In Between The Lines

Chapter 5

Draco's POV:

The whole hall was filled with students catching up with friends and stuffing their faces with the various kinds of food presented at each table. There wasn't a variation from table to table, each table was given the same type of food with the same amount, yet the other tables wolfed down the food in a more hurried manner than the Slytherins that talked in between small bites and didn't act as though the food was made from heaven, house-elves were hardly angels.

Most of the Slytherins were from prestigious families, half-blood or pureblood, and owned house-elves of their own. Though I internally admited to the Hogwarts house-elves being better trained or more skilled at cooking than my own.

Blaise, who was the last to be sorted and had not liked having so much attention on him in that last sorting, was seated across me eating his food with the same air of indifference he always had. Between Theodore Nott, who sat next to Blaise, and I, no one knew Blaise better, and the last time I saw Blaise portray any sign of emotion was when his mother brought home a new boyfriend three months after inheriting her deceased third husband's bank accounts. Blaise had ordered his personal house-elf to take him to my house where Theo was staying while his father was away on a trip. We had only been nine at the time, Theo and I not having made the connection between Mrs. Zabini and her steep rise to riches, but we were old enough to notice something wrong with Blaise when he had popped in between us during a wizarding chess game and began exploding all of my chess pieces. His temper had not lasted long, and he had apologized to me, refused to stay for dinner, and left not an hour after arriving.

Theo and I didn't know what to make of Blaise, but I didn't know what to make of Theo or Theo of me, but the three of us stuck together the best we could without having to call each other such an important title as a friend or a low title as an ally.

I looked over Blaise's shoulder again to Hermione, who I would call my friend but had not introduced her as such to the rest of my mates. She was eating much calmer than the rest of the boys around her, giving Weasley disgusted looks but still seemed to be enjoying the food like it was the first time she had experienced house-elf food. When she had sat down next to the Weasley boy with the Perfect Badge, she had never looked more content or amazed. I hadn't seen her face when we walked into the Great Hall but she had told Potter about the ceiling and it's enchantment, I had been sure she was letting him know because her own house had a similar enchantment, but she said she read about it in Hogwarts: A History. Then her last name, how had I not realized she never told me her last name? Why hadn't I heard the name Granger before? Questions were forming vaguely in my mind but I'm not sure where they were leading to or if I wanted to know the answers. Hermione was still Hermione, I knew when I met her in Broomstix she was a bit of a know-it-all but it allowed me to have an intelligent conversation with someone else besides Blaise and Theo. So what if some magic amazed her?

Professor Dumbledore got to his feet after the desserts vanish from the tables, the hall falling silent. "Ahem- just a few words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that." Unsurprisingly, Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed towards the Gryffindor table. "I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their House teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." The hall was quickly filled with murmurs, Theo glanced across the table to me with a raised eyebrow but I merely shrugged. "And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the schools song!" Dumbledore cried.