Is It True You Fainted?
Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way to the castle, the lights from Hogwarts shining outward to them.
Harry was glad to be home at last; he never liked to stay at the Dursley's so he called Hogwarts the place he enjoyed and lived in for most of the year.
The trio reach the corridors, taking in the dimmed lamps and the dripping of snow. Ron and Hermione were still slightly concerned about Harry since he had fainted from Dementors in their train ride only a few minutes ago, so they stayed close to himans made sure there weren't any other dangers lurking behind or around.
"Why were they even there?" Ron mumbled, waiting for an answer from especially Hermione since she had an answer to almost everything.
"I'm not sure," Hermione says as they walk into the Great Hall. They met tons of students from different houses. Harry took in the fresh smell of food. "But I think someone might have lured them."
They took a seat in an empty space and Hermione across from Ron and Harry. Only a few minutes later, Dumbledore silenced everyone to give them the original greeting he does every yeD.
After that, he started the first year sorting.
"Potter. Potter!"
Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise as he heard that sharp tone again. He and Ron turn3d around to see Draco's smug smirking face.
"Is it true you fainted?" He sneered, his forehead creasing and one of his friends making a fainting motion. Harry could already feel slight anger steering up from inside of him.
"Shove off, Mal-"
"No need to say such rude things, Ron," Harry cut Ron off, fully meeting Draco's gaze and glaring at hum. Draco thought he was going to defend himself, and he thought right.
"Maybe if your stupid pureblood stink wasn't spreading around the Hogwarts Express, I wouldn't have fainted. And you want to know what that smells like?" All the Gryffindors leaned in closer to hear what Harry was saying. Hermione scoffed.
"It smells like filth and an arrogant arse of a Malfoy."
Gryffindor burst into not laughter but tons of words that said they agreed with Harry. Harry could see the angry expression on Draco's face and it satisfied him very much.
"You think I smell of filth? What about you, with your ugly arse hair, your damn green eyes, your glasses that fit perfectly with your dumb face, your-"
"It seems like you're obsessed with him," Ron interrupted, also leaning in to glare at the boy.
Draco's face suddenly turned to a pink hue.
"I-I am not!" He muttered, looking between Harry and Ron. "I would never be obsessed with someone like Potter."
"Then how did you know about his green eyes?" Ron asks stupidly, knowing about the Slytherins who also glared at him and Harry.
"Everyone does, you stupid prat," He sneered, leaving some of his friends sniggering. "And who are you to say that I'm filthy??" Draco asks, trying to get Harry's attention on purpose.
"You know very well why you're filthy," Harry said, a sneer also on his face. "You're just filthy as it is."
"Lies," Draco muttered, glad that he and the person he was totally not obsessed with was making actual conversation. "You're just afraid to admit that, like a puny Gryffindor, you fainted on the train."
"Is that all you can say, Malfoy?" Harry says, surprising himself with the amount of words he'd been using to Draco lately. He almost forgot that this needed to end since a majority of the first years were finished with their sorting.
"I just want to see you humiliated and accepting defeat. It would satisfy me so much."
"You're an arse. A stupid, irritating one."
"Not the first time I've heard that," Draco sneered with a smirk, and Harry almost thought he was being kind until Snape appeared out of nowhere.
He walked past them between the tables, eying both boys and saying, "Enough flirting, get to you dinners."
Both boys immediately turned to face their tables, small red splotches on their cheeks from Snape's words. Ron and Hermione bit their lips and decided not to talk to Harry for the rest of dinner. He was already looking down at his food and trying not to make eye contact with anyone.
♧~♧~♧
The Golden Trio headed up the stairs to the Gryffindor Tower for the night, and they separated with Hermione as Ron and Harry walked toward the boy's dormitories.
"Mate, he really must have gotten on your nerves," Ron says in a concerned tone, looking at the annoyed expression on Harry's face.
"Wow, I'm glad you just figured it out," Harry sneered, still looking straight and not meeting gazes with anyone else. "What a nice way to start the school year."