See You Again

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He couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned, until finally, he said, "Fuck it!" and snuck out for a little midnight stroll. He walked around aimlessly for a while. Then, right when he was finally starting to feel tired and turned to start heading back to the dungeons, he heard a noise. It sounded as if something was being dragged against the castle floor, so he followed it. Coming to a stop, he waited to hear it again, yet all he got was silence. He was about to return back once again, only for the new girl to come out of the bathroom in front of him. He'd never seen someone whip around so fast with a wand at the ready. But it was her reaction to seeing him... if he blinked he could've missed it. How she shuffled through many emotions at once before her expression settled and became unreadable. It was impressive. But it left him confused. He thought he saw pain and sadness... but he couldn't understand why?

He'd ask a question, and she'd reply with a question back. It both infuriated him and amused him. By the mischievous little gleam in her eyes, he could tell she was loving it, almost like she was bantering with an old friend. Unfortunately, Mrs. Norris had to ruin their little conversation, and they both had to leave before they got caught. But one thing he knew for sure was that the new girl... she was suspicious - and clearly up to something. She was like a puzzle, just waiting to be solved, and he couldn't help but want to solve it. When he made it back to his dorm, laying down on his bed, his thoughts replayed their little conversation, and he couldn't help but smile. The little lion was very interesting, and he was looking forward to their next run-in.

ϟϟϟ

"Why are you so cheerful this early?" muttered a still half-asleep Regulus.

"Me? Cheerful? Why, Regg, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you believe I do nothing but brood. I'm not Severus," replied Barty with a cheeky smile as he tied his tie. Regulus just narrowed his eyes at him, regarding him with a suspicious look.

"Can't I just be excited for the first day of classes?"

"You hate class, Barty. You even threatened to set all the classrooms on fire. What are you up to?"

"Me? Why, I'm a perfect little angel, Reggie. I would never be up to anything of the sort. Now let's go! I'm positively starving," he smiled, purposefully ruffling up Regulus's hair as he left their dorm - to Regulus's immense displeasure.

"Sometimes I question our friendship..." mumbled Regulus, annoyed as he followed after him, fixing his hair.

ϟϟϟ

He took his usual seat at the Slytherin table across from Lucius and Severus, while Regulus joined him to his left. As he began piling his plate, he couldn't help but subtly glance towards the Gryffindor table, looking for the new girl. Smirking when he spotted her, she was adding some fruit to her plate, clearly still half-asleep. It was curious seeing how she reacted to the others, especially the Marauders as the four boys joined her. She seemed adamantly determined not to look towards any of them. And he could see her tense up every now and then. But what really struck him as odd was when she accidentally made eye contact with Black after McGonagall had handed out the schedules.

Just like with him, he saw her shuffle through many emotions at once before looking down at her plate. However, looking a bit paler than prior. It seems he wasn't the only one who took notice, as the boys all looked at one another with a confused expression on all their faces. He watched as she quickly and quietly got up before leaving the Great Hall. His eyes followed her up until Professor Slughorn arrived and handed him his schedule. He quickly finished off his breakfast as he glanced at his schedule and it was just his luck! Their first class was none other than Potions with the Gryffindors. He quickly grabbed his bag and left as everyone else also began to leave, ignoring his friends' curious and questioning looks.

ϟϟϟ

He turned the corner, and there she was, already waiting at the classroom door. Weird how she didn't get lost, especially because she's supposed to be new. Barty made his way over until he stood directly across from her, leaning against the wall and acting nonchalant. Soon, others joined them as they waited for Professor Slughorn to open the classroom. The students piled in, taking their seats, and Barty made sure to act as fast as possible, sitting down next to her. She looked at him in confusion before letting out a little huff, as he smiled back cheekily. His friends kept giving him intense looks from across the room. He knew he'd get an earful later for sitting with a Gryffindor, but he couldn't find it in himself to care.

Just like he thought, Professor Slughorn assigned the people sitting next to one another as their seatmates for the rest of the year, which to his immense joy, earned him another little huff from her. "Looks like we're gonna have a wonderful time getting to know one another, little lion," he whispered to her, amused. She sent him a glare with no real heat behind it, and he saw a little twitch to her lips, clearly fighting off a smile.

"It appears so, little snake," she whispered back, rolling her eyes. But he did see the small little smile she was fighting finally show on her face.