Dreams of Magic (Harry Potter)

Ten: Amiss

"Where were you all that time?" Jay asked, whispering rather loudly. He didn't want any teachers to hear him; the last thing he wanted was to get Addy into trouble for something that was hardly her fault. The Ravenclaw trio was walking to Defense Against the Dark Arts, but because of the previous evening's fiasco, no one was permitted to walk alone. Instead, each class was to be escorted to class by their previous teacher, and would then be taken in larger groups back to their common rooms by their prefects. The process was mostly silent, but almost everyone was loudly whispering back and forth with their friends, and Addy, Mei-Lin, and Jay were no different.

"I was in the library at first," Addy said to Jay, beginning to fill him in. Mei-Lin leaned over to listen, since she was just as curious. "I didn't know anything was going on- there's not usually many people in the library anyway, and I was sitting in the back looking for stuff for McGonagall's essay." At the mention of the assignment, Jay rolled his eyes, but Addy ignored him and continued.

"Anyway, once I was done, I walked out of the library and headed to the common room as usual. But just as I would have walked around the corner to get to the portrait hallway, I hear someone yell my name. I turn around and Draco is next to me, and he just grabs my arm and pulls me down the hallway..." Through a series of poorly masked whispers, Addy told them the whole story, from ending up in the Slytherin common room to talking with Draco and his friends for an hour and a half. Conveniently (and to save her another few weeks of teasing), Addy opted to leave out the detail that Draco had been holding her hand for awhile, and that he was the one who walked her back to the Ravenclaw dorms.

"Seems like you've got quite a knack for finding trouble," Mei-Lin commented once Addy finished. In agreement, Addy rolled her eyes.

"Unfortunately, that seems to be true. And I never go looking for trouble, unlike some other boys I know...." Addy raised an eyebrow, looking over at Jay. Jay gasped, faking offense.

"Addy, I am shocked that you'd accuse me of such a thing!" Addy giggled, trying to keep her voice down.

"You didn't hear a single accusatory word come from me, Jay."

"I am offended," Jay continued, "That you think I'd rather look for trouble than cause a little of my own." The three of them snickered, but quickly sobered up as they walked into class.

Everyone in the room was deathly silent. Quirrell's class was normally noisy because he had lost complete control, but today, even his footsteps shuffling against the floor could be heard. When everyone was seated, Quirrell stood at the front of the room, shivering violently (and trying to make it look like he wasn't).

"Good... Good morning cl-class," Quirrell began, and even amidst the somber mood caused by the previous night's scare, some of the students began snickering in the background. "T-today you will p-p-pair up and p-practice your hex-hexes and ji-jinxes with one ano-other. Please ch-choose your own p-p-pairs and p-practice for th-the duration of cl-class." The whole class sat and stared at him for a moment, as if they were in disbelief. Addy, for one, had expected some sort of lesson revolving around safety or defense against magical creatures, or... something. But it was clear when Quirrell went around his desk and sat down that he had no more instruction to give. The noise level slowly began to rise, and Addy turned to her friends to see the two gearing up to practice.

"Hey," Addy said jokingly, swatting Jay's arm, "You two left me out!" Jay turned to her, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, someone got to you first." With a nod, Jay gestured to somewhere behind them, and Addy turned to see Draco looking in their direction. Behind him, two of his friends were paired off and doing their own thing.

"Partners?" Addy mouthed tentatively, and after a moment, Draco nodded. Addy couldn't stop a pleased smile from slipping onto her face as she got up and crossed the room with her wand and textbook.

"Fancy seeing you here," She greeted him, and a corner of Draco's mouth quirked upward.

"Fancy indeed," Draco returned, "It took you long enough to notice me."

"Well," Addy retorted, "You usually do your best to not notice me until class is over, so forgive me for not realizing your stance would change." Draco's eyes furrowed as they both took out their wands and stood up, pushing their chairs aside for more room.

"What do you mean? I don't ignore you," Draco began, but he soon stopped at the look on Addy's face.

"I'm not mad about it," Addy affirmed, "It's just the truth. You really only talk to me after class is over."

"Hm." Was all Draco said in response. Their conversation slipped into that of schoolwork; they decided to practice their basic charms, even though they'd mastered them a long time ago. That way, they wouldn't tire themselves too quickly, and they could still converse. For a solid 15 minutes, the two of them bantered lightly about friends and school. Addy found herself to be surprisingly relaxed in Draco's company. Before yesterday she'd always been a little stiff around him, and yesterday didn't count, because everyone was panicked. Today, staring into his face in the warm daylight and speaking with him, she felt at peace. However, the peace was slowly being encroached by a feeling of being watched crawling up her back. Addy looked around the room cautiously. No one's eyes met her own as she swept over the crowd of her classmates, but as she was about to turn back to Draco, her eyes landed on Professor Quirrell.

His head was bent over his desk, his neck looking painfully bent as he scrawled away on a scroll. Though he wasn't looking at her, Addy couldn't help but feel that her discomfort was being caused by him. Idly, she casted something (she barely remembered which charm) at Draco as she regarded her professor. She stared hard into his pale, sunken face, forcing herself not to look away. Addy ignored the shivers running down her spine and truly tried to get a read on her strange teacher. From talking with Jay, she knew she wasn't the only one that found him to be more than a little off putting, and staring directly at him reminded her of how uncomfortable it was. She narrowed her eyes in an attempt to understand what it was about him that made her so uneasy, but was frightened when Quirrell's head snapped in her direction. A wan smile splayed across his face, though his hollow eyes were far from matching his forced expression. Addy nodded with wide eyes and looked away- she couldn't tear her eyes from him fast enough.

"Something wrong?" Draco asked. When Addy turned back to Draco, her eyes were still wide. Addy stared at Draco for a moment, once again finding herself oddly calmed by his presence. She saw worry swimming in his eyes and was quick to answer him.

"No, I'm alright," Addy answered, shaking her head for a moment. "I was just thinking." Draco nodded, not pressing the issue any further. The rest of class went uneventfully, save for the continued discomfort washing over Addy in waves. Once class was declared over, Addy couldn't gather her things quickly enough. She said a swift goodbye to Draco, promising to explain what she was feeling to him later, and met Mei-Lin and Jay at the door.

As they were walking out, Addy couldn't help but turn to look over her shoulder. Most of the room had cleared out, but a few Slytherin kids including Draco were left. She cast one more glance at her teacher and was horrified to see that he was already staring intently at her.