Starstruck
Things were already off to a strange start, and she had barely boarded Hogwarts Express. For some mysterious reason, the appointed time for boarding the train was a bit earlier than the years before. She'd gotten confirmation from the twins that this had never been done in the year's that they attended the school.
As soon as she had emerged from the brick wall and onto platform 9 and 3/4, Y/N couldn't help but feel like she was being watched. It didn't take long for her to realize that it was coming from her own school-mates taking absurdly long double takes. Really, you'd think that they'd seen the legendary Harry Potter before.
As the quartet approached the locomotive, Y/N nudged the chosen one's arm. "Looks like someone's popular this year," she said.
Harry stared back at the girl incredulously, his bright green eyes wide. His friend was smart when she wanted to be, but did she really not know? I mean, she was absolutely stunning now was she not? Harry thought it impossible that Y/N could look into a mirror and not see how much of a gorgeous witch she had become. Because he certainly thought she was pretty. "Uh yeah, I guess," he shrugged. If someone was going to tell Y/N that she was an eye catcher now, it wasn't going to be Harry. That would simply be too awkward.
The ride itself wasn't too interesting. The group stuck to their usual routine: with Harry and Y/N on one side and Hermione and Ron on the other. Unlike Ron or Hermione, Y/N had nothing to read. Well, nothing she wanted to read. Maybe a good muggle book would've tickled her fancy but she was hoping the library would take care of that with their "Muggle fiction" section. Instead, she busied herself with leaning onto Harry's shoulder and drumming her fingers against the seat as she dully eyed the serpent on the paper that Hermione held.
Harry didn't mind this at all. He'd become accustomed to his friend's habit of making herself comfortable just about anywhere and by any means possible. Strangely, it was a part of Y/N that he found himself liking more and more with each day. It was such a Y/N thing of her to do.
The girl was just about to drift off to sleep out of sheer boredom before the holy grail of words were heard from down the hall. "Anything from the trolley?"
All but Hermione sprung to action. If there was anything Y/N and Ron were going to sit up for, it was candy. The girl fished out a sickle from her pocket and pressed it into Harry's hand. "Jelly slugs!"
Once the trolley lady was at their door, the two boys rushed ahead to purchase the sweets. Ron returned first but Harry got a bit...preoccupied by a certain Ravenclaw seeker buying pumpkin pasties. She was pretty. Pretty enough to make the boy fumble on his words and forget what he was doing for a second.
But she wasn't nearly as pretty as the girl waiting for him to return with the biggest expecting eyes in the universe. As soon as her favorite treat was within her grasp, Y/N settled back onto her favorite human pillow. Hermione's ranting melted into the gentle thrum of the train engine and lulled the girl to sleep as soon as her treat was devoured. She could barely even register Harry's arm trying its best not to wake the girl as he wrote and attached a letter to Hedwig. Y/N couldn't help but think that if she were going to fall asleep on anyone, It would definitely be Harry.
~
Waking up (1) on her friend's lap and (2) with the sun still decently bright outside was surprisingly pleasant for Y/N. Usually, it was Hermione who shook the girl awake, but she found that Harry was quite gentle with nudging her back into the conscious realm. Y/N didn't care that boys weren't allowed in the girls' dormitory. If she was woken up this nicely every morning by Harry (unlike Hermione's hurricane of a wake up call), Y/N would be a happy girl for the rest of her life.
Everything was a bit strange really. Like the previous years, they mounted the invisible creature-pulled carts and partook in the bumpy ride to the castle. Once in the school itself, none of the returning students really knew where to go. They had a while before the start of term feast would commence, and no idea what to do.
Y/N noticed some of the more social students begin to search for their buddies in other houses. She couldn't help but think of some people she couldn't wait to see. The girl had yet to see her on the train, so she would definitely need to catch up with her. There was also Cedric. That gorgeous lad. The one who said he'd see her at Hogwarts, who's warm hands popped into her mind from time to time. But that was normal right? Nothing to worry about right? Dwelling on pleasant memories didn't mean much right? But...was it too pathetic of her to search for the hufflepuff?
A bit dejected, Y/N followed her friends toward the common room. Well...Until crowds of students pushed past the group and into the courtyard. For a split second, Y/N felt a bit fearful. The running students looked so much like the fleeing wizards from the world cup. She shivered, unnerved and unsure of what to do; until she spotted Fred and George.
They called for Y/N and her group from across the courtyard. Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged looks before heading towards the twins.
Once there, the twins wasted no time hurrying off to the balustrade (I had to spend forever searching for that word) that overlooked the Black Lake. The younger students chased after them and deftly caught sight of a strange object drawing closer and closer in the sky.
'UFO, UFO!' Y/N silently begged in her head. Not that she was a hardcore muggle alien enthusiast, but wouldn't it be cool if it were UFOs?
Students piled up against the railings, hoping to get a glance as the mysterious objects. Y/N being the sneaky little creature she was, managed to snag front row seats to the show, right next to Ginny, an overexcited younger year, and of course the golden trio. Meanwhile, the twins were towering over the entire population of spectators and probably had the clearest view out of anyone not in the first row.
They watched in awe as a fine Pegasus-drawn carriage came barreling out of the sky and nearly knocked over their beloved groundskeeper. Then, out of nowhere, a menacing ship emerged from the lake, spraying droplets of water every which way. Y/N stared at the new arrival with shock. Last time she checked, lakes weren't connected to the ocean like that, and there were no boats hiding down in the Black Lake.
Hermione tugged at Y/N's school robes. "It's time for the welcoming feast," she stated bluntly.
"Right," said Y/N, trailing after her friends.
~
Y/N was glad to see that some things still never changed, but at that same time she sort of wished it did. Not for any particular reason though. Just that the sorting ceremony was a bit tedious and boring to sit through. It was all fun and games when she was a first year, but she just wanted to eat right now.
Nonetheless, the girl sat down at her well-missed spot next to Fred and George and across from Harry. With her chin propped up on her hands, she watched the ceremony with limited interest. Though she did clap and welcome the incoming gryffindors.
"So tonight," George whispered lowly so no one would hear but Y/N.
"No," Y/N deadpanned.
"Come on Y/N, we need you." Fred begged, joining the conversation.
"No, you're not interrupting my sleep tonight. I'm serious," she maintained.
"Come on. It's going to be our tradition now. Wouldn't be the start of a new term without disturbing filch," Fred continued.
"Now we're all settled in and sorted-" Dumbledore interrupted. Y/N gladly took this chance to hold a finger to her smirking lips to shush the twins. "-This castle will not only be your home this year-" The grand doors squeaked open and alerted every student's attention to Filch. The groundskeeper hobbled along the aisle, clutching his chest for dear life, and Y/N felt bad. There was no way she would agree with Fred and George on this tonight.
"See, Hogwarts has been chosen..." the headmaster continued, although faultily, until the caretaker arrived.
Y/N watched with an eyebrow raised. Well this was certainly new. She couldn't quite recall anything like this during her first three years. The twins weren't exactly on the same page, however. They only stared intensely at the girl, still holding onto their previous conversation. They really did need her this time.
The girl took advantage of the minor break in her headmaster's speech to scold the boys. "Would you stop staring!" She hissed quietly.
"We can't do it ourselves tonight. Really. Filch's been paranoid since last year," said George.
"And who's fault is that," Y/N snapped.
"So-" Dumbledore continued. The girl smiled at the perfect timing. She shrugged her shoulders victoriously at the boys and returned her not-exactly-undivided attention to their headmaster. "Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event," Dumbledore stated. "The triwizard tournament!"
Mumbles erupted from the school. Some of the more wizarding-savvy students were bursting with excitement. Unfortunately, Y/N's boring muggle uprising left her confused. She watched the twins exchange glaces and mutter "Brilliant."
There it was. Y/N knew the dimwits long enough to know that this triwizard tournament was definitely nothing she wanted to take a part of. Sure she loved the twins, but those two were up to some questionable things most of the time.
She listened on as Dumbledore explained the tournament. It sounded like a blood bath to her. The moment he uttered "not for the faint-hearted", Y/N's mood immediately rose. It wasn't like Y/N was faint-hearted. She just hated events like these. Maybe that's why she was so boring.
Although, she was rather excited for the the two schools that triumphantly burst through the doors of the grand hall. They seemed nothing like Hogwarts. First of all, the girls from Beauxbatons? Absolutely stunning. Gorgeous. Y/N was definitely jealous. 'What's it like to be that pretty?' she wondered, not realizing that several boys and girls hadn't stopped sneaking glances all night.
Next came Durmstrang. Their whole display was filled with less grace, but much more grandiose. Staffs, acrobatics, even fire. A very enticing sight. After, an entourage of their non-performing students shuffled in. At first, like all the other students, Y/N watched the new school enter, but she soon had to stop. She'd found herself afflicted with a case of the "eye contact avoiding syndrome."
It was uncomfortable, really. Durmstrang student after Durmstrang student strode in, somehow immediately found Y/N in the crowd, and gawked like no tomorrow. The girl had no choice but to avert her gaze elsewhere. Her hand instinctively reached for the back of her neck out of habit. her E/C eyes flickered to the twins, who had strange looks on their faces.
Their eyes darted back and forth between their best friend and the incoming boys, who gazed at Y/N with a look at didn't sit well with them. Suddenly, Fred and George found their interest in the Durmstrang students greatly diminished.
Meanwhile, Y/N stared at the bare table expectantly. Any second now, a feast that would make kings jealous would appear and be absolutely destroyed by Y/N.
"Hogwarts!" Dumbledore called out abruptly. Y/N flinched at the volume, causing George to smile. Her eyes widened as a pout formed on her lips. What was taking so long? "Let's entertain our friends in the best way we can. All Stand!"
Y/N's jaw dropped. 'You've got to be joking," she thought. Fred and George chuckled and stood up with the crowd. The girl followed suit, albeit reluctantly and still angrily. She swatted at George's arm, but he patted her head in return. She huffed and squinted her eyes at the Weasley.
"Maestro please," Dumbledore commanded.
And then the most painstakingly excruciating moments in Y/N's life. She wasn't much of a singer, so she kept her mouth shut. Everyone else on the other hand, didn't mind bursting out into song. With nothing else to do, Y/N scoped out the students, wondering if she could spot another of her friends.
By some evil circumstance, her E/C orbs happened to meet steely grey ones. Malfoy's scowl said it all. He was absolutely disgusted with this. Wow, Y/N knew Draco was a brat, but he was exhibiting some "extremely teenage boy that hates everything" behavior. His sneer was so intense that it was comical.
It took everything in the girl to stop herself from laughing. The Slytherin scowl increased tenfold, but Y/N paid no mind to it. She smiled in return. What was Malfoy going to do? Hex her? Ignore her? It was a bit late for that now wasn't it? Although no one but the blonde wizard was observant enough to witness the secret little interaction, Y/N beamed proudly.
Malfoy was taken aback. What the hell was that? Why did she smile at him? And why did she look so pretty doing it? Didn't she hate him? A look of shock crossed his sharp features for a split second before he steeled his face and forced his attention elsewhere. Not today. Not with her of all people.
Yet he couldn't help himself. Their last interaction crossed his mind over and over again. It wasn't pleasant, but it was...weird. He was supposed to hate her no? She was a Gryffindor, half-blood, Potter's friend. But he couldn't think of anything she'd ever done to deserve his hate. Then there was her bloody smile. Who smiles at someone you're supposed to hate?
Like some starstruck child, his icy grey eyes unwillingly stole glances at the girl all night. He hated it. Draco Malfoy should've never laid his eyes upon Y/N. She'd ruin him.