered the girl who had just walked through the very same door.
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Hermione scanned the Great Hall as she stepped in for the second time. It looked very much different in the day. Maybe it was the crowd last night but the Great Hall had looked much bigger and grander yesterday when she first walked in. The area was quite empty and quiet; she supposed Hogwarts students do not wake up early, even if it was the first day of school. Scanning the Gryffindor table, she spotted Potter right at the end, exactly where they had been sitting the night before.
Making her decision in an instant, she moved purposefully towards the seat opposite him. Without a word, she gracefully slid into the seat opposite him. She watched him look up from his breakfast. Their eyes locked for a quick moment, before he averted his gaze back to his plate and awkwardly reach for his glass of pumpkin juice.
He was bothered by her presence, Hermione observed with satisfaction. Not all was lost indeed. Suppressing a smile, she busied herself with breakfast, pretending to be oblivious to the the awkward atmosphere that was building up between them. However, she was aware of Potter's every move - be it the occasional glances at her or the hesitant, unsure movements that he was making. It was part of her training over the years, to be able to watch a person secretly. She was trained for this.
Her alert senses detected approaching footsteps in her direction, footsteps that were characteristically quick and purposeful. Putting down her own glass of pumpkin juice, she turned around to see the Professor who had been in-charge of the Sorting Ceremony the night before. Tall and stern-looking, she towered over the two of them seated at the table. Potter had also looked up from his plate at notice of her arrival.
"Good Morning, Miss Granger." she greeted crisply with a nod to each of them. "Mr. Potter."
"Morning, Professor." Potter greeted in response from opposite the table.
Hermione said nothing in response, merely waiting for what the Professor had to tell her.
"Miss Granger, the Headmaster would like to see you in his office before class. Once you finish your breakfast, please make your way down to his office. I have to be here to hand out the timetables."
"Potter," She turned her gaze to the other side of the table. "Since you know where it is, you will show her the way there."
From the corner of her eyes, she saw his eyes widen in surprise. She was not the only one who noticed; the Professor's gaze turned stern as she silently showed her insistence. Suppressing yet another smile, she maintained her usual expressionless face, showing no sign of any emotion at the instructions.
"Here are your own time-tables. Have a good first day, both of you."
Hermione looked at the slip of paper in her hand. Potions, defence against the dark arts, charms, transfiguration, astronomy, care of magical creatures, ancient runes, herbology. She never thought she would ever hold her own Hogwarts timetable in her hand. Looking at her packed schedule, she did not feel distressed or upset like a normal student would, but rather a strange sense of contentment and excitement.
She looked up to see Potter scanning his own timetable and wondered which classes he would be taking. Since they were in the same house, they should have relatively similar timetables right? She eyed the sheet of paper in his hand as she reached out for the jug of milk that was across the table. It would be beneficial if she had a copy of his schedule.
As she brought the jug over, the side of it knocked into Potter's goblet. Tipping over in his direction, pumpkin juice drenched his side of the table and down to his lap. Hermione feigned a gasp as both of them jumped up from their seats.
"Oh! I'm sorry!"
She apologised at the same time he exclaimed in surprise. He quickly put down the paper on the dry area on the table and grabbed a few napkins instead to dry off the liquid on his robes. Hermione's eyes averted from the mess she created to the temporarily-forgotten piece of paper. Casting a duplication charm wandlessly and silently, she too put her own timetable on the table, conveniently next to the duplicated copy that had appeared on the table.
She took out her wand and cast verbally a quick drying-off spell that cleared the darkening patch on his robes and a cleaning spell that removed the mess of pumpkin juice and crumpled napkins on the table.
He let out an embarrassed, awkward smile as both of them sat back down. "Uh, thanks. I didn't think of that." Hermione gave him a small polite smile in response.
"We should get going." She commented as she reached out to take her two sheets of paper at the side.
"Oh! Yes.... Yes, we should." He sprung up quickly, grabbing his own timetable and stuffing it into his bag.
"Um... this way." He indicated with a jerk of his head as he swung his bag across his shoulder.
Hermione stood up from the table and followed him quietly out of the hall, satisfied with the extra sheet of paper that was now in her bag. That was settled easily enough, she thought with a sense of triumph. But that feeling quickly dissipated as she frowned at the thought of the next thing she had to handle - the meeting with Dumbledore.
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HEY!!
yeshhhhh... i do know that this is WAYYYYYY overdue - more than 2 months. I'm making u guys wait longer and longer for each chapter, aren't i? bet all of you can't wait to chase after me. So so so sorry.
I have nothing to say in defence, only with the usual reason of my schoolwork. I sincerely hope that you understand and still continue to lend me your support. Thanks for the patience and support
The good news is, my exams are finally over and the long break has arrived! So i'll be churning out chaps faster now.
Stay tuned! (and really do review please :p)
Good Things are Worth Waiting for.
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