Shifting to You // Draco Malfoy x OC

Chapter 2

Boy, could you hear a pin drop after Soph dropped that bomb. After that, the class went by in a blur, well at least it did for me. All I could think about was Sophie's confession about shifting to a new reality.

Where on earth did she shift to? How did she do it? I thought about everything I knew about Sophie. She came form a kind of granola family (Subaru, Democratic, Birkenstocks etc.) and is the first of her family to pursue a college degree. Her mom is a yoga instructor, and her dad is a nature photographer. Sophie is obsessed with Harry Potter, and has been since she was a little girl. She went to Pine Falls Highschool somewhere in central Washington state and was homeschooled before that. I concluded that if anyone were to be shifting to a different reality, it would be Sophie.

After class I stopped by Professor Mark's desk. He was packing up, shoving the papers he had graded during the class discussion into his brown leather book bag. I cleared my throat.

"Um, Professor Mark?" He looked up at me and smiled knowingly.

"Ahh Miss Mason? Sarah Mason correct? Freshman?" I nodded, a look of determination on my face as I worked up the courage to ask him the question in my head.

"Yes sir, that's me. I had a question- do you honestly believe shifting realities is real?" I blurted out. Professor Mark looked a bit taken aback, and he set his bag down on the old desk in front of him. He seemed to go off into his thoughts as he took a pause to answer my question.

"Miss Mason, I believe I know your parents- Dr. Amy and Dr. Joseph, in the Biology department, here right?" I could almost feel my stomach tighten, like knots were being tied in ropes inside of me. Of course, he had to know who my parents were.

"Yes sir, those are my parents." I replied hesitantly. Where is he going with this?

Professor Mark sighed and leaned against the table. "So, then I assume you approach life with a more logical perspective. If your parents are biologists, I'm sure you were raised to value science above all else. That can of course make it hard to see any other world view. But questions like the one I discussed with the class today are apart of science. While most of reality is a shared idea, most of it is individual to the person themselves. Does that answer your question?" Professor Mark stared back at me, as if daring to challenge what he just said. Rather than prod him further about the topic, I nodded and ran out of the lecture hall.

It was now later in the day, and the rain had finally stopped. Sophie and I sat on a bench under our favorite pine tree together. Students now milled about the campus, a couple of them close by playing frisbee together. I watched them, wondering who on earth would play frisbee in the wet grass.

I turned to Sophie, studying her for a minute. She was reading her favorite book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In the few months I've been her roommate, I've seen her read that book more times than I can count. I decided now was as better time as any to ask her the questions floating around in my mind.

"Soph, did you mean it when you said you have really shifted realities?" Sophia looks up at me. She bookmarks her worn book and sets it down on the bench between us.

"Yes Sarah, I really did mean it. I have shifted before. I do it all the time. Why do you ask?" Sophia replied to me so calmly, like it wasn't news that she regularly travels between realities. She said it like one would speak about how often that brush their teeth or go to the gym.

"Soph, that can't be possible," I said in a slightly condescending tone. I smiled kindly towards her, and Soph laughed at me.

"No offense Sarah, but you aren't the most open-minded person. I know it's possible because I have tried it and succeeded. I shift to Hogwarts, Sarah. Several times a week." Okay, now I know my roommate is crazy. I genuinely had nothing to say back to her claim, and Sophia continued.

"It may seem strange to you, but it isn't to me. It's real. I've seen Hogwarts, Sarah. It's like my home. It's not that I'm shifting realities- well it is, but that's not my point- when I do it, I feel like I'm going home. As someone who's parents weren't particularly around much, growing up those books were my friends. Especially since I didn't have any. Well, not until I met you anyways." Okay, now I felt bad. Sophia was smiling towards me, and I smiled back.

I had no idea she considered us such close friends. That makes me feel a bit funny. Attending private schools growing up, I didn't really make friends either. Not when it was such a competitive environment. And any free time was spent with tutors, tutors that my parents spent way too much money on. I have a friend. Just the idea of it in my mind was weird to me.

Later that night after, dinner, I laid in bed reading. Sophie was in her bed, her laptop propped up on a pillow. It had started raining again, and I had lit a pumpkin scented candle on my desk. I felt positively cozy. Well, as cozy as you could in a dorm that really wasn't big enough for two people.

Sophie shut her laptop and sat up. "Sarah, would you ever want to try shifting?" I frowned.

"Well, honestly no. Why? Want to shift realities together?" I wiggled my eyebrows and laughed. Sophia laughed as well and threw a pillow at me.

"You know, you can joke all you want Sarah, but it's real I'm telling you. Watch, I'm going to go to bed and try to shift. I just need to go over my script again." That caught my attention.

"A script? For a film?" I asked. Sophie opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a small notebook. She clutched it to her heart, as if it were her child. She pursed her lips. "No, not for my film. For my reality. When I shift, I want certain things to be in place. Like, for instance, Fred AND George Weasley are in love with me. And I never smell bad. Stuff like that. They're almost like affirmations." Sophia jumped onto my bed and opened her notebook.

I was not at all prepared for what I saw in there. Pages and pages of Sophie's scrawly handwriting filled the notebook, as well as images. Some of clothes, some of yellow items. Sophie flipped the pages for me to look. Some lines stuck out to me, like "I am the prettiest girl at Hogwarts" and "My makeup is always perfect". I blinked several times, trying to take it in.

"I mean, wow Soph. No one can say you aren't dedicated." Sophie grinned, and shut her notebook. "Sarah, I know you think I'm crazy. And I know I probably wasn't who you wanted to be your roommate. My brain doesn't run on coffee and chemistry problems. But I am glad I got you as a roommate. I think you're awesome." And with that, Sophia hopped back onto her bed and pulled the covers over her. I smiled slightly, and got in bed as well, turning off my lamp light.

Our dorm was dark now, but slightly green. A huge pine tree, the one Soph and I always sit under, is right by our window. Tiny droplets of water ran down it, and on the opposite wall a shadow of that pine tree reflects onto it. I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling willing sleep to come. But it never did.

Instead, I felt myself falling. The green hue of my room seemed to grow brighter. I shut my eyes, and finally fell asleep. I dreamed, which I never do. Dreaming to me isn't something to be desired. It's simply a function of the brain.

And in my dreams, a familiar pale blond guy seemed to weave in and out of them.