Falling for a Muggle

Chapter 2

The Sorting

The hall was full of students, chatting about their summers in voices that proved just how happy they were to be back. After all, the sorting ceremony was something everyone seemed to enjoy! Except maybe from the newcomers, who were feeling quite uncomfortable with the whole thing. It was all a big mystery to them! Harry and Ron were actually having fun watching the new kids who were staring back at them with curiosity and awe! Hermione had remained silent since she entered the hall. She had stopped thinking of Ron, but her whole day was pretty much ruined by the morning's incident... Some late students were still arriving, taking their seats in the bright hall, as the teachers were getting pretty restless. A loud noise, coming from hundreds of mouths made the sorting a perfect reason for a headache!

Neville had tried to start a conversation with his red-haired object of desire, but without much success. So he turned instead, to Hermione, only to find someone even less eager to chat with him. She just sat there, looking at Harry and Ron. Where did she fit into this picture? They were supposed to be, well, a threesome! They had done everything together all these years after all... The most disturbing was that she understood... She couldn't feel bitter about that. They had been kids all those years and so, their interests had been pretty much the same. And, although they would never stop caring for each other, as friends, hormones were in charge now and, after all, Hermione wouldn't be the greatest audience for their new hobby! They wanted to meet girls! That she understood. And she had to learn to respect it. It had taken her more than six hours to figure that! Maybe she didn't suffer from a broken heart after all, after Ron's rejection. Maybe it was just a vanity thing! That was quite a relief on second thought! Maybe she should get to know other boys as well! She needed someone to understand her, someone who wouldn't feel intimidated by her brains... Her glance wondered around. The other houses had some cuties too!

Behind her were the Slytherin tables. Even turning to look at them caused trouble in the past! She couldn't remember staring at them, except when something was very wrong! But it was their last year, maybe they had matured too! And that would be obvious only if they had stopped bullying people. She turned and looked at them. Green uniforms with silvery knitted serpents. They looked quite nice actually, from a distance that is! Could they have changed? And then she saw him. And, to her surprise, his eyes were fixed on her.

He imprisoned her glance at once and for a moment she found herself unable to withdraw it. Through the distance everything else was lost. She couldn't hear anything but her pulse, rapid like a drum and her breath, or was it his pulse and his breath? She could see nothing else but his face, his bright blue eyes, his blond hair, shinning so beautifully under a thousand candles' light. "Herm! Wake up! Pull yourself together! Stop staring! Stop it! Stop it!" Just like a magnet he had grabbed her eyes, he was controlling her!

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts"
"Teach us something please..."

The song came from nowhere. Draco withdrew his glance and her mind was released from the pull of his mind. It felt like pulling herself from a plug! She turned to her familiar faces, her lungs full of pain. She started singing along with the rest of the students, unable to focus though...

What had just happened? Had he used magic on her? Her mind shouted "NO!" but she turned once more! Who was he to scare her? But he wasn't looking at her anymore. Neither was he singing. He was telling something to Crabbe and Goyle and they were all laughing loudly! A sexist joke perhaps; that was the only thing one could expect from a Malfoy... And then he stopped talking, still not looking at her. But he seemed to have remained still, in that position, only to reveal a perfect profile for her to see. Somehow, without staring at her he could still measure her reactions, he could guess her upset expression... And he seemed amused by that. He could see her, without staring directly at her, she could feel that. And then he suddenly turned, and gave her a wicked but defiantly friendly smile. Electric!

She turned immediately. Her heart was beating. So loudly! She could hear it in spite of the tuneless singing. She didn't dare to look at him again for the rest of the evening though... And when the sorting was over, only then did she move. She hurried back to the dorm and almost fell on top of Neville, but didn't care to apologize. This had been too much for her for one day. She needed to sleep. She needed to rest her mind.

Harry noticed her though and he stared questioningly at Ron. Ron had seen the whole strange scene too, Hermione running away! They looked at each other silently. And then Ron's glance became so apologetic...

10 minutes later they were at the dorm. Ron seemed sleepy but there was something in Harry's eyes that implied that he wouldn't let him get away so easily...

"So, how much longer are you planning to keep hiding? It is obvious pal! She must have realized that you're hiding something! And she doesn't seem to be taking this so well..."

Ron was still avoiding Harry's glance. A silence followed, but he knew he had to say something.

"Harry, I... well, you know!"

"No I don't, Ron! Why don't you explain this to me please?"

"We have talked about this over and over again! Why, it seems to have been your favorite subject all summer! I... like Hermione. I have liked her for years, you know I have! But, I don't know what to do! What if I make a mess of everything? We're best friends you know! What if that scares her away? You know how clumsy I am with these things..."

"Ron! First of all you are not clumsy! You do have a certain tact! Just take a little baby step at the time and everything will be fine! After all, I told you, she really wanted to see YOU today! I felt like Mister Invisible! She hardly even noticed I was there! And there was a sparkle in her eyes when she mentioned you! Well, the girl surely has some bad taste in men..." Harry grinned...that same boyish smile again.

"You silly ass..." Ron tried to look angry but he couldn't stop smiling... "Are you sure Harry? I mean, I would love to do something, but I am not prepared to ruin our friendship if she rejects me!"

"Am I sure? Ron of course I'm sure! 100%! How can you question me? I am the infamous Harry Potter, the boy who lived, the I-know-it-all guy, the...."

"OK, OK! Just stop, please!"

But Ron didn't seem persuaded yet...

"But she didn't protest at all when I mentioned those girls..."

"God! So that's what it was all about? Ron, for Pete's sake, that was your big plan? Gee... what did you expect? That she would turn jealous and fall over you and start kissing you passionately? Boy... I mean, just think of it! Of course she didn't react! She is quite discreet!"

Silence followed his words again. But after a while Harry broke it.

"So, what are your plans now?"

Ron looked at the floor for a minute. And then he turned to him. Looking him in the eye wasn't that hard now...

"First thing tomorrow!" he answered. "I will tell her that... Well, whatever I decide to tell her! I'll spend all night finding some clever opening line! Gee, and I thought I could sleep tonight! I could use the extra strength since we start with Snape's course tomorrow... Well, if I get lucky I will be too happy to even bother about him!"

Soon enough the lights went off at the dormitory, leaving Ron and Harry to their thoughts. But Harry kept hearing him, still whispering into the darkness. "Hey! Herm! Nice shirt! I mean, nice... your hair smell nice! And your eyes... your eyes are so... brown!"

That's hilarious! This is getting nowhere! Well, maybe if she appreciates his sense of humor! Most girls would! Gosh, it would be nice to see them together! They were so different, but still, they would make a nice couple! They got along so well! Maybe they would marry some day and have babies! And Harry could visit and maybe they would let him be the godfather of one of their kids! Just like his parents had let their best friend be Harry's godfather...but before Harry could think of that anymore he blocked it from his mind...those memories were too painful for him to think of.

"Hey, wait a minute! You have taken this too far! What's wrong with you anyway? Why aren't you going first thing in the morning to ask Herm to marry Ron, so that you can be happy? Arggg... You'd better sleep before you think up something really stupid!" Harry thought to himself.

But Harry and Ron weren't the only ones thinking of her that night. Somewhere in the school, into the Slytherin dorm, a pair of blue eyes was fixed on the ceiling. His glance revealed nothing; he had learnt to hide his emotions since he was a kid. They had taught him that! Even now, that he was alone in his bed, he showed nothing. Only his fists were tight. And through his teeth it came: "Mudblood, you fuckin' Mudblood!"