Unexpected (A Harry Potter Fanfiction)

Chapter 8

8.

I woke up to rays of sunlight streaming over my four post bed. It was hard to adjust my eyes to the brightness. Outside the window, a breeze caused the blades of grass to ripple, making it look like an ocean outside.

I dressed quickly and headed down to the great hall for breakfast. I managed to reach the doors before remembering the events of the previous night. Suddenly it didn’t feel like such a great day any more. Solemnly I made my way towards the Hufflepuff table, sitting opposite Cedric.

I could feel his eyes on me before I looked up. I met his eye contact with difficulty, all my emotions threatening to bubble over. Cedric didn’t say anything. He knew me well enough to know that this was not the time to try and win me over. He simply reached his hand across the table and rested it on mine. After a few moments I responded by locking my fingers with his, something I often found myself doing. We both smiled shyly and then resumed eating breakfast.

I decided not to bring up the tournament in conversation. It was nice for the moment to pretend like it wasn’t really happening. I would face it when the time came.

After breakfast I decided I would head back to the common room and try and get some work done. I’d barely made it out of the great hall when my path was blocked by none other than Draco Malfoy. He wore his usual smirk, but it wasn’t like his usual expression. His eyes were not as hard as they so often were when addressing Ron, Harry and Hermione.

“Are you going to let me pass?” I asked, a humoured tone to my voice.

“Nope” he replied, his grin spreading across his face.

I crossed my arms, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth that I couldn’t push away. “And why would that be?”

“Because, if I remember correctly, we have a project for Professor Snape due in next week”. With everything that had happened I had forgotten about that project. I cursed under my breath.

“So shall we get on with it then?” Draco asked.

“What, now?” I couldn’t hide the shock in my voice. I would have thought Draco would rather be goofing around with his ‘friends’ than spending a Saturday with me.

“Sure, why not” he replied before turning on his heel and heading outside. I had no choice really but to follow him, unless I wanted a year’s detention with Snape. Just for the record, that wasn’t top of my wish list.

***

By five o’clock that evening, Draco and I had successfully collected all the ingredients we needed in order to brew an antidote to common potions later in the week. Surprisingly, the day had actually been fairly enjoyable. When he wasn’t trying to be mean to people, Draco could be a genuinely nice and funny guy. It made me wonder why he acted the way he did, but something told me that it was too soon to be asking him such personal questions.

When I made my way back to the great hall for the evening feast, I didn’t think my mood could be brought down. I headed over to the Gryffindor table in the direction of Harry and Hermione. I hadn’t seen them since Harry had been chosen as a champion. As I approached the table, I was surprised to see that Ron was nowhere in sight. It was especially shocking seeing as it was dinner time. It wasn’t like Ron to miss a meal. Well, he had some time before the feast started, maybe he would turn up.

I sat down next to Hermione, with Harry seated opposite. They were both quiet, Harry seemingly lost in thought.

“I’m sorry about yesterday, Harry” I started. He looked up offering an appreciative smile. “Where’s Ron?” I added. Harry dropped his head, Hermione looking away from me too. “What is it, what’s going on?” I asked.

When Harry didn’t answer I turned to Hermione. She sighed. “Ron thinks Harry put his name into the Goblet of Fire” she sighed.

“What?” I replied. “But that’s mental. He’s not even old enough to have done it.”

Harry sighed. “That’s what I tried to tell him, but he won’t have it.”

“Do you want me to do anything?” I asked. “He might listen to me…”

“No leave it, he’ll only turn against you too” Harry interrupted. “He’ll come round in his own time”.

I nodded. I’m sure he would, Harry was his best friend after all.

I stayed at the Gryffindor table until the feast started, when I returned to the Hufflepuff table to eat with Jade. Cedric wasn’t anywhere to be seen. He was probably with his older mates discussing the tournament. I spent the evening trying to keep a conversation going with Jade, while also frequently catching eye contact with Draco from the other side of the room. This was a side of him I had never seen before; teasing and friendly. I had to admit though, I really liked it.