•Memories• ||D.M.||

24. Adoption

We continued on goofing off in the train like we always would, using Jeremy's mouth as a basketball hoop for chocolate, Jay and I tied in the lead, with Christina just behind us, only because Jeremy would move to catch the sweets that she'd throw.
But his favoritism was no match for my talent, as I made it into his mouth just as the lights cut, and the train started shrieking to a stop.
The air became stiff, and the compartment door to our right was slid open.
Instinctively, the boys moved away from the wall instantly, and huddled in the cold on our side.
That was Hermione's compartment.
It stayed like that for a while, and I barely let myself breathe. My jewelry was ice on my skin, and even with Chris's arms around me, I was cold to the bone.
But just like that, it went away.
---
New year, new DADA teacher...
I was surprised when Dumbledore announced that Hagrid was going to fill in for our Care of Magical Creatures class, but the more I thought, the more satisfied I was.
I was in no way tied to him after Hermione and I had our fall out, but I knew how big his heart was for creatures, so I had no problem, and cheered with the others.
Turns out, it was the presence of a dementor that made the train cold.
I didn't feel good about them being around the entire school, especially when it had that affect on me when I hadn't even seen it.
I decided that I'd rather focus on the new Slytherins, and I noticed a particular girl in Isabella's usual seat, said girl displaced but not minding it.
I gave the short first year a smile, and her plump cheeks danced with red.
"Hi there.. I'm (Y/n)." I said, and she looked away.
Maybe she was shy?
"The mudblood knows her place, stop trying to make her feel special." Draco rolled his eyes from his seat.
My eyes widened at his words, and my heart immediately melted for the small girl.
I was her once.
"Now, you can't listen to boys like him. He unfortunately never picked up on simple manners." I side eyed, and he picked at his food, giving the same look back.
The girl smiled a bit, and my heart melted.
I swapped seats with Donna to be closer to the girl.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Beth.." she said hesitantly.
I busted the widest grin and turned my head back to the annoying blond. "Beth? Short for Elizabeth?"
He looked away sassily and his meathead friends gave me the stink eye as I got to know Beth.
---
"Pansy?" I asked as I walked in, catching her unpacking.
She tensed up, and I opened my mouth to speak.
Before I could react, she crashed into me with the biggest hug.
I instantly grabbed her back.
"Boys are ridiculous, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed.
"She said the new hair wasn't doing it for her!" Donna exposed from the bathroom.
I heard Chloe choke on water from the bathroom.
"You thought he was cuter before he cut his hair?!" She yelled out, and the rest of us agreed.
"Just be glad she's over it and don't ask questions!" Donna pleaded, but Chloe and I were already whispering in the corner.
"So, to assess this correctly, he was a 4 before the haircut, correct?" Chloe asked and I thought before nodding. "He's at least an 8 now, right?"
I scrunched my nose up and shook my head.
"Well, you've always been repulsed by him, so..."
"The day you catch her being attracted to Malfoy is the day that we have a werewolf for a teacher!" Donna announced, and we all laughed.
"But why'd you lose interest after the upgrade?!" Chloe still insisted.
Pansy turned to face me, giving me a smile.
"I don't know...Some things are more important, I guess."
---
"Could you believe that class!" I exclaimed as we exited divination.
"Oh, are you talking to me?" Draco asked with sass, and I rolled my eyes.
"Still upset about the feast? How mature."
"Trust me, Elizabeth. I'm not upset at all."
I hadn't been called that since last winter, even Jay not saying that name anymore.
It sounded weird to hear, especially from him.
"What's your issue?" I stopped him. "I thought we were friends now?"
He looked around. "My issue is you, like usual."
I shook my head. "You care about what other people think of you too much..." I pushed past him, deciding to meet up with Chris in the library so I could disturb the peace with my anger.
I saw Beth and walked up to her and her friend.
"Hey!" I greeted, and the girls jumped a bit.
The other girl was much slimmer, and had a long, sleek braided ponytail.
"(Y/n)!" Beth turned out to be a super sweet and bubbly girl once she got over her shy layer.
Her friend looked up to me with big eyes.
"This is (Y/n)! The daughter of the Gray-Dean ladies."
"I-I'm Janai.." she greeted, sharing the shyness that Beth had when I first met her.
"It's nice to meet you, but I have to go rant about annoying boys to my friend." I joked.
"Is it the blond one who makes the turtle face when he's angry?" Beth asked with an overly innocent voice.
I had to cover my mouth as I almost started laughing.
"Oh, (Y/n)!" Chris called as I was about to spill what happened to the girls.
She looked at me with a crazy expression that I couldn't place until a short boy in blue robes poked his head out from behind Chris's arm.
I pointed at Beth and shared the same expression.
"I couldn't find the book Janai, but I'm sure that they'll have it-" Jeremy placed a stack of books on the table and noticed our showing off and pointing.
He gasped and pointed at Janai, who was wearing yellow robes.
We all were staring at each other, starry eyed.
We each had a tiny child from our houses!