the nice malfoy; c. diggory [DISCONTINUED]

•|| Chapter 5 ||•

Hi! Sorry, I've majorly changed a ton of stuff. There's a cast page, no prologue, and an intro. There's also a new cover and description, and I cut a lot of chapters and switched their content into the previous one so that the chapters would be longer. I'd recommend re-reading the story. Proceed!

One by one, the ghosts floated through the wall.

"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."

Aline watched the other first years stumble into line, tripping and quaking in fright.

She watched Draco push and shove so that he could be closer to the front.

She fell into line with Blaise behind her and a redheaded girl in front of her.

Blaise was great and all, but the main reason Aline had chosen this spot was to not be next to Theo, who was two people away from her. Draco was at the front of the line, so she didn't have to avoid him.

The line of first years walked out the chamber, back across the hall, and through a large set of double doors into the Great Hall.

Aline's mouth fell open. Despite hearing stories about Hogwarts from Theo's older sister, Katherine, she'd never imagined it would be this beautiful.

Candles floated throughout the hall, dozens of them bobbed near the ceiling, bathing the room in warmth. Aline turned to Blaise. "Blaise, it's really hot in here—"

"That's because I'm in here—" he said, grinning charmingly, before Aline elbowed him in the ribs. He was tall enough that that was an impressive feat for an average height person.

She turned away from him. The heat of the candles was so warm, she took off her robe, ignoring the glaring look McGonagall sent her way.

Professor McGonagall lead the first years up to the teacher's table in a way that left them in between the other students and the teachers.

Staring at the faces of her future classmates and mentors sitting at their house tables, Aline felt a rush of panic.

She felt like they were all staring at her, waiting for her to mess up.

She put a hand to her mouth, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of her.

Her heart was pounding like a drum, louder than the voices around her.

She was paralyzed in fear, her thoughts rushing but unable to move.

Blaise turned to her, but before he could say anything, the redhead beside her spoke. "I think she's having a panic attack. It would be helpful for you to be really calm."

The girl turned to Aline, who was now shaking. "I need you to breath. Can you do that?"

Aline nodded shakily.

The girl turned back to Blaise. "Can you ask one of the professors for a cup of water?"

Blaise nodded and rushed out of the line.

The redhead put her fingers up, and began counting. "One breath in... one breath out..."

Aline was breathing now, slowly and shakily.