There's Something About Potter

Chapter 2

"So I guess that means the three of us are still in Slytherin then." Blaise mused as he stared at Draco and Pansy's robes, noting that like him, the other two were still wearing their old Slytherin colors. "To be honest, I don't know if I should feel relieved or disappointed that I didn't get a new house." He drawled.

"Are you kidding?" Pansy snorted as she crossed her arms over her chest and gestured with a nod to where Theodore Nott was still throwing a screaming, hissy fit at McGonagall. "Would you rather be like Nott is right now? I mean, who knew that he was secretly a Puff under that cocky big head of his? His father's going to disown him." She snickered under her breath.

Draco couldn't answer, his attention drawn to the bulky Gryffindor-robed student who was trudging his way through the crowd towards them. When he reached their group, Pansy and Blaise began to mirror Draco's gaping expression and stared in stunned horror at one miserable looking Gregory Goyle.

"Goyle, you're a Gryffindor?!" Draco croaked out, staring at his friend in stunned disbelief.

"The sorting hat did tell me in first year that I was brave and reckless." Greg mumbled, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "But I had no idea that it meant I was qualified to be a Gryffindor."

"Well this changes everything." Blaise's lips twitched upwards into an amused smirk. "Now I understand why you always had a soft spot for Potter and her friends." He teased, earning a glare from Greg.

"It's not funny, Zabini." He snapped.

"Oh but it kind of is." Blaise countered, still smirking. "You being sorted into Gryffindor is almost as bad as Nott being sorted into Hufflepuff." He added, snickering.

"There's nothing wrong with Hufflepuff." Greg pointed out in such a strange tone of voice that both Blaise and Draco arched an eyebrow at him, causing him to redden slightly. "I—it's just that, Astoria told me that she just got resorted into Hufflepuff too." He added, sounding a little defensive.

"Astoria's in Hufflepuff?" Draco croaked out again, shaking his head in dismay.

"Not surprising." Blaise shrugged at them. "She was always a bit on the shy and timid side."

Greg continued to frown at the two boys in warning. "There's nothing wrong with Hufflepuff or being shy and timid—"

He was cut off when Pansy suddenly spoke under her breath in a curt voice.

"The Chosen One and her dedicated horde of followers are staring at us."'

Draco looked up from the new house list that was handed to them by McGonagall and cast a questioning look at Pansy beside him.

When he followed her gaze and saw Aria Potter and the rest of her friends trying – and failing – to stare discreetly at them, his eyes narrowed and a slightly irritated scowl darkened his face.

In spite of himself, Draco took that opportunity to figure out what changed in Potter's appearance.

At first he thought it was her height, since it did seem like Potter had gotten taller. Back in their 6th year, Draco remembered that she had been shorter than Granger and Weasley. Now she was taller than Granger, and almost as tall as Weasley was. Her hair had grown longer too, but instead of keeping it loose and messy like she used to when they were younger, it was pulled back and styled into one very tight braid that ended just above her waist.

Curiously, he noticed that her hands were covered with a pair of sleek black gloves that went all the way up, almost reaching her elbows. At the beginning of summer, Draco had already noticed that Potter had taken to wearing a pair of huge, thick-framed glasses - even more hideous than the pair she used to wear back in their third year. She still wore those hideous glasses now, with the ridiculously large frames practically covering half of her face.