Chasing Shadows || Draco Malfoy x OC

Year 4- Ch. 29

After dinner everyone was buzzing and chatting, when Professor Dumbledore stood again at the podium. "So!" He bellowed and the room quieted down , "now that we're all fed and watered. I must ask for your attention once more, while I give out a few notices."

Students began turning their bodies or heads to face the headmaster. "Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office, if anybody would like to check it."

Dumbledore's lips twitched as he continued, "As ever, I would like to remind you that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to everyone, as is the village of Hogsmeade to anyone below third year."

"It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

Immediately the room was filled with groans, gasps, and whines of disappointment or disbelief.

"This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers time and energy," Dumbledore went on. "But I'm sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts—-"

He was interrupted with an eruption of thunder and the doors of the Great Hall banging open. Céline jumped in fright, her hands that were once resting on her lap, grabbed whatever was in front of her. they all looked back to the door.

Standing there was a man leaning against a long staff, covered in black soaked traveling cloak. He was suddenly brightly illuminated by a ray of lightning that flashed across the ceiling. Céline tightened her grip, not realizing what it was.

Draco, who was looking towards the door and quickly glanced at Celine's profile and down to her hands that were bunching up his robes. Normally he would hate for his clothes to be wrinkled and he didn't like anyone touching him, but at that moment he didn't seem to mind at all. He looked back at the man again trying to refocus.

The man had removed his hood, and shook out his scraggly hair. He then started to walk towards the teachers' table. A loud clunk would echo throughout the Great Hall with every other step he took. Every head followed the heavily limping man until he reached Dumbledore.

Another flash of lightning crossed the ceiling, lighting up his face. A gasp slipped out of Celine's mouth. Pulling on the thing she was holding on to, which in turn pulled Draco back to her. He couldn't stop his ears from turning pink. He discreetly moved his hands to grab hers.

That snapped her eyes to the platinum-white haired boy in front of her. He was not looking at her, he was facing forward towards the man and Dumbledore. She looked down and realized that she had a vice grip on his robes. She let go of the robes as if it burned her, which removed her hands out of his. "Sorry.." she whispered to him.

His lips twitched downward, but said nothing as he moved his hands back to his lap. She looked around quickly checking to see if anyone noticed but everyone was so enraptured with what was happening by the teachers' table. So she looked back to them as well.

She looked at the man again, she had never seen someone's face like that. His entire face was scarred, a chunk of his nose was missing and his mouth looked like a diagonal gash. But his eyes were what frightened Céline the most.

One of them was small, dark, and beady. The other was large, round as a coin, and a vivid, electric blue. The blue eye was moving ceaselessly, without blinking, and was rolling up, down, and from side to side, quite independently of the normal eye — then it rolled back so that all that everyone was able to see was the white of his eye.