Say Something

Chapter 3

I jumped when I felt Hermione's hand against my shoulder. I wasn't sure when I had fallen asleep, Hermione smiled meekly after I opened my eyes.

"We're here Mel." Hermione whispered.

I gathered my book bag and followed Hermione and Ron out of the train. Students were scattered around the grounds, everyone frantically heading towards the Great Hall.

"Where's Harry?" I asked once I realized he wasn't with us.

"No idea. Probably being bloody stupid." Hermione snapped.

"What do you mean?"

Hermione groaned but continued walking through the crowd. I looked to Ron, he only shrugged his shoulders, he had no idea where Harry disappeared to, he usually didn't. I followed them into the Great Hall towards the Gryffindor table. We sat down together and I saved room for Harry, though I still had no clue where he was.

As the last of the students started trickling into the Great Hall I saw Harry. His face was covered in blood. I jumped up and wanted to race towards him but he shook his head. He was fuming, I was shocked to see that Draco Malfoy had been the one to break Harry's nose. My mouth hung open as Harry sat beside me and began wiping away the blood.

"Why did he do this to you?" I whispered harshly to Harry.

"Because Malfoy is a bloody snake. We saw him over the summer at Borgin and Burkes, he was with his mother and some other ghastly looking people, you-know-who's followers I imagine."

"Really? You wouldn't believe-"

Harry and I were interrupted by Professor Dumbledore's booming voice. He began his usual welcoming speech before allowing us to begin eating our dinner. I sighed as I watched Dumbledore. His speeches had grown shorter and less enthusiastic as the years went on. The stress he felt over the current state of the wizarding world was visible on his aged face.

My eyes locked onto Draco Malfoy when I realized he was staring at me from his seat at the Slytherin table. What was he looking at? I avoided his gaze and looked back at Harry, he winced as he chewed his food.

"Why didn't you let me heal your nose Harry? I could have done it properly and you wouldn't be feeling any pain."

"Well, it was bleeding a lot and Luna was there. Trust me, I was wary about it."

Harry chuckled and cringed as he laughed. I contemplated whether I should tell my friends about what happened with Draco at King's Cross Station. I knew they would use the information to their advantage and I wanted to be sure of what this was before I did anything else. I had to talk to Draco about it. Maybe I had to talk to Dumbledore about it. I had no idea what to do.

I ate quietly. I avoided looking at Harry. He continued to stare at me, I didn't want to know what he was thinking but I already knew. I always knew. Harry's feelings for me had begun to change a few years ago and now that Oliver and I had broken up he was hoping to become more than friends. I couldn't handle hearing these kinds of thoughts from Harry right now, he was my best friend.

Harry and I had become fast friends when we met our first year. I had felt like such an outsider because of my telepathy, though no one knew of it except for the closest people in my life, which were not many. Harry felt ostracized because of the attention he always received for being the "Chosen One". People either hated him or adored him, it was a very difficult balancing act for him. The one specific thing we had in common was that both of our parents had been murdered by Lord Voldemort. Because of this, I was closer to Harry than anyone else, even Hermione, even my sister. Harry never judged me, he always understood me in a way no one else ever could. I didn't want to lose that deep connection over a silly romantic relationship. Especially when I knew full well that Ron's younger sister and another closer friend Ginny fancied the hell out of him. It wasn't something she had admitted aloud to anyone yet but I couldn't help my knowing about it.